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PBS Unveils Broad Slate of Upcoming Shows

The breadth and depth of PBS’s upcoming programming was vividly demonstrated during its two-day portion of the Television Critics Association summer press tour last week at the Beverly Hilton hotel. Public television viewers can expect to see everything from explorations…

Jul 30, 2018

Ryan Murphy Says He’s Through With Pushing the Envelope

There were a few light moments as Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow interviewed prolific television creator Ryan Murphy on stage at the Beverly Hilton’s International Ballroom at the Hollywood Radio & Television Society’s Newsmaker Luncheon Wednesday. But the hour-long conversation…

Jul 20, 2018

How Comedy Makes History

There are many time-honored traditions when it comes to making people laugh and a host of them were explored in the first season of “The History of Comedy,” a nine-part docuseries that wrapped in August 2017. With an almost limitless…

Jul 13, 2018

Is Billy Bob Thornton Really ‘Goliath’s’ Billy McBride? The Actor Takes Us Inside the Character

When audiences last saw Billy Bob Thornton’s character Billy McBride at the conclusion of the first season of Amazon’s “Goliath,” the lawyer was sitting pretty as a result of a large settlement he won in a hard-fought court battle against…

Jun 15, 2018

Actress Recognized as Something of a Real-Life Superhero

Actress Brie Larson, soon to star as Captain Marvel, is reaching real-life superhero status after receiving one of the top honors at Women In Film’s 2018 Crystal + Lucy Awards. In ceremonies Wednesday night at the Beverly Hilton’s International Ballroom,…

Jun 14, 2018

Two ‘SNL’ Veterans Reunite for a Raucous — and Maybe a Bit Raunchy — Writers Guild Session

‘Tis this season for TV show panels and receptions, whether they are officially billed as FYC events or not. Yet an event Wednesday night, sponsored by the Writers Guild Foundation at the WGA Theater in Beverly Hills, was unlike any…

Jun 8, 2018

Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys Offer Their Take on Wednesday’s Series Finale of ‘The Americans’

“Hey now, hey now, don’t dream it’s over.” The haunting lyrics from that hit 1986 song by Crowded House played during the opening montage of the first episode of Season 6 of “The Americans” earlier this spring. And now, comrades,…

May 31, 2018

Against a Backdrop of Impending Mergers … a Look Back at the Major Network Upfronts

The dust is still settling from last week’s series of major network presentations for the 2018 TV upfronts. Despite the uncertainty in the air about potential mergers between CBS and Viacom, AT&T and Time Warner and even Disney and Fox…

May 25, 2018

Like President Trump, Tom Brokaw Attacks the Media Messenger

NBC News’ special correspondent Tom Brokaw’s now public email of April 27th ferociously attacked former NBC News correspondent Linda Vester’s account of several encounters they had. Vester, 52, in the pages of both the Washington Post and Variety the day…

May 2, 2018

It’s Become an Awards Magnet and Hulu’s Signature Series — Here’s What One of the Show’s Stars Revealed About ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’

It was a big night for Hulu Wednesday as the streamer dropped the first two episodes of Season 2 of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” its acclaimed drama series based on Margaret Atwood’s best-selling 1985 dystopian novel of the same name. The…

Apr 26, 2018