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"Just Shoot Me!" (1997)

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Locklear and Spade Split
7 September 2006 (WENN)
Heather Locklear and David Spade are taking a break from their six-month relationship, according to media reports in the US. The couple were first spotted kissing at an afterparty for Spade's series Showbiz Show in March - one month after Locklear filed for divorce from Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora. A source tells American publication People, "Heather is still going through a lot with Denise Richards and Richie. It's just too soon for her to get serious. They are still friends. It's not ugly." Another source close to Spade says that the break "was a mutual decision." The couple has been seen regularly cuddling, holding hands and kissing over the last several months, but have never publicly spoken about their relationship. Locklear was even seen with a new tattoo on her ankle with the words "Finch" - the character Spade played on the TV show Just Shoot Me. A source close to Locklear adds, "They are friends. They've always been friends. And they continue to be friends. There's nothing more than that."

Grey Cuts Ties With His Former Company
4 August 2005 (StudioBriefing)
Paramount chief Brad Grey has cut most of his ties with his former company, Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, the Los Angeles Times reported today (Thursday). Grey, however, will retain "a significant ownership" in The Sopranos and a "passive financial interest" in other Brillstein-Grey shows including According to Jim, Jake in Progress, and Real Time With Bill Maher and will continue to receive syndication fees for Just Shoot Me and NewsRadio. Grey became sole owner of the company in 1996 when he bought out partner Bernie Brillstein. He has now sold the company to Cynthia Pett-Dane and Jon Liebman, longtime Brillstein-Grey execs.

Will Sitcom Feature "Family" of Guest Stars?
20 November 2003 (StudioBriefing)
It appeared Wednesday that the producers of ABC's 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter may be planning to introduce numerous well-known performers in the cast on an irregular basis to help attract viewers in the wake of the death of star John Ritter. Touchstone TV, which produces the series, said that it had signed David Spade for "multiple episode" guest appearances. Spade, a regular on Saturday Night Live in the early '90s and the star of the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me from 1997 until last year, will presumably make his appearance on Rules following the departure of James Garner, who was the first name star to be brought aboard for a multi-episode arc following Ritter's death. Like Garner, who has been playing the father of the Ritter character's widow, Spade is also expected to play a family relative.

Spade Buried
11 September 2003 (StudioBriefing)
David Spade received a double dose of bad news on Wednesday -- first with word that his new movie was sinking fast at the box office (see separate item), and second, with news that the debut of Whoopi pulled in more than twice the audience that watched his now defunct Just Shoot Me in the same time period last season. Shortly after the ratings figures were announced, NBC said that it would repeat Whoopi tonight (Thursday) at 9:30 p.m. "This additional broadcast just two days later will give our 'Must See TV' Thursday-night audience a chance to see what all the shouting is about," NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker said in a statement. The new John Larroquette sitcom Happy Family also performed well in the half-hour period following Whoopi, retaining virtually all of her audience.

Three-Way Romance To Be Featured in 'Frasier' Finale
5 September 2003 (StudioBriefing)
Apparently hoping to reignite dwindling audience interest in Frasier in its final season, the producers have cast Wendie Malick, who played the beauty and fashion editor Nina Van Horn on Just Shoot Me, in the role of a woman who becomes the love interest of both Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and his father (John Mahoney). According to next week's issue of TV Guide, Malick's character had once been Frasier and Niles's childhood baby-sitter. "It ultimately becomes a competition between [father and son]," exec producer Joe Keenan told the magazine. "It's classic Frasier."

"Just Shoot Me" -- And They Did
14 August 2003 (StudioBriefing)
Just Shoot Me, which debuted in 1997 and was once one of NBC's highest-rated sitcoms, is being finished off on Saturday night with two all-new episodes including the series finale that will likely draw a tiny audience. "If NBC had set out to kill Just Shoot Me, which I'm sure they didn't, they couldn't have done a better job," producer-writer Steven Levitan told USA Today. "I don't think we ever had a fighting chance this year." Levitan was particularly upset that NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker had decided to air a new episode, followed by the finale of the long-running sitcom, on a Saturday night in summer, when relatively few people watch TV. "Jeff had his shows that he wanted to push, and we weren't one of them," Levitan told the newspaper.

