Archive: November 2011 (40-52 of 321)

Nov 25 2011 02:50 PM ET

Death Watch 2011: Fall TV Survival Status Thanksgiving Weekend Edition

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Categories: Television

Who will be the Last Man Standing to get Revenge for all those critics who, Once Upon a Time, needed a lesson or two on How to Be A Gentleman? Ooh, we could play this all day! Unfortunately, we’re running out of titles to riff on (if only NBC named it Rock Bottom with the Brian Williams instead of Rock Center) and frankly, the broadcast networks are thisclose to delivering their final verdicts on their fall fare. Midseason is just around the corner, you see, when there will be a whole lot of new shows to keep (or dump).

Here’s our verdict (and the most up-to-date viewership levels and ratings among adults 18-49) on what’s left:

READ FULL STORY »

Nov 25 2011 01:46 PM ET

Charlie Brown beats Lady Gaga in Thanksgiving ratings

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Categories: TV Ratings

It’s the Big Bang Theory, Charlie Brown!

All the Thanksgiving specials Thursday night couldn’t hold a candle to a repeat of the CBS comedy, which delivered 11.2 million viewers and a 3.6 adult demo rating. Compare that to ABC’s Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (5.8 million, 1.8) and A Very Gaga Thanksgiving (5.4 million, 1.6 — more on that one here) and NBC’s 85th Anniversary of the Thanksgiving Day Parade (3.7 million, 1.1) and Happiness is a Warm Blanket Charlie Brown (5 million, 1.6). The best-performing special was Fox’s Ice Age: Mammoth Christmas (7.1 million, 2.3), despite the network getting the holiday wrong. And at least we can take comfort in Charlie Brown topping Lady Gaga, right?

If you’re looking for something to watch over the holiday weekend, be sure to check out Lanford Beard’s rundown of all the best Thanksgiving weekend programming.

Nov 25 2011 10:22 AM ET

THIS is an 'American Idol' promo -- VIDEO

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Categories: American Idol, Reality TV

Seeing hundreds of thousands of people pack at stadium for a chance to appear on a Fox TV show never seems to get old, does it?

Time to start promoting another season of Ryan Seacrest, Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler, and Jennifer Lopez! Here’s a quick glimpse at some American Idol contenders, Tyler getting all smoochy with a possible participant, and Lopez confidently declaring to one hunk that “you know you’re going to be a star, right?”

The new season begins Jan. 22. READ FULL STORY »

Nov 25 2011 10:00 AM ET

'Leverage' boss spills end-of-season secrets

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Categories: Leverage, Scoop, Television, TV Scoop
Leverage

Image Credit: Karen Neal/TNT

Leverage’s season of consequences continues this Sunday. After years of what executive producer Dean Devlin calls “playing Robin Hood,” the team will, by the end of the season, feel the after effects. “Throughout the season we tried to bring back, ‘what happens when you play with fire?’ And it’s all going to culminate with the [two-part] season finale,” he said.

Before then, the next batch of episodes, beginning Nov. 27, will build on the introduction of Latimer, the investor who has been using to the team’s outcomes to make himself a lot of money. “We’re going to allow that to grow to its conclusion, but also to touch back on previous seasons and show how they all relate to what we’re trying to get to at the end of this year. There’s a lot of references — even a lot of references to the pilot–  in the season finale this year,” Devlin said. READ FULL STORY »

Nov 24 2011 04:00 PM ET

Thanksgiving weekend TV: Your one-stop shop to the best of the rest marathons

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Categories: Deadliest Catch, Hot in Cleveland, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Kim Kardashian, Mad Men, Star Wars, Television, The Walking Dead

spongebobOver your turkey hangover yet? No? Good. You may have thought the holiday marathons would end with today’s televised deluge, but you would be wrong. We roll out the best of the rest below, including Spongebob, Battlestar, Mad Men, Glee, and, yes, the Kardashians. We’re talking wall-to-wall weekend television, people. Keep reading…

READ FULL STORY »

Nov 24 2011 02:22 PM ET

NBC apologizes to Michele Bachmann, 'severely reprimanded' Fallon band

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Categories: Late Night

NBC took steps to smooth over Republican criticism in the wake of Rep. Michele Bachmann’s appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

A network spokesperson told EW.com that NBC reached out to Bachmann “privately” yesterday, and on Thursday CNN.com confirmed the Republican presidential candidate received a letter from NBC late night executive Doug Vaughan.

Bachmann’s spokesperson said Vaughan apologized for Fallon’s band playing “Lyin’ Ass Bitch” by Fishbone as she came on stage Monday night, and called the incident “not only unfortunate but also unacceptable.” The spokesperson also said that Fallon’s band was “severely reprimanded.”

And here’s something for NBC to be thankful for: Bachmann accepted the apology. According to CNN, Bachmann also spoke to Fallon yesterday and the two had a “nice conversation.”

Read more:
Michele Bachmann: ‘If that song had been played for Michelle Obama, I have no doubt that NBC would have apologized’
Jimmy Fallon apologizes to Michele Bachmann for the Roots’ song choice
Roots hit Michele Bachmann with musical snark on ‘Late Night’

Nov 23 2011 11:01 PM ET

'American Horror Story': Rubber Man revealed! We talk to [SPOILER] about the major plot twist!

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Categories: American Horror Story, Scoop, Television, TV Biz, TV Scoop

MAJOR SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED THE LATEST AMERICAN HORROR STORY EPISODE!

