Tag Archives: TV reminder

TV reminder: ‘South Park’ season 16 premieres tonight!

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They’ve made it this far. South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have completed (or are probably still in the process of completing) the 224th episode of the crude animated series to air on Comedy Central. The episode to kick off season 16 is titled “Reverse Cowgirl” and the log line goes something like this:

After a South Park citizen meets with an unfortunate accident, the TSA steps in to prevent it from happening again… One of the boys had been told time and time again about leaving the toilet seat up after he goes to the bathroom, but he didnt listen. His actions have consequences and ultimately result in an unimaginable catastrophe.

Embedded above is a thirty second preview featuring the one and only Randy Marsh. Might this be a Randy-centric episode? If so, it’s got classic South Park written all over it.

South Park premieres tonight (3/14) at 10PM on Comedy Central. The show will continue to air Wednesday nights at 10 for an additional six weeks, and then take its usual extended hiatus and return with the second half of the season in October.

TV reminder: ‘Awake’ premieres tonight at 10PM on NBC

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From creator Kyle Killen (Lone Star) and executive producer Howard Gordon (24) comes an inventive new series starring Jason Issacs (Lucius Malfoy from the Harry Potter films) as Michael Britten, a detective who lives a double life in two separate realities. In tonight’s pilot episode, Britten will survive a tragic car accident while his wife played by Laura Allen (Terriers) and son Dylan Minnette (Lost) will go on to distinctly define the alternate realities Britten experiences after the crash.

If this sounds confusing to you, after you watch the pilot things should become clearer. Recently at the Winter TCAs Gordon casually explained the concept: “[Britten]’s a guy who goes to sleep, wakes up, he’s with his wife, goes to sleep, wakes up, and he’s with his son. And he’s a cop who sees clues and details that crossover from one world to the next, and he uses that insight to solve crimes.” There you go. In each reality Britten has a different partner–Steve Harris (The Practice) in one and Wilmer Valderrama (That ’70s Show) in the other; and he also sits down with a therapist in each reality (Cherry Jones, 24 & BD Wong, Law & Order: SVU) to deal with the ramifications of his dual existence.

Killen has confirmed that the show will not be taking the easy way out and wrap up by saying “it was all a dream.” One (or potentially both, or neither?) of these realities is in fact real and over the course of the series the mystery behind that pivotal car crash will reveal itself.

I say take a chance and tune into the series premiere of Awake that airs tonight (3/1) at 10PM on NBC.

TV reminder: ‘The Walking Dead’ returns tonight at 9PM on AMC [Update: record ratings]

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A friendly reminder: The Walking Dead returns from its extended hiatus tonight at 9PM on AMC. Refer to this previous post for a sneak peek at the midseason premiere episode “Nebraska.” Six episodes will run uninterrupted through March 18. Peer in the gallery below to view a handful of new stills. Also returning tonight is the Walking Dead after-show Taking Dead hosted by Chris Hardwick. Tonight’s guests are showrunner Glen Mazzara and musician Dave Navarro.

Update: The ratings are in and The Walking Dead has done it again. The midseason premiere hit series highs in all major categories: it attracted 8.1 million total viewers, 5.4 million in the adults 18-49 demo, and 4.4 million in adults 25-54. These are record-breaking figures; they managed to beat out the previous record holder–the season 2 premiere of The Walking Dead. The midseason premiere was up 12% and 6% in the two aforementioned demos, respectively. As far as AMC is concerned, this show will remain on the air for much of the foreseeable future. Dead heads, rejoice.

[Images via IGN]

TV reminder: ‘Touch’ preview event airs tonight on FOX [Update: solid ratings]

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Tonight FOX is airing the pilot episode of Tim Kring’s new drama Touch ahead of the show’s official March 19 premiere. Kiefer Sutherland (24) stars as Martin Bohm, a man who is estranged from his autistic son. In Touch, the Heroes creator tells an emotionally and spiritually uplifting story about a mute child who communicates with numbers and discovers patterns that connect seemingly unrelated events around the world. Though the show will take place in a myriad of locales and touch the lives of strangers, at the heart of this series is the relationship between Sutherland’s character and his gifted son. Watch the extended trailer once and you should immediately start anticipating tonight’s one-hour preview event. And then the wait until March will become all the more unbearable.

Touch airs tonight at 9PM on FOX.

Update: The ratings are in and it turns out many people were touched by Sutherland’s new show last night. The Touch pilot attracted 11.9 million viewers and scored a 3.9/10 among adults 18-49. This makes it the second highest rated new drama series this TV season. (ABC’s Once Upon a Time premiere still remains the highest rated drama series this season so far: 12.8 million viewers, 4.0 demo rating among the 18-49 crowd.) This bodes extremely well for Kring’s latest. People are positively buzzing about the show, and anticipation is high for the spring premiere. Did Touch grip you last night? Spill your thoughts in the comments section below.

