Category Archives: Television

TV reminder: ‘Bates Motel’ premieres Monday night at 10PM on A&E [Update: A&E ratings record]

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Perhaps the most anticipated new drama of the season is about to begin. From Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin (Friday Night Lights) comes Bates Motel, a modernized prequel series to Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller Psycho. Freddie Highmore stars as a young Norman Bates and we will witness the events that unfold in his life that eventually lead to him becoming the psychotic murderer we see in the film from 1960. Vera Farmiga stars as his mother Norma, and Max Thieriot, Olivia Cooke, Nicola Peltz, Mike Vogel, and Nestor Carbonell round out the cast.

In the pilot episode Norman and Norma move to a new town and Mother becomes the owner of a motel. “This town looks really beautiful on the outside. But underneath it is something very dark and malevolent,” shares Cuse. Pay attention, because over the course of the 10-episode season there will be many twists and turns you won’t see coming according to Highmore. He tells EW that there is “a big revelation at some point in the middle of the season” that will force audiences and the characters to shift their perspective in a big way. “It’s nice to perhaps have this weird false sense of hope that Norman might turn out okay, that there’s something in him you think, ‘Maybe he doesn’t have to go down this line,’” he opines.

In a recent interview with EW, Cuse described the show as “one part Friday Night Lights, one part Lost and one part Twin Peaks.” He continued, “We also liked the idea that there’s two parts to every person. There’s the superficial veneer, which in this town is the very beautiful bucolic place and everybody seems great, but underneath that all these characters have these dark desires and secrets. We felt like that would be a wonderful territory in which to land Norma and Norman.”

Bates Motel premieres Monday, March 18 at 10PM on A&E. Check out the gallery below to view five new teaser posters, a couple inspired by previously released trailers.

Update: I hope you checked into Bates Motel this week, because a lot of people did and if these early numbers are any indication it’s that the show is here to stay. 3 million total viewers tuned into the 10PM airing of the series premiere, 1.6 million of which fall into the coveted 18-49 adult demographic. If you include the encore airing, a grand total of 4.6 million watched the pilot episode of Bates Motel on Monday night (2.4 million in the 18-49 demo). These impressive numbers make it the highest rated original drama for A&E ever (the previous record-holder was the gone-too-soon Breakout Kings).

A&E president Bob DeBitetto on Bates premiere: “Bates Motel represents the very best of quality storytelling with an incredible cast led by Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore. We are extremely pleased with the initial viewer response to this edgy and provocative series and are confident that it will continue to draw in new audiences.”

Ryan Murphy reveals the name of the next season of ‘American Horror Story’, introduces Kathy Bates as villain

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On Friday Ryan Murphy and company took the stage at PaleyFest and made come major announcements concerning the upcoming third season of his horror anthology series American Horror Story. First, we’ve got the subtitle: Coven. And yes, the new season will be about witches. “It’s a really cool story we’ve been talking about for a couple of years, and this seemed the year to do it.” We were told in the past that AHS 3 will shoot on location in three different cities across the country; Murphy revealed that one of those locales will be New Orleans. “The fun thing is researching what are the really haunted places in America, and we have a couple doozy locales,” he said.

As previously announced, Jessica Lange will lead an ensemble cast that includes returning AHS actors Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe, Frances Conroy, and Taissa Farmiga. A surprise guest joined the cast and creators on stage at PaleyFest: veteran actresss Kathy Bates is joining the cast to play a “cuckoo-for-Cocoa Puffs character” that is at odds with Lange’s new character. “I wanted to see a lot of scenes with Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates going at it,” Murphy said, “so that’s what you’re going to see.” Despite playing the villain in the 1990 psychological thriller Misery (a role that won her an Oscar), Murphy promises that her AHS role is even worse. “Oh, Kathy’s never [played] someone this bad. Her [character] is a bad, bad woman,” he exclaimed. “When I pitched this to Kathy, her mouth was drop-jawed because what I was pitching actually happened,” he went on. “It’s a true event…You’ll see. It’s some good stuff.”

