‘Modern Family’ scoop: Luke schools Gloria, and Manny turns 13!

Image Credit: Bob D'Amico/ABCRico Rodriguez and Nolan Gould took some time out from attending the Megamind premiere in Hollywood last week to tease some upcoming episodes of ABC’s Modern Family. Look for Gould’s Luke Dunphy to school his step-grandma and Rodriguez’ Manny Delgado to become immature — fast. First up: Luke’s role as an accidental teacher. “Jay (Ed O’Neill) teaches Manny how to ride a bike and Gloria (Sofia Vergara) decides she wants to learn to but it goes horribly between her and Jay,” Rodriguez tells EW exclusively. “She needs a more motherly type of person so Luke is her guy!”

“Luke is going to teach Gloria how to ride a bike!” adds Gould. “It is pretty cool. Jay tried but it doesn’t work because he is a bad teacher and gets too frustrated. So she goes over to my house looking for my dad to teach her but he is busy and can’t do it. I happen to be at the house and my play date cancels so I convince Gloria to let me teach her. He teaches in a very strange way. He’s got a technique where he forces her to learn with a water gun. I also use it on my sister Haley (Sarah Hyland). I’m trying to teach her how to do her homework.”

In another episode, Rodriguez says his character celebrates his 13th birthday by “trying to shove my entire childhood into one day.” “Manny was born an old man so he realizes that he never really did the normal kid stuff so he tries to do everything he was supposed to do in a couple of hours,” Rodriguez tells EW. “For example…making a prank call. He has never done that before and he doesn’t do it well.” – With reporting from Carrie Bell

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7 over-the-top political ads

Christine O'Donnell's ''Yes, Wikean!'' ad
Admitting on an old Politically Incorrect clip that she dabbled in witchcraft as a youngster was embarrassing enough. But the former anti-masturbation activist and Senatorial hopeful from Delaware made matters so much worse with this jaw-dropping ''I am not a witch'' spot.

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Changes in store for ‘Lopez Tonight’

Image Credit: Gavin Bond/TBSThe much-anticipated debut of Conan O’Brien’s talk show Conan Nov. 8 on TBS will give George Lopez the rare opportunity to relaunch his year-old TBS talk show, Lopez Tonight, in a new midnight time slot. This season, Lopez has been in 21st place among basic-cable shows, averaging 864,000 people ages 18–49, behind 11 p.m. competitors like Family Guy reruns (1.5 million), Law & Order: SVU repeats (929,000), and The Daily Show (917,000). Now executive-produced by late-night guru Robert Morton (Late Show With David Letterman), Lopez Tonight will follow O’Brien’s production schedule—four days a week, up from three. And just like O’Brien and the other late-night hosts, Lopez will start performing live to tape.

Previously Lopez would spin his wheels in front of cameras for two and a half hours before his show was edited for broadcast. “I’m a big believer in old-school training,” Morton tells EW. “We have to make it feel like it’s happening now, live. It has to have that pace.”

Other tweaks that Morton says are in store for the show include moving the taping from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. each day to attract “better audiences” looking for that “night-out experience,” along with a new set that will separate Lopez’s desk from the performing area (“Viewers like to know the geography of a show”). Look for more conceptual funny pieces and remote packages, Morton promises, and shorter interviews. “These guys just needed liberation,” explains Morton. “I told George not to sell the comedy card too hard. He should feel free to write anything. Conan’s taking chances, so he should follow that lead.”

Lopez’s relaunch-week guests include Denzel Washington, Hilary Duff, and Bret Michaels.

For now, TBS is keeping mum about what type of ratings it hopes O’Brien’s new show will average or whether Conan is expected to eclipse The Daily Show at 11 p.m. “We expect him to be competitive,” says Michael Wright, head of programming for TBS. But Wright has no doubt that O’Brien will have an immediate impact on TBS’ existing late-night franchise. “George has done an admirable job developing a brand-new show from scratch with four different lead-ins on four different nights,” says Wright. “Audience flow is crucial. We expect Conan to be a win-win for George.”

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‘Undercover Boss’ hits series low opposite football and baseball

Image Credit: Michael Yarish/CBSSerious competition from NFL football on NBC and Game 4 of the World Series on Fox wreaked havoc on on CBS’ The Amazing Race and Undercover Boss. The competition show at 8 p.m. averaged 2.9 rating/7 share in 18-49 — down 17% from last week and also a season low, according to early estimates from Nielsen. It averaged 9.1 million. At 9, Boss earned a 2.9/7 — down 10% to its lowest-rated telecast ever. The sophomore show averaged 10.3 million. CSI: Miami at 10, meanwhile earned a 2.6/7 and averaged 9.8 million.

Each 18-49 ratings point represents 1.3 million.

But hey, it’s not so easy to go up against football and baseball. Fox ruled the night in viewers (15.2 million) but NBC won the night in the 18-49 demographic (5.2/14) because of the matchup between the last two Super Bowl victors, the Steelers and the Saints. The game itself averaged a 6.6/17 in the demographic. Fox came in second in the demo (4.7/13) because Game 4 earned a 4.3 rating. CBS was third with a 2.4/7 and 10.0 million eyeball.s

As for ABC, which finished fourth with a 2.2/6 and 7.9 million, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition finished with a 1.8/5 and 6.6 million viewers, followed by Desperate Housewives (3.5/9, 10.9 million) and Brothers & Sisters (2.3/6, 8.1 million).

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‘How I Met Your Mother’: Jorge Garcia, Nicole Scherzinger talk guest spots

Image Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Excellent news for Jorge Garcia fans: The Lost guy’s coming to How I Met Your Mother! Garcia told EW exclusively that he’s “popping up here and there” in projects like ABC’s upcoming mid-season comedy Mr. Sunshine that stars Matthew Perry and “a little thing on How I Met Your Mother.”

“I can’t say much about the episode but I can assure you that I am not the mother,” Garcia said while attending (and dressing appropriately for) last week’s 35th Anniversary tribute to Rocky Horror Picture Show. “It looks like it is the Thanksgiving episode. I am not a super villain. I come in as a friend of one of the main characters. It was a lot of fun working with them.”

Nicole Scherzinger, who was at the same premiere (as evidenced by the awesome photo), says she’s also set to make an appearance on HIMYM. “My character’s name is Jessica Glitter. I am Robin’s best friend from when she was Robin Sparkles. We had a famous show in Canada and I blow back into her life. We just might be unearthing another embarrassing music video from back in the day.” – With reporting from Carrie Bell

Read more:
Jorge Garcia of ‘Lost’ on being the face of Weezer’s new album: ‘How awesome is that?’
Nicole Scherzinger to play a villain in ‘Men in Black 3'

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