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Thandie Newton's Cop Drama Series 'Rogue' Debuted This Week; Did You Watch? Thoughts?
13 hours ago
I'd forgotten that this new series was to premiere this week - on Wednesday. And it did, by the way. I really didn't see very much marketing for it online, or much conversation about it on all the social media sites that I'm practically connected to 18 hours a day. I suppose those folks with DirecTV, where the series is airing exclusively, likely did see promos for it leading up to the premiere episode. Did anyone with DirecTV watch it? And if you did, your thoughts? What I don't understand about DirecTV's marketing strategy for it is why they didn't take a page out of Netflix's House Of Cards release plan, which I think would've drawn more attention to the series, and maybe encouraged more new subscriptions to DirecTV. What Netflix did with House Of Cards was that they released episode 1 of the series online for Free for one month, so »
- Tambay A. Obenson
Review: It Might Not Be Journalism, But You Won't Find The Stories On 'Vice' Anywhere Else
5 April 2013 2:18 PM, PDT
Ah, Vice. The once long ago irreverent little zine out of Montreal and has grown into a globe-spanning empire with offices around the world and an online presence that has expanded far beyond their still free glossy monthly magazine. And while they may still be snarked at for their ongoing Dos & Don'ts, stunt-like "reporting" which sometimes is as sophisticated as someone taking drugs and then writing about it (an approach spoofed by Lena Dunham on "Girls") and general tendency to stick to the kind of off-the-cuff, fratboy humor that made their name, if you look closer, they've matured considerably. Like reading Playboy for the articles, skip past the hit bait and land on their video page, and do some digging, and you'll see some real stories tackling the kind of stuff you won't find on any of the major news networks (The Business Of War is a particularly perfect example »
- Kevin Jagernauth
This Week in Black Television - Laurence Fishburne in "Hannibal", Quality Issues in "The Game" & "The Walking Dead" Season Finale
5 April 2013 11:54 AM, PDT
Welcome back to This Week in Black Television. This week we're covering the return of The Game, the debut of Laurence Fishburne in the new TV drama Hannibal, and other significant television goings-on with members of the Black community. Sorry for the extended absence of this column from the 'site, but between my film festival New Voices in Black Cinema and other film-centric duties I've been a bit distracted, but have returned. I wrote separately about the return of The Game last week and whether Pooch Hall was indeed back or not as running back Derwin Davis. And I was right, he was just back for the first episode as he indeed did get traded to the Baltimore - what he wanted but was saddened that the only adult life he knew - as a San Diego Saber - was done and over with. This NYC-based episode led Derwin to »
- Curtis Caesar John
What if 'Mad Men' Jumps the Shark?
5 April 2013 10:58 AM, PDT
Yes, America is panting for Sunday's night's new season of AMC's runaway train "Mad Men." If you don't believe me, run to the nearest social-media "comments" section and you'll see otherwise intelligent men and women acting like wide-eyed kids and counting down the hours till the ball drops and their beloved show goes back on the air. But what if? What if the unthinkable occurs? What if "Mad Men" no longer has the charisma and power to enthrall a nation that has blithely gone along with every single plot twist and blissfully carried on a love/hate relationship with Jon Hamm, January Jones & Co.? Specifically, what if "Mad Men" jumps the shark -- the vernacular in TV land for a popular show that loses its mojo, the indefinable quality that caused a word-of-mouth stir in the first place? It takes a lot of planning, smart execution and good luck to »
- Jon Friedman
Mikkelsen's 'Hannibal' Gives NBC Much-Needed Ratings Boost, 'The Hunt' Opens July 12
5 April 2013 10:36 AM, PDT
Looks like Danish star, former dancer Mads Mikkelsen, has boosted his stateside star power and NBC's Thursday night ratings at the same time with crime drama "Hannibal," which earned 4.3 million viewers and a 1.6 with adults. "Hannibal," based on the Thomas Harris character so memorably played by Anthony Hopkins in Jonathan Demme's Oscar-winner "Silence of the Lambs" and the Ridley Scott sequel, earned stronger reviews than any other of the beleaguered network's new dramas. "Hannibal" did remarkably well considering its 10 Pm slot and competition, coming in third behind original episodes of ABC’s "Scandal" and CBS’ "Elementary." It's NBC's best rating in that Death Valley period in a year. Here's Indiewire's interview with the showrunner Bryan Fuller. Thirteen episodes are already in the can. Win-win for NBC, which could use some good news right now as they get lambasted for mishandling yet another Jay Leno exit. (Best report on this is from THR's Kim Masters, »
- Anne Thompson
Is the Era of Film Criticism on TV Over?
