News Brief : A lotta number(s) news for shows aired last week

Its numbers time, The Big Bang Theory shows its still the numbers-king, NCIS is still the most watched crime drama procedural. After all the media hype and buzz in the summer, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had an impressive series premiere. The Emmys also had an impressive night on sunday night with increase in viewership from last year's event. Cable shows also continues to draw in big numbers, as Dexter goes out with a bang, Ray Donovan and Devious Maids end their first season on a high.

.. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the most talked-about new series of the fall, premiered last night to 12.1 million viewers, coming in with a 4.7 rating in the 18-49 demo. That's ABC's largest premiere in three years,and Joss Whedon's largest premiere in the history of the universe. The show premiered last week to impressive ratings, scoring the best debut of a new drama in all of television since 2009’s V.

...  In another numbers news, NCIS pulled in 20.02 million viewers and had its third largest season-opening audience ever. What kind of voodoo magic are those kids practicing that they get that many viewers?

... The Big Bang Theory also returned last week to its biggest ratings ever. 20.44 million viewers tuned in for the Season 7 premiere.

... Congratulations, Emmys! had the biggest audience for the awards show since 2005. Sunday's broadcast on CBS averaged 17.63 million viewers, up a third from last years telecast on ABC.

... More ratings! Dexter's apparently disappointing final episode reached the series' biggest audience yet, with 2.8 million viewers tuning in for the initial airing. Ray Donovan's Season 1 finale also did well, with 2.1 million viewers. That's a Showtime best for a freshman series' season finale. As for Breaking Bad, it continued to be awesome and rise in the ratings even with a lot of competition from Dexter and the Emmys, and hit a series high with 6.6 million viewers. Remember when you had to convince people to try to watch this show? While we're at it, let's just mention that Lifetime's Devious Maids wrapped up its first season on Sunday, and 3 million viewers watched that for a season high.

... FOX's Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Dads both premiered to okay numbers last night (6 million viewers and a 2.5 demo rating, and 5.6 million viewers and a 2.1 demo rating, respectively). This is sort of disappointing for Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which I've heard called the best new comedy of the fall

... FX has concluded that the Season 6 premiere of Sons of Anarchy has become the most-watched FX broadcast of all time. So far, it's accumulated 8.32 million viewers.

Back to other news apart from viewership ratings and numbers

 ... Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The most anticipated new show of the season debuted to big numbers for ABC, but very mixed reviews. Some people loved it, some people thought it was only mediocre, some people were very confused (and in some cases angered) by the lack of superheroes (which means they didn't read anything that came out before the series premiered). But regardless of what The People thought, it was a strong start for ABC, Marvel, and the Joss Whedon himself.

... James Spade is back on TV and carrying most of NBC's new—and largely mediocre—FBI thriller The Blacklist on his shoulders. But the series is worth a look to just to see the actor (who plays a most-wanted criminal who suddenly surrenders himself to the FBI) chew scenery, cling to every pregnant pause, and let lines like "Well I think you're special," slide out of his mouth.

... Another edition of NCIS again! So another spin-off is in the works. The new series would be set in and around New Orleans, with a backdoor pilot planned for a super-sized spring episode of the original series. NCIS star Mark Harmon would produce, with fall 2014 a likely debut date for what can only be called NCIS: NO.

... A Walking Dead spinoff, AMC announced that it's developing a "companion series" (a.k.a. a fancy term for spin-off) of its zombie mega-hit The Walking Dead. The new series will focus on "an entirely new story and cast of characters," and Robert Kirkman, who created the comics, will serve as a co-executive producer along with Walking Dead EPs Gale Anne Hurd and David Alpert. The series, which doesn't currently have a title, is expected to premiere in 2015.

... Ken Jeong, better known as Chang from Community ( The Hangover triologies), is set to star and produce in a medical multi-camera comedy on NBC. Dr. Ken will loosely be based on Jeong's own experience as a real physician (he was a doctor before he turned to acting). Can't wait for this.

... TNT has canceled its drama King & Maxwell after one season. The series starred Rebecca Romijn and Jon Tenney as secret-service agents who became private eyes.

Five Promising New Fall TV Shows

It's that time of year. The time when there are a whole bunch of new TV series debuting within just a few weeks of each other - far more than most people could possibly keep up with.

