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10 Deadliest Shows on TV Revealed

Anthony Ocasio — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:03:07 +0000

Television is no longer the walk in the park that is used to be. With many series focused on solving murders (or committing them), the landscape of television has become, well, deadly. But which series are the deadliest?

In a study conducted by Funeralwise.com, which analyzed the deaths in 8 episodes of 40 TV shows, it was revealed that Spartacus: Vengeance and Game of Thrones came out on top, with an average of 25 and 13 dead bodies per episode, respectively.

For those not familiar with either series, those numbers do appear to be extremely high. Though with Spartacus: Vengeance focusing on the gladiator rebellion, and Game of Thrones highlighting the civil war between the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, it’s not surprising to find these two series making the ...

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2012 TV Finale Schedule: A Complete Guide

Anthony Ocasio — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:19:20 +0000

The TV finale season is upon us! With over 70 television season finales airing during the month of May, bidding a summer farewell to your favorite television series may not be as easy as you think. Fortunately, we’ve attempted to take much of the hassle out of your upcoming viewing by creating a complete schedule for the May season finales.

Beginning slow with Impractical Jokers, Last Man Standing and In Plain Sight finales, the true viewing madness of May doesn’t start until the second week of the month, with New Girl, The Big Bang Theory, Fringe, as well as 16 other finales.

Continuing into the third week of May: the most television finale-packed time of the entire month presents 33 season finales for your viewing pleasure (or scheduling nightmare), including Bones, How I Met Your ...

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‘Criminal Minds’ Season 7 Premiere Review & Discussion

Anthony Ocasio — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:35:27 +0000

For all intents and purposes, the Criminal Minds season 7 premiere masterfully presented the long overdue reunion of the series’ core members, after what was a very confusing past year.

The episode, entitled “It Takes a Village,” written by longtime Criminal Minds scribe Erica Messer, beautifully juxtaposes a pseudo flashback storyline with rich character arcs and a familiar, although uniquely original, delivery of the typical case-of-the-week.

Serving as a bookend to last season’s storyline involving the death of Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster), the members of the BAU must account for their brazen actions surrounding a last-minute case, which involved the man that presumably killed their co-worker, to a Senate Judiciary Committee.

With a continuous flow of rich dialogue, compelling scenes and a general sense of not being able to ...

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‘Criminal Minds’ Season 7 Premiere Preview: Prentiss Returns

Anthony Ocasio — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 18:33:11 +0000

What do you think of the premiere? ‘Criminal Minds’ Season 7 Premiere Review & Discussion

When Criminal Minds returns this fall for its seventh season, fans can rest easy knowing that familiar faces will be returning for good. After the continuous ousting of female cast members last year, the favored members of the BAU will be officially reunited in the Criminal Minds season 7 premiere.

The episode, entitled “It Takes A Village”, will mark the official return of Paget Brewster (as Emily Prentiss) to the Criminal Minds family. Of course, since the rest of her BAU team believes that she’s dead, there’s a certain amount of explanation that needs to occur.

Unfortunately, the return of Prentiss from the proverbial grave isn’t something that can simply stay within the confines of the FBI. Considering Hotchner was responsible for faking Prentiss’ death and providing her with a somewhat new life ...

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Thomas Gibson Will Return to ‘Criminal Minds’ for Season 7

Kevin Yeoman — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:25:02 +0000

While it looked touch-and-go there for a while, many fans will be pleased to know that Criminal Minds will head into season 7 with Thomas Gibson after all. Following a lengthy negotiation process, the star has agreed to continue his role as Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner for at least two more seasons.

According to Deadline, the deal was reached a scant two weeks before shooting was scheduled to begin on season 7 of CBS’ highly-rated crime drama. And it now appears the show’s production will be able to begin on schedule.

The process to renegotiate Gibson’s contract ran far later than anyone had anticipated – cutting it so close as to leave the Criminal Minds writing staff wondering whether they would be writing Hotchner into the upcoming season at all. Now ...

