Gabriel Byrne to star in Channel 4 drama 'Coup'

Gabriel Byrne to star in Channel 4 drama 'Coup'

Gabriel Byrne is to take the lead role in forthcoming Channel 4 drama Coup.

The conspiracy thriller - based on former Labour MP Chris Mullin's novel A Very British Coup - will see Byrne play reluctant hero Tom Dawkins.

Following a suspicious industrial accident in Teeside, politician Dawkins will rail against the establishment to uncover the truth and get justice for the families affected by the disaster.

Struggling to keep his party onside and the electorate behind him, he gradually unravels a sinister government conspiracy.

Byrne is best known for his film credits, including roles in 1990's Miller's Crossing, 1995's The Usual Suspects and 1999's End of Days.

He also appeared in HBO drama In Treatment for three seasons, until the show was cancelled in March 2011.

His last UK television appearance was a 1994 production for BBC Two's single drama Screen Two.

Coup has been adapted by Lennon Naked scribe Robert Jones and will be produced by The Shadow Line's Johann Knobel.

The four-part series - made by Company Pictures and Newscope Films - is due to begin filming in February and will air on Channel 4 later this year.

Celebrity Big Brother housemates set 'Flour Mountain' task

Celebrity Big Brother housemates set 'Flour Mountain' task

The Celebrity Big Brother housemates have been set a Flour Mountain task today (January 24).

Big Brother will call the celebrities into the Diary Room one by one, where they must battle with a mountain of flour.

Hidden within the flour is a cinema ticket, which they must find as quickly as possible. The housemates will be blindfolded and must dig through the flour with their hands tied behind their backs.

If the ticket falls out of the mountain or they blow the flour, they will fail the task. The housemate must show Big Brother the ticket in their teeth to win the task.

Whoever finds the ticket the quickest will win themselves a cinema pass and a plus one for their housemate of choice.

The reward will be a screening of either Bridesmaids, The Hangover, Invictus, The Social Network or Michael Madsen's Reservoir Dogs.

Celebrity Big Brother continues every day this week on Channel 5.

Kristen Bell: 'I joined House of Lies to work with Don Cheadle'

Kristen Bell: 'I joined House of Lies to work with Don Cheadle'

Kristen Bell has revealed that she instantly agreed to join the cast of House of Lies in order to work with Don Cheadle.

The actress plays management consultant Jeannie Van Der Hooven in the Showtime comedy, which premiered in the US earlier this month.

She explained that she didn't need to know too much information about the part for her to accept the role, because she was so excited about the prospect of working with Cheadle.

"Before [the producer] finished the 'le' in Cheadle, I said yes. I just flew by the seat of my pants," she told TV Guide.

"What they initially said was, 'You're a small role in the pilot, but don't worry we're going to develop your character. It's going to be great', which I can tell is the pitch that everyone gets when you have under 20 lines in a pilot. They always promise you the world. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't.

"Even if they were yanking my chain about developing the character, I said to myself, 'It's fine. If I have to support Don Cheadle in a series, there are worse jobs you can have'."

Kristen Bell recently described Don Cheadle as one of the "best actors of the past 20 years".

She also spoke of her hopes for a Veronica Mars movie adaptation to be made in the future.

'Geordie Shore' Gary Beadle 'in bust-up with new co-star Ricci'

'Geordie Shore' Gary Beadle 'in bust-up with new co-star Ricci'

Geordie Shore star Gary Beadle has reportedly had a bust-up with co-star Ricci Guarnaccio, say reports.

According to the Daily Star, the duo had a "violent scrap" after taunting each other about sleeping with a girl.

The newspaper claims that Beadle was given a "dressing down" by producers over the spat and that he was fined and banned from filming one episode.

Guarnaccio and Rebecca Walker have joined the cast as full-time flatmates for the rating hit's second run.

'Spartacus' exec: 'Game of Thrones changed our new season'

'Spartacus' exec: 'Game of Thrones changed our new season'

Spartacus showrunner Steven S DeKnight has revealed that the series' second season was influenced by Game of Thrones.

DeKnight told IGN that an incest sub-plot was removed from Spartacus: Vengeance to avoid comparisons with HBO's fantasy drama.

"All of us writers on Spartacus love Game of Thrones," he said. "It's just so well done.