Comedian Buddy Hackett Dies at 78
1 July 2003 (WENN)
Comedian and actor Buddy Hackett, who charmed audiences in the early days of television as well as with roles in such Disney features as The Love Bug and The Little Mermaid, was found dead at his Malibu beach home on Monday; he was 78. A stand-up comic who got his start playing the Catskills resorts of upstate New York, often poking fun at his own rotund figure, Hackett was a fixture in both television and film, as well as on Broadway and in nightclubs, where his sometimes raunchy humor perpetually had audiences rolling in the aisles. Stints on early television sitcoms and talk shows gave way to Broadway roles, which in turn him to screen fame in the early `60s. He was most well-known for his scene-stealing turn in 1962's The Music Man (where he performed the song "Shipoopi") as well as for his roles in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and The Love Bug. He found a new (and younger) audience in with his voice performance as Scuttle in Disney's animated feature The Little Mermaid, and did numerous guest spots on TV shows such as Sabrina, The Teenage Witch and Just Shoot Me; he also had a supporting role in the highly acclaimed but little-seen 1999 sitcom Action. While the cause of death was not immediately announced, it was known that Hackett suffered from diabetes. He is survived by his wife, Sherry Cohen, son Sandy Hackett, and two daughters. --Prepared by IMDb staff

"Just Shoot Me" -- And They Did
24 April 2003 (StudioBriefing)
NBC has shot down the return of its long-running sitcom Just Shoot Me after just one episode, following disastrous ratings on Tuesday night. Pitted against Fox's hit American Idol, the show averaged a 1.8 rating and a 5 share. The decision brought an angry response from series creator Steve Levitan, who charged that NBC had given the show's return little promotion. "Nobody even knew the show was back on," Levitan told the Los Angeles Times.He further claimed that the network had assured him that it would run the show without interruption through a series finale in May. Today's (Thursday) Hollywood Reporter quoted Levitan as saying that after he had expressed his anger over the show's cancellation NBC entertainment president Jeff Zucker told Levitan's agent that his client would never work for NBC again.

ABC Grabs Tuesday Night
15 January 2003 (StudioBriefing)
With CBS, the usual Tuesday winner, airing mostly reruns, ABC squeezed into the top position in the ratings Tuesday night, thanks to NYPD Blue, which was the top-rated show of the night with a 9.3 rating and a 14 share. 8 Simple rules also performed strongly with an 8.6/13. The network averaged a 7.6/11 for the night, followed by CBS, with a 7.2/11. Fox took third place, thanks to a strong 7.5/11 for 24. NBC, floundering with Just Shoot Me (5.0/8) and The Inlaws (5.0/7), and experience continued erosion for its flagship Tuesday sitcom Frasier, sank to fourth place with a 6.7/10.

CBS Wins Week #3
16 October 2002 (StudioBriefing)
Despite stronger-than-expected challenges from ABC and The WB and disappointing ratings for its highly promoted Sunday movie Gleason (which had to do battle against HBO's The Sopranos, ABC's The Practice, and NBC's Boomtown) CBS edged out NBC to remain the top-rated network for the third straight week of the three-week-old season. It was helped by CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which set a ratings high, and the new Friday-night drama Hack. NBC, which continued to attract the largest number of viewers among the advertiser-prized 18-49-year-old demo, was stung by dramatically lower ratings for the Wednesday drama The West Wing and the Tuesday comedy Just Shoot Me. CBS averaged an 8.9 rating and a 15 share for the week. NBC was close behind with a 8.3/14. Fox (airing baseball playoffs) was third with a 6.7/11. ABC followed with a 6.4/10.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research: 1. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 19.4/29; 2. Friends, NBC, 16.6/26; 3. E.R., NBC, 16.1/26; 4. Law & Order, NBC, 13.8/23; 5. Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS, 13.3/19; 5. Will & Grace, NBC, 13.3/20; 7. Survivor: Thailand, CBS, 12.3/19; 8. CSI: Miami, CBS, 12.1/19; 9. Scrubs, NBC, 11.6/18; 10. The West Wing, NBC, 10.9/17.

