matt.mitovich

Oprah's Reality Show Gains Amazing Cred

Oprah Winfrey's production company has enlisted the four-time Emmy-winning Amazing Race's creators, Bert Van Munster (no relation to Herman) and Elise Doganieri, to serve as show-runners for Oprah Winfrey's The Big Give. Ope's first reality-TV venture hands 10 people riches and resources and then they're charged with helping others. The best philanthropist has his or her wildest wish granted  unless of course the wish is for me to cease reporting on Britney Spears.

Wed, Mar 28, 2007

Brothers' Rob Lowe Signs On for Second Term

"The senator" has ABC's vote  or perhaps vice versa. Rob Lowe will continue on with the just-renewed Brothers & Sisters next season, and as a full-fledged cast member, Variety reports. Lowe first guested as Calista Flockhart's eventual love interest last November, then stayed on as a "special guest star" (which to me always reads as, "Good agent, better money"). My question: If Lowe's senator is elected president, does Martin Sheen come on as his deputy communications director? Is that how it works?

Wed, Mar 28, 2007

Fall 2007: Jason Alexander "Cops" a Role

Who's doing what this pilot season, per Variety/the Reporter: Jason Alexander (um, Seinfeld) is an internal-affairs agent on the hunt for "bad apples" in ABC's untitled cop comedy. Tia Carrere (Wayne's World) will guest (and potentially recur) as Molly Stanton's boss on Fox's untitled comedy also starring Lacey Chabert. Jud Tylor (What About Brian) is a churchgoing contestant on the CW's Dash 4 Cash, set behind the scenes at a reality show. Alex Borstein (Family Guy) has joined ABC's The Thick of It, says the New York Post.

Wed, Mar 28, 2007

Wynonna Judd Seeks Divorce as Estranged Husband Faces Child Sex Charge

Citing irreconcilable differences, country crooner Wynonna Judd filed for divorce Tuesday after Dan R. Roach, her husband from whom she has been separated since Feb. 18, was charged with three counts of aggravated sexual battery against a child younger than 13, the Associated Press reports. "I am obviously devastated," Judd says in a statement on her website. "Our family will pull together, begin the healing process and hopefully  by the grace of God  become stronger." The couple have no children together, but Judd has two from a previous marriage.

Wed, Mar 28, 2007

Exclusive: Betty's Pregnant Salma Hasn't Slowed Down

Salma Hayek may be pregnant, but the executive producer of Ugly Betty is showing no signs of slowing down. "She is a force to be reckoned with, and she's working harder now than she was before she was pregnant," series star America Ferrera told TV Guide at the March 26 premiere of Showtime's The Tudors , in Los Angeles. "There is no stopping her. You kind of have to hold her still and say, 'Calm down and sit down for a second.' But shes happy and I'm happy for her, and I think she deserves everything in the world!"Hayek, who also guest-stars on the show, announced her pregnancy and engagement to French businessman François-Henri Pinault at the beginning of March. Though she had kept her expectant state under wraps from Betty's cast and crew, Ferrera says that she was in fact not all that surprised: "I noticed that she was glowing."  Reporting by Carita Rizzo

Wed, Mar 28, 2007

Guest List: Minds Touched by an Angel, and More

Evan Handler (Sex and the City) guest-stars on Shark April 5.... John Ventimiglia (The Sopranos) is Caseman's AA sponsor on Six Degrees April 6, 13 and 27.... Lynn Redgrave is Ian's mother on Desperate Housewives April 8.... Kate Jackson (Charlie's Angels) is Paget Brewster's ambassador mother on Criminal Minds April 11.... Mark Feuerstein (3 LBS) on Shark April 12.... Ken Davitian (Borat) on Ghost Whisperer April 27.... And Jeremy Sisto (Kidnapped) dials up Numbers April 27.

Tue, Mar 27, 2007

NBC's Heroes Storm the Third Screen

Cell-phone-game company Gameloft, which previously made titles based on ABC's Lost and Desperate Housewives, has announced plans to turn NBC's Heroes into a game. Heroes: The Mobile Game  which will be available for all cell phones  is being scripted by writers from the show and will let fans play as such characters as Hiro, Niki and Peter. The game will be released in the second half of 2007.  Reporting by Paul Semel

Tue, Mar 27, 2007

SNL + Peyton Manning = Ratings Touchdown

NBC's Saturday Night Live tackled its largest audience in 10 months this past weekend, with Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning carrying the ball as guest host and American Idol Carrie Underwood crooning. The real highlight, though, as any parent will tell you, was TV Funhouse's Dora the Explorer spoof. Biting, simply biting. (See video here.)On April 14, Shia LaBeouf (rhymes with LaWhof) hosts, with phone-book-adjacent musical guest Avril Lavigne.

