Accessibility links
Television Television

Television

Interactive TV Allows Viewers To Shop Remotely

Remotely Interested? With the "simple push of the 'Select' button," Optimum Select allows viewers to request information, coupons and free samples. Cablevision/Optimum Select hide caption

toggle caption
Cablevision/Optimum Select

Interactive TV Allows Viewers To Shop Remotely

A new TV advertising service will give viewers the ability to get information, coupons and free samples without leaving the couch. Optimum Select invites viewers to hit a button on their remote controls to learn more about advertised products.

Interactive TV Allows Viewers To Shop Remotely

Listen · 3:16
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/113315198/113333275" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

'Law & Order' Writer Turns Headlines Into TV

Some of Law & Order's most memorable plot lines are literally "ripped from the headlines." Executive producer Rene Balcer explains how he divides "headline" episodes between Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and how soon is too soon to recreate a real-life murder.

'Law & Order' Writer Turns Headlines Into TV

Listen · 16:27
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/113308543/113308526" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Michigan's Upper Peninsula: A Trip U.P. North

U.P. TV Anchor Moonlights At Target

Host Liane Hansen profiles TV Anchor Vicki Crystal of Marquette, Michigan. Crystal not only works as a full time anchor and reporter, but she also works part-time at Target.

U.P. TV Anchor Moonlights At Target

Listen · 4:39
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/113251614/113251597" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Tony Danza Shows High School Students Who's Boss
Mary Altaffer/AP

Tony Danza Shows High School Students Who's Boss

Actor Tony Danza, known for his roles on the sitcoms Taxi and Who's the Boss?, is now playing to a much smaller venue. He's teaching English to 26 sophomores at a Philadelphia high school for a reality show to air next year on A&E.

Tony Danza Shows High School Students Who's Boss

Listen · 4:18
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/113166330/113257394" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

The Men Behind AMC's Hit 'Mad Men'

Fresh Air

The reign of AMC's Mad Men continues with a new season and another Emmy. Terry Gross discusses the show's success with executive producer Matthew Weiner and actors Jon Hamm and John Slattery.

The Men Behind AMC's Hit 'Mad Men'

Listen · 20:54
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/113180227/113208563" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Nation's Parks Star In Ken Burns' New Documentary

Nation's Parks Star In Ken Burns' New Documentary

Filmed over the course of more than six years at some of the country's most awe-inspiring locales, The National Parks: America's Best Idea is a six-part, 12-hour film by Ken Burns on the history of America's national parks that premiers on PBS this Sunday.

Nation's Parks Star In Ken Burns' New Documentary

Listen · 8:15
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/113201245/113217350" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

How is Jay Leno Doing In His New Time Slot?

Jay Leno's move to prime time is the most radical change to the fall TV season. By putting his comedy talk show on at 10 p.m. five nights a week, NBC has shaken up the way networks program their schedules. Conventional wisdom says dramas are the most popular in that timeslot.

How is Jay Leno Doing In His New Time Slot?

Listen · 1:31
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/113195193/113195207" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

'60 Minutes' Still Ticking After 41 Years

If broadcast TV news is a dinosaur, then 60 Minutes is a prime-time T-Rex. The CBS newsmagazine draws 14 million viewers every Sunday evening and was television's 10th-highest-rated show in 2008.

'60 Minutes' Still Ticking After 41 Years

Listen · 5:49
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/113179634/113195209" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Palestinian TV Show Satirizes Life, Leaders

A Palestinian woman works in the kitchen while listening to the TV program Country on a String in the West Bank city of Nablus. The irreverent comedy mocks and often bites the hand that feeds it: the government. Majdi Mohammed/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Majdi Mohammed/AP

Middle East

Palestinian TV Show Satirizes Life, Leaders

Country on a String is unusual in the Arab world — a comedy sketch show that takes aim at Palestinian leaders on the TV channel they control. The popular show debuted during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Palestinian TV Show Satirizes Life, Leaders

Listen · 4:29
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/112940559/113195197" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Comedian Ansari Enjoys Playing Sleazebag On TV

Aziz Ansari was doing stand-up the entire time he was studying business at New York University. Now, he plays public servant and jerk Tom Haverford on NBC's new sitcom Parks and Recreation. Ansari says it's "always fun to play a dude who's kind of a sleazebag."

Comedian Ansari Enjoys Playing Sleazebag On TV

Listen · 5:38
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/113146905/113176972" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Will Colleges Give NBC's 'Community' Good Marks?

The comedy world has eagerly awaited the arrival of Community, a new NBC sitcom about a band of wacky misfits who attend a community college. And community colleges have been getting ready too, hoping this show will not add to the image problems they face.

Will Colleges Give NBC's 'Community' Good Marks?

Listen · 4:01
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/113036874/113220294" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Author Interviews

Craig Ferguson's Adventures As An 'Unlikely Patriot'

When Craig Ferguson dropped out of high school at age 16, he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life. In his new memoir, American On Purpose, Ferguson chronicles the story of his life, from Glasgow, to big time comedy, to becoming host of CBS's Late Late Show.

Craig Ferguson's Adventures As An 'Unlikely Patriot'

Listen · 30:12
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/113118998/113169681" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Separating Grain From Chaff In New TV Season

The networks have rolled out a few new dramas and sitcoms. NBC has rolled back some of those shows to make room for the prime time Jay Leno. TV critic James Poniewozik of Time magazine, says this season's offers are "good, bad and mediocre."

Separating Grain From Chaff In New TV Season

Listen · 4:56
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/113135800/113135768" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Arts & Life

Van Peebles: It's Not Easy Being 'Green'

Filmmaker Mario Van Peebles, along with his family, takes a lighthearted approach to going "green" in a new reality television show on cable network TV One. "Mario's Green House" follows the Van Peebles as they try to build a home that's environmentally friendly. Mario Van Peebles describes the project and spreading the green message within communities of color.

Van Peebles: It's Not Easy Being 'Green'

Listen · 17:07
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/113114113/113114091" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Opinion

On Fall TV, A Constellation Of Flickering Stars

Never mind the quick failure of her FX series Dirt: Courteney Cox is back on TV again, courtesy perhaps of her Friends fame. Kelsey Grammer (and others) are also returning after flops that tarnished the luster they earned in older hits. Will that old goodwill be enough this time?

On Fall TV, A Constellation Of Flickering Stars

Listen · 3:49
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/113110257/113137751" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript