March 2010

"Dancing" sought big-name stars; Pam Anderson pursued since Season 1
From Buzz Aldrin to Erin Andrews to Kate Gosselin, "We wanted a cast that had impact — we needed every single name to pop," Deena Katz, who's in charge of lining up the celebs, says of this year's high-profile cast. The cast this season has been whittled down with more high-profile names, including Erin Andrews, who fears that she might be perceived as capitalizing on her stalker notoriety. Why is the 80-year-old Aldrin doing it? "To promote space travel and, for me, to demonstrate how to have a good time," he says.

Letterman jokes about Leno's return
“Thank you very much, welcome to the ‘Late Show,’ my name is Dave Letterman — same time, same host," he said, opening tonight's monologue.

Pilots go to Julie Benz, Adrianne Palicki, Peggy Lipton, Jaime King, Mehcad Brooks
The former "Dexter" star joins Michael Chiklis on ABC's "No Ordinary Family. Jaime King and Mehcad Brooks have joined ":Generation Y." "Friday Night Lights" alum Adrianne Palicki will star in Fox's "Midland" and Peggy Lipton will join ABC's "Cutthroat."

Robert Pattinson confronts Jimmy Fallon on his "bothered" impression
"I don't really talk that way," said Pattinson (Watch his interview)

NBC no longer selling Conan souvenirs
But the Peacock still has "The Jay Leno Show" merchandise available.

ABC may yank Oscars from NYC Cablevision subscribers
Disney's dispute with the cable company may spill over to the Academy Awards.

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Dustin Hoffman lured to HBO
The acting legend will make his TV series debut in "Luck," the HBO horse racing drama from Michael Mann and "Deadwood" creator David Milch. Hoffman, 72, will play, according to The Hollywood Reporter, "an intelligent, intuitive and tough man (Hoffman) who has always been involved with gambling, from bookmaking and money laundering through casino operations." Among his co-stars will be Dennis Farina, who was hired last week.

"Dancing" stars: Buzz Aldrin, "Bachelor" Jake, Erin Andrews, Pam Anderson
"The Bachelor" himself, Jake Pavelka, will be joining the previously revealed Kate Gosselin, Shannen Doherty and Chad Ochocinco, along with Niecy Nash, "All My Children's" Aiden Turner, Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls and Olympian Evan Lysacek.

Jay Leno: "It's good to be home"
"I'm Jay Leno, your host, at least for a while," Jay Leno joked in his first "Tonight Show" monologue back after nine months away (watch it here). "Got to admit, I'm a little nervous. Not because it's my first night back. But because I know Dave and Oprah are watching." PLUS: Leno has a reworked theme, revamped set.

Your new "Bachelorette" is … Ali Fedotowsky
After picking her job over Jake, Ali has been awarded the title of "The Bachelorette."

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Ellen responds to Howard Stern's bashing: He's living in a fantasy
The shock jock has been ripping Ellen DeGeneres for weeks over an anonymous quote attributed to her. "No one even asked me (about Howard)," she says, "and that sentence has never come out of my mouth. He’s commenting on something that never even happened. So let him engage in his own fantasy conversation."

Miss America homeless again after TLC declines to renew the pageant
TLC wanted a new two-year deal for less money. The pageant refused.

E! renews "Kourney and Khloe"
The "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" spinoff set record ratings for E!.

NBC hooks Katherine McPhee for TV pilot
The "Idol" runner-up will star in "The Pink House," about a Midwestern girl who lives on the beach.

"Lost" meets "The Simpsons"
It's "The Losties."

Simon Cowell's fiance had her breast groped by Clay Aiken
"American Idol" makeup artist Mezhgan Hussainy first became famous in a photo that circled the web.

What if "Community" had the "Friends" theme song?
Check out this mashup of NBC Thursday comedies.

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Paparazzi arrested at "Bachelor" taping
Photographers were arrested outside a hotel over the weekend. PLUS: Alanis Morissette's "Ironic" plays at "Bachelor" wedding.

Family dog kills "Ax Men" star's daughter
Jesse Browning's 4-year-old was mauled by a Rottweiler.

TV Land will air "Hot in Cleveland" this summer
The sitcom stars Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick.

Watch "Jersey Shore" cast parody "Hurt Locker"
It's the first of several Best Picture reenactments for George Lopez.

Jeff Bridges' Hyundai ads yanked from Oscars
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences doesn't permit nominees in commercials during the cermony.

"Price is Right" sued by ex-model
Brandi Cochran claims the game show frowned on pregnancy.

