Category Archives: Television

Comic Con: Beloved Disney characters join ‘Once Upon A Time’ this season

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A princess, a pirate, a wizard, a queen, a knight, and a savior join forces in search of Neverland. That’s what this season 3 teaser masked as a season 2 recapper hypes as near the fall return of ABC’s Once Upon A Time.

The Once team did a good job at not revealing much, but they did say Neverland will play a big part in season 3. And who will we meet there? Well, Peter Pan of course. “Peter Pan has a complicated motivation,” said series co-showrunner Adam Horowitz. “It’s a little different than you’ve seen before.” Added showrunner Eddy Kitsis, “He might be frightening. To some people.” Also on the horizon is the formal introduction of Tinker Bell who has “a surprising connection” to somebody we already know and Ariel aka The Little Mermaid.

After the break you can watch two clips that were screened first at Comic Con. The first teases The Little Mermaids arrival, and the second is an extended look at a funny bit made for the season 2 DVD called “Good Morning Storybrooke” featuring some of the cast.

Elsewhere, it was announced that another Lost alum will be joining the Once family. Naveen Andrews (who played castaway Sayid Jarrah) will embody the villainous Jafar in the Once spinoff Once Upon A Time In Wonderland. Andrews will appear in the first episode as the season’s “very, very, very evil villain” and Kitsis promises his portrayal of the Aladdin character will be “very frightening.” Continue reading Comic Con: Beloved Disney characters join ‘Once Upon A Time’ this season →

Comic Con: ‘Person of Interest’ hits close to home with Machine/Prism comparisons

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This year’s Person of Interest panel at Comic Con wasn’t as revealing as the last one, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t just as fun. The panel kicked off with a video that proves how on the nose this crime procedural/serial hybrid truly is. The Machine from POI is juxtaposed with the real-life government surveillance system known as Prism. It’s actually scary how close to home this series hits. In addition to Prism comparisons, the clip contains a couple never-before-scenes; one featuring a young Finch (so that is his real name?) speaking with his father played by Bruce Greenwood and the other starring Root in the mental institution where we left her.

Speaking of Root, her portrayer Amy Acker is sticking around for season 3 as she’s been promoted to series regular along with Sarah Shahi who plays Agent Shaw.

After watching the video, jump after the break to view a new POI poster made exclusively for the Con. Continue reading Comic Con: ‘Person of Interest’ hits close to home with Machine/Prism comparisons →

Comic Con: Upcoming seasons of ‘Family Guy’ & ‘American Dad’ previewed at the Con

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It’s full steam ahead for FOX’s Family Guy which returns this fall for its 12th season. Here’s a five minute preview of the upcoming season.

At Family Guy‘s Comic Con panel it was revealed that one member of the Griffin family will be killed off and replaced with a new character this season. “It could be anyone, any one of our six main cast,” said showrunner Steve Callaghan. I was sitting in the Ballroom 20 crowd and like everyone else around me I wasn’t sure if he was joking or not but in retrospect I don’t think he was. What else? Season 12 guest stars include Adam Levine, Bryan Cranston, Tony Sirico, Jeff Daniels, Liam Neeson, Conan O’Brien, and Ashton Kutcher. As The Cleveland Show is MIA this season, Cleveland is moving back to Spooner Street and he’s bringing his new family with him! The Family Guy / Simpsons crossover episode will likely be a one-hour event and may feature a five-minute chicken fight between Peter and Homer, but don’t expect it to air until season 13. And yes, a Family Guy movie is in the works but a timeline has yet to be discussed.

After the break watch a nearly six minute preview of the 10th season of Seth MacFarlane’s other animated comedy American Dad. This marks the final season on FOX as AD will continue to air new episodes on TBS when season 11 premieres in fall 2014. “It’s going to be the same American Dad, just in a different place,” promised co-creator Mike Barker. What else? Upcoming guest stars include Zooey Deschanel, Alison Brie, Ellie Kemper, Stanley Tucci, Mae Whitman, Mariah Carey, T.J. Miller, and Olivia Wilde. There’s also an American Dad movie idea where fans will finally travel to Roger’s home planet. Continue reading Comic Con: Upcoming seasons of ‘Family Guy’ & ‘American Dad’ previewed at the Con →

Comic Con: Freddy Highmore snaps at the real ‘Bates Motel’

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Vera Farmiga aka Norma Bates just scooped up an Emmy nomination for Best Actress while her TV son Freddie Highmore was left in the dust. When the young Norman Bates stops by the Bates Motel writer’s room he begins to discover that the show’s executive producers Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin are very much feeding into Farmiga’s fame. Highmore doesn’t like it, so Cuse plans a trip to the real Bates Motel that’s still up at the Universal lot. And from there, things get…weird.

This video, originally screened at Comic Con, had me in a fit of laughter on more than one occasion: “Norman thinks about sunsets” … Cuse practicing his “Previously on” line … I mean, this is seriously funny stuff. Let’s not linger; get to the goods and hit play!

