Two Tivos To Paradise 11.18.11: South Park, Community, Howard Stern, America's Got Talent, Parks and Recreation

Posted by Al Norton on 11.18.2011

News on South Park getting a three season renewal, NBC's new lineup and the future of Community, Howard Stern being in discussion to join America's Got Talent, Thanksgiving day viewing options, Survivor getting renewed and more!



Hello friends. It took a full week but I am finally almost fully over my cold. It was pretty brutal there for a while, with me choosing to nap over watching TV, which tells you everything you need to know about the severity of my illness. In better health news, my recent weight loss paid off at my yearly physical when my blood work came back with no issues; I would have bet dollars to donuts that my cholesterol was going to be an issue but clean living has worked its magic.

I came to a realization on Saturday; the 20 year old me and the 40 year old me are both very proud of 8 loads in 24 hours. The difference twenty years makes is that the 40 year old me is talking about laundry.

Thursday is Thanksgiving so I'd like to use this opportunity to genuinely thank you for taking a few minutes of your week to stop by here. A big thanks as well to those of you who have joined the TTTP community on Facebook. On the subject of being thankful I wanted to send a big shout out to all those folks who work in PR - both for the networks as well as for the talent – for all the assistance they give me in putting together the column as well as setting up the interviews. In no particular order, a hearty helping of thanks goes out to Amanda Ruisi, Holli Fisk, Carrie Simons, Mona Loring, Jordyn Borczon , Jenni Weinman, Page Bingham, Craig Schneider, Lee Wellman, Annie Chen, Nicole Walther, Mike Liotta, Nicole Chabot, Dominique Grignetti, Cynthia Arntzen, Lisa Goldberg, Morgan DiStefano, Megan Tantillo, Kannie Yu Lupack, Michelle Rosenblatt, Tanya Taylor, Erik Batt, Ashley Sandberg, Elizabeth Hanske, Rebecca Feldbin, Sally Piper, Lauren LaRocca, Brenda Lowry, Koko Stanley, Heather Sautter, Stephanie Baumoel, Dominc Pagone, Maureen Granados, Lynn Weiss, Beth Morris, Sara Shillinglaw, Sarah Fuller, Rachael Wesolowski, Courtney Miller…I am sure I am forgetting a couple and for that I am truly sorry.

Here's another look at the new Showtime comedy House of Lies…




And here's a teaser for the new Syfy series Lost Girl…





I used to rule the world, seas would rise when I gave the news.

But I've Never Caught A Glimpse Of How The Others Must See The Faker, I'm Much Too Fast To Take That Test
Multiple networks announced their mid-season lineups this week, including some popular favorites being benched along with some new or returning series.

NBC
Monday
8pm The Voice (series premiere Sunday 2/5, day/time premiere 2/6)
10pm Smash (series premiere 2/6)

Tuesday
8pm The Biggest Loser
10pm Parenthood (season ends 2/28)
10pm Fashion Star (series premiere 3/13)

Wednesday
8pm Whitney (new day/time 1/11)
8:30pm Are You There, Chelsea (series premiere 1/11)
9pm Rock Center with Brian Williams (new day/time in February)
10pm Law & Order: SVU

Thursday
8pm 30 Rock (season premiere 1/12)
8:30pm Parks and Recreation
9pm The Office
9:30pm Up All Night (new day/time 1/12)
10pm The Firm (two hour series premiere Sunday 1/8, day/time slot premiere 1/12)

Friday
8pm Chuck (two hour series finale 1/27)
8pm Who Do You Think You Are? (season premiere 2/3)
9pm Grimm
10pm Dateline

Saturday
8pm Harry's Law encores
9pm The Firm encores
10pm Law & Order: SVU encores

Sunday
7pm Dateline
8pm Harry's Law (new day/time 3/4)
9pm The Celebrity Apprentice (season premiere)

Obviously the biggest question is "where the hell is Community?!?!?!" The short answer is the show will return in the spring and, despite all the freaking out on the interweb, has not been cancelled. I'll even go so far as to predict it gets a fourth season renewal before all is said and done. Look, you will not find a bigger Community fan than me but even I have to face the reality that the show doesn't do very well in the ratings. Regardless of quality, TV is a business and keeping a show on that the audience isn't watching is just as bad a business decision as it would be to cancel a show a network knew was terrible if it were a hit.