‘FRINGE’ returns with all-new episodes tonight at 9PM on FOX

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After an extended hiatus, Fringe returns with all-new episodes and Peter’s journey back to our (er, his) timeline starts tonight in the episode titled “Back To Where You’ve Never Been.” Ooh, now doesn’t that titillate the senses?

“Not everything is as it seems” teases Walternate in the clue-ridden video embedded above.

Tick tock. Fringe airs Fridays at 9PM on FOX.

TV reminder: ‘Beavis and Butt-Head’ return tonight at 10PM on MTV

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The wait is over. Beavis and Butt-Head, the snarky animated comedy from Mike Judge (King of the Hill) which originally ran from 1993-1997, returns to the airwaves tonight. It was back in July 2010 when Judge expressed interest in bringing the cult series back to MTV. One year later at Comic Con he had multiple episodes completed and was ready to unveil Beavis and Butt-Head 2.0 to hundreds of fans. I happened to be in attendance when Judge screened scenes from upcoming episodes and you can read my reactions here. I had concluded that watching this series again today is nostalgically enjoyable and it happens to be quite refreshing. B & B is known for its ability to satirize and ridicule music videos. When they return, the delinquent teens will also attack the slew of horrible reality shows that surfaced during their time of absence, including The Jersey Shore and 16 and Pregnant. What’s great is that just like the music videos of the past, MTV is allowing Judge to play with the network’s own reality programming. You can expect the couch scenes and the original stories that take place away from the boys’ TV screen (Cornholio is back!) to be wholly satisfying and amusing. Beavis and Butt-Head return tonight (10/27) at 10PM on MTV. Watch a trailer after the break. Continue reading TV reminder: ‘Beavis and Butt-Head’ return tonight at 10PM on MTV →

TV reminder: ‘Once Upon a Time’ premieres tonight at 8PM on ABC

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The imaginative new show from Lost scribes Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis premieres tonight at 8PM on ABC. Once Upon a Time takes place in Storybrooke, Maine, a magical place that appears normal at first glance but when examined a bit more closely it actually is home to a myriad of fairytale characters who lead ordinary lives and have forgotten their true identities. Emma Swan (House‘s Jennifer Morrison) is the show’s protagonist, and her son Henry (Jared Gilmore) is the one who draws her to the mysterious Storybrooke in an attempt to find answers and ultimately lift the Evil Queen’s (Lana Parilla) amnesic cruse. Sounds like fun to me. Once also stars Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White, Joshua Dallas as Prince Charming, and Robert Carlyle as Rumpelstiltskin. Lost fans, pay close attention during tonight’s pilot; Horowitz and Kitsis have made it known that the episode contains numerous references to their old show. For example, the giant clock in Storybrooke is frozen in time at precisely 8:15. See what else you can find. Character stills and pictures from the pilot hang in the galleries below.

Bonus! Can’t wait a minute longer to watch? IMDb is streaming the episode right here, right now!

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[Images via IGN]

TV reminder: ‘The Walking Dead’ returns tonight at 9PM on AMC [Update: The ratings are in…]

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Rick Grimes and company return tonight in the season 2 premiere of AMC’s The Walking Dead. There’s a new showrunner in town (season 1 producer Glenn Mazzara has replaced Frank Darabont at the top), but you can expect the epic storytelling and zombie-infested thrills to absolutely remain in tact. If the season 2 trailer that debuted at Comic Con has anything to say, it’s that this time around every aspect of this amazing show is only going to get better. The creative team led by Darabont and comic book originator Robert Kirkman quickly found their footing in the premiere season, introducing the wide range of characters with precision, emotional impact, and top notch storytelling. This time around AMC is allotting the show 13 episodes; if you were wowed by all that went down in season 1 (which contained a 6-episode story arc), we can only imagine what they are going to do with over double the amount of time. After eyeballing the season 2 poster (which rivals the season 1 poster in how awesome it is), it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the survivors will reach Hershel’s farm, an important stop on their journey to salvation as the readers of the comics already know. As a personal aside, I really hope that Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) returns as The Governor!

The Walking Dead returns tonight at 9PM on AMC in an expanded 90-minute episode. FYI, the season will be split in two. Seven episodes will air consecutively this fall and then the show will go on an extended hiatus starting November 4. The remaining six episodes will air beginning February 12 in the new year. Lastly, don’t forget to watch Talking Dead, a live half-hour after-show hosted by Chris Hardwick that will air immediately follow each episode and recap and discuss it. Sunday night is about to become the best time of the week.

