Question: Have you kept up with CW's Aliens in America and Everybody Hates Chris this season? Wonky scheduling and strike delays have made a mess of things, and the CW seems to have forgotten these shows exist. (Two weeks ago, a new episode of Aliens in America was billed as a repeat in all the TV listings I checked.) I ask because I consider these to be two of the best comedies on television and, deceptively, among the boldest. Here are two wholesome, light-hearted shows dealing intelligently with race with abundant humor and without ever preaching. Chris has had some drop-off in quality since its fantastic first season, but Aliens is on a roll and seems to get zero promotion from the network or from TV critics. A sitcom about Muslim-American relations could have been a crass disaster, but it has grown into something I think everyone should watch. And it continues to push the envelope with warmth instead of cynicism. Several weeks ago, the Tolchuks befriended a misunderstood ...
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Aliens in America by Segei Bachlakov/The CW
Someone alert the nice folks at the MIA Network — some fresh product's headed their way. I just got the unofficial official word that one of this season's best new comedies, Aliens in America, has been axed. Despite rave reviews when it debuted last fall, the CW laffer went largely ignored by viewers. Which sucks for them, because they missed out on a fantastic little show.I've got better news for fans of another CW comedy, Reaper. I'm told it's "90 percent likely" that it'll be on the network's fall sked. Stay close to the Ausiello Report throughout the weekend for the latest renewals and cancellations ahead of next week's upfronts. In the meantime, share your favorite Aliens memories in the comments section below.Related:• Exclusive: New Amsterdam Is Not Immortal• Fox Fall: Death Lives On, Back to You Won't Be Back• The CW "Outsources" Its Sunday-night Block; Two Dramas, Two Comedies Coming
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The CW has signed a deal with the production finance company Media Rights Capital to take over its Sunday-night programming block, where Everybody Hates Chris, Aliens in America and The Game currently reside. As part of the pact, MRC is contracted to develop two dramas and two comedies, and sell ad time for them.The CW (and the WB before it) traditionally has had a very rough go of it trying to gain traction with Sunday programming/ratings. It is believed that by pawning off the quagmire to a media conglomerate, the netlet can focus its attention on Monday through Friday — where, ostensibly, EHC and/or The Game could find new homes. (Per Ausiello, Aliens is a goner.) — MWMRelated:• The CW Axes Aliens in America• No Laughing Matter: CW Closes Comedy Division
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Amy Pietz, Aliens in America
Amy Pietz isn’t afraid to say what’s on her mind. Which isn't surprising, considering she’s spent the last year doing a splendidly didactic turn as Franny Tolchuck, that hyper-involved, middle-class mom on Aliens in America (Sundays at 8:30 pm/ET), the CW’s post-9/11 satire of cultural acceptance in small-town Wisconsin. As much as she would like to think herself world-wise (she did, after all, take in a Muslim exchange student), Franny is influenced by the old-line gospel according to Bill O’Reilly.
Contrarily, Pietz — her political bent leaning more towards socialism — finds O’Reilly “to be really destructive to society,” says the 39-year-old actress. Her observation came only a few days before the Fox News host’s on-air comments about a famed Harlem restaurant had him la
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Adhir Kalyan by Jim Spellman/WireImage.com
While Aliens in America is still on the bubble, the show's costar, Adhir Kalyan, has sewn up a recurring role on FX's Nip/Tuck. As Ausiello reported, Nip/Tuck was casting for a young Dr. Raj (really young), and they've found their boy, says the Reporter. Dr. Raj is a 16-year-old, socially awkward doc who joins the medical group to help Dr. Troy with surgeries. No premiere date has been set, but the show's next season is in production.Kalyan fans will also find him in several upcoming movies, including Fired Up and Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Are you ready for the addition of Kalyan to the show? Hoping he'll just get to keep his Aliens job? Let us know. — Anna DimondUse our Online Video Guide to get a little Nip/Tuck of your own.
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Question: I found it interesting that you had a question recently about not being able to gather around the metaphorical watercooler to discuss popular TV shows. I am finding that, due to how much TV programming is available these days, it is impossible for me to find someone to talk about my favorite shows with, except for the ultra-popular shows like Grey's Anatomy. Case in point, I know of nobody besides me who watches Aliens in America on the CW. I started watching it because Scott Patterson from Gilmore Girls was on it, and I was missing Stars Hollow immensely. I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The cast is great, especially the overprotective mom played by Amy Pietz. The writing is solid, intelligent and funny. The "Rocket Club" episode, where Justin pretends to be in an after-school club to watch sexy movies with his friends, was classic! I also give this show credit for tackling the issue of how Muslims are treated in the post-9/11 world. When's the last time you ...
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Returns Sunday April 27 at 830 pm The CWNumber of new episodes 4Where we left off Devout Muslim Raja kneeled for a pre-takeoff prayer causing panic and the Tolchucks Vancouver trip to be canceled Franny and Co took it out on Raja who ran awayWhats next Daughter Claire will find one of Frannys sex toys and torture her mom about it Justin will spark a school controversy with risqu sketchesBeginners luck Raja gets a girlfriend and Justins none too happy about itWatch full episodes | Photos | More Returning Favorites coverage
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The show opens with the Tolchucks getting all spruced up to go on their ritual Sunday voyage to Shop World. Raja tells Franny that their weekly ritual is a lot like going to church; they go together as a family every Sunday and leave behind roughly ten percent of their income. Heh. Shocked that Raja thinks her family is so spiritually devoid, she decides the family is going back to their church that minute... only to find out it has now become a Chicken Wing restaurant. Determined to find some faith, they head to a mega chuch, complete with a coffee bar, music section and housewares department. Here we get to see Gary's obsession with a bargain (buying collectible saint plates), Justin finding his faith when he prays for a school bullies demise, and it happens, and Franny feeling relief when she manipulates Claire (who has asked for birth control pills for Christmas) into joining the "chastity club."It just gets more and more awesome with each passing minute. Justin thinks that his ...
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The show opens with the Tolchucks getting all spruced up to go on their ritual Sunday voyage to Shop World. Raja tells Franny that their weekly ritual is a lot like going to church; they go together as a family every Sunday and leave behind roughly ten percent of their income. Heh. Shocked that Raja thinks her family is so spiritually devoid, she decides the family is going back to their church that minute... only to find out it has now become a Chicken Wing restaurant. Determined to find some faith, they head to a mega chuch, complete with a coffee bar, music section and housewares department. Here we get to see Gary's obsession with a bargain (buying collectible saint plates), Justin finding his faith when he prays for a school bullies demise, and it happens, and Franny feeling relief when she manipulates Claire (who has asked for birth control pills for Christmas) into joining the "chastity club."It just gets more and more awesome with each passing minute. Justin thinks that his ...
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Question: I never watched the CW before this year, but suddenly I'm finding myself watching shows that have been running for a while. Some of them I didn't know I was missing (Everybody Hates Chris, Beauty and the Geek and Supernatural), while others have only just started (Reaper, Gossip Girl and Aliens in America, definitely the funniest new show of the year). Am I a statistically insignificant anomaly, or do the ratings indicate that this will be the breakout year for the CW (or would have been if not for the strike)? On another note, I'm curious how the strike will affect certain cable shows. I don't know how much truth there is to this, but I've heard that some cable series typically have their entire season's worth of episodes produced far in advance of when the season starts. I'm particularly interested in learning the status of the final seasons of The Shield, The Wire and Battlestar Galactica. Do we know when they'll be airing and how much of their final seasons are in the can? ...
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