BuzzSugar

Will You Watch The Jay Leno Show Tonight?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:40:55 -0700

Fall TV is back in full swing, but Gossip Girl isn't the only big premiere to watch tonight. After a Summer filled with controversy, Jay Leno will debut his brand new primetime show at 10 p.m. on NBC.

Leno already had a star-studded lineup of stars with Beyonce, Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Kanye West set to perform. Of course, getting some face time with Kanye after last night's VMA debacle should be even more of a gold mine for ratings. Whether you're tuning in just to hear what Kanye has to say for himself, or you're curious about the format of the show, tell me - will you watch The Jay Leno Show tonight?

Seinfeld's Upcoming TV Appearances - Excited or Over It?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:30:42 -0700

Jerry Seinfeld will be the first guest on The Jay Leno Show, and the guys have already started hanging out before the big night. Check out the clip below where Jerry shows off his Porsche and chats with Jay at the racetrack. His late night appearance is just the beginning, since we'll be welcoming Jerry back to the small screen on the new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Like tons of other devoted fans, I dreamed of a Seinfeld reunion when the show ended, but I'm wondering if people still love Jerry after all these years off the air. What do you think about his upcoming TV appearances - excited or over it?

Will Jay Leno Succeed at 10 p.m.?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:30:12 -0700

Every time I look at NBC's Fall schedule, I'm struck by one thing: so much Jay Leno! With his own show five nights a week, he'll be taking up a huge portion of the primetime hours. While NBC believes they've cracked the code to successful programming, other networks are seeing this as an opportunity to gain ground - including CBS, which recently launched "Project L.E.N.O.," a cleverly named effort to help promote the network's 10 p.m. programming.

Though we've only seen a few short tastes of what Jay's new show might be like, I'm wondering: Who do you think is right? Will Jay be a wild success at 10 p.m.? Or will the other networks smash his ratings?

Photo courtesy of NBC

Buzz News Roundup, 6/10

BuzzSugar — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:30:44 -0700

After just one episode, Nurse Jackie has been renewed for a second season. - TV.com
Rosie O'Donnell may star in a Broadway revival of the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical Babes in Arms. - Variety
David Letterman beat Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show for the first time on Tuesday. - The Hollywood Reporter
The Screen Actors Guild has officially approved a new contract. - New York Times
Jay Leno promos and mini-monologues will air every night this Summer at 10 p.m. - Variety
Director Rob Cohen will direct the action film Medieval, described as "The Magnificent Seven in the Middle Ages." - ComingSoon
Plus-size model Emme will host Fox's dating series More to Love. - The Hollywood Reporter
Aretha Franklin, Wyclef Jean, Queen Latifah, Josh Groban, and TLC will headline a tribute concert honoring Nelson Mandela on July 18 in New York. - Billboard

Photo courtesy of Showtime

Buzz News Roundup, 5/8

BuzzSugar — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:30:32 -0700

Universal Pictures is developing a modern retelling of the novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, titled Jekyll, with Keanu Reeves attached to star. - ComingSoon
ABC has picked up its first Fall series, a mockumentary titled Modern Family. - LA Times
Bassist Donald "Ean" Evans of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd has died at age 48. - Billboard
Guitar Hero could be turned into a reality TV series and/or a live concert tour. - The Hollywood Reporter
Marisa Tomei and Liv Tyler will star in the independent psychological thriller 10A/10B. - Variety
Jay Leno's final Tonight Show guests will include Mel Gibson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Prince, and Billy Crystal. - People
Director Bill Couturie and Stacey Snider are teaming on the documentary Clueless, which looks at the all-consuming media world inhabited by kids today. - Variety
Aisha Tyler is filming a talk show pilot for ABC. - The Hollywood Reporter

