American Dreams- News Archive

Brittany Snow Divorce Finalized From Tyler Stanaland

(7/5/23) Brittany Snow's divorce from her husband Tyler Stanaland is officially a done deal, TMZ has learned.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, the "Pitch Perfect" star, who said in her OG filing there was a prenup, is walking away with what appears to be all -- or at least, most -- of her possessions ... things like her furniture, clothes, artwork, jewelry, her leased 2022 Audi, and all of her cash.

It looks like Tyler's keeping the majority of his stuff, including his leased 2021 Toyota 4-runner ... and the docs say both waived their rights to collect any spousal support.

TMZ broke the story, Brittany filed for divorce from her real estate broker hubby in January, citing the usual irreconcilable differences as the reason for pulling the plug on nearly 3 years of marriage.

The filing didn't come as a shock, though -- they had already announced back in September that they called it quits.

BTW, Tyler was spotted getting close with his "Selling the OC" costar Alex Hall on the day they announced their split ... but he said they're just pals and nothing more.

He and Brittany were seen together just a few days later -- but it appears that didn't stop Brittany from ending things.

Katie Cassidy's Hallmark Debut, Lengies Returns

(6/2/23) Love is in the air for Arrow vet Katie Cassidy, who will make her Hallmark Channel debut in A Royal Christmas Crush as part of the network’s annual Christmas in July programming event.

In the movie, airing Saturday, July 8 at 8/7c, “Ava (Cassidy) accepts the opportunity of a lifetime to work at the Royal Ice Hotel which leads her to a surprise whirlwind romance with the most important guest of all, the Royal Prince (Chesapeake Shores‘ Stephen Huszar) himself,” per the official synopsis.

Meanwhile, The Christmas Reboot (working title), reuniting Hallmark’s Heart of the Holidays stars Vanessa Lengies and Corey Sevier, will make its debut on Saturday, July 15 at 8 pm. In the flick, “a Christmas wish gives Renee (Lengies) the successful life she’d always dreamed of. This new reality is perfect, except for one thing…she is no longer married to her husband Aaron (Sevier). Now, Renee must race against the clock to win him back before Christmas Eve.”

In addition to the two new original movies, back-to-back holiday movies will air every day in July from 10 am to 10 pm on Hallmark Channel, with viewers’ fan-favorites filling the July 1-4 lineup.

Brittany Snow suggests she was ‘blindsided’ by Tyler Stanaland divorce

(5/23/23) Brittany Snow is getting candid about how her ongoing divorce from Tyler Stanaland has impacted her mental health.

During a recent interview with Bustle, Snow — who announced her split from Stanaland in September 2022 — insinuated that it was the “Selling the OC” star that decided to call off their marriage.

“In the past year I went through probably the hardest mental health challenge I’ve ever faced,” she told the outlet. “In one day, in a matter of hours, my life turned completely upside down.”

She continued, “I was blindsided and every thing I thought I knew, held sacred and truly trusted in my life was completely different. A couple days later my grandmother passed away and I think every thing I knew about mental health was tested.”

Despite losing her marriage and grandmother at the same time, the “John Tucker Must Die” star turned to her loved ones for support.

“Thank god for my friends. I don’t know if I would have made it without them,” she said. “They reminded me who I was and the things I stood for. I used all the tools I knew. All of them.”

Although she didn’t name names, Snow revealed one of her “Pitch Perfect” co-stars “nursed [her] back to health for like four days” amid her breakup.

“The last year has been really tricky for me, and one of the girls, I just, you know, opened up her door and I just fell down to the ground and just cried and laid there.”

Just two years after Snow and Stanaland tied the knot, the pair announced that they were separating.

“This decision was made with love and mutual respect for one another. We have realized we need to take some time and make sure we are each living our most fulfilling and authentic lives,” Snow wrote on Instagram at the time.

Then, in January 2023, the actress officially filed for divorce, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their split.

Weeks before the big announcement, Stanaland raised eyebrows for his flirty behavior on “Selling The O.C.”

“Everyone who knows Tyler and Brittany knows she wasn’t comfortable with the show,” a source told Page Six exclusively at the time. “That’s why he did his best to keep his marriage and the show separate, but it only backfired.”

In fact, fellow agent Kayla Cardona even admitted to trying to kiss him off-camera, while castmates Alex Hall and Polly Brindle shamelessly flirted with him throughout filming.

Since then, Hall and Stanaland have been photographed getting cozy on numerous different occasions — most recently at a bar in Dubai.

Meanwhile, Snow has not been linked to anyone in the midst of their divorce.

Brittany Snow, Garrett Hedlund, Stephen Lang & Hamish Linklater Set For Crime Thriller ‘Barron’s Cove’ From ‘Air’ Production Company Mandalay Pictures & Yale Entertainment

(5/18/23) Mandalay Pictures (Air) Yale Entertainment, and Post Film have partnered to produce a new thriller titled Barron’s Cove, starring Garrett Hedlund (Mudbound), Stephen Lang (Avatar), Brittany Snow (Pitch Perfect, X), and Hamish Linklater (The Big Short).

The film will be directed by Evan Ari Kelman who also penned the script. The film is set to begin filming later this year. Yale Entertainment’s sales arm, Great Escape, will introduce the project to buyers at the Cannes market.

Billed as a “poignant” pic about the unbreakable bond between fathers and sons, the story follows a grieving father with a violent past, whose life is shattered by the tragic murder of his young son. Consumed with the need for answers, he kidnaps the child he believes is responsible for his son’s death, igniting a frenzied manhunt fueled by the kidnapped boy’s powerful politician father.

Producers are Mandalay’s Jason Michael Berman and Will Raynor, Yale Entertainment’s Jordan Yale Levine, and Jordan Beckerman, and Post Film’s Chadd Harbold and Cory Thompson. Executive Producers include Russ Posternak, Clay Pecorin, and Peter Anske. Co-Producers are Derek Rubin, Parker Hill, and Nick Phillips.

“We are honored to collaborate with an exceptional ensemble cast, anchored by the extraordinary Garrett Hedlund, who is poised to deliver a breathtaking performance,” Berman and Raynor said in a joint statement. “With a world-class team behind the camera as well, it’s our privilege to announce the feature debut of writer/director Evan Ari Kelman, and to support him in bringing this incredible film to life.”

Levine and Beckerman added: “We couldn’t be more excited to join forces with our friends at Mandalay on this engrossing, fast-paced emotional roller coaster of a movie. As fathers to young children ourselves, we were deeply affected by the lead character, Caleb, and his tireless quest to uncover the truth about his son’s tragic fate. With an expertly crafted blend of fast-paced action and heartfelt drama, we are confident this film has all the ingredients to captivate audiences around the globe.”

Garrett Hedlund is repped by WME, Brillstein Entertainment Partners & Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern. Stephen Lang is repped by Innovative Artists. Hamish Linklater is repped by CAA, Untitled Entertainment, and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole. Brittany Snow is repped by Gersh, Principal Entertainment, and Sloane Offer Weber & Dern.

Yale Entertainment is repped by APA and Lon Haber & Co.t

Arlen Escarpeta's Found Gets Thursday Time Slot

(5/12/23) THURSDAY's This Fall on NBC

8-9 PM — Law & Order
9-10 PM— Law & Order: SVU
10-11 PM — FOUND

FOUND: In any given year, more than 600,000 people are reported missing in the U.S. More than half that number are people of color that the country seems to forget about. A public relations specialist, who was once herself one of those forgotten ones, and her crisis management team now make sure there is always someone looking out for the forgotten missing people. But unbeknownst to anyone, this everyday hero is hiding a chilling secret of her own. The cast includes Shanola Hampton, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Kelli Williams, Brett Dalton, Gabrielle Walsh, Arlen Escarpeta and Karan Oberoi. Nkechi Okoro Carroll will write and executive produce. Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Sonay Hoffman, Lindsay Dunn and Leigh Redman also executive produce. Berlanti Productions and Rock My Soul Productions produces in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

‘The Company You Keep’ Canceled By ABC After One Season

(5/12/23) ABC has opted not to renew for a second season The Company You Keep, its new drama series starring and executive produced by Milo Ventimiglia.

The Company You Keep, produced by Disney TV Studios’ 20th Television, did not perform as well as ABC’s two other midseason 2023 entries, fellow drama Will Trent, which has been renewed for a second season, and comedy Not Dead Yet, which is looking good for a renewal.

Still, Disney has longstanding relationship with Ventimiglia, who segued to The Company You Keep following his six-season starring turn on 20th Television’s hit NBC drama This Is Us. Based on that and the fact that The Company You Keep only premiered in midseason, there was talk that ABC may give the series a partial second season order to give it more time to find an audience.

This is one of three series cancellations by ABC today alongside Big Sky and Alaska Daily. The only drama series at the network whose fate has not been decided yet is Rookie: Feds whose chances have likely improved in light of today’s news.

Based on the Korean format My Fellow Citizens that ran for more than 30 episodes on KBS2, The Company You Keep followed con man Charlie (Ventimiglia) and undercover CIA officer Emma (Catherine Haena Kim). A night of passion leads to love between the pair, who unknowingly are on a collision course professionally. While Charlie ramps up the “family business” so he can get out for good, Emma’s closing in on the vengeful criminal who holds Charlie’s family debts in hand — forcing them to reckon with the lies they’ve told so they can save themselves and their families from disastrous consequences.

William Fichtner, Tim Chiou, Freda Foh Shen, James Saito, Sarah Wayne Callies, Felisha Terrell, and Polly Draper also starred.

Julia Cohen and Klemmer served as executive producers and co-showrunners. Ventimiglia and Russ Cundiff executive produced for DiVide Pictures, along with Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu and Caitlin Foito for Electric Somewhere, and Todd Harthan and Lindsay Goffman. Deanna Harris (DiVide Pictures) is a producer. The pilot episode was written by Cohen and directed and executive produced by Ben Younger.

J.J. Abrams’ ‘Duster’ Adds Gail O’Grady As Recurring

(4/20/23) Three-time Emmy nominee Gail O’Grady is set for a key recurring role in J.J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan’s Max period drama Duster, starring Josh Holloway and Rachel Hilson.

Co-written by Abrams and LaToya Morgan, in Duster, set in 1972, the first Black female FBI agent (Hilson) heads to the Southwest and recruits a gutsy getaway driver (Holloway) in a bold effort to take down a growing crime syndicate.

O’Grady will play Charlotte, wife of Wade Ellis (Corbin Bernsen) and stepmother to Holloway’s character.

Keith David, Sydney Elisabeth, Greg Grunberg, Camille Guaty, Asivak Koostachin, Adriana Aluna Martinez and Benjamin Charles Watson also star.

Duster is produced by Warner Bros. Television. The first two episodes are written by Abrams and Morgan. Steph Green directs the first two episodes and executive produces. Abrams and Rachel Rusch Rich executive produce for Bad Robot through its content partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery and WBTV, and Morgan executive produces for TinkerToy Productions via its overall deal with WBTV.

O’Grady received three Emmy nominations for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Donna Abandando on NYPD Blue. She was most recently seen in the heavily recurring role of Crystal Richards on Criminal Minds and appeared opposite Kevin Hart in an episode of Husbands of Hollywood. She recently won a Gracie Award for her supporting role in Hallmark Media movie Heart of the Matter. O’Grady is repped by Pakula/King & Associates and Martha Sanchez at Aligned Talent Group.

‘Bold Type’ Star Sam Page Joins ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Cast

(4/5/23) Sam Page, he of “The Bold Type” and “Mad Men,” has joined the cast of “Grey’s Anatomy” in a recurring role.

Page will make his first appearance during the May 4 episode of “Grey’s Anatomy,” playing Sam Sutton. According to the character description provided by ABC, Sam is “an Air Force pilot who is seriously injured in a base-jumping accident. Although he’s coping with trauma, he somehow maintains his sense of humor and charm.” The episode is titled “Come Fly With Me,” and in the logline, it says the character of Link (Chris Carmack) willl be wrestling “with his own self-doubt as he preps for a massive surgery.”

Will that massive surgery be performed on Sam? Perhaps!

Page co-starred on the series “The Bold Type” — a five-season-long Freeform show that drew a cult following, especially among media people — as a publishing executive (and endgame for Meghann Fahy’s character, Sutton). He also appeared as a recurring cast member on the original “Gossip Girl,” “Desperate Housewives,” “House of Cards,” and on “Mad Men,” on which he played Greg Harris, Joan’s (rapist!) husband.

Page is represented by UTA, Silver Lining Management and attorney Alan Wertheimer.

Last month, ABC announced an early renewal for “Grey’s Anatomy” for a historic 20th season. Executive producer Meg Marinis will take over as showrunner from Krista Vernoff, an original writer for the medical drama who’s been running “Grey’s” since Season 14. The Season 20 status of Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey — around whom “Grey’s Anatomy” has revolved since its 2005 premiere, but who said goodbye to Seattle on the Feb. 23 episode — remains in flux.

CBS RENEWS HIT DRAMA SERIES “BLUE BLOODS” FOR THE 2023-2024 SEASON

(3/29/23) CBS announced today that it has renewed the hit drama series BLUE BLOODS for the 2023-2024 season. The series will return for the show’s 14th year on the Network.

“BLUE BLOODS has dominated Friday nights since its premiere and remained an important anchor for CBS’ winning lineup,” said Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment. “Led by the outstanding Tom Selleck and an incredible cast and creative team, viewers continue to embrace the Reagans, their law enforcement family and the series’ dramatic storytelling. We can’t wait to pull a chair up to the Reagan family dinner table for another fantastic season.”

BLUE BLOODS is Friday’s #1 primetime program and the #3 broadcast drama with 9.54 million viewers. With live +35-day multiplatform viewing, BLUE BLOODS scores more than 11 million viewers an episode.* Since the show’s premiere on Friday, Sept. 24, 2010, BLUE BLOODS has always maintained its #1 position at 10:00 PM, leading the Network’s top-rated Friday night lineup. BLUE BLOODS is also a top 10 series on Paramount+, based on total minutes viewed. Year-to-date in 2023, BLUE BLOODS also ranks as the sixth most-viewed channel on Pluto TV.

Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, Will Estes, Len Cariou, Marisa Ramirez and Vanessa Ray star. Kevin Wade, Siobhan Byrne-O’Connor, Ian Biederman and Dan Truly serve as executive producers. BLUE BLOODS is produced by CBS Studios.

BLUE BLOODS airs Fridays, (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and streams live and on demand on Paramount+. A new episode will be available Friday, March 31.

BLUE BLOODS joins the previously announced renewals of NCIS, 60 MINUTES, CSI: VEGAS, NCIS: HAWAI’I, SURVIVOR, THE AMAZING RACE, TOUGH AS NAILS, LINGO, 48 HOURS, GHOSTS, THE NEIGHBORHOOD, SO HELP ME TODD, BOB ? ABISHOLA, FIRE COUNTRY, YOUNG SHELDON, FBI, FBI: MOST WANTED, FBI: INTERNATIONAL and THE EQUALIZER.

TRACKER, a new drama starring Justin Hartley, received an early series order for the 2023-2024 season. Additional show orders will be announced in the coming weeks.

CBS Renewal Status Report: ‘Blue Bloods’, ‘S.W.A.T.’, ‘East New York’ & ‘True Lies’

(3/25/23) It’s been more than a month since the most recent CBS scripted renewals, of NCIS, NCIS: Hawai’i and CSI: Vegas. The three dramas that were left out at the time — Blue Bloods, S.W.A.T. and East New York — remain in limbo, joined on the CBS bubble list by new midseason drama True Lies, which debuted March 1.

Business issues have been major factors in the renewal prospects for veterans Blue Bloods, currently in its 13th season, and S.W.A.T., now in its sixth season, as well freshman East New York, I hear. Amid overall decline of linear ratings, it has become common practice for broadcast networks to ask for financial concessions on long-running series, which naturally become more expensive as they age.

But things are looking very good for the Tom Selleck starrer Blue Bloods, I hear. As Deadline reported last month, the size of the cuts CBS had been pushing for on the show were pretty deep, as much as 25% for some above-the-line talent, which includes actors. Blue Bloods employs hundreds of crew and other support personnel whose livelihood depends on it, and I hear the cast and producers have agreed to salary reductions in order to keep the show going. Some deals are still being finalized, but I hear they are expected to close shortly and the venerable family cop drama will return for a 14th season.

Produced by CBS Studios, Blue Bloods has been a moneymaker for the company, with strong performance on CBS, in syndication and internationally. Thirteen seasons in, Blue Bloods remains a Top 5 scripted series on CBS, holding steady in viewers year-to-year, and a cornerstone of the network’s formidable Friday lineup, which was rebuilt this season with S.W.A.T. and Fire Country joining Blue Bloods.

S.W.A.T., headlined by Shemar Moore, is a rare series to rise in viewership year-to-year following its move to Fridays this season, where the drama has flourished. A co-production between Sony Pictures TV and CBS Studios, S.W.A.T., like Blue Bloods, previously had received early renewals.

But I hear those early renewals the last few years came with CBS keeping the license fee unchanged, which has put more and more pressure on the budget and further squeezed the show’s profit margins as costs increase every year. I hear the lead studio Sony is not willing to go for another renewal at a flat license fee (which is the amount of money a network pays to a studio for its programming) as that would compromise the show’s production quality and financial model.

I hear there had been preliminary conversations, but CBS is yet to start formal renewal negotiation and the network’s exclusive window on the show might have expired. Still, sources are hopeful that the network would step up to keep S.W.A.T. on the air.

That hope is shared by S.W.A.T. showrunner Shawn Ryan. Without commenting on specifics, he addressed the series’ renewal situation in an interview with Deadline for his new Netflix series The Night Agent.

From a ratings perspective, it’s a no-brainer to pick it up. I think I just saw that we’re like the third highest rated show on CBS in the demo, the ratings have gone up. We live in this weird age now where economic conversations take place and take precedence over what viewers really want to watch on their screens because the show is a big hit for CBS, and hopefully Sony and CBS work out the details to bring it back because I know the fans want to.

I know that it’s been a great anchor for CBS on Friday nights, it helped launch Fire Country, which has done very well as well. The whole night’s working for CBS and in the past, we’d already been picked up. But now there’s economic concerns that have to be negotiated, and we hope they get negotiated and the show can return.

For cop drama East New York, starring Amanda Warren, in addition to the ubiquitous budget trims, I hear there is an additional business issue that has stalled renewal negotiations. I hear it has to do with additional streaming rights CBS has requested for the series, produced by Warner Bros. TV. I hear they go beyond the now-standard stacking, which allows networks to stream current season of their series on their digital platforms.

Season 1 episodes of East New York are on Paramount+. According to sources, the ask is for previous seasons also to be made available on the Paramount Global platform — on a non-exclusive basis, I hear. This has become a hurdle as it further erodes the amount of rights a third-party studio controls.

Warner Bros. TV, which has its own corporate streamer in HBO Max, recently agreed to a joint library deal for its hit ABC comedy Abbott Elementary, whose previous seasons are shared between ABC corporate sibling Hulu and WBTV’s HBO Max.

Things do not appear as complicated for True Lies. The series reboot of the hit movie has not been able to find an audience, ranking as CBS’ lowest-rated scripted series of the season four weeks in. At this point, the series is not likely to return but remains on the bubble.

CBS’ long-running drama NCIS: Los Angeles is ending this season, but the network also has new Justin Hartley series Tracker on tap for next season. With Blue Bloods close to a renewal, S.W.A.T. and East New York‘s odds of coming back might be tied to how many drama pilots CBS will pick up to series. The network’s 2023 slate consists of two high-profile projects: Matlock, starring Kathy Bates, and Elsbeth, headlined by Carrie Preston.

In addition to NCIS, NCIS: Hawai’i and CSI: Vegas, also previously renewed by CBS for next season are Fire Country, The Equalizer, FBI, FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted, So Help Me Todd, Young Sheldon, Ghosts, The Neighborhood, and Bob Hearts Abishola.

‘Blue Bloods‘, ’S.W.A.T.’ & ‘East New York’ Did Not Get Early Renewals By CBS – Here Is Why

(2/21/23) CBS today renewed three more scripted series, dramas NCIS, NCIS: Hawai’i and CSI: Vegas. With recent Season 2 orders for breakout freshmen Fire Country and So Help Me Todd, renewals of comedies Ghosts, The Neighborhood and Bob Hearts Abishola and with the FBI franchise, The Equalizer and Young Sheldon in the midst of multi-season pickups, that leaves Blue Bloods, S.W.A.T. and East New York as the three current CBS scripted series that are yet to get word on next season.

Blue Bloods is the stalwart among the three. Currently in its 13th season, the cop drama starring Tom Selleck remains a Top 5 scripted series on CBS and a cornerstone of the network’s formidable Friday lineup, which was rebuilt this season with S.W.A.T., now in its sixth season, and Fire Country joining Blue Bloods.

Both Blue Bloods and S.W.A.T. are in active renewal negotiations, I hear, with proposed budget cuts among the points that need to be hammered out. Amid overall decline of linear ratings, it has become common practice for broadcast networks to ask for budget reductions on long-running series which naturally become more expensive as they age.

There had been rumblings that the cuts CBS had been pushing for on Blue Bloods were pretty deep, putting the show’s future in limbo, but I hear negotiations are going in the right direction and the network is hopeful to have the show back for Season 14.

Produced by CBS Studios, Blue Bloods has been a moneymaker for the company with strong performance on CBS, in syndication and internationally.

S.W.A.T. is a rare series to tick up in viewership year-to-year after its move to Fridays this season where the drama has flourished. A co-production between lead Sony Pictures TV and CBS Studios, S.W.A.T. had previously received early renewals. I hear talks for a seventh season have recently started and there are no major hurdles, with sources optimistic that a compromise on budget and other points would be reached.

Last year, CBS went down to the wire on four other co-productions, the three FBI series and The Equalizer, all with Universal TV, which were ultimately renewed for two seasons each.

East New York is a classic bubble series and will likely have to wait for CBS brass to see how new midseason entry True Lies performs in the coming weeks and to review the two drama pilots before they make a decision on the police drama starring Amanda Warren.

Paul Wesley officially files for divorce from Ines de Ramon

(2/18/23) It’s officially over between Paul Wesley and Ines de Ramon — despite both of them already moving on.

The “Vampire Diaries” star filed for divorce from his estranged wife on Friday after five years of marriage, according to documents obtained by Us Weekly.

Wesley, 40, cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their split but noted the division of their assets will be decided later on.

The former couple, who started dating in 2018, announced their separation in September 2022 — but actually called it quits five months prior.

However, neither Wesley nor the jewelry dealer, 30, seem too heartbroken.

Wesley was first linked to model Natalie Kuckenburg in August 2022 after they were photographed holding hands in New York City.

Things seem to be going strong for the “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” star and Kuckenburg, who is 18 years his junior, as they even spent the holidays together this year.

Prior to his relationships with Kuckenburg and de Ramon, Wesley was previously married to “Vampire Diaries” co-star Torrey DeVitto from 2011 to 2013.

Meanwhile, de Ramon has been dating Brad Pitt since November and the pair have been making the most of their long-distance relationship.

In fact, the A-list actor made sure de Ramon’s Valentine’s Day was one to remember.

The 59-year-old sent a bouquet of pink peonies and a baguette to his leading lady at her office in Los Angeles on Tuesday — despite being across the country to film in New York.

Similarly to her soon-to-be ex-husband, de Ramon also spent the holidays with her new flame.

Pitt and de Ramon enjoyed a relaxing — and very scantily clad — New Year’s Eve day while lounging by the pool in Cabo.

The couple left little to the imagination while sunbathing, with Pitt showing off his chiseled physique in swim trunks and the jewelry executive deciding to forgo her bikini top altogether.

Trailer for The Company You Keep

(2/2/23) (Video) ABC has released a full trailer for The Company You Keep, a new drama starring Milo Ventimiglia (This Is Us) and Catherine Haena Kim (Good Trouble) as a con man and a CIA officer who get romantically entangled. It premieres Sunday, Feb. 19 at 10/9c.

'Pitch Perfect' Star Brittany Snow Files For Divorce From Husband Tyler Stanaland

(1/19/23) Brittany Snow is officially waving the white flag on her marriage ... because she just filed for divorce from her reality TV star husband.

The "Pitch Perfect" star beelined it to court Wednesday and filed to divorce Tyler Stanaland, who appears on "Selling the OC," after nearly three years of marriage.

Brittany is citing the usual irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split ... and she says there is a prenup.

The divorce filing is not out of left field ... as we reported, the pair announced in September that they had separated.

On the same day the couple announced their separation, Tyler was spotted getting up close and personal with his "Selling the OC" costar Alex Hall ... but he says they are just friends.

But a few days later Tyler and Brittany were hanging out, and even spent the night together.

Nevertheless, it appears reconciliation is not in the cards ... because Brittany is forging ahead with a divorce.

Brittany and Tyler tied the knot March 14, 2020 ... just as the pandemic was shutting the world down ... and they did not have any kids together.

We reached out to Tyler ... so far no word back.

Good news for Tyler, it was announced this week “Selling the OC” got picked up for 2 more seasons. It's unclear if the divorce will be covered on the show, but fans can hope!

Brittany Snow to guest on “Not Dead Yet”

(1/11/23) ABC’s newest addition to its comedy roster, “Not Dead Yet” starring and executive produced by Gina Rodriguez, makes its highly anticipated series debut with a two-episode premiere on WEDNESDAY, FEB. 8, starting at 8:30-9:00 p.m. EST on ABC.

The series follows Nell Serrano, a broke and newly single self-described disaster, working to restart the life and career she left behind five years ago. When she lands the only job she can find ? writing obituaries ? Nell starts getting life advice from some unlikely sources, the dead people whose lives she’s writing about. Joining previously announced Martin Mull (“Clue”) as Nell’s ghostly visitors is a star-studded roster, including Ed Begley Jr. (“Amsterdam”), Mo Collins (“Fear the Walking Dead”), Deborah S. Craig (“Meet Cute”), Telma Hopkins (“Family Matters”), Don Lake (“Space Force”), Rhea Perlman (“Cheers”), Paula Pell (“Saturday Night Live”), Tony Plana (“Ugly Betty”), Brittany Snow (“X”) and Julia Sweeney (“Saturday Night Live”).

Additional series guest star announcements to follow.

“Not Dead Yet” stars Gina Rodriguez as Nell Serrano, Hannah Simone as Sam, Lauren Ash as Lexi, Rick Glassman as Edward, Josh Banday as Dennis and Angela Gibbs as Cricket.

‘the company you keep,’ debuts Sunday, Feb. 19, at 10/9c on ABC

(1/11/23) (New Extended Teaser Available Here ) A night of passion leads to love between con man Charlie and undercover CIA officer Emma, who are unknowingly on a collision course professionally. While Charlie ramps up the “family business” so he can get out for good, Emma’s closing in on the vengeful criminal who holds Charlie’s family debts in hand – forcing them to reckon with the lies they’ve told so they can save themselves and their families from disastrous consequences. The series is based on the Korean Broadcasting System series entitled “My Fellow Citizens.”

“The Company You Keep” stars Milo Ventimiglia as Charlie, Catherine Haena Kim as Emma, William Fichtner as Leo, Tim Chiou as David, Freda Foh Shen as Grace, James Saito as Joseph, Sarah Wayne Callies as Birdie, Felisha Terrell as Daphne and Polly Draper as Fran.

Executive producers and co-showrunners are Julia Cohen and Phil Klemmer, Milo Ventimiglia and Russ Cundiff (DiVide Pictures), Jon M. Chu and Caitlin Foito (Electric Somewhere), Todd Harthan and Lindsay Goffman (Gratitude Productions). Deanna Harris (DiVide Pictures) is a producer. The series is produced by 20th Television, a part of Disney Television Studios.

The Company You Keep Teaser Video: Milo Ventimiglia Is a Con Man In Love With CIA Agent in New ABC Drama

(12/30/22) (Video) What would Jack Pearson say?!

ABC has unveiled the first promo for The Company You Keep, in which This Is Us vet Milo Ventimiglia plays a con man who finds himself romantically entangled with a CIA agent.

Per the official logline, “A night of passion leads to love between con man Charlie (Ventimiglia) and undercover CIA officer Emma (Good Trouble‘s Catherine Haena Kim), who are unknowingly on a collision course professionally. While Charlie ramps up the ‘family business’ so he can get out for good, Emma’s closing in on the vengeful criminal who holds Charlie’s family debts in-hand — forcing them to reckon with the lies they’ve told so they can save themselves and their families from disastrous consequences.”

In the above teaser, Charlie and Emma meet-cute, pretending to be a yoga instructor and pageant queen-turned-rocket scientist before revealing their true professions. But neither seems to realize just yet that the other is telling the truth.

The cast also features William Fichtner (Mom, Prison Break), Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead, Colony), James Saito (Eli Stone), Tim Chiou, Freda Foh Shen, Felisha Terrell and Polly Draper

The series — which is being written and EP’d by Julia Cohen (Legion, The Royals) — is based on the Korean format My Fellow Citizens. Additional EPs include Jon M. Chu, Todd Harthan, Caitlin Foito, Russ Cundiff and Lindsay Goffman.

The Company You Keep premieres Sunday, Feb. 19 at 10/9c on ABC.

A KISMET CHRISTMAS 10/23/22

(10/21/22) A KISMET CHRISTMAS (Hallmark)
Airing Sunday, Oct. 23 at 8 pm
Sarah is a children’s book author who returns to her hometown, where she reconnects with her family and Travis, her teenage crush. She soon discovers that a long-held family legend might actually be true; Sarah Ramos, Carlo Marks and Marilu Henner star.

A CHRISTMAS COOKIE CATASTROPHE 11/27/22

(10/21/22) A CHRISTMAS COOKIE CATASTROPHE (Hallmark)
Airing Sunday, Nov. 27 at 6 pm
Annie Cooper has big shoes to fill when she takes over as CEO of her late grandmother’s small-town cookie company and is doing her best to help their struggling business get back on track. That task gets more daunting when her grandmother’s secret recipe is stolen during the Christmas party. As Annie tries to crack the case and uncover the culprit she works with Sam, the owner of a local bakery, to recreate the recipe in the hope of saving the company and her job. As Annie and Sam bake batch after batch in pursuit of the perfect one, they begin to learn that their lives go together like milk and cookies; Rachel Boston and Victor Webster star.

Paul Wesley and wife Ines de Ramon separate after 3 years of marriage

(9/19/22) Going their separate ways.

“The Vampire Diaries” star Paul Wesley and his wife, Ines de Ramon, have separated after three years of marriage and are living apart, according to People.

“The decision to separate is mutual and occurred five months ago,” a rep for the couple told the outlet. “They request privacy at this time.”

Wesley was first linked to the jewelry dealer in 2018 when they were seen holding hands during a romantic date night.

They made their relationship Instagram-official one month later while attending a wedding in Montauk, NY.

The “Fallen” actor, 40 and de Ramon, 29, tied the knot in 2019 during a low-profile wedding surrounded by family and friends. News of their nuptials didn’t come out until they were spotted wearing wedding bands months later.

Their relationship status was also confirmed when Wesley’s “Vampire Diaries” co-star Nina Dobrev referred to de Ramon as the actor’s “wife” while on Candice King and Kayla Ewell’s “Directionally Challenged” podcast.

De Ramon — who has since gone private on social media — gave fans a glimpse into the former couple’s special day on their anniversary when she posted photos from the big day on Instagram.

In the photos, de Ramon stunned in a feathered white wedding dress while Wesley pulled her in for a kiss on the beach.

Rumors of the pair’s split started swirling last month when Wesley was spotted hanging out with model Natalie Kuckenburg in New York — without his ring.

Page Six has reached out to reps for Wesley and Ramon and has yet to hear back.

The actor was previously married to “Vampire Diaries” co-star Torrey DeVitto from 2011 to 2013.

Brittany Snow Splits from Hubby Tyler Stanaland

(9/14/22) Brittany Snow is a single woman again, because she and her husband are dunzo ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to the couple tell TMZ ... the "Pitch Perfect" star and Tyler Stanaland have officially called it quits -- this after rumors of infidelity, although we're told there's no truth to any of those and that they had no bearing on the breakup.

What we are told, however, is that this uncoupling has been a long time coming -- and mostly has to do with distance. Apparently, L.A. (where BS lives) and Orange County (TS's home) is a bit too far and they were having problems splitting their time between the areas.

Again ... our sources insist this has nothing to do with cheating, with emphasis on the fact that Tyler is NOT dating his "Selling the OC" costar Alex Hall ... despite speculation they might be a thing. We're told the two Netflix stars are simply friends.

Unclear when exactly they threw in the towel on their relationship, but we do know it's over now. Snow posted Wednesday, "After time and consideration, Tyler and I have made the difficult decision to separate. This decision was made with love and mutual respect for one another. We have realized we need to take some time and make sure we are each living our most fulfilling and authentic lives."

She continued, "We started this journey as best friends and our relationship will continue to be a priority not only for us but for our dog Charlie. We sincerely appreciate your support and ask for privacy as we navigate this new chapter."

Brittany and Tyler got engaged back in 2019, and then hitched in 2020.

Joey Lawrence and wife Samantha Cope expecting first child together

(9/8/22) Joey Lawrence and his wife of four months, Samantha Cope, are expecting their first child together.

“The blessings just keep on coming. Proud of you babe! Baby Lawrence on the way!” the actor, 46, announced Wednesday with an Instagram snap where he caressed Cope’s baby bump while posing on the beach.

“Ohh hi baby daddy ,” Cope, 35, replied in the comments, to which Lawrence added, “

The “Organized Killer” actress announced the news on her private Instagram account with a Reel compilation full of reactions from loved ones as the couple revealed they are expecting.

“It’s been fun getting to know you so far little one! We are so blessed!” she captioned the clip.

Their bundle of joy will be Cope’s first child and Lawrence’s third, as the “Melissa and Joey” star shares daughters Liberty, 12, and Charleston, 16, with ex-wife Chandie Yawn-Nelson.

The couple married in May 2022 at an outdoor ceremony at Temecula Creek Inn in Temecula, Calif. Lawrence’s brothers, Matt and Andy, were present for the nuptials.

“It just feels so right,” Lawrence told People at the time. “Life can be challenging at times, but when God gives you the right person, it’s worth it.

“When you meet the right person, if you’re lucky enough, it cuts to the chase so quick,” he added. “I have somebody who is like-minded and has the same love language and we communicate the same way. That’s super important. And I am so thankful.”

Luke Hemsworth And Milo Ventimiglia Join Australian Action-Thriller ‘Land of Bad’

(9/8/22) Luke Hemsworth (Westworld) and Milo Ventimiglia (This Is Us) have joined the cast of the upcoming action-thriller Land of Bad, starring Russell Crowe and Liam Hemsworth.

The two actors are set to star in the film alongside Ricky Whittle (American Gods), Daniel MacPherson (Poker Face, Foundation), and Chika Ikogwe (Heartbreak High). Will Eubank (Underwater, The Signal) will direct the flick from a screenplay he co-wrote with David Frigerio (The Signal).

The film is being produced by Broken Open Pictures’ David Frigerio, Will Eubank, Volition Media Partners’ Adam Beasley and Michael Jefferson, R.U. Robot, and Highland Film Group. Highland Film Group is representing international rights to the movie.

In the film, Russell Crowe stars as Reaper, an Air Force drone pilot supporting a Delta Force special ops mission in the South Philippines. After the mission goes terribly wrong, he has 48 hours to remedy what has devolved into a wild rescue operation.

The film is set to begin production this month in the Gold Coast and South East Queensland regions of Australia.

“Land of Bad is good news for the Australian screen sector – and I’m excited to welcome this production to our shores,” Australian Minister for the Arts Tony Burke said.

“Every film we attract to Australia provides local workers with the opportunity to showcase their skills to the rest of the world. It also showcases amazing Australian landscapes to an international audience.”

Highland Film Group CEO Arianne Fraser added: “Working with such a superb ensemble cast led by Russell and Liam is a dream come true. They are both incredible performers who showcase the powerful sense of brotherhood between the two lead characters.”

Jonathan Adams guests on BOB hearts ABISHOLA 9/19/22

(8/29/22) “Touched by a Holy Hand” – Abishola and Kemi hatch a plan to keep Ebun and the new pastor’s flirtation from growing. Also, Bob is thrown for a loop when Goodwin leaves MaxDot for a better job at Christina’s company, on the fourth season premiere of the CBS Original series BOB ? ABISHOLA, Monday, Sept. 19 (8:30-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Networkand available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

GUEST CAST: Saidah Arrika Ekulona (Ebunoluwa), Tony Tambi (Chukwuemeka), Kimberly Scott (Ogechi), Jonathan Adams (Pastor Falade), Nene Nwoko (Tiwa).

ABC Picks Up ‘The Company You Keep’ Starring Milo Ventimiglia To Series

(8/22/22) ABC said Monday that it has picked up The Company You Keep, starring and executive produced by This Is Us alum Milo Ventimiglia, to series. The drama, produced by 20th Television, a part of Disney Television Studios, was the last remaining “second cycle” pilot to learn its fate, but was a consistent frontrunner and a move to a series pickup always looked promising.

Like drama pilot Will Trent, which was picked up to series this month, The Company You Keep had started a writers room in anticipation of a series order. The project also had brought on seasoned writer-producer Phil Klemmer as co-showrunner. It will debut at midseason on ABC in 2023.

Also starring Catherine Haena Kim, The Company You Keep is based on Korean format My Fellow Citizens that ran for more than 30 episodes on KBS2. It follows con man Charlie (Ventimiglia) and undercover CIA officer Emma (Kim). A night of passion leads to love between the pair, who unknowingly are on a collision course professionally. While Charlie ramps up the “family business” so he can get out for good, Emma’s closing in on the vengeful criminal who holds Charlie’s family debts in-hand — forcing them to reckon with the lies they’ve told so they can save themselves and their families from disastrous consequences.

William Fichtner, Tim Chiou, Freda Foh Shen, James Saito, Sarah Wayne Callies, Felisha Terrell and Polly Draper also star.

Julia Cohen and Klemmer serve as executive producers and co-showrunners. Ventimiglia and Russ Cundiff executive produce for DiVide Pictures, along with Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu and Caitlin Foito for Electric Somewhere, and Todd Harthan and Lindsay Goffman. Deanna Harris (DiVide Pictures) is a producer. The pilot episode is written by Cohen and directed and executive produced by Ben Younger.

Klemmer most recently co-created Legends of Tomorrow, which ran for seven seasons on the CW. He also worked on all seasons of Veronica Mars and Chuck, among other credits. He’s repped by WME, OIy Obst at 3 Arts and Tom Collier at Sloan, Offer, Weber and Dern.

Ventimiglia is repped by Management 360, Verve and McKuin Frankel Whitehead. DiVide Pictures is repped by Verve and McKuin Frankel Whitehead.

Courtney Eaton & Thomas Mann To Topline Brittany Snow’s Feature Directorial Debut ‘September 17th’ For Yale Entertainment; Gina Rodriguez, Joel McHale Also Set

(6/15/22) Courtney Eaton (Yellowjackets) and Thomas Mann (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) will lead actor Brittany Snow’s feature directorial debut, September 17th, for Yale Entertainment. Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin) and Joel McHale (Community) are also set, joining the previously announced Scott Mescudi (aka Kid Cudi) as part of the supporting cast.

The recently-wrapped September 17th centers around Riley (Eaton), who has recently been released from rehab after struggling with her addictions to food and body image. She soon meets Ethan (Mann) and finds herself navigating the line between unconditional love and a new addiction. Francesca Reale (Stranger Things), Jennifer Westfeldt (Younger), Ekaterina Baker (The Card Counter) and Kathryn Gallagher (You) round out the cast of the pic based on an original story by Snow, who wrote the script alongside Becca Gleason.

Jordan Yale Levine and Jordan Beckerman are producing under their Yale Entertainment banner, alongside Lizzie Shapiro (Shiva Baby) for The Space Program. Exec producers include The Space Program’s Gus Deardoff, Michael J. Rothstein, Eric Broughton, Patrick Heaphy, Jeff Tussi, Kyle Stroud, Jason Kringstein, Matthew Helderman, Luke Taylor, Russell Posternak and Clay Pecorin.

Eaton is an Australian actress who made her screen debut as Cheedo the Fragile in George Miller’s Academy Award-winning Mad Max: Fury Road, alongside Charlize Theron—most recently portraying teenaged Lottie in the acclaimed Showtime drama series Yellowjackets, which has been renewed for a second season. The actress has also been seen in Alex Proyas’ fantasy pic Gods of Egypt and Steven C. Miller’s thriller Line of Duty, among other projects.

Mann is best known for his leading role as Greg in the coming-of-age dramedy Me and Earl and the Dying Girl alongside Olivia Cooke. He’ll next be seen in A24’s comedy Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, having previously appeared in such films as Project X, Kong: Skull Island, Halloween Kills, It’s Kind of a Funny Story, Beautiful Creatures, The Stanford Prison Experiment and The Highwaymen. The actor has also been seen on such series as Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, Moonbase 8 and Fargo. Other upcoming projects include the rom-com About Fate with Emma Roberts, and the comedy Cora Bora led by Hacks breakout Megan Stalter.

Rodriguez is best known for her turn as the titular character on The CW’s Jane the Virgin and has also been seen in such features as I Want You Back, Kajillionaire, Miss Bala, Annihilation and Deepwater Horizon. She was set in March as the lead of ABC’s pilot Not Dead Yet, and will also soon appear on the shows Lost Ollie (Netflix) and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Apple TV+) along with the films Players and Like It Used To Be.

McHale is an Emmy-nominated actor, comedian, writer and producer best known for his portrayal of Jeff Winger on NBC’s Community, and for hosting the satirical weekly show The Soup for E! between 2004 and 2015. Recent film credits include Queenpins, Becky, Game Over, Man!, A Futile and Stupid Gesture and Assassination Nation. He’ll also soon be seen in Eli Stern’s comedy California King with Victoria Justice and Jimmy Tatro.

Other upcoming projects from Yale Entertainment include the recently-wrapped thriller The Kill Room, starring Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Joe Manganiello and Maya Hawke, and writer-director David Duchovny’s adaptation of his novel Bucky F*cking Dent, in which he’ll also star.

Eaton is represented by ICM Partners, Authentic Talent and Literary Management and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern; Mann by UTA, Industry Entertainment and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; Rodriguez by WME and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; McHale by UTA and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole; Reale by Gersh and Atlas Artists; Westfeldt by Innovative Artists and Vault Entertainment; and Gallagher by Gersh and One Entertainment.

Jonathan Adams guests on Bob Hearts Abishola 5/23/22

(5/12/22) “Beard in Her Pulpit” – When a new charismatic pastor joins their congregation, Abishola is thrilled that Bob has renewed interest in church, but less so when her mother takes a new interest in the pastor. Also, when Dottie gives out bonuses to upper management, Bob must make sure he doesn’t lose his best employee, on the third season finale of the CBS Original series BOB Hearts ABISHOLA, Monday, May 23 (8:30-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

GUEST CAST: Tony Tambi (Chukwuemeka), Kimberly Scott (Ogechi), Tori Danner (Morenike), Jonathan Adams (Pastor Falade).

‘Confessions’ Drama Starring Paul Wesley In Works At Netflix From Kapital; Julie Plec To Co-Write In ‘TVD’ Reunion

(4/29/22) Netflix has taken in for development Confessions (working title), a drama series starring and executive produced by The Vampire Diaries alum Paul Wesley, I have learned. Written and executive produced by TVD co-developer, executive and showrunner Julie Plec and Bradley Paul (Better Call Saul), the project, which is in early stages, is based on Jason Smith’s non-fiction 2015 article The Confessions of a Drug-Addicted High School Teacher.

Confessions, produced by Universal Television, stems from the production partnership Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment forged with Wesley and his company Citizen Media in 2019, following Wesley’s starring turn on Kapital’s CBS All Access series Tell Me a Story (created by the other TVD co-developer/EP, Kevin Williamson.).

This has been a passion project for Wesley for years. The Confessions adaptation was one of the first pieces of development he took on when he launched Citizen Media in 2016 with a deal at Warner Bros TV. Smith’s article chronicles his two-year stint teaching public high school in northern California. Despite teaching while anesthetized by a heavy dose of prescription narcotics, Jason finds that his brokenness from addiction begins attracting broken students, and in a town obsessed with high school football, he’s not alone in his obsession to escape from himself.

During the project’s development with Kapital, Wesley reached out to his former TVD showrunner Plec, who came on board, along with Universal Television, where Plec’s My So-Called Company is based.

Wesley is executive producing with his former producing partner Bob Levy, Kapital’s Kaplan and Brian Morewitz as well as My So-Called Company’s Plec and Emily Cummins. Jessie Abbott is the creative executive at Kapital.

Wesley recently joined the cast of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, taking on the iconic role of James T. Kirk in the second season of the Paramount+ series. He can also be seen in Shudder feature History of Evil alongside Stephanie Beatriz. Wesley starred on The Vampire Diaries for eight seasons, directed multiple episodes throughout the series’ run, and served as a producer for the eighth and final season. He has also directed episodes of Roswell, New Mexico, Shadowhunters and Legacies. Wesley is repped by ICM Partners, Anonymous Content and attorney Marcy Morris.

Under her Uni TV deal, Plec has new series Vampire Academy for Peacock and has been executive producing freshman NBC series The Endgame. Additionally, she has series The Girls on the Bus at HBO Max and Legacies and Roswell, New Mexico on the CW. She is with Management 360 and Felker Toczek Suddleson.

Paul’s writing-producing credits include Heels, Animal Kingdom and Lodge 49. He is repped by UTA and Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka.

‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Finds Its James T. Kirk With Paul Wesley

(3/16/21) Paul Wesley is joining the cast of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Wesley is starring in the iconic role of James T. Kirk in the second season of the Paramount+ drama series. The role is best known for starring William Shatner.

The casting comes ahead of the launch of season one, which premieres in May. A second season of the show was renewed in January.

Strange New Worlds follows Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Science Officer Spock (Ethan Peck), and Number One (Rebecca Romijn/Una Chin-Riley) as they explore new worlds around the galaxy. Their adventures predate Captain Kirk’s ever stepping foot aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise.

The cast also includes Jess Bush as Nurse Christine Chapel, Christina Chong as La’an Noonien-Singh, Celia Rose Gooding as Cadet Nyota Uhura, Melissa Navia as Lt. Erica Ortegas, and Babs Olusanmokun as Dr. M’Benga.

Wesley was previously one of the leads of The Vampire Diaries and also starred in Tell Me A Story for Paramount+ predecessor CBS All Access. He can also be seen in Shudder feature History of Evil alongside Stephanie Beatriz.

He has also directed episodes of Roswell, New Mexico, Shadowhunters and Legacies.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is showrun by Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers with the pair exec producing alongside Jenny Lumet, Heather Kadin, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth, and Aaron Baiers.

The series is produced by CBS Studios, Secret Hideout, and Roddenberry Entertainment.

“Paul is an accomplished actor, an astonishing presence and a welcome key addition to the show. Like all of us, he is a life-long Star Trek fan and we are excited by his interpretation of this iconic role,” said Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers.

Milo Ventimiglia To Star In & Produce ‘The Company You Keep’ Drama Pilot At ABC

(3/5/22) Milo Ventimiglia has potentially found his next starring vehicle.

The This Is Us actor is to star in and exec produce The Company You Keep, a con-artist drama that has landed a pilot order at ABC.

The project, which is based on Korean format My Fellow Citizens that ran for more than 30 episodes on KBS2, follows con man Charlie and undercover CIA officer Emma. A night of passion leads to love between the pair, who are unknowingly on a collision course professionally. While Charlie ramps up the “family business” so he can get out for good, Emma’s closing in on the vengeful criminal who holds Charlie’s family debts in-hand — forcing them to reckon with the lies they’ve told so they can save themselves and their families from disastrous consequences.

It is being written and exec produced by Julia Cohen, who recently has been co-creating HBO Max’s new Degrassi series. Cohen has worked on series including TNT’s Dallas, E!’s The Royals, FX’s Legion and The CW’s Riverdale and was a co-exec producer on ABC’s Quantico and A Million Little Things.

Ventimiglia will exec produce via his DiVide Pictures banner alongside Russ Cundiff with Deanna Harris as producer.

Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu also will exec produce via his Electric Somewhere label with his partner Caitlin Foito. The Resident showrunner Todd Harthan and The Good Doctor co-exec producer Lindsay Goffman are also exec producing the project, which comes from studio 20th Television, where Ventimiglia’s DiVide Pictures is based.

The script for The Company You Keep has been buzzed about for the past couple of months, as Deadline revealed in its Pilot Season 2022 rundown.

It is the latest broadcast sale for DiVide and Ventimiglia, whose hit drama series This Is Us is ending with its sixth season on air right now. In December, it set up Only To Deceive, an adaptation of Tasha Alexander’s novel in development at ABC, and also set up hockey drama series Hometown Saints at NBC.

Ventimiglia is represented by Management 360, Verve and McKuin Frankel Whitehead and Cohen is represented by A3 Artists Agency, Vanguard Artists, and Tara Kole at Johnson, Shapiro, Slewett & Kole.

‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ Star Stephanie Beatriz & ‘Vampire Diaries’ Star Paul Wesley Set For Horror ‘History Of Evil’

(2/17/22) Brooklyn Nine-Nine and In the Heights star Stephanie Beatriz has been set to star with The Vampire Diaries actor Paul Wesley in the horror-thriller movie History of Evil.

AMC’s genre streamer Shudder has boarded the film for North America, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand and will release it as a Shudder Original.

Written and directed by Iranian-American filmmaker Bo Mirhosseni, the film is being produced by genre specialists XYZ Films, Under the Shadow outfit Two & Two Pictures and Jake Siegel. Beatriz and Wesley will serve as executive producers.

In the film, a family on the run from a corrupt state takes refuge in a safe house with an evil past — a terrifying last stop on a near-future Underground Railroad. Filming is being lined up for spring 2022.

The movie is the first project under a pact between XYZ Films and Two & Two Pictures to make films from first- and second-time genre directors from under-represented demographics. The pact is set to produce two to three pictures a year initially and was hatched as a result of XYZ Films partnering with Two & Two on Babak Anvari’s Under the Shadow, which went on to win a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut. The companies most recently collaborated on Anvari’s third feature film, I Came By, which is currently in post-production for Netflix.

Beatriz is best known for leading voice cast on hit animation Encanto, rom-com musical In the Heights, and comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine. She’s just finishing up starring in London’s West End play 2:22: A Ghost Story.

Wesley is known for roles in The Vampire Diaries, Before I Disappear, Peaceful Warrior and Tell Me a Story. He is also directing and producing under his production banner Citizen Media.

“We are thrilled to be working with XYZ and Two & Two Pictures as we continue to spotlight new and emerging storytellers within this genre, and Bo’s thrilling film debut is no exception,” said Emily Gotto, VP Global Acquisitions and Co-Productions at Shudder. “We are excited to have such talents as Stephanie and Paul on board to bring these dynamic characters to life and look forward to sharing the film with Shudder members.”

Anvari and Lucan Toh of Two & Two Pictures commented: “We are delighted to be working with Bo, Stephanie and Paul on this deeply terrifying and unique horror film, and honored to have found a home at Shudder, whose cutting-edge platform has continues to push genre films forward. Everyone on this team has demonstrated a commitment to bringing timely and entertaining stories to the world, and we couldn’t be more excited to work with them.”

Beatriz is repped by ICM Partners, Authentic Talent and Literary Management and attorney Mitch Smelkinson. Wesley is repped by ICM Partners, Anonymous Content and attorney Marcy Morris.

Lifetime Sets Premiere Dates For Two ‘Fallen Angels Murder Club’ Movies & ‘Stolen By Their Father’ Pic

(2/2/22) Lifetime has set premiere dates for a pair of Fallen Angels Murder Club movies starring Toni Braxton and others and the Sarah Drew-led pic Stolen by Their Father. which Elizabeth Smart has joined as executive producer.

The Fallen Angels Murder Club anthology pics feature Braxton as Hollis Morgan, an ex-con-turned-amateur sleuth set out to investigate a series of murders at her book club. Fallen Angels Murder Club: Friends to Die For premieres at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 2, followed by Fallen Angels Murder Club: Heroes and Felons a week later, at 8 p.m. April 9. Read more about the films below.

Stolen by Their Father premieres at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 5. It stars Drew as Lizbeth Meredith, a mother who says goodbye to her young daughters for a non-custodial visit with their father — her abusive ex-husband — only to discover days later that he has kidnapped the girls and taken them to Greece. For the next two years, fueled by the memories of her own childhood kidnapping, Lizbeth travels to the White House and Greece, burning through every dime and favor to get her children back. One false move, and her ex-husband will vanish with her children, guaranteeing that she never will see them again. Two false moves, and he’ll make good on his promise to kill her.

Valentina Battrick and Carina Battrick also star in the Cineflix Productions film formerly titled Stolen Hearts: The Lizbeth Meredith Story.

Stolen by Their Father‘s debut will be followed by a Beyond the Headlines documentary about the real Lizbeth Meredith and her daughters.

Here are the synopses of the Fallen Angels Murder Club movies, which are based on the Fallen Angels Book Club novels by R. Franklin James and produced by Brain Power Studio:

Fallen Angels Murder Club: Friends to Die For
The members of the Fallen Angels Murder Club must have two things in common: a love for books and a criminal record. Hollis Morgan (Braxton) meets both requirements. Left holding the bag in an insurance fraud scheme concocted by her ex-husband, Hollis served her time and now hopes the court will pardon her conviction so she can fulfill her dream of becoming a lawyer. But when a member of her book club is murdered in a scene straight out of the previous night’s novel, Hollis becomes the subject of police scrutiny. Refusing to get stuck with another bad rap, Hollis sets out to investigate her fellow club members and after a second book-inspired murder, she races to identify the killer before she becomes the next victim. Eddie Cibrian also stars.

Fallen Angels Murder Club: Heroes and Felons
The members of the Fallen Angels Murder Club must band together again as they search for answers surrounding the death of one of their own. Hollis finds herself at the center of the investigation when a journalist reporting on the murder also winds up dead. As bodies begin to stack up, and Hollis connects the dots, she must solve the murders before it’s too late. Kelly Hu also stars.

The ensemble casts also includes Lisa Berry, Yanic Truesdale, Humberly González, Rainbow Sun Francks, Raoul Bhaneja, Henderson Wade, Kaitlyn Leeb, Rob Stewart, Keith D. Robinson and Shawn Ahmed.

AMC+ And RLJE Films Acquire Holiday Comedy ‘Christmas With The Campbells’ Starring Brittany Snow, Justin Long & Alex Moffat

(2/1/22) AMC+ and RLJE Films have acquired worldwide rights to the holiday comedy Christmas with the Campbells, starring Brittany Snow (Pitch Perfect franchise), Justin Long (He’s Just Not That Into You), Alex Moffat (Saturday Night Live), Julia Duffy (Newhart), George Wendt (Cheers) and JoAnna Garcia Swisher (Sweet Magnolias). The film produced by Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Picture Show will simultaneously hit theaters and AMC+ in the U.S. in late fall.

Christmas with the Campbells is billed as a traditional holiday romance story executed with unfiltered adult humor. Specifics as far as its plot are being kept under wraps.

Clare Niederpruem is directing from a script by Vaughn, Dan Lagana (American Vandal) and Barbara Kymlicka. Vaughn and Lagana are also producing alongside Peter Billingsley (Couples Retreat) under their Wild West Picture Show banner, with Stan Spry (Creepshow) exec producing. The feature is the second from RLJE and Wild West, on the heels of stand-up comic Steve Byrne’s The Opening Act, starring Jimmy O. Yang, Jermaine Fowler & Ken Jeong.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better cast and a group of filmmakers with whom to work,” said RLJE Films’ Chief Acquisitions Officer Mark Ward. “This is the second collaboration between RLJE Films and Vince Vaughn and Peter Billingsley and now, with the partnership with AMC+, we will be able to bring this film to an even wider audience.”

“On the heels of an incredibly successful launch for the twisted black dramedy ‘Silent Night,’ which became one of our most watched films of 2021, we’re delighted to partner with RLJE Films once again – this time adding the comedic genius of Vince Vaughn, Dan Lagana and Peter Billingsley – to bring our subscribers another unexpected and wildly entertaining film for the holiday season,” added AMC+ General Manager Courtney Thomasma. “Between Vince and Peter’s Christmas movie pedigree and the stellar cast, ‘Christmas with the Campbells’ is the perfect addition to our biggest year of programming, as we continue to build AMC+ into a true destination for the best feature films.”

Wild West Picture Show is a production company founded by Vaughn in 2005 that has also produced such films as The Internship, Couples Retreat, Four Christmases and The Break-Up. Wild West’s television credits include Audience Network’s Undeniable with Joe Buck and ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary on the ’85 Bears, which Vaughn also narrated, along with Audience Network’s Fear(less) with Tim Ferriss, the TBS original sitcom Sullivan & Son and the Netflix animated series F is for Family.

RLJE Films is a business unit of AMC Networks. Its recent and upcoming features include David Oyelowo’s directorial debut The Water Man; Amber Sealey’s No Man of God starring Elijah Wood and Luke Kirby; Sion Sono’s 2021 Sundance Film Festival premiere Prisoners of the Ghostland starring Nicolas Cage and Sofia Boutella; and the apocalyptic holiday dramedy Silent Night from writer-director Camille Griffin.

AMC+ is a subscription VOD streaming service owned by AMC Networks that launched in 2020. Films debuting exclusively on the service thus far include Adam Egypt Mortimer’s mystery-thriller Archenemy, Edward John Drake’s sci-fi action pic Apex, Aharon Keshales’ crime pic South of Heaven, No Man of God, Prisoners of the Ghostland and Silent Night.

Ward and Betsy Rodgers negotiated the deal to acquire Christmas with the Campbells for AMC+/RLJE Films with Vaughn and Billingsley on behalf of the filmmakers.

JOY FOR CHRISTMAS

(10/21/21) JOY FOR CHRISTMAS

PREMISE: When her family firm’s annual Christmas toy drive is in jeopardy, Holly Silver must convince pro athlete Jack Kane to be the public face of the toy drive to help save it. As Noelle helps Jack rediscover the meaning of Christmas, Holly reconnects with her own family and family traditions. As Jack and Holly go through challenges of making Christmas dreams for others come true, they discover kindred spirits in each other and the potential for the gift of romance this holiday season. Cindy Busby and Sam Page star.

PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 19 at 8/7c (GAC Family)

Hallmark 2021 Christmas Movie

(10/19/21) Sister Swap: A Hometown Holiday / Sister Swap: Christmas in the City

Stars: Kimberly Williams Paisley, Ashley Williams, Mark Deklin, Keith Robinson, Susan Yeagley, and Kevin Nealon

Logline: "In these interconnected movies, Jennifer and Meg Swift are sisters who couldn't be closer despite living hours apart. Jennifer is in Salt Lake City, running a successful restaurant she started with her late husband and raising her teenaged son Simon. Meg stayed in their hometown of Hazelwood, helping their parents run the local bakery. This Christmas is the family's first since the passing of Uncle Dave, who owned the town's beloved theater, The Madison, where many memories were made over the years. When Jennifer and Simon return home for the holiday, they become wistful for one more Christmas at The Madison, despite that it's for sale and in need of repairs. Meanwhile, Meg is helping Jennifer's restaurant staff in Salt Lake prepare for a Christmas competition among local restaurants with the winner earning money for the charity of its choice. With the sisters switching cities leading up to the holiday, they find a new sense of purpose and discover what they both truly need in life and in love."

Rachel Boston guests on Seal Team 10/10/21

(9/2/21) “Trust, But Verify: Part 1” – Everyone on Bravo is shocked when they learn a training exercise is really cover for a covert mission to get a weapons expert out of one of the most dangerous countries in the world, on the fifth season premiere of SEAL TEAM, Sunday, Oct. 10 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

GUEST CAST includes: Justin Melnick (Brock Reynolds), Tyler Grey (Trent Sawyer), Rachel Boston (Hannah Oliver).

Lifetime Greenlights ‘Flowers In The Attic’ Prequel Miniseries With Jemima Rooper, Max Irons, Kelsey Grammer, Harry Hamlin, More

(8/17/21) More Flowers of the Attic is coming to Lifetime. The network has greenlighted Flowers In The Attic: The Origin, a four-part prequel miniseries event starring Jemima Rooper (Gold Digger) and Max Irons (Condor), from Jennie Snyder Urman and Joanna Klein’s Sutton St. Productions and CBS Studios. Flowers in the Attic: The Origin is an A+E Studios production in association with Sutton St. and CBS Studios.

Kelsey Grammer (Frasier), Harry Hamlin (Mad Men), Kate Mulgrew (Orange is the New Black), Paul Wesley (The Vampire Diaries), Alana Boden (I Am Elizabeth Smart), Hannah Dodd (Harlots), T’Shan Williams (The Color Purple) and Callum Kerry (Four Weddings and a Funeral) also star in the miniseries which is based on the prequel novel, Garden of Shadows by Andrew Neiderman.

Author V.C. Andrews launched a pop culture sensation with the gothic tale Flowers in the Attic. Flowers in the Attic: The Origin peels back the curtain to reveal the twisted origins and dark secrets of the Foxworth family.

The miniseries greenlight follows on the success of Lifetime’s Flowers in the Attic and subsequent V.C. Andrews movie series franchises. The movie events Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind were cable’s top two movies of 2014 with women, while Flowers in the Attic has reached over 30.1M2 total viewers and Petals on the Wind seen by 23.4M3 total viewers.

Flowers in the Attic: The Origin tells the story of the headstrong and determined Olivia Winfield (Rooper) who is working alongside her beloved father (Hamlin) when she finds herself unexpectedly wooed by one of the nation’s most eligible bachelors, Malcom Foxworth (Irons). After a whirlwind romance, Olivia finds herself as the mistress of the imposing Foxworth Hall, where she soon discovers that the fairytale life she expected has quickly become a nightmare. Under Malcolm’s debonair exterior lies a dark heart, and a twisted evil lurks inside Foxworth Hall that will threaten Olivia’s happiness and that of her children. Her attempts to keep them all safe ultimately push Olivia to become to most terrifying version of herself, leading to her inevitable—and notorious—decision to lock her grandchildren in the attic.

Dodd stars as Olivia’s daughter, Corinne; while Williams portrays Foxworth’s longtime staff member and Olivia’s observant housekeeper, Nella. Mulgrew plays Mrs. Steiner, Malcom’s loyal house manager and head of the Foxworth Hall staff. Grammer portrays Malcom’s illustrious father Garland Foxworth, who is married to new wife Alicia, played by Boden. Wesley stars as John Amos, Olivia’s cousin whose revelations change her life forever and Callum Kerr stars as Christopher, a close relative of the Foxworth family whose life will be eternally intertwined with Corrine’s from the moment they set eyes on each other.

Additional talent includes Luke Fetherston, Buck Braithwaite, Jordan Peters, Evelyn Miller, Rawdat Quadri, Emmanuel Ogunjinmi, David Witts, Carla Woodcock and Peter Bramhill.

Paul Sciarrotta serves as executive producer. Urman and Klein serve as executive producers for Sutton St. Productions and CBS Studios. Zoë Rocha serves as executive producer for RubyRock Pictures, Gary Pearl executive produces for Aquarius Content and Dan Angel executive produces. Declan O’Dwyer also executive produces and directed part one and part two of the miniseries. Robin Sheppard serves as director for parts three and four. Scripts are from executive producer Sciarrotta, as well as Amy Rardin and Conner Good. The miniseries was made with support of the Romanian Government.

Joey Lawrence Engaged To Lifetime Movie Costar Samantha Cope A Year After Divorcing Wife

(8/10/21) Joey Lawrence is getting ready to say ‘I Do’ for a third time!

The actor revealed in an interview that he’s engaged to actress Samantha Cope just one year after filing to divorce Chandie Lawrence.

While chatting about his upcoming movie “SWIM” to Us Weekly, the “Blossom” star revealed that his writing partner is also his fiancé.

“Believe it or not, my writing partner and I [sold the script to Tubi], I’m continuing my relationship with them,” Joey told the publication. “But we’ve sold an original movie, a romantic comedy, which we’re gonna be making later this year.”

The 45-year-old is busy and not quite ready to start wedding planning yet, “There’s a lot of stuff going on, you know, there’s a lot of stuff going on, which we’ll talk about soon, but yeah, it’s a lot of great stuff,” he said. “A lot of really great stuff. She’s the best person ever.”

The couple met on the set of their upcoming Lifetime movie, “A Deadly Deed” which is directed by Joey’s brother Andrew Lawrence.

“So we met there and out of nowhere, you know, it was a crazy year and a half for everybody, obviously the whole world,” Joey explained. “Then when you least expect [it,] amazing things happen and meeting her has just been really the greatest thing ever.”

“Last year, 2020 was really something,” he continued. “And when you least expect it, you know, you literally meet the perfect person for you, and all those intangibles come into play … and then you meet [the] right person.”

Joey and Samantha’s romance flourished during the Covid-19 pandemic and while they couldn’t go on “typical” dates they enjoyed spending time together.

“It was just hanging out, trapped in that, you know, confined space. And when you can meet the greatest person for you in that kind of environment, it’s saying something,” he told Us Weekly.

Samantha shared a sweet selfie of the couple on Instagram and gushed about Joey writing, “Appreciation post for this guy ??! Life is so full of blessings but also little unpredictable battles. I can’t thank you enough for staying positive even in the toughest of times. You’re my fav babe #gratitude.”

This will be Joey’s third marriage. He tied the knot to Michelle Vella in 2002 but the couple split after three years. The actor then married Chandie in 2005 and filed for divorce after 15 years of marriage in July 2020.

Milo Ventimiglia Joins Season 4 Of ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’

(6/11/21) It looks like there will be a mini Gilmore Girls reunion on the upcoming fourth season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Gilmore Girls alum and This is Us star Milo Ventimiglia has been cast in an undisclosed guest role on the Amazon series, Deadline has confirmed.

Amazon would not reveal any character details.

The casting will reunite Ventimiglia with Maisel and Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and EP Daniel Palladino.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel stars Rachel Brosnahan, Tony Shalhoub, Alex Borstein, Marin Hinkle, Michael Zegen, Kevin Pollak and Caroline Aaron. Stephanie Hsu returns for Season 4 as well as Luke Kirby in his recurring role as Lenny Bruce.

In season 3, Midge (Brosnahan) and Susie (Borstein) discovered that life on tour with Shy (Leroy McClain) was glamorous but humbling, and they learned a lesson about show business they’ll never forget.

Ventimiglia has received three lead actor Emmy nominations for his role as Jack Pearson on NBC’s flagship drama series This Is Us.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is the winner of 20 Emmy Awards including Outstanding Comedy series, three Golden Globes including Best TV Series—Comedy, six Critics Choice Awards including Best Comedy Series, two PGA Awards, a WGA Award, and a Peabody Award.

Rachel Boston recurs on Seal Team 5/26/21

(5/10/21) “One Life To Live” — Bravo takes a devastating hit that will change the team forever, and forces each member to make major personal decisions, on the fourth season finale of SEAL TEAM, Wednesday, May 26 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

RECURRING CAST incldes: Justin Melnick (Brock Reynolds), Rachel Boston (Hannah Oliver), Alona Tal (Stella Baxter).

‘David Makes Man’: OWN Sets Season 2 Premiere Date; Trailer Teases Time-Skip, Kwame Patterson’s David

(4/21/21) (Video) OWN has unveiled the premiere date and trailer for the second season of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s David Makes Man.

Set to premiere on OWN on June 22 from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET/PT, David Makes Man‘s sophomore season finds David (Kwame Patterson) in his 30s, a rising businessman facing an opportunity that will change him and his community forever; the mounting forces David to choose between the instincts that helped him survive or finding a new way to truly live.

The series also features series regulars Arlen Escarpeta, Akili McDowell, Alana Arenas, Travis Coles and Cayden K. Williams. McCraney serves as executive producer alongside showrunner Dee Harris-Lawrence who serves as showrunner. Mike Kelley and Melissa Loy also executive produce under their production banner Page Fright. Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society and Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films are also executive producers.

The trailer gives David Makes Man fans their first glimpse at Patterson’s David and teases what the drama’s protagonist must come to terms with – from unstoppable change and growth to unforgettable and formative experiences. See it above.

CBS Renews 5 Series, Including S.W.A.T., Blue Bloods and Magnum P.I.

(4/15/21) CBS issued a flurry of early renewals on Thursday — five of ’em in total. Among the series scoring pickups: Blue Bloods (for Season 12), S.W.A.T. (for Season 5), Magnum P.I. (for Season 4) and Bull (for Season 6).

And as we reported here, NCIS will also be returning for a 19th season.

They join previously renewed dramas The Equalizer (for Season 2), FBI (Season 4) and FBI: Most Wanted (Season 3), as well as comedies Bob Hearts Abishola (Season 3), The Neighborhood (Season 4) and Young Sheldon (Seasons 5-7).

CBS series still on the bubble include All Rise, B Positive, Clarice, NCIS: Los Angeles, SEAL Team, The Unicorn and United States of Al

Meanwhile, CBS is getting ready to bid farewell to Mom, NCIS: New Orleans and MacGyver. The cancellation of MacGyver — which was announced on April 7 — caught some by surprise, given CBS’ penchant for sticking with its reboots long-term. The final episode airs on April 30 and finds Mac and Riley (played by Lucas Till and Tristin Mays) waking up in a corn field with no memory of how they got there. The twosome then must unravel the mystery to find who took them and how to get rid of the nanotrackers in their bodies, “no matter the cost.”

Rachel Boston guests on Seal Team 4/21/21

(4/8/21) “Rearview Mirror” – Jason’s visit with a former teammate causes him to reevaluate his role as team leader. Also, several Bravo members grapple with their personal relationships when Command sends them on an unexpected mission to the coast of Africa, on SEAL TEAM, Wednesday, April 21 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Rachel Boston (Hannah Oliver), Kaliayh Rhambo (Jameelah Perry), Shiva Negar (Mina Hassan).

Luke Bracey And Brittany Snow To Star In Gritty Thriller, ‘Big Nickel’

(4/7/21) Luke Bracey and Brittany Snow have signed on to star in Tom Chilcoat’s debut feature, Big Nickel, with principal photography kicking off in the U.S this winter.

Co-written by Chilcoat and David Birke (Elle, Slender Man), the thriller centers on Charlie (Bracey), a charismatic Army recruiter, who is tasked with signing the “big fish” for a promotion. The only person standing in his way is Erik, a disturbed ex-vet that Charlie convinced to enlist years before. A dangerous man with a bone to pick, Erik will not be satisfied until Charlie has paid a heavy price—and as pressure mounts, Charlie is ultimately forced to re-examine his dubious methods, facing a thunderous reckoning of accountability.

A Traction and Arclight Films production, Big Nickel is produced by Traction’s Jason Tamasco (El Chapo, Opening Night) and Zak Kristofek (Book Club, Wildlife). Executive producers include Arclight Films’ Gary Hamilton (First Reformed, Hotel Mumbai), Ryan Hamilton (Possessor, Escape from Pretoria) and Ying Ye (The Furnace, Possessor).

A native of Australia, Bracey is best known for turns in Netflix original rom-com Holidate, Warner Bros. and Lionsgate’s Point Break remake, Summit Entertainment and Lionsgate’s Oscar-winning war film Hacksaw Ridge and acclaimed Hulu miniseries, Little Fires Everywhere.

Rising to fame following her appearance on NBC drama series American Dreams, Snow’s TV credits include Ryan Murphy’s Nip/Tuck, David E. Kelly’s Harry’s Law, The CW’s musical comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Fox’s Almost Family.

On the film side, the actress is internationally recognized for her turn as Chloe in Universal Studios’ Pitch Perfect franchise. Additional big screen credits include The Pacifier, John Tucker Must Die, Prom Night and Hairspray. Most recently, Snow produced and starred in the comedic feature, Hooking Up, also starring in Netflix feature Someone Great, produced by Paul Feig.

Bracey is represented in the U.S. by CAA, Fourward, and attorney Michael Schenkman of Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher. In Australia, the actor is repped by Morrissey Management. Snow is repped by The Gersh Agency and Principal Entertainment.

Sarah Ramos To Play Cheryl Pistono In HBO’s 1980s L.A. Lakers Series

(3/26/21) Sarah Ramos (Parenthood) has been tapped to play Cheryl Pistono, the girlfriend of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, in Adam McKay’s Los Angeles Lakers HBO drama series, based on Jeff Pearlman’s book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s. McKay’s Hyperobject Industries is producing.

Written by Max Borenstein, the fast-break series chronicles the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Lakers, one of sports’ most revered and dominant dynasties — a team that defined its era both on and off the court.

In contrast to her boyfriend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s public persona, Ramos’ Cheryl Pistono is warm and outgoing. She uses her emotional intelligence to encourage Kareem to be himself, and together they weather the highs and lows of a life in basketball.

Ramos joins previously announced cast Jason Segel as Paul Westhead, Michael Chiklis as Red Auerbach, Sally Field as Jessie Buss, Adrien Brody as Pat Riley, John C. Reilly as Jerry Buss, Jason Clarke as Jerry West, Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson, Solomon Hughes as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Gaby Hoffmann as Claire Rothman, Hadley Robinson as Jeanie Buss, DeVaughn Nixon as Norm Nixon, Molly Gordon as Linda Zafrani, Rob Morgan as Earvin Johnson Sr., Spencer Garrett as Chick Hearn, Kirk Bovill as Donald Sterling, Delante Desouza as Michael Cooper, Stephen Adly Guirgis as Frank Mariani, Tamera Tomakili as Earletha “Cookie” Kelly, Joey Brooks as Lon Rosen and Bo Burnham as Larry Bird.

Borenstein executive produces the series with McKay, who directs the pilot, and Kevin Messick for Hyperobject Industries. Jim Hecht is co-writer of story and executive produces along with Jason Shuman, Scott Stephens and Rodney Barnes.

Ramos is known for her roles as Haddie Braverman on NBC’s Parenthood and Creek Lovell on Midnight, Texas. During the pandemic, she created a popular series called Quarantscenes in which she comedically recreates iconic scenes from film and television. Elle Fanning, Dylan O’Brien and Aubrey Plaza are among the actors who co-starred with Ramos on the series. Ramos recently directed an episode of Marvel’s 616 for Disney+ and she’s currently developing a series, Children’s Television Sausage Factory, for the streamer, along with Dan Harmon and Matt Spicer. She’s repped by Echo Lake Entertainment and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.

‘Glee’ Reunion Set For 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards, Cast To Pay Tribute To Naya Rivera

(3/24/21) Gleeks across the country will be happy to know that William McKinley High School’s prized glee club New Directions are reuniting. Glee cast members Jacob Artist, Chris Colfer, Darren Criss, Vanessa Lengies, Jane Lynch, Kevin McHale, Heather Morris, Matthew Morrison, Alex Newell, Amber Riley, Harry Shum Jr., Becca Tobin, and Jenna Ushkowitz are set to reunite at the virtual edition of the 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards on April 8 for a special tribute to the legacy of the late Naya Rivera’s character Santana Lopez.

The tribute will honor the 10-year anniversary of Santana’s coming out as lesbian in the musical comedy. Glee is a GLAAD Media Award winning series and the reunion will spotlight Santana’s impact on LGBTQ teens and Latinx LGBTQ representation on television. Demi Lovato, who played Santana’s girlfriend on Glee, will introduce the special tribute. The GLAAD Media Awards will be hosted by Niecy Nash and stream on YouTube on April 8 at 8pm ET. The event will also stream on Hulu on April 8 starting at 10pm ET, and will be available to stream on-demand on the streamer until the end of June.

Nicola Peltz To Co-Direct & Star In Indie Drama ‘Lola James’; Virginia Madsen Also Set

(3/22/21) Transformers: Age of Extinction star Nicola Peltz will co-direct with The Florida Project actress Bria Vinaite the independent feature drama Lola James.

The movie, written by Peltz, is set in 2002 middle America and revolves around 19-year old Lola James, who is working to save enough money to get her little brother, Arlo, out of their toxic home. All Lola wants is for Arlo to have a chance at life she never had. While trying to keep her head above water she spirals into a drug addiction that threatens to consume her. Arlo’s bright outlook on life keeps her hopeful — until one tragic night when her whole world gets uprooted. From that moment on, nothing will ever be the same. The movie, we hear, is already in production in Los Angeles.

Madsen will play Mona, who leads the family with fierce obedience on the wrong side of religion; she herself dealing with demons and raised by an abusive mother.

Peltz will star alongside Sideways Oscar nominee Virginia Madsen. Peltz is also producing in what is her feature debut as a writer, producer and director. Lola James is also Vinaite’s feature directorial debut. Will McCance is producing (Crystal Swan) with Ryan Kirby (Four Good Days) executive producing.

Peltz starred opposite Mark Wahlberg in Michael Bay’s $1.1 billion grossing Tranformers: Age of Extinction and most recently starred in The Obituary of Tunde Johnson. She also starred as Bradley Martin in A&E’s hit drama series Bates Motel. Peltz is repped by WME, Management 360, and attorney Robert Benun.

Madsen stars in the upcoming Lionsgate movie The Devil’s Light and also starred in the CW streaming series Swamp Thing as well as CBS’s Elementary with a recurring role on ABC’s Designated Survivor. Her feature credits include the upcoming Lionsgate title American Underdog: The Kurt Warner Story and Road to Capri, Red Riding Hood, The Astronaut Farmer, A Prairie Home Companion, Dune, The Haunting and Candyman. Madsen is repped by Buchwald and Untitled.

Vinaite is repped by Thirty Three Mangement.

Rachel Boston & Steven Culp guest on Seal Team 4/7/21

(3/16/21) “Limits of Loyalty” – Jason is put on trial with a potential career-ending outcome, without knowing if his closest friend, Ray, has his back. Also, Stella moves in with Clay, and Sonny visits Hannah to help her prepare for the arrival of their baby, on SEAL TEAM, Wednesday, April 7 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST: Rachel Boston (Hannah Oliver), Natasha Hall (LT. CMDR Williams), Steven Culp (Judge Bixby).

Rachel Boston guests on Seal Team 3/3/21

(2/18/21)“Cover for Action” – When Jason returns to Bravo, tensions rise as Ray outranks him on a mission to recover military drones in Syria. Also, Sonny receives surprising news from Texas, on SEAL TEAM, Wednesday, March 3 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Rachel Boston (Hannah Oliver), Philip Shabaz (Yassine “Raqqa Jacques” Kassen)

Dennis Quaid, Virginia Madsen Plus More Board ‘Kurt Warner’ Biopic From Lionsgate And Kingdom Story Company

(1/19/21) Golden Globe nominee Dennis Quaid and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen have signed on for the Jon Erwin and Andrew Erwin-directed sports drama, American Underdog: The Kurt Warner Story, along with Ser’Darius Blain, Adam Baldwin, Bruce McGill, Danny Vinson, Chance Kelly, and Hayden Zaller. The new additions join Zachary Levi in the role of Kurt Warner and Anna Paquin as Brenda Warner.

David Aaron Cohen, Jon Gunn, and Jon Erwin penned the screenplay based on interviews with Warner as well as Warner’s memoir, All Things Possible: My Story of Faith, Football and the First Miracle Season. The pic chronicles Kurt’s journey from stocking shelves at a supermarket to becoming a two-time NFL MVP, Super Bowl MVP, and Hall of Fame quarterback.

Quaid will play St. Louis Rams coach Dick Vermeil, while Kelly playing the Rams’ offensive coordinator (and later, head coach), Mike Martz. Madsen will play Sue Warner, Kurt’s mother, and Blain will play Kurt’s best friend, Mike Hudnutt. Vinson is play Larry, Brenda’s father, and Zaller will play Zack, Brenda’s son. Baldwin will portray Terry Allen, Warner’s coach at the University of Northern Iowa and McGill is Jim Foster, owner of the Arena Football League’s Iowa Barnstormers, where Warner signs on his way to rebuilding his NFL career.

The Erwin Brothers and Kevin Downes are producing under their Kingdom Story Company banner, along with The Rookie and Million Dollar Arm producer Mark Ciardi. Kurt Warner and Brenda Warner will co-produce with Jim Miller and Chelsea Kujawa overseeing the film for Lionsgate, which is distributing.

Quaid’s upcoming projects include the biopic Reagan, directed by Sean McNamara, and The Tiger Rising, opposite Katharine McPhee and Queen Latifah. He’s repped by Brillstein Entertainment Partners, UTA, and Hansen Jacobsen. Madsen, repped by Buchwald and Untitled, will star in the upcoming Lionsgate film The Devil’s Light.

Blain’s credits include the Jumanji franchise and CW’s Charmed revival. He’s repped by Paradigm, Management 360, and Hansen Jacobson Teller Hoberman. Baldwin, whose credits include Full Metal Jacket, The Last Ship, and The Patriot, is repped by A3 Artists Agency and A Management Company. McGill, who has recently appeared in Ride Along 2 and The Best of Enemies, is repped by Artists & Representatives. Trinity Talent reps Vinson, whose credits include The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Walking Dead, The Vampire Diaries. Kelly, who can currently be seen recurring on ABC’s For Life, is repped by KMR Talent and The Rosenzweig Group.

Dekel Berenson And Paul Wesley Partner On Debut Feature From Alexander Rodnyansky and Marek Rozenbaum

(1/14/21) Award-winning director Dekel Berenson and Paul Wesley’s Three Color Films to partner with four time Academy Award nominated Alexander Rodnyansky and Israeli producer, Marek Rozenbaum for debut feature Aliya.

The film tells the story of an 18 year old Ukrainian immigrant who, after discovering her Jewish heritage, moves to Israel and joins the army as a drill instructor. During a brief leave from the base, Aliya suffers a violent assault by her date, and upon returning to the base, she is forced to reevaluate her values, beliefs and role in training young men in the military.

Rodnyansky will come on board to produce the feature, together with veteran Israeli producer Rozenbaum, and producing partner Wesley. Anna Ró?alska will serve as producer as well.

The film will be shot in Israel. It was selected to the Sam Spiegel Film Lab, where films such as Oscar-winner Son Of Saul have been developed. The feature, which is in development, has also been accepted to the Co-Production Market of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, the first Israeli film to be selected to the program.

Berenson is an Israeli born award-winning writer/director. After completing a mandatory three-year service in the Israeli Defense Forces, he moved to Budapest to complete a master’s degree in International Relations and European Studies, graduating first in his class. Drawing inspiration from travelling to more than sixty countries, Dekel explores real-world social and humanitarian issues across cultural and social boundaries.

Berenson’s recent short film Anna was premiered at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival, won Best British Short at the 22nd BIFA awards, and was shortlisted for a BAFTA. The film also recently qualified to be nominated in the Academy Award Short Film category. His short film Ashmina played at over 300 festivals, winning numerous awards, including Oscar Qualifying Best Short Film at the 36th Jerusalem Film Festival and Best Live Action Short at the 59th Krakow Film Festival.

‘Parenthood’ Star Sarah Ramos Signs With Echo Lake Entertainment

(12/10/20) Sarah Ramos, perhaps best known for her role as Haddie Braverman on the NBC series Parenthood and a recurring role in Showtime’s The Affair, has signed with Echo Lake Entertainment for management representation in all areas.

Ramos currently produces and stars on the “true crime” podcast, The Renner Files, a comedic six-episode series that does a deep dive into Jeremy Renner’s ill-fated celeb app.

She directed and starred in the web series City Girl from a screenplay she wrote when she was 12 years old. She’s teamed with Matt Spicer and Dan Harmon to develop a show inspired by the web series for Disney+. Ramos also directed an episode of the new docu-series Marvel 616 that recently premiered on the Disney streamer.

This year, Ramos gained attention from the likes of Reese Witherspoon, Lin Manuel-Miranda, Nicole Kidman, and Andrew Garfield for her Quarantscene Instagram videos, in which she comedically re-enacts scenes from iconic movies like My Best Friend’s Wedding, The Social Network, and Legally Blonde.

She’ll continue to be repped by Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.

Hallmark Unveils 2020 'Countdown to Christmas' Slate, Including Gay Adoption Movie, Hanukkah Celebration

(9/23/20) Hallmark Unveils 2020 'Countdown to Christmas' Slate, Including Gay Adoption Movie, Hanukkah Celebration

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas — and, at least for one night, Hanukkah — at Hallmark Channel.

The basic cable network has unveiled its slate of 40 (!) original holiday movies airing in 2020, including The Christmas House, starring Mean Girls‘ Jonathan Bennett as one-half of a gay couple looking to adopt their first child. The lineup also includes Love, Lights, Hanukkah!, a Hanukkah-themed flick featuring Star Trek: Discovery‘s Mia Kirshner and Boy Meets World‘s Ben Savage.

The three dozen-plus films feature a plethora of network vets, including Candace Cameron Bure (in her ninth Hallmark Christmas movie), Danica McKellar (in her sixth Hallmark movie overall), Catherine Bell, Alison Sweeney and Tamera Mowry-Housley, as well as Lacey Chabert and Holly Robinson Peete — both of whom appear in two original movies this year.

New to the Hallmark family in 2020 are Aaron Tveit (Grease Live), Janel Parrish (Pretty Little Liars), Jeremy Jordan (Supergirl), Marisol Nichols (Riverdale), Mallory Jansen (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Rochelle Aytes (S.W.A.T.), among others.

“Our holiday table is bigger and more welcoming than ever,” Hallmark Channel’s EVP of programming Michelle Vicary said in a statement. “This year’s movies reflect our most diverse representation of talent, narratives, and families, including The Christmas House, featuring a storyline about a gay couple looking to adopt their first child, and starring Jonathan Bennett in an ensemble cast. Our movies are rooted in warmth and positivity, meaningful connections, family gatherings, and seasonal traditions — a winning formula we hope will bring our millions of viewers much-needed levity and holiday cheer at the end of a tough year.”

Added Crown Media President and CEO Wonya Lucas, “For more than a decade, Hallmark holiday movies have represented the gold standard that many aspire to replicate. What we bring to the table and what truly sets us apart is an immersive holiday experience that has become a pop culture phenomenon for millions of fans… We have created a destination that evokes the spirit and feeling of the season in a way that is uniquely Hallmark.”

Hallmark’s “Countdown to Christmas” slate begins rolling out on Friday, Oct. 23. Scroll down for a complete list of this year’s holiday movies, then hit the comments and tell us which of the following flicks pique your interest.

JINGLE BELL BRIDECAST: Julie Gonzalo (Supergirl) and Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Star Trek: Discovery)
PREMISE: Wedding planner Jessica Perez (Gonzalo) travels to a remote town in Alaska to find a rare flower for a celebrity client and is charmed by the small town during Christmas, as well as the handsome local (Rowe Jr.) helping her.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Oct. 24 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

CHRISTMAS TREE LANE
CAST: Alicia Witt (Our Christmas Love Song), Andrew Walker (Christmas on My Mind), Drake Hogestyn (Days of Our Lives) and Briana Price (13 Reasons Why)
PREMISE: Music store owner Meg (Witt) spearheads the community effort to save the Christmas Tree Lane shopping district from demolition. As she finds herself falling for Nate (Walker), a recent acquaintance, she’s thrown when she learns his surprising tie to the developer.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Oct. 24 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

CHATEAU CHRISTMAS
CAST: Merritt Patterson (Picture a Perfect Christmas) and Luke Macfarlane (Just Add Romance)
PREMISE: Margot (Patterson), a world-renowned pianist, returns to Chateau Newhaus to spend the holidays with her family and is reunited with an ex (Macfarlane) who helps her rediscover her passion for music.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Oct. 25 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

DELIVER BY CHRISTMAS
CAST: Alvina August (Nancy Drew) and Eion Bailey (Switched for Christmas)
PREMISE: Bakery owner Molly (August) meets Josh (Bailey), a widower who recently moved to town with his young son, but she is also charmed by a mysterious client whom she’s never met in person and she doesn’t realize that they’re the same man.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Oct. 25 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

CHRISTMAS WITH THE DARLINGS
CAST: Katrina Law (Arrow) and Carlo Marks (Angel Falls: A Novel Holiday)
PREMISE: Just before the holidays Jessica Lew (Law) is ending her tenure as the assistant to her wealthy boss to use her recently earned law degree within his company, but offers to help his charming, younger brother (Marks) as he looks after his orphaned nieces and nephew over Christmas.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Oct. 31 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

CRANBERRY CHRISTMAS
CAST: Nikki DeLoach (Two Turtle Doves) and Benjamin Ayres (A Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas)
PREMISE: A separated couple (DeLoach and Ayres) feign marital bliss on national television to help their town’s Christmas festival – and their business. But what will the future hold for them when rekindled love is complicated by new opportunities?
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Oct. 31 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

ONE ROYAL HOLIDAY
CAST: Laura Osnes (In the Key of Love), Aaron Tveit (Les Miserables), Krystal Joy Brown (Sydney to the Max), Victoria Clark (Homeland) and Tom McGowan (Everybody Loves Raymond)
PREMISE: When Anna (Osnes) offers a stranded mother (Clark) and son (Tveit) shelter in a blizzard, she learns that they are the Royal Family of Galwick. Anna shows the Prince how they do Christmas in her hometown, encouraging him to open his heart and be true to himself.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 1 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

HOLLY & IVY
CAST: Janel Parrish (Pretty Little Liars), Jeremey Jordan (Supergirl) and Marisol Nichols (Riverdale)
PREMISE: When Melody’s (Parrish) neighbor, Nina (Nichols), learns that her illness has returned, Melody promises to keep Nina’s kids, Holly & Ivy, together. To adopt the children, she must renovate her new fixer-upper, which she does with the help of contractor, Adam (Jordan).
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 1 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

NEVER KISS A MAN IN A CHRISTMAS SWEATER
CAST: Ashley Williams (How I Met Your Mother) and Niall Matter (Christmas at Dollywood)
PREMISE: Single mom Maggie (Williams) is facing Christmas alone until Lucas (Matter) crashes into her life and becomes an unexpected houseguest. Together they overcome Christmas while finding comfort in their growing bond.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 7 (Hallmark, 8/7c

THE CHRISTMAS RING
CAST: Nazneen Contractor (Ransom) and David Alpay (The Mistletoe Inn)
PREMISE: A reporter (Contractor) searches for the love story behind an antique engagement ring. With the help of the ring’s owner’s grandson (Alpay), they learn the legacy his grandparent’s left behind.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 7 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

ON THE 12TH DATE OF CHRISTMAS
CAST: Mallory Jansen (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Tyler Hynes (The Mistletoe Secret)
PREMISE: Two seemingly incompatible game designers team up to create a romantic, city-wide scavenger hunt themed for the “12 Days of Christmas.”
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 8 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

THE CHRISTMAS BOW
CAST: Lucia Micarelli (Treme) and Michael Rady (You’re Bacon Me Crazy)
PREMISE: When an accident puts her music dreams on hold, a gifted violinist (Micarelli) reconnects with an old family friend (Rady), who helps her heal and find love during the holidays.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 8 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

CHRISTMAS IN VIENNA
CAST: Sarah Drew (Grey’s Anatomy) and Brennan Elliott (Crossword Mysteries)
PREMISE: Jess (Drew), a concert violinist whose heart just isn’t in it anymore, goes to Vienna for a performance. While there, she finds the inspiration she has been missing, and a new love.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 14 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

MEET ME AT CHRISTMAS (WORKING TITLE)
CAST: Catherine Bell (Good Witch) and Mark Deklin (Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy)
PREMISE: When Joan’s (Bell) son’s wedding planner unexpectedly quits, she must coordinate his Christmas Eve wedding with the help of Beau (Deklin), the bride’s uncle. As they work alongside each other they discover their fates and pasts are intertwined.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 14 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8)

A TIMELESS CHRISTMAS
CAST: Ryan Paevey (Christmas at the Plaza) and Erin Cahill (Love, Fall & Order)
PREMISE: Charles Whitley (Paevey) travels from 1903 to 2020 where he meets Megan Turner (Cahill), a tour guide at his historic mansion, and experiences a 21st Century Christmas.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 15 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

THE CHRISTMAS DOCTOR
CAST: Holly Robinson Peete (A Family Christmas Gift) and Adrian Holmes (V-Wars)
PREMISE: A week before Christmas, Dr. Alicia Wright (Peete) is offered an assignment away from home. A mysterious man (Holmes) from her past journeys to find her before Christmas and brings with him a revelation that could change Alicia’s life forever.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 15 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

A NASHVILLE CHRISTMAS CAROL
CAST: Jessy Schram (Country at Heart), Wes Brown (Christmas at Graceland), Wynonna Judd (The Judds), Sara Evans (Nashville), RaeLynn (The Voice), Kix Brooks (Home by Spring), Kimberly Williams-Paisley (Darrow Mysteries)
PREMISE: Vivienne Wake (Schram), a workaholic television producer in charge of a country music Christmas special showcasing newcomer Alexis (Raelynn), never lets personal feelings get in the way of business. On the verge of accepting a job in LA, and with the return of Gavin Chase (Brown), her childhood sweetheart and manager to the special’s headliner, Belinda (Evans), she receives a visit from the ghost of her recently deceased mentor, Marilyn (Judd). Her mentor warns her current path leads to a dark future and has recruited both the Spirit of Christmas Past (Brooks) and the Spirit of Christmas Present (Williams-Paisley) to help her get back on track. The Spirits’ time-jumping adventures force Vivienne to take hold of her life.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 21 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

A LITTLE CHRISTMAS CHARM (WORKING TITLE)
CAST: Ashley Greene (Twilight) and Brendan Penny (Chesapeake Shores)
PREMISE: Holly (Greene), a jewelry designer finds a lost charm bracelet and teams up with investigative reporter Greg (Penny) in hopes of finding the owner and returning it by Christmas Eve.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 21 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

THE CHRISTMAS HOUSE
CAST: Robert Buckley (One Tree Hill), Jonathan Bennett (Mean Girls), Ana Ayora (In the Dark), Treat Williams (Chesapeake Shores), Sharon Lawrence (NYPD Blue) and Brad Harder (Aurora Teagarden Mysteries)
PREMISE: Working through some difficult decisions, Mitchell family matriarch Phylis (Lawrence) and patriarch Bill (Williams), have summoned their two grown sons – TV star, Mike Mitchell (Buckley) and Brandon Mitchell (Bennett) – home for the holidays. It is their hope that bringing the family together to recreate the Christmas house, will help them find resolution and make a memorable holiday for the entire family and community. As Brandon and his husband Jake (Harder) make the trip home, they are anxiously awaiting a call about the adoption of their first child. Meanwhile, Mike reconnects with Andi (Ayora), his high school sweetheart.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 22 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

THE ANGEL TREE
CAST: Jill Wagner (Teen Wolf) and Lucas Bryant (Country at Heart)
PREMISE: A writer (Wagner) seeks the identity of the person who helps grant wishes that are placed upon the angel tree, and in the process, reconnects with her childhood friend (Bryant).
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 22 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

ADDITIONAL MOVIE TBA
CAST: TBD
PREMISE: TBD
PREMIERE DATE: Monday, Nov. 23 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

A CHRISTMAS TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN
CAST: Rochelle Aytes (Mistresses) and Mark Taylor (Memories of Christmas)
PREMISE: Erin (Aytes) is planning the town’s Christmas celebration and must win over firefighter Kevin (Taylor) in order to obtain the beautiful spruce tree from his property for the celebration.
PREMIERE DATE: Tuesday, Nov. 24 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

A BRIGHT AND MERRY CHRISTMAS
CAST: Alison Sweeney (Days of Our Lives) and Marc Blucas (The Fix)
PREMISE: Two competing TV hosts (Sweeney and Blucas) are sent to a festive small town over Christmas. While pretending to get along for the sake of appearances, they discover that there’s more to each other than they thought.
PREMIERE DATE: Wednesday, Nov. 25 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

FIVE STAR CHRISTMAS (WORKING TITLE)
CAST: Bethany Joy Lenz (One Tree Hill) and Victor Webster (MatchMaker Mysteries)
PREMISE: After moving back to her hometown, Lisa (Lenz) plots with her siblings and grandparents to help her father’s new bed and breakfast get a five-star review from an incognito travel critic (Webster), but ends up falling for him, not knowing he is the real critic.
PREMIERE DATE: Thursday, Nov. 26 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

CHRISTMAS BY STARLIGHT
CAST: Kimberley Sustad (Travelers) and Paul Campbell (Battlestar Galactica)
PREMISE: Annie (Sustad), a lawyer, must help her loved ones this holiday season. Her family’s restaurant, The Starlight Café, is slated for demolition. The heir to the development firm responsible, William (Campbell), makes her an unlikely proposition: he’ll spare the café if Annie spends the week “appearing” as the legal counsel his father is demanding he hire in the wake of some costly mistakes.
PREMIERE DATE: Friday, Nov. 27 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

Lacey Chabert
CHRISTMAS WALTZ
CAST: Lacey Chabert (Mean Girls), Will Kemp (Royal Matchmaker) and JT Church (Dancing With the Stars: Juniors)
PREMISE: After Avery’s (Chabert) storybook Christmas wedding is canceled unexpectedly, dance instructor Roman (Kemp) helps her rebuild her dreams.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 28 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

USS CHRISTMAS
CAST: Jen Lilley (Angel Falls: A Novel Holiday), Trevor Donovan (Nostalgic Christmas) and Barbara Niven (Chesapeake Shores)
PREMISE: Maddie (Lilley), a reporter for a Norfolk newspaper, embarks on a Tiger Cruise during Christmastime where she meets a handsome naval officer (Donovan) and stumbles upon a mystery in the ship’s archive room.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 28 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

IF I ONLY HAD CHRISTMAS
CAST: Candace Cameron Bure (Fuller House) and Warren Christie (The Color of Rain)
PREMISE: At Christmas, a cheerful publicist (Bure) teams up with a cynical business owner (Christie) and his team to help a charity in need.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 29 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

CHRISTMAS IN EVERGREEN: BELLS ARE RINGING
CAST: Holly Robinson Peete (A Family Christmas Gift), Colin Lawrence (Riverdale), Rukiya Bernard (One Winter Weekend), Antonio Cayonne (Fashionably Yours) and Barbara Niven (Chesapeake Shores)
PREMISE: As Michelle’s (Peete) wedding approaches, Hannah (Bernard) steps up to help finish the launch of the new Evergreen museum while questioning her relationship and future with Elliot (Cayonne).
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 5 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

TIME FOR US TO COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
CAST: Lacey Chabert (Mean Girls) and Stephen Huszar (A Homecoming for the Holidays)
PREMISE: Five guests are mysteriously invited to an inn to celebrate Christmas. With the help of the owner Ben (Huszar), Sarah (Chabert) discovers that an event from the past may connect them and change their lives forever; from executive producer Blake Shelton.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 5 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

CHRISTMAS SHE WROTE
CAST: Danica McKellar (The Wonder Years) and Dylan Neal (Gourmet Detective: Roux the Day)
PREMISE: When Kayleigh (McKellar), a romance writer, has her column cancelled right before Christmas, she heads home to reconnect with her family. Kayleigh gets an unexpected visit from the man (Neal) who cancelled her column who fights not only to bring her back to the publisher but also for her heart.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 6 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

A GODWINK CHRISTMAS: FIRST LOVES, SECOND CHANCES
CAST: Brooke D’Orsay (Royal Pains) and Sam Page (The Bold Type)
PREMISE: After 15 years, Pat (Page) moves home from Hawaii with his two sons and through a series of coincidences, or Godwinks, ends up stuck in traffic next to his high school sweetheart, Margie (D’Orsay), at Christmas.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 6 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

CROSS COUNTRY CHRISTMAS
CAST: Rachael Leigh Cook (She’s All That) and Greyston Holt (Chesapeake Shores)
PREMISE: Former classmates Lina (Cook) and Max (Holt) are traveling home for the holidays, until a storm hits and they have to work together to make it home in time, no matter the mode of transportation.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 12 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

A GLENBROOKE CHRISTMAS
CAST: Autumn Reeser (The O.C.) and Antonio Cupo (Hats Off to Christmas!)
PREMISE: As Christmas nears, heiress Jessica Morgan (Reeser) seizes what seems like her last chance to experience a relaxed Christmas and heads off to the small town of Glenbrooke, where she meets a handsome fireman (Cupo).
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 12 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

CHRISTMAS COMES TWICE
CAST: Tamera Mowry-Housley (Sister, Sister) and Michael Xavier (Paris, Wine and Romance)
PREMISE: Emily (Mowry-Housley) is a top newscaster who has achieved her career dreams but still has regrets about the guy (Xavier) who got away five years earlier. When the Christmas carnival comes to town, a ride around the carousel takes her magically back in time to the carnival five years before…giving her a second chance at love before she must return to Christmas present.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 13 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

CHRISTMAS HOMECOMING (WORKING TITLE)
CAST: Taylor Cole (Matching Hearts) and Steve Lund (The Art of Us)
PREMISE: When a mysterious key and a holiday riddle arrive on their doorsteps, Kate (Cole) and Kevin (Lund) embark on a Christmas romance adventure they’ll never forget.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 13 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

CHRISTMAS CAROUSEL
CAST: Rachel Boston (Check Inn to Christmas) and Neal Bledsoe (Shameless)
PREMISE: When Lila (Boston) is hired by the Royal Family of Marcadia to repair a carousel, she must work with the Prince (Bledsoe) to complete it by Christmas.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 19 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

SWEPT UP BY CHRISTMAS (WORKING TITLE)
CAST: TBD
PREMISE: An antique seller and a cleaner clash over how to downsize a magnificent estate right before Christmas. As the two uncover the house’s treasures, they find a way to reconnect the reclusive owner with his own Christmases past.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 19 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

LOVE, LIGHTS, HANUKKAH!
CAST: Mia Kirshner (Star Trek: Discovery), Ben Savage (Boy Meets World) and Marilu Henner (Aurora Teagarden Mysteries)
PREMISE: As Christina (Kirshner) prepares her restaurant for its busiest time of year, she gets back a DNA test revealing that she’s Jewish. The discovery leads her to a new family and an unlikely romance over eight nights.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 20 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

PROJECT CHRISTMAS WISH
CAST: TBD
PREMISE: For years Lucy has played Santa to her small town’s community by making their holiday wishes come true. But when Lucy grants a little girl’s wish for a Christmas like she used to have with her Mom, she unexpectedly finds her own wishes coming true in life and love.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 20 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

‘Blue Bloods’, ‘SEAL Team’, ‘Charmed’ Among Latest CBS TV Studios Series Greenlit To Restart Production, ‘Evil’ Pending

(9/4/20) Most of the remaining CBS TV Studios series sidelined by the coronavirus pandemic have received a green light to return to production.

The list includes CBS stalwart Blue Bloods, which is heading into Season 11, and SEAL Team, which will start filming its fourth season, as well as the CW’s Charmed and Nancy Drew.

Also greenlighted to resume production are new Showtime drama Your Honor and CBS summer adventure drama series Blood and Treasure, which needs to finish its second season. Both were deep into production when the shutdown halted all filming in mid-March.

I hear a production green light is imminent for two more CBS TV Studios series, CBS drama Evil and Disney+ comedy-drama Diary of a Female President.

Blue Bloods and Evil film in New York, SEAL Team and Diary of a Female President shoot in Los Angeles, and Charmed and Nancy Drew are based in Vancouver. Blue Bloods, Evil and SEAL Team are all on CBS’ fall schedule.

CBS TV Studios has been actively making production restart plans for their series. The greenlight decisions are being made in batches as shows are deemed ready to start filming with COVID-19 safety protocols. They are followed by a specific start date assigned to each show. I hear Your Honor is targeting a Oct. 7 return.

The newly greenlighted series are expected to start production in the next few weeks, with late September and early October dates most likely.

CBS TV Studios’ flagship CBS drama NCIS and spinoff NCIS: Los Angeles were the first ones to get return-to-production dates, September 9 and September 3, respectively.

Bull and Magnum P.I. followed in penciling in return dates, September 25 and September 14. Of the next group, NCIS: New Orleans is eyeing a September 21 start for its seventh season; The Unicorn is looking to start filming Season 2 on October 12; and The Neighborhood is on track to have its first Season 3 table read September 16.

All series will be filmed with strict COVID protocols. It is unclear yet how the pandemic-related changes would impact Blue Bloods’ signature family dinner scene and whether it would go virtual in the era of COVID.

Additionally, CBS TV Studios recently hired 21CP Solutions, a law enforcement and public safety advisory group, as consultants on the studio’s police and legal dramas for this coming season. The group includes former senior law enforcement officials, civil rights scholars, lawyers, academics and community thought leaders in police reform and public safety.

‘The Farm’ Family Drama From Paul Sciarrotta, Milo Ventimiglia & Russ Cundiff In The Works At Fox

(9/3/20) Fox has put in development drama The Farm, from Paul Sciarrotta (BH90210), This Is Us star Milo Ventimiglia and Russ Cundiff and the duo’s DiVide Pictures. 20th TV, where DiVide is under a deal, co-produces with Fox Entertainment.

Written by Sciarrotta, The Farm is a multi-generational family drama set against the backdrop of competing farms in rural America — Big AG vs. Family Farm.

Sciarrotta executive produces with Ventimiglia and Cundiff of DiVide. Deanna Harris, Director of Development at DiVide, serves as producer.

Sciarrotta, a producer on the original Beverly Hills, 90210, recently served as showrunner on reboot BH90210, which aired on Foxlast summer. Before that, he worked on all five seasons of the CW’s Jane the Virgin, rising to executive producer for the final two seasons. His other credits include The Fosters, Reckless and Emily Owens, M.D., among others.

The Farm is the second broadcast sale for DiVide so far this season. The company also has military drama Generals Row with writer Jason Wilborn set at NBC.

Ventimiglia has earned three Emmy nominations for lead actor in a drama series for his portrayal of Jack on NBC/20th TV’s praised series This Is Us, which is heading into its sixth season.

DiVide is repped by Verve and McKuin Frankel Whitehead.

‘Generals Row’ Female General Drama From Jason Wilborn, Milo Ventimiglia & Russ Cundiff In Works At NBC

(8/12/20) NBC has put in development Generals Row, a military drama from writer Jason Wilborn (Council of Dads) This Is Us star Milo Ventimiglia, Russ Cundiff and the duo’s DiVide Pictures. 20th TV, where DiVide is under a deal, is the studio.

Written by Wilborn, Generals Row revolves around a trailblazing female general who joins the military’s most exclusive club – the Joint Chiefs of Staff – and moves her family into a neighborhood rife with cutthroat politics, blind ambition, and where daily battles over duty, honor, and tradition are every bit as tough as those waged inside the Pentagon.

Wilborn executive produces with Ventimiglia and Cundiff of DiVide. Deanna Harris, Director of Development at DiVide, who was instrumental in setting up the project, serves as producer.

Ventimiglia, Cundiff and Wilbron have been friends for two decades.

“Jason, Russ and I all worked on American Dreams at NBC, when Jason was a staff writer, Russ was a publicist and I was a guest star,” said Ventimiglia. “This is a great homecoming for all of us.”

Wilborn most recently served as co-executive producer on NBC’s Council of Dads, which aired for one season. He also served as co-executive producer on NBC’s The Enemy Within and OWN’s Queen Sugar and supervising producer on WGN America’s Underground, among other credits.

Ventimiglia has earned two Emmy nominations for lead actor in a drama series for his portrayal of Jack on NBC/20th TV’s praised series This Is Us, which is heading into its sixth season.

DiVide is repped by Verve and McKuin Frankel Whitehead. Willborn is repped by Rick Lefitz and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.

‘David Makes Man’: Kwame Patterson & Arlen Escarpeta Join Season 2 Of OWN Series

(8/6/20) Kwame Patterson (Snowfall, The Wire) is set to play the title role and Arlen Escarpeta (The Oath) also is set as a series regular in the second season of OWN’s acclaimed Peabody-winning drama series David Makes Man. Patterson has been tapped to portray the title character, the adult version of David, and Escarpeta will play his brother JG, in the series which hails from Oscar winner Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight) and Warner Horizon Scripted Television. They join returning series regulars Akili McDowell, Alana Arenas, Travis Coles and Cayden K. Williams for season two.

Created by McCraney and executive produced by Oprah Winfrey, the first season of David Makes Man centered on David Young (Akili McDowell), a 14-year-old prodigy learning to survive the streets that raised him and the higher education that could offer him a way out. Season two finds David in his early 30s (played by Patterson), a rising business man facing an opportunity that will change him and his community forever; the mounting pressure forces David to choose between the instincts that helped him survive or finding a new way to finally, truly live.

McCraney serves as executive producer alongside Dee Harris-Lawrence (All Rise, Shots Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.,) who serves as showrunner. Mike Kelley and Melissa Loy (Revenge) under their Page Fright production banner, Michael B. Jordan (Creed) via his Outlier Society Productions and Winfrey via Harpo Films are also executive producers.

Patterson can be seen in a recurring role in the upcoming fourth season of FX’s Snowfall. He previously appeared in recurring roles in HBO’s acclaimed drama The Wire, Showtime’s Ray Donovan, Crackle’s The Oath and FX’s The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, among others. His film credits include The Outpost and the upcoming Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar.

Escarpeta’s television credits include series regular roles in Crackle’s The Oath and NBC’s American Dreams, and a recurring role in Syfy’s The Magicians, among others. He also starred as Bobby Brown in the Lifetime original film Whitney. His feature film credits include Into the Storm, Final Destination 5, Brotherhood, Friday the 13th (2009), and We Are Marshall, among others.

David Makes Man is produced by Page Fright, Outlier Society Productions and Harpo Films in association with Warner Horizon Scripted Television.

Patterson is repped by Global Artists Agency and Luber Roklin Entertainment. Escarpeta is represented by Karen Forman Management and A3 Artists Agency.

Video: Guiding Light - Reunion

(7/29/20) (Video) Visit the Locher Room see Guiding Light alumni - Paulo Benedeti (Jesse Blue), Tammy Blanchard (Drew Jacobs), Joy Lenz (Michelle Bauer), Brittany Snow (Susan "Daisy" Lemay) and Paul Wesley (Max Nickerson) as they sit down to reminisce about their time in Springfield.

Guiding Light - Reunion 7/29/20

(7/26/20) Tune in live on Wednesday, July 29th at 3PM EST to see these Guiding Light alumni - Paulo Benedeti (Jesse Blue), Tammy Blanchard (Drew Jacobs), Joy Lenz (Michelle Bauer), Brittany Snow (Susan "Daisy" Lemay) and Paul Wesley (Max Nickerson) when they sit down to reminisce about their time in Springfield. (Watch here)

Joey Lawrence Files for Divorce ... Whoa!!!

(7/17/20) Joey Lawrence is throwing in the towel on his second marriage ... he just filed for divorce.

The former "Blossom" star filed Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court to divorce Chandie Lawrence as they approached their 15-year wedding anniversary.

Joey and Chandie met at Disney World way back in 1993, when he was 16 years old and on vacation. Joey says he invited her on an ice cream date at the Mouse House when they first met and joked about getting married at the theme park.

After Joey's first marriage to Michelle Vella ended in divorce in 2005, he quickly wed Chandie in July and their teenage wedding fantasies became reality as they tied the knot at Disney World.

It's not clear what led to the split, but Joey and Chandie will have to settle child custody and/or support issues -- they have 2 minor daughters, 14-year-old Charleston and 10-year-old Liberty.

Despite Disney's best efforts ... no fairytale ending this time.

Evel Knievel Limited Series Starring Milo Ventimiglia Scrapped By USA Network, Casualty Of COVID Shutdown

(7/14/20) USA Network will not be going forward with Evel, its high-profile limited series starring This Is Us‘ Milo Ventimiglia as the larger-than-life ’70s daredevil Evel Knievel.

The limited series was to film during Ventimiglia’s hiatus from This Is Us. The project was fully cast and staffed; production was about to begin when it was forced to shut down on the last day of prep, March 13, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

With Ventimiglia’s window of availability closing, no definitive path to production restart in the U.S. amid a surge of new COVID-19 infections, which makes synching up everyone’s schedules a daunting proposition, a decision was made not to proceed with the series at USA.

UCP, the studio behind the project, will be shopping it with Ventimiglia, who had been on board since Day 1, still attached. The rest of the cast has been released.

“USA is incredibly disappointed to have had to make this decision, as we were so excited about this project and working with Milo, Etan, and everyone involved,” USA said in a statement to Deadline.

Written by Etan Frankel, Evel is based on the story of Evel Knievel (Ventimiglia) as he prepares for his greatest death-defying feat — the historic Snake River Canyon jump. Evel is an exhilarating portrait of a complex man living the American dream, juggling meteoric celebrity and raising a family — and facing the very real probability that his next jump will kill him.

Starring and executive produced by Ventimiglia, Evel hails from McG’s Wonderland Sound & Vision, Charles Roven’s Atlas Entertainment and UCP, a division of NBCUniversal Content Studios. Executive producers are McG, Mary Viola, and Steven Bello of Wonderland Sound & Vision; Alex Gartner, Charles Roven and Topher Rhys-Lawrence of Atlas Entertainment; and Ventimiglia. Russ Cundiff, co-executive producer on behalf of DiVide Pictures.

USA has been making a shift toward live and unscripted programming and unscripted, joined by scripted event series. Evel, whose demise at the network was first reported by THR, was a prime example of that and was showcased at NBCUniversal’s May upfront-style event, which featured Ventimiglia.

Evel may be the first of a number of films and TV projects slated for summer shoots, during broadcast TV stars’ hiatuses, that will have to be scrapped or pushed by a year.

Annie Lennox, Kristin Chenoweth And Kelly Clarkson Among Performers For Project Angel Food Telethon

(6/23/20) Project Angel Food has lined up a list of performers including Annie Lennox, Kristin Chenoweth and Kelly Clarkson for a telethon this Saturday, with Eric McCormack, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Jessica Holmes hosting.

Lead With Love: Project Angel Food Emergency Telethon will air from 7 PM to 9 PM PT on KTLA 5 in Los Angeles and stream live on the channel’s website and on the Project Angel Food page.

The goal is to raise $500,000 to support Project Angel Food’s COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund, set up for increased needs due to the coronavirus. In the past two months, the organization has gone from serving 1,600 people a day, to serving 2,000 people a day.

Also scheduled to perform are CeeLo Green, Deborah Cox and Billy Idol, and the event will include appearances by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Elton John, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sharon Stone and Marie Osmond and others. (See below).

