This Week In Television: New Emmy Rules, SNL 40, Scandal Special Guests, and More

Romantic moments, special guest stars, and new rules! Here are a few noteworthy highlights from this past week in television.

Spoilers? You bet.

 

SNL Celebrates 40 Years:

SNL celebrated 40 years on television Sunday night with a star studded party and live show. The evening-long event featured old and new skits performed by cast members and celebrity fans. It was SNL in black tie, with every famous person you can think of in the audience. The best part? Hearing Jimmy Fallon talk about the after party:

New Emmy Rules:

It was bound to happen. There are several new rules for Emmy nominations, including a significant change for shows like Orange is the New Black, Shameless, and Jane the Virgin. Now, the comedy category will be limited to 30-minute series.

Orange is the New Black Returning Without Biggs:

Speaking of Orange is the New Black, Jason Biggs will not be returning for season 3. He did say, however, that there’s always a chance he will be back in another season down the road. The new season will air this summer on Netflix.

Empire’s Meteoric Rise:

Empire’s viewership was up to a staggering 13 million this week, for the “Our Dancing Days Episode,” making it one of the most watched shows on TV right now. Even more remarkable, Empire has been steadily rising each week, for a notable six weeks in a row. If you aren’t watching, maybe you should be.

Lena Dunham to Guest Star on Scandal:

Lena Dunham has announced that she will be guest starring sometime in the future on an episode of Scandal. She was tight-lipped about what the role might be. We can’t wait to find out.

And Speaking of Special Guest Stars on Scandal:

It was a surprise guest star who finally saved Olivia Pope this week on Scandal. With a short appearance, it was Henry Ian Cusick as Stephen who came to her rescue.

Grey’s Anatomy: Amelia and Owen!

We saw this one coming, but it made for one of best kiss scenes we’ve seen in a long time. Do you ship Amelia and Owen?

A Double Wedding on Glee:

Glee’s final season continued this week with a double wedding. First Brittany and Santana tied the knot, and then Kurt and Blaine agreed to join the party. Speaking of weddings, rumor has it that Stephen Colbert’s upcoming The Mindy Project appearance might be to play the role of officiate. At least, that’s what a picture Mindy tweeted to her fans of Colbert as “Father Michael O’Donnell” seems to suggest.

Nathan Fillion Makes an Appearance on The Big Bang Theory:

On The Big Bang Theory this week, Leonard and Sheldon spot who they are fairly certain is Nathan Fillion, and then quickly manage to get on his nerves. It’s completely hilarious. If you missed it, you can see that clip here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HpRr80ME7E

The Bachelor Recap:

Viewers got to spend five full hours with Chris and the girls this week. First came the “tell all” which, of course, told very little. Kelsey came to defend her name, but all she really did was confirm that she thinks she’s very, very smart. Andi, the last bachelorette, spoke about her breakup, which was just really sad. And then Chris talked about his thoughts on some of the girls. After that came the hometown visit, where the girls got to see Arlington, Iowa. Which, it turns out, Chris was not exaggerating the smallness of. The girls all pretended to like it, but they were clearly lying. In the end, Britt shot herself in the foot by telling the girls she didn’t see herself there.

Finally, part three had Chris visiting the girls’ houses. First he met Becca and her family. The big news here? Everyone discussing when it would be most appropriate for Becca to tell Chris she’s a virgin. Next was Whitney, who took Chris to see her workplace, and then her sister epically refused to give him her blessing. For Kaitlyn’s turn, she had Chris rap with her. Shockingly, he is not good at rapping. Then came the interesting one: Jade and her playboy shoot. Jade finally came clean about posing in playboy and then awkwardly pulled out her laptop and showed Chris the pics. When Chris didn’t give her a rose at the ceremony this week, he made it clear that he totally swears it has nothing to do with what she told him. Oh, okay. Next week is the big time. We’re down to three!