NBC stars and How to Train Your Dragon cast members hit the late-night circuit in full force last night, letting audience members in on a few secrets. Tina Fey demonstrated how to decipher Tracy Morgan-speak, Jonah Hill revealed that he has a career back-up plan should his Twitter impostor destroy his Hollywood cred, and Crispin Glover (OK, he is not on NBC or in Dragon) proved that Chelsea Handler has no patience for eccentricity during her E! show. Those clips, as well as the other highlights you missed last night while waging war on the King of the World, after the jump.
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· It's a big morning for Jennifer Love Hewitt casting news. The Ghost Whisperer star will get in touch with her inner ex-beauty queen for a Lifetime movie called The List, about a former glamourpuss who has to save her family from foreclosure on their home in Texas. Meanwhile, Sex and the City scribe Cindy Chupack has tapped Hewitt to make a cameo in her upcoming NBC pilot Love Bites. The project features three loosely connected stories of love and dating, with Becki Newton (Ugly Betty) and Jordana Spiro (My Boys) as leads. Also joining the pilot are Greg Gunberg, Lindsay Price, Jason Lewis and Craig Robinson. [EW]
Saturday Night Live honors tax day, CBS gets into the competitive dance business, and more TV Bites after the jump.
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It was a sad, sad night at the rage-red American Idol vomitorium yesterday. The final 11 contestants found out who wouldn't tour this summer, like the kid from summer camp with the fatal allergy to sumac. This week's evictee served as a fine presence for the past month, but did not survive the texting abilities of America's preteen vote-jockeys. Iron your black work trousers and join us for a eulogy (spoilers!) after the jump.
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When you heard that former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson would be racing thousands of his prized pigeons for an Animal Planet reality show, your brain probably switched into concept overload mode after visualizing the Hangover star fist pumping as winged vermin flapped through quotation marks and exclamation points in your mind. Once you regained consciousness, your next response was probably something along the lines of, "But can I make money off of this?" After the jump, Movieline explains how you can make a killing before Take on Tyson even premieres.
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Jersey Shore coined a number of catchphrases, from "I'm going to the Jersey Shore, bitch" to "Gym-Tan-Laundry" to "DJ Pauly, you look just like a Goomba today" (my addition). The wisest line of all, however, is being retooled as a new book by Jersey Shore housemates Ronnie and J-WOWW. Never Fall in Love at the Jersey Shore promises Seaside Heights survival skills and tips on maintaining that perfect, burnt sienna sheen and dagger-like haircut. But wait, now, Madam Woww: Movieline has three unanswered Jersey Shore questions it wants acknowledged, and you're the only one who can herpe help.
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Just when viewers were beginning to believe that the Bravermans weren't just another upper middle class family who thinks that their problems are the end of the suburban world they know, NBC's Parenthood unloaded a luxury sedan full of standard parenting issues onto America. After the jump, Movieline weeds through the Facebook boyfriends named Yo-Yo, sisterly squabbles and found bongs for the edgiest issues dealt with in the show's latest episode, "Whassup."
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Ever since Conan O'Brien reopened negotiations with Fox (which briefly led to a planned appearance at Idol Gives Back), rumors have flown fast and furious that the network is set to announce a deal with the funnyman on May 17. How much of that is fact and how much of it is simply conjecture? Here's what we know and what we don't:
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Dry your eyes, anti-Izzy nation. Katherine Heigl, the Emmy-winning actress on Grey's Anatomy who tormented creator Shonda Rhimes, writers and cast members with her diva-like behavior, filming schedules and late night attacks, has left Seattle Grace. The rumor started two weeks ago when industry insiders reported that Rhimes had chucked Heigl from her contract, and this morning, Heigl herself confirms the news via an Entertainment Weekly cover, where the hell-raising actress is posed as a cable-knit wearing angel.
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Ugh. Good try, season nine, but last night's performances of Billboard's No. 1 hits felt more like a sad carnival concert of dated ballads, stale beer and overplayed Best of the '70s jams that belong nowhere near the charts in 2010. Even with the guidance of ageless warlord Miley Cyrus, the contestants seemed lost and a little lonely during their performances, with stupid falsettos and nervous sweats once again threatening our good time. Still, we've got your Idol performances ranked worst-to-first after the jump.
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Hot on the heels of Diablo Cody calling the first season of her own show, The United States of Tara, something she wouldn't have watched, we've got Chloë Sevigny ripping into Big Love (which just won her a Golden Globe). "It was awful this season, as far as I'm concerned," she told the AV Club. "I'm not allowed to say that! It was very telenovela. I feel like it kind of got away from itself. The whole political campaign seemed to me very farfetched...I hope the fans will stick with us and tune in next year. There's a lot of people who really love this season, surprisingly. God, I'm going to get in so much trouble." [AV Club]
Who cares about watching an unrecognizable chef toss up some scallops on a late-night show, even if Tom Cruise is there to laugh maniacally in the background? No one, which is why most Late Show viewers probably checked out before David Letterman joined Jamie Oliver for one of the most unfortunate cooking demos in recent memory last night. That segment, as well as the other highlights you missed last night while canceling your Discovery Communication channels, after the jump.
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· HBO hopes to provide a cautionary tale for mistresses and philanderers with an untitled drama the premium cabler is developing for Kevin Kline. The project would pit the Oscar-winner as a cardiac surgeon sent to jail for killing his mistress. The story, which begins just as Kline's character is released after 15 years, will be written by David Auburn (Proof) and executive produced by Auburn, Kline, Gavin Polone (Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Judy Hofflund (Panic Room). [Variety]
Fox gives Jennifer Beals a badge, John Larroquette pleads guilty, and more TV Bites after the jump.
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After pitching her reality show all around town for weeks now, THR is reporting that Sarah Palin has finally found a company willing to fork over $1 million to $1.5 million for the Mark Burnett-produced series. The preliminary announcement arrives after A&E dropped out of negotiations for the show, tentatively titled Sarah Palin's Alaska, last night.
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United States of Tara citizen Diablo Cody may have thrown down in an interview yesterday, revealing that the first season of her Showtime series did not meet her own standards as a "picky" viewer, but there are packs of Tara viewers out there who would argue otherwise. After all, what could be better than watching five different characters created by Toni Collette battle it out each week inside the ongoing cage match in Tara's mind. Occasionally, Tara's family jumps over the ropes to smack some sense into their proud matriarch or convince her that getting the word "slut" tattooed across her stomach might not be the best idea (they got matchy mother-daughter ink instead!), but the ugliest take downs occur between Tara and her varied personalities.
This season, join Movieline ringside to keep score of each pinfall, disqualification and knockout beginning with last night's premiere, "Yes."
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OK, let's back up and try this again. Screw Star Search. Star Search is for losers. The cool kids are into way hipper sh*t, like flash mobbing! Everyone's doing it! It's totally peanuts and groovy! And Paula Abdul is on the flashing-edge of the trend, reportedly in negotiations to host a show about mass public choreography. On the plus side, this sounds like fun and Kenny Ortega, who's proven to have the magic touch when it comes to working with perfectionist pop luminaries, is involved. On the minus side, it's not in-studio, which exponentially increases the chances of misplacing Paula. Developing... [EW]
