Baskeball bad boy Ron Artest is joining the reality TV ranks.

The Los Angeles Lakers forward has sealed a deal with E1 Entertainment and Tijuana Ent. ("Obsessed") to produce and star in the project "They Call Me Crazy."

Project, which hasn't yet secured a network outlet, will follow Artest as he "makes amends for past transgressions and also helps develop aspiring artists through his hip-hop label."

 “This show will allow me to share my experiences with others, and hopefully people can learn from the mistakes I've made," Artest said.

Artest was arrested in 2007 on charges of domestic abuse, and eventually spent ten days in jail (and was suspended briefly by the NBA). He's also been suspended at various times for other reasons, such as a scuffle with Miami Heat coach Pat Riley.

As part of the series deal, E1 will provide marketing and distribution for Artest's Tru Warier music label.

Artest will exec produce the series through his Tru Warier Enterprises shingle. E1's John Morayniss and Tara Long will also serve as EPs, along with Tijuana's Troy Searer and John Foy.

E1 also holds worldwide distribution to the show, which Long said "promises unprecedented access to one of the most provocative athletes in the world."

"This is a unique reality series that will take viewers on an intimate journey with Ron beyond his explosive, on-court persona and into his dynamic, unpredictable world," said Long, VP of alternative programming at E1.

E1's other TV-meets-music collaborations include a studio album and reality show for Faith Evans, as well as a new kids series to be developed and produced by KISS.

Reality TV is becoming increasingly popular for active pro athletes. The Cincinnati Bengals' Chad Ochocinco, of course, is currently on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" and is also shooting a dating show for VH1.

The "Modern Family" troupe is truly humbled by the recognition from the Peabody Awards. Co-creator/exec producer Steve Levitan had this to say about the kudo, which genuinely means a lot to people in the TV biz.

"We're all extremely honored by this prestigious award and feeling particularly proud today. Yes, it escalates the rivalry between 'Modern Family' and 'Glee,' but we plan to settle that once and for all with a spirited dance fight."

-- Cynthia Littleton

The writing team behind HBO's "Treme" -- led by David Simon -- crafted this thorough, well-thought obituary/tribute to their fallen comrade, David Mills. Here it is, in its entirety:

David E. Mills, an Emmy-award winning television writer who worked on dramas as varied as “Homicide,” “NYPD Blue,” “E.R.” and “The Wire,” died suddenly Tuesday after collapsing on the New Orleans set of his new HBO drama, “Treme.” He was 48.

A former journalist who worked for the Washington Post, the Washington Times and the Wall Street Journal, Mills was on the set of the post-Katrina drama as it filmed a scene at Café du Monde in the French Quarter when he was stricken.

He was rushed to the downtown Tulane Medical Center where he died without regaining consciousness. Doctors there said he suffered what appeared to be a brain aneurism.

Mills was on the film set as a writer and executive producer, monitoring filming of an episode of the series, which is slated to premiere on HBO in little more than a week.

Cast and crew of “Treme” held a memorial service in Washington Square park this morning and then suspended filming for the day.

Mills won two Emmy awards for television writing and was nominated for three other Emmys for his writing on “NYPD Blue” and “E.R.” As a newspaperman, his coverage of race and popular culture for the Style Section of the Washington Post in the 1990s was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize by the newspaper.

In addition, Mills – a light-skinned African-American who loved to explore the nuances of race, politics and culture in America, tweaking ideologues wherever he found them – maintained a much-read internet blog, “Undercover Black Man,” for the last half of this decade.

(MORE AFTER THE JUMP)

Don't call it a comeback.

Really, don't. Because Fox News Channel has dropped a planned segment featuring LL Cool J from its Thursday night Sarah Palin-hosted special, "Real American Stories."

Fox News opted to can the piece after the hip-hop artist-turned-actor sent the above Tweet ("Fox lifted an old interview I gave in 2008 to someone else & are misrepresenting to the public in order to promote Sarah Palins Show. WOW").

Of course, TV hosts frequently don't conduct the actual interviews that appear on their shows -- Palin and Fox News weren't necessarily pulling a fast one on him. And although it's a little unusual to dust off a two-year-old interview for a new special, it's not unheard of. Fox News never said Palin actually interviewed LL, only that he would appear in the special. 

On the flip side, it might have been nice if the channel would have given him or his people a head's up that this long-shelved interview was finally airing -- and on a Sarah Palin special, to be specific. Who wants to see a two-year old interview anyway? 

After LL's tweet, Fox News couldn't help but send out a statement (found on TV Newser) dripping with passive aggressiveness:

"Real American Stories features uplifting tales about overcoming adversity and we believe Mr. Smith's interview fit that criteria. However, as it appears that Mr. Smith does not want to be associated with a program that could serve as an inspiration to others, we are cutting his interview from the special and wish him the best with his fledgling acting career."

The actor probably doesn't need those well wishes; his "NCIS: Los Angeles" is TV's most-watched new drama -- with 16.2 million average viewers -- and second overall, behind "Undercover Boss." 

What's unusual in all this is that LL Cool J, who once rapped that he was an independent, has supported Republicans (including former New York governor George Pataki) in the past and has attended the Republican National Convention.

"Real American Stories" airs Thursday night on Fox News at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Special also features country singer Toby Keith and former GE honcho Jack Welch, as well as stories of non-famous Americans. (According to HitFix, Keith -- who, in another shocker, apparently is a registered Democrat -- has also registered his concerns with appearing on the program.)

Like most TV writers, David Mills didn't have much of a public persona. He let his words do his talking. And they spoke in voluminous tones.

"The Wire," "The Corner," "NYPD Blue," "Homicide: Life on the Street, "ER" and the upcoming HBO series "Treme." That's quite a collection of shows to put on a resume. You can't get better than that. To watch any of those programs is to be wowed. Those shows are a symphony of greatness and Mills was clearly one of the most vital musicians.

His relationship with David Simon went back some 30 years when they were both in college at the University of Maryland, and also when they scrounged up stories at the Washington Post. If you were about to watch a show from Simon and Mills, the bar was set awfully high. And they never failed to deliver.

Beyond his relationship with Simon, Mills was the creator of NBC's 2003 short-lived series "Kingpin," and although the show delivered criticially, it didn't catch on with audiences. Yet, he continued writing with his addictive blog — http://undercoverblackman.blogspot.com — in which he posted just two days ago that positive reviews for "Treme" were starting to pour in.

It's quite sad that Mills, only 48, died in New Orleans of a brain aneurysm only a few days before "Treme" is set to premiere. The series clearly would've once again given the TV viewing public a chance to appreciate Mills' gift as a writer and storyteller.

But for those who appreciate great television, Mills didn't have to prove anything. He was already a giant.

 

A wise man once said that war was coming to this island. I think it just got here.

It's not a what, it's a who.

Widmore hears a who? I found this to be a very satisfying episode, more so that last week's journey back in time with Richard Alpert. We got great flash-sideways developments for Jin and Sun that brought some clarity to the earlier Sayid flash-sideways narrative. And we saw some serious movement to the epic clash of the island titans that we've been promised for ever so long.

And Mikhail! He was probably the last minor player I expected to see back in the narrative, not that I'm complaining. Thesp Andrew Divoff is so wonderfully menancing.
"The Package" was very deftly written by Paul Zbyszewski and Graham Roland in a way that infused every word with importance, even if the significance of every word isn't entirely clear just yet. Director Paul Edwards kept the camera moving so much we felt the sense of urgency surrounding our characters.

I try to avoid Twitter around 6 p.m. PT on Tuesdays, in order to steer clear of "Lost" spoilers from eager East Coast Tweeps. But tonight, with the Tweet Deck still on, I couldn't help but notice the increasing anger from "Lost" viewers, as an on-screen clock counted down the minutes until the return of "V."

That's not a new marketing tool -- Broadcast and cable nets have been known to stick a clock on-screen before a highly-anticipated season premiere or finale. (Whether or not the spring return of "V" qualifies as such is a separate topic.)