CSI Rerun Leads Again
26 June 2002 (StudioBriefing)
TV analysts were scratching their heads Tuesday over why a rerun of CBS's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation wound up at the top of the weekly Nielsen ratings with 15.1 million viewers while a rerun of E.R.came in at No. 23 with 8.2 million. Conventional wisdom in the industry holds that dramas perform poorly in reruns (and, as a result, command lower rates in syndication). However, CSI has continued to defy that perception -- even opposite two Must-See-TV comedies on NBC, Will & Grace and Just Shoot Me (as well as the moribund Who Wants to Be a Millionaire on ABC). The biggest surprise for the week may have been the strong performance of the new Fox talent-hunt series American Idol, which ranked No. 1 and 2 in the 18-49-year-old demo. (The show was also the top-rated show Tuesday night, scoring a 7.4/12 in the 9:00 p.m. hour.) The overall network audience continued to dwindle last week, primarily because of the huge exodus of viewers from ABC, whose ratings are averaging 30 percent below last year's. CBS won the week with an average 6.0 rating and an 11 share as it placed seven shows in the top 10. NBC finished second with a 5.1/10. Fox ranked third with a 3.8/7, while ABC came in last with a 3.6/7.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research: 1. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 9.8/18; 2. Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS, 8.9/15; 3. 48 Hours (Monday), CBS, 8.8/15; 4. Becker, CBS, 8.0/13; 5. Law and Order, NBC, 7.7/13; 6. 60 Minutes, CBS, 7.5/16; 7. Law and Order: SVU, NBC, 7.1/13; 8. Dateline NBC (Tuesday), NBC, 6.9/12; 8. The Price Is Right: U.S. Marines, CBS, 6.9/14; 10. King of Queens, CBS, 6.8/13.

Must-See-TV Night Is CBS's
24 May 2002 (StudioBriefing)
The summer season of reruns began in earnest Thursday as back-to-back repeats of CBS's hot drama, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation helped CBS win the night that for years NBC had dominated. The 8:00 p.m. episode of CSI scored a 9.6 rating and a 16 share, beating out the NBC half-hour comedies Friends (8.8/15) and Frasier (8.0/13). The 9:00 episode of CSI pulled a 12.0/19, well ahead of NBC's Will & Grace (8.0/12) and Just Shoot Me (7.0/11). The only all-new show airing during Thursday's primetime lineup, ABC's Primetime Live, won the 10:00 hour with a 7.5/12, coming in ahead of a repeat of NBC's E.R.(7.0/11) and CBS's The Agency (6.7/11).

The Bachelor Takes A Bride -- And ABC Cheers
26 April 2002 (StudioBriefing)
ABC's season finale of The Bachelor, in which the country's most famous single man, Alex Michel, chose Amanda Marsh as his bride-to-be, produced the best ratings the troubled network has received all season for a non-sports series, a 13.2 rating and an 18 share. Nevertheless, it was not enough to bounce CBS's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, with a 15.5/22, out of the lead in the 9:00 p.m. hour. The NBC Must-See sitcoms, Will & Grace (10.3/17) and Just Shoot Me (9.3/13) fell to third place for the first time in recent memory.

CBS Becomes Thursday's Must-See
19 April 2002 (StudioBriefing)
CBS clobbered rerun Must-See TV opposition on NBC Thursday night as it scored a 12.1 rating and a 19 share during the 8:00 hour with Survivor: Marquesas while NBC managed only an 11.1/18 with two episodes of Friends. At 9:00, CBS held a commanding lead (14.6/22) over Will & Grace (12.0/8) and Just Shoot Me (8.6/12). At 10:00, CBS again crumbled with The Agency, scoring only a 7.6/12, for third place, behind NBC's ER (10.1/16) and ABC's Primetime Thursday, featuring a return visit by Rosie O'Donnell (9.8/15). CBS averaged an 11.4/18 for the night, substantially ahead of NBC's 10.6/16. ABC was third with a 6.5/10, while Fox trailed with a 4.6/7.

CBS Wins 2/3 Of "Must See" Night
12 April 2002 (StudioBriefing)
Once again, CBS came within inches of toppling NBC from its Thursday-night perch atop the Nielsen ratings list. In fact, for the first two hours of primetime, CBS handily beat the Must-See TV competition. At 8:00 p.m. its Survivor: Marquesas averaged a 12.4 rating and a 19 share versus two repeats of NBC's Friends, which scored a 12.2/19 and a 12.2/18. At 9:00 p.m., a repeat of CBS's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation scored a strong 14.8/22, 36 percent higher than NBC's Will & Grace (12.0/17) in the first half hour and Just Shoot Me (9.8/14) in the second half hour. At 10:00, however, NBC came roaring back with a repeat of ER that won the time period with an 11.1/17. CBS, with a repeat of The Agency, managed only a 6.2/10, falling to third place behind ABC's Primetime Thursday, which drew a 9.3/14.

