TV Junkie: AMC 'Apology' For 'The Killing' Is A Joke; 'Bored To Death' Announced

Weekend Edition

Yesterday at the TCA Summer Session, AMC network executive Joel Stillerman apologized to viewers for the way that "The Killing" ended its season. Yes, the season ended with a cliffhanger - this has been happening on TV since 1948 so there's nothing to apologize for. In fact the apology is an insult to showrunner Veena Sud whose uncompromising take on the story is what made it so great in the first place. I'm sure that it was AMC executives who came up with the marketing tagline "Who Killed Rosie Larsen?" and not Sud. Let us also remember that the question "Who Killed Laura Palmer?" took multiple seasons to answer on a now iconic and revered TV show. Shame on you AMC.
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HBO announced the premiere dates of several Fall shows (see below). Interesting that "Bored To Death" (see above clip) has been moved to Monday nights - do you take this as a step up or down for the series? If the move is part of an HBO effort to crack out of "owning Sunday nights" and they adequately market it, this could be a good thing.

- "Boardwalk Empire" kicks off its second season on Sunday, September 25 at 9pm.
- "Hung" launches its third season on Sunday, October 2nd at 10pm.
- "How To Make It In America" begins its (tiny) eight episode season on Sunday, October 2nd at 10:30pm.
- "Bored To Death" is back on Monday, October 10th at 9pm.
- "Enlightened" premieres as a series on Monday, October 10th at 9:30pm.
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TV Line is reporting that Craig Kilborn will play a villain in the new season of NBC's "Chuck" premiering on October 21st. Kilborn is also in talks with ABC about creating and starring in a new sitcom which I'm looking forward to. I like Kilborn a lot and was even fortunate enough to be at a taping of the original "The Daily Show" which still has his indelible mark.
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So the final season of HBO's "Entourage" premiered last Sunday and yesterday executive producer Mark Wahlberg "confirmed" that an "Entourage" movie is in the works but this confirmation doesn't seem to be much more than a willingness to do one as financing, studio, and distribution are not lined up.
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The TV Junkie Must-Watch Plan: Tonight - "Real Time With Bill Maher" (Margaret Hoover; Matt Kibbe; former N.Y. Gov. Eliot Spitzer; actor Bryan Cranston; Harry Markopolos), "The Soup," "Fashion Police," "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" (Gillian Anderson; actor Aziz Ansari; Kelly Rowland performs), "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" (Journalist Brian Williams; mixed martial artist Rashad Evans; Big Sean performs; Ben E. King performs). Saturday - Nothing. Sunday - "True Blood," "Breaking Bad," "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (on late re-run), "Entourage" (on late re-run)

Tonight

8:00pm Real Time With Bill Maher HBO - Political strategist Margaret Hoover; Matt Kibbe, president and CEO of FreedomWorks; former N.Y. Gov. Eliot Spitzer; actor Bryan Cranston; financial fraud investigator Harry Markopolos.

10:00pm The Soup E! - New episode with Joel McHale & Co.

10:00pm Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings IFC - Healing Rhett & Link make commercials for "Yoga Loka'' and ``Fountain of Health". 80's singer Richard Marx guest stars.

10:00pm Haven Syfy - Love Machine Docks begin attacking the people of Haven while the other Audrey investigates the mystery of Audrey's identity.

10:30pm Fashion Police E! - Joan Rivers & "friends" crap on fashion and celebrities and it's fun

11:35pm The Tonight Show With Jay Leno NBC - Actress Gillian Anderson; actor Aziz Ansari; Kelly Rowland performs.

12:35am The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson CBS - Fashion consultant Tim Gunn; comic Ted Alexandro.

12:35am Late Night With Jimmy Fallon NBC - Journalist Brian Williams; mixed martial artist Rashad Evans; Big Sean performs; Ben E. King performs

Saturday

It's nights like this that Netflix was meant for.

Sunday

9:00pm True Blood HBO - I Wish I Was the Moon
Sookie searches for Jason; Marnie connects with spirits; Arlene and Terry contend with an inferno; Debbie urges Alcide to join a new werewolf community; Tommy trades places with Sam; Lafayette feels the spirit; Eric surrenders to his King's will.