5 April 2013 10:23 AM, PDT
"Siskel & Ebert" was my first taste of film criticism. I'm sure I'm not alone in that. Growing up amidst the strip malls and multiplexes of the Northern California suburbs, I used to watch the show with my dad, before I started swiping the arts section of the newspaper every morning. I loved it with they argued, Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, because even when it was heated it was obviously an earnest conversation between two people who knew and respected each other's taste, and because the accord or disagreement always came as a reveal. Ebert doesn't like "Die Hard," finds it too poorly written to hold his interest, then the camera cuts to Siskel, who proclaims he was interested and was drawn in by the two main performances. That turn -- will it be two thumbs up, two down, a split vote -- was really the only point of drama »
- Alison Willmore
S&A 'Scandal' Recap - A Roller-Coaster Ride Of An Episode
5 April 2013 8:47 AM, PDT
Just when you thought you knew! This was a roller-coaster ride of an episode and if you haven’t seen it please stop reading now. Spoilers ahead!The episode began with the public announcement of Osborne as the mole by President Grant, the release of David and Molly, Captain Ballard removing cameras from Olivia’s home, Huck and Quinn checking for cameras in Olivia’s home, and the Captain returning to reassemble his surveillance. What one thought was going to be an episode about finding Osborne’s killer turned out to be an episode dealing mostly with the heady topic of Ocular Truth, Marriage, and honesty’s place in it. I couldn’t help feeling like I was watching a mash-up of many Shakespearean plays. Any Shakespearean characters jump out as parallels to characters and storylines to you?Everyone appears to be mulling the topic of lies in relationships; President Grant and Mellie, »
- Natasha Greeves
Watch: The Full Pilot Episode Of NBC's 'Hannibal' Starring Mads Mikkelsen
5 April 2013 7:40 AM, PDT
You may have forgotten, but last night was the premiere of the somewhat highly anticipated "Hannibal" on NBC, a network that can't seem to sell a show to save their life. But this one is/was certainly promising. The excellent Mads Mikkelsen leads the show as the titular cannibal, but in his early days as a doctor, before he became much more well known for his peculiar appetites. He's enlisted by the FBI to help Hugh Dancy capture a serial killer, but of course the twist that Hannibal Lecter is a killer himself adding a layer of intrigue to the show. Does it all work? Well, if you missed it last night you can decide right now. NBC has dropped the pilot episode online in case your forgot to set your DVR or didn't realize the show was now on the air. We haven't had the chance to catch up with it either just yet, »
- Kevin Jagernauth
Own To Premiere New Reality Show About NBA Player JaVale McGee And 'Mom'ager
5 April 2013 7:39 AM, PDT
Since I have admitted before that I'm certainly no sports follower and know next to nothing about basketball, I'll leave it to you experts out there to tell me if this is a good idea or not. But yesterday the Oprah Winfrey Network announced that it would soon premiere a new reality show Millionaire Mama's Boy which will follow the daily antics of Denver Nuggets center JaVale Mcgee and his "colorful" (as some have called her) mother or "mom"ager (as others have called her) Pamela. In an official statement the network said that the show will "explore" the dynamic relationship between former Wnba basketball star Pamela McGee and her 25-year-old son JaVale. Famous for being domineering on and off the court, Pamela is not only JaVale’s mom, she’s also his business manager, working to build an empire while trying to keep a tight rein on the glitz »
- Sergio
Someone Has Been Found To Play Inxs Frontman Michael Hutchence In Aussie TV Biopic/Miniseries
5 April 2013 7:24 AM, PDT
Here’s an Australian project that has potential to draw some interest in the television scene down under. In December, it was reported that Australian network Seven had commissioned production company Shine to make “Never Tear Us Apart,” a miniseries based on the '80s rock band Inxs. Now, the lead role of late frontman Michael Hutchence has been cast -- Luke Arnold will play the troubled singer. Arnold has had a career in his native Australia, but will be seen by U.S. audiences for the first time in the upcoming Michael Bay pirate series “Black Sails” as a young Long John Silver. Inxs apparently has a saga to be told, with the relationship between Hutchence and bandmate Andrew Farriss being at the center of the story. The four-hour, two-part miniseries will reportedly chart the band’s rise to the top, a terrible motorcycle accident involving Hutchence, and his »
- Tess Hofmann