CBS Cuts Deeper Into NBC's Thursday Dominance
5 April 2002 (StudioBriefing)
CBS gave NBC's Must-See-TV lineup one of its strongest challenges yet Thursday night as the second half-hour of its Survivor: Marquesas, with a 13.7 rating and a 20 share beat NBC's Leap of Faith with an 11.1/16. At 9:00 p.m. CBS's ratings soared to a 17.7/26 with CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which clobbered NBC's Will & Grace (11.6/17) and Just Shoot Me (9.9/14). Top ratings of the night, however, went to NBC's ER at 10:00 p.m., which pulled a 20.5/31, overwhelming CBS's The Agency, which managed only a 7.2/11. Thanks primarily to ER, NBC won the night with a 14.9/22. CBS was second with a 12.6/19. Fox was a distant third with a 5.5/8, followed closely by ABC with a 5.4/8.

Supersize Show? How Do You Set The VCR?
6 February 2002 (StudioBriefing)
In a move that Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder said today (Wednesday) should take "a gold medal for chutzpah," NBC plans to lengthen Thursday night's Will & Grace by about two to four minutes, then follow it by regular-length episodes of Just Shoot Me & E.R. The "super size" strategy, according to Feder, is intended to discourage viewers from switching to a different channel for news at 11:00 p.m. (10:00 Central Time), since they will already have missed the first minutes of their rivals' newscasts.

NBC Triumphs On Thursday Again
18 January 2002 (StudioBriefing)
With CBS's Survivor trying merely to hang on with a "Back from Africa," wrap-up episde, NBC's Must See TV easily took top ratings honors Thursday night, averaging a crushing 15.7 rating and a 23 share. CBS was well behind in second place with a 9.9/15, while ABC drew a 5.8/9 and Fox, a 3.6/5. The top-rated show of the night was Friends, which pulled a 19.6/29. E.R. was only a tad behind with an 18.8/28. Still, CBS produced solid ratings in the 9:00 hour with CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which delivered a 14.6/21 rating versus a 12.4/18 for Will and Grace in the first half-hour and a 10.5/15 for Just Shoot Me in the second half-hour.

Survivor Finale On Top -- Sort Of
11 January 2002 (StudioBriefing)
The two-hour finale of CBS's Survivor: Africa scored big ratings (an average 13.7 rating and 18 share) Thursday night, but not big enough to outdo NBC's Friends (16.0/24) in the first half hour. However, the next 90 minutes of the reality show, in which Ethan Zahn, a professional soccer player, was revealed to be the winner of the top $1-million prize, drew well ahead of the competition. A rerun of Will & Grace on NBC at 8:30 scored only a 12.0/18 and a new episode at the top of the 9:00 hour, an 11.9/17. Just Shoot Me was shot down with a 10.8/16. By contrast, Survivor: Africa pulled a 14.8/22 average during the 9:00 hour, peaking at 9:30 with a 16.5/24. At 10:00, NBC dominated the field again with a 16.3/26 for E.R., while Survivor: Africa Reunion fell to a 10.6/17.

Christmas Gives CBS A Present
19 December 2001 (StudioBriefing)
Boosted by surprisingly strong ratings for its Sunday-night movie, A Town without Christmas, CBS increased its lead over its rivals for the season, averaging an 8.4 rating and a 14 share. NBC continued to dominate the top ten, taking six of the top-ten positions, including the top spot with E.R. (featuring Eriq La Salle's swan song). But CBS's overall lineup proved to be more potent. While the network was able to claim its sixth consecutive win in overall households, NBC was able to boast that it won the key 18-49-year-old demo -- by a large margin. In overall households, it scored a 7.9/13. ABC finished third with a 6.4/11, followed by Fox with a 3.7/10.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research: 1. E.R. NBC, 18.2/29; 2. Friends, NBC, 14.9/25; 3. Law and Order, NBC, 13.3/22; 4. Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS, 12.7/19; 5. Will & Grace (8:00 p.m.), NBC, 12.5/19; 6. The West Wing, NBC, 12.2/19; 7. CBS Sunday Movie: A Town without Christmas, CBS, 11.8/19; 8. Will & Grace (8:30 p.m.), NBC, 11.6/18; 9. Just Shoot Me, NBC, 11.4/17; 10. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 11.2/18.

