What’s the only thing that can make the once-a-year event where fans, geeks, and celebs join to celebrate all things nerdy? The only thing left to add…zombies! That’s exactly what BOOM! Studios has planned with what looks to be one of the coolest show exclusives for this year’s San Diego Comic-Con 2011: a one-shot issue of the book Fanboys Vs. Zombies.

Originally conceived by The Office producer Ben Silverman, the book takes some regular guys and throws them in the most horrifying of situations, in which the dead run wild at Comic-Con! Here’s the official synopsis.

They’ve been called geeks, nerds, and social outcasts, but when a group of fanboys take their annual trip to Comic-Con International they’ll find one of their greatest nightmares turned reality as San Diego becomes zombie ground zero. Armed only with the undead know-how they’ve gained from comic books, video games and horror movies, it’s up to one group of friends to navigate the Comic-Con feeding frenzy, and make it out alive!

But will the zombie hordes be deadlier than they ever imagined? Can they save their friends along the way, and still make it out with some Comic-Con exclusives? Find out when the dead rise at Comic-Con International in the chilling and side-splitting epic, FANBOYS VS. ZOMBIES!

Jabs at Hall H? Jokes about the crowds and high-priced bottled water? A Joss Whedon dig? You can expect all of these things and more in the one-shot, which can be obtained by anyone heading to the show this year — just make your way over to the BOOM! Studios booth at #2743.

Take a look at the full cover after the jump.

Continue Reading →

Even as Netflix raises its prices and changes its plans, networks are continuing to make new deals with the service. Today, NBC/Universal announced it is re-upping its deal with Netflix and making more episodes available from programs such as 30 Rock, The Office, Parenthood and more.

Although you will see more episodes of shows on Netflix for streaming, you still won’t be able to see current season episodes for some dumb reason. Check out all the details from the official press release:

NEW YORK and LOS GATOS, Calif., July 13, 2011 — Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) and NBCUniversal Domestic Television Distribution today announced a multi-year renewal of their licensing agreement expanding the selection of non-exclusive NBCU film and TV library titles available to watch instantly streaming from Netflix.

Programming under the deal includes prior-season series across multiple NBCU networks, including NBC hits “The Office,” “30 Rock” and “Parenthood.” All future seasons of these shows will be available on Netflix on a one season delay basis. Under the deal, Netflix members will also be able to enjoy prior season episodes of “Law and Order: SVU” and “The Event.”

Continue Reading →

We’ve already heard from some of the other networks and now it’s NBC’s turn to reveal its new Fall schedule. The official fall primetime schedule, which begins Tuesday, Sept. 13 with the season premiere of Parenthood, contains several new series as well as returning favorites.

It’s nice to know this info, but for us the most important thing is that both Chuck and Community are back this season. We would have missed them if they were gone.

Here’s the schedule. New shows are in CAPS and all times are Eastern:

Thursday, September 8
8-8:30 PM: “NFL Kickoff Special 2011” (regular season)
8:30-11 PM: “Sunday Night Football” (regular season)

Sunday, September 11
7-8 PM: “Football Night in America” (regular season)
8-11:30 PM: “Sunday Night Football”

Tuesday, September 13
10-11 PM: “Parenthood”

Wednesday, September 14
8-10 PM: “America’s Got Talent” (season finale)
10-10:30 PM: “UP ALL NIGHT”
10:30-11 PM: “FREE AGENTS”

Continue Reading →

After a long run, and multiple Emmy Awards, on David E. Kelly’s Boston Legal and The Practice, as well as a terrific guest spot on The Office season finale, James Spader will be back on TV in a more permanent role in the Fall.

That’s right, Spader will be joining NBC’s The Office next season. He won’t, however, be a replacement for Steve Carell’s Michael Scott. Instead, Spader will return to his role as Robert California, who has been hired as the CEO of Sabre, Dunder Mifflin’s parent company.

This is good news for those Spader fans out there (and here at The Flickcast). His work on The Office was pretty great and could help the show stay funny and bring in viewers. Good job NBC.

If you want to know more, click through for the official press release from NBC. The Office returns later this year.

Continue Reading →

Tonight’s the night we find out (probably) who will be the new boss on The Office to replace Michael Scott (aka Steve Carell). A litany of guest starts are along for the ride and should make this an interesting show, to say the least.

Here’s the breakdown from NBC:

If you were going into a job interview, wouldn’t it be nice to meet Jim Halpert? That’s what the candidates will face tonight on The Office! Everyone knows Dwight’s vying for the new manager job, but he’s facing stiff competition from guest stars Jim Carey, Will Arnett, Ricky Gervais, Ray Romano, and Catherine Tate among others.

There’s also the Parks and Rec season finale tonight as well as a bonus episode right before it. In the bonus episode, Chris wants to make departmental changes and Tom doubts his career path. Then, the season finale features an old friend that may surprise you (it did us).

Click through to check out a preview for tonight’s episode of The Office after the break. Find out who the boss is tonight at 9/8C on NBC. No, it probably won’t be Tony Danza.

Continue Reading →

Its that time of year. The time when networks announce their entire schedule for the Fall and Mid-Season. First out of the gate is NBC which is introducing 12 new series next season including six dramas and six comedies.

NBC has put six new series including the dramas including The Playboy Club, Prime Suspect and Grimm and comedies Up All Night, Free Agents and Whitney on the fall schedule and has slots reserved for Smash and The Firm in midseason. Drama Awake and comedies Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea, Bent and BFF have yet to be scheduled.

Of course, we’re glad to see some of our favorite shows returning next season including Community and Chuck. Oddly absent from the schedule at the moment is 30 Rock, which is apparently being postponed to make way for freshman comedy Whitney. Let’s hope it comes back soon.

