television – News Stories About television - Page 53

Oct 12, 2008 1:43 PM CDT

In Tough Times, TV Goes Blue-Collar

(Newser) - As the financial crisis deepens, expect TV to trade upper-crust environs for jokes about crustiness, reports the New York Post. Entertainment execs are pushing the development of blue-collar comedies that allow for a little old-fashioned escapism. "I don't think audiences want to see a show about the fall of...

Obama Buys Half-Hour
of Network Primetime

Oct 9, 2008 6:02 PM CDT

Obama Buys Half-Hour of Network Primetime

30 minutes on October 29th may be accompanied by other TV buys

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s campaign is planning an 11th-hour advertising blitz and has purchased a half-hour of primetime TV on CBS for October 29th, Politico reports. A special will air that night, just days before the election, at 8pm. Rumor has it that Obama also is nearing deals with NBC and...

Ab Fab Gets US Remake

Oct 7, 2008 3:55 PM CDT

Ab Fab Gets US Remake

Saunders, creator of original British hit, will be executive producer on Fox effort

(Newser) - A Fox remake of British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous will swill its way into Los Angeles, reports Variety. Creator Jennifer Saunders, who played one half of the delightfully boozy and dysfunctional 40-something duo, is on board as executive producer; Saturday Night Live writer Christine Zander will pen the initial set of...

Injury Ends
Olympian's
DWTS Run

Oct 7, 2008 12:03 PM CDT

Injury Ends Olympian's DWTS Run

Beach volleyball champ Misty May-Treanor ruptured tendon Friday

(Newser) - Olympic gold medalist Misty May-Treanor confirmed last night that she is leaving ABC’s Dancing With the Stars after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon. “I'm out,” the beach volleyball champ announced during yesterday’s show, OK! reports. She said she “heard a pop doing the lindy hop”...

Hathaway Mocks Conman Ex

Oct 6, 2008 11:05 AM CDT

Hathaway Mocks Conman Ex

Actress' SNL monologue includes dig at Rafaello Follieri

(Newser) - Anne Hathaway made fun of her high-profile split with convicted fraudster Rafaello Follieri on Saturday Night Live, reports MSNBC. “I broke up with my boyfriend … and two weeks later he was sent to prison for fraud … I mean, we've all been there, right, ladies?” the actress said...

McCain to Redouble Attacks

Oct 4, 2008 11:33 AM CDT

McCain to Redouble Attacks

New ad campaign, to debut after debate, will attempt to shift focus from the economy

(Newser) - John McCain’s struggling campaign, hobbled by the economic crisis, will go back on the attack, the Washington Post reports. Insiders said targets would include Obama’s association with convicted developer Tony Rezko. Ads criticizing the Democratic candidate’s record on taxes have already run.

'YouTube of
Variety Shows'
Will Star Rosie

Oct 2, 2008 11:57 AM CDT

'YouTube of Variety Shows' Will Star Rosie

(Newser) - Rosie O'Donnell will launch an attempt to revive both her TV career and the variety genre the night before Thanksgiving, hosting Rosie's Variety Show live on NBC, Variety reports. The 1-hour show will feature celeb guests and musical and comedy acts. It's is believed to be the precursor to a...

Backstage Tour Lays
Bare Springer Nation

Oct 1, 2008 5:19 PM CDT

Backstage Tour Lays Bare Springer Nation

Campy disasters inspire schadenfreude

(Newser) - A backstage tour of The Jerry Springer Show reveals "fundamental truths about the human condition," Kevin Pang writes in the Chicago Tribune. Philanderers and home-wreckers vetted by the show receive star treatment for a day, and insist their tales are true—for the most part. It's "all...

Kardashian Sobs
Over Surprise Loss

Oct 1, 2008 12:07 PM CDT

Kardashian Sobs Over Surprise Loss

Unexpected elimination leaves reality TV dope distraught

(Newser) - Kim Kardashian was inconsolable after being the surprise elimination on Dancing with the Stars last night, People reports. Off camera, Kardashian ran to her family and broke down into tears. "I just hope that her time on the show was magical for her," said her dancing partner. ...

New TV Ads Can't Be Zapped

Oct 1, 2008 7:15 AM CDT

New TV Ads Can't Be Zapped

Messages built into TV pictures

(Newser) - Britain's leading ad-supported TV network is testing a new form of advertising that viewers can’t zap past, reports the Times of London. The new technology finds clear space in a video frame, such as blue sky or gray walls, and inserts an ad. It's being tested online before making...

