Yesterday the NBC upfront photo op happened, and I have to say that I’m disappointed in the photos we have. No one from “Community” showed up that I can find, but more than that the red and orange backdrop is throwing me off, and making all the cute, colorful outfits look like they clash. I know this is a strange complaint, but this is why they use white and black neutral-colored backdrops for these events. Red and orange are popular colors this season, and a large number of the starlets accidentally wore outfits that look fug against the backdrop, but would be perfectly cute on their own.

First off is Eva Longoria in a lovely scarlet silk and cotton Alberta Ferretti featuring ribbon-like details. I think this dress is killer. It’s sexy without showing too much, and it highlights Eva’s amazing figure without being too tight. Our friends at Red Carpet Fashion Awards don’t like Eva’s shoes, and point out that she always wears the same Brian Atwood “Maniac” pumps. I think that she went for some understated shoes so as not to vamp up the outfit too much, and that it works. Eva is one of the women whose bright-colored dress is being overshadowed by the background.

Eva is helming a reality show called “Ready For Love,” in which they’re bringing “online dating to television.” It’s like a twist on The Bachelor, but with three guys and a huge amount of available women. The guys look really hot of course.

Next we have Anne Heche in bright a orange Max Mara skirt (In other photos it looks like she was wearing split pants, but it’s a skirt) paired with a peach silk top with cut-out sleeves. She looks amazing to me here, and I even like her platform shoes, which would seem goofy with most other outfits. This is very fashion forward and Anne looks great. She’s starring in a upcoming show called “Save Me“, about a woman who thinks she’s saved by God and has to spread the word. She plays crazy so well.

“Parks and Rec” star Amy Poehler was super cute in a dark pink knee-length tight dress paired with nude pumps and a cropped leather jacket. I just love that jacket with that dress.

You know I love “Parenthood,” and real life couple Lauren Graham and Peter Krause. Lauren’s oversized shirt, big belt and clunky shoes just aren’t working for her. They look like a great couple I have to say.

Debra Messing also opted for a big belt and paired it with a loose polka dot dress. It’s an ok look, but it’s just kind of mediocre to me.

Fellow “Smash” star Katherine McPhee was in a pink flower print Dolce & Gabanna. I’m not a fan of floral dresses, and this is kind of falling flat for me. Some of you may love it.

Mariska Hargitay was so pretty in form fitting white. She could have gone without the matchy shoes, and mixed it up by varying the color of her footwear.

Adam Levine wore glasses, a plaid shirt and some jeans with a chain hanging out of his pocket. Sadly, his co-judge on The Voice, Xtina, didn’t make it. I was hoping she would bring her drunk orange vamp act to the upfronts.

Jenna Elfman tried to wear dressy shorts with a shirt with big goofy buttons and a little black jacket. It looked ridiculous, but at least her shoes were cute.

Photo credit: WENN.com and Fame Flynet

Peter Krause was a guest on the Today Show yesterday to promote his NBC show Parenthood. There was some minor buzz that Parenthood might be canceled before the end of this second season, but E! just reported that it will continue to air on Tuesdays at 10 into March of next year, when they’ll move it to Mondays for a little while. So it’s not being canceled before the season is out at least. The numbers for Parenthood have been disappointingly low. This an incredibly solid and entertaining show that has a genuine feel to it and is one of my favorites. I hope that something can be done to ensure that this show continues into a third season.

Anyway Krause was inevitably asked about his off-screen relationship with Lauren Graham, who plays his sister on the show. He was coy but smiled widely when he said that she’s “fantastic.”

On how everything started to “click” halfway through season one
I did feel that way last season, we’ve had a great second season so far. There was a little to-do about this last episode last week where the character I play Adam Braverman punches out a guy in a supermarket… My son on the show, Max, has Aspergers… the gentleman calls him a ‘retard’ so I take a swing at him at the supermarket.

On whether he’s dating Lauren Graham
She’s great. She’s fantastic. She’s a fantastic actress and a wonderful person.

It’s a great bunch of people, enjoy to go to work every day. Very happy that the ratings have picked up a little bit and we’re going to be moved to Mondays. I guess people want their Parenthood a little earlier.

That was cute how he sidestepped that. I like them both and hope they stay together. Krause is such a good actor and this show is full of very excellent performances. The relationship between his character Adam Braverman and his son with Aspergers feels real, too, and I love the actress who plays his wife, Monica Potter. If you’re not watching Parenthood, I highly recommend that you give it a chance. You can watch it on Hulu and NBC.com if you’re in the US.

I haven’t seen this week’s Parenthood yet, so please don’t comment with spoilers unless you write “SPOILER” over the top. Minor plot details should be ok, though.

(This is a personal recommendation. I started watching this show on my own and we were not encouraged to promote it. We are a member of the Today Show Network, which is owned by NBC.)

