UPDATE: Don’t have a bird, man. Oscar ratings plummeted across the U.S. The nearly four-hour statue-fest sank 12% nation-wide in overnights compared to last year. In Buffalo, N.Y., according to my colleague Alan Pergament, ratings were down a whopping 25%. More viewers watched last week’s equally long Saturday Night Live 40th anniversary special in Buffalo than
Sunday is the 87th annual Academy Awards 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC, CTV). We’re supposed to just call them the Oscars now, just like we’re supposed to stop using roman numerals for Super Bowl’s after next year’s Lth, but screw that. If you love shampoo ads, there’s a 90-minute red carpet pre-show. Ninety minutes!! So five hours
PASADENA, Calif.–At 8:30 on the dot, the ABC-hired security personnel formed a line and started sweeping reporters and TV stars out of the ballroom. Party’s over. We’d seen this last year–but 8:30? “Don’t they know we’re talent?” said one of the ABC stars. The beefy ex-cops in the dark blue jackets were just following orders from ABC/Disney.
HOLLYWOOD–Jimmy Kimmel welcomed Bill Maher on his ABC late night show Wednesday and the two wasted no time getting into the Charlie Hebdo murders in Paris. Maher has raised eyebrows lately with his outspoken denunciation of Muslims who he says support terrorism. I was at the taping and interviewed Kimmel later in his office. He
From Tuesday night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live: Congratulations to John Tory, who has succeeded the inimitable Rob Ford as mayor of Toronto…Ford has vowed to run for mayor again in 2018. I don’t know if I can wait that long!
There was no Netflix or Hulu or Amazon Prime in 1964–unless they were rival agencies like THRUSH on the new spy series that season, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. There wasn’t even Fox or Global or City back in ’64. The TV landscape was so much narrower and easier to get–all you needed was an antenna.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.–Whoa, Canada. Relax! ABC loves Rookie Blue. Honest! ABC officials back peddled Tuesday afternoon on earlier reports the U.S. broadcaster was not ordering future episodes of the five-year-old series. Credit Canadian colleague Amber Dowling (read her now at The TV Junkies) with getting to ABC entertainment president Paul Lee Tuesday morning with the
I joke that recapping American Idol and Dancing with the Stars for theStar.ca this year is the very definition of getting paid to watch television. Fact is, a) I don’t get paid all that much and b) I was surprised by how much I enjoyed both shows. Once mighty Idol has slumped to a record