Latest in State of Affairs

The broadcast networks are putting the finishing touches on series orders for the upcoming 2015-2016 seasons, which they will present next week to buyers at the annual Upfronts orgy next week in New York. To make way for the slew of pilots that have made the monthslong journey to becoming full-blown TV dramas and…

Not that there was any realistic hope for renewal of freshman State Of Affairs after its low-rated (and short) run, but NBC has made it official — opting not to go with a second season of the espionage drama starring Katherine Heigl as a CIA Analyst. After a respectable debut, likely based on Heigl’s name recognition…

There were a lot of parallels between the CW freshman dramedy Jane the Virgin and Fox’s legal dramedy Ally McBeal at the Golden Globes. Both were well received but softly rated first-year shows unlike anything else on their networks when they became surprise winners, with their then-little known young stars Gina…

The latest additions to the Monday lineup this fall, NBC drama State Of Affairs and CBS comedy Mike & Molly, were the only series in originals last night as the broadcast networks are fully in a holiday mode. Mike & Molly (1.7) was the highest-rated program of the night in adults 18-49. It was down just a tenth from…

UPDATE, 3:31 PM: The final numbers are in, and State Of Affairs took a hard fall from grace in its second week. With a 1.5/4 and the context of a 15-minute presidential pre-emption, the Katherine Heigl-led series was down 31%. That context means Week 3 will be a big hurdle for the NBC show performance-wise. As it is…

This is why the networks continue to go for star vehicles — despite pretty bad reviews, NBC’s drama State Of Affairs, toplined by Katherine Heigl, opened solidly last night with a 2.2 rating in adults 18-49. That was down from the debuts of the previous three NBC dramas slotted behind The Voice on Monday, Smash (3.8)…

The return of Katherine Heigl to primetime TV debuts tonight but honestly, State Of Affairs is no triumph, as my video review says. The NBC drama is a dumbed-down mess and a sadly missed opportunity for all concerned. In SoA, Heigl plays Charleston “Charlie” Tucker, the CIA staffer who briefs the U.S. president every…

Courtney B. Vance and James Remar have booked guest roles on NBC’s fall drama series State Of Affairs. Directed by Joe Carnahan and produced by Universal TV, State Of Affairs stars Katherine Heigl as a key CIA attaché who counsels President Constance Payton (Alfre Woodard) on high-stakes incidents around the world…

UPDATED: Veteran TV writer-producer Ed Bernero has left NBC’s fall drama State Of Affairs about two months after boarding the new series as executive producer/showrunner.  Trauma creator Dario Scardapane is rumored as a replacement. State Of Affairs, originally conceived by Alexi Hawley, had been shepherded at the…

Katherine Heigl's appearance at Summer TV Press Tour 2014, to discuss her return to series TV, was as dramatic as you'd expect. The hall was packed with media to hear Heigl talk about her new NBC series State of Affairs, in which she plays a CIA analyst who presents the U.S. President’s daily briefing on security…

Veteran TV producer Ed Bernero, whose credits include CBS’ Criminal Minds and its spinoff Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior as well as last summer’s Crossing Lines for NBC, has been tapped as showrunner for NBC’s midseason spy drama State Of Affairs. We hear the deal closed a couple weeks ago and Bernero will be a part…

NBC, the first broadcast network to announce its fall schedule at the upfronts, today became the first to unveil its fall premiere dates exactly two weeks after its upfront presentation. This has got to be a record for the earliest premiere dates announcement in recent years. No major surprises, with veteran The Bigges…