Category Archives: Television

James Spader joins ‘The Office’ as new Sabre CEO

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Following his short but oh-so-sweet cameo on The Office season seven finale this past May, James Spader (Boston Legal) will return next season as a regular. He will replace Kathy Bates’ Jo Bennett as he quickly rises in the ranks to become the Sabre CEO. Office executive producer and series regular Paul Lieberstein (Toby) explains: “James will reprise his role as Robert California, this uber-salesman that has a power to convince and manipulate, like a high-class weirdo Jedi warrior. He’ll have been hired over the summer as the new manager, but within hours, got himself promoted. Within days, he took over the company. James has an energy that is completely his own, and ‘The Office’ has no tools for dealing with this guy. We’re thrilled he’s joining our cast.”

If you need a refresh on the character hop over to Hulu to watch Spader’s phenomenally entrancing performance as Robert California, a very smart man who firmly believes “there is no such thing as a product…there is only sex.”

[Via Deadline]

A&E renews ‘Breakout Kings’ for a second season

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I’ve got great news for fans of Dr. Lloyd Lowery and all his hilarious eccentricities: after a solid debut A&E has granted Breakout Kings a second season! Laz Alonso, Domenick Lombardozzi, and their gang of ‘Breakout Kings’ (Malcolm Goodwin, Jimmi Simpson, Serinda Swan, and let’s not forget analyst Brooke Nevin) are set to return in all-new episodes sometime next year. The show from the producers of Prison Break premiered with the highest demo numbers for an A&E drama series (1.5 million adults 18-49 and 1.6 million adults 25-54) and averaged about 2.2 million viewers throughout the season.

[Via Deadline; EW-InsideTV]

Comedy Central targets Charlie Sheen for next Roast

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The Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen. Has a great ring to it, doesn’t it? This week Comedy Central secured TV outcast and crazyperson Charlie Sheen to be the next Roastee. “You could say I’ve been providing kindling for this Roast for a while,” said Sheen. “It’s time to light it up. It’s going to be epic.” Comedy Central head of original programming and production Kent Alterman says, “Charlie has assured us that nothing will be off limits in this Roast… which scares even us.” Sheen’s right–this will likely be one helleva roast. The Roast will tape in Los Angeles on September 10 and air on Monday, September 19 at 10PM. Also airing on Sept. 19? The season premiere of Two and a Half Men starring Sheen’s replacement Ashton Kutcher. Oh, what a night.

[Via ComedyCentral]

‘Glee’ keeps Darren Criss & Harry Shum Jr., drops Trouty Mouth [Update: not so fast…]

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Gleeks–you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both, and there you have the facts of life. The FOX hit show is keeping two stars and dropping one Trouty Mouth for season three. Kurt’s teenage dream Darren Criss and professional dancer Harry Shum Jr. will return as series regulars next season, while Chord Overstreet’s series regular option has not been picked up meaning that McKinley High will say goodbye to the student infamously known as Trouty Mouth. According to TVLine, Overstreet “could return as an occasional guest star” throughout the season. But what of the newly kindled romance between Sam and Mercedes? I’m sure the writers are mulling a way around it. Ever since Overstreet took on Justin Beiber’s songs in “Comeback” it’s been hard for me to invest much in his character. At least he’s taking the news positively; he recently tweeted, “It’s been a good year. Too bad it’s over. Time for summer and starting fresh.”

Update: According to TVLine, this may not mark the end of Trouty Mouth just yet. According to their source, “[Chord Overstreet’s] option to be a series regular was just not picked up at this time. If Chord wants to appear on Glee, the choice is his. The Glee writers like his Sam character, and have plans to write for him. He and his reps have been told that he is welcome back to Glee, and everyone hopes he will show up on August 10 when filming begins.” The source reminds us that it took “two years [for Harry Shum Jr.] to become a regular” and “If Chord has a great season, which we expect he will, then he will become a regular like Harry, possibly as early as January.” And there you have it. It’s up to Overstreet to return; we shall find out the verdict later this summer.

[Via TVLine 1, 2]

‘Hawaii Five-0’ casts Richard T. Jones as new governor

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Following the events of the pivotal Hawaii Five-0 season finale, the show has had a gaping hole to fill. Spoiler alert! Antagonist Wo Fat skillfully framed Steve McGarrett for the murder of the Aloha state’s governor played by Jean Smart. Next season, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles alum Richard T. Jones (he played Agent Ellison) will replace Smart as governor in a recurring role. According to TV Guide’s source, the “new governor will be more conservative than [Smart’s] Jameson and keep a tighter leash on McGarrett and his team.” Also, “[he’ll be] cleaning up a lot of the mess left by the previous administration.” Jones contributed remarkably to the short-lived Terminator series, and I’m excited to see what he’ll bring to the table on H50.

