During the past week's TCA Press Tour, ABC was the only network to distribute pronunciation sheets before each panel to help sound out the name of every cast and crew member present -- including The Whole Truth producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the superproducer whose name is among the most recognizable in the business. (That's pronounced "Bruck-Himer," if you needed assistance.) Meanwhile, critics who attended NBC's Undercovers panel were left to their own devices to sound out the name of its star, Gugu Mbatha-Raw.
To get an idea of how mature 11-year-old Nolan Gould is -- and unlike his dimwitted Modern Family character Luke Dunphy he may be -- consider that yesterday at the TCAs, the actor responded to a critic's question about his entertainment aspirations with this thoughtful answer: "Well, I've been acting since I was little, so I've done pretty much everything -- commercials, film, TV -- except for voice-overs. I'd like to try voice-over work." Still, in spite of Gould's precocious maturity, he still needs to take certain precautions on set when it comes to interacting with members of ABC's most popular ensemble cast -- particularly Julie Bowen.
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Tonight on The Bachelorette, Ali decides between two formidable gents with different strengths: One has a great smile, and the other is a convincing human being. I'm torn.
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At the TCA panel for Fox's new sitcom Raising Hope today, 84-year-old cast member Cloris Leachman answered a question about replacing Betty White as the next "It Girl" with her typical brass: "I'm so sick of Betty White," she cracked. "Never liked her." She was joking and explained that the two are starring in the upcoming film You Again, but I'd obviously pay to see a Syfy catfight between Phyllis Lindstrom and Sue Ann Nivens.
The Running Wilde panel at the TCAs may have been hilarious, but Movieline still had questions for producer and star Will Arnett afterward. Does he feel that audiences are better primed for single-cam absurdity than they were in Arrested Development's heyday? And what of a return to 30 Rock?
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I know you're thinking this week that August on cable has got to be richer and more absorbing than August on movie screens. And you're right, beginning with giddy doses of Bunuel, Preminger and Leone...
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If you haven't yet caught on, Movieline is completely fascinated with Andy Cohen, the senior vice president of production at Bravo who also hosts a late-night talk show for the cable network and recently posted a blog entry on the network's site called We're All Going to Die. So when I spotted the exec and star during a Top Chef demonstration at this week's TCA Press Tour, I cornered him to ask about his dream talk show guest, his attraction to controversy, and the guest who indulged a little too much in the Watch What Happens Live open bar.
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Peter Rice, Fox's Chairman of Entertainment, does not have much to say about American Idol. During Fox's exec panel at the TCAs just now, he claimed that no deals had been signed "behind or in front of the camera," and therefore wouldn't even speculate on the fates of Kara DioGuardi, rumored comeback producer Nigel Lythgoe, or likely new panelists Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler. However, he did reiterate that Ellen DeGeneres felt she wasn't a good fit in June and won't return. So there.
Even if Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz's new pilot Running Wilde hasn't gotten many positive reviews from critics, this morning's TCA panel was a success, thanks to the quick wits of Hurwitz, Will Arnett and costar Peter Serafinowicz. Here are the six funniest exchanges from the Beverly Hilton ballroom that may still convince you to tune into the Fox series this fall.
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ABC dealt us some pretty boring panels at the TCAs yesterday, but three shows emerged as titillating newcomers for the fall season. Ready yourself for Matthew Perry's best chance yet at a post-Studio 60 comeback.
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Chris Harrison is The Bachelor(ette)'s consummate good guy, a host who officiates each rose ceremony with palpable sympathy. Movieline caught up with him on the eve of tonight's Bachelorette finale and grilled him about Jake Pavelka, his emotional connection with the contestants, and whether he prefers The Bachelor or The Bachelorette.
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Yesterday's rollicking True Blood served up dead characters, big plot moves, a potpourri of shirtlessness, and a vision of paradise as a place where you get drunk in the middle of the day and dance to harp music. Could sex triumph over violence this week, or did Tara's crazy eyes threaten to outdo them both? Let's start tallying points:
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Freddy Rumsen, holler! At least one burning question about this young season of Mad Men was answered last night as an old friend made a comeback -- albeit one of the cryptic, suspicious variety. Christmas came and went, meanwhile, while libidos soared and egos crashed. Oh, and the creepiest kid ever paid his latest visit to the Draper/Francis household. Let's sort it out.
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Also in this morning's TV Bites: Fox invents an awards show... Law & Order: Los Angeles adds some ladies... a Cosby kid gets a new pilot... and more ahead.
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Modern Family clogged the Emmys' supporting actor/actress categories with five nominations, including one for Julie Bowen, whose fatalistic, but familiarly manic performance as Claire Dunphy manages to ground the ensemble of caricatures. During a coffee break at the TCA panels in Beverly Hills, Movieline caught up with Bowen, asked her where she was when she found out about her nomination, and made her size up the competition in nominated castmate Sofia Vergara.
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