Melanie Griffith

Exclusive: Melanie Griffith Cuts into Nip/Tuck Role

• Apr 16, 2009 03:39 PM ET
• by Tim Molloy
• 11 Comments

Kelly Carlson, Melanie Griffith

If you've ever wondered who brought Nip/Tuck's wild Kimber into the world, you'll soon meet her — and she'll be played by Melanie Griffith.

The Working Girl actress will play Brandie, Kimber's beautiful and considerate mother, who visits her ex-pornstar daughter from Wisconsin, a show insider confirms exclusively to TVGuide.com. (Griffith couldn't be better cast in terms of looks — her resemblance to Kelly Carlson, who plays Kimber, is striking.)

Brandie will be joined by Les, her too-tan, on-again-off-again car-salesman boyfriend of six years. Les, played by Robin Thomas (Another World, Who's the Boss), ignites insta-hate from Christian ... read more

Comings & Goings: Mad Men, Viva Laughlin

• Oct 18, 2007 01:01 PM ET
• by Matt Roush

Jon Hamm in Mad Men courtesy AMC

You could get vertigo tonight, scaling the heights of the finale of Mad Men on AMC, and then plumbing the depths of the tone-deaf misfire that is Viva Laughlin, premiering on CBS in the plum slot after CSI before moving to Sundays. There, only those with the most morbid curiosity to watch a show’s slow yet hopefully quick death are likely to follow (unless every critic I know is totally off the mark).First, a salute to the best and most fascinating new show to arrive on TV this year (and I’m even including my quirky new treasure Pushing Daisies in that equation). Mad Men, so hypnotic in its look and style as it recreates a classic movie-worthy image of 1960 Manhattan, is a period piece that says volumes about today, or about any era in which salary and status is tied to self-worth and where people construct a false reality to sell themselves on the American dream.Don Draper (instant star Jon Hamm) would seem to have it all. Besides the movie-star looks, he enjoys upward mo... read more

Just wondering about your ...

• Aug 20, 2007 04:00 AM ET
• by Matt Roush

Question: Just wondering about your take on Viva Laughlin. Is it really as bad as some of the critics are making it out to be, or is it the musical aspect that some people just can't stomach? I'm quite intrigued by all of the CBS promos for Viva — Hugh Jackman! Melanie Griffith! I'm there for at least the first few episodes! Answer: This one has "disappointed cult" written all over it. I liked the original British version quite a bit (titled Viva Blackpool on BBC America), but the CBS pilot is a lot less enticing: in its writing, its musical choices, its pacing, its casting (don't get accustomed to Jackman being there, in other words). There's a chance this show will get its act together, but from what I heard from the producers during the show's TCA session, where it sounded like they were more nervous than the audience about calling this thing a musical, I'm not betting on it. It was always going to be a tough sell, even if it had turned out as well as (for example) Pushing Daisies ... read more

Fall 2007: Christina Applegate Draws a Blank

• Mar 13, 2007 01:23 PM ET
• by Matt Mitovich

Who's doing what for whom this pilot season (per Variety and the Reporter):• Emmy winner Christina Applegate, long wooed to return to network TV, has opted to star as an amnesiac woman in the ABC comedy Sam I Am. Jean Smart is Sam's mom, and Tim Russ (Star Trek: Voyager) is also in the cast.• As first scooped by the Ausiello Report, Judging Amy Brenneman and Merrin Dungey (Alias) have come on board the Grey's Anatomy spin-off, playing Violet and Naomi.• Melanie Griffith will guest on the pilot for the CBS musical drama Viva Laughlin. A conniving sexpot, Griffith's character could go recurring.• Drew Carey's Diedrich Bader is the loyal friend of CBS' Skip Tracer.• Jamey Sheridan (Law & Order: CI) is a wife-beater turned zombie in CBS' Babylon Fields.• Stephanie Childers (Studio 60) is the mother of ABC's American Family.• Ty Burrell (Out of Practice, indeed) is an ace reporter for Fox's Action News. read more

It seems like every other ...

• Jan 12, 2006 03:00 AM ET
• by Maitland McDonagh

Question: It seems like every other movie I see advertised is based on a TV show, like The Dukes of Hazzard. But what about the other way around? I know there was a series based on My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but what other TV series have been based on a movie, and were any of them good?

Answer: There have been a handful of top-notch TV shows based on movies. The flop Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) was revived as Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003); Robert Altman's acerbic M*A*S*H* (1970) became the long-running M*A*S*H (1972-1983); Neil Simon read more

I know that I may be in a ...

• Nov 14, 2005 03:00 AM ET
• by Matt Roush

Question: I know that I may be in a minority here, but I'm really enjoying Twins! Any chance of the show getting picked up for a full season? And if not, do you think Melanie Griffith will do Gilmore Girls like she was supposed to last year?
Answer: Earlier this week, WB confirmed that Twins was given a back-order to fill out the season, albeit (for business reasons) only for five additional episodes. Still, that doesn't mean that Twins is going away anytime soon. And that also means that Melanie isn't likely to be popping up in Stars Hollow in the near future — but really, isn't that for the best ... read more

WB BOOTS TWO

• Oct 19, 2005 04:00 AM ET
• by TV Guide News

WB has benched for the time being both Living with Fran and Blue Collar TV, although both shows will remain in production. Melanie Griffith's Twins (the show, people) will take over Fran's slot, while an encore airing of Supernatural will be offered up to the 17 people who were choosing Blue Collar over the Housewives on Sunday at 9. read more

Whatever happened to Melanie ...

• Aug 31, 2005 04:00 AM ET
• by Michael Ausiello

Question: Whatever happened to Melanie Griffith doing an arc on Gilmore Girls?

Answer: Her new WB comedy Twins happened, which forced Team Palladino to scrap the idea — for now.

The road to maturity is littered...

• Jul 25, 2005 04:00 AM ET
• by Matt Roush

The road to maturity is littered with dead frogs. One in particular: Michigan J. Frog, formerly the corporate mascot of the WB network. "Dead and buried" is how WB's chairman Garth Ancier put it late last week. Seems the cartoon amphibian projected too much of the "young teen feel" that the network is trying to move away from, in hopes that the industry will see WB as something other than a destination for teens only (well, toss in a handful of older cult followers). Projecting a more mature front could bring in a broader demographic, and maybe (wishful thinking) less condescension from TV insiders, with the hopes of at least a few Emmy nominations in years to come. To that effect, the new fall schedule includes among its stars a few veterans like Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith — thankfully, given their unhappy romantic history, in separate vehicles. Johnson's show, the legal comedy-drama Just Legal read more