Category: Television

‘The Big Bang Theory’ renewed for three more years

At this rate, maybe we will see a Sheldon-Amy wedding! CBS has renewed The Big Bang Theory through the 2016-17 season.

“Comedy is a big part of our schedule, and The Big Bang Theory is the biggest comedy force on television,” said CBS Entertainment Chairman Nina Tassler in a statement. “This multi-year deal further strengthens our network’s position for future seasons and marks another chapter in the great partnership CBS enjoys with Warner Bros. Television for delivering audiences the best in comedy. We’re proud to work with and showcase the incredible talents of Chuck Lorre, Steve Molaro and this amazing cast every week.”

TBBT has ranked as the No. 1 sitcom among viewers since the 2010-11 season and continues to hold the top spot in key demographics for the second straight year. It’s currently averaging 19.79 million viewers (up 4% versus last year),a 6.1 rating in adults 18-49, and a 7.8 in adults 25-54.

New anchor team to make its debut on Weekend Update

A new team takes over NBC’s storied Weekend Update franchise on this weekend’s Saturday Night Live (11:35 p.m. ET/PT).

After Seth Meyers’ departure Feb. 1 for Late Night, Cecily Strong’s new partner is Colin Jost a head writer who’s worked for the show since 2005 but has never appeared on it.

“I’m definitely a little nervous,” Jost says, but “I’m excited to just start already. I’m more anxious when I’m thinking about it.”

Subjects for their inaugural segment remained undecided Thursday, though Strong suggested the Arizona governor’s veto of an anti-gay bill is a possible target, along with plans to “reveal the Oscars a little early.”

Executive producer Lorne Michaels, who also is presiding over new starts for Jimmy Fallon and Meyers this month, predicts Jost’s move to Update will be “the hardest transition. Colin is brilliant and he’s truly funny and he’ll get there, but in midseason to come in and do that, (it’s) difficult to master … the physical technique of it.”

Still, Meyers says Jost has nothing to fear. The Harvard grad and stand-up comedian is “one of the smartest people I’ve ever worked with, and he’s also one of the goofiest people I’ve ever worked with, and that’s a good combination for that desk,” he says. Jim Parsons is a first-time host, but Update is “the thing I’m most excited to watch on Saturday.”

Strong, 30, who joined Meyers at the fake-news desk last fall in only her second year on the show, has found her tenure there — from playing “the girl you wish you hadn’t started a conversation with at a party” to anchoring — “great and insane and exhausting. It’s such a big part of the show (that) it’s a great way, if you’re new on the show, to see what (you) can do.”

Jost, 31, has been preparing for his new role for half his life. “When I was a young kid,” in his Staten Island, N.Y., Catholic school, “I would pretend to be David Letterman and pretend to be Norm (Macdonald),” reading jokey news headlines, he says. “It seems crazy in retrospect that the teachers would allow it.” So Update is “something I’ve wanted to try and take on as a challenge.”

While Jost calls Macdonald his “most formational” Update anchor, both he and Strong say the pairing of Fey and Amy Poehler were keys to the signature segment’s latter-day success. “They just kind of blew everything up,” Strong says.

And Michaels says Jost was the only obvious candidate for the job, following in the footsteps of other head writers including Fey (who also hadn’t appeared in sketches) and Meyers. “There’s something innately credible about someone who writes and is up to date about politics and pop culture moving into Update,” he says. “I’m just carrying on a tradition.”

Weekend Update’s anchors

1975-76 Chevy Chase

1976-80 Jane Curtin

1985-91 Dennis Miller

1991-94 Kevin Nealon

1994-97 Norm MacDonald

1998-2000 Colin Quinn

2000-04 Jimmy Fallon/Tina Fey

2004-06 Tina Fey/Amy Poehler

2006-08 Amy Poehler/Seth Meyers

2009-13 Seth Meyers

2013-14 Seth Meyers/Cecily Strong

Lena Dunham to Host Saturday Night Live for the First Time

She’s a New York native – and she’s about to make her “live from New York” debut.

Lena Dunham will host Saturday Night Live for the first time on March 8, Variety reports.

“Thank you for the SNL love,” Dunham Tweeted Tuesday. “Can’t wait to debut my character ‘girl who googled serial killers all night & has lots to say!’ ”

No word yet on whether Dunham, 27, will lampoon Girls on the long-running sketch-comedy program. But if she does, it wouldn’t be the first time SNL has poked fun at Dunham’s hit HBO show, which follows the lives of four young New York women trying to find their place in the world.

