Grrl TV

Amid all of the great developments this past week concerning a slew of unlikely renewed series comes some sad news for one freshman I like.
Noah Hawley, the creator of ABC’s rookie cop dramedy The Unusuals, has announced the bad news from his Twitter account that the Amber Tamblyn series “will not be back for a second season.” After thanking fans for their “amazing support,” he reminds everyone that there are four remaining Unusuals episodes (of ten produced), which will begin airing on Wednesday, May 27.
I’ve watched every single hour of the midseason series broadcast to date, and while the …read more

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Entertainment Weekly super scooper Michael Ausiello broke the bad news yesterday: USA Network has declined to renew Debra Messing’s romantic dramedy The Starter Wife for a new season.
Says he: “When the Debra Wife debuted in 2007 as a six-hour miniseries, it attracted more than 5 million viewers and went on to earn 10 Emmy nominations. However, ratings for its 10-episode first season averaged just 2.4 million viewers — a decent number by most cable standards, but not for USA, where its top shows (Burn Notice, Monk) regularly pull in around 6 million.”
And there you have it: the series version of …read more

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Earlier this month, NBC Universal production studio president Angela Bromstad made some uplifting comments about the possible fate of NBC’s endangered dramedy Lipstick Jungle.
First and foremost, she confirmed that the series has not been officially canceled. In addition, she indicated that network executives will likely investigate alternatives to allow the show to stick around longer and return next fall for a third season.
Following on the heels of that nice development is more good news this week. Recently, while chatting with Ben Grossman, Editor-in-Chief of the industry news outlet Broadcasting & Cable, NBC Entertainment executive Ben Silverman stated:

Lipstick Jungle …read more

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When you think about it, Lipstick Jungle fans are a fairly lucky bunch. Every time word spreads that the end of the sophomore dramedy is here, NBC executives speak up and say somebody forgot to tell them.
So it happens again this week, after the last scheduled episode of the series aired last Friday. NBC Universal production studio president Angela Bromstad tells TV Guide: “We officially have not canceled Lipstick Jungle. I think there are alternatives we may look into. It’s all a conversation for the fall.”
Whew! Now don’t ever claim that the clamoring of thousands of …read more

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As if anyone really needed actual confirmation, the unambiguous and definitive bad news for Swingtown fans dropped earlier today. At CBS’ presentation during the Television Critics Association press tour, network president Nina Tassler stated, “We’re not going back to Swingtown… right now.”
Tassler then went on to acknowledge that CBS is “proud” it took the risk on a show that was “well executed” and “well received” and that had “great” performances and writing. Sounds like exactly the kind of show a network should cancel, right?
And, ignore the last two words of Tassler’s comment because they’re empty; if CBS had …read more

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If you’re one of the many viewers trying to show Lipstick Jungle some extra love now that the word is out its future is in danger at NBC, note that the network has relocated the show to a new time slot yet again.
Be happy, however, because on this occasion the change is a reward of sorts for the attention and increased ratings the series has earned following all of the recent interest in keeping it alive.
Effective the week after Thanksgiving, Lipstick will air its remaining four episodes an hour earlier on Fridays, at 9pm EST. The ultra boring historical-adventure …read more

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Remember how so many TV news outlets, including this one, reported last week that NBC had axed Lipstick Jungle? Well, it turns out we were wrong.
According to the NY Times and Lipstick star Brooke Shields herself, the series lives on, and the cast and crew can thank a significant uptick in viewership last Friday, as well as strident protests from a vocal group of loyal fans. I’m guessing the latter also made more than a few unaware followers realize the show had actually moved to a new night, not disappeared all together.
Says Shields: “They’re not breaking down the …read more

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The expected has finally happened. Following a disastrous move to a Friday death-knell time slot and continued low ratings in the poor, undesirable neighborhood of 3 million total viewers, NBC has canceled the sophomore Brooke Shields, Kim Raver, and Lindsay Price dramedy Lipstick Jungle.
NBC hasn’t yet announced whether the show will be pulled from the schedule immediately. Since each of the thirteen episodes originally ordered have completed filming, the network could opt to air them, perhaps out of kindness to loyal watchers.
I wouldn’t hold my breath on the last possibility, though, but we’ll see. And if …read more

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If you’re a fan of the Courteney Cox dramedy Dirt, which aired on basic cable’s FX, you’re out of luck as of yesterday.
That’s when TV Guide reported some very sad news revealed to the publication by the actress herself: FX has declined to renew the tabloid series for a third season.
I can empathize with anyone who might be upset over this development since it seems like the show has been gypped after the Writers Guild of America strike severely shortened its second season, decreasing the run to just seven measly episodes from an original order of thirteen.
I wouldn’t get too …read more

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