Founded in 1989 during the AIDS crisis, Project Angel Food medically tailored meals to people with life-threatening illnesses, including those who are at high risk for COVID-19.

“This event will blend the best nostalgic elements from the Jerry Lewis Telethon with the modern virtual fundraisers of today,” Project Angel Food executive director Richard Ayoub said in a statement.

With a mix of in-studio and virtual appearances, the telethon also will include a live phone bank where callers can talk to celebrity guests, including Jonathan Adams, Joely Fisher, Rachel Lindsay, Peter Porte, Charlie Carver, Juan Pablo Di Pace, Lawrence Zarian, Sasha Roiz, and Lauren Tom. The event is being presented by City National Bank, and executive producer is Brad Bessey. Lisa Foxx will serve as announcer and auctioneer Gabriel Butu will be the money man.

More information on the event and how to donate is here.

Others scheduled to appear include Zachary Levi, Pauley Perrette, Marianne Williamson, John Goodman, Valerie Bertinelli, Marlee Matlin, Juan Pablo Di Pace, Olivia Newton-John, Kelly Osbourne, Margaret Cho, Charo, Danny Trejo, Matt Bomer, Cheryl Tiegs, Deborah Cox, Tyler Henry, Carson Kressley, Chrissy Metz, Sandra Lee, Lisa Rinna, Harry Hamlin, Jimmy Smits, Victoria Principal, Yvette Nicole Brown, Eileen Davidson, Loni Love, Chaz Dean, Sasha Alexander, Ron Cey and Josh Flagg.

‘Tell Me A Story’: No Season 3 On CBS All Access, First Two Seasons Acquired By the CW

(5/12/20) Kevin Williamson’s horror anthology series Tell Me a Story will not return to CBS All Access for a third installment. The two existing seasons of the show, from Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment, have been acquired by the CW. This will mark the TV network debut of Tell Me a Story. It also will mark the return to the CW for The Vampire Diaries co-creator/executive producer Williamson and star Paul Wesley who stars in both seasons of the CBS All Access series.

Seasons 1 & 2 of Tell Me a Story will continue to be available on CBS All Access across platforms, with the CW licensing the first two seasons for a second-window run. It is not clear yet whether Tell Me a Story‘s first season would run on the CW in the summer or be kept for fall as new seasons of broadcast networks’ current series may not be ready for a fall launch because of the coronavirus-related production shutdown. The CW is expected to unveil its fall schedule on Thursday.

The second season of Tell Me a Story will remain exclusively on CBS All Access until Q4 2020. The CW will be able to run it anytime after that. Because of the limited footprint of CBS All Access, the CW airings would expose Tell Me a Story to a wider audience. This is a rare broadcast window for a CBS All Access original series. Last summer, Season 1 of The Good Fight ran on CBS.

Tell Me a Story takes beloved fairy tales and reimagines them as a dark and twisted psychological thriller. Set in modern-day New York City, the first season of this serialized drama interweaves “The Three Little Pigs,” “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Hansel and Gretel” into an epic and subversive tale of love, loss, greed, revenge and murder. Exploring an entirely new set of characters, season two of Tell Me a Story features the stories of three legendary princesses – “Beauty and the Beast,” “Sleeping Beauty” and “Cinderella” – like you’ve never seen them before.

“The brilliant Kevin Williamson, brought our favorite fairy tales to life in an anthology format that twisted and subverted the stories we all know into modern thrillers,” said CBS All Access EVP Original Content Julie McNamara. “It has been a privilege to work with such an elite and talented group of creative minds like Kevin, Aaron Kaplan and the team at Kapital Entertainment, as well as the amazing cast of Tell Me A Story, who did a phenomenal job personifying and reinventing beloved characters from these six fairy tales.”

The cast of the first season of Tell Me a Story includes James Wolk, Billy Magnussen, Dania Ramirez, Danielle Campbell, Dorian Missick, Michael Raymond-James, Davi Santos, Sam Jaeger, Zabryna Guevara, with Paul Wesley and Kim Cattrall.

Filmed on location in Nashville, season two of Tell Me a Story stars Paul Wesley, Carrie-Anne Moss, Odette Annable, Eka Darville, Matt Lauria, Natalie Alyn Lind and Ashley Madekwe.

From Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment, Tell Me a Story is written and executive produced by Kevin Williamson alongside Kapital’s Aaron Kaplan and Dana Honor. Additional executive producers include Liz Friedlander, who directed and executive produced the first two episodes of Season 1, and Michael Lohmann (Season 2).

CBS Renews 18 Series, Including Freshmen ‘FBI: Most Wanted’, ‘Bob ? Abishola’, ‘All Rise’ & ‘The Unicorn’

(5/6/20) CBS has renewed 18 more series for 2020-21 including the majority of its drama lineup and a trio of comedies.

The broadcaster has picked up dramas All Rise, Blue Bloods, Bull, FBI, FBI: Most Wanted, MacGyver, Magnum P.I., NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, Seal Team and S.W.A.T., comedies Bob ? Abishola, The Neighborhood and The Unicorn, news programs 60 Minutes and 48 Hours and reality series Undercover Boss.

They join previously renewed for next season Evil, Chuck Lorre’s Mom and Young Sheldon — both in the middle of two-year pickups — Survivor and The Amazing Race for a total of 23 shows, scripted, reality and newsmagazines.

Separately, the network has cancelled four shows: midseason sitcom Broke, Patricia Heaton’s Carol’s Second Act, Edie Falco’s Tommy and Matt LeBlanc’s Man with a Plan.

As the COVID-19 production shutdown continues, the move is a major statement by CBS that it is keeping faith with its current series in challenging times when all but one of its pilots were not filmed because of the pandemic. ViacomCBS oin Tuesday announced a two-day virtual upfront for advertisers. CBS is presenting on May 19 and plans to unveil “the fall programming lineup.”

There has been speculation that the network will rely heavily on returning series for its fall roster, with as little as 1-2 new series launched at the start of the season, which may be delayed because of the pandemic.

CBS said today that it will announce new series in the coming weeks. The network has started to narrow down the field by passing on The Lincoln Lawyer series from David E. Kelley and comedy pilot Fun. Among the rest, the multi-cam B Positive, the only completed broadcast pilot this season, and drama The Equalizer starring Queen Latifah have been garnering a lot of buzz.

CBS typically gives its reliable franchises early renewals in March-April but this season is a bit different. In addition to dealing with COVID-19, the network’s parent company merged with Viacom, which also led to delayed decisions.

Many of the renewals are no surprise, regardless of the current global pandemic, with shows such as most watched drama NCIS always likely to return, alongside number one new comedy Bob ? Abishola and number one new drama FBI: Most Wanted. CBS also boasts the most watched comedy series, Young Sheldon (all in total viewers, most current).

‘NCIS’ Franchise Stars Mark Harmon, Scott Bakula, LL Cool J & Chris O’Donnell Close New Deals To Return As All 3 Series Are Renewed By CBS

Also no-brainers for renewals are FBI, which has emerged as CBS’ second most watched series behind NCIS, the other NCIS series, Friday stalwart Blue Bloods and Monday anchor The Neighborhood. There was some question mark as to whether both S.W.A.T. and SEAL Team would return, but both action dramas are back alongside solid Friday entries Magnum P.I. and MacGyver.

CBS is bringing back four freshman series, aforementioned FBI: Most Wanted and Bob ? Abishola, as well as drama All Rise, coming off a buzzy remotely shot COVID-19 episode, and comedy The Unicorn.

Both CBS’ entire lineup of Monday shows – The Neighborhood, Bob ? Abishola, All Rise and Bull – and all of its Tuesday dramas – NCIS, FBI and FBI: Most Wanted – are returning.

Seven of CBS’ returners top 10 million viewers (most current), the currency used by the network: NCIS, FBI, Blue Bloods, Young Sheldon, Bull, 60 Minutes and FBI: Most Wanted. The latter is one of a number of freshman series being brought back, a list that also includes All Rise and The Unicorn.

The mass renewal comes as a number of CBS veterans are ending this season including Hawaii Five-0, Madam Secretary and Criminal Minds as well as sophomore series God Friended Me.

“Thanks to these exceptional shows, we’re going to win the current season by 1 million viewers,” said Kelly Kahl, President of CBS Entertainment. “Next year, we’ll have these strong returning series as our foundation…and Super Bowl LV too. It’s a well-balanced lineup across Entertainment, News and Sports that will put us in an incredibly stable position for 2020-2021.”

RENEWALS

All Rise follows the chaotic, hopeful and sometimes absurd lives of its judges, prosecutors and public defenders, as they work with bailiffs, clerks and cops to get justice for the people of Los Angeles amidst a flawed legal process. Among them is newly appointed Judge Lola Carmichael (Simone Missick), a highly regarded and impressive deputy district attorney who doesn’t intend to sit back on the bench in her new role, but instead leans in, immediately pushing the boundaries and challenging the expectations of what a judge can be. The series, which aired a virtually produced social-distancing episode on May 4, also stars Wilson Bethel, Marg Helgenberger, Jessica Camacho, J. Alex Brinson, Lindsay Mendez and Ruthie Ann Miles. Showrunner Spottiswood, Len Goldstein, Michael Robin and Dee Harris-Lawrence — who also serves as co-showrunner — are executive producers for Warner Bros Television.

Blue Bloods returns for season 11. Starring Tom Selleck as New York Police Commissioner Frank Reagan, the series from CBS TV Studios, is a drama about a multi-generational family of cops dedicated to New York City law enforcement. Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, Will Estes, Len Cariou, Sami Gayle, Marisa Ramirez and Vanessa Ray also star. The cast recently reunited for a virtual Dinner with the Reagans A Blue Bloods Special video amid the coronavirus-forced production shutdown.

Procedural Bull comes back for a fifth season. Created by Dr. Phil McGraw and Paul Attanasio, Bull stars Michael Weatherly as Dr. Jason Bull in a drama inspired by the early career of Dr. Phil McGraw. Brilliant, brash and charming, Dr. Bull is the ultimate puppet master as he combines psychology, human intuition and high-tech data to learn what makes jurors, attorneys, witnesses and the accused tick. Bull is co-produced by CBS TV Studios in association with Stage 29 Productions. Glenn Gordon Caron, Attanasio, Dr. Phil McGraw and Jay McGraw executive produce.

Dick Wolf dramas FBI and FBI: Most Wanted are back for a third season and a second season respectively. The mothership FBI is a fast-paced drama about the inner workings of the New York office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Missy Peregrym, Ebonée Noel, Jeremy Sisto, Alana De La Garza and John Boyd star. Dick Wolf, Rick Eid, Terry Miller, Arthur W. Forney and Peter Jankowski executive produce. The series is produced by Universal Television in association with CBS Television Studios. Created by René Balcer, FBI: Most Wanted is a high-stakes drama that focuses on the Fugitive Task Force, which relentlessly tracks and captures the notorious criminals on the Bureau’s Most Wanted list. Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television produce in association with CBS Television Studios. Dick Wolf, René Balcer, Fred Berner, Arthur W. Forney and Peter Jankowski executive produce.

Action drama MacGyver, a reimagining of the 1985 show, returns for a fifth season. It stars Lucas Till in the titular role, along with Justin Hires, Meredith Eaton, Levy Tran and Henry Ian Cusick. CBS Television Studios produces in association with Lionsgate Television. Peter Lenkov, James Wan, Henry Winkler, Lee Zlotoff and Terry Matalas executive produce. Terry Matalas (12 Monkeys) joined as executive producer/co-showrunner in season 4. He replaced Craig O’Neill as co-showrunner alongside creator/executive producer/showrunner Lenkov.

Magnum P.I. is back for season three. The rebooted action drama, which stars Jay Hernandez in the Tom Selleck role, comes from Peter Lenkov, CBS TV Studios and Universal TV, is set in Hawaii and follows Hernandez’s Thomas Magnum, a private investigator and former Navy SEAL, who solves crimes in the state, after returning home from Afghanistan and repurposing his military skills. Perdita Weeks, Zachary Knighton, Stephen Hill, Tim Kang and Amy Hill also star. Peter M. Lenkov, Eric Guggenheim, Justin Lin, John Davis, John Fox and Danielle Woodrow are executive producers.

Flagship drama series NCIS returns for an 18th season, spinoffs NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans are back for a 12th and seventh season respectively. Created by Donald P. Bellasario, NCIS stars Mark Harmon as Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, along with Sean Murray, Emily Wickersham, Wilmer Valderrama, Maria Bello, Brian Dietzen and Diona Reasonover, with Rocky Carroll and David McCallum. Belisarius Productions produces in association with CBS Television Studios. Bellisario executive produces with Frank Cardea, Steven D. Binder, Chas. Floyd Johnson, Mark Horowitz, Mark Harmon and Scott Williams. NCIS: Los Angeles stars Chris O’Donnell, LL Cool J, Linda Hunt, Daniela Ruah, Eric Christian Olsen, Barrett Foa and Renée Felice Smith. NCIS: Los Angeles is produced by CBS Television Studios and executive produced by R. Scott Gemmill, John P. Kousakis and Frank Military. NCIS: New Orleans stars Scott Bakula, Vaness Ferlito, Necar Zadegan, Rob Kerkovich, Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, Charles Michael Davis and CCH Pounder. The series is produced by CBS Television Studios. Christopher Silber, James Hayman, Adam Targum, Chad Gomez Creasey and Mark Harmon executive produce.

Military drama series SEAL Team is coming back for a fourth season. Starring David Boreanaz, SEAL Team follows the professional and personal lives of the most elite unit of Navy SEALs as they train, plan and execute the most dangerous missions that our country can ask of them. Max Thieriot, Neil Brown Jr., AJ Buckley, Toni Trucks, Jessica Paré and Judd Lormand also star. SEAL Team is produced by CBS Television Studios. Spencer Hudnut, Christopher Chulack, Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly and David Boreanaz executive produce.

Police drama series S.W.A.T. breaks down the doors for a fourth season. Inspired by the classic television series and feature film, S.W.A.T. stars Shemar Moore as the locally born and raised sergeant tasked with running a specialized tactical unit that is the last stop in law enforcement in Los Angeles. Alex Russell, Jay Harrington, Lina Esco, Kenny Johnson, David Lim, Patrick St. Esprit and Amy Farrington also star. S.W.A.T. is produced by Sony Pictures Television in association with CBS Television Studios. Aaron Rahsaan Thomas, Shawn Ryan, Justin Lin, Neal Moritz, Marney Hochman, Pavun Shetty, Allison Cross, Craig Gore, Billy Gierhart, Andy Dettman and Michael Jones Morales executive produce.

Bob ? Abishola, from Chuck Lorre and Warner Bros Television, has received a second season. The comedy is a love story about a middle-aged compression-sock businessman from Detroit who unexpectedly falls for his cardiac nurse, a Nigerian immigrant, while recovering from a heart attack and sets his sights on winning her over. Undaunted by Abishola’s lack of initial interest or the vast differences in their backgrounds, Bob is determined to win Abishola’s heart, in this comedic examination of immigrant life in America. The series stars Billy Gardell, Folake Olowofoyeku, Christine Ebersole, Matt Jones, Maribeth Monroe, Vernee Watson, Shola Adewusi, Barry Shabaka Henley, Travis Wolfe, Jr. and Gina Yashere, who is also a co-creator, writer and producer. Chuck Lorre and Al Higgins are executive producers and co-creators, while Yashere is also a co-creator, writer and producer and Eddie Gorodetsky exec produces. It is produced by Chuck Lorre Productions in association with Warner Bros Television.

The Neighborhood returns for a third season. The comedy was created by Jim Reynolds and hailing from CBS TV Studios and Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment. Tackling the culture clash of gentrification, The Neighborhood stars Cedric the Entertainer as Calvin Butler, an opinionated new neighbor of Dave Johnson (Max Greenfield). Dave’s the friendliest guy in the Midwest, who moves his family to a neighborhood in Los Angeles where not everyone looks like him or appreciates his extreme neighborliness. Beth Behrs plays Dave’s wife Gemma, and Tichina Arnold, Sheaun McKinney, Marcel Spears and Hank Greenspan co-star. Reynolds executive produces with Kapital’s Aaron Kaplan and Dana Honor as well as Kapital-based producer Wendi Trilling via her TrillTV and Cedric and Eric Rhone of A Bird and a Bear Entertainment.

The Unicorn is also back for a second outing. Starring Walton Goggins, from Kapital Entertainment and CBS Studios TV, the single-camera comedy is centered around a tight-knit group of best friends and family who help Wade (Goggins) embrace his “new normal” in the wake of the loss of his wife one year ago. As a sometimes ill-equipped but always devoted single parent to his two adolescent daughters, he is taking the major step of dating again. To Wade’s amazement, he’s a hot commodity with women, and his friends explain that he’s the perfect single guy – a “unicorn”: employed, attractive, and with a proven track record of commitment. With his daughters and best friends rooting him on and hoping he’ll find happiness again, Wade and his healing heart are ready to try life… and love… a second time. The series also stars Rob Corddry, Michaela Watkins, Omar Miller, Maya Lynne Robinson, Ruby Jay, Makenzie Moss and Devin Bright. Bill Martin, Mike Schiff, Aaron Kaplan, Dana Honor, Wendi Trilling, Peyton Reed and John Hamburg are executive producers for CBS Television Studios.

‘The Burying Place’ Drama From Kelly Masterson, David Semel & Aaron Kaplan Based On Book In Works At AMC

(4/22/20) AMC has put in development The Burying Place, a thriller drama series based on Brian Freeman’s novel, from writer Kelly Masterson (Killing Kennedy), director David Semel (Goliath), producer Aaron Kaplan (A Million Little Things) and his Kapital Entertainment and AMC Studios.

Written by Masterson, The Burying Place is set in the haunting North Country of Minnesota, where a baby vanishes from her lakeside home. That same night, a rookie policewoman stumbles onto a serial killer. Against a ticking clock, Detective Jonathan Stride, haunted by demons of his own, leads fellow Detectives Serena Dial and Maggie Bei as they struggle to unravel the seemingly unrelated mysteries in a suspenseful game of cat and mouse.

Semel and Kapital’s Kaplan and Dana Honor executive produce, along with former NBC Primetime Entertainment President and NBCU TV Studios President Angela Bromstad.

The project stems from Semel’s deal with Kapital Entertainment to develop projects for broadcast, cable or streaming networks. Semel brought in Bromstad with whom he has a longstanding relationship dating back to her tenure at Universal TV predecessor NBCU TV Studios.

Masterson co-wrote the praised television movie Killing Kennedy, which aired on Nat Geo in 2014 and earned him a WGA Award nomination. On the film side, he co-penned with Oscar winner Bong Joon-ho the screenplay for Snowpiercer, directed by Bong, on which the TNT series is based, as well as Good People, directed by Henrik Ruben Genz. Masterson has projects set up with Barry Levinson (Brother Jack) and Philip Noyce (Mixed Blood).

Semel has one of the best track records for a drama pilot director, with 18 of the pilots he has helmed going to series, including Man in the High Castle, Star Trek: Discovery, Heroes, which was shepherded by Bromstad, Person of Interest, Madam Secretary and Code Black. He worked as producing director on House and Dawson’s Creek, and his episodic work includes Homeland, American Horror Story and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The Burying Place is Freeman’s fifth novel. He also is the author of the Jonathan Stride and Frost Easton series. His books have been sold in 46 countries and 22 languages. He has been selected as the author to continue Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne series, with a new Bourne novel due in 2020.

Tom Verica guests on How to Get Away with Murder 4/30/20

(4/14/20) “What If Sam Wasn’t the Bad Guy This Whole Time?” – Annalise learns unexpected and shocking details about Sam’s past. Meanwhile, Connor and Michaela feel the pressure when the FBI learns there is new evidence in the case; and Frank and Bonnie’s history is explored, revealing what originally fractured their relationship, on an all-new episode of “How to Get Away with Murder,” THURSDAY, APRIL 30 (10:01-11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (TV-14, DLSV) Episodes can also be viewed the next day on demand and on Hulu.

“How to Get Away with Murder” stars Academy Award® winner Viola Davis as Professor Annalise Keating, Billy Brown as Detective Nate Lahey, Jack Falahee as Connor Walsh, Aja Naomi King as Michaela Pratt, Matt McGorry as Asher Millstone, Karla Souza as Laurel Castillo, Charlie Weber as Frank Delfino, Liza Weil as Bonnie Winterbottom, Conrad Ricamora as Oliver Hampton, Rome Flynn as Gabriel Maddox and Amirah Vann as Tegan Price.

Guest starring is Tom Verica as Sam Keating, Marsha Stephanie Blake as Vivian Maddox and William R. Moses as Agent Lanford.

“What If Sam Wasn’t the Bad Guy This Whole Time?” was written by Ricardo C. Lara and directed by Dawn Wilkinson.

Rachel Boston guests on Seal Team 4/22/20

(4/4/20) “In The Blind” – Bravo Team gets ambushed by enemy forces during a mission to extract a potential link to a new terrorist leader. Also, Sonny considers planting roots in his hometown, on SEAL TEAM, Wednesday, April 22 (9:01-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Scott Foxx (Full Metal), John Savage (Emmet Quinn), Rachel Boston (Hannah Oliver).

Rachel Boston guests on Seal Team 4/15/20

(3/26/20) “Edge of Nowhere” – Bravo Team searches for a new terrorist group leader who is orchestrating violent resistance to peace negotiations in Afghanistan. Also, Clay learns what it means to be a leader and Sonny works to repair his relationship with his father in Texas, on SEAL TEAM, Wednesday, April 15 (9:01-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST: Scott Foxx (Full Metal), Kaliayh Rhmabo (Jameelah Perry), Rachel Boston (Hannah Oliver).

Rachel Boston guests on Seal Team 4/1/20

(3/19/20) “Drawdown” – As Bravo Team begins their deployment in Afghanistan during peace negotiations, Sonny reports to an Air Force base in Texas to serve his disciplinary training action, where he gets reacquainted with Hannah (Rachel Boston), a childhood friend, on SEAL TEAM, Wednesday, April 1 (9:01-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Scott Foxx (Full Metal), John Savage (Emmet Quinn), Rachel Boston (Hannah Oliver).

Brittany Snow marries Tyler Stanaland in outdoor Malibu ceremony

(3/16/20) (Photo) Brittany Snow is off the market.

On Saturday, the “Pitch Perfect” actress, 34, married fiancé Tyler Stanaland in an intimate outdoor ceremony in Malibu, according to The Knot. The couple announced their engagement last February.

“I knew of Britt for obvious reasons,” Stanaland, a real estate agent, previously said of his “unattainable forever crush,” whom he knew through mutual friends. He later made the first move online.

“I sent a direct message with the most embarrassing pickup line. A dad joke,” he told the outlet.

For the big day, Snow wore a Jonathan Simkhai gown with lace sleeves, while Stanaland paired his black tux with Converse, as seen in photos obtained by People. She previously spoke to the publication about wedding must-haves.

“At the end of the day, everyone’s going to remember whether or not they had a good time,” she said at the time. “They’re not going to remember the food or the photo booth … they’re going to remember having the best night of their life, hopefully!”

‘Turner & Hooch’: Vanessa Lengies Joins TV Series Reboot For Disney+

(3/6/20) Glee alumna Vanessa Lengies has been cast as a series regular opposite Josh Peck in Turner & Hooch, Disney+’s reboot of the classic 1989 buddy-cop comedy feature. The TV series, which has a 12-episode order, comes from Matt Nix and 20th Century Fox TV.

Like the movie, the hourlong series centers on Scott Turner (Peck), who now is a U.S. marshal — versus the police detective played by Tom Hanks in the movie. When the ambitious, buttoned-up marshal inherits a big unruly dog, he soon realizes the pet he didn’t want may be the partner he needs.

Lengies will play Erica, the chief trainer at the US Marshal K-9 facility. When she’s with a dog, her cute awkwardness disappears and she is a natural leader. Erica is less comfortable with people, especially cute guys like Scott Turner (Peck), who is oblivious to Erica’s interest in him. Erica is on board to train his 90 pound slobbery dog, Hooch, as a new K-9 for the US Marshall, and it’s clear she’s looking forward to work with Hooch…and Scott.

In addition to Peck, Lengies joins previously cast Lyndsy Fonseca and Carra patterson.

Nix is the Turner & Hooch series writer/executive producer. Josh Levy is co-executive producer. 20th Century Fox TV, part of Disney TV Studios, is the studio.

Lengies is best known for her roles in Fox’s Glee, also produced by 20th TV, the Disney movie Stick It and the Waiting… movie franchise. She created the unscripted series, The “S” Word, available on Prime Video. Lengies is repped by Gersh and manager John Carrabino.

Almost Family Cancelled at Fox

(3/2/20) The fertility clinic has officially closed: Fox has cancelled the drama Almost Family after just one season, TVLine has confirmed.

Almost Family starred Timothy Hutton as a famous fertility doctor who used his own sperm to fertilize dozens of patients; Brittany Snow co-starred as the doctor’s daughter, who connected with two of her newfound half-sisters, played by Emily Osment and Megalyn Echikunwoke. The cast also included Mo McRae, Mustafa Elzein and Victoria Cartagena. (The decision by Fox comes as serious allegations have arisen against Hutton, with a woman accusing Hutton and his friend of raping her in 1983.)

The series debuted in October to an underwhelming 2.7 million total viewers and a 0.7 demo, and as its ratings continued to dwindle, it was shipped off to Saturday nights (aka the TV graveyard) in January to air the remainder of its freshman run. Across 13 episodes, it averaged a 0.44 demo rating and 1.53 million total viewers, ranking last in the demo among all Fox programming this TV season while drawing a handful more eyeballs than midseason cartoon Duncanville.

‘SEAL Team’: Rachel Boston & Tim Chiou To Recur On CBS Drama Series

(1/31/20) Rachel Boston (Witches of East End, Kidding) and Tim Chiou (iZombie) are set for recurring roles on the third season of CBS’ military drama series SEAL Team.

Starring David Boreanaz, SEAL Team follows the professional and personal lives of the most elite unit of Navy SEALs as they train, plan and execute the most dangerous missions that our country can ask of them.

Boston plays Hannah, Sonny’s (AJ Buckley) childhood best friend. Confident and quick-witted, she inspires Sonny to face his past and right old wrongs.

Chiou will portray Michael ‘Dirty Mike’ Chen, a seasoned, hard-charging SEAL Team operator who loves the life of a warfighter. Independent and resistant to society’s norms, he is a bit of a wildcard who pushes Bravo Team’s buttons.

In addition to Boreanaz and Buckley, Max Thieriot, Neil Brown Jr., Toni Trucks, Jessica Paré and Judd Lormand also star.

Spencer Hudnut, Christopher Chulack, Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly executive produce. SEAL Team is produced by CBS TV Studios.

Boston was a series regular on Witches of East End, which aired for two seasons on Lifetime. Upcoming, Boston will be seen as Lisa on Showtime’s Kidding. She’s repped by John Carrabino Management and Gersh.

Chiou recently shot the independent feature I Was A Simple Man, opposite Constance Wu, Kanoa Goo, and Nelson Lee, and can next be seen recurring in the CBS All Access crime drama, Interrogation, opposite Vincent D’Onofrio and Peter Sarsgaard. He’s repped by Pakula/King & Associates and manager Saleena Lockett.

Paul Wesley Returns to The CW to Direct an Episode of Batwoman

(1/21/20) Paul Wesley is headed back to The CW, but, unfortunately for The Vampire Diaries fans, he still isn't gonna grace the screen for Legacies. In fact, his insanely chiseled jaw will be nowhere near Mystic Falls, as the actor is instead stepping in to direct an upcoming episode of Batwoman.

Wesley will helm an upcoming of the Arrowverse newbie, but not too much is known about his episode yet. The actor-director revealed the cover of the script for his episode in an Instagram story on Monday morning, but the episode number and title were covered with a geotag for Vancouver where Batwoman is shot.

What we do know is Wesley is already an accomplished TV director. He previously directed episodes of The Vampire Diaries (starting in Season 5), as well as Legacies, Shadowhunters, and Roswell, New Mexico. So, we'd bet his episode of DC's Gotham based superhero show will be quite a delight.

Batwoman recently returned after a big mid-season twist in which it was revealed that Kate's (Ruby Rose) sister Beth (Rachel Skarsten) both is and is not the villain fans have been waiting for. Beth is actually Beth and Alice, twins who've been forging their own path in Gotham, just on opposite sides of the law. Will Kate be able to reunite her long lost family? Only time — and maybe Paul Wesley — will tell.

Batwoman airs Sundays at 8/7c on The CW.

Almost Family and Flirty Dancing Finales Get Saturday Airdates

(1/12/20) Likely indicative of both Fox series’ ultimate fate, Almost Family and Flirty Dancing will relocate to Saturday nights to wrap their respective freshman runs.

To be clear, both Flirty Dancing and Almost Family will stay put this coming Wednesday, Jan. 15. But the week after that, a rerun of 9-1-1: Lone Star‘s first two episodes will fill Wednesday night. Then on Jan. 29, episode of 24 Hours to Hell and Back, Last Man Standing and the soon-to-premiere sitcom Outmatched will fill the void.

As a result, Flirty Dancing will air a two-hour season finale on Saturday, Jan. 25, Futon Critic reports. Almost Family, meanwhile, won’t burn off its final two episodes until Saturday, Feb. 22.

Through its first 10 episodes, and even with the occasional Masked Singer lead-in, Almost Family is averaging just 1.7 million total viewers — making it Fox’s least watched program — and just under a 0.5 demo rating, ranking it only above The Moodys event series.

Flirty Dancing debuted last month to 3.5 million viewers and a 1.0 demo rating, in a special Sunday night showcase, but in its regular Wednesday time slot has mustered just 1.8 mil/0.4 and then 1.4 mil/0.3.

Talk Show Appearance

(12/8/19) GMA3: Strahan, Sara & Keke - ABC

AIRING Dec 9, 2019

Actress Brittany Snow

CELEBRITY PERFORMERS AND PRESENTERS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2019 "E! PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS" THIS SUNDAY

(11/7/19) E! announced today the performers and presenters set to take the stage at the only awards show voted on by the people at the 2019 “E! People’s Choice Awards” this Sunday, November 10. The “E! People’s Choice Awards” will broadcast live from Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, CA and across the cable networks of NBCUniversal, including Bravo, E!, SYFY and USA Network from 9:00-11:00pm ET/PT. Additionally, Grammy Award winner Alessia Cara and Grammy Award nominee Kelsea Ballerini are set to perform live at the ceremony.

The presenters include:

Alex Morgan (Co-Captain of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team)
Asante Blackk (“When They See Us,” “This Is Us”)
Bellamy Young (“Prodigal Son”)
Brittany Snow (“Almost Family”)
Coco Gauff (Professional U.S. Tennis Player)
D’Arcy Carden (“The Good Place”)
David Spade (“Lights Out with David Spade”)
Jacob Tremblay (“Good Boys”)
Jenna Dewan (“Soundtrack,” “Flirty Dancing”)
Jeremy Scott (fashion designer)
Joey King (“The Act”)
Kelly Rowland (Grammy Award-winning artist)
Karamo Brown (“Queer Eye”)
Karen Gillan (“Jumanji: The Next Level”)
Kat Dennings (“Dollface”)
KJ Apa (“Riverdale”)
Lucy Hale (“Fantasy Island”)
Maggie Q (“Fantasy Island”)
Rob Riggle (“Rob Riggle: Global Investigator (wt)”)
Sarah Hyland (“Modern Family”)
Sean Hayes (“Will & Grace”)
Storm Reid (“Euphoria”)
Terry Crews (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”)
Tom Payne (“Prodigal Son”)

As previously announced, Jennifer Aniston will receive the People’s Icon Award, Gwen Stefani is set to be feted with the Fashion Icon Award, and P!NK will be honored with the People’s Champion Award.

The “E! Live From The Red Carpet: The E! People’s Choice Awards 2019” co-hosted by Giuliana Rancic and Jason Kennedy kicks off at 7p ET/PT only on E!.

“Live From The Red Carpet: The E! People’s Choice Awards 2019” and the “E! People’s Choice Awards” are both produced by Den of Thieves with Executive Producers Jesse Ignjatovic, Evan Prager and Barb Bialkowski.

‘Almost Family’ Faces Uncertain Future After New Drama Is Left Off Fox’s Midseason Schedule

(10/26/19) Fox has not made an official decision about a back order to new drama series Almost Family. But the midseason schedule unveiled by the network today does not bode well for the IVF-gone-wrong series.

Almost Family is on the schedule in its Wednesday 9 PM slot through January, which roughly corresponds to a 13-episode run, matching the series’ initial order.

Starting Feb. 5, Almost Family is replaced by new reality series Lego Masters, which will follow the next cycle of The Masked Singer. With fellow new fall Fox drama Prodigal Son given a full-season 22-episode order and four new dramas set to launch in midseason, 9-1-1: Lone Star and Deputy in January and Filthy Rich and NeXt in the spring, we may have seen the last of Almost Family, at least for this season. Starring Brittany Snow and Timothy Hutton, based on the Australia series Sisters, Almost Family has been a soft ratings performer in the high-profile Wednesday 9 PM slot, holding onto only about a third of its big Masked Singer lead-in.

Almost Family hails from The Path duo of executive producer Annie Weisman and executive producer Jason Katims, original series’ co-creator Imogen Banks, Universal TV, Fox Entertainment and Endemol Shine North America.

Written by Weisman, it centers on only child Julia Bechley (Snow), who finds her life turned upside down when her father, Leon Bechley (Hutton), is forced to reveal that over the course of his pioneering career as a fertility doctor, he used his own sperm to conceive dozens of children. As she dutifully begins to track down her emerging group of siblings, among a sea of brothers, Julia discovers only two sisters – her former best friend Edie Palmer (Megalyn Echikunwoke) and ex-Olympic athlete Roxy Doyle (Emily Osment) – both of whom quickly become a part of her now-redefined family.

Joey Lawrence on HAWAII FIVE-0 10/18/19

(10/4/19) “Ukuli‘i ka pua, onaona i ka mau‘u” – Five-0 enlists imprisoned hacker Aaron Wright (Joey Lawrence) to help when a young girl is reported kidnapped, but upon rescue, the culprits are dead, the girl is safe, and she’s not who she claims to be, on HAWAII FIVE-0, Friday, Oct. 18 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

ABC Buys ‘Possessed’ Supernatural Drama From ‘The Conjuring’ Writers, Paul Wesley & Kapital Entertainment

(9/27/19) ABC has put into development Possessed, a supernatural crime drama based on a Korean format. The project hails from The Conjuring writers Carey and Chad Hayes, The Vampire Diaries alum Paul Wesley, The Masked Singer executive producer Craig Plestis and Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment, where Wesley and his company Citizen Media is under a producing deal.

Written by the Hayes brothers, Possessed centers around a young woman, who after a near death experience, becomes a vessel for the dead to avenge their wrongful deaths.

Carey and Chad Hayes executive produce with Kapital Entertainment’s Kaplan and Dana Honor, Wesley, Plestis and MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation), the South Korean network which aired the original series and also originated the format for the hit Fox series The Masked Singer.

The original Possessed aired a 10-episode first season on MBC in 2009. Starring Lim Ju-eun and Lee Seo-jin, the series centered on a high school girl possessed by spirits and the criminal profiler who exploits her powers in his quest for justice. You can watch a trailer below.

The Hayes brothers are best known for writing New Line Cinema’s global box office horror hits The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2. They also co-produced the horror film Annabelle.

Possessed was one of the first projects Wesley’s Citizen Media and Kapital put in development under the production partnership forged in February. Wesley, who stars in Kapital’s CBS All Access series Tell Me a Story, is repped by ICM Partners, Management 360, and attorney Marcy Morris.

Paradigm and attorney Paul Miloknay repped MBC Broadcast in the packaging of the format. Plestis is also repped by Paradigm.

The Vampire Diaries' Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley Are Making Their Own Bourbon

(9/26/19) To say we've missed The Vampire Diaries these past two years since it's been off the air is the understament of the century, but luckily for us, the Salvatore brothers have decided to reunite IRL. Ian Somerhalder announced Thursday that he and Paul Wesley are partnering up again to create their own bourbon, and yes, we'd like to order 164 bottles, please.

It's fitting that these boys would go all-in on bourbon seeing as it was the Salvatores drink of choice on the show, a fact that Somerhalder was all too aware of when he announced the news on Instagram.

"Can you imagine if the Salvatore brothers had their OWN bourbon? Well, it's coming! @paulwesley and I have been working our asses off with our incredible team to make this happen," Somerhalder wrote. "WITH passion, hard work and an uncompromising quest/thirst for quality, we have arrived! We want to share with you something very special and dear to us. You've given us so many wonderful years as these characters and we want to bring you something to enjoy that brings back some great memories and some good times to come! It's going to be fun. We're going to be traveling the WOLRD meeting so many of you and launching this with some very fun parties I must say!"

The Vampire Diaries Stars Look Back at Filming the Pilot for the Show's 10th Anniversary

We'll obviously be eagerly awaiting news of where and how to buy this special brew as well as how we can score a ticket to these parties they'll be throwing — no one throws a rager like a Salvatore, after all. All eight seasons of The Vampire Diaries are currently streaming on Netflix.

Milo Ventimiglia To Star In Evel Knievel Limited Series Greenlighted By USA Network

(9/5/19) USA Network has ordered limited series Evel, based on the story of larger-than-life ’70s daredevil Evel Knievel, starring and executive produced by This Is Us‘ Milo Ventimiglia, from McG’s Wonderland Sound & Vision, UCP and Atlas Entertainment.

Written by Etan Frankel (Animal Kingdom), Evel falls into USA’s wheelhouse of “heroes, rebels & icons” focused on big stories about big American characters.

The limited series is based on the story of Evel Knievel (Ventimiglia) as he prepares for his greatest death-defying feat, the historic Snake River Canyon jump. Evel is an exhilarating portrait of a complex man living the American dream, juggling meteoric celebrity and raising a family — and facing the very real probability that his next jump will kill him.

Frankel will executive produce with McG, Mary Viola and Steven Bello of Wonderland Sound & Vision, Alex Gartner, Charles Roven and Topher Rhys-Lawrence of Atlas Entertainment; and Ventimiglia. Ventimiglia’s longtime producing partner, Russ Cundiff, will co-executive produce via the duo’s DiVide Pictures. Filming is expected to begin in 2020.

Evel had been in the works at USA for awhile. It got on a fast track once This Is Us star Ventimiglia sought it out and came on board to play the daredevil icon. For McG, this brings to fruition a longtime passion — he signed up to direct an Evel Knievel feature biopic, Pure Evel, more than seven years ago. It was in development at USA and UCP sibling Universal Pictures.

“USA Network is known for big event series that celebrate heroes, rebels and icons, and what could be bigger than the story of one of the greatest thrill seekers of all time?,” said Chris McCumber, President, Entertainment Networks – USA Network and Syfy. “The incredible life and journey of Evel Knievel lends itself to a dramatic retelling, and we are excited to be partnering with Milo, McG, UCP, Atlas and Wonderland to bring this iconic American tale to our viewers.”

In addition to the Universal Pictures project, in the past few years there have been two other attempts at doing an Evel Knievel feature film by Paramount and Sony.

There have been two produced Evel Knievel movies to date, the 1971 feature starring George Hamilton and the 2004 TNT TV movie headlined by George Eads.

Ventimiglia stars in the acclaimed NBC drama series This is Us as family patriarch Jack Pearson, a role which has earned him three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. In 2016, he reprised his role as Jess in the continuation of the drama Gilmore Girls, which returned with four 90-minute episodes. His other television credits include Heroes, Frank Darabont’s Mob City and American Dreams.

Recently, Ventimiglia starred alongside Kevin Costner and Amanda Seyfried in the feature film, The Art of Racing in the Rain, an adaptation of the international best-selling novel by Garth Stein. His other film credits include the romantic comedy Second Act, Rocky Balboa, Adam Sandler’s That’s My Boy and Grown Ups 2.

Frankel worked as a writer-producer on John Wells’ adaptation of UK comedy-drama Shameless from 2011-2016, rising to executive producer on the flagship Showtime series. He then segued to another Wells-produced series based on a format, TNT’s Animal Kingdom, as an executive producer.

E! People’s Choice Awards Finalists

(9/4/19) Fans can vote online at pca.eonline.com, via Twitter or for select categories on Xfinity X1. Fans can vote up to 25 times per method, per category, per day if they vote via online or Twitter. Voting via Xfinity X1 has a limit of 25 times per ballot, per Xfinity X1 device, per candidate for the duration of the official voting window. Additionally, any vote cast on Tuesdays throughout the voting window will count twice.

The E! People’s Choice Awards will be broadcast live from Barker Hanger in Santa Monica on Sunday, November 10 at 9p ET/PT

THE MALE TV STAR OF 2019
Male Star Show
Kit Harington Game of Thrones
Cole Sprouse Riverdale
Norman Reedus The Walking Dead
Finn Wolfhard Stranger Things
Jim Parsons The Big Bang Theory
Milo Ventimiglia This Is Us
Sterling K. Brown This Is Us
KJ Apa Riverdale

2019 Emmy Nominations

(7/17/19) The Emmys will be held Sunday, Sept. 22 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, airing live on Fox.

LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA (2018 winner: Matthew Rhys)
Jason Bateman, Ozark
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Kit Harington, Game of Thrones
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Billy Porter, Pose
Milo Ventimiglia, This Is Us

Batman, Julia Roberts & Mahershala Ali Among 2020 Walk Of Fame Honorees

(6/23/19) Batman, Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali are among the 2020 class of honorees for the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In all, 35 people were chosen from hundreds of nominees during a selection meeting in June. In feature film, stars will be unveiled for Mahershala Ali, Batman, Ruth E. Carter, Laurence Fishburne, Chris Hemsworth, Spike Lee, Julia Roberts, Octavia Spencer and Lina Wertmuller.

In the television category, Christina Applegate, Andy Cohen, Cindy Crawford, Terry Crews, Harry Friedman, Kathie Lee Gifford, Nigel Lythgoe, Milo Ventimiglia, Burt Ward, Wendy Williams, Dr. Phil McGraw and, posthumously, Andy Kaufman will be honored.

Recording artists Elvis Costello, Sir Lucian Grainge, Billy Idol, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Alicia Keys, Andy Madadian, Mo Ostin, Bobby Rydell, Alejandro Sanz, Tanya Tucker, and Muddy Waters, posthumously, also will be honored with stars on the world-famous street.

Dave Chappelle and Billy Porter will represent the live theatre/ live performance category. Susan Stamberg is the sole inductee for radio.

In a statement, selection committee chair and Walk of Famer Vin Di Bona said, “This year’s choices were particularly unique. We were able to recognize the talents of 35 artists who have already built a legacy here in Hollywood. Also, we were able to celebrate many new talented artists who’ve touched our hearts in film, television, radio and a variety of musical categories.”

Dates for unveiling ceremonies for the stars have not yet been set.

Tell Me a Story Season 2: Paul Wesley Returning In a New Role

(6/12/19) Tell Me a Story will spin a new crop of fairytales in Season 2, but it will do so with a familiar face. TVLine has learned that Vampire Diaries vet Paul Wesley — who starred in the first season of CBS All Access’ anthology thriller — will be back for the series’ sophomore run.

Story‘s inaugural season put a creepy, modern-day spin on Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs and Hansel and Gretel.

Season 2 will reimagine the princess-themed tales Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, with Wesley starring as Tucker, a struggling novelist who spends his sleepless nights toiling away in a secluded cabin in the woods and his days trying to prove he’s good enough for his beautiful fiancée. But it’s all about to come crashing down as a dark secret threatens to destroy his world.

Fellow Vampire Diaries vet Kevin Williamson, who created Tell Me a Story, will be back as showunner in Season 2.

‘Melrose Place’ alum Daphne Zuniga weds longtime boyfriend

(6/9/19) Daphne Zuniga is off the market.

On Saturday, the “Melrose Place” star married longtime boyfriend David Mleczko in an intimate ceremony in Cambridge, Massachusetts, according to People. The bride, who wore a Nicole Miller gown for the occasion, later confirmed the news on Instagram, writing, “What a day! Goodnight, I’m married.”

Zuniga, 56, who played Jo Reynolds on the primetime drama, was set up on a blind date 12 years ago with Mleczko, who co-founded PR company Signature Green. The pair got engaged a decade later.

Prior to the big day, Zuniga told People she was looking forward to enjoying the “private” affair.

“It’s just family and very intimate,” the actress shared. “I always had this fear of having too big of a wedding that I’d feel like I was going to be acting or performing because I’ve been a bride on-screen. In real life, I wanted it to be more poignant and private.”

Zuniga and Mleczko swapped personal vows during the ceremony, which was officiated by the couple’s friend, author Sharon Salzberg.

Blue Bloods Star Addresses That Oddly Truncated Season-Ending Wedding

(5/15/19) Talk about much ado about I dos that didn’t.

CBS this month promoted Blue Bloods‘ season-ending wedding between NYPD-turned-life partners Jamie Reagan and Eddie Janko. Yet when it came time for the bride to walk down the aisle, she barely took a dozen steps before the season faded to black, quite unceremoniously.

Mind you, this wasn’t edited as some sort of dramatic wedding day cliffhanger a la Tina Lord, still damp from the Iguazu Falls, bursting into the back of the church carrying her and Cord’s miracle baby. No, the episode simply ended, on a shot of a grinning groom.

TVLine ran into Will Estes, who plays Jamie, at the People/EW Upfront Week party, and started off by asking the No. 1 question on at least our collective mind: Should the “Jamko” wedding “count” on our May Sweeps Scorecard?

“I mean, I was there all day [filming], so… I count it as a wedding!” he answered with a laugh.

Pressed about why more of the ceremony wasn’t shown, Estes at first offered, “We already did the vows at the dinner table…. But I’m grasping at straws. I got nothing.” He then suggested, “You know how Hitchcock taught us that the monster you don’t see is the scariest? Maybe the wedding you don’t see is the most beautiful?”

As for any “lost” footage, Estes shared, “We filmed her walking a little bit more, but there was no other dialogue.” The shoot ended as seen on-screen, with a close-up of Jamie.

That is small comfort to fans who RSVP’d for the root-for couple’s awaited nuptials. So is there any chance Season 10 could resume the wedding, at least through vows? “Anything is possible…,” Estes shrugged. “I haven’t foreseen or heard that, but if you write the right letter to the right CBS executive… it could probably move mountains!” (Though it probably won’t; so save your stamps, folks.)

THIS IS US’ PICKED UP FOR THREE SEASONS

(5/12/19) One of the most celebrated TV series on any platform since its launch in 2016, ratings powerhouse “This Is Us” has been renewed by NBC for the next three seasons.

The unprecedented three-year pickup signifies the network’s utmost confidence in the series that has become part of the pop culture zeitgeist.

The announcement was made by Lisa Katz and Tracey Pakosta, Presidents of Scripted Programming, NBC Entertainment.

“In a television landscape with nearly 500 original scripted series, there are very few, if any, that have the critical and cultural impact of ‘This Is Us’ and we couldn’t be more proud to bring fans three more seasons of a show that so well represents the NBC brand,” said Katz and Pakosta. “A huge thank you and congratulations to our executive producers, cast and crew who reach new heights every week with the show’s inventive and compelling storytelling.”

For the 2018-19 season, “This Is Us” averaged a 3.79 rating in adults 18-49 and 13.8 million viewers overall in “live plus seven day” Nielsens, making it currently the season’s #1 entertainment series on any broadcast network in 18-49, as well as the #2 drama in total viewers.

In addition, “This Is Us” generated television’s biggest lift going from “live plus same day” to L+7 Nielsens, growing by 1.78 rating points. When 35 days of linear and projected non-linear viewership are added, “This Is Us” more than triples its 2.01 L+SD rating, increasing to a 6.94.

“This Is Us” and its cast have won many top awards, including two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, an Emmy Award, Golden Globe and SAG Awards for Sterling K. Brown for Best Actor in a Drama Series and three AFI Awards for Program of the Year.

Prodigal Son, Deputy, Two More Dramas Earn Series Orders at Fox

(5/10/19) Fox is restocking its drama slate for next season. The network has handed series orders to four new dramas, TVLine has learned: Prodigal Son, Deputy, neXt and an untitled drama from Annie Weisman and Jason Katims.

Prodigal Son stars Walking Dead alum Tom Payne as criminal psychologist Malcolm Bright, who solves crimes for the NYPD by knowing how killers think — because his father is one. Michael Sheen (The Good Fight) plays Malcolm’s dad Dr. Martin Whitly, an infamous serial killer known as “The Surgeon.” Bellamy Young (Scandal), Lou Diamond Phillips (Longmire) and Halston Sage (The Orville) lead the supporting cast. Chris Fedak and Sam Sklaver (Deception) are the creators, with the ubiquitous Greg Berlanti onboard as an executive producer.

Deputy — billed as “a modern cop drama that blends the spirit of a classic Western with a modern-day attitude and gritty authenticity” — stars True Detective‘s Stephen Dorff as fifth-generation lawman Bill Hollister, who becomes the sheriff of Los Angeles County. The supporting cast includes Yara Martinez (Jane the Virgin), Brian Van Holt (Cougar Town), Siena Goines (Grey’s Anatomy) and Bex Taylor-Klaus (Arrow). Castle scribe Will Beall penned the pilot.

neXt stars Mad Men vet John Slattery as a tech pioneer who learns that one of his artificial-intelligence creations might lead to global disaster and “teams up with a cybercrime agent to fight a villain unlike anything we’ve ever seen — one whose greatest weapon against us is ourselves,” per the official synopsis. Fernanda Andrade (Sons of Anarchy), Michael Mosley (Ozark) and Eve Harlow (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) co-star. Manny Coto (24, Dexter) is the creator.

The untitled drama from Annie Weisman (The Path) and Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights, Parenthood) centers on three women who discover they’re sisters when one of them learns the truth about her renowned fertility-doc father. Brittany Snow (the Pitch Perfect movies), Megalyn Echikunwoke (The Following) and Emily Osment (Young & Hungry) star as the sisters, with Weisman serving as creator. Katims will serve as an EP.

Joey Lawrence in Hawaii Five-0 May 17

(4/26/19) “Hana Mao 'ole ka ua o Waianae” – Five-0 continues to hunt down escaped criminal Aaron Wright (Joey Lawrence) before he can sell cyber-weapons to the highest bidder. Also, the lives of McGarrett and the team are put in danger when a visitor comes to headquarters to make amends, on the ninth season finale of HAWAII FIVE-0, Friday, May 17 (at a special time, 10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Jimmy Buffett returns as Frank Bama. (“Hana Mao 'ole ka ua o Waianae” is Hawaiian for “Endlessly Pours the Rain of Waianae”)

Joey Lawrence in Hawaii Five-0 May 10

(4/26/19) “Hewa ka lima” – Fugitive hacker Aaron Wright (Joey Lawrence) resurfaces to ask Five-0 for help when his co-workers at the NSA, which he has been working for, are all murdered. Also, Junior speaks at the parole hearing of the drunk driver who killed his sister, on HAWAII FIVE-0, Friday, May 10 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. (“Hewa ka lima” is Hawaiian for “The hand is at fault”)

Brittany Snow & ‘Veep’s Sam Richardson To Topline Indie Film ‘Bailey And Darla’

(3/9/19) Pitch Perfect alum Brittany Snow and Veep actor Sam Richardson have been tapped to lead the cast of Bailey and Darla, an indie film which is being directed by first-time helmer Nico Raineau. Raineau co-wrote the screenplay with Lauren Schacher. Snow will also produce the project alongside Yale Productions’ Jordan Yale Levine and Jordan Beckerman, and Highland Myst’s Jon Keeyes.

The film, which is currently in production, follows Darla (Snow), a cynical reporter whose sex addiction is getting in the way of her sex column, and her evolving relationship with Bailey, a well-meaning sweetheart who’s been dumped by his fiancé and learns he has testicular cancer (again). Together they embark on an impromptu cross country road trip, recreating Darla’s myriad trysts from state to state. She’s looking for a story and he’s looking for a last hurrah; what they find is something neither expected.

“I’m incredibly fortunate to work with such talented actors as Brittany and Sam on my debut feature,” said Raineau. “Their genius comedic gifts are well documented, but it’s their ability to bring heartfelt emotion and pathos to these characters that make them the ideal creative partners for this film.”

Highland Myst’s Matthew Tompkins and Yale Productions’ Russ Posternak will serve as co-producers. Film Mode Entertainment is handling sales.

Snow, who played Chloe in the Pitch Perfect movies, stars in the forthcoming Netflix romantic comedy, Someone Great, written and directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. She’s repped by Gersh and Principal Entertainment LA.

In addition to Veep, Richardson starred in the Comedy Central’s Detroiters, which he also co-created. Repped by UTA and Artists First, he has also appeared in films like Dave Need Wedding Dates, The House, and Game Over, Man!.

Brittany Snow To Star In Fox’s Drama Pilot From Annie Weisman & Jason Katims

(2/25/19) Brittany Snow is set to lead the cast of Fox’s drama pilot based on the Endemol Shine Australia series Sisters. The untitled project (fka Sisters) hails from The Path duo of co-executive producer Annie Weisman and executive producer Jason Katims, as well as the original series’ co-creator Imogen Banks, Universal TV and Endemol Shine North America.

Written by Weisman based on the Australian series created by Jonathan Gavin and Banks, with Leslye Headland set to direct the pilot, the drama centers on Julia Bechley (Snow), an only child who finds her life turned upside down when her father is forced to reveal that over the course of his pioneering career as a fertility doctor, he used his own sperm to conceive dozens of children. As she dutifully begins to track down her emerging group of siblings, among a sea of brothers, Julia discovers only two sisters – both of whom quickly become a part of her now redefined family.

Weisman executive produces with Headland, True Jack’s Katims and Jeni Mulein, Banks and Endemol Shine North America president Sharon Levy. Universal produces in association with Endemol Shine North America.

Australian series Sisters, which starred Maria Angelico as Julia Bechly (the character’s last name was slightly tweaked for the U.S. version), premiered its seven-episode first season on Network Ten in October 2017 and launched as a Netflix Original Series on September 1, 2018.

Former American Dreams star Snow recently recurred on the CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. She also starred as Chloe in all three Pitch Perfect movies. Snow is repped by Gersh and Principal Entertainment LA.

Brittany Snow Is Engaged to Tyler Stanaland

(2/25/19) (cbs.soapsindepth.com) Congratulations are in order for daytime alum Brittany Snow (Susan, GUIDING LIGHT), who has just announced her engagement to boyfriend Tyler Stanaland! “A couple weeks ago, I said ‘yes’ about a million times to the man of my wildest and most beautiful dreams,” the actress shared on Instagram. “After celebrating with friends and family, we wanted to let a few more friends — you guys — know… this happened.”

Snow shared a lovely black-and-white snapshot of herself and Stanaland canoodling in a restaurant but revealed that wasn’t a photo of the magical moment itself. “I’m still pinching myself and thanking my lucky stars for the truest feeling I’ve ever felt. Thank you, Tyler, for the happiest day of my life and for not proposing in this creepy empty restaurant.”

Stanland shared his own photo of them in the same restaurant where they’re both admiring her ring, and shared his own perspective on the momentous day. “A few weeks ago, I asked Brittany one of the most important questions I may ever ask: Forever?” he related. “Luckily she said yes, and we’ve spent the last little while celebrating the old-fashioned way, together and with close friends and family. I don’t know how I got so lucky and I don’t know that I really understood what love is until you. Everything changed when we met. You are the most beautiful, intelligent, thoughtful, caring, incredible human and I couldn’t be more excited to do life with you. Here’s to forever and making our wildest dreams come true. Love you to the moon and back.”

Snow got her big break playing Susan “Daisy” Lemay on GL back in 1998, and after she left daytime in 2002, found continued success in primetime starring as Meg Pryor on NBC’s AMERICAN DREAMS. She’s also appeared on the big screen in films like Hairspray, Prom Night, and the Pitch Perfect series. Stanaland is a real estate agent who sells homes in California. He also shared a better shot of the gorgeous engagement ring he put on her finger!

Paul Wesley Inks Producing Deal With Kapital Entertainment, Sets 2 Drama Series Projects, Including Starring Vehicle

(2/13/19) Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment has forged a production partnership with The Vampire Diaries alum Paul Wesley and his company Citizen Media.

The first two series projects Kapital and Citizen are rolling out together are a drama based on Jason Smith’s non-fiction article Confessions Of a Drug-Addicted High School Teacher, with Wesley attached to star and David Slade (Black Mirror) to direct, and supernatural crime drama Possessed, based on a Korean format.

Under the pact, Kapital will work with Wesley to build his company and its footprint in the market. The Kapital team and Wesley will jointly develop content for Wesley to produce. It will be aimed at broadcast, cable and streaming. Some — but not all — of the projects will be intended as starring vehicles for Wesley who recently co-starred on Kapital’s CBS All Access series Tell Me a Story.

“Paul and I found ourselves aligned in the kinds of stories we wanted to tell and in synch in how we wanted to share them,” Kaplan said. “I am so excited that Paul trusted Kapital to work with Citizen Media to develop and produce great content.”

Confessions Of a Drug-Addicted High School Teacher was one of the first projects Wesley put in development when he launched Citizen Media in 2016 with a deal at Warner Bros. TV. Smith’s article chronicles his two-year stint teaching public high school in northern California. Despite teaching while anesthetized by a heavy dose of prescription narcotics, Jason finds that his brokenness from addiction begins attracting broken students, and in a town obsessed with high school football, he’s not alone in his obsession to escape from himself.

Kapital is executive producing with Wesley, who will star, his former producing partner Bob Levy. as well as Slade, who will direct.

Based on the 2009 Korean series from MBC, Possessed centers on high school girl Ha-na who is always the first to come out and protect her introverted twin sister Doo-na. After Doo-na passes away in a fire, Ha-na finds that her body no longer completely belongs to herself. Doo-na’s angry spirit now lives in Ha-na, giving her special powers and monstrous strength. Genius criminal psychologist Shin Ryu is an expert profiler who is determined to see justice served. When he learns about Ha-na’s abilities, he uses her powers to eliminate criminals that are above the law, and to plan his revenge on the man who helped his family’s killer go free. (You can watch a trailer for the original series below.)

Craig Plestic (The Masked Singer) is executive producing Possessed alongside Kapital and Citizen Media.

This is the latest producing partnership for Kapital, which also has deals with directors Victor Gonzalez and David Semel.

“I’ve admired the work that Aaron and Kapital have been doing, and I’m very excited to team up with them to create content we can be proud of,” Wesley said.

Over the last few years, Wesley’s production company, Citizen Media, has set up multiple series projects for development at various networks and studios including ABC, Fox 21 TV TV Studios, Warner Bros TV/Warner Horizon and Freeform.

Wesley starred on The Vampire Diaries for eight seasons, directed multiple episodes throughout the series’ run, and served as a producer for the 8th and final season.

He recently appeared in Netflix’s docu-drama Medal Of Honor produced by Robert Zemeckis and Jack Rapke. He also did two off Broadway theater productions in 2018. Behind the camera, last year he directed episodes of Roswell, New Mexico and Legacies.

Wesley is repped by ICM, Management 360, and attorney Marcy Morris. Slade is with UTA. MBC is repped by Paradigm.

Kaplan currently has 11 series on the air, 10 of them through Kapital.

Surprise! The Vampire Diaries' Paul Wesley Is Married

(2/9/19) Paul Wesley is officially off the market!

E! News has exclusively learned that The Vampire Diaries star and Ines de Ramon are married.

Speculation about the couple's relationship status was sparked earlier this week when photos surfaced of the pair wearing matching rings on that all-important finger.

As it turns out, the duo was able to take a big step in their relationship without anyone knowing—until now!

The pair has yet to walk a red carpet together. And if you think you're going to see the pair all over Instagram, you may be out of luck. Ines' profile is private.

That hasn't stopped Paul, however, from sharing a few special pictures of his leading lady.

"Throwback Thursday," he wrote this past September while sharing a snapshot of Ines. "Feast of San Gennaro, NYC."

As pop culture fans know, Paul appeared on The Vampire Diaries before starring in Tell Me a Story. He previously dated Phoebe Tonkin before calling things off in 2017.

And although fans may love seeing Paul on the big and small screen, the 36-year-old has remained humble about the praise he receives.

"To be honest, I think its endearing and sweet, but I don't really think about it too much," he told Parade when asked about his heartthrob status.

Congratulations to the happy couple on their big news.

Milo Ventimiglia named Hasty Pudding Man of the Year

(1/31/19) Milo Ventimiglia, who stars as Jack Pearson in the award-winning hit television drama “This is Us,” was named 2019 Man of the Year Wednesday by Harvard University‘s Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

Ventimiglia was selected because he has made “significant impressions on television and film,” the oldest theatrical organization in the US said in a statement.

It also didn’t hurt that he played heartthrob Jess Mariano on the television show “Gilmore Girls” from 2001 to 2006.

“We’ve loved his performances in ‘This is Us,’ ‘Heroes’ and ‘Gilmore Girls,’ but more importantly, he is the childhood crush of our two esteemed producers, Elizabeth (Mann) and Mariana (Sanchez-Medina),” Hasty Pudding President Grace Ramsey said in a statement.

The Emmy-nominated actor will receive his pudding pot at a celebratory roast at Harvard scheduled for Feb. 8.

Ventimiglia will then attend the opening night of Hasty Pudding’s latest production, “France France Revolution,” its first to feature women in the cast.

Although women have been involved with Hasty Pudding Theatricals since the 1930s, the onstage cast has traditionally been all male, even for female roles. The organization announced last year that women would be included in the cast.

Ventimiglia has also been involved with the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, which supports veterans who need help when they return home from war. His character on “This Is Us” is a Vietnam War veteran, and Ventimiglia’s real-life dad is also a veteran.

Hasty Pudding, which dates back to the late 18th century, has honored a Man of the Year since 1967, and previous winners include Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks and Christopher Walken. Paul Rudd was honored last year.

Bryce Dallas Howard was named Hasty Pudding’s Woman of the Year on Tuesday.

Gail O’Grady on Criminal Minds 2/6/19

(1/25/19) “Truth or Dare” – Wedding bells are ringing as Rossi prepares to marry Krystall (Gail O’Grady). But first, the BAU team travels to Los Angeles to investigate a series of fatal shootings in broad daylight following car accidents, on the 14th season finale of CRIMINAL MINDS, Wednesday, Feb. 6 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

CBS ANNOUNCES ALL-NEW CAST FOR THE SECOND SEASON OF “BIG BROTHER: CELEBRITY EDITION!”

(1/14/19) CBS has announced the 12 Celebrity Houseguests who will star in the second celebrity edition of BIG BROTHER in the U.S. This season’s cast includes Olympians, a former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL running back, a headline-making political strategist, a former teen heartthrob, a GRAMMY-nominated musician, a former WWE wrestler and an infamous Houseguest, among others. BIG BROTHER: CELEBRITY EDITION launches with a two-night premiere event Monday, Jan. 21 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) and Tuesday, Jan. 22 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Julie Chen Moonves returns as the host.

The following 12 Celebrity Houseguests will compete for $250,000:

Jonathan Bennett (37)

Hometown: Rossford, Ohio

Current City: Newport Beach, Calif.

Occupation: Actor/host

Tamar Braxton (41)

Hometown: Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia

Current City: Los Angeles

Occupation: Singer/TV personality

Kandi Burruss (42)

Hometown: Atlanta, Ga.

Current City: Atlanta, Ga.

Occupation: Singer/TV personality

Tom Green (47)

Hometown: Ottawa, Canada

Current City: Los Angeles

Occupation: Comedian

Lolo Jones (36)

Hometown: Des Moines, Iowa

Current City: Baton Rouge, La.

Occupation: Olympic track and bobsled star

Kato Kaelin (59)

Hometown: Milwaukee, Wisc.

Current City: Los Angeles

Occupation: Actor/host

Joey Lawrence (42)

Hometown: Philadelphia, Pa.

Current City: Los Angeles

Occupation: Actor/producer

Ryan Lochte (34)

Hometown: Daytona Beach, Fla.

Current City: Gainesville, Fla.

Occupation: 12-time Olympic medalist in swimming

Dina Lohan (56)

Hometown: Long Island, N.Y.

Current City: Long Island, N.Y.

Occupation: Momager

Natalie Eva Marie (34)

Hometown: Concord, Calif.

Current City: North Tustin, Calif.

Occupation: Former WWE wrestler/actress

Anthony Scaramucci (55)

Hometown: Port Washington, N.Y.

Current City: Manhasset, N.Y.

Occupation: Former White House director of communications/financier

Ricky Williams (41)

Hometown: San Diego, Calif.

Current City: Venice Beach, Calif.

Occupation: Former NFL superstar

Following the two-night premiere, BIG BROTHER will air for three weeks, with the two-hour finale on Wednesday, Feb. 13 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Gail O’Grady on Ciminal Minds 1/23/18

(1/7/19) “Chameleon” – Rossi questions his actions in the aftermath of a near-death struggle with a serial killer who appears to have outsmarted the BAU, on CRIMINAL MINDS, Wednesday, Jan. 23 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Gail O’Grady returns as Krystall, Rossi’s girlfriend.

Tom Verica on How To Getaway With Murder 1/17/19

(12/29/18) “He Betrayed Us Both” – Now that Connor and Oliver have tied the knot, the crew must deal with the consequences of the wedding night’s murder; and Annalise is forced to reckon with secrets from her past, on “How to Get Away with Murder,” THURSDAY, JAN. 17 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EST), on The ABC Television Network, streaming and on demand.

“How to Get Away with Murder” stars Academy Award® winner Viola Davis as Professor Annalise Keating, Billy Brown as Detective Nate Lahey, Jack Falahee as Connor Walsh, Aja Naomi King as Michaela Pratt, Matt McGorry as Asher Millstone, Karla Souza as Laurel Castillo, Charlie Weber as Frank Delfino, Liza Weil as Bonnie Winterbottom, Conrad Ricamora as Oliver Hampton, Rome Flynn as Gabriel Maddox, Amirah Vann as Tegan Price and Timothy Hutton as Emmett Crawford.

Guest starring is Tom Verica as Sam Keating and Dante Verica as young Gabriel.

“He Betrayed Us Both” was written by Daniel Robinson and directed by John Terlesky.

Milo Ventimiglia couldn’t get a job for a year after ‘Heroes’

(12/13/18) Milo Ventimiglia almost quit the acting business when he couldn’t get a job for a year.

“I’ve had moments where I’ve had to pick myself up,” the “This Is Us” star told Access in a new interview. “Probably in my early 30s, I couldn’t get hired in town. I really couldn’t. That was back in the ‘Heroes’ days. I did not work for one calendar year. One entire year, I couldn’t get a job.”

The 41-year-old actor continued, “I was really having to re-evaluate what I was going to be doing because, you know, it’s a profession. You need to feed yourself and clothe yourself and have a roof over your head. I was starting to see those things minimize.”

Ventimiglia, who starred in “Heroes” from 2006-2010, admitted he was close to moving to Italy before landing a role in the movie “Static,” which according to IMDB, was released in 2012.

“I was going to cash in and move to Italy on my European passport and find a farm to work on,” he said, adding he would have buzzed his hair, grown a beard and gotten a motorcycle had he moved abroad.

Sticking through the rough patches worked out for Ventimiglia, who’s been nominated for two Emmys for his role on NBC’s hit show “This Is Us.”

SAG Awards Nominations

(12/13/18) The SAG Awards are January 27 at the Shrine Auditorium, simulcast live by Turner’s TNT and TBS. As previously announced, Alan Alda will receive the guild’s Life Achievement Award during the ceremony.

TELEVISION

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

THE AMERICANS (FX Networks)
ANTHONY ARKIN / Stavos
SCOTT COHEN / Glenn Haskard
BRANDON J. DIRDEN / Dennis Aderholt
NOAH EMMERICH / Stan Beeman
LAURIE HOLDEN / Renee
MARGO MARTINDALE / Claudia
MATTHEW RHYS / Philip Jennings
COSTA RONIN / Oleg Burov
KERI RUSSELL / Elizabeth Jennings
KEIDRICH SELLATI / Henry Jennings
MIRIAM SHOR / Erica Haskard
HOLLY TAYLOR / Paige Jennings

BETTER CALL SAUL (AMC)
JONATHAN BANKS / Mike Ehrmantraut
RAINER BOCK / Werner Ziegler
RAY CAMPBELL / Tyrus Kitt
GIANCARLO ESPOSITO / Gustavo “Gus” Fring
MICHAEL MANDO / Nacho Varga
BOB ODENKIRK / Jimmy McGill
RHEA SEEHORN / Kim Wexler

THE HANDMAID’S TALE (Hulu)
ALEXIS BLEDEL / Ofglen/Emily
MADELINE BREWER / Janine
AMANDA BRUGEL / Rita
ANN DOWD / Aunt Lydia
O-T FAGBENLE / Luke
JOSEPH FIENNES / Commander Waterford
NINA KIRI / Alma
MAX MINGHELLA / Nick
ELISABETH MOSS / Offred/June
YVONNE STRAHOVSKI / Serena Joy
SYDNEY SWEENEY / Eden
BAHIA WATSON / Brianna

OZARK (Netflix)
JASON BATEMAN / Martin “Marty” Byrde
LISA EMERY / Darlene Snell
SKYLAR GAERTNER / Jonah Byrde
JULIA GARNER / Ruth Langmore
DARREN GOLDSTEIN / Charles Wilkes
JASON BUTLER HARNER / Roy Petty
CARSON HOLMES / Three
SOFIA HUBLITZ / Charlotte Byrde
LAURA LINNEY / Wendy Byrde
TREVOR LONG / Cade
JANET McTEER / Helen Pierce
PETER MULLAN / Jacob Snell
JORDANA SPIRO / Rachel
CHARLIE TAHAN / Wyatt
ROBERT TREVEILER / Sheriff John Nix
HARRIS YULIN / Buddy Dieker

THIS IS US (NBC)
ERIS BAKER / Tess Pearson
STERLING K. BROWN / Randall Pearson
NILES FITCH / Teenage Randall
MACKENZIE HANCSICSAK / Young Kate
JUSTIN HARTLEY / Kevin Pearson
FAITHE HERMAN / Annie Pearson
JON HUERTAS / Miguel Rivas
MELANIE LIBURD / Zoe
CHRISSY METZ / Kate Pearson
MANDY MOORE / Rebecca Pearson
LYRIC ROSS / Déjà
CHRIS SULLIVAN / Toby Damon
MILO VENTIMIGLIA / Jack Pearson
SUSAN KELECHI WATSON / Beth Pearson
HANNAH ZEILE / Teenage Kate

Amazon Orders Bilingual Catalina Aguilar Mastretta Romantic Comedy Pilot Starring Lorenza Izzo; Five Others Cast

(11/13/18) Amazon has given the formal green light to a comedy pilot written and directed by Catalina Aguilar Mastretta (Everybody Loves Somebody). Lorenza Izzo (Life Itself) is set as the lead in the untitled project for Amazon Prime Video, with Georgie Flores (Famous in Love), Giancarlo Vidrio (El Vato), Ben O’Toole (Hacksaw Ridge), Sarah Ramos (Midnight, Texas) and Patricia Bernal (Everybody Loves Somebody) also cast. Amazon Studios is producing with comedy-focused Jax Media (Search Party, Broad City, Younger).

The Catalina Aguilar Mastretta project is a bilingual (Spanish) romantic comedy about family – the one you choose and the one you’re born into. Sara (Izzo) has been the matriarch of her chosen family since her parents moved back to Mexico City in her late teens. She and her diverse group of friends and family attempt to master their careers and romantic entanglements while living together in Sara’s Hollywood Hills compound. Now, Sara’s mother, Ines, is moving back in and shedding a new light on the life Sara built for herself, pushing everyone towards a late-in-life coming of age.

Mastretta executive produces with Jax’s Tony Hernandez Brooke Posch. The company’s Liz Cohen is a producer.

Flores will play Alicia, Sara’s best friend and the daughter of undocumented Mexican immigrant parents who works as a waitress in a bowling alley. Vidrio will play Nacho, Sara’s mischievous gay brother, a former player for the LA Galaxy soccer team who now is one of team’s coaches. O’Toole will play Matt, Sara’s first boyfriend who now is roommates with Nacho in one of the bungalows on Sara’s property. Ramos will play Anna, a friend of Sara’s who also lives in one of the bungalows on her property, along with her little girl Frida. Bernal plays Ines, Sara and Nacho’s mother.

Aguilar Mastretta is repped by CAA, Epicenter and Felker Toczek. Izzo is with Paradigm and Authentic Talent & Literary Management.

This is one of two comedy pilots ordered by Amazon, along with People Just Do Nothing, based on the British format.

Gail O’Grady on Criminal Minds 11/21/1

(11/13/18) “Ashley” – The BAU investigates a double homicide and kidnapping in New Hampshire. Also, Rossi’s plans to elevate his relationship with Krystall (Gail O’Grady) don’t go as planned, on CRIMINAL MINDS, Wednesday, Nov. 21 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Series star Adam Rodriguez directed the episode.

Virginia Madsen Joins Swamp Thing

(11/2/18) Academy Award nominee Virginia Madsen is ready to do the Swamp Thing.

Based on characters from DC Comics which were created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, the 2019 DC Universe streaming service release follows Abby Arcane (Gotham‘s Crystal Reed) as she investigates what seems to be a deadly swamp-born virus in a small town in Louisiana, only to discover that the swamp holds mystical and terrifying secrets. When unexplainable and chilling horrors emerge from the murky marsh, no one is safe.

Our sister site Deadline reports that Madsen will play Maria Sunderland, a woman of privilege who finds herself slumming it due to husband Avery’s life-time obsession with the swamp. Her refined reality is further upended by Abby’s return, reawakening as it does Maria’s grief over the loss of her daughter.

Madsen joins a cast that also includes Jennifer Beals (The L Word) as Sheriff Lucilia Cable, Maria Sten (Channel Zero) as Liz Tremayne, a childhood friend of Abby’s, and Jeryl Prescott (Ray Donovan) as Madame Xanadu.

An Oscar nominee for 2005’s Sideways, Madsen’s previous TV credits include Designated Survivor, Elementary, American Gothic, Witches of East End, Hell on Wheels, American Dreams and Frasier.

Tom Verica on How To Get Away With Murder 11/15/18

(10/29/18) “I Want to Love You Until the Day I Die” – In the explosive winter finale, Connor and Oliver’s big wedding day has arrived, but there’s murder in the air; and the mystery of who the unlucky victim is will be revealed, on “How to Get Away with Murder,” THURSDAY, NOV. 15 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EST), on The ABC Television Network, streaming and on demand.

“How to Get Away with Murder” stars Academy Award®-winner Viola Davis as Professor Annalise Keating, Billy Brown as Detective Nate Lahey, Jack Falahee as Connor Walsh, Aja Naomi King as Michaela Pratt, Matt McGorry as Asher Millstone, Karla Souza as Laurel Castillo, Charlie Weber as Frank Delfino, Liza Weil as Bonnie Winterbottom, Conrad Ricamora as Oliver Hampton, Rome Flynn as Gabriel Maddox, Amirah Vann as Tegan Price and Timothy Hutton as Emmett Crawford.

Guest starring is Tom Verica as Sam Keating, John Hensley as Interim D.A. Ronald Miller, Heidi Sulzman as Minister Molly Keener, Derek Basco as wedding DJ, Mia Katigbak as Joanna Hampton, Cynthia Stevenson as Pam Walsh, D.W. Moffett as Jefferson Walsh, Jim Abele as Ted, Jennifer Christopher as Gemma, Roman Coto as Johnny and Tess Lina as Ricki.

“I Want to Love You Until the Day I Die” was written by Joe Fazzio and directed by Stephen Cragg.

Lifetime Decks Its Halls With 23 Holiday-Themed Movies & More Cheer

(9/25/18) We’re just one day past the autumnal equinox, but Lifetime already is in the holiday spirit. The cable channel has unwrapped its slate of Christmas movies, and there are 14 new originals under the tree this year along with nine acquired pics and a couple of specials.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas as the A+E Networks-owned net unveils its telepic slate billed as It’s a Wonderful Lifetime. After kicking off November 21 with a week featuring five nights of premieres, each ensuing week of the holiday season will feature new movies every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Check out the full lineup with descriptions and premiere dates below.

“It’s a Wonderful Lifetime is back in a major way with more hours of holiday programming than we have ever had before,” said Tanya Lopez, EVP Movies, Limited Series and Original Movie Acquisitions at Lifetime and LMN. “By stacking our originals with beloved stars from some of the most iconic television shows we grew up with, we are tapping into the nostalgic feelings of familiarity and comfort that everyone wants for the holidays.”

Some of this seasons movies feature reunions of cast members from such popular bygone TV series as The Cosby Show, A Different World, 7th Heaven and Sister, Sister. Also on tap is the previously announced hourlong special ‘Tis the Season: A One Tree Hill Cast Reunion, in which cast members Hilarie Burton, Tyler Hilton, Danneel Ackles, Antwon Tanner and Stephen Colletti from the 2003-12 WB/CW series regather for an evening that also will include a few surprise special guests.

Among the stars set for Lifetime’s 2018 holiday movies are Toni Braxton, Melissa Joan Hart, Megan Hilty, Tia Mowry-Hardict, Sarah Drew, Marissa Winokur, Loretta Devine, Cheryl Ladd, June Squibb, Sharon Lawrence, John Schneider, Jason London, Tiya Sicar, Diane Ladd, Towanda Braxton, Conchata Ferrell, Gloria Reuben, Rachel Boston, Patricia Richardson, Caroline Rhea, Michael Gross and Melissa Gilbert.

Here is the full slate of original holiday fare from Lifetime, including premiere dates, followed by its acquired films:

It’s A Wonderful Lifetime Preview Special
November 17th at 10 p.m.
Hosted by Melissa Joan Hart

What if Lifetime never made Christmas movies? In this special, hosted by Melissa Joan Hart, we will be taken on a journey that explores how terrible life would be without Lifetime Christmas movies to bring us holiday cheer. Melissa will be visited by the “host” of Lifetime Christmas Past, Present, and Future, and along the way, she will preview the 14 exciting movies that are coming to Lifetime this holiday season. Once this special is over, you won’t be able to imagine a world without the magic of Lifetime Christmas. It’s A Wonderful Lifetime Preview Special is produced by A+E OriginalsTM. Steve Ascher, Kristy Sabat and Allie Breslin serve as executive producers. Brie Miranda Bryant executive produces for Lifetime.
My Christmas Inn
November 21st at 8 p.m.
Starring Tia Mowry-Hardict, Rob Mayes, Jackée Harry, Tim Reid & Erin Gray

With the holiday season in full swing, Jen Taylor (Tia Mowry-Hardict) is about to score a big promotion at the San Francisco ad agency where she works. But her life is unexpectedly turned upside down when she inherits a cozy inn in Alaska from her aunt. When she goes to inspect the property and meets handsome town attorney Steve Anderson (Rob Mayes), she’s surprised to find that nothing is what she expected. The small town community is full of fun and festive Christmas traditions and soon, Jen starts wondering if the inn might just be the place she belongs, and if Steve could be the Mr. Right she has been waiting for. My Christmas Inn is produced by HYBRID, LLC.

The Christmas Contract
November 22nd at 8 p.m.
Starring One Tree Hill Alums Hilarie Burton, Robert Buckley, Danneel Ackles, Antwon Tanner
And Jordan Ladd, Cheryl Ladd, Bruce Boxleitner, Jason London, Hunter Burke, Teri Wyble & Ritchie Montgomery With Special Musical Appearance from Tyler Hilton

It’s Jolie’s (Hilarie Burton) first time going back home to Louisiana since her devastating break up with Foster (Hunter Burke). Seeing him is inevitable as their parents run the town’s annual Christmas Market together, but when she discovers Foster is bringing home a new girlfriend, Jolie cannot bear the thought of going home alone and seeing them together. Her best friend Naomi (Danneel Ackles) suggests that Jolie bring her flaky brother, Jack (Robert Buckley), home for Christmas as he has no plans this year. Jolie, a professional web designer, is hesitant; so, Naomi, a lawyer, creates a Christmas contract to give them both something they want—a buffer for those awkward moments around Jolie’s ex and a website to help sell Jack’s upcoming novel. Unbeknownst to them, the Christmas contract proves to be so much more than what they signed up for. The Christmas Contract is produced by Active Entertainment. Ken Badish and Daniel Lewis serve as executive producers. Monika Mitchell serves as director with a script by Cassie Doyle.

‘Tis the Season: A One Tree Hill Cast Reunion
November 22nd at 10 p.m.
Featuring Hilarie Burton, Tyler Hilton, Danneel Ackles, Antwon Tanner & Stephen Colletti

The Tree Hill Ravens are back together to celebrate the Christmas season on Lifetime. In this special one-hour reunion, Hilarie Burton, Tyler Hilton, Danneel Ackles, Antwon Tanner of The Christmas Contract and Stephen Colletti of Hometown Christmas, reunite for a special evening that will include a few surprise special guests. ‘Tis the Season: A One Tree Hill Cast Reunion is produced by A+E OriginalsTM. Steve Ascher, Kristy Sabat and Allie Breslin serve as executive producers. Brie Miranda Bryant executive produces for Lifetime.

Poinsettias for Christmas
November 23rd at 8 p.m.
Starring Bethany Joy Lenz, Marcus Rosner, Lauren London,
Sharon Lawrence & John Schneider

It’s just weeks before Christmas when Ellie (Bethany Joy Lenz) gets a call to return home to help her father (John Schneider) on the family’s poinsettia farm. The family business is on the line to deliver tens of thousands of plants for the town’s annual parade. The problem is – the poinsettias have yet to turn red! As Ellie searches for the solution, she is reminded of where her heart truly lies as she falls in love with both her roots and a local botanist (Marcus Rosner). Poinsettias for Christmas is produced by Annuit Coeptis Entertainment, Inc. Christie Will Wolf directed from a script written by Barbara Kymlicka.

Every Day is Christmas
November 24th at 8 p.m.
Starring Toni Braxton, Gloria Reuben, Towanda Braxton & Michael Jai White

Inspired by the Charles Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol,” shrewd money manager Alexis Taylor (Toni Braxton) gets the holiday visit of a lifetime. A self-proclaimed workaholic who “humbugs” love, Alexis ends up embracing the spirit of Christmas when her past, present, and future collide, forcing her to risk the one thing money can’t buy: her heart. Every Day is Christmas is produced by Brightlight Pictures. Kevin Leslie is producer. Toni Braxton, Craig Baumgarten, Kenneth Crear, Shawn Williamson, Jamie Goehring, and Jonathan Shore executive produce. David Weaver directs from a script by Karen Schaler.

Jingle Belle
November 25th at 8 p.m.
Starring Tatyana Ali, Cornelius Smith Jr., Loretta Devine, Valarie Pettiford, Obba Babatunde, Keshia Knight Pulliam & Tempestt Bledsoe

Every year, Isabelle (Tatyana Ali) and her high school sweetheart Mike (Cornelius Smith Jr.), rocked their small town’s annual Christmas Eve Pageant with a sweet Christmas duet. But after graduation, Isabelle left to study at Juillard in New York – leaving Mike behind. Years later, when Isabelle returns to her hometown to write music for the annual Christmas Eve Pageant, she is shocked to learn that Mike is the one directing the show. Can Isabelle and Mike put the past behind them and reunite on stage for another show-stopping duet? Jingle Belle is produced by Hybrid, LLC.

A Very Nutty Christmas
November 30th at 8 p.m.
Starring Melissa Joan Hart, Barry Watson, Marissa Winokur, Conchata Ferrell & Rizwan Manji

Hard-working bakery owner Kate Holiday (Melissa Joan Hart), has more cookie orders than she has time to fill this holiday season, and when her boyfriend suddenly breaks up with her, any shred of Christmas joy she was hanging onto, immediately disappears. After Kate hangs the last ornament on the tree and goes to bed, she awakens the next morning to a little bit of Christmas magic. She gets the surprise of her life when Chip (Barry Watson), a handsome soldier who may or may not be the Nutcracker Prince from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, appears in her living room. A Very Nutty Christmas is produced by Hartbreak Films. Paula Hart and Melissa Joan Hart executive produce. Colin Theys serves as director with a script written by Juliet and Keith Giglio.

A Twist of Christmas
December 1st at 8 p.m.
Starring Vanessa Lachey & Brendon Zub

In the frenzy before Christmas, two single parents— busy working mom Abby (Vanessa Lachey) and her son, and overwhelmed lawyer Ryan (Brendon Zub) and his daughter, accidentally mix up their toys at a crowded department store. As a result, both of their Christmases appear to be ruined. Although the two can’t stand each other, the only way to get things back on track is to help each other salvage their holiday plans – not realizing they’re falling for each other in the process. A Twist of Christmas is produced by Lighthouse Pictures. Jamie Goehring, Shawn Williamson and Nancy Bennett executive produce. David Winning serves as director with a script written by Brian Sawyer and Gregg Rossen.

The Christmas Pact
December 2nd at 8 p.m.
Starring Kyla Pratt, Jarod Joseph, Kadeem Hardison & Jasmine Guy

Can best friends fall in love? That’s the question next door neighbors Sadie (Kyla Pratt) and Ben (Jarod Joseph) will answer as they keep the spirit of Christmas and the magic of their childhood pact alive! When they were eight years old, they planted a scrawny 3-foot tall Christmas tree behind their church and the Christmas Pact began. But as life gets in the way the pact is threatened to be broken. Ben and Sadie need some Christmas Magic to recommit to each other and promise to keep their special holiday traditions. With each Christmas that passes by, Ben and Sadie’s Christmas tree grows taller and stronger; and so does their love. The pact bearing fruit to the magic of Christmas and the undeniable answer. Yes, friends can fall in love! The Christmas Pact is produced by Annuit Coeptis Entertainment. Executive Producer Timothy O.Johnson, Marita Grabniak directs from a script written by Damon Hill and Blaine Chiappetta.

Christmas Lost and Found
December 7th at 8 p.m.
Starring Tiya Sircar, Ed Ruttle & Diane Ladd

After years of missing family gatherings, New York City event planner Whitney Kennison (Tiya Sircar) is off to Chicago to spend Christmas with Grandma Frances (Diane Ladd). Excited that her granddaughter is finally home for the holidays, Frances decides to bestow Whitney with the precious Kennison family Christmas ornaments. But when Whitney mistakenly throws out the box of ornaments, Grandma Frances must stealthily devise a fun Christmas scavenger hunt to remind Whitney what the holiday is all about. It’s a race against time as Whitney reclaims the family ornaments, finds romance and learns the lesson Grandma Frances imparts. Christmas Lost and Found is produced by Stephanie Germain Productions and Front Street Productions, with Stephanie Germain and Harvey Kahn as executive producers. Michael Scott directs from a script by Jennifer Notas Shapiro.

Santa’s Boots
December 8th at 8 p.m.
Starring Megan Hilty, Noah Mills & June Squibb

When Holly (Megan Hilty) returns home for Christmas expecting the same as any other year, she’s blindsided to learn her family’s department store is on the brink of foreclosure. To keep the business going, Holly fills in as Santa’s Helper and meets the surprisingly young and handsome Nick (Noah Mills), who has been hired to play Santa at the store this year. Their undeniable chemistry and charisma draw in big crowds, until suddenly, Nick disappears. As Christmas day inches closer, Holly scrambles to find Nick with only one clue – his misplaced black boot. Santa’s Boots is produced by Front Street Pictures, with Barbara Lieberman and Charles Cooper as executive producers. Shawn Tolleson directs with a script written by Shannon Phipps and Shawn Tolleson.

A Christmas in Tennessee
December 9th at 8 p.m.
Starring Rachel Boston, Andrew Walker, Patricia Richardson, Caroline Rhea

Allison Bennet (Rachel Boston), along with her daughter Olivia and mother Martha (Patricia Richardson), run a bakery in the small mountain town of White Pines, Tennessee. When Matthew (Andrew Walker), a charming real estate developer, tries to buy the town for a corporate ski resort, Allison and the townspeople must work together to prevent that from happening. And just when the Bennet ladies seem out of luck, an unexpected visitor—with a well-known sweet tooth for cookies and milk—comes to the bakery and may in fact be the key to solving everything. A Christmas in Tennessee is produced by Smokey Mountain Films Inc. and Juliette Hagopian. Howard Braunstein serves as executive producer. Gary Yates directs with a script written by Cassie Doyle.

Christmas Around the Corner
December 14th at 8 p.m.
Starring Alexandra Breckenridge, Jamie Spilchuk & Jane Alexander

Claire (Alexandra Breckenridge), a savvy venture capitalist from New York City, escapes to a quaint town in Vermont for the holidays and becomes a guest of the Fortenbury Bookstore. Upon arrival, Claire finds Christmas celebrations have been canceled by the town after a flood and the bookstore is in a dire state of disrepair. She immediately takes on the challenge to revitalize the store, but clashes with the owner, Andrew (Jamie Spilchuk), who initially rejects all her proposed improvements. Eventually, sparks fly as the two begin a budding romance, and Claire’s infectious optimism inspires Andrew to join her in reviving the yuletide spirit. But everything comes to a screeching halt when Claire discovers that Andrew is planning to sell the bookstore in the New Year. Will the spirit of Christmas be enough to change Andrew’s mind and encourage him to follow his heart? Christmas Around the Corner is produced by Neshama Entertainment in association with MarVista Entertainment. Danielle Von Zerneck serves as executive producer. Megan Follows directs with a script by Michael Murray.

Christmas Pen Pals
December 15th at 8 p.m.
Starring Sarah Drew, Niall Matter & Michael Gross

Following an unexpected breakup weeks before Christmas, Hannah (Sarah Drew), tech wiz and creator of the dating app, Perfect One, heads home for the holidays, challenged to save her failing business by re-conceiving a new romantic dating model. Upon her return she runs into her high school boyfriend, Sam (Niall Matter) who she has carefully avoided for years and reluctantly makes a deal with her dad, Ted (Michael Gross) to sign up for the town’s Christmas Cupid, an anonymous holiday pen pal service. As the season progresses, Hannah is smitten by each beautifully written letter she receives and starts to believe that her Christmas pen pal could be her soul mate. It’s not until Christmas Eve that everyone must reveal their true identities to their pen pals, even if it means coming face to face with the last person they ever expected. Christmas Pen Pals is produced by Pen Pals Films, Inc. and Christian Bruyere. Linda Kent, Jack Grossbart and Howard Braunstein serve as executive producers. Siobhan Devine serves as director with a script written by Carley Smale.

Hometown Christmas
December 16th at 8 p.m.
Starring Beverley Mitchell, Stephen Colletti, Melissa Gilbert & Danny Boaz

Back in Louisiana for Christmas, Noelle Collins (Beverley Mitchell) has big plans to resurrect the town’s live nativity, a beloved tradition that her late mother used to put on. Things become complicated, however, when Noelle runs into her high school sweetheart, Nick Russell (Stephen Colletti), a rising baseball star also back home due to a recent injury. Still feeling the burn from their senior year break-up, their lives are pushed together even further when they learn their parents share an attraction and want to be more than just friends. When things begin to fall apart with the live nativity Nick and Noelle reluctantly team up to pull off the show and find themselves growing close, uncovering a hometown love for each other and the joy of Christmas that both never really faded away. Hometown Christmas is produced by Active Entertainment. Ken Badish and Daniel Lewis serve as executive producers. Emily Moss Wilson and Marcy Holland serve as writers and Emily Moss Wilson directs.

A Christmas Arrangement
November 21st at 10 p.m.
(Acquired Original – Worldwide Premiere)

Flower shop owner Poppy (Nicky Whelan), enters the annual holiday floral show for a chance to win the grand prize but standing in her way of victory is Garrett (Miles Fisher), the underappreciated protégé of florist extraordinaire, Blair (Daphne Zuniga). While Poppy and Garrett’s rivalry heats up on the flower show floor, an undeniable romance begins amidst a whimsical holiday backdrop. A Christmas Arrangement is produced by The Ninth House.

Every Other Holiday
November 23rd at 10 p.m.
(Acquired Original – Worldwide Premiere)

Recently separated parents Tracie (Schuyler Fisk) and Rick (David Clayton Rogers), spend every other holiday with their young daughters Harper and Ava. But this Christmas, the girls have only one thing on their wish lists—to spend Christmas with both Mom and Dad at Tracie’s family farmhouse. The temporary reunion will be no walk in the park for Tracie and Rick, but perhaps this Christmas gathering can help rekindle the lost romance between the two and make their daughters’ greatest wish come true. Every Other Holiday also stars Dee Wallace, Glenn Morshower, Abby James Witherspoon and is produced by MarVista Entertainment.

Christmas Harmony
November 24th at 10 p.m.
(Acquired Original – Worldwide Premiere)

Soft-spoken Harmony (Kelley Jakle), is used to living in the shadow of her pop star boyfriend, but when he breaks up with her right before the holiday season, she returns to her quaint hometown to discover the heart and music that her big city life has been missing. A Christmas Harmony also stars Chandra Wilson, Adam Mayfield, Sally Struthers and is produced by June Street Studios.

Christmas Perfection
November 25th at 10 p.m.
(Acquired Original – Worldwide Premiere)

As a kid, Darcy (Caitlin Thompson) had no control over her family’s holidays and thus, has grown up to be a Christmas control freak – so much so that she loses sight of what the holidays actually mean. Suddenly, she finds herself magically transported into her idea of the perfect Christmas Village and learns that “perfection” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Christmas Perfection also stars James Henri-Thomas, Robbie Silverman and is produced by MarVista Entertainment.

Love for Christmas
December 1st at 10 p.m.

When Heather, a local theater director, and Bobby run into each other upon his return home after leaving for the Navy years prior, they quickly realize that their mutual childhood crush might lead to an unexpected romance. Produced by MarVista Entertainment, Love for Christmas stars Shantel Vansanten, Rob Mayes, Nikki Deloach, Mark Famiglietti, Alex Peters, Peter Holden, Matt Corboy, Maxim Knight and Orson Bean.

A Star for Christmas
December 2nd at 10 p.m.

Cupcakery owner Cassie can’t help falling for her hunky new customer, but when he turns out to be action superstar Alex Gray, will their relationship survive Hollywood and the holidays? Produced by MarVista Entertainment, A Star for Christmas stars Corey Sevier, Briana Evigan, Karissa Vacker, Travis Van Winkle, Jeremy Howard, Sean Stone and Brooke Burns.

A Christmas Kiss
December 21st at 8 p.m.

High-end interior designer Priscilla and her assistant Wendy, vie for the attention of Priscilla’s socialite boyfriend while decorating his home for the holidays. Produced by MarVista Entertainment, A Christmas Kiss stars Elisabeth Röhm, Laura Breckenridge and Brendan Fehr.

A Golden Christmas
December 22nd at 8 p.m.

Several years ago, a very special dog brought together a little girl and boy. Now, through an incredible coincidence, these two long-lost friends will reconnect during Christmas. Produced by MarVista Entertainment, A Golden Christmas stars Andrea Roth, Nicholas Brendon, Bruce Davison, Elisa Donovan, Jason London and Alley Mills.

3 Holiday Tails
December 23rd at 8 p.m.

David and Lisa are meant to be together, but they haven’t quite figured that out yet. With help from family, friends, and four lovable dogs, this couple will truly have a Christmas to remember. Produced by MarVista Entertainment,3 Holiday Tails stars Julie Gonzalo, Kelly Stables, KC Clyde, Alley Mills and Bruce Davison.

Gail O’Grady on “CRIMINAL MINDS,” WEDNESDAY, OCT. 10

(9/17/18) “Starter Home” – When the mummified remains of numerous victims are found in the walls of an elderly couple’s remote South Carolina home, Rossi, J.J. and Simmons are dispatched to track down a trail of clues that date back over 20 years. The hunt becomes urgent after BAU learns the killer has a specific ritual of when to strike, and like clockwork another person goes missing. Also, Rossi reconnects with his ex-wife, Krystall (Gail O’Grady), on CRIMINAL MINDS, Wednesday, Oct. 10 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

NBC Buys Music Drama From ‘Nashville’ Alums, Milo Ventimiglia & Craig Brewer

(8/17/18) Former Nashville executive producers Meredith Lavender and Marcie Ulin are returning to the music industry scene with a new drama series project. The duo has teamed with This Is Us star Milo Ventimiglia and Craig Brewer, writer-director of music-themed series Empire and movie Hustle & Flow, for a one-hour series pitch that has landed at NBC with a script commitment plus penalty. The drama hails from Ventimiglia and Russ Cundiff’s DiVide Pictures and 20th Century Fox TV, where Lavender, Ulin and DiVide are under deals.

Written by Lavender and Ulin, the untitled project centers on gifted musician Madison, who fears her life in the music business is over after an epic breakdown on stage goes viral. With a new boldness she teams up with her musical prodigy sisters to form a band that might be more than what they bargained for. Thrust into a world that is far more cutthroat and challenging than they ever imagined, they try to balance their individual ambitions, dreams and secrets while trying to survive the roller coaster that is fame and success.

Lavender and Ulin executive produce with Ventimiglia and Cundiff via DiVide with Brewer, who also attached to direct.

Lavender and Ulin worked on soapy country music drama Nashville for its entire four-season run on ABC, rising to executive producers. Under their 20th TV deal, the duo also recently worked on Fox’s The Gifted. They are repped by CAA and attorney Todd Rubenstein at Barnes Morris.

Ventimiglia has earned two Emmy nominations for lead actor in a drama series for his portrayal of Jack on NBC/20th TV’s praised series This Is Us, which is going into its third season. He’s repped by WME, Management 360 and McKuin Frankel Whitehead.

Brewer is co-executive producer on Fox’s Empire. In features, he most recently co-wrote the screenplay for The Legend of Tarzan, which has grossed more than $356 million worldwide.

Tell Me a Story Gets Premiere Date, Trailer With Twisted Red Riding Hood

(8/6/18) (Video) Paul Wesley’s Vampire Diaries follow-up finally has a premiere date — and it’s fittingly frightful.

CBS All Access has announced that Tell Me a Story, its psychological thriller which reunites Wesley with Vampire Diaries EP Kevin Williamson, will launch on Wednesday, Oct. 31 aka Halloween. Season 1’s 10 episodes will be released weekly.

A trailer for the series gives a taste of its sick spins on Little Red Riding Hood, Three Little Pigs and Hansel and Gretel.

Tell Me a Story is a serialized drama that takes classic fairy tales — such as The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel — and spins them into a subversive story of love, loss, greed, revenge and murder in modern-day New York City.

The series boasts an ensemble that includes James Wolk (Zoo), Billy Magnussen (People v. O.J.), Dania Ramirez (Once Upon a Time), Danielle Campbell (The Originals), Dorian Missick (Marvel’s Luke Cage), Michael Raymond-James (Once Upon a Time), Davi Santos (Law & Order True Crime), Sam Jaeger (Parenthood), Zabryna Guevara (Gotham) and Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City).

Tell Me a Story joins CBS All Access’ ever-growing slate of originals, which includes Star Trek: Discovery, The Good Fight, Strange Angel and No Activity. Upcoming series include One Dollar (premiering Thursday, Aug. 30), Jordan Peele’s Twilight Zone reboot and another, as-yet-untitled Star Trek series series centered on Sir Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard.

Vampire Diaries' Paul Wesley Goes Very Dark in CBS All Access' Fairytale Drama Tell Me a Story: 'It's So Not Stefan'

(7/20/18) (Video) CBS All Access’ upcoming fairytale-inspired drama Tell Me a Story reteams Kevin Williamson and Paul Wesley for the first time since their Vampire Diaries days. But one thing is not like the other.

“Thus far, there’s nothing supernatural about [this] series,” Wesley told me in TVLine’s Comic-Con interview suite on Thursday. “It’s grounded. It’s in New York City. It’s the real world. It’s modern day. So I’m working with Kevin in a different capacity.”

Another big difference between Vampire Diaries and Story: Wesley is not playing a hero. “He’s a complete derelict,” the actor explained. “He abuses substances, he obviously has a lot of trauma in his life… And his life takes a turn for the worse.”

And as Williamson tells it, Wesley has more than risen to the challenge. “It’s so not Stefan,” the EP shared. “It’s so different from anything he’s done. I’m very excited for everyone to see what an amazing actor he is beyond the Vampire Diaries.”

Williamson is also enthused for viewers to see co-star James Wolk (Zoo, The Crazy Ones) eschew his white knight persona in the series. “He looks like this nice guy,” Williamson noted with a chuckle. “But he’s going to go to a very dark place.”

2018 Emmy Nominations

(7/12/18) LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA (2017 winner: Sterling K. Brown)
Jason Bateman, Ozark
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Ed Harris, Westworld
Matthew Rhys, The Americans
Milo Ventimiglia, This Is Us
Jeffrey Wright, Westworld.

Vampire Diaries' Paul Wesley Joins Cast of CBS All Access' Tell Me a Story, Reuniting With Kevin Williamson

(6/12/18) The Vampire Diaries co-creator/executive producer Kevin Williamson has recruited one of the stars of the long-running CW drama, Paul Wesley, for his new series, psychological thriller Tell Me a Story on CBS All Access.

Wesley has been tapped for a lead role opposite The Originals alumna Danielle Campbell, Billy Magnussen and Kim Catrall in the straight-to-series drama, from Williamson and Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment.

Written by Williamson, Tell Me a Story takes the world’s most beloved fairy tales and reimagines them as a dark and twisted psychological thriller. Set in modern day New York City, the first season of this serialized drama interweaves “The Three Little Pigs,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” and “Hansel and Gretel” into an epic and subversive tale of love, loss, greed, revenge and murder.

Wesley plays Eddie, a derelict and troubled individual whose petulance is fueled even more by his problems with drugs and alcohol. Although he works as a bartender, he also splits his time as a low-level drug dealer and part-time thief with his older brother Mitch, who never fails to treat Eddie as the lowly delinquent that he is.

Campbell plays Kayla. Catrall plays her grandmother.

Williamson executive produces with Kapital’s Aaron Kaplan and Dana Honor. Liz Friedlander directs and executive produces the first two episodes.

Wesley played vampire Stefan on The Vampire Diaries for the series’ eight-season run. Since TVD ended in March 2017, he starred in two off-Broadway plays, Cal in Camo opposite David Harbour at The Rattlestick Theatre and Zurich at New York Theatre Workshop. He also has a featured role in Robert Zemeckis’s upcoming Netflix miniseries Medal Of Honor.

Wesley, whose production company Citizen Media has multiple TV series projects in development at various networks and studios, is repped by ICM Partners, Management 360, and attorney Marcy Morris.

‘Blossom’ star Joey Lawrence’s bankruptcy case ends

(4/10/18) Joey Lawrence’s financial “whoas!” are working themselves out.

The “Blossom” star, 41, has settled his debts — but some of his creditors, including the IRS, won’t be receiving full payment, according to The Blast.

Financial documents reveal the trustee presiding over Lawrence’s bankruptcy case collected about $75,600 to pay back his many creditors. After paying off legal fees, Lawrence had about $52,500 left over to be paid out to those who are owed money.

The IRS will be paid $31,000 out of $67,000 owed, while the State of California Franchise Tax Board will only be paid half of a $14,000 claim, according to court documents obtained by The Blast.

Ford Motor Company won’t receive any payment, despite claiming a $42,000 debt, and BMW won’t receive any of the $50,000 it’s owed, either.

As Page Six previously reported, Lawrence’s Ford Flex and BMW had been repossessed.

Jason Gedrick & Gail O'Grady Guest on Criminal Minds 3/28/18

(3/12/18) “The Dance of Love” – The BAU travels to Chicago to investigate an unsub who leaves red roses on each victim. Also, Rossi gets an unexpected visit from his ex-wife, Krystall Richards (Gail O’Grady), on CRIMINAL MINDS, Wednesday, March 28 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Linn Bjornland(Cheryl Kaline), Jason Gedrick (Craig Kaline), Gail O’Grady (Krystall Richards).

‘Blossom’ actor Joey Lawrence files for bankruptcy

(3/9/18) Talk about financial “whoas!”

Joey Lawrence and his wife’s finances became so dire last year that they started selling clothes and other accessories on eBay and at Buffalo Exchange, according to The Blast.

With the family’s expenses leaving them $18,000 in debt every month, the “Blossom” actor and wife, Chandie Lawrence, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last July. Lawrence listed assets totaling about $44,000 and liabilities in excess of $355,000, the documents show.

The “Melissa & Joey” actor’s debts include $88,000 in back taxes, $132,000 in credit card debt, $32,000 for an unpaid loan, nearly $100,000 owed for automobiles and $54,000 in unpaid rent.

Lawrence noted that he earns about $4,100 per month and his wife is unemployed. The steep drop from his typical salary of about $500,000 is a result of ABC Family (now Freeform) canceling “Melissa & Joey” after five seasons in 2015.

He expects to land more acting roles in the future.

Their three cars, a Bentley, a BMW and a Ford Flex, have been repossessed.

Joey and his wife had their debt discharged but the bankruptcy is still pending.

Timothy Hutton To Star In ‘Main Justice’; David Semel To Direct, Sunil Nayar Set As Showrunner Of CBS Pilot

(2/21/18) Coming off an Emmy-nominated starring turn on John Ridley’s acclaimed ABC anthology drama series American Crime, Timothy Hutton has been tapped to star opposite Bokeem Woodbine in CBS’ legal drama pilot Main Justice.

Additionally, top pilot director David Semel, who has directed the pilots for such CBS series as Person of Interest, Madam Secretary, Code Black and Pure Genius, as well as the opening episode of CBS All Access’ Star Trek: Discovery, has come on board to direct. Former Revenge showrunner Sunil Nayar has been tapped as executive producer/showrunner.

Written by Sascha Penn and inspired by the life and work of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Main Justice centers around Miles Blair (Woodbine), the recently sworn-in U.S. Attorney General. The show takes us into the tumultuous world of the 5th floor of the Department of Justice where he takes on the biggest legal and investigative cases in the country all while being the youngest person to ever hold such an esteemed position.

Hutton will play Deputy Attorney General Thomas Yarrow, a man whose ego is only matched by the money he spends on his wardrobe. Yarrow was the interim Attorney General prior to Miles’ (Woodbine) appointment, and is immediately critical of the new Attorney General’s decisions.

Main Justice hails from CBS Television Studios and Jerry Bruckheimer Television. Holder and Penn executive produce alongside Nayar, Semel as well as Jerry Bruckheimer TV’s Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman and KristieAnne Reed.

Hutton, an Oscar winner for Ordinary People, also toplined TNT’s drama series Leverage. On the feature side, he recently co-starred in Ridley Scott’s All the Money In the World. He is repped by WME, Untitled Entertainment and Jackoway Tyerman.

Semel, who also helmed the pilot for Amazon’s hit drama The Man In the High Castle, is repped by CAA and attorney Bruce Gellman.

This marks a return to CBS and CBS TV Studios for Nayar who spent seven seasons on CSI: Miami, rising from co-producer to executive producer. He is repped by CAA and attorney David Fox.

Midnight, Texas Renewed for Season 2 — Find Out Who Won't Be Back

(2/14/18) Midnight, Texas forever! (Or, at least for another season.)

NBC has renewed the supernatural drama based on Charlaine Harris’ novels for a second season, TVLine has learned.

Most of the series’ regulars — François Arnaud, Dylan Bruce, Parisa Fitz-Henley, Arielle Kebbel and Jason Lewis — are confirmed to return. (You’ll notice this list does not include Yul Vazquez, who played holy man/weretiger Rev. Emilio Sheehan, and Sarah Ramos, who played Manfred’s love interest Creek.)

Nicole Snyder and Eric Charmelo, who were consulting producers on Season 1, will serve as co-showrunners for Season 2, replacing Season 1 showrunner Monica Owusu-Breen. Snyder and Charmelo will executive-produce alongside returning EP David Janollari.

“I am stoked at the prospect of a second season of Midnight, Texas,” Harris said via statement. “I can’t wait to revisit my favorite town to discover what its inhabitants have been up to the past few months. Now the viewers, who’ve been asking me questions daily, will have their reward.”

Season 1 ended with Arnaud’s Manfred defeating the demon Colcannar, who threatened to obliterate the veil separating the supernatural world from ours. Though the victory saved the day, the quirky desert town was soon hit with another invasion: developers, who looked to turn the supernatural hideout into a tourist mecca.

The summer show’s Season 1 finale had 2.78 million viewers and a 0.8 demo rating.

Milo Ventimiglia’s ‘Madtown’ Movie Gets January Release Date

(12/27/17) Madtown, the drama thriller toplined by This Is Us star Mila Ventimiglia, has been acquired by SP Releasing. The deal for U.S. rights means the pic written and directed by Charles C. Moore will get a January 5 limited release in theaters and on-demand via SP’s output deal with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

The pic centers on Briggs (Ventimiglia), a troubled young man who flashes back to the demons of his past when his sister is released from her 20-year prison sentence for the murder of their parents. Briggs must confront his estranged sister and deal with the past, while fighting to protect his future and the new life he has rebuilt for himself.

Rachel Melvin, John Billingsley, Bonita Friedericy and Amanda Aday co-star.

The deal for the film was negotiated by Tiffany Boyle and Katherine Imp at Ramo Law.

Brittany Snow Drops By To Talk About "Pitch Perfect 3"

(12/15/17) (Video) Brittany Snow, star of "Pitch Perfect 3," stopped by the BUILD stage to chat about the highly-anticipated movie. Now graduated from college and out in the real world where it takes more than a cappella to get by, the Bellas return in "Pitch Perfect 3." After the highs of winning the World Championships, the Bellas find themselves split apart and discovering there aren't job prospects for making music with your mouth. But when they get the chance to reunite for an overseas USO tour, this group of awesome nerds comes together to make some music, and some questionable decisions, one last time.

SAG Awards Nominations

(12/13/17) Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

THE CROWN (Netflix)
CLAIRE FOY / Queen Elizabeth II
VICTORIA HAMILTON / Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
VANESSA KIRBY / Princess Margaret
ANTON LESSER / Prime Minister Harold Macmillan
MATT SMITH / Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

GAME OF THRONES (HBO)
ALFIE ALLEN / Theon Greyjoy
JACOB ANDERSON / Grey Worm
PILOU ASBÆK / Euron Greyjoy
HAFÞÓR JÚLÍUS BJÖRNSSON / The Mountain
JOHN BRADLEY / Samwell Tarly
JIM BROADBENT / Archmaester Ebrose
GWENDOLINE CHRISTIE / Brienne
EMILIA CLARKE / Daenerys Targaryen
NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU / Jaime Lannister
LIAM CUNNINGHAM / Davos Seaworth
PETER DINKLAGE / Tyrion Lannister
RICHARD DORMER / Beric Dondarrion
NATHALIE EMMANUEL / Missandei
JAMES FAULKNER / Randyll Tarly
JEROME FLYNN / Bronn
AIDAN GILLEN / Petyr Baelish
IAIN GLEN / Jorah Mormont
KIT HARINGTON / Jon Snow
LENA HEADEY / Cersei Lannister
ISAAC HEMPSTEAD WRIGHT / Bran Stark
CONLETH HILL / Varys
KRISTOFER HIVJU / Tormund Giantsbane
TOM HOPPER / Dickon Tarly
ANTON LESSER / Qyburn
RORY McCANN / The Hound
STAZ NAIR / Qhono
RICHARD RYCROFT / Maester Wolkan
SOPHIE TURNER / Sansa Stark
RUPERT VANSITTART / Yohn Royce
MAISIE WILLIAMS / Arya Stark

THE HANDMAID’S TALE (Hulu)
MADELINE BREWER / Janine/Ofwarren/Ofdaniel
AMANDA BRUGEL / Rita
ANN DOWD / Aunt Lydia
O-T FAGBENLE / Luke
JOSEPH FIENNES / Commander Waterford
TATTIAWNA JONES / Ofglen #2
MAX MINGHELLA / Nick Blaine
ELISABETH MOSS / Offred/June
YVONNE STRAHOVSKI / Serena Joy
SAMIRA WILEY / Moira

STRANGER THINGS (Netflix)
SEAN ASTIN / Bob Newby
MILLIE BOBBY BROWN / Eleven
CARA BUONO / Karen Wheeler
JOE CHREST / Ted Wheeler
CATHERINE CURTIN / Claudia Henderson (Dustin’s Mom)
NATALIA DYER / Nancy Wheeler
DAVID HARBOUR / Jim Hopper
CHARLIE HEATON / Jonathan Byers
JOE KEERY / Steve Harrington
GATEN MATARAZZO / Dustin Henderson
CALEB McLAUGHLIN / Lucas Sinclair
DACRE MONTGOMERY / Billy
PAUL REISER / Dr. Owens
WINONA RYDER / Joyce Byers
NOAH SCHNAPP / Will Byers
SADIE SINK / Max
FINN WOLFHARD / Mike Wheeler

THIS IS US (NBC)
ERIS BAKER / Tess Pearson
ALEXANDRA BRECKENRIDGE / Sophie
STERLING K. BROWN / Randall Pearson
LONNIE CHAVIS / Young Randall
JUSTIN HARTLEY / Kevin Pearson
FAITHE HERMAN / Annie Pearson
RON CEPHAS JONES / William Hill
CHRISSY METZ / Kate Pearson
MANDY MOORE / Rebecca Pearson
CHRIS SULLIVAN / Toby Damon
MILO VENTIMIGLIA / Jack Pearson
SUSAN KELECHI WATSON / Beth Pearson
HANNAH ZEILE / Teenage Kate

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
BLACK-ISH (ABC)
ANTHONY ANDERSON / Andre “Dre” Johnson
MILES BROWN / Jack Johnson
DEON COLE / Charlie Telphy
LAURENCE FISHBURNE / Pops
JENIFER LEWIS / Ruby
PETER MACKENZIE / Mr. Stevens
MARSAI MARTIN / Diane Johnson
JEFF MEACHAM / Josh
TRACEE ELLIS ROSS / Dr. Rainbow Johnson
MARCUS SCRIBNER / Andre Johnson, Jr.
YARA SHAHIDI / Zoey Johnson

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM (HBO)
TED DANSON / Himself
LARRY DAVID / Himself
SUSIE ESSMAN / Susie Greene
JEFF GARLIN / Jeff Greene
CHERYL HINES / Cheryl David
JB SMOOVE / Leon Black

GLOW (Netflix)
BRITT BARON / Justine Biagi
ALISON BRIE / Ruth Wilder
KIMMY GATEWOOD / Stacey Beswick
BETTY GILPIN / Debbie Eagan
REBEKKA JOHNSON / Dawn Rivecca
CHRIS LOWELL / Bash
SUNITA MANI / Arthie Premkumar
MARC MARON / Sam Sylvia
KATE NASH / Rhonda Richardson
SYDELLE NOEL / Cherry Bang
MARIANNA PALKA / Reggie Walsh
GAYLE RANKIN / Sheila the She-Wolf
BASHIR SALAHUDDIN / Keith
RICH SOMMER / Mark
KIA STEVENS / Tammé Dawson
JACKIE TOHN / Melanie Rosen
ELLEN WONG / Jenny Chey
BRITNEY YOUNG / Carmen Wade

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK (Netflix)
UZO ADUBA / Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren
EMILY ALTHAUS / Maureen Kukudio
DANIELLE BROOKS / Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson
ROSAL COLÓN / Ouija
JACKIE CRUZ / Marisol “Flaca” Gonzales
FRANCESCA CURRAN / Helen Van Maele
DANIELLA DE JESÚS / Zirconia
LEA DeLARIA / Big Boo
NICK DILLENBURG / CO Blake
ASIA KATE DILLON / Brandy Epps
BETH DOVER / Linda Ferguson
KIMIKO GLENN / Brook Soso
ANNIE GOLDEN / Norma Romano
LAURA GÓMEZ / Blanca Flores
DIANE GUERRERO / Maritza Ramos
EVAN ARTHUR HALL / CO Stratman
MICHAEL J. HARNEY / Sam Healy
BRAD WILLIAM HENKE / Desi Piscatella
MIKE HOUSTON / CO Lee Dixon
VICKY JEUDY / Janae Watson
KELLY KARBACZ / Kasey Sankey
JULIE LAKE / Angie Rice
SELENIS LEYVA / Gloria Mendoza
NATASHA LYONNE / Nicky Nichols
TARYN MANNING / Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett
ADRIENNE C. MOORE / Cindy Hayes
MIRIAM MORALES / Pidge
KATE MULGREW / Galina “Red” Reznikov
EMMA MYLES / Leanne Taylor
JOHN PALLADINO / Josh
MATT PETERS / Joel Luschek
JESSICA PIMENTEL / Maria Ruiz
DASCHA POLANCO / Dayanara Diaz
LAURA PREPON / Alex Vause
JOLENE PURDY / Stephanie Hapakuka
ELIZABETH RODRIGUEZ / Aleida Diaz
NICK SANDOW / Joe Caputo
ABIGAIL SAVAGE / Gina Murphy
TAYLOR SCHILLING / Piper Chapman
CONSTANCE SHULMAN / Yoga Jones
DALE SOULES / Frieda Berlin
YAEL STONE / Lorna Morello
EMILY TARVER / CO Artesian McCullough
MICHAEL TORPEY / CO Thomas Humphrey
LIN TUCCI / Anita DeMarco.

