Famous Okies pull off benefit

(CNN) -- On Wednesday night, Blake Shelton brought together an all-star lineup for a benefit concert to help those in Oklahoma recover from last week's devastating tornado.

The event, called "Healing in the Heartland," was held in front of a sold-out crowd at Oklahoma City's Chesapeake Energy Arena, and broadcast on NBC.

Shelton, a coach on the network's singing competition "The Voice," tapped fellow Okies Vince Gill, Reba McEntire and Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic to perform alongside Usher, Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, Rascal Flatts and Shelton's wife, Miranda Lambert.

Lambert gave a particularly emotional performance during the telethon, as she choked up in the middle of her song, "The House That Built Me." The lauded country artist made it about halfway through before tears overtook her ability to sing, and the audience cheered their support and stepped in to carry the song until Lambert could continue.

Her husband joined his fellow "The Voice" coach Usher to close out the show with another poignant performance, this time of Michael Bubl's "Home."

"I'm here tonight with some of my closest friends from Oklahoma and beyond to join in and help with the rebuilding and recovery of this land that means so much to me," Shelton said during the concert, which carried on in the midst of another severe weather threat.

Vince Gill, for one, wasn't going to let that stop him from his mission of uplift. "I told somebody tonight, I said, 'Well, if another one comes and they tear some more stuff down, we'll help 'em build that back up, too!'" the country singer said with a laugh.

Gill is from the area, having grown up roughly 10 miles north of where a monstrous tornado ripped through Moore, Oklahoma, on May 20, leaving 24 dead, including nine children.

"Your heart hurts for those people and those kids who got killed. ... It rips your guts out every time," Gill said. "They're struggling and they've lost everything they have, a lot of people. Their homes, their possessions, their pictures and their whole history is gone in a flash. You can't do anything but reach out and say, 'We're here.' "

Money raised during the telethon is going to the United Way of Central Oklahoma's relief fund. If there's a silver lining to be found, Gill said, it is in the humanity seen during a crisis.

"When times are tough like this, people step up and help each other. It's a human element and a human touch and it's awesome to see that," he said.

OneRepublic's Tedder, who grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said he hopes those who watched the show "will take away just the overwhelming sense of pride in the state of Oklahoma, and the people. I mean, these are the nicest people on Earth," he told CNN.

Via: Famous Okies pull off benefit

Quinto talks about producing

(EW.com) -- Over the past few years, Zachary Quinto has established his acting rep by playing Sylar in "Heroes," a couple of memorable roles on "American Horror Story," and, of course, Spock in the last two "Star Trek" movies. So you could describe his transition into producing as, well, "logical." Certainly it has gotten off to an encouraging start. Quinto produced director J.C. Chandor's financial crisis movie Margin Call through the actor's Before the Door company the production outfit he runs with partners Corey Moosa and Neal Dodson and exec produced Chandor's Robert Redford-starring "All Is Lost," which just screened at Cannes.

Through Behind the Door, Quinto has also produced the new film "Breakup at a Wedding," a nuptials-themed comedy which is told through the lenses of the wedding videographers. Directed by Victor Quinaz and starring Quinaz's brother Philip and Alison Fyhrie as the engaged couple this tale of a big-day-which-goes-horribly-awry is available on VOD from June 18.

Below, Quinto talks about "Breakup at a Wedding" and, below that, you can exclusively check out the movie's new poster here which was created by Tom Hodge (the designer responsible for the similarly eye-catching posters for The Innkeepers and Hobo With a Shotgun).

Entertainment Weekly: I'm guessing you're kind of happy to be talking about something which doesn't involve spaceships.

Zachary Quinto: Well, I've been having a great time talking about all that stuff, too. No complaints! But it's always good to promote other projects that I have going on. The great thing about this movie is that it really is a friends and family situation. We've known Victor and Anna (Martemucci, who cowrote the film with the Quinaz brothers) for years. And to be able to give them this opportunity and to bring all the other collaborators that they work with on a regular basis into the equation was really gratifying for us. One of our main tenets is providing opportnities for people that we've loved and have inspired us for a long time and Victor and Anna are certainly among them.

