Cancelled shows of Tomorrow: The War on Chuck Lorre - Part 6

[Sawyer]

http://www.deadline.com/2013/10/fam...winkler-gets-abc-pilot-production-commitment/

Family Comedy From Phil Rosenthal, Max Winkler & Rob Reinis To Star Henry Winkler Gets ABC Pilot Production Commitment
By NELLIE ANDREEVA

EXCLUSIVE: They have been an integral part of two of the defining family sitcoms of two separate decades. Now Everybody Loves Raymond creator Phil Rosenthal and Happy Days star Henry Winkler have teamed with Winkler’s son, director Max Winkler, and son-in-law, actor Rob Reinis, for a new multi-camera family comedy project, which has landed at ABC with a pilot production commitment. The untitled project is designed as a starring vehicle for Henry Winkler and is based on his relationship with his son-in-law. Written by Rosenthal, Max Winkler and Reinis and to be directed by Rosenthal, the comedy hails from 20th TV and Max Winkler and Jake Johnson’s studio-based Walcott Co. It centers around an emotionally reserved construction worker who learns about love, life and hugs while unexpectedly living with his in-laws – Henry, to be played by Henry Winkler, and Stacey Winkler. (In real life, Henry Winkler has been married to his wife Stacey Winkler for more than 35 years.) After coming with the idea for the project, brothers-in-law Max Winkler and Reinis wanted to team with an A-list showrunner who has experience in family comedy. They reached out to Rosenthal, who responded to the premise and came on board. This marks a return to primetime for CAA-repped Rosenthal who, following Raymond‘s 9-season run, which earned two best comedy series Emmys, has worked on his successful restaurant ventures and on his feature documentary Exporting Raymond, about his experience launching a Russian adaptation of the hit CBS sitcom. The Rosenthal/Winkler/Reinis comedy also marks the biggest sale for the Walcott Co. under the deal company inked with 20th TV in July. The company also has a Matt Spicer and Dan St. Germain comedy projects at Fox. Max Winkler, repped by CAA and Management 360, has directed 5 episodes of Fox’s New Girl. Henry Winkler, repped by Resolution and 360, has been recurring on USA’s Royal Pains.

ABC + Multicam = No, thank you.

But, goddammit, I do love Winkler...

 

[HighFivingMF]

I like The Millers. It doesn't feel very Greg Garcia-y, but enough to keep me interested. Other than that, eh.

 

[DrDoom]

I liked "Welcome To The Family"

 

[enterthemadness]

Is the only difference between Multicam and single-cam, is that multi-cam is filmed on a studio set with a laugh track or people hold hostage to laugh?

 

[Sawyer]

http://www.deadline.com/2013/10/usa...tion-starring-eliza-coupe-from-abc-signature/

USA Orders Comedy Presentation Starring Eliza Coupe & Produced By ABC Signature
By NELLIE ANDREEVA

USA Network has given a pilot presentation order to Benched, a courtroom single-camera comedy to star Happy Endings alumna Eliza Coupe. The project hails from ABC Signature, the boutique division of ABC Studios launched earlier this year with Tracy Underwood at the helm, which focuses on cable, emerging platforms, off-cycle and lower-cost programming for broadcast networks. ABC Studios-based the Mark Gordon Co. is co-producing Benched, which will be directed by Mike Fresco from a script by Saturday Night Live alumna Michaela Watkins and The Groundlings’ Damon Jones. Party Down co-creator John Enbom has come on board as showrunner and will executive produce alongside Watkins, Jones, Gordon and Andrea Shay. Benched centers on Nina (Coupe), a dedicated, career-driven corporate attorney who has a very public nervous breakdown after getting passed up for an expected promotion and finds herself working as a public defender. Her personal and professional worlds are turned upside down when she joins the ranks of the legal world’s underdogs and very quickly realizes that the law isn’t quite as fair as she once thought. Benched joins two other USA comedy pilots, Love Is Dead and Divide & Conquer. Coupe, repped by CAA, Kirsten Ames Management, and attorney Jeff Bernstein, recently wrapped the indie The Last Time You Had Fun and next will recur on Showtime’s House of Lies and CBS’ The Millers.

 

[HighFivingMF]

I liked "Welcome To The Family"

Yeah, it wasn't anything special, but it had Mike O'Malley and Diedrich Bader.

 

[Dr. Evil]

If it's cable, it has a great chance to succeed.

 

[Duran Man]

Lucky 7
Sean Hayes...
We are Men
Back in the Game
Betrayal
Welcome to the Family

3/6

 

[terry78]

A couple of these shows would work better on cable as you can see them trying to push the envelope but can only go so far.

 

[warhorse78]

Oh, similar to what the male lead on Hawaii 5-0 has with CBS. I think he went through 2 failed series on CBS before finding success with 5-0. I think this was Underwood's 2nd failed series with NBC in the last 3 years. Just a shame too.

Does that include High Incident from 93?

