Television

Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan portray pioneering sex researchers William Masters and Virginia Johnson in a new Showtime series.

Arts

'Masters Of Sex' Get Unmasterful Treatment On Showtime

3:34pm September 26, 2013

by John Powers

The series follows the stories of science pioneers William Masters and Virginia Johnson, who helped bring sexuality into the light. Critic John Powers says it clearly aspires to be "the Mad Men of sex" -- but falls short in both its eye for detail and its retrograde portrayals of sex.

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Kate (Malin Akerman) pitches in alongside husband Pete (Bradley Whitford) on her stepson's soccer practice in ABC's Trophy Wife.

Arts

'Trophy Wife' Is More Than Just A Pretty Face On ABC

7:05pm September 24, 2013

by Neda Ulaby

The show's self-professed feminist creators wanted to take on a type generally scorned in popular culture. It's a favorite among critics, but one reviewer worries it will suffer from the Cougar Town effect — good show, terrible name.

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Capt. Ray Holt (Andre Braugher, right) leads detectives Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) and Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) on a police stakeout in Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Arts

TV Trips Into Fall, But These Days Who Knows Where To Look?

3:52pm September 24, 2013

by David Bianculli

TV critic David Bianculli points to Brooklyn Nine-Nine, starring Andy Samberg, and The Blacklist, starring James Spader, as shows to watch this season. Other debuts, like The Michael J. Fox Show and The Crazy Ones, show plenty of potential.

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Small-Screen Stars Honored At Emmy Awards

3:00pm September 24, 2013

Breaking Bad, AMC's soon-to-end tale of Walter White's descent into depravity, won the Emmy Award for best drama. Also, ABC's madcap Modern Family won its fourth Emmy Award in a row as best comedy series.

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Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Rick (Andrew Lincoln), in between curses on AMC's The Walking Dead.

Arts

What The $@** Is Up On Cable These Days?

7:11pm September 10, 2013

by Neda Ulaby

NPR's Neda Ulaby looks into "soft-profanity creep" — and other dynamics informing the state of the, er, art — when it comes to drama series on basic cable.

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Arts

Seth Meyers' Prime-Time Political Parody

10:36am September 05, 2013

For Fresh Air's Late Night week, we listen back to a 2008 interview with Seth Meyers, head writer at Saturday Night Live, and the co-anchor of Weekend Update. Meyers will be taking over from Jimmy Fallon on Late Night, now that Fallon is moving to The Tonight Show. A longer version of this interview was originally broadcast on Oct. 29, 2008.

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In her 21 years as a prosecutor, Kelly Siegler successfully tried 68 murder cases.

'Cold Justice' Is Coming To A Small Town (And TV) Near You

6:18pm September 01, 2013

by NPR Staff

On TNT's new reality show, Cold Justice, a former prosecutor and a former crime scene investigator travel around rural America digging into unsolved, sometimes forgotten, murder cases.

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Conan O'Brien interviews Bruce Willis in a 2005 episode of Late Night With Conan O'Brien.

Arts

Conan's 'Uphill Climb' To Late-Night Throne

1:57pm August 28, 2013

When O'Brien took over for David Letterman on NBC's Late Night, he had virtually no on-air experience. In a 2003 interview, O'Brien tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross about his efforts to fill Letterman's shoes and how his Irish-Catholic repression fuels his comedy.

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Comedian Jimmy Kimmel interviews Mel Brooks on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Arts

Jimmy Kimmel: Making Late Night A Family Affair

12:04pm August 28, 2013

This month, the late-night talk-show host sets up camp in the 11:35 p.m. slot, which puts him head-to-head with Jay Leno and Kimmel's idol, David Letterman. Kimmel has put a personal mark on his show by bringing in his family to help him make it happen.

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Arts

Jay Leno: 'Tonight' Was About 'Trying To Get Johnny To Laugh'

1:53pm August 27, 2013

In a 1996 interview with Fresh Air's Terry Gross, Leno recalled his rocky Tonight Show debut: "I got heckled my first show ... but luckily I had worked a lot of clubs so I could deal with it, and Johnny [Carson] seemed to like that."

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