See! It really was just that troublesome 10 pm timeslot and those faulty lead-ins. Last night, Jay Leno returned to the driver's seat of the 11:35 PM Tonight Show and not only trounced CBS, but got twice the ratings of David Letterman. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno's second premiere scored a 2.0 rating among adults 18-49 compared to Letterman's 1.0 rating. Temporary rating surge thanks to ConanGate rubbernecking, boost in viewers because of NBC's Winter Olympics coverage, or is America just ready to forgive Jay Leno? [TVbytheNumbers]
Last night, Tom Bergeron and Melissa Rycroft interrupted ABC's three-hour Bachelor finale extravaganza to announce the 11 new celebrities who will compete on the tenth season of Dancing with the Stars. Per usual, the list includes a few unrecognizable names, some overexposed reality personalities, a couple professional athletes and one senior citizen. Click through for the complete list (including their professional partners) and Movieline's own predictions.
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· Another film actor is trading in his big screen chips temporarily for a turn on premium cable. This time, the Oscar-winner is Dustin Hoffman, who will star in Michael Mann's horse-racing drama at HBO. The pilot, written by David Milch, will center on an intelligent, intuitive tough man (Hoffman) who always has been involved with gambling, from bookmaking and money laundering to casino operations. Dennis Farina and John Ortiz round out the cast as the tough man's trusted chauffeur and trainer. [THR]
Chris Harrison crowns the next Bachelorette, Lindsey Vonn tries out primetime, and more TV Bites after the jump.
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Here now, courtesy of The Live Feed and presented without comment (except maybe that teensy bit we slipped into the headline) is the text of Jay Leno's opening monologue, delivered tonight at the top of his triumphant return to The Tonight Show. Enjoy.
"IT'S GOOD TO BE HOME. I'M JAY LENO YOUR HOST...AT LEAST FOR A WHILE.
I'VE GOT TO ADMIT THAT I'M A LITTLE NERVOUS. NOT BECAUSE IT'S MY FIRST NIGHT BACK. BECAUSE I KNOW THAT DAVE AND OPRAH ARE WATCHING.
ACTUALLY, WE WERE OFF FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS. KIND OF LIKE THE RUSSIANS AT THE OLYMPICS. WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM?
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Most people still associate Patrick Warburton with his recurring role on Seinfeld as David Puddy. But these days, Warburton can be heard on Fox's Family Guy, where he voices Joe Swanson, the show's paraplegic cop, and seen on CBS's mid-season sitcom Rules of Engagement, where the square-jawed actor matches his co-star David Spade laugh-for-laugh. Tonight, Rules premieres its fourth season, which Warburton eagerly discussed with Movieline last week.
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Jerry Seinfeld's The Marriage Ref, a "reality" series where celebrities judge commoners' marital disputes and declare a winner, debuted last night on NBC. Movieline's own Louis Virtel and Julie Miller witnessed this and survived. Here's the transcript from their commiseration.
Louis: Oh my God, there's an emergency.
Julie: What?!
Louis: I am going to kill everyone associated with The Marriage Ref. WHAT IS THIS THING?!
Julie: Can we talk about this?
Louis: Let's pick like, 150 problems with it. Or ten or something. Fine, four. Then let's quit.
Julie: OK. Go!
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For those of you who've been eagerly awaiting the Kidz Bop karaoke experience that is Glee's much-hyped summer tour, I've got a bit of bad news (and isn't that's more fun when Jane Lynch is delivering it?). The tour will only be hitting up four cities -- Phoenix, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York -- and though the show's most youthful cast members will all be performing, there will be no Mr. Schu on the bill to do his patented white man's rap. This is the point when you stop believin'. [Ryan Seacrest]
A rep from the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson has finally responded to allegations that its February 23 show, an audience-less chat with Stephen Fry, was a cost-cutting measure taken since the show normally pays for audience members. The rep confirmed that the show sometimes pays $20/seat to a studio-recruitment service "like many other television shows taped in front of an audience daily" but "any inference that we would tape a show without an audience to save $200 at most is laughable." [InsideTV]
· Casting news pours in this pilot season morning, beginning with the announcement that Dermot Mulroney will star in NBC's The Rockford Files. In the updated version of the 70s hit, Mulroney will assume the role originated by James Garner -- a wry-humored, cynical detective who lives in a Malibu trailer home and solves cases on the cheap. The pilot, which could mark Mulroney's first regular television gig, was written by House creator David Shore, and will be executive produced by Steve Carell. [THR]
Shit My Dad Says finds some estrogen, two Nip/Tuck alums find pilots, and more TV Bites after the jump.
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Jessica Simpson is the Dian Fossey of foreign fat people, VH1 confirms. The onetime pop sensation's new reality series The Price of Beauty (premiering March 15) follows her as she visits different cultures and learns their kooky standards for attractiveness. If you forget the condescension and feigned interest in other organisms, Jessica Simpson proves in the The Price of Beauty's trailer that we have plenty to learn -- if only we'd put down the tabloids and pick up our sunglasses, camera crew, and other safari gear.
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During this afternoon's Oprah Winfrey Show (which was actually described as "Oprah Cleans Out Her Closet, Plus Jimmy Fallon"), Lady O. asked NBC's most neutral late night host to talk about ConanGate. Via satellite from Vancouver, Fallon revealed that he actually spoke to Conan over the phone yesterday, where he learned that the redheaded comedian "has a beard now" and is "going to figure it all out." So stop worrying.
Last Friday, HBO premiered two half-hour programs that were adapted from other mediums by A-list comedians. The first, The Ricky Gervais Show, turned out to be an old podcast recycled with simple animation. The second, Funny or Die Presents, based on the website created by Will Ferrell, Chris Henchy and Adam McKay, incorporated some new sketches with big names (Don Cheadle, Zach Galifianakis and Zooey Deschanel) with old bits ("Drunk History"). And while the television adaptation of FOD shared the same new wave spirit of its website, it also lost some of its appeal in translation. Tonight, the show gets its second (and for some viewers, it's last) chance to prove that it is worthy Friday night programming.
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Instead of delving on the petty theatrics of last night's American Idol (and Kris Allen's almost-a-gwownup scruff), it seems more productive to reflect upon what we've lost: four contestants who wore above-average mall clothes. They were polite scamps, even shampooed, but none of them brought the haymaker vocals that a vain dreamweaver like David Geffen could love. Still, someone has to give these four also-rans proper eulogies.
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Unless you're at home mainlining Benefiber, you probably aren't too upset that the Winter Olympics are drawing to a close this weekend. But you should still take a moment to honor Stephen Colbert's entertaining Olympic coverage, even if it was mostly taped inside his New York studio this week. Still, Bob Costas can't say that he played fondue pong, psychologically assisted Olympians to gold or smuggled a storage-size Ziploc bag with low-cost Canadian prescription meds across country lines. After the jump, catch up on Colbert's last night of Olympic coverage and the other late night highlights you missed while sleeping off that TMI-bender on Oprah.
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· Chicago natives and past collaborators Michael Mann and Dennis Farina will reunite for HBO's horse-racing drama pilot, Luck. The project, which Mann will direct, was written by NYPD Blue writer/executive producer David Milch, and centers on the seedy world of horse racing and gambling as told through various characters close to the racetrack. At the center of Luck is Ace Bernstain, who leaves prison after three years to team up with Gus Economou (Farina), his longtime chauffeur and muscle, to craft a complex plan involving the track. John Ortiz will join the cast as Turo Escalante, a successful trainer with sordid reputation. [THR]
Another Friday Night Lights alum finds work, Rozlyn Papa expands her sex-tape empire, and more TV Bites after the jump.
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