Isaiah Washington Apologizes For Inappropriate Comment
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Drama, Prime Time, ABC, Grey’s Anatomy, Gossip,
Have you been following this whole blow-up over what Isaiah Washington of Grey’s Anatomy said about co-star T.R. Knight? If not, let me get you up to speed. In October, Washington and Patrick Dempsey got into an argument after Washington threw out a homophobic slur. As a result, co-star T.R. Knight officially announced to People magazine that he is gay. The whole incident wasn’t in the headlines for long, and all seemed to be well for the cast of the hit medical drama. Fast forward to the night of the Golden Globes, when Washington was asked in the press room about the comment he made—and he denied that it ever happened. Of course, this ruffled a lot of people’s feathers—Knight, for whom the comment was made, ABC, his co-stars on Grey’s Anatomy, and everyone behind the show, for that matter, and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. As a result, Washington issued an apology, saying “I can neither defend nor explain my behavior. I can also no longer deny to myself that there are issues I obviously need to examine within my own soul, and I’ve asked for help.” Here’s my beef about celebrities—why can’t they just behave? They have it all, and yet they throw around inappropriate comments and do stupid things. No word yet on whether or not this will affect Washington’s role on Grey’s Anatomy. ABC is simply saying that his comments at the Globes were “unacceptable and are being addressed.”
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Rachael Ray’s Show Renewed Through 2010
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Daytime, Food & Home, Talk Shows, Syndication, Ratings, Renewals,
Brace yourselves… we’ve got two more seasons of Rachael Ray-isms to endure. Her daytime gabfest has been extended through the 2009-2010 season. Don’t get me wrong, I love her recipes and can sorta stomach her 30 Minute Meals program on the Food Network. An hour of her talk show Rachael Ray is just way too much to endure though. Her personality seems over the top—maybe it is genuine, but there is just too much hyper energy behind it for me to stick through an entire hour of her show. Folks love her though—she really appeals to the masses and she’s the polar opposite of stuffy Martha Stewart. Her show is the top new syndicated show of the season, so she certainly has a following. Roger King, CEO at CBS Television Distribution, said of the renewal, “It’s clear that Rachael’s devoted fans are happy to welcome her into their living rooms every day and the positive response from our affiliate stations has been tremendous. We look forward to many more years of fantastic shows from Rachael and the show’s talented creative team.” Can she keep the energy up for a couple more seasons? My money says yes, and then some.
Read More | Zap2it
‘Today’ Show Adding A Fourth Hour
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Daytime, Talk Shows, NBC, News, Ratings,
I literally had to do a double take when I read that the Today show was going to extend to a fourth hour. Huh? Really? I know America loves a morning news program, and no one does it better than Today, but that seems a wee bit excessive. What will hour four look like and why are they doing it? Well, the expansion, which is set to begin in September, takes the top-rated show the extra mile. More time on the air, more money, blah, blah, blah. NBC News president Steve Capus said of the extension, “The success of the Today show has been remarkable throughout its history, and the program has never been in a better position than it is right now. This is a tribute to all the dedicated hard work of Matt [Lauer], Meredith [Vieira], Al [Roker], Ann [Curry] and the entire behind the scenes team. You can’t do this with a program that isn’t a powerhouse—and that is exactly what we have at Today.” No word yet on who will take over anchor duties for the fourth hour. Vieira is under contract as host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, so she bails after 9 a.m. More details about anchor duties will come as the extended show gets closer.
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American Idol Rules the Ratings
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, Internet, Ratings,
Despite my grumblings yesterday where I explained that I can’t watch the auditions of American Idol, the little talent show seemed to do just fine in the ratings. The premiere of the sixth season kicked off with 37.3 million viewers tuning in—a five percent jump from last year’s season premiere. Not bad, right? Well, seems some folks are becoming as disenchanted as I am, according to an article on Reuters. While the show garnered the highest viewership in American Idol‘s history, it still left some dissatisfied. Last night’s show included auditions from Minneapolis, with most of the wannabes not quite making the grade. One fan posted on Americanidol.com’s message board: “I think that we need to see more of the good with the bad. Not only did we get bad but it seemed to be longer segments of individuals… I’m not going to waste my time tonight.” So my critique yesterday was not too far off the mark—another fan on Yahoo’s message boards said, “Too much of a bad thing is not so entertaining… The bad ones are just mostly ridiculous, by this point.” Amen.
(You can find all the American Idol 6 posts here.)
Read More | Reuters
Aniston and Cox Arquette Together Again
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Drama, Prime Time, Cable, FX, Ratings, Rumors,
We reported last week that there was a rumor that Jennifer Aniston might appear on Courtney Cox Arquette’s series, Dirt. The rumor has now been confirmed, with more details about which episode and the character Aniston will play. This appearance will mark Aniston’s first return to television since wrapping Friends in 2004. This time around, she will play rival magazine editor Tina Harrod. The exchange between her and Lucy Spiller should be fun—and good to see Aniston return to her roots. Aniston will appear in the season finale of Dirt, airing on March 27th on FX. Hmmm, sounds like there will be a bump in ratings with these two sharing the small screen again.
