Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
Comedy Central announced The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report will both resume production January 7, without their writing staffs. This return date follows a scheduled two-week, end of year hiatus. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert issued this statement about their return: “We would like to return to work with our writers. If we cannot, we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence.” (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=aogXa9VyeVL0 12/20)
What do the writers of The Daily Show think of the WGA strike? Find out by watching the video below. I award this video: Funniest Layered with Sarcasm Strike Video. Most proof that The Daily Show isn’t much of a show without its writers.
Striking writers Chris DeLuca, Dominic Dierkes and Jonathan Garbus are producing a satirical Web series titled “The Void” and have signed a revenue-sharing deal with Worldwide Biggies, a company formed by Albie Hecht, the former president of MTV Networks’ Nickelodeon. (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i6e97406a00e0eb19accc9d4681619916 11/21)
BBC America debuts a new comedy sketch show, That Mitchell & Webb Look from British comedians Robert Webb and David Mitchell on February 8 at 920p. The comedy duo behind the sitcom Peep Show, collect a group of colorful characters and rely on Monty Python influences as well as Peter Cook and Spike Milligan.
Scene from Episode 1
Cable networks such as HBO, Showtime, AMC and FX were big winners in nominations for the 14th annual Screen Actors Guild awards. The Jan. 27 event will be televised live by TNT and TBS simultaneously. (Mediaweek 12/20)
Fox‘s pilot project Saint of Circumstance from ABC Studios has added David Denman (The Office) in the lead role, and Zack Braff (Scrubs) as Exec Producer/Director, reports THR. The story is about a guy who leaves his office job to become a paramedic.
Viacom’s MTV is looking to make a splash in the original musical arena with “The American Mall.” The project, from “High School Musical” producers Bill Borden and Barry Rosenbush, will premiere in the summer on the cable network, followed immediately by a release on DVD. (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i3b664324ba4ea5c091e1fee3d313726d 12/21)
Nickelodeon, the home of Jamie Lynn Spears’s hit “Zoey 101″ series, is considering airing a special focusing on “sex and love.” The news follows on the heels of the announcement by Spears, 16, that she is pregnant. There is yet to be an official announcement about the future of “Zoey 101.” (http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1576987/20071220/id_0.jhtml 12/21)
James Murdoch, in his first interview since his appointment as the head of News Corp.’s Europe and Asia operations, says he is an “optimist” about the company’s future in the media world. “My management skills are going to be put to the test — but I am sure that I will manage somehow.” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/dec/21/newsinternational.newscorporation 12/21)
Time Warner Cable executives have rejected an offer by the NFL to enter binding arbitration before the potentially historic Dec. 29 matchup between the New England Patriots and New York Giants. The game, which is to be carried by the NFL Network, could cap a perfect season for the Pats. (The Washington Post 12/21)
Former Cowboys coach Bill Parcells, right, signed a four-year contract with the Miami Dolphins, putting him in charge of the team’s football operations. (By John Mcdonnell — The Washington Post)
Time Warner Cable has completed its $60.2 million sale of cable systems in and around North Carolina’s Mecklenburg County to MI-Connection Communications System, an entity formed by the governments of Mecklenburg and Iredell counties. The deal involves 15,800 subscribers, whose service Time Warner Cable acquired last year from Adelphia Communications. (American City Business Journals/Charlotte, N.C. 12/20)
Comcast and DirecTV have settled their lawsuit revolving around a consumer survey related to high-definition TV that the cable company was using in its ad efforts. The settlement agreement allows Comcast to continue using results from the survey. (Multichannel News 12/20)
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