ESPN's ratings for the 2011 NFL draft Thursday dropped to 6.0 million overall from 7.3 million the previous year, a decline popularly attributed to fan ambivalence in the wake of the league's ongoing labor strife.

In addition, though their audiences aren't exactly the same, the draft this year aired opposite the results show of "American Idol," which moved to Thursdays. This year's competition also included the Steve Carell finale of "The Office."

The NFL Network, for its part, essentially matched its audience from last year with 1.0 million viewers.

By SHALINI DORE

Endangered sitcom “Outsourced” is getting some help from South Asians, who have appealed to the Peacock — whose Thursday night lineup has been dubbed “Must-See Desi TV” by "The Office" writer-thesp Mindy Kaling — to save the show set in India.

The Natl. Assn. for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications not only gave the show an award but has appealed to NBCUniversal topper Bob Greenblatt to renew the show for next year. The org has launched a Save Outsourced campaign on Facebook and via letters to the media and NBCU.

“Frankly I was an early skeptic myself, but ‘Outsourced’ has converted me — and many prominent South Asians — over to the show as it reached a creative high midseason,” says Rajan Shah, board member of the South Asians in Media, Marketing and Entertainment in a statement.  “South Asians have always wanted a show to call our own.  Many have been in the pipeline.  Because of NBC, we now have it.”

Whether they can keep it is another matter. “Outsourced’s” best showings were in November and December, when there were weeks that it drew numbers as high as 2.7/7 in the key 18-49 demo and 5.5 million viewers overall, airing after "The Office"  The ratings for "Outsourced" haven't been as high since moving into a 10:30 p.m. Thursday timeslot. However, the sitcom rated higher than “Perfect Couples” and since-canceled “The Paul Reiser Show” on Thursdays.

Oxygen's Ryan Murphy-produced "Glee Project" has broken the hearts of theater kids around the country by narrowing the field to a mere twelve of them. Some of these guys and gals were picked out of 34,000 contenders via MySpace audition videos; some apparently have great agents or know people with pull ("was discovered through industry channels" is the phrase); others attended casting calls.

The contenders include some self-taught musicians, a couple of folks who've been performing since before they could cross the street alone (are we going to meet the stage moms? I really want to meet the stage moms on this show), and at least two kids who describe themslves as outcasts in high school. Most appear to fit pretty neatly into a John Hughes-esque character type, or at least to be attempting to do so. It's seemed from preliminary footage of this show (and who knows, since it's only now being cast) that some of the kids will be of types that are already represented on "Glee," which poses a problem for those contestants since it's not clear what the show's writers would do with two plucky everygirls, for example.

Can we just establish right now that there will be no nerds on this show? I realize that "nerd" is now a type, in the same way that "Diva" and "Jock" and "Persecuted-Yet-Fabulous Gay Kid" are also types, but "Sweaty Fat Dudes Who Obsess Over Fantasy Novels And Are Afraid Of Girls" are not somehow appearing on television these days disguised as hipsters in $700 glasses and skinny jeans.

I promise. I'm on the SFDWOOFN&AAOG listserv and there has been no such notice sent out.

The Gents: Alex, 18, from Lynn, MA; Bryce, 22, from Westlake Village, CA; Cameron, 21, from Fort Worth; Damian, 18, from Derry City, Northern Ireland; Maltheus, 20, from Atlanta; Samuel, 19, from L.A.

The Ladies: Ellis, 19, from Grayslake, IL; Emily, 22, from NYC; Hannah, 20, from Charlotte; Lindsay, 19, from Modesto, CA; Marissa, 19, from NYC; and McKynleigh, 19, from Paducah, KY.

Sumner Redstone isn't letting some of the worst press of his career stop him from getting what he wants.

Nearly a year after reports suggested the Viacom chairman engaged in questionable behavior, the TV show that triggered the embarrassing episode is actually seeing the light of day, albeit quietly.

Not a single media outlet noticed Wednesday when MTV issued a press release announcing the launch of unscripted series "The Electric Barbarellas." The show follows an all-girl pop band--the very same group Redstone was reportedly so enamored with that he ordered the network to create a reality show around them despite objections from executives including MTV Networks CEO Judy McGrath, according to The Daily Beast.

That story got even more attention when Redstone left a threatening message on now-former Beast reporter Peter Lauria's voicemail assuring him it was OK to reveal the source within his company who divulged the "Barbarellas" backstory." Lauria posted the voicemail on the Beast website, which led to even more humiliating stories intimating Redstone mixed business with pleasure like a New York Post dispatch suggesting the octogenarian exec had a twentysomething woman put on the payroll at Showtime, a cable channel owned by Redstone-controlled CBS Corp.

You might think all that might have killed prospects for "Barbarellas" making it to air, but apparently not. Which isn't to say MTV seems thrilled to have Redstone's pet project. Consider some telltale signs of residual resentment, like the fact that MTV issued the press release for the project just a week before its May 4 premiere. 

Plus the release only specifies the producers from the production company that created "Barbarella," Go Go Luckey Prods., and not any of the MTV executives responsible for shepherding it to air, though that's standard for the network's programming announcements.

"Barbarellas" has only a six-episode commitment and a late-night time period, 11 p.m. While it's not unheard of for MTV to schedule original programming in that hour, it's the 10 p.m. period the network clearly reserves for its pride and joy, from "Jersey Shore" to its upcoming "Teen Wolf" remake.

Could it be that MTV is doing just enough to convince Redstone his beloved "Barbarellas" is getting a fair shot but not administering quite the level of care the network bestows on would-be hits?

That said, "Barbarellas" was promoted on air Thursday during "The Real World," priceless exposure considering the series turned out to be its highest rated episode in three years.

Reserve judgement on "Barbarellas" until it unspools next week, though the commercial does give some indication MTV probably isn't going to be submitting "Barbarellas" for Emmy consideration. As this trailer indicates, it's as unapologetically trashy as "Shore." But instead of letting cameras track upstanding Italian-Americans, "Barbarellas" is about a gaggle of Lady Gaga wannabes who know it takes controversy to get noticed.

The first episode seems to be about the Barbarellas single "Girls," a poignant ode to same-sex attraction that would make Katy Perry and Jill Sobule proud with lyrics like "I'm not looking for a relationship, just curious/we don't have to be in love, it's not serious."

If that doesn't get attention, the Barbarellas have taken to another timeless method for generating publicity: picking a Twitter fight with reporter Lauria. As @THEbarbarellas tweet with what may or may not be self-mockery, "Hopefully our skankiness was up to your expectations."

Don't bet on a Redstone cameo in "Barbarellas," but wouldn't that have been nice? After all, there's a love story to tell here, about one man who stands by his women through thick and thin. Question Redstone's personal life if you must, but give him this much: he's not afraid of commitment.

The ongoing denials from Warner Bros. TV that Charlie Sheen could still return to "Two and a Half Men" — denials underscored by the fact that a revamp of the show has been in discussion for some time now — seem ever so validated today.

After dialing down his rhetoric against "Men" producer Chuck Lorre in recent weeks, Sheen exploded anew today, sending a public letter to TMZ that scorches the earth once more. It begins:

MY fans may tune in for a minute, but at the end of the day, no one cares about your feeble show without me. Shame on you. Not even a phone call to the man that put you on the map. The man that put 500 million dollars in your pockets. You were on your way out of Warner Bros. with a buy out and a cup of cold coffee in your shaky and clammy hands. And then I walked into your office. And you created a show BASED ON MY AWESOME LIFE. I busted my ass for 8 years to support your vision. Your dream. In turn, it is my nightmare. You sad silly fool. ...

That's the nice part.

