Last week, Julianne Moore plugged her new film The Kids Are Alright by sharing a tale of masturbation-related injury on the Late Show and last night, she continued her New York City talk show tour at the Daily Show. After discussing her hopes for LeBron James, she explained how she picked up her 30 Rock Boston accent in a low-rent hotel lounge. Meanwhile over at the Tonight Show, Jason Segel confronted -- and legally wed -- his stalkers. Click through for those segments as well as the other highlights you missed last night while sorting out those dozens of Glee casting rumors.
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In a move that probably rewrites the laws of journalism the world over, NBA superstar free-agent LeBron James will announce his much-anticipated signing decision Thursday... during a live hour-long telecast on ESPN. And you thought American Idol dragged things out!
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· There is a rumor circulating the web this morning that Beavis and Butt-Head creator Mike Judge is outlining 30 new episodes of the classic '90s cartoon for a possible revival. While Judge does not have a deal for actual broadcast, an anonymous source maintains that the King of the Hill creator is taking the project seriously and is determined to maintain the simplistic aesthetic, faded palette and format of the original cartoon. While neither MTV nor Judge have officially confirmed the plans for a "full-throttle return, Judge confessed last year that he has considered returning to his iconic characters and still thinks of ideas for them. [REVIEWniverse via A.V. Club]
Outsourced upgrades an Australian, FX finds two young Outlaws, and more TV Bites after the jump.
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As the cast of Glee prepares to resume filming this month, casting rumors plague the web about over a dozen actors and performers that may or may not appear on Ryan Murphy's Fox hit during its sophomore season. Whether you are a child prodigy, child wizard, comedy legend or Oscar winner, chances are that you've been rumored for a five-episode arc over the past few weeks. To clear up the confusion once and for all, we've decided to sort through the rumored candidates to determine who the locks are to circulate the halls of William McKinley this fall, and which wannabes are most likely to be shoved back into the casting locker with blue slushie on their faces.
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Tonight, Kathy Griffin branches out in her quest to stay wealthy, even calling upon her favorite financial analyst of all time. Her mother Maggie also gets in on the D-List comedienne's plans for a windfall, securing at least one extraordinary deal. Hint: The picture on this page is not phony. After six years of sad inactivity, it is finally time to renew my library card.
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Denis Leary may have used his Rescue Me costar Steven Pasquale to provide the punchline for a homophobic anecdote last night on The Daily Show, but Pasquale would like it known that he never uttered the gay slur attributed to him. "I am an actor, and I live and work in New York City. I can honestly say that half the people I know, love and respect are gay," he explained in a statement. "I simply didn't say it. I'm not capable of saying it, anymore than describing my black friends as the 'N' word...I'm afraid Denis got his wires a little crossed in remembering that story." [Queerty]
Where is Eve Ensler when you need her? Back on June 23rd, Jezebel writer Irin Carmon wrote a somewhat scathing critique of The Daily Show -- spurred on by the tryout and potential hiring of geek pin-up Olivia Munn -- succinctly summed up by its title, "The Daily Show's Woman Problem." What followed was a series of mostly off-the-record quotes and comments from former female staffers that painted the offices of the Comedy Central cultural kingpin with the same brush that might be used for a frat house or at least the Harvard Lampoon. Now, the female staffers of The Daily Show have responded with snark worthy of Stewart himself.
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Like a good short story, a recurring motif ran through last night's Bachelorette episode -- and, like Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, that theme was creepy anxiety. Kirk was so "nervous" as he held Ali in a stupid blanket, Frank emitted his usual asthma bubbles, and Roberto worried that he's too skilled a salsaman for this whole damn thing. Tension! Also: Jake and Vienna anxiously reunited to talk about how their relationship was magical until a Lifetime movie took over and it turned out Jake had murdered some nuns (or something). Since he's single now, we have no choice but to include him in this weeks stud rankings. Join us for the stud rundown!
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The Veronica Mars feature may have never gotten off the ground but Lizzy Caplan is hoping that she and the Party Down crew can continue their catering careers for the big screen (even if that means that they'll literally have to cater their own movie). "We want it so bad," she told Hitfix last week about the latest Rob Thomas series to be killed before its time. "We could do it for no money, no time. We would do it for free. I just don't know if we're legally allowed to do it." Chris Albrecht, do you have a problem with that? [Hitfix]
In his 30 years as a showbiz mainstay, Alan Ruck has starred in movies and TV shows that have come to exemplify their times. The John Hughes movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, in which Ruck played hooky accomplice Cameron Frye, remains a hallmark for rambunctious '80s teen comedies, while Spin City, where Ruck played the quipping Stuart Bondek, typifies the multicamera sitcom streak of the '90s. Now, his new NBC miniseries Persons Unknown encapsulates the DVD-friendly serializaed appeal of television today, complete with a jigsaw mystery that can please fans of Veronica Mars, Lost, and The Twilight Zone alike.
Ruck phoned Movieline last week to discuss the curious production of Persons Unknown, his disappointment with current TV, and the legacy of John Hughes.
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While most of the late night hosts took off Monday to recover from their Fourth of July BBQ hangovers, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert both taped new shows. As you've already read, Stewart's contained a few homophobic sentiments courtesy of Denis Leary, but it also contained a satellite interview with a Henson muppet. Meanwhile over at the Colbert Report, the host stayed in pajamas during the show on account of sickness. Click through for the highlights you missed from those new programs as well as the best of last night's repeats.
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If you are gearing up to promote your television series on a talk show, you have several choices: 1) You can prepare a TV-ready anecdote about something hilarious that happened on-set (See: Jonah Hill's story about being reprimanded by his hero while filming Curb Your Enthusiasm); 2) You can prepare a TV-ready anecdote about something interesting in your personal life (See: Kristen Stewart's description of her real-life pet wolves); or 3) If you are Denis Leary, you can put together a startlingly homophobic anecdote about something that was said in poor taste to Derek Jeter on the set of Rescue Me.
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The new season of Mad Men brings a new round of Mad Men avatars at AMC, which aren't a lot different from the old round of Mad Men avatars except for one intriguing option: You can create a violent revenge scenario with your favorite characters. Try it yourself!
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If you have an Oscar, you probably don't have to wait in the long audition lines to be on Glee. Case in point: Academy Award-winner Javier Bardem, who, after watching the entire first season of the Fox series in a week, pitched Ryan Murphy the role of a successful rocker who becomes friends with Artie (Kevin McHale). "We're going to rock the house," anticipated Bardem. "We're going to do some heavy metal -- Spanish heavy metal, which is the worst." The No Country for Old Men star just worked with Glee creator Murphy on the set of Eat, Pray, Love. [EW]
· Miley Cyrus and Jay Leno have more in common than you might think: Both are television personalities desperately trying to expand their audience -- Cyrus has said that she wants to target the "16-year-olds and the 26-year olds" instead of her six-year old fan base while Leno wants to boost his Tonight Show ratings, which dipped to a 17-year low last quarter -- and both will share the small screen during the final season of Hanna Montana when the comedian stops by as a special guest-star. Other exciting guests this season include Sheryl Crow, Ray Liotta, Christine Taylor, Dr. Phil McGraw, Kelly Ripa and a horse. THR]
A TBS star finds premium cable work, a television chef takes some heat, and more TV Bites after the jump.
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