Fox Renews New Hit Drama 9-1-1

With all the news coming out of the TV Critics convention in Pasadena, this one comes over a week after the Fox network made its presentations.  But it's no shocker that Fox has renewed its midseason entry 9-1-1 for a second season; not only did it debut to good ratings, but it has a star-studded cast and comes from creators Ryan  Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear.

Below more details on the renewal.

 
From Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear,
Series Debut Delivers more than 15 Million Viewers and is Week’s No. 1 Drama,
Ranking it as Highest-Rated Wednesday Series Premiere
on Broadcast and Cable in Over a Year
 
Week Two of Hit Series Draws 11.6 Million Three-Day Multi-Platform Viewers and
Posts a 2.5/9 L3 Rating among Adults 18-49, Ranking as Night’s No. 1 Program
 
 All-New Episode Airs Tomorrow on FOX
 
FOX has renewed the critically acclaimed hit drama 9-1-1, from creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear, for a second season, it was announced today by Gary Newman and Dana Walden, Chairmen & CEOs, Fox Television Group. 
 
“With a bold concept, award-winning stars and a flawless execution, Ryan, Brad and Tim have done it again,” said Walden and Newman. “They have tapped into the cultural zeitgeist and reimagined the procedural as only they could, bringing it to life with a dream team of actors led by Angela, Peter and Connie. This is storytelling at its best and we’re so pleased that it’s resonated with our audience. We’d like to thank everyone involved with this production for their stellar work, and we look forward to another thrilling season of 9-1-1.”
 
The series premiere of 9-1-1 has grown to more than 15 million viewers in seven-day multi-platform viewing, including its encore, delivering FOX’s largest debut since EMPIRE in 2015, excluding post-Super Bowl premieres. In Nielsen Live + 7 Day, the show delivered 10.7 million viewers, a lift of 57% from Live+Same Day. 9-1-1 ranks as the highest-rated debut since “The Good Doctor” and the week’s No. 1 drama among all key demos, averaging a 3.0/11 L7 in Adults 18-49, up +67% from L+SD, according to Nielsen. It also ranks as the highest-rated Wednesday series premiere on television in more than a year. The first hit series of 2018, 9-1-1 improved its fall time period average by 36% in the demo and +47% among Total Viewers. On social media, 9-1-1 is this season’s No. 1 new broadcast drama series and the most engaging new broadcast program on YouTube, with more than nine million views.
 
In week two, 9-1-1 delivered a three-day multi-platform audience of 11.6 million viewers, including its encore. Among Adults 18-49, it posted a 2.5/9 L3 rating, up +67% vs. L+SD, tying “Modern Family” as the night’s No. 1 program for the second consecutive week, while also winning the 9:00-10:00 PM hour.
 
9-1-1 explores the high-pressure experiences of police officers, firefighters and emergency operators who are thrust into the most frightening, shocking and heart-stopping situations. These first responders must try to balance saving those who are at their most vulnerable with solving the problems in their own lives. The procedural drama stars Academy and Emmy Award nominee Angela Bassett (“American Horror Story,” “What’s Love Got to Do with It”), Emmy Award and Golden Globe nominee Peter Krause (“The Catch,” “Six Feet Under”) and Emmy Award nominee Connie Britton (“Nashville,” “Friday Night Lights,” “American Horror Story”). The series also stars Oliver Stark (“Into The Badlands”), Aisha Hinds (“Shots Fired,” “Underground”), Kenneth Choi (“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”) and Rockmond Dunbar (“Prison Break,” “The Path”). 
In the all-new “Next Of Kin” episode of 9-1-1 airing tomorrow, Wednesday, Jan. 17 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), on FOX, Bobby (Krause) and his team respond to an emergency at a children’s birthday party that leaves lives hanging in the balance. The crew jumps into action after one of their own is involved in a devastating accident. Athena (Bassett) tries to cope with a tragedy that hits way too close to home, and Abby (Britton) is confronted with a life-changing decision for her mother and makes a connection with Buck (Stark).
 
9-1-1 is produced by 20^th Century Fox Television in association with Ryan Murphy Television and Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision. Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear are creators, executive producers and writers on the series. Bradley Buecker is an executive producer and directed the series premiere. Alexis Martin Woodall and Angela Bassett serve as executive producers. “Like” 9-1-1 on Facebook at 911onFOX/. Follow the series on Twitter 911onFOX and join the discussion using #911onFOX. See photos and videos on Instagram by following 911onfox/.

FOX RENEWS CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED HIT DRAMA “9-1-1” FOR A SECOND SEASON

The New Normal Continues a Fine Tradition

Actor Eddie Barbanell appears in
tonight's episode of The New Normal,
"Baby Clothes,"
9:30 PM Eastern on NBC

In their new fall series The New Normal, writers Ryan Murphy and Ali Adler have already created two groundbreaking characters for primetime TV, gay wannabe dads.  Now, with tonight's airing of the series' third episode, the writers will be continuing another pioneering tradition which Murphy has long followed with his acclaimed shows:  providing work and visibility for the disabled community by featuring actor(s) with Down Syndrome.

