Another show that the critics were high on has bitten the dust.  Here's the story, told in first-person form by @DamonLindelof on Twitter:

I am going to write a sitcom called "OH NO YOU DIN'T!!!" All I know so far is there's a butler in it.

Oh snap. Get THIS -- The butler's name is Rupert Dint.

RT @Alyssa_Milano I'd watch that show.

Milano? You're IN that show. Hold on... my agent is calling me. 

Okay. This is very exciting. I have just sold "OH NO YOU DIN'T" starring @Alyssa_Milano.

Shit. I have just been fired off of "OH NO YOU DIN'T." The irony.

UPDATED

After more than 20 years at MTV, programming president Tony DiSanto is exiting the cable net.

DiSanto is grabbing his long-time lieutentant Liz Gateley, and together they’re forming a new production shingle to be named DiGa (the first two letters of both producers’ last name). The duo have sealed a deal to set up shop at Ben Silverman’s Electus production entity.

With DiSanto exiting, it’s believed that David Janollari, who joined MTV in January, will step in as MTV’s new programming president, but no deal has been made.

DiGa will focus on producing reality and scripted series for primetime cable and network outlets, and also plans to enter the feature film and digital domains.

Under the deal, Electus will hold on to exclusive distribution rights for all content created by DiGa. Electus will also work with DiGa on bringing marketing and advertising partners to the duo, and Electus Distribution will handle DiGa programming internationally.

DiSanto and Gateley aren’t severing ties with MTV, however. The duo will now serve as exec producers on four upcoming series, including the new scripted shows “Teen Wolf” and “Skins.”

DiGa has also secured a committment from MTV to produce two more scripted projects. DiSanto and Gateley will also serve as consultants for the channel.

As for Janollari, the move would make sense, as the exec took a bit of a title cut -- to exec VP of scripted development -- when he first joined MTV. It’s believed that MTV topper Van Toffler has been specifically grooming Janollari to take over once DiSanto exited to pursue his producing ambitions.

A former WB Entertainment prexy (and before that, Greenblatt/Janollari partner), Janollari has moved quickly to ramp up MTV’s scripted output in recent months.

MTV has moved further into the scripted world, recently giving series orders to the coming-of-age entry “That Girl” and the horror comedy “Death Valley.”

Both series, which will bow sometime next year, come on the heels of previously ordered scripted entries “Skins” and “Teen Wolf.” MTV also has a second season on tap of “The Hard Times of RJ Berger.”

As for DiSanto, rumors of his exit have swirled for some time. At different periods of time, he’s been chatted up for broadcast network gigs -- but ultimately wanted to try his had at being an independent producer.

“He’s a producer at heart,” said one insider. “It’s good for him and good for MTV.”

DiSanto departs on a high at MTV, which has gotten its groove back as of late thanks to “Jersey Shore” and “Teen Mom.”

When “Jersey Shore” launched, the show opened to mountains of criticism and so-so ratings. But DiSanto stood by the show, and it soon blossomed into a cultural phenomenon.

DiSanto first joined MTV in 1989 as an intern. He worked his way up through production, eventually co-creating “Total Request Live” with Bob Kusbit and overseeing production for MTV’s Times Square studio, music specials and series, special events and video programming. He later headed up MTV’s east coast development and programming for MTV2.

DiSanto was named president of programming in 2007, and given the challenge of reinventing the MTV brand.

As for Gateley, exec first joined MTV in 2003 as VP of production and development. She joined the cabler from Lifetime, where she was a development exec on shows such as “Strong Medicine” and “The Division.”

 

Fox has given a put pilot order to “Connected,” a single-camera family comedy from “American Dad” scribe Nahnatchka Khan and documentarian RJ Cutler.

Project, which landed at Fox after a bidding war with other nets (including ABC), centers on two families that find themselves linked by a romantic relationship between their teenage children.

20th Century Fox TV is behind the show. Khan is writing the project and exec producing, while Cutler will also EP. Ann Blanchard is an exec producer as well. Unusual partnership between Khan and Cutler came together after both sides met and found an opportunity to mesh their skill sets.

Khan was looking to get back into the live-action comedy biz, while Cutler continues to look to get into the scripted game, but will utilize his documentary background to add a real-life feel to the show.

It’s a reunion between Fox and Cutler, who created the critically acclaimed unscripted series “American High” for the network.

Cutler, who was behind the recent feature “The September Issue,” has had a busy TV producing career as of late on the unscripted side, producing shows such as “30 Days,” “Flip That House” and “American Candidate.”

Besides “American Dad,” Khan’s credits include “Unfabulous” and “Malcolm in the Middle.”

It's been a tough summer for Paris Hilton, but the celeb may now be turning things around, starting with a new docuseries for Oxygen.

Oxygen just picked up the show, which will center on Hilton as she "enters the next stage of her life." A. Smith and Co. is behind the show.

Here's the show description:

With Hollywood on one side and real life on the other, this series follows Paris and three important women in her life, through all of their ups and downs, loves gained and lost, marriages, kids, divorce and more, revealing this lively group of dynamic individuals.

Behind the glamour, red carpets, photo shoots, and fabulous parties stands a strong woman who’s determined to make a new life for herself. The New Untitled Paris Hilton Project offers an unprecedented voyeuristic glimpse into Paris’s real life. The always controversial model, actress, singer and entrepreneur runs a successful fashion and style empire, but she never forgets that the most important things in life are family and friends.

The untitled show will feature another tabloid fixture, Brooke Mueller -- Charlie Sheen’s wife -- as well as Playboy centerfold Jennifer Rovero. Other Friends of Paris appearing in the show include nightlife promoter Allison Melnick and Paris' mother, Kathy.

“Paris is magnetic in such a way that viewers are naturally curious about her and think they know her based on what they see in the media,” said Oxygen's Amy Introcaso-Davis. “We’re looking to truly bring an all-encompassing look at her life, friends, family, and relationships, all that’s not represented every day. It's going to be a fascinating journey.”

Hilton, of course, recently made headlines by admitting in court that she stashed cocaine in her purse and lied to police after being arrested for possession in Las Vegas. She pleaded guilty to drug drug possession and obstructing an officer.

Arthur Smith and Kent Weed will exec produce the show, as well as Paris Hilton, Rick Hilton and Jamie Freed.

Paris Hilton is no stranger to reality TV, of course, having starred in "Paris Hilton's My New BFF" and "The Simple Life."

Next time you're in the market for singing toilet paper, think of NBC.

Peacock's entry into the competitive novelty item biz is tied to its new Thursday night laffer "Outsourced."

The show, which centers on a novelty company that outsources its sales calls to India, has inspired a whole line of products to be developed and sold by NBC retail operations and the NBC Universal TV consumer products group.

NBC's online store has already started selling common novelty fare like hand buzzers, cheese-heads, rubber chickens, whoopee cushions and toilet bowl mugs -- all of which have been seen on the show.

But going forward, Peacock has bigger plans for "Outsourced" merchandise. The network is in talks with a real-life novelty company to start using the name Mid-America Novelties, as on the show.

