Wife Says Columbus Short Threatened Murder/Suicide

“Scandal” star Columbus Short has been thrown out of his house and his wife has filed for divorce … after he allegedly put a knife to her throat last week and threatened to kill her and himself.

According to a new restraining order — obtained by TMZ — Short got into it with his wife April 7 at their Chatsworth home, where she claims he came into her room intoxicated with a wine bottle in hand, acted like he was going to hit her with the bottle and then unloaded the wine on her.

Tuere Short claims Columbus then ran to the kitchen for a knife, pinned her to the couch and began choking her. She says he then demanded they play a game he called “Truth or Truth.” He allegedly said if she lied he would stab her in the leg.

She says he then started naming men he believed she was having affairs with. She denied them all but he allegedly then put the knife to her throat and threatened murder/suicide. As she tried escaping she says he slashed her tire.

The restraining order requires Columbus to move out of the house. We’ve learned cops were there today to ensure the peace as he moved out.

Tuere also filed for divorce Tuesday, citing irreconcilable differences and asking for sole custody of their 2-year-old daughter.

In addition to the incident April 7th, Short has been charged with criminal domestic violence and child abuse for allegedly abusing Tuere while their child and his son were in the house. He pled not guilty. And he was arrested for yet another alleged domestic violence incident a few weeks earlier.

It’s interesting … just last month — after the first 2 domestic violence arrests — Columbus and his wife put on a united front at The Grove in L.A.

It’s Official: Stephen Colbert to take Over Late Show Helm

CBS has officially named Stephen Colbert to succeed David Letterman as host of “The Late Show,” handing the reins of its flagship latenight program to a cable host who has found success in attracting young male viewers by playing a character, rather than himself.

According to Variety:

david-lettermanThe decision comes about a week after Letterman announced during a taping of his program that he would retire from the program – and the longest tenure as a late night host on broadcast TV – sometime in 2015. In doing so, Letterman will turn the time period over to an entirely new generation of hosts, severing TV’s last link to the days when Johnny Carson dominated the daypart. These days, latenight is a splintered environment, with three broadcast programs as well as wee-hours bastions in place on Viacom’s Comedy Central, Time Warner’s TBS and NBC Universal’s Bravo and E!

When Colbert sits behind the desk of the CBS program, as he is set to do at a currently undetermined date in 2015, he will likely do it with a new presentation –  not as the right-wing caricature he plays in his current perch on Comedy Central. CBS said creative elements, producers and even the location of the show will be announced at a later date. “He is not going to play that character,” said Nina Tassler, chairman of CBS Entertainment, in an interview.

And yet, it is Colbert’s inventiveness CBS is likely banking on to help it gain in the ongoing late-night wars. “It has usually been our policy that when you hire the right person, you let them be creative and let them do their job,” said Tassler. “We are extremely excited about what he’s going to bring to the time slot.”

Colbert will be the Eye’s entry into a race that has already started. Both ABC and NBC have already turned their latenight programming over to younger hosts – Jimmy Kimmel for the Alphabet and Jimmy Fallon at the Peacock. Colbert will have to hit the ground running, mastering a broadcast venue that demands mainstream appeal while trying to maintain the current fan base that has made his “Colbert Report” a mainstay for the Viacom-owned network.

But his appeal to younger viewers is hard to ignore. Viewers of Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report” had a median age of 41.9 in the last seven weeks, according  to Nielsen. Meantime, the median age of “Tonight Show” viewers since the Jimmy Fallon-led version has launched is 53.3, while that for viewers of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel” is 55.8. Colbert will have to build his base, however: In the last seven weeks,  “Colbert Report” attracted an average of 633,000 viewers between 18 and 49, the demographic most coveted by advertisers, according to Nielsen. Fallon’s “Tonight Show” lured an average of 2 million, while “Kimmel” attracted an average of 852,000 and Letterman’s “Late Show” notched an average of 710,000.

Tassler kept any thoughts what Colbert’s “Late Show” might look like to a minimum. “It’s really important he be given the opportunity to develop and create his show,” she said.

