Tag: Amy Poehler (1-10 of 19)

May 2 2013 04:01 PM ET

'Parks and Recreation' season finale: 11 hints from exec producer Michael Schur

Parks-and-Rec-Finale-Leslie-2.jpg

Image Credit: Colleen Hayes/NBC

It’s time to wrap up another season of Parks and Recreation, one in which new City Councilwoman Leslie Knope found herself in soda wars (of the 512-ounce variety) and jams (of the Councilman Jamm variety). Tonight’s episode, which airs on NBC at 9:30 p.m., will boast a different feel than last year’s celebratory send-off. “Last year’s finale was very much about ending something,” says series co-creator/exec producer Michael Schur. “It was the end of her campaign and it was her victory speech, and it put this great punctuation mark on the entire season. And what I like about this finale is that this also wraps up the year very explicitly. It’s about her first year in office. She gets revisited by a lot of people whose lives she affected in different ways, but the end of the finale is about throwing balls up into the air instead of catching them. It’s about throwing forward to next season and it feels very exciting.” Schur tossed EW a bunch of teasers for season 5′s farewell episode, which you can read and re-read below. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 13 2013 07:36 PM ET

Comedy Central orders first season of Amy Poehler-produced 'Broad City'

Broad-City

Image Credit: Ari Scott

A few City girls just got a green light from Comedy Central: The network announced today that it had ordered 10 episodes of scripted comedy Broad City, which is executive produced by Parks and Recreation‘s Amy Poehler and stars Upright Citizens Brigade vets Abbi Jacboson and Ilana Glazer. An adaptation of their web show Broad City, the scripted comedy will follow the adventures of two twentysomething friends in New York City who are, as Poehler recently summed up to EW, “struggling every day to get through the day.” READ FULL STORY »

Mar 13 2013 03:44 PM ET

'Parks and Recreation': See Jason Schwartzman as a video store owner -- EXCLUSIVE VIDEO

Parks and Recreation means business on Thursday night. Not just because the episode, “Bailout,” is rich with laughs, but also because Pawnee commerce plays a role in two different plots. You will be introduced to Jean-Ralphio’s sister, Mona Lisa (guest star Jenny Slate), who takes a job at Rent-A-Swag and immediately troubles Tom (Aziz Ansari) with her work ethic that involves neither work nor ethics. And as you will see in the video below, Councilwoman Knope (Amy Poehler) tries to help Dennis Lerpiss, the owner of Pawnee’s only indie video store (guest Jason Schwartzman) by getting his failing business classified as a historic landmark, much to the libertarian dismay of Ron (Nick Offerman).

Come for a discussion about the role of government in the free market. Stay for Leslie’s attempt at slam poetry and Dennis’ reaction to Michael Bay movies. READ FULL STORY »

Feb 20 2013 05:59 PM ET

'Parks and Rec': Amy Poehler and Adam Scott preview tomorrow's wedding

parks-recreation-poehler-scott

Image Credit: Tyler Golden/NBC

The big social event of Pawnee is finally almost here. On Thursday, in the first of two back-to-back episodes of Parks and Recreation, Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) will finally tie the knot. And, as anyone who saw last week’s episode is well aware, the pair’s last-minute decision to marry that night means the whole wedding will have to get thrown together in about two hours.

EW was part of a conference call with Poehler and Scott as well as Parks co-creator/writer Michael Schur this afternoon where the three dished about what we can expect from the wedding and the rest of the season, as well as some of their personal favorite Leslie/Ben moments from the courtship. Check out four revelations below. READ FULL STORY »

Feb 1 2013 04:08 PM ET

The Women Who Run TV: Amy Poehler on the best show she never pitched; plus, who's on her inspiration board?

Amy-Poehler-ITV

Image Credit: Joe Klamar/AFP/Getty Images

Amy Poehler is showing Knope signs of slowing down in Hollywood. In addition to her starring role on NBC’s Parks and Recreation, she’s producing a pilot for Comedy Central based on the web series Broad City, appearing in three upcoming movies (A.C.O.D, They Came Together, You Are Here), overseeing her online network Smart Girls at the Party, hosting shiny  events like the Golden Globes, and writing a book. For those reasons — and just because she’s, you know, funny — Poehler is highlighted in this week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly as part of our Women Who Run TV feature. During our interview, we asked the 41-year-old actress/writer/producer for the best TV show pitch she ever brainstormed that never saw the light of day, and she shared an intriguing one with us. READ FULL STORY »

Jan 9 2013 08:02 PM ET

Golden Globe hosts Poehler, Fey talk boobs, cheerleaders, 'Argo' on pre-Awards call

wtw-golden-globes_510x317.jpg

Image Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

In an indication of just how silly this Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards on NBC aim to be, hosts Tina Fey from 30 Rock and Amy Poehler from Parks and Recreation further charmed journalists, including EW, during a Q&A conference call on Wednesday.

