It's been a few days since my last TCA Diary, so I've got a lot to get through. In the interests of brevity (and so that you don't also feel like you've been trapped at this press conference as long as I have!) I'm only going to give you the highlights. They are: Lucy Liu, Lauren Lee Smith, Elizabeth Reaser, Toni Collette.

Although Cashmere Mafia has bitten the dust, Lucy Liu hasn't entirely gotten the shaft. "I got a call from Steve McPherson [ABC's entertainment president] saying that Cashmere Mafia was most likely not going to come back and that he still wanted to work with me and keep me in the family," she said. "And I told him that I was a huge fan of Dirty Sexy Money."

Liu then sat down with Dirty Sexy Money's producers and brainstormed about her character, who was created to fit in with some of the story lines the producers had been discussing. She'll be playing Nola Lyons, described in ABC's press materials as "whip-smart, overachieving and very fashionable." When asked whether her character will be romantically paired with anyone, Liu answered: "I hope so. I think I'll be romantically paired maybe with all — everyone that's up here, including the women."

Lucy Liu

Photo credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

We always appreciate a shout-out, Lucy.

In other news, former soup chef Lauren Lee Smith has traded in her apron for a microscope (and various other scientific instruments) as the newest crime scene investigator on CSI. CBS' president of entertainment, Nina Tassler, said that "this new character is also going to give to the other supporting characters and Marg [Helgenberger] an opportunity to sort of show parts of their character, show parts of their personality, that the audiences perhaps haven't seen ever before or at least in a while." … continue reading

Yesterday was my third day at TCA, but it felt like I'd been here for five years already. Small example: I don't drink coffee in the mornings; I drink tea. Well, this morning, I started drinking coffee. But never mind that; you want the news, right? Here's the short version: ABC is so gay and multicultural I feel like I walked into a parallel universe after the first two days of Fox.

Wednesday started off with a press conference with ABC's President of Entertainment, Steven McPherson. He was soon asked why they chose to renew some shows and not others, and he said, "There were certain shows that, you know, we didn't bring back that performed OK. It really, to us, is based on creative upside. Did we believe in the show runners? Did we believe in the shows? What was the performance? How did we think the audience was responding?"

Of course this got me thinking: Is he talking about Cashmere Mafia?

After the press conference I asked him that very question, and here's what he had to say — it's quite revealing:

Steven McPherson: Cashmere Mafia honestly was a decision that creatively we were disappointed in the execution. It did OK ratings-wise, but it never really to me fully realized its opportunity. I think there was never quite the insight about those kind of women and their lives and what it would be. It felt like it was kind of an outsider looking in at what that might be like, and I felt like Sex and the City was really such a very real, honest look at that, in an insightful way, and I just felt like we never got there with Cashmere Mafia.

So it sounds like ABC's head honchos just didn't wind up liking Cashmere Mafia. I'm not sure where along the lines the creative decisions got made, but I do recall that the original pilot was much more interesting than the one that aired, and whoever made the decision to change it made the wrong choice. RIP, Caitlin and her pregnant first girlfriend.

Next up was the panel for Eli Stone, a series about a lawyer who discovers that he's a prophet. Oh, and it's created by openly gay executive producer Greg Berlanti, who's also behind Brothers & Sisters and Dirty Sexy Money. Last season Eli Stone included one episode that aired in February 2008 about a lesbian custody battle; unfortunately I didn't see it so I don't know what happened (perhaps if you saw it you could enlighten me in the comments). … continue reading

My second day at the TV critics' press tour could hardly be expected to measure up to day one, but here's a preview: Glenn Close, Rose Byrne, Drea de Matteo, Bonnie Hunt and Christina Hendricks (Mad Men).

First up yesterday morning was a press conference with FX's president and general manager, John Landgraf, who announced that Nip/Tuck just finished production on Season 5, which will premiere in January 2009 (no word on whether any "lesbian" characters will be involved, although Katee Sackhoff will be there). FX has also ordered a 19-episode final season, which will air in early 2011.

