CBS taps Michelle Trachtenberg & Mary Lynn Rajskub for separate pilots
Trachtenberg will play a venture capitalist, while Rajskub — who has also filmed a talk show pilot for E! — will join Kevin Dillon on "How to Be a Gentleman."
Simon Cowell loves Rebecca Black's "Friday": "I think it's genius"
Simon talks about hiring L.A. Reid ("I've got to have the No. 1 hit maker in the world on the show"), but he reserved his juiciest comments for the 13-year-old viral sensation. "The fact that it's making people so angry is brilliant," he says.
Connie Britton joins "Glee" creators' FX pilot "American Horror Stories"
The "Friday Night Lights" alum will play the lead role, while also producing another FX series.
"The Kennedys" isn't too controversial for the BBC
The miniseries rejected by just about every U.S. cable network is going to air on BBC2.
"Big Bang" brings in another real-life physicist
Columbia Unifversity physics professor Brian Greene will make a cameo with Sheldon. His book "The Elegant Universe" was used by co-creators Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady.
Lynda Carter thinks the new "Wonder Woman" costume is "fabulous"
"It's a new look and, jeez, her body looks fantastic," says Carter, who shrugs off any comparisons between her and Adrianne Palicki. "I would hope that people would cut her some slack," she says.
NFL Films president Steve Sabol has a brain tumor
The 68-year-old Sabol, who played a big role in the NFL's TV domination over the past 47 years, recently suffered a seizure. Sabol's illness comes one month after his dad, NFL Films founder Ed Sabol, was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The Henricksons say goodbye Sunday after five seasons, and Peter Biskind has come to sing its praises. "Yes," he says, "it's true that Big Love sometimes beats the audience about the head and shoulders with more twists and turns than a daytime soap—especially in the last few episodes before the End, as it tries to wrap up more loose ends than a plate of spaghetti. But to say the series is only a soap, even a weird, high-class soap, doesn't begin to do it justice. The rare beauty of Big Love is that it’s so confident of its hold on its audience, so in its own zone, that it reaches a point that wherever it goes, no matter how bizarre, the destination feels just right." PLUS: Why 
At 58, it's clear Paul Reubens has nothing left to say, says Hank Stuever. "The time machine meant to transport us back into a Pee-wee frame of mind has mysteriously broken down," he says. "This shouldn't be so surprising, since Pee-wee is no different from all those '80s rock bands who set aside old hurts to reunite for a tour. Once onstage, all they must do is play the hits. Yet even when the crowd goes wild (as they do when Pee-wee performs his 'Tequila' dance), some of the magic has plainly dissipated." PLUS: 
The "Parks and Recreation" star says his family has a different reaction to Swanson: "I grew up in a family of farmers and working men and women, so this character is kind of funny to them back home. In a country family, Ron Swanson doesn't seem quite as manly. To the urban television audience, a guy who can use tools is almost superhuman. But in my family, not so much." PLUS: 
According to Forbes, the Top 10 TV moneymakers of 2010 were 1) "American Idol," 2) "Two and a Half Men," 3) "Desperate Housewives," 4) "Grey's Anatomy," 5) "Dancing with the Stars," 6) "Lost," 7) "The Big Bang Theory," 8 ) "24," 9) "Private Practice" and 10) "Mike & Molly."
Producers have turned the production values up a bit too soon this year, which is affecting our perception of the "Idols," complains Ellen Gray. "I appreciate what the addition of uber-mentor Jimmy Iovine might mean to producing a successful recording artist from this final group," she says, "but I hope he and producers appreciate how much of the "Idol" experience is about letting viewers feel, at least, as if they're discovering someone. Which means turning up the heat (or the fog) slowly." PLUS: 
The 
So says Robert Bianco, who complains about the recyled plots, rejuggled couples and an overexposed Sue Sylvester plaguing this season, says Robert Bianco. But, he notes, the music has also been a problem. "Even the songs, once the show's saving graces, now seem to drop in at random, often courtesy of Darren Criss' likable but overexposed Blaine," he says. "'Glee' seems to have lost all interest in using music to advance the plot or define the characters. Worse, it has lost its ability to establish an emotional connection between song and singer, the kind that made Chris Colfer's October version of 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' so moving."
