Summer Soirées. Network Party Update – Take One
When Lord Grantham goes to the bar to order drinks at the Beverly Hilton while his manservant Bates is just a few feet away and doesn’t make a move, you know it’s going to be a memorable night. And that was after Hugh Bonneville ripped open his shirt to reveal a “Free Bates” T-shirt underneath, to the delight of Brendan Coyle. PBS’s “Downton Abbey” evening started things off with a bang at the TCA’s summer press...
Sorkin, Daniels Go To Bat For The Newsroom
Flanked by series star Jeff Daniels and executive producer Alan Poul, Aaron Sorkin was in the hot seat as he took questions about “The Newsroom” during a spirited session at the Television Critics Association summer press tour from some of the same people who have criticized the show as inauthentic and preachy. The HBO drama, which premiered in June to solid ratings—maintaining about 2 million viewers per episode–and has...
Battle of the Network Parties
It’s that time of year again when the television networks preview their fall programming for TV critics in a 10-day confab known as TCA Summer Press Tour, headquartered at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. After the daily panel sessions– where critics watch clips and then hammer executives, producers and show talent with questions– it’s time to party and, um, network some more. Here is our rundown, and it...
Sneak Preview of The Playboy Club: The Key to Your Fantasies?
Comparisons to “Mad Men” were brushed aside. The controversy over a Salt Lake City affiliate’s refusal to run the program were glossed over—because another station picked it up. The argument was set forth that the show is about women’s empowerment. Those were the headlines from the NBC TCA panel on the network’s upcoming one-hour drama “The Playboy Club,” set to premiere Monday, September 19...
TCA Network Party Smackdown
It’s that time of the summer, when TV networks present their new and returning programming and talent to the nation’s television critics in a series of panels and presentations in a hotel ballroom. But at the end of the day, it’s time to party. As with the on-air programming, the competition is tough. Here’s how it shook out amongst the big broadcasters: CBS The party: An open-air tent at the former...
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