Scouting Hollywood: May 11-17

A roundup of news, gossip and history of the entertainment business brought to you from Hollywood, Calif.

With the bombshell news that host Tucker Carlson was canned from Fox TV, the departure (also by firing) of CNN’s controversial host Don Lemon was pretty much dismissed by the mainstream media. Tellingly, in a recent issue of the Hollywood trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, Tucker’s demise warranted a page and half with photos while Lemon was relegated to about a quarter of that space. Carlson’s article was ripe with speculation about where he’d appear next. No mention of a post-CNN career for Lemon was discussed.

Labor negotiations continue with the Writers and studios/streamers. So far no agreements have been reached. Looming large behind the labor unrest is the new period of austerity that the major studios have succumbed to due to their past ‘cost is no object’ spending on product creation. As the financial reality of an evolving market takes hold, the studios are adjusting accordingly. Labor seeks increases in wages and fringes. The years of long seasons have been replaced by orders of six episodes now, and maybe in two years, six more. When I Love Lucy was on the air, 30-plus episodes were filmed. We averaged 24 a season on Cheers, and one year we shot 26.