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    Neil Patrick Harris confirmed guest on Glee


    2010 - 02.28

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    Glee, which will have it’s season-one bow on June 8 and is already renewed for a second season, has just nailed down a Horrible guest star. Doctor Horrible, that is; How I Met Your Mother’s Neil Patrick Harris.

    Unlike some stars who prefer to spend their spare time hawking auto insurance quotes, Harris found a gap in his HIMYM schedule to fit in a guest spot on the musical comedy, Glee, allowing him a chance to show off his singing ability once again after a dazzling and humorous performance in Joss Whedon’s Dr. Horrible, as well as a musical number extolling the virtues of suits earlier this season on How I Met Your Mother.

    Glee returns on April 13 on Fox.

    One former LOSTie moves to House


    2010 - 02.05

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    One-time LOST star Cynthia Watros is setting up House as her post-Lost career. The actress has been cast as the first of Wilson’s three ex-wives, and word has it that when Watros joins the show in April, she’ll be on board for several episodes as… his new girlfriend.

    Watros becomes the first Wilson romantic interest since the death of Amber a couple years ago, a season finale that sent both House and Wilson spinning all through last season and much of this season.

    So get out your plasma mounts and DVRs… House is worth getting Lost in!

    Glee gets early second-season renewal!


    2010 - 01.14

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    Glee has moved to the head of the class, so to speak; after taking a load of herbal diet supplements, the cast was overjoyed to hear they’ve already been approved by Fox for a second season. Word is, terrific merchandising sales on the two soundtrack albums and the first half-season collection of episodes on DVD haven’t hurt the freshman show at all, and played a role in the early renewal.

    How well the show will wear over time will be the next big test; NBC’s Chuck was a hot show in its first season and only barely survived to a third season, though it is definitely a welcomed respite from an otherwise dreary NBC lineup this season, now that Chuck is back!

    Hopefully, Glee will wear well, and will be wise enough to graduate its cast off the show, and cast wisely their replacements, each and every season. No one wants to see these 22-year-olds playing 15 when they’re 26-year-olds playing 19 and somehow still in high school, like the Sweathogs.

    Fox’s Reilly hush-hush about Conan opp


    2010 - 01.14

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    Fox’s Kevin Reilly isn’t saying much, but has admitted that should Conan O’Brien become “available,” his network might just jump back into the late night game. Fox has been without a serious competitive late night show since axing, what was it… Chevy Chase?

    While the whole NBC blow-up is enough to make anyone need the best cholesterol medication available, in the end I think O’Brien is the funniest of the three. Best of luck, Conan!

    Cowell may leave Idol


    2009 - 12.28

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    Simon Cowell may leave American Idol after this season; that’s the word from his brother on Twitter. But we suspect Cowell is just using his desire to leave the show as a negotiating position, as he has before when his contract has come up for renewal.

    So is Simon going into RV repair? Not on your life; he wants to bring over his latest show, X-Factor, from Great Britain to the US. However, since Fox is the most interested buyer at the moment, don’t be surprised if they link purchase of X-Factor to a condition of Cowell remaining on Idol in some form.

    It’s been a bumpy ride for Idol the past few months. First, Paula Abdul’s contract is not renewed; then, Fox chooses the worst possible replacement – a stand-up comic and talk show host with no musical background, Ellen DeGeneres – to take Abdul’s place.

    Now no Simon?

    The old adage stands true; don’t mess with success! Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Fox is doing…

    American Dad is renewed


    2009 - 11.02

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    Although it was looking iffy for a while, Fox has decided to renew Seth McFarlane’s “American Dad” animated sitcom, which means McFarlane now owns 90 minutes of Fox Sunday night programming, along with The Simpsons.

    Previously, Fox had already announced renewals for Family Guy and The Cleveland Show. The new season of American Dad will be the sixth season. Networks like Fox who feature prime-time animated fare often make decisions for next season far earlier for animated shows than for live-action shows, due to the long production cycles in putting such shows together.

