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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: sitcom

sitcom stories: 26 news summaries

1 - 20 of 26 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

TWITTER TAKEOVER

 'Shit My 
 Dad Says' 
 Heads to TV 

Son's lucrative exploitation also includes book deal

(Newser) - Move over, Al Bundy: A project based @shitmydadsays, the Twitter feed engineered by the son of a cantankerous father, has been picked up by CBS. The creators of Will and Grace are on board as executive producers, with that selfsame transcriber of a son taking writing duties. The microblog’... More »

tv review

 30 Rock in Danger 
 of Growing Stale 

Tina Fey's show starts new season tonight

(Newser) - Tina Fey and crew return tonight with the season premiere of 30 Rock, and critics are worried that the show is losing its edge:
  • Todd VanDerWerff, AV Club: "30 Rock is still nowhere near a bad show, but it risks turning into a show where one-dimensional people spend
... More »

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around the dial

 Sitcoms Adapt to Find Success 

New comedies borrow from drama, reality TV

(Newser) - Once, sitcoms ruled the television landscape. Their stellar ratings and cheap production costs made them unstoppable in the ‘90s, but their success was also their undoing: With so many options, viewers tired of the format. TV moved on to serious dramas and trashy reality programming. Now, the sitcom,... More »

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television The Office Seinfeld sitcom How I Met Your Mother Nurse Jackie

tv preview

 'Pathetic' Seinfeld 
 Reunion Invades Curb 

HBO show resuscitates Larry David's other brainchild 10 years later

(Newser) - Tonight's episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm will go farther than usual to satisfy your Seinfeld craving, but it's hardly the real thing—nor is it meant to be. The eagerly awaited reunion arc kicks off with Jerry Seinfeld himself deeming the very idea "desperate" and "pathetic,"... More »

tv rant

 Fie on the Office Wedding 

Jim and Pam are the height of bland

(Newser) - After 5 years of the will-they-or-won't-they dance, Jim and Pam of The Office will tie the knot in the Oct. 8 episode, and the prenuptial PR blitz has sent one blogger around the bend. "We're already sick of these two insufferable lovebirds," enemy of drawn-out romance Brian Moylan... More »

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entertainment television NBC The Office wedding sitcom John Krasinski weddings Entertainment Weekly Jenna Fischer sitcoms

TV REVIEW
(Newser) - ABC's Modern Family is a critics' darling, who generally think it's a clever update of the family sitcom, and one that doesn't sacrifice the tenderness we've come to expect from the classics of the genre. A sampling:
  • The series, "with its multifamily approach and semi-documentary form, redefines, updates
... More »

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television ABC pilot sitcom network television Ed O'Neill Modern Family family comedy

 All-Time Best 
 TV and Movie Drunks 

Norm, Frank the Tank make the list

(Newser) - Everyone likes a funny drunk, right? Barstools lists the most lovable movie and TV boozehounds of all time:
  • Who comes to mind first? Norm Peterson from Cheers, of course. "The crowd shouted 'Norm' every time he walked through the door to belly up to the bar."
... More »

 Arrested Development 
 Film Held Up Yet Again 

Will Arnett's new sitcom to blame, but actor promises it's still on

(Newser) - The good news: Will Arnett is teaming back up with Arrested Development writer Mitch Hurwitz on a new TV show. The bad news: That show is one of the reasons the Arrested film is still held up, he tells the New York Daily News. But the “... More »

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entertainment film celebrity Arrested Development sitcom Will Arnett

(Newser) - As if its record 22 Emmy nominations weren’t enough, 30 Rock also recently landed a syndication deal. Tina Fey talks success—and Sarah Palin—with Broadcasting & Cable:
  • On possibly hosting the Emmys: "No, I think it's a hard job and a thankless one. I think
... More »

(Newser) - So what are Kramer, George, Jerry, and Elaine up to 11 years after Seinfeld went off the air? Larry David says fans can get an idea of how the characters turned out on the seventh season of his Curb Your Enthusiasm on HBO, reports the Star-Ledger. He shed more details... More »

 Brady Sisters Feud 
 Over Lesbian 'Joke' 

Former friends in tiff over lesbian joke

(Newser) - Marcia and Jan Brady—or rather, the actors who played them—have had a falling-out over their nonexistent lesbian love affair, reports the New York Post. Maureen McCormick recently blogged that Eve Plumb won’t attend a Brady Bunch reunion on Oprah—possibly because of “the joke I made... More »

GOSSIP ROUNDUP

 Who Gave Guy a Shiner? 

