News

Amazon Prime’s hit series “Invincible” could well become the first freshman series in a decade to crack the Best Animated Program line-up at the Emmys. Sure, the category has been dominated by long-running shows including “The Simpsons,” “South Park,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Futurama,” “Family Guy” and even “Spongebob SquarePants.” And edgier programs such as “Archer,” “Rick and Morty,” “Bojack Horseman” and “Big Mouth” have broken through but none did this in their first season.

The highly acclaimed “Invincible” could buck this trend. The first season scored a whopping 98% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.8/10 average rating on IMDb. It boasts an A-list voice cast that includes Oscar winner J.K. Simmons, Golden Globe champ Sandra Oh, Oscar nominee Steven Yeun and “Star Wars” legend Mark Hamill. The co-creator is Robert Kirkman of “The Walking Dead” fame.

“Invincible” tells the compelling story of seventeen-year-old Mark Grayson, a high school student who...

“Homecoming” is back and “Dirty John” will be returning for its second season on June 2. Here are other TV shows based on successful podcasts, with their Metacritic ranking.

“Up and Vanished” (2018 – )

Metacritic score: n/a

Payne Lindsey’s true-crime podcast first became a successful two-part special on Oxygen, exploring the disappearance of Georgia schoolteacher Tara Grinstead. And then it became a series, with Payne and his team exploring a new cold case in each episode.

Song Exploder (2020 – )

Metacritic score: n/a

Based on the acclaimed podcast of the same name, the Netflix docu-series takes a look at how the world’s greatest musicians have created their songs, while exploring their various creative processes and inspirations.

Slow Burn (2020 – )

Metacritic score: n/a

The true-crime podcast hosted by Leon Neyfakh is now a docuseries on Epix. Similar to the podcast, Neyfakh dissects historical figures and events and outlines how the lesser-known subplots...

Ever wonder what it would be like if Gandhi met up with Benjamin Franklin? Or if Galileo sat down for a chat with Queen Elizabeth? What about a dance-off between Joan of Arc and Albert Einstein?

All those things and more can be found on Netflix’s new kids and family series “The Who Was? Show,” which launched on the streaming service on Friday.

The sketch comedy series is based on the popular “Who Was?” children’s books published by Penguin Random House and features a who’s who of comedy producers and writers who can boast 900 Emmys between them, according to executive producer-showrunner Richard Korson and writer-executive producer Brian McCann (“Conan”), who recently chatted with Variety about the silly, yet slyly educational show.

The series is a show-within-a-show format about a group of kids that produce a show overseen by a clueless network executive, played by Andy Daly. Each episode,...

Ricky Gervais has given me some of my absolute favourite moments of comedy in The Office, Extras, and The Ricky Gervais Show on Xfm, but his more recent series' haven't quite done it for me. That said, I'm always excited to see what Gervais has cooked up, and his next series sounds as though it might be right up my alley. Netflix has given a six-episode order to After Life, a... Read More...

Dan Harmon began playing Dungeons & Dragons with his pals as a kid. Now he’s turned a life-long affinity for role-playing games into a full-fledged TV show.

“HarmonQuest,” which premieres July 14 on Seeso, features Harmon and pals on stage as they improvise through the Pathfinder Roleplaying World, with much of their interaction and gameplay then set to animation.

Harmon told IndieWire that he was inspired by HBO’s “The Ricky Gervais Show,” which took Gervais’ podcast with Karl Pilkington and animated their conversations. “I was endlessly entertained by impromptu audio coupled with animation, with the animation bringing what was being said to life, especially when what was being said was absurd,” Harmon said.

“In TV or all things creative, it’s your job to follow your own laughter,” he added. “When I was watching that show I’d be laughing so hard my sides would hurt, which is a rare thing.

Returning to the same stage where he brought his acerbic sense of humor to Hollywood, Ricky Gervais has been named host of the 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards, set for Jan. 10, 2016 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The three-hour ceremony serves as the official kick-off to awards season and will be aired live coast to coast from 8-11 p.m. Et on NBC. Here's what NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt had to say in a statement.

"We're excited to have Ricky Gervais back to host the most enjoyable awards show of the season in his own inimitable way. Disarming and surprising, Ricky is ready to honor - and send up - the best work of the year in film and television. Fasten your seats belts."

Gervais hosted the Golden Globes for three consecutive years (2010-12) when the network registered ratings gains from the previous two telecasts. Over that 2010-12 span, the...

