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A stellar lineup of actors and directors, along with one of the great minds of the science world, are set for ABC’s new hour-long anthology series, Masters of Science Fiction. Academy Award nominee and Emmy nominee Sam Waterston, two-time Academy Award nominee and Emmy winner Judy Davis and Anne Heche (ABC’s upcoming Men in Trees), internationally renowned star Malcolm McDowell, Terry O Quinn (ABC’s Lost ), Elizabeth Rohm (Law & Order), 2006 Emmy nominee Clifton Collins, Jr....

NBC GETS LITTLE LIFT FROM OLYMPICSNBC’s hope to use the Winter Olympics to promote itself out of fourth place in the ratings came a-crashing last week as it faced competition from American Idolon Fox, the Oscars on ABC, and CBS’s depth of hit shows. The network finished particularly weakly among younger viewers, the demographic group it once dominated. As expected, ABC’s coverage of the Oscars not only topped the Nielsen list for the week, but topped all other entertainment programs broadcast this year....

NEW PAPARAZZI LAW SIGNED IN SACRAMENTO California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who, in his previous career as a movie star, once found himself surrounded by photographers when he tried to pick up his children from school, has signed an amendment to a 1998 law that makes it a crime for a photographer to take and sell unauthorized pictures of celebrities engaged in “personal or familial activity.” The amendment says that “an assault committed with the intent to capture any type of visual image, sound recording, or other physical impression” of a celebrity can be punished by a fine of $50,000....

RATINGS GET REAL Summer reality shows and news magazines dominated the Nielsen ratings last week, with eight such shows appearing among the top 20. CBS continued to reign supreme, placing seven shows in the top 10, including the No. 1 show, CSI: Miami. While it may still be summer, pre-season football registered strongly for NBC (although falling about 12 percent from a week earlier), with the NFL exhibition game between Washington and Cincinnati tying for tenth place....

HOLIDAY BAD TIME FOR CRISIS COVERAGE Television coverage of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai exposed the weakness of the broadcast and cable networks in responding to major events over a U.S. national holiday, several media critics have maintained. They were particularly critical of reports suggesting that the cadre of attackers had targeted U.S. and British citizens. In fact, of 183 known dead as of Monday evening only 18 were foreign nationals, five of whom were American (three of them killed at Nariman House, a Jewish center operated by the Brooklyn-based Chabad organization) and one British....

COURT SETS ASIDE WARDROBE MALFUNCTION FINE The FCC’s crackdown on television indecency suffered a severe setback Monday as a federal court overturned the agency’s $550,000 fine against CBS-owned stations for airing the Janet Jackson breast-baring incident with Justin Timberlake during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. In a unanimous decision, the three-judge appellate court ruled that the FCC had acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” by imposing new standards for indecency “without supplying notice of and a reasoned explanation for its policy departure....

GETTING THE STORY OUT OF IRAN Even though they have been tightly restricted – forced to remain in their Tehran bureau offices or hotel rooms – network correspondents Thursday continued to report from Iran, using mostly footage taken with cell phones by Iranian employees or downloaded from the Internet. CBS’s Elizabeth Palmer mentioned in her report that her press credentials had been canceled. Documentary filmmaker James Longley, who was arrested while shooting footage of the demonstrators, wrote in an email, “It made me really question what I am doing in this country....

AND THEN THERE WERE TWO American Idolcontestants were reduced to the last two Wednesday night after Danny Gokey was eliminated, leaving Adam Lambert and Kris Allen to vie in next week’s finals. Lambert is heavily favored to win. Indeed, judge Paula Abdul appeared to hand him the title on Wednesday night’s show, saying, “One brilliant song, one superb performance, one American Idol that I’m staring at right now.” Judge Simon Cowell had already predicted in interviews that Lambert would win, although on Wednesday he remarked, “I’m not going to suck up quite as much as the other three [judges]....

DISNEY CAUGHT UP IN DOWNTURN The Walt Disney company, which has resisted the economic downturn with greater strength than most other media conglomerates – its stock has dropped only about 25 percent over the rocky past two months, while other media companies’ have plunged 40-60 percent – startled investors Thursday when it disclosed that its fourth-quarter net income had dropped 13 percent and that it expected even worse results next year....