EW: The wedding comedy is well-tilled ground. What attracted you to the project?

Quinto: One of the other things that we're really focused on at my production company is innovative storytelling, whether that means the story itself or the style in which the story is told. In this case, we felt like, yes, the wedding comedy has definitely been done and done very well by other people already. But what we felt was fascinating about this script was taking the found footage mode that tends to be reserved for more horror, thriller, genre projects and applying it to this more traditional romantic comedy.

We're really excited to be working with Oscilloscope and obviously this poster that they've done up which is so incredible, to see all the faces of all of our friends in that kind of high art rendering, it's really gratifying. It's been all-round a really good experience and on the heels of everything else that I have going on.

EW: This film is different in almost every imaginable way from Margin Call. Was it a similarly different experience in terms of producing it? Or were many of the challenges and problems the same?

Quinto: It was very different to produce this, just simply based on the budget. I mean, Margin Call was about a $3.5M film and this is a half of a million dollar film. So we had less resources and less time. It was also different because it was our friends and literally their familyyou know, Victor and Phil are brothers and Victor's mom is in the movie and Anna's mom is in the movie. It really was a friends and family affair. We had a lot of good times while making it but we basically holed ourselves up in a hotel out by JFK and just were there for pretty much two weeks banging away all hours and shooting multiple pages a day. It was definitely a brisk experience but luckily the style of the film allowed for that to happen. It was really fun, but definitely a brief encounter.

EW: Did making this movie alter your own views on marriage at all?

Quinto: [Laughs] Um...No. I think there's a tremendous amount of heart in the film and I think the journey that Phil and Alison take in the movie is one that is very relatable in terms of people entering into that institution. But I would say my views on marriage are ambivalent at best anyway so I feel like it's just sort of kept me in that same space.

EW: What's the one practical lesson you've learned as a producer?

Quinto: Not to sit in meetings where they're talking about actors and actors' value. There are certainly things I've learned as a producer that no actor should ever know. And the way that we are talked about in financing meetings and casting meetings is one of them. So I recuse myself of those conversations with financiers until my business partners are able to handle that part of it and then I come in.

EW: When you say the "value" of actors you mean their actual financial value to a project?

Quinto: Yeah. You know, we all have a number attached to our name and that number is different domestically than it is internationally. It's different in different territories and financiers really do break it down by those kind of metrics. It's horrible because you're talking about people and you're talking about talented people and to hear them talked about in such a broad and impersonal way can be really disappointing.

EW: Well, if it makes you feel any better, I feel like we've all got a number by our names one way or another.

Yeah, you're right. I guess that's true. It doesn't make me feel any better. But thanks for trying!

See the original story at EW.com.

Via: Quinto talks about producing

Meet the new 'X-Men'

(CNN) -- Perhaps they could be called X-Women.

For 50 years, Marvel Comics' X-Men have been known for being ahead of their time in terms of diversity and tackling issues of social justice.

In this week's "X-Men" 1, the team of mutant superheroes will look a little different than what fans are used to: They're all women.

Not only is it the first time that an X-Men team has been all female (in a primary "X-Men" title, no less), but Storm, Rogue, Jubilee, Kitty Pryde, Rachel Grey and Psylocke join the Fearless Defenders as one of two Marvel female super-teams. Before that, the best-known all-female super teams were DC Comics' "Birds of Prey," introduced in 1996, and 1998's indie book "Danger Girl."

(Another all-woman team was pitched to Marvel and reportedly rejected, and in 2011, the sole Marvel title with a solo female protagonist, "X-23," was canceled because of low sales, while "Red She-Hulk" will be canceled as of August).

Never before has a household name team like X-Men been turned over to only women. But the late Professor Charles Xavier's school has been named after the X-Men's first female member, Jean Grey, since 2011.

