Media Bites-March 22 2010

Pilots at the peacock net bring back high profile exec producers, directors and actors. Check out the latest and greatest:

Chase
Warner Bros. TV/Jerry Bruckheimer TV
Jennifer Johnson (w, ep), Jerry Bruckheimer (ep), Jonathan Littman (ep), David Nutter (d)
A thriller about a team of U.S. marshals hunting most-wanted criminals.
Kelli Giddish, Cole Hauser, Jesse Metcalfe, Amaury Nolasco, Rose Rollins

The Event
Nick Wauters (w), Steve Stark (ep), Jeff Reiner (d)
A thriller about a regular man fighting his way through a mysterious conspiracy.
Jason Ritter, Blair Underwood, Sara Roemer, Scott Peterson, Zjelko Ivanek, Ian Anthony Dale, Taylor Cole, Wes Ramsey

*Yup, stars John Ritter's son Jason

Kindreds
Warner Bros. TV/David E. Kelley Prods.
David E. Kelley (w, ep), Bill D'Elia (d)
Follows a curmudgeonly former patent lawyer and his group of misfit associates.
Ben Chaplin, Aml Ameen

*Reminds me a bit of 'House', but with lawyers

Rex Is Not Your Lawyer
Andrew Leeds (w), David Lampson (w), Barry Schindel (ep), Gail Berman (ep), Lloyd Braun (ep), David Semel (ep, d)
A brilliant attorney begins coaching people who represent themselves.
David Tennant, Jerry O'Connell, Abigail Spencer, Jeffrey Tambor, Jane Curtin, Cleo King, Lindsay Kraft

Rockford Files
UMS/Carousel
David Shore (w, ep), Steve Carell (ep)
An updated version of the 1970s NBC series about Jim Rockford, a roguish private eye.
Dermot Mulroney

Undercovers
Warner Bros. TV/Bad Robot
J.J. Abrams (w, d, ep), Josh Reims (w, ep), Bryan Burk (ep)
After retirement, a husband and wife are reactivated as CIA agents.
Boris Kodjoe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Carter MacIntyre, Gerald McRaney, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Ben Schwartz

And for a bit of useless cocktail party information, there are 4 projects starring famous offspring:

"The Event": Jason Ritter

"Happy Endings": Damon Wayans, Jr.

"Hawaii-Five O": Scott Caan

"The Good Guys": Colin Hanks

Media Bites-March 11 2010

Pilots in the pipeline
Now is the time when all the broadcast and cable nets share their new programming plans-feuding housewives, witches and Kirstie Alley. So I thought I's get the ball rolling with a few choice shows that are on the docket for pick up or pass. Maybe I'll even start a contest or a poll to pick the winners and losers. Let's start with ABC:

Boston Finest
ABC Studios
Richard Hatem (w), Bert Salke (ep), Chris Brancato (ep), Gary Fleder (d, ep)
A female detective teams with a disgraced ex-cop to solve crimes and untangle the conspiracy that sent him underground.
Katee Sackhoff, Richard T. Jones, Will Yun Lee.

*Katee Sackhoff gave a great performance as a tortured pilot on SyFy's original series 'Battlestar Gallactica'

Cutthroat
20th Century Fox Television
Michele Fazekas (w, ep), Tara Butters (w, ep), Bronwen Hughes (d)
A dramedy about an ambitious Beverly HIlls single mother who runs an international drug cartel.
Roselyn Sanchez, Jon Seda, Peggy Lipton, Escher Holloway

*Doesn't this sound a little bit like the Showtime original 'Weeds'?

Generation Y
ABC Studios
Noah Hawley (w, ep), Warren Littlefield (ep), Henrik Bastin (ep), Peter Magnasson (ep), Martin Piersson (ep), Craig Gillespie (d)
A doc-style scripted dramedy that follows a disparate group of former high school classmates.
Michael Stahl David, Keir O'Donnell, Kelli Gamer, Daniella Alonso, Julian Morris, Mechad Brooks, Jamie King, Anne Son

*I've seen this already-isn't it called 'Degrassi' on Teen Nick.

Freshmen
20th Century Fox Television
Greg Malins (w, ep), Arianna Huffington (ep), Pamela Fryman (d), Roy Sekoff (ep)
An ensemble about three first-year members of Congress who live together in a Washington row house.
Sarah Chalke, Tommy Dewey, Taran Killam, Suzy Nakamura, Ben Lawson, Taran Killam

*Is this what happens when 'The Real World: DC' grows up??

Funny in Farsi
ABC Studios
Nastaran Dibai (w, ep), Jeffrey B. Hodes (w, ep), Barry Sonnenfeld (d, ep)
About an Iranian immigrant family in 1970s Newport Beach, Calif.
Maz Jobrani, Hrach Titizian, Marjan Neshat, Kendra Jain,
David Gore, Sarah Shahi

*'That 70's Show' moves to the Middle East

Stay tuned for more updates from the Media Man.

Media Bites-March 8 2010

Your Ad Here-demystifying the Business of Media and Advertising will be available for purchase in mid April. In the meantime, here's a little bit of what to expect inside:

Media and advertising is everywhere. It’s a huge part of our culture. Turn on your computer screen and it is likely there will be a figure gyrating across your screen trying to sell you an online college degree or low rate auto loan. Open the newspaper and even within the columns of news you’ll see ads for everything from divorce lawyers to dance studios to funeral homes. Pull out of your driveway and onto the highway and more than likely you’ll notice billboards promoting the latest craft festival or maybe the latest cell phone technology. Flick on your radio and you may hear an ad for your local dry cleaner that reminds you that you left your laundry hanging over the kitchen chair. Settle in for an evening at home in front of the television and once again, you’ll be offered the opportunity to purchase everything from fast food to a shiny new car to some microwave popcorn. Check your messages on your phone and there may be a text message for the latest sale of Crazy Boy Jeans. It’s everywhere. So how do you get your message heard in all the noise?

The media and advertising business is a mystery to most people. Even account reps from one media to the next may not fully understand how the other works. Broadcast and outdoor are two very different animals with a different set of parameters and calculations. Media buyers work in an environment of long mathematical calculations and believe us when we tell you; they put a lot of trust in their gut. So how are you supposed to know where to start when many professionals are quite often in the dark?