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Post by DNA on Dec 15, 2006 8:33:34 GMT -5
Fox News.com'Law & Order: SVU' May Be OverBy Roger FriedmanYou wouldn’t think that NBC could afford to lose a hit show right now, but that’s what may happen. Sources tell me that NBC is playing hardball with stars Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni, not wanting to pay them big increases if they stay for a ninth season next fall. “It’s not Dick Wolf,” my source says of the notoriously capricious producer. Wolf is infamous for constantly replacing and substituting actors on the original “Law & Order.” But so far the cast has remained stable for “SVU” since it launched eight years ago. NBC, however, according to insiders, doesn’t seem to care whether the show returns or not. “They’re acting like they want Chris and Mariska out of there,” says my source. Negotiations, which have gone on this week, are said to have been brutal. One thing NBC probably didn’t count on was Emmy nominations for both stars and a win last year for Hargitay. The awards and kudos have come toward the end of the series’ run and are considered surprising for a “cop” show. The awards attention, coupled with consistently high ratings, would ordinarily give actors leverage with the network. But with cost cutting and layoffs going on, NBC is said to feel that they don’t mind losing the show or starting over with new, less expensive actors. The ratings for 'Law & Order SVU' are what make this news all the more perplexing. The show wins its Tuesday night time slot easily every week, with an average 9.4 rating and a 16 share. Ironically, the ratings have only gone up as the fall season has plodded along, making “SVU” one of the lone shining lights in the otherwise dimmed NBC firmament. Either way, Meloni and Hargitay would leave “SVU” well off financially but even better off career wise. They are each a hot property and would likely be snapped up rival networks to star in their own series immediately. Stay tuned…
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Post by Patcat on Dec 15, 2006 15:51:08 GMT -5
Just remember: This is FOX news. It's Roger Friedman, who declared that NBC would cancel 30 ROCK before November. He may even be the guy who claimed LOCI was about to be dumped last year.
But heaven's know NBC is being run by squirrel brains, so anything is possible.
Patcat
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Post by Techguy on Dec 15, 2006 19:05:59 GMT -5
I have no allegiance to SVU either, but still I can't understand NBC's attitude toward the #1 show in the L&O family IF it's true (I take Fox "news" with a ton of salt).
And if true, then I see CI going either way in the NUTS domino effect. NBC could decide to purge itself of all the L&O shows if it's determined these dramas are just too expensive to produce.
OR...NBC might decide to hang on to the two remaining L&O shows and do whatever is needed to make them even more successful, especially if they have nothing better to replace them.
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Post by Sirenna on Dec 15, 2006 19:46:19 GMT -5
My favourite is and always will be criminal intent, i'm too fond of clarity for it not to be.
Even though SVU is not on my most watchable list, repeats are on in Ontario right after repeats of old criminal intent episodes and, I have to say, I often find myself watching them. We have a mini debate on some of the threads right now regarding Criminal Intents apparent move to more graphic visualization. SVU, for such sensitive, graphic subject matter, SVU almost (very rarely succumbing) always manages to tell the story without driving the pathos and it achieve anaudience connection to the show that is more sympathetic than voyeuristic. It is very hard writing to achieve that.
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Post by NikkiGreen on Dec 18, 2006 17:03:08 GMT -5
I thought "they' were only supposed to be nuts, not stupid!
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Post by Techguy on Dec 20, 2006 22:27:43 GMT -5
From Michael Ausiello's "Ask Ausiello" column in TVGuide:www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Columnists/Ask-Ausiello/default.aspxQuestion: Please, please, please, tell me there's no truth to the rumors that Law & Order: SVU might be canceled because of some dumb issue over paychecks! — Ashley
Ausiello: I can pretty much guarantee you that it won't be canceled, but it could return next fall with two new leads if NBC doesn't cave into Chris and Mariska's financial demands. A Peacock source I spoke with remains confident that both stars will ultimately be taken "very good care of," but notes that Dick Wolf isn't likely to break the bank since Law & Order shows have been able to weather cast shake-ups before. However, the actors' camps will probably argue that SVU isn't like other L&O shows, where the leads take a backseat to the stories. Chris and Mariska are SVU, and the stories take a backseat to them, as their agents will no doubt contend. And on that point, I have to agree.
