Unveiling its 2011-12 slate today, A&E announced thousands of new reality TV shows–actually 10 but it feels like thousands–plus a remake of the medical thriller miniseries from Ridley and Tony Scott, “Coma.”

“Coma,” two hours over two nights, will debut Memorial Day 2012, updating the Robin Cook novel and Michael Crichton film. Executive producers are Ridley Scott, Tony Scott and David W. Zucker. The script was written by John J. McLaughlin (Black Swan).

CBS

It will be “The CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley,” effective June 6. CBS named Pelley, as expected, to fill the Cronkite chair after Katie Couric departs for her next career, likely a syndicated daytime news/talk show. Pelley will continue to report stories for “60 Minutes.”

The network noted Pelley has more than two decades experience at the network and “Since he brought (his) experience to “60 Minutes” in 2004, half of all the major awards won by the broadcast have been for stories reported by Pelley.”

Cable’s most-watched network, USA, announced 13 projects in development including a comedy starring Nathan Lane, a drama from Mark Gordon (“Grey’s Anatomy”) and a comedy about a boy band from Kara DioGuardi (“American Idol”).

Chris Haston/NBC

As Michael Scott prepared to leave “The Office” for Colorado, not a single Mile High stereotype was overlooked. The altitude, the cowboy boots, the Rocky Mtn oysters, the fact that all the channels will be different (how will he find his shows?).

All in all, it was a classy sendoff. It gave us Michael as almost wise man (his least buffoonish appearance), dispensing advice and sweet sentiment. And it didn’t even need Will Ferrell for star power.

No, he wasn’t sad. He was full of hope. About Colorado and about getting an upgrade.

I’m picking up the satellite signal on my hat, a replica of one in the front row in Westminster that looks like it’s pulling in high-def.

Will this revive the hat industry in London? Matt Lauer wants to know. We can only hope. Maybe “millinery” is the new “plastics.”

Meanwhile, TLC church service coverage interrupted by ads for “Who Killed Chandra Levy?” Really? Tackiest moment was that renowned expert Ivana Trump weighing in on the wedding: it reminded her of Ivanka’s.

Fox

Comcast will double the number of hit TV series available on demand now that ABC and Fox have given permission for their shows to be included. Comcast now bills itself as “the only pay TV provider to offer current TV shows from all four major broadcast networks – ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC – On Demand.”
Effective Thursday, Comcast will offer ABC’s Body of Proof, Castle, Cougar Town, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice, and Fox’s American Dad, America’s Most Wanted, Bob’s Burgers, Bones,
Breaking In, Chicago Code, The Cleveland Show, Cops, Family Guy, Fringe, Glee, Raising Hope, The Simpsons and others.
The networks and advertisers increasingly recognize the benefits to counting the ratings of shows watched as much as a week after initial broadcast. The DVR, once seen as the enemy, is now another tool in marketing the programs. And On Demand could be the networks’ new BFF.

Katie Couric is moving on from the CBS Evening News, she tells People magazine today.
People mag? Really?
Why not announce it through her own manager/publicist, why not let CBS make some kind of mutually agreed statement? Why not tell David Letterman when he asked?
Instead, CBS released a terse sentence, attributed only to a CBS spokesperson:

“There’s a lot to be proud of during Katie Couric’s time at Evening News. CBS News, like Katie herself, is looking forward to the next chapter.”-CBS News Spokesperson

The manner of Couric’s announcement today is more surprising than the news itself. The world has known for weeks that the CBS News anchor planned to leave the Walter Cronkite chair when her contract is up. She dodged the question in recent TV interviews but “sources” at the network confirmed her intention; KCNC, the Denver CBS O&O, even reported it on-air weeks ago.
So why “People”? The only reasonable explanation is that People delivers the demographic she’ll need to launch a daytime talk show. And maybe CBS wasn’t so keen on joining in the fun.

The Denver Post

Keith Olbermann, formerly of MSNBC. (Frederick M. Brown, Getty Images)

Keith Olbermann’s new show will debut June 20 on Current TV, with the same title as his old show, the network said today. He’ll go up again Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC, in the spot Olbermann vacated in January.
The challenge will be to teach viewers to find the channel. Hint: locally on Comcast it’s Channel 107.

Joanne Ostrow

The RTDNA (Radio Television Digital News Association) 2011 journalism awards will be announced in June but the regional winners, in 14 areas nationally, were announced this week. Clearly Denver, Greeley and Colorado Springs are the hot spots for good journalism the region. Specifically KUSA, KMGH, KOA, KRDO and KUNC won multiple honors.
Large market radio: KOA Denver for audio feature, hard news and use of sound;
Small market radio: KUNC Greeley for breaking news, investigative reporting, news series, sports reporting
Large market TV: KUSA for overall excellence, video breaking news, feature, investigative, sports, writing and use of video.
KMGH for continuing coverage (deaths at state hospital), 10 p.m. newscast, website.
Small market TV: KRDO ruled the category. KRDO won for overall excellence, continuing coverage (breast cancer series), feature, investigative, use of video and newscast.
KKTV won for sports reporting. KOAA won for writing.

HBO

On Saturday, HBO debuts “Cinema Verite,” a dramatic recreation of the early 1970s documentary “An American Family” that ran on PBS.
At the same time, WNET, the public TV station that originally produced the documentary, is replaying the entire 12-hours and is putting excerpts and one full episode online.
Amazing how far reality tv has come; amazing how little has changed. This is a fascinating subject that deserves more thought than it’s allowed in the TV movie treatment.
The 1973 documentary about the Loud family, billed as an anthropological study of an American family, was the first mesmerizing reality TV binge in which the players were told to ignore the cameras and, after a while, actually did. Viewers were hooked on the drama as the marriage fell apart, one son revealed his homosexuality and the niceties and superficial manners of the Donna Reed era disintegrated onscreen. So much about the conventions of the American family was revealed to be false, it was shocking. In high-minded discussions, Margaret Mead speculated that the TV series might mark the beginning of a new way to explore the complexities of contemporary life. She should only have lived to see “Jersey Shore.”
The HBO film, debuting Saturday at 7 p.m., takes liberties –elaborating on and guessing about the relationship between the original documentary producer Craig Gilbert and Pat Loud– and tremendously condenses the action into less than two hours. James Gandolfini is earnest as Gilbert, Diane Lane is brilliant as Pat Loud, Tim Robbins is perfectly smarmy as Bill Loud. They have the right chemistry all around. But the acting is the least interesting aspect of the film.
Our journey as a TV-watching society, from innocence of reality TV in the early 1970s to a certain understanding laced with cynicism today, is the real point. An inevitable sadness is the sense that lingers. Viewers were outraged then, at the fact that people would allow cameras to chronicle their every move in their home, at the fact that the seemingly perfect family was cracking up. Now, nobody will be outraged, except at the shortcuts the movie takes compared to the original film which, the producer (Gandolfini) notes, used “more film than World War II.” Too many questions remain about the original and the quick once-over of the movie. Looking back, it’s easy to see how the supposedly intellectual, Margaret Mead-style undertaking of the original morphed into the media freak show of today.