From Reuters/Hollywood Reporter:
Showtime may rescue Arrested Development
Wed Dec 14, 2005 3:47 AM ET
By Nellie Andreeva
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Will the pay-TV environs of Showtime be a friendlier place for the Emmy-winning comedy Arrested Development, which just got canceled by Fox?
Word around town this week is that Showtime is in talks to pick up the comedy about a chaotic family. Sources stressed that the talks are still exploratory and that it would be a big financial commitment on Showtime's part to pick up the show in its current form with a large ensemble cast that includes Jason Bateman, Jeffrey Tambor, Portia de Rossi, Jessica Walter and Will Arnett.
Arrested was an instant hit with critics following its debut on Fox in late 2003, but the show never pulled in much of a crowd, even after it won the Emmy for best comedy series in 2004. Last month, Fox threw in the towel, cutting its episode order for Arrested's third season from its initial 22-episode ticket to 13.
Representatives for Showtime, and the series' producers 20th Century Fox TV and Imagine TV declined comment late Tuesday.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
TV: Keep Hope Alive....
Posted by steve scariano at 3:56 PM
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4 comments:
If Showtime picks up Arrested, I will have to spring for the subscription. I'm already 'this close' after reading people rave about Weeds. Can't believe that one flew under my radar this long...
The one hour format used by so many of the HBO series could really be interesting if applied to Arrested. I mean, give David Cross a little more room and god only knows what he'll do with that role of his. Bateman is already spot on, but several of the other characters would likely really blossom given more room.
-joe
Excellent points, Joe. Whereas the half hour length is often a sitcom's strength, Entourage a perfect example, Arrested Development could indeed raise their already high bar with an hour's length to do so.
To further add to Joe's comment, Arrested Development has a cast of characters that's so deep that, in 22 minutes, you may only get a reaction line or 2 from many of them. Entourage keeps the headcount of the cast in check, so you generally get a bigger dose of all involved, on top of each episode running closer to 30 minutes.
This 11th hour save would clearly be the perfect TV Jesusmas present for me.
BTW--we won't even get into the nudity option that Showtime offers...;)
-Happy talk
Wow, I totally overlooked the nudity options. If they can get Portia to do a few nude scenes, then Showtime can probably count viewers of their show The L Word on board! :)
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