FOX Adds Primetime Game Show to Roster
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Games, Prime Time, ABC, FOX, NBC,
Not one to miss out on the game show mania, a la Deal or No Deal (NBC) and upcoming 1 vs. 100 (NBC) and Set for Life (ABC), FOX will now be offering their own primetime game show to the mix. The Rich List will debut later this season, produced by the British company that brought you The Weakest Link (ugh!) and Dog Eat Dog (double ugh!). The show will challenge teams of strangers by having them complete lists of topics, from trivia to textbook topics. To add to the excitement, the teams will wager on how many answers they expect they can provide—highest bid gets to complete the list. And of course, if they don’t make their estimated number, the other team goes on to face another team. According to Mike Darnell, head of alternative programming at FOX, “This is a truly original concept, unlike anything else currently on air, which promises to be exciting and addictive viewing.” Don’t expect any famous American talent to host the show, as British morning show host Eamonn Holmes will helm The Rich List.
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| Zap2it
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Survivor Loses GM Sponsorship
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Prime Time, Reality, CBS, Survivor,
General Motors has decided to no longer sponsor Survivor, despite their six year run with the series. The timing of this decision seems to coincide with the series’ new twist to pit races against each other, however, GM says that it had nothing to do with their decision to pull sponsorship. GM spokeswoman Ryndee Carney told the Associated Press, “I think it’s just a coincidence. I know it’s not cause and effect.” Instead, GM insisted that Survivor simply did not fit in with their current marketing strategy—“to focus more on product placement and big-ticket live events, like sporting competitions and award shows.”
While most would agree that the news does seem to be a direct effect of this season’s segregated tribe format, CBS did confirm that GM announced the end of their sponsorship several months before the new season’s twist was announced. CBS spokesman Chris Ender said, “GM had no knowledge of [this season’s] ethnic format.”
Read More | Yahoo! News
The Sarah Connor Chronicles Are Coming to TV
Posted by Christina Furtado Categories: Action, Drama, Prime Time, Talent,
Fox Broadcasting has greenlit a pilot called The Sarah Connor Chronicles, based, of course, on the popular Terminator movies. David Nutter will direct the pilot, and Warner Bros. TV and Andy Vajna and Mario Kassar’s C2 Pictures (producers of the most recent movie) will produce it. Nutter has directed the pilots of shows tha have gone on to be hits, such as Smallville, Without a Trace, and Supernatural. He also directed the pilot of Dark Angel, the James Cameron project, which may be one reason he was chosen for this.
The new show will focus on Sarah and John Connor during the time they spent on the run after Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Casting will begin immediately (I’m assuming Linda Hamilton is not a possibility), and filming will start in early 2007.
Read More | Coming Soon
Trump to Carolyn: “You’re Fired”
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Prime Time, Reality, NBC, Apprentice, The - Donald,
The man behind the Trump clothing line, Trump fragrance, Visa check card commercials and Days Of Our Lives cameos has just fired his right-hand woman for ‘excessive self-promotion’. If that’s not irony, I don’t know what is. Carolyn Kepcher, who along with George sat beside Donald for five seasons of The Apprentice, has been let go from the Trump organization. Kepcher had been Chief Operating Officer for two of Trump’s golf courses. Its been said that her frequent speaking engagements and her recent book (“Carolyn 101”) contributed to her suffering work performance. But taping episodes of The Apprentice and following dimwits around didn’t?
For those who are still actually watching the show—there are fewer and fewer of you left these days—you will not be missing Kepcher during the 6th season. That’s because she wasn’t in the show to begin with. The new season, premiering in January, will feature the Trump clan once again. I wonder if Donald just likes looking at his own daughter more.
Well - if nothing else, getting rid of Carolyn gives the new apprentice two more golf positions to choose from…
Read More | CNN Money
Entourage: Sorry, Ari
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Comedy, HBO, Entourage, Features,
Eric wakes up to find a restless Vince standing over him. Still bothered by the Ramones movie snafu, Vince tells Eric that they should fire Ari. Ari—either sensing Vince’s anger or wracked with his own guilt—is startled awake. He tells his wife he believes he will be fired that day.
At breakfast, Turtle jumps all over the axing Ari plan—but Drama is not so quick to judge. Johnny encourages Vince to take some time before making a big decision. At the very least, he should entertain the thought of meeting other agents before he goes completely without representation. Vince decides to go with his gut and tells Eric to call Ari. Eric refuses and makes him do his own dirty work.
Click to continue reading Entourage: Sorry, Ari
Family Ties Dad Joins How I Met Your Mother
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Prime Time, CBS,
In casting news, it’s been announced that Michael Gross will be joining the cast of How I Met Your Mother, playing Ted’s (Josh Radnor) father. Gross is perhaps best known for his role as the father of Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties in the 80s. Gross is set to appear on the show’s third episode, airing in early October. Christine Rose of Charmed and Picket Fences will be playing Ted’s mother. The episode will introduce his parents at a brunch that Ted brings his girlfriend (Cobie Smulders) and his other friends to. Neil Patrick Harris commented that the episode will showcase flashbacks to show that while everyone appears happy at the brunch, that isn’t necessarily the case. You may have also caught Gross in the cult classic Tremors, Law & Order and ER.