NBC has shows they have made and they need to see if any of them actual catch fire, so they are giving Whitney and Are You There, Chelsea a Wednesday showcase to see what they can do. My best guess is the shows fail miserable and sometime in April we see Community paired with the new comedy series Bent in that hour.

Why do I think Community will get another season? Sony produces the show, Sony owns NBC, and Sony knows a 4th season pretty much guarantees syndication cash. We'll talk more about Rules of Engagement in a second but there's a show that has been pulled and switched too many times to count but is now in its SIXTH season, so while getting pulled is never a good thing, it's also not a death sentence.

I am also wondering about Awake, the drama series with what was easily the best pilot of the 2011-2012 season, which the network still hasn't found a spot for. Yes, production was shut down a couple of weeks ago to address some issues but I would have hoped the network would have at least mentioned it as coming this spring in their press release. I suppose it's possible they save the show for next fall, which would be better than just throwing it out in the summer without any build up. I have similar questions about Bent, which had a pretty funny pilot (MUCH more interesting than Whitney or what I have seen of Chelsea, which was god awful but also has been reworked a bit) but was absent from NBC's Monday announcement.

CBS
Only two real moves to speak of for CBS; the new Rob Schneider comedy !Rob! premieres Thursday 1/12 at 8:30, getting the cushy post-Big Bang Theory time slot. Rules of Engagement, which had their episode order cut from 18 to 13, will return later in the spring. Undercover Boss will take Sundays at 8pm as of 1/15, bridging the gap between cycles of The Amazing Race.

Rules is the little comedy that could, bouncing around like a pinball but drawing pretty well no matter where it has landed. The original order for this season was 18, with 2 left over from last season that never aired, so this season will actually total 15 episodes, and it's quite likely the show returns for a 7th in the fall; it's a huge ace in the hole for CBS to know they have this comedy in their holster that they can throw on when a new show fails and chances are they won't be so willing to let that security blanket go.

I Played Their Game And As They Scream My Name I Will Show No Shame
Howard Stern addressed the stories that he was in negotiating to become the third judge on America's Got Talent this week via his Sirius radio show, saying there was no deal for him to take the job in place and they he's made it a practice in his career to not comment on negotiations, although he was clear to say he was not stating there were such talks, just that if there were he wouldn't talk about them. He did go out of his way to say how much he enjoys the show, what great relationships he has with the two current judges – Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel – and that that if he were to be on the show he would take the job quite seriously.

Ok, so he didn't really address the stories as much as say, "I have nothing to announce right now." What is worth noting is how much different he has been about this than he was with the American Idol rumors last year; with Idol he was all about how he'd take over the show and made all sorts of jokes about the havoc he would wreak, and with AGT he has been very respectful, careful to always highlight how this job, were it to become his, would get his full attention and efforts.

The reason negotiations, if they are going on, would take so long is that it's not just a dollar amount that needs to be worked out; currently the show is based in LA and there is really no way Stern could do the show unless it moves to New York City. Aside from the fact that there is no way he'd fly back and forth twice a week for 2+ months, it would mean his radio show would have to go to essentially all reruns while the TV show was on. Sirius will be as accommodating as possible since Stern being on the top rated show of the summer would be a huge free advertisement for them but they still need to make sure they have new product for their subscribers.

What that means is that at the same time NBC is working out a deal with Stern they also need to be talking with Osbourne and Mandel to discuss shifting the show to another coast as well as lining up a physical new home for the show. All of these things are quite complicated (Osbourne and Mandel would certainly want new perks including top level hotel accommodations and first class/private jet flights back and forth, and then there's the matter of a bunch of crew member in LA who would be without a job) so it makes sense that it would take some time.

I think Howard wants this job; TV is easy money considering the hours and his ego (and I say this as a huge fan) would love the idea of conquering a medium has had some but not major success in so far. NBC also needs as much buzz as they can right now so this kind of deal would be worth overpaying for. I am sure network executives are drooling about a commercial for the new season of AGT featuring Stern running during their telecast of the Super Bowl next year.

