Exclusive TV News and Scoop | Inside TV

Inside TV Exclusive TV News and Scoop

See Categories

See Archive

Archive: September 2011 (66-78 of 328)

Sep 24 2011 11:18 AM ET

'Fringe' returns lower; 'Gifted Man' modest in ratings

by James Hibberd

Categories: TV Ratings

Image Credit: Fox

“Save Peter”? How about “Save Fringe”? Fox’s fourth season premiere of the beloved drama dropped in the ratings from its previous Friday debut, yet still gave Fox an improved lineup compared to recent years.

Fringe returned to 3.5 million viewers and a 1.5 adults 18-49 ratings, coming in third place in the hour and down 21 percent from when it first shifted to Fridays back in January.

Still, Fringe performed much better than the short-lived Good Guys in the slot from last fall and edged out the series premiere of CBS’ new metaphysical medical drama A Gifted Man (9.3 million, 1.4), which tied the debut of Medium in the time period from last year. Fringe‘s lead-in Kitchen Nightmares (3.8 million, 1.6) was down 16 percent. All told, given Fox’s rough history in these hours, this is the highest-rated premiere week Friday for the network in six years. READ FULL STORY »

Sep 23 2011 07:22 PM ET

'True Blood' star to heat up 'Two and a Half Men' -- EXCLUSIVE

by Lynette Rice

Categories: Casting Scoops, EW Exclusive, Two and a Half Men

Image Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Two and a Half Men may have found a way to build upon its stellar premiere week ratings: Alcide is coming to Malibu!

EW has learned exclusively that True Blood star Joe Manganiello will make an appearance in the Oct. 24 episode of the CBS comedy. He’ll play the smoldering hot boyfriend (as if he could play anything less) of Bridget, the ex-wife of Walden (Ashton Kutcher). Bridget will be portrayed by Judy Greer, who makes her first appearance on Monday.

Manganiello just wrapped his fourth season of True Blood but he’s definitely staying ripped for other, um, important endeavors: EW already reported exclusively that he will play Big Dick Richie in Steven Soderbergh’s movie about male strippers. He’s also set to star opposite his old school chum Matt Bomer in an episode of USA’s White Collar that will air in January.

Sep 23 2011 07:02 PM ET

'Young and the Restless' video: Welcome, Debbi Morgan!

by Lynette Rice

Categories: Daytime Soaps, First Look

All My Children may have ended its run today, but at least Angie Hubbard landed on her feet elsewhere!

Here is a sneak peek of the network’s promo touting Morgan’s much-anticipated arrival to CBS’ The Young and the Restless. Sadly, the network is keeping its lips sealed about the character, but here is what we can say about her new daytime alter-ego: She is not assuming the role of Drucilla Winters. (Only one gal can and should play that part!). She won’t be hooking up with Victor now that Diane is dead, nor will she be fingered in blondie’s death. She’s not even coming on to play a concerned sister/aunt/cousin to the preggers Sofia. READ FULL STORY »

Sep 23 2011 05:33 PM ET

Terry O'Quinn: I won't quit you, Michael Emerson!

by Lynette Rice

Categories: Dream Projects, Hawaii Five-O, Lost, Television

Image Credit: Mario Perez/ABC

Lost fans, don’t give up on Terry O’Quinn ever working again with Michael Emerson. In preparation for his multi-episode arc on CBS’ Hawaii Five-0, EW asked the 59-year-old actor to reflect on his past roles — including an NBC drama from J.J. Abrams’ company that O’Quinn was supposed to make with his former Lost co-star Emerson. It was a light drama called Odd Jobs from writers Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec and would have starred O’Quinn and Emerson as former black-ops agents.

“I was actually looking to do a series after Lost,” O’Quinn told EW. “Michael and I fiddled around with one and we sort of got through the process of generating some interest in it, and we just didn’t come up with a script that everyone agreed on. Michael and I stay in touch; we still talk about that. Maybe we’ll make it happen before we get too creaky. I would love to have at least one more good experience like Lost.”

Hmm, maybe in the short-term, he should just shoot for a reunion on CBS: The premiere of Abrams’ new thriller Person of Interest that stars Emerson earned a pretty solid number (13.2 million, 3.1 rating). But keep the faith, Locke!

For more about O’Quinn and his past roles on movies like The Stepfather and The Cutting Edge, pick up the current issue of Entertainment Weekly.

Sep 23 2011 04:36 PM ET

'Army Wives' star Kim Delaney delivers discombobulated speech

by Lanford Beard

Categories: Army Wives, Television

Army Wives star Kim Delaney made headlines on Friday after a video of her appearing disoriented during a public address on Thursday night made its way onto the Internet. From the National Constitution Center’s podium during the presentation of the Liberty Medal Award to former defense secretary Robert Gates, Delaney took frequent pauses and fumbled her words while speaking of her own experiences serving in active military duty and comforting friends who have lost family in wartime. Almost as an after thought, she mentioned that these were not actually her own experiences, but those of her character on Army Wives, confusing the silent crowd. Delaney, who has reportedly battled alcohol addiction in the past, was escorted from the stage before her speech was finished, reported ABC’s local affiliate WPVI Philadelphia.

