ed 4/11 (merged)
05-04-03, 03:52 PM
#53
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Not sure if anyone noticed this, but AICN had the following a few days ago:
"Has NBC had a change of heart?
On April 30, Rocky Mountain News columnist Dusty Saunders reported this:
A well-placed NBC source tells me Ed, the network's romantic comedy-drama, will return for a fourth season in the fall, day and time to be announced.
The new season will challenge the skills of the writers since this season's finale made it plain that Ed (Tom Cavanagh) and Carol (Julie Bowen) were definitely a romantic twosome, which eliminated the major will-they-or-won't-they story line that dominated the first three seasons. "
"Has NBC had a change of heart?
On April 30, Rocky Mountain News columnist Dusty Saunders reported this:
A well-placed NBC source tells me Ed, the network's romantic comedy-drama, will return for a fourth season in the fall, day and time to be announced.
The new season will challenge the skills of the writers since this season's finale made it plain that Ed (Tom Cavanagh) and Carol (Julie Bowen) were definitely a romantic twosome, which eliminated the major will-they-or-won't-they story line that dominated the first three seasons. "
05-04-03, 10:06 PM
#57
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When will NBC reveal its fall lineup? I won't get excited until I see official confirmation.
05-04-03, 10:24 PM
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go check out the message boards over at http://www.stuckeyville.com/communit...oard.asp?ID=1. they have quite a few tidbits (nothing official) from around that seem to indicate positive things take all of it with the appropriate amoung of salt.
05-04-03, 10:25 PM
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Originally posted by lisadoris
When will NBC reveal its fall lineup? I won't get excited until I see official confirmation.
When will NBC reveal its fall lineup? I won't get excited until I see official confirmation.
05-05-03, 01:14 PM
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Originally posted by lisadoris
When will NBC reveal its fall lineup? I won't get excited until I see official confirmation.
When will NBC reveal its fall lineup? I won't get excited until I see official confirmation.
05-05-03, 01:25 PM
#63
DVD Talk Legend
Another article about Ed's future:
TV shows hope to avoid the axe
By DAVID BAUDER
Associated Press
NEW YORK -- This is the week that Jon Beckerman and Rob Burnett, executive producers of NBC's "Ed," find out if their creation died with a kiss or whether the romance will continue.
It's the most nerve-racking week of the year for television producers, many of whom are waiting for phone calls that will change their lives.
Starting May 12, networks announce their schedules for the fall. Producers of hits like "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Friends" or "American Idol" have nothing to worry about. They've already been renewed.
But for shows on the bubble like "Ed," "The Practice," "Becker," "Boomtown" and "Hack," there's genuine suspense.
"We're optimistic," Burnett said, "only because we think there's genuine enthusiasm for the show (among NBC executives). They've always been big fans of the show, they've praised the quality of the show and the move to Friday night has been by all measures a success."
Beckerman and Burnett met last week to map out ideas for a fourth season, a job they had put off because, well, they still don't know if it's a waste of time.
Their season ended in March with an episode that raised suspicions that they knew they were goners.
Ed and Carol, the central characters played by Tom Cavanagh and Julie Bowen, finally concluded their three-year flirtation with a sensuous kiss as fireworks exploded in the background. They stood in the same place where they shared an initial kiss in the show's first episode.
It seemed like an extremely neat ending, especially given that the previous two seasons finished with cliffhangers. Last year, for instance, Carol left on a trip with another man with the expectation they would be engaged.
"It had more to do with changing the paradigm of the show for the future than ending the series," Burnett said, though conceding it also worked well as a punctuation.
The producers had grown tired writing about the cat-and-mouse game between Carol and Ed, they said, and it had nearly reached the point of unbelievability. Real people in the characters' situation would either get together, already, or separate for good.
The risk is that the show's quirky nature -- sexual tension played out with skywriters and suits of armor -- will be lost once that tension is gone.
"As many people who have said to me, 'is the show over now that Carol and Ed are together?' I've had people say, 'Get them together and let them go on with their lives instead of freezing them in this particular period of their lives,'" Beckerman said.
