Chuck Ross

Author Page

38,865 Entries

Chuck Ross is the managing director of TVWeek.com. He's been involved in the TV business ever since he sold cable TV subscriptions in Santa Monica, Calif., door-to-door in the mid-to-late 1970s. He's had regular gigs reporting and/or editing about TV and advertising for Cablevision magazine,The Hollywood Reporter, the San Francisco Chronicle, Inside Media and Advertising Age. He first joined the predecessor to TVWeek, Electronic Media, in 2000.

Damn You Vile Physicist! 13 Episode Sequel to Carl Sagan’s Classic PBS Astronomy Science Series ‘Cosmos’ Has Been Ordered by…Fox (!). To Air in Primetime (!!). To Be Produced by…Seth MacFarlane (!!!).

"Fox has greenlighted ‘Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey,’ a 13-part docu-series from ‘Family Guy’ creator [Seth] MacFarlane and the late [Carl] Sagan’s original collaborators — his widow, writer/producer Ann Druyan, and astrophysicist Steven Soter," writes Nellie Andreeva at Deadline.com. According to the article,…

Lawsuit and Harsh Words Between Comcast and DirecTV: Comcast Calls Ad Claim ‘Outright Lie’; DirecTV Calls Lawsuit ‘Deplorable’

Comcast has sued DirecTV over what the cable giant claims are misleading ads for the satellite-TV company’s NFL Sunday Ticket package, reports the New York Post. The ads tout DirecTV’s "free" NFL Sunday Ticket package, which Comcast alleges in its…

Showtime Renews Series

Showtime’s presentation Friday at the Television Critics Association press tour included a number of key programming announcements, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The pay-cable network announced that the reality soap "Gigolos" has been renewed for a second season. In addition,…

Pepsi Reveals How It Plans to Get Its $60 Million Worth Out of ‘X Factor’

Mega-marketer Pepsi’s ongoing cola war with Coke will soon play out on a new front, with the rival soft drinks sponsoring rival TV shows. While Coca-Cola has been a longtime sponsor of “American Idol,” Pepsi has just taken the wraps…

Cable and Satellite Companies Worry About Softening Porn Sales

Cable and satellite television companies are concerned about what they see as an alarming trend: TV viewers aren’t buying adult video-on-demand products like they used to, reports The Wall Street Journal. (Please note that the WSJ is behind a paywall…

Film Director Is an Unexpected — and Controversial — Addition to Producing Team for 2012 Oscars Telecast

Producers for the 2012 Academy Awards telecast on ABC were announced Thursday, and along with the predictable — one veteran TV awards show producer — the academy threw in a surprise, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The surprise was the…

What Do Sarah Palin, Lady Gaga, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson and Anthony Weiner Have in Common?

What do Sarah Palin, Lady Gaga, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson and Anthony Weiner have in common? They are all on the wish list for the CW’s “H8R,” which pairs regular people with the celebrities they hate, according to The Hollywood Reporter’s The…

Surprise Twist in the Saga of the ‘Sex and the City’ Prequel

The ongoing saga of the long-rumored "Sex and the City" prequel has taken a surprise twist, reports the Los Angeles Times’ Show Tracker blog. The project, which has gained momentum in the press after being talked about at the Television…

Former Beatle Says He’s a Victim of Phone Hacking — ‘a Horrendous Violation of Privacy’ — and Will Talk to Cops About It

Former Beatle Paul McCartney, appearing via satellite during the Television Critics Association press tour, said he’s been a victim of the widening British phone-hacking scandal and will talk with police when he returns to England, reports Deadline.com. "When I go…

TV’s Mr. Bean Wrecks His Million-Dollar Sports Car; He’ll Be OK, but the Car … Not So Much

Actor Rowan Atkinson suffered a minor injury when he crashed his million-dollar sports car Thursday night in southern England, the AP reports. Atkinson, known for playing Mr. Bean on TV and in films and for appearing in the “Blackadder” comedy…