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What to Watch: TV Picks for September 5-11
by Laura Prudom, posted Sep 4th 2011 3:00PM
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5
'The Secret Life of the American Teenager' (8PM ET, ABC Family) summer finale
Whether you watch unironically or just want to pinpoint the scenes that Joel McHale is likely to mock on 'The Soup' this week, 'Secret Life' season 4 reaches its midpoint this week: It's graduation day and Ricky has some important duties to attend, to while the rest of the students get ready for a party they will never forget.
'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' (9PM ET, Bravo) season premiere
All six original housewives -- Taylor Armstrong, Camille Grammer, Adrienne Maloof, Kim Richards, Kyle Richards and Lisa Vanderpump -- are back. Though not official "housewives," this season the ladies are joined by two new friends: Brandi Glanville and Dana Wilke. In the wake of Russell Armstrong's suicide, a special introduction to the episode will be broadcast with interviews from cast members, as well as suicide prevention PSAs.
'The Glades' (10PM ET, A&E) season finale -- special night
Two ex-con brothers seize control of Callie's hospital, resulting in a tense hostage situation that Jim and Callie must work together to solve in the second season finale.

'The Secret Life of the American Teenager' (8PM ET, ABC Family) summer finale
Whether you watch unironically or just want to pinpoint the scenes that Joel McHale is likely to mock on 'The Soup' this week, 'Secret Life' season 4 reaches its midpoint this week: It's graduation day and Ricky has some important duties to attend, to while the rest of the students get ready for a party they will never forget.
'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' (9PM ET, Bravo) season premiere
All six original housewives -- Taylor Armstrong, Camille Grammer, Adrienne Maloof, Kim Richards, Kyle Richards and Lisa Vanderpump -- are back. Though not official "housewives," this season the ladies are joined by two new friends: Brandi Glanville and Dana Wilke. In the wake of Russell Armstrong's suicide, a special introduction to the episode will be broadcast with interviews from cast members, as well as suicide prevention PSAs.
'The Glades' (10PM ET, A&E) season finale -- special night
Two ex-con brothers seize control of Callie's hospital, resulting in a tense hostage situation that Jim and Callie must work together to solve in the second season finale.
HBO Gets Into the Ring With Mike Tyson-Inspired Pilot 'Da Brick'
by Alex Moaba, posted Aug 31st 2011 4:45PM
It's been a few years since Mike Tyson took the world of boxing by storm. In his retirement, Iron Mike is doing the same thing to the entertainment industry.According to Variety, HBO has ordered a pilot called 'Da Brick,' based based on Tyson's rough and tumble early years when he was coming up as a young boxer. It will be directed by Spike Lee and co-produced by 'Entourage' creator Doug Ellin and Tyson. The script was written by 'Three Kings' writer John Ridley, and will be set in Newark, NJ.
Tyson has been on a TV roll in recent months. Comedy Central announced this week he will be a guest-roaster in the highly-anticipated skewering of Charlie Sheen. Tyson also appeared on an episode of the CBS life-swapping reality show 'Same Name.' All of those appearances, however, were dwarfed by his Animal Planet reality show 'Tyson on Tyson,' about pigeons.
HBO to Air New 9/11 Documentary on Tenth Anniversary of the Attacks
by Catherine Lawson, posted Aug 30th 2011 9:10AM
The tenth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks is now just days away, and although the events of that dreadful day will forever be seared into the collective memories of those who lived through it, there are, it seems, some stories still untold.HBO and 'Time' magazine have partnered to produce a documentary, airing for the first time on the tenth anniversary of the attacks, which tells some of those untold stories.
'Beyond 9/11: Portraits of Resilience' will premiere on Sept. 11 at 8:46AM ET, ten years to the minute that American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into World Trade Center One.
According to HBO, the documentary "highlights transcendent stories of courage, survival and remembrance."
'Entourage' Exclusive Preview Clip: Vince Runs Into a Pregnant Former Flame (VIDEO)
by Alex Moaba, posted Aug 29th 2011 4:00PM
'Entourage' is in its home stretch, with the series' penultimate episode set to air this Sunday (10:30PM ET on HBO). Fun fact: The episode, titled 'Former Partners,' is the second to be directed by co-star Kevin Connolly.As they wrap things up, there are several season and series-long storylines coming to a head. Vince is still reeling from his Vanity Fair interview with Sophia, seeking out girls he's slept with to reassure himself he isn't the vapid womanizer the piece makes him out to be. Drama and Andrew Dice Clay just outlasted CBS in stand-off over 'Johnny's Bananas,' and with that project taken care of, the gang turns its focus to Vince's miner TV movie. Ari seems resigned to the fact that his divorce with Mrs. Ari (Melissa!) may become a reality, and that it could cost him the majority stake in his agency.
In our exclusive preview clip from this week's episode, the boys run into one of Vince's former flames who's now pregnant (we're assuming he's not the dad, but who knows). She and Vince have a heartfelt conversation, which immediate turns 'Entourage'-y as Drama points out that he slept with her sister, Turtle makes a herpes joke and Drama says, "at least I'm getting laid enough to be a suspect." Typical.
