NBC Greenlights Maya Rudolph-Martin Short Variety Show

NBC greenlights Maya Rudolph-Martin Short variety show

Lorne Michaels is producing what is tentatively being titled Maya and Marty in Manhattan, which comes two years after Michaels produced the one-off The Maya Rudolph Show for NBC in May 2014. Details of the variety show haven’t been hammered out, but it’s expected to premiere after this season is over, in late May.

Ashley Judd is the latest big-name addition to the Twin Peaks revival

Deadline also reports that co-creator Mark Frost’s 90-year-old dad, Warren, will reprise his role as Dr. Will Hayward.

For Valentine’s Day, John Oliver is planning “the least romantic television show currently available”

“Listen,” the Last Week Tonight host says, “Valentine’s Day, as I think we all know, is a nightmare. It is a human emotional minefield. And the safest way to deal with a minefield is not to engage with it at all. Therefore, I will make the pitch that you are actually safer just watching our show than trying to book a restaurant, which is probably already full. It’s already too late. If you’re still wondering what to  do for Valentine’s Day, it’s already too late. So go in the other direction and watch the least romantic television show currently available.” PLUS: Oliver calls “virality a completely unintended byproduct of the show.”

Marc Maron on Maron Season 4: “It’s probably going to be the last one”

Maron said on his WTF podcast he doesn’t expect his IFC comedy to return for a fifth season.

Watch The Cosby Show sans Bill Cosby

A Brooklyn filmmaker has erased Cosby entirely from his show.

Ellen Pompeo insists Meredith’s many Grey’s Anatomy calamities could happen in real life

“You don’t think you’re going to have to come up with 12 years of devastating things happening to one character,” she said on the Grey’s Anatomy podcast. “However, I look at the news every day and read newspapers online, and people have had some pretty unfortunate series of events happen to them in life. Things that you never think would happen. People being at two different mass shootings. Random, weird things do happen. Earth is quite an interesting place. So we can always suspend our disbelief enough to be able to tell some story and learn some lessons.”

Kanye West doesn’t look thrilled in new SNL promos

The rapper didn’t say a word in his promos with Melissa McCarthy and Taran Killam.

President Obama credits Ellen DeGeneres for turning the tide on LGBT equality

The president brought Ellen to tears saying: “Changing hearts and minds, I don’t think anyone has been as influential as you on that. I really mean it. That’s true.”

Aziz Ansari shares footage from his fake CBS sitcom

Ansari and Master of None co-star Eric Wareheim “starred” in Big Bud Lil Bud.

Survivor Michael Skupin responds to his child pornography charges, says he’s “wrongfully accused”

“I’m not even sure what to say. I’m more shocked by this than anyone,” says Skupin in a statement, adding: “I have never, ever hurt a child in any way — not as alleged and not ever.”

Jason Sudeikis finally got to meet Joe Biden after impersonating him on SNL for many years

Sudeikis says if the vice president had run for president, he would likely have returned to SNL. Sudeikis, who met Biden late last year, says: “This was my first time meeting him, and I was like, ‘Hey, you don’t have to tell everybody, but you should let me know, you kind have my career at SNL in your hands.’ And he was like, ‘Oh that’s right I do, don’t I?’”

UnREAL’s first black bachelor speaks

“Oh my God, I just feel pressure! People don’t like to talk about race,” says B.J. Britt. He adds: “I’m very excited and very stoked to be able to play a character that’s going to speak to a lot of people. It’s going to make you think.”

Check out Disney Channel’s Adventures in Babysitting remake

Watch the trailer for the updated version of the 1987 Elisabeth Shue film, starring Sabrina Carpenter and Sofia Carson.

Jimmy Fallon will celebrate his Tonight Show 2nd anniversary with a primetime Valentine’s Day special

Sunday’s special will showcase the best of Fallon.

Fuller House’s production designer watched 100 hours of Full House, frame by frame

“I can’t tell you how many episodes. I mean, just a ton,” says Jerry Dunn, who was tasked with recreating the original set.

Samantha Bee’s Full Frontal success makes Trevor Noah’s Daily Show flaws all the more glaring

Sure, Bee has a week to work on her show, says Sara Stewart, “but her energy and feminist perspective make Full Frontal feel like something newer and better than the diminished Daily Show.”

Here’s your first look at Castle’s Firefly reunion with Summer Glau

Glau and Nathan Fillion reunite on the Mach 7 episode.

Gilmore Girls fans express disappointment over the news that April is returning

Luke’s daughter is still a polarizing figure.

ABC devoting Valentine’s Day to The Bachelor at 20: A Celebration of Love

The two-hour special will look back at the past 14 years of Bachelors and Bachelorettes.

SNL’s Kyle Mooney sees the positive in his short films getting cut for time

Says Mooney: “I almost think it’s helpful if a sketch is cut for time in the sense that it becomes this rarity of sorts, this obscure thing where people say “oh this is a sketch they wouldn’t show on TV.”

Texas A&M to honor George R.R. Martin

The university that houses the Game of Thrones author’s writings will present him with an honorary degree.

Vanna White regrets appearing on the cover of Playboy

The Wheel of Fortune star says she urged Hugh Hefner not to put her on the 1987 cover of the men’s magazine.

MTV sets premiere dates for Awkward and Faking It

Awkward will kick off its final season and Faking It will begin Season 3 on March 15.

Downton Abbey’s Brendan Coyle banned from driving after driving under the influence

The 52-year-old actor’s license has been suspended for four years.

Syfy orders Prototype pilot

As i09 notes, it’s a rare Syfy pilot that’s not based on existing book, comic or movie.

B.B. King gets the American Masters treatment

The late legendary blues man is celebrated tonight with his own wards.

The Walking Dead comes roaring back in its midseason return

Following the “Is Glenn dead?” controversy, the AMC series needed to redeem itself. “Fortunately,” says Brian Lowry, “the show comes roaring back (on Valentine’s Day, no less) out of its midseason break — operating on multiple fronts with various characters, and a sustained level of tension that has become its hallmark. Throw in a couple of particularly jarring moments, and even for those of us who engaged in a fair amount of grumbling about the sixth season’s opening salvo, that’s a good, adrenaline-filled way to kick off its bifurcated run’s second half.” PLUS: Robert Kirkman says “bad things are going to happen,” how Sarah Wayne Callies saved Carol, this may be the season where Walking Dead finally goes too far, what to expect with the time jump, and Steven Yeun what happened to Glenn.

HBO’s Vinyl plays more like a greatest hits collection instead of a groundbreaking series

The Martin Scorsese-Mick Jagger-Terence Winter series switches back and forth between its influences, says Alan Sepinwall. “Here’s a burst of Sopranos, then a shot of Mad Men, followed by a gorgeous Scorsese camera move.” He adds that “this plays at times like Scorsese doing a cover band performance of himself. It’s great to have Scorsese himself filming (Bobby) Cannavale doing a line of coke off a car’s rearview mirror, but hasn’t he gone down this particular seedy alley a time or twelve already?” PLUS: Vinyl bogs down in formulaic plot lines as it gives less time to the music, it is visually stunning yet ultimately empty, Vinyl is a compelling idea in search of a compelling story, it feels like the HBO-iest show the network has ever made — and that’s a good thing, it proves addictive despite its “bellicose male bullsh*t,” it’s an office drama masquerading as a music show, Scorsese directed a bloated pilot that lacks energy and personality, its biggest flaw is that the music doesn’t feel important, and Vinyl is “creatively audacious — a ridiculously exciting visual ode to the fist-pumping power of music.”