Warner Bros TV Shakeup: Bruce Rosenblum Exits, Enter Peter Roth

In television, Peter Roth will now serve as President and Chief Content Officer, Warner Bros. Television Group, while retaining his title and responsibilities as President, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Horizon Television and Animation. He will add creative oversight of Telepictures Productions and Warner Bros. International Television Production to his responsibilities. Craig Hunegs will now serve as President, Business and Strategy, Warner Bros. Television Group, with responsibility for the business operations of the Group. He will also be responsible for windowing strategies and expanding production businesses.

Additionally, Hunegs will join the boards of both The CW Network and Shed Media. Jeffrey Schlesinger will now serve as President, Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution and be responsible for distribution of the Studio’s content to all television platforms worldwide, including the sale of previously produced series and feature films to U.S. broadcast and cable outlets, domestic syndication and sales to SVOD and AVOD platforms. He will also continue to be responsible for the business operations of WBITVP.

Roth, Hunegs and Schlesinger will all report directly to Tsujihara. Roth and Schlesinger will share oversight of Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Marketing, headed by Lisa Gregorian, Chief Marketing Officer, Warner Bros. Television Group.

Thomas Gewecke, previously President, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, has been named Chief Digital Officer and Executive Vice President, Strategy and Business Development, Warner Bros. Entertainment, and is responsible for driving the Studio’s worldwide digital growth and managing its global business strategy. He will further be charged with coordinating the company’s various digital distribution strategies to maximize the value of all of Warner Bros.’ content across all current and emerging digital exhibition platforms (SVOD and TVOD functions will continue to be managed by the Television and Home Entertainment Groups). Gewecke will additionally oversee Warner Bros. Technical Operations, Corporate Business Development, and Home Entertainment’s Direct-to-Consumer, Business Development and Flixster groups. Gewecke will report directly to Tsujihara.

In Home Entertainment, Ron Sanders, formerly President, Warner Home Video, will become President, Warner Bros. Worldwide Home Entertainment Distribution. In this new role, Sanders will expand his purview to include global digital transactional business (electronic sell-through and VOD), as well as the global distribution activities of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE). Additionally, Sanders will help expand the retail distribution of DC Entertainment products, working closely with DCE’s President, Diane Nelson. Sanders will report directly to Tsujihara.

Diane Nelson remains President, DC Entertainment, which continues to be a stand-alone entity under Warner Bros. Entertainment, and she will now have a dual report to Tsujihara and Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group. Nelson adds responsibilities as President and Chief Content Officer for WBIE, where she will oversee the development, production and marketing of all video game titles for WBIE, including those based on DC characters, as well as other Warner Bros. properties and original IP. In this capacity, she will work closely with WBIE’s President, Martin Tremblay, who will now report to Nelson and Sanders.

Fate of NBC's "Hannibal" Still Hangs in the Balance...

NBC still hasn't announced the verdict on whether to renew or cancel Bryan Fuller's seductive and terrifying drama "Hannibal", and Fuller tells Buzzfeed that a verdict might not be reached until next week:

 “We have no idea. We may not even know for another week or so. They’re being very close to the vest. But they’re saying Bob Greenblatt doesn’t want to make a decision right away. So we may not hear until next week, or the week after. It’s hard to say.”

It was rumored that the fate of Hannibal would be announced today, Monday May 13; but that was sadly not the case.

"Hannibal", based off of the novel "Red Dragon" by Thomas Harris, premiered in April to some good ratings before slipping slightly, and now sitting at an estimated average of around 2 and a half million viewers for the past few episodes.

Despite it's "low" (read: steady and well) viewer count (that doesn't take DVR numbers into account), "Hannibal" is sitting at a 68 on Metacritic with an 8.5 viewer score.

It's expected that NBC is holding off till the last minute to see how the ratings go, since the show is pulling in some great critical acclaim. Even if NBC drops the ball, due to the show's international finance and handsome pedigree, we might luck out and get "Hannibal" on another channel.

I hope so, because personally I think this is the best show on TV right now. 