He also noted that Marcia Gay Harden will be joining the second season of Damages, which was the first FX show to take to the stage on Tuesday. I absolutely loved Damages last year, and I can't wait till it's back (sadly not till early 2009). I've never really been a fan of lawyer shows, but this is the first lawyer show I've seen in which the lawyers seem both evil and totally sexy. That's due in no small part to this amazing woman:

Glenn Close

Photo credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Close said that she actually watched the first season of Damages on TV with her family in Montana, and the TV critics seemed shocked that she wouldn't have asked for screeners in advance. We were shown a few clips from the upcoming second season (minor spoiler alert!) and though most of it was vague, I can tell you this much: Ellen (Rose Byrne) joins a grief counseling group in the wake of her fiance's death, and she goes undercover to investigate Close's character, Patty Hewes.

Rose Byrne

Photo credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

After the panel I talked with series creator Daniel Zelman and asked him whether he and the other creators, Todd A. Kessler and Glenn Kessler, had any particular inspiration in mind when they (three men) began writing about this struggle between two women. Zelman said that the concept "was based partly on our lives, our own experiences." … continue reading

Yesterday morning I arrived in Los Angeles for the Television Critics Association summer press tour, an annual rite of passage for TV critics nationwide. Basically, we gather together at the Beverly Hilton for two to three weeks of nonstop press conferences for pretty much every TV show currently on the air. I wasn't able to make it to the first week of press conferences, but I'm here for the next eight days to cover the networks and their affiliated cable channels, and as long as I don't pass out from too much off-the-cuff interviewing of random TV celebs, I'll be reporting my findings here every day. (To catch up on last week's gay-related TCA news, check out Michael Jensen's stellar blog posts at AfterElton.com.)

What happened on Monday? Here's the short version: Mia Michaels, Anna Torv, Lena Headey, Summer Glau, Olivia Wilde, Eliza Dushku and Joss Whedon, oh my! For the long(er) version, read on.

Left to right: Cat Deeley, Mia Michaels, Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe

Today was the first of two days devoted to the Fox television network, and the morning kicked off with a press conference for the unscripted dance competition So You Think You Can Dance. Mia "hot damn she looks like a lesbian (too bad she ain't)" Michaels got grilled on why she's "being so mean" on the show these days. Here's what she said:

I don't think I'm being mean. I'm just being very honest, and we're in the fourth season, and I think as we go, we become more — our true selves come out, and we're comfortable. ... I'm not any different if I'm in a rehearsal studio with my dancers, and if they're not pulling up, they're going to know, and it's very much about tough love. ... I'm Mamma Mia, and they look to me for that tough love actually. So when I say it, America might go, "Oh, my God, that's so harsh.” They're cool with it. They know. They know I only want them to be brilliant.

I have always been an on-again, off-again viewer of SYTYCD, because it seems to repeatedly hammer home traditional gender norms through the judges' commentary that typically derides male dancers who are not macho (not to mention only having opposite-sex dance partners). This is particularly the case with judge Nigel Lythgoe, who always puts down men when he senses the least bit of "effeminacy" in them, while (excessively) praising women who are feminine and submissive. AfterElton.com talked with him after the panel, and Lythgoe essentially confirmed that he's stuck in the dark ages in terms of gender norms. Wake up, Nigel! It's 2008! Seriously, the guy kinda gives me the creeps.

Anyway, after SYTYCD was a panel devoted to the new series from creator J. J. Abrams (Alias), which is called Fringe. It stars Australian actor Anna Torv, whom British readers may remember from her stint playing a lesbian on the BBC's Mistresses. Torv unfortunately was in New York and therefore had to join the conference by satellite, so the stage was populated entirely with men — a theme that quickly came to define the day.

Anna Torv as Agent Olivia Dunham in Fringe

Photo credit: Michael Lavine/FOX

I caught a screening of most of the 90-minute pilot during lunch, and though it started off very promisingly with a mysterious plane full of dead people (think Lost meets The X-Files), around the 40-minute mark it started going off onto a seriously sci-fi tangent. Now, I'm a big sci-fi fan, but this just seemed odd. Like, things didn't connect up. I'm hoping that the pilot will be retooled before it hits prime time this fall to smooth out the rough spots.

