This morning’s announcement doesn’t really come as a shock. It has long been rumored that the NBC anchor would be leaving after being with the program for 5 years.
Meredith is choosing to spend more time with her husband and children.
“This is a difficult day for me. I’m going to try to hold myself together here. After months of personal reflection and private conversations with my family and my friends I’ve decided to leave Today in June. Even as I say this, and I know it’s the right thing, I’m really sad because for the past, I like to say 10 years, this has been my second home.
I’ve really had a great time, but time is one of those weird things you can never get enough of it. It just keeps ticking away. I know I want to spend mine with my husband Richard and kids who are now rolling their eyes and going, ‘No more time, mom.’ But I’m going to do it anyway. It means I can’t be here every day. I hope to stay in the NBC family that is my goal.”
Ann Curry will replace Meredith, Natalie Morales will take Ann’s spot – and Savannah Guthrie will replace Natalie.
Posted Monday, May 9th, 2011 at 9:09am
Filed under NBC |
1 Comment »
I’m totally bummed I missed the first episode of ‘The Voice’ this week on NBC, from what I hear it was amazing!
Vocal coaches Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine and Cee Lo Green helped NBC score a ratings hit (and they need it!).
More good news for NBC: Even its repeat of The Voice performed strong. Wednesday night’s two-hour encore of Tuesday’s Voice premiere delivered a rating that was actually the network’s highest number in that time period in a month.
The Voice picked up another 6 million viewers — half its debut audience — and had a 2.1 rating in the adult demo. The show would have posted a 2.3 rating, because that’s what it had in three of its half-hours, but the program’s first half hour — and this is where it gets interesting — overlapped with American Idol. That part was only a 1.7. While Idol gained during each of its half hours, including the part that overlapped with The Voice.
Now, since The Voice was a repeat, we can’t read too much into this, but its probably fair to say these two definitely have some audience overlap.
Meanwhile, Idol (21.7 million viewers, 6.9 preliminary adults 18-49 rating) was roughly on par, while Breaking In (7.6 million, 2.6) gained slightly to rank as the night’s highest-rated comedy.
PICS (Fame): Christina and boyfriend Matthew Rutler arriving at Boa Steakhouse in West Hollywood last night.
Jim Carrey has signed on alongside many other guest actors to star in the 50-minute finale of ‘The Office’.
With star Steve Carell just one episode away from leaving the show after seven long, gloriously awkward seasons, the show’s producers have worked to create a massive mystery and induce international intrigue over who will replace him as the boss at the fictional regional paper company. Will Ferrell has temporarily taken over, under the guise of DeAngelo Vickers, but the longterm replacement is still up in the air.
It was announced in March that Will Arnett and series creator Ricky Gervais would guest star in the finale, while earlier in April Ray Romano, James Spader and Catherine Tate were added to the episode. All five have been teased as potential longterm hires, though Arnett, Gervais and Romano, because of previous commitments, are unlikely to be the choice. Ferrell, who was supposed to appear in the season finale, will now no longer do so.
With Carrey being added as a late entrant, the future of Dunder Mifflin gets even murkier. Executive producer Paul Lieberstein, who also plays Toby on the show, recently revealed that current employees will make a play for the job, though it doesn’t seem there’s much of a chance that they’ll be hiring from within.
In a new interview with HitFix.com, series star John Krasinski spoke about the excitement of the change.
“The show sans-Steve it’s a whole new show so we’re actually really excited,” he said. “The last two episodes this year are without Steve and without Will and they were awesome. They were really, really fun and as much as we will miss Steve for sure it’s kind of great to pick up this show in a whole different way. It’s really fun.”
Interestingly, he also said he didn’t know who Carell’s replacement would be, and that there may not be a replacement so much as there is “a shift” in the show. Given that they’ve already filmed the final two episodes, Krasinski was either showing off his acting skills, or there is truly a surprise in store.
Meat Loaf had an epic meltdown on the last episode of ‘Celebrity Apprentice’.
Meat Loaf went off on Gary Busey during the latest episode, thinking the actor had taken his art supplies. He screamed “I bought those motherf**king sponges!”
He continued to scream at Gary, who stood there stunned and for the most part, quiet. As Meat Loaf accused him of stealing, Gary insisted, “No. I have my receipt.”
“You look in my eyes, I am the last person in the f**king world you ever f**king want to f**k with!” Loaf roared. And that’s exactly what Busey was doing, and that sent Loaf into an even deeper rage until he had to be physically restrained.
Then, to make this one of the greatest — and most disturbing — moments in reality television history, Meat Loaf’s bag of art supplies was found. They’d been sitting in the corner the whole time.
I’m already not interested in this show. I think if anything, they should have made a ‘Wonder Woman’ movie. A TV show seems a bit much – how are they going to keep it interesting? It’s going to end up like ‘Heroes’ did in the last season, absurd.
According to EW, Mark Burnett has created a singing competition, ala ‘American Idol’, called The Voice, and he’s signed on Adam Levine and Cee Lo Green to judge!
The pop star duo will give NBC a chance to steal some thunder from Fox’s American Idol when the new series debuts this April. “I am so happy that Adam Levine and Cee Lo Green have joined the coach panel for The Voice,” executive producer Mark Burnett tells EW. “Aside from being incredible voices, they bring years of experience in the music industry and a really cool vibe that has never been seen before on a music competition series.”
“We want The Voice to be a search by relevant artists for relevant artists,” added NBC’s Executive VP of Alternative Programming Paul Telegdy. “Every person who sits on our panel can do what it is that they’re judging.”
NBC has also set a premiere date for the show: Tuesday, April 26 at 9 p.m., in a two-hour debut. The show will shift to its regular time period on May 10 at 8 p.m.
EW first reported that the singers were in negotiations for the gig last week. There’s still two seats left to fill, and that judge/coach may be the most intriguing of all: Christina Aguilera remains in talks to join the show.
NBC’s overall goal with The Voice is to sign big-name performers who are also popular music fans and a bit more youthful than, say, Steven Tyler. “Not to diminish other people on other shows, but it’s a different job to break through the clutter now than it was 10, 15, 20 years ago,” Telegdy says.
I think it’s a perfect time to try a different spin on the singing competition thing. American Idol – I think – has lost it’s spark. I have liked watching some of the episodes, but not gonna lie – I don’t even DVR it anymore. You know it’s bad when…
Laura Prepon, who’s been cast to play Chelsea Handler in an NBC pilot based on the comedian’s autobiography, tells E! News that Chelsea will be playing her own older sister on the show!
Filming starts soon, and then comes the long and nail-biting process of waiting to see if the network picks it up.
“We start in a couple weeks,” Prepon told E! News Thursday at Kari Feinstein’s 2011 Academy Awards Style Lounge. “I hope NBC gets behind it. There’s a lot of buzz. It’s different and edgy.”
Pickup worries aside, Prepon is willing and able to throw herself into the role of Chelsea, even if she wasn’t exactly a fan of hers from the beginning.
“I haven’t read [her books],” Prepon tells us. “But I’ve seen her a lot and it’s going to be awesome. I am just starting to immerse myself in the Chelsea Handler of it all. She’s an amazing woman.”
Prepon adds that she’ll be a quick study of the Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea author—Including her drink of choice.
“I’m from Jersey,” says Prepon. “Chelsea and I are similar, so it’s perfect we play sisters. It’s funny, because her vodka is my favorite vodka too,” says Prepon. “We both drink the same thing!”
