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My Name Is Earl's Creator Sets Up a New Show at Fox

BuzzSugar — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:30:34 -0700

Greg Garcia's My Name Is Earl is done, but Garcia's already got a new comedy project going at Fox - and it sounds even more twisted than his last.

The show combines the spirit of Earl with the family situations Garcia wrote about on Yes, Dear, and the result is, well, unusual: The comedy centers around a 25-year-old who has a one-night stand with a woman who ends up on death row for murder - yeah - and then has to raise their infant child by himself, with only his quirky family around for support. The main character frequently clashes with his own parents, who themselves became parents as teenagers. Said Garcia: ""Their hearts are in the right place, but they have no idea what they're doing whatsoever."

Garcia originally imagined the story as a movie, but when he pitched it as a TV series, Fox decided to shoot the pilot. Nobody's been cast yet, but production could start in the Fall.

Fox executives have been looking for odd comedies with a strong point of view, and this show sounds like it could fit the bill. Do you think you'd give this concept a chance?

Buzz News Roundup, 6/12

BuzzSugar — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:00:58 -0700

The next James Bond movie has gotten Frost/Nixon writer Peter Morgan to co-write the script, and Daniel Craig is confirmed to reprise his role as Bond. Variety
SPIN magazine is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Prince's Purple Rain with a free downloadable tribute that features nine bands doing covers of the record's classic tracks. - Billboard
Michael Cunningham, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Hours, has written a scary genre thriller titled Beautiful Girl. - Variety
It looks like the Lance Armstrong biopic finally has a writer: Seabiscuit writer/director Gary Ross. - ComingSoon
TV stations across the US started cutting their analog signals this morning, and the FCC has put 4,000 operators on standby for calls from confused viewers. - The Hollywood Reporter
Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle has signed a three-year producing pact with Fox Searchlight. - Variety
J.J. Abrams says he will be producing the fourth Mission: Impossible film and that he and Tom Cruise "have come up with a really cool idea." - ComingSoon
The View co-host Joy Behar will host The Joy Behar Show, a one-hour primetime talk show, on HLN (formerly Headline News). - The Hollywood Reporter

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Link Time! 6/11

BuzzSugar — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:30:32 -0700

Matthew Fox talks about Lost's final season. - TV.com
Some more casting suggestions for the Full House movie (Jason Bateman as Danny Tanner?). - MTV Movies Blog
Never mind, My Name Is Earl isn't going to TBS after all. - Ausiello Files
I, too, am looking forward to a Pixar movie with a central female character (who's not a princess). - Cinematical
Are you interested in reading Lauren Conrad's book LA Candy? - PopSugarUK
10 great performances by a single actor playing multiple roles. - Vulture
Depeche Mode has come out with a new video for their song "Peace." - Stereogum
Gadgets Blair Waldorf should buy for NYU and Serena van der Woodsen should pick up for Brown. - geeksugar

My Name Is Earl Could Return on TBS

BuzzSugar — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:30:26 -0700

NBC didn't order any more My Name Is Earl last month, but that may not be the end of the show after all: TBS is now in talks to revive the comedy.

The negotiations are still in the early stages, and none of the cast members have signed on. But word is TBS would consider picking up the show for 13 more episodes. Presumably it would be a lower-budget version of the show - but Earl's world doesn't seem like one that would be too hard to re-create for less money.

Fox and ABC also considered reviving the show but ultimately passed on it. TBS seems like a good fit, especially since the channel already has a deal to show repeats of Earl, and I could see it fitting in with other TBS comedies like The Bill Engvall Show. What do you think? Would you follow Earl to TBS?

Photo courtesy of NBC

TV Tonight: The Office, Earl, and Gladiators Play the Feud

BuzzSugar — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:34:55 -0700

Tonight, NBC is airing the one episode of Celebrity Family Feud that I've truly been waiting for. The casts of two great NBC comedies - plus a third show, which I suppose could be considered a comedy depending on how you feel about people in spandex racing against other people in spandex - will face off in an epic feud.

The episode will have several rounds, and of them, I'm most excited about the accountants of The Office taking on the American Gladiators (who are, naturally, in costume). There's something inherently funny about Al Roker crying out "Kate! Venom! Let's play the Feud!" Add in some whooping whistles from Wolf (still my favorite Gladiator) and a brave Phyllis challenging him to an arm-wrestling battle, and we've got quite the show on our hands.

NBC has a couple of preview clips for the episode; they give away the scores at different points - but not the winner - so if you'd like to remain pure and unspoiled, you might not want to watch them yet. On the other hand, if you really just want to see what answer Creed gives for things people practice doing in a sexy way, just read more.

Photos courtesy of NBC

TV Tonight: Earl, 30 Rock, The Office, and Scrubs, Oh My!

BuzzSugar — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:30:38 -0700

After a long, dark Winter, it's time to laugh again. For the first time in months, NBC's whole Thursday comedy lineup is new. That's right: The Office, Scrubs, and 30 Rock all return tonight, and I'm looking forward to nothing more than popping some popcorn and settling in for a long night with my favorite funny folks.

