Eight stars from the four major broadcast networks – ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC – join together in new public service announcement that encourages viewers to tune in to an unprecedented week of television, October 19 -25, as part of EIF’s iParticipate national initiative to promote service and volunteering.

Simon Baker (CBS’ The Mentalist), Emily Deschanel (FOX’s Bones), Eva Longoria Parker(ABC’s Desperate Housewives), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (CBS’ The New Adventures of Old Christine), Masi Oka (NBC’s Heroes), Michael Strahan (FOX’s Brothers), Kate Walsh (ABC’s Private Practice), and Rainn Wilson (NBC’s The Office) are featured in the 30-second spot, which reinforces that great change begins with small choices and one decision to change leads to others. The spot ends by encouraging people to tune-in starting October 19 to find out how the networks are participating. The PSA was produced by filmmaker Jesse Dylan, with his agency FreeForm. It begins airing the week of September 28 on all four broadcast networks.

EIF is mobilizing the entire entertainment community around the ground-breaking, multi-year iParticipate campaign, which promotes a new way of thinking about service and seeks to persuade millions more Americans to volunteer regularly. As a centerpiece, the major broadcast networks and others will spotlight service through scripted programming, segments and PSAs with inspirational messages and storylines about volunteerism. More than 60 shows have signed up to participate. [Source]

Simon’s going to be on David Letterman on Wednesday so make sure you set your DVRs!

Yesterday, we dished our fantasy Emmy nominations in the Lead Actor/Actress in a Comedy divisions. Today, however, it’s time to cue up the violins and hit the “mood lighting” button, because we’re talking about the corresponding nominees in the Drama categories. (Not to worry, we’ll get to our fave supporting actors on Thursday and Friday.)

So look. I know some of you are probably scoffing at the folly of this exercise, thinking to yourselves, “What’s the point? The nods are — as uzh — going to go to James Spader, Hugh Laurie, Holly Hunter, and Mariska Hargitay (even though SVU has gone completely off the rails).” But with Emmy opening up room for a sixth nominee in its main races, maybe there’s cause for a little optimism, for the belief that heretofore brilliant-but-unheralded performances might make the Academy of Television Arts and Science’ grade. (Of course, if your ideal candidates don’t get recognized, they might wind up with a nomination in EW.com’s second annual EWwy Awards.) So check out Gold Derby’s list of front-runners in the men’s and women’s lead drama races, then tell us who you’d like to see get his/her name called on July 16. In the meantime, here are four folks I’m rooting for:

Mary McDonnell, Battlestar Galactica: Seriously, Emmy, THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE. McDonnell’s been revelatory for four seasons of BSG, and her final episodes showcased some of her finest work, as her Laura Roslin convincingly shifted from flirtatious lover to defiant cancer patient to resurgent fleet heroine. Failure to recognize her genius would be like calling Bill Gates a small business owner or saying Michael Phelps is just an okay swimmer. (Okay, so those are frakked up examples, but you know what else is frakked up? The inevitability of another McDonnell snub!)

Edward James Olmos, Battlestar Galactica: Can you imagine one of the best SciFi dramas in recent TV history without Olmos’ stoic-but-tender performance? Yeah, me neither. If McDonnell gets her due, so should this dude. So say we all? So say we all!

Regina King, Southland: Maybe her role is too subtle for Emmy voters, but with a single facial expression, the 227 vet Ray star can deliver the equivalent of 1,000 lines of dialog. Witness that rush of maternal love when her Det. Lydia Adams cradles an abandoned baby, or the ferocious lioness who’s unleashed when gang members descend on her house to try to gun down a young witness, or even the weary singleton who strains to smile her way through another doomed lunch date. Is there anything King can’t do? (And don’t answer me by asking, “Win over fusty Emmy voters?”)

Simon Baker, The Mentalist: Yes, his CBS crime procedural is a breezy trifle, but is there any TV star who’s more enjoyable to watch than Baker? His Patrick Jane may not pack the gravitas of characters in more Important Series, but damned if I didn’t find myself completely submerged in his world for an hour every Tuesday night last season.