"It's interesting because we did have an incest plot planned for Vengeance, with the twin characters of Seppius (Tom Hobbs) and Seppia (Hanna Mangan), but when I heard that Game of Thrones had it as an integral part of the story... we didn't go there."

DeKnight continued: "We didn't want to repeat something that somebody else was doing. And Game of Thrones did it so brilliantly [with the relationship between Cersei and Jaime].

"We have to find our unusual extremeness in other ways. Which, believe me, by the end of the season we do."

Spartacus star Nick Tarabay (Ashur) recently promised that future episodes will shock fans.

"Whatever you think you know about Spartacus or the characters of Spartacus, forget it," he warned. "The people that you love, you're going to hate. The people that you hate, you're going to love. And just when you think you've got it figured out, it changes again."

Spartacus: Vengeance begins on Friday on Starz in the US and will air on Mondays on Sky1 in the UK.

Jason Ritter show, 'Friday Night Dinner' remake among NBC pilot orders

Jason Ritter show, 'Friday Night Dinner' remake among NBC pilot orders

Projects starring Roseanne Barr and Jason Ritter are among the ten pilots which have been picked up by NBC.

Ritter, who has appeared in Parenthood and The Event, will take the lead role in County, TV Line reports.

The project focuses on a group of people working in a struggling Los Angeles hospital and has been created by Parenthood and Friday Night Lights producer Jason Katims.

Barr's project Downwardly Mobile, which sees the comedian playing the maternal owner of a trailer park, has also received a pilot order.

Elsewhere, a remake of the British comedy Friday Night Dinner, shepherded by The Office producer Greg Daniels and starring Anchorman's David Koechner, has been asked for an episode.

Other projects receiving pilot pick-ups include a new firefighting drama from Law & Order showrunner Dick Wolf called Chicago Fire and a comedy called Animal Kingdom, which focuses on a vet who loves animals but isn't really a people person.

Friends writer Scott Silveri got an order for an episode of his comedy Go On, while a project produced by Jimmy Fallon - which focuses on a group of three immature fathers - was also picked up.

Meanwhile, Community writer Hilary Winston is penning a pilot about a woman whose colleagues help her get revenge on her ex-fiancé.

Other comedies include Next Caller Please, which focuses on an alpha male DJ and his new feminist co-host, and Daddy's Girl, which follows what happens when a woman returns home from abroad to discover that her father is dating the "mean girl" from her school.

NBC has already ordered pilots including Anne Heche comedy Save Me and sci-fi drama Beautiful People.

Amanda Holden under observation in hospital, misses 'BGT' auditions

Amanda Holden under observation in hospital, misses 'BGT' auditions

Amanda Holden will miss Britain's Got Talent auditions in Blackpool today (January 24) after admitting herself to hospital yesterday.

The judge, who is due to give birth to a baby girl, rejoined the panel last week as auditions kicked off in Manchester.

However, the 40-year-old will not appear alongside Simon Cowell, David Walliams and Alesha Dixon today as she remains under observation in a London hospital.

Holden recently joked that she would make Cowell her new daughter's godfather, saying: "He could set up a trust fund with stacks of money in it because it's a girl - so she'll need shoes."

The former Shrek: The Musical star and husband Chris Hughes suffered a stillbirth last year. Recalling the discovery of her current pregnancy, Holden said that she had "burst into tears".

A Britain's Got Talent spokesperson confirmed that auditions would continue with the three remaining judges.

Big Brother: Frankie Cocozza new bookies' favourite after pantsgate

Big Brother: Frankie Cocozza new bookies' favourite after pantsgate

Frankie Cocozza has become the new Celebrity Big Brother bookmakers' favourite following the airing of 'pantsgate' on last night's highlights show.

Denise Welch, Nicola McLean and the Shannon twins were involved in a huge bust-up in the Big Brother house on Sunday night after Denise Welch pulled down Karissa Shannon's pyjama bottoms.

The incident and consequent fall-out dominated last night's episode and viewers appear to have warmed to the X Factor singer, who was dragged into the row.

Bookmakers Ladbrokes have ranked Cocozza as the 11/8 favourite, overtaking Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas at 13/8. A Labrokes rep said: "Frankie's finally struck a chord with punters. It looks like Gareth and his nice guy act might fall at the last hurdle."

