Category Archives: Television

New episodes of ‘Arrested Development’ are coming to Netflix in 2013

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The Bluths are coming…to Netflix! After series creator Mitch Hurwitz announced in early October that the cult hit Arrested Development would come back to TV to bridge a gap in time between the unfortunate cancellation and the upcoming feature film, 20th Century Fox TV has been trying to find a suitor to air the new batch of episodes. Apparently the show was in contention at Showtime, but it was the video streaming service Netflix that came out as victor in the end. All new episodes of Arrested Development will premiere exclusively on Netflix in the first half of 2013. Finally, a (somewhat) tangible date we can mark on a calendar regarding the return of this show.

Executive producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer said this in a press release: “Of all the projects we’ve been involved with over the years, we probably get more questions about Mitch Hurtwitz’s brilliant ‘Arrested Development’ than any other– everyone, ourselves included, seems to feel like the Bluths left the party a bit too soon. Bringing a series back from cancellation almost never happens, but then, ‘Arrested’ always was about as unconventional as they get, so it seems totally appropriate that this show that broke the mold is smashing it to pieces once again.” And Howard had to add, “After a long hiatus, I’m dying to finally get back to the narrator’s microphone…’It’s Arrested…Development.'”

The Arrested Development pickup adds to Netflix’s list of original programming which also includes upcoming series House of Cards from David Fincher and Kevin Spacey. Price hikes, the Qwikster debacle… these are yesterday’s news. Being a major player in bringing the Bluths back into our lives, Netflix has fully redeemed itself.

[Via Netflix] Continue reading New episodes of ‘Arrested Development’ are coming to Netflix in 2013 →

ABC announces 2012 midseason schedule

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Shortly after NBC announced its 2012 midseason schedule, ABC followed and did the same. The alphabet network’s schedule, however, isn’t entirely complete. First let’s start with what’s there. Crossing-dressing comedy Work It will replace Man Up! in the Tuesday 8:30PM slot to be paired with Tim Allen’s new sitcom Last Man Standing. A game of musical chairs will be played in the Tuesday 9PM-10PM slot. In January Celebrity Wife Swap returns and will occupy that hour until Oren Peli’s thriller The River premieres in February. That will have a limited 8-episode run and end in late March. That same month Dancing with the Stars comes back and the results show will take over the hour. With Charlie’s Angels dead and gone, Winter Wipeout will have no trouble fitting in on Thursdays at 8PM and another reality show Shark Tank will move Fridays at 8PM. Wipeout‘s spell won’t last long; in March Missing, a new drama starring Ashley Judd, will take over. And finally there’s GCB, formally known as Good Christian Bitches and Good Christian Belles. The soap will air in Pam Am‘s current position at Sundays at 10PM. What this means for Pan Am‘s future is still unknown. And now we can discuss what’s missing: the buzzy Don’t Trust The  B**** In Apt. 23, Shonda Rhimes’ Scandal, and Cougar Town (it’s being reported that the Courtney Cox comedy is being reduced from 22 to 15 episodes this season). ABC likely won’t wait long to schedule this shows with spring premiere dates, so make sure check back here soon.

Jump after the break to see the premiere dates, and click here to preview all the new shows. Continue reading ABC announces 2012 midseason schedule →

‘South Park’ renewed through 2016

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Less than four months after renewing South Park for two more seasons, Comedy Central is assuring fans of the crude comedy that Kyle, Stan, Cartman, and Kenny will stay put at least until the year 2016. That’s right: today the network renewed South Park for three more seasons! This means that original episodes will continue to be pumped out for years to come and the show will hit a major milestone, 20 seasons on air. Comedy Central president Michele Ganeless said, “The collective genius of Matt and Trey knows no bounds. Week after week and season after season they continue to surprise and delight South Park fans.” The creative minds behind the cultural phenomenon had this to say following the exciting announcement. “Comedy Central has been our home for 15 years and we love working there. South Park is a blast and we can’t wait to make more.” And we can’t wait to see more.

South Park‘s 15th season comes to a conclusion tonight at 10PM on Comedy Central.

