HOLLYWOOD — TV Land has canceled “Hot in Cleveland” after six seasons and 118 episodes. Word from the set is that Betty White, who was only supposed to be in the pilot, is finding it difficult to keep up the pace at age 92. That, coupled with declining ratings, signaled it’s time to send the popular show out into syndication heaven.
Not so fortunate was “The Millers,” over at CBS, which was canceled halfway through its second season and will be replaced with “Mike and Molly.” On the plus side, “So You Think You Can Dance” will be back for season 12.
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Hollywood is still buzzing about the “Hollywood Film Awards.” Organizers adapted the original Golden Globe approach … telling the stars they’ve won beforehand and pumping them full of booze at the event, evidenced by Johnny Depp’s embarrassing drunken stint. Personally, when you remove the horse-race element, having five nominees, you lose a lot of the competitive excitement and magic. Seriously, 12 anonymous voters trying to second-guess the next Oscar nominees and winners for credibility doesn’t make for a very good awards show!
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Chris Pratt, one of the “Guardians of the Galaxy,” will go back in time to star in the reboot “Jurassic World,” with Bryce Dallas Howard. Meanwhile, Michael Crichton’s 1973 sci-fi classic “Westworld” is getting the big-time treatment at HBO. “Star Trek” reboot master J.J. Abrams and “Behind the Candelabra” producer Jerry Weintraub are joining forces to turn “Westworld” into a series starring Oscar-winner Anthony Hopkins and four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris, along with James Marsden, Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright and Thandie Newton. That’s a lot of talent!
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In December, Craig Ferguson is leaving “The Late, Late Show.” He’s already launched his syndicated game show, “The Celebrity Name Game,” with himself as host, and has a half-hour comedy talk show aimed at the fall of 2016, replete with his gay robot skeleton, Geoff, and his horse, Secretariat (two men in a costume). Ferguson will be replaced by Brit James Corden, who is 36 years old, making him the youngest late-night talk show host. Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers are 40, Jimmy Kimmel is 49, and Stephen Colbert, David Letterman replacement, is 50.
Corden, who won a Tony Award in 2012 for “One Man, Two Guvnors” on Broadway, has 4.4 million Twitter followers. He starred in “Begin Again” with Keira Knightly and will be seen in the upcoming blockbuster musical “Into the Woods” with Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp. Corden, who is recognizable to “Doctor Who” fans as Craig Owens in two episodes in 20ll, will have to get used to late-night viewers referring to him as James Who? That could make Corden blue!
© 2014 King Features Synd., Inc.