2010 Summer TCA

Fresh off a long day of panels, the stars of ABC and Disney kept the TCA party going last night at the Beverly Hilton. Matthew Perry cracked us up at the Q & A session, after which he mingled with Busy Philipps and his new costar Andrea Anders. Cougar Town's Josh Hopkins revealed that Jennifer Aniston will definitely be guest starring in an episode early on in season two! My Generation's Mehcad Brooks spoke at length about how much this role means to him and while he's lagged on watching, he still has lots of love for True Blood and wishes the cast the best. Joanna Garcia looked hot in her Michael Kors dress and her beautiful engagement ring completed the look — stay tuned for our exclusive interview with her! Autumn Reeser and Julie Benz were both sporting nude Brian Atwood pumps, which was Autumn's first expensive shoe purchase at her No Ordinary Family costar Julie's suggestion. The cast of Modern Family graciously accepted all the praise for their hit series as they gear up for the Emmys later this month. Follow all the updates from the press tour on Pop and Buzz on Twitter!

To see more from the ABC party, just read more

New comedy Better With You took the stage to represent as ABC's new multicamera sitcom during the Summer TCA. Fan favorite Joanna Garcia was on hand to talk about the Fall show along with her costars and the show's creators.

• The relationship comedy focuses on three different relationships in different stages (one couple is newly engaged, one has been together for nine years but is unmarried, and one is a couple that's been together for 30 years) and that in and of itself is the point. Jennifer Finnigan, who plays older sister Maddie, said, "Everybody's writing their own rules . . . It's current to me."
• Garcia and Finnigan, who play sisters, knew each other before the series; in fact, Garcia rooted for her to get the job, accompanying creator Shana Goldberg-Meehan to have a lunch to woo Finnigan. She jokes that they were "on our best behavior . . . we were really trying to look really normal and cool together."

To hear some more about the show's panel, just read more

Melissa Rycroft stopped by the TCA in LA yesterday to talk about Bachelor Pad where she was glowing and happy to gush about her newly announced pregnancy! Melissa also dished about who she thinks Ali will pick tonight and the advice she has for their relationship going forward. She joked about her husband's love of being on camera, though it's going to take some convincing for her put her family — or her baby's birth — on reality TV. Here are quotes:

Congratulations on the pregnancy, are you excited?
Melissa Rycroft: Very excited! Life has thrown some curve balls this past year. [It was not planned] at all. We were going to enjoy being newlyweds . . . but life's been fun lately with lots of traveling and trips. Just he and I getting some quality time. Ideally, we were talking about waiting three to four years, but it came much quicker. So you just kind of change your path of life and take it in that new direction. [Newlywed life is] great. It's so much fun. It's every cliche that everyone talks about: rainbows and butterflies and unicorns. You've always got your best friend around. It's a comforting feeling. I love it.

Does the pregnancy affect Bachelor Pad?
MR: Thankfully, it doesn't affect the show at all. If we were planning this, we couldn't have planned it any better, timing around the schedule of it all. Bachelor Pad was shot this Summer and it will be again next Summer, which completely misses seeing me pregnant, having me pregnant, any of that. So time-wise it really worked out perfectly.

Do you have a favorite for Ali to pick tomorrow night?
MR: Well, either Chris or Roberto! I don't know. I think one of the best things about Bachelor is that whoever you want to win at the beginning is never the person that wins. To me honestly, Frank was my front-runner. They seemed like they had great chemistry and got along and he's out of the picture now. So there's Chris who I really like. He just seems like a sweet guy and his backstory really tugs at your heartstrings and you just want to see him happy. Then you've got Roberto, who she just can't seem to keep her hands off of. So I have no idea who she's going to pick. None.

To read the rest of Melissa's interview, just read more

Sunday was ABC's turn to bring out their new crop of shows at the TCA in Beverly Hills. Matthew Perry's midseason comedy Mr. Sunshine was one of the first of the day and although it's not planned to premiere until midseason it's one of the most anticipated series — Matthew was hilarious on stage and artfully answered any prying questions about his Friends costars. Perhaps the most talked-about panel was for My Generation, which brought out its extremely attractive cast including Jaime King. The afternoon was time for comedies like Better With You starring adorable Joanna Garcia. She and her onscreen sister Jennifer Finnigan have been friends for years, in fact, Joanna was there when Jennifer met her husband. Joanna joked about planning a wedding in real life and on TV — stay tuned for our exclusive one-on-one interview! Elisha Cuthbert is another welcome addition to the new comedy lineup, thanks to Happy Endings. Follow all the updates on PopSugar and BuzzSugar on Twitter!

