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Call Girl's Billie Piper Works Hard for the Money

Billie Piper is back with a second season of the British series Secret Diary of a Call Girl (Sundays, 10:30 pm/ET, Showtime), in which Hannah — aka Belle, her working-girl alter ego — navigates a "real" relationship and encounters new women in her field. Piper, a former pop star, veteran of Jane Austen movies (Mansfield Park) and new mom, still treats her controversial role with wide-eyed curiosity. TVGuide.com spoke to her about her research into the world of prostitution, the overseas controversy surrounding the sexy show and which scene it was that made her feel "strange" to film.

Sat, Jan 31, 2009

Call Girl's Billie Piper Works Hard for the Money

"Hero of the Hudson" and Crew to Appear on Letterman

Capt. Chesley Sullenberger already has an invitation to visit the set of Lost. Now, he and his crew from US Airways Flight 1549, which safely crash-landed in New York City's Hudson River Jan. 15, have an invite from David Letterman. The group, who saved the lives of all 155 passengers aboard the flight, will appear on the Late Show Tuesday, Feb. 10 (11:35 pm/ET, CBS).

Fri, Jan 30, 2009

"Hero of the Hudson" and Crew to Appear on Letterman

NBC Spawns Genealogy Series Featuring Sarah Jessica Parker and More

How well do you really know your favorite stars? Fans can soon see family histories of some of Hollywood's biggest celebs when NBC airs Who Do You Think You Are? this spring, Variety says. The show, based on the BBC original of the same name, will feature such stars as Lisa Kudrow, Sarah Jessica Parker and Susan Sarandon investigating their genealogy.

Thu, Jan 29, 2009

NBC Spawns Genealogy Series Featuring Sarah Jessica Parker and More

MTV Renews The City, Daddy's Girls; Launches Teen Cribs

MTV has renewed freshman reality spin-offs The City and Daddy's Girls for second seasons, sure to be replete with more drama, fashion and fabulousness. Since the series' launches this winter, their respective leading ladies have spearheaded careers in fashion and acting, encountered new "friends" and a plethora of cute boys. Since Whitney Port left LC, Audrina and the crew back in The Hills, she's stepped up as part of super-designer Diane von Furstenberg's company, kicked it with scruffy, seductive Aussie musician Jay and learned that you can't trust everyone you meet on the streets of New York.

Wed, Jan 28, 2009

MTV Renews The City, Daddy's Girls; Launches Teen Cribs

Pilot News: Grey's Creator Takes Shot at Washington

Shonda Rhimes has mastered depicting the drama of hospital hallways and doctors' after-hours action. Now, she's setting her sights on the juicy lives of Washington, D.C., journalists. ABC has greenlit Inside the Box, a new pilot from the Grey's Anatomy creator, a rep for the network confirmed for TVGuide.com. The potential series centers on an ambitious female news producer and her colleagues whose extracurriculars, the net promises, will be

Wed, Jan 28, 2009

Pilot News: Grey's Creator Takes Shot at Washington

Mariska Hargitay Returns to Work at SVU

Mariska Hargitay is back at work, two weeks after suffering a collapsed lung. Law & Order: SVU's foxy detective was suffering from pneumothorax (a partially collapsed lung). She returned to work Monday afternoon, according to People.

Tue, Jan 27, 2009

SAG Leader Doug Allen Steps Down

Following weeks of infighting over his handling of contract negotiations, Doug Allen has resigned as national executive director and lead negotiator for the Screen Actors Guild. Allen announced that he is stepping down Monday afternoon in an email to SAG staff in which he thanked them, Variety reports. TVGuide.com's calls to SAG reps in New York and Los Angeles were not immediately returned. David White, former SAG general counsel, is stepping in for Allen as the interim national director, while SAG senior adviser John T. Maguire will take over as chief negotiator. There are also reportedly plans to replace the entire prime time and feature negotiating committee.

Tue, Jan 27, 2009

SAG Awards Putting Politics Aside for a Night of Unanimous Glamour

Despite crumbling contract negotiations with producers and an ongoing, political tug-of-war over direction and leadership, the Screen Actors Guild promises its awards show will be as glamorous as ever. This Sunday, the actors will get a break from the guild's struggles to get gussied up and hand out winners' statues, when the 15th SAG Awards take place in Los Angeles (8 pm/ET, TNT and TBS). "This is the one night when actors get together to celebrate each other. That's the purpose of our show," producer Kathy Connell told TVGuide.com. The event will get an aesthetic update with the Shrine's stage designed to look like...

