[chocchipcooky]

Welcome to the OTH News Thread

Due to the server crash, we lost the News Thread template. If anyone has it saved, will you please contact one of the mods. Otherwise, we need someone to make a new banner, and we will eventually work up a new opener.


Considering Variety is the ultimate official source, I think it's safe to say it's "official". Upfronts, here we come!!


Source: Variety.com
Posted: Tue., May 16, 2006, 10:00pm PT


New net looks familiar
CW relies on weblet fare


Upstart netlet the CW will add just one new sitcom and one new drama to its first fall lineup, preferring to rely mostly on returning WB and UPN faves.
"Girlfriends" spinoff "The Game" and Darren Star drama "Runaway" scored series pickups, while the Kevin Williamson sudser "Palm Springs" -- on tap for midseason -- landed an eight-episode greenlight. Bubble shows "Veronica Mars" and "One Tree Hill" also made the cut, with full 22-episode orders.

The CW, which will announce its inaugural primetime sked Thursday at Madison Square Garden, also plans to bring back hourlongs "Gilmore Girls," "Supernatural" and "Smallville" from the WB, as well as half-hours "Everybody Hates Chris," "All of Us" and "Girlfriends" from UPN.

Also, "7th Heaven" is expected to return for an unprecedented 11th season (Daily Variety, May 12). Net has already announced renewals for alternative skeins "America's Next Top Model," "Beauty and the Geek" and "Friday Night Smackdown."

Series that failed to make the grade include "Everwood" and "Reba" at the WB, as well as much of UPN's urban laffer lineup ("One on One," "Half & Half," "Eve"). The "Reba" cancellation wasn't a surprise -- the CW informed producer 20th Century Fox last week that the show wouldn't return, even though the WB had been committed to the show through next year (Daily Variety, May 8).

"Everwood," meanwhile, leaves the air after four seasons and 89 episodes.
Also Thursday, the CW is set to officially unveil its new logo. The curvy design takes elements from logos including CNN's twisty letters and "The OC's" strategic use of the word "The." New design, with its curly, connected letters, also is reminiscent of the NBC "snake" logo used by the Peacock web in the 1960s.
As for the netlet's crop of new entries, cherry-picking the WB and UPN skeds left little room for new product -- hence the decision to pick up just three new skeins. The CW had anticipated such small needs, having ordered only four drama and three comedy pilots.

"Runaway," from Sony Pictures TV, stars Donnie Wahlberg as a father wrongly convicted of murder. His family decides to go on the run in an effort to clear his name. Leslie Hope, Susan Floyd, Karen LeBlanc and Dustin Milligan also star.
The Williamson project, which is still tentatively titled, follows the exploits of a troubled teen who moves to Palm Springs and discovers unusual goings-on. Gail O'Grady, Sharon Lawrence, Amber Heard, Michael Cassidy, Taylor Handley and D.W. Moffett star in the Lionsgate show.

As for the comedy, "The Game" focuses on the girlfriends and wives of pro football players. Series, from CBS Paramount Network TV and Grammnet, stars Wendy Raquel Robinson, Hosea Chanchez, Aldis Hodge, Coby Bell and Tia Mowry.

The "Veronica Mars" pickup is sure to warm the hearts of the show's tiny but rabidly loyal fan base, which took to renting planes and sending large care packages to CW Entertainment prexy Dawn Ostroff in hopes of saving the show. "Mars" may wind up being paired with "Gilmore Girls" on the netlet's sked.
Meanwhile, the CW's adaptation of "Aquaman," once considered a shoo-in for fall, wound up being sunk.

What? No mention of the *rabid* One Tree Hill fans??


FANS COME TO THE RESCUE OF ONE BELOVED SHOW

If I ever run for office, start a cult or aspire to be the next Kelly Clarkson, let me tell you, I want the fans of a certain show on my side.

The results are in for this year's Save One Show campaign, in which nearly a million fans voted for the endangered series they can't live without. And One show is the clear winner.

The envelope please...

Fifth Place: What About Brian, 3%
Fourth Place: Everwood, 7%
Third Place: Supernatural, 14%
Runner-Up: Veronica Mars, 32%
And the Winner Is: One Tree Hill, 44%

Yes, One Tree Hill has been selected as the one show you TV fans just can't live without. Congratulations, you loyal Tree huggers!

(I should also mention that although you Veronica Mars fans may be heartbroken, I have stunning news to share with you on the third page that you must check out.)

Since so many of you voted this year--958,017 total to be exact--this should send a very clear message to the new CW network's chief, Dawn Ostroff, that One Tree Hill deserves to stick around. She's set to decide its fate in the next two weeks, before announcing the new CW schedule on May 18.

