Rainn Wilson to Host SNL
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Late Night, Prime Time, NBC, Saturday Night Live, The Office,
I just came across this online today—why am I always the last to know? Rainn Wilson, aka Dwight Schrute on The Office, will be hosting this weekend’s edition of Saturday Night Live. I’m thrilled. I’m ecstatic. Questions abound: Will there be a skit about The Office? Will Wilson be featured in a Digital Short (oh please?)? Will any of his Office co-workers make an appearance? I’m excited to see what he does—it’ll be fun to see him outside the word of Dwight Schrute. I know that SNL gets its fair share of criticisms, but I still think it’s worth tuning into, at least for the first half of the show. Even if there’s just one good sketch, it’s worth it. It’s always going to have ups and downs, but I’ve been watching since I was a kid and have no intention of giving up on it yet. Let’s hope that Lorne Michaels invites more Office cast members to host… come on, I would be so on board for John Krasinski (Jim) hosting. And while we’re suggesting dream SNL hosts, how about the creator of the british Office, Ricky Gervais? He would be a perfect match for SNL.
Read More 
| Watchingtheoffice.com
Gallery: Rainn Wilson to Host SNL
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Switcheroo for ‘Deal’ and ‘Crossing Jordan’
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Drama, Games, Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, NBC, American Idol, Apprentice, The - Donald, Medium, Ratings,
Here’s one of those things that totally confuses viewers—moving a show to another day and time. The latest is the switch in days between Deal or No Deal and Crossing Jordan. So, the Wednesday night edition of Deal will move to Sundays, and Crossing Jordan will get the bump to Wednesdays at 9 p.m. The change will make Sundays a bit different, with Grease: You’re the One That I Want at 8:00, Deal or No Deal at 9:00, and The Apprentice at 10:00. Whether or not the move will increase ratings, we’ll just have to see. Jordan will now be in good company with the other Wednesday dramas: Friday Night Lights and Medium. Of course, that also puts Jordan in competition with American Idol, which is currently the ratings king.
Read More | Zap2it
Gallery: Switcheroo for ‘Deal’ and ‘Crossing Jordan’
‘Identity’ Game Show Returns in March
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Games, Prime Time, NBC, Ratings, Renewals,
Remember that new game show, Identity, with Penn Jillette? It only aired for a week, then seemed to vanish into oblivion. If you’ve been missing it, fear not—it returns to the schedule in March. The week it aired earned decent ratings, debuting with 12.3 million viewers on December 18th. Overall, the show averaged 9.3 million viewers during the week. Good enough to bring it back, it seems. Identity will return to the roster on Friday, March 16th at 9:00 p.m. Subsequent weeks, it will air on Fridays at 8:00 p.m., replacing 1 vs. 100. If you didn’t catch the show, it’s basically a game of first-impressions and stereotypes. Contestants must identify which of 12 strangers fits a certain trait—the episode I saw had contestants determining the occupation of each person. The prize for correctly matching the trait with each person is $500,000. Eh, not a thrilling show, but Penn makes it entertaining and it could easily become a guilty pleasure.
Read More | Zap2it
Gallery: ‘Identity’ Game Show Returns in March
The Black Donnellys Gets Bumped Up a Week
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Drama, Prime Time, NBC, Heroes, Ratings,
Fans of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip are about to see the show bumped off the schedule one week earlier than originally planned. NBC was to premiere the new drama The Black Donnellys in early March, but instead moved the broadcast up a week. The midseason replacement will take over Studio 60‘s Monday night slot at 10:00 p.m. Donnellys is expected to be a hit, partly because its from the team who created the film Crash and partly because its lead-in will be Heroes. Look for The Black Donnellys on Monday, February 26th. NBC has not yet announced when Studio 60 will reappear on the schedule, making fans nervous that it may never return. Studio 60 has not proven to be much of a ratings winner, with only 7 million viewers; 8.58 million if you factor in delayed viewing. Heroes will take a break following the March 5 cliffhanger, and returns in April and May to finish out the season.
Read More | Zap2it
Gallery: The Black Donnellys Gets Bumped Up a Week
Survivor: Fiji Grabs 17 Million Viewers
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Prime Time, Reality, ABC, CBS, NBC, My Name Is Earl, Survivor, The Office, Ratings,
Hey, not too shabby for an aging franchise. The latest installment of Survivor—Survivor: Fiji—earned almost 17 million viewers on its Thursday debut. This is the series’ fourteenth season, and it certainly doesn’t seem to be losing any steam. And this comes despite any new gimmicks (like the social experiment of last season). Survivor: Fiji took the top spot for 8:00 - 9:00 p.m. So, that means it beat out Ugly Betty by a fair amount—9% for households, 35% for viewers 25-54, 23% for 18-49 year-olds, and 17% total viewers. Similarly, it bested NBC’s showing of My Name is Earl and The Office, earning 35% more of the adults ages 18-49. Despite the significant viewership, it did fall short in one category: the 18-34 demographic, where it came in third, following Ugly Betty and Earl/The Office. I am one of the few who did not watch the latest installment. My loyalty lies with Earl and The Office, and quite frankly, I’ve grown tired of Survivor‘s concept and host.