A Lot of Things Have Happened Since We Last Spoke, Some Of Them Are Funny, Some Of Them Ain't No Joke
Next Thursday is Thanksgiving, meaning there will be a ton of special viewing options available to you. We will cover the weekend programming in our next column but here is a rundown of what's coming into your living rooms on Turkey Day…

Sports
Packers – Lions, 12:30pm Fox
Dolphins – Cowboys, 4pm CBS
49'ers - Ravens, 8pm, NFL Network

Specials
Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas, 8pm Fox
Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown, 8:30pm Fox
A Very Gaga Thanksgiving, 9:30 pm ABC
85th Anniversary of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, 10pm NBC

Movies
Lethal Weapon I, II, & III, 10:30am, 10:30am
Godfather I & II, 11:30am AMC
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory followed by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 2pm, ABC Family
The Wiz, 4pm, TVOne
Elf, 8pm, USA

Marathons
Arrested Development, 6am, IFC, 48 episodes
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 6am, Chiller, 10 episodes
Martin, 6am, TVOne, 20 episodes
Rosanne, 6am, Oxygen, 26 episodes
Supernanny, 6am, Style, 20 episodes
The Dick Van Dyke Show, 8am, TVLand, 10 episodes
Deal or No Deal, 8am, GSN, 15 episodes
The First 48, 8am, A&E, 20 episodes
IRT Deadliest Roads, 8am, History, 12 episodes
My Wife and Kids, 8am, BET, 18 episodes
Star Trek: Next Generation, 8am, BBCAmerica, 21 episodes
American Guns, 9am, Discovery, 11 episodes
Black Gold, 9am, TruTV, 6 episodes
Hillbilly Handfishin', 9am, Animal Planet, 8 episodes
Man vs. Food, 9am, Travel, 35 episodes
Bones, 10am, TNT, 10 episodes
Braxton Family Values, 10am, WE, 15 episodes
NCIS, 10am, USA, 10 episodes
The Andy Griffith Show, 1pm, TVLand, 12 episodes
Tanked, 4pm, Animal Planet, 13 episodes
Reed Between the Lines, 5pm, BET, 14 episodes
Law & Order: CI, 6pm, Oxygen, 8 episodes
CSI: NY, 8pm, TNT, 6 episodes

Sunny Day, Sweepin' The Clouds Away, On My Way To Where The Air Is Sweet
The Sesame Street video of the week…





But You Were Up To Your Old Tricks In Chapters Four Five And Six
All you need to know about the Nielsen's for the past 7 days…

THURSDAY
The Big Bang Theory won the night (again) in totals and demos while lead-out Rules of Engagement tied last week's Thursday timeslot series high…Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice were each up 17% in totals and 11% in demos, the former winning both at 9pm and the latter winning demos at 10pm…Community, Parks and Recreation, and The Office were all down, while Whitney held steady and Prime Suspect perked up 7% in total viewers…Bones dropped double digits to finish third at 9pm in total viewers (behind Grey's and a Person of Interest rerun) but second in the demos…X-Factor was down 11% from last week…The fall finale of Vampire Diaries was down 19% in the demos…Project Accessory has averaged 1.1 million over its first 3 weeks, an increase of 214% of what Project Runway did its first three weeks of season one. Of course, Runway was a brand new launch and Accessory is a spinoff of a successful show, so it's not an apt comparison…The opener of NFL Network's Thursday night football coverage was up 6% from last year and ranked as the most watched opening game since the network got the package 6 years ago…

FRIDAY
Fringe dropped to a new all-time series low...Kitchen Nightmares won 8pm in the demos…Blue Bloods was down 19% from last week's big numbers but still won the night in totals and demos…Grimm was down 17% from last week, not a good sign for the future of the show…Chuck leveled off, coming up pretty much even with last week…Extreme Makeover: Home Edition continues to struggle mightily on Fridays, down 33% from last week. It's down not only from what it was doing on Sundays but also from the numbers (totals and demos) Supernanny was putting up in the same timeslot last year…A Gifted Man won 8pm in totals and finished second in the hour in demos…Supernatural was down double digits from this week last year but even with last week…

