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NBC Acquires Sierra/Engine’s ‘Siberia’ Mystery Drama Series For Summer Run

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday May 20, 2013 @ 11:06am PDTTags: NBC, Siberia
Nellie Andreeva

NBC has acquired 13-episode drama series Siberia, from Sierra/Engine Television and producer Michael Ohoven from Infinity Media. The mystery drama will premiere on July 1 and air in the Monday 10 PM slot. Siberia is set in the remote Siberian territory of Tunguska, location of the largest impact event on Earth, the massive 1908 explosion, believed to have been caused by a meteoroid or comet, which knocked down some 80 million trees over an area of 830 square miles. More than 100 years later, 16 reality-show contestants descend on Tunguska unknowing of the land’s mysterious past. When a contestant is badly injured and no help arrives the contestants realize that the strange occurrences are not part of the show. With their safety threatened, competing contestants must band together in an effort to survive. The series, said to be in the vein of The Blair Witch Project, is wrapping production. It was unveiled at the recent MIPTV by Sierra/Engine, which handles worldwide distribution. Siberia extends Sierra/Engine’s relationship with NBC as the company also distributes the network’s upcoming drama series Crossbones. “The concept of survival, when mysterious elements are at play, makes for a compelling show,” said NBC’s scheduling chief Jeff Bader. This is NBC’s third scripted series slated for summer, joining another acquired drama, Crossing Lines, as well as dramedy Camp. Siberia is an Infinity Films Production in association with Sierra/Engine Television and Welldone Productions. Executive producers are Ohoven, Slava Jakovleff and Sierra/Engine CEO Chris Philip. The series was created by Matthew Arnold.

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NBC Makes ‘The Voice’ Coach Moves Official

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday May 17, 2013 @ 1:45pm PDTTags: NBC, The Voice

Related: Shakira & Usher Returning To ‘The Voice’ For Season 6

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — May 17, 2013 — Illustrating the continuity between its original and current coaches lineup, “The Voice” will bring back Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton for its fifth cycle in fall and will pair Levine and Shelton with Shakira and Usher for the sixth cycle in midseason.

Read More »

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SPOILER ALERT! NBC’s ‘The Office’ Finale

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday May 16, 2013 @ 9:48pm PDTTags: NBC, Steve Carell, The Office, The Office finale

Diane Haithman is a contributor to Deadline.

The Office FinaleSPOILER ALERT! UPDATE: Steve Carell reprised his role as former Dunder Mifflin manager Michael Scott after all — appearing about 45 minutes into The Office finale to be Dwight’s “bestest mensch” (read: best man) at his wedding to Angela. After Michael unexpectedly appears, Dwight (Rainn Wilson) says: “Michael, I can’t believe you came.” His former boss replies: “That’s what she said.” Later in the episode, he tells the documentary crew: “I feel like my kids all grew up and married each other — it’s every parent’s dream.” Carell earned six Emmy noms for the role but never won. He left the series after its seventh season.

PREVIOUSLY: No, Michael Scott is not going to turn up at Dunder Mifflin on Thursday. Really. Ken Kwapis swears to Deadline [and lied to us, the asswipe - NF] that longtime star Steve Carell does not appear in this week’s series finale of The Office. “I sure wish Steve had done a cameo. It would’ve been a wonderful touch,” said Kwapis, who also directed the pilot episode of the midseason-replacement comedy that aired in March 2005. “Sadly, he didn’t.” So why did NBC choose to sneak a peek of Carell into its finale promo after last week’s episode? A spokeswoman said the network would maintain its “no comment” stance but noted the footage of the erstwhile Office manager could be a clip from an old episode. Read More »

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2013-14 Schedule Grid & Top Face-Offs

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday May 16, 2013 @ 3:09pm PDTTags: ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, the CW, Upfronts
Nellie Andreeva

With the broadcast networks done unveiling their schedules, here is the full fall grid (see below) and some intriguing matchups for next season:

Tuesday 8 PM: This is shaping out to be the biggest fall battleground, especially for male viewers. The Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC are going against the agents of NCIS on CBS. Also joining the fray is another younger-skewing new genre drama series, the CW’s Vampire Diaries spinoff The Originals. Fox has new male-centered comedies Dads and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. All these shows (or those who survive) will have to go against the biggest broadcast reality show at the moment, NBC’s The Voice, in midseason. Will anyone blink?

