James Van Der Beek, star of “Dawson’s Creek”, will be returning to television this fall as a cast member of ABC’s hit comedy “Ugly Betty”. He will play the owner of a fashion house who has difficulty dealing with ‘Mode Magazine’ and their transsexual employee, Alexis Meade (played by Rebecca Romjin).
Van Der Beek joins a long list of stars lined up to appear on the show this season. Gina Gershon and producer Salma Hayek will make guest appearances, but it’s the presence of Victoria Beckham that has fans buzzing.
Fox’s hit game show “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?”, will be calling on celebs to take on the elementary school kids. Former “American Idol” contestants Clay Aiken and Kellie Pickler will test their knowledge of history, science, math, English, and geography, among other subjects.
Other celebrity contestants will include Regis Philbin, Tony Hawk, and Billy Bush.
Place your bets on which celebrity can rise to the occasion, and which will be humbled by the precocious youngsters. The always entertaining Kellie Pickler better watch her back.
Fox’s reality series, “Anchorwoman”, was pulled after only one episode last week. The show, which features a blonde bombshell (formerly of the WWE) trying her hand at news reporting, did not get worthwhile numbers, particularly from the 18-49 year-old set that appeals to advertisers.
The show was meant to pit a beautiful but not-journalistically-savvy woman in the heart of a local news team. To the average viewer, though, this “experiment” may not have looked drastically different from their own local news.
Buddy Sheffield, a comedy writer, is suing Walt Disney Co. for allegedly stealing the idea for their hit television series: “Hannah Montana”. According to him, he came up with the idea of a junior high school student leading a double life as a rock star.
Also according to the lawsuit, Disney Channel executives at first entertained the idea, but ultimately passed on the project, only for a similar show, “Hannah Montana”, to emerge a few years later.
While Sheffield may have a case, the idea of an adolescent leading a secret life as a rock star has probably been thought of before. By every single junior high school student in America, to be exact.
The controversial series, “Kid Nation”, continues to make daily headlines before the show airs its first episode.
The reality series, which places kids in a remote area of New Mexico, where they must create a society from scratch, is a stretch for the normally conservative CBS, but they had previously claimed they covered their bases. They avoided children labor disputes, problems with a lack of schooling or tutors, even parents of the children. A lawyer for the network even claimed they had received no word from any source that they were violating any laws.
That story, however, has changed.
Brilliant but Cancelled all-stars Bryan Fuller and Paul Reubens will be joining forces for this season’s “Pushing Daisies” on ABC, reports TV Guide.
Reubens, better known as Pee Wee Herman, will have a recurring role on the new series, which is generating a ton of pre-season buzz. It was rumored that producers wanted Masi Oka (Hiro from “Heroes”) for the role of a traveling salesman, but NBC put the kibosh on the idea. That’s when the star of “Pee Wee’s Playhouse”, what some consider among the finest brilliant but cancelled shows of recent history, stepped in.
Also starring Lee Pace, “Pushing Daisies” sounds like a mix of “Dead Like Me” and “Wonderfalls”. If that's anywhere near the truth, long may it run.
VH1’s “Mission: Man Band” has encountered an unexpected complaint about their show’s title. The reality show, bringing together four ‘90s boy band members for one more shot at stardom, has a similar name to a real band, and they are not pleased.
“The Man Band”, a rap group based in Los Angeles, is not too happy with their band being associated with the reality show. But they’re fighting back, on myspace.com and youtube.com with clips and songs about their recent name-sharing debacle.
Will this be the end of the rap group, or will the name recognition send them to new heights of fame? One thing is certain: their attempts at separating themselves from VH1, and making a name for themselves at the same time, are working. “You ever [hear] of ‘LFO’?” One of the band members asked, “They did that ‘girls who wear Abercrombie and Fitch’ song. Well, that guy’s girlfriend loves us. She’s cool. We made a song about her. It’s on our myspace.”
Every victory counts, Men.