Viewers Complain About Victoria's Secret Special
19 November 2001 (StudioBriefing)
The Walt Disney Co. and its ABC television network were hit with complaints from viewers over the weekend that Thursday night's Victoria's Secret special was indecent. Many of the complaints -- some 200, according to the Wall Street Journal -- were addressed to FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, who has frequently accused the television networks of flouting government regulations on indecency. (No formal complaint was filed.) Bloomberg News on Friday quoted Copps as saying, "We need to be rigorous -- more rigorous than we have been in our enforcement proceedings." ABC issued a statement saying, "This special was approved by our broadcast standards and practices department, and aired with a 'TV-14 D, S, L' parental guidance label. ... As with any other program, viewers have a choice to tune in or not." The special, which aired opposite CBS's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, NBC's Will & Grace and Just Shoot Me, and Fox's Temptation Island, came in third (ahead of Island) with an 8.3 rating and a 12 share -- significantly higher than the numbers that Who Wants to Be a Millionaire had racked up in the same period during recent months.

Survivor Barely Surviving
26 October 2001 (StudioBriefing)
Ratings for CBS's Survivor: Africa continued to fall Thursday night, as the show averaged a comparatively weak 10.7 rating and a 17 share, losing out this time not only to NBC's Friends, which drew a 16.0/25 in the first half hour at 8:00 p.m. but also to the troubled NBC sitcom Inside Schwartz, which managed 10.8/16 at 8:30 p.m.. CBS improved its fortunes at 9:00, however, with CSI: Crime Scene Investigation drawing a 15.7/23 and beating NBC's Will & Grace (10.8/16) and Just Shoot Me (9.3/14). NBC regained the upper hand at 10:00, however, as E.R. pulled the best numbers for the night (and probably for the week), a 16.8/27.

Caprice Steps Out With Tiny Comedian
26 October 2001 (WENN)
Statuesque supermodel Caprice has found an unusual new lover - tiny actor David Spade. The odd couple were first seen together at Paul McCartney's Concert For New York last weekend at Madison Square Garden. And they may not always see eye to eye - Caprice, 29, is 5ft 10in - while TV star Spade stands at a more modest 5ft 4in. But Caprice - who dated rocker Rod Stewart - has picked a boyfriend who can certainly keep up with her extravagant lifestyle. Spade, 37, is a hot property via his role on one of NBC's biggest sitcoms Just Shoot Me and commands $5.2 million a movie.

Survivor Loses To Friends; Clobbers Schwartz
19 October 2001 (StudioBriefing)
CBS's Survivor: Africa, which scored strongly in its season debut a week ago but didn't quite overtake NBC's Friends, dropped significantly in its second week, averaging an 11.2 rating and a 17 share for the hour versus a 13.2/19 last week. Friends scored a 15.9/25 during the first half hour, but NBC's new sitcom Inside Schwartz, which followed, lost nearly a quarter of those viewers in the second half-hour, ending up with a 9.9/15. (Survivor pulled in many of them, apparently, as its numbers jumped from a 10.3/16 in the first half hour to a 12.1/18 in the second.) CBS scored its best numbers for the night in the 9:00 hour with its drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which scored a 139/21. By contrast, the NBC sitcoms Will & Grace and Just Shoot Me pulled a 10.5/16 and a 9.2/14 respectively.

Out With The Old...
3 October 2001 (StudioBriefing)
The new television season got underway last week with audiences welcoming back old favorites and deserting the reality series, game shows and magazines that they had flocked to during the summer. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire not only failed to make the top ten; it failed even to make the top 40 (the Thursday-night episode coming in at No. 41 and Sunday's at No. 52). All of the new reality series, Who Wants to Be a Princess?, Love Cruise, Amazing Race, Lost and The Mole II, finished out of the top fifty, with most of them in the bottom 25 (out of 101 primetime shows). Indicating that viewers have become numbed by the rehashing of Sept. 11 survivor tales and confused about the political response to the attacks, ratings for magazine shows also plummeted. Barbara Walters' 20/20 on ABC dropped to No. 40; Sunday's Dateline NBC fell to No. 52, and CBS's 48 Hours dived to No. 56. NBC won the week with an average 9.1 rating and a 15 share. CBS placed second with an 8.5/14; ABC took the third spot with a 7.7/13, followed by Fox with a 4.6/7.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research: 1. Friends, NBC, 19.5/31; 2. E.R. NBC, 18.3/29; 3. Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS, 14.4/20; 4. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 14.2/21; 5. Inside Schwartz, NBC, 14.1/22; 6. Law and Order, NBC, 13.9/22; 7. Will & Grace, NBC, 13.1/20; 8. Frasier, NBC, 13.0/19; 9. JAG, CBS, 12.0/19; 9. Just Shoot Me, NBC, 12.0/18.

