Why did Leno's ex-announcer slam Jay on Letterman?
Edd Hall — who has worked for both Letterman and Leno — says his role in Dave's fake "Tonight Show" promo on Tuesday wasn't a conscious effort to take a shot at Jay Leno. But, he points out, Leno has never contacted him during this whole mess, while Letterman's people have. "I like both of these guys," says Hall. "But look, NBC has made plenty of, shall we say, unusual decisions regarding late-night, and frankly, replacing me with ('Stuttering') John Melendez was one of them, so . . . I don't feel the allegiance to Jay that I once did and I never left on bad terms with Letterman."
Letterman slams Leno some more with "Jay Leno: A Look Back"
Leno: "You know the best way to get Letterman to ignore you? Marry him"
Conan's deal pushed back to Thursday // Joan Rivers mocks Conan and Leno
Conan spoofs Leno's "Tonight" goodbye: All the "offspring" born in 7 months
NBC to pay Conan's staff an extra $600,000 // Masturbating Bear returns!
Conan's monologue: I never thought I'd be jealous of "Joey's" long run
Ed Helms sings The Conan Song // Letterman: Jay is working out on the Chinmaster
Conan books Neil Young as his final "Tonight" musical guest
Adam Sandler sings to get Conan to cry // Joel McHale offers Conan "The Soup"
Sandler recalls his NBC firing from "SNL": NBC = "Nothing But C**t"
Forget about "The Will Ferrell Curse" — it's the NBC curse!
Conan, basketball star?: Washington Generals offer him a contract
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Jeff Probst: I was very close with "Survivor: Palau's" Jennifer Lyon
"Over the past several weeks we had some beautiful talks about life and death," recalls Probst, who got to spend time with Lyon at the recent "Survivor" reunion. "Jenn was so willing to share what she was feeling, including the very real and very scary parts of dealing with terminal cancer."
Did Jon Cryer's ex-wife hire a hitman to kill him?
The FBI is investigating the alleged death threat on Cryer's life on the "Two and a Half Men" set. PLUS: Charlie Sheen allowed to visit his wife.
"CSI:NY" taps Madchen Amick to romance Gary Sinise
She'll guest-star in multiple episodes.
"Pants on the Ground" man hires an attorney because he's yet to make a dime
Problem is that General Larry Platt never copyrighted the song. PLUS: Ruben Studdard offers studio time to Platt.
Simon Cowell confirms the American "X Factor" will premiere in September 2011
That means the U.S." version of "The X Factor" won't start in summer and it will conflict with the British version.
Microsoft sues TiVo
TiVo is being accused of infringing on Microsoft's video purchasing and delivery patents.
Adult Swim orders 40 more "Robot Chicken" episodes
That's two seasons worth of episodes, expanding the series through Season 6.
Heidi Montag's album sells less than 1,000 copies
In fact, it has only been downloaded 658 times.
Italian family reenacts "Lost"
Everything from the crash to Jacob's death is reenacted by this large loving family.
"Glee's" Dianna Agron sells her first movie screenplay
She says it's "a story about a guy who can't say, 'I love you' – and it's been optioned!"
NBC shows receive extra episodes to fill the Leno void
"Parks and Recreation," "Community," "Trauma," "Law & Order," "Trauma" and "SVU" are among the shows whose seasons have been expanded. "Trauma," which was once canceled at 13 episodes, will now air 18 or 19 episodes this season.
A&E gives David Hasselhoff a reality show
According to a press release, the "docu-series" — which is untitled — "will take a behind-the-scenes look into the life of 'The Hoff' focusing on his multiple entertainment and business endeavors, as well as his most important role as a single dad trying to help his teenage daughters’ break into the recording industry."
Can "Glee" avoid a sophomore slump and "The Entourage Effect"?
Too many A-list cameos may harm the freshman series, in addition to the over reliance on well-known songs.
"American Idol" editing: What you don't see
The secret rituals explained, including who actually does the judging and the myth of the massive lines.
Carrie Underwood meets "HIMYM's" Barney
"How I Met Your Mother's" Twitter feed says watching Neil Patrick Harris and Underwood is "like watching 2 amazing performers frolic in the ocean on a warm summer day in August."
Vanilla Ice resurfaces on UK TV thanks to "The X Factor" twins
Watch Vanilla Ice perform with Jedward on Britain's National Television Awards.
Profiteers are selling Pants on the Ground" T-Shirts
People on eBay are making money off of Gen. Larry Platt's song. PLUS: The 10 Most Disturbing "Pants" covers.
"Grey's Anatomy" sends J. August Richards and Sarah Paulson to 1982
They'll play younger versions of Richard and Ellis.
ABC picks up "Generation Y," "Cutthroat" and Bruckheimer's "The Whole Truth"
"Y" is a documentary-style drama about 20-somethings that flashes back to their high school days. "Cutthroat" is about a Beverly Hills single mom who runs a drug cartel. "The Whole Truth," meanwhile, is a legal show that takes viewers behind the prosecution and the defense.
George Clooney's Haiti Telethon lineup confirmed
Performers will include Justin Timberlake, Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Sting and Taylor Swift.
AMC orders "Walking Dead" and "The Killing"
Based on the comic book, "Walking Dead" follows the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. "The Killing" is based on the Danish series "Forbrydiseum," revolving around the murder of a young girl.
