Report: ABC offers Paula Abdul lucrative "Dancing" deal
ABC has offered Paula a $1 million development deal that would force her to do "Dancing with the Stars" starting in March, according to TMZ. Weirdly enough, the deal would give Paula leeway to join Simon Cowell on "The X Factor" on Fox in fall 2011. But because "Dancing" is starting up in a few weeks, Paula has to make a quick decision.
Ellen peeved at Simon; Tommy Mottola is 1st choice for "Idol" and "X Factor"
That's according to Nikki Finke, who reports that Simon Cowell arrived 90 minutes late to their first taping today, which upset Ellen because of her hectic schedule. Meanwhile, Finke is reporting that Mottola is wanted both to replace Cowell and as a judge in Cowell's American "X Factor." According to Finke, "Execs behind American Idol and The X Factor want a high-profile music industry professional to give some gravitas. And our sources say Mottola, who hasn't made headlines since he left Sony and started a new music label, is loving this situation. He's in the middle of an American TV tug of war!"
The Who will perform all 3 "CSI" songs at the Super Bowl
"We're kinda doing a mashup of stuff," Pete Townshend tells Billboard. "A bit of 'Baba O'Riley,' a bit of 'Pinball Wizard,' a bit of the close of 'Tommy,' a bit of 'Who Are You,' and a bit of 'Won't Get Fooled Again.' It works — it's quite a saga. A lot of the stuff that we do has that kind of celebratory vibe about it — we've always tried to make music that allows the audience to go a bit wild if they want to. Hopefully it will hit the spot."
Forest Whitaker on tap to helm "Criminal Minds" spinoff
He's expected to play Cooper, the leader of a new group of profilers who work outside the FBI bureaucracy.
"HIMYM" renewed for a 6th season
The early pickup isn't a big surprise, but it's definitely a big change from when the show was struggling early on.
"The Jay Leno Show" officially ends on Feb. 9
Meanwhile, Conan's "Tonight Show" reruns will continue until the Olympics begin.
"Hope for Haiti" telethon drew 83 million on 33 networks
The two-hour event, which raised $57 million, averaged 24 million viewers.
CBS under fire for Tim Tebow anti-abortion Super Bowl ad
The Women's Media Center and National Organization for Women are up in arms over the pro-life ad, which was paid for by the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family.
Tim Tebow: I did not date "Idol" finalist
One of the contestants had been rumored to be his ex-girlfriend.
But young viewers, particularly young men, had been abandoning Conan's show. "If even a small fraction of the additional younger viewers who flocked to Mr. O’Brien’s show last week had turned up regularly in his earlier ratings results, he would almost surely still be hosting 'The Tonight Show,'" notes Bill Carter. "Instead, for most of this past fall, Mr. O’Brien struggled to command the young viewers he needed to counter a falloff in overall audience numbers." Problem is that grabbing the attention of young viewers, especially late at night, has become an increasingly daunting task.
"It would be easy enough to reduce 'Damages' to the status of a pulpy page-turner," Heather Havrilesky says of Season 3, which kicks off tonight. "After all, it's all plot, right? Start with a story that we're already invested in (Bernie Madoff) but that's still shrouded in mystery even now that Madoff is doing time, throw in some high stakes for everyone involved, toss in a mystery man and a murder, and we're sold. 'Damages' could be far worse and still have an audience, as evidenced by the glut of lackluster whodunits on the air. Despite appearances, though, this show transcends the base level of twisty procedurals with one thing: Patty Hewes."