If any existing superhero team were going to be rebooted this way, it would be the X-Men, with its many strong female characters.

CNN recently spoke with "X-Men" writer Brian Wood and editor Jeanine Schaefer about this historic moment in X-history.

CNN: Did you originally set out to put together an all-female team?

Schaefer: This is 100% something I've wanted to do in my heart of hearts for years. And when Brian started on X-Men, his team was only women.

Wood: It's kind of hard to pin down exactly how it got to this. It was kind of easy to make that leap.

Schaefer: People seemed to be connecting with it. It was just the team that worked and gelled. It was the team Brian wanted to write and the team that I wanted to read. There's been a lot of talk about female characters in comics. This felt like the time was right.

Wood: X-Men is so rife with powerful female characters anyway, more so than any comic book universe or group. Our lineup is total A-listers. You can build a team with your eyes closed. All the stars aligned.

CNN: How was it decided who would make up the team?

Wood: Jeanine and I spoke for six months about this. New ideas came to us; other X-Men books were being developed. I don't know if we picked the cast first and figured how they would work together.

Schaefer: It went through so many iterations, I honestly don't know how we got here either. You love Storm.

Wood: I like Storm. I wanted her without a doubt. We were gonna bring Jubilee back; she has been absent for a period of time. These were like the best of the best characters. It made sense to pack it with big names. The characters have histories with each other which makes for a natural team makeup.

CNN: Do you think this is in keeping with the X-Men tradition?

Schaefer: This is definitely not the first all-female team in comics, but there's also a history of finding it harder to do. For me, it's tough because you want to do it. If it doesn't succeed, it gets pointed out that that's because it's a team of all women.

Wood: I've seen that happen. Even now, there's a lot of peanut gallery comments about the fact that it's a female team. It's happened before and been unfairly blamed. I think what makes this so great. Through Jeanine's hard work at Marvel, this is "X-Men" 1. If any book is gonna have a shot at it, I truly believe it's gonna stick. We're not gonna bring in dudes to bring up sales. It's gonna be a powerhouse seller.

CNN: Since this is book is part of the "Marvel Now" line, will we see any changes in some of the characters?

Schaefer: A couple of the costumes are recently new.

Wood: So far, there's one modification to one of their powers. There's a child in the mix, and that's a pretty big change.

Schaefer: A lot of these characters are in other books also. We want to make sure you're getting the same character across all these books. We want to make sure that we're reflecting what's going on with Rogue in "Uncanny Avengers," for example.

Wood: I definitely have a lot of flexibility with Jubilee. She's a favorite character of mine. I wouldn't call her the leader, but she's definitely the focus at the beginning here.

CNN: What else can we expect in the first few issues?

Via: Meet the new 'X-Men'

Anderson back on small screen

(CNN) -- It's safe to say that Gillian Anderson has returned to television.

The former "X-Files" star is involved in three TV series, beginning with a lead role in "The Fall," a psychological crime thriller that debuted to rave reviews on May 13 in Britain. The show hits the U.S. on May 28 when it'll be available for streaming via Netflix.

In "The Fall," Anderson plays a detective who's pulled into a serial killer case with a unique twist to the genre: the audience knows the culprit from the beginning.

But her on-screen exploration of killers doesn't stop there. Recently, she's been seen on NBC's "Hannibal," playing Hannibal Lecter's psychiatrist. Later this summer, she'll start work on a new NBC show called "Crisis," which got a series pick-up earlier this month.

CNN spoke with Anderson recently from New York City about her new TV series, the groundbreaking nature of "The X-Files," and whether Mulder and Scully will reunite on the big screen.

CNN: In "The Fall" you play Stella Gibson, a detective looking for a serial killer. She seems like a very serious person. Is this one of your more serious roles?

Gillian Anderson: I don't know about that. I've played a lot of serious women. I seem to be the go-to woman for seriousness, but as you will see, she's not all serious. There is some lightness in there and some different flavors of personality, I promise.