“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” correspondent, Rob Riggle, spent last week in Iraq, taping segments for the Comedy Central show, and performing for the soldiers in the evening as part of a USO show.
Riggle, a Marine who served in Afghanistan, is no stranger to the troops, or to the battlefield, but this time, he said, “I didn’t go as a Marine in any shape or form. I went as a comedian.”
The report, “Operation Silent Thunder: ‘The Daily Show in Iraq’” will air all this week on Comedy Central. As for Riggle, he does not know if he will be recalled to active duty as a Marine, or if he’ll only visit military bases as a comic from now on.
“High School Musical 2” broke records on Friday by becoming the highest rated show in the history of basic cable. 17.24 million fans (and, presumably, their parents) tuned in to watch tween heartthrob Zac Efron and friends sing and dance their way through summer vacation.
Not only was the show the highest rated on cable television, it was also the highest rated of the summer, including network. Bigger than “The Sopranos” finale, and bigger even than the premiere of “Monday Night Football” on ESPN last season.
Disney, who owns both The Disney Channel and ESPN, probably isn’t too upset by a little healthy competition.
For those of you who just can’t get enough Kevin Federline (and really, who can’t?), look no further than this season of “One Tree Hill” on the CW.
Federline, or “the rapper formerly known as Mr. Britney Spears”, will guest star in a number of episodes this season. The teen drama, entering its fifth season, will advance the characters a number of years (maybe to accommodate for their age?), so when the show returns midseason, they will have long ago graduated from high school.
The details of Federline’s character are sketchy, but a publicist for the show said he will play a cocky rock singer. Judging by his public persona as a cocky rapper, it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch.
In a huge score for NBC, Kristen Bell has agreed to play a role in the upcoming season of “Heroes”. The star of “Veronica Mars”, Bell has been sought after by numerous networks (including, it was rumored, ABC’s “Lost), but ultimately, she chose to make a multi-episode appearance on NBC's hit Sci-Fi series.
Bell will play the role of Elle, a woman of mysterious origin that appears tied to Peter Petrelli’s past and Claire’s future. It will be unclear to fans, at first, whether she is good or bad.
In addition to her new television commitments, Bell will also be playing the title role in Judd Apatow’s next film, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”. And, from the look of it, she’ll have her choice of roles and projects for some time to come.
On the heels of cancelling “John From Cincinnati”, HBO has renewed two of its comedy series for next season.
“Entourage” will gear up for a fifth season, while “Flight of Conchords” will return for a sophomore turn. While it comes as no surprise that “Entourage” would be picked up for another round, there was a great deal of speculation about “Conchords”, the quirky musical comedy about a New Zealand folk parody duo’s adventures in New York's outer boroughs.
Both shows will conclude their 2007 runs on September 2, and will return to HBO some time in 2008.
Tracy Morgan has finally been sentenced for his drunk driving arrest from last November. The SNL alum, and star of “30 Rock” was fined $1,000 and given five days of community service, which he already served.
Morgan also had his license suspended for six months, which, as he lives in New York City, is hardly punishment. What remains a mystery is why, in a city with a cab on every corner, he stepped behind the wheel in the first place.
Asked about the loss of his license, Morgan said: “I’m totally cool with that”.
“Desperate Housewives” has been evicted from their set on the Universal Studios soundstage. Their enormous set takes up a huge amount of space, and rumor has it, they may be making room for the upcoming “Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien”.
Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show” is still shot on the NBC Burbank lot, which is much smaller, and is said to have little room to accommodate its staff. If the rumors are true, the “Housewives” set would be cleared, creating space for a new theater, a public area, and offices for the writing team.
How long this would take, and if it would be ready for Jay Leno before his contract expires in 2009, is still unclear. And as Leno’s departure is not guaranteed, no one can say what will happen with the late night juggernaut. One thing is certain, though: the “Housewives” need to look for a new home.
The new season of Fox’s “24” has hit another delay, and has been pushed back until mid-September.
