Michael Emerson is coming off a victory at the 2009 Emmys with a chance of snagging a second trophy. Will the resilient supporting gents of Breaking Bad and Mad Men have something to say about that? Join me as I tally the dramatic supporting actor nominees' odds.
The Colbert Report host was not kidding when he mentioned a two-episode tribute to the troops last night. Comedy Central just sent out a press release announcing that the specials, entitled Been There: Won That: The Returnification of the American-Do Troopscape, will air on Sept. 8 and 9. Vice President Joe Biden, Gen. Ray Odierno And Sen. Jim Webb will be on hand to thank the troops, many of whom will be sitting in the studio audience and appearing from Iraq and Afghanistan. How are you going to honor the troops, real newscasters? [The Colbert Report]
With David Letterman still on vacation, Jennifer Aniston was forced to shill The Switch on The Daily Show, where Jon Stewart made the segment a little uncomfortable by recounting their one and only date. Meanwhile, Stephen Colbert celebrated the end of the Iraq War, Elisabeth Shue talked about the wet T-shirt contest she missed out on and Sharon Osbourne took a shot at The View.
Also in this morning's TV Bites: Another call for Last Call with Carson Daly... CNN wants more Larry King... Grey's Anatomy adds another guest star... and very slightly more ahead.
Tonight's Project Runway is perfect for the haughty niece in your family who never leaves the house without a nicely canted chapeau. It'll at least get her to shut up about gluten for 90 minutes.
Just a few episodes into its run, USA Network has already ordered a second season of its female spy series Covert Affairs, which hit a program high of nearly 5.5 million viewers this week. For perspective, over 2 million more people watched Piper Perabo karate kick herself out of a sticky situation than watched Mad Men's season four premiere. Does that mean Piper should start picking out her favorite dress for that Covert Affairs Barbie you're all hoping to collect next Christmas? [Deadline]
Good news, fans of porn, HBO and Mark Wahlberg: All three elements are colliding in a new untitled series being developed at the premium cable network by Entourage executive producers Wahlberg and Steve Levinson. The hour-long drama will focus on a "giant video company under siege from Internet competitors and a girl from the Midwest whose boyfriend convinces her to move to Los Angeles to become a star." Both actors and real-life porn performers will star in the project, which is being written by none other than... James Frey. Said the Million Little Pieces scribe, "We're going to make a sprawling epic about the porn business in LA. We're going to tell the type of stories no one else has told before." Well, no one except for Paul Thomas Anderson. [NYP]
American Idol cynics bug you with revisionist history. They caw, "I mean, Idol gave us Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, but they also gave us (sniff, cackle) Justin Guarini." The butterscotch Afro was tired, sure, but hear this: Guarini's talent has always stood for itself, and American Idol wouldn't have been compelling in its inaugural season without him. Now, he's finally getting his comeuppance on the Great White Way.
Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter: best showrunner ever or best showrunner ever ever ever? In today's TV climate, suddenly executive producers like Damon Lindelof and Shonda Rhimes can become nearly as famous as their stars, and Sutter definitely deserves a higher profile for his hilarious candid takedowns of the Emmys and litigious bikers. Now, he's finally getting that attention, but it's for criticizing his lead actor.
Like the character he portrays on Fox's Emmy-nominated gem Glee, Cory Monteith is a paradox. Both awkward and well-rehearsed, the Canadian-born actor had famously never sung in front of a live audience before his audition for Ryan Murphy's musical series. He never learned how to throw a football before playing star quarterback Finn Hudson. And despite having zero experience dancing, he landed a role on the only scripted series that demands its stars learn new choreography each week.
As reported earlier, Chelsea Handler is hosting this year's Video Music Awards, making her the first woman to emcee the show since Roseanne in 1994. But is the E! talk doyenne the best option to replace two-time host Russell Brand?
So last night's episode of Big Brother did not feature a houseguest masturbating (or "me-mancing") in the shower, but it was still pleasurable for viewers, mainly because Ragan engaged a surprise guest in the catfight of the season. Meanwhile, a paid extra wearing a robot costume wandered the Big Brother property dissing houseguests. Warm up your "Oh no you didn't" finger and click ahead to see how the showdowns affected last night's index.
Jimmy Fallon, Craig Ferguson and the rest of the network late night personalities were still on vacation last night but there was plenty of fun to be had on cable. On Comedy Central, Stephen Colbert ripped a page out of Brett Favre's playbook and a Daily Show correspondent professed his disappointment with Julia Roberts' Eat, Pray, Love and its demonic Home Shopping Network products. Meanwhile over on E!, Jennifer Aniston addressed the many fictional rumors about her home life with MTV's latest VMA host.
Also in this morning's TV Bites: a View co-host adds a game show to her resume... a Parks and Recreation writer gets a new deal... and slightly more ahead (it's August, folks).
And you thought that the rockabilly album Conan O'Brien claimed to be making with Jack White in June was just a joke. Not only is it completely real, but it will be released next week alongside an improvised spoken word album where the former Tonight Show host tells you his own version of a scary classic.
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