After a brief hiatus, we’re back again for the second edition of the Daily’s TV dish, detailing all the latest in the world of television – everything from guest stars to Nielsen ratings. So buckle up, here we go …
- Zac Peskowitz
- Courtesy of NBC
Goodbye? – In the two weeks since its move to Friday nights, NBC’s “Ed” has averaged about 11 million viewers, winning its 9 p.m. timeslot both times. But that may not be enough. The season finale airs this Friday at 9 p.m., and it could be the series finale as well. Watch it, or you may not be able to next year.
“Stripes” Shift – NBC recently announced that the White Stripes will perform on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” for a four-night stint, from April 22 through 25, to promote their new album Elephant, which hit stores last Tuesday. Look out, Max Weinberg, someone’s coming for your job.
Ratings War – Two episodes of “American Idol” were the most watched shows for the week ending March 30, Nielsen Media Research reported last week. Both the Tuesday and Wednesday editions averaged just over 19 million viewers apiece. However, NBC won the week with all three versions of the “Law & Order” franchise breaking the top 10. On CBS, “Survivor: The Amazon” came in at number three. Meanwhile, ABC continued to air wretched crap that no one watched.
Over on the cable front, the news networks are getting an enormous boost with their war coverage. After the first full week of coverage from Iraq, Fox News Channel was the highest rated cable network with 5.58 million viewers per night, which more than doubled its previous week’s average. Not far behind was CNN with an average of 4.27 million.
In the Works – The fall television season is heating up to be a good one, with a slew of pilots already in development. Networks will have a grab-bag to choose from for their upcoming schedules, with an “Out of Sight” spin-off on ABC, a WB remake of “MacGyver” and separate projects for Tracy Morgan and Jenny McCarthy already in progress.
Additionally, FOX is adapting “About a Boy,” the 2002 film directed by Chris and Paul Weitz of “American Pie” fame, for the small-screen. Based on the novel by Nick Hornby, the sitcom will star Patrick Dempsey as a self-centered thirtysomething whose immature lifestyle changes drastically when he befriends a 12-year-old boy, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
And speaking of those Weitz brothers, they will be heading up another FOX comedy project: Molly Shannon’s “Cracking Up.”
Elsewhere, Zap2it.com reports ABC has already given a 13-episode order to the mob/FBI drama “Lines of Duty” from film critic-turned-director Rod Lurie. The drama will star Leslie Bibb (“Popular”) as a rookie FBI agent and David Paymer (“State and Main”) as a mobster, alternating between the two characters’ perspectives. Might we have another “Sopranos” on our hands?