Posted on 10/02/2008 5:33:31 AM PDT by tlb
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Rosie O'Donnell is returning to television as host of a live variety show on NBC.
The network will air "Rosie's Variety Show" as an hour-long special the night before Thanksgiving, with an eye toward expansion to a full series should viewers embrace the project.
The special will feature celebrity guests, musical acts, comedy skits and a prize give-away for the show's in-studio and home audiences.
The show's November 26 airdate manages to trump Fox's upcoming variety show starring Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, which is expected to debut in the winter or spring.
For NBC, the project's live aspect is of particular interest, both as a way of distinguishing the product from competitors and to discourage viewers from recording the show for later viewing. NBC has aired "America's Got Talent" results shows live this year and plans a quartet of "Saturday Night Live" primetime specials.
"This will reinvent the idea of what a variety show is for 2008," NBC vice president alternative Craig Plestis said. "There's very few performers willing to put themselves out there live. It makes it more TiVo-proof, and it's something none of the cable networks can do."
Such classic variety titles as "The Carol Burnett Show" and "The Ed Sullivan Show" were massive primetime hits. Producers and networks have been trying to figure out how to revive the variety show for decades. In 2004, ABC drew viewers with "The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour," but follow-up editions were less successful.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
I can believe that.
Does NBC understand how ratings work at all???
Rosie O’Bese is returning on TV?
The usual time to thaw out a frozen turkey.
Darn, I’ll be at church.
I can bet it won’t be as funny as The Carol Burnett Show or as entertaining as The Ed Sullivan Show.
Is the best television can offer is rehashing the same lass boring fools like Rosie over and over? Are we completely out of fresh talent?
Nov. 26? Perhaps she can ask the president-elect to come down from his lofty throne and give a Thanksgiving message to us little people.
Wow....just when I thought I couldn’t be any MORE disgusted b the news I am reading today...this. *L*
I’m sure this will last about as long as a box of Krispy Kreme’s at her house.
If they can't get a loan for under 10% plus.
That should be a gage of the state of GE.
Man I’m getting sick of having big fat lesbos with faces for radio all over my television!
I’ll probably be banned for saying that.
Suddenly I don't feel so well.
I recall reading in the past that the night before Thanksgiving was the top “evening out on the town” night of the year. If this still holds true,NOBODY will be watching.
Carol Burnett and Ed Sullivan did not build their successful shows by having public meltdowns and insulting more that 50% of their potential audience. Rosie O'Donnell is not a successful model of packaging a product for the general consumer.
Where's GE's stock these days?
In the crapper. I heard Mark Levin talking about how poorly G.E. has done under the current CEO's watch.
CC
Thats one turkey I will let go.
With the no-talent hateful spiteful disturbed O'Donnell as host, that is sure to be the case. Who will watch this train wreck?
No, but she IS a member of the club. People like Rosie and Ellen DeGeneres may be past their expiration date, but they have the entertainment industry equivalent of the Order of Lenin, and it comes with a lifetime pass. Remember the marginalia who were constantly trotted out on shows in the 1950's and 1960's even though nobody could remember what in blazes they had done recently?
Think of it as blacklisting in reverse...
...in overdrive...
... and turbocharged...
Mr. niteowl77
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