VJBrendan.com: 2014-01-26

Fox is pulling the plug on “The X Factor,” after the singing competition failed to gain a substantial Stateside audience despite the format’s success overseas.

“American Idol” creator and judge alum Simon Cowell ushered the unscripted program to the U.S. in 2011. The competition show was seen as a strong addition to Fox’s fall lineup when “Idol” was on hiatus, and also viewed as an eventual replacement for “Idol,” which was beginning to show signs of aging in both ratings and brand identity following the exit of original judges, including Cowell.

“X Factor’s” U.S. debut was softer than most expected, however. Its series premiere drew under 13 million viewers — a strong rating relative to Fox’s other primetime offerings, but clearly not in “Idol’s” league.

(via: variety)

After a wildly successful third season, the hit FX horror series American Horror Story will be returning to New Orleans to film its fourth season.

The season finale of American Horror Story: Coven, the New Orleans-shot third season, counted almost six million viewers in its audience, an 85% increase over the season two finale. Nearly four million of those were in the 18-49-year-old demographic coveted by advertisers. These numbers place the series among the top five shows on cable, and in direct competition with shows in its timeslot on broadcast networks.

The return of a popular television show to Louisiana is another economic success story in the Southern state’s maturation as a film production hub. Television series provide long-term employment to local crew members and spend millions of dollars directly in the local economy on a wide range of goods and services. Although a final audit has not yet been submitted, American Horror Story: Coven is estimated to have spent close to $41 million in the state of Louisiana.

American Horror Story: Coven was nominated for two Golden Globes awards for Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television and Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture for Jessica Lange. Although each season of the horror series has had at least twelve episodes, the show was entered as a miniseries because it reboots its storyline each season, with returning actors playing different characters in a different setting.

Although the setting and storyline of the fourth season has not yet been announced, series creator Ryan Murphy has been dropping hints that it will be set in the 1950s and that Jessica Lange will be playing a “Marlena Dietrich-type.” Lange has said that she expects the fourth season to be her last, but Murphy is optimistic that he will be able to convince her to stay well into the future.

AHS will again film at Second Line Stages in New Orleans, the LEED Silver-certified, built-for-purpose film production facility where Scene Magazine‘s New Orleans offices are located.

(Via: scenelouisiana)