More pre-upfronts buzz coming from the fifth network: The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz's Gossip Girl pilot seems poised for pickup by the CW, having been approved to begin staffing — typically a solid tell that a show is prime-time bound. Schwartz, the Hollywood Reporter notes, received a similar green light from NBC for the other would-be series he has in play, Chuck.
ABC Family has ordered 10 additional episodes of its highest-rated series, Kyle XY, bringing the total for the second season (launching June 11) to 23. "We have been delighted with the new episodes, and we're thrilled to be able to extend Season 2," ABC Family president Paul Lee tells the Hollywood Reporter. "It is truly the show that has defined this network."Kyle's sophomore run promises big answers — and boy, does it deliver. I'm nearly done with the new season's first episode and there is a lot of new and compelling data to process. Seriously, you may never watch The Learning Channel the same way again.In related news, Season 1 hits DVD May 22.
The bad news: As reported in my Today's News blog earlier this week, ABC has decided on an end date for Lost.The good news: But hey, we still have three seasons left!The bad news: Each of those seasons is a mere 16 episodes.The good news: Sixteen episodes means maybe two Jack flashbacks per season. At most.The bad news: Unconfirmed buzz says that one of them revolves around a recurring case of athlete's foot.The good news: Each of the three seasons will be uninterrupted. No more 13-week mid-season hiatuses!The bad news: Instead, there will be nine months between seasons.The good news: All questions will be answered, all mysteries solved....The bad news: ... by May 2010.
While in Bakersfield, Calif., to shoot the movie American Son, Tom Sizemore was arrested outside the Four Points Sheraton Hotel after police found three bags of methamphetamine in his vehicle. Sizemore — who was taken into custody for failing a drug test back in February 2005 — was reportedly involved in an argument with cast mate Jason Salcedo after Salcedo allegedly challenged a hotel staff member to a fight, prompting the police arrival. — Reporting by Megan CherkezianSpeaking of celebs scraping with the law, do you think Paris Hilton should serve jail time? Vote here.
Nancy Grace is leaving Court TV's Nancy Grace: Closing Arguments to focus on her eponymous CNN Headline News program, Variety reports. Grace has anchored both shows since Headline News' 2005 relaunch, but has been mulling a Court TV departure ever since the cabler announced that as part of an upcoming, Star Jones-centered makeover, it would cut her Closing Arguments in half, to just an hour. In a statement, Grace says, "Court TV will always hold a special place in my heart, and I will always look back at my time there with great gratitude and affection."
Fox has ordered a second cycle of the Saturday late-nighter Talkshow with Spike Feresten, but thus far is mum on Season 13 of Mad TV (producers are still in talks with the network).... Lifetime has renewed its vampire drama Blood Ties for a second, 10-episode season, to air in the fall.
Should someone have spent a bit less time in rehab text-messaging GQ and a little more time paying attention? The U.K.'s News of the World tabloid has published stills taken from a video that allegedly shows Lindsay Lohan riding the white-line highway in the bathroom stall of an L.A. hot spot. "Lohan pulls a small bag of white powder from her jeans pocket... dips her finger in and shoves the substance up one friend's nose before snorting some up her own," reports the tab. According to Us, the incriminating-if-true vid was leaked by a friend who is concerned that La Lohan is on the road to ruin. Per the New York Daily News, Lohan's lawyers are demanding that the U.K. paper come forth with the alleged tape, though the actress' reps have yet to comment to any outlet on the supposed misbehavior.
FX has ordered second seasons of both Dirt and The Riches, "two highly original series that have resonated with our audience as strongly as The Shield and Rescue Me," says the cabler's president and general manager. Speaking of Tommy Gavin, FX also announced that Rescue Me will reclaim its original Wednesdays-at-10 time slot when it kicks off its new season on June 13.Also, a July 24 premiere has been set for Glenn Close's Damages; Season 3 of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia arrives in early September; Nip/Tuck braves L.A. in the fall; and 30 Days continues in late 2007.