San Diego Comic-Con 2015 has released their full schedule for Saturday, July 11. For your convenience, we have pulled out all of the movie, TV and DVD related panels and events below, but you can can visit Comic-Con.org to check out the full schedule including comic book and video game panels. Take a look at all of the movie, TV and DVD events that will take place during the first day of Comic Con.

10:00am - 11:00am - The Last Day of Summer: TV Guide Magazine's Farewell to Phineas and Ferb

After more than 200 best days ever, the ride's over for Phineas and Ferb and their pals, not to mention Perry the Platypus and archnemesis Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz. For a final trip to the Tri-State Area,TV Guide Magazine chief content officer Michael Schneider gathers the creators/executive producers of Phineas and Ferb, Dan Povenmire (voice of Doofenshmirtz) and...

Behold the power of Sundance. Or the Duplass brothers. Or "Animals" itself. HBO has ordered the Duplass-produced Sundance entry to series with a two-season commitment. Though the network does dabble in animated comedy, it's only released two in the last 15 years — "The Ricky Gervais Show" and "The Life & Times of Tim" — and neither lasted longer than three seasons. Read More: 'Animals' Creators on Mark Duplass and If Film Fests are the Future of Indie TV "Animals" premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this past January, generating good word-of-mouth from a screening of two episodes and Q&A immediately after. Matarese and Luciano's half-hour comedy features different animals living in New York City, personifies their problems and presents each with a stark, grey color palette with voices from an exceptional cast. Mark Duplass — who executive produces the series with his brother Jay, both of whom created the HBO...

Anyone watching the ratings for their favorite new shows will remember that HBO’s Hello Ladies from Stephen Merchant wasn’t doing so well. While I enjoyed the first season, I had already come to terms with the idea of never seeing it return. Thankfully, all good things deserve a final chapter, and that’s what the show is going to get.

The eight-episode season of “Hello Ladies,” which debuted on HBO in Sept. 2013, tells the story of Stuart, a gawky 6’7” English transplant seeking excitement and romance in Los Angeles. Searching for the woman of his dreams amidst the city’s dazzling nightlife, Stuart’s romantic aspirations far outstretch his looks or appeal. Half as charming – and twice as desperate – as he thinks he is, he’s obsessed with infiltrating the glamorous world of beautiful people, who won’t let him in.

HBO has announced that “Hello Ladies: The Movie...

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Aug. 12, 2014

Price: DVD $29.99, Blu-ray $39.99

Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

Kermit and his gang get caught in a jewel heist in Muppets Most Wanted.

The comedy movie stars Ricky Gervais (The Ricky Gervais Show), Ty Burrell (TV’s Modern Family) and Tina Fey (Admission), along with a line of other celebrities, like any good Muppet movie.

The actors list is huge: Sean Combs (Get Him to the Greek), Rob Corddry (Hot Tub Time Machine), Zach Galifianakis (It’s Kind of a Funny Story), Salma Hayek (Savages), Mackenzie Crook (TV’s The Office), Frank Langella (Robot & Frank), Ray Liotta (Something Wild), James McAvoy (X-Men: First Class), Chloe Grace Moretz (Hugo), Saoirse Ronan (Hanna), Danny Trejo (Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World), Stanley Tucci (Margin Call), Christoph Waltz (Carnage), Miranda Richardson (Made in Dagenham) and Downton Abbey‘s Hugh Bonneville.

And then there are the singers: Tony Bennett,...

As a 6’7″ rail-thin comedy writer, pretty much anything Stephen Merchant does is going to be awkward. In his HBO show, “Hello Ladies,” Merchant capitalizes on that God-given talent — and body. If you don’t know Stephen Merchant by name, then you know him by IMDb page. He’s the other guy behind all of the projects that made Ricky Gervais rich and famous (“The Office,” “Extras,” “The Ricky Gervais Show,” et al.) There was one good reason that Merchant did not work with Gervais on the current HBO project — Ricky doesn’t know what dating is like: ”I suppose I could have.

With a new show, ‘The Moaning of Life’ scheduled to start later this month, I felt the time was right to look back on the journey of Karl Pilkington and the various media in which he has been exposed to us. Some of you may know him from ‘An Idiot Abroad’ without ever having known of his part in the record breaking podcast, ‘The Ricky Gervais Show’ and those of you who know him from this may not know of the shows origins on the radio station Xfm. Hell, there may be some crazy fools who have never even heard of Karl Pilkington at all. For those of you in that category, there really is only one way to describe him.

”A bald headed Manc tw*t with a head like a f*cking orange.”

