And the Next Cancelled Show is...

[Admiral Bear]

It was pretty dull. Far too serious, adult and "real world" to be funny. The Miss Piggy chat show format just didn't work for me at all. I think I laughed twice. I've not bothered with the other episodes.

Are the DVDs of the 70s original still available? Now, that was classic.

Yes, Amazon has the first three seasons of The Muppet Show for sale. The last two seasons have not been released.

Found them on Amazon UK for a tenner each. I'd really like the Roger Moore episode. I seem to recall he really threw himself in to it.

Edit: Just found it on youtube in its entirety. Season 5 epsiode, so not on released DVD, although the YT video looks like it's from DVD, and it has a Henson Jr intro.

 

[Sparky]

‘Longmire’ Renewed For Season 5 By Netflix

Netflix has picked up a fifth season of Longmire. The renewal was announced on the series’ Facebook page: “We’ve never been one to back down from a fight. Longmire will return to Netflix for Season 5.”

Netflix last year rescued the Western crime drama when A&E canceled it after three seasons, following a passionate save-the-show campaign by fans.

Based on the novels by Craig Johnson, Longmire‘s current fourth season centers on Walt Longmire as he succumbs to his darker impulses after finding out who was behind the murder of his wife, and takes off in pursuit of the killer.

Longmire stars Robert Taylor, along with Katee Sackhoff, Lou Diamond Phillips, Bailey Chase, Cassidy Freeman and Adam Bartley. Gerald McRaney and Ally Walker guest star. Longmire is produced by The Shephard/Robin Company in association with Warner Horizon Television. Hunt Baldwin, John Coveny, Greer Shephard and Michael M. Robin serve as executive producers.

Woot!. Longmire is awesome. So glad Netflix rescued it.

 

[Karzak]

It's been a big day for TV news, that's for sure.

Apart from STAR TREK coming back as a new TV series, we have...

‘Search Party’ Comedy Starring Alia Shawkat Ordered To Series By TBS

TBS has given a series pickup to Search Party, a dark comedy about a group of four self-absorbed 20-somethings who come together when a former college acquaintance mysteriously disappears.

Search Party centers on Dory (Shawkat), a fragile, frustrated, life-long doormat who’s not particularly proud of her impact on the world, especially since her greatest accomplishment to date is organizing clothes to be donated to Goodwill for her wealthy employer. Dory feels stuck in a stale and disconnected relationship with her boyfriend, Drew (Reynolds), a kind of clueless, complacent, spoon-fed doofus who just really loves Christmas. She also feels removed from her closest friends, Elliott (Early), a self-diagnosed narcissist who loves adding job titles to his designer-stylist-curator multi-hyphenate lifestyle, and Portia (Hagner), an actress always struggling to balance the challenging demands of chronic insecurity and pathological self-absorption.

Also:

‘Greatest American Hero’ Remake From Rick Famuyiwa, Phil Lord & Chris Miller Gets Fox Production Commitment

EXCLUSIVE: In a preemptive buy, Fox has given a pilot production commitment to Greatest American Hero, a single-cameRick Famuyiwara comedy inspired by Steven J. Cannell’s 1981 cult classic. It hails from Dope writer-director Rick Famuyiwa, Phil Lord & Chris Miller– the directing duo behind the successful franchise based on another ’80s TV series by Cannell, 21 Jump Street — and Cannell’s daughter, television director Tawnia McKiernan. 20th Century Fox TV, where Lord and Miller are under an overall deal, is the studio.

And finally...

‘Van Helsing’ Series Picked Up By Syfy

‘Van Helsing,’ a 13-episode sci-fi series from Nomadic Pictures (Fargo, Hell On Wheels), has been acquired by Syfy. Neil LaBute serves as writer/showrunner on the drama, a new take on the Dracula myth.

Van Helsing, which begins production in January 2016 in Vancouver, BC for a fall 2016 premiere, centers on Vanessa Helsing, the daughter of famous vampire hunter and Dracula nemesis Abraham Van Helsing. She is resurrected five years in the future to find out that vampires have taken over the world and that she possesses unique power over them. She is humanity’s last hope to lead an offensive to take back what has been lost.

 

[Mr Light]

^^

Hopefully they still have that town set from the 2004 movie sitting around!

 

[Karzak]

Blindspot, Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., Law & Order: SVU Get Extra Episode From NBC

NBC is adding some scripted original inventory, ordering an extra episode each from its strongest drama series, freshman Blindspot and the Dick Wolf trio of Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D. and Law & Order: SVU. The four series’ seasons have now gone up from 22 to 23 episodes.