But this is "Lost." The final season of "Lost." It's sacred ground. You don't clutter the screen during one of the show's final, pivotal episodes. Or you piss people off:

 

ADD: Fancast's Matt Mitovich adds: "You should add in that it obstructed Sun's note pad/what she wrote to Jack in their final scene." He snapped this shot:

 

"I don't trust..." WHO, SUN? WHO? She doesn't trust the Vs? Or -- SHE DOESN'T TRUST ABC! What? (Our pal JustJenn finds photographic evidence that maybe Sun was actually trying to share V's big secret!)

I don't know how this all fits in, as I'm saving myself for the West Coast airing. But it will be interesting to see whether ABC scraps the clock between time zones.

UPDATE: It's still there for West Coast viewers. And "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof isn't too happy about it. He Tweets:

Yes, people, I saw it too. :34 minutes until I cry myself to sleep.

And BTW... Lindelof earlier Tweeted: "In one week, the conversation is going to change." WHOA. Again, I have no idea what that means. But I'm pretty damn excited about the very thought of my mind being blown. Sheesh. I'm gonna miss this show.

Much has been made upon L.A.'s local news scene. A recent study suggests a mere 22 seconds is spent on the city's government issues, while crime — if it bleeds, it leads — takes up 3 minutes.

Hey, I get that local news is a business and profits need to be made. But while home on vacation this week and watching the 5 p.m. KNBC broadcast today, there was at least 6-7 minutes dedicated to the Sandra Bullock-Jesse James scandal.

I could've understood doing a short piece on Bullock's winning an Oscar one day and losing her husband the next, but what seemed flabbergasting was that anchors Colleen Williams and Chuck Henry did a live remote with Ken Baker of E!, who chatted up endlessly about whether Bullock had her name on the deed to James' house, where she was living, who was getting what in a divorce settlement, etc.

Ewww. While this is the sweet spot of E!," Access Hollywood," "Entertainment Tonight" and the celebrity newsmagazines, are we really going to Ken Baker as a source now on local news? No offense to Ken, of course, he's just giving the people what they want to hear, but is there no better way to spend 7 minutes of  local news time than on celebrity shenanigans?

And here's the topper: Just before Baker signed off, Henry asked about the recent Kim Kardashian-Reggie Bush break-up. Chuck, news anchors have a bad enough reputation, don't add to it. Are you really that curious about what Kim is doing next?

I'd rather Fritz Coleman give me more detail on how our next storm front might cripple the city with a 1/2-inch of rain.

Viewers are "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," making the E! series' Feb. 21 showing the top-rated non-sports program on ad-supported cable among adults 18-49 (whew! Could there be any more qualifiers there?!) in first quarter 2010.

Several basic cable nets had reason once again to crow in 1st quarter 2010, as their flurry of press releases today seemed to indicate.

Here's a round-up of PR headlines:

USA’S 1Q Marks 15th Straight Quarterly Win - The Longest Winning Streak Ever

Nickelodeon Scores Its Most-Watched Quarter Ever; Tops Basic Cable with Kids, Tweens and Total Viewers

A&E Finishes Best Quarter In Network History Ranking As the #4 Entertainment Network In Cable

ABC Family Delivers Its 2nd-Most-Watched Quarter of All Time in 1Q10 in Key Demos

E!, Style and G4 Post Record Numbers for First Quarter and March 2010

History™ Posts Best Quarter In Network History

Oxygen Marks Best, Youngest Quarter Ever

Investigation Discovery, Science Channel and Military Channel Each Score Best Rated Quarter Ever

Spin winner goes to History™, only because they've actually found a way to trademark the word "history." Plus, as a result, they managed to get the word "history" in the headline twice.

A roundup of ratings, via Turner's research department. First quarter stretches from Dec. 28, 2009 to March 28, 2010:

 

  
 

 

Great news - you're fired! "Downsized" is the latest show to capitalize on the US's national lack of capital, and one of WeTV's new unscripted series announced at their upfront this afternoon. They've been touting "Golden Girls"-meets-"Jersey Shore" skein "Sunset Days" as the net's big get, but execs say that they've seen the most ad buyer response to "Downsized," which follows a family newly short on cash on its quest to become "the cheapest family in America."

Weinstein Company escapee John Miller is the net's new programming exec, and between digs at his old boss the SVP touted new programming including mother-daughter reality show "Mother Knows Best," about Joan and Melissa Rivers; new wedding dress show "Girl Meets Gown;" and the next season of "Bridezillas."

"It's not that the shows were bad," Miller said. "It's just that they needed a little sprucing up.

"If 'Bridezillas' came thorugh the door today I'd buy it, but I'd develop it so that there were three-dimensional characters and not just a flat line of crazy maniacs. We've still got the conflict, but now we'll see people saying, 'Wow, I can't believe I acted that way.' You won't feel like you need to take a shower after watching it."

Miller was also bullish on "Sunset," which is set in a Sun City, Ariz. retirement community. "We don't quite have a 70-year-old Snooki or The Situation yet," he said.

 
What a difference a strong "Dancing with the Stars" lead-in makes.

A growth story for much of this season, "Castle" has benefited big time over the last two weeks, thanks to a surging "Dancing." Now, ABC has given an early third season pickup to the drama.

Pickup comes after Monday night's episode -- the second half of a two-parter -- landed the No. 1 slot at 10 p.m., and also posted its best ratings ever among adults 18-49 (3.7/10) and total viewers (14.5 million).

According to ABC, "Castle" even gave ABC its largest Monday 10 p.m. audience for a regular scripted series since 1996 (!) and its best adults 18-49 mark there since 2001.

Pickup is for a full 22-episode third season.

"Castle," which launched last midseason, stars Nathan Fillion as a novelist who winds up helping an NYPD detective (Stana Katic) solve crimes. Susan Sullivan, Molly Quinn, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Tamala Jones, Jon Huertas and Seamus Dever also star.

ABC Studios is behind "Castle," which comes from exec producers Andrew Marlowe, Rob Bowman, René Echevarria, Laurie Zaks and Armyan Bernstein.

As my friends and Twitter followers (@Variety_StuartL) know, I'm a bit Springsteen obsessed, so it was nice to check out this recent Q&A with Steve Van Zandt (aka Little Steven, aka Miami Steve pre-1981) in Oslo, Norway.

So why does it have a place on On the Air? Well, any self-respecting "Sopranos" fan will know that Van Zandt played Tony Soprano's right-hand man Silvo Dante on the iconic HBO series. A man more of action than words, Silvio's most memorable "Sopranos" moment will always be his execution of Christopher's longtime girlfriend, Adriana.

NBC has confirmed that the Peacock premiere of "Friday Night Lights" will now bow on Friday, May 7, instead of April 30.

Sorry, "FNL" fans. But c'mon, if you were truly a uber-"FNL" fan, you would have already watched the episodes on DirecTV, right? Right? 

NBC is pushing the show back a week in order to give the genealogy show "Who Do You Think You Are?" (which nows airs on Fridays at 8 p.m.) one more airing.

In case you forgot what's happening at the start of "FNL" season four, here's a handy little primer from NBC:

As season four opens, a redistricting plan has left Dillon a town divided. After being ousted from his role as head coach at Dillon High School, Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) finds himself faced with the daunting task of building a football team from scratch as well as motivating and disciplining the unmanageable East Dillon Lions. Tensions follow Coach Taylor off the field as he and Tami (Connie Britton), who remains principal of West Dillon High, find themselves increasingly at odds with one another. The new year will also focus on the fate of several returning characters including last season's graduates Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch), Lyla Garrity (Minka Kelly), and Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford) as well as Julie Taylor (Aimee Teegarden) and Landry Clark (Jesse Plemons).

Jon Heder has dropped out of Comedy Central’s comedy series from Will Ferrell.

Heder’s decision to ankle the show came just two days before the show’s March 31 production start. In a briefly-worded statement, the actor said he ultimately didn’t approve of his character’s direction.

“Comedy Central, Gary Sanchez Productions and Jon Heder have mutually decided to part ways over creative differences with the character,” the statement said. “Jon wishes the show nothing but success, and is very grateful for the opportunity.”

Heder’s departure leaves what was to be an ambitious series committment up in the air. Comedy Central had ordered an initial 10 episodes of the series, with an option for 90 more. Debmar-Mercury, which set up a similar arrangement at TBS with two Tyler Perry sitcoms, is the distributor.