McLean and the Shannon twins appear to have come out the worst in the pantsgate furore and are the favourites to be evicted on Wednesday night (January 24).

Celebrity Big Brother's final airs on Friday (January 27) on Channel 5.

'Skins' series premiere takes 459k on E4

'Skins' series premiere takes 459k on E4

The sixth series of Skins began with nearly 460k on E4 last night, according to overnight data.

Titled 'Everyone', the episode attracted 459k (2.6%) from 10pm, down from last year's audience of 823k (4.6%). However, it did premiere on 4oD one week earlier.

Elsewhere, Celebrity Big Brother averaged 2.43m (9.5%) in its 9pm timeslot - beating Wonderland's 1.24m (4.8%) on BBC Two and Coppers' 2.18m (8.5%) on Channel 4 (+1: 390/2.1%).

Channel 5 also aired World's Toughest Trucker (342k/1.5%) from 7pm, Police Interceptors (1.11m/4.3%) from 8pm and Celebrity Wedding Planner (787k/4.3%) in the 10pm hour.

On ITV1, 8pm's Cornwall with Caroline Quentin took 4.24m (16.6%) and 189k (0.8%) on +1. Above Suspicion claimed 5.73m (22.4%) from 9pm with a further 217k (1.2%) on timeshift.

BBC One's Inside Out was seen by 3.59m (15.1%) from 7.30pm. Panorama got 2.45m (9.5%) from 8.30pm, The Royal Bodyguard struggled with 2.79m (11.1%) and Mrs Brown's Boys had 5.22m (20%).

BBC Two's lineup before Wonderland consisted of Baking Made Easy (1.3m/5.8%), A Question of Sport (1.11m/4.6%), University Challenge (2.83m/11%) and An Island Parish (1.78m/6.9%). Mock the Week amused 1.47m (7.2%) from 10pm.

Channel 4's Superscrimpers: Waste Not, Want Not was watched by 1.43m (5.5%) from 8pm (+1: 355k/1.4%) before 9pm's Coppers. Later on, Party Paramedics had 1.42m (7.8%) from 10pm (+1: 200k/2.2%).

Overall, ITV1 posted a convincing primetime victory with 26.1% (+1: 0.7%) ahead of BBC One's 19.2%. BBC Two's 6.4% beat Channel 4's 6.1% (+1: 1.2%) and Channel 5's 5.1%.

TV Tonight 25th of January 2012

TV Tonight 25th of January 2012

The daily list in alphabetical order, of all the new episodes airing.

