Because you were focused on other things last week, it's possible you missed some crazy news coming out of NBC, involving a total retooling of Up All Night, a sitcom about Maya Rudolph sharing screen time with other people, including a baby.
The concept for NBC's Up All Night, which premiered last night, is a great one: get a hip pair of thirtysomethings like Christina Applegate and Will Arnett and show what happens when they decide to become parents. The problem is it's a great concept for a movie—not a TV show.
Today NBC put on its presentation at the annual television upfronts, which is when broadcast networks show off all their new shows to potential advertisers. Here are clips of the six new programs that will be joining NBC's ever-flagging roster this September.
Former First Twins Barbara and Jenna Bush turn 28 today. Actor/economist/ex-game show host Ben Stein is turning 65. New York Times columnist Gail Collins is turning 64. Jill Hennessy is 41. Christina Applegate is turning 38. Actor John Larroquette is 62. Pop/gospel singer Amy Grant is 49. Philadelphia Eagles star Donovan McNabb turns 33. Famed choreographer Trisha Brown is turning 73. Soul legend Percy Sledge is 69. And competitive eater (and hot dog eating champion) Joey Chestnut turns 26 today.
Lindsay Lohan buying a bottle of water downtown ... Mary-Kate Olsen leaving a yoga class in SoHo ... Christina Applegate arriving at ABC studios in Midtown ... Sienna Miller shopping at Williams-Sonoma in SoHo ... Mark McGrath walking downtown ... Renee Zellweger getting in an SUV after an appearance on Good Morning America ... Liev Schreiber carrying his bike into his apartment in NoHo ... Amanda Seyfried shooting scenes for Letters to Juliet in Bryant Park ... Nikki Sixx leaving his hotel ... Blake Lively hailing a cab, and later talking to Sebastian Stan on a Gossip Girl shoot at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens ... Viola Davis walking in Tribeca ... and Whitney Port going grocery shopping at the Citarella in SoHo.
Mischa Barton arriving at JFK, and walking into the Mercer Kitchen in SoHo a few hours later ... Emile Hirsch getting out of an SUV in Times Square ... Leighton Meester walking to the Gossip Girl set in Central Park ... Katy Perry going shopping in the meatpacking district ... Ashley Tisdale arriving at JFK with her dog in tow ... Hugh Jackman walking with his kids Oscar and Ava in the West Village ... Drew Barrymore and Christina Applegate shooting scenes for Going the Distance ... Russell Brand getting out of a taxi in the meatpacking district ... and Rihanna going to dinner at Cipriani Wall Street.
TV upfronts are happening across the land, and there were some surprises. Some shows were canceled, others renewed. The circle of life, of sowing and reaping, continues.
Or, you know, she's back on drugs or cutting or something. Her arms are all scratched up. She's tried to hide it with long sleeves, but people have still noticed.
Barbara and Jenna Bush are celebrating their last birthdays as First Daughters: The twins turn 27 today. Christina Applegate is 37. Actor John Larroquette is 61. Pop/gospel singer Amy Grant is 48. Fantasy Island's Ricardo Montalban is 88. Actor/pundit Ben Stein is 64. New York Times columnist Gail Collins is turning 63. Famed choreographer Tricia Brown is 72. And hot dog eating champ Joey Chestnut is 25 today.
Though we may go back and forth on whether we want our MTV, one thing we can all agree on is that we want a Dirt Sandwich. Like your favorite music channel in its heyday, it's packed with pop stars (Britney! Sanjaya!), celebrity antics (Bill Murray skydiving) and even the occasional bit of sobering news (Christina Applegate's mastectomy). And that whole "quick-cut MTV editing" thing? We got that, too. Sit back, put down your remote control, and let Molly McAleer take you on a psychedelic trip through the world of celebrity infotainment that would make even a Radiohead video seem banal. And if you don't watch? Katherine Heigl is gonna point and laugh at you.
We apologize for being late arrivals on the Wendy Williams train — in all fairness, it's a ride that ends more often in trainwreck than not. But oh, what a glorious trainwreck it usually is! The gossipy radio doyenne is nearing the end of her six-week tryout as a TV talk show host (and was just picked up for a nationwide run by Fox) and though Williams never been one to self-censor, she's really hit her gasp-inducing stride during the final stretch. Watch as she discusses Christina Applegate's recent mastectomy, free-associating until she remembers that Applegate is friends with Jennifer Aniston, a Williams bête noire. Her ensuing advice leaves no Must-See TV star unscathed (and even freaks out the audience a little). John Mayer: your rebuttal, please? [The Wendy Williams Show]
Yesterday we brought you the news that Christina Applegate was free and clear of breast cancer, just a month after being diagnosed with an early form of the disease in one of her breasts. Today, during an interview with Good Morning America's Robin Roberts, Applegate revealed that she beat the disease by having both of her breasts removed. Says People:
Good news! This summer has been too full of celebrity ailments and premature passings, so we're pleased to report at least one happy ending: Samantha Who? star Christina Applegate is confirming that she's made a full recovery from her recently announced breast cancer. "I'm clear," she told Robin Roberts for an interview that will air on tomorrow's Good Morning America. "Absolutely 100 percent clear and clean. ... They got everything out so I'm definitely not going to die from breast cancer." Best wishes to Applegate; we're sure Terry will be happy to hear that his beloved "Seeemji" is all right. [ABC]