Joey Lawrence Says a Blossom Reboot May Happen

(12/12/17) Thanks to the revivals of Full House, Will and Grace, Gilmore Girls, and even Roseanne, throwback television is all the rage right now. In keeping with the tradition that all your old small screen favorites are still relevant, it looks like the creators of Blossom may just be considering a potential new future for the hit '90s teen dramedy as well.

Actor Joey Lawrence appeared on The Steve Harvey Show Monday and said that there are legitimate conversations about a potential reunion series.

"There has been serious talk about it, believe it or not," Lawrence said. "Miyam [Bialik] and I have both said we'd be into it. We've talked to Don Reo about it, who created it, if there's a way then I think we're all down for it."

Lawrence even has a pitch for where his character, Joey Russo, would be at in life by the time said revival picked up.

"The show ended where he went off to play baseball. He was a really good baseball player. So, I think that he went, had a great career, probably got married several times. He was always going on dates," he explained. "Then I think that he came home now for the first time in a long time. Maybe his career's over, [he is] mid to late-30s, and he's gotta find something else to do with his life. 'Cause, you know, he doesn't have much to fall back on because [his] brain isn't firing on all cylinders."

In its original run, Blossom lasted for five seasons on NBC and earned similar fanfare as fellow teen sitcoms Beverly Hills 90210 and Saved by the Bell.

Brittany Snow Sued Over 2016 Car Crash

(12/12/17) Brittany Snow's allegedly heavy foot just got her sued.

Jose Erazo Gomez ?is suing the 'Pitch Perfect' star after he says he was rear-ended at a high rate of speed back in July 2016. In docs, obtained by TMZ, Gomez says the other driver's failure to stop caused him catastrophic injuries.

We're told Brittany was the one behind the wheel, but Jose is also suing her mom, Cindy. In docs, Gomez says he suffered shock and injury to his nervous system. We're told that includes a disc tear in his neck.

He's suing for unspecified damages. We've reached out to Brittany, so far no word back.

‘This Is Us’ Star Milo Ventimiglia Joins Jennifer Lopez In ‘Second Act’ From STX

(11/1/17) Milo Ventimiglia of NBC’s audience and critically adored series This Is Us has come aboard the Jennifer Lopez-starring comedy, Second Act, to play her long-time boyfriend, Trey. The pic, which hails from STXfilms and director Peter Segal, follows a big-box store employee (Lopez), who is given the chance to prove to Madison Avenue that street smarts are as valuable as a college degree.

Leah Remini, Vanessa Hudgens, Dan Bucatinsky, Annaleigh Ashford and Freddie Stroma will also co-star in the film, which is currently shooting in New York. Justin Zackham and Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas wrote the screenplay and are producers on the project along with Lopez and Benny Medina.

Ventimiglia, also known for his role in Gilmore Girls and NBC’s Heroes, is repped by WME, Management 360 and McKuin Frankel Whitehead.

Milo Ventimiglia To Produce King Lear-Themed Drama, Michael Jacobs Comedy & Couples Reality Project For Fox

(10/24/17) This Is Us star Milo Ventimiglia and his longtime producing partner Russ Cundiff have sold three projects to Fox via their DiVide Pictures — drama Cordelia, a Latino take on King Lear from Ice co-creator Robert Munic; The End, a multi-camera comedy from Boy Meets World and Girl Meets World co-creator Michael Jacobs; and Committed, a reality series project about couples from David Leepson (Rich Kids Of Beverly Hills)

Ventimiglia and Cundiff executive produce all three projects, which hail from This Is Us studio 20th Century Fox TV where DiVide has a deal.

Written/executive produced By Robert Munic, Cordelia is a modern re-telling of the King Lear story set to the back drop of a strong Cuban family and the three sisters running the scene in Miami. Told through the eyes of the one daughter who truly loved her father, Cordelia delves into a world of secrets, lies and complex family bonds that are constantly tested but ultimately never broken.

Written/executive produced by Michael Jacobs, The End is a multi-camera, multi-generational comedy about a wildly mismatched couple, Joey and Marla, who have uniquely flawed children and Marla’s divorced parents living with them. They are possibly the worst family in the world. But in spite of their differences, Joey and Marla come to realize it’s possible they’re in love. Maybe that’s enough to save them all.

The unscripted Committed is the story of four couples going through the different phrases of life: marriage, having a baby, divorce and old age. Leepson executive produces with Stephanie Lydecker.

Jacobs is repped by WME. Munic is repped by Verve, the Gotham Group and attorney David Fox.

DiVide Pictures is producing Relationship Status for Go90. The company’s series producing credits also include Chosen, Ultradome and The PET Squad Files. DiVide is repped by WME and McKuin Frankel Whitehead.

Freeform Developing ‘Tapped’ Drama From ‘PLL’s Marlene King & ‘TVD’s Paul Wesley

(10/13/17) Former The Vampire Diaries star Paul Wesley has teamed with Pretty Little Liars developer/showrunner I. Marlene King for Tapped, a drama series project, which has been set up at Freeform.

Written by Thomas Brandon based on the novel in progress by Andrew Shaffer (How To Survive A Sharknado), Tapped is described as The Social Network meets Pretty Little Liars. It centers around three grad students who create a hookup app called Tapped that goes viral and turns the students into overnight millionaires, but also unleashes unwitting dangers into the world that the creators must try to understand and control.

King executive produces through her Long Lake Media alongside Wesley and Bob Levy via Citizen Media. Brandon is co-executive producer. Warner Horizon Scripted Television, where both King and Wesley are under overall deals, is the studio.

King developed, executive produced and ran Freeform’s signature drama Pretty Little Liars which wrapped its seven-season run last spring. She’s currently shepherding the Pretty Little Liars’ spinoff The Perfectionists, which received a pilot order at the cable network, along with the Freeform series Famous In Love.

Brandon is an LA-based screenwriter and director who has done several short films, a produced playwright and former Nicholl Fellowship semi-finalist. He developed Transience at the CW last season.

Humorist and author Shaffer penned How to Survive a Sharknado and Other Unnatural Disasters and the Fifty Shades of Grey parody, Fifty Shames of Earl Grey under the pen name Fanny Merkin.

Levy was an executive producer on The Vampire Diaries before teaming with Wesley at Citizen Media. Tapped reunites Levy with King as he also previously served as an executive producer on PLL.

Wesley starred as Stefan Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries. He began directing The Vampire Diaries in its fifth season and began produced the series at the start of season 8. He also directed an episode of Shadowhunters for Freeform.

This is Citizen Media’s second project at Freeform, along with a Shanghai drama written by Oanh Ly. The company is repped by ICM Partners, Management 360 and Jackoway Tyerman. Long Lake Media is repped by WME. Brandon is repped by Paradigm and Lee Stobby Entertainment.

Joey Lawrence Recurs on Hawaii Five-0 11/3/17

(10/13/17) “Kama’oma’o, ka ‘aina huli hana” – At Halloween, Five-0 must investigate a string of murders that mirror stories from well-known Hawaiian folklore. Also, Grover is called to visit a man hours away from execution who may hold the key to a case that has plagued Grover for years, on HAWAII FIVE-0, Friday, Nov. 3 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. (“Kama’oma’o, ka ‘aina huli hana” is Hawaiian for “At Kama’oma’o, The Land of Activities”)

RECURRING: Joey Lawrence (Aaron Wright), Claire Forlani (Alicia Brown)

Joey Lawrence Recurs on Hawaii Five-0 10/20/17

(9/29/17) “E uhi wale no 'a'ole e nalo, he imu puhi” – The lives of Five-0’s informants are in danger when the HPD system is hacked and one ends up dead, forcing McGarrett to enlist the help of hacker Aaron Wright (Joey Lawrence), who he just imprisoned, on HAWAII FIVE-0, Friday, Oct. 20 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Denise Richards, Joey Lawrence Join ‘Pistachio’

(9/22/17) Denise Richards and Joey Lawrence have come aboard the family adventure film Pistachio, from director Anna Elizabeth James. It revolves around a young girl and her friend who team up against two local boys on an epic horseback riding adventure in the country. Richards is playing a best-selling New Age author, who hosts her suburban niece over the summer on a Dr. Doolittle-esque ranch. Madeline Carroll, Cassi Thomson and Nick Searcy also are cast in the film, which Tyler W. Konney is producing in his second film collaboration with James. Taylor & Dodge developed and financed the project in-house. Richards (Starship Troopers, The World Is Not Enough) is repped by Abrams Artists and LINK, while Lawrence (Melissa & Joey, Blossom) is with Innovative and Link.

Why Milo Ventimiglia would ‘never’ date Hayden again

(9/14/17) Milo Ventimiglia is a repeat offender when it comes to dipping in the co-worker pool.

The “This Is Us” star dated co-stars Alexis Bledel (“Gilmore Girls”) and Hayden Panettiere (“Heroes”), but in hindsight has learned a thing or two about mixing business with pleasure. Panettiere was 18 when they got together, while Ventimiglia was 30. They split after two years of high-profile dating.

“Never do it again,” Ventimiglia told Mr. Porter when asked what he learned from his experience. “There are things that happen to you in your life that shape who you are. Everything I’ve been through from jobs to friendships to partnerships, everything has built me to who I am.

“You learn from it. You learn a better way of doing things,” he continued. “It wasn’t until my mid to late twenties that the job wears on you, relationships wear on you.”

Although the 40-year-old actor wouldn’t make the same mistake again, he also said he wouldn’t take any of it back.

“I wouldn’t change a thing,” he added. “When you get knocked over the head in life, it builds your perspective.”

Milo Ventimiglia Gave the This Is Us Cast and Crew the Sweetest Season 2 Gifts

(9/14/17) You know how they say art imitates life? We're honestly not sure if the art of This Is Us is imitating Milo Ventimiglia's life or if it's the other way around, but basically, he's a real life Jack Pearson.

As a welcome back gift for Season 2, Ventimiglia had trucker hats with the Jack's Big Three Homes logo on them made for everyone on the cast and crew. He's like the dorky dad who makes family T-shirts with everyone's names emblazoned on the back before packing everyone into the minivan for a family reunion, because he wants to make everyone feel welcome.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ventimiglia explained that as No. 1 on the call sheet (a pretty important distinction on any set) it's very important for him to set the tone of the show for everyone on the cast and crew.

"I study the call sheets so that I know everyone's name," he says. For reference, on any given day a call sheet for a popular TV show can have dozens of names on it when you factor in the crew. Ventimiglia is at the top because he's considered the lead of the show, and in a way a leader in the cast and crew. Him going the extra mile to know everyone's name creates a family environment on the set -- and cements that he's the perfect Jack Pearson.

This Is Us returns Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 9/8c on NBC.

Midnight, Texas Rescheduling News: When Will the Final Episodes Air?

(9/5/17) NBC has released the new game plan for Midnight, Texas‘ final episodes, now that the freshman drama’s antepenultimate hour has been bumped by next Tuesday’s Hurricane Harvey telethon.

Originally, the supernatural series was to air two episodes next week, on Monday, Sept. 11 and Tuesday, Sept. 12 — thus landing the finale on Monday, Sept. 18.

The regular Monday outing is unaffected. But with the hour-long telethon airing that Tuesday at 8/7c (followed by America’s Got Talent from 9 to 11 pm), Midnight, Texas‘ ninth of 10 episodes will now air Wednesday, Sept. 13 at 10 pm. The freshman finale stays put on Monday the 18th.

Season to date, Midnight, Texas is averaging 3.2 million total viewers and a 0.8 demo rating, with the Aug. 28 episode drawing its second-largest audience of the season (3.37 mil) and matching its demo high (0.9).

This Is Us' Milo Ventimiglia Is Producing a Police Drama for NBC

(8/31/17) It looks like Milo Ventimiglia is stepping into the producing game. The This Is Us star is teaming up with NBC for an exciting new police drama centering around an elite task force working to protect their own.

According to Variety, the network is developing a new show called Greenlit about a highly-skilled group of federal agents whose impressive backgrounds include working for the FBI, Secret Service, IRS and SWAT. Their job is to protect members of law enforcement who find themselves targeted for murder (or "greenlit," as they call it) by various criminal organizations.

Ventimiglia will serve as an executive producer on the series alongside Russ Cundiff, Andrew Lenchewski (Royal Pains) and Kevin O'Hare, who will also write the script.

Phillip Noyce, whose past credits include the pilot for Tru Calling and an episode of 2016's Roots, is stepping in to direct the pilot. He's also the man behind the grossly underrated thriller Dead Calm starring Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill and Billy Zane, so Greenlit should be in good hands.

Though the series has assembled its all-star team to bring it to TV, NBC has yet to order the pilot so it may be a while before you get to see it (it ever). In the meantime, you can catch Ventimiglia contend for Greatest Dad Ever on This Is Us, which kicks off Season 2 on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 9/8c on NBC.

Joey Lawrence on Hawaii Five-0 - 9/29

(8/31/17) “'A'ole e 'olelo mai ana ke ahi ua ana ia” – McGarrett and Danny recruit Tani Rey (Meaghan Rath) to join the task force when diabolical hacker Aaron Wright (Joey Lawrence) releases a dangerous arsonist from prison, on the eighth season premiere of HAWAII FIVE-0, Friday, Sept. 29 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. The season premiere includes animation of one of McGarrett and Danny’s infamous “car-guements.” Also, Randy Couture returns, and Joey Lawrence joins his brother, Andrew, when he guest stars as Aaron Wright, a hacker.

Joey Lawrence to Guest Star on ‘Hawaii Five-0’

(8/3/17) Joey Lawrence has been cast in a guest role on “Hawaii Five-0,” Variety has learned exclusively.

Lawrence will appear in two episodes in the upcoming eighth season, playing Aaron Wright, the brother of world-class hacker Ian Wright, who Five-0 encounters when he uses his computer to free a dangerous arsonist from prison — “Hawaii Five-0” fans will remember Ian Wright was played by Nick Jonas, before the character was killed off.

Known for his roles on “Blossom” and “Brotherly Love,” Lawrence most recently was an executive producer and starred in “Melissa & Joey,” which aired from 2010 to 2015. He also recently appeared on Pop’s “Return of the Mac.” As a musician, Joey and his brothers, Matthew and Andy Lawrence, recently released the single “Lose Myself.” Lawrence is also set to release a new solo project this fall.

No date has been set for Lawrence’s two episodes on “Hawaii Five-0.” Aside from Lawrence, the CBS drama will have other new faces this season, having recently cast Meaghan Rath and Beulah Koale, and promoting Ian Anthony Dale to a series regular, following the departure of Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park over contract disputes.

Lawrence is repped by Link Entertainment.

Shondaland’s ‘Scandal’ & ‘HTGAWM’ Get New Producing Directors; Tom Verica Moves To ‘For The People’

(7/31/17) Shondaland has named Jann Turner as the new Producing Director for Scandal and Jet Wilkinson in the same role for How To Get Away With Murder, as Tom Verica moves to For The People as its Producing Director and Executive Producer.

Turner joins Scandal as the replacement for Verica. She is a prolific film and TV director known for the features White Wedding and Paradise Stop. She has directed episodes of The Bold Type, The Last Ship, Scandal, The Catch, Chicago Fire, Greys Anatomy, How To Get Away With Murder, Jane The Virgin, Grace and Frankie, Chicago PD, Chicago Med, among many others. Turner was also an on-air producer for SABC TV’s Truth Commission Special Report and she has made documentaries for Channel 4UK and eTV South Africa. She’s repped by CAA, Synchronicity Management and Gang Tyre Ramer & Brown.

Multi-hyphenate Verica has spent the last five seasons working on Scandal, most recently as Executive Producer/ Director. He also starred opposite Viola Davis as her late husband, Sam Keating, in the ABC-Shonda Rhimes hit, How To Get Away With Murder. He previously starred as Jack Pryor on NBC’s praised television drama, American Dreams, and his feature acting credits include Zodiac helmed by David Fincher, Flags Of Our Fathers directed by Clint Eastwood, Murder By Numbers, Red Dragon, Father’s Day, and Die Hard II. His other TV credits include stints on notable television shows such as House, The Closer, Grey’s Anatomy, Law & Order SVU, among others. As a well-regarded director, Verica has helmed numerous episodes of television including Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy, The Mentalist, Harry’s Law, Private Practice, Boston Legal, Ugly Betty and American Dreams.

Wilkinson is a veteran Director/Producer from Sydney, Australia who directed over 200 episodes of Australian TV drama before moving into a series producer role on Wonderland for Fremantlemedia and the Ten Network Australia. In 2015 Wilkinson expanded her career into the U.S. market, signing with Gersh Agency. In the past 12 months she has directed 15 episodes of television drama on multiple episodes of How to Get Away with Murder (ABC), Madam Secretary (CBS), Nashville (ABC/CMT), Iron Fist (Marvel/Netflix), The Punisher (Marvel/Netflix), Bull (CBS), Code Black (CBS), American Gothic (CBS) and Zoo (CBS).

These join the already announced Don Todd, Executive Producer on For the People and Paris Barclay, Producing Director and Executive Producer on the yet to be titled Grey’s Anatomy spinoff.

Rhea Seehorn & Rachel Boston Board Comedy ‘I Hate Kids’

(7/27/17) John Asher’s comedy I Hate Kids has added Better Call Saul‘s Rhea Seehorn and Witches of East End‘s Rachel Boston to its cast that already includes Tituss Burgess, Tom Everett Scott and Beth Riesgraf.

The film, which started production on July 10, follows Scott as Nick Pearson, a successful author who always has hated kids and is about to finally settle down with the perfect match. However, on the night of his wedding rehearsal dinner, 13-year old Mason (Julian Feder) shows up claiming to be his son. How does the kid know this? Because self-proclaimed psychic the Amazing Fabular (Burgess) says so. The trio set out on a journey to find Mason’s mom and, in doing so, learn about Nick’s past.

Boston will play Nick’s fiancée Sydneyof, and Seehorn will play her sister Kelly. I Hate Kids is co-written by Frank Dietz and Todd Traina and co-produced by Traina and Rachel McHale.

Boston’s deal was brokered by John Carrabino Management and the Gersh Agency, and Seehorn’s was by Randi Ross of Phoenix Artists and Alissa Vradenburg of Untitled Entertainment.

2017 Emmy Awards Nominations

(7/14/17) LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Sterling K. Brown - This is Us, NBC
Anthony Hopkins - Westworld, HBO
Bob Odenkirk - Better Call Saul, AMC
Matthew Rhys - The Americans, FX Networks
Liev Schreiber - Ray Donovan, Showtime
Kevin Spacey - House Of Cards, Netflix
Milo Ventimiglia - This is Us, NBC

‘Pitch Perfect 3’ Trailer: First Look At Final Sing-Off With Rebel Wilson, Anna Kendrick

(6/25/17) (Trailer) “We don’t do anything with dignity, okay?” Rebel Wilson’s “Fat Amy” (her ball cap reads “Make America Eat Again”) says in this first trailer for Pitch Perfect 3, and fans wouldn’t expect otherwise. Having graduated from college and finding the non-singing world a depressing place – service jobs and bull-tending apparently not being all their cracked up to be – the a cappella Bellas reunite for a USO competition in Europe, where they’ll once again sing off against snooty betters who this time even play their own instruments and write their own songs.

The third and final of the Pitch Perfect films, PP3 reunites the cast as well as characters: Returning are Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Hana Mae Lee, Ester Dean, Alexis Knapp, Chrissie Fit, Kelley Jakle, Shelley Regner, Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins. Joining the returnees are John Lithgow and Ruby Rose.

Pitch Perfect 3 is again produced by Paul Brooks of Gold Circle Entertainment and Max Handelman & Elizabeth Banks of Brownstone Productions, and is written by Kay Cannon and directed by Trish Sie. Universal releases December 22.

Take a look at the trailer above and tell us what you think.

‘The Oath’: Arlen Escarpeta Cast In Crackle Drama Series

(6/21/17) Arlen Escarpeta (The Magicians) has been cast in a key role opposite Sean Bean in Crackle’s upcoming drama series The Oath, executive produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (Power) and his G-Unit Film & Television and Storied Media Group LLC. Production begins in Puerto Rico next month? with premiere slated for 2018.

Written and created by former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy Joe Halpin (Hawaii Five-0), the 10-episode original series explores a different kind of subculture – gangs made up of those sworn to protect and defend. Escarpeta will play Damon Byrd, an undercover FBI agent trying to find his footing.

Escarpeta currently recurs as Prince Ess on Syfy’s The Magicians. He co-starred in the role of Bobby Brown in Lifetime film Whitney, and his feature credits include Into The Storm, Final Destination 5, Brotherhood, and the Friday the 13th remake. He’s repped by Don Buchwald and Associates and Karen Forman Management.

Milo Ventimiglia almost quit acting to become a mechanic

(6/19/17) Milo Ventimiglia hasn’t always been all in with acting.

The 39-year-old almost took a shockingly different route after his series “Gilmore Girls” was over. Ventimiglia told People that he was “going to be an auto mechanic” because he felt “the business was getting in the way” — a career he’d considered earlier on in his life, too.

He admitted to feeling “fed up” and like he “wasn’t there yet in other people’s eyes,” but right before quitting he was cast in “Rocky Balboa” and the NBC series “Heroes,” which he said, “kind of sent me on the next six, seven years.”

After “Heroes” was canceled but before Ventimiglia was cast in current NBC hit “This Is Us,” he hit another bump that almost sent him out of the country.

“I have dual citizenship with Italy,” he told People. “I was like, ‘I’m gonna sell everything, I’m going to fly to Rome, I’m gonna buy a motorcycle, I’m going to ride around until I can find a farm I can work on. I’m going to shave my head, I’m gonna grow a beard and I’m going to work on a farm … just lead a very different life very far away.’”

Nevertheless, Ventimiglia landed a big role on “This Is Us,” and now it looks like he’s here to stay.

2017 Teen Choice Awards Nominees

(6/19/17) The Teen Choice Awards air Sunday, Aug. 13 on Fox.

Choice Drama TV Actor (#ChoiceDramaTVActor)
Cole Sprouse – “Riverdale”
Ian Harding – “Pretty Little Liars”
Jesse Williams – “Grey’s Anatomy”
Jussie Smollett – “Empire”
Milo Ventimiglia – “This Is Us”
Sterling K. Brown – “This Is Us”

‘Devil’s Gate’ Tribeca Clip: Milo Ventimiglia’s Family Goes Missing In Suspense Thriller

(4/5/17) (Video) Here’s a peek at the upcoming indie thriller Devil’s Gate, from first-time director Clay Staub, which will have its world premiere April 24 at the Tribeca Film Festival. It stars This Is Us’ Milo Ventimiglia as Jackson Pritchard, a reclusive man with a troubled past who is dealing with the disappearance of his wife and son.

“You guys go to the right place? Does this look normal?” From the opening of the clip that sees an FBI agent (Amanda Schull) and police officer (Shawn Ashmore) pulling up to Jackson’s eerie, secluded farm to investigate the incident. The two become trapped with Jackson as night falls, and nothing is as it seems.

Bridget Regan and Jonathan Frakes co-star in the film, which Staub co-wrote with Peter Aperlo. Producers are Scott Mednick, André Rouleau, Valérie d’Auteuil, Ian Dimerman and Brendon Sawatzky. Skyler Mednick served as exec producer.

CAA is handling sales for the film at the fest. Check out the clip above.

CBS RENEWS 18 SERIES FOR THE 2017-2018 SEASON

(3/23/17) CBS today announced early renewals of 18 returning series for the 2017-2018 season, displaying the programming depth and stability of America’s Most Watched Network. Additional returning series pick-ups for next season will be announced at a later date.

The shows renewed to date include 6 comedies, 9 dramas, 1 reality series, 2 newsmagazines and a roster of hit programs across every night of the week. They also include the #1 scripted program/comedy THE BIG BANG THEORY; the #1 drama NCIS; the #1 new series BULL; the #1 new comedy KEVIN CAN WAIT; and the #1 newsmagazine 60 MINUTES.

In addition, 5 freshman shows are part of the Network’s early renewals, including BULL, KEVIN CAN WAIT, MACGYVER, MAN WITH A PLAN and SUPERIOR DONUTS.

Following are the renewed series to date for the 2017-2018 season:

THE BIG BANG THEORY

BLUE BLOODS

BULL

HAWAII FIVE-0

KEVIN CAN WAIT

LIFE IN PIECES

MACGYVER

MADAM SECRETARY

MAN WITH A PLAN

MOM

NCIS*

NCIS: LOS ANGELES

NCIS: NEW ORLEANS

SCORPION

SUPERIOR DONUTS

SURVIVOR

48 HOURS

60 MINUTES

CBS will finish the current season as America’s Most Watched Network for the 14th time in 15 years. The Network will announce its new fall 2017-2018 schedule on Wednesday, May 17 at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Gail O’Grady on Training Day

(3/17/17) “Quid Pro Quo” – Kyle’s morals are put to the test when Frank involves him in a plan to take down a criminal defense attorney who has been helping his clients eliminate witnesses, on TRAINING DAY, on a new day and time, Saturday, April 8 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST: Tom Wilson (Gary Millstone), Gail O’Grady (Claire Millstone), Derek Gaines (Thief #1/Lou).

This Is Us' Milo Ventimiglia Sees 'Danger' in Jack's Drinking... But Could It Lead Him to Cheat on Rebecca?

(3/7/17) At the end of the last new This Is Us episode, Jack ordered up a tall glass of trouble. Whether he’ll make it a double, star Milo Ventimiglia says, remains to be seen.

We’re talking, of course, about the recent scene that showed the Pearson dad drinking — after a long dry spell — following a fight with wife Rebecca. Ventimiglia tells TVLine that whether or not the alcoholic beverage is a one-time thing, it doesn’t bode well for their overtaxed marriage.

“If anyone can assume what that means symbolically, what that means in relation to Rebecca’s abhorrence of it, it spells danger and it spells problems,” Ventimigilia says. “But is Jack deserving of that moment to possibly take the edge off? Yeah, I think maybe he earned it.”

Thing is, as co-star Mandy Moore recently pointed out, nearly two decades of stay-at-home mothering has made Rebecca feel like she earned a chance to go on tour with her band. And in Tuesday’s episode (NBC, 9/8c), Mr. and Mrs. Pearson haven’t come to any easily resolutions about the feelings hurt in the Valentine’s Day hour.

Then there’s a recently released photo, also from Tuesday’s episode, that show Jack and Miguel’s comely assistant, Heather, exchanging a look in a bar…

Ventimiglia deftly deflects the suggestion that perhaps the pair have an affair. “I think everybody wants to speculate and wonder what it is that could possibly pull Jack and Rebecca apart,” he says. “There are a lot of different things in life that pull any couple apart, whether it’s work or career or a spark with someone else. I think there are a lot of teasing elements that, of course, are going to be out there and questions that are going to get asked. I constantly tell people, ‘Just wait. All answers will come, probably pretty quick.'”

And as for the upcoming season finale, which airs March 14? “It’ll stress you the f—k out,” is all Ventimiglia will say, smiling.

Milo Ventimiglia Isn't Eager to Be the Next Wolverine

(3/5/17) Since Hugh Jackman is officially retiring his Wolverine mask, it might be time for the X-Men universe to be looking for a replacement.

If they wanted to be meta about it, they might consider recruiting This Is Us' Milo Ventimiglia. The NBC star was the voice of Wolverine on the animated series of the same name. TVGuide.com asked Ventimiglia if he would ever consider step into those iconic boots, but he wasn't too eager to follow up Jackman's performance.

"When you think about Wolverine and trying to do something different or better than Hugh Jackman, it kind of is tough to imagine stepping into those shoes," the actor said.

Ventimiglia knows that a lot of actors would love to get to play a tentpole character, but he's actually pretty happy with the "superhero" role he already has -- playing a dad on This Is Us. The man sure knows how to make us swoon.

This Is Us continues Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC.

TV’s hottest dad finds inspiration from his own father

(3/3/17) Milo Ventimiglia doesn’t have to look too far for “This is Us” inspiration.

“I’ve got this photo in my trailer of my dad [from] when I was, like, 3 years old, and before I walk out of my trailer I look at it,” he said when explaining how he channels a father for his work on the NBC drama. “I wrote a note above it saying ‘be a good father’ and then a note below it that says ‘be a good husband.'”

Beyond the photo reminder, Ventimiglia, 39, credits the success of his character, Jack, to his parents in real life.

“I had the best possible education of how to be a great dad by my father who’s amazing,” he said of his TV character, who is loving a father of triplets, during a Build Series talk Thursday. “My mom and dad are kind and they’re giving and loving and raised my sisters and I with hugs and kisses.”

And even though the “Gilmore Girls” alum — who plays Mandy Moore‘s husband on “This Is Us” — is single with no kids, he has father-like pride when talking about the show’s success.

“Playing the patriarch of this family, I kind of feel like a proud father, even though three of them are older than me,” he said.

Here’s why Milo Ventimiglia is wearing a cast

(2/22/17) Everyone’s favorite new TV dad is dealing with a real-life injury.

“This Is Us” star Milo Ventimiglia stopped by “The Tonight Show” on Tuesday donning a cast and sling on his right arm.

“He had a minor surgery on his wrist,” his rep told Page Six on Wednesday, adding that it “had nothing to do with production.”

The actor joked with Fallon that he was in a fight, but then revealed he had “some torn tendons.”

He did not reveal how he hurt his wrist though.

In December, a New York fight shop called Superare tweeted at Ventimiglia offering to send him a pair of gloves.

The 39-year-old responded, “Appreciate that bud @ECMMAFightShop, got a busted up wrist at the moment, not throwing anything but shadow combos.”

Dick Clark Productions Sale To Wanda Group Slowed By Chinese Deal Limits

(2/21/17) Wanda Group’s $1 billion deal to buy Dick Clark Productions has been delayed — but not derailed — as a result of China’s recent effort to limit capital flight from the country.

The early November pact is now expected to close in a matter of weeks as the companies grapple with controls that China’s Commerce Ministry imposed late last year on overseas deals of $1 billion or more.

Former Guggenheim Partners president Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries controls DCP, which produces the Golden Globes, the Billboard Music Awards, the American Music Awards, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest and other special events.

Officials in Beijing fear that the country’s capital reserves will become depleted if companies use their cash to buy overseas properties as the value of the yuan declines vs the U.S. dollar. Last year the yuan depreciated 7% to its lowest exchange rate in eight years against the strengthening dollar.

Among other things, officials in Beijing ordered several major banks to cut back on letters of credit.

Wanda is one of China’s most active buyers of overseas assets, especially in entertainment. In addition to the Dick Clark deal, last year it paid $3.5 billion for Legendary Entertainment while Wanda-controlled AMC Entertainment became the world’s biggest exhibition chain with a $1.1 billion acquisition of Carmike Cinemas and a $1.2 billion one for UK’s Odeon & UCI Cinemas. Last month it agreed to pay $929 million for Nordic Cinema Group.

At last month’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Wanda Chairman Wang Jianlin said his company had earmarked $5 billion-$10 billion per year for overseas investment with the U.S. the top priority.

Meanwhile, Wanda’s main real estate businesses in China has slowed. Revenues from Commercial Properties fell 25% last year to the equivalent of $20.8 billion. The entire company was up 3.4% to $37.1 billion.

Meet AMC Alum In NYC

(2/8/17) Sam Page (ex-Trey, ALL MY CHILDREN) will be meeting fans as part of Hallmark’s Countdown to Valentine’s Day event on February 9. Page, who co-stars with Jennifer Finnigan (ex-Bridget, B&B) in the Hallmark movie WALKING THE DOG, will be at Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Station in New York City between 12:30-1:30 p.m. and then again from 6-7 p.m. Also performing are country music Brett Young and artist Robert Vargas. For more information, click here.

Gail O'Grady on Fresh Off The Boat

(11/21/16) “The Taming of the Dads” – To celebrate their one-year anniversary, Eddie reluctantly agrees to take Alison to the see a modern remake of Romeo and Juliet. But when Louis and Alison’s dad bond over their love of Shakespeare and crash their date, Alison wonders if she and Eddie’s relationship has lost its spark. Meanwhile, Jessica gets called for jury duty and campaigns to be the “Jury Boss,” and Emery and Evan struggle with the responsibilities of raising a Tamagotchi digital pet, on ABC’s “Fresh Off the Boat,” airing on TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6 (9:00–9:30 p.m. EST).

Inspired by a true story, “Fresh Off the Boat” stars Randall Park as Louis, Constance Wu as Jessica, Hudson Yang as Eddie, Forrest Wheeler as Emery, Ian Chen as Evan, Lucille Soong as Grandma Huang, Chelsey Crisp as Honey and Ray Wise as Marvin.

Guest starring are Rachel Cannon as Deidre, Stacey Scowley as Carol-Joan, Isabella Crouch as Alison, Evan Hannemann as Barefoot Dave, Ross Ryman as Vinnie, Brian Huskey as Harvey, Biff Wiff as Bob, Teya Patt as Phoebe, Cleo King as Judge Patty O’Brien, Cory Blevins as Gary Olsen, Gail O’Grady (“NYPD Blue”) as herself, Richardson Jones as Mr. Pierce and David Masters as Samuel Seaver.

“The Taming of the Dads” was written by Rich Blomquist and directed by Sean Kavanaugh.

Aca-what? Brittany Snow’s character on ‘Crazy Ex’ finally revealed

(11/19/16) Ever since it was announced “Pitch Perfect” star Brittany Snow would be heading to “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” fans have been dying to know how the a capella triple threat would fit into the CW’s musical TV series. On Friday (Nov. 18), her role was finally revealed, during the last few minutes of the episode, “Why is Josh’s Ex-Girlfriend Eating Carbs?”

While she only teased a few notes, we’re guessing Snow’s upcoming featured music video will be a song reminiscent of Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” — for she is playing the role of Anna, Josh’s new love interest.

Aca-what? Yeah. After Josh (Vincent Rodriguez III) sang an entire song about how he could live on his own, and went on and on about how he should really be single for awhile, a hot hippie blonde from LA waltzes into his life. This type of situation couldn’t be more on-brand for Josh. Of course he would fall into a relationship with a gorgeous girl that’s way out of his league without even trying. Worst of all? He won’t even recognize his dumb luck. Josh just thinks this is how the world works.

But who’s to say Anna will be as doting and caring as Josh’s ex-girlfriends? Anna might give Josh a run for his money — or, to Rebecca (Rachel Bloom) and Valencia’s (Gabrielle Ruiz) chagrin — Anna could be awesome. That perfect combination of confidence and compassion, with a great sense of humor. Maybe she’ll become friends with everyone. It will be hard to hate her if she’s really great. If Rebecca and Valencia can find common ground and become friends, it’s not out of this world to think this Anna couldn’t join their current squad.

But Snow has only signed on for three episodes, and we’re talking about Rebecca and Valencia. The same two girls who revenge-peed on Josh’s music equipment. Rebecca will most likely want to sabotage Anna in some big dramatic way, while Valencia will probably try to pretend she doesn’t care at first, and date a random guy just to make Josh jealous, but then collapse in a mess of her own lies. Whatever nonsense they get into, it’s nice to know they’ll have each other, and Heather (Vella Lovell), to lean on.

What about Paula, you ask? Saving the worst bit of news for last, Paula and Rebecca’s current breakup is more heartbreaking than the fact that Greg (Santino Fontana) is gone forever — which showrunner Alina Brosh McKenna confirmed to ET.

“The show’s about the pursuit of happiness, and ultimately [Greg’s] happiness would be elsewhere from [Rebecca]. So we’d always talked about doing that, and we knew it was going to happen this season,” Brosh McKenna says. “Luckily, Santino was on board with him, so we worked with him… on the right timing of it. He was fine with it and he embraced it, and he got a lot of great songs going out the door.”

It’s beautiful that the one person who seemed like he’d never get free of West Covina escaped to greener pastures, but it’s ugly to see Rebecca and Paula’s (Donna Lynn Champlin) friendship breaking apart. Watching their forlorn, yet hopeful glances towards each other at the donut shop, it’s so clear they want to be together!

It’s just such a classic example of how hard it can be to stay close when we’re in vastly different stages of life. Paula has always been the more nurturing of the two — but as a mother and wife, with a full-time job and now going to law school, she doesn’t have the time or energy to feed Rebecca’s narcissism.

However, Rebecca has asked Paula numerous times what’s up with her, and she never gets a real answer. How can Rebecca be there for her if she has no idea what’s going on? It’s far past time for Rebecca to become a more observant and better caring friend to Paula — but we need Paula to open that possibility to Rebecca just once more before permanently shutting the door on their friendship. Because let’s be honest, screw Josh and Greg: It’s the love between Rebecca and Paula we ship the most.

“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” airs on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on the CW.

People’s Choice Awards Nominees Set

(11/15/16) Here’s another election America must undertake: Voting opens today for the People’s Choice Awards 2017. Nominees were unveiled this morning at Paley Center in Los Angeles, with online voting set to run through December 15 and winners announced during a ceremony January 18 at Microsoft Theater L.A. Live and broadcast on CBS.

FAVORITE ACTOR IN A NEW TV SERIES
Damon Wayans
Kevin James
Kiefer Sutherland
Matt LeBlanc
Milo Ventimiglia

Paul Wesley Inks Overall Deal With Warner Bros. TV, Sets 4 Projects As Producer

(11/12/16) The Vampire Diaries star Paul Wesley has signed a pod deal at Warner Bros. TV for his production company, Citizen Media, with partner/former The Vampire Diaries executive producer Bob Levy.

Under the pact, Wesley and Levy will develop new television projects for the studio, starting with a darkly comedic single-camera half-hour based on a non-fiction article by Jason Smith called Confessions Of a Drug-Addicted High School Teacher.

Citizen Media has three other series projects in the works that preceded the WBTV deal, including a limited series at ABC produced by Robert Redford.

Titled Pecos, the ABC limited series, produced by ABC Signature Studios, is inspired by the true story of a 29-year-old rookie journalist who takes down one of the richest, most powerful men in Texas, proving his gigantic business empire is a complete fraud, in 1962 Pecos, Texas. Shawn Christensen, Oscar winner for his short film Curfew, is writing. Citizen Media’s Wesley and Levy executive produce alongside Robert Redford and Laura Michalchyshyn of Sundance Productions.

At Fox 21 TV Studios, Citizen Media has Finding Natalie, a drama about a young Mexican woman searching for her 17-year-old sister Natalie who was recently kidnapped by a sex trafficking cartel. NY playwright and The Americans writer Hilary Bettis will write.

At Freeform, Wesley and Levy is developing one-hour series Shanghai Summer, about 20-something Americans pursuing their dreams in Shanghai, China. Oanh Ly (The Catch) is on board to write the script.

Wesley, as well as fellow Vampire Diaries star Ian Somerhalder, landed overall deals with the series’ producer WBTV as part of their most recent talent pacts for the long-running CW drama.

Wesley is hitting the ground running, having already started building a development slate with veteran producer/executive Levy, who also has served as an executive producer on such series as Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl.

Wesley is repped by ICM Partners and Management 360. Christensen, who has the upcoming feature Sidney Hall, is repped by Verve. Bettis is repped by CAA.

Milo Ventimiglia, Troy Garity & Ryan Kwanten Among Clients Who Will Follow Agent Sean Grumman To WME

(11/7/16) About a dozen actors have committed to joining their agent, Sean Grumman, at WME. The talent representative landed at WME last month after a long stint at CAA.

Following him to WME are Milo Ventimiglia, star of NBC’s breakout new drama This Is Us; Troy Garity (Ballers, Boss); Ryan Kwanten (True Blood); Rosewood star Jaina Lee Ortiz; Tyler Labine (Deadbeat, Super Troopers 2); James D’Arcy (Agent Carter, Hitchcock); Chris Wood (Supergirl); Hayes MacArthur (Angle Tribeca, Super Troopers 2), Claire Holt (Aquarius, The Originals); and Andrew J West (The Walking Dead).

Gail O'Grady and Jeff Kober Join CMT's His Wives & Daughters Comedy Pilot

(11/4/16) His Wives & Daughters just added not only another missus to the mix but also the marriage-minded country star around whom the CMT pilot circles: Revenge alum Gail O’Grady has signed up to play the former; Sons of Anarchy’s Jeff Kober, the latter.

As previously reported, the sudsy proposed hour-long comedy follows the misadventures of womanizing music-biz legend Eddie Ray Banks (Kober) and, as the title suggests, his scheming daughters and wives — among them O’Grady as Donna, the shallow second spouse who stole him from his first, fellow singing sensation Lorna Larson (Jane Seymour).

Though Eddie’s character description notes that he struck pay dirt in the 1970s with a No. 1 album as well as a hit movie and variety show, the big-hearted playboy is as infamous for his tabloid shenanigans as he is famous for his career. As for home-wrecking Donna, with whom Eddie worked on his variety show, she’s described as “vain and materialistic” — and codependent on daughter Carolyn.

Besides Revenge, O’Grady has also starred on NYPD Blue and American Dreams, and recurred on Desperate Housewives. Kober’s other credits include Shameless and The Walking Dead.

Wanda Acquires Dick Clark Productions For $1 Billion

(11/3/16) China’s Wanda Group has finalized a deal to buy Dick Clark Productions. Wanda has acquired a 100% stake in the company that produces the Golden Globes, the Billboard Music Awards, the American Music Awards, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest and other special events for approximately $1 billion, the Chinese conglom announced on Thursday. Negotiations had grown in intensity over the past couple of months between Wanda and DCP — controlled by former Guggenheim Partners president Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries — after a year’s worth of talks.

After the acquisition is completed, DCP’s management “will remain in its entirety”, Wanda said in the announcement, noting that the company has signed a long-term operation target agreement with the top DCP executives. No names are mentioned but DCP’s top leadership includes CEO Allen Shapiro, chairman Peter Guber and president Michael Mahan.

The bidding for DCP was competitive, sources said, driven by the amount of IP that the company controls. I hear there were multiple Chinese bidders as well as multiple American companies pursuing, including Comcast and Time Warner. I hear Comcast was particularly interested as its network NBC airs the Golden Globes and also has been looking to launch a music awards franchise, making the Billboard Awards particularly attractive, but the AMAs and Rockin’ Eve are all under long-term deals at ABC, which complicated things.

I hear that Wanda’s offer was actually not the highest, and there was at least one bid by a Chinese company that came in higher but DCP went with Wanda in large part due to the strong relationship between the chairmen of the two companies, Peter Guber and Wang Jianlin.

Guggenheim paid $380 million for DCP when it bought the company in 2012 from RedZone Capital Management. Boehly bought DCP last year when he stepped down as Guggenheim’s president.

Wanda has been active in injecting itself full-boar into Hollywood, from acquiring the likes of AMC Entertainment and Legendary Entertainment to its major co-financing and marketing deal with Sony focused on its tentpoles. It also established a $750M development fund to attract Hollywood productions to China’s Qingdao Movie Metropolis complex.

Wanda CEO Wang Jianlin has indicated he is actively looking for more Hollywood investments, recently saying he has been “waiting for the opportunity” to buy a major Hollywood studio. The Chinese power seemed to have the inside track to buy a 49% stake in Paramount this year when it was being shopped by former Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman, but Viacom’s board scrapped that deal.

The acquisition of DCP marks Wanda’s first step into television content. “Obtaining top television production rights brings about complementary and coordinated development for Wanda’s current focuses on the film, tourism, and sports industries,” the company said.

Wang promised last year that by 2020 Wanda will be a public company worth more than $200 billion, with annual revenues of at least $100 billion and net profits of $10 billion or more.

Fox Buys Cop Family Thriller Drama From Milo Ventimiglia & Andrew Lenchewski

(10/13/16) Milo Ventimiglia, one of the stars of the breakout new NBC/20th TV drama This Is Us, has teamed with Royal Pains co-creator Andrew Lenchewski for Kin, a 20th TV-produced drama project which has been set up at Fox with script commitment plus penalty. This marks the first professional collaboration for Ventimiglia and Lenchewski who have been friends for two decades, dating back to their time as students at UCLA. Kin hails from DiVide Pictures, Ventimiglia’s production company with another long-time friend, Russ Cundiff.

Written and co-executive produced by Kevin O’Hare, Kin is loosely based on Cundiff’s extended family growing up which included several cops. The drama centers on a tight-knit Florida law-enforcement family who become the primary suspects in the disappearance of a notorious drug cartel leader following a DEA plane crash. But the undercover federal agent assigned to find out the truth is seduced by the loving and lethal clan, compromising his mission and his life.

Lenchewski, Ventimiglia and Cundiff executive produce.

In addition to starring in breakout fall drama This Is Us, Ventimiglia also is reprising his role in the Gilmore Girls movies on Netflix. He and Cundiff are repped by CAA and attorneys Jeffrey Frankel and Scott Whitehead.

Lenchewski served as executive producer/co-showrunner on USA’s Royal Pains, which recently wrapped its eight-season run. He has another pilot at the network, The Tap, which he co-wrote and executive produces. Lenchewski is repped by CAA and Jackway Tyerman.

O’Hare is repped by Verve and Underground.

What's Next for This Is Us? Milo Ventimiglia Teases "Old-Fashioned TV" in All Its Glory

(10/11/16) Ugh, Miguel!

Two weeks later, and we're still not over This Is Us' latest twist. (Warning, spoilers ahead!) In the final moments of the NBC hit drama's second episode, Randall's (Sterling K. Brown) kids excitedly greet "grandma and grandpa" at the door. Grandma? It's Rebecca (Mandy Moore). But grandpa? No, it wasn't Jack (Milo Ventimiglia). It was Miguel (Jon Huerta), Jack's BFF we were introduced to in the Jack-Rebecca storyline, set in the '80s when The Big Three are 8 years-old. Say whaaa?! Has Jack died? Did they get divorced? What is happening?!

"I do know why Jack wasn't walking through that door," Milo Ventimiglia told E! News' Sibley Scoles after the second episode shocker. Of course, he's not going to share that precious info with us.

"Just wait!" Milo said. "Just wait. This is old-fashioned television story. You gotta wait. Appointment TV!"

In the second episode, we see Jack and Rebecca going through a rough patch, with Jack turning to alcohol to avoid addressing struggles at home. By episode's end, Rebecca had delivered a powerful "Fix it" speech (Mandy Moore FTW!), and it seemed like the couple may be OK. But Milo warned fans that they will continue to see the highs and lows.

"We're going to see a couple in their high moments and then also in their low moments," he explained. "So the fact that it's present day and Jack is not grandpa, that's looking in the distance and being like, oh, I see where I'm going but I can't quite see the road around the mountain. You're going to find out, you're going to learn about it."

As for how the heck Miguel ended up being grandpa to Randall's children? Milo teased, "It's to be discovered." To hear more from Milo on This Is Us' big twists, press play on the video above.

The highest-rated drama debut of the season, NBC has already ordered a full-season of This Is Us. "It's a rare moment in this business when a show so instantly delivers both critical acclaim and hit ratings, but This Is Us is just such an extraordinary achievement," NBC Entertainment President Jennifer Salke said.

This Is Us airs tonight at 9 p.m. on NBC.

Why Milo Ventimiglia Thinks Dating Co-Stars Is a Bad Idea

(10/11/16) Milo Ventimiglia has only good things to say about his co-star Mandy Moore, but dating her? Well, that's a different subject.

The two play a married couple and new parents on NBC's fresh hit show, This Is Us. When E! sat down for a quickie chat with the Gilmore Girls alum, he had nothing but praise for his on-screen leading lady.

"Mandy is one of the kindest, most amazing performers and women I've met in my life," he gushed to E! News. "She is exactly as I'd heard. She is amazing."

However, there is one bit of homework he has yet to do on the actress—watch her unforgettable performance as Lana in The Princess Diaries. "I saw clips of her singing, but I haven't seen the actual full movie," he admitted to E! News.

While he has fortunately heard Moore's rendition of "Stupid Cupid," he doesn't intend on getting shot by one of Cupid's arrows on set. When asked by E! if he thinks it's a good or bad idea to date co-stars, he candidly responded, "Bad idea—don't shit where you eat." Perhaps he's speaking from experience—Ventimiglia did previously date his Gilmore Girls co-star Alexis Bledel and his Heroes co-star Hayden Panettiere.

He certainly didn't want to make the wrong move with Fergie, who he starred with in her 2007 music video for "Big Girls Don't Cry." "The best was hanging out with Fergie and the worst was when it was over," he recalled. "I was very honored to be there—mildly terrified of Josh Duhamel for picking up his girl and spinning her around."

Fortunately, Ventimiglia escaped unscathed—and collected enough life experience since then to offer some simple relationship advice for all the ladies out there navigating the tricky world of love.

"Be yourself. If you guys click—great. If you don't, it's ok. You're not supposed to be with one another," he advised. Once you have nabbed yourself a partner, grown-up Jess suggests keeping things equal. "Contribute as much as you'd like to take. That might be a good thing. Don't just take, take, take, take, take—give, give, give, give."

‘Shadowhunters’ Reveals Season 2 Debut Date & ‘Vampire Diaries’ Star Directing – NY Comic-Con

(10/9/16) The second season of Shadowhunters will premiere on January 2 2017, it was announced today at NY Comic-Con. With new showrunners Todd Slavkin & Darren Swimmer now in charge of the Freeform fantasy drama, today’s panel at the Hammerstein Ballroom also revealed that The Vampire Diaries’ Paul Wesley will be directing an episode of the new season.

The actor broke the news himself in a video shout-out to the fans at the confab on Saturday.

This weekend’s panel included Slavkin, Swimmer and fellow EP McG, author Cassandra Clare and lead Katherine McNamara. Fellow cast members Alberto Rosende, Dominic Sherwood, Emeraude Toubia,Harry Shum Jr., Matthew Daddario and more were there too. Before the EPs and cast came out the crowd was shown an action packed preview of the new season.

“Things get worse for everyone before they get better this season,” teased McNamara. “The whole show expands,” added McG.

Based on Clare’s The Moral Instruments YA novels, Shadowhunters debuted on January 16 this year. The series centers on NYC-based Clary Fray (McNamara) who discovers on her 18th birthday that she has angelic blood and joins the group of Shadowhunters who guard the human race from demons and more.

Slavkin and Swimmer were brought on board in August to replace Ed Decter after the EP and person who developed the show for TV exited the series just before production on Season 2 started over creative differences.

New York Comic-Con runs until October.

Matthew John Armstrong on Pure Genius

(10/6/16) “Pilot” – Silicon Valley tech titan James Bell enlists Dr. Walter Wallace, an exceptional veteran surgeon with a controversial past, to run his state-of-the-art hospital with an ultramodern approach to medicine, on the series premiere of the new drama PURE GENIUS, Thursday, Oct. 27 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Dermot Mulroney, Augustus Prew, Odette Annable, Reshma Shetty, Aaron Jennings, Ward Horton and Brenda Song star.

Billionaire genius James Bell built Bunker Hill Hospital determined to revolutionize health care and treat the rarest and most challenging medical mysteries, at no charge. Previously, his chief of staff, Dr. Wallace, believed medicine was a human endeavor, not technological, until a eureka moment at the hospital convinced him otherwise. Bell’s team of trailblazers includes Dr. Zoe Brockett, an exceptional, fearlessly frank physician; Dr. Talaikha Channarayapatra, an idealistic, maddeningly literal neurosurgeon who believes the hospital is a beacon for change; Dr. Malik Verlaine, a former gangbanger now spearheading efforts to provide 24/7 health monitoring in poor neighborhoods via computer; Dr. Scott Strauss, an intense neurologist with an Ivy league pedigree; and Angie Cheng, an enthusiastic 3-D printer programming whiz. At Bunker Hill, Bell pairs the most brilliant minds in medicine with the most forward thinkers in technology and cuts bureaucracy out of the equation, all in the interest of saving lives, including his own.

RECURRING CAST: Wendy Moniz (Julianna Wallace).

GUEST CAST Includes: Guilford Adams (Will), J. Rene Pena (Administrator), Matthew John Armstrong (Paul Byer).

WRITTEN BY: Jason Katims, one of the series’ executive producers, and Sarah Watson.

DIRECTED BY: David Semel.

Milo Ventimiglia Strips Down and Gets in Ellen DeGeneres' Splash Tank for Breast Cancer

(10/3/16) (Pic1, Pic2) Even when Ellen DeGeneres is home sick, she still manages to keep her celebrity guests on their toes.

This Is Us star Milo Ventimiglia had his turn in DeGeneres' chair recently when Miley Cyrus was filling in for the longtime talk show host. Despite DeGeneres' absence, the "Can't Stop" singer had no problem carrying out the comedian's plans for the Gilmore Girls alum.

After chit-chatting about his hit NBC show and upcoming Gilmore Girls reunion, Cyrus got Ventimiglia out of his shirt and into Ellen's splash tank—all in the name of a good cause.

"For the third year in a row, we're partnering with Ulta Beauty to raise money and awareness for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation," Cyrus explained to the audience. "Totally worth it! Worth getting objectified," she joked.

Without hesitation, Milo stripped out of his shirt and shoes and hopped into the lavish tank, complete with a white throne-esque chair.

"I'm horrible at throwing, so you're lucky," she told the actor.

Chalk it up to luck or a little white lie, but Cyrus hit the target on the second try, winning a $10,000 donation from the company.

NBC’S BELOVED NEW TUESDAY DRAMA ‘THIS IS US’ RECEIVES FULL-SEASON ORDER

(9/27/16) NBC has ordered an additional five episodes of the network’s critically beloved new drama series “This Is Us,” bringing the full season order to 18.

“It’s a rare moment in this business when a show so instantly delivers both critical acclaim and hit ratings, but ‘This Is Us’ is just such an extraordinary achievement,” said Jennifer Salke, President, NBC Entertainment. “Creator Dan Fogelman, along with co-directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa and the gifted producers, cast and crew, has delivered the kind of heart and depth that resonates with every segment of the audience, and we’re proud to extend its presence on our schedule.”

“We are thrilled. This order for a complete first season of 18 episodes is exactly what we'd wanted and hoped for,” said executive producer Dan Fogelman. “We’d carefully mapped out an 18-chapter story for the first year of the show, and this allows us to follow through with our exact initial intent. And to get the order so early on is a tremendous show of confidence and a boost for our entire cast and crew. I'm starting to sound like a broken record but I have to thank Dana, Gary, Jonnie, Howard and my amazing partners at 20th as well as Bob and Jen and the fine folks at NBC for continuing to do absolutely everything right by me and this show. I’d gush more but I have to go back to work.”

Last week’s “This Is Us” series premiere generated a 4.5 rating in adults 18-49 and 14.3 million viewers overall in L+5 averages from Nielsen Media Research — an increase of 1.7 rating points going from live plus same day to L+5. The 4.5 makes it the #1 series premiere of the fall season to date, while the show’s L+SD rating makes it NBC’s highest-rated scripted program in that Tuesday 10-11 p.m. time period in more than six years.

On digital platforms, it’s NBC’s most-viewed series premiere on record, more than doubling the network’s previous record for most one-day views of a debuting series across NBC digital platforms.

“This Is Us” was the most anticipated new series heading into fall with its trailer viewed more than 127 million times following the show’s announcement at the May upfronts.

Critics have raved about “This Is Us,” with the Huffington Post saying, “Dan Fogelman’s new show harkens back to the glory days of feel-good TV. Get ready to fall in crazy, stupid love with NBC’s ‘This Is Us.’” USA Today added: “…even if the season was crowded with great series, ‘This Is Us’ would stand out as a welcome and increasingly rare addition.” The New York Times called it “heartwarming” and Entertainment Weekly said the series is “brilliantly cast.”

“This Is Us” is a refreshingly honest and provocative series that follows a unique ensemble whose paths cross and their life stories intertwine in curious ways. We find several of them share the same birthday, and so much more than anyone would expect. From the writer and directors of “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” is a smart, modern series that will challenge your everyday presumptions about the people you think you know.

The cast includes Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Justin Hartley, Chrissy Metz, Sterling K. Brown, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan and Ron Cephas Jones.

Dan Fogelman serves as writer and executive producer with Don Todd. Jess Rosenthal, Charlie Gogolak and directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra also executive produce. “This Is Us” is produced by 20th Century Fox Television.

Gossip Girl's Sam Page Is a Dad! Actor Welcomes First Child With His Wife Cassidy

(9/27/16) Welcome to the joys of fatherhood, Sam Page.

The actor known for his roles in Gossip Girl, Desperate Housewives and more projects shared good news with his followers on social media Tuesday afternoon. As it turns out, he just became a dad.

"The newest, best and brightest part of my life hanging out with the chillest and hairiest part," he shared on Instagram as his newborn smiled next to the family's golden retriever. "These two are going to learn a lot from each other."

He added, "Welcome to the world, my son Logan."

The announcement caught many fans by surprise especially because his last Instagram post was nearly 38 weeks ago.

And while he's been a bit more active on Twitter, the Hollywood star tries to keep his private life pretty darn private.

Back in November 2014, the Mad Men star married Cassidy Boesch just outside Santa Barbara, Calif. "Making it official," he wrote on Instagram with a photo from Villa Sevillano.

Family and friends including groomsman Jonathan Bennett watched the couple exchange vows below a beautiful canopy covered in white roses.

Since the magical wedding day, the actor has gone on to star in Switched at Birth and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Before then, fans may recognize the star from Mad Men, Greek and American Dreams.

Congratulations to the couple!

China's Wanda Group in talks to buy Dick Clark Productions

(9/27/16) China's Dalian Wanda Group is in talks to buy Dick Clark Productions, the TV company that produces the Golden Globes and the "Miss America" pageant.

The deal could be worth $1 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the situation. Wanda did not return a request for comment.

Eldridge Group, which owns Dick Clark Productions, said in a statement that the TV company agreed to enter into exclusive talks with Wanda. If the deal gets finalized, it would be the latest U.S. entertainment deal for the Chinese company which owns property, cinema and sports holdings. In September it said it would partner with Sony Pictures to make big-budget movies. It owns AMC Theaters and bought Legendary Entertainment for $3.5 billion in January.

Dick Clark Productions was sold in 2012 to a group including investment firm Guggenheim Partners. Last year Guggenheim sold Dick Clark Productions to Eldridge Industries, which is controlled by Todd Boehly, a former president of Guggenheim and current member of Guggenheim's executive council.

Guggenheim said last month it was conducting a strategic review of its media holdings.

Brittany Snow Reveals Her Funniest Fan Encounter and Why Her John Tucker Must Die Prank 'Didn't Go Over Well'

(8/19/16) (Video) Brittany Snow is opening up about everything from her secret talents to her funniest fan encounters, and it's all for a good cause.

The Pitch Perfect star sat down with PEOPLE for a game during which she has to answer five random, rapid fire questions, and in return gets to offer up one shameless plug.

Questions cover everything from the one Pitch Perfect actress she would never challenge to lip sync battle (hint: she's "feisty"), and her most devious prank from John Tucker Must Die, which involves Jesse Metcalfe and "did not go over well."

She also reveals why Anna Camp and Skylar Astin should consider themselves luck to have her as a bridesmaid, and her secret talent.

As for her craziest fan encounter, let's just say he knows how to wax on and how to wax off.

And for her shameless plug, Snow chose to promote a good cause, her charity, Love Is Louder. A project of The Jed Foundation , Love Is Louder was created with the actress to support anyone feeling mistreated, misunderstood or alone.

Check out the video to hear Snow's answers!

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Adds Brittany Snow

(8/18/16) Crazy Ex-Girlfriend‘s Season 2 forecast: lots of Brittany Snow.

The vocally talented American Dreams/Pitch Perfect alum will appear in three episodes of the CW comedy’s second season, TVLine has learned. Her character, Anna, is described as “a hip and cool L.A. chick and beauty entrepreneur who sweeps into town and shakes everything up for Rebecca.”

And don’t get your aca-panties in a twist: She’ll have a musical number during her run on the show.

Series star and co-creator Rachel Bloom announced the news via song on her Twitter account on Thursday.

In addition to American Dreams, Snow’s TV credits include Ben and Kate, Full Circle, Harry’s Law and Guiding Light.

Sam Page Joins Freeform Pilot ‘Issues’

(8/16/16) Sam Page has been tapped for a series regular role in Freeform pilot Issues, from Universal Television and The District.

Created by Sarah Watson (Parenthood) Issues was inspired by the life of Joanna Coles, editor in chief of Cosmopolitan magazine. It follows three young career women, who have set out to conquer New York City together. All three work at Scarlet Magazine, and they try to balance their ambition and their drive to find love with the realities of life.

Page will play Richard, a member of the Board of Directors of Scarlet Magazine, and lawyer for the publishing group, a man with great looks and charm, who is catnip to women and knows it.

Page’s credits include stints on Mad Men, House of Cards, and Switched at Birth. He’s repped by UTA, Inphenate and Jackoway Tyerman.

Arlen Escarpeta Joins ‘The Magicians’

(8/10/16) Arlen Escarpeta (American Dreams) is set for a recurring role on Syfy drama series The Magicians, from Universal Cable Productions. Based on the bestselling novels from Lev Grossman, The Magicians centers on Quentin (Jason Ralph), a brilliant grad student chosen to attend Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy, a secret upstate New York university specializing in magic. Escarpeta will play Prince Ess, a handsome, rugged, pelt-clad man, with a sort of frat bro air of entitlement and the ruler of Loria. Escarpeta, a series regular on NBC’s American Dreams for three seasons, also played co-starred as Bobby Brown in Lifetime movie Whitney. His feature work includes Into The Storm and Final Destination 5. Escarpeta is repped by Don Buchwald & Associates and Karen Forman Management.

Milo Ventimiglia Naked: ''I'm Totally Comfortable With My Manhood and My Rear"

(8/5/16) If you've got it, flaunt it.

Right, Milo Ventimiglia?

The 39-year-old actor appears completely naked in the first episode of his upcoming NBC series This Is Us with just a small towel covering his junk. The internet was sent into a tizzy when we got a peek at his firm butt in the launch trailer for the dramedy.

As of today, the trailer has been viewed more than 7.3 million times, a record for a new series.

"It was one of those things [being on network television] I thought no way and I get to my trailer in the morning on the first day of filming and I look at my choices of wardrobe and it's really not much," Ventimiglia told me last night at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Grants Gala at the Beverly Wilshire. "There's tape and there's like a nude flesh colored thing, like pieces of cloth and tape and I kind of went, 'OK, alright, cool. I've been nude in film before. It's fine. No big deal. I'm totally comfortable with my manhood and my rear.'"

And then he got a look at the trailer. "I was like, 'Wow, my ass precedes my face,'" Ventimiglia remembered.

He credits his personal trainer Jason Walsh of Rise Nation for his extraordinary derrière. "He's my trainer of seven years," Ventimiglia said. "It's a hardworking ass."

This Is Us executive producer Dan Fogelman recently cracked at the Television Critics Association summer press tour, "We're showing his ass in every episode."

What does Ventimiglia's co-star Mandy Moore think of his backside? Watch the video below to find out.

This Is Us premieres Sept. 20 at 10 p.m. on NBC before moving into its regular slot at 9 p.m. on Oct.11.

Milo Ventimiglia Brings Jess Full Circle With Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life

(7/29/16) Whoever says you can't go home again certainly hasn't been following the news of the Gilmore Girls revival, Netflix's Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Nearly 10 years after the show signed off following its seven season run, the fine folks of Stars Hollow are coming back to life for a four-part series, each part taking place during a season of the year. Essentially the entire original cast came back in some capacity. For Milo Ventimiglia, there was no need to ask twice.

"I stayed very, very close to Dan [Palladino] and Amy [Sherman-Palladino]. They're family to me. When they actually called and said, ‘Hey Mi, we're going to do this,' I said, ‘Great, I don't care where I am, I could be in Tunisia, feeding f—king seals. I will show up.' And then of course it'd be a conversation, they don't have seals in Tunisia, I'm like, I know it doesn't matter," he joked with E! News at a recent reception for his new series This Is Us.

Ventimiglia played bad boy Jess Mariano over 37 episodes over the show's original seasons two-six, this is the first time returning to the character since 2006.

"It's interesting stepping away from a character and then going back to them. There's something about Jess that I always appreciated. It was at the very end that I thought for whatever angst, whatever broken spirit, whatever sly behavior he had, who he was at his core was a very, very good guy. I think that started to emerge as time went on. We got to the end of his existence on the show, you see him—he's not there for himself, to entertain himself, he's there to ask Rory real questions to get her thinking. I always respected that about the character," Ventimiglia said. "He grew up and he turned into a really decent guy. In terms of what are the lessons he went through, I think he had to have life lived. I think he had to experience heartbreak, he had to experience happiness, he had to experience all these things that we all come across in life, but we can only measure the scale of them when we have time. You're different from when you're 25 to when you're 35. You're different at 21 to 25. Everything changes. You can't unwatch things, you can't unhear things, you can't untaste foods or moments. I think who Jess turned out to be was just—he got to experience life and I think he became a really cool young guy."

Excitement surrounding the return of the Gilmores and the other Stars Hollow residents has reached a fever pitch. Buzz started after the cast reunited for the show's 15th anniversary and has been growing ever since.

"The fact that I think people were buzzing about it was a testament to the writing. Dan and Amy are such incredible writers and they really did create this show that is timeless. It's timeless," he told us. "The excitement to bring it back doesn't surprise me. I think audience were left wanting more, they weren't quite satisfied with the end. To sort of bring it back it didn't feel like a cheap play for money. It actually legitimately genuinely felt like a love letter to fans who were wanting more stories and to live with these characters again. For that, I applaud Dan and Amy and the cast that came back, Warner Bros. for doing it and Netflix for putting it up."

However, returning to the character was not something Ventimiglia said he needed.

"I mean, for me, I'm perfectly happy when a show ends. It ends, that's what it was. You can step away from it, walk away clean," he said. "Sometimes when they come back around you're like, ‘Why'd you do that?'"

Does he feel that way about Gilmore Girls? "Not at all," he said.

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life premieres Friday, Nov. 25 on Netflix. This Is Us premieres Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 10 p.m. on NBC.

‘Designated Survivor’: Virginia Madsen Joins New ABC Series In Key Role

(7/26/16) Virginia Madsen has been tapped for a major recurring role on Designated Survivor, ABC’s upcoming drama series starring Kiefer Sutherland from The Mark Gordon Company and ABC Studios.

Created by David Guggenheim, Designated Survivor centers on Tom Kirkman (Sutherland), a lower-level cabinet member who, as a “designated survivor”, unexpectedly becomes president after a devastating attack on Washington during the State of the Union. Madsen will play Kimble Hookstraten, the “other” Designated Survivor during the State of the Union address — but for the rival political party. A sharply intelligent and politically astute conservative Congresswoman, she makes it clear that, in the aftermath of the Capitol attack, she supports President Kirkman’s (Sutherland) authority as the country’s new Commander in Chief, until her true agenda is revealed and she emerges as his chief political rival.

Madsen recently wrapped production on CBS’ new summer series American Gothic. She also will be returning to CBS’ Elementary for a guest stint, reprising her role as Paige, Captain Thomas Gregson’s (Aidan Quinn) girlfriend. Madsen is represented by UTA and Untitled Entertainment.

Guggenheim executive produces Designated Survivor with Simon Kinberg, Sutherland, Mark Gordon, Nick Pepper, Suzan Bymel, and Aditya Sood. Paul McGuigan directed the pilot, and Jon Feldman serves as showrunner on the series. Entertainment One, which is backing the Mark Gordon Co., is handling international rights. At MGC, the series is overseen by Jacqueline Sacerio.

New ‘Star Trek’ Series: David Semel Set To Direct

(7/22/16) David Semel is set to direct and executive produce the opening episode of the upcoming Star Trek reboot series. The episode will air on CBS for a broadcast debut of the series in January 2017, before it moves to its permanent home, CBS All Access.

Created by Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman, the new Star Trek hails from CBS TV Studios where Semel is under an overall deal. Semel has a strong track record at CBS, helming three consecutive pilots that have gone to series which will be on the network’s fall schedule: returning Madam Secretary and Code Black and new medical drama Pure Genius. Other pilots he has directed that have gone to series include CBS’ Person Of Interest and Intelligence as well as Heroes, Legends, No Ordinary Family and American Dreams.

Semel also recently helmed the opening episodes of two high-profile straight-to-series Amazon drama series: breakout The Man In The High Castle, which has been renewed for a second season, and David E. Kelley’s upcoming Goliath starring Billy Bob Thornton.

Fuller, who serves as showrunner on the new Star Trek series, executive produces with Kurtzman, Heather Kadin, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth. More news about the show, which features new characters, is expected during the Star Trek Comic-Con panel on Saturday.

Semel is repped by WME.

Brittany Snow Weighs in on the Choker Trend: ‘I Feel Like I Was the O.G. Choker Wearer’

(7/15/16) (Video) The ‘90s trend of chokers came back in a big way in the past few months, with It-Girls like Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Karlie Kloss, Taylor Swift and practically every other red carpet superstar sporting the look. But if you ask Brittany Snow, as we did for in a new video for our “5 Questions” video series, she says she has mixed feelings about the Return of the Choker Era.

“I’ve always been a huge fan of chokers,” the Pitch Perfect 2 tells PeopleStyle. “I wore chokers all my teen years. So now that they’ve come back I’m actually kind of sad about it because I feel like I was the O.G. choker wearer. And now everyone is copying me. No I am just kidding! But I can’t wear them anymore because so many people, it’s a thing.”

Instead, she has another favorite trend: “I’m going to have to say stripes because I love wearing stripes,” she says. “I wear stripes all the time.”

In the video, she also reveals her worst red carpet moment ever. “Oh there are so many,” she says. “If anyone gets really bored you can Google any sort of red carpet I did before 2008 and it was all bad.”

“There was a School of Rock premiere where I am wearing I think it is a black jacket, a pink shirt, a black skort and then pink and purple leopard cowboy boots with yellow trim on them. And I am going like this [pointing down to her feet] in all of the pictures because I am so proud of them. So that happened. I thought I looked so cool.”

Fall TV First Impression: This Is Us

(6/19/16) (Trailer) THE SHOW | NBC’s This Is Us (premiering Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 10/9c, before moving to its regular 9 pm time slot starting Oct. 11)

THE COMPETITION | To start, CBS’ NCIS: New Orleans and ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.; then CBS’ Bull (new), ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat/The Real O’Neals, Fox’s Scream Queens and The CW’s No Tomorrow (new).

THE CAST | Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes), Mandy Moore (Red Band Society), Justin Hartley (Mistresses), Chrissy Metz (American Horror Story), Sterling K. Brown (The People v. O.J. Simpson), Susan Kelechi Watson (The Blacklist), Chris Sullivan (The Knick) and Ron Cephas Jones (Mr. Robot).

THE SET-UP | Per NBC’s official synopsis, a group of people share the same birthday and “more than anyone would expect” as their “paths cross and their life stories intertwine in curious ways.”

THE FIRST IMPRESSION | From Dan Fogelman (Crazy, Stupid, Love, TV’s Galavant) comes this heart-tugging toggling of vignettes of joy, angst and sorrow, as a disparate ensemble of individuals grapple with issues both personal and professional. Among the life events at hand: Ventimigilia’s Jack is struggling to get his wife’s obstetrician to share his optimism about a high-risk pregnancy; Hartley plays the disenfranchised star of a sophomoric sitcom; Metz’s Karen is battling both weight and romance issues; and Brown’s Randall has tracked down the man who abandoned him as a newborn.

At minimum, This Is Us is a terrific 42-minute indie film. Depending on what Episode 2 looks like in the wake of a significant end-of-pilot development, this could very well be TV’s next Parenthood, inviting you to celebrate the characters’ triumphs and sympathize with their setbacks, Kleenex-brand facial tissues always at the ready. This much is certain: Of all the pilots premiering this fall, this is one you will watch a second time.

THE TVLINE BOTTOM LINE | This is a tricky call, given how in the first weeks This Is Us will battle an NCIS before ultimately going up against Michael Weatherly’s Bull and a durable ABC sitcombo. In its favor, roughly a kabillion people have watched (and rewatched) the trailer on YouTube, so if a fraction of those lookie-loos stick around for the actual show, NBC could have a solid non-Chicago, non-Blacklist performer on its hands. (After all, Parenthood drew 8 million viewers and a 3.1 [!] rating when it debuted on a Tuesday at 10 pm, though wayyyyy back in 2010.)

You're Not Alone: Brittany Snow Can't Get a Ticket to Hamilton Either

(6/12/16) Turns out, starring in a number of movie musicals yourself still isn't enough to score a ticket to Broadway smash Hamilton.

Just like the rest of the musical-going population, Brittany Snow, the star of films like Pitch Perfect and Hairspray, who is partnering with Coppertone, tried to get a ticket to Hamilton on a recent trip to N.Y.C.

But her musical pedigree didn't give her a leg up when it came to scoring tickets to the hottest show in town (or perhaps, the world!)

"I tried to get tickets, and I couldn't, obviously," Snow told PEOPLE. "No one can!"

"I've listened to the soundtrack and can't wait to see it," she added.

She's not giving up hope yet, however.

"I've definitely want to see Hamilton," she said. "Hopefully I'll get my chance!"

Across the country, millions of people are thinking the same thing.

Brittany Snow Shows Off Her Trendy Los Angeles Home

(6/3/16) (Pic1, Pic2, Pic3, Pic4, Pic5, Pic6)Brittany Snow’s newly decorated Los Angeles home is perfectly on pitch with the actress’s personal style.

Bright spaces, livable furnishings and a dose of character were at the top of Snow’s wish list, and her designer, Meghan Noyes of House of Noyes, worked with the 30-year-old star to help bring her vision to life.

“We first came up with the ideal furniture layout for each room and selected the ‘main players’ that would serve as our base,” the designer tells PEOPLE. “Brittany is drawn to clean lines, so we made sure to choose classic pieces from Crate and Barrel like the white Willow Sofa or the Trevor Leather Chairs, which will never go out of style.”

While the open floor plan looks effortless now, it wasn’t without its challenges: “We really had to make sure that each space complemented the next, but still had a personality of its own,” she says.

Noyes made it work, though, by smartly utilizing timeless neutrals, wood elements and vintage pieces for a cohesive feel.

Plush pillows and cushy furnishings might tempt you to hunker down indoors, but that will all change when you see what’s outside.

“The backyard and living room is really a special area,” says Noyes. “The folding glass doors fully open and create the ultimate indoor/outdoor entertaining spot—perfect for summer pool parties!”

‘This Is Us’ Trailer Sets Viewership Record

(5/17/16) (Video) This Is Us (with Justin Hartley) is off to a hot start. The trailer for the new NBC dramedy series from Dan Fogelman and 20th TV is nearing 15 million views on Facebook a little over 48 hours after it was released. That shatters the record for most Facebook video views of a new-show trailer during the seven days of upfront week, posted by the CW’s Legends Of Tomorrow last year (4.1 million). The trailer for NBC’s high-profile new drama series Timeless, which was released at the same time as This Is Us, is at 4 million. Facebook native video was first introduced during the 2014 upfront.

With this speed, the trailer for This Is Us would cross the 20 million mark by end of day today or early tomorrow (you can watch it above). It also has amassed almost 2 million views on YouTube, in addition to those on NBC.com, which the network does not disclose.

This Is Us, which follows an ensemble, some of them sharing the same birthday, whose life stories intertwine in curious ways, is resonating with fans; there is a high level of shares and favorable reactions and comments.

Additionally, the viewership for the This is Us trailer keeps growing fast and has narrowed the gap with the trailer for Fox’s Prison Break event series, which is at 19 million views on Facebook. As can be expected for the revival of a popular show, the Prison Break trailer exploded when it was posted yesterday. For This Is Us, the traction seems to come from word of mouth as this is an original concept with no underlying property people would recognize, no high concept or special effects.

Midnight, Texas, From True Blood's Charlaine Harris, Ordered at NBC

(5/13/16) NBC is officially putting down stakes in Midnight, Texas.

The Peacock has handed a 13-episode order to the drama based on True Blood author Charlaine Harris’ three-book saga, TVLine has learned.

The series is described as a journey into a remote Texas town where no one is who they seem. From vampires and witches to psychics and hit men, Midnight is a mysterious safe haven for those who are different. As the town members fight off outside pressures from rowdy biker gangs, ever-suspicious cops and their own dangerous pasts, they band together and form a strong and unlikely family.

The first book in the series, Midnight Crossroad, was released in 2014. The follow-up, Day Shift, arrived in May. The third, Night Shift, is due in 2016.

The cast includes François Arnaud, Dylan Bruce, Parisa Fitz-Henley, Arielle Kebbel, Sarah Ramos, Peter Mensah, Yul Vazquez and Sean Bridgers.

Monica Owusu-Breen (Fringe, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) serves as writer and showrunner.

Dan Fogelman Dramedy ‘This Is Us’ Picked Up To Series By NBC

(5/12/16) (Trailer) Dan Fogelman’s This Is Us, one of the best received pilots on any network this season, has been picked up to series by NBC. It is produced by 20th TV. Written on spec by Neighbors and Galavant creator Fogelman, the dramedy project landed at NBC last fall in a bidding war, getting a straight pilot order with John Requa & Glenn Ficarra directing.

Fogelman is going two for two in his first season at 20th TV, with both of his hourlong pilots, This Is Us and Pitch at Fox, going to series.

Starring Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia and Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us follows an ensemble — some of them sharing the same birthday — whose life stories intertwine in curious ways.

Justin Hartley, Chrissy Metz, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan and Ron Cephas Jones co-star in This Is Us, executive produced by Fogelman, Jess Rosenthal, Charlie Gogolak, Requa and Ficarra.

CBS ANNOUNCES RENEWALS FOR RETURNING SERIES FOR THE 2016-2017 SEASON

(3/25/16) CBS Entertainment today announced renewals of the following returning series for the 2016-2017 season:

BLUE BLOODS, ELEMENTARY, HAWAII FIVE-0, MADAM SECRETARY, MOM, NCIS: LOS ANGELES,NCIS: NEW ORLEANS, SCORPION, 2 BROKE GIRLS, SURVIVOR,THE AMAZING RACE.

Gail O’Grady Joins NBC Pilot ‘Miranda’s Rights’

(3/24/16) Gail O’Grady (NYPD Blue) is set as a series regular opposite Rebecca Breeds and Parker Sawyers in NBC’s drama pilot Miranda’s Rights. Written/co-executive produced by Katie Lovejoy and executive produced by John Glenn, Miranda’s Rights is a one-hour legal soap about an idealistic group of lawyers — Young Law Group — who not only work together but live together at their start-up firm. The story centers on Miranda Coale (Breeds), a pretty and smart attorney plagued for the past six years by a youthful mistake — a much-publicized and scandalous affair in her early 20s with a married state Senator which changed the course of her life forever. O’Grady will play Karen Klein, a whip-smart, formidable career woman who is head of the Klein & Associates law firm. O’Grady’s credits include starring roles in NBC series NYPD Blue, which earned her three consecutive supporting actress Emmy nominations, and American Dreams. She also recurred on ABC’s Revenge and next will be seen in upcoming TV movie The Right Girls. O’Grady is repped by APA and Shelter Entertainment Group.

Brittany Snow Celebrates Turning 30 with Her Family and Two Birthday Cakes

(3/11/16) Brittany Snow's 30th birthday party was nothing short of aca-awesome.

The Pitch Perfect star celebrated her milestone birthday at ROKU restaurant in Los Angeles with a group of 12, including her parents and her closest friends.

Arriving at the hotspot just after 7 p.m., "Brittany was glowing and in amazing spirits," says a source. "She was smiling ear-to-ear all night long and was enjoying quality time with the people she cares about most."

The actress sipped on tequila cocktails while digging into tuna poke and lobster garlic noodles from the restaurant's teppenyaki grill with her group.

At the end of the night, the star's best friends sang a round of "Happy Birthday" and presented her with two cakes – one in the shape of a cookie and the other in the shape of a mini DJ set-up.

Sarah Ramos To Co-Star In NBC Drama Pilot ‘Midnight, Texas’

(2/23/16) Parenthood alumna Sarah Ramos is returning to NBC as one of the leads in another drama series project, pilot Midnight, Texas, which is based on the bestselling trilogy by Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse books that were adapted into HBO’s vampire drama True Blood.

Written by Monica Owusu-Breen and directed by Niels Arden Oplev, Midnight, Texas is described as Twin Peaks meets True Blood in Midnight, Texas, a remote town where your neighbor could be a vampire, a witch, a werewolf, or even an angel. Mystery, horror and romance combine to both enthrall and frighten any outsiders who decide to venture into this unusual place.

Ramos will play Creek, a girl next door beauty who works two jobs – a waitress at the local restaurant and working the counter at the Gas and Go convenience store her dad owns. She is bright, funny and dreams of more but lives at home to protect her teen brother from their oppressively strict and protective father.

Owusu-Breen, Oplev and David Janollari executive produce for Universal TV.

American Dreams alumna Ramos, repped by Gersh and Anonymous Content, played Haddie Braverman on NBC/Uni TV’s family drama Parenthood, starting off as a regular for the first three seasons.

Milo Ventimiglia Among ‘Gilmore Girls’ Alums Confirmed To Return For Revival

(2/10/16) Several more Gilmore Girls co-stars have been officially confirmed to return for the revival on Netflix. That includes Milo Ventimiglia, who played one of Rory’s boyfriends, Jess. He is joined by Matt Czuchry, Liza Weil and Yanic Truesdale, and I hear Jared Padalecki also is joining the cast. All will reprise their original characters in the revival, which consists of four 90-minute episodes.

Previously announced cast returning to the series include Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Scott Patterson, Kelly Bishop, Keiko Agena and Sean Gunn.

Amy Sherman-Palladino is the creator and executive producer. Daniel Palladino is also an executive producer. They are both writing and directing the series. Gilmore Girls (working title) is produced by Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

David Semel To Direct Jason Katims’ CBS Pilot ‘Bunker Hill’

(2/3/16) David Semel is set to direct and executive produce Bunker Hill, CBS’s medical drama pilot written/executive produced by Parenthood‘s Jason Katims, from Universal Television, Katims’ studio-based True Jack Prods. and CBS TV Studios. The project follows a young Silicon Valley tech titan who enlists a veteran surgeon with a controversial past in starting a hospital with a cutting-edge, “new school” approach to medicine. Katims and Semel executive produce the pilot with True Jack’s Michelle Lee.

Last year, CBS ordered a slew of medical drama scripts. Two, Code Black and LFE, went to pilot, and one, Code Black, went to series. It was directed by Semel, one of a string of pilots he has directed that have gone to series, including Heroes, Legends and, at CBS, Intelligence, Madam Secretary and Code Black.

Semel also recently directed the opening episodes of two buzzy straight-to-series Amazon dramas, breakout The Man In The High Castle, which already has been renewed for a second season, and David E. Kelley’s upcoming Trial starring Billy Bob Thornton. He is repped by WME.

Sam Page Previews New Hallmark Channel Movie All Things Valentine — Watch The Clip!

(1/29/16) (Video) Sam Page is starring in a romantic new Hallmark movie this weekend!

Get a head start on Valentine’s Day with the new movie All Things Valentine. Page portrays Brendan, a handsome veterinarian who falls into a relationship with lovelorn advice columnist Avery, played by Sarah Rafferty.

But when Avery discovers that Brenden’s ex-girlfriend broke up with him because of her advice column and he’s been the one she’s been exchanging angry online comments with, she begins to question his true feelings.

All Things Valentine premieres at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jan. 31, on Hallmark Channel, but you can watch a preview of the romance right here with this behind the scenes video!

Keith Robinson Is All Bout ‘All Eyez On Me’

(1/23/16) Keith Robinson has been cast in the in-production Tupac Shakur biopic All Eyez On Me, which tells the story of the seminal rapper’s rise to fame as one of the most important musical figures of his era, his bitter conflict with friend-turned-rival The Notorious B.I.G., and his still-unsolved murder. Robinson will portray TNT Records founder Atron Gregory, who first pushed Tupac into the limelight by getting him a gig as a dancer with the Oakland hip hop group Digital Underground and later helped establish him as a solo artist.

The film stars Demetrius Shipp, Jr. in the title role, with The Walking Dead‘s Danai Gurira as Tupac’s mother, and Jamal Woolard as Biggie, a role Woolard previously played in the 2009 biopic Notorious. Other cast includes Grace Gibson, recently cast as R&B singer Faith Evans, and fellow The Walking Dead alum Lauren Cohan as social worker Leila Steinberg. Robinson is repped by D2 Management and APA.

‘Blue Bloods’ star Will Estes still uses a flip phone

(1/16/16) Will Estes has starred in CBS’ “Blue Bloods” since 2010, but still lives frugally.

During an interview on Web series “IMDb Asks,” host Jerry O’Connell noted 30-something Estes uses a flip phone.

“Kids, this is what phones used to look like back in the day .?.?. What is this thing?” remarked O’Connell.

“I have been lit up at private parties for some time about this now,” admitted Estes, “but this is the first time it’s been debuted live.” He admitted, “I think my monthly bill is about 10 bucks.”

Virginia Madsen will guest-star on episode of Elementary

(1/5/16) Virginia Madsen (Witches of East End) will guest-star on an early spring episode of Elementary as a potential love interest for Gregson. Per EW.com, she will appear as Paige Cowen, a former NYPD detective who is protective of her budding relationship with Gregson, after a scandal caused her to leave the force.

Photo: Brittany Snow on Location

(1/5/16) Photo: Brittany Snow and Dave Bautista film "Bushwick" in New York on Monday.

New Couple Alert! Brittany Snow Is "Casually" Dating Filmmaker Andrew Jenks

(12/27/15) (Pic) Love is in the air this holiday season for Brittany Snow!

The Pitch Perfect star has been seeing filmmaker Andrew Jenks, a source tells E! News exclusively. While the twosome has kept their relationship private, the pair was spotted at Madison Square Garden attending the New York Knicks vs Houston Rockets basketball game just three days after Thanksgiving.

In addition, our insider tells us that they are in fact "casually" dating as a new year quickly approaches.

As for Snow's previous relationship with Tyler Hoechlin, a source tells E! News that they broke up a "few months ago" after dating for more than two years.

In fact, one of their last public appearances together was back in May at the Pitch Perfect 2 premiere in Los Angeles.

While some fans may know Snow as the acca-awesome actress from John Tucker Must Die, American Dreams and Hairspray, others will likely be equally impressed with Jenks' career.

At just 29 years old, the filmmaker has served as an executive producer on MTV's series World of Jenks. His most recent project put him in the director's chair as he helped bring Dream/Killer to the big screen.

With the relationship news out, is it safe to say we'll be seeing these two out and about in the near future? It may be too soon to say.

In the past, Snow has made it clear that she likes to keep her romantic life more on the private side.

"Sometimes if you give too much away, it loses its magic, as cheesy as that sounds," she told Cosmopolitan while discussing a previous relationship. "We like to keep our moments to ourselves, which is why we don't do much social media."

Guggenheim Prepares To Sell Hollywood Reporter, Dick Clark Productions To Exec

(12/17/15) Guggenheim Partners is about to unload The Hollywood Reporter and other media properties to the investment firm’s president, Todd Boehly, following years of losses, we’re told.

Guggenheim has not responded to a request for comment.

Boehly, a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, will have a controlling stake in three companies. One will include THR and Billboard. Another will house Mediabistro, Adweek, the Clio Awards, and TVNewser. And a third will consist of Dick Clark Productions.

Guggenheim will not have an interest in the properties. Boehly will give up his job as Guggenheim’s president and just serve on its executive council.

The news, first reported by The Wrap, appears to end the investment firm’s effort to become a media power.

THR is believed to be losing about $2.5 million a month.

“This was not surprising as they have not been doing well,” one banker tells us. “We heard that this was about to happen.”

Guggenheim’s media aspirations expanded in 2009 when, in a partnership with Pluribus Capital Management, it bought THR and other publications owned by Nielsen. In 2012 it also picked up Dick Clark Productions.

The following year Guggenheim took full control of the magazines and created Guggenheim Digital Media, hiring former Yahoo interim CEO Ross Levinsohn to run it. The secretive investment firm vowed to allocate “significant capital to acquire and invest in new media companies and properties that will meaningfully expand its current portfolio.”

One year later, the company revamped the operation, naming THR editor Janice Min co-President of Guggenheim’s Entertainment Group, reporting to Boehly. Levinsohn and much of his team were gone by mid-2014.

This past August Guggenheim paid a $20 million fine to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission charge that one of its units, Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, breached its fiduciary duty. A senior executive borrowed $50 million from a client in 2010 to pay for personal investment in a Guggenheim-led acquisition. Shortly afterward the lender invested in other Guggenheim transactions under different terms than other clients.

You Can Now Own Brittany Snow's Perfect Holiday Outfit for Less Than $115 (Happy Shopping!)

(12/6/15) (Pic) Having great style doesn’t have to come with a high price tag. And some of our favorite stars prove (over and over again) that you can still look fab without dropping serious cash. So to make that point, each week we’ll be featuring the best celeb style finds (all under $150) that we think should be added to your virtual cart — stat.

Can’t decide how to dress for this bipolar weather? Just look to Brittany Snow, who so eloquently provides us with major cool weather #OOTD inspo in a cute plaid button-down, an A-line mini skirt and toggle coat (all Maison Jules) during a recent outing in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. While the coat is slightly over our $150 budget, you can nab the star’s top and mini for less than $115 combined. Double win!

In case you thought Kendall Jenner’s off-duty wardrobe consists only of high-fashion offerings these days, think again. The supermodel’s most recent street-style look — an all-black ensemble complete with a long-sleeve top and jeans — is worth noting because her denim is less than $100. Yep, the Balmain babe is sporting a pair of semi-affordable pants from Big Star that you could soon own, too! You know, if you happen to have a Benjamin to spare.

And if you happen to be shopping around for a stylish (and incredibly affordable!) bauble for your BFF this holiday season, we’ve got you covered, courtesy of Jenna Dewan-Tatum’s delicate gold accessory she sported while out and about in L.A. last week. The star dressed up an otherwise casual ensemble (a V-neck white peplum top and jeans) with her antique gold-covered Sequin Sagittarius “Stellina” charm necklace ($42), proving celebs aren’t always decked in luxe diamond pieces.

Will you be adding any of these star bargains to your winter wardrobe?

Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia Justin Hartley, Lead Cast Of Dan Fogelman NBC Pilot

(11/12/15) Mandy Moore (Red Band Society), Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes), Justin Hartley (Smallville), Sterling Brown, and Ron Cephas Jones (Mr. Robot) are the first to be cast in Dan Fogelman’s pilot set at NBC. Written on spec by Fogelman, the untitled dramedy is made up of a unique ensemble of characters all born on the same day.

Moore, repped by Gersh and Untitled Entertainment, is Rebecca, the lovely wife and best friend to Jack (Ventimiglia). She’s on the verge of giving birth to their triplets, after having just moved into their new home in Pittsburg. Hartley, repped by Innovative Artists, is Kevin, a handsome and successful television actor with an underlining boredom in his ultimate bachelor life. Brown plays Randall, a sharply dressed corporate businessman and family man, based in New York. It’s a team effort to raise two young daughters with his wife Beth. Jones plays William, Randall’s biological father who abandoned him at a fire station soon after Randall was born.

Moore will next be seen in a starring role in Dimension Films’ 47 Meters Down, and was recently seen in Dermot Mulroney’s Love, Wedding, Marriage opposite Kellan Lutz and James Brolin. In addition to her role in Fox’s Red Band Society, her other credits include Disney’s Tangled, Christmas In Conway opposite Mary-Louise Parker and Andy Garcia, and a stint last year on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. She performed at the 2011 Academy Awards, singing the Oscar-nominated song from Tangled, “I See the Light,” alongside Zachary Levi. Other film credits include Saved!, License To Wed, Because I Said So, Dedication, The Princess Diaries and A Walk To Remember.

John Requa & Glenn Ficarra are directing the pilot. Fogelman, Requa & Ficarra executive produce with Jess Rosenthal and Charlie Gogolak. 20th Century Fox TV is the studio.

Matthew John Armstrong on NCIS

(10/19/15) “16 Years” – The NCIS murder case of a retired Navy Lieutenant Commander forces Ducky to reveal his participation in a secret society that solves cold cases, on NCIS, Tuesday, Nov. 3 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network. Jessica Walter guest stars as Judith McKnight and Richard Riehle guest stars as Walt Osorio, both members of the secret society.

Guest Cast includes: Jessica Walter, Richard Riehle, Chris Gartin, Todd Louiso, Matthew John Armstrong.

Gail O’Grady & Matthew John Armstrong on Code Black

(9/23/15) “Pre-Existing Conditions” – Amid the chaos and exhaustion of working 36 consecutive hours in Code Black, the doctors must deal with Margaret O’Brien (Gail O’Grady), the distraught mother of two sons who are in a devastating car accident. Also, Mario bullies Angus into performing an unnecessary operation but lets Angus take the blame when Leanne finds out, on CODE BLACK, Wednesday, Oct. 14 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Guest Cast Includes: Gail O’Grady (Margaret O’Brien), Matthew John Armstrong (Dylan Michael Ross).

SVU Collars Whoopi Goldberg and Virginia Madsen for Season 17

(9/16/15) Law & Order: SVU‘s Season 17 call sheet includes a View co-host and a (onetime) ruthless witch.

Whoopi Goldberg and Virginia Madsen (The Witches of East End) both have signed on to guest-star in the NBC procedural’s upcoming season.

EGOT recipient Goldberg will play Janette Grayson, a Department of Child Services supervisor whose allegedly faked reports put multiple children at risk. Janette finds herself on trial when the agency’s internal policies bring it the wrong kind of publicity. (E! Online first reported the casting.)

Madsen — per The Hollywood Reporter, which broke her casting — will play Rollins’ mother Beth Anne, who feels that her police-officer daughter has turned her back on the family.

Madsen will debut in Episode 6, which also marks the return of Lindsay Pulsipher (True Blood) as Rollins’ sister, Kim. Goldberg will appear in Episode 4, which airs Oct. 7.

Vanessa Lengies Named ‘Lookinglass’ Regular On Fox

(9/11/15) Glee alumna Vanessa Lengies is returning to Fox as a new series regular on the network’s midseason drama Lookinglass (formerly The Frankenstein Code). Written by Rand Ravich and executive produced by Howard Gordon, Lookinglass centers on Jimmy Pritchard, a disgraced dead 75-year-old ex-sheriff who is brought back to life and given a second chance as a 35-year-old (Rob Kazinsky) with unpredictable near-superhuman abilities by billionaire tech-genius twins Mary (Dilshad Vadsaria) and Otto (Adhir Kalyan), founders of the social networking empire, Lookinglass. Lengies, who started off as a guest star on the show, plays Alexa, Mary’s loyal and highly competent executive assistant at Lookinglass. She is repped by Gersh, manager John Carrabino and attorney Geoff Oblath.

Brittany Snow Is Coming Back for Pitch Perfect 3!

(7/28/15) She's back, pitches!

E! News has confirmed that Brittany Snow will be returning for Pitch Perfect 3. Universal Pictures and Gold Circle Entertainment tell us Snow will reprise her role as Chloe alongside Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson—who both confirmed they're on board back in June—in the film's next installment.

@Brittanysnow : My hair was never gunna stay blonde anyway. More songs with our mouths ;) https://twitter.com/variety/status/626151526520782848 …

Following the massive box office success of the franchise's sequel, the studio announced in early June that they have decided to move forward with another installment of the movie. Kay Cannon, the writer of the first two movies, will return to pen the third flick. It has yet to be confirmed whether Elizabeth Banks will return to direct, but the actress did tweet, "It's on," when the news was first released.

Pitch Perfect 2 has earned more than $183 million at the U.S. box office (and $282 million worldwide!) since its May 15 release. Asked about the possibility of yet another PP movie while making the media rounds for the sequel, Kendrick told Time, "I'm not one to count my chickens, so I just want to see how this one does and find out if there's an appetite for that before I even think about it. I'll drive myself crazy."

She was even a little unsure about returning for the sequel, telling the mag, "I didn't know if they were just going to do a sloppy seconds version of it, and that was the thing that made me nervous. When I found out it was really going forward and it was going to be a real movie and everybody was coming back—there was no way I was going to miss out on that."

And the journey continues! Pitch Perfect 3 is slated for a July 21, 2017 release.

2015 Teen Choice Awards Nominations

(7/13/15) The two-hour awards show airs Sunday, Aug. 16 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FOX.

Choice Movie Chemistry (#ChoiceMovieChemistry)

Jim Carrey & Jeff Daniels, “Dumb and Dumber To”
Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson, Dwayne Johnson, Ludacris, Michelle Rodriguez & Paul Walker, “Furious 7"
Anna Kendrick & Brittany Snow, “Pitch Perfect 2"
Thomas Mann & RJ Cyler, “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”
Dylan O’Brien & Thomas Brodie-Sangster, “The Maze Runner”
Sofia Vergara & Reese Witherspoon, “Hot Pursuit”

These Parenthood Stars Say the Whole Cast 'Would Love' to Film a Reunion

(6/5/15) (people.com) If Sarah Ramos and Miles Heizer have their way, you haven't seen the last of the Bravermans.

The actors would be thrilled to shoot a Parenthood reunion one day, they told PEOPLE on Thursday night at the ATX Television Festival in Austin, Texas.

"I think 100 percent, everybody would," said Heizer, 21, of the cast coming back together.

"Honestly, who would not want to do that?" Ramos, 24, chimed in. "I can't think of anyone."

"I can't think of one person – except for the twins who play Nora," Heizer quipped.

But Ramos defended the adorable toddlers: "They would love to! They would be dying."

NBC's family drama – in which Ramos and Heizer played cousins – went off the air in January. As much as every episode made our eyes well with tears, nothing was as devastating as the series finale, when Braverman patriarch Zeek (Craig T. Nelson) died and his loved ones scattered his ashes on the baseball diamond before playing one last game.

Ramos said she found the bittersweet ending creatively satisfying – and realistic.

"It signifies an end, right?" she said.

"That's true, and I think it was done in a way that was really effective," Heizer added. "I could barely watch it, I remember being actually angry watching it, being like, 'Why did they do this? This is so hard to watch and it’s so sad!' "

The friends are in town to help toast Parenthood costar Lauren Graham, who's generating tons of buzz at the festival ahead of Saturday's headlining Gilmore Girls reunion.

From playing Lorelai Gilmore for seven seasons to Sarah Braverman for six, the star is an iconic TV mom.

"She's so f---ing funny. She's funny and smart," Ramos said of Graham. "She delivers things in such an unexpected way, and she's f---ing beautiful. She's just someone you can really easily obsess over. ... I think she brings a lot of comedy to dark moments, which is something not everyone does."

Her on-screen son agrees.

"She's just so good at what she does. I definitely when working with her would be like, 'Oh my God, that's how you're supposed to act. That's a thing.' She's so engaging, so funny. Especially on Parenthood, she would improvise a lot of stuff that was just genuinely so smart," Heizer said. "I think everyone who meets her likes her. She's just the best. Everyone loves her."

And Ramos has been bingeing on Gilmore Girls – so who does she ship with Rory (Alexis Bledel)?

Sorry, Jared Padalecki and Milo Ventimiglia: She's all about Matt Czuchry's Logan Huntzberger, the playboy billionaire with a heart of gold whose proposal Rory spurned in the series finale in favor of covering Barack Obama's campaign.

"Logan! Jess and Dean are boring, although I haven't finished the whole season, and I heard Jess comes back as like owning a bookstore, but I'm like, 'Come on, that's not real,' " she joked. "What a loser. Ew, deadbeat."

CFDA Awards 2015: Go Behind the Scenes with Brittany Snow and Designer Rachel Roy

(6/2/15) CFDA Awards 2015: Go Behind the Scenes with Brittany Snow and Designer Rachel Roy.

Gilmore's 'Jess' Joins Reunion

(6/2/15) For Jess Mariano fans, the upcoming Gilmore Girls reunion just got a lot more enticing.

Milo Ventimiglia, who played Rory’s bad-boy beau on the beloved series, has joined its reunion panel taking place this weekend at Austin’s ATX Festival, EW.com reports.

The jam-packed panel will also include Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Kelly Bishop, Jared Padalecki, Scott Patterson, Matt Czuchry, Keiko Agena, Liza Weil, Liz Torres, Sean Gunn, Yanic Truesdale, John Cabrera, Danny Strong, Todd Lowe, Jackson Douglas and series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino.

The ATX Festival runs June 4-7, with the Gilmore event taking place on the last night.

'The Whispers' Milo Ventimiglia: Whatever John Doe is there for, it's 'ominous'

(6/1/15) (Video) The next time you hear a child claim he or she has an imaginary friend, it might be worth believing.

That's one of the lessons of "The Whispers," an ABC suspense series whose executive producers include someone who often gives lots of credit to young characters, Steven Spielberg. Premiering Monday (June 1), the show doesn't choose just any locale to spin its tale: The kids in question reside in Washington, D.C., so their alleged new buddy knows where to strike if gaining power and influence is the aim.

As the youngsters allegedly are guided into increasingly alarming actions by their unseen pal, known as Drill, an FBI agent (played by "American Horror Story" veteran Lily Rabe) who specializes in child behavior is drawn in. She doesn't know it, but she has even more of a link to the situation: Her hearing-impaired son (Kyle Harrison Breitkopf) is also communicating with Drill.

In "The Whispers" as originally constructed, Drill was an alien intelligence, but series creator and co-executive producer Soo Hugh tells Zap2it the show's makers decided to "pull back on some of the story and change some of the reveals. The question of what is Drill, who is Drill, plays a bigger part in the series now. We wanted to make that question more of a season-long question. There's people making conjectures of what and who Drill is, and some people may jump to the gun of 'alien,' whether or not we bear that out."

Among others in the "Whispers" cast: Barry Sloane ( "Revenge") as a Defense Department agent seeking related answers in the Sahara; Kristen Connolly ( "House of Cards") as the wife he cheated on with the widowed Rabe character; and "Heroes" alum Milo Ventimiglia -- seen recently on FOX's "Gotham" as the sinister Ogre -- as an enigmatic character appropriately named John Doe.

Is John Doe supposed to be the embodiment of Drill? "You can't make out exactly what he's there for," Ventimiglia says, "but you know it's ominous, and you know that it's dangerous, and you know that it's something you've got to follow closely and watch because it's got to relate to the greater picture."

For Rabe -- the daughter of playwright David Rabe ("Hurlyburly") and the late actress Jill Clayburgh ("An Unmarried Woman") -- "The Whispers" means working frequently with much younger co-stars. She deems that "one of the greatest joys I had doing this show."

"I think all children are pretty extraordinary, and getting to work with children is always so much fun, because it's exactly what you're chasing all the time in a scene partner ... which is someone who just wants to play and who is completely, wholly present. And it's different every time. And all the things that excite me as an actor, you get that in spades with kids. And these kids were very special."

Even if the creative path of "The Whispers" has been altered a bit, the series still ends up where it always was intended to, Hugh maintains: "We always knew the last scene of the show, having had experience on shows whose finales may have disappointed some fans. I'm part of those fan circles, in terms of watching TV shows. I don't want to be disappointed when I watch my favorite shows, and we really took that to heart when we were in the writers' room."

Erin Andrews and Brittany Snow Will Host 2015 CMT Music Awards

(5/29/15) Dancing With the Stars co-host Erin Andrews and Pitch Perfect star Brittany Snow will co-host the 2015 CMT Music Awards airing live June 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Andrews recently wrapped up her third season as co-host of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars as ratings soared to all-time highs in the competition for the coveted Mirror Ball trophy. On the field, she returns to FOX NFL Sunday in the fall as part of the network’s No. 1 broadcast team and continues to cover Major League Baseball events, including the World Series and All Star Game.

“Being a huge fan of country music, the CMT Music Awards are one of my favorite events of the season,” Andrews said. “I cannot wait to be around all the talented artists and bands and look forward to being a part of such a great event.”

Best known for her breakout role as Chloe Beale, co-leader of the Barden Bellas in the smash hit Pitch Perfect and the just-released Pitch Perfect 2, which recently topped both the box office and album charts, Snow is one of the brightest and most engaging acting talents to emerge in recent years. She can also currently be seen in the second season of DirecTV’s drama series Full Circle and stars opposite William H. Macy in Dial a Prayer, a drama in theaters now.

“As a longtime fan of CMT and the CMT Music Awards, I’m thrilled to join Erin in hosting what’s sure to be one of the most memorable musical nights of the year,” Snow said.

CMT revealed the first round of performers last week, including Carrie Underwood, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum and Luke Bryan. Additional performers and presenters will be announced at a later date.

Underwood is this year’s frontrunner with five nominations including, two for the highly-coveted video of the year award. Lady Antebellum and Chesney followed with an impressive four nominations each. Florida Georgia Line and Aldean earned a respective three nominations, while Keith Urban and Luke Bryan each scored two nods.

Fans can vote now via CMT.com through June 7 at 11:59 PM ET to determine the winners. The six finalists for video of the year will be announced at the beginning of the live show and fans can then vote at CMT.com throughout the live telecast (ET/CT only) to determine the night’s big winner.

For more information as it becomes available, follow @CMT on Twitter and Instagram, use hashtag #CMTawards and like the CMT Music Awards on Facebook.

Joey Lawrence and Other '90s Hunks Pose Shirtless

(5/22/15) (Pic) Call it shirtless for summer.

Joey Lawrence, Ian Ziering, David Chokachi and Antonio Sabato Jr. showed off some skin for Us Weekly's "Best Bodies" issue - and critiqued their fashion choices from the '90s.

"When I think back at my time on 90210, I look back at some of those outfits and think, what is it that influenced me to button my dress shirts to the top button?" Ziering muses. "Every time I see it, it's so ridiculous."

Lawrence, on the other hand, notes that he seems to have to lucked out, since flannel is making a comeback.

Brittany Snow, Sharon Osbourne, Others Set For MTV Animated Comedy

(5/19/15) MTV has ordered an animated pilot presentation for half-hour comedy Fancy Bastards (wt) with Brittany Snow, Sharon Osbourne and Kelly Osbourne among the cast. Jason Micallef and Kristen Schall are executive producing alongside Underground’s Josh Turner McGuire and Trevor Engelson. Price Peterson, Ryan Sandoval and Lily Sparks wrote the pilot and also serve as executive producers. Titmouse is the studio.

In Fancy Bastards, a small town is shocked to learn its five most awkward outcasts all share the same father – a notorious ginger cad who had an indiscretion-filled night during a whirlwind visit to Vegas nine years ago — and just happens to be a prince. The misfits turn into royal rock stars overnight but soon find that the “Fancy Bastard” life is no fairy tale. In addition to Snow and the Osbournes, the cast includes Natasha Leggero (Neighbors), Nasim Pedrad (SNL), John Roberts (Bob’s Burgers), Jameeliah Garrett (Supanatural) and Jessica Lowe (Blended).

Pitch Perfect 2's Brittany Snow Raps 'Gangsta's Paradise' on Ellen

(5/11/15) (Video) Brittany Snow was just 9 years old when Coolio released "Gangsta's Paradise" but the song holds a special place in the Pitch Perfect 2 star's heart.

As the 29-year-old told Ellen DeGeneres on Monday, the song, from the 1995 Michelle Pfeiffer film Dangerous Minds was her go-to karaoke song when she and the cast would go out after a day of filming.

It didn't take much encouragement to get her to perform it on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

To be honest, it's the first time we've understood all the lyrics, thanks to Snow's clear enunciation. "Look how cool I am," she quipped.

Later, the actress responded to Tweets about her impromptu performance, writing, "This is by far the dorkiest thing I've ever done. Ever."

And in response to someone who claimed that Snow "did not choose the thug life the thug life chose her," she replied, "Truer words have never been tweeted."

Watch the New Music Video for Ester Dean's 'Crazy Youngsters' Featuring the Pitch Perfect 2 Cast

(5/11/15) (Video) It's not a cappella, but it's still aca-awesome!

Ester Dean released a music video on Sunday for her song "Crazy Youngsters," which will be featured on the soundtrack for the upcoming Pitch Perfect 2.

The video for the high-energy pop song features several members of the Pitch Perfect 2 cast, including Anna Camp, Brittany Snow and Flula, who will be playing the leader of a German a cappella group in the film.

Not only did Dean, 29, who stars as Cynthia-Rose Adams in both Pitch Perfect movies, write "Crazy Youngsters," but she has also written or co-written many other hit songs for artists such as Britney Spears, Rihanna, Beyoncé and Katy Perry. After co-writing Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass," Dean opened for Minaj on the first European leg of The Pinkprint Tour.

Pitch Perfect 2 hits theaters Friday.

Brittany Snow: I Don't Like My Pitch Perfect 2 Hair Color

(5/11/15) Brittany Snow will happily change up her hair color for movie roles, but the 29-year-old actress reveals she wasn’t a huge fan of her Pitch Perfect 2 hue. Snow opens up to Yahoo! Style about the red shade she sported in the film, plus her evolving street style and being compared to the Olsen twins!

(Photo1)

“I have had every hair color,” she shares in the interview. “I joke with my hair colorist. She keeps sheets of paper on every hair color that I’ve had so she has records of it all. She’s done my hair since I was 15 and I guess I have a thick folder going because I’ve had so many different hair colors.”

Snow, who identifies as a blonde, adds that she hasn’t been a fan of all her looks. “I think my least favorite hair color was the hair color that I had in Pitch Perfect 2. They really wanted me to be dark red and I wanted to be lighter like I was in the first movie, but they didn’t want that. But I rocked some light red for a year, after it faded.” (See a grid of the star’s changing colors below.)

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As for her style, Snow says she doesn’t pay much attention to fashion trends.

“It was never an interest to me because I never really got it,” she shares, adding that her street style remains very casual. “I live by the beach and I feel like my style reflects that. I’m very lazy; if it takes me longer than 15 or 20 minutes to get ready, then I don’t want to do it. So I wear a lot of jeans and T-shirts and very normal kind of tomboyish sort of things. I feel that whole vibe of that tomboy chic thing that’s been introduced years ago by Alexa Chung and things in that sort of evolution is what I like to wear. I just like to look effortless because I don’t want to put too much effort into it.”

One thing Snow does put a lot of effort in to: her career. And despite starring in TV and movies for close to 20 years, she says she’s still able to maintain her anonymity.

“I don’t get recognized that often. I used to get recognized for being the Olsen twins a lot, which was a compliment, not so much anymore,” she says.

(Photo3)

Thanks to her latest role in Pitch Perfect 2, more fans might be coming up to her for selfies and autographs. The movie debuts May 15, and Snow refuses to give away any clues on the rumors that her character Chloe hooks up with Anna Kendrick’s character Beca.

“I can’t give you anything, because I get in trouble either way,” she says. (Trailer)

Brittany Snow and Boyfriend Tyler Hoechlin Make Rare Red Carpet Appearance Together at Pitch Perfect 2 Premiere

(5/9/15) (Pic1, Pic2) You know it's a big night when this Hollywood couple steps out!

Brittany Snow and longtime boyfriend Tyler Hoechlin turned heads Friday evening when the pair attended the premiere of Pitch Perfect 2 at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live.

Wearing a red dress with sheer skirt detailing from the Edition by Georges Chakra Collection, Snow was all smiles while posing with her main man. Hoechlin looked handsome as well in all black.

The couple's most recent red carpet appearance together was during Oscars season when they attended a couple of parties including the Vanity Fair bash.

Just a few short weeks ago, Snow opened up about why she keeps her romantic life on the more private side. Turns out she doesn't feel the need to document her love all the time.

"Sometimes if you give too much away, it loses its magic, as cheesy as that sounds," she told Cosmopolitan. "We like to keep our moments to ourselves, which is why we don't do much social media."

She added, "We're not hiding anything. We're not not wanting people to know."

What you should know is Snow wasn't the only Bella and Hollywood star at Friday night's big party. From Rebel Wilson and Hailee Steinfeld to Jaden Smith and Bella Thorne, take a look at who made this premiere a star-studded affair.

