TVSquad

Curb Your Enthusiasm reruns are coming to basic cable. First they will be shown on the TV Guide Channel next year (doesn't everybody get that channel? I thought it was just a guide to what's on television. They have shows?) and then TV Land in 2013. Any event that brings Larry David's sense of humor to the masses can only be a good thing (Who had the idea for the humor in awkward situations first, Larry or Ricky Gervais?).

Mind you, the show's language is somewhat racy for basic cable. There will be some bleeping here and there. At least there's no prevalent nudity in any episode that I recall. There is some adult subject matter, but nothing basic cable hasn't seen before. Hey, if The Sopranos can make it to basic cable then Larry David should have no problem.

Given Susie Essman's vocabulary on the series, she may have every third word bleeped. That could possibly make her lines even funnier.

So Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell got promoted from commenting in the Golden Globe post-show to hosting the entire show and presenting all the awards (actually recapping the winners since apparently the Hollywood Foreign Press Association did so earlier in a press conference covered by E! and TV Guide Channel). So not only does NBC not have an awards show, but they don't even get first dibs on announcing the winners.

First of all, does Billy Bush always wear his hair like that or did he leave his roof down in the convertible with his hair wet and gelled? It looks like a slicked back mullet, and that's not a look just anyone can pull off. In fact, no one can pull off that look. But it may have actually been a better choice than the brown suit. Sadly, though, the suit and hair was the least of the problems with last night's one hour Golden Globe "extravaganza."

Crosswords is the eagerly awaited new game show from Merv Griffin that premieres in syndication this fall, and they have found their host.

Ty Treadway, a former actor on One Life To Live and a co-host of Soap Talk with Lisa Rinna (who also has a new gig, taking over for Joan and Melissa Rivers at the TV Guide Channel) for several years, is going to host the new word-oriented game show. In explaining the choice, Griffin said that Treadway "exudes the kind of energy that will keep audiences engaged and excited."

Come on, Ty Treadway? Is that his real name? Indeed it is. It sounds like a name of a Simpsons character. Was Guy Smiley not available?

Interesting post by Tom O'Neil over at his LA Times blog. O'Neil is the guy you see on many of the awards shows, especially the Emmys, giving his analysis and predictions. He worked with Joan and Melissa quite a bit, and knows why they were let go by the TV Guide Channel. And it didn't have anything to do with money.

The reason? Entourage (and not the HBO show). I guess the two women have too many people around them and it got to be more of a hassle than it was worth to the network.

O'Neil also says that Joan and Melissa are a lot nicer and more generous than they've been made out to be. He also reveals that several producers at the TV Guide Channel wish they had been kept on (the same with E! execs, because Star Jones drove them nuts on the red carpet). I'm sure we'll be seeing the two women again with another deal soon.

First they were kicked to the curb by E! Entertainment Television, and now the same thing has happened with the TV Guide Channel: Joan and Melissa Rivers have been let go by the network and replaced by Lisa Rinna, star of Dancing with the Stars and various soaps.

Joan has a lot to say about what happened, but is keeping quiet until a new deal is finalized, says her spokesperson.

I love the press release from TV Guide Channel President Ryan O'Hara. Let me translate his remarks:

Desperately in need of programming apparently, TV Guide Channel has partnered with the production team behind Project Runway and Top Chef to create America's Next Producer. The reality competition will pit 10 contestants against each other as they attempt to create, uhhh..., television programming. The prize is a first-look production deal with the TV Guide Channel. This is either the most self-reflective, post-post-modern move on the part of a network or the laziest. I haven't decided which.

The contestants will be living together under one roof - of course - and they'll be doing things that putting together three-minute sizzle reels on shows they're pitching to the network. Nothing is off limits. Game shows, comedies, dramas, reality. Here's one - how about a show about the programmers at a network who are so desperate for original programming that they put together a show to trick people into giving them content for free while being the content themselves.

Justin Guarini is the new co-host of TV Guide Channel's Idol Tonight. You remember him, right? He's the lovable guy with the cute curls that sometimes stray into Sideshow Bob territory, who was no match for Kelly Clarkson during the finals of the first season of American Idol. Guarini is currently working on this third album, which he describes as "soul-funk" and he has a role in an indie film.

He'll share hosting duties with season three Idol contestant Kimberly Caldwell and WB's Popstar winner Rosanna Tavarez. TV Guide has renewed Idol Tonight for a second season, which starts airing in March once the contestants are narrowed down to twelve people.

I've caught Idol Tonight a few times and I only find the season one retrospectives to be interesting because that's when the contestants really didn't know what they were in for. Plus, Kelly Clarkson without make-up!

TV Guide's mobile entertainment division has signed a deal with Cingular Wireless to offer streaming video content on Cingular's mobile devices. The only thing definitely guaranteed is an "on-demand version of TV Guide Channel."

I would imagine if the service does well, it won't take long for episode previews and clips to be offered as well - just like Verizon's V-Cast video service. I find these services odd though. Do people actually pay a couple bucks so they can watch something like next week's Lost preview on their cell phone? I don't think I would pay for it unless it came with a lot of perks.

[via Broadcasting & Cable]

American Idol is so big, it's getting its own preshow. Sorry, Joel. Beginning tonight, TV Guide Channel will air a live preshow for one hour leading up to FOX's broadcast of Idol. Called Idol Tonight, it will air before each episode of American Idol for the rest of this season. The show is obviously condoned by FOX or the company that produces Idol, because it will have exclusive interviews with Idol rejects, behind-the-scenes video, plus interviews with vocal coaches and industry folk.

By now you probably recognize the blonde-haired girl in the photo. It's Kimberly Caldwell, American Idol finalist from season two. She'll be hosting, along with British Popstars contestant Rosanna Tavarez. What? No Dunkelman?

1. ABC Family. Now,  there's nothing wrong with having a "family" station, it's just that most of the movies they show we can see elsewhere or can rent on DVD. And how many times can we sit through endless repeats of Whose Line Is It Anyway? and America's Funniest Home Videos? Besides, this "family" channel often shows movies like Cruel Intentions. And don't forget it also has The 700 Club.

2. The Weather Channel. Yeah, I know, it can be helpful in times of tornadoes and hurricanes and blizzards. But if networks like CNN, MSNBC, and FOX can get that information out, I think we can do without 24 hour weather channels. A weather channel on the web makes sense, but on TV?