A weblog of TV news and criticism
Rumor: Jennifer Aniston will play a "Cougar Town" lesbian
GSN picked Jerry Springer to host dating show over Octo-Mom
"Breaking Bad's" Aaron Paul is Weird Al Yankovic for Funny or Die
Hurley, Bobblehead // "Lost's" Nestor Carbonell went to school with Matthew Fox
Did Tina Fey get too wild for Esquire? // Fey has been on a lot of mag covers lately
Rosie: My new talk show won't be like my old talk show
“It wouldn’t be like my old show where it’s celebrities promoting stuff," Rosie O'Donnell told her Sirius radio listeners this morning. "It would (be) more like the radio show, where you get an hour on a topic that you like, whether it’s autism or something funny like a comedian that you love. You’d get an hour to sit and chat to one person about one thing."
Discovery Channel poised to win Sarah Palin's Alaska reality show
A&E is no longer in the running for the Mark Burnett-produced series.
Andy Samberg visits the White House, meets the real Rahm Emanual
The White House chief of staff got to meet his "SNL" impersonator Sunday when Samberg and his girlfriend, Joanna Newson, visited Washington D.C.
Jaime Pressly to star in "HIMYM" gang's next TV show
She'll play a vet in the Pittsburgh-set comedy about unmarried friends.
Nikki Blonsky will play "Huge" on ABC Family
The show from the creator of "My So-Called Life" will star David Hasselhoff's daughter and James Eckhouse's son.
"Breaking Bad" has its best-ever ratings
Sunday's Season 3 premiere attracted 3.3 million viewers total.
Justin Bieber, 16, flirts with Barbara Walters, 80
The teen sensation says he's into a girl like Babs.
"Life" beats "Planet Earth"
About 11.8 million caught the Oprah-narrated sequel.
Coming to IFC: Onion News, David Cross, Will Arnett, Kids in the Hall
The Onion's fake newscast "Onion News Network" will become a real fake TV newscast that will look like its cable news brethren. The Independent Film Channel has also acquired “Death Comes to Town" from the Kids in the Hall gang, and "The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret," featuring Arnett, Cross, Spike Jonze and Amber Tamblyn.
"Gossip Girl" duo start their own produciton company
Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage have started Fake Empire.
Watch 22 TV theme songs mashed up in 7 minutes
As performed by twins. UPDATE: Those aren't twins!
HBO making a documentary on the Louds — TV's 1st reality family
"Cinema Verite" will tell the story of the PBS clan who rose to fame and controversy on "The American Family."
D.A. investigating Mike Tyson's pigeon reality show
Tyson and Animal Planet are being accused of violating New York's gambling laws, because pigegon racing profits off animal racing.
LeVar Burton: "Reading Rainbow" is making a comeback
"Reading Rainbow 2.0 is in th works!" Burton recently tweeted.
"Curb" reruns will air on TV Guide in 1-hour timeslots — with bonus discussion
The 29-minute "Curb Your Enthusiasm" episodes were too dense to cut down to 21 minutes for syndication, so TV Guide will air each episode in a one-hour timeslot with 7-to-10-minute panel discussions of each episode, covering ethical issues the show raises. Susie Essman will host the panel, with guests including the NY Times' ethics columnist, sports figures, rabbis and intellectuals, according to Essman herself.
Fox denies a "Glee" stage show
A 20th Century Fox TV spokesperson says Fox is "mystified" at the origins of the false reports.
"Leverage" fans gather for the first-ever "Leverage CON-con"
Fans from around the world gathered this weekend in Portland for the first convention honoring the TNT show.
Joffrey Ballet making a reality show
The "Project Runway"-like series — tentatively titled "First Position" — will focus on the dance troupe's trainees as they compete in weekly challenges.
Miley Cyrus is this week's "Idol" mentor
The 17-year-old music industry veteran will be joned this week by results show performers Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas.
"Idol" dumps this week's "teen idols" theme for Billboard No. 1's
PLUS: Will Usher mentor the "Idols" next week?
Thomas Hayden Church joins Matt LeBlanc's Showtime comedy
In "Episodes," Church will play a larger-than-life TV executive in the comedy in which LeBlanc plays a parody of himself.
GSN taps Jerry Springer to host dating game show
"Baggage" is being described as a "non-dating dating show for non-single singles."
