Category: Archive

What’s Behind the Rise of Transgender TV

Ellen

09/25/2014   THR   by Natalie Jarvey

Gay couples? Gay kisses? Yawn. New sexual boundaries are being broken as Amazon’s ‘Transparent’ is the latest to tackle a once-taboo topic

Television viewers looking for transgender characters traditionally had to settle for periphery prostitutes or psychopathic serial killers. But with the Sept. 26 premiere of Transparent, Amazon Studios is betting that audiences are ready to watch a transgender character take center stage.

It’s a bold move for Amazon, which entered the original content game in 2013 with mainstream fare — the political satire Alpha House and the workplace comedy Betas — that failed to register with critics and awards tastemakers. But Jeffrey Tambor‘s portrayal of family patriarch Mort and his transition into Maura is earning the streaming service and show creator Jill Soloway their best reviews yet. And Transparent is just one of several trans-themed projects breaking one of TV’s last sexual barriers.

Just as gay and lesbian characters moved into the spotlight in the 1990s with such shows as Ellen and Will & Grace, transgender characters increasingly are in the spotlight, from Alex Newell as Wade “Unique” Adams on Fox’s Glee to Laverne Cox as Sophia Burset on Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black (for which she made history in the summer as the first openly transgender Emmy acting awards nominee and snagged a Time magazine cover). “There have been trans people represented on TV for a very long time,” says Cox. “But people are having empathy for these characters. That’s part of this moment that shifts things a bit.”

Amazon comedy head Joe Lewis says he didn’t set out to make a transgender show, but he concedes that the hook is a big part of Transparent‘s allure. “It allows you to tell a story that you haven’t told before,” he says. “I think that makes it more exciting to watch.” Whereas featuring unmarried couples or gay characters might have once felt fresh or edgy, it takes a lot more to surprise or intrigue today’s audiences. “It’s the role of art in any society to look forward and break down walls and really assess what’s happening in the present,” adds Lewis.

The trend is a marked difference from past trans portrayals, which GLAAD says are overwhelmingly negative. In fact, of the more than 100 episodes with nonrecurring transgender storylines that the media watchdog group tracked from 2002 to 2012, 54 percent contained negative representations, and another 35 percent were classified as ranging from “problematic” to “good.”

It’s no coincidence that instead of airing on TV networks, many of these new trans-friendly shows have found homes on digital outlets such as Amazon and Netflix. The latter is prepping an upcoming sci-fi drama, Sense8, from Andy Wachowski and transgender sibling Lana Wachowski that will feature trans actress Jamie Clayton. Soloway explains that the nontraditional greenlight processes at these outlets open the door for shows with unconventional stars. “With the networks, everything that’s made is questioned with: Who will buy ad time on this?” says Soloway. “Whereas, Netflix and Amazon only need to appeal to people.” Adds GLAAD entertainment media director Matt Kane, “The very nature of how they’re creating the shows and how they’re delivering them lets them break a lot of the old molds.”

At the same time, cable and other digital outlets also are jumping on the trans bandwagon. MTV, which is introducing an “intersex” character (who has both male and female chromosomes) in season two of its teen drama Faking It, will air Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word, a documentary that will tell the stories of seven transgender youths. HBO is prepping Three Suits, a documentary from executive producer Lena Dunham about the transgender clients of a bespoke Brooklyn tailor. And AOL has True Trans with Laura Jane Grace, a docuseries that follows the trans Against Me! lead singer as she meets with trans fans while on tour. In many cases, scripted depictions of trans characters have paved the way for these projects. “In scripted and comedy, there’s a way to introduce topics and make us comfortable with them,” says AOL originals vp Nate Hayden, citing Cox’s Orange character. “It gets sneaked into the cultural awareness and really does open our eyes.”

Still, despite TV’s progress, transgender characters are largely niche fare. And the challenge for Transparent will be in finding an identity beyond the hot-button themes it addresses. The show, which has a number of trans people in the cast and in the crew, has received some backlash for casting Tambor in the role of Maura instead of a trans actor — a critique that Soloway brushes off by explaining, “Jeffrey was always this role.”

But Amazon, which doesn’t reveal ratings numbers or even how many people subscribe to its Prime video service, doesn’t necessarily need to worry about going after a large audience. If Transparent turns into the kind of transformative show that House of Cards was for Netflix, the risk will be worth it. Says Lewis: “We’re not going to be judged by over-night ratings. We’re going to be judged by the impact that we have on television.”

