Category: Television

Andy Samberg leaving ‘Saturday Night Live’

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Andy Samberg has wrapped his seven-season run on “Saturday Night Live,” a spokeswoman for the actor-comedian said Friday.

Samberg won’t return as a cast member next season, according to his publicist, Carrie Byalick. Samberg’s exit follows that of “SNL” cast member Kristen Wiig.

Like other “Saturday Night Live” alumni, Samberg will be seen on the big screen. His new movie with Adam Sandler, “That’s My Boy,” is out this month.

Samberg’s “SNL” highlights reel would feature his satiric rap videos including “Lazy Sunday” and a memorable one with Justin Timberlake about an X-rated gift in a box. The fake music video won an Emmy Award in 2007 for best original music and lyrics.

Wiig, Samberg and Jason Sudeikis, all of whom became cast members in the 2005-06 season, have been rumored to be leaving, with “SNL” creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels saying only that any decision would wait until summer.

That presumably meant no emotional on-air farewells.

But on the May 19 finale, Wiig got just that. In the last sketch of the night, guest host Mick Jagger played the principal at a high school graduation and brought up Wiig, in cap and gown, as a student who is “leaving this summer.”

A tearful Wiig danced in turn with Jagger, cast members and Michaels to the tune of the Rolling Stones classic “She’s a Rainbow.”

Seinfeld turned down $100M offer

Jerry Seinfeld was offered a massive $100 million contract to film one more season of Seinfeld, but the funnyman turned the deal down because he wanted to have a family, according to his former boss.

The hit sitcom ran for nine series before coming to an end in 1998 and former NBC executive Warren Littlefield has revealed TV chiefs were desperate to persuade Seinfeld to film a 10th season.

They offered him $100 million to stay on, but the star walked away because he felt his personal life was suffering.

Littlefield tells Fox News, “We didn’t mess around. What we put on the table was unheard of. We went in there with a staggering sum and there was tremendous confidence that no one could walk away from it… (Seinfeld) came to me and said, ‘I don’t have a life, I’m not married, I don’t have kids.’ We gave it everything we had, he was tempted, but in the end it was a quality of life decision.”

Seinfeld married his wife Jessica in 1998, the same year the show came to an end, and they have three children.

’30 Rock’ returning for final 13-episode season

NEW YORK (AP) — NBC says “30 Rock”’s next season will be its last.

The network said Thursday the much-acclaimed sitcom will have an abbreviated run of 13 episodes in its seventh season before calling it quits.

The show has been a critical favorite since premiering in 2006. It has won numerous awards, as have its creator-star Tina Fey and co-star Alec Baldwin. Many high-profile guest stars, including Matt Damon, Elizabeth Banks and Al Gore, have appeared on the show. But the series was never a ratings smash, and this year its audience has dwindled to an average 3.5 million viewers.

NBC will join other broadcast networks in unveiling full new prime-time schedules for advertisers next week. NBC will make its upcoming lineup official on Sunday.

Seinfeld returns with reality show

Funnyman Jerry Seinfeld is returning to TV in a new U.S. reality series.

The actor and star of long-running sitcom Seinfeld will show off his love for the auto industry in upcoming program Comics and Cars.

The 58 year old will team up with his pals Alec Baldwin, Ricky Gervais, and former writing partner Larry David to test-drive cars from their youth and trade stories and laughs.

According to The Daily, the project has not yet been picked up by a network, but the news should come as no surprise to fans as the stand-up comedian has been dropping hints about the gig over the last several weeks on Twitter.com.

In a series of tweets, he wrote, “Working on my New Thing. Shooting in Manhattan with the Great @alecbaldwin… New Seiny Gig Update: Always lovable Ricky Gervais and myself shooting today in City Island, NY… Seiny and LD (Larry David) back together again? What could this mean? Here’s a clue: A 1952 VW (Volkswagen).”

Seinfeld has largely remained absent from the small screen since his self-titled series went off the air in 1998, only making occasional cameos in such shows as David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and Baldwin’s 30 Rock.

‘Friends’ reunion highly unlikely, says Lisa Kudrow

Lisa Kudrow has said that a Friends reunion is highly unlikely to ever happen.

The actress played Phoebe Buffay in the hit sitcom throughout its run, which ended in 2004. Since then there has been regular speculation over a potential movie follow-up. But she has now apparently ruled the possibility out.

Kudrow told E! Online: “I don’t think it will ever happen whether any of us want it to happen or not. I don’t think any of us would do it unless [show creators] David Crane and Marta Kauffman wrote it and I don’t know how they could do it.”

However, she did suggest that a spoof version of the show could be a success in the future, adding: “The Brady Bunch Movie was hilarious because it was a spoof. I can’t wait from 10, 20 years from now to see the younger actors. I think that will be really fun.”

Matt LeBlanc, who played Joey Tribbiani, last week told a similar story, saying: “Yeah, [a reunion] probably won’t happen. There’s no plans for anything like that. Everyone seems to be talking about that these days, but nope, no irons in the fire there.”

Mick Jagger gets first hosting gig at ‘SNL’ finale

NEW YORK (AP) — Mick Jagger will test his comic chops later this month as host of the “Saturday Night Live” season finale.

The Rolling Stones frontman has been a musical guest twice before on the long-running NBC show, and the network said Thursday he will perform musically on the May 19 finale. But he has never been host before, a job that usually requires participation in several comic skits.

