Quick Takes - Sept. 28, 2010

KCET adds film series

KCET-TV Channel 28, which has been mulling a plan to leave the PBS network and go independent, is rejiggering its fall programming.

Starting Sunday, the public TV station will unfurl “KCET Presents,” a movie series hosted by KTLA-TV Channel 5 entertainment reporter Sam Rubin. The first film in the series will be “Annie Hall”; others to follow include “Ninotchka,” “Easter Parade,” “Bat-

man” and “Rain Man.”

As a result, “Masterpiece” — the drama anthology series that has been a staple of PBS Sunday lineups for nearly 40 years — will move to Thursdays, starting Oct. 7 with “Wallander II” (starring Kenneth Branagh). It will be paired as of Oct. 21 with “Doc Martin,” a British series about a country doctor.

“With ‘KCET Presents’ we found an opportunity to bring back a long-standing television tradition of offering great movies on Sunday nights,” said Bohdan Zachary, KCET’s vice president of broadcast and syndication. “We are moving ‘Masterpiece’ to Thursdays because KCET had a long, successful history there with ‘Mystery!,’ now part of the ‘Masterpiece’ franchise, and [we] feel that it will work well with ‘Doc Martin’ as a scripted drama programming block.”

—Scott Collins

Domingo to leave D.C. post

Plácido Domingo, who last week renewed his contract as general director of the Los Angeles Opera through 2013, went the other direction Monday at the Washington National Opera, declaring that he would step down from his position there as general director when his contract expires in June.

“He will be missed, but all good things must come to an end,” said Kenneth R. Feinberg, president of the Washington National Opera. Domingo had been artistic director there since 1996 and general director since 2003.

Domingo’s departure comes at a crucial time for the financially troubled company. Like many performing arts groups, the Washington opera has had to enact layoffs and programming reductions to deal with the economic slump.

—David Ng

and Mike Boehm

Rocker temps on Broadway

Green Day lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong will spend time off from his punk rock bandmates singing and emoting on the Broadway stage, temporarily stepping in for Tony Vincent to assume the role of St. Jimmy in “American Idiot.”

Armstrong will appear in the musical adaptation of the Green Day album Tuesday through Oct. 3 and then will join his band on tour in South America.

Vincent will return to the production Oct. 12, having had to withdraw temporarily for what the show’s representatives described as a “personal family matter.” After Armstrong, understudies Joshua Kobak and Andrew Call will fill in for Vincent until he returns.

Green Day die-hards who have had a difficult time adjusting to the idea of the once-snotty punk-pop act joining the ranks of the Broadway establishment will no doubt cringe a little at the idea of Armstrong cavorting onstage with the production’s acclaimed theatrical performers. Yet Green Day’s own concerts of late have become near-theatrical productions themselves, with pyrotechnics, sing-along ballads and extended medleys.

—Todd Martens

NFL game a ratings star

NBC’s New York Jets-Miami Dolphins football game was Sunday night’s most-watched TV program, averaging 15.5 million viewers, according to early data from the Nielsen Co. The game made it tough for some of the entertainment premieres to make much noise.

The Season 7 rollout of ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” slipped to the series’ worst-ever season opener in the important 18-49 demographic, while the Season 5 premiere of ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters” was a third-place finisher.

The news was better for Showtime, however. “Dexter” unfurled its fifth season Sunday with not only its best-ever season-opener ratings but also the best season premiere for the network in 15 years. A total of 1.8 million viewers tuned in, according to the Nielsen Co. Another 575,000 watched a rebroadcast at 11 p.m., for a same-night total of almost 2.4 million.

—Scott Collins