HBO has picked up a pilot from Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's Gary Sanchez Productions. The comedy, based on a former baseball player who becomes a substitute Gym teacher, received a six episode order from the net.
The show stars Danny McBride, Katy Mixon, John Hawkes (of Deadwood fame) and Andrew Daly. Ferrell will work as an executive producer on the project.
The season three premiere of FX's sensational comedy It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia recorded 2.3 million viewers, shattering the show's previous high of 1.7 million (the premiere of season two)..
An encore presentation on Thursday added 1.9 million viewers, raising the +7 rating to an incredible 4.2 million (3.2 million in 18-49 and 2.3 million in 18-34).
The ratings spike was likely aided by the recent release of the long awaited increase of seasons one and two on DVD.
In what marks a huge loss to the creative world of television, Chris Albrecht, the mastermind who spearheaded the emergence of HBO and redefined the role of television in America has signed a deal with talent agency International Media Group (IMG).
Albrecht will be working as the global head of marketing for IMG, the world's largest marketing and management firm. Among IMG most notable clients are Major League Baseball, Tiger Woods, the Grammy Awards, Wimbledon and the U.S. Olympic Committee.
While it's good to see Albrecht find work, the fact that he never made his way back to HBO and didn't land at another cable network is unfortunate.
Kudos to Weeds star Mary-Louise Parker. Even though she didn't win an Emmy last Sunday, she has a new addition at home. The 43-year-old actress adopted a a baby girl from Africa, People magazine reported earlier today. This is the second child for Parker who has a three-year-old son named Will, with actor Billy Cruddup. "Mary-Louise is such an incredible mom," a source close to the actress told People. "She couldn't be happier about this." Parker, who was nominated for an Emmy last Sunday, appears in Brad Pitt's new film The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, opening Friday.
In mid-July it was announced that Jerry Seinfeld would be making a guest appearance in the season two premiere of the Emmy award winning comedy 30 Rock, marking his first television appearance (excluding a voice over role in Dilbert) since Seinfeld went off the air.
According to Tina Fey, the show's creator, lead writer and star; Jerry will visit the Peacock to confront Alec Baldwin's character, Jack Donaghy, after Jack begins digitally inserting footage of Jerry from old Seinfeld episodes to help poorly rated shows.
Given that the guest spot is partly an attempt to boost the critically acclaimed (and fabulous) but ratings-challenged 30 Rock; the self referential, albeit exaggerated storyline, is a good indication that the show hasn't lost any of the charm that made it one of the best comedies on television.
Emily Rose, who most recently played 'Cass' in the now canceled David Milch drama John From Cincinnati, has signed on for a five episode guest spot with the CBS cult hit Jericho. Rose will play a humanitarian aid who comes to the town to help with the reconstruction effort.
The once canceled Jericho received a reprieve after the fan campaign to save the show sent over 20 tons of nuts to CBS Headquarters (the nuts were donated to charity). It will return as a mid-season replacement with an initial order of seven episodes and the possibility of more based on viewership and DVD sales.
Rose will also be joining the ABC series Brothers & Sisters for an eight episode story arc in which she'll play a friend of Rebecca's (Emily VanCamp) and ends up becoming romantically involved with Tommy (Balthazar Getty).
In other casting news:
• The brain trust behind the CBS hit CSI, Jerry Bruckheimer and Danny Cannon will reunite to produce a pilot based on the four episode British sci-fi miniseries The Eleventh Hour.
• Orla Brady will join Shark for a string of episodes to play James Woods' ex-wife.
• Fox has signed a script deal with comedian Russell Peters. The project will be loosely based on Peters own upbringing in a work-class South Asian household.
The MTV Gay & Lesbian themed channel Logo has picked up syndication rights for the first five seasons of Showtime's The L-Word.
The show will begin airing on Logo in next summer with season six of The L-Word set to premiere this January on Showtime.
The highly praised script from Fight Club writer Jim Uhls, tentatively titled 'Paranoid' may have found a home despite concerns the series was too dark for even cable television. The series focuses on the Patriot Act through a surveillance agent who learns that he too might be a target.
The project is currently in development at FX and although the pilot has yet to be picked up, 'Variety' reports its prospects look very good.
Not a month removed from Britney Spears being lambasted for having a "gut" at the MTV's Video Music Awards, America Ferrera, Emmy Award winning actress and star of Ugly Betty is now taking heat for losing weight.