OK, technically the network is out to form an entirely new group "inspired by the Pussycat Dolls." But still, you just know it's gonna knock one of your favorite scripted shows off the schedule, right? Any aspiring pop tarts itching to throw their Hartz 2-in-1 collar into the ring can check out CWTV.com for audition details.UPDATE: In related news, be sure to check out the Ausiello Report's latest Veronica Mars status report!
Among the rumblings regarding Rosie O'Donnell's après-View plans is that she might front a game show — and that she's particularly hot to take over The Price Is Right. Bob Barker, though, apparently would sooner encourage unprotected sex amongst cats and dogs than have his Johnston & Murphys filled by the egregious gabber. A source tells the New York Daily News that while TPIR execs are lukewarm about George Hamilton, Mark Steines and Todd Newton (the finalists in the hosting derby), Barker "is adamant that Rosie not get the gig." Perhaps afraid the show's catchphrase might become, "Susie Derkins, come on out"?
No sooner had Peter Parker become filmdom's $151 million man than Disney quietly inched up the premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End by a few hours, to Thursday, May 24, at 8 pm. The move is intended to capitalize on the holiday weekend and, really now, give the film an edge in besting Spider-Man 3's record opening.Also per Variety: Kevin Costner will star in Swing Vote, an indie comedy about a single father whose ballot will determine a presidential election.... Disturbia scribe Christopher B. Landon is set to pen The Flock, a thriller about teen girls practicing witchcraft.
30 Rock star Tracy Morgan has been tapped to host Spike TV's inaugural Guys Choice Awards, airing June 3. Conceived to honor "the things guys love most," the kudoscast pays tribute not to cold pizza and Xbox but such categories as Hottest Girl on the Planet (it's Beyoncé vs Adriana Lima), Funniest M.F. (Sasha Baron Cohen vs Will Ferrell) and Coolest Geek (Rainn Wilson vs Masi Oka). James Gandolfini and George Clooney are vying for Guy of the Year honors.
On Monday the Peacock announced that it has renewed Medium for a fourth season. Although series star Patricia Arquette has won critical acclaim and an Emmy for her work as a multitasking medium/mom, the show has struggled in the ratings. The number of new episodes has yet to be revealed, but we suspect Allison Dubois will have a dream about that very subject this evening. — Reporting by Raven Snook
Due to the dissemination of a video featuring David Hasselhoff so intoxicated that he couldn't even stand up or eat a sandwich, a Los Angeles County judge has temporarily suspended the Baywatch hunk's child-visitation rights pending a May 21 hearing, TV's Extra reports. Shot by one of the Hoff's own daughters, the footage was leaked to the media last week and the drunken dad immediately pointed the finger at his ex, Pamela Bach, although she dismissed his allegations as "ridiculous." Luckily for Hasselhoff and his fellow plagued papa, Alec Baldwin, Father's Day comes next month. — Reporting by Raven Snook
An out-of-wedlock baby, Tootie? Did Mrs. Garrett teach you nothing? Facts of Life alumna Kim Fields on Friday gave birth to her and Broadway-actor boyfriend Christopher Morgan's first child, a son named Sebastian, says People.... Kevin Costner and his wife Christine on Sunday welcomed their first child together (and Kev's fifth overall), a son named Cayden Wyatt. (Better than Crash or Postman, I 'spose.).... Brittany Murphy has secretly married screenwriter Simon Monjack, Us has learned. The giveaway? Someone stumbled across a Bloomingdale's registry for "That 'I'll Never Tell-l-l-l' Chick and The Writer Dude.'"
