Image Credit: Frank Ockenfels 3/AMCIt looks like the fledgling Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce advertising agency is staffing up!
Casting for Mad Men‘s upcoming fourth season has begun and, according to sources, boss Matthew Weiner is adding three new potentially recurring characters. The rookie trio includes… READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Greg Gayne/CBSPeople.com is reporting that Charlie Sheen — the highly paid star of CBS’ Two and A Half Men – wants to leave the top-rated comedy when his contract expires at the end of this season. The actor has reportedly told friends that “he’s not coming back,” even though CBS has already made a deal with Warner Bros. TV for two more seasons of the sitcom. “Leaving is 100 percent his idea,” a source told People.com. Apparently, the network has been trying to negotiate a new deal but Sheen turned down the offer. His spokesman would only confirm that his deal is through this current season.
A source close to comedy said negotiations are ongoing and that no one is assuming this will be Sheen’s last year (some reports say that WBTV, in fact, has an offer out to Sheen for two more years at around $1 million per episode). Representatives for CBS and Warner Bros. TV declined to comment.
The studio temporarily halted production of Men last month after Sheen announced he would spend time in a rehab facility. He returned to the set March 16, the day after his lawyer entered a not guilty plea on behalf of his client to charges of felony menacing, criminal mischief, and third degree assault, which stem from an alleged Christmas day argument with his wife, Brooke Mueller. A trial date has been set for July 21.
It seems unlikely that Sheen would want to leave the show that made him one of the highest-paid actors on TV today. There’s some thought around Hollywood that the actor could be angling for an even richer salary given the show’s continued success on CBS: At 14.98 million, Men remains TV’s most-watched comedy.
Image Credit: Virginia Sherwood/NBC It’s the end of an era. After 16 years on the job, Law & Order‘s S. Epatha Merkerson is turning in the badge she wore as BS-free Lt. Van Buren at the end of the season. The Emmy-winning actress just phoned to discuss her emotional decision and what it may mean for her cancer-stricken alter ego.
How did you arrive at this decision?
S. EPATHA MERKERSON: It’s a graceful way to go. It’s the end of my contract this year, and the storyline has been so perfect. I’ve given it my best for 16 years. It’s time to move on. I’m doing other things and this will be a great way to leave what has been an extraordinary gig. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Margaret Norton/NBCIt’s been a month since Jay Leno took back the desk on NBC’s The Tonight Show and as expected, he’s back in the winner circle. From March 1- 26, Jay Leno was No. 1 in late night among viewers (averaging 4.9 million) and No. 1 among adults 18-49 (1.3 rating/5 share). During the same period, David Letterman ranked second with 4.1 million and tied ABC’s Nightline among adults 18-49 with a 1.0/4. Jimmy Kimmel trailed in fourth with a .5/3 and 1.7 million viewers.
Leno still has some catching up to do if he wants to attract the same amount of viewers he did during the 2008-09 season. His season average at this point one year ago was a 1.4/6 among adults 18-49 and 5.2 million viewers. The Tonight Show lost some ground during Conan O’Brien’s now infamous but abbreviated run: he averaged a 1.1 rating among 18-49 and 2.7 million viewers.
During his first month back, Leno’s guests have included Hugh Jackman, Sarah Palin, Simon Cowell, Kristen Stewart, Betty White and Brett Favre.
Image Credit: Glenn Harris/PR Photos; Karen Neal/ABCABC’s just-renewed Castle is taking a stab at reality TV with an episode centered around the murder of a former contestant on a Top Chef-like series. But that’s not the big news. This is the big news: READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Albert L. Ortega/PR Photos (3); Chris Hatcher/PR Photos; Cliff Lipson/CBSRemember last May, when How I Met Your Mother‘s Ted (Josh Radnor) lost Stella (Sarah Chalke) to Tony (Jason Jones) at the altar? Well, as we first teased last month, the screenplay Tony wrote is now a star-studded movie, and in this season’s next-to-last episode, our hero — and we — will be seeing it! READ FULL STORY »
James Hibberd
@James_Hibberd
Lynette Rice
@EWLynette
