Showbiz411 » Television

Barbara Walters Retirement: This Time It’s for Real

Roger Friedman — Mon, 13 May 2013 07:11:03 +0000

How do we know Barbara Walters will really announce her retirement this morning? This time, as opposed to in March, it’s a well organized pageant. Walters gave an exit interview to Bill Carter in the New York Times, which was published just after midnight. This morning on “The View” she will make the announcement herself and hope that she gets a standing ovation from the audience (of course). This is a little different than in March when Walters was “retired” by ABC on the Thursday night before Good Friday when “The View” was in reruns and everyone was away. Walters was surprised then. She’d told close pals that she wanted to leave ABC News but keep doing The View. ABC wanted her to take a victory lap and say goodbye. In this new scenario, she will indeed leave but she gets to keep her name on the The View as Executive Producer. Walters will go out with a bang at the end of May sweeps in May 2014. There will be lots of specials and apparently one more Oscars special, [...]

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Seth Meyers Finally Named Host of “Late Night” After Jimmy Fallon

Roger Friedman — Sun, 12 May 2013 21:25:21 +0000

NBC has officially announced what I told you some time ago and several times at that: as Jimmy Fallon takes over the Tonight show, Seth Meyers gets Late Night. This was in Lorne Michaels‘s plan for a long time. Last summer I reported that Meyers was first in line to succeed Regis Philbin on his show. This was absolutely true. They really wanted him. But Michaels convinced Meyers to hang on. Now Lorne has Tonight, Late Night, and SNL. It’s going to be a golden age of comedy in New York on NBC and coming from 30 Rock. Myers is perfect for Late Night. Fallon will be just great on Tonight. Next up, as I also told you, more network changes. First, Elisabeth Hasselbeck will leave The View “of her own accord.” That announcement should come soon. Then we’ll see if ABC made a deal with Brooke Shields, who just bought a house in New York. I told you about that first, and quite a while ago. And then: what will happen with David Letterman? Will he sign a new [...]

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Flashhback Scoop: Mariah Carey Gets a New Manager, But All Good with Randy Jackson

Roger Friedman — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:04:41 +0000

I told you last weekend that Mariah Carey was no longer managed by her longtime pal Randy Jackson. Now all of a sudden that story got traction on MTV.com (which credited us–thank you). Just to explain: Randy came in to manage Mariah as she went through the process of negotiating with “American Idol.” He’s also been helping to get her new album together. There is no problem or friction between them.She didn’t dump him or oust him. Good grief. As Mariah prepares to release the album, go on tour, etc it would be impossible for Jackson really “to manage” all of that. Randy and Mariah go back to at least her “Charmbracelet” album, which he captained. That album was a comeback after the “Glitter” debacle.” The two are very close friends. It’s unlikely Carey will return to “Idol” next season, but don’t count out Randy. (The Wrap insists he’s leaving.) Randy represents continuity at “Idol.” He could still be a mentor if not a judge. PS Mariah has a full time manager, anyway. Louise McNally is always there as second [...]

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Jeanne Cooper, Emmy Winning Star of The Young and the Restless Since 1973, Passes Away

Roger Friedman — Wed, 08 May 2013 19:18:47 +0000

Jeanne Cooper has passed away at the age of 84. I never met her or her son, Corbin Bernsen. But I have to say he comported himself so beautifully the last few weeks that you know Cooper was a good mother. My condolences to her whole family. She was the star of The Young and the Restless for 40 years, from the first year– six months in–until the end. It’s funny how these people become a part of your life because you see them in closeup, in your kitchen or den or living room, and they’re present through good times and bad. Most characters are written off of soaps after a few years. But Jeanne Cooper and the saga of her character, Katherine Chancellor, proved to be enduing beyond anyone’s imagination. Rest in peace. Cooper’s co-star Jess Walton wrote this on Facebook: “Jeanne Cooper passed away this morning. There will never be another like her. She has been a huge part of my life for the past 26 years…and she will continue to be, because she lives inside me…..and she [...]

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“General Hospital” Hits Ratings High, But ABC Gets Sued By Online Soap Network

Roger Friedman — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 16:27:17 +0000

“General Hospital” hit a ratings high the week of April 7th-15th, finishing second in number of female viewers ages 18-49. The soap had over 2.8 million viewers of all genders total, too, among the four remaining daytime sudsers. The show is on a roll, having brought back nearly everyone who was ever on it for the last three months leading up to its 50th anniversary. Somehow they managed to juggle 50 or more people, weave in old stories and new, and keep the whole thing moving forward at relatively fast (for soaps) pace. But a villain lurked. His name is Jeff Kwatinetz, and I warned soap viewers about him a long time ago. Kwatinetz owns Prospect Park, the company that licensed “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” from ABC when the network foolishly dumped them. This is the same Kwatinetz who nearly wrecked Kelly Clarkson’s career, who had an unfortunate partnership with Mike Ovitz and Rick Yorn, was briefly engaged to the late Brittany Murphy, and managed Britney Spears for a month. Controversial? That’s an understatement. When “One [...]

