Category: Television

Law & Order: Criminal Intent to Take on Spider-Man Musical
The Law & Order franchise continues its headline-ripping ways: Law & Order: Criminal Intent will take on the troubled Broadway production Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark in an upcoming episode, TVLine reports.
The story will focus on a high-flying, fast-crashing show called Icarus, which detectives begin investigating when a botched stunt leads to one of the actor’s death. Suspects include a “high-strung and larger than life” director possibly modeled after Spider-Man’s one-time director Julie Taymor. The episode also features a bisexual rock-star composer named Arno. (U2 front-man Bono is responsible for the music in the Spider-Man show.)
Season 10 of Criminal Intent, which features the returns of Vincent D’Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe, premieres Sunday, May 1 at 9/8c.

Jim Carrey to join guest stars in “Office” finale
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) ñ Jim Carrey will join Ricky Gervais, Will Arnett and other high-profile names set to appear in the hour-long finale episode of “The Office”
A source close to the NBC production confirmed that the “Yes Man” star will join comedian and “Office” creator Ricky Gervais, Will Arnett, James Spader, Ray Romano and Catherine Tate as guest stars interviewing for Michael Scott’s (Steve Carell) management position that could possibly go to Will Ferrell’s Deangelo Vickers.
“The Office”s season 7 finale airs on May 19. Carell announced last year that he was leaving the show.

Tyler stuns ‘Idol’ judges with F-bomb
Rocker Steven Tyler sparked controversy on American Idol on Wednesday night when he uttered the F word live on primetime TV.
Complimenting Idol finalist Casey Abrams on his performance, the Aerosmith star stunned fellow judges Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson with his foul mouth.
Tyler, who has a history of using salty language on the hit show, said, “There’s millions of people in America that are really angry because you p**s them off because you’re so f**king good.”
Even Abrams was shocked, covering his mouth as judge Jackson jumped up from his chair and said, “What is going on?”
Host Ryan Seacrest then took the stage and said, “Whoa, the wheels have fallen off this program.”
The show went to a commercial break and when it returned, Tyler had his mouth taped shut.
He ripped the tape off, and stated, “You can’t keep me quiet.”

Justin Timberlake to host ‘Saturday Night Live’ season finale
“Saturday Night Live” has set a host for this season’s finale on May 21, and it’s none other than Justin Timberlake.
The news was delivered in a tweet that has since disappeared, but the Huffington Post (and, presumably, quite a few others) made a note of it.
The musician-actor has become somewhat of a regular fixture on the show in recent years, as he has hosted several times before, and made a number of cameo appearances. Likewise, he will appear the new album “Turtlenecks and Chains,” from the “SNL”-derived comedy music group Lonely Island.
On the big screen, Timberlake recently starred in “The Social Network,” and will soon be seen in “Bad Teacher,” opposite his real life ex Cameron Diaz.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Gets Her Next Series: HBO Greenlights ‘Veep’
HBO has picked up new Julia Louis-Dreyfus comedy “Veep,” the pay-cable network has confirmed, casting the former “Seinfeld” star as the Vice President.
The former “New Adventures of Old Christine” star will play a former U.S. Senator who’s experience as the VP isn’t what she expected, according to the network.
Co-starring Anna Chulumsky and Tony Hale, “Veep” was created by British comedian Armando Iannucci.
Chris Godsick and New York Magazine’s Frank Rich will serve as executive producers.
The comedy series will begin production in the fall and run next year.

‘Children’ & ‘One Life’ soaps axed
LOS ANGELES – ABC television on Thursday announced it was canceling its long-running daytime soap operas ìAll My Childrenî and ìOne Life to Liveî, hastening the demise of a genre marked by dramatic plot twists, cliffhangers and multiple generations of characters.
ABC said the two dramas would be replaced by new programming focused on ìtransformation, food and lifestyleî, saying that audience research had shown that these issues were of more interest to viewers.
The final episodes of the two shows will air in September 2011 and January 2012 respectively, ABC said in a statement. But ìGeneral Hospitalî, the second-most popular show in daytime TV, will remain on the air, the network added.
Audiences for the two soaps have fallen in recent years. îAll My Childrenî, which began in 1970, currently has about 2.4 million regular viewers, down form 3.2 million in 2006, ABC said.
Thursdayís announcement follows the ending in 2009 of CBS soaps ìGuiding Lightî and ìAs The World Turnsî in 2010.
ìViewers are looking for different types of programming these days,î said Brian Frons, president of daytime programming at ABC, adding they wanted ìinformative, authentic and fun shows that are relatable, offer a wide variety of opinions and focus on íreal lifeí takeaways.î
He said the two shows would conclude ìin a manner that respects their legacies and the long-standing hopes of many viewers.î
ABC said the new shows would be ìChewî, which focuses on food ìfrom every angleî, and make-over series ìThe Revolutionî, with fashion mentor Tim Gunn.
ìAll My Childrenî, about the lives of resident in fictional Pine Valley, made its debut on ABC in 1970. ìOne Life to Live,î set in the fictional town of Llanview, began airing in 1968. Both shows have won multiple awards, including daytime Emmys, and earned praise for tackling social issues including alcoholism, AIDS and illiteracy.
ìItís been a fantastic journey,î said actress Susan Lucci, 64, who has played Erica Kane on ìAll My Childrenî since 1970.
Kelly Ripa, who played Hayley Vaughn on the drama for 12 years, said she felt ìheart sickî that the series was ending.
ìíAll My Childrení was more than a job ó it was my family. It was there that I met my husband; it was there when my first two children were born; it was there where I met many of my life-long friends,î Ripa said in a statement.
Popular culture experts attribute the demise of daytime soap operas to changing social patterns, including women working, the melodrama of some reality TV shows, and cheaper to make game shows and talk shows.
An average of 6.5 million people regularly watched daytime dramas in 1991, compared to about 1.3 million last year, according to Nielsen figures.