Additional talent to look out for on How I Met Your Mother include funk musician George Clinton on the season premiere, as we see the outcome of Marshall (Jason Segel) and Lily’s (Alyson Hannigan) season ending relationship shocker. The season premiere of How I Met Your Mother airs on Monday, September 18th.
Read More | Zap2it
Jimmy Kimmel’s Talk Show Renewed
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Late Night, Talk Shows, ABC,
It’s a good month to be Jimmy Kimmel—last week we announced that Kimmel would be hosting a game show, and this week he learned that his late night talk show has been renewed. ABC renewed Jimmy Kimmel Live for a fifth season, which carries it through 2008. I had no idea the show had even been on that long and sadly, I can’t comment on his talk show skills since I can’t stay up that late! Sorry folks, I’ve got two little ones and sleep is a precious commodity in my home. In response to the renewal news, Kimmel said “I am delighted to have been asked to host a fifth year of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live.’ I watch it all the time.” Andrea Wong, executive vp alternative programming, specials and late-night at ABC Entertainment, called Kimmel “the future of late night television.”
Here’s my chance to catch the Kimmel fever—ABC will be airing a primetime special, called Jimmy Kimmel Live’s All-Star Salute to Jimmy Kimmel Live! (catchy) at 10 p.m. on September 13th. If you’ve never seen the show or if you’re a fan and want to re-live the finer moments, check out this “best of” highlights show featuring surprise guest cameos.
Read More | Yahoo! News
Paris Hilton Snubbed by “Extras” Creator Ricky Gervais
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, BBC, HBO, Extras,
Seems I’m reporting on all things Ricky Gervais these days—not that that’s a bad thing! God love the man, even more so now that I’ve heard he’s snubbed Paris Hilton from an appearance on his BBC/HBO series Extras. The New York Post reported that Hilton wanted to appear on the series, but was rejected by creator and star Gervais. So, of course, she’s got a major “how dare he?” beef with him, saying “I guess he’s obviously scared of starring alongside an A-lister.” Yeah, I’m sure that’s exactly what it is, seeing as the first season of the show included appearances by actual A-listers, such as Ben Stiller, Kate Winslet and Samuel L. Jackson. Gervais, understandably, had no comment.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m so tired of the Paris hype. You can barely escape coverage of her on any of the entertainment news programs; the biggest culprit of all is the E! network, which may as well be the Paris! network. Sheesh.
For those awaiting the return of Extras, E!‘s Korbi Ghosh (I know, I just dissed E!) spoke with Gervais at the Emmy’s. He said they just completed filming another six episodes and expects them to air on HBO next year.
Read More | Reality TV World
Wedding Crashers Reality Show Coming Soon to NBC
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Reality, NBC,
From the folks behind MTV’s Punk’d (okay, that would be Ashton Kutcher’s production company), comes the upcoming reality show based on the characters from the film Wedding Crashers. Working with NBC, Kutcher’s company, Katalyst Films, and New Line TV have created The Real Wedding Crashers, a hidden-camera series that sends a group of improv actors to crash wedding receptions. Craig Plestis, head of alternative programming at NBC says of the series, “Everyone loved ‘Wedding Crashers,’ and we wanted to see if we could capture that same kind of inspired frivolity in a real-life series. Working with Ashton and knowing his memorable experiences with the jokes he pulled off on ‘Punk’d’ made it that much more enticing. This series has a big upside potential for hidden-camera humor.” So far, no word on when the series will air.
Read More | Zap2it
Unauthorized Microsoft Training Videos Feature Brit “Office”
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, BBC, The Office, Internet,
As many videos that are never meant for public consumption find their way on the Internet, so too have a couple of Microsoft in-house training videos from The Office creator Ricky Gervais leaked online. Both Google Video and YouTube included the videos in their lineup, but the films were meant only for Microsoft employee’s eyes. Microsoft commissioned the videos in 2004, to provide “a light-hearted way of getting our staff to think about the values they attach to working at Microsoft,” according to a company spokeswoman. Both videos run about 20 minutes and feature Gervais and co-writer Stephen Merchant, with Gervais playing his annoying Office character David Brent and Merchant acting as a Microsoft employee.
YouTube has since pulled the videos, however Google Video still has them up. I checked them out and they are really great—especially if you miss the original Office humor and the way Gervais plays his character to the most annoying level, with gobs of arrogance and self-confidence. I’ve always found his character to be almost painful to watch because of the level of embarrassment you feel for him—all the while he’s clueless that he’s being inappropriate. It’s complete genius.
According to the company’s spokeswoman, “These videos were produced for internal use and were never intended to be viewed by the public. We are actively working to investigate how and why they have appeared now.”
If you don’t have time to watch the full videos, just check out the last few minutes of each. Following the end credits, some of the outtakes have been included—there is nothing more infectious than Ricky Gervais laughing. Enjoy.
Read More | Yahoo! News
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