 

This story first appeared in the Oct. 3 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/whats-behind-rise-transgender-tv-735016#sthash.WCIzBNGY

Kevin Frazier Moves From ‘The Insider’ To ‘ET’; Louis Aguirre To Replace Him

Ellen

8/20/2014   Deadline   by

The Insider co-anchor/managing editor Kevin Frazier has been named co-host of mothership Entertainment Tonight alongside Nancy O’Dell. He replaces Rob Marciano, who recently exited. Frazier will be replaced as Insider co-host by Louis Aguirre, co-anchor of Miami’s entertainment show Deco Drive. Both will make their debuts on Tuesday, September 9. This marks Frazier’s return to ET; he spent seven years as a correspondent and weekend anchor before moving to The Insider in 2011.

 

 

http://deadline.com/2014/08/kevin-frazier-moves-to-entertainment-tonight-louis-aguirre-to-replace-him-on-the-insider-822433/

Rocsi Diaz To Exit ‘Entertainment Tonight’

Ellen

9/21/2014   Deadline   by

Rocsi Diaz is set to depart Entertainment Tonight after a two-year stint as weekend co-host and daily correspondent. She is expected to leave the entertainment newsmagazine in January. “As both Rocsi and ET have grown and evolved over the years, she has elected to pursue hosting opportunities that are available to her at the start of next year. Until then, she will continue to bring her usual brand of Rocsi-style entertainment interviews to ET,” a rep for the program said in a statement to Deadline. According to sources, the evolution involves a stronger emphasis on news content at ET, which may not be a great fit for Diaz who rose to fame as the co-host of BET’s hit music show, 106 & Park. There is no replacement for Diaz, though ET is bringing in CNN entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner as a new correspondent next month.

 

http://deadline.com/2014/09/rocsi-diaz-entertainment-tonight-exit-839149/

Why We’re Psyched For New Shows From Laverne Cox and Laura Jane Grace

Ellen

9/19/2014   Hello Giggles   by Parker Molloy

Next month, Orange is the New Black star Laverne Cox and Against Me! frontwoman Laura Jane Grace will each be rolling out new documentaries about the lives of transgender individuals, and we could not be more excited.

On October 10th, AOL will debut True Trans With Laura Jane Grace, a docu-series featuring the 33-year-old punk rocker as she embarks on tour in support of her recent record, “Transgender Dysphoria Blues,” and interviews gender non-conforming and transgender fans, activists, authors, and others about their experiences with gender dysphoria and how they relate to gender, itself. The following week, MTV and Logo TV will broadcast Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word, a documentary centered on the lives of seven transgender individuals between the ages of 12 and 24.

Between the two of them, Grace and Cox are trans forces to be reckoned with. Grace is known for churning out some of the smartest lyrics in punk rock — touching on topics of politics, class warfare, and gender — and Cox is the Emmy-nominated actress who has experienced a meteoric rise over the past few years, becoming Time Magazine’s face of the “transgender tipping point.”

But why is this such a big deal? For one, these documentaries have the potential to be some of the most honest, authentic portrayals of trans individuals as has ever been seen on TV. For years, the media has depicted trans individuals in a negative light, furthering the often shameful stereotypes that don’t come close to accurately portraying the complex lives these individuals have. While the past 15 years have seen a shift in how the media portrays gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals — with the improved representation being directly linked to the public’s willingness to accept and support their causes — trans people have, until recently, been waiting on the cultural sidelines.

Since 2002, LGBT media watchdog group GLAAD has kept track of TV shows featuring story lines about transgender characters. In the 102 episodes they catalogued, more than half were labeled as negative representations by the organization. Their report, “Victims or Villains: Examining Ten Years of Transgender Images on Television,” highlights just how blatantly networks play off of trans stereotypes when trying to depict the lives of this oft-marginalized group.

In 40 percent of the episodes GLAAD reviewed, the trans character was set in the role of a victim — a plot point frequently used in crime dramas — often as simply a lifeless body or victim of sexual assault. In 21 percent of these story arcs, trans characters were set in the role of a killer or villain; and in one fifth of episodes, the trans character’s profession was that of a sex worker. In addition, more than 60 percent of episodes made use of anti-transgender slurs, as outlined in GLAAD’s Transgender Media Reference Guide.

It’s been proven that media has the ability to encourage acceptance, and that’s why these two projects have so much potential to enact positive change. With so much on the line, there are no two individuals more deserving of the chance to make this happen.

