Sweet deal from Bravo: New ‘Top Chef: Just Desserts’ casting now
Good news from Bravo: The network has picked up a new culinary competition series titled “Top Chef: Just Desserts.” It’s a spin-off of the Emmy and James Bears Award-winning “Top Chef” series and will put pastry chefs to the test.
More good news from Bravo: Nationwide casting calls are being held for pastry chefs interested in competing on “Top Chef: Just Desserts.”
The first open call will be held Oct. 26 in Chicago. Other dates and cities include Nov. 4 in Washington D.C.and Boston, Nov. 8 in Atlanta and New York City, Nov. 11 in Dallas and Las Vegas, Nov. 15 in Los Angeles and Portland.
For more details, go to www.bravotv.com/casting.
–Penny TV
SYTYCD’s Mary Murphy to take Broadway
From Broadworld.com: The producers of a Broadway hit announced today that Mary Murphy of FOX’s “So You Think You Can Dance” will make her Broadway debut for one night only on Tuesday, December 22nd at 7 p.m., when she “quicksteps” into the “Burn the Floor” company at the Longacre Theatre.
She will join the dance juggernaut that has taken Broadway by storm, breaking box office records and extending its limited engagement. The show, originally announced for a 12-week engagement, has been extended through January 3, 2010. Mary Murphy will be partnered with ballroom champion Vaidas Skimelis. “Burn the Floor” is a Latin and Ballroom dance spectacular that opened this summer at Broadway’s intimate Longacre Theatre (220 West 48th Street).
Did you know that Murphy is a US Ballroom Dance Champion and an Austrian National 10-dance and Ballroom Champion? In addition to owning Champion Ballroom Academy in San Diego, Mary is a partner in the “Chance to Dance” program in the San Diego area school district, helping provide dance classes to children unable to afford lessons.
Don’t forget to meet the Top 20 tonight on FOX at 7 p.m. ! And a two- hour performance show tomorrow! Set your DVRs! (From SYTYCDism).
Spend the day with ‘Days of Our Lives’ cast members
Here’s a good reason
to plan a trip to Hollywood, especially if you are a big “Days of Our Lives” fan.
NBC is hosting a “Day of Days” on Nov. 7. That’s when fans can meet and greet members of the “Days” cast.
Several other activities are being planned for the event, which is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at the Universal Studios Hollywood’s CityWalk (1000 Universal City Plaza).
Cast members who have already made plans to attend the event include John Aniston, Kristian Alfonso, Nadia Bjorlin, Molly Burnett, Shawn Christian, Bryan Dattilo, Casey Deidrick, Galen Gering, Mark Hapka, Shelley Hennig, Jay Johnson, Renee Jones, Lauren Koslow, Eric Martsolf, Joe Mascolo, Peggy McCay, Dylan Patton, Peter Reckell, James Reynolds, Suzanne Rogers, James Scott, Taylor Spreitler, Alison Sweeney, Josh Taylor, Felisha Terrell and Arianne Zucker. That’s pretty much the entire “Days of Our Lives” cast.
And making the event even more attractive is the fact that it is free and open to everyone who enjoys the show.
In addition to the chance to meet Salem’s favorite Brady, DiMera, Kiriakis, Horton or Hernandez family member, there will be autograph signings, a Q&A session, raffles and a screening of an upcoming episode of “Days of Our Lives,” which will celebrate its 44th season on the air in November.
For more information on the event, go to www.nbc.com/days.
–Penny TV
“Modern Family,” “The Vampire Diaries” among new fall show favorites
The cast of "Modern Family" - ABC Photo
Now that I’ve seen a few episodes of the 2009 new fall show entries, here are my views:
Favorites:
— “Modern Family,” 8 p.m., Wednesday, ABC: This show is hilarious, plain and simple. No laugh track, thankfully, just hysterical lines and perfect comedic acting. Standouts are Ed O’Neill, Ty Burrell Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet.
— “The Vampire Diaries,” 7 p.m., Thursday, The CW: Fun and fascinating, a must-see for vampire fans. Ian Somerhalder is impressive as bad vampire brother Damon Salvatore and I’m warming up to Paul Wesley as good vampire brother Stefan Salvatore.
— “The Good Wife,” 9 p.m., Tuesday, CBS: Strong, dignified, intelligent female character lead played by the fabulous Julianna Margulies, clever story lines – always easy to get into.
— “Melrose Place,” 8 p.m., Tuesday, The CW: Ratings-wise it appears not many are watching, but I’ve been entertained by the mysteries and turmoil on this remake of the ’90s series (which I also liked). We’ll see if Heather Locklear’s upcoming reappearance can bring in some viewers and save this show.
— “Glee,” 8 p.m., Wednesday, Fox: The musical numbers on this show are amazing, but the story lines have been lacking at times. Hope the writing will recover on a consistent basis as the season goes on, because it’s got potential to be an overall great show.
A few shows I’m still on the fence about:
— “FlashForward,” 7 p.m., Thursday, ABC: Intriguing plot, but has seemed a little slow to me. Acting is solid, so I’ll keep with it for now.
— “Cougar Town,” 8:30 p.m., Wednesday, ABC: Semi-amusing, although a little too vulgar at times, and, though, I like Courteney Cox, she comes across as trying too hard to be funny to me.