    112 - på liv och död S05E06: "Del 6 av 36"
    Amazing Eats S01E04: "Juicy Bites"
    American Idol S11E04: "Auditions #4: Aspen, Colorado"
    American Restoration S02E06: "The Big Move"
    American Restoration S02E05: "Buck Wild"
    Anno 1790 S01E04: "Good Evening, Beautiful Mask!"
    Are You There, Chelsea? S01E03: "Believe"
    Bargain Hunt S31E18: "Series 31, Episode 18"
    Bitchin’ Kitchen S02E11: "Veg-Head Extravaganza"
    Bomb Girls S01E04: "Bringing Up Bombshell"
    Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures S01E17: "Epic Seal"
    Celebrity Big Brother S09E22: "Series 9, Episode 22"
    Celebrity Big Brother S09E23: "Series 9, Episode 23"
    Celebrity Coach Trip S03E08: "Series 3, Day 8"
    Chihayafuru S01E16: "Episode 16"
    Come Dine With Me S18E09: "Series 18, Episode 8"
    Conan S02E39: "Elizabeth Banks, Timothy Olyphant, John Mulaney"
    Countdown with Keith Olbermann S10E16: "Season 10, Episode 16"
    Criminal Minds S07E12: "Unknown Subject"
    CSI: Crime Scene Investigation S12E12: "Willows in the Wind"
    Days of our Lives S47E54: "Ep. #11764"
    Deal Or No Deal (UK) S07E142: "Episode 1822"
    Dickinson's Real Deal S08E37: "Series 8, Episode 37"
    DIY SOS S21E10: "The Big Build - Dartford"
    Doctors S13E184: "Another Day, Another Dollar"
    Dog the Bounty Hunter S08E08: "Tears For Fears, Part 2"
    Dog the Bounty Hunter S08E07: "Tears For Fears, Part 1"
    Dragons' Den (CA) S06E14: "Season 6, Episode 14"
    Drinking Made Easy S02E17: "Charlotte"
    Dumbest Stuff on Wheels S02E01: "Season 2, Episode 1"
    Efterlyst S44E03: "25/1-12"
    Emmerdale S41E21: "January 25, 2012"
    Escape To The Country S12E17: "Devon"
    Face Off S02E03: "Rock Your Body"
    Film 2012 with Claudia Winkleman S01E03: "Episode 3"
    Fort Boyard - Ultimate Challenge S02E08: "Season 2, Episode 8"
    Full Throttle Saloon S03E09: "TBA"
    General Hospital (US) S49E207: "#12481"
    Ghost Hunters S08E03: "Flooded Souls"
    Got to Dance S03E28: "Series 3, Episode 28"
    Great British Railway Journeys S03E18: "Cockermouth to Eskdale"
    Greatest Tank Battles S02E03: "The Battle of Tunisia"
    Halv åtta hos mig S08E03: "Göteborg - Kristin"
    Hollyoaks S18E18: "January 25, 2012"
    Home and Away (AU) S25E03: "Episode 5438"
    Homes Under the Hammer S14E177: "Series 14, Show 177"
    Hot In Cleveland S03E09: "Love Is Blind"
    Hotel cæsar S28E140: "Season 28, Episode 140"
    House of Anubis S02E26: "House of Payback"
    House of Anubis S02E25: "House of Sibuna"
    How to Cook Like Heston S01E04: "Episode 4"
    Ich bin ein Star - Holt mich hier raus! S06E13: "Folge 13"
    Inside the NFL S35E21: "21 11-12"
    Jeopardy! S28E93: "Show #6298"
    Jimmy Kimmel Live S09E194: "Cuba Gooding Jr., Sara Hyland, Big Freedia"
    Johnny Test S05E35: "Johnny Germ Fighter"
    Jonathan Meades on France S01E02
    Kiekens S01E09: "Season 1, Episode 9"
    LEGO NinjaGo: Masters of Spinjitzu S02E03: "Snakebit"
    Lilyhammer S01E01: "Reality Check"
    Live with Regis and Kelly S29E107
    Masterchef (UK) S16E05: "Series 16, Episode 5"
    Natural World S32E01: "Jungle Gremlins of Java"
    Nature S30E06: "Fortress of the Bears"
    Neighbours S28E13: "Episode 6323"
    Not My Mama's Meals S01E04: "Game Day Eats"
    NOVA S39E12: "Mystery of a Masterpiece"
    One Born Every Minute S03E04: "Series 3, Episode 4"
    One Tree Hill S09E03: "Love The Way You Lie"
    Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy S02E03: "Extreme American Critters"
    Papa no Iukoto o Kikinasai! S01E03: "Episode 3"
    Pointless S05E102: "Series 5, Episode 102"
    Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is S05E18: "Series 5, Episode 18"
    Recorder to Randoseru S01E04: "Episode 4"
    Republic of Doyle S03E03: "Hot Package"
    Royal Pains S03E12: "Some Pig"
    Saints and Scroungers S03E18: "Series 3, Episode 18"
    Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents S02E01: "Kos"
    Sveriges mästerkock S02E06: "Tretton deltagare återstår"
    The Biggest Loser (AU) S07E03: "Season 7, Episode 3"
    The Bold and the Beautiful S25E217: "Ep. #6246"
    The Chase (2009) S05E17: "Series 5, Episode 17"
    The Colbert Report S08E14: "Terry Gross"
    The Daily Show S17E50: "Paula Broadwell"
    The Ellen DeGeneres Show S09E86: "Mario Lopez, Ben Flajnik"
    The Exes S01E09: "When Holly Broke Kevin"
    The Fabulous Baker Brothers S01E04: "Series 1, Episode 4"
    The Jeremy Kyle Show S07E93: "January 25, 2012"
    The Real World/Road Rules Challenge S22E02: "Love is a Battlefield"
    The Revolution (2012) S01E08: "Season 1, Episode 8"
    The Rosie Show S01E57
    The Soup S09E04: "January 25, 2012"
    The View S15E91: "Glenn Close, S. Epatha Merkerson, Chris Cuomo"
    The Young and the Restless S39E214: "Ep. #9829"
    Thuis S17E108: "Season 17, Episode 108"
    Toddlers and Tiaras S05E04: "Glitzy Divas"
    Top Chef S09E12: "Block Party"
    Touch S01E01: "Pilot"
    Wanted Down Under S06E18: "Series 6, Episode 18"
    Watch What Happens: Live S06E14: "Gail Simmons and Fabio Viviani"
    Wereld draait door, De S07E99: "Season 7, Episode 99"
    Whitney S01E13: "Codependence Day"

