Jessica Lange will return to 'American Horror Story'

Jessica Lange will return to 'American Horror Story'

If you liked Jessica Lange in season one of American Horror Story, then you’re going to love what creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk have in store for season 2: EW has learned exclusively that the two-time Oscar winner will return to the FX drama this fall.

The actress, who won a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild award for her work as the hateful, bigoted (and extremely delicious) Constance Langdon, has signed a new deal to stay with the horror franchise. But she won’t reprise her memorable role in the new season, which resumes production in late July for a mid-October return to FX. She’ll play someone entirely new, promises Murphy.

Record Results at Euro Broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1

Record Results at Euro Broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1

Revenue jumps 6 percent to $3.7 billion with profits of $921 million.

Pan-European broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 had another record year with revenue ticking up 6 percent to $3.7 bilion (€2.756 billion) and profits hitting $921 million (€685.3 million) in 2011.

The profit figure is nearly double what ProSiebenSat.1 earned in 2010 but the jump is largely due to the company’s sale of its channels in Belgium and the Netherlands to a consortium lead by John de Mol’s Talpa Holding for $1.6 billion (€1.2 billion). Stripping that out, profits at ProSiebenSat.1 were still up an impressive 12.4 percent at $416 million (€309.4 million).

The group, which is controlled by private equity companies KKR and Permira, saw growth in all its core operations. German-language television, still ProSiebenSat.1’s single largest profit center, saw revenue increase 2.7 percent to $2.6 billion (€1.903 billion).

The overall audience share for the company’s four main free-to-air channels – Pro7, Sat.1, Kabel 1, sixx – was up slightly to 28.9 percent of the core 14-49 demographic. One of the group's biggest coups was securing the rights to Dutch singing competition show The Voice, which has been a ratings hit for both Pro7 and Sat.1 in Germany.

ProSiebenSat.1’s fastest-growing division was its content production operations, which include international television production and sales division Red Arrow Entertainment. Red Arrow, run by Jan Frouman and Jens Richter, has been on a global buying spree, acquiring companies such as Fuse – producers of Burn Notice and The Killing, Chris Coelen’s unscripted production house Kinetic Content and Britain’s The Mob Film. In 2011 sales at the division soared nearly 150 percent to $45 million (€33.7 million).

ProSiebenSat.1 used the sale of its Benelux operations to, in part, pay down debt. By the end of last year, the group was holding $2.4 billion (€1.818 billion) in debt, down nearly 40 percent year-on-year.

Good Christian Bitches: TV Review

Good Christian Bitches: TV Review

Leslie Bibb and Kristin Chenoweth star in the midseason entry, about a group of women who haven't changed much from high school, from creator Robert Harling.

No matter what ABC may say in public, it couldn’t be happier about all the fuss its latest drama, GCB, is going to generate. Not only because controversy always helps ratings; it really believes this show will be the one to replace Desperate Housewives in that high-gloss caricature way that seems to create hits.

Religious groups already are upset with GCB, which was originally titled Good Christian Bitches, then Good Christian Belles. The series is a comedic soap set in Dallas, revolving around a group of petty, churchgoing women who haven’t changed much since high school. When the “queen bitch” from high school, Amanda (Leslie Bibb), returns in shame and mourning to her mother’s home in Dallas, it’s payback time.

Amanda matured into a nice, normal adult, living in California with her husband and two kids. But her husband was running a Ponzi scheme that ruined countless lives and, as the opening moments take pleasure in illustrating, he was in the process of leaving his family to run off with Amanda’s best friend, who put her face in his lap on the winding ride out of town — just as he drove off the side of the road and died. As one of the GCBs notes later, the mistress “bit off more than she could chew.”

Yep, there’s not a whole lot of subtlety in GCB, but there isn’t supposed to be. Created and written by Robert Harling, the series mixes the Texas lifestyle, Christianity, sex, riches, envy, revenge and sass into a sprawling, larger-than-life drama.

