2 Broke Girls

E4 has confirmed the return date for The Big Bang Theory and 2 Broke Girls.

The Big Bang Theory’s six season will hit UK screens on Thursday, April 11 at 8pm.

The second season of 2 broke Girls will premiere on the same day at 9.30pm on E4.

Yesterday it was announced that The Big Bang Theory had been renewed for another season by its American network CBS. Continue reading »

The CBS network in the US has renewed a bunch of their most popular shows.

The Big Bang Theory, The Good Wife, CSI and 2 Broke Girls are among the series to receive new season orders.

However, those waiting renewals include Two and a Half Men, Criminal Minds and Rules of Engagement. Continue reading »

E4′s brand new smash hit US comedy 2 Broke Girls launched on E4 drawing an average audience of 1.1m/4.6% (Live+Vosdal), more than doubling the 2012 slot average of 443k/1.9%.

The programme attracted the biggest overnight (Live+Vosdal) audience so far this year on E4, after The Big Bang Theory and the largest audience for a new title on the channel since Glee in 2010.

Between 21.00 and 21.30, E4 drew the biggest 16-34 share across all channels and was the top digital channel for individuals in both the slot and peak time (17.30-00.00). The channel also drew its second highest daily and peak share YTD for individuals and 16-34s.

Big Bang Theory continues to be a hit and drew its 3rd and 4th highest overnight audiences of 2012.

New Girl

New Girl is the brand new US smash hit comedy featuring quirky golden girl Zooey Deschanel in her TV debut. Jess Daly is an adorable and charming girl in her late 20s. After splitting up with her boyfriend, she moves in with three single guys she has never met before. More prone to friendships with women, she’s not used to hanging with the boys – especially at home. As their relationships progress, Jess and the boys come to realise they need each other more than they ever thought they would and end up forming a charmingly dysfunctional family. New Girl takes a fresh and outrageous look at modern male and female relationships. It premiered in the US with over a massive 10 million viewers making it Fox’s highest-rated fall sitcom debut in 10 years. Cast also includes Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield, Lamorne Morris and Hannah Simone.

TX: 2012

2 Broke Girls

From Emmy® Award winner and writer of Sex and The City Michael Patrick King, comes smash hit US comedy, 2 Broke Girls. Meet Max and Caroline, two girls from opposite ends of the social spectrum. Sassy, streetwise Max Black (Kat Dennings) works two jobs just to get by – one of them is waiting tables during the night shift at the retro-hip Williamsburg Diner. Sophisticated Caroline Channing (Beth Behrs) is an uptown trust fund princess who’s having a run of bad luck that forces her to reluctantly give waitressing a shot. The two girls strike up an unlikely friendship and plan an exciting business venture, all they need to do is come up with $250,000 in start-up expenses. Easy right? A lot of young girls move to New York City to ‘make it’ but Max and Caroline can hardly even make their rent. Join the girls as they take on one expensive city, New York, (ok so Brooklyn, to be exact) proving that life can be fun, even if you are flat broke.

TX: 2012

Homeland

From the Emmy® Award winning Executive Producers of 24, Homeland is a compelling contemporary thriller with a star studded cast including Claire Danes, Damian Lewis, Mandy Patinkin and David Harewoo. Loosely based on Gideon Raff’s Israeli television series ‘Prisoners of War’, it centres on an American soldier (Damian Lewis) taken prisoner during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Left for dead, the soldier miraculously returns to the US after years in captivity. Carrie Anderson played by Claire Danes is a driven CIA officer battling her own psychological demons. She becomes convinced that the intelligence that led to the soldier’s rescue was a setup, and that this national hero may be connected to an Al-Qaeda terrorist plot to be carried out on American soil.

