In today’s TV Buzz: Lena Dunham to host SNL on March 8 and we also take a look at who the true king of late night is.
— Lena Dunham will host Saturday Night Live on March 8, while The National will serve as the musical guest. Gawker has already predicted the sketches.
— British actor Richard E. Grant, who’s been appearing Girls as Jessa’s boyfriend from rehab, looked back at doing the Spice Girls movie with Vulture.
— Matthew Perry’s update of The Odd Couple has received a pilot order from CBS.
— Looks like former All My Children and As the World Turns star Cady McClain will replace Cynthia Watros in the role of The Young and the Restless’ Kelly. Watros’ pilot was recently picked up by MTV.
— Y&R’s Melody Thomas Scott, who is celebrating 35 years on the soap, will guest star on The Crazy Ones as a drunk librarian. Look for her episode to air mid-April.
— Justin Long has signed up for a Fox pilot. Sober Companion is about a “charming but self-destructive attorney who finds his world turned upside down when a court-appointed and highly unconventional sober companion takes control of his life.” Long will play Jeremy, the actual sober companion character.
— Sean Faris, the Tom Cruise lookalike you’ll remember from shows like Life As We Know It and Pretty Little Liars will headline The CW’s Supernatural spin-off, Supernatural: Tribes. The backdoor pilot will air on April 29 and Faris will play a werewolf.
— Ben Mulroney’s five tips for success is a real good read from Monday’s Globe and Mail.
— ICYMI, Being Human will end its run this April.
— Alec Baldwin, who is set to flee public life, will guest star on Law & Order: SVU, where he’ll play a newspaper columnist. Failed talk show host Katie Couric will also appear on the episode set to air March 19.
— Don’t cry for Bethenny Frankel. The former Real Housewives of New York City star’s talk show, Bethenny, was cancelled last week but shares she’s actually “relieved.” Frankel admits that she felt “filtered and constricted” at the talk show.
— Speaking of talk shows, Ronan Farrow’s MSNBC series was the network’s least-watched show on Monday. Apparently there aren’t enough younger viewers at home at 1 p.m. in Ronan Farrow Daily’s targeted adults 18-49 demographic.
— Late Night with Seth Meyers did great in the ratings. Monday night’s debut was the most-watched telecast for the franchise in the 18-49 age group since 2005.
But do you think NBC’s late night is suffering from SNL overload? You may not be alone. Jimmy Fallon is hosting The Tonight Show. Seth Meyers is hosting Late Night, where Fred Armisen is his band leader and Amy Poehler was his first guest.
But honestly, at the end of the night, the true “King of Late Night” isn’t Letterman or Fallon, it’s Lorne Michaels. The Canadian producer of Saturday Night Live is still at the helm of the iconic Saturday night sketch series as well as two out of three NBC late night talkers. (Yes, Last Call with Carson Daly is still on the air.)
