or


[11/05/03 - 12:00 AM]
'Stripperella,' 'Gary the Rat' Not Dead at Spike TV
By Brian Ford Sullivan (TFC)

CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- Spike TV has come clean about the recent disappearing act by its animated block "The Strip." In an interview with Television Week, Kevin Kay, executive VP of programming and production for Spike TV, confirmed both series are alive and well at the network, as is its "Ren & Stimpy's Adult Party Cartoon."

"We played them a lot," Kay said in the interview. "They were all over the schedule and did well, and at one point we thought, 'Let's take them off' so they don't burn out. And it's so funny, because I've been hearing rumors that 'Stripperella' had been canceled before it even went on the air." He went on to say both "Stripperella" and "Gary" will complete their 13-episode runs in the first quarter of 2004. No decisions however have been made on second seasons for either series.

As for "Ren & Stimpy," the delay over airing new episodes is reportedly due to a lack of delivery from production company Spumco and creator John Kricfalusi. "John is an incredibly talented artist and he doesn't want to let anything go until it's finished," Kay said. "He wanted to tweak it a bit more, and we probably pushed him a little fast." Only five of the nine ordered episodes have aired, the last of which was broadcast in late July. Spike hopes to have the four remaining installments ready when its fellow animated brethren return in early 2004.

Overall, "The Strip" has been a modest success for the relaunched network. "Ren & Stimpy" averaged 826,000 viewers, "Stripperella" averaged 801,000 and "Gary the Rat" garnered 755,000 for their initial runs, all double-digit time slot increases from the previous year. Kay is hoping "The Strip" will eventually follow the model developed by Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim," which features a rotating stable of animated series. To that end, Spike has about a dozen and a half projects in development. Kay detailed three in the interview:

-- "The Immigrants": "Rugrats" producer Klasky Csupo is behind the series, a broad comedy about two tenement dwellers (voiced by "Will & Grace's" Eric McCormack and "The Simpsons'" Hank Azaria) seeking success in their new country. Six episodes have been ordered for an April or May 2004 start date.

-- "Zilch & Zero": John Leguizamo is developing a project at the network about two slackers working in a video store who try to draw lessons from their favorite movies. Spike has tentatively targeted the series for a summer 2004 launch.

-- "Howard Stern: The Teenage Years:" The popular shock jock's early days will be the focus of the project which is in the scripting and design stage. Stern will executive produce and may provide narration, but an actor will voice his character.

Lastly, Kay spoke of his hopes to expand into more video game-related programming as evidenced by the network's upcoming Video Game Awards. "We want to figure out how to use video games as a part of animation for a series that taps into what the experience is like," Kay said. "We're experimenting with found footage. I think it could be big."

For the complete interview, click here.





  [november 2003]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
      


· GARY THE RAT (SPIKE TV)
· HOWARD STERN: THE HIGH SCHOOL YEARS (SPIKE TV)
· IMMIGRANTS, THE (SPIKE TV)
· REN & STIMPY ADULT PARTY CARTOON (SPIKE TV)
· SIMPSONS, THE (FOX)
· STAN LEE'S STRIPPERELLA (SPIKE TV)
· WILL & GRACE (NBC)
· ZILCH & ZERO (SPIKE TV)





[04/03/25 - 02:00 PM]
Video: Trailer and Key Art for "Not Just A Goof" Available Now
Just in time for the 30th anniversary of "A Goofy Movie," this documentary follows a young creative team tackling their first Disney feature, facing disappointment upon release, only for the film to gain a passionate following decades later.

[04/03/25 - 12:06 PM]
Twelve Rebellious Chefs Are Set for Battle on NBC's Bold New Cooking Competition Series "Yes, Chef!" Hosted by Emmy-Award Winning Chefs Jose Andres and Martha Stewart
The series will premiere on Monday, April 28 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC following "The Voice."

[04/03/25 - 12:01 PM]
ABC Renews "9-1-1," "Grey's Anatomy," "The Rookie," "Shifting Gears" and "Will Trent" for 2025-26 Season
The network confirmed the pickups on social media this afternoon.

[04/03/25 - 12:00 PM]
CBS to Present MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) for the First Time, Airing Live Sunday, Sept. 7 from UBS Arena, and Streaming on Paramount+
The 2024 VMAs delivered its biggest multi-network audience in four years and ranked as the most social VMAs in show history, with 66.7 million social interactions.

[04/03/25 - 11:53 AM]
Awesomeness Aquires the Rights to "Racing Hearts," Highly Anticipated Debut Novel from Ann Adams
Set in the cinematic world of competitive rowing, "Racing Hearts" is a coming-of-age romance that follows Olympic hopeful Katherine Parker, who is sent home to Berkeley after another failed race to work with a new coach, Adrian.

[04/03/25 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Gives First Look at "The Equalizer" Spin-Off Featuring Titus Welliver and Juani Feliz
In the episode, airing April 20, McCall is contacted by Samantha Reed, whose father, ex-CIA agent Elijah Reed, is missing.

[04/03/25 - 10:07 AM]
NBC Celebrates the Life and Career of Joan Rivers with "Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute" Special Airing May 13 on NBC
To celebrate the decade since her passing, the comedy community will revisit Rivers' legendary cabinet of jokes and add their own personal spin to reflect today's social and cultural landscape, along with a dose of their original material.

[04/03/25 - 10:02 AM]
Date Announcement & First Look: Hulu Original Series "Nine Perfect Strangers" Season Two
Season two premieres on May 21, with two episodes at launch, followed by weekly releases on Hulu.

[04/03/25 - 10:01 AM]
Video: HBO Releases Official Trailer and Key Art for Season Two of the Original Comedy Series "The Rehearsal," from Nathan Fielder, Debuting April 20
In season two, the urgency of Fielder's project grows as he decides to put his resources toward an issue that affects us all.

[04/03/25 - 09:24 AM]
FOX Nation to Premiere "Rebound: A Year of Triumph and Tragedy at Yeshiva University Basketball" on April 9th
The documentary directed by Emmy award-winning filmmaker Pat Dimon spotlights Yeshiva University's basketball team, the Maccabees, as they navigate their season following the October 7th terrorist attacks on Israel.

[04/03/25 - 09:01 AM]
Arnold Schwarzenegger Is Back in Season 2 of "FUBAR" - Date Announcement, First Look & Key Art Debut
It's Arnold Schwarzenegger vs. Carrie-Anne Moss in season two, due on June 12.

[04/03/25 - 08:03 AM]
A Dilapidated French Chateau Gets a High-Stakes Fairytale Renovation in the New HGTV Series "Castle Impossible"
High school sweethearts and married couple, Daphne Reckert and Ian Figueira, will abandon their plans of living in a California tiny home when Daphne inherits her late grandfather's 500-year-old chateau on a 130-acre estate just outside of Paris, France, in the new HGTV series.

[04/03/25 - 08:01 AM]
Grief Has Never Been Funnier. Sarah Silverman Returns to Netflix with New Special, "PostMortem"
The special premieres only on Netflix on May 20.

[04/03/25 - 08:01 AM]
HBO Original Series "Like Water for Chocolate" Begins Filming Its Second Season
Based on the celebrated novel by Laura Esquivel, in its first season, the series became the most-watched Latin American content on Max globally and was among the top three most-watched series on the platform during its premiere month.

[04/03/25 - 07:01 AM]
New Season of "Phineas and Ferb" Returns June 5 on Disney Channel and June 6 on Disney+
A special sneak peek will debut on Monday, May 26, at 11:35 a.m. EDT/PDT on Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Channel YouTube.