HD Feed: September 20

The Hollywood Reporter has just posted online  its inside Modern Family cover story of its September 28 print issue. It’s a terrific insight into the genesis and execution of the HD hit that’s about to kick off its fourth season in the US with a slew of challenges for the characters and writers, including: Gloria going back to motherhood with her first child with Jay, Cam going back to work and Hayley (at last) going off to college. The creators acknowledge some of the changes are risky but inevitable to stop their show going off the boil. “It would kill me if I heard people say, ‘That show has really gone downhill’ or ‘I’m just not interested anymore,'” co-creator Steven Levitan tells THR. “When moments come up where we feel like a story beat or a joke feels a bit familiar, we keep going because we’re not going to give the cynics anything to grab onto.” 

So much for TV One reinstating Episodes after next week’s Auckland Daze finale, given the DVD of season two is being released the same week. Alas, the network has opted to forego more first-run eps of this HD gem for SD repeats of Kath & Kim at 10.05 Thursday. And on Friday it’s delving into the archives even deeper than Comedy Central to revive  Fawlty Towers, Are You Being Served? and Mr Bean for Brendhan and Jason’s Brit Comedy Night. Self-proclaimed Britcom experts Brendhan Lovegrove and Jason Hoyte will dress up — or pad out — this two-hour block with impressions, insider jokes and bloopers. At least the strategy won’t make the 19-month-old “developments” on lead-in Coronation Street look quite as dated.

Deadline reports HBO’s making ex-Sopranos star James Gandolfini an offer he may not be able to refuse: the chance to shoot a pilot for a crime drama loosely based on the BBC’s Criminal Justice, about a young man’s journey through the prison system; Schindler’s List scribe Steven Zaillian will direct a script he’s written with Richard Price (The Wire, Ransom). And Netflicks has commissioned a 13-hour drama from Weeds creator Jenji Kohan about women behind bars called Orange is the New Black that will star Mercy’s Taylor Schilling and That ’70s Show’s Laura Prepon.

The Ridges slipped sharply in the ratings on Wednesday, when the second episode averaged only 6.5% – 6.9% of the key demographics. However, it and HD stablemate Drug Bust (6.2% – 6.9%) faced tougher competition than the previous week, opposite TV2’s movie-length My Kitchen Rules (14.9% – 18.1%). As a result, lead-out Underbelly: Badness was down on its premiere (5.3% – 6.7%) while TV2’s Anger Management (10.2% – 12.5%) was up. By 9.30, TV3’s The Killing was on its last legs with only 1.6% – 3.3%. It screened opposite the season finale of Castle on TV One, which went out on high: 5.9% – 7.8%.