Earlier this afternoon, CBS delivered a shocking blow to CSI: NY fans: Melina Kanakaredes is hanging up her fake badge after playing the role of Detective Stella Bonasera for six seasons. Movieline's sister site Deadline reported that Sela Ward is being considered as Gary Sinise's new partner, but not for long if Kanakaredes falls victim to the same phenomenon that's afflicted other actors who've tried to leave the franchise: the CSI casting boomerang.
more »
This cable week: an all-you-can-eat graze trove of rarities, satires, freaks and atrocities, led by a flight of vintage Michael Ritchie (why not?) and capped by a refreshing fruit salad of film noir...
more »
Danielle Staub may resemble a haughtier Dave Navarro, but that doesn't means she can't throw down like the NJ lady prizefighter we all want her to be. In tonight's episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, the beleaguered Staub goes toe to toe against two of her adversaries. Results should be explosive, loud, accusatory, and embarrassing.
more »
"Poison pen" biographer Kitty Kelley struck gold with her latest unauthorized biography, that of #1 mortal Oprah Winfrey, and Deadline is reporting the inevitable (but still titillating!) news of an upcoming TV biopic adaptation. The art of the TV biopic is sorely maligned, and I hold the naive belief that a decent Oprah biography could redeem the canon of Lifetime-ready Dana Plato and Nadia Comaneci yarns. Quick, let's cast this epic while we still have time to influence the filmmakers (and persuade notable actors to withstand the real Oprah's disapproval).
more »
Javier Bardem may have jumped the gun last week when he announced that he would "rock the house" on a season two episode of Glee, since both 20th Century Fox and Cory Monteith hadn't yet heard about the casting coup, but now creator Ryan Murphy is confirming the rumor: "[That's] something we'll probably do in the first half of the season." As for the possibility that Murphy will reunite with his other Oscar-winning _Eat, Pray, Love_star, he said, "No, Julia [Roberts] will not be doing the show." [Access Hollywood]
Two weeks ago on True Blood, Sookie met the strapping Alcide and Bill blew our sex-and-violence metering systems when he twisted Lorena's head around like those knotted cheeses that always look so intriguing at Whole Foods. Fortunately, tech support has us back up and running, so let's monitor last night's episode and see whether sex or violence came out ahead:
more »
Like Pink's Hot Dogs, Pauly Shore is a Los Angeles institution that can attract long lines (Encino Man, Son in Law and Jury Duty), has been accused of questionable taste (Bio-Dome, Junket Whore) and never claims to be good for anyone's health. Two decades after he debuted on MTV as a spacey VJ, the actor and comedian -- whose legendary family founded and continues to run the Comedy Store -- is reinventing himself with Adopted, a mockumentary about adopting an African child, while also working on a new MTV project and a film about a "slut vigilante."
Last week, while waiting for a call from Quentin Tarantino, Shore phoned Movieline to discuss his latest film, his "Bill Murray Strategy" and the Weez's newfound maturity.
more »
No, Ultimate Catch is not the new, post-stroke title of Deadliest Catch -- it's football star Chad Ochocinco's VH1 reality series where he combs a casting pool of hundreds to find a wife/fiancee/girlfriend/any old person. If anyone's right for a televised dating spree, it's Ochocinco, who comes with ready-made catchphrases like "Child, please" and a rambunctiousness that defined his recent stint on Dancing with the Stars, but it took all of 60 seconds for the #85 Bengal to squander his telegenic goods on this abysmal new series.
more »
Congratulations to Andy Richter for caving to the pressure of the latest social networking trend. Yesterday, Conan's sidekick logged his first four tweets, which included a photo of himself on the way to ESPN's All-Star Legends & Celebrity game. Afterward, the TBS-bound comic messaged: "Had a lot of fun, played well, and in locker room saw the genitals of some of the game's greats." [@richter_andy]
It's official: Daniel Tosh has surpassed both of Comedy Central's heavy-hitter hosts, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, in ratings. The comedian's show, Tosh.0, drew the network's highest ratings on Wednesday since an episode of Chappelle's Show back in 2004. Tosh's program -- which is commonly described as a Talk Soup featuring Internet clips -- has been averaging 2.2 million viewers compared to Stewart's 2 million and Colbert's 1.4 million. Tosh.0 was recently renewed by the cable network for a third season. [THR]
Jay Leno foils the plans of thousands of travelers, Celebrity Rehab ejects a contestant, and more TV Bites after the jump.
more »
This weekend, dope seems to be in the air at your friendly neighborhood cable programmers' offices, and if movies and moviegoing are a way of life, maybe it's a good time to settle in for your favorite variety of mind-alteration -- whether or not you remember the '60s.
more »
HBO has ordered another morbid pilot from Alan Ball, the man who brought the network Six Feet Under and True Blood. All Signs of Death, based on Charlie Huston's 2009 crime noir book The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death is a Los Angeles-set black comedy featuring "an inveterate twenty-something slacker who stumbles into a career as a crime scene cleaner, only to find himself entangled with a murder mystery, a femme fatale and the loose ends of his own past." So no neck-twistings, then? [Deadline]
Scathing critiques aren't just for M. Night Shyamalan anymore! Regardless of whether or not you follow, like or frankly detest sports, ESPN's Thursday night special LeBron James: The Decision made for some pretty audacious television. Which is to say, audaciously terrible. If you always thought watching The Bachelor amounted to a bankruptcy of taste, at least that process has some trashy entertainment value going for it. The ritualistic, commodified probing of James -- who announced his free-agency agreement with the Miami Heat -- couldn't have been more cynical or depressing if it tried.
But don't take my word for it. Let's hear it from the rest of the diverse, aggrieved class that still can't believe they just saw that.
more »
It's a day of jubilation for Friday Night Lights fans who yelled "Touchdown!" during yesterday's Emmy nominations. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton both scored nods, and they hope to ruin Bryan Cranston and Glenn Close's chances of repeat wins. I'm skeptical, but we should accept this small victory. Also: Wife Swap is new tonight, that may mean I'm excited, and I'm sorry.
more »
Last night, CBS put an Orthodox Jewish podiatrist into a hot dog costume, broadcast sexually suggestive physical challenges, and introduced us to a red-headed bimbo who thought yarmulkes were called "Yom Kippurs." Yes, Big Brother season has begun. The Julie Chen-hosted reality show is impressive because its premise -- locking thirteen untalented individuals in a house and streaming their every move for audience's voyeuristic pleasure -- demands a repulsive sub-category of fame-seeking humans: the kind of person that masturbates in a cardboard box, knowing that his every motion will be seen by millions of people in their family room.
This season, Movieline is joining in the Big Brother fun by ranking the most vile houseguests after each degrading episode. Baruch haba!
more »