The troubled seventh season has had a number of delays, beginning earlier this summer, when the African plot they had developed fell through because of ballooning production costs. At the time, shooting was expected to begin in August, but the writers needed more time to map out an entire season.
There is no word yet on if the delays will push back when the show is expected to begin airing this season.
Kathie Lee Gifford, former co-host of “Live With Regis and Kathie Lee”, spoke about her departure from the show for the first time to the New York Post.
In her interview, she explains that it was the illness of her father that led her to leave the show. Despite rumors of a falling out between her and the show’s producer, Michael Gelman, she said the decision was entirely personal.
She said to the Post, "I knew it was going to be a horrendous family experience. I just had to have that time with him without cameras in my face and without having to explain things," she said. "I wanted my daddy to be able to die with the dignity in which he had lived his life."
Kathie Lee will be returning to the show for the first time next month as a guest. The show’s producers had encouraged her to stay away in order to give new host Kelly Ripa enough time to become entrenched. Surely seven years is enough time to let their audience adjust.
In a highly unusual sequence of events, Langley Productions has sold the same show at the same time… to two different networks.
“Inside American Jail” will air on Court TV, offering a look inside America’s prisons. It will feature a rock theme song and underscore. “Jail” will air on MyNetworkTV, and will showcase a hip hop anthem by Lil Droppa, emphasizing the show’s gritty edge. But, they’re exactly the same show.
The target audiences for the two networks are very different, but producers felt the show would appeal to both, for different reasons. So, they’re being packaged and marketed as two different products, with identical looks.
Langley Productions has quite a bit of experience with this sort of programming, and should have a good idea of what will appeal to their target audiences. After all, they are the people that bring us “Cops”.
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, stars of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report”, respectively, have been asked by YouTube to testify in its defense against a billion dollar lawsuit brought about by Viacom, Inc.
Viacom, Inc. is suing YouTube and Google for copyright infringement, citing the numerous uses of their material on the free websites. In retaliation, YouTube has asked two of television’s most recognizable faces, Stewart and Colbert, to give depositions.
Both hosts were tremendously popular on the internet, with “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” clips typically among the most viewed on YouTube. Colbert had even gone so far as to encourage viewers to watch his material online.
What will be asked of Stewart and Colbert remains to be seen, and their ability to help YouTube’s case against Viacom is still vague. One thing, however, is certain: it probably won’t be very funny.
After much speculation, and little critical acclaim, HBO has pulled the plug on David Milch’s “John from Cincinnati”, which will not be back for another season.
The surfing drama, which many critics and viewers found inaccessible and opaque, will end the way it began: shrouded in mystery. As for Milch, he will continue to develop shows for HBO, with whom he has a deal which will last until August 2008. He is working on several new projects for the network, and is expected to extend his development deal beyond next summer.
As for fans of “John from Cincinnati”, they may never know the answers to the many questions posed by the series. And judging by the difficult nature of the narrative, it doesn’t seem like Milch is interested in giving out easy answers.
For fans of “The Miss America Pageant”, there will be plenty more to see in seasons to come.
TLC has recently signed a deal to carry the pageant for the next three years, and will be adding a reality component, trailing the contestants during the weeks leading up to the main event.
The pageant itself has been steadily losing viewers for the last six seasons, and in 2005, ABC declined to renew it. Country Music TV aired the show for two seasons, and then also dropped it, even though they had the rights through 2011. TLC is hoping that the reality component will boost the pageant's visibility, and increase the progressively sagging ratings.
Merv Griffin, the billionaire entertainment business mogul, died over the weekend in Los Angeles. The cause of death was prostate cancer.
Griffin, the talk-show host and television producer, made his mark on television by producing such stalwarts as “Jeopardy”, “Wheel of Fortune”, “Dance Fever”, and “The Merv Griffin Show”, which he hosted for 23 years.
After he sold his company, Merv Griffin Enterprises to Columbia Pictures for $250 million, he made millions buying and selling hotels, casinos, racehorses, and radio stations. He is survived by a son and two grandchildren.
