On HBO's critically acclaimed "Entourage," Jeremy Piven plays Ari Gold so convincingly that real Hollywood agents feel their skin crawl, experiencing the odd sensation the show is dramatizing their biographies. The sultans of Sunset Boulevard insist "Entourage" gives the most frighteningly real representation of high-powered talent agents since Tom Cruise revealed all the nooks and crannies in Jerry McGuire's character. "Entourage" producer Doug Ellin recently explained, "We always try to write the show starting with 'What's real?' not 'What's funny?,' " but the two questions may be opposite sides of the same coin, because uninitiated audiences find it belly-laugh-out-loud hilarious. "When you're on the inside like we are, good water-cooler television is hard to find," said Jay Sures, a partner at the United Talent Agency. "Entourage" compels the real Hollywood "ten-percenters" to engage in spirited discussions of the show's characters and situations, treating the fictions as if they were real colleagues and clients, because the work-a-day professionals willingly have suspended disbelief and taken Ari Gold into the fold. For the average cable subscriber, then, "Entourage" is the entre to life as a Hollywood insider.

Key & Peele is a sketch comedy show that aired on Comedy Central from 2012 to 2015. The show starred Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, who both wrote and performed the sketches. Key & Peele tackled a variety of topics including race, politics, and popular culture.

With much humor derived from some cast members of Saturday Night Live and with approval from Lorne Michaels himself, Portlandia was born. The name Portlandia refers to a sculpture with that title found over the entrance doors of the Portland Building which is situated in downtown Portland on Fifth Avenue. The show has the fast paced comedy touch that SNL is well noted for and cast members Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein help keep it moving along. With Lorne Michaels as executive producer and creative writing from Fred Armisen, Jonathan Krisel, and Carrie Brownstein the show appears to have a bright future. We see how popular restaurants along the famous Hawthorne District in Portland handle irate dinner guests when they leave rather nasty reviews on a website titled Yelp! Another episode finds how badly a one man performance can actually be at the Hollywood Theatre, a local historic building in northeast Portland. If it happens in or around Portland it might end up on the show in some fashion, most likely comedic in tone. Portlandia currently runs on the IFC (Independent Film Channel).

With broad international approval the late night talk show titled Chelsea Lately, starring Chelsea Handler, found its niche on televisions around the globe in recent years. Taped in Los Angeles, California, Chelsea Lately was developed around the concept of a comedy talk show dealing with current events including pop culture and show business in general. A round table with guests such as George Wallace, Loni Love, Brody Stevens, and John Caparulo deal with a wide assortment of subject matter, all related to show biz in some way, shape, or form. Chelsea has a "sidekick" in Heather McDonald who is also a comedian and best selling author. The two often travel on a private plane and Chelsea's tours always seem to be sell outs. Video clips, sketches, and live discussions make Chelsea Lately an ever entertaining and delightful bit of late night programming. When you can get celebrities to open up and talk about their industry while comparing notes on their craft it makes for good TV, especially in the late at night format which is looser and a bit more risque.

Just as we all began to wonder whether or not William H. Macy ever would land a role as juicy and delicious as playing Felicity Huffman's real-life husband, he scored arguably the greatest part of his entire career, starring as Frank Gallagher on Showtime's gritty new "Shameless." Frank drinks. Frank drinks shamelessly, intrepidly, relentlessly, recklessly and irretrievably while his six motherless children learn to fend for themselves on Chicago's unforgiving south side, "back of the stockyards," as they say, although the cattle have long-since gone. In the first episode, a properly burly Chicago police officer deposits Frank on his entryway floor, noting his incontinence and suggesting, "I wouldn't put him anywhere near a carpet until his pants dry." This ain't no Wisteria Lane. Adapted from its British companion, the American version of "Shameless" fulfils producer John Wells's long-standing desire "to make a television show where familial love, juicy cursing, casual sex and drug use, bluntly put humor, mega-alcohol bingeing and total chaos reign." The subject matter and setting naturally lend themselves to that treatment, and the entire casts rises to the occasion. "Shameless" depicts abject poverty, incurable alcoholism, and hopeless co-dependence as grimly and accurately as they deserve, yet it still persuades slightly spellbound viewers the Gallaghers genuinely love one another.

DreamWorks TV and producer Steven Spielberg are hoping their latest entry into prime time television lives up to its name. Smash is about the making of a Broadway musical play which involves the life of Marilyn Monroe. But personal conflicts among the cast members prove to be difficult to work with as they deal with the everyday demands of theater life and this musical in particular. Debra Messing stars as Julia Houston who is the co-writer as well as lyrist and song writer on Smash. Messing, formerly seen on Will & Grace, is an award winner with a musical background. Angelica Huston (Prizzi's Honor, The Adams Family) plays Eileen Rand the musical's producer who has to juggle handling a messy divorce along with the difficulty that goes with producing a Broadway musical. Frank Huston, Julia's husband is played by Brian d'Arcy James (Broadway's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) is jealous of Tom Levett (Christian Borle from Broadway's Jesus Christ Superstar), Julia's partner and co-writer of Smash. The actress who finally gets the role of Marilyn is Ivy Lynn played by Megan Hilty from the Broadway production of 9 to 5: The Musical. Plenty of behind the scenes back biting helps keep this production on a bumpy road.