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‘Modern Family’ & ‘Hawaii Five-0′ Top DVR Ratings; ‘Supernatural’ & ‘Fringe’ Gain

Michael Crider — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:50:50 +0000

Television’s busiest number-crunchers at TV by the Numbers have released their list of the most-recorded shows in America, with ABC’s Modern Family leading the pack. Shows like House, The Event and Supernatural got a significant bump in addition to first-run ratings.

Recorded episodes are making up a bigger and bigger chunk of the television audience, and the trend has been consistent for the 2010-1011 season.

For example, Modern Family scored an average of 11.2 million viewers for every live episode, plus 3.5 million DVR viewers – a whopping 31% increase.

The landscape of television continues to shift as more and more homes are equipped with place-shifting DVRs. While most of the shows in the top 20 aren’t in serious danger of cancellation, the ratings bump from DVR viewers in the ...

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Criminal Minds Season 7 Cast Discuss Female Firings, Hotch’s Future

Anthony Ocasio — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:33:22 +0000

While CBS’ Criminal Minds may still be one of television’s top series, the unfortunate focus for this past year has been on the unceremonious firings of A.J. Cook and Paget Brewster. If that’s not enough, there’s also the proverbial limbo that is the status of Thomas Gibson’s contract for season 7.

Fortunately, the cast of Criminal Minds is pretty straightforward and honest. So, when E! Online spoke with Thomas Gibson and Matthew Gray Gubler at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival today, they were more than willing to discuss the issues with this past season’s selective firings.

Speaking to Matthew Gray Gubler, it soon becomes apparent that he’s reiterating many of the same points that co-star Kirsten Vangsness brought up when we spoke with her at Comic-Con 2010.

Here’s what Gubler had to say ...

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Thomas Gibson May Not Return For ‘Criminal Minds’ Season 7

Kevin Yeoman — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 14:06:32 +0000

Not surprisingly, Criminal Minds is having a problem holding on to a member of its cast. Unlike the drama that surrounded the exit (and subsequent return) of A.J. Cook & Paget Brewster, however, the problem this time surrounds the future contract of key star Thomas Gibson.

For fans of Criminal Minds, the off-season and off-camera drama has often outmatched even the twisted storylines thought up by the show’s writing staff. Having made a name for itself with an ever-changing line-up of acting talent, the CBS police procedural had managed to keep Gibson’s central character Special Agent Aaron ‘Hotch’ Hotchner around for six years – while key players like Mandy Patinkin simply up and left, and the aforementioned Cook and Brewster played musical chairs with available spots on the show.

The delay in Gibson’s contract means there ...

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A.J. Cook Discusses ‘Criminal Minds’ Season 7

Kevin Yeoman — Thu, 26 May 2011 17:03:38 +0000

These days, it feels like the CBS hit procedural drama Criminal Minds gets more press for its revolving door of cast members and producers than for the actual content of its episodes. Following a tumultuous season 6, where fans and cast members alike spoke out over the loss of A.J. Cook (Jennifer ‘JJ’ Jareau), the showrunners have ultimately brought the actress back for at least two more seasons.

Although she was let go at the beginning of season 6, Cook maintained a presence on the show by dropping by for several guest spots – saying goodbye to Paget Brewster’s character Emily Prentiss and the recent season finale where she confirmed what had long been reported: JJ will be back.

While many have breathed a sigh of relief that their beloved JJ will once again grace Criminal ...

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‘Criminal Minds’ Season 6 Finale Review & Discussion

Anthony Ocasio — Thu, 19 May 2011 01:38:18 +0000

Season 6 has been rough for Criminal Minds with cast changes upon cast changes – upon even more cast changes. After the dust settled, the prayers of fans have been answered and A.J. Cook is returning to reprise her role as Jennifer “JJ” Jareau for the foreseeable future.

Of course… that’s not all. As Criminal Minds ends its sixth season, one thing has absolutely been made clear: anything CAN and Will happen.

After the BAU stumbles on a country-wide human trafficking ring, while searching for two missing persons, the team must work overtime to bring down this unsub. As Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) warns that the BAU faces possible staff changes, everyone assumes the worst.

