Last Resort

Reports: Fox passes on carrier-based 'Wild Blue' drama

By Kevin Lilley on January 2, 2014 Carriers, Entertainment, Navy

What started as a Navy-themed TV drama with an impressive Hollywood pedigree slowly became a show without a ship, without a star — and, eventually, without a chance. “Wild Blue,” an aircraft carrier-based pilot pitched to Fox but delayed when producers couldn’t land a flattop to film on, won’t be shot after all, according to multiple reports. Both The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.com said the show’s stumbles weren’t limited to finding a carrier; in fact, plans called for filming to commence without a flattop to accommodate the schedule of potential leading man Tim McGraw — country music superstar, “Friday Night…

Navy-on-TV update: Female lead cast for Norfolk drama, Fox goes into the "Blue"

By Kevin Lilley on February 19, 2013 Aviation, Entertainment

If you’ve finally watched every “Last Resort” episode on your DVR and are going through Navy-themed TV withdrawal, cheer up — one aquaflage-filled drama just cast its female lead, while another has advanced to the production stage. Per the plugged-in folks at Deadline, Gage Golightly (who recently appeared in “Teen Wolf” — this one, not that one, and we can all pretend this one never happened) will play the wife of a Navy lieutenant in “Company Town,” a young-adult drama set in Norfolk, Va., against the background of a fictional Navy scandal. Golightly’s relationship with a longtime “townie” friend, and how…

Norfolk TV show moving forward, with a new name

By Kevin Lilley on January 23, 2013 Entertainment

With “Last Resort” sailing toward its “kick-ass ending,” fans of Navy-centric television that doesn’t include the initials “NCIS” are out of luck for a few months. But as we reported earlier this month, there are a half-dozen shows with Navy ties in the Hollywood development pipeline, ranging from dramas set on aircraft carriers to updates of Cold War-era apocalypse novels. One of those new shows, a pilot headed to the CW network about young sailors’ lives and loves on a large East Coast naval base, was supposed to be titled “Norfolk.” Here’s a summary, courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter: A…

'Last Resort' sunk, but co-creator promises 'kick-ass ending'

By Kevin Lilley on November 26, 2012 Entertainment

ABC has cancelled the submarine-treason drama “Last Resort,” but while fans won’t get a second season, they’ve been promised one heck of a finale. “We’re going to give you no-holds barred kick-ass ending,” series co-creator Shawn Ryan tweeted shortly after the news broke. He also confirmed the show will complete its 13-episode run. In a wide-ranging interview with “Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show,” cited by The Hollywood Reporter, Ryan addressed everything from the show’s time slot (“brutal”) to problems with certain demographics (“There was a military aspect to the show that research showed kept some women at a distance”) to what…

Last stand for ABC's 'Last Resort' sub drama?

By Kevin Lilley on October 26, 2012 Entertainment

ABC’s submarine-themed drama may be close to scraping bottom. Fans of “Last Resort” — which features the crew of a ballistic-missile sub, nuclear warhead detonations, a fictional island in the Indian Ocean and a few treason charges for good measure — got good news last week when the network ordered two more scripts in addition to the series’ planned 13-episode run. But an extended script order isn’t the same as a renewal for a second season — it doesn’t even guarantee those extra shows will be produced. And it doesn’t address the show’s ratings slide: Thursday’s show scored a 1.3…

No ratings boom for "Last Resort"

By Kevin Lilley on October 1, 2012 Entertainment, Navy, Submarines

Just because a few nuclear missiles get launched doesn’t mean everybody’s paying attention. The ABC-TV submarine-based drama “Last Resort” premiered Thursday to “OK” or “soft” ratings, depending on which Hollywood-industry website you’re reading, drawing a 2.2 rating and a 7 share in the coveted 18-49 demographic. That put the premiere third in its time slot, below CBS comedy “The Big Bang Theory” and FOX talent show “The X Factor,” according to final ratings released Friday. Finishing below a top-rated sitcom and a Simon Cowell-judged karaoke contest may not sound all that bad, but the “Last Resort” numbers are just slightly…

Subs, destroyers and SEALs — 4 ways the Navy's going Hollywood

By Kevin Lilley on July 17, 2012 Entertainment, Movies, nuclear weapons, SEAL

The less-than-stellar box office performance of “Battleship” (avoid the rush; pre-order your DVDs now) isn’t stopping a surge in Navy-themed television and film productions. Here’s a quick look at four sailor-heavy releases headed to a movie theater or TV set near you. 1. Last Resort When and where: Thursdays this fall, 8 p.m., ABC What: The fictional USS Colorado is ordered to nuke Pakistan. The commander disobeys the order and is relieved. The sub is shot at by other American forces, escapes to a tropical island, then fires a missile toward Washington. And that’s just the three-minute preview. Don’t believe…

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