Not everyone was concentrating on football on Super Bowl Sunday. PBS says the ratings for the critically-acclaimed, award-winning series Downton Abbey were high enough to earn it a second place finish behind only the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 3rd. According to Nielsen’s overnight data, the February 3rd episode of season three had an average of 6.6 million viewers. The February 3rd episode also had a huge presence on social media, with one particular tweet from @PBS being retweeted 4,500 times.
Downton Abbey‘s season three premiere is now PBS’ top-rated dramatic broadcast in the network’s history. Overall, season 3 of Downton Abbey has been averaging numbers that are 72% above the first five episodes of season 2. And comparing January 2012 to January 2013 numbers, the show saw an increase of 35% in streams of Downton Abbey content on PBS video platforms.
The 90-minute finale of season three will air on February 17, 2013.
The Cast of Burning Love Season 2 - Photo by Robin Von Swank
I loved season one of Burning Love, although I did think the episodes were way too short. And now the web series is back for season two, this time around focusing on a lovely lady looking for love in place of season one’s hunky firefighter, Mark, played by series creator Ken Marino.
The Season 2 Plot: Spurned Dental Hygienist Julie Gristlewhite returns to the Burning Love Mansion, where she tried and failed to win Mark Orlando’s heart. She’s hoping to meet her future husband in a group of eligible bachelors that includes a Single Dad, a Prince, a Party Guy and a Jew.
Burning Love season two premieres on Yahoo! on Valentine’s Day.
Breaking Bad star Anna Gunn has landed the lead role in the Bravo series Rita. Filming’s expected to begin this spring on what will be one of the network’s first scripted drama pilots.
Miguel Arteta (Cedar Rapids, Youth in Revolt) will direct and is involved as an executive producer.
Announcing Gunn’s casting, Bravo’s Vice President of Scripted Development and Production Andrew Wang said, “Anna is the perfect actress to play Rita. Rita needs to have a certain wit and strength about her, a person who is unapologetic in her point of view about her life and choices and Anna perfectly embodies all of those qualities that we are looking for in that role.”
“Anna Gunn is a phenomenal talent, and we couldn’t be more excited that she’s going to play Rita,” added Krista Vernoff, Writer and Executive Producer. “I know Hollywood is a hyperbolic town, but that’s not hyperbole. We are freaking out with excitement!”
Gunn’s credits include Breaking Bad, Deadwood, The Practice, Six Feet Under, ER, and Seinfeld.
The Plot of Rita:
Rita is an adaptation of the Danish format of the same name. This edgy, humorous and acerbic family drama follows an outspoken private school teacher who struggles to raise her own three teenage children while dealing with the inane bureaucracy and overprotective parents at her school.
Stand Up To Cancer supporters Tim McGraw, Emma Stone, Seth Rogen, Tom Hanks, Carson Daly, Ethan Zohn, Bill Hader, and many more share their support for the non-profit organization in this video in honor of World Cancer Day. The new video asks “Who Do You Stand Up For?” and features the stars sharing the answer to that question.
So, who do you stand up for? My answer: my mom and dad.
Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions are showing off this new US poster for the dramatic movie Mud starring Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland, Sam Shepard, Michael Shannon, and Reese Witherspoon.
Mud‘s already had a run on the festival circuit and will be entering theaters on April 26, 2013.
The Plot: Mud is an adventure about two boys, Ellis (Sheridan) and his friend Neckbone (Lofland), who find a man named Mud (McConaughey) hiding out on an island in the Mississippi. Mud describes fantastic scenarios—he killed a man in Texas and vengeful bounty hunters are coming to get him. He says he is planning to meet and escape with the love of his life, Juniper (Witherspoon), who is waiting for him in town.
Skeptical but intrigued, Ellis and Neckbone agree to help him. It isn’t long until Mud’s visions come true and their small town is besieged by a beautiful girl with a line of bounty hunters in tow.
Why didn’t Marvel Studios just release this Iron Man 3 trailer during the 2013 Super Bowl rather than the tiny sneak peek of it they did choose to show off during the big game? This trailer’s much more effective, but on game day it was only available by visiting the movie’s Facebook page. Now the studio’s released the extended trailer (which includes the clip shown on Super Bowl Sunday) and it does a much better job of selling the action movie than what the studio displayed during the Super Bowl.
Iron Man 3 will arrive in theaters on May 3, 2013 and stars Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley.