That is often how you will hear Ricky Gervais, award winning comedian and actor, describe his best friend Karl Pilkington.

As it is in any long-standing relationship, the prospect of a little alone time can suddenly become an incredibly enticing proposition. Now that doesn’t mean the individuals involved are headed for divorce court, or they’ve split in some sort of inharmonious fashion; it often just means that, for the sake of his or her own sanity a quick solo adventure can mean everything – especially in terms of one person’s pursuit of creative freedom.

In the case of Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais – a partnership that birthed The Office, Extras, Life’s Too Short and, of course, The Ricky Gervais Show – the pair have now gone on to do new comedy series without the other. Gervais is handling the somewhat controversial Derek ...

Click to continue reading ‘Hello Ladies’ Series Premiere Review...

To celebrate the release of the Ricky Gervais show on DVD, Digital Spy will be having a daily Karl Pilkington O'Clock moment every day this week.

From classic 'Karlisms' ("Who'd have thought the Frisbee would have caught on?") to fantastic revelations about the state of "gobbing" in Hampstead, we'll have some Pilkington wisdom from Monday to Friday.

Watch today's classic Karl Pilkington clip:

The Ricky Gervais Show Season 3 and Season 1-3 Boxset are out on DVD now.

Ricky Gervais may have kissed goodbye to The Ricky Gervais Show (watch our special clip here), but he's already back in action with his most beloved character.

The comedian and writer has teamed up with YouTube to launch an internet series - Learn Guitar With David Brent - as part of YouTube's first ever Comedy Week beginning next Monday 20 May.

To mark the event, David Brent is bringing his teaching, songwriting, persuasive skills to bear on the project, complete with a song about his own chosen journey - repping - to complete the experience.

We last saw David Brent giving it creativity for Comic Relief, when he turned to rap to express himself. The results, wondrous to behold, are below...

To celebrate the release of the Ricky Gervais show on DVD, Digital Spy will be having a daily Karl Pilkington O'Clock moment every day this week.

From classic 'Karlisms' ("It's like a baby crying... What's it crying for? It's probably hungry. Well, I'm hungry and I'm not crying") to fantastic revelations about Karl's underwear donations to charity shops, we'll have some Pilkington wisdom from Monday to Friday at 3pm.

Watch today's classic Karl Pilkington clip:

The Ricky Gervais Show Season 3 and Season 1-3 Boxset are out on DVD now.

Ricky Gervais is on BBC One's The One Show tonight from 7pm.

Ricky Gervais has spoken about why he decided to end The Ricky Gervais Show.

HBO and Channel 4 broadcast three seasons of the animated version of Gervais's series of podcasts with Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington.

After 39 episodes produced with Los Angeles company Wildbrain, the show came to an end after its third season in 2012.

Gervais explained that he did not want the show's quality to diminish in any way by producing too many episodes.

He told The Sun: "Why have I knocked it on the head? Well apart from the fact that I have a very short attention span, we actually made more episodes of The Ricky Gervais Show than anything else I've ever done.

"I also think we used all the best bits and I wouldn't want the quality to go down. I was thinking of recording brand new audio at one time but then I realised that it wouldn't be the same.

Ricky Gervais is to bring back his Office character David Brent for a new project.

The British comic will star in a series of YouTube videos titled Learn Guitar With David Brent.

The series will see the former Wernham Hogg boss attempt to show beginners how to play the guitar, including an album's worth of new tracks.

Each show will feature full versions of songs first introduced in The Office, including 'Spaceman Came Down'.

It will launch on Gervais's YouTube channel from June, with one new episode per month.

Gervais recently brought David Brent back for a special Comic Relief sketch, in which he performed 'Equality Street' with a rapper named Dom Johnson, played by Doc Brown.

'Equality Street' was first mentioned in The Office back in 2001.

Gervais previously said that he was looking forward to bringing Brent back, stating that YouTube was "the future".

The Ricky Gervais Show season...

"Life's Too Short" will end its short run July 5 on HBO.

The comedy series stars Warwick Davis (who played Professor Flitwick in the "Harry Potter" films) as a mockumentary version of himself and was created by "The Office" masterminds Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.

It's a co-production between HBO and the BBC, but failed to achieve the acclaim or popularity of other Gervais/Merchant collaborations including "Extras" and animated podcast "The Ricky Gervais Show."

After the first season of seven episodes, Gervais initially indicated the show would move forward with Season 2. But HBO announced in January that "Life's Too Short" would end with a single finale special to provide storyline closure.

