Lounging Jerry

This is a — and possibly “the” — key question for Big Media investors coming out of the major broadcast and cable networks’ upfront programming presentations this week. As the sales pitches wore on it became clear that execs plan to spare no expense to recover from a year of dreary ratings. There’ll be 25 new programs on the Big Four networks, up from 18 planned this time last year. What’s more, “all of the broadcast networks are moving toward year-round original schedules, less re-runs [and] more frequent ‘mini-events’,” Bernstein Research’s Todd Juenger says. He adds that networks continue to depend on star power — for example CBS landed Robin Williams for its sitcom The Crazy Ones and Turner enlisted off-camera help from Michael Bay (Transformers), Dick Wolf (Law & Order), Howard Gordon (Homeland), Frank Darabont (The Walking Dead), and Jerry Bruckheimer (CSI). “These guys don’t come cheap, and we presume they must participate significantly in the back-end,” Juenger says. Execs no doubt feel confident that their bets will pay off. For example, hit dramas could play well in international syndication. Mini-series also should appeal to streaming services including Netflix and Amazon where subscribers like to binge view. But domestic advertisers still provide lions share of revenues for TV shows. And if networks are optimistic about that market, it has as much to do with whether they believe consumers will buy lots of cars as with the merits of what programmers ... Read More »

EXCLUSIVE: Frasier and Desperate Housewives alum Bob Daily has signed an overall deal with CBS TV Studios. Under the pact, he will join the studio’s new CBS single-camera comedy series We Are Men as an executive producer. The project, created/executive produced by Rob Greenberg, stars Kal Penn, Tony Shalhoub, Jerry O’Connell and Chris Smith as four single guys living in a short-term apartment complex who unexpectedly find camaraderie over their many missteps in love. (Check out the trailer here.) We Are Men is assembling a very strong group of writer-producers. In addition to Daily, Tad Quill was just signed on as a consulting producer. Daily, repped by WME, most recently executive produced/ran NBC’s Robert Padnick comedy pilot.