Comedy long has been king of prime-time television, and, in hopes of luring wayward viewers, CBS, the third-ranked network, has scheduled all six of its comedies on Monday night.
Some observers are calling the CBS strategy a bold move. Traditionally, programmers don`t schedule comedies after 9 p.m., and they usually spread them throughout the week.
To help promote the experiment, Grant Shaud and Jon Cryer–two stars from CBS` Monday night lineup–recently were in Chicago on separate visits, talking about their half-hour series.
Shaud plays overly ambitious, whiz-kid producer Miles Silverberg on
”Murphy Brown,” one of CBS` few hits last season. It airs at 8 p.m. and serves as a lead-in for Cryer`s show, ”The Famous Teddy Z.,” a new sitcom about a naive young man`s meteoric rise from a talent agency`s mailroom to an executive office. (This Monday two episodes will air, a repeat at 7:30 p.m. and new episode at at 8:30 p.m.)
”Diane English, the producer, really called it,” said Shaud, 28.
”Before `Murphy Brown,` she had created two other series, `Foley Square`
and `My Sister Sam.` She had experience with half-hour sitcoms and told us that the show wouldn`t get great numbers in the beginning, that it would build steadily and hit big in the summer. And that`s exactly what happened.”
Shaud, whose love of movies spurred his interest in acting, went on to say that, ”I don`t at all worry about the life of the show anymore. If we can`t continue to build, then I don`t know what show can. Maybe I`m naive about it; I know some very good shows have been canceled in the past.”
”I try to stay out of the whole ratings race thing,” asserted Cryer, whose show was welcomed by favorable reviews from critics. ”The first week of the ratings, my manager (Marty Bauer) called me and let me know, and I said,
`Whew, great.` The second week he called and I said, `Whew, great.`
”Then I was, like, `Marty, next time don`t call me, OK? I`ll be fine. I won`t worry about the ratings anymore.` Then, that week, I called him in the morning and asked for the ratings.”
Cryer, 24, may have cause for concern. Although his series is in the coveted slot following ”Murphy,” it has been slipping in the A.C. Nielsen ratings. Since its premiere as the No. 21 show, it has fallen to around 40 in the rankings.
”Murphy” premiered this season with at the No. 17 spot in the rankings, with a 26 share, an all-time high for the series. The show`s Nielsen rating currently is hovering in mid-20s, and the dropoff between it and ”Teddy Z”
worries CBS.
(A share represents a percentage of the sets in use. A single ratings point equals 921,000 households nationally.)
But the young stars definitely weren`t in town to discuss ratings, preferring instead to let their considerable enthusiasm for their craft speak for their products.
Cryer, who`s probably best known as Duckie from John Hughes` teen-angst film ”Pretty in Pink,” is familiar with the craziness of show biz. His parents, David and Gretchen Cryer, are Broadway actors who separated when he was 4 years old.
”Most of my early memories are visiting my parents backstage,” Cryer said. ”Theaters are really awesome things to a small child, something like churches. They`re huge, kind of scary and really amazing sights. I recall wanting to be part of it.” Surprisingly, though, he didn`t take acting seriously until high school.
Cryer made his Broadway debut in Neil Simon`s ”Brighton Beach Memoirs,” and a part in ”Torch Song Trilogy” soon followed. His film credits include
”No Small Affair,” ”Superman IV,” ”Dudes” and ”Hiding Out.”
Shaud, the eldest of four children, was born in Evanston, but his only recollections of the Chicago suburb are from ”pictures of me in a little snowsuit next to a toboggan.” His family moved to the suburbs of Philadelphia when he was 1.
”I grew up in an upper middle-class area and had a very normal childhood that had nothing to do with acting,” Shaud said.
He did, however, land a role in ”Hamlet” in 5th grade. ”It scared me right out of the theater,” he recalls. ”It was just so intense. At that age, I didn`t like being up there and people watching me. I was just trying to grow up, and feeling awkward about myself. It turned me off for a long time.”
He finally returned to the stage in his senior year at the University of Richmond, where he majored in journalism. After graduation, he moved to New York, where he ”knew no one,” to study acting.
Shaud recalls his struggling-actor days with fondness and is thankful when speaking of a fellow boarding house resident, also an actor, who showed him the ropes and ”turned me on to a waitering job and an acting teacher.”
Shaud`s credits include a role in a Broadway production of ”Torch Song Trilogy,” several off-Broadway plays and a small part in ”Wall Street,” his film debut. He was having luck in commercials when he auditioned for ”Murphy Brown.”
Although Shaud is far different from the character he plays on ”Murphy Brown”–even his voice is three octaves lower–he does see some similarity.
”Probably my favorite part of the character is Miles` fortitude and ambition,” Shaud said. ”I relate to that. I started acting comparatively late. I was 24 when I moved to New York and was in a hurry to get experience and through the doors.”