TCM will spend May examining Native Americans in the movies
The 5th installment in the "Race and Hollywood" festival will showcase 29 movies and examine themes from white men living among Indians to Indians as "noble savages."
Will Rosie become the Jay Leno of daytime TV?
Rosie O'Donnell's potential move back to daytime may steal Ellen DeGeneres' chance to become the new queen of daytime, following Oprah's departure. PLUS: Rosie says she'll take Oprah's timeslot.
Meet "Lost's" newest character, the mysterious Zoe
Sheila Kelley, who is married to "West Wing" star Richard Schiff, says of her stint in the final episodes: "It feels like Sandy in Grease. I came to a very well-established set. It was a little nerve-racking, but the character that was written was so intriguing and multi-faceted and a little bad ass. That made things easier. I've had an amazing time. These are such open-hearted people."
"Fringe" will do a musical episode during Fox's "Glee"-themed week
As SciFiWire explains, "No, it's not some Broadway-themed virus or a Sondheim-style alternate-universe storyline: The musical numbers, which cover popular songs, represent a hallucination by the show's resident mad scientist, Walter Bishop."
Ted Danson: "One of the hardest things for me to do is watch myself"
"The first time I see it," he says of one of his many TV performances, "I am obsessed with my left ear or my right ear or some other physical attribute, or the fact that I’m 60 or whatever shallow ego thought is running through my head. I'm just destroyed that I’m not Cary Grant or whatever."
Starting tonight, "Dancing" will enclose its stars in a glass walls in the ballroom
The "Dancing with the Stars" set got a makeover. "We brought the backstage room to the front of the stage, so rather than have the contestants hidden away during the show they will be with the audience, front and center, and much more a part of the show,” says exec producer Conrad Green. PLUS: Handicapping the "Dancing" stars.
Shannen Doherty has actually gained weight from "Dancing"
The former "90210" star has also broken out in hives because she suffers from stagefright, especially when performing on live TV. She says of her weight-gain: "I eat so much now, it's insane. (MP3 link) PLUS: 10 reasons why Shannen should win.
Nobody knows how much Oprah will be a part of the Oprah Winfrey Network
According to this New York Magazine profile, no one can seem to figure out yet exactly what OWN is going to be.
"Skins" movie is in the works
The British teen sensation is headed to the big-screen, featuring the two casts that make up the show's first four seasons.
Edie Falco on "Nurse Jackie" — "It's a TV performance for the ages"
"Nurse Jackie," in its 2nd season, "has certified Falco's rank as a star of the first magnitude, through a performance that is beautifully spare and completely free of all visible signs of vanity," says Robert Bianco. "Falco allows us to see straight into the heart of this funny, angry, dedicated, addicted nurse and mother, and that includes showing us things Jackie herself may not know are there."
Falco's showboating is too distracting on "Jackie"
"Jackie" Season 2 posters look religiously iconic // There won't be a tone change
Doctor Coop will tweet in real time // Meet the brains behind "Jackie"
"United States of Tara" remakes itself as a good show for Season 2
"It's hard to think of a show that's done a better job of course correction between seasons," Maureen Ryan says of tonight's premiere. "Almost everything that didn't work in Season 1 is gone, and this year, the recalibrated 'Tara' is firing on all cylinders. Tara may still have trouble integrating her multiple personalities, but the show itself has achieved a very satisfying synthesis."
"South Park" this week will feature a J.D. Salinger tribute
Star Jones recovering from cardiac surgery
Simon Cowell is giving Susan Boyle a $6 million check for her birthday
Michelle Obama appears on "The Simpsons," with Angela Bassett's voice
NBC's geek reality show: "Team Comicana"!?
NBC rejects Conan's invite to "Idol Gives Back"
Conan O'Brien wasn't asked by Fox to do the "American Idol" charity special on April 21; he was approached by "Idol" producer 19 Entertainment. But NBC refused to let Conan appear on the No. 1 TV show before his television moratorium ends on May 1st. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a deal between Fox and Conan is reached by April 12, then Conan can use his tour to meet with Fox affiliates around the country.
Aziz Ansari to host the 2010 MTV Movie Awards
This is the first major hosting gig for the "Parks and Rec" star.
