TV LAND ANNOUNCES SUMMER PREMIERE DATE FOR NEW ORIGINAL COMEDY “JENNIFER FALLS”, A SPECIAL ANIMATED EPISODE OF “HOT IN CLEVELAND”, AND RETURNING FAVORITE “THE EXES”

[TVLand Press Releases]

New York, NY – August 5, 2013 –

Emmy® Award-winning actress Jaime Pressly has been cast in the lead role for TV Land’s new pilot “Jennifer Falls,” it was announced today by Keith Cox, Executive Vice President of Development and Original Programming for the network. Pressly, best known for her work on the NBC series “My Name is Earl,” will play the lead character, Jennifer Doyle, in this multi-camera pilot.

“Jennifer Falls" revolves around a career woman and mother (Pressly) who must move back in with her own mom after being let go from her high-powered, six-figure salary job. With her teenage daughter in tow, Jennifer has to face her new life, trying to reconnect with old friends in her hometown and making ends meet as a waitress in her brother’s bar. “It’s amazing to have someone like Jaime Pressly on board for ‘Jennifer Falls,'” said Cox. “We loved this script from the moment we read it, and Jaime just brings the role to life
perfectly.”

The pilot is written, created and executive produced by Matthew Carlson (“The Wonder Years,” “Malcolm in the Middle”), with Michael Hanel and Mindy Schultheis (“Reba,” “The Exes”) also serving as executive producers. TV Land's current line-up of original sitcoms airs Wednesdays at 10pm ET/PT and includes the hit series "Hot in Cleveland," "The Exes" and "The Soul Man."

The series have received several awards and accolades including two 2013 Creative Arts Emmy® nominations: one for "Hot in Cleveland" and the other for "The Exes." All of these series star pop culture icons and fan favorites including Betty White, Valerie Bertinelli, Wendie Malick, Jane Leeves, Kristen Johnston, Donald Faison, Wayne Knight, David Alan Basche, Kelly Stables, Cedric "The Entertainer," Niecy Nash and Wesley Jonathan.

This December, TVLand will debut its newest original series, "Kirstie," which stars Kirstie Alley, Michael Richards, Rhea Perlman and Eric Petersen.

New York, NY – March 26, 2014 –

TV Land is launching a summer of star-studded programming beginning Wednesday, June 4th at 10:30pm ET/PT, with the all-new single camera comedy “Jennifer Falls,” starring Jaime Pressly, Jessica Walter, Ethan Suplee and Missi Pyle; “Hot in Cleveland” starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and Betty White, with an animated episode airing August 6th; and “The Exes” featuring Donald Faison, Wayne Knight, David Alan Basche, Kelly Stables and Kristen Johnston, returning August 13th.

Check out the schedule below:
Kicking off the summer season will be “Jennifer Falls,” the network’s brand new original comedy, premiering Wednesday, June 4th at 10:30pm ET/PT. The first-ever single camera comedy for TV Land revolves around Jennifer Doyle (Pressly), a former high-powered executive who has fallen and hit every bump on the way down to rock bottom. With her teenage daughter (Dylan Gelula) in tow, Jennifer moves back in with her mother (Walter) and takes a job in the bar owned by her meek brother (Suplee) and passive aggressive sister-in-law (Nora Kirkpatrick) as a last resort. There, she reunites with her former best friend (Pyle) who turns out to be holding quite a grudge. But every cloud has a silver lining: there’s nowhere to go but up.

Then, on Wednesday, August 6th at 10pm ET/PT, TV Land is in rare form with an animated episode of “Hot in Cleveland.” In the aptly titled “The Animated Episode,” the “hot” women – Melanie (Bertinelli), Joy (Leeves), Victoria (Malick) and Elka (White) – embark on an around-the-world adventure as cartoon characters, darting through pop culture hits, including scenes with homages to “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory,” “The Walking Dead” and “Frankenstein.” “Hot in Cleveland” premieres tonight, March 26th, with a LIVE episode and will continue to air throughout the summer.

Finally, fan favorite “The Exes” returns on Wednesday, August 13th at 10:30pm ET/PT. Last season, Phil (Faison) and Eden (Stables) dated and broke up, Stuart’s (Basche) sister Nicki (recurring guest star Leah Remini) came to town and decided to stay – much to the delight of a smitten Haskell (Knight) – and Holly (Johnston), unfortunately, saw a turbulent love life. Though chaos reigns supreme in their lives, the group is able to rely on their own little modern family.

