In an act that is sure to completely melt Twitter, it looks like Chuck Lorre and CBS Studios have found a replacement for the hard to work with Charlie Sheen, who was fired from Two and a Half Men back in March. That man? Former That 70′s Show star Ashton Kutcher.

The deal is supposedly all done but no official announcement from CBS has yet to appear. However, several sources have all but confirmed it  From THR:

Two sources close to the deal-making tell The Hollywood Reporter that the actor is putting the final touches on a deal to replace Charlie Sheen as the star of TV’s No. 1 comedy. CBS, studio Warner Bros. and Kutcher’s reps at CAA declined to comment on the situation but a deal is said to be all but signed. The exact dollar figure he will be paid is not known but a source says Kutcher is getting a “huge payday” to join the hit sitcom.

The deal came together quickly in the wake of Hugh Grant passing on the opportunity to join the show. Now sources say Men creator Chuck Lorre has crafted a storyline to introduce Kutcher in a way that satisfies the network and studio. “It’s really funny,” says one source. “People are going to love it.”

The news comes as barely a surprise and more of an “I can totally see that!” for most fans of either Men or Kutcher’s previous work in the sitcom world. No word on how this will effect Sheen’s current “Torpedoes of Truth” world tour, but you can expect between Kutcher’s 7.6 million Twitter followers and Sheen’s 3.8 million, people will be pushing their 140-character limit over the next few days as the deal is finalized.

Teenaged girls are the only ones likely to care for this modern day retelling of Beauty and the Beast.  That’s your disclaimer.  For those of us who have discerning tastes, the film is mediocre at best, but I imagine the teen demographic will find the movie charming.

Alex Pettyfer stars as Kyle, an unbelievably narcissistic and self absorbed high school student who eschews those who have the misfortune of not being good looking enough for his liking. Looks, money, and popularity are the things he deems most important in life.  He’s a wretched human being suffering from a massive case of entitlement.

When we meet his father (played by Peter Krause), we see why Kyle has such shallow values. Dad is a preening news anchor with a bluetooth glued to his ear at all times. He has preached the gospel of good looks during Kyle’s entire life. The stagnant apartment they share in New York is devoid of charm; everything is white, and it reeks of wealth.

Continue Reading →

In the world of TV being on a show that goes longer than one season is often a surprise and a wonderful way to make a living if you can get it. So we can imagine what Johnny Galecki, co-star of The Big Bang Theory, must be feeling having been on the hit series Rosanne for many years and now getting word that his current hit show will be renewed for three more seasons.

CBS made the announcement today and this renewal means the show will be on the network through the 2013-14 season. This doesn’t come as that much of a surprise considering how well the show does in the ratings. In addition, the network has a lot riding on the show considering it recently made a $2 Million per episode syndication deal. So, they really need it to last and obviously are willing to make the commitment to help it do just that.

Obviously, we’re thrilled here at the site because we really enjoy the show and the antics of the cast. Looking forward to watching this one for at least three more years.

Click through for the full press release from CBS. If you haven’t had a chance to check out Big Bang, you should. I airs on CBS Thursday nights at 8/7C.

Continue Reading →

Back in the old days we had three TV networks and they scheduled new shows to premiere in the Fall and reruns all Summer. That scheduling model is now a distant memory as new shows premiere pretty much any time of the year these days.

One of the biggest times for networks to bring out new shows is during what is known as midseason. This midseason is no exception with many new shows hitting the air for the first time or previous ones coming back after the holiday break. So, to help you get your DVRs ready, here is a list of the major premiere dates on broadcast and cable compiled by the extremely helpful folks over at Deadline.

It includes season/series premieres and many return dates for series with split seasons. Now to find that DVR remote and get to programming.