Read the full story here.

Exclu: NBC is adapting a U.S. version of U.K. reality skein "The Boss Is Coming to Dinner."

"The Boss Is Coming to Dinner," which has been given a pilot order by the Peacock, comes from Zodiak USA (formerly RDF USA) -- repping the first project to come from the shingle after its official rebrand this week.

"The Boss Is Coming to Dinner" centers on a group of job applicants who must invite their prospective employer to their home and throw a dinner party. After the boss meets with the candidates, he or she makes a final hiring decision.

Read more about it here.

It's not quite day baseball in the Fall Classic, but it's progress.

Game 3 of the World Series, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 30, is set to have a 3:57 p.m. Pacific first pitch, the earliest start time for a World Series game since 1987's Game 6. (The game will be in an American League city, and no West Coast AL teams will be in the playoffs.)

Chevrolet is essentially underwriting the earlier start time through advertising support.

“We’ve said over the years that if advertisers were willing to support earlier starts at prime time levels, we’d be able to begin games earlier,” FOX Sports president Eric Shanks said.

The other World Series games are scheduled for 4:57 Pacific start times except for Game 4, which would come after Sunday NFL coverage at 5:20 p.m.

Jimmy Kimmel's "Jeff Zucker" recounts all of his biggest misses as head of NBC. Remember "The Baby Borrowers"?

The Masked Scheduler, whose secret identity many have gleaned, posted his take on what happened with Fox's "Lone Star." I have a lot of respect for Mr. Masked, but I feel like for all his behind-the-scenes expertise, he misfires in a few places.

1) For one thing, he says that he and his colleagues aren't "pointing fingers," right as he points several of them at the nation's TV critics. I don't know if Masked has an axe to grind, but something's up there.

2) I don't know a single critic whose review would be influenced by "when network executives use the word 'cable' to describe the series' sensibility." The critics who came to that conclusion came to it on their own.

3) Most critics merely review the quality of the show, rather than weighing in (in any significant way) about whether the show is going to be a hit or succeed. Now, it does happen that Brian Lowry of Variety is tasked with assessing a show's potential. In his review, he neared his conclusion with "the question of whether the program can capitalize on its 'House' lead-in in one of TV's most competitive timeslots, including NBC's most ambitious newcomer, 'The Event.' " So he hardly had blinders on.

One of the ongoing themes at the Television Critics Assn. press tour this summer was the risk of investing in serialized shows that can be pulled or burn out before they reach their conclusion. "Serial Skepticism" was the lead story of our fall TV preview section last month in Variety. I'll be the first to cop to thinking that "Lone Star" was going to make it, but the idea that some vast majority of critics were blindsided by its failure – that, as M.S. writes, "expectations started to far exceed the reality of the show's potential" – is, to me, entirely invented. People just liked it, is all.

4) The issue of the very timeslot that made the fate of "Lone Star" so precarious is dismissed rather quickly. Yeah, other shows in different timeslots struggled, but there is certainly an argument for giving your highest quality new drama a better chance. Maybe "Lone Star" on Fridays only earns the fate of "Dollhouse," but then again, maybe it earns the fate of "Dollhouse."

5) Early on, M.S. writes about being in Kansas, "It was refreshing to be in an environment where I did not see one billboard for a network show." Later, he writes, "I don't think that there was a marketing campaign that would have significantly pumped up the ratings."  The Irony Committee approves.

It seems pretty clear that Masked Scheduler would have been shocked for "Lone Star" to survive, and on that note, he is more savvy than I. On the other hand, throwing raspberries at critics who did nothing more than tout the show's quality and write obituaries upon its demise – putting in print some of the same thoughts that Fox people certainly must have speculated about at some point about behind closed doors – is rather ridiculous.

"Sorry critics, 'Lone Star was never going to be a 'hit.' "  Uh, who said it was?  The critics just said it was good, and believe me, critics are very familiar with a show they like not succeeding with the general public. It's not just silly, it's just plain wrong to argue that critics who are measuring a show's quality should suddenly say, "Hey maybe we just missed the mark on this one" after it was canceled. Cancelation didn't change the script, the acting, the direction, the production values or the donuts at the craft services table.

Thinking that "Lone Star" riding off into the sunset is a shame, thinking that this could lead to more carbon-copy TV, does not mean critics don't get what happened. It does not mean that critics think they have this transformative power over the American viewer. Believe me, they get it – in this day and age, more than ever.

As uploaded to Twitter yesterday by exec producer Nigel Lythgoe, here's a first look at Steven, J-Lo and Randy at the judges' table.

Jeff Zucker is headed for Universal City today to co-host with Ron Meyer NBC Universal's annual party honoring long-serving staffers.

It'll be held tonight on the U lot, and, of course, this marks Zucker's first West Coast appearance since announcing his pending resignation as NBC U boss last Friday. There'll probably be a level of unease in the air overall because there's such a cloud of uncertainty hanging over NBC U as it awaits the arrival of new owners and new CEO, Comcast's Steve Burke.

On Thursday night, there's also a send-off party for John Miller, the Peacock's long-serving marketing maven who is ankling as chief marketing officer at the end of the year but may transition to a new role within NBC U, possibly on the East Coast.

-- Cynthia Littleton

NBC and Jack Black are turning the bestseller "My Life As an Experiment" into a half-hour comedy.

Project, which got a put pilot order, is based on author A.J. Jacobs' book, which centered on his adventures as a guinea pig on various experiments -- and how it impacted his relationships.

"Til Death" creators Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith are adapting the project and will exec produce along with Black. Sony Pictures TV is producing with Reveille.

Primetime boasts more lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender characters than ever, according to a new report.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's 15th annual "Where We Are on TV" study found that the networks have showcased 23 LGBT primetime characters in the 2010-2011 season, making up 3.9% of all scripted series regulars.

That's up from 3% last year, as well as 1.1% in 2007. The study also found that cable had once again increased the number of LGBT regulars, to 35 this year (from 25 last year).

"The increase in lesbian, gay and bisexual characters on primetime television not only reflects the shift in American culture toward greater awareness and understanding of our community, but also a new industry standard that a growing number of creators and networks are adopting," said GLAAD president Jarrett Barrios.

Read the full story here.

U.K. TV personality Vernon Kay, last seen here hosting NBC's "Hit Me Baby One More Time," has been tapped to host ABC's upcoming "Million Dollar Mind Game."

Merv Griffin Entertainment shot six episodes of the gamer, originally titled "The Six," with host Kay this summer. Alphabet series is based on the long-running Russian franchise "What? Where? When?"

"Million Dollar Mind Game" centers on six players who must work together to answer unusual, logic-based questions in 60 seconds.

A phenomenon in Russia since 1975, "What? Where? When?" hasn't been adapted in other markets until now. But Merv Griffin, which is producing "Million Dollar Mind Game," was able to secure the rights to the Russian show through the skein's owner.