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Ratings: “American Idol” Takes a Beating and Numbers Fall

Roger Friedman — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:49:14 +0000

I don’t get it. On Wednesday, “American Idol” did pretty well, with a 3.1 in the key demo. But last night the singing contest dropped to a 2.9, and fell to 11.9 million viewers. Even though they threw in Paula Abdul and Clay Aiken as surprise guests, the show could not hold its own against two reruns of “The Big Bang Theory” sandwiched around a rerun of “Two and a Half Men.” The sitcom had a 3.2 and 3.0 respectively and scored an average of 10 million viewers– not bad considering they were reruns. This has to be particularly vexing to the “Idol” producers. Their upstart rival, “The Voice” on NBC, scored a 5.1 this week–a high for them among 18-49 year olds. “The Voice” comes across as young and alive, while “Idol” feels like it’s struggling to keep everyone awake. This week did feature a glimmer of life as Nicki Minaj tried to get something going with Mariah Carey by calling her “sir.” But it wasn’t enough to make viewers sit up and notice. Meanwhile, “Idol” has really got [...]

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Exclusive: Source Says Jay Leno Doesn’t Have the Option of Going to Fox

Roger Friedman — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 03:41:40 +0000

The dust has settled a little bit on the NBC Late Night Wars. Jimmy Fallon takes over for Jay Leno around March 1st, 2014. But where does that leave Leno? There was a lot of talk last week that Fox would jump at the chance to put Leno in at 11pm simply because he’s number 1. But now I am told quite definitively by someone who knows the inside workings of these sort of things: Jay Leno will not be starting a late night talk show at Fox. According to my sources, Fox did explore the idea of having a late night show with Conan O’Brien three years ago when the carrot topped host was being pushed out of NBC. “We talked to the affiliates about breaking their syndication deals at 11pm for sitcoms. It was going to be done.” But since then, executives have changed, and so have positions. The 11pm sitcoms on local Fox stations do very well. O’Brien made his deal with TBS. And now Jimmy Kimmel is in at ABC. Not signing Leno isn’t “age thing,” [...]

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“Mad Men” Returns: Death Is Everywhere– Roger Sterling: “This is My Funeral”

Roger Friedman — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 03:31:24 +0000

“Mad Men” just finished up its two hour premiere of Season 6. By Monday afternoon we’ll know many people watched. Was it the biggest audience ever? In the meantime, “The Doorway” was all about death– Roger Sterling’s mother, the unseen shoeshine guy, Don’s dreams and his suicide- looking ad for Royal Hawaiian. It’s the Christmas week of 1967, and Megan is now on a soap opera called “To Have and to Hold.” Jeff Hunter– the famed William Morris agent- represents her. (He’s a real person, a famously great agent, and he is very much alive in 2013.) Megan and Don are visiting the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu. Don stands up for a private getting married and the two men accidentally swap Army lighters. The PFC is named Dinkins, and now Don has once again traded away his identity. I don’t want to give too much away. But Don is reading “The Inferno” on the beach. The ad he comes up with for Royal Hawaiian suggests someone has committed suicide by walking into the water. “A Star is Born” is [...]

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“General Hospital” Celebrates 50 Years With a Classy Nod to the Past

Roger Friedman — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 08:43:06 +0000

Soap operas don’t get much respect, witness Procter & Gamble just cancelling “As the World Turns” and “Guiding Light” with no regard to the fans or the people who worked on them. ABC followed suit by axing “All My Children” and “One Life to Live,” although those shows will now attempt a comeback online at the end of April. ABC almost wiped out “General Hospital,” but instead fired the exec who hated soaps (Brian Frons), transferred over the executive producer and head writer who’d– too late– revived “One Life”– and voila! “General Hospital” celebrates its 50th anniversary this week. Yesterday was the official “50th Anniversary Show,” delayed by a day because the naming of Pope Francis knocked the daytime schedule out of whack. The guy who writes the show, Ron Carlivati, and his team, have done the impossible. “General Hospital” was unwatchable for years. Long story, it had turned into a daytime version of “The Godfather.” Most of the favorite actors and characters were gone. They were replaced by shrillness. The ratings disappeared. Frons (he was fired) was replacing soaps [...]

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“Mad Men” First Three Episodes Get Names

Roger Friedman — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 02:04:45 +0000

There’s always a lot of secrecy leading up to the new season of “Mad Men.” So I’m happy to say that at least we now know the title of the first three (or four ) episodes of Season Six. The first two hour episode is called “The Doorway.” Then Episode 2 (or 3, since “The Doorway” counts as two) is “The Collaborators,” and it’s directed by series star Jon Hamm. Episode 4 is “To Have and to Hold.” A Los Angeles screening audience saw “The Doorway” last week. I’m not sure if anyone in New York will see anything but screeners went out to reviewers. Everyone’s been asked to keep a tight lid on the storyline. We do know that “The Doorway” was partially shot in Hawaii, that Don Draper is best man at a soldier’s beach wedding, and that since we saw them all Megan Draper is now acting in something full time. (Broadway, soap opera, something.) I am told that we’ll see a lot of Betty Draper Francis (January Jones), much more than in last season when Jones [...]

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