television

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TV Writer's Real Genius May Lie in the Fine Print

In brief post-sitcom flash, CBS shows Lorre's public journal

(Newser) - Television viewers are familiar with "vanity cards," the industry term for images crediting a production company at a show's end. But the cards at two CBS sitcoms are different: Producer Chuck Lorre uses the instant of screen time for a changing public diary, the Wall Street Journal reports....

ABC Schedules Only 2 New Fall Shows
ABC Schedules Only 2 New
Fall Shows

ABC Schedules Only 2 New Fall Shows

Reality show, drama get green light; Oprah passes on Big Give

(Newser) - ABC will debut just two new shows in the fall, partly because of the writers' strike. One will be a reality show produced by Ashton Kutcher that tests family members on how well they know each other. The other, Life on Mars, is based on a British show about a...

Ugly Betty Moving to Big Apple
 Ugly Betty Moving to Big Apple 

Ugly Betty Moving to Big Apple

Series moves to take advantage of new tax credit

(Newser) - Ugly Betty, long set in New York, will now be shot there too, ABC News reports. The series is moving production to the Big Apple because of the financial incentives of a new state film tax credit. The expanded tax, announced last month by Gov. David Paterson, raises the percentage...

Fox Boots 'Idol' Favorite's Dad From Backstage

Despite warnings, Archuleta's papa altered Tuesday song

(Newser) - David Archuleta may be the fan favorite on "American Idol," but his dad is now Fox's persona non grata backstage. The network has banned Jeff Archuleta, who had been intensely involved in prepping his son, after his call Tuesday to change the lyrics of “Stand By Me,...

SNL Launches Political Satire Site
SNL Launches Political
Satire Site

SNL Launches Political Satire Site

Site serves as storehouse of show's long-running satire

(Newser) - Saturday Night Live has unveiled a new website to showcase the program’s political humor, Broadcasting and Cable reports. Visitors can check out clips of the show’s political sketches and candidate appearances at http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/politics, or vote for their favorite president/candidate impersonator—dating back from Dana Carvey's...

Nickelodeon Show Draws Stoner Crowd
Nickelodeon Show Draws Stoner Crowd

Nickelodeon Show Draws Stoner Crowd

Old-school format, cool music attract older, higher viewers

(Newser) - A Nickelodeon series aimed at preschoolers has garnered an unusual following—hipster parents and twenty-something potheads. The variety-show format of “Yo Gabba Gabba!”—celebs and indie rockers guest between animated shorts—attracts a generation weaned on “The Muppet Show,” reports ABC News. Add bright colors,...

Overthrow of Castro Leaves 3 Idol Hopefuls

Flubbed lyrics and bad Marley cover spell the end for Texan singer

(Newser) - And then there were three. Jason Castro got the boot from "American Idol" last night, leaving David Cook, David Archuleta, and Syesha Mercado remaining in the competition, reports the AP. The dreadlocked Texan was an early favorite but couldn't keep the momentum going. His fate was sealed after he...

FCC to Test TV's Digital Era in N. Carolina

Wilmington will be feds' guinea pig to phase out analog

(Newser) - Wilmington, NC, will be a test market for the switchover to all-digital television, the Wall Street Journal reports. The US as a whole is to change from analog signals by Feb. 17, but Wilmington could flip by Sept. 8 as broadcasters and the Federal Communications Commissions worry over how the...

Seacrest, CNN's New King?
 Seacrest, CNN's New King? 

Seacrest, CNN's New King?

American Idol host may need to add suspenders to wardrobe

(Newser) - Ryan Seacrest is in "serious negotiations" to replace talk-show host Larry King at the end of this year, MSNBC reports. King says his occasional CNN fill-in would be the first choice. “He’s the classic generalist,” King says, adding, "The only thing I don’t know...

Scandal-Plagued Ex-DA to Become TV Judge

Pirro joins the CW's new afternoon lineup this fall

(Newser) - An ex-DA from the New York suburbs will be behind the bench starting this fall—on TV. Judge Jeanine Pirro stars a onetime Hillary Clinton Senate challenger who landed the CW gig even though Pirro and her husband have a history of controversies ranging from tax fraud to wiretapping probes,...

