Media Morsels 1.6.12

• John Mulaney is Funny
  The SNL writer John Mulaney's first television special will air this month. I was lucky enough to attend the live taping of Mulaney's show in the fall and I didn't stop laughing! The special, called "New in Town" airs on Comedy Central on January 28 at 10pm. Visit the announcement on the Huffington Post for some sneak preview video clips. Also, consider following @mulaney on Twitter for some wry observations, like his recent Full House tear.
  
  
• Holiday Weekend Reviews
  Over the Christmas and New Year weekend, I went on my annual in-theater movie-watching spree. Here are the reviews (all of nominated films), in case you missed them:
• Shame
• The Artist
• Hugo
• The Descendants
  
  
• New Year, New...
  It's a new year and that means new (or new versions of old) movies, music and TV shows.
  
• Flavorpill.com brought us a list of the ten most anticipated films of 2012. Included on the list are The Dark Knight Rises, Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino's latest, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and others), This is Forty (an Apatow flick with Paul Rudd, Jason Segel and Albert Brooks), The Five Year Engagement (also with Segel) and Looper (also with JGL). One movie not on the list that I'm looking forward to is The Amazing Spider-Man, starring The Social Network's Andrew Garfield. (Garfield will be on Broadway this spring in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. He's joined by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Linda Emond. Tickets are now on sale.)
  
  
• The AV Club chose the 64 entertainments they are most looking forward to in 2012, including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart's Indecision 2012 and a new Bruce Springsteen album and tour. More Jon Stewart and more the Boss? Yes!!!
  
  
• Rolling Stone presented its 10 Greatest Hopes and Fears for 2012, as well as National Affairs Contributor Tim Dickinson's picks for the 12 Leaders Who Get Things Done, including two of my political crushes, Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren.
  
  
• EW.com brought us the Hottest TV Projects of 2012. The list includes a new Muppet-style sitcom (!!!) but does not include Aaron Sorkin's new HBO show. Excellent on the former, disgraceful on the latter.
  
  
• Bill Maher gave his New Rules for 2012. (Real Time with Bill Maher returns to HBO next week, on January 13.)
  
  
• Award Season Updates
• Martin Scorsese will receive BAFTA's Academy Fellowship, honoring his prolific body of work.
  
  
• The Writers Guild of America (WGA) announced its nominees. Visit my Tumblr page for a highlighted list, which includes Aaron Sorkin and The Daily Show writers.
  
  
• I wonder on Tumblr: Is there a gender gap in movies and movie awards?
  
  
• Dig This
• More details about Aaron Sorkin's Houdini musical
  
  
• Look for Jonathan Groff (Spring Awakening, The Submission) on The Good Wife this February
  
  
• Lin-Manuel Miranda, set to star in the upcoming Encores! production of Merrily We Roll Along, recently spoke to the New York Times about Merrily, his Hamilton rap battle and creating a NY1 musical.
  
  
• Get ready for Downton Abbey season two, premiering on PBS this Sunday night at 9pm. I just got hooked (season one is on Netflix and several full episodes are on pbs.org) and you should, too! Here's the season 2 preview:
  

Watch Downton Abbey Season 2 Preview on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.