Ferrera attributes the weight loss an attempt to get in better shape and a heavy workload, "I feel like I'm a regular person. I'm a size 10 or 12, which is totally normal. But I do feel that since I wanted to get in better shape, there has been a bit of a backlash."
It's an amazing development given that much of the praise for Ugly Betty -- and by extension Ferrera, was its accurate depiction of the "average" woman. But with the reaction to her weight loss, one's left to wonder if that was ever the case.
Instead, it appears our society has little interest in "regular" women at all. How else to explain the indictment of a mother of two for being "chubby" by the same media that has put a 23 year-old on trial for losing weight?
And when that weight loss comes with the desire to become healthier, one's left to wonder if all we actually care about is polarizing the physical expectations of women.
Wednesday's Daily Bullets made reference to a major spoiler in the upcoming Sex and the City film. The New York Daily News reported an even more shocking plot development from the set today.
While we won't post the spoilers here, for those who can't wait, check out the Daily News article.
After muscling up the roster with the additions of Kristen Bell and Kevin Smith, NBC has tapped Eli Roth, the writer and director of Hostel, to pen an episode of the six-episode, mid-season Heroes spin-off, Origins. Roth will also direct his script.
Roth will not be the only new face as Superman Returns scribe Michael Dougherty will write another of the episodes.
The additions mark a busy offseason that has seen many a big name coup for Heroes.
This past summer at Comic-Con, Kevin Smith revealed he would write and direct the first episode of Origins. A little less than a month later it was announced that Kristen Bell would be joining the cast for 13 episodes. Since that time, rumors have surfaced that Bell might stay on the series full-time.
After almost two excruciating years of waiting for the second season of The Boondocks, fans can finally rest easy. The second season will premiere Monday, October 8th at 11:30 p.m..
Given what's in store, Aaron McGruder seems to have packed the 16-episode season with enough goodies to have made the wait worth it. Storylines for season two include:
• Granddad feuds with a world-renowned rapper, Thugnificent after he moves into the neighborhood.
• Tom DuBois enlists the counsel of returning guest-star A Pimp Named Slickback when he fears he's losing his wife to Usher.
• Granddad takes a stab at online dating.
• Huey, Riley and Granddad take in a day at the movies; going to see Soul Plane 2 (here's guessing Huey's not a fan).
• The family takes in a family from Hurricane Katrina.
Returning guest stars will include: Mos Def, Xzibit, Charlie Murphy, Sway, Katt Williams and others. No word yet on whether Samuel L. Jackson will be back.
All new guest stars will include: Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Ghostface Killah, Donald Faison, Lil Wayne, Terry Crews, Tichina Arnold, Cee-Lo, Tavis Smiley, Marion Ross, Cedric the Entertainer and more.
Industry Entertainment, the brain trust behind Showtime's Masters of Horrors and ABC's anthology series Masters of Science Fiction, has signed on with NBC to produce a thirteen episode anthology titled Fear Itself.
The NBC series will replicate the formula used by Showtime with each episode comprising a one hour movie from major directors in the Horror-film scene. The series will air this summer and is backed by Lionsgate.
Michael Scofield and friends might have just gotten very lucky. In the midst of Michael's seemingly futile attempts to break out of a Panamanian prison, 24's super-agent Jack Bauer was arrested for a DUI in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
The arrest marks Bauer's second DUI (the first was in 2004) and could land him in the very same penitentiary in which Scofield resides. Bauer, widely known for saving the world in 24 hours on six different occasions would all but ensure the cast of Prison Break's success in any future escape attempts.
Jack Bauer's alter-ego Kiefer Sutherland is due to appear in a non-fictional court on October 15th.
In a premise that seems eerily like Damages set in the corporate world, Ryan Murphy will be launching his second project under his exclusive multi-year deal with Fox. The first project, an FX series titled 4 o.z. is about a family man who decides he'd like to have a sex change.
The latest endeavor, Queen B, will air on Fox and focuses on a ruthless woman who takes over as a CEO in the modern world of business and her corruption of a new hire -- a young girl. Given the stellar ratings and critical acclaim for Damages, copycatting the story is likely a savvy business move.
As of yet, no casting decisions have been made, but rumors indicate there are several high profile actresses interested.
Austin Nichols, most notable for his role as John in David Milch's John From Cincinnati will be joining the cast of Friday Night Lights for a multiple episode story arc, according to Diane Holloway of the Statesmen.
