Fun Friday: There's a Class about The O.C.

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

This takes me back, you guys. Back in the 90s, I was sucked into television shows through their marketing, channel surfing, or word-of-mouth. I didn't read the entertainment section of the newspaper. My AOL time was engulfed with research, IMing, and creating my first website. I've mentioned here and there about how I got turned onto various shows in my youth. Well, the summer before The O.C. premiered, I was pretty excited about the new teen series. It was the first summer I worked, making my TV time more precious than ever. I tuned in for the series premiere, thinking that it had some promise. I liked the idea of a kid caught stealing cars and getting kicked out of his house had a place to turn to, even if the environment was going to be just as tempting. I felt bad for Ryan when his house was empty and Sandy drove him back to Newport. But, the show didn't really "click" for me. Just as well, really. That week I left to return to college, where I didn't have a TV for another year. Because it was a new show, people would talk about The O.C. as much as they were talking about Friends, which was entering its tenth and final season. Still, the discussions about Ryan and Marissa being together or Oliver and Theresa moving to the OC didn't draw me in for more than a second episode. I just wasn't very enthusiastic about the series, though I tried. I saw "The Best Chrismukkah Ever" and some other random episode but otherwise just co-existed alongside the show's popularity, filling my recreational hours with ER and 7th Heaven instead.

thewb.com/shows/the-oc

The O.C. didn't run for eight or ten years like many "successful" teen dramas tend to, puttering out after three full seasons and a truncated fourth. Still, it was a success. In fact, Duke University recently offered a small seminar entitled, "California Here We Come: The O.C. & Self-Aware Culture of 21st Century America." What does that mean? Well, take a look at an excerpt from the course description:

We’ll explore the “hyper self-awareness” unique to The O.C. and analyze Californian exceptionalism and singularity in history and popular culture, girl culture, 21st century suburban revivalism, the indie music scene, the meta-series, and more. We’ll go on the excessive journey of the foursome that captured the hearts of millions and changed teen television dramady forever.

The course also used Laguna Beach, The Real Housewives of Orange County, The Hills, and Gossip Girl to explore the depiction of these areas and the people who live there. Now, I've only been to Orange County once (to go to Disneyland, as Anaheim is there... most people think Anaheim is in LA), so I'm certainly not qualified to make any comments regarding the depiction of the people there, but it sounds like an interesting class to me nonetheless! What do you think - would you take it?

If you want to peruse some of Duke's other interesting offerings, look here. And, The O.C. isn't the only show you can take a class about... Bishop Auckland College has a class to prepare students to compete on Britain's X-Factor. 

What Happened to Animation Domination?

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

FOX was supposed to run all new episodes tonight for The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers, Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show. But, because the NLCS required a Game #6 this year, all of those planned episodes have gotten pushed back so that the Giants can play the Cardinals at 7pm ET/4pm PT on FOX. Don't get excited about next week, either, as the upcoming World Series and a two-hour X-Factor special means most of Animation Domination will not air new episodes until November 11th, though The Cleveland Show will air November 4th.

What You're Missing Because the Giants Made a Comeback:

"Menace II Secret Society" is the second episode of the 4th season of The Cleveland Show. Cleveland decides to confront Kenny West about not sharing credit over a song that made him famous, "Be-Cleve in Yourself."

"Adventures in Baby-Getting" is the third episode in the 24th episode of The Simpsons. You may have seen previews for this highly-promoted episode, in which Marge wants to consider adding a fourth child to the family.

"The Old Man and the Big 'C'" is the third episode in the 11th season of Family Guy. Stewie and Brian discover that Lois's dad's company can cure cancer but has been keeping that classified in order to profit.

"Bob Fires the Kids" is the third episode of the 3rd season of Bob's Burgers. Bob feels bad that he's taking up all of the kids' vacation time, so he fires them... but they're so bored that they become "weed pickers" for a local farm.

"Can I Be Frank With You?" is the third episode of the 8th season of American Dad. Francine worries that she and Stan are growing apart while Steve and friends do a "boy band" music video.

