“20/20’s” Elizabeth Vargas checks into rehab for alcohol abuse
Vargas is being treated for alcohol abuse, saying in a statement: “Like so many people, I am dealing with addiction. I realized I was becoming increasingly dependent on alcohol.”
“HIMYM” teases its rhyming episode
Read from the book of “How I Met Your Mother” rhymes.
“Duck Dynasty”-related merchandise will rake in $400 million this year
Half of that revenue comes thanks to Walmart.
Fox orders “Fatrick” from the creator of “Don’t Trust the “B—“
“Community’s” Jim Rash and his Oscar-winning “Descendants” co-writer Nat Faxon will also be involved in the comedy about a 30-year-old man scarred by his fat childhood.
A black comedienne recounts her 2008 “SNL” audition as Michelle Obama
Sketch performer Nefetari Spencer says she was the only black female in a group of 20 that included “Key & Peele’s” Jordan Peele. Michelle Obama was one of her seven characters. “I’m not shocked at all about the attention ‘SNL’ is getting regarding black women in comedy,” she says. “Since I live it, it”s a conversation that I hear all the time. I hope all this attention helps reopen that door that”s been closed for the last six years.” PLUS: In defense of “SNL’s” casting.
Check out NYC transformed into 1910 for Steven Soderbergh’s Cinemax miniseries
Clive Owen is starring in “The Knick,” based on the Knickerbocker Hospital in the early 1900s.
New book tells of Richard Pryor’s N-word sketch on “SNL”
The sketch with Chevy Chase was made possible by Lorne Michaels resigning in protest after NBC refused to let Pryor on live TV. The network finally agreed as long as there was a 10-second delay.
Comedy Central developing “Strong Island,” a sitcom set on Long Island
Two members of Upright Citizens Brigade will play brothers who live at home with their mom on Long Island.
Liam Hemsworth was 18 when he played an underage prostitute on Australian TV
Jay Leno showed the clip from the pay TV show “Satisfaction.”
“Million Dollar Listings” star crashes his Range Rover into House of Blues in L.A.
Josh Altman was part of a multi-vehicle crash on the Sunset Strip.
Inside “The Soup”
A typical staffer on the Joel McHale E! show will watch 10 or more shows a week.
Why “Roots” is worth remaking: It’s all about the “new”
The original miniseries still holds up, but younger people are unlikely to watch it. But, says James Poniewozik, “like it or not, people need the buzz of something new to draw their attention. This is our culture now: unlike in 1977, there are dozens of TV outlets, thousands of media outlets, millions of news stories and memes flittering across our radar.”
Why isn’t there already a cable series about the porn industry?
Sure, Owen Wilson is making a Starz 1980s-set porn industry drama, but why isn’t there a modern take on the business behind the scenes?
Adult Swim asks viewers to help make its 15-second commercial “bumps”
A Bump Builder app has been created so fans can make their own bumpers.
Peek inside “American Horror Story’s” New Orleans “Coven” mansion
The show rented it out for $20,000 a month.
See color photos of the original “Addams Family” set
The pics are part of a new art exhibit.
Why “The Blacklist” hit it big: It doesn’t have the burden of the wannabe “Sopranos” shows on cable
As Willa Paskin puts it, “‘The Blacklist’ is aware of the morally complex protagonists who have come before it in the golden age of the antihero, but it is not burdened by grandiose ambitions: It’s pure pop.”
“Masters of Sex” has delivered some of the most thoughtful and serious TV Showtime has ever done
“Masters of Sex” has proven to be very compelling, aside from the sex part. PLUS: “Masters” finally figured itself out.
Kids these days use iPads as TV sets
Nielsen estimates that 16.5 million children watch TV via tablets.
Presenting 7 TV stars too talented for their TV shows
From Melissa McCarthy to Rebel Wilson to Stephen Amell.
Don’t expect Amazon’s TV shows to be successful
The streaming marketplace is already crowded, and Amazon’s shows are harder to watch than Netflix or Hulu.
“The Good Wife”: Network’s TV’s most intellectually ambitious show
In the middle of Season 5, “The Good Wife” has evolved to become the best show on TV — and the only one dealing with technological changes.
“Girls” star Allison Williams won’t reveal what she writes because she feels inferior to Lena Dunham
Says Williams: “Part of the problem is when you work with Lena Dunham every day, and you see that writing, you just think, ‘Well, sh*t, I’m never going to do this.'”
Food Network is celebrating 20 years: Read the press release announcing the channel’s launch
Food Network was announced 20 years ago this week.