Jones joins Terry O’Quinn and Tom Sizemore as new cast members on the show. Sizemore (Crash) will play a former Detroit Homicide Detective turned head of Hawaii police department’s Internal Affairs unit for a multi-episode arc, according to EW. His task will be to investigate the Five-0 team following last season’s mishaps including the governor’s murder and the stolen police money.

[Via TVLine 1, 2; TVGuide; EW; IGN]

The Ron Swanson Mosaic

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Nick Offerman is Parks and Rec’s meat and breakfast foods aficionado Ron Swanson. Here is a mosaic made entirely of images of his favorite meals. Get the full-res image at NBC.

You’re welcome.

Update: There’s a video sitting after the break called “Swanson vs. Food.” ‘Nuff said. And again, you’re welcome. Continue reading The Ron Swanson Mosaic →

TV teasers: HBO’s ‘How To Make It In America’ & ‘Boardwalk Empire’

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This week HBO released teaser trailers for the upcoming sophomore seasons of How To Make It In America and Boardwalk Empire. The former is a teaser in the very sense of the term; shots of New York City are mingled with stills of the characters who include Bryan Greenberg’s Ben Epstein, Victor Rasuk’s Cam, Lake Bell’s Rachel, Eddie Kaye Thomas’s David Kaplan, Kid Cudi’s Domingo Dean, and Luis Guzmán’s Rene Calderon. Can’t wait to see how far Ben and Cam have come along with Crisp and Rene his energy drink Rasta Monsta when HTMIIA returns to HBO this September.

The much more beefier trailer for Boardwalk Empire is located after the break. In it you’ll see Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt) more ready than ever to take down and replace Nucky (Steve Buscemi) as gangster king of the Prohibition Era. Continue reading TV teasers: HBO’s ‘How To Make It In America’ & ‘Boardwalk Empire’ →

‘Terra Nova’ posters surface, Jurassic Park vibe in tact

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Today FOX released a trio of promotional posters for the upcoming sci-fi drama Terra Nova. It wouldn’t take a rocket scientist for one to suspect that Jurassic Park director Steven Spielberg serves as executive producer on the dino-inhabited show. The posters scream “Warning”, “Do Not Feed”, and “Be Aware” and they pertain to the wild, carnivorous creatures that the time-traveling humans will run into. Now don’t expect to only see the typical T-Rex kind of dinos on this show. Says producer Brannon Braga, “We have dinosaurs we know existed from the fossil record, but what’s fun is that you get to make up your own dinosaurs.”

Terra Nova follows Jim Shannon (Jason O’Mara), a man who is sent back in time 85 million years to prehistoric Earth with his family in an attempt to save the human race. The show’s garnered a ton of buzz. Those who have seen the pilot say its going to sit well with audiences. And that select group of people is about to grow; FOX has announced that they will screen the pilot and hold a panel consisting of the creative team behind the show and the main cast at Comic Con next month in San Diego. I’ll be there and let you know if all the hype is worth generating.

Jump after the break to see the other posters.

[Via EW-InsideTV] Continue reading ‘Terra Nova’ posters surface, Jurassic Park vibe in tact →

Josh Friedman’s ‘Locke & Key’ not dead yet, pilot will screen at Comic Con

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I’ve got some good news for those of you following the saga that is the TV adaptation of Joe Hill’s comic book Locke & Key. When FOX’s upfront presentation came and went without a pickup for the spooky pilot, whispers surfaced saying that backing studio 20th Century Fox TV was tempted to pitch it to other networks and cable stations like The CW and Syfy. Unfortunately these networks passed on the pilot, too. After all this rejection typically this would mark the end of a TV project. But Locke & Key is special, you see. Instead of being shelved in the attic, 20th Century Fox TV granted the comic book’s publisher IDW Publishing permission to screen the pilot at Comic Con.

What makes Locke & Key worthy of coming back from the dead. In a word: pedigree. The following people are involved in the making of this show: Josh Friedman (showrunner/executive producer/writer), Steven Spielberg (executive producer), Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman (executive producers), and Mark Romanek (director). Miranda Otto and Nick Stahl star. The high-profile pilot was all the buzz during pilot pickup season, but due to production costs and other financial reasons FOX (and the other networks that considered taking it on) ultimately decided to pass on it.

