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TV Tonight: The Ex List

BuzzSugar — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:30:57 -0700

Back when I first saw the pilot of The Ex List, which premieres tonight on CBS, I was cautiously optimistic. It wasn't a home run, but the show - which stars Elizabeth Reaser as a woman who learns she has a year to find her Mr. Right and he's someone she's already dated - had enough cute and funny things going for it that I was more than happy to give it time to grow. Once I met the hilarious Diane Ruggiero, who was then the showrunner, I was ready to give it a season pass then and there.

But The Ex List has hit some turmoil since then, and while I'm still excited about tonight's premiere, there's some apprehension mixed in as well. Ruggiero left the show - vocally, and not happily - because she said her vision for the show didn't match CBS's. That's a shame, because her vision was the one I would be tuning in to see. But several episodes of the show were completed under Ruggiero's regime, and it's not like it's in bad hands now: The producer of the original Israeli miniseries on which the show is based has taken over. So, I remain cautiously optimistic.

Here's one thing that hasn't changed: Reaser is still in the lead role as Bella Bloom, and - somewhat surprisingly, given her role as Ava/Rebecca on Grey's Anatomy - she was totally refreshing to watch. She pulls off the laid-back California girl thing well, and with a ragtag cast of roommates, there's a bit of a How I Met Your Mother vibe to the whole thing. Will you be checking out The Ex List, either live tonight or via TiVo later? To watch a clip, just read more.

Photo courtesy of CBS

Buzz News Roundup, 9/15

BuzzSugar — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:30:06 -0700

30 Rock's newest high-profile guest star: Steve Martin! - New York Magazine
Jack Osbourne is producing a documentary about his father, Ozzy Osbourne. - Variety
Ex-Veronica Mars writer Diane Ruggiero has quit her job as showrunner of the CBS show The Ex List - and lashes out at CBS in the process. - The Star-Ledger
Screen Gems is putting together a team for Operation Checkmate, a drama based on the recent rescue of hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). - ComingSoon
American Idol winner David Cook's debut album will hit stores in November. - Billboard
Pink Floyd keyboard player and founding member Richard Wright has died at age 65. - Reuters
Nip/Tuck's stars want to double their salaries for the show's final season. - TV Guide
Ready for a XXX sequel? Yeah, me neither, but Vin Diesel is. - Variety

Source

Interview: Diane Ruggiero on The Ex List, Superheroes, and Veronica Mars

BuzzSugar — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:30:17 -0700

I don't crouch down on the ground to interview just anyone. But when Diane Ruggiero, the executive producer of the upcoming CBS series The Ex List, asked a group of reporters if it would be all right if she sat down while we talked to her, we all sat too - even though it meant getting cozy with the cold cement floor of a Hollywood night club.

That's how much we wanted to talk to Ruggiero, who earlier in the day had completely won over the room at the TCA press tour with her rambling stories and witty retorts. The former Veronica Mars writer immediately proved her coolness by having a friend take a picture of the half-dozen of us huddled - literally - at her feet. She seemed shocked that she could attract such a crowd, but she shouldn't be; talking with her was one of the highlights of this year's TCA. She filled us in on some details of her show, which stars Elizabeth Reaser of Grey's Anatomy as a woman told by a psychic that she's supposed to marry one of her ex-boyfriends, plus talked about writing kick-ass women characters and working with Mars boss Rob Thomas. Here are some highlights:

This is not a typical CBS show. It's a very women-centric show. Why CBS? And does that worry you?
No. It's so funny, because I get [the concern]. But I know Nina [Tassler, the CBS entertainment president]. . . . If I met her outside CBS, and you said, "Would Nina like the show?" I would say, "Of course she would, it's totally her thing!" And I'm excited that they're giving it a try.

What about the viewers, though? How do you get them to tune in?
I have to go door to door and pretty much be like, "You know that show Numb3rs? Well, if you tune in a little earlier . . . " I don't know how that's going to work. I did a show, same time period, several years ago, and no one was [watching] - it was like, my mom, and a couple aunts . . . but it's a different world now, with TiVo, and I'm hoping that it will get a nice buzz, and then they'll TiVo it and that will kind of help it. I personally am home on Fridays at nine, so it's not a big deal for me. My shows that are on, if I don't get a chance to watch them [live] I still watch them - that's why God invented TiVo.