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Man, the Michael J Fox show is terrible. I really like MJF (and Betsy Brandt and the black dude from The Wire), but this show doesn't know what it wants to do or say. I feel bad saying this, but the constant parkinson's humor makes it very one-note and it's usually not funny, just kind of uncomfortable. The show also seems not to know how far to take it. Sometimes it treads lightly around his parkinson's and gently pokes fun at it, and sometimes it takes it on no holds barred. It's a very confused show with no clear direction and you can only milk laughter out of parkinsons' related slapstick so much. I know it has a full season order, but I don't see it getting picked up after that.

 

[TheVileOne]

Nothing but net JJJ's Ulcer.

The first episode was a disastrous mess.

First of all the character is a local news anchor. Make him like Conan O'Brien or Matt Lauer instead of a local news guy. Who watches the local news anymore?

 

[Teelie]

It is even during the same episode sometimes. I'm not ready to give up on it yet but they really need to focus on their direction or it won't make it to a second season.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Nothing but net JJJ's Ulcer.

The first episode was a disastrous mess.

First of all the character is a local news anchor. Make him like Conan O'Brien or Matt Lauer instead of a local news guy. Who watches the local news anymore?

Right. In 2013, what local news guy is treated like a celebrity that people hug on the street? It's ridiculous.

And another thing I'd mention is it seems the supporting characters all have sitcom trope roles to fill instead of being organic characters. You have MJF's man-hungry, slightly over-the-hill sister who flaunts her goods to strangers in order to hide her loneliness. You have the sarcastic daughter, who actually has a huge heart.... and the underachiever son, who's actually really smart. You have the wisecracking black boss. And now you have Anne Heche playing the unnaturally mean rival who delights in being a complete ***** and making life harder for someone suffering from Parkinson's disease. In sitcom land she's a foil, but in the real world this would be sociopathic behavior. I can't imagine how people would view me at my workplace if I was constantly verbally abusing someone with a serious disability.

 

[Teelie]

It's like they just looked at the 80's and said "let's do that!" which I find funny because I like The Goldbergs which is set in the 80's but has characters who feel like they're more than a walking trope. Sure, they're still tropes but they are at least based on real people.

 

[Donut]

Hmmmmmmmmm

 

[Sawyer]

Not really.

 

[Mace Dolex]

It's like they just looked at the 80's and said "let's do that!" which I find funny because I like The Goldbergs which is set in the 80's but has characters who feel like they're more than a walking trope. Sure, they're still tropes but they are at least based on real people.

And I just hate listening to the radio promos for it inserting random 80's hit song to it when the show isn't about shoving 80's tidbits down our throats where one of the characters is mentioning something about the 80's every 5 seconds.

I think this is following the style of The Wonder Years which might be interesting seeing how many episodes it can go until the 90's roll around.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Sean Hayes on why his show is a ratings bomb:

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-77905473/

 

[Sawyer]

Eh. He's half right. Having a series on NBC is pretty much a guarantee that it won't be as successful as it could be (unless it's The Voice or in a timeslot after the Voice).

But his show is still pure ****, and he's full of it if he thinks otherwise.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Sean Hayes on why his show is a ratings bomb:

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-77905473/

Because it's not funny? These guys in charge of the network sitcoms are so out of touch. They just don't understand how audiences' tastes have evolved and become more discerning over the last two or three decades. Even while TV dramas have gotten much smarter and better since the 90's and 80's, sitcoms (with very notable exceptions like Curb, Arrested, Parks & Rec, Community, etc) don't know how to get it right and rely on the same tired formulas, lame jokes and tropes and the worst ones even still drag out the same patronizing laugh-tracks that have driven people mad for the last half century.

 

[Sawyer]

That train of logic fails when you consider that many of the highest rated comedies on right now are quite possibly the worst ones on the air. The Big Bang Theory? Absolute crap writing, HUGE numbers.

NBC's problem is they were trying to mainstream with this Sean Hayes ****. They're going for CBS-level stuff, but their comedies over the past several years have been so great (if not great ratings performers), this is such a step back. Be edgy, NBC. Don't go pansy on us.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

I guess you have a point. Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men are two of the worst shows I've ever sat through, but they're ratings gold. But I don't think any sitcom has really changed the game in a fundamental way since Seinfeld in the 90's.

 

[Sawyer]

In terms of quality and commercial success, probably not. Arrested Development was a game changer, but it was done in two and a half seasons.

 

[Shifty]

I guess you have a point. Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men are two of the worst shows I've ever sat through, but they're ratings gold. But I don't think any sitcom has really changed the game in a fundamental way since Seinfeld in the 90's.

In terms of quality and commercial success, probably not. Arrested Development was a game changer, but it was done in two and a half seasons.

Malcolm in the Middle was one that showed you could do a single camera show with no laugh track and be successful. At least for 3-4 seasons. It was the first single camera comedy as we know it as today. It debuted in January 2000 with 23 million viewers while the other networks were mostly doing rehashes of 80s/90s sitcoms that failed.

After Malcolm debuted in January 2000, Scrubs premiered in fall 2001 and then AD in 2003.