While one might think CBS would have had conversations with various Letterman replacements prior to the current “Late Show” host’s decision last week, Tassler said CBS only reached out to Colbert once the “starting gun” of Letterman’s desire to retire was clear. “One name just stood out above the rest,” said Tassler. She cited his background in the Second City improv comedy troupe and his “extraordinary intellect” as factors in his appeal to CBS executives.

“Stephen Colbert is one of the most inventive and respected forces on television,” said Leslie Moonves, chief executive of CBS, in a prepared statement. “David Letterman’s legacy and accomplishments are an incredible source of pride for all of us here, and today’s announcement speaks to our commitment of upholding what he established for CBS in late night.”

“Simply being a guest on David Letterman’s show has been a highlight of my career,” said Colbert in a statement. “I never dreamed that I would follow in his footsteps, though everyone in late night follows Dave’s lead.”

In a statement, Letterman blessed the succession: “Stephen has always been a real friend to me. I’m very excited for him, and I’m flattered that CBS chose him,” Letterman said. “I also happen to know they wanted another guy with glasses.”

The current incarnation of “The Late Show” is owned and produced by Letterman’s Worldwide Pants production company, but ownership of the show and the name will be CBS’ once the transition is made, Tassler said.

She declined to speak in great detail about the potential future of Craig Ferguson, who has been holding forth at 12:37 a.m. after “The Late Show” since 2005.  CBS has been looking at its latenight schedule “one hour at a time,’” Tassler said. “We have a very good relationship with him. He’s our 12:30 guy.” She declined to comment on whether the host would stay with CBS or move on, given the Colbert decision.

According to people familiar with the situation, Ferguson’s discussions with CBS continue and he has not decided whether to stick with his show or leave. The host is supposed to tape two episodes of his show today and is likely to address the issue in the one set to air tonight, these people said. In a tweet, Ferguson congratulated Colbert and said, “Welcome to the CBS funhouse.”

Comedy Central is expected to take some time to devise a replacement for “Colbert Report,” which, given its focus on a character originated by its host, cannot continue. According to a person familar with the situation. a bevy of options are up for consideration, including creating a new program with talent from “The Daily Show,” the 11 p.m. mainstay that precedes “Colbert Report,”  giving the slot to “@midnight,” the new program hosted by Chris Hardwick recently launched at 12 a.m.; or something new entirely.

“Comedy Central is proud that the incredibly talented Stephen Colbert has been part of our family for nearly two decades,” the network said in a statement. “We look forward to the next eight months of the ground-breaking Colbert Report and wish Stephen the very best.”

In his perch on Comedy Central, Colbert has proven more willing to embrace advertisers than many of his peers, devoting minutes-long segments to discussions of PepsiCo’s Doritos or Mondelez International’s Wheat Thins. At the same time, he makes fun of the products, and not always in a good-natured way. Will CBS let the practice continue? “That’s a bridge we’ll cross at some later point,” said Tassler.

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So what do you think? Will you watch the new Late Show? Are you happy with the choice? Let us know in the comments below!

Orphan Black to Stream Exclusively on Amazon Prime

Amazon has made a deal with BBC to exclusively carry the Orphan Black series starring Tatiana Maslany for Amazon Prime Customers. Season one is already available to stream and future seasons will be added as they air.

If you haven’t yet watched the first season of the series, now’s the time as season 2 starts April 19th.

The deal is the latest in the Amazon/Netflix/Hulu war to get exclusive shows in the hopes of gaining more customers. Amazon is already the exclusive subscription streaming home of PBS’ Downton Abbey, FX’s The Americans, CBS’ Under the Dome and upcoming Extant as well as hit shows like Veronica Mars and Justified. Prime Instant Video also has an exclusive collection of kids shows from Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. including SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer and Blue’s Clues.

In addition, Amazon has also recently gotten into the ‘original series’ market adding many shows created exclusively for the service. If you haven’t yet checked them out, it’s a good time to do so. We recently watched the whole series of Alpha House (starring John Goodman, Clark Johnson, Matt Malloy, Mark Consuelos with cameos by Bill Murray) and loved it.

Are you planning on catching up on Orphan Black? Have you watched Alpha House? Let us know in the comments below!