More from Ruggiero, including her superhero pilot and working on Mars, so read more.

What did you think when you first saw the Israeli original?
My pilot that I had got force majeured during the strike. And it was a superhero kind of deal, right? And so they call me and they're like, there's this show, Mythological X [the show's original title], and I'm like, "Right on, it's a superhero show!" And then they tell me what it was about, and I couldn't think of what to expect. It's awesome. It's like 11 little independent movies. They're shot really raw, and it's cool. It's shocking that that's on Israeil television. That woman has sex with, like, everybody!

How did you find Elizabeth Reaser for the lead?
Apparently, when you do these things, there's a very short list. And they give you some names where you're like, "If this person says my words, I will hang myself." And then they give you some other names, and you're like, "Really, are you serious, can that happen?" And you find out really quickly that it's just, they're dangling a carrot. But then there's this short list, this very intense short powerful list of the chosen "about-to-pop-ers," and there's like two people. And it was like Elizabeth and - it's out of my head, but she's about to pop. My little wheelhouse is so small that I was just like, can we get the chick from Battlestar?

What was the show you were working on before the strike?
It didn't have a title yet, but - I'm gonna do it still. I think I might do it as a movie. It was two neighborhood girls from Jersey who were kind of down and out, and they went to a female-empowerment seminar, like a Marianne Williamson "unleash the power of the goddess" thing, and there's an accident and they do. So like, by day, they're kind of just ambling about trying to make it happen, and by night they're superheroes. . . I had the idea because I was leaving Veronica Mars one day, and there was this guy who kicked his dog, and I started yelling at him, and all of a sudden, I see he's walking out to my car and he had a brick in his hand. I had this brief fantasy - and I had a soundtrack and everything - of me just stopping and getting out and like shutting the door and busting some move on him and kicking his ass and taking the dog. That was my big fantasy, and that's how I had this idea - wanting to see me at the moment where I'm like, "'I'm taking the dog."

Did you put any of those superhero qualities in Bella for The Ex List?
I did want her to be a girl that can hang out with guys, the whole surfing aspect of it - I wanted her to be cool and strong and tough, but I didn't put any of that [superhero stuff]. The show doesn't necessarily call for it yet. She doesn't necessarily need it now, but when she does, I'm not a shrinking violet kind of person.

You've had your own shows, and you've also worked for other people on their shows. What did you learn from that experience?
Working for Rob [Thomas, on Veronica Mars] was amazing. You serve one master - all I had to do was make Rob laugh, all I had to do was make Rob happy. Rob loved me - the second we started working together, he was like, "You're mine." He would joke, "If you listen to Veronica, who does she sound like?" Rob is so genius and smart and so great at story. That's what I aspire to. I'm still like the "I can write now, it's raining!" girl.

Photos Source and courtesy of CBS

Pilot Watch: The Ex List

BuzzSugar — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:30:36 -0700

The networks have announced their Fall schedules, but which of the series will actually be worth watching? This Summer, as the networks release their pilots, I'll be posting my first impressions. A lot can change before a show makes it to air - especially this year, when the writers' strike severely gummed up the production of pilots - so consider these just some quick thoughts on how the shows look now. Today's installment: CBS's The Ex List, which is slated to air on Friday nights.

What's it about? A 30-something woman named Bella learns from a psychic that her soulmate is one of the many men she's dated previously in her life - and if she doesn't find him and marry him within the year, she'll be single forever.

Who's in it? Elizabeth Reaser, Rachel Boston, Alexandra Breckenridge, Adam Rothenberg, Amir Talai

The good: I'm only familiar with Reaser from her role as Rebecca/Ava on Grey's Anatomy, so it's good to see that she's also an appealing lead actress (not to mention one with arms to die for - I nearly dropped to the floor for some push-ups in the middle of one of her scenes). There's a good dynamic between Bella and her roommates, whose slacker-ish delayed adulthood seems symbolized by the plastic kiddie pool they lounge in. The show's executive producer hails from Veronica Mars, and that background shows through in some of the snappy dialogue.