Jan. 3
The Bachelor, ABC, season premiere
Pretty Little Liars, ABC Family, winter season premiere
Greek, ABC Family, season premiere

Jan. 4
V, ABC, season premiere
Live to Dance, CBS, series premiere
The Biggest Loser: Couples, NBC, season premiere
Southland, TNT, season premiere
Chopped, Food Network, season premiere
Caprica, Syfy, final 5 episodes

Jan.5
Ghost Hunters International, Syfy, season premiere
Are We There Yet?, TBS, season premiere
Flying Wild Alaska, Discovery, series premiere

Continue Reading →

It’s not easy being a consumer trying to cut the cable or fiber cord these days. You’d think with a bevy of hot new set-top boxes like Apple TV, Google TV and Boxee, we’d be living in a Utopian future where television finally does what we want and dumping your expensive provider was a real possibility.

Not so fast, because it’s just not the reality, at least not yet. And predictably, given the nature of content owners, the issues are control and profits.

As thousands of new Apple TV owners plugged in their shiny new boxes, the realization that only a handful of networks were available, slowly began to sink in. With shows from ABC, Fox, Disney, and BBC, Apple TV via iTunes simply does not offer enough diverse content to satisfy most TV-watchers. While that’s a nifty start for Apple’s reboot of Apple TV, certain shows are conspicuously absent.

Are you a ‘Wipeout’ or ‘Big Bang Theory’ fan? Unfortunately, you’re out of luck since iTunes doesn’t carry those shows. And if you think Google TV might be your salvation, it just may be worse for owners of Logitech’s Revue Google TV devices. Upon Google TV’s release, the big three networks as well as Hulu began to block Google TV owners from streaming their shows.

So it’s no shocker that the recent reporting talking about how Microsoft is potentially cobbling together enough network deals to launch it’s own streaming service on the back of its extensive installed base of Xbox gaming systems, has many consumers quite skeptical.

Continue Reading →

We’ve been following the networks as they announce their premiere dates and shows for the upcoming Fall season and now we’ve got the official word from CBS on what shows will premiere when on the network.

Some of the shows we’re looking forward to include the debut of Hawaii Five-O, The Big Bang Theory season four premiere, the return of the original NCIS and the debut of $#*! My Dad Says with William Shatner. It will be nice to have one of our favorite shows in The Big Bang Theory back as well as get to experience these new ones.

Click through to get the full list of premiere dates and keep checking back right here at The Flickcast for all your TV watching news, interviews and more.

Continue Reading →

As reboots go, CBS’s update of the show Hawaii Five-O is actually one I’m kinda looking forward to. Sure, I also wish networks could come up with more original ideas instead of looking to the past and updating shows that have already been around. But I guess you can’t have everything.

Like some of CBS’s other shows, Five-O is a police procedural which takes the concept in a slightly new direction without making it completely different. It’s familiar without being a complete retread and manages to be somewhat fresh take on things.

It also includes lush tropical settings, car chases, gunfights and an appealing cast which includes Alex O’Laughlin, Scott Caan, Grace Park and Daniel Dae Kim. Will the show succeed? Perhaps. Fortunately, the cast manages to uplift the somewhat familiar premise and as with most series, will be a key factor in its success.

Fortunately, CBS has done a good job putting the show together and it could enjoy a rather long run on the network. Look for Hawaii Five-O to hit the beach this Fall on Mondays at 10/9C on CBS. Until then, check out a preview of the show after the jump.

Continue Reading →

In the past few years, CBS has tried very hard to dump the stigma of their programming being thought of as “TV for old people.” They’ve done a pretty decent job by greenlighting unconventional sitcoms like How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory that weren’t about the same old family problems and the comedic ways people get out of them.

Continuing this trend, CBS picked up $#*! My Dad Says, based on the Twitter account of the same name. The show follows a young man who lives with his 74 year old father, who is constantly saying or doing outrageous things. That father? William Shatner.

On top of the concept of picking up an entire TV show based on a few tweets, CBS has also decided to keep the implied expletive in the title, as opposed to calling it “Stuff” or “Things.” At the risk of their ratings, this has even outraged the Parents Television Council

The rest of the cast reads like a MadTV reunion. Will Sasso and Nicole Sullivan join alongside Ryan Devlin (Cougar Town) and others. Shatner manages to bring the “off the cuff” humor to this new show that made his role as Denny Crane on Boston Legal the legend it is today.

