NBC has changed its mind about the "limited" series "Kingpin," which is good news for that show but not necessarily such good news for the high-quality-but-ratings-starved "Boomtown."
"Kingpin," a six-episode miniseries of sorts, was originally scheduled to premiere in March. But the network has pushed that up to Sunday, Feb. 2. And "Boomtown" will disappear from NBC during the February sweeps — which is never a good sign for any show.
But the good news is that the network is so high on "Kingpin" that it has the confidence to roll it out during sweeps. (And, no doubt, NBC sees somewhat of an opportunity on Sundays at 9 p.m., because ABC is moving "The Practice" to Monday nights in January.)
"Kingpin," from the Emmy-winning writer producer David Mills ("ER" and the HBO miniseries "The Corner"), is the tale of "the machinations of an ambitious Mexican family . . . displayed in graphic detail as the family faces challenges from both the United States Drug Enforcement Agency and from the dangerous underworld in which they work."
Yancey Arias stars as Miguel Cadena, the heir to his family's illegal enterprises; Sheryl Lee ("Twin Peaks") as his American wife; Bobby Cannavale as Miguel's brutal brother; Angela Alvarado Rosa as a DEA agent committed to bringing the Cadenas down; and Brian Benben as a plastic surgeon drawn into the drug trade.
Basically, "Kingpin" looks like a gritty soap opera — imagine if the Carringtons of "Dynasty" had dealt in drugs instead of oil. (And "Kingpin" comes to us from Aaron Spelling Productions, which also brought us "Dynasty.")
The six episodes will air in the space of 17 days (each at 9 p.m.) — Sunday, Feb. 2; Tuesday, Feb. 4; Sunday, Feb. 9; Tuesday, Feb. 11; Sunday, Feb. 16; and Tuesday, Feb. 18.
"As a broadcast network, we are excited about this new series potential to change the landscape of dramatic television," said NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker, his penchant for TV hyperbole clearly displayed in a prepared statement. "We are affording it the most high-profile position possible, to show our total confidence and as a showcase event and we look forward to the audience response to the unusual story content and compressed broadcast schedule."
Personally, I'm hoping "Kingpin" is as good as Zucker thinks it is. And the pilot episode is promising. But it's not like this is exactly breaking new ground in TV scheduling. Network executives always like to think theirs are original ideas, and they usually aren't.
WHY? A group of devoted fans has launched a campaign to save "Birds of Prey" — the series the WB recently axed.
The "Keep the Birds Flying" campaign is hoping to "flood" the WB with "thousands of 'Birds of Prey' books as well as other comics set in the Batman universe."
Which just proves, once again, that in this age of the Internet, there's no show that can't drum up some kind of campaign to save it. Whether it deserves saving or not. And "Birds of Prey" does not.
I'm not saying the show is completely useless. If you have any episodes on tape and you suffer a bout of insomnia. . . .
Anyway, if you're really interested and you want to know more, check out www.birdsofpreyonline.com.
WHY? (PART 2): You know, what television just doesn't have enough of is (major sarcasm alert) awards shows.
Our friends at cable's TNN are going to remedy that with, of all things, the first-ever televised "Video Games Awards Show." Really.
Not that they're cocky at TNN or anything, but they opened their announcement of this momentous event by declaring, "Look out Oscar! The Sims, Lara Croft and Grand Theft Auto are coming at you."
I don't think Oscar has much to worry about.
I'll give them one thing, however. Their categories do sound intriguing. They include:
Hottest hero and heroine
Most addictive
Coolest villain
Most difficult to master
Best free-for-all carnage
Hottest graphics
Best game based on a movie
Best celebrity actor and actress
Best pro-sports game
Hall of Fame award
Game of the year
(By the way, parents, if you're not paying attention to the video games your kids are playing you might want to check out those categories.)
There's no airdate yet for this big event, but it will air sometime in the fall of 2003.
E-MAIL: pierce@desnews.com