Between these clips and my interview with Rainn Wilson and Greg Daniels, I have a pretty good sense of how tonight's Office is going to go: Michael and Jan throw a dinner party; inappropriateness and hilarity ensue. As for the other three shows:

On Earl, a still-comatose earl continues living out his dream life with Billie and their new baby boy. Meanwhile, Randy realizes that every item he completes from Earl's list helps Earl get better, so he turns his attention to a stolen motorcycle.
On 30 Rock, we finally get a peek at Jack Donaghy's immensely successful reality show, the steamy MILF Island. Meanwhile, someone gives Page Six some nasty quotes about Jack and pressures the writers to give up the traitor.
On Scrubs, Turk decides to learn Spanish for Carla as an anniversary present, and there's some kind of caper involving Dr. Kelso's breakfast.

Getting excited yet? You can check out a promo for all four comedies and a scene from 30 Rock if you read more.

Photos courtesy of NBC

TV Tonight: My Name Is Earl

BuzzSugar — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 08:30:58 -0700

If I'm being honest, My Name Is Earl is probably my least-favorite show in NBC's Thursday night comedy lineup. And yet, its return tonight fills me with an absolute feeling of joy. Why? Because Earl's reappearance after a long, writers' strike-induced hiatus means the rest of NBC's comedies are almost back, too. And the rest of NBC's comedies coming back means the other shows aren't far from returning, either - and that means that we're not far from a few weeks of TV-as-usual (before the Summer break kicks in, that is). Hooray!

Earl isn't launching into the second half of its season quietly. For one thing, tonight's return episode is an hour long. For another, Paris Hilton is appearing in it. And - probably most important to the show - it will answer the question of what happens to Earl and his potential true love, Billie Jean (Alyssa Milano), after they were struck by a car and left unconscious. Show creator Greg Garcia promised that the episode will take us into Earl's unconscious mind, which sounds like quite a terrifying place to be, indeed.

Another funny thing about the episode: Garcia asked NBC's president, Jeff Zucker, to record a recap of Earl's season to date. The resulting video is full of writers' strike in-jokes and more than a little toolishness from Zucker, but if you're into nerdy Hollywood humor, it's worth a watch. To check it out, just read more.

Photo courtesy of NBC

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 10:29:16 -0700

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue.

Knocked Up
If you somehow missed one of this year's best comedies, now's your chance to laugh and cringe your way through Knocked Up, Judd Apatow's summer success. I absolutely loved this movie all about two unlikely lovers who suddenly find themselves pregnant after a one night stand. There's plenty of raunchy humor and disgusting/hilarious sight gags, but also a lot of warmth and heart.

And there are plenty of extra features, confirming my theory that the more popular the movie, the more extras on the DVD. Some of these include deleted and extended scenes, a gag reel, "Line-O-Rama" (lots of alternate takes) and audio commentary with Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen and Bill Hader, among others. Or, if you're the kind of Knocked Up fan who wants more, there's a 2-disc unrated "collector's edition" which boasts a variety of salacious goodies, like "Judd Apatow's Video Diaries," the raunchier deleted and extended scenes and a featurette of Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen wandering through Las Vegas titled "Stripper Confidential."

Two more new releases if you read more

Bug
This horror/thriller from Exorcist director William Friedkin finds Ashley Judd playing Agnes, a lonely woman whose new man (Michael Shannon) becomes convinced that the government has injected live bugs into his blood. The play on which the movie is based is terrifying, so I can only imagine what Friedkin did with the film version.

"My Name Is Earl" - Season Two
For all you "Earl" fans, here's another 4-disc DVD set for your collection. The discs include all the episodes from Season Two and a handful of extras, like a blooper reel, deleted scenes and audio commentary from various actors including Jason Lee, Giovanni Ribisi, Jaime Pressly and Amy Sedaris. According to TV Squad, who reviewed the DVD set, the commentaries provide little tidbits like "Paul the sleepwalking guy is played by an assistant director," and "Beau Bridges was bitten by a gerbil on the set." In addition, there is apparently a mock trailer for a telenovela version of the show called "Las Passiones De Catalina."

Camden County Wants to "Free Earl"

BuzzSugar — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 11:30:01 -0700

When Earl Hickey was sent to jail on the season finale of "My Name is Earl" last spring, what were the good people of Camden County to do? Why, they gathered to make a "We Are the World"-style music video pleading for Earl's release, that's what.

The video, which promotes the Sept. 27 season premiere of the show, features the whole "Earl" cast belting out the reasons Earl should be set free (best one: "he's our karma guy"). If you can handle Jaime Pressly's intentionally off-key singing, the whole thing is pretty amusing. NBC also put together a funny "making-of" video, which you can watch over here. Now everybody, get ready to join hands and sing "Free Earl!" when you read more

Source

Buzz News Roundup, 6/22

BuzzSugar — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:54:54 -0700

Reruns of "The Office" and "My Name is Earl" will be broadcast on TBS, Variety reports.
Woody Allen is set to direct a Puccini opera in September of 2008, the AP reports.
Reuters notes that former Beatles are flourishing on the music charts right now.
Billboard says The Donnas have started their own record label, and are finishing up their next album, due out in September.
Uma Thurman is set to star in the HBO movie version of the dramatic play "The Zinc Bed," says Zap2It.
If you live in Atlanta, Kansas City, or Philly, among other cities, you can attend a special screening of some of ABC's fall shows, and the Futon Critic has the details.
According to Hollywood Reporter, Amy Adams will join Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman in the film version of the acclaimed play "Doubt."
Hero of the superhero world, Stan Lee will get a star on Hollywood's walk of fame, says Zap2It.
In '80s revival news, Billboard reports that The Cure are finishing a new album and touring again.

Source