Ted Danson is looking to do more damage on the small screen.In addition to returning to the next season of Damages, the Cheers alum has signed on to star in a new HBO series, Bored to Death, The Hollywood Reporter reports.The comedy will chronicle the alcoholic ways of a Jonathan, a struggling writer, played by Jason Schwartzman, who pretends to be a private detective. Danson will portray a "pompous" magazine editor and Jonathan's personal mentor.The series will be penned by Jonathan Aames and will be directed by Alan Taylor.No word yet on a premiere date.Danson, the man behind the evil Arthur Frobisher on Damages, is slated to return for three episodes in the second season to tie up loose ends after getting shot in the season finale. — Joyce Eng
read more
Might Ted Danson's Golden Globe nomination for playing Damages' very, very naughty Arthur Frobisher help resuscitate the ruthless tycoon, who last was seen bleeding from a gunshot wound in a remote field? Before the strike struck, the writer-producers of FX's critically acclaimed drama told TVGuide.com they had sketched out a version of Season 2 where Fro lives, and one where... he doesn't. Which one will they go with, once production resumes? "I think it depends on if I ask for too much money," Danson tells TVGuide.com with a laugh.Turning serious, he says, "I have no idea, because as soon as they got picked up for two [more] seasons, the strike was under way, so there was no communication allowed." That said, Danson is open to another run, provided that... well, you'll have to read the full Q&A to find out.
read more
The first season of FX's outstanding Damages is now out on DVD (shop Amazon), ultimately raising the question for even more people: Will Arthur Frobisher live to snort more you-know-what off you-know-which-part of you-know-who? TVGuide.com asked Ted Danson to weigh in on his Golden Globe-nominated and deliciously villainous run... and whether it might continue.
TVGuide.com: First of all, congratulations on your Golden Globe nod. How does it feel to knock one out of the park on a brand-new cable drama?Ted Danson: Your words, not mine, but I'll go along with it and say, "Fantastic!" It feels fantastic. I have to say that it almost feels like it rejuvenated my interest in acting. I had a ball. It was so beautif
read more
Three good things about the writers' strike:1) No more Bionic Woman to disappoint us.2) Pepito the Wonder Chihuahua gets more "me" time.3) More chances to catch up on kick-ass cable shows on DVD!And let me tell you, that last one is a biggie, considering that a few cable shows I had to skip out on because of too many TiVo conflicts have just hit the shelves. One of them being FX's stellar, chilling Damages, which features quite possibly the single greatest performance of the last season. Is Golden Globe winner Glenn Close's Manhattan litigator Patty Hewes ingenious or pure evil? I'm not sure yet, but she is delicious nonetheless and I am having a hoot finding out.Centered around an Enron-type class-action suit against billionaire Arthur Frobisher — played with demonic menace by Ted Danson — the show should be about the case, since nobody does trial-angst better than Close (see Jagged Edge). But instead of courtrooms, we get boardrooms and some seriously twisted detours, co...
read more
If the barometer of an interesting TV awards show is the number of fresh faces invited to the party, then the Golden Globe nominations (announced Thursday morning) passes the test. Not with a perfect score, mind you. Any institution that so completely ignores NBC's wonderful Friday Night Lights deserves some spirited jeering.And the Globes' addiction to sexy sizzle and hype can lead to some puzzling choices: Big Love, fun as it is, over The Sopranos' final season? Bill Paxton over James Gandolfini? (And if the Globes is going to shower love on Big Love, how could the women who play Bill's wives go unheralded, especially Ginnifer Goodwin?) Californication over Weeds?But let's look at the bright side. The Hollywood Foreign Press clearly spent some time checking out the TV landscape during last summer's remarkable season of cable breakthroughs. My own pick for No. 1 show of the year, AMC's Mad Men, is nominated for best drama, along with its dashing leading man, Jon Hamm. FX's Damages,...
read more