Heder’s exit also comes just two weeks after Chris Parnell and Horatio Sanz joined the cast.

Heder had been cast as a man chasing big dreams -- even as he loses his job and moves back in with his parents. Sanz and Parnell were to play his friends. Episodes would follow Heder, Sanz and Parnell as they attempt to save their hometown -- and ultimately fail in each episode.

Gary Sanchez’s Ferrell, Adam McKay and Chris Henchy exec produce, along with Lew Morton.

Well, "So You Think You Can Dance" fans, are you shocked?

I must admit, as I don't regularly watch the dance competish, I don't have much of an opinion about these changes. Here's the gist of the switcheroo this summer, from Fox's press release this morning:

This year, the competition is the toughest it has ever been as the judges will pick only 10 dancers (five guys and five girls) – from the thousands that auditioned – to compete for the title of America’s Favorite Dancer. During the performance rounds, one finalist will go home weekly. Additionally, the competitors will be partnered each week with a different SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE All-Star dancer – former SYTYCD finalists who are skilled in various styles of dance, including ballroom, hip-hop, jazz and contemporary. The All-Star Partners will be announced shortly.

It sounds similar to something "Survivor" tried a few years ago, when it mixed new contestants with former ones. In this case, though, the All-Star partners aren't competing for an actual prize.

The two-hour season seven premiere of "So You Think You Can Dance" airs Thursday, May 27 at 8 p.m.

Saturday's Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (highlights with singer Rihanna in the video above) drew 7.6 million viewers while also boosting new series "Victorious" to a near-record series debut for the network.

The KCAs had their second-best viewer totals in the kudocast's 23-year history, buoyed by a level of interest that generated 118 million online votes for the awards. "Victorious," starring Victoria Justice, drew 5.7 million viewers for its 9:30 p.m. series premiere, second in Nick history only to the launch of "Big Time Rush" on Jan. 18.

There probably isn't a huge demand in the United Kingdom to see live American football at 1 a.m., but whatever audience there is will be able to tune in to "Monday Night Football" when ESPN begins broadcasting it live in the wee Tuesday hours on the other side of the Atlantic this fall.

Britain will also get a chance to get to know ESPN's Chris Berman through the 90-minute "Monday Night Countdown" show that will air before each game. Hopefully, that will clue Brits in that the football they're about to see won't have any goalies, corner kicks or 1-0 victories.

The first U.K. broadcast will be September 14, one week shy of the 40th anniversary of "MNF."

 Jack Bauer’s clock has officially been stopped.

The cast and crew of “24” were given the official word on Friday: This season will be the show’s last.

News, finally confirmed by Fox, had been expected -- Variety reported earlier this month that the network was ready to call it a day. Star Kiefer Sutherland, exec producer Howard Gordon and the studio were also leaning toward ending the show’s run as well.

“For us, creatively, it seemed like the right time to do it,” Sutherland told Variety. “It’s very bittersweet. ‘24’ was the greatest learning experience of my career so far. And on a personal level, working with this cast and crew and writers, these will be friends of mine for the rest of my life.”

Fox had planned to inform the show’s cast and crew earlier this month that it wouldn’t pick up a ninth season. But first, sister studio 20th Century Fox TV asked Sutherland, Gordon and the rest of the show’s producers to think long and hard about whether they had a strong desire to pursue a season nine.

At the same time, 20th took calls from parties toying with the idea of acquiring the show -- including NBC and DirecTV, which was rumored to be considering a production model in the vein of “Friday Night Lights.”

But ultimately, Sutherland, Gordon and company felt that they had accomplished what they wanted to with the show, and were ready to wrap things up.

“Kiefer and me and the writers had (a decision to make),” Gordon said. “What’s the creative? What do we do? Is there any more story left to be told in this 24-hour format? We turned over every stone, and really determined that the story has come to an end in this 24-hour format.”

Both Sutherland and Gordon said they’re bullish now on moving Jack Bauer to the big screen, and compressing a 24-hour day -- yes the entire movie’s action will still take place in just one day -- over the course of just two hours.

“The opportunity to make a movie and do a two-hour representation was something appealing to he and I both,” Sutherland said.

As Variety reported in February, scribe Billy Ray (“State of Play”) is busy writing a screenplay; Gordon will produce.

“For the first time, we’ll be able to go from England to Russia, or China to Japan, depending on where they choose to set it,” Sutherland said. “Before on the TV show, the crisis had to come to us. The best we could do it was get across town... It alleviates a huge hurdle that real-time writing presented.”

As for the final episodes of “24,” Fox’s marketing team will now be able to start touting the show’s finale -- and will likely get a nice Monday night ratings bump as the show comes to a close.

Gordon finished up the final episode a few weeks ago (calling it a “very emotional moment” when he hit “send”, and that series ender is now in the process of being shot).

“There are risks starting around episode 17, and some real challenging things Kiefer was willing to go for,” Gordon said.

The exec producer said the series will end on a tremendous, and suitable note that signifies that this isn’t just another season ender. But here’s a hint: Jack neither walks off whistling into the sunset, nor winds up in a body bag.

“We tried everything on for size, from Jack’s demise to a happy ending,” he said. “Both of those were unsatisfying for their own reasons.”

Fox planned to make the official announcement on Monday, but longtime “24” director Jon Cassar informed his Twitter followers that the crew was given the firm word of “24’s” wrap.

“News from the ‘24’ set,” Cassar wrote (cleaned up from his original text). “The crew has been told that ‘24’ has come to an end. There will be no season 9. It’s been a great run, thanks all for watching.”

As Variety wrote on March 9, “24” helped usher in Fox’s ratings surge in the 2000s, as the franchise -- along with “American Idol” and “House,” among other series -- led the network’s adults 18-49 ratings crown.

But the cost of producing “24” has continued to increase, while ratings have dipped.

“24” was created by Robert Cochran and Joel Surnow, while exec producer Gordon runs the show through his Teakwood Lane Prods. banner. Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment produces the show along with 20th Century Fox TV.

Sutherland has starred throughout all eight seasons as Jack Bauer, a federal agent and member of the Los Angeles Counter Terrorist Unit (and who has saved the world several times over). “24” made noise for its real time format, in which all 24 episodes take place as consecutive hours in the same day.

“Bob and Joel created a revolutionary format,” Gordon said. “They executed it for the first half of the series as my partners and friends, and those were some of the most remarkable years I had creatively.”

Although it was developed before the terrorist attacks of 9/11, “24” debuted several months afterward -- and in many ways began to mirror the changed world, given the real-life fears over terrorism and debates over torture methods. The show’s depiction of an African-American president was also seen as a ground-breaking precursor to the 2008 election of Barack Obama.

“(‘24’) came at a time when our world changed and our perception of our safety and vulnerability changed,” Gordon said. Gordon noted that the show had its supporters and detractors on both sides of the political aisles. Sutherland, meanwhile, said he was less concerned about the show’s place in popular culture and more than it just be remembered as a strong piece of work.

“My concern as an actor and as a producer was that the stories were interesting, the drama was going to put you on the edge of your seat and that we would maintain the quality,” he said. “I can’t help someone politicizing something. It was done by the right and the left... the only thing I can say is, it’s a TV show.”

“24” won both the Emmy and the Golden Globe awards for outstanding drama, while Sutherland has scored both an Emmy and a Globe for drama actor. “24” has also received Emmy Awards for writing and directing; last year, Cherry Jones won an Emmy for supporting actress in a drama.

This season’s edition of “24,” which takes place in New York, stars Sutherland, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Cherry Jones, Anil Kapoor, Annie Wersching, Katee Sackhoff, Mykelti Williamson, Freddie Prinze Jr., Chris Diamantopoulos and John Boyd.

Howard Gordon, Evan Katz, David Fury, Manny Coto, Brannon Braga, Brad Turner, Alex Gansa, Kiefer Sutherland and Brian Grazer are executive producers.

Next up for Gordon, he’s partnering with Alex Gansa and Gideon Raff to adapt Raff’s Israeli drama “Prisoners of War” for U.S. audiences, through 20th.