Kudos to IDW for having the guts to ask 20th to screen the pilot in its entirety at Comic Con. And not only that–a panel consisting of Hill and collaborator Gabriel Rodriguez, Friedman, Orci, and Kurtzman will be on hand to discuss the making of the pilot. If there’s any place to resurrect a high-profile comic book adaptation with spooky and mysterious elements attached, it’s Comic Con. If the pilot is well-received by the crowd, there is a chance that network execs might hear their cheers and decided to pick up the series for midseason or fall 2012. I will be attending the screening next month and will report back my impressions. I have a gut feeling Locke & Key is going to be a crowd-pleaser.

Joe Hill shared his reaction to the pilot on his blog. “Mark Romanek and Josh Friedman turned in a hell of a good pilot (says a dude who is, of course, completely unbiased). The finished episode is scary, and lean, and emotionally authentic, and has a similar feel to Super 8; it very much has a kind of early 80s scary-Spielberg vibe. It’s also very faithful to the source material. I’m so, so proud of everyone who worked on it and of what was accomplished. Locke & Key doesn’t have a TV home at the moment, but there’s quite a bit of good will out there for the pilot among those who have seen it. So I can’t say what will happen after SDCC. We’ll just have to – ah – stay tuned.”

[Via Deadline]

Terry O’Quinn joins ‘Hawaii Five-0’ for season 2

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It’s a Lost reunion in Hawaii! The incredibly talented Terry O’Quinn (John Locke) decided it is time to go baaaack to the Island and join his fellow castaway Daniel Dae Kim (Jin Kwon, now Chin Ho Kelly) in what TVLine describes is a “pivotal recurring role” on Hawaii Five-0. Furthermore the source says, “O’Quinn will play a Navy Seal Lt. Commander who trained Alex O’Loughlin’s McGarrett in Coronado, and served with his father in Vietnam. Described as strong, stubborn and a man you want in your corner when things go south, the character holds some of the answers to the mysteries surrounding the respective murders of McGarrett’s mother and father.” O’Quinn was ready to star in Marc Cherry’s ABC pilot Hallelujah but it was not picked up. Also, at one point he was supposed to star alongside Lost alum Michael Emerson in the tentatively titled Odd Jobs but that idea is shelved for the time being. Fortunately for us it all worked out in the end–O’Quinn returns to TV this fall! (And so does Emerson in the CBS procedural Person of Interest).

In related Five-0 casting news, Masi Oka (Heroes) who plays the quirky coroner has been promoted to series regular status. So you can expect to see much more of him next season. All good news.

[Via TVLine 1, 2]

First production stills from ‘The Walking Dead’ season 2

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Remember when we got our first look at AMC’s The Walking Dead last June 12? Exactly one year later we get not one but two production stills from the zombie survival series’ second season (catch the other image after the break). The undead never looked so good. Executive producer/director/writer Frank Darabont shares his excitement over the new season. “At this moment, I’m standing on a stretch of post-apocalypse interstate in Georgia, littered with abandoned cars and blessing my good luck to be reunited with our amazing cast, and our fantastic directors and crew.” The 13-episode second season is set to premiere this October.

[Via IGN] Continue reading First production stills from ‘The Walking Dead’ season 2 →

Documentary trailer: Showrunners

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Are you an aspiring writer, producer, or director? If so, you’re not going to want to miss this upcoming documentary titled Showrunners. The feature length documentary film takes you behind the scenes and into the minds of TV’s most popular showrunners. It features in-depth interviews with showrunners, actors, network execs, casting directors, and many others with intention to explore the making of modern American television.

According to the official Facebook fan page participants include Damon Lindelof (Lost), David Shore (House), Jeff Pinkner & J.H. Wyman (Fringe), David Eick (Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome), Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica, Caprica), Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy), Robert & Michelle King (The Good Wife), Dean Devlin (Leverage), Steven S. DeKnight (Spartacus Vengeance), Mark Schwahn (One Tree Hill), Janet Tamaro (Rizzoli & Isles), Pam Davis – writer (House), James Duff (The Closer), Mike Royce (Men of a Certain Age), Matthew Carnahan (House of Lies), Russell T. Davies (Torchwood), Anthony LaPaglia – actor (Without a Trace), Jamie Tarses (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Mad Love), Michael Wright – Senior VP TNT/TBS, and Ben Silverman – creator/producer (Ugly Betty, The Tudors).

Directed by Irish filmmaker Des Doyle, Showrunners releases next year. Enjoy the nearly three-and-a-half minute trailer that sits above.