Don't expect to see the short and severe Caesar haircut on Spartacus' version of Julius Caesar when you first meet him. When the notorious Roman makes his debut on the Starz drama Friday at 9/8c, he appears much younger and shaggier than we've seen him depicted before. That's because producers decided to check in on him decades before he became the lover of Cleopatra and the elder statesman fated for assassination.
Nigella Lawson is proof that you can have it all, even if you are a just a home cook. The British TV star, who herself is a home cook, can add ABC's culinary competition show The Taste, which airs Tuesdays at 8/7c, to her string of hit cooking shows. On the new series, she and three other chefs — Anthony Bourdain, Ludo Lefebvre and Brian Malarkey — select contestants to be on their team based on a one-bite, blind taste test. Therefore, professional chefs and home cooks alike have an equal chance to compete, but it's not an easy thing to impress four widely different palates and deal with their mentoring styles.
[Spoiler alert: The following story contains spoilers from Sunday's episode of Downton Abbey. If you haven't watched it yet, read at your own risk.] Although Downton Abbey's third season has already played in its entirety in the U.K., a majority of American fans of the series have kept scrupulously ignorant of what happens in order to enjoy watching the series unspoiled. And even for those who already knew what was coming, Sunday's episode was far more horrifying and heart-wrenching to watch than we could have imagined.
Pull on your waders because Spartacus and his hairy men are back, and they're waist-deep in blood and guts in their fight for freedom against Roman oppression. On Friday's Spartacus: War of the Damned premiere, we meet up with the rebels many months after they defeated Glaber. Their ranks have swelled by the thousands, which is making the Roman Senate shake in their sandals. Enter Marcus Crassus (Simon Merrells), the wealthiest man in Rome, who will fund and lead an additional 10,000 soldiers to take down Spartacus (Liam McIntyre).
Breaking: Tina Belcher's ghost hoax creates havoc at school! On Sunday's all-new episode of Bob's Burgers (8:30/7:30c, Fox), Tina (voiced by Dan Mintz) has big broadcast dreams and decides to try out for her school's news channel. Her newfound passion leads her to investigate the mysterious "Mad Pooper," who's been running amok at her middle school.
Spartacus: War of the Damned may be the series' swan song, but first the characters will have a chance to sing a different tune — literally. At the red carpet premiere for Spartacus, which kicks off Friday at 9/8c on Starz, executive producer Steven S. DeKnight promised that "My C--- Rages On," the fictional bawdy song popularized on the series, will be heard again. "We could not have a season without 'My C--- Rages On,'" he told TVGuide.com. "So listen for it. It'll pop up somewhere."
What is the secret ingredient that Anthony Bourdain wants his team to use on The Taste? Tears. When ABC's new cooking competition show kicks off Tuesday at 8/7c, Bourdain and three other judges — British TV cook Nigella Lawson, Ludo Bites America's Ludo Lefebvre and former Top Chef competitor Brian Malarkey — will taste-test one bite of food from each of 29 hopefuls competing for one of only 16 spots on the judges' teams. But the tastings will be conducted blind, which means the judges won't know if a professional chef or a self-taught home cook prepared the dish.
Despite the show's name, don't expect to see Jack the Ripper cases play a big part on Ripper Street.That's because the new BBC America crime drama, which kicks off Saturday at 9/8c, takes place in 1889, a good six months after the last murder was attributed to the notorious serial killer. "The whole idea for us setting out on this journey was to really try and actually discard Jack the Ripper, at least in terms of wondering after who he was and trying to catch him..."
Project Runway crowned its second All-Stars champ Thursday night. In a typical all-stars twist to make the competition more difficult (and more torturous!) the remaining three designers only had four days to complete a full mini collection with as many (or few) pieces as they wished using a budget of $3,000. So did Uli, Emilio or Anthony Ryan win? Let's take a look at the final harrowing runway:
Top Chef's Chris "CJ" Jacobson is on a seven-challenge win streak on Last Chance Kitchen, which should feel good right now... except for those pesky online comments. On the weekly online series, in which ousted Top Chef contestants battle it out for a chance to re-enter the main competition, CJ recently trounced Micah in a head-to-head challenge over tartare. Chef Tom Colicchio, who is the sole judge on Last Chance Kitchen, deemed CJ's beef heart tartare with pickled duck skin and tomato water the winning dish. Some of the comments online, however, have called for blind tasting to remove the perception that Tom may be favoring CJ because of a supposed "bromance" between the two chefs.
To watch or not to watch? That is the question TVGuide.com examines as Idol enters the twilight of its tween years:
Is the end of Dexter nigh? The serial killer drama will return on Sunday, June 30 at 9/8c, earlier than its intended fall premiere, Showtime Entertainment President David Nevins announced at the winter TV previews on Saturday. Dexter will act as a lead-in for new series Ray Donovan at 10/9c, having already proven to be a successful launchpad for Homeland.
