The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| Fox’s ‘24’ returns in shorter form, tailored for today’s TV habits Posted: 04 May 2014 04:04 AM PDT As audiences shift toward recording shows to watch later on digital video recorders and have less patience for committing to months-long traditional TV series, Fox believes a short run of "24: Live Another Day" will encourage viewers to skip the DVR and watch the show as it airs. The rebooted "24," starring Kiefer Sutherland as Bauer, will be told in 12 episodes, half the length of its preceding eight seasons. That is a formula inspired in part by cable television's ability to draw respectable ratings by cutting the length of a show's season, said Joe Earley, chief operating officer of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc's Fox Broadcasting arm. "It was clear the audience could not only commit to that run, but that also in between they would be able to catch up in their busy lifestyles and VOD (video on demand) and DVR choices. There's a nice palatable number of 10 to 12 episodes," Earley said. "24: Live Another Day," which also stars Mary Lynn Rajskub as Bauer's sidekick, Chloe O'Brian, picks up as Bauer re-emerges years after he was forced to go underground for being wanted by both the United States and Russia. The frenetic thriller in which each episode represents an hour in one day, attracted viewers as one of TV's top shows from 2001 to 2010, as Bauer raced against a ticking clock to foil plots through guile, guns, gadgets, fists and controversially, torture. It won 20 Emmy Awards during its eight-season run, including best drama series, Sutherland for best actor in a drama series, and best writing for a drama. At its peak in 2006, "24" drew nearly 14 million viewers on average. Live sports ideal A major appeal for networks to draw audiences to watching live is that later viewing on DVR has less value to advertisers. By limiting a series to fewer episodes, it can create an event-like draw akin to a sporting event or awards show, TV's most-watched programs, said Brad Adgate, senior vice president and research director for media firm Horizon Media. "You want to sit and watch it in real-time, you want to talk about it on social media," Adgate said. "The ads can't be zapped. There's a tremendous amount of upside." Networks have also tried their hands at special live programming and limited-run series to draw in viewers. CBS' supernatural drama "Under the Dome," which will return in June, led all scripted series in average viewers last summer with about 12 million an episode. Fox's own cable network FX recently launched the event series "Fargo," starring Hollywood actors Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Freeman, as a reimagining of the Oscar-winning 1996 film. It drew a respectable 2.7 million viewers live, but added 1.8 million in DVR viewers over a three-day span. NBC has had its own luck with the format, attracting 19 million viewers to watch its live production last year of "The Sound of Music," starring singer Carrie Underwood. It will follow up with a live production of "Peter Pan" later this year and the horror miniseries "Rosemary's Baby" this month, an adaptation of the Ira Levin book that Roman Polanski brought to the big screen with Mia Farrow in 1968. "24" executive producer Evan Katz believes that since the show began in 2001, viewing habits have changed to the point where committing to watch 24 episodes on a week-by-week basis could be too much to ask from an audience. "I also think it is more special," Katz said on a media conference call about reviving "24" as a limited-run series. "It's not going to happen all the time. It's not taking place over a year. This is a chunk of time. And it gives the network the opportunity to put more oomph behind its launch." – Reuters, May 4, 2014 |
| Posted: 03 May 2014 06:28 PM PDT With music and lyrics by American composer Stephen Sondheim and book by George Furth, Merrily begins in 1976 and moves backwards through time, tracing the lives of wealthy, jaded composer Franklin Shepard and his two estranged friends, Charley Kringas and Mary Flynn, through each milestone of their professional and personal lives. The show ends in 1957 with the trio at the start of their careers, facing a bright future and a world that is theirs to be conquered. "Peter and I watched this show in London last May, and the moment we got out of the theatre I turned to him and said, 'Pan's doing this next year!'," Ng, who directs the show, exclaims. "I was moved by the story, the lyrics and the performances. It's very relevant to us all. You may be successful, but one day you might wake up and feel an emptiness because you neglected your dreams, your hopes, your real passions; because you allowed other people to make choices on your behalf. That is quite a painful thing to wake up to. This story reminds you of what's important in your lives." Pan's staging of Merrily is music-directed by Nish Tham and will mark the first time this show has been produced in Asia. Addressing the suggestion that not many people here would be familiar with this musical, Ng says: "We cannot assume that just because it's unfamiliar, the audience won't like it. We want to provide platforms and opportunities to do things that aren't so clichéd and commercial. "Merrily is all about heart and soul. People assume that musicals have to be 'rah-rah', all glitz and glamour, but as long as we reach out with the truth and with genuine feelings, everyone will be touched in their own way. "Stephen Sondheim is a brilliant composer," she adds. "He writes about reality, he's not fluff, so it's like watching your own story being played back on stage. Everyone needs a little bit of that sometimes, getting a reminder that there are so many layers and facets to human emotion." "I think for any performer, whether you're a singer, musician director or choreographer – if you're involved in a Sondheim production, it immediately raises your bar and contributes significantly towards your own artistic development." The current London staging of Merrily has garnered the most five-star ratings by reviewers in the history of the West End. But Ng isn't fazed by any notions of pressure. "How can we compare? We try not to stress ourselves but just do our best. It's up to our own interpretation and the actors' embodiment of the characters." The cast includes Ong himself as Franklin, Aaron Teoh as Charley and Chang Fang Chyi as Mary, in addition to Stephanie Van Driesen, Nikki Palikat and Ida Mariana, among others. Finding the right people, Ng explains, took "months and months". "We were looking for the right 'heart' and personality," she says. "It's a given that we've got a lot of talent in Malaysia, but this isn't a show where you can use a cardboard cast. The actors have to be very open and vulnerable to one another to a certain extent. "It's easier with those of us who have worked together before, but some of them are sharing the stage for the first time – though you won't see or hear any difference (between experienced performers and newcomers); everyone is emotionally open, bare, willing." Ong concurs. "The thing that's difficult is that we've got to be very, very honest due to the heightened emotions in the work. It's got to stem from a very truthful place. What makes Merrily particularly engaging and powerful is in how you'll recognise the lives and the stories; it's bound to make you go, 'Hey, I know someone like that', or, 'That sounds like so-and-so's experience'. "It is about real, ordinary people, and that's why it's such a charming musical. It's a real gem." Merrily We Roll Along runs from May 9 to 25 at Pentas 2, the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (www.klpac.org). For tickets, call KLPAC (03-4047 9000), TicketPro (03-7880 7999) or visit www.ticketpro.com.my. – May 4, 2014. |
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