Ricky Gervais' new BBC sitcom follows the life of a "dwarf," starring "Willow"
Little Person Warwick Davis will star in "Life's Too Short," an observation comedy on Warwick's daily life that will also feature Gervais and his partner Stephen Merchant. PLUS: Gervais to guest on FX's "Louie."
Will the NFL Draft hurt Thursday night ratings on the TV networks?
This year's draft is poised to do major damage to network television. For the first time, the draft is airing in primetime on a weeknight, complete with a star-studded red carpet featuring Jillian Michaels, Whoopi Goldberg and Alyssa Milano. PLUS: NFL stops taking a World Series break.
Steven Seagal sex scandal now includes Ray Charles' granddaughter
Blair Robinson, who claims that she first met Seagal at her grandfather's funeral, is one of two women accusing the reality star of making unwanted sexual advances.
"Ugly Betty's" Eric Mabius really is moving to the UK, for a British series
He'll star in the new sci-fi BBC drama "Outcasts."
Why "Two and a Half Men" doesn't need Charlie Sheen
A big-name actor could fill his spot, just like Sheen did when he replaced Michael J. Fox on "Spin City."
Cartoon Network orders Looney Tunes sitcom, set in the suburbs
Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck will return for "The Looney Tunes Show."
Cartoon Net announces animated MAD mag, 15-minute shows, NBA, "Fort Awesome"
The new lineup will also an awards show, "Cartoon Network's Hall of Game."
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"Glee" nailed Madonna episode
That, says Anthony Williams, was a happy mess, a musical comedy on primetime television that actually worked. "Why?" he asks. "Because while we were laughing at the extra ridiculousness this week (Madonna songs blaring on the high school's PA system? Random girls in various Madonna music video costumes in the hallways?), the plot zoomed right past us. I mean, sure I expected to hear 'Like a Virgin,' but I don't think I really expected any of the students to lose it — I would've gone with Will and Emma fully expressing themselves."
Madonna sequel already in the works, with 6 more Madge songs
What a mess!: No real story, no natural dialogue, few good jokes
What songs would "Glee" stars use for an "Idol" audition? // Josh Groban returning
13.5M watched Madonna episode, down 5% // Cory Monteith stunned by casting
This week's "Lost" was a taking-care-of-business episode
"If 'The Last Recruit' wasn't particularly graceful in some areas," says Maureen Ryan, "it was satisfying in a number of respects and it certainly whetted my appetite for what's to come. It was generally pleasing to see all the threads of the tapestries in both timelines being woven together more tightly. Having said that, there were a few places where the story felt rushed or a little sloppy."
"Last Recruit" played out like a penultimate finale / Are writers scrambling to keep up?
Carlton Cuse: "Lost island is a self-aware quantum computer …"
"Lost" falls to a series low 9.4M // Muppet Dr. Chang explains last night's episode
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Report: TBS threatened to cancel George Lopez is he didn't support Conan
TBS and Lopez's reps deny it, but Page Six claims that Lopez was initially opposed to the idea of Conan taking over his timeslot. In fact, a source says that if Lopez hadn't agreed to move to midnight, Conan would've been given the chance to develop the midnight hour. PLUS: Ad buyers excited about TBS Conan.
Ellie Kemper still fears "The Office" will fire her
She was supposed to only appear in four episodes, but somehow her character's role grew. "The part I auditioned for was more along the lines of the straight man—grounded, sees through it all," she says. "She was sarcastic. I do have this fear that they tweaked the character… Because Erin’s very weird, and my fear is that they think <i>I am that weird in real life."
Why is TV viewership suddenly in decline?
Nielsen reports that ratings, particularly among young people, have been in unusual decline since the Winter Olympics.
"Undercover Boss" ain't all it's cracked up to be
The good PR the CBS reality show brings seems to mask some problems within the "Undercover Boss" companies. Some Waste Management employees, for instance, are considering going on strike for better workplace safety and wages.
Kevin Eubanks explains his decision to quit "The Tonight Show"
"I've been trying to put my finger on it," he says, adding that the Conan situation had nothing to do with his departure. "It kind of creeps up on you after that long – 18 years on television, five days a week, 46 weeks a year and never missing a day of work. It's a lot to keep that energy up every day."
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"Cheaters" creator making a reality show with Tiger & Jesse James' mistresses
If all goes as planned, Michelle "Bombshell" McGee and Jamie Jungers will host "Celebrity Cheaters."
Crystal Bowersox blasts "stretched and skewed" media
"Media is a funny thing," the "Idol" star writes on her Facebook page, likely referring to the hubbub over her almost quitting. "Stretched and skewed and far from the truth. Lets play telephone and see what we come up with!!" PLUS: Odds are on a Crystal vs. Lee "Idol" finale.
VH1 rolling out 44 new shows that are less tawdry, more authentic
All 44 new shows debuting this year will fall into one of three categories — music, celebrity and "real life stories." Says VH1's president: "As much as they've enjoyed the 'Love' franchise, our audience was getting a little fatigued by all those manufactured reality shows. They want more authenticity in their reality, which isn't to say that it can't be comedic and light."
Kiefer Sutherland: "24" movie script is already finished
He hasn't read it yet, but Kiefer hinted that the film's plot will be more insular, like Season 1, with the possibility of it taking place in Europe. PLUS: Fox reveals "24" finale details.
Cybill Shephard will play Jennifer Love Hewitt's mom
In an upcoming Lifetime movie.
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TBS won't alter its primetime comedy lineup for Conan
That means on Monday night, Conan will be preceded by three hours of "Family Guy," the same show he'll have to compete with on Adult Swim at 11 o'clock. PLUS: Conan's audience just wasn't big enough for the 11 o'clock hour on network TV.
