SORKIN’S THE NEWSROOM A HIT IN DEBUT

Aaron Sorkin’s first TV series for pay TV, The Newsroom, starring Jeff Daniels, debuted to solid numbers on HBO Sunday night. In its first airing of the night, it averaged 2.1 million viewers, then added 600,000 more in a repeat. Yet to be counted are those who viewed the series on their DVRs or via […]

HBO ALREADY A BIG EMMY WINNER

HBO appeared to be a cinch to trounce all rivals at next Sunday’s Primetime Emmy awards after its Boardwalk Empire series picked up seven trophies in the Creative Arts Awards ceremony. Altogether, the Time Warner-owned pay-TV channel collected 15 trophies. The creative arts awards are a catch-all for a slew of miscellaneous awards that include […]

EMMY SHINES SPOTLIGHT ON FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

Friday Night Lights, the critically praised but ratings-challenged drama, is going out with a bang. The show, which recently was able to stay alive by first being televised on DirecTV before being rerun on NBC, was nominated today (Thursday) as one of the five dramas in the best drama category in the 63rd Primetime Emmy […]

SAG CROWNS THE KING’S SPEECH

The King’s Speech increased its lengthy lead in the Oscar race Sunday night as the Screen Actors Guild awarded the movie trophies for best ensemble acting (equivalent to Oscar’s best picture award) and bestowed its best male actor award on the film’s star, Colin Firth. Natalie Portman received the best female actor award for her […]

HBO’S BOARDWALK EMPIRE BIG WINNER AT GOLDEN GLOBES

HBO’s lavishly produced series Boardwalk Empire, set in Atlantic City during Prohibition, won the Golden Globe Sunday night as television’s best dramatic series, while its star, Steve Buscemi, won the best actor award in a TV drama. Some critics observed that the competition, like the Emmy awards, was unfair. No broadcast network can spend as […]

U.S. PAY-TV SHOWS TO AIR ON NEW SATELLITE CHANNEL IN U.K.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp-controlled BSkyB has reached deals with Time Warner and CBS Corp. to bring content from their HBO and Showtime pay-TV channels to its Sky Atlantic satellite channel in the U.K. beginning next month. In an announcement today (Wednesday), Sky Atlantic said that the channel will showcase U.S. programs, including such original fare […]

DANCING TRIPS NEW SHOWS

An array of new shows entered the ratings competition Monday night, officially the first night of the new season. But it was the two-hour season premiere of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars that danced away with honors as it averaged 21.01 million viewers from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Despite strong competition, the show outperformed […]

SCORSESE TAKES GANGLAND TALE TO TV

Martin Scorsese, who knows a thing or two about directing gangland dramas, has directed the pilot and has agreed to executive produce the upcoming HBO series Boardwalk Empire, set in Atlantic City, NJ during the Prohibition era. Appearing via satellite from London at the Television Critics Association gathering in Beverly Hills over the weekend to […]