Whom will "Old Christine" pick tonight?
Eric McCormack or Blair Underwood?
New Tuesday timeslot doesn't hurt "White Collar"
Ratings for the USA drama picked up last night exactly where they left off last fall.
"Survivor's" first loss: Palau's Jennifer Lyons dies of cancer at age 37
The "Survivor: Palau" alum was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in 2005. "I was completely shocked and overwhelmed," Lyon said at the time. "I felt fine that day; in fact, I've been healthy my entire life."
Sex on TV has turned into an "arms race"
Sex has become so rampant we'll soon see full-frontal male nudity and group sex ("Spartacus") and a teenager dealing with a big penis (MTV's "Hard Times"). "The line moves every day, so you got to move with it. You can't put the genie back in the bottle," says the president of MTV. Adds ABC's Steve McPherson: "If you can get a loud broadcast-acceptable 10 p.m. show, it's a time to take chances."
Jerry Seinfeld stars in "The Marriage Ref" promo, though he isn't on the show
Watch him and Tom Papa promote their new reality series.
Is Britney Spears obsessed with Stewie from "Family Guy"?
A report claims Britney is constantly doing a Stewie impression.
"Idol" alum Ayla Brown's dad wins Ted Kennedy's U.S. Senate seat
If you'll recall, Ayla (watch her video) was the basketball player who made the Top 24 of the 2006 season of "American Idol." Her dad is Scott Brown, who was elected last night as senator from Massachusetts.
Emeril Lagasse: Now an Ion star
"The Emeril Lagasse Show" will, according to the barely watched cable network, "capture Emeril's passion for people, entertainment, music, food and celebration."
"This is embarassing": Watch Ivana Trump in her "Big Brother" underwear
"Celebrity Big Brother" made Donald Trump's ex-wife strip down to pose for a life drawing task. PLUS: All three Americans face eviction this Friday.
Did Will Ferrell leave a curse on Conan O'Brien?
Call it "The Will Ferrell Curse": Turns out Conan's first — and very last — "Tonight Show" guest is zero for three when it comes to appearing as the first guest on a talk show. "You see," explains Mark Malkoff, "every time Ferrell has appeared as the first guest on a talk show the show hasn't lasted longer that a season. He was the first guest on John McEnroe's talk show on CNBC which lasted six months. Next Ferrell was the first guest on the very talented Megan Mullally's talk show that lasted a mere five months. Currently with Conan leaving Ferrell is zero for three."
Conan being wooed for his first post-"Tonight" TV interview
Fox affiliate offers Conan a job, as a morning show producer
Watch the Chinese Conan vs. Leno cartoon in English
Leno vs. Conan offers valuable management lessons
Michael Jordan asks Leno: "Are You Stupid?"
Mariska Hargitay: Jay Leno "ruined our numbers"
Wax Tom Cruise is on Team Conan
Conan's ratings soar among young viewers, eclipsing Letterman
Tom Hanks tweets his CoCo support
Late-night TV's future: Moments matter, timeslots don't
The Jimmy Fallon-style of disseminating "moments" is the future of late-night, argues S.T. VanAirsdale. "The 'show' isn't really the thing anymore," says VanAirsdale. "Late-night reputations going forward will be made instead by moments — any particularly indelible acts or exchanges that can be culled from an hour-long episode and sold and/or disseminated via the Web. From YouTube clips, Twitter memes; from forwards, memories."
Watch Artie Lange confront Conan on his $40M NBC exit deal — in 2008
Japanese "Glee" promo features a singing sumo wrestler
Singing "Don't Stop Believin'."
Study: Kids are watching more TV than ever before
Children ages 8 through 18 spend upward of 4-1/2 hours a day watching television, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study. That's up by 38% over five years ago.
Team Darlton plan to flee to an "undisclosed location" immediately after the "Lost" finale
Says Carlton Cuse in a wide-ranging interview: "We are going to go off the grid after the show is over to avoid the actual issue of having to interpret the ending."
Police want MTV "From G's to Gents" star for allegedly beating his baby daughter
Markice "Kesan" Moore is "accused of breaking both of his infant daughter's arms, one leg, 3 ribs, a collarbone and bruising all over her body." Moore, who plans to turn himself in, is denying the accusations.
"Ethel Mertz's" autobiography would tackle "I Love Lucy" lesbian rumors
Read an excerpt from Vivian Vance's autobiography, which remains unpublished.
Timothy Hutton has become a heartthrob among middle-aged "women of the literati"
The "Leverage" star has used his Twitter account to create a whole new fanbase.
Rob Estes quits "90210"?
His high school principal character is apparently a goner after contract negotiations failed. UPDATE: CW has confirmed Estes' departure.
NFL Films gets its own reality show
truTV's "NFL Full Contact" will go behind the scenes with the cameramen and sound people who go behind the scenes of the NFL each week.
Stephen Colbert puts his interview table up for auction to benefit Haiti
Judge postpones hearing for Charlie Sheen
Report: Mischa Barton misbehaving on the "SVU" set
Rosie O'Donnell would do "X Factor," but not "Idol"
"In Treatment's" Gabriel Byrne reveals he was sexually abused as a child
