Dr. House will not be on call after his eighth season on Fox. Medical drama series House is saying goodbye. Creator David Shore requested an early decision from the network to end the show so he could prepare a proper farewell for his misanthropic physician and friends. With several new dramas on the rise — a few the show even helped launch, including Kiefer Sutherland’s Touch, which hits this spring — and star Hugh Laurie’s contract deal done at the end of the season, the timing seemed right. When Universal cut salaries last year, fans saw co-star Lisa Edelstein (Dr. Lisa Cuddy — Dean of Medicine and House’s love interest) leaving early, which left a lot of devotees pretty bummed. Still, ratings have persisted. Deadline reports that there’s no word on where Shore will be heading next, as he does not have a continuing deal with the network. Were you biding your time until House left the building, or were you hoping the show would hold out just a little while longer?

1. If you blinked during last night’s Super Bowl half-time show, then you might have missed MIA flipping off the crowd while performing “Gimme All Your Luvin” with Madonna and Nicki Minaj, but now it’s all that anyone is talking about. The official apology from NBC: “Our system was late to obscure the inappropriate gesture and we apologize to our viewers.” [via THR]

2. Chronicle, Fox’s low-budget new movie about a group of teen boys with superpowers, topped the Super Bowl weekend box office (which is usually a total wasteland), taking in an estimated $22 million. Daniel Radcliffe’s thriller Woman in Black surprised everyone by coming in second place with $21 million, followed by The Grey, which made about $9.5 million. Not so lucky? That Drew Barrymore saves the whales movie. [via ArtsBeat]

3. The @CormacCMcCarthy Twitter account, which counts Margaret Atwood and Jack Dorsey among its followers, has been exposed as a hoax — news that isn’t entirely surprising given the famed novelist’s belief that “anything that doesn’t take years of your life and drive you to suicide hardly seems worth doing.” [via Guardian]

4. Harrison Ford is in talks to resurrect his Rick Deckard character in Ridley Scott‘s new Blade Runner film. Does this mean that it’s going to be a sequel as opposed to a reboot? [via Vulture]

5. Here is that slightly-extended version of The Avengers trailer that debuted last night. There’s not a lot of new footage, but you do get a better look at Mark Ruffalo’s take on the Hulk and the army that Loki has amassed.

Bonus Buzz: The Single Most Awkward Photo Of Madonna During Her Halftime Show

Some exciting news for those of us who have always struggled with Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Deadline reports that the ubiquitous actor has signed on to star in Kevin Williamson’s new Fox drama, “an edge-of-the-seat thriller about a diabolical serial killer who uses technology to create a cult of serial killers, and a retired FBI profiler who finds himself in the middle of it.” Given that description and the fact that a big name star like Bacon is involved, it sounds to us like this project could this be the network’s latest attempt at filling the giant programming hole left by 24. That said, we’re not entirely sure what to expect from Williamson, who is best known for shows geared toward a younger demographic, like Dawson’s Creek and Vampire Diaries. What are your thoughts? Are you excited to see Bacon back on the small-screen?

1. Last night’s crazy wedding-themed episode of Gossip Girl may or may not have revealed the show’s biggest secret: the long-debated identity of Gossip Girl. But are you buying it?

2. You probably know that Bon Iver is up for Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best New Artist at this year’s Grammy Awards, but we bet that you haven’t seen his Grammy’s commercial yet. (Adele, Foo Fighters, and Skrillex all have TV spots airing, too.)

3. Flavorpill favorite Mindy Kaling will write, executive produce, and star in a new comedy pilot for Fox that’s about “a young Bridget Jones-type doctor.” Should the network decide to pick up the show, she’d be leaving the sinking ship that is The Office, which we think would be a good thing. [via TVLine]

4. Susan Sarandon will be joining Laura Linney in a handful of upcoming episodes of The Big C, playing a cancer survivor “who is using her unique experience to inspire and motivate others”; the show’s third season launches April 8 on Showtime. [via THR]

5. According to paperwork just filed with the FEC, Stephen Colbert’s Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow super PAC has taken in more than $1 million. No wonder Jon Stewart was so reluctant to hand back over the reigns. [via The Daily Beast]

Bonus Buzz: 20 of the Happiest Dogs Around

1. “Industry sources” report that Apple will begin selling 32- and 37-inch television sets next year. Called iTVs, the devices will supposedly draw on an extensive library of on-demand programming and incorporate everyone’s favorite virtual assistant, Siri. [via Digital Spy]

2. Slash says that he’d like to squash his feud with his former Guns N’ Roses band mate Axl Rose. According to the guitarist, the duo’s rift “got built up into this monster that led to a kind of animosity that wasn’t the focus for me.” [via NME]

3. Interesting hiring decision: Robert “Joe” Halderman, the CBS News producer who served six months in jail for attempting to extort David Letterman, has a new gig on Investigation Discovery’s On the Case with Paula Zahn. Insert tawdry “investigation” and/or “discovery” innuendo here. [via NY Daily News]

4. According to UK tabloid Mirror, the one and only Joan Collins is in talks to appear on Downton Abbey as Maggie Smith‘s cousin – but only if the show does a 2012 Christmas special.