So what sticks out as being worth your time? I've listed five of the most promising new series below, based on what we've seen, heard and what we know so far. There are some shows that nearly made this list -- Sleepy Hollow, Trophy Wife and The Blacklist among them -- that show signs they could soon turn into something strong as well. And it's very possible a couple of shows with outright poor pilots could quickly turn themselves around, as has happened in the past; just as it's possible a show with a promising start could quickly falter. But right now, as the TV season begins, here's five to keep your eye on...

.... Brooklyn Nine-Nine

 

Premiered September 17th, Tuesday on FOX.

Parks and Recreation creator Michael Schur and his fellow Parks alum Dan Goor have a simple but highly effective scenario here, imprinting the style of comedy Schur honed on Parks and The Office onto a cop show. Andy Samberg and Andre Braugher are a great wacky guy/serious guy pairing, surrounded by a strong group of supporting characters. It's important to remember that neither The Office or Parks and Recreation started all that strong, taking several episodes to really find themselves. Brooklyn Nine-Nine is all the more impressive for feeling very solid in its premiere, indicating the show could quickly find itself among the best comedies on TV these days.
Available in Nigeria early Wednesday mornings.


.... Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

 Premieres September 24th, Tuesdays on ABC.

Look, everyone is going to at least give this one a shot. But the good news is, it's worth your time. Joss Whedon and Marvel already hit pay dirt (to say the least) with The Avengers, so the anticipation for this series -- the first show to tie into the Marvel cinematic universe -- is sky high. But take away the Marvel connection and you'd still have plenty of interest in this show simply because it's Whedon returning to the medium he's kicked so much ass in. The pilot is very fun and exciting, setting a great tone for what's to come.
 Available in Nigeria early Wednesday mornings.

.... Masters of Sex

Premieres September 29th, Sundays on Showtime.

Showtime takes a look at the real life story of Masters and Johnson, the research duo who would become pioneers in the field of sexual response and how the human body responds during intercourse. The eyebrow-raising scenario is added to by the period setting, as William H. Masters and Virginia E. Johnson face considerable obstacles looking into a subject matter that wasn't exactly widely discussed in the 1950s. Masters of Sex is clever, funny, and, yes, provocative, with Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan expertly portraying the way ahead of their time duo at the center of the story.
 Available in Nigeria early Monday mornings.

.... Almost Human

Premieres November 4th, Monday on FOX.

The pilot to this one is good, but not great, yet still, there's a lot to be hopeful about here, especially given Almost Human's pedigree. For those of us who loved Fringe, getting a new sci-fi show from J.J. Abrams and J.H. Wyman so soon after that show ended is something to be excited about, as is seeing Karl Urban (Star Trek, Dredd) take the lead in the series. Urban and Michael Ealy are a good pairing as a cop 35 years in the future and his android partner. And keep in mind, Fringe started out just okay too. All of which is to say, let's see where Almost Human takes us...
 Available in Nigeria early Tuesday mornings.

.... Mob City



Premieres December 4th, Wednesday on TNT.

This is the one show on this list that is listed completely due to expectations, since it hasn't been sent out to press yet. Frank Darabont returns to TV following his unceremonious departure from The Walking Dead, with the Shawshank Redemption/Green Mile director tackling cops and mobsters in 1940s-50s Los Angeles. A couple of The Walking Dead cast alum are along for the ride, including Jon Bernthal and Jeffrey DeMunn, plus folks like Neal McDonough (Justified), Robert Knepper (Prison Break) and Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes). It all sounds pretty damn cool, no? We'll have to wait until late this year to see for ourselves, but there's certainly a lot to have us intrigued...
Available in Nigeria early Thursdays mornings.

News : Guillermo Del Toro to adapt Monster, News, Renewals, New Shows and Casting News.

... THIS SOUNDS PRETTY COOL NEWS

... Super famous director Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) is teaming up with HBO for a possible series based on the Japanese manga Monster, from author Naoki Urasawa. The 18-volume series follows a doctor who tracks down a psychotic teen—and the teen happens to be the child whose life he saved years earlier—to stop him from committing terrible atrocities on the world. So it's a feel-good story, basically.

...BBC America is replicating "Orphan Black" for a second season. The sci-fi series about clones has been renewed, with 10 new episodes due next year. "Orphan Black& is led by the performance of Tatiana Maslany, who plays multiple characters, all clones of one another.

