The Funniest Shows on Cable
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Comedy, Prime Time, Reality, Cable, MTV,
Need a cure for the rerun blues? Forget about network and don’t worry about repeats - if you’ve never seen the show, it’s not a rerun to you. Get acquainted with some of the shows you may not even know about…and in some cases, you might wonder how you ever got along without them.
Cable TV offers plenty of diversion, and sure a lot of shows get repeated. But in the middle of a writers strike while studios scramble to find anything to put on the tube, those obscure (and hilarious) cable shows may just become the saving grace of evening TV watching. Check out four relatively obscure, yet hysterical, cable shows and find out just how fun reruns can be.
Click to continue reading The Funniest Shows on Cable
TV Guide
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David Letterman Returns With Writer Support
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Late Night, Talk Shows, ABC, Cable, CBS, NBC, Daily Show, The, News,
David Letterman has accomplished what no other late night host has managed to do: reach an agreement with the writers. Of course, owning your own company does have its perks.
Letterman and his production company, WorldWide Pants, have been sitting down with the Writers Guild for some time now in hopes of working out a deal. Late today, the two sides came to terms on an independent agreement that would allow both The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson to come back on Jan. 2nd. Although the two talk shows will technically be competing with the returns of Leno, O’Brien and Kimmel, CBS will easily have the advantage. Letterman and Ferguson will be the only ones with the scripted jokes.
Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart will also be returning - sans writers - on January 7th.
Reuters
Surprises in Store for Late Night TV
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Late Night, Cable, NBC, Daily Show, The, Gossip,
If you’ve attempted to watch TV at all in the last two months, you know there’s an active writers’ strike in the works. Despite the picket lines, lots of studios are “encouraging” their late night hosts to get back in the studio and back behind the desk.
Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Conan O’Brien (among others) all intend to bring their shows back to the air beginning in January - but this time, they’re doing it without their writers. When it comes to television, this action is very much like walking a tightrope in the circus…with no safety net.
The hosts are members of the Writers Guild themselves, meaning they’ll have to pass by their union brothers and sisters on their way to work every morning (or afternoon, as the case may be). This membership also means the hosts themselves must continue to follow union rules, and will be subject to the terms and conditions therein. For instance, monologues and talk segments (like Colbert’s The Word) may no longer be part of the program. So…what, then, will viewers see on late night in January? For one, you won’t be getting scripted segments.
Click to continue reading Surprises in Store for Late Night TV
Yahoo! News
Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart Return to Work
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Late Night, Talk Shows, ABC, Cable, CBS, NBC, Daily Show, The, Announcements, News,
Comedy Central has just announced the January return of its two late-night talk show hosts. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert will ring in their new years on January 7th, five days after Kimmel, Leno and O’Brien have scheduled their starts. The Daily Show and The Colbert Report - like the ABC and NBC programs - will resume production sans writers. What this means for these ‘news’ shows and their largely scripted formats is unknown.
Stewart and Colbert, who are also members of the Writers Guild of America, released a joint statement about the decision:
’‘We would like to return to work with our writers. If we cannot, we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence.’‘
Meanwhile, we may get details later today about the plans for CBS’ late-night programs. David Letterman’s company, Worldwide Pants, will be meeting with members of the WGA today. If they can reach an interim agreement, both The Late Show With David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson could also be hitting the airwaves - with scribes - come January 2nd.
No matter how you feel about the writers’ situation, what do you think about The Daily Show and The Colbert Report returning? Could they possibly be as good as they were pre-strike—or do you think the quality will suffer? Will you simply be happy to see them back regardless of the content?
Variety
TV on DVD: December 4, 2007
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Action, Comedy, Drama, Late Night, Prime Time, Reality, Sci-Fi/Horror, BBC, Cable, CBS, HBO, NBC, TNT-HD, WB, 24, Saturday Night Live, DVD,
In need of a few gift ideas? Here are some of the TV on DVD options you can find on the shelves this Tuesday.
- 24 (Season 6)
- 7th Heaven (Season 5)
- Battlestar Galactica: ‘Razor’
- Crank Yankers, The Best Of
- Diagnosis Murder (Season 3)
- Dinner for Five: ‘Best of Directors’
- Dinner for Five: ‘On the Road’
- The Grafters (Season 2)
- House of Payne (Volume 1)
- Instant Star (Season 2)
- Law and Order: SVU (Season 4)
- Saturday Night Live (Season 2)
- Touched by an Angel (Season 4, Volume 2)
- Will & Grace (Season 7)
- The Wire (Season 4)
TV on DVD: November 20, 2007
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Comedy, Drama, Music, Reality, Talk Shows, Bravo, Cable, CBS, MTV, Showtime, DVD,
Here are some of the TV on DVD options you can find on the shelves today. There are several complete collections now available just in time for the holiday season.