Related: Tuesday “Comedy Sigalert” Back

Thursday 9 PM: Robin Williams vs. Sean Hayes. The comedy vets are returning with new series (Williams in CBS’ The Crazy Ones, Hayes in NBC’s Sean Saves The World) and will face off in one of TV’s highest-profile slots. In another male comedy star showdown, Michael J Fox will take on Ashton Kutcher and Jon Cryer at 9:30 PM. Read More »

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Josh Friedman Inks Overall Deal With Universal TV, Joins NBC Series ‘Crossbones’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday May 16, 2013 @ 11:00am PDTTags: Big Deals TV, Crossbones., Josh Friedman, NBC
Nellie Andreeva

The Sarah Connor Chronicles creator Josh Friedman has closed an overall deal at Universal Television. Under the two-year pact, Friedman will serve as co-executive producer on the upcoming NBC pirate drama Crossbones starring John Malkovich. Additionally, he will develop and supervise projects for the studio. “Josh Friedman puts a distinct, unique spin on everything he writes,” said Uni TV EVP Bela Bajaria. “He taps into interesting worlds and is a very talented writer. We’ve followed his career for years and are excited to be in business with him.”

Related: John Malkovich To Star In ‘Crossbones’ As Blackbeard

Crossbones, from Luther creator Neil Cross and producers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald, is set in 1715 on the Bahamian island of New Providence where the diabolical pirate Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard (Malkovich), reigns over a rogue nation of thieves, outlaws and miscreant sailors. Cross wrote the script and is executive producing with Parkes, MacDonald and Ted Gold for Parkes/MacDonald Prods; Georgeville Television; and Universal Television. Read More »

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‘Hannibal’ Subject Of Outside Interest While Awaiting Renewal Decision At NBC

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday May 15, 2013 @ 6:12pm PDTTags: Big Deals TV, Bryan Fuller, Hannibal, NBC, Upfront
Nellie Andreeva

There are several comedy and drama pilots not picked up to series yet that are still in play. But among returning scripted series, only one, NBC drama Hannibal, went through the upfronts without learning its … Read More »

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TV WEEKLY WARFARE: CBS Tops Demo & Viewers; ABC Rises & Fox Falls Among Adults 18-49

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Wednesday May 15, 2013 @ 5:14pm PDTTags: ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, The Big Bang Theory

“We’re very flattered when he called us ‘smug motherfuckers’, that means we’re winning. We’ll try to be a little bit more gracious but that’s hard for me as you know,” CBS boss Les Moonves said today in response to remarks Jimmy Kimmel made on Tuesday about the network’s No. 1 ranking this season. Moonves’ comments came just hours before CBS’ Carnegie Hall Upfront presentation where there was no shortage of chest thumping on display as the CBS President and CEO and others boasted about the network winning the season this year. Well, the 2012-2013 season is almost over, but Week 33 gave Moonves’ gang a little more that they’ll have to try to be less smug about. The second full week of the May sweep saw CBS once again No.1 in both viewers and among Adults 18-49 for the week of May 6 to May 12 with 9.349 million watching and a 2.0/6 and 2.6 million in the demo. That’s up from the 1.9/6 the network was tied with Fox in the key demo for the previous frame and a rise from the 9.218 million that were watching during the week of April 29 to May 5. Like the previous week, The Big Bang Theory was the top show in the demo with a 4.9. The May 6 airing of NBC’s The Voice was in second place with a 4.1. In terms of viewership, CBS had the top four shows of the frame with NCIS (17.558 million), BBT (16.304 million), NCIS: LA (13.176 million) and Person Of Interest (13.162 million). ABC’s Dancing With The Stars was No. 5 with 13.117 million viewers.

