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MTV’s Video Music Awards: Will This Year’s Ceremony Bring High-Fives … or Back Flips?

Even as the stock market was crashing Monday, Van Toffler’s spirits were heading in the other direction. “This is my favorite week,” he told me by phone from New York, referring to the days leading into the MTV Video Music…

Aug 27, 2015

TCA Press Tour Previews the Best Upcoming TV Shows — Here Are the Highlights

From a reflection of how much the culture has changed in the past year — hello, Season 2 of “Transparent” — to the sci-fi special abilities of “Heroes Reborn,” the second half of the semi-annual Television Critics Association press tour…

Aug 18, 2015

Attention Wall St. Investors: Yes, the Traditional TV Media Climate Is Changing, But the Sky Is Not Falling

Last Friday, Aug. 7, 2015, Mathew Ingram, on the website of Fortune magazine, wrote that investors had spent the previous two days selling-off “TV-related stocks…over fears that the rise of cord-cutting is a bigger problem than they thought.” He added…

Aug 12, 2015

A Roundup of Some of the Most Promising New Cable and Streaming Shows Previewed at TCA

Anyone looking for a showdown at the cable portion of TCA between Michael Lombardo and Chris Albrecht and their respective networks, HBO and Starz, was destined to be “balled out” and possibly have a case of “survivor’s remorse.” During the…

Aug 11, 2015

TCA Awards: Critics Name Outstanding Drama and Comedy, Other Honors

It was a big night for Jon Hamm, Amy Schumer, “The Americans” and “Empire” at the 31st annual TCA Awards held Saturday night at the Beverly Hilton. The non-televised ceremonies were hosted by James Corden of CBS’s “Late Late Show,”…

Aug 10, 2015

Leaving on a High Note — ‘Downton Abbey’ Looks Ahead to the Final Season

The mood in the Beverly Hilton’s International Ballroom was bittersweet as the producers and key cast members of “Downton Abbey” took the stage over the weekend for what was to be their last time at TCA. Series 6, as they…

Aug 4, 2015

Trevor Noah, Jon Stewart’s Replacement as ‘Daily Show’ Host, Opens Up About Racism, the Twitter Controversy … and How He Will Be Different From Stewart

All eyes were on Trevor Noah Tuesday night at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. But it wasn’t the comedian’s average stand-up gig. Noah, who in less than two months will take over the ultra-high-profile job as host of Comedy…

Jul 30, 2015

PBS Special Takes a Timely Look at the Bomb

The producers of PBS’s new special “The Bomb” could not have predicted the current furor over the Iran nuclear deal while they were making their two-hour documentary, whose airing was timed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the detonation…

Jul 27, 2015

A Cult Sensation Returns Tonight

Obviously, Los Angeles was not enough — and neither was New York — because the ravenous sharks are back in Syfy’s “Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!,” premiering tonight. This time, the entire Eastern Seaboard from Washington, D.C., all the way…

Jul 22, 2015

Why Did Whoopi Finally Flip-Flop on Cosby? It’s Certainly Not for the Reason She Gave on “The View” Yesterday

Yesterday, on “The View,” co-host Whoopi Goldberg and Dan Abrams, ABC’s chief legal affairs analyst, engaged in a discussion – lasting just under 10 minutes – about the rape allegations against Bill Cosby, and what legal recourse Cosby’s accusers have….

Jul 15, 2015