American Horror Story: Coven is really starting to take shape now. With an all-star cast and exciting new locations planned, anticipation is as high as ever for the FX drama. AHS returns for more spooks this fall.

[Via Deadline; TVLine 1, 2; EW]

NBC moves ‘Smash’ to Saturdays–the show is all but cancelled

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Sorry Smashers, I’ve got some bad news. On Wednesday NBC announced that it would be banishing its musical-driven drama Smash to Saturdays at 9 starting April 6. Since Gossip Girl‘s Josh Safran took over the reigns of the show from creator and Broadway vet Theresa Rebeck, Smash tanked in the ratings in its second season. On February 5 the new season premiere to 4.5 million viewers and a meager 1.1 rating in the adults 18-49 demo. Since then those numbers have dropped and fluctuated but remained dismally low–so low that the Peacock had every right to pull it from the schedule and call it a day; the most recent airing attracted only 2.9 million viewers and fell below the 1.0 rating threshold to a 0.9. However they are playing nice with the series’ small yet passionate fanbase and they’re letting it run its full 17-episode course before (very likely) pulling the plug on this thing.

In an interview with TVLine, Safran acknowledged the move to Saturdays. “I didn’t see it coming, being relegated to Saturday,” he said. “We’re all aware the show is not successful, but I guess I had hoped we would see what happened when The Voice came back [or] maybe they’d move us to a better time slot. But I understand from the network’s point of view. We hit a number and we stuck there.”

Despite the poor ratings, Safran stands behind his creative changes. “Everyone here from the top down is incredibly proud of the work,” he admitted. “I know that there are people who have their opinions and that’s totally acceptable, but that doesn’t change our viewpoint that we’re really proud and we love the show.”

Thankfully for fans Safran says the season 2 finale (which will most likely serve as the series’ final installment) “was constructed as a series finale.” He went on, “I don’t want [viewers] to think they are going to be left hanging, because they won’t be. The season has a beginning, middle and an end… [And] it just gets better and better.”

Currently Smash airs Tuesday nights at 10PM; to reiterate the show moves to Saturdays at 9PM on April 6 and will remain there until the end of its run on May 26.

Justin Timberlake & Jimmy Fallon team up for another “History of Rap” mega-medley

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To promote his upcoming new album The 20/20 Experience, the versatile Justin Timberlake visited Late Night with Jimmy Fallon for an entire week. So when Friday rolled around and viewers hadn’t seen a new installment of “History of Rap” yet you knew it had to be coming. And it did!! Fallon, Timberlake, and The Roots collaborated for a fourth time to span the history of rap to produce one entertaining medley that you never want to end. Before the performance begins, JT admits “But this is the last time…” and JF finishes his sentence “until the next time we do this” and then JT echoes that hopefully meaning that this in fact won’t be the final musical trip around the beat-driven genre.

And now, without further ado, I present “History of Rap Part 4.”

Watch parts 1, 2 and 3 at the links provided.

‘Community’ cast gets the puppet treatment in upcoming episode

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We’ve seen them in claymation. We’ve seen them pixelated and animated. And soon this season we’ll have the chance to see the Greendale Gang as puppets! At PaleyFest this week it was revealed that Jeff, Britta, Abed, Troy, Annie, Shirley, Pierce  Chang, and Dean Felton (see what I did there?) will all be transformed into puppets in an episode slated to air later this season.

Per TVLine, “The story finds the study group taking a wild balloon ride that crash lands in the woods and forces them to spend a little time with a friendly mountain man (played by Seinfeld‘s Jason Alexander). The gang gets immortalized [in flashbacks] as puppets when Dean Pelton encourages them to talk about their adventures.”

Check out the puppet still in all its glory above. Community airs Thursday nights at 8PM on NBC.