Source and Source

Buzz News Roundup, 4/3

BuzzSugar — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:30:20 -0700

A Boston NBC affiliate has said it won't show Jay Leno at 10 p.m. next season, opting for local news instead. - Broadcasting and Cable
Aaron Eckhart is in talks to star alongside Nicole Kidman in a film adaptation of the Broadway play Rabbit Hole. - Zap2it
Slumdog Millionaire's Anil Kapoor will play a Middle Eastern leader on a peacemaking mission on the eighth season of 24. - The Hollywood Reporter
Paul Weitz (American Pie, About a Boy) may direct Little Fockers. - ComingSoon
The NCAA says Motown legends The Temptations will sing the national anthem Monday night before the men's basketball national championship game at Ford Field in Detroit. - Billboard
Mekhi Phifer will guest-star on some episodes of Lie to Me. - Zap2it
Idris Elba is in negotiations to join Jeffrey Dean Morgan in the adaptation of the Vertigo/DC Comics book The Losers. - ComingSoon
At long last, the 2010 Golden Globes will be shown live, not tape-delayed, on the West Coast. - TV Guide
Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds has been invited to play in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. - Variety

Source

Jay Leno's Not Going Anywhere: NBC Gives Him a New Show

BuzzSugar — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:11:52 -0800

Whoa! Here's some breaking news from the late-night TV world: TV Week is reporting that Jay Leno's going to get a new show at 10 p.m. every weeknight starting in the Fall of 2009, leading into Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show and Jimmy Fallon's Late Night.

That's certainly a new twist in NBC's late-night plans, which we were just talking about earlier today. According to this story, the plan will be formally announced Tuesday and Leno will "be given a significant pay raise, since his new show will be in prime time."

Just today, NBC's president was talking about cutting back the hours of primetime programming NBC produced, and this looks like a way to do it - Leno's shown he can deliver an audience, and NBC won't have to worry about launching a new drama or comedy in those slots. (On the other hand, that cuts down on the number of scripted shows on broadcast networks - but it's not like NBC's been doing such a great job there lately anyway.)

Obviously, this story's still developing, so I'll keep an eye out for more details. But for now, what are your first reactions? Is it a smart move to keep Leno, even at the expense of the traditional 10 p.m. drama hour? Or is it totally crazy?

Photo courtesy of NBC

The Office Spinoff Lives! Plus More From NBC

BuzzSugar — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:34:20 -0700

It's the last day of sessions here at the TCA press tour, and it's NBC's turn to hawk its wares. Just a few minutes ago, NBC Entertainment Co-Chairman Ben Silverman took the stage to clarify a few things about The Office spinoff (and not-spinoff), the network's plans for late night, and more. Some highlights:

First and foremost: The show in which Amy Poehler was recently cast is not a spinoff of The Office. "Amy's character will never appear inside The Office world," Silverman said. Though the shows will be stylistically and creatively similar (in that Greg Daniels and Michael Schur will be behind both of them), "the show is not set up to emanate directly from The Office."
There is still the possibility of such a spinoff, though. When Daniels and Schur were developing concepts, they came up with two, Silverman said: One that would start inside The Office and one that was completely outside of it. When it looked like Amy Poehler could be available, they put all their energy into pursuing her for the non-spinoff show, which made it the top priority. But the true spinoff could still exist, "maybe involving characters that are already inside The Office," Silverman said.
As for details on either show? Not so much getting into those (including a title, a concept, or any other basics) - though there was a promise that Daniels, Schur, and Poehler would release more details soon. The one nugget of info is that because of Poehler's pregnancy, her show - which had been pegged for the post-Super Bowl time slot - will likely premiere in March instead. No idea what's going after the Super Bowl just yet.
This season will feature "26 to 28 awesome episodes of Heroes" - which we're finally getting some glimpses of. "This 'Villains' storyline that [Tim Kring] has introduced is just awesome," Silverman said. "It's really compelling - just big, fun, accessible stuff."

Some more - including about the Jay Leno/Jimmy Fallon/Conan O'Brien transition - if you read more.

