The TV Chick

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to stop by the set of NBC’s newest family comedy, 1600 Penn, for Blogger Day to chat with the cast and check out their version of the White House. The show officially premieres tonight, January 10th, although many of you may have caught their sneak peak of the pilot a few weeks ago; the show is headlined by the talented writer/star of Book of Mormon, Josh Gad, and he’s backed up by a talented, funny cast of quirky family members. Billed as NBC’s answer to Modern family, 1600 Penn is worth checking out. The show is a fun ensemble comedy about a typical family in atypical circumstances. Check out a few teases below creator Jon Lovett and showrunner Mike Royce.

Continue reading “FROM THE SET: INTERVIEW: Jon Lovett (Creator) and Mike Royce (Executive Producer) of 1600 Penn” »

Castle has been firing on all cylinders this season. Not only have the writers navigated the Castle/Beckett romance beautifully, but they’ve also given us some wonderfully fun and different episodes like “Swan Song” and “Final Frontier”. I recently had the chance to chat with Seamus Dever (who plays Ryan) about tonight’s Christmas themed episode, the Ryan/Esposito bromance, his obsession with ties, and what’s coming up for the rest of the season.

Continue reading “INTERVIEW: Seamus Dever (Ryan) from Castle” »

Last night I had the privilege of heading out to USC and listening to Stana Katic and Andrew Marlowe chat about Castle. ABC screened last week’s episode, “Probable Cause”, and tonight’s episode, “Final Frontier.”

Here’s what we learned from their chat:

• The Castle fandom is seriously dedicated. Some people flew in from other states and even other countries for the event AND people waited in line for hours to get in. It’s like Comic-Con on a much smaller scale. There were maybe 200 people in the room and I heard rumors that another hundred got turned away after the room filled up.
•  The writer of “Final Frontier”, Kate Sargeant, was in the audience and seemed thrilled with how well the episode played.
• Beckett’s middle name is Houghton. Marlowe was inspired by Katharine Hepburn.

Continue reading “An Evening with ABC’s Castle” »

Jill Flint is one of my favorite actresses and most people have no clue who she is…except for the random old people like my mother who love Royal Pains and could probably identify her on sight but still not know her name. Mark my words, Jill Flint is going to be a star one day*. If you aren’t too familiar with her work, go check out her IDMB. Do some googling, YouTube-ing even. If you watch a show that’s shot in New York, there’s a very good chance that Jill Flint has appeared at one point. As we creep closer to pilot season, I can only hope that this is the year that someone finally casts her as the lead of her own show. Until then, I’m cool with her sticking around on The Good Wife.

*Star of her own TV show. I make no predictions about the success or failure of her movie career. Her turn as a receptionist in The Amazing Spider-Man probably didn’t do much to further that aspect of her career.

Continue reading “Sarah’s Snap Shots: Jill Flint Edition” »

CLAIRE DANES FOR ALL OF THE EMMYS. Yes, I realize the Internet gave all the Emmys to Monica Potter a few weeks ago for that episode where she finds out she has cancer. But dammit, Claire Danes deserves all of the Emmys too. Seriously though, we’re only 3 episodes into the new season of Homeland and Claire Danes has already earned her inevitable 2013 Emmy. I don’t think I’ve ever been so simultaneously heartbroken and happy for a TV character the way I was for Carrie at the end of this week’s episode when Saul showed her Brody’s video. I get emotional just thinking about it. Every single episode of S2 has knocked it out of the park, and there are no signs of that changing. I would watch a new episode of this show every day of the week if I could…IS IT SUNDAY YET?!

Continue reading “Sarah’s Snap Shots: Claire Danes For All The Emmys Edition” »

Nashville is my favorite new show of the fall, and y’all need to watch it. If you like country music, you’ll probably like Nashville. If you don’t like country music, there’s still a very good chance that you’ll like Nashville. It’s that good. It’s soapy and dramatic in all the right ways. There’s a rivalry between two country superstars, politically fueled family drama, and new, undiscovered country music talent.

Rayna Jaymes (played by the always fabulous Mrs. Coach, Connie Britton) is a country star whose stock is fading as she starts to be overshadowed by the Taylor Swift-esque, Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere). The pilot follows Rayna as she discovers that her new album and tour aren’t selling as well as expected and the head of her label gives her an ultimatum: open for Juliette Barnes’ new tour or the label won’t continue to support her.