CNN: The show tells the story in a unique way in the sense that the audience knows who the killer is from the onset. What's interesting for you about the way the story is told?

Anderson: First of all, that hasn't really been done before which is always nice to jump into something that has a bit of uniqueness in this day and age of many, many shows about serial killers. The story lines themselves are very intricately woven and individually complex. The fact that you got a serial killer who is attractive, who is a good father and who is also a grief counselor on the side while he's stalking women and doing unthinkable things ... is really eerie. The fact that he's so recognizable as someone we might meet in a bar ... there's so many different layers in this story. It's a cross section of human life and death, and that's something in this that works on a much deeper level than just a simple tale of a serial killer hunted by a detective.

CNN: When working on a show that deals with a serial killer, do you ever take your work home with you? Is it depressing to think about murder a lot?

Anderson: I don't think about it all the time. I think I learned quite early on in my career when I was working on the "X-Files" that what's on the page, stays on the page. What's on the set, stays on the set. Very often if I'm working on dark material, I work on it in day time. So it doesn't effect my night. But also, it's easy ... we talk about compartmentalizing in the series -- I think it's easy to compartmentalize.

CNN: You also played Hannibal Lecter's therapist on NBC's "Hannibal." Is the psychology of killers something you know well at this point in your life?

Anderson: No, not necessarily I don't feel like I'm any particular expert on it even though I've played many characters who seem to be hunters. Hannibal was something that came out the blue. Bryan Fuller, the creator, convinced me how fun it would be to come play with them for a little while. How cool it would be to be Hannibal's psychiatrist. I believed him and said yes. It's funny. I don't think about these things all together; I think about them individually.

CNN: In some other alternate universe, could you be a therapist?

Anderson: I could definitely be a therapist. I could not be a forensics pathologist or a detective.

CNN: TV's having this great creative moment right now that everyone is pointing out. Do you think "X-Files" forged a path in certain ways in terms of what the medium could do?

Anderson: It was No 1. It was the first one. There's been a plethora of copy cats and a plethora of different shows that tried to emulate not just the success, but the formula, but also the production values.

Our show was the beginning of huge amounts of money going onto the screen. But also, the darkness of it: we were the first show to kind of "turn off the lights" and just light ourselves by flashlight -- and also the subject matter. The dark subject matter, the paranormal subject matter, the science-fiction, the duo, the intelligent woman on TV ... they were kinda No. 1 with all that.

CNN: You do play a lot of smart people.

Anderson: [Laughs.] I do play so many people that are so much smarter than I am. It's ridiculous. If only I could contain the information that they spout in my practical life, that would be very good.

CNN: You have another series due out later this year on NBC called "Crisis." What's your character like on that?

Anderson: It seems like that's going to be mid-season. The story as a whole is that there's a high school of elite children in Washington D.C., including the son of the president, and they're on their way to New York for a school trip and their bus gets hijacked. I play a mother of one of the kids who is the son of a CEO of a multinational [corporation]. The story is about what these high-powered people will do to get back the things they care most about, which is their kids.

CNN: Is there talk about another "X-Files" movie?

Via: Anderson back on small screen

Elvis' connection to Jackson's death

Los Angeles (CNN) -- AEG Live co-CEO Paul Gongaware, whose career as a concert promoter started with Elvis Presley's last tour, testified Tuesday about Michael Jackson's final days.

"I was working on the Elvis tour when he died so I kind of knew what to expect," Gongaware wrote in an e-mail to a friend two weeks after Jackson died. "Still quite a shock."

Gongaware, who was one of the top producers of Jackson's comeback concerts, is expected to be on the witness stand for several days in the fifth week of the Michael Jackson wrongful death trial.

Janet Jackson, the late singer's youngest sister, made her first appearance in the Los Angeles courtroom, sitting next to her mother, Katherine Jackson. Sister Rebbie and brother Randy Jackson are in the courthouse but are not allowed to view the testimony because the judge has limited the family to one sibling at a time in court.