Check it out after the jump.
'Boardwalk Empire' Season 2 Trailer: Jimmy and the Commodore Make Their Move (VIDEO)
by Alex Moaba, posted Aug 29th 2011 1:00PM
The first promo for Season 2 of 'Boardwalk Empire' was filled with a vague yet omnipresent sense of foreboding. Nucky was surrounded on all sides by enemies and people who want something from him. HBO has released a second, longer trailer that gives us a more specific sense of what's to come this season.A few plotlines emerge from the trailer. We see The Commodore and Jimmy Darmondy taking over the Atlantic City's bootlegging trade, violently pushing out the competition, Nucky included. Agent Van Alden is stepping up his efforts to police the booze trade, ominously saying "heads will roll, gentlemen" and conducting raids. Racial tensions boil over -- the Ku Klux Klan fires a crazy rotary machine gun, and Michael K. Williams' Chalky White gives Nucky an ultimatum that he has to deal with them. Nucky begins to share more of his business dealings with Margaret Schroeder. There's even a shot at the end that hints Jimmy might be trying to get into politics. And through it all, Atlantic City's constant party rages on.
Check out the trailer after the jump. Season 2 of 'Boardwalk Empire' premieres Sun., Sept. 25 at 9PM ET on HBO.
Johnny Galecki Hints to Eric He May Be Seeing Sloan on 'Entourage' (VIDEO)
by Jason Hughes, posted Aug 29th 2011 7:01AM
It was relationship trouble all over 'Entourage' (Sun., 10:30PM ET on HBO) this week. With only two episodes left to go, will Mr. and Mrs. Ari manage to reconcile their relationship? Will Ari have to start calling her Melissa? Do we?But that wasn't the only unexpected moment in the episode, as we also saw a seedier side to 'The Big Bang Theory's Johnny Galecki. He certainly seemed to be enjoying alluding to Eric that he's in some kind of relationship with Sloan.
It was enough to get Eric to freak out and threaten Scott that he has to drop Galecki as a client or they're done working together. See, this is how business gets done in Hollywood, according to 'Entourage.' Who manages you and who you work with is directly related to who you sleep with. And Hollywood is basically like a small town. Everybody knows everybody's business.
Larry and Jeff Use the Car Periscope to Track a Man on 'Curb' (VIDEO)
by Jason Hughes, posted Aug 29th 2011 5:57AM
Taking a page from 'The Fugitive,' Larry David found himself on the hunt for a one-armed man after a dinner party mix-up left him blamed for being cruel to an old television judge on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' (Sun., 10PM ET on HBO). He and Jeff were aided greatly in their search by an invention prototype they were looking to invest in.The car periscope allows you to see further ahead to better anticipate what's happening in traffic, and it worked great for finding the one-armed man. Unfortunately, Larry never did catch the guy, despite a classic cop show car chase through the streets of New York, and a close encounter when the guy started upstreaming him for a cab.
'True Blood': Bill vs. Eric Leads to Vampires vs. Marnie (VIDEO)
by Jason Hughes, posted Aug 29th 2011 5:26AM
Sookie really needs to figure out how those powers of hers work on 'True Blood' (Sun., 9PM ET on HBO). Just imagine what she could do if she could not only use them at will but know what they were going to do.In this case, she could have probably cured Eric long ago, though in retrospect that might not be the smartest move. The Eric she fell in love with was the broken Eric. The Eric she stopped from killing Bill was under Marnie's spell, but Sookie's white power blast cured him of every spell Marnie had put on him.
Then Sookie told him about her mixed feelings for both Bill and him, while Eric 3.0 admitted that he loved her and acted a lot more like Eric 2.0 than Eric 1.0, to Pam's shock and dismay. He did, however, suit up and find his inner cold-hearted jerk a little later when Tara's life was on the line as Bill planned his frontal assault on Antonia.
HBO Announces 'Angry Boys' Premiere Date
by Jean Bentley, posted Aug 25th 2011 4:05PM
'Angry Boys,' the latest series to come from the twisted mind of Australian Chris Lilley, finally has a Stateside premiere date.The new show, which stars Lilley as six different characters, "explores the lives, dreams and aspirations of males in present-day society," according to HBO. It'll debut its 12-episode season Mon., Dec. 5.
HBO announced it would produce 'Angry Boys' alongside Lilley after the network aired his first crossover success, the cult hit 'Summer Heights High,' in 2008.
Will Somebody Please Give Diane Keaton a Show?
by Chris Harnick, posted Aug 25th 2011 1:30PM
Diane Keaton is a national treasure. There, it's been said. Now, will somebody please give her a show!?The Oscar-winning actress has recently signed a new talent deal with HBO, which should mean good things, right?
She's worked with HBO before, most recently on the pilot for 'Tilda,' co-starring Ellen Page. The network passed on the project.
