BEIJING (Yonhap) ― China’s state-run media on Friday urged the country’s TV drama producers to learn from South Korean dramas, citing the “new round of popularity” in China of the Korean fantasy-romance soap “You Who Came From the Star.” The hit drama series, which is also enjoying a popularity rating of about 25 percent in South Korea, is rapidly gaining wider audience appeal in China, with actors Jun Ji-hyun and Kim Soo-hyun becoming household names among young Chinese people. Running in prime

NEW YORK (AP) ― Little more than a week after exiting “Late Night,” Jimmy Fallon makes his much-anticipated debut Monday as host of NBC’s “Tonight Show,” as the venerable TV institution returns to New York after four decades based on the West Coast. The scheduled guests are U2 and Will Smith, with the show reclaiming Rockefeller Center’s Studio 6B, where “Tonight” aired during its early Johnny Carson years. Fallon, who had hosted “Late Night” since 2009, moves up to the job Jay Leno held for man

NEW YORK (AP) ― Neil Patrick Harris has given way to Hugh Jackman at the Tony Awards. Producers of the annual telecast celebrating the best of Broadway said Tuesday that Jackman will once again take up hosting duties for the next awards on June 8 at Radio City Music Hall.It will be Jackman’s fourth time hosting the Tonys. He previously emceed the show from 2003-2005. Jackman, best known for being the hairy Wolverine in “The X-Men” franchise, was last on Broadway with a one-man show in 2011 that

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Veteran TV newsman Tom Brokaw has been diagnosed with cancer, NBC News said Tuesday. The Mayo Clinic discovered last summer that Brokaw has multiple myeloma, a cancer affecting blood cells in the bone marrow, NBC News said. His doctors are optimistic about his treatment and encouraged by his progress since the August diagnosis, the network division said. In a statement released by NBC, Brokaw said he remains, in his words, “the luckiest guy I know.” “With the exceptional suppo

MBC’s hit reality show “Real Men” will add four new faces, including actor Chun Jung-myung and boy band Super Junior-M’s Henry, while three of its original cast members will drop. “The four new cast members are actor Park Geon-Hyeong, singer K. Will, Super Junior-M’s Henry and actor Chun Jung-myung,” the TV channel said in a press release Friday. “The new recruits will submit themselves to the training center for new army recruits in mid-February before joining the existing cast members on the s

BURBANK, California (AP) ― Jay Leno has said goodbye to “The Tonight Show” before, but not like this. The comedian became tearful and choked up Thursday as he concluded what he called the “greatest 22 years of my life.”“I am the luckiest guy in the world. This is tricky,” said an emotional Leno, stepping down for the second and presumably last time as host of TV’s venerable late-night program. Jimmy Fallon takes over “Tonight” in New York on Feb. 17.Leno shared that he’d lost his mother the firs

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Seattle’s 43-8 blowout of Denver in Super Bowl 48 offered little in the way of suspense, but 111.5 million viewers made it the most-watched television event in U.S. history.Ratings released by the Fox network on Monday showed Sunday’s game also set a record for the most-streamed online sports event, while a whopping 25.3 million related tweets composed by 5.6 million authors were logged before, during and after the contest.The viewership for the Seahawks’ lopsided victory ecl

South Korean actress Lee Young-ae has returned to the small screen with a special documentary program dedicated to traditional Korean food and dining culture.Lee, who became a pan-Asia star after appearing in the hit drama “Daejanggeum,” is hosting the SBS documentary “Lee Young-ae’s Dinner” to explore the identity of the Korean people through their diverse food traditions and dishes such as the royal cuisine of the Joseon Dynasty.In the first episode, which aired on Sunday, the 43-year-old actr

Actress Song Ji-hyo and hip-hop artist Gary, who co-star in SBS variety show “Running Man,” appear to be the best match in the program. In the latest episode that aired on Sunday, the stars carried out a special mission to find their “soul mates.” Song and Gary were found to make the best couple, according to a fortune-teller. 　“We were also very surprised. Experts found that the two stars have good chemistry,” said the show’s production team. 　The fortune-teller also raised the possibility of t

Entertainment powerhouse YG Entertainment is reported to be contacting a string of big name Korean actresses including Choi Ji-woo for recruitment, a local media outlet reported on Tuesday. The veteran actress Choi Ji-woo, who recently made a comeback with the drama "Suspicious Housekeeper," held a meeting with YG Entertainment to seek a possible management contract, the local entertainment news TV report quoted several sources as saying. Insiders speculate that the meeting was the first st

Rumors resurfaced Sunday that Lee Min-ho and Park Shin-hye, who costarred in SBS’ hit drama “The Heirs,” are a couple. A slew of Chinese media outlets said that the two stars had been secretly dating for two months, but did not provide solid evidence or details. The agencies of the two stars flatly denied the reports as “nonsense.”　 “The news circulating in China is absolutely groundless. The media outlets have not offered any grounds or comments of the sources to underpin their rep

Actress to unveil her real personality in hospital-based romantic comedy