Tangled Up In Wires » TV News

How I Met Your Mother Producers: Our Bad

Michael — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:13:40 +0000

Good news How I Met Your Mother Fans,* show creators Cater Bays and Craig Thompson have taken advantage of the CBS Press Tour to not only talk up the show’s upcoming sixth season, but also to more or less apologize for the show’s weak fifth season. Craig Thomas told Vulture, “Season five was a very fun season; we did some of our best episodes… but there wasn’t this larger emotional arc like you had in some past seasons. We wanted to slow down the [narrative] after telling the Robin and Barney relationship, so we opened it up in the middle of the season and did some stand-alone episodes. That meant we didn’t emotionally move the ball down the field as much as we have in past years.” He also told Alan Sepinwall, “I think we write our best catchy, gimmicky episodes while being deep within an arc. And we forgot that.”

It’s pretty good to see them owning up to a really disappointing season for the show, and to be honest, the tidbits they share about the next season has me excited for the show again. Without giving too much away, the two hinted (minor SPOILERS) that Marshall and Lilly will indeed start the process of having a baby, and more importantly, Ted will get a job designing the Goliath National Bank building and start moving closer to meeting The Mother. They’ll also be adding a new storytelling element, according to Bays: “In episode one, we begin a new framework for the show, in addition to the framework that exists, that will cast the mystery in a new light. Also create a new mystery that will expand the universe a bit.”

Intriguing! I’ve saved the best for last though. Thompson made the following pledge: “Can I make a promise? Ted will be absolutely undouchey this year.” I just breathed a sigh of relief. What about all of you? Are you willing to give HIMYM another shot after a rough year?

*Ed. Note: Can we come up with a name for HIMYM fans, in the same vein of Losties, Browncoats, or Gleeks? My leading contender is Suits. Any suggestions?

TUiW Question Featured in Jane Lynch Interview

Michael — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 02:23:12 +0000

We’ll be the first to tell you that TUiW doesn’t quite have media power of New York Magazine’s pop culture blog, Vulture, so naturally, we were surprised to have one of our questions asked to the hilarious Jane Lynch. Those familiar with Vulture know they open up their interviews to their readers, taking questions from the comments section, which is how a question from TUiW ended up in their interview with the Glee actress about her work on the much beloved Party Down:

Tangledupinwires asks: Had Party Down managed another season, would we have seen Constance again? And we’ll add: How do you feel about its cancellation?
It makes me very sad, for several reasons. It’s one of those shows, just by the nature of the premise — catering, where people come and go so much — that they could have mined the improv comedy world of L.A. to come up with another cast of just as fabulous people, I think, to fill in for those who’ve left for fame and fortune.

Make sure you read the whole interview here.

Amy Ryan Returns to Dunder-Mifflin

ulyssesworkman — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 00:29:27 +0000

If next year really is Steve Carrell’s last one on The Office, then at least he’ll be going out with a bang. TV Guide is reporting that Amy Ryan will be coming back to the show for eight episodes next season. For those who do not remember, Ryan (who was also in The Wire and Gone Baby Gone) played HR rep Holly Flax, and her flirtation with Michael was pretty much the last great thing to ever happen on the show. Hopefully Ryan can reignite the show, which has definitely lost a step or two in recent years.

2010 Emmy Nominations Are In

Michael — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:57:38 +0000

Here you go folks, your 2010 Emmy Nominations! A little bit of snap analysis accompanies each category. Sound off on your thoughts in the comments!

Outstanding Drama
Lost
Breaking Bad
Dexter
Mad Men
True Blood
The Good Wife

Who Should Win: Breaking Bad. That show can’t get any better.
Who Will Win: Tough to say really, but I wouldn’t put too much thought into Dexter or True Blood. Lost has a chance because the Emmy’s like to honor shows that have ended, but I think the safe bet is between Breaking Bad and Mad Men.
Who Was Snubbed: Friday Night Lights. Not a big shock, but another great season goes unrewarded.

Outstanding Comedy

Glee
Modern Family
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Nurse Jackie
30 Rock
The Office

Who Should Win: Modern Family. A terrific debut season that made the sentimental family comedy hilarious again.
Who Will Win: Glee or Modern Family. I wouldn’t count out The Office or 30 Rock, since both were nominated for weak seasons, but I think the rookie shows have the edge.
Who Was Snubbed: I’d say Party Down if it had a bigger audience, but I’m going to go with Parks and Recreation. The show turned it around big time and largely got shut out. I’d trade it with The Office in a heartbeat.
Outstanding Actress in a Drama
Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife)
Mariska Hargitay (Special Victims Unit)
Glenn Close (Damages)
Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer)
January Jones (Mad Men)
Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights)

Who Should Win: Connie Britton. Finally nominated for her incredible work on FNL, Tammy Taylor deserves an Emmy.
Who Will Win: I think this one is going to go to either Julianna Margulies or Glenn Close, one for her high profile show and the later for her high profile status.
Who Was Snubbed: Katey Sagel. Sons of Anarchy doesn’t scream “Emmy,” largely because it’s on FX, but Sagel is easily the best part of the show.

