RATINGS SUMMARY
- Another night dominated by repeats but America's Got Talent helped NBC win the night in total people (6.3 million) and demo (1.7/5). I'm sure clips from AGT the other night have gone global now with a contestant that did all sorts of stunts where he punished his testicles - including Howard Stern shooting a tennis ball at 90mph at his region…….not sure the longevity of this act but I laughed out loud..
- AGT was the most watched show of the night by a healthy margin with 8.7 million viewers but had a closer win in demo with a 2.3/7
- Big Brother was second for the night among first run programming with 5.8 million viewers and 2.0/7 in demo
- By normal standards Oh Sit! is struggling on the CW with 1.2 million and 0.4/1 in demo but based on what the CW has been pulling over the summer, it is doing pretty well. Plenty of hype of the CW's fall schedule though with Arrow and The Carrie Diaries in particular expected to perform strongly. Some saying this will be the CW's best season for quite a while
PROGRAMMING NEWS
- Untitled: Fox (Sony Pictures TV distributing), script commitment
From sisters Aly and AJ Michalka and Adam Sandlers Happy Madison, comes this single camera comedy about two sisters that move out of home and into their first apartment but then things go sideways when their mother moves in unexpectedly. The sisters (in real life) have a background in music and acting across Disney, MTV and CW projects. - Crazy Gene: ABC (20th Century Fox producing and distributing), put pilot commitment
Single camera comedy from writer/comedian Andrea Abbate based on her real life experiences. She took in her brother's son while he was in prison and adopted a 13 year old black boy whose mother was also in prison. What a great premise - sounds intriguing already. - Eddie Murphy: One Night Only, Spike, 1 x 2 hour
This one off tribute to Eddie Murphy is being shot November 3 in LA and will air November 16. It will look back at Murphy's career with clips and appearances from his many co-stars. Don Mischer who produced this years Academy Awards (which Murphy was going to host at one stage) is producing the special - Untitled: Fox (20th Century Fox and Chernin producing, 20th distributing), put pilot commitment
From 30 Rock supervising producer Kay Cannon comes this single camera comedy set in the offices of an NFL Sunday type show with a strong female lead at the center. Cannon will write and EP with Peter Chernin and Katherine Pope as fellow EP's. Cannon had interest from multiple studios but signed an overall deal with 20th in May. With Chernin behind it, it will get plenty of attention from Fox.
OTHER NEWS
- Motion picture, television and theater producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron have been named producers of the 85th Academy Awards. They have an extensive and impressive pedigree across all three genres but hopefully the show will be current and relevant….
- Following historically low ratings, CNN are certainly shaking things up with the announcement Super Size Me's Morgan Spurlock has signed on to host and produce Inside Man, that will air on weekends alongside programming featuring chef Anthony Bourdain. The description for the show says he he will provide an insider's view into rarely seen sectors of American life each week, including gun lovers, marijuana growers, migrant farm workers, and end of life caregivers. Certainly an interesting choice of host and content for CNN. Although his most recent documentary Mansome was incredibly boring, he presents well and is extremely smart but I think it is a long shot that he will resonate with CNN viewers.
- It seems Animal Planet are having a significant shift in direction as well - in a number of meetings recently, producers and agents have said Animal Planet is now saying if the show is anything on the planet, then it fits their mandate. A pretty broad mandate - now History did an incredible job shifting from a network about the past but a network called Animal Planet may have a harder time…
- Fox and the Ad Council are partnering up to illustrate the dangers of texting and driving using graphic scenes from last seasons Glee cliffhanger when Quinn crashes due to texting/driving. The PSA's (US equivalent of an Australian CSA) will run in donated airtime and online
