Articles by Barb Oates

Interview

Meet Chad! TV’s Most Awkward Character That You’ll Never Forget

April 6, 2021 Barb Oates 0

Comedian Nasim Pedrad introduces us to her jarringly awkward 14-year-old Chad. No, Chad isn’t Pedrad’s son. But he is her baby, as she’s the creator, writer, showrunner, executive producer and star of the cringey, funny comedy Chad debuting on TBS April 6 (Tuesdays at 10:30/9:30c). Pedrad, who gave us many memorable parodies as Kim Kardashian and Arianna Huffington on her five-year run on Saturday Night Live, spent the past five years developing the character of Chad. “Well, it’s been quite a journey,” she tells us. “I do feel somewhat like I’ve been pregnant for five years, and the birth is […]

TV News & Program Updates

Catching Up With the ‘Outlander’ Lads for ‘Men in Kilts’

February 27, 2021 Barb Oates 0

Imagine the pitch meeting. Two fun-loving superstars from your biggest hit series — Outlander — tell you about a project they developed, where they travel around in a camper van, engaged in witty banter, while exploring the scenery, culture, cuisine and people that make Scotland amazing. The meeting took all of about 30 minutes and the answer was an immediate yes. For Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish (Heughan plays 18th-century Highlander Jamie Fraser; McTavish was his now-dear-departed uncle, Dougal MacKenzie), their adventures were amazing and are chronicled in Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip With Sam and Graham (Starz, Sundays 9/8c). […]

Interview

Best Addictive Binge of 2021 — Lily Rabe and Amy Brenneman in ‘Tell Me Your Secrets’

February 19, 2021 Barb Oates 0

Consider yourself warned. The title is Tell Me Your Secrets. The issue is once you start, you aren’t going to be able to stop. And the less you know about it, the better. Amazon Prime Video drops all 10 episodes of Tell Me Your Secrets on Friday, Feb. 19, so your plans for the weekend have been made. This intense, morally complex psychological thriller from creator/writer Harriet Warner stars Lily Rabe (American Horror Story), Amy Brenneman (Judging Amy), Hamish Linklater (Legion) and Enrique Murciano (Without a Trace). Richard Thomas (The Waltons) also stars in a more unusual role. The series […]

TV News & Program Updates

Celebs Share Their Fast Food Favorites; Chefs Compete to Make It in ‘Fast Foodies’

February 4, 2021 Barb Oates Comments Off on Celebs Share Their Fast Food Favorites; Chefs Compete to Make It in ‘Fast Foodies’

Taco Bell’s Nachos BellGrande. Culver’s ButterBurger. Chick-fil-A’s Chicken Sandwich (extra sauce, please). McDonald’s Sausage McMuffin With Cheese. Name a fast-food restaurant, and most people can tell you their favorites in seconds. Surely, everyone has a guilty pleasure go-to item, right? Well, truTV’s new series Fast Foodies (Thursdays at 10:30/9:30c) puts a fun spin on that premise. The initial idea for Fast Foodies was based around people’s love of fast food, and a subculture that exists of people who are trying to re-create it at their homes. “We’re leaning into the fact that fast food, if you eat it or not, […]

Magazine Archive

Wendy Williams Opens Up About Her Career And Personal Life In Lifetime Documentary

January 29, 2021 Barb Oates Comments Off on Wendy Williams Opens Up About Her Career And Personal Life In Lifetime Documentary

Ever since her early days in the ’90s as a New York radio DJ, Wendy Williams has been telling it as it is. The self-made Williams has used her raw and unfiltered honesty to amass millions of fans (along with some haters), launch a nationally syndicated talk show (which has been airing since 2008), pen a bestselling autobiography (as well as six other books), and ultimately become the savvy media mogul and businesswoman she is today. Williams shares her life story — and she admits it’s a mess — this month on Lifetime in the two-hour biopic film Wendy Williams: […]

Family

Vanna White Talks ‘Celebrity Wheel of Fortune’

January 14, 2021 Barb Oates Comments Off on Vanna White Talks ‘Celebrity Wheel of Fortune’

Who’s going to be asking to buy a vowel is yet to be known, but the dynamic duo of Pat Sajak and Vanna White will be hosting a new version of the classic game show during primetime in Celebrity Wheel of Fortune (Thursdays on ABC, beginning Jan. 7). A slew of celebs will spin the iconic wheel for their chance to win up to $1 million for their favorite charity. After 38 seasons of watching Wheel of Fortune, it’s about time we get a spinoff (no pun intended)! We caught up with Vanna just hours before filming, where she was […]

TV News & Program Updates

Santa Claus, Indiana, Gets One Big Holiday Surprise Tonight!

December 25, 2020 Barb Oates 1

Lara Spencer, known to television fans as a regular contributor on Good Morning America and host of the hit series Flea Market Flip, will work with a team of designers, contractors and volunteers to give the town of Santa Claus, Indiana, the biggest Christmas present it has ever received on HGTV’s Surprising Santa Claus (Friday, Dec. 25 at 9/8c). It will be a race against the clock as her team tackles two surprise home renovations and a special bonus for the town square that will spread holiday cheer to the whole community. “It’s been a difficult year for everybody and […]

Drama

Meet Aliyah Royale and Alexa Mansour of ‘The Walking Dead: World Beyond’

October 4, 2020 Barb Oates 1

Fans of The Walking Dead will immediately recognize the three-ringed logoed helicopter that whisked away our favorite leader, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), to who knows where. The helicopter returns in the premiere episode of the franchise’s third series, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, this time transporting a representative from the mysterious Civic Republic (Julia Ormond) who has an arranged meeting with a civilized colony in Omaha. The colony in Omaha is home to the first generation of children who were raised in this postapocalyptic world. These children were schooled with some normalcy and were sheltered from the horrors occurring outside […]