Following is the full schedule, descriptions of the new shows and some preview video. This is a big one folks to read on.

*New programs in UPPER CASE; all times ET

MONDAY
8-10 p.m. – “The Sing-Off”
10-11 p.m. – “THE PLAYBOY CLUB”

TUESDAY
8-10 p.m. – “The Biggest Loser”
10-11 p.m. – “Parenthood”

WEDNESDAY
8-8:30 p.m. – “UP ALL NIGHT”
8:30-9 p.m. – “FREE AGENTS”
9-10 p.m. — “Harry’s Law”
10-11 p.m. — “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”

Continue Reading →

Inner Circle should be best remembered for giving unto the world “Bad Boys,” the song that has, for some 20 years, opened COPS. My father so loved that song that he actually bought a tape of Inner Circle’s greatest hits, doubtless the only reggae music he has or ever will purchase, and I remember taking long trips through the east side of Saginaw (the most violent portion of the most violent city in America) listening to him sing along—even the incomprehensible lyrics (“You ‘chock’ it on this one, you ‘chock’ it on that one, you ‘chock’ it on your mother and you ‘chock’ it on your father”).

Years later, to me at least, “inner circle” meant the part in TIE Fighter when Thrawn is promoted to Grand Admiral (Battle Ten). I don’t think I ever made it to that part, but there was a cheat that allowed you to see all the killer cutscenes. Damn fine game.

Continue Reading →

Once in a while there comes along a show that not only is able to entertain audiences week after week, season after season, but relate to people on a very personal level. The Office is one of those shows.  Besides having one of the strongest ensembles casts on television and an original mockumentary form, one of the biggest reasons for this show’s success has been Steve Carell’s performance as Michael Scott.

To get a complete picture of what Carell has brought to this character over the years you must start at the beginning. The pilot episode was shot using the same script as the pilot to the original British version with Carell mimicking the awkward, incompetent boss as Ricky Gervais played it.  Seven seasons later, what we find is a much more likable, sympathetic character that the audience genuinely roots for and cares about.

But what exactly defines the perfect Office episode?  Is it the episode with the most laugh-out-loud lines?  Or is it the one with the cutest Jim and Pam moments?  No, what ultimately takes the show from a regular sit-com to an Emmy Award winning show are the episodes that give you a glimpse into the humanity and vulnerability of Michael Scott.

Continue Reading →

Goodbye, Michael!

I’m not sure which one we all knew was coming: Michael Scott leaving, Steve Carell leaving, or The Office pretty much getting cancelled now that they’re gone. Maybe my emotions gauge isn’t properly calibrated, but I wasn’t tearing up during this one; of course we’ve all known about Michael/Steve’s departure since before the Eisenhower administration, so it’s no big reveal, and many other writers have given him a far more lugubrious analysis than I.

I’ve lost a good deal of interest in the show over the years and gotten progressively more annoyed with Michael’s character, but I still maintain an appreciation for all the good things the US Office and Steve Carell have accomplished over the last six years—they did, after all, take a British favorite and put their own distinct spin on it, creating a show that will go down as one of the ‘00s best.

And, to it’s credit, “Goodbye, Michael” doesn’t dwell on the loss and is actually pretty damn funny. One of its many smart moves is to play down Imbecile Michael and play up Caring Michael, who’s leaving the office on a good note by dispensing gifts and compliments, including his neon St. Pauli’s beer sign to Ryan, a velvet pool table to Stanley, the ten best accounts to Andy, and not telling everyone about Phyllis’s long-lost child.

Continue Reading →

This may be a tough one to summarize because it’s not so much a plot-oriented installment, but more a series of skits featuring Will Ferrell interacting with everyone else around the office—Andy, Jim & Pam, Erin, Kevin, and, naturally Michael. That’s pretty much the recap right there.

But that won’t suffice, so here’s some more details: Ferrell, whose guest appearance for a few episodes has been in The Office news for what seems like the past three seasons, plays Deangelo Vickers (which sounds like a name Ferrell chose for himself), the guy brought in to replace Michael. After a surprisingly long cold open in which he ingratiates himself to Michael, Deangelo hits it off with the rest of the office, talking kids with Jim & Pam, immediately spotting/assigning the role of office clown to Andy, and earning the respect and admiration of the rest of the gang (especially Kelly, who orchestrates her own “meet cute” to nab his attention).

For those of you who’ve seen the original BBC Office, this is the long-awaited arrival of the “Neil” character, someone I never thought they’d get to—particularly seven seasons in. And, like Neil, Deangelo is great with first impressions but turns out to be a shallow, humorless jerk.

Continue Reading →

If you thought you could get inside of the mind of comedian Will Ferrell and try to anticipate what his next career move would be, you’d were way off.

From high-budget comedies like Anchorman and Step Brothers to a multi-episode run on NBC’s The Office, to running and starring a website dedicated to indie comedy shorts, and now to a comedy done completely in Spanish. That’s where Casa de mi Padre comes in. Here’s the official synopsis.

Armando Alvarez (Will Ferrell) has lived and worked on his father’s ranch in Mexico his entire life. As the ranch encounters financial difficulties, Armando’s younger brother Raul (Diego Luna), shows up with his new fiancé, Sonia (Genesis Rodriguez). It seems that Raul’s success as an international businessman means the ranch’s troubles are over as he pledges to settle all debts his father has incurred. But when Armando falls for Sonia, and Raul’s business dealings turn out to be less than legit, all hell breaks loose as they find themselves in a war with Mexico’s most feared drug lord, the mighty Onza (Gael Garcia Bernal).

The flick comes from Funny or Die regulars Andrew Steele and Matt Piedmont, and from what we can tell from the trailer after the jump, it will be very tongue-in-cheek. Take a look for yourselves and let us know what you think.

Continue Reading →