Besides hosting both the U.S. and U.K. versions of "Hit Me Baby One More Time," Kay is a well-known presenter in Britain, having hosted shows such as "The Whole 19 Yards," "Beat the Star" and "Family Fortunes."

There's likely some hair pulling on Spring Street today, as the Los Angeles Times' Wednesday issue hit driveways with what's likely its most questionable front-page advertisement yet.

As Variety first reported a few weeks ago, NBC and the L.A. Times were plotting a marketing push for "Law & Order: Los Angeles" that promised to be bigger (read: more controversial) than previous campaigns for "Southland" and Universal Studios -- both of which also included mock stories and newspaper pages that left many journos and newspaper purists with a bad taste in their mouth.

This is what we wrote on Sept. 11:

Los Angeles Times staffers might also want to brace for another NBC ad that blurs the line between editorial and advertising: The Peacock has partnered with the paper for a stunt surrounding "Law and Order: Los Angeles," in a similar vein to the past controversial NBC/"Southland" and Universal Studios/"King Kong" ads in the paper.

Those ads caused a stir at the paper, where staffers said such ads undermined their credibility. But given the noise they generated, NBC U deemed the buys a success.

"Where our 'Southland' and King Kong ads left off, 'LOLA' will pick up," Stotsky says, "and hopefully surpass both of these events."

Looking at this full-blown section, which looks more like actual editorial copy than the previous ads, I'd say they probably will get their wish: This is not going to go over well with many folks on the journalism side of things.

From an NBC promo angle, however, I'd say it's a win -- it definitely got my attention, and "LOLA" already has strong awareness, so this can only help.

These editorial-style ads are becoming common; the L.A. Times also caught heat for an ad promoting Disney's theatrical release "Alice in Wonderland"; the paper's website also recently featured a mock old L.A. Times front promoting "Boardwalk Empire."

One more thing: The first image readers see is a mock photo of NBC's old Burbank headquarters, with a busted logo and grafitti scrawled all over the place. Two thoughts:

(A) The Universal Studios ad also featured a shot of an NBC U property, in this case Universal Studios, in a state of destruction. What is it about NBC U spreading images of its headquarters in a state of disaster? They do realize the symbolism of that, yes?

And (B) Has anyone questioned Jeff Zucker? He'd be my chief suspect for all that Peacock vandalism.

Here are more pages from the section:

The "Lone Star" fallout continues: Fox has now moved "Human Target," originally scheduled for Fridays, to Wednesdays at 8 p.m. starting Nov. 17.

"Human Target" was originally set for Fridays -- but the Wednesday slot opened up after "Lie to Me," slated for Wednesdays, moved to the Monday 9 p.m. spot.

"Lie to Me," of course, was moved to fill the hole left by the cancellation of "Lone Star."

Move now sets the stage for a Fox Friday overhaul. Fox, which hasn't had luck on Fridays in years, continues to struggle on the night. "The Good Guys," which didn't even hit a 1 rating in the demo last week, wouldn't appear to be long for this world.

Looks like it didn't take long for someone to go in to the "Lie to Me" key art, highlight "WED 8PM" and type in "MON 9PM." And here it is... "Lie to Me" returns to the Fox schedule on Oct. 4.

Those grey beards watching "Blue Bloods" love their social media. The Twitter feed for CBS' "Blue Bloods" continues to dominate all newcomers, with nearly five times as many followers as any other show. (Like we mentioned before, credit goes to Donnie Wahlberg, who has turned his Twitter feed into a marketing bonanza for the show.)

NBC's "The Event," which promises to give secrets about the show on its Twitter account, is now second, while the Twitter feed based on the show based on the Twitter feed "Shit My Dad Says" is third.

As always, this ranker is pretty useless. But it's a fun tally of which shows have earned enough interest from fans that they've actually agreed to start following an official Twitter feed.

THE TV TWITTER TRACKER

"Blue Bloods" (CBS) @BlueBloods_CBS (9,033 FOLLOWERS)

"The Event" (NBC) @NBCTheEvent (2,658)

"$#*! My Dad Says" (CBS) @MyDadSays_CBS (2,331)

"Hellcats" (The CW) @HellcatsTV (2,156)

"Hawaii Five-0" (CBS) @HawaiiFive0CBS (1,657)

"No Ordinary Family" (ABC) @NOFonABC (1,129)

"Law & Order: Los Angeles" (NBC) @NBCLOLA (910)

"The Good Guys" (Fox) @GoodGuysonFOX (786)

"Undercovers" (NBC) @NBC_Undercovers (753)

"Running Wilde" (Fox) @RunningWildeFOX (604)

"Nikita" (The CW) @NikitaTV (569)

"Outsourced" (NBC) @OutsourcedNBC (566)

"Chase" (NBC) @NBCChase (556)

"Lone Star" (Fox) @LoneStaronFOX (552)

"My Generation" (ABC) @MyGenerationABC (552)

"Detroit 1-8-7" (ABC) @Detroit187ABC (511)

"School Pride" (NBC) @NBCSchoolPride (437)

"Mike and Molly" (CBS) @MikeMolly_CBS (279)

"Outlaw" (NBC) @NBCOutlaw (241)

"Raising Hope" (Fox) @RaisingHopeFOX (225)

"The Defenders" (CBS)@TheDefendersCBS (173)

"Body of Proof" (ABC) @BodyofProofABC (164)

"The Whole Truth" (ABC) @WholeTruthABC (147)

"Better With You" (ABC) @BetterWithUABC (32)

Fox just adminstered some cruel Texas justice on “Lone Star.”

The critically acclaimed drama received this fall’s first bullet, succumbing to ratings so low that even Fox’s spinmeisters couldn’t find the silver lining.

“The viewers have spoken,” said one network insider.

Fox will now air  “Lie to Me” in the Monday 9 p.m. slot starting Oct. 4. “Lie to Me” wasn’t originally scheduled to return to the air until November, when it was set for Wednesday at 8 p.m.

Few expected Fox to hold on to “Lone Star” beyond this week. Fox execs were worried that they might be faced with a dilemma, had “Lone Star” shown a slight uptick over its dismal 1.3 rating among adults 18-49 last week.

Turns out there was no need to worry -- according to final national ratings, “Lone Star” averaged just a 1.0 rating and 3 share on Monday night, down 23% from week one.

“Lone Star” also appeared to be dragging its lead-in, “House” (3.8/10) down. And even as “House” declines, “Lone Star” still just held a stunningly low 25% of the “House” lead-in audience.

In its second half hour Monday night, “Lone Star” posted just a 0.9 rating with adults 18-49 -- below the CW’s “Gossip Girl.”

That was the final straw for Fox execs, who had seen enough.

From 20th Century Fox TV, “Lone Star” comes from exec producers Killen. Chris Keyser, Amy Lippman, Kerry Kohansky, Paul Weitz and Peter Horton. Marc Webb directed the pilot.

Syfy's Roger Corman telepic "Sharktopus" snatched a healthy bite of viewers on Saturday night, averaging 2.5 million viewers (and 882,000 adults 18-49). Movie was the top-rated cable entertainment program on Saturday night with adults 25-54 (1.06 million).

"Sharktopus" repped the most-watched September original movie for Syfy, and improved on Syfy's Saturday original movies average by 38% in viewers.

"Sharktopus," which starred Eric Roberts as a research scientist, came from producers Roger Corman and Julie Corman and director Declan O’Brien.

Live TV doesn't get more wrong than this: "Australia's Next Top Model" host Sarah Murdoch -- the wife of Rupert Murdoch son Lachlan -- botches the show's winner. Big time. My favorite moment: When actual winner Amanda Ware is told that she actually won -- seconds after she was told that she lost: "Whoo. Hoo."

While the much-ballyhooed Ken Burns' "Baseball" sequel, "The Tenth Inning," hits the PBS airwaves tonight, ESPN will be offering the latest in its "30 for 30" series — and certainly, the first to be directed by an active NBA player.

Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash has co-directed "Into the Wind," examining the life of Canadian mega-marathoner and amputee Terry Fox,

"I just feel fortunate that I was able to do this while I was still playing," Nash told Jim Wilkie of ESPN.com, "and to get started on this stage of my life or career and have them overlap is exciting for me."

If you're on the East Coast, "Tenth Inning" and "Into the Wind" will compete directly with each other at 8 p.m.

DirecTV's eclectically interesting 101 Network will begin airing three comedies from distributor BBC Worldwide in November, all of them past nominees in British Comedy Award categories.

"Mutual Friends" (pictured), premiering at 10 p.m. Nov. 3., is a six-episode series about relationships, family and responsibility (or the lack thereof). Though BBC did not renew the series after its first season, it was subsequently nominated alongside "Skins" for best comedy drama category. (Yes, they have a dramedy category over there.)

On Nov. 4, "No Heroics" (which airs across the pond on ITV) and "How Not to Live Your Life" will bow at 9 and 9:30 p.m. "No Heroics" is about four struggling superheroes, while "How" centers around a struggling regular guy played by series creator Dan Clark.

In 2009, ABC greenlit a pilot adaptation of "No Heroics" but did not order it to series.

The deal is the first between BBC Worldwide and DirecTV.

New ABC Family prexy Michael Riley has made his first pilot orders, giving a greenlight to the one-hour scripted dramas "Nine Lives," "Switched at Birth" and "Strut." A fourth project, "The Lying Game," is about to be picked up as well.

Pilots go into production this fall. Orders come off a strong summer for ABC Family, which launched the new series "Pretty Little Liars" and "Melissa and Joey, and also brought back network staples “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” and “Make It or Break It.”

“Adding depth to the network’s original programming slate is one of our biggest priorities going into next year," Riley said. "The network’s programming team, led by Kate Juergens, has done a brilliant job developing shows that have come to define ABC Family as a destination for quality original series.”

For her part, Juergens said the new projects "offer a great mix of heartfelt and compelling storytelling that our audience has come to expect from us.”

“Nine Lives,” based on the book "The Nine Lives of Chloe King" (by author Celia Thomson), centers on a 16-year-old who starts developing heightened abilities and discovers she’s being pursued by a mysterious figure. Turns out she's part of an ancient race being hunted by human assassins. Dan Berendsen is exec producer; project comes from "Pretty Little Liars" producer Alloy Entertainment, with Leslie Morgenstein and Gina Girolamo as executive producers.

“Switched at Birth” follows two teen girls who discover that they were, as the title says, accidentally switched at birth. Both grow up in very different homes; but when they meet, their families decide to move in together. Lizzy Weiss is exec producer.

Then there's "Strut," which received a cast-contingent order. Project centers on a showgirl who moves to a small Texas town and takes over the high school’s struggling drill team. Lamar Damon is writer; Karey Burke, Charlie Stratton, Anna Mastro and Norman Buckley are EPs.

"The Lying Game," from scribe Sara Shepard, also comes from Alloy Entertainment -- and centers on identical twins separated at birth. A pickup is expected shortly on that project.

Betty...Yes? ... Thank you.

I can't decide what was more heartbreaking in this brutal episode: The sight of Lane Pryce getting beaten down by his own father or the cruel twist of biological fate that befell Joan.

Those were hard to take. In the moments after Joan told the woman in the abortionist's office that her daughter was "15," I lost it. I felt like I'd swallowed a billiard ball for a few minutes. The whole scene with Joan talking to the mother in the waiting room was so beautifully shot, too, by first time "Mad Men" helmer Lynn Shelton. Good for her, and good for Jonathan Abrahams and Matthew Weiner for penning "Hands and Knees."

This episode also had one of the most uplifting moments of the season to date when a distraught Don reveals all to Faye in about 20 seconds and two sentences. He's not making the same mistake he made with Betty by allowing the lie to get bigger every day. His Dick Whitman-Don Draper back story isn't so morally horrendous in the context of war and a soldier already wounded. The thought of time in the Big House for desertion naturally scares Don, especially because of what it would do to his kids, who have already been through the mill. But I took his confession, and the relative ease with which it was delivered, to Faye as signs that he is more comfortable in his own skin (which has been a theme of the whole season) and an indication of his respect and affection for her.

David Simon can throw the biggest crawfish fry of the year in New Orleans now that he's been unexpectedly gifted with a $500,000 grant from the MacArthur Foundation. The foundation calls him one of their 2010 fellows, but we know this award as the "Genius Grant." It's $500K, no strings attached, paid out over five years. (Yes, every year I secretly hope the phone will ring for me...)

After thrilling, jiving, crying and rejoicing over Simon's Crescent City saga "Treme" earlier this year, I can't think of anyone in television who deserves it more. Good for Simon (my guess is he uses at least some of the coin for a philanthropic purpose).

Other showbiz-related grantees include legit helmer David Cromer and jazz composer Jason Moran.

-- Cynthia Littleton

No surprise here: USA Network is bringing back summer stalwarts "Royal Pains" and "White Collar," both of which will enter their third season, as well as "Psych," which is on tap for a sixth season.

USA ordered 18 segs of "Royal Pains" and 16 segs of both "Psych" and "White Collar." Pickups join previously renewed "Burn Notice," "In Plain Sight," "Covert Affairs" and "Law and Order: Criminal Intent."

"It's a great validation that the shows are working," said USA's Jeff Wachtel.

"Dexter" is on a premiere spree.

The fifth season premiere of Showtime's "Dexter" averaged 1.8 million viewers on Sunday in its 9 p.m. time slot, up 16% from last year's premiere (1.5 million).

For Showtime, that reps both "Dexter's" best premiere ever, as well as the biggest season premiere for a Showtime series in 15 years. (Strangely, that was the March 1995 preem of "Outer Limits" -- go figure!)

A second showing of "Dexter" at 11 p.m. averaged 575,000 viewers. Assuming there's not much duplication, that comes out to around 2.3 million viewers for the evening (up 22% from last year's 1.9 million premiere night audience).

Here's a ratings track of "Dexter's" five season premieres:

When Conan O'Brien returns to late night in November, it won't be with longtime bandleader Max Weinberg.