Sutherland, meanwhile, said he’d be willing to try another TV series.

“There’s amazing TV out there,” he said. “And drama and kind of human interaction I was interested in as an actor is being done there.”

"Big Love" co-star Chloe Sevigny gave what many might call an accurate assessment of the problems with the recently completed season of the HBO series in an interview (published Wednesday) with Sean O'Neal of A.V. Club. 

"... It was awful this season, as far as I’m concerned. I’m not allowed to say that! [Gasps.] It was very telenovela. I feel like it kind of got away from itself. The whole political campaign seemed to me very farfetched. I mean, I love the show, I love my character, I love the writing, but I felt like they were really pushing it this last season. And with nine episodes, I think they were just squishing too much in. HBO only gave us nine Sundays, because they have so much other original programming—especially with 'The Pacific'—and they only have a certain amount of Sundays per year, so we only got nine Sundays. I think that they had more story than episodes. I think that’s what happened. ..."

That got some wheels in motion, and today Sevigny culped a mea to Michael Ausiello of EW.com.

I was going to write this post after the dismal ratings for the series premiere of "Fly Girls" on the CW, then decided against it.

Then I saw Amy Pietz beginning a recurring arc on NBC's "The Office" Thursday, and I couldn't get the premise out of my head.

The two small events both make me think of "Aliens in America," the great comedy that aired for one season on the CW in the 2007-08 season before being canceled. And the premise is this: 

If you're going to get lousy ratings, at least do something worthwhile.

"Fly Girls" got a 0.5 rating in the 18-49 and 18-34 demos and barely more than a million viewers overall. And to what end? A glossified infomercial for Virgin America (an airline, I'll confess, I love) that basically no one wants to see. 

In contrast, "Aliens in America" was something special. As I wrote about the show upon its demise:

... throughout the season, the show never sold out its characters in its pursuit of a good time, cloaking in its humor a number of real issues and nicely paralleling Raja's insider-outsider status with the struggle of lead character Justin (Dan Byrd) to fit in at school. The final three episodes were something of a tour de force, addressing sex, drunk driving and, in Sunday's finale, the push-pull relationship between American and immigrant Muslims, as illustrated by Raja's first pursuit of a girlfriend. Material this intelligent or nuanced is still pretty rare on television, and rarer still when you can laugh and feel at the same time.

Others here will tout "The Big Bang Theory," but in my mind, "Aliens" was the best freshman sitcom on network television this season. And now it's gone. ...

And now series lead Dan Byrd is on ABC's "Cougar Town," and Lindsay Shaw is on ABC Family's "10 Things I Hate About You," and Adhir Kalyan has been doing CBS' "Rules of Engagement," and the rest — including Pietz — are underused.

I realize TV is not as simple as this-for-that, that all kinds of economics are involved and so on. The CW isn't even in the comedy business anymore. But the CW simply doesn't have enough content to make palatable letting a gem like "Aliens in America" go.

As shows like "Fly Girls" crash and burn, it just seems like a shame.  Critical value isn't everything, but it should count for something — especially amid a dearth of compelling alternatives. "Aliens" should be giving the CW the happy buzz of a successful, increasingly watched third season, rather than fading into distant memory.

 
In this week's Weekly Variety, I look at the broadcast networks' changing competitive outlook on Thursday nights.

Thursday, of course, is the most important night of the week for advertisers -- and as a result, is also a night that the networks treat with extra care. NBC dominated in the 1990s with "Must See TV," but in more recent times, the success story has been spread around a little more evenly.

Even Fox is now finally in the hunt, now that its "Bones" and "Fringe" combo has helped the net flip the lights on.

An excerpt:

Thursdays just got a little more interesting.

Fox is on the rise with its dramas. CBS is experimenting with a "Mentalist"/"CSI" timeslot flip. NBC is itching to bring back drama at 10 p.m. And ABC is facing some likely changes on the night as well.

Traditionally the most important night of the week -- the one advertisers most covet -- the balance of Thursday power is shifting this season.

And that could make for some tough debate and interesting strategic decisions this spring, as the nets head toward their May upfront presentations.

For the first time in at least 20 years, all four networks have a solid performer on Thursday. Add in cable (where USA is also humming along) and at the very least, the news is good for the industry: People are watching a lot of TV on the night.

"As much as we all love crushing each other into the ground, when you're thinking about the health of the business, it's not a bad thing for everyone to have something to show," a network exec says.

"It's a good night for all of us to be healthy, and there's no better health barometer than Thursday night," he adds.

But as shows age, no one has an ultra-dominant player on the night anymore. And that leaves some webheads concerned, as the playing field evens out and the night's pecking order is far from guaranteed.

Read the rest here. Or go get a Weekly Variety subscription already!

Below: A promo from NBC's "Must-See TV" Thursday night heyday.

Nearly a year after ABC greenlit the series, Alyssa Milano starrer "Romantically Challenged" finally has an official premiere date confirmed by the network: April 12 at 9:30 p.m., following "Dancing With the Stars."

Series, which co-stars Kyle Bornheimer, Josh Lawson and Kelly Stables, has been in the waiting room long enough that it has already completed shooting on its first season of six episodes. ABC has had a vacancy in its Wednesday comedy block since the cancellation of Kelsey Grammer's "Hank" early in the 2009-10 season, but the more adult tone of "Challenged" has been seen as a better fit for a post-9 p.m. slot — currently occupied on Wednesdays by "Modern Family" and "Cougar Town."

The 9:30 p.m. Monday placement will pit "Challenged" against CBS sitcom hit "The Big Bang Theory," but ABC is hoping that, buoyed by the "Dancing" lead-in, "Challenged" can carve out its own audience.

Milano plays a lawyer/mother recently divorced after 15 years of marriage. Stables plays her wild sister, Bornheimer her longtime, soft-hearted best friend and Lawson his roommate (a struggling novelist).

Ricky Blitt ("Family Guy") created the series and exec produces with director Jim Burrows.

NBC got a lot of grief for its primetime presentation of the Winter Olympics last month, but I'm struggling a lot more with what it's done this month: airing fresh episodes of its Thursday comedies opposite March Madness on CBS.

My compulsion to watch those shows as soon as possible, DVRs be damned, made me miss The Night of Gus Johnson.

I like it better when sports and comedy work in sync with each other, as in the above photo.

Terry Kinney has frequently carried the badge of law enforcement, whether as a cop or prosecutor or prison warden, but now he's going to the dark side.

The veteran character actor ("The Mentalist," "The Unusuals," "Oz")  has been cast opposite Dylan Walsh in the CBS/Sony Pictures TV drama pilot from multihyphenate Michael Dinner.

Walsh plays an ATF agent tasked with hunting down ultra-dangerous criminals. Kinney (pictured left) plays a sociopath that the agent has been tracking.

France-based Banijay Entertainment has consumated its months-long flirtation with “The Real World” producer Bunim-Murray.

Banijay has announced that it has acquired Bunim-Murray in a deal believed to be in the eight-figure range.

As part of the deal, Jonathan Murray will remain chairman of Bunim-Murray, while Bunim-Murray prexy Gil Goldschein plans to remain as well.

Bunim-Murray will also remain headquartered in Los Angeles and maintain its name.

“Bunim-Murray is one of the few companies with a proven history of delivering high volumes of entertaining and quality programming that strikes a chord with viewers and are continually renewed by networks season after season,” said Banijay Chairman Stéphane Courbit. “This acquisition reaffirms Banijay’s strategy to integrate in our group the best and most creative international television producers.”

Acquisiton comes as several international companies continue to kick the tires of U.S. production companies. European shingles -- many of which look to emulate the model of mega-congloms FremantleMedia and Endemol -- have been looking at U.S. outfits in order to gain a foothold in this marketplace.

Among the other companies said to be attracting suitors are Craig Piligian’s Pilgrim Films, A. Smith & Co. and David Broome’s 25/7 Prods. And France's Zodiak is set to buy RDF Media, creating another major global player.

Banijay had already entered the U.S. marketplace via its co-development deal last year with Angel City Factory, the shingle recently formed by reality producers Chris Cowan and Jean-Michel Michenaud (who formerly ran infamous reality house Rocket Science Laboratories).