The hour-long special -- featuring a guest appearance by Davis' "Willow" co-star Val Kilmer -- already aired in the U.K. on March 30.

Many of the major studios no longer want to be in the DVD (or Blu-ray) business; they’d rather stream or download their films. There are some notable exceptions, however, and they spell good news for serious buffs and collectors. Warner Home Video dominates the market with its highly successful DVD-on-demand service at warnerarchive.com. They’re so good at this game they now distribute Sony and MGM’s on-demand product and have just taken over what is left of Paramount’s new release schedule. Every week Warner adds new titles, ranging from ultra-rare early talkies to recent TV shows and miniseries, from the third season of The Ricky Gervais Show to season one of Dr. Kildare, not to...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]...

Ricky Gervais isn’t really a God, but he has definitely achieved God-like status over the last decade for his comic, dramatic, and overall artistic genius.

He’s a man that needs no introduction–his gigantic hits like The Office, Extras, The Ricky Gervais Show, and just about everything he puts his little finger on, have captivated audiences around the world. But, it seems, he’s a man that needs a little defending. Most people absolutely, unequivocally love him, but there are also those who dislike him in the most extraordinary way.

Well I’m here to say that the hate is simply unfounded. Ricky Gervais is a God-like genius and he deserves the recognition for being so. Why? Well, here are 10 reasons right now…

10. He’s Not Afraid to Be Ugly

Here’s the thing about Gervais’ most beloved characters, David Brent and Andy Millman: they’re not the greatest,...

Feature Ron Hogan 25 Mar 2013 - 07:00

With just days to go until the season 3 premiere, Ron talks us through 10 things he wants more of from the superlative Game Of Thrones...

No TV show is perfect, but for me, Game of Thrones is as close to perfect as television gets. When asked to consider the things I’d want to see in season three and beyond then, my answer was simple: I want more. More battles, more magic, more George R.R. Martin, more animated GIFs of Joffrey’s face on the receiving end of a well-aimed slap… more of everything that makes Game of Thrones one of the best shows on TV.

1. “More wine" - Cersei Lannister

This one is fairly obvious. When ten or eleven episodes of something are incredible, the biggest demand is for more of the same. The books, which number in the thousands of pages at this point,...

Will Banshee be renewed for season two? Is Strike Back returning soon? Has The Ricky Gervais Show been cancelled? Is The Newsroom coming back for another season? When will Game of Thrones return?

Below, you'll find a list of HBO and Cinemax's recent/current/upcoming scripted TV shows and their current status. To see a series' ratings and how many episodes have aired (if any), click the links in the middle column (where available).

Click here to see if there's a more recent list or, to view past lists.

Here are cancelled/renewed listings for other networks:

ABC | CBS | The CW | Fox | Showtime & StarzA&E, ABC Family, AMC, BBC America | Bet, Comedy Central, DirecTV, and Fxifc, Lifetime, MTV, ReelzChannel, and Syfy | TBS, TNT, TV Land, USA, and VH1...

Karl Pilkington presents A Love of Two Brains featuring Clive Warren [sic] is taken from the HBO series The Ricky Gervais Show. The show is a delightful bonus for those who listened to the podcasts as they turned them into an animated program. I felt like sharing this today as I’ve watched and listened to it many times, so it’s not really news – it’s olds.

Karl Pilkington pitches his idea for a film about a love of two brains. The actors he thought should star in his film were Rebecca De Mornay and Clive Warren. It is assumed he meant Clive Owen but he got the name wrong. Nevertheless, Ricky still questioned Karl by saying “Who the f*ck’s Clive Warren?!”...

When does the Veep TV series return? Will Banshee be back for a second season? When will we see Game of Thrones season three? Has The Ricky Gervais Show been cancelled?

Below, you'll find a list of HBO and Cinemax's recent/current/upcoming scripted TV shows and their current status. To see a series' ratings and how many episodes have aired (if any), click the links in the middle column (where available).

Click here to see if there's a more recent list or, to view past lists.

Here are cancelled/renewed listings for other networks:

ABC | CBS | The CW | Fox | Showtime & StarzA&E, ABC Family, AMC, BBC America | Bet, Comedy Central, DirecTV, and Fxifc, Lifetime, MTV, ReelzChannel, and Syfy | TBS, TNT, TV Land, USA, and VH1

Cinemax...

