WillArnett-related stories
Posted Jun 23rd 2009 9:04AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Industry, Celebrities, Reality-Free
There's no doubt that the names Spike Jonze and David Cross usually belong on the quirkier side of the entertainment world, but I still never would have expected something like this. Apparently, the two have created a comedy pilot for Channel 4. That's right: a British comedy.
The show, called
The Increasingly Poor Decisions Of Todd Margaret, will be co-written by Cross and Shaun Pye (you may know him as Andy's smarmy nemesis on BBC/HBO's
Extras) and star Cross, Will Arnett and Spike Jonze.
Continue reading Spike Jonze and David Cross take on British comedy
Posted Jun 16th 2009 5:28PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Reality-Free
For those of you not quite familiar with Peter Serafinowicz, take a few minutes to get to know his work (or
his Twitter, if that's what you're into, you social media nerd). He has worked on
Spaced, Shaun of the Dead and his own programs,
The Peter Serafinowicz Show and
Look Around You (
the first season is must-see). Fun fact: He also voiced Darth Maul. Double fun fact: He's married to Sarah Alexander, known for her various comedic roles in shows like
Green Wing and
Coupling.
So what happens when you take these two and throw them in with America's own comedy power couple, Will Arnett and Amy Poehler? Actually, I'm still not entirely sure after watching this video. See for yourself.
Continue reading Will Arnett and Pete Serafinowicz really like each other
Posted May 11th 2009 7:07PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Video, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Sure, that awful
Twilight move is probably gonna sweep the next MTV Movie Awards, but the show will be
loaded with Hollywood stars and comedians. People like Denzel Washington, Cameron Diaz, Jonah Hill and Ryan Reynolds are slated to present awards on the show, which airs May 31. Andy Samberg will host.
I don't really care about who wins or about MTV's silly categories ("Best WTF Moment?" WTF?), but the Movie Awards are known for delivering pretty funny comedy shorts featuring some pretty funny people.
This year will be no different, and now you can
watch some of the shorts online at MTV.com. That means you don't have to sit through twenty "thank you" speeches by the likes of Robert Pattinson to watch some funny skits featuring a few great comedians and famous faces.
Continue reading Watch the MTV Movie Awards skits online
Posted Apr 27th 2009 1:47AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E02) Last week, when I rewatched
Sit Down, Shut Up for my review, I said that while I still wasn't enthralled by it, the show was much better upon the second viewing. Since I thought episode 2 was much better than the pilot, I expected to like it even more upon rewatching. Oddly enough, I didn't.
As stellar as this cast is, I'm trying to separate my feelings about this show from my feelings about them. I love
Kristin Chenoweth on
Pushing Daisies, so I don't really want to admit that her work on this show reminds me of a more grating
Amy Sedaris with none of the humor, but it kind of does. I don't know if it's the way her character is written, or the fact that Chenoweth's particular brand of pixie cuteness doesn't translate unless you're looking at her, but she just sounds shrill to me.
Continue reading Sit Down, Shut Up: Miracle's Are Real
Posted Apr 20th 2009 3:03PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Reality-Free
What do you call an animated show whose premiere is sandwiched between two other highly-rated animated shows yet still
manages to be third in its timeslot? You could call it a lot of things. You could call it "poor" or "slow". You know what I call it? A one-season show.
Seriously, I watched the premiere of
Sit Down, Shut Up (and it was
reviewed here on TV Squad), and while I thought some bits were funny, I don't see it lasting more than a season on Fox, if that. This is a network that is quick to pull the plug on many quirky shows (including Hurwitz's previous work,
Arrested Development).
I could be wrong.
Arrested Development lasted three seasons and animated shows are only a fraction of the budget of live-action ones. If his last show is any indicator,
Sit Down, Shut Up is probably one of those shows that rewards loyal viewers with various Easter eggs and hidden double-meanings. Hopefully Fox will give it time.
Posted Apr 19th 2009 9:31PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Animation, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E01) I still stand behind the
early look of Sit Down, Shut Up I did a few days ago: the pilot was underwhelming. For everything that works about it, there seem to be at least two things that don't. However, before I did this review, I decided to watch the pilot again, so it would be fresh in my mind. What I found is that the show definitely grows on you.
While I didn't really laugh at all the first time through, re-watching it allowed me to pick up on some of the more subtle things that I missed. That, combined with the fact that I've seen the second episode, which is much better, really made me appreciate this episode more.
