Channel Surfing: NBC Dumps Parks and Rec Repeats, Smallville Return, Creative Arts Emmy Winners, Grey's Closure and More
Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.
Good news for Community; bad news for Parks and Recreation. The Futon Critic is reporting that NBC has opted to forgo repeats of Season Two of Parks and Recreation for the remainder of the summer, instead using the Thursday 9:30 pm timeslot for a second round of Community repeats. [Editor: While I applaud NBC for recognizing the potential of Dan Harmon's Community, I wish it weren't at the expense of Parks and Rec, which won't even return for its third season until "midseason."] Planned repeats for August 26th and September 2nd will instead be filled by Community episodes... which means that the airwaves will be Pawnee-free until the series returns at a to-be-determined point later in the season. (Futon Critic)
SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that John Glover will return to the CW's Smallville to reprise his role as Lionel Luthor in a multiple-episode story arc on the tenth and final season. Glover is currently slated to appear in at least two episodes that will air in November, though it's unknown just how Lionel will be making his grand return as he was last seen plummeting to his death after being pushed out of a window by Michael Rosenbaum's Lex. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)
HBO took home 17 statues on Saturday for the Creative Arts Emmys, followed closely by ABC with 15. [Editor: Congratulations to Ryan Case, who won an Emmy for Outstanding Picture Editing for a Comedy for Modern Family. Go Ryan!] A full list of all winners can be found here. (via press release)
Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Izzie's story is far from being done on ABC's Grey's Anatomy and talks to executive producer Shonda Rhimes about providing closure for Alex when the series returns this fall for its seventh season. "We’re talking about it [in the writers' room] obsessively and trying to figure it out,” Rhimes told Ausiello. “We’re approaching it pretty carefully... I want how ever we deal with Alex growing up and moving on and moving past that relationship to feel authentic and not to feel like something that’s patched together.” So might Katherine Heigl be dropping by Grey's, after all? "I don't know," said Rhimes. Hmmm... (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)
In other Grey's Anatomy-related news, Diane Farr (Rescue Me) will guest star in an episode slated to air in October, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. Farr will play a patient with Huntington's Disease in the upcoming season's fourth episode. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)
E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy is not only developing a series vehicle for Kristin Chenoweth but is also looking to develop a project that would star John Stamos... and that the security on the set during Britney Spears' appearance was so tight that Murphy himself couldn't get on the set. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)
Murphy, meanwhile, hinted to Access Hollywood that Spears could end up making another appearance on Glee down the line. (Hollywood Reporter)
A happy ending for Bill and Sookie? Maybe not, but the actors who play them on HBO's vampire drama True Blood, Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin, have tied the knot. The couple were married in Malibu on Saturday evening. Among the attendees: Carrie Preston, Michael Emerson, and Elijah Wood. (Hollywood Reporter, US Weekly)
SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to 90210 showrunner Rebecca Sinclair about her decision to bring Trevor Donovan's Teddy out of the closet this fall on the CW teen soap. "[We wanted] to play a coming out story that features a kid we already knew," Sinclair told Ausiello about why they waited to delve into this storyline until this season. "Instead of his sexuality being the first and defining characteristic, we’ve already gotten a chance to know Teddy before he explores his sexuality. Teddy’s an athlete, he’s a famous guy’s son, he’s blonde and hunky and yes, he also has a sexual orientation and that’s a huge part of his life. In a lot of ways I think that’s more interesting than Teddy is a gay athlete, a gay famous guy’s son and a blonde and hunky gay gentleman." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)
TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that former House star Jennifer Morrison--who may or may not return to the FOX medical drama--will guest star on NBC's Chase this fall, where she will appear alongside current boyfriend Amaury Nolasco. Morrison is set to make an appearance in the sixth episode of the new procedural drama, where she will play Faith, described as "a single mother-turned-fugitive who embarks on a bloody killing spree across Texas with her innocent little daughter in tow." (TV Guide Magazine)
File this under sickening: The Hollywood Reporter's Leslie Bruce is reporting that Jersey Shore's The Situation (a.k.a. Mike Sorrentino) will make $5 million by the end of the year, according to an unnamed source familiar with the reality star's personal finances. "We are really excited about all the opportunities coming Mike's way," Sorrentino's manager, Mike Petolino of Gotham Entertainment, told THR. "He has been able to secure many endorsement deals, business opportunities and additional television offers based on the success of the show. Our goal has always been to try to build a brand if the situation presented itself." (Hollywood Reporter)
TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Tia Texada (Third Watch) will guest star on NBC's Chuck this season, where she will play Hortencia, the wife of Armand Assante's Costa Gravan Premier Alejandro Goya. "We'll meet Hortencia, who (no surprise) is harboring a secret," writes Keck, "when Chuck and the gang visit the Premier's beautiful island in his native Costa Gravas." Texada will appear in the fourth season's fourth episode. (TV Guide Magazine)
Worked for NBC? Anyone and everyone who worked for the Peacock at one time or another is eligible to attend the 15th Annual NBC Reunion Dinner, which will be held at the Lakeside Golf Club in Burbank on October 23rd, according to a Variety report. (Variety)
Stay tuned.