Plus, credit crunch hits Cleese's divorce, and more

(Newser) - Uh-oh. Guy Ritchie showed up with a black eye after a night out in London, the Sun reports. No word on where the mystery shiner came from… could this have anything to do with his less-than-flattering nickname for tough ex-wife Madonna? More gossip:
  • The recession has hit celebrity divorces.
... More »

 Simpsons Gets 2 More Years 

Fox orders seasons 21 and 22

(Newser) - Fox ordered another two seasons of The Simpsons today, ensuring the legendary animated series will run for 22 seasons, Broadcasting and Cable reports. The series is currently tied with Gunsmoke for longest-running prime-time TV program, at 20 seasons. Fox in January kicked off “Best. 20 Years. Ever.”, a... More »

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tv review
(Newser) - Still enthralled with Miley Cyrus, Disney is rolling out a so-so show starring its latest "'Hannah'-mannered" glam-girl, Tom Shales writes in the Washington Post. Sonny With a Chance stars Demi Lovato as a comic on an SNL-ish sketch-comedy show. "Not a bad idea in theory," ... More »

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 Jack Black Lands Office Gig 

Comedian will star as himself

(Newser) - Not only did The Office score the sought-after post-Super Bowl slot, it will also feature Jack Black as a guest star. The comedian will play himself in a bootlegged movie the Dunder Mifflin workers try to watch, Entertainment Weekly reports. Black, who rarely appears in guest spots, is not the... More »

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How Nerds
Can Save Network TV

Big Bang Theory succeeds where less brainy sitcoms fail

(Newser) - Why is a physics-quoting comedy one of network TV's only successful sitcoms? And with so many Americans turning to cable, the Internet, and reality programming, what does that mean for the future of prime time? The Wall Street Journal looks at The Big Bang Theory, an unlikely hit that actually... More »

 Curb Cranks Up for New Season 

HBO plans 10 episodes of the Emmy-nominated sitcom in 2009

(Newser) - Curb Your Enthusiasm, the longest-running show in HBO’s lineup, is returning for a seventh season next year, Variety reports. Ten episodes of the half-hour sitcom are set to begin production in December, a source says; the executive producers and air dates are still under wraps. The show, created by... More »

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 Ab Fab Gets US Remake 

Saunders, creator of original British hit, will be executive producer on Fox effort

(Newser) - A Fox remake of British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous will swill its way into Los Angeles, reports Variety. Creator Jennifer Saunders, who played one half of the delightfully boozy and dysfunctional 40-something duo, is on board as executive producer; Saturday Night Live writer Christine Zander will pen the initial set of... More »

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 Larry David, Curb Returning

Season 7 of Curb Your Enthusiasm coming to HBO early next year

(Newser) - Irascible Larry David will be bringing Curb Your Enthusiasm back for a seventh series, reports Reuters. New episodes of the edgy comedy are expected to air early next year, more than a year after last year's series ended in November 2007. HBO bosses says the Seinfeld creator is—you guessed... More »

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 Seinfeld: Still a Classic? 

Two critics battle over the show about nothing

(Newser) - Does the sitcom "about nothing” still evoke something—like laughs? Two TV critics revisited Seinfeld and emerged with different takes on the nutty New Yorkers. David Noonan argues that great actors—including an awesome string of small-part oddballs—still make the comedy sparkle. "They add a deep and... More »

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1 - 20 of 26 Stories | 1 2 Next >>