"Lipstick Jungle" Hottie Robert Buckley

If there's one thing I will remember NBC's short-lived soap "Lipstick Jungle" for, it will most definitely be giving the hot young actor Robert Buckley an opportunity to show off his divine physique on a regular basis. Here's a quick look at some of those moments from the show's second and final season which comes to a close tonight at 9pm.

NBC's "Las Vegas" Cancelled

NBC keeps swinging the axe. After 5 seasons, Montecito is closing down for good. Is "Friday Night Lights" next on the chopping block?

The show originally aired on Monday nights, but midway through season 3 (in early 2006) NBC successfully moved the series to lower-rated Fridays.

Last summer James Caan, one of the original cast members, left the casino-centered drama. The studio replaced him with Tom Selleck.

Despite the writers' strike, the cast and crew managed to film as many as 19 out of 22 episodes ordered.

This season the ratings went down 8% (from 9.02 million the show averaged in its 4th season to the current average of 8.29 million).

"Las Vegas" has already ended its run with a 2-hour episode last Friday.

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"Friday Night Lights" To Be Canceled?

This week's episode of NBC's critically-acclaimed drama "Friday Night Lights" may be its swan song.

When asked about the fate of FNL at last week's "Lipstick Jungle" launch party, NBC's Programming Chief Ben Silverman ignored the question and instead touted the network's Thursday night comedy "30 Rock" as "the best show on TV."

When repeatedly pressed to address the future of the Texas-based drama, Silverman said: "I like it. You like it. But no one watches it. We'll see what we can do. Watch '30 Rock!"

Last spring, "Friday Night Lights" had been renewed for a second season by Silverman's predecessor Kevin Reilly, before he was let go. Reilly, a fan of the show, was responsible for its original development.

Following Reilly's departure, NBC had the producers make several creative choices (including the much-criticized Tyra-Landry murder storyline) in an attempt to improve the show's modest ratings.

The show has averaged 6.16 million viewers this season, almost on a par with last year's average of 6.20 million.

This year, however, the show airs on lower-rated Friday nights (last year it aired on Tuesdays and Wednesdays), so maintaining season 1 ratings on a night when fewer people watch TV is a modest accomplishment.

Also, on several occasions this year FNL tied for the first place in the timeslot among adults 18-49.

Ironically "30 Rock," the show that - unlike FNL - appears to have Silverman's support, has averaged a very similar 6.61 million viewers this season. The comedy however airs on much more competitive, and therefore more significant, Thursday nights.

Ben Silverman, 37, has caused quite a bit of controversy over the past 6 months, including personal attacks on ABC Prexy Stephen McPherson.

Silverman's programming strategy relies heavily on reality shows and acquisition of foreign formats. The exec who originally developed "Ugly Betty" for ABC, is now planning the US version of Aussie comedy "Kath & Kim," and a soap opera titled "Without Breasts There Is No Paradise."

Although NBC has yet to make a final decision on the future of "Friday Night Lights," there will be no additional episodes this season.

All 15 episodes of season 2 will be released on DVD in April.

Could fan support similar to last year's "Jericho" nut campaign save the endangered series from cancellation?

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"Lipstick Jungle": Season 2 Premieres 9/24

The winner in the battle of "Sex and the City" knock-offs, NBC's "Lipstick Jungle" is coming back for more steamy action on Wednesday, September 24 at 10/9c on NBC.

Ironically, Lucy Liu who lost the war of the suds with her ABC series "Cashmere Mafia" may get to strike back, as the show she joins this season, ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money," airs directly opposite season 2 of "Lipstick Jungle."



Of course, had last TV season not been so brutally impacted by the writers' strike, perhaps "Lipstick Jungle" would never even have gotten a second chance to capture ad-friendly female demos.

In other words, averaging 6.97 million viewers is nothing to write home about. But "Cashmere Mafia" did a little worse (6.13 million) and there were not enough new shows lined up for fall.



So, what's ahead for the ladies of "Lipstick Jungle"?

