“The Ed Sullivan Show,” which ran on CBS for 23 years, aired its final telecast in 1971…ABC newsmagazine “20/20” began in 1978…HBO’s “Sex and the City,” based on the best-selling book by Candace Bushnell, opened in 1998. It aired for six seasons, spawned two theatricals (in 2008 and 2010), and was the subject of prequel “The Carrie Diaries” on The CW (which was telecast for two half-seasons from 2013 to 2014)…Bob Barker taped his final telecast as host for “The Price Is Right,” which ended his 35 years on the show…Celebrity Birthdays: Actor Robert Englund (“A Nightmare on Elm Street”) is 62; actor Paul Giamatti (“Billions”) is 52.
-Did You Know?:
The original title of “The Ed Sullivan Show” was “Toast of the Town.” It became known as “The Ed Sullivan Show” on the eighth season premiere on Sept. 18, 1955. The series was canceled at the same time CBS rid its line-up of “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “Green Acres” and “Hee Haw” in the infamous “Rural Purge.”
Nickelodeon Orders “SpongeBob SquarePants” Spin-off “Kamp Koral”
Nickelodeon has greenlit “Kamp Koral”(working title), a spin-off series from “SpongeBob SquarePants. “The CG-animated series introduces 10-year-old SpongeBob SquarePants during his summer at sleepaway camp.
In the series, SpongeBob and his pals spend the summer building underwater campfires, catching wild jellyfish, and swimming in Lake Yuckymuck at the craziest camp in the kelp forest, Kamp Koral.
Marc Ceccarelli and Vincent Waller (SpongeBob SquarePants) are co-executive producers on “Kamp Koral.” The series is slated to begin production in June at Nickelodeon in Burbank. Ten episodes have been ordered.
Amazon Cancels “Sneaky Pete” After Three Seasons
Amazon has opted against a fourth season of drama “Sneaky Pete,” which was co-created by Bryan Cranston and was originally a pilot in contention in CBS in 2015. “Sneaky Pete” centered around a criminal (Giovanni Ribisi), who stole his cellmate’s identity and started living with and working for the man’s family of bail bondsmen after being released from prison.
The series was primarily set in upstate New York, with much of the action also in and around New York City. It also starred Marin Ireland, Margo Martindale, Peter Gerety, Libe Barer, and Shane McRae.
Blake Masters was the showrunner the third — and now final — season of “Sneaky Pete,”, after taking over for Graham Yost. Cranston also executive produced along with James Degus. Moonshot Entertainment produced along with Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television. David Shore also co-created the series and served as the original showrunner before stepping down.
“The Ranch” on Netflix to End With Season 4
Netflix multi-camera comedy “The Ranch,” starring Ashton Kutcher, will be concluding in the upcoming fourth season. Kutcher made the announcement on Twitter on Tuesday, saying “@theranchnetflix is coming to an end, but not just yet. We’re excited to bring you the final 20 episodes — 10 streaming later this year (2019) on @netflix, and then 10 more in 2020. Stay tuned!”
“The Ranch” stars Kutcher as Colt, a failed semi-pro football player who returns home to run the family ranching business with his father Beau (Sam Elliott). Debra Winger stars as Colt’s mother, Maggie, and Elisha Cuthbert stars as Abby, Colt’s former high school sweetheart and current wife. Other actors who have appeared on the show include Dax Shepard, Wilmer Valderrama, Maggie Lawson, Nancy Travis, and Martin Mull.
Upon series end, 80 episodes of “The Ranch” will have been produced.
Nickelodeon Renews Four Preschool Series
Nickelodeon has greenlit new seasons of a quartet of its preschool series: “PAW Patrol,” “Bubble Guppies,” “Abby Hatcher” and “Butterbean’s Café.” The renewals—a seventh season of “PAW Patrol,” a fifth season of “Bubble Guppies” and second seasons of “Abby Hatcher” and “Butterbean’s Café” — are part of the network’s new content slate and preschool portfolio.
Travel Channel Renews “Paranormal Caught on Camera”
Travel Channel has ordered a second season of “Paranormal Caught on Camera,” with an order of 26 new episodes. Each hour-long episode of “Paranormal Caught on Camera” showcases eye-opening and downright scary paranormal videos from around the world, as a panel of experts and specialists breaks down the footage and analyzes what exactly the eyewitnesses captured. The season finale will air this Sunday, June 9 at 8 p.m. ET.
“Paranormal Caught on Camera” is produced by Meetinghouse Productions, Inc. for Travel Channel. For Meetinghouse Productions, the executive producer is Jason Cilo. For Travel Channel, the executive producer is Charles Nordlander, Matthew Butler is general manager and Henry Schleiff is group president of Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, American Heroes Channel and Destination America.