· Reality television's Frankenstein, Jon Gosselin, continues to wage war on TLC, alleging that they violated child labor laws and their "infected hands should be amputated." To prove what kind of evil will come if TLC does not allow Gosselin out of his ironclad contract, Gosselin made this FunnyOrDie video (click through) in which he joins forces with America...in ridiculing Jon Gosselin.
Taylor Swift finds award redemption, CNN finds a replacement for Lou Dobbs, Tila Tequila finds an inventive way to come out to her family and more TV Bites after the jump.
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Unlike the heaping handful of MTV awards ceremonies, the Country Music Association Awards -- or the CMA Awards to whoever does their branding -- unfortunately does not promote itself as an event where anything can happen. Does that mean we won't see Darius Rucker ramble onto the stage when Taylor Swift wins Entertainer of the Year over George Strait? Yes, thankfully. But with last weekend's Saturday Night Live forgoing the eagerly anticipated Kanye-Taylor skit, we can't say it isn't welcome.
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Taylor Schilling is relatively new to mainstream acting, but her character on NBC's Mercy, the harried protagonist Veronica Callahan, is an utter advancement upon recent female roles from romance-infected hospital dramas. As an Iraq War veteran who vaunts Irish anxiety and aggression with a top-note of cynicism, Nurse Callahan functions as a steely yet shaky hub for Mercy's den of nurses. And she's actually funny, too. Though she struggles to own her past and work through the less-than-stable present, she has led Mercy into becoming a success story; the show was just picked up for a full season. Schilling spoke with us about her role, her ambitions, and why Mercy is her dream project.
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If MTV producers titled each episode of The Hills using the same method as Friends (instead of relying on random quotes from Kristin Cavallari) then last night's installment of the MTV faux-ality franchise would have been called, "The One With Brody's Mom and the Catfight." Alas, last night's On To The Next, like its title, was an unmemorable thirty minutes. Full of staged altercations and generic relationship talk, the single inspired line came from Spencer when debating the best L.A. neighborhood for his vasectomy: "I think I got to go to Beverly Hills when you're debating cutting off nuts. Ya feel me?"
The night proved that if you're looking for genuineness, and your TV won't budge from MTV at 10 PM on a Tuesday night, then wait for peripheral characters like Brody's mom and Enzo, the racially unidentifiable neighbor child who calls Spencer "Spender." Brody's mom might be injected to the hairline, but you get the sense that she really made the lemonade she poured Kristin and she loves her son in spite of his many, many flaws. The other winners of the Real -- and Fake -- Jackpots, after the jump.
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We've posted the recaps, we've tabulated the Power Rankings. The only thing left to do before filing the memories of Mad Men's third season in Movieline's storage closet is a quick postmortem. Specifically, let's ask and answer (and hopefully discuss) the nine burning questions that lead all of us into that glorious Aug. 16 premiere -- and that may yet help sustain us in the long offseason ahead.
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The writing has been on the wall for Hank's mid-season demise ever since the universally-panned Kelsey Grammer vehicle was predicted as ABC's first cancellation. ABC has no plans to air the five remaining episodes, instead scheduling repeats and holiday specials in Hank's time slot. The network announced earlier this week that they are not ordering more episodes of Hank's fellow Wednesday night series, Eastwick. [Hollywood Reporter]
In the tradition of Who Killed Nicole Brown Simpson? and Is There a Direct Link Between McDonald's and Childhood Obesity? comes yet another confounding mindtickler for the ages: Chris Colfer, the actor who plays Glee's resident alto-castrato Kurt Hummel, responded to a query about his own sexuality like this: "I try to keep up a mystery. As much as I give away of my personal life, the less people will believe me as other characters. I try to be private about it. It is what it is." [Towleroad]
Because stern confessionals from Anthony Edwards and a sky-soaring "The More You Know" graphic are not in vogue anymore, NBC will try a new strategy with its upcoming pro-environmental service announcements. Instead of just airing as commercials, NBC's environmental campaign will <a href="
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TV_GREEN_NBC?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-11-11-10-02-52">overhaul new episodes of 30 Rock, The Office, The Biggest Loser, Heroes, and Community. Jack Donaghy, Michael Scott, and Jillian Michaels will acknowledge their carbon footprint, and then shout at it like the do-nothing underling it is. Preview of the proceedings after the jump.
