Programming Insider

Did You Know?:
With 11-seasons under his belt as host of NBC’s “Late Night with David Letterman” (from 1982 to 1993), David Letterman at 33 years in total has the longest tenure as a late night talk show host historically.

Monday 8/29/16

Household Rating/Share
NBC: 3.7/ 6, ABC: 3.5/ 6, CBS: 2.7/ 5, Fox: 2.0/ 3, CW: 0.9/ 1

Percent Change From Saturday 7/04/15:
ABC: +21, NBC: no change, CBS: -21, Fox: -23, CW: -31

For the breakdown by network and individual show, click here
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Live + Same Day Data
Monday 8/22/16: Click here
Tuesday 8/23/16: Click here
Wednesday 8/24/16: Click here
Thursday 8/25/16: Click here
Friday 8/26/16: Click here

Source: Nielsen Media Research

TNT Orders Drama Pilot “Let the Right On”
TNT has ordered a pilot for “Let The Right One In,” based on the best-selling novel by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist. The potential series is described as an eerie drama about a young boy, long tormented by his classmates, who finds solace in a friendship with a charismatic female vampire who appears to be near his age. The vampire settles into the boy’s small Vermont town with her mysterious caretaker, just as a series of bizarre murders begins attracting the attention of law enforcement.

Jeff Davis (“Criminal Minds” “Teen Wolf”) wrote the script for the pilot and serves as executive producer with Marty Adelstein (“Prison Break,” “Teen Wolf” ) and Becky Clements (“Aquarius,” “Last Man Standing”) of Tomorrow Studios and Simon Oakes (“Women in Black,” “Let Me In”) of Hammer Films. Carl Molinder, who produced the original screenplay, and Alex Brunner (“Dark Places”) also serve as executive producers. The pilot is being produced by Tomorrow Studios in association with Turner’s Studio T, the in-house studio that owns and produces original series for TNT and TBS.

“Grimm” to Conclude on NBC
NBC has announced that the upcoming sixth season of drama “Grimm” will be its last.  Debuting on Oct. 28, 2011, the now final season will begin on Friday, Jan. 6, 2017 at 8 p.m. ET.  These thirteen final episodes will take the total tally to 123. “Grimm’s” final season will lead into new fantasy drama “Emerald City,” which inherits its former 9 p.m. ET hour.

The scoop in the final season: Now in the seat of power as the mayor-elect of Portland, Renard (Sasha Roiz) is poised to bring rise to his own brand of law and order. Nick (David Giuntoli) must take a stand to protect his city and those closest to him, especially his child with Adalind (Claire Coffee).

NBC also announced that “The New Celebrity Apprentice” with new boardroom CEO Arnold Schwarzenegger will open on Monday, Jan. 2.

“Pretty Little Liars” to End on Freeform  
“Pretty Little Liars” executive producer Marlene King has confirmed that the current seventh season of the social media sensation, which concludes its summer run tonight on Freeform, will be its last.  The final 10 episodes will begin airing in April 2017.  Debuting on June 8, 2010, the total episode tally of “Pretty Little Liars” will be 160.

“The show has been such an amazing chapter of our lives, and we’re so glad that you guys could share it with us, but all good things must come to an end. And these last episodes are pretty crazy,” said Lucy Hale, who plays Aria. “Now we’re finally going to answer all your questions, because we have to.”

Marlene King’s new series “Famous In Love” will premiere right after the conclusion of “Pretty Little Liars.” That show stars Bella Thorne as an “ordinary college student” who gets a role in a big Hollywood production.

Comedy Legend Gene Wilder Dies at 83
Actor, comedian, writer, producer and director Gene Wilder, who is remembered for a rash of theatrical comedies including “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles,” ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” “Stir Crazy” and, of course, “Young Frankenstein,” died at his home yesterday in Stamford, Connecticut.  He was 83.

Born Jerome Silberman on June 11, 1933 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Wilder got his first break playing a small role in the off-Broadway production of Arnold Wesker’s “Roots” in 1961.  In that same year, he won the Clement Derwent Award for “The Complaisant Lover,” and made other appearances on the stage in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” “The White House” and “Mother Courage and Her Children,” where he met Anne Bancroft, who was dating Mel Brooks at the time.  Wilder ultimately became part of Brook’s stock company, which resulted in Oscar nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor for “The Producers” in 1969 and for Best Writing, Screenplay Adapted from Other Material for “Young Frankenstein” in 1975.

