With NBC pulling “The Michael J. Fox Show” off its schedule — there are seven episodes remaining in its full-season run — I checked in Thursday with series co-creator Sam Laybourne to gauge his reaction.
“The big headline is the way this story broke, which is basically that we’re not cancelled, but it can be construed that way,” he said. “NBC likes the remaining episodes . . . and feels bad the ratings are low. It’s a necessary step to take us off Thursday and, to be honest, it wasn’t working for us, either. We were on too late for a family show, so I can’t say that I’m upset that we’re staring down another 9:30 Thursday airing. I’m hoping [NBC] will air the remaining episodes — it’s unclear when they will — but they will. I just don’t know where they will be on the schedule. The worst-case scenario is that they’re all sort of buried on Saturday or burned off in quick succession. We’re hoping to get a slot that can actually get real eyeballs to watch.”
I asked Laybourne how series star Michael J. Fox took the news. “Mike is an incredibly optimistic, tough guy, who wanted to do the work and believes in the show,” he said. “He feels great about the show and is proud of what we’ve done and that’s enough for him. He hopes we can keep it going but he’s not wringing his hands and thinking too hard about it. He truly understands what’s important in life through his long journey — and isn’t going to backslide.
“He deserves as hit . . . but that didn’t happen,” Laybourne said. “But what did happen is that we created a show he’s really proud of and shines in, so I can sleep at night. It’s not what I expected and not what I wanted for Mike, but if we can figure out a way for [the show] to live on, that will be part of the narrative.”
According to reports, Fox will return to “The Good Wife” as attorney Louis Canning for several episodes this season.
It’s now ‘Veria Living Live’
Veria Living’s live, 15-minute “VLC” programming blocks are morphing into an hour-long talk show starting this Monday, Feb. 10.
Airing at 1 p.m., “Veria Living Live,” executive-produced by George Davilas, will feature a rotating roster of contributors, with confirmed guests including Russell Simmons, Lisa Oz and Jo Frost. Contributors include Alyson Charles, Jaycee Gossett, Robyn Youkilis, Sonia Baghdady and Matt McClure, with celeb chef Rocco DiSpirito co-hosting Tuesday’s show.
“Veria Living Live” will cover pop culture stories, celebrity interviews and cooking, fitness, fashion, beauty and health segments featuring live interactive viewer input (Facebook, Twitter, Skype, etc.).
Last, but not least . . .
Lavell Crawford, who played Huell (Saul’s bodyguard) on “Breaking Bad,” will be at Carolines on Broadway through Sunday . . . Congrats to Amanda Ruisi (AKR Public Relations), who’s added Steven
Tyler to her client stable (which includes 50 Cent) . . . James Carville is joining Fox News Channel as a contributor . . . ABC’s “The Chew” had its best day ever in total viewers last Tuesday, Jan. 28 (3.96 million viewers) . . . Amaury Nolasco dancing at the VIP Room . . . “Sherlock” star Benedict Cumberbatch will be the first guest of BAFTA’s “In Conversation,” Feb. 13 at The Standard High Line.