Jennifer Love Hewitt chops off her hair
Will her new post-breakup hairdo affect "Ghost Whisperer's" ratings?
Starz wants a contemporary "Camelot"
Former HBO mastermind Chris Albrecht, now at Starz, has ordered a contemporary retelling of the Arthurian legend, with help from producers in the UK, Ireland and Canada.
Tate Donovan jumps to ABC's superhero family drama
The "Damages" star will join Michael Chiklis and Julie Benz on "No Ordinary Family."
Adam Lambert meets Boy George
The flamboyant torch was passed Saturday night in London.
Christian Slater will try a sitcom — his 3rd series in 3 years
The star of "My Own Worst Enemy" and "The Forgotten" will head a group of genius 20-somethings who crack security systems.
"Leverage" gets financial boost
A company has invested $14 million into the new season of the TNT drama.
Kelsey Grammer's wife, Paris Hilton's aunts are Beverly Hills "Housewives"
The "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" will also feature a Maloof family member and a former Playboy model.
Rosie O'Donnell: Back to daytime TV?
Rumor has it that Rosie is mulling filling the Oprah void.
Jay Leno fan: Weak monologues, big studio hurt the new "Tonight Show"
Jay's monologue — his strongest suit — has become lackluster since his return to 11:35, says Adam Buckman, who thinks that this is a main reason Leno's old audience hasn't drifted back. Another problem: the massive studio, which lacks the intimacy of Leno's old digs.
Network TV's biggest hits are aging — and losing viewers
Big-time shows like "CSI," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives" are experiencing double-digit declines this season as worn-out viewers begin to flee elsewhere.
"Survivor" returns next week, on a Wednesday
It's the annual timeslot shift to make way for the NCAA tourney.
Conan O'Brien has found his "twitter nemesis": Justin Bieber
At one moment this afternoon, Conan couldn't help but boast that he was beating the 16-year-old teen sensation who wasn't even alive when Conan began talk show-hosting. "Bieber, you're a worthy foe. Bieber," tweeted Conan after realizing he was inadvertently boosting Bieber's Twitter popularity. PLUS: Meet Conan!
"Last Comic" wannabes are waiting more than 60 hours in line
One comic is poised to stand in line for his audition for at least 112 hours.
John Barrowman: I hope Fox keeps "Torchwood's" Captain Jack omnisexual
"The last thing I would want would be for Jack to become this heterosexual, straight hero," he says.
NBC renews "Days of Our Lives" for Season 45
The daytime soap will be around through at least the 2010-2011 season.
"Glee's" Madonna soundtrack will be released 1 week before episode airs
The seven-track "Glee: The Music – The Power of Madonna" will be available one week early.
Michael Vartan is engaged
The "Alias" alum/"Hawthorne" star met his future wife, Lauren Skaar, at Whole Foods.
"Undercover Boss" is this year's breakout hit
Not only are young viewers tuning in in droves, but it's beating "Desperate Housewives."
Ron Swanson reveals his "Parks and Rec" Self-Defense Tips
"Learn these rules, and be your own police! It saves lives, and shrinks the government."
"Dog the Bounty Hunter" confesses his affair on radio
The A&E star's wife, Beth, had no idea he was a cheater.
An appreciation of "Davy Crockett" Fess Parker
"Before Elvis Presley, Beatlemania, 'The Simpsons' and 'SpongeBob SquarePants,' there was Davy Crockett," says Neal Gabler, who adds: "Crockettmania surged across the country. Forty million people, a quarter of the nation, watched each of the three programs of the Crockett saga."
New Orleans "Real World"-er urinates on toothbrush, giving housemate a virus
Police had to be called to the MTV "Real World New Orleans" house — owned by NBA star Baron Davis — after a cast member fell ill because, as it turns out, his housemate had urinated on his toothbrush and used it to scrub toilets. In fact, the housemate used the toothbrush with urine for two weeks after it was infected. He didn't realize what had happened until he was hospitalized for a viral infection in his throat.
"Glee" poised for a stage adaptation
The Fox show may be licensed out for a musical stage show.
Conan's rep confirms talks with Fox — and other destinations
Conan O'Brien's camp is "at a point where they're considering everything," says his spokesperson, Leslee Dart. "Everybody wants to get this done as soon as possible, regardless of where he ends up. But whether the reality is that he can get it done quickly, I don't know."