All Over Except The Counting
14 May 2001 (StudioBriefing)
A post-season "Where are they now?" episode of Survivor, called Back from the Outback, performed decently for CBS Thursday night as it averaged a 10.7 rating and an 18 share in the 8:00 p.m. hour, behind the 13.4/22 for NBC's Friends at 8:00 p.m., but peaking with a 12.2/18 in the 8:30 p.m. slot, putting it ahead of NBC's The Weakest Link (featuring former Survivor contestants), which scored an 11.3/18. CBS also beat the onetime unbeatable Thursday-night network champ when CSI edged out NBC's Will & Grace and Just Shoot Me. At 10:00 p.m., however, NBC returned to the lead with a huge 18.3/28 for E.R.

'Coke Made Me Do It': Spade Stun Gunner
23 April 2001 (WENN)
The personal assistant who shot actor David Spade with a stun gun pleaded guilty to his actions -- claiming he was crazed by cocaine at the time. A Los Angeles County judge sentenced David Warren "Skippy" Malloy to five years probation, ordered him to stay away from Spade and perform 480 hours of community service. The stun-gun charge could have brought up to three years in prison for Malloy. In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors dropped a burglary charge against him. Malloy let himself into the Just Shoot Me star's Beverly Hills home early on the morning of 29 November and punched the comedian, then popped him with the illegal stun gun. A terrified and confused Spade fled the house but couldn't get past his own security gates. The actor said he then ran back inside his home and managed to lock out the chasing Malloy. Cops and prosecutors allowed Malloy to write a letter of apology to his former boss. "I don't think there was any motive, " L.A. Deputy District Attorney Wendy Segall said, blaming the attack on Malloy's cocaine high. "It was really out of character, according to all the people who knew him."

Pammy Pigs Out
26 March 2001 (WENN)
Pamela Anderson was given the wrong cake at a party organised for her boyfriend - but ate it anyway. The former Baywatch babe hosted celebrations for video producer Steven Merjos and ordered a confection for her new love. But the caterers were also baking a gateau for the 100th episode of TV sitcom Just Shoot Me and mistakenly sent it to Pam actress. When the gooey treat arrived, the Pam and her guests ate it quickly - leaving the sitcom cast with the modest one Pam had ordered.

Viewers To Write Finale For Just Shoot Me
20 March 2001 (StudioBriefing)
In the latest TV-Internet contrivance, NBC is planning to air a two-part storyline of Just Shoot Me next week in which viewers, after watching Pt. 1, will be able to vote on how the story should turn out in Pt. 2, according to Broadcasting and Cable.The trade publication said on its Web site that Schlotzky's Deli is sponsoring the Just Click Me promotion on the NBCi Web site. It also noted that NBC expects 10 million people to participate in the voting.

Survivor Remains Strong
9 March 2001 (StudioBriefing)
There was nothing approaching the drama of seeing a contestant being burned and then evacuated off the location, but Thursday night's episode of CBS' Survivor pulled almost identical ratings to last week's, winning its time slot with an 18.3 rating and a 27 share (peaking in the second half hour with a 19.2/28). By contrast, a repeat of Friends and Just Shoot Me on NBC drew only a 10.8/16 and 9.0/13 respectively. With only Must-See-TV reruns to challenge it during the rest of the night, CBS easily captured the night with an average 13.7 rating and a 21 share. NBC, the usual Thursday-night champ, was well behind with a 10.6/16.

NBC Unveils "Super Size" Strategy
24 January 2001 (StudioBriefing)
NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker has laid out the rest of his strategy for countering CBS's Survivor II rollout in February, including a "Super Size Thursday" in which Friends, Will and Grace and Just Shoot Me will air as 40-minute episodes instead of 30-. A 40-minute version of Friends, in fact, will air throughout the month. As previously announced, it will be followed during the first two weeks with a 20-minute edition of Saturday Night Live. Zucker said that on the third week it will be followed by a collection of Friends outtakes hosted by Conan O'Brien. Today's (Wednesday) New York Times, family newspaper that it is, described the fourth week, featuring the expanded versions of its Must-See TV sitcoms, this way: "NBC is promoting the stunt as 'Super Size Thursday' -- not as 'Cover Your Flank Thursday.'" The newspaper pointed out that the shows will not tape new scenes but will simply not edit so tightly.