    Personally, I’ve always mildly preferred American Dad to Family Guy since about the second season on, and The Cleveland Show is still growing on me, but at the moment seems the weakest of the three. Either way, with all three shows having their futures assured, MacFarlane can now go off on that ski vacation he’s been waiting to take for so long.

    American Idol’s worst decision ever…


    2009 - 09.20

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    While netbooks are all the rage right now, even a small screen won’t make this look good: American Idol has selected, to replace Paula Abdul as a permanent judge on the show: talk show host and stand-up comic Ellen DeGeneres.

    Really? Unfortunately, yes, really…

    If DeGeneres were being selected as a judge for NBC’s Last Comic Standing, that would make perfect sense to me. She’s a former stand-up herself and while she may not be the funniest stand-up ever, she certainly knows what funny is, and what it takes to make a stand-up comic great.

    Trouble is, DeGeneres is not a singer, not a musician, not a former band member… she’s just NOT a music person. So what qualifies her at all to judge aspiring singers? Nothing. The choice is entirely based on her celebrity status and, given the straight vs. gay upset result in last season’s AI finale, probably a political decision as well.

    Hey, there are plenty of gay and lesbian singers out there who have real music backgrounds; want to make up for last season’s finale? There’s plenty of choices out there who would be a better fit than Ellen DeGeneres.

    Again, if this were Last Comic Standing, I’d love to see DeGeneres as part of the judges’ panel. But it’s not. It’s American Idol; it’s about singing and music, and as a judge for THAT, DeGeneres is shockingly under-qualified.

    Who needs Paula?


    2009 - 09.06

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    It’s time to be honest here, and I’m talking colon cleanser-honest: Paula Abdul was definitely the weak link in the American Idol judges panel, and her departure, while a shock to some, was a long time in coming and definitely an improvement. While US audiences seemed to like the soft, non-judgmental approach of Abdul, the truth is her “support everyone” approach weakened the show.

    Plus, with some of the celebrity guest judges Fox is lining up, I seriously doubt anyone will still be whining for Paula’s return once the season is underway. Here’s a list of confirmed guest judges so far: Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry, Victoria Beckham, Mary J. Blige, Neal Patrick Harris, Joe Jonas and Kristen Chenowith.

    The list is expected to grow from there. The regular judges for the new season of American Idol remain Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and the far-more-honest-and-discerning Kara DioGuardi, who debuted last season.

    Laurie joins top-paid TV actors club


    2008 - 09.15

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    Hugh Laurie won’t need to work behind a retail counter hawking auto parts any time soon, thanks to a new deal that will make him one of the highest-paid actors on television. Laurie is the star of the second-highest rated scripted drama on network TV, Fox’s House M.D.

    When the medical drama began in 2004, Laurie wasn’t even making six figures per episode; he received his first bump two seasons ago, and has been hauling in $250,00 to $300,000 per episode over the past two seasons. The new deal will net Laurie around $400,00 per episode, or about $9 million a year.

    Only William Peterson of CSI ($600,000 per epi) and Keifer Sutherland of 24 ($500,000 per epi) make significantly more than Laurie, and their shows don’t match the ratings performance of House MD, so the remuneration is well-earned. The contract extension guarantees Laurie will stick with the role of grumpy doc Gregory House for four more seasons, through 2011-2012.

    Fringe looks tops


    2008 - 09.08

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    When it comes to new shows this fall – genuinely new shows and not last seasons rookie-year relaunches, which have plenty of promising skeins – nothing beats the promise of J.J. Abrams’ latest effort, Fringe, on Fox.

    Billed as a bit of a modern take on the X-Files concept, the show promises to be more accessible to new viewers than recent creations like Lost and Alias. While any J.J. Abrams effort is anticipated as much as an acne cure, this show marks his first effort outside of ABC in quite some time.

    Fox, which is doing well with shows like House, Bones and 24, is overdue for its next runaway hit; Fringe is my best bet for delivering on that.