Image Credit: Sonja Flemmming/CBS; Lewis Jacobs/NBC; Matt Kennedy/CBS; Karen Neal/ABC
Welcome to the final Live-From-PaleyFest edition of Spoiler Room! I’ll be back next Tuesday, coming at you once again from Midtown Manhattan, so if you don’t see scoop on your favorite show, send an email to spoilerroom@ew.com and ask away! Or pose your questions on Twitter, too: @EWSandraG. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Trae Patton/NBC; Paul Drinkwater/NBC; Harper Smith/NBC
NBC reaffirmed its commitment to three of its critically beloved comedies today by announcing 2011-12 pickups for The Office, Parks and Recreation and Community.
“I am so pleased to renew these three outstanding comedies which are all at the top of their game creatively,” said Bob Greenblatt, NBC Entertainment Chairman, in a statement. “Along with 30 Rock, they represent the best of what the NBC comedy brand stands for in terms of originality, wit, and sophistication. The Office continues to fire on all cylinders on the most competitive night of television, Parks and Recreation has come into its own this season as the rightful companion to The Office, and Community is one of the freshest comedies on any network and a solid foundation for Thursday night.”
NBC has yet to decide whether to renew Perfect Couples or Outsourced. It’s likely that call will be made at crunch time in early May, when the Peacock is preparing to announce its fall lineup to advertisers in New York.
The Office averages a 4.0 rating/10 share in adults 18-49 and 7.7 million viewers. Parks earns a 2.8/7 and 5.5 million viewers, while Community gets a 2.1/6 and 4.7 million.
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Image Credit: Greg Gayne/Fox; Trae Patton/NBC; Sonja Flemming/CBS; Adam Rose/FoxThere’s big news all around, Roomies, and it’s all packaged for you in a tiny box of love I call Spoiler Room.
Don’t forget to keep sending in your inquiries/tips/marriage proposals (you know who you are)/general musings to spoilerroom@ew.com or sending them to me via Twitter at @EWSandraG. You can keep your spam, though.
And we’re twice a week now, so remember to meet me here Tuesday mornings, too. (In case you missed it, you can read Tuesday’s column here.) READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Eric McCandless/ABC; David Giesbrecht/USA; Ben Mark Holzberg/The CW; Isabella Vosmikova/HBOAs promised, Spoiler Room is now twice a week! So keep those questions about your favorite shows coming in. With our new programming schedule, I have a chance to get to a bunch more of them — hopefully yours snuck in here this week. If not, keep harassing me at spoilerroom@ew.com or on Twitter @EWSandraG.
Also, I gladly accept your insider tips if you’re a well-connected human being, your praise if you like building egos (specifically mine), and your tips on how to keep Spoiler Room best serving you. See you Friday! READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: NBC; Angela Weiss/Getty ImagesSawyer, its about time you showed up on TV again! EW has learned exclusively that Josh Holloway — who played James “Sawyer” Ford on ABC’s Lost — is in the process of closing a deal to make a cameo in Community’s two-part season finale. It’s set for May but no date has been announced.
Holloway’s character will emerge as a mysterious figure who shows up on campus during another game of paintball. The two-parter is a sequel, of sorts, to “Modern Warfare” — last year’s memorable episode that began with the Dean announcing a prize for a game of paintball. It devolved into campus-wide battle.
There were some rumors floating around Hollywood that Holloway was a contender for NBC’s remake of The Rockford Files, but the project never emerged from development hell. The actor ultimately signed a deal to co-star in the sequel Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.
Image Credit: Kyle Christy/IFCHe scores laughs for NBC (Community) and sends up reality lowlights for E! (The Soup). Now it’s time for Joel McHale to work his raised-eyebrow magic for IFC as he hosts the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards (Saturday at 10 p.m ET/PT) How could he possibly screw up this important gig? McHale revealed his 10 ways to EW.
