All the tube news that’s fit to surf …
– There could never be too many interviews with Betty White, and here’s one from the New York Times, in which the Emmy-winning legend discusses, among other things, her upcoming guest stint as an anthropology professor on Community.
– Rosie O’Donnell‘s coming back to talk show land, thanks (???) to Oprah and her new OWN network.
– TLC is developing a reality series that’s being called a real-life version of Big Love.
– Almost as disturbing: A reality show in which the long-feuding Ryan and Tatum O’Neal allegedly make up. When his long-time girlfriend Farrah Fawcett died, Ryan O’Neal told a story about how he almost hit on his daughter at the funeral, because he didn’t recognize her. So … these two may be more than a scosche away from an even remotely normal father-daughter relationship.
– Glee: A Michael Jackson episode? Well, if Britney’s getting one …
– All is not well on the production of CBS’ new Tom Selleck series Blue Bloods. Deadline.com reports that the series’ showrunner has quit because of “creative differences” with Selleck over the direction of the NYPD cop drama.
– And several other new shows are having pre-season problems, to the point of having to reshoot their pilots. Among them: $#*! My Dad Says, the William Shatner sitcom that’s a (terribly titled) adaptation of the Twitter feed. I’ve seen the original pilot, and it is pretty bad. Maybe one minor chuckle in the whole thing, and that only came from a joke about Shatner’s infamous speaking pattern.
– When you think of home improvement, the first name you think of is … Vanilla Ice? No, but the one-hit-wonder rapper is going to be hosting his own DIY home show, The Vanilla Ice Project, on the DIY Network, beginning Oct. 14.
– The guy who was atop the American Idol judges wish list, but who producers couldn’t nab for the show: David Geffen.
– Speaking of the Idol-ers, how painful does this sound: a cruise with former AI stars?
– The Reality Rocks reality TV show convention, however, sounds fun.
– Bret Michaels‘ comment on being named co-host of the Miss Universe pageant on NBC on Aug. 23: “What could possibly go wrong? A rock star in a room full of beautiful women is bound to be entertaining.” It should prove to be entertaining, but given the year he’s had so far, probably best not to ask what could go wrong.
– Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane is also musically gifted, it turns out: He’s recording an album of show tune standards. The voice of Peter, Stewie and Brian Griffin is also hosting the Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff on Aug. 15.
– Justin Timberlake will guest star on The Cleveland Show this season, voicing a gay character who’s the love interest of Jason Sudekis‘ Terry.
– You wouldn’t think a movie about a soap box derby could lead to a brawl, but that’s just what happened to Psych star Corbin Bernsen when he was filming a movie about the All-American Soap Box Derby in Ohio.
– Mary Hart‘s leaving Entertainment Tonight after her 30th season, because her pay was cut in half. Before you feel too sorry for her, consider what her salary was: $5 million a year.
Charlie Sheen, Russell Brand and Louis C.K. are getting most of the attention, but I’m most excited that one of the best new shows of last TV season — Wilfred — returns for its second season on FX tonight (10PM ET). Season one of the series ended with a cliffhanger — had Ryan (Elijah Wood) […]
The Rosie show sounds pretty cool