By: RICK KISSELL

Net dominates in demos on night after Super Bowl

NBC’s Broadway-themed drama “Smash” opened to good numbers Monday, airing behind the timeslot debut of “The Voice,” which followed up its monster post-Super Bowl premiere one night earlier with very impressive numbers. The shows combined for easily the net’s top non-sports scores this season.

It will take a while to see where both shows settle, but NBC has to be pleased with the launch of “Smash,” which averaged a 3.8 rating/10 share in adults 18-49 and 11.5 million viewers overall, according to affiliate-based preliminary estimates from Nielsen. Though it fell off in its second half-hour as expected (from 4.2 to 3.4 in 18-49), “Smash” led its hour over competing dramas “Hawaii Five-0″ on CBS (2.7/7 in 18-49, 9.8 million viewers overall) and “Castle” on ABC (2.0/5 in 18-49, 8.7 million viewers overall).

“Smash” generated perhaps the best reviews of any drama this season. The show, whose exec producers include Steven Spielberg, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, stars Debra Messing, Anjelica Huston and Katharine McPhee

Meanwhile, “The Voice” (6.6/16 in 18-49, 17.9 million viewers overall) ruled its two-hour timeslot, easily surpassing its first-season highs last spring in both 18-49 (5.7/15) and total viewers (14.4 million). The NBC music competition opened within shouting distance of Fox’s “American Idol,” which kicked off its season last month with a 7.4/19 in 18-49 and 21.93 million viewers overall – low by its standards. NBC hasn’t done better from 8 to 10 p.m. on Monday with regular series since 2004.

NBC won Monday, a night on which it has really struggled this season, in all key categories including adults 18-49 (5.7/14). One year earlier, with a lineup of “Chuck,” “Cape” and “Harry’s Law,” the net averaged a mere 1.6/4 in the demo.

Elsewhere, CBS and ABC held up well, with the Eye getting more good comedy scores from “How I Met Your Mother” (4.0/11 in 18-49, 10.0 million viewers overall), “2 Broke Girls” (4.3/11 in 18-49, 11.4 million viewers overall) and “Two and a Half Men” (4.2/10 in 18-49, 16.8 million viewers overall) and the Alphabet paced by “The Bachelor” (2.6/6 in 18-49, 8.2 million viewers overall), which was flat week to week despite the stronger NBC competition.

Fox’s drama combo of “House” (2.4/6 in 18-49, 7.2 million viewers overall) and “Alcatraz” (2.2/5 in 18-49, 6.8 million viewers overall) suffered the most and placing fourth from 8 to 10.

Deadline

By NELLIE ANDREEVA

EXCLUSIVE: Young Australian actors Brenton Thwaites and Indiana Evans are following in the footsteps of Christopher Atkins & Brooke Shields and Brian Krause & Milla Jovovich as the leads of The Blue Lagoon, Lifetime’s contemporary remake of the 1980 romance/adventure movie starring Shields and Atkins. (Jovovich and Krause toplined the 1991 sequel.) In the story, which echoes the biblical tale of Adam and Eve and is based on the novel by Henry De Vere Stacpoole, Thwaites and Evans will play Dane and Emma, a boy and a girl marooned on a tropical island where they grow up together, fall in love and discover sexuality. The Sony TV-produced project has been in the works at Lifetime since 2004 with Heather Rutman and Matt Heller as writers. Filming is slated to begin this month in Puerto Rico. Neil Meron, Craig Zadan and Judith Verno are executive producing. Sony and Verno were also behind the recent hit Lifetime movie Untouchable: The Drew Peterson Story. The Blue Lagoon franchise is known for giving young actors their big break. The 1980 film made Shields a household name, while the 1991 sequel Return To The Blue Lagoon launched the career of Milla Jovovich. Thwaites, managed by Industry Entertainment, and Evans have both co-starred on the popular Australian soap opera Home And Away.

