One of the better things about a good episode of NBC's stalwart Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is that you can rarely tell where it's headed. Is tonight's cameo-heavy hour (10/9c) the latest condemnation of reality TV's sordid excesses? Sure looks that way at the start, as we encounter an especially slimy Michael McKean (relishing his repulsiveness) as the predatory producer of a crap-tastic train wreck titled Showgirls, featuring young hopefuls who would do "whatever it takes" to land the starring role in a Broadway musical. (No small irony this is airing the week of the all-important-to-NBC Smash premiere, where such things could never happen!) As he liquors up a nervous contestant for her "audition," he leers for her to "seduce the audience. Let them know you want this." Doesn't take a genius to know where this is going.
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America could soon be waking up to Ryan Seacrest. After months of rumors that NBC execs were exploring hiring the American Idol host as an eventual replacement for Matt Lauer on Today, significant conversations are now taking place about making it happen as part of a larger deal between Seacrest and NBC parent company Comcast.
While the mention of Seacrest's name is likely to make TV-news purists cringe, Today has a history of hiring anchors without serious...
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Natalie Morales is the newest addition to NBC's Rock Center with Brian Williams.
The Today show news anchor joins an already impressive roster of correspondents for the weekly newsmagazine debuting on Halloween, including...
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Constructing the new multimillion-dollar studio for NBC's upcoming newsmagazine show Rock Center With Brian Williams has been a TV version of an archaeological dig. "We've found a piece of the set from the soap opera The Doctors," says Williams. "And an old applause sign from when they did live TV there."
Uncovering remnants of the past in the Rockefeller Center location seems fitting, as Williams' newsmagazine sounds like a bit of a throwback as well. Rock Center (expected to be the first replacement on the schedule when one of NBC's new fall shows falters) will have two or three ambitious, deeply reported stories each hour, following the model of 60 Minutes. NBC News even enlisted former 60 Minutes producer Rome Hartman to put together a team that shares that show's sensibility. "He's assembled an army," says Williams, who will anchor the live program while remaining at NBC Nightly News. "In the world of producers and correspondents, this is going to be Cooperstown."
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Lester Holt has been named the new anchor of Dateline NBC, the network announced Monday.
Holt, who was previously a Dateline correspondent, will replace Ann Curry, who has...
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