ABC Bowls 'em Over
10 January 2001 (StudioBriefing)
Last week's college bowl championship football games scored strong ratings for ABC and together with two top-ten wins for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire gave the network an easy win over its rivals during the first week of the new year. ABC averaged a 10.7/17. NBC, whose E.R. retained first place with its second-highest numbers of the season (one of the lead characters developed complications after being operated on for a brain tumor), was in second place with an 8.1/13. CBS, which again failed to place a single show in the top ten, sank to third with a 7.9/12. Fox remained in last place with a 6.2/10.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research: 1. E.R., NBC, 19.7/32; 2. Orange Bowl, ABC, 17.8/28; 3. Friends, NBC, 15.0/24; 4. Will & Grace, NBC, 13.3/20; 5. Rose Bowl (Post-game), ABC, 13.0/20; 5. Sugar Bowl ABC, 13.0/21; 7. Just Shoot Me, NBC, 12.7/19; 7. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, (Thursday), ABC, 12.7/19; 9. Orange Bowl (Pre-game), ABC, 12.5/21; 10. Millionaire (Sunday), ABC, 12.4/18.

NBC Wins The Week
20 December 2000 (StudioBriefing)
NBC once again won the weekly Nielsen ratings race last week, largely on the strength of its Must-See-TV Thursday lineup. ABC was a close second, helped by its four editions of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. The Wednesday-night telecast of Millionaire, which came in second, was so strong that it allowed the network to win the 9:00 p.m. hour that night -- and, in so doing, tenth place as well -- even though the other major networks were essentially carrying the same thing: Vice President Al Gore's concession speech. NBC averaged an 8.8 rating for the week and a 14 share, followed by ABC with an 8.7/14. CBS finished third with an 8.1/13, while Fox placed fourth with a 5.2/13.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research: 1. E.R. NBC, 19.0/30; 2. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, (Tuesday), ABC, 14.6/22; 3. Millionaire (Wednesday), ABC, 14.1/22; 4. Friends, NBC, 13.6/22; 5. Millionaire (Thursday), ABC, 13.1/20; 6. Millionaire (Sunday), ABC, 12.8/18; 7. Just Shoot Me, NBC, 12.7/19; 8. The Practice, ABC, 12.6/20; 9. Will and Grace, NBC, 12.0/18; 10. Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS, 11.7/17.

CBS Surges Ahead
13 December 2000 (StudioBriefing)
CBS, whose top executives have been predicting that the network will soon come from behind and overtake its rivals, did indeed dart out in front last week, according to Nielsen Research, winning five nights -- its first weekly victory in two months. The network was helped by the holiday perennial Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (in 17th place), its new dramatic series, C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation (tying for 18th place), and other regular solid performers, although only one show, the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, managed to crack the top ten. CBS averaged an 8.4 rating and a 14 share, edging out ABC, which finished with an 8.2/13 thanks to four episodes of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, all of which wound up in the top ten. (Its Monday Night Football telecast, usually in the top ten, dropped to No. 27 with its smallest audience since 1987.) NBC landed in third place with an 8.0/13, placing most of its Thursday-night Must-See-TV lineup in the top ten, including E.R., which settled into the top spot again. Fox finished fourth with a 6.1/10.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research: 1. E.R., NBC, 19.0/30; 2. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, (Tuesday), ABC, 14.6/22; 3. Millionaire (Wednesday), ABC, 14.1/22; 4. Friends, NBC, 13.6/22; 5. Millionaire (Thursday), ABC, 13.1/20; 6. Millionaire, ABC (Sunday), 12.8/18; 7. Just Shoot Me, NBC, 12.7/19; 8. The Practice, ABC, 12.6/20; 9. Will & Grace, NBC, 12.0/18; 10. Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS, 11.7/17.

Spade Says Attacker "Was A Good Friend"
1 December 2000 (StudioBriefing)
David Malloy, a former personal assistant to Just Shoot Me star David Spade, was arrested Thursday for allegedly attacking the comic actor with a stun gun in his home Wednesday. In a statement, Spade, who reportedly suffered minor injuries, described Malloy as "obviously mentally troubled right now" and urged him to seek psychiatric help. "David Malloy was a good friend of mine for five years, " the statement said. "My heart goes out to him."

David Spade Attacked In His Home
30 November 2000 (StudioBriefing)
Former Saturday Night Live star David Spade, who currently stars on NBC's Just Shoot Me, was attacked in his Beverly Hills home by an employee Wednesday, Beverly Hills police said. Paramedics responding to a 911 call treated Spade for minor injuries inflicted in part by a stun gun, according to the police report. Spade's alleged attacker, David Warren Malloy, 29, was arrested in Brea, CA, some 35 miles away, later in the day.