Outstanding Actor in a Drama
Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights)
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)
Hugh Laurie (House M.D.)
Michael C. Hall (Dexter)
Matthew Fox (Lost)

Who Should Win: Bryan Cranston. It’s great to see Kyle Chandler get a nod, but Cranston again cannot be topped.
Who Will Win: Cranston. Michael C. Hall won the Golden Globe, but I can’t see Cranston losing the Emmy.
Who Was Snubbed: Bill Paxton, for Big Love. In a season in which Big Love struggled and Bill became less likable, Paxton sold it for all it was worth.

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy
Lea Michele (Glee)
Tina Fey (30 Rock)
Toni Collette (The United States of Tara)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine)
Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie)
Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation)

Who Should Win: Amy Poehler. She was the heart and soul of the revived Parks and Rec, transforming a character in just a season’s time. Definitely would have my vote.
Who Will Win: Tina Fey. The Emmy’s still think 30 Rock is the great show it was in its first two seasons, so I think she’ll take home another statue.
Who Was Snubbed: Lizzie Caplan, for Party Down. Casey got 100x funner in season two, but again, no one watched.

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy
Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm)
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)
Matthew Morrison (Glee)
Steve Carell (The Office)
Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)
Tony Shalhoub (Monk)

Who Should Win: Have to go with Larry David. Curb did it again.
Who Will Win: Really anyone. LD has the best chance, but this category seems wide open.
Who Was Snubbed: Joel McHale for Community. Jeff Winger could have been a boring character without McHale, who more than ably led that show.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy
Chris Colfer (Glee)
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother)
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family)
Jon Cryer (Two and A Half Men)
Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family)
Ty Burrell (Modern Family)

Who Should Win: Oh man. Three Modern Family nods, all deserving, plus NPH, who has yet to win, it’s a tough one to pick!
Who Will Win: NPH. I think this is his year. I wouldn’t be shocked to see anyone win though.
Who Was Snubbed: Chris Pratt for Parks and Rec. Andy is such a moron, but he produced some of the biggest laughs for me, all season long.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy
Jane Lynch (Glee)
Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live)
Jane Krakowski (30 Rock)
Julie Bowen (Modern Family)
Sofia Vergara (Modern Family)
Holland Taylor (Two and A Half Men)

Who Should Win: I loved the Modern Family actresses, but I think Jane Lynch deserves, not just based on Glee, but her many years struggling in relative obscurity.
Who Will Win: Lynch. Everyone loves her, I think she’s a lock.
Who Was Snubbed: Alison Brie, for Community. Brie earned big laughs as bubbly Annie Edison, the former pill addict who somehow is still incredibly naive.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad)
Martin Short (Damages)
Terry O’Quinn (Lost)
Michael Emerson (Lost)
John Slattery (Mad Men)
Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age)

Who Should Win: O’Quinn or Emerson. They were both too good not win. I could also see this as the big category Lost wins.
Who Will Win: Paul has a big chance, but I think the Lost actors are going to get their last hurrah here.
Who Was Snubbed: I know picking another Lost actor seems like overkill, but Jorge Garcia and Nestor Carbonell both turned in some incredibly great performances this season.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama
Sharon Gless (Burn Notice)
Christine Baranski (The Good Wife)
Christina Hendricks (Mad Men)
Rose Byrne (Damages)
Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife)
Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men)

Who Should Win: Elisabeth Moss. A fantastic season for Peggy, that saw her start to come in on her own a little bit more.
Who Will Win: Moss, Hendricks, or Byrne. It’s a three woman race.
Who Was Snubbed: Chloe Sevigny for Big Love. Like Bill Paxton, a great performance in a season with such a weak story.

Reality Competition program
American Idol
Amazing Race
Dancing With The Stars
Project Runway
Top Chef

Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Saturday Night Live
Real Time With Bill Maher
Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien

Who Should Win: Conan. Just because.
Who Will Win: Conan. Just because.
Who Was Snubbed: Letterman. He had a mini resurgence with Jay gone, but alas, Bill Maher gets his spot instead.