Continue reading Sit Down, Shut Up: Pilot (series premiere)
Posted Apr 17th 2009 5:02PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Animation, Early Looks, Reality-Free
I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who has been breathlessly anticipating
Sit Down, Shut Up (premiering on FOX Sunday at 8:30 PM ET), the newest series from
Arrested Development creator
Mitch Hurwitz.
SDSU is an animated series based on a live-action Australian show by the same name. It follows a group of under-performing teachers at a Florida high school.
The teachers are all flaky, disinterested in their students, and with the exception of Larry Littlejunk (
Jason Bateman), highly under-qualified for their positions. An example? Miracle Grohe (
Kristen Chenoweth), the science teacher, beat Larry out of the job by stripping off all her clothes and yelling, "I ain't come from no monkey!"
The humor manages to be both broad and subtle at the same time, much in the way
Arrested Development managed to be. However, though Bateman himself calls this show an animated version of
AD, that's overstating it a bit.
Sit Down, Shut Up, is more like
Arrested Development's annoying younger brother.
Continue reading Sit Down, Shut Up -- An early look
Posted Apr 16th 2009 10:04AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Reality-Free
I don't know about you guys, but I've been super-excited about the premiere of
Mitch Hurwitz's new animated show,
Sit Down, Shut Up. It seems like I've been hearing about it forever, but it finally premieres this Sunday night on Fox. Recently, the screener came up for grabs, so naturally I jumped at it. What I didn't realize is that I would be getting the whole press kit with it.
All press kits are not created equal: I'd definitely enjoy a
talking Barney bobblehead from
How I Met Your Mother, but a busted picture of
Eliza Dushku's face from
Dollhouse really wouldn't do a whole lot for me. The press kit for
Sit Down, Shut Up is kind of low-rent, but it
is for a Mitch Hurwitz show on FOX. The low-rated
Arrested Development didn't exactly make FOX a boatload of cash while it aired, so they're probably waiting to see how the ratings go for this one before they shell out any more dough on fancy tschotkes for the press.
Continue reading Press Kits Unwrapped: Sit Down, Shut Up
Posted Apr 10th 2009 2:25PM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Programming, Animation, Interviews, Casting, Reality-Free
With
Arrested Development, Mitchell Hurwitz went through the ringer with critical support, winning awards, and grassroots campaigns to convince Fox to keep the show on the air that ultimately failed. So what does Hurwitz do for a follow-up? He takes some of the same cast (Will Arnett, Jason Bateman), goes back to the same network (Fox), and back to an idea he had before
Arrested hit the airwaves.
The new show is
Sit Down, Shut Up, an animated series that debuts April 19th at 8:30 PM, in between
The Simpsons and
Family Guy.
"It's funny, this is a show that I actually wrote in the year 2000, and it was an adaptation of a live-action show from Australia," Hurwitz said in a recent conference call. "I kind of kept it in the drawer for a long time, and finally brought it out, mostly because I needed money, which - I enjoy money, and I also use it for all sorts of different things in my life, but mostly for food and shelter."
Continue reading Mitchell Hurwitz talks Sit Down, Shut Up and Arrested Development
Posted Mar 11th 2009 12:15PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Video, Animation, Watercooler Talk, Celebrities, Reality-Free
The fact that
Will Arnett may not actually be the father of wife
Amy Poehler's baby is just one of the shocking tidbits you learn from
Jason Bateman on the soundstage for
Sit Down, Shut Up,
Mitch Hurwitz's upcoming animated comedy in which he and Arnett both lend their voices. We heard about the
mini Arrested Development reunion almost a year ago, and while the series doesn't premiere until April 19th, FOX has given us a taste of what to expect.
The video is great because it's not even a preview of the show, nor does it talk about the animated series in any way. Instead, it's three minutes of Jason Bateman and Will Arnett talking about height, "hair hats" man boobs, and intelligence (or lack thereof). It's blatently aimed at rabid, drooling
Arrested Development fans who are clamoring for any smidgen of a hint of the show's former glory-- and it works.
Continue reading Amy Poehler is "surprisingly promiscuous" - VIDEO
Posted Jan 18th 2009 2:03PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Animation, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
The long, drawn-out cancellation of
Arrested Development was one of television's greatest crimes against humanity. It ranks right up there with the approval of a new
Knight Rider when the original was already one too many, the spinoff
Baywatch Nights, and the made-for-TV movie
Knight Rider 2000. That's right, I just hassled the Hoff. If any of you want a piece of me, I also come with a side of "whoop-ass."
