NBC’s hit summer show ‘America’s Got Talent’ is moving to Radio City Music Hall this summer, creating some 500 jobs and millions of dollars in economic activity in the city, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today.

The show will move from its current location at the Performing Arts Center in Newark to Radio City Music Hall for the show’s eighth season. In addition to jobs, the move is expected to bring in more than $100 million in economic activity each season.

Cuomo’s office also said the show, which is filmed in front of a live audience, is expected to draw visitors who will spend an estimated $9.5 million at local businesses.

“Today’s announcement is further proof that New York is becoming the place to go for the film and television industry, creating new jobs for New Yorkers and spurring economic activity across the state,” Cuomo said.

The state recently extended its popular Film Production Tax Credit which many believe has driven the rapid growth of the city’s TV and film industry.

“America’s Got Talent” will air live twice a week from the 6,000-seat Radio City Music Hall, starting July 23.

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Things are heating up on “The Voice” with Shakira and Usher coming on as the new judges.

Shakira, who recently had a baby, and Usher replaced the original coaches, Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green. Blake Shelton and Adam Levine stayed on as judges this season.

The new judges brought in decent ratings. Last night’s premiere had 13.4 million viewers and a 4.7 rating among adults 18-49, which considering the judge shake-ups are very good numbers.

Both Shakira and Usher were charming and visibly comfortable in the judge’s seat.

But the night belonged to contestant Judith Hill, who performed Christina Aguilera’s “What a Girl Wants.” The audition had all four judges fighting for a chance to be her coach. Hill was a backup singer for Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” tour, which was canceled due to the King of Pop’s untimely death. She later sang “Heal the World” at Jackson’s memorial service.

“You are the first person that’s every come on this show and done a Christina song as well as Christina Aguilera,” Levine said.

With all four coaches vying for her, Hill chose Levine as her coach.

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant.

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For those of you who tune in every Thursday night to watch ‘Parks & Recreation’ on NBC, there’s no doubt you were absolutely smitten by Leslie and Ben’s wedding last week.

In the episode, engaged couple Ben and Leslie, tied the knot spontaneously.

The episode so many ‘awwws’ that NBC decided to create a Ben and Leslie’s Wedding Album on Pinterest.

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Following the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the Internet is suffering a withdrawal known as “Post Olympic Depression.” Thousands of Olympic fans are mourning the end of the games and taking to Twitter to share their melancholy. The hashtag “#Nolympics” started trending as the harsh realization set in that the Olympics have come to a close, and we won’t see them again for another four years.

Within that #Nolympics sadness, though, lies anger with NBC, once again, as the network continued its pattern of cutting chunks from the major televised Olympic ceremonies. First, the opening ceremony, and last night, the closing ceremony.

Viewers, who were already frustrated with NBC over its tape-delayed coverage throughout the Games, reached a boiling point with the network after it cut performances from Ray Davies, Kate Bush, The Who and Muse, which produced and performed the official song of the Olympics. Why would NBC do such a thing? In order to air a commercial-free episode of its new fall comedy “Animal Practice.” The performance by The Who didn’t air until after that.

“So the OFFICIAL song of the Olympics was never played once during the opening or closing ceremony on #NBC? This is ridiculous,” one Twitter user said.

“I love it. The #NBC fail continues up to literally the last possible hour of the Olympics. Well done, sirs,” another user ranted.

Between the fury over NBC’s choppy coverage and the post-Olympic blues, it’s shaping up to be a rough Monday. Buck up, kids — after all, the Paralympics begin on Aug. 29!

[View the story "#nolympics" on Storify]

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Khan, an internationally acclaimed dancer who was recently the recipient of the Olivier Award, was commissioned by director Danny Boyle to choreograph and perform a moving number just before the athletes entered the stadium. Khan, 50 dancers and a 10-year-old boy performed a contemporary dance as the haunting voice of Emile Sandé sang the somber hymn “Abide With Me.”

Today, at a discussion led by BBC’s Alan Yentob, Khan, joined by his dance company’s producer Farooq Chaudhry, spoke of his vision behind the dance and the theme he and Boyle worked to create — mortality. He said the dancers were meant to symbolize spirits and the young boy was meant to symbolize “hope” and legacy.  

“He said to me, ‘I would love you to do something about mortality. I want you to do it to end the artistic part and after that, the athletes will come in,’” Khan told reporters about his conversation with Boyle.