By Jocelyn Vena

Darren Criss is very much succeeding in the business of starring in a hit Broadway musical. The “Glee” star is reportedly bringing in big numbers for “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” Criss joined the show last week after “Harry Potter” actor Daniel Radcliffe wrapped up his shift, and EW.com reports that in his first week, he’s already managed to nab $1.4 million in profits and fill 99.8 percent of seats at Al Hirschfeld Theatre. While Radcliffe brought in $1.9 million in profits in his final week in the show, Criss’ take beats out Radcliffe’s previous eight performances. Once Criss finishes his stint, Nick Jonas will take over the lead role of J. Pierrepont Finch. When Radcliffe stopped by the MTV News offices recently, he shared that he had reached out to his successors. “We have met. I can confirm, we have met,” Radcliffe said about meeting Criss. “Somebody showed me a very-doctored photograph of our meeting; there were no photographs at our meeting, so if that’s what people are interested in, they’re going to be disappointed. “But no, I had a lovely chat with him, talked about the show. I don’t really deign to give advice, but I gave him my number and same with Nick Jonas and said, ‘Contact me if you’ve got anything to ask. I’m always around.’ “

HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING broke the box office record at the Hirschfeld Theatre the week ending January 1, 2012, grossing $1,910,224, for 9 performances.  The record was previously held by ELF who in a 9 show week in 2010, grossed $1,572,836.  This was the final week of performances for Daniel Radcliffe who has performed in all 30 preview and 315 regular performances of the revival, and John Larroquette who won a 2011 Tony Award for his performance.

HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING began previews on Saturday, February 26, 2011 and opened Sunday, March 27 at Broadway’s Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45th Street). Nominated for eight 2011 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING is directed and choreographed by Tony and Emmy Award-winner Rob Ashford.

The show has music and lyrics by Academy Award and Tony Award winner Frank Loesser, and a book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert, based on the book by Shepherd Mead. The creative team for HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING includes Derek McLane (Sets) Catherine Zuber (Costumes), Howell Binkley (Lighting), Jon Weston (Sound), Tom Watson (Hair), Doug Besterman (Orchestrations), and David Chase (Music Director and Arranger).

EXCLUSIVE: Lifetime is heading back to The Blue Lagoon. The cable network has greenlighted a contemporary remake of the 1980 romance/adventure movie starring Brooke Shields, which centered on a boy and a girl marooned on a tropical island, where they grow up together, fall in love and discover sexuality. Neil Meron and Craig Zadan’s Storyline Entertainment and Judith Verno’s Peace Out Prods are producing the film in association with Sony Pictures TV, with Meron, Zadan and Verno executive producing. The project was originally set up at Lifetime in 2004 with Heather Rutman and Matt Heller as writers. Casting is already underway, with filming eyed for a February start in Puerto Rico.The Blue Lagoon movie franchise is known for giving young actresses their big break. The 1980 film made Shields a household name, while the 1991 sequel Return To The Blue Lagoon launched the career of Milla Jovovich.

The story of The Blue Lagoon, which echoes the biblical tale of Adam and Eve, originated as a novel by Henry De Vere Stacpoole. It was first made into a movie in Britain in 1949, with Jean Simmons as the young girl. This is the second high-profile contemporary movie remake in the works at Lifetime and produced by Zadan, Meron and Sony TV, along with a Steel Magnolia reboot with an all-black cast. On the series side, Zadan and Meron are executive producing Lifetime’sDrop Dead Diva and NBC’s midseason musical drama Smash.

PLAYBILL.COM

By Andrew Gans — 30 Nov 2011

Nominations for the 54th Annual Grammy Awards were announced Nov. 30. Nominees in the Best Musical Show Album category include Anything Goes, The Book of Mormon and How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying.

The complete list of nominees in the Best Musical Show Album category follow:

Anything Goes
Sutton Foster & Joel Grey, principal soloists; Rob Fisher, James Lowe & Joel Moss, producers (Cole Porter, composer/lyricist) (New Broadway Cast Recording) [Ghostlight Records]

The Book Of Mormon
Josh Gad & Andrew Rannells, principal soloists; Anne Garefino, Robert Lopez, Stephen Oremus, Trey Parker, Scott Rudin & Matt Stone, producers; Robert Lopez, Trey Parker & Matt Stone, composers/lyricists (Original Broadway Cast) [Ghostlight Records]

How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying
John Larroquette & Daniel Radcliffe, principal soloists; Robert Sher, producer (Frank Loesser, composer/lyricist) (The 2011 Broadway Cast Recording) [Decca].

DEADLINE
By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday November 22, 2011

The CW is joining the treasure hunt trend this development season with Golddigger. The project, from Bill Haber’s Ostar Prods., centers on a young female treasure hunter who tracks down artifacts for a variety of mysterious and interesting clients. Lauren Horowitz is writing, with Haber and Stephanie Germain executive producing. With Golddigger, the CW is putting a young female twist on a genre that has been pretty hot this pitch season. NBC bought an untitled adventure drama from John Glenn. Described as “Da Vinci Code meets National Treasure,” it centers on a young NYPD beat cop who, along with his family and friends, embarks upon the greatest treasure hunt in history. NBC also is developing an updated version of the 1984 action-adventure romantic comedy film Romancing the Stone, whose plot kicked off with a romance writer played by Kathleen Turner receiving a treasure map. Mark Friedman is writing. And in another book adaptation, ABC recently bought the Michael Seitzman-penned The Seven Wonders, a treasure hunt show in the spirit of Raiders of the Lost Arc and National Treasure based on the Jack West Jr. series of adventure books by Australian author Matthew Reilly.

