Category: Television

Michael J. Fox eyes full-time TV gig

LOS ANGELES – Michael J. Fox is looking to get back into the TV game full-time.

Sony Pictures Television is shopping a single-camera comedy project to networks that would star the former “Family Ties“ actor, a spokeswoman for SPTV told TheWrap.

The project, written by “Cougar Town” scribe Sam Laybourne and helmed by “Friends With Benefits” director Will Gluck, is inspired by Fox’s life.

The actor, 51, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991.

Though Fox has not starred in a television series since “Spin City” in 2000, he has made numerous guest appearances on the small screen, showing up in multi-episode runs on “Rescue Me,” “Boston Legal” and “The Good Wife.”

Ron Howard: ‘Arrested Development’ Is in ‘Great Form’

With production for the next season of Arrested Development officially underway, producer and series narrator Ron Howard talked with MTV about reviving the beloved series. “I visited the set last week. It’s a blast over there. [Creator] Mitch Hurwitz has such a remarkable, creative voice. It’s the perfect set of actors to bring it to life,” said Howard. “The scripts are hilarious.”

Howard kept quiet on the plot of the new episodes, but felt assured that the show’s new elements would mesh seamlessly with fan favorites. “Mitch isn’t trying to recreate something,” Howard said. “It’s been away for a while, and part of the fun that Mitch has been mining and exploiting is, what’s new to discover about these people? What’s delightfully unchanged? He and the writing staff and the actors have a fantastic sense of that. They’re pretty brazen, pretty bold and fearless. That’s what made the show into something that fans really kept alive.”

To make the experience even sweeter, the cast is in “great form” and everyone is getting along beautifully. “They’re having the greatest time getting together and getting back into it,” said Howard. “It’s cool and bold and funny, and out there taking chances, just like it always did.”

The fourth season of Arrested Development will premiere on Netflix in 2013.

Report: Abby Elliott Leaving Saturday Night Live

Well, this is a major bummer: Abby Elliott is out at Saturday Night Live.

After four seasons, the brains behind Quirky Girl With Zooey Deschanel has opted not to return for Season 38, Splitsider reports.

Her departure brings to three the number of SNL vets exiting NBC’s late-night institution; she joins previously announced bolters Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg. Meanwhile, rumors persist that Jason Sudeikis is eying the exit door as well.

Questions about Elliott’s SNL future were first raised last spring when she landed the female lead in the Fox comedy pilot Ben and Kate. The role was eventually recast with Dakota Johnson.

In addition to Deschanel, Elliott’s other notable celebrity impressions included Angelina Jolie, Rachael Maddow and Khloé Kardashian.

Full Cast of ‘Arrested Development’ Begins Production on New Episodes

The entire cast of Arrested Development has returned as the beloved show today began production on new episodes that will stream on Netflix, Deadline reports.

Created by Mitchell Hurwitz, the former Fox series stars Jason Bateman, Jeffery Tambor, Portia de Rossi, Jessica Walter, David Cross, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Tony Hale and Alia Shawkat as the dysfunctional (to put it lightly) Bluth family. Cancelled in 2006 after three seasons, the show has been resurrected for 10 episodes that will follow each character. The new season is expected to bridge the gap between the last season and the long-rumored Arrested Development movie.

Also returning is producer Ron Howard, who will reprise his role as the narrator of the series. Howard will produce with Hurwitz and Troy Miller, while Brian Grazer and Francie Calfo will executive produce the new episodes.

Arrested Development’s fourth season is expected to shoot throughout the fall, and Hurwitz has indicated that he’s willing to extend the series further if the new episodes do well.

Though no premiere date has been announced, the show will return sometime in 2013. Netflix has said it intends to make all 10 episodes available at the same time.

Will Ferrell calls KStew a ‘trampire’

Funnyman Will Ferrell played into the Kristen Stewart/Robert Pattinson split drama during a late-night TV appearance in America on Thursday by sobbing about the shock break-up.

Pretending to be deeply affected by the actress’ cheating scandal, the Old School star hit talk show Conan deeply depressed and began to weep as he explained why he was so low, joking, “I don’t know if I could have done something to prevent it.”

His upset turned to anger when host Conan O’Brien suggested, “I’m sure it’s gonna be fine.”

Ferrell raged, “It’s not gonna be fine, ever… What they had was so special; you would never know… She is a trampire, that’s what she is.”

Earlier this week, Stewart’s producer pal Giovanni Agnelli jumped to the actress’ defence amid the fallout following her cheating confessions, and urged critics to stop calling her a “trampire” – a reference to her vampire role in the Twilight franchise.

He tweeted, “If you’ve ever used the word Trampire you’re a mindless pathetic piece of s—.”

Stewart stunned fans and Hollywood insiders last month when she revealed a tabloid story about a fling with director Rupert Sanders was true. It now appears her romance with Robert Pattinson is over after removal vans were spotted outside the Los Angeles home the couple shares.

