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show would be returned to its original, three-judge format. Only Randy Jackson, who has another year on his contract, is considered likely to return to the show in January. The gutting of the judges’ table is not a huge surprise since Nigel Lythgoe is being brought back to executive-produce the show. Lythgoe had shepherded “Idol” for years before leaving over arguments about its direction. Last season’s quick fixes, including casting DeGeneres, blew up in Fox’s face with the finale attracting 24 million viewers which, while a hefty-size audience in today’s TV environment, is the franchise’s smallest finale audience since its first season, when “Idol” was a summer show. It’s about 12 million viewers shy of its finale crowd just four years ago. This spring, Lythgoe made a
part-time job out of talking about how he would get rid of all the judges on the show if he were king, because they had no chemistry and Ellen was a disappointment. Hard to argue either point. DeGeneres said Thursday that she was stepping down because of her busy workload on her daytime talk show. On Friday morning, “Idol”
host Ryan Seacrest was working like a little beaver on his nationally syndicated morning radio show to make sure everyone around the country knew Ellen made the decision to leave. Seriously, it was her call. She made the decision. Herself. For real. He swears it’s true. To clear up any confusion,
Seabiscuit stated, “Ellen has left the show,” adding, helpfully, “she decided to leave herself.” To drive the point home, Seabiscuit read Ellen’s statement that Fox put out late Thursday, explaining that she went to the producers and told them that it wasn’t a good fit — she wasn’t comfortable criticizing contestants, and she needed to leave.
“I had the chance to speak to Ellen yesterday, last night actually, and we talked about basically what I just read, she
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J-Lo? Steven Tyler? Guessing game’s on for new ‘American Idol’ judges.
ahead of NBC. Like McPherson, Lee will be in
charge of developing, marketing and scheduling programs on ABC’s lineup; like McPherson, he will also oversee ABC Studios, which produces series, mostly for ABC but also for other networks. (CBS’s “Criminal Minds” and “The Amazing Race,” for instance, are ABC Studio co-productions.) Lee’s first assignment: coming to Summer TV Press Tour 2010 on Sunday to appear at what was supposed to be McPherson’s executive Q&A session, during which Lee will answer questions about ABC’s new prime-time slate, which was green-lit, produced, scheduled and marketed by McPherson. Should be interesting. Since Lee became president of
JEFF ROBERSON/ASSOCIATED PRESS CHRIS PIZZELLO/ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOT TOPICS: Rocker Steven Tyler is rumored to be in talks with Fox executives about “American Idol.” Meanwhile, Skeet Ulrich and Corey Stoll, right, will be the newest police detectives to walk the “Law & Order” beat — this version is set in Los Angeles.
said it’s all true,” Seabiscuit emphasized, once more. “That’s really the reason for it. “We love Ellen and will
certainly miss her. That is the latest news,” he said, forlornly. Then he got serious: “But you should know that exactly what you’re reading and exactly what she said, that’s why she did decide to leave ‘American Idol.’ ” But in his Seabiscuitian way, he managed to get one dig in. “It’s not like she needs the work,” he snickered to his co-hosts.
‘Law & Order’ goes west NBC’s new “Law & Order: Los
Angeles” is continuing to cast roles — and yes, it’s still supposed to premiere in September though its debut just got moved one week later into the month, the network announced Friday. Terrence Howard is joining the cast of “LOLA,” as the show
THE TV COLUMN
has been nicknamed; he will rotate with co-star Alfred Molina as deputy district attorney, series creator Dick Wolf told TV critics at Summer TV Press Tour 2010 on Friday. Corey Stoll has also been added to the cast, playing star Skeet Ulrich’s police detective partner.
Critics held out hope that Wolf had found a cable network to keep “Law & Order: The Mothership” alive — having already written their big feature stories for the day when it would officially become the longest-running series in TV history, or whatever. NBC canceled the show in May after a 20-year run that tied, but did not break, “Gunsmoke’s” record. It’s not happening, Wolf said.
We love Ellen and will certainly miss her. . . . It’s not like she needs the work.”
“That’s business. That’s life.
Everything on TV is born under a death sentence. They just don’t tell you the execution date,” Wolf said, grimly. Asked if his salary or other
money issues on the show had caused talks to fall apart, Wolf snarled, “You can’t believe we’re going to discuss negotiations!” “In the 25 years I’ve been continuously on the air at NBC, we’ve never failed to make a deal when there was a deal to be made,” he snapped. Yes, when asked sensitive questions at a press tour, Dick Wolf tends to turn into that third-grade teacher who made you stand at the front of the class with your nose placed inside the little circle she’d drawn on the chalkboard if she caught you writing with your left hand. In both cases, they were just trying to make you a better person.
