CBS has signed Michael Rappaport to a development deal to create, produce and star in an hour-long drama for the network, the Hollywood Reporter says. The untitled project about New York social workers will be produced by Denis Leary and…
Comcast’s top fundraiser held a dinner last month for presidential candidate Barack Obama that generated $6.1 million in campaign contributions, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. How much that will help Comcast, which is anti-union and on the opposite side of the…
Seam McManus, president of CBS News and CBS Sports, tells TelevisionWeek he thinks the network’s third place newscasts are getting better. But he’s perplexed about why Katie Couric’s ratings haven’t started to climb. “I think we’ve done such a good…
A real railroad conductor, Matt Brown hosts History’s new series “Extreme Trains,” which premieres Tuesday, USA Today says. “Trains”‘ eight episodes are packed with the technology, history and tough blue-collar workers that have popularized History Channel shows such as ‘Ice…
The cable industry is counting on the high-definition TV experience being exciting enough to keep people from shutting off service and switching to Web-based video as recession-wary consumers look to cut back, attendees at the opening panel of the Cable…
The Screen Actors Guild reminded members they cannot work for non-union producers, even when doing new-media projects, Daily Variety reports. SAG said in a message to members that as of Jan. 1 it will “vigorously” enforce compliance with Rule One,…
“Saved by the Bell” alum Tiffani Thiessen will co-star in USA Network’s pilot “White Collar,” the Hollywood Reporter says. She will play the wife of an FBI white-collar crime unit investigator. Also, Spike TV has cast Matthew Marsden and Kevin…
After drawing record viewers during a rough and tumble election season, the Associated Press wonders if viewers will still tune in to cable news for the traditional honeymoon period afforded to new presidents. Frank Sesno, a former CNNer and now…
Bill Burke, who worked for Turner Broadcasting and ran the Weather Channel, has collaborated with Ted Turner on an autobiography called “Call Me Ted,” the New York Times says. “The good thing for me is that Ted likes to spend…
TV Land has ordered six episodes of a new hidden-camera series “Make My Day,” Daily Variety reports. The project, from Michael Davies and Sony Pictures TV and based on a British series, will feature unsuspecting subjects faced with outlandish events…