Mary Tyler Moore guest stars in the season premiere episode "Pandora's Box" as Wendy Healy's (Brooke Shields) mother; dreamboat Kirby Atwood (Robert Buckley) returns for more 6-pack action; and Rosie Perez ("Fearless") also guest stars.




***SPOILERS***

Nico (Kim Raver) is haunted by her infidelity when Charles (Chris Cousins) gives her a photograph that Kirby (Robert Buckley) took of her during their affair. Overcome with guilt, she debates whether she should tell Charles the truth and decides to go to extreme measures to save her marriage.



Wendy (Brooke Shields) decides to cut back on her hours at the office and spend more time at home after she finds her under-age daughter, Maddie (Sarah Hyland), at a bar. Her transition into domestic life is not an easy one especially when her opinionated mother (Moore) unexpectedly comes to the city for a visit.



Finally, Victory (Lindsay Price) finds it difficult to avoid Joe (Andrew McCarthy) who is desperate to get her back. Trying to move on from their personal relationship, she hires a publicist Dahlia Morales (Perez) to help brand her business and find a retail space.



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NBC Stars Come Out @ Upfronts

Last night stars of NBC shows "Heroes" (Milo Ventimiglia), "Lipstick Jungle" (Brooke Shields), "Friday Night Lights" (Minka Kelly), "Law & Order: SVU" (Mariska Hargitay) and others took part in NBC's Upfronts event the Peacock called The NBC Universal Experience.

Since NBC had already released their year-round schedule in early April, the network honchos instead focused on reminding advertisers of the size and power of NBC Universal. The only information released yesterday was concerning Jimmy Fallon taking over Conan O'Brian's timeslot in 2009 and details on Ryan Seacrest's reality show.

Among the stars attending the event was the cast of Candace Bushnell's dramedy "Lipstick Jungle" (is Kim Raver wearing a wig?) which is moving to Wednesday nights next season and Molly Shannon and Selma Blair, who will try to bring to life a US version of the hit Australian comedy "Kath & Kim."

For more details on NBC's fall 2008 schedule see my earlier post.

You May Also Like:
"Knight Rider" Ordered to Series
"Lipstick Jungle" to Return

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NBC's New Fall 2008 Schedule

NBC has decided to split the prime-time schedule into 3 blocks (family hour, blockbuster hour, adult hour) and has announced renewals for "Lipstick Jungle" and "Friday Night Lights" as well as series pick-ups for freshman dramas "Knight Rider," "Merlin" and "Robinson Crusoe" and its version of the Australian hit comedy "Kath and Kim." Check out the schedule, after the jump.

Mondays:

8 p.m. "Chuck"
9 p.m. "Heroes"
10 p.m. "My Worst Enemy" / "The Philanthropist"

Tuesdays

8 p.m. "Biggest Loser: Families" / "Biggest Loser: Couples"
9:30 p.m. "Kath and Kim"
10 p.m. "Law & Order: SVU"

Wednesdays

8 p.m. "Knight Rider"
9 p.m. "Deal or No Deal"
10 p.m. "Lipstick Jungle" / "Law & Order"

Thursdays

8 p.m. "My Name Is Earl"
8:30 p.m. "30 Rock"
9 p.m. "The Office"
9:30 p.m. "The Office" / SNL Election Specials / "The Office [spinoff]"
10 p.m. "ER" (the final season) / "Celebrity Apprentice"

Fridays

8 p.m. "Robinson Crusoe"
9 p.m. "Deal or No Deal" / "Friday Night Lights"
10 p.m. "Life"

Sundays

Fall: "Sunday Night Football"

Winter:

8 p.m. "Merlin"
9 p.m. "Medium"
10 p.m. "Kings"

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NBC Orders "Knight Rider" to Weekly Series

NBC is expected to announce later today that it will turn the 2-hour February 17 "Knight Rider" movie into a weekly series which may air on Friday nights come fall.

