After producing shows with vampires, witches and pretentious teens,
Kevin Williamson's latest horror is a charming serial killer in The Following.
News
What's next for Colin Morgan now that Merlin is over? He's set to appear in an episode of the Gabriel Byrne BBC drama Quirke. Based on a book series, the show follows a morgue worker who investigates the death of people he encounters. Morgan will show up in the season finale.
Jessica De Gouw, fresh off of her role as Arrow's Huntresshas been cast as Mina in NBC's upcoming version of Dracula opposite Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
Add zombies to list of upcoming Mythbusters theme episodes.
NPR's Morning Edition asks what happens to pop culture references now that audiences have been split into small niches. The story starts with the example of the Louie parody that was a part of Louis C.K.'s Saturday Night Live episode. The average Louie episode draws 2 million viewers while an average 7 million people watch SNL, which suggests that most viewers didn't get the sketch. They bring up a variety of examples, but I think they missed a major one in examining how Rachel Maddow has to do layers of explanations when she wants to share her favorite new political meme with the audience. The nice thing about writing for the web is that you can link to your references... except that sometimes it becomes clear people didn't click on the link, making that advantage mostly academic.
I'm not sure what to think about io9's list of warning signs that a show will not reach a satisfying finale. Overall, its a solid list of where shows can go wrong but... oh, all right, I just don't think Supernatural went off the rails when it stopped being about monsters that were the ugly truth behind urban legends. (I will worry if they try to tie the angels and demons to the urban legends of the early days.)
EW reports that Annabeth Gish will appear on Parks & Recreation as Ben's sister in an episode that sees him returning home to the town where he was a teenage mayor.
It's official, HBO is developing a third miniseries about World War II with Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. This one will follow the "Mighty Eighth" of the air force, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
TBS got some good news with ratings for King of the Nerds. The new reality series pulled in an audience that was in line with the network's scripted shows. I'm happy too, considering that King of the Nerds turned out to be a solidly entertaining hour.
Listings
Live! with Kelly and Michael (syndicated) Check local listings
Chris Colfer is visiting today to explain when he finds time to breathe.
The Carrie Diaries (CW) 8:00 PM ET
It wouldn't be a Sex and the City prequel if we didn't get right to the origin of Carrie Bradshaw's worries about her boyfriend losing interest. Do we really have to get to Carrie's second-worst trait already? Will next week be about her spending money on things she can't afford?
Switched at Birth (ABC Family) 8:00 PM ET
The tension between the deaf and hearing kids at Carlton keeps getting worse, prompting Melody to call for a Tolerance Retreat. I guess that means Melody doesn't realize things are bad enough that everyone might not survive the journey to this retreat.
How I Met Your Mother (CBS) 8:00 PM ET
Barney must still have some commitment issues to overcome since he's pressuring Ted to keep dating a woman who is too young and too wild for him. If this leads to Ted being miserable, I'll consider it a down payment to make up for making me watch Zoe.
90210 (CW) 9:00 PM ET
It sounds like Teddy shows up in tonight's episode, though his name doesn't appear in the plot description, so brace yourselves for another episode with three minuets of screen time. Again.
Bunheads (ABC Family) 9:00 PM ET
Michelle and Fanny have bills, bills, bills for the dance studio. I'm behind on this show, so has Michelle talked with the guy at the top of the hill yet? He seems like he could pay her telephone bills, her automobile bills and some of Fanny's bills, too.
Being Human (Syfy) 9:00 PM ET
I'm not sure if they can keep it up, but at the least, Being Human started out its third season with the kind of interesting ideas that made the first season great and were largely missing from the second season. I just hope this story about Sally encountering an old acquaintance doesn't mean were immediately going back to the stories about problems that could have been avoided with slightly better impulse control.
The Following (Fox) 9:00 PM ET
TV is starting to see a flood of serial killer dramas, including this show from Kevin Williamson. I'm starting to feel a little burned out on the subgenre just from the promos! (Save for Hannibal which sounds amah-zing.) Still, The Vampire Diaries showed Williamson knows how to take a series that screams "Another one?" and make it ridiculously compelling.
Hawaii Five-0 (CBS) 10:0 PM ET
On the night before an election, the Five-0 team has to deal with a dead prostitute, a missing Congressman and an upset Governor.
Deception (NBC) 10:00 PM ET
I didn't love the Deception pilot, but what better way to celebrate Victor Garber being officially out than to give his current show another look?
Catfish: The TV Series (MTV) 11:00 PM ET
This time, it's a Catfish that turns to Nev for help, as Rod a straight guy who met Ebony a trans woman on a LGBT website, looks for help in admitting that the photo and name isn't him. I'm already cringing at this one judging from the language Nev and Rod use in discussing Ebony's trans status.
What will you be watching tonight? Please share in the comments!
Tomorrow's Preview
Anderson Live (syndicated) Check local listings
Candace Brooks is back to make up for today's pre-emption by attending the inauguration and giving Anderson her reaction.
Katie (syndicated) Check local listings
Check your storage closet and make sure you have enough tissues. Tomorrow, Katie's talking with Judy Shepard about how she's keeping her son's legacy going.
