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For decades, insurance commercials were total bores. They talked about their policies and what they covered and how important it was to protect your family and everything else about the insurance industry that would put you right to sleep — until one little reptile changed the entire game.

In 1999, Geico introduced the Geico Gecko, the pioneer in making insurance commercials cute, funny and mascot-based. The company’s next ad campaign was just as revolutionary — not to mention, evolutionary. In 2004, it came up with a new motto to promote its new website: “So easy a caveman can do it.” The line was made extra memorable by the commercials that accompanied it. After a generic-looking salesman said to the camera, “So easy a caveman can do it,” a nearby caveman would become wildly offended.

The commercials were a smash hit, but nobody could have predicted what would come next: a caveman TV show.

Created by Jeff & Jackie Schaffer, one of FX's most popular comedy series was "The League," which ran for seven seasons from 2009 to 2015. The raucous sitcom follows a group of friends in Chicago who run a highly competitive fantasy football league every year, creating their own challenges, rewards, and penalties. Along the way, the ensemble endures their own hilarious highs and lows involving romance and family life in between planning their fantasy teams. Throughout the show's run, the group is joined by several memorable guest stars and recurring characters, including the occasional real-life football player getting in on the fun.

Led by a solid ensemble cast of talented comedians, "The League" introduced beloved, crass characters framed against the backdrop of fantasy sports. Since the show's ending in 2015, many of the cast members have gone on to continue their film and television careers, while others haven't reached the same level of success.

Many of the most popular sitcoms of all time have mundane premises — a group of friends hang out in a coffee shop, brainy nerds share an apartment, office workers struggle with their incompetent boss. But sometimes, Hollywood creatives go out on a limb and pitch something a little wackier, and dumbass networks occasionally make those ideas into reality — a reality that’s usually pretty terrible.

Here are eight supremely dumb sitcom premises that should have been laughed right out of the pitch room…

1 Cavemen

I wish I could say this was the only television commercial turned into a network comedy on this list, but that would be a lie. It is, however, the only one that stars Nick Kroll as a Neanderthal struggling to make it in the suburbs. Relatable.

2 My Mother the Car

It would have been easy to populate this entire list with sitcoms of the 1950s and 1960s,...

One of Geico's cavemen from a former ad campaign is back, and he's still struggling with the insurance company's famous slogan that was used for those commercials.

Back in 2004, Geico first introduced a series of ads that featured Encino Man-style cavemen trying to live normal lives in the present day. One of the first depictions of the cavemen was played by Jeff Daniel Phillips, who'd more recently go on to star as Herman in Rob Zombie's new take on The Munsters. Per Adweek, an all-new had has been unveiled with Phillips returning as a Geico caveman, waking up from a recurring nightmare he's had about the famous insurance ads. Running at two minutes long, the commercial will be the longest ad Geico has ever aired on television, and it will debut dn NBC during Sunday Night Football. It's already available on YouTube, however, and can be watched below.

Sad news today as it’s been announced that Richard Moll, who played Aristotle Nostradamus “Bull” Shannon on all nine seasons of Night Court, has died at the age of 80. His publicist confirmed that he died at his home in Big Bear Lake on Thursday.

Although Richard Moll is best known for his work on Night Court, he had quite a sprawling filmography. He made appearances in movies such as Cavemen, Evilspeak, The Sword and the Sorcerer, The Dungeonmaster, Night Train to Terror, House, Wicked Stepmother, Sidekicks, Loaded Weapon 1, The Flintstones, Jingle All the Way, Scary Movie 2, and more. He was also featured in episodes of Happy Days, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, T.J. Hooker, Remington Steele, The Dukes of Hazzard, The A-Team, Highlander: The Series, Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman, Hercules: The Legendary Adventures, Babylon 5, Baywatch, Married… with Children, Smallville, and more.

Moll...

Sitcoms have historically been hits with television viewers for generations. But not all sitcoms have been beloved by TV audiences, and viewers were happy to hear they were canceled, whether in the middle of the season or after an entire season aired.

Every network has faced negative responses to sitcoms regardless of their intended audiences. Shows like Fred: The Show was targeted at kids but didn't make waves, while 1600 Penn was supposed to appeal to the whole family but didn't catch the audience's attention. For every wildly popular sitcom, there has been at least one that fans were glad to see leave their screens.

Related: 14 Sitcom Characters Who Aged Poorly

Cavemen

Most characters created for commercials aren't fleshed out enough to make a show around. This was the case with Cavemen. The show was supposed to focus on the Geico cavemen, who were created to demonstrate how easy it was to get insurance.

Multi-hyphenate Nick Kroll is one of the biggest players in comedy right now, with two hit shows, Big Mouth, and Human Resources, drawing large audiences for Netflix. He started writing for Chappelle's Show and Human Giant before getting his break as an actor on the ABC series Cavemen. From there, he appeared in most of the big comedy shows of the 2010s, like Parks and Recreation, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Community, and New Girl.