Fans of CBS' comedies How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men can't rest easy quite yet, but could have good news soon. "We will be happy to be reporting in a few days that things will be resolved," CBS chief Nina Tassler told reporters at the winter TV previews Saturday about the possibility of a Season 9 renewal for HIMYM. "We're confident and excited that things will work out. Almost everything is complete."
Ricky Gervais may have enjoyed being the "most feared man in Hollywood" when he notoriously offended many as a the host of the Golden Globes, but he insists that his new sitcom Derek, set in a nursing home, is "sweeter" than his usual fare. Derek, an original series to premiere on Netflix sometime this year, won't target the elderly with Gervais' sardonic wit. The show's humor doesn't lie in mocking them, but rather in taking jabs at the callous outside world and its marginalization of the elderly. It's certainly not an obvious topic for humor, but Gervais hopes that viewers will give the show a chance. "I think there's risk of people not watching it because of assumptions that it was cruel," he said at Netflix's winter TV previews on Wednesday. "There's risk that they don't get it. Or that they get it and don't like it. ... I haven't felt this excited and proud of a project since The Office. That's the truth of it."
"I'm a really curious person ... I'd be interested in studies on violence in entertainment and the correlation of violence in real life," FX chief John Landgraf told reporters at the FX winter previews Wednesday. "If we find meaningful correlations, we should act on those correlations." Landgraf, whose network airs the sometimes brutally violent Sons of Anarchy, was responding to the inevitable questions about violence and responsibility question that has been prevalent at the Television Critics Association tour this month. Although he pointed out that the U.S. and U.K. consume the same violent media (The Walking Dead is the No. 1 cable show in England), violent gun deaths are significantly higher in the States. He theorized that it is differences in the countries' gun-control policies ...
There's trouble in secret-agent paradise. Even though Nikita kicked off the season with a romantic proposal between our favorite rogue agents, relations don't look so rosy when the series returns Friday, Jan. 18 at 8/7c on The CW. Or at least, that's the conclusion that Amanda (Melinda Clarke) has drawn from her surveillance of Division.
A sex tape. Christian Louboutins. A sinus infection. Cheated contestants. All of these subjects were rather unsuccessfully referenced in Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj's combined attempts to deflect from the topic of their so-called American Idol feud at Fox's winter TV previews on Tuesday. Producers and the women themselves have repeatedly denied such enmity exists, only acknowledging that they've moved past any friction and disagree solely in the line of duty as Idol's newest judges, alongside fellow new judge Keith Urban and vet Randy Jackson.
It's 2013, and with the new year comes a new outlook, new resolutions and yes, even new TV viewing habits. Midseason TV: Check out the day-by-day schedule Not that there's anything wrong with the shows you already love, but some scheduling changes have necessitated a rejiggering of priorities. While some series aren't continuing past the midseason mark — XOXO, Gossip Girl! Adios, Partners! — new shows are stepping in to fill the void. And since most of us didn't get a second DVR for the holidays, we still need to pick and choose how these new offerings will figure into our limited viewing time (if at all). Below are four of the busiest midseason timeslots and our take on what to watch, DVR, skip or just watch online.
Spartacus, prepare to meet your most dangerous foe to date. On the upcoming final season of Spartacus, premiering Friday, Jan. 25 at 9/8c on Starz, the titular rebel leader (Liam McIntyre) may have amassed 30,000 bloodthirsty followers, but he'll be met by an equally merciless force, led by a new opponent, Marcus Crassus (Simon Merrells).
Grimm fans can look forward to lots of action when the NBC fantasy procedural returns in March. In particular, Portland's resident Grimm, Det. Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli), will finally confront Sean Renard (Sasha Roiz), the police captain who has reluctantly become the object of Nick's girlfriend Juliette's affection, thanks to a magical side effect of a potion. Revolution and more NBC scoop from the TCA Winter TV previews "It's going to be a powder keg," Roiz told critics at Grimm's winter TV previews on Sunday. Giuntoli added that in the "big, angry kerfuffle... he has a height advantage on me, but I have a rage advantage on him."
Johnny Weir is revolting, which may actually work in his favor on Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off. On the Food Network competition series kicking off Sunday at 9/8c, the world champion figure skater once again neglects to play it safe and listen to his coach's advice. He joins TLC's Chilli, Dean McDermott and Cornelia Guest on Team Guy Fieri, who are vying against Team Rachael Ray's Gilbert Gottfried, Kathy Najimy, Hines Ward and Carnie Wilson. At the end of the competition, the winner will earn bragging rights as well as a $50,000 grand prize for the charity of their choice.
Making cake isn't just, you know, a piece of cake. Who knew you needed armor when making delicious pastry? On Monday's all-new episode of TLC's Next Great Baker, the contestants face their toughest challenge to date: life-sized cakes! And with the bigger dessert, come bigger problems.