The Plot:
Marvel’s Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy’s hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?
We take a break from our normal coverage of entertainment news to bring you this old-but-timely Public Service Announcement on World Cancer Day. While the disease is absolutely nothing to laugh at, it is fine to enjoy a video that’s delivering an important message while also providing some gorgeous eye candy.
Hunky guys explain how to check for breast cancer and, no, you probably won’t get in trouble for watching this at work.
Fall Out Boy Save Rock and Roll (Photo Courtesy of Island Records)Fall Out Boy is back with “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up),” the first single off of their upcoming fifth album, Save Rock and Roll. Save Rock and Roll will be released on May 6, 2013, 10 years after the group’s first album (Take This To Your Grave) hit stores.
And in addition to announcing the release of the new single and the release date of their new album, Fall Out Boy has also unveiled their Save Rock and Roll 2013 tour dates. The tour will begin in Milwaukee on May 14th and wrap up on June 30, 2013 in Nashville.
From the group: “When we were kids the only thing that got us through most days was music. It’s why we started Fall Out Boy in the first place. This isn’t a reunion because we never broke up. We needed to plug back in and make some music that matters to us.
The future of Fall Out Boy starts now.
Save Rock And Roll…
Pete, Patrick, Andy and Joe”
SAVE ROCK AND ROLL TOUR DATES:
5/14/13 – Milwaukee, WI at Rave
5/16/13 – Chicago, IL at Riviera Theatre
5/17/13 – Columbus, OH at LC Pavilion (indoor)
5/21/13 – Pittsburgh, PA at Stage AE
5/22/13 – Detroit, MI at The Fillmore
5/24/13 – Toronto, ON at Sound Academy
5/25/13 – Montreal, QC at Metropolis
5/26/13 – Boston, MA at HOB
5/28/13 – Niagara Falls, NY at The Rapid Theater
5/29/13 – New York, NY at Terminal 5
5/30/13 – Philadelphia, PA at Electric Factory
5/31/13 – Washington, DC at 9:30 Club
6/1/13 – Charlotte, NC at Fillmore
6/2/13 – Atlanta, GA at Tabernacle
6/4/13 – Orlando, FL at HOB
6/5/13 – Miami, FL at Fillmore
6/7/13 – Houston, TX at Bayou Music Center
6/8/13 – Dallas, TX at Palladium
6/9/13 – Austin, TX at Stubb’s
6/11/13 – Phoenix, AZ at Marquee
6/13/13 – Los Angeles, CA at Wiltern
6/15/13 – Las Vegas, NV at HOB
6/16/13 – San Francisco, CA at The Fox Theater
6/18/13 – Portland, OR at Roseland
6/19/13 – Seattle, WA at Sodo
6/20/13 – Vancouver at Commodore Ballroom
6/22/13 – Salt Lake City, UT at In The Venue
6/23/13 – Denver, CO at Ogden
6/25/13 – Kansas City, MO at Uptown Theatre
6/26/13 – Minneapolis, MN at Myth
6/28/13 – St. Louis, MO at The Pageant
6/29/13 – Indianapolis, IN at Egyptian Room
6/30/13 – Nashville, TN at Ryman Auditorium
AMC’s The Walking Dead doesn’t return until February 10th, however the network’s taking pity on us zombie addicts with a new clip from season three’s ninth episode, “The Suicide King.” This clip focuses on Hershel (played by Scott Wilson) taking care of one of the new injured human survivors at the jail.
The Plot of Season 3 Episode 9:
Rick (Andrew Lincoln) tries to rescue a member of his group. Woodbury is in disarray after a recent attack. New guests raise concerns at the prison.
CBS debuted a short (make that very short) teaser for the upcoming series Under the Dome during Super Bowl XLVII which didn’t give away anything at all. In fact, it’s pretty much the first promotional photo from the series with wording added to it. Still, if you’re excited at all about Stephen King’s Under the Dome transitioning into a series, then the teaser was probably enough for now.
The main purpose of the short-but-sweet TV spot was to send viewers to the Under the Dome website. There, visitors to the site can enter their address to see the home trapped ‘under the dome.’
Under the Dome is set to premiere on June 24, 2013 at 10pm.
The Plot: Under the Dome is the story of a small New England town that is suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an enormous transparent dome. The town’s inhabitants must deal with surviving the post-apocalyptic conditions while searching for answers to what this barrier is, where it came from, and if and when it will go away.