 

 

http://hellogiggles.com/psyched-laura-jane-grace-laverne-coxs-new-shows

CNN’s Nischelle Turner Joining ‘Entertainment Tonight’ as Correspondent (Exclusive)

Ellen

9/16   The Wrap   By

Turner’s hiring is the latest in a series of changes at the syndicated news magazine

CNN Entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner is leaving the cable network to join “Entertainmnet Tonight,” two individuals with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap. She will serve as a correspondent for “ET,” and will likely start appearing on the show in time for the November sweeps, the individuals said.

A spokesperson for “ET” declined to comment, and a representative for CNN has not yet returned TheWrap’s request for comment.

 

Turner joined CNN in December 2011 in the network’s Los Angeles bureau as a reporter for “Showbiz Tonight,” and was later transferred to New York to contribute entertainment segments to morning program “New Day.”

Over the past two-and-a-half years, she helped lead CNN’s red carpet coverage of the Grammys, Golden Globes and Oscars, and hosted a series of entertainment specials. Turner also reported live across various CNN platforms on the death of  music legend Whitney Houston.

Turner began her journalism career as a news reporter at WEHT-TV in Evansville, Indiana in 1998. She also served as a reporter-anchor at WVUE-TV in New Orleans, a news reporter at KTTV, the Fox affiliate in Los Angeles, and as a sideline reporter for FOX NFL Sunday. Prior to joining CNN, she worked as a freelance reporter at NBC-owned KNBC in Los Angeles.

Turner joins “Entertainment Tonight” following an upheaval of the show’s on-air talent. In July, TheWrap exclusively reported that former CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano was exiting the show after just 18 months on the job. He subsequently signed on as a meteorologist at ABC News.

Marciano was replaced by Kevin Frazier, formerly the co-anchor and managing editor of the syndicated magazine “The Insider.”

 

http://www.thewrap.com/cnns-nischelle-turner-joining-entertainment-tonight-as-correspondent-exclusive/

 

Dealing With Digital Cruelty

Ellen

8/23/2014   The New York Times

ANYONE who has ever been online has witnessed, or been virtually walloped by, a mean comment. “If you’re going to be a blogger, if you’re going to tweet stuff, you better develop a tough skin,” said John Suler, a professor of psychology at Rider University who specializes in what he refers to as cyberpsychology. Some 69 percent of adult social media users said they “have seen people being mean and cruel to others on social network sites,” according to a 2011 report from the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project.

Posts run the gamut from barbs to sadistic antics by trolls who intentionally strive to distress or provoke. Last week, Zelda Williams, the daughter of Robin Williams, said she was going off Twitter, possibly for good, after brutal tweets by trolls about her father’s death. Yet comments do not even have to be that malevolent to be hurtful. The author Anne Rice signed a petition a few months ago asking Amazon.com to ban anonymous reviews after experiencing “personal insults and harassing posts,” as she put it on the site of the petition, Change.org. Whether you’re a celebrity author or a mom with a décor blog, you’re fair game. Anyone with a Twitter account and a mean streak can try to parachute into your psyche.

In the virtual world, anonymity and invisibility help us feel uninhibited. Some people are inspired to behave with greater kindness; others unleash their dark side. Trolls, who some researchers think could be mentally unbalanced, say the kinds of things that do not warrant deep introspection; their singular goal is to elicit pain. But then there are those people whose comments, while nasty, present an opportunity to learn something about ourselves.

Easier said than done. Social scientists say we tend to fixate on the negative. However, there are ways to game psychological realities. Doing so requires understanding that you are ultimately in charge. “Nobody makes you feel anything,” said Professor Suler, adding that you are responsible for how you interpret and react to negative comments. The key is managing what psychologists refer to as involuntary attention.

Just as our attention naturally gravitates to loud noises and motion, our minds glom on to negative feedback. Much discussed studies like “Bad Is Stronger Than Good,” published in 2001 in the Review of General Psychology, have shown that we respond more strongly to bad experiences and criticism, and that we remember them more vividly. “These are things that stick in our brain,” said James O. Pawelski, the director of education and a senior scholar in the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. “If we allow our attention to move involuntarily, that’s where it goes.” The mind, however, can be tamed.

One way to become proactive is to ask yourself if those barbs you can’t seem to shrug off have an element of truth. (Glaringly malicious posts can be dismissed.) If the answer is yes, Professor Suler has some advice:

Let your critics be your gurus.

“You can treat them as an opportunity,” he said. Ask yourself why you’re ruminating on a comment. “Why does it bother you?” Professor Suler said. “What insecurities are being activated in you?”

