Last Man Standing (Series; ABC)

'Last Man Standing'Credits: Filmed in Los Angeles by 21 Laps and Double Wide Prods. in association with Twentieth Century Fox Television. Executive producers, Jack Burditt, Tim Allen, Marty Adelstein, Shawn Levy, Becky Clements, Richard Baker, Rick Messina; co-executive producers, Marsh McCall, Kevin Hench, Andy Gordon, Liz Astrof; producers, John Pasquin, John Amodeo; director, Pasquin; writer, Burditt.Mike - Tim Allen Vanessa - Nancy Travis Eve - Kaitlyn Dever Mandy - Molly Ephraim Kristin - Alexandra Krosney Kyle - Christoph Sanders Ed - Hector Elizondo Disney's Marvel Comics once published a title called "What if ?" which tampered with comicbook history to explore the rewritten consequences. Think of "Last Man Standing," Tim Allen's not-so-triumphant return to ABC, as "What if the Dad on 'Home Improvement' had girls instead of boys?" Although it's one of several comedies dabbling in gender (and a touch of conservative) politics, probing such matters gives this "Man" too much credit. Mostly, it's an excuse to watch Allen occupy an Archie Bunker-like role 20 years after he began raking in cash for ABC. Good luck catching lightning in a bottle twice. Mike is normally away on business for long stretches, but a shift at the catalogue where he works -- plus a promotion for his wife Vanessa (Nancy Travis) at her job -- will keep him closer to home. That means he has to figure out how to deal with his daughters, including the single mom Kristin (Alexandra Krosney), who lives with them. Kristin's toddler is in daycare, where Mike is told they're "building a mosque out of pillows." His grimace and grumbling about "Obamacare" tells you he's conservative ("old school," as his daughter puts it), but the more pertinent issue regards a guy's guy mystified by all the estrogen surrounding him. Of course, Vanessa is by contrast omniscient -- so much so that when one of the girls bursts into tears, she immediately snaps at Mike, "What the hell did you do?" What writer Jack Burditt ("30 Rock") and director/"Home Improvement" alum John Pasquin have done is concoct a series meant to reach women by watching a man's man chafe against society's perceived feminization. If there's any potential here, most of it comes from Allen's relationship with his youngest daughter (Kaitlyn Dever, fresh off FX's "Justified"), an awkward tomboy; and his boss Ed (a slumming Hector Elizondo). But that's grasping at straws. Allen's Mike saunters through the wispy pilot (something about an errant blind date he arranges involving his daughters) spouting laugh lines like, "It smells like balls in here," which is truer than intended. A second episode -- creating a one-hour premiere -- is equally arid, with Mike pushing middle-kid Mandy (Molly Ephraim) to find a job, and chafing about the sissified notion of baby-proofing the house. Allen is one of those rare standup comics with the chops to actually thrive in a sitcom format, but here he's simply going through the motions -- in a series determined to replicate "Home Improvement's" vibe and hope nobody notices the difference. Stranger stunts have worked, and the show has a fair shot of at least opening -- especially given the promising numbers for some new comedies. That said, unlike when "Home" premiered, neither men nor women will need to stand in order to change channels.Camera, Donald A. Morgan; production designer, Bernie Vyzga; editor, Pamela J. Marshall; music, Monte Montgomery, Carl Thiel; casting, Marc Hirschfeld, Blyth Nailling. 30 MIN. Contact Brian Lowry at brian.lowry@variety.com

