Another Intriguing Show from FX

FX is seriously on fire. 

As an avid sports fan I like shows portraying the real world, behind the scenes of professional sports.  Unfortunately, we don't see too many dramatic shows exposing this untapped reservoir.  The last good one I can remember has to be the short lived Playmakers on ESPN.  It gave you a behind the scenes look into the world of professional football.  It might have been a little too close to reality as rumors circulated that the National Football League had ESPN squash the show.  But here comes a series from FX dealing with the world of college basketball, via Variety:

FX is hot on hoops, having picked up a drama project from exec producer Don Cheadle that chronicles the glory and the seedy side of college basketball.

March will revolve around a corrupt college basketball program that cheats its way to the "March Madness" NCAA basketball tournament. Project will be told through the eyes of the college coach, whose idealistic approach to the job has slowly been eroded by the compromises he's forced to make.

Having Don Cheadle as well as Peter Segal and Joel Silverman attached only helps boost this shows credentials.  FX just picked up the series so no one has been cast as yet.  Keep an eye out for this one.

FX is Bringing the Goods

FX has quickly branded itself as one of the best cable networks on television.  Already with hits including The Shield, Damages, Nip/Tuck and Rescue Me it appears they are attempting to bring more original programming to the fold.  Variety.com reports:

FX is getting serious about its comedy slate, giving series orders to two half-hour laffers.  The League revolves around a group of longtime guy friends who participate in a fantasy football league. Louie stars comic Louis CK as a standup comic and newly single dad raising two daughters in New York City.

While The League could be a good idea that is poorly executed, I think it deserves a shot.  If they can accurately portray the sometimes hilarious, sometimes ridiculous dynamics of fantasy football patrons they may have gold.  Although I'm not sure how much juice they can squeeze from this concept.  As for Louie, Louis CK borders on comic genius and his short lived Lucky Louie show on HBO showed his potential.  I have high hopes and expectations for this one.  Throw in the return of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and it looks to be a great fall for FX.

The 61st Primetime Emmy Awards Predictions - Part 1

While the Emmy Award show isn't for another month, I though I'd take some time and throw out some predictions of who the winners will be. In this first part I will discuss the shows that have been nominated.  In future posts I'll take a closer look at the individual categories.

Outstanding Drama Series

• Big Love
• Breaking Bad
• Damages
• Dexter
• House
• Lost
• Mad Men

I'll be honest and let you know that I have never watched Damages or House, but I don't think they really stand a chance anyway.  Mad Men pulled out the win last year and I can't see why it shouldn't be the front runner this year.  Dexter may get some more love this year as I think it's gaining some more buzz.  Lost is an amazing show on the way out and while Big Love & Breaking Bad are truly wonderful programs, they are niche shows which don't have the same wide following as Mad Men.

Outstanding Comedy Series

• 30 Rock
• Entourage
• Family Guy
• Flight of the Conchords
• How I Met Your Mother
• The Office
• Weeds

Wow, what a packed category!  I am a fan of all of these shows, but 30 Rock is the critics darling.  It really is a shame, but I don't see 30 Rock not winning.  Entourage just doesn't have enough to be truly appreciated by the critics; Family Guy is completely hit or miss now; Flight of the Conchords is still building their fan base; How I Met Your Mother is an under appreciated gem on broadcast television; Weeds has dramatically fallen off since Season 3.  The Office has the most legitimate chance of upsetting 30 Rock, but I just don't see it happening.

Outstanding Miniseries

• Generation Kill
• Little Dorrit

I would truly be shocked if Generation Kill doesn't win.

Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series

• The Colbert Report
• The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
• Late Show with David Letterman
• Real Time with Bill Maher
• Saturday Night Live

This category has the same list of nominees from last year where The Daily Show won.  The Colbert Report has the best chance of taking over for The Daily Show, but it's a spin off and I think that will have something to do with how the votes are cast.  SNL has really been good the past few years, but not amazing.  Real Time with Bill Maher is just too political and the Late Show is what it has been for the past six or seven years.

Outstanding Reality-Competition Program

• The Amazing Race
• American Idol
• Dancing with the Stars
• Project Runway
• Top Chef

Undoubtedly the best of this category is The Amazing Race and I think it will definitely repeat from last year.  Drama, action and great character development is something you'd expect from a dramatic series but you get the same from a reality program.  The rest of the nominees just don't have the same overall appeal.

Outstanding Reality Program

• Antiques Roadshow
• Dirty Jobs
• Dog Whisperer
• Intervention
• Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List

This is a new category this year for the Emmy's.  I've watched all of these shows at some point, except the Kathy Griffin show because I find her very irritating.  All are great shows in their own right, but I'll have to give the nod to Intervention.  An absolutely riveting show that quickly brings you in and keeps you interested to the very end.  The raw human emotions exhibited in this show won't allow you to turn away.