In a move that surprises no one, HBO has renewed its highly discussed, popular and divisive series Girls for a third season with an expanded episode count, totaling twelve.  The series was already brought back early this year (returning in January after premiering last spring in April with the sharp political comedy Veep), and HBO seems eager to ride the zeitgeist wave and bring even more of the series as fast as it can. Elsewhere, the premium cable channel has ordered a half-hour pilot from Jay and Mark Duplass who are set to write, direct and produce (though not star or appear in) the series called Togetherness.  Togetherness will focus on two couples living under one roof, working through their relationships and pursuing their dreams.  Hit the jump for more. HBO, known primarily for its great dramatic content, seems to be putting more of an emphasis on comedic programming moving forward.

Sky 1 HD have today announced the commission of The Moaning Of Life, a new documentary starring the lovable buffoon Karl Pilkington set to air in Autumn this year.

The new documentary is part of Sky’s drive to invest in original British content by 50% over the next three years, with the broadcaster hoping to invest £600 million a year in British programmes across its portfolio of channels.

The Moaning of Life follows English fool Karl Pilkington, star of An Idiot Abroad and The Ricky Gervais Show as he sets off across the world to experience how other cultures deal with the issues of middle age. Though Karl has turned 40, he admits that he is still not quite as clued up about life as he would have hoped.

“I’ve been on the planet for 40 years now, and I’m still none the wiser as to what it’s all about really.

On the small screen at least, Ricky Gervais has seldom encountered anything short of enormous success since “The Office” (in this writer’s opinion the finest sitcom of the last two decades) first aired in July 2001. That show went on for two seasons (plus a Christmas special), as did the inferior but still undeniably brilliant “Extras.” The animated version of his podcast with Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington, “The Ricky Gervais Show,” went on for three seasons and found far more success than the format reasonably had any right to, and similarly “An Idiot Abroad” (in which he sends Karl Pilkington around the globe) has been a huge success in the UK, and has just concluded after adding Warwick Davis to the mix for its final run this Christmas. It was all the more surprising then when “Life’s Too Short” failed to connect last year. Critically and ratings-wise it...

Ricky Gervais‘ British series Derek is coming to Netflix sometime next year. Netflix acquired rights to the comedy starring, written and directed by Gervais after the show’s run on Channel 4, the New York Times reported. Gervais plays the title character, a simple middle-aged man who works in a nursing home. The show also features Karl Pilkington, a Gervais regular and star of the travel series An Idiot Abroad. Gervais created the original British version of The Office plus HBO’s standup comedy specials The Ricky Gervais Show, Extras and Life’s Too Short. The irreverent Gervais also served three times as host of the Golden Globe Awards. In Britain there were concerns that Derek was mocking disabled people with one character in the pilot, but the comedian said the character was not disabled. Roughly 2 million viewers watched the episode which lead to a full series order. Regarding his...

Comedian Ricky Gervais has helped give an unlikely career to his round-headed buffoon of a friend, Karl Pilkington. Thanks to The Ricky Gervais Show and An Idiot Abroad, the comedy gold that comes from the British eccentric is just too good to pass up – which is probably why Gervais is sticking with Pilkington for yet another Web series.

Remember that The Ricky Gervais Show started as a comedy podcast and then became the HBO animated series (which just concluded its third and final season last month); however, this new series, titled Learn English with Ricky Gervais, comes packaged like an average TV show, and Gervais says the pilot is done, and hopefully will be made available for download very soon.

Gervais announced the project on his own blog and said:

“We hope to have it subtitled into as many languages as possible.

I’m going ...

Click to continue reading Ricky Gervais Announces ‘Learn English,...

HBO just can’t get enough of Stephen Merchant. The network already airs two of the British comic’s projects – The Ricky Gervais Show and Life’s Too Short – and now it appears that they’re anxious to add a third series to the list.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the premium cabler has ordered a pilot for Hello Ladies, about an English man determined to find love in the world of beautiful people known as Los Angeles. Merchant will star, executive-produce and write the series. Presumably, it will draw inspiration from his 2011 stand-up act, the live DVD release of which is titled Stephen Merchant: Hello Ladies… Live!

Best known for co-creating the British version of The Office, Merchant has collaborated with Ricky Gervais ...

Click to continue reading HBO Orders ‘Hello Ladies’ Pilot from ‘The Office’ Co-Creator...

