Category: Television

Dancing With the Stars season 24: And the celebrities are…

A Cheerio, a Beverly Hills housewife, two former Olympians, and a repeat visitor to The Love Boat are among the 12 celebrities who’ll grace the ballroom of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars this season, as announced on Good Morning America Wednesday.

And the men have reason to worry: Several of the women have lots of dance (and acrobatic) experience. Once again, it always helps to have earned a few Olympic medals.

Here are the season 24 celebrities and their partners, announced this morning on Good Morning America:

Pro bull rider Bonner Bolton, with Sharna Burgess
Former SNL comedian Chris Kattan, with Witney Carson
Former MLB catcher David Ross, with Lindsay Arnold
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne, with Gleb Savchenko
Glee star Heather Morris, with Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Actor Mr. T, with Kym Herjavec
Olympic skater Nancy Kerrigan, with Artem Chigvintsev
Fifth Harmony member Normani Kordei, with Valentin Chmerkovskiy
NFL running back Rashad Jennings, with Emma Slater
Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, with Sasha Farber
The Bachelor’s Nick Viall, with Peta Murgatroyd
Spanish-American entertainer (and frequent Love Boat guest star) Charo, with Keo Motsepe

The season 24 premiere will mark the 400th episode of DWTS. It will air on March 20, 8-10 p.m. ET on ABC.

Colbert beating Fallon in ratings since Trump took office

President Trump’s promise to change America is already producing results — at least when it comes to late night TV.

CBS’ “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” attracted more viewers than its rival, NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” during the week that ended Feb. 10 — the second week in a row the Peacock Network finished No. 2.

And Colbert’s margin of victory is growing.

In the week ended Feb. 3 — Colbert’s first week of new shows since Trump’s inauguration — “Late Night” edged out “Tonight” by a mere 10,000 viewers. Last week, that margin of victory grew to 130,000.

While Fallon still draws in a bigger audience of 18-to-49-year-olds, the demographic advertisers covet, his once comfortable margin of victory is getting slim.

In the last three weeks, including the five days of “Late Show” repeats during the week ended Jan. 27, Fallon’s margin of victory in the demo has gone from 0.36 to 0.19 to 0.17.

Colbert’s resurgence could be tied to his show having a sharper political bent than “Tonight.” Colbert’s opening monologue and at-desk banter is dominated by jokes and banter that take aim at Trump’s missteps.

Fallon’s show is more skit-focused and covers a wider range of topics.

On ABC, “Jimmy Kimmel Live” usually draw about 1 million fewer total viewers than his CBS and NBC rivals and trails significantly in the demo, statistics show.

Dan Aykroyd will guest star on Workin’ Moms

The mothers of Workin’ Moms are getting a visit from a Blues Brother.

CBC says actor Dan Aykroyd will guest star on the Feb. 21 episode.

Aykroyd is a Canadian comedy legend, known as one of the early cast members of Saturday Night Live and for roles in movies like The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters. He also appeared in the 1989 drama Driving Miss Daisy and was nominated for a supporting actor Oscar.

In Workin’ Moms, a new comedy created by Catherine Reitman, Aykroyd guests as the father of Reitman’s character Kate.

The series airs Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m.

How Tina Fey’s Great News will (or won’t) tackle fake news

When NBC ordered Tina Fey and Robert Carlock’s newsroom-set series Great News last May, the world of cable news was less a headline and more a punchline, but ahead of the show’s March 7 premiere, Fey and company seem to have inherited all the zeitgeisty trimmings that now seem expected with the loaded term.

The workplace sitcom was created by former 30 Rock-er Tracy Wigfield and follows Katie (Briga Heelan), a rising journalist whose job at a cable news network is shaken up when her mother (Andrea Martin) accepts an internship at the channel. Executive producers Fey, Carlock, and Jack Burditt joined Wigfield and the cast during the semi-annual Television Critics Association press tour and spoke not only about the show’s DNA link to 30 Rock, but to the inevitable question of whether the midseason comedy would use its subject matter to comment on where news — real and fake — sits on the political front today.