‘The Office’ to bid Carell farewell on April 28
NEW YORK ñ NBC is confirming April 28 as the date for Steve Carell’s final appearance on “The Office.” His farewell episode on the popular comedy will be supersized, the network announced Monday.
That night’s long good-bye will air from 9 to 9:50 p.m. Eastern time, followed by an extended version of “Parks and Recreation” that concludes at 10:30 p.m. Eastern, NBC said.
Carell, who plays inept branch manager Michael Scott, announced last year that this would be his last season on the series, which premiered in 2005. NBC has made no announcement about who might fill the gap in the cast.

Cuthbert touts her ‘Happy Endings’
Not all ìromantic situation comediesî have to be bland, sappy, formulaic hunks of junk.
To be fair, Elisha Cuthbert did not use those exact words. But itís kind of what she was suggesting as she championed her new series Happy Endings, which debuts Wednesday, April 13 on ABC and Citytv.
ìIím used to seeing what you see – every other thing thatís out there,î Cuthbert said. ìBut there are some surprises here in the sense that the characters (in Happy Endings) go in different places. And the comedy is a lot edgier than I anticipated.
ìI really want people to hang in. We have to set up some stuff in the pilot, obviously. But episodes two, three, four, it just gets better and better.î
Cuthbert, of course, has been a well-known Canadian actor since she was a kid. She became a familiar face in the United States largely through her role on 24, where she played Kim Bauer, the daughter of Jack Bauer.
In Happy Endings, Cuthbert plays Alex, a young woman at a crossroads in her life who gets the plot rolling by leaving her longtime boyfriend Dave (Zachary Knighton) at the altar, literally.
This action causes great turmoil not only for Alex and Dave, but also for their close circle of friends: Jane (Eliza Coupe), Brad (Damon Wayans Jr.), Max (Adam Pally) and Penny (Casey Wilson). Does the gang have to choose sides now?
Okay, weíre all thinking the same thing: Six attractive young people, romantic entanglements, another Friends wannabe, blah blah blah. In the past few months several seemingly similar shows have tried and failed. No one wants another Perfect Couples on their hands.
But we will say this for Happy Endings: The ensemble cast definitely is stronger than the ensemble casts on most of those other shows.
And Cuthbert insisted Happy Endings is not achingly predictable, notwithstanding the laboured nature of the initial setup.
ìAs the episodes progress itís almost the opposite of what youíd expect, which is that the guy who was left at the altar would be in shambles and my character would be running the town,î Cuthbert said. ìYou would assume that if sheís the one leaving, she would want freedom. But youíll start to discover that her reasons for leaving are a little deeper.î
Cuthbert stopped herself there.
ìWell, as deep as you can get on a comedy,î she said with a laugh. ìWeíre not going to start sitting and crying about why I left the altar. You know, itís a sitcom, 22 minutes, letís go!î
Cuthbert said Happy Endings came along at a perfect time for her, as she was determined to tap into her funny side.
ìMaybe thatís why I wasnít as stressed out as others about an air date and a pickup,î Cuthbert said. ìIíd said to everyone, ëI want to do a comedy. This is my priority. And if Iím not filming this, Iím going off and living my life and not doing anything else.í
ìThis is new for me, too. Iím used to one-hour drama. But itís really interesting. Youíll be surprised.î

Pregnant Tina Fey to host “Saturday Night Live”
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) ñ Tina Fey is showing no signs of slowing down.
Not only does she have a new book out, a hot NBC sitcom “30 Rock” and a second baby on the way, she plans to host “Saturday Night Live” for the third time.
She is set to appear on the May 7 show.
No word whether she will reprise her role as Sarah Palin.
Fey taped an episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” this week and revealed that she is pregnant at age 40.
In her book “Bossypants,” which was written before she announced her pregnancy, she debated whether to have a second child, worrying that being pregnant would leave her “unemployable.”
Ultimately, Fey decided that having another kid was more important than her career.
“What’s so great about work anyway?” she writes. “Work won’t visit you when you’re old. Work won’t drive you to get a mammogram and take you out after for soup.”

Baldwin: ë30 Rockí ending 2012
Alec Baldwin and Tina Feyís hit TV comedy series 30 Rock is to end next year, according to the actor.
Baldwin made the announcement at a Tuesday night fundraising event in New York, explaining series co-creator, writer and star Fey wants to concentrate on making movies.
He told New York Magazine, “Our show next year is our last year of the show. Our contracts are expired, and Tina is gonna have a big career directing films and writing… She’ll be great.”
Representatives for the show have refused to comment on Baldwin’s remarks.