1. Open the show by declaring “Welcome to the Oscars!”
2. Introduce the new President of the Independent Spirit Awards, Hosni Mubarak.
3. Replace the tinkling piano keys that alert winners when their acceptance speeches are running long with a deeply thunderous fart sound effect. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: John Paul Filo/CBS; Giovanni Rufino/The CW; Jordan Nuttal/The CW; Adam Taylor/CBSWhat is it about Leighton Meester that makes her so incredibly pair-able with others? Whether she’s standing beside Chuck or Dan (or Minka Kelly, for that matter), she simply oozes chemistry. Well, whatever “it” is, it makes for great TV (and perhaps also movies that you really want to see despite a fear of losing self respect). This week, I talked chemistry and more with Blair Waldorf’s amazing puppetmasters, Stephanie Savage and Josh Safran, who dish about what we can expect next from our favorite schemer and the rest of the gang. I also spoke with Matt Czuchry (insert tiny cartoon hearts here) about The Good Wife, dug up some dirt on Supernatural‘s (now postponed) return, spoke with Rachelle Lefevre about Off the Map, and much more. READ FULL STORY »
The Walking Dead, True Blood, Freaks & Geeks, and Jimmy Fallon will headline PaleyFest 2011, which begins March 4 at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. The 28th annual William S. Paley Television Festival brings the casts and crews behind some of television’s most popular shows together for panel discussions. “From zombies to vampires, from high school geeks to singing sensations, PaleyFest continues to celebrate the breadth of pop culture influencing our lives today. At this ultimate TV fanfest in the heart of the entertainment industry here in Los Angeles, we offer television enthusiasts an unrivaled connection with the casts and crews of their favorite series as well as the opportunity to honor media icons and innovators,” said Pat Mitchell, president and chief executive officer of The Paley Center for Media.
The entire schedule, which includes events celebrating American Idol and a Freaks & Geeks reunion, is after the jump. READ FULL STORY »
Chevy Chase as Dungeon Master?
NBC’s Community is planning an upcoming episode centered around the cast playing the role-playing classic Dungeons & Dragons.
Unlike last year’s fan-favorite paintball episode, though, the D&D episode won’t go full tilt and have the cast, like, running around the forest with swords or anything, creator Dan Harmon said.
“They’re just sitting at a table playing,” he told critics at TCA press tour. “But it’s stylized to make it interesting and people are going to like it a lot.” READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: David Giesbrecht/USA; Paul Drinkwater/NBC; Michael Desmond/ABC; Isabella Vosmikova/HBOHappy New Year, Roomies! (Today is the 7th, officially the last day you can wish people a good new year without sounding weird. Whew. Just made it.) In this first 2011 edition, we chatted with Matt Bomer about the return of White Collar (and his upcoming nudie dance), have great scoop on the last season of Big Love (weeping begins now), and some Castle info that’s going to make soap fans seal-clap in happiness. And if you’re a soap fan who seal-claps when you’re happy, please send mockable videos of you doing so to spoilerroom@ew.com.
Oh, and send scoop requests there, too. Or for the least possible effort in your effort to obtain scoop on your favorite shows, ask me on Twitter (@EWSandraG).
MATTHEW BOMER DISHES ON ‘WHITE COLLAR’ RETURN READ FULL STORY »
Next week is Community‘s Christmas special, which — in perhaps the greatest idea ever — has been lovingly rendered with stop-motion animation (a.k.a. claymation). EW has the exclusive first look at three clips from the episode, plus three behind-the-scene vignettes depicting how the animation was produced. The answer: Very slowly. In the episode, Abed (Danny Pudi) wakes up in stop-motion animation, realizes he’s stuck in a Christmas special, and thereby resolves to discover the true meaning of the holiday. Meanwhile, Jeff (Joel McHale) and Britta (Gillian Jacobs) worry about Abed’s fixation on Christmas, and the entire study group subsequently undergoes hypnosis to enter Abed’s “Winter Wonderland.”
