Lifetime announced today that The Client List has been renewed for a second season. The drama, which stars Jennifer Love Hewitt, has had an impressive start for the network, averaging 2.7 million total viewers per week since its premiere on April 8, 2012.
"The Client List represents everything we want to be -- fresh, exciting and original with attitude," said Nancy Dubuc, President and GM of Lifetime Networks. "We love Jennifer and this series, and are equally thrilled that they have connected with our audience, especially as we express our new brand, ‘Your Life. Your Time.’"
Season 2 of The Client List is scheduled to premiere in 2013 with 15 new episodes. An exact return date has not yet been announced.
Fox has announced that Fringe has been renewed for next season, which will see the series conclude with 13 final episodes. Amidst falling ratings and time slot changes over the years, Fringe has persevered, bolstered by its legion of loyal fans. The final, shortened season of Fringe is a smart way for the network to provide those fans a satisfying end to the series, rather than have the show pulled abruptly from the schedule mid-storyline.
Season 4 of Fringe is currently winding down, with three episodes remaining until the finale on Friday, May 11, 2012. The fifth season is scheduled for the 2012-2013 season, but no premiere date has been announced.
The CW has announced that Supernatural has been renewed for an eighth season. On the air since 2005, the long-running series will be back in 2012-2013 and possibly even longer. There was no word in the network's press release about Season 8 being the show's last.
Also renewed by The CW today were The Vampire Diaries and 90210. The trio of pick-ups leaves the fates of a number of other shows up in the air for now, including The Secret Circle, Nikita, Ringer, Hart of Dixie, and Gossip Girl. While not all the preceding shows will be canceled, it is certain that some will be dropped. News on other renewals is expected later this month at the network's upfront presentation that will take place on May 17, 2012.
The CW has announced that The Vampire Diaries has received an early renewal for a fourth season. The undead drama has been one of the network's top series since hitting the airwaves in 2009.
Also getting early pick-ups today were 90210 and Supernatural. The three pick-ups leave a number of other shows' fates unknown until The CW's upfront presentation later this month on May 17. Fans of shows like The Secret Circle, Nikita, Ringer, Hart of Dixie, and Gossip Girl will have to wait a little longer to find out which of those series will return for the 2012-2013 season.
Word is that the remaining episodes Breaking In has produced will air at a later, yet-to-be-determined date. Still, this scheduling change could be the final nail in the Christian Slater comedy's coffin. Breaking In premiered its first season last April but was met with a similar fate, being cancelled after five episodes. And while Fox eventually decided to give the series another chance, a second revival is not likely in the cards.
Fox has announced that Raising Hope has been renewed for a third season. The offbeat comedy has gained a loyal following over its first two seasons, leading to solid overall ratings in the coveted 18-49 demographic.
Before it breaks for the summer, Raising Hope will air a two-part season finale, starting with part one tomorrow night - April 10 - and concluding next week on Tuesday, April 17, 2012.
NBC has reportedly given Grimm a second season renewal. That is good news for fans of the freshman fantasy drama, given as how other new dramas on the network have not fared as well this season. Shows like The Playboy Club and Prime Suspect have already fallen by the wayside.
Grimm, however, has been pulling in solid enough ratings on Friday nights for NBC to give it a shot at another season. Its numbers have also remained rather steady over the course of its run rather than suffering from the ratings decline that many shows see as the season wears on. Grimm's average is hovering around a 1.6 in the adults 18-49 demographic, which isn't bad for a Friday night series.
(Source: TV Line)
CBS has picked up The Mentalist for a fifth season. The announcement came as the network renewed eight other dramas including The Good Wife, Criminal Minds, Person of Interest, CSI, Hawaii Five-0, Blue Bloods, and both installments of NCIS.
(Source: TV by the Numbers)
Here's the statement from HBO: "It is with heartbreak that executive producers David Milch and Michael Mann together with HBO have decided to cease all future production on the series LUCK.
"Safety is always of paramount concern. We maintained the highest safety standards throughout production, higher in fact than any protocols existing in horseracing anywhere with many fewer incidents than occur in racing or than befall horses normally in barns at night or pastures. While we maintained the highest safety standards possible, accidents unfortunately happen, and it is impossible to guarantee they won’t in the future. Accordingly, we have reached this difficult decision.
"We are immensely proud of this series, the writing, the acting, the filmmaking, the celebration of the culture of horses and everyone involved in its creation."
“The two of us loved this series, loved the cast, crew and writers. This has been a tremendous collaboration and one that we plan to continue in the future.”
Wednesday's news comes the day after the death of the third horse during production on the Dustin Hoffman/Nick Nolte drama. Despite its hefty hype and critical praise, Luck has been a ratings underperformer for the network, averaging about 625,000 total viewers per episode. The series, a passion project for racing fan Milch, was renewed for a second season immediately after its disappointing January premiere in order to fit production into the window between racing at Santa Anita.
Production on the sophomore season was under way Tuesday at the racetrack in Arcadia, Calif., when the third horse was injured. Dr. Gary Beck, a veterinarian from the California Horse Racing Board, was on hand and noted the horse was on her way back to the stall when she "reared, flipped over backward and struck her head on the ground."
Attending vet Heidi Agnic administered immediate aid, and it was determined that humane euthanasia was appropriate, Beck noted.
Tuesday's incident marked the third time a horse has been put down as part of Luck; two horses were injured and euthanized during production of season one.
HBO had been working closely with the American Humane Association and racing industry experts within the CHRB to implement safety protocols that go "above and beyond" typical film TV industry standards and practices, with prerace exams performed by a CHRB-certified vet with radiographs taken of the legs of all horses being considered for use in simulated racing sequences.
HBO's decision to cancel the drama comes after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called late Tuesday for the production of the series to be shut down.
"HBO, David Milch and Michael Mann should be ashamed. Three horses have now died, and all the evidence we have gathered points to sloppy oversight, the use of unfit or injured horses and disregard for the treatment of racehorses," the animal-rights group said in a statement to THR.
"We contacted HBO and producer/star Dustin Hoffman last week regarding reports we'd received stating that oversight on the set was lax, and we urged them to help make things safer for the horses. But we received no response. Yesterday, we went to law enforcement about the deaths of the first two horses, Outlaw Yodeler and Marc's Shadow, because one was drugged and the other was arthritic. We will want answers on HBO's latest casualty. Filming must stop now."
On Wednesday evening, PETA issued a response praising HBO's decision to stop production on Luck.
"Knowing that old, unfit and drugged horses were forced to race for this series, PETA is glad that HBO has finally decided to cancel the show. We thank the whistleblowers who refused to let these horses' deaths go unnoticed. Should Milch, Mann and HBO decide to start the series up again, PETA will be calling on them, as we have done from the start, to use stock racing footage instead of endangering horses for entertainment purposes. PETA has called on law enforcement to investigate the deaths of the horses used on the set and to bring charges as appropriate," read the organization's statement.
It looks like the networks’ dry spell on renewals of scripted shows this season will finally end today. I hear that CBS is prepping early pickups of a slew of existing series, with word of the first one, a third-season renewal of Blue Bloods, already out this morning. The network is not confirming.
The list will likely also include the two NCIS series, freshmen 2 Broke Girls and Person Of Interest as well as Mike & Molly, The Mentalist, veterans Criminal Minds and CSI and possibly Hawaii Five-0, whose star Alex O’Loughlin is getting treatment, critically praised but softly rated The Good Wife and Two And A Half Men, ahead of closing a deal with star Ashton Kutcher. (The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother are in the midst of multi-year pickups)