ABC's Good Morning America has announced a May 18 kickoff for its annual summer concert series, broadcast live every Friday from New York City's Bryant Park. The schedule thus far is as follows:May 18: Rascal FlattsMay 25: FergieJune 1: DaughtryJune 8: Robin ThickeJune 15: Brad PaisleyJune 22: Miley Cyrus as Hannah MontanaJune 29: Patti LaBelleJuly 6: Norah JonesJuly 20: John Mayer with "a special guest" July 27: SugarlandAugust 3: John Legend
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition host Ty Pennington was arrested in Los Angeles on Saturday morning at 12:35 am/PT on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol and drugs while driving, TMZ.com reports. Pennington was released two hours later after posting $5,000 bail and giving the holding cell a super-cool "Wild, Wild West" theme.UPDATE: Pennington said in a statement, "I made an error in judgment. We all make mistakes, however this is about accountability. Under no circumstances should anyone consume alcohol while driving. I could have jeopardized the lives of others and I am grateful there was no accident or harm done to anyone. This was my wake-up call. I also want to apologize to my fans, ABC Television and my design team for my lapse in judgment and the embarrassment I have caused."
How many more yachts can you water-ski behind, Gordon? Per Variety, Twentieth Century Fox is developing Money Never Sleeps, a Wall Street sequel to again potentially star Oscar winner Michael Douglas, but not involve Oliver Stone as writer or director.... Per the Hollywood Reporter, though Shrek the Third doesn't even hit theaters until the 18th, Deuce Bigelow's Mike Mitchell is already in talks to direct No. 4.... Stana Katic (aka Heroes' wireless gal) is an assassin in Stiletto, an indie thriller also starring Tom Berenger and Michael Biehn.... Sydney Pollack has been cast as Patrick Dempsey's father in the rom-com Made of Honor.
Oxygen has renewed Tori & Dean: Inn Love for a second 10-episode season, says Reuters. Season 2 will continue to follow Tori Spelling and hubby Dean McDermott as they run their bed-and-breakfast while parenting son Liam. To date, Inn Love is Oxygen's second-highest-rated original series, behind The Bad Girls Club, which does not star Brenda Walsh.
As first hinted at and then ultimately scooped this Saturday by TVGuide.com's Ausiello Report, NCIS creator Donald P. Bellisario is stepping down as show-runner, this on the heels of reports of on-set clashes between him and series star Mark Harmon. Bellisario's duties will likely be assumed by coexecutive producer Chas Floyd Johnson and head writer Shane Brennan. In a statement, CBS Paramount president David Stapf hails Bellisario, who sired NCIS predecessor JAG, for building not only "a top-rated show but a great producing team that provides terrific continuity for the years ahead."
Feeling that their daughter is being made an example of, Kathy and Rick Hilton are looking into getting Paris' 45-day jail sentence reduced, by appealing to such politicos as Governor Schwarzenegger, the New York Daily News hears. But if all else fails, the fam, apparently of the "You can never be too rich" school of thinking, is poised to cash in on Paris' plight. "[Kathy] is very enterprising," a source tells the News. "Even if something bad happens — like Paris' sex tape — the family finds a way to capitalize on it. I could see them spinning [this] off into a whole new reality show." Kinda like Prison Break, but starring someone not quite as pretty as Wentworth.
The spaced-out odyssey will end in 2010. Monday's Hollywood trades are reporting that ABC's Lost will run for 48 more episodes over three seasons, each of which will consist of 16 episodes and air uninterrupted. Executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse months ago expressed their desire to set an end date around the 100-episode mark — though this actual plan racks up 119 (a third of which will have only seemed to be Jack flashbacks). They've now signed on to stay on until the swan song. Lindelof tells the Hollywood Reporter that setting an end date is "incredibly liberating. Like we've been running a marathon and we actually know where the finish line is, for the first time." Adds Cuse, "We can now really map out the rest of the series in confidence. We sort of view Lost as a mosaic. Now there are only 48 more tiles that go into that mosaic, and we're figuring out... exactly where they all go."Even series cocreator J.J. Abrams, off helming a new Star Trek feature, c...
