Feb 24 2012 12:25 AM ET

CBS lassos Dennis Quaid, Michael Chiklis for fall

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If this isn’t the best piece casting news for fall, we don’t know what is: CBS just closed deals with Dennis Quaid and Michael Chiklis to star in a period piece about a real-life rodeo cowboy-turned-sheriff.

Quaid will make his series debut as Las Vegas lawdog Ralph Lamb in this untitled drama from writers Nicholas Pileggi and Greg Walker. Chiklis gets to chuck the white hat for a change and play a Chicago mob fixer named Johnny Lamb whose vision for building up Sin City doesn’t exactly gel with Lamb’s law-and-order approach.

Quaid has taken breaks from his lengthy film career by appearing in TV movies like HBO’s That Special Relationship in 2010.

Chiklis starred in the short-lived ABC drama No Ordinary Family after ending his Emmy-winning run on FX’s The Shield.

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Feb 23 2012 07:03 PM ET

'Archer' renewed, plus first look at Bryan Cranston -- EXCLUSIVE

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FX has renewed animated favorite Archer for a fourth season. So far the show is averaging 2 million viewers per episode, up 32 percent from last year, and will be back for 13 more episodes.

Below, EW.com has an exclusive first look at Bryan Cranston’s guest star appearance in the show. Cranston’s voice is perfect for animation, and we’re excited to see The One Who Knocks coming to the Archer finale. The two-part closer starts March 15 and is set on an international space station. Cranston plays Commander Drake, a conscientious astronaut fighting to quell a mutiny in space — with a little help from Archer rocking a blue jumpsuit of course. Here’s a couple pics: READ FULL STORY »

Feb 23 2012 05:45 PM ET

Former Palin staffers rail against 'Game Change': HBO responds

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Image Credit: HBO

An AP report emerged today that former aides of Sarah Palin are bitterly speaking out against HBO’s upcoming film Game Change for its “sick” portrayal of the one-time Vice Presidential candidate. The network has stepped forward to say, “We stand by our movie and we hope that people will withhold any judgment until they have viewed the film.”  READ FULL STORY »

Feb 23 2012 05:14 PM ET

Pilot scoop: Aimee Teegarden heading back to TV in 'Hunger Games'-esque drama

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Friday Night Lights alum Aimee Teegarden has picked up her next TV project and it will likely prove to be a buzzy one.

The actress has nabbed the lead role in the CW’s hourlong drama, The Selection. It’s touted as a romantic story set in the future that centers around an impoverished young woman who is picked to participate in a competition to be the next queen of a war-torn nation. One insider described it to EW back in January as, “The Hunger Games meets The Bachelor.”

Veteran scribe Elizabeth Craft (Shield, Vampire Diaries) and Sarah Fain are set to executive produce the show, based on the book by Kiera Cass.

Post-FNL, Teegarden has appeared in the latest Scream movie and Disney’s Prom. TVLine first reported the announcement.

Feb 23 2012 04:43 PM ET

Abby Elliott eyeing Fox pilot: Will she stay on 'SNL'?

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Saturday Night Live cast member Abby Elliott is near a deal for the lead role in a Fox comedy pilot.

Elliott is set to star in the network’s Ben Fox is My Manny. The story, created by Couples Retreat feature writer Dana Fox, is about an uptight single mother (Elliott) and her laid-back brother who move in together to raise a child (Maggie Jones).

The larger question is: What does this mean for Elliott’s future on SNL? READ FULL STORY »

Feb 23 2012 03:33 PM ET

Stevie Nicks coming to 'Up All Night' -- EXCLUSIVE

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Music legend Stevie Nicks is coming to NBC’s comedy Up All Night.

The singer will play herself in a guest-star appearance on the show. In an episode airing later this season, Reagan (Christina Applegate) and Ava (Maya Rudolph) will need to woo Stevie to get her to be on Ava’s talk show. The Fleetwood Mac singer’s last TV guest-star appearance was on Fox’s The X Factor last year.

As part of NBC’s midseason comedy plan, Up All Night will stick around in its 9:30 p.m. Thursday night slot for all of its 24 episodes. After, Parks & Rec will return April 19.

Feb 23 2012 03:01 PM ET

'Fringe' scoop: Bosses tease upcoming revelations for viewers -- and characters

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Image Credit: FOX

Ever since Fringe‘s beginning, the tangled mythology has been unraveled at a pace synonymous with genre TV — most “answers” lead to more questions. Friday’s episode of Fringe, ominously titled “The End of All Things,” is one such milestone in the show’s history.

“It’s definitely, as they say, a game-changer in that our characters learn a lot more and the audience is going to learn a lot more about the über-plot of the season’s bad guy, David Robert Jones (Jared Harris),” executive producer Jeff Pinkner said today in a conference call with reporters. The episode also finds the Observer (Michael Cerveris) peeling “back some layers about what his agenda has been and use that as an opportunity to revisit the things  on the show we’ve seen before.” READ FULL STORY »

Feb 23 2012 02:46 PM ET

CBS to air Kennedy Center Honors through 2018

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CBS has renewed the Kennedy Center Honors through 2018, EW has confirmed. The annual ceremony (which made its debut on CBS 34 years ago) honors individuals who have made contributions in the arts through star-studded tributes at the iconic center in Washington, D.C. With the newly inked deal, the partnership will become one of the longest in broadcast history, according to a press release.  “We are pleased to renew this commitment with CBS,” said David M. Rubinstein, Kennedy Center Chairman. “Every year, the broadcast of Kennedy Center Honors brings millions of arts lovers into the nation’s center for the performing arts.” READ FULL STORY »