For one thing, Fey said the broadcast schedule meant a majority of the first 10 episodes were shot ahead of the fake news melee that emerged after (and during) the election. “We shot these knowing that we’d be on midseason, so with the delay on broadcast, you can sort of take ideas from the headlines, but you can’t do a joke that will…feel really old by the time the show airs,” she said. “I think if we’re lucky enough to do a second season…you’d be closer to [the headlines], but you can never quite keep up with Saturday Night Live in that way. It’s a different game. I think you take bigger ideas more than day-to-day moments.”

Wigfield confirmed that she would be interested in making more of a statement on news veracity in the show’s would-be second season. “I’d love for the show to be able to do more commentary on…the state of news and where news is going,” she told reporters, adding that she was surprised to have “picked what now is the most interesting job in the world—to work at a cable news station.” However, Wigfield agreed with Fey’s assessment that as a new show, it must first and foremost find and stay grounded in its foundation: “There’s a core. For a series to sustain itself, it does have to be about the people and the relationships.”

Carlock noted that the show’s subject matter already packed significantly higher moral stakes than 30 Rock. “Even if we’re not trying to deal with the news as the news, there are stakes to it,” said Fey’s frequent creative partner, summarizing some of the stakes on 30 Rock as “Tracy won’t do the sketch!” With Great News, he says, “What we were able to do with this is to have things that matter. Just from a story standpoint, it feels more propulsive.”

Certain aspects of the present state of news are cornerstones of the sitcom, though. Among the ensemble, John Michael Higgins and Nicole Richie costar as the network’s anchors, Chuck and Portia, who sit on the opposite side of the generational gap and reflect that age discrepancy in their judgment of, as Carlock says, things that matter. “Portia wants to share…what she considers actual news,” said Richie. “Chuck wants to report on actual news that’s going on in the world, and Portia really wants to report about Snapchat and lipstick and anything really important to her.”

Cast member Horatio Sanz sums up the show’s premise fairly well. “It’s impossible to not have an opinion on the news,” he says. “[But] I would watch this even if I wasn’t on it because it’s fascinating—a news team or a news organization, if you’re sitting inside—how weird they are. We’re always presented with this perfect picture, but when you go inside, it’s a lot more… odd.”

Great News premieres March 7 on NBC.

Aziz Ansari to host Saturday Night Live for first time

Aziz Ansari is set become the master of Saturday Night Live.

The Master of None star and co-creator has been tapped to host the Jan. 21 episode of SNL, which will serve as the Parks and Recreation alum’s first time hosting.

Ansari’s Netflix series was nominated for four Emmy Awards in 2016, including Ansari for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Master of None won Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. The show is expected to return sometime this year.

Joining Ansari for the episode is fellow SNL first-timer and musical guest Big Sean. The Grammy-nominated rapper’s latest album, I Decided, will be released on Feb. 3.

“I’m super excited to announce that I’ll be performing on @nbcSNL for the first time ever, January 21st. This one is for Detroit 🙏🏾 #IDecided,” Big Sean tweeted Tuesday.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story star Felicity Jones and musical guest Sturgill Simpson were previously announced for SNL‘s first episode of 2017.

‘Odd Couple’ salutes Garry Marshall’s legacy with star-studded tribute

Both TV versions of “The Odd Couple” sprung to life through the vision of the late Garry Marshall, who died in July at the age of 81.

So it’s only appropriate that Monday night’s “Odd Couple” episode (9:30 p.m. on CBS), “Taffy Days,” will pay tribute to Marshall — in a lighthearted way and with many guest stars from his shows including “Happy Days” (Ron Howard, Anson Williams, Don Most, Marion Ross), “Laverne & Shirley” (his sister, Penny Marshall, and Cindy Williams) and “Mork & Mindy” (Pam Dawber).

