Tag Archives: Empire

Status update #5 on your favorite new and returning shows

New year, more status updates coming your way in the TV department. If you’re keeping count, this is our fifth look at the current status on your favorite new and returning TV shows this season. This next batch is nominated by renewals, but some of you might want to brace yourself as there are some cancellations in the mix.

CBS is ready to say goodbye to Chuck Lorre’s sitcom Mike & Molly. Its sixth season, which currently airs Wednesday nights, will be its last. The show served as a strong comedic vehicle for Melissa McCarthy who has gone on to become a mega movie star. The Bridesmaids and Spy star can next be seen in Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters.

NBC cancelled Heroes. Then it came back as a limited “event” series dubbed Heroes Reborn. And now it’s bidding farewell to the world once more. Peacock head Robert Greenblatt elaborated at the Television Critics Association winter press tour that Reborn was always envisioned to be a one-and-done “event.” Though the upcoming 13th episode of Reborn will likely serve as the series finale for the comeback franchise, Greenblatt isn’t calling time of death just yet. He’s leaving that up to creator Tim Kring’s discretion; if Kring comes up with a new idea worthy of resurrecting the series for a second time, NBC will hear him out, reports TVLine.

For more, jump after the break. Continue reading Status update #5 on your favorite new and returning shows

Jimmy Fallon & ‘The Tonight Show’ present the quintessential ‘Empire’ parody, “Jimpire”

The next Tonight Show Digital Original sketch is the Empire parody we should have gotten months ago when SNL didn’t quite hit the mark with theirs. This short is nothing short of hysterical.

Jimmy Fallon stars as Lyon patriarch Lucious. His Terrence Howard impression is one of his best to date; he’s got Howard’s shaky voice cadence down to a science. The premise borrows from the Fox soap. Jimmy’s vetting his inner circle to pick his heir to The Tonight Show, or as it’s aptly called here, the “Jimpire.” The late-night talk show host is self-deprecating at the top of the pre-taped sketch–he makes fun of his finger injury that’s seemingly taking forever to heal.

So who are Jimmy’s possible successors? There’s Questlove of The Roots, the Tonight Show‘s bandleader who harbors “a little secret.” Clearly this is a take on Empire‘s Jamal, but the secret isn’t what you think. Roots MC Tariq is another candidate, and he channels Hakeem with some drip-dripitty-drop-ing. Andre, the eldest Lyon, is also accounted for and the sketch has fun with the character’s temperamental mood swings. And finally there’s Tonight Show announcer Steve Higgins playing Higgy, the Cookie sendup here. He’s just as outrageous in the role as you think he’d be, and more.

There are a couple exciting Empire cameos sprinkled in, but I won’t ruin those for you. Who do you think has what it takes to run the Jimpire? Mash play and find out! (In case you’re wondering, the real Empire returns for its second season this Wednesday, Sept. 23 on Fox.) Continue reading Jimmy Fallon & ‘The Tonight Show’ present the quintessential ‘Empire’ parody, “Jimpire”

FOX renews ‘Gotham,’ ‘Empire’ & ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine,’ discusses futures of ‘X-Files,’ ’24’ & ‘Prison Break’ (!)

Days after renewing animated sitcom Bob’s Burgers for a sixth season, FOX is expanding its security blanket over three more of its series. Freshman Gotham and Empire, as well as sophomore sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine, will be back next fall to unspool new episodes. And this renewal news shouldn’t really come as any sort of surprise: the Batman origin story and the hip hop soap opera both performed well out of the gate with popular pilots; in fact, Empire‘s ratings went up in its second week which these days is a rare feat indeed. As for the Andy Samberg laugher, that series is comfortably enjoying its new digs on Sunday nights stuffed between The Simpsons and Family Guy.

What about the fates of other FOX shows such as Bones and Sleepy Hollow? “We are in conversations on both,” FOX studio and network head Dana Walden told reporters at the Television Critics Association’s Winter Press Tour this week. “We’re at the end of our deal on Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz. We’re very hopeful Bones will return. We can’t announce it today because deals aren’t closed, [but] nothing will make us happier.”

As for Sleepy Hollow, Walden said the network is “going to wait a little bit longer” to renew it as creative calibrations are made behind-the-scenes. “We’re excited about some creative changes on the show and bringing it back to something that feels a little more episodic in nature, that has closure and doesn’t feel quite so serialized,” said Walden. In sum, the network would like the series to take the serialization down a couple pegs and “return the fun to it” that was rampant in season 1. That being said, worry not, Sleepy heads–Fox brass holds the show in a special place in their hearts and wants to see it grow. “We really love the show,” she added. “We love Tom Mison and Nicole Beharie. They have fantastic chemistry. We feel like it’s a really unique series.”

And now for the juicy stuff. Walden and network/studio co-head Gary Newman shed a glimmer of light on the futures of classic FOX series like The X-Files24, and yes, even Prison Break. For more, jump after the break. Continue reading FOX renews ‘Gotham,’ ‘Empire’ & ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine,’ discusses futures of ‘X-Files,’ ’24’ & ‘Prison Break’ (!)

TV reminder: 10 premieres to look out for in January

New year, new TV. It’s time for the latest installment of what to watch this month! There are a total of 10 new and returning shows to look out for in January so let’s get right to it, after the break. Continue reading TV reminder: 10 premieres to look out for in January