All right, PopWatchers…you’ve got my list of Emmy longshots in the Lead Actor/Actress Drama catgeories, now it’s time to head to the message boards and share yours (along with your reasons why). Ready, set, argue!

source:  http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/07/emmy-regina-king-edward-james-olmos.html

CBS has announced its fall premiere dates for the 2009-10 season and, because this is CBS we’re talking about, it’s the most orderly of any announced schedule to date.

All but two of CBS’ shows — returning and new — will premiere between Monday, Sept. 21 and Sunday, Sept. 27. And — wouldn’t you know it? — CBS’ premiere dates coincide with the official start of the Nielsen season.

The two exceptions are “Survivor: Samoa” and “Three Rivers.” The long-running reality hit’s 19th installment will premiere on Thursday, Sept. 17, one week ahead of the Thursday premieres for “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and “The Mentalist.” The organ transplant drama “Three Rivers,” featuring the return of “Moonlight” star Alex O’Loughlin, will premiere on Sunday, Oct. 4, allowing the 15th installment of “The Amazing Race” to have two-hour launch on Sunday, Sept. 27.

Because CBS is proud of the longevity of much of its schedule (including “60 Minutes” starting its 42nd season), it included original premiere dates for all shows in the network press release.

The full premiere list:

Thursday, Sept. 17
8:00-9:00 p.m. ET “Survivor: Samoa” (19th Installment Premiere)

Monday, Sept. 21
8:00-8:30 p.m. ET “How I Met Your Mother” (5th Season Premiere, OAD 9/19/05)
8:30-9:00 p.m. ET “Accidentally on Purpose” (Series Debut)
9:00-9:30 p.m. ET “Two and a Half Men” (7th Season Premiere, OAD 9/22/03)
9:30-10:00 p.m. ET “The Big Bang Theory” (3rd Season Premiere, OAD 9/24/07)
10:00-11:00 p.m. ET “CSI: Miami” (8th Season Premiere, OAD 9/23/02)

Tuesday, Sept. 22
8:00-9:00 p.m. ET “NCIS” (7th Season Premiere, OAD 9/12/03)
9:00-10:00 p.m. ET “NCIS: Los Angeles” (Series Debut)
10:00-11:00 p.m. ET “The Good Wife” (Series Debut)

Wednesday, Sept. 23
8:00-8:30 p.m. ET “The New Adventures of Old Christine” (5th Season Premiere, OAD 3/13/06)
8:30-9:00 p.m. ET “Gary Unmarried” (2nd Season Premiere, OAD 9/14/08)
9:00-10:00 p.m. ET “Criminal Minds” (5th Season Premiere, OAD 9/22/05)
10:00-11:00 p.m. ET “CSI: NY” (6th Season Premiere, OAD 9/22/04)

Thursday, Sept. 24
9:00-10:00 p.m. ET “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (10th Season Premiere, OAD 10/6/00)
10:00-11:00 p.m. ET “The Mentalist” (2nd Season Premiere, OAD 9/23/08)

Friday, Sept. 25
8:00-9:00 p.m. ET “Ghost Whisperer” (5th Season Premiere, OAD 9/23/05)
9:00-10:00 p.m. ET “Medium” (Network Debut, OAD 1/23/05)
10:00-11:00 p.m. ET “Numb3rs” (6th Season Premiere, OAD 1/21/05)

Saturday, Sept. 26
8:00-9:00 p.m. ET Procedural repeats
9:00-10:00 p.m. ET Procedural repeats
10:00-11:00 p.m. ET “48 Hours Mystery” (Season Premiere)

Sunday, Sept. 27
7:00-8:00 p.m. ET “60 Minutes” (42nd Season Premiere)
8:00-10:00 p.m. ET “The Amazing Race” (15th Edition Premiere)
10:00-11:00 p.m. ET “Cold Case” (7th Season Premiere, OAD 9/23/03)

Sunday, Oct. 4
9:00-10:00 p.m. ET “Three Rivers”(Series Debut)

THE Mentalist star Simon Baker was in good company at game two of the NBA Finals series in Los Angeles yesterday.