Jackson's mother and children are suing AEG Live for liability in the pop icon's death, accusing the concert promoter of negligently hiring, retaining or supervising Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

AEG lawyers contend that Michael Jackson chose, hired and supervised Murray and that his bad decisions were fueled by a drug addiction their executives had no way of knowing about.

AEG exec called Jackson "freak" before signing concert contract

The Elvis connection

Elvis' name came up as Jackson lawyer Brian Panish questioned Gongaware about his knowledge of drug use during concert tours. He should have been able to recognize red flags signaling Jackson's drug use because of his experience with Presley and his time as Jackson's tour manager in the 1990s, the Jacksons contend.

"I kind of knew what was going to happen, yes," Gongaware testified. Panish then showed jurors the e-mail in which he made a similar statement.

When Gongaware was managing Jackson's 1993 tour, he warned the tour doctor "Don't be a Dr. Nick" -- a reference to Presley's last physician -- the doctor testified in a deposition.

"Dr. Nick was the doctor whose overprescription of drugs to Elvis had led to Elvis' death," according to a court filing by lawyers for the Jackson family.

Presley collapsed in the bathroom of his Memphis, Tennessee, mansion -- Graceland -- on August 16, 1977, at age 42. While his death was ruled the result of an irregular heartbeat, the autopsy report was sealed amid accusations that the abuse of prescription drugs caused the problem.

"Dr. Nick" -- Dr. George Nichopoulos -- said later he was treating Presley for insomnia. He was charged with overprescribing drugs to Presley, but he was acquitted. He later lost his medical license in another case.

Jackson died on June 25, 2009, at age 50. The coroner ruled his death was caused by a fatal combination of sedatives and the surgical anesthetic propofol. Murray told investigators he gave Jackson nightly infusions of propofol to treat his insomnia. He was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to four years in prison and stripped of his medical license.

Sweet controversy at Jackson death trial

Gongaware was with Presley manager Col. Tom Parker when he first met Jackson in Las Vegas, he testified.

The Jackson lawyers are using Gongaware's Elvis and "Dr. Nick" reference to argue that "AEG knew Jackson had suffered chronic substance abuse and drug dependency problems for many years."

"Shortly after he joined the 'Dangerous' tour in 1993, Dr. Finkelstein was asked to treat Jackson for pain," the Jackson filing said, referring to Dr. Stuart Finkelstein, a doctor on the 1993 tour.

"Having observed signs of opiate addiction in Jackson, Dr. Finkelstein nonetheless administered Demerol by injection, and administered morphine intravenously in Jackson's Bangkok hotel room for 24 hours."

After that, Finkelstein told Gongaware "he thought Jackson had an opiate dependency problem," the filing said.

"For three and a half months, the 'Dangerous' tour continued," it said. "Another doctor attended Jackson regularly, on one occasion breaking into Dr. Finkelstein's bag to get opiates to administer to Jackson. Gongaware was there the whole time, in charge of tour logistics, aware of the various physicians present, and he discussed with Dr. Finkelstein Jackson's opiate problem."

When Gongaware warned Dr. Finkelstein, whom the brief described as his "close friend," not to become Jackson's "Dr. Nick," he was "warning me, you know, don't get all infatuated where you start administering meds to a rock star and have the rock star overdose and die on you," Dr. Finkelstein testified.

Despite working as a tour promoter for 37 years -- including for Led Zeppelin, the Grateful Dead and many others -- Gongaware testified that the only artist he ever knew that was using drug on tour was Rick James.

Gongaware is currently the tour manager for the Rolling Stones North American tour.

Fooling Mikey?

Jurors were shown several e-mails from Gongaware that Jackson lawyers suggested were evidence that AEG Live deliberately misled Jackson about how much money he would make from his comeback concerts and how many days he would have to rest between shows.