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Also, most shows are not airing new episodes tomorrow night, either, because of the Presidential Debate at 9pm ET.

News Roundup: Mostly Scheduling & Casting Updates

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Renewals, Cancellations, & Scheduling:
Revenge for Real will air on ABC March 7th and 14th at 10pm ET/PT. This is a limited series from ABC News.

After this week's (3/8) The Finder on FOX, it will move from Thursday nights to Friday nights, airing on April 6th in the 8pm ET/PT slot.

USA's Fairly Legal (season2) and In Plain Sight (season 5) are back on Friday, March 16th.

Unchained Reaction, a show that has people building a series of mechanisms across five days, will premiere on the Discovery Channel on Sunday, March 18th at 10pm ET/PT

La-La's Full Court Life (season 2) and Styled by June (season 1) will be airing on VH1 starting Monday, March 19th.

My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding returns to TLC on Friday, March 23rd at 10pm ET/PT.

MTV's Savage U begins Tuesday, April 3rd at 11pm. This docuseries will follow Dan Savage "as he travels to college campuses across the country, talking to students and offering them a creash course on relationships, responsibility, sex, and love."

BBC America's No Kitchen Required, an outdoor cooking competition series, will begin airing on Tuesday, April 3rd, at 10pm ET/PT.

USA's Common Law will premiere on Friday, May 11th at 10pm ET/PT.

Anger Management, the FX series starring Charlie Sheen, will premiere on Thursday, June 28th at 9pm ET/PT.

Cast & Plot Updates:
Leonard Nimoy will provide a voice in the March 29th episode of The Big Bang Theory.

Looks like we're in for less girls like Amber and Catelynn on future episodes of 16 and Pregnant. MTV seems to only want to cast mothers who don't have "train wreck" backgrounds. It also seems that many of the upcoming girls are from affluent families and are quite attractive - two cheerleaders and two models are among the teens.

Matthew Perry will star as a sportscaster on the NBC comedy pilot, Go On, where he is part of a mandated group therapy session.

Dane Cook will star in the new NBC comedy Next Caller Please, which will revolve around a DJ and his co-host at a radio station.

Phylicia Rashad will be part of the NBC drama, Do No Harm, where she will play a doctor who works with a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde character.

Jesse Spencer will star in NBC's new drama, Chicago Fire, where he'll play a firefighter who is in the process of separating from his wife.

So long as Pan Am doesn't get renewed, Karine Vanasse will be a clothing designer on ABC's Scruples, a drama based on the 1978 book.

Leah Remini will star in ABC's new comedy, White Van Man.

Amy Smart has joined the cast of Bad Girls, an NBC drama where she'll play a "Barbie-type who was busted for stealing and running up her friend's credit card."

Shows in Development & Other Fun Stuff:
If you're interested, Timothy Omundson will be available to answer questions during the Eastern airing of Psych this Wednesday, March 7th, at 10pm ET.

If you'd like to be on The X-Factor, there are open auditions coming up... Kansas City on March 14th, Austin on March 22nd, San Francisco on April 20th, Greensboro, NC on May 1st, and Providence on May 10th. You only have to be twelve years old, but to read about the other requirements, check it out online.

ABC's Shark Tank has gotten an expansion of two episodes, bringing the season total to fifteen.

Lifetime has picked up Bristol Palin: Life's a Tripp as a ten-episode docuseries.

The Hub has four new original series coming in the 2012-2013 season, including Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot, Littlest Pet Shop, Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters, and Spooksville (this one is live-action). They'll also begin airing The Facts of Life, Mork & Mindy, and Sabrina, The Teenage Witch.

The Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this week will have an exclusive first look at the Game of Thrones online game, which is planned to be free to play.

Canadian animation company Cuppa Coffee Studios has a new, 20-episode program coming up in April that will focus on the Osbourne family... The F'n Osbournes.

