Author – The Durango Herald

A summer bounty of TV drama, comedies and even a ‘Hamilton’

LOS ANGELES – Summer travel packing list: swimsuit, sunblock, television. In this portable TV era, there’s no reason to leave small-screen entertainment at home when cable channel...

DATE: Jun 10, 2016 | CATEGORY: Film, TV and Streaming

End of a TV era: ‘American Idol’ vows ‘spectacular’ finale

LOS ANGELES (AP) – “American Idol,” which gave the world Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson, has one more chance to mint a star before it fades into TV and music history. ...

DATE: Mar 29, 2016 | CATEGORY: Film, TV and Streaming

Asian-American jab at Oscars reveals deeper diversity woes

LOS ANGELES (AP) – TV’s “Fresh Off the Boat” creator Nahnatchka Khan was reveling in Oscar host Chris Rock’s deft comedic assault on white-fixated Hollywood. Then three Asian-American kids w...

DATE: Mar 7, 2016 | CATEGORY: Film, TV and Streaming

Weight-loss resolution? Watch this first

Documentary highlights practicalities

DATE: Dec 29, 2015 | CATEGORY: Food

‘Downton’ producer doesn’t shut door on big-screen film

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) – With “Downton Abbey” coming to an end, its executive producer is offering hope that a follow-up movie is at least a possibility. By ending the TV dram...

DATE: Aug 3, 2015 | CATEGORY: Film, TV and Streaming

New, returning TV shows put sizzle in summer viewing

LOS ANGELES – Network television, once wedded to a September-to-May schedule, saw the error of its ways as cable and online competitors demonstrated a brazen disregard for tradition. ...

DATE: Jun 1, 2015 | CATEGORY: Film, TV and Streaming

Leonard Nimoy, word famous as Mr. Spock on ‘Star Trek,’ dies

LOS ANGELES – In 1975, Leonard Nimoy published an autobiography with the defiant title, “I Am Not Spock.” Two decades later, he bowed to fate with “I Am Spock,” a revisionist sequel. ...

DATE: Feb 27, 2015 | CATEGORY: Arts and Entertainment

Brian Williams taking himself off air temporarily

LOS ANGELES – Brian Williams is stepping away temporarily from the “NBC Nightly News” amid questions about his memories of war coverage in Iraq, saying it has become “painfully apparent” to ...

DATE: Feb 7, 2015 | CATEGORY: Nation & World

‘Portlandia’ takes a different path in season 5

LOS ANGELES – Ask Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein to give up hints about the new season of “Portlandia,” and a few words suffice to make any true admirer of the IFC satire giddy with anti...

DATE: Jan 7, 2015 | CATEGORY: Arts and Entertainment

Allen Leech finds a happy home at ‘Downton Abbey’

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – “Downton Abbey” star Allen Leech has a winning way with accents. The Irish-born actor employs his native brogue in portraying Tom Branson, the former chauf...

DATE: Jan 2, 2015 | CATEGORY: Arts and Entertainment

Stage, screen actor Edward Herrmann dies at 71

Edward Herrmann, the towering, melodious-voiced actor who brought Franklin D. Roosevelt to life in films and documentaries, won a Tony Award and charmed audiences as the stuffy dad on TV’s “...

DATE: Jan 1, 2015 | CATEGORY: Film, TV and Streaming

Comedian Joan Rivers, 81, dies

Fashion, acting were early dreams for this daughter of Russian parents

DATE: Sep 4, 2014 | CATEGORY: Nation & World