Filed under: Late Night, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show, What To Watch Tonight, Reality-Free, Features, TV Previews, TV Schedules, TV News

Here’s tonight’s lineup of new shows and events (all times Eastern). Check your local TV listings for additional information.

With all of the shows coming and going this month I’m going to start putting them at the top of this listing. Let me know if it works for all of you.

Tonight’s Premieres
Bravo: ‘The Real Housewives of New Jersey’ — 10:00 start
National Geographic WILD: ‘Swamp Men’ — 10:00 start
TLC: ‘Best Food Ever’ at 9:00 and ‘Ultimate Chili Challenge’ at 10:00

8:00 to 9:00
ABC: ‘Dancing With the Stars’ — 90 minutes
CBS: ‘How I Met Your Mother’ and ‘Rules of Engagement’
The CW: ‘One Tree Hill’
FOX: ‘House’
NBC: ‘Chuck’
ABC Family: ‘10 Things I Hate About You’
Animal Planet: ‘Animal Cops Houston’
Cartoon Network: ‘Adventure Time with Finn & Jake’
Disney XD: ‘Zeke and Luther’ — 8:30 start
ESPN2: ‘E:60′
Food Network: ‘Unwrapped’
G4: ‘The International Sexy Ladies Show’
TLC: ‘Little People, Big World’
WE: ‘Women on Death Row 5′ — Two hours

9:00 to 10:00
ABC: ‘Romantically Challenged’ — 9:30 start
CBS: ‘The Big Bang Theory’ — 9:00 start
The CW: ‘Gossip Girl’
FOX: ‘24′
A&E: ‘Intervention’
Animal Planet: ‘Untamed and Uncut’
Cartoon Network: ‘6TEEN’ — 9:30 start
Discovery Health: ‘The Woman With 15 Personalities’
DIY: ‘King of Dirt’
Golf: ‘Donald J. Trump’s Wonderful World of Golf’

10:00 to 11:00
ABC: ‘Castle’
CBS: ‘CSI: Miami’
NBC: ‘Law & Order’
A&E: ‘Fame and Recovery’
DIY: ‘Turf War’
Food Network: ‘Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives’
MTV: ‘True Life’
Oxygen: ‘Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood’
Showtime: ‘Nurse Jackie’ and ‘United States of Tara’
Spike: ‘Jail’
TruTV: ‘Southern Fried Stings’

\
11:00
‘The Mo’Nique Show’ (BET): Shaq & Lucielle O’Neal; Toni Braxton
‘The Daily Show’ (Comedy Central): Journalist Jonathan Eig
‘Chelsea Lately’ (E!): Molly Ringwald
‘Lopez Tonight’ (TBS): Shaun White; Sean William Scott; Andrew Dice Clay (repeat)

11:30
‘Late Show With David Letterman’ (CBS): Mickey Rourke; Jim Parsons; eliminated `’American Idol’ contestant Siobhan Magnus
‘The Colbert Report’ (Comedy): Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren
‘The Tonight Show’ (NBC): Julia Louis-Dreyfus; Jon Favreau; performance by Godsmack
‘Tavis Smiley’ (PBS): Tennessee Senator Bob Corker; gospel singer Kirk Franklin

Midnight
‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ (ABC): Dr. Oz; actress Leslie Bibb; performance by Two Door Cinema Club
‘Charlie Rose’ (PBS): Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran

12:30
‘The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson’ (CBS): Morgan Freeman; actress Kate Mara
‘Late Night With Jimmy Fallon’ (NBC): Sarah Silverman; Joan Rivers; performance by Corinne Bailey Rae

1:30
‘Last Call With Carson Daly’ (NBC): Kat Von D and Dan Smith; comedy-folk duo Garfunkel and Oates; performance by Metric (repeat)

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Celebrities, Cancellations, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free, Features, TV News

For the past two years, ABC has expressed interest in picking up ‘The New Adventures of Old Christine’ if CBS decided to drop it. This year is no different. According to Deadline.com, if CBS cancels ‘The New Adventures of Old Christine,’ ABC will snap it up. The network even has a plan for where to program the Julia Louis Dreyfus sitcom. It’ll be paired with Patricia Heaton’s ‘The Middle,’ leading in to ‘Modern Family’ and ‘Cougar Town.’