Justin Bruening will continue to play the central character in the updated version of the 1980s classic starring David Hasselhoff.

The action drama will however get a new show runner and it will be conceived as a cross between the just canceled "Las Vegas" and "Fast and the Furious" movies.



The show would get an initial 13-episode order. If it continues to do well in the ratings it would get a full season order.

The backdoor pilot/movie scored 12.71 million viewers and its ratings steadily increased over the 2-hour time slot peaking at 13.12 million in the final half hour (which featured a special cameo by David Hasselhoff).

Personally I found the movie to be a hideous piece of mindless trash and a complete waste of 2 hours of my life, but there will always be an audience for this type of programming.

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Paris Hilton Says "That's Hot!" on NBC's "My Name is Earl"

Heiress and socialite Paris Hilton, who is currently in Istanbul belly dancing at the Miss Turkey pageant, will pull a Britney as she guest stars on NBC's sitcom "My Name is Earl," which launches post-strike episodes with a one-hour opener next Thursday, April 3.


According to a network press release, Alyssa Milano also returns in the episode and NBC CEO Jeff Zucker does a little recap intro catching the viewers up on the show. As for the spoilers:

Earl (Jason Lee) is still lying in the middle of the road next to Billie (Alyssa Milano), both of whom are unconscious after being hit by a car. The accident puts Earl in a coma and takes him to an alternate world in the form of a sitcom.

Stuck in a fevered state, Earl is visited by Paris Hilton in his dream. Has Earl's bad karma finally gotten the best of him? Will he find the strength to survive his coma?



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NBC Orders 6 Extra "Lipstick Jungle" Scripts

Earlier this week, the network that may kill the critically-acclaimed "Friday Night Lights" and has axed dramas like "Las Vegas" and "Journeyman," decided to order 6 additional scripts of its sudsy Thursday night drama "Lipstick Jungle" which, regardless of this development, ends its current run on March 20.

The original 13-episode order was cut short by the writers' strike as only 7 of the 13 scripts had been completed. But since the show has been winning its target female demos, now that the strike is over, NBC has decided to see where the show would go past episode #7.

It is not clear at this point whether those 6 scripts will be filmed. That decision will depend on the ratings performance of the remaining 4 filmed episodes, the first of which aired last night. Despite success in the key demos, the show has not been doing well in total viewers, losing about a million pairs of eyeballs each week.

After the final episode of "Lipstick Jungle," NBC will air a 2-hour season finale of "Celebrity Apprentice" (March 27), before its veteran medical drama "ER" returns on April 10.

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"Bionic Woman" Cancelled

TV Guide reports that NBC has put the re-imagined version of the cult TV classic "The Bionic Woman" out of its misery.

The Michelle Ryan fronted series premiered to very promising ratings last fall, only to fizzle out within 2 months.

The original series starring Lindsay Wagner, which aired from 1976 to 1978, launched on ABC as a spin-off of "The Six Million Dollar Man."

Although the series became a top-5 show in its first season, its ratings quickly dropped the following year and the show moved to NBC for a third and final season.

The re-imagined 2007 version premiered on NBC on September 26 with 13.59 million viewers tuning in. The pilot also managed to beat "Private Practice" and come out on top among adults 18-49.

The final all-new episode on November 28 however scored a mere 5.99 million and the fourth place in the 18-49 demo.

Ryan's lack of charisma, guest star Isaiah Washington, a depressing pilot and behind the scenes changes have all been blamed for the show's failure.

Last week the network announced its freshman dramas "Life" and "Chuck" would not be coming back with new episodes this spring, but would be renewed for a 2nd season.

Monday night drama "Journeyman" was axed by the network before Christmas.

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NEW "Knight Rider" Movie Premieres Sunday

NBC's iconic 1980s television classic "Knight Rider" returns Sunday night at 9/8c for one night only. Justin Bruening stars; David Hasselhoff makes a special guest appearance; and Val Kilmer provides the voice for a re-engineered and retooled KITT.