About TV Land
TV Land is the programming destination featuring the best in entertainment on all platforms for consumers in their 40s and 50s. Consisting of original programming, classic and contemporary television series acquisitions, hit movies and digital portfolio, TV Land is now seen in over 98 million U.S. Homes.

About Viacom
Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA) is home to premier global media brands that create compelling television programs, motion pictures, short-form video, apps, games, consumer products, social media and other entertainment content for audiences in more than 160 countries and territories. Viacom’s media networks, including MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, BET, CENTRIC, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., TeenNick, Nicktoons, Nick at Nite, Comedy Central, TV Land, SPIKE, Tѓ3s, Paramount Channel and VIVA, reach approximately 700 million television subscribers worldwide. Paramount Pictures, America’s oldest film studio, is a major global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment.

FOX Announces Fall 2014 Schedule And New Portfolio Of Content At NYC's Beacon Theatre

[FOX Press Release Monday 5~12~2014]

New York – Kevin Reilly, Chairman, Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX), today unveiled the FOX portfolio of content for the 2014-2015 television season to the national advertising community during its annual Programming Presentation at the Beacon Theatre.

“Our portfolio of content this year reflects the biggest investment in programming we’ve ever made,” said Reilly. “FOX is redefining the network experience on our air and as a 24/7/365 platform, with distinctive series, addictive event dramas and can’t-miss live specials that will deliver broadcast’s most youthful audience at scale.”

Joe Earley, Chief Operating Officer, FOX, added, “The new series and specials we’re presenting today feature buzzworthy worlds and characters that we think will be the most talked about, liked, tweeted and shared of the season.”

Origin story GOTHAM and touching, coming-of-age series RED BAND SOCIETY are the two new dramas set to debut this fall. GOTHAM traces the rise of the great DC Comics Super-Villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told. From executive producer/writer Bruno Heller (“The Mentalist,” “Rome”) and starring Ben McKenzie (“Southland,” “The O.C.”), Jada Pinkett Smith (“Hawthorne,” “Collateral”) and Donal Logue (“Vikings,” “Sons of Anarchy”), GOTHAM follows one cop, destined for greatness, as he navigates a dangerously corrupt city teetering on the edge of evil, and chronicles the birth of one of the most popular super heroes of our time.

From Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television and starring Academy Award-winning actress Octavia Spencer (“The Help,” “Fruitvale Station”), Dave Annable (“Brothers & Sisters,” “666 Park Avenue”) and a charismatic cast of fresh faces, RED BAND SOCIETY is a provocative, inspiring and, at times, comedic young ensemble drama told through the eyes of a group of teenagers who meet as patients in the pediatric ward of Ocean Park Hospital in Los Angeles.

Also this fall, 10-episode mystery event series GRACEPOINT, starring Welsh BAFTA winner David Tennant (“Dr. Who”), Emmy Award winner Anna Gunn (“Breaking Bad”), Academy Award nominee Jacki Weaver (“Silver Linings Playbook”), Academy Award nominee Nick Nolte (“Warrior,” “Affliction”) and SAG Award winner Michael Peña (“American Hustle”), joins the schedule. The riveting mystery follows the tragic death of a young boy, and the major police investigation and nationwide media frenzy that subsequently overtake a picturesque seaside town, where anyone is a suspect.

The new comedy premiering this fall is MULANEY. MULANEY stars Emmy Award-winning writer and comedian John Mulaney (“Saturday Night Live”) as a rising stand-up comic trying to take his career to the next level, and the friends and mentors who lift him up, hold him back and push him around. The multi-camera sitcom boasts a cast of comedy all-stars, including Martin Short (“SCTV,” “Saturday Night Live”), Academy Award nominee Elliott Gould (“M*A*S*H,” the “Ocean’s 11” franchise), Nasim Pedrad (“Saturday Night Live”), Seaton Smith (“Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell”) and Zack Pearlman (“The Inbetweeners”).

One new unscripted series debuts in the fall: the groundbreaking social experiment UTOPIA, which asks, “Does a perfect world exist?” From unscripted mastermind John de Mol (“Deal Or No Deal,” “Fear Factor,” “The Voice,” “Big Brother”), and based on the Dutch hit of the same name, UTOPIA is a bold new series that moves 15 everyday Americans to an isolated, undeveloped location – for an entire year – and challenges them to create their own civilization. Will it be ultimate happiness or utter chaos?

