The Riches

• Julie Taymor, director of Across the Universe and Titus, will bring Shakespeare's The Tempest to the big screen with an interesting cast: Helen Mirren, Jeremy Irons, Djimon Hounsou, Russell Brand and Alfred Molina, among others. — Hollywood Reporter
• Jason Priestley will direct an episode of 90210, and Shannen Doherty is in talks to return as Brenda. — Entertainment Weekly
• David E. Kelley is pitching yet another legal drama, this time to CBS and NBC. — Zap2it
• There's a Get Smart sequel in the works, with Steve Carell on board to reprise his role as Maxwell Smart. — ComingSoon
• FX has canceled The Riches, while TBS has renewed My Boys. — Broadcasting and Cable
• David Cronenberg is in negotiations to direct the political thriller The Matarese Circle, with Denzel Washington attached to star. — Variety
• T.I. has scored his third straight No. 1 album. — Billboard
• Enchanted director Kevin Lima will next take on a live-action Tom Thumb movie. — Variety

Source and source

The Riches, FX's series about a family trying to steal and swindle their way to the American dream, begins its second season tonight. The show was able to complete just seven episodes before the writers' strike shut down production, but as star Eddie Izzard said in a recent chat with reporters, that just meant this season will have a tighter, quicker pace. He and co-star Minnie Driver had quite a lot to say about the series; here are highlights from the conversation:

• On having just seven episodes this season because of the strike:
  Izzard: "The writers were obviously aware of this beforehand, and so we built a sort of cliffhanger halfway through the season. So it really didn’t hurt us in any way. . . . The first season, if you watched it all the way through, the tone does move around somewhat. The second season, we just sort of knew where we were going, we locked down, we got on the railway lines, and we just went full steam ahead. So I think it makes it like a tighter punch."
• On whether a viewer could start with season two having not seen season one:
  Minnie Driver: "I honestly think that condensed trailer that you get at the beginning of any new season is enough to fill you in on where you’re at. And really, if you just read a blurb that says, “A couple of con artists and their kids trying to steal the American dream, move into a rich neighborhood in Louisiana,” you’re kind of good to go. I mean, I think that’s what’s wonderful about our show is that you can explain it really quickly, it’s high concept, and the characters are very immediate. And certainly, we pick up literally 15 seconds after where we left off at the end of season one, so you’re coming straight in, in a really dramatic place."

For more, and to watch a clip from tonight's episode, just read more

The Riches, FX's drama about a family of Irish travelers trying to swindle their way to the American Dream, returns a week from tonight for its second season — and things aren't looking so good for the Riches Malloys. The first season was spent building their lies and getting their ritzy new community to believe them; now, it appears that their precarious dream life is about to collapse.

Maybe that's not giving enough credit to Doug Rich/Wayne Malloy (Eddie Izzard), the first-class con man who's always been able to get his family out of any jam up till now. But this time around, the rest of the Malloys — especially Wayne's wife, Dahlia (Minnie Driver) — don't seem to be as on board with his scams. It looks like an interesting new dynamic for a family that's gotten where they are by working as a unit, them against the world.

The Riches will only have seven episodes this season as a result of the writers' strike, so I'd expect things to move pretty quickly from the start of the March 18 premiere. To check out a couple of clips with scenes from the season and interviews with the stars, just read more

Ever wanted to be a professional con artist? Let Doug Rich teach you how. On the first-season DVD for FX's The Riches, which comes out on Tuesday, several of the bonus features show Doug (Eddie Izzard) teaching his kids how to con.

Best Buy has a few of the clips online now — including two that are exclusive to the Web site and won't be included on the DVD. It's so great to see this dysfunctional family in action again. Season two is slated for this spring, but FX hasn't announced a premiere date yet; I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, you can check out several of the Webisodes, plus a recap of season one, on the Best Buy site. Or, to watch my favorite video, in which a jaded Cael and Delilah brush off their dad's lessons on how to turn nothing into something, just read more

Every Friday, I round up the week's best, funniest, strangest, and most embarrassing moments in television for your amusement.

• You've seen Jim as Dwight. Now watch Dwight as Jim:
  
• On this week's "House," Wilson's ex-wife described Wilson as "carefully calibrating his level of protectiveness for your individual needs." House responded: "Did you just compare Wilson to a tampon?"
• Tracy Jordan from "30 Rock," on deciding to come out of hiding:
  

  "I'd rather die famous than live for 100 years like this — sitting on benches, carrying plastic bags, brushing my own teeth!"

For more quotes, highlights and videos, read more

Well, the 37 of you who said "Drive" would be off the air within five episodes were right: Fox slammed the brakes on the show today, according to Variety. None of the four episodes that aired got good ratings, but this week's situation was particularly dire: The show finished fourth in its time slot, with the fewest viewers yet.

I didn't think the first episode was that bad, but it also didn't compel me to watch again. I guess it's official that Tim Minear + Nathan Fillion + Fox = early death, as I'm sure "Firefly" fans can attest. Two more episodes of "Drive" were produced, and Fox hasn't announced whether they'll be shown on TV or only online. In the meantime, reruns of "House" will be filling "Drive"'s spot.

Fans of "Dirt" and "The Riches" got better news today, though: The FX president said he expects both shows to get second seasons. While I like "The Riches" more than I liked "Dirt," I'm glad to see FX continuing its tradition of supporting unusual, edgy shows.

Photo courtesy of Fox

Often, a TV show will have parts I absolutely love but won't quite hold up as a whole. "The Riches," though, is the rare show that's the opposite: It's lacking in the details, but over its first four episodes, I've found it well worth watching.

When I'm in the mood to nitpick, I can harp on a number of things about the show: Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver sound so fake as Southerners; the part of the story about the travelers' camp where they used to live, which I thought would be fascinating, has become the most boring piece of the show; and I simply cannot believe that the original Doug and Cherien Rich have not been found dead yet by curious relatives or friends.

And yet, the show has a certain overall effect that makes me stick with it. Wayne/Doug (Izzard), especially, is compelling as a con man piling lie on top of lie to keep his new life afloat. Dahlia/Cherien (Driver) — though still a caricature with her myriad addictions — is becoming more tolerable. There was a scene in last week's episode where Wayne (pretending to be someone else, of course) placed a phone call to Dahlia during a scam and turned it into an apology for the mess their lives had become, and it was absolutely heartbreaking, horrid accents aside. And while two of the three kids' stories aren't quite clicking for me yet, middle child Di Di is fun to watch as the member of the family who seems to be adjusting to "normal" life the fastest. For more on tonight's episode and to watch a video, read more

Now, I know TV shows named after their main characters have been around forever: "Newhart," "Seinfeld," even "Caroline in the City." But right now, there's this whole crop of pseudo double meaning titles out there that I just cannot sanction.

I suppose it all started with "The Wedding Bells." They're wedding planners! Their last name is Bell! Suddenly, the show is infused with so much meaning!

Then along came "The Riches," in which the main characters assume the identity of a couple whose last name is Rich. And guess what? They're rich! How strangely apropos.

But I've really hit my limit with "Traveler," ABC's new thriller about friends who get blamed for a terrorist attack. I figured the title came from the cross-country road trip they're taking when the attack happens. Nope. It's actually from the name of a friend who might have framed them: Will — wait for it — Traveler.

Seriously, these sound like the names you'd use for the word problems in elementary school math tests. ("John and Sally Saver went to the bank ..."). What's next? A show about caterers named the Cooks? Patisserie owners named the Bakers? Farmers named the, uh, Farmers? Give it a rest, guys. We get it.

Photos courtesy of Fox and FX