Hallmark Channel Books Bob Newhart for Movie

Bob Newhart will be returning to the tube this summer in Herb's Murders, a two-hour original movie for the Hallmark Channel. Newhart will play a detective who, with the help of his police-officer daughter, investigates the killing of a publisher.

Murders is but one of Hallmark's 30 original movies planned for release this year. Among the other projects are The Ride of Her Life, feauturing 7th Heaven's Stephen Collins, and Ladies of the House , which finds Pam Grier, Florence Henderson and Donna Mills working on a church-sponsored home-renovation project.

For those who just can't get enough of funny old ladies, Hallmark also announced that it will begin airing The Golden Girls in March 2009. I've already begun counting the days! - Adam Bryant