June 2011

June 2, 2011

"Sesame Street" accused of liberal bias
A new book, "Primetime Propaganda," claims Big Bird & Co. are anti-conservatives.


Bristol Palin & Kyle Massey are not dating, says their reality show producer

"They are friends. They are not romantically involved," says exec producer David McKenzie, who's in charge of their BIO reality show. "Anything else is a bald, dumb lie."


Jon Stewart pays homage to pizza at the expense of Trump & Palin

Watch his epic "Daily Show" pizza rant from last night against eating pizza with knives and forks.


"NCIS" to use LL Cool J's music skills next season

Will he rap, or just do something behind the scenes for his character Sam?


"Love Bites" finally debuts after year-long wait

The Becki Newton series announced in May 2010, however, wasn't ready for TV critics to watch as of two weeks ago. Says Greg Grunberg: "I booked this pilot right after my Bar Mitzvah, which was when I was 13." Says Newton: "I think people are going to respond really well to the show."


Matthew Weiner: We just started working on "Mad Men" Season 4 three weeks ago

"We have a bunch of ideas on the board that I was super excited about 48 hours ago and today we sat around talking about how crappy it is," says Weiner, who explains that tried his hardest to get "Mad Men" on this calendar year. "So we're right on schedule."


Michael Ian Black teams with Meghan McCain on a humor book

The Comedy Central star and John McCain's daughter will work together on "Stupid for America," described as "Chelsea Handler meets Hunter S. Thompson on a political cannonball run across America."


Leighton Meester makes an ad for Vera Wang

Watch the "Gossip Girl" star promote Vera Wang's new Lovestruck perfume.


Webby Awards names IBM's Watson "person of the year"

The "Jeopardy!" champ joins a prestigious list of honorees this year, including Lisa Kudrow and Funny or Die.


Check out FX's Emmy box

Featuring entries for "Sons of Anarchy," "Justified" and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."


"Parks and Rec's" Nick Offerman encouraging men to stop shaving for the environment

He's working with Budweiser promoting Sunday’s World Environment Day with the "Grow One. Save a Million" campaign.


Ex-"Mr. Sunshine" star Andrea Anders joins USA's "Necessary Roughness"

The "Better Off Ted" vet will appear in a multi-episode arc.

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June 2, 2011

CBS is expecting "huge numbers" for the return of "Two and a Half Men"
Les Moonves says he's heard talk of "AFC championship-type" ratings for Ashton Kutcher's debut on the hit CBS sitcom. PLUS: CBS won't compete for the Olympics.


Hacker releases more alleged photos of a naked Blake Lively

The new pics come with taunting notes to the "Gossip Girl" star's rep.


Chelsea Handler mulls leaving E!, or shaking up "Chelsea Lately"

"I want to do something that's going to utilize my brain a little more than this show," she tells The Hollywood Reporter. "If 'Lately' is the show that I'm going to do, it's going to change. But it may turn out that I'm done with it altogether. I can't keep doing the same thing; my brain is bleeding. I want to do something that's more mindful and isn't celebrity-centered. I'm not looking to totally bail on E! They've done a lot for me, and I like it here …. If you take away the Kardashians."


"Fear Factor" making a comeback?

A casting website has surfaced for the NBC reality show last seen in 2006.


Burglar Bunch TV movie is in the works

The "Bling Ring" film will chronicle the thieves, including E! star Alexis Neiers, who burgled celebrity homes.


Eliza Dushku to lend her voice to "Torchwood" animated web series

She'll star in "Torchwood: Web of Lies."


"Keeping the Kardashians" offers a glimpse of the proposal

Watch the promo for Season 6.


Starz wants $350M to renew its Netflix deal

Netflix currently pays just $30 million for streaming rights for movies and original series.


MTV offering the first 8 minutes of "Teen Wolf"

The movie remake debuts on Sunday after the MTV Movie Awards.


Conan O'Brien will sit on George Lopez's couch for the 1st time

Conan will make his first formal visit to "Lopez Tonight" a week from today. He made his first appearance on his TBS neighbor's show in a surprise cameo last November.


CMT renews "Next Superstar"

The country music competition will also feature a cameo next week from Kristin Chenoweth.


Stephen Colbert's Twitter has been "hacked"

Colbert's Twitter has been tweeting photos, Rep. Anthony Weiner-style for the past 12 hours. PLUS: Colbert vs. Jimmy Fallon.

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June 1, 2011

Josh Lucas in talks to lead NBC's "The Firm"
He's expected to play the Tom Cruise character in the TV series inspired by the movie and the John Grisham novel.


"Family Guy" hopes to hook Emmy voters with "one frame of porn"

From the show's Emmy kit: "This screener has one frame of porn. Find the porn."


"The Event" may live on as a Syfy miniseries

Both are NBC Universal properties, which bodes well for the canceled NBC series.


Gavin Rossdale to guest on "Burn Notice"

The Bush singer will play Armand, a wealthy and powerful villain.


Florence police have a special 24/7 "Jersey Shore" detail

It was that detail that Snooki struck the other day. The team of officers is charged with monitoring the "Jersey" cast's every move and creating a "buffer zone." Meanwhile, Florence' mayor says he "won't be scared by Mike, 'The Situation'" PLUS: MTV admits Snooki's neck brace was a joke, and check out Jimmy Kimmel's British "Jersey Shore."


Next week is Letterman's "drum solo week"

Next week will see special performances by well-known percussionists like Sheila E. and Rush's drummer Neil Peart.