Ted Lasso isn’t the first series based on a character from a TV commercial — anyone else still haunted by ABC’s Cavemen? Or CBS’ Baby Bob? — but it might be the first good one.

The new Apple TV+ comedy, which hails from series star Jason Sudeikis and Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence, is based on a series of promotional videos for NBC Sports that aired in 2013. Seven years later, the Saturday Night Live vet reprises his role as an American football coach who is hired to manage an English soccer — err, football team… despite having zero soccer — err, football coaching experience.

Happy Tuesday, fellow Big Brother fans. We're back at you again with another Celebrity Big Brother season 2 report. This one was spawned by the season 8 winner himself Evel Dick Donato! He's very active on his personal Twitter account, and yesterday January 7, 2019, he revealed a list that was sent to him that featured the CBS Celebrity Big Brother logo on it and a supposed cast list that featured a couple of other celebrities that were not mentioned in the previous leaked list we ran. This one has much bigger names on it. In Evel Dick's tweet he captioned the leaked list photo with the following words: "Don't know how legit this is, but I'm just gonna pass it on...One that is troubling is Dan Crenshaw. He was just elected & sworn in, first term. He's gonna leave responsibilities to get locked in a house for a month? So, seems fishy." You...

Chicago – The raucous party movie has become a reliable staple in movieland, and now a production tackles the holiday soiré, and all that can go wrong. “Office Christmas Party” is co-directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck, who also gave us “Blades of Glory” and “The Switch.”

The story features T.J. Miller and Jennifer Aniston as the brother and sister who has inherited their father’s computer business. Miller runs the Chicago office, which is under performing. Aniston’s character wants to shut the branch down, but Miller thinks an epic holiday party will convince a potential client (Courtney B. Vance) to sign on and save the company, and enlists the aide of officemates portrayed by Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn and Kate McKinnon. The movie is filled with wild and funny takes on celebrating the holiday ritual, and shows off the city of Chicago in all of its winter glory.

Chicago’s hottest club is a midtown tech company called Zenotek Data Storage Systems, and it has everything: Santa Claus sitting on the Iron Throne, Kate McKinnon playing a flatulent Hr lady, and — most importantly — a lethal dose of Baniston (that’s that thing where Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston exhume the toxic non-chemistry they’ve already brought to four other, even more excruciating comedies). 50 times longer than the unrelated “SNL” sketch of the same name and somehow featuring half as many laughs, “Office Christmas Party” is the perfect holiday movie for that one dude at your job who still quotes “Wedding Crashers” every time you’re forced to interact with him, screaming “You shut your mouth when you’re talking to me!” in a crowded elevator that’s filled with strangers who work on other floors. You know who I’m talking about.

This is a studio comedy on auto-pilot,...

Fox’s Empire has rounded out its cast with the signing of Kaitlin Doubleday (Catch Me If You Can) as a series regular. The hip-hop industry drama pilot from Lee Daniels, Danny Strong and Brian Grazer centers on Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard), a charismatic, savvy music superstar who is about to take his company, Empire Entertainment, public. Doubleday will play Rhonda, the wife of Lucious’ oldest son Andre (Trai Byers), a sexy, manipulative woman who shares Andre’s Ivy League background and intends to help him scrap his way to the head of Empire. Doubleday, repped by Paradigm and Mpg Management, appeared in features Home Of Phobia and Waiting and ABC’s Cavemen. Related: 2014 Fox Pilots Regina Hall is set as a recurring in Andrew Gurland’s new FX series Married, which will debut this summer. Created, directed and executive produced by Gurland, Married stars Nat Faxon and Judy Greer as Russ and Lina Bowman,...

Cavemen, Minions, Sisters – All were part of Friday night’s Animated Feature symposium at AMPAS where the nominees discussed how their films were developed, talked about their creative processes and presented clips illustrating their techniques.

The evening was hosted by Oscar nominated actor John C. Reilly, star of last year’s lovable Wreck-it Ralph, who affably led the packed house at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater through the many interesting and often hilarious moments of the night.

Turns out, it was a great year for animated films. More people saw the five animated movies than saw all nine Best Picture nominees combined. This was also the first year that both directors and producers could be nominated in the category. In year’s past, the only nominees were the people who helmed the movie.

The Animation Branch of the Academy instituted a special rule for the Animated Feature Film Award.

Rule Seven:...

Genre: Sci-Fi | Horror | Drama

Creators: Anna Fricke and Jeremy Carver, based on the original UK version by Toby Whithouse

Directors: Paolo Barzman, Adam Kane, Charles Binamé, Erik Canuel, Jeremiah S. Chechik, Jerry Ciccoritti

Cast: Sam Witwer, Sam Huntington, Meaghan Rath, Mark Pellegrino

Summary:

For three roommates, being human is harder than it looks… Vampires, werewolves and the supernatural collide in the first season of this Syfy smash series that mixes True Blood with The Vampire Diaries.