Though Stephen Merchant (or "Smerch" to fans, "lanky, goggle-eyed freak" to Ricky Gervais) may share plenty of HBO credits with long-time creative partner Gervais, such as on the great series Extras as well as voice credits to The Ricky Gervais Show, Hello Ladies will be his first solo foray.  HBO has reportedly ordered a pilot from the talented Brit, which he co-wrote with former The Office (UK) scribes Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky (Merchant is also an executive producer on the American series, along with co-creator Gervais). The series will star Merchant as an English guy looking for love in Los Angeles, and his attempts to crack into its polarizing, superficial world.  If the title sounds familiar, it's because it was also the name of his recent stand-up comedy tour.  Merchant has appeared onscreen in all of his projects with Gervais, and also in a few forgettable films such as...

"Trust Us With Your Life" (Tue., 9:00 p.m. Et on ABC) marries the fun of improv comedy with star power. Ricky Gervais brought his giggle and manic self to the stage in this week's episode, and just as he cracks up quite regularly during his podcast -- and the HBO animated series based on it, "The Ricky Gervais Show" -- he simply couldn't keep it together.

The comics were acting out a story Gervais told about being hungry on his way to the Golden Globes, with Gervais participating. He wasn't supposed to talk in the sketch, but he broke character several times and laughed continuously.

But he got through it, even planting a reluctant kiss on Wayne Brady's cheek along the way. It was all in good fun and proved that the success of the show often lies in the celebrity guest. Mark Cuban was on the first episode,...

"Trust Us With Your Life" (Tue., 9:00 p.m. Et on ABC) marries the fun of improv comedy with star power. Ricky Gervais brought his giggle and manic self to the stage in this week's episode, and just as he cracks up quite regularly during his podcast -- and the HBO animated series based on it, "The Ricky Gervais Show" -- he simply couldn't keep it together.

The comics were acting out a story Gervais told about being hungry on his way to the Golden Globes, with Gervais participating. He wasn't supposed to talk in the sketch, but he broke character several times and laughed continuously.

But he got through it, even planting a reluctant kiss on Wayne Brady's cheek along the way. It was all in good fun and proved that the success of the show often lies in the celebrity guest. Mark Cuban was on the first episode,...

"Trust Us With Your Life" (Tue., 9:00 p.m. Et on ABC) marries the fun of improv comedy with star power. Ricky Gervais brought his giggle and manic self to the stage in this week's episode, and just as he cracks up quite regularly during his podcast -- and the HBO animated series based on it, "The Ricky Gervais Show" -- he simply couldn't keep it together.

The comics were acting out a story Gervais told about being hungry on his way to the Golden Globes, with Gervais participating. He wasn't supposed to talk in the sketch, but he broke character several times and laughed continuously.

But he got through it, even planting a reluctant kiss on Wayne Brady's cheek along the way. It was all in good fun and proved that the success of the show often lies in the celebrity guest. Mark Cuban was on the first episode,...

Ice Age: Continental Drift – Rt (43%) – Trailer

I kid the Ice Age movies; someone’s watching them because they seem to make more money with each new release.

Also Opening: Red Lights (Limited), The Imposter (Limited)

Next Week

The Dark Knight Rises – Catch up with all of our Tdkr coverage. There will be a review that weekend as I’ve already got my ticket. It’s tracking to have a better weekend than The Dark Knight.

Other:

The Ricky Gervais Show (Friday, HBO) – Season 3 finale, I’m sad. [a favorite clip]

Breaking Bad (Sunday, AMC) – All hail the king! The season premiere of the final 16-episode season (which will be split into two eight-episode parts) begins right where we last left off. Walter, you’ve got some ‘splainin to do!

On TV this Friday: The Ricky Gervais Show draws to a final close, Common Law’s got a case of puppy love, Jessie gets Lost and Paul Rudd gives Comedy Bang! Bang! the silent treatment. Here are seven programs to check out tonight:

8 pm Whitney (NBC) | In this Repeat to Revisit, Alex proposes to Whitney not once but twice, a move that set up the rest of the sitcom’s first season. Watch for rapper/actress Eve, who plays Champagne room stripper Britnee. (Side note: Remember “Let Me Blow Ya Mind?” That was my jam.)

8:30 pm Jessie (Disney) | On...

On TV this Friday: Take deep, cleansing breaths and relive the Bones childbirth, The Ricky Gervais Show will make you drool, Fuse shows The L.A. Complex a lot of love and 20/20 is pure Heaven. Here are nine programs to keep on your radar.

7 pm – 1 am The L.A. Complex (Fuse) | With Season 2 premiering July 17 on The CW, catch up on the freshman run of this Degrassi: The Next Generation almost-spinoff during this marathon.

