The Mad Men star returning to 30 Rock, with Jason Sudekis and Dean Winters? That’s more awesome than Don Cheadle on a bed of rice!

That reference, of course, is a nod to one of this season’s best 30 Rock episodes, “Anna Howard Shaw Day,” which featured that trio of actors as Liz Lemon’s (Tina Fey) ex-boyfriends, and, in a Liz hallucination, that trio of actors playing Jamaican receptionists working in her dentist’s office and gossiping about their Don Cheadle fantasies.

Well, good news: In the May 13 episode of 30 Rock, Hamm and Winters return to play Liz exes Drew and Dennis, who she visits in hopes of sparking a reunion so she’ll have a date for the wedding of another of her exes, Floyd (Sudekis).

In the same ep, Michael Sheen also returns as Liz’s alleged “Future Husband,” while Elizabeth Banks and Julianne Moore also return as part of Jack’s (Alec Baldwin) love triangle. And Tracy (Tracy Morgan)? He enlists Kenneth’s (Jack McBrayer) help in his never-ending quest for the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards).

Good times.

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• Filed in 30 Rock, Mad Men, Saturday Night Live, TV News
• Tags: 30 Rock, Jon Hamm, Jon Hamm Jamaican receptionist 30 Rock

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– The Hollywood Reporter has exclusive clips from the table read of the Family Guy abortion episode that won’t air (but will be released on DVD). Reactions?

– More Family Guy news: Show creator Seth MacFarlane confirms matricidal baby Stewie is gay. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

– In honor of the show’s anniversary – South Park premiered on Comedy Central on August 13, 1997 – the show’s official Website is featuring the never-aired original pilot that led to the series. The “only all-construction-paper episode” of the show will be available at South Park Studios.com for 30 days.

– Bill Maher‘s bringing in the pretty boys for Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday: Brad Pitt and Ashton Kutcher are the guests.

– Next TV show headed to the big screen: Battlestar Galactica, with Superman helmer Bryan Singer leading the way.

– Twittering wasn’t such a great idea for Paula Abdul, but Man vs. Wild star Bear Grylls is using Twitter to line up guest stars for his show: He Tweeted an invite to Demi Moore to hit the great outdoors with him for an episode.

– TMZ reports that a Paula Abdul Dancing With the Stars judging gig ain’t gonna happen. Why? She and current judge Carrie Ann Inaba aren’t exactly BFFs, apparently …

– In answer to EW.com’s question “There’s no such thing as too much Jon Hamm … right?” the answer is, emphatically, right! Proof: Here’s Jon Hamm in Vanity Fair, Jon Hamm having lunch and chatting about season three of Mad Men with Chicago Tribune‘s Maureen Ryan and Jon Hamm in Huffington Post‘s collection of gratuitous Jon Hamm photos. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

– If this trailer is any indicator, FX has another big winner on its hands with the upcoming Timothy Olyphant “modern Western” Lawman.

– This one’s been rumored for a while, and it looks like the Tony Danza reality show – in which the Taxi and Who’s the Boss star becomes a high school English teacher in Philadelphia (no, really) – is gonna happen.

– Are you, or someone you know and would dare to nominate, the Worst Dressed American? Then you, or your frienemy, are just who TLC’s What Not to Wear is looking for. ‘Fess up to crimes against fashion at the TLC Website … the “winner” gets a makeover courtesy of WNtW‘s Clinton and Stacy.

– Fox has a now-and-then slideshow of the cast of Family Ties, one of my all-time fave sitcoms. Most of them look swell, except for poor little Andy, a.k.a. Brian Bonsall. He’s gone the all-too-familiar former child star route, and looks like he has fangs now. Which, actually, given how ubiquitous anything vampire-related is right now, should get him a gig.

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• Tags: Battlestar Galactica movie, Family Guy abortion episode, former child stars, Jon Hamm, Paula Abdul Dancing With the Stars, South Park pilot, Timothy Olyphant Lawman, Tony Danza high school teacher

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– Mad Men, season three, August 16 at 10PM ET on AMC. Be there, or be somewhere else, somewhere where people don’t knock back three vodka gimlets before lunch, aren’t nearly as dapperly-attired as Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and don’t have offices that are bigger than my entire New York City apartment. Yeah, not sounding nearly as much fun as Mad Men, right?

– Is designer Vera Wang going to be competing on the next season of Dancing With the Stars? And if so, does that mean we can count on less cheesy costumes?

– Plus-size model Emme has been hired to host Fox’s More to Love, the reality dating show that will feature “average-looking” people

– Discovery Channel’s 22nd annual Shark Week kicks off on August 2.