Brittany Snow Says 'Everybody Just Goes for It' in Pitch Perfect 2

(4/20/15) (Video) In one month, the Barden Bellas are back, Pitches!

Fans got another glimpse at Pitch Perfect 2 with a special clip complete with cast commentary shared Monday on YouTube.

How does Rebel Wilson, who plays the infamous Fat Amy, describe the next chapter in the Bellas' musical saga? "Huger!" she says in the clip. "Is that even a word?"

The Bellas are now three-time champs, but they get suspended from competing at the collegiate level in the Pitch Perfect sequel, which also kicked off the film convention CinemaCon on Monday in Las Vegas.

The girls have to then win back their place in the "a cappella pantheon," as Elizabeth Banks – who directed, starred in and produced the second installment – says in the 2½-minute snippet.

"We really become the underdogs once more," says Wilson. Anna Kendrick and Brittany Snow also return to the musical comedy.

How will the Bellas do it? They're gunning for a win at Worlds, where the gang takes on new rivals (such as German foes Das Sound Machine) – and, of course, new jams.

"They are just, like, machines," Wilson says of the sequel's aca-antagonists. "They're crazy hard to beat."

In the clip, Fat Amy gets caught hanging from the ceiling while doing a rendition of the Miley Cyrus hit "Wrecking Ball" and the group dances it out to Beyoncé's "Run the World (Girls)."

"Everybody just goes for it in this one," Brittany Snow says in the spot.

Pitch Perfect 2 hits theaters May 15.

Brittany Snow Swears She's a 'Really Bad Twerker'

(4/13/15) (Pic1, Pic2) It's no secret that Pitch Perfect 2 star Brittany Snow has musical chops – but apparently her skills don't extend to dancing. The actress said that, even after months of practice for the upcoming sequel to the hit comedy, she still struggles to burn up the dance floor.

"One of my favorite scenes to do in Pitch Perfect 2 was this number where we really get dirty with our dancing," Snow, 29, tells Cosmopolitan in its May issue, which hits newsstands on April 14. "We had a month of rehearsals learning how to do things I'm just not cool enough to do in my real life."

Snow says that she couldn't grasp one dance move in particular – twerking. "I’m a really bad twerker – I still haven't figured out how to do it," she says. "I actually hurt my back one day. I woke up the next morning and my back was completely tweaked out … from twerking."

Snow also discussed her relationship with Teen Wolf star Tyler Hoechlin, 27, who she's been dating since early 2013. The star said she likes to keep her relationship with the hunky actor private, so it doesn't "lose its magic."

"We like to keep our moments to ourselves, which is why we don't do much social media," she says. "We're not hiding anything. We're not not wanting people to know."

"Social media, for me, is about interacting with people who follow my career," Snow added. "I don't think my relationship has anything to do with my career. So we just keep it simple, try not to think about it that much, and just be us." The second installment of the hilarious movie about a college female acappella group hits theaters on May 15.

Brittany Snow Admits to Experiencing a Back Injury After Twerking, Explains Why Her Love Life Is So Private

(4/13/15) Fans of Pitch Perfect 2 may be pumped for all the singing coming soon to the big screen. But Brittany Snow is here to warn you there's so much more than just a few a cappella numbers.

Yes, there's some twerking involved with this highly anticipated sequel.

"One of my favorite scenes to do was this number where we really get dirty with our dancing," she revealed in the May issue of Cosmopolitan. "We had a month of rehearsals learning how to do things I'm just not cool enough to do in my real life."

As it turns out, Snow could still use some help on her twerking skills.

"I'm a really bad twerker—I still haven't figured out how to do it," she confessed. "I actually hurt my back one day. I woke up the next morning and my back was completely tweaked out…from twerking."

Perhaps boyfriend Tyler Hoechlin was around to help her out. Yes, Snow is in a happy relationship with the Teen Wolf star. And if you didn't already know, it's likely because she doesn't talk about it too much.

"Sometimes if you give too much away, it loses its magic, as cheesy as that sounds. We like to keep our moments to ourselves, which is why we don't do much social media," Snow explained. "We're not hiding anything. We're not not wanting people to know."

She added, "Social media, for me, is about interacting with people who follow my career. I don't think my relationship has anything to do with my career. So we just keep it simple, try not to think about it that much, and just be us."

One thing that isn't a secret is Snow's belief that dating musicians is so yesterday. While she admits to having a fascination with live performances, Snow has learned that being in a romantic relationship with a singer may not be the best bet.

"Until recently, I always dated musicians. I have this fascination with being on the road, all things music, and the '70s," she shared. "My favorite movie is Almost Famous. I don't date musicians anymore, but I still hang out creepily at concerts and venues." After all, she loves some aca-awesome music!

Read Snow's complete interview in Cosmopolitan on newsstands Tuesday and see Pitch Perfect 2 in theatres May 15.

Milo Ventimiglia on His Gotham Arc, Heroes Reborn and, of Course, Gilmore Girls

(4/13/15) (people.com) Set to play a serial killer for a three-episode arc on Gotham, Milo Ventimiglia's Jason Lennon is a far cry from Peter Petrelli, the empath he portrayed on Heroes.

Nicknamed "The Ogre" – but not the one we know from the DC Comics universe – Jason targets young women in Gotham on a twisted quest for love. When the women he encounters don't meet his expectations, they become discarded in increasingly grisly fashion.

With the Gotham PD too fearful to investigate due to Jason's tendency to target the loved ones of any detectives who start poking around, Jason basically has free rein on Gotham's dating pool … that is, until Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) – with more honor than sense, as ever – steps in.

Now that he's back in the superhero world, Ventimiglia, 37, tells PEOPLE that playing a villain is "fun in a different way" from playing someone like his Heroes character. The actor also reveals whether or not we can expect him to appear in the upcoming Heroes reboot, Heroes Reborn, and what he thinks happened to Rory (Alexis Bledel) and Jess after the series finale of Gilmore Girls.

On Heroes, Peter was a good guy almost to a fault. What's it like to play a villain?

Fun in a different way. Is it wrong to say that it's a lot of fun to play a serial killer? But it is! Playing someone that is more selfish than selfless is fun. At the same time, I never wanted to make a guy who is without humanity, without some kind of human quality. Luckily, the words on the page helped me out with that. He's a guy who is looking for love. He is looking for a partner.

You said that he's coming from a place of love. Twisted though that place is, does that mean the door is left open for Jason's rehabilitation or return?

I think that there are some people you can't necessarily reprogram. I think that there's a degree where you have to give someone an opportunity to prove that they see a different side of life, but at the same time, some people are just evil. We all have within us the capability to be completely deplorable and evil. Like, what are those things that trigger that and allow us to explore that darker side?

What was it like to finally work with Ben McKenzie?

We've been friends for years and years and years, but we've never been on a set together. There's a huge group of actors that have been in the game since our early twenties and we all just know each other and you just get to be friends with each other because these are your contemporaries. Ben was always a contemporary, and he was clocking in good work, and he's just such a good guy. It was a blast. I always hope to be on set with good friends, and it was about time for he and I.

What do you think of the Heroes reboot? Is there any way we'll see Peter Petrelli on Heroes Reborn?

I'm sure he'll be mentioned, but you're not going to see him. Back in our heyday, after the first season, I was the only one that was like, "Look, I'm having fun, but at some point this is going to end." And people couldn't believe that I said that. And then, the show ended four years later. Now that the show is coming back, I think it's going to be interesting to see how the fans react to what is not what they had before. They may not be completely satiated without all the characters they fell in love with.

When I watch a show, I watch it for the characters. If the majority of them aren't there … it's going to be different. It doesn't mean that it can't be great. I'm very excited for Zach [Levi, who will play the lead] and Masi [Oka, who is returning]. I wish them all the best. In my mind, Peter Petrelli f---ed off and went somewhere else. He's gone.

Speaking of past characters, I feel compelled to ask about Gilmore Girls. Jess was always my favorite of Rory's boyfriends, even though he was kind of a jerk.

He was a good guy, though! By the very end. He was a really good guy.

He was! By the end. Speaking of rehabilitation. … Anyway, I like to think that Jess and Rory got back together after the series ended. What do you think about that? Do you want to kill my dreams?

I don't want to kill your dreams, but I don't think Jess and Rory got back together. I think they kept a friendly relationship. Maybe they send each other postcards. There was another version of the ending that I'd heard from [GG creator] Amy Sherman-Palladino and it still wasn't Rory and Jess. … Or it was? I have no idea. I think that's also the cool part. You never really know. There are stories and things that you wonder about but then you get to dictate how you see things and how they could have worked out, which is kinda cool, you know?

As opposed to, "Hey, let's revisit this, let's put a capper on it and let's tell you exactly how it ended." Then, maybe, you're going to be disappointed. That's always the tough thing about revivals. You get so excited, and then maybe it will leave a bad taste in your mouth. I don't know. I'm of the opinion of moving forward. Something ends, it's done. And that's okay! You get to share the memories and look back at things reverently and just move forward.

[Willfully ignores] So … you are telling me … that Jess and Rory at least keep up a texting relationship.

[Laughs] I don't think Jess is the texting type. I don't want to say he's as old school as letter-writing, but … I think Jess really, truly cared about Rory and that was pretty evident at the very end. He said, "This isn't you. I know you. This isn't you." But I don't know.

There's a Gilmore Girls reunion happening at the ATX Television Festival. Will you be there?

I'd love to, but I just signed on for another movie that hasn't been announced so I'm waiting for my schedule. I'd love to be a part of it and to see the old crew and to connect with the fans specifically about Gilmore. I know everybody else has signed on, but I just don't know my schedule right now which kinda sucks.

Gotham airs Mondays (8 p.m. ET) on Fox.

'Gotham': Milo Ventimiglia took Ogre inspiration from Ted Bundy

(4/13/15) (Video) "Gotham" has seen more than its fair share of evil throughout Season 1, but with the introduction of the Ogre (Milo Ventimiglia), things are really going to get dark.

Though the Ogre -- real name Jason Lennon -- shares the moniker with a comic book villain, the two characters are not connected. The show's version is a serial killer wreaking havoc on Gotham City. With that in mind, it only seems right that Ventimiglia would look to actual serial killers when creating the character.

"I did kind of get in the mind of serial killers. Ted Bundy, he's someone I could liken this guy to because of how he approached women and how he approached life," the actor tells Zap2it.

"[Jason's] looking for love and to the extreme he's looking for unconditional love," Ventimiglia explains. "His want to have that is very genuine, his want to have that is very true. But the way that he gets to it -- to basically have women prove to him that they love him unconditionally -- is wrong."

Of course, when the women he chooses don't live up to his impossibly high standards, the Ogre is left with no alternative but to "discard them violently."

Unfortunately for Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie), The Ogre also has a habit of going after the loved ones of cops who try to catch him. That could mean bad news for both Barbara Kean (Erin Richards) and Leslie Thompkins (Morena Baccarin), the two women connected to Gordon.

Perhaps the Ogre is underestimating just how powerful Gordon is, though. "[Gordon is] another notch in his belt, it's another thorn to pull off of a rose before you hand it to somebody. It's a nuisance, a flea on a dog," Ventimiglia says. "In Jason's arrogance, he doesn't believe him to be any more powerful than anybody else he's had to deal with, and certainly not anymore powerful than he believes himself to be."

Of course, Ventimiglia knows what those who watch "Gotham" know: "That is where he's wrong. Jim Gordon is not an everyday cop, he's not an everyday detective. He's f***ing Jim Gordon," he says with a laugh. He's the last person whose loved ones you want to go after.

Ventimiglia will guest star as the Ogre on three episodes of "Gotham," starting Monday (April 13) at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FOX.

'Heroes Reborn': Milo Ventimiglia says Peter Petrelli return is 'not gonna happen'

(4/8/15) While you'll see some familiar faces when "Heroes Reborn" premieres, there's at least one family you shouldn't expect to be involved: The Petrellis.

While speaking to Zap2it about his upcoming role as the Ogre on "Gotham," Milo Ventimiglia revealed whether he had been approached to resurrect Peter Petrelli for the "Heroes" continuation.

"Not on my end, no," he says. "As far as I understand, they're already back to work and have broken their stories. Maybe they'll mention the Petrellis, but I don't see it happening that I would be revisiting. Just not gonna happen."

While he won't my playing a role in the series, he's still looking forward to seeing the finished product. "I'm very excited for Jack [Coleman] and I'm very excited for Masi [Oka] and Zach - that's Levi and not Quinto," he says. "I'm excited for those guys. It should be fun, hopefully, for the fans."

As for whether the show can endear itself to fans the way the initial season of "Heroes" did, Ventimiglia knows they have their work cut out for them. "It's always tough, man. When we did the show, there was something really unique about the time it came out and what we were able to capture with with the show," he says.

"Heroes Reborn" is expected to premiere later in 2015 on NBC.

3 Things You Didn't Know About Actress Brittany Snow

(4/7/15) (southernliving.com) She spent her teen years acting in the soap Guiding Light before graduating to roles in feature films like Pitch Perfect, Hairspray, and John Tucker Must Die. She also helped launch the anti-bullying project Love Is Louder. This Tampa native stars (and sings!) in Pitch Perfect 2, the sequel to the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-filmed a cappella hit, opening May 15.

SOUTHERN TO THE BONE “I grew up in North Tampa. My first kiss was on the back of a pickup truck, so it was Southern—just with alligators.”

HOME SWEET HOME “My dad has kept my room in Tampa the exact same way it was when I left when I was 14. So there’s a lava lamp and beanbag chairs—and frogs. I was really into frogs.”

NO BULLIES HERE “Lots of people find it helpful being involved with Love Is Louder [@joinloveislouder] on Facebook and just becoming part of the movement.”

David Semel Inks Overall Deal With CBS TV Studios

(4/6/15) David Semel, who directed the pilot of and executive produces Madam Secretary, has closed an overall deal with the studio behind the freshman CBS drama, CBS Television Studios. Under the two-year pact, Semel will continue on the Tea Leoni-starring series, which has been renewed for a second season, while also producing and directing new projects for the studio.

Semel most recently directed Amazon’s pilot for The Man In The High Castle and is executive producing the Frank Spotnitz drama, which has been picked up to series.

Semel, repped by WME and Hansen Jacobson, is a sought-after drama pilot director who has helmed pilots for such series as American Dreams, Heroes, No Ordinary Family and Legends as well as two other CBS dramas: Person Of Interest and Intelligence.

Paul Wesley and Phoebe Tonkin Share a Courtside Kiss and Take Selfies

(3/17/15) (Pic1, Pic2) It looks like these vampires only have eyes for each other.

Paul Wesley and Phoebe Tonkin looked happy in love as they showed some courtside PDA at the Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks game Sunday.

Tonkin and her 32-year-old beau, who first met on the set of The Vampire Diaries back in 2012, filled their night with laughter, some leg grabbing, selfies and a kiss!

The couple were twinning in head-to-toe black attire rocking black booties and tops as they enjoyed their romantic date night.

The couple struck multiple poses for their selfies—one with Tonkin throwing her arms around Wesley's neck and another where the duo posed close together.

Although the pair didn't upload the adorable pics of their date to social media, Tonkin did take to her Instagram to post a picture of the Lakers and Hawks game.

Looks like the actress was as much into the game as she was into her romantic date!

Wesley plays the vampire Stefan Salvatore, the love interest of Elena Gilbert (played by Nina Dobrev), in the hit TV show The Vampire Diaries.

Rachel Boston In CBS' 'For Justice'

(3/13/15) Witches Of East End alum Rachel Boston is set as a series regular in CBS’ civil rights crime drama pilot For Justice. Based on James Patterson’s debut crime novel, The Thomas Berryman Number, For Justice centers on Special Agent Natalia “Nat” Chappel (Anika Noni Rose), a cool, laser-focused, tough as nails FBI agent who works in the Criminal Section of the Department of Civil Rights Division and finds herself caught between the radical family she was born into and the professional family she has chosen. Boston, repped by Gersh, manager John Carrabino and attorney Tara Kole, will play Lisa, everyone’s favorite kid sister and another DOJ lawyer with Nat’s team.

Britne Oldford, Sam Page Join ABC's 'Mix'

(3/9/15) Ravenswood alum Britne Oldford, Sam Page (House Of Cards) and Joaquim de Almeida (Fast Five) have booked regular roles on ABC’s pilot Mix, from Warner Bros. TV and Rashida Jones and Will McCormack’s studio-based Le Train Train. The dramedy explores the realities of modern-day families — multi-cultural, multi-generational, built through divorces, affairs and adoptions — set against the backdrop of a revered family restaurant at a crossroads. Oldford is Remy, who’s trying to stay clean after recently being release prison on a drug charge, but is finding life on the outside tougher than she anticipated. An extremely talented chef, she might be just what her father needs to turn the restaurant around. Page will play James, a recovering addict who is described as a warm, charming and intelligent man. He is immediately intrigued when he meets Remy at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. De Almeida will play Ray, owner of the popular Austin restaurant. Page is repped by UTA, Inphenate, and Jackoway Tyerman.

Gail O'Grady on REVENGE

(3/3/15) “Loss” – As Emily fights to clear Jack's name in and out of court, newlyweds Nolan and Louise receive a visit from Officer Ben Hunter, on ABC’s “Revenge,” SUNDAY, MARCH 22 (10:01-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

“Revenge” stars Emily VanCamp as Emily Thorne, Madeleine Stowe as Victoria Grayson, Nick Wechsler as Jack Porter, Gabriel Mann as Nolan Ross, Karine Vanasse as Margaux LeMarchal, James Tupper as David Clarke, Brian Hallisay as Ben Hunter and Elena Satine as Louise Ellis.

Guest starring Gail O'Grady as Stevie Grayson, Josh Pence as Tony Hughes, Lucinda Jenney as Judge Leanne Knowles, Bradley White as George Easton, Ed Quinn as James Allen, Jeffrey David Anderson as Officer Schaefer, Tim Powell as Alexander Strouse, Maria McCann as Doctor, Christopher Allen as EMT and Liz Jenkins as Lab Tech.

“Loss” was written by Joe Fazzio and directed by Helen Hunt.

'Melissa & Joey' done after 4 seasons on ABC Family

(2/10/15) Whoa: ABC Family has pulled the plug on "Melissa & Joey" after four seasons, canceling its sitcom starring Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence.

"We are proud of the milestones 'Melissa & Joey' have acheived, being the network's first sitcom to reach 100 episodes and the network's first comedy to win a People's Choice Award," ABC Family head of programming Karey Burke says in a statement to The Wrap. "Now that the kids are grown and Mel and Joe have married and are looking toward starting a family, it seemed like a natural time to bring the series to a close."

Fans will still have plenty of time to say goodbye to the show: It's currently airing at 8 p.m. ET/PT Wednesdays, with the 100th episode set to air March 18. It will take a break following that, then return for its final episodes in the summer.

Tyler Ross To Star In David Fincher's HBO Comedy 'Living On Video'; Sam Page Cast

(2/10/15) I’ve learned that Tyler Ross (The Killing) has landed the lead in David Fincher’s HBO comedy Living On Video. I also hear that Sam Page (Mad Men) has been cast in the project, which has been shrouded in secrecy. Reps for HBO and the actors had no comment.

Set in 1983 Los Angeles, and in the vein of HBO’s Entourage, Living On Video revolves around the players of the then-exploding music video industry — directors, record executives and crew members, many of them dabbling in drugs — through the eyes of a newcomer, Robby (Ross). Robby is a wide-eyed guy who drops out of college and drives to Hollywood with dreams of directing a sci-fi epic and lands a job as a PA for a company making music videos.

Page plays a meteorologist trying to transition into game-show hosting. He is reuniting with Fincher after recurring on the past season of House Of Cards.

Fincher, who is directing, revisits his music video director past with the comedy, written by Rich Wilkes (xXx) and Bob Stevenson, a friend of Fincher’s from his music video days, based on an idea by Fincher. I hear also set or in negotiations for the project, which I hear will film two episodes in lieu of a pilot, are Jason Flemyng, Kerry Condon and Elizabeth Lail.

Ross is repped by Paradigm and Sanders.Armstrong.Caserta Management; Page is with UTA and Inphenate.

'Gotham' casts Milo Ventimiglia to play Ogre, but not the one you're thinking of

(2/5/15) "Gotham" has lined up another villain to terrorize Jim Gordon. Milo Ventimiglia will join the series for multiple episodes as serial killer Jason Lennon, known as the Ogre. The role is a change for Ventimiglia, who's best known for fighting for what's right while starring on "Heroes."

Comic book fans may recognize the name Ogre as a Batman villain that's been genetically altered to have superhuman strength. However, FOX confirms that their version of Orge is not the character from DC canon.

Their description of the character reads, "Handsome, wealthy and seductive, the Ogre is a serial killer who has been preying on the young women of Gotham for nearly a decade, luring them into his web and confronting them with a series of 'tests' as he searches for his perfect mate. When the women fail to live up to his impossible standard, Lennon disposes of them quickly and viciously."

When Gordon ends up on the case, he and Lennon both spiral "toward tragedy," along with those around them. Ventimiglia will debut on episode 19. "Gotham" airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FOX.

'Pitch Perfect 2' Tosses The Packers Into Super Bowl Mix, Kinda

(2/1/15) 'Pitch Perfect 2' Super Bowl Trailer: video.

2015 Sundance: What Brittany Snow Won't Do on a Red Carpet-Watch Now!

(1/27/15) (Video, Pic1, Pic2) Brittany Snow loved jetting into Utah for Sundance.

We caught up with the Pitch Perfect star to talk film festival fashion, beauty and more.

She may be from Florida, but Snow doesn't mind some cold temperature dressing.

Her best friend and stylist was responsible for her looks in Park City. "She packs for me because I have no idea what I'm doing," Snow said at the Lipton Sparkling Lounge, where she hosted a performance by American Authors. "She picks a lot of really cute plaids, flannels and hats, anything that's kind of layer-y because I get really cold."

And that also means she gets to slip on more and more...hats!

"I wear a lot of hats in my real life," Snow said. "I don't really get to wear them on red carpets because you have to be Madonna to wear a hat on the red carpet, so it's nice to wear a hat around [Sundance]."

Snow also told us what she was doing to keep her skin healthy and glowing, plus she explained why the festival is perfect for her hair. Click the video below to watch what she had to say.

Pitch Perfect 2 Gets "Down and Dirty"

(1/20/15) (Pic) Brittany Snow can't reveal the songs she and her co-stars sing in Pitch Perfect 2, but she can give us a little tease of what's to come.

"There are a lot of mashups in this one and there's this one performance in which we actually go insane and do all this great stuff," Snow told me at Elle's Women in TV celebration at the Sunset Tower Hotel. "I [use a] glow stick and there's hula-hooping. There's all sorts of madness. We got to get a little down and dirty."

The Pitch Perfect sequel includes the returns of Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Anna Camp. Elizabeth Banks not only produces and appears as an a capella competition judge, but she also directs the much-anticipated follow-up.

Speaking of singing, Kendrick said her work in Into the Woods may inspire her return to Broadway. "I couldn't sing Into the Woods eight times a week," she told me at the BAFTA-LA's pre-Golden Globes tea party. "I'd have to choose something a little more in my natural range...Just thinking about it raises my heart rate."

'Blue Bloods' Will Estes: Guessing about Jamko is 'a good thing'

(1/16/15) Zap2it: With "Blue Bloods" having just reached its 100th episode, how do you assess the series' ratings success and staying power?

Will Estes: We have elements of a procedural, but I think that at our best, we're a combination of that and character-driven drama. There aren't a lot of scripted one-hour dramas about heroes now that are doing this well, so I think we're a little bit unique in that way.

Zap2it: Did you know from the start that the weekly Reagan family-dinner scene would be such a major part of the series?

Will Estes: I don't think that initially, I realized what a centerpiece it is for the show and the drama of how their work affects their lives and their lives affect their work. A lot of times, it's the only time we'll be in the episode with another Reagan, so it definitely binds the show together in a way that a lot of the other scenes aren't capable of doing.

Zap2it: How would you define the relationship of Jamie and his patrol partner Eddie Janko (Vanessa Ray)?

Will Estes: They're great friends and great work partners, and they genuinely care about each other and would go out on a limb for each other. That's independent of anything else, so it's an interesting relationship in that way. If people are wondering where it may or may not go, that's a good thing.

I don't do any social-media stuff -- I probably should -- but I saw something on someone else's phone once where they called us "Jamko." I don't know if that means something good or something bad at this point.

Parenthood: Sarah Ramos Returning for Series Finale

(1/11/15) Parenthood is bringing back a few familiar faces for its upcoming series finale.

John Corbett, Matt Lauria and Sarah Ramos are all slated to guest-star on the show's last episode, NBC revealed Friday.

Corbett plays Sarah's ex, and Amber and Drew's father, Seth. Lauria is best known as Amber's former love, and baby daddy, Ryan. Former series regular Ramos portrays Adam and Kristina's eldest daughter Haddie.

The episode, titled "May God Bless and Keep You Always," will air on Thursday, Jan. 29.

Parenthood airs Thursdays at 10/9c on NBC.

Whitney Houston Biopic -- Bobby Brown Actor Says 'It's a Love Story'???

(1/11/15) (Video) The guy who plays Bobby Brown in the upcoming Whitney Houston biopic says the movie chronicling the singer's life and marriage is "a love story" ... a love story presumably mixed with drugs, booze and allegations of domestic violence.

Arlen Escarpeta was leaving Coral Tree Cafe in L.A. and was clearly bummed that Whitney's family boycotted the recent premiere of "Whitney."

The actor says the entire cast and crew did their best to portray the late singer's life respectfully ... and he hopes the family and Bobby will eventually watch it.

If it's anything like the Aaliyah movie ... don't hold your breath.

Brittany Snow: I Was Bullied in High School

(12/26/14) Despite her all-American girl looks and a successful acting career, Brittany Snow wasn't immune to bullying while growing up.

"AOL Instant Messenger was a big thing back in the day, where girls would get on it and make fun of me," says the star of the upcoming Pitch Perfect 2. "There was a certain girl, and she wanted to make me feel bad."

Snow, 28, channeled her personal experiences into the formation of Love is Louder, an organization she started with The Jed Foundation in October 2010 to encourage the use of social media to promote love and support for anyone who is in need of it.

"When the suicides were starting to happen and kids were being bullied in schools, I felt really compelled to do something because I was bullied in school, and I didn't really fit into a category that a lot of programs that were being started had," Snow explains. "Now we have a really great opportunity with social media to use that communication for good, where people can go online and actually feel like they're part of a community."

The actress says she's been amazed by the difference the campaign is already making.

"Sometimes my favorite thing is just to get on our Facebook and Twitter and see all the people that have been helped," she says. "People are really speaking out about what they struggle with, and that's really cool to me. I kept my stuff – and I think a lot of people do – very secret."

For more from our interview with Brittany Snow, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Tuesday, December 30.

Vampire Diaries Double Date! Paul Wesley and Phoebe Tonkin Join Newlyweds Candice Accola and Joe King at TrevorLive

(12/8/14) (Photo) CW stars stick together!

During last night's 2014 TrevorLive, the annual event held in support of the Trevor Project at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, Vampire Diaries' co-stars Paul Wesley and Candice Accola opted to turn the night into a double date with their respective partners, Phoebe Tonkin and Joe King.

Too cute!

While Wesley and Tonkin, who previously appeared on the Vampires Diaries with her man and now stars on the spinoff show The Originals, did not walk the carpet together, the adorable couple, who has been dating for over a year, didn't have any problem cozying up once they were seated inside with their pals.

"Date night at the #trevorproject @josekingseco @craccola @paulvedere x," Tonkin captioned the adorable shot of the duo's double date.

Both ladies looked lovely in their respective gowns, with Tonkin, 25, rocking a gorgeous blue Oscar de la Renta dress while Accola, 27, brought the sex appeal, sporting an Alexander Wang top and a Malene Birger skirt.

The blond beauty certainly appears to be loving married life since tying the knot with the 34-year-old Fray rocker in October, holding hands with her man in the pic as he beamed from ear to ear.

Meanwhile, Tonkin and Wesley, who are known to be a private twosome, are still going strong after coupling up in Sept. 2013 following the actor's divorce from former wife Torrey DeVitto, with whom he split in July 2013.

Lifetime's Whitney Houston movie trailer promises a heartbreaking story

(12/6/14) (Video) Check out the official trailer for "Whitney," Lifetime's Whitney Houston biopic starring Yaya DaCosta ("Lee Daniels' The Butler," "Ugly Betty") in the title role and Arlen Escarpeta ("American Dreams," "We Are Marshall") as Houston's husband Bobby Brown.

The TV movie marks Oscar-winning actress Angela Bassett's directorial debut. From the looks of the trailer, promises magnificent music and tragic heartbreak, as it chronicles the troubled diva's rise to fame and subsequent downward spiral into drugs and dysfunction with Brown, all of which culminated in the singer's untimely passing in 2012 at the age of 48.

"Whitney" premieres Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Lifetime.

Pitch Perfect 2 Trailer

(11/20/14) Pitch Perfect 2 Trailer - Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Brittany Snow Reunite: video. "Pitch Perfect 2" hits theaters May 15, 2015.

HTGAWM's Tom Verica on Playing Dead, Kissing Bonnie and Snapping That Sexy, Shirtless Selfie

(11/20/14) (tvline.com) The perpetually twirling cheerleader did it.

OK, not really. But How to Get Away With Murder‘s Tom Verica says that’s the craziest of all the crazy theories he’s heard about who killed his character, Sam Keating, on ABC’s twisted freshman drama.

Verica, who was as befuddled as the show’s fandom until he got the script for tonight’s winter finale (10/9c on ABC), says that at one point, he joked to the show’s writers that perhaps Sam should trip and fall onto the fatal Scales of Justice statue that’s smeared with his blood.

That option got squashed, as well.

TVLine caught up with Verica to try to squeeze out some intel about the “Who Killed Sam?” mystery, to dish his character’s complicated relationships with wife Annalise (Viola Davis) and her right-hand woman Bonnie (Liza Weil) and to get the inside scoop on his character’s very revealing selfie — the one that will forever be associated with the line “Why is your penis on a dead girl’s phone?“

TVLINE | In the previews for the finale, it looks like Michaela is hiding behind a door. It also looks like Sam’s trying to break down a door. Can you tease a little bit of what we’re going to see at all?

Well, Michaela’s hiding behind a door. It looks like Sam’s breaking down a door. Yes. [Laughs.] There may be some other people involved. I have to be very careful about this because I now know all the events that happen on Murder Night. All the chickens are coming home to roost, and those lies come out, and Sam is fighting for his life, and there are elements that really create an event that…I’ve got to be very careful about this. [Laughs.]

TVLINE | Some TVLine readers have said in our comments section that if Sam’s murder turns out to be a case of self-defense, that would be a disappointing outcome. Any thoughts on that?

Well, it’s complicated. There are certainly… all theories are on the table. Everyone will be surprised about how it happens. It’s done in a way that I don’t think is predictable in any way, shape, or form

TVLINE | The title of the Winter Finale is “Kill Me, Kill Me, Kill Me,” and I know that thus far this season, every episode title has been a piece of dialogue from the episode. So I’m wondering now, does Sam say those words? Or does someone else? Is that a piece of dialogue from the hour?

I would say that consistency is something they do here. [Laughs.]

TVLINE | [Laughs.] Fair enough. I know you have to be careful about spoilers. So here’s an easier one. Is that actually you on the dead girl’s phone, or is that a torso double?

That is me. Yes.

TVLINE | Did someone ask you to take the selfie? How did that come about?

It was so matter-of-fact. We finished shooting, and it was, “Oh, we need this shot that we’re going to put on the phone. It’s just going to be the wallpaper in the back.” They had a photographer there, and they took a couple different pictures… we did it in 30 seconds; it wasn’t like we had a set up photo shoot or I had time to go do push ups, or body makeup, or any of that stuff. It literally was done down and dirty. I had no idea the impact it would have or that it’d be shown so much.

TVLINE | So, Sam Keating, is a character who, for a good portion of the season, you’ve had to play him as a dead man. We see you on the office floor. We keep seeing you dragged out into the woods and set afire. Did you film all that at one time at the top of the season, or have you had to play dead every week of filming?

I never went out to the woods, actually. [In those scenes], Sam is always inside the rug, and the one part that is the reveal in the pilot, where they do the closeup [of my face] with the flicker and the flame, I actually was laying on the streets of Philadelphia. As far as everything else, yes, we have had to revisit Murder Night, as we call it, multiple times. That particular scene, we’ve we see it through different character’s perspectives. It’s funny: Me and that rug have become very close. I know exactly where my mark is. There’s never any discussion about what position my body is on the floor, or where I got hit, or how much blood.

TVLINE | Is there a secret to playing a murder victim?

Well, the biggest challenge…the stillness is okay. In fact, it gives me a little respite during my day to just kind of gather my thoughts and relax a little bit. The challenge is the eyes, and we decided in the pilot that I would be dead with my eyes open. So that’s been probably the most challenging aspect of it, particularly when there’s a longer take, longer camera shots that drift. I can pretty much contain and limit the amount of breathing that I have to do, but it’s holding the eyes open the whole time and not wanting to blink, that’s hard. After a period of time, it’s like playing a staring contest with a sibling when you’re 10 years old, only it goes on much longer, and since I’m laying down, the eyes start to water up. So, it’s really fighting that off. Wanting to blink or wanting to clear your eyes has been the biggest challenge.

TVLINE | In Episode 8, last week, can you walk me through your scene with Bonnie on the porch? I mean, Sam’s already told so many lies at this point, and then in trying to win her silence, he leans in and kisses her. And they’re right out there on the front porch of his and Annalise’s house — for all of Philadelphia to see! I was like, “You know what? This guy kind of has it coming!”

Let me just preface my answer about my kissing Bonnie on the porch by saying… my [character's] wife did, in the first episode, have sex in the office in our house with someone else… [Laughs.] I’m not comparing. I’m just saying it’s a bit complex.

Now, that being said, in all seriousness, I think the relationship between Bonnie and Sam, we feel that there’s a history from her standpoint of some kind of pining, or an attraction. Liza [Weil] and I had come up with the idea that there’s a real connection, not in a romantic or sexual way, but a real ease of conversation between them. Sam also recognizes and identifies her attraction [to him], and in this pivotal moment, he is this desperate man making very desperate decisions. And once he realized that this wave of lies had been catching up with him and he’s just very beneath this wave, he resorts to just the worst decision in making the move on her and kissing her, hoping that that would maybe convince her to keep this information concealed. There are really a number of levels to their relationship — and that was really fun to play because it was initially very difficult for me to wrap my head around that decision he was making.

From my character’s standpoint, though, the whole thing comes back to being implicated for murder. And whether he is responsible or not, I still don’t know the answer to that, but remember that his wife, she’s the last [chance] of having somebody who will be behind him and can do something for him. That’s the most important thing to protect, and Sam makes probably not the best choice in how to try to hold onto that.

TVLINE | Will Sam live on after the Winter Finale? Because, obviously, the “who killed Sam?” question is getting wrapped up, but the “who killed Lila?” question is still in the mix.

Honestly, I don’t know. It’s been talked about, and I’m more than willing to come back and play. It has been suggested that there may be more [episodes for Sam]. I am back in Episode 10, briefly. Beyond that, they’re not there yet. I think they have six more episodes [in 2015]. The writers are very talented, though, so if there is a way and there is something for me to do to come back, I’d be happy to.

The Bellas Are Back! Pitch Perfect 2's Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Brittany Snow Reunite

(11/20/14) (EW Cover) Whoever said orange is the new pink wasn't seriously disturbed: They just hadn't seen Anna Kendrick in a tangerine dress and matching feather boa!

The Pitch Perfect 2 star is wearing—and working!—exactly that alongside co-stars Brittany Snow and Rebel Wilson on Entertainment Weekly's newest cover, which hits stands Friday.

Inside the mag, first-time director Elizabeth Banks talks about bringing the Barden Bellas back together on-screen, joking, "This is the stupidest idea I've ever had!"

"My first movie is this huge studio movie that a lot of people care about that also happens to be a musical with massive dance numbers," she quipped in between takes. "I don't know what I was thinking."

Of course, she's got one heck of a cast on board (Kendrick, Snow, Wilson are returning, and Anna Camp, Skylar Astin and Adam DeVine are reprising their roles as well; talented newbies like Hailee Steinfeld and Katey Sagal are on board for the follow-up film, too). Banks, who had a smaller role in the first film and was also a co-producer, knows that now that she's the director, it's on her to deliver to a hard-core fan base with some high expectations.

The first film, which grossed $65 million in the U.S., was a "pretty modest" financial success, said Banks. "But it engendered a lot of love," she noted. "That's what we could not have foreseen." But while the 2012 movie "flew under the radar" something Banks said "was a gift"—she realizes with the sequel, there are "much higher stakes."

"Everybody is much more involved," she told Entertainment Weekly. "As the saying goes, ‘Success has many fathers.'"

Not to worry: Banks is fully invested in the Pitch Perfect sequel. "The whole project speaks so much to me and to women and to making women funny in really fun and interesting ways, and that's what I'm most looking forward to," she said in an interview with The Huffington Post. "I'm looking forward to letting the girls let loose."

Pitch Perfect 2 hits theaters May 15, 2015.

'Vampire Diaries' Star Paul Wesley Set For Sci-Fier 'Convergence'

(11/17/14) (deadline.com) The Vampire Diaries’ Paul Wesley is jumping from the supernatural to the scientific with Convergence, a sci-fi action film that he’ll star in and produce.

Plot details are being kept under wraps, but Convergence is described as a college-age ensemble piece in the vein of Flatliners, The Matrix, and Fight Club based on real life “science fact”. It follows a group of underground biotech engineers, including an MIT student wunderkind, exploring a new technology far beyond their expectations and beyond the limits of human control.

The actor, director, and producer currently stars as Stefan Salvatore on The CW’s hit show The Vampire Diaries. The series is in its sixth season and will return from its midseason hiatus with a January episode that Wesley directed, his second after making his directorial debut on the show last season.

“My first couple of hiatuses I was looking for indies to separate me from the younger material,” said Wesley, whose Convergence character will mark a departure from his do-gooder Vampire Diaries role. “Now I’m looking for flawed characters, because my (Vampire Diaries) character is very heroic. My character in Convergence is not the protagonist but is the guy who pushes things a little too far, and too hard, and produces some scary results.”

Wesley teamed with producer Adam Schroeder (The Truman Show, Chronicle, Sleepy Hollow, and Paramount’s upcoming Attach) to bring the screenplay by Jeff Richard to Shanghai and LA-based Crimson Forest Entertainment, which is financing. The filmmakers also have China Film Assist and Dadi Digital Cinema Ltd. aboard as co-producers on the project, which is partly set in China and is expected to tap Chinese talent for the ensemble cast. Justin Begnaud and Jonathan Lim are producing Convergence and Benjamin Tappan will serve as executive producer. Filming is scheduled for next spring in Shanghai and Atlanta.

“We are very excited to work with Paul Wesley on this project and believe the film will resonate with audiences on a global scale,” said Crimson Forest Entertainment CEO Lim. “The film’s plotline and cast of characters align perfectly with our distribution objectives and we look forward to hitting the ground running in 2015 with a talented cast and crew.”

Wesley also stars in the upcoming IFC drama Before I Disappear, which he also produced, and the Drafthouse Films release Amira And Sam. He’s repped by ICM Partners and Jackoway, Tyerman, Wertheimer, Austen, Mandelbaum, Morris & Klein. Richard is repped by WME. The deal was negotiated by Crimson Forest’s Justin Begnaud and Ian Stratford of Gray, Krauss, Stratford, Sandler, DesRochers, LLP.

Mad Men's Sam Page Gets Married! Find Out Which Mean Girls Star Was in Attendance

(11/10/14) (Pic1, Pic2) Sam Page is a married man!

The 38-year-old actor, most recently known for playing Christina Hendricks' ex on Mad Men, wed fiancée Cassidy Boesch over the weekend surrounded by family and friends. The nuptials took place on Saturday at a villa just outside Santa Barbara, Calif., a source confirms to E! News. "It was truly a fairy-tale weekend," the source adds.

Page also posted a gorgeous wedding pic of him and Boesch sharing their first kiss as husband and wife. "Making it official," Page wrote on Instagram.

In the shot, Page and Boesch wrap their arms around each other while locking lips in front of wedding guests during the outdoor garden ceremony. Behind them is a beautiful canopy covered in white roses.

Page also took to Instagram to share a photo of him and his groomsmen. "On the runway, first class, about to walk down the aisle, and this is my groomsmen detail. Great men all of them. #cassidyandsam," he wrote. Among Page's groomsmen was Mean Girls star and recent Dancing With the Stars cast-off Jonathan Bennett.

In addition to Mad Men, you may recognize Page from his appearances on shows like Desperate Housewives, House of Cards, Switched at Birth, Scandal and Gossip Girl.

Congrats, you two!

'Witches of East End' canceled: Season 2 cliffhanger will go unanswered

(11/5/14) Turns out a hashtag can't save every show.

Lifetime has canceled "Witches of East End" after two seasons. Unfortunately for fans of the show, the cancelation comes at a very inopportune time.

The Season 2 finale of "Witches" -- which stars Jenna Dewan Tatum, Rachel Boston, Julia Ormond and Madchen Amick as the witchy Beauchamp family -- ended with an insane amount of cliffhangers. Ingrid (Boston) found out she was pregnant, Dash (Eric Winter) switched bodies with Killian (Daniel Di Tomasso) and Wendy (Amick) finally met her estranged sister. Yeah, a lot of juicy things happened, and now fans' questions may never be answered, which is something Amick guessed would lead to a definite frenzy.

"I think it'll be fans in a frenzy [after the Season 2 finale], not gonna lie," the actress tells Zap2it. "In good 'Witches' fashion, there are a few new storylines that are opened up that you just have to see how they're resolved."

Of course, leaving after two seasons was probably not the way the cast wanted to go out, especially not Dewan Tatum, who had spent much of the past week flooding her Twitter feed with retweets featuring the hashtag "#RenewWitchesOfEastEnd."

But because Twitter can't always save the day, Dewan Tatum's co-star Boston eventually had to tweet out a goodbye to fans.

@rachelboston: Thank you to everyone who went on this extraordinary journey with us. Your love, kindness, and support is forever magic. #WitchesofEastEnd

Do you think fans will ever be able to find out what happens to the characters of "Witches"?

'Pitch Perfect' Cast -- Reunites on Bourbon Street For 'Moulin Rouge' Wedding Party

(10/11/14) (Photos) Anna Kendrick and Brittany Snow reunited with a bunch of their "Pitch Perfect" costars Friday in New Orleans ... all for a pretty awesome "Moulin Rouge" themed wedding party.

Anna and Brittany hung out at Lucky Pierre's for their friend Courtney Barnes' pre-wedding bash with Kelley Jakle and CJ Perry -- more famously known as WWE Diva Lana -- as well as a few Trebles.

We're told the group rented out the Bourbon Street joint for $7K and dined on gumbo.

Unclear if they did any mermaid dancing.

Sam Page Signs With UTA

(10/10/14) Sam Page (House Of Cards) has signed with UTA. He continues to be managed by Inphenate. In addition to his stint on Netflix’s House Of Cards as press-liaison Connor Ellis, Page had recurring roles on Mad Men, Gossip Girl and Desperate Housewives. Other TV credits include The Mindy Project, Necessary Roughness and Scandal. Page will next be seen in upcoming feature The Preppie Connection.

Jesse Metcalfe, More Set For Zombie Vidgame Flick 'Dead Rising'

(9/29/14) Legendary Entertainment and Sony-owned Crackle have set Jesse Metcalfe (Desperate Housewives, Dallas), Meghan Ory (Once Upon a Time), Virginia Madsen (Sideways), and Dennis Haysbert (Men, Women & Children) to star in zombie chopper Dead Rising: Watchtower, the first project out of Legendary’s Digital Media division.

Leprechaun: Origins helmer and VFX veteran Zach Lipovsky is directing Dead Rising from a script by Tim Carter, based on the bestselling Capcom franchise that’s spawned two sequels and sold 7.6 million copies worldwide to date. As in the vidgame, Dead Rising: Watchtower is set during a zombie apocalypse. When a mandatory government vaccine fails, a group of survivors must evade infection while hunting down the root of the epidemic, which leads back to a government conspiracy.

Filming is set to begin tomorrow in Vancouver with Carter and Tomas Harlan producing for their Contradiction Films banner. Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura is aboard as executive producer. Contradiction Films’ prior digital releases include Mortal Kombat: Legacy, another live-action action video game adaptation that scored big with online audiences. That web series went viral when it debuted online on Machinima.com’s YouTube channel, paving the way for similar video game spin-offs to take advantage of the gamer-centric digital space.

Dead Rising is set to debut as a 90-minute feature in the U.S. on Sony’s digital platform Crackle, followed by SVOD, DVD, VOD, and TV. Content Media, which released the popular Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn film and Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist series digitally, has international rights to Dead Rising and will release it in both feature-length and episodic form.

Metcalfe is repped by The Gersh Agency, Untitled Entertainment and Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer Austen Mandelbaum Morris & Klein. Ory is repped by The Gersh Agency and Pacific Artists Management. Madsen is repped by UTA and Untitled Entertainment. Haysbert is repped by The Gersh Agency and GS Management.

‘Mother’s Day’ Adds Paul Wesley

(9/25/14) Paul Wesley has joined Paul Duddridge’s feature Mother’s Day, which stars Susan Sarandon, Sharon Stone and Sarandon’s daughter Eva Amurri Martino. Wesley will play Kevin, an artsy pastry-chef and boyfriend of Amurri Martino’s character. Wesley’s credits include the CW’s The Vampire Diaries, IFC’s upcoming Before I Disappear and Drafthouse Films’ Sam & Amira. He is repped by ICM Partners, manager Susan Calogerakis and Jackoway Tyerman.

NBC Developing Sitcom Inspired by Bar Trivia Games

(9/9/14) Combine Friends and Cheers, then sprinkle Hollywood Game Night on top and you've got the idea behind Pub Quiz, a new comedy in the works at NBC.

Jonathan Prince (American Dreams) is writing the script and executive producing with Chris Moynihan (Man Up). Pub Quiz (which is a working title) centers on a group of twentysomething friends who team up once a week to compete in their neighborhood pub quiz.

The show, which has been given a script order at NBC, is inspired by a surge in popularity among millennials for bar trivia. At many bars and pubs around the country, trivia has taken on a serious competitive vibe as teams (usually sporting cheeky or ironic names) challenge each other for drinks, food or even just bragging rights. According to the Los Angeles Times, the popularity of the game Trivial Pursuit in the 1980s led to a pub quiz phenomenon in the U.K., which then spread to the East Coast and arrived in Southern California around six years ago.

Similarly, FXX's The League used the rise of fantasy football — another growing trend — as the foundation for a show about a group of friends.

Moynihan and Prince, who both started out as actors before moving into producing, are creating Pub Quiz through Universal TV. Moynihan is also developing (with Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner) another comedy for NBC, the hotel-based Hospitality, which would air live every week.

'Witches of East End': Rachel Boston promises 'darker, sexier' Season 2

(7/5/14) There's going to be a lot more magic in Season 2 of "Witches of East End" now that Freya and Ingrid Beauchamp have discovered they come from a family of witches -- and they happen to have unlocked a portal to another, magical world.

Star Rachel Boston, who plays Ingrid, tells Zap2it at the ATX Television Festival in Austin, Texas that you can expect a "darker, sexier" Season 2. "Season 2, the whole theme is 'darkness is rising.' Now that the portal's open, we have no idea what came out," she explains. "Now that Freya and Ingrid know that they're witches, the whole house is just taken over by magic because they don't have to hide it anymore."

That's not to say it's going to turn into a different show -- "there's still the grounded unit with the family" and all their human drama, Boston says, "but the circumstances surrounding the family are enhanced."

Boston says she's loved watching Ingrid transform over the first season of the show. "It's incredible to play a woman who goes from being so reserved and so conservative and so sure of herself in a lot of ways in her safe environment but not comfortable with this universe of magic, and then by the end, discovering she's the key," she says.

Plus, she can't exactly change her circumstances now. "There's really no turning back -- once she opens the portal, the world of magic is real. There's no way she can go back to her old life. That acceptance, moving into Season 2, has been really fun to play."

So, what can we expect in Season 2? First things first, Freya and Ingrid will find out about their long-lost brother.

"[The world] continues to expand in Season 2 -- we learn about the brother and there are more revelations of this world of Asgard coming right away -- so all the relationships get deeper," including both Freya and Ingrid's relationship and their strained relationship with their mother.

Boston continues, "Anytime something is revealed there's that tension of 'Why did you hide this from me?' I think Freya and Ingrid are starting to understand more what their mother was protecting them from, so that is going to come to the surface in Season 2. We're going to see the dangers our mother was trying to keep us [away from]."

"Witches of East End" Season 2 premieres Sunday, July 6 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Lifetime.

Lifetime's 'Whitney Houston Story' Adds 2

(6/18/14) Arlen Escarpeta (Final Destinaton 5, We Are Marshall) and Yolonda Ross (Go For Sisters) have been cast opposite Yaya DaCosta in Lifetime’s I Will Always Love You: The Whitney Houston Story. Helmed by Angela Bassett in her directorial debut, the biopic chronicles the tumultuous relationship between Houston (DaCosta) and singer-songwriter Bobby Brown — from the time they first met at the very height of their celebrity through their courtship and rocky marriage, all during Whitney’s meteoric rise as a singer, actress and model. It’s slated for a 2015 premiere. Escarpeta, repped by DBA and Karen Forman Management, will play Brown. Ross, repped by Mark Armstrong at Sanders, Armstrong, Caserta Management, will play Robyn, Whitney’s lifelong friend and confidant.

Jonathan Adams On 'Last Man Standing'

(6/14/14) After recurring for the past two seasons of ABC comedy Last Man Standing for the past two seasons, Jonathan Adams has been promoted to a regular for Season 4. He plays the Baxters’ neighbor Chuck Larabee.

'Mixology': Vanessa Lengies explains her shout-out to Brittany Snow and upcoming 'Sliding Doors' episode

(4/23/14) Raise your hand if you miss "American Dreams?" The NBC drama may have only lasted for three seasons, but it still holds a special place in all our hearts. And it looks like it holds a special place in the stars' hearts as well, since last Wednesday's (April 16) episode of "Mixology" had a little shout-out from Vanessa Lengies to her "American Dreams" co-star Brittany Snow!

Zap2it got Lengies on the phone to discuss her onscreen inside joke with Snow, plus she previews this week's episode of "Mixology" featuring a "Sliding Doors" concept and Kacey's complicated love triangle with Dominic and Cal. Check out the full Q&A below.

Zap2it: So it's time for another Kacey-centric episode! Perfect timing, since Dom surprised her at the end of last week by saying he wants to go all in on a relationship with her.

Vanessa Lengies: I am excited for Kacey and Dom to get back together! I mean, I love Cal. I love Cal, I love Cal, I love Cal. I really have a hard job. They both are so beautiful! [ laughs] They're beautiful people. I have a very tough job.

So tough. But before we talk about that love triangle, I've got to give you props. Your shock when Dom tells Kacey he's ready for a relationship was hilarious.

"Shut up. Shut up." [ laughs] That line was actually a throwback to Brittany Snow when we were doing "American Dreams" way back in the day. We both lived in this apartment complex together because we both moved -- I moved from Canada and she moved from Florida -- and we had this neighbor who would talk on her phone really late at night. She would just be like, "Shut up! Shut. Up. Shut up!" So when I said that line at the end of the last episode when Dom says he's ready to go all in and move forward with our relationship, I purely did that for Brittany Snow. That was a pure throwback message to Brittany Snow.

That's so sweet! And it went with the scene perfectly, because who would have thought he'd actually agree to be in a real relationship?

It was just so shocking because Dom is not the kind of person who would be all in on a relationship. In that episode where you got to hear his music and Fab shuts him down, she was like, "How long did you work on this?" And he was like, "Two weeks!" He was all heartbroken and she was like, "You have to try harder for things in life." I think that really stuck with him and you're going to see in this episode that he gets some pretty good advice from Tom, who couldn't be more opposite in dealing with women than Dominic. That contrast is really funny and that's where Dominic is going to get all his advice on how to be in a serious relationship.

So what's a real relationship between Dom and Kacey going to look like? Because let's face it, they're not going to be the most normal, stereotypical couple.

As we saw in the last episode -- this is serious for her -- a real relationship for her is moving in together, getting a puppy, going grocery shopping, holding hands, buying each other flowers. She probably got all her relationship advice from Disney movies. That's the way it's supposed to work out, right?

Totally.

So not only is Dom's idea of what a relationship should be different from Tom's, it's also very different from Kacey's. And Kacey learns a little bit about herself in this episode too, because as much as she'd like to live in a fantasy land where her boyfriend is perfect and Prince Charming, when she met Cal, she met someone who she could be herself around. She's been playing this role of a cocktail waitress in New York City, but she's really just a girl from Ohio who was raised by parents who sheltered her.

So through this roller coaster ride with Dominic in this episode, she realizes what's important to her and what love is to her. She's always thought love was this fantasy, this idea, but now that she's met Cal he's put all these questions in her mind, like "What is love?" Not to get too deep or anything, this is half-hour comedy! [ laughs] This episode is huge for Kacey because she gets what she wanted, and realizes it's maybe not what she really wants.

So what you're saying is that I shouldn't give up hope for Kacey and Cal? Because I was totally rooting for them to end up together. They're just so adorable!

I think Kacey and Cal are the real deal. I think they're as close to soul mates as one can get. I don't think you should give up on them. Kacey is faced with an old flame who comes back and promises to be everything she wanted him to be, so I don't blame her for wanting to entertain that path. But I don't think you'll be disappointed at all.

So if you were in Kacey's shoes, who would you pick: Dom or Cal?

Aww, that's so hard. Between Adan Canto and Craig Frank ... well, actually, if I was in Kacey's shoes, I would choose Cal. For sure. You want to be with someone that you can be yourself around so you're not constantly wondering what they're thinking and if you're enough for them. They should love you just the way you are, right?

Exactly! So let's talk about the flashbacks. What new flashbacks are we going to see in this episode?

All the flashbacks are going to be really funny. It's kind of like "Sliding Doors" where you'll get to see two paths from different perspectives. That's the journey that we're going to take you on through this whole episode. It's basically how Dom saw Kacey and his relationship versus how Kacey saw the relationship. It's almost as good as me in braces and pigtails. Almost.

If you had to pick a drinking game rule for the episode, what would you pick?

Ooh, good one. Good one! Hmm. Anytime you feel bad for me being in that small black skirt for all 13 episodes of "Mixology." Because even in all these flashbacks I'm still in that skirt! Every episode we get to change clothes during the flashbacks, but I didn't get to! I stayed in that same, high-waisted, bandeau top and the skirt. So anytime you feel bad for me, drink!

Nice! I like that rule.

And I just came up with that on the spot. It's called the empathy game!

"Mixology" airs Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

'Parenthood': Haddie returns in the Season 5 finale (and she's a lesbian?)

(4/12/14) Haddie, the eldest daughter of Adam and Kristina Braverman, has been conspicuously absent from "Parenthood" all season, but she's back in the Season 5 finale -- with a new "friend."

Haddie (Sarah Ramos) brings her friend Lauren home with her from Cornell, but in the promo for the episode, we can see that Lauren is more than just a friend. And, it appears that Haddie's younger brother Max is the first person to find out.

Elsewhere in the finale, it appears Sarah and Hank will finally give their relationship another shot, and Joel and Julia might reconcile as well. Speaking of reunions, Amber and Ryan will spend time together in the hospital as Ryan recovers from his accident.

The "Parenthood" Season 5 finale airs Thursday (April 17) at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

'Chosen's' Milo Ventimiglia to online series critics: 'You're a dinosaur, and you're going to become extinct'

(3/20/14) Television viewers know Milo Ventimiglia well from such projects as NBC's "Heroes" and TNT's "Mob City," but when he's not working in front of the camera, he's behind it, as a producer. One of his projects is the original digital series "Chosen," currently in its second season at Sony's online network Crackle (season three begins April 15, with new star Rose McGowan).

Ventimiglia also does double duty as one of the show's stars, playing Ian Mitchell, a husband and father who becomes part of an elaborate game, with the lives of his wife (Nicky Whelan) and daughter at stake.

Zap2it: As an actor and producer, what do you look for in a project?

Milo Ventimiglia: As an actor, I go to the written word first, because those are the words I've got to speak. Then, as a producer, I go through the written word, because those are the words you tell a story with. It's aligning myself with great creative (talent) and great people and telling stories that you're passionate about.

Zap2it: Were you ever worried that doing digital series like "Chosen" would damage your reputation?

Ventimiglia: I've been in digital for a long time, since 2006, 2007, doing a lot of what people would call Web series and branded entertainment. So I never really saw it as a stigma.

Zap2it: Are some actors concerned about doing digital series because some might assume they can't get film or TV work?

Ventimiglia: It has nothing to do with that at all. In terms of attracting talent, After nearly 20 years of doing this myself, I've made a lot of friends I can reach out to. I've given them my own vote of confidence about the work. Then you scrap it all, and you say, "Give me two minutes of your time," and you show a teaser.

Then you go, "How can you, as an artist, as an actor, deny that this is amazing?" The work speaks for itself. Anybody who would possibly not want to do it because it's digital, well, you're a dinosaur, and you're going to become extinct.

Tom Verica Cast In ABC Pilot 'How To Get Away'

(3/10/14) Tom Verica (American Dreams) has joined the cast of ABC drama pilot How To Get Away With Murder starring Viola Davis and executive produced by Shonda Rhimes. The sexy, suspense-driven legal thriller centers on ambitious law students and their brilliant and mysterious criminal defense professor, Annalise Dewitt (Davis), who become entangled in a murder plot that could rock their entire university and change the course of their lives. Paradigm-repped Verica will play Annalise’s husband Tom, a psychology professor who comes from a long line of academic royalty.

Rachel Boston Talks Finding Love in Hallmark Channel's A Ring By Spring

(3/8/14) (Trailer) In her new Hallmark Channel Original Movie A Ring By Spring, premiering tonight at 7/6c, Witches of East End star Rachel Boston is conjuring up a different kind of magic: hope.

When a psychic tells Caryn Briggs (Boston) that she’ll spend the rest of her life unmarried if she doesn’t get engaged by spring, she suddenly finds herself on a journey through her past relationships to figure out what went wrong.

“One thing I certainly relate to is that we can’t change the choices we’ve made in the past,” Boston, who also produced the movie, tells TVLine. “She’s been weaving a life with the choices she’s made, and now she’s trying to open her heart so she can move into the future.”

Though that future remains unclear — and, at times, seems improbable — Boston says Caryn manages to hold onto hope through it all.

“Hope is, I think, just a great guide,” Boston says. “To wake up and strive for that spirit of hopefulness is what Caryn is finally able to achieve once she works through it all.”

And yes, Caryn does work through it all, but Boston agrees it’s more about the journey than the destination for her commitment-phobe character:

“It’s a really light film,” she says. “But it does make you think.”

Virginia Madsen To Co-Star In NBC Drama Pilot 'Babylon Fields'

(3/4/14) Virginia Madsen is set to co-star opposite Meagan Good and Kyle Schmid in NBC drama pilot Babylon Fields, from Michael Cuesta, Gerald Cuesta and Michael Atkinson. The 20th TV-produced project, originally developed and piloted at CBS seven years ago, is about a town’s residents coming back from the dead. Madsen will play Rhonda Wunch, CDC scientist Thomas Wunch’s (Schmid) mother who is close to her son and wants him to stay home in Babylon. Rounding out the pilot’s regular cast are Ritchie Coster as Ernie Wunch, Thomas’ father and Rhonda’s husband, a former cop who most people thought ran away to Daytona; and Yul Vazquez as Chief of Police Matt Conte. Madsen, repped by UTA and Untitled, has recurred on Lifetime’s Witches Of East End. Coster is with Gersh and Glenn Daniels Arts Management; Vazquez is managed by Untitled.

'Pitch Perfect' co-stars party hard at Las Vegas nightclub

(2/24/14) “Pitch Perfect” co-stars Anna Kendrick and Brittany Snow partied at Hakkasan Las Vegas Nightclub at MGM Grand on Saturday night after signing on to the sequel.

The actresses arrived just before midnight. According to an insider, both girls were swapping their phones to pose for photos and “seemed to be mimicking their Pitch Perfect characters, dancing and singing along to their favorite songs using Hakkasan’s light batons as faux microphones.”

Also there: Theo James and “Fantastic Four” star Miles Teller, who was continuing his 27th birthday celebrations.

Milo Ventimiglia & Barry Sloane To Star In ABC Drama Pilot 'The Visitors'

(2/20/14) Heroes star Milo Ventimiglia and Revenge‘s Barry Sloane have been cast as leads in ABC alien drama pilot The Visitors, from Amblin TV, after fielding interest from multiple pilots. The project chronicles the race against the clock to defeat an unseen alien enemy out to destroy the world. Ventimiglia, repped by CAA, Management 360 and attorney Jeff Frankel, will play John Doe/Drew, who is covered in strange tattoos and diagrams and speaks in a strange language. He will next be seen in Grace of Monaco and the remake of Heat and also stars and executive produces the Crackle series Chosen. Sloane will play Wes, a former FBI agent now with the Special Projects Division of the Defense department who investigates military threats that are better off solved outside the public’s knowledge. The Visitors is for the same network and hails from the same studio, ABC Studios, as Revenge, where Sloane has been a regular since midway through the second season after starting the season as a recurring. Sloane received the blessing of Revenge‘s producers to do a pilot this season. The fate of his character, Aiden, is being kept under wraps.

Parenthood: Look Who's Returning!

(2/20/14) (Photo) A Parenthood fave is making her way back to the NBC drama after a lengthy absence.

TVLine has learned that Sarah Ramos is set to reprise her role as Adam and Kristina’s eldest daughter Haddie later this season.

Ramos was taken off contract at Parenthood at the end of the show’s third season as her character transitioned to college, although Haddie recurred throughout Season 4 to lend support to her cancer-stricken mom. Her one-episode comeback in the Season 5 finale will mark her first appearance in a year.

Back in September, P’hood boss Jason Katims left the door open for a Ramos return. “It’s always a question of finding the right story combined with Sarah’s availability,” he told TVLine. “We sort of dealt with this a lot starting on Friday Night Lights, where so many of our characters wound up graduating from high school and sort of leaving the show, and sometimes coming back for either one or a series of episodes, or sometimes a lot of episodes.”

Brittany Snow Back For 'Pitch Perfect 2'

(2/14/14) (deadline.com) Universal Pictures has just signed a deal for Pitch Perfect co-star Brittany Snow to rejoin Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson for the sequel. Elizabeth Banks is set to direct Pitch Perfect 2, from Universal and Gold Circle. A May 15, 2015, release is set. Kay Cannon is back writing the sequel, and Paul Brooks is producing with Banks and Max Handelman. Universal’s Peter Cramer is overseeing. Snow, repped by ICM Partners and Magnolia Entertainment, is set as the female lead opposite Jack Whitehall in ABC’s single-camera comedy pilot An American Education, based on a BBC Three series.

Brittany Snow To Star In ABC Comedy Pilot 'An American Education'

(1/11/14) Pitch Perfect's Brittany Snow (ex-Susan, Guiding Light) is set as the female lead opposite Jack Whitehall in ABC's single-camera comedy pilot An American Education, based on the BBC Three series Bad Education. British actor-comedian Whitehall, who created and starred in the original series, is reprising his role as Alfie Wickers, now a British transplant and an unorthodox young teacher in the San Diego public school system. Alfie loves his students, but his youthful, often naive enthusiasm and unconventional methods put him at odds with the test-obsessed administrators. Snow, repped by ICM Partners, Magnolia Entertainment and Ziffren Brittenham, will play Sarah McIntyre, an earnest and book-smart chemistry teacher who is the object of Alfie?s eye as her current boyfriend is leaving the country. Rosie Perez co-stars the school?s hard-assed vice principal. Craig Zisk is directing from a script by Peter Huyck and Alex Gregory.

'Vampire Diaries' Star Finally Divorced -- He Vanted A Prenup ... And It Paid Off!

(12/24/13) "Vampire Diaries" star Paul Wesley is rightfully sucking the joint bank account dry ... we've learned he's getting the lion's share of loot in his divorce from Torrey DeVitto ... a divorce that is now final.

Turns out Paul and Torrey -- who also appeared on the show -- signed a prenup -- obtained by TMZ -- that keeps all their earnings separate ... and he made WAY more than her. On top of that, the prenup provides he gets all the money he fronted for the purchase of their home -- $730,593 -- and she gets what she put in -- a measly $10K.

They were certainly into motor vehicles. He gets to keep the Prius, the Triumph Bonneville chopper and an Audi Q5. She gets an Audi A4.

The couple married back in April 2011 and separated in July. They have no children together.

So who's the sucker now?

'Mob City': Milo Ventimiglia dresses sharp, takes beautiful shots

(12/18/13) On an early morning over breakfast at a oceanside diner in Los Angeles, Milo Ventimiglia of TNT's L.A.-gangster drama "Mob City" is considering what it means to be wearing a suit-and-tie at work.

"I feel like I finally made it," he tells Zap2it. "It's was nice to have two suit-and-tie roles."

In the feature film "Grace of Monaco," set in the early 1960s (and set for release on March 14), Nicole Kidman plays actress Grace Kelly, who became Princess Grace after marrying Prince Ranier III of Monaco. Ventimiglia plays her press agent, Rupert Allan.

"So," Ventimiglia says, "the '60s, then you jump back into the '40s for 'Mob City.' It's hard to beat that."

In the six-episode "Mob City," from creator Frank Darabont ("The Walking Dead"), which concludes tonight on TNT, Ventimiglia plays lawyer Ned Stax, an outwardly respectable lawyer who works as a fixer for Los Angeles ganster Mickey Cohen (Jeremy Luke), and fought in World War II with LAPD Detective Joe Teague (Jon Bernthal), a former Marine.

"It felt right," says Ventimiglia, 36. "It felt good to put on the suit; it felt good to put the hair back. it felt strangely good to sit and hold a Scotch and cigarette and just speak beautiful words -- a grown-up role.

"I understand that I still can fit in that realm of, 'You look younger,' but I'm trying to get as close to my age as I can."

When he's not acting or producing -- he's the star and an executive producer for the Web series "Chosen," on streaming-video service Crackle -- and sometimes while he is, Ventimiglia indulges his love of photography. He did the same thing at on the set of "Mob City."

Click here for a Bello magazine slide show of his black-and-white shots (he advises viewing them in landscape format).

"My first real conversation with Frank," says Ventimiglia, "I'm in a fitting. I've got my pants off, shirt on, waiting for a hem or something. Frank's sitting there; we're just talking about the character. I said to him, 'Frank, I know I'm only working two days in the pilot for 13, but do you mind if I just hang out? I want to be a part of all this.' 'Yeah, pal, no problem, hang out.'

"Then, the next conversation, I said, 'Frank, I do a lot of photography. Do you mind if I, while I'm hanging out, bring my cameras and shoot the pilot?' 'No.' In fact, he gave me one of his cameras, a Hasselbad XPan,, which is panoramic.

"Every day, I would show up; I would dress 1940s -- fedora, suspenders, everything. I had three cameras on me all the time: two film, one digital. And [co-star] Alexa Davalos did the same thing. We would be there every day just shooting photos."

Interestingly, Davalos' character, Jasmine Fontaine, Teague's enigmatic ex-wife, is also a photographer. In an interview, Davalos said that some of her black-and-white shots were in the set for Jasmine's apartment.

Ventimiglia pulls out his iPhone and starts a slideshow of his beautiful, moody shots of backstage life and the show's characters.

"I printed them out for Frank," he says, "and I printed them for Jon and some other people. I would take pictures of Eddie Burns [who plays gangster Bugsy Siegel] and Jeremy Luke while we were on set. I shot the pilot.

"Back on 'Heroes,' I did portraits of everyone that no one's ever seen."

Even though he's known for being in front of the camera, Ventimiglia seems to get much more out being behind it.

"I feel like I live my life through photography," he says, "seeing things, hanging onto images."

But while Ventimiglia does share some shots online, it's only a small percentage of the total.

"Even though I take a ton of photos," he says, "I don't post them. This sounds horrible, but I want to do something old-fashioned, like a book. I feel like, with social media and with online content, it's so easily disposable, that people will just cycle through things. It's different than holding something in your hands.

"Still, I've got my Kindle Paperwhite; I've got my iPad; I've got my computer, my iPhone and all that. I still use it for work and business and all that, but there's something about shooting on film and holding a print, reading a book.

"I've got an old typewriter that I bang out on, on occasion. I remember where I come from."

Revenge Casting Scoop: NYPD Blue Star to Play Conrad's First Wife With "Secrets That Will Blow You Away"

(12/11/13) Something wicked this way comes!

As if the return of Lydia Davis (Amber Valletta), her husband's mistress, wasn't enough for Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) to deal, we've exclusively learned that Conrad's (Henry Czerny) first wife is set to come to the Hamptons to stir up some trouble for the Grayson family.

And the lady cast to play the woman scorned by Conrad and Victoria? Gail O'Grady! E! News has exclusively confirmed that the NYPD Blue and American Dreams star will take on the role of the former Mrs. Grayson, who will arrive in town in episode 13.

Divorced from Conrad, who left her for Victoria, for over 25 years, O'Grady's "West Coast posh" chararacter will surprise her former hubby and Victoria when she arrives in town unexpectedly.

"That's someone who has always been out there and now we're pretty much planning on having her introduced at some point in time," Revenge showrunner Sunil Nayar recently spilled of Conrad's first wife. "We're pretty excited about the part and she brings with her secrets that will also blow you guys away that are going to be great."

Aside from NYPD Blue, which she starred on for six years, O'Grady has also appeared on hit shows such as Boston Legal, Desperate Housewives and Hawaii Five-0. Her last series regular role was on the CW's shortlived cheerleading drama Hellcats.

Revenge airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on ABC.

Milo Ventimiglia, Katee Sackoff Star In Indie 'Tell'

(11/23/13) Milo Ventimiglia and Katee Sackoff lead the ensemble cast of Tell. The indie centers on Ethan Tell (Ventimiglia), a small-time crook who makes a big score then gets busted. But the money is never recovered, and upon his release from prison, Tell is confronted by a greedy ex-wife, the partner he betrayed, his parole officer and two corrupt cops — all looking for their piece of the loot. Director Juan M.R. Luna’s film also stars Robert Patrick, Jason Lee, Alan Tudyk, Faizon Love and John Michael Higgins. It’s produced by Kevin Mann, Matt Perniciaro and Christopher Boyd of Haven Entertainment and Ventimiglia and Russ Cundiff of DiVide Pictures. Mauricio Betancur, Rick Matros and George Voskericyan exec produce.

Zac Efron, Brittany Snow, Julianne and Derek Hough Hit Haunted Hayride-See the Pic!

(10/11/13) (Photo) Hollywood loves Halloween!

Zac Efron, Brittany Snow, Julianne Hough, Derek Hough and a handful of friends headed to L.A.'s Griffith Park on Thursday, Oct. 10, for the opening of the Hollywood's Haunted Hayride.

In one shot, Zac—who completed a rehab stint this past April—hangs onto a candy apple and his pal Brittany. (Don't start playing the couples game here! Britt is dating Teen Wolf's Tyler Hoechlin.)

Derek, whose girlfriend Nina Dobrev did not appear to be part of the festivities, Instagrammed a smiling, happy shot of himself and his famous friends. "Great time last night with great friends," he wrote Friday. "Love this time of year."

Nina's not missing out on all the fall fun, though! Earlier this month, she and her Dancing With the Stars beau stepped out for the first time as a couple at Universal Studios Hollywood's Halloween Horror Nights at the Roosevelt Hotel. Julianne also joined the pair, along with Lily Collins, Selena Gomez, Emile Hirsch, Francesca Eastwood and Beacher's Madhouse founder Jeff Beacher.

Paul Wesley Dating Former Vampire Diaries Costar Phoebe Tonkin

(9/26/13) (Photo) Love bites—unless you're Vampire Diaries stars Paul Wesley and Phoebe Tonkin, that is. The actors "have been dating since July," a source tells E! News. The lovebirds haven't exactly been keeping a low profile, as they were seen "cozying up to each other" and "kissing" during a Comic-Con party.

Wesley, 31, had already called it quits with wife Torrey DeVitto before he began dating Tonkin. "Their split was not yet public," the source says of the former spouses, who tied the knot in April 2011 and announced their breakup in July 2013.

Us Weekly, which broke the news about Wesley and Tonkin's relationship, reported that the new couple went on a double date with Ben McKenzie and Shelley Hennig at Soho House on Saturday, Sept. 21.

"Paul and Phoebe were 100 percent romantic—they were across the table from Ben all cozied up on the couch kissing each other," an insider told the magazine. "She had her head on his chest."

The PDA parade won't be a problem on The Vampire Diaries set, given that 24-year-old Tonkin has been cast in The Originals, a spinoff of The Vampire Diaries. Both shows premiere Thursday, Oct. 3, on The CW.

DeVitto—a former Vampire Diaries guest star best-known for her TV roles on Army Wives, Pretty Little Liars and One Tree Hill—has been busy working on a documentary , The Road to Hope, which focuses on child caregivers who have been orphaned by an AIDS epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Oops! Brittany Snow Mistaken for Britney Spears While Accepting an Award

(9/11/13) Oops—let's hope this doesn't happen again.

Brittany Snow was accidentally mistaken for Britney Spears at the Glamour and Investigation Discovery's Inspire a Difference Awards Monday night at the Edison Ballroom in New York City, according to Just Jared.

The blond beauty was being honored for her charity work with Love Is Louder at the ceremony, which also saw Emily Deschanel and Kristin Chenoweth accept accolades for their respective charity work.

But before Snow stepped up to the podium, the president of Investigation Discovery apparently told the crowd he was presenting an award to Britney Spears before continuing to list Snow's credits and work (perhaps he had Brit Brit's bangin' bikini bod on his brain?).

The 27-year-old actress reportedly took the moniker mix-up in stride, jokingly introducing herself as the pop icon before talking about her charity organization.

Of course, Chenoweth also couldn't help but poke some fun at the mishap when she accepted her award for her work with Maddie's Corner, belting out a line from Spears' hit "Oops!...I Did It Again" as she took the stage.

After the ceremony, Kristin took to Twitter to show her appreciation for the event in addition to praising both Emily and Brittany for their do-gooding efforts.

"Incredible event. Incredible cause. INCREDIBLE WOMEN @Brittanysnow @emilydeschanel," she wrote.

To which Snow replied: "@KChenoweth @emilydeschanel so great meeting you. Honored to be among you last night. Congrats!"

'Pitch Perfect' cast to reunite for holiday a capella album

(8/14/13) Fans won't need to wait until 2015 for the Barden Bellas to reunite. According to Universal, a "Pitch Perfect" a capella album is on the way this holiday season.

The news was first revealed in an MTV interview with Hana Mae Lee. She teased during the chat that she'll be singing a "very special song" on the upcoming record.

"There are Christmas classics," Lee says. "I'll be singing 'Silent Night.' I'm pretty sure it's going to be all a cappella. You know, for our 'Pitch Perfect' soundtrack, it's all a cappella -- even the percussion. It's all us, so it's going to be sweet though because it's going to sound like there's other things, but it's all us."

In other aca-mazing news, "Pitch Perfect 2" is definitely coming out in 2015. Meanwhile, the Anna Kendrick track "Cups (Pitch Perfect's When I'm Gone" is No. 6 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Oh, and stars Anna Camp and Skylar Astin are dating in real life.

Vampire Diaries' Paul Wesley and Torrey DeVitto Divorcing

(7/30/13) Paul Wesley and Torrey DeVitto are divorcing after two years of marriage, People reports.

According to Wesley's rep, the couple "have decided to amicably split. They will continue to remain good friends."

After meeting in 2007 on the set of Killer Movie, Wesley and DeVitto married in April 2011 and found ways to continue working together. The Pretty Little Liars actress joined The Vampire Diaries in a recurring role as Meredith Fell in Season 3 and continued to make appearances throughout last season.

Wesley won't be the only one with an ex on set this year. Co-stars Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder ended their three-year romance in the spring.

Brittany Snow Signs With Magnolia Entertainment

(7/29/13) Brittany Snow (Pitch Perfect, Hairspray) is expanding her management team. She’s signed with Magnolia Entertainment where she’ll be repped by Kimberlin Belloni and Shelley Browning. Snow, who’s also got features The Potters and There’s Always Woodstock on her docket, was also cast in the lead on Fox and WB TV’s redeveloped legal comedy The Assistants opposite Stephen Root and Catherine O’Hara. She will continue to be repped by ICM and PJ Shapiro.

Comedy 'The Assistants' Extends Cast Member Options As Fox Eyes New Pilot

(6/26/13) Warner Bros has extended the options of three series regulars from its Fox comedy pilot The Assistants: Brittany Snow, Stephen Root and Catherine O’Hara. Also picked up is recurring guest star Jillian Bell, who is a regular on another show, Comedy Central’s Workaholics. The decision to extend options, which expire at the end of the week, was made with an eye toward re-piloting the project, though there has been no formal new pilot order from Fox yet. Written by Sherry Bilsing-Graham and Ellen Kreamer based on the blog and book To My Assistant by Lydia Whitlock, The Assistants is set in a busy Manhattan law firm where the assistants have vowed that if they ever get to the top, they will never treat their assistants the way they’ve been treated by their bosses. The single-camera project was an early favorite of Fox brass, who were very high on the cast, mainly the actors who have now been extended. The Assistants factored into the network’s series pickup conversation, and though it didn’t get the nod last month, Fox left it in consideration. The Assistants is produced by Lin Pictures and WBTV, with Bilsing-Graham, Kreamer, Dan Lin and Jennifer Gwartz executive producing.

ABC Family's 'Melissa & Joey' Gets Season 3 Back Order, Renewed For Fourth Season

(5/28/13) ABC Family is banking on Melissa & Joey. Ahead of the series’ Season 3 premiere tomorrow, I’ve learned that the network has given the comedy starring Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence a back order, bringing the third season to 20 episodes. Additionally, ABC Family has ordered a 20-episode fourth season, making Melissa & Joey the network’s first comedy to reach 100 episodes. The additional Season 3 episodes will air in 2014. “One hundred episodes is a great accomplishment for any series and we are thrilled to give Melissa And Joey the opportunity to achieve this milestone, as they’ve delivered hundreds and hundreds of laughs over the seasons,” said Kate Juergens, EVP Programming and Development and Chief Creative Officer, ABC Family.

Melissa & Joey follows local politician and former wild child Mel Burke (Hart) who employs down on his luck “manny” Joe Longo (Lawrence), as she raises her teenaged niece (Taylor Spreitler) and nephew (Nick Robinson). Guest stars for the upcoming third season include Sterling Knight, Shannon Elizabeth, Trevor Donovan, Marla Sokoloff, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Jaime Pressley, and Doris Roberts, who will be appearing in two episodes as Joe’s grandmother. Executive producing the series are Bob Young & David Kendall, Paula Hart, Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence. Melissa & Joey posted ABC Family’s highest comedy debut ever in total viewers. Boosted by new companion Baby Daddy, the comedy’s second season eclipsed Season 1 in several key demos, such as Adults 18-49, Women 18-34, and Viewers 12-34.

Vanessa Lengies on Leaving Glee and Landing a New Sitcom

(5/20/13) Fox's Glee will be a little less sweet next season now that Vanessa Lengies, who plays Sugar, has landed a regular role on the midseason ABC sitcom Mixology. "Getting to play Sugar Motta was one of the biggest opportunities of my life, and I met some of the most fantastic people, but I was being hired per episode," Lengies says about why she made the switch. "I loved getting to be there and dancing around, but I didn't really have much of an opportunity to act."

On Mixology, Lengies will play a bubbly waitress named Kacey. "For an actress who really hasn't gotten to act for two years, it was like letting a wild dog out of its cage," says the elated star, who received congratulations from Glee pals Jenna Ushkowitz, Kevin McHale and Heather Morris.

And since Mixology doesn't debut until 2014, Lengies hopes she'll be able to give Sugar a proper send-off next fall. Her exit pitch: "I would love to have them introduce a time machine and ­reveal that Sugar was a visitor from the future."

Pitch Perfect Star Brittany Snow: I Found Out About Sequel on Twitter!

(4/20/13) Brittany Snow (ex-Susan, Guiding Light) says she had heard some talk about a Pitch Perfect sequel being developed, but there was never anything nothing official—until she checked Twitter the other day!

Universal announced earlier this week that a follow-up to the college musical was a go and set for a release in 2015.

"I literally found out through Twitter," Snow, who played Chloe in Pitch Perfect, said at the premiere of Call Me Crazy, her new Lifetime movie (airing April 20) about mental illness. "I had my little secrets that people were telling me, but I didn't really know until...somebody tweeted me that it was happening."

If she is in talks to reprise her role, Snow isn't saying. "I hope I'm in it," she said. "Maybe people should rally together to get me in it!"

MTV Movie Awards 2013: Winners

(4/15/13) Best Musical Moment: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean and Hana Mae Lee -- "Pitch Perfect"

Milo Ventimiglia Joins Jason Statham in ''Heat'' Remake

(4/12/13) Milo Ventimiglia has been cast in a lead role opposite Jason Statham in "Heat," a remake of the 1986 Burt Reynolds movie of the same name.

Ventimiglia ("Heroes") will play Danny DeMarco, a role portrayed by Neil Barry in the original. Danny is the son of a prominent businessman with ties to a mobster and casino owner named Baby. Given his father's connections, arrogant Danny believes himself to untouchable and travels with two bodyguards to make sure he remains untouchable.

Statham is taking over for Reynolds as a recovering gambling addict who finds work providing protection to his friends.

William Goldman, author of the novel the original film was based on, once again wrote the adapted screenplay for the flick being directed by Simon West ("The Expendables 2"). SJ Pictures, Quad Productions and Current Entertainment are producing.

Ventimiglia will next be seen on the big screen as a frat boy tormenting Adam Sandler in "Grown Ups 2," and co-starring with Nicole Kidman in the winter release of "Grace of Monaco."

Ventimiglia is repped by CAA and Management 360.

CBS Renews 'Elementary', 'Blue Bloods'

(3/27/13) CBS kept the tradition of renewing most of its slate in one fell swoop. Demonstrating its signature stability, the network has picked up most of its current series for next season, with two major exceptions: veteran Criminal Minds, which is in the midst of renegotiations with the cast, and freshman Vegas, which will get a tryout on Friday later this spring. Renewed for next season are freshman drama Elementary; critical darling The Good Wife; comedies 2 Broke Girls and Mike & Molly; and drama procedurals NCIS: LA, Person Of Interest, The Mentalist, Hawaii Five-0 and Blue Bloods. The nine join previously renewed The Big Bang Theory (part of a three-year pickup), How I Met Your Mother for a final season, and veterans NCIS and CSI, picked up when their stars Mark Harmon and Ted Danson, respectively, re-upped their contracts. Additionally, CBS said it continues negotiations with Warner Bros TV for another season of Two And A Half Men. Also picked up for next season are unscripted series The Amazing Race, Survivor and Undercover Boss and newsmagazines 60 Minutes and 48 Hours.

Not surprisingly, MIA from CBS’ early renewal list again is perennial bubble comedy Rules Of Engagement. With the series recently hitting the 100-episode mark, the deals for the main cast up and most of them off to do pilots, it seems highly unlikely that Rules would continue, though I hear a short final installment is a possibility. With the key players on Criminal Minds, including stars Thomas Gibson and Joe Mantegna, all embroiled in difficult negotiations as their contracts come up this season, CBS is playing it conservatively with no early renewal, though the crime drama is fully expected to return. As for Vegas, a lot will depend on how the series does in the Friday 9 PM slot this spring.

Dick Clark Estate -- Donating $1 Million to College Frat

(3/14/13) The ghost of Dick Clark is on double secret probation ... because TMZ has learned the legend earmarked $1 MILLION of his fortune for his college frat ... and that's a lot of beer.

According to legal docs filed by the Clark Estate trustees, Dick gave the loot to the Delta Kappa Epsilon Foundation in New York, which handles finances for the frat's chapters around the country.

Dick passed away last April ... and various money issues are still being hashed out.

FYI, Clark was a DKE bro while he attended Syracuse University from 1947-1951.

Other famous Dekes include George W. Bush, Teddy Roosevelt, Joe Paterno, and George Steinbrenner.

Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga!

Brittany Snow's Glow-in-the-Dark, Rave-Themed Birthday Bash

(3/13/13) (Photo) Brittany Snow's 27th birthday was Pitcher Perfect!

The actress, joined by beau Tyler Hoechlin, rounded up a slew of her former big-screen costars on Saturday to help her celebrate another year.

Skylar Astin, Rebel Wilson, Kelley Jakle, Alexis Knapp and Adam DeVine were among the musical comedy's actors to attend Snow's glow-in-the-dark, rave-themed bash at the Mack Sennett Studios in Hollywood.

Other celebrities who showed up for the festivities included Nikki Reed and hubby Paul McDonald, Julianne Hough, Nina Dobrev and Rumer Willis.

"There was a deejay, soundstage, fog blowers and all," a partygoer tells PEOPLE. "Guests danced the night away while tossing their glow sticks in the air. Brittany was in great spirits and mentioned that she wished Anna Kendrick could have been there, but she was at SXSW."

During the party, which went from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., guests sipped on drinks by Voli light vodka and watched a reel on the birthday girl's Love Is Louder charity. And the night didn't end without a special mini chocolate cake.

@Brittanysnow Thank you all for the sweet birthday messages. So honored & grateful. So funny #HappyBirthdayDJSnow is a thing. Haha.

Brittany Snow To Star In Fox Pilot 'To My Assistant'

(2/26/13) Brittany Snow (ex-Susan, Guiding Light/ex-Meg, American Dreams) has been cast as a lead in Fox’s single-camera comedy pilot To My Future Assistant. Written by Sherry Bilsing-Graham & Ellen Kreamer and directed by Peyton Reed, Assistant revolves around the assistants at a big New York law firm who band together as a family to help each other cope with the obnoxious overbearing bosses who test their sanity on a daily basis. Snow, repped by ICM Partners and attorney PJ Shapiro, will play Jen, a super-ambitious young woman who can’t stand being a legal assistant for another day and hopes to snag an associate lawyer position at her firm now that she’s passed the bar. The actress, who recently recurred on Fox’s Ben & Kate, joins Catherine O’Hara, Joe Egender and Melissa Tang.

Vanessa Lengies In ABC's 'Mixology'

(2/20/13) Adam Campbell, Craig Frank and Vanessa Lengies have been cast as three of the leads in ABC’s high-concept single-camera comedy Mixology, directed by Larry Charles from a script by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. Set in the world of a sexy Manhattan bar, Mixology, from ABC Studios, chronicles the exploits of singles, five guys and five girls, in search of love — all over the course of one night. Campbell, Frank and Lengies will play three of them. Campbell, repped by ICM Partners, Mary Putnam and Jeff Bernstein, plays Ron, a former Internet hotshot who is now deeply in debt after his startup went bust. Frank plays Cal, always the hottest and the dumbest guy in the room. Lengies plays Kacey, a hyper-positive personal trainer by day and a waitress by night.

Pilot Season: Virginia Madsen Joins the Cast of NBC's Hatfields & McCoys

(2/12/13) The McCoy family of NBC's modern-day Hatfields & McCoys is starting to take shape: Virginia Madsen has joined the McCoy clan, TVGuide.com has learned.

Set in present-day Pittsburgh, a startling death reignites the feud between these two American legendary families, which was also recently dramatized in the Emmy-winning History Channel miniseries of the same name. Unleashing decades of resentment, the blue collar McCoys will put the Hatfields' wealth and power at risk as they go to war for control of the city.

Madsen, whose credits include Sideways, Hell on Wheels and A Prairie Home Companion, will play Eloise McCoy, the matriarch of the family who is a self-educated woman with a tough background.

Eagle Eye scribe John Glenn will write and executive-produce with Charlize Theron.

Dick Clark's Flintstones House -- Price Slashed Because No One Wants It

(2/12/13) Dick Clark's Flintstones-themed house in Malibu is apparently an unsellable freak of architecture -- because after nearly a year on the market ... no one's bought it ... and now, the asking price has been heavily discounted.

The house was originally listed last March -- a month before Dick passed away -- for $3.5 million. It's remained unsold ever since, and now the price has been dropped by $250,000 ... to $3.25 million, this according to our friends at Curbed LA.

The home -- currently owned by Dick Clark's estate -- isn't a bad deal ... even if you hate the house itself ... because it sits on 23 acres of prime Malibu real estate with a 360-degree view of the Pacific Ocean, Channel Islands, Boney Mountains, and Serrano Valley.

Maybe he shoulda built a Jetsons house.

'Castle' interview: Gail O'Grady talks about going full-'Housewives' in 'Reality Star Struck'

(2/11/13) We have all known for a long time that there isn't too much "reality" in reality television. Thus, it makes sense that a fictional, scripted show like "Castle" could easily incorporate a fake reality program into its stories. When one of the stars of "The Wives of Wall Street" is murdered in the "Reality Star Struck" episode, every wife is a suspect.

Gail O'Grady ("NYPD Blue," "American Dreams," "Desperate Housewives") is guest-starring on the show as one of the catty and possibly murderous women of the show. We spoke to her recently about the role.

Who will you be playing?

Gail O'Grady: First of all, it was a blast playing it.

I play Margot, who is a makeup mogul. She started a makeup company after the Wall Street crash, after the husband lost everything. So the wife stepped forward. She's smart and conniving and kind of gets the deal of how she's supposed to be on this show.

Did Margot kill her co-star?

Gail O'Grady: They're all suspects after the murder.

Why did you decide to take the role?

Gail O'Grady: I actually took the role sight-unseen without seeing a script. I spoke to the producer, and he described the role to me and also I had worked with the director a couple times before... I was in. I'm also a fan of the show -- I love Stana and Nathan.

Do you watch any of the "Real Housewives" kinds of shows yourself?

Gail O'Grady: I know they're very popular but I don't. I've never been pulled in by them. I have friends that love the shows, but I'm more of a "Downton Abbey," "Dexter," "[Desperate] Housewives" fan. The only reality show that I do tune in for is "Shark Tank."

Would you consider trying to be a reality star someday?

Gail O'Grady: No, because I think my life would probably bore them to tears. Nobody wants to see somebody going to bed at 8:30, 9 o'clock.

"Reality Star Struck" airs on Monday, Feb. 11 at 10pm on ABC.

Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2013 on ABC

(11/28/12) Ryan Seacrest hosts the year's biggest celebration at the crossroads of the world when Carly Rae Jepsen and Neon Trees join headliner Taylor Swift performing live in Times Square, on "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2013," MONDAY, DECEMBER 31 on ABC.

Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas returns to host the west coast party, featuring performances by Brandy, Flo Rida, Karmin, OneRepublic, Pitbull and even more artists to be announced at a later date for both east and west coast parties.

The New Year's festivities kick off at 8:00 p.m., ET with a two-hour celebration of Dick Clark, hosted by Fergie and Jenny McCarthy, "New Year's Rockin' Eve Celebrates Dick Clark." The special celebrates, through clips and reminiscences, the legendary television personality and producer who rang in the New Year for four decades and launched and nurtured the careers of countless artists. Ryan Seacrest makes a special appearance.

Beginning at 10:00 p.m., ET, Ryan Seacrest will host "Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2013" from New York, with Jenny McCarthy returning to interview the revelers in Times Square. Some of America's hottest artists and groups will perform throughout the night. The bi-coastal events will include over 5 1/2 hours of special performances and reports on New Year's celebrations from around the globe, and Ryan Seacrest will lead the traditional countdown to midnight from Times Square in New York City.

The complete lineup on Monday night, December 31 is:

8:00-10:00 p.m., ET -- "New Year's Rockin' Eve Celebrates Dick Clark"
10:00-11:00 p.m., ET -- "Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2013"
11:30 p.m.-1:08 a.m., ET -- "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2013, Part 1"
1:08-2:12 a.m., ET -- "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2013, Part 2"

Ben and Kate Casting Scoop: Brittany Snow to Guest Star as a Love Interest for...

(11/9/12) Talk about pitch-perfect casting!

Pitch Perfect star Brittany Snow has landed a multi-episode arc on Fox's new hit comedy Ben and Kate, E! News can exclusively reveal.

So which lucky Ben and Kate guy will get to romance Snow's character?

A Fox rep confirms that Snow will guest star in a minimum of two episodes as the cute Lila, a love interest for Tommy (Echo Kellum) who has a good sense of humor. The two will have a meet-cute: They meet while she's walking her terrier!

While Snow has been heating up the big screen, including memorable turns in the recent hit Pitch Perfect as well as Hairspray, she's no stranger to TV. The actress starred on NBC's beloved American Dreams and Harry's Law, and played a young Lily (Kelly Rutherford) in Gossip Girl's '80s-set episode.

Ben and Kate has performed well and recently earned a full-season order from Fox, along with The Mindy Project. The comedy's most recent ep garnered 3.1 million viewers and a 1.4 in the demo.

Ben and Kate airs Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. on Fox.

Taylor Swift will headline "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

(11/9/12) Ten-time American Music Award winner Taylor Swift will headline "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2013," performing live in front of a crowd of an estimated 1 million people in Times Square just before the ball drops on MONDAY, DECEMBER 31 on the ABC Television Network. She headlines the biggest party of the year, fresh from the record-breaking success of her blockbuster new album, "RED."

Lauded by The New York Times as "one of the most important pop artists of the last decade" and by Rolling Stone as "one of the few genuine rock stars we've got these days," Taylor Swift is a six-time Grammy winner and is the youngest winner in history of the music industry's highest honor, the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. With the 2012 release of her album "RED," she is the only female artist in music history (and just the fourth artist ever) to twice have an album hit the 1 million first-week sales figure. She holds the record for the biggest digital sales week ever for a song by a woman, and for the second-largest song sales week overall, as well as the worldwide iTunes record for highest ever first-week album sales.

"I remember meeting and listening to Taylor Swift perform before she even had her first single. I was blown away by her talent and just knew that she would be a huge success," said Ryan Seacrest. "Taylor is truly this year's global star and is the perfect artist to ring in the New Year for us at the crossroads of the world."

The New Year's festivities kick off at 8:00 p.m., ET with a two-hour live special featuring a tribute to Dick Clark, hosted by Fergie and Jenny McCarthy, "New Year's Rockin' Eve Celebrates Dick Clark." The special celebrates, through clips and reminiscences, the legendary television personality and producer who rang in the New Year for four decades and launched and nurtured the careers of countless artists. Ryan Seacrest makes a special appearance.

Beginning at 10:00 p.m., ET, Ryan Seacrest will host "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2013" from New York, with Jenny McCarthy returning to interview the revelers in Times Square. Fergie of The Black Eyed Peas will return to host the Los Angeles-based portions of the specials. In addition to Taylor Swift, some of America's hottest artists and groups will perform throughout the night. The bi-coastal celebration will include over 5 1/2 hours of special performances and reports on New Year's celebrations from around the globe, and Ryan Seacrest will lead the traditional countdown to midnight from Times Square in New York City.

The complete lineup Monday night, December 31 on ABC is:

8:00-10:00 p.m., ET -- "New Year's Rockin' Eve Celebrates Dick Clark"

10:00-11:00 p.m., ET -- "Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2013"

11:30 p.m.-1:08 a.m., ET -- "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2013, Part 1"

1:08-2:12 a.m., ET -- "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2013, Part 2"

TNT Orders Six Episodes of Frank Darabont's Period L.A. Noir Drama

(10/17/12) The ambitious L.A. noir drama developed by The Walking Dead's Frank Darabont has landed a series order at TNT. The cable network has ordered six episodes of the untitled show, which stars Walking Dead alum Jon Bernthal as Joe Teague, an ex-Marine turned LAPD cop during the city's rough-and-tumble 1940s.

The show is based on the John Buntin book L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City, which focuses on the battle between gangster Mickey Cohen and legendary L.A. police chief William Parker. Darabont (who mixes fictional and real-life figures from the era) takes a look inside the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles cops and villains in the 1947, the heyday of L.A. noir and scandals (such as the Black Dahlia). Darabont wrote and directed the pilot, which was shot earlier this year.

"I've loved noir my whole life, and I've always wanted to go into that area of storytelling. I'm a huge Raymond Chandler buff, which is actually why I grabbed this book off the shelf at LAX in the bookstore as I was about to get on a flight," Darabont told TV Guide Magazine earlier this year. "It seemed right up my alley. I read it on the flight, and then the following day after I couldn't put the darn thing down."

Darabont first came up with the character of Joe Teague — and as soon as Bernthal could sign on, he did. "He's caught in that moral gray zone between the William Parkers of the world and the Mickey Cohens of this world," Darabont said of the character earlier this year. "And what a great, fun gray zone to be in. Caught, as he puts it, between the white hats and the black hats."

Another former Walking Dead castmember, Jeffrey DeMunn, plays Det. Hal Morrison, who heads up the LAPD's new mob squad; Jeremy Strong (Lincoln) is Det. Mike Hendry, Morrison's second in command; Neal McDonough (Desperate Housewives) stars as Capt. William Parker, Teague's boss; and Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes) plays Ned Stax, who fought alongside Teague during World War II but who now works as a lawyer with connections to the mob.

Ron Rifkin (L.A. Confidential) is also on board as Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Bowron; Pihla Viitala (Tears of April) is Anya, the head bartender at Bunny's on Central Avenue; and Alexa Davalos (Clash of the Titans, The Mist) plays Jasmine, a woman with a mysterious past. Thomas Jane (Hung) guest stars as Bugsy Siegel in the pilot, while Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) guests as comedian Hecky Nash.

"This series is an intense, exciting drama that takes viewers back to a truly fascinating time in the history of Los Angeles," says Michael Wright, president, head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). "They have woven an engrossing tale of heroism in the face of greed and corruption."

Michael De Luca (The Social Network) and Elliot Webb (Tall Time Tales) executive produce with Darabont. TNT Original Productions is producing the show.

Humor, music are in 'Pitch Perfect' harmony

(9/27/12) The spirited a cappella singing in Pitch Perfect makes a predictable, feather-light coming-of-age film irresistibly fun.

Inspired by the increasingly popular phenomenon of college a cappella groups and based on the 2009 non-fiction book Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory by Mickey Rapkin, Pitch Perfect (* * * out of four; rated PG-13; opens Friday in select cities) showcases this campus subculture in all its eccentricities while capturing the cutthroat rivalry among its singing members.

Pitch Perfect will fill the bill nicely for those who yearn for the glory days of Glee, enjoy fast-paced, nerdy snarkiness and have a soft spot for tales of rhythmic scholastic activities, as in Drumline or Stomp the Yard.

Beca (Anna Kendrick) goes to college against her will, prodded by her professor father. What she really wants to do is produce music. Her first move is to get a job at the campus radio station, where she meets fellow music aficionado and warbler Jesse (Skylar Astin). A flirty friendship is born.

Beca is roped into joining The Bellas, an all-girl a cappella group, by the gung-ho Chloe (Brittany Snow), who hears her singing in their dorm shower. Soon, Beca becomes a key member of this group of lovable, motley, musical misfits.

The best of the bunch is Amy (Rebel Wilson), who calls herself "Fat Amy," since she figures others will behind her back. Her dance moves are hilarious, and her singing is powerful. Then there's Lilly (Hana Mae Lee), an Asian girl so seemingly demure that she speaks in scarcely audible whispers. (But what she's actually saying is comically offbeat.)

Cast as an alt-girl, Beca attempts to take The Bellas in edgier directions, moving away from their traditional harmonies and staid arrangements to incorporate new mash-ups. She and Aubrey (Anna Camp), the uptight leader of the group, inevitably lock horns.

The Bellas take on the all-male Treblemakers (which Jesse joins) in the national competition, and in between the pop confections, we get the funny quips of commentators John (John Michael Higgins) and Gail (Elizabeth Banks).

"There's nothing that makes a woman feel more like a girl than a man dressed up as a boy," Banks babbles to Higgins.

Kendrick, who is also currently co-starring in End of Watch, proves her versatility and projects an upbeat affability. The filmmakers were wise to hinge the film on her likable, if mildly misunderstood, outsider character. The sisterly bonds of friendship forged between Beca and her singing mates are just as important as the results of their big Lincoln Center sing-off.

Pitch Perfect's engaging malange of pop songs and cheeky dialogue makes for good-natured fun.

Rachel Boston Joins Lifetime's Witches of East End

(9/19/12) Rachel Boston will star opposite Jenna Dewan on Lifetime's new pilot Witches of East End, TVLine.com reports.

Boston will play Ingrid Beauchamp, the quirky, yet smart sister of Dewan's Freya Beauchamp. The show is set in North Hampton and tells the story of Freya and her sister, who are unaware that they have magic powers until Freya becomes engaged to a rich philanthropist and their mother (Julia Ormond) is forced to tell them about their gifts.

Lifetime ordered the Witches of East End pilot earlier this summer for 2013. It's based on the best-selling novel by Melissa de la Cruz.

Boston's credits include American Dreams, In Plain Sight, Grey's Anatomy and the short-lived CBS comedy The Ex List.

CBS considers bid for Dick Clark Productions

(8/10/12) CBS Corp is considering a bid for Dick Clark Productions and would join other bidders including "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest, who have until August 31 to make offers, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Entertainment company CBS is in a group of four to six bidders who have moved to a second round of discussions with Dick Clark Productions chief executive Mark Shapiro, said the sources, who are not authorized to speak publicly.

The company produces the "Golden Globe Awards" show and the New Year's Eve broadcast created by its late founder Dick Clark.

Other bidders include private equity firm Colony Capital, which owns film studio Miramax; private equity firm Guggenheim Partners; and Core Media Group, which holds the rights to the Elvis Presley brand and produces "American Idol," said one of the sources.

Shapiro and Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, chairman of Dick Clark Productions, are asking $350 million for the company, which also produces the "American Music Awards", the "Miss Universe Pageant" and the Fox TV show "So You Think You can Dance."

Seventeen potential bidders received deal books with the company's financial information from The Raine Group, a boutique investment bank running the process, said one of the sources.

CBS considered bidding for the TV rights to the "Golden Globe Awards" in 2010, its Chief Executive Leslie Moonves has acknowledged. NBC broadcasts the show.

CBS also owns the rights to the "Grammy Awards" music show and the "People's Choice Awards."

A CBS spokesman said it was the company's policy to "not comment on rumor or speculation."

Representatives for Colony and Ryan Seacrest declined to comment, and officials at Dick Clark Productions and Core Media did not return emails and calls seeking comment.

Seacrest, 37, is building a media empire through his own production company. Aside from "Idol," he hosts a morning radio show; produces "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" for the E! cable TV network; and contributes to NBC's "Today" show and summer Olympics coverage.

In January, Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital, which control Clear Channel Communications, announced a $300 million commitment to acquire and develop properties with Seacrest's company. Clear Channel also took a minority stake in Seacrest's company.

Core Media Group is run by Marc Graboff, former chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios.

Colony Capital is an investment firm.

Dick Clark Productions retained Raine after a judge ruled in April in favor of the company's deal to keep the "Golden Globe Awards" it produces on NBC through 2018. The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn, which sponsors the TV and film awards, had argued that it should have been consulted before the deal was made.

Clark, who founded the company in 1957, sold his majority stake to Mosaic Media Group in 2002.

Joey Lawrence Gets His Daughters a Puppy

(8/3/12) He's not a contestant on this fall's all-star edition of Dancing With the Stars, and that's a good thing for Joey Lawrence. The DWTS alum and his family are in the midst of house training their new puppy Leo.

"He's [pooping] everywhere," Lawrence told PEOPLE at the Total Recall premiere Wednesday in Hollywood."But I did teach him to come, sit, and stay within the first week. It was unbelievable, and he's really smart."

The Melissa & Joey star says his daughters – Charli, 6, and Liberty, 2, – started asking for a pup after watching one too many flicks with dogs in them.

"It was those Bud Air pictures that did us in," he says with a laugh.

Choosing the breed of dog was easy, Lawrence says, "I grew up with goldens. We always had goldens or Labs."

Joey Lawrence: Why I Turned Down Dancing with the Stars

(8/2/12) Been there, done that.

That's how Joey Lawrence seems to feel about Dancing with the Stars – as the actor, 36, says he declined an invitation to return for this fall's all-star season.

"I did it. It was good for me," Lawrence told PEOPLE at Wednesday's Los Angeles premiere of Total Recall. "We got to the end there, and it was down to me, Emmitt [Smith] and Mario [Lopez], and it was good."

Smith, 43, won that third season of DWTS in 2006, and he is back for the all-stars show – which Lawrence says he doesn't really understand.

"Emmitt apparently feels the need to have another mirror-ball trophy," he says with a laugh. "It should be all runner-ups. I don't think any champions back in the mix makes any sense. If you don't win, then you've done worse than you did the last time ... I think to throw champions in the mix is weird, unless it's all champions."

Lawrence, who was paired with Edyta Sliwinska and finished third in his season, is rooting for someone in particular this time around – another Joey.

"Joey Fatone is a friend of mine, and he went out the same time that I did," Lawrence says. "He went out third [in season 4], so I would love to see him win this time around."

'Parenthood': Sarah Ramos reduced to guest-starring role as Haddie heads to college

(7/10/12) The "Parenthood" Season 3 finale left a lot up in the air when it came to Haddie's (Sarah Ramos) college aspirations, particularly because her dad, Adam (Peter Krause), passed up an opportunity that could have helped pay her tuition.

Don't worry, Haddie fans -- the good news is, she's going to college. The bad news is that means that Ramos won't be around Berkeley as much next season. Zap2it has confirmed that Ramos' role in Season 4 will be reduced to a guest-starring level as Haddie pursues her East Coast dreams.

Haddie will, however, be home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so we'll see how college (and a little space from the Braverman madness) changes her. We're also hearing that her mom, Kristina, may be getting some bad news from her doctor this season, which will certainly impact Haddie as well.

Before she leaves for school, Haddie will get face time with the whole clan when they decide to take a family portrait in the Season 4 premiere. To say that hijinks ensue would be an enormous understatement.

Ramos was nominated for an ALMA Award last week, for favorite TV actress in a supporting role.

Joey Lawrence: My Daughters Talk Loud, Like Me

(6/9/12) (Photo) It's enough to make Blossom blush!

Sitcom star Joey Lawrence donned the famous Chippendales bowtie and not much else on Friday for a performance with the legendary male review at the Rio Las Vegas Hotel and Casino on Friday night.

Lawrence, 36, who starred alongside Mayim Bialik on the '90s hit Blossom and is now opposite Melissa Joan Hart on ABC Family's Melissa & Joey, will be showing off his ripped physique while performing with the Chippendales for a special limited engagement that goes until June 24.

Joey Lawrence: My Daughters Talk Loud, Like Me

(6/1/12) As his daughters grow older, Joey Lawrence can start to see which parent 6-year-old Charleston and 2-year-old Liberty are really taking after.

“They’re very passionate; they talk a lot. They talk real loud, which is sort of my M.O. I guess,” he tells PEOPLE with a laugh.

Despite growing up in a house full of boys, raising girls has come easily to the star, who’s found a niche with each of his little ones.

“Libby loves trains, so Santa Claus for Christmas brought her the [Chuggington Chugger] train table and all the Chugger train tracks,” he says. “That’s all she wants to do. We do that and I read to her — she loves these little Dr. Seuss books. She likes to ride with me in my car.”

Meanwhile, big sister “Charli and I go to the movies, and I help her with her homework; we play the piano together,” Lawrence says. “We play with Barbies and Color Me Mine and it’s fun.”

While his daughters are his first priority, the actor also makes time for his other baby, the ABC Family series Melissa & Joey, on which he stars and serves as producer. The show’s second season premieres Wednesday at 8 p.m., but filming of its third was pushed back when costar Melissa Joan Hart announced she’s expecting her third child.

“It’s not my baby,” Lawrence jokes, adding, “She just wants to take the time, have her little one and then come back to work.”

Joey Lawrence -- Whoa, I'm a Stripper!

(5/17/12) Joey Lawrence is taking it all off ... or most of it at least ... because the 90s heartthrob just inked a deal with the man-stripper crew at Chippendales in Vegas.

A rep for the beefcake brigade tells TMZ, the 36-year-old former "Blossom" star will don the legendary bow tie ... and not much else ... for a special engagement at the Rio from June 7th-24th.

We're told Joey will sing, dance ... the "whole nine yards."

Joey's celebrity MC predecessors at the famed strip show include 98 Degrees singer Jeff Timmons and former "Bachelor" star Jake Pavelka.

It's unclear how much Lawrence is getting paid for the gig -- but in those parts, there's only one currency ... singles.

CBS' Fall Schedule: Two and a Half Men Shifts to Thursdays; The Mentalist to Sundays

(5/17/12) Two and a Half Men is Thursday-bound.

CBS is moving the sitcom from its longtime Monday home to Thursdays at 8:30/7:30c, following Chuck Lorre's other hit comedy The Big Bang Theory.

Taking Men's place on Mondays at 9/8c is 2 Broke Girls, which will be preceded by new comedy Partners.

The Mentalist is also on the move, shifting into the Sundays-at-10 slot vacated by the canceled CSI: Miami. The Sherlock Homes update Elementary will get The Mentalist's old spot on Thursdays at 10/9c.

Fellow new dramas Vegas will air on Tuesdays at 10/9c, with Made in Jersey on Fridays at 9/8c, pushing CSI: NY up an hour.

Held for midseason: new shows Friend Me and Golden Boy, and new reality series The Job.

The network "hasn't made a decision" yet on Rules of Engagement, CBS said Monday.

Check out the full schedule:

MONDAY
8/7c: How I Met Your Mother
8:30/7:30c: Partners (New)
9/8c: 2 Broke Girls
9:30/8:30c: Mike & Molly
10/9c: Hawaii Five-0

TUESDAY
8/7c: NCIS
9/8c: NCIS: Los Angeles
10/9c: Vegas (New)

WEDNESDAY
8/7c: Survivor
9/8c: Criminal Minds
10/9c: CSI

THURSDAY
8/7c: The Big Bang Theory
8:30/7:30c: Two and a Half Men
9/8c: Person of Interest
10/9c: Elementary (New)

FRIDAY
8/7c: CSI: NY
9/8c: Made in Jersey (New)
10/9c: Blue Bloods

SATURDAY
8/7c: Crimetime Saturday
10/9c: 48 Hours Mystery

SUNDAY
7/6c: 60 Minutes
8/7c: The Amazing Race
9/8c: The Good Wife
10/9c: The Mentalist

Dick Clark Death Certificate Prostate Surgery Before Heart Attack

(4/23/12) Dick Clark underwent prostate surgery the day before he died from a heart attack ... this according to the death certificate obtained by TMZ.

According to the death certificate, doctors performed a transurethral resection of the prostate for benign prostatic hyperplasia on April 17. The procedure is usually performed when the prostate is so enlarged, it makes it extremely difficult to urinate.

The certificate shows ... Clark died from acute myocardial infarction -- the technical term for a heart attack. He also suffered from coronary artery disease.

The document also notes that Clark suffered from acute urinary retention -- a condition caused by a benign prostatic hyperplasia ... which is why he underwent surgery on the 17th.

TMZ broke the story ... Clark died from a massive heart attack at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica on April 18. He was 82.

TV Guide Network to Honor Dick Clark with New Special

(4/20/12) In the wake of Dick Clark's death, TV Guide Network will celebrate the life and career of the radio and television personality with a half-hour special Dick Clark: American Music Pioneer.

Airing Saturday, April 21 at 7/6c, the special will be hosted by Marc Istook, who will look back at the American Bandstand host's life, from his days on the long-running variety show to his career as a top producer for such events as the Golden Globes and the American Music Awards. The special will also include interviews with friends and former co-workers.

The man behind Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve died Wednesday after suffering a massive heart attack at 82 years old.

Dick Clark to be cremated

(4/20/12) The family of Dick Clark have chosen to cremate the beloved TV mogul's remains and scatter his ashes in the Pacific Ocean in lieu of a traditional funeral service.

The veteran broadcaster, 82, passed away on Wednesday after suffering a massive heart attack.

A slew of celebrities, including close friends Kenny Rogers and Betty White, have been paying tribute to the late star, but they will not get the opportunity to bid farewell to Clark at a memorial ceremony - his grieving relatives have chosen to pay their own respects to the late star in their own private, low-key way, according to ETonline.com.

Clark fortune estimated in 'hundreds of millions'

(4/19/12) Dick Clark married music and television long before "American Idol." But his legacy extends well beyond the persona of the laid-back host of "American Bandstand" whose influence can still be seen on TV today.

He was the workaholic head of a publicly traded company, a restaurateur, a concert promoter and real estate investor. Clark, who died of a heart attack on Wednesday at age 82, left behind a fortune and is the model of entertainment entrepreneurship embodied today by "Idol" host Ryan Seacrest.

"Work was his hobby," said Fran La Maina, the longtime president of Dick Clark Productions Inc.

La Maina started as the production company's financial controller in 1966. He estimates Clark amassed a fortune that reached into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

"He had this never-give-up attitude. He was a great salesperson and a task master," La Maina said.

Clark was one of the early pioneers of the idea that a public company can be formed around an entertainer's personal appeal. By the time La Maina went to work for him, Clark already had three shows on air: "Swingin' Country," ''Where the Action Is," and, of course, "American Bandstand."

He promoted more than 100 concerts a year back when promoters, not bands, called the shots. His roster included The Rolling Stones and Engelbert Humperdinck. In the 1970s, he launched shows like the "American Music Awards" and "New Year's Rockin' Eve" — shows that are highly valued by advertisers because fans still want to watch them live in an age of digital video recorders.

At one point, he hosted shows on all three major TV networks, including "The $20,000 Pyramid" on ABC, "Live Wednesday" on CBS and "TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes" on NBC. All the while, he was hosting shows "Dick Clark's Countdown" and "Rock, Roll & Remember" on the radio and running a business.

"He had boundless energy and a remarkable ability to do innumerable things at any given time," La Maina said.

By the time it went public in 1987, Dick Clark Productions had several thousand employees, had launched a restaurant chain with Clark's name on it, and ran a communications-promotion business. Revenue exceeded $100 million a year and the company was profitable.