“Our first thought [regarding Marshall’s passing] was maybe a little ‘In Memoriam’ card in the first episode [of the season],” says series executive producer Bob Daily. “But the more we thought about it, we thought, Garry devoted his life to making people laugh, so rather than doing a little short, sad card, let’s try to do something we hoped Garry would have appreciated — both heartfelt and just a fun, silly episode.”

Marshall, who developed and executive-produced ABC’s ’70s-era “Odd Couple” starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman, returned for the CBS version — with stars Matthew Perry (Oscar) and Thomas Lennon (Felix) — as an executive consultant. He appeared in an episode last season as Oscar’s father, Walter.

“We’re told in the first scene [of Monday night’s episode] that Walter had a request — he wants Oscar to scatter his ashes behind the candy factory he owned with his old business partner, who Walter hadn’t spoken to in 30 years,” Daily says. “So Oscar has to find this mystery person and, in tracking her down, he’s looking up old addresses and that’s how he’s running into all these fabulous cameos.

“Ron Howard plays the lawyer who gives Oscar the news about his dad’s instructions, and Marion Ross plays [Walter’s ex-partner’s] mother. Pam Dawber is a bartender, Cindy is [the business partner’s] sister and Anson and Don are barflies sitting in a booth like Arnold’s [in ‘Happy Days’].”

Oscar finally does find Walter’s old partner (but we won’t ruin the surprise).

“I was nervous about the [CBS] reboot job since the show has such a great legacy,” Daily says. “From the very beginning, Garry called and left a message and said, ‘Anything I can do to help; I want to be there for you. I want this to succeed.’ ”

The episode ends with an “In Memoriam” card, showing a picture of Marshall with Randall and Klugman from ABC’s “Odd Couple,” which fades into a picture of Marshall posing with Perry and Lennon.

“He came in every day to pitch jokes, to sit in the writers room and was at every taping,” Daily says of Marshall. “He also sent in story ideas. He always wanted to work, and we just wanted to hear his stories.

“It was such a thrill to have him in the room.”

Dave Chappelle to Make ‘SNL’ Hosting Debut During Election Week

Dave Chappelle will host “Saturday Night Live” Nov. 12, marking his much-anticipated (and overdue) debut. That’s five days after Election Day, as if “SNL” needed any more buzz that week.

Musical guest will be legendary hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest, which is releasing its first studio album in 18 years. “We Got It From Here … Thank You 4 Your Service” is due out on Nov. 11, followed by Tribe’s “SNL” debut the next night.

The group’s new album is the last to feature founding Tribe member Phife Dawg. The emcee passed away in March following a battle with diabetes. He was 45.

This weekend, “Doctor Strange” star Benedict Cumberbatch hosts the NBC sketch-comedy staple. His musical guest is Solange.

“SNL” is enjoying yet-another resurgence in its 42nd season, thanks in large part to this whacky election. Donald Trump alone has provided plenty of fodder, giving “Saturday Night Live” all the material it needed for a TV ratings and creativity boon.

The Odd Couple honoring Garry Marshall with all-star tribute

The Odd Couple is going to give Garry Marshall a fitting memorial.

The CBS sitcom, which is a reboot of the ’70s show Marshall developed, will pay tribute to the late filmmaker with a special episode on Nov. 7 featuring a slew of guest stars from shows Marshall worked on during his career.

Joining leads Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon next week are former stars from Happy Days (Ron Howard, Marion Ross, Anson Williams, and Don Most), Laverne & Shirley (Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams), and Mork & Mindy (Pam Dawber). The episode centers on Oscar (Perry) reconnecting with many significant people from Walter’s life when he agrees to carry out his father’s final wish to spread his ashes behind the candy factory he used to own. Marshall played Walter in an April episode.

Marshall, who died July 19 at 81 years old, had a long and storied career in Hollywood. His fingerprints were left all over the industry, from creating Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley, directing films like Pretty Woman and The Princess Diaries, among others.
“The writing staff and everyone on The Odd Couple reboot was thrilled when Garry Marshall joined us as a producer because his shows were part of our TV DNA,” executive producer Bob Daily said in a statement. “He was a kind, generous presence on the set, and we loved him dearly. And when we lost him, we knew we had to do something to honor his legacy — something that, like Garry’s work, was both heartfelt and zany.

