You are viewing the archive: “Partners”

R.I.P. TV Writer Lester Lewis

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday March 20, 2013 @ 5:06pm PDTTags: Lester Lewis, Partners, The Office
Nellie Andreeva

UPDATED: Comedy TV writer Lester Lewis, who worked on The Office, died last night. He was 46. Lester most recently wrote and executive produced a “shortcom” project for Fox starring Michael Kosta, which the two co-created. It is eyed for the network’s summer Short-Com Comedy Hour series. Earlier this season, Lewis worked as a consulting producer on David Kohan and Max Mutchnick’s CBS comedy series Partners, having previously served as co-executive producer on Kohan and Mutchnick’s NBC series Four Kings. “We are devastated by the loss of this incredible man and brilliant writer,” Kohan and Mutchick said. “We had the privilege of working with him on two shows. They were both joyous experiences. Our hearts and prayers go out to his wife and children at this time.” Lewis was a consulting producer on NBC’s Emmy-winning Office, where he spent four seasons. He started his career on The PJs and The Larry Sanders Show and had overall deals at Universal and Warner Bros. Lewis is survived by his wife and two young children.

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WME Mints Seven New Partners

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday January 29, 2013 @ 5:23pm PSTTags: Partners, Warren Zavala, WME
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: WME has expanded its partner roster by upping seven of its best and brightest to partnership status. The new partners are Warren Zavala, the talent agent who joined from CAA last year and whose clients include Joseph Gordon-Levitt and … Read More »

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CBS Freshman Comedy ‘Partners’ Cancelled

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday November 16, 2012 @ 10:17am PSTTags: CBS, Partners
Nellie Andreeva

Partners Cancelled CBSI have learned that CBS has decided not to give a back order to new comedy Partners. The show will be pulled from the schedule immediately, with comedy repeats airing in the Monday 8:30 PM slot for the time being. The news comes on the heels of Partners hitting a series low (1.8 18-49 rating) on Monday while the rest of the CBS Monday series were up or steady. Partners, starring David Krumholtz and Michael Urie, has been the weakest link in CBS’ Monday lineup, disrupting the comedy flow and likely hurting new 9 PM tentpole 2 Broke Girls, for which it served as a lead-in. (UPDATE: CBS has released scheduling info for next Monday, with a Two And A Half Men repeat set to air at 8:30 PM. This marks the veteran comedy’s symbolic return to Mondays, where it aired for nine seasons before relocating to Thursdays this fall.)

Even with the series-low 1.8 rating, Partners this week was on par or higher than all new fall comedies on other networks that have received back orders except NBC’s Go On (2.2). But for CBS comedy standards, it fell short.

Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Revolution’ And ‘Partners’ Hit Lows, ’90210′ Hits High

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday November 13, 2012 @ 9:27am PSTTags: 90210, Partners, Revolution, The Voice, TV Ratings
Nellie Andreeva

Producers of new CBS comedy series Partners probably wish the network made a back order decision on their show last week when the freshman sitcom was the only Monday CBS series to post ratings gains vs. its most recent airing. Because last night, Partners (1.8/5) was the only member of the CBS Monday lineup in negative territory — down 14% from last week for a series low. In comparison, How I Met Your Mother (3.0/8) and Mike & Molly (3.0/7) were each up 7%, while 2 Broke Girls (3.2/8) and Hawaii Five-0 (2.0/5) were flat.

NBC extended its Monday winning streak among adults 18-49 to 10 consecutive weeks. The network topped every half-hour of primetime last night in the demo, and The Voice once again ranked as the No. 1 program of the night. But both NBC series were down week-to-week, extending a downward trend over the last couple of weeks. Night 1 of semifinals for Voice (4.3/11) was down 4% from last week, while heavily DVR-ed Revolution (2.6/7) was down 7% to a series low in Live+Same Day. On the bright side, The Voice has now moved ahead of last spring’s cycle, which had a big Super Bowl-fueled start. The last two editions of the singing competition were up from the corresponding episodes last season.  Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Partners’ Steady As Other CBS Series Drop, ‘Mob Doctor’ Back

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday November 6, 2012 @ 9:53am PSTTags: Dancing With The Stars, Partners, Ratings, The Mob Doctor, The Voice
Nellie Andreeva

There was encouraging news last night for modestly rated freshman CBS comedy Partners. As the CBS Monday lineup returned from a three-week break, Partners (2.1/5) was even with its most recent airing while all other CBS series were down. The hold may be enough to clinch the series a back episodic order. Partners is the only new fall series that launched early in the season not to get a script or episodic pickup. Of the other CBS shows last night, How I Met Your Mother (2.8/7) was down 13% from three weeks ago to a season low, 2 Broke Girls (3.3/8) was down a tenth to tie its series low, Mike & Molly (2.8/7) was down 7% and Hawaii Five-0 (2.0/5) was down 5%.

