Oh great, now people searching for "masturbating bear" will find this site.
Rumors are swirling that NBC and Conan are either making a deal right now or have already made a deal so he can leave NBC and go somewhere else (and Leno can take over The Tonight Show again). And now The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that NBC is going to keep some of the characters and sketches that Conan has used on his two shows over the years because they are the intellectual property of the network, including the Masturbating Bear, Pimpbot, Conando, and even the popular In The Year 3000 bit. No word yet on who owns Triumph The Insult Comic Dog. Wow, wouldn't it be horrible if somehow NBC owned him?
Something tells me that even if NBC says Conan can't take these things, he and his writers will have no problem coming up with more characters and sketches. How about The Masturbating NBC Exec?
While promoting his new, self-titled animated HBO show based on his podcasts, Ricky Gervais hinted that his boss character of David Brent may make an appearance on the American version of The Office. Gervais and his writing partner and co-creator Stephen Merchant have already been associated with the show, having written two episodes, including the pilot.
Can you imagine the sort of repartee between Michael Scott and David Brent? Would they be friends? Would they be enemies? Does anybody remember the bit from the Emmy Awards in 2008 when Gervais demanded he be given Carell's Emmy? I'm not even watching it right now and that bit still has me laughing hysterically.
Sure, NBC doesn't need the promotion right now what with the late night controversies going on, but soon Conan will be gone and Jay will take back The Tonight Show. They'll need a new event to get people excited about something on their network and this could be it (well, I don't know about everyone else but at least I'd be excited).
During ABC's portion of the press tour (which feels like a month ago already), the network had its Wednesday night comedy showrunners on for a panel. Surpisingly, Bill Lawrence actually let Steven Levitan of Modern Family and Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline of The Middle speak for a good portion of the time, though he had a few things to say himself, not the least of which was that Conan's letter saying no to 12:05 on NBC was a "ballsy" move.
You knew I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to speak to Bill while he was there, especially with Cougar Town getting picked up for a second season and the new Scrubs trying to find its way after a shaky start. The conversation we had is after the jump.
(Oh, and it's always amazing to me that I can talk to Lawrence for maybe 15 minutes, cut out 3500 words, and still have 2500 words left. The man can talk a blue streak.)
Yesterday, Nick told you about Ricky Gervais' plans for his Golden Globe hosting stint on Sunday, as well as some details about his new HBO show The Ricky Gervais Show. Just as a reminder, the HBO show is an animated version of his wildly popular podcast, staring Gervais, Merchant, and the dunderheaded Karl Pilkington.
Gervais' answers about the show and the Globes during his TCA session on Thursday were largely similar to what he told Nick during the conference call earlier in the month. But I just loved his infectious laugh when he was talking about Karl. He wants to make Karl famous just to tick the shy guy off, and because the show is being taken from the existing podcast recordings, the version of Karl you hear is the unvarnished one.
So, at the end of the reporters' scrum, I asked Gervais what Pilkinton-ism makes him laugh the hardest. He and Merchant had some pretty funny responses:
Today was a big day on The Young and the Restless. It wasn't just that Fridays are always big for story revelations -- and there were some doozies today! -- it was the return to the show of one of the biggest stars in the business. Eric Braeden, as his alter ego Victor Newman, made a dramatic entrance just as his two sons were beating the crap out of each other in Victor's office. In typical Victor fashion, Braeden strode into the office and growled, "What the hell is going on here?"
Ironically, Y&R fans were saying the same thing a few months back when Braeden quit the show after a contract dispute. Instead of remaining quiet, the fans spoke out and according to Braeden, there were two major influences that got him back. One was Les Moonves, the president and CEO of CBS Corporation.
(S02E12) The problem with prequels (and with regards to Dollhouse, I consider everything that happened before "Epitaph One" and "Epitaph Two" a prequel) is that you know how things are going to turn out. This somewhat ruins any sense of surprise one might get from any revelations of the program.
Granted, it was a decent stopping point for the show. All the dangling plot-lines were resolved and if we weren't aware of the two "Epitaph" episodes, we'd all drink our collective Slurpees and let out a sigh of relief knowing that Dollhouse ended on an emotionally satisfying note.
TWO WEEKS until the next episode? Come on, Fox. What's up with that?
It's full-speed ahead for George Clooney's aid event for survivors of the massive earthquakes in Haiti as eleven networks signed on to air the event with the ongoing possibility of more coming aboard.
Currently, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1, CMT, CNN International, National Geographic and MTV are aboard to air the event live. It will air at 8 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. PT, January 22.
Clooney will host from Los Angeles, and Haitian music star Wyclef Jean will take the mike from New York as co-host. CNN's Andersoon Cooper will offer special live reports from on the ground from the ground in devastated country.
I'm in Pasadena for the TCA press tour, and it's been one of the most news-packed tours in years. This week, Jason Hughes and Danny Gallagher join me to talk about what's going on in the TV world:
The Late Night Wars, 2010 edition, as we talk about Leno being pulled from 10:00, Conan's "hell no, I won't go to 12:05" letter, and more.
We discuss Simon Cowell's departure from American Idol and what that means for the show and his new show, The X Factor.
We talk about being at the TCAs, and some of the fun (and not so fun) things I've been doing here, and other news that has come out of the press tour.
Oh great, now people searching for "masturbating bear" will find this site.
While promoting his new, self-titled animated HBO show based on his podcasts, Ricky Gervais hinted that his boss character of David Brent 
Food Network has a Chopped marathon all night.
During ABC's portion of the press tour (which feels like a month ago already), the network had its Wednesday night comedy showrunners on for a panel. Surpisingly, Bill Lawrence actually let Steven Levitan of Modern Family and Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline of The Middle speak for a good portion of the time, though he had a few things to say himself, not the least of which was that Conan's letter saying no to 12:05 on NBC was a "ballsy" move.
Yesterday, Nick told you about Ricky Gervais' plans for his Golden Globe hosting stint on Sunday, as well as some details about his new HBO show The Ricky Gervais Show. Just as a reminder, the HBO show is an animated version of 
Today was a big day on The Young and the Restless. It wasn't just that Fridays are always big for story revelations -- and there were some doozies today! -- it was the return to the show of one of the biggest stars in the business. 
(S02E12) The problem with prequels (and with regards to Dollhouse, I consider everything that happened before "Epitaph One" and "Epitaph Two" a prequel) is that you know how things are going to turn out. This somewhat ruins any sense of surprise one might get from any revelations of the program.
It's full-speed ahead for 
I'm in Pasadena for the TCA press tour, and it's been one of the most news-packed tours in years. This week, 
Bill Lawrence on the Cougar Town renewal and Scrubs missteps - TCA Report
The TV Squad Podcast: Leno and Conan, Simon Cowell, TCAs and more
Archer -- An early look