TX: 2012

Apartment 23

June is a naive small town country girl whose big city dreams are dashed in her first week in New York. When she has no choice but to move into a shared apartment, her new crazy party-girl flatmate Chloe unapologetically takes her for all she’s worth. Not only does June have to re-adjust to the bright lights and big city lifestyle, but she also has to contend with communal living and Chloe’s best friend, who is the actual ‘real’ James Van Der Beek, and takes great pleasure in making use of his Dawson’s Creek memorabilia to get women into bed. June, however isn’t one to mess with, she cleverly seeks to get her revenge. Cast includes Dreama Walker, Krysten Ritter and James Van Der Beek as himself.

TX: 2012

Napoleon Dynamite

Napoleon Dynamite is an animated version of the smash cult film which revolves around an eccentric high school student in a small Western town and his misfit high school friends and bizarre family life. His hobbies include practising his ninja moves, dancing, drawing, and bragging about his ‘girlfriend in Oklahoma.’ Many of the original cast reprise their roles, including Jon Heder as Napoleon Dynamite, Efren Ramirez as Pedro, Aaron Ruell as Kip Dynamite, and Jon Gries as Uncle Rico. The show is Executive produced by Emmy® Award winning Mike Scully, who is behind The Simpsons.

TX: 2012

Allen Gregory

Allen Gregory is an animated comedy written, voiced and Executive produced by Jonah Hill, star of Superbad and Get Him To The Greek. Allen Gregory De Longpre is one of the most pretentious 7-year-olds you will ever meet. He has travelled the world and has an adult approach to life but he must tackle his greatest challenge yet – attending school with kids his own age. When Allen Gregory looks in the mirror, he doesn’t see a child, he sees a young man who is intelligent, sophisticated, worldly, artistic and romantic – characteristics he inherited from his doting father, Richard. The pair have an extraordinary father-son relationship which is often annoyingly interrupted by Richard’s life partner Jeremy, for whom Allen Gregory has minimal respect, if any at all.

TX: 2012

Desperate Housewives

All good things eventually come to an end, and in the final season of this landmark show, the stakes are at an all-time high. Join the beautiful, glamorous housewives as they wave goodbye to the drama and hysteria of Wisteria Lane and see if they really can live ‘happily ever after.’ We pick up from last season’s gripping finale when Gaby’s (Eva Longoria) abusive past came back to haunt her. Feelings of guilt begin to overcome everyone in different ways. Susan (Teri Hatcher) starts to withdraw from her friends and family, and Gaby works to reach out to Carlos. Lynette (Felicity Huffman) struggles to deal with her disintegrating marriage and impending separation; and Bree (Marcia Ross) must be especially careful around her new love. Meanwhile, a sexy, new neighbour moves to town.

TX: Early 2012

The Big C

Have your tissues ready as The Big C returns for its second season along with Globe Globe winner for Best Actress, Laura Linney. When Cathy (Laura Linney) was diagnosed with terminal cancer in season one, she chose not to accept the news as a death sentence, but as a challenge to live her remaining life to the fullest. The new season picks up with Cathy still determined to beat her cancer and trying desperately to get an appointment with Dr Atticus Sherman (Alan Alda), who may be able to get her into a clinical trial, which could be the key to a cure for her disease. Cathy’s husband Paul (Oliver Platt) is trying to be the supportive, loving husband that Cathy needs. Meanwhile, their son Adam (Gabriel Basso) is still adjusting to learning the truth about his mother’s illness, and part of that comes with added attention at school now that her diagnosis is public knowledge. Finally, Cathy’s mentally unstable brother Sean (John Benjamin Hickey) is preparing to be a father, having impregnated Cathy’s old college friend Rebecca (Cynthia Nixon).

TX: Early 2012

The Good Wife

The Good Wife is back and its business as usual at Lockhart & Gardner even after Will (Josh Charles) and Alicia’s (Julianna Margulies) night together. Alicia shows up at the office and learns she will be defending a Muslim college student accused of fighting with other Jewish students at a rally on campus. What starts off as a simple case turns into something much bigger when their client Jamal is accused of murdering a Jewish classmate. This season has a special guest appearance from Eddie Izzard, who plays Abbott Thrush, an upper-class English barrister brought in to fight Lockhart & Gardner in a libel case that finds its way into British court. Cast includes Archie Panjabi, Chris Noth, Alan Cumming, Matt Czuchry and Christine Baranski.

