Splitsider

What's on TV This Week: 'Togetherness' Wraps Up Season One

by Stephanie Simon | March 2nd, 2015

There's plenty new on this week, including the season finale of Togetherness as well as new episodes of The Mindy Project, Workaholics, and Portlandia. Thursday, VH1 is re-airing SNL's 40th Anniversary Special, and on Saturday night Chris Hemsworth hosts SNL. Finish the week by watching John Oliver recap it all on Last Week Tonight.

In late night, Robert Smigel is on The Daily Show and Late Night with Seth Meyers. Nick Frost also stops in to Late Night. Cathy Ladman, Paula Poundstone, Josh Robert Thompson, Jane Lynch, and Brendon Walsh are on The Late Late Show with host Drew Carey. Conan welcomes Aziz Ansari and Adam Sandler while Kimmel has Beth Stelling, and Fallon [...]

What's on TV This Week: The End of 'Parks and Recreation'

by Stephanie Simon | February 23rd, 2015

This week it's all about late night. Comedy Central's late night lineup is back, and The Late Late Show continues to pack in comedic guests. Hosts Billy Gardell and Kunal Nayyar will welcome guests Steve Byrne, Yvette Nicole Brown, Greg Warren, Bob Newhart, Owen Benjamin, and Garfunkel and Oates will perform. Additionally, Will Forte's new Fox show The Last Man on Earth premieres, Dakota Johnson will host SNL, and be sure to finish up the week by watching John Oliver on Last Week Tonight.

Also in late night, Fallon has guests Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer from Broad City, and Kimmel has Will Forte. The cast of It's Always [...]

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What's on TV This Week: 'The Jack and Triumph Show' Debuts
by Stephanie Simon | February 16th, 2015
The Jack and Triumph Show along with The Odd Couple premieres this week, and Tosh.O is back with season seven. About a Boy has its second season finale and Two and a Half Men wraps its final season. Comedy Central premieres Kevin Hart Presents: Keith Robinson Back of the Bus Funny on Saturday, and John Oliver finishes the week on Last Week Tonight.

In late night, The Late Late Show is packed with comedic guests that include Weird Al Yankovic, Maz Jobrani, Natasha Leggero, Nick Kroll, Tom Papa, Jimmy Kimmel, and David Cross. The Late Late Show is hosted this week by Thomas Lennon, Lauren Graham, and Will Arnett. Letterman welcomes Adam Scott and Broad City's Ilana [...]

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Derrick Beckles' 'Hot Package' Returns to Adult Swim February 27th
by Megh Wright | February 10th, 2015
Adult Swim's entertainment variety show Hot Package returns later this month. The network announced today that the Derrick Beckles-created show is set to debut its second season on Friday, February 27th at 12:30am with a slate of celebrity guests including Mark McGrath, Heidi Fleiss, Fabio, Kenneth Anger, and Corey Feldman. For more on Hot Package, check out our interview with Beckles about its debut season.

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Check Out 'Kroll Show's 'Cheers' Parody Starring Larry Bird
by Megh Wright | February 4th, 2015
Here's a great clip from last night's Kroll Show, which saw the return of Kroll's Larry Bird impression in a bizarre and hilarious Cheers parody called Chairs. I'm not sure what I like more — Seth Rogen as Bird's stoner teammate Bill Walton or the heartwarming, introvert-friendly Chairs theme song.

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Paul F. Tompkins and Scott Aukerman Look Back on Some Classic '90s Memories
by Megh Wright | February 27th, 2015
It's a great week to learn about some of Scott Aukerman's lesser-known television projects. First it was Scott Through the Heart, and during his appearance on Fusion's No, You Shut Up! he got super nostalgic for the '90s with host Paul F. Tompkins, which reminded the guys about their '90s teen sitcom Ski Lodge High.

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Sarah Silverman, Steve Carell, and More Join Comedy Central's 'Night of Too Many Stars'
by Megh Wright | February 19th, 2015
Comedy Central just revealed more celebrity guests slated to appear on the live annual benefit Night of Too Many Stars: America Comes Together for Autism Programs. According to The Wrap, Steve Carell, Sarah Silverman, Steve Buscemi, Gilbert Gottfried, and Maya Rudolph are set to join Jon Stewart for the live show, while Fred Armisen, Andy Cohen, Ilana Glazer, Abbi Jacobson, and Susan Sarandon have joined the lineup of the celebrity phone bank. The special airs on Comedy Central Sunday, March 8th at 8:00pm; previously announced guests include Louis C.K., Amy Schumer, Larry David, Bill Burr, Jon Hamm, John Oliver, Paul Rudd, and Martin Short.