Spoilers on Once Upon a Time, Bones, Gossip Girl, Criminal Minds and More!

Spoilers on Once Upon a Time, Bones, Gossip Girl, Criminal Minds and More!

Question: Do you have any scoop on next Monday’s 100th episode of Gossip Girl? – Ivan
Answer: Oh, do I. There is a ginormous revelation during the episode that could go down as one of the show’s biggest, most jaw-dropping twists in history. And it’s not directly tied to the nuptials.

Question: I need some How I Met Your Mother news! Maybe something on when Barney and Robin will finally get together for good? —Steph
Answer: They’ll be otherwise engaged for the remainder of the season, Barney with new girlfriend Quinn and Robin with her one true love: work. “We’re going to see Robin’s career sort of take off in a new way,” reveals co-showrunner Craig Thomas. “She was always a career girl, and she’s going to start to [really] go that way… So we’re going to watch [her and Barney] move in different directions for a little while.” That said, Thomas acknowledges, “Those two characters and those two actors have this huge, crazy chemistry; I can’t say we’re done exploring [it]. They inform each other’s lives in enormous ways. Before the series is done we will have to address that.”

Question: Set the record straight — how many slaps are left on How I Met Your Mother? I say there are two, but my roommate says one. —Clay
Answer: Tell your roommate he’s an idiot. “We have two left,” Thomas confirms of the long-running Marshall/Barney gag. “We were down to our last one, and that made us really nervous. So we were like, ‘We needed another slap!’” (In related news, according to theslapbetcountdown.com, the bet is set to expire in May 2013 — could this be our first official series finale spoiler?)

Question: Any Erin/Andy Office scoop? —Aly
Answer: Sounds like Ellie Kemper isn’t in any rush for the stars to align for the unrequited duo. “I don’t know how it will be resolved ultimately, but I like that she has to focus on her own life and work and being without a man,” she tells us. ”She broke up with Gabe as well, which was so funny to me…. Not in a masochistic way, but in a way that it allows her to grow a little.”

Question: Doing a little Renewal Scorecard freak-out after Sera Gamble recently called  Supernatural‘s future uncertain. Do you still think it’s a safe bet for renewal? —Casey
Answer: Yes. In fact, I’m thisclose to upgrading it to A Sure Thing.

Question: Anything new on the Criminal Minds front? —Paul
Answer: Though series boss Erica Messer has for the time being ruled out a workplace romance between Hotch and Prentiss, you might want to keep an eye on the BAU agents played by Kirsten Vangsness and Shemar Moore when the Feb. 8 episode rolls around. “There’s some good stuff coming up with Garcia, her personal life [with boyfriend Kevin] and the relationship between Morgan and Garcia,” A.J. Cook (aka JJ) tells us. “It’s gooood, and it’s juicy. The fans are going to go bonkers and love it!” Bonus Minds scoop: You’ll never listen to “Total Eclipse of the Heart” the same way again after this week’s episode.

Question: I’m a self-prescribed television addict, and I’ve been meaning to ask you this: How many hours on average do you spend watching shows per week? —Esaul
Answer: Oh, Esaul, it isn’t a competition! But, if you must know, there’s a simple mathematical formula I use to calculate my weekly TV viewing: Take however many hours you watch, add one hour, and boom — that’s how many I watch.

Question: The end is in sight! Fresh episodes of Ringer will soon be back on my screen! Give us a just a bit o’ scoop to make it through these final dark days? —Jamie
Answer: Exec producer Pam Veasey confirms what I told you earlier this month: There’s a doozy of a twist coming in the girl-who-cried-rape plot between Juliet and Jason Dohring’s Mr. Carpenter. “It takes a different turn,” she says, “because it reveals that there’s a greater power behind it.”

