liz.raftery

A native of Clearwater, Florida and alum of Boston's Emerson College, Liz has been working at TV Guide since 2012. Prior to that, she was a freelance writer for outlets including People and The Boston Globe.

American Idol's Kristen O'Connor: "Beautiful Disaster" Wasn't My First Choice

Though she was the first Top 13 contestant to be eliminated on Season 13 of American Idol,Kristen O'Connor says she wouldn't have done anything differently — even though she was talked out of her original song choice for what ended up being her final performance. "They ask us to send a list of three songs that we think we're going to sing, and it actually wasn't on my list," O'Connor tells TVGuide.com. "But then the producers were like, 'Oh, we think this would be a really good song.' They got really excited about it, and so I got really excited about it. ... It was kind of a last-minute type decision, but I was happy with it."

Wed, Mar 5, 2014

American Idol's Kristen O'Connor: "Beautiful Disaster" Wasn't My First Choice

Exclusive First Look: Meet the Heroes of NBC's Crisis

NBC's midseason drama Crisis isn't necessarily a political thriller — but it does throw Washington's elite into a hostage situation. The series stars Gillian Anderson and Dermot Mulroney as parents whose children's school bus is taken hostage during a school field trip.

Wed, Mar 5, 2014

Exclusive First Look: Meet the Heroes of NBC's Crisis

Nashville's Aubrey Peeples: Finding Out Will's Secret Would Be "Devastating" for Layla

Relationships rarely experience smooth sailing on ABC's Nashville, but Layla (Aubrey Peeples) and Will (Chris Carmack) are in for an especially rocky ride. "They are struggling," Peeples tells TVGuide.com about the couple's arc in the next few episodes. "I don't think that it would be realistic for everything to work out [with them]. ... Layla is upset a lot in the last half of the season."

Wed, Mar 5, 2014

Nashville's Aubrey Peeples: Finding Out Will's Secret Would Be "Devastating" for Layla

Mila Kunis to Guest-Star on Two and a Half Men

Art is set to imitate life on Two and a Half Men. Mila Kunis, the fiancée of Men star Ashton Kutcher, is set to guest-star on an upcoming episode of the CBS sitcom.

Tue, Mar 4, 2014

Mila Kunis to Guest-Star on Two and a Half Men

VIDEO: Jimmy Kimmel and Rob Ford Revisit Ford's Most Embarrassing Moments

Toronto mayor Rob Ford is no stranger to public humiliation, and he got a healthy dose of it on Jimmy Kimmel Live Monday.

Tue, Mar 4, 2014

VIDEO: Jimmy Kimmel and Rob Ford Revisit Ford's Most Embarrassing Moments

USA Orders Drama Series Starring The Glades' Matt Passmore

USA has given a 10-episode series order to an untitled drama series from Sean Jablonski(Suits), the network announced Tuesday.

Tue, Mar 4, 2014

USA Orders Drama Series Starring The Glades' Matt Passmore

Teresa and Joe Giudice Plead Guilty to Fraud Charges, Could Face Prison Time

Real Housewives of New Jersey stars Teresa and Joe Giudice pleaded guilty to fraud charges in Newark Federal Court Tuesday, and both could face prison time as a result, the New York Daily News reports.

Tue, Mar 4, 2014

Teresa and Joe Giudice Plead Guilty to Fraud Charges, Could Face Prison Time

Timbaland Joins Fox Drama Pilot Empire

Timbaland has signed on to the Fox drama pilot Empire, TVGuide.com has learned. The Grammy-winning producer will act as songwriter and producer for the show, a family drama set in the world of a hip-hop empire. It will feature modern music as well as original tracks.

Tue, Mar 4, 2014

Feud Between 12 Years a Slave Writer, Director Causes Tension at Oscars

The creative team behind 12 Years a Slave had plenty of reasons to celebrate at Sunday's Oscars, including the film taking home Best Supporting Actress for Lupita Nyong'o, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture. But it wasn't all smiles for director Steve McQueen and writer John Ridley, who are reportedly feuding with each other. The beef started when McQueen asked Ripley if he could have a shared screenplay credit on the movie, and Ripley refused, according to TheWrap. Ripley raised eyebrows at the Academy Awards on Sunday when he snubbed McQueen on his way to the stage to accept the award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and neglected to thank McQueen in his speech.

Tue, Mar 4, 2014

Feud Between 12 Years a Slave Writer, Director Causes Tension at Oscars

Bachelorette Alum DeAnna Pappas Stagliano Reveals Baby's Name

Bachelorette alum DeAnna Pappas Stagliano and her husband Stephen have revealed the name of their baby girl.

Tue, Mar 4, 2014

Bachelorette Alum DeAnna Pappas Stagliano Reveals Baby's Name

Dancing with the Stars Reveals Season 18 Cast

Drew Carey, Candace Cameron Bure, and Olympic gold medalists Charlie Whiteand Meryl Davis are among the celebrities who are heading to the ballroom for Season 18 of Dancing with the Stars.

Tue, Mar 4, 2014

Dancing with the Stars Reveals Season 18 Cast

The Following Postmortem: The Case Takes a Devastating Turn for Mike

[Warning: This article contains major spoilers about Monday's episode of The Following. Read at your own risk!] The investigation into Joe Carroll's cult turned gruesomely personal for Mike Weston (Shawn Ashmore) on Monday's episode of The Following. In the final moments...

Tue, Mar 4, 2014

The Following Postmortem: The Case Takes a Devastating Turn for Mike

Mom Star Sadie Calvano on Violet's "Big Decision" and Pregnancy Plot Backlash

There's babies on the brain on Monday's episode of Mom — for everyone, that is, except Violet (Sadie Calvano), who would like nothing more than to completely forget about the fact that her due date is fast approaching. "Violet's undoubtedly made mistakes, as every teenager does," Calvano tells TVGuide.com. "But at the end of the day, Violet's a really smart girl. And I do think as the pregnancy comes closer and closer to its end, she struggles with deciding what the smartest choice is regarding this baby, so that she can break the cycle and give the baby the life that she wishes she could have had."