Wilder’s TV appearances included “The Sound of Hunting,” “The Interrogators,” “Windfall” and the 1966 TV production of “Death of a Salesman” with Lee J. Cobb. He later starred in TV movies including “Thursday’s Game” and the comedy-variety special “Annie and the Hoods,” both in 1974, and headlined NBC comedy “Something Wilder” in the 1994-95 season.  In 1967, he had a small role in “Bonnie and Clyde” opposite Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.

Wilder also appeared opposite Richard Pryor in in comedies “Silver Streak,” “See No Evil, Hear No Evil,” “Another You,” “Funny About Love” and aforementioned “Stir Crazy.”  While filming “Hanky Panky” in 1982, another big screen chuckler, Wilder met “Saturday Night Live” comedienne Radner. She became his third wife shortly thereafter, and they co-starred together in “The Woman in Red,” which he also directed, and “Honeymoon Hotel.”  Wilder ultimately devoted himself to the care of Radner who succumbed to cancer in 1989.

Wilder’s final on-screen appearances were two episodes of NBC sitcom “Will & Grace,” which resulted in an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 2003.

Wilder’s memoir “Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art” was published in 2005. After that he wrote 2007 novel “My French Whore;”  “The Woman Who Wouldn’t” in 2008; “What Is This Thing Called Love?” in 2010; and the novella “Something to Remember You By: A Perilous Romance” in 2013.

He is survived by his fourth wife Karen Boyer, whom he married in 1991 and his nephew. His sister Corinne, predeceased him in January 2016.

ABC Announces Next Roster of Celebrities Competing on “Dancing With the Stars”
ABC has unveiled the next set of celebrities competing on “Dancing With the Stars,” which opens its upcoming 23^rd edition on Monday, Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. ET.  And they are: Disney star Jake T. Austin (paired with Jenna Johnson), singer-songwriter Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds (Allison Holker), actress Marilu Henner (Derek Hough), 16-year Olympic star Laurie Hernandez (Valenin Chmerkovskiy),  race car driver James Hinchcliffe (Sharna Burgess), rapper Vanilla Ice (Whitney Carson), reality star Terra Jole (Sasha Farber), NFL great Calvin Johnson (Lindsay Arnold), country singer Jana Kramer (Gleb Savchenko), disgraced Olympian Ryan Lochte (Cheryl Burke), “Brady Bunch” star Maureen McCormick (Artem Chigvintsev), former Texas Governor Rick Perry (Emma Slater) and model and actress Amber Rose (Maksim Chmerkovskiy).

Miranda Lambert to be Honored at the “ACM Honors”
Singer Miranda Lambert will receive the inaugural ACM Merle Haggard Spirit Award at the 10^th Annual ACM Honors, which makes its television debut on Friday, Sept. 9 at 9 p.m. ET.  Approved by the ACM Special Awards Panel and voted on by the ACM Board, this new award honors uncompromising artists in the spirit of Merle Haggard, while acknowledging a man who has figured prominently in ACM history.

“The ACM Honors” is an evening dedicated to celebrating the special honorees and off-camera category winners from the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards and will feature performances by Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Cam, Toby Keith, Alicia Keys, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Blake Shelton, Cole Swindell, Keith Urban, Chris Young, Dan + Shay, The Band Perry and Lady Antebellum. The ACM Honors will tape on Tuesday, August 30, at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium.

The CW Unveils Fall 2016 Key Art
The CW has unveiled the key art designs for its new fall scripted series “Frequency,” “No Tomorrow” and “Supergirl.”  For a glance, click here

Casting News
Phylicia Rashad has been cast in the third season of Fox’s “Empire” as Diana Dubois, a powerhouse from one of New York’s oldest and most prominent African-American families, and the on-screen mother of Taye Diggs, who will portray an ambitious city councilman, Angelo Dubois.  “Empire” opens season three on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 9 p.m. ET.

David Berry (“A Place to Call Home”) will play the role of “Lord John Grey” in the upcoming third season Starz drama “Outlander.” The series is adapted from Diana Gabaldon’s international best-selling books by Ronald D. Moore (“Battlestar Galactica,” “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation”).  The new season picks up right after Claire travels through the stones to return to her life in 1948.

CNBC’s “Ground Zero Rising: Freedom vs. Fear,” a one-hour documentary reported by anchor Jim Cramer that tells the story of the revitalization of the 16-acre site complete with solemn memorial pools, a new park, an architecturally striking transit hub, and new office towers, will premiere on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 10 p.m. ET.

Television Series Arriving on Netflix, Amazon and Hulu in September 2016
For a listing of the new original and off-network series titles for the month of September on the streaming video services Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu click here