The TV Zone

So so so much to catch up with before the long holiday weekend.

Let's get to it!

* "Law & Order: SVU" co-stars Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni have finally ended their months-long contract dispute with TV bosses, after signing two-year deals to remain on the show, per the June 30 report from The Associated Press. Surprise? Ha! You've got to be kidding. There would be no show without them, and Dick Wolf couldn't pull his old habit of dumping actors who got too big for their britches. These two are the britches. How much did they get? Not SiCo's $144 million, but something south of that.

* Rocky Carroll will do both versions of "NCIS." That's the scoop from TV Guide this morning. He's already on "NCIS" mo' ship, and will now move to baby "NCIS" - the Los Angeles spin-off. "I'll be keeping my normal routine on the 'mother ship,' and I'll be doing at least six of the first 13 episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles," he tells the mag.

* Chris Slater could be coming back to a TV set near you; he's in talks to join "The Forgotten," per "Hollywood Reporter." Slater was in one of my favorite new shows of '08, "My Own Worst Eneny." But I was apparently the only one. Gone quickly...

* Hilary Duff to "Gossip Girl," for a multi-ep arc, per Ausiello. Starts in October. HiDu's been quite the TV traveler since "Lizzie McGuire" days, landing bits and pieces in..."Ghost Whisperer," "Joan of Arcadia," "L&O;: SVU"...

* Neil Patrick Harris will probably host the Emmys. Good! He's a heck of a host. "Broadcasting and Cable" has the word on this this morning, and if the Academy is looking for my approval on the matter, I juseet gave it. Get NPH now!

* Jay Leno is still looking for material for his new show. It's not easy, this comedy thing...

* "America's Got Talent's" got viewers. Show was seen by nearly 13 million people Tuesday - and meanwhile, ABC's "The Superstars" is in trouble already - just about 3.5 million watched it at 10 on Tuesday, which is just about as low as you can go before the hook starts to make its way from beyond the curtains...That MJ special on "48 Hours?" Just over 8 million viewers; easily won the time period.

Out a few days, and lots happening, so...let's go to "Catching up with the News!"

Sanjaya will be on "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me outta Here." Yes, apparently show is also going to be renamed, "I'm a Celebrity.Get me a Stylist!" Blago joins, and OK! reports - though Fox denies - that Geraldo's on-board too.

Kara stays...For now. No shock that it's been a tough freshman year for the freshman, but "Idol" boss/ FremantleMedia North America chief Cecile Frot-Coutaz took the opportunity in an AP Kara Dioguardi profile, circulated over the weekend, to say this: "We're certainly not talking about going back to three at this point. ... We're pleased with the fourth judge," she said.( Now, I guess I don't need to parse this statement too carefully, but Cecile did say "fourth judge" and not "Kara." May be a mere oversight.)

SAG's finally got a contract. After an extended - a word that by no means does the just-concluded process justice - SAG members voted 53 percent in favor of a new two year deal. You'll note that that is hardly overwhelmingly in favor of the new deal, and seems underwhelming in favor. The union, in other words, is split, and remains split though the thumbs ups outnumber the 'downs. It was always unlikely the actors would walk away, but given the general displeasure in the writers' ranks over their deal, could this everyone will strike in a couple years, when the economy (hopefully) has improved and everyone is watching TV online?

"Southland" holds.Week two and "Southland" may well be a keeper. The show was seen by 9.58 million last week, or about a million viewers over "Harper's Island." It's a solid number for the NBC newcomer, and just about what "ER" was doing in the time period, and maybe even a bit o' improvement.

Helio innocent. Remember that shocker last year - a cuffed 'Neves lead away after the Feds decided he had evaded taxs on $5 million in earnings from his Penske racing team victories at Indie? He's innocent. A jury acquitted him a six charges on Friday...and that's that. But Reuters reports that the jury deadlocked on "a conspiracy charge against the siblings, leaving open the possibility the 33-year-old racer and his manager sister, Katiucia Castroneves, could face a retrial on that count." 'Neves, as you know, won "DWTS" a couple seasons ago.

Vick: No Reality Show...But... Somewhere I read last week that Michael Vick may do a reality show when released from prison this summer. But apparently...not, or "maybe." NFL.com has his agent, Joel Segal, saying “Any speculation of Mike doing a reality show is false. He has no interest in that. Absolutely false.” But, then there's this statement in the the NFL.com: "Vick’s lawyers did tell a judge in Vick’s recent bankruptcy hearing in Virginia that the former Falcons star could partake in a documentary that could help him earn $600,000 and help him pay off some of his debts. There have been no specifics about that potential project." Okay...

Jay Boyle: And this...yes, this...

Outa here for the next few days or so, but before I do...time to play catching up with the news...

Gov. Paterson took a poke at "SNL's" Fred Armisen skit again. When asked about it at a town hall meet at Morrisville State College yesterday, he said - to paraphrase - that the parody hurt people not in a position to fight back. I wonder how he'll react to last night's "30 Rock" (another Lorne Michaels prod, of course) which featured a blind character who gets tripped up by Tracy Jordan, who then romances her - for Kenneth.

