Just moments ago, Sofia Vergara and Joel McHale mounted the stage of the Television Academy in Los Angeles to announce the 62nd Primetime Emmy nominations. It was an exciting morning for Vergara -- who shrieked every time Modern Family (and she) garnered a nod -- and not so much for McHale -- who tried to hide his disappointment every time Community (and he) were ignored in a category ("It's OK, I just phoned it in this year," he joked). And there was an audible cheer when the selections for this year's Variety Show category were announced. Click through to see if Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien will duke it out for the Tonight Show crown again in August -- and to acquaint yourself with the nominees for the 2010 Emmy Awards.
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· First, Steve Carrell casually mentioned his plans to retire from The Office in a radio interview, and now NBC's other heavy-hitting comedy star is preparing the public for his own impending retreat from television. In a recent interview with CNN, Alec Baldwin was clear about his plans to walk away from 30 Rock once his contract expires in 2012: "I would rather go do other things and have whatever amount of time I have left in my life, have more of a normal life... I want to find out if it's possible. How close can I get?" Let's give the Emmy-winner the benefit of the doubt though -- maybe he is just ripping a page from Charlie Sheen's Renegotiation Playbook. [CNN]
ABC cuts the mockumentary from its upcoming cop mockumentary, a Lost alum heads to Syfy, and more TV Bites after the jump.
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There's a good chance American Idol's finale didn't thrill you this year. You may have tuned out early in the season when plenty of decent talents were voted out of the Idol megadome, or you may have balked at Lee DeWyze, one of the show's pitchiest dawgs, who became a judges' favorite and ended up winning the competition. Still, that shouldn't stop you from seeing the Idol tour live this summer, even if the announcement of eight canceled tour dates seems to reaffirm your apathy. There are five solid reasons to see this concert, and I'm not just saying so because I've already bought my ticket. Spoilers ahead.
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Just add "jilted creator/executive producer" to Hayden Christensen's resume. The Star Wars actor and his brother filed a lawsuit yesterday against the USA network, alleging that the second-season series Royal Pains is a ripoff of their own idea. The Christensen brothers claim that in 2005, they pitched a concierge doctor show called Housecall to the network, and a USA executive even admitted that he had never heard of the profession before their meeting. This whole situation smells (unfortunately, not like the Christsensen-endorsed Lacoste. [NYP]
You know who hasn't had enough written about her this year? Betty White. Where has she been hiding? Oh, that's right: On the television screens of millions of viewers around the country. White's smash hit cable sitcom, Hot in Cleveland (which probably wouldn't even exist without her), was renewed today for a second season. However, lest you think that means fans will have to wait until next summer to see White yuck it up with Borscht Belt-level material, Cleveland will start filming the 20-episode season two in the fall with an eye toward a January premiere date. Now, if only White-aholics had a pin-up calendar to satiate their need for Betty between Labor Day and New Year's Eve. Ask and ye shall receive!
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It finally happened: James Franco found a way to weave his real-life mother, author Betsy Franco, into the weird meta-arc that he has been crafting on General Hospital over the past few months. The sub-arc began yesterday when two of Port Charles' detectives who were hot on Franco's trail ventured out to Woodstock, New York to question Karen Anderson, whom they believed birthed the murder artist who has been terrorizing their town. But what they discovered inside Karen's cozy, statue-cluttered home turned out to be much, much worse.
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Can we even handle another episode of terror and delight with The Real World's crunkcore virgin Ryan? He infuriated us during the last episode, but the yellow-haired blowhard knows we like it that way. Also on tonight: A big night of Nigel Lythgoe criticisms, choir-director woes, and that old-time Kevin Bacon fun.