“We are so grateful that the stars of these classic shows are able to join us in honoring him.”

The Odd Couple airs Mondays at 9:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

It’s game over for ‘Game of Thrones’

For “Game of Thrones” fans, winter has finally come.

After much speculation that Season 8 of the highly popular series would be its last, an HBO executive has confirmed the ­rumors to be true.

The news came Saturday at the Television Critics Association’s press tour in Beverly Hills, confirming a decision by showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss.

“Yes, [Benioff and Weiss] have a very specific plan about the number of seasons they want to do,” HBO’s Casey Bloys told Entertainment Weekly. “Believe me, as the new [programming executive] coming in, if I could get them to do more, I would take 10 more seasons. But we take their lead on what they think they can do [for the] best version of the show.”

The show’s sixth season recently concluded on June 26, and saw notorious villain Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) sitting atop the Iron Throne.

Season 7 is set to premiere in mid-2017, with seven episodes.

Stephen Colbert can’t be ‘Stephen Colbert’

After CBS “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert told viewers that lawyers representing his old Comedy Central show said he couldn’t be “Stephen Colbert” anymore, he thumbed his nose at them with a transparent dodge.

Lawyers representing his old company complained to CBS after he revived the character he played under his own name on “The Colbert Report” — a clueless, full-of-himself cable news host. They said that the character “Stephen Colbert” was their intellectual property, “which is surprising, since I never considered that guy much of an intellect,” Colbert said on the “Late Show” on Wednesday.

The audience booed when Colbert, “with a heavy heart,” said it has been decreed that the character is kaput.

“I feel the same way, but what can I do?” Colbert said. “The lawyers have spoken. I cannot reasonably argue that I own my own face and name. And as much as I’d like to have that guy on again, I can’t.”

He then introduced “Stephen Colbert’s identical cousin,” an interview with himself displaying the same cocked eyebrow expression his old character had. Then the real Colbert did one of the old show’s most popular recurring segments, retitling “The Word” to “The Werd.”

Representatives from CBS and Comedy Central declined comment on Thursday. Until 2005, when CBS split from Viacom, the two networks were corporate cousins.

Since starting at the “Late Show” last fall, Colbert has struggled to establish himself with his own personality. So fans were delighted last week when he briefly brought the old character back.

The “Late Show” has been making an aggressive play for attention with two weeks of live shows coinciding with the Republican and Democratic conventions. Besides the reappearance of his character, old friend Jon Stewart appeared last week for his first extended comic riffs on TV since leaving Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”

The episode recalled a similar one when David Letterman left NBC’s “Late Night” to go to CBS in 1993. At the time, NBC’s president said Letterman could not take popular features like the Top 10 list and Stupid Pet Tricks with him because they were the “intellectual property” of NBC.

Letterman poked fun at that on his first CBS show. NBC’s “Nightly News” anchor Tom Brokaw walked onto the set and confiscated a couple of Letterman’s cue cards, saying, “these last two jokes are the intellectual property of NBC.”

“Did you ever think you’d hear the words ‘intellectual property’ and ‘NBC’ in the same sentence?” Letterman said.

The Top 10 list remained a staple of Letterman’s show until he retired last year.

Comedy Central does not repeat episodes of “The Colbert Report,” but fans can still access video highlights from the show’s website, which has paid advertisements.

During his interview on Wednesday’s show, Colbert’s “identical cousin” said, “Stephen, whenever you need me, wild horses ridden by corporate lawyers could not keep me away.”

“The Werd” segment was identical to what he used to do, except for the ‘e’ in the name. On a split screen, Colbert narrated a story while printed messages on the other side provided the punchlines.

For instance, Colbert said that during the coming campaign, Hillary Clinton will say things that will make Donald Trump appear to be a racist. On the side screen came the words: “And so will Donald Trump.”

He said there was another option for dissatisfied voters this fall: “Write in Michelle.”