Sitcom Promises Syriana, Delivers Wonder Years

(NEWSER) - Pakistan has decided it's had about 139 characters too many of Twitter, yanking the microblogging site over material it says is offensive to Islam, reports al-Jazeera . The material in question was promoting a Facebook contest to post images of the prophet Mohammed—which are considered blasphemous, even those framed in positive terms. "We have been negotiating with them [Twitter] until last night, but they did not agree to remove the stuff, so we had to block it,'' says the country's telecommunications chief. No word on how long Twitter will be down. More»

Modern Family, by a lot

(NEWSER) - The Vulture blog of New York magazine finds that ABC's Modern Family is the favorite of well-to-do TV fans. It not only has the highest median income ($83,000) of viewers in the 18-49 range, it boasts by far the highest number of viewers who pull in at least $100,000 a year. It gets a 13.6 rating among that camp, with Two and a Half Men a distant second at 9.0. More»

Some producers agree to pay cuts; no word yet from actors

(NEWSER) - Don't say sayonara to the Simpsons just yet: Sources say several top-level producers will take pay cuts in order to keep the show on the air. Not all of the producers are on board, and cast members have not yet agreed to any terms. Variety notes that any money saved from a producer pay cut likely does not come close to the amount that would be saved if the actors agreed to the 45% reduction demand. But, as Entertainment Weekly points out, all sides believe something will be worked out, because no one wants to see the 23-season-long series end without a real finale. A final decision is expected tomorrow. More»

Network wants voice actors to take 45% pay cut

(NEWSER) - Has Moe polished his last glass? Has Homer slammed his last Duff’s? Has Krusty made his last small child cry? It’s all possible. Fox is threatening to pull the plug on history’s longest-running sitcom after the current season—its 23rd—if its core voice actors won’t accept a whopping 45% paycut, sources tell the Daily Beast . The cast had offered to take a 30% cut in exchange for some of the show’s massive backend profits, but Fox demurred. More»

Michael Scott clocks out of Dunder Mifflin

(NEWSER) - "The world's best boss" has walked out of Dunder Mifflin for the last time. Steve Carell's inept Office character Michael Scott said farewell in a sentimental, hour-long episode of the sitcom, reports Reuters . Carell, who played Scott for seven seasons, is leaving the show to focus on his movie career. His alter ego, meanwhile, has left Scranton for Colorado. Will Ferrell has joined the cast as Scott's possible replacement. More»