Sat, Jan 24, 2009

SAG Awards Putting Politics Aside for a Night of Unanimous Glamour

Patrick Swayze Plans to Pen His Memoir

Patrick Swayze has won audiences over as everything from a Dirty dancer, a ghostly lover and a bank-robbing surfer. Now, fans will see him as a writer. The actor is planning to compile his life's stories for posterity in a memoir, his rep confirmed for TVGuide.com. Swayze's wife, Lisa, will collaborate with him on the manuscript, which has yet to be picked up by a publisher. Apart from his writing pursuits, Swayze's been busy on-screen, starring as...

Fri, Jan 23, 2009

Hayden Panettiere's Father Pleads No Contest in Battery Case

Heroes star Hayden Panettiere's father pleaded no contest Thursday to a charge of misdemeanor battery involving his wife.  Alan Panettiere was sentenced to two years' probation and ordered to pay $400 for a domestic violence fund, according to court documents obtained by TVGuide.com.

Fri, Jan 23, 2009

Hayden Panettiere's Father Pleads No Contest in Battery Case

Will Clooney Scrub in Again on ER?

Has George Clooney changed his mind and agreed to return to his roots on ER? The Oscar-winner, who was last seen on the long-running medical drama in 2000, denied last year he would make an appearance before the series' close this spring. But sources told People on Wednesday the star was set for a guest spot, and that ER co-creator John Wells has ordered a closed set.

Thu, Jan 22, 2009

Crowds and Celebs Alike Pack We Are One Inaugural Kick-Off Concert

Beyonce, U2, Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen, Jamie Foxx, Garth Brooks and Jack Black were among the many celebrities who participated in Barack Obama's inaugural kick-off concert at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday. More than 300,000 people ...

Mon, Jan 19, 2009

Crowds and Celebs Alike Pack We Are One Inaugural Kick-Off Concert

Live from D.C.! Obama's Inauguration Coverage Kicks Off with Party-Palooza

If you're not among the 2 million people expected to attend the inauguration of Barack Obama as the first African-American president on Tuesday, there's plenty of television coverage available. While an unprecedented audience is expected to watch the swearing in, major networks and cable news channels also will broadcast concerts, speeches and balls leading up to the historic event. Plus, look out for our special presidential inauguration coverage on Tuesday: Watch a live video stream of Obama's swearing in on TVGuide.com, follow us on Twitter and submit your favorites for inclusion in our special edition of Top TV Moments. Check out the highlights of the "A New Birth of Freedom" inaugural programming:Sunday, January 18: 2:30 pm/ET: HBO presents ...

Sat, Jan 17, 2009

Live from D.C.! Obama's Inauguration Coverage Kicks Off with Party-Palooza

Billie Piper Unzips About Secret Diary of a Call Girl's New Season

Billie Piper is getting ready to dress up, strip down and get paid to fulfill men's fantasies between the sheets — on screen, at least. In Showtime's Secret Diary of Call Girl, the U.K. native and new mother has her hands full as a high-end escort in London, walking the line between her public persona as Hannah and her private profession, where clients know her as Belle. Piper, who began her career in England as a pop star, has tackled a range of roles since segueing into acting, from Fanny Price in Mansfield Park to Rose Tyler in Doctor Who. At the start of her second season as Belle (Secret Diary premieres Sunday, Jan. 18/10:30 pm/ET), TVGuide.com caught up with her to find out where Hannah's exploits will pick up, if her character will ever find love and how Piper will bring  even more to the show for Season 3. Stay tuned for Part II of our chat with her next week.

Sat, Jan 17, 2009

Billie Piper Unzips About Secret Diary of a Call Girl's New Season

Pete and Ashlee Bring a Taste of L.A. to CSI: NY

A little bit of Hollywood is arriving in New York. New parents Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson-Wentz are set to guest star on the city's own CSI: NY.

Sat, Jan 17, 2009

Pete and Ashlee Bring a Taste of L.A. to CSI: NY

TV's Secret Agent and The Prisoner Star, Patrick McGoohan, Is Dead at 80

Two-time Emmy-award winning actor Patrick McGoohan, the star of TV hits Secret Agent and The Prisoner, has died. He was 80, and passed away in Santa Monica, Calif. after a brief illness, his family told the L.A. Times. McGoohan was born in New York to Irish parents who returned to Ireland when he was several months old, and later settled in England. His rise to fame in American pop culture began in 1961, when he starred as John Drake in CBS' British-produced Danger Man. In 1965, he reprised the role in Private Agent, an expansion of the show about a spy working for the English government.