News Roundup: Lots of Picked-Up Pilots

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Renewals, Cancellations, & Scheduling:
HBO's Treme won't air season three until the fall, even though the previous seasons began in April.

FOX's Touch will launch in more than 100 countries (including Canada, the UK, Germany, Israel, and Russia) on March 19th.

Tonight on TLC, Sorority Girls premieres at 9pm ET/PT. The show will be about five Sorority Sisters who attempt to establish a sorority in Britain, a country that doesn't have the 200+ year history of these fraternal groups.

Bravo's Shahs of Sunset begins on Sunday, March 11th. It's a documentary series that looks at the lives of six thirty-something Persian-Americans living in Los Angeles.

History has a new fishing show coming February 9th: Mudcats, where some folks in Oklahoma catch giant catfish with their hands.

CBS will continue hosting the Academy of Country Music Awards through 2021.

HBO's Eastbound & Down will be back on Sunday, February 19th at 10pm ET/PT.

If you don't want to watch the Super Bowl, ABCFamily is going to air the five Bring It On films, beginning at 9am. Amusingly, they're not showing them in order.

HBO's Luck has already been renewed... mere days after its premiere.

It's a good thing that America's Most Wanted got back on the air after all... four fugitives were put behind bars in one week!


Cast & Plot Updates:
Lea Michele will be a guest mentor on the first episode of the second season of The Glee Project, which airs this summer on Oxygen.

Kristin Chenoweth will appear in a May episode of Hot in Cleveland.

Amber from 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom has struck a plea deal in response to her latest drug arrest - she'll complete a court-mandated drug rehabilitation program instead of going to jail for five years. She plead guilty to one count of "possession of a controlled substance" and one count of "probation violation." The hearing will be February 6th.

Leah from 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom 2 had a miscarriage.

Steve Jones will not be hosting The X-Factor anymore.

Shows in Development & Other Fun Stuff:
If you want to be in Los Angeles for the Simpsons 500th Episode Party (Monday, February 13th), you can enter until 5:59pm PT on Monday, February 6th over here.

Ben Stiller and Alan Alda may star in a new HBO comedy called All Talk, which is planned to be "politically, religiously, culturally, intellectually and sexually irreverent." The show will focus on the life of a Jewish family in Washington, DC.

The CW picked up three pilots - a "time-travel musical" called Joey Dakota, a comedy set in a New England summer resort called Shelter, and a futuristic "Hunger Games meets The Bachelor" called The Selection.

NBC bought TEN pilots last week, eight of which were comedies.

ABC has ordered a pilot based on Beauty and the Beast, despite the fact that the CW has already done the same.

I'd be surprised if you hadn't heard this one yet, but here ya go - Pat Sajak admitted to hosting the show after having a few drinks ("two or three or six") years ago.

Netflix is no longer marketing the DVD-by-mail part of its service, was they "expect DVD subscribers to decline each quarter forever," which is sad, since most brick-and-mortar video rentals are gone now. They also won't be adding video games like they had once intended.

If you're a fan of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, which runs on The Hub, get excited - you will be able to vote for the episodes for a mare-a-thon which will run on Saturday, February 11th and Tuesday, February 14th. Go vote!

As one might expect, visitors to Alcatraz Island are already creeping off the main paths to look for secret rooms. The island has posted signs, reminding tourists that Alcatraz is a fictional television show.

Can't get enough of Dearborn, Michigan after watching All-American Muslim? Well, Lifetime is coming up with ANOTHER sequel to Dance Moms... Ice Moms, which will have six episodes to start.

President Obama is a big fan of Showtime's Homeland, as is Bill Clinton and Diane Sawyer

CBS picked up three drama pilots: a period show, a PI show (Applebaum), and a character-driven procedural (Quean). They also ordered a pilot for a sitcom, written by Louis C. K. and Spike Feresten, who wrote Boomtown together ten years ago.