9:00pm Masterpiece Mystery! PBS S0Cal/KOCE - Zen: Ratking Zen negotiates for the return of a wealthy industrialist who is taken hostage; Zen's boss jeopardizes Zen's affair with Tania.

9:00pm Food Network Star Food - Comedy Roast Bobby Flay shows the finalists the ropes; a roast by top comedians; Louie Anderson, Gilbert Gottfried, Aubrey Plaza, Anthony Anderson and Judy Gold.

10:00pm Breaking Bad AMC - Open House Events spiral out of control; Skyler asks for Saul's help; Marie returns to an old past time; a friend asks Hank for help.

10:00pm Curb Your Enthusiasm HBO - The Smiley Face Larry vows to invalidate a dating taboo; Larry regrets making concessions to his neighbor; Jeff's alibi backfires.

10:00pm The Marriage Ref NBC - Celebrity panelists Rachael Ray, Larry Miller and J.B. Smoove weigh-in on disputes that include a woman annoyed by her husband's habit and a man who claims he needs his wife to work at his cigar bar.

10:00pm Falling Skies TNT - What Hides Beneath Tom worries about Weaver's increasingly strange behavior; Hal and Tom encounter a left-behind woman; Anne and Lourdes make a discovery

10:00pm In Plain Sight USA - A Womb With a View Mary protects a courtesan from the gangster father of her baby.

10:00pm Iron Chef America Food - Symon vs. Johnson Chef Wayne Johnson against chef Michael Symon.

10:30pm Entourage HBO - Out With a Bang Vince's film is reimagined as a TV movie; Ari takes Lloyd on a recon mission; Turtle cannot get in touch with Alex; Eric receives a surprising v-mail; Andrew Dice Clay seeks representation.

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By Thomas Attila Lewis in Arts & Events on July 29, 2011 3:00 PM

Comments [rss]

scottelkin

Series premier of Against The Wall on lifetime is supposed to be real good.

carlivar

The Killing was simply a bad show. My wife and I literally only kept watching the second half of the first season because we wanted to find out who killed whats-her-face. When they didn't even reveal that, it was like a betrayal, because there is NO WAY I am going to subject myself to more of that ridiculous show.

It got to the point where we were downright laughing at the parents. I mean, who buys a house and cleans out the bank account and doesn't tell their wife? Then lets her continue to freak out about the bank account while she's having psychological issues from her daughter's murder? Not to mention the horribly written characters in the mayoral campaign. The greedy, corrupt incumbent mayor, the basketball program that the upstart councilman supports which apparently is the most important thing in the city of Seattle ever, the "politically savvy" campaign assistant that can't act to save his life... ugh. The whole thing is just a train wreck.

tomdog

Frank - you had plenty of other options during the Sunday 10pm slot: "Treme," "The Glades," "In Plain Sight," just to name a few. Why would you waste the precious minutes of your life watching a show that you thought was so terrible? I am, by no means, a proponent of mainstream TV, but even the populist-to-a-fault TV Academy has nominated the actresses playing a couple of these characters for Emmys. Exercise your rights and use your remote. Many thanks for reading the TV Junkie, chances are we'll agree on something, I like your style.

imjeffro

awful. you didn't understand what Stillerman said. He didn't apologize for the season ending in a cliff hanger. His criticism was about how the show was promoted, not how it was run. That doesn't undermine Sud. He had nothing but praise for the content of the show.
And I'm not surprised that you didn't watch Twin Peaks.

tomdog

I loved "Twin Peaks," I've got the series on DVD and watched every episode as it aired.

From reading the TCA transcript, I'm not so sure you're right - in black and white it really appears that he's apologized for putting on a show with that kind of cliffhanger season-ender. Yes, he does mention the marketing of the show. I know he has high praise for Sud but he shouldn't apologize to the viewers for anything.

Taidan44

Um, it was Laura Palmer. And that "multiseason show" was only two seasons long.

tomdog

Thanks, corrected - oh, to have an editor. I wrote that while traveling to Montreal.

So, I should have called "Twin Peaks" a "doubleseason show" - not sure how else I could have described it. The fact is that her killer wasn't revealed at the end of the season. Also, wasn't every season of "Lost" concluded in a similar cliffhanger fashion?