Question: Any scoop on Ringer‘s return next Tuesday? —Katie
Answer: Despite that pesky pregnancy wrinkle, Siobhan won’t be lying low now that she’s back in New York. “She’s not someone who just sits back and watches, so she’s going to get involved in the action,” says exec producer Eric Charmelo. “But her window for [remaining inconspicuous] is slowly shrinking because she’s pregnant and she’s showing. There’s only so much time that she has to allow this interplay to happen.”

Question: Is there any hope for us Alicia and Will shippers? Or any scoop on The Good Wife? —Flor
Answer: There’s always hope. But I wouldn’t count on a reunion in the coming months as the exes make the awkward transition from colleagues and friends with benefits to just colleagues and friends. “What we wanted to explore is after you have such an intimate sexual relationship, how difficult is it to become friends again?” shares exec producer Robert King. “I think the problem is the sex was so good between them it’s hard to ignore. We’re going to explore how difficult it is to deal with the absence of sex in the relationship.”

Question: I still can’t get that Cary/Kalinda kiss out of my head. Anything coming up for my favorite Good Wife duo? —Summer
Answer: Their future is just as murky. “The worry on that relationship is how does the boat sail?” King muses. “In many ways, Cary feels very hurt by the fact that Kalinda pushed [for something to happen] and then pulled back. Is there enough sense for them to give another go of it? That I don’t have an answer for.”

Question: After watching the winter finale of Bones, I noticed an obvious physical resemblance between Dr. Sweets and Christopher Pelant, the new serial killer. Coincidence? —Ed Z
Answer: I like how your conspiracy-obsessed mind works, my friend — so much so that I sent your observation/theory to Stephen Nathan for vetting. “While we didn’t specifically choose to have someone look like Sweets, we did want to have a young, brilliant killer who would be an opposing force not only to Brennan, but also to our young, brilliant but not evil Dr. Sweets,” Nathan responds. “In Pelant we have found a contemporary villain, someone we might even call our Twitter killer.”

Question: I’m torn. I really want some juicy Bones spoilers but I’m afraid to ask. —Susan
Answer: There’s nothing to fear but fear itself. And this photo David Boreanaz took of Nathan horsing around on the set of Bones earlier this month above the cryptic caption, “The Birth! Cameo?” Explanation, Mr. N? “I’m playing a doctor,” he reveals. “But I am not delivering the baby. I can say unequivocally that I am not delivering the baby.”

Question: Do you have some fresh news about the much discussed and highly anticipated 11th episode of House, “Nobody’s Fault”? —Máté
Answer: The showdown between Hugh Laurie and special guest star Jeffrey Wright will more than live up to the hype. “Those two were phenomenal,” raves exec producer Greg Yaitanes, who directed the pivotal hour. “Watching two people bring that level of game every day was unbelievable.” As we first reported, Wright plays a renowned neurosurgeon who puts House’s process on trial. “To be the person who’s coming in after eight seasons to decide the fate of the series is an incredible task,” Yaitanes notes. “And he brought so much gravity to it.” Elaborating on the premise of the episode, Yaitanes says, “It will turn a mirror on every person that’s watched the show and thought that all of the dangerous stuff that House did every week was funny. And now something bad happens, and what does that mean? At what cost are we willing to see him take those risks? The outcome of it [impacts] the rest of the season. It’s a big episode.”

Question: Any scoop on the Downton Abbey Season 2 finale? —Janet
Answer: Look for a deceased character delivers a message from the great beyond via a newfangled invention called a Ouija Board.

Question: Anything on 90210? —Kevin
Answer: Ivy gets a new love interest and career when she falls for a graffiti artist and gets into tagging.

Question: Please, I don’t ask much. Just give us a scoop about Emma and the Stranger on Once Upon a Time. One episode and I ship them already! —Angel
Answer: In the next few episodes, the Mysterious Stranger With the Typewriter’s agenda “becomes clearer,” teases co-creator Adam Horowitz, “as we realize he has designs on Emma — both romantically and for another reason related to the curse and more specifically to Henry’s story book.”