Comic Con: ‘Hannibal’ gag reel is LOL, obviously

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Now here’s something you wouldn’t expect to come out of Bryan Fuller’s NBC serial killer thriller Hannibal: A GAG REEL! And a fine one, at that. Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen and the rest of the Hannibal cast do not disappoint this absolutely hysterical peek behind-the-scenes of the darkly violent and gruesome show. In my opinion, Mads steals the show at the dinner table when he calls Freddie Lounds…well, you’ll see!

To find out what’s in store for season 2, watch Fuller, Dancy, and exec producers David Slade and Martha de Laurentiis spill the beans in an informative and entertaining video interview conducted by TVLine that’s embedded after the break. Continue reading Comic Con: ‘Hannibal’ gag reel is LOL, obviously →

Comic Con: ‘Breaking Bad’ countdown clip hypes the series’ final run

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Breaking Bad made their final stop at Comic Con this summer hyping the AMC series’ final eight episode run that begins August 11. Creator Vince Gilligan and the cast led by Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul screen this “countdown mashup” clip that serves as a “best of” video featuring some of Walter White’s best lines and moments from the acclaimed series. Gilligan was very tight-lipped about plot details, but he did say that he and his writing staff and everyone involved really are proud of the final 8 and he thinks fans will be satisfied by the way things end. Also, the rumored Saul Goodman spinoff starring Bob Odenkirk is very much in the works with Gilligan pushing for a green light.

If you happened to be walking the Con floor, chances are you might have bumped into Cranston! He was mingling amongst the crowd disguised as his TV alter ego Walter White wearing a mask and using a high-pitched voice. Check out some pictures from the panel reveal in the gallery below.

[Images via BIA]

Comic Con: Relive ‘Game of Thrones’ deaths in a “In Memoriam” clip here

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To remember those we have lost, the nifty editors at HBO’s Game of Thrones put together this “In Memoriam” clip that premiered at Comic Con. Set to Boyz II Men’s “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” makes light of so many of the grisly deaths that have come to pass on Thrones since the beginning. A tag “The North Remembers” concludes the video and we are left with a Spring 2014 premiere to anticipate.

It goes without saying: spoiler alert.

Comic Con: Martin Freeman & Benedict Cumberbatch appear at ‘Sherlock’ panel

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Comic Con hosted a Sherlock panel, but its two big stars Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch couldn’t make it in person. So they both filmed prerecorded bits for those in attendance and you can watch what they saw in the clip embedded above. Freeman is rocking some scraggly hair as he finishes shooting The Hobbit in New Zealand and Cumberbatch explains how he survived his big fall from the series 2 finale (or he attempts to, at least).

As you’re enjoying this humorous clip, know that lots more Sherlock is on the way. “As long as everyone wants to keep doing it, we’ll keep doing it,” shared creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss and producer Sue Vertue. “There is something lovely about the idea of Benedict and Martin aged 55, around the same fireplace, becoming the same age we associate with Holmes and Watson,” added Gatiss.

Comic Con: Neil deGrasse Tyson hosts ‘Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey’ (teaser inside)

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FOX is rebooting Carl Sagan’s Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (a 13-part TV series that aired in 1980 on PBS) with Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey hosted by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Sagan’s original creative collaborators, namely writer/executive producer Ann Druyan and astronomer Steven Soter, along with executive producer Seth MacFarline (yes, of Family Guy fame) have teamed together to continue where Sagan left off.

The series will explore how we discovered the laws of nature and found our coordinates in space and time. It will bring to life never-before-told stories of the heroic quest for knowledge and transport viewers to new worlds and across the universe for a vision of the cosmos on the grandest scale. Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey will invent new modes of scientific storytelling to reveal the grandeur of the universe and re-invent celebrated elements of the legendary original series, including the Cosmic Calendar and the Ship of the Imagination. The most profound scientific concepts will be presented with stunning clarity, uniting skepticism and wonder, and weaving rigorous science with the emotional and spiritual into a transcendent experience.

When asked why do a reboot, Sagan’s wife Ann Druyan explained, “Well, it’s a very big universe, and in the first series we covered a lot of territory. But there’s so much left. We have new stories that have yet to be told.” She promises it “is as accessible as the first one and contains information that’s at times arcane, that at other times is as less complicated. But it’s for everyone.”

Interested in exploring the mysteries of space? Then the 13-part docu-series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey–premiering in 2014 on FOX–is a can’t miss TV event. See how cool science can be in the teaser trailer posted after the break. Continue reading Comic Con: Neil deGrasse Tyson hosts ‘Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey’ (teaser inside) →

2013 Emmy nominations: ‘AHS: Asylum’ & ‘Game of Thrones’ collect most nods, Netflix enters the fray

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Here we go. It’s Emmy season, everybody! Today the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards nominations were announced to much fanfare, as always. For the second consecutive year, the show that picked up the most nods is American Horror Story: Asylum with 17; following close behind are HBO’s Game Of Thrones (16 nods) and Behind The Candelabra (15), Saturday Night Live (15), Breaking Bad and 30 Rock (13 apiece), Downton Abbey, Mad Men, and Modern Family (12 apiece), Homeland and Phil Spector (11 apiece), and Boardwalk Empire (10). The most intriguing turn of events: streaming service Netflix is a real Emmy contender racking up 14 nods for House of Cards (9, including Outstanding Drama Series), Arrested Development (3, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series), and Hemlock Grove (2).

