J.J. Abrams Expects ‘Person of Interest’ to End with Season 5

TV Tattle

J.J. Abrams expects Person of Interest to end with Season 5

“My guess is it is the final season,” said Abrams, when asked about the reduced 13-episode order while promoting 11.22.63 this morning at the Television Critics Association press tour. “The only heartbreak there is how much good story there was to come if it were to have continued.”


Hayden Panettiere returns to Nashville

After taking a break to be treated for postpartum depression, Panettiere was back on set Friday, according to TV Line. She’s expected to return for the season’s 14th episode.


Why NBC continues airing the Golden Globes despite the snubbing of its shows

The annual Globes — which have become free promotion for outlets like HBO and Netflix — gives the Peacock big bucks, thanks especially to its upscale audience. The Globes also gives NBC a chance to promote its own shows. PLUS: E! buys an 8-foot-tall robotic camera for its Ryan Seacrest Globes red carpet coverage, and why you can’t stream the Globes, and Ricky Gervais promises no jokes that cause “collateral damage.”


CSI creator doesn’t think his franchise will end this year with CSI: Cyber

CSI: Cyber lost its timeslot this week, but Anthony Zuiker says “I don’t think so” when asked if this is the end of his decade-and-a-half franchise. PLUS: NFL great Emmitt Smith guests on Sunday’s episode.


ABC Family boss defends the Freeform name-change

ABC Family president Tom Ascheim said his cable network needed to move away from its “hallowed” brand names of Disney and ABC. Freeform, he added, sounds more fresh and hip.


Coming to Hulu: The Shield, Party Of Five and Dawson’s Creek

“It’s going to be a big year for Hulu,” Hulu’s head of Content announced at the Television Critics Association.


Stephen King is a huge Lost fan, and that’s how he and J.J. Abrams ended up connecting on Hulu’s 11.22.63

Abrams hit it off with the horror writer when he and fellow Lost producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse visited him in Maine and watched a horror film with him. “So we went to this family-style restaurant together,” Abrams recalls, “and then we went to see The Descent … Every time someone died horribly on screen, he would cheer, and I just fell in love with him.” PLUS: Watch the official 11.22.63 trailer.


ABC renews Steve Harvey’s Celebrity Family Feud

The summer game show averaged 9.4 million total viewers.


Kevin McKidd says he’s “in talks” for a Grey’s Anatomy contract extension

McKidd’s current contract ends after this season.


Hulu’s The Path has nothing to do with Scientology

The drama starring Aaron Paul and Michelle Monaghan about a family at the center of a controversial faith-based movement has no ties to controversial religion, says its creator. PLUS: Watch The Path’s official trailer.


Stephen Colbert did The Late Show live for the first time on Friday night

At the end of last night’s unedited live show, Colbert’s Late Show Twitter account tweeted: “We did it America! The same country that won the moon has delivered a live Late Show. What can’t we do? It’s Saturday, good night!”


SundanceTV to air BBC autism drama The A-Word

The six-episode limited series revolves around a family coming to terms with their 5-year-old son’s autism diagnosis.


Shadowhunters producers promise to “stay unbelievably true to the spirit of the books,” but…

Readers of the Mortal Instruments book series will be in for surprises.


On the new Top Gear, “the car is definitely the star”

New Top Gear host Chris Evans told critics: “I like the old show. It was brilliant there’s no denying it. If the old show had never been taken off I’d still be watching it.”


For $120, you can buy Broad City nesting dolls

The purchase comes with a medium-sized Abbi and a large Ilana doll.

Seth Rogen’s take on The Preacher on AMC had to be different from the comics

Rogen says: “Our first and foremost goal is to make a great, entertaining, fun television show that, if you’ve never heard of the comic book, you love.”

The same linguist is responsible for the languages on Game of Thrones and The Shannara Chronicles

David J. Peterson, the man behind High Valyrian And Dothraki, created a special Druid language for the new MTV fantasy series.


NBC is making Blindspot’s 1st 10 episodes bingeable

Starting Sunday, all 10 episodes will be available online up until the drama returns on Feb. 29.


Making a Murderer’s Dean Strang reacts to his new “heartthrob” status

Is the defense attorney getting recognized? “Yes,” he says, “on the street or out and about. More often by twentysomethings, by millennials. Occasionally by people in other age groups as well, but it’s been noticeable how frequently it’s people in their 20s, early 30s who either recognize me or will come up and say something.” PLUS: Aussie woman paid $6,000 for the official court transcripts, and Steven Avery has a new defense team.


AMC will begin programming 4 nights a week

Original programming will begin airing on Tuesdays, joining Sundays, Saturdays and Mondays.


Shameless is even more topical in Season 6

From its focus on white poverty to its portrayal of sex as a means to personal freedom, the Showtime series has never been more relevant to today’s times. PLUS: Shameless smartly tackles gentrification.