Television

TechCrunch reports: The number of U.S. households without a traditional cable or satellite TV subscription that instead receive broadcast stations using a digital antenna has jumped by nearly 50 percent over the past 8 years to reach 16 million homes, according to a new report from Nielsen. Today, 14 percent of all U.S. TV households are watching television over the …

The Jerusalem Post reports: Roseanne Barr told The Jerusalem Post this week that she was fired by ABC from the reboot of her sitcom due in part to antisemitism. “I feel that what happened to me, a large part of it is antisemitism,” the Jewish actress told the Post in a phone interview on Thursday from her home in Hawaii. …

The BBC reports: TV art historian and nun Sister Wendy Beckett has died at the age of 88, it has been announced. In the 1990s she became one of the most unlikely television stars. Emerging from her hermit-like existence in a caravan at a Carmelite convent in Norfolk, she hosted unscripted BBC shows from galleries across the world. Born in …

The New York Times reports: Kevin Spacey will be charged with a felony following an accusation of sexual assault made public last year, the authorities in Nantucket said on Monday. The charge, first reported by The Boston Globe, is in connection with an accusation of misconduct that was made by a former television anchor, Heather Unruh, who said that Mr. …

The New York Daily News reports: Bronx-born Penny Marshall, who found ‘70s sitcom success on “Laverne and Shirley” before stepping behind the camera for Hollywood hits like “Big” and “A League of Their Own,” died Monday night at her California home. She was 75. “Yes she did (die) … peacefully at her Hollywood Hills home,” said her publicist Michelle Bega. …

The New York Post reports: The streaming giant Netflix is notoriously tight-lipped about its audience numbers, but today it disclosed its top 10 most binged original shows of 2018. Among the leaders, which were presented in no particular order, is “Bodyguard,” the Golden Globe-nominated BBC co-production starring “Game of Thrones” breakout Richard Madden; and the Halloween spooktacular, “The Haunting of …

The Associated Press reports: The Golden Globe Awards will introduce a new TV special achievement trophy at next month’s telecast and name it after its first recipient — comedic icon Carol Burnett. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association said Tuesday the Carol Burnett Award — the small-screen version of the group’s film counterpart, the Cecil B. DeMille Award — will annually …

Pitchfork reports: The nominees for the 2019 Golden Globe Awards have been announced. Donald Glover is in the running for Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy, though “Atlanta” itself did not receive any nominations. Up for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture are Kendrick and SZA’s “All the Stars” (Black Panther), Troye Sivan and Jónsi’s …

Forbes reports: For the first year ever, Judy Sheindlin—more commonly known as Judge Judy—reigns supreme not only in her own courtroom, but also across all of television. Pocketing $147 million pretax last year, Sheindlin is the world’s highest-paid television host, out-earning all others. The sharp-talking daytime judge takes the top spot thanks to her even sharper deal-making skills: Last year …

Variety reports: Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of the megahit Nickelodeon cartoon series “SpongeBob SquarePants,” died on Monday. He was 57. The cause of death was ALS, which Hillenburg revealed he had been diagnosed with in March of last year. “We are incredibly saddened by the news that Steve Hillenburg has passed away following a battle with ALS,” Nickelodeon said in …

People Magazine reports: The cast of Broadway’s The Prom musical gave the LGBTQ community something to be thankful for on Thanksgiving Day. Actors, including leads Caitlin Kinnunen and Isabelle McCalla, burst out of the theater and into the streets for Macy’s big holiday parade Thursday. Closing out their performance of the big number, Kinnunen and McCalla shared a kiss on …

Deadline Hollywood reports: ABC has put in development a single-camera comedy starring, created and executive produced by Trae Crowder, known for his stage persona the Liberal Redneck, and his writing and comedy touring partners Corey Forrester and Drew Morgan. The project hails from Ruben Fleischer’s The District and ABC Studios where Fleischer is under a deal. Written by Andrew Reich …

The Guardian reports: LGBT characters are at an all-time high on television, according to new findings. The annual Where We Are On TV report has found that 8.8% of regular characters expected to appear in the next year on US network television are LGBT, up from 6.4% the previous year, with 50% of them people of color. There was also …

From the Hollywood Reporter: Roseanne Barr isn’t happy with the way her character’s disappearance from the Conners’ household was explained on ABC’s Roseanne spinoff The Conners on Tuesday night. “I AIN’T DEAD, BITCHES!!!!” the comedian and actress tweeted just an hour after the episode finished airing. In a more measured joint statement with her friend Rabbi Shmuley Boteach released late …

Vanity Fair reports: Mere hours after the story was published, Showtime revealed that a camera crew tracked the reporters throughout the investigation, which lasted over a year. And a documentary short chronicling the arduous process—called The Family Business: Trump and Taxes—will air this Sunday. The documentary short hails from the filmmaking team behind Showtime’s docuseries The Fourth Estate, which also …

Variety reports: Hillary Clinton was the first big name cameo of “Murphy Brown’s” revival season. Clinton appeared in the Sept. 27 premiere of the Candice Bergen-led sitcom — but not as herself. Instead, she was “Hilary,” a woman who said she is often mistaken for the former presidential candidate but actually spells her name with only one “L.” She arrived …

From the Hollywood Reporter: Bill Cosby has been sentenced to three to 10 years in state prison for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his estate near Philadelphia in 2004. He has been sentenced to “total confinement,” a judge ruled on Tuesday. Ahead of the Tuesday sentencing, Judge Steven O’Neill ruled that Cosby is a “sexually violent predator.” The …

Forbes reports: People the nation over are waking up to a new Google Doodle that is sure to bring a smile to millions of faces. It’s an extended Doodle done in memory of the first day of filming of the iconic children’s television show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. The initial Doodle is a still of stop motion animation of children gathered …

Fortune reports: Ratings data released today by Nielsen show Maddow ended the week as the most-watched cable news show for the week, beating out competition from CNN and longtime top-rated cable news network Fox News Channel. Among viewers 25-54, the demographic most coveted by advertisers, Maddow remained on top, with an average audience of 667,000 viewers. The Wrap reports: On …

Entertainment Weekly reports: RuPaul’s Drag Race finally topped the competition, snatching the Emmy for Outstanding Reality-Competition Series — marking the fourth show ever to win the category since the prize was introduced in 2003. Previous winners include The Amazing Race (10), The Voice (4) and Top Chef (1). The VH1 series beat out The Amazing Race, American Ninja Warrior, Project …