Jay Leno: Conan on Fox would be "great"
"That would be great," Leno said Wednesday. "The more people that in the game, the better it is. I mean, I don't want to go against 'Seinfeld' reruns all the time and reruns of 'Frasier' and stuff." PLUS: Watch Leno on Conan in 1994.
Leno is beating Letterman, but his ratings are down from this time last year
Does all of his old "Tonight Show" audience realized he's back?
Showtime has become a network full of complictated women
From "Nurse Jackie" to "Weeds" to "Tara" and "The Big C," the pay cabler has become packed with bad girls who make good. As the Wall Street Journal notes, "Showtime's strategy: attracting big-name actresses, of a certain age and experience, who are hard-pressed to find juicy, challenging, starring roles elsewhere." PLUS: Why can't "Jackie" and "Tara" develop complicated husbands?
India may ban Lindsay Lohan over her BBC documentary
The Indian government is still mad at her claims 40 kids in one day from a sweatshop.
"Desperate Housewives" promotes Kathryn Joosten
"Karen McCluskey" will not only become a series regular, but Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa plans to visit Wisteria Lane on Monday to honor the cancer survivor.
"Kirstie Alley's Big Life" is sad compared to "Fat Actress"
Her new A&E reality show is simply depressing, says Alessandra Stanley. "The self-indulgence and denial that were hyped for laughs on 'Fat Actress' are still in play, but without the same wit or satiric bite," she writes.
"Breaking Bad" is back, along with its great silences
Many shows are praised for the dialogue. But "Breaking Bad" as found a way to make silence an underrated virtue, as Robert Philpot notes: "TV, which does its business in environments where people can usually talk freely without disturbing strangers, tends to loathe silence. Show writers know that even in a DVR age, people miss episodes or become distracted, so in many cases they spell out the story in the dialogue, often using words to explain things more than once. Most dialogue-free stretches come in the form of music montages that wrap things up in nice little packages. 'Breaking Bad' largely avoids all that."
"Breaking Bad" is a great show — that's difficult to watch
Soak in the whole package — the ambiance, the staggering beauty
Looks like this season will belong to Anna Gunn // Meet RJ Mitte, activist
Bryan Cranston: "The third season is really the adjustment season"
Meth business is more entertaining than family drama
Aaron Paul: "I’m just so thankful that Jesse’s alive and breathing"
Paul's fave moment was bathtub scene / Behind the scenes
Discovery's "Life" is the reason why HDTV was invented
The 11-part "Planet Earth" sequel premieres Sunday as dazzling as its predecessor, even with Oprah Winfrey's narration. As Mary McNamara notes, "No doubt the 11-part series, with its astonishingly intimate footage of A-Z species engaged in every sort of behavior, will play well on any screen. But its color, scope, detail and gorgeousness cry out for a home theater situation, one of those screens so big you can watch it from the street."
Oprah does bang-up job // Producer: "We're showing people animals in extremis"
"24" casting call warns that "these are the final episodes…"
Is the Internet going overboard with all this Betty White hoopla?
Betty White turned down "Dancing" several times
Carlton Cuse jokes about Obama's plane crashing for a "Lost" sequel
Katherine Heigl suffers wardrobe malfunction
Sarah Palin wants $1 to $1.5 million per episode
The former governor is asking for an unusual amount of money for a first-year cable show.
Ashley Tisdale to play a "Hellcat" cheerleader on CW
She'll play the captain of the cheerleading team in the drama from "Smallville's" Tom Welling.
Check out Betty White, TV Land sitcom star
Here she is on "Hot in Cleveland."
Beau Bridges signs on for "Rockford Files"
He'll play Dermot Mulroney's dad.
Ryan Seacrest's spoiler has ramifications on "Idol" ratings
The night Seacrest tweeted this week's bootee more than one hour before it was televised on the West Coast marked one of the lowest-rated results show in "Idol" history among the coveted 18-49 demo.
"HIMYM" is casting for Stella
Who will play Sarah Chalke's role?
Skeet Ulrich returning to CBS
The former "Jericho" star is joining John Wells' mobile medical team drama.
