Category Archives: Television

TV clip: An extended cut of Nat Faxon’s crying scene in ‘Ben And Kate’

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In the third episode of FOX’s laugh out loud comedy Ben And Kate titled “Fox Hunt,” Kate (Dakota Johnson) and her kid brother Ben (Nat Faxon) challenge each other to a scavenger hunt that they used to participate in when they were younger. Kate and her bumbling teammate and best friend BJ end up winning, and the episode ends with Ben in a fit of tears. Not because he lost but because Kate surprises Ben with a medal he thought he had disposed of when he was a kid after his father ridiculed him and played it down. Ben runs to the bathroom and in a scene called “Real Ben Don’t Cry” he lets the tears flow while simultaneous trying his best to hold it all back. It all played out magnificently on TV, but a director’s cut has surfaced on the ‘Net and it provides an extended, nearly two minute version of the scene. Have at it.

Ben And Kate airs Tuesday nights at 8:30PM on FOX.

NBC cancels ‘Animal Practice’, ‘Whitney’ to replace it in November

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Today NBC cancelled the Justin Kirk/Crystal the Monkey comedy Animal Practice due to poor ratings. The Peacock did everything it could to promote the series, including airing a special preview during the Olympics this summer. That effort fared well for the Matthew Perry sitcom Go On, but for Practice it couldn’t do the trick. The most recent episode wrangled 3.8 million viewers scoring a low 1.0 rating in adults 18-49. Five episodes have aired, and NBC will show three more. Come Wednesday, November 14, Whitney will fill the vacant spot at 8PM. Community fans will sneer at this scheduling move, but it makes sense for the network; both Whitney and its soon-to-be lead out Guys with Kids are multi-camera shows so they go well together, stylistically at least. Community remains on the bench for the time being. And Guys with Kids is safe for now, having most recently attracted 4.3 million viewers and a 1.4 demo rating.

Animal Practice is the second show to get the axe this fall. Last week CBS cancelled legal drama Made in Jersey after only two episodes had aired; the premiere attracted 7.7 million viewers with a 1.1 demo rating and then things dropped in its second outing to 5.8 million viewers with a dismal 0.8 rating. Starting November 2 Undercover Boss takes over CBS’ Friday night at 8PM slot.

[Via EW]

TV reminder: ‘American Horror Story: Asylum’ premieres tonight at 10PM on FX [Update: The ratings are in…]

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The wait is over. Tonight is the night you commit yourself to American Horror Story: Asylum. As you already know, the second season of the Ryan Murphy/Brad Falchuk production will play out as an entirely different show than season one. Many familiar faces are returning (namely Jessica Lange, Zachary Quinto, Lily Rabe, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters) but they will be portraying brand new characters this time around. Joining them are Adam Levine, Jenna Dewan, Chloë Sevigny, Clea Duvall, Joseph Fiennes, and James Cromwell. Today, Murphy revealed that Dylan McDermott is also coming back at some point this season; he played lead Ben Harmon last year. Asylum goes back in time to the 1960s and replaces the haunted Harmon house with an east coast mental institution called  Briarcliff Manor.

To reiterate, AHS is an anthology series meaning each series will feature new characters, a new setting, and an original story with a beginning, middle, and end. So if you happened to miss out on season one, you can absolutely tune into tonight’s premiere without a problem. However, it is highly recommended you watch the first season because it was very good.

American Horror Story: Asylum premieres tonight (10/17) at 10PM on FX. If you want a taste of the season’s frights, jump after the break to watch a one minute trailer and catch some behind-the-scenes footage with the cast and creators. In the galleries below, browse creepy character profiles and check out the varied key art…if you dare.

Update: Nothing record-breaking to report here, but AHS: Asylum got off to a strong start, both creatively and in the ratings. 3.85 million total viewers committed themselves to last night’s season two premiere “Welcome to Briarcliff;” that’s up 21 percent from last year’s series premiere. In the important adults 18-49 demo the episode attracted 2.78 million viewers (a 2.20 rating, up 37 percent), trailing only CBS’ CSI for the night. In adults 18-34 the ep attracted 1.78 million viewers (2.63 rating, up 50 percent) making it the highest rated program at 10PM across cable and broadcast networks in that demo. The episode managed to rank higher in the ratings than every episode from the first season. Are you committed? Share your thoughts on the season premiere in the comment section below.