From the creative team behind Pillars of the Earth, The Mentalist, and Heroes, Being Human is Syfy’s reimagining of the acclaimed UK series created by Toby Whithouse and starring Sam Witwer (Smallville, Battlestar Galactica), Meaghan Rath (The Assistants), Sam Huntington (Cavemen, Superman Returns) and Mark Pellegrino (Lost, Supernatural).

Being Human: The Complete First Season series follows three paranormal, 20-something roommates living in Boston – vampire “Aidan” (Witwer), werewolf “Josh” (Huntington) and ghost “Sally...

On TV this weekend: Fast cars, fastballs, puppies battling babies and Georgians battling zombies. As a supplement to TVLine’s original features and reporting, here are 20 programs to keep on your radar.

Saturday, October 15

7:30 pm Nascar: Sprint Cup Series (ABC) | Live, from Concord, N.C., the Bank of America 500!

8 pm American League Championship Series (Fox) | The Texas Rangers hope to use home field advantage to claim the pennant.

8:30 pm How to Be a Gentleman (CBS) | Those who RSVP for the show’s new time slot will find Andrew attending his ex-girlfriend’s wedding — where he learns she met...

Comic book fans may recognize Sam Huntington as Jimmy Olsen in Superman Returns (2006), Human Target (episode 104: “Sanctuary”) and most recently the film adaptation of the Italian horror-private eye comic, Dylan Dog: Dead of the Night sharing the screen once again with co-star Brandon Routh. On television, Huntington has made a habit out of playing characters in need of some serious grooming. In 2007-08, Huntington played Andy of the Cavemen, the ABC comedy based on the Geico Insurance characters and now his most prominent role is his current one on Syfy’s hit adaptation of Being Human. Huntington recently spoke with us about his role of Josh the werewolf on Being Human, the growth of his neurotic character, what we may or may not see in this upcoming season as well all the possible places Josh and Nora will undergo their monthly transformation. In the middle of our interview, co-star...

While we have no clue where they're going with the stellar UK TV series "Being Human" after the events of the last episode, we're happy we have the surprisingly well done U.S. series heading into its second season!

For those not in the know, "Being Human" is sort of like a horror fan's version of the classic sitcom "Three's Company" only without the fluffy chest hair and the ditsy blonde chick.

The series stars Sam Witwer ("Smallville", "Battlestar Galactica") as vampire Aidan, Meaghan Rath ("The Assistants") as ghost Sally, and Sam Huntington ("Cavemen", Superman Returns) as the werewolf Josh.

Take your first look at Season 2 coming this January below courtesy of E! Online, and look for more on "Being Human" soon!

Synopsis:

"Being Human" is a re-imagining of the acclaimed BBC original series that follows three 20-something roommates: a ghost, a vampire, and a werewolf who are struggling to...

There's nothing supernatural or scary about Sam Huntington, but the roles he plays are still out of this world. In "Dylan Dog: Dead of Night," Huntington plays the titular detective's assistant Marcus, who is adjusting to his new status as zombie as the two take on paranormal cases in a New Orleans overrun with vampires, werewolves and the undead. Dylan Dog is played by Huntington's friend Brandon Routh, who he starred alongside in "Superman Returns."

While Huntington plays dead on the big screen, he just finished his first season playing a werewolf who rooms with a ghost and a vampire on SyFy's "Being Human." We sat down with the affable 29-year-old actor and talked about his accidental Comic-Con career trajectory and if he is as energized as the characters he plays.

You play a zombie in "Dylan Dog: Dead of Night" and a werewolf on TV's "Being Human." Which supernatural being suits your personality more?...

Love Is In The Air! Between All The Straight Guys!

While the concept of the "bromance" is nothing new — the term was coined back in the late 90s — observing the popular culture the past couple of weeks, I can't help but feel something has changed when it comes to straight guys expressing their affection for each other. Yes, I know gay guys can be in bromances, both with other gay guys and straight guys, but that's not what I'm addressing here. And, yes, I know there have been touching examples before, but something does seem different.

What exactly? I'd say it's not just how commonplace they've become, but the depth of feeling which these straight guys are now expressing for each other. What, in my opinion, was often kind of a jokey thing in the past, (or a little bit of wishful thinking on the part of fans — see Hawaii Five-0...

by Seth Metoyer, MoreHorror.com

For those that missed the most recent episode of the Syfy monster hit series Being Human, there's no need to fret. We have the episode recap for you as well as a video recap below that.

In the recap clip below from the Being Human episode titled “You’re the One that I Haunt,” Aidan’s ex-love returns and he is curious as to why she didn’t wait for him in the 70s to discover that Bishop threatened her family. She’s dying and doesn’t want to deal with immortality. Josh stays next to Nora and finds out that a sonogram shows that she is 14 weeks pregnant which should be impossible, and Josh is afraid that she might be holding a litter of were-babies.

