The Prime Times: Let’s All Go to HBO Edition

By on Jun 22, 2010 in In Brief |

You want the latest skinny? I got your latest skinny right here. Dustin Hoffman is migrating to television to headline HBO’s new series Luck, created by David Milch (Deadwood). Variety reports that the show will center on “several eclectic personalities who ply their trade on the horse-racing circuit,” including Hoffman’s character, “a man in his late 60s just released from four years in prison who’s autodidactic, intelligent, and deeply involved in gambling.” The show is predicted to debut in January. The network is also developing a yet-to-be-titled series in which Kevin Kline will portray a man just released from prison fifteen years after murdering his mistress. Was he cellmates with Dusty Hoffman? And hey, Diane Keaton is going to HBO, too! Along with Ellen Page! The duo will star in Tilda, a show roughly based on the life of notorious...

2010 Pilot Watch: The Best of the Winners

By on Jun 2, 2010 in Tinseltown |

Now that the big four networks have released their fall lineups (oh, and The CW, too), I can talk about the new shows which excite me most—with the added bonus of knowing that each of them will air for at least one episode! Will all of these shows be Emmy-worthy? Probably not. But, sight unseen, I think the following nine shows (ranked in descending order of can’t-wait-ness) are the most original and/or interesting. Mr. Sunshine This comedy, coming to you from ABC, almost sounds too good to be true. But it is, luckily for us, and the trailer holds as much promise (and as many laughs) as the one for Modern Family did a year ago. Matthew Perry plays the manager of a mid-level sports arena in the throes of a mid-life crisis, and Allison Janney plays his “highly erratic” boss. (“John Cougar Mellencamp is playing here Wednesday night. I’d very much like to make...