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Amazing Race All-Star Contestants Announced
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Prime Time, Reality, CBS, Amazing Race, The,
Although it’s not entirely new news (this had been leaked awhile back), it is official: The Amazing Race All-Stars teams have been announced. I’m looking forward to seeing the “all-star” concept played out on one of the best reality shows around. This is sure to be a fun-filled ride with the following contestants, although some were not as memorable to me as others:
- Dustin Seltzer and Kandice Pelletier (a.k.a. “the beauty queens”—ack!) from Season 10
- Joe Baldassare and Bill Bartek (“Team Guido”) from Season 1
- Kevin O’Connor and Drew Feinberg from Season 1
- Ozwald Mendez and Danilo Jimenez from Season 2
- John Vito Pietanza and Jill Aquilino from Season 3
- Uchenna Agu and Joyce Agu, the winners of Season 7
- David Conley, Jr. and Mary Conley (“team Kentucky”) from Season 10
- Charla Baklayan Faddoul and Mirna Hindoyan from Season 5
- Rob Mariano and Amber Mariano from Season 7
- Teri Pollack and Ian Pollack from Season 3
- Eric Sanchez and Danielle Turner from Season 9
Most interesting among the teams is the pairing of Season nine’s Eric and Danielle, who participated in separate teams during that season. The two dated soon after the season ended. The Amazing Race All-Stars premieres Sunday, February 18th.
Read More | Zap2it
American Idol Starts Tonight—Will You be Watching?
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Music, Prime Time, FOX, American Idol, Ratings,
So, the big event is here. I speak, of course, about the sixth season premiere of American Idol. And what better way to make it an event than by spreading it over two nights, at two hours a pop? The question is, will you be watching? I have a real love/hate relationship with American Idol—mostly because it’s like a train wreck that I can’t look away from. The last couple of years, however, I have passed on the initial audition episodes and instead watched from the Hollywood sessions onward. Last year, I just waited until they had whittled it down to the finalists. Why? Well, I’ve come to dislike the audition shows immensely because they have so many horrible wannabes. It makes for interesting television, right? To me, it just seems cruel to pass people through to the final audition to be judged if they aren’t any good to begin with. And viewers wonder why these people are so angry? Wouldn’t you be bummed if you made it that far only to get ripped apart? I guess it wouldn’t be as interesting if they only showed the quality people, but I really do feel for those talentless souls who are given a glimmer of hope when they stand before Simon, Randy, and Paula. I mean, really, how would you feel?
(You can find all the American Idol 6 posts here.)
Read More | Yahoo! News
The 2007 Golden Globe Awards
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Animation, Award Shows, Comedy, Drama, Music, Prime Time, ABC, CBS, FOX, HBO, NBC, Showtime, Syndication, 24, Desperate Housewives, Entourage, Grey’s Anatomy, House, Lost, Medium, My Name Is Earl, Scrubs, Talent, The Office, The Sopranos,
Ladies and Gents – I can’t tell you how excited I am about the 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards tonight!! It’s been a whole five months since I’ve done minute-by-minute coverage of an awards show and I’ve been dying to unload. (And yes—I am ignoring the fact that the People’s Choice Awards even exist).
The Academy Awards may get the largest viewing audience, but the Golden Globes telecast is the only one I really love to watch. A cross between the insignificant People’s Choice and the stuffy Oscars, this show mixes credibility with spontaneous fun. Yes—the Miss Golden Globe tradition is beyond lame. And yes—separating Dramas from Musicals/Comedies is something I will never understand. But knowing that I may see a star slam down a drink after bitterly losing is exciting defined.
As for who I think should win? Well, Jennifer Hudson is an absolute given. (Though Rinko Kikuchi from Babel would be a nice surprise). And it would be great to see Forest Whitaker beat out both Leo nominations. But no matter what happens, I’m ready for the ride. So bring it on!
Click to continue reading The 2007 Golden Globe Awards
‘Lost’ Ending in Sight?
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Drama, Prime Time, ABC, Lost, Rumors,
The big buzz at the Television Critics Association press tour was the announcement by Lost producers that they are considering when to end the series. Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, show producers, informed their audience that they were in discussions with ABC about when to call it quits on the popular series. They agreed that ending on a high note and doing the show for “as long as it’s good” are priorities. Lindelof also said, “Somewhere in the neighborhood of 90 to 100 episodes was going to be a version of Lost where we never had to do the bad season, the stall season, where we had to back off the story we wanted to tell. Season one is the introduction, season two is the hatch, season three is the Others, I don’t want to tell you what season four is going to be, and then there’s a wrap-up season.” This latest news is sure to have fans in an uproar, but honestly, how long can it go on? And how long would you want it to drag on, just for the sake of filling airtime? But when will it officially end? No word about that, but the show will have hit 93 episodes by the end of next season—with Lindelof adding, “and I imagine that would be very close to where it would end ideally.”
Read More | Zap2it
Dancing With the Stars Returns in March
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, ABC, FOX, American Idol, Dancing With The Stars,
Dancing With the Stars returns to the small screen in mid-March, and moves nights from Tuesday/Wednesday to Monday/Tuesday. Why the move? Well, with American Idol coming on for its umpteenth season, Dancing decided to split its schedule to avoid the competition. Stephen McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment, said of the move, “The great thing about this air schedule is that fans won’t have to choose between the two reality hits this spring.” Too true. Fans of both shows, however will have their dance card (sorry, couldn’t resist) filled with watching both hit talent competitions. Who will be dancing in this latest installment? Sorry, folks. The official word isn’t expected until closer to the March 19th premiere date. Stay tuned—Good Morning America will make the announcement as we get closer to that date. The premiere will be two hours, with another two-hour installment on March 26th. The results show will be on Tuesday, March 27th. The shows will go to 90 minutes beginning on April 2nd.
Read More | Zap2it
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