There's nothing like a $50 million lawsuit to worsen your cancellation woes. Just days before Heroes was axed, graphic novelist Jazan Wild filed a lawsuit against NBC Universal for allegedly basing a Heroes story arc on his Carnival of Souls digital book series. According to Wild, the show's fourth season violated his copyright by introducing settings, storylines and a carney character virtually identical to those found in his successful three-installment collection. [EW]
I admit I didn't think much of the news last month that French film icon Isabelle Huppert would make a guest appearance on Law & Order: SVU. Leslie Caron and Jeanne Moreau had famously (and with dignity) preceded her on the series, and really, when you've won a César Award, a BAFTA Award and two Cannes Film Festival prizes for Best Actress, what else is left career-wise but to join NBC's procedural institution for a night? Right? Right. And then I watched the episode.
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The stars of Solitary Man, Get Him to the Greek and Shrek were out en masse during last night's late night circuit to tell tales of loves lost. Michael Douglas regaled a Los Angeles audience with his own Graduate experience. Russell Brand discussed the weekend he spent with his man crushes and Eddie Murphy remembered the Saturday Night Live icon that he tragically missed during his days at Rockefeller Center. Click through for those clips, as well as the other highlights you missed last night while getting into bikini shape for your Transformers 3 audition.
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Mock The CW if you will, but it appears they have learned from past mistakes. Or at least from the now-jettisoned Melrose Place. The schedule of shows that the Little Network That Really Can't tossed out for the fall season this morning is filled with smart risks, logical pairings and plenty of demographically friendly content. If only NBC was this clear-eyed in their goals. Alert your teenage daughter and read on for the full schedule.
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I'm sad. Sure. But I also want to hold up my old Illinois driver's license with Norma Rae grit and proclaim, "Take that, American South!" For only the second time in American Idol's history, its Final Two has no connections to the dusty south. That's not good or bad, but it's a welcome change of pace. (No offense to Kris Allen -- I voted for you, tender dawg!) Now, to attend to the business at hand: Our deceased pony Casey James enjoyed a resilient run, establishing himself as season nine's resident dark horse. His proudest moments involved simple ballads, sincerity, and keeping his shirt on. Let's reflect on the Cool, Texas, native's curvy, paisley-print journey on American Idol and guess what might've been had he made the finale.
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· It's official: Craig Kilborn is returning to the air with a six-week run of The Kilborn File, to be syndicated on Fox affiliates around the country. The half-hour program will premiere on June 28th in major markets like New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Philadelphia in different time slots, from 6:30 PM to 10 PM. The new show will feature Kilborn's sardonic take on current events, a changing panel of celebrity guests and the "5 Questions" segment he used on Late Late Show. In a press release yesterday, Kilborn said, "Mom, I'm home. The last few years of triathlons and charity work have been fulfilling, but fulfillment is overrated. Let's get it on." Who's ready? [The Wrap]
ABC recycles a CBS hit, MTV howls at the moon, and more TV Bites after the jump.
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Please welcome Wenlock and Mandeville to popcult superstardom, ladies and gents. They're the newly assigned Olympic mascots for the 2012 games in London, and together, they have enough legs to compete in doubles badminton but only enough eyes for one pair of swim goggles. Adorable! For the more practical Olympic fan, Mandeville can be flipped over and used to open a Corona. The duo's official back-story -- and their other Dreamworks-baiting photos -- are as precious, metallic, and weird as you expect.
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Claire Dunphy's got work ahead of her on tonight's Modern Family finale. Can she pull off the ultimate act of familial cooperation without breaking Phil's precious iPad over his Butch Patrick haircut? And will she tackle Gloria to the ground if Crystal Bowersox goes home ahead of Casey James or Lee DeWyze on tonight's American Idol? Sanity has plenty of opportunities to break free from its toddler leash this evening.
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Per usual, last night's episode of The Hills, "This is Goodbye," started with a brief recap of the previous week's installment before narrator Kristin Cavallari teased, "But no one could have predicted what was about to happen next." The thing is, Kristin, everyone could have predicted what happened in last night's episode: Spencer descended even further into madness, someone enjoyed a catty patio lunch, Heidi's zombie-like gaze worried her friends, someone cried, and Kristin continued to flirt with Brody. What they could not predict though was that there was one moment so real, that viewers forgot for a split second that they were watching the most canned reality show in MTV history.
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Way back in January, Glee creator Ryan Murphy revealed that he was trying to lure Jennifer Lopez to McKinley High, only instead of creating a meaty role for her -- like a recovered crack addict with an affection for Billy Joel, an alcoholic with a crush on Schue or Rachel Berry's bio-mom -- he wanted her to play a lunch lady. Months after she apparently passed on the part (J. Lo does not scoop mashed potatoes for anyone!), Murphy is trying to force her leftovers on Susan Boyle.
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Previously, on Lost: Jack looks in his bag and finds a bomb that can't kill everyone on the submarine unless they mess with it. Sawyer messes with the bomb. Everyone frets about what to do with the bomb. Sayid grabs the bomb and runs. The bomb explodes. Sayid dies. Frank Lapidus dies. (Never forget!) Jin decides to drown with Sun rather than live life as a single parent. Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley wash up on the beach.
Only one more episode left, gang. Let's not waste any more time in preamble before turning the Frozen Donkey Answer Wheel to handle the latest batch of questions Lost has posed to us.
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Summer: when the reality TV freak flag starts flying with conviction. The CW's adding a new series to this summer's pile called Plain Jane, a makeover show for "plain" women who want to impress a secret crush. After the contestant is gussied up by British fashion expert Louise Roe (pictured), she's shuttled off for a first date with said crush thanks to producers who clue him in with hints like, "Look wowed when she comes out with eye shadow and an Anthropologie dress. Find a way to say 'Anthropologie' out loud too. Into the camera." Is this the most condescending makeover show yet? And should we be surprised considering the credits of the show's producers?
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Apparently, it is possible to defeat Superman. Smallville star Tom Welling accidentally told our sister site Hollywood Life a bit of pre-upfront gossip: the next season of the superhero drama will be its last after 10 years on the air. Perhaps the youth-obsessed CW could go even younger and give Latrell and Marquise a call for Smallville Elementary? [Hollywood Life]
Ever since Schue & the Gang returned to Fox last month, Glee's formula has been a little off. Storylines worthy of an afterschool special have come and gone, rarely continuing from one episode to the next. Least memorably: Mercedes went on a diet, Kurt tried to butch up for his father and everyone got empowered through Madonna. Even the first-string romantic arcs (Schue and Emma, Finn and Rachel) have been backburnered for dead-end flirtations (Finn's mom and Kurt's dad).
Good news, though: guest director Joss Whedon ushered the show back into its heartstring-tugging, foot-tapping wheelhouse with last night's episode, "Dream On." It had big reveals, bigger emotions, and no one was dressed up like a hamburger. So grab your Trapper Keepers, get the notes on last night's episode, and remember, there will be a pop quiz.
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Because the voting public was left with almost no choice, Chad Ochocinco earned the boot on last night's Dancing with the Stars. Nicole and Evan earned near-perfect scores, Erin Andrews garnered a solid third place, and Chad shirtlessly swanned into oblivion with a score of 52. Now we're left to decide if sympathy votes for Erin will vault her ahead of Evan Lysacek for the finale, though that seems unlikely. Sigh. Time to wrap up this jive, Bergeron. Video of Chad's elimination after the jump.
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