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'Life's Too Short' Review

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 08:37:40 +0000

Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's latest cringe-comedy mockumentary, Life's Too Short, premieres tonight at 10:30 p.m. EST on HBO. Although Gervais and Merchant of The Office (original British version) and Extras fame write and direct the show, the star is little-person actor Warwick Davis, who plays a fictionalized version of himself. How does the show stack up to the duo's previous efforts? Read my review to find out.

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Celebrate Anna Howard Shaw Day With '30 Rock'

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:38:02 +0000

Sure, there's some sort of romantic holiday going on today, but that's so tiresome and overbearing. Instead, why not follow the lead of Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) from 30 Rock and celebrate Anna Howard Shaw Day? It acknowledges the birthday of pioneering feminist Anna Howard Shaw, and it's the perfect time to catch up on the current season of 30 Rock if you've gotten behind. Check out my episode guide for the sixth season, and then learn about other weird sitcom holiday traditions.

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Interview With Dawn Olivieri of 'House of Lies'

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 09:30:38 +0000

The Showtime comedy House of Lies, about the devious world of management consulting, was just renewed for a second season, and there's a new episode on tonight at 10 p.m. EST. So it's a perfect time to check out my interview with Dawn Olivieri, who plays devious consultant (and ex-wife of main character Marty Kaan, played by Don Cheadle) Monica Talbot on the show. See what she has to say about her role, the show's frequent sex and nudity, and her hopes for the upcoming second season.

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Renewals for 'The Exes,' 'House of Lies,' 'Californication'

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:37:14 +0000

Three cable comedies got renewals this week, as TV Land picked up a second season of The Exes, which will air starting in June along with the recently acquired new Cedric the Entertainer sitcom Have Faith. And Showtime renewed both the management-consulting comedy House of Lies (for a second season) and the David Duchovny-starring Californication (for a sixth season), continuing the network's trend of letting pretty much all of its shows run indefinitely (except for United States of Tara).

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'I Just Want My Pants Back' Review

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:54:39 +0000

MTV has become quite a force in scripted comedy lately, and the network's latest comedy series premieres tonight at 11 p.m. EST. I Just Want My Pants Back is a sometimes charming look at the lives of a group of twentysomething friends in Brooklyn, with a focus on the absurdities of hipster culture. Check out more in my review of the show.

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'Key & Peele' Review

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:23:07 +0000

It's hard to get too enthused about the latest Comedy Central sketch series, since the network has a habit of letting its original shows wither and die, but the new Key & Peele, premiering tonight at 10:30 p.m. EST, does have some promise. Check out my review of the show starring former Mad TV co-stars Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele for more of my thoughts.

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SAG and DGA Hand Out Awards

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:31:43 +0000

The awards just keep on coming, as this weekend both the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild handed out their awards for the best TV of 2011. The DGA gave its top prize for TV comedy to Robert B. Weide for directing the "Palestinian Chicken" episode of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm. SAG's TV comedy awards went to Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock, Betty White for Hot in Cleveland and the cast of Modern Family (pictured). Sitcom icon Mary Tyler Moore also received a Life Achievement Award.

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'Cougar Town' Finally Gets Season 3 Premiere Date

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 07:52:21 +0000

As was widely speculated, the swift cancellation of Work It has opened the door for the third season of Cougar Town to finally premiere on ABC. The long-delayed (and shortened, to just 15 episodes) season will premiere on February 14 at 8:30 p.m. EST, in the old Work It time slot, right after Last Man Standing. That may not be the best fit in terms of style and content (ABC's Wednesday-night shows are still better companions), but any arrangement that gets Cougar Town back on the air is okay with me.

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Golden Globes Pick New TV Comedy Favorites

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:25:22 +0000

At last night's Golden Globes ceremony, some new faces took home prizes in the TV comedy categories. Well, not new faces exactly, but new winners for new shows. In the lead acting categories, Matt LeBlanc of Showtime's Episodes and Laura Dern of HBO's Enlightened both won for the first seasons of their shows. And after losing twice to the singing fools of Glee, Modern Family finally won for best comedy series. Check out my wrap-up for the full list of TV comedy nominees and winners.

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'Work It' Canceled, 'Hot in Cleveland' Renewed

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 09:52:25 +0000

The torture has ended, and ABC has canceled horrible new cross-dressing sitcom Work It after just two episodes. Although the premiere's ratings were decent, and ABC entertainment president Paul Lee even defended the show to reporters, the ratings tumbled for the second episode, and that plus the bad reviews and bad word-of-mouth was enough for cancellation. For now, repeats of Last Man Standing will fill the time slot, but it seems likely that Cougar Town will finally premiere its third season in the vacated spot before too long.

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