Still, to make absolutely sure she hears your OTH battle cry, I will be sending Ostroff a big ol' care package this week declaring One Tree Hill as the official Save One Show winner, along with my own letter of support and personal messages from you, the fans. So, if you want to tell Ostroff why OTH deserves to come back next season, please email your message to tvdiva@eonline.com.

If you aren't yet a fan of One Tree Hill, I'm guessing you haven't had the chance to watch an episode this season, given its less than ideal time slot against American Idol. But we here at E! are going all out to rectify that!

After we declared One Tree Hill the winner, Warner Bros. was kind enough to give us exclusive rights to air an entire episode of One Tree Hill on our cool broadband channel, the Vine at E! Online.

You can watch it by clicking on the video box on this page. This is your last chance until (hopefully) fall to see the show that nearly a million fans say is the best thing going on the small screen, so please, take advantage of it and get behind this show.

If you are already a fan, you should know the cast and crew could not love you more. "We feel so spoiled!" says Hilarie Burton (Peyton). "You know, when I worked at MTV for years, our whole thing was 'All right, this show is really hot and moving on, what's next?' And our fans have stayed really devoted to us throughout the whole run, so it's extraordinarily flattering."

"Our fans are rabid and will defend us to the grave," says executive producer Mark Schwahn. "And the thing is, the CW won't just be getting the fan base of my show. If they see the power and the passion of our fans--those people will become CW fans. And if I'm starting a network, I want that in my corner."

James Lafferty (Nathan) admits he's not surprised by the win, because of his crew's grassroots effort to develop their fan base. "The producers and the actors and everyone involved creatively with the show have so much interaction with the fans," he says. "I think that's sort of unprecedented. We really do make an effort to bring the show out into the fans' world as much as possible, and I think it's showing results. Mark talking to the fans online, the mall tour and Joy Lenz (Haley) going out on tour with Michelle Branch, things like that have helped us connect with our fans on a level outside of just the show every Wednesday night."

The best news is that Ostroff is definitely aware of this very Save One Show poll, since her current network, UPN, aired commercial spots last year touting Veronica Mars as the 2005 SOS winner. Furthermore, Schwahn tells me, "I just met with Dawn, and I mentioned it to her. I said, 'I know Veronica Mars won this poll last year, and I would bet the house that we win it this year.' And she said, 'Because you paid someone off?' And I said, 'No, because our fans are incredibly loyal.' "

Smart man. Still, Schwahn insists he's still truly in the dark as to OTH's fate. "I'm legitimately waiting and don't expect to hear until May 18," he says. "The WB asked me if I wanted to wrap up the show, and I said, 'No, I'm going to write cliffhangers like we always do, because I'm going to bet on my show, and I'm going to make it really hard for you to make that decision!' "

And so he gave us one doozie of a season finale this week, did he not? Pregnancy shockers, a doom and gloom car crash and Dan possibly, finally getting his comeuppance. Schwahn hints that if there is a fourth season, the Lucas-Peyton-Brooke triangle will become "more complex," we'll find out who's pregnant, Rachel will become a series regular and Mouth will finally get some lovin'. "I just hung up the phone with Lee Norris, who plays Mouth," says Schwahn, "and nobody wants the show to come back more than he does!"
Of course, Schwahn wants it pretty bad himself. And though he swears he'll go anywhere--"even Saturdays at noon!"--he also cites his dream pairings: Top Model, Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars.

When asked about the "my show is better than your show" animosity that sprang up this season between Tree-huggers and Mars-ians (which likely arose out of these two fan favorites sharing the same time slot), Schwahn says: "I assume that if we get on the same network or on the same night or whatever, a lot of that will go away. I love that our fans are protective of us, but I would hope that we can all peacefully coexist!"
Here, here.

That said, we're moving on to some lip-smacking scoop on the SOS runner-up, Veronica Mars. But you OTH fans can get even more of a fix with the transcripts of my interviews with Hilary Burton, Mark Schwahn and James Lafferty in the message boards, where Schwahn offers up some good scoop on season four!
credit: Eonline and to JCLC11 for bringing it over.

[chocchipcooky]

'Veronica Mars' Fans Have So Many Ways To Say They Love Her But Even Begging and Bribing May Not Win Show a Slot On the New CW Network
By BROOKS BARNES
May 13, 2006; Page A1

The top executives of major television networks don't usually get to know the rank-and-file fans of their shows. But Dawn Ostroff, president of the soon-to-launch CW network, is now very familiar with Matthew Mueller.