In other casting news:
• Rush Limbaugh appeared on last Sunday's season premiere of Family Guy. It's somewhat of a strange cameo for what has generally been a left-leaning comedy, but according to Limbaugh, "It was a lot of fun to work with these people. The actual creator was on the phone directing me as to how he wanted this to sound, and I was more than willing to cooperate, because it's his show."
• Timothy Hutton, who most recently starred in the short lived NBC drama Kidnapped has been cast to play the lead role in the promising new TNT pilot, Leverage. Leverage focuses on investigator for 'Big Insurance' (seedy) who goes rogue after his son gets injured and the insurance companies refuse to foot the bill, resulting in the boy's death. Slightly put off by the entire ordeal, he decides to put together an Ocean's Eleven style team and go after them. Who hasn't ever dreamed about doing that, at least once?
• I'm not sure that it necessarily counts as casting news, but less than a week after Maya Rudolph declared her departure from Saturday Night Live, she announced that she'll be returning. Very well then.
• Regina Hall will be starring alongside Cedric the Entertainer in his upcoming ABC pilot.
Hot off the heels of their Bionic Woman redux, NBC is at it again, this time in the form of a remake for the 1980's classic (kind of) Knight Rider.
Doug Liman, who has directing credits for The Bourne Identity and Go under his belt (he was also an executive producer on Arrested Development) will head the project. As of now, the plan is to air a two-hour pilot later this year which, schedule permitting, Liman will direct.
While the prospect of Knight Rider in HD is a giddiness-inducing treat, the chances of David Hasslhoff reprising his role are grim.
Not to worry. Hasselhoff has found work at E!, David Hasselhoff where Ryan Seacrest announced his company is producing Tales of the Hoff, a new Curb Your Enthusiasm-type scripted comedy using the 55-year-old actor's life as its fictional canvass. What better material than a messy divorce, custody battles, alcoholism, and maybe -- we can only hope -- seeing the Hoff perform his music for tens of thousands of adoring German fans? (Check it out!) Dan O'Keefe of The Drew Carey Show is writing the pilot. (Note to Dan: Any comedic look at the dark side of Hoffdom must include this scene.)
Hot off the heels of her Emmy win for Outstanding Supporting Actress, Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl has netted herself a pay raise. After long and tumultuous negotiations with ABC which took place over the summer, the sides came to terms. No details on the final figures were disclosed.
For the parents of teens enamored with the pretty faces and stylish outfits of the new drama Gossip Girl, the holiday season might come with a hefty price tag. In an inventive (albeit not new) brand of marketing, fans can actually go to the CW website and purchase the clothes adorned by their favorite characters.
Much like the wildly wealthy characters on the show, don't expect the outfits to come on the cheap. The most expensive item as of publication is a $768 Coach Legacy Leather Satchel worn by Serena (Blake Lively).
Upon hearing the news, millions of Seinfeld fans called Fox in protest, demanding the wardrobes of their favorite four New Yorkers be made available immediately.
The Deadwood films are dead. HBO hasn't said it and they never will. But it's official. In an interview with Cinematic, Ian McShane confirmed the set was being packed up and his future film commitments would preclude his ability to shoot the movie.
In retrospect, one's left to wonder if the abrupt end can tarnish the legacy of one of the greatest television shows of all time. The answer, in a word, is no. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the series finale of Deadwood provides more closure than that of The Sopranos.
The final scene of Deadwood, with Swearengen scrubbing the floor, cleaning the blood of an innocent prostitute murdered to placate Hearst (capitalism in its most brutal form), uttering the series' finale sentence, "Wants me to tell him something pretty," is beautifully symbolic.
There was no happy ending. There was no final battle. The town paid and paid dearly to survive the onslaught of Hearst. Elsworth was murdered, Swearengen lost a finger, Alma was forced to sell her claim and Bullock was unmanned. But Deadwood survived. With annexation and elections, it became a civilized town. And with one blood stain, George Hearst showed the social order of capitalism to be no less bloody than a town without law.
email nadum at nadum_tv@comcast.com.
And it's a Biggie.
Read it at your own peril via the New York Post.
email nadum at nadum_tv@comcast.com.
HBO has renewed the freshman series Tell Me You Love Me for a second season. The show, which deals with three different couples in different stages of their relationship, has been underwhelming in the ratings but garnered a good amount of attention over its sexually explicit scenes.
In addition to Love Me, HBO has picked up two pilots, one called 1% and the other Patient 2344. 1% is scripted by Oscar winner Michael Tolkin and deals with the world of biker gangs. Patient 2344 is set in a futuristic medical institute. Patient will be produced by another Oscar winner, Robert Zemeckis.
