The Unit – Shawn Ryan thinks Season 4 a Go
Shawn Ryan, “The Unit”
“The Unit” executive producer Shawn Ryan has been slammed locking the final edit of “The Shield,” but took time to shot me an e-mail about “The Unit” coming back this fall.
As for “The Shield,” Shawn shares that it was “very satisfying to end it the way I wanted to, but a little sad that I’ll never be in the editing room again on ‘The Shield.’ ”
But for fans of “The Unit,” Shawn says “I’m glad that you have a number of fans clamoring for the show. Here’s the scoop: When the strike ended, we were hoping to get additional episodes for the spring, like most shows.”
Unfortunately, Shawn says, CBS didn’t need the episodes for April and May because the network had filled the schedule with new episodes of reality shows like “Big Brother” and “Survivor.” Shawn assures us that CBS loves the show and that ratings-wise it is a “solid base hit although not a home run against brutal competions in ‘House” and ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ ”
Shawn says he thinks the chances are good the “The Unit” will be picked up for the fall – but doesn’t expect CBS to give them a solid answer until closer to the May upfronts.
“We’ve always had to wait until the May upfronts to find out our fate (even after our first season when we were the top rated new show of the year!). I imagine it will be the same again this year,” Shawn says, adding that they don’t feel safe by any means.
David Mamet, Shawn and the other writers have broken out the big plot points for next season, he says, and “I think it’s pretty great and it shakes up the show in a really wonderful way. We’ll go in and pitch it to them soon. I’m very confident they’ll be excited about it creatively. Maybe they’ll be inspired and give us an early pickup after hearing it. More likely, we’ll be waiting until May to learn our fate.”
And that’s the scoop, straight from Shawn. He’s also one of the nicest guys around, and deserves to be treated better by CBS. But, what are you gonna do?
Michael Chiklis and Shawn Ryan of “The Shield,” courtesy of ViewImages