Banijay just created a worldwide distribution division, Banijay Intl., and tapped Karoline Spodsberg, currently Nordisk Film TV World international director, as its managing director. 

A pan-European TV powerhouse, Banijay also owns U.K.’s ZigZag, Spain’s Cuarzo, France’s Air Prods, ALJ Production, Depeche Prod. and Jes Prod., as well as Russia’s Intelegencia.

Bunim-Murray is one of the veterans of the reality world, having been formed more than 20 years ago by Murray and the late Mary-Ellis Bunim. “The Real World,” which launched in 1992, helped usher in the modern-day TV docuseries.

“By joining Banijay, (Bunim-Murray) will be able to continue its past success as well as access international formats and distribute its series and formats to the international marketplace,” Murray said. “I’ve spent the last year and a half getting to know Stéphane Courbit and his Banijay team and am convinced they are not only good people but the best people to help BMP reach its goals.” 

It's been a good week for Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly.

First, he managed finally slay "'Til Death." Then, terrible singer Paige Miles got booted off "American Idol." (Actually, we don't know where Reilly stood on Paige -- but as an exec with generally good taste, we assume he was happy to see the off-note singer exit the competish.)

Now, as first reported by Deadline.com, Reilly has sealed a three-year deal to remain at the network.

The reup doesn't come as much of a surprise; Reilly's on a roll this year. The network won the fall for the first time, thanks to some strong scheduling by his team -- including the Thursday night duo "Bones" and "Fringe." And Fox also boasts two of the year's top-rated new series, "Glee" and "The Cleveland Show."

Reilly has been at Fox since July 2007, having been recruited by his old FX boss, Peter Liguori (now at Discovery Communications) to take the entertainment prexy gig. 

Before that, he spent three years at NBC -- from 2004 to 2007. He had just re-upped with NBC when the network suddenly brought Ben Silverman on board, forcing Reilly out the door. (He's now been at Fox for three years and has just reupped. Hmm -- Reilly, stay alert.)

Reilly's well known for his creative chops, having championed shows like "The Office" at NBC and "The Shield" at FX. Pact also comes as his boss, Fox Chairman Peter Rice, is busy with expanded duties, having gained oversight of FX in January.

Here's a rather wacky Reilly video from the 2005 upfronts:

It's probably been a while since you thought of "Kristin" — the halfhour comedy starring Kristin Chenoweth that aired briefly on NBC in 2001. That's assuming you even remember it.

But if you're wondering why I'm bringing it up today, it's because of Earl Pomerantz's sharp blog post this morning about trying to find the right male lead to work opposite Chenoweth. He uses the series to make a larger point about the lack of logic you can find during pilot season.

... "Pilot Season” casting’s biggest problem involves too many jobs chasing too little top-line talent. Which brings me to the major “I don’t get it” of the entire process.

First, the standard disclaimer: I’m not in it anymore, so I don’t know if they still do this. But when I was working…

You see all the actors the casting director determines are suitable for the role. There is no one left to bring in. The best people available have already come through, and none of them has precisely fit the bill.

What’s the natural thing to do?

If you really like the show – it demonstrates real promise in every regard – and the only thing that’s keeping it out of production is that you’re unable to cast one of the roles, it seems to me the smart, albeit disappointing, thing to do would be to delay production until that right actor comes along. What do, or at least did, the networks do?

They abandon the show entirely.

They threw it away. They loved the idea, but they couldn’t cast one of the roles? “See you later.” No, not “See you later.” “See you. Never!” ...

You do wonder how many times a good show has gone south simply because of bad timing. In any case, Variety's Michael Speier trashed "Kristin" in his June 2001 review, saying that it was "way over the top and exists amid incredibly stale one-liners, on-the-cheap production values and boring supporting players."

Gordon Ramsay continues his march toward eventually programming all 15 hours of Fox's primetime schedule. (WATCH OUT, SEACREST.)

Fox has confirmed a summer premiere date for Ramsay's latest food-centric entry, the U.S. adaptation of U.K. hit "Masterchef." Show will bow on Thursday, July 29 at 9 p.m. -- behind Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen." (Ramsay is also behind Fox's "Kitchen Nightmares.")

Ramsay will be joined by restaurateur/wine maker Joe Bastianich and four-star chef Graham Elliot Bowles to coach contestants and serve on the show's judging panel.

"Masterchef" follows a collection of amateur chefs and looks to turn them into culinary masters. Contestants compete head-to-head to create dishes.

"Masterchef" comes from Reveille, Shine TV and One Potato Two Potato and is based on a format created by Franc Roddam and Shine TV.

Showtime is showing love for its ladies: “Nurse Jackie” and “United States of Tara” have each received third-season pickups.

Emboldened by ratings for the pair of season two premiere episodes that aired Monday, cabler is showing plenty of confidence in both shows.

“Nurse Jackie” drew a combined 1.5 million viewers for the original and repeat telecast an hour later, up 14% from the first season premiere episode and up 19% from the season finale. The 10 p.m.
“Jackie” episode was up 8% vs. last year and is impressive in that the 2009 preem had Showtime laffer “Weeds” as a lead-in. This time around, “Jackie” was on its own.

“Tara” drew 1.1 million viewers for the night, which was on par with the season one premiere.

Sarah Palin is indeed headed to Discovery Communications -- specifically, TLC -- the cable conglom finally confirmed Thursday morning.

Discovery said that it has acquired global rights to the eight-hour "Sarah Palin's Alaska," which is exec produced by Mark Burnett. Doc will premiere on TLC at an undisclosed later date.

“Our family enjoys Discovery’s networks,” said former Alaska Gov. Palin. “I look forward to working with Mark to bring the wonder and majesty of Alaska to all Americans.”

Documentary series appears to be an unusual fit for TLC, which has moved away from documentary-style programming and now focuses on lifestyle series.

But Discovery itself makes sense -- as the company is behind programming such as the Alaska-set "Deadliest Catch."

Discovery picked up the rights to the series after A&E Networks, the other network with a major interest in the project, backed out. According to insiders, once the cost of the series shot up, A&E opted not to submit a final bid.

Discovery didn't disclose a price tag, but it's believed that "Sarah Palin's Alaska" will cost more than $1 million an episode. That's far above how much a Discovery docuseries usually costs (around $200,000 to $400,000 a seg).

“Discovery Communications is so excited to help Sarah Palin tell the story of Alaska, and to have a great documentary filmmaker in Mark Burnett helping to reveal Alaska’s powerful beauty as it has never been filmed, and as told by one of the state’s proudest daughters,” said Peter Liguori, Chief Operating Officer, Discovery Communications.

It's a homecoming for Burnett, who first made a name for himself producing "Eco-Challenge" from Discovery Channel from 1996 to 1999.

“With a dynamic personality that has captivated millions, I can’t think of anyone more compelling than Sarah Palin to tell the story of Alaska,” said Mark Burnett. “I’m thrilled to reunite with Discovery on this project, which brings together one of the most fascinating figures of our time with one of the most wondrous places on earth.”

A docuseries focusing on Palin's extended family might have made more sense for TLC, home to hits such as "Cake Boss," "Little People, Big World" and formerly of "Jon & Kate Plus Eight." Discovery execs must have decided that Palin's popularity among some women would still make more sense on the network.

“TLC is grounded in great storytelling, strong characters, and passionate audiences drawn to extraordinary people doing extraordinary things. We are confident 'Sarah Palin’s Alaska' will be another compelling television event,” said Eileen O’Neill, president and general manager, TLC.

Oh my goodness, "Treme" is good. Engrossing. Breathtaking in all its detail. The first episode runs about an hour and a half. It lives up to the advance billing, and the high expectations of "Wire" nuts.

Without giving away too much -- no spoilers from me -- I will just say that Wendell Pierce and Clarke Peters were born to be the on-camera interpreters of David Simon and his core creative crew. It's good to have them all back in the same parish.

(I also submit that Wendell Pierce was born to say "mother$%^&#@," in all its mumbled, spat, slurred, comic, desperate variations. Nobody ever made it poetry quite like he does.)