When a certain familiar face walks through ...

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2011 TV Season Finale Schedule

Anthony Ocasio — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:39:22 +0000

Ready your DVR and replace the batteries in your remote (and, no, switching them around doesn’t count), because it’s that time of year again – to say goodbye to many of your favorite television shows.

While most, if not all, of your favorites shows will be returning this fall, there happens to be a select few series that are signing off for good – even if they’re not yet aware of it. The most notable television show coming to an end this year is Smallville. After 10 years on the air, fans will finally see Clark Kent embrace his destiny and become Superman.

Even though Smallville isn’t the only series coming to an end, it is one of the only shows to have officially scheduled its series finale. As many other series finales may ...

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A. J. Cook Returns To ‘Criminal Minds’ For Season 7 & 8

Michael Crider — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:41:47 +0000

After negotiations with Criminal Minds producers, former regular A. J. Cook has agreed to return for two more seasons. Her character Jennifer “JJ” Jareau will return to the show for season 7 this fall.

Speculation about Cook’s return began last week, after series executive producer Ed Bernero announced that he was leaving Criminal Minds. She won’t have been gone long – Cook only left the show last year, at the beginning of season 6. She signed on to play the JJ character for at least two more years after the writers and producers came up with new story ideas for her character.

The casting situation on Criminal Minds has been hectic (at best) these last few years. Cook left at the begining of Season 6 and co-star Paget Brewster left 6 months later. Joe ...

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‘Criminal Minds’: A.J. Cook & Paget Brewster May Return; Ed Bernero Leaving

Michael Crider — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 16:51:22 +0000

Two fan-favorite leading ladies may make a triumphant return to the cast of CBS’ Criminal Minds. Sources claim that A. J. Cook is in talks to return next season, and Paget Brewster could be back if her current project isn’t picked up.

Cook and her character Jennifer “JJ” Jareau left Criminal Minds at the beginning of its sixth season last year. Her departure wasn’t a happy one: the consensus is that the network thought the character was dispensable, and fired Cook to make the show more profitable. A fan campaign and complaints from the cast and crew fell on deaf ears.

Now Deadline reports that producers have offered Cook her regular spot back, after brainstorming new ideas for the JJ character. There’s no word on whether the actress has ...

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Criminal Minds: ‘Lauren’ Review & Discussion – Prentiss’ Final Episode

Anthony Ocasio — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 02:40:32 +0000

Six months ago, fans of Criminal Minds were saying goodbye to Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer Jareau (AJ Cook). Her unceremonious firing served to shine a light on the unfortunate direction that the series appeared to be headed. With only Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) and Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster) left in the series’ male dominated cast, many wondered which one would be next to leave the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit. Unfortunately, it didn’t take too long for that question to be answered.

With Cook gone from the series and Brewster’s episode count being reduced, everyone – including Brewster herself – could see the writing on the wall. Like any good cast member, the always wonderful Vangsness made sure that everyone knew how she felt about the studio’s decision to axe her fellow comrades.

With nothing left to ...

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‘Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior’ Trailer & Behind the Scenes Video

Rob Frappier — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 14:15:33 +0000

In less than two weeks, Criminal Minds fans will have two things to cheer about. As we reported back in December, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, the new spin-off of the popular crime drama, will air directly after the original Criminal Minds on February 16th.

The spin-off features Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker as the head of a new team of FBI behavioral analysts. In addition to Whitaker, Suspect Behavior features a well-rounded cast including Janeane Garofalo, Matt Ryan, Michael Kelly, Beau Garrett and Kirsten Vangsness. Like the original series, this team will focus on taking down the baddest bad guys out there, serial killers and other violent offenders included.

Criminal Minds has one of the most passionate fanbases of any current TV show, which is why I thought it was interesting that ...