His daily schedule was daunting, even when Clark was in his late 50s and 60s, according to longtime board member Enrique Senior, a managing director at Allen & Co. who helped Dick Clark Productions go public.

Senior remembers taking a peek at Clark's schedule after meetings.

"It frankly was the schedule of a 20-year-old," Senior said. "This guy was a dynamo. I've never seen anybody who would be so personally involved in everything he did."

Despite its profitability, the business didn't always keep pace with Wall Street's quarter-by-quarter demands. Clark decided the company should be taken private by a third party, even though, according to Senior, "he could have taken the company over by himself."

"He said, 'I want a third party to do it so there's no question that I'm taking advantage of the shareholders.'"

In 2002, the company was taken private for $140 million by a consortium led by Mosaic Media Group Inc.

Instead of cashing out, Clark sold a portion of his 70 percent stake, while reinvesting the rest with the new ownership group and staying on as CEO. He voluntarily accepted $12.50 per share when other shareholders got $14.50. Usually, company founders seek the highest premium in a buy-out.

"He wanted to reward the people that were loyal to him and who entrusted him with the stewardship of their capital," said LeRoy Kim, another Allen & Co. managing director who guided the transaction. "He was a different type of entrepreneur. He was an incredible man."

Clark suffered a stroke in 2004 that affected his ability to speak and walk and led to a reduced role at the company.

In 2007, the company was sold again, this time to Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder and his private equity firm RedZone Capital, for $175 million. Clark sold the remainder of his stake. He remained connected to the company only through his annual appearances on the New Year's Eve show.

Over the years, Clark invested in other assets outside the production company, including multiple properties in Malibu, according to Senior, Dick Clark Productions lawyer Marty Katz and others.

He paid nearly $15 million for a 12-acre oceanfront estate in Malibu known as Gull's Way in 2002, according to the Los Angeles Times. He had offices and his home in Malibu.

In his later years, Clark was trying to sell shows "just like any other independent producer," said his publicist, Paul Shefrin.

Senior said Clark would still be coming up with new show ideas today if he could.

"I never ever saw a side of him that would make me think he was a narcissist or egoist or that he needed to be in front of a camera in order to feel accomplished," Senior said. "It was all one thing for him. I don't think he really cared as long as he was involved."

Despite recent legal tussles involving Dick Clark Productions — including a running dispute over who has the rights to the Golden Globe Awards — Clark's personal integrity has been "untarnished" over the years, Katz said.

Seacrest said in a statement that Clark "has truly been one of the greatest influences in my life."

"I idolized him from the start, and I was graced early on in my career with his generous advice and counsel," Seacrest said. "When I joined his show in 2006, it was a dream come true to work with him every New Year's Eve for the last six years. He was smart, charming, funny and always a true gentleman. I learned a great deal from him, and I'll always be indebted to him for his faith and support of me. He was a remarkable host and businessman and left a rich legacy to television audiences around the world. We will all miss him."

Dick Clark: 10 Ways He Changed Pop Culture Forever

(4/19/12) Will anyone be as influential over pop culture as Dick Clark was? Not likely.

Yes, musicians like Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson revolutionized popular music, and TV owes its very bones to innovators such as Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin.

But it's tough to find one man who straddled all of that, launching so many touchstones of pop culture over so many decades:

1. Dancing to the Hits: In 1957, Clark's American Bandstand show debuted nationally. Every single weekday afternoon until 1963 (and then weekly until the early 80s) kids would tune in to watch their peers dancing to their favorite pop acts. The format inspired a string of descendants from Soul Train to Britain's Top of the Pops.

2. Discovering the Stars: Any pop star who broke big between 1960 and 1990 owes thanks, in part, to Clark. The alumni list includes Madonna, Elvis, John Mellencamp, Rod Stewart, Prince and Jon Bon Jovi, among many others.

3. Making New Year's Eve Cool: Before the 1970s, New Year's Eve was a more staid affair, at least for Americans, who were used to watching big band act Guy Lombardo every Dec. 31. Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve changed that, bringing in younger acts. In recent years, Christina Aguilera, Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg and Janet Jackson, among many others, have joined him to watch the ball drop.

4. Building the Pyramid: One of the first quiz programs to offer a huge cash prize in under a minute, the seminal game show debuted with Clark at the helm in 1973. Other hosts eventually took over, and the show met its sunset in 2004. But thanks in part to Clark, Pyramid remains one the most decorated of its kind, with nine Daytime Emmys, second only to Jeopardy!

5. Pranking the Rich and Famous: Clark coproduced the show TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes, which debuted in the 1980s. The series featured, among other gags, pranks on big stars. It wasn't the first of its kind—Candid Camera pulled jokes on TV, too, mostly on ordinary people—but Clark's show was certainly one of the most influential; call it a prototype for Punk'd. The idea is still wildly popular; Bloopers is set to return to television this fall.

6. Crowning DJs as Kings: Clark started off as a radio DJ on Philadelphia's WFIL station. During those years, WFIL decided to follow a rising trend: having their DJss, such as Clark, announce and talk over the records they were playing. The result: DJs as stars in their own right, a phenomenon we still see today.

7. Popularizing Top 10 Countdowns: Today we see countdowns as an essential part of pop culture. But that wasn't always the case. At the end of every edition of his Dick Clark Show, which aired in the late 1950s, Clark would count down the top 10 records for the coming week. The gimmick inspired countdowns aplenty, including David Letterman's iconic Top Ten lists.

8. Rolling Out The American Music Awards: The more populist version of the Grammys would not have come to be without Clark. Since 1973, fans have been able to directly reward their favorite musicians by voting for the AMA winners.

9. Exploring Radio Syndication: Clark was among the first to try it, launching a radio countdown show in 1963. The show lasted for less than a year, but would be credited as one of the earliest attempts at radio syndication, which is now common practice.

10. Redefining Agelessness: There's a reason why Clark was known as "the Oldest Living Teenager." For years, comedians anchored jokes on Clark's seeming eternal youth, and they weren't just talking about his tastes in Top 40 music. Even The Simpsons has made hay from Clark's inability to crack; its 10th Treehouse of Horror special reimagined Clark as an ageless robot disguised as a human.

Dick Clark's biggest impact was personal

(4/18/12) He showed us how to dance, what music to listen to, and gave us something to do on New Year's Eve.

For generations of Americans, Dick Clark was more than just a TV host; he was the person who helped shape key memories in our lives.

In judging Clark's accomplishments, some might use his giant television empire as the benchmark: He made millions of dollars as a television entrepreneur, showing far more business savvy than you'd expect from someone with a slightly derisive nickname, "America's oldest living teenager." Game shows, award shows, bloopers, the American Music Awards — hours of television were filled by Dick Clark Productions, and Ryan Seacrest's career follows Clark's blueprint.

But for most Americans, their memories of Clark are personal. He came to them in their living room with "American Bandstand," counting down the hits, introducing the latest dance moves and hair styles, and chatting up the pop act of the hour who would stop by lip-synch their new songs.

Or they would join him on New Year's Eve, a friendly face for the dateless, or those who just wanted to stay away from the crowd. His other television institution, "New Year's Rockin' Eve," is still going strong at age 40. Lady Gaga was the star of Clark's last New Year's show this winter.

"American Bandstand" was a simple idea blessed with perfect timing. Television was new in the early 1950s, and a Philadelphia station began showing a version of a teen dance party in the afternoon. Clark, a DJ in the city, took over as host in 1956.

It soon went national. One of the country's biggest generations, the post-World War II baby boom, was heading into their teen years, itching to dance to this new sound of rock 'n' roll.

Clark spun the hits, as the camera panned to kids trying out the freshest dance moves. It was a required stop for the day's hitmakers, and exposure on "American Bandstand" could send a song soaring up the charts. He'd ask an audience member to listen to a couple of brand-new songs each week and rate their hit potential, launching the immortal phrase: "It's got a good beat, and you can dance to it."

The show moved to Saturday afternoons in 1963, and continued to wield great influence. Chubby Checker's "Twist" dance craze owed much to the teens shown gyrating on "Bandstand."

The music changed, but "Bandstand" kept an open mind. Clark was a big fan of Michael Jackson and his family. Later video clips showed him awkwardly interviewing members of Talking Heads about their cerebral punk sound. In the early 1980s, former Sex Pistol John Lydon brought his new band P.I.L. to "Bandstand" and they wreaked havoc, bringing the audience onstage and not even pretending to play their instruments or sing along to their music.

Maybe they were trying to "punk" Dick Clark, as a later generation might say, but don't miss the bigger point: They showed up to be on his show.

MTV eventually killed "Bandstand"; people didn't need a once-a-week appointment to see people dance to songs on TV when they could watch music videos at any hour. The show's influence didn't disappear: MTV's "Total Request Live," big in the boy band era, was simply "Bandstand" for another generation (with a much shorter shelf life).

But Clark still remained a presence in most people's lives, albeit on a more occasional basis, with his "New Year's Rockin' Eve." When it arrived in the early 1970s, it represented a generational change. Television had stuck by bandleader Guy Lombardo for New Year's long after his shelf life was over, and viewers needed something new.

Clark's party brought all of the fun, but none of the cold winds or spilled champagne. He showed the ball drop in Times Square and let people watch excited celebrants from the warmth of their living rooms, but of course, with a musical soundtrack. Al Green, Helen Reddy and Three Dog Night performed at the first "New Year's Rockin' Eve."

It remains the most popular New Year's Eve program to this day.

Even after a severe stroke affected Clark's ability to speak clearly and Seacrest joined him as co-host, Clark still made it a point to show up every year at Times Square, tenderly kissing his wife to celebrate another year. The show never remained frozen in time, either. Clark always brought on the hottest stars; Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey and Justin Bieber were among his more recent revelers.

It's a holiday tradition that will live on without him, but forever defined by him.

Dick Clark Candlelight Vigil at American Bandstand Theater

(4/18/12) Dick Clark will be honored tonight with a candlelight vigil outside of the theater he founded in Branson, Missouri ... TMZ has learned.

A rep for the theater tells us ... the staff, along with several D.C. fans, are planning to gather outside of the theater before tonight's performance to honor the entertainment legend.

We're told the people at the theater are also dedicating tonight's show to Dick's life and legacy.

FYI -- Dick opened the theater in 2006 ... and it contains the largest collection of D.C. memorabilia in the world.

President Obama Dick Clark Changed Television ... FOREVER

(4/18/12) President Barack Obama has released a statement on the passing of Dick Clark ... praising the entertainment mogul as an innovator who "reshaped the television landscape forever."

"With `American Bandstand,' he introduced decades' worth of viewers to the music of our time," Obama said.

He added, "[Clark] reshaped the television landscape forever as a creative and innovative producer and, of course, for 40 years, we welcomed him into our homes to ring in the New Year."

"But more important than his groundbreaking achievements was the way he made us feel -- as young and vibrant and optimistic as he was."

"As we say a final `so long' to Dick Clark, America's oldest teenager, our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends -- which number far more than he knew."

RIP Dick Clark: Madonna, Janet Jackson,Quincy Jones, Katie Couric & More Luminaries Pay Tribute

(4/18/12) (Video) When she appeared on American Bandstand in 1984, Madonna told Dick Clark that she wanted to "rule the world."

Well, she went on to do just that for the better part of the last 25 years, but the fact that people still remember that moment to this day is also a tribute to Clark and the pop-music-driven show he ruled for 40 years.

"Rest in peace Dick Clark," the Material Girl tweeted, along with a link to her famous interview, upon hearing that Clark had died suddenly this morning at 82.

Be they in music, movies, TV or politics, celebs and organizations of all stripes joined Madonna in paying their respects to the TV legend.

"This is a sad day," Barry Manilow said in a statement. "He was a dear friend, supporting me and my music for all of my years in the business. A great businessman and a true gentleman. An inspiration. My heart is so heavy now."

Wrote Smokey Robinson: "I loved Dick Clark. He was so instrumental in my career as well as all the other Motown acts and so many others in the recording business. Good bye my friend, rest in peace."

"I'm one of the lucky people who can say that I knew Dick Clark personally," Kenny Rogers said in a statement. "Dick produced almost every awards show I was on during the 80's, and he constantly encouraged me toward success. He will be missed by everyone—especially by those who knew him well."

"Dick Clark will be truly missed," tweeted Fergie, who has hosted the concert segments of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest since 2006. "We will carry on his legacy every New Year's Eve."

"I had the opportunity to work with & be awarded by Mr. Clark," wrote Bret Michaels. "Condolences to his family he'll be missed!"

"Dick Clark changed the face of musical television," noted Janet Jackson. "He was wonderful to many artists including our family. We will miss him. God bless."

"Another sad day. This world is losing too many fine people. Live for the moment. Treasure your memories. Blessings to you all," Jermaine Jackson wrote. "Dick Clark always came to our dressing pre-show to make sure we were okay and catered for. Big hearted. One-of-a-kind. Will be missed...#DickClark played a very special role in our lives, involved in our first concerts as J5,"He was like family. What a man. RIP my friend."

"Rest in Peace my good friend Dick Clark," Quincy Jones wrote. "A pioneer who's mark on American culture will be felt forever."

"Dick Clark was such an institution and inspiration," tweeted Katie Couric. "Not ashamed to say I loved American bandstand when I was a kid!"

Nor was Ice T: "I'm old enough to remember watching James Brown on American Bandstand.. Dick Clark was the man! RestInPeace."

Marie Osmond recalled thinking, during her first appearance on Bandstand in 1974, that "Dick Clark was the most handsome man in show business. In 1998, when he created and produced the Donny & Marie talk show, I realized that was truly the hardest working man in show biz. And, now in 2012, I will always remember him as one of the most honorable men in show business. Thank you, Dick, for every great way you encouraged me in my career. You are loved."

Added brother Donny Osmond, who also succeeded Clark as host of the game show Pyramid: "The industry lost a legend today, but I feel like I've lost a very close friend. Dick was a mentor to me, and not just through American Bandstand and The American Music Awards. Dick played an important role as producer in the creation of the Donny & Marie Talk Show. But, my most special memory of Dick was when he appeared as a contestant on his well-established television game show, Pyramid, which I was privileged to host for two years."

"Dick Clark was a great friend, true legend, & a master journalist," tweeted Larry King. "Nobody did what he did better. It was a pleasure to be in his company."

"What a career Dick Clark had! What a life!" added fellow multitasker Anderson Cooper. "My thoughts are with his family and friends."

Moving through the generations, a tweet from the Jonas Brothers read, "You'll continue to be an inspiration to us all Dick Clark. Thanks for the amazing rockin years you were with us. You'll truly be missed."

"So sorry to hear about the passing of the incomperable [sic] Dick Clark," added Nick Lachey. "Few people have left such an impression on our industry as he did!#rip."

"RIP Dick Clark many years of joy on TV and never forget nye 95' when I was still in HS," tweeted Joey Fatone.

Even when he wasn't on camera, Clark was a heavy hitter in the air space where good television met music.

"Dick Clark's dedication to the world of music—and the country format in particular—helped raise the profile of the Academy of Country Music, beginning with him hosting the Awards in 1969 and later, as our Executive Producer," read a statement from the ACM. "He was an energetic leader in establishing the Academy as a television presence and helped expand the reach of the genre overall, always bringing new talent to the viewers he loved so much. We are proud that his lasting legacy continues four decades later, with his son, R.A. Clark, producing our Awards. He will be greatly missed."

Grammys honcho Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy, said in a statement: "Recording Academy Trustees Award recipient Dick Clark was an entertainment icon, bringing music into the homes of millions of Americans over his nearly 60-year career. His shows American Bandstand and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve blazed new trails in pop music and became pivotal celebrations of music on television, spotlighting both established and emerging artists. Our deepest heartfelt sympathies go out to his family, friends, fans, and all who have enjoyed his great contributions to music and entertainment. He will be terribly missed, and his legacy will live on forever."

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose metropolis was taken over by Clark & Co. every Dec. 31, said: "Times Square is considered the crossroads of the world in no small part because Dick Clark's New Year's Eve celebrations there were beamed across the globe. I remember one New Year's Eve, he and I stood in Times Square marveling about how much the area—and the City—had improved over the years. But Dick Clark never had to change—he was a great entertainer who stood the test of time. Generations of Americans grew up with Dick, and yet he seemed forever young. His spirit will always live on in Times Square, and in hearts of millions of New Yorkers."

The New Years Rockin' Eve team vowed via Twitter: "Dick Clark was a pioneer, entrepreneur, showman, icon, legend. The first to truly integrate music and TV. We will march on with his vision."

Dick Clark: The World's Oldest Teenager? More Like, the World's Most Perfect Host

(4/18/12) You didn't have to be a teenager to watch American Bandstand. You don't have to be a stadium headliner to vote for the American Music Awards. And, going on for decades now, you haven't had to be at a swanky party to celebrate New Year's Eve.

Dick Clark, who died Wednesday at age 82, took the big, unruly world, and made it a part of your living room.

Even more uniquely, he made you part of the big, unruly world.

Teenagers were a scary species, and their love of Elvis Presley a troubling development when Clark, a former radio deejay, took American Bandstand from a local Philadelphia station to the TV nation in 1957.

The show helped make youth, their music and even Presley, who was seen on the first coast-to-coast broadcast, both desirable and influential—a 90-minute-long, weekday primer in hair styles, clothes styles and dance moves.

In true Clark style, though, Bandstand wasn't a clique; it was a community of everybody. According to Clark, only 25 percent of the audience was comprised of actual teens, while fully half was old enough, and then some, to vote.

New Year's Rockin' Eve was the flipside of Bandstand.

Launched in 1972, it made the champagne-soaked holiday safe for young viewers who previously had had to make do on Dec. 31 with beautiful music from big bands, and with little sense of the holiday's fireworks.

"People are interested in what is happening in Times Square," Clark said decades ago—and he was right. The scene has long since become the focal point of New Year's Eve coverage, and despite all the like-themed Rockin' Eve rivals, and even after Clark passed the mic to Ryan Seacrest in the early 2000s, it is Clark's innovation that stands above the rest in the Nielsen ratings.

In 1973, another twist from Clark: the American Music Awards.

Before the People's Choice Awards, and much longer before the MTV Movie Awards, and the rest, it was Clark's idea to open up the awards show to the young, to the old and, above all, to the fans, whose votes decided the winners.

Clark wasn't surprised when the AMAs overtook the Grammys for popularity in the 1970s. "After all, we're airing the American people's opinions," he said.

Along the way, during a career that spanned Presley to Justin Bieber, Clark also made TV that was just plain entertaining: the game show The $20,000 Pyramid, and its inflation-adjusted variations, which he hosted; TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes, which he fronted alongside Ed McMahon, and which punked stars while Ashton Kutcher was in grade school; and the Golden Globes, which he began producing in the wake of the show's Pia Zadora scandal, and which he successfully rebranded as a party as much as an Oscar-season stop.

Clark was famously called the world's oldest teenager, but that wasn't quite right. While he looked younger than his years, he didn't act it.

He acted like the perfect ambassador, bridging genres and generations. He acted liked the perfect host.

And maybe it wasn't an act. Maybe he was.

Celebrities Tweet Reactions to the Passing of Dick Clark

(4/18/12) Dick Clark wasn't just the host of American Bandstand or the face of New Year's Eve. He was an icon in the field of broadcasting, a household name, an avuncular figure and even the punch line for jokes about longevity. With his passing from a heart attack Wednesday, celebrities have taken to Twitter to celebrate his life and mourn his loss:

Ryan Seacrest: I am deeply saddened by the loss of my dear friend Dick Clark. He has truly been one of the greatest influences in my life. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Larry King: Dick Clark was a great friend, true legend, & a master journalist. Nobody did what he did better. It was a pleasure to be in his company.

Anderson Cooper: What a career Dick Clark had! What a life! My thoughts are with his family and friends.

Neil Patrick Harris: For ever, Dick Clark... So long.

David Boreanaz: My father did a lot of work with Dick Clark @Jim_Gardner. He remembers the moments at AM/Philadelphia and the days at WOLF-AM, SYR, NY.

Denise Richards: My heart goes out to Dick Clark's family and loved ones.... we lost a legend.. #RIPDickClark

Joan Rivers: Very sad to hear about Dick Clark. What a great life. What a great career. Relevant until the end. He will be missed!

Snoop Dogg: REST IN PEACE to the DICK CLARK!! U were pioneer n a good man!! Thank u sir

Al Roker: I got to meet him many times. I was meeting w/Dick in his office as the OJ verdict was announced. It was surreal

Mario Lopez: Just heard the news of Dick Clark... It was truly an honor to have worked with him, learn from him and to be able to call him a friend. He was a great man and an even better friend. The word legend is thrown around a lot, but it's never more appropriate than when used in describing Mr. Clark. He was a real inspiration & influence in my life. I will dearly miss my friend... Rest well DC

Marlee Matlin: So sorry about passing of Dick Clark. A man with the gift of discovering talented musicians he also was a consummate producer/lovely man RIP

Questlove: Dick Clark. A Great Philadelphian. Thank You Very Much! (later) Guys I'm aware Clark is [from] NY, but the show that brought him national attention "the Philadelphia way" American Bandstand makes him one of us.

Andy Cohen: RIP Dick Clark! The broadcasting legend will remain a teenager in our memory forever. #Bandstand

Donnie Wahlberg: Very saddened by the loss of a true legend... Mr Dick Clark. #ripDC

Seth Green: So saddened by Dick Clark's passing- an innovator, a legend, a man who believed in the greatness of humans. #ThankYou

Yvette Nicole Brown: Heartbroken :( #NothingElseToSay

"Weird" Al Yankovic: Such sad news. RIP Dick Clark. http://twitpic.com/9bd5uf

Chris Harrison: Just heard the sad news about the passing of Dick Clark. A legend in our game!

Holly Robinson Peete: #RIP Dick Clark. Always so nice Employed me many times. I will miss you Dick. Prayers to Kari and the family #Legend

Russell Simmons: Dick Clark was eternally young. No matter what culturally phenomenon was happening, he always embraced it. RIP... http://bit.ly/JI4pMr

Wayne Brady: RIP Dick Clark. Being able to do the New Year's special w him was an honor. A TV pioneer and extraordinary business man. God Bless.

Shawn Ryan (The Shield creator): Hope Dick Clark's somewhere spinning a hip new single for the kids and ringing in the New Year.

Dick Clark Dies at Age 82

(4/18/12) Dick Clark, the legendary radio and television personality who hosted American Bandstand and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, has died. He was 82.

Clark died after suffering a massive heart attack, his rep said in a statement to The New York Times.

Not only was Clark an enduring presence in front of TV cameras for six-plus decades, he was a power behind them as a producer and head of Dick Clark Productions.

Born in Mount Vernon, N.Y., he began his career in radio in upstate New York before moving in 1952 to Philadelphia radio station WFIL-AM, which had a sister TV station that started a show called Bob Horn's Bandstand. He sometimes subbed as host, and when Horn left, Clark took over. He hosted the show, renamed American Bandstand, from 1956 to 1989. The program went national on ABC in 1957, moving to the West Coast in 1964, a year after going from daily to weekly. For a generation of teenagers, it was an after-school staple — something you rushed home for.

Over the years, he introduced numerous music stars' first TV appearances, including Buddy Holly, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, the Jackson 5 and Madonna. His signature sign-off: a military salute, while saying: "For now, Dick Clark ... so long."

The creator of the American Music Awards in 1973, Clark also was instrumental in the rehabilitation of the Golden Globes. The awards had been discredited by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's questionable selection process, alleged taste for paid junkets and swag as well as reports that Pia Zadora's husband "bought" her a "Newcomer-of-the-Year" Globe in 1981.

In 1972, he started Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve on ABC, then an upstart challenger to that holiday's established TV star, Guy Lombardo, and now of course the longest-running show in a crowded field of programming. After suffering a stroke in December 2004, he was unable to host the festivities as he had the previous 32 years (except for 2000 when ABC News took over); he returned as a co-host in 2005, passing the mantle of primary host to Ryan Seacrest.

The reaction to his return was decidedly mixed, as some viewers expressed discomfort in watching as Clark — whose speech had been affected — struggled to count down the seconds to the New Year, and TV critics expressed the opinion he no longer was up to the job. Stroke survivors and their advocates, though, hailed him as a role model.

Before his stroke, Clark — a 1993 inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — was the subject of jokes for decades about he seemed to preternaturally stay young a la Dorian Gray.

One of the many ingenious Gary Larson cartoons in The Far Side carried the caption: "Suddenly, on a national talk show in front of millions of viewers, Dick Clark ages 200 years in 30 seconds." In Francis Ford Coppola's Peggy Sue Got Married, time traveler Kathleen Turner makes a crack about how "that man never ages." And in a 1999 episode of The Simpsons about Y2K fears, Clark melts and is shown to be a robot after a computer glitch at midnight.

While others, including standup comedians, long had a field day about his apparent agelessness, Clark could play along at his own expense, like in a Police Squad! episode in which he buys a secret youth cream.

For decades, it felt like Clark always was on TV. If not Bandstand, then he was hosting various versions of Pyramid, for which he earned three Daytime Emmys as Best Game-Show Host, and other game shows. He received four other Emmys, including one for lifetime achievement. A 1999 Peabody Award winner, he had programs on all three major networks at the same time in the 1980s. One was TV Bloopers & Practical Jokes (co-hosted with Ed McMahon).

Married three times, Clark is survived by wife Kari Wigton of 35 years, and three children from his first two marriages.

Dick Clark: 'American Bandstand' and more clips from his storied TV career

(4/18/12) Dick Clark's television career spanned most of the medium's history. And thankfully, a lot of it has been collected online, so we can look back at "American Bandstand," long-past "New Year's Rockin' Eves" and more.

Clark, who died Wednesday (April 18) at the age of 82, hosted "Bandstand," "New Year's Rockin' Eve," several incarnations of the game show "Pyramid" and "TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes," among others, over an on-camera career that started in the mid-1950s. He also produced those shows (except for "Pyramid") and dozens of other series and specials, including the Golden Globes, the American Music Awards and "So You Think You Can Dance," through his Dick Clark Productions.

He'll probably be most associated with "Bandstand," which he hosted for more than 30 years and earned him the nickname "America's Oldest Teenager." Below are three clips from the show: Introducing Link Wray's "Rawhide" (probably from 1959), interviewing Stevie Wonder in 1969 and talking with a young John Travolta in 1976.

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3Next up is the ball drop from the first "New Year's Rockin' Eve" special, which ushered in 1973. Note that Clark (who's only heard, not seen) doesn't do the countdown we now associate with the broadcast (and also the rather funky version of "Auld Lang Syne").

VideoFinally, for the man who co-created "TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes," are two gaffes Clark himself made as host of "Pyramid" in the mid-1980s. Rest in peace, Mr. Clark.

Video.

Ryan Seacrest: Dick Clark 'is in a better place ... He will be missed greatly'

(4/18/12) Television legend Dick Clark passed away Wednesday (April 18) at the age of 82. "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest was a longtime friend of Clark's and really considered him to be a mentor in his rise to fame.

At the top of the "Idol" broadcast Wednesday night, Seacrest led with, "We can't begin tonight's show without acknowledging the passing of a television pioneer and my dear friend Dick Clark. Without Dick, a show like this would not exist. He will be missed greatly. Our thoughts and our prayers go out to his family. I know that he is in a better place, saying, 'Hey, let's get on with the show, OK?' You got it boss."

Seacrest was visibly holding back tears as he wished his friend well. A sad day for fans everywhere. May he rest in peace.

RIP, Dick Clark.

KISS: REMEMBERING OUR FRIEND DICK CLARK

(4/18/12) "As a little boy I sat transfixed to our television every afternoon and Saturday night watching American Bandstand. Dick Clark was the face of rock and roll and it's best ambassador. His decades of successes both in and outside of the music industry are unparalleled. He championed KISS when others turned away and was instrumental in breaking us through his show "In Concert". Through the years Dick was always available when I had a question or wanted guidance. Dick Clark was the rare exception who was a bigger person in real life than the public image or legend that was also to be his legacy. I will remember him with great respect and gratitude." - Paul Stanley

Piers Morgan Tonight - CNN 4/18/12

(4/18/12) Tonight: Dick Clark, 1929 – 2012 - This evening, "Piers Morgan Tonight" remembers TV icon and music pioneer Dick Clark. Tune in for a live hour dedicated to "America's Oldest Teenager."

Dick Clark Dead at 82

(4/18/12) Time sadly caught up with Amercia's youngest teenager.

Dick Clark, the iconic TV host and producer who put younger folks to shame with his work ethic and energy until he was slowed by a stroke eight years ago, has died. He was 82.

He suffered what his agent, Paul Shefrin, described as a "massive heart attack" this morning while at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, where he was recovering from an outpatient procedure he has last night.

"Attempts to resuscitate were unsuccessful," Shefrin said in a statement. "He is survived by his wife Kari and his three children, RAC, Duane and Cindy."

And, needless to say, generations of fans who could have picked any decade and tuned into Clark on radio or TV.

From the pioneering song-and-dance series American Bandstand—the format of which is still being copied to this day—to his annual Dick Clark's New Years Rockin' Eve, the New York native was a fixture of the entertainment scene.

Blue Bloods: Will Jamie's Big Save Blow His Cover?

(4/6/12) It's not often that a good deed will put you in jeopardy, but that's exactly the situation Jamie finds himself in on Blue Bloods.

On Friday's episode, the youngest crime-fighting Reagan (Will Estes), who's been working undercover all season as Jimmy Reardon tailing the Sanfino mob family, saves a baby from a burning building. His heroics immediately set off a media frenzy, which threaten his undercover identity should his name and photo be released.

"I don't think Jamie was thinking that far ahead in that moment of how it could affect his cover," Estes tells TVGuide.com. "He ended up in a situation where he made a split-second decision and he ran in and got the baby out. I think he felt like he was doing his job and doing what anyone in that situation with the ability to do would do. But then it becomes abundantly clear that this is gonna be a huge complication. He can't have his face all over the news and papers and TV while undercover."

The solution to the department's headache? Jamie's dad and police commissioner Frank (Tom Selleck) realizes that he could pin the rescue on Sgt. Renzulli (Nick Turturro) because Jamie had handed the baby to him before stepping out of the blazing building. That will satiate the public's appetite and protect Jamie — though denying him much-deserved recognition for the biggest save of his nascent career.

"I honestly don't think he misses the attention," Estes says. "Yeah, he deserves it, but most people who work in that capacity are sort of embarrassed to get that kind of attention. It's nice to get the accolades, but I think he just feels like he was doing his job. ... I think what he's most concerned with is that he caused a mess for his dad. It's a recurring theme that his children, being police officers and a district attorney, get scrutinized for anything they do because they're the police commissioner's kids. I think Jamie feels bad about continuing to cause that problem for his dad, but I don't think he has any regrets about that moment. He did save a baby's life. I'm sure he feels great about that. I just don't think he wants the medal for it."

Similarly, Renzulli doesn't want to take credit for Jamie's actions, but agrees to the cover-up. "It sounds like a great thing, but for a proud police officer, it's actually a difficult thing to do — to take credit for something that's not due," Estes says. "You want credit where it's due. You may not get that, but you don't want it where it's not due."

But having Renzulli play the hero means he must be clued in to Jamie's undercover work. The news doesn't exactly sit well with him, as he feels — being Jamie's partner and training officer — he should've been told.

"Something like undercover work, you can't go around talking about it!" Estes says. "It's the wrong thing to do. Also, you don't tell people because it protects them. But the nice thing is ... I asked one of our advisors [if Renzulli's reaction] is realistic and he said yeah. When you're partnered with someone, you grow close and trust each other. He said it's natural for you to be angry about getting left out, but at the same time, the undercover person can't tell anybody. It's a cool validation to have as an actor that going into a scene, it makes sense to someone who's been on the job."

So now that Jamie has side-stepped that cover-blowing landmine, will he be able to finish his assignment once and for all? As of last month, Jimmy Reardon was "retired" after narrowly escaping danger at the hands of the Sanfinos when he got "arrested" for the death of mobster Johnny Tesla (Tom Lipinski).

"It comes back around and Jimmy Reardon isn't totally out of the woods," Estes says. "There are people he's worked with that pop again. Jimmy disappeared and people wanna know where he went. He's not retired. When the mob's looking for you, you're definitely not retired!"

'Blossom': Mayim Bialik & Joey Lawrence reprise characters for Old Navy

(3/22/12) WHOA!

Mayim Bialik and Joey Lawrence are both on successful TV series -- "The Big Bang Theory" and "Melissa & Joey," respectively -- but they're not too cool for their roots. The former stars of the best '90s series ever, "Blossom," have reunited for Old Navy in a new TV spot.

Basically, the idea is that Blossom has been hired as Old Navy's "chief floral officer" for their new line of spring duds... and she's accompanied by her brother Joey. We miss his flowing hair, but he gains points for "Whoa"-ing like no time has passed at all.

Between his signature catchphrase and her perfectly '90s hat, we've almost been convinced to buy the dresses. Though we'd rather purchase the robot bees, to be honest. (Video)

CBS renews 18 shows

(3/14/12) While pilot season is in full swing, it's important for the networks to remember they have a whole bunch of shows already on the air. CBS, the top-rated network in prime time, did just that as they announced the return of 18 of their evening programs for the 2012-13 season.

In a statement, Nina Tassler head of CBS Entertainment says, "This large-scale renewal is testimony to the strength, stability and success of a deep and diverse roster of top-rated programming."

On the comedy side, the network renewed "2 Broke Girls" and "Mike & Molly." CBS had previously announced multi-year pickups of "How I Met Your Mother" and "The Big Bang Theory."

As for dramas, CBS picked up "NCIS," "NCIS: Los Angeles," "Hawaii Five-0," "Criminal Minds," "CSI," "Person of Interest," "The Mentalist," "Blue Bloods" and "The Good Wife."

The network also renewed reality show "The Amazing Race" and "Undercover Boss" in addition to the previously picked up "Survivor." "60 Minutes" and "48 Hours" will also be back.

While "Two and a Half Men" didn't receive an immediate renewal, the network says they are in "preliminary discussions." This likely means that Ashton Kutcher wants more money. Also missing from this list is "CSI: Miami" and "CSI: New York."

Dick Clark Selling 'Flintstones' Pad (Dinosaur Not Included)

(3/2/12) Dick Clark is selling a house that sits on 23 acres of land -- and although the listing says it's located in Malibu, it looks like it's straight out of Bedrock. Willlllmmmaaaaa!!!!!

The legendary home sits atop a bluff and has a complete 360 degree view of the Pacific Ocean, Channel Islands, Boney Mountains, Serrano Valley. Despite its size, it's only a one bedroom home, so Pebbles and Bam Bam will have to find their own place to live.

The house also features a bar, breakfast area, dining room, living room, patio and wine cellar ... and it's a steal at just 3,500,000 clams!

Yabba dabba do!!

Pilot Season: Brittany Snow to Co-Star in NBC's 1600 Penn

(2/24/12) Brittany Snow (ex-Susan, Guiding Lught) has been cast in NBC's new presidential pilot 1600 Penn.

The comedy centers on the most ordinary family in the world — who just so happen to live at the White House. Snow will play Becca, the overachieving and perfectionist daughter of the president who helped raise her younger siblings. As previously announced, Book of Mormon's Josh Gad will play Skip, her gregarious and clumsy older brother.

Gad will also write and executive-produce the pilot with Modern Family's Jason Winer.

Besides her breakout role playing Meg Pryor in American Dreams, Snow previously starred in John Tucker Must Die, Hairspray, and Harry's Law.

Pilot Season: Heroes Alum Milo Ventimiglia Joins Frank Darabont's TNT Pilot

(2/21/12) Heroes alum Milo Ventimiglia has signed on to star in Frank Darabont's new TNT drama pilot L.A. Noir, Deadline reports.

The drama chronicles the dangerous underbelly of Los Angeles in the '40s and '50s, namely, the battle between gangster Mickey Cohen and L.A. police Chief William Parker. Ventimiglia will play Ned Stax, a young former marine who served with Joe Teague during WWII. In L.A., Stax is a lawyer being groomed to be a fixer for the mob.

As previously reported, The Walking Dead star Jon Bernthal is in early talks to join the project in the role of Teague, which could mean the end of his character Shane on the AMC series.

Glee's Vanessa Lengies on Sugar's Big Breadstix Bash and McKinley's New Love Triangle

(2/14/12) Move over, Sam and Shane. There's a new romantic rivalry heating up the hallways of McKinley High on Glee just in time for Valentine's Day.

"Sugar is going to be in the middle of a love triangle," Vanessa Lengies tells TVGuide.com. "Rory and Artie fight back and forth the entire time for Sugar's hand."

In Tuesday's episode (8/7c, Fox), Sugar's dad throws her a huge party at Breadstix — soon to be renamed Sugar Shack — in honor of her favorite holiday. All of New Directions is invited to the bash — but not without one stern marching order from their hostess: No singles allowed!

The warning is odd considering Sugar herself has been riding solo since she first popped up in September. However, her sudden desire for a date will bring out both Rory and Artie's A-games when they each try to win her heart — in true Glee style — with song. "Kevin McHale's serenade was one of the hottest things that I've seen on the show," Lengies says. "He used to be in a boy band and I grew up completely obsessed with boy bands. He just pulled out every move that was fully engrained in my childhood and teen years."

Suffice it to say, there's a clear winner of the Sugar showdown in Lengies' eyes. "Damian [McGinty]'s such a great guy. The other day, I had a really hard day on set because of family issues and he totally comforted me," Lengies says. "But Sugar, in my mind, was definitely won over more by Artie."

No matter who gets the last dance, New Directions' newest power couple won't last long. "My take is that Sugar doesn't even care about being in a relationship. She just cannot be seen single at this party," Lengies says. "But I really never know what the producers have planned."

Glee producers have been keeping Lengies on her toes all season. Since appearing in the Season 3 premiere in what was supposed to be a one-time role, producers have kept asking her back one episode at a time. (She has now appeared in nine of 13). Consequently, Sugar has slowly evolved from a tone-deaf punch line into a recurring character infamous for splitting up the glee club. However, Lengies insists Sugar's diva antics are behind her. "When she joined the glee club, she just realized that's that what she loves to do. Sugar represents the people out there who maybe can't sing, but love it," Lengies says. "I'm only realizing this now because I didn't know she was going to stick around this long. This character just embodies what Glee is, because it's all about acceptance.

Although the continued gig has been a pleasant surprise, the arrangement isn't without a few hitches. For instance, Lengies booked a family vacation unaware that Sugar had been written into the Michael Jackson tribute episode and subsequently had to miss the big episode. "It's like earning a new job every week," she says excitedly. "Did I make it? Did I not? I don't know!"

Lengies' last series role, on TNT's now-canceled HawthoRNe, was a one-episode appearance that turned into a three-season job, so she's more than happy to put in the extra work. "I practiced all weekend for regionals," she says of the extensive choreography. "I'm not a dancer, but I want to make sure that I don't let anybody down."

Her Glee future remains unclear, but Lengies is embracing the moment nonetheless. "During HawthoRNe, I was constantly trying not to be too outrageous and keep it serious. This has been so refreshing for me because it's such a good outlet for the inner me to just be," she says. "That's the whole point of Glee anyways — to just be who you are and that's enough. I really feel that way on set."

Who do you think Sugar should pick? Artie or Rory?

Dick Clark: Rockin' it on New Year's since 1972

(12/27/11) Ask Dick Clark for his top memories of his iconic New Year's Rockin' Eve show and he ticks off a handful.

"There have been many memorable moments," says Clark, 82, whose annual televised celebration marks its 40th anniversary this year.

"The year of the Iran hostage crisis, the ball almost didn't drop," he says; in 1980, the owner of One Times Square wanted to cancel to protest Iran's detention of 52 Americans. "Then, of course, there was the millennium," Clark says. "The most nerve-racking would have to be the first New Year's Eve after the 9/11 tragedy."

Musical moment? "It would be difficult to pick my favorite. One of the most memorable has been Barry Manilow, who has performed his song It's Just Another New Year's Eve several times."

It began on a 'Bandstand'

In an e-mail interview with USA TODAY (Clark was slowed by a stroke in 2004 that impaired his speech), he reminisced about NYRE's longevity and colorful history. "Strangely enough, New Year's Rockin' Eve probably began on Dec. 31, 1959, when we broadcast a New Year's Eve version of (the music/variety show) American Bandstand from WFIL in Philadelphia on ABC," Clark says. "The actual first formal telecast was on NBC Dec. 31, 1972. It was hosted by Three Dog Night, with performances by Helen Reddy, Al Green, and Blood, Sweat and Tears."

The whole idea, he says, was to offer younger viewers an alternative to CBS' annual telecast of bandleader Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians, whose audience skewed somewhat older.

It's now known as Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest, and Clark has handed off the heavy lifting to the American Idol host. This year, the show has been expanded to include its anniversary party, a bicoastal two-hour special beginning Saturday at 8 ET/PT on ABC. The East Coast host is Jenny McCarthy; in the West, it's Fergie of the Black-Eyed Peas. And Clark and Seacrest will host the traditional broadcast from Times Square beginning at 10, with performances by Lady Gaga, Pitbull, Hot Chelle Rae and Justin Bieber with Carlos Santana. The celebration includes a special performance by Beyoncé from the London leg of her tour.

"It's fun to join in this festive occasion and become a part of such a massive event," says Clark, who, despite his health problems, has no plans to retire. "I enjoy the annual appearance, though I wish my delivery was as easy as it used to be. I'm encouraged by the many people who tell me I'm an inspiration to them." He says he tries to keep a positive attitude "and attack every day with the thought things are going to get better."

'A pinch-myself moment'

Seacrest, who joined the show Dec. 31, 2005, says he was a fan growing up in Atlanta. "I remember being in awe of the big event in Times Square and dreaming big and thinking someday I want to go to New York and see the ball drop. I don't think at the time that I thought I'd be doing that standing there with him in Times Square. To this day, it's a pinch-myself moment."

A TV wunderkind in his own right —Ryan Seacrest Productions produces hit shows including Keeping Up With the Kardashians— Seacrest says he has modeled his career in part on the example Clark set and considers him a visionary. "He was always a great host, but he always had his eye on the business as well, and I admired that.

"What I've learned about this show is that the beauty of it, the tradition and the simplicity are the reasons it's so successful," Seacrest says. He and Clark plan to continue bringing in exceptional live performances in years to come — past years have included Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez and Taylor Swift— while keeping in mind the crucial midnight moment.

"The magic of that ball drop is always going to be the main event," Seacrest says. "To dress it up and embellish it with some of the biggest stars in music would be my goal."

Joey Lawrence Is Shirtless and Ripped: Photos

(10/20/11) (Photo 1, Photo 2) There's no question that Joey Lawrence has, uh, Blossomed since his days as a '90s TV star.

The actor, who currently has a hit with ABC Family's Melissa and Joey, put his flawless physique on display Thursday afternoon during a shirtless workout at a park in L.A.

Lawrence, 35, who typically sports a closely-cropped buzz cut, showed off new longer locks – and muscles galore – during his exercise outing.

Whoa, indeed.

American Dreams Actor Heads to The Secret Circle

(10/13/11) Breaking: A hot actor is coming to the CW. You're shocked, we know, but that network really could use some eye candy, no?

We've learned that a very attractive American Dreams alum will be paying a visit to Chance Harbor's coven of witches on The Secret Circle and has a close connection with one of our resident witches. A family connection. Dun-dun-dun!

So who's the new guy in town? And who is he related to?

Melissa's cousin is coming to town!

We've exclusively learned that Arlen Escarpeta, best known for his portrayal of Sam Walker on American Dreams, is set to play Holden (Catcher in the Rye reference?), Melissa's relative who is no stranger to Chance Harbor.

Holden is described as smart, funny and great looking (obviously), but a difficult past has made him tough inside and out. He's set to make his return to the witchy town in episode nine.

While we can't tell you what brings Holden to town, we can tell you that you might find out why he decides to pay a visit after watching tonight's episode, Slither, which you can see two scenes from right here.

Escarpeta recently appeared in the horror films Final Destination 5 and Friday the 13th, so he'll feel right at home on the increasingly scary Secret Circle.

The Secret Circle airs tonight at 9 p.m. on the CW.

'Harry's Law' and Brittany Snow address cyber bullying and teen suicide

(10/10/11) (Video) Wednesday's episode of "Harry's Law" addresses a disturbing, and highly timely issue when Harry (Kathy Bates) is asked to defend a teen cyber-bully whose cruel blog drives a closeted lesbian classmate to commit suicide.

Following the suicides of teens like Jamey Rodemeyer and Tyler Clementi, who were tormented by peers because of their sexuality, the episode examines the fault of the bully, as A.D.A Kim Mendelsohn (Camryn Manheim) charges the blogger - the self-titled "Queen of Snark" - with negligent homicide.

Brittany Snow, who will exit the series this season, is the co-founder of Love is Louder, an anti-bullying charity, so the episode has a particular resonance for her. Snow recorded the PSA below, which will follow Wednesday's episode. "If you've ever felt mistreated or misunderstood, there is hope, and there is help," she says in the video, below. "I can tell you, it gets better, and love is louder than hate."

Watch the episode, titled "Queen of Snark," on Wednesday at 9 p.m. EST on NBC.

Joey Lawrence Pays $1,000 to Rescue a Dog from Australia - Whoa!

(10/9/11) Joey Lawrence doesn't mind shelling out a small fortune to own a little Tiffany.

Filming a movie in Australia, the Melissa & Joey star stopped by a local shelter and spotted a true jewel: a female black Labrador-Australian heeler mix.

"She was just the most amazing little thing ever," he told PEOPLE at the American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards presented by Cesar Canine Cuisine.

"We had to bring her home. It cost me, like, $1,000 to get her into the country, but it was worth it. She's just an amazing animal."

The dog, later named Tiffany, got her moniker from one of Lawrence's movie locations, a boat with the same name. When shooting wrapped, it was time to pay up – and deal with some red tape.

"You know how the regulations work here," he said. "We had to ship her in and she had to go to a special hangar at LAX."

Once at her new home, Tiffany got a new best friend in Lawrence's other dog, a golden retriever named Dakota. And despite her high price, Tiffany turned out to be very low maintenance.

"Balls. They love their tennis balls," Lawrence said of his dogs' favorite toys. "Don't waste your money on all the trinkets or the $50 case of balls. They gnaw, they rip off all the stuff, getting them down to just the rubber."

Blue Bloods Meets the Mafia: It's Going to Get Dangerous for Jamie

(9/23/11) Last year, Will Estes compared Blue Bloods's Blue Templar story line to The Godfather. This year? He'll be dealing with a crime family on the show.

"Isn't it funny how things turn out?" Estes tells TVGuide.com. "I'm really excited because there's a lot to tap into in organized crime and it's something that could work really well for us."

In the Season 2 premiere, Jamie (Estes) will go on his first undercover assignment at a bar — sniffing out whether it's selling drugs and alcohol to minors — and ends up befriending the mysterious Noble (Eric Morris), a member of the Sanfino family. But Jamie only learns this later when his dad, Frank (Tom Selleck), brings up their meeting.

"Frank finds out Noble thanked Jamie for helping out at the bar and Jamie says, 'How do you know this?' And Frank says, 'His phones are tapped. He's part of a Mafia family,'" executive producer Leonard Goldberg says. "So inadvertently, Jamie has become friends with one of those guys. The guy has been trying to call him to thank him and invites him out for another night, and it's a big risk and decision for Jamie — he decides he's going to remain friends with him to see how far it goes."

Goldberg and his fellow producers are also playing a waiting game with the story line. The hope is for it to be a running arc through the season, like how the Blue Templar/dirty cops one was last year. While fan interest in the Blue Templar story somewhat waned toward the end of Season 1, Goldberg doesn't think that will be the case here.

"The Blue Templar was a mystery and [that involves doling out] pieces of information at a certain pace, here and there. This one is not a mystery," Goldberg says. "We know they're a crime family, so it's about what can happen if you're involved with one. I think this will be a more intriguing story for Jamie and the fans. As it progresses, I think it's going to turn out well. We're going to see a lot of Jamie. It's going to get dangerous for him. He'll still be doing work as a police officer, but [the Sanfino arc] is going to overtake him."

Complicating matters is the fact that Jamie meets Noble's sister, who as Goldberg describes, is "a very, very attractive sister" and may either be a Mafia princess or a good girl. "As far as I know now, they're not dating or anything yet, but I'm hoping something comes together," Estes says.

Though neither Goldberg nor Estes feels Blue Bloods needs a running story to keep viewers hooked, they both believe it plays into the "drama" component of the series. "I think episodes of Blue Bloods very much stand on their own a lot of the time, but it's not just a procedural," Estes says. "The show's nature is more character-driven, so for us, as actors, it's nice to have a continual story that we can pick up from week to week, instead of just moving from case to case. That's what makes us unique."

After creators Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess left the show in May, rumors flew that the duo butted heads with CBS over the network's wish to make the show more of a procedural. Goldberg denies the reports and assures that the show is not any more or less of a procedural than it was last year.

"It's a family drama first and foremost," he says. "Yes, we have a police story, but what makes our show different is the family aspects of it. When we read all the mail we get and when we test the show, the audience is most interested in what happens with the family whether in their personal lives or involving a case like perhaps with this one. It's the emotion that makes it different. They always [name] the dinner scenes as their favorite."

As for those famous Reagan family dinner scenes, they're still around this year — but not as often.

"We haven't shot one for every episode, but the ones we've shot are great," Estes says. "There are no big fights yet, but there's a pretty big moment for Tom in one. He does something he's never done before at the dinner table, so keep your eye out for that."

Blue Bloods premieres Friday at 10/9c on CBS.

Estes a player in star-heavy 'Bloods'

(9/22/11) Being part of a big family on Blue Bloods -- with Tom Selleck as the dad and Donnie Wahlberg as the brother, no less -- is not something that comes naturally to Will Estes.

But growing up, Estes was able to "experiment" with a large family, so to speak.

"My parents are from bigger families, I'm not," said Estes, 32. "I have no brothers and sisters, but I have a lot of cousins. So I was kind of able to experience a big family and then go home when I was younger."

But that's the perfect scenario, isn't it? You get to feel the connection to a big family, but then go home to your own bed and not have a brother putting you in a headlock or something.

"And my toys didn't all get broken," Estes said. "I don't know, but it felt like a win-win."

It's a win-win right now for Estes on the cop/family drama Blue Bloods, which returns for its second season Friday, Sept. 23 on CBS and CTV.

Not only does Estes get to work with a famous cast -- which includes Bridget Moynahan, Len Cariou, Jennifer Esposito and Amy Carlson in addition to the afore-mentioned Selleck and Wahlberg -- but Estes' character, Jamie Reagan, is a major player amid all that star power.

"It certainly is an ensemble," Estes said. "For the actors it's a great schedule -- except for maybe Donnie, who works harder than anybody on the show. But for sure, it has been very exciting.

"Tom Selleck is just a presence and an icon, and people love to see him as the commissioner of New York City. I've been told my scenes with Tom are very good, but other actors know this -- when you're working with a great actor, it makes you better. So that's a compliment to Tom when people tell me that sort of thing."

Blue Bloods focuses on the extended Reagan clan, which has been involved in New York City law enforcement for multiple generations. Jamie, arguably the family's golden boy, is a graduate of Harvard law, but he gave that up and came back to be a cop after one of his older siblings was killed in the line of duty.

One of the ongoing story lines in Blue Bloods is whether that was a good decision by Jamie, and if it was, what kind of cop is he going to be?

In the second-season premiere, titled Mercy, Jamie accidentally gets positioned to do some valuable undercover work.

"Jamie is at this bar, making sure it isn't serving alcohol to minors and that there isn't any drug activity on the premises," Estes explained. "But he ends up helping out this one guy, only to discover that he now is friends with someone who has organized crime connections.

"So it looks like Jamie might be able to do a little more undercover work as the season progresses, and I'm looking forward to that."

Coincidentally, while at the bar, Jamie flirts with a character named Mandy, played by Cassidy Gifford, daughter of Frank and Kathie Lee Gifford. Also, Tony Bennett and Carrie Underwood guest-star as themselves.

"I guess I don't really feel qualified to answer that question," Estes said when asked why he thinks Blue Bloods connected and survived for a second season when so many other new TV dramas failed last year.

"It is really competitive. And we've done really well on Friday, which traditionally is a tough night for TV.

"My guess and my feel is that Blue Bloods is just a great premise for a show."

Will Estes' cousins must be proud.

'Glee' newbie Vanessa Lengies on Sugar's upcoming revenge (of sorts) and her scary moment with Idina Menzel

(9/21/11) Basking in the Glee glow hasn’t been as easy as one would think for new cast member Vanessa Lengies, who made her debut on the show last night as delusional high schooler, Sugar. As fans (about 8 million of them) were settling down to watch the premiere episode, Lengies was wrapping up a seven-hour dance rehearsal with her new Glee castmates and rushing to make it to her Glee premiere party (thrown by her BFF, Life Unexpected creator Liz Tigelaar). No rest for those who love Wicked.

Slightly rested up (and very sore), Lengies called EW earlier today to chat about her new (somewhat polarizing) role, tease what’s next for the character (scenes with Idina Menzel!), and talk about her surprising heroic moment on set (hint: bagels are dangerous).

EW: So, Sugar is an odd character, and that’s saying a lot considering the collection of characters we have on Glee.

VANESSA LENGIES: What I like about her is that she’s so strange is that everyone — even on set — has ideas about what Sugar should be and do.

Well, once they told you who she was going to be — a talentless, self-diagnosed person with Asperger Syndrome — what did you think of that?

When I got the audition, it was written she was going to be the new bitch. And, well, I have experience playing the bitch role. [Laughs] But I wanted to make her different. When I went in for the audition, [Glee director] Eric Stoltz was in there, and they weren’t sure who Sugar was going to be. And when we were on set, it was the same thing. We tried this and tried that. So I was excited to see the show, too, because I wanted to see what version they were going to go with. It was just really fun. I wanted her to be a little more dynamic.

Were you worried about the Asperger joke at all? That seemed to garner a strong reaction among some viewers.

No, I wasn’t. I think that’s something Glee does very well. It talks about and addresses and touches on issues that are very sensitive to most people, but having the issues talked about on such a high-exposure show, it bring things to people’s conversation. I like that a lot about Glee.

Is that an aspect of the character we’re going to dig into deeper in the next few episodes?

Eric and I had this conversation where we weren’t sure if she has it or…I’m not sure to what degree it is until I see more [scripts]. But we definitely touch on it again. So far, to my knowledge, we don’t go into the depths of Sugar’s background yet, but it is part of her character.

I liked the scene where Schue (Matthew Morrison) told her she couldn’t be in the club and she held her ground in this really delusional way. How is she going to come roaring back from that attempted reality check in the next episodes.

I think she’s talked herself out of it. I think she believes 100 percent that he didn’t know what he was talking about. I think it’s the first time she’s ever been told she was a bad singer. I think, at first, she was a little vulnerable. But she shrugged it off and said, “Fine. I’ll find another way. If you don’t want to work with me, you can be replaced!”

Is she going to be a bitch to the entire club, or focus her efforts on Schue?

It’s a form of revenge. I don’t know what I can say! It’s not the typical way of getting back at people. It’s her own way. And it’s not totally revenge, it’s more like, “No, I’m going to be a star. That’s what’s happening.”

So you were on American Dreams and showed your pipes on there. How was it to turn all of that off for this role?

My trick was just to be as committed as humanly possible to the song. It was much easier to do it in the audition because I was doing it a capella. Then when I got there, Brad [Ellis], the piano guy whose hair I ruffle in that scene, he and I had to rehearse. And it was such a shocker that once he started playing the song on the piano, it was harder for me to try to sing it wrong. I was thinking in my mind, “Why do we need a rehearsal for a bad song?” And then I was, like, “Oh! I understand.” And they did it differently because all the songs are pre-recorded on the show. And they thought it would be best if I did it live. So I just did the whole thing live.

I found the hair ruffle and dance hilarious. Did they tell you to do that or was any of it improv?

Everything was improv. My dance, everything. [Glee choreographer Zach Woodley] was so funny. I love working with him. He had me do it for him, and once it saw it, he was like, “Yeah. You’re good.” [Laughs] So the kicks, the butt wiggle [dramatic tone], ”It just came to me,” as the actors would say.

So do you have any favorite scenes so far? Anything you’re excited for people to see?

Yes, but I don’t know how they’re going to edit it. I don’t know if they’re going to cut my favorite part out or not. I have a scene with Idina, and I was improvising and it turned into this super fun thing. I honestly don’t know what I can say! I tweeted about Idina [when] she choked on a bagel, and I helped her to breathe again — it was super scary! But all the responses were, “OMG! Spoiler!” “OMG! Spoiler!” “Idina Menzel is back on Glee!” And my heart dropped to my stomach because I thought I’d done something really wrong. They’re very hush-hush. But, anyway, the scene we did is in episode 4.

Wait, so she chokes on a bagel in the scene?!

No, that happened in the makeup trailer, where she was eating a bagel. That was real life.

How scary!

It was. But it was funny after.

Yeah, once you realized you hadn’t killed the extremely talented woman.

Yeah, [mocking herself] “Once she was alive, everything was funny!” [Laughs]

Couple Watch

(8/29/11) Brittany Snow and her new boyfriend, singer Matthew Mayfield, spent a few days together at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The pair grabbed dinner at Johnny Smalls, where they shared tapas with friends, bowled in the Real World Suite and checked out Mya's performance at Vanity Nightclub.

Glee Adds American Dreams' Vanessa Lengies

(8/10/11) Glee is adding another new cast member to its roster for Season 3.

American Dreams vet Vanessa Lengies will recur on the Fox musical as Sugar, a spoiled new student described as a cross between a New Jersey housewife and former Glee guest star Molly Shannon, TVLine reports.

Although Sugar can't carry a tune, at least we know Lengies can move thanks to her three seasons on American Dreams dancing on American Bandstand alongside star Brittany Snow.

Lengies, 26, also plays Nurse Kelly Epson on TNT's HawthoRNe and guest-starred on Castle earlier this year. Her casting follows that of Friday Night Lights alum LaMarcus Tinker, who will play Mercedes' new boyfriend this coming season.

Glee returns on Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 8/7c on Fox.

2011 ALMA Award Nominees

(7/28/11) The winners will be revealed in an hourlong special airing on NBC Sept. 16. (Eva Longoria & George Lopez host)

Favorite TV Actress – Supporting Role
Maria Canals-Barrera, Wizards of Waverly Place
Constance Marie, Switched At Birth
Aubrey Plaza, Parks and Recreation
Sarah Ramos, Parenthood
Lauren Vélez, Dexter

Manny Happy Returns! Melissa & Joey Renewed for Second Season

(7/12/11) Freshman comedy Melissa & Joey has been picked up for a second season, ABC Family announced on Monday.

The series stars Melissa Joan Hart as a local politician who hires Joey Lawrence as her family's nanny. The season premiere, which launched last summer, was the network's highest rated comedic debut.

"Melissa and Joey have proven to be a comedic powerhouse, with wonderful chemistry that has resonated with viewers in the tradition of great television pairings," Michael Riley, President of ABC Family said. "As our focus on comedy continues to develop, we're delighted to see it return next year as an integral part of the network's expanding slate of original series."

The two actors are both known for hit '90s shows. Hart starred on Nickelodeon's Clarissa Explains It All and later on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, while Lawrence starred on NBC's Blossom. The pair then worked together on the television movie My Fake Fiancé.

Melissa & Joey, which wraps up Season 1 in the fall, will return in 2012.

Harry's Law: Brittany Snow and Aml Ameen Exit

(6/7/11) At Harriet's Law & Fine Shoes, if the shoe fits, wear it. And if it doesn't, you lose two actors.

Brittany Snow and Aml Ameen won't be clocking in when Harry's Law returns for its second season on NBC, TVLine reports.

It was apparently a "mutual decision" with producers, and both actors have been invited to come back as guest stars.

Snow played Jenna Backstrom, the assistant to Harry (Kathy Bates) when she was a patent lawyer, before she traded it in for patent leather at the shoe store. Ameen portrayed Malcolm Davies, whose botched suicide attempt and drug possession case drew Harriet into her current practice. He later worked for her as a paralegal and started dating Jenna.

Harry's Law averaged 9.39 million viewers in its first season. When it returns in the fall, it relocates to Wednesdays at 9/8c, leading into Law & Order: SVU.

Sarah Ramos to star in indie film "Predisposed"

(5/13/11) Sarah Ramos, one of the stars of the TV series "Parenthood," will be indisposed for part of her hiatus with indie movie "Predisposed."

Ramos will star with Jesse Eisenberg, Melissa Leo and Tracy Morgan in filmmaker Phil Dorling's drama.

The movie focuses on a drug addict mother (Leo) and her piano prodigy son (Eisenberg), as she prepares to enter rehab and he into Juilliard. Ramos will play the girl who garners the affections of Eisenberg's character. (Morgan is playing a hapless drug dealer named Sprinkles.)

The movie is due to start shooting next month in New York City.

Ramos is best known for playing Haddie Braverman, the daughter of Monica Potter and Peter Krause in "Parenthood." The show just got picked up for a third season on U.S. network NBC.

Blue Bloods' Will Estes: The Blue Templar "Ends Here and Now"

(5/13/11) Most season finales involve cliff-hangers and a long, grueling summer of guessing games for fans, but Will Estes assures us that won't be the case for Blue Bloods.

"I heard about a show one time — I think it was a soap — where they were having a nightmare of a time renegotiating everyone's contracts," Estes, who plays Jamie Reagan, tells TVGuide.com. "So the writers and producers came up with the cliff-hanger of a crazed gunman bursting into the hall and opens fire with an automatic weapon and then it cuts to black. That made it a lot easier to renegotiate contracts because anybody could've been dead. I can tell you that will not happen to us! There is no cliff-hanger at all. You won't have to worry about us."

Instead, on Friday (10/9c on CBS), the family cop drama will wrap up its season-long arc of the Blue Templar — the rogue group of NYPD officers that killed Jamie's late brother, Joe, who was working with the FBI to investigate it. Jamie, who was approached by FBI agents in the pilot to finish what Joe started, had left his crime-fighting family out of the loop all season — until last week when he told Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) after his gun went missing and he was nearly killed driving with faulty brakes.

"I think it was something that he kept to himself because... he felt like joining the FBI investigation would be betraying his family," Estes says. "But gradually Jamie's been made a target. They've tried to kill him. I think at that point, if you're that big of a target and your family's that big of a target, then it's time put something together to try to stop them."

Led by their father, police commissioner Frank (Tom Selleck), the Reagans crack down on the secret society via a big drug bust on dirty cops in connection with the Templar. While speculation has run rampant over who is in the Templar, Estes promises none of the members are the Reagans. This is in spite of, as we've seen, a Blue Templar pin inside Danny's safe and photos of Henry (Len Cariou) and Templar members.

"It's an old little organization, but it's turned into something different," Estes says. "The Reagans are the good guys! Rest assured. Erin Reagan [Bridget Moynahan] is not dirty! She's a good ADA. There isn't a betrayal on any inter-familial level, but there's a betrayal there between members of the force that are our friends on the force who were not known to be involved."

The most obvious suspects would be Det. Malevsky (Michael T. Weiss) and Lt. Bello (Nick Sandow), who have been making shady phone calls regarding Jamie in recent weeks. They're very involved," Estes teases. "It's very cat-and-mouse. I think it's an exciting finale. I think the audience is going to respond to it. There are big, sort of, iconic juxtapositions. Cops always fight the bad guys, but when the bad guys are cops, that's always tough. They're confronting them and the Blue Templar's got to come down."

Because Jamie's a target of the Blue Templar, he is "less in involved than he'd liked to be" in the takedown and is instead working a kidnapping case. But he does get to see some action. "I have a back-up [gun] and I actually get to fire my weapon. That's very big!" Estes says. "A lot of police officers go their whole career without firing their weapon. ... I shoot, I hit my target, but I did not kill him. Maybe I'll get [my first kill] next season."

Though CBS has not yet officially renewed Blue Bloods, the series will likely see a Season 2 — but without creators and executive producers Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess. Estes has "no clue" what's in store for next season, except for what won't be.

"No more Blue Templar. It ends here and now. I'm excited to see what they'll come up for us," he says. "I would love to do more stuff with Nick [Turturro]. We definitely look forward to doing more together. Hopefully I'll still be a cop!"

NBC Renews Parenthood, Harry's Law

(5/12/11) NBC has ordered new dramas The Playboy Club, Grimm and Awake for the network's 2011-12 fall lineup. They join this week's earlier pick-ups, which include a comedy starring Christina Applegate and a musical from executive producer Steven Spielberg.

The network has also renewed Parenthood and Harry's Law. Parenthood, starring Lauren Graham and Peter Krause, averaged 6.7 million during its second season, and Harry's Law, from David E. Kelley, averaged 9.39 million viewers in its first season. Earlier Wednesday, it was reported that NBC's spy dramedy Chuck is also nearing a deal to return for Season 5.

The Playboy Club is a period drama (which TVGuide.com had spotlighted as one of its 11 Promising Pilots) that explores the lives of the first Playboy bunnies and the men who adored them. Amber Heard, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Eddie Cibrian and David Krumholtz star. Brian Grazer (24, Parenthood and Friday Night Lights) executive-produces.

Awake, formally known as REM, stars Jason Isaacs as a police detective who's involved in a traumatic car accident and wakes up in two fractured realities. The project comes from Kyle Killen, creator of Fox's short-lived Lone Star and 24's Howard Gordon. Wilmer Valderrama, Cherry Jones, Steve Harris, B.D. Wong, Michaela McManus, Laura Allen and Dylan Minnette also star.

Grimm, a dark and fantastical cop drama, features characters inspired by Grimm's Fairy Tales. The pilot was written and executive-produced by Jim Kouf and David Greenwalt (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel). David Giuntoli, Russell Hornsby, Silas Weir Mitchell, Sasha Roiz, Reggie Lee and Bitsie Tulloch will star. Kate Burton will guest-star in the pilot.

No word on the much-buzzed about Wonder Woman, but NBC is still expected to order Chelsea Handler's Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea.

Earlier this week, NBC ordered Up All Night, starring Christina Applegate and written by Parks & Recreation writer Emily Spivey, as well as a comedy from Whitney Cummings, Steven Spielberg's musical Smash and a remake of Prime Suspect, starring Maria Bello.

'Hellcats': Gail O'Grady runs with a young crowd

(4/26/11) When she's not being mother to school-age son Michael, Gail O'Grady is a den mother of sorts to a bevy of young beauties on The CW Tuesday cheerleading drama "Hellcats," which returned last week with new episodes.

Through her co-stars, O'Grady has been introduced to the music of Florence and the Machine and updated her tech skills -- more or less.

"I can check emails," she tells Zap2it, "but I'm not exactly in this century right now. [The girls] have always got something new and advanced. They help me probably with music and keeping me a little younger, I guess. Not that I'm an old bat, but as I said, it's a very young cast."

O'Grady plays Wanda Perkins, an irresponsible former party girl who works at the campus pub at the university where her daughter, Marti (Aly Michalka), is studying pre-law on a cheerleading scholarship.

In the Tuesday, April 19, episode, fans learned that Marti's father, musician Rex, was also a drug addict that abandoned his family when Marti was three (but didn't die, as her mother had told her, perhaps opening the possibility of a guest star at some point).

"I like her spirit," says O'Grady of Wanda. "I like that she's not a quitter. She's always trying to find a better way to -- I shouldn't say it -- skin a cat. I just like that she has a good spirit. She hasn't let life beat her down, and even though she might drink a little bit too much, she's always looking at the bright side."

It's a complicated mother-daughter relationship.

"It's gone back and forth," says O'Grady. "One moment, Marti is the adult, the parent, the next moment, Wanda's the adult and parent. When it first started, it seemed that Wanda was more needy and pulling on Marti a little too much, to the point where Marti had to get away.

"But they go back and forth between who's the parent and who's the child."

In last week's episode, Marti's search for her father's past led her to a record store, where she got some help from clerk Dierdre, played by Michalka's sister and bandmate in 78violet, AJ Michalka.

For O'Grady, this means just one more Michalka to love.

"Aly and I are pretty close," she says, "and Aly's sister, AJ, has a recurring role on the show. She is, like Aly, just one of the coolest people on the planet. I love these girls. Their mom did a really good job. They're smart, and they're funny and full, I think, well beyond their years."

O'Grady says she "holds her breath" when she sees the elaborate and risky cheerleading numbers on the show, and she even has a bit of cheer history of her own.

"I was a cheerleader in junior high," she says. "I tried out for cheerleading in my freshman/sophomore year of high school. I didn't make it, and I thought it was going to destroy my life.

"Oh, gosh, how did I survive not making cheerleading? I don't know. I think I played tennis instead."

Wanda may not have the future that Aly does, but that's OK with her.

"At least, for Wanda," says O'Grady, "she wanted more for her daughter, but she also wants to tag along with her. She wants to be part of it, but some of it she doesn't understand, because she has given her a hard time about being a hoity-toity lawyer.

"She, deep down, like any parent, wants more for her child."

O'Grady says that Wanda also has ambitions for herself.

"Instead of just running the bar, she wanted the manage the bar," she says. "She got that. Then she'd always wanted to be a party planner. She's also exploring different careers and trying to make things better for herself, too. She's not just settling on cleaning up the bar."

But don't expect O'Grady to feel the need to add bartending to her own skill set.

"I can look busy [in the bar]," she says. "I can dry some glasses and put a bottle away."

Blue Bloods Parts Ways with Creators

(4/24/11) Blue Bloods creators and executive producers Mitchell Burgess and Robin Green have parted ways with the series, Deadline reports.

The married writing team reportedly left over creative differences. According to Deadline, CBS wants to make the show more procedural and less character-driven.

This is the second showrunner exit on the freshman series. Former Numb3rs executive producer Ken Sanzel left the show in August after reported differences with star Tom Selleck.

Prior to Blue Bloods, Burgess and Green were executive producers on The Sopranos. Burgess won three Emmys and Green won one for their work on the HBO drama.

Burgess and Green courted controversy when Blue Bloods was credited as "from the executive producers of The Sopranos." Shortly after CBS picked up the series in May 2010, HBO sent a cease-and-desist letter to CBS requesting that the network stop using the Sopranos credit, according to New York Magazine's Vulture.

Despite the behind-the-scenes differences, Blue Bloods has been a winner for CBS. Airing Fridays at 10/9c, the series has averaged 12.3 million viewers.

CBS is currently on the lookout for a new showrunner for Blue Bloods.

A network rep could not immediately be reached for comment.

Brittany Snow Covers 'Maxim' April 2011!

(3/17/11) (Photo) Brittany Snow is steaming hot on the cover of Maxim’s April 2011 issue.

Here is what the 25-year-old Harry’s Law actress had to share with the mag:

On posing for sexy photos: “It’s funny, because I’ve never done anything like this before, so the whole experience was a big step for me. But it was cool. I felt really comfortable and had a great time.”

On being considered a sex symbol: “Oh, hell no! It’s weird. I’ve read in magazines where someone like Jessica Alba says, “I’m not a sex symbol. I don’t even think I’m sexy!” I’m like, Oh, my God, girl, you’re kidding. I mean I hate to sound like the stereotypical actress, but if I’m gonna be honest…I really don’t think I am. But it’s nice when other people think so!”

On her relationship status: “I’m so single. It’s funny. I’m usually a relationship girl. I love being in love and having a partner in crime. But it’s good to be your own partner in crime. God, that makes me sound like I have multiple-personality disorder.”

For more from Brittany, check out Maxim.com!

Blue Bloods' Oddly Perfect Partners Building on "Great Chemistry"

(2/24/11) A Blue Bloods spin-off?

There isn't one in the works, but that hasn't stopped fans from suggesting one to Will Estes and Nicholas Turturro.

"A lot of people come up to us and go, 'You guys should have a spin-off!'" Turturro tells TVGuide.com. "I'm not saying now, but hey — The Reagan and Renzulli Show? I'd watch it! But in all seriousness, we take it as a compliment that they are such fans of us."

While the CBS drama focuses on the Reagans, New York's finest crime-fighting family, headed by Tom Selleck, it's Turturro's and Estes' odd couple pairing of training officer Sgt. Anthony Renzulli and rookie cop Jamie Reagan that's stealing the show week in and week out. Between their comic-relief scenes — like collaring guys in hot dog costumes — Renzulli's wisecracks, Jamie's wet-behind-the-ears earnestness and their effortless rapport, it's easy to see why fans are yearning for more.

"We have a great chemistry," Estes says. "You can never tell if [partnerships] like this will work well, but we developed an interesting dynamic between us. I'm a Harvard grad and dad is the commissioner. He comes from a place of privilege. Nick's character comes from a place of great experience. I respect his experience and don't try to cut him down with where I come from or my education. I think he in turn respects that I don't do that and we've earned this mutual respect in the face of us being two totally different characters."

Renzulli and Jamie are usually off on their own beat; therefore, Turturro and Estes have most of their scenes with each other. The same is true on Friday's episode, in which they try to catch a kid who vandalizes a storefront with graffiti. (The "A" story line for Danny and Jackie is a dead girl at a debutante ball.) With so much one-on-one time, chemistry is not the only requirement. "Me and Will, we've become friends, too," Turturro says. "I think that's most important. You like each other and we have a lot a great time together."

In between takes of chasing down the graffiti offender, the two, both quiet and friendly, chat up a storm during their lunch break, take pictures with fans and crack jokes about Turturro's faux police radio that keeps falling off during every chase take. "We have a lot of fun. It also helps that we tend to get the more comedic elements," Turturro says. Their lighter scenes certainly provide more laughs, but Estes and Tuturro want to tackle heavier material as Renzulli and Jamie's partnership deepens. After all, Jamie is not going to be a rookie forever.

"[Renzulli's] the boss, but he's allowed me to step up and make a couple calls. I've made the right ones a few times and he's seen that," Estes says. "I think they see each other as partners now after all the time they've spent together."

Their professional obligations withstanding, Turturro also would like to see the duo bond on a personal level. Lately, it's Renzulli, gregarious as ever, complaining to Jamie about his wife, but the rookie — still in the midst of the Blue Templar investigation — has been more guarded. "It'd be nice for him to say, 'Hey, you know, I have my family, but I know I can trust you.' I think that would be very believable," Turturro says. "We had a nice scene a few weeks ago. Something happened with his dad and he wanted to help out. He said to me, 'I'm just on the beat with you.' It's like, 'Hey, I've been doing this job a lot longer than you. How do you think that makes me feel?' It was a nice moment. I think he trusts him, but that trust is growing."

Of course, all the future talk is moot as Blue Bloods hasn't been renewed yet for a second season yet — though its healthy numbers on Wednesdays and Fridays put it in good standing. Both actors hope a pick-up is imminent.

"That'd be great. Right now, we just want to make the show good," Estes says. "Maybe if Blue Bloods finishes in nine years, Nick and I will do a spin-off!"

Brittany Snow Teases Harry's Law Romance

(2/16/11) What could possibly complicate matters in a law firm that is run out of a shoe store? A good old office romance, says Harry's Law star Brittany Snow.

"Malcolm (Aml Ameen) and I, we have a love situation, and it kind of gets [mixed] into the work," Snow told TV Guide Magazine at the Rock & Republic/Love is Louder T-shirt launch on February 15. But not everyone's excited about the new love connection. "Harry, Kathy Bates' character, isn't too fond of that happening, so there's a little bit of friction there."

In other romance news, Jordana Spiro will also return to the show before season's end, as the ex-girlfriend of Nate Corddry's character, Adam. "She's a great guest star," says Snow. "We've had some amazing guest stars who play the smallest parts. It's been incredible to work with them."

In fact, after wrapping the first season three weeks ago, the cast is now eagerly awaiting word on a pick-up for Season 2, and their hopes are high. "I think everybody loves this show and people are taking to it really well, so I've been really excited about that," says Snow, who admits waiting for the verdict is nerve wracking. "You never know, because it's TV. But I feel like it's positive."

Do you want Harry's Law to be renewed for a second season?

Pilot Castings: Actors Board TBS' 'Hound Dogs'

(1/26/11) Tom Verica has landed the lead in the TBS hourlong comedy pilot Hound Dogs, with Lolita Davidovich and Laura Bell Bundy also cast in the project from feature writer/director Ron Shelton (Bull Durham). Meanwhile, Seinfeld alum Wayne Knight is set as the last lead in the TV Land untitled Mark Reisman comedy pilot.

The Sony Pictures TV-produced Hound Dogs, which Sheldon wrote and will direct, draws from his experience as a baseball player and is set in the world of minor league baseball. It centers on minor league team the Nashville Hound Dogs and its endlessly upbeat general manager (Tom Verica), a gambling addict trying to outrun his past, as they try to handle life’s ups and downs, both in and out of the locker room. Fortitude-repped Davidovich will play the team owner. Bundy will play a sexy bartender/aspiring singer.

TV Land's Mark Reisman project revolves around 3 divorced guys (David Alan Basche, Donald Faison, Knight) who live in an apartment building where their landlord is their sexy female divorce attorney (Kristen Johnston). The project marks a reunion for APA-repped Wayne and Johnston, who worked together on 3rd Rock from the Sun.

Brittany Snow talks 'Harry's Law,' Kathy Bates, and Love is Louder

(1/24/11) What happens when you combine Kathy Bates and David E. Kelley? Magic.

"Harry's Law" debuted to successful ratings last Monday night, putting the pressure on for tonight's second episode.

"I guess you always feel a little bit of pressure, because we were up against a rerun of 'Castle,'" says Brittany Snow, who plays Jenna, the assistant to Bates' cynical lawyer, Harry. "That gave us a little bit of leverage, but I think our show is something really different so we constantly keep hoping for the best when it comes to the next week. The episodes, I think, get even better."

While Jenna may come off as a dumb blonde initially, Snow promises that there's a lot more to her. "My character definitely, from the outside, is seen as a ditzy blonde assistant who just kind of says quirky things, and she is that person. She's overly optimistic and enthusiastic about life and things, but as the series goes on you see why she is the way she is. She kind of puts on this bubbly exterior because of the things that have gone on in her life."

She's the perfect foil for Harry, lending some great comedy to even the heaviest scenes. "She's almost the voice of reason for Harry, because Harry kind of views the world in a pessimistic light," Snow tells us.

In an upcoming episode, Jenna and Harry go head to head, which provided a great acting opportunity for Snow.

"Jenna has a storyline that's really funny where my car gets stolen," she says. "Her dynamic with Harry is really interesting because you see Jenna finally stand up to Harry and set her straight. They have a really great couple of scenes where you actually understand where their relationship came from. I got to fight with Kathy Bates, which was a really fun scene to do. It was such a great opportunity for me to get to really act with Kathy."

Despite their bickering, Jenna provides important balance in Harry's life. Snow says, "Jenna kind of keeps her in check about why she's helping the people she's helping and why it's important to help the underdog."

Snow knows a little something about helping the underdog in real life as well. Along with The Jed Foundation and MTV, Snow started the Love is Louder movement in response to the high-profile media coverage when lives of multiple teenagers were lost to suicide as the result of bullying and homophobia in autumn of 2010.

Love is Louder is all about raising the volume of support and kindness offered by groups like The Trevor Project and the It Gets Better campaign. It's about encouraging a message of hope, not hate, and has caught on like wildfire on Twitter and Facebook.

"We've just been so grateful that people have connected with it," Snow tells us. "We started it just as a little idea to get the word out there that you don't have to be alone, and now we're trying to develop it into a legitimate charity."

Snow will be visiting schools and handing out action Kits to encourage teens to reach out to each other and stand up against bullying, and the movement will only grow from there.

"We're working on a documentary and a book and all sorts of fun stuff. It's been really great to work on that because that's something I'm really passionate about, and it doesn't seem like work. I think it was just so needed because so many people were looking for a way to share their opinions or stories or their support."

Watch "Harry's Law" on Mondays at 10 p.m. EST on NBC.

'Mad Love' taps Brittany Snow

(1/23/11) 'Mad Love' taps Brittany Snow as Sarah Chalke's sister

Premiering February 21, CBS's new comedy "Mad Love" features Jason Biggs as Ben, a lawyer, and "Scrubs" star Sarah Chalke as Kate, the girl of his dreams. In a bit of rather inspired casting, the show has tapped "Harry's Law" star Brittany Snow as Chalke's younger sister for one upcoming episode.

Snow shot the guest starring appearance while still working on "Harry's Law," which debuted successfully on Monday. "That was actually really fun, because I felt very busy," she says, speaking with us at a Warner Bros. event on Saturday.

Despite the pressure of playing two characters in one week, Snow tells us she had a great time shooting with the "Mad Love" cast. "Sarah was amazing," she says. "The whole cast was really great. They were so nice and welcoming. I haven't done many guest stars, unfortunately, and it was kind of nerve-wracking to go into a family, and they were just so great."

Expect plenty of sibling hijinks. "They have an overly close relationship," Snow says of the sisters. "It's a really interesting episode... about how overprotective Sarah Chalke's character is towards her little sister. My character kind of wants to break out and just go crazy, so there's definitely a side of my character that she shows to her sister and there's a side that she is actually doing."

"Mad Love" premieres February 21 on CBS.

Blue Bloods Is Back on the Beat

(1/19/11) Putting out an APB: Blue Bloods is back with new episodes. After reviving Friday-night TV with its solid ratings, the freshman drama about a multi-generational family of New York cops moves to Wednesdays starting tonight. Will Estes, who plays youngest son and rookie cop Jamie Reagan, gives us the lowdown.

TV Guide Magazine: What does the cast think of the move to Wednesdays?

Estes: It's for four weeks, but there's talk of staying if we do really well. It's positive either way.

TV Guide Magazine: Where does Jamie's story line pick up?

Estes: I end up getting some news about one of the people I'm investigating regarding my brother Joe's death. It's a serious bit of news, so it ups the stakes.

TV Guide Magazine: What's the deal with the secretive Blue Templar, which Jamie's being pressured to investigate?

Estes: I have reason to believe my grandfather was involved, but you don't know to what extent.

TV Guide Magazine: Now that Jamie's engagement is off, how long will he be single?

Estes: I'm not sure. He's spending more time with his grandfather. They don't know what to do on a Friday or Saturday night, so they hang out — it's funny!

Blue Bloods airs Wednesday at 10/9c on CBS.

David E. Kelley retains Kathy Bates for quirky 'Harry's Law'

(1/14/11) David E. Kelley is practicing law again — TV law, that is.

The award-winning creator of Boston Legal, The Practice and Ally McBeal comes back to the bar with Harry's Law (NBC, Monday, 10 ET/PT).

Kelley, who was once a practicing attorney, thought he was done with the legal trade for a while after Boston. But he found he missed the opportunity to express himself on the issues of the day, a signature component of his programs.

"With everything that was changing in this country — a new administration, health care, Congress — I felt it would be so nice to be able to talk about some of those things," he says. "I love to talk about evolving ideas, and the law is a great springboard for it. It's inexact and unscientific, but still our best way of legislating human behavior, morality and ethics."

One topical issue at the top of Harry's agenda is unemployment. In the first episode, patent attorney Harriet "Harry" Korn (Kathy Bates) is fired from her job. "I'd read so many stories about people losing their jobs ... late in their careers and having to start over, and the obstacles in doing that. I thought that might be an interesting story to tell," Kelley says.

Harry, disillusioned with the practice of law, must start at the bottom again, hanging her shingle from an abandoned shoe store in a run-down area of Cincinnati.

Bates likes the gun-toting character, which was originally written for a man. She asked that she keep the name Harry. "I liked that she was a curmudgeon and she tells it like it is. What I love about her is she's rumpled, she doesn't apologize for who she is," Bates says. "And I think she's at a very interesting place in her life, at her age, to be starting over."

Harry is joined by an eager young lawyer (Nate Corddry), her law practice assistant (Brittany Snow) and an aide (Aml Ameen) who literally drops from the sky.

Harry is "not a touchy-feely kind of person at all. She finds herself surrounded by people who are very warm and loving, and I think she senses a need for that in her life but doesn't exactly know how to go about getting that," says Bates, an Oscar winner for Misery who is taking on her first lead role in a TV series.

Bates has the ability to make the pessimistic Harry likable, Kelley says. "She's able to play those tough scenes and be unlikable in a given moment and trust the audience to go with her and like her just the same," Kelley says. "That's an intangible. Not every actor brings that."

Kelley says Harry won't be a conventional courtroom drama. "As the series progresses, (we) spend less and less time in the courtroom. A lot of justice we practice in this law firm is street justice that takes place in bizarre places. A lot of alternative dispute resolution goes on."

The storefront practice "makes for a more interesting range of characters," Bates says. "As David said to me, you never know who's coming in the front door. An interesting point for him (is) there's almost a class thing going on with the gentrification of the neighborhood."

Harry won't stake a political position in the way Kelley did on Boston Legal, "where we wore our heart on our sleeve a little bit," he says. "I don't agree with all of Harry's politics. She has a great affection for weaponry that I probably don't share," he says. "It's not our intent to get on the political soapbox. It's really about this character and her new life."

Blue Bloods Moves to Wednesday Nights

(12/21/10) Two of CBS' freshman series, Blue Bloods and The Defenders, are trading prime-time real estate next month.

CBS announced Tuesday that Blue Bloods will air Wednesdays at 10/9c for one month beginning Jan. 19. To make room, The Defenders will then permanently move to Fridays at 8/7c starting Feb. 4, two weeks after the series finale of Medium.

The swap makes sense for CBS. The network's five new shows are the top-rated new series of the TV season, and Blue Bloods has shown surprising strength on Fridays, where it is averaging 12.3 million viewers. As the lead-out to CBS' veteran hits Survivor and Criminal Minds, The Defenders' average of 10 million viewers is less impressive. Whether or not The Defenders will be a strong enough lead-in for CSI: NY at 9/8c remains to be seen.

Following Blue Bloods' month-long trial, CBS will use the Wednesday timeslot to launch the spin-off Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, premiering Feb. 16. That move pairs the spinoff with the flagship series, which CBS did successfully with NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles.

According to Deadline, the network has also reduced the first-season episode order for both The Defenders and $#*! My Dad Says, its two lowest-rated freshman series, in order to make room for its midseason series Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, Chaos and Mad Love.

$#*! My Dad Says will be replaced by Rules of Engagement, which moves into the post-The Big Bang Theory time period beginning Feb. 24. Taking the place of Rules is the new comedy Mad Love, which will air on Mondays at 8:30/7:30c after How I Met Your Mother starting Feb. 21.

The action drama Chaos will premiere on Friday, April 1 at 8/7c, following the season finale of The Defenders.

Here's the schedule:Wednesday8-9 p.m. — Live to Dance (beginning Jan. 19) ... Survivor: Redemption Island (beginning Feb. 16)
9-10 p.m. — Criminal Minds
10-11 p.m. — Blue Bloods (beginning Jan. 19) ... Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior (beginning Feb. 16)

Friday
8-9 p.m. — The Defenders (beginning Feb. 4) ... Chaos (beginning April 1)
9-11 p.m. — CSI:NY
10-11 p.m. — Blue Bloods (beginning Feb. 11)

Virginia Madsen Joins The Event

(12/14/10) The Event has nabbed Virginia Madsen for a recurring role, Deadline.com reports.

The 49-year-old actress will play Catherine Lewis, the widow of a U.S. senator from Alaska. A Harvard grad, Lewis has taken over her husband's post and is determined to carry out her husband's legacy at any cost.

Madsen most recently was on ABC's Scoundrels.

NBC's The Event returns with new episodes on Feb. 28.

DICK CLARK'S NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE WITH RYAN SEACREST 2011

(12/6/10) For the 39th consecutive year, "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011" will lead America into the New Year. Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest will host the special with recently announced Times Square Correspondent Jenny McCarthy. The show will begin at 10:00 p.m., ET on Friday, December 31 on the ABC Television Network. Singer/songwriter Fergie of The Black Eyed Peas returns to host the Los Angeles-based party portions of the specials. The Los Angeles lineup includes performances by Jennifer Hudson, Willow Smith, Ne-Yo, Avril Lavigne, Drake, Jason Derulo, La Roux, Mike Posner, Natasha Bedingfield, Far East Movement and Train.

The bi-coastal celebration will include three and one-half hours of special performances and reports on New Year's celebrations from around the globe, as well as the American tradition of Dick Clark counting down to midnight from Times Square in New York City.

The festivities will kick off with "Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011" from 10:00-11:00 p.m., ET, featuring the only live performances from New York's Times Square, as well as multiple performances from the Los Angeles celebration.

During "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011, Part 1" (11:30 p.m. - 1:08 a.m., ET), in addition to reporting on the final minutes of 2010 and the traditional Times Square countdown to midnight, the show will feature music performances from both Los Angeles and Times Square in New York.

Wrapping the night's activities will be "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011, Part 2" (1:08-2:11 a.m., ET), when musical acts will continue the party into the early hours of the New Year with additional performances from Los Angeles.

The specials are presentations of dick clark productions, inc., with Dick Clark, Ryan Seacrest and Orly Adelson serving as executive producers. Larry Klein produces. Klein stated, "Fergie is back to host a terrific lineup of performances in Los Angeles that celebrate the most outstanding songs of the year." Adelson added, "Fergie returns for her fifth year as the host of the west coast party. She has truly become a part of the New Year's tradition."

Behind the Scenes with Blue Bloods

(11/30/10) Gather 'round the dinner table with the Reagan family as TV Guide Magazine takes you behind the scenes during our exclusive photo shoot with the cast of Blue Bloods. Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan and Will Estes discuss New York City cops, their relationships with each other and working with Tom Selleck. Check out the exclusive video here!

'Gossip Girl' preview: Damien returns and he's still wheelin' and dealin'

(11/30/10) Can we get three cheers for the return of Canadian Kevin Zegers as Damien on "Gossip Girl"? Maybe it was just us, but we loved him as poor- little-rich-boy drug dealer who used Jenny's (Taylor Momsen) fashion-related "talents" to transport drugs and then dumped her when she wouldn't have sex with him. Clearly, we need therapy.

Damien makes his triumphant return when Dan (Penn Badgley) and Blair's (Leighton Meester) mission to find out the truth about Juliet (Katie Cassidy) leads them to Serena's old boarding school stomping grounds in Connecticut. The Knightley School in Cornwall, Connecticut to be precise. What is Damien doing there? Drug dealing, of course (Connecticut "burbs do big business over the holidays." Swoon!). It's nice that he asked how Jenny was doing. 10 points to Blair who proudly declares, "I banished her." Memories.

In the preview clip for "The Townie" (airing Monday, Dec. 6) we learn Damien knows Juliet and just saw her in the city the previous week (and may have sold her the drugs she used on Serena). At first Damien wants no part in any of Dan and Blair's "Veronica Mars"-like investigation, he seems to crack a bit when they tell him Serena (Blake Lively) ended up in the hospital. Aw, a drug dealer with a heart of gold.

In the extended promo for the episode, we get quick glimpses of S at boarding school (which includes her blowing bubbles, dancing, and kissing a Justin Bieber-fied Damien!). It seems like we'll also be getting a lot of Dan and Blair action, including the two riding in an old-school VW Buggy. Cute! While we love Chuck and Blair, we've always wanted to see something happen between the odd couple, Dan and Blair. 1. They have great chemistry. 2. It would stir up a lot of drama post-Juliet. "Chair" fans, if you are going to stone us, please just avoid our faces. Thanks.

Lastly, it seems we will finally get a showdown between Juliet and Serena. After Juliet tells Serena, "You ruined my brother's life," S responds, "Who's your brother?" Ouch, that's gotta sting.

Watch the preview and the extended promo for "The Townie" here.

Golden Globes group sues Dick Clark Productions

(11/17/10) The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which puts on the annual Golden Globe Awards, is suing Dick Clark Productions and its parent company for alleged trademark infringement and breach of contract.

Dick Clark Productions produces the Golden Globes show.

In court papers filed Wednesday, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association claims Dick Clark Productions made a deal with NBC to broadcast the Golden Globes through 2018 without its consent.

The association owns the Globes and its intellectual property and contract rights. It first hired Dick Clark Productions to produce the Golden Globes in 1983. The two organizations have an agreement that expires in 2011.

Dick Clark Productions, parent company Red Zone Capital and NBC had no comment Wednesday. It wasn't known how the dispute might affect this season's Golden Globes show, scheduled for Jan. 16, 2011.

People's Choice Awards 2011 Nominees

(11/9/10) Winners will be revealed during the live broadcast of the PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS 2011 at the Nokia Theater, L.A. Live on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011 (9:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network. Tickets to the awards show are now available for fans to purchase through Ticketmaster. Voting begins today at http://www.peopleschoice.com for the finalists in all 44 categories and will end on Dec. 7, 2010, except for "Favorite New TV Drama" and "Favorite New TV Comedy," which will remain open for voting until the night of show.

FAVORITE NEW TV DRAMA
Blue Bloods
Chase
Detroit 1-8-7
Hawaii Five-0
Hellcats
Law & Order: Los Angeles
Nikita
The Defenders
The Event

Milo Ventimiglia Speaks Out About His New Project

(11/5/10) The last time TV viewers saw Milo Ventimiglia he was honing his ever-changing superpowers on NBC's Heroes. Now, on his new project, he's trying to develop an ability he wished he could carry over into real life — the power to stay awake 24/7.

Ventimiglia — whose development deal with NBC for a show based on his comic book Rest, was recently announced — says he's excited to embark on the project.

"For me, all I wanted to do was make a great comic book because I read comic books as a kid and I [still] read them as an adult and I wanted to contribute to the world of comic books," the actor told TV Guide Magazine at the Autism Speaks event in Los Angeles on November 4. "Then when the idea came up of doing something else with the concept, and after linking up with some great producers and the amazing writer Phil Levens, it was like, 'Yeah, let's make a TV show.'"

He'll not only executive produce, but also hopes to star in the series once it goes into production. Ventimiglia would play John Barrett, who thanks to a drug trial program that removes his need to sleep, can stay up all day and all night.

"I think it's an amazing thing, because I'm a bit of an overachiever, so there's a lot I'd want to do with 24 hours a day if I had it — but there is a downside, another side of the coin, and he finds himself caught up in some very large conspiracies that run very, very deep," says Ventimiglia.

He tells TV Guide Magazine that being on Heroes for four years helped him realize the importance of setting the tone on set, something he hopes to do himself. "I'm such a production guy, I love being on set, I love being with my crew," he says. "So for me, first and foremost, it's like, 'Hey, let's have a great time, let's enjoy the work that we're doing.' It's going to be long hours, but I'm going to be the first one on set and the last one to leave. I think that's kind of where I'm starting off right now, and as we get deeper into the process of developing the idea, we'll see where we go."

Milo Ventimiglia Returning to TV for Comic Book-Based Drama

(11/3/10) Milo Ventimiglia is eyeing a return to TV with a new comic-based drama at NBC, Deadline reports.

The 33-year-old actor is attached to star and executive-produce Rest, a project based on a 2008 comic book series he co-created.

Rest follows John Barret, a twentysomething guy who becomes addicted to a drug that eliminates the need for sleep. John subsequently works all of the time, which leads to both positive and negative repercussions.

The TV adaptation has already received a script commitment with producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (Drop Dead Diva).

Ventimiglia is coming off of the NBC superhero drama, Heroes, which was canceled in May after four years.

MTV and Brittany Snow launch anti-bullying campaign

(10/5/10) Several recent teen suicides, including that of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi, have inspired MTV, the Jed Foundation, and Prom Night actress Brittany Snow to launch an anti-bullying campaign called Love Is Louder.

With DoSomething.org, The Trevor Project, Reach Out, Active Minds and the Ad Council, Love Is Louder aims to inspire teens with messages of love and hope.

According to LoveIsLouder.com, "This movement strives to amplify the momentum of other inspiring online campaigns and invite anyone who has felt mistreated, misunderstood or isolated into the conversation. We are here to raise the volume around a critical message -- that love and support is more powerful than the external and internal voices that bring us down, cause us pain and make us feel hopeless."

Brittany Snow told MTV she hopes they will "bring some awareness and make some noise when it comes to teens who are feeling suicidal or even just sad, outcasts, and being bullied, and really feel like they have nowhere to turn to... It's a place where people who have been through it can support them and share their stories."

The John Tucker Must Die star added, "I know from my own personal experience, I was bullied in middle school and high school and went through my fair share of hard times thereafter. Also, one of my really good friends committed suicide when I was in high school. I understand and get when kids and teenagers feel like they're alone and it's not going to get better. My advice is that there is a support system out there, there are a lot of people who have been through what you're going through and are going through it now. You really need to speak up and know people love and support you, regardless."

For more information on the Love Is Louder movement, visit their Facebook page, upload your own videos to your.mtv.com, and follow the Twitter hashtag #loveislouder.

Will Mel and Joe Get Together on Melissa & Joey?

(10/5/10) When '90s sitcom stars Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence teamed up for the ABC Family movie My Fake Fiance, they never expected that fans would fall so in love with the duo that it would prompt the network to create a series just for them. Why are the stars of Melissa & Joey so popular? "We've got nostalgia behind us. We've each had two successful series and the audience, more so than Hollywood, likes to see a reincarnation," Hart tells TVGuide.com.

Hart headlined Clarissa Explains it All and then Sabrina, the Teenage Witch; Lawrence played the precocious kid on Gimme a Break and then said "Whoa!" a lot on Blossom.

Lawrence says it's their on-screen connection that fans like to watch. "We have an innate chemistry when it comes to this comedy stuff," he says. "We got lucky."

Hart calls Melissa & Joey Moonlighting-meets-Everybody Loves Raymond. Mel (Hart), an outspoken local politician hires Joe (Lawrence), a recent divorcee who needs money, to take care of her niece and nephew. The actress says she was sick of watching Friends reruns, and wanted to see the sitcom make a comeback. "A show like this on television is lacking [and] there aren't any right now that are romantic comedies with a domestic sidebar," she says.

While the show certainly plays up the sexual tension between the two leads, don't expect a romantic coupling on the series. "Unless we could do it in a really smart way and keep it going, I do feel like it's an 'end of the show' thing," she says. Lawrence agrees. "You don't want them together and you don't want any babies. As soon as that happens, it's over."

Melissa & Joey airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC Family.

Blue Bloods' Will Estes: Secret Society Twist Is Like The Godfather

(9/30/10) It's a bold analogy, but Blue Bloods star Will Estes will make it anyway.

After learning of the secret society twist in the CBS family cop drama, the actor says he immediately thought of another famed celluloid clan — albeit one on the other side of the law.

"It reminds me of Michael Corleone in The Godfather, if I may be so brave as to draw that comparison," Estes tells TVGuide.com. "I definitely wasn't expecting it, but it's so intriguing and a fantastic thing for the audience to watch."

In the closing minutes of the pilot, Estes' rookie cop Jamie Reagan, the youngest member of the family, is approached by two FBI agents who share some revealing information and make him an offer that maybe he can refuse. His late brother Joe was part of a rogue group of NYPD officers called the Blue Templar, and he was working with the agents to investigate the group. "They basically said, 'Your brother, who you think died in a bust-gone-bad, actually died at the hands of these guys. Do you want to join us and finish what he started?' And it's just a complete shock to him," Estes says. "He's fresh out of the academy, [has] not even been on the streets yet, and now he has this hanging over his head."

Jamie had not decided what to do yet by the end of the pilot — and don't expect a decision from him any time soon. Although he reconnects with the agents in Friday's episode — more or less as a status check — Estes says Jamie needs a lot of time to mull it over since his job and his family are at stake. His father, Frank (Tom Selleck), is the police commissioner; hot-headed brother Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) is a detective first grade; sister Erin (Bridget Moynahan) is an ADA; and his grandfather, Henry (Len Cariou), is a former commissioner.

"I don't know if he'd be more apt to say yes if it were strangers, but the investigation would essentially involve his family and he wouldn't be able to tell his family," Estes says. "Or maybe no matter what he decides, he could feel like he wants to tell his family. And what happens then? [Joe] having been part of it and died because of it weighs huge on him as well."

Joe may not have been the only Reagan in the Blue Templar. A blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot in the pilot showed a blue pin embellished with a symbol in Danny's safe. Estes suspects the Reagans' connection with it runs deep — Jamie's great-grandfather was a cop, too.

That long family tradition may be what compelled Jamie to forgo a law career after graduating from Harvard. "He was lucky enough to go and smart enough and driven enough to go [to Harvard]. But I think police work is in his blood," Estes says. "He grew up around a family dinner table of cops telling cop stories. I think it's innate and runs deep for him. I think it's absolutely where he wants to be. I don't think he just wants to be a beat cop — not that there's anything wrong with that — but a lot of his dreams and ideas are getting scattered in the wind with the pending FBI investigation. His life probably feels a great deal out of control for him right now. But initially and still, he absolutely joined because he wanted to be cop."

Jamie will work his first shift on the streets Friday, alongside his sergeant (Nicholas Turturro), very much with stars in his eyes.

"His sergeant early on says, 'Listen, you're not going to get any special quota because you're dad is the commissioner and you went to Harvard,'" the 31-year-old Estes says. "Jamie finds out very quickly that all his education and his family background aren't going to help him out a whole lot. In fact, it might be a little more difficult because of it. I think there's some comedy in there. But he's motivated, and I don't think it'll be long before he kicks some ass like Donnie!"

But it will definitely be longer before Jamie and the audience — and Estes himself — get answers about the Blue Templar, as producers Leonard Goldberg, and Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess of The Sopranos, have been vague with details. Estes — whose last mystery-based series, Reunion, was axed early without resolution — believes it'll play out the first season.

"I pray and hope that we'll go long enough so we find out what happens and get to know each of the characters more," he says. "I'm going to pretend you didn't bring up Reunion. No, I'm just kidding!"

Blue Bloods airs Fridays at 10/9c on CBS.

TV Ratings: 'Blue Bloods' nabs big premiere on CBS

(9/25/10) Fast National ratings for Friday, Sept. 24, 2010

"CSI: NY" with new lead Sela Ward and "Blue Bloods," the new cop drama starring Tom Selleck, both brought in big Friday night numbers, letting CBS cruise to a sizable win over second place NBC.

CBS' overall average was 9.7 million viewers with a 6.2 rating/12 share in households. NBC was next in second with 6.5 million, 4.5/8. ABC was a third with 3.99 million, 2.7/5, despite showing mostly reruns. FOX came in fourth at 3 million, 1.9/4 and the CW's Friday debuts were fifth with 2.8 million, 1.7/3.

The adults 18-49 title also went to CBS, which scored a 1.8 rating in the demographic. NBC was next with 1.4 and then the CW was third with a 1.2. ABC (1.1) and FOX (0.8) round out the networks.

Friday hour by hour:
8 p.m.
NBC: "Dateline: NBC" premiere (6.5 million, 4.5/9)
CBS: "Medium" premiere (6.1 million viewers, 4.0/8 households)
ABC: "Modern Family" rerun (4.2 million, 2.6/5)/"Better With You" rerun (3.1 million, 2.1/4)
FOX: "Human Target" rerun (3.1 million, 2.0/4)
The CW: "Smallville" premiere (2.9 million, 1.7/3)
18-49 leader: "Dateline: NBC" and "Medium" (1.4)

9 p.m.
CBS: "CSI: NY" premiere (10.3 million, 6.5/12)
NBC: "Dateline: NBC" (7.9 million, 5.4/10)
ABC: "The Whole Truth" rerun (2.9 million, 2.0/4)
FOX: "The Good Guys" premiere (2.9 million, 1.7/3)
The CW: "Supernatural" premiere (2.8 million, 1.7/3)
18-49 leader: "CSI: NY" (2.0)

10 p.m.
CBS: "Blue Bloods" series premiere (12.7 million, 7.9/15)
ABC: "20/20" premiere (5.9 million, 4.1/8)
NBC: "Outlaw" (4.9 million, 3.4/7)
18-49 leader: "Blue Bloods" (2.2)

'Blue Bloods': Donnie Wahlberg is the hot-head of the police family

(9/25/10) "Blue Bloods" is the newest cop drama on TV, debuting Friday (Sept. 24) on CBS. It stars Tom Selleck as Frank Reagan, the Chief of Police in New York City, and Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan and Will Estes as his three children. The two sons are cops, the daughter is an Assistant DA.

We enjoyed the premiere. The tension between Danny (Wahlberg) and Erin (Moynahan), him a hot-head cop who does things his own way, which may not always be on the right side of the law, and her a lawyer whose job it is to uphold the law, creates an interesting family dynamic.

But the real storyline we're interested in is the dead son Joe, another cop who was supposedly killed in the line of duty, and his involvement with an investigation into the Blue Templars, a secret society within the NYPD. Youngest Reagan child Jamie (Estes) is approached to take over Joe's investigation, which is what actually got Joe killed. We're intrigued to see where that investigation goes, especially since brother Danny has a Templars pin in his safe.

What did you think of the premiere? Will you be tuning in Friday nights?

Blue Bloods: It's A Family Affair

(9/24/10) It felt like a warm family dinner at the Paley Center for Media's Blue Bloods event in New York City on September 22 — all hugs, smiles and mutual appreciation from actors Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan and Tom Selleck, who play the Reagans, TV's newest clan of New York City cops.

"I joke a lot about Tom being like my dad," laughed Wahlberg. "And when I'm carrying on too much in between sets or making too many bloopers, he gives me the evil eye just like my dad!"

"They all look up to Tom," said executive producer Leonard Goldberg. "Somebody asked Donnie, 'Why'd you do this show?' and he said, 'Two reasons: Tom. Selleck.'"

"We're really bonded," Selleck said his new cast. "We all like each other, and that doesn't always happen in a series."

Bridget Moynihan, who plays the family's only daughter, agrees. "Tom and I have a nice father/daughter vibe on- and off-screen, and Donnie and I worked together before, so we already have the brother/sister dynamic," she said, giggling as Wahlberg jumped the velvet rope, grabbed a reporter's microphone and started to interview the youngest Reagan, Will Estes.

Creators Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess compared it all to another great television family they worked with: "The Sopranos was anti-heroes and these are heroes, but it's similar in that it just gelled. It felt good then, and this one feels the same," said Green.

Wahlberg, hoping for some overlap between his real and work families, had a casting suggestion as to who should play the deceased Reagan brother (in a flashback, of course). "I'm not sure if he'll appear, but I hope so because I have another actor in my family named Bob who played a role in The Departed with Mark [Wahlberg]. Or maybe Mark will come in and do a three-episode arc or something as the brother!"

Though a guest spot by a movie star can only help a new show, the star power, acclaimed writers and seemingly real affection among this ensemble makes it seem like Blue Bloods could become a weekly family event audiences will look forward to. "Nothing's a sure thing in television," said CBS president Les Moonves, "but this is pretty good."

Blue Bloods premieres Sept. 25, 10/9c, CBS

'Blue Bloods' review: Arresting family drama

(9/24/10) CBS' new drama "Blue Bloods" could go one of two ways: It could become a cop show whose main characters all happen to be related, or it could become a show about a family whose members all happen to work in law enforcement.

Either one would still boast a strong cast led by Tom Selleck, Bridget Moynahan and Donnie Wahlberg, and either one would be watchable. But based on what we saw in Friday's (Sept. 24) series premiere, we're pulling for the family element to be at least on equal footing with the crime stories.

The show was created by former "Sopranos" writers and producers Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, who know their way around a family dynamic. But it's also on CBS, which knows its way around a crime procedural. What we're hoping can happen is a melding of those two things similar to what has happened on "The Good Wife," where the two co-exist and often complement one another.

Enough about what might be there, though. What is there in the premiere of "Blue Bloods" is the aforementioned cast, which also includes Will Estes ("Reunion," "American Dreams") and Len Cariou ("Damages"), and some sharply written and acted scenes between the family members. Those more than make up for a pretty standard-issue case in the premiere.

Selleck plays New York Police Commissioner Frank Reagan, a former rank-and-file cop who now runs the department. Elder son Danny (Wahlberg) is a detective, and younger son Jamie (Estes) has just graduated from the academy -- after giving up Harvard Law School to wear a badge. Their sister, Erin (Moynahan) is an assistant district attorney in Manhattan. The premiere puts Erin and Danny at odds when he gets a little overzealous in questioning the lead suspect in a young girl's abduction -- both on the job and at Sunday dinner.

The family's dinner conversation is one of the better moments of the pilot, with competing agendas all around and Grandpa Henry (Cariou) tossing in a verbal grenade that sends everybody running from the table. The competing interests of cops and prosecutors could be a source of great material for the show, and Moynahan and Wahlberg play well off one another as equally hard-headed siblings.

Jamie also quickly gets involved in what feels like the setup for an ongoing story involving corruption in the department, which given his family ties could be a source of conflict. And as Frank, Selleck is as commanding a presence as you'd expect; he's an extremely economical actor, and he's able to say a lot without talking very much.

The premiere's weak point, frankly, is the case Danny and his partner (Flex Alexander) are investigating. It's nothing you haven't seen a dozen times previously on "Law & Order: SVU," and when the focus is solely on the investigation, the dialogue feels a little clunkier than in the rest of the show. That may be simply because it's a series pilot and things will smooth out once the show gets rolling; whatever the reason, it needs to even out.

With two veteran crime dramas in front of it -- "Medium" at 8 p.m. ET and "CSI: NY" at 9 -- "Blue Bloods" will probably do just fine in the ratings. We hope it can live up to its creative potential too.

Blue Bloods: A Cop Show - And a Family Drama

(9/24/10) It's easy to look at CBS' newest cop drama, Blue Bloods, and assume it's just the latest entry in the network's long line of police procedurals. It's easy, but wrong.

The series, which focuses on a family of New York cops, will certainly deliver the case-of-the week storytelling that has made CBS the No. 1 network. But it's the family drama that inspired veteran producer Leonard Goldberg to bring this story to television.

"I thought about two kinds of shows I always loved doing: police shows and family shows, and I thought, 'No one's ever done one that combined both, so maybe this is the time,'" Goldberg tells TVGuide.com, adding that Norman Rockwell's famous Thanksgiving painting provided a second bit of inspiration.

"Every week we would have a family dinner scene after church," Goldberg says. "I thought that would be kind of the cornerstone of the family side of our show."

To bring the family to life, Goldberg sought out Emmy-winning husband-and-wife writing team Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, best known for writing about a family on the other side of the law on The Sopranos.

"We were looking to get on the other side," Green says. "Not that these characters don't have flaws, but they are basically strong, good, honorable people who are trying to do the right thing and make an honorable world. Frank Reagan is keeping his city safe and that's what his children are doing, and that's what his father did."

Goldberg had only one actor in mind to play Frank, the police commissioner and patriarch of the family. "Very rarely in television or movies do you say, 'There's only one guy who can play this,' and actually get him," Goldberg says. "We told CBS that if we didn't have Tom Selleck, we didn't know who the second choice would be. Unless you have an iconic figure like Tom Selleck playing Frank Reagan, it's not really going to work. You have to have that kind of man with that stature, that physical presence, that gravitas."

Frank's father (Len Cariou) was a former police commissioner. His eldest son, Danny (Donnie Wahlberg), is a respected detective, who sometimes goes outside the lines for justice. His daughter, Erin (Bridget Moynahan), is a single mom and assistant district attorney. And his youngest son, Jamie (Will Estes) is a law school grad who decided to join the force after his other brother, Joe, was killed on duty.

"We have every generation to work with," Green says. "There is just so much history there and so much richness that the stories are just endless. It's a great gift to a writer."

But again unlike other procedurals, there is a mystery element that provides a constant undercurrent to the show. We'll only say that there are conflicting stories about how Joe died, and Jamie is called upon to sniff around for answers behind his family's back.

"This is a huge decision for him and it's going to take him a bit to decide whether or not he wants to do it," Goldberg says. "On the one hand, he's shocked to learn that his brother didn't die as they were all told. On the other, he's always shared everything with his father. It's a huge thing and he's going to wrestle with it. He's probably going to be feeling his way around the edges of this before he makes his decision."

Goldberg says the mystery will run throughout at least the first season, though it won't be dealt with every week. But even if it's resolved, the show will continue to explore those extra layers, Green says.

"I think the note that it provides — that kind of link to a world larger than just the police department that includes political intrigue and criminal intrigue in a larger sense — will always be something that we'll want to play to some extent," she says.

And although there are early hints that some of the Reagans might be mixed up in whatever it is Jamie's investigating, Goldberg insists that these characters are not antiheroes.

"You should be very trusting of them," Goldberg says. "In fact, we hope when you've seen a show or two you'll wish that Frank Reagan was the head of the police in your town. You'd be very safe at night. They're human beings; they have flaws, and we'll be exploring that. But essentially, they are the good guys."

Blue Bloods premieres Friday at 10/9c on CBS.

First-rate 'Blue Bloods' mixes family drama, crime-fighting

(9/23/10) Not all children are little, you know.

Built with the CBS audience in mind, Blue Bloods is a show for sandwich-aged adults who see themselves as both kids and parents, and who understand what it means to be drawn into the family business. Here the family business just happens to be one of TV's all-time favorites: crime-fighting, with each member of New York's Reagan family involved in law enforcement in one way or another.

An adult show requires an adult cast, and CBS has gathered a great one. At the center is a TV star of the first order: Tom Selleck as New York Police Commissioner Frank Reagan, a job once held by his father (Broadway legend Len Cariou). His son, Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) is a well-respected if difficult detective; his daughter Erin (Bridget Moynahan) is an assistant D.A.; and his youngest son Jamie (Will Estes) is a law school graduate who has just become a police officer. There was another cop son as well, but he was killed on the job, a tragedy with continuing ramifications.

As usual on such shows, there's also a crime to be solved, which in the premiere involves the kidnapping of a small girl. Danny works it with his partner (guest star Flex Alexander) and then passes it along to Erin — having done something along the way that makes her job more difficult.

In between the law-and-order case work, we meet Jamie's training officer (Nick Turturro, the second NYPD Blueveteran to return to the beat this week) and a possible love interest for Frank (Rescue Me's Andrea Roth, a late but welcome addition to the cast). And we spend time with the extended Reagan clan at a family dinner that is one of the show's best scenes.

If you sense a bit of The Good Wife in this mix of family drama and procedural plotting, it's no accident: Anything CBS does that works, CBS does again. Bloods is a more male-centric mix, with a broader focus, a bigger family and a concept that encompasses both cop work and trial work.

In a more troubling act of copying, Bloods also has a darker running story that corresponds to Peter's Good Wife legal woes and is built around that mysterious Reagan death. It looks to be the kind of story those who like tangled conspiracies will treasure — and those who don't, and would rather be allowed to make it through one hour of TV without one, won't.