Read More | Reality TV World
Gallery: Survivor: Fiji Grabs 17 Million Viewers
Premiere Date Set for ‘Donnellys’ and ‘Andy Barker’
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Drama, Prime Time, NBC,
These are two of the shows you may have heard some buzz about in the fall, then they swiftly fell off of the radar. The Black Donnellys, a crime drama, will premiere on NBC on March 5 at 10:00 p.m. This mid-season entry will knock Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip off of the schedule, with no clear indication about when it will return. Donnellys will have the lead-in of Heroes, so it’s not too shabby a place to be.
Andy Barker, P.I., the new comedy starring Andy Richter, will begin on March 15th at 9:30 p.m. (also on NBC). So, that will replace 30 Rock mid-season. As much as I’m looking forward to seeing Andy Richter, I will certainly be mourning the absence of 30 Rock. That show just continues to get better each week. Fear not, however, 30 Rock will return to its Thursday time beginning on April 19th.
Read More | Comingsoon.net
Gallery: Premiere Date Set for ‘Donnellys’ and ‘Andy Barker’
Last Comic Standing Continues for Another Season
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Prime Time, Reality, NBC, Renewals,
NBC announced that a fifth season of the stand-up talent show, Last Comic Standing, will air this summer. Thankfully, last season’s host, Anthony Clark, has been replaced. I don’t have anything against Clark, but he didn’t seem to add much to the show and had a frightful amount of makeup on. This go-around will have comedian Bill Bellamy taking on the hosting duties, plus the show goes international. So, no longer will auditions be held solely in American cities—we’ll also see what kind of comedy chops there are during auditions in London, Sydney, and Montreal. Former Last Comic Standing contestants, Alonzo Bodden, Kathleen Madigan, and Ant will be on hand to scout out talent in the audition cities. No word yet on when exactly the series will air or if the contestants will be living together.
Read More | Yahoo! News
Gallery: Last Comic Standing Continues for Another Season
Ed Helms Becomes a Regular on ‘The Office’
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Prime Time, NBC, Daily Show, The, The Office,
For those of you, like myself, who may have thought that Ed Helms’ character on The Office was on his way out, think again. It would seem that, after he annoyed even Michael Scott (Steve Carell), that the end was near. Helms has done a particularly fine job as the suck-up Andy Bernard, that it makes you feel downright embarrassed for the guy. His status on the show has just been bumped to a regular cast member. Both Helms and Rashida Jones (Karen) joined The Office this season. Karen, who moved to the Scranton branch mainly to follow Jim, will likely have some tougher times ahead now that Jim has admitted he has feelings for Pam. Rashida Jones is still just a recurring character, so we’ll have to see if she decides to move back to Stamford.
Helms worked with Steve Carell on The Daily Show and will soon appear on screen with Carell in Evan Almighty.
Read More | Yahoo! News
Gallery: Ed Helms Becomes a Regular on ‘The Office’
Hargitay and Meloni Extend SVU Contracts
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Drama, Prime Time, NBC, Renewals,
Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni, stars of the hit NBC series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, have just extended their contracts for two more years. This comes after weeks of negotiations and some speculation that the series would go on without the star power of Hargitay and Meloni. The two will continue on the drama through 2009. The show’s creator, Dick Wolf, has made no announcements about the dollar amount of the deal, but it has been reported that each could be earning more than $6.5 million annually. Hargitay is joining the big leagues, with an estimated $300,000 to $340,000 per episode, putting her in the range of Kyra Sedgwick, who was recently named as one of the top paid female television stars. Creator Dick Wolf said of the agreement, “I’m thrilled that Chris and Mariska have decided to stay with a show that they’ve made an indelible stamp upon, as we move into our ninth season.” Both have been with the series since it started in 1999.
Read More | Yahoo! News
Gallery: Hargitay and Meloni Extend SVU Contracts
Now here’s a show that sounds like it could be a good time. NBC has ordered six episodes of the improv series Thank God You’re Here. The show is nothing too groundbreaking—you’ve seen it before with Who’s Line is it Anyway? and this exact series is already enjoying popularity in other countries. Hosting duties will be performed by David Alan Grier (In Living Color), while Dave Foley (Kids in the Hall, Newsradio) serves as judge. I’m excited because I love these two, and I love improv. Check out the pilot, featuring Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle), Joel McHale (E!‘s The Soup), Jennifer Coolidge (American Pie), and Wayne Knight (Seinfeld). No details yet on when exactly you can catch the premiere of this show, but be on the lookout for what should prove an entertaining diversion from ordinary television offerings.
Read More | Zap2it
Gallery: Improv Series Coming to NBC
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