Television

Bill de Blasio Responds to Jon Stewart's Adoption Plea: "We'd Be Honored"

When the election night broadcast cut to Bill de Blasio's victory party late Tuesday, some watching from home had the chance to see what could very well be the next first family of New York City in action for the first time. Daily Show host Jon Stewart, for one, was smitten.

Even Weiner's Alleged Sexting Partner Loves Anthony Weiner Jokes

Who doesn't love a good Weiner joke? They're simple, yet effective, and since Tuesday--the day New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner publicly confessed that "some" of the explicit photos and chat logs unearthed by TheDirty.com were legitimate--comedians (and people who just think they are c ... More >>

How Friends is Already the Relic of a Bygone Era

"I'll be there for you … and others in our census bracket"

MAD WORLD

Chat with Don Draper and co.

THE MAN INSIDE HIM

David Cross discusses Arrested Development’s return with Michael Cera

Dov Hikind's Blackface Episode Gets the Daily Show Treatment

When pictures of Assembly member Dov Hikind dressed up in blackface as a "basketball player" for his annual Purim party hit Facebook this week, it prompted a predictable media firestorm. Predictable, apparently, to everyone except Hikind, who spent the last two days explaining to anyone who would l ... More >>

GIRLS POWER

Lena Dunham teams up with UCBT for a fundraiser

In Defense of New Girl (Hear Us Out...)

In Defense of New Girl (Hear Us Out...)

Depending on your perspective, Zooey Deschanel is either the cutest, funniest, most adorable little retro-kookster on earth, or she's an irritating try-hard with zero comedy chops. The only thing the world seems able to universally agree on is that Deschanel has nice bangs. As such, her sitcom - ... More >>

Q&A: Charlotte Druckman on Skirt Steak, Food Network, and Women in the Food Industry

Charlotte Druckman has written for Travel Leisure, the Wall Street Journal, Town and Country, and many other publications about food and chef culture. But in her most recent endeavor-- a book titled Skirt Steak: Women Chefs on Standing the Heat and Staying in the Kitchen -- Charlotte interviews ov ... More >>

Johan No-Shows Letterman

Mets fans are still basking in the afterglow of Johan Santana's no-hitter, among them Jon Stewart, who began Monday night's Daily Show with camera phone videos of him and his family celebrating in the stands at Citifield (see video embedded below). About 45 minutes later David Letterman celeb ... More >>

Trebek: I'll Take 'Possible Retirement' for 200

Very few things have remained the same since 1984. The highest grossing movie that year was Beverly Hills Cop; now, we have The Hunger Games. Michael Jackson's Thriller ruled the airwaves; 28 years later, Adele's 21 hasn't budged from Billboard's top spot. And who had heard of the Internet yet ... More >>

The Top Six Game Show Appearances By Rappers

The news of a rapper-packed revamp of Hollywood Squares has been greeted positively, not least because everyone has been able to join in the fun of Googling the demographic term "malennials" to find out if they are going to be allowed to watch the show. It's also allowed some people speculate on whi ... More >>

The Daily Show Live: Stand-Up Comedy from The Daily Show's Staff

LIT WITS

Put those nonreaders to shame

Geoffrey Zakarian on Winning The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs

Photo courtesy Geoffrey ZakarianGeoffrey Zakarian, Chef and Iron Chef​Geoffrey Zakarian is ending the year with a bang. The chef at the National and the Lambs Club can now also call himself an Iron Chef, having beaten nine other culinary pros competing on The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs. We ca ... More >>

100 & Single: The Erratic Chart Fortunes Of TV-Crowned Idols, From Kelly To Scotty

​Scotty McCreery—winner of the 10th edition of American Idol, and owner of the new No. 1 title on Billboard's album chart, Clear as Day—sets a handful of chart records this week that certainly sound impressive. As Billboard reports, McCreery is the first country act to debut at No ... More >>

Jersey Shoresical Is Not A Boresical

​The raucously low-class reality show Jersey Shore tends to spoof itself, so a musical mockery of it seemed to me like a bad idea. But the production I just saw at the Actors Playhouse--which was a hit at the Fringe Festival--was a winner, because it's fast-moving, with nonstop music and raun ... More >>

Why Is Canada's Food Network, Like, Way Better than Ours?

Better than America's?​Food Network Canada might sound like a joke -- remember the hubbub over horse meat on Top Chef Canada? -- but its shows might actually be better than the U.S. Food Network's. Why else would we be importing so many of them?