According to Deadline, Keaton was previously attached to a comedy project by 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' veteran Marti Noxon a few years ago. The plot had Keaton playing an old-school feminist who starts a sexually candid magazine for women. Obviously that project didn't move forward either.
Now that the network has writers developing new projects for her, can one small request be made? Make them good projects. No, great projects! Please stray from the beaten path. Think 'Veep,' Julia Louis-Dreyfus' new HBO comedy. She's not a vampire, doctor or lawyer, she's the new vice president of the United States. Hijinks ensue.
'Treme' Actor Michael Showers Found Dead in Mississippi River
by Alex Moaba, posted Aug 25th 2011 10:20AM
'Treme' is a show that portrays the struggle and hardship that befell New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Yesterday, a real-life tragedy struck 'Treme.'Michael Showers, who played New Orleans homicide Captain John Guidry on the HBO drama, was found dead in the Mississippi River Wednesday morning. The actor was 45 years old.
A steamboat captain saw Showers' body floating in the river near New Orleans' French Quarter and called the authorities. The police told the New Orleans Times-Picayune his body had been in the water for nearly two days. No official cause of death has yet been determined.
The death is eerily reminiscent of on-screen suicide that occurred in Season 1 of the show, when John Goodman's character Creighton Bernette killed himself by jumping off a steamboat into the Mississippi.
'Breaking Bad' and TV's Latest Trend: The Incredible Shrinking Television Season
by Maureen Ryan, posted Aug 23rd 2011 1:00PM
'Breaking Bad's' renewal is old news, of course, but I've been on vacation and haven't had a chance to weigh in.In any event, the most noteworthy thing about the renewal isn't the fact that the show is going away. Vince Gilligan, 'Breaking Bad's' creator, has said for some time that he doesn't want the taut, terrific drama to overstay its welcome, and that's a laudable idea.
No, the most noteworthy thing about 'Breaking Bad's' exit plan is that it fits into a pattern I like to call the Incredible Shrinking Television Season. AMC hasn't confirmed this, but credible news reports have said that the final season of 'Breaking Bad' is likely to be shown over the course of two years, in chunks of around eight episodes or so.
If that happens, we'll be getting two semi-shrunken seasons, which fits in with what's been happening to a lot of scripted shows, mostly on cable but also on the broadcast networks. The standard episode order for a new or returning cable show used to be 13 episodes, but now it almost seems as though that's the exception, not the rule.
This concerns me.
'Game of Thrones' Expands Its Roster of European Locations
by Maureen Ryan, posted Aug 22nd 2011 1:30PM
As is the case in the book series on which it is based, the world of 'Game of Thrones' is continuing to expand.HBO has confirmed that parts of the upcoming season will be filmed in Croatia and Iceland.
Croatia will supply locations for some of the southern parts of Westeros, the fictional kingdom in which the drama takes place. Not surprisingly, the well-informed fan site Winter is Coming has extensive intel on the locations we can expect to see on the show.
The 700-foot Wall, the far northern Westeros location that is home to the men of the Night's Watch, was the setting of many of my favorite season 1 moments. As you'll recall, Jon Snow and the men who serve in the Night's Watch help protect Westeros from the fearsome creatures beyond the Wall's icy bulk. Some of the season 2 scenes set beyond the Wall will be shot in Iceland, HBO said Monday.
Vince Tries to Flirt His Way Through a Vanity Fair Interview on 'Entourage' (VIDEO)
by Jason Hughes, posted Aug 22nd 2011 6:57AM
Vince just can't seem to keep himself in check on 'Entourage' (Sun., 10:30PM ET on HBO). Granted, the reporter from Vanity Fair was gorgeous, but he's trying to rebuild his image after that whole rehab situation. He didn't need to start trying to seduce her right away.He did convince her to give him a second chance, and gave a fair and candid interview as promised. Or he may have just been trying to give her what he thought she'd want to hear. Then he tried to get in her pants. At least, you could say, he is consistent.
Plus, the rejections seem to have invigorated him, as he declared that he thinks he loves her. We think this won't be the last we see of Alice Eve, as Vince isn't done trying to charm his way into bed with her.
Larry David and Rosie O'Donnell Fight Over the Same Woman on 'Curb' (VIDEO)
by Jason Hughes, posted Aug 22nd 2011 6:38AM
Larry met a beautiful woman who seemed to genuinely be interested in him on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' (Sun., 10PM ET on HBO), so we knew there had to be a catch. The catch turned out to be guest star Rosie O'Donnell. Apparently, the woman had given her number to both of them.What followed was a competition between Larry and Rosie for this woman's time and affection; a competition Larry seemed to be winning almost from the opening moment. But it was the surprise arrival of Leon in New York, where he promptly makes himself at home in the place Larry's staying.
But Leon comes bearing little blue pills that make Larry a lion in the bed. It's an edge that extended onto the softball field as well, leading Rosie to suspect he was juicing. It was enough to give Larry the win over Rosie, but oddly enough the episode ended without Larry getting caught by Rosie.
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