Trailer for "The Michael J. Fox" Show

Michael J. Fox is back!  Actually, it feels like he never really left.  Since departing his hit show Spin City due to complications from Parkinson's Disease in 2000, Fox started a foundation dedicated to Parkinson's research that has so far raised $325 million and supported 60 clinical trials to try and stamp out the disease.  He also became a best-selling author, and continued his TV work, appearing in episodes of Scrubs, Boston Legal, Rescue Me (for which he won an Emmy), The Good Wife, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.  He also reprised his Marty McFly role in an amazingly excellent Spike Scream Awards promo celebrating the 25th anniversary of Back to the Future.

He'll be returning to TV full-time this fall with The Michael J. Fox Show, which is basically based on Fox's own life, as a dad, husband, and TV personality dealing with Parkinson's who's returning to the airwaves after an early retirement.  And he's still funny as all hell:

I can't wait for this show.  I was eight years old when Family Ties first started in 1982, 11 when Back to the Future first opened in theaters, and in high school when Family Ties finished its run on NBC and the Back to the Future sequels were arriving in theaters.  So I grew up with Alex P. Keaton and Marty McFly, not to mention Mike Flaherty from Spin City, which pretty much covered my 20s.  So I'll happy to have him back on TV full-time.

The Michael J. Fox Show will air Thursdays this fall on NBC.

Jack Bauer Returns, "24: Live Another Day" To Drop May 2014

Fans of 24 and Jack Bauer can finally celebrate, Jack is back. After hours and hours of negations between Kiefer Sutherland and Fox, the network sealed the deal with the actor. Past and now present show runner Howard Gordon is returning to produce along with his Teakwood Lane company. You can thanks Gordon's persistence for getting this deal done.

With a title of 24: Live Another Day, the event series will enjoy a 12 episode run with a planned launch date of May 2014. Fans were probably nervous this was just another case more internet chatter after the planned 24 film never came to fruition. On a conference call Fox Entertainment Chairman Kevin Reilly said that showruner Howard Gordon and his posse came to the conclusion that "24 being compressed into two hours is not 24". The show will obviously skip some of the hours in the virtual day in order to achieve the 24 hours in a 12 episode arc.

At this time the creative team doesn't believe that 24: Live Another Day will go beyond the stand alone event as currently constituted. However, other franchises have experienced life beyond the originally scheduled event series status.

DEADLINE & DEADLINE

Get Ready to Bluth Yourself - Arrested Development Season 4 Promo

Two weeks away from its premiere (By "premiere," I mean all fifteen episodes uploaded on Netflix at once) is the first look at the revival season of Arrested Development.

If it looks and feels decidedly off, that may be due to the lack of signature music and Ron Howard voice-over. I am trying my best to be optimistic. The original three-year run is up with All in the Family, Seinfeld, The Andy Griffith Show and the heyday Simpsons seasons as the best in television comedy.

But going back to the well rarely works and based on this, I have yet to be proven wrong on that nagging feeling this will only disappoint. Sometimes it's best to leave a good, or this case great, thing alone.

First TV Promo for Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The corporate synergy alone made Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. a done deal to make the fall schedule on ABC. Unsure if it can make it on the airwaves long enough to lead into The Avengers 2, to be honest. Have a strong suspicion this could be a high-concept one season wonder.

You know a show that gets nonstop press building up to its premiere and then its vapor a few weeks into its run. Too soon to know, of course, and if anyone could bulk the trend it's the House of Ideas.

Here's the first promo:

Get Your First Painfully Generic Look at the S.H.I.E.L.D TV Show!

Facebook Pages of ABC programs posted one of the first official pictures of the cast from the upcoming Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. with a notice that you can get your first preview of CSI: SVU: SUPER-HERO BIG BANG THEORY DIVISON after that fairy-tale show on ABC this Sunday. Plot synopsis also revealed and listed below.