Baker and his son Harry sat courtside for the match between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic, with the Aussie star chatting to movie heavyweight Leonardo DiCaprio at half-time.

Other celebrities catching the action courtside included singer Rihanna, actors Zac Efron, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg, and musicians Sean “Diddy” Combs, will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas, and Maroon 5’s Adam Levine.

Baker’s next project is The Killer Inside Me starring Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba and Casey Affleck.

Thanks to The Mentalist, he has become one of the most popular TV stars in the US.

An online viewer poll recently voted the crime drama as the best new show of 2009, and named it as having the sexiest cast.

Gone are the days when being a leading man on television meant being the most likable guy onscreen. TV actors now get to show their skills with dark, complex characters — even on broadcast network shows. The Hollywood Reporter’s Ray Richmond and Matthew Belloni gathered six fine examples of TV’s new actor elite — Simon Baker (CBS’ “The Mentalist”), Bryan Cranston (AMC’s “Breaking Bad”), Laurence Fishburne (CBS’ “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”), Michael C. Hall (Showtime’s “Dexter”), Denis Leary (FX’s “Rescue Me”) and Bill Paxton (HBO’s “Big Love”) — to discus the grind of series work and the good fun in playing bad guys.

(more…)

Simon is on The 2009 Hot 100 list at AfterElton.Com. He made it to number 79 on the list. You can see the full list here.

Simon Baker, star of the hit series “The Mentalist,” is playing an attorney on the trail of a murderer in “The Killer Inside Me,” Michael Winterbottom’s adaptation of the Jim Thompson noir classic that stars Casey Affleck.

The story centers on a West Texas sheriff (Affleck) and his downward spiral from bored small-town cop to ruthless, sociopathic murderer. The cast includes Jessica Alba as a prostitute and Kate Hudson as the sheriff’s schoolteacher girlfriend.

Baker plays a county attorney trying to expose the sheriff as the killer.

The adaptation was written by Robert Weinbach and John Curran, director of “We Don’t Live Here Anymore” and “The Painted Veil.”

Baker, a native of Australia, plays a private investigator with psychic abilities on CBS’ “Mentalist,” a breakout hit of the 2008-09 television season.

source:  reuters.com

There’s no release date for season 1 of The Mentalist yet, but you can pre-order it on DVD at Amazon here. Go pre-order your copy now!