The bad: I'm not sure how the premise will hold up long-term. Will there be an ex of the week who's reintroduced and disposed of within a single episode (as in the pilot)? Will there be weeks with multiple guys and weeks with no guys at all? Also, something about the tone seems off for CBS - essentially, it feels more like an ABC dramedy than anything on CBS right now, and I don't see even the tamer sex jokes going over well with the Ghost Whisperer crowd. Reaser gets stuck with a couple of clunky lines ("holy hotness, Batman") and doesn't sell them particularly well.

Will I watch? Fridays are tough, and I don't know that there was enough here to hook me as a regular viewer - but if I happened to be home, I wouldn't be sorry to watch it.

To watch a preview, just read more.

The CBS Fall Schedule: My Take (Plus Video!)

BuzzSugar — Wed, 14 May 2008 16:30:06 -0700

CBS revealed its plans for Fall at the upfronts this morning, including more comedy and a few high-profile drama series. Now that I've had the chance to mull the schedule over, here are some of my thoughts:

CBS' decision to expand into a second night of comedy has to be good news for fans of traditional sitcoms, which CBS already did more of - and arguably does better - than any other network at this point. While the descriptions for Project Gary (pictured above) and Worst Week didn't wow me on paper, I'm curious to check out the full shows for myself.
I wouldn't have pegged CBS as a network for remakes of shows from other countries (that tends to be more NBC's bag), but that's what three of their new series are: The Ex List is imported from Israel, Worst Week is based on a BBC comedy, and Eleventh Hour was originally a BBC miniseries starring Patrick Stewart.
Hooray for How I Met Your Mother! Looking back at my coverage of last year's upfronts, I realized the show followed exactly the same pattern then: Things looked bleak for a while, but then the show went on a big upswing and made the schedule without trouble.
Which of the canceled series will you miss most? Cane never got a lot of buzz, Moonlight had a big fan following but not big ratings, and Shark . . . well, I'm not really sure what the issues were with Shark, to be honest.
Speaking of which, I assume the failure of Jericho to gain an audience after the peanut campaign pretty much puts the kibbosh on any chance of Moonlight returning no matter what fans use to bombard the network, right?

I've got some clips and photos from all the new CBS shows, and you can check them out if you read more.

Eleventh Hour

The Ex List

Worst Week

Project Gary

The Mentalist

Harper's Island

The CBS Fall Schedule: Five New Series, No Vampires

BuzzSugar — Wed, 14 May 2008 10:35:31 -0700

CBS took its turn at the 2008 upfronts this morning, revealing a slate that boasted five new shows - and the cancellation of a couple of fan favorites. Chief among them: Moonlight, the network's Friday night vampire drama, which in recent weeks had fans organizing a blood drive in its honor. I wonder if stakes and cloves of garlic will soon be arriving at CBS' door?

The schedule also has the network opening up a new comedy night on Wednesdays, with The New Adventures of Old Christine and a new half-hour comedy called Project Gary filling the night's first hour. How I Met Your Mother is indeed back - and keeps its 8:30 p.m. slot on Mondays. As for new shows, they include the Jerry Bruckheimer project Eleventh Hour, the buzzed about drama The Mentalist, and a dramedy called The Ex List starring Elizabeth Reaser, aka Ava/Rebecca/Jane Doe from Grey's Anatomy.

Shark, Cane, Jericho, Kid Nation, and Welcome to the Captain were other series that didn't make the cut for the new season's schedule. Here's the official CBS press release, and to check out the full schedule and descriptions of the new shows, just read more.