Mon, Mar 3, 2014

Mom Star Sadie Calvano on Violet's "Big Decision" and Pregnancy Plot Backlash

Kenny Loggins Brings Archer Into the "Danger Zone"

Rev up your engines! Archer is heading into the Danger Zone on Monday's episode. When the gang decides to throw Lana (Aisha Tyler) a baby shower, Archer (H. Jon Benjamin) decides that he's going to get her the best gift imaginable: a private performance by Kenny Loggins, who makes a cameo in the episode — in cartoon form, of course. "I'm a total badass in this episode and it's fun," Loggins told reporters on a conference call last week. "Archer's been referring to 'Danger Zone' for a quite a while ... So I think they just finally went, 'Well, we've gone so far with this joke, we have to take it all the way.'"

Mon, Mar 3, 2014

Kenny Loggins Brings Archer Into the "Danger Zone"

Oscars: How Did Ellen Do As Host?

Sunday marked Ellen DeGeneres' sophomore outing as host of the Academy Awards, and the typically tame comedienne offered up some jokes that were more barbed than usual during her opening monologue. In her intro to the show, DeGeneres took jabs at everyone from June Squibb to Jennifer Lawrence.

Mon, Mar 3, 2014

The Following's Valorie Curry: Emma Is "Not the Same Person She Used to Be"

Has Joe Carroll lost his mojo? The serial killer at the heart of Fox's The Following seems to have been taken down a few notches this season. On last week's episode, Carroll (James Purefoy) began to question his talents as a writer, and even his No. 1 devotee, Emma (Valorie Curry) is starting to see cracks in the pedestal on which she's placed him. "She knows now that he is fallible, whereas before he was very godlike to her," Curry tells TVGuide.com. "Now, she's borne the brunt of his mistakes, of his weaknesses. ... Their relationship is going to be different going forward, [with Emma] knowing now that he is capable of making mistakes. He also admits that he needs her ... as a partner, not so much as a follower."

Sun, Mar 2, 2014

The Following's Valorie Curry: Emma Is "Not the Same Person She Used to Be"

Chloe Sevigny Returns to TV as "The Biggest Mystery" of A&E's Those Who Kill

It feels as though 2014 is quickly shaping up to be the year of the damaged detective on television. It's fitting that Those Who Kill, A&E's gripping new drama series starring Chloe Sevigny and James D'Arcy, premieres the same week that HBO's True Detective will wrap up its inaugural season. Both shows follow law-enforcement officials who are haunted by the demons of their work — in Sevigny's case, recently promoted homicide detective Catherine Jensen. But while Catherine will draw inevitable comparisons to other tortured investigators, Sevigny's portrayal — like Matthew McConaughey's excellent outing as Rust Cohle in True Detective — infuses the character with a level of nuance that's rarely seen in standard detective fare.

Sun, Mar 2, 2014

Chloe Sevigny Returns to TV as "The Biggest Mystery" of A&E's Those Who Kill

Box Office: Son of God Is No Match for Liam Neeson

Son of God, the pared-down feature-film version of the History Channel miniseries The Bible, had an impressive debut at the box office this weekend, taking in $26.5 million, Box Office Mojo reports. But it wasn't able to best Liam Neeson's action thriller Non-Stop, which landed at No. 1 with $30 million.

Sun, Mar 2, 2014

Box Office: Son of God Is No Match for Liam Neeson

VIDEO: Analyst Nate Silver Weighs In on the Best Picture Oscar Nominees

With the Oscars fast approaching, it's time to finalize your bets on which films will take home the night's top prizes. Ahead of the night's broadcast, ABC enlisted ESPN number-crunchers Nate Silver and Walter Hickey to analyze some trends from past years. Among their findings: New York City is the most popular setting for Oscar nominees, husband-and-wife pairings are the relationships most often depicted in nominated films, and the most common cinema trope among past nominees is a good old-fashioned face slap.

Sun, Mar 2, 2014

VIDEO: Analyst Nate Silver Weighs In on the Best Picture Oscar Nominees

12 Years a Slave Tops Independent Spirit Awards

12 Years a Slave was the big winner at Saturday's Independent Spirit Awards. The front-runner for Best Picture at Sunday's Academy Awards won five awards, including Best Feature, Best Director (Steve McQueen) and Best Supporting Actress (Lupita Nyong'o).

Sun, Mar 2, 2014

12 Years a Slave Tops Independent Spirit Awards

After Earth, Movie 43 Win Razzie Awards

Sunday's Academy Awards will recognize the greatest achievements in filmmaking from the past year, but Saturday's Razzie Awards did just the opposite. Highlighting the worst that cinema had to offer in 2013, the annual Razzies singled out Movie 43 and After Earth, among others.

Sun, Mar 2, 2014

Saturday Night Live: Colin Jost Makes His "Weekend Update" Debut

Saturday Night Live has been on hiatus for a month... and this is the best they could come up with? The episode that marked the debut of Seth Meyers' replacement Colin Jost at the "Weekend Update" desk was disappointingly low on laughs, featuring one-joke sketches that went on too long (see: Aidy Bryant's hefty Tinkerbell stand-in "Tonkerbell"). Even Kate McKinnon's typically hilarious Ellen impersonation was a bit lackluster. As far as "Weekend Update," there are of course going to be some growing pains in that department but... we miss Seth already.

Sun, Mar 2, 2014

Saturday Night Live: Colin Jost Makes His "Weekend Update" Debut