From his apartment in Naperville, Ill., Mr. Mueller has recently written 98 letters to Ms. Ostroff begging her to save the family drama "Everwood" from cancellation. The 34-year-old software trainer has also lavished on her about $1,000 in gifts, including an $80 gold chain adorned with semiprecious stones and a $50 Crabtree & Evelyn gift basket filled with lotion and exfoliating body polish.

"I didn't want to be subtle because this is a crisis," Mr. Mueller says. Does he think he has gone a bit too far? "It's not like I hired a private investigator to follow her family or anything," he says.
[Dawn Ostroff]

Ms. Ostroff faces a surge of begging and bribing as she decides which of 18 currently running shows will get a slot on her prime-time schedule. They were left in limbo when CBS Corp. and Time Warner Inc. decided in January to close the UPN and WB networks and together launch a new one called the CW as a joint venture. (Contrary to popular belief, the name combines the first letters of CBS and Warner Bros., not "Country Western.")

Fans have always fought to save shows, but they used to be easier to ignore. Now, TV executives say text messaging, cellphones and the rise of fan Web sites have given rabid viewers an unprecedented ability to organize. There are at least 250 sites and Web logs devoted solely to saving the teen soap "Veronica Mars."

"This has never happened before to so many viable shows," says TV historian and author Tim Brooks. "It's the free-for-all to end all free-for-alls."

Indeed, for the first time in decades, the prime-time programming offered by broadcast networks is shrinking not expanding: With the extinction of UPN and the WB in September there will be five primary broadcast networks scheduling prime-time dramas and comedies instead of six. And because the CW will program about a third fewer hours than a big network such as CBS does, Ms. Ostroff has only 13 hours to fill. While producers and studios often give networks the hard sell to pick up shows this time of year, this rare contraction in the broadcast business has turned a normally nutty world into a three-ring circus.

So Ms. Ostroff's office is overflowing with Mrs. Fields mini muffins and jars of hot fudge (a nod to "Everwood," about a small Utah town in which a character works at a bakery). Wine, dozens of bouquets of flowers and fruit baskets have been arriving in support of "Veronica Mars." Fans of the sitcom "Reba" starring country singer Reba McEntire are organizing to send frozen chicken-fried steaks. There's also $7,500 in donations to the National Breast Cancer Foundation (a tie-in to the teen drama "One Tree Hill," on which a girl's mother died of breast cancer).

More than 10,000 letters and petitions have arrived, trying to save shows such as "7th Heaven," about a minister and his seven kids, and the sitcom "All of Us." People have been sending dozens of store-bought "Smallville" DVDs in a bid to acquaint Ms. Ostroff with the show's early seasons. Metallica cassettes have arrived to support the spooky drama "Supernatural" -- a reference to a plotline in which a character takes on the alias of the band's lead singer. And a group in Los Angeles shelled out $4,000 to hire a plane to fly over Ms. Ostroff's office and home last week, dragging banners with various pleas. ("DON'T BE A DOPE: RENEW VERONICA MARS!!!")

Producers and studios are also lobbying network executives even more than usual. "Les Moonves is a genius," gushes Rina Mimoun, an executive producer of "Everwood," referring to the chief executive of CBS and Ms. Ostroff's boss. "I know he will see the value of our show." Joe Davola, an executive producer for "One Tree Hill" and "Smallville," says he recently spent an hour in Ms. Ostroff's office importuning her. "It's no guts, no glory time," he says.

Ms. Ostroff and her team must make decisions by Thursday, when she will present the CW's inaugural schedule to advertisers. She says she's genuinely touched by all the gifts but has one request: no more chocolate. "My diet is totally blown," she says.

Ms. Ostroff, who is 45 years old, started her career as a secretary for Mr. Moonves and worked her way up, eventually running programming at the Lifetime cable channel. Mr. Moonves hired her to run UPN in 2002.

More than anything else, ratings will determine scheduling decisions. But fans aren't being overlooked, she says. "I certainly am going to think about this passion when it comes down to the wire."

Some fan campaigns have worked in the past. In 1983, a Michigan housewife named Dorothy Swanson famously helped save the fledgling cop drama "Cagney & Lacey" from cancellation after organizing a letter-writing campaign. The series ran on CBS for five more seasons. More recently, the science-fiction series "Roswell," about teens descended from hot-sauce-guzzling aliens, got another chance after fans deluged the WB with 3,000 bottles of Tabasco sauce.

