Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
Actress Kristin Chenoweth is moving on to a new network as she was signed to star in NBC’s new David E. Kelley legal drama, Legally Mad. Chenoweth will play Skippy Pylon, a smart, bubbly attorney who at times displays moments of psychosis and likes it when people mistake her for a teenager. The drama, set in Chicago, is produced by Warner Bros. Television marking the first Kelley project under his new deal with Warner. Most recently, Chenoweth starred in ABC’s Pushing Daisies. (Cynopsis 12/22)
Maria Bello, the actress who appeared in “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” now is developing a series for HBO in which she also will star. The as-yet-untitled vehicle apparently is about a woman who is forced into a life of crime and then enlists the help of her three teenage sons. Variety (12/21)
HBO
In further HBO news, the premium cable network has a new drama called Cocaine Cowboys from Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay, per THR. Meredith Stiehm will write the project based on Billy Corben’s 2006 documentary Cowboys about the genesis of cocaine trafficking in Miami. Warner Bros. Television will produce where Jerry Bruckheimer TV is located. (Cynopsis 12/22)
While broadcast news shows saw little to no growth in 2008, cable news networks, thanks to the one-two jolt of the financial morass and the presidential election, saw prime-time ratings soar. Fox News was up 41% in total viewers, while CNN and MSNBC saw ratings jump 72% and 84%, respectively. Broadcasting & Cable (12/19)
With its split from Comcast now complete and the plan to put the company up for sale on hold, top executives at Insight Communications are aggressively moving toward an all-digital distribution strategy. Insight CEO Michael Willner said the company was now experimenting with digital simulcasting as an interim step before going all-digital. Multichannel News (12/22)
The transition to digital television has slowed down as the year comes to an end, according to the latest Nielsen figures. Nearly 7% of U.S. TV households remain “completely unready” for the digital conversion in February, Nielsen said. The Hollywood Reporter (12/19)
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