To see more from the panels including Allison Janney, Jeri Ryan, Julie Benz, Dana Delany, and others, just read more

At this year's Summer TCA, I've been covering the panels for new TV shows, but I've also gotten to chat up close and personal with some of the stars. Not only did PopSugar talk to Emmys host Jimmy Fallon, but I had a few minutes with Chuck star Zachary Levi to talk about the new season (which returns this Fall instead of the Winter!) and what he thinks of Chuck's newly cast mother, Linda Hamilton!

BuzzSugar: Have you filmed with Linda yet?
Zachary Levi: I won't film with Linda for a while, because the whole point of the season is me finding her, so if I were to film with her too early, that would be a short season.

Buzz: Were you a fan of Linda's?
ZL: Huge, huge. I was beyond excited, and everyone on the cast and crew was — the fans were stoked as we hoped they would be. It's all around greatness to have Linda join the cast.

Buzz: What's the status of Chuck and Sarah's relationship this season?
ZL: Oh, we're domesticated. We're still going through the birth pangs of any relationship, what it's like to move in and be together and live together. I dropped out of working for the government and she's still working for the government, so we have that, and also just the way she's never been domesticated. She's always been on the run, either with her dad or as a spy. So there's certainly outside influences that will continue to cause a little turmoil and drama between us, but we're together That's done this year.

To read the rest of the interview, which includes some season four spoilers, just read more

It's ABC day for the TCA, and the press tour got a little lighter and funnier when the cast of Mr. Sunshine took the stage. This is Matthew Perry's vehicle, who stars as Ben, the manager of the Sunshine Center, a mid-tier sports arena in San Diego. He was joined by cast members Allison Janney, Nate Torrence, James Lesure, and Andrea Anders, as well as the producers to talk about the new midseason comedy.

• Wondering why the show is set at a sports arena? Perry said because it's exciting — "a place where the most interesting, most insane things happen." The group of employees are like a dysfunctional family, he said, who "have to get it together every night because 18,000 people are showing up."
• Allison Janney plays Crystal, the eccentric owner of the Sunshine Center, whom she assured us is the exact opposite of her beloved character C.J. on The West Wing. "I spent seven years being politically correct on The West Wing, and now I get to just be completely wrong on so many levels."
• On whether Perry will pull some strings to have former costars — from Friends to Salma Hayek, his love interest in Fools Rush In, Perry said, "Yes, I will probably ask them," as long as it doesn't take away from the new characters. "I don't want to use them as a launching pad. I want to show these new people and what their lives are like."

To hear more details about Mr. Sunshine, including more Matthew Perry cracks, just read more

NBC's press tour for the Summer TCA got us up to speed with new Fall shows, which included the procedurals Chase and Outlaw. The two dramas introduced stars like Jimmy Smits, Kelli Giddish, Cole Hauser, and Jesse Bradford, and gave us a peek at the two new series.

• On Outlaw, Jimmy Smits plays a supreme court justice fed up with the system who quits to make changes from the inside out. Exec producer John Eisendrath said that Smits's character Cyrus Garza will go to a different city each week and take up a different case. He promised that we'd be looking at "hot-button issues" while Garza looks out for the little guy, fighting against the system.
• Smits described his character as a man who "is outside the box in a lot of different ways," who makes a radical switch from his gambling, playboy ways. Besides calling it "a wonderful meal for an actor," Smits said that the role is "much more loose and comfortable" than anything he's played in the past.
• Most famous exec producer? Conan O'Brien. Sadly, fellow producer David Kissinger said that O'Brien "isn't actively involved in a day-to-day way," but that "he's thrilled at the opportunity" to be a part of the show.