— “The Forgotten,” 9 p.m., Tuesday, ABC: I like the plot of solving cases of unidentified murder victims, but besides the episode about the former football player who had finally find his place in life after football right before he was murdered, the stories haven’t been that compelling. That’s too bad, because Christian Slater deserves better.
Not so favorite:
— “Community, 7 p.m., Thursday, NBC: Maybe I haven’t given this show enough of a chance, but I haven’t found it funny. I’ve enjoyed Joel McHale on the E! channel’s “The Soup,” but haven’t been able to engage in this production.
Overall, there’s been lots more to like than not in 2009, especially in the comedy and drama genre, and for TV fans, that’s good news!
– Melissa Hayer
Happy Birthday, D.W. Moffett
Oct. 26, 2009 — Donald Warren
Moffett, who plays Joe McCoy on “Friday Night Lights” (Season 4 starts Oct. 28 on DirecTV), turns 55 today.
He played Danny Clark on “Life Is Wild” (2007-08).
His first acting role was as Peter Hilton in the 1985 TV movie “An Early Frost.” He was 31.
Best wishes to D.W. and everybody who shares this special day with him.
–Penny TV
Pictured at right: D.W. Moffett plays the chief financial officer of an adult-entertainment empire in the Fox drama “Skin,” which airs Mondays.
SYTYCD: Top 20 dancers special, then, 2 kaput!
Don’t forget to catch Monday’s special presentation of “So You Think You Can Dance,” which profiles the top 20 dancers, so we can get to know them. Then, on Tuesday, the judges will pick the first two to kick off the show.
Nigel Lythgoe dished on Twitter: “I’m happy the judges decide, besides we know best at this moment. A couple of weeks more will help the public become better informed.”
It’s always hard to be the first two dancers to go. Especially this year, when we actually get to know them unlike previous years.
If you missed Friday’s podcast with Lisa Potts and me, check it out!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Oklahoma Alert: Dr. Phil McGraw, ‘Locator’ Troy Dunn on TV talk shows Oct. 26
Celebrities with Oklahoma ties are making appearances on TV talk shows this week.
Troy Dunn (pictured above), who helps family members and friends track down loved ones from their past on WEtv’s “The Locator,” will appear on Monday’s edition of “The Wendy Williams Show” airing at noon on KAUT-43. Dunn is an Enid High School graduate.
Dr. Phil McGraw (pictured below), a former psychologist who helps people solve various problems on his syndicated talk show “Dr. Phil,” will appear on Monday’s edition of “The Jay Leno Show” airing at 9 p.m. on NBC. Dr. Phil was born in Vinita.
–Penny TV
Happy Birthday, Adam Goldberg
Oct. 25, 2009 – Adam Charles Goldberg, who
played Detective Eric Delahoy on “The Unusuals” (2009), turns 39 today.
He played Jimmy on “Joey” (2005-06).
His first acting role was as Oreo Person on a 1990 episode of “Designing Women.” He was 20.
Best wishes to Adam and everybody who shares this special day with him.
–Penny TV
Happy Birthday, Shenae Grimes
Oct. 24, 2009 – Shenae Sonya
Grimes, who plays Annie Wilson on “90210″ (7 p.. Tuesdays on The CW), turns 20 today.
She played Darcy Edwards on “Degrassi: The Next Generation” (2004-08).
Her first acting role was as Teenage Shania on “Biography: Shania Twain.” She was 16.
Best wishes to Shenae and everybody who shares this special day with her.
–Penny TV
“Dollhouse” on The Oklahoman’s TV Week, but not on Fox TV
The Oklahoman’s TV Week
features “Dollhouse” on its Oct. 25 cover, but Fox will not air the show on Oct. 30 after all.
“Dollhouse” has been pulled from the Fox schedule for November sweeps (Oct. 29-Nov. 25).
As of Friday afternoon, Fox Network had not issued a press release about the schedule change. But even if the network had announced it when The Programming Insider reported the news on Thursday, it wouldn’t have changed the TV book cover.
All 210,000 copies of the Oct. 25 TV Week to be distributed in the metro area were printed, folded, stapled and stacked by 12:45 p.m. Wednesday.
When The Oklahoman asked for a confirmation of the late network change and information to pass along to readers, a Fox spokesperson provided the following statement:
“‘Dollhouse’ will now NOT air on Fridays during the November sweeps period. ‘Dollhouse’ airs tonight (Oct. 23) in its regular time period and then will be off for five weeks.
“It is scheduled to return to Fridays beginning Dec. 4 — back-to-back hours for three consecutive weeks — and continue airings in January as well. Hope this helps!”
So keep Sunday’s copy of TV Week and refer to it when “Dollhouse” returns Dec. 4. The episode will feature Summer Glau (“Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”) in a recurring role on the science-fiction drama.
–Penny TV
NOTE: In place of “Dollhouse” on Oct. 30, Fox will rebroadcast the two-hour sixth-season premiere episode of “House” at 7 p.m. In November, Fox’s Friday night lineup will feature reruns of “House” at 7 p.m. and “Bones” at 8 p.m.
“Brothers,” which aired at 7 p.m. Fridays on Fox, will move to 6 p.m. Sunday starting Nov. 8. “Til Death,” which aired at 7:30 p.m. Fridays, will be placed on hiatus.