In 2015, the portfolio of new content joining the schedule includes three distinctive dramas, EMPIRE, HIEROGLYPH and BACKSTROM; an evocative event series WAYWARD PINES; and three comedies, singles ensemble WEIRD LONERS, Will Forte’s THE LAST MAN ON EARTH and animated comedy BORDERTOWN.

From Academy Award nominee Lee Daniels (“Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” “Precious”) and Emmy Award winner Danny Strong (“Game Change,” “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”) comes EMPIRE, a sexy and powerful new drama about the head of a music empire whose three sons and ex-wife all battle for his throne. Set to an original soundtrack written and produced by hip-hop hitmaker Timbaland, the family drama stars Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard (“Crash,” “Hustle & Flow”) and Academy Award and Emmy Award nominee Taraji P. Henson (“Person of Interest,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”).

The world of ancient Egypt – a time of magic, Pharaohs, gods and thieves – lives again in HIEROGLYPH, an adventure series from creator/executive producer Travis Beacham (“Pacific Rim,” “Clash of the Titans”). The epic fantasy follows a notorious thief who is plucked from prison to serve the Pharaoh, forcing him to navigate palace intrigue, seductive concubines, criminal underbellies and divine sorcerers, as he races to stop the downfall of one of history’s greatest civilizations.

Created and executive-produced by Hart Hanson (BONES), offbeat comedic crime procedural BACKSTROM centers on Detective EVERETT BACKSTROM (three-time Emmy Award nominee Rainn Wilson, “The Office,” “Six Feet Under”), an unhealthy, offensive, irascible – albeit brilliant – detective who is brought back from exile to run the Portland Police Bureau’s Special Crimes Unit (S.C.U.).

Based on a best-selling novel and brought to life by suspenseful storyteller M. Night Shyamalan (“The Sixth Sense”), WAYWARD PINES is an intense, mind-bending 10-episode thriller starring Academy Award nominee Matt Dillon (“Crash”) as a Secret Service agent on a mission to find two missing federal agents in the bucolic town of Wayward Pines, ID. Every step closer to the truth makes him question if he will ever get out of Wayward Pines alive. The all-star cast also includes Academy and Emmy Award winner Melissa Leo (“The Fighter”), Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard (“Crash,” “Hustle & Flow”), Carla Gugino (“Entourage”), Shannyn Sossamon (“How to Make It in America”), Toby Jones (the “Harry Potter” franchise) and Academy Award and Emmy Award nominee Juliette Lewis (“Cape Fear”).

WEIRD LONERS, from writer Michael J. Weithorn (“The King of Queens”) and director Jake Kasdan (NEW GIRL), is a new single-camera comedy about four single 30-something underdogs who are unexpectedly thrust into one another’s lives and form an unlikely bond in a Queens, NY, townhouse. The series stars Becki Newton (“Ugly Betty”), Zachary Knighton (“Happy Endings”), Nate Torrence (“Hello Ladies”) and newcomer Meera Khumbhani.

Created by and starring Will Forte (“Nebraska,” “Saturday Night Live”) and directed by Chris Miller and Phil Lord (“The Lego Movie,” “21 Jump Street”), THE LAST MAN ON EARTH is a new single-camera comedy about the life and adventures of the last man on earth. PHIL MILLER (Forte) was once just an average guy who loved his family and hated his job at the bank – now he’s humanity’s last hope. Will he ever find another person alive on the planet? Would hoping that she is a female be asking too much?

A new animated comedy from FAMILY GUY’s Mark Hentemann and Seth MacFarlane, BORDERTOWN is a satirical look at the cultural shifts taking place in America. Exploring family, politics and everything in between with a cross-cultural wink, the series centers on two very different families living in a fictional Southwest desert town on the U.S. - Mexico border.

Also announced for the 2014-2015 season are brand-new LIVE specials JUMP OF THE CENTURY (working title), PITBULL’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION (working title) and GREASE LIVE (working title). This fall, on the 40th anniversary of Evel Knievel’s high-stakes attempt to jump across Idaho’s Snake River Canyon, two very different personalities – professional stuntman Eddie Braun and daredevil Big Ed Beckley – hope to achieve what Knievel could not by crossing the gaping 2,300-foot-deep canyon LIVE on JUMP OF THE CENTURY (wt). On PITBULL’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION (working title), global superstar Pitbull will be joined by some of his favorite A-list musicians and celebrity friends to ring in the New Year LIVE from the sandy beaches of America’s hottest city – Miami! Get ready to do the hand jive as FOX enrolls at Rydell High with GREASE LIVE (working title), a LIVE three-hour production of the massively popular crossover musical “Grease.” Featuring a young ensemble cast, GREASE LIVE (wt) will reintroduce the great music and timeless story to an entirely new generation.