SUNDAY
Homeland hit a season/series high for the 5th consecutive week, an almost unheard of feat…Hell on Wheels was down 14% in totals and 21% in the demos in week two…NBC's Sunday Night Football dominated the night, as usual…Once Upon a Time had the top scripted demos of the night…Allen Gregory was down yet again and now is in even more real danger of not seeing 2012…The Good Wife outdrew Desperate Housewives in total viewers but finished far behind in demos…Pan Am was up 10% in totals and 6% in demos…CSI: Miami had the night's biggest improvements; up 13% in totals and 11% in demos…

MONDAY
The entire CBS lineup was up on Monday, with 2 Broke Girls and Hawaii 5-0 having their best demos since their September season and/or series premieres…20/20 was the second most watched show of the night and won 10pm in totals…A focus on the Penn State scandal helped Rock Center jump 30%...Terra Nova was down 12% and House dropped double digits as well…Monday Night Football had the top demos of the night…

TUESDAY
NCIS just missed hitting 20 million viewers for the second week in a row but will certainly be the most watched scripted show of the week. It also topped the evening in demos…Glee hit a season low in the demos…The Biggest Loser was down 16% in the demos after two weeks in a row of gains…Unforgettable won 10pm in totals and demos…Parenthood slipped to a season low in demos…Raising Hope was up a bit while lead-in New Girl matched last week…Glee was up a bit in total viewers and down a bit in demos…

WEDNESDAY
As usual, Modern Family won the night in totals and demos, although the latter was a season low…X-Factor matched last week's strong demos…Suburgatory was down 10% in the demos while Revenge dropped 13%...Harry's Law was down 15% in the demos after last week's surge…SVU once again tied a series low in the demos…CSI won 10pm in totals and was up in the demos to tie Revenge for best in the hour…

All The Young Dudes, Carry The News
Industry News, Notes, and Hot Rumors…Comedy Central renewed South Park for an additional three seasons, guaranteeing the animated comedy's total will be no less than 20 seasons…CBS picked up 25th and 26th cycles of Survivor…NBC has shut down production on Prime Suspect, and combined with it not being on the network's January scheduled means the show's official cancellation is a foregone conclusion…Chelsea Handler has signed a two year extension with E!, keeping her with the network through 2014. The rumored total dollar amount of the deal is $25 million…Oscar nominated actor Paul Bettany will star in the Showtime pilot Masters and Johnson…Ashley Green of the Twilight films will do multiple episodes of Pan Am…AMC has Thunderstruck in development, a sci-fi drama about mysterious lights that start to appear in the sky. The pilot is being written by Paul Boardman and Scott Erickson, who teamed for The Exorcism of Emily Rose (the former writing and the latter directing), and David Eick (Battlestar Galactica, Bionic Woman) is on board as an executive producer…Anna Kournikova's stint as a trainer on The Biggest Loser will last only one cycle; when the show returns with a new cast in January, she will be gone…Neil Patrick Harris will guest co-host on Live! with Kelly the week of November 28- December 2..Sports Illustrated is teaming with HBO for the five part documentary mini-series Sports In America: Our Defining Stories, which will air in 2013…Charlie Rose and Gayle King will make their CBS Early Show debuts on January 9th…TLC has ordered a 7 episode season of Extreme Couponing All-Stars, where cast members from the show compete against each other in a savings battle…Conan O'Brien will host TNT's Christmas in Washington, featuring performances by Cee Lo Green, Jennifer Hudson, Victoria Justice, and The Band Perry and airing Friday, December 16 …MTV's new comedy I Just Want My Pants Back will premiere in February in the prime post-Jersey Shore timeslot of Thursdays at 11pm…Niecy Nash has turned her TLC wedding special into a series, with an 8 episode first season set to premiere in 2012…A trio of top notch casting tidbits; Greg Kinnear will guest on Modern Family, Amy Acker on Grimm, and Jason Dohring on Supernatural…

Turns Out Not Where But Who You're With That Really Matters
(The Best of What's Around aka The Best Thing I've Watched In The Last Seven Days)…
Say what you will about the people involved in this clip but not matter whose side you take, it's great television. I know no one who didn't have a reaction one way or the other while watching this, and what else can you ask for from TV?