Hasselhoff starred in the original series as Michael Knight from 1982 to 1986. He will return as the same character in this movie.

Daytime star ("All My Children") and former fashion model Bruening previously appeared on "Cold Case" and "CSI: Miami." He stars as the estranged son of Michael Knight, Mike Traceur.



The movie is a backdoor pilot, which means NBC may opt to turn it into a weekly series next season if it does well in the ratings.

The new customized KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand) Ford Mustang will be presented as the coolest car ever created, capable of actually shifting shape and color.

During the telecast NBC and Ford will give viewers the chance to win one of four new high-tech Ford automobiles, including the grand prize - a 2008 Ford Shelby GT 500 KR worth $79,995.

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VIDEO: Jane Fonda's "Today" Faux Pas

NBC News was forced to apologize this morning after 70-year old actress Jane Fonda used an expletive talking about the play "The Vagina Monologues." About 10 minutes later, co-host Meredith Vieira told viewers that "Today" and Fonda apologized for the remark. What was the vulgarity in question? Check out the "Today" clip, after the jump.

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NBC's "Chuck," "Life" and "Heroes" Renewed for 2008/2009 Season

NBC announced on Wednesday the three scripted dramas that won't be coming back with new episodes this spring are renewed for the 2008/2009 season. The network also disclosed return dates for shows that will continue production immediately.

NBC exec Ben Silverman said all three dramas will get major relaunch campaigns in the fall.

"Chuck" and "Life" have been renewed for 13 episodes (the network may add more if they do well in the fall), while "Heroes" will be coming back for more than the standard 22 episodes (the exact number will be announced in the future).

Freshman dramas "Chuck" and "Life" have averaged 8.68 million and 8.11 million viewers, respectively.

In the early days of the writers' strike, NBC renewed both shows for a full first season of 22 episodes, but was forced to abandon that plan.

The 11-episode second season arc of "Heroes" titled "Generations" averaged 13.07 million viewers, down 9% from 14.37 million "Heroes" averaged last season.

NBC's other freshman dramas "Journeyman" and "The Bionic Woman" are not expected to return next season.

Meanwhile, NBC announced the following return dates for its hit scripted comedies and dramas:


"Medium" (Mondays, 10-11 p.m. ET)
Continues current run

April 3:
"My Name Is Earl" (Thursdays, 8-8:30 p.m. ET)
Resumes with one-hour episode

April 10:
"30 Rock" (Thursdays, 8:30-9 p.m. ET)
"The Office" (Thursdays, 9-9:30 p.m. ET)
"Scrubs" (Thursdays, 9:30-10 p.m. ET)
"ER" (Thursdays, 10-11 p.m. ET)

April 15:
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (Tuesdays, 10-11 p.m. ET)

April 23:
"Law & Order" (Wednesdays, 10-11 p.m. ET)


"Scrubs" which is in its final year will return April 10 with the 5 episodes already in the can. NBC has yet to announce if they will order any additional episodes to end the series deservingly. One of the options is for such episodes to go straight to DVD.

Meanwhile, future remains uncertain for "Friday Night Lights" which concluded its second season last Friday.

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New "Knight Rider" Movie Premieres February 17

NBC has announced that an all-new version of the iconic 1980s David Hasselhoff series "Knight Rider" will premiere Sunday, February 17 as a 2-hour movie event. "All My Children" hunk Justin Bruering stars.

The updated sequel will feature the new customized KITT Ford Mustang which will be unveiled to reporters at NBC's Burbank Studios today.

David Hasselhoff, who starred in the lead role as Michael Knight for four seasons returns as the same character in a special guest-star appearance.

Bruening stars as a jaded 23-year-old ex-Army Ranger Mike Tracer who helps a 24-year old Stanford Ph.D candidate Sarah Graiman, a victim of an abduction attempt.

NBC will air movies and specials (as part of its strike schedule) on Sunday nights in early 2008, including

"The 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards" (January 13),
"The Guinness Book of World Records - Live!" (January 27) and
"Top 100 Most Outrageous Moments" (February 10).