O'Brien announced Monday that he and Weinberg had parted ways after 17 years.

Jimmy Vivino, who had frequently filled in for Weinberg on "Late Night" and "Tonight," has been tapped to replace Weinberg as the new band director on the upcoming TBS yakker "Conan."

Vivino has often subbed for Weinberg as band leader, as Weinberg -- a member of the E Street Band -- occasionally took leaves of absence to tour with Bruce Springsteen.

"Conan" has not yet announced the new name of O'Brien's house band -- previously known as "The Tonight Show Band" during O'Brien's stint on that show, and before that as the "Max Weinberg 7."

News was not a surprise -- Weinberg continues to tour the country with his new big band, and had already announced tour dates that would have conflicted with the "Conan" launch.

Read the full story here.

One thing about covering this beat for so long: You get to ride the entire tenure of some Hollywood execs. Jeff Zucker blew into town in 2000 as the young wunderkind who turned NBC's "Today" into a powerhouse... but he ends his tenure as head of NBC Universal in 2010 with a much less glowing reputation among Hollywood execs and creatives.

Here's a round up of just a handful of Variety stories chronicling key Zucker moments through the years, since the exec got into the entertainment side of things in 2000:

Peacock Zucker-punched: Ancier out, 'Today' exec in at NBC Ent. (12/13/00)

NBC mantra: Don't muck with Zuck (3/13/01)

Review for "Good Morning Miami" (inspired by Zucker) (9/24/02)

NBC still 'Friends' for $10 mil per seg (12/21/02)

Zucker not lacking: NBC exec's future brighter as prexy Andy Lack exits (1/12/03)

Zucker punch for NBC: Wright gives prexy the news plus oversight of b'cst and cable (12/15/03)

Zucker's brave news world (12/21/03)

Jay giving way to Conan: O'Brien gets 'Tonight Show' throne in '09 (9/27/04)

Peacock loses its wings: NBC clips pricey projects in wake of advertising shortfall (7/31/05)

Zucker flies high in Peacock shift: Named CEO of TV group (12/15/05)

Zucker punch: Last-place NBC fights back with exec shifts, new lineup (1/16/06)

Peacock aftershock: Deep staffing cuts to affect all departments (10/19/06)

Zucker takes NBC Universal reins (2/6/07)

Reilly out at NBC: Silverman is Zucker's new golden boy (5/28/07)

Zucker offers insight to NBC's future (2/27/08)

NBC moving Leno to 10 p.m. slot (12/8/08)

Zucker: NBC is open to options (12/8/08)

Comcast, GE unveil NBC U deal (12/3/09)

NBC's late night labyrinth (1/7/10)

Tom Selleck starrer "Blue Bloods" debuted in solid fashion for CBS on Friday, propelling the Eye to a primetime victory among adults 18-49 and in total viewers for the third consecutive night.

According to preliminary nationals from Nielsen, "Blue Bloods" (2.2 rating/7 share in 18-49, 12.8 million viewers overall) easily topped the year-ago season-premiere numbers in the 10 p.m. Friday slot of CBS' "Numbers" (1.8/6, 8.1 million). "Blue" was the night's most-watched primetime program.

In its second original episode, NBC's "Outlaw" (1.1/4, 5.0 million) found itself on the run after losing more than half its audience from its season premiere Sept. 15. By comparison, "The Jay Leno Show" had a 1.6/5, 5.8 million in its first Friday airing of 2009.

"Blue" also damaged the season premiere of ABC's "20/20" (1.5/5, 5.4 million), which was down more than a third in 18-49 from the first Friday of 2009 (2.3/8, 7.3 million).

CBS won at 9 p.m. with the season premiere of "CSI: NY" (2.0/7, 10.3 million) edging the second hour of "Dateline: NBC" (1.8/6, 7.9 million). The CW's "Supernatural" season premiere (1.2/4, 2.8 million) grabbed the hour's bronze medal in 18-49 ahead of Fox's "The Good Guys" (0.9/3, 2.9 million) and ABC's re-airing of the premiere of "The Whole Truth" (0.7/2, 2.9 million). Fox performed better a year ago with since-canceled "Dollhouse."

At 8 p.m., "Dateline" (1.4/5, 6.5 million) had a hair's edge in a too-close-to-call race with CBS' season premiere of "Medium" (1.4/5, 6.1 million), the latter down considerably from its 9 p.m. season premiere last year. The CW was again third in the demo with the season premiere of "Smallville" (1.3/5, 2.9 million – up from last year), ahead of reruns of ABC's "Modern Family" (1.2/5, 4.2 million) and "Better With You" (0.9/3, 3.1 million) and Fox's "Human Target" (0.6/2, 3.1 million).

Jeff Zucker is on message.

The departing NBC Universal CEO made the media rounds on Friday, not long after announcing his exit from the company. It's no surprise that Zucker is out; his departure in advance of NBC U's merger with Comcast was widely assumed.

But Zucker, who said he plans to stick around until NBC U's merger with Comcast is finalized, managed to get out in front of the news, announcing his exit just a day after he finalized his exit package with current NBC U owner General Electric.

Zucker remains a polarizing figure in Hollywood, yet doesn't cop to why he rubbed so many in the industry the wrong way. Variety briefly spoke to him this afternoon; here's an edited transcript of that chat.

VARIETY: Talk us through the events that led to your announcement this morning.

ZUCKER: I knew from the day (the NBC/Comcast deal) was announced that this would be a possibility. 99 times out of 100 when a company spends millions and millions of dollars on another company this is what happens. It would have actually been unique in business for this not to happen. I always knew that. And it became increasingly clear to me in the past few months that this was the direction that Comcast wanted to go in, and I completely understood that.

So when I sat down with Steve Burke two weeks ago today and he told me that they wanted to move on with me at close, that was not a surprise to me. And I was very much there in my mind too. I knew this was going to be a different company from the one which I’ve had the fortune to lead and work for over the last 25 years, and that’s just a fact.

I didn’t want to be a guest in my own house. When we had that conversation it was an easy and cordial conversation. That was two weeks ago today, so at the beginning of last week I started to talk with GE about my departure and the terms of my departure. We talked about that for a little over a week and finalized it yesterday. As you both know, once you have a deal like that there are no secrets in this world, so let’s just be honest here. I owe it to my leadership team, I owe it to the 15,000 employees who work here. There’s nothing to be ashamed about here.

VARIETY: Was the goal to get in front of this, as opposed to let Comcast announce it or let it leak out?

ZUCKER: Once I had my deal done yesterday, in a Twitter/blogosphere world, once a deal like that is done, there’s no secrets. You can’t pretend. As soon as I knew, I wanted to be upfront with everyone over what was going on. There was no reason to delay.

I’m going to be here for at least another three months, if not four or five. There’s still a long time to go here, but I’d rather be upfront about it. I looked at wat happened at Newsweek recently, where the editor announced prior to the sale going through to Harman that he would step down when the sale went through, and I thought, being above board about it, being upfront, I admired what he did. I thought a lot about it.

