Randy Jackson Back on American Idol, As Judging Panel Firms Up
Exclusive: Animal Planet Renews Call of the Wildman for Season 2
Yi yi yi, Animal Planet's "Turtleman" has just snapped up a second season renewal. The network ordered 20 more half-hour episodes of its new hit series Call of the Wildman for air in 2013. The show, set in the Kentucky backwoods, follows Ernie Brown, Jr. (aka the "Turtleman") as he searches murky ponds for feisty snapping turtles (which have been known to bite through bone). Brown has been in this line of work for three decades. "No job is too tough or dangerous for Turtleman," Animal Planet says.
Fox Lands New Comedy From Bill Lawrence and Creator of $#*! My Dad Says
Cougar Town creator Bill Lawrence is partnering with Justin Halpern — the writer who turned his Twitter feed into the short-lived CBS sitcom $#*! My Dad Says — to develop a new comedy at Fox. The network has given a pilot production commitment to...
Man of the Year: Jimmy Kimmel on the Emmys, Oprah and Going Head-to-Head With Leno and Letterman
Jimmy Kimmel points to an enormous new treadmill in his office. The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host recently installed the contraption, which sports a large tabletop to conduct business while exercising, and has taken to walking on it while working. "I read somewhere that sitting all day can cut 15 or 20 years off your life," he explains. "It's worse than smoking. We weren't meant to sit this much."
Exclusive: Premiere Date for Season 2 of Disney Channel's Austin & Ally
Disney Channel's music-themed comedy Austin & Ally will be back for a second season on Sunday, Oct. 7, at 8:30/7:30c.In the premiere episode, "Costumes & Courage," Austin is invited to perform a duet with a famous pop star at his new record label owner's Halloween party. But when the star can't sing, Ally steps in.
TV Comedy King Chuck Lorre Looks to Venture into Drama Series and Movies
Chuck Lorre, the comedy titan behind hit shows Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory and Mike & Molly, has signed a new big-bucks deal that could push him into the drama series space and the film world as well. Under his new exclusive overall development and production deal with Warner Bros. TV, Lorre will remain with the studio through at least 2016.
How Primetime Is Getting A Little Bit Country
Nashville, the city, and Nashville, the country music industry, are expecting big things from Nashville, the new fall drama from ABC. The serialized drama, which stars Connie Britton as an country singer juggling her home life and struggling to remain a relevant artist, might not have made it on the air a few years ago. But just as country music is moving toward the mainstream, the mainstream is gravitating toward country music — and TV execs, hungry for audiences, are eager to tap into country's loyal fan base. "We know from our proprietary research that about 96 million Americans qualify as country music fans, based on their listening habits and purchase behavior," says Country Music Association marketing director Cory Chapman. "That leads to a big opportunity for a network to go after that audience."
Exclusive: Disney Channel Sets Premiere Date for Next Original Movie, Girl Vs. Monster
For its next original TV movie, Disney Channel has created a monster. The network is set to announce shortly that Girl vs. Monster will premiere on Friday, Oct. 12 at 8/7c as part of its Halloween-themed month of programming.
MTV Explains Why The Situation and His Jersey Shore Pals Had to Go
G-T-Later! Jersey Shore is still a ratings smash, even though audience levels have dipped from its 2011 high. But MTV programming executive vice president Chris Linn tells TV Guide Magazine that it was time for the show to retire anyway. Speculation on the end...
Robin Williams Looking to Return to TV, Teams With David E. Kelley For Comedy
Shazbot! Robin Williams could be making a return to TV, where he famously got his start 30 years ago as the lovable alien from Ork on Mork & Mindy. The actor is in talks to team up with writer David E. Kelley to develop The Crazy Ones, a comedy about an aging but brilliant advertising exec. CBS is said to be...
The Inside Story on How NBC Landed Michael J. Fox
Twelve years ago, Michael J. Fox left ABC's Spin City in order to focus on his fight with Parkinson's disease. At the time, the actor stressed that he was not "retiring," but just looking to "relieve the strain of producing and performing a weekly network series." Now it's back to the future for the sitcom king, who once again feels up to the task — and is returning to TV in a big way. NBC, where Fox became a superstar in the 1980s as young conservative icon Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties, has given a rare 22-episode guarantee (before a lick of film is even shot) to a new sitcom based on Fox's life.
Exclusive Video: Revenge Comes to The Hub's Transformers Prime
Make room for Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. The Hub's Emmy-winning animated series Transfomers Prime returns this Friday, August 24, at 7/6c with a new batch of Season 2 episodes. The show, produced by Hasbro Studios, once again follows rivals Optimus Prime and Megatron as they battle for Earth, and the Autobots and Decepticons potentially change the war's balance of power. In this week's episode, "Hurt," Miko and Wheeljack are out for revenge. Here's an exclusive clip from...