On the plus side, Torv delivered what might be the best line of the day when asked to elaborate on her ass-kicking role as Agent Dunham: "I came to the kicking ass naturally." … continue reading

The first segment of our video blog this week is a rundown of the glitzy ABC Summer Press Tour Party Lori and I attended Thursday night, in which we eavesdropped (unsuccessfully) on Miranda Otto, admired Dana Delany's power walk, met Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller, had a run-in with Anne Heche's publicist, and chatted with Bonnie Somerville. Among other things.

Before we get to the video, here are a few photos from the party:

Dana Delany and Lucy Liu

Bonnie Somerville and Miranda Otto

… continue reading

TV critics may not know what to do with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, but I do.

Back on July 13, my second day at the TCA summer press tour, I came down to the lobby of the Beverly Hilton on my way to breakfast and ran into a slew of women dressed in white hot pants and blue midriff-baring tops. Yeah, my jaw dropped a little, but partly because I saw they were all wearing matching white go-go boots and I kept thinking, "Damn, I really need to get me some of those."

Anyway, turns out these women were members of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Show Group, and they were there to do a brief performance before promoting the second season of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team. This eight-episode reality series from CMT documents the process by which thousands of hopefuls audition to become members of the famous cheerleading squad.

Unfortunately, I missed the cheerleaders' live, in-person dance routine that was choreographed expressly for the TV critics gathered at the Beverly Hilton that morning, because I was busy interviewing the creator of the BBC America series Jekyll (more about that next week). By the time I rushed back to the press conference, my colleague Michael Jensen from AfterElton.com told me that I'd already missed the big show — the cheerleaders had come onstage, done their number, and now only a few representatives were left, answering questions from a bunch of mostly middle-aged straight white men who were obviously trying hard to project an aura of studied, critical indifference to the sight of hot girls shaking their booties at 10 in the morning. … continue reading

This is a live blog from the bi-annual Television Critics Association conference. See more TCA live blog posts here.

The last panel of the day — and the three-week TCA conference — is the much-anticipated Grey's Anatomy spinoff Private Practice, starring Kate Walsh (#14 on The AfterEllen.com Hot 100 List, for good reason). There are double the normal number of people in the audience, and on the stage, with creator Shonda Rhimes in the middle flanked by Taye Diggs and Kate Walsh.

ABC rolls the promo for Private Practice, and it focuses mostly on Addison's story line on Grey's Anatomy. Clearly they're still retooling the spinoff after the critical lashing the back-door pilot received in May.

Shonda fields a few questions about how she's handling the pressure, but she doesn't really say much. Not saying much, I'm about to discover, is her MO. When it comes to saying something while saying nothing, the woman has skills.

Kate's asked about her reaction when she found out about the spinoff, and she says she was "in bed at 3am reading it like a teenager emitting screams of joy, like a super-top secret diary of someone else's that I'd just found." I start to picture that scene, but stop when I realize it's interfering with my ability to focus on the panel.

A reporter asks why Audra McDonald replaced Merrin Dungey, and after Shonda jokes, "I don't think we can go wrong with a four-times Tony winner," she says they were rethinking the character of Naomi and needed someone "strong and tough." Um, have you ever seen a show called Alias? Evil Francie can kick some serious ass! … continue reading

This is a live blog from the bi-annual Television Critics Association conference. See more TCA live blogging here.

It's Men in Trees time on the last day of the TCA. I like this show, and my mom loves it, but I stopped watching about halfway through last season because there were just too many shows on the air and not enough time in the day to watch them all.

ABC begins the promo for last season, and the cast files out on stage. Anne Heche looks great in her pale pink dress, and I like her hair like this. She seems happy, almost giddy. I find myself instinctively rooting for her. I'm a sucker for the underdog.

I don't even recognize half of the rest of the cast, which is what I get for tuning out mid-season. But where's Sarah the prostitute? And Cynthia Stevenson? And that bartender guy?

The promo ends and Anne starts clapping and yelling "yay!" No reaction from the reporters. This is a tough crowd.