When a reporter asked Khan how he felt about NBC cutting the performance from the U.S. viewing, a surprised expression came across his face and he admitted it was the first he had heard of it.

He later said, “I don’t know why they cut it, but I feel disheartened and disappointed, really. Is it not accessible enough? Is it not commercial enough? If it’s for those reasons, than I am really, really disappointed. Maybe it’s too simple. Maybe it’s too empty… I don’t know why they did it.”

Chaudhry, who told reporters he had just found the performance was cut before the press conference began, said, “I was really shocked and horrified and would like to know on what grounds the American media can make that decision.”

NBC had not responded to multiple requests for comment at the time this story was published.

The media, though, had already begun reporting about the “7/7 tribute” that was cut by NBC, with one glaring error: Khan made no mention during the 90 minute discussion about the terror attack on London on July 7, 2005 that claimed 52 lives. It didn’t come up once. There is also no mention of it being a tribute in the official media guide of the opening ceremony.

The confusion seems to lie within a video tribute that showed pictures of victims and asked the crowd to pause for a moment of silence for “friends and family who could not be here tonight.” Khan’s performance began right after that, confusing viewers and reporters as to whether it was part of the tribute.

However, Khan’s failure to mention the dance being any kind of dedication would suggest that it was not part of the tribute. Nevertheless, NBC has yet to explain why it was cut.

There has been so much outrage over the cut performance, as well as many other moments that were hacked for American viewing, that the hashtag #NBCfail was trending on Twitter after the opening ceremony.

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1. Attendees of the Greendale Halloween party turn into zombies. Troy (Donald Glover) saves the day by turning on the air conditioning, which breaks the “fever.” The army arrives and erases everyone’s memories.

2. The campus is turned into an apocalyptic wasteland after a paintball war breaks out.

3. At Troy and Abed’s (Danny Pudi) housewarming party, Jeff (Joel McHale) assigns a number to his six friends; they agree to roll a die to determine who will meet the pizza guy at the door. This results in Pierce (Chevy Chase) getting shot and Britta (Gillian Jacobs) starting a fire.

4. Jeff tips off Chang (Ken Jeong) that the Greendale glee club is illegally performing copyrighted songs; the singers are served with a cease-and-desist order. For the holiday pageant to go on as planned, the glee instructor uses mind control to get the study group to participate.

5. Annie (Alison Brie) breaks Abed’s limited edition “The Dark Knight” DVD and lies, saying that it’s been stolen. Batman himself investigates.

(scroll down for the answers)

Answer Key

1. The “zombie” fever was caused by supplies Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) bought at an army surplus store in Ep. 6, Season 2: “Epidemiology.”

2. Greendale’s annual paintball game turns serious after Pelton announces the prize — priority class registration — in “Modern War­fare”(Ep. 23, Season 1). The episode inspired the sequels “A Fistful of Paintballs” and “For a Few Paintballs More,” the two-part Season 2 finale.

3. The entire episode explores the alternate universes that result from different rolls of the die in “Remedial Chaos Theory” (Ep. 4, Season 3).

4. “Regional Holiday Music” (Ep. 10, Season 3) was a “Glee” spoof.

5. In “Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism” (Ep. 9, Season 3), we also discover Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) once bullied Jeff so badly when they were kids that Jeff wet his pants.
   
 Yes, these zany storylines are all part of the goofy joy in watching “Community.”

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So how do these designers win the approval — and buying power — of such iconic retailers? The people making those decisions, bidding against each other for new looks during each episode, weigh in.

Terron Schaefer, buyer at Saks Fifth Avenue
“It is all about contemporary fashion,” Schaefer explains. “This is a whole new concept in terms of television. Most reality shows, or all reality shows up until now, you vote with your telephone. But this one, you vote with your wallet, and you wear the winner tomorrow.”

Caprice Willard, buyer at Macy’s
“I think the thing to understand is that ‘Fashion Star’ gives us all an opportunity to have high fashion be accessible to every American,” Willard says. “[Each retailer] represents different aspects of the American consumer, so that particular design may have a difference in use in each of our stores. But the essence of the item will be perfectly represented, whether it’s in Macy’s, Saks or H&M.”

Nicole Christie, buyer at H&M
“We were really looking for a designer that had range and could bring something new to the runway,” Christie says. “At the end of the day, the design speaks for itself. I think it’s quite natural that we had some competition up there when bidding for garments on the runway every week.”

Celebrity mentors
Jessica Simpson, Nicole Richie and John Varvatos serve as celebrity mentors to the designer contestants. What tips were they hoping to pass along to the next “Fashion Star”?
   
