Lifetime examines the story of the wives of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X with Betty & Coretta.
News
Here's the news that kept me going amid yesterday's bleakness, Dead Like Me star Ellen Muth will appear in an episode of (Dead Like Me creator) Bryan Fuller's new show, Hannibal, according to TVLine.
Angry Jonathan Coulton supporters are sinking user ratings for Glee's version of "Baby Got Back," which...er, borrowed heavily from Coulton's interpretation.
Gerald MacRaney will have a recurring role on the upcoming season of Southland, according to EW. Major Dad will play a retired police officer who trained Cooper back in the day.
Ben & Jerry's frozen tribute to 30 Rock is ... Liz Lemon Frozen Yogurt with a blueberry lavender swirl. Buzzfeed is unimpressed, but I was hoping for a lemon flavor (though I suspect Liz Lemon would say she treats herself to frozen yogurt but ends up buying a pint Phish Food).
As the world of TV bloggers and critics got ready to say goodbye to 30 Rock there were plenty of tributes:
- Deadline credits the show for opening doors to female creator/stars like Lena Dunham and Mindy Kaling.
- Buzzfeed posted a graphic of the shows that influenced 30 Rock and the shows that 30 Rockwent on to influence.
- Vulture lists its favorite obscure characters (in hindsight, I shouldn't have worried about that Jim Carey guest appearance) and turns the show's jokes into infographics.
- Grantland praised the show for its nuanced and a grounded-but-still-irreverent approach to race (we are talking about the show that got away with putting Jon Hamm in blackface).
- Finally, The AV Club makes a comparison to the final season of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the first sitcom to plan a goodbye season.
NBC wants to stay in the Roseanne Barr business, the network has signed the comedian to develop a sitcom and appear in three episodes of The Office. Last year, Barr starred in Downwardly Mobile, a NBC pilot that didn't make it to the fall schedule.
Lifetime is stepping into the supernatural drama, ordering a ten-episode season of The Witches of East End, about women who don't realize they come from a lineage of witches.
Great news, comrades! The Americans had a strong debut drawing 3.22 million viewers. That's better than what the debut episodes of American Horror Story and Sons of Anarchy drew. Of course, now it's a question of how many of those viewers stick around. Based on that pilot, I expect most of them will keep watching.
Friday's Listings
Anderson Live (syndicated) Check local listings
Billie just may have said goodbye to Salem this week but Lisa Rinna's going from Days of Our Lives to Anderson Live as his co-host.
The New Ricki Lake Show (syndicated) Check local listings
Margaret Cho's got a new comedy tour, Mother and she's here to talk to Ricki about the show and her relationship with her mother.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show (syndicated) Check local listings
Ellen's got twice the reason to hold a party since the Super Bowl is coming up and it's Portia's 40th birthday with visits from Modern Family's own Doogie, Nolan Gould and... er... Chris Tucker.
Days of Our Lives (NBC) Check local listings
Our guys aren't mentioned in today's spoilers, but with the way things left off (Brian's still making me question my loyalty to Will), we can't take a chance on missing out on some good stuff ... or missing out on covering it in a liveblog. So be sure to join us starting at 1PM Eastern in the hopes that Days isn't planning on making us wait more than a day to find out what happens to Sonny and Brian.
Nikita (CW) 8:00 PM ET
It's not just Michael who has to get used to being in a supervisory role again, due to his injury, Nikita isn't happy that she's going on a mission with Owen now that she's gotten used to having Michael at her side.
The 44th Annual NAACP Image Awards (NBC) 8:00 PM ET
As in past years, the NAACP's awards to honor the accomplishments of people of color in entertainment haven't overlooked gay pop culture, with Glee, Scandal, The Good Wife and Totally Biased.
Malibu Country (ABC) 8:30 PM ET
Reba's family is discovering their creative side as Cash starts to find his groove for a class assignment to write a one-act play and Lily signs up for an improv class. It seems like a good thing until she realizes Cash is turning to her marriage for inspiration.