While expanded runs are standard practice for the Wolf procedurals — all owned by NBC– which often produce 24 episodes a season, the move is unusual for a first-year drama that has a dense mythology and/or comes from an outside studio, which is the case of the Warner Bros. TV-produced Blindspot. The previous breakout NBC dramas not owned by the network, WBTV’s heavily serialized Revolution and Sony TV’s The Blacklist, produced 20 and 22 episodes, respectively, in their first seasons.

NBC has new dramas Shades of Blue, Heartbreaker and Game of Silence on tap for midseason. Additionally, the latest addition to the Chicago franchise, Chicago Med, premieres Nov. 17. The network also needs to make a decision on ordering back episodes of sophomore drama The Mysteries of Laura.

 

[Karzak]

Also:

BBC Greenlights TV Series Based on Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’

LONDON — The BBC’s flagship channel, BBC One, has commissioned an initial eight-part series based on Philip Pullman’s epic fantasy novel in three parts, “His Dark Materials,” from Bad Wolf and New Line Cinema, which will be produced in Wales.

“His Dark Materials” is the first commission from Bad Wolf, a U.K./U.S. production company founded by former BBC executives Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner, and co-sited in South Wales and Los Angeles. Bad Wolf just partnered with HBO in the U.S. for a non-exclusive first-look deal, as Variety exclusively reported. The show is New Line’s first move into British television. The series will be executive produced by Pullman, Tranter and Gardner for Bad Wolf, Toby Emmerich and Carolyn Blackwood for New Line Cinema, and Deborah Forte for Scholastic.

Pullman said: “It’s been a constant source of pleasure to me to see this story adapted to different forms and presented in different media. It’s been a radio play, a stage play, a film, an audiobook, a graphic novel — and now comes this version for television.”

He added: “In recent years we’ve seen how long stories on television, whether adaptations (‘Game of Thrones’) or original (‘The Sopranos,’ ‘The Wire’), can reach depths of characterization and heights of suspense by taking the time for events to make their proper impact and for consequences to unravel. And the sheer talent now working in the world of long-form television is formidable.

“For all those reasons I’m delighted at the prospect of a television version of ‘His Dark Materials.’ I’m especially pleased at the involvement of Jane Tranter, whose experience, imagination, and drive are second to none. As for the BBC, it has no stronger supporter than me. I couldn’t be more pleased with this news.”

 

[Mr Light]

I'm really curious to see His Dark Materials as a mini-series. The movie really captured my imagination and got me to read the books and I'd love to see the ending put on film.

 

[Mach5]

The next cancelled show is Star Trek (2017). Because it's shit, violates canon, isn't true to Roddeberry's vision and they got the Klingons all wrong.

 

[CorporalClegg]

^
You forgot the magic isn't sciencey enough.

 

[Karzak]

‘BattleBots’ Renewed For Second Season By ABC

The battling robots are coming back. ABC has picked up a second season of BattleBots, the epic robot fighting tournament that was revived by the network in 2015.

The summer reality series, from Whalerock Industries and Ed Roski and Greg Munson, creators of the original BattleBots franchise, ranked No. 1 in its time period in total viewers (5.4 million) and adults 18-49 (1.7/5), as well as across all key male demos in its first season. BattleBots improved its hour year-to-year by double-digit percentages with total viewers (10%), adults 18-49 (31%), men 18-34 (63%), men 18-49 (73%) and men 25-54 (69%). In addition, the series was Sunday’s top-rated broadcast show of the summer with kids 2-11, according to ABC and Nielsen stats.

The second season again will see robots waging battle in a single-elimination tournament until a champion is crowned. Next season, the tournament will double in size and feature an expanded field to include expert roboticists, garage builders, families on a mission and past winners returning to defend their turf, ABC says.

This version of Battlebots is laughable in its seriousness, as opposed to the fun campiness of the...
Lloyd Braun, Chris Cowan, Ed Roski, Greg Munson and Aaron Catling executive produce. MGM Television will distribute the program internationally.

‘Guilt’ & ‘Beyond’ Get Series Orders From ABC Family

ABC Family, which is rebranding as Freeform in January, is keeping its promise to expand its original programming slate with series orders for two new scripted dramas: Guilt and Beyond.

Guilt, reminiscent of the Amanda Knox story, is an hourlong drama about a young American woman in London who becomes the prime suspect in the savage murder of her roommate. As the investigation unfolds, viewers will question whether she’s a naïve young girl whose poor decisions are being magnified under the ruthless glare of the British tabloids or whether she’s a sociopath who brutally murdered her friend.