Must-See-TV And Millionaire Dominate Ratings
22 November 2000 (StudioBriefing)
The Nielsen top-ten for last week was comprised of NBC's Thursday-night line-up (five shows), Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (four shows) and CBS's Everybody Loves Raymond and NBC's Law and Order. Although news reports continue to observe that ratings for Millionaire have slipped significantly this season, they were nevertheless good enough to boost ABC to the top spot for the week again with a 9.9 average rating and a 16 share. (Today's -- Wednesday -- Washington Post observes that the Millionaire ratings last week were a third lower than those for four celebrity Millionaire editions broadcast last May.) NBC was second with a 9.3/15, followed by CBS with an 8.5/13 and Fox with a 6.3/10.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research: 1. E.R. NBC, 20.8/33; 2. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Tuesday), ABC, 16.4/25; 3. Millionaire (Wednesday), ABC, 16.3/25; 4. Friends, NBC, 15.7/25; 5. Will & Grace, NBC, 14.8/22; 6. Millionaire (Sunday), ABC, 14.5/21; 7. Millionaire (Thursday), ABC, 14.2/21; 8. Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS, 13.9/20; 9. Just Shoot Me, NBC, 13.7/20; 10. Law and Order NBC, 12.9/21.

Ratings For Fields On E.R. A Flying Sum
20 November 2000 (StudioBriefing)
Sally Field's appearance on E.R. Thursday night generated a 22.0 rating and a 35 share, representing 31 million viewers -- the highest-rated show of the season. NBC's Must-See-TV lineup easily won the evening with Friends, featuring Sex and the City's Kristin Davis, starting off the primetime period with a 17.0/25. The critically cursed sitcom Cursed dropped the network to an 11.8/17 in the 8:30 p.m. time slot. But an appearance by Cher on Will & Grace boosted that show to a 15.3/22 at 9:00 p.m.. Just Shoot Me retreated somewhat to a 13.8/19 at 9:30 p.m.

Viewers Return To Must-See TV
18 October 2000 (StudioBriefing)
It seemed pretty much like old times on the weekly Nielsen ratings list Tuesday as NBC's Thursday lineup again took over the top four positions. E.R. returned to the top spot again, followed by two new episodes of Friends and a new episode of Will & Grace (airing in Frasier's former spot at 9:00 p.m.). Nevertheless, while those shows gave NBC the lead in the 18-49 demo, the network placed third in the overall numbers. ABC once again attracted the most viewers for the week, scoring with Monday Night Football and four episodes of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. While the number of viewers who tuned in for individual broadcasts of Millionaire has dropped, ABC's decision to up the number of episodes from three to four has offset the decline. Bloomberg News Tuesday quoted Bill Carroll, director of programming for consulting group Katz-TV, as saying: "ABC has to be encouraged that the show is holding up against the competition." ABC garnered a 10.0 rating and a 16 share for the week, followed by CBS with a 9.0/15. NBC finished third with an 8.8/14, while Fox placed fourth with a 6.2/10.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research: 1. E.R., NBC, 19.2/30; 2. Friends, NBC, 18.0/28; 3. Friends, NBC, 16.6/27; 4. Will & Grace, NBC, 15.8/23; 5. NFL Monday Night Football: Tampa Bay vs. Minnesota, ABC, 14.9/25; 6. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Tuesday), ABC, 14.5/23; 7. Millionaire (Wednesday), ABC, 13.9/22; 8. Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS, 13.7/20; 9. Millionaire (Sunday), ABC, 13.5/20; 10. Just Shoot Me, NBC, 13.3/20.

Who Wants To See A Rerun Of A Quiz Show?
26 June 2000 (StudioBriefing)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is continuing to score top ratings even in reruns, according to recent overnight figures released by Nielsen research. Tuesday's back-to-back half-hour episodes, which originally aired last August, scored the night's highest ratings with an 11.0/19 at 8:00 p.m. and a 12.1/20 at 8:30 p.m. Likewise, Thursday's 9:00 p.m. repeats averaged an 11.1/18, beating NBC reruns of Frasier and Just Shoot Me by a wide margin. Sunday night's Millionaire repeats tallied an 11.4/18 in the 9:00 p.m. hour and once again were the highest figures for the night. ABC is rerunning the first 13 episodes of Millionaire ostensibly to give host Regis Philbin a rest.