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A.J. Cook Returns to ‘Criminal Minds’ for Paget Brewster’s Final Episode

Anthony Ocasio — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 15:11:55 +0000

While all of the petitioning from Criminal Minds fans couldn’t save A.J. Cook from being wrongfully fired from the series, it appears that we haven’t seen the last of Cook’s lovable character Jennifer Juneau. This spring, Cook will be returning to Criminal Minds for a single episode.

Last summer, the Criminal Minds fandom rightfully revolted against the brash, thoughtless decision from the “powers that be” to terminate Cook’s contract with the series.

While departing cast members is not uncommon in television or for this series (Mandy Patinkin and Lola Glaudini both left previously), Criminal Minds has been criticized for their obvious and ongoing trimming of female cast members. Unfortunately, J.J.’s character reprise does nothing but confirm the accusations.

Cook’s return is neither a sole character piece nor a welcoming ...

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2011 People’s Choice Awards Winners

Anthony Ocasio — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:45:07 +0000

For 37 years, the People’s Choice Awards has been celebrating the fan favorites in film, television and music. In preparation for tonight’s awards ceremony, over 35 million votes were cast by the American public in hopes that their favorite film, television series, actor or musician will take home this coveted award.

For the second year in a row, the multifaceted Queen Latifah will be serving as host of this fanatical gala. With over 43 separate categories having to fit within the given timeslot, something tells me that Queen Latifah is going to be forced to move things along at a swift pace in order to fit each category within the 2-hour time-limit.

Fortunately, no matter what happens, Screen Rant will here with as many of our writers as possible to participate in a live chat of the ...

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CBS Will Debut ‘Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior’ Directly After ‘Criminal Minds’

Rob Frappier — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 22:25:31 +0000

CBS is pulling an NCIS with Criminal Minds. According to the network’s recently released schedule, CBS will debut the new spinoff show Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior on February 16th at 10:00 PM, directly after Criminal Minds. CBS found great success with this same strategy with the debut of the NCIS spin-off NCIS: Los Angeles.

The strategy makes perfect sense, as fans of the original Criminal Minds will likely also enjoy the spin-off show. Interestingly, CBS already debuted the Suspect Behavior cast in a Season Five episode of Criminal Minds (this is known as a backdoor pilot in the TV industry). Presumably, the early crossover appearance, along with the fact that the show is following the original Criminal Minds, will make it more appealing to viewers and get Suspect Behavior started on ...

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Midseason Schedule Shift: CBS Moves ‘Blue Bloods’ & ‘The Defenders’

Rob Frappier — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 21:03:23 +0000

CBS has been pretty lucky this season. Unlike its rival networks, which have had to cut mediocre shows (and even some good ones), CBS has had the luxury of keeping all of its new shows on the air. In fact, the network has found enough success with its lineup of programs that it now has the luxury to spice things up a bit with new scheduling.

In a recent news release, CBS announced that it was moving the relatively popular cop drama Blue Bloods from its Friday night slot to Wednesday nights at 10:00 pm for a four-week run beginning January 19th.

Given the fact that Friday is a weaker night for TV competition, CBS is testing whether Blue Bloods‘ success (it was number one among 25-54-year-olds in its former timeslot) can carry over to ...

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Mandy Patinkin Returns To TV In Showtime’s ‘Homeland’

Michael Crider — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 22:08:18 +0000

Mandy Patinkin, who has been notably absent from movies and television since leaving CBS’s Criminal Minds in 2007, will headline Showtime’s Homeland opposite Claire Danes. The show revolves around a terrorist plot on American soil, and will begin shooting in January.

Mandy Patinkin is most famous for his role of Inigo Montoya in the 1987 sleeper hit The Princess Bride. In addition to his leading role of Jason Gideon in Criminal Minds, Patinkin played grim reaper and father-figure Rube in Showtime’s black comedy Dead Like Me.

Homeland centers around an American POW who returns after years of incarceration in Iraq. Patinkin will play a CIA chief who sends an agent (Danes) to investigate the soldier, who is under suspicion of terrorist collusion.

Speculation suggests that Homeland is the cable channel’s try for a 24-like crime thriller, which ...

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