That would make for a very solid night of comedy, likely Wednesday again, which is what worked so well this season for ABC — with the exception of Kelsey Grammer’s woeful ‘Hank,’ which was mercifully axed by ABC last November.

‘Christine’ and ‘The Middle’ would make a good pairing, although neither show has been a ratings juggernaut. However, ABC would benefit from swiping ‘Christine’ from CBS because the Tiffany network would have to find a replacement, and they would lose whatever loyal ‘Christine’ viewership has built up in four five seasons. There’s also the possibility that ABC is putting it out there that it would want ‘Christine’ to force CBS into keeping the show.

There’s also been buzz that ABC might have its sights set on another CBS program: ‘Ghost Whisperer.’ The Jennifer Love Hewitt production is run by ABC Studios in a co-production with CBS Studios. Therefore, ABC has a vested interest in keeping ‘GW’ on the air. The decision could come down to how robust the CBS pilot season has been.

With shows like ‘Hawaii Five-O’ and the spinoff from ‘Criminal Minds’ likely to be greenlighted, and CBS perhaps wanted a full season of ‘Undercover Boss,’ the network may be ready to drop ‘Ghost Whisperer.’

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Programming, Celebrities, Reality-Free, Cougar Town, Modern Family, FlashForward, Castle, Features, TV Schedules, TV News

For the networks, the month of May means just one thing: Sweeps — the time of year where the Big 4.5 networks pull out all the stops to end their seasons with high ratings and, hopefully, increased ad revenue.

For ABC, this is a particularly important Sweeps period. Not only are a number of renewed freshman and sophomore series ending in the next few weeks, but the network’s flagship program — ‘Lost’ — is completing its long and complicated run. Needless to say, they’ve packed the schedule with guest-stars, trips to exotic locales, and a return of ‘The Bachleorette.’

As mentioned, the series finale of ‘Lost’ is big doings. On Sunday, May 23rd, the network will air a two-hour ‘Lost Recap Special’ starting at 7:00 p.m. followed by the last episode at 9:00 p.m.. To the cap the night off, Jimmy Kimmel will interview the creators and cast of ‘Lost’ on a special Sunday edition of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live.’

More highlights can be found after the jump. Be warned: minor spoilers ahead.

On the guest star front:

• Rocco DiSpirito will guest star on tonight’s ‘Castle’ as a fan of the main character. On the May 17th season finale, mystery writers Stephen J. Cannell, Michael Connelly and James Patterson will appear as themselves.
• Marsha Mason will portray Frankie’s mom on the May 5th episode of ‘The Middle.’ In the May 19th season finale, current ‘It’ girl Betty White will play the librarian at Brick’s school .
• ‘Battlestar Galactica’s’ James Callis will stop by for a multi-episode arc starting this Thursday on ‘FlashForward.’ The next week will feature guest stars Gabrielle Union and Annabeth Gish.
• Guest stars on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ include Demi Lovato and Marion Ross on May 13th, and Mandy Moore on the May 20th season finale.
• On the season finale of ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ look for appearances by Disney Channel’s Lovato and Wilmer Valderrama (the voice of ‘Handy Manny’), as well as Michael Oher, whose story was told in the movie ‘The Blind Side.’
• In addition to interviews with the cast and crew of ‘Lost,’ Jimmy Kimmel will host guests such as Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Ryan Phillippe, Michael Douglas, Josh Holloway, Jake Gyllenhaal, Teri Hatcher and Courtney Love. He will also have the first interview with the winner of ‘Dancing With the Stars.’

In other highlights:

• The entire Dunphy clan of ‘Modern Family’ will carry on the grand comedy tradition of heading out to Hawaii in a two-part episode that starts this Wednesday.
• Seattle Grace will be hit with a crisis of untold proportion in the season finale of ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’
• On ‘Private Practice,’ Maya and her baby fight for life on the operating table while an unforeseen death (the one we saw it at the beginning of the season) takes place at the practice.
• The Walker family of ‘Brothers & Sisters’ see some hope after the closure of Ojai Foods.
• Jules and Grayson try to let Bobby know they’re dating on the season finale of ‘Cougar Town.’
• Finally, ‘Dancing With the Stars’ takes it final bow on May 24th, with the winner named the next night. With that, ABC will officially close the 2009-10 season and start the summer 2010 season with the premiere of ‘The Bachelorette.’

