PaleyFest08 to Feature Judd Apatow, GOSSIP GIRL, and PUSHING DAISIES

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Pushing Daisies

The Paley Center for Media (formerly The Museum of Television & Radio) has announced that Freaks and Geeks writer/producer Judd Apatow, along with two of the new season hits, Gossip Girl and Pushing Daisies, will be among the honorees at the upcoming William S. Paley Television Festival. The festival, which will take place March 14 to 27, 2008, features a series of panels during which the audience has the opportunity to interact with the creative team behind some of the best shows on television.

Additional details and the complete schedule for PaleyFest08 will be announced on Monday, Feb. 4, 2008. Tickets will go on sale to Paley Center Members on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008. Tickets will be available to the general public beginning the following Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008.

MONK and PSYCH Cross Over to NBC

Posted on by Susannah
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NBC Universal is continuing to repurpose its cable and network content in order to beef up its post-strike schedule. Episodes of the USA Network shows Monk and Psych will be rebroadcast on NBC starting in March of next year. Six new episodes the popular series will premiere on USA starting Jan. 11, and then will be repeated over on NBC Sunday nights starting March 2.

NBC also may air older episodes from previous seasons of the shows. Because of the stand-alone nature of both shows, they can easily be broadcast out of order, as opposed to starting at the beginning of the season. This marks the second time Monk has gotten a network run: repeats of the series previously aired on ABC starting back in 2002.

Although the decision certainly seems like a response to the writers strike, NBC Entertainment Co-Chair Ben Silverman claims otherwise. “A lot of this we would be doing anyway,” he said. “The strike is pointing a flashlight on it.”

There was no mention yet of repurposing USA’s new hit Burn Notice, which averaged higher ratings last summer in the 18 to 49 demo than either Monk or Psych. Burn Notice is produced by Fox Television Studios (whereas Monk and Psych are produced in-house at Universal Media Studios) so a separate deal would have to be negotiated to bring the show to NBC.

It’s possible all this repurposing will open the door for other cable series to make the jump. Could Sci Fi’s Battlestar Galactica, which returns for its fourth season in March (and is also produced by Universal Media Studios), enjoy rebroadcast on NBC, finally bringing the high-quality show to the attention of a wider audience? Perhaps, if the strike lingers on and things get truly desperate, although it’s likely the heavily serialized nature of the series will work against it.

Is Tennant Leaving DOCTOR WHO?

Posted on by Susannah
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British comedienne Catherine Tate has sent Doctor Who fans into a tailspin by suggesting on Radio 2’s Jonathan Ross program that this might be David Tennant’s last year in the Doctor’s rubber-soled shoes. Tate, who first appeared in the 2006 Christmas special, “The Runaway Bride,” is returning as the Doctor’s companion for the upcoming forth season, and confirmed that the season would definitely be her last.

Regarding Tennant, her exact words were, reportedly, “I think it’s maybe David’s last series.” It’s hard to tell whether she’s merely speculating or actually in the know, but given the history of leaks when it comes to Doctor Who, we should perhaps start preparing ourselves to bid goodbye to our beloved Tenth Doctor. The BBC has refused to confirm or deny the news.

Perhaps even more upsetting, however, is the rumor that Tennant’s departure might accompany a change in the production team. Britain’s Daily Express has quoted a source as saying, “We believe that Russell T Davies, the executive producer, will be leaving after the next series with Phil Collinson, the producer, who is moving across to Coronation Street. I am sure David chose to leave, but it was probably because everything’s changing.”

Davies, Collinson and executive producer Julie Gardner are the masterminds primarily responsible for the success of the BBC’s current Doctor Who relaunch. (For an insightful look at just how important they are, read this lovely behind-the-scenes look at this year’s Christmas special.) It’s one thing to get used to a new Doctor (we’ve done that before), but I’m forced to wonder if the show would be worth watching at all without Davies & Co.

UPDATE:  Speaking to the BBC on Wednesday, David Tennant publicly laughed off speculation that he’s leaving the show. “I started getting all these phone calls on Saturday lunchtime saying apparently you’re leaving Doctor Who,” he said. “Catherine Tate’s just announced it on Radio 2–thanks Catherine!”

Tennant confirmed he was doing four Doctor Who specials in 2009, but said that he’d made no decision about the next season in 2010. “I’m doing four more specials and beyond that no one’s asked me to make any decisions and I’m quite happy to be enigmatic for as long as possible,” he said.

LOST Returning January 31

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I have this widget for my MacBook that lets me know when the next episodes of all my favorites shows are airing. It used to make me happy, but this morning I disabled it because it had become a depressing reminder that we don’t have much television left to look forward to. There are a few bright spots, however, and one of them is the long-awaited return of Lost to the airwaves.

ABC announced Monday that Lost will be returning on Jan. 31 in a new time slot–replacing Grey’s Anatomy in the ultra-competitive Thursday at 9 p.m. Of course, with the strike and all, there’s not as much competition in that slot as there used to be. (NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice is hardly enough to temp me away from my favorite castaways.)

To get you good and excited, here’s an extended trailer for the upcoming season:

Unfortunately, only eight of the expected 16 episodes of Lost were completed before the strike struck, so unless negotiations turn around amazingly quickly, we’re looking at an annoyingly abbreviated season. Hate mail can be directed to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

In other ABC scheduling news, the last new episode of Grey’s Anatomy will air Jan. 3, leading into the premiere of Cashmere Mafia, which will then move to its regular Wednesday 10 p.m. slot. When Cashmere ends its run on Feb. 27, it will be replaced by Men in Trees, which still has 10 original episodes saved up. Big Shots is also coming back, reclaiming its Thursday 10 p.m. slot for its last three produced episodes (I warned you we hadn’t seen the last of it).

No WGA Wavers for Golden Globes or Oscars

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The ongoing writers strike will cast a pall over both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards this year.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association had requested a waiver to allow writers to work on the Jan. 13 Golden Globes ceremony, but that request was rejected by the WGA. In a letter released today, the organization said that granting a waiver “would not advance” the guild’s ongoing battle with studios to negotiate a new contract. The HFPA responded that it “will attempt to reach some type of agreement with them on behalf of the 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards, which will recognize and honor outstanding achievements in both movies and television programming made before the strike.”

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had made its annual request for the use of clips during the Feb. 24 Oscar telecast to the writers guild and other relevant industry guilds that must grant approval, but this request also was rejected by the WGA. It’s unknown whether WGA member Jon Stewart will still host the Oscars as planned.