For all of the uneasiness I felt watching The Internship play as a not so subtle promo for Google’s portfolio of services (what in the hell is Google Wallet?), the movie painted a dichotomy that I found interesting. While far from perfect, I thought the film did a nice job of contrasting the eternal optimism of a couple Gen X’ers with the often harsh practicality and cynicism I see embedded in myself and many of my fellow Millennials. Although this is hardly the platform from which to dive into a generational debate, The Internship at least introduced the idea that belonging to a generation that has had the wealth of the world’s knowledge at their fingertips for a good portion of their lives (not to mention video games and the lack of a military draft) faces a whole new set of unique challenges and insecurities. At the same time, it also sent an oft-overlooked truth that we (Millennials) don’t know it all, haven’t seen it all, and the “Culture of Meh” that we often embrace is cynical bullshit that I can only hope life experience will help pull us out of.

In addition to my “meh” soapbox, this week’s Top 5 offers The Internship interviews with Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, and Rose Byrne, the first trailer and a set visit recap for director James Wan‘s Insidious: Chapter 2, a truckload of set images from X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Purge interviews with Ethan Hawke and more, and a look at the WGA’s list of the “101 Best Written TV Series of All Time”. Check out a brief recap and link to each after the jump.

I know many a Harry Potter fan made the pilgrimage to Universal Orlando Resort to down a butterbeer when The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened.  As a lifelong Simpsons fan, I now have my own pilgrimage to make.  Universal Studios announced they will build a real-life Springfield to accompany The Simpsons Ride.  The concept art (previewed above) shows the Kwik-E-Mart, Moe’s Tavern, Krusty Burger, The Android’s Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop, Lard Lad Donuts, Krustyland, and a Duff brewery.  Simpsons creator Matt Groening has previously chosen not to license Duff Beer, concerned it would encourage kids to drink.  But the press release promises, “And yes – there will be Duff Beer, brewed exclusively for Universal Orlando.”

There’s more food joints, the Jebediah statue (to embiggen the smallest patron), and a new attraction, Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl.  I must go.  Hit the jump for the press release with all the details and the full concept art.

Sunday evening’s TV ratings are in.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• Fox’s Family Guy topped the night ratings-wise with a 2.5 rating in the 18-49 demo and 4.9 million viewers.  That’s even with the show’s last original episode.
• Also up was The Cleveland Show, which hit a 1.2 rating and 2.63 million viewers for a rise of 33% from last week’s 0.9 rating.  Nevertheless, Fox recently decided not to order any new episodes of the Family Guy spinoff, effectively cancelling the show.  The remainder of the produced episodes will continue to air.
• Over on ABC, Once Upon a Time scored a 2.0 rating and 7.04 million viewers, dropping 5% from last week’s 2.1 rating.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Sunday, April 28th, including Bob’s Burgers, The Good Wife, The Mentalist, and more.

Sunday evening’s TV ratings are in.  Here’s a look at the highlights:

• While topping the night ratings-wise, Family Guy dropped 15% from last week’s 2.7 rating to a 2.3 and 4.88 million viewers.
• Also down on Fox was a new episode of Bob’s Burgers, which hit a 1.6 rating and 3.52 million viewers for an 11% drop from last week’s 1.8 rating.
• ABC’s drama Once Upon a Time notched a 2.2 rating and 7.23 million viewers, tying its series low and dropping 4% from last week’s 2.3 rating.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Sunday, March 17th, including The Cleveland Show, The Good Wife, The Mentalist, and more.

Sunday evening’s TV ratings are in.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• Fox’s Family Guy saw a rise in viewership, hitting a 2.6 rating and 5.26 million viewers which is up two tenths from its last original’s 2.4 rating.
• Another Fox animated comedy enjoyed a jump as the excellent Bob’s Burgers notched a 1.8 rating and 3.56 million viewers.  That’s up a tenth from last week’s 1.7 rating.
• ABC’s new drama series Red Widow, on the other hand, dropped from last week’s series premiere rating of 1.5 with a 1.2 rating and 5.32 million viewers.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Sunday, March 10th, including Once Upon a Time, The Simpsons, Revenge, The Mentalist, and more.

Two of TV’s funniest families have their sights set on possible feature treatments, but they may not show up on screens any time soon.  Matt Groening’s hit animated series The Simpsons, now in its 24th season, already has one successful feature film under its belt, but don’t expect another one any time soon.  Arrested Development-creator Mitchell Hurwitz is currently experiencing a rejuvenation of the family comedy series thanks to a fourth season production at Netflix.  So how long will it be until a movie deal gets made for the Bluth and Simpsons families?  Hit the jump to find out.

Sunday evening’s TV ratings are in.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• Fox’s swell animated comedy Bob’s Burgers saw a rise in viewership, notching a 1.9 rating and 4.06 million viewers.  That’s up 6% from last week’s 1.8 rating in the demo.
• ABC’s Once Upon a Time rebounded from last week’s series low, earning a 2.3 rating and 7.5 million viewers for an uptick of 5% from last week’s 2.2 rating.
• CBS’s The Good Wife was down, however, garnering a 1.4 rating and 8.48 million viewers for a new series-low performance.  That’s a drop of 7% from its last original episode’s 1.5 rating.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Sunday, February 17th, including The Mentalist, Family Guy, Revenge, and more.

Apologies for the lack of TV ratings reports last week, but we were bogged down with Sundance in Park City.  We’re back now, though, with Sunday evening’s programming ratings.  Here are the highlights:

• Family Guy scored a 2.8 rating and 5.56 million viewers for a drop of four tenths from its last new episode’s 3.2 rating.
• Fox’s American Dad was also down, garnering a 2.1 rating and 4.19 million viewers.  That’s down three tenths from its last original episode’s 2.4 rating.
• A new episode of CBS’ The Good Wife scored a series low with a 1.5 rating and 9.29 million viewers, versus its last new episode’s 1.9 rating.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Sunday, January 27th including Bob’s Burgers, The Simpsons, The Mentalist, and more.

