The Story of Conan’s Beard
There are rally beards, and strike beards and holiday beards. And the beard grown by Conan O’Brien, the lanky talk show host with the cascading pompadour, was one that first…
Mary Murphy, Minus Scream
Gregarious “So You Think You Can Dance” judge Mary Murphy will be back as permanent judge this season. But she won’t be doing much of her signature screams. Murphy, recovering…
‘Idol’ Season 10: Bringing the Nice
On a panel to explain the new season of "American Idol," the retooled celebrity judging staff, its new mentor, its returning producer all painted a picture of the new season…
Back in ‘The Game’
Here’s something that never happens: A show that has closed shop and been off the air for two years suddenly returns, by popular demand. “The Game,” which played three seasons…
The Return of the African-American Sitcom
The heyday of the African-American family sitcom didn’t die with UPN, it’s simply moved to cable. In addition to TBS where “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” begat “Meet the Browns”…
How Nixon Got to Say ‘Sock It to Me’
It may be one of the signature seconds of “Laugh-In,” the influential and insurrectionist 1960s sketch humor: Nixon saying the hot catch phrase of the day, immediately before the 1968…
From Sleater-Kinney to ‘Portlandia’
The least expected member of a new comedy series may be Carrie Brownstein, the former member of Sleater-Kinney and sometime rock journalist who combines with Fred Armisen of “Saturday Night…
Jeff Bridges: Duderonomy
Jeff Bridges, who made dozens of movies, and won a handful of Oscar nominations, snared his first Academy Award last year for “Crazy Heart” and is in theaters this season…
Oprah Considers Her New Network
It was New Year’s Day, when she was watching the new network that bore her name that it struck her. “I fully started to grasp what it means to have…
Oprah: Change Your Slogan TV
"Being on the air for the past 25 years, I’ve learned a lot about myself," Oprah Winfrey says. "You learn from what worked and what didn’t work. And I made the…