ABC fills an exec spot ABC parent Disney made it
— Ryan Seacrest, discussing the resignation of his “American Idol” colleague, talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres
official Friday: The broadcast network is replacing its hastily departed entertainment chief,
McPherson, above, is being replaced by Lee.
Steve McPherson, with Paul Lee —the guy who’s been giving MTV a run for its money over at cable network ABC Family by redefining “family” to mean 10- to 28-year-old viewers. McPherson
returned from vacation this week and voluntarily resigned. He later
announced
that he had hired a pit-bull of a lawyer to warn trade publications and Web sites to think twice about the speculative stories they’ve been writing about the cause of McPherson’s abrupt departure. Lee’s appointment is effective immediately. His work is cut out for him: He must bolster ratings at a network that ended the 2009-10 season in third place among the big four, just slightly
ABC Family in 2004, he’s added to the basic-cable network such shows as sci-fi soap “Kyle XY,” teen-pregnancy drama “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” teen murder-mystery “Pretty Little Liars,” college campus dramedy “Greek,” teen-gymnast drama “Make It or Break It” and teen-fat camp drama “Huge.”
With these series, ABC Family has had six years of growth and its audience has more than doubled among 12- to 34-year-olds and 18- to 34-year-olds. It is now the No. 2 cable network in prime time among 12- to 34-year-old females, No. 3 with female teens —no small feat for a network that’s still home to “The 700 Club.” “Paul’s success at ABC Family is as amazing as it is indisputable, and I’m looking forward to his continued success on ABC,” the overly titled Disney/ABC Media Networks co-chair cum Disney/ABC Television Group president Anne Sweeney said giddily in Friday’s announcement. No word on who’s replacing
Lee at ABC Family.
demoraesl@washpost.com
To get the latest updates from the Summer TV Press Tour
2010, visit The TV Column blog at
washingtonpost.com/tvcolumn.
HIGHLIGHTS Happy Chelsea Clinton
Wedding Day! To celebrate the occasion, CBS devotes “The Early Show” (at 8 a.m.) to something called “A Chelsea Morning,” as Erica Hill broadcasts from Rhinebeck, N.Y. And “Super Secret Celebrity Weddings” (Wedding Central at 8 p.m.) features other high-profile folks who have gone to crazy lengths to keep their weddings private. On WUSA, “Metromix DC’s Hottest 5” (at 9) looks at popular musical acts in Washington; directly following at 9:30, “The Great Hang-Up” urges viewers to, in the words of Oprah, make the car a “no phone zone.” Sunday talk shows: “Platts Energy Week” (WUSA at
8 a.m.) interviews Edison Electric Institute’s Tom Kuhn and American Public Power Association’s Mark Crisson; “Fox News Sunday” (Fox at 9 a.m.) hosts former vice presidential candidate and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio); “State of the Union” (CNN at 9) features Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), The Post’s Dan Balz and the New York Times’ Peter Baker; “The Chris Matthews Show” (NBC at 10) hosts HDNet’s Dan Rather, Time’s Richard Stengel, the Times’ Helene Cooper and Associated Press’s Kimberly Dozier. Christiane Amanpour makes her debut on “This Week” (ABC at 10), which features House SpeakerNancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, the Times’ Paul Krugman, author Ahmed Rashid and ABC’s George Will; “Newsmakers” (C-SPAN at 10) talks to Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.); “Meet the Press” (NBC at 10:30) has Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and MSNBC’s Mark Halperin; “Face the Nation” (CBS at 10:30) talks to Mullen, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), the Council on Foreign
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CHOW TIME: Shark Week kicks off on Discovery at 9.
Relations’ Richard Haass and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund’s Thomas Saenz; “Washington Watch With Roland Martin” (TV One at 11) hosts radio personality Tom Joyner, TV and radio host Bobby Jones, former “Apprentice” star Omarosa and actor Tyrese Gibson, among others; “This Week in Defense News” (WUSA at 11) has the Stimson Center’s Gordon Adams and the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments’ Todd Harrison; “The McLaughlin Group” (WUSA at 11:30) talks to MSNBC’s Pat Buchanan, the Washington Times’ Monica Crowley, Newsweek’s Eleanor Clift and author Peter Beinart; “This Is America With Dennis Wholey” (WHUT at 6 p.m.) features a 2008 interview with NPR analyst and journalist Daniel Schorr, who died on July 23 at age 93. “Rubicon” (AMC at 8 and 9
p.m.), a new drama series about a global conspiracy, starts Sunday night and is previewed by Hank Stuever on Page C1. Shark Week kicks off with
“Ultimate Air Jaws” (Discovery at 9), which tracks a shark’s every movement using super-slow motion. Actress Eva Longoria Parker and chef Todd English stop by “Next Food Network Star” (Food Network at 9).
— Emily Yahr
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