– Matt Mitovich at TVGuide.com says Rick Springfield will play, fittingly enough, Rick Springfield, when he guest stars on the new season of Californication, but he’ll be a naughty Rick Springfield, one whose sex play makes David Duchovny‘s Hank “look like a Jonas brother.” Not that I’m buying that whole purity ring business about the Jonas Bros. …

– In celebration of its 15th anniversary, TCM has created its own social network site, TCM Classic Film Union, for movie buffs.

– Gordon Ramsay has apologized for, well, basically, for being a tool. You can watch the apology here.

– I reeeally want to like Dr. Drew and trust his motives, but a real doctor prolly should offer to help Lindsay Lohan, or a less-famous addict, whether or not she accepts a reported six-figure offer to appear on his reality show, Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, right? Of course, the story seems to be originating with Lohan’s dad, so, grain – no, make that rock, huge, ginormous rock – of salt on the whole thing.

– The Shield creator Shawn Ryan is going back to FX with a comedy about private detectives, called Terriers.

– Futurama‘s back! With 26 new episodes in 2010!

– Good news for David Letterman: He, with guest Julia Roberts, beat Conan O’Brien‘s Tonight Show on Tuesday. Worse news for Conan: His ratings keep dropping. Don’t count him out tho; remember his first years as Late Night host?

– More ratings wars news: Judge Judy beat Oprah. Whoa.

– ABC’s getting a jump on the competition by announcing its fall premiere dates.

– The ratings for the Nurse Jackie series premiere were so good, Showtime’s already greenlighting a second season, so go ahead and get hooked.

– Heidi Pratt‘s launching her own line of dry shampoo, after her shampoo shenanigans on I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here. I’m sure Oscar Blandi is shaking in his celebrity hair-cutting boots.

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• Filed in Celebreality, Late Night, Reality, TV News
• Tags: Californication, Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, Conan O'Brien, Dancing With the Stars, David Duchovny, David Letterman, Discovery Channel, Don Draper, Dr. Drew, Drew Pinsky, Emme, Futurama, Get Me Out of Here, Gordon Ramsay, Heidi Pratt, I'm a Celebrity, Jon Hamm, Jonas, Judge Judy, Julia Roberts, Lindsay Lohan, Mad Men, More to Love, Nurse Jackie, Oprah, Rick Springfield, Shark Week, Shawn Ryan, TCM Classic Film Union, The Shield, Tonight Show, Vera Wang

Starbuck is coming to CTU! EW.com’s Michael Ausiello broke the news that Battlestar Galactica‘s Katee Sackhoff is joining 24 for season eight, where she’ll play a new member of the revamped CTU. And Fox just issued an official press release about season eight, with casting news and a few details on storyline. Put it all together, and here’s a round-up of 10 things we know about next season, which premieres on Jan. 17, 2010, so far …

1 – Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) lives! How do we know Jack survives that deadly bioweapon from season seven? Because, duh, he’s Jack Bauer. And because the Fox press release confirms Kiefer’s return. And because The Insider has these photos of Kiefer filming.

2 – Grandpa Bauer? Take a look at those Insider pics again. Kiefer’s carrying a little girl – an adorable little girl, who looks a lot like Jack and his daughter Kim, who we know has a kid. Add it all up, and methinks you can go ahead and buy that “World’s Greatest Grampy” mug for Mr. Bauer.

3 – Kim’s (Elisha Cuthbert) back, as are Agent Renee Walker (Annie Wersching), President Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones), Paul Wesley as Kim’s hubby Stephen and geek goddess Chloe O’Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub, who’s been posting on Twitter about the new season).

4 – Freddie Prinze Jr. has been tapped to play Davis Cole, the new head of field ops for CTU and a character described as a wannabe Jack Bauer.

5 – Oh yeah, CTU lives! A new “upgraded” CTU, according to Fox, will be run by Brian Hastings (Forrest Gump star Mykelti Williamson), an “MBA-schooled and razor-sharp head honcho.”
…Read more

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• Filed in 24
• Tags: 24, 24 season eight, 24 season eight preview, 24: Redemption, Anil Kapoor, Annie Wersching, Battlestar Galactica, Becki Newton, Carlos Bernard, Cherry Jones, Chris Diamantopoulos, Colm Feore, CTU, Elisha Cuthbert, Emmys, Freddie Prinze Jr., Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Jack Bauer, James Morrison, Jennifer Westfeldt, John Boyd, Jon Hamm, Jon Voight, Katee Sackhoff, Kiefer Sutherland, Kim Bauer, Kurtwood Smith, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Mykelti Williamson, Paul Wesley, Rory Cochrane, Sprague Grayden, Starbuck

And here’s the promo, complete with plenty of footage of The Draper (Jon Hamm), to prove it (in case you missed it during last night’s Breaking Bad season finale):

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• Filed in Drama, Ya Gotta See This!
• Tags: Jon Hamm, Mad Men, Mad Men season 3, Mad Men season three, promo, season 3, season three