Amanda comes home to her rich, high-maintenance mother, Gigi (Annie Potts, who steals every scene she’s in), against her better judgment and immediately Gigi starts meddling with Amanda’s kids. Across the street is Carlene “Kitten” Cockburn (Kristin Chenoweth), the new “queen bitch” who seeks revenge on Amanda for all the bad deeds she did in high school. Chenoweth is another scene-stealer who knows how to play heightened reality to the max. Carlene partners with Sharon (Jennifer Aspen), who was the thin gorgeous blonde in high school but now smothers her insecurities with food. Also in the mix are Cricket (Miriam Shor), a powerful businesswoman who had her high school boyfriend stolen by Amanda —who also spread a rumor that Cricket had herpes — and Heather (Marisol Nichols), who is the most sympathetic to Amanda and understands that she has changed. But as a real estate agent, Heather is too connected to Cricket and Carlene to sympathize openly without losing clients.

Then there are the husbands. Cricket’s is gay, but she doesn’t know it. Sharon’s has always pined for Amanda. And there may be something mysterious about Carlene’s.

Translation: bubbles everywhere. There’s nothing held back. The sex jokes are over the top, the Bible-quoting and church-related issues are prevalent and every character but Amanda seems like a stereotype (though Harling, who lives in the South, has said the show isn’t supposed to be a spoof or even a mockery of Dallas, its residents, its morals or its politics).

Not that it really matters. For people looking for the next Housewives, GCB could be the perfect replacement. And no doubt the controversy will drive the curious to check it out. Either way, GCB probably will strike it rich.

Airdate: 10 p.m. Sunday, March 4 (ABC)

Creator: Robert Harling

Cast: Leslie Bibb, Annie Potts, Kristen Chenoweth, Jennifer Aspen, Miriam Shor, Marisol Nichols

Martha Stewart President Looks to Transform TV Presence Without Live Studio Audiences

Martha Stewart President Looks to Transform TV Presence Without Live Studio Audiences

Lisa Gersh says the company is talking to various networks and production companies as it looks to build a "leaner and more profitable TV business" by cutting out live crowds.

As Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia pushes to turn a profit this year, the company is continuing to look at a range of TV and video options, but plans to do without live studio audiences in the future, president and COO Lisa Gersh said Thursday.

On the company's quarterly earnings conference call, she cited the reinvention and transformation of MSLO's TV/video business as one of four key priorities for 2012. The goal is a "leaner and more profitable TV business," and doing away with live studio audiences will help reduce costs as the biggest cost of MSLO's traditional TV model is the cost of producing a live show five days a week , she said.

The plan is to move to a  more modern cost structure now that video can be produced more cheaply, she said, reiterating that the company will let its lease on the show’s expensive Manhattan studio expire on June 30, which will save MSLO $5.3 million annually.

Asked by an analyst if the lack of live audiences would hurt the company's ability to use its TV presence as a megaphone and drive merchandising sales, Gersh said, "I am not sure there is a significance to a live show versus a non-live show on television, but Martha [Stewart] and [chef] Emeril [Lagasse] will continue to have a television presence in 2012 and, we believe, beyond 2012."

She added: "We're confident that the television presence will remain. The fact that there won't be a live audience after 2012, in all likelihood, we don't believe will impact our ability to work with our partners in any way."

While The Martha Stewart Show continues to air in reruns through late summer on the Hallmark Channel after the network declined to renew it due to its steep price tag, Gersh said MSLO is talking to broadcast and cable networks, including Hallmark, as well as independent production companies about potential new shows.

A key focus in evaluating options is "meeting customers where they want to find us," she said. Plus, the company will look to use both TV and Internet video in smarter ways.

Turning around the TV business is one key priority for Gersh and her team this year.

Driving advertising sales improvements via a bigger sales team and a more brand-centric sales approach, leaner operations and merchandising growth are the others.