ABC Developing U.S. Version Of British Crime Comedy Suburban Shootout

EXCLUSIVE: ABC has put in development a U.S. version of the praised British comedy Suburban Shootout. Byron Balasco will write the hourlong adaptation of the half-hour original, a dark comedy about a woman who escapes the city and her past for suburban bliss only to discover she (with the help of her new neighbors) has to resort to using unconventional methods and her past skills to achieve the life she so desires. ABC Studios is producing with Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment and Laurence Bowen and Philip Clarke’s Feelgood Fiction, the company behind the British series that controls the format rights. Balasco, Kaplan, Bowen and Clarke are executive producing. This is the second stab at launching a U.S. version of Suburban Shootout. In 2008, HBO ordered a pilot written by Michelle Ashford, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starring Judy Greer. ABC seems like a good place for the remake given that the original has been referred to as “the British Desperate Housewives,” and ABC, the network that airs Housewives, needs a successor for the suburban dramedy, which is now in its final season. Created by Bowen, Roger Beckett and Gary James Martin, Suburban Shootout premiered in 2006 and ran for two seasons on Five and Paramount Comedy in the UK and on Oxygen in the U.S. ICM reps Balasco, who most recently was co-executive producer on ABC/ABC Studios’ Detroit 1-8-7, and Feelgood Fiction.

Jobs Dying May Break Internet Records

Jobs' dying might have damaged Internet records, based on the Australian social networking monitoring firm SR7, which believed that Twitter hit 10,000 tweets per second on Wednesday mid-day in the news from the Apple co-founder's passing. That will beat the prior record of 8,868 tweets per second set by Beyonce when she introduced being pregnant around the red-colored carpet in the MTV Video Music Honours in August.our editor recommendsSteve Jobs' Dying Prompts His Biography Release To Become Moved With a MonthSteve Jobs: The Apple Co-Founder's Most Memorable Quotes A spokesperson for the organization told Agence-France Presse, "We're waiting for the state Twitter data to become launched, however, in the amounts that people've been monitoring with the day because the announcement it's certainly been trending to interrupt that record." Social networking internet search engine Topsy demonstrated that more than three million tweets have been sent about Jobs between Wednesday and Thursday morning. The peak was arrived at early Thursday morning when over 555,000 tweets were sent mentioning his title. VIDEO: Jobs' Finest On-Camera Moments The Canadian Broadcasting Company reported that news sites for example CNN and Washington Publish saw downturn on the websites from the surge in traffic and Google and Twitter trends were centered by Jobs-related searches. Other sites, for example eBay saw an outburst in Jobs related merchandise available and pre-orders for that Jobs biography increased 42,000 percent on Amazon . com.com, striking No. 1 on its sales chart. The 56-year-old Jobs, who confounded Apple and totally changed the private technology industry, died on Wednesday carrying out a lengthy fight with pancreatic cancer. Related Subjects Jobs

'American Horror Story' Premiere Draws 3.two million for Forex

Robert Zuckerman/Forex"American Horror Story" Forex's American Horror Story got on an excellent start on Wednesday evening. Bringing in 3.two million total audiences to the premiere telecast at 10 p.m., Ryan Murphy and Kaira Falchuk's new horror drama averaged two million among grown ups 18-49, steady using the series debuts of Murphy's Puppy nip/Tuck, which went for many seasons around the cable network. PHOTOS: 'American Horror Story': Who's Who In comparison towards the launch of Sons of Anarchy, American Horror Story enhanced 33 percent within the demo (1.5 million versus. two million). On premiere evening (including encores), American Horror Story came 5 million audiences with 3.two million in 18-49. STORY: Forex Chief Calls Ryan Murphy's 'American Horror Story' a possible 'Breakthrough' "We are really thrilled through the premiere rankings performance of yankee Horror Story," stated John Landgraf, leader and gm at Forex Systems. "We all know that after the Live+7 rankings are available in, those of the 13 drama series Forex has opened, AHS will rank a minimum of # 2 all-amount of time in grown ups 18-49 behind The Shield, and there's possible that could be our greatest ever." STORY: 'American Horror Story': 10 Items to Know Connie Britton and Dylan McDermott lead the ensemble cast which includes Jessica Lange and Denis O'Hare. TV Rankings Forex American Horror Story

