Tag: TV Biz (53-65 of 2573)

Mar 26 2013 09:30 AM ET

'The New Normal': Justin Bartha talks tonight's episode on the Boy Scouts' gay ban

Timothy White/NBC

Timothy White/NBC

NBC’s The New Normal definitely does not shy away from tackling social issues and, in tonight’s episode, the Ryan Murphy-Ali Adler comedy takes on the Boy Scouts and their ban on gay members. It’s a timely topic — Madonna just criticized the organization’s policy a few weeks ago at the GLAAD Media Awards in New York (and even dressed up in a Scout uniform).

Normal approaches the controversy from the perspective of Justin Bartha’s David. “David is an Eagle Scout and you’re an Eagle Scout for life,” says Bartha. “Since they’re having a boy, he is very much interested in looking back at his time with the Boy Scouts and kind of getting back into it because he’s very proud of his membership and what he learned. Then, that current topic of sexuality within the Boy Scouts is raised. But it’s not dealt with in a preachy way. It’s brought up and it’s open for a conversation as hopefully the show will be.” EW talked to Bartha about the hot-button episode. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 25 2013 05:36 PM ET

TBS renews 'Cougar Town'

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TBS has greenlit a fifth season of Cougar Town.

The cable net ordered 13 more episodes of the comedy from Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel. Cougar Town, which began its run on ABC, joined TBS’ lineup on Jan. 8. Airing Tuesdays at 10, Cougar Town will complete its fourth season on April 9.

“Cougar Town has been everything we hoped it would be: a smart, big-hearted, laugh-out-loud comedy that shines a bright light on the TBS brand,” said Michael Wright, TBS president of programming, in a statement. “This season, the brilliant cast and immensely creative production team on Cougar Town have crafted their best episodes yet, and we couldn’t be happier inviting them back for more.”

Cougar Town has averaged 2.8 million viewers, 1.7 million adults 18-49 and 812,000 adults 18-34 on TBS. It ranks among TBS’ top original primetime series ever with adults 18-49 and total viewers.

Mar 25 2013 03:59 PM ET

'One Life to Live' loses actors to 'General Hospital'

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Image Credit: Donna Svennevik/ABC

Disappointing news for Llanview lovers: Two of its popular denizens won’t be around to celebrate One Life to Live’s new home online.

EW has confirmed that Michael Easton and Kristen Alderson  — who reprised their roles as John McBain and Starr Manning on ABC’s General Hospital while Prospect Park ironed out details for OLTL’s online version — won’t return to their old soap once it debuts April 29 on The Online Network. Instead, ABC is reportedly figuring out a way to keep them on General Hospital, but in different roles, according to a TV Guide report.

GH is apparently looking to do the same with Roger Howarth, who is currently shooting episodes for OLTL as Todd Manning — but for only two and a half months. That’s all Prospect Park could get from Howarth, who was heavily wooed by GH to stay in Port Charles. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 25 2013 10:41 AM ET

Matt Lauer was ready to jump to ABC: Report

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Image Credit: Peter Kramer/Getty Images

Remember those rumors last year about Ryan Seacrest possibly taking over for Matt Lauer on Today? A new report out about the fragility of the NBC morning franchise confirms that Peacock execs had considered giving the American Idol host the anchor job in case its prized talent jumped to the competition — which was apparently a real possibility.

According to a report in New York Magazine, Lauer was told he could look for a new job by superiors who were eager to placate him because of his growing frustration over Today co-anchor Ann Curry. It turns out that Lauer was meeting with ABC about possibly reuniting with Katie Couric for a daytime talk show. Lauer had reportedly met with Disney CEO Bob Iger, who, like other ABC execs, was eager to unseat Today from its ratings perch. There was real confidence at ABC that Lauer was willing to make such a high-profile move. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 21 2013 04:14 PM ET

Will the 'Tonight Show' move to NY incite a booking war?

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Image Credit: John Paul Filo/CBS; Lloyd Bishop/NBC

Now that it seems likely that The Tonight Show will return to New York with Jimmy Fallon as its new host, the question is whether a new round of booking wars will emerge between NBC and CBS’ The Late Show with David Letterman. Up until now, the east and west coast locales for the late-night shows have made it relatively easy for publicists: New York-based actors do David Letterman, Los Angeles-based ones visit Jay Leno and the Hollywood-based Jimmy Kimmel. But a new Manhattan-based locale for The Tonight Show would not only reinvigorate the NBC franchise but potentially force actors to make a hard choices: Do you ignore a beloved veteran like Letterman to sit on Fallon’s couch? READ FULL STORY »

Mar 20 2013 03:56 PM ET

NBC prepping Jimmy Fallon for 'Tonight Show' takeover

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Image Credit: Lloyd Bishop/NBC

It looks like there’s a reason why Jay Leno’s been sounding awfully testy about his bosses lately: A report in the New York Times today says it has promised Jimmy Fallon that he will succeed Jay Leno as the next host of The Tonight Show no later than fall 2014.