Sally’s fiancé attempts0 to burn the house down after she threatens him and he finally confesses that he...

HBO’s Hung has recast a character to be introduced during Season 3, after Leven Rambin (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) vacated the role due to unanticipated scheduling conflicts.

Taking over the recurring role of Logan, a former student of Ray’s, will be Kaitlin Doubleday (pictured), TVLine has learned. Her previous TV credits include Brothers & Sisters and ABC’s short-lived Cavemen.

Logan crosses paths with her onetime teach early on in Season 3, under circumstances that can be described as awkward.

Rambin, whose credits also include One Tree Hill, Scoundrels and CSI: Miami, tells TVLine of her exit, “I love the...

I have to admit I'm really enjoying the Us version of "Being Human". Yeah, Josh is totally annoying, and Sally is nowhere near as endearing as Annie, her British counterpart. But both Aidan and Bishop kick all kinds of ass. Apparently Syfy agrees as they've just renewed the show for another year.

From Syfy on Facebook:

With 4 episodes left in this season, we're proud to announce that we've just renewed Being Human for second season! Thank you to everyone who has watched & supported it, we couldn't have done it without you!!!

The series stars Sam Witwer ("Smallville", "Battlestar Galactica") as vampire Aidan, Meaghan Rath ("The Assistants") as ghost Sally, Sam Huntington ("Cavemen", Superman Returns) as werewolf Josh, and Mark Pellegrino ("Lost", "Supernatural") as Bishop: The Vamp Ringleader. Rounding out the creative team is Adam Kane ("The Mentalist", "Heroes") as director and co-executive producer with executive producer Michael Prupas ("The Kennedys...

This April Fool's Sony's Crackle is debuting Jailbait, an improvised comedy web series starring John Lehr (Cavemen, Ten Items or Less). In this fish-out-of-water story, Lehr plays Ozzie, a naive perpetual optimist who is serving nine months in prison after accidentally buying drugs in a sting operation. Jailbait also stars Bob Clendenin (Cougar Town), Tim Bagley ($#*! My Day Says), Kirk Ward, Evie Peck, Sandra Vergara and Michael Bailey Smith, and was created, written, and executive produced by John Lehr and Nancy Hower (the team behind TBS’ Ten Items or Less) and co-executive produced by Keith Raskin. "Jailbait is another unrestrained, hysterical comedy from Crackle that goes to places most television networks won’t,” said Eric Berger, Senior Vice President, Digital Networks for Sony Pictures Television. “John and Nancy’s no holds barred approach to comedy is sure to resonate with our viewers.” From Crackle's press release: The show chronicles Ozzie...

If there was any doubt about the bonafides of our two Big Shill finalists, it was erased by their convincing Final Four victories over two advertising powerhouses from the old school. Flo the Progressive Insurance Lady treated the Budweiser Clydesdales worse than the poor pony at the end of True Grit, clinching Flo’s spot in the final by more than 41 percentage points. And the Pillsbury Doughboy just kept giggling creepily while Mrs. Butterworth — sweet ol’ Mrs. Butterworth — attempted to repeatedly tap-out during his 50 point rout.

Now the two steely icons are poised for one last shillanigan. Yesterday’s battlefields...

We are that much closer to the goriest of Geico pitchmen battles. But before we can count on seeing the insurance-shilling Gecko face off against those scene-stealing Cavemen, the Geico mascots must wash away the Scrubbing Bubbles and the Gerber Baby, respectively. Also competing in this round’s match-ups: Charlie the Tuna, the Energizer Bunny, the Mac Guy, and Flo, the Progressive Lady. Click here to see the entire bracket, and click the jump to vote for your favorite pitchmen in this round. C’mon, it’s so easy, a caveman can do it!

Scrubbing Bubbles

Product: Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom...

Though we're still not entirely sure why they just couldn't start running the original hit British TV series "Being Human", it seems that the folks over at Syfy are obviously on the right track with their remake.

According to The Hollywood Reporter the premiere episode of the U.S. redo of the British supernatural drama "Being Human" drew two million total viewers at 9:00 Pm, setting a network record as the most-watched winter launch since 2005. It drew one million viewers in the adults 18-49 demo, and 58% of that were women (582,000), a record for Syfy for an original series. Including repeats at 10:02 and 11:02 p.m., "Being Human" drew a total of 3.8 million viewers for the night.

The series stars Sam Witwer ("Smallville", "Battlestar Galactica") as vampire Aidan, Meaghan Rath ("The Assistants") as ghost Sally, Sam Huntington ("Cavemen", Superman Returns) as werewolf Josh, and Mark Pellegrino ("Lost", "Supernatural") as Bishop: The Vamp Ringleader.

Being Human debuts tonight on Syfy and some horror fans, well fans of Vampires, werewolves, ghosts should be excited as the new series takes center stage starting Monday, January 17 at 9pm.