- Chappelle’s Show (Complete Series)
- Charles in Charge (Season 2)
- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (Season 7)
- Dr. Katz Professional Therapist (Complete Series)
- Gene Simmons Family Jewels (Season 2)
- Inside the Actors Studio: Johnny Depp
- Love American Style (Season 1, Vol. 1)
- Mission Impossible (Season 3)
- Nirvana: Unplugged in New York
- Queer as Folk (Complete Series)
- The Universe (Season 1)
- The Wild Wild West (Season 3)
TV on DVD: November 6, 2007
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi/Horror, Talk Shows, ABC, Cable, CBS, FOX, HBO, NBC, King of Queens, DVD,
Here are some of the TV-on-DVD options you can find on the shelves this Tuesday. There are several complete collections now available just in time for the holiday season.
- The Best of the Colbert Report
- The Cosby Show (Season 5)
- The Cosby Show (Season 6)
- Dora the Explorer: Puppy Power!
- Flight of the Conchords (Season 1)
- Full House (Season 8)
- Full House (Complete Series)
- The King of Queens (Complete Series)
- Martin (Season 3)
- Seinfeld (Season 9)
- Seinfeld (Complete Series)
- The X-Files (The Ultimate Collection)
- Wings (Season 5)
(Click here to see what’s new on HD DVD and Blu-ray.)
Late Night Repeats for Writer-less Talk Shows
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Daytime, Late Night, Talk Shows, ABC, Cable, NBC, Syndication, General Hospital, Saturday Night Live, News,
If the Writers Guild of America strikes on Monday as scheduled, you can expect a slate of late-night reruns to put you to bed. Assuming a last-minute Sunday mediation session doesn’t prevent the 12,000 WGA members from walking out, daily productions ranging from The Colbert Report to Late Night with Conan O’Brien will immediately go into repeats. So much for November sweeps.
The impact will not necessarily be limited to evening fare; daytime chatfests like The Ellen Degeneres Show may be affected as well. Fortunately soap operas like my fave, General Hospital, have stockpiled scripts that should leave them immune for months to come.
Tonight’s Saturday Night Live with Brian Williams could also be the last Lorne Michaels production for some time. But given SNL’s lame tendency to air repeats anyway, who’d even notice?
Hollywood Reporter
Colbert Campaign Halted
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Comedy, Late Night, Cable, Editorial, News,
According to party executives, satirical comedian Stephen Colbert will not appear on the Democratic Primary ballot for the state of South Carolina. The party voted against Colbert’s campaign, though just last weekend the funnyman enjoyed a huge welcome from the state. Party execs met earlier this week to decide which candidates will appear on the ballot, and the Comedy Central variety show host was not on the long list. A thirty-five thousand dollar fee is likely to keep Colbert off the Republican ballot as well, meaning this week could be the quick end to Colbert’s short campaign. And though fans of the Colbert Nation will be in an uproar because of the news, there are many who think this is the right decision. Keeping popular candidates out of the election, which has become a national free-for-all for a ton of politicians, is apparently all part of the Democratic process.
Click to continue reading Colbert Campaign Halted
CNN
Jon Stewart Continues Daily Show Through 2010
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Talk Shows, Cable, Daily Show, The, Renewals,
Yesterday, after I posted about the new Daily Show website, I went over and tried to find some of my favorite clips. Only, I couldn’t get it to load. Seems other rabid fans were jamming up the works and so I was left broken hearted. I did check in later last night and was able to find a favorite Steve Carell clip, so life is good again. And life is great for Jon Stewart, who has extended his contract with Comedy Central. Under the extension, he will continue to host the show through 2010. Ahh. Let’s all take a collective sigh of relief… although could you really expect him to go anywhere just yet? And Stewart is pleased as well, saying, “I love doing this show. I feel like I work with and for the best in the business. I look forward to using this extension to having great fun at President Colbert’s expense.” Stewart is, of course, riding high with both The Daily Show‘s and The Colbert Report‘s success, and will have a new show from his Busboy Productions Inc., called Important Things with Demetri Martin. The man is no slouch, that’s for sure.
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