Feb 23 2012 02:28 PM ET

InsideTV Podcast: Ousted Nina from 'Survivor' blasts 'vapid' Kat. Plus: 'Celebrity Apprentice' interpreter Jack Jason sizes up the new cast of crazies

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Image credit: Monty Brinton

She came. She saw. She busted up her face. She left. Survivor: One World’s Nina Acosta was voted out by her tribe, who decided instead to keep a woman who lost them a challenge and enjoys farting on people for fun. So what does Nina think about her fellow female contestants, especially the aforementioned Kat? She shares all with Jessica Shaw and me on the latest episode of the InsideTV Podcast. Is the women’s tribe as dysfunctional as it seems? Is Kat as worthless as she looks? And why was she targeted for being the next to go? Nina answers all!

Then, we welcome one of our favorite reality show personalities ever — Celebrity Apprentice’s ultra-animated sign language interpreter to the stars, Jack Jason. Jack stole the show —and our hearts — last season working for runner-up Marlee Matlin. Now, he’s ready to spill behind-the-scenes dirt as well as give his initial impressions on the latest bunch of famous faces to work under the watchful eye of Donald Trump. It’s a must-listen for all you fans of the most deliciously absurd reality show around. READ FULL STORY »

Feb 23 2012 02:18 PM ET

'Community' season finale: Rob Corddry to return... in Greendale Summer Fun Court! -- EXCLUSIVE

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COMMUNITY-CORDDRY

Image Credit: Mitchell Haaseth/NBC; Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Community has finally been granted a return date to NBC’s Thursday night schedule (March 15, 8 p.m.), and in that welcome-back spirit, we will be saying hello to an old frenemy in the near future. EW has learned that Childrens Hospital‘s Rob Corddry will guest-star in the season 3 finale, reprising his season 2 role as Alan Connor, former law firm colleague of Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) who turned Jeff into the State Bar for having a “less than legitimate” degree. This time, Alan and Jeff square off in Greendale Summer Fun Court, with Alan representing Pierce (Chevy Chase) and Jeff representing Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) in a battle over a sandwich business started by the pair.

The episode, which is scheduled to air in late spring, also features the reappearance of Vice Dean Laybourne (John Goodman), as the Air Conditioning Repair Annex makes one last play for the soul of Troy (Donald Glover). READ FULL STORY »

Feb 23 2012 12:10 PM ET

Wednesday's 'American Idol' ratings slip below 'The Voice'

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Image Credit: Fox

Now it’s a fight. Fox’s American Idol (15.9 million viewers, 5.1 adults 18-49 rating) slipped 16 percent in the ratings Wednesday night, finishing firmly lower in the adult demographic than Monday’s episode of NBC’s The Voice (16 million, 6.0). Though Idol will likely improve a 10th or so in the national ratings, last night’s episode won’t overtake NBC’s show earlier this week. Fox still has a shot of keeping Idol on top of the weekly TV series charts, however, when another episode of Idol airs tonight. (ABC’s Oscars telecast on Sunday is expected to win the week overall.)

If Voice beats both Idols for the week, it wouldn’t be unprecedented. But the first couple weeks of The Voice season 2, premiering out of the NBC’s mega-rated Super Bowl coverage, wasn’t really an apples-to-apples comparison to Idol, which had already been on the air for several weeks. Now things have settled down and the shows are proving to be extremely competitive. Last week, The Voice came within a 10th of a rating point of toppling Idol on the charts and this week it’s poised to win.

The landscape could shift again after The Voice finishes its chair-spinning audition phase and gets into the less-hypnotic battle rounds. One could argue The Voice is in the most popular phase of its competition while Idol is in one of its weakest (revealing the Top 24). READ FULL STORY »

Feb 23 2012 11:22 AM ET

'Downton Abbey' finale posts biggest PBS rating in years

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Image Credit: Carnival Film & Television

The second season finale of PBS’ Downton Abbey posted the network’s biggest audience in nearly three years.

A total of 5.4 million viewers tuned into Sunday night’s two-hour closer. It was PBS’ most-watched program since the premiere of Ken Burns’ National Parks in 2009. For some perspective, PBS’ period drama delivered more first-run viewers than FX receives for successes like American Horror Story and Justified, or AMC gets for favorites like Mad Men and Breaking Bad (though not as much as The Walking Dead).

Overall, the second season Abbey audience was 25 percent larger than the first round. The show is also delivering a much younger audience than the usual Masterpiece crowd, with female viewers 18-34 up 251 percent.

Feb 23 2012 07:00 AM ET

Jeff Probst on episode 2 of 'Survivor: One World'

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Image credit: Monty Brinton

Each week, host Jeff Probst answers a few questions about the most recent episode of Survivor: One World.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I have to say, I felt something was missing at the reward challenge — you! Why decide to go the Do It Yourself challenge route, and how many contingencies did you guys have to work out beforehand since you wouldn’t be on hand to officiate in case something funky happened?
JEFF PROBST: We’ve experimented in the past with the DIY simply as a way to generate a new kind of reality where the two tribes must work together to figure something out while ultimately competing against each other in a challenge.  John Kirhoffer (supervising producer) is on site to make sure there is a representative there in case of any serious problems, but the idea is that they have to solve any normal issues themselves. We wrote the Tree Mail in a way to suggest that someone should take the “host” role so we’d get a bit of that annoying play-by-play usually reserved for me!  READ FULL STORY »

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