As for the gifts, many of them never make it to the intended recipient. Ms. Ostroff's assistants intercept most items and will eventually send them off to charities. Flowers have been sent to Los Angeles area hospitals. Kevin McElroy, one of Ms. Ostroff's helpers, says managing the mail has added two hours to his average work day. And things have gotten so bad that Ms. Ostroff has started using an alternate email address because her inbox has been flooded with pleas from desperate fans.

Did that Los Angeles plane pulling banners have an impact? Sorry, not on Ms. Ostroff. She had long since departed for New York to plan her presentation to advertisers.

A tip to fans: Don't send the marketing department letters accusing the network of bungling the marketing for a show. "Dawn, please look past the ratings to the quality of 'Everwood' and realize that the WB has not treated the show fairly or marketed it properly," read one letter that came with a box of cookies in April.

In an internal email, Senior Vice President of Communications Paul McGuire responded to a few colleagues: "Not marketed properly?! Who are these cretins?! Burn the cookies."

Mr. Mueller, the software trainer from Illinois, says he has never fought to save a show before. He says he connects with "Everwood," about a single dad and his teenage son, because of its unflinching depiction of family strife. He got moral support from various show-saving sites and blogs such as SaveMyShow.com and TelevisionWithoutPity.com. He raised the $1,000 from other fans he met in cyberspace.

About 10 people from around the country contributed money. The show, he says, "deserves another chance. I don't think the WB marketed it well at all."

credit- WSJ.com
Susan2- Here's the article you linked from WSJ, hun.

[BrownEyes1980]

I wonder why everyone seems to be blaming One Tree Hill for Everwood not getting picked up?! If something shouldn't they ask why the hell did they renew 7th Heaven for?!?


From Ausiello:

Question: Are the executives at CW on crack? How could One Tree Hill get renewed over Everwood? — SC Ausiello: To answer your first question, they must be. To answer your second question, see my answer to the first question. All kidding aside, Everwood's demise has taken everyone by surprise. "I was really shocked, because I expected it to get picked up," Scott Wolf told me last night at ABC's bash, where he was promoting his new show The Nine. "And I'm disappointed for a really great group of people. I know they were hopeful that they'd make it to [the CW]. There are a lot of really sad people in this country right now who were really, really behind that show, and I'm one of them." And I'm another, although I'm more pissed off than sad.

[Poupa]

I have no idea

They mentioned at the Varitey article that VM fans are tiny but rapidly loyal, why didnt they mention anything about OTH fans? I mean, was OTH going to get picked up in any case but due to the great effort VM fans made, it got picked up?

[lavy]

Hi so is it official?
Lavy

[BrownEyes1980]

Originally Posted by lavy Hi so is it official? Lavy

Well it's as official as it can be before it's really official
It won't be official for real until tomorrow when the CW announces their fall schedule at the Upfronts.

[kateschechter]

If this is true, I bet we got our full pick-up with the same caveat that they gave VM about cutting to 13 if the ratings don't hold up. So we need to be making sure that people watch, follow it to the new network, etc. But yay! Now go Mark, move it and get Nathan out of the water and Haley off that damned bridge.

If I could just talk them into moving Supernatural away from CSI and GA, all would be well.

I think part of what hurt Everwood was that the show is older than OTH, but never managed to establish grabber ratings/huge fan base. OTH's ratings weren't great, but OTH was the lead in show all season, they didn't have a cushion this year. Everwood had Smallville and then 7th Heaven as a lead-in, so their ratings were probably judged harder. Then when you see that they have an established ratings grabber that's also "quality family programming" and appeals to the same audience in 7th H, it might explain why EW didn't make the cut. It's sad though. Maybe another network would pick them up. They'd be a good fit for ABC Family.

[lavy]

Originally Posted by BrownEyes1980 Well it's as official as it can be before it's really official It won't be official for real until tomorrow when the CW announces their fall schedule at the Upfronts.

okay
i get you...
so when will the official announce be made? at what time please?
cause i'm in italy and i have ti do my maths
Lavy

[cheena]

That is AWESOME news for OTH

Tammy thanks for posting

[BrownEyes1980]

NEW ARTICLE.