Jay Leno's last show as the host of The Tonight Show will be May 29, 2009, with Conan O'Brien stepping into the chair on June 1. Conan's stint on Late Night will end sometime in the first three months of 2009, while the target for Fallon to appear on air is sometime around March or April. Fallon will prepare by doing online mini-episodes for a few months before the show launches.
Meanwhile, NBC still hasn't ruled out finding a way to get Leno to stay, despite a story last week that quoted him saying he was "definitely done next year" with NBC.
Silverman's co-chairman, Marc Graboff, said NBC was committed to airing Friday Night Lights no matter what - even if much of the audience has already watched on DirecTV or another way. (Graboff and Silverman also didn't accept that "another way" of downloading unlicensed versions of the show online might flourish, though, saying they'd be able to control it. We'll see about that.)
Last year, NBC tried sci-fi Mondays with Chuck, Heroes, and Journeyman. This year, it's all about "a kind of male hero sandwich," Silverman said, with the Christian Slater-starring My Own Worst Enemy taking over the old Journeyman slot. Before Enemy premieres, though, the Friday night series Life will get a couple of airings after Heroes to try to reset the season and attract an audience.
Little switcheroo in the Thursday comedy schedule: The new series Kath and Kim will follow My Name is Earl, with 30 Rock returning to the spot after The Office at 9:30.

Source and Source

What Should Jay Leno Do Next?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:30:14 -0700

It won't be long now till there's a change of leadership in The Tonight Show chair: Conan O'Brien is scheduled to take over the show from Jay Leno in 2009. With the transition time approaching, one of the biggest questions in showbiz has become what will become of Leno, who's still on top of the late-night heap (even more so recently with David Letterman's declining ratings).

Now, the Hollywood Reporter has weighed in on the issue, proposing seven options for Leno's next career move:

Leno takes over ABC's 11:30 p.m. slot.
Leno starts a late-night show on Fox.
Leno launches a syndicated late-night show.
Leno finds some way to stay at NBC.
Leno takes over for Letterman when his contract expires in 2010.
Leno joins CNN in a Larry King-esque position.
Leno does stand-up full time.

Their reasons that all of the various options could (or couldn't) happen are definitely worth a read, so check out the story, and then let me know: What do you think Jay Leno should do next?

Source

Jimmy Kimmel Live Celebrates 1,000 Episodes

BuzzSugar — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:31:53 -0700

It's time for Jimmy Kimmel to pop the champagne and start celebrating because his late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live will hit the 1,000th episode mark tomorrow night.

The late-night talk show landscape is competitive, and breaking in as a newbie without inheriting a throne (see: Jay Leno taking over for Johnny Carson) is no small task. Audiences and A-listers alike usually flock toward a name they know and trust, which makes Kimmel's milestone that much more significant.

It sounds like the show had more than a few obstacles when they first started out, as described by Kimmel to The Hollywood Reporter:

Every interview turned out to be my last with almost everyone. I'm still cleaning up a lot of that mess from the first three months of the show. We forced the Rock, Dwayne Johnson, to ride a dogsled out onto the stage. He didn't want to. My producer didn't want to hear that. It became an unpleasant thing. We were overly aggressive with people. You can't do that and build any kind of goodwill. Fortunately, I think we've turned it around.

He's certainly come a long way from his shlubby, smirky sidekick persona on Comedy Central's The Man Show, and he recognizes that at first he "didn't understand the niceties of being a talk show host." But now, as the Reporter points out, Jimmy Kimmel Live has "clearly struck a chord with younger adults, who respond to the host's low-key hip approach." I myself never thought I'd be able to take Kimmel that seriously but I have to say, I'm warming up to him.

Of course, hilarious skits starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have recently helped earn him some fans and secure his credibility among Hollywood's elite. Are you won over? Where does Jimmy Kimmel rank in your mind among late-night giants like Leno and Letterman? Do you think he'll be around for another 1,000 episodes?

Source