New shows that looked good enough for a fall pick-up are fine-tuning their casts before going into production. For starters, CSI alum Louise Lombard will not be making the trek to NCIS: Los Angeles, despite having appeared in the two NCIS episodes that served as a backdoor pilot. The spin-off instead will recast its female lead. Similarly, says the Hollywood Reporter, CBS' Three Rivers is on the hunt for ...
Jack Bauer? He's all that in the eyes of a new CTU agent to be played by Freddie Prinze Jr., the latest actor to sign on for 24's eighth season. A star of such films as She's All That and two Scooby-Doos — where he played opposite lady love Sarah Michelle Gellar — and the short-lived sitcom Freddie, Prinze Jr. joins the Fox drama as Davis Cole, a Marine who now ...
How Tuesday's fresh fare fared:8 pm/ETNBC's Funniest TV Phrases special (6.6 million total viewers) placed a distant second behind an NCIS rerun. Yada, yada, yada.... The penultimate batch of According to Jims came in fourth, averaging 3.7 mil. Reaper wrapped up its second and likely final season with a 430K gain, hitting 2.22 mil.9 pmFox's Mental debuted in third place, with 5.8 mil. Because you were about to ask: Although Mental shares 58 percent of The Mentalist's title, it only managed 47 percent of the CBS drama's repeat audience. You were going to ask, right?ABC's Diamonds mini caught the eye of 3.1 mil, while the CW's Hitched or Ditched was largely the latter, premiering to a scant 1.46 mil.10 pmA repeat of the canceled Without a Trace easily topped a not-new SVU and Diamonds with 9.6 mil. Salt, wound! Crave scoop on your favorite TV shows, from this summer or the upcoming fall season? E-mail senior editors Matt, Mickey and Tim at megascoop@tvguide.com. Also, follow TV Guide on Twitter.
Sure, she may know her appoggiatura from her serrefine, but can she accurately address a letter to Dancing with the Stars' Maksim? On the eve of her fourth trip to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, 8th-grader Josephine Kao of Sacramento shared a peek inside her spellbinding world, and then dared to tackle some of TV's "toughest" names. (ABC's coverage of the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals, hosted by Dancing man Tom Bergeron, airs Thursday at 8 pm/ET. SportsCenter's Chris McKendry oversees coverage of the semifinal rounds earlier that day, from 10 am to 1 pm, on ESPN.) TVGuide.com: What do you typically do the last few days before the national bee? Do you keep cracking at the books, or "get away" from it all?Josephine Kao: I try to do both. One kid I know said he stayed up until 5 a.m. yesterday morning, but I try to study just a little. The rest is just relaxing and getting ready. TVGuide.com: Which of your past eliminations gnaws away at you most? What was the word?Kao: The hardest one for me was last year, when I misspelled ...
The cast for 24's eighth season, to be set (if not entirely filmed) in New York City, is starting to assemble. Jennifer Westfeldt, who had a memorable guest-starring arc on Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice this season — and who gets to call Mad Man Jon Hamm her beau — will fill the recurring role of Meredith Reed. Described by the Hollywood Reporter as "an ambitious journalist," Reed has ties to ...
Every week, senior editors Matt Webb Mitovich, Mickey O'Connor and Tim Molloy satisfy your need for TV scoop. Please send all questions to megascoop@tvguide.com. Chuck deserves a whole season, not just 13 episodes. Any chance of more? — DarrylMATT: Actually, yes. NBC entertainment president Ben Silverman says that while the current plan is to deliver 13 midseason episodes, depending on the ratings, "we may extend it out and continue it through the summer," where he thinks it could pair nicely with Friday Night Lights. "We're looking to ... keep [Chuck] incredibly viral and buzz-worthy until it returns, and then hopefully have it on our air for many years to come." That'd be Awesome. And even more so? I chatted up Scott Bakula at TNT's upfronts luncheon, and he's game for more Chuck, if need be. Any scoop on Gossip Girl's Season 3? — F.R.MICKEY: Speaking with TVGuide.com at the CW upfronts, Leighton Meester seemed to confirm that Georgina's plan to ...
See what just a little bit of ink will get you? The Season 5 premiere of TLC's Jon & Kate Plus 8 delivered 9.8 million total viewers — the cabler's largest audience ever, and its best draw since an April 2003 Trading Spaces special. It's also more than double what the increasingly dysfunctional parents scored with their previous, less tabloidy premiere.Leading out of Jon & Kate, TLC's Cake Boss only held on to 3.2 million viewers for its premiere. (Hey, maybe people prefer sour over sweet?)Other recent ratings notes:• Harper's Island on Saturday night scored 3.89 mil, besting America's Most Wanted and a Southland repeat, but not ABC's NBA finals coverage.• On Monday, The Bachelorette made a date with 6 mil, down markedly from last week's premiere. ABC's Here Come the Newlyweds in turn debuted to 4.98 mil, placing third far behind a CSI: Miami rerun (7.76 mil) and a fresh Medium (7.75 mi).