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Mike O’Malley (Glee)
Eli Wallach (Nurse Jackie)
Neil Patrick Harris (Glee)
Fred Willard (Modern Family)
Jon Hamm (30 Rock)
Will Arnett (30 Rock)

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
Kristen Chenoweth (Glee)
Jane Lynce (Two and a Half Men)
Christine Baranski (The Big Bang Theory)
Elaine Stritch (30 Rock)
Tina Fey (SNL)
Kathryn Joosten (Desperate Housewives)
Betty White (SNL)

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Robert Morse (Mad Men)
John Lithgow (Dexter)
Gregory Itzin (24)
Beau Bridges (The Closer)
Alan Cumming (The Good Wife)
Ted Danson (Damagaes)
Dylan Baker (The Good Wife)

Who Was Snubbed: Zach Gilford for Friday Night Lights. Even if you’ve never seen the show before, watch the episode “The Son” and then tell me you didn’t cry.

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
Mary Kay Place (Big Love)
Sissy Spacek (Big Love)
Ann-Margret (Law & Order: SVU)
Lilly Tomlin (Damages)
Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost)
Shirley Jones (The Cleaner)

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
The Office (Niagara)
Glee (Pilot)
Modern Family (Pilot)
30 Rock (Anna Howard Shaw Day)
30 Rock (Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter)

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
The Good Wife (Pilot)
Mad Men (Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency)
Mad Men (Shut the Door. Have a Seat.)
Friday Night Lights (The Son)
Lost (The End)

Women of the Daily Show Respond to Sexism Allegations

Michael — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 20:51:52 +0000

A few weeks ago, the New York Times ran a piece on new Daily Show correspondent Oliva Munn which suggested that Munn’s new gig and entire career can all be attributed to the fact that she’s hot. A few days before, Jezebel writer Irin Carmon did an article with several former staffers that exposed the show’s work environment as extremely sexist, with host Jon Stewart at the top of the pyramid, running “The Daily Show with joyless rage,” and firing several female staffers for disliking them. Well today, the “Women of the Daily Show” have posted a response on the show’s website, addressed to “People Who Don’t Work Here,” disputing most of the Jezebel article, for which Comedy Central didn’t allow them to be interviewed. The article is accompanied with a picture and signatures of all the women that work for the Daily Show, as well as a list of things Jon Stewart has supported them through, which includes, “9/11,” “Divorce,” and “Inadequately researched blog posts that cling to a predetermined narrative about sexism at The Daily Show.” This is all pretty interesting, especially with the debates over women in late-night comedy that crop up every year during the Emmys. It’s hard to say women don’t get as much respect in comedy in general when there are so many great female comedians and actresses dominating network television these days (especially on NBC), and I’m guessing if the problem at The Daily Show was as bad as Jezebel makes it out to be, the female staffers wouldn’t have spoken out against it. In several respects, late night comedy is behind when it comes to female talent, however, which is part of what makes this debate so interesting (SNL is the perpetual exception to this rule, especially given the number of stellar female comedians that have come through it). But in either case, both articles definitely make for an interesting read.

Starz Cancels Party Down

Michael — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:48:55 +0000

Damn. In unsurprising but still really disappointing news, Starz has opted not to bring Party Down back for a third season. The show had been on the brink for a while, with very low ratings and with many members of its cast moving to other shows, but it’s still a bummer that it’s over. The show has garnered quite a bit of buzz and critical acclaim this season, and thanks to appearing on Netflix Instant Streaming and On Demand, the show had built up steam that didn’t reflect well enough in the ratings for the network to justify bringing it back. I’m now going to have a moment of silence in honor of Henry, Casey, Ron, Kyle, Roman, Lydia, and Constance.

Steve Carell Confirms He Will Leave The Office After Next Season

Michael — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:37:08 +0000

In April, Steve Carell made waves when he said he planned on leaving The Office after the show’s upcoming seventh season, at the conclusion of his contract. At the premiere of his new movie, Despicable Me, Carell told Entertainment Weekly, “I think [season] 7 will be my last year…I want to fulfill my contract. I think it’s a good time to move on.” Asked if he’d reconsider, Carell answered, “No. I just want to spend more time with my family.” As I opined in the previous piece, this might be the perfect opportunity for The Office to head to sitcom heaven. Carell has always been the central point of the show, even at the height of the Jim-Pam will-they-won’t-they stuff, and without him, I don’t really see the show continuing. The show has definitely declined, and with its stars on the rise, this would be the time to call it quits. Maybe I’m speaking too soon. Would you watch The Office without Michael Scott? Let us know in the comments! Read more on the end of Michael Scott here.