More information on these and other shows can be found in ABC’s May Sweeps press release.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Industry, Celebrities, Reality-Free, Features, TV News

It looks like Charlie Sheen’s uncle Joe won’t be taking over his role on ‘Two and a Half Men’ after all (like that was ever going to happen). While lawyers hammer out a plea deal to end the troubled actor’s legal woes comes news that he and CBS are ready to cut a deal to keep him on the hit sitcom.

According to Deadline Hollywood, Sheen and CBS are both “cautiously optimistic” about a new deal that would keep the star cracking wise in bowling shirts for two more seasons on ‘Two and A Half Men.’ This comes, of course, after Sheen publicly declared that he was ready to leave the show, leading us to speculate on who could replace him (my vote was for James Franco).

So was Sheen’s threat to quit the show just a bargaining tactic to land a bigger paycheck? Who knows? His contract was up after this season, but the guy’s private life has been in shambles ever since he was arrested last Christmas after an alleged domestic bust-up with wife Brooke Mueller.

It’s hard to tell what’s going on inside of Sheen’s head these days. Maybe the guy just realized that he needs a steady job to pay for all of those lawyers and legal fees. Boozing it up and flirting with hot girls on TV for another few years sounds like a nice way to make a buck.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Daytime, Video, Celebrities, Obituaries, Reality-Free, Features, TV News

One of the legendary actors of daytime television, ‘As the World Turns’ star Helen Wagner, passed away Saturday, May 1, 2010. She was 91 years old and still an active member of the CBS soap opera.

In fact, Helen Wagner was daytime marvel. She was on ‘As the World Turns’ when it premiered on April 2, 1956, and continued in the role of Nancy Hughes ever since. She’s in the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest run by an actor in a television show.

Announcing Wagner’s death, ‘As the World Turns” executive producer Christopher Goutman said, “All of us are deeply saddened by Helen’s passing. She is loved by generations of fans and while we will miss her greatly, Helen will always remain the heart and soul of ‘As the World Turns.’”

Here’s a scene from 2009, showing just how Helen remained an important part of the soap’s legacy:

I had the privilege of interviewing Helen Wagner when ‘As the World Turns’ celebrated its 50th anniversary on the air in 2006. She made it clear that Nancy Hughes had evolved over time. “She’s grown up. She started off being a demanding soul and she’d tell everybody exactly what to do and how to do it, and she was kind, but she was ‘taking care of things.’ I think she’s learned how to be more tolerant; she’s matured, she’s mellowed, she’s gotten less possessive of her family. … She wasn’t independent, but she was not under [her husband, Chris’] thumb by any means. She wasn’t in need of being liberated. She was a homebody by choice.”

In a year when ‘Days of Our Lives’ star Frances Reid also succumbed, daytime has lost two of the true legends of the genre.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Late Night, OpEd, Video, Celebrities, Reality-Free, Features, TV News

For the first time since the end of his tenure on ‘The Tonight Show,’ Conan O’Brien had a chance to appear on camera and share his thoughts on the whole long, drawn out civil war between him and Jay Leno and NBC and GE and the late night industry at large.

For the record, Conan O’Brien’s sit down with Steve Kroft on ‘60 Minutes’ on May 2, 2010 — the first date he was contractually allowed to discuss what happened — clearly established that while he’s disappointed about what happened, Conan O’Brien is not defeated. To paraphrase ‘Evita,’ “Don’t cry for him, America.”

From Conan’s point of view, he’s doing just fine. He walked away from NBC’s tepid offer of a post-midnight ‘Tonight Show’ hybrid with his honor intact, as well as $32 million. He also landed a new gig with TBS, and is currently making fun of the entire episode in a stage show that’s giving him something to do to pass the time and stay sharp — the “Legally Prohibited to be Funny on Television” Tour.