Gallery 1 contains shiny character profiles; in the one below that you’ll find stills from the premiere ep “What Lies Ahead.”

Update: The Walking Dead season 2 premiere scared up quite the audience. Check out these record-breaking numbers for a cable program: the premiere at 9PM drew 7.3 million total viewers and 4.8 million viewers in the coveted 18-49 demographic. Compared to last year’s pilot, that’s up 38 percent in total viewers (last year: 5.3 million), 36 percent in 18-49 (3.6 million), and 35 percent in 25-54 (3.1 million). And if you factor in the two encore presentations that followed at 10:30PM and 12:30AM, a grand total of 11 million tuned into the season 2 opener. This marks a series high for AMC’s gory staple.

AMC president Charlie Collier shared his excitement over the big ratings. “The Walking Dead is one of those rare television programs that reaches both a core genre fan as well as broad audiences simply looking for a great, character-based story. That The Walking Dead is now the most watched drama in the history of basic cable is staggering, just like our zombies.”

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[Images via IGN; Deadline]

TV reminder: ‘Bored to Death’ returns tonight at 9PM on HBO

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This post marks the end of the This week in NEW TV installments. Over the course of the next three weeks, three new shows (2 returning and 1 new) will premiere. It begins with…

HBO’s Bored to Death returns tonight for its third season at 9PM. Have you been missing author-turned-P.I. Jonathan Ames, his best friend Ray Hueston, and his boss George Christopher in your life? Well tonight white wine lover Jason Schwartzman, pot smoking Zach Galifianakis, and the versatile, sex-driven Ted Danson (he now stars in this show and CSI) are back in the season three premiere entitled “The Blonde in the Woods.” That happens to be the name of Jonathan’s new book. Also happening in the premiere: Ray hangs out with his sperm donation and George reunites with his daughter. If you’re not watching this show you should be; it’s a riot. Check out stills from tonight’s episode in the gallery below.

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[Images via IGN]

‘South Park’ docu goes behind-the-scenes with creators Parker & Stone

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Tonight (10/9) Comedy Central is airing a South Park documentary called “6 Days to Air: the making of South Park.” Show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone allowed documentarian Arthur Bradford to sneak a peek behind the scenes at the making of a full 22-minute episode. The doc was shot over the course of three months at the South Park Studios in Los Angeles. According to the press release, “Viewers will get a look at Parker and Stone’s thought process as they approach a new episode and the 24/7 grind they subject themselves to each time the show is in production. The documentary also includes in-depth interviews with Parker and Stone about their working partnership and reflections on highlights from their careers, such as the making of the original short, “The Spirit of Christmas,” as well as their memorable appearance at the 2000 Oscars when they walked the red carpet in drag.”

“We wanted to make something that would appeal to both the hard-core fans and the casual viewers,” said Bradford. “Trey and Matt are two of the most interesting people I know and the way they make ‘South Park’ is completely fascinating and inspiring.”

Hop after the break to watch Parker and SNL player Bill Hader voice characters from the recent episode “You’re Getting Old” (it’s a riot!) and click here to watch some more previews.

6 Days to Air: the making of South Park airs tonight–that is Sunday October 9 at 10PM on Comedy Central.

[Via SouthParkStudios] Continue reading ‘South Park’ docu goes behind-the-scenes with creators Parker & Stone →

FRINGE FRIDAY returns tonight at 9PM on FOX

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The wait is finally over. Fringe begins its fourth season tonight on FOX. And the question on everybody’s mind is Where is Peter Bishop? Though showrunners J.H. Wyman and Jeff Pinkner would never spoil that for fans, they did talk with the press recently to ramp up excitement for the new season. Here are some choice quotes for you to munch on before things get rolling at 9PM.

Wyman and Pinkner went back and forth reiterating the importance of Peter. Wyman: “Just because he [Peter] doesn’t exist doesn’t mean that those three years we’ve invested all didn’t happen. It did happen. And it will all unfold itself for you to understand what context I’m speaking.” Pinkner: “Look, Peter is part of the DNA of the show. We’ve done some pretty crazy things in the past where people were always like, ‘Well, wait a minute. Why are they doing that? What’s going on?’ Hopefully in season four, people will trust us enough to realize that we are doing things for a reason. To sort of have Fringe without Peter in some way, shape or form is really not Fringe…The show constantly tries to recontectualize your perception of this story…The idea that Peter is gone — and, ultimately, he’s not permanently gone — is an opportunity to recontectualize the story and what we’ve seen again. It’s something we love to play with.”