The series stars Sam Witwer, Meaghan Rath, and Sam Huntington as a vampire, ghost and werewolf all living under the same roof to assist each other with the challenges they face in supernatural life post human. Being Human Syfy puts a fresh spin on the recent serge of vampires and werewolves.

Check out the trailer below the official details from "SyFy".

Being Human is a re-imagining of the acclaimed BBC original series that follows three 20-something roommates: A ghost, a vampire and a werewolf who are struggling to keep their dark secrets from the world, while also helping each other navigate the complexities of living double lives.

"Being Human is a smart, contemporary, young and imaginative series that reflects Syfy's new brand positioning.

Think you have problems? Tell that to Josh, a former medical school student whose life was irrevocably shattered when he was viciously attacked by a werewolf.  Now once a month, he battles the creature lurking within while struggling to fit into society along with his two new unique roommates, the vampire Aidan (played by Sam Witwer) and the ghostly Sally (Meaghan Rath). Based on the popular British series of the same name, Syfy's horror/comedy/action show Being Human kicks off January 17th. Actor Sam Huntington (who formerly starred in TV's Cavemen, as well as the films Superman Returns and the as-yet-to-be-released Dylan Dog) spoke exclusively with me about why starring as Josh is anything but a curse. It's...

Being Human, Syfy’s latest original series, premieres Monday, the 17th, at 9/8c. Well it’s not really original at all. Much like The Office, this new Syfy series is the American version of BBC’s Being Human starring Russell Tovey, Lenora Crichlow and Aidan Turner. The story revolves around a werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost who try to live together and get along.

The Syfy series stars Sam Witwer (Smallville), Meaghan Rath (18 to Life) and Sam Huntington (Human Target, Cavemen). Can it match up to BBC’s series, without the British wit and edge? In the past year, Syfy has tamed down their core show roster, focusing on shows that have more mass audience appeal and less dark drama. Shows like Warehouse 13 succeed, whereas serious series like Caprica and Stargate Universe have been placed on the cancellation block. Can you fault the cable network for appeasing the viewership that is there?...

With the January 17, 2011, premiere date for Syfy's "Being Human" redux just a few weeks away, the network's promotions department has started sending out press kits for the show, and we've got a sneak peek at what they contain.

Blastr put together the following "unboxing" video of the package, and below that you'll find about half of the images they posted as well. Be sure to hit up their site for the rest.

We're kind of digging the "True Blood" vibe we got from the campaign, and combining that with the fact that the great Mark Pellegrino plays a major role in the events that will be taking place, we say January 17th can't get here soon enough! And if we're let down, well then, we only have to wait until spring, 2011, for BBC America to start airing Season Three of the British version.

Synopsis:

"Being Human" is a re-imagining of...

After months of speculation Syfy has finally unveiled cast photos, character descriptions, a full synopsis, and even a promo video for its redux of the British TV series "Being Human", and we have to say it's looking a lot more promising than we first thought ... mostly due to two little words: Mark Pellegrino, who plays the charismatic but menacing Bishop.

The series premiere will be Monday, January 17, 2011, at 9/8c. Read on for all the details.

Synopsis:

"Being Human" is a re-imagining of the acclaimed BBC original series that follows three 20-something roommates: a ghost, a vampire, and a werewolf who are struggling to keep their dark secrets from the world while also helping each other navigate the complexities of living double lives.

"'Being Human' is a smart, contemporary, young, and imaginative series that reflects Syfy's new brand positioning. We are very excited to adapt this for an American...

This January, SyFy will be premiering their re-imagining of Toby Whithouse’s popular BBC series Being Human. In it, Sam Witwer (Smallville, Battlestar Galactica), Meaghan Rath (The Assistants) and Sam Huntington (Cavemen, Superman Returns) star as the loveable, but supernaturally unenthusiastic characters Aidan (vampire), Josh (werewolf) and Sally (ghost) with Mark Pellegrino (Lost, Supernatural) rounding out the cast as Aidan’s minacious mentor Bishop.

Like it’s UK counter-part, Being Human will follow these three paranormally conflicted roommates as they attempt to shield the world from their metaphysical secrets, all while trying to live double-lives and assimilate themselves into a world that they feel alienated from. Unfortunately, their quest at “being human” is more difficult than any of them could have imagined.

As any purveyor of television can attest, American audiences have been victim to some of the worst, most…

Click to continue reading SyFy’s ‘Being Human’: The Right Way...

Syfy Channel's Fourth Annual Digital Press Tour on Monday (Oct. 11) gives us insight to the its scripted shows in addition to some new alternative reality programming for the 2010-2011 season.

After discussing the holiday episodes of "Warehouse 13" and "Eureka," we delve into "Sanctuary," which returns for its third season on Friday, Oct. 15 after "WWE Friday Night Smackdown."