Though both projects have the Oscar muscle behind them, their uninspiring premises lead one to wonder how long HBO can ride its past accomplishments before its forced to prove out.
Contrast to the days of Chris Albrecht, when The Sopranos was in its prime, running alongside fresh series like The Wire, Deadwood, Da Ali G Show, Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and it's amazing to think Tell Me You Love Me would ever air, yet alone get two seasons.
Second to The Comeback it's the worst scripted series ever to air on HBO. The characters and their dysfunctional relationships are so loathsome and annoying I found myself wishing the bubonic plague upon them. Add that to the mind numbingly repetitive and uninspiring storylines and you've got yourself a show not even the most graphic of sexual content can save.
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» Watch the second to last episode of Jericho's first season
That I'm so often required to deliver unsavory news; good shows getting canceled, bad shows getting picked up, etc., makes it all the more special when something like this rolls around.
James Hibberd of TV Week has a great article on the time-table for Jericho's return. I'm a late arrival to the bandwagon, but news that the show might be back as early as next month has me jumping for joy.
Jericho has already wrapped up the seven-episode second season, putting it on deck to replace the first canceled CBS series. Between the floundering Kid Nation, Cane's second week ratings drop and the paranormally bad Moonlight, the prospects of a quick return are promising.
If CBS is smart, they won't wait to pull the plug on a floundering show and get Jericho in there. Given the performance of serialized series after long hiatuses, there's concern that viewers could lose interest if they're forced to wait too long.
With the show's cult audience and the recent DVD release (we'll have a review up soon) it's pretty unlikely anyone is going to forget about Jericho. In fact, the real danger is very much the opposite.
A fan base with a strong enough internet presence to coordinate a campaign that sent tens of thousands of pounds of nuts to CBS are obviously coordinated and resourceful. The real question becomes, how long can CBS sit on seven finished episodes before they end up on the internet?
Here's hoping we don't have to find out.
email nadum at nadum_tv@comcast.com
It's been a long time coming, but this bit of news marks the day that Showtime became the top dog in the world of television.
Tim Robbins has signed onto write and direct an hour-long drama titled Possible Side Effects. The show centers on a family that runs a pharmaceutical company. Compare this to yesterday's news about HBO signing Michael Tolkin to do a show about biker gangs and Wire or not, I can't ignore the shift in power.
email nadum at nadum_tv@comcast.com
If there are two busier men in America than J.J. Abrams and Peter Liguori, I'd like to meet them.
Marking yet another pick-up for Peter Liguori and Kevin Reilly, today Fox announced that they'd made a series commitment to the J.J. Abrams sci-fi, Fringe. The series is "part X-Files, part Altered States, part Scanners with a slight Twilight Zone vibe," and will shoot a two-hour long pilot with a budget upward of $10 million.
Just yesterday we reported that Abrams had signed onto do an hour long comedy with Six Feet Under writer Jill Soloway titled Boundaries.
Meanwhile, less than 10 days ago, Liguori announced a new Ryan Murphy project titled Queen B.
email nadum at nadum_tv@comcast.com
NBC's decision to move the ratings-challenged Friday Night Lights to Friday nights may well have saved the critically acclaimed cult hit. Despite shifting to what's considered to be a dead slot for networks, Lights not only held onto all of last season's viewers but managed to make a slight gain from the season finale.
With 6.48 million tuning in, Lights came in second in total viewers for the time slot and tied for first in the key 18-49 demo with a 2.2/7. Lights' main competitor for the night, CBS' Moonlight drew 8.25 million viewers with a 2.2/7 among 18-49's.
While both season and series premiere numbers are generally inflated, given the critical drubbing that Moonlight has taken and the devotion of Friday Night's fan base, next week's numbers should see the gap decrease.
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» Watch Danny Bonaduce and Jonny Fairplay In All Their Glory
There are a lot of great viral videos* out there, but the Danny Bonaduce/Jonny Fairplay vid is going down in history. In a culture where celebrity snafus have a minuscule shelf life, this is one that won't be soon forgotten. It's the perfect storm, with two of the most hilarious people in all of entertainment.
You have Jonny Fairplay who, in addition to being one of the most despised Reality TV figures since Puck, also moonlights as a wrestler. His two year stint with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) resulted in this gem of a video where he gets tossed out of the ring by Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher.
Enter crazy-ass Danny Bonaduce, whose claim to fame is The Partridge Family.
