FILE - This Nov. 18, 2013 photo shows actor-comedian Bill Cosby in New York. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Victoria Will/Invision/AP
January 26, 2014 - 6:00 AM
NBC is looking to bring back one of its most successful stars. Some 20-odd years after "The Cosby Show" went off the air, Bill Cosby has been recruited to star in another family-friendly comedy, which could be ready for the fall.
Slate's Willa Paskin argues a rebooted "Cosby Show," or something similar to the old hit, would do well on today's prime-time lineup, unlike Michael J. Fox's family dramedy that's been a dud.
She points to some of Cosby's recent stand-up material as a good sign that the comedy legend can offer something fresh that will deviate from the well-worn sitcom template.
http://slate.me/1dBwljy
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After a frenzied bidding war, the U.S. TV network Fox has emerged with the rights to a new reality show concept created by the team behind the global "Big Brother" juggernaut. It's called "Utopia" and will stick 15 "everyday people" together in the middle of nowhere, leaving them to fend for themselves and build up a new colony. Based on a similar show that's airing in the Netherlands, "Utopia" is expected to run for at least a year once Fox Americanizes the concept. Deadline reports that "social experiment" shows are "probably the hottest unscripted arena at the moment," so don't be surprised if similar, but just slightly different, concepts are introduced by other networks.
http://bit.ly/1fc4Q5a
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Poor Jay Leno. Even though he consistently won the late-night ratings war, he was still ordered to leave his perch on NBC to make way for the younger, hipper Jimmy Fallon. But Leno is at least pretending to be OK with the whole thing. He sits down on "60 Minutes" this week to talk about his second exit from "The Tonight Show" and seems surprisingly at peace with his forced retirement, as seen in this teaser clip: http://bit.ly/1bmSDWp
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014