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‘Masterpiece,’ ‘Downton Abbey’ Boost PBS Fortunes: TCA

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday January 5, 2012 @ 2:56pm PSTTags: Downton Abbey, Masterpiece, PBS, Rebecca Eaton

TCA: PBS Chief Paula Kerger Plays Defense Over Programming

Ray Richmond is contributing to Deadline’s coverage of TCA.

Masterpiece executive producer Rebecca Eaton positively beamed at critics this afternoon during a lunchtime panel promoting the PBS series of British productions. Ratings for the series were up by nearly a third in 2011, Eaton reported. The numbers for women aged 25-64 were “double what they usually are,” she added. “And we generated critical praise that you just can’t buy.” Also key was the record 25 Emmy nominations racked up by the series last year and, at the same time, the reception accorded the Masterpiece miniseries Downton Abbey that returns for its second season beginning this Sunday. (A third season of 10 hours has also been announced, to air on PBS stations in 2013; it begins shooting in February.) Downton in September not only won four Emmys — recognized as top movie/mini as well as for writing, directing and the supporting acting of Maggie Smith — but also brought the pubcaster a burst of critical recognition during a time in Washington when government funding of public broadcasting was suddenly in peril. One could even go so far as to say that Downton Abbey helped to save PBS, though Eaton wouldn’t go quite that far this afternoon.

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Backstage At The Emmys: Martin Scorsese, Kate Winslet, Melissa McCarthy And More

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday September 18, 2011 @ 5:09pm PDTTags: 2011 Primetime Emmy Awards, Bertram van Munster, Boardwalk Empire, Downton Abbey, Emmy Winners, Eric Stonestreet, Game of Thrones, Guy Pearce, Jeffrey Richman, Jim Parsons, Julian Fellowes, Julie Bowen, Justified, Kate Winslet, Mad Men, Margo Martindale, Martin Scorsese, Matthew Weiner, Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly, Mildred Pierce, Modern Family, Rebecca Eaton, Sarah Hyland, Sofia Vergara, Steve Levitan, The Amazing Race, The Big Bang Theory, Ty Burrell

Emmys Live-Blog; Emmys By The Numbers; Emmy Analysis: Broadcast TV’s Big Awards Comeback; Red Carpet Executive Arrivals

Deadline’s Diane Haithman and Ray Richmond were backstage at the Primetime Emmy Awards tonight to hear what the winners had to say.

Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell came backstage together after winning the awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress and Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. The Modern Family stars were asked first about being part of a show that is breaking ground for gays. Burrell said, “I don’t know, in terms of America, it feels very, very good to be on a show that seems like it’s slowly changing a lot of minds. Eric [Stonestreet] and Jesse [Tyler Ferguson] deserve all of the credit for that, and our amazing showrunners. It’s a great thing to just peripherally go to events and just basically start to talk about those characters like any other characters, relating to their life — it’s pretty cool.” Bowen joked, “As a straight woman, and part of a straight couple on the show, I feel marginalized.” On a more serious note, she added: “It’s absurd that it’s even an issue, but where it’s an issue, I’m glad that we are part of helping change minds.” Using the word “straight” in a different context, Burrell praised Bowen: “It’s even greater credit to what Julie does that the straight-person wins an Emmy, I don’t think that happens very often. In a couple there’s usually a straight-man and a wilder character. It’s due to her resourcefulness as an actor.” On going back to the set with an Emmy when other cast members were also nominated, Burrell said: “Eric won last year, and Ed [O'Neill] actually just said something really sweet right before the award, ‘whoever wins deserves it.’ I feel like we’re trying to enjoy this moment more than anything — we know this doesn’t last forever; we’re having a lot of fun.” Bowen said about her surprise win, “I kinda thought it was a lock on Betty White. If I didn’t have a dog in this fight, and I had two, I would have voted for Betty White. Claire is not necessarily fall-down funny every time.” She credits the writers for having found ways to make her character have many dimensions and “not just be the mom.” …

Later, Steve Levitan and Jeffrey Richman, winners for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, were asked how it feels for Modern Family to be sweeping the awards so far, with wins in every category they’ve been eligible for. Levitan: “We’re beyond thrilled with the way things have gone, obviously. It’s an embarrassment of riches, and from the bottom of our hearts we feel that Ty Burrell and Julie Bowen deserved to win. (Outstanding Director in a Comedy Series winner) Michael Alan Spiller, not so much. To tell you the truth, it’s a little surreal.” They were then asked what they did to ramp up the stories and quality of Modern Family in Season 2. Levitan: “We feel like we know the characters a little bit better this year. There was such dedication this year to keeping the quality up. We all live in fear of the quality dipping so we work extra hard to make sure that doesn’t happen. … I’ll also tell you that our kids are the unsung heroes of the show. What they do on this show is amazing. We ask them to do such complicated turns and they nail it constantly. They’re playing at the same level as the adults and that’s a rare thing.” … Read More »

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Masterpiece To Air ‘Inspector Morse’ Prequel

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday August 8, 2011 @ 11:09am PDTTags: PBS, Rebecca Eaton
Nellie Andreeva

PBS has picked up Endeavour, a prequel of the long-running series Inspector Morse, to air on Masterpiece Mystery next year, which marks the 25th anniversary of the series’ 1987 premiere. … Read More »

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TCA: ‘Masterpiece’ Producer Addresses “Americanization” Of ‘Downton Abbey’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday July 31, 2011 @ 4:45pm PDTTags: Downton Abbey, PBS, Rebecca Eaton, Sherlock Holmes, TCA Press Tour, Television Critics Association, Upstairs Downstairs

Ray Richmond is contributing to Deadline’s coverage of TCA

At an afternoon TCA panel promoting the new season of PBS’ Masterpiece series, exec producer Rebecca Eaton was asked to explain a story in Britain’s Daily Mail that charged the acclaimed period drama Downton Abbey (recently nominated for 11 Primetime Emmys) lost two hours of content in its journey from the UK to America. Sounding unusually contentious, the typically unflappable Eaton explained, “I’m glad you brought this up. This was a story in the Daily Mail. Do I have to say anything more? And they got it wrong and they made a big deal out of it, that we’d taken two hours out. It wasn’t true. Our version was overall 20 or 25 minutes shorter and had to do with (advertising) and the need for different formatting. We didn’t chop it up to make it more palatable to the dummies in the American audience — as it was implied.” Eaton was quick to add, “By the way, that reporter’s name was Christopher Hastings.” Read More »

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EMMYS: TV Academy Vets Producers And Bumps 6 — But No Writer-Producers

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday August 10, 2010 @ 5:20pm PDTTags: Emmy, Emmy Producer Credit, Michael C. Hall, Rebecca Eaton

Ray Richmond is contributing to Deadline’s Emmy coverage.

I’ve just learned that the TV Academy has 6 names on its list of ineligible producers for Emmy-nominated programs. (Not 7: one producer was bumped from two shows.) See my previous, EMMYS: Waiting For That … Read More »

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