VARIETY: A few months ago you were still pretty adamant that you were sticking around. In hindsight, was that simply something you had to say at the time?

ZUCKER: I’m an employee, I’m under contract, I was following Comcast’s lead as well. They were saying the same thing.

I do think this was an incredibly important year for the company, not just as we continue to navigate the transition to Comcast, but if you think about everything that was on our plate, from the Olympics to the launch of Harry Potter (the ride) to the launch of “Despicable Me” to trying to get NBC Entertainment going again… I wanted to be strong for the company, and it turned out to be a very good year.

As I look back, one of the things I’m going to be proudest of is how terrific a shape this company is in. I feel really good about the company I’m going to hand off.

VARIETY: This company that you’re leaving has changed dramatically over the last ten years. Talk about what led to the NBC that exists today.

ZUCKER: I actually feel a little bit better about the broadcast business today as opposed to two years ago in large part because of the fact there’s now retransmission fees. The economic situation still isn’t perfect, there are still some issues, but it is better.

Even in just the last five six years have really transformed this company. What I’m incredibly proud of is over those last five years we’ve taken the assets that Bob Wright really put together, and turned them into an incredible suite of assets.

At its heart now is a cable network company that almost is without peer in media, and I’m incredibly proud of that. We transformed the company into a real cable powerhouse, we moved internationally, we’ve moved heavy into digital, and so I look at those things and think those are among the things you think about when you talk about the evolution of this company.

VARIETY: Your legacy, however, will be judged by the NBC Entertainment piece. Jeff Gaspin has said in recent months that you pulled back too much on the investment there. What are your regrets?

ZUCKER: I look back at 24 years here, and I made thousands and thousands of decisions and I got most of them right. Obviously not all of them, and I don’t think anybody could. I feel great about what we did to supercharge our cable networks and on the NBC Entertainment side I regret we weren’t able to make more progress in the last few years.

I don’t think I got the leadership right there until recently, I don’t think I allocated the proper amount of resources there until recently. Obviously I wish we could go back and do somethings differently there. But if you look at it from a strictly bottom line standpoint, I feel good about our position.

VARIETY: Elaborate on what you would have done differently.

ZUCKER: I feel really good about most of the decisions we’ve made in the company, we got most of it right. The biggest regret I had was that we didn’t move faster to fix the issues at NBC Entertainment, both from a personnel and resource standpoint. But we clearly have done that. I think some of the seeds of a turnaround have been planted. We have miles and miles to go before we sleep at NBC Entertainment, but there’s evidence that we’re having a pretty good week, and the feeling coming out of NBC Los Angeles is much better than it had been.

VARIETY: It’s no secret that you’re a punching bag for Hollywood. In hindsight can you pinpoint some of the things you did that rubbed Hollywood the wrong way?

ZUCKER: I don’t take anything personally. The fact is I’ve been incredibly fortunate, I’ve had a great run. There’s always going to be critics, but I think when you take a step back and you look at this in the aggregate, I feel very comfortable about where I am. I understand the world we live in and I’m not bothered by it.

VARIETY: What’s next for you?

ZUCKER: I’ll still be here for the next three to four months. I haven’t thought about that. I’ve been here for 25 years in an incredible time. I’ve never given a thought to anything other than NBC or NBC Universal. I’ll clearly take a little time, although I’m sure after a few weeks my family will want to throw me out of the house. I have a tremendous number of varied interests, you know I’m interested in sports, I’m interested in production and perhaps getting back into production, I’m interested in politics, I’m interested in business. I have a lot of interests and I’ll figure it out over time.

VARIETY: We’re already hearing of a possibility of an entrepreneurial play, perhaps in the news business.

ZUCKER: Anything you’re hearing is not coming from here. I think we’d chalk that up to 100% speculation. I have given it no thought.

VARIETY: And what will the Comcast acquisition mean to NBC?

ZUCKER: I think Comcast will be a great steward to the company. They’ll bring great focus to the company, they’ll bring additional resources to the company and they’ll bring great passion to the company. At the same time they’re inheriting a company that’s in great shape. Great resources, great focus, great love and I think NBC U is really well positioned for the next few years.

Heather Locklear is back at Lifetime, signing on to star in the telepic “He Loves Me.”

Locklear will play a Seattle real estate agent who becomes paranoid, delusional and violent as her marriage collapses and secrets about her past start to emerge.

Joyce Heft Brotman wrote the screenplay, while Jeff Renfroe is directing and Anne Carlucci (“You Belong to Me”) is exec producer.

Locklear is a regular on Lifetime, having starred in the cabler’s made-for-TV movie “Flirting with 40,” as well as “Angels Fall.” Both were ratings winners for the channel.

Locklear’s other TV credits include “Melrose Place,” “Spin City” and “Dynasty,” while she also appeared in the features “The Perfect Man” and “Uptown Girls.”

“He Loves Me” will shoot next month in Vancouver.

The rampant speculation has come true. Here's Jeff Zucker's memo to NBC U staffers, announcing his departure --

Well, the time has come. This time, to tell you a little news about me.

When Comcast assumes control of NBC Universal, I will leave the company.

It has not been an easy or simple decision. I have spent my entire adult life here, more than 24 years. This is the only place I have ever worked. The only professional thing I have ever known. I met my wife here, enjoyed the birth of our four children in that time, worked in almost every division of the company. And forged relationships, both professional and personal, that will last a lifetime.

I remember, vividly, the first day I came to work here in August, 1986. I walked to work at 30 Rockefeller Plaza that day; it was humid and my shirt was soaking by the time I got there. In the years since, I have enjoyed nothing but sheer pleasure in having the names NBC and Universal on my business cards. Sure, there have been ups and downs in the last quarter century. But when I step back, and think about what we've been through, I feel nothing but pride and joy. It has been a great run and I've been incredibly fortunate.

Now, it is clear to me that this is the right decision for me and for the company. Comcast will be a great new steward, just as GE has been, and they deserve the chance to implement their own vision.

I am proud that they will inherit a company in very good shape, with almost every one of our divisions enjoying their best year ever. The current strength of the company is a tribute to every one of you and the terrific leadership team that is in place.

We'll talk more about the shape of the company in the months ahead. For now, I just wanted you to know my plans. I won't be going anywhere until the day the deal closes, and that day is still months away. There is plenty left to do, and we have an obligation to each other to maintain what we have already built. I will continue to approach everything we do with the long-term interest of the company in mind, just as I always have; I know no other way.

I don't yet know what my future will bring. I've spent the last 24 years thinking only about NBC Universal, and never contemplated anything else. I haven't even begun to think about the next chapter. But I wanted to be honest with you about this news as soon as I could.

I love NBC Universal. And always will. And I am grateful to each of you.

My most heartfelt thanks.

As anticipated, Stephen Colbert testified in Congress this morning, in his "Colbert Report" persona, about the issues of immigration reform in general and migrant farm workers in particular. Though there was some humor and some substance (check in at the 4:00 mark for the latter), it just felt largely uncomfortable to me.