One week later, Oprah is spending her vacation eating pizza and reading

"Trying not to eat too much," she wrote this afternoon on Facebook. "But had 2 slices of the best pizza ever in life today. WHITE TRUFFLE!."

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June 1, 2011

"The Real Housewives of Vancouver" gets greenlight
The first Canadian spinoff of the Bravo franchise will air on Canada's Slice Network.


"Flight of the Conchords" alum buys hilarious anti-Time Warner newspaper ads

Read the letters Eugene Mirman put in two newspapers attacking the cable giant.


How bad was the "Wonder Woman" pilot?

Read an account from somebody who watched the failed David E. Kelley project.


"Real Housewives of New Jersey" spins off the Manzo brothers on the Web

"Boys to Manzo" is now up on Bravo's website.


Paris Hilton hopes "The World According to Paris" changes perceptions about her

"I wanted to get at this whole spoiled-heiress perception," she says of the Oxygen reality show that debuts tonight. "There are a lot of heirs out there that don't work because they don't have to. That's not me. I've had success on my own. PLUS: Paris struggles to reinvent herself.


Will PBS shows change their structure due with the new ad breaks?

PBS says it will work with each program to find "natural breaks" for interruption.


Gwyneth Paltrow joins Twitter and Facebook

The "Glee" guest says "I'm trying to join the 21st century."


Fred Armisen to deliever commencement at a Portland high school

The "SNL" and "Portlandia" star will speak to Oregon Episcopal School's grads on June 10.


"HIMYM's" Cobie Smulders glued to her beloved Canucks in the Stanley Cup Finals

"The problem is my movie career is hindering my hockey schedule," says Smulders, who has to sometimes listen to games via podcast.


"Men of a Certain Age" returns tonight with more Season 2

How has the TNT series managed to stay so good? PLUS: Scott Bakula says: "It's bigger, faster, funnier… and dramatic-er."

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June 1, 2011

"Franklin & Bash": A legal celebration of sexist frat-boy self-love
The TNT legal drama "is not a guilty pleasure," says Matthew Gilbert, "because there's no pleasure here to regret, just strained, sexist, frat-boy self-love. The goal is to drop a Judd Apatow bromance — between Breckin Meyer's Jared Franklin and Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s Peter Bash — into a wacky David E. Kelley courtroom dramedy, but the result has none of Apatow's sweetness and all of Kelley’s worst, quirk-filled impulses. It’s a headache cocktail."
"Franklin & Bash" is smart, it's fun and it's summer // What a stupid show!
An uncomplicated throwback to '70s television
What if a David E. Kelley legal drama was aimed at 18-to-34-year-old men?
Meyer & Gossselaar, both ex-child actors who are 37, have a lot in common

Has Gosselaar outlasted his "Saved by the Bell" stigma?

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June 1, 2011

Dr. Cliff Huxtable's "Cosby Show" mom is dead at 93
Clarice Taylor, who played Bill Cosby's mother on "The Cosby Show," died on Monday from heart failure. Her role as Anna Huxtable earned Taylor an Emmy nomination in 1986.


NBC gets big ratings out of "Got Talent" and "The Voice"

"Amirica's Got Talent" was watched by 15 million, its highest-rated premiere, 17% over last year, while "The Voice" had its most-watched episode yet. PLUS: Shocker: "The Voice" rivals kiss.


Scotty McCreery has more than 10 times the downloads of Lee DeWyze

This year's "Idol" champ bowed on the Billboard charts with 23,000 downloads compared to 2,000 for last year's winner DeWyze and 10,000 for the 2009 winner Kris Allen. Even Lauren Alaina topped the previous two "Idol" winners, with 11,000 downloads.

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June 1, 2011

Halle Berry might be ready to star on a cable TV show
The Oscar-winning actress would play a college professor in a script being shopped to cable networks called "Higher Learning."


"Raising Hope" promotes Cloris Leachman

The "special guest star" will become a series regular next season.


Jane Lynch skewers News Corp on stage at a News Corp conference

The "Glee" News Corp employee mocked Fox News and its employees Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck.


Sarah Silverman plotting a TV comeback

She's working on a script with her "Sarah Silverman Program" collaborator.


Sarah Palin & Donald Trump meet for "Pizza Summit"

The two reality stars sat down last night before the media to eat pizza.


Kim Kardashian: Pregnant?

The E! star is expecting her first child with Kris Humphries, according to OK! magazine UPDATE: "I am NOT pregnant," says Kardashian.. PLUS: Kim sells engagement photos to People for $300K, and Kardashian may drop her last name for Humphires'.


Kim Zolciak welcomes a baby boy

"The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star gave birth to Kroy Jagger Biermann on Tuesday.


Jimmy Kimmel & Carson Daly reenact their first meeting 26 years ago

Kimmel was 17 and Daly was 12 when they met each other during a trip to Hawaii. A few years later, Kimmel would hire Daly as his intern at a Palm Springs radio station. PLUS: Kimmel presents "Tattoo Time with Mike Tyson."


Watch the latest "Curb Your Enthusiasm" trailer

Larry David: "Social assassin"?


Stephen Colbert returns to work sporting facial hair

Colbert opted not to shave after participating in a yacht race over Memorial Day weekend.


Alec Baldwin, 53, is reportedly dating a 28-year-old yoga instructor

Baldwin was recently photographed with a new flame, yoga instructor Hilaria Thomas.


Tori Spelling launches an online magazine

Introducing "ediTORIal."

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