Highlights from the "Sanctuary" and other Syfy Digital Press Tour panels:

"Sanctuary"

Sadly, star Amanda Tapping had to drop out at the last minute because of an illness in the family.Robin Dunne teases that Magnus will face a new villain played by Ian Tracey who'll be a classic character out of history and literature, an "iconic character that gets an Abnormal twist," who we'll love to hate. The Five is back, including Nigel Griffin.There will be an episode entirely from Will's perspective.

"Hollywood Treasure"

Joe Maddalena's white whale is "The Wizard of Oz...

If you thought a sitcom based on the Geico Cavemen was strange, one that's based on a Twitter feed seems really crazy. $#*! My Dad Says also certainly wins the prize for having the most awkward title in TV history (CBS maintains that it should be read as Bleep My Dad Says). In any case, the show finally debuted last week. How did it do in the Nielsen ratings? Will it last or be quickly cancelled?

$#*! My Dad Says revolves around a young struggling writer who's out of money and must move in with his cranky and opinionated father. The new TV show stars William Shatner, Jonathan Sadowski, Will Sasso, Nicole Sullivan, and Stephanie Lemelin.

In its first week on CBS, $#*! My Dad Says did very well, despite some poor reviews. In its Thursday night timeslot, the sitcom attracted a 4.0 rating...

Syfy have released, via blastr, the first teaser trailer for their remake of the BBC Three series Being Human, along with a new press release outling the Us cast and production team:

Syfy’s all-new drama series Being Human, starring Sam Witwer (Smallville, Battlestar Galactica), Meaghan Rath (The Assistants), Sam Huntington (Cavemen, Superman Returns) and Mark Pellegrino (Lost, Supernatural) has commenced production in Montreal, Canada. Adam Kane (The Mentalist, Heroes) is Director and Co-Executive Producer with Executive Producer Michael Prupas (The Kennedys, Pillars of the Earth) and husband and wife Executive Producers/Writers Jeremy Carver (Supernatural) and Anna Fricke (Men in Trees, Everwood). Muse Entertainment is producing 13 1-hour episodes for Syfy.

Being Human, a re-imagining of the acclaimed UK series created by Toby Whithouse, follows three paranormal, 20-something roommates living in Boston – vampire “Aidan” (Witwer), werewolf “Josh” (Huntington) and ghost “Sally” (Rath) – as they struggle to hide their dark secrets from the world,...

The Switch Directed by: Josh Gordon and Will Speck Written by: Allan Loeb Starring: Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, Jeff Goldblum, Thomas Robinson, Juliette Lewis, Patrick Wilson The Switch is the kind of film I’ve seen a hundred times, and dread seeing for the hundred-and-first. Admittedly, romantic comedy ain’t my bag, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t sniff out the good, the bad, and the mediocre. The Switch has stars Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, and Jeff Goldblum sucking on a script that belongs so completely in the third category that there’s almost nothing else to say. Almost. The screenplay by Allan Loeb knocks the three talented performers flat on their asses; watching them chew the lame dialogue to a consistency with which they can expectorate a joke is often more entertaining than the line itself. Goldblum in particular turns up his signature stutter, abstracting sentences...

Plus Buffy's Nicholas Brendan's new gig, marriage equality in Iceland, and McDonalds goes gay again?

A moment to mention Senator Robert C. Byrd, who passed away last night. Senator Byrd was the longest serving member of Congress in history. He grew up about three miles from where I’m typing this. He was a product of his era, but wasn’t afraid to change his mind, slowly, first on race, and he was even now evolving on gay issues, despite his past history. I’ve met him many times, and he was a kind and decent man.

Michael Fassbender is going to star in X-Men: First Class as a young Magneto opposite James McAvoy as Professor X. His hairline already matches Sir Ian’s.

Robin Williams wants to play The Riddler in Christopher Nolan’s next Dark Knight movie. Granted, no one has asked him, Nolan hasn’t named the villain for the movie,...

Updated: Multiple sources confirm to me exclusively that ex-Smallville’s evildoer Sam Witwer (a.k.a. Doomsday) is the odds-on favorite has officially signed on to play vampire Aidan in Syfy’s in-the-works U.S. remake of the U.K. supernatural dramedy Being Human.

Additionally, Meaghan Rath (The Assistants) has inked a deal to play ghost Molly, and Sam Huntington (Cavemen) is up for the role of werewolf Josh. Beautiful People’s Ricky Mabe and Smallville’s Aaron Ashmore had also tested for the werewolf part, but I’m told they’re no longer in the running.

Being Human...

Pilot season may have had its busiest casting day yet on Monday (Feb. 22), with actors ranging from Emmy winner Jane Kaczmarek to Jim Belushi to Olivia Munn landing roles.

Among the other names on the casting sheets: Adam Arkin, Leah Remini, Zeljko Ivanek, Romany Malco and Wayne Knight. Here's a rundown:

- Former "According to Jim" star Belushi is switching to drama in the CBS pilot "Defenders." He'll play one of a pair of larger-than-life defense attorneys in Las Vegas, the showbiz trade papers report. Niels Mueller and Kevin Kennedy ("The Assassination of Richard Nixon") wrote the script and will executive produce with director Davis Guggenheim, "CSI" exec producer Carol Mendelsohn and Joe and Harry Gantz.

