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Six Cast Members Fired From "The Practice"
Aired May 21, 2003 - 15:53 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, in entertainment news, a major shakeup at "The Practice." Dylan McDermott and five other castmates won't be regulars next season.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And on "American Idol" tonight, a winner is picked in the showdown between Ruben and Clay.
Joining us now with all the details, "TV Guide"'s Mark Schwed.
Mark, thanks for being with us.
MARK SCHWED, TV GUIDE: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: All right. You going to be watching "Idol" tonight?
SCHWED: Yes, I think I probably will be.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Mark, don't go there.
O'BRIEN: It's past my bedtime.
All right. Let's talk about the big rivalry there between Ruben and Clay. Who do you like?
SCHWED: I like the Rolling Stones, actually.
PHILLIPS: Good choice, Mark.
O'BRIEN: Good answer.
SCHWED: I mean, this is like apples and oranges. On one hand, we have kind of a Barry Manilow guy, and that would be clay. And then we have Barry White, which is Ruben. They're very different performers.
Clay has a fantastic voice. Whether he has a future, I don't know. And there was Ruben. He's wonderful.
O'BRIEN: He's a big fella, isn't he?
SCHWED: Yes, he is, and I think he has probably the better future, where Clay probably has the better shot at winning tonight.
O'BRIEN: Oh, really?
PHILLIPS: Barry Manilow.
SCHWED: I think so. I think he blew everybody away last night. I think he did the better job.
O'BRIEN: Did he?
SCHWED: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Wow.
SCHWED: He's no Mick Jagger.
PHILLIPS: Now who else is trying to capitalize on this concept?
SCHWED: Every network. NBC has already...
O'BRIEN: Is there any body who isn't?
PHILLIPS: Yes, imagine that.
SCHWED: Yes. Whenever there's a hit, everybody jumps into the fray and, of course, Fox itself is trying to capitalize on it with other shows. "Star Search" on CBS was definitely brought back to life because of the success of "American Idol." "American Juniors" is coming up, where -- produced, I think, by the same people behind "American Idol," where they're do the same thing with smaller children and less mean-spirited judges.
O'BRIEN: Well, that -- yes. I guess it's a good idea. You want to be nice to the kids.
PHILLIPS: Yes, absolutely. You don't want to hurt their feelings.
O'BRIEN: You can't be mean to kids.
PHILLIPS: It's damaging.
O'BRIEN: All right. Let's talk about "The Practice." "Practice" kind of a wholesale trade there, I guess, of players.
SCHWED: Yes, this was really stunning because just a few days ago all the stars of "The Practice" were at the ABC upfront, where the network announces its new fall schedule, all the advertisers are watching, all the press, the affiliates, and they were up on the stage. They were trotted out and they were all very happy to be coming back.
And then we cut to yesterday and all of a sudden, they're all gone. And of course the only reason for this is money. It costs a whole lot of money to pay these people in the seventh season. The show's ratings had certainly been sliding. Critics weren't quite as fond of the show as they were. You know, this used to be the best drama on TV, according to the Emmy voters. So what do you do? ABC certainly can't cancel every show. "The Practice" was on the fence. They made a decision that we want to bring it back, but we just don't want to pay the stars. So, they're gone except for Camryn Manheim and another one and, you know, we'll see whether viewers are going to buy this. Certainly they're going to watch just out of a curiosity factor.
PHILLIPS: "Practice" makes perfect? Is that what you're saying?
SCHWED: Maybe they're all hiring -- maybe they're all talking to their real lawyers right now. I don't know.
PHILLIPS: Yes, there you go.
O'BRIEN: They're practicing executions at ABC.
PHILLIPS: No.
O'BRIEN: All right. OK.
PHILLIPS: Mark Schwed with "TV Guide." Thanks, Mark.
SCHWED: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 21, 2003 - 15:53 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, in entertainment news, a major shakeup at "The Practice." Dylan McDermott and five other castmates won't be regulars next season.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And on "American Idol" tonight, a winner is picked in the showdown between Ruben and Clay.
Joining us now with all the details, "TV Guide"'s Mark Schwed.
Mark, thanks for being with us.
MARK SCHWED, TV GUIDE: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: All right. You going to be watching "Idol" tonight?
SCHWED: Yes, I think I probably will be.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Mark, don't go there.
O'BRIEN: It's past my bedtime.
All right. Let's talk about the big rivalry there between Ruben and Clay. Who do you like?
SCHWED: I like the Rolling Stones, actually.
PHILLIPS: Good choice, Mark.
O'BRIEN: Good answer.
SCHWED: I mean, this is like apples and oranges. On one hand, we have kind of a Barry Manilow guy, and that would be clay. And then we have Barry White, which is Ruben. They're very different performers.
Clay has a fantastic voice. Whether he has a future, I don't know. And there was Ruben. He's wonderful.
O'BRIEN: He's a big fella, isn't he?
SCHWED: Yes, he is, and I think he has probably the better future, where Clay probably has the better shot at winning tonight.
O'BRIEN: Oh, really?
PHILLIPS: Barry Manilow.
SCHWED: I think so. I think he blew everybody away last night. I think he did the better job.
O'BRIEN: Did he?
SCHWED: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Wow.
SCHWED: He's no Mick Jagger.
PHILLIPS: Now who else is trying to capitalize on this concept?
SCHWED: Every network. NBC has already...
O'BRIEN: Is there any body who isn't?
PHILLIPS: Yes, imagine that.
SCHWED: Yes. Whenever there's a hit, everybody jumps into the fray and, of course, Fox itself is trying to capitalize on it with other shows. "Star Search" on CBS was definitely brought back to life because of the success of "American Idol." "American Juniors" is coming up, where -- produced, I think, by the same people behind "American Idol," where they're do the same thing with smaller children and less mean-spirited judges.
O'BRIEN: Well, that -- yes. I guess it's a good idea. You want to be nice to the kids.
PHILLIPS: Yes, absolutely. You don't want to hurt their feelings.
O'BRIEN: You can't be mean to kids.
PHILLIPS: It's damaging.
O'BRIEN: All right. Let's talk about "The Practice." "Practice" kind of a wholesale trade there, I guess, of players.
SCHWED: Yes, this was really stunning because just a few days ago all the stars of "The Practice" were at the ABC upfront, where the network announces its new fall schedule, all the advertisers are watching, all the press, the affiliates, and they were up on the stage. They were trotted out and they were all very happy to be coming back.
And then we cut to yesterday and all of a sudden, they're all gone. And of course the only reason for this is money. It costs a whole lot of money to pay these people in the seventh season. The show's ratings had certainly been sliding. Critics weren't quite as fond of the show as they were. You know, this used to be the best drama on TV, according to the Emmy voters. So what do you do? ABC certainly can't cancel every show. "The Practice" was on the fence. They made a decision that we want to bring it back, but we just don't want to pay the stars. So, they're gone except for Camryn Manheim and another one and, you know, we'll see whether viewers are going to buy this. Certainly they're going to watch just out of a curiosity factor.
PHILLIPS: "Practice" makes perfect? Is that what you're saying?
SCHWED: Maybe they're all hiring -- maybe they're all talking to their real lawyers right now. I don't know.
PHILLIPS: Yes, there you go.
O'BRIEN: They're practicing executions at ABC.
PHILLIPS: No.
O'BRIEN: All right. OK.
PHILLIPS: Mark Schwed with "TV Guide." Thanks, Mark.
SCHWED: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