To outsiders, other ominous signs about the show's future were the late-season move from its Wednesday 8 p.m. time slot to Friday at 9, the April 11 season finale (most shows bow in May) and the decision not to rerun any episodes.
The latter two calls were made last summer, Beckerman said. Serial dramas with ongoing stories get poorer ratings in reruns than self-contained shows. NBC also wanted to run the season straight through without interruption, he said.
The producers said they had begged for a move to a 9 p.m. time slot, sensing it was difficult for many viewers to tune in earlier.
This season, "Ed" averaged a middling 10.3 million viewers on Wednesday, ranking No. 55 among all prime-time shows, according to Nielsen Media Research. The three Friday episodes averaged 10.5 million -- a positive sign given that, in general, fewer people watch television on Friday night than Wednesday night.
"We feel at 9 o'clock it's not out of the question that 'Ed' can be a top 20 show," Burnett said. "At least we have a chance. At 8 o'clock, we didn't have a chance."
Jeff Zucker, NBC entertainment president, said a decision on the future of "Ed" hadn't been made.
All sorts of factors are weighed, including whether the show has gas left in the tank creatively, whether pilots for new shows that could replace "Ed" turned out well, and whether the program has a young, upscale audience desirable to advertisers.
"We love 'Ed,'" Zucker said. "We're very fond of 'Ed' and I think we all are looking forward to a fourth season. I'd be shocked if it does not come back."
Since the decision is Zucker's to make, we'd be shocked, too.
But there's still enough doubt for Burnett and Beckerman to relax. In the first season, they learned in January that "Ed" would be back the following fall.
"The funny thing about these things is that all you can do is do the show and the rest of it depends on everyone else," Burnett said. "We feel like we did what we could do. We would feel a lot of frustration if we weren't given a shot to succeed in a 9 o'clock time slot."
If Burnett hears from Zucker later this week, that's probably good news. Executives love those happy conversations.
But if Burnett's agent calls first, that could be an ominous sign -- the equivalent of receiving a thin envelope from the college you've applied to. Networks tend to leak bad news early to soften the blow, and sometimes top executives delegate the bad news calls to unfortunate underlings.
Either way, Burnett and Beckerman will be waiting by their phones.
TV shows hope to avoid the axe
By DAVID BAUDER
Associated Press
NEW YORK -- This is the week that Jon Beckerman and Rob Burnett, executive producers of NBC's "Ed," find out if their creation died with a kiss or whether the romance will continue.
It's the most nerve-racking week of the year for television producers, many of whom are waiting for phone calls that will change their lives.
Starting May 12, networks announce their schedules for the fall. Producers of hits like "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Friends" or "American Idol" have nothing to worry about. They've already been renewed.
But for shows on the bubble like "Ed," "The Practice," "Becker," "Boomtown" and "Hack," there's genuine suspense.
"We're optimistic," Burnett said, "only because we think there's genuine enthusiasm for the show (among NBC executives). They've always been big fans of the show, they've praised the quality of the show and the move to Friday night has been by all measures a success."
Beckerman and Burnett met last week to map out ideas for a fourth season, a job they had put off because, well, they still don't know if it's a waste of time.
Their season ended in March with an episode that raised suspicions that they knew they were goners.
Ed and Carol, the central characters played by Tom Cavanagh and Julie Bowen, finally concluded their three-year flirtation with a sensuous kiss as fireworks exploded in the background. They stood in the same place where they shared an initial kiss in the show's first episode.
It seemed like an extremely neat ending, especially given that the previous two seasons finished with cliffhangers. Last year, for instance, Carol left on a trip with another man with the expectation they would be engaged.
"It had more to do with changing the paradigm of the show for the future than ending the series," Burnett said, though conceding it also worked well as a punctuation.
The producers had grown tired writing about the cat-and-mouse game between Carol and Ed, they said, and it had nearly reached the point of unbelievability. Real people in the characters' situation would either get together, already, or separate for good.
The risk is that the show's quirky nature -- sexual tension played out with skywriters and suits of armor -- will be lost once that tension is gone.