... TNT has upped the episode order for the second season of Major Crimes from 15 episodes to 19 episodes following its wildly successful first season, which averaged 7 million viewers per episode. The network was also feeling generosity toward "Perception", and ordered an extra episode of that, too. Both "Franklin and Bas"h are still waiting by their phones.

... Netflix has slapped a premiere date on "Orange is the New Black", its next original series. The show from "Weeds" creator Jenji Kohan will debut July 11 and release all its episodes at once, as is the Netflix way. "Orange is the New Black" is a dramedy about a woman who gets thrown in jail and must learn to adapt to her new surroundings.

,.. ABC Family has picked up its pilot "Terminales" to series, but on one condition: The show has to change its name! The drama, an adaptation of a Mexican soap, follows a female journalist who balances work and family... and cancer. The new name of the series is "Chasing Life".

... NBC has given "Smash" a tiny lift for its season (and likely series) finale. The two-hour Season 2 ender being moved from the series' normal Saturday time-slot (LOL Saturday) to Sunday, May 26 at 9pm.

... Having already mastered drama, A&E Networks is now getting into original comedy with the pilot "Whitey". Producer Leslie Greif, who ushered in the surprise hit miniseries "Hatfields & McCoys", is behind the project that is apparently being earmarked for the History Channel. It's about a conservative guy (played by David Koechner, "The Office") in his 40s who doesn't know what to do after he gets fired.

... Lifetime's "Drop Dead Diva" has a return date: Season 5 will start June 23.

SHOWRUNNER NEWS

... "Criminal Minds" showrunner Erica Messer has signed a new deal with ABC Studios, which could trigger the first domino to fall like a house of cards in the "Criminal Minds" contract negotiations. The CBS procedural remains un-renewed as the cast has not penned new deals, but Messer's autograph bodes well for this standoff to come to an end soon.

... "Cougar Town" producer Blake McCormick will take over showrunning duties next season, the comedy's fifth overall and second on TBS. McCormick replaces Ric Swartzlander, who took over for creator Bill Lawrence after Season 3.

... ABC's "Malibu Country" is looking for a new showrunner should it be picked up for a second season. Nastaran Dibai stepped in to take over showrunning duties during the first season, but is leaving over creative differences.


CASTING NEWS

... Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) will star in and produce a pilot for HBO. The untitled half-hour dramedy will center on retired and active athletes living in Miami. Johnson will play one of the athletes. Peter Berg (Battleship, Hancock) will direct.

... The "Pretty Little Liars" spin-off "Ravenswood" has found its chunk o' hunk male lead. Tyler Blackburn, who currently stars on PLL as Caleb, will depart the ABC Family hit for the spin-off and start his journey in the annual PLL Halloween episode. If Caleb had a hard time with homicidal teen cliques, it won't be much better for him in Ravenswood. The show is set in the titular Pennsylvania town, which happens to suffer a curse that five youngsters must unravel. Ravenswood will premiere the day after the "Pretty Little Liars" Halloween episode.

... "Royal Pains" is welcoming some cool guest-stars to its fifth season, foremost among them being "Community"s Danny Pudi. Abed will play a radio personality who gets help from the doc when he loses his voice before a career-making gig. Also coming to "Royal Pains" will be "Grimm"s Claire Coffee and Tony-winner Stephen Spinella.

... "Ben & Kate" star Nat Faxon has grabbed the lead in the untitled FX comedy pilot from Andrew Gurland (The Last Exorcism). Faxon will play one half of a married couple who agree to "shake things up" in order to save their marriage.


Culled from TV.com

PRIMETIME PILOT PANIC: The Latest Buzz

It’s pilot screening time. CBS just started viewing its pilots, with the other networks slated to follow over the next few days. Feedback from the screenings and extensive focus group testing inform the networks’ series pickup decisions and are capable of catapulting a pilot from an also-run to frontrunner status overnight, as it happened with CBS’ "Blue Bloods" three years ago. Here is what I hear as of this weekend, with information still missing on a few late pilots.



