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Thursday, May 10, 2007
‘Friday Night Lights’ lives!!
Details are sketchy, but this much we know: “Friday Night Lights” has been renewed for next season by NBC. An assistant to Austinite and executive producer Sarah Aubrey alerted us moments ago. Aubrey was at a lunch meeting, so we found out before she did!
How much of next season we don’t yet know, but an update will be posted as soon as the information arrives. (Maybe when Aubrey finishes her lunch.) A full-season order would be for 22 episodes, which is how many the fabulous Austin-based drama produced last season.
AND … the production is staying in Austin, where it will once again pump about $1.5 million per episode into the local economy.
More importantly, we’ll get to see Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton and all the cute young actors roaming on South Congress Avenue.
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LaKisha gone … ‘Law & Order’ too?
We knew it was coming, but it was sad nonetheless.
LaKisha Jones, the single mom with perfect pipes and no need for a microphone, was eliminated from “American Idol” on last night’s results show.
Barry Gibb’s songs Tuesday night didn’t really click with any of the Final Four, but LaKisha’s performance of “Stayin’ Alive” was one of the best. Apparently 45 million voting viewers didn’t think so. With tears streaming down her face, LaKisha reprised that song and went out with style at the end of the dragged-out show.
So now we’re down to three: beat-boxer Blake Lewis, who is still trying to decide on a hair color; 17-year-old Jordin Sparks, who shines more brightly every week; and pro backup singer Melinda Doolittle, the early favorite who has never had a bad night … but could be fading as Jordin’s star rises.
Next week’s trio of performances will decide the May 23 finale duo.
‘Law & Order’ — Canceled? Shipped off to cable?
Rumors have been rampant that when NBC announces its new fall schedule on Monday, the original “Law & Order” will be denied an 18th season. Since the show has been banished to Friday nights, it has lost a huge chunk of its once-faithful audience.
But now we hear that “L&O” may continue with new episodes but moved to NBC-owned cable network TNT. “The Closer” has done spectacularly well on TNT. Why not “L&O?”
One reason it might not work is that creator Dick Wolf will have to seriously cut the current $4 million per-episode budget. Industry insiders say he would have to bring each installment in for about $2 million if the show is on TNT.
Wolf is lobbying hard for NBC to keep the show that spawned an industry (“L&O: Criminal Intent,” “L&O: Special Victims Unit”) on the main network’s schedule in the fall. This may be the first time Wolf has lost a battle with the brass.
‘Wedding Crashers’ crashes
Effective immediately, NBC’s reality series “The Real Wedding Crashers,” inspired by the Vince Vaughn-Owen Wilson film and created for TV by Ashton Kutcher, is dead. The Monday time slot will be filled with “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” for the final two weeks of the television season.
If you’re crushed by the death of “Crashers,” you’re nearly alone. The show mustered a measly 2.4 rating the last time out.
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