TX: Early 2012

So nice telly people. As you all know, E4 is pretty darned great. And that’s not just us who happens to think so. Be warned, E4 OFFICIAL STAT ALERT!

We’re eight months into our bestest year, like totes ever. E4 is now officially the biggest digital channel for 16 – 34-year-olds with ratings up 12% year on year, and we’ve even overtaken Channel 5 and BBC2 in terms of young viewers, so we reckon that makes us pretty damn cool.

Plus we’ve garnered a slew of awards including Broadcast Channel of the Year with plenty of programme awards in between like the posh Baftas for Skins, The Inbetweeners and Misfits to name but a few. It’s pretty clear, we’re the dog’s nads. The next few months on E4 is a veritable smorgasbord of hot new talent and familiar faces doing some rather exciting new stuff. We’ve got loads to pack into your telly box. Just take a look at this lot!

Comedy on E4

Noel Fielding, the co-creator of The Mighty Boosh is back and this time he’s taking things to another level, bringing his own distinctive brand of psychedelic comedy to E4 in Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy, A character based comedy, the show is half filmed and half animated, with music provided by Kasabian‘s Sergio Pizzorno.

The brilliant Chris Addison presents Show & Tell from September which sees him joined each week by three up and coming comics, who will each bring some things to “show” and “tell” the audience about. In each show the comedians tell the audience about a personal item from home as well an item they have brought in as their homework challenge. The items – whether they relate to something topical, personal or completely random – are the launch pad for them to each perform a mini solo stand-up routine, ‘telling’ the audience about their chosen item, and ‘showing’ why it’s rich comedy pickings.

Already an online phenomenon, with over 38 million views of their comedy songs to date, The Midnight Beast arrive on E4 early next year. This spanking new TV sitcom features band members Stefan Abingdon, Dru Wakely and Ashley Horne as struggling musicians, alongside a host of comedic guest stars. Each episode sees them “stapling their songs and stupid real-life experiences together” as the boys cope with day to day challenges like sharing a flat and trying to impress girls when they’ve got no money and one of them sleeps in the kitchen.

Cardinal Burns is a new comedy sketch show written and performed by Seb Cardinal and Dustin Demri-Burns. Sketches range from silly and cartoonish to smart, contemporary concepts; re-occurring characters include Office Flirt, New Guy; Phil and Terry the Cockney Midgets.

Comedy Labs, the comedy strand that launched the careers of Peter Kay, Russell Brand and Jimmy Carr, as well as uncovering such gems as Modern Toss and Fonejacker, is also back for new run. Six brand new half hour commissions starting this September, include Anna and Katy which sees acclaimed sketch double act Anna Crilly and Katy Wix bring their brand of character comedy to the channel and Totally Tom, a unique and sometimes macabre scripted comedy/sketch show, written and performed by Tom Palmer and Tom Stourton.

Over on High Street UK the priority is to ‘shift units, make money, smash targets…’ and no one knows that better than the staff of PhoneShop. Lance and his sales team are back for a second series this November and things are more competitive than ever. Everyone is feeling the pinch and with star salesman Little Gary Patel still detained at Her Majesty’s Pleasure, the Sutton Branch of PhoneShop needs to take action. Look out for another jaw-dropping cameo appearance from Kayvan Novak (Fonejacker, Four Lions).

Entertainment on E4

Say hello to The Dirty Digest in November: a wickedly funny headlong dive into the world of fame and celebrity as host Michelle de Swarte (Party People for Comic Relief 2011; The Fashion Show, ITV2) and her panel of bright young things pick apart and pour over a week in the lives of the stars. They’ll be examining the latest celeb trends, revelling in bad superstar behaviour, laughing at the funniest clips from around the world, gasping over the latest gossip, and generally celebrating all things celebrity.

