matt.mitovich

Casting About: Exclusive Grey's News, and More

Two familiar faces are about to be admitted to Seattle Grace Hospital. TV Guide has learned exclusively that Catherine Dent, who played The Shield's pregnant cop Danny, and Michael Boatman, the mayor's minority-affairs assistant on Spin City, will both appear in an episode of Grey's Anatomy airing this spring. In other casting news: As part of his new TVGuide.com Q&A, Smallville's Al Gough confirms a visit from Wonder Woman herself, Lynda Carter. Megan Mullally guests on Boston Legal later this season, playing a former lover and coworker of Alan's.

Thu, Feb 15, 2007

Ratings: Oh, What a (Friday) Night!

I have two words for you Panthers fans: Touchdown! (OK, it's a compound word.) Read on for Wednesday's provocative ratings recap: As Bones (12.35 million total viewers) understandably slipped 300,000 from last week's all-time high, Friday Night Lights (7.43 mil) hit a series high (save for TSMO30O, of course) to place third in the hour, yet way ahead of the Jericho clip show, in the coveted 18-49 demo. Beauty and the Geek (4.2 mil) ended its third cycle with a 200K drop (albeit a high for a season finale}. American Idol (28.54 million) was down almost a mil from last Wednesday, and Criminal Minds (15.4 mil, down 1.8 mil) returned to its pre-Super Bowl numbers. Lost's 9 pm "encore" outing, meanwhile, drew five million  on par with what the According to Jim-In Case of Emergency pairing was averaging. In its second week in the 10 pm slot, Lost (12.77 mil) lost almost another two million loyalists, and is now off more than four mil from its 9 pm numbers. (Of cour...

Thu, Feb 15, 2007

Fall 2007: Parker Posey Is AS-P's New Lorelai

Oh, if this isn't a match made in TV heaven, I don't know what is: Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino has tapped fast-talking Parker Posey to star in her Fox pilot The Return of Jezebel James. Per the Hollywood Reporter, the indie darling will play an infertile book editor who asks her estranged kid sister to have her baby. "I can't believe it's happening," AS-P said of landing the picky actress. "The character runs the gamut of emotions from laughing to flipping out to breaking your heart in 22 minutes, and only one in a zillion people has enough skill and charm to pull that off. Parker Posey is that person." I couldn't agree more. In other pilot-casting news:  Scream king Matthew Lillard has joined NBC's Area 52, a comedy about G-men babysitting an alien. Anthony Anderson will topline Fox's K-Ville drama about cops in post-Katrina New Orleans. Katheryn Winnick (House's recent rape victim) has been added to Philadelphia General, a Fox drama revolving arou...

Thu, Feb 15, 2007

Anna Nicole: Documentary of "Sweet, Innocent" Smith Shopped to Networks

Ongoing developments in the mysterious death of Anna Nicole Smith: Documentary producer Ashley Wells Lewis has culled three hours of footage shot in 1993, when Smith was a frequent houseguest of hers, into an 80-minute doc showing a "genuine, sweet innocent" side of the bombshell. Lewis is shopping the pic to broadcast and cable networks. Tick-tock, gang  sweeps ends in two weeks! (Hollywood Reporter) The debate rages over where Smith will be buried. Howard K. Stern favors the Bahamas, while Virgie Arthur wants to take her daughter home to Texas. If Stern is named 5-month-old Dannielynn's legal guardian, he'd likely be granted final say. (New York Post) Despite the objections of attorneys for Stern, Arthur, and testimony from the medical examiner and DNA experts, a circuit judge on Thursday ordered that another DNA sample be taken from Smith's body, to ensure an exhumation is never needed. Explained the judge, "When we bury her, I want it to be forever." (AP)...

Thu, Feb 15, 2007

TRL Isn't Snuffed, but Vanessa Minnillo Is

Although MTV pink-slipped a bunch of TRL staffers Wednesday and ratings for the seizure-inducing countdown show are down (way down), it isn't being canceled, sources insist to Variety. But, according to the New York Post, it will soon have a new host: The paper says the network can't wait to dump Vanessa Minnillo when her contract expires in April; Susie Castillo is considered the frontrunner to replace the future Mrs. Nick Lachey. (Does the fact that I couldn't identify Susie Castillo if I saw her mean that I am officially a geezer? Or is it that I believe that ratings would improve if maybe MTV ran the occasional video without the banal e-mail shout-outs and constant corner-of-the-screen commentary?)

Thu, Feb 15, 2007

Courteney Cox Kisses Jen and Tells!

If you were planning to tune in to the Mar. 27 Dirt finale to fulfill your L Word fantasies about just-Friends Rachel and Monica, don't bother. (Sorry, Mitovich.) Yesterday, series star Courteney Cox reiterated to yet another news outlet (in this case, Access Hollywood) that her and Jennifer Aniston's kiss doesn't even include any tongue. As if to rub salt in the wound, Mrs. David Arquette added that "it is really not a big deal to kiss" Brad Pitt's ex. Lisa Kudrow, you're our final hope.Matt here: Is Cox protesting too much? Isn't this, like, her second time playing down the kiss to the media? Dayum, those two musta really made out! Ah, to be a fly on the editing-room wall....

