‘Idol’ viewers dip 19 percent
BY RITA SHERROW World Television Editor
Friday, January 18, 2013
Follow ‘Idol’ blog: Check out Jason Ashley Wright’s blog as he follows the “American
Idol” auditions.
The 12th season premiere
of “American Idol” on
Wednesday was down 19 percent
in viewership, according
to hollywoodreporter.com.
The Fox reality singing
competition drew 17.81 million
viewers, down from 21.9
million in January 2012. But
it was ahead of 10.7 million
who watched NBC’s hit series
“The Voice” premiere
last fall, reported the website.
Even though it was “Idol’s”
lowest-rated in-season premiere,
Fox still won the night
in the ratings. The two-hour
opener gave Fox “the highestrated
night with entertainment
programming of any
network so far this season
and outrated ABC, CBS and
NBC combined by 11 percent,”
according to the website.
The season continues with
new judges Mariah Carey,
Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban,
Wednesdays and Thursdays
7-9 p.m. on channel 23, cable
5 in Tulsa.
‘Drop Dead Diva’ dropped
It’s that time of year when
networks and cable channels
start to cut their losses on
low-rated TV series. Lifetime
and Syfy channels have done
just that this week.
Lifetime has canceled
“Drop Dead Diva,” deadline.com reported Tuesday.
The comedy-drama series,
starring Brooke Elliott as a
former model who died but
returned to this world as a
curvy attorney, launched
in 2009 and aired for four
seasons.
It wrapped its run on the
cable channel three months
ago, but there is talk that
producer Sony Pictures
Television may try to find the
series another home, reports
the website.
Coming up on the network
are the seventh season of a
retooled “Army Wives” with
cast changes, the second season
of Jennifer Love Hewitt’s
“The Client List” and the
new dramedy “Devious
Maids,” former Oklahoman
Marc Cherry’s follow-up
series to “Desperate Housewives.
In the world of science-fiction
TV, the Syfy channel has
announced it will not pick
up a third season of “Alphas,”
reports the website.
“We’ve been proud to
present this entertaining, high-quality series for two
seasons and to work with
an incredible ensemble of
talented actors, producers
and creatives as well as our
partners at BermanBraun
Television,” said a statement
issued by the cable channel
Wednesday.
The series, which starred
David Strathairn, followed
a team of ordinary citizens
with “extraordinary and unusual
mental skills.” Its last
episode aired Oct. 22.
Producer: Carell won’t
return to ‘The Office’
Fans of “The Office”
shouldn’t expect the return
of actor Steve Carell to “The
Office” when it ends its
nine-season run on NBC this
spring.
That’s the word from Greg
Daniels, executive producer
and showrunner of the series,
at Wednesday’s Television
Critics Association
panel in Los Angeles.
Carell “was very much of
the opinion that the ‘Goodbye
Michael’ episode and
story arc leading up to it was
the goodbye to the fans and
the show,” Daniels said, adding
this final season “is the
goodbye that the rest of the
show gets to have,” reported
deadline.com.
Daniels revealed that one
character will be fired in episode 15 and the series will
wrap up with an hourlong
episode possibly featuring
some series regulars and
guest stars, including Mindy
Kaling. No series finale air
date has been set yet.
“The Office,” based on the
award-winning BBC series
of the same name, is a flyon-
the-wall “docu-reality”
parody of modern American
office life that delves into
the lives of the workers at
Dunder Mifflin, a fictional
paper supply company in
Scranton, Pa.
Series star Rainn Wilson,
who plays Dwight Schrute
the arrogant assistant to the
regional
manager,
was also a
member of
the panel
for TCA.
He talked
about the
early days
of the series
when cast
members
would sit
around wondering if the
network would pick up
the show for even a second
season.
He called the cast a family
that had “grown up together”
and even “fought a little bit,
not like (the cast of ) ‘Grey’s
Anatomy,’ ” the entertainment
website reported.
He told the TV writers
what he will miss most is the
innocence of the “kids” who
are now “giant megalomaniac
TV stars,” the website
reported.
In Thursday’s episode,
Clark (Clark Duke) returns
from his sex jaunt with Jan
and gifts the office with a
new espresso maker, which
everyone abuses. Dwight
(Rainn Wilson) takes him to
sell a father-son suit warehouse.
Meanwhile, Darryl
(Craig Robinson) interviews
at Jim’s (John Krasinski)
company and Pam (Jenna
Fischer) comes for a surprise
visit, according to NBC.
On the Jan. 24 episode,
fans will start to see what
goes on behind the documentary
cameras, plus
Dwight tries to prevent Darryl’s
move to Athlead. Jim
is forced to miss Cece’s first
recital when a big investor
exits his new company, to
Pam’s intense disappointment.
Nellie (Catherine Tate)
exposes Pete (Jake Lacey)
and Erin (Ellie Kemper).
‘Hunger Games’ star to
make debut as ‘SNL’ host
Golden Globe winner Jennifer
Lawrence makes her
debut as host of “Saturday
Night Live” this weekend on
NBC.
The 22-year-old Oscarnominated
actress is the star
of “Silver Linings Playbook”
and “The Hunger Games.
The Lumineers, Grammy
nominated for Best New
Artist and Best Americana
album, will be her musical
guests at 10:29 p.m. Saturday
on channel 2, cable 9 in
Tulsa.
NBC also announced other
celebrities headed to “SNL”
this winter.
On Jan. 26, Maroon 5
frontman and “The Voice”
musician coach Adam Levine
makes his debut as host with
hip-hop artist Kendrick
Lamar.
And, on Feb. 9, Justin
Bieber will do double duty as
host and musical guest. His
new album, “Believe Acoustic,”
launches Jan. 29.
NBC has released a series
of promos for Lawrence’s
appearance on the show. In
them, she and cast member
Jason Sudeikis spoof everything
from her Golden Globe
win to her bow-and-arrow
skills. Go to tulsaworld.com/tvtype to see the promo.
The actress is in production
for “The Hunger Games:
Catching Fire,” part two
in the series of films based
on the novels by Suzanne
Collins. The film is set to
premiere in November 2013.
Associated Images:
Subway singer Frankie Ford performed on Wednesday’s
“American Idol” premiere and earned a ticket to the Hollywood
rounds. MICHAEL BECKER/Fox
Brooke Elliott has starred as a former model who died but
returned to this world as a plus-sized attorney for four seasons in
Lifetime’s original series “Drop Dead Diva.” ANNETTE BROWN/Lifetime
Actress Jennifer Lawrence,
seen arriving at the 70th Annual
Golden Globe Awards last
Sunday, will host “Saturday
Night Live” on NBC.
JOHN SHEARER/Invision/AP
Wilson
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