NBC once again topped the night in adults 18-49, though its fast nationals may be inflated because of an NFL pre-emption in New Orleans. The Voice (4.5/11) was down 6% from last week, while Revolution (2.9/8) was down a tenth to a series low. Read More »

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CBS’ ‘Partners’ Creators Cope With Complicated Back Story: TCA

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday July 29, 2012 @ 2:31pm PDTTags: CBS, Partners, TCA

Ray Richmond contributes to Deadline’s TV coverage.

In 1995, Fox premiered a new sitcom entitled Partners that starred Tate Donovan and Jon Cryer as architects and best pals who have an offbeat secretary. In the pilot, one of them … Read More »

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CBS Unveils Key Art For Its New Fall Series

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Sunday July 29, 2012 @ 8:42am PDTTags: Elementary, Made In Jersey, Partners, TCA, Vegas
Nellie Andreeva

CBS has released the key art designs for its four new fall series: dramas Elementary, Vegas and Made In Jersey and comedy Partners. The image for Elementary, a contemporary take on the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson set in New York City, features stars Jonny … Read More »

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James Burrows To Serve As Executive Producer On New CBS Series ‘Partners’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday May 30, 2012 @ 5:33pm PDTTags: Big Deals TV, CBS, Partners
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: James Burrows, who directed the pilot for the new CBS/Warner Bros. comedy Partners, will be staying with the series as executive producer/director. He will segue to Partners from another CBS/WBTV comedy series, Mike & Molly, on which he served … Read More »

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CBS Releases Trailers For ‘Elementary’, ‘Made In Jersey’, ‘Partners’, ‘Vegas’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday May 25, 2012 @ 12:03pm PDTTags: CBS, Elementary, Made In Jersey, Partners, Upfronts, Vegas

CBS released full trailers today for the network’s new series that were announced last week. Trailers were shown to press covering CBS’ upfront presentations but were not made available for general release until today.

CBS’ Elementary
Produced by CBS Television Studios. From executive producers Rob Doherty, Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly and Michael Cuesta. Directed by Michael Cuesta (pilot):

CBS’ Made In Jersey
Produced by Sony Pictures Television in association with CBS Television Studios. From executive producers Jamie Tarses, Kevin Falls, Julia Franz and Mark Waters. Written by creator/co-executive producer Dana Calvo (pilot). Directed by Mark Waters (pilot):

Read More »

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UPFRONTS 2012: The Year Of Underdogs, Comebacks & Second Chances

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday May 18, 2012 @ 9:43am PDTTags: Cult, Partners, The Mindy Project
Nellie Andreeva

In my decade covering American television I can’t think of a year when more projects that started as also-rans, or came back from the dead, or barely made it to pilot, or overcame major recastings, went on to land series orders. And some of them are among next season’s most buzzed-about new shows. It feels like almost all pilots that had recastings — once an ominous sigh for a project’s future — went to series, and those that went through hardship on average fared much better than their non-problematic counterparts.

Related: Upfront 2012: What Pilots Are Still Alive

TV Upfronts 2012When a pilot script is passed on by the network that developed it, in 99.99% of the cases that means the end of the road, with the script headed to the writer’s drawer as its final destination. But in the case of Mindy Kaling’s medical comedy The Mindy Project, a pass by NBC where it was developed led to a pilot pickup at Fox, where the project quickly emerged as the network brass’ darling and landed on the fall schedule in the plum post-New Girl time slot.

Related: 2012-13 Fall Broadcast Primetime Grid

Cult CW MidseasonLike rejected scripts, dead pilots also hardly get resurrected. Sci-fi veteran Rockne S. O’Bannon wrote Cult for the 2005-06 development season when he landed a pilot order at the WB but the project became a casualty of the UPN/WB merger and the pilot was never made. Six years later, O’Bannon’s updated Cult script got a pilot order at the CW, the pilot was shot and took another step forward, landing a midseason series order.

Partners CBSIt took Will & Grace creators David Kohan and Max Mutchick about as long to get a comedy inspired by their real-life straight man-gay man friendship on the air. The idea’s first incarnation was at CBS during the 2006-07 development season and the second at ABC the following season. Both times, Kohan and Mutchick’s scripts went to pilot starring Jay Mohr and Brian Austin Green (CBS) and Alan Tudyk, Josh Cooke and Ty Burrell (ABC). Both times Kohan and Mutchnick felt there were script, casting and other issues. The two had moved on when last year CBS approached them about revisiting the idea but getting it right this time. The result is Partners, which also went to pilot. Read More »

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CBS First Look Teasers: 2012-13 New Shows

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday May 16, 2012 @ 2:50pm PDTTags: CBS, Elementary, Made In Jersey, Partners, Vegas
Nellie Andreeva

NOTE: The network will release full trailers of all its shows in the next few days. CBS did provide behind-the-scenes featurettes of the fall-premiering shows, noted below.