Duking it out for Best Drama are Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, Game Of Thrones, Homeland, House of Cards, and Mad Men. Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Hugh Bonneville, (Downton Abbey), Damian Lewis (Homeland), Kevin Spacey (House of Cards), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), and Jeff Daniels (The Newsroom) are up for Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Leading ladies include Connie Britton (Nashville), Claire Danes (Homeland), Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), Vera Farmiga (Bates Motel), Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men), Kerry Washington (Scandal), and Robin Wright (House of Cards). In the Supporting Actor categories, Bobby Cannavale (Boardwalk Empire), Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad), Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Jim Carter (Downton Abbey), Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), Mandy Patinkin (Homeland), Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad), Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey), Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Christine Baranski (The Good Wife), Morena Baccarin (Homeland), and Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) vie for the golden statue.

Switching over to the comedy categories, the following shows were nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series: 30 Rock, The Big Bang Theory, Girls, Louie, Modern Family, and Veep. Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), Louis CK (Louie), Don Cheadle (House of Lies), Matt LeBlanc (Episodes), and Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) are up for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Leading ladies include Laura Dern (Enlightened), Lena Dunham (Girls), Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie), Tina Fey (30 Rock), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep), and Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation). Supporting funny people include Adam Driver (Girls), Jesse Tyler Ferguson/Ed O’Neill/Ty Burrell (Modern Family), Bill Hader (Saturday Night Live), Tony Hale (Veep), Mayim Bialik (The Big Bang Theory), Jane Lynch (Glee), Julie Bowen/Sofia Vergara (Modern Family), Merritt Wever (Nurse Jackie), Jane Krakowski (30 Rock), and Anna Chlumsky (Veep).

And of course, there’s no going on without discussing those who were snubbed. Some that come instantly to mind: Parks & Rec, Happy Endings, and New Girl for Best Comedy (or at least recognition for their ensemble casts)…Hannibal is certainly worthy of Best Drama though being a poorly rated NBC drama it likely will never reach that peak, but perhaps stars Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen will soon receive some well deserved recognition…besides recognizing Margo Martindale for portraying Claudia aka Granny and its theme music, The Americans was pretty much left in the dark; though in its first season, the series is certainly Best Drama material and its stars Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys are worthy of Best Actor nods…and even though it’s never expected it still stings that genre shows like The Walking Dead and Fringe are passed over come Emmy season; in fact, this marks the last opportunity to give John Noble an Emmy nod for playing the incomparable and incredibly impressionable Walter Bishop on Fringe–he’s always been a winner in my book.

The 65th Primetime Emmy Awards airs live Sunday, September 22 at 8PM EST with host Neil Patrick Harris. Cop a list of all the nominees at the official Emmys website, and if I left off any of your personal snubs lemme hear it in the comment section below.

‘American Dad’ moves to TBS in 2014

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The upcoming tenth season of animated comedy American Dad will be its last on FOX. But don’t fret, AD fans; the Seth MacFarlane-produced series is not being cancelled. It is relocating to cable’s TBS. Fifteen episodes have been ordered for AD‘s eleventh season which will premiere on TBS in late 2014. Sister network Adult Swim will air encores of each episode after initial airings on TBS.

“American Dad! is a great fit for TBS, a favorite of comedy fans who like smart, irreverent humor with ample doses of biting wit and skewering satire,” said TBS head Michael Wright. We look forward to welcoming Seth MacFarlane and the rest of his team as they bring this iconic show to TBS.”

“American Dad! is a brilliantly inventive series, and TBS’s desire to platform new episodes demonstrates the enduring power of great and compelling content,” added 20th Century Fox TV chairmen Gary Newman and Dana Walden. “Seth, Mike and Matt have created an incredibly rich world of unique characters, and we couldn’t be happier that they will be able to continue to tell their trademark brand of subversive, hilarious stories to their millions of fans.”

This is an interesting move on FOX’s part. Though the network did not disclose its rationale behind the relocation, one can ponder that it’s making room for a fresh new series in its Sunday night “Animation Domination” block. With The Cleveland Show MIA this fall and American Dad moving after this season, the network will have at least a couple vacancies to fill next year. Time will tell which new shows will join up-and-comer Bob’s Burgers and veterans Family Guy and The Simpsons on Sunday nights.

The Smiths, Rodger the alien, and Klaus the German-tongued goldfish return to Fox this fall for their final run on the net.

TV reminder: ‘The Newsroom’ returns Sunday, July 14 at 10PM on HBO

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Will McAvoy and his team of reporters at ACN return to our airwaves this Sunday night at 10PM on HBO in the season 2 premiere of The Newsroom. Together Aaron Sorkin’s creations stand alone in the season 2 key art posted above, and quite literally in the character stills packed in the gallery below. Are you ready for some more fast talking, fast walking, and fast talking and walking? This season will cover major news such as “the Tea Party/American Taliban, the general election including the primaries and conventions, Trayvon Martin, the Affordable Care Act, and drones” and will span August 23, 2011 to Election Day 2012.