But with the
Arrested Development movie clawing its way inch-by-inch towards the big screen, Mitchell Hurwitz will at least have one other project on the horizon and on the very same network that tried to destroy him. Either he's showing he's a good guy and can take rejection in stride, or he's trying to bring down the place from the inside. You make the call.
Fox announced that Hurwitz's new show,
Sit Down, Shut Up, will air sometime next fall. Critics also got an advance screening at
the Television Critics Association conference last week.
Continue reading Arrested Development creator returns to the network that killed him, possibly for vengeance?
Posted Oct 30th 2008 11:05AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Arrested Development, 30 Rock, Ratings, Reality-Free
30 Rock has been the little show that could for two years. Like
Arrested Develoment a few years back, it has a rabid fan following and the critics just adore it. Unfortunately, it also has the same problem that plagued
AD: low ratings. While those numbers did tick up during last year's strike-shortened season, the show still only averaged 6.4 million viewers, good enough for 94th place among all shows. It's also proven it does well with alternate viewing methods like online streaming and DVR recording but the networks are still struggling with how to account for that.
If ever there was a time for Tina Fey's little show to find that bigger audience, this would be it. Sure winning the Emmy for Best Comedy for the second year in a row is great. Hell, Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin took home awards for Best Actor and Actress as well this time. But even that doesn't mean anything when the ratings numbers come in. What does matter right now is Sarah Palin. Thanks to John McCain picking the one woman on the planet
who looks exactly like Tina Fey, suddenly she's the most famous comedian on the planet, and that could just save her show.
Continue reading Will Sarah Palin make 30 Rock a success ... finally?
Posted Oct 26th 2008 8:29AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Saturday Night Live, Celebrities, Reality-Free
How appropriate!
Amy Poehler has given birth to her first child today, a baby boy. He is now officially known as Saturday Poehler Arnett. No, just kidding. The baby's name hasn't been announced yet. But considering Amy's connection to
Saturday Night Live, it's just perfect that her baby came on Saturday.
According to sources, Amy was in labor all day. Yeah, that's right. Instead of rehearsing for the show, she was in the hospital with her legs up, sucking on ice chips and generally concentrating on her breathing and listening to soothing music.
Seriously, when you consider that Amy was doing that
Sarah Palin rap just a week ago, you realize how far along she was and still doing the comedy business. Kudos to Amy! However, don't expect to see Baby Mama Amy back on
SNL too soon. She's taking a well deserved maternity leave.
Posted Sep 5th 2008 10:24AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: 30 Rock, Casting, Reality-Free, Gossip Girl
If I didn't love this news so much, I'd be worried that
30 Rock was turning into
The Love Boat or
Will and Grace. After all, it seems as though there's news of a new guest star every few days. First
Will Arnett signed on to reprise his role as the delightfully evil Devon Banks, then ex-
Friend,
Jennifer Aniston, decided to return to television in order to stalk Jack Donaghy. After that came news that
Oprah was scheduled to play herself on an upcoming episode.
That's a lot of guest stars to pack into one season, but now we have news of two more. Everybody's favorite
Gossip Girls, Blair and Serena, AKA
Leighton Meester and Blake Lively, are coming to 30 Rock. What on earth could bring these Upper East Siders to Midtown? Are they trying to overthrow Liz Lemon as queen bee of
TGS with Tracy Jordan? Are they starring in a movie with Tracy Jordan? There's more info on their storyline after the jump.
Continue reading Liz Lemon was a Gossip Girl?
Posted Aug 29th 2008 11:27AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: 30 Rock, Casting, Reality-Free
I'm pretty sure I know how
Will Arnett has spent his summer: doing leg presses.
Arnett is slipping back into his short robe to reprise his role on
30 Rock. His character, Jack Donaghy's nemesis
Devon Banks, may have already screwed Jack out of the CEO job at the end of last season, but he's coming back for more.
Arnett is scheduled to load up on the self-tanner and appear on
30 Rock's season premiere, airing October 30. He scored a well-deserved Emmy nomination for his stint on the show last season, so his reappearance is no big surprise. Arnett is reportedly already on the
30 Rock set shooting scenes with Baldwin for the inevitable Banks/Donaghy showdown.
Although this is the only episode in which he is confirmed to be appearing, I wouldn't be shocked if he popped up again later in the season. I'm just hoping that the season premiere takes place a little while after the finale, so Kenneth can get back from Beijing in time to be harassed into Banks' arms, because
that's the love story I want to see.
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