Back in July at the TV Critics' Association convention in Beverly Hills, I asked Murphy what had inspired him to write a guest-starring spot for actor Blair Williamson on his long-running FX drama Nip/Tuck -- and then to continue to create regular roles for actors with DS on his later shows Glee and American Horror Story.   "It certainly made sense [to include characters with DS] for Glee.  And it made sense when we were [planning] American Horror Story," Murphy explained.  "People ask me that all the time, if I have [Down Syndrome] in my life or if I know somebody.  No, but I've always just been very moved by the stories that I've heard, and I like writing those characters."

Murphy may be responsible for much of the current trend (which of course famously may have begun with actor Chris Burke's role as Corky on the 1989-93 ABC series Life Goes On), but other producers have tapped into Hollywood's community of actors with DS as well; this past February, Entertainment Weekly profiled prominent actors within the community, including Glee's Lauren Potter, The Secret Life of the American Teenager's Luke Zimmerman, and American Horror Story's Jamie Brewer.

The founder of a group called Down Syndrome in Arts & Media (DSiAM), Blair Williamson's mother Gail works with about 200 aspiring actors nationwide, all while advocating to bring attention to the issues which can particularly affect individuals with DS.  Recently, DSiAM was involved in bringing three Glee actresses together for a photo shoot, both to honor that show's commitment to DS and to bring attention to a health problem to which those with Down Syndrome are prone.

Three generations of Glee girls:  (l-r):
Lauren Potter, 22; Jordyn Orr, 8 months; Robin Trocki, 55
Photo by Shandon Youngclaus of Amazing Headshots

Individuals with DS have a high incidence of developing Alzheimer's disease; it's believed this is because an indicator for the disease is located on the triplicate 21st chromosome responsible for DS.  Until the death of her character, Sue Sylvester's older sister Jean, actress Robin Trocki appeared on five episodes of Glee.  Now at 55, Robin is exhibiting symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease, and her family is coming forward with her story in order to raise funding for medical research.

In Glee's first episode this season, there was no mention of Sue Sylvester's new baby having DS, but a beautiful close-up of her new daughter Robin -- named in honor of Robin Trocki -- made it apparent that the baby, played by 8-month-old Jordyn Orr, has the syndrome.  And so the photo shoot, featuring Glee's three generations of gals with DS -- Trocki, little Jordyn, and 22-year-old Lauren Potter, aka the deliciously devilish Cheerio/Sue Sylvester henchman Becky Jackson -- was planned, as Gail Williamson explains, "for Robin to meet Jordyn Orr while she still has memory of her work on Glee."

"Researchers are hopeful that they will have a vaccine to prevent Alzheimer’s before Lauren Potter reaches the age for symptoms," Williamson says hopefully.  "And just think of what kind of medical intervention they may have by the time Jordyn Orr reaches adulthood."

left-to-right:  Lauren Potter, Jordyn Orr, Gail Williamson, Robin Trocki
Photo by Shandon Youngclaus of Amazing Headshots

(For those in the Los Angeles area:  this Thursday, September 20 at 7 PM, Gail and Blair Williamson, along with Potter, Brewer, Zimmerman and other actors with DS will be appearing for a SAG/AFTRA-sponsored panel discussion, "Ready and Able:  Working Actors with Down Syndrome."  Click here for more info.)

Meet The New Normal

It’s going to be a tough season for the comedy department at NBC, with two of its most beloved (if not highly-rated) hits, bowing out.  After 30 Rock calls it quits after 13 episodes this fall, and The Office at the end of the year, the network once known as the home of “Must-See” comedy will need to find some laughs, fast.

The cast of The New Normal, left to right:
Justin Bartha, Andrew Rannells, Georgia King,
Bebe Wood, Ellen Barkin, Nene Leakes

NBC does seem to be pinning its hopes on one new comedy.  From Ryan Murphy, the out gay creator of Glee and American Horror Story, and out lesbian writer Ali Adler, The New Normal is a politically incorrect yet warm look at a gay male couple and the (literally) surrogate family they build in an attempt to have a baby.

Just this week, it seemed like another sign of NBC’s faith in The New Normal when the network announced a special preview of the show’s pilot this coming Monday, September 10 at 10 PM/9 PM Central; they’re hoping to get the show sampled by the viewers of its lead-in that night, the season premiere of The Voice.  The very next night, September 11, The New Normal will settle into its regular timeslot, of Tuesdays at 9:30/8:30 Central.

(Of course, you don’t have to wait until Monday to see the New Normal pilot:  you can watch it right here.)

Back in July, at the semi-annual convention for TV critics in Beverly Hills, I sat down with the show’s male leads, The Hangover’s Justin Bartha and Andrew Rannells, who made a huge splash with Broadway’s Book of Mormon and recently appeared on HBO’s Girls, to talk all about what it means to be Normal.

Must-Hear TV:  As we head into a presidential election where one of the divisive issues is gay rights, what attracted you to this show, with its unavoidable gay storyline and themes?