Sherry Stringfield's back to "ER" now. That's what TVGuide.com is reporting, and I believe 'em, absolutely. How could she NOT be back...Susan Lewis, gone after only two memorable seasons (I think she was gone by '96, citing the grueling hours and a need to get back to NYC to be with her boyfriend, if memory serves....) She was very good on the job - a big loss, but the show did go on, I hear.

"Rescue Me" got a sixth season order yesterday - but a shortened one, it appears. The fifth kicks off April 7, with 22 episodes. I believe "Broadcasting & Cable" says the new order is only for 16 or 17.

Joanna Pacitti? We haven't heard the last of her, I am reasonably certain. TMZ claims she refused to quit when "Idol" bosses told her to. One can only guess the conversation - "...but my close personal friends at 19 said I had a good chance of winning, and Dr. Evil said I was exactly what he was looking for...YOU CAN"T DO THIS!!!" Of course, that's completely fabricated dialogue. So who knows...

And we leave you with Wacky Joaquim. Real or fake? The debate continues to rage. "Two Lovers" director James Gray isn't certain either whether the "Late Show" outing was a simple debacle or a highly-skilled post-modern attempt at method comedy to mock the world and all its manifest follies. He told Nikki Finke of Deadlinehhollywood.com that "I don't know what to say." Don't worry, James. No one else does either!

Lots to catch up with today, so let's go to our trusty "Catching up with the News" - and with the TCA TV Press Tour meet going on out West, there's plenty....

CBS spinning off "NCIS." Can you believe it? It's true. CBS bosswoman Nina Tassler told TV writers yesterday that this is gonna happen, and though I wasn't there for the grand announcement, I'm assuming next fall..."The Mentalist" is probably next, and suggested heds are "Positively Mental," "The Mentalizer," "Getting Mental," "The Mentalistist," and so on.

"Gossip Girl" spin-off a definite definite. Before it was just a "definite maybe." Per the Hollywood Reporter, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage - latter the real brains of the show who seems to write every word - are putting together a show that'll air as a backdoor pilot in May; there'll be flashbacks to the '80s of mom Lilly and Serena - so I'm thinking prequel here as opposed to sequel.

Chevy Chase to "Chuck": Also in HR, which says CC will be in a three-ep arc sometime this spring (I assume). He plays a techno mogul, and Chuck's dad accuses him of something ... whatever.

Conan at NBC session today: Conan speaks to assemblage later today, and let me just prefigure his comments right here..."I'm thrilled Jay's taking over at 10...no this won't impact our guest lineup at all...no, I don't feel like this announcement upstaged my move to 'Tonight'...Will you please stop asking the same stupid questions...oh, to hell with all of you...I'm outta here...Silverman, don't put me through this again..."
Amy Poehler will be here too to talk about her new show...

John Mayer will do a CBS show. Yeah, this news was out yesterday and it's a real head-scratcher. A music-variety-sketch show? Does this mean COMEDY? Oh, that Mayer, he's a funny one - as funny as a crutch. I've never seen this guy smile - except when he broke up with Jen. And then he smiled again when he got back together with her. Speaking of Jen, if she's on the show, I'll watch. Otherwise, a pass.

Lotsa little news items today -- nothing big, but certainly worth noting in our on-going feature, "Catching up with the News." So...let's get right to it!

- Oprah's Harpo signs a deal with HBO. For series, movies, minis, etc. etc. This replaces that old ABC one that didn't yield much. Unanswered question: How will Harpo (and O) do THIS when they've got that huge new network launching next year, and won't it conflict with it in some way?

- Simon talks to the press. Simon Cowell! Or Sico, as I've taken to calling the dear boy. Happens tomorrow, or today, if you're reading Wednesday. Unanswered questions: Will he compare himself to God? Will he say something really unpleasant -- but deliciously amusing -- about our beloved Paula?

- Some Turkish guy has accused Ryan Seacrest of stealing his idea for "Momma's Boys." Ha! I mean, really, HA! Wait till you see "MB:" No one in their right mind would want to claim paternity for this one.

- "Glee," or rather "GLEE," that Ryan Murphy "musical comedy" that sounds kinda like "HSM," got a green light from Fox -- a 13 episode order, and no start date. Rymu, as you know, is Mr. "Nip/Tuck." Per presser, "The one-hour series follows an optimistic high school teacher as he tries to transform the school’s Glee Club and inspire a group of ragtag performers to make it to the biggest competition of them all: Nationals."

- CNN's Candy Crowley -- lucky girl -- has an interview with Bush today; his first since the Shoe Moment. Her first question? Umm...hmmm...ahhhh

- Fans of TCM's wonderful series "31 Days of Oscar" will be happy to know that it's back this year -- in the month with only 29 days. TCM just announced -- and, you know, it's about all the various categories, one after another, and will be presented (I gather) as sort of classes, by Prof. Osborne himself.