People Say I'm Crazy Doing What I'm Doing. Well, They Give Me All Kinds Of Warnings To Save Me From Ruin
What's flashed before my eyes the last seven days…





Great – and rare – Jeopardy moment there…Had a mini Raising Hope-athon this weekend and came away as charmed as ever by the Chance Family. I was especially thrilled to finally have an episode where a ton of the action took place at the grocery store, and liked that they seem to be building to something with Jimmy and Sabrina instead of having him crush on her forever…My love for The Daily Show knows no bounds but even I can acknowledge that Jon Stewart's talents do have a limit; while the piece they did last Thursday on the Republican Debate and Rick Perry's gaff was brilliant, there was no way to salvage the Adam Sandler interview. Sandler may make funny movies (sometimes yes, sometimes no), he is a dreadful interview and this was one of his worst. I hate when talk show guests don't recognize that they do have some responsibility to go out and entertain a little bit…I haven't watched Family Guy for very long so a lot of the references to previous episodes were lost on me but I still thought last Sunday's episode was pretty damn funny…Last Thursday's episode of Parks and Recreation - The Treaty - was one of the show's best ever, with an almost astonishingly evenhanded use of the entire ensemble. Three different storylines going on, all of which actually served to more the general story arcs along, and all of which were really funny, too. Some series can't manage to share the spotlight among 4-5 characters and this episode had TEN getting laughs. P and R is just awesome…I'm a bit behind on PSYCH but watched <>The Amazing Psych-Man & Tap Man, Issue # 2 yesterday and it easily ranks among my favorite all-time episodes of the show. Laugh out loud funny and a heartfelt homage to comic books; loved the opening credits, all the visual effects (the "pow" and "zap" had me clapping), and "nobody steals on The Catch" is a kick-ass catchphrase. All that AND Shawn quoted the lyrics of the theme song when talking to Juliet, too!!!...CRAZY episode of Homeland!! I am a bit surprised they gave us this much info this early but that may only mean there are many more twists and turns to come. Damian Lewis is just amazing and Claire Danes matches him every step of the way…No surprise that ESPN's Outside the Lines provided the best and most comprehensive coverage of the Penn State scandal. OTL is the best sports journalism show on TV, one that handles both the headlines as well as the stories that should be in the headlines but aren't…One of the reasons Parenthood is so good (and I make this point frequently) is that it takes a fresh look at its subject matter; the story about Sidney being a bad loser because her parents had always let her win at everything was something I don't recall seeing before on TV and, as a parent, it immediately got me thinking about how we are going to handle this with the twins…I am enjoying Hell on Wheels so far, in large part because of how amazing the show looks; everything I am seeing is crisp and clear in a modern way yet also feels 100% authentic. Also worth noting was the performance of Ted Levine, best known previously for his work on Monk…Boy, does Barney Stinson need a hug! A fantastic episode of How I Met Your Mother, perhaps the one that finally gets Neil Patrick Harris an Emmy. The Ted-Marshall parts of the episode were a major weak link to me until the timeline was revealed and then I thought it was pretty damn funny…Give Me That Hat. No, it's Hank. Hanks Giving. Or, as I call it, Friday; this week's New Girl was easily the funniest of the season/series, with laugh out loud moments in every scene and events that moved the story along…I sleep clown…Another great episode of Happy Endings last night; the code war was a riot, as were all the various descriptions of Dave's perm. Lots of shows have been called "the new Friends" over the years, and while I don't want to use such a lazy critics label, I will say Endings has done a great job of establishing interesting and original characters that the audience cares about (a la Friends) and at the same time adding in a healthy amount of snark to make it current (yes, the world is a MUCH snarkier place than when we first met the gang at Central Perk).