The plan is to move the show from Burbank, Calif. to New York, where Fallon currently tapes his show. There is also talk of it returning to a 90-minute format.

It’s unclear when an announcement will take place, and for now, NBC is only confirming that it is building a brand new set for Fallon. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 20 2013 11:19 AM ET

More than 40% of DVR content never viewed

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If you have a backlog of shows on your DVR, then this study shouldn’t come as any surprise: Motorola Mobility says that 41% of the content recorded on DVRs in the U.S. is never watched.

More than 77% of those surveyed said they use their DVRs because there are other shows airing at the same time, according to a report in Variety. But the fact they aren’t watching is significant, especially at a time when the broadcast nets want Nielsen to measure live-plus-7 days of viewing to help entice advertisers.

DVR usage is better than ever: The season began with 46% homes in the U.S. owning a digital recording device, up from over 30% the year before. That has helped to boost TV watching. At 23 hours, the U.S. watches the most TV in the world. Sweden and Japan have the lowest at 15 hours.

Motorola Mobility, which is owned by Google, interviewed 9,500 consumers in 17 countries for its report.

Mar 19 2013 02:35 PM ET

Howard Stern: 'I'm taking over The Tonight Show'

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Image Credit: Virginia Sherwood/NBC

Man, you give the guy a seat on the America’s Got Talent judging panel and suddenly, he thinks he should take over everything.

On his radio show this morning on Sirius XM, Stern casually mentioned how he’s going to “take over The Tonight Show” when addressing the public drubbing that Matt Lauer has received over Ann Curry’s departure last summer. Stern also refers to how Bob Greenblatt — NBC’s Entertainment Chairman — told him how he’s “got to take over the show.” (To hear the exchange, click here). READ FULL STORY »

Mar 18 2013 03:23 PM ET

EP Carlton Cuse: 'Bates Motel' 'is one part 'Friday Night Lights,' one part 'Lost' and one part 'Twin Peaks"

A&E

A&E

Tonight at 10pm, A&E debuts their highly anticipated Psycho prequel/reboot Bates Motel starring Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air) and Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland) as Norma and Norman Bates, respectively. The show is a complete modern day re-imagining of the Psycho world, so fans should be prepared for a new vision of the Bates universe. EW talked to executive producers Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin (Friday Night Lights) about what’s in store for the first season. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 16 2013 10:40 PM ET

Oscar producers on 'Boobs Song': You missed the joke

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Image Credit: ABC

The producers who oversaw Seth MacFarlane’s highly-rated — but also heavily criticized — stint as this year’s Oscar host said lots of people “missed the joke” when the comedian broke out into the “Boobs Song” at the top of the telecast on ABC.

The tune, which made fun of actresses like Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, and Kate Winslet for exposing their breasts in movies, was one of the most lambasted parts of the telecast and prompted criticism from the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis and Geena Davis. “It was not about the women that were mentioned; the song was about him being a bad host and him being a juvenile, which was why he was a bad host,” Craig Zadan told The Hollywood Reporter. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 16 2013 05:11 PM ET

Mike Fleiss says no 'Bachelor Pad' this summer

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Image Credit: Todd Wawrychuk/ABC

Bummer news from the king of the Bachelor franchise today.

Mike Fleiss answered a fan inquiry on Twitter by saying there won’t be a fourth edition of Bachelor Pad, the cheesy fun spinoff of The Bachelor this summer. ABC confirmed that Pad, which has been a solid little player for ABC in the summer months, will not return this year.

No word yet on whether we will ever see the Pad again.

Pad launched in August of 2010 as an elimination-style game show that featured contestants from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, who competed for a final cash prize.

Mar 16 2013 01:47 AM ET

Lifetime planning Jodi Arias movie

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The murder trial involving Jodi Arias isn’t over but that isn’t stopping Lifetime from developing a movie about the scandal.

Executive producers with previous credits that include Drew Peterson: Untouchable and The Craigslist Killer are working on the movie about the woman who claims she killed her boyfriend in self defense, reports TV Guide.

Arias is on trial for the shooting death of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander in 2008. The Arizona-based trial that has received massive coverage from cable news outlets.

Mar 16 2013 01:20 AM ET

NBC chairman, Jay Leno clash over jokes

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The Chairman of NBC Entertainment reportedly took issue with a series of jokes told by Jay Leno that poked fun at how NBC had recently fallen to fifth place behind Univision.

According to a report in the New York Times, a monologue given by Leno on Feb. 28 — which included jokes about NBC trailing Univision by saying “it’s so bad, NBC called Manti Te’o and asked him to bring in some imaginary viewers” — prompted top exec Robert Greenblatt to send a email of complaint to the late-night star. READ FULL STORY »

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