Jimmy Fallon pays a Top 10 tribute to Letterman
Fallon, who guest-hosted “The Late Show” in 2000 when Dave hated shingles, also recalled how jealous Letterman was when he visited “Late Night” when Paul Shaffer was host. PLUS: Watch Letterman”s 1993 goodbye to “Late Night,” listen to his 1981 interview with “Fresh Air,” recalling Letterman”s 360-degree episode, and 14 photos of a young Letterman “looking fine as hell.”
Stephen Colbert”s contracts were designed for a Letterman opening; Tina Fey would be a home-run hire
That”s what Bill Carter, author of “The Late Shift,” reports of the possibilities to replace David Letterman. He notes that Amy Poehler is another possibility and that Craig Ferguson is likely gone if he doesn”t get the promotion. But it is Colbert, Carter reports, who most intrigues late-night insiders: “Several late-night executives and staff members have ranked Mr. Colbert highest among the potential successors for several reasons: He wields an inventive brand of humor; he has a younger audience, which is highly important for late-night advertisers; and, perhaps most significant, he is in the spot that historically promotes the next late-night star to the top level: second position.” PLUS: The Top 10 things that would happen on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
Craig Ferguson stands to make an extra $5 million to $12 million if he”s passed over
The amount of money reported varies, but it”s clear the “Late Late Show” host will rake in extra money if he doesn”t get the Letterman timeslot.
CBS needs to hire someone who talks like an adult, the anti-Jimmy Fallon
“I hope that the person who gets his job will, in turn, present a show that looks and feels as if it belongs on CBS,” says Hank Stuever. “That doesn”t mean old, but it does mean something ineffable and increasingly impossible to describe in an era in which all media formats are in a state of reinvention. I”m simply hoping for a “Late Show” host who knows what it means to be a funny adult.”
What”ll a retired Letterman do?
Will a retired Dave do anything related to TV?
The case for Conan O”Brien as Letterman”s replacement
Of all the late-night hosts out there, Conan is the most Letterman-like of the bunch – and he”s the only one who could provide real competition to the two Jimmys.
Fox interested in “Couples Retreat,” a partner-swapping reality show
Unlike “Temptation Island,” “Couples Retreat”s” goal is to help couples.
Is there too much rape on prestigious TV shows?
Rape storylines have surfaced on everything from “The Americans” to “House of Cards” to “Mad Men” and “Game of Thrones” in recent years.
Cosmo goes to bed with the ladies of “SNL”
Check out the women of “Saturday Night Live” in their nighties.
In praise of “Raising Hope”
As Phil Dyess-Nugent put it, “In an age of ambitious, sometimes pretentious TV, 'Raising Hope” never made any grand promises, but over the course of four uneven but honorably entertaining seasons, it actually delivered a lot. It”s one of the few contemporary shows that depicts working class people as decent and worthy of an audience”s time without ever getting misty-eyed, and it proved that Garret Dillahunt, previously best known for playing multiple despicable characters on ‘Deadwood' and impersonating Jesus on that “controversial” NBC thing that was canceled during its first commercial break, is one funny son of a bitch.” PLUS: “HIMYM” finale vs. “Raising Hope” finale.
Judd Apatow to release a book of his teenage interviews with comedians
When Apatow was in high school, Apatow got to interview famous comedians like Jay Leno, Howard Stern and Jerry Seinfeld.
“HIMYM” co-creator explains the alternate ending
“We only shot one script, but through edit room magic we had two possible outcomes for the series,” tweeted Carter Bays. “We chose the ending we chose and we stand by it. But we loved the other version too.”
In Season 4, “Game of Thrones” proves to be the Best Show Ever
Words like “greatest” and “best” are thrown around a lot these days, notes Mary McNamara. “So to say that 'Game of Thrones,' which returns, roaring and snorting, for its fourth season on Sunday night, is the Best Television Show Ever isn't just thoroughly subjective, it's reductive. Despite our increasingly wearisome penchant for lists, television was never linear enough for meaningful comparisons; it is now so wildly diverse in form and function that any sort of ranking or award is all but meaningless. But you know what? I'm going to say it anyway. 'Game of Thrones' is the Best Television Show Ever.” PLUS: Meet the new Season 4 cast members, the creators explain what”s different in Season 4, how much historical truth is in “Game of Thrones?, readers vs. watchers is “GoT”s” true battle, how cast members handle spoilers, Arya learns “brutality” in Season 4, individual episodes are too unsatisfying, and why King Joffrey must die.
HBO”s “Silicon Valley” is that rare TV comedy that makes you laugh – laugh for days
“Like all good series,” says Robert Bianco, “this eight-episode paean to techno-geek entrepreneurs is reliably well-acted, and like most HBO comedies, it's extremely well-observed, from its jokes about involuntary/voluntary corporate retreats and “revenge hires” to its main geek character struggling to spit like the tough guys. But the ability it has to make you actually laugh, not just when you watch it, but days later as you recall the jokes – well, that's something very few HBO comedies even attempt, let alone accomplish. And with times as they are, that's something to cherish.” PLUS: “Silicon Valley” is too nice to Silicon Valley, it”s “Office Space” meets “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” it”s more than uproariously funny – it”s consistantly fascinating, it”s a precise, sharply executed sendup of the high-tech billionaire-making culture, it”s the sitcom Silicon Valley deserves, the best take on Silicon Valley ever, inside “Silicon Valley”s” fashion, and the creators respond to Elon Musk jab.
Mike Judge”s evolution: From “Beavis and Butt-head” to “Silicon Valley”
“'Silicon Valley' can be read as a metaphor for Mike Judge's own career,” explains Paul Schrodt. “What happens when one average guy becomes successful beyond his dreams? Does he leave his old bum friends behind? Or does he find a way to incorporate them into his new life? If you're anything like Mike Judge, you don't forget the assholes who made you who you are.
“Veep” hits a higher gear in Season 3, puts “House of Cards” to shame
“Veep,” says David Zurawik, “offers what I believe is the most honest and searing critique anywhere in popular culture of what”s wrong with our civic life these days – and it makes us sometimes even laugh out loud as it delivers that damning indictment.” He adds that in Season 3, Julia Louis-Dreyfus proves she “is the greatest comedic actress in the history of American television.” PLUS: The presidential race has made “Veep” even more cynical, how “Veep” conquered Washington, “Veep” has become a lean, mean apolitical machine, “Veep”s” Jonah has become TV”s most insufferable character, and Tony Hale describes Season 3 as like the Keystone Cops.
AMC”s Revolutionary War drama “Turn” feels small and dull
“Turn,” says Willa Paskin, “suffers from 'Forrest Gump' disease, wherein all of its characters are always, magically, in exactly the right place to affect history. Somehow, everything that Abe-just one guy, in one town-sees and hears is directly relevant to the battle plans of his friends-just a few guys, in one regiment. Turn gives the impression the war was not vast and scattered over the Colonies, or a sweeping geopolitical event, but merely a small series of coincidences.” PLUS: “Turn” is too forgettable despite its cool opening credits, “Turn” struggles to lay out its characters and conflicts in a way that feels instantly addictive, and “Turn” is ambitious, beautifully filmed and exciting to watch.