Fri, Jan 16, 2009

TV's Secret Agent and The Prisoner Star, Patrick McGoohan, Is Dead at 80

Star Trek II's Khan, Fantasy Island Star Ricardo Montalban, Is Dead at 88

Ricardo Montalban, a Mexican-born actor who starred in MGM films, and later in ABC's Fantasy Island, has died. He was 88, and no cause of death was released, the Associated Press reports. Montalban arrived in the U.S. in 1946, making a transition from Mexican cinema to Hollywood. His first stateside role was in Fiesta, opposite Esther Williams. He appeared with her again in On an Island with You in 1948 and Neptune's Daughter a year later. It was in 1978, however, when Montalban became known as Island's magnanimous Mr. Rourke...

Thu, Jan 15, 2009

Star Trek II's Khan, Fantasy Island Star Ricardo Montalban, Is Dead at 88

Matthew Fox: Lost's End Will Be a "Relief"

As Lost nears the start of its fifth and penultimate season, Matthew Fox is greeting it with a mix of reverence — and a readiness to leave island life behind, literally and figuratively. "Personally, it's a relief," he told Details, as he reflected on the ABC drama's nearing conclusion. "I owe this show a great amount, and I think it's exceptionally good...[but] I am looking forward to the freedom that comes with not working on one project professionally." Lost's fifth season kicks off Jan. 21 on ABC (8 pm/ET). Fox, who plays Dr. Jack Shepard, opened up about what he envisions in his Lost-free future — both personally and professionally — starting with...

Wed, Jan 14, 2009

Matthew Fox: Lost's End Will Be a "Relief"

Is SAG Ousting Doug Allen as Lead Negotiator?

Doug Allen, the Screen Actors Guild's stalwart advocate for strike authorization, on Monday may have been ousted as lead negotiator with producers — although his exact status remains unconfirmed. While Allen will continue as national executive director, his reported removal from the negotiation helm followed hours of closed-door sessions with members of the guild's board on the first of a two-day, emergency meeting, Variety reports. SAG's more moderate faction is reportedly pushing to nix the strike authorization vote altogether, an effort that may have included Allen's ouster, or a move toward it.

Tue, Jan 13, 2009

Is SAG Ousting Doug Allen as Lead Negotiator?

Piven: Leaving Broadway Was "Completely Humbling"

Jeremy Piven calls his abrupt departure from Broadway's Speed-the-Plow a "completely humbling experience." "I don't know if they've ever taken you out of a game or if you've had to kind of stop a season short," he told NBC's Tiki Barber, a former New York Giants running back, at Sunday's Golden Globes. "But that's basically what the doctors did to me," Piven said. "I could have gone against doctors orders. I didn't. I'm just grateful..."

Tue, Jan 13, 2009

Piven: Leaving Broadway Was "Completely Humbling"

As Lythgoe Presents Superstars, He Admits, "I Miss Idol"

Nigel Lythgoe knows reality competition shows. As an executive producer of both American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance, the U.K. native has helped spur dreams of stardom worldwide. The producer's latest baby, Superstars of Dance, (Mondays, 8 pm/ET, NBC), has joined the performance show playing field with a global spin on the genre. Unlike Idol's and Dance's battles of the neophytes, Superstars features professional dancers from eight different countries. Groups, couples and individuals compete in a format that was inspired in part by the Olympics, with judges from the participating countries scoring the routines. Hosted by "Lord of the Dance" Michael Flatley and TRL alum Susie Castillo, the costumes are lavish, the sets dazzle and the dancing is diverse. Just as Superstars is getting warmed up, TVGuide.com visited the set to chat with Lythgoe to discuss his inspiration for the series, why he thinks there's room for another dance show and how things have changed for him since he left his role with American Idol.

Mon, Jan 12, 2009

As Lythgoe Presents Superstars, He Admits, "I Miss Idol"

Ryan O'Neal Pleads Guilty to Drug Charge

Ryan O'Neal pleaded guilty Friday to a felony drug charge. The Oscar-nominated actor was ordered into an 18-month drug diversion program, the AFP reports. If he completes the program successfully, his charges will be dismissed. O'Neal became known for roles in such classic films as Paper Moon and Love Story, and recently appeared on Bones.

Sat, Jan 10, 2009