Related: Les Moonves Tells Advertisers That Media Would Be “Barren” Without Broadcast TV

Among viewers DWTS may have fallen from the No. 3 spot of the previous frame but ABC itself had a strong rise up to No. 2 last week. As CBS shifted into the top spots again this season, ABC wasn’t far behind in the key demo with a 1.9/6 and 2.4 million viewers in the adult 18-49 demo. That’s up solidly from the 1.6/5 of Week 32 and the first time that the network has been second this season since the week of March 25 to March 31. As ABC moved up, The Voice-beholding NBC, which ran three airings of the competition series last week, slipped into third with a 1.8/6 and 2.3 million in the demo. That result was almost the same as the frame before. Fox, on the other hand, took a fall from being tied for first place among adults 18-49 in Week 32 to fourth place with a 1.7/5 and 2.2 million among the 18-49s in Week 33. Read More »

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Tuesday “Comedy Sigalert” Back With Fox, NBC & ABC Again Doing 9-10 PM Block

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday May 14, 2013 @ 10:06am PDTTags: ABC, Fox, NBC, Upfronts
Nellie Andreeva

Here we go again. Last May, Fox, NBC and ABC all scheduled single-camera comedies from 9-10 PM on Tuesday, a move CBS’ scheduling czar Kelly Kahl called a “comedy sigalert.” Of the comedies scheduled in the hour … Read More »

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Bill Hader To Depart ‘Saturday Night Live’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday May 14, 2013 @ 6:27am PDTTags: Bill Hader, NBC, Saturday Night Live
Nellie Andreeva

Bill Hader is leaving Saturday Night Live, with his final regular appearance set for this week’s season finale. Hader joined SNL as a featured player in 2005 and was promoted to the main cast the next … Read More »

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Christina Aguilera Returning To ‘The Voice’ As Shakira Exits

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Monday May 13, 2013 @ 5:26pm PDTTags: Christina Aguilera, NBC, Shakira, The Voice

Christina Aguilera is returning to NBC’s The Voice in the fall and Shakira is leaving after just one season, sources tell Deadline. … Read More »

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NBC To Air ‘Sound Of Music’ Live Show Dec. 5

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday May 13, 2013 @ 9:56am PDTTags: NBC, The Sound Of Music
Nellie Andreeva

A three-hour live staging of the The Sound Of Music will premiere on NBC on Thursday, December 5, the network announced during its upfront presentation today. The project is executive produced by Craig Zadan and … Read More »

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NBC Execs Say Corporate Synergy And Olympics Will Help Shows Next Season

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Monday May 13, 2013 @ 9:06am PDTTags: Comcast, NBC, NBCUniversal

NBC Broadcasting Chairman Ted Harbert told advertisers today that the 2013-14 season “will be better than this season” as NBCUniversal “speaks to our customers with unity, clarity and precision….… Read More »

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Live-Blog: NBC’s Upfront Presentation

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday May 13, 2013 @ 8:35am PDTTags: Bob Greenblatt, NBC, The Blacklist, Upfronts
Nellie Andreeva

NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt jumped right into the late-night controversy during the network’s upfront presentation this morning in NY, announcing a change in the network’s late-night plans as he took the stage at Radio City Music Hall. “I will be stepping down in 2014 to take over The Tonight Show, and Jay Leno will be taking my job”, he said. The presentation opened with a video featuring Parks And Recreation stars Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman. “Hi, I’m Shakira,” Poehler said, shelling out advice on what show Middle America likes. “There is no bigger show on TV than The Voice“, she said. Deadpanned Offerman, “I prefer a show called The Silence where you have a black screen and no sound”. Poehler also touted the success of Revolution, a show about people living in the wilderness with no electricity or power. “I’d watch it, provided it’s not a show and is called Camping“.

