michael.schneider

Inside TV's Expensive Emmy Campaign Machine

If Emmy gold could be cashed in for big ratings, then AMC's Mad Men and NBC's 30 Rock would be the most popular shows in the land. That's clearly not the case — yet the competition for an Emmy nomination, let alone a win, has never been fiercer or more expensive. Nominating ballots were due yesterday as Academy of Television Arts & Sciences voters made their picks for this year's Emmy contenders. It's just the latest pit stop on the road to Emmy gold, as talent (and more likely, their reps) now take a breather and wait to see if their hard work is rewarded with nominations, which will be announced on July 19.

Fri, Jun 29, 2012

Inside TV's Expensive Emmy Campaign Machine

First Look: Jason Ritter, Kristen Schaal, Linda Cardellini on Disney Channel's Gravity Falls

It's The X-Files meets Twin Peaks — but animated. Oh, and for kids. Disney Channel's Gravity Falls, which launches tonight at 9:30/8:30c, may be unlike any other cartoon out there for the runny-nose set — and that's the appeal. Disney, which already reinvented its cartoon brand with irreverent fare like megahit Phineas and Ferb, goes even further down that path with Gravity Falls, the tale of a brother and sister forced to spend the summer with their great-uncle (or "Grunkle") in a town where very weird things happen. Jason Ritter plays bright-eyed youngster Dipper Pines, while Kristen Schaal provides the voice of his eager sister Mabel. Linda Cardellini is on board as teenager Wendy, the older object of Dipper's affections.

Fri, Jun 29, 2012

First Look: Jason Ritter, Kristen Schaal, Linda Cardellini on Disney Channel's Gravity Falls

As Anger Management Launches, Charlie Sheen Makes Peace with Two and a Half Men

As his new show prepares to debut, Charlie Sheen is getting nostalgic for his old one. Sheen, who helped pick 24 episodes of Two and a Half Men for FX to air as a 12-hour marathon leading up to the launch of Anger Management on Thursday, is even feeling charitable towards his ex-boss.

Wed, Jun 27, 2012

As Anger Management Launches, Charlie Sheen Makes Peace with Two and a Half Men

Exclusive: B.J. Novak Takes an Office Breather

Dunder-Mifflin temp Ryan Howard may be joining his on-again, off-again flame Kelly Kapoor in exiting The Office. B.J. Novak, who has doubled as a writer off-screen and a series regular on-screen since The Office's 2005 launch, is leaving as a full-time part of the show.

Wed, Jun 27, 2012

Exclusive: B.J. Novak Takes an Office Breather

Exclusive: Details on Community's Comic-Con 2012 Panel

As Abed would say, "cool-cool-cool." It's #sixseasonsandamovieandanothercomicconpanel as TV Guide Magazine can officially confirm that yes, as the show's stars hinted last week, fan favorite Community is returning to San Diego Comic-Con on Friday, July 13 at 10 a.m. And this year, the organizers didn't Britta it: The gang from Greendale are movin' on up to...

Tue, Jun 26, 2012

Exclusive: Details on Community's Comic-Con 2012 Panel

Watch My Show: Secret Life's Brenda Hampton Answers Our Showrunner Survey

Executive producer Brenda Hampton knows a thing or two about the life of the American teenager. Her family drama 7th Heaven ran for 11 seasons and now her hit ABC Family series The Secret Life of the American Teenager is marking its landmark 100th episode on Monday (8/7c). Secret Life stars Shailene Woodley as a high school student whose life gets turned upside down when she becomes pregnant — and things just get more complicated from there. Hampton took a moment to tell us why we should learn the secrets of The Secret Life. TV Guide Magazine: It's been 100 episodes. Is the American teenager's life secret anymore?Brenda Hampton: Oh yeah. Teenagers always have secrets. That's because they're never doing what they're supposed to do. You were a teenager, right? You have secrets from when you were a teen, don't you? No? Liar!

Mon, Jun 25, 2012

Watch My Show: Secret Life's Brenda Hampton Answers Our Showrunner Survey

Lifetime Picks Up Marc Cherry's Devious Maids

Marc Cherry's Devious Maids is headed to Lifetime. The network has picked up 13 episodes of the soap for a 2013 launch.The show was originally developed this spring for ABC, but the network ultimately passed on turning the pilot into a series. Cherry's first series since Desperate Housewives ended its run, the show centers on a group of five maids who work for the rich and famous in Beverly Hills.

Fri, Jun 22, 2012

Lifetime Picks Up Marc Cherry's Devious Maids

Can the Broadcast Networks Wrestle Summer Back From Cable?

A few years ago, the broadcast networks finally woke up from their summer slumber and realized they'd ceded too much ground during the warmer months. Cable was winning the battle for the hearts and eyes of summer TV viewers by offering heavily promoted scripted fare — and the networks were mostly in rerun hell. "People got used to going away from the broadcasters in the summer," says The CW president Mark Pedowitz. "Now you're dealing with viewing patterns and trying to change them."

Fri, Jun 22, 2012

Can the Broadcast Networks Wrestle Summer Back From Cable?

Food Network Looks At the Filthy Side of Food with Health Inspectors

Food Network has quietly scheduled the new special Health Inspectors, which follows restaurant consultant Ben Vaughn as he helps a restaurant do what it takes to pass a health inspection and stay open for business.