Question: Any scoop on David and Mary Margaret on Once Upon A Time? —Louise
Answer: They won’t waste any time taking that kiss they shared in Sunday’s episode to the next level. Horowitz confirms that they’ll soon “begin an affair that they know is wrong but is also, somehow, right,” adding that, “Regina quickly makes sure that the cost of this true love trying to work itself out is dire.”

Question: I’m Italian. Yes, I’m an “illegal” viewer of many American dramas, but I can’t wait until the shows are aired on my Italian pay-TV. My question to you is… —Giovanni
Answer: Let me stop you right there Johnny and tell you upfront that I gave your IP address to the Italian authorities and I think you’re in a lot of trouble.

Question: Although I still want six seasons and a movie, this seems to be your last chance to give us a scoop on Chuck (insert tears). Make it count, Michael. Make it count! —Heather
Answer: You and your pressure-cooker questions, Heather. My final Chuck scoop comes in the form of a confession from Mark Pellegrino: The Lost actor admits he was a little shocked to be included among the assorted “call back” cameos in the swan song. “I never thought that my character would see the light of day again,” he says. “I didn’t even have a name [in the pilot], did I?! I was just ‘Fuclrum Agent,’ so it was interesting. The stuff that I’m in is pretty shocking and funny at the same time. I think the fans will enjoy it.”

Ricki Lake On Her New Talk Show: 'This Is My Comfort Zone'

Ricki Lake On Her New Talk Show: 'This Is My Comfort Zone'

While promoting her upcoming syndicated show, the TV personality reveals wedding details, talks "Dancing With The Stars" and talks about whether she's aiming to be Oprah's replacement.

Ricki Lake has been at NATPE this week talking about her new talk show which Twentieth Television launches in at least 93% of U.S. TV homes this fall.

“The good thing is I’ve done this before,” says Lake. “This is my comfort zone. Dancing and doing the Viennese waltz in front of 20 million people - not so comfortable. But talking to real women, real people about things that matter to us, that’s what I love.”

One thing you won’t see on her show is her upcoming wedding. She plans to be married before the show starts taping in July for a September premiere. She says she never wanted to date other actors or celebrities and has found a person she describes as “a sweet grounded man” -  Christian Evans, a vintage jewelry designer from New Mexico, who came into her life 16 months ago. They now live together in her Los Angeles home.

Being a single mom of two teenage boys, writing a new book, being hands on in the planning of her new TV show excite her. But the process of planning a big wedding makes her crazy.

“That turned out to be so stressful I couldn’t do it,” says Lake. “I hired a wedding planner. I picked a venue but didn’t secure it thank god. I started to do a save the date guest list. That list was enough to give me heart palpitations. ‘What you’re not going to invite this person? You’ve  known them forever. This one. Bring a date?’ I started to have flashes of having to meet strangers at my wedding and make them feel at home. I said, ‘Know what?  Forget that. I’m 43. I don’t need to be the princess. I get to be the princess pretty much every day of my career in a lot of ways. It’s all about us. We’re not even having my children at our wedding. It’s going to be very low key.”

Lake paused during an interview to smile at the thought of her fiancé. “This is all very new for him and for us,” she said smiling. “We’ve been together for 16 months. When I did Dancing With The Stars I told him, ‘Honey, it’s going to get really strange. It’s going to get really weird for a little bit and it’s true. He’s gone through it unphased. He’s the real deal. He’s not impressed by any of this. He loves that I work really hard. He texted me. Want to hear how sweet he is? How precious? He texted me (she reads off her phone): “He said ‘I love you baby. You amaze me at who you are and what you do. Let your soul shine today. Kiss kiss.’  It’s that kind of unconditional support and love I need at this time in my life.”

“He’s the real deal,” says Lake, and she hopes to be just as real to the audience that tunes in when she returns to hosting  talk show for the first time since 2005, but this time with a very different format and a much more personal involvement in every phase.

She refers to The Ricki Lake Show as her talk show 2.0. She has fond memories of her first show, which ran from 1993 until 2004, but this time there won’t be conflict, irate New Yorkers and battles between baby mamas and their alleged daddy’s.

“We’re doing a show that is elevated content for women 25 to 54,” says Lake. “So basically the things women who grew up with me are now like me going through whether it is divorce, or re-marriage or raising teenagers or dealing with fertility issues, aging, career. I’ve grown up a lot. I have this life experience. I’m not who I was when I was 24 and at NATPE for the first time. I’m 43 and in a lot of ways I think I know who I am in ways I did not before.”