5. Fox Latin America had to apologize after running a delightful Christmas poll asking readers whether they thought Jews killed Jesus. Really. [via AP]

Bonus video: A tribute to the TV shows we lost in 2011

If you’ve been following the contract dispute between the producers and actors of The Simpsons vs. Fox, then you know that things are still pretty up in the air at the moment. While the show’s producers have agreed to the 45 percent cut that the network was asking for, the voice talent is still hoping to negotiate a better deal. “Obviously, there are a lot more important things going on in the world right now, in the streets of New York and elsewhere, but given how many people seem to care about what happens to our show — and how much misinformation has been flying around — I thought it might make sense for at least one member of the cast to speak out directly,” writes Harry Shearer, the voice of Mr. Burns, Smithers, Ned Flanders, and plenty of other characters, in a statement.

The results of this year’s “Where We Are On TV” report — GLAAD’s 16th annual review of scripted LGBT primetime characters in the 2011-2012 season — are in, and we think that you might be surprised by some of the findings; namely, the fact that Fox is “the most inclusive” of the broadcast television networks, a title that had gone to ABC for six years running. Just four years ago, there were absolutely no gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender series regulars on Fox, but as of this year, the number has risen to 6.8 percent. That’s compared to a 2.9 percent average across all TV networks– an unfortunate decrease from last year’s average of 3.9 percent.

“While the number of LGBT characters is down, some of the most popular shows with critics and viewers, such as Glee, True Blood and The Good Wife, weave storylines about gay and lesbian characters into the fabric of the show,” GLAAD Acting President Mike Thompson said in a statement. “Whether it’s the growing household of Mitchell and Cameron on Modern Family or the recent wedding of Callie and Arizona on Grey’s Anatomy, Americans expect to see the diversity of our country represented in their favorite programs and that includes gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.” Do you agree with Thompson’s glass half-full outlook, or do you think we should be worried by this recent dip? [via Deadline]

1. Keifer Sutherland is returning to Fox this spring in a new show from Heroes creator Tim Kring called Touch. The drama will tell the story of a man with a mute 11-year-old son who has “the ability to see things that no one else can and the patterns that connect seemingly unrelated events.” Sounds promising! [via Slashfilm]

2. Despite that boycott called for by hardcore fans, Star Wars: The Complete Saga has already made $84 million worldwide, making it the highest-selling and most preordered Blu-ray title ever. Somewhere, George Lucas is chuckling to himself, rubbing his hands together, and plotting his next re-release. [via Deadline]

3. Apparently Lady Gaga thinks that she’s meeting with President Obama next week to discuss a potential anti-bullying campaign, but his people are saying that they don’t know anything about it, and that he hasn’t set aside any time for a private sit-down. Awkward. [via Vulture]

4. Speaking of presidents, Bill Clinton has a new book coming out in November called Back to Work, and in it, he “will make the case for why government matters, explaining his ideas on energy, job creation and financial responsibility.” [via ArtsBeat]

5. A previously undiscovered painting by Francisco de Goya has been found hidden underneath another one of his masterpieces at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum thanks to a new X-ray technique; officials believe the artwork, which may portray Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother, could have been covered up for political reasons. [via BBC News]

Bonus Buzz: 25 EXTREME Overreactions To The New Facebook Changes

The reviews are in on Fox’s New Girl, which premiered last night after Glee (to even better ratings) and which we found disappointing after watching an online sneak preview of the show earlier this month. While critics are split on the show — some find it charming and funny, while others call it irritating and trite — what’s most intriguing about their reviews is that most serve as a referendum on its lead, Zooey Deschanel. Famous for her hipster style and quirky, girlie personality, Deschanel is the kind of actress who some adore and others despise. As New Girl‘s Jess, she is everything her fans love and her detractors hate, turned up to 11. This distillation of Zooey-ness to its rawest and most potent essence has many critics wondering whether she’s jumped the shark, and if she’s liable to turn off even those who like her with a character who’s so unbelievably — as the show’s marketing campaign puts it “adorkable.” We’ve rounded up a few of the most interesting critiques after the jump.

Read More »

1. Word is that Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook is planning to unveil its latest iPhone on October 4, and that the new device will go on sale in the weeks to follow. [via The Daily Beast]

2. This sounds promising: Jeremy Renner has signed on to star in King of Heists, an adaptation of J. North Conway’s book about one of the greatest bank robberies in American history; he’d be playing George Leslie, the man who spearheaded the 1878 heist. [via Deadline]

3. Gordon Ramsay is going to have another Fox reality series. Hotel Hell will be a makeover show along the lines of Kitchen Nightmares, but not necessarily cooking-centric. “These are stories that everyone can relate to, because virtually all of us have had a bad hotel experience that’s turned a holiday or business trip into a total disaster,” says Ramsay. “It’s time to put the hospitality industry to the test.” [via Inside TV]

4. Thom Yorke has confirmed to BBC Radio 1′s Giles Peterson that Radiohead will be on the road throughout next year; he’s also busy finishing up an album from his supergroup side project Atoms for Peace. [via NME]

5. Steven Spielberg is delaying the release of his forthcoming Abraham Lincoln biopic until after next year’s election, because he says that he doesn’t want the movie to “become political fodder.” The film stars Daniel Day-Lewis alongside Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and John Hawkes. [via Movieline]

Bonus Buzz: Embryonic Superheroes