-- Cynthia Littleton

Actress Lindsay Sloane has joined the cast of CBS' comedy pilot "Living on a Prayer," from the folks behind "How I Met Your Mother."

"HIMYM" fans, of course, remember Sloane from the episode "Double Date," when both her character and Ted (Josh Radnor) realize that they had been fixed up on a similar blind date seven years earlier.

Now, Sloane will play "Gina" in "Living on a Prayer," opposite Kyle Bornheimer and Jamie Pressly.

Sloane's upcoming credits include the current release "She's Out of My League," as well as the upcoming feature "The Other Guys." Her other TV credits include "The Stones," "Grosse Pointe" and "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch."

20th Century Fox is behind "Living," which comes from exec producers Carter Bays, Craig Thomas, Kourtney Kang and Joe Kelly.

Longtime ABC News correspondent Brian Rooney found out late Monday that he was being let go as part of the news division's massive downsizing.

Since joining ABC News in 1988, Rooney has covered big events such as the Indian Ocean tsunami, the Southern California wildfires, the Oklahoma City bombing, the 1992 Los Angeles riots, the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the 1989 student uprising in Tiananmen Square and the 1989 San Francisco earthquake.

He also covered the recent Late Night Wars -- and I spoke to him several times over those crazy days in January.

But with ABC News cutting as much as 25% of its workforce -- and half of its domestic correspondents -- I asked Rooney to talk a bit about his sadness in leaving ABC, and whether this has soured him on broadcast news:

ON THE AIR: Did you see this coming? After 22 years at ABC News, how did you take this news?

ROONEY: In some ways I saw it coming. Once the word got out they were cutting as many as a quarter of the employees, I knew I was vulnerable. My contract expired in the middle of all this, and often in these situations they fire the people they are able to fire quickly, regardless of value or skill. I don’t take it personally. They know I’m good at what I do and no one had fun firing me. So when they told me I took it like a man, although in private moments I have not.

ON THE AIR: What’s the mood in the bureau been like since the ABC News downsizing was announced?

ROONEY: The mood not just here in Los Angeles, but all over ABC News is dark. Friends are disappearing and few people know whether they will have a job or what their job might be at the end of this. Just as an observer, aside from my personal interest, I have never seen a corporate reorganization as drastic and immediate as this. It will have unintended consequences. They will and already have lost people they want to keep. But the amazing thing -- I just love journalists -- these people will do their jobs until they are told to leave the building.

But I want to say I do think, despite how hard this is for me, David Westin is trying to save ABC News from extinction. There are aspects to this that for him, must be devastating.

ON THE AIR: Can a major news operation exist without any bureaus? How do you think the network will cover the next big L.A. story?

ROONEY: I can’t say whether they can really cover the news without bureaus. Local presence is like having listening posts ahead of the front lines. You can’t survive without them. So I don’t think ABC will be without bureaus. They will just operate differently and they will be smaller. We have not seen the blueprint for how they will do it, so I can’t say how they will handle major news, or even minor.

ON THE AIR: We’re all trying to figure out whether there’s even a future for print journalism. What’s your take on the fate of broadcast journalism? Of network news?

ROONEY: Despite all the hand wringing about the fate of the news business I believe there will be print and television journalism in the future. Who will be doing it, I don’t know. When I grew up PF Flyers were one of the most popular sneakers kids wore. PF Flyers are long gone, but we still have sneakers.

Rooney, by the way, is the son of "60 Minutes" fixture Andy Rooney.

Former RDF USA topper Chris Coelen is back in business, launching the new production company Kinetic Content.

Coelen has been putting together a team of creative execs in recent months, following his unexpected exit from RDF in December. 

Among the execs joining him are former RDF USA senior VP of development and current Jennifer Danska, who will take the same title at Kinetic.

Other RDF alums making the move with Coelen include Gerald Massimei, who will serve as vice president of development and current, as well as manager of development Katie Griffin.

Additionally, Coelen has recruited BBC producer Matilda Zoltowski -- who helped launch “Dancing With the Stars” in the U.S. -- as senior VP of development and current.

Coelen, who’s funding the startup himself, plans to hire at least five more employees in the coming months.

“There are real opportunities in the marketplace for a nimble, entrepreneurial company who can truly deliver the creative goods,” Coelen said.

Coelen launched RDF’s U.S. outpost in 2006 as its first full-time North American staffer. As CEO of RDF USA and Group Director for North America, Coelen’s team sold more than 30 series and specials, half of which were created internally.

Programs he oversaw included “Secret Millionaire,” “Find My Family,” “Don’t Forget the Lyrics,” “Wife Swap,” “One Big Happy Family,” “Hitched or Ditched” and “Jessica Simpson’s The Price of Beauty.”

Coelen also oversaw RDF’s branch into scripted, with the Syfy order for “Being Human.” Exec’s resume also includes founding the alternative department at UTA, and the non-scripted division at APA. He began his career at Fox Television.

The balcony is closed at iconic movie review program “At the Movies.”

Long-running syndie skein that taped in Chicago, went through several name changes and made TV stars out newspapermen Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert has been canceled. The final program will air Aug. 14.

“This was a very difficult decision, especially considering the program’s rich history and iconic status within the entertainment industry, but from a business perspective it became clear this weekly, half-hour, broadcast syndication series was no longer sustainable,” said Disney-ABC Domestic Television in a statement released late Wednesday afternoon.

Current hosts A.O. Scott of the New York Times and Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune took over in September 2009 for Ben Mankiewicz of Turner Classic Movies and Ben Lyons of E!, who lasted about a year. Lyons received a fair share of public ridicule from cinephiles when he was named host because of his relatively young age and lack of experience in film criticism.

Siskel and Ebert were the first hosts of the program, originally titled “Sneak Previews,” that aired on Chicago’s public broadcasting channel in 1975. In 1986, the show was sold to Disney and received national exposure.

Following Siskel’s death in 1999, Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times shared hosting duties with Ebert — the title was changed to “Ebert & Roeper” — and the pair stayed together until the 2006-07 season when Ebert was battling health issues and had to depart. Guests hosts joined Roeper until Mankiewicz and Lyons began their one-year run.

Added Disney: “We gratefully acknowledge the outstanding work of the program’s current co-hosts A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips and top-notch production staff, and it is with heartfelt appreciation that we extend very special thanks to the two brilliant, visionary and incomparable critics that started it all, Roger Ebert and the late Gene Siskel.”

This one hits hard. Robert Culp was so cool, no more so than when he teamed with Bill Cosby on one of my favorite series, "I Spy." But he was great to watch wherever he popped up. (I'll always have a soft spot for him on "The Greatest American Hero.")

Culp died following a fall this morning at the age of 79, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Here's a link to the premiere episode of "I Spy." And below is a 2007 interview Culp gave the Archive of American Television talking about Cosby and the series.

And down here, Culp talks about "Hero."

Above, the latest promo from Fox for "Glee" -- including Lea Michele's rendition of "Like a Prayer," from the much talked-about Madonna music episode.

Whoo-hoo, I'm excited to watch the "Treme" screener that arrived today with three episodes of David Simon's new New Orleans-set drama.

The New York Times Magazine set the table for the show nicely with its cover story last Sunday.

Here's HBO's verbiage on the show:

This episode was billed as giving us the backstory of the age-less Richard Alpert, but for good measure they also threw in a few big revelations about the "Lost" mythology and the metaphysical laws of this very unusual land.

I think by now we've pretty much settled the good vs. evil debate. Jacob is the good that transcends religious beliefs and the baser instincts of humanity. The Man in Black is evil, the chaos of the dark side driven by fear an our natural kill-or-be-killed, survivalist impulses -- the kind of thing that organized religion is designed to help keep in check -- through fear, guilt, the carrot of heaven and the stick of hell. Whereas Jacob is something like faith in its purist form -- no written tracts, no robes, no iconography or sacred symbols -- just pure belief. Hence the seg title "Ab Aeterno," which is Latin for "From the beginning of time" (or so says my quick Google search.)

