| Make your mind up J.Lo, says "American Idol" producer |
 LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jennifer Lopez and "American Idol" producers played a cat-and- mouse game on Friday over the singer's future on the TV talent show that revived her career and sent her to the top of a global celebrity power list. "American Idol" producer Nigel Lythgoe said on Friday that Lopez must decide whether to sign up as a judge for a third year or go off in a new direction. ...
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| "Vampire Diaries," Justin Bieber lead Teen Choice nominees |
 LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - TV show "The Vampire Diaries" earned a leading six nominations for the annual Teen Choice awards on Friday, with Justin Bieber and talent show "American Idol" coming a close second with five nods apiece. "Vampire Diaries, which airs on the CW network, pushed aside blockbuster movies like "The Avengers" and "The Hunger Games" to gain the most nominations in an awards show that ranges from film to music, fashion and favorites celebrities. ...
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| GM passes on running TV ads during 2013 Super Bowl |
 DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co will not advertise in next year's Super Bowl because it is too expensive, the top marketing executive for the U.S. automaker said three days after the company announced it was dropping paid ads on Facebook Inc. The 2013 Super Bowl will be broadcast by CBS Corp, which is selling 30-second ads for as much as $4 million. Spots on NBC's broadcast of this year's National Football League championship game, the most heavily watched annual event on U.S. television, cost about $3.5 million per 30-second spot. NBC is majority-owned by Comcast Corp. ...
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| And the winner is? The sitcom, TV networks hope |
 (Reuters) - The big winner of this year's upfront TV advertising sales season was an old favorite: the sitcom. By the time the curtain came down on the network previews on Thursday, 16 of the 36 new scripted shows added to the programming lineups of the big four broadcast networks - CBS Corp, Walt Disney Co's ABC, News Corp's Fox and Comcast Corp's NBC - were comedies. Upfront week is the television industry's annual rite at which networks preview upcoming shows for advertisers and media buyers in hopes of persuading them to buy commercial time in advance. ...
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| "Homeland" heroine turns Mideast sleuth in season 2 |
 TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Though booted from the CIA as psychologically unfit, the heroine of the hit TV thriller "Homeland" will return for the second season pursuing leads in the Middle East, the show's producer said on Friday. During a Tel Aviv visit to shoot new scenes and pay homage to the Israeli hostage drama on which Homeland is based, Howard Gordon drew links with "24", another U.S. television series of his about a renegade counter-terrorist. "You'll remember Jack Bauer was usually out for one reason or another. ...
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| Jessica Sanchez, Phillip Phillips make "Idol" final |
 NEW YORK (Reuters) - He brought the "American Idol" judges to their feet, but Joshua Ledet couldn't win over fans and was sent home from the top-rated TV talent show on Thursday, leaving Jessica Sanchez and Phillip Phillips to battle for the crown on next week's finale. The elimination of Ledet - through audience voting and not by the judges - sets up a final showdown between Sanchez and Phillips to determine who will be named the next "American Idol," a distinction that has belonged to hitmakers such as Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, among others. ...
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| MTV cancels "I Just Want My Pants Back" |
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - MTV has canceled its romantic dramedy series "I Just Want My Pants Back" after one season. "We're proud to have aired 'I Just Want My Pants Back,' with its impressive creative pedigree and talented group of actors," MTV said in a statement. "Many factors go in to determining renewals, however, and ultimately, we decided not to move forward with an additional season of 'Pants. ... |
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| "Friday Night Lights" alum Plemons joins "Breaking Bad" |
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - No one's what they seem to be on "Breaking Bad" - well, except maybe for the often hapless Jesse - and the show's adding another mysterious character to the mix with "Friday Night Lights" alum Jesse Plemons. The man who played beloved "FNL"-er Landry Clarke will join the fifth and final season of AMC's "Breaking Bad" as a guy named Todd, a network rep confirms to TheWrap. Todd is a nice gu... or so he appears, reports TVLine.com. There will likely be more to the "dependable, innocuous, working-class guy" than meets the eye, however. ... |
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| Kelsey Grammer comedy, Dick Wolf drama among USA's new shows |
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - USA Network announced its slate of upcoming projects Thursday, including a comedy project from Kelsey Grammer and a drama from Dick Wolf that the network is developing. Grammer, who's currently starring in the Starz drama series "Boss," will executive-produce "The DiCicco Brothers," about a dot-com entrepreneur whose brash style clashes with the politically correct environment of Silicon Valley. The story comes from Chirs Cannistraci and Ed Cannistraci, while the latter wrote the teleplay. ... |
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| CBS's Moonves on Dish's Auto Hop: "it's illegal" |
NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - CBS CEO Leslie Moonves told TheWrap Thursday that he believes Dish's new Auto Hop feature, which allows viewers to skip commercials when they watch previously aired shows, is illegal. "They can't put our content on without commercials," he said in a brief interview at the CW's upfront presentation to advertisers. "They just can't do it. It's illegal." Asked if the situation could lead to a lawsuit, he responded, "I don't know. I hope it doesn't come to that, but you never know. ... |
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| CW redeveloping "Hunger Games"-like "The Selection" |
NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - The CW is redeveloping "The Selection," a "Hunger Games"-like series that it passed on for the 2012-13 season - and the network continues to develop a series about the D.C. comics hero Deadman, network president Mark Pedowitz said Thursday. Pedowitz spoke to reporters after the network unveiled its 2012-13 line-up to advertisers, including another drama based on a D.C. comics hero, the gritty "Arrow." He said he planned to meet with the producers of "The Selection," based on the book by Kiera Cass, to discuss it. ... |
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| CW plans new measurements and interactive programming |
NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - The CW has complained for years that Nielsen ratings don't adequately gauge its young audience, and now the network is doing something about it - by developing its own measurement system. At its upfront presentation to advertisers Thursday, CW also detailed plans for CWD, an online source of game shows, comedies, animation and other content. One of its features will allow viewers to choose the outcome of a situation, choose-your-own adventure style. Viewers might decide whether a character kisses someone or storms out of the room, for example. ... |
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