LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Drama "Downton Abbey" and thriller "American Horror Story" earned the favor of Emmy award voters on Thursday, joining a list of past favorites including "Mad Men" and "Modern Family" among nominees for the top U.S. television honors. Both "Downton Abbey" and "American Horror Story" benefited from …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Public television network PBS surprised Hollywood by landing 58 Emmy award nominations on Thursday, the third-highest total among all the nets, thanks to the critically acclaimed drama "Downton Abbey" and a Sherlock Holmes miniseries. Cable network HBO topped the list for the 12th straight year with …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences on Thursday announced nominations for the 2012 Primetime Emmy Awards, with "Mad Men," "American Horror Story," "Downton Abbey" and "Modern Family" among the top nominees. Following are expressions of gratitude from nominees, all received by Reuters in statements …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Tom Davis, who along with Al Franken formed the comedy duo "Franken and Davis" and went on to write for "Saturday Night Live" and win four Emmy Awards, died on Thursday at age 59. Davis died of throat and neck cancer, his wife Mimi Raleigh told the New York Times. He grew up in Minnesota where he …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Modern Family" actress Sofia Vergara edged out Kim Kardashian as the highest-earning woman in U.S. television, taking in $19 million for the past 12 months on a list released by Forbes.com on Wednesday. The Colombian-born Vergara took the No. 1 spot thanks to her Emmy Award-winning role on the ABC …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Kelsey Grammer and his wife Kayte, who had been expecting twins, welcomed a baby girl on Friday, but the news came with the sad announcement of a miscarriage of the couple's son. The baby girl, named Faith Evangeline Elisa Grammer, was born at 1 a.m. and weighed 6 lbs., 2 oz. She is the first …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin said on Saturday that she is interested in joining "American Idol" as a judge, just days after Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler declared they have ended their judging roles on the Fox show. The departure of Lopez and Tyler creates a major void in the three-judge panel …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Get ready to be zombie-fied, because "The Walking Dead" has a premiere date for its next season. AMC announced Friday that the hit zombie drama will be back for a third season on Sunday, October 14, at 9 p.m. The 16-episode season will be split into two parts, with the first eight episodes starting …

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Television actors treated Comic-Con audiences to glimpses of their upcoming shows, including HBO's "Game of Thrones," which highlighted its new season premiere on Friday at a packed showcase inside the giant pop culture event. "Thrones" fans, many dressed as their favorite characters, lined up hours …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Community" showrunners David Gurascio and Nick Port assured fans on Friday at the show's Comic-Con panel that it would not drop off in quality without Dan Harmon, the show's creator and showrunner who was fired in May. Harmon's exit caused a great deal of consternation among the program's devoted …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Jennifer Lopez says it was her choice to leave "American Idol" -- but the singer was actually dumped by Fox when she asked for a $2 million raise in salary to $17 million, a person familiar with the negotiations told TheWrap. Fox also opted not to pick up Steven Tyler's option, the person said. …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Bye-bye, Dora the Explorer; hello, Doc McStuffins. DirecTV has added the Disney Junior channel to its lineup, the company said Friday, in what appears to be a move to replace Nickelodeon, which it lost earlier this week due to its pricing dispute with Viacom. Disney Junior, home to such kids' …

SUN VALLEY, Idaho (Reuters) - Barry Diller, the consummate Hollywood dealmaker who revamped the TV business in the 1980s, is back in the media spotlight after a federal judge threw out an injunction against Aereo, the online TV service he backs. Broadcasters including ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox had sought to stop Aereo from …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Watching news coverage of the September 11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina disaster, and the O.J. Simpson murder verdict proved to be the most impactful TV moments of the past 50 years in the United States, according to a study released Wednesday. Television researcher Nielsen and Sony Electronics partnered …

(Reuters) - The Church of Scientology, the religion whose followers include actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta, plans to start a religious broadcasting center to promote its teachings over TV, radio and the Internet. The center, located near the church's West Coast headquarters in Hollywood, would occupy the nearly five-acre …

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Television actors treated Comic-Con audiences to glimpses of their upcoming shows, including HBO's "Game of Thrones," which highlighted its new season premiere on Friday at a packed showcase inside the giant pop culture event. "Thrones" fans, many dressed as their favorite characters, lined up hours …

(Reuters) - A federal judge has rejected a bid by major U.S. broadcasters to stop Aereo Inc, an online television venture backed by billionaire Barry Diller, to stop rebroadcasting some of its programming over the Internet. The broadcasters sought to stop Aereo from streaming programs to phones, tablet computers and other …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Kristin Chenoweth was released from a New York hospital on Thursday after suffering minor injuries on the set of television drama "The Good Wife" when a piece of lighting equipment fell on her head. "Kristin has been released from the hospital and is home recovering," the actress' spokeswoman …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" star Kourtney Kardashian, sister of Kim and Khloe, gave birth to a daughter over the weekend, adding to the reality TV family's growing brood. "Welcome to the world, Penelope Scotland Disick! Kourtney gave birth to a beautiful baby daughter on Sunday, and the whole …

(Reuters) - Cable operator Comcast Corp said its NBC Universal unit will sell its 15.8 percent stake in History Channel owner A&E; Television Networks LLC to the other partners in the venture for $3.02 billion in cash. Comcast sold its stake in A&E; for $1 billion more than it said it was worth only a few months ago. The …

(Reuters) - DirecTV customers may not see SpongeBob, Snooki or Jon Stewart after midnight on Tuesday because of a heated impasse taking place between the largest U.S. satellite TV provider and Viacom Inc, the company behind the popular cartoon, reality series and political talk show. In a blog post on Viacom's website, …

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (Reuters) - Actor Andy Griffith, beloved as a small-town sheriff on the popular television program "The Andy Griffith Show," died of a heart attack, according to his death certificate. Griffith, 86, died on Tuesday at his home in coastal Manteo, North Carolina. According to his death certificate, …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A singer who competed on the second season of "American Idol," filed a libel lawsuit on Thursday against MTV Networks for more than $40 million, claiming he was unfairly ridiculed by one of its news reporters. The lawsuit claims that after Corey Clark was disqualified from "American Idol," having reached …