It takes a very special kind of soul to muster such conviction, such unadulterated feeling about man and the world and the spirituality that exists in every blade of grass, or carafe of wine. Religion is something that is used to control poor Ricardo -- from the beginning when the priest wouldn't absolve him, right through the moment when he digs up his wife's cross necklace nearly 150 years after he buried it, because she finally absolved him of the guilt he felt for not being able to cure her sickness all those years ago.

MIB uses the terror of being consigned to hell to motivate Richard (aka Ricardo) to act on his behalf. MIB is so convincing that so many years later, as Richard has a crisis of faith he returns to MIB's lie and takes it to be the real truth because he's so disillusioned with Jacob. Jacob, on the other hand, in his first meeting with Richard is straight up with him about not being able to bring back his wife (as MIB promises) or even absolve him of the accidental killing of the greedy doctor. But Jacob can make Richard live forever with just a touch of the shoulder, which is pretty awe-inspiring on its own. There was a lot of that in this fast-moving seg written by Melinda Hsu Taylor and Greggory Nations and directed by Tucker Gates.

Paula Abdul and Kenny Ortega may be bringing their choreography skills to NBC.

Insiders confirm that the Peacock is interested in a flash mob/dance competition show from "The Biggest Loser" producers 3 Ball Entertainment. 3 Ball, in turn, is in talks to marry the format with Abdul and Ortega.

According to sources familiar with the pitch, network execs were taken to a Burbank restaurant and shown a sizzle reel for the show. But as the tape ended, the eatery they were at suddenly came alive -- as patrons, wait staff and chefs dropped what they were doing, got up and conducted a dance routine.

Turns out 3 Ball had rented the restaurant out for the day, and hired dancers to pose as normal folks.

"It was a big spectacle," said an insider who attended one of the pitch meetings.

Show is more than just about flash mobs, however. Several flash mob pitches have made the rounds in recent years -- including one from Abdul herself. The 3 Ball show is expected to have some sort of competitive element, and work its way up through the show to a major spectacle performance (one source compared it to the parade scene in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off").

3 Ball and NBC declined comment. 3 Ball's upcoming credits include "Dad Camp" at VH1 and "Obese" at ABC.

Ortega's credits include the recent Michael Jackson "This Is It" feature, which came out of the comeback tour that he had been directing. Ortega's also the mastermind behind Disney's hot "High School Musical" franchise.

Abdul, meanwhile, has been rumored for just about every unscripted job imaginable in recent months. Abdul and ABC couldn't come to terms on a deal that would have centered a "Star Search" revival around her. She's also still said to be a contender for Simon Cowell's fall 2011 launch of "The X Factor" on Fox.

HBO has picked up a second season of "The Ricky Gervais Show," the animated take on the popular podcasts by Gervais, longtime collaborator Stephen Merchant and their unusual friend, Karl Pilkington.

Media Rights Capital produces the show with Wildbrain, the animation house behind "Yo Gabba Gabba."

"The Ricky Gervais Show" started out as a radio program in London; in 2005, Gervais and Merchant decided to turn it into a podcast -- and brought Pilkington, a radio producer they had met years earlier -- along. The podcasts began to focus particularly on the eccentric mind of Pilkington.

The podcast became wildly popular -- and even scored a Guinness World Record in 2007 for being the most-downloaded podcast on the Internet.

For HBO, the TV show utilizes the audio from the "Gervais" podcasts and opens each week with the animated version of the trio. Then, once Pilkington begins telling one of his unusual stories, the animation delves into those worlds.

MRC fully finances the show and will take it to the international market shortly. Animated series is their second at HBO, along with "The Life and Times of Tim."

Gervais, Merchant and Pilkington exec produce with Wildbrain's Bob Higgins.

Show has performed modestly for HBO. Variety's Brian Lowry gave it a good review, but had some reservations:

There's no adhesive to the episodes. The three guys sit and bullshit for 20-some-odd minutes -- at times entertainingly -- until the program simply ends. Perhaps that's why the effect diminishes as the episodes wear on, though Glyn Hughes' jaunty score does play them out on a high note.

On a broader level, radio seldom translates very well into visual media -- witness the gap between Howard Stern's vibrant radio shtick and his flat forays into television -- and that's sometimes the case here.

Everything about "The Ricky Gervais Show" speaks to its modest expectations -- an inexpensive way to exploit Gervais' acute observational comedy in another niche. In that respect, it's not unlike approaches used in the past with Comedy Central's "Crank Yankers" (prank phone calls replicated by puppets) and Robert Smigel's "Fun With Real Audio" cartoons on "Saturday Night Live."

Notably, the program is premiering outside HBO's Sunday showcase for original fare, mitigating the risk.

Here's a clip from the show:

Sheldon Cooper would probably approve of the logic (and be able to explain the physics) that caused his character to become the central force of CBS' "The Big Bang Theory." Jim Parsons gives us expert delivery and timing as Sheldon, and it made sense that such a dynamic presence would become the series' key figure. Johnny Galecki is underrated as Leonard, but he is more of a straight man.

But Sheldon's character, almost fundamentally, lacks the ability to grow in significant ways. He's both content with who he is and mostly unable to appreciate what he isn't. And that's a potential problem for the series.

If Sheldon doesn't grow or change, "Bang" runs the risk of getting stuck in a rut or forcing itself into increasingly ridiculous situations to generate new laughs: "What zaniness can we put Sheldon in this week?" Don't get me wrong — you could put Sheldon anywhere from outer space to an avocado farm and it's going to be funny — but the chuckles will become more and more shallow. Arguably, that's already happening.

Added to this concern is how casually "Bang" treats the character development it does have among the rest of its cast. Howard (Simon Helberg) got an interesting girlfriend, but weeks go by without us seeing her. Even worse, Raj (Kunal Nayyar) hooked up with a woman, played by Danica McKellar (the former "Wonder Years" star and UCLA math scholar who was a natural fit for a long arc on the show), but after that single appearance, McKellar disappeared, and Nayyar returned to lamenting his sex life as if she were never there.

It doesn't require a spoiler alert to expect that "Bang" will have new story opportunities arising from what figure to be inevitable romantic struggles between Leonard and Penny (Kaley Cuoco). I've earlier speculated that over the long haul, Penny and Sheldon are destined to end up together, though "Big Bang" exec producer Chuck Lorre has said that won't happen. Either way, it doesn't really solve the more immediate problem that the show's breakout star has broken out into something of a confined space.

Lorre, fellow exec producer Bill Prady and the rest of the "Big Bang" crew have earned a considerable amount of faith from viewers like me, but I still think something about Sheldon's situation is going to have to change to keep the "Bang" at its best. I'm curious to see what happens.

Fans of “The Good Wife,” feel free to rejoice: Alan Cumming has been cast as a series regular for the second season.

Cumming, who plays political consultant Eli Gold with panache and little room for slackers, will continue to recur this season as well. Gold is working with Chris Noth’s Peter Florrick, who was recently released from jail and is trying to figure out how to get his professional and personal life back together.

The Scotland native performed last night at the Geffen Theater as part of the venue’s annual fundraising gala, and he sang the little ditty “Taylor the Latte Boy.”

Watching him in “The Good Wife, it’s hard to imagine that Cumming is a real song-and-dance man, but he’s a veteran of screen and stage and oozes showbiz.

HBO has attached Kevin Kline to a one-hour drama in which he plays a cardiac surgeon sent to jail for killing his mistress.

During an argument, Kline’s character kills his lover and is sent to prison for 15 years. The story begins when he gets out and tries to figure out how to put his life back and together and must reconnect with past relationships.

Show, currently in development, will be written by David Auburn (“Proof”) and exec produced by Gavin Polone, Judy Hofflund, Kline and Auburn are set to exec produce.

Kline, who rarely ventures into television and has never been in a series, was nominated for an Emmy last year for his turn as Cyrano de Bergerac in the PBS series “Great Performances.” He won an Oscar for the 1988 pic “A Fish Called Wanda.”

HBO is set to premiere several high-profile new series, including David Simon’s “Treme” — about how the citizens of New Orleans deal with new living conditions in a post-Katrina world — and Atlantic City Prohibition era drama “Boardwalk Empire,” directed by Martin Scorsese.