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A federal jury has ordered Disney to pay Celador, the production company behind Who Wants to be a Millionaire, a cool $275 million for not fulfilling their obligations when bringing the game show smash to the United States. Congrats! However, I just used my "Ask the Audience" lifeline, and it turns out we all spent the past month paying Disney back the $275 million. Damn it, Pixar. [The Wrap]
Over the years, the Emmys have championed several underdogs who truly deserved the hardware -- The Wonder Years, Arrested Development, Andre Braugher, Bryan Cranston, Kristin Chenoweth, and my eternal girl Jackee Harry all come to mind -- but when it comes to reality television, the committee is stubborn in its devotion to the same staid programming. Even casual statisticians know that the Reality Competition Emmy has gone to The Amazing Race since the award's inception in 2002, but there's a point when a winning streak becomes a regime, and Phil Keoghan's juggernaut surely qualifies by now. Still, a big change may come tomorrow morning with the 2010 Emmy nominees: a shake-up for reality TV and the people who appreciate it.
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Can you believe it's here? Tomorrow morning at the ungodly hour of 5:30 a.m. -- 8:30 a.m. on the east coast -- Joel McHale and Sofia Vergara will drag themselves to a podium in Los Angeles and announce the nominees for this year's Emmy Awards. And what a moment that will be for Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Steve Carell, Alec Baldwin, Toni Collette and all the usual suspects who normally garner Emmy love. But what of the surprises? Ahead, Movieline offers you 5 without-a-doubt-guaranteed shocks that will delight your weary heart in the morning. (Please note: guarantee not bound by law.)
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Last night's penultimate episode of The Hills was bittersweet for viewers: they were just thirty minutes of screen time away from bidding Lo and Kristin adieu on next week's finale, but first, they had sit through some clunky exposition that would set up next week's series closer. Brody had to break Kristin's heart without any concern for her feelings, Lo had to offer her boyfriend a relationship ultimatum, and Stephanie Pratt had to explain her DUI to another potential suitor that could be "like, the one." Let's sift through the second-to-last episode of The Hills ever (hopefully, unless MTV tries to revive it Beavis and Butt-Head-style in a decade) to find its most real and most fake moments.
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I should've known the one episode of My Life on the D-List that Kathy Griffin devoted to her mother would be the season's dud. In fact, how could it have succeeded? Kathy has reduced Maggie Griffin to a single Franzia joke since day one, allowing her the character breadth of a puppet theater headmistress. She's stern, muumuu'd, and wine-woozy. That's it. Adding cameos from Suze Orman and Lauren Conrad wasn't going to change that, Kathleen.
Time to persevere and engage the task at hand: scavenging last night's episode for its most "real" and "fake" moments. Hopefully, we discover some probing emotional truths in this one-joke medley.
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I know why you watch Warehouse 13. It's not for the Mulder and Scully-like partnership between Pete and Myka, or for Claudia's sharp glibness or for the generous doses of steampunk. It's all about the relics -- the apologetically cheesy, ultra-satisfying history tweaks that make SyFy's sophomore drama the best thing the network has spawned since last year's post-Battlestar Galactica rebranding. And, yeah, of course a little steampunk flavoring never hurt anyone.
And so, delightfully cheesy artifacts fresh in mind, behold Movieline's compendium of those relics from last night's season-two premiere Time Will Tell, ranked by covetability.
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AMC is well-known for its cerebral dramas like Mad Men and Breaking Bad, but with the upcoming zombie serial The Walking Dead, the brainsss over at the channel intend to do something different: make you throw up. "The stuff that AMC is going to put on air is crazy," says Robert Kirkman, who created the comic the show is based on (Frank Darabont is directing). "They keep showing me things and I'm like, you're not doing that." What kind of things? Read on, but put down that pastrami sandwich first!
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Listen up, Gleeks. Cory Monteith wants to clear up a few casting rumors (that Movieline helped sort yesterday) regarding the Fox show's sophomore season. Just last night, the star tweeted that "Javier Bardem, Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Elvis, Katie Holmes, Tom Cruise and you are not appearing in season 2." While Monteith is probably right about Elvis, perhaps the Glee cast member didn't receive the memo about Bardem, who insists that he will be playing a Spanish heavy metal rock star who befriends Artie. [Twitter]
