The Television Critics Association is meeting with the TV networks this week, and that usually means a slew of announcements about new shows and the networks’ high hopes for them. This week’s TCA proceedings have produced a flood of pilots–but some of the “new” ideas have a familiar ring to them. See for yourself.
PILOT:
Cashmere Mafia (ABC)
PLOT: “Mafia” will focus on four women who’ve been friends since college and now lean on one another while dealing with the demands of their professional and personal lives.
SOUNDS LIKE: “Sex and the City” meets “The O.C.”
PILOT:
Skip Tracer
(CBS)
PLOT: The drama, which will star Stephen Dorff (“Blade”), focuses on a skip tracer, a “charming rogue” who searches L.A.’s underbelly for missing persons.
SOUNDS LIKE: “Nip/Tuck” meets “Without a Trace”
PILOT:
The Kill Pit
(SPIKE)
PLOT: Donnie Wahlberg and John Leguizamo star in the limited-run series about a bank robbery planned and executed by a group of Iraq war veterans that rapidly turns into a hostage situation.
SOUNDS LIKE: “Over There” meets “The Nine”
PILOT:
Canterbury’s Law (FOX)
PLOT: The legal drama, from “Rescue Me” star Denis Leary’s production company, centers on a female defense lawyer who uses any means necessary to ensure her clients get a fair shake.
SOUNDS LIKE: “Rescue Me” meets “Boston Legal”
PILOT:
Untitled
(A&E)
PLOT: Emmy-winner Steven Bochco will produce a drama about a pair of married lawyers who work together in a lucrative divorce practice.
SOUNDS LIKE: “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” meets “Judging Amy”
It’ll be B’s day at Grammys
Beyonce, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Gnarls Barkley are set to rock the Grammys, billboard.com reports.
The Dixie Chicks also were announced as performers at the Feb. 11 ceremony in L.A. Meanwhile, Rihanna, Samuel L. Jackson and Terrence Howard were announced as presenters.
It’s been nothing but good news for Beyonce lately–Billboard also reported Thursday that the “Dreamgirls” star’s single “Irreplaceable” remains at the top of the Hot 100 chart for the sixth week in a row.
A simpler time
Has “American Idol” lost some of its charm? Clay Aiken tells Billboard magazine the show has “lost a little bit of its innocence, and so it’s not as much fun for me.” While saying he likes the show and is happy to go back, Aiken says: “You found people who got into the show because they knew something big was going to come out of it. I kind of liked seeing contestants come up out of obscurity.”
Friend indeed
Now in Rosie O’Donnell’s corner: Madonna. “People are giving Rosie a hard time,” the Material Mom said Thursday on NBC’s “Today” show. “I wish they’d stop. I don’t think it’s fair.” Madge said she’d been vacationing “in the middle of the Indian Ocean” when she heard about O’Donnell’s feud with Donald Trump and said she e-mailed Rosie to get the lowdown.
Make way
Think twice about wishing to be a famous movie star–Jennifer Garner had to avoid a sea of brawling paparazzi just to get to her car Wednesday, tmz.com reports. As she made her way out of an L.A. salon, swarming photographers reportedly pushed each other into cars to get their shots in. “Get off my car please,” Garner was overheard saying.