On the pilot front, cabler is set to go into production on David Milch’s “Luck,” about eccentric characters on the horseracing circuit. Dustin Hoffman and Dennis Farina star.

 

It's all over for "Scrubs." Almost.

Zach Braff just confirmed the news over his Facebook account -- and so far 1,664 fans have said they "like" this announcement. (A reminder that Facebook's "like" function is a little strange. Unless Braff's fans are truly cheering the show's retirement.)

He writes:

Many of you have asked, so here it is: it appears that "New Scrubs", "Scrubs 2.0", "Scrubs with new kids", "Scrubbier", "Scrubs without JD" is no more. It was worth a try, but alas... it didn't work. zb

ABC still isn't confirming the show's official end. But c'mon. It's all but over. Actually, it was over last year, when original "Scrubs" ended its run. This year's semi-spinoff, which focused on a new crop of medical interns, never took off with fans. Even Zach Braff's brief return felt out of place.

As a result, watching "Scrubs" this season was sort of like returning to your high school a year or two after graduation. You still remember some of the people, while there are other faces you don't recognize. (Online, several folks took to calling the show "Zombie Scrubs.") It's a weird mix of feeling familiar yet out of place. Sometimes, you can't go back. And "Scrubs" probably shouldn't have. 

The original "Scrubs" probably still hasn't gotten enough due respect as one of the better comedies of the 2000s. But it was, and offered enough laughs that I stuck with the show throughout its entire run. 

Showtime's heavily promoted Edie Falco halfhour, "Nurse Jackie," kicked off season two Monday with a new ratings high, drawing 19% more total viewers (1.52 million combined in its 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. airings) than its season one finale.

The audience for "Jackie" was also 13% higher than the series premiere June 8. The 10 p.m. broadcast drew 1.08 million, and the 11 p.m. repeat added another 437,000.

Showtime saw some ratings decline from Falco and "Jackie" to 2009 Emmy-winner Toni Collette and the second-season premiere of "United States of Tara," which immediately followed "Jackie." In two airings, "Tara" attracted 1.17 million viewers, a number Showtime said was "on par" with the series premiere 14 months ago.

Full disclosure: Showtime has not acted on my idea, which I came up with just this second, for a "Jackie"-"Tara" crossover episode. But somehow I think the characters would hit it off.

There's always that one show in primetime that somehow manages to survive the ax year after year, for one reason or another (we're looking at you, "According to Jim," "Wings" and "Becker").

But eventually, the network gods finally intervene. This year, it was "'Til Death" that was finally slain. Fox confirmed the news Tuesday afternoon.

The ratings were never in "'Til Death's" favor, but the economics were. Fox gave the show a 22-episode order last January after Sony Pictures TV gave the network a break on the license fee -- and it wound up being a deal that Fox couldn't refuse.

For Sony, the pickup brought the "'Til Death" episode total up to more than 80 -- close enough for an off-network syndication sale.

The problem there: "Til Death" has gone through several revamps and cast changes over the years. Stars Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher have remained constant; but "Til Death" originally was about two couples at different stages of life -- with Eddie Kaye Thomas and Kat Foster playing younger next door neighbors.

In season three, "'Til Death" moved its focus to the friendship between Garrett and new cast member J.B. Smoove. But in season four, the story shifted again -- as the couple's daughter (Lindsey Broad) moved back home, along with her slacker boyfriend (Timm Sharp).

Fox actually informed Sony and the show's cast and crew a few weeks ago that it wouldn't pick up any more episodes. Brad Garrett confirmed the news to Zap2It:

"The other night, we got an 0.8 [rating]," Garrett reports in his famously deep voice. "Once your mom stops watching, you're an 0.4. The network said, 'What do you suggest?' I said, 'If you give me one more month, I can take you to a zero.' And there was dead silence."

Garrett adds that others who were involved in "'Til Death" have moved on to other projects: "After year two, when you're getting beat by Telemundo, it's time to go home. I mean, even the show my housekeeper watches was beating the show that was paying her salary. I'd come in the room, and she'd quickly turn off Telemundo."

The show also underwent a producer change in its final season. Don Reo, Dean Lorey, Glenn Robbins, Doug Wald and Garrett exec produce for Sony Pictures TV. "'Til Death" was originally created by Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa.

OMG, u guyz. I totally <3 BiEBeR!!!! LOLZZZZ!!!!

(Psst... OK, have the tweenyboppers left the room? Good. Let's discuss.)

Pop culture circa March 2010 has a new leader. He's 16. And he's from Canada. His name is Justin Bieber. And if you're on Twitter, you can't escape him.

This Bieber phenomenon has been brewing for nearly a year -- the kid even sang the opening verse to the recent, ill-advised "We Are The World" remake. But seriously, how did we let this suddenly become a Justin Bieber nation? Even Conan O'Brien is obsessed: his last five Tweets have been all Bieber-centric:

 

And America's cougar population apparently digs him as well -- at least, I assume that's who's making "Justin Bieber shirt off" among the musician's leading Google searches (people, HE'S 16. STOP.)

 
 

David Letterman wants a piece of Bieber: The teen heartthrob is on "Late Show with David Letterman" tonight, leading to this attempt by CBS to grab a slice of Bieber's Twitter audience:

And MTV is suddenly into music again, now that Bieber Fever is in full swing:

MTV will pull out all the stops on March 23 to celebrate the release of platinum selling pop sensation, Justin Bieber’s sophomore album, "My World 2.0." Viewers and fans alike, can tune in to special Justin Bieber programming featuring a never before seen exclusive acoustic performance on MTV.com and a new episode of “Diary.” Since the beginning of his career, Bieber has been a staple on MTV with appearances on “Discover and Download,” “Artist of the Week,” “mtvU VMAs Tour,” “The 2009 VMAs,” and a gut busting appearance on the game show “Silent Library.”

On Tuesday, March 16, Bieber treated a few of his major fans to exclusive live acoustic performances of some of his biggest hits. Known for being a skilled in his vocalist, musician (he can play a mean guitar and can beat the drums like nobody’s business) and song-writing skills (he co-wrote all the songs on My World 2.0) Bieber surprised fans with stripped down versions of songs including – the first single of his upcoming album -"Baby.” He also performed ''Never Let You Go," “That Should Be Me," "One Time" and "One Less Lonely Girl."

MTV will feature Justin Bieber in a new episode of its critically acclaimed docu-series “Diary,” as it hits the road with Justin to give his fans a behind the scenes look at what it takes to be one of today’s fastest rising stars. The singer allowed MTV cameras access to his every move as he traveled to Paris and New York to meet the press, greet his fans and promote his upcoming album My World 2.0 – while still trying to stay a normal 16-year old teenager. “Diary” featuring Justin Bieber will air on Sunday, March 28 at 7:30pm ET.

Bieber's handlers have smartly torn pages from the teen heartthrob playbook: Non-threatening, yet slightly suggestive marketing (which would explain this disturbing album cover, below).

What the hell? 

BUT WHO IS THIS KID? WHERE DID HE COME FROM? WHAT'S FUELING THIS?

A nice mix of presenters, including Tina Fey and Steve Carell of NBC Thursday and "Date Night," should lure more than a few adults into watching Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards broadcast March 27. A stunt involving Olympic champion Apolo Anton Ohno and a "slime slingshot" could also made a few grownup heads turn.

Chris Rock, Jackie Chan, Robert Downey Jr., Jonah Hill, Katy Perry, Victoria Justice, Queen Latifah, David Spade, Lea Michele, Dev Patel, Miranda Cosgrove, Shaun White,  Big Time Rush, Keke Palmer, Fred Figglehorn, and John Cena are among those also presenting awards. (Partial disclosure: I had to Google three of these names to know or remind myself of who they were, but I'm not saying which ones.)

Kevin James is hosting the KCAs at Pauley Pavilion, which will also be graced with the presence of Katy Perry, Cory Monteith, Jackson Rathbone, Jaden Smith, Queen Latifah and George Lopez — along with the previously announced Rihanna and Justin Bieber.

Nick will air a “Countdown to Kids’ Choice!” live pre-show telecast for the two hours preceding the KCAs.