The first question is the first of many variations on the topic of why ABC is running the last five episodes from the first season with the second season? There's no good answer except that ABC wanted the space to promote other shows. Creator Jenny Bicks (seated between Anne and James, below) says they've since gone back and filmed a "bridge" episode that will be inserted before the five from last season.

The cast is waiting for the next question, but what they get is a deafening wall of silence. We're only two minutes in, and no one has a question? This is not a good sign. Although I think this has less to do with the show than with the fact that it's the last day of a very long three-week press tour, and everyone's too exhausted to think. … continue reading

This is a live blog from the bi-annual Television Critics Association conference. See more TCA live blogging here.

This morning it's all about ABC Family, specifically Greek and Kyle XY, two teen-focused ABC Family shows. I'm kinda interested in Greek, which follows a geeky freshman and his popular older sister in the fraternity and sorority system at a fictional college. Its main drawback it that it has fairly lame and stereotypical female characters except for the lead, Casey (Spencer Grammer), but it's got a gay black teen Calvin (Paul James) and they handle that pretty well.

I do wish they had the cast of Lincoln Heights here instead of Kyle XY, though. As soon as I think this, an ABC Family spokesperson comes out on stage and announces the second season premiere of Lincoln Heights: September 4th. It's like my thoughts are beaming straight to ABC Family! Some teasers for the new season of Lincoln Heights in the press release: Cassie (Erica Hubbard) and her relationship with pretty boy Charles heats up after being on hold for the summer while she was at Art Camp, and Cassie's younger siblings Tay (Mishon Ratliff) and Lizzie (Rhyon Brown) may have a "budding romance." (Not with each other, obviously. Eww.)

Back to the event at hand: the Greek panel. The promo for the show previews a lengthy upcoming scene of Calvin coming out to Rusty. It's actually an impressive scene, but I won't give away too many details because Michael's going to save it for his Best. Gay. Week. Ever. column on AfterElton.com tomorrow. [Updated to add: get the scoop on this now here.]

As ABC Family President Paul Lee talks about the success of their shows on iTunes, and online, the cast of Greek files on stage, and their average age looks to be about 20. Their eager, youthful exuberance emanates from the stage.

The first question is about Calvin and how his character's chameleon-like quality to get along with different groups relates to "his gayness." Creator Sean Smith gives a great answer, which again, I'm letting Michael keep for his column.

Now the wiseass questions begin: a reporter wants to know if any of them have actually been to college. Much laughter. Only one of the cast says yes. Yikes!

A reporter mentions that this show opened up a great conversation between her and her teenage sons. Various members of the cast enthuse about how college is about trying new things, building a new support system since you're away from your family for the first time, experimentation, etc.

I raise my hand to ask my first question at the conference. Why, aside from Casey, are all of the the show's female characters so stereotypically bitchy and backstabbing, while the male characters are much more three-dimensional and redeemable? Sean responds with an answer about wanting to introduce the stereotype of the sorority girl and then show the depth beneath that, show them as more well-rounded, etc.

So basically, they're backstabbing bitches with hearts of gold? … continue reading

This is a live blog from the bi-annual Television Critics Association conference. See previous TCA posts here.

It's time for the highlight of the conference, for me at least: the panel for Cashmere Mafia, the only new show next season with a prominent lesbian character, played by Bonnie Somerville (pictured below on the far left).

The cast — Lucy Liu, Miranda Otto, Frances O'Connor, and Bonnie Somerville — is joined on stage by writer Kevin Wade, executive producer Darren Star, and some exec named Jeff (didn't catch his last name).

All four of the women look great, although Lucy's wearing a bright pink number that's the same color as a prom dress I wore in high school, with some kind of red mock scarf thingie.

The Q&A kicks off with a topic that will prove to be a popular one at the session: Sex and the City, and how it relates to this show. Darren Star insists, "I wasn't thinking of Sex and the City when I sold this idea." He says he initially got the idea for Cashmere Mafia when Gail Katz talked about women she went to business school with at Yale.

