Life after ‘Raymond,’ ‘Friends’

Although much attention in TV remains focused on NBC’s life -- or possible lack of it -- after “Friends” concludes its run next May, CBS could face a similar torch-passing quandary. Network executives spent Sunday discussing various contingencies for TV’s second-most-watched comedy, “Everybody Loves Raymond,” should that show’s star and creator decide to close shop at the same time.

Addressing reporters and TV critics in Hollywood, CBS Television Chairman Leslie Moonves said that several possibilities were in play, from continuing “Raymond” without star Ray Romano to a spinoff series featuring the supporting cast. Both Romano and executive producer Phil Rosenthal have stated in recent interviews their intent to end the series after the coming season.

The network’s first choice, not surprisingly, is maintaining the status quo, with Moonves saying it’s his job to “work on Phil and Ray for the next six months” and persuade them to remain.

He also referred to the more than $40 million the star is reported to be earning for the coming season alone, saying, “It’s very hard to walk away from that. We’re working on Ray’s wife and kids as well.”

Romano secured his lucrative deal for the eighth season this past spring, and his representatives include attorney Jonathan Moonves, the CBS chief’s younger brother.

As for “Friends,” NBC is negotiating for a long-discussed spinoff of that show starring Matt LeBlanc, who plays Joey. A report in the trade paper Television Week indicated the network hopes to have a deal in place by the time its executives make their semiannual presentation to the TV Critics Assn. this week. NBC declined to comment.

Beyond the prospect of losing the anchor of his Monday night lineup, Moonves addressed a wide range of topics, including the network’s questioned interview bid for rescued U.S. Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, concern about declining ratings for “The CBS Evening News” and details regarding a coming Ronald Reagan miniseries.

CBS was initially defiant when the New York Times reported in June that CBS News cited an array of media opportunities -- including a TV movie and special on a sister Viacom network, MTV -- as what seemed like an enticement in exchange for the first Lynch interview. The network insisted that it had done nothing wrong, and Lynch has yet to agree to an interview with any network.

On Sunday, however, Moonves said, “If we had it to do over again, a TV movie would not have been mentioned” in the letter requesting the interview and that “maybe that went over the line” in terms of so-called synergy between entertainment and news.

The executive also stressed that CBS was hardly alone in wrestling with where that line resides, citing “Dateline NBC’s” Ben Affleck-Jennifer Lopez interview last week, which tied in with the network’s magazine show “Access Hollywood.”

Moonves also said there is ongoing talk about ways to draw more viewers to “The CBS Evening News,” which has slipped to record-low tune-in this summer. He declined to discuss possible changes but gave his anchor a vote of confidence: “We don’t believe the problem is Dan Rather,” he said.

Meanwhile, “The Reagans,” a four-hour miniseries charting Reagan’s transition to politics and his presidency, will soon begin production in Montreal. James Brolin -- who recently played a presidential candidate on “The West Wing” -- will join Judy Davis in the lead roles, and Moonves quipped that network officials “haven’t asked Barbra Streisand” -- a noted liberal -- for her thoughts about her husband playing a renowned conservative.

The miniseries will air during the November rating sweeps, which also will feature a CBS 75th-anniversary special and retrospectives devoted to such series as “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “The Andy Griffith Show.”

Moonves also refused to close the door on the possibility of a reality-based version of “The Beverly Hillbillies” that has drawn harsh criticism from groups such as the Kentucky-based Center for Rural Strategies and even Sen. Zell Miller (D-Ga.).

In a statement from the Senate floor, Miller said that Moonves “obviously believes that network television is an ethics-free zone and that it’s acceptable for big profits to always come ahead of good taste.”

Citing that project as well as the network’s recent miniseries “Hitler: The Rise of Evil,” Moonves said any provocative program is sure to engender criticism.

“If we’re not doing something controversial to make somebody unhappy, we’re not doing our job right as programmers,” he said.