Since his days as Danny Partridge, he's fallen to drink (he's in recovery) and paved the way for insane child-stars everywhere. He's beaten up a transvestite prostitute after a misunderstanding over gender and payment for 'services rendered.' He's suggested that Rosie O'Donnell be strung up for treason (so long as the rope was thick enough). He's suggested Jane Fonda be shot for treason (he really doesn't like treason). And now, he's dumped poor Jonny on his head.
Honestly, is there a better duo in America? Could two crazier people meet in a crazier setting under a crazier set of circumstances?
Jonny Fairplay is completely lit, visibly hurt that he's getting booed at the Fox Reality TV Awards (where they employ the tried-and-true strategy of getting people black-out drunk and seeing what happens). Next thing you know, Danny Bonaduce taps Fairplay on the shoulder and calmly informs him the crowd is booing him is because "they hate [him]." Now everyone reacts to public humiliation differently. But Fairplay inexplicably decides that rather than make fun of Bonaduce for beating up a transvestite over $40 -- or simply walking off the stage, the best course of action is to jump on Bonaduce and start humping him.
At this point, anyone with a love of pop-culture and a healthy sense of humor would already be adding the clip to their 'YouTube' favorites. But it only gets better. Rather than discard Fairplay through traditional methods (pushing, shoving, punching, etc.), Bonaduce has the mental wherewithal to lift Fairplay over his head and throw him over his back -- without ever dropping his jacket. Watch the video. Bonaduce has a black jacket in his left hand during the entire thing. It's uncanny.
Fairplay takes a ridiculous spill (knocking out his teeth), drops his mic and runs back stage. Amazingly, absolutely no one shows up to do anything. No security, no police, no medics, no producers, no agents, no managers. Nothing.
To ensure his spot in the 'viral video' hall of fame, Bonaduce spends about 20 seconds playing to the crowd, completely unfazed by anything that just happened. The man could have just as easily been accepting an award as taking credit for hurting a reviled celebrity.
Or celebrating his entry into the hearts and minds of internet users everywhere.
*A viral video is a video that gains huge popularity via the internet, generally through YouTube.
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» Watch the All New Trailer for Futurama: Bender's Big Score
As the wait for Futurama film Bender's Big Score winds down, the excitement is reaching critical levels. Fans haven't had their Futurama fix since the series was canceled in 2003 and it's been too long.
As a holdover until the November 27th release date, check out this hilarious preview. The beginning of this was available after Comic-Con, but there's tons of new footage, each frame better than the last.
email nadum at nadum_tv@comcast.com
God bless Judd Apatow. The creator of television classics Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, both of which were canceled after only a season, has made many a suit feel foolish with his recent success.
The hottest writer in comedy, Superbad, 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up have all been huge critical hits and moneymakers, proving what many already knew -- Judd Apatow is a creative genius.
Turns out one suit in particular has more egg on his face than others. Last Sunday at the New Yorker Festival, Apatow took the time to put the particular network exec on blast (though not by name). Apatow said that it was the same suit who canceled both shows after changing networks (from NBC to Fox). Apatow, knowing the axe was going to fall on Undeclared, wrote him a preemptive note:
"I don't understand how you can [f---] me in the [a--] when your [d---] is still in me from last time."
Seeing as he drove away one of the brightest minds in the industry, we can only hope that executive is long gone the world of television.
For some Prison Break fans, last night's death (via decapitation) of Michael's main squeeze Sara Tencredi may have come as a bit of a shocker. But given that Sarah Wayne Callies' contract hadn't been picked up, the question for those following the story was only a matter of how and when.
In an exclusive interview with TV Guide, Prison Break executive producer Matt Olmstead finally shed some light on what exactly happened with Callies. Contrary to rumors, it had nothing to do with personality clashes or behind the scenes drama. The writers simply made a creative decision to kill Sara's character, believing her death to be the only way to move the story forward.
Rather than pick her up for a full 22-episodes, Fox let her contract expire and attempted to renegotiate. Collins, who was pregnant at the time, opted not to go that route, thus making any scenes prior to her death impossible.
That it was Sara's death that caused the contract dispute, not the contract dispute that led to Sara's death is extremely reassuring for the show's fans. In a business where writers are scared to kill off characters in fear of angering their fanbase, it's refreshing to see a story take precedent over popularity.
Through two and a half seasons, Michael Scofield and company's motivation has been survival. With Sara's death, we'll soon learn that turnabout is fair play. We've seen bad-ass Michael, but we've never seen a Michael hell bent on revenge at any cost. It should be interesting.