After continuing his tirade Sheen goes on to mock the performance of "Men" since its departure, citing a 2.0 rating in the adults 18-49 demo for its most recent broadcast, a repeat on April 18 that drew 7.4 million viewers overall. For comparison's sake, an April 19, 2010 rerun of "Men" drew a 3.8 rating in the demo and 11.4 million viewers total. So there has been a decline, although I'm a bit puzzled by the causality issue: Sheen appears in both episodes.

Is Sheen arguing that the fans are boycotting the show, or that they just assume he's been wiped out of the reruns and aren't tuning in? Either way, the audience of "Men" may never be the same again. But then again, neither will anyone's opinion of Sheen.

Meanwhile, here's Lorre's latest vanity card, appearing at the end of  "The Big Bang Theory" on Thursday.

Thanks to the magic of computer graphics, the monkey in tonight's episode was not actually smoking a cigarette, nor was he ever exposed to secondhand smoke. At all times, every effort was made to make the monkey feel happy and safe. Nevertheless, he proved impossible to work with. During the week of production his behavior became increasingly erratic, to the point of refusing to come out of his trailer to rehearse. It wasn't until after we finished filming his scenes that we learned why. The monkey is a heroin addict. Yes, hard as it may be to believe, the monkey had a monkey on his back. Thankfully, an intervention was staged by the Geico lizard and he is now going through detox and a twelve step program at the Bonzo Center in Palm Springs. Everyone at The Big Bang Theory wishes him well.

 

8:41 British Consul General Sir Alan Collins addresses the BBC America crowd, as does network prexy Herb Scannell. Both are big Doctor Who fans. There is another toast. Wedding cake is distributed.  
That's it from me - enjoy your morning, especially if it hasn't started yet.

8:31 And they are off. No one knows where they're honeymooning. Later today (or possibly tomorrow): ratings on this monster.

8:29 And now the flyover. One of the pilots' helmets says "Congratulations" on it. Looks like there's actually a reporter inside the plane. Wills kisses Kate again just for the hell of it.

8:27 The kiss! Champagne toast!

8:25 Here's the royal couple on the balcony. Kate looks pretty. William looks dashing. She's got her bouquet. There are a bunch of little kids who are super cute in their little soldier outfits.

8:24 What do you suppose they're doing for 55 minutes? Taking wedding photos? Having awkward family time?

8:23 The RAF is flying over the palace; BBC has a camera inside one of the fighters. At least one is very, very old and has no roof on its cockpit.

8:18 As I look up from my computer for the first time in quite a while, it occurs to me that I am surprisingly underdressed. Everybody here, especially everybody here who is British, is wearing a suit or a dress, never mind that they all got here at 5:50.

7:51 The marmalade here is, in strictly British terms, pretty boss.

7:48 BBC showing footage of poor Diana now, intercut with shots of the vast parade as it marches down the street. During interviews for this article I expressed some skepticism that the wedding was going to be a draw for US viewers and pretty much everyone I talked to said they were confident that folks across the country were going to get up or stay up. BBC America publicist Amy Mulcair says that people were outside at 5:45 waiting for the doors to open to this event, which started at 6:00.

7:33 Now the peasantry is being interviewed. More scones, please.

7:31 Is Camilla hiding anything in that hat? Is that even Camilla? I think with some carefully applied makeup, the third of the face that we can see could belong to anyone.

7:29 The Queen is, of course, batting cleanup in this whole procession. Wow, cute teenage royal or Middleton person, bad time to get caught picking your nose.

7:26 Catherine of the Surprisingly Good Bone Structure is helped out of her carriage by an actual footman. Like in the movies, guys!

7:24 The carriages have arrived at the palace, as have the cars carrying, presumably, RAF or SAS guys there to discourage anybody in the crowd drunk or desperate enough to do something bad.

7:22 Will she have to be Catherine of Something now? Quick, Kate, pick a name before the historians do it for you! Be Catherine of the Surprisingly Good Bone Structure before somebody christens you Catherine the Bloody.

7:21 All right, Kate has the smiling-and-waving thing down cold. One wonders, do any of them have to go to the bathroom right now? Are they allowed to go to the bathroom? Ever? One suspects not. It would be letting the side down, one feels.

7:20 Adorable children waving to the commoners from their coach-and-four. The little girl has garlands in her hair and everything.

7:17 People are outside the church and thus free to smile, even Her Majesty, who is in what looks like a horse-drawn Popemobile with Prince Philip. The horses themselves are clearly over it.

7:12 Eavesdropping yields the information that the couple must now go to the balcony at Buckingham Palace to kiss, since Anglicans don't kiss the bride at the ceremony. They do let their priests get married, though, which seems like a reasonable compromise.

7:11 The carriage is headed down the street, and people are cheering like lunatics. Kate and Wills are waving politely. The Queen's hat is still awesome.

7:10 Still no rain. Take that, science!

7:08 What do you do AFTER this wedding? Will William sit on the kingly couch in his underwear? Will Kate take a royal spinning class? How is this not the high point of your life, and thus all downhill from here?

7:07 Harry, flirting with the maid of honor.

7:05 Actually, she looks like she's got the giggles. So does William, although he's doing a better job of hiding it.

7:05 Kate smiles. THANK YOU.

7:04 Smile, for God's sake! Someone, please, please smile! Kate probably had to go back into that room to sign something saying she gave up all rights and privileges conferred on her by the union because she smiled.

7:02 The recessional, led by Charles and Camilla coming out to sit down. Do all Englishwomen have hats that hide their faces from the cameras? They seem like a good idea for people who are tired of being photographed and want some privacy.

7 o'clock We continue to sing. Not a one of these kids is going to get out of high school without being beaten up over the footage of how adorable they look as they sing.

6:57 The BBC has a scone bar with marmalade, clotted cream, and hair of the dog. It is good for what ails you.

6:54 Who carries the bride's train at a royal wedding? I feel it should be one of those jobs that you do once and then get a stipend that supports you for the rest of your life, like a Broadway curtain operator.

6:53 Kate and Wills are signing the register.

6:53 "God Save the Queen." Liz looks pretty safe. I'd forgotten that Americans know this song as "My Country, 'Tis of Thee."

6:51 Requisite snark aside, Westminster Abbey is just a gorgeous church (obviously), and this is clearly what it was made to do. Every time I've been there I've been vaguely disappointed that royalty was not getting married.

6:48 Elton John: singing a hymn. QE2: also singing a hymn. There is a brief glimpse of technology invented in the 20th century of the shoulder of a violinist, for which someone will undoubtedly be fired. Prince Harry does not know this song.

6:45 More liturgy. "Bless these thy servants..." At least somebody is wearing a clever outfit. Anglican priests have all the fun.

6:42 I still don't understand what they're singing.

6:39 Canterbury's homily finishes. The BBC announcer lets everyone know that the text of the sermon will be available later, which undoubtedly comes as a huge relief to everyone.

6:36 Queen Elizabeth briefly wakes up.

6:35 Canterbury: "...You have both made that decision today." Kate turns and says something cute to Wills and gives the morning's first sincere smile. It's a nice moment.

6:33 I remember the homily from my wedding. Specifically, I remember that it happened, and I remember that my wife looked great. What our pastor said, I have no idea. This pretty well describes the look on William's face, although my excuse is that the guy officiating was not the Archbishop of Canterbury.

6:27 I don't understand what they're singing.

6:25 Kate's brother Guy finishes reading from Romans.

6:20 The royal couple has been pronounced man and wife, and if I'm not mistaken, I could hear the cheer outside penetrate Westminster Abbey for just a moment.

6:19 "Those whom God has pledged together, let no man put asunder."