'Angry Birds' Knocked Off Top of Apple App Store Chart by Walt Disney's Swampy

NEW YORK - A Walt Disney video game for iPhones and iPads that features a sewer-dwelling alligator named Swampy has risen to the top spot on Apple's Paid App Store, which another animal-themed game app, the popular Angry Birds, used to hold, Reuters reported. Within 24 hours of its release on Sept. 22, the 99 cents game, Where's My Water?, took the top spot in the paid app store for iPhones and iPads and has stayed there, beating out Rovio's Angry Birds, which now ranks third on the chart just behind Tap Battlefield HD. The chart doesn't list the number of game downloads or additional data. Reuters said the success of the game shows the threat that established entertainment and gaming companies can be for gaming upstarts. Disney also hopes that the game will help it with a turnaround of its struggling gaming business. Swampy is the first Disney character created specifically for a mobile game. In the game, players must try to help Swampy keep clean by digging paths to guide water to his subterranean bathtub. Bart Decrem, head of Disney's mobile gaming operations, declined to share figures about the game's number of downloads or financial success, Reuters said. But he told Reuters that the game "has been really well-received, doing really well in terms of downloads and chart positions around the world." Swampy could become a Disney character with broader appeal and potential, but the executive emphasized that it is too early to tell. "First, Swampy needs to continue to prove himself," Decrem said, adding that it will take about three months to judge the alligator's staying power. Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com Twitter: @georgszalai Related Topics The Walt Disney Company

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L.A. County AFL-CIO Endorses Occupy Los Angeles and Occupy Wall Street Protests (Exclusive)

In a strongly worded declaration, the L.A. county AFL-CIO has endorsed the "Occupy" protests that began in NY and have spread to Los Angeles and other cities.our editor recommendsWGA East Endorses Occupy Wall Street Protests (Exclusive)Occupy Wall Street: Hollywood Continues to Weigh In on the ProtestsOccupy Wall Street: NY Times Reporter Arrested During ProtestOccupy Wall Street: What Hollywood Is Saying About the ProtestsRelated Topics•Labor In an exclusive statement to The Hollywood Reporter, the group blasted "an unfair economy that works for 1% of Americans while the vast majority of people struggle to pay the bills, get an education and raise their families." STORY: Occupy Wall Street: NY Times Reporter Arrested During Protest The statement also declared that "the Los Angeles labor movement stands with its sisters and brothers occupying Wall Street, downtown Los Angeles and cities and towns across the country." The group -- the L.A. County Federation of Labor -- is an umbrella group of AFL-CIO locals and other unions. Among its affiliates are AFTRA, SAG, Teamsters and Los Angeles based IATSE locals, whereas the DGA and WGA West are not members. STORY: Michael Moore, Susan Sarandon Make Appearances at Wall Street Protests The group's endorsement is not binding on its affiliates. The only entertainment union to endorse the Occupy protests to date is the WGA East, as THR exclusively reported Sunday. The group's leader, executive secretary treasurer Maria Elena Durazo, added "We must continue to speak out, organize and work together in order to rebuild the middle class." STORY:Occupy Wall Street: What Hollywood Is Saying About the Protests The statement described the Occupy Wall Street movement as "taking a stand against the corporate bullies, banks and investment firms that not only created our economic collapse in 2008, but continue to take advantage of it today, making billions in profits while demanding further wage and benefit cuts from American workers." Email: jhandel@att.net Twitter: @jhandel Related Topics Labor

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Donald Trump, Jr. and Wife Welcome Another Baby Boy

Donald Trump Jr. and Vanessa Haydon Trump Donald Trump Jr. and wife Vanessa welcomed their third child on Sunday, the Celebrity Apprentice judge announced on Twitter. Tristan Milos Trump was born at 2:59 a.m. on Oct. 2, weighing 8 lb., 4 oz.. He joins older sister, 4-year-old Kai Madison, and older brother, 2-year-old Donald John Trump III. Check out our fall preview for galleries, scoop, premiere calendars and more! "Mom and baby doing great! He can't wait to meet his big brother & sister," Trump Jr., 33, wrote on Monday. "I am delighted that Don and Vanessa have a beautiful new member of their growing family," grandfather Donald Trump told People. The couple, who have been married since 2005, announced they were expecting in March.

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