Photos are from 2/22/10 and 1/10/10. Credit: WENN.com

I’m really sad that True Blood and Hung are ending this week, but there are plenty of shows I love whose fall seasons are about to premiere, particularly Parenthood, which premieres next Tuesday and partially Vampire Diaries, which premieres tonight! (I say partially as the end of VD’s first season was totally far fetched, but what isn’t about that show?) Parenthood’s troubled single mom, Lauren Graham, 43, is Redbook’s October cover girl. People Magazine has some advance excerpts from her interview and she dishes on her relationship with her co-star, the swoon-inducing Peter Krause, 45. She tells a really cute story about how shy and respectful he was on their first sort-of date 15 years ago, and how he didn’t make a move on her way back then. Things have progressed quite a bit since, with Peter and Lauren re-connecting once they met on set again last year. Lauren calls their relationship “so easy.” I like both of them on that show and I’m hoping for their sake (and for the show’s!) that it works out for them.

Fifteen years ago, Lauren Graham and Peter Krause bonded over board games when the actress first moved to Los Angeles.

Today, Graham 43, and her Parenthood co-star, 45, are diving into something a bit more serious: a relationship.

“One of the things that’s been so fun is that it’s so easy,” Graham says in the October issue of Redbook magazine. “It’s a lot, to work with somebody and spend time with them, too.”

Graham, who says she and Krause “clearly had a connection” when they first met, blames timing and shyness for originally keeping them apart.

“I think we liked each other [but] he asked me over to his house to play a board game – and that’s exactly what we ended up doing,” she says. “So I was like, ‘This guy doesn’t like me. Who actually plays a board game?’… The timing wasn’t right. I don’t think either of us was ready.”

She adds: “He’s obviously a very confident, appealing guy, but he’s shy, and so am I.”

Unlike many Hollywood couples, Graham and Krause have managed to keep their relationship out of the spotlight.

“Nobody knew about it for awhile, because we like to be at home, cooking and not going out,” the former Gilmore Girls actress explains. “I’ve also been really protective of it, because it’s important that you can buy us as brother and sister on the show.”

Although there is no predicting where Graham’s relationship with Krause will lead, she does say she would like to settle down someday.

“I would like to be part of a family, however that looks,” she says. “Family is really important to me.”

[From People]

That’s really nice! I love that part where she said “I would like to be part of a family, however that looks.” Krause has a nine year-old son from a former relationship and maybe that’s partially what she meant. As negative as this is to say, though, I hope she didn’t jinx anything by talking about her relationship to the press! Krause doesn’t seem like the type who is easily spooked, but you never know as guys can be weird about that sort of thing. Hopefully everything will continue to be easy and romantic for the two of them. I know she’s worried about it affecting viewer’s perception of their brother-sister relationship, but there’s so much stuff going on in that show that it’s hard to get distracted by any one plotline.

Now if only Lauren could get a good stylist. Her dress at the Emmys made a lot of worst dressed lists, which is a shame because she’s so lovely and nice.

I love the NBC show Parenthood, and was so happy to hear that it was renewed for a second season. It’s a dramedy featuring Peter Krause (Six Feet Under), Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls), Dax Shepard (Employee of the Month), Craig T. Nelson (Poltergeist), and Bonnie Bedelia (Presumed Innocent) among many others. The show focuses on an older couple (Nelson, Bedelia), and their grown children (Graham, Krause, Shepard and Erika Christensen). It can be schmaltzy at times, but Parenthood really captures the drama and joy of family life. (I haven’t been able to watch this week’s episode yet so please don’t post spoilers in the comments.)

According to US Weekly, on-screen brother and sister Lauren Graham, 43, and Peter Krause, 44, are dating! I thought Krause was married with a family, probably because he plays a dad so convincingly, but I was wrong. He has an eight year old son from a previous relationship and is single. Lauren Graham is also single, and has no children. I love that they got together without any drama. Here’s US‘ report:

Hot Stuff [US Weekly] has learned Lauren Graham, 43, and Peter Krause, 44 – who play siblings on NBC’s Parenthood – are dating. Says an eyewitness who saw the duo on an April 10 dinner date at Charlie Palmer: Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg, California: “They were having a great time and seemed really happy!”

[From US Weekly, print edition, May 3, 2010]

Graham and Krause don’t have a lot of scenes together, unlike fellow onscreen brother-sister couple Jennifer Carpenter and Michael C. Hall of Dexter. Their relationship doesn’t seem as creepy to me as they usually talk on the phone on Parenthood and there are so many other things going on in that show. It’s so nice to hear that the show was renewed and that Graham and Krause are in a new romance. Maybe they were just on a friendly work colleague date, but it doesn’t sound like it!