TV Lights Tone Down Former
NY DA Pirro

Sep 29, 2008 11:33 AM CDT

TV Lights Tone Down Former NY DA Pirro

She's 'in a very good place' after bumpy ride in marriage, politics

(Newser) - Becoming a TV judge seems, in her own words, to have “mellowed” Jeanine Pirro, who long added color to New York’s state political scene with a fiery stint as Westchester County’s district attorney, spiced with a brief Senate run opposite Hillary Clinton and a rocky marriage to...

Whatevs, Ma:
Anti-Martha Builds Empire

GLOSSIES

Sep 25, 2008 5:50 PM CDT

Whatevs, Ma: Anti-Martha Builds Empire

New show poking fun at famous mom Martha spins off from satellite-radio hit

(Newser) - Whatever, Martha!, in which Alexis Stewart and a pal riff over episodes of her mother’s TV shows, is the opening of the latest chapter in the pair’s unusual relationship, Andrew Goldman writes in New York. Alexis, 42, is surprisingly vulgar for being raised by a domestic diva. “...

New Season Turns
Heroes Into Victims

TV REVIEW

Sep 22, 2008 3:52 PM CDT

New Season Turns Heroes Into Victims

Generation Y's 'woe is us' attitude blindingly reflected in NBC's sci-fi drama

(Newser) - Beginning their third season tonight, the scrappy band of young world-savers of NBC’s Heroes is just in time, Alessandra Stanley writes in the New York Times. The dangers they have to face, from a sinister conglomerate started by their parents to deadly viruses, make a convenient parallel to the...

Cable's Mad Men,
Adams Sweep Emmys

Sep 22, 2008 3:35 AM CDT

Cable's Mad Men, Adams Sweep Emmys

Broadcast hangs tough in comedy with big wins for 30 Rock

(Newser) - Cable shows trumped network TV in last night’s 60th annual Emmy Awards as HBO’s John Adams grabbed 13 awards, a record for a miniseries, the Los Angeles Times reports. AMC’s Mad Men, which led in nominations, took home six trophies, including one for best drama. Glenn Close...

Mad Men Aims for
Emmy History

Sep 21, 2008 6:30 PM CDT

Mad Men Aims for Emmy History

(Newser) - Should AMC's Mad Men snag tonight's Best Drama Emmy, it'll be the first basic cable show to walk away with the honor, reports Susan King in the LA Times—but the set-in-the-'60s show isn't a shoe-in, even with its 16 noms. "Emmy votors are notorious for shying away from...

Fall TV Is on the Fritz

Sep 21, 2008 12:28 PM CDT

Fall TV Is on the Fritz

Nation of nobodies prevails to everybody's detriment

(Newser) - Everybody knows nobody watches fall TV. In fact, Hank Stuever writes in the Washington Post, the erstwhile must-see event is dead. And “who wouldn't want it to die?” After all, come September, “networks unleash their wallop of slickly packaged hopefulness, with relentless and outdated demands.” Viewers aren’...

Better Football-Watching Buddy? Obama By a Nose

Sep 19, 2008 3:58 PM CDT

Better Football-Watching Buddy? Obama By a Nose

Fans cross party lines in football buddy pref.

(Newser) - A slim majority of Americans would rather watch a football game with Barack Obama than John McCain, the AP reports. Though the margin is not great—50% to 47%—a poll by AP and Yahoo showed that each candidate’s appeal crossed party lines. About a tenth of Obama faithful...

Colbert Wraps
Early Xmas Special

Sep 17, 2008 2:11 PM CDT

Colbert Wraps Early Xmas Special

Stewart, Costello, Nelson will join holiday sing-a-long

(Newser) - Christmas is ready early for fake-news fans, E! Online reports. Stephen Colbert's musical holiday special is already in the can and will air November 23. Jon Stewart, Toby Keith, Willie Nelson, and Elvis Costello will be among the stars joining Colbert in crooning holiday-themed favorites including Hanukkah and Little Dealer ...

MTV KOs Aging TRL

Sep 16, 2008 11:50 AM CDT

MTV KOs Aging TRL

10-year-old countdown show ends in November

(Newser) - Start the countdown clock on MTV's countdown era: Total Request Live will shut down after 10 years on the air, the AP reports. The music video show will conclude with a 2-hour special in November, the executive producer said yesterday. Ten "is the number that RL counted down every...

Is Brady's Injury a Financial Disaster?

Sep 13, 2008 3:00 PM CDT

Is Brady's Injury a Financial Disaster?

CBS execs expect to lose millions, but hope Favre will draw viewers

(Newser) - Tom Brady’s season-ending knee injury may have crippled the New England Patriots, but what will it cost in dollars and cents? As the NFL’s marquee player, Tom Brady is a money-making machine—yet executives at CBS, which pays $622 million for the AFC package, won't say how many...