Fans of The Big Bang Theory were saddened and shocked Tuesday to learn of the death of Carol Ann Susi who lent her voice to the beloved character Mrs. Wolowitz, the mother of Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg). Warner Bros. Television, who produces TBBT, issued the following statement: “Unseen by viewers, the Mrs. Wolowitz character became a bit of a mystery throughout the show’s eight seasons. What was not a mystery, however, was Carol Ann’s immense talent and comedic timing, which were on display during each unforgettable appearance. In addition to her talent, Carol Ann was a constant source of joy and kindness to all.” The statement also described Susi as “a spunky Italian gal from Brooklyn whose passionate interests included Doctor Who, Halloween horror mazes, cooking and the Magic Castle.” In addition to TBBT, Susi’s TV credits included Mad About You, Six Feet Under, Cheers, Seinfeld, and Just Shoot Me.
Amazon Studios announced its new slate of original shows, which it will present during its upcoming “pilot season” — the same incubator that led to the development of Alpha House and Transparent. Expected in 2015, the lineup includes Cocked, a dark comedy with Sam Trammell (True Blood) and Jason Lee (My Name Is Earl); Mad Dogs, a comedy with Steve Zahn (Dallas Buyers Club) and Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos) by Shawn Ryan (The Shield); Point of Honor, a Civil War drama written by Carlton Cuse (Lost); and The New Yorker Presents, a half-hour docu-series based on articles from the magazine. In total, Amazon announced seven new pilots, all of which they will consider for full-season pick-ups, depending on how well they fare with critics and users.
The dust is settling for fall TV and some shows will be much happier than others. This week, Fox announced that its freshman comedy Mulaney will go from 16 episodes to 13, swapping its 9:30 pm time slot for Bob Burgers‘ 7:30 pm airing. NBC is rumored to be cancelling A to Z and Bad Judge, though the network still has not confirmed either and will most likely air all 13 episodes of each. Over at ABC, Forever joined How to Get Away With Murder and black-ish for full-season orders — though the ending was not so happy for Manhattan Love Story and Selfie, which are officially cancelled. CBS’s four freshman dramas — Scorpion, NCIS: New Orleans, Madam Secretary, and Stalker — all received full-season orders. Sadly, the lowest-rated show of the fall is The CW’s Jane the Virgin, which is 100 percent Certified Fresh.
The CW released the first images of Katie Cassidy as Black Canary on the show Arrow. Dominating in head-to-toe black leather, Laurel Lance (Cassidy) will finally assume her DC superhero alter-ego in season three. The images have been attributed to episode 10, “Left Behind,” though The CW has yet to confirm the air date of the long-awaited transformation. “I think Laurel has earned it. She’s gone through really, really hard times, and she will dig deep and rise above,” Cassidy told The Hollywood Reporter in October. Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8 pm.