Are you ready for more conspiracy theories? You can get a first look at Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the season finale of Once Upon a Time this Sunday at 8|7c on ABC. #CoulsonLives 

Clark Gregg reprises his role of Agent Phil Coulson from Marvel’s feature films as he assembles a small, highly select group of Agents from the worldwide law-enforcement organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. Together they investigate the new, the strange, and the unknown across the globe, protecting the ordinary from the extraordinary. Coulson’s team consists of Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), highly trained in combat and espionage, Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) expert pilot and martial artist, Agent Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker); brilliant engineer and Agent Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) genius bio-chemist. Joining them on their journey into mystery is new recruit and computer hacker Skye (Chloe Bennet). From Executive Producers Joss Whedon (“Marvel’s The Avengers,” ”Buffy the Vampire Slayer”); Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen, “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” pilot co-writers (“Dollhouse,” “Dr.Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”); Jeffrey Bell (“Angel,” “Alias”); and Jeph Loeb (“Smallville”) comes Marvel’s first TV series.  “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” is produced by ABC Studios and Marvel Television.

So when you see that guy with the Adventure Time profile pic or avatar posting OMG I'M SO EXCITED with a Tumblr gif, you'll know that's the fanbase this show will cater to. 

The Walking Dead Season Four Photo Looks Like Every Other Season & Photo

Hard to get excited about The Walking Dead anymore after A) that cock-block of a finale and B) how much more mileage there is left to a TV show about a zombie apocalypse. When me, the guy who grew up and adored even the schlocky Italian Dawn of the Dead knock-offs, tires of the zombie trend, you know it's wearing itself out.

AMC sent out the first official photo for season four to commemorate the start of production. That is to say get fans riled up about the return of more KNB-produced head explosions, Rick's leadership called into question for the umpteenth time and the next red-shirt, well The Walking Dead equivalent to one, gets his brains gnawed on.

Fox Wants Jack Bauer Kicking Ass On Their Network Again

In what can only be described as one of my television dreams, Fox is making a push to bring everybody's favorite CTU agent Jack Bauer back into our homes. TOLDJA! is reporting that the network believes the show can thrive as a "limited event series", and did I mention Kiefer Sutherland is in talks to take another run at Jack Bauer?

Fans of 24 already had their hopes dashed when the planned film was officially confirmed dead. Not sure how they would have done that in the first place considering the structure of the show. The idea to bring the 24 universe back to the small screen came from showrunner Howard Gordon. You may now know him as the gentleman who serves as executive producer on Showtime's Homeland.

Not sure how likely this is, but dammit Chloe, I hope it happens. Maybe now my idea of Jack Bauer teaming up with Ryan Hardy of The Following is one step closer to becoming a reality.

Trailer, TV Spot, & Poster For The Final Season Of "Dexter"

"Dexter" stars Michael C. Hall in his Golden Globe Award-winning role as Dexter Morgan, a complicated and conflicted blood-spatter expert for the Miami police department. Season eight, which premieres on Sunday, June 30th at 9 p.m. ET/PT,begins six months after LaGuerta’s murder – and Dexter is still managing life as a dad, brother, and serial killer. As Deb (series star Jennifer Carpenter) struggles to deal with the consequences of her actions, a mysterious woman comes to work with Miami Metro, offering first-hand information on Dexter’s past. The series also stars Desmond Harrington, C.S. Lee, Aimee Garcia, David Zayas, Geoff Pierson and James Remar. Produced by Shotime, "Dexter" is executive produced by John Goldwyn, Sara Colleton, Scott Buck, Manny Coto, Tim Schlattmann, Wendy West, Jace Richdale and Michael C. Hall.

Set in the sprawling mecca of the rich and famous, "Ray Donovan" stars Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominee Liev Schreiber in his first lead television role as LA’s best professional fixer. Ray is the man called in to make the city’s celebrities,’ superstar athletes,’ and business moguls’ most complicated and combustible situations go away. This powerful drama unfolds when his father, Mickey Donovan, played by Oscar winner Jon Voight, is unexpectedly released from prison, setting off a chain of events that shakes the Donovan family to its core. "Ray Donovan" is created and executive-produced by Ann Biderman ("Southland"), who also wrote the pilot episode. The series is also executive produced by Mark Gordon and Bryan Zuriff. "Ray Donovan" is a Showtime production and the pilot was directed by Allen Coulter ("The Sopranos," "Sons of Anarchy"), who also serves as producer on both the pilot and the second episode of the series.

COMINGSOON.NET