Liveblogging the CBS Upfront
May 14, 2008 6:05 AM
9 a.m. - We're starting.
9:01 - Moonves talks. One person applauds.
9:02 - Post strike, our ratings have been terrific, Moonves says.
9:03 - "Our upfront presentation is going to be fairly traditional."
9:04 - Nina and Kelly to present.
9:05 - Nina Tassler: Comedies are important.
9:06 - Nina: We want more women on the schedule and changes to our procedurals.
9:07 - Nina: We have the schedule.
9:08 - "Worst Week" will air at 9:30 p.m. on Mondays.
9:10 - More scheduling news ... On Tuesday - "The Mentalist" at 9, "Without a Trace" moves to 10. On Wednesday - "Old Christine" moves to 8 and "Project Gary" is at 8:30. Both are comedies, which is new for CBS. Thursday - "Survivor" is in Gabon, "Eleventh Hour" will play at 10. On Friday - "The Ex List" is at 9. For Sundays - "Amazing Race" plays at 8 ...
9:15 - Nina has a soft spot for "The Ex List." Girl is told she has one year to find her true love or she'll be single forever, but she's already met the guy at some point in her life
9:17 - "The Unit" has moved to 10 on Sunday. "How I Met Your Mother" is still on the sked where it is currently. "Moonlight" is goneski.
9:19 - Midseason: Nina says "Harper's Island" = "Ten Little Indians" meets "Scream." Also, "Rules of Engagement" is coming back.
9:20 - We will be producing pilots year-round. "Shark" is gone. Nina says she's excited about the show's loyal fan base but programs like "Moonlight" just didn't make the cut, and it was a tough decision to make. "I loved that vampire," she said.
9:24 - I just noticed that CBS spelled "Samantha Who" wrong on their sked. They spelled it "Samatha Who."
9:25 - Women drive network TV, says Nina. CBS wanted to build on that. During the development process, the network considered whether characters written as men could be written as women.
9:28 - Might see another writers cross-over like the recent "CSI"/"Two and a Half Men" show, says Nina.
9:30 - "The Amazing Race" will have two cycles this season.
9:30 - "Moonlight" probably not going to CW, says Nina.
9:32 - We're done.
--Andrew Krukowski
9:01 - Moonves talks. One person applauds.
9:02 - Post strike, our ratings have been terrific, Moonves says.
9:03 - "Our upfront presentation is going to be fairly traditional."
9:04 - Nina and Kelly to present.
9:05 - Nina Tassler: Comedies are important.
9:06 - Nina: We want more women on the schedule and changes to our procedurals.
9:07 - Nina: We have the schedule.
9:08 - "Worst Week" will air at 9:30 p.m. on Mondays.
9:10 - More scheduling news ... On Tuesday - "The Mentalist" at 9, "Without a Trace" moves to 10. On Wednesday - "Old Christine" moves to 8 and "Project Gary" is at 8:30. Both are comedies, which is new for CBS. Thursday - "Survivor" is in Gabon, "Eleventh Hour" will play at 10. On Friday - "The Ex List" is at 9. For Sundays - "Amazing Race" plays at 8 ...
9:15 - Nina has a soft spot for "The Ex List." Girl is told she has one year to find her true love or she'll be single forever, but she's already met the guy at some point in her life
9:17 - "The Unit" has moved to 10 on Sunday. "How I Met Your Mother" is still on the sked where it is currently. "Moonlight" is goneski.
9:19 - Midseason: Nina says "Harper's Island" = "Ten Little Indians" meets "Scream." Also, "Rules of Engagement" is coming back.
9:20 - We will be producing pilots year-round. "Shark" is gone. Nina says she's excited about the show's loyal fan base but programs like "Moonlight" just didn't make the cut, and it was a tough decision to make. "I loved that vampire," she said.
9:24 - I just noticed that CBS spelled "Samantha Who" wrong on their sked. They spelled it "Samatha Who."
9:25 - Women drive network TV, says Nina. CBS wanted to build on that. During the development process, the network considered whether characters written as men could be written as women.
9:28 - Might see another writers cross-over like the recent "CSI"/"Two and a Half Men" show, says Nina.
9:30 - "The Amazing Race" will have two cycles this season.
9:30 - "Moonlight" probably not going to CW, says Nina.
9:32 - We're done.
--Andrew Krukowski
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Comments (8)
Moonlight is an amazing show and the fan base will continue, even if Nina is less than enthusiastic.
Her name isn't Keith Samples and she doesn't run MRC.
Posted by Mariah | May 14, 2008 7:14 AM
Uh, Nina...
The fans love their show...they have literally bled for Moonlight and want their beloved show on for that well-deserved second season.
We will follow the show wherever it goes. And that's not a small number of viewers. Not in the least.
We will continue to campaign to have Moonlight brought back to the air, in whatever venue.
In vampire solidarity,
Leeser
MoonlightLine.com
(562) 256-0910
Posted by Leeser | May 14, 2008 7:23 AM
Stupid CBS! Why, why why?! And why shouldn't it go to the CW, it has better ratings than several of the CW's current shows combined--do they not like ratings or something?!
Well sayonara CBS, you will get no more of my business now!
Posted by Sherrilina | May 14, 2008 8:38 AM
Isn't "Samantha Who" on ABC? Why would the writer post this on a LiveBlog for CBS? I'm confuzzled. Also, why the two time zones? Is this because the upfront is in Eastern time zone and the blogger regularly writes from California? Some clarification would be appreciated.
Posted by Lisa Karaganis | May 14, 2008 9:12 AM
Interesting that Moonlight was mentioned three times - and it's not on their schedule. What a way to treat a People's Choise Award winning show. Canceling it = CRAZY!
Posted by finajk | May 14, 2008 9:17 AM
"Women drive network TV." So let's cancel the most romantic drama in the entire history of television. These people have their heads up their .........
Posted by The Wizard, fkap | May 14, 2008 10:25 AM
1:21 pm
I'm done with CBS
1:22 pm
MOONLIGHT, THE BEST SHOW AND THE MOST
WELL LIKE BY OVER 5 - 8 MILLION PEOPLE.
1:23 pm
LIGHTS OUT
Posted by Sandy | May 15, 2008 11:26 AM
CBS put up their schedule against the rest of the pack on a big projected slide, so that's why Samantha Who was mentioned. Sorry if that wasn't clear, I was filing on a blackberry.
Posted by Andrew | May 15, 2008 6:13 PM