At Wilshire & Washington: Why He's Testifying.

CNN U.S. topper Jon Klein is out after six years at the troubled cable news network.

CNN Worldwide prexy Jim Walton announced Klein's exit and a new cabler structure in a memo to staffers on Friday morning.

Under the new settup, HLN's Ken Jautz will now run CNN U.S. as exec VP. Jautz's HLN has repped one of CNN's few success stories as of late, and even beats its bigger sister in some time periods.

"The reinvention of HLN is the latest in a string of successes he has led at CNN," Walton said.

Replacing Jautz at HLN will be Scot Safon, who will now serve as exec VP and run HLN.

"He is an innovator; HLN is an ideal news and information laboratory," Walton said.

Jautz was previously chief marketing officer of CNN Worldwide.

Walton said the company would also name an exec VP and managing editor of CNN Worldwide at a later date.

As for Klein, "Jon has made important contributions to the CNN story and he leaves with our respect and friendship, and with my sincere thanks."

Klein leaves on the eve of a CNN primetime launch that he helped construct, including the upcoming launch of "Parker Spitzer" and the January debut of Piers Morgan in Larry King's time slot.

Cheers to Vulture, which has teamed with "Parks and Recreation" exec producer Mike Schur and his writers to give fans of the show -- currently not on the schedule -- their Thursday night fix.

Vulture promises a weekly photo essay from the "Parks and Rec" cast and crew -- and if the first installment is any indication, it's a keeper.

Click here to see the steps "Parks and Rec's" producers must take in order to transform thesp Nick Offerman ("who likes to live off the grid," above) into "Parks and Rec" character Ron Swanson.

If Fox Networks Group entertainment topper Peter Rice could illustrate his week, it would look a lot like this:

"It's like the famous drawing of two actors -- one crying and one smiling," Rice said of Fox's returns.

He's referring, of course, to the horrific Monday night performance of "Lone Star," followed by the fantastic Tuesday night return of "Glee."

Like most involved with the critically acclaimed but little-seen "Lone Star," Rice said his reaction to the show's debut ratings was "disappointment." But he wasn't willing to throw the towel in yet, having opted to give the show at least one more try next Monday.

"We really like the shows, and the people involved are fantastically talented," he said. 

Rice also declined to play the blame game, arguing that the show was simply hit hard by "an incredibly crowded night of television."

"Frankly, that's the business we've all chosen to be in," he said. "You never know how you're going to do. I couldn't be sadder."

Rice was more upbeat over the opening night number for "Raising Hope," which has also garnered much support from crix.

"That's going to be a hit show," he said.

"Lone Star" creator Kyle Killen took to his blog on Thursday in a last-ditch effort to stir up some support for his troubled show.

Despite critical raves, "Lone Star" was a ratings dud, scoring the lowest numbers of any Big Four premiere so far this week. Killen admits his chances are slim, but he's hoping for an upset of epic propotions on Monday:

You may have heard about last Monday night when several heavily sequined, dancing celebrity, conspiracy laden, bowling shirted nuclear bombs landed directly on our heads. When everyone who watched your show is a paid critic or someone you went to high school with, that's less of a premiere than a slideshow.

But! BUT!

But here we are. Still alive. A little groundhog peeking out of a bomb crater to see if there's six more weeks of nuclear winter or if, perhaps, something can grow in this hole. And that's where you come in.

For us to survive we're going to have to pull off a minor miracle. Statistically, new shows tend to lose viewers in their second week. We're aiming to gain them. In fact, screw it, let's just double our audience. The good news is, our audience was so small that if my Mom AND my Dad watch it we'll pretty much be there.

The CW has ordered six additional scripts of both newbie "Hellcats" and vet "One Tree Hill" (which had been given just a 13-episode renewal).

It's not quite a back nine, but the CW is giving some hope to fans of both shows that full season orders are on the way.

In ordering those scripts the See-Dub notes that "Hellcats" managed to hold up well on Wednesday night against tough competish, remaining flat week-to-week in the netlet's target women 18-34 demo. "Hellcats" is also retaining a solid 86% of "America's Next Top Model."

And "One Tree Hill" also remains a decent player for the CW in season eight, the network said.

Not exactly a surprise, but Lifetime is giving series renewals to its two major scripted series, "Army Wives" and "Drop Dead Diva." 

That keeps "Army Wives" on the air for a fifth season, while "Diva" will be back for its third.

Both shows will be back some time in 2011.

"'Army Wives' and 'Drop Dead Diva' have led Lifetime's charge in scripted programming and are key components to our success," said Nancy Dubuc, the president and GM of Lifetime Networks and History.

"Army Wives" continues even as plans to launch a spinoff series were scrapped. The show, which Lifetime touts as the most successful in its 26-year history, averaged 3.2 million viewers for season four, which ended on Aug. 22.

ABC Studios is behind "Army Wives," which comes from exec producers Mark Gordon, Deb Spera, Jeff Melvoin, Marshal Persinger and Harry Bring. Kim Delaney and Sally Pressman are among the stars.

As for "Diva," show, from Sony Pictures TV, comes from exec producers Josh Berman, Craig Zadan, Neil Meron and Alex Taub. Brooke Elliott stars.

Maybe I should be flogged for thinking Katy Perry's cleavage wouldn't be a big deal for young schoolkids, especially after another summer at the pools and beaches (where hints that women have breasts underneath their clothing are commonplace). But certainly, enough people complained about Perry's appearance that Sesame Workshop was convinced to remove this segment from the 41st season of "Sesame Street."

I showed the video to my 8-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son earlier this week, before the uproar, because I knew they've heard and liked the Perry song, "Hot N Cold." I did not see any mind-warping occur before my eyes. They laughed. I wouldn't hesitate to show this to my 2-year-old son either, but anyway ...

“Sesame Street has a long history of working with celebrities across all genres, including athletes, actors, musicians and artists. Sesame Street has always been written on two levels, for the child and adult. We use parodies and celebrity segments to interest adults in the show because we know that a child learns best when co-viewing with a parent or care-giver. We also value our viewer’s opinions and particularly those of parents. In light of the feedback we’ve received on the Katy Perry music video which was released on You Tube only, we have decided we will not air the segment on the television broadcast of Sesame Street, which is aimed at preschoolers. Katy Perry fans will still be able to view the video on You Tube and on katyperry.com.”

It's not just that the kids will see and hear worse elsewhere, whether we like it or not. I didn't even see this as a violation of the safe-haven concept implicit to PBS. The focus of the video for kids, it seems to me, is much more on its fun and kookiness.

In any case, the video can be still found online, so I guess no harm done. Just not sure this needed to become such a big deal. You'd think the people at Sesame Workshop would have earned some faith that they know what they're doing by now.

Twentieth Television has sold hourlong series “Pt. Dume” to Tribune stations around the country.

Set to premiere weekly in fall 2011, action-adventure skein is from Gregory Bonann, creator and exec producer of syndie champ “Baywatch.” Show will focus on troubled high school kids who must work with a lifeguard, firefighter and Coast Guard pilot as a form of detention.