6:16 Catherine Middleton: "I will"

6:15 Prince William: "I will"

6:14 The Archbishop of Canterbury:  "...Forever hold his peace"

5:45-6 o'clock On the train; now off and headed toward the BBC America building. Two Irish guys are making fun of a third Irish guy who has worn a kilt, presumably in honor of the day. He says he is cold.

English bookmakers are working for their money today: odds on Prince Harry forgetting to do up his flies stand at 33:1, with bets on whether he'll drop the ring, whether he'll be too drunk to make his best man speech, and countless other little details of the ceremony also given.

At BBC America, there is an atmosphere of happy anticipation, muted by natural Britishness. On TV, the royals are proceeding down the aisle at Westminster Abbey; Prince William is looking extremely official and Kate Middleton is frankly looking a little scared. Her dress is kind of conservative, which I suppose makes sense, but is disappointing.

5:41 The train is late. I hate everyone.

5:37 ayem. Good Morning, I'm Sam Thielman, your Variety royal wedding correspondent, armchair edition, and I'm here in spirit with what the announcer on NPR's Morning Edition said a few minutes ago is roughly 2 billion people. It's so early I'm not even properly hung over yet. Today is supposedly Friday, April 29 but I remain unconvinced that I am not dreaming this entire blog post. I am waiting in the subway station for the 2/3 train to take me to the BBC America's viewing party for the blessed event, where there will be scones and champagne and hopefully coffee. Precious, precious coffee.

It is very easy to say that you don't care about British royalty. I don't particularly care; I am not sure I can tell Fergie the Duchess of York from Fergie the Black-Eyed Pea. But I will say this: if you've paid to see a Shakespeare history play; if you watched "The King's Speech" or more than one episode of "Game of Thrones" or "The Tudors," you do, on some level, understand what this is about, whether you admit it or not. Dozens, maybe hundreds of people have fought and killed each other (to say nothing of millions of civilians who got in the way) for the right to marry a child to a British monarch, or to become one.

 

CBS's "60 Minutes" correspondent Lara Logan was brutally beaten and sexually assaulted in Tahrir Square on Feb. 11 during the celebration following the Egyptian revolution earlier this year. She was hospitalized following the attack, in which she estimates some 200-300 men were involved. Logan told the New York Times' Brian Stelter that the assault was much different from a conventional injury (though injury was a part of it).

"The physical wounds heal," she said. "You don’t carry around the evidence the way you would if you had lost your leg or your arm in Afghanistan.”

Logan is back on "60 Minutes" this Sunday to discuss the incident with Scott Pelley. In a release from CBS excerpting the interview, Logan said seeing her children after the attack drove its magnitude home.

"I felt like I had been given a second chance that I didn’t deserve…because I did that to them. I came so close to leaving them, to abandoning them.”

In the interview, Logan will discuss the impact sexual harassment and assault has on female foreign correspondents. Many women fear that admitting to the experience of abuse might affect a career in the international press, where journos frequently travel to countries where inflexible notions of gender create a hostile environment.

Embattled Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt today gave his strongest indication yet that he will sue Major League Baseball for standing in the way of his attempt to extend the Dodgers' cable TV deal with Fox.

McCourt spoke to reporters in New York City shortly after saying he got word in a meeting with MLB executives that commissioner Bud Selig had vetoed the deal, which McCourt said would extend Fox's cable coverage of the Dodgers through 2027 and also provide an equity stake in Fox's Prime Ticket. The Dodgers' current deal with Fox runs through 2013.

"I’m very committed to my position," McCourt said. "We have not decided exactly what we’re going to do. We’ll keep you posted, but as I said, I’m not going anywhere. This is a team that I love, a community that I love. ... I’m going to protect my rights."

However, MLB later issued a statement saying that it had not vetoed the Fox deal, but was waiting to rule on it pending its investigation into McCourt's and the Dodgers' finances.

“It is unfortunate that Mr. McCourt felt it necessary to publicize the content of a private meeting," said MLB exec veep of labor relations Rob Manfred. "It is even more unfortunate that Mr. McCourt’s public recitation was not accurate. Most fundamental, Commissioner Selig did not ‘veto’ a proposed transaction. Rather, Mr. McCourt was clearly told that the Commissioner would make no decision on any transaction until after his investigation into the Club and its finances is complete so that he can properly evaluate all of the facts and circumstances."

McCourt suggested, however, that that investigation had a "pre-determined" outcome.

Media reports have pegged the value of the proposed Fox-Dodger deal as high as $3 billion, a figure McCourt did not dissuade reporters from using, though Joe Flint of the Los Angeles Times has questioned that, reporting Tuesday that the revenue from the extension would only be $1.3 billion. In any case, questions have been raised whether McCourt's well-chronicled financial issues, which date back to his highly leveraged purchase of the franchise in 2004, have forced him into negotiating a less-than-favorable deal for the Dodgers.

Selig, who approved the McCourt purchase seven years ago, initiated a takeover by MLB of the Dodgers' day-to-day operations last week out of concerns that McCourt's ownership practices were against the best interests of the franchise and the sport. By blocking the Fox-Dodger deal and preventing the cash infusion that would come with it, Selig jeopardizes McCourt's ability to maintain ownership of the team while in a tumultuous divorce with Jamie McCourt.

Earlier this month, Fox — eager to keep the deal alive as it frets over the possibility of the Dodgers following the Lakers to Time Warner Cable — reportedly made a $30 million personal loan to McCourt just to help him make payroll.

In a nod to the concerns over how much Dodger revenue he and his now-estranged wife had allocated for personal spending, McCourt said today that the proposed Fox deal would include an immediate payment of $300 million going directly into the Dodgers.

"None of those dollars (would be) used in any personal way," McCourt said.

"I think I made some mistakes. I’m sorry about that, and I’m definitely commited to doing things differently moving forward. ... I think everyone deserves a second chance."

While apologetic with regard to some of his conduct, McCourt remained aghast that the TV deal was being held up.

"I think it is fundamentally wrong for any person to stand in the way of a transaction which is a sound business transaction, which I and my organization have every right to enter into," he said. "It is a transaction that is complete consistent with transactions that other clubs have entered into."

MLB has a longstanding antitrust exemption that allows it to have widespread powers over its owners. That being said, Selig wouldn't be able to make this stand against McCourt unless he had the support of the sport's other owners.

McCourt entered into an agreement not to sue MLB when he bought the Dodgers, but he might challenge that provision on the premise that Selig's actions have been malevolent and unfair — as well as the premise that MLB might settle rather than endure a trial. Few observers of the sport believe McCourt could win his case outright.

If no one ever dies dies, that should boost ratings, right? "Torchwood: Miracle Day:" premieres on Starz on July 8. Above, an early promo for the program.

He's been calling the book "Kong" on his blog, and today he posted this:

http://grrm.livejournal.com/212603.html

So that's at least one extra year that he'll have to write the final two books before HBO's "Game of Thrones" catches up with him...

Lifetime has inked a multiproject development deal with Demi Moore.

Actress, known for her bigscreen career, is delving into television and will exec produce two scripted dramas and talkshow "The Conversation," hosted by Brit photographer Amanda de Cadenet.

Cabler has ordered eight episodes of "The Conversation," which will be produced by de Cadenet. Moore, de Cadenet, Rob Sharenow, Gena McCarthy and David Hillman will exec produce.

"Demi is one of the most fascinating people in the world. She is both an icon and a modern woman who plays by her own rules. Not only am I inspired by that, I also am so excited to partner with her," said Lifetime topper Nancy Dubuc. "Innovative, sincere and forthright about her approach to sharing a woman's point of view on life, Amanda, who created this show, is the perfect host and executive producer for this series."