Here's hoping the world of biker gangs is as interesting as network executives seem to think. Not a week after news that HBO picked up Michael Tolkins new biker show 1%, FX has signed for Forever Sam Crow, a new series from Kurt Sutter, writer/producer of The Shield. Sam Crow will also take place in the world of bikers, focusing on a member of a motorcycle club who struggles to balance his responsibilities as a family man and his love of biking.
I didn't like the premise when HBO announced 1% and I don't like the premise for Sam Crow. Not having a clue or interest in the motorcycle scene, I'm obviously prejudiced, but after talking to a number of HBO subscribers and FX loyalists, I'm not in the minority.
He can save the world in 24 hours, but can Kiefer Sutherland jail for 48 days? Sutherland, who was on probation for a 2004 DUI at the time of his September 25th arrest for driving under the influence has reached a plea agreement with the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office. Per the agreement Sutherland will serve 30 days for his DUI and 18 days for his probation violation.
I spoke to Lawrence Taylor, one of the nation's most prominent DUI attorneys and author of duiblog.com today and he informed me the sentence was right on target with what was expected. He did, however, bring to my attention an added wrinkle that makes the case more interesting than your standard celebrity DUI.
The original judge, Michael T. Sauer, who presided over the Paris Hilton trial and ordered her back to jail after her early release resulted in a public outcry, is currently on vacation. Employing a clever legal strategy, Sutherland's attorney's quickly plead no contest, hoping to be sentenced prior to Sauer's return.
As a result, the plea agreement will be subject to Sauer's interim replacement, Stuart M. Rice's approval, avoiding any of the complications that could arise from the second high profile DUI case under Sauer's. The only obstacle could be if Rice decides he wants to avoid the case and continues the case to a date after Sauer's return, ridding himself of a surefire media storm.
Sentencing is set for December 21st in Los Angeles Superior Court. If the agreement is rejected, Sutherland could face up to one year in jail.
Seems as though The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office are fans of Jack Bauer's heroic efforts on 24. As was reported yesterday, Kiefer Sutherland will serve 48 days in jail per the proposed plea agreement stemming from his September 25th arrest for driving under the influence.
Thanks to television taking precedent over law and order, fans of 24 need not worry that the sentence will interfere with the production of season seven. Rather than a serve his 48 days consecutively, the agreement calls for Sutherland to serve the 18 days for his probation violation starting December 21st to coincide with the Chris Break and his 30 days for the DUI to be completed by July 1st, well after production is finished.
Upon hearing the news, terrorist cells all over the world expressed outrage over what they perceived to be preferential treatment. The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office did not comment, claiming it's not their policy to respond to the concerns of fictitious characters.
Entertainment Weekly has reported that Jorja Fox is bidding farewell to CSI. The 39 year old actress, whose character Sara Sidle is synonymous with the wildly successful CBS drama, no longer wants the grind of a weekly television series. Fox's departure has nothing to do with contract disputes, only a desire to pursue other aspirations.
"There are all these things I want to do. Some are personal. Some are professional. And I really need to do some of them before I get too old. If I thought the show were on its last legs, I would have tried harder to stay the course. But I feel like its going to be around for a while, so if I don’t want some of those dreams to pass me by. I have to get off the ride for a while."
While the majority of CSI fans have expressed disappointment, given the nature of the forensics procedural, it's unlikely Fox's departure will impact the show's ratings in any significant way.
"It's clear that the voters are desperate for a white, male, middle-aged, Jesus-trumpeting alternative." -Stephen Colbert
Indecision 2008, Comedy Central's slogan for their election coverage, has reached an early resolution. Stephen Colbert, host of the satirical political talk-show The Colbert Report, has declared his intention to run for President of the United States.
Colbert, who hosts his show as a highly exaggerated right-wing pundit, rarely breaks character and authored a new book titled 'I Am America (And So Can You!),' in which he chronicles the fictionalized life-story of his character. The book was released on October 9th and has become an instant bestseller.
The campaign is not without a few eccentricities. Colbert plans to file both as a Democrat and a Republican, citing the impossibility of losing twice and plans only to run in his home-state of South Carolina.
Particularly comical was the manner in which Colbert announced his candidacy. While appearing on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart (Colbert and Stewart work on the show together and remain very close friends), Colbert hinted that he was ready to throw his hat into the ring, but needed a more prestigious platform to do so. That platform came only a few minutes later on his own show.
In a manner of speaking