OLYMPICS TO BE “SIGNATURE MOMENT” FOR HDTV, SAYS NBC EXEC NBC Sports executive producer David Neal said Wednesday that he expects sales of high-definition television sets to soar worldwide in advance of next summer’s Olympic Games coverage from Beijing. Speaking to the HD World conference in New York, Neal observed that NBC plans to deliver 756 hours of HD programming from the Summer Olympics – nearly twice the 399 hours that it produced for the 2004 Games in Athens....

According to several media outlets, Jordan Elsass, who plays Jonathan Kent on the CW’s Superman & Lois series, did not report back to the show’s filming location in Vancouver for the start of the upcoming third season. Therefore, his role will be recast. Warner Bros. released a statement saying, Meanwhile, there are conflicting reports as to whether the actor voluntarily left or was let go from the production, with some sources noting that his vaccination status may have come into question as Canada has a strict policy that does not allow unvaccinated people into the country....

Whether you like reality TV or not, it’s almost a guarantee that you’ve at least heard of Survivor. In the year 2000, the first of currently 42 seasons aired, making the show one of the longest running reality TV shows. All 42 seasons have had the same host, Jeff Probst, and he’s definitely become a staple of the show. No matter where the show is filmed, who the contestants are, or what challenges they face, it’s certainly a thrilling show to watch....

Sweet Magnolias is a Netflix original series based on the novels by Sherryl Woods. The series follows three South Carolina women: Maddie, Dana Sue, and Helen. Having been friends their whole lives, these three women navigate their lives with the unconditional love and support of one another. Sweet Magnolias premiered in 2020 and was popular enough to be renewed for a second season in 2022, with many wondering when there will be confirmation of a third season....

There was a time not long ago when we were all really looking forward to a reboot of the classic horror anthology TV series Tales From the Crypt, which TNT was developing with M. Night Shyamalan as part of an entire night of horror programming. The show was originally supposed to premiere later this year, ideally in time for Halloween, but a complicated rights issue got in the way and the show has since been shelved....

Spoiler Alert: Spoilers for Teen Wolf: The Movie Ahead Teen Wolf: The Movie saw iconic characters from the MTV television series return to the silver screen five years after the show stopped airing. That being said, not all of the cast’s beloved characters survived the reunion. Now streaming on Paramount+, Teen Wolf: The Movie got plenty of emotional mileage out of fans by sprinkling fake-out death scenes throughout the film, though several of the film’s deaths proved devastatingly permanent....

As the holidays approach and temperatures plummet, what better time is there to get lost in a classic romantic comedy? When it’s too cold to go outside, movie lovers can bring a bit of warmth into their home with a timeless tale of love and devotion, though romantic comedies have much more to offer than the satisfaction of a meet-cute blossoming into a lifelong bond. The feel-good nature of these films is sure to entertain and engage on a calm night in, with many films in the genre exploring a range of themes that can be greatly moving and introspective....

Plot is traditionally considered one of the most important components to any film. Things like style, acting, and even writing can hardly save a movie from the trenches of a dull storyline. Indeed, we go to the movies to become totally immersed in someone else’s world — not that explosions and face-offs aren’t an added plus, though. Because of this, there are many choice words usually given to movies with “no” plot: boring, anticlimactic, tedious, sleep-inducing… to name a few....

The 2000s were a strange time. Technology boomed, but none of us knew how to use it yet, and the economy tanked and bounced back and tanked again. But there was always one constant that kept us sane throughout our growing pains, and that’s the steady deluge of sitcoms that emerged from this time period. Sitcoms of the 2000s were their own breed. In an effort to fill the void that Seinfeld, Frasier, Friends, That 70s Show, and others that ran their course in the 90s, a new decade brought along a treasure trove of comedy that was a little more cynical, but a lot more focused....

This article contains minor SPOILERS for season 3 of The Boys by revealing a surprise cameo appearance. The Boys has kicked off its anticipated third season on Prime Video, and with the first three episodes came some rather shocking moments. Overlooking the bloody mayhem for just a moment, one a particular scene that had left many fans stunned was a surprise cameo by Hollywood legend Charlize Theron. This comes just weeks after making an appearance in another major comic book adaptation for Theron who was just recently seen in a post-credit sequence for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, seemingly setting up her Marvel Cinematic Universe future....

John Goodman has confirmed that the Roseanne spin-off series, The Conners, will kill off Roseanne. It was revealed earlier this summer that Barr had allowed the spin-off to happen and made it clear that she would not have anything to do with the production of the show that is based on characters she created. The Roseanne revival series was a success, earning ratings and getting rave reviews from critics. However, Barr sent out a racist tweet that swiftly got the new series canceled....