New Jersey taxpayers paying $420,000 for "Jersey Shore"
Under a new state film tax credit, New Jersey residents will help pay for "Jersey" productions costs. PLUS: Snooki & Deena make out.
Report: Bravo dumps 3 NY "Real Housewives": Jill, Kelly, Alex
Jill Zarin, Kelly Bensimon and Alex McCord have been let go from "Real Housewives of New York," according to the Huffington Post. UPDATE: Cindy Barshop is also getting the boot.
Watch Chef Charlie Sheen teach you how to cook
With "Winning Recipes."
Puppets explain TV ratings
ESPN puppets give a lesson on "TV Ratings 101."
Conan dresses as a robot
To promote TBS' new "TV Everywhere" app.
Male "X Factor" contestant flashes the judges
An aspiring singer named Geo wasn't wearing underwear when he dropped his pants on stage.
Which TV shows had the best/worst fall ads?
"Two and a Half Men" gets an A- for its naked promo.
"Jersey Couture" gets renewed and revamped
Season 2 will take a different approach to the reality series.
Style renews "Tia & Tamera"
The breakout reality hit will be back for Season 2.
"Freddy Krueger" coming to "Hawaii Five-0"
"Nightmare on Elm Street's" Robert Englund will play a homeless vet.
Oprah orders "Secret Talent Scout"
Talent scouts will go undercover to find talented performers.
"Sesame Street" meets Tupac
Watch the "Sesame" version of a Tupac Shakur music video. PLUS: The Muppets make "The Pig with the Froggy Tattoo" trailer.
"True Blood's" Joe Manganiello is single again
He and fiancee Audra Marie have called it quits.
After the success of "Bridesmaids," NBC beefed up Rudolph's role on the show, transforming her from a publicist to a talk show diva. The new version, says Matthew Gilbert, is "just not as charming as the original. Rudolph, he says, "was believable as a morally ditzy publicist who was Reagan’s friend, the devil on her shoulder always trying to get her to go out partying; she's merely a spoof as an over-indulged TV star. Her new character brings a wackier element to the show, which undermines the fine authenticity that (creator Emily) Spivey initially set up."
Despite sharing Anthony Head, "Free Agents" has lost some of what made it entertaining in the transition to American TV, says Joanne Ostrow. She writes: "There's a whiff of desperation coming off the NBC pilot, as the office family is dragged into play rather than staying put in the background. The edgier British version rightly seems to assume one obnoxious jerk, the boss, is enough for the office setting and keeps the focus on the angsty adults."
On her new CW show, "Gellar seems stranded in a purposefully nonspecific part," says Matt Zoller Seitz. "I like her a lot, but when I mentally list adjectives that describe her screen persona, 'mysterious' is not among them. This role needed an actress with mystery, and danger, and heat — somebody who could suggest hidden hunger, opportunism, kinkiness and cruelty; a touch of the film noir heroine, perhaps, or the Hitchcock blonde. The series also needed a less boring lead character."
"Entourage" ended the same way "Sex and the City" ended — with a pat ending that was different from the entire series. The finale, says Eric Deggans, "found the three strongest characters walking away from their showbiz careers and manly bonds of friendship to get married, have a baby and renew their vows. Indeed, some fans could be forgiven for thinking they'd stumbled on a lost episode of 'Sex and the City'; the one where the ending is so unexpected because it involves characters acting in a way they would never normally react."
CBS boss Les Moonves is still behind Dave, but late-night expert Bill Carter says that some of Letterman's biggest backers are suggesting that he call it quits, especially after a summer that saw "The Late Show" deliver its lowest ratings. "But," says Carter, "several people connected to Mr. Letterman’s show said he had begun to hint that he may be looking to extend his run a year or two more, mostly because his life still revolves around his daily performance."
