Television

Actor Idris Elba To U.K. Politicians: More Diverse Roles Needed

12:22pm January 18, 2016

by Tanya Ballard Brown

"When you don't reflect the real world, too much talent gets trashed," the Golden Globe winner says. Elba is scheduled to speak to senior TV executives and more than 100 members of Parliament.

Arts

With Leap To HBO, Big Bird's Got A Brand-New Way To Get To 'Sesame Street'

6:48pm January 16, 2016

by NPR Staff

Shiny new digs (in more ways than one) are reshaping the children's TV show, which premieres Saturday on HBO. The show's executive producer — and Elmo himself — tell how the neighborhood's changed.

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Arts

Here Are The New TV Shows You Should Watch This Year

6:24pm January 15, 2016

by Eric Deggans

NPR reviews some of the new shows coming to network and cable television over the coming weeks.

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Review: 'Billions' Premieres On Showtime

5:03pm January 15, 2016

by Eric Deggans

Billions is a fictional drama informed by Andrew Ross Sorkin's reporting on Wall Street. It stars Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti as a hedge fund king and the prosecutor trying to bring him down.

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Green Bay Packers' Elijah Pitts runs with the ball during Super Bowl I against the Kansas City Chiefs at Memorial Coliseum on Jan. 15, 1967, in Los Angeles.

Sports

Super Bowl I Tape Was Erased Long Ago; Now The Game Will Air Again

2:17pm January 15, 2016

by NPR Staff

The TV networks that broadcast 1967's inaugural game erased it. Now the NFL Network has pieced together its own film with radio footage of the historic game; Super Bowl I: The Lost Game airs Friday.

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Paul Giamatti plays a U.S. Attorney with ambitions of becoming governor in the Showtime series Billions, which begins airing Jan. 17.

Showtime's Financial Drama 'Billions' Doubles Down On Melodrama And Machismo

2:07pm January 15, 2016

by John Powers

Critic John Powers says viewers shouldn't expect to learn about the inner working of Wall Street from the glossy new series Billions. Instead, the show offers clipping action and punchy dialogue.

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Ray Liotta and Jennifer Lopez play corrupt cops in the NBC drama, Shades of Blue.

Arts

Ray Liotta On 'Goodfellas,' Acting And His Return To TV

6:09pm January 12, 2016

"When I first started," Liotta says, "television was kind of like the wasteland. ... Now [it's] very respected." He plays a corrupt NYC police lieutenant on the new NBC series Shades of Blue.

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In the 1960s, Maggie Smith starred in the Broadway hit Mary, Mary. One reviewer called her a "gem of an actress, an undeniable dish."

Arts

'60s 'Dish' Maggie Smith Says, 'That Was Never Me'

2:51pm January 12, 2016

by NPR Staff

"It must be lovely to be beautiful, but that's a really difficult thing to lose," says Smith, now 81. Best known in the U.S. for her role in Downton Abbey, she's now starring in The Lady in the Van.

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Politics & Government

State Of The Union Is Not Expected To Generate Big TV Ratings

6:28am January 12, 2016

by Scott Horsley

President Obama hopes to use the speech to frame his last year in office and the 2016 campaign. The political spotlight, however, is increasingly shifting to the people running to replace him.

ABC Family Channel To Change Its Name To Freeform Network

5:25am January 12, 2016

by Eric Deggans

The cable channel is dropping the word family from its title for the first time in more than 25 years. The move shows how competition has forced TV channels to hone in on their most important viewers.