Hourlong "The Conversation" is based on de Cadenet's online series "140Women," which features chats with women about a variety of topics, including sexuality, body image, career and finances.

" 'The Conversation' provides an intimate and inviting environment for women to share their challenges, provide insight into their own personal solutions and hopefully inspire others in the process," Moore said. "We hope this is a forum where truly anything and everything can be discussed."

De Cadenet hosted "The Word and Breakfast" at age 14 and then became a renown photog, shooting covers for magazines such as Vanity Fair, Vogue and Rolling Stone.

Moore has previously pacted with Lifetime, as the actress will be directing a segment of cabler's upcoming original pic "Project Five," exploring the impact of breast cancer on people's lives.

There were no details released regarding the two scripted series on tap at Lifetime, where the cabler recently gave a second season renewal for reality show "One Born Every Minute."

Dubuc, who is trying to reverse the ratings slide at Lifetime, gave series order to a pair of femme-friendly cop dramas in February: "Against the Wall" and "Exit 19."

Following through on his scheduled appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," Paul Reiser talked "The Paul Reiser Show" three days after its cancellation on Good Friday — or as Reiser put it, "not such a good Friday."

He took a light-hearted approach to the whole saga, though he gilded the lilly a bit on how enthusiastic NBC was about the sitcom as its premiere approached. But by the time he got to the cancellation, Reiser said he didn't take it personally.

"When you are the last-place network, you don't want to jeopardize that," Reiser joked. "You found your niche — stay there."

Said Christina Aguilera, who was sitting on Reiser's left and had just promoted "The Voice" (premiering tonight on NBC): "You've scared the crap out of me ..."

I mean, he really commits. View the clip above, from "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

Short will also perform on stage with Steve Martin on June 19 at the weeklong "TBS Just for Laughs Chicago" fest.

Keith Olbermann said that his post-MSNBC venture, "Countdown With Keith Olbermann," will premiere on Current TV on June 20 at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific, repeating twice nightly in three-hour intervals. View his Olbermannesque announcement above.

The cheerful Olbermann said that being on Current "would increase the program's edge and the pointedness of its commentary."

The season premiere of "Doctor Who" on Saturday gave BBC America its highest-rated telecast ever, with 1.3 million viewers tuning in — breaking a record set by the "Doctor Who" season premiere a year ago.

 

HBO's new fantasy series "Game of Thrones" has been renewed, our Rick Kissell writes, and George R. R. Martin has an announcement of his own on his blog: the novelist, who writes one teleplay per season, will pen the Battle of the Blackwater, a huge army/navy slugfest that takes up several chapters in the second book, "A Clash of Kings" (and could be, um, expensive).

"David & Dan give me the easy stuff," he writes, presumably facetiously.

This is great news for Martin and for the show's insta-fanbase, but one question a lot of folks who've read the books have been asking is how in the world they're going to do a third season of this series. "A Storm of Swords" is 1100 pages long and there's not a page without some vital piece of information.

When I interviewed David Benioff and D. B. (Dan) Weiss a few weeks ago, they said they'd either need a much longer season (which isn't really an option given the length of the seasons in Northern Ireland, where Winter Really Is Coming, nearly all of the time), or they'd need to split the book into two parts. The latter is more likely - they'd already picked a spot for the division. All I'll say is that it would end season 3 on a particuarly heartless cliffhanger.

Meanwhile, enjoy the credits sequence from the show. One cool thing [VERY MILD SPOILER WARNING]: the titles actually change from episode to episode as Dany wanders around the lands across the narrow sea. The "camera" lands in Pentos, first, then in the next ep it's in Vaes Dothrak. The whole sequence is a nice tribute to Martin himself, who is a big collector/painter of miniatures.

-- Sam Thielman

 

You, too, can sit the Iron Throne from HBO's upcoming "Game of Thrones," at least if you're in New York City and you need to get somewhere by pedicab and you're starting in Union Square. 

The pay cabler has put up both life-sized thrones modeled after the prop from the fantasy show (which premieres on Sunday at 10 p.m., and by the way, make sure the kids are in bed), along with these marvelously absurd branded pedicabs. The thing about these guys is that if they are really, truly on-brand, they will shave even more years off your life expectancy than your average pedicab.

BEGIN NERD SECTION

If you have not read George R. R. Martin's novels (and if you made time to read the Harry Potter books and you are an adult, you really have no excuse), you are probably going to finish Sunday's premiere going "Who killed who with the what, now?"

This is acceptable. Expected, even. The books are so complex that each one has A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT SET of genealogies in the back, along with maps of various places in the fictional world (the series takes care of the latter in a pretty cool way, but I don't want to spoil it). So if you find yourself confused about who is related to who, and who is not, HBO has provided the following:

 http://viewers-guide.hbo.com/game-of-thrones/

If it were any other show I would say that it's not a good sign when you expect your audience to be confused by the number of characters, but the narrative momentum of this particular program is really something. If you don't quite know who you're supposed to be rooting for I suggest just picking someone and sticking with him or her for as long as you can. The characters everyone's been referring to as "scene-stealers" and "focus-pullers" are probably good places to start. 

END NERD SECTION

Also, Tom Colicchio helped create branded food trucks in New York and L.A. to promote this thing. Ah, the olden days, when deisel vehicles cruised around our metropolises handing out free food from five different corners of a fictional world...

In a related story, there's some serious Twitter blowback coming at the NYT's Ginia Bellafante from female fantasy fans who feel slighted by a review that appears to say they don't exist. As Laura Miller explored in the New Yorker last week, Martin's fans are an exciteable crew, and not always in a good way.

--Sam Thielman

The zillions of dollars required for TV networks to license rights to major-league sports isn't going to keep Comedy Central from horning in on the action. "Sports Show with Norm Macdonald," its "Daily Show"-esque take on pro athletics, has spawned a novel spin-off of sorts to putting its stamp on big games even outside of its Tuesday 10:30 p.m. time slot.

Comedy Central has launched "NormCast," a live audio stream of Macdonald cracking wise as he watches the same game you're watching on the TV set. The first "Normcast" covered the final round of the Masters golf tournament last week and Macdonald is coming back for more on Sunday for Game 1 of the Lakers-Hornets NBA playoffs.

"Normcast" can be streamed over the Web or via mobile app, whether Apple or Android. Check out Macdonald's Comedy Central website for more information.

 

Could we please, oh please declare a moratorium on the song "Raise Your Glass," by Pink? It was fine when the Broadway actors dressed up as the cast from "The Glee Project" sang it with Darren Criss at the Oxygen upfront, it was okay during the sizzle reel at the Style upfront, I let it slide at the TruTV upfront, but by the time Scripps rolled around this morning, I had developed a twitch.

It's a totally fine song, don't get me wrong. I just never, ever, ever want to hear it again.

Never.

Okay, here it is.

-- Sam Thielman

 

 

-Sam Thielman

As is his custom, TruTV topper Marc Juris's ad buyer presentation at the network's Tuesday night upfront took the form of a stand-up act (don't worry, he wasn't the official entertainment. Maroon 5 played when he was done). Interestingly, Juris keeps with one tried-and-true upfront tradition: the exec TelePromTer - so either somebody wrote the jokes for him, or Juris has seriously missed his calling.  His opening bit:

"Wlecome to the TruTV upfront on Broadway (at the Best Buy Theater)! It's actually under Broadway, but that's a technicality. Unlike 'Spider-Man,' I can promise you that no one will get hurt on this stage tonight. You guys (the ad buyers) have been amazing, you really have, and I mean that in the ass-kissiest way possible."