I'll have my predictions for the acting and writing categories in the coming weeks...

Check the "Community" Pilot Early

One of the very few new shows for the Fall 2009 season that I am interested in will be providing us with a sneak peek, via Slash Film:

NBC is getting clever with their marketing of the new half-hour comedy series Community, putting the entire pilot episode online for anyone in the United States to watch. The catch is you need to become a fan of the show’s facebook page to view the episode.

I'm a fan of Joel McHale and his work on "The Soup" so hopefully his humor translates well to the sitcom format. It's also nice to see Chevy Chase making some sort of come back, although he is starting to look like Carrie Fisher. I think this show has good potential to join the ranks of other successfully NBC sitcoms ("30 Rock", "The Office", etc.) as long as the writers are up to the task. I'll be giving this one a chance, you should too.

A Classic To Remember

I've been cranking out some serious posts this week, huh?  Well here's another one coming your way.  In today's television landscape we are offered so many options it's quite difficult to choose and/or watch everything that we'd like.  I'm going to take a second to remember some of the good sitcoms of years past, considering that the traditional sitcom has slowly gone the way of the buffalo with the top rated sitcom being "2 and a Half Men", seriously that's upsetting. 

The show that I absolutely loved as a youth was "Newsradio" on NBC.  I get the impression that not too many people watched it back when it was on, but I could be wrong.  The show took place in, well, a news radio office.  The cast was probably one of the best ensembles in it's time.  You had "Kids In The Hall" alum Dave Foley, the beautiful Maura Tierney, "SNL" genius Phil Hartman, pre-crazy Andy Dick, scene stealer Stephen Root (from Milton in Office Space fame) and the semi-charming Joe Rogan.  The combination of great comic timing, smart writing and splendid acting allowed the show to have a solid run during the late nineties.  Recurring gags such as Andy Dick's constant struggle to gain approval from the hilariously pompous Phil Hartman, Dave Foley's continuing quest to get Maura Tierney and Joe Rogan's McGuyver-esque ability to fix things where staples of the show and helped gained a great familiarity that I enjoyed.  I believe Dick and Hartman single-handedly made this show as funny as it was and it was a tragic, upsetting moment when he died during the show's run.  Sadly, the show was never the same even though Jon Lovitz joined the cast shortly after.

If you catch "Newsradio" on re-runs I highly suggest giving it a re-watch OR a first time viewing.  It was one of the last good sitcoms and should be remembered as such.

It's Gold Jerry...Gold!

One of the funniest shows on television is finally coming back on September 20th and this season Larry David has recruited some old friends to join in his crazy antics.  According to The Star-Ledger:

All four "Seinfeld" castmembers -- Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Michael Richards -- will play themselves in multiple episodes, and the season finale will feature extensive snippets of the show-within-the-show.

This is wonderful news for both "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" fans.  Rarely has "Curb" failed to deliver and David has a knack for incorporating guest stars into the show very smoothly.  Even though Alexander and Dreyfus have been on the show previously, it will be great to see the whole group back together.  Since "Seinfeld" left the air more than 11 years ago most people clamored for a reunion, due mostly to the fairly unimpressive finale.  Here's our chance to relive some of the glory years of the show, but now in a R-rate atmosphere which should undoubtedly add more laughs.

"Lost" (and other less good ABC shows) Coming to Netflix

Great news for Lost fans out there, via Mashable.com:

Last month, ABC shows like Lost and Grey's Anatomy started appearing on Hulu, thanks to Disney's deal earlier this year to take a stake in the online video site. Now, ABC shows are heading to Netflix, where they'll be available to subscribers via live streaming. However, there will be a few distinctions between watching these shows on Netflix versus Hulu. For one, whereas Hulu is free and ad supported, the Netflix service is only available to paying customers and without commercial interruption. Overall, it also seems like Netflix's episode selection will be a bit larger than that currently offered by Hulu.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, "Lost" is the best show of the past decade.  If you haven't seen it yet, here's another opportunity to get on board.  Do it!

He's a Great Teacher

OK, so we've made it through the first half of the premiere season of "Hung" on HBO.  Five episodes in we have seen the quickly crumbling life of high school teacher Ray Drecker played by Thomas Jane.  As a way to support his teenage children and ultimately his own dwindling bank account, he becomes a "happiness consultant".  Jane's performance is probably the best thing going for this show.  We also get glimpses into the life of Ray's ex-wife played by Anne Heche and his female pimp played by Jane Adams. Basically, the show drags anytime Thomas Jane isn't on screen.  And while they claim to be a comedy, don't expect the same amount of laughs you'd get from "Curb Your Enthusiasm" or the cancelled "Lucky Louie".  Regardless, I find the show appealing especially when he has a new customer to visit.  I am very suspect about the longevity the show can achieve, but HBO has already renewed the show for a second season.