Roseanne Barr Is Almost Back On TV
Today in showbiz news: Roseanne is nearing a deal with NBC, Brian Austin Green keeps coming back, and a Utah television station makes a big change.
.Today in showbiz news: Roseanne is nearing a deal with NBC, Brian Austin Green keeps coming back, and a Utah television station makes a big change.
Nut farmer Roseanne Barr is close to signing a deal to return to television, this time for real. She had a pilot last year that never went anywhere, but this one seems like more of a sure thing. The deal being struck, with NBC, is what's called a 10/90 deal. Meaning they'll greenlight ten episodes of Roseanne's multicamera family sitcom, and if they hit a certain ratings number, there will be an automatic order for 90 more episodes. It's risky! But the payoff could be good. It's what they did for Charlie Sheen's FX show Anger Management, and that's gone pretty well so far. But this would be the first time a broadcast network has done such a deal, so who knows what will happen. Though, come on, it's Roseanne. Everyone loves Roseanne! Except for the people who really, really don't, but whatever. This looks like it's going to happen, guys. Are you excited? So long as no one wins the lottery on this one, I'll be happy. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Speaking of Anger Management. You hear so many tales of woe about teen stars who burn out, flame out, wipe out, whatever, once they hit adulthood. But then, once in a while, you get someone like Blossom's Mayim Bialik, now on hit series Big Bang Theory and an award-nominee to boot. And then there's Brian Austin Green. He was on 90210 forever and then bounced around a bit before resurfacing, to much nerd acclaim, on the tragically short-lived Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles. When that was canceled he bounced around some more, was on another short-lived show on TBS, and then it seemed like maybe his streak of good luck had finally handed. But not so! He's just been made a series regular on the execrable but popular Anger Management. He'll play some sort of "foil" for Charlie Sheen's character. He did just that in a well-received guest spot recently, and I guess they loved him so much that he's been offered a full-time job. He is the Anya of Anger Management! I guess that means he'll die in the end, too. Sigh. [Deadline]
For the first time since it's been an NBC affiliate, Utah's notoriously conservative LDS-owned KSL will start airing Saturday Night Live, starting this fall. The station long held that they didn't air SNL, which was broadcast on the CW affiliate instead, because of a scheduling issue, but pretty much everyone thinks it was because of content. The station has refused to broadcast several other NBC shows recently, grim or sexy shows like Hannibal, The Playboy Club, and The New Normal. Who knows what changed in terms of SNL. Maybe they just really hated Fred Armisen and now that he's gone it's clear sailing. Whatever the reason, THR points out that people are already theorizing about how long it will be until the show is pulled because of some racy thing. Could have been the perfect opportunity for Stefon. Oh well. [The Hollywood Reporter]
A Chilean actor named Pedro Pascal has been cast in the key role of Oberyn the Red Viper on Game of Thrones. Hailing from the way-South part of Westeros called Dorne (a place we've not yet been to), Oberyn factors in pretty heavily in the second half of the third book in the series, which the fourth season of the show will cover. Given that Pascal is Chilean, it looks as though the show will take after the books in making Dorne a vaguely Spain-like place. Not exactly, but close. They have dark hair and deserts but are near England, I mean the more northern parts of Westeros. So, basically Spain. Anyway, cue the celebration/outrage! [Entertainment Weekly]
Here is our first glimpse at Lars Von Trier's upcoming film Nymphomaniac. It's just a brief clip, with none of the film's big stars in it, so we don't learn much. But it does confirm that, as advertised, the movie is about sex. We know that much, at least.
And here is a trailer for Audrey Tautou's new movie Thérèse, a period drama all about a woman and her husband and then the husband dies and things get sad. So it is every period movie, basically. Only French.