Was anything off-limits? Not really. The Saturday Night Live alums joked about everything from boobs falling out of dresses to being on pills during the interview to potentially yelling out “Argo!!!!!” during the telecast.

On a more straight-laced note, Poehler said her parents wouldn’t be able to attend the ceremony, but for good reason. “My parents are going to be in Sweden. My brother’s having a baby,” she told EW during the call. Fey’s family will be home and watching on TV. Both women name-dropped Silver Linings Playbook, filmed in Fey’s hometown of Philadelphia and starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, as a Globe-nominated film they love.

Check out EW’s longer chat with Fey and Poehler for more about the boozy ceremony. But to further whet your Globes appetite, here are 10 silly moments from the conference call. Cheers!
READ FULL STORY »

Jan 9 2013 06:13 PM ET

Tina Fey, Amy Poehler promise the 'sloppiest, best ever' Golden Globes

GOLDEN-GLOBES_510x343.jpg

Image Credit: Gavin Bond/NBC

Ricky Gervais won’t be hosting the Golden Globes this year (sensitive celebrities, sigh in relief!), but there’s at least one comedically compelling reason to tune in. Make that two. 30 Rock‘s Tina Fey and Parks and Recreation‘s Amy Poehler are teaming up to emcee the 70th installment of the awards show that celebrates film, television, and, er, alcohol. (The ceremony airs live Jan. 13 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.) You can read EW’s interview with the longtime friends — who co-anchored SNL’s “Weekend Update” and co-starred in Baby Mama and Mean Girls — in this week’s issue, which hits stands on Friday. You can also roll out the red carpet for the duo right now by reading this bonus Q&A. READ FULL STORY »

Nov 7 2012 09:02 PM ET

Vice President Joe Biden to guest on 'Parks and Recreation' -- EXCLUSIVE VIDEO

parks-rec.jpg

Image Credit: David Giesbrecht/NBC

Next week’s episode of Parks and Recreation is going to have a VIP: the VP.

Joe Biden — yes, the very guy who was re-elected Vice President of the United States less than 24 hours ago — will guest-star in the Nov. 15 installment of Parks and Recreation, EW has learned. His cameo occurs at the beginning of the episode, in which former Congressional campaign manager Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) takes fiancée/City Councilwoman Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), to the White House to meet America’s No. 2, who has long been her No. 1 crush. (As Leslie once noted, her ideal man has “the brains of George Clooney and the body of Joe Biden.”)

Parks scored camera time with Biden in July when the show traveled to Washington, D.C. to film its season 5 premiere, which featured appearances by Senators Barbara Boxer, Olympia Snowe, and John McCain. How big of a casting coup was Biden for NBC’s small-town government comedy? “Given that Eleanor Roosevelt and Bella Abzug are no longer with us, this is probably no. 1,” quips executive producer Michael Schur. “[Leslie] has a lot of female heroes that cross party lines. She has a lot of social figures that she considers heroes, but the funniest hero is Joe Biden. There’s an episode last season where she says, ‘Joe Biden is on my celebrity sex list — well, he is my celebrity sex list’… It was amazing to have her meet Olympia Snowe and Barbara Boxer because that meant something to her politically. But this transcends that. She’s meeting the man that she’s in love with on some deep level. It was a bigger deal to us in some ways that she meet Joe Biden than it was that she meet Barack Obama.” (Obama, by the way, has revealed that he watches Parks with his family, by the way. “It’s a very amazing and weird thing to find out that the President watches your show,” marvels Schur.)
READ FULL STORY »

Oct 16 2012 03:34 PM ET

Ricky Gervais 'hands over the reins' to Tina Fey, Amy Poehler as Golden Globe co-hosts -- EXCLUSIVE

Ricky-Gervais.jpg

Image Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Ricky Gervais may have scared the pants off of A-listers as the snarky, saucy host of the Golden Globe Awards for the past three years, but he good-naturedly said Tuesday he decided to pass the baton to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as co-hosts of next year’s Golden Globes.

In pure Gervais style, of course, he threw some pointed barbs in.