Tue, Mar 27, 2007

Monday Night Football Sacks Joe Theismann

But at least this time, we didn't see his leg get bent in unnatural ways. [Shudder] The former NFL quarterback has been booted from ESPN's Monday Night Football team, replaced with retired Eagles QB Ron Jaworski, whom insiders suspect is seen to be a better fit with color man Tony Kornheiser. Theismann will be offered another football job at ESPN.

Tue, Mar 27, 2007

Prank You Very Much: Punk'd Airs Final Season

Ashton Kutcher's MTV series will premiere its eighth and final season on April 10  three days after the cabler "sneak peeks" all eight new episodes in a back-to-back marathon. This time around, Punk'd's prey include Hilary Swank, "Magic" Johnson, Nelly Furtado and Jewel. The series wraps up June 5 with a "Punk'd Awards" show — or so Ashton wants us to believe. Just watch, it'll be all test patterns.

Tue, Mar 27, 2007

Casting About: House, Hercules and Gollum

A few casting quickies: As scooped on Monday by the Ausiello Report, Piper Perabo (Coyote Ugly) is joining House for the season's penultimate episode, playing a potential love interest for the grumpy doc. See Mike for more. Kevin Sorbo (Hercules, The O.C.) will headline Hallmark Channel's Avenging Angel, playing a fallen preacherman out to punish some church-torching marauders. Also per the Reporter, Andy Serkis, aka the LOTR films' Gollum, will star as Albert Einstein in Einstein and Eddington, a TV-movie collaboration between HBO and the BBC. Doctor Who's David Tennant will play the latter astrophysicist, Sir Arthur Eddington.

Tue, Mar 27, 2007

In the Works: E! Imports the U.K.'s "Romber"

E! has acquired rights to Katie and Peter, an ITV series starring model Katie Price and singer Peter Andre, a Romber-esque duo who fell in love on the U.K.'s I'm a Celebrity! Get Me Out of Here and then had their engagement and first child's birth covered on their titular series. Katie and Peter hits E! on April 21.... The second annual VH1 Rock Honors, this time paying tribute to Genesis, Heart, Ozzy Osbourne and ZZ Top, will be held May 12 and broadcast May 24.... Also per Variety, Discovery Channel has commissioned the six-part science series Natural Wonders, obviously concerning nothing to do with Pam Anderson but instead following thrill-seekers and adventurers at famous destinations.

Tue, Mar 27, 2007

At the Movies: Dougray Scott, T-Bag Game for Hitman

Per Variety, Dougray Scott (Desperate Housewives) is in talks to join Deadwood's Timothy Olyphant in an adaptation of the video game The Hitman. Robert Knepper (Prison Break) is also on board.... Darren Aronofsky (The Fountain) is in talks to direct Mark Wahlberg and Matt Damon in The Fighter, based on the story of "Irish" Mickey Ward.... Per the Hollywood Reporter, Little Miss Sunshine's Greg Kinnear will star opposite another Office boss  this time, Ricky Gervais  will star in Ghost Town, a comedy about a dentist who starts to see dead people after he briefly dies during orthodontic surgery.

Tue, Mar 27, 2007

Short Cuts: YouTube Awards, Highlander and More

OK Go's "Here It Goes Again" was named most creative video at the inaugural YouTube Video Awards. "As a Ninja" topped "Ask a Gay Man," "Chad Vader" and Lonelygirl15 in the best series contest.... Time Inc. has folded the Sunday supplement Life Magazine  perhaps because it doesn't boast a completely genuine "Personality Parade"-type column?.... Out on DVD today: Children of Men.... William Panzer, a producer on the Highlander franchise and more than 20 other films, died of an aneurysm on March 18. He was 64.

Tue, Mar 27, 2007

Greed... Is Good: Idol Expands Results Show Early

OK, who complained to Nigel Lythgoe that you didn't get to see Brandon or Stephanie sing their farewell encores? Supposedly to allow castoffs that final moment in the spotlight (which has been unceremoniously trimmed in recent weeks, especially for DVR users), American Idol producers have decided to expand the Wednesday results show to an hour starting April 11, a month earlier than planned. The move prematurely retires 'Til Death, which had to be lovin' its new inflated ratings but will now air its season finale on the 11th at 8 pm/ET.

Tue, Mar 27, 2007

Fall 2007: Locklear Is Jayne, Behr's the Man

ABC has finally seen Jayne. Heather Locklear will seize the lead in See Jayne Run, a drama pilot about an accomplished female juggling motherhood with her career in the male-dominated  and inherently fascinating  world of investment banking.Also from the Hollywood Reporter, Roswell's Jason Behr is a Company Man (né NSA Innocent) in Fox's drama about a defense-contractor drone recruited to spy for the NSA. Created by 24's top gurus and tweaked following a disappointing first table read, the pilot now features a recast, younger lead and has given him a wife (played by General Hospital's Annie Wersching).

