Trade Round-Up: NBC Thinking Third Place Occasionally Not Out Of The Question
In a refreshingly bold stand against the last-place mediocrity that has plagued his network, NBC's Kevin Reilly promises this season's ratings will be "better" and that "we will not be mired in fourth week after week." Here's to the heady feeling of accomplishment derived from occasionally scrambling into third place! [Variety]
Tina Fey leaves behind the SNL Weekend Update desk to focus on her SNL-based sitcom, 30 Rock. Rachel Dratch joins in the defection, which will mercifully bring an end to the era of Debbie Downer's feline AIDS jokes. [THR]
Pirates 2 takes in another $62 million internationally, with openings in Spain, Germany, Italy, and France—all major centers of pirate interest—still to come. [Variety]
Whether you call them "geeks," "nerds," or "virgin fanboys," the 100,000 Comic-Con attendees once again proved to be voracious, enthusiastic consumers of any preview footage that studios dragged down to San Diego. [THR, Variety]
Lifetime will pay $1.2 million per episode for Grey's Anatomy reruns, hoping that skinny star Ellen Pompeo will slot in nicely with the rest of the network's anorexia-based fare. [Variety]