- Kaczmarek ("Raising the Bar," "Malcolm in the Middle") and Arkin, late of "Sons of Anarchy," will star in ABC's comedy "Who Gets the Parents?," according to The Hollywood Reporter. They'll play a long-married couple who decide to split,...

Could a "Young Justice League" animated series be on the horizon? A report that hit the 'Net and was removed a short time later seems to indicate that's the case.

"I am beyond thrilled to announce that I was recently cast in the new animated series, 'Young Justice League', based on the famous (and awesome!?) DC Comics," wrote actress Stephanie Lemelin in a statement on her website that was snagged by Mania.com before being removed. "I seriously could not be more excited about being welcomed into this amazing family… what a fantastic way to start the new year! I will be voicing the character of Arrowette (see ridiculously hot avatar below!!! um, could I love her anymore?) as well as several supporting cast members."

"Due to the extreme popularity of this series, however, that’s about all I can say… for now," continued Lemelin. "[I am] so excited, this is...

Remember 5-On? Devin Clark's animated alien and robot obsessed news show on Atom? Well it was a year ago this week that news of Comedy Central ordering up Clark's Ugly Americans for a pilot. Now the pilot turned into pickup with the series set for a March 2010 debut on the cable network and a sneak peek (below) via the Atom blog shows hints of the monsters-living in a modern world. As a web series, the 8-episode 5-On (above) debuted back in June of 2007 with an intrepid reporter, Alan Whiter, interviewing “five of anything about everything"—five aliens, five robots, five monsters. Comedic writers Nick Kroll (Cavemen) and John Mulaney wrote and voiced the series along with Clark. Ugly Americans is another example of Comedy Central tapping its web comedy arm, Atom, as a form of development pipeline. Already it showcases the best of the online comedy site weekly on air via its AtomTV block,...

Another Fox program (aside from Glee) being showcased at the Television Critics Association this year with a queer character is is Sit Down, Shut Up, a new animated sitcom (set against a live backdrop) starring Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, Kristin Chenoweth and created by Arrested Development's Mitchell Hurwitz.

The Simpsons has given us a number of gay characters and American Dad has Roger, the bisexual alien. How might this new character stack up against those?

Find out after the jump!

Andrew Legustambos is voiced by Nick Kroll and if you know a little Spanish, that last name translates roughly to "he likes both". In fact, Andrew is actually a bisexual man teaching at a high school in a small Florida fishing town. The official synopsis of the show says Andrew is "proud" and is "the flamboyant drama teacher".

Really? Another non-straight character who is flamboyant? And a drama teacher?...

Just after the holidays, the first casting announcement for Halloween 2 went out. The production was looking for a character named "Howard" who was described as a "huge, thick necked bouncer at the 'Rabbit in Red' night club. He's not a pierced-tattooed-rocker type, but more of a hard workin' fist fightin' beer drinkin' bouncer. Today, writer-director Rob Zombie announced he has found his bruiser in the form of Jeffrey Daniel Phillips (pictured). The actor may be best known as one of the Cavemen in the long-running Geico Insurance commercials (and the doomed sitcom that followed Cavemen ) but he's also a writer and director. Phillips will join previously announced Tyler Mane and Ezra Buzzington (that item here ).

Former SNLer and 30 Rock star, Tracy Morgan, has signed to produce and star in Freshman Roommates, a comedy for Montecito and Paramount Pictures. Tj Miller (Cloverfield) will also star in the film that is inspired by the proliferation of email scams purporting to be sent by a Nigerian prince looking for help in accessing his fortune. Roommates asks the question what if one of the emails isn't a scam? The story kicks off when a young man answers one such email during a drunken stupor. Soon thereafter, the spoiled son of a deposed African dictator (Morgan) shows up at his door, looking to secure his inheritance. Standup veterans John Mulaney and Nick Kroll wrote the screenplay, which they crafted as a starring vehicle for Jordan. Mulaney is a writer on Saturday Night Live and Kroll was a writer and regular cast member on the short-lived ABC sitcom Cavemen. Roommates reteams...

TheWB.com is trying a new tactic in web series releasing, opting for an all-at-once premiere of their new irreverent medical parody web series Childrens' Hospital today. Instead of stringing viewers along for ten weeks, we're given one giant helping of Rob Corddry's comedic bounty all in one sitting. With buzz growing for the series since the trailer hit the scene back in October, this is a bit of a early holiday gift for intellectual comedy fans. Rob Cordrry produced the series along with friends David Wain (star and creator of the Webby Award-winning series Wainy Days) and Jonathan Stern (producer of Horrible People, and Wainy Days). And as expected of the threesome, they have assembled a powerhouse cast, headed up by Corddry (who also directed) that is essentially a who’s who of the NY comedy scene. There’s Wain along with Jason Sudeikis (SNL), Lake Bell (Boston Legal) Ken Marino (The State,...