‘Big Brother Canada’ wants you

If you’re interested in being a contestant on Big Brother Canada, casting details have been announced.

Starting on Wednesday, Aug. 1, fans of the franchise will be able to apply online to participate in the show. More details and applications are available at www.bigbrothercanada.ca.

Big Brother Canada will air on Slice in the winter of 2013.

Also, there will be a series of in-person casting calls in major cities across the country, if you prefer to go that route. Locations and dates are:

Vancouver – September 23.
Calgary – September 30.
Halifax – October 7.
Montreal – October 7.
Toronto – October 14.

The 14th season of the American version of Big Brother currently is airing Thursdays on CBS and Global.

Mariah Carey joins ‘American Idol’ as new judge

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Mariah Carey will join “American Idol” as a judge next season, Fox announced Monday, bringing her star power to the show that remains a ratings leader but has seen its viewership and pop culture status diminish.

“I am so excited to be joining ‘Idol,'” said Carey, addressing the Television Critics Association via Fox entertainment chief Kevin Reilly’s cellphone, which he put on speakerphone for the hotel ballroom meeting.

She couldn’t be on hand with the group because “this kind of all just happened really quickly,” Carey said in her brief remarks. “I can’t wait to get started in the fall … and I will see you in January.”

The show, which saw judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez exit at the end of last season, will be back on the air for season 12 in January.

Reilly called Carey “the biggest recording artist that any of these (talent) shows has ever had,” adding that she was the “artist that many of these contestants have tried to emulate, have tried some of the songs, have tried to hit the notes.”

Playing the drama up, Reilly placed a call to Carey and put her on speaker.

“Hi Mariah. How are you? It’s Kevin,” he said. “We do have the deal, don’t we?”

“Yes!” Carey replied.

Reilly said he was “thrilled” to confirm reports that Carey was being courted by Fox and said the deal was freshly signed within the last few hours. According to reports, the Grammy-winning pop star will earn at least $15 million a season.

The exit of Tyler and Lopez left original judge Randy Jackson and started a guessing game about potential replacements, with Carey at the top of the list.

As one of music’s best-selling singers, she could provide the clout “American Idol” needs to compete in an increasingly crowded talent show field. Besides Fox sibling “The X Factor,” which recently added Britney Spears and Demi Lovato as judges, there’s NBC’s “The Voice,” which boasts Christina Aguilera among its big names.

“Not being the only game in town now, we need to keep things fresh,” Reilly said. The search is on for a third judge, and he promised another impressive pick. It could a star or someone like music executive and “Idol” mentor Jimmy Iovine, who wasn’t a household name when he joined, Reilly said. But, he added, after 12 seasons “we need to have something to talk about.”

“We have the biggest names in the business, like Mariah Carey, interested in doing this … so for the next couple of weeks it will be a matter of picking the right one, with the right chemistry, making the deal, and finalizing this,” he said.

Jackson’s value to the show was enhanced by Carey’s signing, although Fox has yet to say whether he’ll judge next season. Ryan Seacrest will be back as host.

“I can’t confirm and don’t want to talk about anyone” else on the show, Reilly said. But he added that Jackson “has been working with Mariah and is in fact her co-manager, and Randy was very instrumental in doing this deal.”

Simon Cowell, the former “American Idol” judge who adapted his U.K. hit “X Factor” for Fox, was asked about Carey’s new gig at a critics’ session later Monday.

“I’m happy for her, actually. I like Mariah. I think she’s going to find it difficult to say no. You’ve got to say no to people and she’s sweet,” he said, then quickly backtracked, adding, “No, I think she’ll be great.”

Cowell had reason to be diplomatic: Carey’s husband, Nick Cannon, is host of Cowell’s “America’s Got Talent” on NBC.

“American Idol” ended the 2011-12 season as the leading entertainment show and No. 2 overall, just behind NBC’s top-rated “Sunday Night Football.”

But the show aired its least-watched finale ever this season and the advertiser-favored young adult audience has been steadily shrinking. The show’s cachet hasn’t been helped by a run of champions who have failed to achieve the career sizzle of past competitors Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood or Kelly Clarkson.

Earlier Monday, veteran “Idol” executive producer Nigel Lythgoe said there’s a slender possibility that Lopez might return. His reasoning: Since she told Seacrest she was 99 percent sure she was leaving, that means there’s a 1 percent chance she won’t, Lythgoe said.

He said he hoped that was the case, although Lythgoe also told the critics’ annual summer meeting that he thought the show should be freshened each season with new judges.

But Lopez’s representative confirmed again Monday that she’s leaving “American Idol.” She originally made the announcement July 13, a day after Tyler said he was leaving.

Reilly also downplayed Lythgoe’s remarks, saying lightly there was a “99 percent” chance Lopez wasn’t returning.

