Splitsider

 
things that will never happen
2

Bill Hader Doesn't Want a Stefon Movie

by | May 17th, 2013

With Bill Hader poised to leave Saturday Night Live after tomorrow's season finale, don't expect him to try to turn his most popular character from the show into a movie. Hader tells GQ, "There's no emotional through line. Sometimes people say to me 'I want a Stefon movie' and I'm like, you think you want a Stefon movie but then you'll see the poster for it and think, 'Wait, I don't want this.'" If only Bill Hader had been on the show during the '90s, when all of SNL's most popular characters got turned into movies, then he probably could have been pressured into making a Stefon movie and satisfying you weirdos who want to see that.

Chats
1

Watch Amy Poehler Interview the 'Broad City' Ladies

by | May 17th, 2013


Here's the latest episode of Amy Poehler's web series Smart Girls at the Party, in which she interviews Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, stars and creators of the web series Broad City and the upcoming Comedy Central show of the same name. Don't listen to the graphics, Ilana is the one on the left and Abbi on the right, not the other way around.

Late Night
1

Adam Sandler Tells Jay Leno to Go to Fox

by | May 17th, 2013


After over two decades on The Tonight Show (and off and back on again), Jay Leno is stepping away from the late night franchise for a second time in February of next year, and his guest last night suggested to Leno on air that he moved to Fox. Sandler, who himself was let go from NBC's late night department in 1995, asked Leno, "So, Jay, retiring buddy?" Leno responded, "Well, we’re stepping aside" to which Sandler suggested, "You’re thinking about relaxing and I have a good idea for what Jay should do. Don’t you think he should just take it easy, enjoy, breathe, maybe go to Fox, do a show at 11pm, maybe that kind of thing?" The Leno audience applauded and Leno thanked Sandler for "stirring the pot."  Moving to Fox would be super complicated for Leno as he'd have to push all the Fox affiliates' late night local news broadcasts out of the way and lose the stations a bunch of money in the process, but it's still a thing that could totally happen someday and make at least Adam Sandler happy.

Streaming
4

Amazon Rejects 'Zombieland' Series

by | May 17th, 2013

Amazon is deciding which of its eight comedy pilots are getting picked up this week, and it looks like Zombieland won't be one of them. "Our Zombieland series will not be moving forward on Amazon," the show/movie's co-creator Rhett Rheese tweeted yesterday. He added, "Sad for everyone involved. I'll never understand the vehement hate the pilot received from die-hard Zombieland fans. You guys successfully hated it out of existence. Anyway, we did our best, and we're very proud of our team."  Zombieland was the only existing franchise, besides The Onion, that Amazon made into a pilot, but being compared to the movie it's based on didn't win the pilot any favors. The potential show took a lot of heat for recasting all of its lead roles with unknown actors rather than following different characters in the same universe and reviews from critics and fans were mixed. We'll keep you posted on which of Amazon's seven other comedy pilots get loved into/hated out of existence as Amazon continues to make these big decisions over the next week or so.

UPDATE: Amazon has passed on the pilot Browsers as well.

Politics
1

Stephen Colbert Had a Great "Better Know a District" Last Night

by | May 16th, 2013


Stephen Colbert's "Better Know a District" segment has been back with a vengeance the past few weeks after a little bit of a hiatus. Last night's installment (embedded above), with openly black Wisconsin Congresswoman Gwen Moore, was an especially good one.

Part Two is below: READ MORE

Streaming
1

Amazon Is Announcing Which Pilots It Picked Up Soon

by | May 16th, 2013

Last month, online retailer Amazon released its first batch of original TV pilots online, allowing viewers to have a hand in deciding which ones get picked up to full series. With the broadcast networks announcing which pilots they're picking up this week, Deadline reports that Amazon will be announcing their new shows too. The company has started notifying the shows that are getting series orders, and Deadline writes that things are looking good for Alpha House and Betas, with Onion News Empire and Zombieland having solid chances as well. The report doesn't mention Those Who Can't, the schoolteacher comedy from Denver group The Grawlix that topped our list of the best Amazon pilots, and it'll be a real shame if that one doesn't make it.