In SNL’s 39th season opener in September, it ran a parody of the show that featured then-host Tina Fey as Blerta, the girl from Albania with a rubber hand and OCD – Old Cow Disease – who joins the decidedly trendier core four.

At the time, Dunham called the sketch “a true honor.” She also Tweeted praise for the show’s female cast members.

“Very excited about the current lineup of SNL ladies. They are funny like whoa,” Dunham wrote.

NBC’s ‘Heroes’ to Return as Miniseries in 2015

NBC is re-engaging the “Heroes” team, ordering 13 episodes of an event miniseries to air next year with series creator Tim Kring at the helm.

NBC teased the plan to revive the franchise with a promo spot that aired during Saturday’s telecast of Olympics coverage.

The brief spot featured a fade-in on the “Heroes” logo with the word “Reborn” added along with “Coming 2015.”

There had been rumors last year that the Peacock was looking to revive the mystery-fantasy drama that aired from 2006-2010. Kring is set to exec produce 13 new episodes.

Details of the storyline are being kept under wraps. It’s described as a stand-alone arc. A digital series will bow prior to the TV return to introduce (or perhaps re-introduce) fans to the characters that will be the focus of “Reborn.”

“The enormous impact ‘Heroes’ had on the television landscape when it first launched in 2006 was eye-opening,” said NBC Entertainment prexy Jennifer Salke. “Shows with that kind of resonance don’t come around often and we thought it was time for another installment. We’re thrilled that visionary creator Tim Kring was as excited about jumping back into this show as we were and we look forward to all the new textures and layers Tim plans to add to his original concept. Until we get closer to air in 2015, the show will be appropriately shrouded in secrecy, but we won’t rule out the possibility of some of the show’s original cast members popping back in.”

The original series starred Zachary Quinto, Hayden Panettiere, Jack Colman, Ali Larter, Adrian Pasdar, Milo Ventigmiglia and Greg Grunberg as a motley group of people who slowly realize they have extraordinary powers.

Jimmy Fallon set for first Tonight Show

Little more than a week after exiting Late Night, Jimmy Fallon makes his much-anticipated debut Monday as host of NBC’s Tonight Show, as the venerable TV institution returns to New York after four decades based on the West Coast.

Scheduled guests are U2 and Will Smith, with the show reclaiming Rockefeller Center’s Studio 6B, where Tonight aired during its early Johnny Carson years.

Fallon, who had hosted Late Night since 2009, moves up to the job Jay Leno held for much of the past 22 years until his recent departure from the Tonight host chair.

The 39-year-old Fallon first found stardom as a cast member and Weekend Update co-anchor on Saturday Night Live. He left SNL in 2004 to pursue a movie career, but he was met with less success in that arena.

Despite the excitement surrounding his new Tonight stint (much of it expressed by Fallon himself), he has also emphasized that Tonight under his regime won’t be notably different from the show his Late Night had evolved into.

Although airing an hour earlier than Late Night (but this week seen at a special time, midnight Eastern), The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon will feature many of the same comic bits, the same house band, the Roots, and announcer-sidekick Steve Higgins.

Filling the vacancy left by Fallon at Late Night will be fellow SNL alum Seth Meyers, who signs on as host next Monday, with Fred Armisen, yet another former SNL-er, as band leader.

John Oliver’s HBO show gets premiere date and title

Comedian John Oliver will bring the past into the present when his weekly HBO comedy series, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, premieres on April 27 (11 p.m. ET/PT).

Oliver, a former correspondent for Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, will take a weekly satirical look at news, politics and current events on the half-hour Sunday show, which is scheduled for 24 episodes in its first year.

The Emmy-winning Oliver, a native of England who first became known for political stand-up comedy in the United Kingdom, received critical praise last summer when he filled in for Stewart as Daily Show host.

‘How I Met Your Mother’ spinoff casts lead role

Ready to meet the new Mother? How I Met Your Dad has cast its star.

Actress Greta Gerwig has landed the lead role in CBS’ much-anticipated How I Met Your Mother spinoff pilot.

She’ll play Sally, who gradually reveals how she met her partner in flashback. She’s described as “a female Peter Pan who has never grown up and has no idea of where she’s going in life. She has just figured out that she has nothing in common with her husband of less than a year. A break-up is inevitable, but Sally will find a solid circle of support in her friends and family, who are often too willing to give ‘good’ advice that can backfire badly. Meanwhile, Sally must filter out the input and decide what’s best for her.”