Sex and the City Star Misses ... the City

On eve of movie release, Parker recalls bygone Manhattan

(Newser) - When Sarah Jessica Parker laments the old Manhattan that is slowly eroding—coffee shops and bodegas closing, Sex and the City bus tours parked outside Magnolia Bakery—her husband, Mathew Broderick, tells it to her straight: “That’s your fault!” New York magazine sits down with the star,...

Seinfeld : Still a Classic?
 Seinfeld: Still a Classic? 

Seinfeld: Still a Classic?

Two critics battle over the show about nothing

(Newser) - Does the sitcom "about nothing” still evoke something—like laughs? Two TV critics revisited Seinfeld and emerged with different takes on the nutty New Yorkers. David Noonan argues that great actors—including an awesome string of small-part oddballs—still make the comedy sparkle. "They add a deep and...

Magic of 'This American Life' Returns to Small Screen

Second season debuts tonight

(Newser) - The stories on the small-screen version of “This American Life” start out small—a husband’s protest over the oppressive American trend of lawn-mowing, a young man living with spinal muscular atrophy—and become something universal, both dark and light, even a little magical, writes Heather Havrilesky on Salon....

'Lifelike' Sony TV Wows Viewers
 'Lifelike' Sony TV Wows Viewers 
product review

'Lifelike' Sony TV Wows Viewers

3mm-thick wonder trumps LCDs, plasmas — though it's tiny, and pricey

(Newser) - Sony’s new XEL-1 television is neither plasma nor LCD: it uses organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology, and “its picture is so incredible, Sony should include a jaw cushion,” David Pogue writes in the New York Times. Sony is the first to sell TVs using the system, which...

Writers Strike Fallout Lingers Behind the Scenes

Cautious restart means crew members struggle to find work

(Newser) - Even though the writers’ strike ended 2 month ago, TV production crew members are still working less than usual and feeling the financial burn, the LA Times reports. The networks took a cautious approach after the strike, putting many shows on hold until next season and ordering fewer episodes of...

Why We Love Gossip Girl
 Why We Love Gossip Girl 
OPINION

Why We Love Gossip Girl

CW's prime-time soap has appeal far beyond intended teen targets

(Newser) - New York magazine writers Jessica Pressler and Chris Rovzar have come out of the closet. No, not that closet—the one hiding adult fans of Gossip Girl. The pair once justified their love for the CW's teen soap opera by calling it "awesomely bad … like Showgirls. Or a...

Jimmy Fallon Scores Conan's Late Night Spot

Ex- SNL actor to host when O'Brien takes Tonight Show in '09

(Newser) - Jimmy Fallon will take Conan O’Brien’s Late Night desk when Conan leaves for the Tonight Show, writes Roger Friedman for Fox News. O’Brien is set to replace Jay Leno in May 2009; the former Saturday Night Live star is rumored to be “thrilled and ready, if...

Katie May Wear Larry King's Suspenders

Rumor has CBS anchor jumping ship to take CNN's 9pm spot

(Newser) - When word broke that CBS and Katie Couric were poised to part ways, CNN swiftly re-signed Larry King. That was widely expected. But the contract conspicuously avoids promising King the 9pm hour he’s so long held, sources tell Verne Gay of Newsday. That leaves the door swinging invitingly for...

No Prom for Young Idol David
 No Prom for Young Idol David 

No Prom for Young Idol David

Must skip high school fête to compete

(Newser) - American Idol favorite David Archuleta, 17, must skip his high school prom this weekend in Utah to stay in the game, TMZ reports. The reality TV show's strict rules mean that every contestant is on lockdown, including Brooke White, who had to skip her sister's wedding earlier this month.

'Dealer'-in-Chief? Bush Hits Game Show

Prez's Deal or No Deal appearance latest in low-brow pol appearances

(Newser) - Increasingly overshadowed by the presidential campaign, George W. Bush got a bit of exposure last night—on a TV game show. The commander-in-chief appeared via satellite on Deal or No Deal to root for a soldier back from Iraq who was gunning for a million dollars in a suitcase, reports...

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