The Rolling Stones mark their 50th anniversary as a band this year, but have yet to announce any activities to commemorate the occasion.

Jagger last year put out a disc as part of a group called SuperHeavy, which also included reggae singer Damian Marley and former Eurythmics founder Dave Stewart.

Will Ferrell Returns to Host ‘Saturday Night Live

The actor is set to return to his old stomping grounds at Saturday Night Live to host the May 12 episode, marking his third time leading the live comedy show since leaving the cast 10 years ago.
Ferrell will tout upcoming film The Campaign as well as his most recent Spanish comedy Casa de Mi Padre.

He will be supported by musical guest Usher, who makes his third appearance on the show.

New York Giants’ Eli Manning will host May 5 with musical guest Rihanna.

The SNL season finale is scheduled for May 19. A host and musical guest have yet to be announced.

Fox’s ‘Fringe’ renewed for fifth and final season

Fox announced on Thursday that it will renew the supernatural mystery thriller Fringe for a fifth and final season.

“We are thrilled and beyond grateful that Fox — and our fans — have made the impossible possible,” Fringe co-creator and producer J.J. Abrams (Lost) said in a statement.

Fringe, which stars Anna Torv and Joshua Jackson as FBI “Fringe division” investigators of paranormal crimes, has struggled in the ratings but has a strong cult following. It also has drawn critical praise since its debut in the fall of 2008. At that time, USA TODAY television critic Robert Bianco called it “the best new show of the fall.”

’30 Rock’ to live it up with live episode Thursday

NEW YORK (AP) — In a move to inject new life into its kookiness, “30 Rock” is going live this week.

It will be the second such outing for the NBC comedy, which is normally a polished, single-camera filmed affair. It went live for a night in October 2010 with an episode performed during the show’s normal time slot, then re-staged for West Coast viewers.

The same plan will be followed this Thursday: Originating from NBC’s Studio 8H (fabled home of “Saturday Night Live”), “30 Rock” will air live for viewers in the Eastern and Central time zones at 8:30 p.m. EDT, then be reprised at 8:30 PDT for the rest of the country.

The theme of the episode plays into the idea of Live vs. Filmed. The Kabletown corporate bosses announce they will no longer pay for live production of “TGS” (the fictitious show-within-a-show produced by Liz Lemon, played by “30 Rock” star Tina Fey). After first resisting, Liz and NBC exec Jack Donaghy (co-star Alec Baldwin) realize their lives would be simplified by shooting “TGS” episodes on film, fast and cheap.

But Kenneth the Page (Jack McBrayer) objects, arguing that nothing can replace the excitement of live television.

Time will tell.

“30 Rock” could use a little excitement. Although highly acclaimed and richly awarded during its six seasons, it has begun to lose the comic edge that set it apart. And, while never a ratings juggernaut, it has seen its audience further soften this season (just 3 million viewers tuned in last week).

Clearly, “30 Rock” could use a jolt. A stunt like going live is one way to score renewed attention and, perhaps, a boost in viewership.

In TV, live is a favorite way to shake things up.

“The Drew Carey Show” aired a live, improv-laced episode in 1999. Two years before that, “ER” staged an ambitious live hour of that medical drama.

“Will & Grace” kicked off its season in September 2005 with a live episode whose guest star was none other than Alec Baldwin.

And 20 years ago, the Fox sitcom “Roc,” starring Charles S. Dutton as a garbage collector, aired a full season of episodes live.

The initial stab at live-ness by “30 Rock,” while whipped into something of an event, was a mixed blessing: For better or worse, the episode reveled in the sort of sitcom cliches and cartoonish excess that “30 Rock” so brilliantly resists any other week.

Meanwhile, there were no memorable glitches or flubbed lines, which surely disappointed viewers who came hoping for a train wreck.

Live isn’t just performing without a net. It can be a license for sloppiness in ideas and execution: Consider “Saturday Night Live,” which too often comes across as the rough draft of a polished final product that will never be performed.

But live TV has taken on a mystique for both performers and viewers ever since video tape was invented during TV’s infancy in the 1950s. The arrival of video tape made live production a bold choice and an exercise in daring — rather than the bothersome necessity it had been before, when no alternative existed.

The arrival of video tape brought new convenience even to live broadcasts: A show that aired live in the East could be taped and replayed for later time zones.

This, of course, remains the practice for most live programming today, including most news shows (such as the morning programs and the dinner-hour newscasts) and even “Saturday Night Live.” (The “SNL” cast is frolicking at the after-party by the time West Coast viewers catch the show, “live from New York,” on tape.)

But “30 Rock” will play it old school on Thursday, with a fresh performance of the episode for the West Coast.

Just how fresh the episode is remains to be seen.

Ferguson taking ‘Late Late Show’ home to Scotland

NEW YORK (AP) — Craig Ferguson is going back to Scotland and taking “Late Late Show” viewers along for the trip.

CBS says the Scotland-based episodes will air the week of May 14. While there, Ferguson explores Edinburgh and Glasgow. He also returns to his hometown of Cumbernauld, with stops at his childhood home and high school.

On the trip, taped last month, he’s joined by actors Mila Kunis, Michael Clarke Duncan and Rashida Jones, as well as author-humorist David Sedaris.

Music will be performed by local Glasgow rock band The Imagineers.

This marks the second international trip for the show. It also went to Paris last year.

“The Late Show with Craig Ferguson” airs weeknights on CBS at 12:37 a.m. Eastern time.