Source: Reuters

New CW schedules two rookies, "Everwood" axed Wednesday May 17 3:01 AM ET The CW network will look like the sum of its parts when the successor of the soon-to-be-defunct UPN and WB launches in the fall with a mix of holdovers and just two new offerings. UPN's "Veronica Mars" and the WB's "One Tree Hill" made the cut at the CW, but the WB's family drama "Everwood" did not. CW's pickups, in addition to new drama "Runaway" and "Girlfriends" spinoff "The Game," include the soap "Palm Springs," which was given a midseason order Tuesday. Also moving to the new network are UPN comedies "Girlfriends," "Everybody Hates Chris" and "All of Us," and WB dramas "Smallville," "Supernatural" and "Gilmore Girls," with veteran "7th Heaven" expected to join the group pending the completion of new deals with the cast. On the reality side, UPN's hit "America's Next Top Model" and WB's "Beauty and the Geek" are rumored for a possible pairing on the schedule, with Wednesday considered a logical place. "Chris," brainchild of comedian Chris Rock; "All of Us," from another famous actor, Will Smith; "Girlfriends," from Kelsey Grammer's production company; and "The Game" could form a Monday comedy block that has been a staple on UPN. Also looking compatible are "Gilmore Girls" and "Veronica Mars," and "7th Heaven" and "Runaway." "Runaway" stars Donnie Wahlberg as a father who goes on the run with his family after he is wrongly convicted of murder. "The Game" revolves around women in the lives of professional football players. "Palm Springs," from "Dawson's Creek" creator Kevin Williamson, is an ensemble soap set in the California desert city.

I'm curious to know what they mean by "with veteran "7th Heaven" expected to join the group pending the completion of new deals with the cast." Does it mean if they don't make an agreement with the whole cast maybe 7th Heaven will not be on the CW network? I mean maybe there are a little hope left for you Everwood fans.

Anyways I'm also curious since they mention shows compatible with each other ( "Gilmore Girls" and "Veronica Mars," and "7th Heaven" and "Runaway.") I wonder which show will be the lead-in for OTH? Got any suggestions or a show you guys think will be a good lead-in? I was thinking maybe America's Next Top Model would be good for the show. Since the show seems to have about the same audience and pretty high ratings, right? Although the article says Beauty and The Geek and ANTM might be paired together on Wednesday. So maybe OTH will change back to Tuesdays again!?

[BrownEyes1980]

More news, looks like we might have got the same deal as VM a full 22 episode order that might be cut to 13 if ratings are low. No rest this fall! We need to bring the ratings up!

From Kristin at E.Online

Okay, now I do believe in miracles! Sources tell me that ALL THREE -- Veronica Mars, One Tree Hill and Supernatural -- were picked up for next season on the CW. I'm hearing 22 episodes with the option of cutting the order to 13 for all of them ... Though that's just a rumor at this point. Sadly, it looks as though Everwood is gone for good. ... Something Scott Wolf looked sincerely torn up over on yesterday's ABC carpet (he's on a new show called NINE that looks really good). Reba is also gone. Pickups for CW include Runaway with Donnie Wahlberg (hearing good things about it); Palm Springs from Dawson's Kevin Williamson, and The Game which is a Girlfriends spinoff.

[BrownEyes1980]

This was posted on the WB board and apparently Howard Stern mentioned OTH and also that one of the cast members wants out of their contract, Hilarie Burton.

Did anyone hear this? I don't really trust the stuff posted on the WB board so. But really, I hope they ALL want to come back and don't try to get out of their contracts because the show wouldn't be the same without one of them.

My dad has surius radio and was listening into Howard Stern the other day. The were talking about entertainment news and about 99% of the time Howard is always right. Well my dad called my cell and told me that howard was talking about OTH and he was thinking it would get picked up he was right!!!!! But he also said their are a lot of rumors swirling around that a certain main character was aproached with an offer and may buy out his or her contract for a better offer for a very high profile movie deal. Now my father who does not know any of the names of the people on the show told me this and when I asked him who he told my that its "the chick who used to be on MTV" a.k.a Peyton lol a.k.a Miss Burton. Just wondering if anyone else heard this or knows anything about it/ Normally I would laugh it off and think my dad was pulling my leg but a friend of mine also heard it as well/

[Sunset Dreamer]

I'm sorry, I like Hil and all but I can't imagine someone thinks she's worth paying a boatload of money to get her out of a contract so she can make a movie. That just doesn't sound right.

[hjames-scott]

Yayyyyy. I'm so thrilled.

Like I said in the campaign thread, I don't believe that about Hilarie either. She's stated many times that she wants the show to come back, that she loves her life in Wilmington, she loves her work, and she loves Peyton. I don't think she even wants to get out of her contract, and I think it's pretty darn hard to actually do it. So I would take that with a grain of salt.

As for Ausellio blaming us for Everwood not getting picked up? That's ridiculous. Blame the resurrection of 7th Heaven.

[sleepneeded911]

Heck yes!!! I am so happy that OTH got picked up again!!!