Currently I don’t subscribe to DirecTV, but I keep getting closer and closer to making a switch. Somebody at DirecTV appears to like the shows I like.
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My enthusiasm for DircTV, which took a beating when they tried to keep me from getting my MLB Extra Innings package, changed direction when they offered new life to “Friday Night Lights,” which never would have stood a chance of getting a third season if it were left up to NBC. While I’ve found the show’s third season to be a bit up-and-down, episodes like “Hello, Goodbye,” “New York, New York” and last week’s “The Giving Tree” have been standouts and we have DirecTV to thank.
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Then DirecTV’s 101 Network brought new eyes to “Wonderland,” another series from “FNL” developer Peter Berg. While I was never a fan of “Wonderland,” I respected that its aspirations were ahead-of-the-curve and I’d probably have tuned in if I had the service.
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On Monday, DirecTV did viewers like me a trio of favors, picking up limited series runs of “Smith,” “The Nine” and “Eyes,” all Warner Bros. TV productions.
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All three shows featured star-studded casts, cinematic visual styles and serialized plotlines that apparently alienated enough mainstream network viewers that they were cancelled after airing three (“Smith”), nine (“The Nine”) and five (“Eyes”) episodes respectively.
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“Fans were extremely disappointed when Smith, The Nine and Eyes were taken off the air, just as they were becoming involved in these shows,” says Patty Ishimoto, general manager of The 101 Network, in a DirecTV statement. “Building on the success of Season 3 of ‘Friday Night Lights’ and ‘Wonderland,’ we’re adding three more shows that further build our portfolio of quality television you can’t see anywhere else.”
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“Smith” premiered on CBS in the fall of 2006 and starred Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, Golden Globe nominee Simon Baker, Jonny Lee Miller, Amy Smart, Franky G., Chris Bauer and Shohreh Aghdashloo.
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Produced by John Wells, the series focused on a career criminal (Liotta) and the team he assembled to pull off a regular series of robberies and heists, while trying to convince his long-suffering wife (Madsen) that he’d gone straight. The pilot was thoughtful and mature, while also twisty and thrilling. Liotta was a strong lead and was well-matched with Madsen, fresh off her Oscar nomination for “Sideways.” Baker, between “The Guardian” and “The Mentalist,” was tremendously entertaining as a true psychopath. Smart was sexy and entertaining.
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“Smith” delivered so-so premiere numbers and the audience vanished by the second episode, which also happened to be a rather dull disappointment. The third episode was back to the quality of the pilot, but it was too late. CBS pulled “Smith” and rushed “3 Lbs.” to the air. Without promotional time, “3 Lbs.” tanked after only four episodes.
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DirecTV will premiere “Smith” on Wednesday, April 8 at 10 p.m., airing the first three episodes, as well as four never-before-seen episodes.
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“The Nine” will start its Wednesday run on May 27, airing the nine episodes which aired, as well as four episodes that ever never broadcast.
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Created by Hank Steinberg & K.J. Steinberg, “The Nine” told the story of a group of people who forged a bond after suffering through a 52-hour hostage standoff at a bank. The cast included Lourdes Benedicto, John Billingsley, Jessica Collins, Tim Daly, Dana Davis, Camille Guaty, Chi McBride, Kim Raver, Scott Wolf and Owain Yeoman.
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“The Nine” was one of those shows that was never really able to live up to the promise of its pilot, directed by Alex Graves. The pressure of providing week-to-week details about the hostage drama, while also progressing the characters through the new soap operas of their lives never quite took.
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Despite dwindling ratings, ABC was relatively patient with the series when it premiered in the fall of 2006. The patience ran out after seven episodes and ABC scheduled the series for a summer 2007 burnoff, but the first two episodes did so poorly that the network just threw the remaining episodes up online.
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Interestingly, the last of the three shows, ABC’s “Eyes,” may have been my favorite. DirecTV will air the 12-episode run of “Eyes” at 9 p.m. on Wednesdays starting in July.
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Tim Daly, apparently the patron saint of DirecTV’s Brilliant But Cancelled campaign, starred as Harland Judd, owner of Judd Risk Management. I never exactly got the whole “risk management” thing. Judd and his team were just high-tech private eyes, working with very little respect for the legal system. ABC subsequently used “Eyes” as a feeding trough, plucking Eric Mabius for “Ugly Betty,” Natalie Zea for “Dirty Sexy Money” and eventually relocating Daly to “Private Practice.”
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The series also starred Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, A.J. Langer, Laura Leighton and Rick Worthy.
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How do you not remember the show? Well, ABC premiered it in late March and never knew how to promote the series. Daly’s character was as sarcastic, biting and disconnected a hero as you’ll find this side of Dr. Gregory House. It was like the embodiment of ever snarky, devilish character Daly has played before or since, brilliant, cutting and amoral. But ABC didn’t have a “House” to use as a lead-in. Created and executive produced by John McNamara, “Eyes” was just slick, biting fun.
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While I might recommend that DirecTV’s next move, since they’re so clearly programming toward me, should be to pick up the truncated runs of shows like “Wonderfalls” or “Greg the Bunny,” both of those Fox failures were eventually released on DVD with all episodes intact.
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“Eyes,” “Smith” and “The Nine” don’t appear to have ever received an America DVD run, so it’ll be good to let viewers get another chance to discover these three ambitious, swiftly-cancelled favorites. It won’t suddenly get those shows a new lease on life, but still…
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source: hitfix.com