Yet either way, the plot is unlikely to interfere with the real draw of Bloods, which is watching a terrific, mature, extremely well-chosen cast interact. Selleck perfectly embodies paternal gravity, Estes is ideal as the idealist, Moynahan captures all of Erin's ambivalence and intelligence; and Wahlberg is instantly at ease as a blue-collar guy who loves his job and his family in equal measure. You buy into them as a family, and that's what Bloods requires to work.

And if it works best for adults, well, who do you think is watching network TV at 10 on a Friday night?

Blue Bloods
* * * out of four
CBS, Friday, 10 p.m. ET/PT

The Thin Family Line: A Dynasty of City Cops

(9/23/10) Six years ago, Edward Conlon, a New York City police officer who had been writing about his beat under a pseudonym for The New Yorker, published an acclaimed memoir about his experiences in law enforcement called “Blue Blood.” Mr. Conlon comes from a long line of cops and joined the family profession even though he had gone to Harvard.

On Friday, a show about a long line of New York cops with a scion who joins the family profession despite having gone to Harvard begins on CBS. The network says there is no relationship to the book whatsoever though the series is called “Blue Bloods.” Apparently the similarity of subject and title is merely a coincidence.

That fishy account may not endear intellectual-property lawyers to the show, but for those reluctant to dismiss it out of protest “Blue Bloods” has an old-fashioned appeal both as drama in the vein of a workingman’s “Dynasty” and as splashy procedural. The Reagans of “Blue Bloods” are a sprawling Irish family who gather for Sunday roasts and extend through the five boroughs. Panning shots of New York, from Uptown Manhattan to Bay Ridge in Brooklyn to Staten Island, fill the opening sequence and tell us we will travel all over the class spectrum, landing on multiple iterations of the Gotham accent. (Here the Staten Island inflection sounds distinctly Boston.)

The Reagan patriarch, Frank, is played by Tom Selleck with such an easy authority that we’re reminded how much we’ve missed him. Frank isn’t merely the managerial papa bear of his brood; he is the city’s police chief and one who has arrived where he is without a lot of political glad-handing. Warning him about a potentially controversial decision, the mayor puts it to him bluntly: “I don’t have to tell you. You don’t have a lot of friends in high places to back you up.”

Frank may not have friends in high places, but he has some press friends in horizontal ones. “Blue Bloods” is part of a long list of popular entertainments in which journalists sleep with their sources so routinely that they are professionally analogous to groupies on the trail of ZZ Top. A widower, Frank has kept his bed warm with a blond reporter who shows up at news conferences to give him the full Bob Woodward. Seemingly undeterred about the kind of explosion this might cause on the cover of The New York Post (as it surely would in life), Frank and his lady friend hit the town at night, no obscuring fun-house glasses in evidence.

The show’s fundamental misunderstanding of the news media does not end there, no sirree. You know you are watching dark-ages TV when the blogosphere is made out to be some kind of passing novelty, like the ShamWow. Confronting Frank about “blog allegations” that his department works harder at solving murder cases among the wealthy of the East Side than among minorities in poorer neighborhoods, a reporter is admonished by Frank: “Miguel, you’re a professional journalist. You really want to give credence to any amateur blogger with a laptop?” Citizen journalism? Hooey!

“Blue Bloods,” though, addresses other issues, police brutality among them, more cogently. And it offers a potentially compelling narrative arc in the story line of the family’s youngest son, Jamie (Will Estes), who is asked to go undercover unbeknown to his father to investigate malfeasance in the department. Forget the Irish. “Blue Bloods” dangles before us the possibility that it might go mythically Greek.

BLUE BLOODS

CBS, Friday nights at 10, Eastern and Pacific times; 9, Central time.

Created and written by Mitchell Burgess and Robin Green; directed by Michael Cuesta; Leonard Golberg, Mr. Burgess and Ms. Green, executive producers. Produced by CBS Television Studios.

WITH: Tom Selleck (Frank Reagan), Donnie Wahlberg (Danny Reagan), Bridget Moynahan (Erin Reagan-Boyle), Will Estes (Jamie Reagan) and Len Cariou (Henry Reagan).

Wahlberg: 'Blue Bloods' a treat

(9/23/10) Donnie Wahlberg has been on the receiving end of a lot of second-party messages from fans through the years.

But now that he’s working with Tom Selleck on the new series Blue Bloods, Wahlberg finds himself in the unaccustomed role of message conduit for Mr. Magnum P.I.

“Having done the music and acting, I bump into so many people who say, ‘Oh my God, my sister loved you,’ ” said the 41-year-old Wahlberg, who first became famous as a member of New Kids on the Block. “Someone always has a message from someone for me.

“But now that I’m working with Tom, everyone has a message for Tom. They say to me, ‘Oh my God, my mom loves Tom. Please tell Tom my mom loves him.’

“It’s awesome. It’s such a treat to be in that position. I’m not getting hit with messages every day, I’m getting to deliver a few.” Wahlberg plays one of Selleck’s sons on Blue Bloods, which debuts Friday, Sept. 24 on CBS and CTV.

The series best can be described as a family drama mixed with a procedural. Think CSI meets Brothers & Sisters.

Blue Bloods centres on a multi-generational family of cops in New York, led by police commissioner Frank Reagan (Selleck). Frank’s eldest son Danny (Wahlberg) is a seasoned detective and Iraqi war veteran who on occasion crosses the line in his zeal to solve cases.

Blue Bloods also stars Bridget Moynahan, Will Estes and Len Cariou.

“We don’t know how (Danny) feels about his dad being his boss, essentially,” Wahlberg said of his character. “Does he resent it? Does he use it to his advantage? I don’t think it’s clear.

“In life, when we walk into a room and people pre-judge us, we feel differently about it, depending on the day of the week.” Wahlberg called upon his own experience to illustrate the point.

“On the one hand, I can walk into a room and everyone’s excited that I’m a member of New Kids on the Block, and I say, ‘Oh, okay, cool,’ ” Wahlberg said. “But on the other hand, I might also resent it. ‘Oh, they only like me because I’m in New Kids on the Block.’ It’s not cut and dried, especially in a situation like this.

“People whose parents have been really successful before them, sometimes they’re proud, sometimes they’re really resentful, and most times they’re a little bit of both.”

Wahlberg, who had acclaimed TV roles on Band of Brothers and Boomtown, said the Reagan clan on Blue Bloods “feels like a real family” to him. In fact, it feels so much like a real family that the Reagans even remind Wahlberg of his own upbringing in Boston.

“(Selleck) has a gaze that reminds me of my dad,” Wahlberg said. “At the dinner table, I could always take it to a certain point before my dad would whack me in the side of the head, and Tom has that.

“I’m always worried that I’m going to improvise one too many lines and Tom’s going to, in character, say, ‘Knock it off, son.’ And off-camera, he’s going to go, ‘All right, Wahlberg, settle down.’ ”

Brittany Snow to Receive Awards from Point Foundation

(9/2/10) Tony Award winner Alan Cumming and "Hairspray" film star Brittany Snow will receive awards from the Point Foundation (Point), the LGBT-focused scholarship organization, at the fourth annual Point Honors gala, Sept. 25 at Raleigh Studios in Los Angeles.

Cumming (Cabaret, "The Good Wife") will receive the Point Courage Award, which "recognizes an individual who has advocated for the future of the LGBT community and lives with the vision that investing in today’s potential will produce a brighter tomorrow," according to press notes.

Snow (also known for the TV series "American Dreams" and the upcoming mid-season series "Harry's Law") will be honored with the first Point Horizon Award, which "recognizes a young person who has taken a leadership role as an advocate of the LGBT community." Luxury automotive brand Audi will receive the Point Inspiration Award, which "recognizes a corporation that champions respect and inclusion of the LGBT community, and operates with the vision that the success achieved by talented young people is limited only by the resources and opportunities they are given to help them fulfill their potential."

The Point Honors gala will include a dinner and awards program, live and silent auctions, and celebrity performers and presenters to be announced.

Raleigh Studios is located at 650 North Bronson Avenue in Los Angeles. For tickets call (212) 247-7318 or visit pointfoundation.org/losangeles. For sponsorship opportunities, contact Michael Marino at michael@pointfoundation.org or (212) 247-7318.

'Blossom' star injured by script

(8/27/10) Former Blossom star Joey Lawrence was reportedly injured on the set of his new TV show after he was hit in the eye with a script.

The 34 year old is currently working on Melissa & Joey with Melissa Joan Hart, but rehearsals came to an abrupt halt on Thursday when another actor accidentally poked him in the eye.

Lawrence sought immediate medical treatment and was diagnosed with a ripped cornea, according to TMZ.com.

The actor is said to be recovering well and will be back at work in the next few days.

"Melissa & Joey" has potential despite silly start

(8/16/10) Kids grow up so fast these days, and that's not a commentary on the wise-beyond-their-years, smart-alecky younger set in "Melissa & Joey" -- though there are two such children in this utterly conventional in its unconventionality ABC Family sitcom.

It's actually referring to the fact that Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and Blossom's mop-haired buddy are now sharing their own sitcom home. (This is their second pairing; in 2009, the two drew good ratings in the ABC Family film "My Fake Fiance.")

Melissa Joan Hart's Mel Burke is a city councilwoman in cleavage, short dresses and spiked heels -- the better to pratfall with, my dear -- and is faced with a dilemma: Her brother and his wife are locked up for theft, and she's really not ready to properly parent their two adolescent children, Ryder and Lennox. Mel can hardly keep her constituents happy: They're tossing trash on her front porch to protest reduced pickup dates.

Then, like a strange Mary Poppins, Joe Longo (Joey Lawrence) literally walks into her home. He's a commodities trader who lost job, home, car and wife thanks to Mel's relatives' shady dealings. In no time, he has volunteered for the nanny job and even references "Charles in Charge." Let the sexual tension and inverted gender role jokes begin!

Lawrence is the stronger comic presence here; despite his beefed-up arms and shaven head, he's got a twinkle in his eye. He's a relief to Hart's dithery indecisiveness, which doesn't seem real for an instant. Unfortunately, they're both weighted with cringe-worthy lines: "Did your hair get sick of you and leave?" she asks him; he wonders if only "Vagino-Americans" can apply for the nanny job.

They're not alone in silly attempts at "edginess." When Ryder asks Mel's assistant, Rhonda, for basketball tips, she tells him snidely, "We Asian women are all about the Hoops."

It's a shame that "Melissa & Joey" isn't more about the laughs. It's far from unwatchable, and there's potential in its leads, if they're left to their own devices. It's also possible that this middle-of-the-road sitcom will hit nostalgic buttons in former "Sabrina" and "Blossom" fans. In the end, it's nice that Lawrence and Hart are getting work. On the other hand, the work ain't anything special. Whoa, indeed.

'HawthoRNe's' Vanessa Lengies didn't suspect her character was lesbian, either

(8/10/10) It's one thing for the viewers to be shocked by a character coming out, but it's another when the actress who plays the character had no suspicions that she was in her second season of playing a lesbian. That was the case for "HawthoRNe's" Vanessa Lengies, who plays Kelly Epson.

When I read it, I was like, 'Really? I didn't picture that,'" Lengies, 25, tells Zap2it. "But, it's so fantastic that I didn't picture that and that it seems so unexpected."

There was some elegance in the way that Kelly came out. It was just a statement to a teen patient who was struggling with her own sexuality. Kelly told the patient she was lesbian to help her see that she wasn't alone. She then returned to her duties, just another nurse at James River Hospital, who saw no need to talk about her sexuality until that very moment.

"Again, another thing I like about what 'HawthoRNe' does - it brings awareness," Lengies tells us. "It's like you know what? No one has to be a screaming lesbian or a screaming gay person. You don't have to be so on-the-nose for every character you see on TV. People who play a gay or lesbian don't have to be stereotypes of what society deems if you're gay."

Lengies' character hasn't had an easy time of it on the show and after she went through the traumatic experience of a baby's death, she was ready to throw in the towel. In the second season, Kelly decided to come back with a new take on life and she has faced her fear head on by becoming a pediatric nurse.

"I think my character is Season 1 didn't really understand what it would take to be a nurse fulltime," says Lengies. "It seemed like she learned all that she needed to know in all the schoolbooks she had read. And then once she was faced with a real life situation, she really didn't handle it well. She was very timid and totally overwhelmed. This year is different. She has grown some balls."

Of course, Lengies knows that when one plays a gay character, it can be like walking on thin ice. Thankfully, she has the approval of a very important focus group.

"I just think it's an interesting storyline and I like the way they approached it," she tells us. "And, all my gay friends love it, too. They're like, 'Welcome to our side!' and I'm like, 'Thank you for having me.'"

Dick Clark has time for fans at dinner

(8/7/10) Dick Clark still has time for his fans. The wheelchair-bound TV legend arrived at NYC hot spot Upstairs at the Kimberly Hotel the other night for dinner with his wife, Kari Wigton. During the meal, staff kept guests clamoring for autographs away from Clark. But a spy told us that once 80-year-old Clark noticed, he invited the fans over to chat. Clark, a neighbor of the Midtown rooftop lounge, dined on Kobe burgers, which he paired with a glass of milk with ice.

Melissa & Joey

(7/20/10) The new ABC Family original comedy series, "Melissa & Joey," starring Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence in a modern-day "Who's the Boss"-esque sitcom, debuts Tuesday, Aug. 17 with back-to-back original episodes at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

'Drop Dead Diva': 'Hellcats' Gail O'Grady brings the mean

(7/1/10) Could Jane (Brooke Elliot) have found her match in "NYPD Blue" grad and "Hellcats" star, Gail O'Grady?

According to Fancast, O'Grady will face off with the reincarnated attorney this summer on Lifetime's "Drop Dead Diva."

In the August 29 episode, O'Grady plays the mom of a 16-year-old girl who's being sued for "cyber-bullying." While Jane tries to take her daughter down for the charge, O'Grady will be shooting her dirty looks and claim her daughter's actions are covered under the right to free speech.

With Jane finding more of her feelings from her "pre-switch" life coming back to her, we think we'll find out that the original Jane was bullied once herself. What do you think?

Grady, who has been nominated for an Emmy three times, will appear this fall in The CW's new pilot, "Hellcats," as Marti's (Aly Michalka) immature mom.

Daytime Emmys 2010: Dick Clark's touching tribute

(6/28/10) Legendary host of "American Bandstand" Dick Clark was honored at the 2010 Daytime Emmys. His sort-of protege Ryan Seacrest gave a heartfelt introduction and then a plethora of stars were both on-hand to perform or had pre-taped a message.

The live performances by the Spinners, Chubby Checker, Marie Osmond and the cast of "Jersey Boys" were incredibly fun. Each artist did one of their own songs -- "Jersey Boys" did a Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons song -- and then after the video messages, the group performed Barry Manilow's hit and the "American Bandstand" theme song, "Bandstand Boogie."

Video messages came in from Garth Brooks, Simon Cowell, Cher and Manilow himself, followed by Ryan Seacrest speaking with Dick Clark out in the audience. Clark, who was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes and suffered a stroke in 2003, gave a small speech, though one could tell that speech is difficult for him. It was a touching tribute.

Starz Acquires Torchwood

(6/7/10) Starz has acquired the U.S. television rights to BBC's hit franchise Torchwood, the cable channel announced Monday.

A new 10-episode season will debut exclusively on Starz in the U.S. and on BBC One in the U.K. during summer 2011. Past seasons of Torchwood have aired in the U.S. on BBC America.

Cast members from the previous versions of Torchwood — including John Barrowman (Capt. Jack Harkness) and Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper) — will return for the new version. Russell T. Davies, who created the Doctor Who spin-off in 2006, will serve as the showrunner.

The new series will tell a more global story of a team that investigates alien incidents on Earth.

Starz also recently announced a new 10-part series, Camelot, starring Joseph Fiennes and Eva Green.

Daytime Emmys honoring Dick Clark

(5/19/10) The Daytime Emmy Awards will honor "American Bandstand" and host Dick Clark as part of its primetime telecast on CBS next month.

Cher, Barry Manilow, Garth Brooks, Marie Osmond, Ann-Margret, Frankie Avalon, the Spinners, Jay Leno and Simon Cowell will salute the 80-year-old television icon during the June 27 ceremony in Las Vegas.

Clark, often dubbed "America's oldest teenager," turned the Philadelphia-based dance show "American Bandstand" into one of the biggest shows in television history. He went on to build a vast media empire, but has kept a low profile since suffering a stroke in 2004.

CBS Fridays - Fall 2010

(5/19/10) 8:00-9:00 PM - MEDIUM
9:00-10:00 PM - CSI: NY
10:00-11:00 PM - BLUE BLOODS

BLUE BLOODS is a drama about a multi-generational family of cops dedicated to New York City law enforcement. Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) is the New York Chief of Police and patriarch of the Reagan brood, which he heads as diplomatically as he does the force, even when dealing with the politics that plagued his unapologetically bold father, Henry (Len Cariou), during his stint as Chief. A source of pride and concern for Frank is his eldest son Danny (Donnie Wahlberg), a seasoned detective, family man and Iraqi War vet who on occasion uses dubious tactics to solve cases. The sole Reagan woman in the family, Erin (Bridget Moynahan), is a N.Y. Assistant D.A. and newly single parent, who also serves as the legal compass for her siblings and father. Jamie (Will Estes) is the youngest Reagan, fresh out of Harvard Law and the family's "golden boy." However, unable to deny the family tradition, Jamie decided to give up a lucrative future in law and is now a newly minted cop, a career change seemingly supported by his beautiful girlfriend, Sydney Davenport (Dylan Moore), a first year lawyer. Jamie's life takes an abrupt turn, however, when he's asked to become part of a clandestine police investigation even his father knows nothing about, and one that could impact the family's legacy. Emmy Award winners Mitchell Burgess, Robin Green and Leonard Goldberg are executive producers for CBS Television Studios.

ABC Family Sets Premiere for Melissa & Joey

(5/17/10) ABC Family's new original series, Melissa & Joey, will premiere Tuesday, Aug. 17 at 8/7c, TVGuide.com has learned exclusively. The series stars Melissa Joan Hart as a politician who hires a "manny" (Joey Lawrence) to take care of her niece, Lennox (Taylor Spreitler), and nephew, Ryder (Nick Robinson), after her sister winds up in jail. It marks the second project in as many years for the former child stars. After their TV movie My Fake Fiance shattered ratings for the network last year, ABC Family developed the sitcom with Hart and Lawrence in mind.

'Melissa & Joey' heat up ABC Family summer schedule

(3/29/10) August - "Melissa & Joey" premieres - The half-hour comedy centers on a Mel (Hart), a former wild child who has followed in her family's footsteps and become a politician. When she's suddenly saddled with her sister's kids -- teenager niece Lennox and pre-adolescent nephew Ryder -- following a scandal, she must turn to Joe (Lawrence), who moves in and becomes their "manny."

Pilot News

(3/23/10) The multi-generational cop pilot starring Tom Selleck as Michael, the chief of police, has added Will Estes and Bridget Moynahan to the ever-growing cast. Estes will play his son Jamie, while Moynahan will play the assistant district attorney daughter.

Joey Lawrence Compares New ABC Family Role to "Bruce Willis In His Prime"

(3/19/10) Former teen idol Joey Lawrence is getting ready for his new ABC Family sitcom with co-star Melissa Joan Hart, and the Blossom alum hopes the two can "tap back into the same magic" from the duo's recent hit television movie My Fake Fiancé.

"When the movie worked, ABC came to us immediately after that, like literally a week after, and asked if we would be into doing a series together," says Lawrence. "I hadn't done a half-hour series in a long time, but I said I like Mel and would do it if we could do something that's really good. And they wanted it on the fast track because they want to cash in on the heat of our movie, so everything has seemed to fall into place."

Based on the extremely detailed plot description of Melissa & Joey and the excitement in his voice during a TVGuide.com interview, it's clear Lawrence is quite eager for his new role as an ex-commodities trader who loses everything in a Ponzi scheme and winds up living with the daughter of a politician and her two teenagers.

"You could really see someone like Bruce Willis in his prime playing this role. It's that arrogant guy that you should hate, but for some reason is really likable," he says.

The premise of a man moving in with a single mother of two children has been compared to Who's the Boss?, but Lawrence says this guy is no Tony Danza.

"He's not doing any cleaning or anything like that," says Lawrence. "In his mind, he's only doing this very temporarily and is always on the Internet looking for jobs. It's a pit stop for this guy — or so it seems."

The closest the 33-year-old Hart (Clarissa Explains It All and Sabrina, The Teenage Witch) and Lawrence ever came to working together before was burying a time capsule together at Disney World in 1993 with videos of their respective shows — on VHS tapes. Remember those?

"When it comes up on the 20-year mark, they're going to want us to open it, and that's coming up in three years. It's crazy to think that was '93," says Lawrence, 33. "It's so bizarre to think that 1990 was 20 years ago. I hate it!"

Other than his new sitcom gig, Lawrence has another ABC Family movie on the way titled My Mr. Everything — and a new music album, his first in 10 years.

"Music is a passion of mine, and we had a lot of success on it 15 years ago," he says.

Lawrence says the pop album is inspired by a diverse group of musicians including George Michael and Michael Jackson. It's being shopped to different labels.

In the meantime, let us all take a moment to look back on Lawrence in his 1993 music video for "Nothin' My Love Can't Give." Click here to watch it.

Brittany Snow joins David E. Kelley pilot

(3/8/10) Brittany Snow has landed a lead on David E. Kelley's NBC dramedy pilot "Kindreds," while Sarah Wynter has joined ABC's dramedy pilot "Cutthroat."

"Kindreds" follows a curmudgeonly former patent lawyer (Bates) and her group of misfit associates at a storefront law firm. Snow, repped by ICM and Brillstein, will play her assistant and a key member of the firm.

"Cutthroat" centers on Nina Cabrera (Sanchez), an upscale Beverly Hills widow and soccer mom who runs an international drug cartel.

Wynter, repped by Paradigm and Mosaic, will play a Hollywood mom whose life is in shambles.

Pilot News

(3/8/10) Former Disney Channel star Aly Michalka and Gail O'Grady ("NYPD Blue," "American Dreams") will star in The CW's "Hellcats," about a college student (Michalka) who joins her school's cheerleading team to help pay her tuition. O'Grady will play her irresponsible mom.

Joey Lawrence Welcomes Second Daughter

(3/4/10) It's a girl for Joey Lawrence and wife Chandi Yawn-Nelson, who welcomed their second daughter on Thursday.

Liberty Grace Lawrence weighed in at 6 lbs., 8 oz, the actor's rep tells PEOPLE. Liberty joins big sister Charleston, 3 ½.

The couple announced the pregnancy in November, sharing the baby's name at the same time. In explaining their choices, Lawrence, 33, remarked that “Liberty is something I’ve always loved,” while Grace is in honor of his grandmother, who passed away last year.

Yawn-Nelson's due date had been Apr. 3.

Virginia Madsen to play criminal mom in ABC series

(2/3/10) Virginia Madsen will play the lead role in ABC's comedic drama series "Scoundrels," which is set for an eight-episode run in the summer.

Based on the New Zealand series "Outrageous Fortune," it centers on the matriarch (Madsen) of a family of criminals who decides that it's time for her brood to go straight after her husband is sentenced to a long prison term.

Catherine O'Hara played the role in ABC's first attempt to remake the series, the 2008 pilot "Good Behavior."

Madsen, who received an Oscar nomination five years ago for her supporting role in "Sideways," recently had a recurring role on the final season of "Monk."

Melissa Joan Hart, Joey Lawrence Reunite for Sitcom

(2/2/10) Former teen stars Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence are returning to the small screen in a new ABC Family sitcom.

The aptly titled Melissa & Joey will star the Sabrina the Teenage Witch actress as a politician who hires a manny (Lawrence) to care for her niece and nephew when her sister winds up in jail. The half-hour sitcom was developed with the actors in mind after their ABC Family original movie, My Fake Fiance, shattered ratings records for the network last year.

Hart and Lawrence, both 33 (they were born two days apart!), have both appeared on Dancing with the Stars. Hart placed ninth last season, while the ex-Blossom star finished third in Season 3.

Melissa & Joey will premiere later this year.

Dick Clark is still having a ball on New Year's Eve in New York

(12/29/09) America's oldest teenager, Dick Clark, actually turned 80 in November. Despite lingering effects from a stroke in 2004, the former American Bandstand host will be back to roll in the new year on ABC's Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2010.

Q: How are you feeling these days, and how does the stroke affect your life?

A: I'm feeling fine, though the stroke has slowed me down and made it difficult for me to walk and talk.

Q: You just turned 80. Is it still as thrilling to usher in the new year as it was when you began hosting the show?

A: It's always an exciting evening when we bring in the new year at Times Square. In the early days, the crew consisted of the cameraman, stage manager and my wife. We stood on top of a building with a ladder. These days several hundred people are employed, and the live Times Square coverage is quite an extravaganza!

Q: What are your rituals for before the show?

A: I usually spend the day reading all the newspapers for a summary of the year's events and doing interviews ... then have a light supper at home. My favorite routine is our little after-telecast get-together for a hamburger and beer at my favorite New York pub, P.J. Clarke's, where I've been going since I was too young for a beer.

Q: What's your favorite anecdote about hosting the New Year's Eve show?

A: The year that the crew in front of me was paying no attention to what I was doing on camera. They were giggling and laughing throughout my comments about the crowd below. When we went off camera, they said, "Turn around." There, high above Times Square in an office window, were several naked celebrants enjoying the New Year's excitement in their own way.

Q: The economy has been in the doldrums, and unemployment remains stubbornly high. What's the effect on celebrations at times like these?

A: Though times are tough, it doesn't seem to have an impact on the spirits of the hundreds of thousands of people gathering to watch the traditional ball drop at midnight. Times Square is still the place to be on New Year's Eve.

Q: Do you make any New Year's resolutions? What are yours for 2010?

A: I avoid making New Year's resolutions, since I inevitably fail to fulfill them.

Q: Will you be back to help host for 2011?

A: I still haven't made up my mind. I still enjoy the honor of sharing in so many people's annual celebration. I wish my delivery was crisp and clean, but due to my stroke I'm happy that Ryan Seacrest now carries the heavier load.

I do the best I can and have been encouraged to continue because I hear it serves to inspire many others.

JENNIFER LOPEZ TO PERFORM LIVE FROM TIMES SQUARE

(12/16/09) Jennifer Lopez and Daughtry will perform live from Times Square – the crossroads of the world -- on “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2010” on Thursday December 31st on ABC. Daughtry will perform four songs live, and Jennifer Lopez will sing her hits live from Times Square just before the ball drops. In addition, the shows will feature performances from Las Vegas’ new venue, Aria at City Center, including The Black Eyed Peas, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, Keri Hilson, Colbie Caillat, Orianthi and Robin Thicke.

“Good Morning America” special correspondent, the just-married Melissa Rycroft, will join the celebration reporting live on the evening’s festivities in and around Times Square.

Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest will host the specials beginning at 10:00 p.m., ET on Thursday, December 31st on ABC from New York. Singer/ songwriter Fergie of The Black Eyed Peas returns to host the Las Vegas-based party portions of the specials.

“The Times Square performances will be special in bringing the live crowd together with millions of viewers at home to celebrate the New Year in a rockin’ way,” said Larry Klein, producer of the specials.

The bi-coastal celebration will include three and one-half hours of special performances and reports on New Year’s celebrations from around the globe, as well as the American tradition of Dick Clark counting down to midnight from Times Square in New York city.

The festivities will kick off with “Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2010” from10:00-11:00 p.m., ET, featuring performances live from New York’s Times Square and performances from Las Vegas.

During “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2010, Part 1” (11:30 p.m. - 1:05 a.m., ET), in addition to reporting on the final minutes of 2009 and the traditional Times Square countdown to midnight, the show will feature music performances from both Las Vegas and Times Square in New York.

Wrapping the night’s activities will be “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2010, Part 2” (1:05-2:05 a.m., ET), when musical acts will continue the party into the early hours of the New Year with additional performances from Las Vegas.

Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2010

(12/7/09) For the 38th consecutive year, “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2010” will lead America into the New Year when Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest host specials beginning at 10:00 p.m., ET on Thursday, December 31 on the ABC Television Network. Singer/songwriter Fergie of the Black-Eyed Peas returns to host the Las Vegas-based party portions of the specials. The Vegas lineup includes performances by The Black Eyed Peas, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, Keri Hilson, Colbie Caillat, Robin Thicke and Orianthi. Performers and the correspondent from Times Square will be announced closer to airdate.

The bi-coastal celebration will include three and one-half hours of special performances and reports on New Year’s celebrations from around the globe, as well as the American tradition of Dick Clark counting down to midnight from Times Square in New York city.

The festivities will kick off with “Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2010” from10:00-11:00 p.m., ET, featuring performances live from New York’s Times Square and performances from Las Vegas.

During “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2010, Part 1” (11:30 p.m. - 1:05 a.m., ET), in addition to reporting on the final minutes of 2009 and the traditional Times Square countdown to midnight, the show will feature music performances from both Las Vegas and Times Square in New York.

Wrapping the night’s activities will be “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2010, Part 2” (1:05-2:05 a.m., ET), when musical acts will continue the party into the early hours of the New Year with additional performances from Las Vegas.

Orly Adelson, President of dick clark productions, and Larry Klein, producer of the specials, said: “2010 will be an exciting year in music, and we are celebrating the beginning of the new year with a packed lineup featuring today’s best artists and some talented newcomers to the scene.”

Joey Lawrence, Wife Expecting Second Daughter

(11/13/09) Whoa, baby!

Joey Lawrence and his wife Chandi Yawn-Nelson are expecting their second child, the actor tells PEOPLE exclusively.

Due April 3, the baby will be another girl, joining "very excited" big sister Charleston, 3 ½.

"I am Estrogen Man," laughs Lawrence. "I'm from a family of all boys, and when I told my best friend Dave that my wife and I were having a second girl, he said, 'Look at you, my best buddy Estrogen Man!'"

The latest addition to the Lawrence family will be named Liberty Grace, the actor shares. The first name "is something I've always loved," Lawrence, 33, explains, while Grace is in honor of his grandmother, who passed away earlier this year.

While they're awaiting Liberty's arrival, Lawrence and wife Chandie – whom he wed in July 2005 – will be working with the Hot Moms Club to design their dream nursery. It will appear in Pregnancy magazine next year, along with a giveaway of a matching nursery.

"I liked the idea of, 'Let's do something and let's give something away,'" the Dancing With the Stars alum notes.

Back to Work

The actor will be keeping busy on the work front as well, with two projects in the pipeline this winter.

First up is a new ABC Family show Lawrence will also be executive producing, costarring Melissa Joan Hart. "This is my return to half-hour comedy," the former Blossom star tells PEOPLE. "It's about two characters forced into each other's lives – the classic 'I hate you, now I'm going to fall in love with you.'"

With filming beginning later this month, the as-yet untitled show will air next summer.

Additionally, Lawrence will be traveling to Calgary in February to film My Mr. Everything, a TV movie he developed and describes as "along the lines of The Proposal." Working with Wedding Crashers producer Andrew Panay, the actor expects the film to be ready for a holiday 2010 release on ABC Family.

ABC Family green-lights pair of comedy pilots

(10/1/09) ABC Family has green-lighted two comedy pilots, one starring Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence and the other hailing from "Boy Meets World" creator Michael Jacobs.

In the untitled Hart-Lawrence multicamera project, the "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" star will play Hailey, a political dynasty wild-child-turned-politician who takes in her teenage niece and pre-adolescent nephew when her sister goes to prison and her brother-in-law flees. She turns for help to Jack (Lawrence), who, desperate for a job, moves in and becomes the family's "nanny."

Bob Young and David Kendall wrote the script.

The second pilot, an untitled single-camera project written by Jacobs, examines parenting philosophies. It centers on a young father, recently laid off from his architecture firm, who begins to mentor his underdog middle daughter, while his veterinarian wife shares a closer bond with their Type A older daughter.

Both pilots will film this fall in Los Angeles.

Showbiz mogul Dick Clark under harsh spotlight in documentary

(9/24/09) As ailing showbiz mogul Dick Clark prepares to celebrate his 80th birthday in November, a new documentary threatens to tarnish his image by recounting his controversial beginnings.

"Wages of Spin," a project that took independent filmmaker Shawn Swords almost four years to make, focuses on Clark's early days in the 1950s as the host of "American Bandstand," the iconic TV show in which teenagers danced to songs lip-synced by some of the biggest pop stars of the day.

The show, which was must-see TV for millions of youngsters every week day between 1957 and 1963, gave artists a national platform that was unavailable elsewhere. It accordingly made Clark one of the most powerful figures in the music industry since the wholesome TV star decided who appeared on the show.

A congressional probe in 1960 revealed that Clark had interests in dozens of companies that could profit from "American Bandstand," including labels, record-pressing plants, and a talent-management firm.

He denied taking "payola" -- kickbacks in exchange for airplay. But the probe learned that he has been assigned the copyrights to at least 143 compositions, including such monster hits as "Sixteen Candles" and "At the Hop." Such songs received preferential treatment on the show. Payola was not illegal then, and is barely regulated today.

Moreover, Clark demanded that the young performers turn over to his own company the union-mandated fees that they received for their appearances, saying that the low-budget show could not afford to make such payouts.

"He's definitely an alpha villain," Swords said in a recent interview. "I'm not saying this man was consummately malevolent, just his business practices and the depth of his avarice and self-enrichment. I really think the man's place in pop music history needs to be re-evaluated."

CAREERS CAME AT A COST

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, he is probably best known as the host of TV game shows and of the annual "Dick Clark Rockin' New Year's Eve" special. He also produced various awards shows, like the American Music Awards.

"American Bandstand" ran in various forms for 37 years, becoming the longest-running musical-variety program.

The documentary features interviews with pop stars, "Bandstand" dancers, associates and industry experts, many of whom profess mixed emotions about Clark. They owed him their careers, but at a very high cost.

It also shows newsreel footage from the congressional investigation. Clark impressed the star-struck lawmakers, who failed to come up with any damaging evidence against him, and they let him off with slap on the wrist. He was required to divest his music-industry holdings, and he used the funds to set up a publicly traded film and TV production company that he sold in 2002 for $140 million.

"This is a kingdom that was built on ill-gotten gains," Swords said.

Clark appears at the end of the film, via an archival clip in which he tersely denies that he ever took any money to play records, but "every single way you can think of, I made money from that show."

Swords said he had no qualms about making a documentary about a man who has rarely been seen in public since suffering what was described as "a minor stroke" in 2004. While it would have been good to get fresh commentary from him, Swords did not want Clark's ailment to make him appear sympathetic.

"And the other thing is, I don't think he would be candid," Swords added. "He's always been evasive when questioned about his involvement with payola. He's not going to tell you the truth about what happened."

A spokesman for Clark declined to comment.

Swords does evoke sympathy for one of Clark's victims, rockabilly guitarist Charlie Gracie, who enjoyed a big hit in 1957 with the song "Butterfly." Gracie sued his Cameo Records label to recover unpaid royalties, and subsequently found himself blacklisted from "American Bandstand" and radio stations.

It emerged that Clark had a financial arrangement with Cameo, the documentary said, which had paid him $14,000 for unspecified services related to "Butterfly." Gracie, subsequently revered by the likes of Graham Nash, George Harrison and Paul McCartney, slipped into obscurity.

"It's a pretty loathsome industry, the record industry," Swords said. "It always has been."

Sightings

(7/18/09) HEROES WELCOME: Milo Ventimiglia, helping Pink is the New Blog's Trent Vanegas celebrate his birthday at Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge at L.A. Live.

Sightings

(7/6/09) OUT OF SMOKE: Kevin Connolly, Brittany Snow and Jessica Stroup, "puffing" on a SmokeStik to kick their cigarette habits at the SoBe Lifewater 4th of July Party at Santa Monica's Shangri-La Hotel.

CW pinpoints narrow audience with possible 'Gossip' spinoff

(5/10/09) Monday's Gossip Girl (8 ET/PT) flashes back to 1983 to set up a proposed spinoff centering on the turbulent teen years of Lily Rhodes. But CW executives probably wish they could flash back to the heady years of predecessor WB, a young-viewer magnet in its heyday a decade ago.

CW, which replaced both WB and UPN in fall 2006, has struggled to build an identity, and only a year ago was the subject of industry speculation it might shut down.

It survived, but in a retrenchment, it dropped wrestling — its No. 2 show — last fall, will stop airing comedies next season, and last week confirmed plans to pull the plug on its Sunday lineup, where it had never found an audience.

With Next Top Model as its top series, CW is now laser-focused on a narrow audience: women 18 to 34. Shows such as One Tree Hilland Gossip Girl found buzz, if not ratings, by appealing to that crowd and setting trends in music and fashion. And a remake of Beverly Hills,90210 premiered strongly last fall, though its ratings have since dropped by more than 60%.

"We found that this was white space where (that audience) wasn't spoken to specifically, certainly not in the broadcast arena," says CW chief Dawn Ostroff. Yet only one in five of CW's viewers falls into that category, and CW — like WB — is still perceived as a network for teenage girls, the subjects of many of its shows.

With on-the-bubble Privileged looking increasingly likely to survive, the Gossip Girl spinoff is one of six dramas being considered for three available time slots on the network's weekday lineup. Though a Hollywood website last week pronounced the project "dead," Nancy Tellem, a top executive at CW parent CBS, which owns the network with Warner Bros., says the show is "definitely still a contender."

Producers have been asked for a spinoff since Gossip began in fall 2007, "but we only wanted to do it if it was an idea that stood on its own," says co-creator Stephanie Savage. "We didn't want to diminish Gossip Girl by taking any of the actors away, and we didn't want to shoot in contemporary New York City." Plus, says partner Josh Schwartz, there was always "the fear that spinoffs could be lame."

But they zeroed in on the idea of doing an "origin" story about teenage Lily (Brittany Snow) and her wayward sister, Carol (Krysten Ritter), "a prequel where you could seed characters in one world and have them reappear in the future" in the other, Schwartz says.

Juggling past and present — the prequel and Gossip's prom in Monday's episode — is "probably what they go through every week on Lost, but it was the single hardest hour of TV we've ever done."

Other dramas vying for spots next season are a sure-bet reboot of 90210 spinoff Melrose Place; The Vampire Diaries, based (like Gossip Girl) on another teen book series; The Beautiful Life, about the "flip side" of life among glamorous models, designed as a Top Model companion; Light Years, about a teen who seeks out her biological parents; and Body Politic, about a young congressional aide in Washington. (CW's new schedule will be announced May 21.)

Overall, CW's audience is small, averaging just 2 million viewers, down from 2.6 million last season. (Last month it ranked behind cable's USA, Fox News, Disney and TNT.) And among women 18 to 34, it claims just 400,000 viewers, down from 601,000 two years ago.

Analysts say that the narrow programming strategy reduces chances for growth: With rival broadcasters' viewership all averaging 40 or older, "it seems like an opportunity to broaden to women and men," says Steve Sternberg, analyst at ad firm Magna Global USA.

But Tellem says that the target audience is "very appealing to advertisers," and that the network has proved a "valuable launching pad for creating assets for CBS and Warner Bros.," enabling them to profit by selling buzzworthy shows overseas. CW series also are favorites on iTunes, streamed on the Web and watched on DVRs, so ratings "are not truly reflective of how these programs are being watched."

Problem is, that extra viewing doesn't translate into financial success for CW. "What we're looking at is building our brand, building an audience and building a destination for women," Ostroff says. "How that gets monetized, everyone will figure out in the next few years."

Virginia Madsen was 'actively looking' for horror

(5/8/09) Gossip Girl Spinoff Lily Dead at CW? Not So Fast... Attention Brittany Snow (ex-Susan, GL) fans: Don't panic. The news is not as dire as you've heard.

Deadline Hollywood Daily reports that the Gossip Girl spinoff (which we lovingly but inaccurately call Lily) is "dead" at the CW. Could it be true? Could Lily already be off the list of contenders for CW's fall season before we've seen the backdoor pilot (sneak peeks notwithstanding)?

The official word from the CW is "no comment," but here's what insiders are telling us right now:

"Nothing is dead," says a source close to the network. What's that mean? That means the CW programmers are still making their decisions, and everything, including Lily, is still under consideration.

The problem for all of the CW pilots this year is that with Privileged likely to get a pickup (yay for Rina Mimoun!), there are only three spots left in the CW's 10-hours-a-week schedule for new shows. (Gossip Girl, 90210, Supernatural, Smallville, One Tree Hill and America's Next Top Model have all already been ordered for next year.) Throw in the new Melrose Place (which seems to be a virtual certainty), and you've got just two holes left to fill.

Lily may indeed be fighting for one of those two slots against the likes of Mischa Barton's The Beautiful Life and Vampire Diaries, but it's not out of the running yet.

So what's the good news for us fans of Snow and her onscreen sister Krysten Ritter? Lily has a lot going for it, including that crackerjack cast, the publicity that comes with anything associated with Gossip Girl, and the nearly irresistible idea of pairing it with the mothership on Monday nights for a block of Josh Schwartz/Stephanie Savage-produced goodness.

Do you want a Gossip Girl spinoff? Or are you waiting until you see what they do with the Lily flashback on Monday's episode, airing 8 p.m. on the CW?

Virginia Madsen was 'actively looking' for horror

(3/30/09) Virginia Madsen is not afraid of the dark. In fact, she craves it.

The Oscar nominee and go-to actress for independent films says she was "actively looking" for a horror movie when she came upon "The Haunting in Connecticut."

The scare flick came in second this weekend with $23 million at the box office. "Haunting" is supposedly based on the true story of a family that moves into a former mortuary.

The one thing you can't deny, she says, is that "something enormous and frightening happened to this family."

Madsen herself says she's a true believer.

She explains: "As far as ghosts and the paranormal, something is happening to millions of people around the world, and you can't just write it all off as imagination."

Brittany Snow to headline 'Gossip Girl' spin-off

(2/27/09) Brittany Snow, the former American Dreams ingénue has emerged as the front-runner for the role of young Lily in The CW's forthcoming Gossip Girl spin-off. According to sources, Snow is in advanced negotiations to headline the GG offshoot, which will be set in Los Angeles and chronicle the teen years of Kelly Rutherford's alter ego. Snow joins a cast that includes Krysten Ritter (as Lily's older sis) and Jericho's Shilo Fernandez (as brooding valley punk). The backdoor pilot will air May 11 as part of a regular Gossip Girl episode. The show is considered a lock to land on The CW's fall schedule.

Hayden Panettiere & Milo Ventimiglia Split

(2/17/09) Heroes stars Milo Ventimiglia and Hayden Panettiere have ended their relationship, PEOPLE has learned.

"They lead different lifestyles. He's 31, she's 19. She still has growing up to do and he's very low-key," a source close to the couple tells PEOPLE. "The relationship never seemed like it had legs."

The couple, who spent part of 2007 trying to hide their relationship, is still on amicable terms, another source says.

Reps for both actors would not comment.

BET nabs small-screen rights to "Dough Boys"

(1/4/09) BET has acquired broadcast rights to "Dough Boys," the debut film from Preston Whitmore's Give Back Raise Up Program, through which he finances and produces low-budget pictures showcasing newcomers in front of and behind the camera.

"It's hard to find someone that'll believe in you enough to put money up to back your dreams," first-time director Nicholas Harvell said. "Preston didn't just talk about it, he did it."

The film, which follows four troubled city youths and the poor choices they make, was written by Wilmore. It stars Arlen Escarpeta ("Friday the 13th"), Cory Hardrict ("Gran Torino," "He's Just Not That Into You"), Maurice McRae ("The King"), Lorenzo Eduardo ("The Hammer"), Wood Harris ("The Wire") and Sticky Fingaz ("Blade, "Doing Hard Time").

Paramount Home Video will distribute the DVD.

Whitmore wrote, produced and directed "This Christmas," starring Delroy Lindo, Chris Brown, Idris Elba and Loretta Divine.

Sighting

(1/2/09) Hayden Panettiere and Milo Ventimiglia, picking up gift wrap and ribbon at the Container Store in Manhattan before the holidays. "They looked very happy and smiley together," a source says. "Milo even carried the bags out for Hayden."

Dick Clark still rockin' New Year's Eve

(12/30/08) Four years after a stroke, Dick Clark is relishing the prospect of another New Year's Eve celebration, determined to appear for his 36th year in Times Square.

And he's hardly surprised by the current state of the music industry he helped build - he predicted this, after all.

Clark, who turned 79 last month and has been in front of the cameras for 61 years, said in a recent interview by e-mail that his involvement in "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2009," is a labour of love and "not really a job."

"Obviously, I'm not able to be as actively involved as I used to be out on the street, up on a platform and interacting with the crowds in Times Square" in New York, Clark wrote.

"Thank goodness my friend Ryan Seacrest is able to handle that end of the activity on the show these days.

ABC's 3 1/2-hour live extravaganza will include performances by Natasha Bedingfield, Fall Out Boy, Jesse McCartney, Ne-Yo, Pussycat Dolls, Solange and Robin Thicke. Fergie hosts the Hollywood segments.

Clark woke up with right-side paralysis on Dec. 6, 2004.

"Your life changes overnight," he said. Clark still uses a walker or wheelchair, and speaking is difficult.

"I am one of the fortunate ones who survived and have been minimally impaired, so I'm just thankful I'm still able to enjoy this once-a-year treat of bringing in the New Year."

The "American Bandstand" icon and longtime producer of the American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards and Golden Globes has long considered them "my television kids."

He's also watched their ratings plummet in recent years.

"There was a time when they attracted a huge audience," Clark wrote. "The audiences have dropped off as the years have gone by because of increasing television competition.

"What we are seeing is more and more talent and less emphasis on people getting awards. Television's award shows have now become gigantic showcases for variety."

Clark was there at the birth of rock n' roll ("American Bandstand" kicked off July 9, 1956), and he's watched dramatic changes in the music industry. Not that those changes would come as much of a surprise.

"I can remember writing an article several years ago where I let my imagination run wild," Clark wrote. "I said we'd see the day when music is delivered directly to our homes, and delivered to us in some form of wireless communication.

"The fun of actually holding a record in our hands will disappear and we'll all have our own individual library of our favourite songs that we'll listen to at home, at work, in the car wherever we happen to go."

These days, Clark divides his time between his Malibu home and Burbank office. There's an hour-long therapy session each morning, then he answers mail and phone calls, attends meetings and reads.

The day ends with his devoted wife Kari.

"My wife and I may join friends for dinner at a restaurant, attend a movie or just grab a bite to eat by ourselves away from home," Clark wrote.

"Occasionally, we'll attend a music concert. Recently we've seen Barry Manilow, Bette Midler, Frankie Valli and Cher."

Dick Clark orders "Chicken Soup" for small screen

(12/3/08) Dick Clark Prods. has inked a deal with Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing to develop an unscripted TV series based on the best-selling books to be co-hosted by book series co-creator Jack Canfield.

"Now more than ever, there is a desire for uplifting, positive and inspiring themes, and the 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' books are the perfect embodiment of this," DCP president Orly Adelson said.

The "Chicken Soup" franchise has sold more than 112 million copies.

Nominees for the 2009 People's Choice Awards

(11/10/08) This year's ceremony will air on CBS on Wednesday, Jan. 7.

FAVORITE STAR 35 & UNDER
Amy Adams
Drew Barrymore
Beyonce
Orlando Bloom
Chris Brown
Chace Crawford
Miley Cyrus
Leonardo DiCaprio
Zac Efron
America Ferrara
Ryan Gosling
Jake Gyllenhaal
Anne Hathaway
Scarlett Johansson
Angelina Jolie
Alicia Keys
Keira Knightley
John Krasinski
Shia LaBeouf
Blake Lively
John Mayer
Eva Mendes
Daniel Radcliffe
Rihanna
Taylor Swift
Justin Timberlake
Carrie Underwood
Usher
Milo Ventimiglia
Pete Wentz
Kanye West
Reese Witherspoon

DICK CLARK'S NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE

(11/10/08) "DICK CLARK'S NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE WITH RYAN SEACREST 2009" AIRS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31 LIVE ON ABC

Fergie Will Host West Coast Party and Perform; Kellie Pickler is Times Square Correspondent

For the 37th consecutive year, "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2009" will lead America into the New Year when Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest host specials starting at 10:00 p.m., ET, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31 on the ABC Television Network.

Singer/songwriter Fergie returns to perform and host the West Coast party portions of the specials, and for the first time country star Kellie Pickler will be the Times Square correspondent, reporting on other happenings in and around New York City. This year will include performances from both New York and Hollywood, and the American tradition of Dick Clark counting down to midnight will once again take place during the three-and-a-half hours of specials from Times Square in New York City.

The festivities will kick off with "Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2009" from10:00-11:00 p.m., ET, featuring performances live from New York's Times Square.

During "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2009, Part 1" (11:35 p.m. - 1:05 a.m., ET), in addition to reporting on the final minutes of 2008 and the traditional Times Square countdown to midnight, the show will feature music performances from both Hollywood, California and Times Square in New York.

Wrapping the night's activities will be "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2009, Part 2" (1:05-2:05 a.m., ET), when musical acts will continue the party into the early hours of the New Year with additional performances from Hollywood.

Multi-platinum, three-time Grammy award-winning, international superstar Fergie, who joined The Black Eyed Peas in 2002, released her solo debut, "The Dutchess," in 2006. "The Dutchess," which spent an astounding 94 weeks on the Billboard 200 albums chart, sold over 6 million copies worldwide and achieved triple-platinum status in the United States. Its success was propelled by the hit singles "London Bridge," "Fergalicious" (#1), "Glamorous" (#1), "Big Girls Don't Cry" (#1), "Clumsy (#2)" and "Finally." Fergie is the first artist since Christina Aguilera (in 2000) to score three #1s from one album.

Singer/songwriter Kellie Pickler continues to entertain us since her debut on "American Idol" in 2006. Her first album sold more than 800,000 copies, and she made history with her self-titled, sophomore album upon its release in October this year, when she became only the sixth country artist to have her first two albums debut at #1 on the Billboard Country Album Chart. The multi-nominated and awarded Pickler's current single is "Best Days of Your Life," which she wrote her friend and fellow artist, Taylor Swift.

"New Year's Eve with Dick and Ryan is a time honored tradition and all of us at dcp and ABC are delighted that Fergie will once again host our West Coast event, and thrilled that Kellie Pickler will be amidst the revelry and party goers at Times Square," said Orly Adelson, president of dick clark productions.

Stars and politics meet on Madison Avenue

(10/27/08) These days, TV viewers can't seem to escape Virginia Madsen.

Madsen, who made a splash in movies like "Sideways" and "Candyman," has hit the airwaves to spread the word about a couple of seemingly disparate matters of interest to women -- encouraging them, via a public service announcement, to get involved in the political process, and selling them, via a highly visible multimedia campaign, on the benefits of a popular, wrinkle-combating drug.

Allergan, manufacturer of Botox, of which Madsen is the face, partnered with the League of Women Voters on an initiative called Freedom of Expression Through Film. Playing off the Botox tagline, the drugmaker calls the public-awareness campaign "dedicated to voter education and self-expression." Madsen played a major role. Beyond the PSA, the actress crisscrossed the country on a 10-city tour this summer on behalf of the 88-year-old nonpartisan League.

Fighting the effects of aging and inspiring political involvement would not seem to have much in common. But Madsen ties it all together. "It really is about the total woman," she said. "We're complicated creatures. There are so many aspects to us, so many different choices we have as women today with our bodies, our minds, beauty, brains -- and one of the most important choices we have this year is voting."

CELEBRITY POLITICS

In a historic political year in which celebrity has played a starring role -- from Oprah Winfrey and Paris Hilton to the megawatt impact of Barack Obama and Sarah Palin -- the Madsen-Allergan-League partnership made for an ingenious and increasingly common intersection of celebrity, politics and commerce. And with our celebrity-fixated electorate engaged in the pursuit for the White House like never before, it's no wonder advocacy groups, marketers and media brands have sought to cash in on that heavy consumer interest.

Another high-profile, celebrity-centered link-up encompassing politics, marketing and civic awareness was initiated by Declare Yourself, a nonpartisan voter-registration group founded by TV producer Norman Lear, a notable Hollywood liberal. Its eye-catching campaign to encourage voter involvement roped in young stars like America Ferrera, Zac Efron and Jessica Alba, whose arresting, duct-tape-bound image got tongues wagging when it rolled out a couple of weeks ago.

"The celebrity involvement this year is more intense, more visible and more pragmatic," said Declare Yourself executive director Marc Morgenstern. "They feel very strongly about this election -- it's not a casual thing. They're going out of their way to use their appeal to get out the youth vote."

Corporations jumping on the Declare Yourself bandwagon include American Eagle Outfitters, which marketed a Declare Yourself T-shirt, and Apple's iTunes, which featured an exclusive cover of Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen" by Sean Kingston. "Working with partners like this gives us a bigger footprint, and that's critical," said Morgenstern, whose organization reports registering some 2 million voters since 2004, about 750,000 of them this election cycle.

CHEEKY CAMPAIGNS

While those examples had civic mindedness at their core, most brands have taken a cheekier approach. Unilever's politically themed iteration of the long-running "Axe Effect" campaign had Hillary Clinton donning both Obama and McCain buttons during the primaries. Another lighthearted entry was the "presidential campaign" of Captain Morgan, mascot of the Diageo rum brand, who made appearances at both political conventions after the marketer secured sponsorship rights.

Meanwhile, Miller High Life, a MillerCoors brand, had a beer delivery guy touting his "Common Sense Party" via the Web and appearances at sporting events and nightclubs. And the restaurant chain Denny's launched a "Vote for Real" contest seeking best look-alikes of the presidential candidates.

Flipping channels, it's evident the range of entertainment-media brands that have -- along with some of the marketers whose messages they carry -- aligned themselves with this year's presidential contest. Forerunner Comedy Central continues to break ratings records with its "Indecision 2008" coverage on "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report." Following suit, Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, Lifetime, CMT, Spike and Logo have capitalized on the public's fascination with the campaign with dedicated programing, candidate debates, town halls, streaming video, user-generated content, even made-for-TV movies.

Rainbow Media's We cable network has made a voter-registration drive (goal: 1 million women) the center of its branding campaign, enlisting the likes of Geraldine Ferraro, former U.S. Rep. Susan Molinari and entertainers Kelly Ripa, Ricki Lake and LeAnn Rimes.

Sibling network IFC, which took only a toe-in-the-water approach in previous elections, this time rolled out news specials, audience polls, on-demand content, streaming video, primary and convention coverage and blogs. "We've never done anything of this magnitude before," says Evan Shapiro, president of IFC and the Sundance Channel.

Syndicated entertainment shows -- known more for chasing Britney Spears and Brangelina than for their political coverage -- also devoted more time to this star-studded election cycle. "Access Hollywood" found ratings gold with its interviews of Obama and his family.

"These politicians are the biggest stars out there right now," executive producer Rob Silverstein said.

For Hollywood stars to link with political causes and candidates is nothing new, of course. But that trend certainly seems to have hit a saturation level in 2008, with Winfrey's powerful endorsement of Obama as the tipping point. The question -- for the political parties marketing their name-brand candidates as well as brands and nonpartisan groups aiming to take advantage of the spotlight -- remains: Is a celebrity's involvement good, bad or inconsequential?

A cause or a campaign with a big-time star on its side can most assuredly raise money, draw crowds and generate buzz, but there can be a downside. "If you use celebrities in your campaign, you'll be tarred as an elitist," said Howard Bragman, CEO of the public relations firm Fifteen Minutes and author of the forthcoming "Where's My Fifteen Minutes?"

Darrell West, political science professor at Brown University and author of "Celebrity Politics," thinks that at the end of the day, celebrities have little real influence. "There's not a lot of evidence, historically, to show that celebrity endorsement has an impact on how people vote," he said. "Most people in middle America and elsewhere look to celebrities for entertainment, not for advice on presidential politics."

'Ex' is spot for TV, film up-and-comer

(10/3/08) At 17, Rachel Boston was fearlessly independent.

She packed her bags, went to the airport in Chattanooga, Tenn., and bought a one-way ticket to New York City to begin her acting career.

“I looked around in New York and didn’t know one person in the entire city,” says Boston, realizing how imposing that was.

Almost 10 years later, Boston is making her mark. She co-stars in the comedy “The Ex List” at 9 p.m. Fridays on CBS.

The series stars Elizabeth Reaser as Bella Bloom, a woman searching for her romantic destiny. Boston plays Daphne, Bella’s happily married sister.

In many ways, Daphne’s self-assured ways echo Boston’s confidence. But unlike Daphne, Boston is single.

The star, 26, attended New York University and did voiceovers and dog-watching to make ends meet.

After graduation, she moved to Hollywood and auditioned for NBC’s “American Dreams.” Her first big break, she was on it from 2002 to 2005. Later, she landed bit parts on “The Closer,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”

She was shooting the upcoming film “The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” with Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner this year when she got the script for “Ex List.” She liked the bond between Bella and Daphne, best friends despite how different their lives are.

“I got this part really fast,” she says. “I like that because, sometimes when things take awhile, you have too much time to overthink things. This was fluid. Before I knew it, I was shooting a scene, jumping around in a backyard.”

Though she now lives in Hollywood, Boston says she is always keeping her suitcases packed. When she goes to Tennessee for a visit, Boston hangs out with gal pals, most of whom are married and with children.

“I have that hopeless romantic in me,” she says of dating. “If I can find someone who is happy with me living out of a suitcase, I’d be happy.”

Sighting

(10/3/08) Virginia Madsen, eating at Ono at Gansevoort in New York two nights in a row – and feasting on sashimi with her friends.

Sighting

(9/9/08) Hayden Panettiere and Milo Ventimiglia, dining in the living room of West Hollywood's Chateau Marmont at a dinner party for new Web site Talenthouse.com. The Heroes costars (and real-life couple) stopped into the curtained-off dinner early in the evening – and while they avoided being photographed together, they sure were affectionate. Panettiere sat on her beau's lap, and the two held hands before the meal was served, an onlooker tells us.

Alison Sweeney Auctions Off Celebrity Jeans in Times Square for Charity

(8/26/08) Today (August 26) Alison Sweeney, "The Biggest Loser" host and 15-year "Days of our Lives" actress, kicks off the High Profile Pair in the Square auction of jeans worn and donated by celebrities. The auction, which benefits the Clothes Off Our Back Foundation, begins at 10:00 a.m. EDT on Military Island at the intersection of Broadway and 7th Avenue at 44th Street. In celebration, Times Square will be decorated with hundreds of jeans and shirts hanging like laundry from clotheslines above the streets.

For those unable to attend the event, the celebrity jeans will be available for auction at www.clothesoffourback.org immediately following the live auction, with all proceeds benefiting the Clothes Off Our Back Foundation. With more than 50 pair of celebrity jeans available for auction online, some include Ryan Seacrest, Miley Cyrus, Nick Lachey, Ashlee Simpson, Lauren Conrad, Rachael Ray, Minnie Driver, Debra Messing , Brittany Snow, Terrence Howard, Forest Whitaker and the cast of "How I Met Your Mother" (Josh Radnor, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan, Cobie Smulders). In addition, a sweepstakes for a washer and dryer will be held online at www.washingmyjeans.com

As a busy TV actress and mom, Alison Sweeney treasures her free time at home. "With a 3-year-old and a new baby on the way, laundry is the last thing I want to worry about; so of course I was excited that the new GE Profile set holds six months of detergent and washes 17 pair of jeans in one load," said Sweeney. "But more importantly, I'm glad to be part of this event today auctioning 17 pairs of celebrity jeans to benefit charity. In fact, I'm donating one of my favorite pair of jeans that I've worn to several movie premieres today," said Sweeney.

The event marks the launch of the GE Profile frontload washer and dryer boasting the first-ever SmartDispense laundry technology that holds up to six months of detergent and fabric softener and dispenses just the right amount -- saving loads of time. In fact, if every household in New York City had a Profile frontload pair, the city could wash the entire nation's jeans in just 34 days.

"With the popularity of jeans today, we're excited to offer a revolutionary frontload washer and dryer that can clean 4,420 jeans before needing a refill," says Lynn Pendergrass, Vice President of GE Consumer and Industrial. "The secret is the SmartDispense technology. It knows exactly how much detergent to dispense so your clothes come out perfect without wasting detergent or water. It's a win-win situation for Americans and the environment."

This innovative washer and dryer features state-of-the-art clothes care with advanced technology exclusive to GE Profile, including:

-- SmartDispense(TM) Technology pedestal system that holds up to 6 months of detergent and fabric softener then dispenses just the right amount based on soil level, load size, water hardness and fabric type

-- Stain Inspector(TM) technology that recognizes and treats more than 40 different tough stains

-- Reverse Tumble and DuoDry(TM) System that provides exceptional results in a fraction of the time of traditional models

-- CleanSpeak(TM) communication where the washer electronically tells the dryer what items to expect, so you'll have fewer interruptions and extra time to enjoy your life

For more information about the new GE Profile frontload washer and dryer with SmartDispense technology, visit www.washingmyjeans.com. For high-resolution photography and product press releases, visit here!

DICK CLARK'S NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE WITH RYAN SEACREST (12/31)

(8/7/08) ABC AND DICK CLARK PRODUCTIONS CELEBRATE NEW YEAR'S EVE WITH RYAN SEACREST

Seacrest Will Continue to Co-Host the Newly-Titled "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest"

Ryan Seacrest will continue as co-host and one of the executive producers of ABC's iconic New Year's programming when the newly-titled special, "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest," airs this holiday season. Ryan joined the show December 31, 2005 (ringing in 2006). Dick Clark will also continue to co-host and executive-produce the popular program.

"Watching 'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve' is an American tradition. Ryan has been a tremendous part of the show the last couple of years and we're thrilled he'll be part of it for years to come," said Stephen McPherson, president, ABC Entertainment.

"The name change of the program to 'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest' reflects the success of the co-hosting responsibilities of one of America's most time-honored traditions. We are thrilled to extend Ryan's contract as co-host of the 'party of the year' with Dick," stated Orly Adelson, executive producer and president of dick clark productions.

TV's No. 1 New Year's show each year, the special handily beat its combined network competition last year when 29 million viewers tuned in to watch the ball drop at midnight on ABC. The telecast traditionally ranks among top programs on all of television during the week it airs, and last year the show featured performances in Times Square by Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers and Carrie Underwood. The popular Hollywood party segments were hosted by Fergie. The primetime portion of the show achieved its highest viewership in six years.

The show marks its 37th anniversary Wednesday, December 31, 2008 when Ryan and Dick Clark lead America into the New Year at 10:00 p.m., ET with three-and-a-half hours of specials and the legendary countdown to midnight from Times Square in New York City.

The specials are presentations of dick clark productions, inc. Executive producers are Dick Clark, Ryan Seacrest and Orly Adelson. Larry Klein produces.

Brittany Snow Defends Arrested Nikki Blonsky

(8/5/08) Nikki Blonsky's friend and Hairspray costar Brittany Snow is as taken aback as anyone at the news of Blonsky's Friday arrest for alleged assault in a Caribbean airport.

"Of course I was surprised," Snow, 22, told PEOPLE Sunday at the Teen Choice Awards in Los Angeles.

"Nikki is one of my really dear friends, and she's not a person that I would ever expect to have that controversy … surrounding her," says Snow.

"But at the same time, you know things get misconstrued in this business," she adds. "I really hope the best for her, because ... she's one of the sweetest girls I've ever met, so I just hope it works out – and it will, because she's a good person, and good things happen to good people."

Blonsky, 19, and her father, Carl Blonsky, were arrested following a brawl involving the family of America's Next Top Model contestant Bianca Golden in the departure lounge of the Providenciales International Airport in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Golden was also charged with assault.

Although Snow has not spoken to Blonsky, their Hairspray costar Zac Efron had. "Zac talked to her for a while."

Snow also said, "I don't know how it happened or what exactly went on, but my heart goes out to her, because I really do love her, and I know she didn't mean to hurt anybody – and nor did her dad. Her family is amazing!"

Milo Ventimiglia discusses 'Heroes,' Mideast trip

(7/18/08) "Iron Man" isn't the only superhero to visit the Middle East this summer. Milo Ventimiglia, who plays power-absorbing Peter Petrelli on NBC's "Heroes," traveled to the region last week as part of a USO tour of U.S. bases in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.

He met many soldiers who were familiar with his show, and had strong opinions about his character's nemesis, Sylar (played diabolically by Zachary Quinto).

"When I was over in Iraq and Afghanistan, a lot of soldiers were like, `Dude, will you just kill Sylar already? Will you just get rid of him?'" Ventimiglia told The Associated Press during a telephone interview this week. "And I'm like, `Man, I don't know if you're gonna want that just yet. I think you're going to be very surprised as to what happens.'"

NBC-released video teasers for the series' third season, premiering Sept. 22, promote the theme of the next "Heroes" chapter, titled "Villains." In one clip, these ominous words pop up: "Good will battle evil. Because in every hero, there could be a villain."

In that case, could Peter — one of the so-called good guys — wind up swapping places with Sylar?

Ventimiglia said he wouldn't disagree with that theory. He also said Volume Three will be "so good" — a step in the right direction from season two, which was criticized heavily by fans for its draggy plotlines, among other complaints.

"I'm a tough critic," Ventimiglia said. "The first season, I remember the producers would come up to me ... after we'd all watch an episode, and they'd say, sort of, `What do you think?' And I'd either hem or haw or say it was good or not. They kinda won me this year. The scripts are great, the feeling on set is nothing but fun. I mean, we're really just doing some good work that I'm very proud of."

The 31-year-old actor said returning to Los Angeles — and to work on "Heroes" — feels surreal after his weeklong USO tour. His travel compantions included NFL players Drew Brees, Osi Umenyiora and two Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.

Blinded by the football star power, some soldiers would "look at me like I was an AP photographer because I was carrying around this gigantic camera with me all the time," joked Ventimiglia, who snapped a "bunch of great shots" during his trip.

'Amanda' takes a wry look at seamy side of Las Vegas

(6/26/08) Finding Amanda is an occasionally funny, sometimes depressing, look at the seamier side of Las Vegas and some of its low-life denizens.

While a few characters are intentionally extreme, writer-director Peter Tolan (TV's Rescue Me) doesn't seamlessly fuse the outlandish and the believable in this comedy about unshakable compulsions and the failure of good intentions.

Matthew Broderick is low-key and droll as Taylor Peters, a television writer on a downward spiral. His various addictions have derailed his career and his current show, starring Ed Begley Jr. (uncharacteristically playing a Hollywood prima donna) is barely limping along. Taylor's long-suffering wife, Lorraine (Maura Tierney), has just learned he has fallen off the wagon and lied about gambling at the track.

Lorraine is about to leave him, so Taylor tries to win her back by promising he'll retrieve their errant 20-year-old niece Amanda (Brittany Snow) who is living in Las Vegas.

Once Taylor sets foot in the city, however, his plan goes awry. Temptation is everywhere. Steve Coogan is very funny as Jerry, an unctuous casino official who treats Taylor like a beloved old pal, schmoozing him until the money runs dry.

Taylor tries to persuade the ditzy Amanda to come back to Southern California with him and check in at a Malibu clinic. But, in the process, he can't resist gambling.

Meanwhile, Amanda is in denial about her boorish boyfriend (Peter Facinelli). Taylor sees through him immediately and scenes featuring the two men are particularly funny.

Broderick has the film's most clever lines, but Snow is quite funny and is convincing as an innocent lured by the promise of easy money. It's nice to see Broderick taking a more nuanced role in an indie film, after his forays into the world of big-budget musicals. His performance here recalls his effective turn in 1999's Election, though Amanda is not of the same caliber.

The film's tone shifts jarringly from superficial broad comedy to something far darker. And the hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold scenario is as old as the profession itself.

Some of the funnier moments center on Taylor's TV show, a milieu that Tolan knows all too well. The movie could have used more scenes in this arena, and not as many in the familiar Vegas world of sex and sleaze.

Finding Amanda
* * 1/2 (out of four)
Stars: Matthew Broderick, Brittany Snow, Peter Facinelli, Maura Tierney
Director: Peter Tolan
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Rating: R for strong sexual content including graphic dialogue, pervasive language, drug content and brief nudity.
Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Opens Friay in select cities

"Amanda" a muddled comedy about teen prostitution

(6/24/08) "Finding Amanda," a misguided comedy directed by "Analyze This" writer Peter Tolan, sinks under the weight of misogynistic jokes.

Trying to win laughs by making women appear stupid and crass, it even features a gag about a woman getting raped by a member of her family: "And I thought I was a bad uncle," quips the hero in reply to the news.

Why Tolan, who worked on such smart and sassy TV shows as "Murphy Brown" and "The Larry Sanders Show," would debut with material that makes even "Larry the Cable Guy" seem sensitive is a mystery.

Matthew Broderick plays a TV writer with a gambling addiction who goes to Vegas to save his teenage niece (Brittany Snow) from prostitution. When he gets there, he finds that she enjoys prostituting herself and taking drugs so much that she doesn't want to change. Instead, she thinks he should go into rehab for his gambling addiction.

The only thing the film's got going for it is the generation gap. The teen prostitute sees nothing wrong with the idea of sex for sale -- it's just a way to make a living -- while Broderick's middle-aged character is shocked. But even then, he's not too shocked to stop joking about it at length. Even the easygoing Broderick can't inject any lift or charm into the story.

Box office potential is mediocre as the subject of teenage prostitution just isn't good material for a cheeky comedy. Problems are compounded by a few scenes of drama, including one that features a beating. Suddenly the film isn't a comedy anymore, and that's confusing. A speedy transition to DVD looks probable.

British comic Steve Coogan's veritable talents are wasted in a poorly written minor role.

Brittany Snow: I 'Refuse' to Diet, Am 'Done' with Trainer

(6/23/08) Having weathered the highs and lows of eating disorders, Brittany Snow has shelved her personal trainer and sworn off dieting.

"Done with the trainer. I canceled my trainer," Snow, 22, told PEOPLE over the weekend at Stride Gum's Longest Day of the Year party in West Hollywood.

"I refuse to do the whole diet, fitness, style thing anymore," Snow says. "I just kind of go and have fun. I know what I like, I know what makes me feel good, and that's just what I do."

Asked how she's staying healthy, the Prom Night star says, "I think more than anything, the thing I've learned in being here is that everything else doesn't matter as long as you're taking care of yourself and you're having fun. Just hanging out with my friends and trying to take care of myself, I think that's the biggest thing."

Snow adds, "I go to the gym everyday, I eat really well, I buy dresses by myself. I want to work and be with my friends. That's all I really care about."

Snow told PEOPLE in 2007 that she had been diagnosed with anorexia, exercise bulimia, depression, and body dysmorphic disorder as a teenager – and had dipped to 85 pounds at one point.

The former American Dreams TV star has reportedly credited friend Sophia Bush for helping to coach her on body image issues.

2008 Teen Choice Award Nominees

(6/17/08) This is the 10th annual incarnation of the adolescent-friendly kudos, which spreads the wealth among film, TV, music, comedy, sports and fashion. Fox will broadcast the two-hour bonanza Aug. 4.

Choice Movie Actress: Horror/Thriller
Brittany Snow, Prom Night
Jessica Alba, The Eye
Liv Tyler, The Strangers
Odette Yustman, Cloverfield
Shannon Sossamon, One Missed Call

Choice TV Show: Action Adventure
Heroes
Lost
Prison Break
Smallville
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Choice TV Actor: Action Adventure
Josh Holloway, Lost
Matthew Fox, Lost
Milo Ventimiglia, Heroes
Tom Welling, Smallville
Wentworth Miller, Prison Break
Choice TV Actress: Action Adventure

Pink Panters

(6/9/08) Milo Ventimiglia, Dave Annable, Chris Evans and Bonnie Somerville help Trent Vanegas celebrate the relaunch of PinkIsTheNewBlog.com at a party Wednesday at Hollywood's S Bar.

ABC Picks Pair for Pilots

(5/30/08) Two of ABC's pilots, the Damon Wayans comedy "Never Better" and Rob Thomas' drama "Good Behavior," have added to their casts.

Former "Soul Food" star Nicole Ari Parker has signed on to "Never Better," where she'll play the wife of Wayans' character. Robinson ("Dreamgirls") will play a cop on "Good Behavior," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"Never Better" stars Wayans as Keith, a recovering alcoholic who's trying to be a better husband and father to his family. The pilot has also cast Matt Winston ("John From Cincinnati") as the leader of the AA group Keith attends.

Parker co-starred in "Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins" earlier this year and has a couple of films in the works, including the Eddie Murphy comedy "Nowhereland." She played Teri on Showtime's "Soul Food" and also starred in the UPN sitcom "Second Time Around."

"Good Behavior," an adaptation of the New Zealand series "Outrageous Fortune" from "Veronica Mars" creator Thomas, is about a woman's (Catherine O'Hara) efforts to get her criminal family to go straight after her husband is sent to prison. Robinson, who's coming off FOX's "Canterbury's Law," will play a police officer who's friendly with O'Hara's character.

His credits also include FX's "Over There" and NBC's "American Dreams."

Joey Lawrence Masters a Hosting Gig

(5/15/08) For those of you looking to cram your TiVo with dance competitions, this is some pretty great news!

TLC has tapped Joey Lawrence, fresh from either shore leave or the third season of Dancing with the Stars, to host Master of Dance, the latest edition to the show-us-your-moves canon.

Only this time, a contestant will be halfway through a dance when the powers that be switch the music, forcing the hoofer to prove he/she can really go with the flow. The person who can do that most proficiently will win $50,000 at the end of the six-part series, which premieres June 8.

"The winner of this show will be that person at the wedding or party that always has the right moves and knows every popular dance," said executive producer Craig Piligian.

Well, better that person than the guy who throws up on the bride or spills his drink on the stereo.

Zuniga heads down aisle for "Mail Order Bride"

(5/15/08) Daphne Zuniga will star in the Hallmark Channel TV movie "Mail Order Bride," which is shooting in Vancouver for a November premiere.

The "Melrose Place" veteran will play a woman whose friend dies before coming out West to be a mail-order bride. Her character takes her place in order to escape from a mobster (Greg Evigan) who "owns her" and keeps her involved in illegal activities that she does not want to do anymore.

Zuniga most recently had a recurring role on the CW's "One Tree Hill."

Iron Stomach

(5/15/08) Milo Ventimiglia, carrying a bag of Baja Fresh into Century City AMC movie theaters in L.A. for a showing of Iron Man.

'Prom Night' gob-smackingly stupid

(4/12/08) When is a remake not a remake?

It would be unfair to compare blonde-du-jour Brittany Snow's wooden performance as the target of a psychostalker in the painfully predictable and clunky Prom Night with Jamie Lee Curtis's iconic screaming in the 1980 Canadian slasher classic of the same name.

For starters, all these films share is a title and a lot of teenagers getting down with their bad selves on the dance floor on the most important night of their lives, while a killer picks them off like ungulates in the video game Deer Hunter.

The plot is entirely different, and -- in one of about a dozen major doofus flaws that could have been fixed in the script stage -- our heroine doesn't even know she's emperiled through most of the movie. In fact, nobody does, except the most inept police force on the planet, led by Det. Winn (Idris Elba, who went from American Gangster to this). When practically nobody on the screen is scared, it tends to understate the terror of the experience (the movie doesn't even have a sense of humour to offset its lack of tension).

So, acting assignment-wise, Snow (Hairspray) is not exactly playing on a level playing field with '70s scream-queen Curtis. Not that she gives much indication she could scream her way out of a paper bag.

The plot, dictated to us in clumsy expositional dialogue by Det. Winn, involves the escape from a mental home of Richard Fenton (Jonathon Schaech), a former high school teacher who, three years earlier, literally went nuts over one of his students, Donna (Snow), killing her family to win her over.

It takes three days for the local cops to find out Fenton is free. He has killed a guy and stolen his car and Visa. Still, even though the victim has been reported missing, his card isn't flagged when our psycho-killer checks into the same hotel where Donna and her friends Claire (Jessica Stroup) and Lisa (Dana Davis) and their dates are enjoying the most important night of their lives.

Naturally they've booked a suite where they can break away from the dance and drink/fool-around. And naturally, the apparently now-unrecognizable Fenton is checking in just as the girls' third floor keys are handed out. And naturally, the clerk asks Fenton a question I've never been asked in about a thousand hotel check-ins: "Do you have a preference which floor your room is on?"

But then Fenton is not your ordinary killer. He's able to stab someone to death on a bed, and within minutes (seconds in one case) hide the body and leave not a trace of blood on the bed or anywhere else.

Much of Prom Night thus consists of Fenton waiting in the suite for the next misbehaving teenager to come along, the better to bide his time for the big move on Donna. Now if you've had three years to plan, it might occur to you that every time you kill someone inconsequential, you put yourself at risk of getting caught before you've accomplished your mission.

But then, he does have the advantage of matching wits with the DUH-PD, who eventually spirit our heroine -- not to a safe house -- but the one place she'd be most likely have to face her wannabe killer in a ridiculous climax.

Even for the low expectations of this genre, Prom Night is gob-smackingly stupid.

Brittany Snow goes to her fantasy prom

(4/11/08) In last year's Hairspray, Brittany Snow danced it up as lead performer Amber Von Tussle on The Corny Collins Show. Now Snow, 22, is headed back to the dance floor in Prom Night (opening Friday). Because Snow was working on NBC's American Dreams, she never attended her own prom. But she can envision what her dream prom would be like — in contrast to her horror movie character's night from hell. USA TODAY charts the differences:

Brittany in ... In the movie

The night before prom: Her character, Donna, sees visions of her entire family being slaughtered by an obsessed teacher.

Gown: A champagne-colored, corseted number with pink and gold beads.

Flowers: A pink wrist corsage with white ribbon; white rose boutonniere for her date.

Date: Hunky jock Bobby (Scott Porter, who also plays Friday Night Lights' hunky paraplegic Jason Street).

Transportation: Black stretch limousine packed with trampy, horny friends and blasting loud music.

Location: The glamorous Pacific Grand Hotel with a crazed stalker on the loose.

Theme: “The Time of Our Lives,” complete with student slide show, disco ball and non-stop falling silver confetti.

Evening's end: The bodies of slaughtered students are discovered.

Brittany in ... In Snow's fantasy

The night before prom: “I’d like to have a sleepover with all my girlfriends where we did face masks and gave each other pedicures and manicures, with lots of candy.”

Gown: “I spent three months in that corseted dress, so I’d like something a little more comfortable and easier to move in on the dance floor. Probably something strapless and blue.”

Flowers: “I’d want a simple white rose for me and for him. When I went to my homecoming dances, I always saved my flowers and my date’s, too, to make potpourri out of them. The boys never cared about flowers; they just wanted to throw them off and go dancing or drinking.”

Date: “I have a crush on Ashton Kutcher, so him. And Demi (Moore) could come, too. I wouldn’t mind taking turns (dancing). It would be really fun!”

Transportation: “We would take a sailboat to prom with all my friends. And the waiters and bartenders could drink and have a good time, too.”

Location: “It would be on the beach lit by lights connecting sailboats. There would be a bonfire with tropical drinks — virgin, of course, since it’s high school. And I just took up photography, so I would want to take pictures and make up books for everyone.”

Theme: “It’s funny because “The Time of Our Lives” sign was in green cursive letters that made it look like it said “The Lime of Our Lives.” So that would be my theme. We’d have limes on all the tables and a signature lime margarita virgin drink, and Coronas for anyone over 21. There’d be lots of lime-colored streamers. But nothing too cheesy.”

Evening's end: “I would understand that Ashton and Demi would have to go home together. So I’d give them both hugs and kisses on the cheek and let them go their merry way. Nothing crazy would happen between the three of us.”

Brittany Snow: 'I still get that I look like I'm 14'

(4/9/08) IF 22-year-old actress Brittany Snow had any regrets about missing her high school prom, she's pretty much over them now. "I got to go to a prom for three months when I was shooting this film," she says of the thriller "Prom Night," which opens Friday. "Oh, my gosh -- that was a really long time to be in a prom dress."

Snow plays Donna, a high school senior whose magical night turns gruesome when the obsessed stalker (Johnathon Schaech) who killed her entire family three years earlier escapes from a mental institution and decides to crash her big event -- and finally claim his true love.

The actress, who starred in last year's "Hairspray" remake but is best known for playing girl-next-door Meg Pryor in the '60s-set TV series "American Dreams," says she was initially hesitant about turning to the dark side. "I read the script and was like, 'Ehh. I don't know,' " she says. "I didn't want to do the stereotypical cheesy horror flick."

What changed her mind, she says, was the opportunity that director Nelson McCormick ("CSI," "Prison Break," "Nip/Tuck") gave her to weigh in on the music, the wardrobe, the cast, even her character. "I liked the fact that my character got to be not just a regular girl who's in high school but somebody who's actually dealing with a real issue: post-traumatic stress disorder."

With saucer-size blue eyes and cheerleader good looks, the Tampa, Fla., native certainly doesn't bring to mind broody slasher queen Jamie Lee Curtis, who starred in the 1980 original. Snow points out that comparisons aren't necessary. "It's not a remake," she says. "It actually just has the same title. But it's a completely different story."

This "Prom Night" sets its cat-and-mouse game in the context of today's super-proms, with the action taking place in a swanky hotel (the Park Plaza Hotel stands in for the film's fictional Pacific Grand Hotel), where couples walk the red carpet for adoring townsfolk and floor-to-ceiling flat screens capture the dance-floor drama.

The role was more than just a sartorial challenge for Snow. "It's hard to make [the terror] real," she says. "That you're being chased by somebody when the person isn't even there -- and there's like 20 crew members staring back at you. There are no footsteps in the distance. And craft services is right around the corner."

Snow's upcoming roles will also stretch her acting muscles: She'll play a prostitute in "Black Water Transit," the Tony Kaye crime drama, and a drug addict in "Finding Amanda," a black comedy costarring Matthew Broderick, which premieres this month at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Snow says she's excited about getting grittier roles -- and playing characters closer to her age. "I still get that I look like I'm 14. Sometimes I cannot get a glass of wine because I look so young," she says, laughing. "At the same time, high school's really fun to play too -- a lot goes on during that time."

Why Milo Ventimiglia Is Dressed as a Crazed Bunny on YouTube

(3/24/08) Who wouldn't want to watch a "Hero" tie a bowtie or drool over nachos poolside? Milo Ventimiglia makes it all possible with his online identity. Known as Russ181, the Heroes star has built a sizeable following on his YouTube page that he manages with his DiVide Pictures production partner Russ Cundiff.

Ventimiglia and Cundiff have 29 videos posted on the site, which range from lightsaber fight scenes between the two pals to clips of Ventimiglia brushing his teeth, shining his shoes and even watering the yard (before the Golden Globes, according to the title!). Many of them are tribute videos in response to short clips posted by fans of the actor, who call themselves DiVide Social Club, a rep for Ventimiglia tells PEOPLE. (The latest video to gain attention features a seemingly crazed Milo dressed as a bunny, an homage to this clip.)

No word on whether Ventimiglia's girlfriend and costar Hayden Panettiere will make a guest appearance on one of the videos anytime soon.

Keith Robinson Previews Juicy Conflicts on Canterbury's Law

(3/17/08) You may recognize Keith Robinson as singer-songwriter C.C. White in Dreamgirls, but now he's playing a different kind of writer, working on legal briefs as Chester Grant in Fox's edgy new legal drama Canterbury's Law (Mondays at 8 pm/ET). We cross-examined Robinson to discuss how he turned his singing into an acting career, how Canterbury's stands apart from other lawyer shows and what we can expect from his character this season.

TVGuide.com: Now that we've seen the first episode, what can we expect in the coming weeks?

Keith Robinson: You're just going to get a lot deeper into the storylines, and you're going to see more of the shocking ways that we come to conclusions in proving our clients' innocence. I think we up the ante every week with how far we'll go as lawyers to prove our point, even if that means sometimes going outside the lines. My storyline, in particular, doesn't really pick up until the second or third episode. We get into my relationship with my dad, how I became a lawyer so young, and the issues I have to take on in my own life.

TVGuide.com: We know your character is the son of a congressman who wants nothing to do with his father's politics. Will we get to know why soon?

Robinson: To say the least, Chester and his father have butted heads, and he's eager to prove that he's not like his father, when actually he's exactly like him. They both have an intense desire to gain power. Some of his father's antics end up getting him in hot water, and he has to come to Chester for help to get out of it. He has to bite his tongue and swallow his pride, so their relationship becomes very intense and conflicted throughout the course of the show.

TVGuide.com: Since Canterbury is such a strong woman, will that desire to gain power make it harder for Chester to listen while she's barking orders at him?

Robinson: I think eventually, some issues definitely come to a head. But in the next episode, they get into an intense discussion of why Chester would even want to study under someone like her. Even though they do have different views, they're alike in a lot of ways and there's a mentor-apprentice respect they both have for each other. It's a hot-and-cold relationship.

TVGuide.com: We've seen previews that depict Chester's father warning him to get away from Canterbury. Will she find herself in trouble?

Robinson: I'd say that's it in a nutshell. Chester's father is so well connected and is always one step ahead of him. It's irritating, and he doesn't always give advice that Chester wants to hear, but sometimes it's necessary, even if it comes from his father. In this case, it does involve the woman Chester works for.

TVGuide.com: What was it about the legal aspect of the show that drew you to this role?

Robinson: I am a fan of the law. As an actor, I think it's one of those roles you dream of playing — being in a courtroom trying to win over a jury. It's kind of like taking the stage and trying to persuade people to see things your way. You're having to tell a story, which is a lot like being an actor, period. I think lawyers and actors do have a common denominator, an underlying objective.

TVGuide.com: What sets this show apart from other lawyer series?

Robinson: We're not afraid to show the imperfections of our characters as lawyers. On a lot of law shows, the lawyers are the ones coming to the aid of the flawed human beings. In this case, we are just as flawed as our clients. And we ourselves even break the law to establish the law, which is kind of a paradox in itself. For me, that makes it really interesting and edgy.

TVGuide.com: You were also in the recent CBS miniseries Comanche Moon. How was that experience?

Robinson: It was great. It was different — I got to ride a horse! Again, it's one of those roles you dream about. Being in a Western is like playing cowboys and Indians as a kid, but to get to do it in your professional life is a great experience.

TVGuide.com: Was it hard playing a character Danny Glover created in Lonesome Dove?

Robinson: It was a challenge. But more so, I think there was a level of respect and expectation because the character has already been established. It's such a historical piece, and I wanted to make sure I did it justice. So there was definitely a little pressure there.

TVGuide.com: You were once signed to Motown Records. How did you get into acting?

Robinson: I was in a band when I was signed, and the deal went south. I'm now a solo artist and have my own album coming out this year. As for acting, I moved to Los Angeles, and — long story short — I walked into an acting class that didn't have enough readers and the teacher suggested I read with them. The teacher liked me and told me to read for a role on a new Power Rangers show, and it worked out.

TVGuide.com: I'm sure your singing past helped you earn your spot in Dreamgirls.

Robinson: Yeah, I did all my own singing. I am a vocalist first — that's really why I got into show business in the first place. Dreamgirls was right up my alley, and it let people know who I really was as an artist, so to speak. It opened up a lot of doors.

TVGuide.com: And performing at the Oscars with Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson is a pretty good gig, right?

Robinson: [Laughs]. Not a bad gig at all! I couldn't think of a better one.

TVGuide.com: With the new show and album, it sounds like you've come a long way from Power Rangers.

Robinson: [Laughs] Definitely.

Milo: Romance Talk with Hayden 'Makes Me Smile'

(2/20/08) Milo Ventimiglia has remained pretty tight-lipped about his relationship with Heroes costar Hayden Panettiere – but in the new issue of GQ the actor says it doesn't bother him when people gossip about his romantic life.

"You know what, man – it makes me smile," Ventimiglia tells GQ, when told by the reporter that bloggers have nicknamed the couple "Halo."

Smiles aside, the actor still maintains he wants to keep a lid on his private life. "When you're in the public eye, you try to keep whatever you can private," he says. "People can speculate and talk. But what can you do – stop living your life?"

New Brittany Gig

(2/20/08) Brittany Snow ("Hairspray") will star in the indie feature "Vicious Kind," playing a woman stalked by her boyfriend's brother.

Adam Scott (HBO's "Tell Me You Love Me") will play the brother; the role of the boyfriend has not been cast.

Writer/director Lee Toland Krieger will make his feature debut on the project, which begins filming in Connecticut next month.

Dancing Tour: Joey and Edyta on the Road Again

(1/7/08) For actor Joey Lawrence, heading out for his third Dancing with the Stars national tour means getting to see the country in a whole new light. "I had never really traveled by road," says Lawrence. "I always flew. So it was really neat to see America like that."His pro partner, Edyta Sliwinska, must like the road as well. Sliwinska, a native of Poland, is the only Dancing pro to have competed all five seasons — and now she's off on her third national tour as well. For her, the Dancing never stops.

First, let's check in with Joey Lawrence....

TVGuide.com: Why did you sign up to tour again?
Joey Lawrence: Because they treat us great. They give us a beautiful ride [to] travel across the country. The bus is just incredible. It's just a big party out there. It's fun.

TVGuide.com: You've covered a lot of miles. Were there any close calls on the road?
Lawrence: No. But we got stuck in about six feet of snow in the bus one night. We were somewhere in Colorado. We passed out from exhaustion and when we woke up, we were literally in the middle of the mountains with snow on every side. It was a winter wonderland. Every window you looked out, it was amazing. But they had to come dig us out because we were on the side of the road for about eight hours.

TVGuide.com: Weren't you cold?
Lawrence: The satellites and the power still worked, so we were fine.

TVGuide.com: What's the difference between dancing on the show and dancing on tour?
Lawrence: On the show, even though it's a smaller room, you feel the magnitude of what you're doing. You see the people in the audience. The nerves were outrageous. When you're on the road, you know the show. You're not having to learn a new routine every five seconds. And it's a lot larger in terms of the number of people. When there are 7,000 or 10,000 people, it's just loud. And there are lots of lights, so you don't see anyone and it becomes one big blur. Edyta and I just go out there and we do our thing. And at the end, you hear the applause and it's awesome. Ten thousand people make a lot of noise.

TVGuide.com: How's your body holding up since you did the show (Season 3)?
Lawrence: I'm an athlete, so I always keep myself in as good a shape as possible. It's just part of my life. I don't lose weight and put it back on. If you're going to work your ass off to get in great shape, why would you want to do that over and over again?

TVGuide.com: Do you get any physical therapy on the road?
Lawrence: They provide massage therapy at every stop. I know it sounds sort of ostentatious, but you really are an athlete when you're doing this every night. You kind of need it.

TVGuide.com: Who travels with you on the road?
Lawrence: My family. My wife, Chandie, and my daughter, Charli. My mom will come with us this time, as well. For Charli, this will be her third time out, too. The first time, she was only 8 months old. Now she's 17 months and it's going to be a lot easier, because she's walking and talking. I'm lucky to have such a great family. It's great to have 8 to 10 weeks to spend together. It's a lot of work to get ready for the shows, don't get me wrong — and a lot of work every night — but it's great.

And now, Edyta Sliwinska's turn....

TVGuide.com: What's the difference between training for the show and rehearsing for the tour?
Edyta Sliwinska: Rehearsing for the tour is more mentally tiring, because you have to be here many, many hours. When you're competing on the show, you train physically very hard for three hours, for example, but then you are done. Here, we have to spend the whole day in rehearsals, eight hours, and maybe it's not so intense, but it's eight hours of being on your feet.

TVGuide.com: Do you do anything special for your sore feet?
Sliwinska: I call these my grandma shoes because they have very low heels and are very comfy. They've kind of molded to my foot.

TVGuide.com: When you're on the road with Joey, do you two fall right back into step, or do you have to teach him all over again?
Sliwinska: Oh, no, I do have to teach Joey. We have all new routines. He's in great shape. He's a freak about his body. So I'm not worried about that. But I am worried that he's going to forget stuff.

TVGuide.com: The celebrities find that their bodies change very quickly when they stop dancing. Does that happen to you, too?
Sliwinska: What's changing is that I'm going up and down in weight very quickly. If I have a couple of days off, I can gain quickly. But when I'm dancing, I can lose five or ten pounds in a week.

TVGuide.com: Do you like touring better than competing on the show?
Sliwinska: Oh, yes. I can perform, but there is none of that sick tension and [none of] the pressure of trying to be the greatest or winning the championship.

TVGuide.com: When do you find out if you'll be dancing Season 6, which starts on March 17?
Sliwinska: We only find out two weeks before the training starts. We're released from our contract if we're not picked up for the show. But I love the show. It's kind of comfortable to have [dancers] who know what they're doing, and then once in a while, to bring in a new [pro] dancer.

TVGuide.com: You've done all five seasons of the show and all three tours — you've had almost no time off. What do you do when you have a vacation?
Sliwinska: I go to Poland. But the last time I went, it was like a tease, because the minute I started to feel that I was really relaxing, it was time to go.

TVGuide.com: Do you ever think it's too much? You got sick during the last tour and had to miss three performances.
Sliwinska: That was really tough because there's really no one who can replace you. You just have to dance through the pain. But it's an incredible experience to perform live and see the appreciation of the audience. I can rest later. I wouldn't change it for anything.

Milo Ventimiglia & Hayden Panettiere Are an Item

(12/31/07) Fall's turn into winter cranked up the heat in one respect: the connection between Milo Ventimiglia and Hayden Panettiere.

Having previously denied a relationship, the two Heroes stars are now considered an item.

"Hayden's mom adores Milo. She thinks he's so cute," a family friend tells PEOPLE. "She tells her friends that he's her boyfriend. She's very proud."

On a December trip to New York City, Ventimiglia hung out with the entire Panettiere family. "He's even met her grandparents. He fits in perfectly with the family. Milo jokes around with her little brother," says the source. "They're buddies."

When the couple are together, "they're very affectionate and very comfortable around each other. He really takes care of her, even down to the little things like giving her a back massage and going with her to work things."

A rep for the actress said: "We do not respond to inquiries from the media regarding Ms. Panettiere's personal life."

'Not Afraid to Show Affection'

Since cozying up at an Emmys party in September, the two had dodged rumors that they were dating – even though, by mid-November, they already were clearly close, being together publicly at benefits and other events.

When asked shortly before Thanksgiving about the reports of his possible romance with Panettiere, Ventimiglia chuckled then paused before saying, "She and I are close friends. It's only natural that people are going to couple us together."

"They're not afraid to show their affection around her family and their friends," says the friend.

As for the existence of a mini generation gap – Ventimiglia's 30, while Panettiere's 18 – the friend adds, "At first it doesn't seem like there's a big age difference, but then you do see it. ... He's more proper and reserved, and she's still playful and very girly."

Milo Ventimiglia Trying to Keep His Fans Happy

(12/17/07) While Heroes was shut out of the Golden Globe nominations last week, Milo Ventimiglia believes the show can shake off its sophomore slump – and he tells fans that in person whenever he can.

"For the most part, people still walk up to you with smiles on their faces saying, 'I love it. I love it. I love it,' " the 30-year-old actor tells Entertainment Weekly. "Occasionally, you get somebody who kinda looks at you and thinks, 'Eh, first season was better, but I still watch you guys. You're doing pretty good.' "

What does he tell those fans? "As a person that's on the show as well as a fan of the show ... I'm hoping we get back to the feeling of the first season," he says.

Other fans recognize Ventimiglia from his earlier roles on Gilmore Girls and American Dreams. In fact, in a new animated video (part of a series Ventimiglia has produced for American Eagle Entertainment), a Claymation version of the actor is seen being hounded by a Gilmore Girls fan on an airplane – a scene apparently snipped from real life.

"I get it all," Ventimiglia tells EW. "When people call me Chris Pierce from American Dreams, it definitely gets a big smile from me."

As for the Golden Globes snub, Ventimiglia says that's just added motivation for the cast.

"I think it's one of those things that's going to make us work harder, make us be a little more focused," he says. "I remember when we didn't win [last year], I turned to the table and raised my glass and said, 'It's a pleasure and a privilege to work with you guys.' We all kind of bonded over that."

Ventimiglia has no clues about `Heroes'

(12/07/07) Milo Ventimiglia once again saved the world on NBC's "Heroes." Now what?"It's funny how that always falls on my shoulders," Ventimiglia says.

In the second season finale, Ventimiglia's character, Peter Petrelli, destroyed a virus capable of annihilating most of mankind while Nathan Petrelli, Peter's high-flying brother, appeared to be assassinated at a press conference.

Ventimiglia isn't sure if Nathan (played by Adrian Pasdar) is dead.

"I really hope he's not going anywhere," Ventimiglia told The Associated Press during a telephone interview Wednesday. "That would be really disappointing to me to lose a brother and an amazing scene partner. I'm sure it's all going to work out the way it's supposed to."

Ventimiglia says he didn't watch the finale.

He wasn't alone. Ratings for Monday's episode were down from the previous week, and the conclusion of Volume Two was the lowest-rated finale episode for the show yet, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The second season of "Heroes" was cut short after the Writers Guild of America went on strike.

Ventimiglia says he's seen no scripts and has no clues about what will happen when the show returns.

"We ran out of stuff to shoot," he said. "That's basically what it boils down to."

Meanwhile, the 30-year-old actor is producing and starring in the first episode of a series of holiday-themed stop-animation short films for American Eagle Outfitters. The digital shorts also feature Lil Jon, Kristen Bell, Pete Wentz and Adrianne Palicki.

Ventimiglia, whose hair was famously chopped on "Heroes," opted for his puppet counterpart to have his longer 'do.

"I thought we should go with the bangs because they're more recognizable," he says.

Divide Pictures, Ventimiglia and partner Russ Cundiff's production company, has also optioned the movie rights to "Blades of Glory," John Rosengren's book about the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars, a championship Minnesota high school hockey team.

Ventimiglia says he'll appear in the upcoming films "Game" and "The Chaos Theory."

"I try and take a break and take a vacation," he says, "but I keep getting wrapped up in jobs."

Gail O'Grady stars in TV holiday movie

(11/30/07) Gail O'Grady relishes a Christmas Eve tradition that dates to her childhood.

The 44-year-old actress, a three-time Emmy nominee for "NYPD Blue," and her brother Michael opened their gifts Christmas Eve while growing up in the Chicago suburb of Wheaton, Ill.

"We never wanted a big holiday dinner because it just meant more time before we could tear into our gifts," she said in a statement from the Hallmark Channel. "So it became our tradition that we ate hot dogs on Christmas Eve. Pass the pickles!"

O'Grady's latest project is her first holiday movie, "All I Want for Christmas," airing Saturday on the Hallmark Channel. She plays a single mother whose son wins a Christmas wish contest and asks for a new husband for his mother.

The chance to add some wholesome holiday fare to her resume was important to O'Grady because it was something she could share with her 3-year-old son Michael.

"I wanted to do something that we could enjoy together," she said. "The movie is about loving and giving, and it's a wonderful thing to be able to share with him."

O'Grady's other credits include "Boston Legal" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

Milo Ventimiglia: Hayden and I Are 'Close Friends'

(11/15/07) Since cozying up at an Emmys party in September, Milo Ventimiglia and Hayden Panettiere have dodged rumors that they are dating.

Two months later, the duo some call "Halo" are still close, hanging together at Wednesday's Race in the Fight Against Epilepsy fundraiser, in Calabasas, Calif. But could these Heroes be a couple?

When asked about the reports of romance, Ventimiglia, 30, chuckled then paused. After a few seconds, he answered, "She and I are close friends. It's only natural that people are going to couple us together."

The actor and Panettiere, 18, hung together outside the bash while awaiting their fellow Heroes costars. And although they spoke closely in a shadowy corner, they remained strictly hands-off. (Once inside, the two were ushered into a private VIP room.)

In September, Heroes costar James Kyson Lee, who plays Ando on the NBC series, told PEOPLE of the prospective pairing, "The rumor is not true. Let's just end it there."

Panettiere and Ventimiglia attended Wednesday's party to support costar Greg Grunberg, whose son Jake suffers from epilepsy.

DICK CLARK SET TO HOST ROCKIN' EVE 2008

(11/12/07) For the 36th consecutive year, "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" will lead America into the New Year when Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest host specials starting at 10:00 p.m., ET, MONDAY, DECEMBER 31 on the ABC Television Network.

The American tradition of Dick Clark counting down to midnight will once again take place during the three-and-a-half hours of specials from Times Square in New York City. This year will include special performances from both New York and Hollywood. Additionally Marysol Castro, "Good Morning America Weekend's" weather and features correspondent, will return to report on other happenings in and around New York City.

The special programming will kick off with "Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve 2008" from10:00-11:00 p.m., ET, featuring performances live from New York's Times Square.

During "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2008, Part 1" (11:35 p.m. - 1:05 a.m., ET), in addition to reporting on the final minutes of 2007 and the traditional Times Square countdown to midnight, the show will feature music performances from both Hollywood, California and Times Square in New York.

Wrapping the night's activities will be "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2008, Part 2" (1:05-2:05 a.m., ET), when musical acts will continue the party into the early hours of the New Year with additional performances from Hollywood.

The specials are presentations of dick clark productions, Inc. Executive producers are Dick Clark, Ryan Seacrest and Terry Bateman. Larry Klein produces. Barry Glazer and Bruce Gowers direct. Production designer is Bruce Ryan. Talent producer is Melissa Trueblood.

'Hairspray' star talks about breast cancer

(10/22/07) Like many young women her age, actress Brittany Snow, 21, didn't know much about breast cancer. But when she became the newest face of Reebok, this year's footwear sponsor for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, she started asking questions and making an effort to become informed.

Snow, who starred in "Hairspray" and "John Tucker Must Die," chatted with amNewYork about breast cancer and young women.

What did you know about breast cancer before you got involved with Reebok?

I didn't know that much about it, especially for younger women because it is viewed as a thing that your mom talks about. But the more studies that are coming out and the more that I'm learning about it, girls that are my age, even sometimes younger, are detecting breast cancer.

How did you learn more about the disease?

IWhen I found out I was going to be doing this event [for the Avon Walk], the first thing I did was go to my mom. I was like, "I don't even know how to check." And she gave me the full rundown, which was a little weird. It was weird because I never really knew about it. There's not an infomercial on it or anything like that. And she started talking about her best girlfriend who died of breast cancer. It was a very emotional conversation.

Why are you involved in this cause?

IReebok is a foundation and a company that is very strong in their views about women and young girls believing in themselves. All their campaigns and messages are about fulfilling your goals and believing in yourself -- things I strongly believe in.

What advice do you have for girls who are struggling with confidence?

IBelieving in yourself and having confidence is not something you can wake up one day and feel. It's doing these little things that make you feel really good about your life. We get so caught up in everything that's not happening or going to happen that you don't really realize you're healthy, you have amazing friends, things like that.

What do you do to boost your confidence?

II still should do it but I've been a little busy, but I used to do a grateful list every morning, where I would write 10 things I was grateful for. It put me in a good mindset because I was like, "Oh yeah, I really do appreciate coffee in the morning," or "Oh my gosh. My lipgloss is awesome." Stupid stuff, like my best friend is the coolest. Little things you just pass by, but if you think about it before you start your day it makes you feel a lot better.

Ex-Tonic Singer Emerson Hart, Wife Have a Baby

(10/12/07) Musician Emerson Hart and his wife Nicole have a new addition to the family – daughter Lucienne Elizabeth, born on Oct. 4, the couple tells PEOPLE.

Lucienne weighed in at 7 lbs. 11 oz., and is doing well at home in Nashville, a rep for Hart says.

Hart, 38, the former frontman for the band Tonic, talked with PEOPLE in September about the idea of being a dad – a daunting notion for a man whose own father was an abusive schizophrenic who abandoned the family 27 years ago.

"I hope my kids can always count on me," Hart said. "You have to forgive. If you don't, you carry it around. That's too heavy. I'm at peace now."

Hart worked through his issues on his solo debut, Cigarettes and Gasoline, released in July. He is currently on tour with Collective Soul and Live.

Lucienne joins a family that also includes two cats and three rescue dogs. In September, the Harts also mentioned that they were interested in adopting.

Brittany Snow: Dieting Was 'My Best Friend'

(9/26/07) Brittany Snow's descent into the dark world of eating disorders began when she landed the role of Susan Lemay on TV's Guiding Light, the actress, now 21, tells MTVU.com.

"I remember looking around at all these women who were on the soap opera who were working out and dieting," Snow says.

Taking their cue, a 12-year-old Snow tried her first diet, called Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type. "I took it to the extreme," the Hairspray star admits, which included a two-month stint when she "lived on pineapple."

After losing 10 lbs. on the diet, Snow says she heard compliments and felt accepted from those around her. Soon it was a feeling she couldn't get enough of.

"It kind of progressed into this thing where I needed to always be dieting and losing weight and more weight," she says in the site's interview series Half of Us, which addresses mental health issues and ways to get help. "It became my life and I didn't have any friends and this was definitely my best friend and I held on to it really tight."

At 15, Snow was stepping onto the scale 10 to 15 times a day and weighed only 85 lbs.

"I knew that was a really low number and I knew that my hair was falling out and I had really weird skin. My face looked really weird and I was getting this fuzz on my face and I was always cold – always to the point of uncontrollably shaking," she says. " But "I was more scared that 85 lbs. wasn't good enough. I wanted to be lower."

Rock bottom came when Snow began cutting herself. "I would look at the scars and what I had done to myself and that would convince me not to eat," she says. "I also was crying for attention and I also really wanted someone to see my scars and help me and give me a hug."

By 19, Snow was in rehab and things took a turn for the better. She stopped cutting and got help for her depression. "But the eating stuff was still really hard to deal with," she says. "It's still a struggle."

Her advice to girls who are going though a similar situation is to take baby steps. "It's very important to talk to anybody. Maybe the first step is just to talk to a friend about it," she says. "Probably they'll relate in some way."

Love Denials: Hayden-Milo Rumors Nixed, Helena Scoffs at Heath Stories

(9/26/07) Denial ain't just a river in Egypt – it was also the across-the-board response PEOPLE received Tuesday night regarding romance rumors between two recent are-they-or-aren't-they pairs: Milo & Hayden, and Heath & Helena.

First, a costar of Heroes' Hayden Panettiere and Milo Ventimiglia shot down recent rumblings (as well as a YouTube video that was closely analyzed by fans) that the 18-year-old actress and her 30-year-old costar were getting closer.

"The rumor is not true," costar James Kyson Lee, who plays Ando, told PEOPLE at Tuesday's Lift Up America Meet Me in Miami premiere in Hollywood. "Let's just end it there."

He added about the romance talk: "I think we were just surprised because they're 12 years apart – for people to even conceive that. I know there have been a lot of jokes, Hayden turning 18 and whatnot. At some point, you just have to let it go, and respect their privacy."

Also on rumor control Tuesday night was Helena Christensen, who scoffed at reports that she recently hooked up with newly single Heath Ledger.

"It is so annoying," the model, 38, told PEOPLE at the premiere of Control in New York. "I can't even tell you. The funny thing is that they write, 'just out of a relationship with Josh [Hartnett] and now with Heath [Ledger].' Josh is one of my dearest friends. ... And in several different tabloids they wrote that we were biting each other's faces off or something like that."

O'Grady & Germann land cable TV roles

(9/25/07) Gail O'Grady, Greg Germann and Robert Mailhouse will star in the Hallmark Channel original movie "All I Want for Christmas."

The movie, set to premiere December 1, centers on a single mother (O'Grady) with no time for dating who suddenly finds herself with thousands of potential suitors.

Driven Snow

(8/05/07) As 21-year-old starlets go, Brittany Snow appears to have it all.

She's in "Hairspray," one of the top five movies in the country. She's starring opposite Oscar nominee Laurence Fishburne in the gritty thriller "Black Water Transit," now filming in New Orleans. She has a handful of other movies set for release next year, including one with Matthew Broderick.

This girl, she's got a career.

But it's not necessarily what she has that distinguishes her from her peers in Hollywood -- it's what she doesn't: She doesn't have a rap sheet or an unflattering mug shot popping up in newspapers and newscasts. She has had no public meltdowns or dates with rehab.

In short, she's no Lindsay.

Or Paris.

Or that other Britney.

That's not to say Snow hasn't sipped at New Orleans' nightlife since arriving in town July 20 for "Black Water Transit" -- she's poked her head in at d.b.a. and the Republic, among other places -- but this young actress is more excited about the film she's working on than about the city's round-the-clock nightlife.

"These 24-hour bars are really blowing my mind," Snow said with a laugh last week, during a day off from filming. ". . . And also that you can walk around with drinks here. I can't do it. I tried, and it felt so wrong."

Go-cups? Wrong? Welcome to New Orleans.

Snow was chatting on a sofa at the Melange restaurant in the Ritz-Carlton, just a zoom-lens away from the hotel bar. Her drink: diet soda.

She credits her family and strong network of friends for keeping her grounded in what can be a pressure-packed industry. But she also realizes that she's been dealt a rare hand.

"I know I'm very, very lucky to be in this business and be working, and to take that for granted and have the ego that it's always going to last and that you can always show up to work late and keep people waiting, it's just not a way that I want to live my life.

"In this kind of business, it can go away at any second, and so I'm trying to do the best work that I can because I'm very grateful. Also, (hard partying) just doesn't appeal to me as much as I'm sure it appeals to other people, and that's just a lucky thing, I guess."

. . . . . . .

Snow's got her vices, though. She's a Florida Gators fan, for one. And a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan, for another. Beyond her questionable football loyalties, though, it's hard to take many shots at the Tampa native.

In Hollywood, that kind of squeaky-cleanness could lead to too many good-girl roles and the dreaded t-word: typecasting.

After her run as young Meg Pryor on the '60s-set NBC series "American Dreams" (in which her character had her sights set on being a dancer on "American Bandstand") and her turn as Amber Von Tussle in the feature film "Hairspray" (in which her character is a dancer on an "American Bandstand"-type show), she seems to be making something of an effort to stretch herself professionally.

In "Black Water Transit" -- set to wrap in mid-August -- she plays a world-weary prostitute named Sardoona who finds herself in the middle of an arms deal involving two men she loves, played by Laurence Fishburne ("The Matrix") and Karl Urban ("The Bourne Supremacy"). It's a "trippy, eccentric" movie, she said. And that's one of the things she likes most about it.

"It was a very long and drawn-out auditioning process to get this role, because I had to break down a lot of barriers of what people have always thought of me as being," Snow said. "I was really, really intrigued by the character."

With Fishburne on one side and director Tony Kaye ("American History X") on the other, the experience has shaped up as something of a master class in acting.

"Working with Tony Kaye on the character and developing her has probably been the most in-depth process that I've done so far for a movie," she said. "This film is different from anything I've ever done, and probably anything I'll ever do, because Tony Kaye, he is a one-of-a-kind when it comes to his directing style. He's very, very open to basically the fact that anything goes and you can do whatever you want.

"He said to me when I got the part, 'I'm going to empty you out,' and that's basically what this role has been doing. There's a lot of digging going on for sure, which is great and therapeutic and exactly why I love acting in the first place. Teen comedies are very fun, and I think everybody needs to do comedies, but every once in a while you need a great script that you can just dig into and just go for it."

Judging by her recent projects, Snow is all about going for it -- and shattering expectations in the process.

Between the time "Black Water Transit" wraps and is released, another film of Snow's will be in theaters, a dark comedy titled "Finding Amanda" and starring Matthew Broderick. Her role in that film: prostitute.

After that comes "Prom Night" -- which is not, Snow stresses, a remake of the 1980 Jamie Lee Curtis slasher flick. She likens the thriller to the 1998 Reese Witherspoon nail-biter "Fear."

She wrapped on "Prom Night" two weeks before coming to New Orleans, so Snow admits a bit of physical and emotional fatigue -- a vacation, to somewhere tropical, is in the offing -- though she said she wouldn't trade the collective experience she gained on her recent films, particularly on "Black Water Transit," for anything.

"I'm little by little showing myself that I can handle a movie like this and handle a role like this," she said. "You're so nervous that you're going to have to do this crazy scene -- there's no script and I have to be crazy and dancing and singing and playing with my shadow and coming up with things on the top of my head and running up on top of cars and basically, anything you can imagine. And then, after the scene, you can't describe the feeling. You're like, 'Wow, where did all that come from?' I'm so thrilled I get to do this every day."

Brittany has four days off.

She's been burning the midnight oil with a string of night shoots on "Black Water Transit," but now she's got a friend in town, use of a car and four days in which to blow off some steam.

There probably will be some antiquing involved, since she collects old jewelry and has found a shopping heaven in the French Quarter. ("The stores are all so full of history, and they're so genuinely nice -- very different from L.A., for sure.") Maybe another trip to Frenchmen Street or Magazine Street.

Her eyes widen at the suggestion of a possible trip to Saints training camp in Jackson, Miss. As a sports fan in general -- and NFL fan in particular -- there is obvious allure to the idea of scouting a rival of her hometown Buccaneers. Besides, a chance to meet Saint Reggie himself, running back Reggie Bush, holds appeal to any real NFL fan.

She's open to anything, really -- just eager to experience New Orleans -- so she's liable to turn up any number of places. Except, she promises, the police blotter.

THE BRITTANY SNOW FILE

Age: 21.

Resides: Los Angeles and Tampa, Fla.

Current projects: "Black Water Transit," with Laurence Fishburne, being filmed in New Orleans; and "Hairspray," with John Travolta and Michelle Pfeiffer, in theaters.

Coming up: "Finding Amanda," a dark comedy co-starring Matthew Broderick; and the thriller "Prom Night" (no relation to the 1980 slasher flick), both set for 2008 release.

Notable past roles: Feature films "John Tucker Must Die" and "The Pacifier," and the NBC series "American Dreams."

'I wear nothing' in 'Black Water Transit', says Brittany Snow

(7/30/07) Fans of Brittany Snow are in for a treat, for the actress reveals that she's worn nothing in her upcoming flick 'Black Water Transit'.

The 21-year-old, who plays a troubled hooker, Sardoonah in the film, revealed that her character made out with everyone and wore nothing in the entire film.

"Basically, I have sex with everybody in the movie. I wear nothing the entire time," US magazine quoted Snow, as saying.

Meanwhile, the 'Hairspray' actress who celebrated a three day birthday bash this year insisted that she was not looking forward to just becoming a celeb and enjoying parties, but wanted to show people her acting talent.