For instance, maybe you have an unconscious worry that you’re somehow not good enough. Professor Suler said it was not uncommon for some digital luminaries (bloggers, social media power-users) to harbor such worries because one motivation, be it conscious or unconscious, is that they want to be liked. “They want to be popular,” he said, adding that it’s a goal easily pursued on the Internet. “It’s all about likes and pluses and favorites.” Yet if someone says something cruel, he continued, “it activates that unconscious worry.”

But let’s say the negative comment fails to induce self-psychologizing. Perhaps it can help you learn something about your work.

“It’s easy to feel emotionally attacked from these things,” said Bob Pozen, a senior lecturer at the Harvard Business School and a senior research fellow at the Brookings Institution. But he said that doesn’t mean that your critics don’t have a point.

Consider the more than 50 reviews of Mr. Pozen’s book “Extreme Productivity” on Amazon.com. Most were four and five stars, but for the purposes of this article, he conducted an unscientific experiment and checked out the handful of one- and two-star reviews. “You know, some of them are pretty negative,” said Mr. Pozen, the former chairman of MFS Investment Management, “but the question is, ‘How do you read them?’ ” One unfavorable review was easily dismissed, Mr. Pozen said, because it was apparent that the writer had not thoroughly read the material. Another reviewer criticized the book for being too “U.S.-centric.” Mr. Pozen considered that idea — and decided that the reader, despite not having put it particularly nicely, might be right. “So I thought, ‘Well if I ever write another version of this book I ought to take that into account,’ ” he said.

It’s not always possible, of course, to learn something from a nasty comment. Some are baseless; some are crass. One way to help them roll off you is to consider the writer’s motivation.

Professor Suler wrote in 2004 in the journal CyberPsychology & Behavior about a concept known as “the online disinhibition effect” — the idea that “people say and do things in cyberspace that they wouldn’t ordinarily say and do in the face-to-face world.” In the virtual realm, factors including anonymity, invisibility and lack of authority allow disinhibition to flourish. The result can be benign (“unusual acts of kindness and generosity”), or it can be toxic: “rude language, harsh criticisms, anger, hatred, even threats,” as Professor Suler put it.

The latter is the realm of trolls. Some people think of their online life “as a kind of game with rules and norms that don’t apply to everyday living,” he wrote, a game for which they do not feel responsible. If bloggers and people who use social networks keep this concept in mind, he said, “they will see the psychology” of aggressors, and their comments may be easier to take — and possibly ignore. Sometimes it’s smart to do as Ms. Williams ultimately did: disconnect.

Harsh comments can also be made to feel less potent by directly disputing to yourself what was said. If, for example, someone writes, “You’re an idiot and no one likes you,” you can marshal evidence against it by reminding yourself, Stuart Smalley-style, of the obvious: You have an education, a job, more friends than you have time to see in a week.

Speaking of time, be mindful of when you choose to glance at your blog or social media feeds. Researchers have discovered that feeling blue or even being in a so-called neutral mood makes people more vulnerable to nasty comments. In other words: Stay off Twitter if you just bombed a presentation.

Another way to stop yourself from dwelling on negative feedback is to enter into what psychologists refer to as “flow,” a state in which the mind is completely engaged. Flow can be achieved when playing a piano concerto, practicing karate, writing code, being deep in conversation with a friend. “The toughest time is when the mind is not fully occupied,” said Professor Pawelski, who also prescribes humor as a way to deflect barbs. He joked that bars would make a killing if at the end of each semester they offered “professor happy hours” where teachers could bring their evaluations and pass the negative ones around. “Nobody should be alone when they’re reading these things,” he said.

Yet even when a person is alone, humor can be effective. Try reading nasty comments aloud in a goofy voice, Professor Pawelski advised, so that when your mind automatically plays back the comment it sounds absurd, or at the very least loses a bit of its bite.

Such prescriptions are in the spirit of Jimmy Kimmel’s “mean tweets” television segment, during which celebrities — Julia Roberts, Pharrell Williams, Robert De Niro — read aloud the rotten things people write about them on Twitter while R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts” plays softly in the background. After reading the often expletive-riddled tweets — an act that Mr. Kimmel has said is meant “to help put a face on this unsavory activity” — some celebrities talk back to their detractors; others laugh; a few peer into the camera in silence. Perhaps it’s a sign of the times that other shows have similar routines: The television hosts of “E! News” have taken to reading aloud the “sour” tweets they receive from viewers, though they read a few of the “sweet” tweets, too.