TV Pick Of The Week
Regular readers know I think CMT's Crossroads is the best musical performance series on TV, one that takes musicians from two different styles and brings them together to celebrate what they have in common as well as what makes them unique. Some big names have come across the stage over the years but the Sting – Vince Gill pairing is one of the all-time best when it comes to a mix of musical talent and chart success. Both of these guys are also quiet smart and students of musical history, so I am looking forward to the behind the scenes conversations almost as much as I am the music.

Don't miss CMT Crossroads, Thursday at 8pm.

Hope You Need My Love, Babe, Just Like I Need You
Other viewing options from the next seven days…

*For those of you who think American Idol should have never existed, checking out VH1's Unplugged: Kelly Clarkson (tonight, 11pm) is worth checking out so you can see just how powerful a voice she has and how the music world is a better place because she is an active recording artist.

*ABC has The American Music Awards on Sunday at 8pm, preceded by red carpet pre-show.

*Part one of American Masters (PBS) two part look at Woody Allen premieres Sunday at 9pm.

*You Deserve It (Monday, 9pm, ABC) is a new game show where folks compete to win money for people they feel are in need.

*Looking for a way to get more Anthony Bourdain in your life (and aren't we all)? Check out his new Travel channel series The Layover (Monday, 10pm), which finds our hero trying to learn as much as he can about a location in a very limited amount of time.

*Jimmy Buffet makes a rare acting appearance in a guest role on Hawaii 5-0 (Monday, 10pm, CBS).

*A new winner is chosen on ABC's Dancing with the Stars this Tuesday at 9pm

*The three Kardashian sisters stop by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (Wednesday, 12:35am). Gee, whatever will they talk about?

*Syfy gives us a 16 episode Ghost Hunters marathon on Wednesday starting at 8am.

*It's Thanksgiving with the Heck Family on The Middle (Wednesday, 8pm, ABC).

Two Tivos To Paradise
24 Hour Restaurant Battle, 30 Rock, After the Catch, American Idol, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Antiques Roadshow, Archer, Auction Hunters, The Big C, Boardwalk Empire, Being Human, Bones, Bored To Death, Breaking Bad, Burn Notice, Celebrity Apprentice, Cake Boss, Chopped, Chuck, The Closer, Community, Cougar Town, Crave, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Deadliest Catch, Desperate Housewives, Destination Truth, Entourage, Eureka, Fact or Faked, Falling Skies, Fairly Legal, Family Guy, Flipping Out, Food Feuds, Food Network Challenge, Food Network Star, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters Academy, Ghost Hunters International, Ghost Lab, Glee, Gossip Girl, Great Food Truck Race, Grey's Anatomy, Happy Endings, Haunted Treasure, Hawaii 5-0, Hell on Wheels, Hollywood Treasure, House, How I Met Your Mother, How To Make It In America, Hung, If You Really Knew Me, Iron Chef America, Justified, The Killing, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Law And Order: Special Victims Unit, Louie, Mad Men, Man v. Food Nation, The Middle, Mike and Molly, Modern Family, Necessary Roughness, New Girl, Next Iron Chef, The Office, One Tree Hill, Outside the Lines, Parks & Recreation, Private Practice, Project Accessory, Project Runway, Psych, Raising Hope, Real Time With Bill Maher, Restaurant Impossible, Revenge, Ringer, Rocco's Dinner Party, Royal Pains, Rules Of Engagement, Sanctuary, Saturday Night Live, The Secret Circle, Shear Genius, So You Think You Can Dance?, Sons of Anarchy, The Soup, Suits, Suburgatory, Supernatural, Table For 12, Terra Nova, Top Chef, Top Chef Just Desserts, Top Chef: Masters, Top Design, Torchwood, Tosh.0, True Blood, Up All Night, The Vampire Diaries, The Voice, The Walking Dead, Warehouse 13, Web Soup, Wilfred, Worst Cooks In America,

People Love You When They Know You're Leaving Soon
Here ends another Two Tivos To Paradise.





We'll be back next week with all the latest news plus a guide to the holiday weekend marathons. I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, surrounded by loved ones.

Sources for this week's column include Daily Variety, Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide, and Hollywood Reporter (plus the web sites for those publications) as well as Aintit.cool.com, TVline.com & Deadline.com.