“We came to a mutual decision with Jennifer and Steven,” he said, calling it a “great experience with both of them. Creatively, we were all happy.”

But it was decided “it was the time for a change,” Reilly said.

Lythgoe said his own contract is under negotiation, declining to comment further.

TLC orders Pete Rose reality series

Major League Baseball’s all-time hit leader is hoping for one more — in the form of a TV show. TLC has begun production on a reality series starring Pete Rose, the polarizing 17-time All-Star who was banned from his beloved sport for gambling on games while he was a manager for the Cincinnati Reds.

With a working title of Pete Rose and Kiana Kim Family Project, the show will follow the 71-year-old Rose and his thirtysomething model fiancée Kiana Kim (who has posed for Playboy) through their daily lives as they try to blend their families. There are some challenges along the way. A few family members are apprehensive about the relationship. And while Rose is based in Las Vegas (where he signs baseball memorabilia) or is on the road making public appearances, Kim and her two children live in Los Angeles. “She’s got younger kids and I’ve got [four adult] kids, and we go through the same things everybody else does: taking the braces off, making sure they get their education and they go to basketball practice or acting class,” Rose tells Entertainment Weekly, adding: “It’s not going to be classless — like it seems like a lot of reality shows aren’t really reality, but our reality show is going to be funny, entertaining, and real.”

The cameras will trail them through such events as Rose taking the family to visit the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, to Kim getting a breast reduction. “We’re not a traditional family,” says Kim. “We are a total modern-day family, mixing the cultures, the ages, the different backgrounds together. I didn’t even know who Pete Rose was when I first met him. It’s kind of a crazy story, but at the core of every family is love and it’s what TLC wants to show.” Quips Rose: “We’re just a normal family with 4,200 hits.”

Rose says that the show will afford him the opportunity to clear up misconceptions that he believes the public has about him. “People will get a chance to see what kind of personality I have — and she has,” he says. ” I think the majority of people who don’t know me look at me as a very aggressive person. I see that in the autograph world all the time. People come in and they’re scared to say hi. I’m not going to do anything unless you try to strike me out or make a double play. When I took the cleats off, I was a down-to-earth nice guy. I don’t talk down to nobody or up to anybody. I talk to them.”

Will this series also chronicle Rose’s mission to get reinstated into baseball, so he can be eligible for induction to the Hall of Fame? “If the commissioner [Bud Selig] ever finds it in its heart to give me a second chance, I’m sure that we’ll address that,” he says. “But if I ever make the Hall of Fame, I’ll be the happiest guy in the world because I understand what it means. But I’m not just going to sit here on pins and needles. I’m not in the Hall of Fame because I screwed up. It’s not Bud’s fault. It’s not [former commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti’s] fault. It’s not Mike Schmidt’s fault or Johnny Bench’s fault. I’m the one who screwed up. And if I’m ever given a second chance, all I can tell you is: I won’t need a third.”

TLC is planning to air five episodes of the show later this year.

‘Eastbound & Down’ will return to HBO

Are you ready for more Kenny Powers?

HBO has ordered eight more episodes of the cult fave Eastbound & Down that stars Danny McBride. That’s an abrupt about-face from what the actor and his producing partners — Jody Hill, Will Ferrell, Chris Henchy and Adam McKay — were saying earlier this year, when the show finished its spring run. “HBO definitely wants us, and [co-creator] Jody Hill and I love writing for the show,” McBride told EW earlier this year. “But there is other stuff we’d like to do. Both of us are ready to make jokes concerning people who don’t have strange haircuts.”

Obviously, HBO managed to persuade the boys that Powers needs to stage a comeback. The third season wrapped with the Major League pitcher appearing to be dead — until he showed up at the doorstep of April Buchanon, played by Katy Mixon. Needless to say, he’ll have some ‘splaining to do when the show returns for its fourth year.

Is Peggy off ‘Mad Men’ for good?

‘Mad Men’ star Elisabeth Moss may be off the show for good.

Jared Harris, the British actor who plays Lane Pryce — a partner in the ad agency who killed himself on last Sunday’s stunner episode — let it slip yesterday that the actress who plays Peggy “left.”

In an interview with the digital paper The Daily, Harris said he didn’t get a going-away party from the cast and crew because so many actors were leaving the show.

“Actors are always ending jobs.” he told the paper. “It isn’t a big deal in that sense. . . . Elisabeth [Moss] left the episode before, and she’d been there since the beginning.”

“Oh, is Peggy dead from the show?” the interviewer asked.

A stammering Harris replied: “Um . . . I have no idea what [show creator] Matthew Weiner intends to do and even then I couldn’t tell you.”

Peggy abruptly left the agency for a new job two weeks ago.

Weiner, who used to write for “The Sopranos,” has carried on the ruthless practice of getting rid of major characters.

Losing Peggy would be a big change. The series began with her first day at work.