Gongaware wrote to his boss, AEG Live President Randy Phillips, that they should present gross ticket sales numbers to Jackson, not the percentage of the net profits, during contract talks. "Maybe gross is a better number to throw around if we use numbers with Mikey listening," his e-mail said.

He sent an e-mail to his assistant in March 2009 suggesting that she design a concert calendar for Jackson using light tan colors for show dates, while drawing attention to his rest days.

"I don't want the shows to stand out so much when MJ looks at it. Less contrast between work and off. Maybe off days in a contrasting soft color. Put 'OFF' in each off day after July 8, as well. Figure it out so it looks like he's not working so much."

Under questioning Tuesday, Gongaware said he "wasn't trying to fool him. I wanted to present it in the best possible light."

The 'smoking gun'

Gongaware is also a key witness because he wrote what Jackson's lawyers call the "smoking gun" e-mail which they argue shows AEG Live executives used Murray's fear of losing his lucrative job as Jackson's personal physician to pressure him to have Jackson ready for rehearsals despite his fragile health.

Gongaware's e-mail to show director Kenny Ortega, sent 11 days before Jackson's death, addressed concerns that Murray had kept Jackson from a rehearsal the day before: "We want to remind (Murray) that it is AEG, not MJ, who is paying his salary. We want to remind him what is expected of him." Gongaware, in a video deposition played in court on the first day of the trial, said he could not remember writing the e-mail.

E-mails become key

"They put Dr. Murray in a position where if he said Michael can't go or can't play, if he said I can't give you those drugs, then he doesn't get paid," Jackson lawyer Brian Panish told jurors in his opening statements.

AEG lawyer Marvin Putnam said in his opening statement that Gongaware and other AEG executives had no way of knowing about Jackson's use of propofol to sleep.

"AEG knew nothing about this decade-long propofol use," Putnam said. "They were a concert promoter. How could they know?"

Gongaware will also face questions about an e-mail in which he seemed to question Jackson's commitment to his "This Is It" tour.

"We cannot be forced into stopping this, which MJ will try to do because he is lazy and constantly changes his mind to fit his immediate wants," he wrote to AEG's Phillips.

Jackson makeup artist Karen Faye testified earlier abut an incident in which Gongaware became frustrated because Jackson locked himself in a bathroom at his home, refusing to leave for rehearsals at the Forum. Gongaware was "angry and kind of desperate to get Michael to the Forum," Faye said.

She overheard Gongaware screaming on the phone at Jackson's security guard, telling him "to get him out of the bathroom. Do you have a key? Do whatever it takes."

Choreographer: AEG considered 'pulling the plug' on Jackson comeback

'Trouble at the Front'

Jackson lawyers are also expected to ask Gongaware about e-mails he received that raised questions about Jackson's health in the last weeks of his life.

"This Is It" production director John "Bugzee" Houghdahl wrote to him on June 19, 2009 -- six days before Jackson died -- "I have watched him deteriorate in front of my eyes over the last 8 weeks. He was able to do multiple 360 spins back in April. He'd fall on his ass if he tried now."

Houghdahl's e-mail, titled "trouble at the Front" was written after Ortega sent Jackson home from a rehearsal because of his strange behavior.

"He was a basket case and Kenny was concerned he would embarrass himself on stage, or worse yet -- get hurt," Houghdahl wrote. "The company is rehearsing right now, but the DOUBT is pervasive."

Via: Elvis' connection to Jackson's death

Bynes: Officer sexually harassed me

Editor's note: This story contains graphic language.

(CNN) -- Amanda Bynes has had a rough few days -- some might say, a rough few months -- landing in jail after allegedly tossing a marijuana bong out of her 36th-floor New York apartment window.

On Saturday, the 27-year-old actress took to Twitter with a simple message: "Don't believe any reports."

And she didn't stop there.

The New York police's story -- as related by spokesman Christopher Pisano -- is that officers were called Thursday to her abode in Manhattan's theater district after her building manager reported the 27-year-old was smoking an "illegal substance" in the lobby.