A little "take-my-wife-please" corny? Sure, but kind of a relief after all the wooden sincerity of the last few weeks. (Juris when a joke bombed: "May I remind you these tickets were free?")

While pumping parent org Turner's new sports partnership, Juris said that he'd previously thought that NCAA stood for "never communicate after Ambien," and presented the aud with a slide of an email he'd "sent Steve Koonin" on the crazy-making sleep aid that began, "I'm wearing a peach cobbler... ITS AMAAAAZING." Koonin, in attendance next to Phil Kent, nodded sadly at the image.

Everybody's been showing off their money at these things, but this presentation included a sizzle reel featuring an on-screen fall into a pool that, with a little stage FX help, splashed water into the live aud (Koonin took it in stride). 

Of managing a multiplatform brand, Juris said that in the digital space, "You have to develop a Facebook strategy, hire a Twitter team, get on YouTube, figure out Hulu, and then get bitchslapped by bloggers."

On cue ("bitchslapped") an illustrative slide popped up behind Juris featuring half a dozen blog banners, including "On the Air." Hey, Marc, don't go 'way mad...

-Sam Thielman

 

Doctor Who, specifically.

Monday evening in Gotham, BBC America held a screening of the first two episodes of the new season of "Doctor Who" at what a network rep had described a few days earlier as "a low-key gathering." Chalk it up to British understatement, or maybe underestimation of the show's rabid stateside fan base, but when the event's emcee asked the aud, "Who lined up yesterday?", cheers shook the old-fashioned rafters of the Village East Cinemas. The 850-person crowd (out of more than 1000 in line) was chanting "DOCTOR WHO! DOCTOR WHO!" by the time the lights dimmed.

Showrunner Steven Moffat, his producers, and thesps including Matt Smith (the Doctor himself) and former Royal Shakespeare Company performer Alex Kingston (River Song) fielded questions from the rowdy aud after the show, including one aspiring actress who wanted to know how to get cast on the Beeb's venerable sci-fi series.

Fans arrived wearing gear from all of the show's incarnations, from Tom Baker's colorful scarf to Smith's own fez (yes, fez), many of them brandishing toy replicas of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, a regular feature on the program. Miraculously, the net had enough branded baseball caps for everyone (bloodshed would likely have ensued without). The screening featured several of Moffat's signature plot twists, and during the Q&A he begged the aud not to give anything away. "Please, please don't tell anyone!" he said.

"You guys are so much more fun than a U.K. audience," said producer Beth Willis. "They quietly clap." The crowd went wild.

- Sam Thielman

Wednesday's "Today" featured a reunion of sorts between Matt Lauer and his former co-anchor Katie Couric, who stopped in to promote her new book.

That she was game to address the speculation frenzy as to whether she will leave CBS News is nice and all, but there's a larger ethical question to ask of NBC and Lauer: Was he the right person to conduct this interview?

Whether Lauer or "Today" like it or not, he is part of the Couric story. As recently as Sunday, The New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported on the potential pairing of Couric and Lauer in the syndication marketplace. NBCUniversal will undoubtedly bid for her services; whether that will be a package deal with Lauer remains to be seen.

Given the potential vested interest  both NBCUniversal and Lauer have in Couric, it probably would have made more sense to have someone else on the "Today" on-air team conduct this interview. Or not do the interview at all considering Couric isn't exactly hurting for promotional opportunities; she was on "The View" on Tuesday.

At the very least, Lauer could have referenced the fact that he himself has been the subject of significant speculation as far as his future with Couric. Instead, he tiptoed around this reality even as he devoted multiple questions regarding all the different routes Couric could take next. That's problematic because painting a picture of Couric's career options without mentioning himself is pure distortion, plain and simple.

That said, Lauer and Couric displayed the same easy chemistry they've always had throughout all their successful years on "Today." But putting them on air together, even under the guise of interviewer and guest, made the segment seem like a marketing platform to whet appetites for their combined services.

The latest addition to Nate 'n Al's: The Paul Ryeser (turkey, salami and cole slaw with Russian dressing.  On rye of course).

This sets the bar high for Reiser's new show, which bows Thursday on NBC, to be better than the sandwich, which looks great.

How late is Nate 'n Al's open tonight?

The Hollywood Radio & Television Society can always be relied on to bring some of the most successful executives in television together for a panel discussion at its industry luncheons, and its latest devoted to "Unscripted Hitmakers" did not disappoint. Between the likes of "American Idol" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe and "Jersey Shore" EP SallyAnn Salsano alone, broadcast and cable's biggest unscripted programs were represented.

Which made it something of a surprise that one of the more interesting moments in their wide-ranging discussion, moderated by former CNN talk-show host Larry King, focused not on the art of hitmaking but on the bombs that are bound to happen to even the best in TV production.

"Sometimes it's your favorite shows that don't work," confessed Salsano, who thought she had a sure thing when her company, 495 Prods., produced "Texas Quints" for TLC, only to be overshadowed by another TLC show about multiple births, "Jon and Kate Plus 8." ( "Our couple got along," joked Salsano of the show's fatal flaw.)

Thom Beers, executive producer of "Deadliest Catch," alluded to a more recent ratings struggle: his critically acclaimed new series "Coal" is not catching on at Spike to his chagrin. "The audience is not getting there yet," he said. "They're looking for a different type of program."

J.D. Roth, executive producer of "The Biggest Loser," noted that sometimes circumstances far beyond an industry exec's control can wreak havoc on a show. He cited his own 2008 series "Opportunity Knocks," which brought a light touch to the game show by testing a family about how well they knew each other. But when the show's release coincided with several days of massive losses on Wall Street, Roth believes "Knocks" seemed out of touch with the times.

"No one cared about some mom's favorite ice cream flavor when you just lost three-quarters of your net worth," he said.

After each producer took turns discussing their bombs, Beers had the last word and shared this keen observation. "None of us ever blame the show," he said. "It's the f**king audience!"

Showtime has released this three-minute preview clip from the pilot of "Homeland," its upcoming series starring Claire Danes as a CIA officer who isn't buying what the CIA is selling. Damian Lewis and Mandy Patinkin co-star.

 

The buzz for upcoming "Game of Thrones" is strong enough to make me think I'm living in a beehive.  A cold, fantastical beehive.

Queen bee HBO has decided to amplify that buzz by saturating its various channels with the "Thrones" premiere on its airwaves. Following Sunday's 9 p.m. launch, HBO will not only repeat the 65-minute first episode at 10:05 p.m. and 11:15 p.m., the paybler will also air it simulataneously on at 9 p.m. Monday on HBO, HBO2, HBO Signature, HBO Comedy, HBO Zone and HBO Latino. 

HBO2 will then three-peat the episode Monday at 9:00 p.m. 10:05 p.m. and 11:15 p.m.

Advance reviews of the series have been positive, almost exceedingly so. Brian Lowry of Variety called it "inordinately rewarding," while Jace Lacob of Televisionary managed to go a step farther with "insanely fantastic."

I'm finding myself an outlier, I'm afraid to say. It's weird, because I love my HBO, but as with "Mildred Pierce," I find the pace of "Thrones" plodding at times, lacking electricity. The opening sequence is arresting and there are definitely moments of intensity, but through the three episodes that I've screened, the story isn't making up for the almost complete joylessness in this world.

Many of the characters are too loathsome to easily invest in — two-dimensionally evil — while likeable patriarch protagonist Ned Stark (Sean Bean) seems to react to events more than drive them. And in episode two, there's a plot point involving Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) that was so appalling, I almost quit the show right then and there.

I'm not expecting or even aiming to turn the tide of enthusiasm for "Thrones," and I plan to keep watching for now. But I just thought I'd offer a little voice in the wintry wilderness of "Thrones": If you find it's not the greatest program ever, you're not alone.