“Good luck to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler at the Golden Globes. After failing three years in a row to make E! Channel’s Best Dressed list, I decided to hand over the reins,” said Gervais in an exclusive statement to EW. “Let me know if you run out of Scientology gags.” READ FULL STORY »

Oct 15 2012 07:51 PM ET

Tina Fey, Amy Poehler to host Golden Globes

fey-poehler.jpg

Image Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

No more Ricky Gervais: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will host the 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards. The duo will anchor NBC’s live coverage of the program on Jan. 13 from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills.

Fey and Poehler co-starred together in the films Mean Girls and Baby Mama, plus worked with each other for years on Saturday Night Live, including a stretch as co-anchors of Weekend Update (2004-06). Now both are stars on NBC’s Thursday night comedy block (with Fey on 30 Rock and Poehler on Parks & Recreation). The announcement makes total sense for NBC, both in terms of finding a pair with natural comedic chemistry and in terms of promoting its shows.

Gervais hosted the event the past three years, drawing some criticism for his jokes being supposedly too harsh the first couple times, and then too soft during his third round. Gervais managed to keep the show’s ratings relatively stable across all three telecasts, hovering just under 17 million viewers. The announcement comes on the heels of ABC tapping Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane to host the Oscars next year.  READ FULL STORY »

Oct 8 2012 04:24 PM ET

Comedy Central orders pilot of Amy Poehler-approved web series 'Broad City'

Amy-Poehler.jpg

Image Credit: Jemal Countess/Getty Images

Don’t give up hope, Downwardly Mobile cast — it really is possible for a web series to become a TV show.

Case in point: Comedy Central announced today that it’s ordering a pilot of a show called Broad City, which is based on the web series of the same name. Comedians Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer have produced Broad since 2009, attracting the attention of famous fans (and guest stars) like Amy Poehler and Kristen Schaal along the way. Glazer was also one of the minds behind “Sh– New Yorkers Say,” which has been viewed more than 3.6 million times on YouTube.

Poehler herself will executive produce the TV version, along with Jacobson, Glazer, Louie EP Dave Becky, and Sam Saifer.  READ FULL STORY »

Sep 27 2012 04:23 PM ET

'Parks and Recreation': Exec producer Michael Schur offers 11 hints about season 5 with a twist

parks-rec.jpg

Image Credit: Mitchell Haaseth/NBC

Thursday night at 9:30 p.m. on NBC’s Parks and Recreation… Leslie Knope faces her toughest challenge yet as a member of the City Council! Okay, yes, she just started the job, but Leslie (Amy Poehler) does have a big decision to make about a Bloomberg-esque soda tax that’s designed to discourage Pawnee’s residents (first in friendship! fourth in obesity!) from purchasing absurdly oversized sugary drinks. “Her actions have a lot more ramifications and there’s a lot more people involved and a lot more power involved, ” says Parks executive producer Michael Schur. “It’s an early crucible for her to get through and try to figure out whether she has the guts and the fortitude to make it work in the new job. It’s been a long time since Leslie’s been completely at sea and has no idea professionally speaking what to do in a given situation.” To ensure that you’re not completely at sea when it comes to upcoming developments on the show, Schur has kindly provided you with 11 teases for season 5. There’s just one catch: the names of the characters he’s talking about have been omitted. Let the guessing game begin! Oh, and don’t be a Jerry and accidentally read the answer key at the bottom of the page first.

READ FULL STORY »

Sep 24 2012 04:24 PM ET

Emmy highlights: Julia & Amy's switched-speech bit, Jon Stewart's mad dash, and more -- VIDEO

Missed out on the buzziest moments from last night’s Emmy Awards because you were watching football or 60 Minutes? Never fear: EW is here with video of the ceremony’s most memorable bits and acceptance speeches. Though the show itself was far from unpredictable, there were a few surprises sprinkled throughout the night — especially courtesy of TV stars who weren’t afraid to do some unscripted clowning around.

The opening scene
You love Christina Hendricks, Mindy Kaling, Martha Plimpton, and Connie Britton — so what could be better than seeing all four of them, plus a few more divisive actresses (naked Lena Dunham eating birthday cake!), consoling Botox victim Jimmy Kimmel before the show? Bonus points for that dig at 2008′s Emmys host quintet.

The great speech switcheroo
In the past, Lead Actress in a Comedy nominees have brightened up the show by wearing a mustache to the awards and staging a fake beauty pageant as their category was announced. This year, the goofy tradition continued as winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus began to read her acceptance speech, then realized she had “accidentally” switched her remarks with a set written by fellow nominee Amy Poehler.

NEXT: Battle of the Late Night Talk Show Hosts, plus Josh Groban

Advertisement

TV Recaps

Powered by WordPress.com VIP
Which will you see this weekend?