day 323

casting news!

i know, you're excited. i haven't talked about show casting news a long time now. but with midseason filming approaching, shows are getting underway in casting for sweeps and recasting roles. first up, nbc's parenthood. parenthood was supposed to be nbc's best and brightest show of the new season, until it was plagued with problem after problem. the first problem occured when the show was filming its pilot and the nbc exec in charge of dramas dropped dead on set. that pushed production back a couple days. then, when the show was about to begin production on the regular season, star maura tierney was diagnosed with breast cancer and production was stalled again and the show was pushed from being the keystone of the fall schedule to midseason, premiering in january or february of next year. when tierney's prognosis was worse than expected, and her treatments were going to impede on the show even more, she completely dropped out of the project. it's been a little over a month since tierney's departure was confirmed and, in that time, the parenthood execs have been struggling to find a new leading lady that will renew interest in the show. in the running currently are two big names: helen hunt and lauren graham. while this would mark helen hunt's return to network tv, it looks like graham is more likely to nab the part. graham already has a contract with the network (a show was developed for her, but it didn't make it past the pilot process). graham is familiar with the single mom role she'd be playing on parenthood after 9 seasons on the wb's and gilmore girls, and seeing her in a more dramatic role would be an unseen twist. plus, graham adds some more interest as she is a tv cult-follower's dream casting coup ... and, in grey's anatomy news, the producers have landed 24 and lipstick jungle's kim raver as a new surgeon at the hospital who has a connection to owen's past. kim will pop up mid-season and be on the show in a recurring basis, with the option to become a full time cast member much like jessica capshaw's dr. arizona robbins. should be interesting, but it seems like kim has been the angel of death for many shows on television lately. hopefully she won't be grey's jump-the-shark moment.

day 236

nbc just can't win

oh, nbc...two steps forward, three steps back. the peacock net has been focusing nearly all their advertising efforts for the fall on jay leno's new 10 o'clock show and the only chance they have for a series with longevity, parenthood. now, only one of those shows will be premiering on schedule. parenthood's premiere has been shifted to midseason, while midseason grey's anatomy rip-off mercy - the nursing dramedy staring michelle trachtenberg - will take the wednesday slot come september 23rd. why, you ask? nbc says its because parenthood star maura tierney, who gained fame on nbc's er, requires an 8-week medical leave. what medical problem she allegedly has is unknown. however, because there's not much of an explanation, nbc may have just wanted to retool the series before it started regular production later this month. this is the second time parenthood has been cursed with medical emergencies and scheduling push-backs. when the pilot was being filmed in april, the nbc vice president of drama dropped dead on the hollywood set, halting all work for 2 days. maybe parenthood isn't destined to make it to the small screen. nbc has yet to release an official announcement on whether or not their schedule will only have the one change or if a complete retooling is coming. with the addition of mercy, nbc will be launching two medical skeins at the same time; trauma will premiere two days earlier on monday the 21st. plus, is mercy even suited for an 8/7c debut? jay leno's 10/9c nightly talk fest has forced nbc to be completely devoid of late night drama, their bread and butter since the launch of the law and order series. as of now, it doesn't look like nbc will be getting back on their feet as the 4th place network anytime soon. it's pretty sad that they've faltered since the loss of friends 5 years ago.