News

Vulture analyses the state of the singing competition series, which seems to have run out of steam, especially after the lackluster debut of Rising Star. Maybe its time to try to revive a show like Making the Band or Popstars.

The View is rebooting next year. Yesterday, Sherri Shpherd and Jenny McCarthy announced that they were leaving the talk show. Additionally, TMZ reports that longtime producer Bill Gedde is leaving too. That leaves only Whoopi Goldberg staying. TMZ also says that the show is interested in bringing back Rosie O'Donnell or hiring Ross Mathews.

Ross Mathews would get my attention

TVLine reports that The Goldbergs is planning a tribute episode to 80s teen movie legend John Hughes.

Guillermo del Toro says there's a five season plan for his upcoming vampire drama The Strain which will follow the story from the Strain book trilogy but not too strictly. "We’re hitting the big guideposts of the book, but I never hold the book up and say, ‘Damnit, the book was different,’ because I know that you want to recognize the book but you don’t want exactly the same experience."

TVLine reports that Oded Fehr will be making a return appearance on Covert Affairs. So far, Fehr's return is expected to last at least one episode.

Oded Fehr

Turn's Heather Lind is sticking with the same time period for her next role, she's been cast for a role on Sleepy Hollow as an 18th century ex of Ichabod.

Hulu is close to buying an original comedy co-written and directed by Judd Apatow, according to Vulture. Love is described as a relationship comedy with an especially messy couple at the center.

The return of Big Brother was flat from last year's season premiere which was enough to take some of the steam out of So You Think You Can Dance.

Friday's Listings

Great Performances (PBS) Check local listings

Get some tissues ready, Great Performances is going to take you to a performance of La Boheme at the Met.

Zapped (Disney) 8:00 PM ET

Zendaya stars in this fantastic tale of an orderly girl dealing with several messy new brothers after her mother remarries. Lucky for her, she manages to get her hands on a smartphone app that controls boys.

Girl Meets World (Disney) 9:45 PM ET

The Disney Channel delivers some classic TGIF nostalgia with this sequel to the classic teen sitcom Boy Meets World. Now, Cory and Topenga's daughter is at that age where she's trying to figure out the world.

Crossbones (NBC) 10:00 PM ET

Knowing that Blackbeard plans an attack on Jamaica, Lowe has to figure out a way to send out a warning before he can get caught as a traitor.

Continuum (Syfy) 10:00 PM ET

For Continuum's third season, it's the good indie Alex (identified by the casual, tousled hair and propensity to wear hoodies) versus the dark, corporate Alex (who has slicked back hair and wears tailored suits). Dark Alex wants to hurl the world into the darkest timeline by speeding up the rise of Prion. And those Community guys think a world where everyone has a felt goatee is terrible.

The Half Hour (Comedy Central) Midnight ET

Fortune Feimster gets a well-earned comedy spotlight this week. Then at 12:30 @Midnight champion Ron Funches takes the stage.

Saturday's Listings

Motor City Masters (TruTV) 5PM ET

TruTV's new competition series fell under my radar when it debuted earlier this week. But the car design competition includes out competitor Bryan Thompson. The premiere gets repeated Saturday afternoon.

Motor City Masters' Bryan Thompson

Outlaw Prophet: Warren Jeffs (Lifetime) 8:00 PM ET

If Warren Jeffs were better looking, he would be a Lifetime original movie villain come to life and made several times worse. A polygamist religious leader who created a horrible, repressive environment, Jeffs was on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List. Naturally, Lifetime takes care of the 'if he were better looking' part by casting Scandal jerk-slash-president Tony Goldwyn to play Jeffs.

Almost Royal (BBC America) 10:00 PM ET

George and Poppy head to Texas where they learn about ranching, try to perform Tejano music and visit a local taxidermist.