It’s the mystery that AHS fans have been wondering about for the past eight episodes of FX’s thriller: Who is Rubber Man? Well we finally got our answer in the latest installment of the Ryan Murphy/Brad Falchuk creepfest. The man in the rubber fetish suit is…

READ FULL STORY »

Nov 23 2011 06:56 PM ET

'One Life to Live' actor on show's online demise: 'It was a noble attempt'

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Categories: Daytime Soaps, not winning, TV Biz, TV Scoop
One-Life-Live-Hillary

Image Credit: Donna Svennevik/ABC/Getty Images

The actress who plays Nora on One Life to Live told EW that while she thought Prospect Park was “biting off a lot” by attempting to take the canceled ABC soap online, ”I thought it was doable.”

“It was a noble attempt and I believe they really wanted to do this,” said Hillary B. Smith in response to the shocking news that Prospect Park has shuttered plans to bring OLTL and All My Children to its planned Online Network launching in 2012.  The media and production company founded in 2009 by Jeffrey Kwatinetz and former Disney Studios head Rich Frank was unable to reach guild deals to make the soaps’ run on the internet a reality. READ FULL STORY »

Nov 23 2011 04:59 PM ET

'Good Wife' producer taking on 'Boss' -- EXCLUSIVE

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Categories: TV Biz
Starz_Boss-grammer

Image Credit: Starz

Regime change is coming to Starz’ Boss. We hear veteran TV producer Dee Johnson is coming aboard as co-showrunner of the Kelsey Grammer drama, joining Boss creator and executive producer Farhad Safinia.

Johnson has an impressive list of producer credits including ER, Army Wives, Southland and, most recently, The Good Wife. Boss is Safinia’s first TV producing gig and Starz initially brought in experienced producers Richard Levine and Lyn Greene to co-manage the first season. The duo exited in October and Johnson set to take over as showrunner for the second round, which was ordered by Starz before the drama premiered.

Boss has been well received by critics even though the ratings aren’t so hot. The most recent episode hit 250,000 viewers for its Friday night telecasts.

Nov 23 2011 04:00 PM ET

Thanksgiving day TV marathons to be thankful for: Your viewing guide

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Categories: Absolutely Fabulous, Arrested Development, Bones, Braxton Family Values, Film, Law & Order: CI, NCIS, Reality TV, Sci-Fi, Television
macy-spider-man

Image Credit: Macy’s

Spidey will cast his net across millions of TV screens during Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, but that’s not where tomorrow’s televisual treats end. Whether you’re a certified dude, a lady with a taste for the finer things, a procedural junkie, a spy fan, or someone who understands “There’s always money in the banana stand,” we present a list of the all that’s worth watching this Turkey Day. READ FULL STORY »

Nov 23 2011 03:48 PM ET

'Walking Dead' producer responds to abortion outcry

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Categories: Television, The Walking Dead

Walking-Dead-Sarah-pills

Image Credit: AMC

The Walking Dead survivors lie, betray and even kill each other to remain sane and alive during the zombie apocalypse. But use prescription medication incorrectly and all hell breaks loose.

To catch up: Sarah Wayne Callies’ character Lori has slept with two men since the start of the series (she thought her husband was dead) and nearly lost her son to a hunting accident. In last Sunday’s episode, she learned she’s pregnant and decides she doesn’t want to bring a child into such a cruel zombie-filled world. She gobbles up morning-after pills from a local pharmacy… and then decides to throw them back up.

Some viewers were outraged — but not for the reason the producers probably expected: READ FULL STORY »

Nov 23 2011 02:56 PM ET

'One Life to Life' and 'All My Children' dead: Online plans canceled  

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Categories: Daytime Soaps
Dead-ABC-soaps

Image Credit: Heidi Gutman/ABC via Getty Images; Ron Tom/ABC via Getty Images

Sorry, soap fans: The painful economics of running daytime dramas on the internet have made it impossible to keep the shows alive after they’ve been yanked off of broadcast TV. Prospect Park announced today that its hope to move One Life to Life and All My Children to a planned Online Network in 2012 has been shuttered, dashing any hope of keeping Llanview and Pine Valley fans satiated.

The media and production company founded in 2009 by Jeffrey Kwatinetz and former Disney Studios head Rich Frank was unable to reach guild deals to make the soaps’ run on the internet a reality. Arrangements with the unions were necessary if Prospect Park wanted to also sell the soaps to cable, but it’s economically unfeasible to pay guild wages for an internet show that would generate a fraction of the revenue it once did on ABC. READ FULL STORY »

Nov 23 2011 02:05 PM ET

'Once Upon a Time' actor Raphael Sbarge: Jiminy Cricket's magical story 'made me weep'

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Categories: Once Upon a Time, Television, TV Scoop
once-upon-a-time

Image Credit: Jack Rowand/ABC

Stories from the fairy tales we all know so well continue being re-defined on ABC’s Once Upon a Time, and this week the show is tackling the tale of Jiminy Cricket. Subsequently, in Once‘s Storybrook realm, we will also find ourselves getting to know the enigmatic Archie (Raphael Sbarge) better after he embarks on an adventure into a mysterious sinkhole with his patient young Henry.

“Henry figures out that this is a place that he needs to go explore, and it’s a link to the other world somehow,” explains Sbarge. “I get involved in that with him as his therapist. Archie is — for Henry, who has no dad — sort of a surrogate father figure. So, he’s there to help him transition and deal with being adopted and now having two moms in his life. So we sort of go on these parallel journeys.” READ FULL STORY »

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