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Television

Two Liberal Gay Couples With a Side of White Supremacy, Please

By Marcus Hunter on

Where openly gay couples on network television were once a novelty, it seems as if their portrayal in television is now en vogue — mainstream, “modern,” and “normal” you could even say. Sitcoms Modern Family and the recently canceled The New Normal both testify to this. They’ve both been noted for their depictions of gay characters, which are generally positive inasmuch as they are long overdue, gaining relevance and merit on the backs of a Supreme Court Trial for marriage equality, the once sexually exclusive Boy Scouts of America now allowing gays to openly join their ranks, among a host of other large and small feats trending towards a more inclusive society. But while this is great in theory, it’s not so much in practice. … Read More

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Celebrity

10 of the Most Incredibly Unlikely Celebrity Feuds in History

By Alison Herman on

Yesterday saw the latest flare-up in what’s apparently a nearly two-decade war between Roseanne Barr and writer Jamaica Kincaid. As Roseanne tells it, Kincaid resigned in protest when then-editor-in-chief Tina Brown invited Barr to guest-edit an issue of the New Yorker in 1996, which is why Barr now considers Kincaid a “repugnant classist.” We didn’t know the two women had even heard of each other, let alone hated each other, but it turns out plenty of famous people have beef, and not just Kanye and Taylor Swift. Here are some of the most unexpected celebrity conflicts, from authors to actors to everything in between. … Read More

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Television

Flavorwire’s 10 Most Anticipated New Shows of the Fall 2012 TV Season

By Judy Berman on

Did you have an active summer, TV fans? Instead of planting yourself in front of a screen for hours on end, did you windsurf and drink wheat beer at rooftop bars? Or did you stick to the couch and air conditioning, clinging to True Blood and Breaking Bad and everything else cable had to offer while longing for NBC’s Thursday-night comedies? We did a little bit of both, but now that September’s in full swing, we’re ready to rededicate ourselves to obsessive TV fandom. After the jump, we count down our ten most anticipated network shows of the 2o12-13 season, from J.J. Abrams’ newest post-apocalyptic romp to Mindy Kaling’s solo debut to an American Sherlock Holmes adaptation that might actually work. … Read More

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Television

Watch the Pilot of Ryan Murphy’s New Comedy, ‘The New Normal’

By Caroline Stanley on

Unless you happen to be a card-carrying member of the anti-gay activist group One Million Moms (and if so, really, what in the world are you doing hanging out here?), you’ll be happy to hear that NBC has decided to post the pilot episode of The New Normal online for audiences to preview ahead of its September 11th premiere date. We can’t think of a Ryan Murphy show that we haven’t enjoyed (at least at first — sorry Glee!), and the cast includes Book of Mormon star Andrew Rannells and the lovely Ellen Barkin, so we’ve got a good feeling about this one. Let’s hope that NBC — a network that’s notoriously ham-fisted when it comes to fostering its comedies — doesn’t muck things up. Check it out now, and let us know if you plan to keep on watching in the comments! … Read More

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News

The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

By Caroline Stanley on

1. R. Kelly says that he realized his marriage of 12 years was over after he watched The Notebook. No, seriously. “As the film credits started to roll, I couldn’t move,” he writes in his new memoir. “I burst into tears. People walking past me patted me on the back, trying to console me.” [via… Read More

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Television

The Most Promising Network TV Pilots of 2012

By Judy Berman on

Now that they’ve gotten their mid-season shows off the ground, it’s pilot-buyin’ time for the major networks. That means that, in the past few weeks, we’ve been deluged with news about shows in development, with headlines featuring such names as Louis C.K., Mindy Kaling, J.J. Abrams, and Roseanne Barr. Thankfully, for those of us who’ve had some trouble keeping up, The Hollywood Reporter was kind enough to post a full list of what we can look forward to from ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and The CW in the 2012-13 season. Since that roundup is still pretty daunting, we’ve narrowed the list to the 11 shows we’re most looking forward to; check them out and find out why we can’t to see them after the jump. … Read More

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Television

Don’t Worry, Jessica Lange Will Be Back on ‘American Horror Story’ Season 2

By Judy Berman on

When the first season of FX’s American Horror Story ended in a bloodbath, we wondered what was in store for Season 2. Would the same main characters return as ghosts, primed to haunt a new family? In fact, as creator Ryan Murphy confirmed in a call shortly after the finale, in December, the show will… Read More

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Television

‘American Horror Story’ to Completely Reboot for Season 2

By Judy Berman on

Those who watched last night’s American Horror Story finale might well wonder how showrunner Ryan Murphy is planning to approach Season 2, considering, well, that he didn’t leave himself much to work with. Thankfully, he’s already satisfied our curiosity, announcing that not only will lead actors Connie Britton and Dylan McDermott leave the show, but… Read More

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Pop Culture

Flavorpill’s Most Fascinating People of 2011

By Judy Berman on

Another year, another uninspired list of “fascinating people,” courtesy of Barbara Walters. Babs’ 2011 list seems frightfully behind the times: Aren’t Simon Cowell, Katy Perry, Derek Jeter, and the Kardashians kind of old news? Why interview Donald Trump when you could have picked a real politician who actually plans to run for president in 2012, instead of just teasing about it to hype his past-its-prime reality show? Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet from Modern Family aren’t a bad pick, but do we really need to hear more from tabloid favorites Amanda Knox and Pippa Middleton? Here’s hoping the one name ABC is withholding until Walters’ special airs tomorrow night is more inspiring. Meanwhile, your friends at Flavorpill have our entire list of 2011′s most fascinating people ready right now. Our top 10, and the questions we’d ask them, are after the jump. … Read More

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Celebrity

The Juiciest Tidbits from Jane Lynch's New Memoir

By Caroline Stanley on

“I don’t know why, but I was born with an extra helping of angst,” Jane Lynch writes in her new memoir, Happy Accidents, which hits shelves today. “I would love to be able to blame this on my parents, as I’m told this is good for book sales. But I can’t.” From early struggles with her “gay secret” to a not-so-healthy relationship with Miller Lite and Nyquil, the Glee star has a past that’s filled with inner turmoil and anxiety — but at least the suffering seems to have had a purpose: “Years later, with lots of distance, I saw my young self in one Sue Sylvester. Hell-bent on revenge and out to crush the dreams of the innocent, Sue is always looking for the next fight.” Click through for more fascinating revelations from Lynch’s entertaining new book. … Read More

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