Recently in We Knew Them When Category

What Up All Night's Will Arnett Can Learn From His Cancelled Shows

Full disclosure: I love Will Arnett. Frankly, I don't know many people who don't think he's hilarious and wonderful and has the perfect family. But this relationship -- mine and his, not his and Amy Poehler's, obviously -- can only be one-sided for so long; I've been giving him chances to have a new and interesting character in a funny and likable series for years now, and every time he sorely disappoints. Maybe it's not fair to blame him for his failures in the past few years, but it seems like every job he takes, he refuses to play a different character. In Up All Night, there are pangs of change and a small glimmer of hope that he'll finally broaden his range, and if he learns from his former mistakes, he'll be golden. Here's our advice:

Child Stars of 1995-2005: Who Failed, Who Succeeded?

by Sophia Wetlaufer June 28, 2011 11:10 AM
Child Stars of 1995-2005: Who Failed, Who Succeeded?

Every generation has a group of kids they feel like they grew up with because they watched them on TV. For me, it's the Disney and Nickelodeon "class" of 1995 to 2005. They were examples of how to always feel embarrassed by my parents (That's So Raven), crimp certain parts of my hair and not others (Lizzie McGuire) and talk in loud, obnoxious voices (All That). So with Raven-Symone's impending return to TV on ABC Family's State of Georgia, I'm taking a look at where my former Disney and Nick role models are nowadays, and assigning superlatives to their adult lives and careers.

If You Like Parks & Recreation, You'll Love Party Down

If there is one thing I am looking forward to this season on Parks and Recreation, it has to be the return of Adam Scott as state auditor Ben Wyatt as a potential love interest for Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope. Scott might seem like a new face to most people, but his first appearance on Parks came at the end of his previous, much less watched comedy, Party Down on Starz. In it, Scott played Henry, a failed actor with only a beer commercial credit who was earning a living as a caterer in Los Angeles with coworkers who are all equally struggling to achieve their Hollywood dreams. While Party Down was loved by those who watched it, not many did, and so it got canceled. Of course, there are plenty of other reasons besides Adam Scott for anyone who loves Parks and Recreation to check out Party Down for the first time. In fact, here are six of them:

The Class: A Post-Grad Report Card

by Angel Cohn November 23, 2010 5:59 PM
The Class: A Post-Grad Report Card

Watching The Walking Dead recently, I found myself actually feeling proud of Jon Bernthal for going from playing that dopey lovelorn guy on The Class to a big role as a angry law enforcement agent on one of the year's most talked-about programs. And he's not the only member of the short-lived CBS sitcom who is back in the limelight now. Almost all of the series regulars from the ensemble show have moved on to new regular gigs, with one notable exception (poor Heather Goldenhersh), which is actually a pretty impressive feat if you think about it. Good to know that casting directors didn't tune out about after The Class' bizarre pilot episode, even if most viewers apparently did.

Teen Stars of Yesterday Who Belong on Mad Men

by Mindy Monez October 5, 2010 2:21 PM
Teen Stars of Yesterday Who Belong on Mad Men

After having our worlds rocked by the presence of both Alex Mack (Larisa Oleynik, as Ken Cosgrove's fiancée) and Clarissa Explains It All's Marshall Darling (Joe O'Connor, as Trudy's father) in the same Mad Men episode this past Sunday, it got us thinking about all of the former Nickelodeon, UPN and WB stars of the '90s and early 2000s that the show has redeemed over the years. There's Colin Hanks (of Roswell); Nora Zehetner and Sarah Drew (of Everwood); Matt Long (of Jack & Bobby); Danny Strong (of Buffy); and, of course, Vincent Kartheiser (of Angel), among others. Clearly, the show has an affinity for casting this niche of actors in weighty roles, so who should be next? These are our suggestions:

Blue Bloods Continues Tom Selleck's Long Career in Law Enforcement

Tom Selleck is famous for a lot of things -- Three Men and a Baby, his role on Friends, his timeless mustache -- but in general, he's known for playing two types of characters: cowboys and detectives. Ironically, he doesn't seem to have ever played a sheriff, but in the new fall TV series Blue Bloods, he plays an NYPD police chief with three children who are also in law enforcement. It seems like the natural fit for the gruff authority figure, who's also played King Ferdinand and President Eisenhower, but mostly, it's a great next step in his career of playing crime-fighters, whether government-sponsored or independently licensed. Here are some of his best cop and detective roles.

Before They Were TV Stars, They Were Freaks & Geeks

By now, pretty much anyone who's a fan of Judd Apatow knows the rotating cast of actors he chooses for films and that some of them started out on one of his first TV series, Freaks & Geeks. The alumni of that show include Freaks James Franco, Jason Segel, & Seth Rogen as well as the Geeks who have had some success themselves (John Francis Daley on Bones, Samm Levine on Inglourious Basterds, Martin Starr on Party Down). But, there were many other up-and-coming (as well as one more renowned) actors who had equally as entertaining, albeit smaller roles on the show that was cancelled after just one season. IFC has recently begun airing old episodes of the series, which inspired us to look back at these later-turned celebrity cameos.

The Underrated and Now Emmy-Nominated Mike O'Malley's Greatest Hits

Despite my frustrations over egregious Sons of Anarchy snubs and superfluous Mariska Hargitay and Tony Shalhoub noms, today's Emmy nominations announcements are largely a happy occasion for me, personally, for one reason and one reason alone: Mike O'Malley, one of the most underrated actors on television, has been nominated for his tremendous work on Glee. In that weird guest actor category instead of the more prestigious supporting actor one, sure, but I'll still take it -- I just adore the guy. I always thought he was a far better actor than he ever got credit for and frequently gushed over his work in My Own Worst Enemy -- which got me mocked quite a bit at the time -- so now I'm feeling pretty vindicated. So, in the spirit of the day, let's review the credits that got him to Glee (and maybe an Emmy!), shall we?

The A-Team: Was It the A-Game for the Show's Cast and Creators?

With a new movie adaptation arriving in theaters this week, more attention is being paid to the classic 1980s TV series The A-Team than ever; there's even a new DVD set coming out in the shape of the show's famous van. But while the A-Team itself was widely regarded as being the best of the best, was the show the best it could be? We took a look at the resumés of the cast and creators of the show to suss out if The A-Team represented their "A" game, or if there were bigger and better things in their work histories that made The A-Team look more like the "B" list.

Goofy '90s Teen Shows That Need Reunions

In his first year on the air, Jimmy Fallon has unsuccessfully tried to reunite the cast of Saved By the Bell, settling instead for some great appearances by its former stars - albeit individually. However, much to his credit, he did manage to get the entire original cast of California Dreams to be on his show this week and sing their catchy theme song. Since some of those SBtB divas are still holding out, here are some other cheesy nostalgic teen shows from the '90s that we'd like to see get back together on Jimmy's show.

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