Watch My Show: Up To Speed's Richard Linklater and Speed Levitch Answer Our Showrunner Survey
For his first foray into episodic TV, director Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, School of Rock) has partnered with a true original: Eccentric tour guide and historian Timothy "Speed" Levitch. Their new Hulu series Up to Speed is an unconventional travel show that follows Levitch as he explores unusual attractions across America — such as the "luckiest subway grate" in New York and the "shoe gardens" of San Francisco.New episodes of Up To Speed, which premiered on Aug. 9, are currently available on Hulu and Hulu Plus. We asked Linklater and Levitch to tell us why we should get up to speed with Up To Speed.
Watch My Show: Gravity Falls' Alex Hirsch Answers Our Showrunner Survey
It's The X-Files meets Twin Peaks — but animated, and for kids. Disney Channel's Gravity Falls, which airs a new episode Aug. 24 at 9:30/8:30c, may be unlike any other cartoon out there. Jason Ritter and Kristen Schaal play Dipper and Mabel Pines, siblings who are forced to spend the summer with their eccentric great-uncle in a town where very weird things happen. Creator Alex Hirsch says he conceives each episode like a "little movie," as the show explores its versions of urban legends. We asked him to scare up some reasons why we should investigate Gravity Falls.
Fox Orders Detective Comedy Pilot from Parks and Recreation Producers
Two of the minds behind critical favorite Parks and Recreation are bringing their next comedy to Fox. Parks executive producer/co-creator Michael Schur and co-executive producer Dan Goor have landed a pilot order at Fox for a new half-hour show...
ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live Gets a Time Slot Upgrade
Just in time for its 10th anniversary, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live will move to 11:35 p.m. in January, while Nightline — which has held that time slot since its launch in 1979 (as Iran Crisis: America Held Hostage) — slides to 12:35 a.m.As part of the time slot shift (which takes effect Jan, 8), Kimmel has also extended his contract — which was set to expire in February 2013 — for another two years, keeping him at ABC until at least 2015.
NBC Reveals The 10 Cities to Land a Revolution Screening
A Revolution is coming next month to 10 U.S. cities, including Denver, Chicago and Philadelphia. NBC is set today to announce the top ten markets from its "Powered by the People" voting campaign on behalf of the network's new J.J. Abrams/Eric Kripke drama.
Summer Movie Blockbusters Still Rule on Cable
FX is known mostly for its original series, from Sons of Anarchy and Justified to Louie and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. But as much as 80 percent of the cable network's schedule is still devoted to theatrical movies — which is why FX execs have been on a blockbuster buying spree again this summer. FX has landed the lion's share of this summer's box office No. 1 films, ultimately plopping at least $200 million for movies such as The Avengers, Men in Black 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man. Most recently, FX picked up the rights to last weekend's No. 1 film, The Bourne Legacy.
Strike Back Gets Back in Action!
The Strike Back team had just arrived in Mozambique to kick off shooting this season when they ran into a major problem: As the country faced an uprising by thousands of freedom fighters clutching real RPGs and AK-47s, the government wasn't so sure what to make of the show's crew. Mozambique officials...
How TV Veterans Conquered the Summer Movies
TV fans might have noticed some familiar names at the box office this summer. Now that it's widely accepted that some of Hollywood's best work is found on the small screen, television's top creative minds are finding a receptive audience in the film world as well.
Watch My Show: Oh Sit! Executive Producer Phil Gurin Answers Our Showrunner Survey
Did Oh Sit! hit the fans? Final ratings for the new CW competition series' Wednesday night premiere will be out later today, but the network already plans to air episode two of Oh Sit! tonight at 8/7c (leading into the series premiere of the new singing competition The Next). Oh Sit! — which was originally titled Extreme Musical Chairs, until The CW decided to have some fun with the title — centers on 12 contestants who go through a series of physically challenging obstacle courses to order to claim a chair (as a live band performs). The last player on a chair wins a cash prize. Jamie Kennedy hosts, along with Jessi Cruickshank, with Tanika Ray as the sidelines reporter. Executive producer Phil Gurin (The Singing Bee, Shark Tank) took time to fill out our TV Guide Magazine showrunner survey and explain why Oh Sit! happens.
First Look: Discovery Channel's New Alaska Series Yukon Men
We told you a few weeks ago about Yukon Men, the new Alaska-set series that debuts later this month on Discovery Channel. The show follows the rugged inhabitants of Tanana, Alaska, a remote town of about 200 citizens, that isn't easily accessible by roads. Tonight, Discovery will air an extended sneak peek of Yukon Men in the 10 pm hour, using Shark Week to help promote the show. Yukon Men debuts Friday, Aug. 24 at 10/9c. Here's a first look at the latest Discovery series to showcase the 49th state...