“We really wanted to mentor all of these designers for having a lifestyle brand,” says Simpson, “not just trying to set trends, but to weave in and out of great trends, really making a name for yourself.”

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The three-decade anchor, who has won four Emmy awards, will be on air until June at the 11 p.m. broadcast, then leave co-host Chuck Scarborough, whose contract was reportedly renewed for three years. Simmons has only been anchoring the 11 p.m. show since January, after she was bumped from the 6 p.m. slot.

Simmons is also known for an infamous on-air cursing incident, in which she “What the f*** are you doing?” to an unknown person off camera in 2008. She later issued an apology on-air saying, “I said a word that many people find offensive. I’m truly sorry. It was a mistake on my part and I apologize.”

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Its comeback will push “30 Rock” to the 8:30 p.m. slot. “The Office” will follow, chased by “Up All Night,” which will continue until “Parks and Recreation” returns on April 19.  

“Community” has been less than a ratings magnet historically, but now in its third season, NBC is no doubt hoping it picks up steam. In its 8 p.m. time slot, it will be up against CBS’ popular comedy “The Big Bang Theory.”

Show creator Dan Harmon took to Twitter to spread his cheer about the return of “Community.”

@danharmon What you call 8:00, we call home. Community returns to Thursday nights on March 15th.

While “Community” might not be the shining star of evening comedy, we’re happy to see the show come back. Here are some of our favorite moments from Greendale Community College.

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In NBC’s “Smash,” a successful songwriting duo attempts to create a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. Meet the schemers and dreamers who share the stage.

The role: Ivy

AKA: Marilyn Monroe hopeful No. 1
Played by: Broadway star Megan Hilty
About Ivy: Ivy is a New York stage veteran waiting for her big break to move from chorus girl to star.
Her thoughts: How authentic is “Smash” to life on the Broadway stage? Very, says Hilty. “I think the genius of making this idea into a series is that when you are a live performer, you’re giving so much of yourself and there’s so much at stake when you’re exposing yourself in front of hundreds of thousands of people,” she says. “It naturally sets the tone and sets the stage for high drama. This show definitely taps into all of those things.”

The role: Karen

AKA: Marilyn Monroe hopeful No. 2
Played by: “American Idol” star Katharine McPhee
About Karen: Karen is a sweet Midwestern girl trying to make it big in NYC.  
Her thoughts: She may be singing on television again, but filming a drama is a lot different from McPhee’s days on “Idol.” “I’m usually singing songs that I’m hearing for the first time,” she admits. “It’s such a fast pace that we’re on, and you don’t get a whole lot of time to sit with the songs and perfect them. And it is different because, for me, I think of myself as more of a pop artist — and Megan has got, like, the big Broadway voice. So I’m always trying to balance the two.”

The roles: Julia and Tom

AKA: Marilyn Monroe musical creators
Played by: Debra Messing and Christian Borle
About Julia and Tom: Julia was going to take time off from writing with Tom
to adopt a child, but now that the inspiration for a Marilyn musical has hit, she’s going to try juggling both dreams.
Their thoughts: “Here is a woman who is very passionate about her creative life and needs that part of her life fulfilled, but also really is a proud mother and wants that home life — and wants that balance,” says Messing. “And I love that nothing is simple.”

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It’s still all about the voice
Giving incredibly talented singers who may not have “mainstream” pop star looks — like Season 1 standout Beverly McClellan — a chance at stardom “is actually the sole factor of why I signed up and said yes to doing the show in the first place,” says judge/mentor Christina Aguilera. “It really gives artists like Beverly, who isn’t so commercially approachable as far as being your ideal pop star, per se, [a chance]. We all like to see a visual package that all makes sense and is cute and wrapped up in a bow and things like that. [‘The Voice’] is not about that. It’s about taking it back to the real heart of music and being moved by it.”

They’ll offer criticism, but never be mean
“There’s a difference between being critical and kind of willfully just mean,” Levine says, abstrusely referring to other famous singing competition judges. “There’s a constructive way to tell someone that they weren’t as good as they could have been and what tools can you give them to help them become better at what they do. Using the tactic of, ‘Oh, you were terrible,’ doesn’t really get us anywhere. So that’s kind of our mission statement, I think.”

Thankfully, the competition starts out with such a high caliber of talent. Painful performances aren’t a common occurrence.