ABC ---- Drama "Lucky 7" may live up to its name. The blue-collar ensemble about gas station employees who win the lottery seemed a little off brand for ABC and its glitzy dramas. But I hear the project based on a British format, which hadn’t drawn much attention, came in above expectations, making it a contender in what’s shaping to be a very tight race. It’s tight because two slots have already been penciled in for "Marvel‘s S.H.I.E.L.D". and the "Once Upon A Time" spinoff, whose early footage I hear ABC brass liked. Also boosted by corporate synergy is major contender "Big Thunder", based on the Disney ride. Word is ABC may choose one of its two soapy pilots, "Westside" and "Betrayal", with "Westside" having the edge at the moment. (However, "Betrayal‘s" David Zabel has two irons in the fire as he is also behind "Lucky 7".) The gothic soap "Gothica" has cooled off a bit while high-concept "The Returned", about deceased coming back to life as their old selves, is heating up after another great pilot directing performance by Charles McDougall. Among the character procedurals, "Murder In Manhattan", "Doubt", "Killer Women" and "Influence" all seem in the mix.
"Bad Management", the untitled Adam Goldberg project, and "Back In The Game" (Cullen Bros.) are still getting solid traction on the comedy side, along with female starring vehicles "Trophy Wives" (Malin Akerman) and Rebel Wilson’s "Super Fun Night". I hear "Super Fun Night" is not exactly where ABC brass want it to be and will likely require tweaking but the network isn’t ready to pass up the opportunity to have hot Wilson on its air. Most of ABC’s comedies seem to be still in contention, including "Spy", "Mixology" and "Middle Age Rage", with John Leguizamo’s "King John" holding down the fort on the multi-camera side.



NBC ---- NBC appears very pleased with their comedy pilots, including the pilot for the Michael J. Fox project, which already has a 22-episode order. I hear the network brass feel their half-hour development is so strong, they may bet heavily on new series and hardly keep any of the existing comedy series (besides "Parks & Recreation", of course). Among the NBC comedy pilots that are hot are "About A Boy", "Welcome to The Family", "Family Guide" (D.J. Nash); Greg Daniels’ "Mr. Robinson" starring Craig Robinson, the Sean Hayes starrer "Sean Saves the World"; "Assistance" starring Krysten Ritter and Alfred Molina; and Bill Lawrence’s "Undateable". "The Gates" is a wild card, with the late John Mulaney pilot garnering promising early buzz.
"The Blacklist" continues to be super-hot on the drama side, with the untitled Rand Ravich in contention, along with JJ Abrams’ "Believe". Despite bumpy production, which saw the departure of executive producer Katie Jacobs, "I Am Victor" seems to have a shot, maybe competing with another starring vehicle, "Ironside". Also in the mix are the comic book-driven "The Sixth Gun", the "Chicago Fire" cop drama spinoff, medical drama "After Hours" and the modern day "Hatfields & McCoys".

FOX ---- No major changes in the pilot standings at Fox. Dude police/Army comedies Goor/Schur and Enlisted as well as Assistants and Friends And Family are going strong, with I Suck At Girls as a wild card. Rake, Gang Related and Human are still solid on the drama side. Sleepy Hollow and Delirium may go head to head, with Sleepy Hollow slight ahead at the moment.

CBS ---- CBS is once again hard to read, with many projects in contention for very few slots. Beverly Hills Cop still seems like a frontrunner, with Hostages, The Advocates and the NCIS: LA spinoff in the running and Second Sight, Intelligence, The Surgeon General, The Ordained and Backstrom in the mix. On the comedy side, Chuck Lorre’s Mom continues its march to the fall schedule. Greg Garcia has two horses in the race, a multi-camera comedy which is getting stronger buzz, and single-camera Super Clyde. On the multi-camera side, Friends With Better Lives continues to track well. On the single-camera side, the Robin Williams starrer The Crazy Ones is going strong, with the untitled Rob Greenberg in the mix, along with Bad Teacher and Rottenberg/Zuritsky.

CW ---- The CW already kicked off the new series pickup season on Friday with an order to The Vampire Diaries spinoff "The Originals". Vying to join it are two futuristic/sci-fi dramas, "The Tomorrow People" and "The 100", and royal teen soap "Reign". Just-renewed "Beauty And The Beast" has a potential new companion in another drama about an unlikely pair of star-crossed lovers, the human-alien romance "Oxygen". For now, "The Selection" 2.0 seems to be following the trajectory of the original pilot unless it gets a last-minute boost.

TNT ---- Along with its broadcast brethren, TNT also is getting ready to green-light new series as early as this week. Both pilots in consideration, "Legends" and "The Last Ship", look hopeful to get the nod.

AMC ---- Over at AMC, "Turn" is turning up the heat.