Delaney’s representatives are not commenting. See the full video below: READ FULL STORY »

Sep 23 2011 03:12 PM ET

Kelly Monaco talks 'General Hospital' wedding and new show 'Dirty Soap'

by Abby West

Categories: Daytime Soaps, Television

General Hospital‘s Sam (Kelly Monaco) and Jason (Steve Burton) may have already said their vows on Thursday’s show, making it official at a Chinese food restaurant instead of at the big church wedding everyone else was planning to attend, but today is the day things really go down. “They wind up going back to the church where everyone is waiting, pissed off and angry. And they tell them, ‘Yeah, we did it. Deal with it,’” laughs Monaco. “Then they go off to the reception to have fun, while James Franco lurks and plans his next evil plot.”

Yes, psycho Franco is already back with his creepy smile, staging a new elaborate scheme to get back at Jason. Monaco hints that his return means that there’s more turmoil in store for Sam. She’s already been shot and blown up during her time on the show. What more could they do to her, right? “Oh, there’s plenty more,” she jokes. READ FULL STORY »

Sep 23 2011 01:06 PM ET

'Mad Men': New predictably dashing pics from season 5!

by Lanford Beard

Categories: Jon Hamm, Mad Men, Television

Image Credit: Jeff Steinberg/Pedro Andrade/Pacific Coast News

Settle in with your Old Fashioneds, my friends, because we’ve still got a long wait until Mad Men returns to our TV screens. Until then, three new pictures of stars Jon Hamm, John Slattery, and Vincent Kartheiser on set have emerged. And let me tell you, that Don Draper can lean with the best of ‘em. (What can’t that man do?) See more pics of the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce crew after the jump. READ FULL STORY »

Sep 23 2011 12:00 PM ET

'The Walking Dead': The cast and new showrunner react to Frank Darabont's ouster

by Dalton Ross

Categories: The Walking Dead, TV Biz, TV Scoop

Image Credit: Greg Nicotero/AMC

Among the people shocked by the news of Frank Darabont being fired as showrunner on The Walking Dead was the man Darabont had brought in as his number two and would now be replacing him: Glen Mazzara. “Something similar happened to me when I was a showrunner on Crash,” says Mazarra, “and I know how painful it is when there’s a change like that made. And I know how hard Frank worked, so emotionally, I felt his pain. I really just felt horrible that he was going through that because I had a similar experience.”

As if taking over the reins from the man who brought him in wasn’t difficult enough, then Mazzara had to meet with a cast fiercely loyal to their former boss. “I met with the cast a day after everything went down, and I met with them privately,” recalls Mazarra. “It was a scary meeting, and I came in and I was honest about my mixed emotions. So, at first it was a lot of confusion and people thought ‘Well, maybe Glen’s responsible’ — that I wanted to take over the show. Once I told them that that was not true and explained to them how I was working with Frank and we were executing his vision of the show, I think they felt comfortable and they saw that I was also in new territory as much as they were.” READ FULL STORY »

Sep 23 2011 11:19 AM ET

Thursday ratings: 'Charlie's Angels' modest, 'X Factor' steady

by James Hibberd

Categories: Charlie's Angels, Community, Grey's Anatomy, Parks and Recreation, The Big Bang Theory, The Mentalist, The Office, The Secret Circle, The Vampire Diaries, The X Factor, TV Ratings

Image Credit: ABC

Premiere explosion Thursday unveiled 10 season debuts, plus several crucial second episodes of the fall. Some initial first-glance key results: ABC’s Charlie’s Angels opened modestly with 8.7 million viewers and a 2.1 adults 18-49 rating, the second night of Fox’s The X Factor held nearly steady with 12.5 million viewers and a 4.3 rating, and NBC’s Prime Suspect disappointed with 6 million and 1.8.

Let’s go network by network and break this down. Fox won the night with X Factor (the first time its won a premiere week Thursday in the network’s history, in fact), off by only a tenth of a point from Wednesday night rating. Showing this strong retention for the second episode is definitely good news for Fox and Simon Cowell.

On CBS, a one-hour Big Bang Theory (14.4 million, 4.9) was stable with last fall’s premiere and also won the night. The premiere of J.J. Abrams’ new thriller Person of Interest (13.2 million, 3.1) had a solid number, but was down 9 percent from the debut of CSI in the time period last year. At 10 p.m., the return of The Mentalist (13.3 million, 2.8) was off 18 percent from last fall, despite its Red John finale cliffhanger. READ FULL STORY »

Sep 23 2011 10:35 AM ET

'Dexter,' 'Fringe,' 'Criminal Minds,' 'The Vampire Diaries': Find out what's next in the Spoiler Room

by Sandra Gonzalez

Image Credit: Liane Hentscher/Fox; Randy Tepper/Showtime

System failing. Too much TV. Abort! Abort!