“Even if someone has an off night, you can be honest enough to say, ‘This wasn’t your best,’ rather than, ‘You suck,’” says Levine. “That’s just such a completely silly, unproductive thing to say.”

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It turns out some people will do anything for money. ‘Donkey semen’ isn’t trending because it’s a euphemism for some weird sex act. It’s trending because someone drank it.

TMZ reported last week that an episode of Fear Factor, which was scheduled to air today, featured contestants drinking donkey semen for $50,000.

Turns out NBC pulled the episode, so thankfully we don’t have to worry about throwing up tonight. None of us will get to see other human beings ingest donkey semen.

Call us lame, but we wouldn’t drink animal semen even if NBC promised to pay off our student loans and and buy us all a pony. We don’t know what’s worse, though, the fact that NBC challenged people to drink donkey semen or that people actually did it. Get it together people, some things are just not worth the money!

What do you think, readers? For what amount of money would you drink donkey semen?

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The comedy show, which stars Joel McHale, was not on the NBC’s midseason renewal plans, but The Hollywood Reporter said that the show was not cancelled.

After ‘Community’ enthusiasts started to panic thinking the show was canceled, Brain Stelter, a New York Times reporter that covers television and digital media tweeted the following:

“Community is definitely NOT cancelled, NYT’s Bill Carter says, two cubicles over. NBC says it’ll be off the air for only a brief time.”

While the show is on NBC’s prime Thursday night slot, it’s no secret it’s struggling.

According to MSNBC.com the show’s most recent airing attracted 3.5 million viewers, which is just short of its season low.

And for those who care to know, ‘Prime Suspect’ was not cancelled either.

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The comedy show, which stars Joel McHale, was not on the NBC’s midseason renewal plans, but The Hollywood Reporter said that the show was not canceled.

After ‘Community’ enthusiasts started to panic thinking the show was canceled, Brain Stelter, a New York Times reporter that covers television and digital media tweeted the following:

“Community is definitely NOT cancelled, NYT’s Bill Carter says, two cubicles over. NBC says it’ll be off the air for only a brief time.”

While the show is on NBC’s prime Thursday night slot, it’s no secret it’s struggling.

According to MSNBC.com the show’s most recent airing attracted 3.5 million viewers, which is just short of its season low.

And for those who care to know, ‘Prime Suspect’ was not canceled either.

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Clinton will be a full-time correspondent for NBC New’s “Making a Difference” series, the New York Times first reported. If you’re worried she didn’t receive the job entirely on merit, have no fear: She had a rigorous interview with NBC president Steve Capus that apparently consisted of him simply asking her, “What are you interested in doing?”

If only it could be as easy for everyone to make it to the top of the broadcast news game. No futile striving at an endless parade of dead-end jobs, no grocery carts stacked high with  towers of on-sale ramen noodles, no tiny apartments in forgotten parts of town, no frenzied clawing our way past stubborn coworkers who are standing in the way. If only we were all former first daughters!

Chelsea Clinton posted this statement about her new gig on her Facebook page:

As I’ve shared with you here over the past several weeks, and with my friends and family for as long as I can remember, what inspires me most are people who imagine and implement solutions to challenges in their own lives, in their communities, in our country and around the world. Through their “Making a Difference” franchise, I am excited to work with NBC News to continue to highlight stories of organizations and individuals who make their communities and our world healthier, more just and more humane.

Clinton also said she will be donating most of her earnings to the Clinton Foundation and to D.C.’s George Washington Hospital, in honor of her late grandmother.
 
Clinton, by the way, does not have a journalism degree. In fact, neither do Bush Hager or McCain. The closest any of NBC’s stable of political children has to a journalism background is Meghan McCain, who once had an internship at Newsweek. (To her credit, though, McCain is also a contributing author for The Daily Beast, she wrote a book and heck — she blogs!)

Isn’t the world fun?

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Though pickups of Fox pilots, including the Zooey Deschanel-led sitcom “New Girl” and J.J. Abrams thriller “Alcatraz,” were leaked last week, the confirmed schedule announced yesterday includes a total of four new comedies, three new dramas and the most anticipated new unscripted series of the year, Simon Cowell’s “The X Factor.”

NBC is adding 12 new series next season: six dramas, including an adaptation of John Grisham’s “The Firm”; and six comedies, including “Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea,” inspired by the Chelsea Handler book.

For full coverage of the Fox and NBC schedules, video previews and all the broadcast networks’ upfront announcements, read Amber’s blog, TV Picks.

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