Vice Heads to HBO With a News Series That's Half Journalism and Half Adventure Tourism
5 April 2013 7:19 AM, PDT
Since its inception as a government-funded rag meant to promote community service called Voice of Montreal, Vice magazine has endured almost 20 years at the cutting edge of pop culture by changing with the times. The founders dropped the "o" and then the Canadianness, expanding the publication into one of the cornerstones of hipster culture. Before being in the periodicals business became such a dire place, Vice was already expanding into music and film ("Heavy Metal in Baghdad," "White Lightnin'" and the upcoming "Reincarnated") as well as, perhaps most successfully, online video via first the Spike Jonze-led Vbs.tv and now YouTube. More importantly, Vice has gotten serious, which is why its new, sort of grown-up HBO show, premiering tonight, April 5, at 11pm, exists. Over the last few years, the company has expanded into a kind of international journalism-meets-adventure tourism that was first laid out in a web series called »
- Alison Willmore
Watch As Madea Meets Sofia, In A Search For Own (Video)
4 April 2013 5:18 PM, PDT
Here's how they describe it: Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry are coming together on Own - but Madea and Sofia can't seem to find the channel. Watch to see what happens when this no-nonsense granny comes meets The Color Purple favorite on a dirt road. As already reported earlier today, Own's first scripted series from Tyler Perry are both set to debut on May 29, on Own: a one-hour drama titled The Haves and the Have Nots; and a half-hour comedy series called Love Thy Neighbor. Watch the absurdity unfold below:
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- Tambay A. Obenson
Columbus Short Says A Romantic Interest For Harrison On 'Scandal' Is Definitely Coming...
4 April 2013 3:36 PM, PDT
In February, Shonda Rhimes revealed that the character known as Harrison Wright (played by Columbus Short) would eventually get his moment to shine, after she was asked why he didn't really have much of his own individual story-line, while others have. I consider Harrison to be the gun on the wall that we haven't fired on purpose. The story of Harrison and his past -- he used to work for Adnan Salif and then he went to jail -- that thing that's going to unfold, that's a giant story that we want to unpack when it suits us most. We've been holding onto it. We will be getting glimpses and hints as to what's to come. She didn't say when exactly audiences can expect the unfolding to being; just the above hints and teases, keeping you all in suspense. Skip ahead to today, when, on Twitter, Columbus Short shared an »
- Tambay A. Obenson
HBO's 'Game of Thrones' Season Premiere Breaks Online Piracy Records
4 April 2013 1:58 PM, PDT
The third season premiere of HBO's fantasy television series "Game of Thrones," which was just renewed for a fourth season, has broken yet another record after a wildly successful broadcast on the premium network last Sunday, March 31st. It was reported that mere hours after the episode's original 9 Pm airtime, over 160,000 viewers had shared a single download using the peer-to-peer program BitTorrent. Simultaneously, over 50,00 were still downloading the premiere. This is a new record for online piracy, as the last placeholder was the 2008 season three premiere of late NBC sci-fi series "Heroes" with nearly 145,000 peers sharing on the network. Despite competition with illegal downloading, HBO still did very well, racking in 4.4 million viewers during the original broadcast (read Toh's review and recap here). Two subsequent broadcasts brought the total to 6.7 million. The cable channel will likely continue to contend with online piracy, as Time Warner has yet to make HBO's OnDemand. »
- Ryan Lattanzio
Bet Acquires Sitcoms 'The First Family' & 'Mr. Box Office' To Premiere On Centric
4 April 2013 1:25 PM, PDT
Bet Networks announced today it has licensed over 100 episodes each of two hit sitcoms, The First Family and Mr. Box Office, from Entertainment Studios to air on Centric starting April, 2013. Both first-run original series feature are scheduled to premiere in prime-time on Centric weeknights beginning Friday April 19, 2013. The First Family, a sitcom about an African American family that resides in The White House, and Mr. Box Office, a sitcom about the biggest movie star in the world who is sentenced to community service, teaching English at the "toughest" high school in America... The First Family cast includes Christopher P. Duncan (The Jamie Foxx Show) as President William Johnson; Kellita Smith as First Lady Katherine Johnson; Gladys Knight as his mother; Marla Gibbs as the First Lady’s mother; Paul Rodriguez as Dictator Rafael; and Jackee Harry as the First Lady’s...
