or


[08/03/11 - 10:33 AM]
Tassler: Meet Walden Schmidt, Ashton Kutcher's "Two and a Half Men" Character
By Brian Ford Sullivan (TFC)

LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- "Oh where do I begin," CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler said about the lessons learned from the Charlie Sheen situation on "Two and a Half Men." Tassler was on hand for the network's executive session at the TCA Summer Press Tour, where talk of Sheen and Ashton Kutcher not surprisingly dominated the conversation.

"There is great value in hiring an actor like Ashton Kutcher," she continued with regards to the aforementioned lessons. "He is [an] extraordinarily professional, talented, funny, gifted actor who comes with a tremendous amount of commitment and enthusiasm."

As for specifics about Kutcher's character, Tassler announced his name is Walden Schmidt. "He is a internet billionaire with a broken heart," she added, noting he won't be related to any of the current cast. "He is a unique character."

Tassler also said the season premiere "will be a two-parter over two weeks" and that the show will be "as irreverent as it has always been. Our program practices people are already on high alert."

She however wouldn't confirm or deny that Sheen's character is killed off on the show. "As we said in the whole marketing plan, all will be revealed on [September 19]. The mystery is a part of the marketing. It's going to be a big event."

As for other topics:

-- Tassler revealed Terry O'Quinn's arc on "Hawaii Five-0" will be six episodes. He plays a Navy Seal Lt. Commander who trained McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin) in Coronado, and served with his father in Vietnam.

-- On how NFL overruns in parts of the country will affect "The Good Wife" in its new Sunday home: "The show will start maybe a little bit later but we have plans certainly in place to accommodate the show when there are overruns [and] for the whole night in general."

-- "We see Saturday night as an opportunity," Tassler says about "Rules of Engagement's" new Saturday time period. "Advertisers like comedies. It's a terrific show. We see this as an opportunity for us."

-- Tassler said they may do another "Jesse Stone" movie but beyond that there are no plans for any more TV movies or mini-series. "The schedule right now is very strong. We just didn't have enough room for them."

-- On the casting of Ted Danson in "CSI": "He's a huge TV star. He's got a tremendous amount of charisma. And it was really what we wanted in the show right now. When his name came up we jumped at it, we were thrilled to have him." When pressed if they considered going younger, Tassler affirmed that "we went for the best actor."

-- "I just don't think it founds its rhythm," Tassler said about the failure of "Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior." "It didn't click."

-- "First I think they should stick to comedy and check their stats a little better," Tassler said with regards to CBS being the frequent butt of comedians' jokes about skewing old. "Because we still have more 18-49 [viewers] than NBC and ABC so maybe they stay with comedy and not worry about demos and ratings so much."

-- As for its midseason plans, Tassler simply affirmed they have "The 2-2," "Undercover Boss" and are shooting a new pilot for "Rob," its Rob Schneider comedy.

-- "We are still actively looking for what is going to be new and different in the performance, competition, elimination, unscripted reality show," Tassler said with regards to CBS not having its own take on the genre. "We have a couple of things in development."

-- "There are no updates beyond 2012," Tassler said about the network's late-night lineup of David Letterman and Craig Ferguson.





  [august 2011]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
 


· CRIMINAL MINDS: SUSPECT BEHAVIOR (CBS)
· CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS)
· GOOD WIFE, THE (CBS)
· HAWAII FIVE-0 (CBS)
· NYC 22 (CBS)
· ROB (CBS)
· RULES OF ENGAGEMENT (CBS)
· TWO AND A HALF MEN (CBS)
· UNDERCOVER BOSS (CBS)





[02/22/12 - 04:38 PM]
Live Twitter Chat With "Private Practice" Star Amy Brenneman Set to Take Place on Thursday, February 23
The actress will be up on Twitter at @TheAmyBrenneman, during the East Coast broadcast of the show.

[02/22/12 - 03:04 PM]
The Style Network Premieres of "Jerseylicious" and "Big Rich Texas" Deliver Most Watched Sunday Night in Network's 13-Year History Among Women 18-34
The Style Network spins the numbers for Sunday, February 19.

[02/22/12 - 01:50 PM]
USA Network Rewards "Psych's" Devoted Fans With a Supersized Leap Day Winter Premiere Wednesday, February 29 at 10/9c
The network will also offer its first-ever preview event with an abridged premiere episode exclusively available via VOD starting today.

[02/22/12 - 01:44 PM]
"E! Entertainment Special: The Hollywood Reporter Presents: Actors Unscripted" Premieres February 24 @ 8:00 PM ET/PT
George Clooney, Charlize Theron, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer are among those featured in the half-hour special.

[02/22/12 - 01:25 PM]
CBS Books Original "The Mentalist" for Friday, March 9 at 9:00/8:00c
Said installment is in addition to its regular Thursday, 10:00/9:00c airing that week.

[02/22/12 - 01:24 PM]
"Dr. Phil" Tops Talk Shows With Best Ratings Since Its September Premiere
CBS Television Distribution spins the numbers for the week of February 6-12.

[02/22/12 - 12:26 PM]
TLC's "The Little Couple" Returns Tuesday, March 20th at 10PM ET/PT
"Bill & Jen have shared their personal challenges and successes, none more compelling than their path to parenthood," said Howard Lee.

[02/22/12 - 12:03 PM]
Centric Honors Legendary Rapper Heavy D in the First Original Documentary Since His Death
"Be Inspired: The Life of Heavy D," a one-hour special, premieres Sunday, February 26 at 11:00/10:00c.

[02/22/12 - 11:37 AM]
Meryl Streep to Present at 84th Academy Awards(R) Oscar(R) Sunday, February 26 on ABC
Streep, who is nominated for her lead performance in "The Iron Lady," has been nominated a total of 17 times - the most for any performer in Oscar history.

[02/22/12 - 11:30 AM]
Disney XD Delivers its Most-Watched Week in Prime in 7 Months in Total Viewers, Kids 6-14 and Tweens 9-14
Disney XD spins the numbers for the week of February 13-19.

[02/22/12 - 11:03 AM]
The Paley Center for Media Announces PaleyFest 2012 Partnership with Hulu
Hulu will stream the panels for "Community," "Once Upon a Time," "New Girl," "The Office," "Bones," "Castle," "The Vampire Diaries," "Revenge" and "Modern Family."

[02/22/12 - 10:36 AM]
"The Walking Dead's" Much Anticipated Global Return Sets New Ratings Records on FOX International Channels
FIC spins the international numbers for the week of February 13-19.

[02/22/12 - 10:35 AM]
FOX Weekly Ratings - "The Simpsons 500th Episode" and "American Idol" Power a Weekly Win
FOX spins the numbers for the week of February 13-19.

[02/22/12 - 10:30 AM]
Turner Weekly Ratings - TBS Continued as Basic Cable's #1 Network in Primetime Among Adults 18-34 and Adults 18-49
Turner spins the numbers for the week of February 13-19.

[02/22/12 - 10:29 AM]
Bravo's New Special "The Kandi Factory" Seeks to Turn Music Hopefuls Into the Next Big Pop Star
The 90-minute special, featuring "The Real Housewives of Atlanta's" Kandi Burruss, premieres Sunday, March 4 at 10:00/9:00c.