Thu, Feb 15, 2007

Senator Al Franken Is No Joke

On the last day his radio show, Air America, was broadcast, Saturday Night Live alumn Al Franken announced that he will indeed run for Senate in 2008. "Minnesotans have a right to... wonder how seriously I would take [this] responsibility," he said in a video posted on his website. "[But] nothing means more to me than making government work better for the working families of this state." Plus, he's good enough, he's smart enough, and doggonit, people like him enough that I think he just might pull this off.

Thu, Feb 15, 2007

Mark Your Calendars (Or Not): Standoff, Identity Return

Although originally scheduled to return to the air on Mar. 30, Standoff's comeback has been pushed back to Apr. 6. That means that throughout the month of March, House reruns will be the lead-in for freshman series The Wedding Bells, which bows Mar. 7. NBC's guessing game Identity returns to the lineup on Mar. 16 at 9 pm/ET (following the season finale of 1 vs 100). Thereafter, Identity will air (is anyone still reading?) on Fridays at 8.

Thu, Feb 15, 2007

Heather Mills to Shake a Leg on Stars?

Could be. According to People, Paul McCartney's estranged wife, ex-model Heather Mills, is thisclose to signing on to compete in the new season of Dancing with the Stars (or, as I call it, "Dancing with Some Has-Beens, a Few Never-Weres and, You Know, That Guy from That Show"). Dancing also-ran Jerry Springer will announce the new cast on Feb. 21, which means I guess I'd better stay by the phone.

Thu, Feb 15, 2007

Reality Bites: Oxygen's Breathless over Tori Spelling

She was so cute as Donna Martin, you could at least pretend to still care. In conjunction with the 90210 grad and hubby du jour Dean McDermott's upcoming Oxygen reality series, Tori & Dean: Inn Love  in which they go all Newhart and open an inn  the cabler is offering up some glitzy prizes to the winner of a name-their-B&B contest at Oxygen.com. Don't bother submitting "Starved for Attention" or "Strapped for Cash"; natch, I beat you to 'em. In other reality-TV news, weather-beaten Poison lead singer Bret Michaels will try to land a date à la Flavor of Love in a new VH1 series, Rock of Love with Bret Michaels. Wait, Bret Michaels gets televised assistance in scoring, yet poor Paula Abdul still has a profile languishing on Match.com?!

Thu, Feb 15, 2007

Basketball Bigot Feels the Heat

In a radio interview on Sports Talk 790 The Ticket yesterday, retired Miami Heat guard Tim Hardaway revealed himself to be dumber than a box of hair. In discussing former NBA center John Amaechi, who recently came out, Hardaway declared, "I hate gay people.... I wouldn't want [a gay player] on my team." Later, he told Miami Fox affiliate WSVN, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said I hate gay people or anything like that." Not "I don't really hate gay people," mind you, just "I shouldn't have said I hate gay people." Is there room in Isaiah Washington's nimrod class for one more?Thursday's Today's News was written by Ben Katner.

Thu, Feb 15, 2007

MSNBC to Keith: You da Olber-Mann!

The Hollywood Reporter says MSNBC is likely to announce a new long-term deal with Countdown host Keith Olbermann today. Which is perfect, because the anti-Bill O'Reilly will be in the perfect position to name a certain poophead jock "the worst person in the world"....

Thu, Feb 15, 2007

Howard Stern Lands Himself a Model Bride

Mr. Howard Stern, 53, of Sirius Satellite Radio announced to his audience on the morn of Feb. 14 that after nearly seven years of proper courtship, he on Tuesday evening asked Ms. Beth Ostroksy, 34, of various lad-mag covers, for her hand in marriage, and she responded with an enthusiastic yes. While no date has been set for the ceremony — this would be the second trip down the aisle for Stern, who was wed to Allison for 22 years — it could be said that the bachelor party started a long, long time ago.

Thu, Feb 15, 2007

Creamy Scoop! Colbert Inspires Ben & Jerry's

Ben & Jerry's has officially unveiled a new flavor, "Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream," inspired by the coiner of "truthiness" and, perhaps more important, boasting vanilla ice cream, fudge-covered waffle cone pieces and caramel. While the ice creamery promises "the sweet taste of liberty in your mouth," Colbert himself tells the AP in a statement, "Dessert has a well-known liberal agenda. What I hope to do is bring some balance back to the freezer case."

Thu, Feb 15, 2007

Tracy Morgan: "Drinking and Driving Is Not Cool"

30 Rocker Tracy Morgan on Wednesday pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drunken driving charge, stemming from his Nov. 28 arrest. According to the AP, Morgan was ordered by the judge to enter a doctor-supervised alcohol program and to perform community service, was fined $1,000, and had his license suspended for six months. Outside the courthouse afterwards, the former SNLer said, "Drinking and driving is not cool" — in my head, I'm hearing him italicize the "not" — and promised he would never be in that situation again.