The reality television boom has spread all over the world, and now American audiences have the chance to see that what goes around, comes back around in the form of depraved, life-ruining game shows.
“Nothing but the Truth”, a runaway hit in Colombia, hooks contestants to a lie-detector test backstage, and grills them with twenty-one questions about their life, work, family, and general moral fiber. Then, in front of an audience of friends, family, employers, and loved ones, must answer the same questions, and have the results read aloud to the audience. Tragedy and hilarity ensues.
And, of course, it’s coming to American television soon.
FOX has put the show on the fast track, and is expected to start airing the television equivalent of rubbernecking in a few months. As for the prospective contestants: they should hope their closets are very, very clean. Or else.
Rome’s Cinecitta backlot caught fire Wednesday night, damaging the set of “Rome” which is not currently shooting.
The historic backlot has been used in many films over the years, including “Ben Hur” and, more recently, Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ” and Wes Anderson’s “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”. None of the sets currently on the lot, besides “Rome”, were damaged in the fire.
The area that was burned is known as the “suburra”, which is a sprawling open air lot used to recreate the streets and architecture of ancient Rome. The source of the fire is believed to be electrical.
Alan Ball, creator of the series “Six Feet Under” is returning to HBO, this time as executive producer and show-runner for the new series, “True Blood”.
The new show, based on the “Southern Vampire” novels by Charlaine Harris, will follow a group of small-town Louisiana vampires, who are able to live among humans thanks to a new, synthetic blood.
Ball wrote and directed the pilot, and has written a few more episodes for the show, which features Anna Paquin as a human waitress who falls in love with a vampire. While the schedule has not been set by HBO, production is expected to start this fall.
While Hollywood is rife with young celebrities getting themselves into serious trouble— Paris’ incarceration, Nicole’s DUI and sentencing, and Lindsay’s car chase, to name a few—there are some celebs that are staying above the fray, and having a little fun with their squeaky-clean image.
Enter Mandy Moore, the singer/actress who is known for her wholesome smile and image to match. The screen actress will be hitting the small screen this fall on an episode of CBS’ hit “How I Met Your Mother”. But Moore will not be the fresh-faced star people have come to know her as. Instead, she’ll be playing Amy, a tattoo-covered, vodka-chugging mess that will put Ted (Josh Radnor) through the ringer.
Radnor’s character will be on the lookout for a new love interest, and Moore will be exactly the wrong woman at the wrong time. She’ll be playing against type (way, way against type), and the results will be a completely different Moore than anyone’s ever seen before… and thankfully never see in real life.
The on-again off-again CBS series, “Jericho” has entered the realm of fan infamy, marked by the launch of ‘Jerichon 2007’, a fan convention to celebrate the cult hit series.
The convention will be held in Oakley, Kansas, which is near the fictitious town featured on the show. The small town isn’t known for its conventional centers, so fans of the show: book your tickets early.
‘Jerichon 2007’ will run from September 14th through the 16th, and hopefully, fans will have new episodes in their future to celebrate at ‘Jerichon 2008’, should there be one.
As Hollywood tries to “go green” these days, and eco-friendly decisions prevail, Fox Television wanted to replace the famous red carpet with a green one at this year’s Emmy Awards.
The Awards ceremony, to be held in Los Angeles next month, will be broadcast on Fox, which is increasingly environmentally aware, and was hoping for the chance to make a statement by changing the iconic color of the entrance carpet.
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, however, did not think a green carpet was the best way to show their environmental enthusiasm, and didn’t want to part with tradition. They claim, however, that it was corporate sponsor Macy, whose signature color is red, that didn’t want to make the change.
Regardless, Fox will be using a “green” carpet of recycled material (and, one would hope, environmentally friendly red dye), and will donate the carpet to a charity after the event.