E4 is also getting its pom poms ready to cheer the arrival of Sorority Girls this Autumn. Five all-American Sorority ‘sisters’ will be giving girls at Leeds University the opportunity to be part of the UK’s first ever Sorority Chapter. This exclusive all-female club is shrouded in secrecy and potential new members must endure weeks of full on challenges and initiation rituals while remaining beautiful and perfectly turned out every single day.

Not to be upstaged by anyone, the glittering Made in Chelsea crew keep things seasonally up to date as some more of South-West London’s young elite join the line-up in September. Has Spencer moved on from Caggie? Is Hugo still smitten by Millie? Expect all the dramas, awkward pauses and priceless quotes from series one plus even more incredible parties, holidays and country retreats as the champagne swilling socialites take us behind the gilded doors lining the Royal Borough of Chelsea.

And speaking of style, the very stylish Rick Edwards continues to provide his own unique brand of relationship counselling in Tool Academy 2 from November. This year’s students need more help than ever to cure them of their Toolish ways. The guys think they are competing for the coveted title of ‘King of Men’, enjoying arousing back rubs from sexy masseurs and sucking lemons from the mouths of giggling tequila girls. Little do they know, their long-suffering girlfriends are watching every move. And they are not pleased. Expect more tears, more tats, more tension – and more Tools.

Drama on E4

The trend for trend setting continues in October with Bafta winning Misfits. This series sees Joe Gilgun (star of This Is England ’86) enrolling for community service as new guy Rudy. He zips up the infamous orange jumpsuit alongside resident delinquents Bafta winner Lauren Socha, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Antonia Thomas and Iwan Rheon in the super-sized series which sees its run extended to eight episodes.

And if more episodes weren’t enough, those clever online people have gone even further this time. In amongst all the super cool social media activity, fans can witness the departure of series regular Robbie Sheehan in an exclusive film for E4.com called Misfits Online: Vegas Baby!

Following on from the end of series two, Nathan heads to Vegas with Marnie, little Nathan Jnr and his new super power. His target? The casinos. Premiering online in September, the short film has been written by series creator Howard Overman and is a fittingly outrageous send off for motor-mouth Nathan. To watch the episode from Thurs Sept 15th, head to e4.com/misfits

Hollyoaks Later returns with some after dark scandal later this month well and truly turning up the heat as the ‘Oaks’ finest hit the bars and beaches of notorious party island Ibiza as Mercedes and Riley celebrate their stag and hen parties.

And back in Hollyoaks village, the new terms sees Hollyoaks sixth form college open for business and a new intake of Freshers are welcomed to the local university HCC. And if the excitement of a wild Fresher’s Week isn’t enough, following their wild stag and hens in Ibiza, Mercedes and Riley get set to tie the knot in a lavish wag wedding. But will Mercy get to be a footballer’s wife, or is her secret affair with Riley’s Dad Carl about to be revealed? And then there’s the small matter of Silas, the serial killer, who is still on the loose and ramping up his campaign of terror. It’s all happening in the world’s most eventful village!

You’ve got say, that’s some pretty hot UK talent. And if THAT’S not enough, we’ve also got the best the US has to offer, as E4 welcomes some very fresh faces from across the pond exclusively to the channel.

US Acquisitions

New Girl sees indie film golden-girl Zooey Deschanel take the central role of Jess Day, a quirky, adorable woman in her late 20s, who following a bad breakup with her boyfriend, moves in with three single guys. This single-camera comedy from Liz Meriwether (No Strings Attached) features a young ensemble cast which takes a fresh and outrageous look at modern male/female relationships; Elisha Cuthbert heads up a brilliant ensemble cast in Happy Endings which asks the question, who gets to keep the friends when a couple split.