Inside the Bert and Ernie Marriage Campaign

​Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie have been living together for 40 years. And now, an online petition demanding that Sesame Street allow Bert and Ernie to wed is circulating. As of this posting it has almost 4,500 signatures. "Let us teach tolerance of those that are different," the petition's d ... More >>

Radio Hits One: Reality TV Propels Aging Stars Back Into The Top 40

​ When I heard that Jennifer Lopez was leveraging her new position as an American Idol judge to launch her new single, premiering the video for "On The Floor" on one episode and performing the song on another, I rolled my eyes at what I thought was her hubris. It'd been less than two years sin ... More >>

Beavis And Butt-Head Return To A Racier, More Snookified MTV

MTV turns 30 on Monday. To celebrate, we're running a bunch of pieces on the channel, its legacy, and its future. You may have heard by now that Beavis and Butt-Head are returning to MTV—a real comeback after years of cruel teasing rumors, none of them particularly believable. Mike Judge an ... More >>

The Lonely Island Better Not Lose Its Emmy Race To A Song From Freaking Family Guy

Four songs from this past season of Saturday Night Live—three by the Andy Samberg-led pop-comedy troupe the Lonely Island, and Justin Timberlake's protestation that he's so over being a pop star—have been nominated for Emmys in the Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics category. (That's ... More >>

Judy Gold Wants a Lesbian Sit-Com!

​And she deserves it. The hilarious, deadpan Judy Gold returns to the stage in The Judy Show--My Life As A Sitcom beginning June 30th at the DR2 Theater. I just called the lesbo-visible comic and got the gay lowdown on it. Me: Hi, Judy. Tell me about your wacky new show. Judy: It starts w ... More >>

Reality-TV Porn

When their reality-TV star fades, some male contestants turn to gay porn

NO, JIMMY, THANK YOU!

Fallon loves being gracious

Snooki Paid More Than Toni Morrison to Appear at Rutgers

​Not a joke: New York Times best-selling author Snooki will be paid $32,000 by the Rutgers University Programming Association for appearing at two "student-produced comedy Q&A sessions" yesterday. This has generated great controversy, as that's $2,000 more than the amount Toni Morrison, who, y ... More >>

Comedian Currently Watching Every Episode of Two and a Half Men

​Today in masochism: there is a comedian named Gil Ozeri who is currently watching every single episode of Two and a Half Men in a row, sans interruptions. The whole thing is streaming online here. Fittingly enough, all of the episodes of Charlie Sheen's famously mediocre sitcom (there are 177 ... More >>

Ken Jennings, Jeopardy! Champ, Took Questions on Reddit as "WatsonsBitch"

​"I am a 74-time Jeopardy! champion, Ken Jennings. I will not be answering in the form of a question," someone wrote in the IAmA section of social news website and discussion board Reddit yesterday afternoon under the username WatsonsBitch. It turns out, via proof on his blog, that it was inde ... More >>

Special Report: Jay Leno has always destroyed what he wants in the process of acquiring it

​ Each Thursday, your Crap Archivist brings you the finest in forgotten and bewildering crap culled from basements, thrift stores, estate sales and flea markets. I do this for one reason: Knowledge is power. If Roast Beef Could Fly and Leading With My Chin Date: 2004; 1996 Publisher: ... More >>

"Forcible Rape" Back to Just Regular "Rape" in House Bill

​The biggest problem in the House of Representatives at the moment is Chris Smith's "No Taxpayer for Abortion" Act, which seeks to limit women's choices in reproductive matters by doing things like banning federal funding for abortions in rape cases. Also an issue, though, was the bill's langu ... More >>

Pat Kiernan Talks About His New Gig, His Dream Job, and the Name of Ross's Monkey on Friends

​Everybody's favorite New York reader-of-the-papers, NY1's Pat Kiernan, has a new gig. Not to worry, he'll still be reading the papers for you in the morning, but he'll be moonlighting in the trivia business. If you follow Pat, you know he has a fondness for pop culture: He features a daily tr ... More >>

What's Happening This Week: A Sausage Fest; Hot Plates

As you may know, our weekly dining and drinking newsletter features all the coolest epicurean events in the city. Sign up for it here! Iron Chef America Screening Bagatelle Wednesday, January 26, 8 p.m. Chef Nicolas Cantrel, who just won the Battle Gruyere on Food Network's Iron Chef America, is ho ... More >>

Q&A: Phil and the Osophers' Drummer Kevin Estrada on His Wheel of Fortune Appearance

"Vanna White came into the green room in sweats, without any make-up, eating a piece of cake, and asked if anyone thought it was fair Brandy was eliminated from Dancing with the Stars while Bristol Palin remained." Phil and the Osophers' Kevin Estrada on Wheel! Of! Fortoooouuuune! Around these par ... More >>

Dora the Explorer Concedes to Puberty

​Caitlin Sanchez, the voice of Latino exploring superstar Dora the Explorer, finally settled her lawsuit against Nickelodeon. Not afraid of biting the hand that fed her cartoonish mouth, Sanchez accused Nickelodeon of making her sign an "unconscionable contract without adequate compensation." Sanc ... More >>

