by Shaunna Murphy 12 mins ago

For three years now, ABC’s Thursday night line-up has been dominated by one woman: “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal” creator Shonda Rhimes. Rhimes has become famous for creating groundbreaking television shows featuring complex, dynamic, and uncharacteristically (for network television, anyway) sexually liberated female characters. The latest creation from ShondaLand, “How to Get Away With Murder,” is no different.

“Murder” — which was created by ShondaLand writer Peter Nowalk and is executive produced by Rhimes — will take up the third, 10 p.m. hour of the “Shonda Thursdays” line-up, and after screening the show’s pilot, we’re happy to announce that it definitely lives up to the mountains of hype. Yep, “Murder” should definitely be the talk of the water-cooler town on Friday morning, largely due to these six factors:

1. Its intriguing, morally ambiguous anti-heroine.

ABC

One thing “Murder” does right is let us know straight off the bat that Viola Davis’ Professor Annalise Keating is no “Saint Alicia” Florrick of “The Good Wife.” (Not that I’m talking smack on Alicia because I would never, ever do that.) Cable shows in particular have been introducing us to fascinating (mostly male) anti-heroes for years, and Rhimes’ latest creation stars a woman who literally has no qualms with admitting to the fact that she lets guilty people off the hook for a living.

This isn’t necessarily the number one way to endear yourself to an audience, and the fact that Keating engages in some unsavory extracurricular activities (more on those in a second) doesn’t help, ...

Read More →

by Shaunna Murphy 6 mins ago

Someone call Key & Peele, because Seth MacFarlane just broke some crucial casting news that should have Liam Neeson(s)’s biggest fans feeling pretty psyched right now:

Boom. You hear that? That’s the sound of Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson starring alongside Mark Wahlberg and a talking bear. (Mila Kunis was replaced with Amanda Seyfried as the female lead, FYI.)

The film is scheduled to be released on June 26, 2015, and you should probably expect to see a whole lot more bear-y famous faces once it finally comes out. Ryan Reynolds, Norah Jones, Sam Jones (“Flash Gordon”) and even Tom Skerritt made cameos in the first “Ted,” and that film’s commercial popularity and cult success make the sequel a beacon for celebrity appearances, especially with MacFarlane directing.

Neeson’s role (and Freeman’s) is still a mystery, but we think his unique set of skills will make him a great fit for whomever he decides to play.

by Shaunna Murphy 45 mins ago

While watching “Edge of Tomorrow” earlier this summer, we thought many things — like, you know, “this is a really fun movie,” and “Emily Blunt should really be in everything.” But we also thought that the aliens in the film, the Mimics, looked extremely similar to a plethora of other movie aliens, what with their spider-like tentacles and exoskeletons and all.

Telling one movie alien apart from another is no easy task, especially when blockbusters tend to borrow so heavily from the ghosts of Ridley Scott and J.J. Abrams’ past. So, with that said, let’s see how you do!

by Shaunna Murphy 12 mins ago

On Saturday, September 20, Emma Watson used her UN Women Global Ambassador position to help launch the HeForShe campaign, which seeks to involve men in the fight for women’s rights. Her powerful speech earned accolades from fans and critics alike, and now some of the industry’s brightest stars are showing their support for Watson, rallying behind the HeForShe campaign and its efforts to elevate both genders.

1. Troian Bellisario

The “Pretty Little Liars” star showed her support by posting a black-and-white shot of Watson on Instagram, with the caption, “Yes! If you have not seen Emma Watson’s speech to the UN introducing the #heforshe movement, reclaiming “feminism” as an inclusive and supportive term that is beneficial for BOTH men and women and the extension of the formal invitation to all men to get involved in the conversation that can and will change the way all human beings relate to each other… Do not wait another second. Watch it now. There are too many painful truths to ignore. Gender inequality hurts MEN AND WOMEN and the slow but necessary March towards equality is the only way to truly evolve in our humanity.”

2. Simon Pegg

Simon Pegg/Twitter

“Star Trek” actor Pegg took to Twitter to support Watson, saying “Husband to a wife, father to a daughter, son to a mother. You bet I’m on board, @EmWatson! #heforshe.”

3. Forest Whitaker

Forest Whitaker/Twitter

“Proud to support the #HeForShe campaign of @UN_Women,” Whitaker wrote.

4. Douglas Booth

Douglas ...

Read More →

by Shaunna Murphy 25 mins ago

Most stories about Gotham City tend to revolve around a certain Dark Knight, but on Fox’s new sure-to-be-hit series “Gotham,” it’s all about the villains — well, and the police department who just can’t seem to get a handle on them, of course. MTV News screened the pilot (more than once), so when Donal Logue — who plays the Detective Harvey Bullock to Ben McKenzie’s James Gordon — stopped by for a visit, we just had to ask about the show’s biggest bads, like Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor).

