News Nibblets

Below are a few snippets of entertainment news along with my thoughts:

Harry's Law is now minus two of it's major supporting characters in Hairspray cutie Brittany Snow and London-born Aml Ameen. NBC's decision to renew the show came as a slight surprise given that the ratings weren't stellar. Looks like NBC is re-tooling Harry, but, what's more surprising is how prominently Snow and Ameen are featured on NBC's cite and on the WB's 2011 Emmy campaign. Better Luck next time, kids.




More difficulties for The Peacock: A Utah NBC affiliate will not carry the period piece The Playboy Club starring country crooner LeAnn Rimes' husband, Eddie Cibrian. This isn't the first time NBC has seen affiliates pull away from it's more controversial shows. Recall the 2006 show The Book of Daniel? No? Well, all you really need to know is that it was a disaster. Even though people are talking about The Playboy Club and it's getting press, that's not always a positive thing.




AMC has renewed The Killing. Decent ratings, a compelling and sought after lead in Mireille Enos plus overly flattering reviews (likely due to the fact that there were so few shows of substance this year) have resulted in the second season pick up of The Killing. I'm behind in watching this drama, but, from where I'm at, I find the show interesting, yet, awfully slow. Nevertheless, congrats to the cast and crew.











Starting September, Glenn Beck will stream his show online for $5 a month. Beck's show currently airs on The Fox News Network and is set to end at the end of the month. Not only do I believe that Beck's streaming show will be a lucrative enterprise, I think being on an online only network will be a much better fit for Beck and his fans.

SVU Merry Go Round

Yesterday, I posted an article about Josh Lucas and the state of NBC. What I didn't mention was one of the major issues for NBC - the health of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. May proved to be a tumultuous month for fans of the crime drama; first it was announced that lead Mariska Hargitay's role would be reduced so Hargitay could spend more time being a new mama, which came as no surprise to SVU supporters, though, it was disappointing. Then came the major SHOCKER, SVU's other lead Chris Meloni is leaving, COMPLETELY. That means that during the 13th season, at some point, there will be episodes without either lead. EEEK! That is NOT a good place to be, even for a series as old as SVU. However, here's the good news: Ice-T will be staying put for the next 2 years. YAY!!!! I have to say I was dubious when Ice-T started out on the procedural, but, he's actually turned out to be a tremendous asset to the show. Additionally, NBC is in talks with Jennifer Love Hewitt to takeover for Hargitay. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Love Hewitt! The media really gives Hewitt a hard time, but, I think she's wonderful; she's talented not just as an actress, but, as a producer and director, which is an advantage for any show and she possesses the elegance and confidence necessary for a lead. It will be hard for the public to accept JLH as a detective on such a gritty show, however, if anyone can pull it off it's her. Hang on SVU fanatics, Season 13 is going to be rough. Still it's better than the ride stopping. Right?

Can Josh Lucas Save NBC?

I'm sure that anyone who has looked at the new NBC schedule would say that, at least from the preview packages, things look pretty bleak for the Peacock this fall. That means mid-season(Spring 2012) offers the best shot for NBC to win back viewers and restore its once illustrious glory. Mid-season does have several things going for it: 1) The Superbowl: always one of the most watched events in television. 2) The Voice: it's my favorite new reality show and it's doing pretty well in the numbers. In fact, NBC believes in the show so much that it's been given the post Superbowl slot. 3)Elite following shows: I say elite rather than cult because several of NBC's mid-season returning shows have big stars and ordinary people who love the series, but, the fans just are NOT passionate enough for any of the series to be considered "cult". My favorite of these shows is Parenthood and, while I love the show and think it's SERIOUSLY brilliant, the numbers for all these elite following shows aren't great, but, they do bring in some relatively loyal viewers to NBC. That brings us to 4) NBC's new show The Firm. It won't debut until 2012, but, unlike most mid-season shows, it's been given a full season order. The show is NOT a remake of the 93 classic film The Firm nor is it an adaptation of John Grisham's genius legal thriller of the same name. Apparently, this new Firm picks up 10 years after the 93 film and GOOD NEWS: Grisham is involved in the project. And now news comes that Josh Lucas of Sweet Home Alabama fame has taken the lead role in the drama. Lucas is absurdly talented and obviously GORGEOUS, thus, my first reaction when I found out he was in talks quite a while ago was, Josh Lucas sign me up. Can Josh Lucas save NBC? I don't know, but, I'm pretty certain that there will be a TON of females 18-49 tuning in to give the series a look. However, NBC listen up, you better make The Firm the best pilot in history because you've got one shot to win over America (you can't succeed with big city viewers alone).