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· Poor Aaron Carter, who shed real tears after his elimination on last night's Dancing With the Stars episode, only to be upstaged by a possibly lip-synching Susan Boyle. The Scottish singing sensation and Kathy Geiss inspiration belted out "I Dream a Dream" before returning to her dressing room, where besotted contestant Donny Osmond brought her a bouquet of purple roses and shared a few tender moments: "She knew all of my songs...I sang a song to her and she sang it with me. It was really special."
James Franco can outlast and out-memorize anyone in daytime, Murphy Brown makes the Hall of Fame and more TV Bites after the jump.
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Last month, a GQ profile painted January Jones as the anti-Betty Draper: an All-American girl who noshes on T.G.I. Friday's queso dip, slams six beers and then shares a little too much during transcontinental flights. And last night, the lovely Mad Men actress further cemented her heartland fan base by deriding Jimmy Fallon's Late Night version of beer pong, telling us just how she parties.
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There are plenty of reasons to be mad about the state of the economy, culture, labor, politics and every other flawed facet of American life. But there's a certain nauseous, ulcerous anguish provoked by the latest Forbes Magazine survey of TV's richest men, which Simon Cowell topped this year with... God, I can't even write it again. Look back at the headline, I guess. It's not a typo.
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Singer Mya's Billboard-charting history in R&B, pop, and hip-hop now seems like required briefing ahead of her newest venture: dazzling the over-animated judges on Dancing with the Stars. As the highest-scoring competitor of DWTS's ninth season, Mya seems poised to win it all with her seemingly shirt-allergic partner Dmitry Chaplin. Her success against contestants like Kelly Osbourne and Donny Osmond may not be a surprise considering her past in choreographed music videos ("Case of the Ex," "My Love is Like Wo," and the Grammy-winning remake with Christina Aguilera, Lil Kim, and Pink, "Lady Marmalde" spring to mind), but she is nonetheless thrilling to watch. Mya talked with Movieline to recount the near-perfect scores she garnered on this week's samba and quickstep, the impact of Savion Glover and Gregory Hines on her life, and her most intimidating "Lady Marmalade" co-writher.
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Well, it's an exciting day indeed for the online echo chamber known as Twitter, as Movieline has learned that just hours after the announcement that Shit My Dad Says would be spun into laughtrack-enhanced gold by the creators of Will & Grace, a similar account -- Shit Precious' Mom Says -- has been snapped by the rival Fox network. Obviously, the title will be toned down if the pilot gets picked up to series, but the underlying premise of a sassy, pleasantly plump teen from the projects who lives with her extremely opinionated and overbearing mom should translate nicely to the small screen. [@shitprecmomsays]
Thanks to a cross-network premiere on TBS, TNT, and TruTV, comedian George Lopez's new talk show Lopez Tonight might be more watched in key demos (1 million viewers in the sacred 18-49 range on TBS alone) than The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Add up the pull of all three networks, and that number beats the regular key-demo viewership for Conan O'Brien and David Letterman. You're checking the roof for vultures, right? Frankly, this debut ratings spike for Lopez could be worse news. Clip of Lopez interviewing Kobe Bryant, as well as placating analysis, after the jump.
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Cast and crew of ABC's heavily diluted Witches of Eastwick retread, Eastwick, have just learned that the network will not order more episodes than the original 13 -- meaning we'll soon be bidding a fond adieu to the series most likely pitched as Supernatural Housewives. Sadly, with it goes Paul Gross -- aka Constable Benton Fraser from Due South -- who seems to be rapidly morphing into his generation's Alan Thicke. Also axed by the network: Let's Dance, the Kathy Griffin-hosted reality show in which celebrities re-enact famous dance sequences from the movies. Apparently casting was a major hurdle, as the big top-hat number from A Chorus Line requires more than the severely limited number of Kardashians currently available. On a cheerier note, Christian Slater procedural The Forgotten (no cracks, please) stays with us, for another five episodes at least. [The Feed]