[Via EW]

NBC greenlights Bryan Fuller’s ‘Munsters’ remake

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In October of last year, news broke that Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller was interested in developing a modern-day reboot of the classic 1960s sitcom The Munsters. After reading Fuller’s script, today the Peacock network gave The Munsters remake the greenlight. Fuller will shoot a pilot, show it off to the network, and if all goes well it will air on NBC sometime next year. It will be produced by Universal Television, and it’s being described as an “imaginative reinvention of The Munsters as a visually spectacular one hour drama.” I added emphasis to those words; after watching Pushing Daisies come and go far too quickly, we all know that Fuller’s ability to paint a colorful and visually splendid picture is extraordinary. So what do we know about The Munsters circa 2012? So far, not much. Rumor has it that the reboot will be less campy and more frightening and darker than its 1960s counterpart. Also, Fuller has expressed interest in bringing on Kristen Bell to play Marilyn, the “plain” cousin of the wacky Munster clan. Since then, however, Bell has moved on to star in the new Showtime series House of Lies. Who knows if this puts a chink in Fuller’s plans. For now, be ecstatic that The Munsters are coming back with a hugely creative talent backing it up.

[Via TVLine]

NBC announces 2012 midseason schedule

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This week NBC announced its 2012 midseason schedule. New programs coming to the Peacock network include Smash, Fashion Star, Are You There, Chelsea? (formally titled Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me Chelsea), and The Firm. Returning shows include The Voice, 30 Rock, Who Do You Think You Are?, and The Celebrity Apprentice. Significant scheduling changes… Sitcoms Whitney and Up All Night are swapping places (the former will air Wednesdays at 8PM and the latter Thursdays at 9:30PM); Harry’s Law moves to Sundays at 8PM; The Firm will replace Prime Suspect in the Thursday 10PM slot; and 30 Rock will assume Community‘s 8PM-8:30PM timeslot. And here’s some troubling news: NBC has pulled Community from the midseason schedule entirely; it’s nowhere to be found. Even if the network is thinking about cancelling the low-rated but critically adored comedy, season 3 will play out since it was granted a full season order already; we just don’t know when the rest of the episodes will air. Perhaps it will reenter the fold in the spring to take the place of a low-rated program, or maybe the network plans to air it in the summer. Fans are being vocal about this, so I’m sure NBC will come out and speak on the news sooner rather than later. Also MIA is Awake, the highly anticipated sci-fi drama starring Jason Isaacs. The plan was for this show to air in midseason, but recently the show halted production to work on the scripts. Is NBC now saving it for the fall 2012 season? At this time we still don’t know.

Jump after the break to view the full schedule, and click here to preview all the new shows. Continue reading NBC announces 2012 midseason schedule →

An Indian version of ’24’ is in the works

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The politically charged FOX drama 24 went off the air in May 2010 and with it went one of TV’s most iconic characters, Jack Bauer. Though Kiefer Sutherland is set to reprise the role in a 24 feature film, a new Jack Bauer is prepared to emerge onto the TV landscape…in India. News broke that Anil Kapoor, best known for his role in Slumdog Millionaire, will step into Sutherland’s shoes to play the lead in an Indian version of 24. In addition to starring in it Kapoor will also produce though his Anil Kapoor Films Co. and with 20th Century Fox TV Distribution. According to Deadline, preproduction on the show will begin in India in 2012.

Kapoor, someone who 24 fans should immediately recognize as season 8’s Kamistan President Omar Hassan, had this to say about the development of a new 24. “It will be a great honor for me to play Jack Bauer. Kiefer has created an iconic character which has inspired me to bring the franchise to India. This will be my first foray to Indian television and I look forward to duplicating the standard of excellence Fox has so successfully created.”

Whether or not Kapoor’s 24 finds a way to air in the US, I have no doubt that loyal fans of the show (including myself) will figure out how to preview it here. Man do I miss that ticking clock and the CTU ring.

[Via Deadline]

‘Phineas and Ferb’ renewed for fourth season, movie and possible spin-off on the way

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This month the Disney Channel renewed is highly rated children’s animated series Phineas and Ferb for a fourth season. The pickup guarantees new episodes of the musically-inclined adventure series through the year 2014. I’m a sucker for kid’s programming that likes to acknowledge an older audience, so this is really great news. Though series creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh recently pushed out a made-for-TV Phineas and Ferb movie titled Across the 2nd Dimension, the ingenious duo are ready for an entirely new level of popularity. In August they signed a multi-year, multimillion-dollar deal with Disney Television Animation to develop a feature film based on the show. They are currently writing the script. Rumor has it that the movie will be a mix of live action and the animation viewers are used to. More on this as details surface. In addition to the movie attachment, the Disney deal also has Povenmire and Swampy imagining a new animated show for the Disney Channel, likely a spin-off series based in the Phineas and Ferb universe. According to a NYT article, it will follow the adventures of Isabella and the Fireside Girls. No word on when such a series will make it to air. Expect the movie to hit theatres summer 2013. Celebrate the news with some “Gitchee Gitchee Goo” as perfomed by Phineas and the Ferb-Tones featuring Candace after the break!