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Prediction: Leno will get most of his "Tonight Show" audience back
Time heals, and most of Jay Leno's fans don't think he did anything wrong. So says James Poniewozik, who predicts Leno will win back his audience at 11:35.
"His hardcore fans—people who love Jay and followed him to his 10 p.m. show—don't think he did anything wrong and are glad to have him back," he says. "His less hardcore audience, average, non-showbiz-obsessed folks, just want to watch some TV at the end of the day and could give a rat's ass about the professional integrity of their TV hosts."
CBS' "Early Show" asks Leno-hater Howard Stern to critique Jay's comeback
Did Leno kill "Tonight"? // Leno was Coke Classic, Conan was New Coke

Elliott Yamin survives Chilean earthquake
The former "Idol" tweeted: "I swear I thought this was the end of my life!!!!!"

"Glee" announces 4-city tour
Starting May 18, the cast will hit up Phoenix, L.A., Chicago and NYC. PLUS: Idina Menzel just might be Lea Michele's "Glee" mom.

Russian-Americans may get their own "Jersey Shore"
A "Brighton Beach" knockoff of "Jersey" is being shopped around, featuring stereotypes of Russian immigrants.

"Law & Order" nabs diehard fan Lindsey Vonn
The Olympic gold medalist will play a jury foreman on her favorite TV show.

"Lost" creators: Our show is a lot like "Top Chef"
"We're big fans of the show 'Top Chef'," Damon Lindelof, who was with Carlton Cuse, said at the PaleyFest. "Those guys all run through Whole Foods and they have to pull all of this stuff down — they have to get stuff they might not use in the dish. When they get to the kitchen they have to decide whether or not they're going to use it. Our process is kinda the same."

Chad Ochocinco is going "Dancing" — and so is Shannen Doherty
The flamboyant Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver is expected to be part of next season's cast. She'll be joined by the former "90210" star.

JWoww tries to trademark "JWoww"
According to her trademark application, the "Jersey Shore" star's name is officially "Jwoww" — not J-WOWW, JWOWW or JWoW.

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"The Marriage Ref": Who knew Jerry Seinfeld could be this unfunny?
"This show," says David Zurawik, "doesn't deserve a spot in daytime syndication, let alone a key position in prime time. I am serious, there were better game shows on in the 1950s when budgets were miniscule, technology was primitive and few producers yet knew how to use the medium of television. "Jackpot Bowling with Milton Berle," in 1959, was funnier and featured a more engaging concept than this sorry production from Jerry Seinfeld. Look it up."
14.5M tuned in // "Good lord was it excruciating to sit through"

Roger Ebert's synthetic voice was crafted from his DVD commentaries
Ebert says of his computerized voice, which debuts on Oprah Tuesday: "Yes, 'Roger Jr.' needs to be smoother in tone and steadier in pacing, but the little rascal is good. To hear him coming from my own computer made me ridiculously happy." PLUS: Listen to Ebert's new voice, as heard on "ET" promo.

Jimmy Fallon on Conan on Fox: "It's almost like doing your show for 5 people"
Fallon, who spoke to Conan O'Brien just last week, isn't sure of Conan's prospects on Fox network. "It's a tricky move," he tells Ryan Seacrest, "because your not guaranteed to play everywhere."

Carson Daly thrilled by Letterman name-dropping him
"I'm thrilled to have my job," says Daly, responding to the late-night feud. "I thought it was great," says Daly of Dave's shout-outs. "I mean, Letterman saying my name every night, saying that I have a show on at 1:30 is just incredible advertising. Not bad."

"Sons of Tucson" earns Tucson's key to the city, despite filming in L.A.
In fact, the Fox comedy never even considered filming in Tucson.

Why "The Bachelor" endures: It's comfort food for our tough times
"To watch 'The Bachelor' (and 'The Bachelorette')," says Sarah Hepola, "is to dip a toe into the lukewarm jacuzzi of a disappearing America — straight, of course, almost entirely white, naturally — where women parade their rockin' bikini bods and swear by their good Midwestern values. Even the cringe-inducing subtitle of the season, "On the Wings of Love," harks back to '80s glory days." PLUS: Jake: I saved money on ABC's alcohol budget.

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Looks like Kate Gosselin will be "Dancing" this spring

It was a bit eerie to see "Amazing Race" in Chile last night

Check out Simon Cowell's engagement ring // Meet his fiance

"Brady Bunch" reunion canceled due to Marcia vs. Jan feud

NBC earns a silver for Olympics // Closing Ceremony broke sappy records

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