FOX renews ‘The Following’, comedy block ‘Raising Hope’, ‘New Girl’ & ‘The Mindy Project’

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Good news for fans of FOX programming this week. The “edgy” network renewed four of its shows on Monday including its current Tuesday night comedy lineup Raising Hope, New Girl, and The Mindy Project for a fourth, third, and second season, respectively; also coming back for a second season is the Monday night serial killer thriller from Kevin Williamson starring Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy The Following. When The Following returns next year it will play out over the course of 15 episodes (same as season 1), and uninterrupted if FOX brass decide to save it for midseason again.

Though ratings are relatively low for all three FOX comedies, it was expected that Greg Garcia’s Raising Hope and Liz Meriwether’s New Girl would be back for more; it’s Mindy Kaling’s The Mindy Project whose renewal surprises the most as its ratings were on the bubble of renewal and cancellation averaging 4 million total viewers and a 2.1 rating in the 18-49 demo. While FOX was quick to axe Ben And Kate earlier this season, the network is giving Mindy some more time to grow creatively. As for The Following, this show is rapidly evolving into must-see television as its dark plot twists and solid acting and bold storytelling captivate a sizable audience; the drama is averaging 11.7 million total viewers and a 4.0 rating. (And if you’re wondering, Raising Hope averages 4.5 million viewers and a 2.0 rating this season and New Girl is seeing 6.4 million viewers and a 3.5 rating.)

FOX entertainment chairman Kevin Reilly on the renewals: “From the very beginning, we felt Kevin Williamson and Marcos Siega had created a high-quality, edge-of-your-seat drama that could break from the pack, and it is exciting to see the audience responding. Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy have given us two of the most compelling characters on television and the entire cast is incredible. I’m delighted to have this thrill ride continue on Fox for another season.” On the coming-back comedies he said, “these shows are creatively vibrant, they have established a loyal and passionate audience and they will continue to define and grow the Fox comedy brand next season and beyond.”

[Via EW]

ABC cancels ‘Zero Hour’ after 3 airings

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And just like that, Zero Hour‘s time is up. The search for the Hank’s wife and the unravelling of the mystery involving the disciples’ secret clocks have come to a screeching halt as ABC decided to cancel the conspiracy thriller on Friday. Cancellation came because the show from Prison Break‘s Paul Scheuring couldn’t manage to find a sizable audience. In its February 14 series premiere, Zero Hour drew 6.3 million total viewers and a 1.3 in the 18-49 demo–ABC’s lowest rated in-season premiere of a scripted program in history. Things went from bad to worse as its third and most recent airing only attracted 5 million total viewers and a low 1.0 demo rating, prompting ABC to release the axe. But is it the show’s fault, really? An entertaining and intriguing thriller, Zero Hour‘s poor performance can certainly be chalked up to its placement on the schedule–you can say the series didn’t stand a chance as a midseason entry tossed in the challenging Thursdays at 8 timeslot. Previous ABC dramas like FlashFoward, Missing, and most recently Last Resort suffered similar fate there.

So what happens to the 10 remaining unaired episodes of Zero Hour? Will viewers ever receive answers to the widespread mysteries the show has laid out thus far? At the TCAs Scheuring assured audiences that every season of the show would wrap up a major thread in the end and “reset” with the introduction of a new overarching mystery. ABC hasn’t confirmed anything, but there are whispers that like with 666 Park Avenue the Alphabet network may allow the series to run its single season course sometime this summer. One can hope.

The ‘Game of Thrones’ season 3 trailer has arrived [Update: extended trailer]

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At last, HBO has released a trailer featuring actual footage from the upcoming third season of the epic fantasy series Game of Thrones. Was it worth the wait? Although it’s merely a 60-second spot, the answer is a resounding yes.

Flying dragons. Fire. Dick Joffrey (“Everyone is mine to torment.”). Sexy Daenerys (with her very own army?). A grown up Bran Stark weilding a mighty bow-and-arrow. Our favorite Imp.