- Possible Screen Actor's Guild strike vote was just zapped by a bunch of leading thesps, who told the less-leading thesps of the Guild not to authorize a strike...In a letter, "We feel very strongly that SAG members should not vote to authorize a strike at this time. We don't think that an authorization can be looked at as merely a bargaining tool. It must be looked at as what it is -- an agreement to strike if negotiations fail." Unanswered question: Is this strike ever gonna happen? Doubtful...

- "Today" has announced a year-look-back special, to air in prime next Monday, 8 - "2008: Today Looks Back, A Holiday Special. "Today" doesn't stay up late that often...Unanswered question: Is this part of "Today" Primetime Trojan Horse stratagem to take over 8 p.m. hour on NBC?

And continuing with our new feature here at TV Zone, we've got "catching up with the day's news" - that quickie digest that gives you everything you need to know about the medium you love, in 10 seconds or less. And away we go...

Palin a Go on "SNL." Yup, Sen. John McCain finally confirmed what has long been expected on last night's "Late Show with DL" - that she'll go on the show, maybe even this week. "I think she is, yeah," said he. "Probably get more of an audience than our debate did."

Debate Seen by 56.5 million. Just in case you're wondering how many people DID watch the other night. That was the official tally from Nielsen, just released. Here's what Nielsen says: The debate was "carried live on ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, BBC-America, CNBC, CNN, FOX News Channel, MSNBC and MUN2 and on tape delay on Telemundo. The sum of debate audience on these 11 networks was 56,523,000. FOX broadcast network did not carry the debate because of the Major League Baseball League Championship Series."

Glenn Beck joining Fox News. What!? you say. He's not already there? No, it just seems like these two were made for each other. He leaves CNN Headline News for FNC, where he'll anchor a 5 p.m. show in the spring.

"30 Rock" up a week early for TV Guide subscribers. Yeah, this streaming video is an oddball arrangement, but looks like it'll take care of fans who are bugged by the fact that the TV version is so long in coming ("Rock" premieres the night before Halloween). In next week's issue, Guide'll give readers some sort of download code they can use on iTunes to get the show. For free? Not sure.

"Mad Men" back for third season. Lotsa noise on whether it'll be back, which you can attribute to that word "posturing." Matthew Weiner's looking for a raise, and AMC is probably not looking to give one out, so spec (as raised this morning in the NY Post) is that it could head either to HBO or Showtime. But that seems unlikely because Variety is reporting that AMC has now picked up the third season option, though still no firm deal for Weiner. My seasoned hunch: That'll happen eventually, too.

Palin finally sits down with Bri Williams. Finally! The Mc/Palin interview will air next Wednesay and Thursday on "Nightly." Brian is the third and last of the major Big Three anchors to get Palin.

Sometimes, for no good reason whatsoever, I overlook some important or semi-important developments in the day's news because I'm so intently focused on Tina Palin, or Oprah, or Cloris Leachman.

So to catch up with some recent, semi-notable stuff, here goes:

Rocco DiSpirito out at "DWTS." What!? Surprised? Of course not. He was out last week, too, making him the first "DWTS" contestant to get ejected two weeks in a row. And I still thought Cloris had him beat.

Amy Sedaris gets a show. Amy? You know her from Comedy Central, a few hundred movies (like "Elf") and almost every time you turn on "Late Show with Dave Letterman." She's funny, a good guest, and Dave loves her and tells her as much each time she's on, which seems weekly. I believe (no surprise) Worldwide Pants is a partner in the show, as is Fox. When/where it'll air, TBD. Here's a clip from a recent "Late" appearance...

Colin Callender out at HBO Films...Colin? He's one of the old guard at the flailing pay cabler, and yet another one out the door. Who's left from the glorious old days? I guess that would be Sheila (Nevins) - the doc and news boss - but her exit would be unthinkable. It's not like he's had flops - most recently "John Adams" - but I imagine the urge to purge at HBO is so great that just about anyone once closely tied to deposed HBO chief Carolyn Strauss should be very worried...

Matthew Perry goes to Showtime...I know that you knew about this yesterday, but if you didn't, you now know about it now. He'll do a comedy - a dark, down, depressing, disparaging comedy, which probably makes it more of a drama - for Showtime called "The End of Steve." He's a TV talk show host in Rochester. Question: Has Chandler Bing ever been to Rochester? Does he know what a "Rochester" is? Does he know it snows there?

William Monahan - who wrote "The Departed" - is producing a series for CBS. This, under the Robert De Niro/Jane Rosenthal shingle at Tribeca. Should be a good drama, no doubt, and another New York-based production. If all goes well, on the air in fall of '09.

D.L.Hughley's gonna do a comedy show for CNN. It bows Oct. 25. A comedy show on CNN? Oh, why the hell not. Everyone wants some of "Colbert"/"Daily Show"/"Weekend Update" magic dust weeks 'fore the election. What happens afterward ...? Also, remember "The 1/2 Hour News Hour" on Fox News? Didn't work... Hey, what's happening with Joel Surnow, who fronted that? His "Night and Day" pilot with William Fichtner got picked up by TNT.

And...that's our little feature, "Catching Up with the Day's News." Hope it was informative..

(Above: Thanks to Pittsburghdish for the "Extra" logo)