In the tradition of Not Necessarily The News, This Hour Has 22 Minutes and the very popular Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Fox News Channel may air it's own fake news show.

Originally pitched to the Fox Network, but rejected, it caught the attention of Fox News Channel Chief Roger Ailes.

"I showed it to Roger, and he really liked it and thought it could work on Fox News if we could make it conform to some of the restraints" of a cable news channel, EP Joel Surnow (of "24" fame) says. He says it's a "satirical news format" that would "tip more right as 'The Daily Show' tips left."

FNC may air two episodes of the show in January with the possibility of being picked up as a regular series on Saturday nights.

More from Reuters

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 9:04 AM | Permalink

ABC has won the bidding war with Fox for a new comedy series from executive producers Joel Surnow, Howard Gordon and Bob Cochran. The Call is a half-hour comedy centred around some paramedics and their friends and will have plotlines that take place in real time.

Kitchen Confidential creator and American Dad writer, Dave Hemingson, is slated to pen the pilot scheduled to air in the fall of 2007.

On The Web:
CBC.ca

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 7:42 AM | Permalink

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron's Storyline Entertainment has inked four new cable and broadcast TV projects in an overall deal with Touchstone Television.

US cable network Lifetime has ordered a script for a drama inspired by the life of songwriter Diane Warren. She is known for writing hit songs like Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me," Aerosmith's "You Don't Want To Miss A Thing," and "Unbreak My Heart" by Toni Braxton.

The hour-long project centers on a fictional female songwriter in the midst of trying to start her fledgling career and has to deal with her large, overbearing and dysfunctional family. It will also feature a lot of Warren's music.

Other projects Storyline has picked up include "The Box." A one-hour ABC drama that focuses on a legal case that takes place over the course of a season.

NBC has ordered a pilot for "The Family Game." A half-hour, single camera sitcom from British scribe Alex Spiro. It's centred around a fortysomething man who, after being fired from his respectable job, discovers that by taking his life in a new direction, he has a newfound freedom that begins to cause huge problems with his well-bred wife and conservative family.

Storyline is also developing a variety show pilot for ABC Family. It's described as "a unique and new approach for a variety series for a new generation."

On The Web:

More in The Hollywood Reporter

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 7:43 AM | Permalink

After widespread rumours of cancellation, NBC has ordered a full season of "Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip."

The future of the Aaron Sorkin-created show has been in doubt due to it's low ratings and talk on the internet that the cast had no faith in the show. However, the network decided to order the remainder of the season. But, at a lower licensing fee than what was negotiated for the first 13 episodes which was reported at $2.5 to 3 million per episode.

Airing behind the breakout new hit "Heroes," "Studio 60" looked promising from the start. But ratings fell quickly. Last week's episode averaged 7.7 million viewers overall and finished third in the hour.

NBC temporarily took "Studio 60" off its 10pm Monday slot last week to try out another critically acclaimed but low-rated new drama, "Friday Night Lights."

"I've never wavered in my belief in the show," NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly said. "With the talent we have in front and behind the camera and with the direction Aaron is taking the relationships, I think the show's passionate core audience will be excited, and the other viewers who sampled it can be won over."

Reilly wouldn't speculate on whether "Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip" will remain in its Monday berth. He said the network is looking at several possible scheduling moves, with a new midseason schedule set to be announced next week. A schedule that is said to be less focused on scripted dramas in favour of game shows and reality TV.

"Studio 60" airs in Canada on Sunday nights at 10pm on CTV.

On The Web:

More at Yahoo! News

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 4:44 PM | Permalink

The latest canceled show to hit the web is "Smith", which was canceled by CBS last month with four episodes yet to air. Fans of the show -- few though they may have been -- will be able to watch those four, as well as the three episodes that did air, for free (with commercials) on CBS's Innertube website or download them (without commercials) for $1.99 at Apple's iTunes Music Store.

I like this new trend. At least it gives the fans of canceled shows a way to see the "lost" episodes. I wish they did this when Fox canceled "Reunion."

Posted by Michael Seidelman at 10:03 PM | Permalink

NBC has found a novel solution to the problem of what to do about a serialized TV drama that has attracted millions of fans -- but not enough millions to justify keeping it on the air. That has been the case of the critically praised Kidnapped, which failed to capture a significant audience when it was launched on Wednesday nights against strong competition. When the network moved it to Saturday night, the lowest-rated night of the week, the audience slumped even further -- especially since many potential viewers had not been able to follow the serialized plot. The program has now been yanked from the network altogether. But so as not to upset the remaining fans of the series, NBC has decided to air the final eight episodes of Kidnapped on the Internet, on NBC.com, following the November sweeps.

Story From the Internet Movie Database

Posted by Michael Seidelman at 9:38 PM | Permalink