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David Cross and H. Jon Benjamin Invented the Adult Swim 4AM Infomercial
by Megh Wright | February 12th, 2015
To promote his new film Hits, David Cross fielded questions in a Reddit AMA today, and one of his most interesting responses came when a fan asked if there's a project he's worked on that he wished more people knew about:

Uh… yeah! Gosh. Yes. Icelandic Ultra-Blue. It was actually called "Paid programming." adult swim completely and totally ripped off the idea – we did it for adult swim. Jon Benjamin and I did it. It's really funny. And the idea that I pitched to Lazzo, in his office, standing in front of him, back in 2008? I wanna say? was to do a fake infomercial that would air [...]

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What's on TV This Week: The 'SNL' 40th Anniversary Special
by Stephanie Simon | February 9th, 2015
Love is on the airways this week. It starts with Valentine's Day episodes from shows like Marry Me, The Mindy Project, and more. Even Scott Aukerman on Comedy Bang! Bang! plays cupid for Reggie and his dream girl. Also this week, ABC's new show Fresh Off the Boat moves to Tuesday, and Ground Floor ends its second season. Saturday, Rosie O'Donnell's A Heartfelt Standup premieres on HBO. Finish up the week by watching the highly anticipated three hour SNL 40th Anniversary Special, and then get a weekly wrap-up from John Oliver on Last Week Tonight.

In late night, Fallon is visited by Anthony Anderson, Kyle Kinane, Jack McBrayer and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. [...]

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Can 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' Ever Accurately Portray the NYPD?
by Harry Waksberg | February 4th, 2015
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a fun, wacky, well-cast sitcom set in a Brooklyn police precinct. Since 2004, approximately seven unarmed people of color have been killed by real cops in real Brooklyn. It stands to reason that a network sitcom would be uncomfortable addressing something so horrifying. What, then, should a sitcom about police officers in New York City be, when the world outside of that sitcom is one of fear and violence?

Not all sitcoms will address their contemporary world; arguably, that's nowhere close to the point of sitcoms. For every show like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which includes a few contemporary stories every season, there's [...]

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Watch the Producer's Cut of the 'Parks and Recreation' Series Finale
by Megh Wright | February 26th, 2015
In case Tuesday night's Parks and Recreation series finale didn't give you enough closure, NBC uploaded the full 53-minute producer's cut that includes a deleted scene with Jean-Ralphio and Mona-Lisa, which Ben Schwartz shared on Tumblr yesterday along with a wonderful farewell message titled "Goodbye Parks and Recreation, I’ve Always Loved You." Here's an excerpt:

Last night, after 7 seasons, the final episode of Parks and Recreation aired and it hasn’t quite hit me yet that it’s all over and I’ll never play Jean-Ralphio again. It has been such an amazing, love-filled ride. I wanted to say thank you to that perfect cast, legendary writers room, brilliant [...]

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Kid Cudi Will Replace Reggie Watts on 'Comedy Bang! Bang!' This Summer
by Megh Wright | February 19th, 2015
IFC has revealed who will take over for Reggie Watts after leaves his post at Comedy Bang! Bang! for The Late Late Show next month. In a press release today, the network announced that Grammy-winning recording artist and actor Kid Cudi will become the next Comedy Bang! Bang! musical co-star: "I can't wait to start this new chapter of Comedy Bang! Bang! with Kid Cudi," Scott Aukerman said on the news. "When he was on the couch, I knew he had charisma and star quality, but I thought he should move slightly camera right. Plus, my wife and I have been trying to have a kid for several [...]

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'Daily Show' Co-Creator Lizz Winstead Says Stewart Turned the Show into "an Architectural Landmark"
by Megh Wright | February 11th, 2015
In response to Jon Stewart's Daily Show retirement announcement, original TDS co-creator Lizz Winstead wrote a piece today called "Finally, He Gets His Moment of Zen" that's a warm appreciation for Stewart's dedication to the show, his staff, and material throughout his run as host. Winstead left the show prior to Stewart's hiring, but she credits him with turning The Daily Show into what it is today:

You are very clever Mister Jon Stewart. There are many wonderful things those think piece writers will say about Jon. The thing I like most is the joy that comes through when he speaks of his staff. I didn’t work [...]

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Talking with Writers Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello About Last Night's Insane and Awesome 'Broad City' Episode
by Megh Wright | February 5th, 2015
The fourth episode of Broad City's second season "Knockoffs" aired on Comedy Central last night, and if you've watched it by now, you know that some big things happen in terms of Abbi's ongoing crush on her neighbor Jeremy, not to mention we get the first look at Ilana's parents played by Susie Essman and Bob Balaban. Ahead of the episode's premiere, I spoke with "Knockoffs" writers Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs (who also plays Abbi's Soulstice boss Trey) about where the inspiration for the episode came from, whether they ran into any Standards & Practices problems with Comedy Central, and how Aniello approached the scenes with Abbi [...]