Fans of the brilliant but cancelled series “Dead Like Me”, you have many reasons to rejoice these days. According to Charlie Cohen, the new Senior Executive Vice President Finance and Corporate Development (all that fits on a b usiness card?), shooting wrapped earlier this week on a straight to DVD film of “Dead Like Me”, with most of the original cast. Speaking about it at Comic-Con this week, Cohen told reporters he’s a big fan of the Bryan Fuller show, which was—and is—revered by its fans, who campaigned heavily for its rescue.
The plot of the film is unclear, but Ellen Muth (Georgia) will play the leading role once more, as will the rest of the principal cast, save Mandy Patinkin (Rube) and Laura Harris (Daisy Adair).
But the good news does not stop there. In an interview with Multichannel.com, Cohen went on to say that there may be more in store for the series. “If it’s a series of movies that’s fine. If someone saw it and thinks it makes sense to bring it back as an episodic TV series, we’re open to anything”.
Will “Dead Like Me” find its way back onto the airwaves? No one can say. But in the meantime, fans of the show have a DVD movie to look forward to. It will be available this time next year… just in time for Comic-Con 2008.
If you weren’t among the thousands of people who saw “The Bourne Ultimatum” over the weekend, don’t worry: you can see the hit action film on basic cable… if you don’t mind waiting two years.
The USA Network has just made a huge movie deal with Universal Pictures, purchasing the network television rights to the Matt Damon action thriller, as well as other hits from this year, including “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry”.
USA has returned to purchasing films after having lagged for a few years. Among the latest titles purchased before the $60 million deal with Universal was Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Borat”, “Alpha Dog”, “Smokin’ Aces”, and “The Interpreter”.
“Bourne” will hit the basic cable small screen (after a run on HBO, of course) on January 1, 2010. Start clearing your calendars now.
Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” continues to line up presidential hopefully as part of its “Indecision 2008” coverage. Host Jon Stewart will be sitting down with four candidates in the next three weeks, as they vie for the desirable audience the comedy talk show attracts.
Democratic Senator from Delaware, Joe Biden, will appear on Wednesday, August 8th, Republican Senator John McCain will appear (for the 10th time) on August 16th, Former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson will appear on the 20th, and Democratic Senator Barack Obama will round out the group with his appearance on the 22nd.
“The Daily Show” has become a destination point for presidential hopefuls since the last election. The relaxed comedy style of the program lets the candidates speak and behave in a manner most talk shows do not approach, and the show’s audience, comprised primarily of young men, is a block of voters difficult to reach.
If one wants the chance to see our next president—or who could be our next—let their guard down and have a few laughs, tune in to Comedy Central for the next two weeks for what may be your only chance.
After a summer of speculation, the Sci Fi Channel has confirmed rumors that its fantasy series “Dresden Files” has been dropped by the network, and there will be no sophomore season.
The series, which focused on the adventures of a wizard acting as a detective, did not fare as well as other Sci Fi programs, including “Battlestar Galactica” and “Eureka”, and fans of the show spent the last few months wondering if the show would return for a second season.
But it was not to be, and the show will not return this fall. Fans of the show’s star, Paul Blackthorne, need not worry, as he will be making the leap to network television. He has signed on to play a powerful CEO on ABC’s “Big Shots”.
PBS has just secured funds to produce a sweeping miniseries about the creation and history of television, to be aired in the spring of 2009.
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation has teamed up with documentary producers for the non-fiction piece, which will chronicle the course of television from its inception to its current place in modern culture.
The series, currently titled “The History of Television”, will have access to the TV Academy’s Archive of American Television, and will feature rare interviews and clips from television pioneers.
According to a new survey, Americans say the media is to blame for the overabundance of celebrity news and gossip on the airwaves.
A whopping 87% of people surveyed said celebrity scandal gets too much media attention, with only 2% saying there was not enough. But research also showed that celebrity stories were not among this week’s most followed topics. The death of a mother and her children in Connecticut, the stock market’s fluctuation, the hearings of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and the ongoing war in Iraq were the top stories, in spite of Nicole Richie announcing her pregnancy and preparing for prison, and the continued rumors of Angelina and Brad splitting up.