UPDATE: Carell seems to think the show will continue after he’s gone:

“I think it’s just a dynamic change to the show, which could be a good thing, actually. Add some new life and some new energy…I see it as a positive in general for the show…The ensemble is so strong, and the writers are great, so it’s just one part of that ensemble drifting off. They’ve incorporated so many new characters and so many new, great storylines that I have no doubt it’ll continue as strong if not stronger than ever.”

So there you have it. Dunder-Mifflin 4ever.

CBS in Talks With Hulu, TVs to Soon Be Obsolete

Michael — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:42:00 +0000

Hey everyone! Sorry we’ve been a little quiet here at TUiW this week, Jonah and I were locked in an epic 11 hour tennis match. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming:

A little bit of interesting TV news for you this morning with the news that CBS, Viacom, and Time Warner are in talks with Hulu to add programming to a long rumored subscription service on the website. The proposed subscription service, which c could start testing as early as this month, would be available for $10 a month, and would reportedly supplement the free content on the website, giving subscribers access to old episodes, presumably without ads. Subscribers would also be able to watch Hulu though an iPad app. CBS shows have previously not been available on Hulu, instead appearing on the unreliable and poorly run CBS website. Hulu is a joint venture between NBC, ABC, and Fox, but the site was once home to Viacom’s The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. When both were taken off the site in April, Hulu’s viewers left as well. With the possible addition of CBS, the site would have programming from all four networks, as well as several basic cable channels. Should Time Warner and Viacom join as well, many of the popular cable shows from TNT, TBS, MTV, and Comedy Central could be featured on the site

I think it’s easy to scoff at the idea of paying for shows available for free on network television, but a subscription service to Hulu could really revolutionize television. In the era of DVR, plenty of people either record their favorite shows or wait for them to appear on DVD to avoid commercials and/or to watch them at their leisure. A subscription service to Hulu could allow the networks to make up for the falling ad revenue, which could help shows with lower ratings stay on the air. Truthfully, the $9.95 per month rumored fee would also be pretty close to Netflix’s $8.99 for instant streaming, which has also been very popular. Hulu Plus, as it’s rumored to be called, could really be a huge boon to network television.

What are your thoughts on Hulu Plus? Would you sign up for a subscription?

Eastbound and Down Returns in September

Michael — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 18:29:29 +0000

We’ve already filled you in on the first bit of details surrounding Eastbound and Down‘s second season, but now we have the most important detail: the show will return to HBO September 26. That’s just three months before the return of Kenny Fuckin’ Powers. Get excited people!

Lost Season 6 DVD To Feature Bonus Answers

Michael — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 14:10:37 +0000

While we and, contrary to the internet’s general perception, a lot of Lost fans love the finale, but for those clambering for more answers, the Season 6 DVD set will feature some bonus scenes that aim to clear up some of those nagging questions. [Spoiler Alert: At this point, you probably know how the show ends, but just in case, you've been warned] When speaking to E!, Hurley himself, Jorge Garcia, talked about the rumored scenes, and confirmed that there will be an extended scene that features Hurley and Ben on the Island. Says Garcia:

“It will address some of the issues, like the food drops, and it will deal with what happened on the island after Hurley took over and how he handled things,” Garcia reveals of the DVD bonus feature he shot. “It will give you a taste of what took place after Hurley took over as the new number one. There’s a little epilogue thing going on with the DVD.”

Food drops, eh? That was one of those mysteries that Lost haters seemed up in arms about, the other being just what was up with Walt. Well, according to an “insider:”

“We’ll find out what happens to Walt,” says the insider. But when asked who else he worked with, Jorge replied coyly: “There are other people in it, but I’m not going to tell you who.”

Oooooh! Intriguing! You’ll have to wait until the DVD and the complete set hit stores August 24. Lastly, for those curious about what Garcia thought of the finale?

“I loved it,” Jorge says. “When I first got the finale script, it didn’t have the final act in it yet. But I got to the part where Hurley takes over and there was a kind of a sigh of relief. I thought OK, this ending is a satisfying ending for me. Everything I invested in this show does pay off. And so I’m good, the ending is good, and I don’t have to worry about it…During the whole season, Matt Fox and I were going back and forth, going, ‘It’s going to be one of us, it’s not going to be one of them, its got to be one of us.’ So yeah, I liked it [the ending], it was quite heavy.”

So there you have it Lost haters! You get your answers and Hurley liked it! Deal with that!