PASADENA, CA–Earlier in the tour, Valerie Harper was here to promote The Town That Came A-Courtin’ on UP. UP (“Uplifting Entertainment”) is a new, Hallmark-y U.S. cable channel and it’s also where Harper is these days despite her grim lung cancer diagnosis of less than a year ago.The reason the 74-year-old is so positive is
Benedict Cumberbatch (left) with Sherlock co-star Amanda Abbington UPDATEDPASADENA, CA–Julia Roberts, Matthew McConaughey, Jimmy Fallon…stand aside. The biggest draw at this Winter’s Television Critics Association press tour was from PBS.No, not Grover or Cookie Monster, or even Ken Burns. The star who caused the biggest stir this January was Benedict Cumberbatch.Fans with autograph books, some
TCA wiseguy Denis Leary PASADENA, CA–“Now, how fucking bored are you guys?”Hello Denis Leary, and welcome back to press tour.The 56-year-old comedian and former Rescue Me star did his usual shtick, peppering his remarks with plenty of F-bombs.Leary can always be counted on for finding the nerve and hitting it. “How bad is it? How
ABC’s crack security professionals worked their party PASADENA, CA–If you want to clear a room and bring a party to a full stop, call ABC.Nobody does it better.The folks who run “the happiest place on earth” run a tight ship down here on press tour. They hosted an all-star cocktail reception Friday night, allowing reporters
PASADENA, CA–Here’s how you know it is ABC Day on press tour: That skeevy Bachelor dude, Juan Pablo, broke into my hotel room and left a dozen roses. That’s all well and good, but next time leave the seat down, pal.
Avgeropoulos (left) with co stars at The CW press tour session for The 100 PASADENA, CA–Marie Avgeropoulos was all glammed up on stage at press tour, but she gets down and dirty on The 100. The apocalyptic sci-fi drama comes to The CW in March.“It’s such a dark show, especially for this network,” she said
PASADENA, CA–Mark Pedowitz, president of The CW, just keeps raiding Canada for content. In TV terms, The CW could stand for The Canadian Warehouse.Pedowitz announced Wednesday at press tour that Seed, the Halifax-based comedy airing in Canada on City, will enjoy a summer run on his network. Pedowitz sees it as a good summer fit
Tolan (centre) does shtick PASADENA, CA–There are stars and showrunners who come to press tour every year and just go through the motions. Then there’s Peter Tolan.The writer/executive producer has contributed to some of TV’s funniest shows, including The Larry Sanders Show and Rescue Me. He’s currently the showrunner of Fox’s mid-season entry Rake (premiering