Welcome to CraveOnline's Idiot Box Updates, where we run down all the latest TV news and separate the facts from the rumors and nonsense on and about the small screen.
Here's a list of the top 20 prime-time network shows by viewership numbers, compiled by Nielsen Media Research for April 12-18. Listings include the week's ranking and viewership.
1. American Idol (Wednesday), Fox, 21.02 million.
2. American Idol (Tuesday), Fox, 20.64 million.
3. Dancing With the Stars, ABC, 20.56 million.
4. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 13.71 million.
5. Glee, Fox, 13.66 million.
6. Dancing With the Stars Results, ABC, 13.6 million.
7. The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 13.39 million.
8. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 13.19 million.
9. Academy of Country Music Awards, CBS, 13.02 million.
10. Castle, ABC, 12.68 million.
11. Criminal Minds, CBS, 12.44 million.
12. Survivor: Heroes & Villains, CBS, 12.31 million.
13. The Mentalist, CBS, 11.45 million.
14. NCIS, CBS, 11.1 million.
15. 60 Minutes, CBS, 10.98 million.
16. CSI: NY, CBS, 10.85 million.
17. House, Fox, 10.8 million.
18. CSI: Miami, CBS, 10.78 million.
19. Desperate Housewives, ABC, 10.62 million.
20. NCIS: Los Angeles, CBS, 10.43 million.
In Wednesday's sequel to last week's landmark 200th episode, South Park repeatedly censored the word Muhammad and covered the religious figure with the word "CENSORED" after being issued a thinly-veiled death threat by a U.S. Muslim group.
The Comedy Central also substituted a controversial image seen last week of the Prophet Muhammad in a bear outfit with one of Santa Claus in the same costume. A Comedy Central spokesperson confirmed it was the network's decision to censor the words, making the episode practically incomprehensible, especially to anybody who missed the previous week.
The content is also not available on the South Park Studios website.
The little-known group RevolutionMuslim.com posted a message on its website earlier this week warning creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker "that what they are doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh for airing this show."
In an interview with the Huffington Post, South Park creator Matt Stone had this to say on the subject:
"I think Comedy Central totally fucking pussed out. Now, they weren't any different than anyone else, so it's not like you can single them out. But I think it would've been an important statement for one media outlet in America to stand up. That was one of my most disappointing moments as an American--the American press's reaction to the Muhammad cartoons. It was completely wimpy. Cartoonists, people who do satire--we're not in the army, we're never going to be fucking drafted and this is our time to stand up and do the right thing. And to watch the New York Times, Comedy Central, everybody just go 'No, we're not going to do it because basically we're afraid of getting bombed' sucked. I was so disappointed."
What's most ironic about all this is that the show actually aired an episode that included an image of Muhammad years before, and a clip of it runs during the show's opening in dozens of countries, in syndication, with zero controversy.
See? The no bombs went off. Now back to our regularly scheduled distractions.
Comedian Aziz Ansari (Parks and Recreation) will the host the 2010 MTV Movie Awards. And not unlike Conan O’Brien’s sarcastic Twitter updates, Ansari is spazzing out in his own way to bring balance in telling the people the good news and keeping them laughing. On his own website, Aziz Is Bored, the comedian explains his motives for hosting:
“In order to promote my turn as Charlotte in the upcoming film, Sex and the City 2, I am going to host the MTV Movie Awards.”
Entertainment Weekly published a list of five reasons to watch the awards show from the man himself:
1. ‘The Awards! Who will win Best Villain? Will it be the Nixon administration in The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers or will it be Systemic Urban Inequality in The Blind Side?
2. Watch me promote my upcoming film Sex and the City 2, where I take over the role of Charlotte.
3. Watch, not one, but three parodies of Invictus that I have planned. (Keep an eye out for cameos from several people that were interviewed for the documentary Food, Inc.)
4. I will finally address my longstanding feud with Forest Whitaker.
5. To top last year’s Bruno-Eminem moment, Michael Bay has agreed to whip his balls out at some point during the show.
Cartoon Network has announced that it is launching a new version of Warner Bros.' classic Looney Tunes series starring Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, as well as a few sports programs.
"Cartoon Network's Hall of Game," honoring professional and amateur athletes, is set to debut early next year. The network also announced "Run It Back Sunday," which condenses a full NBA game in one hour with fun facts and special effects.
The updated "Looney Tunes Show" will take Bugs and Daffy out of the woods and puts them into the suburbs with "colorful neighbors" including Yosemite Sam, Granny, Tweety and Sylvester.
"The Office" creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have unveiled a new BBC2 comedy project called Life's Too Short.
The show centers on dwarf superstar Warwick Davis, with Gervais and Merchant appearing on screen in minor roles.The observational comedy follows Warwick in his day-to-day life, complete with the frustrations he faces, in his first major role for the BBC. "Pound for pound he is one of the funniest men I know," said Gervais.
When Hulu announced last October that it would begin charging in 2010, everyone seemed to pretend not to hear them. To wish it away. But the time has come, and soon the world of free Hulu will be over.
According to a Los Angeles Times report, Hulu, the online video site second only to YouTube in monthly video streams in the U.S., will roll out a subscription service as soon as May 24. If viewers want to watch beyond the most recent five-episode block of their favorite show, they'll have to pay $9.95 per month.
Owned by News Corp., NBC Universal and the Walt Disney Co., the two-year-old site has earned more than $100 million in advertising revenue. Hulu's recent issues with collecting transmission fees from cable companies such as Time Warner and Cablevision make it impossible to justify offering the same programming online for free, according to the service.
Ultimately, the report says, even the few commercials aired on Hulu will increase to match those of network TV. So in other words, we'll all be moving away from Hulu pretty soon.
AMC has announced that the fourth season of its massively popular series Mad Men will begin airing on July 25. And if show creator Matthew Weiner has his way, the 1960s-set TV drama will run no longer than six seasons.
The third season of Mad Men concluded with several massive shifts in the flow and structure of the show, and fans are foaming at the mouth to see what happens next.
That said, series creator and head writer Matthew Weiner spoke last week at the National Association of Broadcasters convention and revealed that — should the show last long enough — he has plans to end Mad Men after its sixth season. Not all shows were meant to last forever, and Don Draper can only run from his past for so long. It's good to know they're not going to run one of television's all-time greatest shows into the ground with endless unnecessary seasons.
HBO has renewed rookie comedy series How To Make It In America. HBO has ordered eight episodes, same as season one and its scheduled to debut in summer of 2011. News comes the day after the network renewed "Curb Your Enthusiasm" for an eighth season. Read our review of "How To Make It In America".
I have no idea why anybody watches this show - much like the failed "Drawn Together" - but shy of an actual renewal, Comedy Central has ordered seven additional episodes of its new animated series Ugly Americans. Ratings have been fairly steady, around 2 million viewers - which is equal to that of any given late-night host each day. The new episodes will air in October.
Sacha Baron Cohen and Curb Your Enthusiasm writers Alec Berg, Jeff Schaffer and David Mandel are pitching an untitled comedy to various studios. Schaffer was one of the writers on Cohen’s last film, Bruno. Berg, Schaffer, and Mandel previously collaborated on the films Eurotrip and The Cat in the Hat. Yeah, those were abominable nightmares on film, but this is TV...so.... who knows? No details yet on what this new comedy is actually about.
Next, Cohen is currently set to co-star in Martin Scorsese’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret. The star is also rumored to star in the remake of the 1947 adventure comedy The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