Tue, Mar 27, 2007

New Fletch DVD Extras Include Two Steak Sandwiches and Ball Bearings

Thank god, it's... the DVD. A new Fletch: The Jane Doe Edition DVD slated for release on May 1 boasts a digitally remastered picture and includes the new featurettes "Just Charge It to the Underhills: Making and Remembering Fletch," "From John Cocktoaston to Harry S. Truman: The Disguises," and a compilation of favorite Fletch moments. (I was only kidding about the sandwiches and ball bearings, though it is all ball bearings these days.) I don't usually single out DVD releases in their own news item, but this is one of the funniest, most quotable films of all time, and exceptions will be made. Now does anyone have a towel? My car just hit a....

Tue, Mar 27, 2007

TV Guide Exclusive: Bones Star Is Altar-bound

At least one Bones star already has her summer hiatus planned. Tamara Taylor, who plays Dr. Camille Saroyan on the Fox procedural, will tie the knot with attorney Miles Cooley June 10, she tells TV Guide exclusively.Attending the March 24 Genesis Awards, the bride-to-be revealed that the wedding ceremony will be held in Yucatan, Mexico, although she had initially planned to marry in Tuscany. "Family and friends werent quite as excited about having to travel that far," Taylor says, "so we thought 'fun in the sun' some place closer."For her wedding dress, the Canadian actress has chosen an Indian sari, and will walk down the aisle dressed in red. "White is the color of mourning in India and I thought, 'You know, I dont want to be remotely close to the color of mourning on the most important day of my life.'"  Reporting by Carita Rizzo

Mon, Mar 26, 2007

Ratings: Brrr! Six Degrees Gets Cold Reception

A few ratings shout-outs from Friday and Sunday: It is with a heavy heart that I report that the Friday return of ABC's Six Degrees was met by a fifth-place-worthy audience of just 4.6 million total viewers. That's compared to the 7.6 mil Degrees drew with its last fresh outing (on Thursday, Nov. 2) and the 5.63 mil a Wife Swap repeat reaped the previous Friday at 9 pm/ET. Despite all the Tara Conner hooplah, Friday's Miss USA Pageant (7.37 million) was down a quarter mil from last year's telecast. That said, nice gown, Miss Tennessee. On Sunday, Extreme Makever (12.04 million) topped the 8 o'clock hour, but CBS dominated the rest of the evening opposite Housewives/B&S repeats and despite being delayed by basketball.  NBC's Grease finale said "Ooh, ooh, ooh" to 6.78 mil, a bump of 190K week-to-week, while a romantic-angst-filled episode of The Apprentice (6.75 mil) was down 480 thou.

Mon, Mar 26, 2007

Fall 2007: John Michael Higgins Runs for Congress

The latest pilot castings, from the Hollywood Reporter: John Michael Higgins has landed the lead  and as such will be reunited with Arrested Development's Mitchell Hurwitz  in ABC's The Thick of It. Bill Smitrovich (Without a Trace) is Jamie Kennedy's pop and Jason Antoon (The Lost Room) is Lee Majors' lab technician in Fox's Lee & Me. Amanda Detmer (What About Brian) and Paul F. Tompkins are wife and husband in 1321 Clover, a CBS comedy about a suburban family. Rosa Blasi (Strong Medicine) is a big-name publicist in the CW's Eight Days a Week. Kim Coles is an angel in the CW's Hell on Earth.

Mon, Mar 26, 2007

In the Works: Celebs Report for Jury Duty, and More

 Jury Duty, a syndicated court show featuring celebrities as jurors overseeing actual small-claims court cases, has been cleared in 70 percent of the country for a September bow. Also per Variety, Bravo has greenlit Paycheck, an adaptation of a U.K. gamer in which players try to guess each others' salaries. The show was previously known as your 10-year high-school reunion. HBO and the BBC have teamed with producers Ridley and Tony Scott for Churchill at War, a follow-up to 2002's Emmy-winning The Gathering Storm and starring Brendan Gleeson (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) as the former British prime minister, says the Hollywood Reporter.

Mon, Mar 26, 2007

At the Movies: Scorsese and DiCaprio Hit Wall Street

Per Variety, Martin Scorsese is looking to direct The Departed's Leonardo DiCaprio in a film adaptation of Long Island stockbroker Jordan Belfort's tell-all autobiography The Wolf of Wall Street.... Fire up the CGI! 300 helmer Zack Snyder is reteaming with Warner Bros. on the zombie action-thriller Army of the Dead.... Rose McGowan, star of the upcoming Tarantino-Rodriguez double feature Grindhouse (which recently eeked out an R rating), will play B-movie staple Susan Cabot in the biopic Black Oasis.

Mon, Mar 26, 2007