April 6, 2001
Cancellations & Renewals
After five airings, CBS has pulled its new police drama "Big Apple"
from its schedule. The network had committed to 13 episodes, and the show's
producers have not halted production of the show yet. But there is no
word on whether or not the series will return.
CBS has also officially cancelled Bette Midler's struggling sitcom "Bette."
Controversial talk show "Dr. Laura" has officially been cancelled.
Original shows will air through May, and reruns will be available to stations
through the summer. Host Laura Schlessinger told Larry King that she felt
the show was a good show, but didn't stand a chance because gay activist
groups intimidated advertisers. Several gay activist groups protested
the show because of Schlessinger's views of homosexuality, which she expressed
on her radio show, and which the groups felt were offensive and hateful.
NBC has cancelled "First Years" after only 3 episodes. A "Law
& Order" rerun will air in its place this Monday (April 9), and
on April 16 "Dateline NBC" moves into the timeslot to make way
for the premiere of "The Weakest Link."
FOX has renewed its Tuesday night sitcom "Titus" for another
season.
A&E has renewed its new court drama "100 Centre Street."
The cable network has ordered 18 episodes for the second season. The L.A.
Times is reporting that the network is also making a deal with the show's
creator, Sidney Lumet, to develop a second drama series based on actual
U.S. Supreme Court cases.
More Reality
FOX is happy with the performance of its new reality series, "Boot
Camp." According to The New York Times, FOX is considering adding
an extra episode of the series to push it into May sweeps.
CBS is looking for real-life love stories to include in a new reality/relationship
series tentatively titled "Love Stories." No details on the
show have been released.
More Casting For Pilots
Jonathon Silverman ("The Single Guy") has joined the cast of
"Baby Bob," a sitcom being developed for CBS. The series centers
around a talking baby, based on those commercials from Freeinternet.com.
Silverman will play the baby's father.
MacKenzie Astin, co-star of the now ill-fated drama "First Years,"
has signed on to Steve Koren's untitled comedy project for NBC.
Teri Hatcher ("Lois & Clark") has joined the cast of "Say
Uncle," a comedy project being developed for NBC. The series will
star Ken Olin ("thirtysomething") as a successful gay man raising
two teenagers.
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