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Is Apple about to enter the world of original programming, and if so, what sort of programming is it pursuing? Those questions are swirling in media circles after a Monday night report from Variety, a Hollywood news fixture, that Apple (AAPL, Tech30) is exploring such a move. One thing is for certain: Apple executives are reaching out to high-level entertainment industry types for confidential talks. An executive familiar with the outreach to Hollywood said Apple is assessing whether it should start to bankroll original TV shows and movies. This would put Apple into close competition with streaming services like Netflix...

Hoping to start a bloody "race war," a black, gay, in-your-face Obama-supporting former TV reporter horrified Southwest Virginia TV viewers yesterday when he stalked and coolly murdered two white former TV station colleagues and wounded a white interview subject during a live broadcast.

USA Network has postponed tonight’s scheduled season finale of hacker drama series “Mr. Robot” for a week because the episode includes a scene with similarities to the real-life murders that occurred on live TV this morning in Virginia. “Out of respect to the victims, their families and colleagues, and our viewers, we are postponing tonight’s episode. Our thoughts go out to all those affected during this difficult time,” USA said in a statement. Early today, a reporter, Alison Parker, and cameraman, Adam Ward, for WDBJ-TV in Roanoke, Va., were shot and killed while delivering a live report for the station’s...

Please tell me if you think Netflix's basic service is worthwhile. If you have it, do you regret it or recommend it? I know they have plenty of movies, but do they stream any current TV shows after they air on cable (say next day, or something like that)?

TV actress Melody Patterson, best known for playing Wrangler Jane on “F Troop,” died Thursday at the age of 66. Patterson died in a nursing home after multiple organ failure, according to reports. In addition to her starring role on “F Troop” from 1965-1967, Patterson appeared on other television shows of the era including “The Monkees,” “Adam-12” and “Green Acres.” She was also in a handful of episodes of “Hawaii Five-O,” which featured her husband at the time, James MacArthur.

TGIF, so I thought I'd take a little break from ATTAC (all things Trump and Clinton) and turn to a lighter topic. In almost 70 years of network television, the two most popular genres by far have been westerns and police. Doctor/medical dramas have always entertained audiences. But I wanted to see which military themed TV series Freepers like, and/or remember most.

Bud Yorkin, director of influential 1970s TV shows including “All In The Family,” “Maude,” “The Jeffersons,” “Sanford and Sons” and “Diff’rent Strokes,” died Aug. 18 of natural causes at his home in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles. He was 89. Yorkin played a pivotal role in developing some of the most popular series of the 1970s in partnership with Norman Lear at Tandem Productions. He was nominated for three Emmys and worked on TV series that won 25 Emmys and 10 Golden Globes. His feature film directing credits included “Love Hurts,” “Twice In A Lifetime,” “Arthur 2: On...

Jon Stewart is taking his talents to the squared circle. After retiring from The Daily Show, Stewart has been named as host of the WWE pay per view extravaganza SummerSlam this Sunday from Brooklyn. Stewart is one of the biggest celebrity WWE fans there is and was a guest on an episode of Monday Night Raw earlier this year. In other words, he actually knows a thing or two about the product....

Fox held the 17th annual Teen Choice Awards on Sunday, but parts of the show seemed a little too grown up for the teen audience. "I'm glad to meet you. Turn up, girl, blow the speaker yeah, think about it now blow the speaker," Flo Rida rapped at the Teen Choice Awards.

We’ve all had those days at work right? Those days where you want to set your computer on fire, flip your boss the bird and yell ‘you literally couldn’t pay me to keep doing this’ as you storm out the door. A news anchorman in Orlando, US, has had a work-related meltdown, almost worthy of your darkest and weakest on-the-job moments, after having to report on the Kardashians. During the broadcast John Brown took exception to reporting on Kris Jenner naming her rabbit Bruce. He stood up and walked off the set of ‘Good Day Orlando’ as soon as he...