Additional FOX series include: AMERICAN IDOL, ANIMATION DOMINATION HIGH-DEF, BOB’S BURGERS, BOOM!, BONES, BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, FAMILY GUY, THE FOLLOWING, GLEE, HELL’S KITCHEN, HOTEL HELL, MASTERCHEF, MASTERCHEF JUNIOR, THE MINDY PROJECT, NEW GIRL, THE SIMPSONS, SLEEPY HOLLOW and SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE. TEEN CHOICE 2014 will also return to the FOX schedule.

Additional new and returning series and schedule information to be announced.

Horror Series Penny Dreadful Coming To SHOWTIME 10PM Sunday May 11, 2014

Horror Series Penny Dreadful Coming To SHOWTIME 10PM Sunday May 11, 2014 


via press release:
Production Began Fall Of 2013 In Dublin Ireland/London UK

An erotically-charged, profoundly unsettling new saga, PENNY DREADFUL completely reinvents literature's most iconic and terrifying characters. Dorian Gray, Victor Frankenstein and timeless figures from Dracula join a core of original characters in a dark and brutal quest to save a soul -- even as they grapple with their own monstrous temptations. Starring Josh Hartnett, Timothy Dalton and Eva Green.

"PENNY DREADFUL" RECEIVES SERIES COMMITMENT FROM SHOWTIME

Horror Series Marks Landmark Television Collaboration From Skyfall Duo John Logan And Sam Mendes

CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED DIRECTOR JUAN ANTONIO BAYONA TO DIRECT FIRST TWO EPISODES OF SHOWTIME® SERIES PENNY DREADFUL

LOS ANGELES, CA (June 18, 2013) – Critically-acclaimed, award-winning Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona (The Impossible, The Orphanage) will helm the first two episodes in the eight episode series order of the upcoming SHOWTIME drama PENNY DREADFUL – created, written and executive produced by three-time Oscar® nominee John Logan (Hugo, The Aviator, Gladiator) and executive produced by Oscar winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Skyfall) and Neal Street's Pippa Harris (Revolutionary Road, Call The Midwife). PENNY DREADFUL, a psychosexual horror series, features some of literature’s most iconic figures, it was announced by David Nevins, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks. PENNY DREADFUL will begin production in London in the fall of 2013.

In PENNY DREADFUL, some of literature’s most famously terrifying characters – including Dr. Frankenstein and his creature, Dorian Gray and iconic figures from the novel Dracula – become embroiled in Victorian London.

The series weaves together these classic horror origin stories as the characters grapple with their monstrous alienation.

This project marks Logan and Mendes’ second major collaboration, following Skyfall, their box office record-breaking James Bond film,

which Mendes directed and Logan co-wrote; and their first ever collaboration for television. The project will be produced by Mendes' production company Neal Street Productions.

Bayona is an acclaimed and award-winning director, best known for his work on the hugely successful 2007 horror film The Orphanage and the 2012 Oscar-contender The Impossible, starring Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts in her Golden Globe® and Oscar-nominated role.

"John Logan and Sam Mendes are two of the great storytellers of our time," said Nevins. "The visual spectacle combined with the psychological insight in their reimagining of these iconic literary characters seems totally mesmerizing to me. This promises to be a wholly original television show."


Logan will write every episode of the show, and while the initial hope was that Mendes could helm a couple of installments, he is likely knee-deep in development on Bond 24 (which Logan is also writing). Showtime has ordered an eight-episode first season of Penny Dreadful, with Bayona on tap to direct the first two.

Louie's Back! Season 4 Debuts Monday 5~5~2014 10:00PM on FX

[Press Release]

Louie’s back!!! After a 19-month hiatus, television’s most-critically acclaimed comedy series Louie will make its season four debut on Monday, May 5 at 10:00 PM E/P, and FX will air two all new episodes of the Emmy® Award winning show back-to-back every Monday at 10:00 and 10:30 PM E/P for seven consecutive weeks through June 16.

