Arrested Development

Started by Weak2ndAct, October 24, 2004, 12:25:59 AM

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modage

on fox.  hopefully not forever.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

MacGuffin

Interest in 'Arrested' strictly conditional
Showtime executive says the network would take the show only if creator Mitch Hurwitz stays on board.
Source: Los Angeles Times

Showtime wants the acclaimed comedy "Arrested Development" should Fox decide to cancel it, but only on one condition: creator Mitch Hurwitz must come with it.

"If only a small fraction of the loyal audience that [watches it] on Fox came to Showtime, it would be one of our highest-rated shows," Robert Greenblatt, Showtime's president of entertainment, told the Television Critics Assn. Thursday evening.

A deal breaker in the talks with 20th Century Fox Television would be if Hurwitz chooses not to remain at the helm, Greenblatt said. "I think he's the genius behind it," he said. "And he hasn't yet come to that decision to continue the show." A decision will be reached in about two weeks, he said. Hurwitz was unavailable for comment.

Fox President of Entertainment Peter Liguori told the critics no final decision had been made to cancel "Arrested Development" but it was "highly unlikely" the low-rated show would continue past Feb. 10, when it concludes its third season.

ABC also expressed interest in acquiring the show in December, but no action has been taken, a spokesman said.

Greenblatt said the show's bold originality makes it a better fit for cable, where writers have more freedom. But observing that the show has found much of its humor in bleeping out bad language, Matthew Blank, Showtime's chairman and chief executive joked, "Maybe we'd make an exception and let him bleep."
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

modage

please GOD (hurwitz)!  let it CONTINUE!  it wouldnt be AD without him anyway, so showtime is smart.  don't let us down hurwitz, fuck network tv.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

Weird. Oh

Here's a question: Has this ever happend in TV history and/or been successful? Obviously, I can't think it has been successful because I think I would have remembered it. For some reason, something seems to stick in my mind about a show moving from ABC to Comedy Central but I can't quite think of what it was.
The more arguments you win, the fewer friends you will have.

MacGuffin

Quote from: Freedomtarian Weirdo on January 21, 2006, 10:25:19 PM
Here's a question: Has this ever happend in TV history and/or been successful? Obviously, I can't think it has been successful because I think I would have remembered it. For some reason, something seems to stick in my mind about a show moving from ABC to Comedy Central but I can't quite think of what it was.

The only example I can think of is JAG being cancelled from NBC and CBS picking it up for a very successful run.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

grand theft sparrow

Didn't Buffy move from WB to UPN and run a couple more years?

Quote from: Freedomtarian Weirdo on January 21, 2006, 10:25:19 PM
For some reason, something seems to stick in my mind about a show moving from ABC to Comedy Central but I can't quite think of what it was.

I think you might be thinking of Politically Incorrect, which moved from Comedy Central to ABC.

edison

Monk went from either NBC or ABC to USA and has been pretty successful there.

polkablues

Quote from: edison on January 22, 2006, 10:27:35 AM
Monk went from either NBC or ABC to USA and has been pretty successful there.

Actually, it's always been on USA... they just showed repeats on NBC (same parent company) to help build audience.
My house, my rules, my coffee

abuck1220

from abc's entertainment chief...

Quote"I don't really foresee" a situation in which ABC picks up the Emmy-winning series, which is likely on its last legs at FOX. Earlier in the week, FOX head Peter Ligouri acknowledged it was "highly unlikely" that he'd pick it up for a fourth season, although the network has yet to cancel it outright.

Quote"I just love that show. I believe I can market that show really well," McPherson says. That said, he considers it "a long shot" that "Arrested" will wind up on ABC in the fall.



abuck1220

just in case you've been living in a cave lately and have somehow avoided the non-stop barrage of advertising for AD, the two hour extravaganza is on tomorrow night.

Pubrick

too bad they die at the end. :yabbse-sad:
under the paving stones.

grand theft sparrow

What's the deal?  Is it official that no one is picking it up?  Is it really really REALLY dead or are they still "talking"?

modage

nothings official.  even the fox promos say SEASON finale.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

MacGuffin

Showtime or ABC could get 'Arrested'
Source: USA TODAY

Can Showtime get Arrested?

That's the question on the minds of Arrested Development's small cadre of ardent fans, gearing up for tonight's finale on Fox (8 ET/PT) with four remaining episodes from its shortened third season.

It's also of keen interest to the pay-cable network, which is eager to import a show whose 4-million-plus fans would amount to a sorely needed runaway hit.

Fox entertainment chief Peter Liguori last month uttered the inevitable: Two-time Emmy comedy winner Arrested is "extremely unlikely" to return for a fourth try because of low, then lower, ratings, from 6.2 million viewers in Season 1 to 4.2 million so far this year.

Though Fox hasn't officially canceled the series, producer 20th Century Fox Television already has found two potential takers in Showtime and ABC.

The studio dreams of a multiyear deal that would yield 35 new episodes, which - added to the 53 already completed - would mark enough to sell the comedy into syndication. While ABC views its bid as a long shot, the Showtime scenario is plausible.

"It's an established name. It's critically acclaimed. It's been deemed one of the best shows ever created for this medium," Showtime president Robert Greenblatt said last month. "And I think having that in with our other shows has a bit of a halo effect" that also could spark growth in paying subscribers.

Struggling series have switched networks before, but the migration is rare and problematic. Most notably, CBS picked up JAG from NBC after one season and turned it into a solid hit that lasted nine more years.

Yet, "there are few shows that have the ratings track record that Arrested does, where the passion burns so strong among loyal viewers," says 20th Century Fox co-president Gary Newman. "If we can find a way to do this show that economically makes sense, we will."

While the actors and creator/executive producer Mitch Hurwitz remain under contract, in practice no one's holding a gun to their heads.

"I'd be a moron to wish it away," says Jason Bateman, who plays Michael, the son who holds the family and its real estate business together. But he's also a realist, hardened by the "interesting ride" writers and actors have faced. Arrested has aired in three time slots and cheated death each season.

It's the "loud minority" of fans, critics and Emmy voters who have kept the show around, Bateman says. "This show has a very specific tone, humor and appeal, and we happen to be showing this in a medium that's geared for the masses," whereas Showtime would be content with even a fraction of that audience.

If a financial deal can be hammered out, the main sticking point is the will of Hurwitz, a veteran sitcom writer. "A lot comes down to how passionate Mitch is to keep it going," Newman says.

And Hurwitz? He says he's interested, but exhausted from the show's labor-intensive editing. He wants to pause before making a move. "I'm really torn. It's a really important show to me, but on the other hand, maybe it has lived the life it needs to live. What weighs against it is it's a soul-crushing amount of work."
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

Gamblour.

Mitch will never make a good show. If all the hard work yields such great product, I'd quit bitching.
WWPTAD?