 

Watch HBO's Making Of clip:

When "Law & Order: LA" returns from a four-month break tonight, it will be a very different show than the one viewers might remember. After the series was pulled from the air following eight low-rated episodes, three cast leads were dropped and Alfred Molina was shifted from a district attorney who appeared every other week to a lead detective in every episode. If that's not enough of a lurch, the show is bringing in one of the DAs from the original "Law & Order," played by Alana de la Garza, to join the cast.

It's just one of the ways that the show is now strenuously embracing its "L&O" heritage after initially attempting to differentiate itself. They're even restoring the classic sounds (da-dung!) and visuals that fans have come to expect from the franchise.

And so goes another example of one of the TV industry's most cherished procedures: the "retool." That's when a show gets some significant creative tweaks in hopes of reviving its ratings fortunes or to head off signs of sagging audience levels before they occur.

But "LOLA" needn't look far to get a sense of how easily retooling can go awry. Just have a gander at another NBC Monday night entry, "The Event."

NBC had high hopes for this heavily serialized action drama in the fall, but those hopes were for naught. Ratings troubles led to "Event" being benched in November, which gave the network ample time to tinker with this promising series before bringing it back in February.

After a few months of episodes that have given "Event" enough time to demonstrate its remodeled self, it's plain to see that this series just wasn't able to right itself creatively--and the increasingly woeful ratings are proof enough of that.  

What "LOLA" could learn from "Event" is that it takes a lot more than just adding some interesting actors to fix a show.

"Event" hoped to pique new interest by drafting Rogert Bart from "Desperate Housewives'" and Virginia Madsen of "Sideways" fame. But here's the thing about luring in interesting names like theirs; if they're not given something to actually do on the show, there's no point.

Both Bart and Madsen are curiously adrift on "Event": As chief of staff to president Elias Martinez (Blair Underwood), Bart has barely figured into the show's White House-based intrigue. As the wife of a widowed Senator who takes over his seat, Madsen has been consigned to basically doing a variation on the same scene over and over again: Tense faceoffs with President Martinez inside the Oval Office. Both actors seem to have been awkwardly shoehorned in with little purpose.

The sad thing is "Event" has a pretty impressive cast to begin with, including Clifton Collins, Jr., Zeljko Ivanek and Hal Holbrook. The show killed off Collins a few weeks ago (though on "Event" you can't really presume anyone is truly dead) and Holbrook might as well be six feet under; though his villain character holds the key to the program's entire alien mystery, "Event" frustrates by letting him reveal very little.

The "Event" problem has always been there's too much going on; adding more characters was probably the last thing it should have done. Sometimes more doesn't necessarily equal better.

Tied in with the reunion of the "Welcome Back, Kotter" cast on the TV Land Awards (scheduled to air Apirl 17), ABC News has an interview with the cast, most prominently John Travolta and Gabe Kaplan. Ron Palillo, unfortunately, was under the weather.

Stop NBCUniversal before it brands again.

TV Guide Magazine reported Friday that the NBCU-owned cable channel Sleuth has been rechristened Cloo TV. That's Cloo as in Clue, the name NBCU apparently couldn't use for the same reason it's getting rid of Sleuth: Those kind of generic titles are tough to trademark and don't show up first in Google search results.

Perhaps we should have expected this kind of corporate lunacy from a company so intolerant of that yawning chasm between the C and U in its own name that it needlessly smooshed the two words together.

NBCU already displayed a propensity for mangling proper spellings in service of inelegantly lettered but phonetically correct brands when it renamed its network SciFi as Syfy a few years ago. Apparently that act of insanity was not a one-off occurrence.

But where does this madness end? Apply NBCU's logic to the rest of its cable stable and it would seem there's more changing on the way. How on earth can you spell Bravo any differently than it's already spelled? Will Oxygen become Ahksajin? Why not just get it over with at horror network Chiller and call it EEEK! or AAAAH!

And don't be surprised if the Sleuth-to-Cloo transformation unintentionally opens up another problem. Just think back to what was previously the cable industry's craziest story before Syfy came along: the 2003 suit filed against Viacom by Spike Lee, who claimed Viacom was ripping off his name to rebrand erstwhile cable network TNN as Spike TV.

Naming a channel Cloo TV is just begging a lawsuit from George Clooney.

This very well-executed ad for New Era (link via Yahoo! Sports) featuring Alec Baldwin of "30 Rock" and John Krasinski of "The Office" illustrates the challenges of timing: 1) Krasinski is talking trash on behalf of a Boston Red Sox team that has started the season 0-6, and 2) the "You will be dead in October" line, though it is tempered immediately after, is a little jarring in the wake of last week's violence at Dodger Stadium that left a Giants fan in a coma.

Still, Baldwin's analogies about the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry are well with the view.

It is distinctly possible that one of TV's most legendary talkers doesn't understand a relatively simple word: "no."

How else to explain the rather mystifying career choices Larry King has been making lately in his post-CNN life. The 77-year-old must simply be agreeing to every offer that comes his way.

Perhaps the CEO of breathmint-manufacturer BreathGemz has naked photos of King and his wife, Shawn Southwick-King. What other reason could there be for the pair to appear in ad (see above) for the obscure product that seems to have all the class of a 3 a.m. infomercial on deep cable.

On April 5, King turned up at a fundraiser for the Jewish organization Chabad. That wouldn't be anything too unusual considering Chabad has pretty strong ties with a range of Jewish celebrities here in Los Angeles. But the event King attended was in the media mecca of St. Petersburg, Fla.

Perhaps the highlight of the week came the next night on Conan O'Brien's TBS late-night show, where King made a cameo. Which is great if he wasn't poking fun at himself by agreeing to appear in a skit in which he was hosting a show from the rafters of O'Brien's set. See the video here.

Up next: He's agree to sit in for Tavis Smiley on Thursday and Friday to guest-host the PBS show. Only Smiley will be there, too; King has agreed to turn the tables on the host and make Smiley the guest on his own show.

Repeat after me, Larry: "Nnnnnnnnooooooo."

Mitch Metcalf, who recently ankled NBC as its head of scheduling, has launched website Showbuzz Daily with partner Mitch Salem.

The site offers box office analysis and film reviews. Metcalf has been tracking film releases as a side project since 1994.

"ShowbuzzDaily is a website written by insiders, for insiders ... and everyone who wants to follow movies and the business like an insider," said Metcalf.

Added Salem, who has been a senior business affairs executive and attorney for several TV companies: "The site began as a box office and movie review service for select industry professionals, and the response we got was so strong, we realized there was broad appeal in combining sharp commentary on movie quality with a real-world business context."

Metcalf added that the site won't affect his future career decisions.

"This has always been a hobby and the site will continue as such when I return to work," he said.

 

 

Variety reporter Jeff Sneider's news that Sofia Vergara of "Modern Family" was in talks for the female lead in the upcoming "Three Stooges" pic immediately took me back to this episode of "Seinfeld" with Gina Gallego.

The clip above isn't the exact one I was looking for, but it sets the tone for what followed:

GINA: I do not like your toothbrush. There are no bristles.

JERRY: You can say what you want about me, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to stand here while you insult my toothbrush.

GINA: It is too small for someone with such a big mouth [kisses Jerry]. Let me ask you. What will you do if Martin wakes up? Run away like a mouse?

JERRY: No, more like the Three Stooges at the end of every movie.

GINA: Who are these Stooges you speak of?

JERRY: They’re a comedy team.

GINA: Tell me about them. Everything.

JERRY: Well, they’re three kind of funny looking guys and they hit each other a lot.

GINA: You will show me the Stooges?

