Jay Leno's ratings bounce back to 13.1 million, thanks to Susan Boyle
After dipping to 11 million viewers Tuesday night, "The Jay Leno Show" got a boost from the finale Wednesday of "America's Got Talent," which thanks to Boyle averaged 16 million viewers. It also didn't hurt that Leno had Robin Williams as his guest, instead of Michael Moore the previous night. PLUS: Leno's ratings fell 62% on his 2nd night hosting "The Tonight Show" and Leno's Web ads have a countdown clock.
Kate Gosselin wil confront Kathy Griffin on Friday's "The View"
The "Jon & Kate" star taped her 3rd "View" appearance of the week this morning, airing on Friday, with Gosselin confronting Griffin over her "Kate is Enough" sketch.
"Curb Your Enthusiasm" will tackle Michael Richards' N-word meltdown
"He wanted to," Larry David said of the "Seinfeld" reunion episodes. "He made a terrible mistake."
Ashton Kutcher's "Beautiful Life" bombs
Just 1.5 million tuned in to last night's premiere — less than half of Kutcher's 3.6 million Twitter followers.
Bravo to unveil a "Real Housewives" clothing line
Bravo is teaming with a company called Royal Plush to release a line consisting of premium denim, loungewear, activewear, handbags and accessories.
Oprah will "Mad Men" herself and her audience for Monday's episode
Oprah Winfrey is going totally '60s on Monday with "Mad Men's" Jon Hamm and January Jones, plus music from the '60s and she'll be wearing a gown from "Mad's" fashion designer.
Adam Rodriguez: Why I'm leaving "CSI: Miami"
The actor will appear in 10 episodes this season, and that's it. “I’m ready to explore any kind of (good) projects down the road on TV or the big screen," he says.
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Ethan Zohn: My cancer has gotten "worse"
"I got some bad news the other day," said the 35-year-old "Survivor" winner. "The doctor called, and she said that the results of my one-month follow-up visit … look worse than they did before."
Comedy Central to launch a reboot of the "American Comedy Awards"
Award guru Don Mischer will help kick off the awards show honoring the best comedy, from TV to the movies.
"The Office" returns with Michael at his immature best
Says Steve Carell: "I just model it after my own shallow self."
In defense of Conan
Conan is being himself, says Verne Gay in reaction to yesterday Vanity Fair piece. And he doesn't need to be a rebel.
How "Parks and Rec" made Amy Poehler's character more human
"Trial and error," co-creator Mike Schur says of writing for Leslie, "lots of discussions with Amy, lots of time in the writers' room. In the end, we just felt that Amy is an enormously likable presence on screen, so as the season went on we just tried to create situations where that would shine through."
Parks" is more fun in Season 2 // Goofy was never Poehler's thing // Poehler does Paula
"Underbelly," Australia's "Sopranos," is coming to the U.S.
DirecTV has bought the rights to three seasons of the violent and nudity-filled drama based on Australia's real-life gang wars — though the seasons will be aired out of order. The 1st season of "Underbelly" was banned in Melbourne and the state of Victoria because it tainted a criminal trial, as Season 1 focused on gangland activities in the '90s and early 2000s. DirecTV will start airing "Underbelly" in February, beginning with Season 2, which focuses on the '70s and '80s drug trade. (Watch the opening credits and trailer)
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"Community" is cynical yet likable
"Look closely, and you’ll see hints of NBC’s once-decent reputation lingering in the fog of forgettability," Matthew Gilbert says of NBC's new comedy. He adds: "One of the pleasing things about 'Community' has to do with what it is not. The show doesn’t fit into any of the more familiar half-hour comedy formats on network TV right now – family sitcoms, workplace-family sitcoms, or friends-in-the-city sitcoms. It isn’t entirely formulaic. What else isn’t it? Another reason to moan about NBC’s fading quality."
"Community" feels like a long cellphone ad // This should make McHale a rom-com star
Bracingly funny, mercilessly snarky // NBC may have struck gold, or chuckle dirt
"Community" will make you actually laugh out loud // Not as funny as "Parks and Rec"
Joel McHale seems bored with his lines in some scenes // Too much self-satisfaction
"I was delighted to go in and say, 'Please hire me,'" says Chevy Chase
McHale credits to "The Soup" for getting him big auditions
"Fringe" fine-tunes itself in Season 2
As Blair Brown, who plays Nina Sharp, puts it, “The second year is much tighter. The writing is wittier, more complicated but also there’s clarity to the stories and character. And we are all speaking with quite different voices. The rhythm of show is clear now.” Lance Reddick adds that "Fringe" didn't find its voice until Episode 10. “We were trying to hedge our bets and trying to be too many kinds of shows at once," he says. "I’m not saying we got rid of the procedural element because each episode still is on a case – a case in terms of the quote-unquote police work — but it’s not formulaic, not like the early episodes. What keeps the show most watchable is the fact that it is character-based.”
"Fringe" has become one of the great character dramas // Kinks have been worked out
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