Free Republic

During Fox’s upfront press call in May, Fox TV Group chairman and CEO Dana Walden revealed that former 24 executive showrunner Howard Gordon is working with 24 co-creators Joel Surnow and Bob Cochran on a possible new incarnation of the real-time drama. Walden would not elaborate on what the new premise is, but noted that “we are very excited about where the show would go.” I have learned that where the potential new installment would go is the past. I hear the new 24 series, now in active development at 20th TV and Imagine TV, will serve as a prequel...

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Hollywood producer Joel Surnow dismissed as “nuts” the notion that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton can be elected president and said he and other conservatives in the entertainment industry are leaning toward supporting Republican Rudolph W. Giuliani’s presidential campaign. The executive producer of Fox’s Emmy-winning counter-terrorism thriller “24,” interviewed following a Saturday speech to a conservative student group, also predicted that the current strike by screenwriters would be “hugely long” and settled to the disadvantage of the writers’ union. “I’m not even sure that Hillary is a fait accompli [to win the Democratic Party nomination] as this...

Howard Gordon, executive producer of FOX's thriller "24," says actor Carlos Bernard acted "very cool about it" when Gordon called him in his car to tell him that his character, Counter Terrorist Unit operative Tony Almeida, was not dead after all and would be returning for the show's 7th season on Sunday, Jan. 13. "But I know," Gordon says, "when I hung up the phone, I'm sure he did one of those 'Jerry Maguire' screams in the car." The most frequently seen character in "24" aside from its hero, CTU super-agent Jack Bauer (Keifer Sutherland), Tony was introduced in season...

...For most people, the big question is whether The 1/2 Hour Comedy Hour, which debuts this Sunday night, February 18, is worth thirty minutes of your time? After watching the first two episodes of the show, my answer is an unequivocal "Yes" -- it's worth watching, worth supporting, even if the project is very much a work in progress which, along with a few laughs, delivers a few moments of embarrassing, unfunny, ineptitude...

Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter play President and Vice President on Fox News’ new satirical television show premiering Sunday Night at 10pm Eastern...

This marks a DUmmie FUnnies first. I am actually agreeing with the basic premise of a leftwing loon. And make no mistake about it, Bob Cesca of the HUffington Post is a flatout loon. He was even mentioned in the DUmmie FUnnies a few months ago over his wacky conspiratorial theories about how the Republicans were going trying to steal the elections. Well, Bob, if the Republicans were going to steal the elections, they sure did a miserable job of it. However, I now have to agree with the loony Cesca in his assessment of the new Fox News...

It's a 30-minute show, and the Fox News Channel has bought two of them, and essentially these are pilots. These are programs designed to see if they work, after which if they do then the big-time budget flows and these shows get produced for real. So they've got two test runs coming up. The first one is Sunday night at ten o'clock after Sean Hannity's new one-hour show, and in these episodes, I open each show in a skit as the president of the United States, and Ann Coulter is the vice president of the United States, in each of...

Sounds like that clip I posted yesterday was some of the stronger material, god help us: This show was meant to be a conservative version of “The Daily Show.” It is a botch.“The 1/2 Hour News Hour” does not comment on what is happening; it simply takes swipes at people. These people include Howard Dean, Hillary Clinton, Dennis Kucinich, Barack Obama and Ed Begley Jr. Other joke topics are the ACLU, Time magazine, children’s books and global warming.Laughter, of an awfully canned variety, greets all the gags. Nothing happening on screen justifies these outbursts.Hey, I’m all for a good dig...

Fox News Channel is airing two pilots of Joel Surnow's "The ½ Hour News Hour" to test the market for a right-leaning satire show. FNC is testing the concept on Sunday nights. The first episode will air at 10 p.m. Sunday and repeat the following Sunday. The second episode will air at the same time March 4. The show, which stars comedians Kurt Long and Jenn Robertson, owes quite a bit to "Saturday Night Live" segment "Weekend Update" in both format and spirit. The "newscasters" will take a story of the day and then spin it to a comedic extreme....

This is the other “info-tainment” show Fox is developing, “Red Eye” being the first. It’s supposed to be a right-wing alternative to the Daily Show, although I don’t recall the last time Jon Stewart did two and a half minutes of Marion Barry jokes and body odor puns.Maybe the producers leaked this to lower expectations, thereby ensuring our surprise at the quality of the pilot will be that much more pleasant. Maybe?Bring in Gutfeld’s mom to anchor, boys. It’s your best chance. VIDEO.

FNC "will present the first of two episodes of The 1/2 Hour News Hour on Sunday, February 18th from 10-10:30PM/ET with an encore presentation on Sunday, February 25th from 10-10:30PM/ET." More: "Developed by 24 Executive Producer Joel Surnow, the 30-minute show is a satirical reflection of news issues and current events. The scripted episodes feature segments with comedians Kurt Long and Jenn Robertson. FNC ordered two episodes of the show in late 2006. The second episode will be presented on Sunday, March 4th from 10-10:30PM/ET."

24 creator, Joel Surnow, is producing what he calls "A Daily Show for conservatives.“ Naturally liberals won’t admit The Daily Show is Left-leaning, but they don’t admit anything’s Left-leaning. These are the same people who think CNN’s too pro-American. Anyway, The Hot Little Number I Call Mrs. Harry and I were lucky enough to score some seats to watch the taping and had a terrific time. It was our first ever look at the live taping of a TV show and we found it to be a fascinating experience. The Half Hour News Hour is actually nothing like The Daily...

RUSH: I'm just so happy to have these two guys in the studio with us today: Joel Surnow, the creator and executive producer of "24", and Howard Gordon, the executive producer and the head write for the series this year. The series is -- you've finished writing it. It's in the can. How much is left to shoot? SURNOW: We have another month to shoot. We're shooting episodes 23 and 24 starting next week, so the big finale is next week. RUSH: It's fascinating. I got to go out and visit your set last year, and I watched. In fact...

--When Medved asked Joel if his political conservatism had any effect on his relationship to others in the business, Joel gave what he referred to as a "classic (but extreme) example" of such a situation. While at England's Shepperton Studios in 1992, Joel ran into a fellow friend and writer whom he had worked with on a project a number of years prior. This was during the run-up to the 1992 US election, and Joel casually mentioned that he was voting for George Bush, not Bill Clinton. His friend laughed, thinking Joel was making a joke, but when he realized...