Bynes had headed back to her apartment by the time police arrived, but she let officers in when they knocked on the door, according to Pisano.

Once inside, the officers noticed a bong and other marijuana paraphernalia sitting on a coffee table, which Bynes immediately started to throw out a window.

That account from police, Bynes insists, is "all lies."

Amanda Bynes in trouble, again

Her story is that she was "sexually harassed by one of the cops the night before last" -- the same police officer who, she wrote, ended up arresting her.

Bynes said she had opened her window "for fresh air" and didn't throw out any drug paraphernalia, claiming the officer "lied" when he claimed she did.

Then, she alleged of the officer in her apartment, "He slapped my vagina. Sexual harassment. Big deal."

Asked Saturday night about Bynes' claim the unnamed police officer had sexually harassed her, New York police Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said: "As it would with any such allegation, regardless of its credibility or lack thereof, the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating it."

The actress had more to add. Bynes said she was handcuffed, "which I resisted ... then I was sent to a mental hospital. Offensive."

The evolution of Amanda Bynes

"The cop sexually harassed me, they found no pot on me or bong outside my window," Bynes tweeted. "That's why the judge let me go."

Police charged her with tampering with physical evidence, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of marijuana, Pisano said. Bynes was charged with endangerment because the paraphernalia could have hit someone below. According to media reports, she appeared in court Friday and was then released until her next appearance in July.

This week's ordeal is the latest of Bynes' run-ins with the law.

She has a DUI case pending in Southern California, while a pair of separate hit-and-run incidents against her were dismissed late last year. Earlier this month, the actress was sentenced to three years probation for driving on a suspended license.

Along the way, her once squeaky-clean image -- she was a young teenager when she burst on the scene as the lead in Nickelodeon's "The Amanda Show" -- has taken a hit. After that program, Bynes starred alongside Jennie Garth in the sitcom "What I Like About You." She later scored roles in movies, including "Hairspray" and "Easy A."

Via: Bynes: Officer sexually harassed me

TV shows to watch this summer

(CNN) -- Summer doesn't have to be a bleak time for television-viewing -- some of the best shows on the air ("Breaking Bad") or on Netflix ("Arrested Development") are on just in time for Memorial Day and beyond.

This season there are plenty of new shows that look promising, including a limited-series run from the mind of Stephen King, acting showcases from Liev Schrieber and Mark Strong and a handful of adaptations from previously existing shows abroad, including an intriguing international murder mystery. Whether you want comedy or drama, serious or soap, we've got your summer couch time plotted alphabetically right here, with the top 10 new and returning shows worth checking out.

"Arrested Development" (Netflix)

The Bluths (and Fnkes) are back! After seven years (both in terms of the real world and the world within the show), Michael returns to town, George Michael is in college (and may or may not have a thing going with Maeby), Lucille is under house arrest and Tobias and Lindsay are still figuring out their relationship.

Guest stars including John Krasinski, Busy Philips, Kristen Wiig and Seth Rogen promise to liven up the escapades, where each chapter follows a single member of the family over the same stretch of time. Showrunner Mitch Hurwitz originally told audiences they could watch the 15 episodes of this anthology series (which were released on Sunday at 12:01 PST) in any order, but he has since reconsidered. He now says the show should be watched in sequential order, as this is but the first act of a potential movie. Get ready to binge.

"Breaking Bad" (AMC)

The final eight episodes, which will determine whether Walter White will live, die or go to prison, premiere on August 11. Show creator Vince Gilligan is keeping the plot under wraps, but in a recent interview with New York magazine, he did give one clue: "In my mind, the ending is a victory for Walt. You might see the episode and say, 'What the f**k was he talking about?' But it's a somewhat happy ending, in my estimation."

