Column: Ch. 7's Syracuse connection remains strong; Hollywood's Buffalo connection takes a hit
Leftovers after the long holiday weekend:
This is the time of year that WKBW-TV (Channel 7) usually announces what recent Syracuse University graduates will be joining the station under an E.W. Scripps program (Channel 7’s owner) and which SU graduates from the class of 2019 are leaving.
But the Covid-19 pandemic has interfered with this yearly practice.
Because of the pandemic that closed colleges and led to remote learning away from campus, Channel 7 won’t be having a new class of SU graduates.
However, the station will still have a strong Syracuse flavor as it is keeping all four multimedia journalists from the 2019 class from SU’s Newhouse School of Public Communications for another year.
“It’s a real win for us as normally they are recruited and placed at other Scripps stations across the country,” explained Channel 7 News Director Rob Heverling in an email. “The pandemic required us to suspend starting a new class of JCPs (Journalism Career Program) this summer. The plan is to restart the JCP program as we approach next spring when we’ll recruit four new Newhouse grads and our current group of JCPs will be heading to other Scripps stations.”
The returnees from the 2019 SU class are Jeddy Johnson, Gilat Melamed, Taylor Epps and Olivia Proia.
Two members of the 2018 class of the partnership between Scripps and SU also remain full-time MMJs at Channel 7 – Rebecca Thornburg and Nikki DeMentri.
And Jeff Slawson remains from the class of 2017.
Mini-review of “Game On!,” the new CBS comedy-reality series premiering at 8 tonight (Wednesday) in which Tampa Bay tight end and Western New York native Rob Gronkowski and tennis great Venus Williams are on separate teams and do strange stunts and answer trivia questions. Comedians Bobby Lee and Ian Karmel supply laughs as their teammates. Keegan-Michael Key is the host of the show.
Based on a successful British series, “A League of Their Own,” that “Late, Late Show” host James Corden has brought over from the pond, it has some amusing moments and passes the extremely low bar required of summer reality series.
In a Zoom news conference, Gronkowski, who gets a producer’s credit along with Williams, Key and Corden, said he likely would have had trouble being allowed to do some of the more dangerous stunts if he was playing for a team last year instead of taking the last NFL season off.
“During the game of football, they would definitely not let me shoot some of the episodes because some of the challenges were pretty dangerous,” said Gronkowski. “Possibly in the offseason I could do it. We might have to tone it down a little bit."
The former New England Patriot added a monster truck stunt was unlikely to have been allowed by any NFL team.
“I would say I probably wouldn’t have done that,” Gronkowski said. “I was 15 feet in the air and I was landing in the monster truck. And I’m squishing the seats because I am 6-6, 250. My knees were at the steering wheel. I don’t think I would have done that one if I was still playing football.”
Corden piped in with a crack, asking Gronkowski “what about something like you are sensational at, the rhythmic gymnastics? Would you still do the rhythmic gymnastics knowing you have to go back to a locker room, regardless of safety?”
“I was so sensational at it, you are right,” deadpanned Gronkowski. “When the episode comes out, I am pretty sure during training camp – there are always skits to keep the room lively … throughout the 30 days of camp. I am pretty sure they are going to want to see a rhythmic gymnastics routine live.”
Asked who he would like to appear on the show, Gronkowski picked NBA great Shaquille O’Neal.
“Shaq has a comedy side and he loves to compete,” Gronkowski said. “He loves dancing, he loves competition, he loves being the best at whatever he is doing. Whenever I am on the football field, I tend to be one of the bigger guys on the field. And everyone is smaller than me is always talking garbage to me. I don’t understand that. So I want Shaq on the show so I can talk garbage to him because he is way bigger than me. Then I can understand … those guys who are smaller than me on the football field. I’d feel like one of them talking garbage to Shaq all the time.”
The new ABC fall schedule unofficially announced over the weekend includes a couple of Buffalo-connected disappointments.
ABC canceled “Emergence,” the series co-created by Williamsville native Michele Fazekas, after one season.
The network also canceled “Single Parents,” the comedy that featured a character, Douglas Fogerty, played by Brad Garrett, who was from Buffalo.
In the Feb. 25 episode, here’s what Fogerty had to say about being a Buffalo Sabres fan: “In 1972, I camped out on the Buffalo sidewalk just to get Sabres tickets. We had to huddle together for warmth. But with close proximity comes disease.”
That is especially true nowadays.
In case you wer e wondering, the Sabres record in the 1971-72 season was 16-43-19. It was their second season in the league. In the 1972-73 season, their record was 37-27-14 and they made the playoffs for the first time. I’m guessing Douglas must have been referring to that season.
The two new scripted series on ABC’s roster next season so far are “Big Sky,” a drama from David E. Kelley about two detectives investigating a kidnapping; and “Call Your Mother,” a comedy starring Kyra Sedgwick.
ABC’s short list of new fall shows is in keeping with the schedules of its rivals due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As expected, Fox announced over the weekend that the series “The Resident,” “Last Man Standing” and “Prodigal Son” have been renewed after a short delay that kept their futures in suspense.
Some conspiracy theorists about every move being made by the Pegulas these days speculated that the decision by John Murphy to exit “One Bills Live” may have had something to do with Pegula Sports and Entertainment saving money on his salary. The speculation arose partly because two Bills employees already on the payroll, Chris Brown and Maddy Glab, have taken Murphy’s spot on the program simulcast by WGR radio and cable’s MSG.
“It wasn’t a factor at all,” said Mark Preisler, the PSE executive vice president in charge of broadcasting.
email: apergament@buffnews.com