Papi Chulo's BLOG

UPFRONTS :: ABC Adds Two New Shows

ABC unveiled its 2008-2009 television schedule earlier this week ... and the schedule appears very similar to its 2007 fall schedule ... That is a testament to ABC's strong 2007-2008 television season ...

ABC officially announced the cancellations of ... Men In Trees, October Road, Big Shots, Women's Murder Club, Cashmere Mafia, Carpoolers, Cavemen, Miss/Guided, and Notes from the Underbelly ...

Freshman series that have been renewed for a second season include ... Samantha Who?, Eli Stone, Pushing Daisies, Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money ...

There are two new shows debuting in the fall ... Opportunity Knocks is a Extreme Makeover/Who Wants to Be a Millionaire-hybrid ... The game show will visit a contestants home and the contestants will play the game in their front yard ... The show will be hosted by J.D. Roth and is produced by Ashton Kutcher ...

The other new show is an American adaptation of the BBC drama Life on Mars ... The show features a detective from the present-day who travels back to the 1970s ...

For midseason ... ABC will debut The Goode Family ... an animated series from Mike Judge ... The Goode Family is obsessed with doing the "right" thing ... The show will air Tuesday nights once Dancing With the Stars ends its fall cycle ... Also on Tuesdays after DWTS ABC premieres Scrubs' final season ...

An untitled Ashton Kutcher/Tyra Banks beauty pageant will air at midseason ... as will a new edition of The Bachelor ... and new seasons of According to Jim, Primetime: What Would You Do? and LOST ...

Also likely returning are Dance War and Here Come the Newlyweds ...

Here is ABC's new schedule ...

:: MONDAYS ::
8:00 DANCING WITH THE STARS
9:30 SAMANTHA WHO?
10:00 BOSTON LEGAL/THE BACHELOR

:: TUESDAYS ::
8:00 OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
9:00 DANCING WITH THE STARS RESULTS SHOW / SCRUBS & THE GOODE FAMILY
10:00 ELI STONE

:: WEDNESDAY ::
8:00 PUSHING DAISIES
9:00 PRIVATE PRACTICE
10:00 DIRTY SEXY MONEY

:: THURSDAY ::
8:00 UGLY BETTY
9:00 GREY'S ANATOMY
10:00 LIFE ON MARS

:: FRIDAY ::
8:00 WIFE SWAP
9:00 SUPERNANNY
10:00 20/20

:: SATURDAY ::
8:00 SATURDAY NIGHT COLLEGE FOOTBALL / MOVIES

:: SUNDAY ::
7:00 AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS
8:00 EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION
9:00 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
10:00 BROTHERS & SISTERS

~Papi Chulo~

Dancing With the Stars :: The Announcement

ABC revealed the twelve stars that will partake in the new season of Dancing With the Stars during tonight's season finale of Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann ...

The cast includes a deaf actress ... a telenovela heartthrob ... a Tony Award winning actress ... a NFL hunk ... and a magician ...

Here are the stars of Dancing With the Stars :: Season 6 ...

-- Marlee Matlin :: First Deaf Actress to Win the Academy Award (Children of a Lesser God)
-- Penn Jillette :: Magician
-- Marissa Jaret Winokur :: Tony Award winner (Hairspray)
-- Adam Carolla :: Radio Host
-- Kristi Yamaguchi :: Olympic Gold Medal-winning Figure Skater
-- Cristián de la Fuente :: Telenovela Heartthrob
-- Monica Seles :: Professional Tennis Player
-- Mario :: R&B Singer/Actor
-- Steve Guttenberg :: Actor
-- Jason Taylor :: NFL All-Star
-- Shannon Elizabeth :: Actress
-- Priscilla Presley :: Actress (Once Married to Elvis)

Tomorrow ABC announces which professionals the stars are paired up with ...

Dancing With the Stars premieres on Monday, March 17 @ 8pm ... The first results show will air on Tuesday, March 25 @ 9pm ...

~Papi Chulo~

ABC's Midseason Schedule: LOST Moves to Thursdays

ABC has had the worst time trying to come up with a writers' strike-induced midseason schedule ...

Why?

Well ... most of the programs on ABC are serialized dramas ... and they don't repeat well (meaning their encores do not attract viewers) ... and since most of ABC's serialized dramas are almost plum out of episodes ... The network had to make sure to place their new midseason series in a proper timeslot so to attract viewers ...

Probably the most anticipated piece of ABC's midseason schedule is the placement of LOST on that schedule ... For its first three seasons ... LOST has occupied all three timeslots on Wednesdays (8pm, 9pm and 10pm) ... For its fourth season ... LOST will anchor Thursdays at the primo 9pm slot (currently occupied by ABC's #1 hit Grey's Anatomy) starting January 31 ...

Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann premieres with a special two-hour episode on Monday, January 7 @ 8pm ... followed by 90-minute episodes through January ... Samantha Who? will return with original episodes in February @ 9pm ...

Dancing with the Stars starts its new season on Monday, March 17 @ 8pm ... Dancing with the Stars: The Results Show will return @ 9pm on Tuesday, March 25 ... Boston Legal will continue airing Tuesdays at 10pm ...

Oprah's Big Give will premiere on Sunday, March 2 @ 9pm ... A reality show involving donations to good causes across the country ...

Here is a full rundown of ABC's midseason schedule ...

Writers' Strike :: Reality TV on the Horizon

With the writers' strike now in full effect ... the networks are scrambling to figure out just exactly what will air once the limited amount of fresh episodes of their sitcoms and dramas run out ...

It appears as if reality series will take over the airways come January and February ...

CBS has begun casting for the brand new season of Big Brother ... A show which usually airs over the summer ... but may return to the airwaves as soon as February ...

CBS' other reality programs ... such as Survivor and The Amazing Race ... FOX's American Idol ... and ABC's Dancing With the Stars and Dance War ... will also be unaffected by the writers' strike ...

~Papi Chulo~

"Dance War" :: Coming in January!

The Drew Lachey hosted ... Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba choreographed ... Dancing With the Stars spin-off series Dance War is scheduled to premiere on Monday, January 7 at 8pm ...

The series will run for six weeks ... and pits Bruno against Carrie Ann ... The DWtS judges will lead two dances teams into combat with one another ...

~Papi Chulo~

"Dancing With the Stars" Spin-off Hosted by Drew Lachey

A Dancing With the Stars spin-off series is slated for midseason and Season 2's champ Drew Lachey is set to host it ...

The new show is tentatively titled Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann ... and will air for six weeks ...

Dancing with the Stars judges Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba will go head to head on the dance floor showing off their choreographic prowess ... Contestants will either team up with Bruno or Carrie Ann to compete in both song and dance in order to form "the ultimate dance team" ... Viewers will choose which performers get to stay and which must leave in this live, hour-long reality show ...

Currently there are open auditions in New York, Los Angeles and Nashville for talented amateur singers and dancers ...

~Papi Chulo~