Kids Cable Network The Hub to Add Four Original Series, Three Classic Sitcoms

Kids Cable Network The Hub to Add Four Original Series, Three Classic Sitcoms


The Hub, the kids cable network joint venture of Discovery Communications and Hasbro, has picked four new originals, including three new animated series, and three classic sitcoms to add to its programming lineup for the 2012-2013 season.

It is also bringing back a slew of original shows, including two Transformers series, for the new season.

The four new originals are the animated Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot, Littlest Pet Shop, Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters and live-action series Spooksville, based on a popular tween book series from Christopher Pike. Littlest Pet Shop and Kaijudo are from Hasbro Studios.

The network also said it has acquired TV classics The Facts of Life from Sony and Mork & Mindy and Sabrina the Teenage Witch from CBSTelevision Distribution.

The Hub's returning originals are The Aquabats! Super Show!, Dan Vs., Family Game Night, My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, Pound Puppies, R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour: The Series, Secret Millionaires Club, Transformers Prime and Transformers Rescue Bots.

Margaret Loesch, president and CEO of The Hub, unveiled the programming plans on Thursday ahead of an advertising upfront event in New York, followed by Chicago (March 8) and Los Angeles (March 15).

“With the momentum of our successful first year, we’re building a slate of programs for the 2012-’13 season that continues our strategy of presenting series based on well-known names and beloved properties in the kids and family entertainment space,” said Loesch. “One of our advantages has always been the built-in strength and recognition of our programming...We’re confident that this lineup will further define us as the entertainment destination for kids and their families.”

Friars Club to Roast Betty White

Friars Club to Roast Betty White

Last year, the annual roast honored Quentin Tarantino.



Betty White will be the latest honoree to sit in the "hot seat" for the annual Friars Club Roast here in May.



The event is scheduled to take place May 16 at Manhattan's Sheraton Ballroom.
 
Past recipients of the honor include Milton Berle, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Carson, Lucille Ball, Billy Crystal and, last year, Quentin Tarantino.
 


“Those Friars may think I'm an easy mark, but I have 90 years of comebacks waiting for them," White said. "This is such an honor to be roasted by the Friars Club. It will be an afternoon filled with dirty words, risque jokes & sex talk.....and that's just what I plan on saying!”
 


The roast will be produced by TV executive Gary Smith, a former executive producer of the Tony and Emmy Awards.
 


"Betty White is one of those unique talents that comes along once every generation," said Freddie Roman, dean of The Friars Club. "She has been making people laugh all her life, and our Roasters will need to be on their toes to handle Betty’s razor sharp wit.” 
 


The Friars Club was founded in 1904 as a place for entertainers. Its historic members have included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Lucille Ball and Milton Berle. Current Friars include Barbra Streisand, John Travolta, Whoopi Goldberg, Robert DeNiro, Joy Behar, Bruce Willis and

Ben Fogle tackles natural disasters in Sky Atlantic, 3D's 'Storm City'

Ben Fogle tackles natural disasters in Sky Atlantic, 3D's 'Storm City'

Ben Fogle is filming natural disasters series Storm City for Sky Atlantic and Sky 3D.

The four 60-minute films - which will use advanced technology to recreate natural forces - are being filmed in Canada at the moment.

Presenter Fogle is taking on a man-versus-nature experiment, which will see him simulating earthquakes, extreme winds, avalanches and floods. 3D cameras will capture every moment of destruction blow-by-blow.

The series will also include stories from people who witnessed events such as Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti earthquake, the Boxing Day Tsunami in South East Asia, the Boscastle Flash Floods and the 1987 hurricane in the South of England.

"This is an extraordinary series to work on and it will look incredible too. I've been staggered by the scale and how much I've learned about the effects that nature can have on our environment. I hope people enjoy watching it as much as I've enjoyed making it," said Fogle.

Sky's commissioning editor Celia Taylor said: "We all knew that there was an incredible 3D film to be made about natural disasters but Storm City has gone beyond that to deliver incredible science, massive stunts and highly emotive human stories that makes it compelling, breath-taking and fascinating in equal measures."

Storm City will air in the summer.