The womenfolk (and some of the men) might find themselves whistling at Prison Break's Whistler when Fox's Mental premieres this Tuesday at 9 pm. Chris Vance, whose Dr. Jack Gallagher bares almost all in one of the very first scenes, gave us a look at the House-like drama and the tightrope it must walk in depicting mental illness. The London-born actor also comes clean on Prison Breaker Wentworth Miller's hygiene habits. TVGuide.com: Congratulations on being one of the few foreign actors who gets to keep his accent on screen.Vance: That's true! It was a decision made by the producers of the show when we were doing the audition process. They figured it'd be good for the international side of it; they think [Mental is] going to sell in like 35 countries. TVGuide.com: But it must drive [Australian costar] Jacqueline McKenzie crazy. She had to drop her accent for The 4400, as well.Vance: [Laughs] She is kind of jealous. We had a bit of a hoot about that during the series. TVGuide.com: Is Dr. Gallagher's sometimes irreverent approach based on any sort of real methodology that's used out there?Vance: It's a mixture. I think Jack questions conventional treatment all the time. If he finds it appropriate, he'll obviously use it. But I think he wants to push the limits and ...
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has called out So You Think You Can Dance judge Nigel Lythgoe for making what they deem homophobic remarks — both on the show and via Twitter — about a same-sex couple who served up a samba on Thursday's premiere. After Misha Belfer (who is gay) and Mitchel Kibel (straight) performed at the Denver auditions, Lythgoe said, "It was a bit like watching ... Blades of Glory," a reference to the over-the-top Will Ferrell comedy about male skating partners. "I think you probably alienate a lot of our audience," he continued. "I mean, we've always had the guys ...
Now playing in this week's (early!) edition of the Mitovich Mega Minute: • As I spoke to nearly the entire 90210 cast at the CW upfronts, the reaction to one cast member's abrupt exit was overwhelming. See what the consensus is, and whether we might see the dispatched hunk ever again. • Entourage's Ari may have a fight on his hands, as a formidable foe returns to the mix! • How much time will have elapsed in Bon Temps when HBO's True Blood launches its second season? And will a major mystery be solved? Anna Paquin gives me the answers.Watch and discuss the brand-new (and early!!) MMM, after the jump.
Recapping some Nielsen numbers from recent days, including some very big finales and the premiere of the summer's hottest reality competition: Wednesday• The American Idol finale played to a crowd of 27.7 million total viewers, hitting a high of 32.55 mil as Kris got crowned. That audience marks a 9 percent dip from last year, and the show's second-smallest finale draw ever, besting only ...
Featured here in the latest installment of TVGuide.com's Getting Lost video series:• I start off with a reminder about some Very good news (with a capital V).• Leaping ahead in time a bit — as a Lostie is prone to do — I had to wonder: Are the producers locked into what the series' final scene will be, when Lost signs off in May 2010? Carlton Cuse gives me an update.• Who is the "they" Jacob warned Un-Locke about? I share your top two theories.• Similarly, this week's Burning Question tackles another case of uncertain identity. Give it a listen, then send your best theory to GettingLost@tvguide.com.Watch and discuss the new Getting Lost after the jump.
CW entertainment president Dawn Ostroff is putting the best possible spin on the loss of One Tree Hill original cast members Chad Michael Murray and Hilarie Burton, saying the show now has an opportunity to bring on new characters. "We tried to get them to stay; we would have been thrilled if they wanted to," Ostroff told reporters at the CW's upfront presentation. But since Murray and Burton are moving on, Tree Hill must now ...
They soon will be split up — Smallville is moving to Fridays at 8 — but Clark Kent and the Winchester brothers still have something in common: Despite rumblings surrounding both shows, neither is necessarily entering its final season this fall. Asked if Clark Kent will hang up his red windbreaker after Season 9, CW entertainment president Dawn Ostroff told TVGuide.com...
The CW's schedule for the 2009-10 TV season is about natural pairings, starting with the network's new Melrose Place series leading out of 90210 — just as the original shows did back in the early '90s — on Tuesdays.On Wednesdays, America's Next Top Model will tee up The Beautiful Life, a tale of wannabe top models living under one roof. The show — which includes an ensemble of Mischa Barton, Corbin Bleu and real-life supermodel Elle Macpherson as a tough-as-nails modeling agency boss — is produced by Ashton Kutcher.As previously reported ...