Game of Thrones is back March 31. And because I know you want the pulse-pounding background track I’ll save you the trip: it’s “Bones” by MS MR available at iTunes.

Update: HBO has released an extended version of this trailer featuring even more brand new footage and it’s embedded after the break. Continue reading The ‘Game of Thrones’ season 3 trailer has arrived [Update: extended trailer] →

New ‘Revolution’ web series to be live action featuring Monroe & Neville in the flesh

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One web series wasn’t enough, apparently. To help fans of NBC’s hot adventure drama Revolution bide their time during the series’ extended hiatus, the Peacock is introducing a second, this time live action web series featuring the show’s stars David Lyons (General Monroe) and Giancarlo Esposito (Captain Neville). According to EW, “The story will follow Capt. Neville on a mission to hunt down and kill and those who had a hand in the attempt to assassinate Monroe. While on his journey, however, Neville will apparently stumble “upon an even greater conspiracy that could change the course of the Republic forever.”” The five-part web series premieres Monday, February 25 at NBC.com. If you haven’t already, check out Revolution‘s animated web series that focuses on Sgt. Joseph Wheatly that debuted last month. The five released installements can be viewed at NBC, right here. Revolution kicks back into gear March 25.

Update (2/25): Episode 1 is out now! Watch it after the break.

Update 2: (3/18): All four episodes of Enemies of the State are out now. You know where to find ’em. Continue reading New ‘Revolution’ web series to be live action featuring Monroe & Neville in the flesh →

FX renews ‘The Americans’ for a second season

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The day after FX aired the fourth episodes of The Americans the cable network renewed the Cold War drama for a second season that will consist, again, of 13 installments. Stars Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell make convincing Russian spies and executive producers Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields have already successfully managed to get viewers to root for the KGB. Kudos.

“The Americans has quickly established itself as a key part FX’s acclaimed drama line-up,” said FX head John Landgraf. “Executive Producers Joe Weisberg, Joel Fields and Graham Yost and their collaborators are telling riveting and deeply emotional stories and the performances of Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Noah Emmerich and the entire cast are simply outstanding. The show is truly worthy of its widespread critical acclaim and we are confident that its quality will continue to yield a robust and passionate audience.”

The Americans airs Wednesday nights at 10PM on FX.

NBC sets premiere date for ‘Hannibal’ (teaser and key art inside) [Update: full-length trailer]

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Hannibal is coming to television this spring. NBC had ordered the serialized adaptation of the classic tale about Dr. Hannibal Lector (famously played by Anthony Hopkins in 1991’s Silence of the Lambs, originating in the Thomas Harris novel Red Dragon) last May and has since been keeping it warm on the bench. With midseason bust Do No Harm dead and gone, the Peacock’s schedule suddenly has a vacant Thursday at 10PM slot that’s begging to be filled. On April 4 Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale) will play the role of the mad serial killer and he’ll unleash his bag of mind tricks onto a gifted criminal profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy). Laurence Fishburne and Caroline Dhavernas also star. Hannibal is from Bryan Fuller, the man behind such visionary treats as Pushing Daisies and Heroes.

With FOX’s The Following gaining a cult of its very own, is there room for another, more familiar serial killer drama on network TV? The 30-second spot embedded above even evokes some of the Ryan Hardy/Joe Carroll back-and-forth that has come to pass on Kevin Williamson’s thriller. And yet it’s dark and just intriguing enough to warrant anticipation for Hannibal‘s premiere. Share your take in the comment section below. After the break you’ll find creepy yet tantalizing key art featuring Mikkelsen as Lector at the dinner table. Who’s hungry?

Update: There’s a new full-length 2-minute trailer now available for your viewing pleasure. Watch it after the break.

Update 2: A couple more new clips are posted after the break. Continue reading NBC sets premiere date for ‘Hannibal’ (teaser and key art inside) [Update: full-length trailer] →