Carson Daly
Come Monday afternoon, the streets of Times Square will be just a tad quieter, or at least it will be outside of 1515 Broadway. After 10 years and more than 2,000 shows, TRL is throwing in the towel Sunday (MTV at 8 pm/ET) with a star-studded blowout bash, dubbed Total Finale Live, before the lights dim.
Once the network's most-watched show, the flagship series is, admittedly, past its heyday. But remember when it was prime daytime, after-school programming? The screams, the fans, the airtime actually devoted to videos, and the screams.
Carson Daly, who departed TRL in 2003 to focus on his NBC talk show, Last Call, will be on hand to emcee the finale festivities, alongside current host Damien Fahey, and a plethora of TRL faves, including Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, the Backstreet Boys, Diddy and 50 Cent. But before he jetted back to his east coast claim to fame, the 35-year-old chatted with TVGuide.com about his earsplitting past, what he thinks of new Late Night host Jimmy Fallon, and which boy band was his favorite.
TVGuide.com: Is it time? You've been gone for five years, but is it time to call it day after 10?
Carson Daly: I think ...
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Britney Spears and Damien Fahey
Is Britney ready to hit TRL one more time?
Stars of TRL past and present will be on hand to bid adieu to the iconic scream-fest countdown show on Sunday, and one of them could be Britney Spears, host Damien Fahey revealed to TVGuide.com.
"We actually do have something with Britney, but I can't exactly say what it is," he said.
An MTV rep tells TVGuide.com that Spears is ...
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The Backstreet Boys on MTV's "TRL" by Gary Gershoff/WireImage.com
The end of an era is upon us. After 10 years of counting down the hottest music videos, Total Request Live will be leaving the airwaves.Dave Sirulnick, the show's executive producer, revealed that the music video countdown show will wind down in November with a two-hour special. But he also emphasized that this end is not for good, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Instead, he explained that now is simply the right time to take a break, after a really good run on MTV.The show originally debuted back in September of 1998 along with the teen pop music explosion of artists like Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears and 'NSYNC. Do you think the show will really return after it's "break"? — Gina DiNunno
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He may have been on TRL to promote his new album, but instead, Usher utilized his air-time to go on a bitter tirade calling out all his haters. It all started when the artist addressed a rumor that he and his wife split, so he set the record straight that it wasn't true. But then things began to snowball from that point, and Usher got so fired up that kept cutting off the host to speak his piece. Someone should have gotten that man a soapbox!
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Twin Peaks - The Definitive Gold Box Edition courtesy Paramount Home Video
Twin Peaks: The Definitive Gold Box Edition arrives on DVD on Oct. 30 — including the original and European versions of the pilot. (Shop Amazon.com.) Damn good cup of coffee not included.... Prison Break: Season 1 comes out on Blu-Ray Nov. 13.... In the vein of Fashion Rocks, CBS presents Movies Rock, a new entertainment special featuring appearances by (of course) Beyoncé, Carrie Underwood, Fergie and many others, on Dec. 7.... MTV Australia VJ Lyndsey Rodrigues is Damien Fahey's TRL cohost starting Dec. 1.... Country star Porter Wagoner succumbed to lung cancer on Sunday. He was 80.
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After this year's dramatic turn on The View, with Rosie O'Donnell leading the discussions and picking fights with certain real-estate moguls, she's opting out of next year's contract. I think it's a wise decision. Although Rosie helped View ratings, got the audience stirred up and made the top of video lists and news items, I wasn't settling into her presence on the ABC morning program as well as I have with Meredith Vieira's new gig at Today. So, who would be a better choice for The View? Who would really complement the other ladies and still argue with Elisabeth Hasselbeck? Who could nestle into the comfort (and sometimes uncomfortable) zone of Hot Topics and later avoid public announcements from Barbara Walters trying to smooth over any rumors?Let us ponder the possibilities....Paula Abdul is definitely not an option. Ellen DeGeneres would be hilarious mixed with Joy Behar, but we'll let her keep her own show, which commands a funny, friendly and entertaining vibe all in one.More...
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Vanessa Minnillo by Theo Wargo/WireImage.com
Vanessa Minnillo has made it official. After four years of pop stars and crazed fans, she’s leaving her gig as VJ on Total Request Live. “I chose not to re-sign,” Minnillo broke the news to TV Guide at the Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s annual gala at the Waldorf-Astoria Tuesday night. “I don’t want to be 48 going, ‘Hey kids, now it’s Sean Preston Spears’ video!’”Minnillo’s got a lot going on right now. She has a cameo in the upcoming Fantastic Four flick (she plays one of the Human Torch’s love interests), and she just moved into boyfriend Nick Lachey's Manhattan digs. But according to Minnillo, life post-TRL is wide open. “I have had my run, and I’m ready for the next chapter. What it is I have no idea,” she says. “I don’t know if it’s going to be with a television show, with movies, with hosting, or maybe just even a family.” —Reporting by Rebecca Paley
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TRL host Damien Fahey
Most of us remember when MTV was all about the music, the days when superstars didn't visit Sweet 16 parties, interns didn't live large in The Hills — or at least we didn't watch them doing that — and Laguna Beach surfers were just no-name wave riders. But times they are a-changin', and now even viewers get to take the mic and interview their favorites by entering in the MyTRL contest, where winners will get to host MTV's famous music-video request show. TVGuide.com asked experienced TRL host Damien Fahey why kids are getting this chance, where he wants his career to go and who's on his int
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Carson Daly
After achieving teen-idol status as the iconic VJ of MTV's Total Request Live, Carson Daly replaced afternoons with late nights in 2002 as host of Last Call with Carson Daly (1:35 am/ET, on NBC). We spoke with the 33-year-old Daly, whose show celebrates five years on the air this week.
TV Guide: Very few talk shows last this long. What's your secret?Daly: It's amazing to look back. In the beginning, people [said], "You're buried in the middle of the night. No one's ever going to watch." And that ended up being the secret, I think. It was a place for me to learn this whole new craft. Conan [O'Brien] gave me great advice: "Have fun and screw up a lot. You might not always have this arena to find your voice." I've been really lucky the network has
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Although MTV pink-slipped a bunch of TRL staffers Wednesday and ratings for the seizure-inducing countdown show are down (way down), it isn't being canceled, sources insist to Variety. But, according to the New York Post, it will soon have a new host: The paper says the network can't wait to dump Vanessa Minnillo when her contract expires in April; Susie Castillo is considered the frontrunner to replace the future Mrs. Nick Lachey. (Does the fact that I couldn't identify Susie Castillo if I saw her mean that I am officially a geezer? Or is it that I believe that ratings would improve if maybe MTV ran the occasional video without the banal e-mail shout-outs and constant corner-of-the-screen commentary?)
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