And from Emmy® Award winner Michael Patrick King (Sex and the City) and white-hot stand-up comedian Whitney Cummings, 2 Broke Girls comes to E4 later in the year. Two girls from opposite ends of the social spectrum wind up as waitresses in the same colourful Brooklyn diner. On paper they are poles apart, but the two strike up an unlikely friendship that could lead to a successful business venture. All they need to do is come up with $250,000 in start-up expenses. While Max and Caroline can barely make their rent, these two girls prove that life can be fun, even if you’re flat broke.

Further down the East Coast, Charlie’s Angels zip up their ass kicking boots to bring some hot Miami action to the new look line up. And proving that geek chic really is in fashion, everyone’s favourite science nerd Shelton returns in the US’s No1 comedy, the Emmy award winning Big Bang Theory which, with an average of 1.15 million per episode is consistently one of the top rating of any of E4′s shows.

Whitehall in new Channel 4 series

Jack Whitehall will take to the road for a new Channel 4 series called Hit The Road, Jack. In each episode, Whitehall will find a stranger who is willing to let him move in as he prepares for a local gig.

2 Broke Girls to screen on Channel 4

Channel 4 has acquired the rights to new American series 2 Broke Girls, which was written by Sex and the City scribe Michael Patrick King.

Bruce pranked on Antiques Roadshow

Fiona Bruce was targeted by two pranksters while filming an episode of Antiques Roadshow in Devon. Bruce was sprayed by a can of aerosol string by the two gentlemen, who were both arrested.

Misfits actress lands lead role

Misfits actress Ruth Negga will play the lead role in a new BBC Two drama centring on Shirley Bassey.

Channel 4 has today announced it has acquired the UK premiere broadcast rights to 2 Broke Girls from Warner Bros. International Television Distribution.

Written by Emmy® Award winner Michael Patrick King (Sex and the City) and white-hot stand-up comedian Whitney Cummings, the series will receive its UK premiere on Channel 4.

The announcement was made by Gill Hay, Head of Acquisitions for Channel 4, and Jeffrey R. Schlesinger, President, Warner Bros. International Television Distribution.

Gill Hay comments: “It is a rare thrill to find a new comedy that is effortlessly funny, warm-hearted and which has such a broad audience appeal. I am so delighted that Channel 4 has secured this show and we are all looking forward to introducing the UK to such a treat.”

Jeffrey Schlesinger said: “2 Broke Girls has the perfect combination of heart to laughs and we believe it will perform very well in the UK. Channel 4 has a history of making successful US comedies household names in the UK which makes them the perfect home for this show, which we think will be our next big hit sitcom.”

Take two girls from opposite ends of the social spectrum: Max, poor from birth, and Caroline, born wealthy, but down on her luck. Contrary to all expectations, they both wind up as waitresses in the same colourful Brooklyn diner.

On paper they are poles apart, but the two strike up an unlikely friendship that could lead to a successful business venture. All they need to do is come up with $250,000 in start-up expenses.

A lot of young girls move to New York City to “make it” and while Max and Caroline can barely make their rent, these two girls prove that life can be fun, even if you’re flat broke. Join Max and Caroline as they take on one expensive city, New York, (ok so Brooklyn, to be exact) and try to make their dreams come true.

The series stars Kat Dennings (Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist, Thor) as Max and exciting new discovery Beth Behrs as Caroline, as well as Matthew Moy (Scrubs), Jonathan Kite (I’m in the Band) and Garrett Morris (Saturday Night Live). 2 Broke Girls is Executive Produced by Michael Patrick King (Sex and the City TV series, Sex and the City features, Will & Grace, The Comeback) and Whitney Cummings (Made of Honor, Tell Me You Love Me) serves as executive consultant. The pilot episode was written by Michael Patrick King and Whitney Cummings and directed by James Burrows (Will & Grace, Friends, Frasier, Gary Unmarried, Caroline in the City) and is produced by Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Warner Bros. Television.