Wyman explained that the new season will tell a story about “how are these universes going to work together to heal their joint damage now that they have a means to do so…This offered us a good opportunity to…watch how the two Olivias are looking at problems very differently. It goes back to our major theme: Our experiences are who we are.” Standalone Fringe cases will take place in our universe, the alt-universe, and some will overlap in both universes over the course of the season.

The duo went on to give hints about else we can expect from the upcoming season.

  • Pinkner talked about now-series regular Seth Gabel, who plays Lincoln Lee. “We’re kind of in love with the theme of having this guy come in and have to go into a very strange world and [realize] that everything he thought was true is no longer valid. He’s going to have to put back together a psyche that has been sort of fractured by this knowledge that he really shouldn’t have.”  Added Wyman, “He brings us a certain thematic element that we really needed to tell this year. A lot of the things his character will be going through will help us tell our story. One of the themes we’re really interested in getting into this year is the impact we have on each other’s lives. We’re defined by the connections we make, and who we know, and who knows us, and how we define other people.”
  • “There will be returning faces,” Pinkner said. “We hate to spoil things, but there will be characters that you’ll be delighted to see again, hopefully some that you’ll be surprised to see again, and some you may have seen before that come back in a completely different context.”
  • The opening title sequence is a new color: orange! “The significance of the color is simply just to put out the notion that this is the universe without Peter in it.”  “It’s a different chapter,” added Wyman.
  • “Walternate, despite all promises to the contrary, is still a bad guy manipulating things behind the scenes. So that’s another story we’re going to be delving into,” said Wyman.
  • Hope you enjoyed season two’s “Brown Betty” musical and season three’s “LSD” animation trip because Wyman hints there’s another episode coming up “that’s off the beaten track.”
  • Get ready for some super freaky cases this year. Shares Wyman, “We have a slew of really crazy, hopefully thought-provoking, far-out cases that deal with time travel, out-of-control biology, and humans who either for very understandable and sometimes not so understandable reasons, are messing with the rules of nature and the rules of physics. This year…more than any other year, we have some mind-blowing standalone stories. Because ‘over there’ is so messed up, and over here is a little suspicious as well right now, it gives us carte blanche to push our imaginations to the hilt and see some really cool things realized.”

And there you have it. Fringe season four is ready to fire on all cylinders. Before it begins, take the time to watch FOX’s 12-part recap series “Past + Present + Future” on YouTube. Whether you’re new to the series or just want to brush up on everything Fringe, these collection of videos will take you on an exciting journey spanning all three seasons of the fantastic sci-fi series. Prepare for your mind to be blown.

Bonus! Look after the break to learn about the brand new DC Comic based on the show Beyond the Fringe.

[Via EW; TVLine] Continue reading FRINGE FRIDAY returns tonight at 9PM on FOX →

TV Reminder: ‘Party Down’ cast reunites tonight on ‘Childrens Hospital’ [Update: clip inside]

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So get this. Tonight on Adult Swim’s Childrens Hospital the Party Down catering service will reunite! Just because the insanely underrated, ill-fated Starz comedy Party Down was cancelled after a two-season run in 2010, that doesn’t mean the gang can’t get back together again. If you watch the irreverent comedy from Rob Corddry then you should know that the show stars two Party Down members–Ken Marino and Megan Mullally. In tonight’s episode Ron Donald and Lydia Dunfree will be joined by fellow caterers Lizzy Caplan, Martin Starr, and Ryan Hansen. Unfortunately, pending any surprises, Adam Scott and Jane Lynch will not be on hand for the scene. Dr. Glenn Richie (Marino) is celebrating his Bar Mizvah and the Party Down crew show up to cater it.

In an interview with EW, Marino shared his initial excitement on shooting day. “I couldn’t believe all the Party Down actors showed up!” he said. “I love the guy who plays Ron. He came in. He was kind of a d—, actually, in real life.” Funny man! He continued, “We had so much fun doing that little scene. And then we were like, goddammit, why is this show not happening anymore?” He went on to describe his hair dilemma. “We had to try to fake my Ron Donald haircut because I had my Glenn Richie haircut,” he said. “It was too long and looked a little ridiculous.”

Childrens Hospital airs Thursday nights at midnight on Adult Swim.

Update: In case you missed it or want to watch it again, jump after the break for the 35-second Party Down cameo. They ended up sticking it all the way at the end between the credits. But boy was it sweet. Continue reading TV Reminder: ‘Party Down’ cast reunites tonight on ‘Childrens Hospital’ [Update: clip inside] →