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Continue reading TV reminder: ‘American Horror Story: Asylum’ premieres tonight at 10PM on FX [Update: The ratings are in…] →

TNT picks up Frank Darabont’s period drama ‘L.A. Noir’ with six episode order

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Earlier this year Frank Darabont divulged his next TV project following his exit from AMC’s The Walking Dead. Today TNT greenlit the project ordering a total of six episodes that will comprise season one. For the uninitiated, here’s a newly released series synopsis.

This new series tells the true story of a decades-long conflict between the Los Angeles Police Department, under the determined leadership of Police Chief William Parker, and ruthless criminal elements led by Mickey Cohen, a one-time boxer who rose to the top of L.A.’s criminal world. The series is a fast-paced crime drama set in Los Angeles during the 1940s and ’50s. It’s a world of glamorous movie stars, powerful studio heads, returning war heroes, a powerful and corrupt police force and an even more dangerous criminal network determined to make L.A. its West Coast base.

If you’re like me and following Darabont from Atlanta to Los Angeles, you’ll be happy to hear that he’s recruited not one but two stars from his acclaimed zombie drama. Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead’s Shane) stars as Joe Teague, an ex-Marine now working as an LAPD cop in an era rampant with police corruption. Jeffrey DeMunn (Dale) plays Det. Hal Morrison, who heads up the LAPD’s new mob squad. The series also stars Neal McDonough (Captain America) as Capt. William Parker, Teague’s boss who is determined to weed out corruption and bring down Mickey Cohen; and Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes) plays Ned Stax, who fought alongside Teague during World War II but who now works as a lawyer with connections to the mob.

TNT president and head of programming Michael Wright on the pickup: “This series is an intense, exciting drama that takes viewers back to a truly fascinating time in the history of Los Angeles. Frank Darabont, Michael De Luca and Elliott Webb have delivered an outstanding opening episode that evokes the time and place in stunning detail. Together with a pitch-perfect ensemble cast and top-notch production crew, they have woven an engrossing tale of heroism in the face of greed and corruption. We’re very excited to be working with such talented storytellers in bringing this project to life.”

L.A.Noir, based on the book L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City by John Buntin, will premiere in 2013.

[Via TNT]

Tina Fey & Amy Poehler set to host the Golden Globes

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If you could pick any two people to co-host the Golden Globe Awards who would they be? Well guess what, it’s happening. Today it was announced that dynamic duo Tina Fey & Amy Poehler will be hosting the 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards. And as we already know the two have chemistry; they served as co-anchors of Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live for years and they starred in the 2008 comedy Baby Mama together. Today they each have their own show on NBC–Fey’s readying to bow out of 30 Rock and Poehler is in her prime as Leslie Knope in Parks And Recreation–so the Peacock is making a smart move by teaming these ladies together to celebrate the best in TV.

NBC president of alternative and late night Paul Telegdy released the following statement: “Having both Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on board to host this year’s festivities is a major coup. Tina and Amy have a proven chemistry and comedic timing from their many years together on SNL to their successful co-starring roles in Baby Mama.”

The award show’s executive producers Allen Shapiro, Orly Adelson, and Barry Adelman said: “It’s exciting to have two of the most respected names in comedy. Amy and Tina’s well known chemistry along with their spontaneity and glamour makes them a perfect fit for the Golden Globes.”

The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards airs January 13, 2013.

[Via EW]

TV reminder: ‘The Walking Dead’ premieres tonight at 9PM on AMC [Update: The ratings are in…]

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Michonne. The Governor. Woodbury. The prison. There has been so much excitement about what’s coming next on The Walking Dead and now the time has finally arrived to regroup with Rick and our gang of zombie apocalypse survivors. Eye this season’s key art above that features Rick Grimes front and center (once again) atop an overturned bus outside the zombie-infested prison. Gotta love the tagline: “Fight the dead. Fear the living.” Next dive in the galleries below to view character profiles and pictures from tonight’s season premiere, “Seed.”

The Walking Dead premieres tonight (10/14) at 9PM on AMC. And don’t forget to tune into Talking Dead immediately following the episode; host Chris Hardwick will be talking to showrunner Glen Mazzara and Michonne–er, Danai Gurira.