Turns out they may be on to something. In the quest to quell the cruel, we often fail to savor the good. And there is, despite the meanies, much good whirring around cyberspace. Some 70 percent of Internet users said they “had been treated kindly or generously by others online,” according to a Pew report early this year.

Rather than scrolling past a dozen positive comments and lingering on the sole exception, what if you did the opposite? And what if you shared a couple of the good ones with friends instead of sharing the one that hurt you? Research shows that it takes more time for positive experiences to become lodged in our long-term memory, so it’s not just pleasurable to dwell on a compliment — it’s shrewd.

“We’re really bad, typically, as a culture about accepting compliments,” Professor Pawelski said. “They’re meant to be taken in and really appreciated. They’re meant to be gifts.”

Piers Morgan Most Hated U.K. Personality on Twitter

Ellen

8/27/2014   THR

Study finds former CNN host receives abuse in 8.7 percent of messages

Piers Morgan isn’t exactly one to hold back on social media, regularly doling out insults via Twitter to the likes of Madonna, Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson and various U.K. soccer players. But it seems the former CNN host is also high on the list of personalities on the receiving end of online verbal attacks.

According to a study for U.K. newspaper The Sunday Times, Morgan receives abuse in 8.7 percent of tweets sent to him, higher than any other U.K. celebrity. Ricky Gervais, another prolific Twitter user, receives abuse in 2.6 percent.

The study, conducted by the think tank Demos, examined two million tweets sent to prominent U.K. politicians, celebrities, journalists and musicians over a four-week period, with the aim of analyzing trolling. It found that men were twice as likely to receive abusive tweets than women, but were also responsible for about two-thirds of offensive material. Only female journalists received more than their male counterparts.

While Morgan may attract the most abuse, musicians such as Ellie Goulding, Jessie J, Rita Ora and Ed Sheeran attracted the lowest level, at 0.41 percent.

One Direction member Niall Horan was excluded from the study. With 12.6 million messages received over the period, it was felt his statistics would have distorted the results.

 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/piers-morgan-hated-uk-personality-728398

 

The Science Behind Suicide Contagion

Ellen

8/13/2014   The New York Times

When Marilyn Monroe died in August 1962, with the cause listed as probable suicide, the nation reacted. In the months afterward, there was extensive news coverage, widespread sorrow and a spate of suicides. According to one study, the suicide rate in the United States jumped by 12 percent compared with the same months in the previous year.

Mental illness is not a communicable disease, but there’s a strong body of evidence that suicide is still contagious. Publicity surrounding a suicide has been repeatedly and definitively linked to a subsequent increase in suicide, especially among young people. Analysis suggests that at least 5 percent of youth suicides are influenced by contagion.

People who kill themselves are already vulnerable, but publicity around another suicide appears to make a difference as they are considering their options. The evidence suggests that suicide “outbreaks” and “clusters” are real phenomena; one death can set off others. There’s a particularly strong effect from celebrity suicides.

A sign at Kurt Cobain Memorial Park at Young Street Bridge in Aberdeen, Wash., his hometown. Coverage of his death was closely tied to messages about treatment for mental health and suicide prevention.

“Suicide contagion is real, which is why I’m concerned about it,” said Madelyn Gould, a professor of Epidemiology in Psychiatry at Columbia University, who has studied suicide contagion extensively.

She’s particularly concerned this week, after the high-profile death of the comedian and actor Robin Williams.

Suicide prevention advocates have developed guidelines for news media coverage of suicide deaths. The idea is to avoid emphasizing or glamorizing suicide, or to make it seem like a simple or inevitable solution for people who are at risk. The guidelines have been shown to make a difference: A study in Vienna documented a significant drop in suicide risk when reporters began adhering to recommendations for coverage.

That aim has to be weighed against a journalistic duty to keep the public informed. And in the Internet era, a person who wants to know details of a suicide won’t have a hard time finding them. Most of the research on suicide contagion predates the rise of social media.

Few of the experts’ recommendations make much sense in the case of Mr. Williams. Studies suggest avoiding repetitive or prominent coverage; keeping the word suicide out of news headlines; and remaining silent about the means of suicide. “How can it not be prominent?” Ms. Gould said.

Experts also say articles should include information about how suicide can be avoided (for instance, noting that the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours a day at 800-273-8255).

They also recommend avoiding coverage that describes death as an escape for a troubled person. One example was the 1994 death of Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, who was beloved among young music fans, including in Seattle, where his career rose and where he was found dead. Local coverage of his suicide was closely tied to messages about treatment for mental health and suicide prevention, along with a very public discussion of the pain his death caused his family. Those factors may explain why his death bucked the pattern. In the months after Mr. Cobain’s death, calls to suicide prevention lines in the Seattle area surged and suicides actually went down.