Justin Bartha:  The main thing was quality.  The quality of the script, and the quality of the people involved.  The show is relevant.  It seems timely and seems necessary, and it is hilarious.  Everything attracted me to this show.

Andrew Rannells:  I definitely echo that sentiment.  Also, I think that Ryan Murphy’s brand of comedy, the way that he handles topical material – in this case, this homosexual couple, that was very appealing to me.  As a homosexual, that I get to be a part of something like that is very exciting.  So there was a long list of reasons why this seemed to be a great thing to get involved in. And the show has definitely held up to all of those expectations as we’ve developed it.

with The New Normal's Andrew Rannells and Justin Bartha
at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA
July 2012

MHTV:  You both have theater backgrounds – Andrew in Book of Mormon, and Justin, I saw you in 2010 in Lend Me a Tenor.  When you test for a TV pilot, you have to agree to sign away 7 years of your life if it gets picked up, which might not leave much time for Broadway.  This must have been some helluva script – enough to make you want to do TV?

JB:  It’s a similar answer to the first question – it’s all about quality.  For me, everything I was reading just wasn’t that interesting.  And it didn’t seem to matter.  This show seems to matter, and it’s something to be proud of.  And if I could be proud of something for seven years, I’m down with that.

AR:  Absolutely.  I think that television offers an interesting opportunity.  If you’re lucky enough to have some longevity, you get to cover a multitude of issues.  I think that Ryan and Ali Adler definitely are the people to do that.  To bring topical humor to a half-hour format is very exciting.

MHTV:  It’s amazing that we still have to talk about this in 2012, but is there ever any concern for either of you as an actor about playing a gay character?

JB:  Andrew and I both come at this question from very interesting perspectives.  Because I’m a straight man and he’s a gay man.  Both have a little bit of a stigma playing gay characters, or being “out” in a sense.  You, Andrew, obviously have more at stake, because it’s your personal life attached.

MHTV:  But you do, too, Justin, because people might be eager to nitpick the way a straight actor chooses to “play gay.”  Or maybe they think the actor himself must be secretly gay.

JB:  For me personally, I thrive off of those things.  I don’t give a shit what people think about me.  I think if everyone thinks I’m gay, I’m flattered.  And if people are so small-minded that they can’t see past sexuality in creativity, then I don’t want to work for them anyway.

So it’s as simple as that.  It is unfortunate that there hasn’t been portrayal of a homosexual couple in a realistic sense – and when I say that, I mean showing affection, and showing what real couples go through.  And I think Andrew and I, Ryan Murphy and Ali Adler, always wanted to show that.  Because there are some great shows that have been groundbreaking with gay characters, but I’ve never really seen a realistic portrayal of what goes on behind closed doors with interesting topics.

MHTV:  Like Will on Will & Grace had to be timid at first about kissing.  Will you guys?

JB:  I put my tongue in his mouth, and I will continue to put my tongue in his mouth, and I don’t care.

MHTV:  Andrew, any concern about playing a gay character?

AR:  No.  I'm excited to play a gay character who was this fully developed and fleshed out.  I think I would be a fool to not jump at the chance.  And then particularly as a homosexual… it speaks a lot to Will & Grace and I just mentioned Jim J. Bullock to someone before –

JB:  Oh, Jim J. Bullock.  I’m a big fan!

AR:  All of that happened on the rocky path to where we are right now.  And I’m very fortunate that I get to benefit from all of that hard work, personally and professionally.  That I get to be out and not penalized in any way, and to be offered this role, is amazing.

The New Normal
Tuesdays at 9:30/8:30 Central
Beginning September 11
NBC

Sue Sylvester Working to Save the Community

This morning, at the New York offices of Sirius XM Satellite Radio, my hubby Frank DeCaro sat down with Glee and American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy for an hourlong chat for the OutQ station's fab new interview series, "Iconography."

You'll have to tune in to OutQ to hear the juicy interview in its entirety. But there is one thing I can share with you now -- it's not exactly a "spoiler," because the engineers at Sirius had to wrap the recording right before I asked Ryan the final question of the day from my spot in the audience (where I sat next to his fiance, David.)

I asked Ryan how he felt about other shows parodying Glee -- flattered? Annoyed? A little of both? "I realize that that is obviously flattering," he answered -- but added that he's careful not to watch any such parodies, so that he can be sure never to end up copying them in writing Glee, accidentally "doing a parody of their parody."

When I mentioned that last week's episode of Community took some seemingly loving shots at Glee, Ryan seemed intrigued. "Do you guys like that show?" he polled the in-studio audience, getting nods to the affirmative. He must like it, too, because he then revealed a possible spoiler: with Community now on the endangered list at NBC, he at one point was thinking of having Sue Sylvester head a campaign to save it.

It's ironic: NBC's Community shows some on-screen love for ABC's seemingly endangered Cougar Town, only to be itself bumped off the midseason schedule -- and then given a possible shout-out by Fox's Glee. It's nice to see such cross-network love. Now if only more viewers would show up in support.