Variety reports that CBS has given early renewals to GHOST WHISPERER, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, CRIMINAL MINDS, NCIS, COLD CASE, WITHOUT A TRACE, NUMBERS, TWO AND A HALF MEN, THE AMAZING RACE, SURVIVOR, and all three CSIs for next season. None of those pick-ups are surprises, what’s news is that CBS decided to make those decisions so early. Typically, networks wait another two months before making those announcements. The fates of COURTING ALEX, STILL STANDING, CLOSE TO HOME, KING OF QUEENS, 48 HOURS, and YES DEAR are still up-in-the-air. LOVE MONKEY is a dead monkey and there are a handful of show mid-season shows set to premiere in the coming weeks.
NBC has officially cancelled BOOK OF DANIEL, which they yanked a few months ago after just three episodes. The lesson I’ve learned from this is not to do a series featuring Jesus as a character (thus forcing me to scrub my terrific pitch JESUS P.I.).
TNT has canceled WANTED but picked up SAVED to pair with CLOSER or THIEF. The lesson I’ve learned from this is that TNT wants more one-word titled shows. Two other pilots are still in contention: TALK TO ME and GRACE. My money is on GRACE (If I were the producers of TALK TO ME, I’d quickly retitle it TALKER).
HBO has renewed DEADWOOD for a fourth season before the third has even aired. The lesson I’ve learned from this is that the fucking execs at fucking HBO can do whatever the fuck they want and buy the fucking shows that they fucking enjoy (and that I fucking enjoy, too).
UPDATE 3-8-06: TV Critic Aaron Barnhart reports on his blog that CBS has axed "King of Queens," "Still Standing," and "Yes, Dear" and new shows
"Close To Home" and "Out of Practice."
Boy, the way they’re wrapping up
CBS’s business, you’d think Les Moonves and company had another network
to run.
Any thoughts on WANTED? I watched several episodes, hoping to get hooked, but I never did.
Personally, I think if they REALLY wanted to do a Jesus TV series, they ought to do one called, “CSI: Nazareth.”
Uh, Lee, there’s a rather critical omission in your update: “…CBS has ________ “King of Queens,”…”
I must say that Close to Home comes as a surprise to me after so much was made of the ratings bump it got when it switched timeslots with Threshold. On the bright side, I prefer Jennifer Finnigan’s character on The Dead Zone. And Christian Kane was terribly under utilized; hopefully it’s not too late for him to be cast on something else for next season.
Mark