Report: Paula Abdul rejects lucrative "Star Search" offer, stunning ABC
ABC made a "rich offer" to Paula, but she passed, according to Kim Masters, who adds: 'What's unclear is whether the erratic Abdul ditched the project because Simon Cowell swooped in to claim her for his new Fox show, 'X Factor,' which will start in the fall 2011. Fox executives have been hoping that's not the case."
Lacey Brown: "Idol" judges are too confusing
"The criticism this year has been confusing, and therefore I would change week to week, which would leave the audience questioning who I am," Brown said in her exit interview.
Tim Burton to direct 3-D stop-motion "Addams Family" movie
The famed director will reportedly use the original "Addams" New Yorker cartoons as inspiration.
"Davey Crockett" star Fess Parker dies at 85
Parker also played — and sung — "Daniel Boone" in the '60s. (Watch an interview with Parker.)
"Losties" say "mm…cake"
Twenty-three seconds of "mm…cake."
Heidi Montag fires psychic/manager whom she just hired to replace Spencer Pratt
According to Us Weekly, the psychic was"demanding a significant portion of her Hills money."
It's A&E vs. Discovery for Sarah Palin's reality show
The two cable networks are finalists for the Mark Burnett-produced Alaska series.
Report: Fox putting pressure on affiliates to make way for a Conan show
According to TMZ, Conan's reps and Fox have been "seriously talking," though no deal has been made. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the two sides haven't communicated in the past two weeks.
"Modern Family's" Ty Burrell adopts a baby girl
The hapless father has become a real-life dad.
Betty White turned down "SNL" 3 times — now, she's nervous
But White tells Larry King she was never personally asked to do the show by Lorne Michaels.
Letterman to pit pets vs. humans in "The Ultimate Stupid Trick Tourney"
Sixteen finalists from the past 17 years of "Late Show" have been selected to compete in this very special competition.
"Glee" to invade Oprah
The April 7th "Oprah Winfrey Show" will be devoted to all things "Glee," with the entire cast and Ryan Murphy in attendance. PLUS: Watch the newest "Glee" promo.
"Scrubs" airs yet another finale
This time, it looks like "Scrubs" will officially be put to sleep.
Ryan Seacrest: My feud with Simon is all part of the show
Seacrest basically on his radio show this morning that it was all an act when Simon said last night, "Do you want to get the eyeballing out of the way?" Said Seacrest: "Just for the record, it's all part of the show. We went to dinner last night. And I paid."
"Idol" voters get it right with Lacey Brown ejection
She just didn't have the star power to compete with contestants like Crystal, Siobhan and Big Mike.
Next week's theme: Teen idols // "Idol" cannot handle cock rock
How did an aspiring movie screenwriter end up working on "The Bachelor"?
Bennett Graebner never imagined he'd use his USC film school degree on reality TV. "I must admit when 'The Bachelor' came along I was a little reluctant," says Graebner, the show's supervising script producer. "It had never been my dream to work in reality TV. I dreamed of being the next Cameron Crowe, not someone responsible for a reality TV show about falling in love. I took the job and never looked back. I love it."
Andy Samberg loves the "Parks and Rec" theme, but not the cast
Says Samberg, who appears on tonight's episode: "I don't want to jinx it, but I'm pretty sure it's the best episode ever of any show ever to air on television. I think this is going to be the thing everybody talks about for the rest of our lives."
China buys the rights to make its own "Amazing Race"
On "China Rush," however, teams of two will travel within the country of China.
Bob Odenkirk: "Breaking Bad" changed the way I perform
Before Saul Goodman came along, Odenkirk always envisioned himself as a writer first and an actor second. "I’ve had more fun performing since taking 'Breaking Bad," he says, "because 'Breaking Bad' made me have to take my performing seriously, which is not really something I ever did."
"FlashForward" returns: Does anybody care?
It's been three months since the last new episode, and the producers have two hours tonight to prove if there is any there there.
Why "Flash" deserves a 2nd chance // UK broadcaster won't save "FlashForward"
"24" showrunner's next project: "Prisoners of War"
Ellen Pompeo: I took only a 4-week maternity leave because "I needed to work"
Watch the trailer for the new "Futurama"
"Jersey" stunner: Snooki was charged in drunk driving death of a teen
Bill Paxton: The Pinball Machine
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