Continue reading “FALL PREVIEW: Nashville” »

I don’t watch X Factor…or The Voice or American Idol or any other competition-based reality show aside from the occasional YouTube video or tuning into Survivor when Boston Rob makes an appearance (Team Rob/Amber for life, yo). My longstanding love of Rob Mariano aside, I’ve made an exception to my personal rule because Britney Spears is awesome. I’ve been listening to Britney’s music since I was in elementary school. Seriously, she was my first concert. I had a Britney Spears poster hanging in my bedroom for the entirety of my tween years. Christina Aguilera can keep those fancy red swivel chairs over there on The Voice because those of us watching X Factor have BRITNEY SPEARS’ FACIAL EXPRESSIONS. The four genius photos to the left are but a small sampling of the brilliance Britney provides us with on a weekly basis. This show would be improved 1000% if there was a box in the corner of the screen that just showed Britney’s reactions at all times. Think about it, FOX.

I didn’t like the Ben & Kate pilot. It reminded me of Raising Hope, a show that really never clicked with me even though I can see why some people like it. But I’m here to say that I thought episode 2 was adorably sweet and I’m on board for more. Nat Faxon’s character, who I thought was childish and a little bit creepy in the pilot, seemed marginally more competent and sane as he helped his sister fake their address so her daughter could go to the good elementary school. It didn’t all work, but it was goofy and funny with just the right amount of heart. If the writers can continue to make this show work, it’ll help make FOX’s Tuesday night comedy block one of my favorite nights of the week*.

*I will never like Raising Hope. Sorry, FOX. Not gonna happen.

Wilson Bethel is beautiful. We all know this. So it is here, in the middle of the internet, that I would like to thank the writers of Hart of Dixie for embracing male objectification. There are a lot of other reasons to watch that show (Seriously, it’s really good. Check it out if you haven’t.), but it certainly doesn’t hurt that Wilson Bethel spends about 50% of his time on screen shirtless. But if we’re going to objectify the men of Hart of Dixie, let’s be fair. Equality is important, folks. Scott Porter should be shirtless more too.

As a follow-up to last week’s praise of Crystal the Monkey’s genius portrayal of Dr. Rizzo on Animal Practice, I would like to take a moment to say that she was not used nearly enough in episode 3. THAT IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE. However, she knocked it out of the park again with the tag. Crystal fell asleep inside a puppet and scared the shit out of one of the doctors when she woke up. I’m a bit ashamed to admit that I laughed. A lot.

Switched at Birth quickly won me over last year with its truly unique premise, paired with dramatic relationships, family turmoil and an absent father to boot. The show is charming, wonderfully written, and has an amazing cast. Last season was full of twists and turns for the Vasquez-Kennish family, and Daphne went through quite the emotional ringer. Just when it seemed like she found happiness with Wilke, he’s shipped off to boarding school. In the fall premiere, Daphne gets a job in a restaurant kitchen, with a new (very good looking) boss. But things aren’t so easy for her at first. She has to figure out a way to work in the kitchen without being able to hear anyone, and that proves to be a challenge. Sarah Maines had the chance to chat with the lovely Katie LeClerc (who plays Daphne) about what to expect this season, what it means to her to be a part of the show, and her not-so-secret love for High School Musical (and one of her co-stars).

Continue reading “INTERVIEW: Katie Leclerc (Daphne) from Switched At Birth” »

It’s been a rough year for everyone in Chance Harbor, but in the season finale we finally get to see our favorites triumph over the evil John Blackwell. Oh, and Eben was there too. Vengeance!

“The One Ring” AKA the Crystal Skull
Anyone else get some creepy Gollum vibes off of the reactions to the crystal skull? (Clearly, Adam had some issues in that department but we’ll get to that later) Even though Cassie and Diana both learned at prom last week that their dear old dad is a crazy evil pervert, they decided to still meet up with him in the middle of nowhere to build their crystal skull. The group heads to a random deserted beach where the girls take turns tossing some rocks into the ocean then Cassie hops in to pull out the creepiest looking non-skull in the history of this show. Thankfully, it ends up shrinking down into an actual skull, so we don’t have to worry about Blackwell carrying around a squishy white magic blob as he chants evil spells in what I have always assumed is Latin. The entire sequence was hands-down the most ridiculous thing this show has ever produced.

Continue reading “REVIEW: The Secret Circle “Family”” »

This week’s prom-themed episode of Secret Circle continued this show’s streak of improved episodes and amped up nicely for next week’s finale! No melodramatic relationship moments, just good ol’ zombie friends, evil fathers, and kidnap. Typical day in Chance Harbor!

Continue reading “REVIEW: The Secret Circle “Prom”” »