8 pm A.N.T. Farm (Disney) | When Fletcher starts an animated web show based on his life, Olive does not like that she’s portrayed as a bothersome know-it-all.

Ricky Gervais was kind enough to update us on the current state of his ongoing and future projects on his blog. Here is a breakdown and some other additions that we have picked up on over the past few months, so it’s all here!

The Ricky Gervais Show, a delightful bonus for those who listened to the podcasts is an animated program on HBO. Well sad news now, Ricky says there won’t be a fourth series of the show saying “39 episodes is more than I’ve ever done for any other project (Yes. I know that’s pathetic but trust me.) and I don’t want to push my luck.”

I couldn’t agree more really, it had a great run and should stop now before they start reaching for material. It’s great for anyone by the way, not just podcast listeners. You will enjoy the animation...

Ricky Gervais Week at the CityofFilms.com is a week of dedication to Ricky Gervais…obviously. For the past couple of years, we take time around Gervais’ birthday to celebrate everything he has done to entertain us. In our third year in doing so, I’d say we are pretty much caught up, just do a search for Ricky Gervais at the top of our site and you’ll be reading posts for days.

Ricky Gervais turns 51 today is you’re keeping count. We will be reminding fans of Gervais why they’re fans in the first place, while making new fans out of non-believers. Let’s take a quick look at what you might be reading about this week:

Ricky Gervais is perhaps the most influential British comedian ever; he’s certainly an influence in my life. His body of work covers just about everything an inspiring writer and...

On TV this Friday: Lawmen Travis and Wes face a Common problem, Phineas and Ferb unearth something cool, Jon Hamm does a Bang!-up job, Kirk Douglas and Mark Ruffalo get Real with Bill Maher and more. Here are nine programs worth checking out tonight.

8 pm House (Fox) | A Repeat to Revisit: Jeffrey Wright guest-stars when House’s team comes under review after a violent incident has serious consequences for a Ppth staff member.

8:30 pm Jessie (Disney) | Jessie tries to help Zuri conquer her fear of dolls after she watches a scary movie. (Yeah, good luck with that — those glass eyes follow you everywhere.

Industry veteran Charlie Goldstein has joined Mrc as VP, Television Production. Goldstein will be reporting to James Glander, Svp, Head of Physical Production. He will oversee physical production on Mrc’s upcoming television projects, including David Cronenberg’s Knifeman and will also supervise physical production on current series including Netflix’s House of Cards and HBO’s The Ricky Gervais Show. Goldstein was previously Evp, TVProduction at 20th Century Fox TV from 1986 to 2002 and prior to that, he was Evp at NBC Prods. from 1981 to 1986. His credits include Producer on the pilot of Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming HBO series Newsroom; as well as serving as a Producer on Warner Bros.’ The Mentalist and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Oxygen Media today announced has promoted Puja Vohra to the newly created position of Svp, Marketing. Vohra, who served as VP, Ad Sales Marketing for more than two years, will assume a...

Ricky Gervais has announced that he is to end animated series The Ricky Gervais Show and Sky1's An Idiot Abroad. The comic revealed the news on his blog, adding that he is planning to focus on new projects such as a full series of Channel 4's Derek. "So I don't think I'm going to do a fourth series of The Ricky Gervais Show," wrote Gervais. "39 episodes is more than I've ever done for any other project (Yes. I know that's pathetic but trust me.) and I don't want to push my luck. "I think the show has steadily grown in both quality and popularity and I'd love to go out on a high so to speak. My worry is that as we've used up all the best material [from the original podcasts, so] we'd have to record hours and hours of new stuff and it might ruin the naivety of the whole (more...

On TV this Friday: Fairly Legal’s Kate has to choose between two hunks, House Hunters choose between fabulous vacation homes in two destinations and Megastunts’ Nik Wallenda has to choose whether or not to plummet to his death. (Note: One of these dilemmas is a no-brainer.) Here are 10 programs to check out tonight:

8 pm Let It Shine (Disney Channel) | Tyler James Williams (Everybody Hates Chris) and Radio Disney N.B.T. finalist Coco Jones star in this musical TV-movie, in which the best friend of a teenage songwriter takes credit for his lyrics.

8 pm WWE Smackdown (Syfy) | Like peanut butter and jelly,...

Chicago – If a collective chorus of guffaws is heard throughout the Windy City this week, blame it on the ‘Just for Laughs Chicago’ 2012 Festival. From June 12th-17th, stages large and small throughout Chicagoland will feature some of the hottest comedy acts, stars and the taping of the ‘Conan’ TBS chat show, featuring Conan O’Brien and Andy Richter.