“You get to meet these people, it’s like, ‘well, why did they turn bad?’” Logue said. “They didn’t wake up one day and be a fully-formed Danny DeVito ‘The Penguin.’ Were they picked on? Were they ridiculed? How did they form? For me, the most fascinating part of being in the show is to go, ‘oh, so that’s how he decides to turn his back on the good side and go to the dark side’… you always kind of wonder what made someone the way they were.”

Indeed, the pilot largely focuses on the beginning of Cobblepot’s journey to becoming Penguin, as the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents plays out in the background. Young Poison Ivy, Selina Kyle, and a pre-Riddler Edward Nygma also star in the pilot, but Logue assures us that many more are on their way.

“There’s some massive villains from the universe,” he continued. “Hopefully, the idea is you do this thing ...

Read More →

by Shaunna Murphy 9 mins ago

Well that was fun.

Two weeks after delivering a swashbuckling Robin Hood adventure for the ages, “Doctor Who” continued its solid Series 8 run with a straightforward “Oceans Eleven” meets “New Earth” (with a little bit of “X-Men” thrown in for good measure) bank robbery episode, “Time Heist.” Overall, the story really worked, giving the Doctor and Clara one of their most thrilling, fast-paced, and consistently engaging adventures yet as they robbed the galaxy’s most wealthy space-bank.

What’s that, you say? The Doctor and Clara robbed a bank? Well, yes. They did. But the Doctor and his Companion were not after money, and their final act endgame was a fine justification for their morally questionable actions. Let’s dig in to the episode’s biggest moments.

Danny Pink Gets Brushed Aside — Again

BBC America

When the episode began, Clara was preparing to go on yet another (probably crappy) date with Danny Pink. Of course, as we’ve all learned over the past few weeks, where there is Clara getting ready for a date, there is also, without fail, the Doctor getting ready to destroy it.

The Doctor wanted to take Clara on an adventure through time and space (or just to the beach), but a call to the TARDIS quickly changed everybody’s plans. Just as the Doctor picked up and scolded Clara for scolding HIM about the dangers of picking up that mysterious phone, both of them were whisked away to a location ...

Read More →

by Shaunna Murphy 22 mins ago

Over the past few years, strong women like Jennifer Lawrence and Shailene Woodley have ruled the Young Adult movie universe, turning in emotionally resonant yet ass-kicking performances in the “Hunger Games” and “Divergent” franchises, respectively. Dylan O’Brien churns out an equally awesome performance in “The Maze Runner,” but he’s the first one to admit that the ladies-in-charge phenomenon is pretty damn cool.

“Oh, she’d kick my ass,” O’Brien tells MTV News about Lawrence. “It’s always weird when people say to me, ‘these movies are usually coming out with female leads. How does it feel to be a male lead?’ I’m like, ‘I feel like it’s way cooler to be the female lead.’ It’s kind of too generic, a male lead. I think it’s cooler that that [YA] trend is female-driven.”

We agree, Dylan, but also beg to differ that you should feel not great about being a dude. (And so would eight zillion “Teen Wolf” fans.)

“The Maze Runner” hits theaters on Friday, September 19.

by Shaunna Murphy 1 hour ago

As any fan of the series knows, on “Pretty Little Liars,” it’s all about keeping secrets — but at MTV News, we just can’t help but spill the beans. In this exclusive video, find out all of the behind-the-scenes gossip from ABC Family’s hit series, from casting drama to little-known “Liar” roles to the never-ending teenage years of Bianca Lawson.

Just don’t tell A, k?

by Shaunna Murphy 8 mins ago

The folks from Seattle Grace Mercy Hospital just went full Litchfield Correctional Facility, only without the SHU and the Pornstache and the actually losing one’s freedom part of the deal.

In other words, the cast of “Grey’s Anatomy” donned their scrubs to pose as the “Orange is the New Black” cast, and Meredith Grey herself posted it on her Whosay page for the rest of the television-loving universe to enjoy. Ellen Pompeo seems to be cosplaying as the dearly departed Tricia, while Sara Ramirez is clearly Alex, and the guy all the way to the right is Big Boo:

Ellen Pompeo/Whosay

“Blue is the New Black,” indeed. What do you think of the picture, “Grey’s” and “OITNB” fans?

“Grey’s Anatomy” returns on Thursday, September 25. “OITNB” returns in forever.

by Shaunna Murphy 20 mins ago

When watching “The Maze Runner,” the sci-fi dystopian flick based on the hit book by James Dashner, one might be struck by the fact that they have no clue what those slang terms are that Dylan O’Brien and co. are hurling at each other.

From “shank” to “klunk” and back again, many of the words that the trapped-in-a-box Gladers use in their strange little world are foreign to our ears, but not anymore: MTV News sat down with O’Brien, Ki Hong Lee, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster for a little vocab test, and the boys passed with flying colors.

“It’s really slang, like, ‘Hey, man. Hey, shank, what’s going on?’” Lee explains of their first word. “But it could be derogatory as well.”

That clears it up… I think. Luckily, O’Brien was on hand to make things even more clear by using the word in a sentence: “Man, this shank’s always taking my pencil.”

“The Maze Runner” is in theaters this Friday, September 19.