Ramp up anticipation by watching the season 3 trailer a couple more times. It’s that good.

Update: Get used to it–AMC’s The Walking Dead shatters records when it premieres. 10.9 million viewers tuned into the season three premiere last night; that’s up 50 percent from the season two opener. It also performed extremely well in the two coveted demos; in adults 18-49 it attracted 7.3 million viewers (up 52 percent from the season two premiere) and in adults 25-54 it attracted 6.1 million viewers (up 46 percent). If you include the two encore airings of the episode, a grand total of 15.2 million people saw “Seed.” The show managed to garner this many viewers while Dish subscribers were left out in the cold due to a contract dispute. AMC can rightfully boast that last night’s return of The Walking Dead is most-watched drama telecast in basic cable history and in the 18-49 demo it is the highest-rated series this fall–including cable and broadcast offerings. Hats off to the zombies. I don’t think you’ll ever have to tell this show to break a leg going into a premiere. Oops, sorry Hershel…too soon?

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[Images via AMC]

Clark Gregg to reprise Agent Phil Coulson in Marvel’s ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ pilot

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Now isn’t this a nice surprise. Marvel is resurrecting Agent Phil Coulson for their upcoming TV series S.H.I.E.L.D. Yesterday at New York Comic Con, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Avengers director Joss Whedon announced that actor Clark Gregg will appear in the S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot as the agent we’ve come to love and mourn. Nothing more was spilled, unfortunately, but this should certainly hold you up for the time being. Jump after the break for a brief interview with Gregg.

S.H.I.E.L.D. will be written by Whedon, his brother Jed, and Jed’s wife Maurissa Tancharoen. They also serve as executive producers with Jeffrey Bell and Marvel TV’s Jeph Loeb. The plan is for Joss to direct the pilot for ABC.

[Via Marvel] Continue reading Clark Gregg to reprise Agent Phil Coulson in Marvel’s ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ pilot →

Movie trailer: Anthony Hopkins is ‘Hitchcock’

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Is Alfred Hitchcock rising from the grave? No, but you might make a double take when you watch this trailer for Hitchcock, a biopic that follows the famed director as he attempts to get one of his most adored films Psycho into theatres. Directed by a Brit Sacha Gervasi, the movie is based on Stephen Rebello’s non-fiction book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho and it stars Anthony Hopkins as a convincing Sir Alfred Hitchcock, Helen Mirren as Hitchcock’s wife Alma Reville and Scarlett Johansson and James D’Arcy as the leads of Psycho, Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The good-looking cast appears up to the challenge in this premiere trailer, and with a November 23 release date the movie will be up for contention at this year’s Oscars.

With Hitchcock releasing next month, the master of horror is getting the star treatment this year if you also factor in HBO’s upcoming TV film The Girl. This one stars Toby Jones as Hitchcock and it explores his questionable relationship with actress Tippi Hedren, the girl who starred in his films The Birds and Marnie, played by Sienna Miller. The Girl airs Saturday, October 20th at 9PM on HBO. The trailer sits after the break. Continue reading Movie trailer: Anthony Hopkins is ‘Hitchcock’ →

TV reminder: ‘Dr. Horrible’ airs tonight at 9PM on The CW

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Now the nightmare’s real
Now Dr. Horrible is here
To make you quake with fear
To make the whole world kneel…

In 2008 during the Writers’ Guild of America strike the Whedon brothers (Joss, Jed, and Zack) and Maurissa Tancharoen wrangled together Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), Nathan Fillion (Castle), Felicia Day (The Guild), and Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory) to produce the low budget but high value product Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. They released it to the Internet in three acts and quickly it gained in popularity. Four years later the catchy musical web series is about to air in its entirety on television.

Relive the action-packed tale tangled in love featuring Dr. Horrible, Captain Hammer, Penny, and Moist tonight (10/9) at 9PM on The CW. If you’ve been living under a rock like Patrick Star and haven’t seen it yet, this is must-see TV and you are in for a real treat. Head up Billy buddy it’s almost time to watch! Gather your friends and earn your Ph.D in Horribleness. Watch a CW-produced trailer after the break. Quick note: Bad Horse, he’s bad!

