Dispatches from TV Land: UPN gets serious
By Susan Young
SAD NEWS: UPN won't be bringing another installment of "Amish in the City" into your living room.
In fact, the network that blazed new trails in questionable taste from "Homeboys in Outer Space" to primetime wrestling — not to mention exploiting the religious beliefs of the Amish — offered a relatively tame presentation during the winter press tour.
That was in keeping with the news that UPN is going for respectability in the future, and in that future there's no room for senseless degrading of the Amish or for smackdowns.
That's right. There's only one year left on the contract for World Wrestling Federation's "Smackdown!" and the network has decided to let it go.
"It still makes us a decent amount of money," says Leslie Moonves, co-president and co-chief operating office for Viacom, which owns both CBS and UPN. "When you think about the powerhouses of CBS and NBC on Thursday night, it's great counter-programming. (But) it doesn't fit into the overall (programming) strategy."
That strategy includes getting more women to watch UPN by putting on series such as last fall's "Veronica Mars" and "Kevin Hill" and the midseason replacement "The Bad Girl's Guide."
The network is also keeping African-American programming as a key part of its goals.
"There's no question we've been very successful in African-American programming, and we will continue to do that," Moonves said. "We want shows that appeal not only to African Americans, but to everyone."
To that end, the other midseason replacement series will be "Cuts," which is sort of a "Barbershop" comedy.
The fall comedy "The Second Time Around" has been shelved for a while, and the veteran series "Half & Half" will come back in the 9:30 p.m. time slot.
And while neither Moonves nor UPN Entertainment President Dawn Ostroff would come right out and say it, each hinted that this could be the final season for the latest "Star Trek" franchise, "Enterprise."
"The last movie didn't do very well, and the series is struggling," Moonves said. "No decision has been made (yet about canceling the series)."
Yet somehow we believe UPN will be boldly going on without what was once the network's flagship property.
The future of the promising "Veronica Mars" is still murky, with the network looking for a "little bump" in the ratings. Here's yet another plea to give this great show a peek if you haven't already.
And for some thoughts from the "Veronica Mars" cast, as well as some other TCA celebrity gossip, check out my blog Unscripted, only at www.insidebayarea.com.
credit:
http://www.insidebayarea.com/searchresults/ci_2532085