Created by Louis C.K., Louie is a comedy revolving around “Louie,” a semi-fictional version of Louis C.K. played by C.K. The show is filtered through the observational humor of “Louie.” Each episode puts a spotlight on “Louie’s” hectic life as a stand-up comedian and single father who shares custody of his two daughters, “Lilly” (Hadley Delaney) and “Jane” (Ursula Parker). 

The single-camera comedy is a mix of “Louie’s” stand-up comedy and scripted films. The series deals with everyday life issues including work, parenting and relationships, and has touched on topics ranging from religion to politics to social behavior. While many of the episodes are stand alone, the series has also included many serialized episodes, which will hold true in season four.

Louis C.K. is the Creator, Executive Producer, Showrunner, Star, Director and Editor, and he also is involved in music for the show. In addition, he enjoys an unprecedented level of creative freedom. A testament to the quality of the series is the demand by actors to play guest starring roles – F. Murray Abraham, Bobby Cannavale, Ricky Gervais, Jay Leno, Melissa Leo, David Lynch, Garry Marshall, Parker Posey, Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Sarah Silverman and many others. Louie also has a fantastic roster of recurring players including Pamela Adlon, Todd Barry, Rick Crom, Nick DiPaolo, Edward Gelbinovich, Bobby Kelly, Jim Norton, William Stevenson and Susan Kelechi Watson.

In 2012, Louie made history by becoming the first comedy series on a basic cable network to receive an Emmy Award nomination in the category of Outstanding Comedy Series. The show has won two Emmy Awards – Louis C.K. for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (2012), and Melissa Leo for Outstanding Guest Actress in Comedy Series (2013). The series has also won AFI (2012 and 2013), Peabody (2013), and Television Critics Association (2013) awards. It was nominated for a WGA Award in 2012, and it won the WGA Award in 2013 (Louis C.K., Pamela Adlon and Vernon Chatman). It was also nominated for a PGA Award in 2013.

For his work on Louie, Louis C.K. has received Emmy Award nominations for writing (he won in 2011) and acting in each of the show’s first three seasons, and also twice for directing. C.K. received Golden Globe® and SAG Award nominations for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, and DGA Award nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series. He became the first and only actor from a basic cable series to win the Television Critics Association Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy.

Louis C.K., M. Blair Breard and Dave Becky are Executive Producers. The series is produced by FX Productions.

Louie is shot in New York City, using all five boroughs for locations. The show has also been shot on location in Boston, California, Miami, Texas, and China.

JACK IS BACK! A SPECIAL BEHIND-THE-SCENES PREVIEW OF “24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY” AIRS SATURDAY, MAY 3, 8:30PM SERIES PREMIERES MON MAY 5, 8-10PM ON FOX

[Press Release HOT FROM FOX…]

As the clock ticks toward the anticipated premiere of 24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY, a special half-hour behind-the-scenes preview of the event series, 24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY: JACK IS BACK, will air Saturday, May 3 (8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Featuring interviews with the series’ Emmy Award-winning director, producers and series stars, the special takes a behind-the-scenes look at the action, cast and production on location in London.

24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY premieres with a two-hour television event Monday, May 5 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX, and makes its time period premiere the following week on Monday, May 12 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). And don’t miss 24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY encores every Friday at 8:00 PM ET/PT starting May 9.

Set and shot in London, the suspenseful event series once again will follow the exploits of heroic agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), as he attempts to thwart an unthinkable terrorist attack that could change the world forever. Retaining the real-time, nail-biting, fast-paced format with split screens and interweaving storylines, the highly-anticipated series also stars Mary Lynn Rajskub, Kim Raver and William Devane reprising their original roles.

Newcomers to the series include Yvonne Strahovski, Benjamin Bratt [Emmy Award nominee Bratt will portray STEVE HARRIS, the head of CIA operations tracking JACK BAUER (Sutherland) in London], Tate Donovan [Tate Donovan (“Damages”) will join the presidential cabinet of 24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY as White House Chief of Staff MARK BOUDREAU], Giles Matthey, Gbenga Akinnagbe and Michael Wincott.

24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY is a production of Teakwood Lane Productions in association with 20th Century Fox Television and Imagine Television. Howard Gordon, Evan Katz, Manny Coto, David Fury, Robert Cochran, Brian Grazer, Jon Cassar and Kiefer Sutherland are executive producers. The original series, which had its last American broadcast on May 24, 2010, was created by Joel Surnow and Cochran. “Like” 24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY on Facebook at facebook.com/24. Follow the series on Twitter @24FOX and join the discussion using #JackIsBack. On instagram 24onFOX