CBS Lands Bruckheimer's 'Eleventh Hour'

From election-night snafus to the WGA strike

(NEWSER) - It’s been an embarrassing decade for TV networks, as the Hollywood Reporter proves with its list of the aughties’ biggest industry mistakes:

1. Hollywood writers’ strike: It was unnecessary and “mutually destructive”—and for viewers, “has there ever been a longer 14 weeks?”
2. ABC’s rejection of CSI: The show has scored $6 billion for CBS and prompted spurned producer Jerry Bruckheimer to walk out on Disney.

Fishburne out as chief of Las Vegas crew

(NEWSER) - Ted Danson's new role won't involve as many hijinks as Cheers, but there'll still be plenty of late nights. The actor is joining CSI next season as the graveyard shift supervisor at the Las Vegas crime lab. Laurence Fishburne is leaving the show and CBS had considered actors including Tony Shaloub, Robin Williams, and John Lithgow for the role before settling on Danson, sources tell Entertainment Weekly . More»

NBC made one last run at its old sweetheart

(NEWSER) - ABC has at long last officially announced that it's signed Katie Couric to host an afternoon talk show , beating out a last-minute push from NBC. In a statement , the network said it had a "multi-year, multi-platform" agreement with the former CBS anchor, that will also include appearances on all of ABC's other news shows. Details of what the New York Times calls "one of television's worst-kept secrets" have not yet been released, but Couric will be co-owner of the program and will share in the profits. More»

Don't expect your average cop shows and sitcoms

(NEWSER) - As they ready their fall lineups for advertisers, the major networks are stepping off last season's beaten path of struggles and flops. “We were looking for fresh,” says NBC Entertainment’s new president. “I really want people to see the concept for a show and go: ‘Oh wow. What’s that?’” To that end, his network is planning shows like Smash, the big-budget story of a Broadway musical’s creation. The series will have original songs penned by Broadway legends—and it’s getting some help from Steven Spielberg. More»

Surprise move comes days before shooting starts on Season 7

(NEWSER) - In an unexpected move just days before CSI: NY begins shooting its seventh season, co-star Melina Kanakaredes said today she'll leave the case of the CBS crime procedural. "We hoped Melina would return to CSI: NY for another season, but we respect her decision to move on," the network said in a statement, seemingly indicating negotiations had been ongoing. The show is the lowest-rated show in the CSI family and is moving to Friday this fall, which bodes ill for its prospects, New York notes . More»