USA is working on The Moment, which is a nine-episode original reality series where football star Kurt Warner gives people a "second chance at reclaiming the career dreams that they put on hold when their lives took an unexpected turn." Each week, someone will have the shot to pick-up an old career where they left off, thanks to great mentors and opportunities. The someones are secretly nominated by loved ones. [USA Network Press Release]

USA picked up Political Animals, a six-hour drama series, to air this summer. It looks like it'll focus on a fictional former first family. Yep, try saying that five times fast!

USA will also be calling this February "Characters Unite Month" for the second year in a row. The goal is to combat prejudice and discrimination, which are problems everywhere. For examples of what they're doing, read here.

TLC is developing Preacher Wives, to be a "candid look into the holy worlds of outspoken ladies who work to ensure that their churches run as smooth as Southern-churned butter."

ABC is turning Scruples, Judith Krantz's 1978 best-selling novel into a one-hour drama.

The city of Hoboken will not allow Jersey Shore to film a spin-off there.

News Roundup: Return Dates, Casting Updates, Movies News, etc.

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Renewals, Cancellations, & Scheduling:

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Revealed will air on CNBC November 24th at 10pm. [CNBC Press Release]

All new episodes of What Not to Wear start on TLC November 29th at 9pm, and new episodes of Toddlers & Tiaras start at 10pm on December 7th on TLC.

Pretty Little Liars returns January 2nd at 8pm, The Lying Game returns January 2nd at 9pm, and Switched at Birth returns January 3rd at 8pm, all on ABCFamily. New ABCFamily show Jane by Design premieres January 3rd at 9pm

State of Play is coming December 7th at 10pm to BBCAmerica.

Jersey Shore returns with a fifth season on January 5th.

Phineas & Ferb was renewed for a fourth season.

The X Factor has been renewed for a second season.

Once Upon a Time, Last Man Standing, and Happy Endings all got full-season pick-ups, and Pan Am got 5 more scripts.

Downton Abbey has gotten a third series!

The Real L Word has been renewed for a third season.

Spartacus was renewed for a third season... before the second season even begins. [what's up with that? There have been quite a few shows to do that sort of thing these days... why not just renew it for multiple seasons at a time, like How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory?]

Sons of Anarchy added a 14th episode to their season, which now puts the finale on December 6th. [wow. what's the precedence for this type of thing? I can think of several shows that could have used "one more episode" to tidy things up...]

TVLand is adding The King of Queens to its lineup, with a marathon kick-off on November 13th.

Cast & Plot Updates:

Megan Mullally has joined the cast of Breaking In, and will play a character running Contra Security.

Nick Jonas has been cast as Kristin's dead-beat babydaddy on Last Man Standing. Look for him around the Christmas episode!

Jennie Garth has been cast in the ABCFamily Village People, where she will play a single career woman who adopts a baby from a teen mother... and ends up caring for both of them. [Um, Kelly Taylor + Valerie Tyler, anyone?]

Shows in Development & Other Fun Stuff:
Want to have a real-time twitter conversation with a Pan Am star? Karine Vanasse, who plays Colette, will be available via @karinevanasse during the east coast viewing of Pan Am this Sunday, November 13th.

Nickelodeon is rolling out "NickMom Primetime," with the site to launch November 14th and the 4-hour block to come to NickJr soon.

Andy Rooney passed away on November 4th, age 92. 60 Minutes did a tribute to the great on Sunday.

SyFy announced three new scripted projects this week... one where a cop becomes a ghost, one where a female KGB agent and a male American weapons inspector form a partnership, and one where "after decades of war, the newly formed Unity Democracy orders a volatile mix of humans and trans-humans to lead the Starship Defender on an expedition in search of lost worlds requiring law and order.

TLC's got a new show coming out next month, calling D.U.I., which will be like COPS only with drunk drivers failing sobriety tests in Oklahoma. Twelve episodes have been ordered. Look for it December 1st at 9pm.