While probed and prodded by Kroft, Conan admitted that it was a hurtful experience. “I got very depressed at times. It was like a marriage breaking up suddenly, violently, quickly.” According to his wife, Liza, who had a ring-side seat while everything was going down, Conan had a rough time. “It was watching someone’s heart get broken,” she said. Here’s a sample of Conan with Kroft:

Knowing what we know about the lure of ‘The Tonight Show,’ how David Letterman still feels burned that he never got to replace Johnny Carson, it’s not surprising that O’Brien feels short-changed by NBC’s actions. He contends that if he had been given more than six months, his ‘Tonight Show’ would have succeeded. “I have no regrets,” he told Kroft. “I’m happy with my decision. I sleep well at night.”

When the subject of honor was brought up, in regards to Jay Leno taking back a show he had handed off to Conan in a very public way, it was clear that O’Brien didn’t have much respect for Leno’s decision. He cackled at the notion that Jay Leno got screwed. “I’m laughing because crying would be sad.”

O’Brien agreed that NBC’s choice to dump him and keep Leno was a business decision. While the network had to give Conan $32 million, they would have had to cough up as much as $150 million to part with Jay. Conan just resents that now NBC is claiming that they were losing money with his ‘Tonight Show.’ O’Brien said that is simply not a possibility.

Ultimately, ‘60 Minutes’ did a good job in presenting O’Brien as he is today, and from my perspective, he’s a resilient and philosophical guy. If he’s bitter and angry, he’s covering it very well.

He said, “I think things happen for a reason,” and right now, the reason seems to be a new opportunity for Conan O’Brien on TBS at 11 PM starting in November.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Late Night, OpEd, Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, Music and Variety, The Office, Celebrities, 30 Rock, Emmys, Reality-Free, Features, TV News

The Primetime Emmys are still months away - the night of Sunday, August 29, to be exact - but the talk in Hollywood has already started swirling about who’s going to host the show. An announcement is expected next week and since NBC is doing the broadcast, ‘Late Night’ host Jimmy Fallon is being mentioned prominently.

According to Entertainment Weekly, NBC has urged the TV Academy board to give Jimmy Fallon the thumbs up. Fallon’s presence, the network contends, would appeal to a younger demographic. Terms like Twitter and Facebook have been thrown around to prop up the argument.

Having caught some of Fallon’s ‘Late Night’ highlights lately, he would actually be a good choice. He’s funny and creative and would bring something edgy to the proceedings. The only problem with Jimmy is that he’s not really a big name.

Other stars, like ‘30 Rock’s’ Tina Fey and ‘The Office’s’ Steve Carell, are. So is ‘Park and Recreation’s’ Amy Poehler. Tina and Steve’s pairing would be a re-teaming from their feature, ‘Date Night,’ and considering their ability to improvise, there’s nothing on an Emmy broadcast that would throw them.

Amy has one obstacle in her path to hosting, however. She’s due to delivery her second child within days of the Emmys, so she’s out of the running.

‘The Soup’s’ Joel McHale has an NBC connection thanks for ‘Community.’ He’s probably on the same level as Jimmy, and equally as appealing to the younger demographic they claim they want to reach.

Who else could be considered? How about former host Ellen DeGeneres? Yes, she’s on Fox now, but does the host have to be an NBC person?

What about Jon Stewart from ‘The Daily Show’ or Stephen Colbert? Craig Ferguson would be a hilarious, too. And if you really want to push the envelope, how about Kathy Griffin? What do you think? Send us your ideas in the comments.

By the way, nominations for the 62nd Primetime Emmy nominations will be announced Thursday, July 8, 2010.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Share This

Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, NCIS, Reality-Free, Features, TV News

Reports of Ducky’s departure have been premature. In an update on the ‘NCIS’ cast dispute that we reported the other day, David McCallum is signed for next season. That’s right, his manager told TV Guide that the previous stories had incorrectly put him in the same boat with Michael Weatherly, Sean Murray and Pauley Perrette.

McCallum’s manager explained, “I’m sure some of the others are negotiating, but he’s not affected by it. He falls into the Mark Harmon/Rocky Carroll category. He’s signed on for additional seasons. He’s excited to be coming back to the show and can’t wait to see everybody.”

While it’s gratifying to know that McCallum has a secure deal with the show, the other three stars really need to be locked up. We said it in our story, and our many comments agreed: ‘NCIS’ will not be the same show without Tony, Abby and McGee. Most fans wouldn’t consider replacements for these core characters satisfactory.