Buying Naked (TLC) 10:00 PM ET

The trend of "naked" reality shows (I guess now that we have digital cable, people don't have a scrambled Playboy channel feed to make them work for something titillating) continues with this show where people look to buy a home friendly to their clothing-optional lifestyles.

The Graham Norton Show (BBC America) 11:00 PM ET

This week's show includes Don Johnson, Brendan O'Carroll, John Bishop and musical guest Cheryl Cole..

Sunday's Listings

Last Tango in Halifax (PBS) Check local listings

Sunday night brings the arrival of two Derek Jacobi roles that are pretty far apart in tone. First comes the debut of the romantic comedy Last Tango in Halifax's second season. Now that Alan (Jacobi) and Celia (Anne Reid) are together, they've got to deal with difficult truths from their past.

Vicious (PBS) Check local listings

Sunday also brings the highly-anticipated stateside premiere of this Britcom starring Derek Jacobi and Ian McKellen as a bickering couple who have been together for fifty years. For those of you missing your Game of Thrones fix, the cast includes Iwan Rheon as their new neighbor (who I'm sure doesn't torture, flay or castrate anyone).

Big Brother (CBS) 8:00 PM ET

Now that the houseguests have all been introduced to TV audiences, its time for the big twist to play out as the first nominees for eviction are announced.

BET Awards (BET) 8:00 PM ET

This year, BET's awards show promises to include performances by Jennifer Hudson, John Legend and Mary J. Blige.

The Musketeers (BBC America) 9:00 PM ET

Now that D'artagnan is one of the Musketeers, it's time to face his first mission — a riot engineered by a bitter criminal.

Last Comic Standing: Standing Room Only (NBC) 9:00 PM ET

In what has to be a good sign, NBC's rebooted comedy competition series is getting a special featuring extra performance footage, behind the scenes glimpses, interviews and a countdown of the Top 50 funniest moments.

Nurse Jackie (Showtime) 9:00 PM ET

For the season finale, Jackie finds herself facing a demand that she take a drug test or admit she's using again.

Reckless (CBS) 9:00 PM ET

CBS' new summer drama is a southern courtroom saga about two attorneys — a northern defense attorney (Jaime Sawyer) and a local City Attorney (Cam Gigandet) taking on a case that that will lead to unraveling a sex scandal involving the local police in Charleston, South Carolina. This one is getting marketed with words like "sultry" and "steamy," which suggests it's aimed to be the Cam Gigandet summer series we'd like to see.

True Blood (HBO) 9:00 PM ET

Following a second attack by the hep-V vampires, Sookie heads to another town in search of solutions. Meanwhile, Arlene comes up with her own plan to help the hostages.

Penny Dreadful (Showtime) 10:00 PM ET

What kind of craziness does Penny Dreadful have planned for its first season finale? Whatever it is, it might be fun for viewers but it will be Vanessa and Malcolm's "worst nightmare".

Devious Maids (Lifetime) 10:00 PM ET

Not happy to merely walk away from her marriage to Nicholas, Marisol looks to pressure Opal for answers about his drug-addled confession. I'm just glad Opal's not gone for good. Devious Maids should have at least one domestic worker doing devious deeds.

The Leftovers (HBO) 10:00 PM ET

HBO's new drama takes place in a world where 2% of the world's population has suddenly disappeared with no scientific or religious explanation to be found. The world collectively struggles to deal with an unexplained loss, but since this is an HBO show with Justin Theroux, Max and Charlie Carver in the cast, we can expect them to deal with loss in the best looking way possible.

Halt and Catch Fire (AMC) 10:00 PM ET

Did we really just get an episode about backup file retrieval? Yeah, I'm loving this show. Is Donna the Peggy Olson of this show? I want this show to be all about her. Too bad, this week's episode includes a story about Gordon struggling to balance work and family duties while Donna is away. Can he have it all?

Watch What Happens Live (Bravo) 11:00 PM ET

Andy's kicking off the week with Tori Spelling and Jenni Garth.

What will you be watching this weekend? Please share in the comments!