JERRY (in her accent): I will show you the Stooges. 

On the Air chatted with “Lights Out” showrunner Warren Leight to discuss his FX boxing drama that, due to low ratings, won’t be making it to round two.

This post will contains spoilers from Tuesday's season finale. So be sure to watch before you read.

How are you feeling a couple of weeks later?
I’m still disheartened. When you’re in production it’s mostly about survival. You hope you’re doing good work, but it must be like med school or something. You hope because you’ve been well-trained that you’re getting through without killing somebody. That’s what production is.

I had great plans for Elizabeth Marvel and Bill Irwin’s characters and that relationship. I had interesting plans for Johnny reacting to his brother’s success, which is kind of what he wants and kind of what he dreads, and what was going to happen to that marriage.

But after that first week’s ratings you must have felt like it wasn’t going well?
It’s not like I couldn’t see it coming at all after that first week, but on some level, until they pull the plug, you’re always holding out. There was a lot of nice buzz, and we had the sense that we had done our job well and had a compelling season of television put together. FX is a good team, but was it the right show for that network? There’s a lot less violence. … It’s a show about a boxer, but there aren’t a lot of guns. That doesn’t get you past the teaser for “Sons of Anarchy.” The FX audience is young, male and action-oriented, and we had a strong family drama against the backdrop of boxing, but it only had three boxing matches the whole season.

Now I wish it was on Showtime. I think there were more stories to be told and the cast was only going to get better. I think I got better as the season went on. The first season is a high-wire act, a heavy lift and you’re still trying to figure out the story, the actors, how you shoot it and how you make it work. A lot of challenges were figured out, and now we know what we’re doing but we don’t get to apply that knowledge. That’s tough.

Looking back would you have done anything different?
We shot in a very naturalistic way. Should we have gone for a more glamour approach? What if it was a different poster, something that didn’t alienate women from the get go? I don’t know if it would’ve mattered, but I think Tuesday night at 10 was a mountain. It was up against seven strong reality shows and seven very good scripted TV shows. Five or six episodes in I said to FX, ‘Do you want to try any other time slot?’ I guess they can’t really do that on cable as effortlessly. I guess what I would’ve done differently is banned reality TV.

At the end of the day, the show without Holt (McCallany) doesn’t make sense to me. Even if you’ve had Mark Wahlberg starring in the show, Holt was the guy. Anything else would’ve screwed up the work, and I take solace in that. I’m proud of the series but that’s how it goes. I’m sad, but this is not a tragedy. There’s enough of those in the world. This is just sort of a, “Well, shit.”

I’d be glad to blame myself for doing something wrong. I kind of thought people could relate to this guy because we’ve all gone through a difficult few years and he’s gone through them but maybe people don’t want to think about that right now. It seems like the shows we were losing out to — the reality shows certainly — are kind of about escapism or about feeling better than these losers you’re watching, as opposed to identifying.

Obviously if you’re on HBO or Showtime, the critical response the show got is enough to sustain, but if you’re on basic cable the critical response just makes it more bittersweet. 
 
Are other networks interested at all?
There all phone calls being made, some conversations going on. That’s tougher than it might have been a few years ago. The attempts haven’t panned out.

What went into the decision in the last episode as to whether he wins or loses this fight against Death Row?
Do people want to watch 13 episodes of unrelenting trial and tribulation for a lead and then have him lose? From a character point of view, Death Row doesn’t want it as badly. Lights has killed himself, sacrificed himself, compromised himself — done everything he can to get to this fight. Maybe he just wants it more. The other night with the Cleveland Cavaliers winning against the Miami Heat, how is that possible? They wanted it more. They had more to prove. They’d been embarrassed the last time.
We know about Lights. We know his character can take the punch and get up. His heart is never in question. He’s going to get hurt and get up. Is that the same for Death Row at this point in his career?

I talked to a couple of fighters who got off to slow starts and were outclassed and outweighed, but the guy didn’t put them away soon enough. These underdogs developed confidence as it went on and surprise you by the end of the fight. If you don’t put the guy away early, if you throw everything at him and he doesn’t go down, you lose confidence. And that’s what we wanted for that last fight.

We looked at a lot of different fights. One was the Marvin Hagler-Tommy Hearns fight, and there’s a moment when you can’t believe either of them is standing, but before that there’s a moment where it looks like Hearns is going to win. If you withstand that barrage, that other guy in a sense punches himself out.

With Lights there’s an intuitive intelligence to that character, and there’s a moment in that fight where he knows the momentum is shifting. In the six months leading up to the fight, Lights has been tested more and it strengthens his resolve.

I would’ve loved to see Eamonn Walker’s character, Ed Romeo, come back in a second season.
He was gorgeous. He would’ve come back and probably be training a guy who’s coming after Lights. He was a complicated guy. He left us wanting more, which is better than overstaying your welcome.

Would Lights have won if Eamonn had continued to train him?
I think one of the reasons Lights won the fight is that he internalized a lot of what Eamonn’s character taught him. There’s little references in the episodes after – there was stuff that guy gave him in the time they had together that he needed to hear. I don’t think a guy like that constitutionally could have separated from his family.

A lot of what Eamonn’s character came in and said was the truth. One way of looking at that family was, ‘They’re living off of you and they’re leaches,” something Lights is not ready to hear. They’re your family no matter what. It was a litmus test for what you think about your own family. 

Was Johnny redeemable or was it part of his DNA to be a screw up?
It’s sort of funny. There are several moments of redemption for him during the season but no one noticed them. There are times when he is ready to sacrifice himself for his brother, such as the car accident when he says he’ll go to jail. As much as Lights is in a bad family situation, it’s got to be frustrating to be the brother of the former heavyweight champion of the world and you’ve been the fuck up.

And he was a good boxer at one point but his career faded. His career faded nominally because of a detached retina, but really because he didn’t have the heart. He was the one that Dad believed was going to go all the way. Dad always underestimates Lights, so Lights has to prove him wrong, and Daddy thinks Johnny walks on water but Johnny can’t live up to those expectations. Lights had more to prove. Johnny was naturally gifted.

For season two, we had talked about Johnny not being able to cope with Lights’ victory and trying to carve out a place for himself in the MMA world. Right now, MMA is not legal in New York, and we thought to put a cage in that gym would be an interesting place to go.

A critique of mine would’ve been that I thought there were points when Theresa was too hard on Lights.
The funny thing is, a lot of people have said that to me, but he lies to her 95% of the time. With Johnny it’s overt, but we like Lights so much. She has every reason to believe they’re set for life. She’s going to med school and not paying attention to money and anybody who doesn’t believe that’s realistic has never been in a marriage. She knows he’s not going to box, he’s withholding information about his medical and financial history to her, he’s lying to her about negotiations that are in progress. There’s a lot going on and he’s been lying for a while. The family situation had been worsening for two or three years, and it’s not just woeful denial on her part. He’s been hiding it.

He is such a likable character, you blame her.
You’ve blamed Johnny and Theresa. Lights broke a dentist’s arm. He punches a yuppie nearly to death in a bar. He ends his daughter’s childhood, basically. In the confession scene, that’s the one thing he can’t forgive himself for.

Holt didn’t want to play it that way. He’s a great guy. I specifically wrote in the script, ‘This is the moment at which Daniella’s childhood ends.’ But Holt is a very nice guy and his first impulse was to be patient. I said, ‘You have to shut her down or it’s all going to end. For Holt to get in the ring and get punched for 14 straight hours, no problem, that’s no problem, but for him to have to yell at a kid, it’s the last thing the actor wants to do. Not because he’s protecting his character, it just goes against his character. And that’s what I think audiences are picking up on.

