Review: 'How I Met Your Mother' - 'Something Old'
Robin goes in search of a sign about her marriage, and Barney bonds with Robin Sr.
On "How I Met Your Mother," Robin (Cobie Smulders) goes digging.
A review of tonight's "How I Met Your Mother" coming up just as soon as we keep the gorilla suit and the wig...
FX's 'Wilfred' to return in June, alone
With no 'Louie' til 2014, man-meets-dog comedy will fly solo on Thursday nights
Jason Gann as "Wilfred."
For the last two summers, "Wilfred" has been one half of a fascinating, dark comedy pairing on Thursday nights on FX, leading in to "Louie." But with Louis CK deciding to keep his series off the air for all of 2013, "Wilfred" will have to go it alone this summer.
FX announced today that "Wilfred" will return for its third season on Thursday, June 20 at 10. For the first two weeks of the season, we'll get back-to-back original episodes at 10 and 10:30, followed by a week off for the Fourth of July, followed by the show shifting to a once a week schedule Thursdays at 10.
When I spoke with FX executives in January, they suggested they might have a new comedy ready in time to pair with "Wilfred," but FX says it's not likely at this point that anything new will be airing at 10:30 later in the summer. (It may be that the launching of the comedy-centric FXX spin-off channel made this a lower priority than it was at the start of the year.)
The new season will bring back the full cast, plus recurring guests Chris Klein, Mary Steenburgen and Dwight Yoakam, along with some new guest stars like Gina Gershon, Angela Kinsey and Lance Reddick. This will be the show's first season without David Zuckerman as showrunner, as he took a step back to let writer/producers Reed Agnew and Eli Jorne take the job.
Review: 'Mad Men' - 'For Immediate Release'
A series of impulsive decisions shake up the agency in the season's best hour to date
On "Mad Men," Don (Jon Hamm) and Roger (John Slattery) wait for an important meeting.
A review of tonight's "Mad Men" coming up just as soon as I'm not working the slide rule...
Review: 'Game of Thrones' - 'The Climb'
Jon Snow and Ygritte scale the Wall, Melisandre meets the Brotherhood and Tywin meets Olenna
Diana Rigg as Olenna in "Game of Thrones."
A review of tonight's "Game of Thrones" coming up just as soon as the laws of my fists are about to compel your teeth...
Review: 'The Office' - 'Livin' the Dream'
Andy quits, Dwight gets an offer, Jim stays close to home and Angela hits rock bottom
Dwight (Rainn Wilson) celebrates on "The Office."
A review of last night's "The Office" coming up just as soon as I stop thrusting at you...
'Parks and Recreation' co-creator: 'Fairly confident' about renewal
How did Leslie's new job make the season more political? How did they decide on the secret pregnancy?
A scene from the "Parks and Recreation" season finale.
"Parks and Recreation" just concluded its fifth season. I reviewed the finale here, and I emailed co-creator Mike Schur a bunch of questions about the finale, season 5 as a whole, the stories he laid the groundwork for in season 6 — which he feels "fairly confident" will happen — and a lot more, coming up just as soon as I convince the school board that napkins are a vegetable...
Season finale review: 'Parks and Recreation' - 'Are You Better Off?'
Leslie's city council victory lap doesn't go as planned, and Bert Macklin comes out of retirement
"Parks and Recreation" star Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope.
"Parks and Recreation" just concluded its fifth season. I interviewed Mike Schur about the year, and have a review of the finale coming up just as soon as we lose the weight of 100 pregnant manatees...
Review: 'Community' - 'Heroic Origins'
Abed tries to prove that the study group was destined to come together
Danny Pudi as Abed on "Community."
A review of tonight's "Community" coming up just as soon as I write a letter of apology to George Lucas...
Review: Marc Maron heads to IFC with 'Maron'
Autobiographical sitcom from 'WTF' podcast host has strong echoes of 'Louie'
Marc Maron behind the mic on "Maron."
"Louie" didn't invent the idea of building a TV show around a comedian, nor sitcom-as-autobiography. ("The Dick Van Dyke Show" was drawn from Carl Reiner's experiences writing for Sid Caesar, for instance, while the Huxtable kids were modeled after Bill Cosby's own children.) What the FX series has done is to expand the limits of what that kind of show can be (it's simultaneously more expansive and more intimate than anything to precede it) and made comparisons inevitably unflattering to any show that tries to enter the same territory.
With "Maron," the new IFC series that debuts Friday night at 10, comparisons become even harder to avoid. Not only is it another confessional sitcom built around a self-loathing middle-aged comic, but the comic in question is Marc Maron, who's had a long, complicated, up-and-down friendship with Louis C.K., as dramatized briefly on a season 3 episode of "Louie" and as discussed in greater depth on a sprawling installment of Maron's essential interview podcast "WTF."
'The Americans' producers on marriage, spycraft and the wigs of season 1
Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields break down the FX drama's terrific first season
"The Americans" star Matthew Rhys in one of his many wigs.
FX’s “The Americans” just concluded a superb debut season. I have a review of the finale here, and I interviewed executive producers Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields about the state of the Jennings marriage, the period, how production of the season was impacted by Hurricane Sandy and, of course, the wigs, all coming up just as soon as I ask if you like wallpaper...