Sitcoms are all the rage this pilot season
The situation comedy never did die, as shown by the success of "Modern Family" and "Cougar Town" and the proliferation of sitcom pilots this year. "I think we’re on the cusp of a bull market for comedy,” says Fox entertainment boss Kevin Reilly, who has so far failed to produce a hit live-action comedy for Fox.
YouTube aims to become the new TV
Co-founder Chad Hurley wants viewership on YouTube to rise up from an average of 15 minutes a day to five hours.
Why "Ugly Betty" failed: "It wouldn't let Betty be ugly"
The "Betty" writers abandoned the show's fish-out-of-warm charm, says David Hiltbrand, adding that that was worse than jumping the shark. "As her confidence and appearance blossomed," he says, "Betty's boyfriends got more and more princelike – from total loser Walter to handsome multimillionaire Matt. We tuned in for a soap opera and got a fairy tale."
"Damages" ends the season (and, likely, the series) with TV's best character names
Whether FX renews it or not, "Damages" will best be remembered for Glenn Close's Patty Hewes and other character names that flow off the tongue.
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"Idol" lost the trainwreck factor, while "Dancing" embraced the tabloids
That's why "Dancing" is up this season and "Idol" is down, according to Lisa de Moraes. With the exception of the "Seacrest Monster," as she calls Ryan, this boring "Idol" season can't even boast a trainwreck, especially without Paula Abdul and the annual parade of controversial singers. "Gone are the glory days when Idolettes were discovered to have had jobs at porn Web sites, when an Idolette would issue a stout denial to accusations that she is the chick in the sex photos because that chick has acrylic nails — and she's never had acrylic nails in her life!" says de Moraes. Meanwhile, "Dancing" producers, she says, "finally dived into the deep end of the skeeve pool this season,booking a lineup of celeb dancers that would make a TMZ chief Harvey Levin swoon, starting with Kate Gosselin, the reigning reality-TV Queen Mother."
Report: Ryan Seacrest stopped Crystal Bowersox from quitting
Two weeks ago, Bowersox said in the "Idol" studio parking lot that she was giving up and moving back to Ohio and live with the family she sorely missed. According to TMZ, Seacreset stopped her, and changed her mind. "The greatest thing I ever did was make enough money so I could buy my mom a house," Seacrest told her. "You can buy your mom a house."
"Idol" honcho denies Paula Abdul will return: "There's no truth to that rumor"
"Idol Gives Back" lines up Justin Bieber and Octomom (!?)
Katie Stevens on exit // Andrew Garcia on bromance
Dumb "Survivor" heroes should know Russell is evil — without watching on TV
"There’s so much stupid baked in there that it’s hard to know where to start," Leslie Gray Streeter says of J.T.'s stupid move. "The biggest piece of dumb is that you just can’t make assumptions about the inner workings of the other tribe based on what you see at challenges. There are things going on in your OWN tribe you have no clue about, so how can you be so dense to believe that you know what’s going on in a completely separate camp, where you don’t know who likes each other and who doesn’t, who pulls their weight and who doesn’t." PLUS: Jeff Probst says: "It’s one of the most jaw-dropping decisions I’ve heard in the last 769 days of Survivor."
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Drunken, topless Kiefer Sutherland tossed out of London strip club
Bouncers had to put shirtless Kiefer in a headlock following this morning's outburst. (Be sure to check out the slideshow)
Conservatives not happy with "Glee"
Sue Sylvester's jab this week at Sarah Palin, in particular, raised some ire among Republicans.
"Spartacus" ends Season 1 as gripping as it is sex-obsessed
"For those who dismissed the show as a sex-obsessed '300' ripoff, think again," says Maureen Ryan. "'Spartacus' turned out to be so much more than that, especially when it kicked into high gear midway through Season 1. Over the course of 13 hours, and especially in several well-paced recent episodes, this swords-and-togas saga became downright addictive, in part due to its distinctive dialogue, which mixes Shakespearean flourishes with 'Sopranos'-esque profanity." PLUS: You ain't seen nothing yet.
"Breaking Bad" Cousin is an ex-gang member with a prison past
Luis Moncada, who along with his brother Daniel plays a silent assassin, got into the acting business by accident, while working as a movie set security guard.
Jorge Garcia dreads looking for his 1st post-"Lost" job
"Now when I think about the next job, I use 'Lost' as my benchmark, so I have to think about if it's something that's going to be as satisfying as 'Lost' was," he says. "It's a pretty high mark to have to meet."
Youngest-ever "Doctor Who" makes his debut on BBC America
"Oh, there was a huge fuss made of my age when I was handed the role," says 27-year-old Matt Smith. "But that was all rather inevitable, simply because Doctor Who is part of the cultural fabric of Great Britain. He's a very important figure, so fans there are extremely protective of him."
Chicks dig time lords // New Doctor is too slapstick // Smith an energetic charmer
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Larry David will be back on HBO in 2011, saying: :"After much soul searching – and by the way, it was nowhere to be found – I have decided to do another season of 'Curb.'I look forward to the end of shooting, when I can once again resume the hunt for my elusive soul."
The ABC comedy, debuting tonight after "Dancing with the Stars," "is robotically assembled from spare parts, including a coffeehouse where the same booth is always available for too-sharply-focused banter among nitwits," says Hank Stuever. He adds: "Someone out there still believes in the two-plus-two-equals-four sitcom, done the old-fashioned way with the ha-ha-ha's supplied by a studio audience laughing at characters who live in open-floor-plan apartments that are as huge as airport terminals."