New things to look for in this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Paul Frank's iconic monkey - Julius and Sonic the Hedgehog. Some of this year's stars include Mary J. Blige, Neil Diamond, Michael Feinstein, Daniel Radcliffe, Ceel Lo Green, Avril Lavigne, Mannheim Steamroller, Power Rangers, the Muppets of Sesame Street, and the casts of Broadway shows Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Sister Act, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. We're talking 15 giant character balloons, 44 novelty/ornament balloons/balloonicles/balloonheads, 27 floats, 1600 cheerleaders/dancers/performers, 800 clowns, and 11 marching bands. [NBC Entertainment Press Release]

Stephen King's Bag of Bones will have an interactive online prequel.

Kate Gosselin will be a coupon blogger for CouponCabin.com, starting November 22nd.

CBS is remaking The Rifleman.

Alcatraz, a FOX midseason replacement, is doing some re-shooting of the seven completed episodes.

The Hannibal Lecter television drama will be on NBC... they've ordered 13 episodes.

Looking forward to The Muppets? Kermit the Frog will be appearing on The Tonight Show on Friday the 11th. Amy Adams will be on The Tonight Show on Monday the 14th. Miss Piggy will be on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday the 14th. Kermit AND Miss Piggy will be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday the 16th. Jason Segel will host Saturday Night Live! on Saturday the 19th.

On the film front, there's a 3D, CGI version of Popeye coming out. There's a live-action family film planned for Where's Waldo? as well. More importantly, you can BUY your way onto the new Joss Whedon project. There's a walk-on roll for the film In Your Eyes up on Ebay... for real.

News Roundup: Left Behind & Fraggle Rock Movies; Hulu & Netflix Deals; More Game Shows

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Renewals, Cancellations, & Scheduling:
Tomorrow night, catch Steve Jobs - One Last Thing on PBS.

Bob's Burgers now has an order for a 22-episode second season, rather than the 13 it was scheduled for.

FX renewed American Horror Story for a second season.

FOX has canceled In the Flow with Affion Crockett, after six episodes on Sunday nights. [yeah, I've never heard of this show...]

ABC is premiering a new game show, You Deserve It, on Monday, November 21st. Contestants play for someone they think deserves the money... by buying clues to solve puzzles.

NBC has a new game show coming December 19th. Who's Still Standing? will run for a week before moving to its regular slot on Monday, December 26th. It alerady runs in Spain and Hungary, and has eleven people answering trivia questions... when you get one wrong, you fall through a trapdoor. [NBC Entertainment Press Release]

TLC's Long Island Medium [nope, I've never heard of it, either] got renewed for a second season of 12 half-hour episodes premiering in March 2012.

Cast & Plot Updates:
Jennifer Coolidge will be a recurring cast member on 2 Broke Girls, playing a neighbor to Max and Caroline.

The Sister Wives family had their 17th child.

Shows in Development & Other Fun Stuff:
In 2012, Oxygen will have two new series, LA Style - behind-the-scenes of runways and red carpets, and The Eva Marcille Project - a "docusoap" about four female BFFs - a model/actress/producer, an actress, an interior designer, and a talent/brand manager. Both are working titles. [Oxygen Media Press Release]

Want to vote for X-Factor via twitter? Starting tomorrow, you can.

FX has ordered ten episodes of Anger Management, to star Charlie Sheen. If it does well, they will order NINETY MORE EPISODES.

NBC is going to do a Wiseguy reboot.

New Regency now has the rights to a Fraggle Rock film.

In Spring 2012, In Living Color will return to FOX for two half-hour specials, featuring new talent. If it does well, an entire season may be picked up.

FOX and DirecTV reached an agreement after a rough ten days.

The nine current CW shows are going to be licensed to Hulu for a five-year agreement. FOX, ABC, and NBC already do so.

Speaking of ABC-Disney, they've now got a deal with Netflix as well... episodes of new seasons from Disney-ABC shows will be available for Netflix streaming 30 days after the last episode of the season airs.

While it's more movie-related than television-related, I wanted to point out that Left Behind is returning to the theaters, but this time with a $15,000,000 budget and without Kirk Cameron.