The CW isn't officially showing its hand for the 2009-10 until its Thursday morning upfronts event — and I'll be there on the red carpet chatting up the young 'n' fab talent! — but one piece of not-entirely-super news looks for certain: Smallville is being shuttled to Fridays at 8, for its ninth (and perhaps final) season, sources tell TVGuide.com. The Smallville move serves two purposes. For one, it clears the way for ...
CSI recently wrapped up its ninth season in front of 14.41 million total viewers. An enviably large crowd, make no mistake, but one 19 percent smaller than tuned in for the Season 8 closer. Rubbing salt in the wound, Fox said this week that they had moved Fringe to Thursdays-at-9 because, among other reasons, CSI and Grey's Anatomy were both sliding and "not consuming all the oxygen" the time slot has to offer.
Tuesday's tallies: 8 pm/ETAmerican Idol's final Season 8 sing-off delivered 23/07 million total viewers, up 6 percent week-to-week. NCIS' season-ender (poor Ziva...) netted 16.09 mil, up 210K. Reaper's likely penultimate episode drew 1.79 mil, down 200 thou. 9 pmThe Dancing with the Stars finale tangoed with 20.12 million viewers, on par with the show's year-ago disco ball hand-out. The Mentalist concluded its freshman run with 16.84 mil, up 720K. Fox's Glee debuted to 10.75 mil 1 and needs to resume its first season, like, yesterday! Fox notes that Glee was Tuesday night's No. 1 Twitter topic, while New Directions' version of "Don't Stop Believin" emerged as the No. 2 most downloaded song on iTunes. 90210's school year came to a close with an audience of 2.09 mil. 10 pmLagging far behind DWTS, Without a Trace bowed out — for good — before a crowd of 11.32 mil, dropping 16 percent week-to-week. Crave scoop on your favorite TV shows? E-mail senior editors Matt, Mickey and Tim at megascoop@tvguide.com. Looking for the latest Fall TV updates? Follow TV Guide on Twitter.
Leverage and Raising the Bar return to TNT this summer for their sophomore seasons, while three new shows make their debut. The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick, and Saving Grace, starring Holly Hunter, are also among the cabler's returning original series. As for new fare, TNT is rolling out this summer HawthoRNe, a medical drama fronted by Jada Pinkett Smith; Dark Blue, a police drama led by Dylan McDermott (The Practice); and Wedding Day, a reality series from Mark Burnett. The cabler's development slate for the 2009-10 season and beyond, meawhile, is both out-of-this-world and down-to-earth. The dramedy Men of a Certain Age — starring Ray Romano (also a creator on the series), Andre Braugher and Scott Bakula — has been greenlit and tabbed for ...
CBS announced eight brand-new series for the 2009-10 TV season, including ones starring Chris O'Donnell, LL Cool J, Julianna Margulies and Alex O'Loughlin, and swooped in and picked up NBC's castoff Medium. The Eye ordered a full 22-episode season of Medium, slotting it after Ghost Whisperer on Fridays. As CBS entertainment boss Nina Tassler says, "If Ghost Whisperer and Numbers had an offspring, Medium would be it." CBS also has tinkered with its Monday lineup in unexpected ways. How I Met Your Mother will now ...
Every week, senior editors Matt Webb Mitovich, Mickey O'Connor and Tim Molloy satisfy your need for TV scoop. Please send all questions to megascoop@tvguide.com. Please, oh please, bring Chuck back next season. Make it happen. With all the craziness in the world, this show was so refreshing. — StephanieMATT: As you have since read, Chuck will be back, though not until midseason and perhaps for only 13 episodes. On the bright side, talk that the action-comedy would shave overhead by culling down the cast appears to be inaccurate. "We're not looking to lower the cost in any way," says NBC boss Ben Silverman. "We want [executive producers] Josh Schwartz, McG and Zach [Levi] to perform at their highest level." In other words, Silverman says, "The show you love is the show you'll get." Oh, and there's this from the cover of Duh! Magazine: Subway will be back as a major promotional partner. How fast can Sarah assemble a foot-long BMT? Will CSI: NY add to its cast given the death of Emmanuelle Vaugier's Det. Angell? — Ted TIM: Don't... make... Angell-gone-to-the-angels joke. Must... attempt... real answer. And it is ...
Privileged won't return for a second season, series creator Rina Mimoun tells TVGuide.com via email, adding only, "It's so sad" and a little frowny-face emoticon. A charming dramedy fronted by the luminous JoAnna Garcia, Privileged struggled in the ratings, but delivered...
