The Simpsons, King of the Hill nab Writers Guild nominations
The Writers Guild of America today announced the nominees for outstanding achievement in television, radio, news, promotional writing, and graphic animation during the 2008 season to be honored at the Writers Guild Awards on February 7, 2009.
Comedy Series Nominees: THE SIMPSONS, 30 ROCK, ENTOURAGE, THE OFFICE and WEEDS.
Animation Nominees (Any length, One airing):
“Apocalypse Cow” (THE SIMPSONS)
“The Debarted” (THE SIMPSONS)
“E Pluribus Wiggum” (THE SIMPSONS)
“Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words” (THE SIMPSONS)
“Life: A Loser’s Manual” (KING OF THE HILL)
“Strangeness on a Train” (KING OF THE HILL)
The faces behind TV’s famous cartoon voices
Ever wonder who does the voice of your favorite cartoon characters? Well you’re in luck as the Chicago Tribune has compiled a list of 55 characters and their real life counterparts.
Check out the full list.
Adult Swim to syndicate ‘King of the Hill’
Adult Swim announced today that it will expand its late-night programming block by one hour beginning January, 2009. The new, daily schedule will run from 10pm-6am and will be kicked off at 10pm with repeats of King of the Hill. Adult Swim debuted in Sept. 2001 with just three hours of programming airing two nights a week. As of January, Cartoon Network will air Adult Swim programming seven nights a week.
ABC interested in ‘King of the Hill’
Variety reports that a few rats… er, insiders, at Fox have spilled the beans in regards to King of the Hill’s future. It turns out that ABC is interested in acquiring the series. The reason behind the interest is due to ABC’s upcoming animated show “The Goode Family,” which coincidentally is created by Mike Judge, the creator of King of the Hill. It seems as though the network wants to pair up two animated together because as history shows, animated shows do best when paired with other animated shows.
Other networks interested in possibly acquiring the series, and continuing on where Fox leaves off, are Cartoon Network, FX, and Comedy Central — although it’s believed that there is little to no chance of such a move happening due to the show’s per episode cost.
Check back with us as the story is sure to develop.
‘The Simpsons’ score best ratings in 5 years
The 19th annual “Treehouse of Horror” Simpsons episode gave the show its best ratings in nearly five years, bringing in 12.5 million viewers, receiving a 6.2 preliminary rating among adults 18-49. The momentum continued throughout the night as King of the Hill brought in 8.6 million viewers, while Family Guy brought in 10 million and finally, American Dad managed to attract 7.2 million viewers — all season-high numbers.
You’re probably noticing that King of the Hill brought in 1.4 million more viewers than American Dad, yet Fox is cancelling King and keeping Dad. To those wondering why this is, it has to do with the magical demographics. American Dad manages to pull in a younger crowd which advertisers love.
Oh, and the main reason The Simpsons managed to nab such a high number of viewers was because of the scene in which Homer tries to vote for Barack Obama only to have things go terribly wrong. Watch the clip below:
‘King of the Hill’ pitch trailer
Below is the original pitch trailer used by Mike Judge to help sell King of the Hill to FOX. The animation was done by Heart of Texas Productions in 1996.
‘King of the Hill’ cancelled
Fox announced today that they will not be ordering more episodes of “King of the Hill,” and that the last of the April’s 13 episode order are wrapping production.
Luckily for fans, there are many King of the Hill episodes in the can that haven’t aired, which Fox plans to air in the 2009-10 season, essentially the 14th and final season of the Mike Judge animated show.
King of the Hill has faced possible cancellation many times before. Unfortunately, this time it’s for real. Mike Judge, the show’s creator, had already moved on from King of the Hill and went to work on a new animated show for ABC titled “The Goode Family,” which is scheduled to premiere in midseason. However, Mike Judge continued to voice the Hank Hill character.
To replace King of the Hill, Fox will introduce two new animated shows in midseason, Mitch Hurwitz’s “Sit Down, Shut Up” and the Family Guy spinoff “The Cleveland Show.”
Via THR
