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Title details for Season Finale by Susanne Daniels - Available

Season Finale

The Unexpected Rise & Fall of the WB and UPN

by Susanne Daniels
Cynthia Littleton
ebook
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Season Finale is an inside chronicle of the entertainment industry following the unexpected rise and fall of the WB and UPN networks.
In the mid-1990s, Hollywood studios Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures each launched their own broadcast television network, hoping to become the fifth player in an industry dominated by ABC, CBS, NBC, and, more recently, Fox. Against all odds, the WB and UPN altered primetime television's landscape, only to merge as the CW in 2006—casualties of conflicting personalities, relentless competition, and a failure to anticipate the business's future.
Following the money, egos, and risks of network television, former WB executive Susanne Daniels and Variety television reporter Cynthia Littleton expose the difficulties of trying to launch two traditional broadcast networks just as cable and the Internet were ending their dominance. Through in-depth reportage and firsthand accounts, Daniels and Littleton re-create the creative and business climate that birthed the WB and UPN, illustrating how the race to find programming spawned their heated rivalry and created shows that became icons of youth culture.
Offering insider stories about shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson's Creek, 7th Heaven, Gilmore Girls, Smallville, Felicity, Girlfriends, Everybody Hates Chris, and America's Next Top Model, the authors present the creative environment that ushered these groundbreaking programs into living rooms across America.
Despite success, the WB and UPN unraveled due to corporate miscalculations, management missteps, and industry upheaval that led to their decline—and rebirth as the CW. This is a cautionary and compelling entertainment saga about a precarious moment in television history, when the transformation of the broadcast networks signaled an inevitable shift for all pop culture.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    November 21, 2023

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780061753718

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780061753718
      • File size: 1537 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 1, 2007
      This predictable look at the "unpredictable business" of television tells the tale of upstart networks the WB and UPN, whose eventual failures were both "symptom" and "byproduct" of "an industry in transition" amid "a broader business environment gone bananas." A former executive at the WB, Daniels recounts the 11-year history of the "netlet" and its main competitor, UPN, in exacting detail. Daniels and her co-writer Littleton (of Variety magazine) bring what gossip they have-noting, for instance, that Katie Holmes nearly passed on Dawson's Creek for the lead in her high school musical-but the majority of the writing is strictly business. Unfortunately, neither Daniels nor Littleton have the knack for developing characters; the majority of the large cast (listed helpfully up front) are introduced with lazy cliches (screenwriter Kevin Williamson "was all youthful exuberance that day, sporting a sweet grin, tousled sandy blonde hair and deep-blue eyes"), drawing life from behind-the-scenes discussion of deals, partnerships, creative development and ratings wars. This chronicle should appeal to future network executives, but fans will probably be happier watching Buffy reruns-or even Star Trek: Voyager.

    • Library Journal

      October 15, 2007
      This predictable look at the "unpredictable business" of television tells the tale of upstart networks the WB and UPN, whose eventual failures were both "symptom" and "byproduct" of "an industry in transition" amid "a broader business environment gone bananas." A former executive at the WB, Daniels recounts the 11-year history of the "netlet" and its main competitor, UPN, in exacting detail. Daniels and her co-writer Littleton (of Variety magazine) bring what gossip they have-noting, for instance, that Katie Holmes nearly passed on Dawson's Creek for the lead in her high school musical-but the majority of the writing is strictly business. Unfortunately, neither Daniels nor Littleton have the knack for developing characters; the majority of the large cast (listed helpfully up front) are introduced with lazy cliches (screenwriter Kevin Williamson "was all youthful exuberance that day, sporting a sweet grin, tousled sandy blonde hair and deep-blue eyes"), drawing life from behind-the-scenes discussion of deals, partnerships, creative development and ratings wars. This chronicle should appeal to future network executives, but fans will probably be happier watching Buffy reruns-or even Star Trek: Voyager.

      Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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