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Trump to NBC: "You Can't Fire Me, I Quit!"

MAY 19, 2007: All these months as I watched the sixth cycle of Donald Trump's reality show "The Apprentice" sinking in the ratings I would envision a post that read: "NBC to Trump: You're Fired!" Alas, no such luck - the catfighting billionaire says he has just quit.

The corporate-themed competition, which aired in dozens of countries around the world, featured young, aggressive entrepreneurs in a weekly game of elimination as they competed for a real-life job in Trump's business empire.

An instant hit in its inaugural 2004 season, "The Apprentice" pulled in an average of 21 million viewers throughout its four-month run with the first season finale bringing as many as 28 million viewers.

But the series dropped steadily in the ratings in successive cycles, losing nearly two-thirds of its original audience by the time it wrapped up its sixth installment last month.

The series was criticized by some viewers for losing credibility and basically turning into a one-hour infomercial filled with product placement for Trump's real estate and golf courses, as well as sponsors of the show.

Earlier this week, when NBC announced its new schedule at the Upfronts in New York it failed to include "The Apprentice" saying they have yet to make a decision about the show's fate.

Donald Trump however won't be waiting for NBC to do what he had been doing to dozens of power-hungry entrepreneurs.

Late Friday night, the Trump organization released a statement that ends any doubt "The Apprentice" would get a last-minute reprieve.

"It looks like viewers will have to wait to see what Mr. Trump plans for the future," the statement said.

"But if Mr. Trump's past TV success is any indication of the future, then one can anticipate that millions of 'Apprentice' fans will be migrating to his new television venture."

Earlier this week, there was a rumor that series creator Mark Burnett and Donald Trump were shopping the series around Hollywood looking for a new network.

Now it appears if Donald Trump does go back to weekly television, his format will have to undergo a significant makeover.

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NBC's "Heroes" Writer Uncovers Gay Debacle: "It Got Really Ugly"

APRIL 26, 2007:Bryan Fuller, an openly gay writer on NBC's hit series "Heroes," has spoken about the show to popgurls.com and finally confirmed what we had suspected since the Thomas Dekker incident occurred last year in December - NBC was forced to convert the actor's character into a heterosexual by his management.

Dekker who is repped by TalentWorks and Untitled Entertainment was playing Zach, a gay character on the show, who was a friend of Claire, Hayden Panettiere's invincible cheerleader.

Fuller said to the website that after the series creator Tim Kring decided to come up with the so-called "Benetton-style" cast representing different people and cultures of the world, a decision was made to conceive a gay character as well.

Both men believed Zach was an excellent choice to introduce a gay character on the show and they had written for him since the beginning keeping that in mind. He was supposed to help Claire come out about her abilities and embrace herself the way she was; a clever metaphor.

As soon as the actor obtained the script for an episode in which Zach strongly implied to his best friend he was not interested in girls, the manager was quick to nix the coming out line. Fuller reveals:

"The actor's manager threatened to pull him from the show because he was up for the John Carter role in "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" and she didn't want him playing a gay character because it might affect FOX's interest in hiring him. It got really ugly."

"I was very upset by it – I was not happy about it at all. There were times I had to avoid talking about it because we didn't want to have a negative reflection on the show. The show's been such a positive experience for so many people, we didn't want to get hung up on the fact that one actor's management felt that it was a career killer for him to play a homosexual which, as a gay man, I found incredibly insulting."

"We had episodes planned for him to be in, and she pulled him from the show altogether. So that's why he sort of disappeared."

Kring tried to downplay the controversy by releasing the following statement in December: ""We apologize for misleading the audience and wish that we could have handled things better on our end. But making a TV show is often a very imprecise business. As you stated, Heroes is a big sprawling drama, and there is no reason to believe that a gay character will not be represented on our show in the future. It is my hope that if we do, we do it with honesty and dignity."

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