Anyone else feeling a little overwhelmed by all the amazing television this week? Well, buck up, sissy pants! Fall TV is not for the weak. It’s for the bravest, strongest, most wonderfully reclusive individuals. Together we will conquer.

That said, I need your help. Be sure you’re sending in your scoop requests, sharing your TV ponderings, and telling me your general shows of interest so I can make sure I’m filling your need for scoops during this hectic TV time. (Send e-mails to spoilerroom@ew.com or follow me on Twitter: @EWSandraG) Until next week!

(Side note: In case you missed it, we also had a special Emmy scoops edition earlier this week that you can read here.)

DEXTER REVISITS THE PAST IN AWESOME PREMIERE

Last season of Dexter ended with the door open for anything to happen. Lumen lost her darkness and left, Dexter had taken down the season’s villain, and there was even a small note of optimism on his part that he could one day live without his own darkness following him.

On Oct. 2, we pick up with Harrison starting pre-school and Dexter very much at peace with his darkness. And, dare I say, enjoying it again.

Without ruining too much (because I honestly felt incredibly psyched by the premiere and want you to experience it for yourself), much of the episode centers around Dexter tracking down a potential victim at his 20^th high school reunion. There, we not only get a great picture of who Dexter was as a high school student, but also get a good laugh out how his classmates perceive him now. (He’s… popular!)

We’re also introduced to Colin Hanks and Edward James Olmos’ demented characters. I can happily report that the first murder they are responsible for is one of the most disgusting ones I’ve ever seen on the show. Congrats, newbies! READ FULL STORY »

Sep 23 2011 10:32 AM ET

'Days of Our Lives' teaser: Look who's back Monday!

by Lynette Rice

Categories: Daytime Soaps, Scoop

Image Credit: Mitchell Haaseth/NBC

Monday should be a particularly bittersweet day for soap fans: All My Children will be off ABC but Days of Our Lives will begin a new chapter on NBC in hopes of fighting off the cancellation demons. In fact, the writers made sure to make the sober reality very clear in Monday’s dialogue: Hope (Kristian Alfonso) declares how “this begins a new day in Salem.” Naturally, she’s talking about the opening of the sparkly new town square named after her grandparents, but Days fans know what she’s really driving at, don’t they? READ FULL STORY »

Sep 23 2011 10:31 AM ET

'X Factor' hit with FCC complaint over nude contestant

by James Hibberd

Categories: Reality TV, The X Factor

Image Credit: Fox

A parents group announced it has filed a Federal Communications Commission complaint against Fox’s The X Factor for showing a contestant who exposed himself on stage.

In a pre-taped segment from the reality show’s two-hour Wednesday night premiere, contestant Geo Godley dropped his pants and sang for the judges and studio audience while apparently nude. The judges were appalled — Paula Abdul stormed off stage and appeared to be ill, saying the performance “literally made me sick,” while L.A. Reid declared, “that was offensive, disgusting, distasteful, upsetting — get him out of the building please!”

“Perhaps the ‘X’ in X Factor stands for the MPAA rating,” said PTC president Tim Winter, whose organization filed the complaint this morning. “If Godley performed his act in public, he would have been arrested. But if he performs it in front of a Fox camera, his act is beamed via the public airwaves into every home in the nation.”

Continued Winter: READ FULL STORY »

Sep 23 2011 10:00 AM ET

Youthful singing competition 'Majors and Minors' premieres tonight: 'American Idol' vocal coach Debra Byrd dishes on what to expect

by Tanner Stransky

Categories: American Idol, Majors & Minors, Reality TV, Television

Image Credit: Rob Naples/Hub

Television is already rife with singing competitions. There’s American Idol and The X-Factor on Fox, and The Voice and The Sing Off on NBC, to name a handful of the big ones. But you can add yet another to the pile-up of warbling contests: Majors & Minors, which premieres on cable’s fledgling The Hub network tonight at 8 p.m.

Naturally, Majors & Minors comes with a twist — and the “minors” part of its title gives it away. The show is focused on younger aspiring singers, in the age range of 10 to 16. But it does have lots of similarities to what’s already out there: A variety of celebrity mentors — from Leona Lewis and Adam Lambert to Jordin Sparks and Avril Lavigne — will show up to help the contestants through the series. Other celebrity mentors include Brandy (pictured above, working with the contestants), Sean Kingston, Mike Posner, and will.i.am.

Also helping the contestants is Deb Byrd, who also serves as a vocal coach to the contestants on American Idol and is a familiar voice here on EW.com. She happily touts the fact that her new show doesn’t kick off its contestants — all 12 stick around through the series, learning oodles along the way. “The mentoring of these kids is really quite fascinating because they’re such sponges. You get to see them grow before your very eyes!” Byrd marvels. “I think the buzz from kids is going to be something like, ‘Wow, I do that at home! I make up songs like that!’ I think kids will see themselves where they haven’t seen themselves before. What the audience gets to see is the process. They get to see the classroom that is like a performing arts school, but on steroids.”

READ FULL STORY »