Kelsey Grammer Lobbies to Revive Ailing Sitcom

[Zoneboy]

Link

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Kelsey Grammer, whose latest sitcom, "Back to You," was canceled by Fox after one season, said on Wednesday he has personally lobbied CBS executives to give his show a second chance on their network.

But the Emmy-winning veteran of "Cheers" and "Frasier" is finding that his star power may not be enough to save the newsroom comedy, which Fox announced last week would not return in the fall.

Grammer, 53, told Reuters that he called CBS Corp chief executive Leslie Moonves on Monday to suggest a pickup, and that Moonves told him his network was "thinking about it."

A follow-up call the next day to Nina Tassler, the CBS Entertainment president, was less encouraging, Grammer said.

"She dismissed it," he recalled.

So did viewers and many critics.

Grammer plays a pompous TV news anchor who lands back at his old Pittsburgh station with his former co-anchor and paramour, played by "Everybody Loves Raymond" co-star Patricia Heaton. With its big-name cast and producers, it is one of the most expensive comedies on U.S. television.

Grammer, who gained fame playing a pompous shrink for 20 years on "Cheers" and its spinoff "Frasier," said he was surprised by Fox's cancellation, and felt the News Corp-owned network had not given the series enough time to establish itself.

"I really believe in the show. If I didn't I wouldn't have tried to fight for it," he said.

As a kind of throwback to the traditional TV sitcom genre, "Back to You" was widely seen as an odd choice for Fox, a network better known for cartoon fare such as "The Simpsons," edgy dramas like "24" and the hit talent show "American Idol."

The season finale of the show, its very last episode unless another network comes to the rescue, aired on Wednesday.

It is rare -- but not unprecedented -- for a network to rescue a rival's reject. Walt Disney Co's ABC will next season take over the veteran hospital comedy "Scrubs" from NBC, a unit of General Electric Co.

Many have suggested CBS, looking to expand its comedy offerings next season, might be a more natural fit. But the most-watched network earlier on Wednesday announced plans to launch fresh sitcoms on the back of existing fare like "Two and a Half Men" and "The New Adventures of Old Christine."

Grammer is not alone in his quest to keep "Back to You" alive. A spokesman for the show's producer, 20th Century Fox Television, said the studio would "love to explore" options at other networks. Grammer said he has heard little from the studio.

20th Century Fox Television, a corporate sibling of the Fox network, makes shows for all the networks.

[ryan423]

Originally Posted by Zoneboy

Grammer, 53, told Reuters that he called CBS Corp chief executive Leslie Moonves on Monday to suggest a pickup, and that Moonves told him his network was "thinking about it."

A follow-up call the next day to Nina Tassler, the CBS Entertainment president, was less encouraging, Grammer said.

"She dismissed it," he recalled.

Grammer is not alone in his quest to keep "Back to You" alive. A spokesman for the show's producer, 20th Century Fox Television, said the studio would "love to explore" options at other networks. Grammer said he has heard little from the studio.

This looks really bad! I'm thinking we've seen the last

[tv star collector]

Why doesn't Kelsey Grammer give NBC a shot at it? It seems to me that,
considering all the years that he played Frasier Crane, he would have more
clout at that network.

[Sonia]

Originally Posted by Zoneboy

Link

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Kelsey Grammer, whose latest sitcom, "Back to You," was canceled by Fox after one season, said on Wednesday he has personally lobbied CBS executives to give his show a second chance on their network.

But the Emmy-winning veteran of "Cheers" and "Frasier" is finding that his star power may not be enough to save the newsroom comedy, which Fox announced last week would not return in the fall.

Grammer, 53, told Reuters that he called CBS Corp chief executive Leslie Moonves on Monday to suggest a pickup, and that Moonves told him his network was "thinking about it."

A follow-up call the next day to Nina Tassler, the CBS Entertainment president, was less encouraging, Grammer said.

"She dismissed it," he recalled.

So did viewers and many critics.

Grammer plays a pompous TV news anchor who lands back at his old Pittsburgh station with his former co-anchor and paramour, played by "Everybody Loves Raymond" co-star Patricia Heaton. With its big-name cast and producers, it is one of the most expensive comedies on U.S. television.

Grammer, who gained fame playing a pompous shrink for 20 years on "Cheers" and its spinoff "Frasier," said he was surprised by Fox's cancellation, and felt the News Corp-owned network had not given the series enough time to establish itself.

"I really believe in the show. If I didn't I wouldn't have tried to fight for it," he said.

As a kind of throwback to the traditional TV sitcom genre, "Back to You" was widely seen as an odd choice for Fox, a network better known for cartoon fare such as "The Simpsons," edgy dramas like "24" and the hit talent show "American Idol."

The season finale of the show, its very last episode unless another network comes to the rescue, aired on Wednesday.

It is rare -- but not unprecedented -- for a network to rescue a rival's reject. Walt Disney Co's ABC will next season take over the veteran hospital comedy "Scrubs" from NBC, a unit of General Electric Co.

Many have suggested CBS, looking to expand its comedy offerings next season, might be a more natural fit. But the most-watched network earlier on Wednesday announced plans to launch fresh sitcoms on the back of existing fare like "Two and a Half Men" and "The New Adventures of Old Christine."

Grammer is not alone in his quest to keep "Back to You" alive. A spokesman for the show's producer, 20th Century Fox Television, said the studio would "love to explore" options at other networks. Grammer said he has heard little from the studio.

20th Century Fox Television, a corporate sibling of the Fox network, makes shows for all the networks.

Entertainment weekly also confirms that CBS does not plan to pick up back to you

"Despite speculation to the contrary, CBS has no plans to rescue Back To You, the cancelled Fox comedy starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton."

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/...-schedule.html

[Sonia]

As much as I loathe Til' Death , I wouldn't want to be in the place of the fans of that show today either... they are changing the premise of the show by eliminating the young couple and replacing them with JB Smoove

I know this may sound crazy but as much as I love BTY, I'm almost happy they won't have to deal with FOX again

[JulieSomoski]

It's great to see Kelsey Grammar not giving up on this show just yet. If he can help us persuade networks, why can't we??

I'm almost thinking we should start lobbying FOX on going back and picking this up. Or why not ABC? They're looking to help it's sitcoms out.