Every day through Sunday, June 17th, over one dozen venues will be open for a variety of acts, in both types and sizes. HollywoodChicago.com has compiled the highlights of each day, with both the name acts and something more Chicago-centric to celebrate one of comedy’s great American cities. For a complete schedule, including ticket buying information, click here.

The ‘Conan’ Show is in Chicago through June 14th

Photo credit: TBS

Tuesday, June 12

”Conan”

The “Conan” TBS show will be taped at the Chicago Theatre with load-in beginning at 4pm from today through June 14th.

If you’re looking to watch television tonight, DVR skills will definitely be needed. Though our TV picks range from an animated Karl Pilkington on The Ricky Gervais Show to Zach Galifianakis wearing red socks on IFC’s Comedy Bang! Bang!, they’re all scheduled within the same two hour block.

Transitioning his podcast to IFC, Mr. Show writer and Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis co-creator Scott Aukerman premieres Comedy Bang! Bang! on IFC; Karl advances the medical world on The Ricky Gervais Show; and Demetrious Johnson faces off again Ian McCall on Ufc on FX.

9:00pm

Fairly Legal (USA)

The Ricky Gervais Show (HBO)

Ufc on FX: Fight Night (FX)

10:00pm

Comedy Bang! Bang!(IFC)

Common Law (USA)

You can check out the episodes descriptions and trailers for our TV picks below:

-

Fairly ...

Click to continue reading TV Picks: Friday, June 8th – ‘Comedy Bang! Bang!

In this week's episode, Tyler and Ben discuss Clive Barker's 1987 horror film, Hellraiser. E-mail us at NotJustNewMovies@gmail.com, or call and leave us a voicemail at (904) 469-6566 to let us know what you think of the show.

Introduction

Character Name Game Intro - 1:35

Media Consumed

Tyler

The Dictator - 2:00

"The Ricky Gervais Show" - 3:55

Ben

Alien - 5:45

"Sherlock" Season/Series 2 - 10:20

Review

Hellraiser - 12:50

Wrap-Up

Next Time: Heathers - 51:38

Listener E-mail/Voicemail/Twitter - 52:36

Character Name Game - 1:00:39

Where You Can Find Us - 1:04:30...

Welcome to The CoF Weekend Preview, here is a look at what’s opening this weekend and don’t forget to check out the City of Films Summer Movie Guide so you can plan your summer movie experience a bit better. See you here Monday for a new City Strip.

The Dictator – Rt (63%) – Trailer

As I mentioned before, the actors with scripts instead of the style of Borat or Bruno might hurt its chances of being face hurting funny, but still probably worth the time and money. You have to admire his dedication to his projects don’t you? Look at that fake beard, awesome.

Battleship – Rt (35%) – Trailer

They found a way. It sinks!

What To Expect When You’Re Expecting – Rt (23%) – Trailer

It’s like Valentine’s Day and New Years Eve, but with crazy pregnant women and man-child dads. So you just know it’s going to be great.

Following the success of the pilot episode for Ricky Gervais’ latest comedy series, Derek, which aired in April, Channel 4 have now commissioned a full series of the show.

Set in an old people’s home in England. the series centres on Derek, who is played by Gervais, and follows a number of the home’s workers and residents too.

Consolidating an audience of 3.2 million, the pilot episode was Channel 4′s highest rating scripted comedy in nearly two years.

Gervais commented that: “David Brent was an egotistical, failed musician and the most annoying man in the world. Derek is a 50-year-old man with bad hair and clothes, whose best friend is a whinging bald manc twonk. Where do I get my ideas from?”

Written and directed by Gervais, the series also stars his round-hounded friend Karl Pilkington, who we all know from working with Gervais on The Ricky Gervais Show and An Idiot Abroad.

Midway through last year's Talking Funny, a round table discussion among some of the world's most famous stand-up comics, Ricky Gervais claims, "In comedy... I think, you have to be the underdog. There's no place for being above the audience." He asserts that he plays a character on stage, ironically presenting himself as better or more knowledgeable than the people in the seats.

Judging from some of Gervais' more recent television projects, the mastermind behind The Office and the similarly brilliant entertainment industry satire Extras has become so mired in self-satisfaction that any ironic distance between Gervais as performer and Gervais as character is all but lost. To put it another way, there exists a fundamental divide between what Gervais is doing and what he thinks he's doing. Which is a shame, because while his material can often still be very funny, it's a bit harder to laugh along with...