Mr. Neil Patrick Harris drops in on Glee tonight in his second Fox cameo of the season. Will his emcee swagger and stage chops outdo the club's guru, or will Will come back with a Sisyphean hand-jive from the floor? And does your wan, preteen body have enough sweat to get through it all?
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Although Glee's ensemble cast sometimes prevents characters from getting their fair share of Ryan Murphy's spotlight, every now and then an episode airs that manages to tenderly chronicle the plight of one glee club member. In tonight's episode, "Dream On," Artie -- the white-rapping, wheelchair-bound character played by Kevin McHale -- supports one of the most emotionally gratifying storylines of the season. In anticipation of tonight's episode, which was directed by Joss Whedon and guest stars Neil Patrick Harris, McHale phoned Movieline to discuss his questionable guitar skills, his boy band days and the one fan anecdote that made him appreciate Glee even more than he already did.
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Even David Letterman got in on the upfront action last night -- by joking that NBC hired a T-shirt vendor to check for bombs at their New York City presentation yesterday -- before continuing his "Why Can't It All Just Be a Dream?" campaign to Lost. Elsewhere, Jay Leno dug up an embarrassing photo of a very young, very feminine Ricky Gervais and Randy Jackson speculated that Jimmy Fallon's comedy track "Idiot Girlfriend" could be just what American Idol needs. Click through for those highlights, as well as the other segments you missed last night while celebrating your grotesque Two and a Half Men deal.
When unpacking a season finale, most showrunners choose between a vast array of industry approved cliffhangers -- like surprise pregnancies, unexpected births, strange bedfellows, could-be-fatal gunshot wounds in the final moments -- to goose fan interest during the summer months. But leave it to Gossip Girl executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage to find room for all of those plus a slightly incestuous kiss between Dan and Serena. This finale had it all: Jenny lost her V-card to Chuck Bass (never mind that he tried to date rape her in season one); Nate and Serena broke up; Chuck and Blair reconciled ever briefly, until it was revealed that he slept with Jenny; Jenny left town; Dorota had her baby; Georgina showed up pregnant with Dan's baby; and Chuck was shot in the belly in the episode's final moments by some callous robbers. Needless to say, with events that drastic, the Gossip Girl-spun puns were at a precious minimum. Still, to the list!
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ABC this morning announced its 2009 fall schedule, and sadly for reality-averse viewers, Home Makeover and Dancing with the Stars will continue to pollute the airwaves. But there are plenty of new programs to celebrate too -- including Ordinary Family (pictured right), about a clan that develops superpowers after its plane crashes in the Amazon River. The complete line-up after the jump.
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We're just a quickstep away from the finals, where the awful Lady Gaga karaoke and "Spanish" costuming should reach record levels of incredibility. Last night Chad Ochocinco, Erin Andrews, Evan Lysacek, and uncontested boogie emperor Nicole Scherzinger flew into mad versions of ballroom and waltz styles. While Nicole did give the best performance of the season with her Argentina Tango-- nay, the best performance in the show's history -- we saw her closest runner-up narrow the gap with wild excitement. Let's revisit each set of performances, replay what the judges really said (at least to our ears), and begin to wave goodbye as Chad Ochocinco takes home an inevitable fourth place.
· NBC may have administered Sam Waterston his last rites five days ago, but Law & Order creator Dick Wolf is holding out hope that his 20 season-old series will recover. At the NBC upfront events yesterday, Wolf declared that his "flagship series is in a medically induced coma, waiting for a life-saving medicine." And Wolf is looking for cooperation from the Peacock for that medicine. If NBC agrees to give TNT a reasonable license fee for the series, the show could go onto a 21st season on the cable channel. [Deadline]
Weeds enlists Sarah Connor to help Nancy Botwin, VH1 gives Bret Michaels a 'Get Better' paycheck, and more TV Bites after the jump.
OK, Charlie Sheen. The world gets it. You are a negotiator extraordinaire. You followed your own sitcom hardball rules -- you rejected the network's first offer, bluffed that you would "not be fazed" if you did not return to your hit sitcom -- and you were grandly rewarded. But now you are trying to negotiate the smoking terms of your jail sentence? That's just showboating.
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We may not be getting an Arrested Development movie anytime soon -- or ever -- but at least there's the new Fox sitcom Running Wilde to whet our appetites. The show reunites Arrested creator Mitch Hurwitz with his erstwhile GOB Bluth, Will Arnett, and as in that show, he plays a wealthy, oblivious blowhard. This time, though, he's palatable enough to romantically intrigue Keri Russell as his do-gooder opposite. Here's the trailer. Taste the happy?
Sometimes, the critics can be wrong, and let's face it: They weren't wrong about Robin Hood, as the millions of shrugging, bored ticket-buyers this past weekend can attest. They were wrong about Congo, and the millions of people who never saw it were wrong, too. That's right -- Congo, lost in the mists of big-movie past but found again this week on cable.
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It's only the beginning of a very exciting upfronts week and already NBC has buried an expensive apocalyptic project and unveiled vaguely racist previews of their new series, while CBS rekindled a relationship with Tom Selleck, Fox announced a Glee-tastic fall schedule, and Movieline paid tribute to the recast actors and predicted which new shows will die first. Still, the day is far from over. Here's the latest in pilot news.
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Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of puppet grandmaster Jim Henson's unexpected death from organ failure, a passing that, for some, was easily as paralyzing as the loss of John Lennon. Following his 30-plus years of work, in which he gave us Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and many other projects, Jim Henson's surviving colleagues convened in London for what is still a devastatingly emotional ceremony to watch, even now. Videos of the poignant event after the jump.
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As NBC celebrates the birth of several new series at today's upfront events in New York City, a few Peacock henchman are simultaneously tossing one of their most expensive shows into the East River. And unlike Heroes and Law & Order, which lived relatively long, full lives, this project -- heralded at last year's upfronts as addictive apocalyptic event television (with explosions!) -- Day One never made it to air.
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Now that over 1 trillion pilots have been picked up for the fall season, it's time for us to jump back from the onslaught, find our bearings, and realize we have a choice in this monstrous free-for-all too. While some pilots star bankable talents like Jimmy Smits and Matthew Perry and others are created by the Svengalis behind Grey's Anatomy and Two and a Half Men, the rest seem more doomed than a six-hour episode of Romantically Challenged. Here they are, the five pilots already flying on fumes.
During an NBC Upfronts conference call this morning, TV Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin conceded that he too had heard the rumor that Steve Carell would probably not be renewing his contract with The Office after next year. However sad that revelation is, Gaspin assured reporters that producers on the show are already "preparing in the event he chooses to move on." But who will lead Scranton's finest paper company into the future? Here are Movieline's casting suggestions -- feel free to contribute your own.
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