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- Tambay A. Obenson
Watch Jennifer Hudson, Octavia Spencer, Ernie Hudson In 1st Trailer For 'Call Me Crazy'
4 April 2013 1:00 PM, PDT
The Lifetime original movie, Call Me Crazy: A Five Film, which stars the likes of Jennifer Hudson, Octavia Spencer, Ernie Hudson, Melissa Leo, Brittany Snow, and others, now has an official premiere date - April 20. The ensemble cast film tells 5 interwoven stories about how everlasting bonds of love and family can overcome life's most challenging hurdles. Jennifer Hudson and Ernie Hudson both appear in the same story, titled Maggie, directed by Ashley Judd, which centers on a female veteran (J. Hudson) who returns home from war to her son and father (E. Hudson), only to have her life shattered by the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder. Meanwhile, Octavia Spencer stars in Lucy, which is directed by Bryce Dallas Howard, and follows the film's title character (played by Brittany Snow), a law student who finds herself amidst the horror of schizophrenia, landing her in an institution where, through the support of. »
- Tambay A. Obenson
David Letterman Asks Louis C.K. About the Whole 'F*ck You!' Scene on 'Louie'
4 April 2013 12:13 PM, PDT
The last season of "Louie" included a brilliant three-episode arc entitled "Late Night" that found the titular hero, played by the show's creator, writer and producer Louis C.K., being brought in to potentially take over for David Letterman as the host of "Late Show." Letterman, he's told, is retiring, and Louie is the cheap option being groomed as an alternative to the more likely big-name pick of Jerry Seinfeld. The process of auditioning challenged Louie, wrung him out, taught him lessons about himself and competition and what he wants from his career. (It also involved very funny appearances from Garry Marshall and David Lynch as two of the execs prepping Louie for the role, as well as Jay Leno, Chris Rock and Seinfeld as themselves.) But in the end, Letterman didn't retire, and Louie found out he was just being used to bargain the host down on his contract renewal. »
- Alison Willmore
Binge on the First Season of Sundance Channel's New Drama 'Rectify' at Screenings in New York and L.A.
4 April 2013 11:11 AM, PDT
The latest television trend that has the networks, Nielsen and advertisers reeling is binge-watching, as more and more viewers prefer to sit down and watch several episodes in a row rather than doling them week to week. For anyone curious about Sundance Channel newest drama "Rectify" (the network's first wholly owned scripted originally), the company is teaming up with BuzzFeed to offer people a chance to binge on the entire first season of the series before it hits the air. All six episodes of "Rectify" will be screened together in New York on Saturday, April 13th at the IFC Center at 1pm with a simultaneous screening occuring in Los Angeles at 11am at the Sundance Sunset Cinema in West Hollywood. Created by actor/director Ray McKinnon ("Deadwood"), "Rectify" is centered about Daniel Holden (Aden Young), a man who's released from prison after serving almost 20 years on death row, his sentence »
- Cristina A. Gonzalez
Score: Barry Diller's Aereo 100, Network TV 0
4 April 2013 9:43 AM, PDT
The victory in court this week by Barry Diller's Aereo underscores the precarious nature of network television in the face of modern technological advances. The networks' answer was the same lame tactic that huge corporations take whenever they feel imperiled by a potentially better idea or a new technological gizmo of one kind or another. They find a provocation to go to court and sue, claiming that they were somehow wronged. This is not only a ham-fisted approach but it also shows how incapable they are when t comes to dealing with Silicon Valley or any other innovator. It can seem pitiful when the big shot can't match the little guy. They can appear to look like bullies. And you know what? Bullies usually don't win because their brawn is no match for a wily, opportunistic, ambitious opponent . The networks ought to get it through their heads that the »
- Jon Friedman
Own Announces Specials Leading Up To Launch Of Tyler Perry Series + Greenlights 2 More
4 April 2013 9:36 AM, PDT
As I said before, Own is becoming a black cable TV network, whether its intentional or not. So Bet and TV One especially may want to start paying attention to developments at Own, if they aren't already. In addition to the 2 scripted Tyler Perry serials that are set to debut this spring, Own has also greenlit 2 new series (unscripted) that will join its slate of original programming: Millionaire Mama's Boy (about the relationship between former Wnba star Pamela McGee and her NBA star son JaVale McGee who plays for the Denver Nuggets), and Houston Beauty (which follows Miss Glenda Jemison, the owner and director of Franklin Beauty School, the oldest continuously operated licensed beauty school in Texas). Leading up to the premieres of the two Tyler Perry serials, Own has announced that it will air some special event programming; specifically, on Sunday, May 26, Oprah will sit down with Perry for what the press release. »
- Tambay A. Obenson
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