Glossy Liberal Magazine Brings Keith Olbermann Out of MSNBC Suspension Slumber

​Keith Olbermann is in the hot seat this weekend with Deborah Solomon in the New York Times Magazine. Okay, so he did the interview before the mess yesterday, in which Olbermann was suspended indefinitely from MSNBC for donating to three politicians without declaring so, but it's still funny t ... More >>

Rachel Maddow on Keith Olbermann Suspension: At Least MSNBC Isn't Fox News

Rachel Maddow dedicated her final segment on Friday night's show to the Keith Olbermann flap, in which the Countdown host was suspended for making political donations, and said she understands the punishment Olbermann received. "I understand what it means to break this rule," Maddow said. "I believ ... More >>

OLBERMANN DOWN: Keith Olbermann Suspended Indefinitely From MSNBC, Sir

​Following revelations that he made political contributions in what's apparently a direct violation of MSNBC's Code of Ethics, Keith Olbermann has been indefinitely suspended from MSNBC. If there's any other way to react to a media bombshell like this other than "Wow," we'd sure like to know.

MSNBC to Sub-In for Olbermann With Nation Editor Chris Hayes...Who Should Also Be Immediately Suspended! (UPDATED)

​The New York Times' Brian Stelter just Tweeted that Keith Olbermann will be replaced tonight on MSNBC by The Nation's Washington editor Chris Hayes, who has been a guest host on MSNBC previously. On that note, Chris Hayes should probably be suspended. UPDATED.

Racist Fox News Ignoramus Brian Kilmeade Clarifies Extent to Which He Is an Ignoramus (Video)

​When moments like the time that Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade called all terrorists Muslims -- which is both racist and also factually incorrect by a long shot -- actually do happen on Fox News, the surprising thing isn't that they happened. It's that sometimes, apologies can follow.

Kermit the Frog Brings the Green, Freaks Out Silly People

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. July 16, 1970, Vol. XV, No. 29 'Sesame Street' Learns It's Paved with Gold By Carol B. Liebman The Children's Television Workshop, producers of "Sesame Street," was attacked this spring by tv critics of the Times and the Daily News for ... More >>

The Snooki Book, A Shore Thing, is Actually Happening

Click to Enlarge.An idea for the cover.​Dear Struggling Authors of America, please read the following around friends, family, or other people who can protect you from harming yourself. And Jonathan Franzen, look out. You think you wrote The Great American Novel? Think again. Star Jersey Shore ... More >>

Jersey Shore's Snooki Found Guilty of "Annoying Others"

​Sometimes the headlines just write themselves. Spoiler: The Jersey Shore's embattled Snooki was found guilty of "annoying others on the beach with her antics," which included, apparently, using a beer bong, falling off a bike, and being entirely too tan (that's just our opinion).

Top Chef, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Win at the Emmys

BravoSmile! You won!​Although its current season has so far been its worst yet, that didn't stop Top Chef from winning an Emmy last night for best Reality Competition, ending the seven-year reign of The Amazing Race. And it looks like Jamie Oliver's uphill battle with the residents of Huntingt ... More >>

PARTY CRASHER

Jim Gaffigan jokes around with the folks of The Daily Show

Jersey Shore Cast On Strike: Season 3 Status in Question

​The cast of Jersey Shore may be getting a little big for their True Religions. TMZ is reporting that everyone except Snooki and The Situation are on strike just as shooting is supposed to start for Season 3. Ronnie, Vinny, Pauly D, Sammi, and JWoww are all holding out for more money, it seems ... More >>

Emmy Nominations Announced; HBO Maintains Primetime Stranglehold

We will never own one of these. ​Whee, the 62nd Annual (Primetime!) Emmys have been announced. There aren't that many surprises: As usual, HBO rocks, as does Mad Men, True Blood, 30 Rock, Glee, Neil Patrick Harris, and Tina Fey. Losties may get another chance to see the objects of their affect ... More >>

Padma and Friends Declare Food Television Safe for Consumption

Keith WagstaffCulinary types discuss culinary television programming.​Michael Pollan's New York Times article "Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch" hung heavily over the "Food on the Tube: How TV Shapes the Way We Think About Food" talk Tuesday night at the 92nd Street Y. In attendance: Padma L ... More >>

Q&A: Yo Gabba Gabba! Creators Christian Jacobs and Scott Shultz Explain Why Indie Rock Is Good For Children

Ben Clark/NickelodeonBottom row: Christian Jacobs, DJ Lance Rock, and Scott Shultz. Top row: Brobee, Muno, Plex.​The characters of the Nickelodeon preschool children's show, Yo Gabba Gabba!, recently barbecued with riff-rockers Them Crooked Vultures: picture a gap-toothed cyclops (Muno), a pin ... More >>