Thanksgiving

First off, Ne-Yo didn’t come out tonight.  At least I don’t think, because I sure as hell wasn’t going to waste my time with Rosie:Live.

Second, I know that the site just launched and new readers are coming in, but I’m taking at least two days off for the holidays.  Part of this is to celebrate, and part is to make sure that I’m rested for the next month.

Enjoy Thanksgiving if you’re American. If you’re down about America and the economy, just be thankful that you don’t live in India.  Or, hell, that you didn’t take a vacation to Mumbai.

NBC Makes Changes To Schedule

NBC has announced some changes in its schedule – starting in January of 2009.

For starters, Friday Night Lights is coming back to network TV on January 16.  No one will likely watch it when it comes back, but that’s OK.  We’ll get a few quality months out of the show and remember it fondly once Ben Silverman and company give it the axe.  

Before that day comes, NBC is passing on reruns of Chuck and Heroes for two new reality programs – Superstars of Dance along with Mamma’s Boys. Both sound truly fascinating, but reality TV no longer really does it for me, especially considering that it’s on the NBC schedule, meaning that there’s about an 80% chance it will get cancelled in less than six months.

With that being said, if you’re interested in Superstars, it errors, excuse me, airs on Jan. 4.  Mamma’s, executive produced by Ryan Seacrest, also debuts on Jan 4.

Another edition of Biggest Loser: Couples will return on Jan 6.

And guess what world?  Howie Mandel has a new reality show coming to the NBC airwaves called Howie Do It.” 

Sounds like a winner, doesn’t it?

Excuse my sarcasm.  Here’s the UPDATED SCHEDULE:

Sunday (Jan. 4)
7-9 p.m. – “Saturday Night Live Sports Extra”
9-11 p.m. – “Superstars of Dance” (two-hour premiere)

Sunday Event Specials
8-11 p.m. – “The Golden Globe Awards” (Jan. 11)
9-11 p.m. – “Saturday Night Live Film Festival” (Jan. 18)
9-11 p.m. — Original movie: “The Last Templar”– (Jan. 25 and Monday, Jan. 26)
6:15-10 p.m. — Super Bowl XLIII (Feb. 1)

Monday (beginning Jan. 5)
8-10 p.m. — “Superstars of Dance” (regular day and time)
10-11 p.m. – “Momma’s Boys”
(Note: ” Chuck” and “Heroes” return in February)

Tuesday(beginning Jan. 6)
8-10 p.m. – “The Biggest Loser: Couples”
10-11 p.m. — ” Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
10-11 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”: Presidential Inauguration Special (Jan. 20)

Wednesday(beginning Jan. 7)
8-9 p.m. — “Knight Rider”
9-10 p.m. – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” encores
10-11 p.m. — “Law & Order”
(Note: “Life” returns in February)

Thursdsay (beginning Jan. 8)
8-8:30 p.m. – “My Name Is Earl”
8:30-9 p.m. — “Kath & Kim”
9:00-9:31 p.m. — “The Office”
9:31-10 p.m. — “30 Rock”
10-11 p.m. – “ER”

Friday
8-9 p.m. — “Howie Do It” (premieres Jan. 9)
9-10 p.m. – “Friday Night Lights” (beginning Jan. 16)
10-11 p.m. — “Dateline NBC” (beginning Dec. 5)

Saturday (beginning Jan.10)
8-11 – “Law & Order” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” encores

TMZ Renewed For Two More Seasons

One of the weirdest things in my life is when I work late into the night, as I am right now, I always seem to end up watching TMZ, even though I have no idea when and where it’s airing.

And while the show is consistently rude and basically raises the question of why we care about most of the celebrities in our culture (Brad Garrett’s the most recent example), it’s entertaining.  And that’s what TV is supposed to be, I guess.

So, with this in mind, it struck me as positive news today when The Hollywood Reporter reported that TMZ has been renewed for two more years. 

The reason for the renewal?

The program’s ratings are up 11.0% since last year at this time.

Michelle Williams Still Broken Up About Ledger’s Death

Michelle Williams, the ex-fiance and mother of Heath Ledger’s only child, recently opened up to Newsweek about how much she misses the deceased actor.

“It’s so sad,” Williams said, after bursting into tears as soon as Ledger’s name was first mentioned. “I guess it’s always changing.  What else can I say? I just wake up each day in a slightly different place – grief is like a moving river.”

Williams went on to explain how hard it is, as time passes, to grieve about her ex-fiance’s death.

“It’s a strange thing to say, because I’m at heart an optimistic person, but I would say in some ways it just gets worse,” she said of her grief. “It’s just that the more time that passes, the more you miss someone. In some ways it gets worse. That’s what I would say.”

Williams, who met Ledger on the set of Brokeback Mountain, is currently taking a year off from acting to care for her three-year-old daughter Matilda.

TV Stars Lose Mass Amounts Of Weight

Debra Messing recently lost 46 pounds, she recently told In Shape and People magazines. 

The weight loss came after the 40-year-old actress gave birth to her first child – Roman – back in 2004.  To try to lose the weight, Messing originally hired a personal trainer, but claimed that the workouts were too hard and tiring.

So, she simply focused her attention on her diet – and began eating healthier.

“Ultimately I’m very proud of how I dropped the weight because I think it was the healthy approach,” Messing said to People. “I’ve finally taken ownership of my body.”

You know who else has too? 

Horatio Sanz.  Who you ask?

The guy who was shit canned from Saturday Night Live because he couldn’t stop laughing during the sketches.

Sanz has lost over 100 pounds, he told NY Mag.

“I never weighed myself when I was at my fattest, because I was scared I might die,” he told NY Mag.

The whole dying thing seems to be high on the list of motivating factors to lose weight.  But the interesting thing is that it doesn’t deter many from driving a car or selling drugs, so that’s something we’ll have to look into.