"As many people who have said to me, 'is the show over now that Carol and Ed are together?' I've had people say, 'Get them together and let them go on with their lives instead of freezing them in this particular period of their lives,'" Beckerman said.
To outsiders, other ominous signs about the show's future were the late-season move from its Wednesday 8 p.m. time slot to Friday at 9, the April 11 season finale (most shows bow in May) and the decision not to rerun any episodes.
The latter two calls were made last summer, Beckerman said. Serial dramas with ongoing stories get poorer ratings in reruns than self-contained shows. NBC also wanted to run the season straight through without interruption, he said.
The producers said they had begged for a move to a 9 p.m. time slot, sensing it was difficult for many viewers to tune in earlier.
This season, "Ed" averaged a middling 10.3 million viewers on Wednesday, ranking No. 55 among all prime-time shows, according to Nielsen Media Research. The three Friday episodes averaged 10.5 million -- a positive sign given that, in general, fewer people watch television on Friday night than Wednesday night.
"We feel at 9 o'clock it's not out of the question that 'Ed' can be a top 20 show," Burnett said. "At least we have a chance. At 8 o'clock, we didn't have a chance."
Jeff Zucker, NBC entertainment president, said a decision on the future of "Ed" hadn't been made.
All sorts of factors are weighed, including whether the show has gas left in the tank creatively, whether pilots for new shows that could replace "Ed" turned out well, and whether the program has a young, upscale audience desirable to advertisers.
"We love 'Ed,'" Zucker said. "We're very fond of 'Ed' and I think we all are looking forward to a fourth season. I'd be shocked if it does not come back."
Since the decision is Zucker's to make, we'd be shocked, too.
But there's still enough doubt for Burnett and Beckerman to relax. In the first season, they learned in January that "Ed" would be back the following fall.
"The funny thing about these things is that all you can do is do the show and the rest of it depends on everyone else," Burnett said. "We feel like we did what we could do. We would feel a lot of frustration if we weren't given a shot to succeed in a 9 o'clock time slot."
If Burnett hears from Zucker later this week, that's probably good news. Executives love those happy conversations.
But if Burnett's agent calls first, that could be an ominous sign -- the equivalent of receiving a thin envelope from the college you've applied to. Networks tend to leak bad news early to soften the blow, and sometimes top executives delegate the bad news calls to unfortunate underlings.
Either way, Burnett and Beckerman will be waiting by their phones.
05-05-03, 01:40 PM
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I saw a story in the USA Today (5/5/03) with a poll involving shows on the bubble. It was a bring the show back or not poll. I believe the poll involved 19 shows but Ed was not one of them. Does that mean the Ed is not a bubble show and has either been renewed or canceled?
05-05-03, 01:47 PM
#65
DVD Talk Legend
Originally posted by Kerry R
I saw a story in the USA Today (5/5/03) with a poll involving shows on the bubble. It was a bring the show back or not poll. I believe the poll involved 19 shows but Ed was not one of them. Does that mean the Ed is not a bubble show and has either been renewed or canceled?
I saw a story in the USA Today (5/5/03) with a poll involving shows on the bubble. It was a bring the show back or not poll. I believe the poll involved 19 shows but Ed was not one of them. Does that mean the Ed is not a bubble show and has either been renewed or canceled?
05-05-03, 11:05 PM
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This quote scares me..
Zucker backed out on a promise to the creators of "Just Shoot Me"..[I know, I know]
But the man should keep his word and say what he means..if he had no intention of doing that, just give 'em the truth..
Oh wait...i'm trying to apply ethics to a network exec..my bad..
"We love 'Ed,'" Zucker said. "We're very fond of 'Ed' and I think we all are looking forward to a fourth season. I'd be shocked if it does not come back."
Since the decision is Zucker's to make, we'd be shocked, too.
Since the decision is Zucker's to make, we'd be shocked, too.
But the man should keep his word and say what he means..if he had no intention of doing that, just give 'em the truth..
Oh wait...i'm trying to apply ethics to a network exec..my bad..