"I'm really excited to show people that I am an actual actress, not just wanting to be a celebrity and go to this party and that party," she said.

Apart from 'Black Water Transit', Snow also set to play a lead role in upcoming flick 'Prom Night', a remake of the hit horror film of the same name, starring Jamie Lee Curtis.

This Brittany searches for identity beyond name

(7/27/07) Brittany Snow doesn't get the kind of attention that the other young celebrities with her first name draw.

The 21-year-old Tampa, Fla., native doesn't party with any of Hollywood's various Jessicas or skip work due to "exhaustion." The closest Snow comes to tabloids is when she's standing in a supermarket checkout line.

But watch her in "Hairspray," playing the conniving coquette Amber von Tussle, who can't believe anyone would prefer the chubby heroine to her own sleek blondness. Hear that voice, see those heels kick and feel free to hiss her disdain of anyone she isn't.

You get the feeling that Snow is on the way to stardom, for all the right reasons.

"Some people are more interested in their names than their work," Snow said from New York recently, hours before Hairspray's official premiere. "But I would so much rather be known for my work.

"I try not to get too involved with the celebrity aspect, or get caught up in the Hollywood aspect because it's too confusing for me and it doesn't interest me that much."

Besides, staying out all night in Los Angeles nightclubs simply isn't her thing.

"It's just not who I am," she said. "I definitely go out and have a good time when I'm in L.A. I do what I do, then I show up on the set on time and do whatever needs to be done. It has a lot to do with how I was raised."

Snow's parents still guide her decisions. Mother Cinda is nearby in Los Angeles and father John holds down the Tampa fort. Snow doesn't get back home as often as she'd like: "Maybe three or four times a year, so I miss my dad" and friends from Gaither High School and regional stage performances.

Those beginnings led to modeling jobs, 15 commercials, a role on the soap opera "Guiding Light" and eventually her breakout role on NBC's set-in-the-'60s drama "American Dreams." Now she is wearing those New Frontier fashions and doing the Mashed Potato again in "Hairspray."

"I'm sure ("Hairspray" producers) saw me in 1960s makeup and things," Snow said. "But 'Hairspray' is a lot different from 'American Dreams.'"

Certainly the moods are different. Snow likes the fact that both capture an era of important social change, especially with regard to civil rights.

"There aren't many chances as a teen actress to be a part of two projects that make such strong messages about a huge part of history," she said.

Snow's visibility will get a big boost from "Hairspray." After all, a big role in a movie version of a Broadway smash with John Travolta and Michelle Pfeiffer can't possibly hurt.

"It's a little strange," she said. "I'm working with these stars who have been my favorites growing up and who are icons. Just being in the same room with them when we're doing interviews is very surreal.

"As far as people taking notice of me, it really hasn't changed yet. Maybe something will change when the movie comes out. I'm just going to handle it day by day with whatever happens."

Snow is keeping busy while the world catches on. Four of her movies are slated for 2008 release, including "Black Water Transit," currently filming with director Tony Kaye ("American History X") in New Orleans. Three more are in the can: a dark comedy with Matthew Broderick titled "Finding Amanda"; the low-budget indie "On the Doll"; and "Prom Night," a horror movie that Snow assured isn't a remake of the 1980 slasher flick.

"Black Water Transit," "Finding Amanda" and "On the Doll" all share a common thread suggesting that her girl-next-door days are numbered. In each, she portrays a prostitute, exactly what nobody expects from wholesome-looking Brittany Snow.

"That's always the most rewarding type of part, the ones that people don't normally see you in but you find it within yourself," she said. "I definitely don't look like a prostitute. I know that for a fact. But I like playing girls who are very complex with addictions and inner demons.

"I have to believe that if I keep doing things I'm passionate about and do the best I can, people will know me for who I am and not just another Brittany."

Review: `Hairspray' is innocent fun

(7/17/07) The world probably didn't need another film version of John Waters' 1988 romp "Hairspray" any more than it needed a Broadway musical version of it. The whole cycle reeks of that movie-of-a-stage-production-of-a-movie debacle that has tainted the legacy of "The Producers."

Having said that, this new brand of "Hairspray" is a hybrid of its predecessors: enormously entertaining but with only faint traces of Waters' signature dark, kitschy humor. It is, in a word, safe — one you would ordinarily never use to describe Waters' work.

Director and choreographer Adam Shankman keeps the tone light, the hair high and the pacing snappy, even while delivering the film's segregation-is-bad message, which seems archaic and obvious 45 years after the movie's setting. (Shankman certainly shows a more deft touch here than he did with "Bringing Down the House" and "The Pacifier.")

But there is something refreshing in the innocence of the film, written by Leslie Dixon based on both Waters' script and the 2002 Broadway hit. No winking, no mugging — just earnest, wholesome, knock-your-socks-off fun. You'll probably be tempted to burst into applause at the end of the splashier numbers, as several people in the audience did during a recent screening in Hollywood. (The music comes from Marc Shaiman with lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman, Tony winners for the stage version.)

Much of the movie's charm radiates from 18-year-old newcomer Nikki Blonsky, an absolute delight as the film's plus-sized protagonist, Tracy Turnblad, the role that made a then-unknown Ricki Lake a star 20 years ago. She's just so darn perky, so unflappably sunny as she belts her way through the opening tune, "Good Morning Baltimore," she makes it impossible to resist getting caught up in her enthusiasm.

Tracy's greatest dream is to make it as a dancer on "The Corny Collins Show," which she and best friend Penny Pingleton (a cute but stiff Amanda Bynes) scurry home to watch on TV after school — that is, until she discovers the racial discrimination that plagues the program. The show's regulars are billed as "the nicest kids in town," but they're not exactly a diverse bunch. That's why there's Negro Day with host Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah), which only comes once a month — though, as Tracy gushes, she wishes every day were Negro Day.

She gets her chance to shake things up when Corny (a perfectly slick James Marsden) notices her during a dance competition. This allows her to show off the new moves she learned from the black kids in detention, including Seaweed (Elijah Kelley), who happens to be Maybelle's son. Kelley, whose biggest role before this was as a dancer in the forgettable "Take the Lead," is hugely charismatic — great-looking, likable, a talented singer and dancer and as much of a discovery as Blonsky herself.

Trouble is, the brittle station manager Velma Von Tussle (Michelle Pfeiffer) isn't terribly fond of chubby girls or blacks, and feels especially inspired to unleash her wrath when Tracy starts stealing attention from her daughter, Amber (Brittany Snow), the show's spoiled star. From there, it doesn't take long for Tracy to attract Amber's boyfriend, the dreamy Link Larkin (the dreamy Zac Efron from "High School Musical"). Scheming, romance and race riots ensue — and, of course, more singing and dancing.

Sitting at home in her robe, ironing and watching all these developments from the safety of her row house with a mixture of apprehension and excitement, is Tracy's tubby mother, Edna, played famously by John Travolta in drag. As inhabited by Divine in the original film and Harvey Fierstein on Broadway, the part is intended to be portrayed with high camp.

With Travolta, though, there's no sense of fun. He plays it straight, for lack of a better word, and with a touch of pathos. The joke is completely lost, and you never lose sight of the fact that you're watching the star of "Grease" and "Saturday Night Fever," this time brandishing his trademark dance moves while wearing a fat suit.

"Hairspray," a New Line Cinema release, is rated PG for language, some suggestive content and momentary teen smoking. Running time: 117 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

More cast changes at "Boston Legal"

(7/02/07) "Hustle & Flow" co-star Taraji P. Henson is joining the cast of David E. Kelley's legal comedy-drama "Boston Legal" as a regular.

Additionally, former regulars Mark Valley and Rene Auberjonois will return for multiple episodes on the ABC series' upcoming fourth season.

Saffron Burrows and Gail O'Grady also will appear in multiple episodes of the drama, which is undergoing a major cast overhaul this summer.

Last month, the options on four regulars -- Valley, Auberjonois, Julie Bowen and Constance Zimmer -- were not picked up. Emmy winner John Larroquette and Tara Summers joined the show as regulars, while recurring player Christian Clemenson was upped to a regular.

Larroquette will play Carl Sack, a senior partner from the New York offices of Crane Poole & Schmidt who transfers to Boston. Henson will portray a high-powered corporate litigator out of the New York office whom Sack brings in to help wrestle more political sovereignty within the firm. The character will be introduced later in the season.O'Grady, who appeared on several episodes this year, will reprise her role as Judge Gloria Weldon, who is in a heated relationship with Shore.

Auberjonois will return as CP&S senior partner Paul Lewiston and Valley as attorney Brad Chase, who will go up against one of the firm's lawyers in court.

The show also stars Candice Bergen and William Shatner.

Henson next stars opposite Don Cheadle in "Talk to Me." Burrows recently appeared in the feature "Reign Over Me."

'Hidden Palms' Finale Moves Up

(6/12/07) The CW is sending off "Hidden Palms" with a bang -- sorta.

The summer drama series will have its remaining six episodes burned off with back-to-back episodes in order for the season finale to air on July 4, no doubt when families will be out watching fireworks, digesting BBQ or other activities that don't normally involve watching TV.

On Wednesday, June 20 and 27, the CW will air two new "Hidden Palms" episodes and then conclude at 8:00 p.m. on Independence Day.

Another change besides this accelerated schedule is the removal of the repeat episodes on Sundays, which will now feature repeats of "7th Heaven" to accompany two back-to-back "Reba" episodes and a "Supernatural" repeat.

"Hidden Palms" centers on the experiences of Johnny (Taylor Handley) who moves to Palm Springs with his family after witnessing his father's suicide and subsequently going through rehab. The only problem is that the denizens of the town, including Greta (Amber Heard) and Cliff (Michael Cassidy), seem fairly unbalanced themselves, and a mystery concerning the boy who used to live in Johnny's new home may have far-reaching consequences.

Keith Robinson the long arm of "Law" for Fox

(6/11/07) "Dreamgirls" co-star Keith Robinson has joined the cast of Fox's upcoming drama series "Canterbury's Law" as a regular.

Julianna Margulies ("ER") head the cast as a rebellious defense attorney who pushes the boundaries of the law to protect innocent clients. Robinson will play her co-worker, Chester Fields. The role was played in the pilot by Jocko Sims.

Robinson, who played songwriter C.C. White in "Dreamgirls," will next be seen in the CBS miniseries "Comanche Moon," which airs in November.

Virginia Madsen in spirit of "Haunting"

(5/15/07) Virginia Madsen will star in the supernatural thriller "A Haunting in Connecticut."

The film tells the true story of a family forced to relocate near a clinic where their teenage son is being treated for cancer. There, they discover that the home they have rented is a former mortuary with a dark history that might account for the extraordinary manifestations of the boy's illness and the supernatural events that threaten the family.

Peter Cornwell is directing the Gold Circle Films project. A late summer start is being eyed.

Madsen, who was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in "Sideways," most recently appeared on the big screen opposite Jim Carrey in "The Number 23."

Virginia Madsen: My Botox Confession

(5/09/07) Virginia Madsen spoke openly on Tuesday about a topic most actresses only whisper about to their dermatologists: Botox.

Pointing to the bridge between her eyes, the Sideways Oscar nominee, 45, told a New York press luncheon that "over the years" she's put the wrinkle-erasing product to use in order to deal with her "11" lines, and "more recently," she said, she's also used Juvéderm to correct the creases at the sides of her mouth.

"As I started to talk about it and as it ended up in print there was such an overwhelming response from friends and family, lots and lots of actors, people on the street," said Madsen, who is the new spokesperson for Allergan, Inc. – the maker of Botox and Juvéderm. "They were surprised that I looked so 'normal.' "

Madsen, whose mother, Elaine Madsen, was at her side, said: "That is how it should be. I don't have that sort of frozen look that we have talked about."

Addressing some of the dangers occasionally encountered treating wrinkles, Madsen said she was turned off by Botox parties "at someone's home that maybe I didn't know" and by "discounted treatments at hair salons."

After she's used Botox, she said, "What was really surprising to me and somewhat alarming was that no one ever asked me who my doctor was. Or where I had them done. They would ask me where on my face [I was treated]."

Approached by Allergan to work for its campaign called "Keep the Wisdom. Lose the Lines," Madsen said that the National Women's Health Resource Center also shared its research with her about the misinformation when it came to aesthetic injectable treatments.

"I knew that I could join them, and I could turn my openness about my treatments into a potential call to action for people who were interested in maintaining their looks, but [who] need to know how to do this in the right way."

Stressing that "Botox and Juvéderm are medicines – they are prescription medicines" – Madsen said, "I think a lot of people have lost sight of that with the growing popularity of these products. I don't think anyone would ever consider having their eyes examined anywhere else but in a doctor's chair. It is very similar."

She also suggests moderation when it comes to partaking of the products. "I am not using these injectables to look 25," she said. "I don't want to be 25. I just want to look like me. I am 45, and I am in the best shape that I have ever been in my life."

Madsen, who says she does her best to stay fit partly to keep up with her 12-year old son, Jack, said, "I made a lot of choices to keep myself youthful and strong. I work out. I eat good foods. And I also get injectables, and I just felt like it was really important for us to discuss the safety issues. ... I lost the lines, but I still look like me, which is the result that I think many people want to experience."

For more on Virginia Madsen, pick up PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

Ventimiglia outfits Web series for American Eagle

(5/03/07) "Heroes" star Milo Ventimiglia is directing a Web comedy series for retailer American Eagle Outfitters.

"It's a Mall World" explores the lives and relationships of a greeter/salesgirl at an American Eagle store, two employees at a fictitious independent record store, a "slightly psychotic" girl who works in a similarly ersatz lingerie store called Glorious Chest, and a "bad-boy poseur from the requisite mall juice bar," American Eagle said.

The series will consist of 12 five-minute "webisodes" that will air weekly at American Eagle's web site (http://www.ae.com), starting August 2.

It will premiere on MTV in the summer, as part of American Eagle's overall media buy with the network, and in American Eagle stores in the form of three-minute "minisodes."

Joey Lawrence Dances with the Devil on CSI: NY

(4/17/07) You've seen him rock his mop on Blossom and rule the parquet on Dancing with the Stars, but you've never seen Joey Lawrence the way he is as guest star on the April 25 episode of CSI: NY (Wednesdays at 10 pm, on CBS). As Clay Dobson, a chrome-domed killer once nabbed by Gary Sinise's Detective Mac Taylor and now set free, he delivers a chilling turn that will not only make you say, "Whoa," but also set Mac up for a dramatic fall. TVGuide.com asked Lawrence about the bold gig, his bald pate, and the whereabouts of his boogie shoes.

TVGuide.com: So, you do the "dancing monkey" act and you get your career jump-started, eh?
Joey Lawrence: Yeah! You never know why or where or when or how things happen, you just have to roll with it. I took some time off and [Dancing with the Stars] came up, and it worked out good!

TVGuide.com: Is this the first serial killer you've ever played? The first killer of any kind?
Lawrence: Yep. It's my first dark sort of role like that. They called me and said, "We have this story we'd love to have you play, if you're into it," and they sent me the script and it was great. I thought it was something that could be really cool. Playing opposite Gary Sinise, who I'm a huge fan of, was a great opportunity, and to play someone as dark as this was a lot of fun.

TVGuide.com: Working opposite Gary, did you feel an added pressure to bring your "A game"?
Lawrence: I always try to bring the "A game," man, whether it's an indie or anything. But for sure, I wanted to do the best I possibly could playing opposite such a great actor.

TVGuide.com: What are you at liberty to reveal about your character? I know there's a certain amount of secrecy surrounding the story line.
Lawrence: Um.... Clay Dobson was caught by Mac five years ago and convicted of murdering five women. The cop who was going to testify to make sure I stayed in jail forever turned out to be a dirty cop, so Mac had to deal with the issue of, "Do I put this dirty cop away, or do I let him slide and keep Clay in jail?" Of course he puts the cop away, losing them their key witness, and then as soon as I get out of jail, these two bodies pop up, and they look similar [in style of death/presentation], but with a twist. Mac tries to convince his superiors it's me, and I'm suing the department, so they're like, "Leave it alone."

TVGuide.com: Sounds like Mac takes justice into his own hands....
Lawrence: I was talking to Gary about it, and he said it was really cool because he and I had the biggest fight sequence he's had on the show, and it's neat to see him "out of character" like that. He said, "I'm usually in the lab looking at the bodies, so for me to be able to throw away a weapon and just say, 'Come on, boy,' like John Wayne, is pretty cool.

TVGuide.com: When was the last time you had a fight scene?
Lawrence: Oh, never like this, man. They had like 15 cameras up there, and we had to shoot all the fight sequences in one day. It was really incredible. It took us like three hours to set up one shot that lasted, like, 10 seconds. [Laughs] But it was a good time, and it's going to set up a good cliffhanger for the end of the season. It's good for Gary, too, because Mac ends up in some hot water....

TVGuide.com: Is Clay cocky, does he feel he has the upper hand...?
Lawrence: He's a very calm and collected and smooth operator. He doesn't lose his cool. That's how all the great serial killers are. Their other side is a very normal guy.

TVGuide.com: Well, yeah. If they ran around drooling and with crazy eyes, they'd be much easier to catch.
Lawrence: You're exactly right. But Clay Dobson has this switch that goes off and takes him to the darkest places.

TVGuide.com: Do you regret not cutting your lush locks sooner?
Lawrence: You know, I wanted to cut my hair for so many years, and for one reason or another I didn't....

TVGuide.com: You probably had people advising you, "Joey, it's part of who you are, it's what the people know."
Lawrence: Of course, and finally I just said, "F it" and shaved it off. And as soon as I did that I got these two cool little indie movies, and I've got this Warner Bros. movie that hasn't come out where I play this Easy Rider kind of throwback cop. And then this Dancing with the Stars thing came up and they wanted me to keep it shaved. Even the CSI: NY people said, "Would you mind shaving it back down?" It's gone from, "Don't do that" to "Would you mind keeping it that way?"

TVGuide.com: Drew Lachey resurfaced on DWTS last week for a quick encore with Cheryl Burke. Would you — could you — do the same?
Lawrence: I'm actually doing something [on April 13] a huge Race to Erase MS fundraiser where Ray Romano is the emcee and Whitney Houston is going to sing.... There's a big fashion show that Tommy Hilfiger does and [DWTS partner] Edyta [Sliwinska] and I are going to dance to the opening of that. After all that training, I can hold my own in terms of picking steps up. I don't know if I'll go back on the show, but if I need to use it on other things, like Broadway, it could come in handy!

CW Reveals 'Hidden Palms' Premiere

(4/03/07) Wednesdays on the CW are about to get more mysterious.

.The dark one-hour drama "Hidden Palms" will make its premiere on the fledgling network on Wednesday, May 30 at 8 p.m. ET, announced CW chief Dawn Ostroff.

Ushered to the CW by Kevin Williamson ("Dawson's Creek," "Scream") and Scott Winant ("Huff," "My So-Called Life"), the series revolves around the troubled yet bright Johnny Miller, played by Taylor Handley, better known as crazy Oliver of "The O.C." fame. Reeling from his father's suicide, Johnny turns to alcohol and drugs. Like Britney Spears, he's fresh out of rehab and looking to begin anew.

With his mom and new dad (Gail O'Grady, D.W. Moffett) Johnny moves to the affluent paradise of Palm Springs. Feeling immediately out of place, our hero makes friends with his neighbors Cliff (Michael Cassidy) and Liza (Ellary Porterfield) and the beautifully enigmatic Greta (Amber Heard). But there's something strange going on that Johnny can't quite put his finger on, but it's somehow linked to the tragic death of Cliff's best friend, who just happens to have lived in Johnny's house.

The cast also includes Tessa Thompson, Sharon Lawrence, and Leslie Jordan.

Boston, Yasbeck headline ABC news comedy

(3/16/07) Rachel Boston and Amy Yasbeck have landed lead roles on ABC's untitled comedy pilot set in a chaotic Phoenix TV newsroom.

"American Dreams" alumna Boston will play a rising star at the station who was recently promoted to executive producer of all news programs. Yasbeck, who recently co-starred on "Life on a Stick," will play a co-anchor.

New Show For Vanny

(2/23/07) Former "Beverly Hills, 90210" star Brian Austin Green will play a gay man in a new comedy pilot from the creators of "Will & Grace".

The untitled CBS project, from David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, is about two friends and writing partners, one straight and one gay (Green), and the women working with them (Jessica Capshaw, Vanessa Lengies). The project is loosely based on Kohan and Mutchnick's friendship.

Green most recently co-starred on ABC's comedy "Freddie." Capshaw has been recurring on Showtime's lesbian drama "The L Word," while Lengies co-starred on Lifetime's "Monarch Cove."

"Dreamgirls" star recruited for Fox cop drama

(2/21/07) "Dreamgirls" co-star Keith Robinson (Nathan Walker, American Dreams) is set to join Fox's drama pilot "The Apostles," which chronicles the off-duty lives of LAPD cops in the affluent southern California community of Simi Valley.

Robinson will play one of the leads, a decorated officer who is deeply religious. He plays C.C. White in "Dreamgirls."

'Prom Night' Remake Is a Snow Job

(2/20/07) Brittany Snow will take a stab at the lead role in Screen Gems' unnecessary remake of the slasher pic "Prom Night."

In the Paul Lynch-directed 1980 original, a group of high school seniors are terrorized by a mask killer whose motive appears to have something to do with the death of a young girl six years earlier.

Nelson McCormick is directing the new "Prom Night," with Neal Moritz producing.

Although Variety doesn't specify, Snow will presumably take on the Jamie Lee Curtis role.

Probably best known for her wholesome turn on NBC's "American Dreams," Snow has been working against that image with a recurring turn on "Nip/Tuck" and in features like "John Tucker Must Die." She's already completed work on "Finding Amanda" and a supporting role in "Hairspray."

Clark, Seacrest will rock in new year

(12/26/06) Dick Clark will be back, live, when the ball drops in New York's Times Square on New Year's Eve Sunday night.

Clark, 77, made his first appearance since a stroke in December 2004 at last year's New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square. Ever since, he has been battling back with daily therapy sessions.

Last month, he said in an Associated Press interview that he remembered being surprised on the morning of Dec. 6, 2004.

"I woke up in the morning and my right side didn't work. I thought a dog had slept on my side," said Clark, whose wife then drove him to the hospital. "Your life changes overnight," he told the AP.

"I am happy that I'm alive, that I'm reasonably well," he said. "I'm sad that I'm impaired with my walking and my speech is impaired. But I'm happy."

He did not take part in a news conference call to talk about the show that will ring in 2007. Ryan Seacrest, heir apparent to the Clark throne, spoke for him: "He's looking forward to this show. He loves being on the air on New Year's Eve. There's nothing that's going to stop him from being there."

The highlight of this year's show will be a record-high 19 performances, Seacrest says. Among them: Rihanna, Ludacris, Christina Aguilera, Rascal Flatts, the cast of Jersey Boys, Natasha Bedingfield, Meat Loaf and RBD.

They'll all be part of the ABC festivities that start at 10 p.m. (live ET, tape-delayed PT) with Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve 2007.

Seacrest saw Clark within the past month and said he looked "relaxed" and was "joking."

Seacrest added: " I think he has definitely improved. He has improved since we've seen him at the Emmys (in August). He's obviously still recovering, but I think you'll see improvement on the New Year's Eve show."

Seacrest says there has been no talk of him doing the show without Clark. "As far as I'm concerned, Dick can do it and will do it as long as he wants to."

He could not say what Clark's role will be this year. "It is up to Dick." Seacrest plans to do one thing: "Be there for as much as he needs me for."

Seacrest said he was happy to have Clark back on the air last year.

"It made me more comfortable to have him there. It's his show. It's his platform. I think it made it much easier for me to know he was going to carry what he was going to carry. It showed a lot of strength and courage for him. He's a fearless individual."

Brittany Snow Cast in Finding Amanda

(12/10/06) Brittany Snow has been cast as the lead of indie pic Finding Amanda, starring Matthew Broderick and being written and directed by Peter Tolan, reports Variety.

Shooting will begin January 3 in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

The film revolves around a strung-out TV producer (Broderick) who is sent by his wife on a mission to save their niece Amanda (Snow), who's a hooker and stripper living in Las Vegas.

Snow next stars in New Line's musical adaptation Hairspray in the role of Amber Von Tussle.

Dick Clark auctions 'Bandstand' mic

(12/06/06) Fifty years after his first appearance on the TV show that became known as "American Bandstand," Dick Clark let go of the microphone.

The famed host auctioned off a number of items from his personal collection of musical memorabilia, including a microphone he used beginning July 9, 1956 — his first day on the rock 'n' roll show that made him famous. The microphone went for $33,000 Wednesday at Guernsey's auction house.

Other items sold in the two-day auction included Madonna's bustier worn during the video for "Open Your Heart," for $11,400; a cape belonging to Elvis Presley, for $24,000; and Bob Dylan's harmonica, which went for $18,000, auction president Arlan Ettinger said. A pair of red and yellow boots worn by Elton John sold for $9,600.

Lithographs that John Lennon gave his wife Yoko Ono as a wedding gift were sold for $54,000. The drawings were first exhibited in January 1970 at the London Art Gallery, but the exhibition was closed on the second day by Scotland Yard, which said they were too sexually explicit.

Clark, 76, described himself as "a pack rat" since childhood and said his scripts and memorabilia had filled 28,000 square feet in a California warehouse. Clark, who suffered a stroke in 2004, still goes to work daily and undergoes therapy, Ettinger said.

The auction was held at Jazz at Lincoln Center in Manhattan. Guernsey's said it would be a no-reserve auction, with everything selling for the highest bid.

Much of the profits from the sale were to go to the T.J. Martell Foundation, which was founded by the music industry to raise money for research on cancer and AIDS, Ettinger said.

The buyer's fee was 20 percent.

NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE INCLUDES RECORD NUMBER OF LIVE PERFORMANCES

(12/05/06) Chart-topper Christina Aguilera will rock in the New Year with live performances from Times Square during "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2007," airing SUNDAY, DECEMBER 31 on the ABC Television Network. For the primetime special, country superstars Rascal Flatts will lead the world-class roster of performances that also includes the stars of Broadway's "Jersey Boys," as the show expands from one to a record three performances, live from the show's exclusive performance stage on Military Island before almost a million people, and tens of million more viewers at home. Other musical acts for the 35th consecutive year of the special will include Fergie, Natasha Bedingfield, Meat Loaf and Latin music phenomenon RBD, all from the Hollywood party. Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest will host three specials from New York on this evening, making three and a half hours of special New Year's programming:

"Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve 2007" (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET)
"Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2007," Part 1 (11:35 p.m. -1:05 a.m., ET)
"Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2007," Part 2 (1:05-2:05 a.m., ET)

GENE SIMMONS: DICK CLARK 'Was Kind Enough To Us In The Beginning When No One Else Gave A Squat'

(11/26/06) Syndicated newspaper columnists Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith report that KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons shows his serious and, yes, sentimental side while recalling his first meeting with Dick Clark. "When KISS first started we came out to Hollywood for our very first time. We appeared on 'In Concert', Dick Clark's concert show on ABC. We were green, we knew no one, all we had was ourselves — all for one, one for all, us against the world," states Simmons, who is among the many rockers sharing memories of Clark in preparation for his big memorabilia auction to benefit the T.J. Martell Foundation. Gene appears on today's (Nov. 25) "Dick Clark Auction Preview" on VOOM's Treasure HD, the new high-definition network dedicated to collectors, which will also show much of the two-day auction next month.

"Right before we were to go on, Clark came into our dressing room," continues Simmons. "He put his arm around our shoulders and said, 'Anything you want, just ask me.' He was kind enough to us in the beginning when no one else gave a squat. Dick Clark was, is, and continues to be a gentleman of the highest order."

Clark progressing two years after stroke

(11/21/06) Nearly two years after a stroke, "American Bandstand" icon Dick Clark recounted Monday the stunning moment he realized his right side was paralyzed. "It was a complete surprise," Clark told The Associated Press in a telephone interview after his daily two-hour therapy session, which he said left him feeling "pooped."

Clark, who turns 77 next week, knew there was something wrong when he awakened on Dec. 6, 2004.

"I woke up in the morning and my right side didn't work. I thought a dog had slept on my side," said Clark, who sounded upbeat and could be clearly understood. "My wife said, `I think you had a stroke,' and she drove me to the hospital."

Doctors at Burbank's Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center kept him hospitalized for weeks. Rehabilitation therapy sessions have continued ever since.

"Your life changes overnight," he said.

Recently, Clark has been busy promoting the Dec. 5 and 6 auction of his memorabilia at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. The self-professed pack rat plans to attend.

"I keep everything. It's one of my problems. I'm a saver," Clark said.

Throughout his rehabilitation, Clark's devoted wife, Kari, has been at his side, as she has throughout their marriage.

"She's one of a kind, thank God," Clark said.

"I am happy that I'm alive, that I'm reasonably well," he continued. "I'm sad that I'm impaired with my walking and my speech is impaired. But I'm happy."

Besides preparing for a Thanksgiving Day meal for 18 of her relatives, Kari Clark was also organizing Tuesday evening's "American Music Awards" after-party. Clark, who has produced that show for decades, said he almost considers it one of his children.

"I watch it," Clark said. "Sure, I'm interested. I created that thing 34 years ago. You can't just dismiss it (from your life)."

He's also produced the "Academy of Country Music Awards" and " Golden Globe Awards" shows for years.

Next month's auction includes some prized mementos from Clark's classic "American Bandstand," including the microphone he used on July 9, 1956, when he kicked off the rock 'n' roll show that made him famous.

Arlan Ettinger, the president of Guernsey's auction house, expects it will fetch between $10,000 and $100,000.

Other items on the block include a bass guitar that Paul McCartney played when he was a Beatle, a Michael Jackson beaded glove and the harmonica that Bob Dylan played in "The Last Waltz."

Clark has a 28,000 square foot warehouse full of stuff.

"I didn't want to get rid of any of it. But there comes a time to clean the closet," Clark said, adding there had been some thought to creating a Dick Clark Museum. "Nothing ever came to fruit."

Much of the auction profits will go to the T.J. Martell Foundation, which was founded by the music industry to raise money for research on cancer and AIDS, Ettinger said.

Brothers take flight in NBC's `Heroes'

(11/14/06) "Heroes" Adrian Pasdar and Milo Ventimiglia put their heads together. They align their profiles to point out how much alike they look. Not surprisingly, they play brothers in the new NBC hit series, which airs Mondays at 9 p.m ET.

"Eyes, nose," they exclaim, their words bouncing into each other's.

"Look at these two eyes," Pasdar gestures.

"The color thing, and everything," says Ventimiglia, as, side by side, they widen their eyes.

"Exactly the same color," affirms Pasdar.

"Like build and body," Ventimiglia continues.

"It's all right there," interjects Pasdar.

Pasdar is the older sibling, Nathan Petrelli, an ambitious overachiever running for political office. Ventimiglia is Peter Petrelli, a male nurse, who is something of a dreamer.

All the main characters in this fantasy drama are ordinary people with extraordinary talents. Both Petrelli brothers can fly — something Nathan's not too keen on voters finding out about.

Additionally, Peter is able to pick up on the abilities of other super-powered people. Those include Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka), a computer enthusiast who can time travel; Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera), a drug-addicted artist who can paint the future, and Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere), a cheerleader who cannot die.

There's also Niki Sanders (Ali Larter), a Las Vegas stripper and single mom who discovers secrets through her mirror image, and Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg), a Los Angeles cop who can hear people's thoughts. Sendhil Ramamurthy plays Mohinder Suresh, a genetics professor from India who discovered the heroes.

With the series' interwoven elements just beginning to mesh, Ventimiglia wasn't yet sure how close his character has to get to others to pick up their skills. He also was unclear "whether he can retain them."

"It's not like testing your car alarm to see how far you can get before you can turn it off or on," he says, grinning, as he and Pasdar wait for a rehearsal call in their trailer.

What both know is that it's fun to fly, even though it's not as easy as it looks.

"If we didn't have the physical acumen that we have, I think the show would have a different feel, at least in terms of our input, because the flying stuff is difficult to pull off and make look real," says Pasdar.

The actors feel they should take what opportunities they can to inject a semblance of reality, and sometimes even humor, into their flight scenes — moments that might include unsteady landings, cold shivers, tears in the eyes and maybe even bugs in the teeth.

"The truth is, the show is very reality based," says creator and executive producer Tim Kring. "The show is really about what would happen if you or I woke up one day to discover we had some sort of special ability. ... How would we fold it into our normal lives."

Kring believes "Heroes" has caught on with viewers because, "I think everybody deep down feels they are special in some way, and if they don't feel that then they wish that they did."

He adds: "We live in a very complicated and confusing world and the thought that there might be people who would be coming along and may be able to deal with some of those complicated issues, and perhaps solve them, is, I think, a very intriguing idea right now."

A few years ago, Pasdar went in to read for the role of Ventimiglia's father in a planned but then aborted spinoff of "Gilmore Girls," the series in which the younger actor had costarred.

That idea would have been something of a stretch, since Ventimiglia is 29 and Pasdar is 41 (and married to Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks and the father of two young sons).

"Ultimately they said, when he (Pasdar) walked out of the room, `Wow, he's really good. You guys should play brothers,'" Ventimiglia recalls.

They met again on the set of "Heroes" on which Ventimiglia had been the first main character cast and Pasdar the last.

"He's the bow on the gift" Ventimiglia says, causing the actors to laugh about the bribe that might have been needed to make him say that.

CBS Offers Online 'Smith' Closure

(11/10/06) CBS' "Smith" was the first casualty of the fall season, but now the show's handful of devoted fans will be able to get some sense of where the heist drama was head.

The network announced on Thursday (Nov. 9) that the four remaining episodes of "Smith" will be available on CBS' streaming broadband channel Innertube. In addition to the three episodes that actually aired, viewers can watch seven "Smith" hours on Innertube and also download them at AOL, Amazon and Apple's iTunes Store.

But if that's not closure enough, CBS has also gotten the show's producers to write a brief synopsis of how the series, which starred Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, Simon Baker, Amy Smart, Jonny Lee Miller, Franky G, Chris Bauer and Shohreh Aghdashloo, would have ended.

After its three Wednesday night airings, CBS pulled "Smith" on Oct. 6, helping the series achieve the dubious honor of beating The CW's "Runaway," NBC's "Kidnapped" and FOX's "Happy Hour" to the shelf. CBS will premiere its "Smith" replacement, the medical drama "3 Lbs.," on Tuesday, Nov. 14.

Dick Clark returning for '07 show

(10/27/06) As he did last year, Dick Clark will co-host the annual "New Year's Rockin' Eve." The former "American Bandstand" host, now 76, will join Ryan Seacrest and musical guest Christina Aguilera to ring in 2007 before a national TV audience of millions. Clark missed the show two years ago when he suffered a stroke but returned to the holiday staple last New Year's Eve.

Seacrest, the 31-year-old host of "American Idol," handled co-hosting duties last year and is expected to eventually succeed Clark as the show's host.

Clark originated the New Year's Eve program back in 1972. The only show he missed followed his Dec. 6, 2004, stroke.

Dick Clark plans to auction memorabilia from American Bandstand in December

(10/25/06) Fifty years after his first appearance on the show that became known as "American Bandstand," Dick Clark is ready to let go of the microphone.

The famed host is auctioning off a number of items from his personal collection of musical memorabilia, including the microphone he used beginning on July 9, 1956 - his first day on the rock 'n' roll show that made him famous.

"It's tough to part with that one," Clark said of the microphone, which was valued by Arlan Ettinger, president of Guernsey's auction house, at between US$10,000 and US$100,000.

Other items to be sold include a bass guitar that Paul McCartney played when he was a Beatle, a beaded glove that Michael Jackson wore in his moonwalking phase and the harmonica that Bob Dylan played in "The Last Waltz."

The host of "New Year's Rockin' Eve", now 76, described himself as "a pack rat" since childhood and said his scripts and memorabilia had filled 2,520 square metres in a California warehouse.

"I've got every Life magazine that was ever printed, because my grandmother saved them for me," he said. "I've got most of the Playboy magazines. I've got Fortune - lovely photographs in there. I saved everything."

Clark, who suffered a stroke in 2004, still goes to work daily and undergoes therapy, Ettinger was quoted as saying by the New York Times in its Wednesday edition.

The auction was planned for Dec. 5 and 6 at Jazz at Lincoln Center in Manhattan. Guernsey's said it would be a no-reserve auction, with everything selling for the highest bid.

Much of the profits from the sale are to go to the T.J. Martell Foundation, which was founded by the music industry to raise money for research on cancer and AIDS, Ettinger said.

CBS' 'Smith' first new show to bite dust

(10/06/06) Here's something Ray Liotta and Virginia Madsen won't be putting on their resumes: stars of the first new TV show to bite the dust this fall. "Smith," the Tuesday night CBS drama with Liotta leading a band of high-stakes thieves, is off the schedule, the network said Friday. It will be replaced temporarily by reruns of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "Criminal Minds."

Networks don't like to use the word "cancel" — it sounds so messy — but the show's producers have been given no promise that it will return.

Its last episode had only 8.4 million viewers on Tuesday, according to Nielsen Media Research. It faced tough competition in the time slot from NBC's "Law & Order: SVU" and ABC's "Boston Legal."

Meanwhile, NBC announced the sort-of cancellation of its Wednesday night serial comedy "Kidnapped," which stars Jeremy Sisto. NBC gambled by putting the show in the time slot held for a long time by "Law & Order," and it failed miserably.

"Kidnapped" will be moved to the television purgatory of Saturday nights, starting Oct. 21. Its producers have been told to wrap up the serialized drama's story lines by the end of the show's 13-episode order, NBC said.

Networks have been wrestling with how to satisfy fans who've gotten involved in serialized dramas when the ratings are poor enough for the show to be canceled.

Fox has put its new comedy "Happy Hour" on hiatus, but insists it will return.

'Heros' Gets Full-Season

(10/06/06) NBC has given a full-season order for 2006-07 to "Heroes" (Mondays, 9-10 p.m. ET) - the critically acclaimed and #1 new series this Fall in adults 18-49 (tied with ABC's "Brothers & Sisters") -- it was announced today by Kevin Reilly, President, NBC Entertainment.

"'Heroes' has delivered exceptional ratings since it's premiere and we're even more impressed with the quality of the upcoming episodes," said Reilly. "We have complete confidence in creator-executive producer Tim Kring. The best is yet to come over the course of a full season with this newest drama sensation."

"Heroes" is averaging a 5.7 rating, 14 share in adults 18-49 and 13.5 million viewers overall, making it the #1 new series this Fall in adults 18-49, tied with ABC's "Brothers & Sisters." "Heroes" is the #1 show in its competitive Monday 9-10 p.m. (ET) slot in adults 18-49, generating a 43 percent increase on NBC's non-sports average for the time period last season.

From creator-executive producer Kring (NBC's "Crossing Jordan") comes "Heroes," an epic drama that chronicles the lives of ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities.

They include a genetics professor (Sendhil Ramamurthy, "Blind Guy Driving") in India who is led by his father's disappearance to uncover a secret theory - that there are people with super powers living among us. Also featured are a young dreamer (Milo Ventimiglia, "Gilmore Girls") tries to convince his politician brother (Adrian Pasdar, "Judging Amy") that he can fly. A high school cheerleader (Hayden Panettiere, "Ice Princess") learns that she is totally indestructible. A Las Vegas single mother (Ali Larter, "Final Destination") struggles to make ends meet to support her young son (Noah Gray-Cabey, "My Wife & Kids") and discovers that her mirror image has a secret.

In addition, a fugitive from justice (Leonard Roberts, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") continues to baffle authorities who twice have been unable to contain him. A gifted artist (Santiago Cabrera, "Empire"), whose drug addiction is destroying his life and relationship with his girlfriend (Tawny Cypress, "Third Watch"), can paint the future. A down-on-his-luck Los Angeles beat cop (Greg Grunberg, "Alias") can hear people's thoughts, which puts him on the trail of an elusive serial killer. In Japan, a young man (Masi Oka, NBC's "Scrubs") develops a way to stop time through sheer will power.

Their ultimate destiny is nothing less than saving the world.

Joining Kring as executive producer are Dennis Hammer (NBC's "Crossing Jordan") and Allan Arkush (NBC's "Crossing Jordan"). The drama is produced by NBC Universal Television Studio.

Familiar crime mystery adds family twist and runs with it

(09/25/06) If the new CW had more shows like Runaway, people might be more interested in the new CW.

Not that Runaway is a great show — it's one of those midlevel, decently entertaining dramas you're most inclined to watch when nothing else in the time slot excites you. But it does have two top-level stars in Donnie Wahlberg and Leslie Hope and an intriguing, easily grasped family-on-the-run premise. And it's new, a welcome rarity on a network otherwise mostly devoted to recycling and resurrecting.

Wahlberg is Paul Rader, a successful lawyer but not-so-successful family man who goes on the run when he's accused of murdering a young female attorney. Unlike The Fugitive, however, he takes his family with him.

As the show opens, he's off to small-town Iowa with his wife, Lily (Hope), and their three children: Henry (Dustin Milligan), Hannah (Sarah Ramos) and Tommy (Nathan Gamble). The plan is to hide out there until Paul can figure out who is trying to frame him.

The premise certainly gives the writers multiple story lines to explore. There's the mystery, as Paul travels in the coming weeks from Iowa to Chicago to Washington, tracking down clues to the case. There's the domestic drama, as Paul and Lily try to reunite a family that had grown used to living separate lives. And finally, there's the typically WB-ish teen drama, as the two older children, Henry and Hannah, adjust to a new high school and new adolescent romantic entanglements.

The problem is that all three shows and all five stars are not created equal. Wahlberg and Hope are by far the show's best assets, and they drive the most interesting plots. Indeed, the strain that life on the run puts on them as parents provides the show with its most intriguing dilemmas: How do you get medicine for your son without medical records? What do you do if a foolish act threatens to put your child into the legal system and onto the FBI's radar?

The weakest story, as you might expect, is the too-familiar teen-angst drama. The good news, though, is that the high school story may not be as awful as the premiere would lead you to believe. Milligan's Henry, in particular, is unendurable tonight, but the character does become less whiny and self-centered as the show progresses.

The tossup is the mystery, which would seem to be awfully hard to sustain over the long haul. Can Paul really spend year after year trying to crack the case? As for his family, the longer they stay in one place, the less suspense the series can generate; but do you really want to see those kids yanked from high school to high school?

Too much of that, and the Raders won't be the only ones running away.

'Heroes' has the power to engage and confuse

(09/25/06) You can practically hear the Heroes cult forming.

Dense, dark, a little dreary and yet oddly intriguing, Heroes seems destined to attract an audience that is more loyal than large. A distinctive, dark-knight comic book brought to life, Heroes clearly isn't for everyone, but that's all right: Every show doesn't have to be for everyone. What matters is that Heroes is likely to please viewers who like genre series, even when those series take themselves a tad too seriously.

They will, however, have to get past a pilot that is so devoted to setting a tone that it ignores the need to establish its characters or move along its story. And the pretentious twang to that tone is set by the opening credits, with their Star Wars-type graphic crawl and the promise that we are entering Chapter One, Volume One of an "epic tale." It's hard enough to get people to take high-concept shows seriously; there's no need to actually invite derisive laughter.

The concept here is that a group of people scattered around the globe have evolved to a higher genetic level and developed superpowers. They don't all understand their powers and they may not all put them to heroic purposes. Over time, however, many of them will realize that it's their destiny to save the world.

Like Six Degrees, destiny seems to be a large part of the Heroes mythology, as the characters continually cross paths — no easy task considering how spread out they are at the start.

Mohinder (Sendhil Ramamurthy) is a genetics professor in India; Peter (Milo Ventimiglia, finally playing a likable character) is a nurse in New York; Hiro (Masi Oka) is an animé fan in Tokyo; Claire (Hayden Panettiere) is a cheerleader in Texas.

All of them speak English, except for Hiro, whose dialogue requires subtitles, yet another demand from a show that makes an awful lot of them.

The show spends much of its first two episodes revealing the characters' powers, so it seems unfair to give them away here. Let's just say some are more mental — telepathy, empathy, an ability to stop time or see into the future. Some are more physical, from an ability to fly to an inability to be hurt. And some either haven't been revealed or I haven't figured them out, which may explain why some of the characters are of much greater interest than others.

And that's part of the problem with Heroes: It isn't always clear whether the show is being intentionally mysterious or is simply unintentionally confused. Heavily serialized fantasies like Heroes are particularly hard to carry off, and you don't leave the first three episodes convinced that the actors and producers are up to the challenge.

Yet you don't leave bored, either, and that's no small accomplishment. If nothing else, Heroes shows an early knack for coming up with the kind of surprise, episode-ending cliffhangers that will keep some viewers coming back for more.

Make no mistake, it will attract a cult. Whether the cult will be large enough is a question only one of the Heroes could answer.

New CW drama unlikely to be "Runaway" hit

(09/25/06) In "The Fugitive," only one person was on the lam, running to avoid capture for a crime he didn't commit while tracking the real criminal. In "Runaway," you have a whole family trying to evade the long arm of the law.

That they do so practically despite themselves cracks the foundation on which the series was built. At times, things veer so far off center that running from the feds seems like a distraction from the more important story of teen romance and angst, just another annoyance like a sudden zit or a dropped call.

Technically, the feds are after only Dad, Paul Rader (Donnie Wahlberg), a successful lawyer who jumped bail rather than face overwhelming circumstantial evidence in a murder trial. The wife and three kids are along for the ride because, as we learn late in the pilot episode, whoever framed Dad is threatening them as well.

There's another new series, "Six Degrees," in which a character running for her life seeks anonymity in New York. In "Runaway," the Rader family takes the exact opposite tack, hiding from the law in a small Iowa town. Which strategy works better? We'll find out by who gets captured last. Or canceled first.

Intuitively, it would seem that prying small-town eyes would focus long and hard on these strangers with no identification. Mom (Leslie Hope) gets around all that by telling everyone they were caught off guard by Hurricane Katrina, an explanation that works much better for her than it did for FEMA.

Although it's the father who's in the biggest pickle, this is the new youth-oriented CW (indeed, this is the very first new CW series), and creator-writer Chad Hodge keeps closer tabs on the two teens in the family: sullen and angry Henry (Dustin Milligan) and sweetly sociable Hannah (Sarah Ramos).

That, in turn, considerably dilutes the suspense from any story about people trying to escape authorities. While Mom and Dad weigh every word and gesture, Junior is busy using traceable anytime minutes to call the squeeze he left behind. Sis, meanwhile, is concentrating on looking hot for her new social circle. Danger? What danger?

The Toronto area stands in nicely for Iowa, and director Peter Markle is skillful at juggling flashbacks with real time, as well as finding some interesting angles. Wahlberg and Hope show some emotional range, with their expressive faces perhaps the most palpable indication of danger throughout the pilot. The show will get a boost from its "7th Heaven" lead-in, but if NBC's "Heroes" catches on in the same time period, the only option for the Rader family will be surrender.

Cast:
Paul Rader: Donnie Wahlberg
Lily Rader: Leslie Hope
Henry Rader: Dustin Milligan
Hannah Rader: Sarah Ramos
Tommy Rader: Nathan Gamble
Gina Bennett: Susan Floyd
Agent Huntley: Karen LeBlanc

Executive producers: Darren Star, Ed Zuckerman; Co-executive producers: Chad Hodge, Susie Fitzgerald, Dana Baratta; Producers: John E. Pogue, Luke Schelhaas, Abram Hatch, Lynn Raynor; Director: Peter Markle; Creator-teleplay: Chad Hodge; Director of photography: Ron Stannett; Production designer: Ian Brock; Editor: Scott Vickrey; Set designer: Ian Wheatley; Casting: Susan Forrest, Sharon Forrest.

NBC has hit on its hands with "Heroes"

(09/25/06) Part sci-fi, part mystery and wholly unique, "Heroes" is one of TV's most imaginative creations and might, with luck, become this year's "Lost." Its mix of danger, humor, drama, romance and science creates a unique and surprising flavor of programming. At the same time, it fills scene after scene with characters that wouldn't or couldn't easily fit into any other show.

Creator-writer Tim Kring is anything but coy about his ambition. An advisory at the start of the pilot tells viewers that "Heroes" is about "a seemingly random group of individuals" who "will not only save the world but change it forever." The opener mostly introduces us to people in the midst of discovering their superpowers (or "special abilities," as Kring puts it); the following episode spells out the nature of a huge disaster they soon must prevent.

Among others, there's Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia), a nurse who can't shake the feeling that he can fly; Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere), a Texas high school cheerleader who instantly heals from any injury; Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera), an artist who unconsciously paints future disasters; Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka), a Japanese office drone who can bend the space-time continuum; and Niki Sanders (Ali Larter), a sexy Vegas webcam girl and single mother who, when she blacks out, is capable of unimaginable strength and brutality.

Some embrace their powers; others fear them. Hiro rejoices that he is no longer just a cipher. Claire is bummed that her recuperative power sets her apart from her schoolmates. The varying reactions are as much a part of the series as any future small or large battles between good and evil. What's more, Kring has repeatedly said these heroes will remain, for the most part, individuals and not become members of some"X-Men" or "Justice League of America" consortium.

The only certain thing they have in common is an indirect link to Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy), a geneticist from India who is pursuing the work of his murdered father in the fields of mutations and human potential. Dad was figuring out how to identify and locate these mutant people. Mohinder tries to make sense of the research, fully aware that he is being observed and menaced by someone whose interest in the subject is less benign.

"Heroes" has been smartly cast, but the story is king. People connect with one another at odd times and in unpredictable ways. Scenes jump from place to place halfway around the world, but director David Semel keeps it from getting confusing.

Cast:
Peter Petrelli: Milo Ventimiglia
Mohinder Suresh: Sendhil Ramamurthy
Simone Deveraux: Tawny Cypress
Niki Sanders: Ali Larter
Claire Bennet: Hayden Panettiere
Nathan Petrelli: Adrian Pasdar
Hiro Nakamura: Masi Oka
Isaac Mendez: Santiago Cabrera
Micah Sanders: Noah Gray-Cabey

Executive producers: David Semel, Tim Kring, Dennis Hammer; Producer: Skip Beaudine; Co-producer: Lori Motyer; Director: David Semel; Teleplay-creator: Tim Kring; Director of photography: Adam Kane; Production designer: Curtis Schnell; Music: Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman; Set designer: Crista Schneider; Casting: Jason La Padura, Natalie Hart.

`Heroes': fresh and skillfully executed

(09/22/06) A man throws himself from a 15-story building in downtown Manhattan. He survives the fall (as he was sure he would) thanks to a timely display of human levitation.

After school in a small Texas town, a teenager still in her cheerleader's uniform takes a fall of her own, then dashes into a burning building. Within moments, her broken bones and sizzled flesh repair themselves, confirming her fearful suspicions.

A nerdy Tokyo office worker convinced he's meant for better things is training his mind for higher functions. One grand day he teleports himself to bustling Times Square.

What do these people have in common?

For starters, they're characters on the new mystic thriller "Heroes," which premieres at 9 p.m. EDT Monday on NBC.

But they're not the only ones. A drama that rightly bills itself as epic, "Heroes" is loaded with seemingly ordinary people from all over who bear out the theory of a genetics professor in India. His Human Genome Project declares that minute variations in genetic code are exhibiting themselves more and more — and turning more lives upside down.

A Las Vegas stripper and single mother discovers that her reflected image in mirrors has startling secrets to share. An artist is haunted by the realization that he can paint the future.

The professor was working on a systematic formula for identifying these "special" people. But then he is murdered by villains who are out to use his research for their own evil purposes. Now they are after his defiant scientist-son. Who are they, and what's at the root of their sinister mission? Will it put the people who display these eerie gifts in danger — and mobilize them to fight back?

The first episode of this fascinating series sets forth its trippy premise and introduces a number of its newly empowered (the huge ensemble includes Adrian Pasdar, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Milo Ventimiglia, Ali Larter, Santiago Cabrera, Masi Oka and more).

What happens next, and how the paths of these chosen might cross, are questions left hanging by the premiere. And they're delicious ones to ponder.

"Heroes" is, on the one hand, a meditation on unsuspecting humans who, to their delight or horror, are vaulted to extraordinary levels of potential. How will they cope with it? How will they make use of it? Is this some sort of legion of superheroes in the making?

At the same time, their process of self-discovery appears to be unfolding in an apocalyptic context. Something bad seems to be on the horizon. Are they meant to be a global rescuing force?

There seems plenty in just the first hour to snag a viewer's interest — and start the questions flowing. And at least one dandy twist will whet the appetite of conspiracy theorists in the audience.

The expansive vision and population of "Heroes" offers boundless promise for what may lie ahead. It's a show whose freeform, existential mysteries could trigger scores of fan sites.

Something fresh and skillfully executed, "Heroes" is like nothing else on TV. Unless it's an obsessed-upon ABC hit about a large group of people likewise trying to make sense of their world under pressure. With "Heroes," could NBC have found its "Lost"?

Heist caper "Smith" too smart for its own good

(09/18/06) In just the past year, two series, "Thief" and "Heist," both well-written, performed and produced, nonetheless failed to interest enough viewers in the activities of a group of professional and sometimes charismatic thieves. Perhaps the third time will be the charm, but it's hard to be enthusiastic about the chances for "Smith" despite the obvious care that went into its creation.

The complex pilot of "Smith" introduces each of the half-dozen or so members of the team led by Bobby Stevens (Ray Liotta), as well as Stevens' wife, Hope (Virginia Madsen). After presumably extensive planning, the team strikes, and we're not talking about convenience stores. In the opener, they score three masterpieces from a museum in Pittsburgh.

The cinematography is stylish, and the action sequences compare favorably to those shot for larger screens. The acting is good, sometimes even inspired, and yet there is a big problem with the show. Put simply, most of these characters are distasteful and sometimes downright repulsive.

One commits a double homicide where a normal person might merely take offense and walk away. Another not only steals credit card numbers but cheats the person who supplies them. A third is addicted to gambling to the point that his family is endangered. It's not that these people are morally complex. Tony Soprano is morally complex. The lead in Showtime's "Dexter," which starts October 1, is morally complex. These folks are just plain evil. Nonetheless, "Smith" asks viewers to become emotionally invested in them week after week.

If they do, Liotta deserves much of the credit. Within this group, Bobby, a suburban dad whose cover is a sales job for a disposable cup manufacturer, is the only one bothered by this secret life of crime. Although he conceals his freelance work from his family, there are indications that his wife is, at the very least, suspicious. Liotta, among today's most watchable actors, expresses his moral ambiguity in small and large ways, and his character is the focus of every scene in which he appears.

It is particularly hard to assess "Smith" from the pilot alone. For starters, the version available to critics is at least a few minutes longer than the one that will be broadcast. Of greater importance, exec producer John Wells said most episodes, unlike the pilot, will involve planning for the big caper and not carrying it out. Finally, the group, and Bobby in particular, will become the focus of an FBI investigation. Agent Dodd (Chris Bauer) knows Bobby only as "Smith," the name given to all anonymous criminals. That part of the story gets only a few seconds in the pilot.

That said, Bobby's biggest challenge might not be the FBI but NBC and ABC. The show will compete against popular dramas "Law & Order: SVU" and "Boston Legal." If that wasn't enough, this predominantly male-appeal show also will face off against the relocated NFL game on ESPN. Breaking all those tackles might be harder than pulling off the heists.

Cast:
Bobby Stevens: Ray Liotta
Hope Stevens: Virginia Madsen
Annie: Amy Smart
Jeff: Simon Baker
Tom: Jonny Lee Miller
Joe: Franky G.
Agent Dodd: Chris Bauer
Charlie: Shohreh Aghdashloo
Shawn: Mike Doyle

Executive producers: John Wells, Brooke Kennedy, Christopher Chulack, Scott Gemmill; Producer: Patrick Ward; Director: Christopher Chulack; Writer-creator: John Wells; Director of photography: Jonathan Freeman; Production designer: Hilda Stark; Editor: Adam Wolfe.

CW, MSN team on sneak previews

(08/31/06) The CW Network is partnering with MSN to premiere episodes from four of its fall-season primetime series online and before their broadcast debuts.

Premiere episodes from "America's Next Top Model," "Everybody Hates Chris," "Supernatural" and the new drama from "Sex and the City" creator Darren Star, "Runaway," will be offered free and without commercial interruption on msn.com for one week before their on-air broadcast.

The first hour of "Model" will be available beginning September 13 until its official launch September 20, while "Runaway" will debut online September 18, the second-season opener of "Supernatural" on September 21 and "Everybody Hates Chris" premiering on the site September 24.

They join previously launched series on MSN, Fox's "Prison Break" and "Vanished."

Dick Clark humbled by Emmys tribute

(08/28/06) Too often, it seems, one has to die in order to receive a tribute from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences -- as was the case this year with Aaron Spelling.

Fortunately, Dick Clark is here, though still battling the effects of a stroke suffered in late 2004. He was honored Sunday night on the Emmy stage for his vast contributions to the television business, particularly the iconic weekly music series "American Bandstand."

Introduced by Simon Cowell of "American Idol" fame -- perhaps something of an odd choice -- Clark, 76, received a thunderous standing ovation that seemed almost to embarrass him. "Sit down, sit down, please," he implored.

Clark's remarks were short but poignant. Speaking haltingly, he said: "The Emmy people called and asked if I could walk out and say thanks. My wife joked, 'Walk? He's just begun to learn to walk again. This show might run a little long."'

He added: "Before I had my stroke, I was thinking about all of the things I had become involved with over my life: music, comedy, drama, game and talk shows, even reality TV. I now realize that I have accomplished my childhood dream: to be in show business. Everybody should be so lucky to have their dreams come true. I've been truly blessed. I thank you very, very much."

And with that, Clark walked off of the stage -- a little bit slower than he used to be but at the same time seemingly walking on air.

The singer, who performed a tribute to Dick Clark during the show, praised the TV legend backstage. "He introduced us to all sorts of great music," said Manilow, who co-wrote the "American Bandstand" theme song. "We wouldn't have the music we have if it weren't for Dick Clark continually fighting to introduce pop music to the public."

Dick Clark makes rare post-stroke TV appearance during special Emmy tribute

(08/27/06) At 76 years old, "America's oldest teenager" made a jovial yet touching appearance during a special Emmys tribute Sunday.

Dick Clark, still recuperating from a 2004 stroke, seemed moved by the warm standing ovation he received, then regaled the crowd with his old smile and self-deprecating jokes.

"Please, sit down," he said, faking a grimace and tapping his left wrist as if pointing to his watch. "Please, the producer will have a fit. You've got to sit down."

Dressed in a tuxedo, his face finally showing the passage of time, Clark sat on a stool behind a podium and joked about a request he received from Emmy producers that he "walk out" onto the Shrine Auditorium stage.

"I've just begun to learn to walk again and the show might run a little long," Clark said.

Clark spoke with a slur but embellished his appearance by gesturing with his arms and hands, slapping old friend Barry Manilow on the back after the singer serenaded Clark with Bandstand Boogie.

It was Clark's first TV appearance since co-hosting New Year's Rockin' Eve last December. He had a stroke in December 2004 and was hospitalized for more than seven weeks.

"Before I had my stroke I was thinking about all of things I've been involved with all of my life - music, comedy, drama, even talk shows, even reality TV," Clark told the crowd. "And I realized that I have accomplished my childhood dream to be in show business. Everybody should be so lucky to have their dreams come true."

Before Clark was introduced, American Idol judge Simon Cowell showed clips from Clark's TV career, including several decades of American Bandstand, which started in the 1950s. The clips showed a seemingly ageless Clark introducing acts ranging from Neil Diamond to Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson to Madonna.

"Music is the soundtrack of our lives," Clark said. "Thank you for being a part of my life."

Cowell Leads Emmy Tribute to Dick Clark

(08/18/06) "American Idol's" Simon Cowell will lead a tribute to TV legend Dick Clark at next week's Emmy Awards.

Cowell is part of the latest group of presenters at the Emmys, which will air Sunday, Aug. 27 on NBC. Freshly added presenters also include father and son Martin and Charlie Sheen -- who will present together, Bob Newhart, nominee Candice Bergen and Ray Liotta.

Jeffrey Tambor and John Lithgow, the stars of NBC's new comedy "Twenty Good Years," will also hand out an award.

Clark is being honored at this year's awards for his long and storied career in television, as the host of the iconic "American Bandstand" (among many other shows) and as a producer whose credits range from "Bloopers" specials to the Golden Globe Awards. This year is also the 50th anniversary of "Bandstand's" premiere as a local show in Philadelphia.

Barry Manilow, who sang and co-wrote the lyrics to the "Bandstand" theme song, will perform during the tribute.

Charlie and Martin Sheen are both nominees this year, Charlie for "Two and a Half Men" and Martin for both "The West Wing" and a guest appearance on his son's sitcom. Bergen is nominated for her work on "Boston Legal" and has won five times in the past for "Murphy Brown."

Liotta and Lithgow are also past winners, and Newhart and Tambor have both been nominated numerous times.

'Runaway' melds '24,' '7th Heaven'

(08/18/06) The show: Runaway
The premiere: Sept. 25, 9 ET/PT, CW

The concept: A man wrongly convicted of murder goes on the lam with his family while trying to prove his innocence.

The challenge: Giving a new network a jump-start.

A man in a troubled marriage is wrongly convicted of murder. With his wife and three kids in tow, he goes on the lam, and the family assumes new identities and takes refuge in small-town Iowa, where they hide as he seeks to find the true killer and exonerate himself.

That's the setup of Runaway, one of just two new shows that will usher in the CW network. Due Sept. 25 (9 ET/PT) as a Monday companion to 7th Heaven, the show is a hybrid: The family drama gussied up as a thriller.

"I wanted to find a way to marry the two," says 29-year-old creator Chad Hodge (Tru Calling). "We can tell those same stories but with a twist. It's a family drama with the screws tightened."

Why? "There's not just one man running around trying to prove himself or go from town to town to town," says Donnie Wahlberg (Boomtown), who plays imperiled Paul Rader. "There are five different people who are trying to survive in this situation. And so there's a wealth of stories to be had in that because each person has their own dilemma." Leslie Hope (24) plays Rader's wife, Lily.

Like many other series this fall, Runaway is serialized, and weekly episodes slowly unravel the murder mystery. But identifying the real killer won't solve Rader's problems: "Just when he thinks he has solved this case, something turns and there's another huge reason why he has to stay on the run," says Hodge, who was inspired by the real case of a fugitive family and his own father's jailing for a white-collar crime.

The show pairs executive producers Darren Star, known for family soaps such as Beverly Hills, 90210, with Ed Zuckerman, who tackles the criminal elements from his years on Law & Order.

"It's about a family under these trying circumstances," says Star, which is "familiar turf for me, but the suspense elements are something I haven't been involved with. There are more interesting thematic and character developments in this show."

CW president Dawn Ostroff doubts "a plain family show these days could launch and sustain the way it could a few years ago. This is something that makes people feel like there's an urgency to watching, a ticking clock. They need something to be driving them." At least until another ticking clock, 24, returns in January.

Hamlin, Lawrence Go 'Dancing'

(08/14/06) Actress Lisa Rinna finished fourth on "Dancing with the Stars" last season, and nearly every week her husband, Harry Hamlin, was in the audience supporting her.

Come September, the couple will switch spots, and Hamlin will take his own turn on the dance floor. The former "L.A. Law" star and "Veronica Mars" bad guy is among the new crop of celebrities on "Dancing with the Stars" this season. Rinna helped unveil the lineup on Monday's "Good Morning America."

Hamlin will be part of an eclectic group that also includes a pair of former teen heartthrobs -- Mario Lopez and Joe Lawrence -- as well as MSNBC host/conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, talk-show maestro Jerry Springer, country music star Sara Evans and NFL legend Emmitt Smith, who will try to better fellow football great Jerry Rice's third-place finish last season.

"High School Musical" star Monique Coleman, actress Vivica A. Fox ("Kill Bill"), pop singer/Lingerie Bowl participant Willa Ford and former Miss USA and "Meet the Barkers" star Shanna Moakler round out the field.

Several of the show's professional dancers will return for the new season, along with some new faces. Judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli will also be back, as will hosts Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris.

"Dancing with the Stars" is scheduled to premiere Tuesday, Sept. 12 on ABC.

Weekend Box Office - Aug 4 to 6

(08/06/06) Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Exhibitor Relations. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, $47 million.
2. Barnyard: The Original Party Animals, $16 million.
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, $11 million.
4. Miami Vice, $9.7 million.
5. The Descent, $8.8 million.
6. John Tucker Must Die, $6.05 million.
7. Monster House, $6 million.
8. The Ant Bully, $3.9 million.
9. The Night Listener, $3.6 million.
10. You, Me and Dupree, $3.6 million

Miami Vice speeds to weekend box office victory over the Pirates

(07/30/06) The Miami Vice speedboat overtook the Pirates of the Caribbean juggernaut to capture the top spot at the weekend box office.

The film, which pairs Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx as the iconic TV characters Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs, took in $25.2 million US, compared to $20.5 million US for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, according to studio estimates Sunday.

"It's nice to be number one," said Nikki Rocco, president of distribution at Universal Pictures.

The gritty, dark action film was directed by Michael Mann, who created the 1980s TV show. The movie was especially attractive to older audiences, with 62 per cent of the audience over 30, according to the studio's exit polling.

The audience was pretty evenly split between men and women, the polling showed.

"It's what our expectations were," Rocco said. "We tried to do something different. There has been a lot of criticism regarding unoriginal product. We took a TV series and made it very different."

The news was not necessarily bad for The Walt Disney Co., which produced Pirates.

In its third week, Pirates has earned $358.4 million US to become the highest grossing film in Disney's history, passing the $339.7 million US earned by the Pixar Animation Studios film Finding Nemo.

"After posting the biggest opening weekend of all time, it is living up to the promise created that opening weekend," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations.

Pirates is on track to break the $400-million US mark in the coming weeks, Dergarabedian said.

The Pixar film Cars has also raked in $234.6 million US to date. And while the film is no longer in the top 10 at the box office, its cumulative gross makes it the second highest grossing film of the year, giving Disney the top two spots so far.

"It's a very happy weekend," said Chuck Viane, Disney's head of distribution.

The teen flick John Tucker Must Die from 20th Century Fox debuted in third place with a respectable $14 million US.

The film, with a budget of about $18 million US, attracted a predominantly young female audience with its story of four high school girls who seek revenge against an unfaithful boyfriend.

The Ant Bully, an animated film from Warner Bros., opened with a mere $8.1 million US.

The film featured the voice talents of Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts and Nicolas Cage and was produced by Tom Hanks. But it just couldn't compete against a crowded field of family pictures.

"It's much less than what we had wanted," said Jeff Goldstein, general sales manager at Warner Bros. "The marketplace is crowded. The kids have been bombarded."

The independent film Little Miss Sunshine opened strongly in limited release.

The quirky film starring Greg Kinnear and Steve Carell, took in $356,863 US in only seven theatres in New York and Los Angeles for a per screen average of $50,980 US.

Overall, box office revenue was up 6.3 per cent and attendance was up 3 per cent.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. Miami Vice, $25.2 million.
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, $20.5 million.
3. John Tucker Must Die, $14 million.
4. Monster House, $11.5 million.
5. The Ant Bully, $8.2 million.
6. Lady in the Water, $7 million.
7. You, Me and Dupree, $7 million
8. Little Man, $5.1 million.
9. The Devil Wears Prada, $4.8 million.
10. Clerks II, $3.9 million.

NBC MAKES 'HEROIC' AND INNOVATIVE CROSS-PLATFORM MARKETING EFFORT TO LAUNCH NEW SERIES 'HEROES'

(07/28/06) NBC's marketing in the digital arena takes a new turn as the network expands its corporate partnerships with National CineMedia, Nissan and Apple's iTunes to cross-promote its new Fall drama "Heroes" by finding new ways to incorporate the products into scripts organically and offering consumers the chance to be the first to see the series.

The announcement was made by John Miller, Chief Marketing Officer, NBC Universal Television Group.

Beginning September 1st, iTunes will offer a free and exclusive download of "Heroes" - in its entirety - in addition to other bonus content from NBC, including series trailers and behind-the-scenes footage from the filming of "Heroes."

"We have an unusual opportunity to team with several excellent corporate partners to let moviegoers be the first to experience this daring new series with its own theatrical feel to it," said Miller. "We want to generate buzz across a variety of platforms long before 'Heroes' ever airs on NBC."

"Once again, NBC is using the cinema to enhance the movie going experience for our patrons with a fun and compelling promotion allowing everybody to have an even better time at the movies," added Cliff Marks, National CineMedia's president of sales and marketing. "Our marketing and content partnership with NBC continues to show how America's two favorite entertainment forums - TV and movies - can team to create exciting consumer engagement opportunities for cinema enthusiasts."

As the exclusive sponsor of the series broadcast premiere, Nissan will present the episode with limited commercial interruption.

Jan Thompson, VP Marketing Nissan North America, related her enthusiasm for the program as part of an ongoing approach for the automaker "This program is just one example of our strategy to engage consumers by delivering content to them in entertaining, high impact environments where we believe the contextual experience is as important as the message."

In advance of the broadcast premiere, NBC and Nissan will also create three million co-branded promotional "Custom Cards" to be distributed exclusively at AMC, Cinemark and Regal Entertainment Group theaters nationwide through box-office handouts. Moviegoers will be encouraged to view the free download and sample the wide-screen appeal of the "Heroes" premiere on iTunes before its broadcast on NBC.

Each co-branded card will feature a unique pin code that NCM patrons can redeem online at a special iTunes NBC Fall Season "preview site" that will provide a free download of "Heroes" plus a backstage look at its filming and the NBC preview trailers of other network series for Fall 2006.

The massive campaign includes a 10-second "First Look" tease produced by National CineMedia that will run on 5,654 digital screens in 428 theaters during August, informing moviegoers to return to the theater in September to obtain their free download card.

To coincide with the in-theater card handouts in September, NBC will air a schedule of co-branded 20-second promos on the network touting the free preview download of "Heroes" on iTunes and NCM, courtesy of Nissan.

In addition, "Heroes" will receive major in-theater play in August with a two-minute and 30-second content piece playing on select AMC, Cinemark and Regal Entertainment Group big screens. Additionally, the series will be represented throughout participating theatres with a 30-second spot featured on NCM's Lobby Entertainment Network plasma screens and will be branded on popcorn bags, among other promotional items, completing the integrated cinema marketing campaign.

From creator/writer Tim Kring (NBC's "Crossing Jordan"), "Heroes" (Mondays, 9-10 p.m. ET beginning this Fall) is an epic drama that chronicles the lives of ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities.

"John Tucker Must Die" -- great title, bad movie

(07/27/06) Despite a bold and promising title, "John Tucker Must Die" lacks the courage of its convictions.

The teenage girls at the center of a revenge plot against a high school lothario are too unimaginative or maybe just too nice for the job. Writer Jeff Lowell and director Betty Thomas should have screened "Mean Girls" or "Heathers" if they wanted to see how these things can be done with real bite. Because instead of mean girls, they give us mild girls.

Young females are the clear target audience. With an attractive though underutilized cast, "John Tucker" should open with average or above-average numbers as counterprogramming to "Miami Vice" and "The Ant Bully."

The film begins with two seemingly unrelated situations. In one, Kate (Brittany Snow) suffers from "invisibility." Her single mom (Jenny McCarthy) moves to a new town every time a man dumps her -- which apparently is often -- so that Kate is the perennial anonymous newcomer at every school. She comes and goes without a ripple.

The other situation revolves around the amorous exploits of one John Tucker (Jesse Metcalfe, Eva Longoria's boy toy on "Desperate Housewives"). Rich, handsome and smooth-talking, the basketball star has his pick of the hottest girls in school. And he usually picks them in threes. Because he is careful to select his girlfriends from different school cliques, no one is any the wiser to his serial dating.

Then his current trio -- head cheerleader Heather (recording star Ashanti), school reporter Carrie (Arielle Kebbel) and vegan fast girl Beth (Sophia Bush) -- all wind up in detention with our Kate. A subsequent exchange of information among these three results in the declaration that is the movie's title. But they only want John Tucker to die of humiliation.

This is where Kate comes in. Having watched her mom date one John Tucker after another, she knows his type backward and forward. The trouble is, all her schemes to bring John down backfire.

Now desperate, the trio persuades Kate to let them turn her into John Tucker's dream girl. They certainly know enough about his tastes and moves to do so. Their plan is for Kate to get John to fall for her, then kick him off her love boat with a concrete life jacket.

Here the movie turns into standard-issue teen romance, albeit one in which the girl has a tiny camera clipped to a bra strap so her advisers can monitor and record every stage of the romance. And here, too, the blandness of the characters is telling. John is so obvious and almost innocent in his serial dating that you wonder why anyone cares. You get what you buy into. And Kate is essentially too nice, never really that determined to crush this guy despite all her mother's disappointments in love. You never believe her capable of going through with the scheme.

The film's timidity is best expressed in a shot of two girls kissing in a car that is being exploited in the trailer. In the context of the movie, the scene is a hit-and-run, over so fast you may miss it. If you're going to go there, then go there.

Meanwhile, the filmmakers seem far too removed from the world of high school and social cliques to draw a convincing portrait of either. The twentysomething actors, besides not looking right, don't really have roles based in any reality. About as close as anyone comes is Penn Badgley, who plays John's younger brother Scott, who takes a fumbling, hesitant liking to Kate.

Production values on this Canadian-based production are serviceable.

Cast:
John Tucker: Jesse Metcalfe
Kate: Brittany Snow
Heather: Ashanti
Beth: Sophia Bush
Carrie: Arielle Kebbel
Scott: Penn Badgley
Lori: Jenny McCarthy

Director: Betty Thomas; Screenwriter: Jeff Lowell; Producers: Bob Cooper, Michael Birnbaum; Executive producers: Karen Lunder, Marc S. Fischer; Director of photography: Anthony B. Richmond; Production designer: Marcia Hinds; Music: Richard Gibbs; Costumes: Alexandra Welker; Editor: Matt Friedman.

John Tucker characters treated with more respect than usual teen fare: review

(07/27/06) Presented with the extreme title John Tucker Must Die, you initially can hope that a teen flick in the vein of that great black comedy Heathers might be in store.

Instead, you're treated to a dose of the cutes, but the movie still is a cut above the typical adolescent farce. For teenage girls, there's a quartet of likable young women who bond in a positive fashion rather than cat-fighting their way through cinematic high school cliches.

As a bonus, girls also get to see Jesse Metcalfe, Eva Longoria's gardening hunk on Desperate Housewives, shirtless and even dressed in nothing but a thong, while for the guys who are dragged along to the movie, that quartet of young women is very, very easy on the eyes.

Director Betty Thomas and screenwriter Jeff Lowell refreshingly sidestep the gross-out gags that litter most youth comedies. Though the movie strays deep and often into saccharine country, the filmmakers treat the characters with more respect than teen protagonists normally get in Hollywood.

Metcalfe stars as John Tucker, the captain of the basketball team, the hottest guy in school and, through meticulous scheduling, a youth blessed with three girlfriends unaware their man is triple-timing them.

On John's hook are head cheerleader Heather (pop singer Ashanti), academic and extracurricular overachiever Carrie (Arielle Kebbel) and vegan animal-rights activist Beth (Sophia Bush).

All have been chosen by John because they belong to different cliques, and so are unlikely ever to speak to one another. But when the truth comes out, the three conspire with a misfit school newcomer, Kate (Brittany Snow), to take revenge on John.

After initial ploys backfire, they hit on the ideal payback: Make John fall hard for Kate, then have her break his heart.

Kate's lived an itinerant life with her single mom (Jenny McCarthy - yes, the former Playmate of the Year as mother to a teenager), who packs up and moves the household after her fleeting relationships with men inevitably end badly.

Never in one place long enough to connect with people, Kate's thrilled to have a circle of friends, even if it's a gang of teen harpies playing Henry Higgins to her Eliza Doolittle to make her more attractive to John.

Predictably, the romantic sparks misfire, with Kate torn between a growing crush on John and feelings for his cool but generally unnoticed younger brother (Penn Badgley).

Screenwriter Lowell's background in TV comedy is obvious throughout. The humour in John Tucker Must Die is sitcommy and episodic, quick sight gags and an overload of dialogue delivered breathlessly fast to disguise the fact that most of it's not funny.

Likewise, the actors mostly project as though they're in a sitcom, a little too over-the-top, a little too stiff and stylized. But Snow, Ashanti, Kebbel and Bush's characters all have distinctly perky personalities that blend well together.

Thomas (Doctor Dolittle, The Brady Bunch Movie) maintains a pace brisk enough that even for parents forced to take their kids to see John Tucker Must Die, the pain will be over quickly.

Two stars out of four.

EMMYS TO SALUTE DICK CLARK

(7/24/06) Television industry icon Dick Clark will be honored as part of this year's "58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards," hosted by Conan O'Brien, airing live Sunday, August 27 (8:00-11:00 p.m. ET) on NBC. Musical legend and current Emmy nominee Barry Manilow, who co-wrote the lyrics with Bruce Sussman and sang the words to the catchy "American Bandstand" theme song "Bandstand Boogie," will perform a special musical tribute. The announcement was made today by Ken Ehrlich and Jeff Ross, the executive producers of the telecast.

Clark is one of the most recognized and popular personalities in American entertainment, as well as a successful and well-regarded business executive and entrepreneur. He began his entertainment career at age 17 at WRUN Radio in Utica, New York. After graduating from Syracuse University with a bachelor of science in business administration, he became a news anchorman at television station WKTV. In 1952, he moved to Philadelphia to work for WFIL Radio and Television. Four years later, he became the host of the local television station's show, "Bandstand."

In 1957, Clark founded dick clark productions, inc. and convinced the ABC Network to carry the show nationwide and, within weeks, "American Bandstand" was the country's highest-rated daytime show. To this day, "American Bandstand" still holds the record as television's longest running music/variety program. It has earned many awards and honors, including two Emmy awards. The show also served as the foundation upon which Clark rose to national fame and built a multi-faceted entertainment company which still today produces such hit shows as "So You Think You Can Dance," "The American Music Awards," "The Golden Globe Awards," "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve," "The Academy of Country Music Awards" and "Bloopers" specials.

Since his breakthrough with "American Bandstand," Clark has gone on to host many special broadcasts including the annual "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" specials, the "Bloopers" series and specials, and numerous retrospective specials centered around his history-making "American Bandstand" television series. Clark is also well known for his live behind-the-scenes interviews at such prestigious events as the annual "Golden Globe Awards" and "The Academy of Country Music Awards."

Clark's many other on-air credits include the popular "Pyramid" game series, as well as other game show series. He has been master of ceremonies for many beauty pageants including "Miss Universe," "Miss USA" and "Miss Teen USA." He has co-hosted historic, worldwide broadcasts such as "The Olympic Flag Jam '94," "World Cup: The Final Draw" and "Live Aid." He is the only personality to host top-rated series on all networks and in syndication at the same time.

He has hosted nationally syndicated radio shows (including "Rock, Roll and Remember" and "The US Music Survey"), live "Good Ol' Rock 'N' Roll" shows, and various rock and roll video collections. He has co-authored several books including "Rock, Roll and Remember," "The History of American Bandstand" and "Dick Clark's American Bandstand."

Clark's accomplishments have been recognized by many organizations over the years. Honors include his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame. He also has received the Distinguished Service award from the National Association of Broadcasters. In addition, he has won many other awards, including six Emmys, an Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Lifetime Achievement Award and a Grammy award.

Snow Gets Naked

(7/21/06) Actresses Sanaa Lathan, Denise Richards, Brittany Snow, Rachel Minor, Rachel Blanchard, and Jenna Fischer will join model Heidi Klum and Olympic snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler in the buff.

The celebs will be taking it all off for Jane magazines August issue. Don’t worry; it’s for a good cause. The stars will be auctioning the clothes they’ll be stripped out of to benefit children’s charities. The affair will also be about the article – not just the articles of clothing. The ladies will talk about taking it all off and their level of comfort in being nude in front of strangers.

The clothing auction begins today at www.ClothesOffOurBack.com. The magazine hits newsstands next week on July 25.

Seeing more of Lathan, in a manner of speaking, is a few months away. The actress will soon be working on the TV production of “A Raisin in the Sun.” Based on the play by Lorraine Hansberry, Lathan stars as Beneatha Younger to Phylicia Rashad’s Lena Younger and P. Diddy’s Walter Lee Younger. Lensing for the project begins in December.

A 'Gilmore' Breakup

(7/07/06) Following the end of their on-screen romance, "Gilmore Girls" star Alexis Bledel and former co-star Milo Ventimiglia have split up.

If your first response to the above news was, "They were dating?," don't feel too bad. Although they were a couple for three-plus years, Bledel and Ventimiglia managed to avoid having a harsh spotlight cast on their relationship.

Their parting was apparently similarly low-key. A spokesman for Ventimiglia tells People that the actor "is currently single," but that's about it as details of the breakup go. Both are preparing to work on TV series in the fall, Bledel continuing her role as Rory on "Gilmore Girls" and Ventimiglia in the new NBC show "Heroes."

The two met when Ventimiglia joined the cast of "Gilmore Girls" early in the show's second season as Jess, the not-all-that-bad-boy nephew of Luke Danes (Scott Patterson). Jess became a love interest for Rory fairly quickly, but the two didn't start dating in real life until the end of Ventimiglia's stint as a regular on the series.

He made a couple of guest appearances on the show last season, the last of which signaled an end to the characters' relationship. Ventimiglia also starred in another WB series, "The Bedford Diaries," last season before moving on to "Heroes."

In addition to "Gilmore Girls," Bledel's credits include "Sin City" and "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants."

Hairspray Film Finds Its Tracy; Snow May Play Amber

(6/10/06) An unknown 17-year-old New Yorker has landed the lead role in the much-anticipated film of "Hairspray," based on the Tony Award-winning musical of the same name.

Variety reports that 4-foot-10 Nicole Blonsky has won the role of Tracy Turnblad, which was created on Broadway by Marissa Jaret Winokur, who won a Tony for her performance. Blonsky joins the previously announced John Travolta as Edna Turnblad, Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle and Amanda Bynes as Penny Pingleton in the New Line Cinema film, which will be directed by Adam Shankman.

Blonsky, according to Variety, has performed in several musicals in the Great Neck area, including Sweeney Todd; Kiss Me, Kate; and Les Misérables. She has also sung "God Bless America" and the National Anthem at several local events.

The industry paper also says that Brittany Snow, who played Meg Pryor on the NBC series "American Dreams," is currently in negotiations to play the role of Amber.

Featuring a screenplay by Leslie Dixon, “Hairspray” — with a score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman — should hit movie theatres in summer 2007.

Hairspray, based on the 1988 John Waters film of the same name, currently plays the Neil Simon Theatre. The show won 2003 Tony Awards for Best Score (Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman), Best Book (Thomas Meehan and Mark O'Donnell), Best Actress in a Musical (Marissa Jaret Winokur), Best Actor (Harvey Fierstein), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Dick Latessa), Best Costume Design (William Ivey Long), Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical.

Longtime American Bandstand director Edward J. Yates dies at 87

(6/06/06) Edward J. Yates, who directed American Bandstand for 17 years from a fledgling local TV show to a national institution that made Dick Clark a star, has died at age 87.

He died Friday at Fair Oaks nursing home in Media, where he had been for two months, Donohue Funeral Home said in a statement.

In October 1952, Yates volunteered to direct Bandstand, a new show on Philadelphia's WFIL-TV. The show, featuring local teens dancing to the latest hits, debuted with Bob Horn as announcer and took off after Dick Clark, already a radio veteran at age 26, took over in 1956.

It was broadcast live in its early years, even after it became part of the ABC network's weekday afternoon lineup in 1957 as American Bandstand. Yates pulled records, directed the cameras, queued the commercials and communicated with Clark.

"Ed was an extraordinary director. ... He managed to grab every exciting moment on American Bandstand," Clark told the Philadelphia Inquirer in a telephone interview Monday. "The pictures he created influenced a whole generation of young people across America."

As the show became a hit, Clark became a household name and the mostly working-class teens who were regulars on the show were bombarded with fan mail.

Fans jammed the sidewalks outside the West Philadelphia studio to win a spot in the bleachers. Once inside, they hoped to catch the eye of a regular and get to dance on the show.

In 1964, Clark moved the show to Los Angeles, taking Yates with him.

Yates retired from American Bandstand in 1969, and moved his family to West Chester in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Yates became a still photographer after graduating from high school in 1936. After serving in the Second World War, he got a job as a boom operator at WFIL. He was later promoted to cameraman and earned a bachelor's degree in communications in 1950 from the University of Pennsylvania.

Season Program Rankings

From September 19, 2005 through May 28, 2006 - Regular Programs 1 to 216

1 AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY
  • 2 AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY
  • 3 CSI
  • 4 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
  • 5 GREY'S ANATOMY
  • 6 DANCING WITH THE STARS
  • 7 WITHOUT A TRACE
  • 8 SURVIVOR: GUATEMALA
  • 9 CSI: MIAMI
  • 10 HOUSE
  • 11 SURVIVOR:PANAMA-EXILE IS.
  • 12 NFL MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
  • 13 DEAL OR NO DEAL-MON
  • 14 UNIT, THE
  • 15 LOST
  • 16 NCIS
  • 17 TWO AND A HALF MEN
  • 18 DANCING W/STARS RESULTS
  • 19 DEAL OR NO DEAL-WED
  • 20 EXTREME MAKEOVER:HOME ED.
  • 21 COLD CASE
  • 22 CSI: NY
  • 23 UNAN1MOUS
  • 24 LAW AND ORDER:SVU
  • 24 24
  • 26 60 MINUTES
  • 27 COMMANDER IN CHIEF
  • 28 CRIMINAL MINDS
  • 29 OLD CHRISTINE
  • 30 E.R.
  • 31 OUT OF PRACTICE
  • 32 NUMB3RS
  • 33 DEAL OR NO DEAL-FRI
  • 34 SKATING WITH CELEBRITIES
  • 35 COURTING ALEX
  • 36 MEDIUM
  • 37 LAW AND ORDER
  • 38 APPRENTICE 4
  • 39 LAW AND ORDER:CRIM INTENT
  • 40 AMAZING RACE 8
  • 41 CRUMBS
  • 42 CROSSING JORDAN
  • 42 MY NAME IS EARL
  • 44 SO YOU THINK CN DANCE-THU
  • 45 OT, THE
  • 46 LAS VEGAS
  • 47 BOSTON LEGAL
  • 48 CLOSE TO HOME
  • 49 GHOST WHISPERER
  • 49 BIGGEST LOSER 2
  • 49 CBS SUNDAY MOVIE
  • 52 KING OF QUEENS
  • 53 APPRENTICE 5
  • 54 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
  • 55 AMERICAN INVENTOR
  • 56 EXTREME MAKEOVER:HM ED-7P
  • 57 BACHELOR: PARIS
  • 58 SURFACE
  • 59 PRISON BREAK
  • 60 INVASION
  • 61 AMAZING RACE 9
  • 62 SIMPSONS
  • 63 BONES
  • 64 AMER FUNN HOME VIDEOS
  • 65 E-RING
  • 66 DATELINE-WED
  • 67 EXTRM MAKEOVR:AFTER STORM
  • 68 WILL & GRACE
  • 69 WIFE SWAP
  • 70 MIRACLE WORKERS
  • 71 BIG BROTHER 6-TUE
  • 72 WEST WING
  • 73 CRIMETIME SATURDAY
  • 74 DATELINE FRI
  • 75 20/20-FRI
  • 76 OFFICE
  • 77 LAW AND ORDER:CI-FRI
  • 78 FAMILY GUY
  • 79 EVIDENCE, THE
  • 80 THRESHOLD
  • 81 ROCK STAR: INXS-TUE
  • 82 48 HOURS MYSTERY
  • 83 BOOK OF DANIEL
  • 84 IN JUSTICE
  • 85 YES, DEAR
  • 86 SUPERNANNY
  • 87 THREE WISHE
  • 88 CONVICTION
  • 89 FOUR KINGS
  • 90 ACCORDING TO JIM-TU 9PM
  • 91 LOVE MONKEY
  • 91 LAW & ORDER:SVU-SAT-RPT
  • 93 DATELINE SUN-7PM
  • 94 GEORGE LOPEZ
  • 95 WAR AT HOME
  • 95 SO YOU THINK YOU CN DANCE
  • 97 AMERICAN DAD
  • 98 PRIMETIME
  • 98 MY NAME IS EARL TH 8:30
  • 100 AMER FUNN HOME VIDEOS-FRI
  • 101 JOEY
  • 102 BIGGEST LOSER:SPECL EDITN
  • 102 STILL STANDING
  • 104 MOST OUT 8:30 MOMT LI TV
  • 105 FREDDIE
  • 106 ALIAS
  • 107 MOST OUTRAG MOMTS LIVE TV
  • 108 CRIMETIME SATURDAY 8PM
  • 109 ACCORDING TO JIM
  • 110 AMW: AMERICA FIGHTS BACK
  • 111 APPRENTICE: MARTHA
  • 112 RODNEY
  • 113 SCRUBS 9:30
  • 114 FEAR FACTOR
  • 114 COPS 2
  • 116 LAW &ORDER:CI-SAT
  • 117 HEIST
  • 118 FREE RIDE
  • 119 WHAT ABOUT BRIAN
  • 120 EMILY'S REASONS WHY NOT
  • 121 SCRUBS
  • 122 DATELINE-SAT
  • 123 PRISON BREAK ENC-MON 8P
  • 123 TRADING SPOUSES
  • 125 THAT '70S SHOW-THU 8:30P
  • 126 HOPE & FAITH
  • 127 THAT '70S SHOW
  • 128 ABC SAT MOVIE OF THE WEEK
  • 129 O.C.
  • 129 COPS
  • 131 HOPE & FAITH-TUE 9PM
  • 131 JAKE IN PROGRESS
  • 133 INCONCEIVABLE
  • 134 AMERICAN INVENTOR-THU
  • 134 SONS & DAUGHTERS
  • 136 MOST OUTRG MOMENTS-8:30TU
  • 137 HOT PROPERTIES
  • 138 WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY
  • 139 TEACHERS
  • 140 COMMANDER IN CHIEF-SAT
  • 140 CONVICTION-SAT
  • 142 NIGHT STALKER
  • 143 KING OF THE HILL
  • 144 7TH HEAVEN
  • 145 NBC SATURDAY NIGHT MOVIES
  • 146 AMERICA'S NXT TOP MODEL 5
  • 147 AMERICA'S NXT TOP MODEL 6
  • 148 CROSSING JORDAN-SAT
  • 149 SONS & DAUGHTERS-TU 9:30P
  • 150 LESS THAN PERFECT
  • 151 MOST OUTRG MOMENTS-8P TU
  • 152 MEDIUM-SAT
  • 153 SMALLVILLE
  • 154 STACKED
  • 155 SIMPSONS-SUN 7P
  • 156 GILMORE GIRLS
  • 157 KILLER INSTINCT
  • 158 WWE SMACKDOWN
  • 159 EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS
  • 160 BEAUTY AND GEEK
  • 161 ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
  • 162 DESPERATE HOUSEIVES-SAT
  • 163 LOOP, THE
  • 164 FOX MOVIE-FRIDAY
  • 165 REUNION
  • 166 MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE
  • 167 INVASION-SAT
  • 168 KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL
  • 169 LOST-SAT
  • 170 SUPERNATURAL
  • 171 ARRESTED DEV-MON 8:30P
  • 172 BERNIE MAC
  • 173 EVERWOOD
  • 174 SCRUBS TUE 8:30
  • 175 CHARMED
  • 176 BERNIE MAC-FRI 8:30P
  • 177 GIRLFRIENDS
  • 178 REBA - WB
  • 179 ALL OF US
  • 180 JUST LEGAL
  • 181 HEAD CASES
  • 182 HALF AND HALF
  • 183 SMALLVILLE - THU
  • 184 ONE TREE HILL
  • 185 ONE ON ONE
  • 186 AMER NEXT TOP MODEL 5-ENC
  • 187 REBA - FRI
  • 188 REBA-BEGIN-SUN
  • 189 TWINS
  • 190 RELATED
  • 191 BEAUTY AND GEEK-ENC
  • 192 LOVE, INC
  • 193 GILMORE GIRLS - TUE
  • 194 BLUE COLLAR TV
  • 195 BLUE COLLAR TV - SUN
  • 196 EVE
  • 197 VERONICA MARS
  • 198 LIVING WITH FRAN
  • 199 WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU
  • 200 REBA-BEGIN
  • 201 MODERN MEN
  • 202 CUTS
  • 202 CHARMED - SUN
  • 204 PEPPER DENNIS
  • 205 WHAT I LIKE - FRI
  • 206 AMER NEXT TOP MODEL 6-ENC
  • 207 SUPERNATURAL - SUN
  • 208 ONE TREE HILL - WED
  • 209 RELATED - WED
  • 210 SOUTH BEACH
  • 211 BEDFORD DIARIES
  • 212 SURVIVAL-RICHEST
  • 213 PEPPER DENNIS - ENC
  • 213 SEX, LOVE & SECRETS
  • 215 GET THIS PARTY STARTED
  • 216 SOUTH BEACH ENC
  • The CW Fall Schedule

    (5/18/06) Runaway (Drama, Mondays 9pm)
    Premise: A man wrongfully accused of murder packs up his family and moves them to Iowa under assumed names. Things become dangerous, though, when both the law and the real killer begin sniffing around.

    Stars: Donnie Wahlberg ("Boomtown"), Leslie Hope ("24"), Dustin Milligan ("The Butterfly Effect 2"), Sarah Ramos ("American Dreams"), Nathan Gamble, Susan Floyd, Karen LeBlanc

    Studio: Sony Pictures Television

    Producers: Darren Star ("Sex and the City"), Ed Zuckerman ("Law & Order")

    Hidden Palms (Midseason Drama)
    Premise: Think "The O.C." in Palm Springs, as a teen coping with his father's death begins to slowly notice the secrets held by the people in his outwardly flawless neighborhood.

    Stars: Michael Cassidy ("The O.C."), Taylor Handley ("The O.C."), Amber Heard ("The O.C."), Sharon Lawrence ("NYPD Blue"), Gail O'Grady ("American Dreams"), Ellary Porterfield ("The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio"), D.W. Moffet ("Thirteen") Studio: Lionsgate Television

    Producers: Kevin Williamson ("Dawson's Creek"), Scott Winant ("Huff")

    CBS Picks Up Madsen, Page Dramas

    (5/15/06) Smith (Drama, Tuesdays 10pm)
    Premise: A team of career criminals plans and executes elaborate, high-stakes heists, while its leader tries to keep up appearances of a normal life.

    Stars: Ray Liotta ("Narc," "Goodfellas"), Virginia Madsen ("Sideways"), Amy Smart ("Starsky & Hutch," "Felicity"), Simon Baker ("The Guardian"), Jonny Lee Miller ("Aeon Flux"), Franky G ("Jonny Zero," "The Italian Job")

    Studio: Warner Bros. TV

    Producers: John Wells ("The West Wing")

    Shark (Drama, Thursdays 10pm)
    Premise: A celebrity lawyer gives up private practice to become a prosecutor.

    Stars: James Woods ("Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story," "Ghosts of Mississippi"), Jeri Ryan ("Boston Public," "The O.C."), Sam Page ("Point Pleasant"), Sarah Carter ("Smallville," "Numb3rs"), Alexis Cruz ("American Family," "Stargate SG-1"), Danielle Panabaker ("Empire Falls"), Romy Rosemont ("CSI," "Friends with Money"), Sophina Brown

    Studio: 20th Century Fox TV, Imagine Entertainment

    Producers: Ian Biederman ("Crossing Jordan"), Ed Redlich ("Without a Trace"), Brian Grazer ("The Da Vinci Code"), David Nevins. Pilot directed by Spike Lee

    NBC Picks Up 'Heroes'

    (5/15/06) Heroes (Drama, Mondays 9pm)

    Premise: A group of people discover that they have extraordinary powers, ranging from the ability to fly to hearing other people's thoughts.

    Stars: Greg Grunberg ("Alias"), Ali Larter ("A Lot Like Love"), Milo Ventimiglia ("Gilmore Girls"), Hayden Panettiere ("Ice Princess"), Adrian Pasdar ("Judging Amy"), Leonard Roberts ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), Santiago Cabrera ("Empire"), Tawny Cypress ("Third Watch"), Masi Oka ("Scrubs"), Noah Gray-Cabey, Sendhil Ramamurthy

    Studio: NBC Universal TV

    Producers: Tim Kring ("Crossing Jordan"), David Semel ("House," "American Dreams"), Dennis Hammer ("Crossing Jordan")

    'Heroes' will air Mondays at 9pm on NBC.

    MySpace page helps "Stick It" at box office

    (5/04/06) As the first-time director of a studio feature, Jessica Bendinger worked overtime to mobilize a core constituency of sports-minded teenage girls to come out and see her film "Stick It."

    While Box Office Mojo forecast that "Stick It" would make $5.7 million, the movie surprised boxoffice observers by collecting $11 million and a $5,301 per-screen average when it opened last weekend.

    While the Walt Disney Co.'s Touchstone Pictures promoted "Stick It" in a condensed two-week television campaign -- with 10- to 15-second television spots on syndicated shows like UPN's "America's Next Top Model" -- the movie had no outdoor marketing, minimal radio and one print ad in the Los Angeles Times on Friday.

    But behind the scenes and online, Bendinger and one of her stars worked as evangelists to woo potential fans. Through niche sports outlets and a MySpace page, Bendinger and crew hoped to rally fans to hang up their gym bags and keyboards and turn up in droves at the 2,000 theaters playing her gymnastics movie.

    "I tried to do some missionary work, but it's hard, you don't want to piss people off," Bendinger says of taking some of the movie's marketing into her own hands. "Disney's a very political place, and I'm a straight shooter."

    Nevertheless, the first promotional opportunity she seized upon came to her in a roundabout manner.

    In January, actress Vanessa Lengies (who plays the snotty and boy-deprived Joanne Charis in "Stick It") asked Bendinger whether it was OK to set up a MySpace page for the movie.

    "I knew MySpace was a cool thing, but I hadn't had the time at that point to investigate it myself," Bendinger says. "So Vanessa built her own really cool, primitive MySpace page."

    A few weeks later, Bendinger hired a person to work on the site full time. Out of her own pocket, she paid a freelancer $100 a day for four weeks to get friend requests, leave friendly comments, send out birthday messages and build targeted traffic for the page (http://www.myspace.com/stickitmovie).

    "We really strategized about our audience," Bendinger says. "First we sought out gymnasts, then cheerleaders who are likely to be familiar with 'Bring It On,' then people who like (the band) Fall Out Boy (because) it's all over the movie and then gay guys."

    Through those efforts, Bendinger's homegrown team was able to build up to 6,000 friends on the "Stick It" page.

    "It was really a way to soothe my anxiety and to feel like I was doing something in this purgatory period between after the picture was locked and before the campaign was launched," Bendinger says.

    Disney took over the MySpace site when the official campaign began two weeks ago by adding special features. A TV campaign that kicked off around the same time helped the site grow to more than 10,000 friends by Friday.

    Still, Bendinger is under no illusions that one Web page, no matter how targeted or graphically snazzy, was enough by itself to vault "Stick It" to gold during the weekend.

    "MySpace is not going to be what the movie hinges on," she says. "Is 10,000 enough to open a movie? No. However, 10,000 friends who have anywhere from 50 to 3,000 friends each who are seeing that page -- the awareness certainly helps a great deal."

    In a parallel effort to drill down to her constituency, Bendinger hired gymnastics writer John Crumlish to write press releases for all of the NCAA gymnasts who appear in the movie. The releases were used to launch a campaign with college magazines and newspapers, and Disney is using them on the movie's official Web site.

    Bendinger also worked with Disney to package a special mailing of the "Stick It" trailer and the Missy Elliott video "We Run This," the first single from the movie's soundtrack, to International Gymnast's 30,000 subscribers. Many of the recipients represented the movie's target audience: the 3,000 private gymnastics clubs in the U.S.

    "I wanted to do what I could for my own piece of mind," Bendinger says. "And I was definitely covering my butt and the movie's butt as best I cold given our limited resources."

    Boxoffice Top 10

    (4/30/06) Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.

    1. "RV," $16.4 million.
    2. "United 93," $11.6 million.
    3. "Stick It," $11.3 million. (Vanny's movie)
    4. "Silent Hill," $9.3 million.
    5. "Scary Movie 4," $7.8 million.
    6. "The Sentinel," $7.6 million.
    7. "Ice Age: The Meltdown," $7.05 million.
    8. "Akeelah and the Bee," $6.25 million.
    9. "The Wild," $4.7 million.
    10. "The Benchwarmers," $4.4 million.

    "Stick It" a showcase for lithe teenage girls

    (4/27/06) Much like "Bring It On," the cheerleading movie also written by this film's writer-director Jessica Bendinger, "Stick It" spends an inordinate amount of time ogling the tight, lithe bodies of its young female characters, in this case gymnasts. Thus, what might have appealed only to teen girls might well have crossover appeal to leering young boys as well.

    Yes, there is an inspirational plot of sorts in the film, which mainly involves advising young people to defy the rules of their chosen sport and seek only personal satisfaction and glory rather than strive for discipline and honor.

    The central character is 17-year-old Haley Graham (Missy Peregrym), a rebel without a cause who, after getting into some trouble with the law, is sentenced by a judge to do time at an elite gymnastics academy. (Apparently, Texas, where the story is set, has loosened its forms of punishment).

    Thus, Haley is reunited with the same girls she let down when she abruptly walked out of a championship competition years before. Given a dose of tough love by her new, hard-nosed coach (Jeff Bridges), she reluctantly takes up the sport again. Despite the ire of her teammates, particularly her chief competitor Joanne (Vanessa Lengies), Haley finds herself inspired to again lead her group to the championships.

    It comes as no surprise that the director, making her feature debut, has music video experience because "Stick It" is filmed in a hyperkinetic, in your face style that will induce headaches in anyone who has passed their teens. Equally assaulting is the ultra-loud rock soundtrack, featuring music by the likes of Missy Elliott, Electric Six, K7 and My Morning Jacket.

    The film might well inspire young girls to take up the sport, especially because its egregious climactic segment features the characters engaging in routines more inspired by "Flashdance" than anything ever seen at the Olympics.

    On every other level, the film is thoroughly ordinary, with the only distinction being Bridges' typically unaffected and engaging performance. Still, as with Tommy Lee Jones' recent "Man of the House," it's depressing to see this distinguished actor, a four-time Oscar nominee, playing second fiddle to skimpily dressed teens.

    Peregrym displays some charisma, as well as her firm physique, in the central role, and among those adult performers showing up as aggrieved parents are Julie Warner, Jon Gries and Gia Carides.

    Cast:
    Burt Vickerman: Jeff Bridges
    Haley Graham: Missy Peregrym
    Joanne Charis: Vanessa Lengies
    Wei Wei Yong: Nikki Soorhoo
    Mina Hoyt: Maddy Curley
    Frank: Kellan Lutz
    Poot: John Patrick Amedori
    Brice Graham: Jon Gries
    Mrs. Charis: Julie Warner
    Alice Graham: Gia Carides

    Director-screenwriter: Jessica Bendinger; Producer: Gail Lyon; Executive producers: Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Jonathan Glickman, Derek Evans, David Crockett; Director of photography: Daryn Okada; Production designer: Bruce Curtis; Editor: Troy Takaki; Costume designer: Carol Ramsey: Music: Mike Simpson.

    Stick It more watchable than you'd think, thanks to Missy Peregrym: review

    (4/27/06) Stick It is a retread of Bring It On, from the writer of that 2000 Kirsten Dunst comedy, only with gymnastics in place of cheerleading.

    It trots out a cornucopia of sports-movie cliches: the tough-love coach, the training montage, the stubborn athlete in need of a life-affirming realization which will (of course) take place during the big championship competition.

    It panders shamelessly to its attention span-deprived target audience with quick edits and jump cuts, sequences that have been sped up and slowed down and tricky extreme sports manoeuvres, all to the tune of catchy, blaring guitar riffs. (Though the choice of Renegade by Styx, while an amusing blast from the past, came out way before anyone in the theatre was born and as such is, like, lame.)

    And yet, Stick It is way more watchable than all that would suggest, thanks to the presence of Missy Peregrym.

    The Canadian actress, who could be Hilary Swank's twin, is a perfect mix of beauty and tomboyish strength. She's quick, she's natural, she has a radiant smile that makes her utterly engaging; she even makes the potentially cloying moments tolerable. Until now, Peregrym has done some bit parts on TV, so you've probably never heard of her, but that should change after Stick It, and that's probably the film's only redeeming quality.

    (The similarity to Swank is especially noticeable as Peregrym's Haley Graham trains for the big gymnastics meet with veteran Texas coach Burt Vickerman, played by Jeff Bridges with more intelligence and nuance than you'd expect from a movie like this. With her brunette ponytail and her muscular back and shoulders rippling under her jog bra, she brings back vivid memories of Million Dollar Baby.)

    The film from Jessica Bendinger, who wrote the script and directs for the first time, does have its share of clever lines. As in Bring It On, Stick It feels contemporary but very much has its own language, which the attitudinal girls use to call each other out and bring each other down. At times the writing is snappy to the point of being sitcommy, though, as in bad-girl Haley's reaction to the disciplined disciples at Burt's academy: "Is he keeping your brains in jars? Or should I be concerned about the water?"

    The profuse use of voiceover also gets a little overbearing and obvious. As if we couldn't figure out for ourselves that Haley was a rebel, from her elaborate mountain-bike stunts to her K-Feddish wardrobe of trucker hats, punk band T-shirts and cut-off camouflage pants, she informs us: "In the world of gymnastics, hating me was a sport, in and of itself."

    And as if Haley's backstory weren't contrived enough - she was a stud gymnast who choked at the world championships, and has been a pariah and a recluse ever since - her reason for showing up reluctantly at Burt's training centre is even worse. She gets into trouble for trespassing with her Bill-Ted type goofball pals at a construction site, and this is her punishment.

    She and all her pixieish, stage-mothered teammates (including Vanessa Lengies, who gets some laughs as the diva who's prone to malapropisms) will learn lessons about sticking up for themselves and sticking together, whether or not they stick their landings, hence the title.

    But the twist that prompts these realizations is laughably implausible. We won't give it away - we'll just say that any aspiring Olympian who has devoted her entire life to training from the moment she could walk wouldn't do it.

    Tween and teen girls will love it, though. And regardless of age (or gender), it does make you want to put down the Junior Mints and head to the gym.

    Two stars out of four.

    Insider Buzz on Fall's New Shows

    (4/20/06) Heroes - A Lost-like ensemble drama about ordinary people who discover they have extraordinary powers, Heroes is getting early raves. The cast includes Greg Grunberg (Alias), Milo Ventimiglia (Gilmore Girls), Adrian Pasdar (Profit), Ali Larter (Final Destination 2) and Hayden Panettiere (Commander in Chief). One competitor who read the script says, "I cannot imagine this show not being picked up by NBC."

    At The Movies

    (4/04/06) "American Dreams" vet Brittany Snow is set to star in the indie thriller "Fingerprints," joining forces with, of all people, Kristin Cavallari.

    The "Laguna Beach" MTV reality star is expected to continue her inexorable media push with "Fingerprints," which will be directed by Henry Basil and will begin production in mid-April in Oklahoma.

    According to Variety, Snow will star as a gal who gets out of rehab and moves back in with her parents and her sister (Cavallari) and begins to look into some weird urban legend and its relationship with some paralyzed residents of her town.

    Since completing work on "American Dreams," Snow has done a guest stint on "Nip/Tuck" and will appear in the features "On the Doll" and "John Tucker Must Die."

    Cavallari was last seen on an episode of "Veronica Mars." That guest appearance was intended to promote her UPN reality show "Get This Party Started." Unfortunately, UPN had already pulled the plug on that low-rated offering.

    Sam Page Gets CBS Pilot

    (3/30/06) Sam Page (Drew, American Dreams) has come on board CBS' drama pilot "Shark," which stars James Woods as a attorney-turned-prosecutor. Page will play Casey Flynn, an assistant district attorney.

    Ventimiglia Grows Up for 'Bedford Diaries,' 'Rocky'

    (3/29/06) At the ripe old age of 28, Milo Ventimiglia -- who first came to prominence playing a teen on The WB Network's "Gilmore Girls" -- is happy to have graduated to playing a college student in the new WB drama "The Bedford Diaries," premiering Wednesday, March 29.

    "Thank God," he says, over a pasta lunch (he's a lifelong vegetarian) in a Santa Monica, Calif., restaurant. "In 'Rocky,' I'm playing 28, so that's unbelievable."

    In "Bedford Diaries," created by Tom Fontana ("Oz," "Homicide: Life on the Street"), Ventimiglia plays Richard Thorne III, a former bad boy who edits his New York college newspaper and attends a human behavior and sexuality seminar taught by professor Jake Macklin (Matthew Modine). Playing his classmates are Tiffany Dupont, Penn Badgely, Corri English, Ernest Waddell and Victoria Cartagena.

    In the 2007 feature film "Rocky Balboa," the sixth "Rocky" movie, again written and directed by its star, Sylvester Stallone, Ventimiglia plays Rocky Balboa Jr., son of the legendary Philadelphia boxer.

    Ventimiglia has also signed on for an NBC pilot called "Heroes," about people who discover they have superpowers.

    It may seem odd to do a pilot when one already has a series, except that The WB recently announced it was merging with UPN this fall to create a new network called (for the moment) The CW.

    "I called Tom," Ventimiglia says, "and I'm like, 'So?' He's like, 'I've never been on a network that's been canceled.' We started laughing about it. Who knows? I mean, it could work out. Ten years into the business for me, I'm like, 'Cool,' if it doesn't, what are you going to do about it?"

    Although Ventimiglia and Badgley play classmates in "Bedford," there's about a decade's difference in their ages, which worked out to the relief of Fontana.

    "I was very concerned about Penn," Fontana said in a January interview. "If I was 18, if I had money from a TV show and looked like Penn Badgley, and I was in New York, I would go wild. I got very parental, which is not very much like me.

    "But it was Milo who took him under his wing. ... Milo was like the great older brother."

    "Penn's a bright guy," Ventimiglia says. "He didn't need me or anybody. There is that concern because he's 18 going on 19, but if you know Penn, he's not capable of putting himself in a position where he's going to get hurt, arrested or in trouble.

    "The reason that Penn and I even discussed living together was saving money. When Tom got wind of it, he was like, 'Thank you so much for doing this.' The funny thing was, Tom was like, 'Julie [Martin, an executive producer] was so worried.' I'm like, 'Julie wasn't worried. You were worried.' He really deeply cares about everybody and the process."

    Ventimiglia is equally impressed with Stallone after shooting "Rocky Balboa" with him in Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

    "The first time I met him," he recalls, "he had a big smile on his face. He's physically twice me, just big. His hands are huge, and he's got that deep, booming voice that just engulfs you. It's very intimidating. But he's also just quiet at times and soft, just a normal guy.

    "Of course, I respect the guy because he's done a lot of work; he's a talented writer."

    The two even share a crooked lower lip, in both cases the result of nerve damage at birth.

    "[During the first meeting] I started laughing," Ventimiglia recalls, "and he looks at me, then he leans over to the casting director and says, 'His lip even hooks down like mine does.' I'm like, 'That's way too close!'"

    Everyone knows the iconic visual image of Rocky dancing on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and that can overshadow the fact that Stallone wrote not only the "Rocky" movies, but several of his other films, and directed four of the "Rocky" movies.

    "He's my director, and he's playing my father," Ventimiglia says. "There are so many odd lines of approaching the work. In that sense, Rocky's a little slow, and my character's a pretty bright kid, so he talks to him like an 8-year-old.

    "When I saw him turn Rocky on ... Sylvester talks, very animated, really bright. Then when he gets into the character of Rocky, he goes" -- Ventimiglia lets his expression go slack -- "and then he starts looking around. He has this simple smile on his face, and he gets very slow. He does this before every take."

    And it's not just Stallone's acting that impressed his young co-star. "When I read the script, I was impressed by it. I said, 'This is a really good story, even if it wasn't a 'Rocky' film. It's written well; it's funny; it's heartfelt.

    "Then being on set with him, seeing how hard he works to get the shots cinematically. It's a beautiful, beautiful film. He did such a good job with it."

    Ventimiglia also has ambitions behind the camera with his own production company. "We're going out with three TV projects this year," he says. "It's so much work. We just got this option on a book. It's one of those things where my partner and I were like, 'If we don't get it, don't have to work so hard.' Now we're like, 'Great.' Oh, my God, I'm going to go gray and bald in the next year, just working on this story as well as three other films and three other TV shows we have."

    While Ventimiglia might appear in some of these projects, don't expect to see his girlfriend, "Gilmore" star Alexis Bledel.

    "Separate church and state," Ventimiglia says. "It's just best to keep all that separate."

    Milo Ventimiglia Fans, Rejoice!

    (3/29/06) The new and controversial The Bedford Diaries. A Gilmore Girls return. A possible gig as a superhero. Rocky Balboa's son. And he even gets slain in a new slasher film. If you're a Milo Ventimiglia fan, this is your time to bask in his... Ventimiglianess. On the occasion of The Bedford Diaries' debut (tonight at 9 pm/ET on WB), TVGuide.com spoke with the popular actor about his very busy schedule.

    TVGuide.com: Dude, have you ever had so much to talk about? I don't know where to start.
    Milo Ventimiglia: Dude, start somewhere, dive in. Whatever you want to start with.

    TVGuide.com: In Bedford Diaries, you're playing a bit of a snake in grass.
    Ventimiglia: Yes. Yes, I am, yet again. Richard Thorne III, kid who comes from money, formerly of a drinking and drug problem... has since cleaned up and now nobody likes him.

    TVGuide.com: And he has some sort of a past with one of the lead girls?
    Ventimiglia: His past is with Corri English's character, Natalie, a girl who tried to kill herself. We don't really know the reason she tried to kill herself, but it had something to do with whatever was going on in her relationship with Richard.

    TVGuide.com: Based on the pilot, this show seems to want to push the envelope a bit, doesn't it? The language is a little salty.
    Ventimiglia: It does want to push the envelope, and it's kind of come under criticism for it. [Last week, WB decided to air a sanitized, more FCC-friendly version of the pilot.] Like at the TCA press tour for Bedford, we had a bunch of people grilling [executive producers] Tom Fontana and Julie Martin....