Tue, Jun 19, 2012

Food Network Looks At the Filthy Side of Food with Health Inspectors

Watch My Show: Spoilers' Kevin Smith Answers Our Showrunner Survey

Director Kevin Smith has publicly announced his retirement from filmmaking, yet the brash auteur seems busier than ever. He produces and appears in the AMC reality series Comic Book Men (set in the New Jersey comic book store he owns), has launched a podcast and Internet radio service, and is behind the new Hulu movie-centric talk show Spoilers. The show features Smith and a studio audience chatting about an upcoming summer movie (which they previously screened). Among the upcoming movies discussed: Magic Mike, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Dark Knight Rises and Total Recall. Smith answered our showrunner survey to explain why we should log in and be spoiled...

Tue, Jun 19, 2012

Disney Channel Launches Another Make Your Mark Dance Competition

Disney Channel will give viewers another opportunity to participate in its dance competition Make Your Mark: Shake It Up Dance Off.

Fri, Jun 15, 2012

Disney Channel Launches Another Make Your Mark Dance Competition

First Look: "Weird Al" Yankovic on The Aquabats! Super Show

Yes, that's "Weird Al" Yankovic behind that mask, protecting the people and saving the earth as Super Magic Power Man. Yankovic guest stars on the Season 1 finale of The Hub's The Aquabats! Super Show, which airs June 16 (11am ET, 8am PT).

Fri, Jun 15, 2012

First Look: "Weird Al" Yankovic on The Aquabats! Super Show

First Look: Disney XD's Pair of Kings Launches Its Third Season

Disney XD's Pair of Kings is back for a third season on June 18 (8:30/7:30c) with the premiere episode, "The New King Part One: Destiny's Child." Like the title suggests, the premiere is all about the arrival of Adam Hicks (Zeke and Luther) to the island of Kinkow.

Fri, Jun 15, 2012

First Look: Disney XD's Pair of Kings Launches Its Third Season

Exclusive: MTV to Launch New Late Night Franchise The Nikki and Sara Show

MTV is getting back into the late night comedy game, greenlighting a new series starring up-and-coming comedians Nikki Glaser and Sara Schaefer. The Nikki and Sara Show will air weekly at 11 p.m. on a night to be determined; the series is expected to launch later this year. Glaser and Schaefer aren't household names yet, but they're developing a following online via their popular podcast You Had to Be There. Schaefer was formerly the head blogger for NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (yielding her two Emmy Awards), while Glaser was a contestant on Last Comic Standing, where she advanced to the semifinals.

Thu, Jun 14, 2012

Exclusive: MTV to Launch New Late Night Franchise The Nikki and Sara Show

Will Hatfields & McCoys Help Revive TV Movies and Miniseries?

The broadcast networks put a bullet in TV-movies and miniseries a few years ago — then along came Hatfields & McCoys, the Kevin Costner vehicle that broke ratings records for History last month, averaging 13.8 million viewers over three nights.

Wed, Jun 13, 2012

Will Hatfields & McCoys Help Revive TV Movies and Miniseries?

A Landmark Week for Cable: How History Beat The Broadcast Networks

History's record-breaking Hatfields & McCoys made headlines last week, but gone mostly unnoticed in the shuffle was news of something even more ground-breaking for the entire TV industry: For the week ending June 3, History ranked as the No. 1 network among total viewers.

Fri, Jun 8, 2012

A Landmark Week for Cable: How History Beat The Broadcast Networks

How the Hannibal Books Spawned Two Different TV Projects

Has Hollywood overdosed on too many fava beans with their nice chianti? Two characters from the same series of Thomas Harris books wound up in development simultaneously, and how that happened is an all-too typical story of tangled Hollywood rights.

Fri, Jun 8, 2012

How the Hannibal Books Spawned Two Different TV Projects

Exclusive: TLC Unlocks the TV Property Space with Four Houses

Nearly 12 years after Trading Spaces first put TLC on the map, the cable network is returning to the home/real estate genre with the new series Four Houses...

Wed, Jun 6, 2012

Exclusive: TLC Unlocks the TV Property Space with Four Houses

Reality TV's Copycat Fight: Can CBS Stop ABC's Glass House?

Radio and TV pioneer Fred Allen once quipped, "Imitation is the sincerest form of television." But he didn't live to see today's reality-TV wars, which erupted again this spring after CBS accused ABC of ripping off Big Brother and Fox announced plans to tweak NBC's The Voice.

Tue, Jun 5, 2012

Reality TV's Copycat Fight: Can CBS Stop ABC's Glass House?

From Harmon to Rhimes, How TV Showrunners Turned Into Rock Stars

After TV Guide Magazine and a handful of other outlets broke the news that Community creator Dan Harmon had been replaced as showrunner, the fan response was fast — and furious.

Fri, Jun 1, 2012

From Harmon to Rhimes, How TV Showrunners Turned Into Rock Stars

First Look: Dee Snider as The Duke of Detroit on Disney XD's Motorcity

Dee Snider, what do you want to do with your life? He wants to rock — as "The Duke of Detroit" on Disney XD's animated series Motorcity.The hair band veteran — famous for ...

Thu, May 31, 2012

First Look: Dee Snider as The Duke of Detroit on Disney XD's Motorcity

Exclusive: Lifetime Developing Clarice, Based on Silence of the Lambs Character

Lifetime is in the early stages of developing Clarice, a drama based on the Clarice Starling character that earned The Silence of the Lambs star Jodie Foster an Academy Award for best actress. Clarice would follow...

Fri, May 25, 2012

Exclusive: Lifetime Developing Clarice, Based on Silence of the Lambs Character