Lindsay Lohan to Host SNL; First of Two New Episodes

Lindsay Lohan returns for her fourth time to the Saturday Night Live stage as host on March 3rd.

The show, which in my opinion presents only about a half hour of comedy (out of 90 minutes) each show, is only back for two new episodes.  Then it goes back on hiatus.

Why can't NBC get more out of the producers of that show?

Joining Lohan, Jack White will make his first appearance as musical guest. White’s debut album, “Blunderbluss,” due out April 24th features the critically acclaimed single “Love Interruption.”

On March 10th, Jonah Hill returns for his second time as host. Hill is currently nominated for an Academy Award for his role in the feature film “Moneyball,” and will next be seen in "21 Jumpstreet" in theatres March 16th.

The Shins will serve as musical guest on March 10th. Making their second SNL appearance, The Shins’ fourth album “Port of Morrow,” due out March 20th.

"Saturday Night Live" is produced in association with Broadway Video. The creator and executive producer is Lorne Michaels.

Daily Beast: General Hospital Fighting those who would Kill It

Those following the soap situation on ABC will be very interested in this article from the Daily Beast.  I know a lot of our readers are following the situation regarding the cancellation of All My Children and One Life to Live - and their subpar replacements, The Chew and The Revolution.

This piece addresses how General Hospital is fighting back.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/02/22/general-hospital-fights-back.html

Castle Beats Smash, Whose Audience Dwindles

ABC's "Castle" (with 9.7 million viewers) last night widened its winning advantage over NBC's "Smash" (with 6.5 million viewers), ending up with 32% more viewers.  That's a pretty solid lead.

Smash had 11.5 million viewers for its premiere episode and 8.1 million for last week's edition, the second installment.  Clearly, the show's audience is dwindling, though it is still relatively healthy.

 

It's possible viewers don't like the plot line.  Last week, Katharine McPhee's character,  Karen, lost out to Megan Hilty's Ivy for the plum role of Marilyn Monroe in the show about the production of a Broadway Musical about the fallen superstar.

In another poor turn, we found out last night that Debra Messing's Julia doesn't have such a great marriage after all.  She reveals that she had an affair with the guy slated to play Joe DiMaggie, Michael Swift, played by actor Will Chase.  He's rumored to be having a real-life romance with Messing, who recently left her husband of ten years, Daniel Zelman.  Chase recently left his wife.

How's that for a soap opera?

Prime Time Ratings for Last Week - February 6-12

Here are the TV ratings for last week.  CBS did incredibly well, both because of the Grammy Awards and because it consistently has top-ratings programs like NCIS, Big Bang, 60 Minutes and Person of Interest.  ABC didn't even make the top ten.

On cable, it's stunning, but Jersey Shore on MTV has more than five million viewers, though it was beaten by Walking Dead on AMC, which took the top cable spot for the week.

Broadcast:

	Program	Network	# of Viewers
1.	GRAMMY AWARDS	CBS	39,909,000
2.	NCIS	CBS	20,976,000
3.	AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY	FOX	19,325,000
4.	AMERICAN IDOL-THURSDAY	FOX	18,132,000
5.	THE VOICE	NBC	17,844,000
6.	NCIS: LOS ANGELES	CBS	16,266,000
7.	THE BIG BANG THEORY	CBS	16,206,000
8.	PERSON OF INTEREST	CBS	15,138,000
9.	THE MENTALIST	CBS	14,678,000
10	60 Minutes	CBS	14,254,000

Cable:

	Program	Network	# of Viewers
1.	WALKING DEAD	AMC	8,102,000
2.	JERSEY SHORE	MTV	5,423,000
3.	PAWN STARS (Mon 10:30 PM)	HIST	5,185,000
4.	GOLD RUSH ALASKA	DISC	4,845,000
5.	PAWN STARS (Mon 10:00 PM)	HIST	4,807,000
6.	WWE: RAW (Mon 9:00 PM)	USA	4,800,000
7.	THE LION KING	DISN	4,713,000
8.	SWAMP PEOPLE	HIST	4,653,000
9.	WWE RAW (Mon 10:00 PM)	USA	4,438,000
10	SPONGEBOB	NICK	4,234,000

Michael Douglas added to list of Oscar Presenters

Two-time Academy Award^® winner Michael Douglas will present at the 84th Academy Awards ceremony, telecast producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer announced today.

Douglas won an Oscar for his lead performance in “Wall Street” (1987) and a Best Picture Award as a producer of “One Flew  over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975). His film credits include “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” “Solitary Man,” “You, Me and Dupree,” “Traffic,” “Wonder Boys,” “Falling Down,” “Fatal Attraction” and “The China Syndrome.”

Douglas joins the previously announced Oscar presenters, including Halle Berry, Rose Byrne, Bradley Cooper, Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Tina Fey, Tom Hanks, Angelina Jolie, Milla Jovovich, Ellie Kemper, Jennifer Lopez, Melissa McCarthy, Wendy McLendon-Covey, Chris Rock, Maya Rudolph, Ben Stiller, Emma Stone and Kristen Wiig.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

Mad Men Season Preview

Here's a preview of the coming season of Mad Men.  Season five begins on March 25th on AMC after almost two years since new episodes.

Matthew Perry to Recur in Good Wife Cast

Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award nominee Matthew Perry of the dear, departed NBC smash hit, Friends, has been cast in a recurring role on The Good Wife beginning Sunday, March 25 on CBS.

Perry will play Mike, an extremely charming Chicago attorney tasked with heading up a blue-ribbon panel investigating a suspicious police shooting. When Alicia (Julianna Margulies) is assigned to be on the panel, she begins to question his actions as chairman.

The Good Wife, is currently one of the best, if not THE best, dramas on TV.  It received nine 2011 Primetime Emmy nominations, the most for a broadcast network series.  It has also won Peabody, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild and People’s Choice Awards.

Perry, 42, is best known for his Emmy-nominated role as Chandler Bing on  Friends.  He also received acclaim for his portrayal of Ron Clark in the television movie The Ron Clark Story, accompanied by another Emmy nomination. Perry starred in the short-lived series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and had a short run on The West Wing.  In film, he has appeared in Fools Rush In (1997), The Whole Nine Yards (2000), and 17 Again (2009).  In 2010 he expanded his resume to include both video games and voiceover work when he voiced Benny in the role-playing game Fallout: New Vegas