Related: NBC’s 2013-14 Schedule

Greenblatt acknowledged NBC’s ratings woes this past season. “It’s been a roller-coaster season”, Greenblatt said. “We made progress”, he added, noting the network’s finish as No. 1 in the fall for the first time in nine years. But then, “we had challenges in the first quarter and our share of midseason disappointments” before “bouncing back in April”.

Related: Jay Leno To “Pass The Baton” To Jimmy Fallon During Winter Olympics; Seth Meyers To Start Feb. 24

The NBC boss also said that once again there will be two cycles of The Voice, with the fall one launching on September 23, the opening night of the season. Cycle 2 will start immediately following the Winter Olympics.

Related: NBC Execs: Corporate Synergy And Olympics Will Help Next Season

The first applause of the day came for Greenblatt’s announcement that Community is coming back for 13 episodes. The second one? For Michael J Fox, whose new series will air on Thursdays. It was the first new NBC show introduced by Greenblatt before he handed things off to NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke.

Related: NBC’s New Show Trailers Read More »

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NBC’s New Show Trailers: ‘Dracula’, ‘Ironside’, ‘Michael J Fox’, ‘Sean Saves The World’, ‘Welcome To The Family’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday May 13, 2013 @ 8:14am PDTTags: Dracula, Ironside, NBC, Sean Saves The World, The Michael J. Fox Show, Welcome To The Family

Here are new trailers just released by NBC for the network’s new fall shows, which were officially unveiled yesterday ahead of the upfront presentation that’s just getting underway in New York. Yesterday, NBC released some first-look clips. Here are the latest trailers — still waiting for About A Boy and The Family Guide it seems,so keep checking back:

Dracula — Drama

Ironside — Drama

Read More »

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NBC First-Look Teasers: ‘Ironside’, ‘The Blacklist’, ‘Michael J. Fox’, ‘Sean Saves The World’, ‘Welcome To The Family’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday May 12, 2013 @ 2:51pm PDTTags: NBC, Sean Saves The World, The Blacklist, The Michael J. Fox Show, Welcome To The Family

UPDATED: Check out first clips from NBC‘s new dramas Ironside and The Blacklist, plus comedies The Michael J. Fox Show, Sean Saves The World, and Welcome To The Family, part of the just-unveiled 2013-2014 line-up. More teaser clips added as they come.

Ironside — Drama
Produced by Universal Television, Davis Entertainment, Yellow Brick Road Productions. From writer/executive producer Michael Caleo and executive producers Teri Weinberg, John Davis, John Fox, Ron West and David Semel:


Watch this video on YouTube.

The Blacklist — Drama
Produced by Sony Pictures Television. From writer/executive producer Jon Bokenkamp and executive producers John Eisendrath, John Davis and John Fox:

The Michael J. Fox Show — Comedy
Produced by Sony Pictures Television and Olive Bridge Entertainment. From writer/executive producer Sam Laybourne and executive producers Alex Reid and Will Gluck and co-executive producer Richard Schwartz:


Watch this video on YouTube.
Read More »

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NBC’s 2013-14 Schedule: ‘Revolution’ Moves To Wednesday, ‘Parenthood’ To Thursday, ‘Blacklist’ Gets Post ‘Voice’ Slot

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Sunday May 12, 2013 @ 2:15pm PDTTags: NBC, Parenthood, Revolution, The Blacklist
Nellie Andreeva

Family comedies and action dramas dominate NBC‘s new series additions for next season. NBC is introducing six series in the fall — comedies Welcome to the Family, Sean Saves the World, and The Michael J. Fox Show; and dramas The Blacklist, Ironside and Dracula; with five more set for midseason– comedies The Family Guide and About A Boy, and dramas Believe, Crisis and Crossbones. (Dracula and Crossbones were carried over from last upfront/off-season). Not scheduled yet are newly picked up dramas Chicago PD and The Night Shift and comedy Undateable as well as last-minute renewal Community. On the returning series side, missing from the announcement are long-time reality staple Celebrity Apprentice and well reviewed freshman drama Hannibal as NBC is yet to make a pickup decision on both. Here is NBC’s fall and midseason schedules with analysis and new series descriptions underneath. As expected, the network is spreading its launches between the fall and spring, tied to its Winter Olympics coverage:

NBC FALL 2013-14 SCHEDULE
(New programs in UPPER CASE; all times ET)

MONDAY
8-10 p.m. – “The Voice”
10-11 p.m. – “THE BLACKLIST”

TUESDAY
8-9 p.m. – “The Biggest Loser” (New Day and Time)
9-10 p.m. – “The Voice” (New time)
10-11 p.m. – “Chicago Fire” (New Day and Time)

WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. – “Revolution” (New Day and Time)
9-10 p.m. – ”Law & Order: SVU”
10-11 p.m. – “IRONSIDE”

THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m. – “Parks and Recreation” (New time)
8:30-9 p.m. – “WELCOME TO THE FAMILY”
9-9:30 p.m. – “SEAN SAVES THE WORLD”
9:30-10 p.m. – “THE MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW”
10-11 p.m. – “Parenthood” (New Day and Time)

FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”
9-10 p.m. – “Grimm”
10-11 p.m. – “DRACULA”

SATURDAY
Encore programming

SUNDAY
7:00-8:15 p.m. – “Football Night in America”
8:15-11:30 p.m. – “NBC Sunday Night Football” Read More »

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Seth Meyers Named Host Of NBC’s ‘Late Night’, Lorne Michaels To Exec Produce

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Sunday May 12, 2013 @ 11:00am PDTTags: Big Deals TV, Late Night TV, Late Night With Seth Meyers, NBC, Seth Meyers
Nellie Andreeva

The real winner here is Lorne Michaels, who now controls all three NBC late night shows. NBC completed its late-night revamp by naming Seth Meyers host of Late Night. He will … Read More »

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UPFRONTS 2013: NBC’s Scheduling Challenges

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Saturday May 11, 2013 @ 5:51pm PDTTags: Big Deals TV, Community, NBC, Parks & Recreation, TV Pilots
Nellie Andreeva

NBC faces the task of scheduling six new comedies for next season with only two returning half-hour series: Community, which received an eleventh-hour 13-episode renewal, and Parks & Recreation. The network may just have the right man for the job. This is head of scheduling Jeff Bader‘s first turn at bat after moving to NBC last summer. As a long-time scheduling topper at ABC, he was presented with a similar challenge four years ago when the network picked up five new comedy series and returned two. Like Parks & Rec and Community, those two returning comedies, Scrubs and Better Off Ted, were quirky cult shows and not anchors that could launch new series. What Bader and ABC brass did back then was let Scrubs and Ted be, pairing them together for what became both series’ final season. Then they took four new comedies and launched a new two-hour comedy block on Wednesday. It worked – three of the four comedies are still on the air: Modern Family and The Middle on ABC and Cougar Town on TBS. (The fourth, Hank, was quickly cancelled.)

Bader may take a similar approach at NBC. Like at ABC in 2009, the two returning NBC comedies are workplace, while most of the new series are family or family-esque (Michael J. Fox, Welcome To The Family, The Family Guide, Sean Saves The World, About A Boy). Coincidentally, the last new comedy series this year, Undateable, is a multi-camera show about dating, which was also the case at ABC in 2009 with Romantically Challenged, which was scheduled behind Dancing With The Stars. Read More »

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Lindsay Sloane To Exit New NBC Comedy Series ‘Sean Saves The World’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Saturday May 11, 2013 @ 3:58pm PDTTags: Lindsay Sloane, NBC, Sean Saves The World
Nellie Andreeva

There will be a recasting on the newly picked up NBC multi-camera comedy series Sean Saves The World. Lindsay Sloane, who co-starred opposite Sean Hayes in the pilot, will be … Read More »

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