The holiday hiatus is officially over, and it’s back to our regularly scheduled programming.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights of Sunday’s TV ratings:

• Season three of Downton Abbey had its stateside premiere last night on PBS, earning a whopping 7.9 million viewers.  The two-hour premiere was up a ridiculous 96% over its season two premiere, which garnered 4.2 million viewers.
• News wasn’t as great for ABC’s displaced comedies Happy Endings and Don’t Trust the B in Apt. 23.  The network is now airing (burning off?) both shows twice a week, and the comedies hit series lows in their Sunday debut.  Happy Endings scored a 1.0 rating and 2.57 million viewers, while Don’t Trust the B garnered a 0.9 rating and 2.23 million viewers.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Sunday, January 6th, including Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers, and more.

Sunday night’s TV ratings are in.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• The Simpsons enjoyed a major rebound this week, earning a 3.3 rating and 7.53 million viewers for a rise of 38% from last week’s 2.4.  Moreover, the episode topped all other scripted programming for the night.
• ABC’s Once Upon a Time also saw a rise, hitting a 3.0 rating in the 18-49 demo and 8.76 million viewers.  That’s up 11% from its last original episode’s series low of 2.2.
• News wasn’t as cheery for the ABC soap Revenge, which was down 12% from its last new episode’s 2.5 rating with a season low 2.2 rating in the demo and 6.8 million viewers.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Sunday, November 25th, including Family Guy, The Mentalist, Bob’s Burgers, The Good Wife, and more.

Sunday’s TV ratings are in.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• Fox’s “Animation Domination” block returned down, with Family Guy scoring a 2.5 rating and 5.07 million viewers versus its last original episode’s 3.4 rating and American Dad dropping from a 2.6 rating to 1.9 and 4 million viewers.
• ABC’s fantasy series Once Upon a Time saw an uptick with 3.5 rating and 10.10 million viewers.  That’s up a tad from last week’s 3.4 rating.
• New series 666 Park Avenue scored its lowest rating to date with a 1.6 in the 18-49 demo and 4.07 million viewers.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Sunday, November 4th, including The Simpsons, The Good Wife, The Mentalist, and more.

Network primetime ratings numbers are in for Sunday, and it looks like animated programming was up for the night while every broadcast drama saw a drop.  Here’s a look at the highlights:

• This week’s episode of The Simpsons marked the show’s annual Treehouse of Horror, but the ratings were down from last week’s episode with a 3.1 rating in the 18-49 demo and 6.52 million viewers.
• Fox’s other Sunday mainstay, Family Guy, came away with a big win as the Nielsen Ratings-centered episode scored a 3.4 rating, topping all scripted programming for the night.
• ABC’s staple Once Upon a Time took a drop this week, landing a 3.3 rating and 9.62 million viewers which is down 15% from its season two premiere.
• Revenge was also down, landing a 2.6 rating and 8.27 million viewers, down 19% from last week’s 3.2 rating.

Hit the jump for the full rundown of the scripted programming ratings for Sunday, October 7th, including The Cleveland Show, American Dad, 666 Park Avenue, The Good Wife, The Mentalist, and more.

In lieu of one massive TV ratings article for the week, we’re going to start bringing you daily updates on the goings-on in the TV world.  We’ll report ratings estimates the day after shows air, and today we’ve got the numbers for Sunday night’s programming.  Briefly:

• Showtime had a great night as Dexter scored its highest-rated season opener ever with 2.4 million viewers for its season seven premiere.
• Coming off a near-sweep at the Primetime Emmy Awards, Homeland was up 60% for its second season premiere with 1.73 million viewers.
• ABC’s Once Upon a Time returned incredibly strong with 11 million viewers and a 3.8 rating in the 18-34 demographic.
• Also on ABC, the series premiere of the “haunted hotel” drama 666 Park Avenue couldn’t pull in big numbers, as the Terry O’Quinn-fronted show netted a 2.2 rating for 7 million viewers.
• Hot on the heels of the news that creator Seth MacFarlane will be hosting this year’s Oscars, the season premiere of Fox’s Family Guy was down 20% from last year’s season opener with a 3.3 rating and 6.5 million viewers.

Hit the jump for all of Sunday’s ratings including Revenge, American Dad, The Simpsons, The Mentalist, and more.

Now entering their 25^th year, The Simpsons entertained fans at Comic-Con in a panel that included Matt Groening, Yeardley Smith and Al Jean, moderated by David Mirkin. As a long time Simpsons fan who has lost interest in recent years, it was nice to see that the jokes still land as the cast and creative team premiered an upcoming Halloween episode and the full release of the short, The Longest Daycare.  Hit the jump for more on The Simpsons panel and be sure to follow along with all of our continuing Comic-Con coverage.

A few fleeting seconds from The Simpsons 3D short The Longest Daycare arrived on the web today. Debuting in advance of Ice Age: Continental Drift on July 13, the dialogue-free 4 and a half-minute adventure will follow Maggie Simpson as she returns to the “Ayn Rand School for Tots.” Upon entry, our pint-sized hero is pegged as “Nothing Special” by a security/potential scan. Keeping with their pre-established motto of “Helping is futile,” she’s left to fend for herself in the school’s least savory wing; here she must truly develop the bottle within to survive a confrontation with arch nemesis Gerald (aka that baby with the unibrow). Hit the jump for a super-quick preview of The Longest Daycare…and seriously, try not to blink.