In some ways, Gerwig is a surprising choice given she’s known as an indie actress and filmmaker rather than as a familiar face from prime-time TV (unlike most sitcom stars who land heavily desired roles). Her previous notable TV series credit is voiceover talent for the Adult Swim show China, Il. But she co-starred with Russell Brand in the remake of Arthur and has many films to her credit, including 2010′s Greenberg and 2012′s Frances Ha, for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination for best lead actress in a comedy. She’ll also nab a producer credit on the HIMYD, which is from writer-executive producers Emily Spivey, Carter Bays and Craig Thomas.

Eugene Levy teams with son, Catherine O’Hara for Schitt’s Creek

SCTV alumni Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara are reuniting for an upcoming TV series co-starring fellow funnyman Chris Elliott and Levy’s son Dan.

CBC and Not a Real Company Productions Inc. announced plans today for a new half-hour comedy titled Schitt’s Creek, a project spearheaded by father and son Levy.

Production on the sitcom is slated to begin this spring in Ontario. CBC-TV has ordered a 13-episode run.

The show will follow the adventures of billionaire Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy), his soap star wife (O’Hara) and their two kids (including Dan Levy) after the family loses its fortune and are forced to live in the titular Schitt’s Creek, “an arm pit of a town they once bought as a joke.”

Comedy stalwart Elliott — whose prolific credits include TV’s The Late Show with David Letterman, Get a Life, How I Met Your Mother and movies such as Groundhog Day and There’s Something About Mary — will portray the mayor of Schitt’s Creek.

“I’m just so proud to be doing this show back here in Canada,” the senior Levy said in a statement.

“Catherine and I go back a long way to SCTV and I don’t think I’ve worked with anyone more times in my career. She’s an incredible talent.”

Along with the influential Canadian sketch series SCTV, Levy and O’Hara also appeared together in Christopher Guest films such as Waiting for Guffman, For Your Consideration, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind.

Levy also praised Elliott and said he was happy to team up with his son, the former MTV Canada host and an actor who has appeared in TV’s Degrassi: The Next Generation and the comedy film Admission.

“It’s been a kick working with my son Dan. He’s been a great partner and an amazing show runner.”

Broadcast details are forthcoming.

Fred Armisen will serve as band leader for Late Night With Seth Meyers

With The Roots joining Jimmy Fallon over on The Tonight Show, Late Night will not only feature a new host, but also a new house band. And by the looks of it, Seth Meyers is keeping it in the family, tagging fellow SNL alum Fred Armisen to serve as band leader.

If you’re questioning the move, consider this: Armisen’s music career actually pre-dates his work in comedy. In the late 80s, he played drums in the punk band Trenchmouth and later served as a backing musician for the Blue Man Group. He remained heavily involved in music, even after hitting it big on Saturday Night Live, contributing to Les Sevy Fav’s 2007 album Let’s Stay Friends and performing live with Joanna Newsom in 2011.

On SNL, he created the character Ian Rubbish, a spoof of Sex Pistols frontman Johnny Rotten, and has since released music under the moniker. He’ll also provide Meyers with one absurd rolodex of potential music guests, as everyone from Eddie Vedder to Jack White to St. Vincent has appeared on his IFC program Portlandia.

So, yeah, as ridiculous as it sounds, Armisen leading the new Late Night band actually makes a lot of sense. Plus, anyone want to take bets on how long it takes Armisen to appear in a sketch?

According to Meyers’ Twitter account, Armisen “will curate and lead the band, and continue to run it even when he’s off shooting Portlandia.” Late Night With Seth Meyers officially premieres Monday, February 24th.

Michelle Obama, Justin Timberlake join Jimmy Fallon’s ‘Tonight Show’ kickoff

Jimmy Fallon has filled out the guest list for his first week as host of “The Tonight Show,” and it’s a star-studded one.

Will Smith and musical guest U2 were previously announced for Fallon’s inaugural show on Monday, Feb. 17. Later in the week Fallon will welcome Jerry Seinfeld, Lady Gaga, first lady Michelle Obama, Will Ferrell and old friend Justin Timberlake, among others.

Here’s the full lineup for Fallon’s first week. The Feb. 17-20 shows will air at midnight ET/PT following extended Winter Olympics coverage on NBC, while the Feb. 21 show is set for its usual time at 11:35 p.m.

Monday, Feb. 17: Will Smith, U2

Tuesday, Feb. 18: Jerry Seinfeld, Kristen Wiig, musical guest Lady Gaga

Wednesday, Feb. 19: Bradley Cooper, musical guest Tim McGraw

Thursday, Feb. 20: First lady Michelle Obama, Will Ferrell, musical guest Arcade Fire

Friday, Feb. 21: Justin Timberlake