A reporter comments that he was disappointed there was only one scene in which someone was actually wearing cashmere. Bonnie jokingly asks the reporter to marry her (because he knows what cashmere is), but he says he has to go pick up his wife at the airport. Bonnie quips back, "That's okay. My character would probably like that." Five minutes in and already with the lesbian jokes? A good sign! … continue reading

This is a live blog from the bi-annual Television Critics Association conference. See more TCA live blog posts here.

It's time for the panel on Women's Murder Club, a drama based on the novels by James Patterson about a homicide detective, a medical examiner, a newspaper reporter and a young assistant district attorney who work together to solve homicide investigations.

Or as I like to call it, The Angie Harmon Show. You'll see why in a moment.

The cast, creator, writers and director file onto the stage and take their seats, with Angie Harmon perched in the center like the crown jewel. She looks good, as usual- too thin, but great outfit: white pants with a black sleeveless top and her black hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her co-hosts, Aubrey Darling, Laura Harris, and Paula Newsome, look happy and comfortable, James Patterson is patched in via a video screen, and Joe Simpson (aka father of Jessica and Ashlee Simpson) sits on the far right as an executive producer (huh?).

But I'm wondering, where is Elizabeth Ho, the show's Asian American character? She's in some of the cast photos, but she's not part of the core foursome, so apparently she doesn't rate an appearance. [Wednesday night update: an ABC publicist told me that Ho's character has been dropped from the show. Damn. One less Asian American woman on TV next season.]

There are two female writers on the panel, Sarah Fain and Elizabeth Craft, but I can't tell which is which (even though they look completely different) because I was checking my email when they introduced everyone. So I'm just going to attribute whatever either of them say to "SarahBeth." … continue reading

This is a live blog from the bi-annual Television Critics Association conference. See more TCA live blog posts here.

I just arrived for the ABC portion of the summer Television Critics Association conference in L.A, a three week period each summer when the broadcast and cable networks debut their new shows, wine and dine reporters and (now) bloggers, and make show-related announcements.

Although Malinda has been here for several days now, I'm just arriving, and since this is my first time at the TCA, this is all new to me. So I thought I'd share some of my impressions, sort-of like a short, snarky live blog of the event.

This morning's discussion with ABC president Stephen McPherson revealed a few newsy pieces. The first is bad news for Lucy Lawless fans: contrary to the rumors, Steve says there is "no future" for Footballers Wives at ABC. Bummer. The only other news of interest he reveals, after being badgered by reporters pissed off that was reserving a big Lost announcement for Comic-Con in San Diego — is that Harold Perrineau is returning to Lost next season. Um, that was the big announcement? The silence in the room says it all.

Now it's time for a panel on the fantastic show Pushing Daisies, a quirky drama about a man named Ned (Lee Pace) who can bring people back from the dead but can't touch the girl he loves without killing her. The girl is named Chuck (Anna Friel), Kristin Chenoweth plays a sassy waitress, the narrator is the Harry Potter audio book guy, Jim Dale, and each week they use Ned's power to solve murders, while dealing with various romantic entanglements. What's not to love?

Okay I'll admit it, I'm predisposed to like anything Daisies creator Bryan Fuller makes, both because he was one of the first people I interviewed for AfterEllen.com back in the day when it was hard to get anyone to talk to me, and because he wrote a decent lesbian character into Wonderfalls. A gay man who writes a good lesbian character is a thing to be treasured.

But I like Pushing Daisies on its own merits, and I'm not the only one: The tired and jaded reporters actually clapped when they ran the promo trailer just now.

The cast, creator, and director come out on stage now and take their seats to face the crowd of eager journalists. Kristin Chenoweth has a slightly severe haircut, sort of like a longish bob. I can't decide if I like it.

Swoosie Kurtz is wearing a red patterned dress with shaggy red shoulder-length hair. Great to see Swoosie back on TV again, even if her character only has one eye (she wears an eye patch). I'm trying to figure out where I've seen the female lead, Anna Friel, before, so I look her up on IMDb and realize she was the girlfriend in Goal! The Dream Begins, a soccer movie which probably only I've seen. It wasn't bad, as far as soccer movies go, but it was no Bend It Like Beckham. … continue reading