Showing posts with label television. Show all posts
Showing posts with label television. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

New True Detective teaser


Tuesday, April 7, 2015

There will be more Arrested Development episodes


Though it’s not official official, as in there have been no press releases officially announcing the return of Arrested Development for another season on Netflix, series producer Brian Grazer — who runs the Imagine Entertainment along with Ron Howard — told Bill Simmons in a podcast interview today that more episodes are definitely coming.

Unlike previous teases, there was no hemming or hawing about timing, or the schedules of the participants. Grazer merely stated, “We’re going to do another 17 episodes. So, stay tuned for Arrested Development.”

Timing, format, participants and other details were not disclosed. In fact, Simmons seemed to completely shrug off the announcement, steering the conversation back to another Imagine Entertainment hit, Empire (the announcement is at the 24:30 mark).

Monday, April 6, 2015

ABC may be bringing back "The Muppet Show"

Fredrick M. Brown/Getty Images
It’s time to play the music, it’s time to light the lights—again? On Friday, the Hollywood Reporter reported that the Muppets may be returning to television with a new series. Bill Prady, one of the creators of The Big Bang Theory, is writing a script for the pilot. Prady began his career as a writer for The Jim Henson Hour and had also tried to revive The Muppet Show several years ago.

ABC is considering the new Muppets show, and THR suggests that they might announce a decision as soon as next month. The Muppets’ variety television show originally ran from 1976 to 1981, followed by its reprisal, Muppets Tonight, from 1996 to 1998. After the success of the recently rebooted Muppets movies, I can’t imagine anyone saying anything bad about this news. (Well, except for you, Statler and Waldorf.)

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Jon Stewart is leaving The Daily Show


Ending one of the most venerable and trusted careers in making a complete mockery of the news, Jon Stewart has announced that he is stepping down as host of The Daily Show. According to sources who were there (some of whom are already passing word along on social media), Stewart let the news slip at the taping of today’s episode, telling those in the audience that he’s retiring. No word yet on when exactly he’s leaving, whether this means he’s ending his time in the anchor chair to focus on being a Serious Movie Director now, or just how much this is Brian Williams’ fault. Presumably all of this information will be revealed in time—and delivered by Stewart himself tonight on your television. We’ll update when we have more.

Comedy Central just sent out this official statement confirming the news, and saying that Stewart will remain with The Daily Show until the end of the year. It also says that the show will “endure for years to come,” suggesting that it won’t end with Stewart.

Source

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Netflix's "Wet Hot American Summer" teaser

The torture behind some reality television shows

Last Sunday, two former contestants on “The Biggest Loser” revealed to The Post the torture, starvation and anguish that goes on behind the scenes of the popular reality show.

Since publication, a number of former contestants on other shows reached out to the Post to tell stories of utter devastation: physical, mental, financial. Some have since changed their names; some have had to change careers.

“Reality stars are treated with less consideration than a non-speaking actor brought in off the street,” says one veteran, who asked to remain anonymous. “You walk in and they own you. The contracts they make you sign absolve the networks of any responsibility whatsoever — but what they don’t tell you is that they intend to inflict physical and emotional harm on you.”


“Top Chef: Just Desserts”
This competitive reality show — along with its sister program “Top Chef” — is considered among the genre’s classiest. It’s taken seriously by the food industry and has the ability to launch major careers.

New Yorker Seth Caro thought he was prepared — he knew people who’d done the show, and they’d warned him it could be manipulative. “But they also said, ‘If you ride the wave correctly, you will benefit.’”

As with many reality shows, semifinalists are locked up in hotel rooms, and their cellphones, laptops, wallets and IDs are confiscated. Caro says he met with three psychotherapists throughout the audition process. “It doesn’t feel like prison,” Caro says. “It still feels like opportunity.”

Once selected, Caro and the rest of the cast were flown to LA and boarded a double-decker bus. They rode on top while camera crews filmed, and while driving through an overpass, a standing crewmember’s camera flew into a female contestant’s face. “It blew the top of her forehead open,” Caro says.

They all drove to the nearest hospital, and the contestants were left to sit on top of the bus, in the sun, for four hours while the injured woman was treated. “She had 26 stitches, from her forehead to her nose,” Caro says. “She was in shock, afraid of disfigurement, but they wouldn’t let her call her family. She was given an ultimatum: She could either compete on the show or leave, but she would have to sign a non-disclosure agreement and never sue — and she had to decide now.” She stayed.

“The first few days in, I’m thinking, ‘Is this fun, or is this a cruel experiment?’ ” Contestants, he says, average two hours of sleep a night, are fed at the whims of production, and can’t talk to each other during breaks in filming— and those breaks can last six hours.

Caro says he tried to leave several times, but was pressured by the show’s psychotherapists and producers to stay. His castmates, he says, “fell in love with their tormenters. It’s like Stockholm syndrome. Everyone’s saying, ‘Don’t rock the boat; it’s a great opportunity.’”

Finally, Caro broke down during a challenge: he asked for his phone and his wallet back so he could leave. “I was physically prevented from doing so,” he says. “This producer had three cameras shoved two feet from my face. I literally slumped down in the corner and started crying.”

Caro was put in a separate room, where he suffered a panic attack. EMTs were called, and it was all filmed. Caro demanded to leave. “They said, ‘Will you film one final challenge?’ I said no. ‘Will you go on camera and say your goodbyes?’ ‘No.’ Will you do a final on-camera interview?’ ‘No — I want to go home and never be on camera again.’ ”

After production put him in a van, Caro says he spotted a cameraman hiding in the trees. He jumped out of the van and was tackled by show security. “They took me back to the hotel — I was never arrested — and then they took me to a mental hospital, where I was put on a 5150 [involuntary psych hold] for three days. I was in my chef’s jacket and socks. I didn’t have my phone. No one from the network or the show came to see me.”

Caro called his father from a pay phone, who flew in from New York to collect his son. Today, Caro says, his life is ruined: He can’t get a job in the culinary industry. He’s in the process of changing his name so that potential employers, friends and significant others won’t be able to Google him. His season, like so many others, lives forever on the Internet.

“They are playing with people’s lives,” he says. “I’ve been destroyed by the experience.”

Saturday, January 10, 2015

"Wet Hot American Summer" show is coming to Netflix


"Hey, let's all promise that in 10 years from today, we'll meet again, and we'll see what kind of people we've blossomed into." The rumored "Wet Hot American Summer" TV show is reportedly on its way to Netflix, according to Deadline.com Even better, the eight-episode limited series will include most of the original cast.

The reported returning cast includes Elizabeth Banks, Michael Ian Black, Bradley Cooper, Amy Poehler, Judah Friedlander, Paul Rudd, Marisa Ryan, Molly Shannon, Michael Showalter and more. David Wain will again direct.

Rumors that a follow up to the cult classic was coming to Netflix began circulating in May, though few details were known. E! reports rumblings of a sequel had been going around for years, with Wain even saying in a Reddit AMA that the follow up would have the original cast.

Though Netflix would not confirm, Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos had previously teased the "Wet Hot" return. "We're really excited about the proposition of getting that show together," he said during the winter leg of the TCA tour. "Stay tuned."

For more, head to Deadline.com.