“It’s different from any other cause of death,” said Christine Moutier, the chief medical officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. “When someone dies of cancer or heart disease or AIDS, you don’t have to worry about messaging it wrong.”

 

From TV’s viewpoint, housing market is hot

Ellen

Burst of home-flipping and improvement programs reflects what’s on people’s minds, executives say.

3/10/2008   Associate Press

NEW YORK — Real estate may have cooled considerably as an investment, but not real estate television.

House-flipping and home-renovation programs are still big hits on cable. While “for-sale” signs sprout on lawns across the country, TV programmers are like developers who plow ahead with new housing projects anyway.

A new season of the A&E Network’s “Flip This House” — one of a troika, with TLC’s “Flip That House” and Bravo’s “Flipping Out” — premieres Saturday night.

A&E has several new programs in development. On TLC, at least six new ones are beginning in the next year, starting with “Date My House,” hosted by former “Bachelor” Bob Guiney, in which potential buyers spend a night in a home on the market.

HGTV had its highest prime-time ratings ever in January. Nine of its top 10 series deal with the housing market, including “House Hunters,” “My First Place,” “Hidden Potential,” “Buy Me” and “Designed to Sell.” The network on Feb. 29 did a special theme day of “taking the big leap,” or investing in that first house.

“What’s driving interest right now is that people are worried about it: ‘What’s the value of my home? How can I increase interest in my home?’ ” said Jim Samples, HGTV president. “And then there’s the ‘life-goes-on’ factor. People are still changing jobs, families are still getting bigger. If anything, they tend to nest in this environment.”

Samples admitted, though, that one of his first questions last fall upon taking over HGTV was how the housing market downturn would affect the network’s programs.

HGTV essentially built itself on the public fascination with property. At its start, the network had shows on crafts and landscaping, but now the home is the focus. “House Hunters,” which premiered in 1999, helped introduce real estate as a prime TV target.

When TLC’s “Trading Spaces” became a sensation, it showed that renovation and decoration could be entertainment instead of simply chores.

The network has concentrated recently on reviving that franchise, even bringing back original host Paige Davis after a two-year absence.

“Flip That House” will become more reflective of the economy, said Brant Pinvidic, TLC’s senior vice president of programming. Not every “flipper” gets rich quick. The show will make sure every time at the end to clearly outline how each investor did, he said.

“If the programming reflects the attitudes in the community and what people are feeling, it will do better than if the programs feel outdated,” Pinvidic said.

A&E’s “Flip This House” is expanding its cast of characters for the upcoming fourth season, adding renovation teams in Atlanta and Los Angeles to join returning “flippers” from San Antonio and New Haven, Conn.

 

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/mar/10/entertainment/et-housetv10

 

Primetime Ratings: Private Practice Makes Perfect for ABC

Ellen

Grey’s Anatomy Spinoff Propels Network to Wednesday-Night Win

10/18/2007   Broadcasting & Cable

ABC won Wednesday night in the 18-49 demo with a 3.7 rating/10 share average, according to Nielsen Media Research overnight numbers.

Grey’s Anatomy spinoff Private Practice was the top rated show on ABC and any network with a 4.4/11 from 9 p.m.-10 p.m., although that was down from last week’s 4.8/1.

Quirky ABC drama Pushing Daisies (Twin Peaks meets Six Feet Under with a touch of Target commercial) was even with last week at a 3.6/10.

CBS was second on the night with a 3.5/9, led by CSI: NY with a 4.1/11 from 10 p.m.-11 p.m. to win its time period handily. Kid Nation continued to underwhelm after its early overhype at a 2.4/7 for last place in its 8 p.m.-9 p.m. time period.

NBC was third with a 3.1/8, topped by Bionic Woman, although that show continued its slide in the overnights, down from last week’s 3.8/10 and way down from its debut 5.5/14. It also dropped from a 3.5/9 in its first half-hour to a 3.2/8 in its second.

Fox was fourth with a 2.8/8 led by the just-renewedKitchen Nightmares at a 3.2/8, up from last week’s 3/8.

The CW was fifth with a 1.9/5 topped by America’s Next Top Model, which beat CBS and tied with Fox for third place from 8 p.m.-9 p.m.

 

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/programming/primetime-ratings-private-practice-makes-perfect-abc/30903