One last thought regarding the economics of settling with the actors and giving them raises commensurate with the success of the show. Currently, ‘NCIS’ draws an average of 19 million viewers per episode, up 5% from last season. In addition, the ad rate for 30-seconds on ‘NCIS’ is $133,000. With those kind of positive figures, it shouldn’t be too difficult for the producers to keep the cast together by sharing the wealth.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Late Night, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show, What To Watch Tonight, Features, TV Previews, TV Schedules, TV News

Here’s tonight’s lineup of new shows and events (all times Eastern). Check your local TV listings for additional information.

8:00 to 9:00
ABC: ‘Wife Swap’
CBS: ‘Ghost Whisperer’
The CW: ‘Smallville’
NBC: ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ — Season finale
Cartoon Network: ‘Ben 10: Ultimate Alien’ and ‘Generator Rex’
Disney: ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’ — Two 30-minute episodes
HBO: 24/7 Mayweather/Mosley — Season finale with 8:30 start
HGTV: ‘Sell It Yourself’

9:00 to 10:00
ABC: ‘Wife Swap’
CBS: ‘Medium’
Animal Planet: ‘I Shouldn’t Be Alive’ — Season finale
Cartoon Network: ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ – Two 30-minute episodes. Season finale
CMT: ‘Gator 911′ and ‘Danger Coast’
HBO: ‘The Ricky Gervais Show’ and ‘The Life and Times of Tim’ — Season finale for ‘Tim’
HGTV: ‘Bang for Your Buck’ — 9:30 start
History: ‘Gangland’
National Geographic: ‘Dog Whisperer’
SyFy: ‘Stargate Universe’
Teen Nick: ‘Degrassi: The Next Generation’
TLC: ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ — Two 30-minute episodes

10:00 to 11:00
ABC: ‘20/20′
CBS: ‘Miami Medical’
Discovery: ‘Construction Intervention’
E!: ‘Web Soup’
Food Network: ‘Private Chefs of Beverly Hills’
National Geographic: ‘Two Kenyan Guys’
Starz: ‘Party Down’ and ‘Gravity’
SyFy: ‘Merlin’
TLC: ‘Four Weddings’

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

10:00
‘Friday Night With Jonathan Ross’ (BBC America): Demi Moore; Robert Downey, Jr.; Gwyneth Paltrow; Louie Spence
‘Real Time With Bill Maher’ (HBO): Journalist Ross Douthat; Chris Matthews; economist Laura Tyson; former U.N. ambassador John Bolton; Rep. Anthony Weiner

11:00
‘Chelsea Lately’ (E!): Actress Katie Cassidy (repeat)

11:30
‘Late Show With David Letterman’ (CBS): David Beckham; comic Mike Birbiglia; performance by Hold Steady
‘The Tonight Show’ (NBC): Mickey Rourke; model Ashley Graham
‘Tavis Smiley’ (PBS): Carol Burnett

Midnight
‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ (ABC): Jenna Elfman; Kate Gosselin; performance by DEVO (repeat)
‘Charlie Rose’ (PBS): TBA

12:30
‘The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson’ (CBS): Lauren Graham; author Peter Sagal
‘Late Night With Jimmy Fallon’ (NBC): Colin Quinn; performance by JabbaWockeeZ

1:30
‘Last Call With Carson Daly’ (NBC): Nick Offerman; performances by Chiddy Bang and Daniel Merriweather

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Saturday Night Live, Video, Celebrities, Reality-Free, Features, TV News

As the date for Betty White’s hosting gig on ‘Saturday Night Live’ comes ever closer (May 8th), NBC is releasing more promos featuring the grande dame of television.

In the first promo, similar to one mentioned here earlier this week, Betty addresses rumors that have her dating Zac Efron. Apparently, as the camera pans around the room, those rumors are totally false. In the second promo, Ms. White wonders if her ‘SNL’ gig will lead to bigger and better hosting duties for, perhaps, the Academy Awards. To that end, she enlists a trio of computer nerds to fan the Internet rumor flames.

To commemorate Betty’s appearance on ‘SNL’, GSN will offer up a ‘Match Game’ marathon featuring her appearances as semi-regular panelist. The ‘Match Game’ marathon will air next Saturday, from 8AM until 4PM.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Share This