• Paging Susan Sarandon! Goldie Hawn is out at HBO’s THE VIAGRA DIARIES.
• “Duh” of the Day: AMC accidentally leaks a major spoiler on their website.
• Must Read TV: Why James Spader Is Leaving and Ten Other Revelations About THE OFFICE.
• Bubble Watch: Can smart comedies survive Primetime’s incredibly competitive landscape?
• Pilot Watch: Amy Smart, Matt Lauria and Jean-Luc Bilodeau nab roles.
• Nerd Alert! CASTLE to host FIREFLY reunion with Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin.
Archives for March 2012
Two Heads Are Better Than One! Cherry Jones and BD Wong Discuss Their Pivotal Roles in AWAKE
Just because someone may be imagining a world where their wife or son has not died, does that make the person mentally unfit? In the new thought-provoking series AWAKE, Cherry Jones and BD Wong play the psychiatrists in each world (one real and one imaginary) that Detective Michael Britten lives. They are the voice of reason as Det. Britten tries to sustain a simultaneous existence in two very different worlds. Due to the impact such a revelation could have on his job, they are literally the only people who he can trust and rely upon to figure out what is real or not real – or how to keep both realities alive. Taking a few minutes to talk with press in a recent conference call, Cherry and BD candidly shared what the characters are doing to help Det. Britten navigate his very complicated psyche. [Read more…]
On TV Tonight: Thursday March 1, 2012
NET | 8PM | 8:30PM | 9PM | 9:30PM | 10PM | 10:30PM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC | Wipeout (R) | Grey’s Anatomy (R) | Jimmy Kimmel Live: After the Academy Awards (R) | |||
CBS | The Big Bang Theory (R) | Rob | Person of Interest (R) | The Mentalist (R) | ||
CW | The Vampire Diaries (R) | Supernatural (R) | ||||
FOX | American Idol | Archer (FX) | Unscripted (FX) | |||
NBC | 30 Rock | Parks and Recreation | The Office | Up All Night | Awake |
Dispatches From The Couch: In Defense of WHITNEY
It ain’t easy being a fan of a show that everyone else in the world seems to despise.
It’s especially tough when that show is a newbie that got off to a weak start before morphing into something most folks didn’t stick around long enough to see it become: a keeper.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you… WHITNEY.
Based solely on the pilot — featuring an overly-loud laugh track, all-too-familiar wedding jokes and a cast who’d yet to find their collective footing — it’s easy to see why people may have been turned off and… well, tuned out.
But those of us who stuck around have witnessed a major transformation as stars Whitney Cummings and Chris D’Elia became one of the most entertaining comedy duos currently on the airwaves. Their alter egos, Whitney and Alex, bicker like real people. Often, their arguments start out serious before slowly become more humorous as one or the other realizes how irrational their behavior has been.
Better still, the ensemble surrounding the pair — with help from the writers putting words in their mouths — have gone from being generic sitcom stereotypes to fleshed out personas. They’re no longer caricatures designed to elicit cheap laughs, but rather characters whom we laugh with rather than at.
The best example of this change? Dan O’Brien’s Mark. Originally conceived as the sex-obsessed obnoxious guy that every sitcom feels the need to have, he has since mellowed considerably, thanks in large part to the burgeoning relationship between Mark and Roxanne (played by the bullishly charming Rhea Seehorn). While early episodes left us asking why anyone would spend time with, let alone be friends with, Mark, the subtle changes made since have gone a long way toward making him someone worth getting to know.
At the moment, WHITNEY is living “on the bubble”, which is industry speak for “fighting for a second season.” Working in its favor is the fact that NBC has at least a few bigger problems on its plate (like the show’s painfully unfunny timeslot companion, ARE YOU THERE CHELSEA?). But it wouldn’t hurt if those of you who wrote WHITNEY off earlier this season gave it a second look.
Maybe, just maybe, it’ll get a little less lonely over here on the side of the couch reserved for WHITNEY lovers.
TV Ratings: Wednesday February 29, 2012
Time | Network | Show | Rating | 18-49 | VS. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
8PM | FOX | American Idol | 17.03 | 4.9/13 | |
CBS | Survivor: One World | 10.56 | 2.9/8 | ||
ABC | The Middle | 8.49 | 2.6/8 | ||
NBC | Whitney | 4.13 | 1.5/4 | ||
CW | One Tree Hill | 1.56 | 0.7/2 | ||
8:30PM | ABC | Suburgatory | 7.19 | 2.4/6 | |
NBC | Are You There, Chelsea | 3.54 | 1.3/4 | ||
9PM | FOX | American Idol | 17.03 | 4.9/13 | |
CBS | Criminal Minds | 12.50 | 3.1/8 | ||
ABC | Modern Family | 11.68 | 4.8/12 | ||
NBC | Rock Center with Brian Williams | 2.89 | 0.7/2 | ||
CW | America’s Next Top Model | 1.29 | 0.6/1 | ||
9:30PM | ABC | Happy Endings | 6.18 | 2.8/7 | |
10PM | CBS | CSI | 11.22 | 2.6/7 | |
ABC | Revenge | 7.42 | 2.4/6 | ||
NBC | Law & Order: SVU | 5.38 | 1.6/4 |
Ask the Addict: Spoilers for GREY’S ANATOMY, ONCE UPON A TIME, THE GOOD WIFE, LOST GIRL & More!
With contracts about to expire for the original cast members of GREY’S ANATOMY, I’m curious if you’ve got any insight into how Shonda Rhimes plans on ending the season? — Becca
The TV Addict: Living up to her reputation as smarter than your average showrunner, it would appear that Shonda Rhimes has cleverly found a way to keep her options opened. To that end, an upcoming episode of GREY’S ANATOMY’s will feature many of your favorite characters doing their best to make a good first impression when perspective suitors come a calling with potential job offers. And while we don’t pretend to know whether or not any of Seattle’s finest will find a permanent interest in working at, say, a hospital so small they have to fly their liver transplants to nearby Toledo, we are somewhat concerned that one of the docs may be inclined to take a second look at a certain Big Apple situated hospital that is rumored to have some of the best surgeons in the world knocking down its doors to get in.
I had no idea Tuesday night was the season finale of PARENTHOOD, is it coming back next year? — Christine
The TV Addict: It would be if I we here at theTVaddict.com had anything to say about it. Unfortunately — as evidence by the fact that PARENTHOOD’s fantastic third season was cut down to 18 episodes and ARE YOU THERE, CHELSEA? actually made it to air — we have very little sway when it comes to the Peacock Network’s programming priorities. That said, we would be absolutely flabbergasted if NBC didn’t renew one of their few critically beloved hour longs, if for no other reason than amidst the Network’s myriad of problems, PARENTHOOD is perhaps the least of them. [Read more…]
Morning Static: THE BIG BANG THEORY, HOMELAND, MAD MEN & More!
• MAD MEN at… 35,000 feet!
• Live Long and Laughter, Leonard Nimoy finally agrees to a BIG BANG THEORY cameo.
• Must Read TV: Howard Gordon on HOMELAND, the 24 movie and what’s wrong with television.
• All Aboard the Crazy Train! Brett Butler joins Charlie Sheen’s new FX series.
• Mark Your Calendars, the CW Sets 2-Hour TREE HILL swan song, finale dates for GOSSIP, TVD, RINGER and more.
• ICYMI: We Offer Up Our Take on NBC’s Midseason Offering AWAKE.
• Dane Cook: NBC’s next Alec Baldwin? Joel McHale? Aziz Ansari?
• Must Read TV: Inside the Unlucky/Lucky Life of AWAKE Creator Kyle Killen.