And for you hardcore fans out there, a sequel is most definitely in the works. Though Joss has The Avengers 2 on the horizon and his family (Jed, Zack, and Jed’s wife Maurissa) are starting to prep the Marvel ABC series S.H.I.E.L.D., the team behind Dr.H plans to begin production on Dr.H2 this spring with a tentative release in July 2013, five years after the original splashed on the ‘Net. Continue reading TV reminder: ‘Dr. Horrible’ airs tonight at 9PM on The CW →

‘Louie’ will return for a fourth season in Spring 2014

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FX renewed Louie for a fourth season this summer, but you won’t see the comedian return to the airwaves for quite some time. Instead of premiering in late June as is tradition, Louie will come back in Spring 2014. Why the hold-up? In a conference call today Louis C.K. said he’s taking an extended break from the show for two main reasons: to focus on touring (which runs from this month all the way to February 2013) and to allot time to making the next season as creative, entertaining, and funny as possible. “The last three seasons have been this surge of fun and work and stories and it’s been great, but I want the show to keep getting better,” he said. “That’s my goal, and I don’t want it to be making the donuts, I want it to be something that comes from somewhere important and stays funny.”

Louie envisions his FX show to live on for nine seasons. The first three seasons have served as the first act of a trilogy, making season four the beginning of a new phase for the show. Following the splendid three-episode Late Night arc and the absurdity that ensued in the season three finale, I personally cannot wait to see what Louie has up his sleeve.

[Via Deadline; EW]

NBC delays the return of ‘Community’ & ‘Whitney’

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Greendale Community College was supposed to open its doors for a Dan Harmon-less fourth season next Friday, October 19. Today NBC released a statement saying the network is delaying the return of Community and its Friday night companion Whitney.

Given the success we’ve had for the past four weeks – including winning the first week of the season in A18-49 – we’ve decided to continue to concentrate our promotional strength on our new NBC shows that are scheduled Monday through Wednesday and have therefore decided to hold COMMUNITY and WHITNEY from their previously announced premieres of October 19th. Without having to launch these comedies on Friday at this time, we can keep our promotion focused on earlier in the week — plus we will have both comedies in our back pocket if we need to make any schedule changes on those nights.  When we have a better idea of viewing patterns in the next few weeks, we will announce new season premieres of WHITNEY and COMMUNITY.

Let’s extrapolate. First, NBC is prioritizing the promotion of its current fall comedies Go On, The New Normal, Animal Practice, and Guys with Kids. Second, they are acknowledging the possibility that some of their new comedies (namely Animal Practice and Guys with Kids) may not make it much longer. If one or both of these relatively low rated shows, Community and/or Whitney could ditch the Friday graveyard and call Wednesday night a comfortable home. Time will tell, fellow Human Beings.

[Via Deadline]

FOX orders full season of ‘The Mindy Project’, extends ‘Ben And Kate’s run

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FOX believes in its Tuesday night comedy lineup. Today the network handed out additional episodes for its two new fall comedies. The Mindy Project has been given “the back nine,” meaning it has received a full season order and will produce a total of 22 episodes. Ben And Kate, meanwhile, will air six more episodes on top of its original 13 episode order and so its first season will comprise of 19 installments. Why didn’t Ben And Kate receive the typical “back nine?” Well that’s simply because FOX has another new comedy on tap for midseason that is set up to take its place, The Goodwin Games.

FOX chairman Kevin Reilly on the pickups: “Ben And Kate and The Mindy Project have everything we want to stand for in comedy: smart writing, hugely appealing casts and comedy that feels contemporary and real–which is why we’re confident they will continue to build on what is already an appointment comedy night for young, influential audiences on Tuesdays.”

The ratings for these two so far haven’t been exceptional, but this is further proof that FOX is invested in them. The Mindy Project pilot received a 2.4 rating in the adults 18-49 demo and attracted 4.6 million viewers; these numbers dropped (as they do) in week 2 to a 1.9 share and 3.68 million viewers. Ben And Kate‘s premiere received a 2.1 rating in 18-49 and attracted 4.2 million viewers; these dropped to 1.6 and 3.2 million viewers the following week.

In its first outing, The Mindy Project didn’t sit entirely well with me. Come episode 2, however, I was fully engaged and excited for more from Mindy Kaling. Ben And Kate, on the other hand, managed to surprise me by how incredibly hysterical and perfectly casted it is so early in its run.

[Via Deadline; EW]