The DVR and online video streaming of your favorite shows has turned Must See TV into Must See When I Get Around to It. But Warren Littlefield, former entertainment president of NBC, has reminded us of what was possible not so long ago. His new book, Top of The Rock: Inside the Rise and Fall of Must See TV (May 1, Doubleday), recounts his successful run at the network and the inside stories of the shows that...
Keith Olbermann must be used to seeing blown-up bridges in his rearview mirror. His departure from cable network Current after just nine months is the latest in a series of ugly breakups with employers. So what are his job options now?
The team from ABC's Good Morning America sent a bucket of golf balls to Matt Lauer to congratulate him on his new deal to remain at NBC's Today. But the game for ratings leadership will only get more intense. Lauer's new agreement keeps him in the coanchor chair of the morning show for...
As a child actress in the 1980s, Melissa Francis performed in more than 100 commercials and TV shows, including Little House on the Prairie. She left Hollywood for Harvard, where she studied economics, but eventually found herself in front of a camera again as a financial reporter and news anchor. Francis recently jumped from CNBC to Fox Business Network, where she'll have her own daily program starting later this spring, giving viewers a regular venue to catch her feisty interviewing style. "She has a playful yet inquisitive edge to her that makes her different than the die-cast cable anchors," says Piers Morgan Tonight executive producer Jonathan Wald, who worked with...
There is a lot more energy in the Times Square studio of ABC's Good Morning America since the arrival of news anchor Josh Elliott, who joined the program from ESPN's SportsCenter last May.
The 2012 race for the presidency just got zanier as Roger Smith, resident alien on Fox's American Dad, has thrown his interstellar hat into the ring. He offers his views on the pressing issues he'll face in the campaign! TV Guide Magazine: What's your plan for stimulating the economy?Smith: My stimulation plan normally involves alligator clamps, a car battery, a bucket of Wesson oil, two free-range chickens, a Swedish tourist and the third season of Mr. Belvedere. TV Guide Magazine: Boxers or briefs?Smith: Boxers. No, briefs! Actually, either one as...
ABC's new talk show The Revolution may be the best thing that ever happened to General Hospital.
As the son of the late Tim Russert, the longtime moderator of NBC's Meet the Press, Luke Russert grew up in Washington politics. So it was natural for him to cover Capitol Hill when he joined NBC News in 2008. His coverage of the scandal involving sexting House member Anthony Weiner helped nudge the Congressman into resigning.
As mid-season shows debut over the next three months, it will be crunch time for a number of series that haven't been tearing up the Nielsen charts. Here's what network insiders say are the shows on the bubble as execs look to set their schedules in May. ABCA second-year ratings fade may mean it's time to pull a sheet over the Dana Delany-led Body of Proof. While the network ordered an extra episode of Pan Am in order to keep a hold on the cast until May, its chances of returning next fall are as likely as an airport going a full day without a flight delay. Comedy Happy Endings doesn't do a great job retaining the lead-in from the mighty Modern Family, but ABC parent Disney has an ownership stake in the show and it's a favorite within the network's entertainment division — so a pickup for another season is considered a lock. And fan fave Cougar Town will get a final shot for renewal if it performs well in its new Tuesday time period starting February 14.
There may be life after daytime for ABC's last remaining soap opera, General Hospital, which is likely to get the ax later this year to make room for Katie Couric's new syndicated talk show. One scenario being discussed has the drama continuing as a...
Ask CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan how she's doing and her one-word answer is "Busy." She's finishing a profile of Aerosmith for 60 Minutes. She's working on a story about drug-money laundering in Colombia and the Pacific Rim. She has an upcoming piece on a Botswana couple living in the African Bush for the last 30...
With 24-hour access to video journalism on cable, your smartphone or iPad, nobody needs to wait until Sunday morning to find out what the presidential candidates have to say, right? Don't tell that to the news divisions at CBS and ABC. Both are about to raise the stakes in the arena of Sunday inside-the-Beltway talk shows as they strive to remain the most important TV platform of the presidential campaign season...
The exposed brick walls in the new Manhattan studio for CBS This Morning are lined with items that reflect the legacy of the network's news division. A world map from Walter Cronkite's years on the evening news that was rescued from a New Jersey warehouse hangs on one side. Across the way are shelves with books by CBS journalists, vintage TV sets and video cameras. Standing out amid the paraphernalia is a green-and-gold Oakland A's cap, meant to remind the program's staff of the film Moneyball, in which Brad Pitt plays the renegade baseball executive Billy Beane. CBS This Morning executive producer Chris Licht screened the film at a private launch party for the cast and crew held at the Ed Sullivan Theater last month. The message to the troops:
Howard Stern calls himself the King of All Media, but he has never really conquered TV. He'll get that chance later this year, when he joins what has been the most watched summer show, NBC's America's Got Talent, as a judge. It's not...
The fall of dictatorships in Egypt and Libya, an uprising in Syria, and a devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan meant plenty of airtime for CNN's international correspondents, such as Nic Robertson, Arwa Damon, Sara Sidner and Ben Wedeman. You can see them and others in a rare appearance without their helmets and flak jackets when CNN on the Frontlines premieres ...
You don't see many films about furniture designers on television, even on PBS.
America could soon be waking up to Ryan Seacrest. After months of rumors that NBC execs were exploring hiring the American Idol host as an eventual replacement for Matt Lauer on Today, significant conversations are now taking place about making it happen as part of a larger deal between Seacrest and NBC parent company Comcast. While the mention of Seacrest's name is likely to make TV-news purists cringe, Today has a history of hiring anchors without serious...
Some critics have called NBC the Nepotism Broadcasting Company after the news division announced that Chelsea Clinton will serve as a special correspondent for its "Making a Difference" segments. The daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton joins a roster that includes former President George W. Bush's daughter Jenna Bush Hager, a correspondent for Today, and Sen. John McCain's daughter Meghan, a contributor to MSNBC.
Charlie Rose says his reputation as a night owl is greatly exaggerated. The co-host of the new CBS morning program (to be renamed from The Early Show) that will launch January 9 told reporters Tuesday that he's up everyday at 5 a.m. — a little late for morning television prep, but still...
Big changes and familiar faces have stirred up the talk-show arena this season. Here's how it's shaking out so far. EllenEllen DeGeneres was expected to benefit from Oprah Winfrey's departure in daytime and so far, she has. The syndicated chatfest is up 6 percent year-to-year, averaging 3 million viewers.
The morning shows used to compete to have the splashiest street-level studios and big stunts. But now it's about being the next Morning Joe.
During the week of November 7, Today coanchor Matt Lauer will pack his bag and refill his Ambien prescription as he jets off for the 10th edition of "Where in the World Is Matt Lauer?" He explains why this jaunt to five far-flung locations in five ...