All caps = new show (except NCIS and CSI)
** = new time slot

MONDAY
8 p.m. The Big Bang Theory
8:30 p.m. How I Met Your Mother
9 p.m. Two and a Half Men
9:30 p.m. WORST WEEK
10 p.m. CSI: Miami

TUESDAY
8 p.m. NCIS
9 p.m. THE MENTALIST
10 p.m. Without a Trace**

WEDNESDAY
8 p.m. The New Adventures of Old Christine**
8:30 p.m. PROJECT GARY
9 p.m. Criminal Minds
10 p.m. CSI: NY

THURSDAY
8 p.m. Survivor
9 p.m. CSI
10 p.m. ELEVENTH HOUR

FRIDAY
8 p.m. Ghost Whisperer
9 p.m. THE EX LIST
10 p.m. Numb3rs

SATURDAY
8 p.m. CBS Crimetime
10 p.m. 48 Hours Mystery

SUNDAY
7 p.m. 60 Minutes
8 p.m. The Amazing Race
9 p.m. Cold Case
10 p.m. The Unit**

Midseason: HARPER'S ISLAND, Rules of Engagement

Here's how CBS describes the new shows:

Worst Week
Worst Week is a comedy about Sam Briggs, an entertainment magazine editor who will do anything to please his girlfriend's parents . . . but instead becomes a one-man wrecking crew whenever he's around them. Sam (Kyle Bornheimer, Jericho) and his girlfriend, Melanie Clayton (Erinn Hayes, Kitchen Confidential), have only one hurdle left to clear as they start their life together: breaking the news to Mel's conservative parents that they have a wedding in the works and a baby on the way. Dick (Kurtwood Smith, That '70s Show), a stern Judge, and his wife Angela (Nancy Lenehan, My Name is Earl), are protective of their daughter, and are really trying to let go of the anger they feel toward Sam ... after all, disaster follows whenever he visits their house. But despite his best efforts, every time Sam takes one positive step forward in winning over his future in-laws, he inevitably takes two crushing steps back. But with support and love from Melanie who stands up for him despite his knack for making himself look bad, Sam will hopefully charm his way into her family.

Project Gary
Project Gary stars Jay Mohr (Ghost Whisperer) and Paula Marshall (Nip/Tuck) in a comedy about Gary Barnes, a recently single painting contractor, and his controlling ex-wife, Allison, who face post-divorce mayhem after 15 years of marriage as they each embark on new relationships. He's the fun parent and she's the strict one. Together, they share custody of their two children - Louise (Laura Marano, Without a Trace), a politically correct and environmentally conscious 11-year-old, and Tom (Ryan Malgarini, How to Eat Fried Worms), their socially awkward 14-year-old son who is nervous around girls. Charming and acerbic, Gary hasn't dated since the split, but finally connects with Vanessa (Jaime King, The Class), a single mother whose condo he was hired to paint. He dreads telling Allison about Vanessa because it doesn't adhere to her belief in their marriage counselor's book, Rules for the Perfect Divorce. However, when Allison tells him that she's engaged to their shrink, all bets are off and Gary decides it's time to move forward. Now, in pursuit of post-marriage happiness, Gary must juggle his eclectic world of an ex-wife, their two kids, their shrink and his gorgeous new girlfriend.

The Mentalist
The Mentalist stars Golden Globe Award nominee Simon Baker (The Devil Wears Prada) as Patrick Jane, a detective and independent consultant with the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI), who has a remarkable track record for solving serious crimes by using his razor sharp skills of observation. Within the Bureau, Jane is notorious for his blatant lack of protocol and his semi-celebrity past as a psychic medium, whose paranormal abilities he now admits he feigned. Jane's role in cracking a series of tough high-profile cases is greatly valued by his fellow agents. However, no-nonsense Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney, Prison Break) openly resists having Jane in her unit and alternates between reluctantly acknowledging Jane's usefulness and blasting him for his theatrics, narcissism and dangerous lack of boundaries. Lisbon's team includes agents Kimball Cho (Tim Kang, Rambo), Wayne Rigsby (Owain Yeoman, The Nine), and rookie member Grace Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti, The O.C.), who all think Jane's a loose cannon but admire his charm and knack for clearing cases.

Eleventh Hour
Eleventh Hour from acclaimed producer Jerry Bruckheimer follows Dr. Jacob Hood (Rufus Sewell, The Illusionist), a brilliant biophysicist and special science advisor to the government, as he investigates scientific crises and oddities. His jurisdiction is absolute and Hood is dogged in his pursuit of those who would abuse and misuse scientific discoveries and breakthroughs for their own gain. His passion and crusade is to protect the substance of science from those with nefarious motives. He is called in at the eleventh hour and he represents the last line of defense.