To hear about new series Chase, just read more

The stars of NBC and its sister networks stopped by their TCA Summer soiree Friday night in Beverly Hills. Jimmy Fallon was happy to dish to us about working with a very "shy" Robert Pattinson and his hosting plans for the Emmys, which he said will leave us all surprised. Brad Goreski from The Rachel Zoe Project told us all about how much fun they had filming The Zoeinator with FabSugarTV. He said when the show returns, the RZ team will face the emotional aftermath of Taylor's exit and take on an exciting up-and-coming actress as a client this season. He wasn't naming names, but promised she'll be a "huge" star. We also had the chance to catch up with actors from several soon-to-premiere new series during the evening, like The Event, Law and Order: Los Angeles and Undercovers. Skeet Ulrich, who stars as a police officer on the latest version of Law and Order, told us the premiere episode will actually follow a troubled starlet modeled after Lindsay Lohan!

To see more pictures of the NBC stars, just read more

Jimmy Fallon stopped by NBC's day of the TCA press tour on Friday to talk about hosting the Emmys and Late Night. We caught up with him at the party later that night, where we couldn't help but ask about working with Robert Pattinson on Robert Is Bothered. Jimmy had nothing but glowing words for the Twilight star, who caused the loudest fan screams of any guest he's had on the show. Jimmy also shared his thoughts on this week's American Idol shakeup. Here's more:

PopSugar: Can we expect to see Robert Is Bothered at the Emmys?
Jimmy Fallon: Of all the bits on our show that we can do, we gave [the Academy] 10 different versions of all sorts of things we could do, to which they said these are all great, but we have to give out awards. So we have to cut it down to three bits. And Robert Is Bothered was not in there. I pitched Robert Is Bothered for Teen Choice Awards.
PS: How was Robert Pattinson to work with on Robert Is Bothered?
JF: He was a great sport. He climbed up in the tree and did it with us. I've never heard louder screams in my life. The screams didn't compare to anyone, even when Justin Bieber has been on. He was describing his movie Remember Me and people would just not stop screaming. And I was just thinking this is so cool. What an experience. I really hope he's enjoying this ride. He's a great guy and he deserves it. He was really shy and really happy — exactly the same backstage as he is on the interview. He's a charming guy, but just really shy and I just hope he's enjoying the moment. It must be super exciting to be him.
PS: There was lots of American Idol news and rumors this week. Who are your dream judges for the show?
JF: I was thinking about this today. I can't crack the nut, I can't solve it. You can't top Simon. You need a bad guy who's right. You need an honest guy who people aren't going to like because he's too honest.
PS: Do you think they're going to be able to get it right, or should it just be the end of Idol?
JF: I don't know. I'm kind of leaning towards the second one. To be honest, I had such an amazing time watching Kelly Clarkson — that was amazing! Daughtry, I'll take that, that was great. Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard . . . but I missed last year, and the year before that I kind of missed too. Lee Dewyze seems like a great guy and talented, Kris Allen — great guy and talented. Adam Lambert is great. I'm just kind of phasing out, but I have to add something else. This year I think what I'm most excited about is I think they're all living in a house, and they're going to film them living in a house. Now that's more my speed. I like the reality part the best.

The Summer TCA is bringing us looks at tons of new Fall shows, and the next one — NBC's Undercovers — fits into several different genres. It's a sexy action/comedy/drama from J.J. Abrams and Josh Reims, who worked on Felicity together back in the day, and it stars the extremely attractive Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as a married couple who take a break from domestic life to make a brief return to spy life. The leads and cast chatted about the new Fall series and gave us a look at we can expect.

• Reims said that Undercovers isn't just what would have happened if Alias's Sydney Bristow and Michael Vaughn had gotten married and lived happily ever after — a show, of course, his fellow showrunner Abrams (who wasn't present) created. He cracked, "Don't tell J.J., but I never really watched Alias." To drive the point home, Reims said "the goal of the show was to not be Alias."
• Fun fact — stars Kodjoe and Mbatha-Raw are German and British, respectively, portraying American spies. In fact, Kodjoe didn't grow up speaking English, and he had an adorable anecdote: “My English was so bad that somebody would ask me ‘what’s up?’ and I’d look up.” Reims said that he and Abrams originally didn't want to hire foreign actors for the parts, saying, "We can't deal with people faking American accents," but they liked Kodjoe and Mbatha-Raw so much they overlooked it. For the record: they have perfect American accents.

To hear more about the stars of Undercovers, just read more