Promos
1

Watch Bill Hader's Last-Ever 'SNL' Promos with Host Ben Affleck

by | May 16th, 2013


Here's departing SNL cast member Bill Hader doing a bunch of promos for this weekend's SNL season finale alongside host Ben Affleck. Affleck's Bill Hader impression is solid gold.

stand-up
1

Watch Zach Galifianakis and Ken Jeong Perform Together at an Open Mic in 1998

by | May 16th, 2013


Here's video of Hangover bros Zach Galifianakis and Ken Jeong performing together during a Los Angeles open mic in 1998. I bet that MC knows how to pronounce "Galifianakis" correctly now (maybe).

Heroes
0

Martin Short Joins the Cast of Paul Thomas Anderson's 'Inherent Vice'

by | May 16th, 2013

Living comedy legend Martin Short is set to star in his first movie in several years, and it's a pretty prestigious one. The Wrap reports that Short has been cast in Paul Thomas Anderson's new movie Inherent Vice, an adaptation of the 2009 Thomas Pynchon novel of the same name. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix as pothead private eye Doc Sportello, who's investigating the disappearance of an ex-girlfriend. Short joins a supporting cast that also includes Owen Wilson, Benicio Del Toro, and Reese Witherspoon. Short's small role in the movie is being kept under wraps. He recently starred in Mulaney, SNL writer/stand-up John Mulaney's Lorne Michaels-produced sitcom that didn't get picked up for some reason. Inherent Vice will mark Martin Short's first onscreen movie role since 2006's Santa Clause 3. This should be a much bigger deal and will probably get nominated for more Oscars.

Politics
0

Jay Pharoah Did His Obama Impression for the President

by | May 16th, 2013

Saturday Night Live's resident Obama impressionist Jay Pharoah got to impersonate the President to his face this week. A source tells The NY Post that Pharoah performed the impression as a surprise at a fundraiser at movie producer Harvey Weinstein's house. "Steve Martin, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel did a skit pretending they worked at the White House, and started questioning if they were getting a directive from the real president," the source says. "Then Jay came in and imitated Obama right in front of him. The president was surprised, then started laughing." What's the point of even imitating a public figure if it's not in a comedy sketch that the actual public figure interrupts midway through to raucous audience applause and the person doing the impression acts scared and then they do the impression together?

Not TV
0

HBO Orders Mike Judge's Silicon Valley Comedy to Series

by | May 16th, 2013

HBO has ordered a new show from King of the Hill and Office Space mastermind Mike Judge. Deadline reports that the pay cable network has given a series order to a comedy Judge co-created with John Altschuler and Dave Krisnky (King of the Hill, The Goode Family) that was previously titled Silicon Valley. The show follows a bunch of people working in the tech industry and stars an impressive ensemble of up-and-comers including T.J. Miller, Thomas Middleditch, Josh Brener, Lindsey Broad,Christopher Evan Welch, Amanda Crew, Angela Trimbur, Zach Woods, and Kumail Nanjiani. It's been a good day for The Office alum Zach Woods, who also has a supporting role in USA's Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair show Playing House, which was picked up today too.

Channel Changing
2

USA Is in Talks to Pick Up 'Happy Endings' But a Deal Is Unlikely

by | May 16th, 2013

ABC canceled its critically-acclaimed but underwatched comedy Happy Endings last week, and there's been speculation that the USA network would pick up the show just like how TBS saved Cougar Town from the clutches of cancelation last year. USA is officially in negotiations with Happy Endings' studio Sony TV to pick up the show, Variety reports, but Deadline reports that, "At this point … a pickup appears unlikely but the network is carefully exploring the opportunity to migrate a show with some success on broadcast TV and a dedicated fan base." Happy Endings is the only recently-canceled network sitcom that fits that description, unless Go On has more of a hardcore fan base than I assume it does.

Musical Comedy
0

Watch Nick Offerman Serenade Megan Mullally on 'Leno'

by | May 16th, 2013


Here's Parks and Recreation star Nick Offerman on Leno last night, serenading his wife Megan Mullally (who's not there) with a tune he wrote called "The Rainbow Song." Fellow Leno guest Usher doesn't seem to approve.

Quitters
1

Zach Galifianakis Has a Crazy Story About Why He Quit Drinking

by | May 16th, 2013


Zach Galifianakis went on Conan last night and discussed what inspired his decision to quit drinking: an altercation that involved two 6'6" guys spitting in his face.

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