Swordfighting, whose deal is still being finalized, is part of new CW president Mark Pedowitz’s efforts to re-introduce comedy series on the network with sellected few half-hour projects his team has put in development this season. Written by Ben McMillan and Josh Greenbaum, Swordfighting revolves around two young couples who have been best friends and neighbors for years and whose friendship is put to the test when when the two wives reveal they’ve fallen in love (with each other). Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are executive producing the project, which will be produced by CBS TV Studios.

PLAYBILL.COM

By Adam Hetrick — 06 Nov 2011

The New York Musical Theatre Festival honors How to Succeed in Business… and “Chicago” producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan during its 8th annual Awards for Excellence gala Nov. 6 at the Hudson Theatre.

Represented on Broadway this season with the 50th anniversary revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Zadan and Meron are also poised to debut their new musical television series “Smash” on NBC in February 2012.

The producers are being honored with NYMF’s Lifetime Achievement Award for “bringing musical theatre to a worldwide, pop-culture audience,” according to NYMF. Radcliffe has been announced to present the award.

The awards presentation features selections from the NYMF Awards for Excellence winners, which were announced Oct. 24.

DEADLINE
By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday October 11, 2011

EXCLUSIVE: The 1989 film Steel Magnolias is getting a contemporary remake with an all-black cast. Lifetime is developing an original movie based on the hit feature, which will be produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron and Sony Pictures TV, where the duo’s Storyline Entertainment has an exclusive deal for event long-form programming. Kenny Leon, who directed Storyline/SPT’s previous collaboration, the 2008 ABC movie A Raisin In The Sun, is attached to direct the new Steel Magnolias, which, like the movie, will be set in Louisiana and explore the bond among a group of women in the present day.

Both Lifetime’s Steel Magnolias and ABC’s A Raisin In The Sun are based on properties that span a famous play and a feature. But while the Emmy-nominated Raisin In the Sun was based on Lorraine Hansberry’s play (whose 2004 Broadway revival Leon directed), Steel Magnolias, penned by Sally Robinson (Iron Jawed Angels), is an adaptation of the screenplay for the movie, which was written by Robert Harling based on his play. The feature boasted an all-star cast of Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Darryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, and Julia Roberts. The goal of the TV movie’s producers is to assemble a similarly high-wattage cast of black actresses. The film, said to be a passion project of Lifetime president Nancy Dubuc and EVP Programming Robert Sharenow, has not been greenlighted but is on a fast track, with some preliminary work on casting choices for the leads expected to begin soon.

In addition to A Raisin In The Sun, which starred Sean Combs, Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald and Sanaa Lathan, Leon also directed the stage productions of Fences starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, and most recently The Mountaintop with Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett. Zadan and Meron are executive producing the midseason NBC series Smash and Lifetime’s Drop Dead Diva, which was recently renewed for a fourth season. Additionally, the duo is producing Paramount’s Footloose remake that opens next week and the Broadway production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying starring Daniel Radcliffe, who will be succeeded next year by Glee‘s Darren Criss and Nick Jonas. Steel Magnolias is not the first classic American literary property to be given an African-American makeover: L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz spawned the musical The Wiz, while Debbie Allen directed a Broadway production of Tennessee Williams’ Cat On A Hot Tin Roof with an all-black cast. (Leon had been attached to that project at one point.)

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday September 22, 2011

UPDATED: Lifetime has picked up a fourth season of dramedy Drop Dead Diva with a 13-episode order. Along with Army Wives, the Sony TV-produced Diva has been a solid ratings performer for the network, most recently averaging 2.2 million viewers and a 0.7 in 18-49 this past Sunday.The third-season finale airs on Sunday. “Drop Dead Diva is a signature series for Lifetime that continues to resonate with audiences with its heart and humor,” Lifetime’s president and general manger Nancy Dubuc said. The series, starring Brooke Elliott as a plus-size attorney carrying the soul of a shallow model who died in an accident, was created by Josh Berman, who is executive producing with Craig Zadan, Neil Meron and Alex Taub.