How did the kids take the news about the show?
That’s a hard call, calling kid actors to say their show is canceled. What do I say, ‘The show has gone off to a farm’? They were very good. Kids on TV can be annoying. We were very lucky with the kids we got.

 

The "untitled project" is a common feature of any pilot season, the networks letting decisions on names linger like the proud parents of Baby Boy Smith. Now, NBC has finally christened (or re-christened) several of its candidates for the 2011-12 TV season — not that the names can't be changed later.

-- The upcoming Stephen Gaghan drama starring Jimmy Smits has had its title changed from "SILA" (Special Investigations L.A.) to "Metro."

-- NBC's comedy from Emily Spivey (with Lorne Michaels on board as an exec producer as well) is now "Alpha Mom," starring Christina Applegate, Will Arnett and Maya Rudolph.

-- The untitled Dan Goor project toplined by Jean Smart has been baptized "Family Practice."

-- Kari Lizer's untitled comedy with Sarah Paulson and Adrian Pasdar gets the name "Help Wanted."

-- For the Whitney Cummings project, they're keeping it simple with "Whitney."

-- Another new title: "Best Friends Forever," starring co-creators Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair as characters named Lennon and Jessica. This is the comedy from Scot Armstrong and Ravi Nandan.

Meanwhile, there are some interesting names in the NBC pilot director mix ... here's a roundup.

Drama: Michael Mayer ("Spring Awakening") for "Smash," John Melfi ("Sex and the City") for "A. Mann's World," Jeffrey Reiner ("Friday Night Lights") for "Wonder Woman," Michael Rymer ("Battlestar Galactica") for "17th Precinct," David Slade ("Twilight: Eclipse") for "REM," Alan Taylor ("Mad Men" for "The Playboy Club."

Comedy: Andy Ackerman ("Seinfeld") for "Whitney," James Griffiths ("Episodes") for "Alpha Mom," Todd Holland ("Malcolm in the Middle") for "Free Agents," Rob Greenberg ("Frasier") for "Love Lives," Nicole Holofcener ("Please Give") for "I Hate That I Love You"), Michael Patrick Jann ("Flight of the Conchords") for "Brave New World," Gail Mancuso ("30 Rock") for "Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea," Fred Savage ("Party Down") for "Best Friends Forever," Michael Spiller ("Modern Family") for "My LIfe as an Experiment," Ted Wass ("Rules of Engagement") for "Family Practice," Craig Zisk ("Nurse Jackie") for both "Bent" and "Help Wanted."

Between "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "The Middle," forgive Patricia Heaton if she'd like try a role that doesn't call on her to be a sitcom mommy. No wonder she's game for the upcoming Web series "Versailles," in which she depicts the fictional alcoholic actress Evelyn Anders (coming to MyDamnChannel.com on May 9th). Sure, the fact that her real-life husband, David Hunt, is the director of "Versailles" may have played into her decision. But don't discount the fact that she's acting opposite some top-notch comedic talent here, with Fred Willard and William H. Macy also on board the project.

The AP tonight added its heft to the growing list of "sources say" reports that Katie Couric is ready to give up the anchor chair at "The CBS Evening News."

It's still not clear whether she will leave the CBS fold entirely as she fields offers for a syndicated yakker targeted for fall 2012. It's also not clear who will follow her at "Evening News." With "Mad Men's" fate settled, it seems like Katie Couric watch is the next round-the-clock reporting vigil for TV journos.

According to the AP's David Bauder:

Katie Couric is leaving her anchor post at "CBS Evening News" less than five years after becoming the first woman to solely helm a network TV evening newscast.

A network executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Couric has not officially announced her plans, reported the move to The Associated Press on Sunday night. The 54-year-old anchor is expected to launch a syndicated talk show in 2012 and several companies are vying for her services. ...

No departure date has been set for Couric. Her CBS News contract expires on June 4.

"We're having ongoing discussions with Katie Couric," said CBS News spokeswoman Sonya McNair on Sunday. "We have no announcements to make at this time. Until we do, we will continue to decline comment on rumor or speculation."

Said Matthew Hiltzik, Couric's spokesman: "Ditto."

Still, discussions are already under way about who will replace Couric on the evening newscast. Russ Mitchell, Scott Pelley and Harry Smith are among the internal CBS candidates, and new CBS News Chairman Jeff Fager is also expected to look outside the company.

News reports indicate that the opening night of Charlie Sheen's live tour tonight, on a scale of 1 to 10 men, wouldn't even get 2 1/2.

"The 70-minute show hadn't even ended when the first reviews were in," wrote The Associated Press, "and they were brutal."

EW.com's James Hibberd live-blogged the event, chronciling how the heady anticipation (illustrated by the image above that Sheen tweeted) dissolved into a cascade of wide-eyed disappointment and boos.

"The show is now an unmitigated disaster," Hibberd writes. "People are leaving early. Attendee Chris Acchione, who came all the way from Toronto for the show, says, 'He’s making a fool of himself. Is there a bigger loser in the world? He’ll be [begging] Chuck Lorre for his job back by the end of the week.' ”

That's probably not the case, but it's not looking too promising for Chicago, the next stop on the tour Sunday.

Ed Helms is set to make a guest appearance on FX’s new laffer “Wilfred.”

Co-star of “The Office” and lead of bigscreen pic “Cedar Rapids” will have a one-episode stint in the sitcom scheduled to debut in June. “Wilfred” stars Elijah Wood as a depressed and unemployed worker who imagines seeing a man in a dog costume.

Show is an Australian import that co-stars Jason Gann, who co-created the show and is reprising his role as Wilfred.

Rashida Jones of “Parks and Recreation” and Chris Klein have previously been announced as appearing on “Wilfred,” which will be paired in the timeslot just previous to the second season of “Louie.”

HBO has secured season premiere dates for three of its longtime series.

A 12-episode fourth season of "True Blood" will begin June 26. Created by Alan Ball, show features a large ensemble cast that includes Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer and Alexander Skarsgard.

Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" begins its eighth season July 10. "Curb," which was shot both in Los Angeles and New York, will air 10 episodes and features guest stars Ricky Gervais, Michael McKean and Harry Hamlin. JB Smoove and Dave Einstein also return.

"Entourage" will launch its eighth and final season July 24. All of the regular cast is set to finish out the run, with Andrew Dice Clay and "The Big Bang Theory" star Johnny Galecki scheduled to make appearances.

 

Every so often – actually, all too often – readers of stories in Variety will somehow confuse themselves into thinking that the journalist writing about a film or TV show actually has a job on that TV show. I truly have no idea why, unless they think that the media actually runs the industry, or that the media is just the public relations arm of the industry (hold that last thought).

Anyway, the premiere of "Mobbed" on Fox in primetime Thursday obviously whipped around the brains of several in its audience, because at exactly 7 p.m. Pacific (the moment the show ended on the East Coast), I started getting e-mails from people with the subject head "Fox, Mandel get 'Mobbed,'" relating to the news story I wrote Feb. 18 about the new flash mob surprise series. A host of people who couldn't take a breath between Googling "Fox Mobbed" and realizing that an e-mail address they found at the bottom of a story about the show wasn't necessarily the casting guru.

The final straw came from the New Jersey man who called my cellphone (the number having been left on my work voicemail greeting) to tell me about how great it would be to create a Fox-Mandel mob at his daughter's wedding. He called at 6:05 a.m., having never considered the possibility of this thing called "time zones" – or perhaps just not caring.

Look, we all make mistakes – me included – but this doesn't seem like too hard a lesson to learn. If you're going to wake someone up about a TV show, wake the producers (conveniently listed in the story) who are making all the money from it, not the poor sap who is merely writing about it.