The Extratextuals

I’ve already discussed NBC’s new shows, since they already announced them. But the big news of the day, for me, is that Chuck was renewed. And in talks with journalists, Ben Silverman drew the line directly back to the fans’ and Subway’s campaign to keep the show around (see my post on the campaign here).

Law and Order was the other lucky survivor of the day, though Medium, Life, and My Name is Earl weren’t so lucky. Apparently, CBS might pick up Medium, and My Name is Earl’s Greg Garcia is also hoping to shop his show around. Garcia wasn’t a happy man, firing back at NBC that “It’s hard to be too upset about being thrown off the Titanic.” Ouch. I hope the show finds a new home, since I really like it (what’s not to like about Randy and/or Crab Man?), and it seems like it might be a good fit with FOX.

As for the schedule, more after the fold:

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ads, new shows, previews, upfronts Chuck, Jay Leno, My Name is Earl, NBC, upfronts

I found clips of some of the new shows, and I’m embedding them after the fold

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FOX went first, and James Poniewozik says it was an odd presentation, in that it wasn’t so much about the brilliance of FOX, but of TV. As he writes:

it spent most of its time, before screening clips of its new shows, defending the medium of television itself. Despite what pundits in the media are telling you, they told advertisers, the vast majority of TV watchers still watch on a television set, and not online. And they do so watch the ads! […]

But when you’re working this hard to persuade a room of advertisers of the basic efficacy of your medium—you are nervous about something. And mind you, this is the network that has American Idol. What the hell is ABC going to say tomorrow?

Anyways, down to business, after the fold:
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The upfront presentations are this week. For those unaware of this ritual, it’s a week during which the networks trump out their Fall schedules to advertisers, often involving lavish parties and hoopla, as a prelude to a massive ad spot buying binge that follows.

The schedule: FOX kicks it off on Monday, NBC and ABC do Tuesday, and CBS and The CW are on Wednesday.

I’ve already discussed NBC’s new shows, since they had an early “infront,” though a few choices remain for the Peacock, including whether to keep Chuck (though reports are now suggesting that my favorite spy, is indeed back, albeit for an abbreviated 13 episode season) and My Name is Earl. But I’ll try to comment on each day’s activities as and when I can.

In the meantime, I’d point readers towards Alan Sepinwall of the New Jersey Star Ledger. Discussing the leaked news that Scrubs, Chuck, and Dollhouse, amongst other existing shows on the bubble, are returning, he offers an interesting thought:

The idea that a new show automatically has a better shot to draw viewers than a marginal returning series may not be the case anymore, and in this scary environment, a steady number is a steady number.

For more signs of what the networks think is going to make life better for them, stay tuned this week.

ads, new shows, previews upfronts

For those wondering what that weird acronym stands for (National Association of Toilet Paper Enthusiasts? of Tyrannosaurus Pelvis Excavators? of Tent Pole Economics?), it’s the National Association of Television Production Executives. The NATPE Convention is one of the major American television industry conferences and buying festivals on the calendar. And no, I haven’t been drafted to the industry. I’m here because I got a NATPE Fellowship from their Educational Foundation, so am here on their dime. I’ll try to post more general reflections later, but for now, some reflections from the first morning.

It began with a bang. Jeff Zucker, President and CEO of NBC Universal gave the opening address. He’s quite an electrifying speaker – Hollywood Reporter’s Elizabeth Guilder (who did the Q&A after the speech) compared him to Obama, though he balked at the comparison (more of a Kucinich supporter himself?), as do I for other reasons (one of many being that I’m not sure MLK was dreaming of Zucker heading NBC). But he certainly didn’t disappoint, either in offering substance or in delivery. I saw shades of Ari Gold, Jeremy Pivens’s brilliant creation from Entourage, not in terms of sexist bravado, but in terms of complete confidence, energy, and a slice of imperial gravitas.

He began by joking that he came in boring times, but then threw down the gauntlet pretty quickly by stating that “traditional business models in Hollywood are under pressure, and their replacements are not yet ready for prime time,” a situation that “demands a re-engineering of our business, from top to bottom.” With CBS prominently deciding to sit this NATPE out in favor of a bigger presence at CEA (Consumer Electronics Association), and NBC’s head kicking things off this way, this would seem to be a clear indication that the old guard finally get that something’s up.  More after the fold…

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