[Via Deadline 1, 2] Continue reading ‘Phineas and Ferb’ renewed for fourth season, movie and possible spin-off on the way →

Jimmy Fallon becomes Justin Bieber to sing “(It’s Not My) Baby”, teams with Timberlake for another History of Rap

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If you’ve been following the last in pop culture news, then you should be aware that a 20-year-old California woman filed a paternity suit against teen idol Justin Bieber. Biebs is denying it of course, but that doesn’t mean late night host and Bieber impersonator Jimmy Fallon can’t play around with the hit single “Baby” and intelligently turn it into “(It’s Not My) Baby” noooo! Jimmy hits all the right notes and Roots rapper Black Thought plays a convincing Ludacris feature in the spoof embedded above.

And as the post title alludes to, Jimmy teamed up with Justin Timberlake yet again for “History of Rap 3.” That one’s waiting after the break. Continue reading Jimmy Fallon becomes Justin Bieber to sing “(It’s Not My) Baby”, teams with Timberlake for another History of Rap →

Jimmy Kimmel’s Halloween candy challenge makes kids cry, everyone else laugh

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During his monologue on Halloween night, Jimmy Kimmel issued a fun challenge for parents: to say that they ate all of their children’s Halloween candy, record their reactions, and upload it to YouTube. Kimmel stitched together a bunch of the most entertaining videos and the compilation sits above. It’s funny; almost every clip involves a young child hearing the devastating news and immediately drooping their heads in tears of sadness and frustration. You’ll want to make it to the end because the final clip involving two brothers might just be the best thing I’ve watched in a while. Enjoy!

Megan Mullally joins ‘Breaking In’ as the FOX series undergoes creative changes

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The show that won’t die just cast a big-name star. Megan Mullally (Will & Grace) is joining the FOX comedy Breaking In as a series regular. She will play the new boss at Contra Security, overseeing the missions played out by the ragtag team of break-in experts Cam, Cash, Josh, and Melanie. Where does season 1 Contra boss Oz (Christian Slater) factor into the shakeup at the top? That plot detail is still under wraps. The addition of Mullally is part of “significant creative changes” for the show heading into season 2, according to Deadline. The source reports that “the “mission of the week” concept where members of the Contra team go out of the office on a different assignment in every episode will be scaled back as Breaking In will segue into a more office-based comedy.” The show came so close to death (twice!), so a change in the way things will play out is expected. Creators Adam F. Goldnberg and Seth Gordon did a fine job introducing the characters during the series’ seven episode debut season; let’s hope the dynamic between all of them doesn’t change too much in round two. The entire cast is expected to return when Breaking In comes back to FOX this spring, even Odette Annable who is now a series regular over at the FOX medical drama House.

[Via Deadline]

‘Parks and Rec’ goes to the Grand Canyon in web series starring April & Andy

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If you watched the latest episode of Parks and Rec, then you know that the Pawnee gang survived the (nonexistent) apocalypse in “End of the World.” During the episode, April encouraged her hubby Andy to check things off his bucket list. Among the many absurd activities on the list (including making the “most awesome” grilled cheese sandwich) was visiting the Grand Canyon. Actors Aubrey Plaza and Chris Pratt and some crew members shot the quick scene on location in Arizona. While they were there, additional scenes were shot that never made it in the episode. These scenes were packaged into four separate webisodes and are available to watch online right now! The web series is called Parks and Recreation: Road Trip, and it follows April & Andy’s antics at the Grand Canyon. The first one, “Spider,” is embedded above; watch the others plus a behind the scenes clip at NBC.com.

‘Fringe’ showrunners discuss the return of Peter Bishop

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Take 2. Due to the World Series airing on FOX last Friday, the next pivotal episode of Fringe–you know, the one where Peter Bishop comes back into existence and reunites with his partner Olivia and father Walter–was pushed to the following week. Well, I am excited to report that a week’s time has indeed past and the episode titled “Novation” will air tonight! Before watching tonight’s installment, take a moment to hear what Fringe showrunners J.H. Wyman and Jeff Pinkner have to say about the return of the younger Bishop. “What are the consequences of Peter being back?” posits Pinkner. Tune in to find out.

Fringe airs Friday nights at 9PM on FOX. Bonus video after the break! Continue reading ‘Fringe’ showrunners discuss the return of Peter Bishop →