Another Starr Report exclusive:
“Breaking Bad” fans jonesing for the show’s return for its fifth and final season this summer, take heart: show producer Sony Pictures Television is partnering with CafePress Inc. to launch slew of customized “Breaking Bad”-inspired merchandise via Facebook.
The digital store (apps.facebook.com/breakingbadshop) will offer fans the ability to customize T-shirts, mugs, phone cases, greeting cards and water bottles with art and phrases inspired by “Breaking Bad” plotlines. The site goes live today.
Each month, beginning next Friday, Feb. 8, the Breaking Bad Facebook Store will feature one of eight exclusive, limited-edition T-shirt designs inspired by last summer’s “Breaking Bad Art Project.”
(The show currently has a Facebook fan base of over 4 million.)
Series star Bryan Cranston snared a SAG Award last week as Outstanding Lead Actor (in addition to the three consecutive Emmys he won in 2008, 2009 and 2010 for portraying Walter White), while co-star Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman) won Best Supporting Actor Emmys in 2010 and 2012.
“Breaking Bad” returns for its final eight episodes in July, picking up from last season’s finale, which ended with Walter’s DEA brother-in-law, Hank Schrader (Dean Norris) finally realizing that elusive meth-kingpin Heisenberg — who he’s been chasing since the show’s opening episode — has been hiding in plain sight all along.
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Good news for ABC’s “The Chew,” which had its best week in total viewers last week (2.6 million), which represented a 12 percent increase in that demo over the same week in January 2012 (2.3 million). “The View,” sans the recuperating Barbara Walters, also had a good week — delivering its best total-viewer numbers (3.4 million) in eight months, and tying ABC stablemate “General Hospital” as tops in daytime in women 18-34.
On the cable front, the second-season finale of Discovery’s “Moonshiners” snared 3.9 million viewers Wednesday night as the top cable series (that 3.9 million viewership figure was also a series best). It was also cable’s top show across most demos — and finished second only to Fox’s “American Idol” in men 18-49/25-54.
The series premier of FX’s “The Americans,” meanwhile got off to a solid (but not spectacular) start Wednesday night, averaging 3.2 million viewers for its 10 p.m. premiere, and adding another 1.5 million viewers in two subsequent repeats (11:38 p.m. and 1:14 a.m.).
The series, starring Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, scored higher, in its initial airing and in total viewers, than FX stablemate “American Horror Story” (3.18 million).
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Last, but not least:
* Ch. 4’s John Noel is honored today at the annual McDonald’s Black Media Legends “2013 Face of Black History” lunch at The Plaza. His colleague, Janice Huff, emcees . . . Louis Gossett Jr., LeVar Burton and Leslie Uggams, who headlined “Roots,” will be at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria this Monday to talk about the making of the groundbreaking ’70s miniseries . . . Meredith Vieira emcees the Red Dress Awards, sponsored by Woman’s Day, Feb. 12 at The Allen Room at Frederick P. Rose Hall. CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be honored with a Woman’s Day Red Dress Award for his reporting on the risks of developing heart disease . . . Disney Channel’s “A.N.T. Farm” airs a special episode tonight at 8 in which Chyna Parks (China Anne McClain) transforms “into an iconic African-American woman.” It’s to celebrate Black History Month.