Of recent late-night comedy shows to go off the air, the one with the steepest decline in its final year was Jon Stewart’s. In his concluding performance, Stewart had 3.5 million viewers, and in his last year he had an average of 1.5 million viewers per show.

The largest swindle big business ever played on the American people — forcing us to pay huge cable bills for dozens of channels we never watch — is slowly coming apart. Even with an ever-increasing population, the pay TV industry (cable and satellite) lost a net 566,000 subscribers last quarter. When you add in Q1, that’s a total of 887,000 lost customers in just six short months. There is just no question that customers are getting tech savvy and budget savvy. The result is a growing wave of cord-cutters (last quarter was the second biggest drop in pay TV customers...

After 16 groundbreaking seasons on "The Daily Show," Jon Stewart hosted the program for the very last time Thursday night, and a plethora of special guests joined him. The hour-long finale started as expected with Stewart, 52, bringing his unique brand of sarcastic comedy. But tears eventually came after so many former correspondents he has helped along the way continued to thank the icon.

Kermit and Miss Piggy have split up and moved on. One of the great cross-species power couples of show biz will no longer be an item when ABC's new prime-time revival of "The Muppets" premieres on Sept. 22. (8 p.m.). The two sent out a joint tweet Tuesday confirming their separation, though Kermit admitted to TV writers here it happened some time ago.

America is heading for war with Russia. Some call the current situation “an increase of hostility” or “Cold War II.” There are two sides to this story. I believe that American journalists from all political persuasions are not offering critical analysis. Understanding the Russian side and taking their arguments seriously can help prevent serious consequences. Americans believe that Russians are fed propaganda by the state-controlled media. If Russians only could hear the truth, the thinking goes, they would welcome the US position. This is not so. There are more than 300 TV stations available in Moscow. Only 6 are state-controlled....

LOS ANGELES – Season 5 of "Last Man Standing" is going to get political with the presidential race upon us, and neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump is going to be safe from the wisecracking Mike Baxter, played by Tim Allen. "We're going to drill Hillary," the star told FOX411 at the Television Critics Association Q&A session for his ABC series. "It will be horrible personally if Hillary continued [to lead the Democrats], but it will be great for the storyline if she continues."

Former St. Louis news anchor Robin Smith announced Sunday that she's running as a Democrat for secretary of state. The retired KMOV-TV anchor appears to be the first Democrat to enter the 2016 race for the seat, which is opening because Democratic Secretary of State Jason Kander is running to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt. "What Missouri needs now, more than ever, is a public servant who checks their politics at the door," Smith said in a statement. "That has been my life's work and my training. I look forward to giving Missourians straightforward, professional service as their Secretary...

The reporting on why U.S. Army personnel stationed at recruiting centers aren’t allowed to be armed has to make anyone who knows a little about guns, and the gun issues, wonder if those news outlets are aware of what they’re not reporting? Do they understand why some Americans feel compelled to stand outside Army recruiting centers with guns? Any curious person might then wonder if ignorance or bias is the central reason why the mainstream media so often ignores studies and facts that are inconvenient to the anti-gun-rights point of view? There are, after all, over 100 million gun owners...

From the whiz-bang and cheesy to the far-out and prematurely cancelled, sci-fi and TV have had a nice run. We locked ourselves in the basement with several milk crates of VHS tapes, laser discs, and back issues of Starlog to come up with the top 50 science-fiction television shows.

Reporter and weekend news anchor Tom Murray is leaving WTMJ-TV (Channel 4) to join the ministry staff at Oak Creek Assembly of God church. Murray made the announcement on his Facebook page Sunday morning, saying he's joining the church staff at the end of August. Murray joined WTMJ in 2007. A Portage, Mich., native, he is the anchor on the station's Saturday and Sunday morning news shows, and a general assignment reporter.... Murray and his wife, Jennifer, are active in Oak Creek Assembly of God's young adult, drama and Sunday school ministries. "My Christian faith is the source of happiness...