Guilt is written, created and executive produced by The Game Plan’s Kathryn Price and Nichole Millard. Stephen McPherson exec produces. Guilt is a co-production of Sea to Sky Entertainment and BV Family Productions in association with ABC Family. Gary Fleder directed the pilot.

Beyond is a one-hour drama about a young man who wakes up from a coma after 12 years and discovers new supernatural abilities that propel him into the middle of a dangerous conspiracy. From Imperative Entertainment and Automatik, Beyond is created, written and executive produced by Adam Nussdorf. Tim Kring, Zak Kadison, Justin Levy and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones executive produce. Lee Toland Krieger directed the pilot.

Guilt and Beyond join the recently announced pickups of a fifth season for Switched At Birth, a season 2 of Monica The Medium and drama pilot Famous in Love.

 

[137th Gebirg]

‘BattleBots’ Renewed For Second Season By ABC

Awesome! Love that show!

 

[Karzak]

‘Z Nation’ Renewed For Season 3 On Syfy

‘Maron’ Gets Season 4 Pickup On IFC

Amazon Hands Series Orders To Kids Shows ‘Dino Dana’, ‘The Kicks’ & ‘Lost In Oz’

 

[bigdaddy]

So has this become the place for show renewals too?

Shockingly nothing has officially been canceled so far this season. If only networks let shows air before canceling them in the past (cough Wonderfalls cough).

 

[Karzak]

So has this become the place for show renewals too?

Why not? It would seem to follow that renewals would be of interest as much as cancellations.

Shockingly nothing has officially been canceled so far this season. If only networks let shows air before canceling them in the past (cough Wonderfalls cough).

The trend this season seems definitely to be "reduced order is the new canceled." The trades have been talking about it all week.

And I agree 1000% re: Wonderfalls!

 

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

So has this become the place for show renewals too?

Why not? It would seem to follow that renewals would be of interest as much as cancellations.

You're denying us our schadenfreude, Karzak.

 

[Karzak]

‘Blindspot’ Renewed For Second Season By NBC

While some of the new fall series have yet to learn their fate for the remainder of their first seasons, NBC’s breakout new drama Blindspot — the first to get backup scripts and full-season freshman order — has received a very early second season renewal. The series, starring Sullivan Stapleton and Jaimie Alexander, ranks as the No. 1 new fall series among adults 18-49.

Blindspot is off to a very strong start — averaging a 3.7 rating in adults 18-49 and 12.7 million viewers overall so far this season, according to “most current” Nielsen averages, dominating its Monday 10 PM time slot. Still such an early renewal is unusual. Another NBC drama in the same time period, Revolution, also had a blazing start but started to lose steam by the second half of Season 1 and faded in its second season. With its procedural element, Blindspot is more in the vein of NBC’s other Monday 10 PM entry, The Blacklist, which keeps going, now in its third season, on a challenging new night.

Blindspot is also one of the most time-shifted shows on television, growing by +71% so far this season in adult 18-49 rating from Live+Same Day to Live+7 (from a 2.65 to a 4.54) and by more than 5.7 million viewers overall (9.3 million to 15.1 million).

“We are over the moon with the success of Blindspot, and want to thank our producers and amazing cast for creating one of the most riveting shows on television,” said Jennifer Salke, President, NBC Entertainment. “Jaimie and Sullivan have done an amazing job of ratcheting up the tension each week in trying to unravel the mystery of Jane’s tattoos.”

A beautiful woman, with no memories of her past, is found naked in Times Square with her body fully covered in intricate tattoos. Her discovery sets off a vast and complex mystery that immediately ignites the attention of the FBI, who begin to follow the road map on her body to reveal a larger conspiracy of crime while bringing her closer to discovering the truth about her identity. Stapleton and Alexander lead the cast of the show, which also includes Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Rob Brown, Audrey Esparza, Ukweli Roach and Ashley Johnson.

Martin Gero created Blindspot and executive produces with Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Mark Pellington and Marcos Siega for Warner Bros. TV and Greg Berlanti Prods.

 

[bigdaddy]

Also Chicago Fire and PD have been renewed for next year and The Mysteries of Laura is getting 3 more episodes.

 

[Karzak]

‘American Horror Story’ Re-Upped For Sixth Installment By FX

 

[bigdaddy]

Getting back to (soon to be) cancelled shows, Sleepy Hollow is moving to Fridays.

 

[Commander Richard]

Maybe we need a 'And the Next Renewed Show is...' thread.