Thu, Feb 15, 2007

Studio 60's Black-out Arrives Early

Having delivered its smallest audience to date this past Monday night, NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip will cede its 10 pm time slot to The Black Donnellys a week sooner than planned, starting Feb. 26, reports Variety. The Donnellys' fast-tracked premiere gives it an extra week on the air with a first-run lead-in from Heroes (which lapses into repeats Mar. 12).

Wed, Feb 14, 2007

Fall 2007: Lost Beauty Tackles Football

The latest word on who's doing which pilots, per the Hollywood Reporter and Variety: But what about Nikki emerging later this season as an "iconic" character?! Lost's Kiele Sanchez has a second-position gig lined up for the fall, playing the pregnant wife of a rising star in ABC's Football Wives. Julianna Margulies has the lead, playing an edgy defense attorney, in Fox's Canterbury's Law. Playing one of NBC's Nurses, Less Than Perfect's Sara Rue is a married woman who (gasp!) frequents online dating sites. Frances O'Connor (Mansfield Park) is an investment banker in ABC's Cashmere Mafia. Aubrey Dollar (Point Pleasant) is a crime reporter in ABC's Women's Murder Club. Jaime Murray (Hustle) has joined CBS' Demons. Glenn Fitzgerald is a minister with secrets in ABC's Dirty Sexy Money, starring fellow Six Feet Under alum Peter Krause. Jonathan Cake (Six Degrees) is (are?) identical twin brothers in NBC's The Mastersons of Manhattan.

Wed, Feb 14, 2007

Paula Abdul Drunk? Never! Casual Drugs? Nope!

See, you were wrong, you were all wrong. Every one of you. For shame. American Idol's most, um, "unpredictable" judge, Paula Abdul, insists, "I've never been drunk" and "I have never done recreational drugs" in an interview with Us. Waving her 20-year career around as People's Exhibit A, she says, "Tell me [how] someone who is into partying or doing drugs could have done that." But... but... MC Skat Kat was so psychedelic!"There have been 100 million lies about me," she adds. "[But] I'm squeaky clean." Or at the very least, squeaky.

Wed, Feb 14, 2007

Anna Nicole: Judge Says Body Can Be Buried

The latest developments in the death of Anna Nicole Smith....• A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has changed his mind about the hold he had placed on Smith's body (for the purpose of DNA sampling), allowing for funeral arrangements to now be made. (Extra)  A Bahamian judge has upheld the request of Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, issuing a court order preventing Howard K. Stern from leaving the Caribbean country with 5-month-old Dannielynn. Arthur believes Larry Birkhead is the baby's father, and reportedly blames Stern for the deaths of her daughter and her grandson, Daniel. (New York Daily News) Opposing a California judge's request that Smith's body be preserved until at least Feb. 20  the date of Birkhead's paternity hearing  Broward County medical examiner Joshua Perper issued an affidavit urging the corpse's prompt release, lest there be "destructive changes to the body" that would prevent funeral viewing. (AP)  The last movie lensed by Smith...

Wed, Feb 14, 2007

At the Movies: J.J. Abrams to Climb Dark Tower?

Many Dark Tower fans have deemed it a Mission: Impossible, so.... Per the Hollywood Reporter, Lost boss J.J. Abrams and Stephen King are in talks to bring the Dark Tower novels to the screen. Thus far, it is unclear whether the project would definitely be theatrical, given the sprawling breadth of the seven-book saga, or a TV mini.... The Departed's Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg will reunite in The Fighter, a boxing film based on the life of "Irish" Mickey Ward (Wahlberg) and his brother/trainer (Damon).... Per Variety, Mark Ruffalo is Adrien Brody's big bro and fellow con in The Brothers Bloom.

Wed, Feb 14, 2007

ABC.com Unspools Lotsa Lost Backstories

Starting today and kicking off with (duh) Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Locke, ABC.com is posting a quartet of video backstories for Lost's assorted castaways, culled from previously aired footage and presented in chronological order for each subject. Four new segments will be posted each Wednesday until the end of the season, for 60 in total.

Wed, Feb 14, 2007

In the Works: Queer Guy Gets Naked

Lifetime has signed Carson Kressley to host How to Look Good Naked, an unscripted series based on a successful British program in which women with body-image issues learn to feel better about themselves without drastic measures such as surgery or exercise.... VH1 and BET are jointly developing Wifey, a hip-hop drama pilot about a widow who takes over her late hubby's record label. The series would air in the same time slot on both channels.... Lea Thompson will star in A Life Interrupted, a drama inspired by the life of activist and rape survivor Debbie Smith. Two guesses as to what cable channel it's for. C'mon, take a stab.

Wed, Feb 14, 2007