Because news organizations need their ratings, and celebrity gossip seems to give them a bump, we would like to encourage the 87% of the people surveyed to get in touch with Neilsen families and ask them to change the channel. Then, celebrity scandal will disappear faster than a Hollywood marriage.
With the reality show “Don’t Forget the Lyrics” getting very high ratings, FOX has decided to rearrange their fall line-up to keep the show on the air. As a result, yet another scripted show is put on ice to make room for reality programming.
“New Amsterdam”, which had a good deal of positive word behind it, has been shelved to make room for the singing contest, which will continue through the fall. Also, FOX has switched the airing time for “Bones” to 8pm on Tuesday, so it will not have to compete with “Criminal Minds”, “Private Practice”, and NBC’s “Bionic Woman”.
In the meantime, “New Amsterdam” is still in production, is slated to be a midseason replacement. Fox execs were quick to add that the show will not be axed before it even premieres, which many hope to the case. If so, “New Amsterdam” could be the best show of the fall 2007 season that no one will ever see.
Here’s something new for the CW show “Smallville” -- a villainous killer who may or may not be infected by meteor rock. Has that been done before? The interesting twist is a former Superman, Dean Cain, will play the role.
According to Variety, Cain will guest appear on the CW drama in this, its seventh season. Cain played the adult Man of Steel in ABC’s “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.”
We dig this as comic book geeks. We know Cain isn’t actually playing a version of Superman on the show but they should definitely refer to it in some way. It’ll be cool in a “Crisis on Infinite Earths” sort of way.
Fresh off the heels of her work with Comic Relief in 1986, Whoopi Goldberg is stepping into the eight high heel circus that is “The View.”
The famous comedian will be stepping in to replace the now infamous run of Rosie O’Donnell on the gab fest daytime talk show. Goldberg, 51, gives ''The View'' a genuinely big name and distinct personality in her own right. She's among the select few performers to win an Oscar, Emmy, Tony and Grammy award.
Do any of those awards denote rating success, however? During O’Donnell’s tenure on the show ratings shot up dramatically; her fire breathing and, at times, contentious demeanor was a draw for most viewers.
As the late night musical chairs begins again, rumors are circulating as to who will wind up behind what talk show desk in the next few seasons. Conan O’Brien will be taking over the helm of NBC’s “The Tonight Show” when Jay Leno leaves in 2009, vacating his “Late Night” slot, and NBC execs seem interested in filling it with “Saturday Night Live” alum Jimmy Fallon.
Fallon was a long-time co-anchor of SNL’s “Weekend Update” with Tina Fey, and was a guest host for David Letterman in 2004. But will he be up to the challenge of a daily talk show? Fey said: “I think it's a great idea. He's really funny and loves to talk to people ... Hosting a talk show is so hard, having to do the comedy and the interview skills, but I actually think he's really well suited for it.”
But at the moment, nothing is set in stone. As Leno is still number one in the ratings, NBC might attempt to keep him at the 11:35pm slot, maintaining the status quo. And a formal offer hasn’t been given to Fallon, either. Rumors were circulating that NBC first approached “The Daily Show’s” Jon Stewart to take over Conan’s seat, but he declined. With many months to go before contracts are up, it is anyone’s guess as to who will be sitting where in the next few years.
Hot on the heels of “The Simpsons Movie” and their huge box office success, another FOX television hit is taking steps towards the big screen.
Simon Cowell is reporting that he will be producing a film based on the runaway hit singing competition. He told the Sun Online: “I’m producing a film. It’s going to be the modern day version of ‘Fame’, although set on a talent show rather than a talent college.”
No word on when the film will go into production, or when we can expect to see it on the big screen. Cowell also didn’t discuss how much the film will resemble the television series. Audiences can assume, though, they won’t be seeing much of him: “I would give up being on camera tomorrow, I really would. I’ve thought about leaving [American Idol] a lot this year.” For some of the contestants that have been subjected to his cruel critiques over the years, that news comes far too late for them.