Good news for Community; bad news for Parks and Recreation. The Futon Critic is reporting that NBC has opted to forgo repeats of Season Two of Parks and Recreation for the remainder of the summer, instead using the Thursday 9:30 pm timeslot for a second round of Community repeats. [Editor: While I applaud NBC for recognizing the potential of Dan Harmon's Community, I wish it weren't at the expense of Parks and Rec, which won't even return for its third season until "midseason."] Planned repeats for August 26th and September 2nd will instead be filled by Community episodes... which means that the airwaves will be Pawnee-free until the series returns at a to-be-determined point later in the season. (Futon Critic)
SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that John Glover will return to the CW's Smallville to reprise his role as Lionel Luthor in a multiple-episode story arc on the tenth and final season. Glover is currently slated to appear in at least two episodes that will air in November, though it's unknown just how Lionel will be making his grand return as he was last seen plummeting to his death after being pushed out of a window by Michael Rosenbaum's Lex. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)
HBO took home 17 statues on Saturday for the Creative Arts Emmys, followed closely by ABC with 15. [Editor: Congratulations to Ryan Case, who won an Emmy for Outstanding Picture Editing for a Comedy for Modern Family. Go Ryan!] A full list of all winners can be found here. (via press release)
Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Izzie's story is far from being done on ABC's Grey's Anatomy and talks to executive producer Shonda Rhimes about providing closure for Alex when the series returns this fall for its seventh season. "We’re talking about it [in the writers' room] obsessively and trying to figure it out,” Rhimes told Ausiello. “We’re approaching it pretty carefully... I want how ever we deal with Alex growing up and moving on and moving past that relationship to feel authentic and not to feel like something that’s patched together.” So might Katherine Heigl be dropping by Grey's, after all? "I don't know," said Rhimes. Hmmm... (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)
In other Grey's Anatomy-related news, Diane Farr (Rescue Me) will guest star in an episode slated to air in October, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. Farr will play a patient with Huntington's Disease in the upcoming season's fourth episode. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)
E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy is not only developing a series vehicle for Kristin Chenoweth but is also looking to develop a project that would star John Stamos... and that the security on the set during Britney Spears' appearance was so tight that Murphy himself couldn't get on the set. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)
Murphy, meanwhile, hinted to Access Hollywood that Spears could end up making another appearance on Glee down the line. (Hollywood Reporter)
A happy ending for Bill and Sookie? Maybe not, but the actors who play them on HBO's vampire drama True Blood, Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin, have tied the knot. The couple were married in Malibu on Saturday evening. Among the attendees: Carrie Preston, Michael Emerson, and Elijah Wood. (Hollywood Reporter, US Weekly)
SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to 90210 showrunner Rebecca Sinclair about her decision to bring Trevor Donovan's Teddy out of the closet this fall on the CW teen soap. "[We wanted] to play a coming out story that features a kid we already knew," Sinclair told Ausiello about why they waited to delve into this storyline until this season. "Instead of his sexuality being the first and defining characteristic, we’ve already gotten a chance to know Teddy before he explores his sexuality. Teddy’s an athlete, he’s a famous guy’s son, he’s blonde and hunky and yes, he also has a sexual orientation and that’s a huge part of his life. In a lot of ways I think that’s more interesting than Teddy is a gay athlete, a gay famous guy’s son and a blonde and hunky gay gentleman." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)
TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that former House star Jennifer Morrison--who may or may not return to the FOX medical drama--will guest star on NBC's Chase this fall, where she will appear alongside current boyfriend Amaury Nolasco. Morrison is set to make an appearance in the sixth episode of the new procedural drama, where she will play Faith, described as "a single mother-turned-fugitive who embarks on a bloody killing spree across Texas with her innocent little daughter in tow." (TV Guide Magazine)
File this under sickening: The Hollywood Reporter's Leslie Bruce is reporting that Jersey Shore's The Situation (a.k.a. Mike Sorrentino) will make $5 million by the end of the year, according to an unnamed source familiar with the reality star's personal finances. "We are really excited about all the opportunities coming Mike's way," Sorrentino's manager, Mike Petolino of Gotham Entertainment, told THR. "He has been able to secure many endorsement deals, business opportunities and additional television offers based on the success of the show. Our goal has always been to try to build a brand if the situation presented itself." (Hollywood Reporter)
TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Tia Texada (Third Watch) will guest star on NBC's Chuck this season, where she will play Hortencia, the wife of Armand Assante's Costa Gravan Premier Alejandro Goya. "We'll meet Hortencia, who (no surprise) is harboring a secret," writes Keck, "when Chuck and the gang visit the Premier's beautiful island in his native Costa Gravas." Texada will appear in the fourth season's fourth episode. (TV Guide Magazine)
Worked for NBC? Anyone and everyone who worked for the Peacock at one time or another is eligible to attend the 15th Annual NBC Reunion Dinner, which will be held at the Lakeside Golf Club in Burbank on October 23rd, according to a Variety report. (Variety)
Stay tuned.