"The Bridge" (FX)

In this remake of a Scandinavian series ("Bron"), premiering on July 10, Diane Kruger and Demian Bichir play detectives hunting down a serial killer operating on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border. A journalist (played by Matthew Lillard) gets involved, since his car was used in the crime, and before long, he's getting phone calls from someone taking credit for the murders. The cartels, immigration issues and poverty all play a part in unraveling the truth, which they promise will be revealed in a rewarding way.

"Dexter" (Showtime)

The eighth and final season of "Dexter" kicks off on June 30, and although six months have passed since Deb shot LaGuerta, she's worse off than before, surviving on a cocktail of Xanax, Paxil and Adderall. Confronting her serial killer brother, she tells him, "I shot the wrong person in that trailer... You made me compromise everything about myself that I care about and I hate you for it." Meanwhile, neuro-psychiatrist Dr. Evelyn Vogel (Charlotte Rampling) has been brought in to help Miami Metro as an expert on psychopaths, since a new one is killing people and scooping out parts of their brains. Never a dull day in Miami.

"Low Winter Sun" (AMC)

Based on the 2006 British miniseries, Mark Strong plays a detective in Detroit who murders his partner, a fellow cop, on the show that premieres August 11. "There is an ongoing conspiracy and a secret that his character has," explained co-star James Ransone. "It's definitely taking its own path from the BBC series, because that was only two episodes, so it was more like a four-hour movie, and this is long form and a little more human." Expect to see the dark side of Motor City.

"Mistresses" (ABC)

A summer soap premiering June 3, "Mistresses" is based on a British series of the same name about four friends who bond over their illicit affairs. Star Alyssa Milano said they tried to bring the show to the United States a couple of times in different incarnations -- including one version for Lifetime with her "Charmed" co-star Hollie Marie Combs -- until finally this one, co-starring Yunjin Kim, Rochelle Ayets and Jes Macallan -- worked out. "I don't know why things work or don't work," she said. "You just have to take a leap of faith and hope something sticks." She said that the show will be a "guilty pleasure for men," and a "pure pleasure show for women" as "It's very sophisticated."

"Ray Donovan" (Showtime)

Liev Schreiber plays a Los Angeles fixer (think Olivia Pope on "Scandal," but with more athletes and celebrities as clients than politicians), who has trouble when his father (Jon Voight) is released from prison five years early. Premiering on June 30, the show explores "male sexuality in all its variant incarnations," Schreiber said. But that doesn't necessarily mean a lot of sex scenes. "Male sexuality doesn't have to do with nudity," he laughed. "It has to do with people's psychological and sexual behavior. Nudity is one thing; sex is another."

"Save Me" (NBC)

Anen Heche plays a Cincinnati-based woman who thinks she has a direct line to God after choking on a sandwich -- and no, this is not based on the actress' alter ego Celestia. "Save Me" premiered May 23 and revolves around Beth Harper's journey back toward being an involved wife and mother, as she cheerfully strives to make amends to everyone she's ignored or alienated, including her husband who wants a divorce. "There is this notion of second chances, about transformation, and where that comes from," Heche said. "Plus, she now knows stuff about everyone in town, and it doesn't necessarily come in the way you think God might talk to someone. Like she'll say someone needs to have more sex in their life."

"True Blood" (HBO)

When we last left Sookie and company, Bill had drunk the blood of the first vampire, Lilith, and re-emerged from his own goo as a possible god. When we return for a 10-episode run (instead of the usual 12) on June 16, humans and vampires are going to war, courtesy of Louisiana Gov. Truman Burrell (new cast member Arliss Howard). "Humans are fighting back," Alexander Skarsgard said. "They've figured out a way to actually be a real threat to vampires." The faeries are still very much a factor, as Sookie and Jason learn more about their family lineage, starting with Rutger Hauer as Niall Brigant. Sookie also will find a spark with Ben Flynn (played by Rob Kazinsky), a faerie she nurses back to health after a vamp attack. "I just want my life back," she says -- but that's not going to happen anytime soon.

"Under the Dome" (CBS)

Via: TV shows to watch this summer