Happy Thanksgiving Week everyone! Fall is in full effect (even here in L.A., it has dropped below 70), so now is a good time to snuggle in and watch some web tv, or find a quick escape from family during the holiday. We've picked some classics for you to get you through the holiday week. ["(Layers)"] The intensely self-referential web series that's a mock documentary of the making of a reality show about a Hollywood agent that represents agents, ["(Layers)"] takes "meta" to the extreme. Starring Cavemen's Nick Kroll and Back on Topps' Jason and Randy Sklar and featuring Roommating's Erin Gibson and the gang from FX's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, this series has a lot going on beneath, above, and in-between the surface.

Production has begun on the pilot of Comedy Central's Ugly Americans, the spin-off of the popular 5-On animated web series from creator Devin Clark that struck a chord last year on Atom. The series, about the adventures of a social worker from the Department of Immigration trying to help various human and nonhumans adjust to New York's bustling lifestyle, is being animated out of New York by Brooklyn-based Augenblick Studios. David M. Stern (Monk, The Simpsons) is executive producing the pilot with creator Clark producing in New York. In its web form, the 8-episode 5-On (above) debuted back in June of 2007 an intrepid reporter, Alan Whiter, interviews "five of anything about everything," which can be anything from five aliens and their thoughts on the Sopranos ending, or five robots on the immigration debate. Comedic writers Nick Kroll (Cavemen) and John Mulaney wrote and voiced the series along with Clark.

NEW YORK -- Fox won Tuesday's primetime in adults 18-49, carrying the further collapse of the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series.

Game 4 of the ALCS, which The Cleveland Indians won 7-3 to take a 3-1 series lead, averaged 12.4 million viewers and a 3.9 rating/11 share in adults 18-49, Nielsen Media Research said Wednesday.

Winning the night in viewership was CBS' "NCIS" (17.5 million, 4.1/12), which has been building steadily all season and was up 20% week-over-week in adults 18-49. "NCIS" hit a record high for the season, coming in ahead of baseball as well as its ABC sitcom competition, "Cavemen" (6.9 million, 2.8/8) and "Carpoolers" (7 million, 2.7/8). "Cavemen" was up slightly; "Carpoolers" was down slightly.

ABC took 9 p.m. with "Dancing With the Stars" (17.3 million, 4.4/11), which was up from last week as was CBS' "The Unit" (12.3 million, 3.5/9). NBC's "The Biggest Loser" (6.9 million, 3.0/8) also was up week-over-week. The CW's "Reaper" (3.3 million, 1.5/4) was up 25% from last week and back up to where it was when it premiered last month.

NEW YORK -- ABC's Cavemen dropped, while Tuesday's House and Law & Order: SVU were up week-to-week.

The ABC sitcom dropped 25% in the adults 18-49 demographic and shed 2.2 million viewers compared to its premiere, according to Nielsen Media Research. Cavemen (7 million, 2.6/8) came in third place in the demo behind NCIS (16.4 million, 3.4/10) and Bones (8.5 million, 3.2/9). The Cavemen troubles stalled Carpoolers (7.3 million, 2.8/8), which built on its lead-in but was still down 20% in the demo compared to last Tuesday's premiere. NCIS was down 5% compared to last week while Bones was up 7%.

Meanwhile, House (18 million, 7.4/18) had no trouble holding on to the lead in viewership and the demo, increasing at the half hour and coming out ahead of last week in both measures. It also beat ABC's powerhouse Dancing with the Stars (16.4 million, 4.1/10), which was down slightly in the demo week-to-week. The Unit (11 million, 3.0/7) stayed even, and The Biggest Loser (6.5 million, 2.7/7) increased steadily between 8:30 p.m.

NEW YORK -- House built a primetime win Tuesday for Fox, while the Cavemen premiere over on ABC performed OK.

House was easily the night's top program in viewership and adults 18-49, bringing in 17.3 million viewers and a 7.1 rating/17 share in the demo, according to preliminary estimates by Nielsen Media Research. House dismissed the results show for Dancing with the Stars (15.7 million, 4.3/10) as well as other competition. House was down week to week but it was still ahead of its pace last year.

Meanwhile, ABC's controversial Cavemen debuted with 9 million viewers and a 3.3/10 in the demo. It tied the older-skewing NCIS (15.5 million, 3.3/10) in adults 18-49. Cavemen> came out ahead in adults 18-34 as well as men 18-34 and men 18-49. In the second half hour NCIS surpassed the debut of Carpoolers (9 million, 3.4/9), which built slightly on Cavemen. Fox's Bones (7.8 million, 2.9/8) was down week-to-week. NCIS was up over last week (13.9 million, 3.2/9), no doubt because of the move of Dancing from 8 p.m.