Show has cleared 30% of the country, including WPIX in New York, KTLA in Los Angeles and WGN in Chicago.

Long past since “Baywatch” ruled the day, original offnet hourlies are rare these days. Most recently, Disney offered “Legend of the Seeker,” which ran for two seasons across a handful of stations and ended in March.

Said Sean Compton, president of programming for Tribune Broadcasting: “Now that our CW stations are five nights of original programming, we are looking to add a sixth night and ‘Pt. Dume’ is the perfect complement to our existing prime lineup.”

Engine Entertainment will handle international distribution.

On another busy day for TV development, “Lost” co-stars Michael Emerson and Terry O’Quinn scored a pilot order at NBC.

Emerson and O'Quinn have been telling the press for months that they were interested in teaming up on a new project -- but as Vulture reported on Monday, that germ of an idea had only recently turned into a full-blown, actual idea.

Given their lengthy tenure on ABC as "Lost's" two fan favorites, Alphabet might have been seen as a shoo-in for the new show. But NBC swooped in and gave a pilot order to the untitled drama, which comes from J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot shingle and scribes Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec.

Emerson and O’Quinn, better known as “Lost’s” Ben Linus and John Locke, are believed to be playing special ops on the project, but details remain sketchy.

Appelbaum and Nemec (“Life on Mars”) will exec produce, while Abrams and Bryan Burk are EPs as well.

It’s been a good year for Abrams’ Warner Bros. TV-based Bad Robot shingle, which also just landed a pilot order from Fox for “Alcatraz” and a project at CBS as well.

Bravo’s “The Rachel Zoe Project” finished season three Tuesday night with 1.1 million viewers, up 29% from the season two send-off episode.

For the entire season, the fashion series dedicated to the highly eccentric and frighteningly thin Zoe did 31% better from season two in total viewers and was 20% improved in the 18-49 demo.

As for the good news, Rachel would clearly say, “Bananas!” Or “Can’t breathe!” Or “I’m dying!” Or maybe she should celebrate by just eating a hamburger.

Way to up the drama!

HGTV has greenlit “Secrets From a Stylist,” featuring “Design Star” winner Emily Henderson.

Cabler aired a backdoor pilot in August in which Henderson offered a “style diagnostic” for each client, and was necessary to advise them on a proper room design. Skein, to be shot in Los Angeles and produced by Tricon Films of Toronto, will premiere in 2011.

“While Emily started the HGTV ‘Design Star’ competition as an underdog, our viewers loved her earnest approach and cheered for her as she became a more confident competitor,” said Freddy James, senior VP of program development and production at HGTV.  “In the end, her strength as a designer propeled her to win the competition and we anticipate that her new show will be well received.”

As we wrote today, "Lone Star" is pretty much Texas toast.

But Fox isn't giving up on the critically acclaimed new drama just yet. The network will keep the show on at least one more Monday, in the hopes that it shows some sort of life.

Net execs aren't kidding themselves -- it would take a lot to get "Lone Star" up to an acceptable number. But with loads of lookie-loos in week one for ABC's outrageously cast "Dancing with the Stars" and NBC's thriller "The Event," there may be a few viewers up for grabs at 9 p.m. this Monday. And perhaps some of them have heard about the good buzz behind "Lone Star."

But beyond that, nothing's certain. Production continues through Thursday on episode five of "Lone Star." All bets are off after that.

Showtime will kick off the new year with the premiere of new William H. Macy drama "Shameless" and Matt LeBlanc laffer "Episodes."

Both shows will bow on Sunday, Jan. 9, along with the fourth season premiere of David Duchovny's "Californication."

"Shameless" will air at 10 p.m., while "Californication" kicks off the evening at 9 p.m. and "Episodes" follows at 9:30.

For the premiere night, LeBlanc and "Episodes" co-stars Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig will host the evening.

Showtime will look to promote the night via the cable premiere of "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" on Saturday, Jan. 8, and a replay on Jan. 9 leading into "Californication."

John Wells and Paul Abbott are behind "Shameless," which stars Macy as the father of an unusual Chicago family. Emmy Rossum is his oldest daughter. John Wells Productions and Warner Bros. Television produce; Wells and Abbott are executive producers.

"Episodes," created and exec produced by David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik, centers on a British couple whose UK series is turned into a U.S. sitcom starring LeBlanc. Jimmy Mulville also executive produces; Hat Trick is the production company.

You know that thing about Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler being the new "American Idol" judges? That thing you'd been hearing about for months?

It's true, so you can stop bugging folks now. And by "you," I mean us, the TV press. And by "folks," I mean Fox, 19 and FremantleMedia, who just couldn't bring themselves to confirm the news.

But now, it's on. The diva, the rocker... and the dawg.

Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson stepped on stage at the Forum on Wednesday and confirmed what everybody already knew: They are your new "Idol" judges, America.

Unless you've been living without electricity -- or perhaps just living your life -- over the past three months, this did not come as a surprise.

But Fox stepped up the pomp and circumstance by finally trotting out Lopez and Tyler at a heavily orchestrated event tied to Wednesday's Los Angeles-set "Idol" auditions.

Tyler told Seacrest that he wanted to "be a part of something much bigger than yourself."

"I want to bring some rock to this roller coaster," Tyler said.

Lopez told the crowd at the Forum that she was excited to watch them "grow and watch the journey we're about to take together."

Lopez's judging gig is also tied a larger deal the star has signed with 20th Century Fox Films and Fox Broadcasting. Deal gives her Nuyorican Prods, a first-look arangement with the studio for film and TV projects. That pact was announced by Fox Filmed Ent. Chairmen/CEOs Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman, as well as Fox Networks Group entertainment chairman Peter Rice.

Lopez and Tyler joined the last remaining original "Idol" judge, Randy Jackson, on stage. "Idol" host Ryan Seacrest was also there, because, well, he somehow manages to be everywhere. (Existence of multiple Seacrests has still not been confirmed.)

"Yeahhhhh, dude, you know what I'm so excited about, this season ten," Jackson said. "I'm calling 'Idol' season ten the remix, baby. We're going to find the greatest 'American Idol' ever."

Read the whole story here.

A few more shots from inside the Forum, and the press tent as we wait for the press conference to begin:

... "It is inconceivable to make a film (about Amanda Knox) when a final verdict on this case has not been reached," Maria Del Grosso, a member of Knox's legal team, complained to Italian news agency Adnkronos.

"If the film were to be shown before the end of the appeals trial we will request for it to be seized (by authorities)," warned Giulia Bongiorno, an attorney for Sollecito. ...

In accordance with Italian law, which allows several levels of appeal, the second Knox trial is expected to be followed by a third trial, regardless of the verdict, since it is likely that either the defendants or the prosecution will file another appeal. Given Italy's snail-paced legal system, a final verdict in the Knox case is therefore unlikely in 2011.

Lifetime's "Knox" marks the first announced project based on the case, which remains controversial. ...