Related: CBS’ 2012-13 Schedule: ‘Two & Half Men’ Moves To Thursday, ‘Mentalist’ To Sunday

CBS’ Partners – Comedy
Produced by Warner Bros Television. From executive producers David Kohan and Max Mutchnick. Directed by James Burrows (pilot). Here’s a behind-the-scenes look:

CBS’ Elementary – Drama
Produced by CBS Television Studios. From executive producers Rob Doherty, Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly and Michael Cuesta. Directed by Michael Cuesta (pilot):

Read More »

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PRIMETIME PILOT PANIC: CBS Edition

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Saturday May 12, 2012 @ 5:30pm PDTTags: Baby Big Shot, CBS, Friend Me, Partners, Ralph Lamb
Nellie Andreeva

2ND UPDATE 5:30 PM: This is a mini-shocker. Word is that CBS is passing on the Nick Stoller comedy pilot ENTRY LEVEL. There has always been concern whether CBS would schedule a single-camera comedy in its blocks of all-multi-camera sitcoms but the network had expressed commitment to … Read More »

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CBS’ Pilot ‘Partners’ Tweaks Supporting Roles, Casts Molly Shannon As Guest Star

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday March 13, 2012 @ 6:25pm PDTTags: CBS, Molly Shannon, Partners
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: CBS’ half-hour pilot Partners has reworked and recast some of its supporting characters. The multicamera project, from Will & Grace creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, centers on lifelong friends and business partners —architects  Charlie (David Krumholtz), who is … Read More »

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David Krumholtz To Star In Max Mutchnick/ David Kohan’s CBS Comedy Pilot ‘Partners’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday March 1, 2012 @ 8:45am PSTTags: Partners
Nellie Andreeva

David Krumholtz is finalizing a deal to play the lead opposite Michael Urie in CBS’ half-hour pilot Partners. The multicamera comedy, from Will & Grace creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, centers on lifelong friends and business partners — architects  … Read More »

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Brandon Routh, Lucy Davis & Elizabeth Regen Join CBS’ Comedy Pilot ‘Partners’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday February 22, 2012 @ 4:34pm PSTTags: Partners
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Chuck alum and former Superman Brandon Routh, Elizabeth Regen and Lucy Davis have joined Michael Urie and Sophia Bush in the cast of CBS’ half-hour pilot Partners. The multicamera comedy, from Will & Grace creators Max Mutchnick and David … Read More »

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‘Ugly Betty’s Michael Urie Gets Lead In ‘Partners’, Pooch Hall Joins ‘Ray Donovan’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday February 16, 2012 @ 11:16am PSTTags: Partners, Ray Donovan, The Game
Nellie Andreeva

Ugly Betty alum Michael Urie has landed one of the leads in CBS’ half-hour pilot Partners. The multicamera comedy, from Will & Grace creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, centers on lifelong friends and business … Read More »

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Hayes MacArthur Boards ‘Rebounding’, Kearran Giovanni Joins ‘Major Crimes,’ Sophia Bush Cast In ‘Partners’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday February 15, 2012 @ 5:00am PSTTags: Major Crimes, Partners, Rebounding
Nellie Andreeva

Actor-comedian Hayes MacArthur (Perfect Couples) has been cast in Fox’s single-camera comedy pilot Rebounding. The project, written by Joe Port and Joe Wiseman and directed by Jason Winer, is an uplifting comedy about a man recovering from the death of … Read More »

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Veterans James Burrows & Pamela Fryman Tapped For Double Pilot Directing Duty

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday February 6, 2012 @ 4:00am PSTTags: Daddy's Girls, Friend Me, Partners
Nellie Andreeva

Veteran multi-camera directors James Burrows and Pamela Fryman, always sought after for pilots, have booked two pilots each after each fielded several offers. Mike & Molly director/executive producer Burrows will direct two CBS comedies: the untitled Greg Malins/Greg Berlanti project, which just cast JoAnna Garcia Swisher as the the female lead, and Max Mutchnick and David Kohan’s Partners. Both pilots hail from Warner Bros TV, where Emmy-winner Burrows is based. The Malins/Berlanti project centers on Nick, who has a health scare and realizes that Wendy (Garcia Swisher), his best friend and business partner of 15 years, is “the one”. Now he has to figure out how to break it to her. Mutchnick and Kohan’s Partners is a personal story of two lifelong friends and business partners — one straight and one gay. This is the latest collaboration between Burrows and Mutchnick/Kohan; ICM-repped Burrows has directed most of the duo’s pilots going back to their NBC hit Will & Grace. Read More »

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