Bianco (pre-) Handicaps (pre-) Nominations for the Prime-time Emmys

As nominated soap actors race look to the Daytime Emmys (a week from tomorrow), the soapiest actors in prime-time are at the start of the process to determine who will share the slate with their non-serial bretheren on the prime-time Emmy ballot.

This week, "nominations for nominations" ballots for the prime-time awards fest begin arriving in Academy member's mailboxes. In honor of the occasion, USA TODAY's Robert Bianco offers his suggestions for who should fit the bill.

Bianco's picks are heavy on soap players, including both prime-time serial women (Evangeline Lilly of LOST, America Ferrera of UGLY BETTY, and Sally Field of BROTHERS & SISTERS) and, after recognizing Kyle Chandler of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS on his best actor list, Bianco stocks his supporting actor slate 100% with nighttime soapsters, including Masi Oka of HEROES, T.R. Knight of GREY'S ANATOMY, and Sam Neil of THE TUDORS.

Bianco's list is strong, if a bit safe. He rightly cites that nearly every woman on UGLY BETTY could be nominated for an Emmy, before proceeding to choose the predictable--and most famous choice--Vanessa Williams as the one most deserving. While I like Williams on the show a great deal, stars Ana Ortiz and Becki Newton have given revelatory performances with characters that could easily have been one-note. He also shortchanges BETTY's men in his calculations, with nary a mention of Eric Mabius or the delightfully surprising Michael Urie. (Personally, I would have thrown Adrian Pasdar, who's complicated take on what--literally--could have been a cartoon made viewers willing to patch over a huge plot hole in HEROES's season finale, and to hope that said hole somehow means he'll still be flying into living rooms on Monday nights next season.)

Still, Bianco shows the nighttime serial the love it deserves by recognizing some of the amazing contributions that have been made by TV stars, movie stars, and newcomers alike to the genre and prime-time slate this past season. To read his full predictions, click

TUDORS Scores Early Second Season Pick-Up

Showtime has renewed its hit period-soap opera THE TUDORS only two episodes into the show's first season.

The heavily hyped premium channel serial, starring film star Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as a young, virile Henry VIII, broke Showtime records with its April 1 debut. Though viewership has leveled off somewhat since, the series continues to post stellar numbers for the net, as evidenced by the serial's early renewal.

The10-episode second season, expected to further chronicle the marriage of Henry to the ill-fated Anne Boleyn, will debut sometime in 2008.

TUDORS Premiere Delivers Record Ratings for Showtime

Showtime's premiere of period soap opera THE TUDORS drew approximately 869K total viewers for it's debut last Sunday night at 10 p.m., and an additional 404K for its 11 p.m. airing. This establishes the decadent Jonathan Rhys-Meyers vehicle as as Showtime's biggest premiere in three years, and three times the network's prime-time average. Additionally, more than a million people sampled Tudors either online or in other on-demand formats, according to Showtime.

Sudsy TUDORS Premieres to Positive Reviews

Splashy (and star-studded) period soap THE TUDORS premiered Sunday night on Showtime (though, at least for the time being, viewers without the pay-channel can view the first two episodes online by going here), and the reviews have been largely positive across the board. USA Today, gives the new serial three stars out of four. Here are some great quotes from their review:

"With lances up and shirts off, Showtime is counting on Henry VIII to make history once again....if that means turning Henry into the world's first Men's Health monarch or giving co-star billing to star Jonathan Rhys Meyers' six pack, so be it."

"Whether the effort works depends, in part, on whether viewers want a historical Masterpiece, along the lines of The Six Wives of Henry VIII, or...a soap romp with historical underpinnings, a sort of 'Desperate Monarchs'"

"Tudors can offer many a royal pleasure, starting with Rhys Meyers' lusty performance, but including a mostly excellent supporting cast, high-class production values and an entertaining script."

"[The story starts with] a still-vibrant, pre-fat Henry, just tiring of his first marriage and considering his second. The plot [leaves] plenty of room to fit in a second or third season before Henry has to turn into the corpulent, bearded bedder-and-beheader [we know]..."

"I'd say 'keep your shirt on,' but that would violate everything The Tudors stands for."

Read the full article here.

Visit the Showtime site for THE TUDORS here.

SHOWTIME Premieres 'Sixteenth-Century Soap Opera' with Film Star Rhys-Meyers

Period-soap fans mourning the series close of HBO's sumptuous ROME, need cry no longer. This Sunday, Showtime premeires THE TUDORS, what network president Robert Greenblatt has already declared to be one of the net's "great soap opera[s]."

While Showtime has been a pioneer in the nighttime serial field with the groundbreaking QUEER AS FOLK and THE L WORD, Tudors follows a more traditional, bodice-ripping, path, and stars Irish film star Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as a younger, fitter version of the ambitious and oft ill-tempered Henry VIII, with Sam Neil, Jeremy Northam, and Gabrielle Anwar in key supporting roles.

Here is the full text of a recent show profile by Bill Higgins:

"Showtime touts Tudors"
Show acts as sixteenth century soap opera

HOLLYWOOD -- Sixteenth century love, war and really well-embroidered costumes drew an overflow turnout to the Egyptian for Monday's screening of Showtime's The Tudors.

It's not often that a TV miniseries screening requires a second theater, or a Les Deux Cafe after-party needs overflow rooms, but such was the draw of [Rhys-Meyers] as a bare-chested, oversexed Henry VIII.

Key to the show's success, said Showtime [president] Robert Greenblatt, is that it's "a great soap opera."

"It's got sex, intrigue and dysfunctional families," said Greenblatt. "In fact, it's the original dysfunctional family -- nothing changes in 500 years. And who doesn't want to dress up like that?"