Yeah, makes no sense to me either, but I’m jazzed about seeing stop-motion animation — a dying art form — showcased on primetime television. And just look at how adorable the gang’s claymation doppelgangers are! (Although Britta appears to have stepped straight out of Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride.) After the jump, check out two exclusive clips from the episode, one bonus clip that hopefully explains what the heck is going on, and three featurettes on the episode with actors Danny Pudi (“I’m looking at a drawer of my mouth!”), Joel McHale (who provides a sample of his singing talents), and Chevy Chase (who seems to believe that stop-motion animation involves drawing). Community‘s Christmas special airs Dec. 9 on NBC. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Chris Haston/Fox; TNT; Randy Tepper/ShowtimeThe holidays are here, Roomies, and it truly is the most wonderful time of the year…. Okay, there are those crowds of holiday shoppers everywhere, all so rabidly hungry for deals that they’d trade their first born for $5 off the latest Snuggie to be pimped in a commercial by an ear-killing holiday-themed song. That does make a strong case for staying indoors, shopping online, and of course, watching TV (the only true path toward happiness — and vitamin D deficiency).
Still not convinced to ride out the Yuletide retail madness from the comfort of your sofa? This week’s scoop might help. I have dish on December episodes of The Closer, Leverage, Dexter, Bones, and more. Plus, looking ahead, the lovely Lisa Edelstein weighs in on what we can expect in January episodes of House. Now, that’s something to celebrate.
Remember to keep sending in scoop requests. Twitter replies/direct messages work well (@EW or @EWSandraG). And thanks to ALS for suggesting opening up an e-mail request line. I’m happy to announce SpoilerRoom@ew.com is now up and running! Now use it!
‘HOUSE’: LISA EDELSTEIN PREVIEWS CANDICE BERGEN GUEST APPEARANCE
House has only been on break a little over a week now, but if you’re anything like me, you’re already as twitchy as House during Vicodin withdrawal. So I called in reinforcements in the form of the lovely Lisa Edelstein (up for a People’s Choice Award!). When the show returns Jan. 17, Candice Bergen guests as Cuddy’s controlling mother, visiting Princeton-Plainsboro to (what else!) pry and shake things up. “Her mother is the kind of mother who thinks the most loving thing she can do is tell you the worst things she knows about you,” Edelstein said. And Mom’s first meeting with her daughter’s surly boyfriend is far from love at first sight. (Between the scruffy face and bedside manner, are you really surprised?) Undeterred, House is determined to win over Cuddy’s mom. “House is really trying in this relationhip. He’s not brushing it off like it’s nothing. He really wants to be that guy.”
In other familial news, House also recently cast Paula Marshall in the role of Cuddy’s sister, Lucinda, whom Edelstein has a long history with. “She and I have been in all the same casting offices for 20 years. Anybody — especially in your 20s — who’s dark-haired and funny ends up in the same room,” she joked.
One final House call: After a few episodes of peeved Cuddy giving House her dagger eyes, we can look forward to peace on the horizon. “That’s not going to last forever,” Edelstein told me. “She knows who he is. It’s just that when you’re at the beginning of a relationship, everyone is trying to be the best of themselves, and when somebody does something like he did, it’s frightening because it means that that’s still the best of what they have to offer. But she gets over it and life moves forward. Family definitely triggers a lot more stuff, but nothing that they can’t surpass.”
‘THE CLOSER’: SHAKE-UP AT THE STATION? READ FULL STORY »
It’s a very special Community Christmas come Dec. 9, when the Greendale students go “wall-to-wall stop motion animation,” according to the show’s creator Dan Harmon. “It’s Abed’s search for the meaning of Christmas. Everything that happens on this episode is part of the actual show and will change the characters, and yet there are wonderful, fantastic holiday things happening in it.” READ FULL STORY »
James Hibberd
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Lynette Rice
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