Jason Ritter
We have some potentially bad news for Parenthood fans on Team Mark: Jason Ritter has been cast as the lead in the Fox pilot Friends & Family.
The Complete Pilot Report: Fox has Andy Samberg, Greg Kinnear and J.J. Abrams
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Parenthood
Spoiler alert! (Kidding) Many tears were shed and tissues used during the Season 4 finale of Parenthood. [Insert real spoiler alert here]:
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Nicki Minaj and Maria Carey
Our top moments of the week:
13. Scariest First Date: The Bachelor's first one-on-one date goes to Sarah, a gorgeous blonde who was born with one arm. She and Sean are picked up by helicopter (what else?) and he tells her that they're going to free-falling down the side of a 300-foot high building. (Get it? They'll free-fall in love!) Sarah's scared to death and...
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Parenthood
With the success of reality series such as Teen Mom and High School Moms, TV is no stranger to teen pregnancy. However, it's still widely the exception rather than the rule that a scripted character — on a network show no less — will have an abortion. But after riding a wave of critical and commercial success thanks to its honest-to-life depictions of breast cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder, among others, Parenthood tackled the issue head-on in last week's episode. One minute, Drew (Miles Heizer) was worrying about college acceptance letters and the next, he was watching his girlfriend walk through the door at Planned Parenthood to take care of the unwelcome surprise. "We attempted to tell the story in a way that was balanced and would be fair to people watching the show who might have different points of view," showrunner Jason Katims tells TVGuide.com. "We've really been able to tackle difficult subjects in a way that is very honest and that's what we really were trying to do."
With just two episodes left in Parenthood's fourth season (Tuesday at 10/9c on NBC), Katims discussed the decision behind the shocking plot point, Sarah's (Lauren Graham) big decision between Mark (Jason Ritter) and Hank (Ray Romano), why there's hope for Amber (Mae Whitman) and Ryan (Matt Lauria) and previews one of his favorite scenes from...
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Kevin Bacon
Send questions and comments to askmatt@tvguidemagazine.com and follow me on Twitter!
Question: I rely on your advice for new shows, so is The Following worth watching? I love Kevin Bacon, but I have given up on The Mentalist because of the whole Red John thing. If they had laid that to rest when it appeared that they did, I would still be watching. It seems like this new show will be very similar, but I haven't heard enough to make a decision. What do you think? — Tom
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The Middle
Frankie Heck is not going to let the pinch steal Christmas.
The Middle's stretched-thin, harried mother (played by Patricia Heaton) has a scant $20 to spend on gifts for her three kids this year. Ever the problem solver, she cracks to her unflappable quarry-manager husband Mike (Neil Flynn): "I'll fake my own death!" This way, she says, when she appears very much alive on Christmas morning, her children will be so happy they won't care that there aren't any presents.
Too dark?
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Jason Ritter
Jason Ritter knows how to make the most of an opportunity. When the 32-year-old actor was invited to guest star on the first season of the NBC dramedy Parenthood, he was only supposed to appear in a three-episode arc as sexy, mild-mannered high school teacher Mark Cyr. Cut to Season 4: Ritter has an Emmy nomination under his belt, his character is engaged to fortysomething single mom Sarah (Lauren Graham) — age difference be damned — and he's even managed to wangle his way into the official family portrait. But all that could be at risk, thanks to the recent arrival of Sarah's new boss, Hank, played with crotchety magnetism by Ray Romano. Ritter opens up about his status as an almost-Braverman, life lessons from his late dad, John, and what's really beneath the nice-guy façade...
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Ray Romano, Betsy Brandt
Ex marks the spot for Breaking Bad's Betsy Brandt, who has been cast as the former wife of Hank Rizzoli (Ray Romano) on Parenthood, TVGuide.com has learned.
Brandt...
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Ashton Kutcher, Charlie Sheen
Forbes has released its list of the highest-paid actors on television this year. The countdown features a variety of stars from Patrick Dempsey to Jim Parsons, but the real questions is whether 2011's highest-paid actor Charlie Sheen reigned supreme again in 2012?
He...
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Lauren Graham, Ray Romano
Once upon a time, I'd watch FX's Sons of Anarchy begrudgingly because it was popular. Now I'm watching because it's good. As in bad. As in: bad things happening to bad people. Consequences = drama. And that's rarely been more evident than as the fifth season gets underway Tuesday (10/9c), with the motorcycle club torn apart from within and without, capped by an act of retribution that's horrific even by this show's violent standards.
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