Spartacus: War of the Damned (Starz) 9:00 PM ET
This may be Spartacus' final season but there's hope for a spin-off as this week the show introduces Julius Caesar, which kinda sounds like suggesting that Scandal continue with a spin-off focus on Sally Langston.
Merlin (Syfy) 10:00 PM ET
Camelot comes under threat when a trio (a weird trio?) demands that Arthur take back the laws that make sorcery illegal in the kingdom. The show starts at ten, the debate over what kind of activism the trio represents starts at eleven!
Portlandia (IFC) 10:00 PM ET
This week, Portlandia reveals one of the less-discussed effects of bans on gay marriage — when opposite-sex couples' weddings get shut down for being too fabulous.
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC) 11:30 PM ET
Wanda Sykes is always a great guest for Jay. We've been overdue to get to hear about Wanda's take on recent events.
Saturday's Listings
Betty & Coretta (Lifetime) 8:00 PM ET
Lifetime challenges viewers' concept of a Lifetime movie with this biopic that follows Coretta Scott King (Angela Bassett) and Dr. Betty Shabazz (Mary J. Blige) as they try to continue their lives after their husbands were assassinated. I'm pretty sure their lives don't lead to marrying a man who seems to be perfect but turns out to be a stalker, so cheers to Lifetime for trying something different.
Cyndi Lauper: Still So Unusual (WE) 9:00 PM ET
I don't know what to think. My TV listings say that this week sees Cyndi take her family to Coney Island, only to find herself struggling between the demands of her career and her family. However, that episode showed up on my DVR a few weeks ago. I think I was expecting to see Cyndi at Cannes that week, so maybe that's what's really airing?
Unfaithful (OWN) 9:00 PM ET
OWN's reality series about couples dealing with infidelity kicks off its second season this weekend with a look at the story of Cheryl and Julie, whose marriage of six years changed when Julie revealed that she believed she was transgender and wanted to live as a woman.
Girls (HBO) 10:05 PM ET
The Super Bowl prompts HBO's shows to air a day early (perhaps there will be fresh episodes on the DVR if the game turns out to be a dud?) as Hannah watches her attempt at throwing her first adult dinner party fall apart in the realization that her friends aren't ready for grown up events.
The Graham Norton Show (BBC America) 10:15 PM
Graham's guest list this week includes Minnie Driver and Stephen Merchant.
Enlightened (HBo) 10:35 PM ET
Amy's latest way to become even more insufferable, discovering social media and deciding that's how she'll spread her message.
Sunday's Listings
Puppy Bowl IX (Animal Planet) 3:00 PM ET
Your annual cute alternative to the Super Bowl increases the cute factor with the addition of hedgehog cheerleaders.
Super Bowl XLVII (CBS) 6:30 PM ET
Sigh. As a former Bay Area resident with no local team, I'd usually be happy to be able to root for the 49ers in the Super Bowl. Usually, I'm just rooting for a company that doesn't annoy me to deliver an amusing ad (yes, I watch for the ads... and the tweeting about the ads) but I thought I'd be able to cheer on one of the teams, too. Thanks, Chris Culliver, for mucking that up. At least there's s Beyonce performing in the halftime show.
Masterpiece Classic (PBS) Check local listings
One of the things The Killing did really well was its depiction of how the death of a child can tear apart a marriage. For Cora and Robert that's made even worse by the fact that someone dismissed advice that would have saved Sybil's life.
Elementary (CBS) 10:00 PM ET
This year, it's CBS' update to the Sherlock Holmes legend that's getting the after-game spot and Elementary tries to rise to the spotlight with the case of a criminal who already has an FBI profiler (played by Covert Affairs and Wonderfalls alum Kari Matchett) assigned to him. Sherlock, of course, is annoyed with the idea of getting "help"
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS) 11:00 PM ET
Craig's getting to host the after-after-game party with Channing Tatum, Channing Tatum's abs, Steve Carell, Julie Chen, Nikki Reed, Drew Brees and Neil Patrick Harris.
What will you be watching this weekend? Please share in the comments!