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Post by ragincajun on Jan 24, 2007 12:46:55 GMT -5
Anyone hear any news about the contracts?
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Post by Patcat on Jan 24, 2007 13:46:02 GMT -5
Adam Beach, the very fine actor who played Ira Hayes in the Clint Eastwood directed film FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS, has been signed to play at least a recurring role in SVU. This might be an act of insurance. I'm not sure SVU could survive Hargarity and Meloni's departures.
Patcat
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Post by DonnaJo on Jan 24, 2007 15:36:16 GMT -5
It was mentioned a few days ago on a morning radio show here on Long Island that Ice T ( Detective Fin) is leaving the show. Does anybody out there know if Adam Beach is replacing him as Munch's partner?
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Post by NikkiGreen on Jan 24, 2007 18:43:58 GMT -5
According to information posted at TWoP, CM has signed on for two more years and that the negotiations were "unpleasant". He won't go into any of the "drama" until after he's finished with the show.
No word on MH, yet.
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Post by filmnoir5 on Jan 24, 2007 18:50:55 GMT -5
This in from TV Guide :
"Question: Word around the conspiracy mill is that Ice-T is leaving SVU and will be replaced by Adam Beach. Please tell me it isn't true!— Helen Ausiello: It's not true, per a show spokesperson. In related news, Chris and Mariska are on the verge of inking brand spankin' new deals with NBC. In fact, the paperwork may already be signed by the time you read this. "
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Post by NikkiGreen on Jan 25, 2007 1:22:53 GMT -5
According to her blog entry on mariska.com, MH too has signed for two more years.
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Post by DNA on Jan 25, 2007 4:39:46 GMT -5
Hollywood Reporter.com'SVU's' Hargitay, Meloni enter TV's top tierBy Nellie AndreevaAfter lengthy negotiations, "Law & Order: SVU" stars Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni have inked rich new deals to continue on NBC's hit crime drama for two more seasons. The pact, valued by sources at more than $330,000 per episode for both Hargitay and Meloni, would make Hargitay the highest-paid actress on television, surpassing "The Closer" star Kyra Sedgwick. Meloni would join the top tier of TV actors, closing in on the highest-paid actor on broadcast TV, Charlie Sheen of CBS' "Two and a Half Men." The new deals take Hargitay and Meloni beyond the current deal for "SVU," which recently was picked up for next season, its ninth. Through a representative, "Law & Order" chief Dick Wolf declined comment on any specifics of Hargitay and Meloni's deals. "Obviously, I'm thrilled that Chris and Mariska have decided to stay with a show that they've made an indelible stamp upon as we move into our ninth season," Wolf said. At the announcement of the early pickup last week, NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly was asked whether "SVU" could continue without its two stars. "The 'Law & Order' brand has proven before that it can be stronger than any one performer if it were to ever come to that," he said. "But they are stars, and I certainly hope they're going to be our stars for the run of the show." Sources said NBC and producers Wolf Films and NBC Universal TV Studios briefly considered replacement scenarios, sending out feelers to several male actors, but they ultimately opted to stick with the show's original leads. "SVU," the first spinoff of the long-running "Law & Order," is the strongest of the three "L&O" series ratingswise and the only one already picked up for next season. Last year, Hargitay and Meloni were nominated for an Emmy for their work on the show, and Hargitay won for best actress in the drama series. Hargitay is repped by WMA. Meloni is repped by the Gersh Agency.
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Post by ragincajun on Jan 25, 2007 9:59:58 GMT -5
Thanks for that info DNA, I watch all three Law and Orders. CI is my Fav, SVU second and the original is the third. But I wish SVU would use Fin and Munch more.
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Post by hannah on Feb 12, 2007 15:17:25 GMT -5
on nbc site for svu they said that they are already thinking of ideas for the next seasons and they have already sighed for the next season.
How come they already know about svu, but not ci. We're most likely on the verge of knowing.
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