It seems that NBC has realized that Maya Rudolph is funny and would like to see more of her. Also today: John McClane rides again, as does Lucy Liu, and Darren Criss is going to set Broadway aflame.

  • Very talented actress and comedienne Maya Rudolph is hot off the success of Bridesmaids, so NBC has decided to make her role on the charming-looking new baby show Up All Night more significant. Her part will change from Christina Applegate's wacky friend and boss in the PR industry to Christina Applegate's wacky friend and boss at a talk show. So she'll be doing a talk show thing! Not like her Oprah impression or whatever, but something. So yeah, Changes for Maya. Just like an American Girl. Look, I even made the book cover. Very impressive Photoshopping there. But anyway, the point is that there will be more of Maya Rudolph on television in the fall, not less, and that is a very good thing always. [Vulture]
  • The 20th Century Fox movie studio is apparently moving ahead with plans to make another Die Hard movie, the fifth in the series. Bad thing? Bad Hollywood-has-no-new-ideas kind of thing? I say no! I say go on with your bad selves, 20th Century Fox movie studio. This weekend I was trying to fall asleep at a B&B in the Berkshires (# whitepeoplenonproblems) and I couldn't so, I decided to watch something on the Netflix app on my magic Applephone. I decided to watch Die Hard With a Vengeance because I hadn't seen it in years and man that is such a good movie! And say what you will, but Live Free Die Hard was kind of good too. And obviously the first two are works of action art. So why stop now? I've fully signed up for the wacky adventures of John McClane and his yippee-ki-yay motherfucker-ing. Tell me more crazy John McClane stories, please. The studio has a short list of potential directors, among them the guy who did Attack the Block and the guy who did Drive (one of which just came out, the other of which is not out yet, but they both look good), so those are good choices. Justin Lin from Fast and the Furious and the guy that directed Max Payne are less good choices, though. Make the good choices, Fox. Let us love John McClane all over again. And bring back Bonnie Bedelia! [Deadline]
  • Oh god. If you thought wandering around the Times Square area was already nightmare enough, just imagine what it's going to be like in January when Glee singfruit Darren Criss takes over the lead role in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Just picture all the screaming and scratching and hair-pulling and "omigod"-ing, and that's just all the gay theater publicists. The teenage girls will probably go crazy too! Quality-wise, Criss is a good singer and dancer, so he ought to bring a little more musical acumen to the role than current star Daniel Radcliffe, if significantly less organic charm. But who cares! Maybe he'll sing "Teenage Dream" as an encore! Omigoddddddd! (That scream was a 27-year-old Emerson grad who lives in Astoria.) [EW]
  • ABC Family has gone and ordered 22 more episodes of their new hit show Switched at Birth, because everyone watches it apparently. This is good news for all I'm sure, but mostly I'm happy for Lea Thompson and Marlee Matlin, who are on the show and, y'know, I'm sure are glad to be working. Duh, every actor is glad to be working when they're working, but the years have not always been kind to those two, so I'm glad they're gainfully employed. I'm also happy for Lucas Grabeel, the true cutie of High School Musical, who, other than one too-short scene in Milk, hasn't been around enough. I mean, he's been at my house a lot obviously, but for the rest of you, I'm sure you miss him. [THR]
  • It seems that Starz — which, if Showtime is HBO's less talented younger brother, is HBO's runted sibling that lives in the basement and eats fish heads — is thinking about ordering a show about ladies participating in NASCAR called Tits in the Pits. It's a reference to a race car industry saying "No tits in the pits," because vroom-vrooms should be for men only. So that sounds potentially interesting. Though, I'm a little upset that they stole the title of the strippers-in-Pittsburgh show I was going to pitch to C-SPAN 2 (the only network that would take a meeting with me). That's a shame. [Vulture]
  • Aha! Lea Thompson and Marlee Matlin aren't the only perpetually out of work actresses who just got steady gigs. Ally McBeel dominatrix Lucy Liu has just landed a recurring role on TNT's Southland, playing a police officer. Good news! That's a good show (well, OK, the episode or two I watched of the first season were good, but I have a friend who's a diehard fan and she says the rest of it is very good too) and hopefully it will wash away the remaining Cashmere Mafia stink. Though, that might be hard. That's a lot of stink right there. [THR]

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