Parents TV Council is Outraged Over Ryan Murphy’s ‘Scream Queens’ and ‘American Horror Story: Hotel’
Parents TV Council is outraged over Ryan Murphy’s Scream Queens and American Horror Story: Hotel
“This is the most vile and shocking content I’ve ever seen on TV. Ever,” PTC president Tim Winter said of American Horror Story’s new season, in calling for an advertiser boycott. Meanwhile, of Fox’s Scream Queens, Winter wrote: “The program features graphic decapitations and discussions of necrophilia in the family hour … all sponsored by McDonalds.” PLUS: American Horror Story: Hotel isn’t very scary, and Ryan Murphy shows are all the same.
Ebony magazine asks: Can The Cosby Show survive? Should it?
The new issue tackles the Bill Cosby controversy, and how it relates to Cliff Huxtable. PLUS: Malcolm-Jamal Warner clarifies his comments on The Cosby Show’s legacy.
Mr. Selfridge is appaently ending after 4 seasons
Jeremy Piven retweeted his co-star Amanda Abbington’s tweet, saying: “And so we shut up shop for the very last time. Good night and good luck. Thanks for everything.” Piven added: “It has been such a pleasure, 4 seasons in the books…” However, there’s no official word from the British ITV drama that airs on PBS.
Why Ryan Seacrest’s Squad Goals sitcom is doomed to failure
Viewers just aren’t into watching a show about a group of 20-something friends these days.
Melissa Leo to star in Showtime’s I’m Dying Up Here
The Jim Carrey-produced comedy will have Leo play a brassy comedy club owner. She’ll be joined by Sebastian Stan and Clark Duke.
For the first time, The Simpsons is doing a real Halloween episode
Sunday’s Halloween of Horror is a regular episode that happens to take place on Halloween, unlike the Treehouse of Horror episodes.
Drunk Iowa college student calls 911, claims she’s Scandal’s Olivia Pope
Kelsey Jean Cousins told the 911 operator “a car with a bomb in it” was heading to the White House. She was later arrested.
Hasan Minaj credits Bill Maher for his Daily Show gig
Turns out Maher “helped out a Muslim” with his Real Time argument with Ben Affleck, which inspired Minaj when he auditioned for Jon Stewart.
Thanks to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Brooklyn got a “Pizza Rat Blvd”
The Netflix series briefly celebrated the Pizza Rat phenomenon on Thursday.
Mr Robot creaor: I had an Ashley Madison account for “research” purposes only
“When I wrote the pilot,” says Sam Esmail, “I wanted Eliot to bust this guy and to use that leverage. I did create an account — this totally sounds ridiculous now — I created accounts everywhere online.”
Rookie Blue canceled after 6 seasons
The ABC drama’s Canadian producer said in a statement: “After six seasons the series reached a natural conclusion and this season’s finale was the perfect wrap up for both our rookies and for fans, especially with the marriage of our favourite couple, Sam and Andy.”
CBS is developing a Hot Sauce comedy
Set in a small Louisiana town, Hot Sauce follows a mom who works in the most popular hot sauce company in the world.
Oprah delves into faith with OWN miniseries Belief
Kicking off Sunday, Belief tells of how people from around the world turn to faith. The miniseries also covers people without faith, like atheists.
Black-ish has become one of TV’s best comedy by being provocatively bold this season
The ABC comedy has been consistenly funny while tackling important topics.
Why Sunday Night Football is TV’s best show, deserving to be in the same conversation as Breaking Bad
“It’s not just the top-rated program; it’s not just the finest sports program,” says Jody Rosen. “It’s the most artful and exciting show, period—a feat of craftsmanship, imagination, and technical wizardry that makes nearly everything else on television look dim and flat-footed by comparison.”
Every ’90s black sitcom, ranked
A Different World tops The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and The Cosby Show in this ranking.
On Amy Schumer’s first HBO standup special, there’s a comfortable kind of self-deprecation
On the Chris Rock-directed Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo, the comedienne isn’t “afraid to say insulting things about herself,” says Mike Hale. “But she doesn’t do it with the self-mocking edge of a Joan Rivers. It’s a comfortable kind of self-deprecation, born of insecurity but delivered with a confidence that takes the sting out and gives the listener a snug feeling of complicity. There are comics who inspire more raucous, helpless laughter, but no one has the audience so completely on her side.” PLUS: Schumer mostly avoids jokes about race, and here are themes to look out for in Schumer’s special.
How ridiculous is Exorcism: Live!?
Destination America has released details of its Halloween-themed stunt.
America’s Next Top Model will exit as one of reality TV’s greatest shows
ANTM wouldn’t be what it is without Tyra Banks, says Margaret Lyons. “Part of the joy of Top Model‘s earliest seasons was just how raw and unexpected it felt. All the contestants were beautiful, so how come they couldn’t all look beautiful in photographs? Indeed, this is called modeling, and Tyra Banks was here to teach us about it.” PLUS: Looking back at ANTM’s cultural impact.
Empire is TV’s contemporary art gallery
“The show’s four-stage Chicago set doesn’t feel like a contemporary art gallery,” says Antwaun Sargent. “It’s much less pristine, and the artwork hangs inconspicuously on the walls amid the on-set chaos. But the art world’s influence is clear. The paintings on display, mostly portraits, represent a generation of celebrated works by black artists, which have toured America’s museums during the past two decades. The works sit underneath special lighting, designed to show off their powerful imagery when the cameras are rolling.” PLUS: Empire’s secret weapon is the ability to constantly remind you that it’s important and popular and “the best” — a perfect distillation of the hip-hop ethos.
Steven Spielberg was once a young TV sensation
Spielberg, who began directing TV shows and TV movies in the late ‘60s, directed the pilot for Columbo.
Syfy cancels Defiance after 3 seasons
The Julie Benz-Grant Bowler drama series that came out in conjunction with a video game was a “$100 million gamble” for NBC Universal.
@midnight hosted a “Moby Dickathon” on Periscope
Nick Hardwick and friends took turns reading the entirety of Moby Dick on the live-streaming service.
What if True Detective Season 2 was a romcom?
Watch the much-hated Season 2 with a romantic twist.
Leah Remini will fill in for Erin Andrews on Dancing with the Stars
Andrews will take a break for cover Fox’s MLB playoff and World Series coverage.
Maisie Williams talks about “crossing over fandoms” on Doctor Who
The Game of Thrones star wonders how her Who appearance this weekend will go over with hardcore fans.
20 UCLA freshman receive Big Bang Theory scholarships
Chuck Lorre and his cast handed out the scholarships this week to students pursuing the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. PLUS: Kaley Cuoco’s divorce doesn’t mean “the nerds win.”
Disney Channel greenlights tween music comedy Bizaardvark
The comedy revolves around two 13-year-old female friends who write funny songs and create music videos for Bizaardvark, their online channel.
The Knick returns for Season 2 after successfully reinventing the period drama
Steven Soderbergh’s Cinemax gothic hospital drama, says Jack Hamilton, “is an amazing television show in the purest sense of that most overused word. It is dismaying, awe-inspiring, terrifying, and habitually breathtaking.” PLUS: Season 2 builds on last year’s strengths, and how Clive Owen became TV’s biggest badass.
NBC’s Truth Be Told is really lame
The comedy starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar “takes a dated sitcom-style approach to talking about race — rendering the whole show superficial and ringing of, well, untruth,” says Tim Goodman. PLUS: Truth is packed with “worthless” race jokes.