Check out the first behind the scenes clip for the show after the jump, and stay tuned to the network this fall, as $#*! My Dad Says is currently slated for Thursday nights at 8:30/7:30 C.

Continue Reading →

We’ve already had info for you on NBC, ABC and Fox regarding their new Fall schedules and now we can add CBS to the mix of networks who’ve let us know what they have in store for next Fall. The network is bringing back several of our favorite shows including The Big Bang Theory and NCIS and giving the green light to a lot of new drams and comedies.

Some of the changes include a move for Survivor to Wednesday, CSI: Miami is now on Sundays and CSI: New York is now on Fridays. Plus, The Big Bang Theory now kicks off the Thursday night shows followed by newcomer $#! My Dad Says, the original CSI and then The Mentalist.

Some new shows include the updated Hawaii Five-O on Mondays, which could be cool, as well as The Defenders on Wednesdays. We will also be getting a Criminal Minds spin-off, which will start midseason.

Check out the networks full schedule after the jump.

Continue Reading →

With over 1.3 million followers, the popular Twitter account ‘$#*! My Dad Says‘ would seem a natural for a book deal, but a network TV show? No double take is necessary, because not only has the hardcover version of collected material from Justin Halpern’s Twitter account hit the New York Times best sellers list, CBS has announced it may pick up the show for its fall comedy line-up.

Halpern, 29, lives with his 74-year-old father and chronicles his words of advice, rants and everything in between on Twitter. His father’s foul-mouthed wisdom cuts deep, but rings hilariously true, even if at Justin’s expense. The elder Halpert’s one-liners seem a natural fit for Twitter’s forced brevity, but one has to wonder how it will transition to the small screen.

Interestingly, the pilot starred William Shatner and Ryan Devlin, however sources are indicating that Devlin may be re-cast when (or if) the series heads to air. Justin had something to do with the casting, elaborating on his choice to the Chicago Sun-Times. “I pushed for Mr. Shatner,” Halpern said. “He’s been fantastic. He’s like my dad in that he says what he wants to say when he wants to say it.”

CBS is expected to announce their full fall schedule this Wednesday.

We’ve all speculated that the time would come when everyone’s favorite free TV and movie streaming site, Hulu.com, would start charging a subscription for people that wanted to use the site to its full potential. Now it seems that time has finally come.

Even though the site is a close second to Google’s YouTube, and has generated more than $100 million in revenue from advertising, major networks are now vying to take some of that profit. The solution? A monthly subscription plan. From LA Times:

Under the proposal, Hulu would continue to provide for free the five most recent episodes of shows like Fox’s “Glee,” “ABC’s “Lost” or NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” But viewers who want to see additional episodes would pay $9.95 a month to access a more comprehensive selection, called Hulu Plus, these people said.

Hulu plans to begin testing the subscription service as soon as May 24, according to people with knowledge of the plans.

Continue Reading →

How could one take Beauty and the Beast and give it an MTV spin to make it more accessible by today’s youth? This is a question that CBS Studios seemed to answer without taking a breath, as the newest trailer for their take on the classic, Beastly has just his the web.

The film focuses on Kyle (Alex Pettyfer), a rich, douchey New Yorker in his twenties, who cares more about his physical appearance than how he treats people. Kyle comes across a goth witch, who curses him to have the same hideous features that he has on the inside, on the outside, making him a disfigured monster with tribal tattoos. He’s told that if he doesn’t find the love of his life, he’ll stay that way forever.

Did I mention that the evil witch is played by Mary-Kate Olsen, and his true love is played by High School Musical’s Vanessa Hudgens? And he has a blind tutor played by Neil Patrick Harris? Take that, Twilight.

The film looks pretty straightforward in the way of fast cuts, contemporary alternative music, and melodramatic looks out of windows, but it’s nice to see vampires aren’t the only ones vying for the attention of kids these days.

Check out the trailer after the jump, and be sure to catch Beastly in theaters on July 30th.

Continue Reading →