The Ex List
The Ex List is a comedic drama about Bella Bloom (Elizabeth Reaser, Grey's Anatomy) - a single, 30-something, successful business owner who is surprised to learn from a psychic that she's already dated her future husband AND there's a catch: if she doesn't find him in the next year, she'll remain alone forever. During a bachelorette party for her sister, Daphne (Rachel Boston, American Dreams), Bella learns from the psychic she must revisit her past relationships and sort through the mistakes to find her soul mate. Skeptical, Bella begins to analyze every past liaison and failed romance with her close circle of friends, Augie (Adam Rothenberg, Mad Money), an endearing guy who has listened to Bella's love woes since college, Vivian (Alex Breckenridge, Dirt), Augie's long-term girlfriend, and Cyrus (Amir Talai, Campus Ladies), who's chronically unemployed and full of wry observations. Once Bella witnesses proof of the psychic's other predictions, her cynicism disappears and she begins her search. Along her trip down break-up lane, Bella is determined to remain optimistic and receptive, believing that when destiny reopens doors to the past, every relationship can matter in the future.

Photos courtesy of CBS

FlashForward Breakdown, "137 Sekunden"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:00:46 -0700

This week's episode of FlashForward isn't exactly action-packed, but we do finally meet a few significant others - including Demetri's fiancee, Zoe - and get a bit more character insight and some clues about the blackout. Not to mention the introduction of one creepy former Nazi.

It wasn't my favorite of the first three episodes, but this show is still keeping me on the edge of my seat. Would ABC just pick up the full season already? To break it all down, just read more.

Did Mark and Janis get played?
The focal point of this week's episode is wrapped up in Guyer, a former Nazi who's imprisoned in Germany but sees his flashforward as a bargaining chip for freedom. When Mark hears that he makes an appearance in Guyer's vision, he and Janis soon square off about whether or not his "information" is worth setting a Nazi free. In the end, Guyer's biggest revelation is that the crows seem to have blacked out and died at the same time as the human race did. Janis and Mark are disappointed at first, until Mark realizes that this isn't the first time crows have "blacked out." Last week there was talk of pigeons, now crows. Could the mysterious blackouts be all wrapped up in birds?
Did Zoe really see Demetri in her flashforward?
Yay! This week we finally get to meet Demetri's fiancee, Zoe (Gabrielle Union). Am I the only one who is loving the couples on this show? Mark and Olivia are often very sweet together, but I'm also digging Demetri and Zoe's younger love. When Zoe describes her wedding day flashforward to Demetri, she seems totally confident that he is there - but does she actually see him, or just assume as much? While some of the other visions seem hard to believe given the six-month interim period (Olivia sleeps with a new man, boyfriend-less Janis is already pregnant) - this one takes the cake for me. If Demetri is really murdered, could his fiancee recover and find a new man to wed that quickly? I'm banking on the glimmer of hope that this means Demetri can overturn his fate.
Is Tracy alive or not?
Determined to get to the bottom of the veracity of his flashforward, Aaron pays a visit to his ex-wife, hoping to get her permission to exhume their daughter's body for DNA. We see that Aaron's not the only one who's been deeply impacted by his daughter's death, though Katie still refuses to sign the affidavit. Eventually, Aaron gets around it and has Demetri dig up the body - though the DNA is a match, meaning that Tracy really is dead. So, is Aaron lying or is it possible that his vision may not come true after all? I'm wondering if this could be a sign that some of the flashforwards come true and others don't? Though, I have a feeling that we'll still see Aaron heading to Afghanistan sometime soon.

Other points:

Nicole the babysitter is still MIA (perhaps spending some time in that other life of hers). I'm dying to know what she saw, so hopefully she comes back soon.

Um, isn't Dominic Monaghan supposed to be on the show? Let's add him to the list of people we want to see next week.

If all the crows die in the flashforward, what about the other animals? Is there going to be a tie-in to that kangaroo we saw hopping around?

Is Demetri going to report Jerome Murphy and his bong-hitting ways? I totally would!

So are you still lovin' FlashForward, or are you losing interest? Which of the visions are you most curious about?