    TVGuide.com: About what? Like, the [oral sex] reference?
    Ventimiglia: Stuff like that, for the WB, is so racy. Finally, a couple of us piped in to say, "Look, we're not showing rape, we're not showing murder, we're not showing homicide or any form of killing like you see on CSI or any of those shows. What we're talking about is the reason why every single person in this room is alive — through sex."

    TVGuide.com: Intentionally or not.
    Ventimiglia: Exactly, man, intentionally or not.

    TVGuide.com: I dunno, this may be the show that shuts down WB once and for all.
    Ventimiglia: [Laughs] It's going to be a nice closing bell.

    TVGuide.com: You're also attached to the fall NBC pilot Heroes, which sounds fun and interesting.
    Ventimiglia: That's a second position. I got attracted to that by David Semel, who was an executive producer on American Dreams. They were having a hard time casting this role of Ethan....

    TVGuide.com: Is he the junkie-superhero whose ability is to paint images from the future?
    Ventimiglia: No, that's Isaac. Ethan's the guy who thinks that he can fly but he actually has a bit of clairvoyance and can tell other people what their powers are, while it seems like he has none of his own.

    TVGuide.com: He thinks he can fly and has clairvoyance — so, he can foresee himself crashing into buildings
    Ventimiglia: [Laughs] There you go.

    TVGuide.com: Explain to people the "second position" thing.
    Ventimiglia: If Bedford Diaries gets picked up, I go back to New York and back to Bedford, and someone else plays Ethan.

    TVGuide.com: We get Scott Baio or something.
    Ventimiglia: Exactly. Or, if Bedford doesn't go any further and Heroes gets picked up, then I jump on Heroes.

    TVGuide.com: And Milo keeps up with his mortgage payments. Now somewhere in here you found time to do the new Rocky Balboa film.

    Ventimiglia: Yeah, I finished that [in early February], when everybody was on hiatus.

    TVGuide.com: You're playing Rocky Jr. Is he a lover or a fighter?
    Ventimiglia: Neither, man. He's a Philadelphia corporate businessman in really dumpy suits that have pleated pants.

    TVGuide.com: That's what he's become? In Rocky V he was this punk with a bad earring.
    Ventimiglia: Yeah, the earring that hung down to, like, his shoulder. No, now he's trying to find his way in corporate America and not wanting anything to do with the world he grew up in. Then his dad starts talking about wanting to fight again.

    TVGuide.com: Is Rocky Sr. going to die in this one?
    Ventimiglia: Uh... I don't know.

    TVGuide.com: You're also in Stay Alive [which hit theaters March 24]. I assume it's not based on the board game with the marbles?
    Ventimiglia: It is not, no. I think they are releasing a video game with it, though.

    TVGuide.com: The cast looks like the fourth- and fifth-network all-star team.
    Ventimiglia: Let's see, we have two reps of Fox with Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle) and Samaire Armstrong (The O.C.), you've got myself and Sophia Bush (One Tree Hill) from the WB.... I get killed, though. But it's a pretty good death.

    TVGuide.com: Lastly, you squeezed in a Gilmore Girls return, airing April 11. What compelled you to do that?
    Ventimiglia: It fit with my schedule. They asked if I wanted to come back, and I said sure. It's always fun to go back and see the crowd.

    TVGuide.com: What plot point is Jess serving?
    Ventimiglia: Does Jess ever really serve plot points? [Chuckles] I think he did a little the last time, in getting Rory thinking about her ex-boyfriend. [This time] I pop in, I have a nice scene with Scott Patterson, and I have a good scene with Rory, Alexis Bledel.

    TVGuide.com: Does it go without saying that your dance card is too full to ever go back to Gilmore full-time?
    Ventimiglia: I wouldn't do it. It's not that bad to go back and forth once or twice a year, but I couldn't go back to [being a] regular.

    TVGuide.com: So leave us with this: Who is the better match for Rory, Logan or Jess?
    Ventimiglia: I really used to like Logan, but he's been kind of an a--hole. [Snickers] I think it has to be Jess or somebody else.

    Warner Bros. shooting TV pilot starring Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen

    (3/24/06) Warner Bros. is shooting a television series pilot in Pittsburgh that features a heist from the fictitious Tanner Museum, whose exterior is the Mellon Institute.

    Warner Bros. officials declined to discuss the crime drama, titled, Smith. The pilot is a project of John Wells, a Carnegie Mellon University graduate who has worked as an executive producer and writer on the NBC dramas ER and The West Wing.

    Two of the pilot's stars are Ray Liotta, best known for his role in the film Goodfellas, and Virginia Madsen, who was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Sideways.

    Crews will be filming Sunday through Thursday in the city's Oakland section.

    Pittsburgh was chosen because officials connected to a Chicago art museum wouldn't let it be shot there, said Dawn Keezer, director of the Pittsburgh Film Office.

    Casting About

    (3/16/06) Jessy Schram has grabbed the lead and Vanessa Lengies will costar in the CW drama Split Decision.

    Dave Semel Helming Heroes

    (3/03/06) Helmer Dave Semel (American Dreams) is onboard to direct the NBC pilot Heroes, the network's buzzworthy pilot about ordinary people who discover they have superpowers, reports Variety. Semel is directing the pilot for NBC Universal TV Studio. Tim Kring is behind the project, which stars Greg Grunberg, Ali Larter and Milo Ventimiglia.

    CBS Pilot News

    (2/21/06) Rachel Boston, best known for her role on NBC's "American Dreams," will play a lead in CBS' untitled Joe Port/Joe Wiseman project, a show about a young couple who move to the woman's hometown in Michigan and have to deal with her complicated extended family.

    Milo Gets New Pilot

    (2/17/06) Milo Ventimiglia has been tapped to co-star in the NBC/NBC Uni TV drama "Heroes" about a group of everyday people find out they have superpowers.

    'Hot Properties' O'Grady, Vergara land pilots

    (2/13/06) Two stars of ABC's comedy "Hot Properties," Gail O'Grady and Sofia Vergara, have landed lead roles on pilots.

    O'Grady will star in the CW's untitled Kevin Williamson drama, an ensemble soap centered on a troubled teen who moves with his family to Palm Springs, California. O'Grady will play the boy's mom.

    O'Grady's TV credits include the series "American Dreams," which NBC canceled last year after a three-year-run, and the telefilm "Sex & the Single Mom."

    Vergara, meanwhile, has been tapped for ABC's untitled comedy starring Donal Logue. The project centers on a group of blue-collar guys in New York who decide to rob a celebrity.

    In addition to Vergara, Kevin Michael Richardson, Lenny Venito and Josh Grisetti also have been cast in the pilot.

    Vergara has appeared on the big screen in "Chasing Papi" and last year's "Four Brothers."

    Snow falls into 'Kingdom II' video game

    (2/08/06) Zach Braff, James Woods, Haley Joel Osment and Mena Suvari will lend their voices to the video game "Disney's Kingdom Hearts II," which hits U.S. stores on March 30.

    The game franchise blends well-known characters from classic Walt Disney Co. films with original characters from Japanese game maker Square Enix. In this sequel, for example, Braff again will star as Chicken Little, Woods brings Hades to life, and Ming Na will play a virtual Mulan, The original "Kingdom Hearts" game, which shipped in 2002, has sold more than 5 million units worldwide. Osment will reprise his role as Sora, the lead character in the role-playing game, who journeys through Disney film worlds accompanied by Goofy and Donald Duck. He will be joined by David Gallagher as Riku and Hayden Panettiere as Kairi. Christopher Lee, Brittany Snow and singer Jesse McCartney also play featured characters.

    Suvari will portray Aerith, a popular character from Square Enix's best-selling "Final Fantasy VII" game. Other big-screen talent joining her include Steve Burton and Rachael Leigh Cook.

    In a first for the franchise, the new game will add characters from such live-action movies as "Tron" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." A trailer at last year's E3 video game convention showed the likeness of Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow within the "Kingdom Hearts II" game world, for instance.

    "Kingdom Hearts II" also features the worlds of "Hercules," "Beauty and the Beast," "The Lion King," "Aladdin" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas."

    In addition to the original game, a Game Boy Advance spinoff called "Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories" sold 2.5 million copies worldwide to date. "Kingdom Hearts II" shipped December 22 in Japan (minus the Hollywood voice talent) and has sold more than 1.1 million units. Square Enix expects the worldwide total of this game to sell 10 million units by the end of its run.

    Madsen, Liotta Team for CBS' 'Smith'

    (2/06/06) CBS has ordered a crime drama pilot that's going by the rather bland name of "Smith." The talent in front of and behind the camera, however, is far from pedestrian.

    Oscar nominee Virginia Madsen and Emmy winner Ray Liotta will head the cast of the show, which is being executive produced by John Wells, the man behind "The West Wing" and "ER." Amy Smart ("Just Friends") and Franky G ("Saw II") have also signed on to the cast.

    "Smith" is a crime show told from the point of view of the criminals, the showbiz trade papers report. Wells is writing the pilot in addition to executive producing, and frequent collaborator Christopher Chulack ("ER," "Third Watch") will direct it.

    Liotta, who won an Emmy last year for a guest role on "ER," has long been a sought-after star for TV producers, but "Smith" would be his first work as a series regular (he was attached to a pilot at NBC a couple of seasons back that didn't make the cut). The "Narc" and "Goodfellas" star has several film projects on tap this year, including the Vegas mob flick "Smokin' Aces" and the romantic comedy "Comeback Season."

    Madsen, who earned an Oscar nomination for her role in "Sideways," stars with Harrison Ford in the thriller "Firewall," which opens this week. Her TV credits include recurring parts on "Frasier" and "American Dreams."

    In addition to "Just Friends," Smart has starred in "Varsity Blues" and "The Butterfly Effect" and had recurring roles on "Felicity" and "Scrubs." Franky G starred in Wells' short-lived FOX series "Jonny Zero" last season.

    FOX Fingers 'Reunion' Killer

    (1/18/06) When FOX lowered the boom on "Reunion" in late November, the show's creator says there was no way to resolve the show short of a full season because of how "intricately plotted" it was.

    It was so intricately plotted, in fact, that the question of who committed the murder at the show's center was still up in the air.

    That, at least, is the word from FOX Entertainment president Peter Ligouri, who on Tuesday (Jan. 17) addressed the show's early demise with reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour.

    'Reunion' was particularly cumbersome in terms of trying to provide an ending for the audience," Ligouri says of the show, in which each episode represented a year in the life of six friends, one of whom ends up dead. "How [creator Jon Harmon Feldman] was laying out the show to gap those additional 14, 15, 16 years was an incredibly complex path. There were a number of options, and he didn't make a definitive decision on which option he was going to go with as to who the killer was, and there was just no way to accelerate that time."

    Feldman himself hinted at that in a statement following the show's cancellation, saying that solving the mystery of who killed Samantha (Alexa Davalos) was "partially reliant on characters we haven't yet met -- and events we haven't seen."

    Ligouri says the network and the show's team talked about several ways to go with the killer's identity, but "the best guess was at that particular time that it was going to be Sam's daughter," whom she gave up for adoption early in the series. The why of the murder remains a mystery.

    Despite the failure of "Reunion" to grab an audience -- it averaged 4.3 million viewers in its time on the air -- Ligouri says FOX won't shy away from different forms of storytelling in the future.

    "It is regrettable when stories end before their time. I don't think that should stop us from being ambitious with serialized storytelling," he says. "... We put these shows on and we're going to continue to put these shows on every year with every good intention to end them, but eventually the audience votes."

    Virginia Madsen draws 'Number 23' with Carrey

    (1/18/06) "Sideways" star Virginia Madsen is in talks to play Jim Carrey's wife in "The Number 23," a psychological thriller from director Joel Schumacher.

    Elisabeth Shue had been cast in the wife role in November but recently stepped down when she learned she was pregnant. New Line Cinema then entered talks with Nicole Kidman, but a deal was never reached because of scheduling conflicts. The movie begins shooting Monday in Los Angeles.

    In the film, Carrey comes across an obscure book titled "The Number 23." As he reads it, he becomes increasingly convinced that the book is based on his own life. His obsession with the number 23 starts to consume him to the point that he soon realizes that the book forecasts far graver consequences for his life than he could ever have imagined.

    Madsen's character is Carrey's wife, who also is a character in the book. Danny Huston ("The Constant Gardener") will portray the couple's mutual friend, whom Carrey thinks is after his wife, while Rhona Mitra ("Boston Legal") will play a character in the book called Suicide Girl.

    Madsen was nominated for an Oscar for her work in the arthouse smash "Sideways" and next appears opposite Harrison Ford in the thriller "Firewall," which opens February 10.

    20 Million Watch Dick Clark's New Years

    (1/6/06) An estimated 20 million people watched Dick Clark's return to "New Year's Rockin' Eve."

    More people watched the ball drop at midnight in Times Square with Clark than any program in prime time that week, Nielsen Media Research said Friday.

    Clark, who co-hosted with Ryan Seacrest, was appearing for the first time on television since suffering a stroke nearly 13 months earlier. His voice occasionally was difficult to understand, but many people praised his bravery, including other stroke victims.

    Clark's two main competitors — Carson Daly on NBC and Regis Philbin on Fox — drew a combined total of 13.7 million viewers, Nielsen said. Philbin was seen by 18.2 million people when he subbed for Clark on ABC last year.

    Stroke Survivors Inspired by Dick Clark

    (1/3/06) He sat stiffly behind a desk, one hand in front of him, one down at his side. His words had the familiar slurred sound of a stroke victim. But his cadence was brisk, he made himself clear, and most of all, he was there — on national TV.

    Stroke survivors and their advocates said Tuesday they were cheered and inspired by Dick Clark's New Year's Eve appearance, ringing in 2006 a year after his debilitating stroke.

    "I think it's awesome," said Leean Hendrix, who was 26 when she had a stroke three years ago. "It was a tremendously courageous thing to do."

    Hendrix, a former Miss Arizona who lives in Phoenix, echoed a hope common among stroke survivors interviewed: that the public might begin to treat them with the respect and admiration given those who've overcome cancer or heart attacks.

    "Survivors of those other diseases seem to wear a badge of honor," said Hendrix. But a stroke, with its obvious impairment, "maybe isn't a pretty thing to look at. It's definitely not a sexy disease."

    "So for him to get up on national TV and say: "This is what I am now" — I have nothing but respect for him," she said.

    Diane Mulligan-Fairfield of the National Stroke Association, a public education organization, called Clark a "hero" for showing the world his condition.

    "Hero is not normally a word we associate with stroke survivors," she said. "We are trying to change that."

    Clark's appearance on "New Year's Rockin' Eve" came a full year after the December 2004 stroke that forced him to miss last year's show. There had been intense speculation beforehand whether he'd be up to the task. The 76-year-old entertainer has given no interviews since his stroke.

    On New Year's Eve, seated inside a studio at Times Square, Clark began by immediately acknowledging his condition, saying it had been a "long, hard fight" learning to walk and talk again. But, he said, "I wouldn't have missed this for the world."

    His words were muffled, but he kept a quick pace and was, for the most part, easy to understand during his brief appearances sprinkled through the telecast. At midnight, he counted down the seconds as the ball dropped, then kissed his wife, Kari, sitting next to him at his desk.

    While some found the appearance moving, others seemed to find it inappropriate or depressing to see the ever-boyish, handsome Clark display his impaired condition in a TV universe where appearance is everything.

    "Viewers ... may well have been hoping the famous giant ball was the only thing that would drop before the night was over," wrote Washington Post TV critic Tom Shales. He said Clark looked "seriously debilitated," and called his appearance "a gesture likely to strike some observers as courageous and others as morbid."

    In the New York Times, reviewer Virginia Heffernan called Clark's description of his speech ("not perfect") an "understatement," and wrote that sometimes, "his impaired speech seemed comical," although mostly it was touching.

    The negative comments deeply angered Karl Guerra of Annapolis, Md., who has been recovering from a stroke for the last five years. For the first three years, he spent 10 hours a day working on his speech. He called Clark's recovery so far "remarkable."

    "Let's face it, there are certain aspects of a stroke that make people feel uncomfortable, and one of those is speech," Guerra said in a telephone interview. "But he's doing a great job as far as I can tell. For me, he epitomizes the 'Go out there and make it happen' spirit."

    A doctor who treats stroke survivors said Clark's determination to go ahead with his appearance is just the kind of goal that often helps patients with their recovery.

    "In many diseases the emotional component — the determination to fight and pursue recovery — is part of the recovery itself," said Dr. Pierre Fayad, medical director of neurology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

    One stroke survivor said he would have preferred to see Clark use his appearance to spend some time promoting stroke awareness. "It's great to see that he's come back, but it doesn't tell the whole story," said Haven Moses, a former NFL player with the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos who suffered a stroke at age 56.

    Though it may be unusual to see a celebrity like Clark display impairment from a stroke so publicly, other well-known entertainers such as Kirk Douglas, Julie Harris and Patricia Neal have done so. Both Douglas and Neal appeared in films following their strokes. A rehabilitation center in Tennessee is named after Neal.

    Preliminary ratings from big-city markets showed that Clark's broadcast on ABC drew more people than competitors Carson Daly on NBC and Regis Philbin on Fox combined, according to Nielsen Media Research. "New Year's Rockin' Eve" ratings were up 15 percent over last year, when Philbin filled in.

    Television analyst Marc Berman of Media Week Online said that while Clark's appearance was brave, he's not sure ABC would want him to continue playing a major role in future New Year's Eve broadcasts if his condition doesn't improve markedly. ABC and Clark's production company have already signed a long-term deal with Ryan Seacrest, who co-hosted this year, to make the "American Idol" host the New Year's Eve heir apparent.

    "We've already seen what (Clark) looks like," said Berman. "The curiosity factor is gone."

    As for Clark himself, he was in a "terrific" mood after the show, said his spokesman, Paul Shefrin. "He got done and five or six of us went out for a hamburger," he said. "He absolutely feels like he did the right thing." He said Clark will likely sit down in the next few weeks to decide what he wants to do about the future.

    "He has never said this would be his last year," he said. "It's up to him."

    On the Net: National Stroke Association: http://info.stroke.org

    Dick Clark Returns to TV to Mark New Year

    (1/1/06) There was more to celebrate than the ball dropping in Times Square for Dick Clark — the personality who's been ringing in the New Year for decades made his first television appearance since a stroke in late 2004.

    Clark, sitting behind a desk with the street scene in the background, sounded hoarse and occasionally was hard to understand, but he said, "I wouldn't have missed this for the world."

    "Last year I had a stroke," he explained. "It left me in bad shape. I had to teach myself how to walk and talk again. It's been a long, hard fight. My speech is not perfect but I'm getting there."

    Clark introduced a musical performance by Mariah Carey.

    After his Dec. 6, 2004, stroke, Clark had to sit out "New Year's Rockin' Eve" last year for the first time since starting it in 1972. Regis Philbin was his emergency sub.

    Clark, 76, declined interviews and television appearances as he rehabilitated, and his spokesman said the former "American Bandstand" host viewed New Year's as his personal coming-out party. Tabloid pictures of Clark using a cane or wheelchair led to questions about whether he was up to it.

    With increased competition, it sometimes seemed as if Times Square was a giant television studio.

    Philbin was back, this time for Fox. Carson Daly was host of an NBC party. News anchor Anderson Cooper was amid revelers for CNN, and Stuart Scott was on ESPN2. Kanye West was the featured guest at MTV's soiree.

    But with Carey crooning for Clark, "New Year's Rockin' Eve" figured to be the dominant TV party of the night.

    ABC and Clark's production company this year made plans to keep the show alive when Clark can no longer do it, signing "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest as his successor.

    Seacrest opened "New Year's Rockin' Eve" with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and introduced Clark.

    Clark Ready for New Year's Eve Return

    (12/29/05) Dick Clark, who suffered a stroke last December, won't be in a wheelchair when he appears on ABC's "New Year's Rockin' Eve," says co-host Ryan Seacrest.

    It will be the 76-year-old Clark's first TV appearance since his stroke, which forced him to bow out of last year's show.

    "I'm not a doctor and I'm not his wife so I don't see him on a daily basis, but he will not be in a wheelchair on the telecast," Seacrest told AP Radio in a recent interview.

    Seacrest, who will make his debut as co-host of the New Year's Eve special, said Clark "has gotten better and better each day. I don't think he is a hundred percent but I think he's better than he was last week and better than he was six months ago."

    As for Clark's voice, Seacrest said: "It's not exactly as it probably sounded when he was his healthiest and before the stroke, but it definitely sounds like Dick and I think that he's been working on his speech and making sure that it's as good as it can be on the night."

    "I know that he is one of the most driven and focused individuals on the planet," the 31-year-old Seacrest said of Clark. "And so when he puts his mind to something and when he wants to do something like this television show and be there for everybody to see him, he'll do it."

    Seacrest and Clark will appear from New York, where the ball will drop in Times Square in the traditional countdown to midnight. Co-host Hilary Duff will anchor and perform at the Hollywood segment of the show.

    The 34th annual "New Year's Rockin' Eve" will air Saturday starting at 10 p.m. (EST).

    Unhappy Reunion

    (12/19/05) Fox's Reunion, which was canceled a few weeks ago but wasn't to actually bow out until Feb. 2, aired its final episode on Dec. 15. "Yes, it was [the last episode], unfortunately," a rep for the series tells TVGuide.com. Reunion execs recently issued a statement saying that the central murder mystery could not possibly be wrapped up on a truncated timetable.

    Actress walks on wild side on FX

    (12/17/05) Brittany Snow knows what lies behind the mask of the infamous assailant known as "The Carver" on FX's plastic-surgery melodrama "Nip/Tuck," whose identity will be revealed in the show's two-hour finale, airing at 10 p.m. Tuesday.

    But she's not telling.

    "All I can say is, you won't be disappointed," says Snow. "That's what I can say. The final episode is so brilliant. I have my friends bribing me and paying me and wanting to take me out, and I'm like, 'No, I can't even tell you, because I won't be able to explain it as good as it is.' It's amazing. I think people are going to be really impressed."

    Word on the street has it that even the most ardent "Nip/Tuck" fans may not be able to guess. "It isn't (guessable)," Snow says, "but it all makes sense. It's so perfect."

    Snow has had a recurring role this season as Ariel, the new girlfriend of perpetually troubled teen Matt McNamara (John C. Hensley), who was raised by plastic surgeon Dr. Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh), but is actually the biological son of his partner and best pal, Dr. Christian Troy (Julian McMahon).

    The role has been a revelation for Snow's fans, who are used to seeing her as the apple-cheeked, wholesome Meg on NBC's "American Dreams."

    As Ariel, the loyal daughter of a white supremacist (Brian Kerwin), Snow donned black clothes and eyeliner, sported Teutonic jewelry and spouted neo-Nazi slogans.

    "It's actually the most rewarding role I've had in a while," Snow says. "This is the thing where I went to work every day just scared out of my mind, because it's so unlike me. What I found is it's actually really sad. I do feel for the character.

    "It's not really her choice, it's what she's been brought up with. Ariel is trained to think this way. She loves her father so much, and she wants to do what he says. There's definitely an underlying subtext storyline of her father being abusive. She's scared that he will hurt her. The relationship is a very unhealthy one. They're so enmeshed and involved with each other that she just goes with anything he says in fear of him not loving her."

    Now that the job is over, Snow hasn't held on to Ariel's viewpoints, but has kept a bit of her fashion sense.

    "I took some of the black combat boots," she says. "I'm pretty preppy in real life, so it can look really cute."

    Even though he tried to get Ariel help for her psychological problems in the most recent episode, Matt has often crossed moral and legal lines, even resorting to violence.

    "The funny thing is," Snow says, "John is just such a great guy, and he's so unlike his character. He is such a sweetheart, the sweetest, most generous, most professional actor. Working with him was always fun and great. So to see his character, watching him on the show, was just, wow. I was blown away by him. He's very cute."

    The relationship between Matt and Ariel rapidly became sexual, and that was another change for Snow.

    "Considering that John and I became really good friends during the shooting, it was very easy," she says. "We just made fun of each other. By the time we had the love scenes, I knew the crew, and I was comfortable.

    "It's really awkward, but you've got to do it. It was definitely something new for me, but it was something that I was definitely glad it was over with, when it was over."

    No End in Sight for 'Reunion'

    (12/05/05) Those hoping for a resolution to FOX's recently scrapped "Reunion" won't be getting it.

    The series is for now set to play out its original 13-episode order, which would put its end date sometime in January. When FOX announced the cancellation last week, Warner Bros. TV, which produces the show, wasn't sure whether it would be able to wrap up "Reunion's" plot-driving murder mystery by then.

    The answer, according to "Reunion" creator Jon Harmon Feldman, is no. Because of the show's unique structure -- in which each episode covers a year from 1986 to 2006 in the lives of six high-school friends -- Feldman says there's no way to resolve the mystery of who killed Samantha (Alexa Davalos).

    "The show was intricately plotted over 22 episodes to tell the full story of our characters' lives (and deaths)," Feldman says in a statement. "Because the events of Samantha's murder are partially reliant on characters we haven't yet met -- and events we haven't yet seen -- there is no way to solve the mystery of her murder without being able to complete the full arc of our story through present-day."

    Episode 13 would leave the characters in 1998, eight years before the murder investigation that drives the flashbacks.

    "I greatly regret that this question along with many others that the series has posed will remain unsolved, and I am deeply grateful for the support of viewers who share this regret," Feldman says.

    "Reunion" has struggled to hold on to the audience from its lead-in, "The O.C.," in the highly competitive 9 p.m. Thursday hour. It's averaging about 4.3 million viewers per week and draws a similarly small number in FOX's target demographic of adults 18-49.

    Gail & Will's Shows Both Cancelled

    (11/29/05) It's the end of the road for three freshman series: ABC's "Hot Properties," CBS' "Threshold" and Fox's "Reunion."

    Sources said ABC has opted not to pick up additional episodes of the Gail O'Grady comedy "Hot Properties," which has completed its original 13-episode order and will stay on the air through December. The Friday entry revolves around four men-obsessed women in a Manhattan real estate office.

    After a sluggish start in its original Friday 9 p.m. slot and equally soft results from the trial move of "Threshold" to the Tuesday 10 p.m. slot last week, the alien-invasion drama will be taken off the schedule for the last Tuesday of the November sweep this week, replaced by a repeat of CBS' promising new crime drama "Criminal Minds." "Threshold," from " Harry Potter" producer David Heyman, starred Carla Gugino.

    The drama "Reunion," about six friends caught up in a murder mystery, has struggled in the killer Thursday 9 p.m. slot (opposite CBS' "CSI"), dropping significantly from its "The O.C." lead-in.

    ABC, CBS and Fox declined comment on the cancellations Monday.

    Robinson joins Condon's cast in 'Dreamgirls'

    (11/23/05) In another key piece of casting, Keith Robinson has joined the lineup of the movie version of the Broadway musical "Dreamgirls," the tale of a '60s girl group loosely based on the Supremes.

    Robinson -- whose credits range from "Fat Albert" to the recent FX series "Over There" and NBC's "American Dreams" -- will play the composer C.C., brother of the pivotal character of Effie. The casting represents a particular coup because at one point R&B heartthrob Usher was reported to be in negotiations for the part, though no deal was reached.

    With filming on the DreamWorks/Paramount Pictures production set to begin in January under the direction of Bill Condon ("Kinsey"), the rest of the cast is quickly taking shape.

    Last week, DreamWorks announced that Jennifer Hudson, a former "American Idol" contestant, will play Effie, the role made famous by Jennifer Holiday in the original 1981 Broadway show when Holiday belted out her signature tune "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going."

    Along with Hudson, Beyonce Knowles and Anika Noni Rose will play girl group the Dreamettes.

    Jamie Foxx is set as their manager, Curtis Taylor, and Eddie Murphy is playing the headliner James "Thunder" Early.

    Condon has adapted the screenplay from the show's original book by Tom Eyen. Lyrics and music are by Eyen and Henry Krieger, respectively.

    Ventimigiia in ring for new 'Rocky'

    (11/23/05) Rocky Balboa has a new bambino.

    Milo Ventimiglia, best known for playing Jess on the WB Network drama "Gilmore Girls," has signed on to star as Sylvester Stallone's adult son in "Rocky Balboa," the sixth installment of the feature franchise about the mythic Philadelphia boxer.

    In the latest version, Rocky has long since retired but is drawn back to the ring one last time. He is challenged by a powerful new champion, by personal tragedy and ultimately by himself.

    Rocky's son, Rocky Balboa Jr., was introduced into the franchise in 1979's "Rocky II," when his birth was a pivotal moment in the film. The role most recently was filled by Stallone's real-life son, Sage Stallone, in 1990's "Rocky V."

    Shooting is slated to begin next month in Los Angeles and Philadelphia. Columbia Pictures will distribute.

    Ventimiglia also stars in the WB midseason replacement "The Bedford Diaries" and alongside Sophia Bush in the upcoming thriller "Stay Alive."

    Dreams' Meg Is a Nip/Tuck Neo-Nazi!

    (11/22/05) Your grandmother wants to buy her presents at the dollar store. Your parents want you to be like her. And you want everyone to like you the way they like her. Yup, it's easy to love Brittany Snow. The 19-year-old actress is doe-eyed, chatty and a splurging giggler. Alas, granny may soon suffer a heart attack when she learns that American Dreams' darling Meg Pryor is now a neo-Nazi with some serious anger issues. Snow took time out from shooting her guest gig on FX's Nip/Tuck (beginning tonight at 10 pm/ET) to chat with TVGuide.com about evolving into a bad-ass, the truth behind Dreams' MIA finale and being the object of affection for a Desperate Housewives hottie.

    TVGuide.com: Congratulations on landing Nip/Tuck. Are Doctors McNamara and Troy going to take a scalpel to you?
    Brittany Snow: Not exactly. My character's name is Ariel and it's symbolic that she's named that, actually, because everything she stands for is Aryan. She's a white supremacist and a neo-Nazi.

    TVGuide.com: You're scaring me.
    Snow: It's more psychologically frightening than anything. Ariel has extreme views and really believes that what she says is right. When you listen to the character, you may find yourself saying, "Well, she does have a point...." I don't think Ariel is correct, but she justifies it in such a way that it is chilling. And I'm dressed all gothic — black clothes, black eyeliner.

    TVGuide.com: Now you're really scaring me... more than those darn Boohbah blobs.
    Snow: Well, I wanted to do something challenging.

    TVGuide.com: Your character hooks up with Matt (played by John Hensley)?
    Snow: Yes. Ariel manipulates Matt into thinking that he likes her. I mean, she pierces his ear with a swastika earring and brainwashes him by using her strong viewpoints and sexuality.

    TVGuide.com: Do you curse on-screen?
    Snow: Yes.... And I have sex.

    TVGuide.com: What?!
    Snow: [Laughs] It's all suggestive — you can't see Ariel and Matt, but you can hear the characters during, and afterward I come out wearing just a shirt and no pants. Believe me, my dad is dreading the day it airs. But hey, everyone has a dark side, even me.

    TVGuide.com: Let's see about that. Ever snuck into a movie?
    Snow: Yup.

    TVGuide.com: Cut in line?
    Snow: No.

    TVGuide.com: Cut class?
    Snow: Never.

    TVGuide.com: Just one out of three — that's weak.
    Snow: I go out clubbing with my friends, and a lot of them are big-time nightlife people. I'm not into it as much as they are, but I do the occasional partying at the Hollywood clubs, which, I guess, is the worst you're going to get on me.

    TVGuide.com: You've redeemed yourself somewhat.
    Snow: Thanks. Lately, though, I've just been chilling. I have a new boyfriend who is a singer-songwriter.

    TVGuide.com: Ah, a rebellious musician type. Now we're getting somewhere.
    Snow: No, no. He's really sweet and down-to-earth — not the stereotypical "crazy" rocker type.

    TVGuide.com: To follow the mantra of Nip/Tuck: Tell me what you don't like about yourself.
    Snow: There are a lot of things.

    TVGuide.com: Do you not like that it mentions your expert skills as a clog dancer in your official bio?
    Snow: Yeah. That's really bad.

    TVGuide.com: It must take a lot of energy to do all that clogging.
    Snow: I'm actually kind of proud that I can clog dance.

    TVGuide.com: But back to the original question....
    Snow: I'm too hard on myself and I wish I had a bit more confidence.

    TVGuide.com: What other projects do you have coming up?
    Snow: I'm going over a bunch of scripts for independent movies as well as a few features that are in the works. I want to be really choosy about my next role. I just wrapped John Tucker Must Die up in Vancouver with Ashanti, Sophia Bush (One Tree Hill) and Jesse Metcalfe (Desperate Housewives).

    TVGuide.com: Do you go all Aryan in that, too?
    Snow: No. [Laughs] I play a girl named Kate who is new at school and gets mixed in with this group of girls who are all dating the same guy (Metcalfe). They want him to fall in love with Kate — and then have her dump him to get back at him for wronging them.

    TVGuide.com: Who took longer in the makeup chair — the girls or Jesse?
    Snow: I think he would get mad if I told you the truth. [Giggles] I'm kidding! The girls did, but Jesse does like to primp.

    TVGuide.com: And he looks good after doing so.
    Snow: He's honestly the coolest guy. I've known him for such a long time and we had so much fun [filming].

    TVGuide.com: Speaking of fun, American Dreams fans are not having much of any, what with the extended series finale being pulled by NBC. What gives?
    Snow: It's so weird. NBC said it was going to air it and then they changed their minds. To just leave everything unfinished is unfair.

    TVGuide.com: Did Meg come home from protesting the war in Berkeley?
    Snow: [The unaired extended finale] takes a look at life for the Pryors three years later, and yes, Meg comes home. They're very heartfelt scenes.

    TVGuide.com: Quick! You were a straight-A student in school, would you let me cheat off of you?
    Snow: Of course!

    TVGuide.com: OK, you're a bad-ass in our book.

    'American Dreams' Star Snow Drifts to 'Nip/Tuck'

    (11/17/05) Brittany Snow is best known for playing good girl Meg Pryor on the family-friendly NBC series "American Dreams." She's about to shed that image in a big way, at least temporarily.

    Snow is set to appear in a multi-episode arc of FX's "Nip/Tuck," playing a girl whose ugly worldview contrasts with her outward appearance. She'll make her debut on the for-grownups-only show Tuesday (Nov. 22) and is scheduled to appear in the next four episodes as well.

    Her character, Ariel Alderman, will be the source of further misery for the already deeply disturbed Matt McNamara (John Hensley). Matt begins dating her, and her racist beliefs -- in Tuesday's episode, she compares plastic surgery to work done by Nazis -- lead him into a deeper hole.

    This comes, of course, after he found out at the end of last season that the woman he loved had previously been a man, on top of numerous other calamities.

    Prior to "American Dreams," Snow appeared on the CBS soap opera "The Guiding Light" for three years. She co-starred in the feature film "The Pacifier" earlier this year and will appear in the feature comedy "John Tucker Must Die," which is scheduled for release next year.

    Actor happy to join this 'Reunion'

    (11/17/05) Starring in "Reunion" is a bit of a two-edged sword for Will Estes.

    It gives the actor best known for his role as J.J. Pryor on the late NBC drama "American Dreams" a leading role in prime time again, but it is also a short-term gig.

    "I didn't know that when I auditioned," he says, "but I found out later. It's OK with me. You'd be surprised how many things you find out last as an actor.

    "You never know how long you'll be around on a series anyway. But, hopefully, this will be a springboard for other projects."

    Because "Reunion's" story will be told at the end of what's expected to be this season's 22 episodes, a second season of "Reunion" will revolve around a different story and another cast.

    "Reunion" (9 tonight, Fox) is about six friends who come together for their 20th high school reunion. One of them -- revealed last week to be Samantha (Alexa Davalos) -- is murdered, and all of them become suspects. A detective traces their turbulent and secretive lives back, spanning 20 years to find which one had the motive.

    "It's a genuine coming-of-age story," Estes says, "but you also find out it's a murder mystery."

    Estes plays Will Malloy, a good boy from the wrong side of the tracks who goes to prison for a crime he did not commit and can never quite get the girl.

    "He's just a guy with a good sense of himself. He just makes a lot of mistakes," Estes says.

    Malloy has a lot of skeletons in his closet. Before the 1980s were finished, he fooled around with his best friend's girl and orchestrated a shady real estate deal. By present day, we see Will has become a priest and is a major suspect in the murder investigation of his friend.

    Estes got his start on the NBC soap opera "Santa Barbara," when he was 8 years old. Before graduating from high school, he acted in numerous TV projects such as "The New Lassie" and the cartoon "Jonny's Golden Quest."

    Despite finding steady work in an unsure profession at an early age, Estes says, he almost gave up acting when he graduated from high school, which he completed mainly through tutoring.

    "I was running around thinking I was cool, driving my car and listening to Carlos Santana," says the 27-year-old bachelor.

    "I thought I'd give up acting ... but when I really thought about it, acting was what I wanted to do."

    He dropped out of a Los Angeles-area junior college after getting a role in the submarine movie "U-571." It allowed the then-teenage Estes to live in Rome for several months.

    He wanted to do "Reunion" because he knew Jon Harmon Feldman, the show's creator, who was a writer on "Dreams."

    Although he'll be looking for his next series soon, Estes has no regrets.

    "This is a great time in my life," he says. "I am having fun and looking ahead. As an actor, that's all you can do sometimes."

    Amanda Righetti on Reunion Castmate Will Estes

    (11/03/05) Question: Which cast mate has surprised you the most?

    Answer: Will [Estes] (American Dreams). When I first met him, he was so quiet, but he is such a funny guy and you would just never expect that from him. Some of the stuff that comes out of his mouth and these looks that he has... it makes you laugh. He's a really interesting character. I've never met anyone quite like him.

    TVGuide.com: What Would Have Been

    (11/02/05) Question: I just wanted to tell you that you are my hero. I was thisclose to giving up hope regarding the American Dreams alternate ending, and then you go and raise my spirits with last week's big update. I love you. — Jaclyn

    Ausiello: Well, if you think you love me now, just wait until you hear what I have in the works. (Still can't discuss as nothing is official.) In the meantime, as I promised last week, here are some tidbits about what would have happened to your faves had Dreams seen a fourth season:

    J.J. and Beth: "I was going to send J.J. to Berkeley to get his sister back and, while there, get exposed to a lot of the antiwar stuff," says series creator Jonathan Prince. "He would eventually come home and work harder on the space program. And Beth was going to go back to school to get her degree."

    Meg and Sam: "Everybody wanted them to be together, which is why I think they couldn’t," says Prince. "I was going to give Sam a really serious girlfriend." Meg, meanwhile, would have fallen for Joey Lawrence's Bandstand successor, "a guy who seemed superficial on the top and ended up being deeper than that. That's who she would have ended up with. A local guy. The least likely guy you’d figure."

    Helen and Jack: Helen was going to get busted for helping potential draftees slip off to Canada, leading to a rift between her and Jack. "They would have separated," says Prince. "But, obviously, they would have gotten back together.

    FX Withdraws from 'Over There'

    (11/01/05) FX's war drama "Over There" won't be redeployed for a second season, becoming a casualty of the same thing that causes most shows to be cancelled -- declining ratings.

    The cable network took the unusual step Tuesday (Nov. 1) of announcing it wouldn't pick up "Over There," about a squad of inexperienced soldiers in Iraq. Typically networks don't choose to draw attention to shows that are being cancelled.

    In explaining the cancellation FX chief John Landgraf takes pains to note that the "beautifully produced, acted, written and directed" show was axed solely due to the realities of the TV business, not for any creative reasons.

    "That decision was motivated entirely by 'Over There's' ratings performance and our belief that the numbers were reflective of what the show is about, rather than its quality or entertainment value," Landgraf says. "While are passionately committed to fostering great television, we are an advertiser-supported network, and the size of our audience is vital to our bottom line."

    "Over There" averaged 2.1 million viewers over its 13-week run, well below the levels of its other drama series. "Rescue Me" drew 2.8 million viewers per week this summer, while "The Shield" and "Nip/Tuck" each bring in more than 3 million.

    After starting strong with an audience of 4.1 million people for its premiere, "Over There" dipped in subsequent weeks. It took a further hit over its final four episodes, when it aired opposite new episodes of highly rated broadcast-network shows like "CSI: NY" and "Law & Order"; during those four weeks it averaged only 1.6 million viewers.

    Chris Gerolmo and Steven Bochco created "Over There," which was the first TV series to dramatize a war that was still going on while it aired. Landgraf also has kind words for them and "their immensely talented and dedicated team of collaborators, whose artistry was reflected in each episode."

    TVGuide.com: Finale Update & Spoilers

    (10/26/05) Question: Wow, knowing that you're a USC alum makes me a bigger fan of yours. Go Trojans! Anyway, I can't wait to find out more about the American Dreams alterna-finale, like you promised in last week's AA. Please tell me that Chris disappears from Meg's life and she ultimately ends up with her true love Sam! — LJ

    Ausiello: Well, the first half of your wish came true, LJ. Chris is definitely out of Meg's life. And I know this because — brace yourselves, Dreamers, — I've seen the elusive epilogue! Jonathan Prince sent a DVD copy to me via armored vehicle late last week and all I can say is it more than lived up to the hype. Now, before I present you with the highlights, let me assure you that, come hell or high water, you will see the ending, too. Worse case scenario: You'll have to wait for the Season 2 and 3 boxed DVD set, which will hopefully street sometime in '06. "We're in negotiations now," Prince says of the DVD. "And the epilogue would absolutely be included." But there's slight chance you won't have to wait until then. I can't get into specifics, but a top-secret plan is afoot that could bring the ending to you much sooner and cement my status as an American hero in the process. Hopefully, I'll have more to share in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here are some interesting facts/tidbits/spoilers about the climax to whet your appetite.

    Stop reading now if you prefer to wait for the real deal.

    * The flashback-heavy capper is 10 minutes long, edited down from 20 minutes of raw footage.

    * The only Dreams principals appearing in new scenes are Brittany Snow, Gail O'Grady and Tom Verica.

    * Most of the epilogue takes place on a bus, with Meg — now a junior at Berkeley — heading to New York to visit Sam at Columbia. "This would have been the first time she's seen Sam in three years," says Prince.

    * Meg meets a friend on the bus, and it's during their conversation that we learn that Patty went to Radcliffe, Roxanne married Luke and had a son named Woody Allen, and J.J. and Beth also married and had a son.

    * At the last minute, Meg decides to get off the bus in Philadelphia, where she returns home and reunites with her mom and dad for the first time in three years.

    Next week, Jonathan reveals what would have happened had Dreams gone a fourth season. (Hint: It's splitsville for Helen and Jack!)

    'Gilmore Girls' Gets Lots of Sweeps Visitors

    (10/21/05) The recent change of street names in Stars Hollow doesn't seem to be affecting the ability of past residents and visitors to find the place, at least not during November sweeps.

    "Gilmore Girls" will welcome back a couple of familiar faces, plus a top-secret new one, during sweeps. The WB series will also take strides toward mending the season-long rift between mother Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) and daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel).

    Milo Ventimiglia is set to reprise his role as Rory's ex-boyfriend Jess on Tuesday, Nov. 8. He comes back to town and tells Rory about an "impressive accomplishment" that makes her rethink her current Yale-dropout, guesthouse-living situation.

    Ventimiglia, last seen in the there-and-gone teen flick "Dirty Deeds," stars in The WB's midseason series "The Bedford Diaries." He also had a recurring part on NBC's "American Dreams" last season.

    Two weeks after that, David Sutcliffe will make an appearance as Rory's dad, Christopher. He'll be part of a Thanksgiving episode in which Rory gets some unsettling news about her current beau, Logan (Matt Czuchry).

    In between, on Nov. 15, someone from Luke's (Scott Patterson) past will turn up in town, throwing a big wrench into his relationship with Lorelai. Speculation has been that Lorelai maybe isn't the only single parent in their relationship, but the network isn't divulging any further details.

    Interview: "Reunion" with Will Estes

    (10/20/05) Click to read: http://www.teenhollywood.com/d.asp?r=109391&cat=1035

    Life Is 'Beautiful' for ABC Family

    (10/19/05) ABC Family doesn't hate "Beautiful People." In fact, it wants them to hang around some more. The cable network has ordered eight additional episodes of its original drama series, which stars Daphne Zuniga ("Melrose Place") as a single mother who moves her two teen daughters from New Mexico to New York. Production on the new episodes will begin later this fall, with premiere dates set for sometime in 2006. "We are thrilled to add eight more episodes of 'Beautiful People' to the season order," ABC Family president Paul Lee says. "Our audiences love this show, and [executive producers Paul Stupin and Michael Rauch] have such a strong vision for its future." ABC Family says the eight new episodes constitute a continuation of the show's first season, rather than a second season. The first batch of eight episodes concluded on Sept. 26. "Beautiful People," which also stars Torrey DeVitto and Sarah Foret, drew decent ratings during its late-summer/early-fall run, debuting to an audience of 1.6 million people and improving the network's ratings both overall and among adults 18-49 in its Monday timeslot. ABC Family's other original drama, "Wildfire," earned a second-season pickup in August.

    'Waiting ...' unfunny, unappetizing

    (10/07/05) Consider the ellipsis in the title a warning. Between a couple of funny scenes and a bunch of unfunny gags, there's not much going on in "Waiting ..."

    The comedy uses gross-out "humor" with little inventiveness to ply the familiar territory of twentysomething limbo and workplace hell. Despite a solid ensemble, this would-be "Kitchen Confidential" for the chain-steakhouse set, which boasts as many producers as cast members, doesn't serve up enough laughs to build a theatrical following but could find life on video as a takeout item.

    There comes a moment for many thinking people when job security takes on life-threatening proportions: a clear-eyed look at unhappy co-workers and the inept boss signals something's gotta give. For 22-year-old Dean (Justin Long), that moment of truth occurs four years into his job waiting tables at ShenaniganZ. Obsessed with the apparent success of a former classmate -- helpfully brought to his attention by his mother -- Dean feels himself languishing at work and at the community college where he and best friend Monty (Ryan Reynolds) are on-again, off-again students.

    Dangling benies and "power" before him, clueless manager Dan (David Koechner), who conducts dispiriting staff meetings by the Dumpster, offers the hard-working but directionless Dean a promotion to assistant manager. He is shocked when Dean asks for time to think it over. Where this is headed is as predictable as the dinner-hour rush.

    The ShenaniganZ staff spend most nights partying together after long days slinging baked potatoes, and co-worker couplings are inevitable. Dean avoids commitment to earnest waitress Amy (Kaitlin Doubleday), while Dan and Monty eye the underage hostess ( Vanessa Lengies). Monty, whose snarkiness is his identity (a cameo by Wendie Malick as his mother makes clear where he gets it), also spends time being humiliated by his feisty ex, waitress Serena (Anna Faris), and showing the ropes to wide-eyed new guy Mitch (John Francis Daley).

    Mainly the ropes consist of learning how to play a behind-the-scenes time-waster that Serena rightly calls "an exercise in retarded homophobia." Sleazeball cook Raddimus (Luis Guzman), the mastermind of the Penis-Showing Game, provides demos for Mitch using raw chicken parts. Besides workplace dystopia, this exhibitionist stupidity is the script's central thread.

    First-time writer-director Rob McKittrick demonstrates a feel for the systematic hysteria of restaurant dynamics, but his observations lack the absurdist edge of "Clerks" and the truly idiosyncratic detail that would make his characters three-dimensional. Within limited roles, the cast does what it can. Chi McBride, an actor capable of sublime understatement, plays the sage philosopher-king dishwasher, dispensing wisdom to a crew that includes two gangsta-wannabe pothead busboys (Andy Milonakis and Max Kasch), the angriest waitress in the world (Alanna Ubach) and a spineless virgin (Robert Patrick Benedict). Is it any wonder that -- in the film's funniest gag -- their birthday serenade to a young boy makes him cry?

    Filmed in New Orleans but with no sense of the place, "Waiting . . ." unfolds mainly within appropriately generic restaurant interiors. Refreshingly, McKittrick doesn't lean on canned pop tracks as mortar, but neither does he craft enough of a story to hold together the shtick.

    Cast:
    Monty: Ryan Reynolds
    Serena: Anna Faris
    Dean: Justin Long
    Dan: David Koechner
    Mitch: John Francis Daley
    Tyla: Emmanuelle Chriqui
    Amy: Kaitlin Doubleday
    Nick: Andy Milonakis
    T-Dog: Max Kasch
    Naomi: Alanna Ubach
    Calvin: Robert Patrick Benedict
    Natasha: Vanessa Lengies
    Bishop: Chi McBride
    Raddimus: Luis Guzman
    Monty's Mom: Wendie Malick

    Director-screenwriter: Rob McKittrick; Producers: Adam Rosenfelt, Stavros Merjos, Jay Rifkin, Jeff Balis, Rob Green; Executive producers: Chris Moore, Jon Shestack, Sam Nazarian, Malcolm Petal, Marc Schaberg, Thomas Augsberger, Paul Fiore; Director of photography: Matthew Irving; Production designer: Devorah Herbert; Music: Adam Gorgoni; Co-producers: Chris Fenton, Dean Shull, Randy Winograd; Costume designer: Jillian Kreiner; Editors: David Finfer, Andy Blumenthal.

    ABC's "Properties" may be too hot to handle

    (10/06/05) Hello, "Hot Properties." Goodbye, TGIF. To be sure, ABC's wholesome Friday night neighborhood had been changing for a few years, with family comedies moving out and reality ("Supernanny") moving in.

    With the addition of "Hot Properties," a spicy sexcom about a female-operated real estate office, the last vestige of TGIF is "Hope & Faith," which precedes this new series. It's kind of like serving some chicken soup before hot chicken wings.

    Actually, the food analogy is even more apt when you consider that, for many, "Hot Properties" surely will be an acquired taste. The nonstop sexual references will please some and annoy others. And then there will be a few who wonder how network standards and practices ever signed off on the line spoken by beauty Sofia Vergara, who plays Lola, about her family of carpenters: "I spent my life surrounded by men with wood."

    Gail O'Grady stars as Ava, the owner of the real estate agency, a fortysomething dish who has managed to keep her exact age a secret from her new (and unseen) 25-year-old husband. (Cue the stamina jokes.) Nicole Sullivan plays Chloe, man-hungry to the point of desperation (Cue the frustration jokes.) Then there's Lola, divorced for six months after 10 years of marriage to a gay man (Cue all the jokes that didn't fit in the other categories.)

    The real estate agency shares a receptionist, " Bob Newhart Show"-style, with the other offices on the floor, including crude plastic surgeon Dr. Charlie Thorpe (Stephen Dunham) and easygoing therapist Dr. Sellers Boyd (Evan Handler), neither of whom get much face time in the premiere.

    In the opener, all three agents show a property to newly engaged Emerson Ives (Christina Moore), who shares with complete strangers that she and her fiance have saved themselves for marriage. Two of the agents have personal knowledge to the contrary about her fiance, which leads to the end of the engagement and the addition of Emerson to the agency.

    The "B" story has Lola mourning the death of her pet chicken, which ingested a bath oil bead. Seriously.

    This is sassy and superficial but also entertaining, and that's really all it aspires to be. What's more, the cast seems to enjoy themselves and all the goofiness while it squeezes every drop of laughter from each bawdy punchline. Anyway, the only other network comedy on at the same time, WB's "Living With Fran," won't exactly provide refuge from sexual innuendoes and double-entendres.

    Cast:
    Ava Summerlin: Gail O'Grady
    Chloe Reid: Nicole Sullivan
    Lola Hernandez: Sofia Vergara
    Emerson Ives: Christina Moore
    Dr. Charlie Thorpe: Stephen Dunham
    Dr. Sellers Boyd: Evan Handler
    Mary: Amy Hill
    Graham Currier: Greg Cromer

    Executive producers: Suzanne Martin, Andy Ackerman; Co-executive producer: Jay Daniel; Director: Andy Ackerman; Creator-writer: Suzanne Martin; Director of photography: Nick McLean; Editor: John Fuller; Music: Jeff Roma; Set designer: Jim Walters; Casting: Dava Waite.

    TV Guide: Dreams Finale DOA

    (10/05/05) Question: Any word on NBC's American Dreams finale redo? — Katrina

    Ask Ausiello: It's officially DOA. In a statement released exclusively to Ask Ausiello, an NBC rep says, "Unfortunately, due to postproduction issues, NBC will not be able to broadcast the 12-minute alternative ending of last year's American Dreams finale." And as easy as it would be to pin the blame squarely on Jeff Zucker's shoulders, I hear the guy tried his best to make it happen. Not only were there music-clearance issues — apparently Jonathan Prince packed enough classics in those 12 minutes to bankrupt a third-world country — but sponsors were unwilling to get behind a show that had already been canceled. There's still a glimmer of hope, though: The alterna-capper could be included on Dreams' third-season DVD, whenever the hell that comes out.

    "Dreams" done.

    (09/22/05) "Dreams" done. Looks as if the last remaining dream is over for American Dreams.

    Though NBC Universal TV top gun Jeff Zucker said in July that he would rerun Dreams' series finale but with an alternative ending this summer, it never happened.

    As for it ever happening, well, chances are slim and none. And slim just left town.

    NBC decided that it wasn't worth the hassle to scratch up sponsors for the episode and get music clearances for the alternative ending, according to a network executive close to the show.

    Officially, NBC "is working on the episode. We have no decision," says a network rep.

    The acclaimed Dreams, set in Philly during the turbulent 1960s, was canceled in May. It revolves around the Pryor family, with Dick Clark's American Bandstand serving as a backdrop.

    In the season cliffhanger, we saw Meg Pryor (Brittany Snow) defy her father (Haverford High grad Tom Verica) by zooming off to California with her draft-dodger boyfriend on his motorcycle.

    The 12-minute alternative ending takes place three years later, in '69. On the day of Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon, Meg returns home and faces her family.

    TV review: Bones

    (09/13/05) Tuesday night is now officially "Go to Hell! Night" over at Fox with the addition of "Bones," which links as the lead-in to "House" to form not only a night of single-word dramatic titles but an evening of lead doctor characters for whom being likable is far down the list of priorities.

    "House" has the prickly, disconnected and world-weary Dr. Gregory House, and "Bones" has Dr. Temperance Brennan (played with sass and attitude by Emily Deschanel), a headstrong and very Type-A forensic anthropologist in D.C., who admits to having a better relationship with dead people than the living. It's always a risk to build a series on the back of a protagonist who's so unapologetically negative, but the hour hits the ground running with a vibe that's instantly engaging, if not yet quite addictive.

    While "Bones" has too much "X-Files" and "CSI" going in the pilot to feel completely original, it's nonetheless a taut, well-constructed, character-rich procedural with genuine potential. It purports to have been inspired by the real-life story of scientist Kathy Reichs, who studies skeletons as well as penning best-selling novels in her spare time. The show that pays her homage stars Deschanel as a skeletal sleuth who writes books on the side and David Boreanaz of "Angel" fame as FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth, who works in the Homicide Investigation Unit.

    Dr. Brennan is the true believer in this equation, Agent Booth the confirmed skeptic who mistrusts science and the geeks who subscribe to it (whom he derisively calls "squints"). So, in true "X-Files" fashion, the two must join forces to compensate for one another's weaknesses. She likes to read clues in bones. He digs old-fashioned investigative police work. This means lots of mistrust and clashing, but fortunately Deschanel and Boreanaz have sufficient chemistry to make their need to work together seem rather like fate than a typically convenient plot contrivance at the outset.

    Creator/exec producer Hart Hanson, most recently a writer for the canceled "Joan of Arcadia" and, before that, for "Judging Amy," penned the premiere episode that finds Brennan and Booth linking up to identify and determine the cause of death of a woman who turned out to be an ex-aide to a D.C. congressman. The teleplay is flush with snappy dialogue that brings the personalities into sharp focus, people who include Brennan's Jefferson Institution colleagues like the bawdy Angela (Michaela Conlin), the geeky Zack (Eric Millegan) and conspiracy nut Dr. Jack Hodgins (T.J. Thyne). All the performers acquit themselves well.

    Augmenting the straightforward science and darkly comedic tone is some nifty holographic visual effects imagery that's used to attach an identifiable human form to the bare bones of the deceased. It's all pretty cool stuff that's driven on the shoulders of TV's newest cool couple in Deschanel and Boreanaz. They've got some real heat in their partnership that elevates "Bones" above the standard "CSI"-derivative drama as it leaves the starting gate. Now we'll see if they, and the writers, can sustain it while keeping Dr. Temperance from turning too shrill. So far, DNA and PMS make for a surprisingly watchable mix.

    Cast: Dr. Temperance Brennan: Emily Deschanel; Agent Seeley Booth: David Boreanaz; Zack Addy: Eric Millegan; Dr. Jack Hodgins: T.J. Thyne; Angela Montenegro: Michaela Conlin; Dr. Daniel Goodman: Jonathan Adams; Olivier Laurier: Chris Conner; Peter St. James: Dominic Fumusa; Sen. Bethlehem: Larry Poindexter; Ken Thompson: Sam Trammell; Ted Eller: Tyrees Allen; Sharon Eller: Bonita Friedericy.

    Executive producers: Barry Josephson, Hart Hanson; Producer: Jim Chory; Associate producer: David Jeffery; Creator-writer: Hart Hanson; Director: Greg Yaitanes; Director of photography: Dermott Downs; Production designer: Vaughan Edwards; Costume designer: Bobbie Read; Editor: Harry Miller; Composer: Peter Himmelman; Music supervisor: Billy Gottlieb; Casting: Vicky Rosenberg and Associates, Alexis Frankozara, Christine Shevchenko.

    New O.C. Neighbor Has Killer Concept

    (09/08/05) Those teen ne'er-do-wells on The O.C. have a new neighbor this season, and one that is different in so many ways. Fox's Reunion, premiering tonight at 9 pm/ET, spins a murder mystery involving six friends and told in flashbacks encompassing one year per episode, inching forward each week as it gradually revealing not just whodunit, but who was done in.

    The concept, while bold, begs big questions. Like, how do you do a murder mystery while keeping the victim's identity under wraps? (The deceased is referred to in present day as, well, "the deceased.") And what happens in Season 2, if there is one? Luckily, creator/executive producer Jon Harmon Feldman is armed with answers. Addressing the latter, most-asked question, he says, "If we're lucky and get to Season 2, the goal would be to use one of our [original six] characters to transition to a new group of friends and tell their story over 20 years.

    "I have a lot of ideas on [how to do that] that are as compelling as Season 1," he insists. "We're ready to hit the ground running if we have that opportunity."

    While you might think that an actor would be hesitant to sign on for the obviously limited run that Reunion offers most of its original cast members, the opposite is true. "[It's an] actor's dream," says Sean Faris (Life as We Know It), who plays rich kid Craig Brewster. "It's awesome to be able to play a role in which the character changes every episode and yet at the same time you don't feel like you're locked away for five years doing the same thing over and over." Alexa Davalos (Angel, The Chronicles of Riddick), who plays Faris' on-screen sweetheart, concurs: "It gives the show a bit of the energy of a film, because we knew the beginning and we know that there is an end, and that leaves you a lot of freedom."

    One of the most familiar faces on Reunion is that of Will Estes, who was actually cast on the Fox drama before NBC's American Dreams (on which he played J.J.) was truly and sincerely 100 percent dead. Being tapped to go retro yet again, he says, is funny. "I think every actor has, like, a best era for him. I don't know if Burt Reynolds is going to be any better than he was in the '70s, know what I mean? But me, I love the '80s, so I feel more at home here."

    Mathew St. Patrick, fresh from getting gunned down in Six Feet Under's series finale epilogue, is the one temporal constant on Reunion, playing the present-day detective out to solve whoever's murder. "To move onto this show is a wonderful experience," he says. "24 started with this kind of concept in terms of expanding what the [TV] hour [can] embrace. For this show to take it the next step is ambitious."

    But again, how do you plumb a season-long murder mystery without naming the dead? "There are two mysteries — who's dead and who killed them. The first one we're going to [reveal] not too far into the season," Feldman promises. "After that, the gloves are off as we track all the clues and motives and suspects."

    If Reunion doesn't get picked up for the full season, then what? Says Feldman, "If I get a call that says, 'You're only doing 13,' will I wrap it up? Absolutely."

    Uncool state of the 'Reunion'

    (09/08/05) Good ideas don't do much good if you can't pull them off.

    Giving credit where it's due, Reunion sports one of the riskiest and most novel premises of the new season. This serialized Fox companion to The O.C. locks six friends into a season-long murder mystery that takes them from 1986 to the present, with each episode covering one year along the way.

    It's an intriguing concept, but people don't watch concepts. They watch shows. And as a show, Reunion doesn't amount to nearly enough.

    Tonight's premiere opens in the present at a funeral and then leaps back 20 years to a high school graduation. The narrator/funeral orator introduces us to the show's six reuniters: Jenna (Amanda Righetti), Carla (Chyler Leigh), Aaron (Dave Annable), Will (Will Estes) and "the perfect couple," Craig (Sean Faris) and Samantha (Alexa Davalos).

    Apparently, the writers put so much effort into inventing their original concept that they had no energy left for the characters, who come straight out of the teen-soap playbook.

    Carla is smart but innocent; Craig is rich and handsome; Will is Craig's impossibly noble working-class best friend who may also be the father of Samantha's baby.

    Then there's Aaron, the budding writer who has a crush on Jenna, the fast girl who wants to be a star. And just to complete the standard soap triangle, Carla has a crush on Aaron, though of course he doesn't know.

    Given the clichéd characters, it's almost inevitable that one of them will propose a toast to the hope that everything always stays "as perfect as it is right now." Of course, things immediately go disastrously wrong - though not murderously wrong, a development that comes in a later episode.

    The opener introduces the present-day cop who's investigating the murder (Six Feet Under's Mathew St. Patrick). But it doesn't tell us who did it or who got done.

    You expect a high-concept show to make some logical leaps, but there's not a moment of Reunion that doesn't feel ridiculously contrived. And if the plot doesn't get you, the corn-pone dialogue will - as witness this gem of an exchange between Jenna and Aaron: "I'm not some virgin who's angry at the world because he can't convince any girl to sleep with him." "Not any girl, Jenna, not any girl."

    Yeesh.

    Even should its scripts improve, Reunion still faces a major hurdle: its cast. Were this show merely another teen soap, you could be reasonably confident that the young cast could carry it off.

    But Reunion's complex structure requires each actor to play what amounts to multiple characters: the characters as teens, the adult characters they become, and whoever they are in between. And that stretch seems to be beyond the reach of some of the actors.

    Granted, the only transformation we see tonight is Carla's jump from 18 to 38. But this introductory glimpse does not bode well for the show's future.

    Leigh is actually sweetly disarming as the young Carla, but her transition into the older version is reminiscent of a high school girl playing Dorothy Parker.

    If they want viewers to have a weekly reunion with this show, they will have to do better than that.

    'Reunion' groups old friends

    (09/07/05) The show:Reunion
    The premiere: Thursday, 9 p.m. ET/PT, Fox

    The concept: Following six high school pals from graduation day to their 20th reunion.

    The twist: Each episode ages the cast one year, and there's a murder mystery solved in the season finale.

    Talk about a logistical nightmare.

    Reunion, a prime-time soap about a group of close friends, asks its actors to age from 18 in the first episode to 38 in the season finale, and all that makeup won't even ensure job security. If the show succeeds, viewers will see a mostly new cast next season.

    The drama, the latest companion for The O.C. in a tough Thursday time slot, begins in 1986 as the characters don caps and gowns. It jumps forward a year in each episode.

    The opener, as well as future episodes, includes present-day scenes, starting with the funeral of one friend, a murder victim. That person's identity isn't revealed until the fifth episode, due in November when Reunion returns from a break for post-season baseball.

    The murder mystery, solved in the finale, is a major element of the series, but mixed in are soapy staples: a romantic triangle, an unplanned pregnancy and the jailing of one pal for a crime committed by another.

    "So often in episodic drama you struggle to find incidents for your characters," says executive producer Jon Harmon Feldman (Tru Calling).

    "When you're essentially telling one or two or three stories every year, you get to sort of mine the big watershed moments: Birth, marriage, divorce, adultery. What I like to think is we're jumping to the most interesting part of these people's lives."

    "It reminds me of The Breakfast Club with an action murder mystery," says Will Estes, who plays a pal from the wrong side of the tracks.

    Estes is familiar with period pieces: He played the military-bound son in American Dreams.

    So is Chyler Leigh, who starred in the short-lived spinoff That '80s Show and dons a wig and wrinkle makeup in Reunion's pilot. To act older, the 23-year-old "changed my posture and lowered my voice," she says.

    The cast also includes Amanda Righetti (The O.C.), Sean Faris (Life as We Know It), and Mathew St. Patrick (Six Feet Under), who plays a detective investigating the murder in the present-day scenes, which make up about 20% of each episode.

    "There's a lot of manipulation, a lot of betrayal, a lot of lies and cheating," says St. Patrick. "I'm the guy that's knocking on every door, rattling as many cages as possible, figuring out who did it and why."

    Fox Entertainment chief Peter Liguori says he'd be happy for the "bold, audacious" show to last long enough to solve his own mystery: how to handle Season 2 after Reunion has already tied up its loose ends.

    Feldman has a plan: "Late in Season 1, we'll introduce a character who is significant enough - a wife or a husband of one of the characters - and in Season 2, we'd flash back with that person to 1987, whatever different city they're from, and tell a story with that group of friends over 20 years."

    The actors, currently with one-season contracts, say they enjoy the freedom of not being tied down by long-term deals.

    But though Feldman says a few might survive for a second season, "shows like Survivor and The Real World have shown that audiences will tune into a new cast if they're intrigued by the concept."

    FOX Hosts a Troubling 'Reunion'

    (09/05/05) What's a murder between friends?

    Some possible answers play out in "Reunion," an intriguing Fox drama marking one of the new television season's earliest series debuts when it follows the season premiere of "The O.C." Thursday, Sept. 8. (The pilot episode will have an encore the following night.)

    An attractive cast of young actors charts the highs and lows of a tight-knit group from 1986 to the present ... but one initially unidentified character won't make it all the way through. The resulting funeral sparks the premiere, which was directed by feature-film veteran Jon Amiel ("Entrapment," "Copycat").

    Played by Sean Faris ("Life as We Know It") and Will Estes ("American Dreams"), pals Craig and Will have a car accident that sets off many of the events, but privileged Craig's girlfriend, Samantha (Alexa Davalos, "The Chronicles of Riddick"), has a secret known only by friend-to-all Carla (Chyler Leigh, "The Practice"). Also in the gang is Aaron (Dave Annable, "Little Black Book"), who's anxious to become more than friends with aspiring actress Jenna (Amanda Righetti, "North Shore").

    Extended flashbacks are standard in "Reunion," which covers a different year each week; 1987 is the backdrop of the second episode, 1988 the third, etc. Often, those segments are cued by questions from Detective Marjorino (Mathew St. Patrick, "Six Feet Under"), the policeman probing the murder. Those he interrogates have to look as much as 19 years older than they do in the sequences set earlier, necessitating careful casting by executive producer Jon Harmon Feldman ("Tru Calling," "Dawson's Creek").

    "Part of making that transformation is physical," Feldman acknowledges, "but a large part of it is acting. The first few episodes turn over one card, or one character, per episode. They age differently, but it's also a matter of how the actor inhabits the character.

    "In the pilot, Chyler just becomes that character at 38, in how she carries herself and changes the tenor of her voice. As an 18-year-old, Carla is the sweet 'flat-chested friend,' as she calls herself; by 38, she's been hardened and she's carrying around some baggage. Part of the fun of the show is exploring how the characters change over the years."

    Big performance swings can follow for the "Reunion" actors. "My manager and a lot of my friends call me 'The Chameleon,'" actress Leigh muses, "because I can basically look like anyone in any time period. I'm very grateful for that because it gives me such variety, whereas other people can have a hard time adapting to a certain look or style. When we see Carla at 38, she has much heavier makeup and a different posture, in a sense. By 38, you really know who you are. At 18, you're still exploring, and there's a certain naivete."

    Just as he was last fall in ABC's "Life as We Know It," Faris is in a show pitted directly against the CBS ratings juggernaut "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," but he has faith in "Reunion." In playing a charmer who persuades others to suit his agenda, the actor days, "I looked at two friends of mine and took different personality traits from both of them. My character means well and has good intentions; he just doesn't realize his selfishness. He's had everything all his life."

    And do his friends know they've served as living research for Faris? "Not in the least. I would never, ever bring that up."

    The ensemble movies "The Big Chill" and "St. Elmo's Fire" might seem like touchstones for "Reunion," but Feldman credits fellow executive producers Steve Pearlman and Andrew Plotkin with the idea to follow six friends over 20 years.

    "Immediately, that concept felt so rife with possibility that I went off and brought back these characters and ideas." Feldman then fleshed out the murder-mystery aspect. "I just thought, 'Wouldn't it be great if there were additional stakes?' It's not uncommon that when you're 38, the innocence you felt at 18 has left. A death brings that home, but the murder is only one part of the show, and it only comes into play in the present day. Most of the stories we tell are distinct and separate from that."

    Period music also plays a big role in "Reunion," with hits by the original artists -- including Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love" and Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" -- informing the first episode's soundtrack. As with other series like CBS' "Cold Case," the rights to such songs can add a lot to a show's budget, and Feldman is ready for that. "It's no secret that the wish list comes with a price tag," he says, "and we'll have to lose some of them, but my goal is to maintain the essence of that music. I think we'll be able to keep more than you might think."

    Some critics already have voiced doubts about "Reunion's" longevity, since the one-year-per-week premise might seem to exhaust the storytelling possibilities in just one season. Feldman disputes that, maintaining he would still have plenty to explore about the characters for a second season ... and possibly beyond.

    "What I think I'm drawn to is the chance to write young people as adults," he says. "They don't think of themselves as not having the depth of feeling or thought that adults do, and one of the nice things in writing them is to try to accurately portray that."

    TV review: Reunion

    (09/05/05) You'd expect a series programed as a companion for "The O.C." to be filled with young, attractive faces and oozing with teen drama.

    "Reunion" has that, all right, but it goes to the next level as well, adding to the mix a murder mystery and a different concept of series storytelling. Although it will be hard to match "The O.C.'s" ratings, particularly against the blockbuster competition of the time period ("The Apprentice" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"), the "Reunion" pilot offers a more intriguing and creative form of entertainment.

    Exec producer/writer Jon Harmon Feldman opens the premiere with a funeral service. The deceased is one of a group of six friends, all members of the high school graduating class of 1986. One of them has been murdered, and Detective Marjorino (Mathew St. Patrick) has some questions for another member of the group after the service ends. Flashbacks sparked by the responses dramatize the lives of the sextet through each of the ensuing years. The game plan is that, at the end of the season, the murder mystery will be solved and the series will move on to a new group of characters. (Acting contracts were for one or two years only.)

    But first things first. "Reunion" starts out in fictional, rustic Bedford, N.Y., where relations between and among the six friends approach the limit of probability permutations. Rich kid Craig (Sean Faris) is on the cusp of proposing to flirty Samantha (Alexa Davalos), except that, unbeknownst to him, she's pregnant by his best friend, working-class Will (Will Estes), the result of a one-night stand when Craig and Samantha had a brief split. All-around sweetheart Carla (Chyler Leigh) is in love with preppy Aaron (Dave Annable), who only has eyes for Jenna (Amanda Righetti), an aspiring actress.

    The more intriguing dramatic dilemma occurs when an inebriated Craig collides with a pickup. Will is a passenger in the car, but both were out of the vehicle by the time help arrived. If Will takes the rap, it might save Craig's future plans without causing Will serious problems. It is a complex issue in which friendship, guilt, morality and justice all play a part, and it is explored vigorously in the premiere. That alone more than makes up for the wussy way the pregnancy issue is handled.

    This is an effective cast. Faris manages to keep Craig from being easily dismissed as just a stereotypical rich kid. Estes registers strong emotion with his expression and movement. Leigh gives depth and dimension to a character that might otherwise be part of the background.

    Jon Amiel directs with a deft touch, moving smoothly among teen frivolity, gutty drama and the darker tone of the murder investigation. Feldman ends the premiere with a promise of more explosive drama, taking full advantage of TV's increasing permissiveness toward serialized storytelling. Whether or not "Reunion" can hold up in its killer time period, Fox certainly is not shrinking from the challenge.

    Cast: Aaron: Dave Annable; Samantha: Alexa Davalos; Will: Will Estes; Craig: Sean Faris; Carla: Chyler Leigh; Jenna: Amanda Righetti; Detective Marjorino: Mathew St. Patrick.

    Executive producers: Jon Harmon Feldman, Steve Pearlman, Andrew Plotkin; Producer: Robert Lloyd Lewis; Creators: Jon Harmon Feldman, Sara Goodman; Director: Jon Amiel; Teleplay: Jon Harmon Feldman; Story: Jon Harmon Feldman, Sara Goodman; Director of photography: Adam Kane; Production designer: Steve Wolff; Editor: Mark Manos; Music: John Frizzell; Set decorator: Linda Cooper; Casting: Susan Edelman.

    A Decade of Dinner Together: Gail O'Grady and National Pork Board Celebrate 10th Annual National Eat Dinner Together Week

    (09/04/05) In the past decade, dinnertime distractions have multiplied with the advances in technology. But despite the ringing telephones, blaring televisions, pumping portable MP3 players and text-messaging cell phones, family dinnertime is still as important as ever.

    Through a decade of great change, dinner remains at the heart of the family. In celebration of the 10th annual National Eat Dinner Together Week (September 18-24, 2005), a recent survey by the National Pork Board uncovered this comforting truth amidst all the sensory stimulation of 21st century life.

    This year, more than three out of four people surveyed (78%) said that it is very or extremely important to enjoy an evening meal together as a family, up five percent from 1996. And, more than half (52%) said they eat dinner as a family five or more times per week.

    Ten Years Strong

    In 1996, America's Pork Producers and the National Pork Board established National Eat Dinner Together Week as a forum to develop and nurture relationships with family members.

    "America's Pork Producers remain committed to celebrating the natural connection between food and family by providing tools and solutions to make dinnertime more enjoyable," says Pamela Johnson, Director of Consumer Communications for the National Pork Board. To help families focus on connecting during dinner, the National Pork Board supports busy parents by providing recipes, time management tips and family activity ideas at TogetherForDinner.com.

    Additionally, to help raise money for hunger relief, the National Pork Board is sponsoring a special celebrity-designed dinner plate auction, benefiting America's Second Harvest - The Nation's Food Bank Network. O'Grady and other celebrities will donate personalized dinner plates that will be available via this special online charity auction, hosted on eBay®, The World's Online Marketplace™, from October 3-13, 2005. For more information, check out TogetherForDinner.com.

    Reality: It's Not Like TV

    To mark the 10th annual National Eat Dinner Together Week, Gail O'Grady, star of ABC Television Network's "Hot Properties" and formerly of NBC's "American Dreams," is helping the National Pork Board salute the importance of shared family dinners. "For my family, time spent around the dinner table is among the most precious time in my day. It's a chance to recap the day's happenings and keep connected with one another's lives," says O'Grady.

    As a busy mom, O'Grady says she prefers menus that offer satisfying flavors and relatively simple preparations. To make the most of mealtime, O'Grady says she also feels it's important to consider preparation and clean-up as fair game for family involvement.

    "I tend to gravitate towards easy-to-prepare meals -- whether I'm grilling or sautéing -- and pork is a delicious option that's very versatile," says O'Grady. "My favorite recipe is pork tenderloin with apricots and fennel." One of O'Grady's family favorite recipes is a sweet and savory Brandied Apricot Pork Tenderloin.

    Special Web Site Honors a Decade of Dinner Together

    To draw attention to the importance of sharing the dinner meal, the National Pork Board also has launched a new Web site -- TogetherForDinner.com -- to celebrate the 10th annual National Eat Dinner Together Week. The site features 30 recipes that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less, meal management tips, family activity ideas and more.

    Imagine and Win

    Visitors to TogetherForDinner.com will also have the opportunity to banish the blahs by entering the "Imagine and Win" sweepstakes for a chance to win a dream family getaway including air travel, lodging and spending money -- a total trip value of $10,000. If you can imagine it, you can win it. Whether your family dreams of enjoying Southern barbecued ribs at Graceland in Memphis or a family reunion pig roast on a Hawaiian beach, there'll never be another family dinner like it! Just provide your family's favorite dinnertime tip for a chance to win. Complete details and entry information can be found at TogetherForDinner.com.

    Go to `Reunion' to see how friends change

    (09/03/05) What's a murder between friends?

    Some possible answers play out in ``Reunion,'' an intriguing Fox drama premiering Thursday at 9 p.m. on FOX. (The pilot episode will have an encore the following night.)

    An attractive cast of young actors charts the highs and lows of a tight-knit group from 1986 to the present. But one initially unidentified character won't make it all the way through. The resulting funeral sparks the premiere, which was directed by feature-film veteran Jon Amiel (``Entrapment,'' ``Copycat'').

    Played by Sean Faris (``Life as We Know It'') and Will Estes (``American Dreams''), pals Craig and Will have a car accident that sets off many of the events, but privileged Craig's girlfriend, Samantha (Alexa Davalos, ``The Chronicles of Riddick''), has a secret known only by friend-to-all Carla (Chyler Leigh, ``The Practice''). Also in the gang is Aaron (Dave Annable, ``Little Black Book''), who's anxious to become more than friends with aspiring actress Jenna (Amanda Righetti, ``North Shore'').

    Extended flashbacks are standard in ``Reunion,'' which covers a different year each week; 1987 is the backdrop of the second episode, 1988 the third, etc. Often, those segments are cued by questions from Detective Marjorino (Mathew St. Patrick, ``Six Feet Under''), the policeman probing the murder.

    Those he interrogates have to look as much as 19 years older than they do in the sequences set earlier, necessitating careful casting by executive producer Jon Harmon Feldman (``Tru Calling,'' ``Dawson's Creek'').

    ``Part of the fun of the show is exploring how the characters change over the years,'' Feldman said.

    Milo Ventimiglia Movie Opens Today

    (08/26/05) In limited release this weekend, Freestyle Releasing will unveil "American Pie" knockoff "Dirty Deeds" in 64 theaters. Starring Milo Ventimiglia, Lacey Chabert and Charles Durning, the PG-13 film centers on a high school senior who tries to become the first student ever to complete a series of twisted challenges called the "dirty deeds."

    Dick Clark is back

    (08/15/05) Dick Clark is back — and he's not alone. American Idol's Ryan Seacrest has inked a long-term deal to executive-produce and join the ageless entertainer in cohosting this year's installment of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve — and ultimately replace Clark as the countdown special's solo host. Clark, who last year, in the wake of his December stroke, was spelled by Regis Philbin, says, "I am elated that Ryan has agreed to join me on America's favorite holiday special." I can hear Seacrest now: "Five... four... three... two... and we'll be back with 'one'... after this!"

    'Dream' lives on for one more episode

    (08/14/05) If there's anything TV viewers hate more than commercials or Shannen Doherty, it's unresolved cliffhangers -- end-of-season mysteries that turn maddeningly eternal when a show is unexpectedly canceled.

    But if there's anything TV executives hate more than TiVo or Shannen Doherty, it's spending even a nickel on a show that's already been consigned to the junk heap.

    That's why ABC viewers, who were invited to vote on which of the three female characters on Two Guys, A Girl and A Pizza Place would become pregnant never learned exactly who they knocked up at the end of the 2001 season. And why Fox viewers to this day ask Dominic Purcell the real identity of the brilliant but amnesiac character he played in John Doe before the show was abruptly canceled in 2003.

    Sometimes the producers actually embrace the mystery. In 2003, the final episode of CBS' excellent CIA drama The Agency ended with a swirl of dust and debris after a North Korean bomb exploded with three characters huddled around it. Last month I ran into Shaun Cassidy, The Agency's executive producer, and asked which characters would have survived if the show had come back for another season.

    ''I can't tell you that,'' he said, looking like I'd asked him for a naked photo of his mom.

    But at last a network executive has shown evidence of a heart. Well, a small, shriveled one, anyway. NBC President Jeff Zucker isn't willing to bring back American Dreams, the 1960s family drama his network canceled in May. But he has given the go-ahead to air a revised version of the show's season finale that ran in April, one that will neatly tie off American Dreams' most raggedly dangling thread: What happened to Meg?

    A sweet teenage girl-next-door who fell under the influence of a violent anti-war radical, Meg was last seen on the back of his motorcycle, headed off to Berkeley, which depending on how you remember the 1960s was either the triumphant capital of an ascending counterculture or a bottomless hellhole seething with drugs, communism and deviant sex. (Parents, including the fictional ones in American Dreams, tended to hold the latter view.)

    So what was Meg's future? Would she have snapped out of it and returned to Philadelphia? Or become some kind of hippie den mother? Telegraph Avenue junkie? Weatherman bomber? In my more paranoid moments, I could even imagine her winding up in the Symbionese Liberation Army, the real-life Berkeley radical group that kidnapped Patty Hearst and murdered establishment figures with cyanide-tipped bullets.

    Well, I needn't have worried -- at least, not that much. Meg went through some rough times; her boyfriend joined the terrorist wing of the anti-war movement, planting bombs and fighting cops. She had other unsavory experiences. But, three years after she disappears, her older brother J.J. heads to Berkeley to rescue her.

    That's the plot of the new 13-minute ending to the season finale. NBC doesn't have a firm air date yet, but it's expected before the new fall TV shows roll out in mid-September.

    ''It's all edited and ready to go,'' says American Dreams creator Jonathan Prince. ``All they've got to do is decide whether they want to use the 60-minute version, or the 90-minute version -- I did it both ways.''

    American Dreams, which followed two middle-class families -- one black, one white -- as they were washed along by the cultural and political tidal waves that swept through the 1960s, was an instant critical success when it debuted in 2002. It was consistently NBC's highest-rated show in critics' polls, including one taken this summer after the show had already left the air.

    Unfortunately, the high ratings that count most with network executives are the ones from Nielsen, and American Dreams was never better than so-so there. The show floated uneasily on the cancellation bubble every year, and once even fell through.

    ''Nobody knows this, but Dreams was canceled last year, just before Christmas,'' says Prince. NBC executives told him to shut down production, that they would air only the 13 episodes already completed. Prince thought it over a moment, then replied: ``I'm not OK with that.''

    He wangled a promise from NBC that he could complete his scheduled 17 episodes if he could come up with advertising support for them. After some intense negotiations, Prince struck product placement deals with Kraft cheese and Oreo cookies. (The latter was particularly memorable: Without ever mentioning the cookie's name, American Dreams dad Jack Pryor and son Will had a long, funny on-screen argument about the best way to eat Oreos.)

    ''Through the whole thing, the scripts kept coming in, everybody showed up for work, and the actors never knew we'd been canceled,'' Prince says. ``And of course, once we got the deals with Kraft and Oreo, we weren't canceled.''

    But Prince knew the show's chances to return for a fourth season were dwindling. He didn't want to shoot the last episode as a series finale -- that would be like inviting cancellation -- but he didn't want to leave fans dangling, either. So he went to Zucker and Kevin Reilly, NBC's chief programmer, with an odd request.

    ''I asked them for money for an extra day and a half of shooting,'' he recalls. ``I said, if the show gets canceled -- if -- we'd be able to put a satisfying conclusion on it for the fans. I think they were a little surprised, but they gave me the money.''

    Prince's original plans called for Meg to spend only the first six episodes of next season in Berkeley before her Vietnam-vet brother J.J. went to rescue her. But for his secret ending, Prince altered the story. The epilogue he shot takes place in 1969, three years later.

    ''It was really touching,'' he says. ``We had Gail O'Grady and Tom Verica [who played Meg's parents] in updated clothes, and we used makeup to age them, so they look really different than you saw them through the run of American Dreams. I think Gail and Tom were a little weirded out by the abrupt change of their look, and they were genuinely upset because shooting this really brought home the idea that the show might be canceled.

    ``The result is really, really emotional -- I promise you that anyone who watches will be weeping. If there are 15 lines of dialogue in the new ending, I'd be surprised. We use a lot of pictures, a lot of music, and a lot of silences. I think silences say a lot.''

    The new ending almost didn't have to be used. A letter-writing campaign by Dreams' maniacally devoted fans -- they even hired a plane to buzz NBC headquarters here, towing a banner demanding that the show return -- came tantalizingly close to success. But in the final week of preparation of NBC's fall schedule, American Dreams got the ax. Though not before Prince tried one last gambit, which he cheerfully admits was a little dirty.

    With American Dreams on the bubble, its cast was given permission to audition for other shows, with the understanding that they'd have to back out of them if Dreams returned. Three actors -- O'Grady, Will Estes (who played son J.J.) and Jonathan Adams (who played Henry Walker, patriarch of Dreams' black family) -- got important roles on new series on other networks.

    ''Because I'm not a very nice person, I called Kevin Reilly and said, `Hey, if you pick up our show, you not only get American Dreams, but you can screw over Gail's new show on CBS and Will and Jonathan's shows on Fox,'' confesses Prince.

    It didn't work. But thanks to Prince, American Dreams viewers didn't get screwed over, either.

    Gilmore Guy Returns

    (08/10/05) Milo Ventimiglia is briefly returning to Gilmore Girls this November. According to exec producer Amy Sherman-Palladino, Jess' arrival will throw lovebirds "Rory and Logan into a bit of a tailspin."

    Life Is Beautiful for Melrose Alum

    (08/08/05) Daphne Zuniga is back on television — not that she ever really left. It's just that her most recent bid for a longtime prime-time run, as former Playboy pinup Shelly Pierce on American Dreams, was snipped short when the ratings-challenged NBC drama got snuffed. Now the beautiful brunette best known for playing Melrose Place's relatively (being the key word) moral Jo and Spaceballs' Druish Princess Vespa, is betting on Beautiful People. The new drama (premiering tonight at 9 pm/ET on ABC Family) presents Zuniga as Lynn Kerr, a newly single mother of two girls who, because of one of her daughter's academic aspirations, must relocate from a small town in New Mexico to big, bad New York City.

    Zuniga can relate to the upheaval. "I did the reverse, which is just as horrific," she tells TVGuide.com with a laugh. "When I was in high school I moved from the big city" — in this case, San Francisco — "to a tiny village of 500 people in Vermont. It was like The Waltons!"

    Beautiful People isn't just about the Kerr women. No, the girls of course are magnets to cute boys and, wouldn't you know it, once in the Big Apple Zuniga's designer-wannabe character bumps into the college sweetheart (Rescue Me's James McCaffrey) who broke her heart years ago. "He says to me, 'Wow, Lynn Kerr — the one that got away,' and I say, 'Yeah, only I didn't go anywhere,'" relates Zuniga. "It's a great line."

    "Great" is also a word she used to describe her TV daughters, Sarah Foret (Clubhouse) and Torrey DeVitto. "A lot of the times we have been finishing shooting at 5 am, and they have never complained," she marvels. "I have to shut my mouth. 'Daphne, calm down, the girls are doing just fine... and you can, too.'

    Long shoot days aside, Zuniga is definitely a People person, and hopes against hope that the series lives beyond its original eight-episode commitment. "I would absolutely love that," she enthuses. "I hope it does go a long time."

    Not that any new role is likely to make fans on the street forget Jo or Princess Vespa anytime soon. "I usually get recognized for Spaceballs," she says, adding that she'd be open to doing, but has heard no details about, the new Star Wars trilogy-inspired sequel Mel Brooks reportedly has been pondering. "When people recognize me for that, they have this gleam in their eye and they're happy, and that makes me happy. It's nice to be a part of that."

    1 Emmy Nomination

    (07/14/05) American Dreams unfortunately only recieved one Emmy nomination. The category is Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series.

    The 57th Emmy Awards are scheduled to air Sept. 18 on CBS.

    TV review: Beautiful People

    (08/07/05) ABC Family's new original series "Beautiful People" goes for wholesome family drama and pretty much succeeds.

    The weekly scripted "People" follows the story of a single mother and her two teenage daughters after they move from a small town to the big city and learn the ways of more sophisticated folk. The series focuses on family values that are predictable but not too cumbersome in their bid for wholesomeness.

    Daphne Zuniga is the mom who moves her family from Esperanza, N.M., to New York when her daughter Sophie (Sarah Foret) receives an academic scholarship at a prestigious private school there. Mother and daughters (including Torrey DeVitto as the older teen, Karen) face the usual demons one finds in a big city: big crowds, congestion and traffic, but the series focuses mainly on Sophie and her coming of age in her new school. As would be expected, some of the kids (especially the "Beautiful" people, the in-crowd) are horrors in their own right. The adjustments are sometimes hard to make for Sophie, but the series takes its time navigating in and out of crises and successes as Sophie learns to hold her own in Manhattan. It's all easygoing stuff here -- a little too sweetened in some places and more realistic in others.

    Zuniga Is Among 'Beautiful People'

    (08/06/05) Not that there was ever a doubt, but now it's confirmed fact: Daphne Zuniga is one of the "Beautiful People."

    After her final-season stint on "American Dreams," the former "Melrose Place" star is bouncing back fast in an ABC Family drama series premiering Monday, Aug. 8. "Beautiful People" casts her as deserted wife and aspiring designer Lynn Kerr, who relocates with her two daughters from New Mexico to New York after youngest offspring Sophie (Zuniga look-alike Sarah Foret) lands a private-school scholarship. Older sibling Karen (ex-Ford model Torrey DeVitto) struggles to continue her modeling career in Manhattan.

    With former "Dawson's Creek" producer Paul Stupin on its staff, "Beautiful People" suits Zuniga's desire to be fully back in the acting business after a self-imposed hiatus. "I had been through a whole cycle of fear of being so well known," she reflects, "but now I can look at it in hindsight. I wanted to go deeper inside myself, and I did meditation retreats and yoga, and made real connections with people who were liking me for who I was as a human being in that place and time. I just had to go for all of that, and I came out with a real fearlessness and a joy for what I do."

    Zuniga is pleased to be working with two younger actresses with whom she can share her experience ... and experiences. "I can see this look in their eyes that I remember. What they bring to the table refreshes me. These are long hours, and sometimes you forget the magic because your clothes aren't fitting right or the coffee is bad or whatever. Then, Sarah and Torrey walk in, and what I see in their faces reminds me why I'm here. I'm so grateful to have them. It's a gift."

    Had NBC given "American Dreams" another season, Zuniga would have tried to continue her Playboy Club-hostess character on that show while also working on "Beautiful People." She says "Dreams" creator-producer Jonathan Prince "was trying to work out other angles for it to come back, because it was really his baby and he was just so in love with the show. I really was grateful Jonathan cast me, so I told him, 'I'll do whatever you need.' Then this came up, and it was just perfect timing."

    On "American Dreams," Zuniga also was the single-parent mother of a teenager. She muses that previously, "I'd been hearing, 'You're too young for that kind of part.' I don't even notice that big a difference, because both the moms I've been cast as are really cool, young-at-heart gals who just happen to have kids. There's also this maternal streak in me, so it didn't feel like I had to do any research. Having grown up myself with a single mom, I understand it is not a traditional relationship. It is very much like being sisters."

    When she returned to Los Angeles after working on the new series in Toronto (which doubles for New York), Zuniga was taken by friends to a mall to see a giant "Beautiful People" poster of all three stars. "What I saw," she says, "was the Daphne who loves to love. I haven't had a chance to be a mom [in real life], but I love kids. When I'm holding [Sarah and Torrey], I love them. We're going to be on this great adventure together."

    Already, some have confused the adventure for true life. Zuniga reports she took her young co-stars to "their first red-carpet function, and pictures of us ended up online with the caption 'Daphne Zuniga with daughter and friend.' My publicist called to correct it, before everyone thought, 'Where's the secret daughter Daphne has been hiding all these years? And who's the dad?' In a way, though, it was a sign of how organically perfect this project has been.

    "I read the script, then went into my usual 'I hope I can get in on this' mode then I found out I was the producers' first and only choice. Everything just fit, but I don't believe there are accidents. Everything is broken down into physics or energy. I went in for the 'American Dreams' audition and was hired pretty much on the spot; I was so much that character, apparently, because I was comfortable with myself."

    Also a published writer now -- through articles on environmental concerns that she has done for Oprah Winfrey's magazine O -- Zuniga adds, "I know that place of being an actor and wishing and wanting for things to happen for you, but the the truth is that it happens inside. Then you show up and someone else responds. I was so happy last year, and things have just continued to happen."

    In fact, Zuniga is happy just to still be working, having started in such iconic 1980s movies as "The Sure Thing" and Mel Brooks' "Spaceballs." She notes she recently "ran into several people I knew from the beginning, and they all said the same thing: 'This is a business about survival, and the fact you're still here is amazing.' It's like a marriage, for better or for worse. It's not like reaching the pot at the end of the rainbow, which you might think at first. It's a life that goes on, a work in progress, and it makes you feel good to be part of this family of survivors."

    Good Ratings For Will's Lifetime Movie

    (08/04/05) A slew of premieres on cable last week brought a mixed bag of results. Lifetime got strong numbers from a pair of literary adaptations, and the heavily hyped "Over There" opened strong for FX. On the flip side, TNT's "Wanted" drew decent numbers but paled in comparison to "The Closer."

    Lifetime scored a pair of hits with its movie "The Dive from Clausen's Pier" and the debut of the short-run series "Beach Girls." The movie, based on Ann Packer's novel and starring Michelle Trachtenberg ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), brought in 4.23 million viewers in its July 25 premiere, placing it among the five most-watched cable broadcasts of the week ending Sunday, July 31.

    "Beach Girls," meanwhile, averaged just over 3.6 million viewers for its two-hour debut. The five-week series, based on Luanne Rice's book and starring Rob Lowe and Julia Ormond, is the highest-rates series premiere in the channel's history.

    Elsewhere, "Over There" debuted to an audience of about 4.1 million people on FX, making it the second-biggest series premiere for the network (tied with "Rescue Me" last year).

    The debut for "Wanted," though, has to rank as a little disappointing. The crime show drew 3.73 million viewers, not much more than a good episode of "Law & Order" on TNT. It's also only a little more than half the audience for the premiere of "The Closer," which averaged more than 7 million viewers in June.

    "The Closer" continues to chug along, hitting the top spot in the cable rankings again last week with 5.2 million viewers.

    One more time for American Dreams

    (07/30/05) Fans left cold by the vague end in May of NBC's family drama American Dreams, starring Tampa native Brittany Snow, will get some closure.

    Executive producer Jonathan Prince, talking Friday with a handful of critics at the close of the Television Critics Association summer meeting, said NBC has agreed to air a revamped series finale for the show that was canceled in May. A broadcast of the re-edited one-hour finale can be expected sometime in August or early September and will include 12 minutes of new footage that will wrap up the series, Prince said.

    Snow, who has gone on to a movie career and is filming in Vancouver, Canada, will figure prominently in the new ending. The new segments pick up three years after viewers last saw Snow heading to Berkeley, Calif. in 1966. She has changed, but she is ready to go home, Prince said.

    The extra minutes will conclude the series properly, he said. Still undetermined is where and exactly when the finale will air, whether it will be on NBC or on a sister station such as cable outlet Bravo. Prince said the episode is complete, although some music fees have to be paid for songs he has never used on the series.

    "I promise you, there will be weeping," Prince said. "It is a beautiful and sad thing to watch."

    Prince said Dreams drew advertising dollars well throughout its run and had broad critical support, but it never got the viewership numbers it needed to keep NBC executives satisfied. The network was getting "creamed" on Sunday nights, and the entire evening had to be revamped from the network's standpoint, he said.

    It was actually canceled in December, Prince said. As producer, he told no one, and instead forged deals with Kraft foods to incorporate Kraft cheese and Oreo cookies in two episodes, for a fee, that ensured the show would finish out the season. Viewers who remember the scene where a child makes a cheese mask out of his slice can now know the shot was bought and paid for.

    By March, as the shooting wrapped up, Prince said he had a bad feeling. On the last days of shooting, he shot an extra 12 minutes, without explaining to Snow or the others why they were going to have to wear different clothes than they normally wore. It took a day and a half to prepare, and then Prince said he put it aside.

    It was his secret. He said he didn't want to let on to network executives because there was still a chance the show could be saved for a whole new season.

    "I smelled a rat," Prince said. "I just sort of smelled the low ratings."

    Whoa, UPN Gets Joey

    (07/26/05) Whether he cuts his hair, does shows like "American Dreams" or flirts with being called "Joseph," he will always be Joey Lawrence to us, cute tot from "Gimme a Break!" and intellectually-challenged brother of "Blossom."

    For at least six episodes this fall though, Lawrence will play Dee Dee's (Essence Atkins) co-worker at her first post-law school job on UPN's Monday night comedy "Half & Half."

    The actor's last stint as a series regular was The WB comedy "Run of the House." In March, he co-starred as Jennifer Love Hewitt's gay best friend in Oxygen's original movie "Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber."

    "Half & Half" premieres Monday, Sept. 19 at 9:30 p.m. on UPN.

    Teen Choice Nominees

    (06/02/05) The Teen Choice Awards air Aug. 16 on FOX

    MOVIES

    Choice Comedy
    "Are We There Yet?"
    "Guess Who"
    "Hitch"
    "Kicking & Screaming"
    "Meet the Fockers"
    "Napoleon Dynamite"
    "The Pacifier" (with Brittany Snow)
    "The Longest Yard"

    TV Guide: Ending To See Light Of Day

    (07/26/05) NBC All-Star Party: 7:57 Scoop! It’s the news American Dreams fans have been dying to hear: The alternate ending series creator Jonathan Prince shot but never aired will finally see the light of day this summer, per NBC chief Jeff Zucker. “Thank you for reminding me about that,” Zucker tells me. “I’m going to make some phone calls about that tomorrow. It’s gonna happen.”

    Sightings

    (07/16/05) Brittany Snow in Yaletown (Vancouver, BC Canada) celebrating Sophia Bush's birthday. They are curently in Vancouver filming the comedy "John Tucker Must Die".

    'Pacifier' video able to fight off 'Black Woman'

    (07/07/05) Action star Vin Diesel's comic turn in "The Pacifier" was the big rage in home video last week as the Disney comedy topped the sales and rental charts its first week in stores.

    "The Pacifier," which grossed a surprisingly strong $112.5 million in theaters, is the third $100 million-plus comedy to hit video since April. The film topped VideoScan's First Alert sales chart for the week ending July 3 and Home Media Retailing's rental chart for the same week.

    The big surprise, however, was the strong showing made by Tyler Perry's box office champ "Diary of Mad Black Woman," from Lions Gate Entertainment. The film, which grossed slightly more than $50 million in theaters, finished a strong No. 2 on the sales chart. Perrymania was so strong that two direct-to-video plays released by Lions Gate that same week, " Madea's Class Reunion" and "Madea's Family Reunion," finished in the top 10 as well.

    "The Pacifier" scored an easy victory on the rental chart for the week with an estimated $11.63 million in revenue. Last week's top renter, Sony's "Hitch," held its own, however. Despite a drop to No. 2, the film's weekly take of $10.17 million was just 1% behind its rental gross the previous week.

    TV Guide: Ask Ausiello

    (06/22/05) Question: First, let me say I look forward to Wednesdays now just to read your column! I know you're as upset as I am that American Dreams was canceled. Do you know if NBC is going to air the alternate series ending that Jonathan Prince said was already filmed? I just hate the way the last show ended! — Sue S.

    Ausiello: First, let me say you exceeded AA's newly imposed 50-word question limit. (Celebs, as always, are exempted from this rule.) Second, let me explain that I made an exception in this instance and only in this instance because you started off by giving me mad props. But third — and most important — don't let it happen again. In case you haven't heard, I've got Acronym Contests to organize a lot on my plate. But back to your question: An NBC spokesperson says "we would like to give the fans closure" and a Dreams wrap-up special "is under discussion." Translation: Don't hold your breath.

    Film review: The Perfect Man

    (06/17/05) If "The Perfect Man" were a sitcom pilot, you could see the possibilities: A desperately single mom with an understanding but exasperated pair of high-energy daughters zeroes in on a new guy each episode as her elder daughter often manipulates events behind the scenes even while coping with homework and boys. But as a movie, the film never quite lives up to its potential.

    Many in its core audience of young women and maybe a few lonely single moms will respond to the message of female empowerment and positive self-image. It's a chick flick with a vengeance but even in its most sentimental moments, stars Hilary Duff and Heather Locklear make this feel-good-about-yourself movie feel . . . well, good. Boxoffice for this counter programing effort should be at or above average with perhaps greater prospects in home entertainment.

    The premise itself is weak. An audience has to buy that Locklear's character, Jean Hamilton, gets dumped by every guy she dates. And whenever this happens, she immediately moves her family to another part of the continent. An opening sequence, which sets up their nomadic lifestyle, takes Jean, a pastry chef, along with her teenage daughter Holly (Duff) and her adolescent sibling Zoe (Aria Wallace) from Wichita, Kan., to Brooklyn. (It's actually Toronto and doesn't much resemble Brooklyn.) Given the spacious apartment she lands, Jean is at least moving up in the world real estate-wise.

    On her first day in the new high school, Holly meets Amy (Vanessa Lengies) and Adam (Ben Feldman). Both figure prominently in Holly's improbable scheme to cheer up her mom. Because Jean is only happy when she is dating, Holly decides to invent a mysterious suitor. The guy sends her mom flowers and romantic e-mails but doesn't in fact exist. Well, actually he sort of does because he is a carbon copy of Amy's restaurateur uncle Ben (Chris Noth), who is both handsome and an expert in what women want.

    Gina Wendkos' screenplay (based on a story by Michael McQuown, Heather Robinson and Katherine Torpey) dives into sitcom quickly enough, but at least it attempts to explore a few feminine issues along the way. The tack taken is too on-the-money, but the film does demonstrate the pitfalls of arranging one's life to attract the opposite sex.

    As mother and daughter, Locklear and Duff bring plenty of vivacity to their roles. Duff conveys the vexation of a teen whose mom flirts far too often with far too many men as well as the genuine love she bears this woman. Locklear can't make you forget she is beautiful, but she does persuade a viewer that this is a woman who sees flaws in herself that no one else does.

    Noth and Feldman are able to rise above the blandness of their roles occasionally, and Lengies shows spunk and charm as Holly's best gal pal. Mike O'Malley has a few inspired moments as a well-meaning but Wrong-with-a-capital-W suitor for Mom. Of course, in a different kind of a movie, he might be mistaken for a stalker. Carson Kressley has fun with a gay waiter in Ben's bistro despite rampant gay cliches.

    Mark Rosman's direction lacks imagination, veering into the predictability and colorlessness one finds in TV comedies. Similarly, tech credits are routine.

    Cast: Holly: Hilary Duff; Jean: Heather Locklear; Ben: Chris Noth; Lenny: Mike O'Malley; Adam: Ben Feldman; Amy: Vanessa Lengies; Gloria: Caroline Rhea.

    Credits: Director: Mark Rosman; Screenwriter: Gina Wendkos; Story by: Michael McQuown, Heather Robinson, Katherine Torpey; Producers: Marc Platt, Dawn Wolfrom, Susan Duff; Executive producers: Billy Higgins, Adam Siegel; Director of photography: John R. Leonetti; Production designer: Jasna Stefanovich; Music: Christophe Beck; Costumes: Marie Sylvie Deveau; Editor: Cara Silverman.

    Fire and Pain

    (06/04/05) BEN Taylor (ex-Cal, American Dreams), the son of Carly Simon and James Taylor, certainly knows that being the progeny of pop stars has its ups and downs, but we're not sure his fans get it. At the Cutting Room last week, the younger Taylor's performance of his dad's classic "Fire and Rain" was met with heckling from an audience member: "Does it bother you that everyone says you sound exactly like your father?" Without missing a beat, Taylor replied, "Not at all. Who do you expect me to sound like, Al Green?"

    Brittany Snow decorates pants for charity

    (05/21/05) To celebrate the powerful and enduring friendships women of all ages share that is portrayed in the upcoming film "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," Warner Bros. Pictures, in partnership with the Levi's and eBay, have invited female celebrities to "Join the Sisterhood" by participating in a unique nationwide project to raise awareness and funds for Girls Inc., a national nonprofit youth organization dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart and bold.

    Inspired by the jeans featured in the film, each pair of Levi's jeans will be personally decorated by prominent female celebrities as an expression of individuality as well as allegiance to one another as women -- in friendship and philanthropy. They will be individually created with distinctive items, colors and themes symbolizing the events, interests and accomplishments that have helped make these special women what they are today.

    Emma Watson, who plays Hermione in the Harry Potter films, will be one of the celebrities participating in the project. Also participating are the Sisterhood film's stars, Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera, Blake Lively and Alexis Bledel, plus Ann Brashares, author of the novel on which it is based. They are also joined by Courteney Cox-Arquette, Selma Blair, Brandy, Katie Couric, Vivica Fox, Jennie Garth, Mary Hart, Jill Hennessy, Lauryn Hill, Angelina Jolie, Ashley Judd, Queen Latifah, Virginia Madsen, Nancy O'Dell, Leah Remini, Annasophia Robb, Raven Symone, Jessica Simpson, Amy Smart, Brittany Snow, Jamie Lynn Spears, Lara Spencer, Kirsten Storms, Charlize Theron, Amber Valletta, and Estella Warren.

    Each pair of pants will be auctioned on eBay, with proceeds benefiting Girls Inc. Beginning Monday, May 23rd, and running through Thursday, June 2nd, online bidders can access eBay's Sisterhood Pants auction page directly via www.ebay.com/sisterhood.

    Estes' Reunion Added To Fox Fall Lineup

    (05/19/05) After the massive three-phase, year-round schedule that FOX presented to the networks at last year's upfronts, the two-prong schedule released on Thursday (May 19) is almost a relief. Having already announced that the network is cutting down on new scripted shows for this summer, FOX unveiled programming rosters for fall and then January launches.

    Not surprisingly, the January schedule is based around the return of "24" and a little talent show called "American Idol." The fall schedule -- which will launch before FOX cuts away for playoff baseball and will pick up afterwards -- is built on five new dramas and two new comedies, which impact every night of the week.

    On the drama side, FOX is adding "Prison Break," "Bones," "Head Cases," "Reunion" and "The Gate," with "Kitchen Confidential" and "The War at Home" leading the comedy front.

    "FOX has achieved an amazing set of milestones this season, including finishing as the No. 1 network in Adults 18-49 for the first time in the network's 19-year history. This success is a testament to the dedicated team at FOX," says Peter Liguori, FOX's new entertainment president. "Additionally, we're launching a bold, balanced and stable schedule. We'll have returning shows on all seven nights of the week, and we're scheduling 12 comedies this fall - far more than any network. There is no question that we plan to be aggressive and competitive with this spectacular and youthful year-round schedule."

    Starting in the fall, "Arrested Development" will kick things off on Mondays, setting up "Kitchen Confidential," a loose adaptation of Anthony Bourdain's memoir starring Bradley Cooper ("Alias"). The high concept drama "Prison Break," a heavily serialized offering about, fittingly, a prison break, takes the 9 p.m. ET hour.

    Tuesday will be all about drama, starring with "Bones," a darkly humorous offering about a forensic anthropologist, with Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz ("Angel"). The hit medical drama "House" keeps its 9 p.m. slot to start the season.

    Wednesday kicks off with returning comedies "That '70s Show" (now missing Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace) and "Stacked," which will be used to set up the frequently renamed legal series "Head Cases," which features Chris O'Donnell and Adam Goldberg as slightly unhinged lawyers.

    "The O.C." has given FOX its best Thursday traction in years and on Thursday it shall stay, now serving as a lead-in to "Reunion" (featuring former "O.C." co-star Amanda Righetti), a high concept series that spans 20 years in a single season.

    On Fridays, FOX will start with an hour comedy block of "The Bernie Mac Show" and "Malcolm in the Middle," which moves from Sunday. "The Gate" (formerly "Deviant Behavior"), about deviant criminals and the cops who fight them in San Francisco, will follow in what has affectionately become known as the "Friday Death Slot." Good luck to series stars Johnny Messner and Marguerite Moreau ("The O.C.").

    Thankfully, FOX may never get rid of "COPS" and "America's Most Wanted" on Saturdays. Sunday, though, is almost entirely animation, beginning with random animation encores at 7 p.m., flowing into "King of the Hill." "The Simpsons" stars at 8, followed by "The War at Home," a live action comedy with Michael Rapaport. "Family Guy" and "American Dad" will continue to hold the 9 p.m. hour.

    The beginning of the week changes come January.

    In January, FOX moves "House" from its stable Tuesday home to Monday, where it will take the 8 p.m. hour, providing a strong lead-in for a new -- and presumably uninterrupted -- season of "24" in its 9 p.m. home.

    No matter how bad the fall may be for FOX, "American Idol" returns to its Tuesday 8 p.m. lair, which means that everything will be alright. Provided it doesn't tank fast, "Bones" will be the lucky beneficiary of the "Idol" might, moving to 9.

    On Wednesday, "That '70s Show" and "Stacked" will stick around, with "Idol" returning to fix things at 9. The new comedy "The Loop," with Bret Harrison, will be lucky enough to go in the 9:30 slot.

    Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday will remain the same.

    FOX has the comedy "Freebirds" on hold for midseason, while unscripted offerings "Nanny 911" and "Trading Spaces" are ready to fill in whenever something fails. "The Simple Life" will also return somewhere at some point.

    ABC's Hot Properties with Gail O'Grady

    (05/17/05) "Hot Properties" (half-hour comedy, Friday, 9:30 p.m., ET) -- In a Manhattan real estate office, four very different women cater to high-end clients while coping with their own personal predicaments. Married to a handsome 25-year-old, fortysomething Ava Summerlin wants to start a family, while self-improvement junkie Chloe would settle for any guy who can remember her the next day. Recently divorced after being married ten year to a gay man, voluptuous Lola dreads jumping back into the dating pool, and the latest addition to this eclectic work group is rich girl Emerson Ives, who instantly bonds with the women upon learning that her supposedly virginal fianci was anything but. And the ladies' office neighbors from down the hall, therapist Dr. Sellers Boyd and plastic surgeon Dr. Charlie Thorpe, help keep things lively around the water cooler.

    In the tradition of "Designing Women," "Golden Girls" and "Sex and the City" comes an uninhibited comedy with real career women trying to have real relationships. One of the Emmy Award-winning producers of the mega-hit "Frasier" reveals just how exciting the world of New York real estate can be.

    Cast:
    Audra Blaser: Emerson
    Stephen Dunham ("Monster-in-Law"): Charlie
    Evan Handler ("Sex and the City"): Sellers
    Gail O'Grady ("NYPD Blue"): Ava
    Nicole Sullivan ("King of Queens"): Chloe
    Sofia Vergara ("Chasing Papi"): Lola

    Credits:
    Executive Producer/Writer: Suzanne Martin ("Frasier")
    Production Company: Interbang Inc. in association with Warner Bros. Television
    Look for the debut this fall on ABC

    NBC Execs Offer Postmortems for 'Dreams,' 'Jury'

    (05/16/05) When you've fallen from first place to fourth as quickly as NBC has, there will inevitably be casualties. Discussing the new fall schedule with reporters on Monday (May 16), NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly and NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker took some time to mourn the passing of several beloved and high profile failures.

    Perhaps no show departing the airwaves will be as mourned by its fans as "American Dreams." Unfortunately, after three seasons of good faith from NBC, "Dreams" was only averaging 7.3 million viewers, an audience that didn't improve when the network temporarily moved it from Sunday to Wednesday. Even though Zucker was one of the period drama's most outspoken supporters, there just wasn't room for "Dreams" on a network trying to change directions.

    "It just becomes, unfortunately, the contradiction of America, I guess," Reilly says. "People say they want quality, family-friendly shows at 8:00 and yet you put them on and what they really want to watch is 'Desperate Housewives.' Ultimately, we are in a business here. We love the show... It just was not pulling the ratings to really justify the cost of the show or to justify another year on the schedule."

    As badly as "American Dreams" performed on Sundays, the heavily hyped "The Contender" drew an even smaller audience (which explains why NBC has transplanted Emmy-winning institution "The West Wing" to Sundays next fall). The boxing series, from industry heavyweights Mark Burnett and Jeffrey Katzenberg, weathered numerous delays and the tragic death of one of its contestants, but it was probably just knocked out by its subject matter.

    "I think that at the end of the day, it was about boxing and that was a pretty high bar to get over," Zucker says.

    Although its weekly audience has been sub-"Dreams," "The Contender" delivered stronger demographic numbers than its time slot predecessor and also produced a fervent base of young, male viewers.

    "I think it was a damn good show," Reilly says. "I think they delivered on the show they pitched and the fans that watched it were very passionate about it and thought it was fantastic. I make no apologies for the quality of the show."

    Another NBC show that wilted under the weight of high expectations was "Law & Order: Trial by Jury," the fourth permutation in the reliable Dick Wolf franchise. Averaging 11.2 million viewers in a slow Friday time period, "Trial by Jury" was one of the network's most surprisingly cancellations, but its departure reflects on the network's diminished status.

    "'Law & Order: Trial By Jury' was ordered last year while we were still the No. 1 network," Reilly explains. "In that kind of environment, it felt like we could sustain four 'Law & Orders.' This spring, we find ourselves in a different situation and it really looked like we needed to open up some more time periods for some new shows."

    Readers will have to check back next May to see if those new shows -- including "Inconceivable" and "Fathom" -- have fared any better.

    New Brittany Snow Movie

    (05/16/05) One Tree Hill" star Sophia Bush and "American Dream's" Brittany Snow are teaming up to take "Desperate Housewives" star Jesse Metcalfe down.

    The actresses are in final negotiations to star in the revenge comedy "John Tucker Must Die" for 20th Century Fox.

    The project stars Bush as one of three girls who vow to get back at their mutual ex, the school's lothario Tucker (Metcalfe), who has broken their hearts. Their vengeance takes the shape of a new girl (Snow) who is supposed to turn the tables on him and dump him after he falls for her.

    Snow, 19, recently starred opposite Vin Diesel in the domestic comedy "The Pacifier."

    Bush, 22, appeared in "Van Wilder" and will star in the upcoming "Supercross," due out in August.

    NBC has officially cancelled American Dreams

    (05/16/05) Bad news for fans of LAW & ORDER: TRIAL BY JURY and the excellent AMERICAN DREAMS, which fall victim to a particularly bad year at the once Must-See network. Insiders say both of those shows would have returned if the rest of the schedule were not in such a shambles.

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