On Tue, Jan 8, 2013 at 11:41 AM, Mark Jeffries <[email protected]>wrote:
> After two-and-a-half years of prime time repeats and burnoffs (including > the decade-old "Gong Show" knockoff "30 Seconds to Fame") following the > cancellation of Wanda Sykes (and "MADtv" and "Talkshow with Spike Feresten" > before that), Fox seriously gets back into Saturday late-night on July 27 > with Animation Domination High Definition, a group of 15-minute off-skew > animated comedies which sound like what the after 9 p.m. guise of Cartoon > Network has been doing for the last decade: > > > http://www.deadline.com/2013/01/fox-animation-domination-premiere-date-july-27/ > In the late 1990s, when I was an NBC Page, we used to periodically have informal Q&A sessions with various members of the network top brass -- little meet and greet sessions that I actually enjoyed, as they were an eye-opening look into the industry. At the time, "Later" had just ceased production after an onslaught of "guest" hosts failed to light the room on fire. Also at the time, "South Park" was making headlines by being an edgy show that was cheap-to-produce. I recall trying to convince two of NBC's big wigs (one of them Don Ohlmeyer who oversaw such things at the time, the other Preston Beckman, who seemed more open to new ideas) that the 1:30am timeslot would be the perfect place for NBC to try out some experimental programing of its own -- didn't have to be animation, but it could be something to raise the pop culture profile of NBC and generate some buzz. It could also breath new life into late night, which I felt didn't have to be limited to the talk show format. I also saw it as a place where more young talent (I was young in those days) would have a showcase for their skills. Instead they eventually hired Carson f-ing Daly at NBC, then "Adult Swim" ran with my basic concept a year or two after that. Now that Adult Swim is established, I doubt Fox's attempts will fare well. But I cannot help but note that Beckman still serves as a consultant to the Fox programing department. Just saying. -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