If she can do that, Lake may be the one who finally can fill the void left for many women when Oprah scampered off to her own cable network, leaving the afternoon filled with doctors, shrinks, lifestyle gurus and newsmen doing personality pieces.

“For me as a viewer I miss the old Oprah show,” says Lake. “That  is what we are trying to do, before the book club. Before she became sort of untouchable. I’ve always loved her. She’s the show I miss watching every day, the way she was when she would go out in the audience. If you think of her 10 years ago she had her arm around that audience members and you felt like she was going through it with us.”

So does Lake think she can fill that void?

“No one can replace Oprah,” she responds. “I’m not going to lie. No one is going to replace anyone. These shows are personality driven.”

So what will it be. That is still coming together. She says she will announce her new executive producer in about a week, a woman she calls “a get” who has done this before. What she can say is that she will put herself out there again.

“There’s going to be a lot of the excitement and energy just as my old show had,” says Lake. “But at 43, the show I want to watch is very different from the show when I was 22. It’s going to be everything we women are trying to figure  out.”

To figure out what they are trying to figure out, Lake has already begun using social media and the Internet to reach out to others who are having similar experiences. She has hired a person who is already working those cyber links. She has reached out, she says to “mom bloggers and women bloggers… not only to support our launch but to give us information, ideas on which ways we should go and use them so that we can all work together to do the show we want to see.”

She says she is tweeting frequently, and will have a group of experts who will contribute to the show and participate on a regular basis. They will also be contributing to the online Ricki Lake magazine which will begin appearing in mid-February. “It’s an ap that will soon be available,” says Lake. “It’s a way to get people psyched for the show and give us ideas of what they want to see.”

She won’t be talking politics, have a lot of celebrities pushing their movies and there won’t be a band or  sidekick. Lake says it will be her trying to be honest. She says her life is already an open book and she has nothing to hide – so she will share freely.

“John Waters [the film director] gave me my start when I was 18 yrs old and did Hairspray,” says Lake. “He gave me some great advice. Before the movie came out I  didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know what my career would be like. He pulled me aside and he said, ‘Look I want you to remember these three things. Always be humble. Always stay true to yourself. And if you’re going to read and believe the good press about yourself, you’re going to have to read and believe the bad as well.’”

“Those are three things that stayed with me,” adds Lake. “People that know me refer to me as the unfamous famous person. I am definitely someone people know. But I don’t live like people know who I am. I live a very normal, everywoman life. I think that’s refreshing for people who want to tune into a show for an hour in the afternoon, and feel like they’re going to have some take away, feel like they’re with someone they can trust and they like; and who is familiar and who is not going to judge them. I am  excited to be that person for them again.”

CW Orders Pilot from 'Gilmore Girls' Scribe, 'Pushing Daisies' EP

CW Orders Pilot from 'Gilmore Girls' Scribe, 'Pushing Daisies' EP

"First Cut" will revolve around a new doctor who realizes that life isn't much different from her nerdy high school experience.

The CW is investing in another female-driven light-hearted doctor project.

The network has given pilot orders to First Cut, a drama with comedic elements revolving around a newly minted doctor, excited to leave her nerdy past behind for a fresh start in the adult professional world who learns that life at the hospital where she works isn't much different than her high school experience.

From CBS Television Studios, Gossip Girl scribe Jennie Snyder Urman will pen the project and executive produce alongside Pushing Daisies' Dan Jinks.

First Cut reteams Urman with the CW, where she served as a co-EP on its 90210 reboot from 2009-11. The network passed on her female-driven law drama pilot Danni Lowinski last year.

The CW currently has another female-driven doctor drama in its Rachel Bilson fish out of water freshman series Hart of Dixie, which the network picked up for a full season last year.

First Cut joins the young-skewing network's four other drama pilots, including Greg Berlanti's DC Comics-inspired Arrow, the Beauty and the Beast update; and Josh Schwartz's Sex and the City prequel The Carrie Diaries and sudsy crime drama Cult.

Urman is repped by UTA. Jinks, whose feature credits also include Milk and American Beauty, is with WME.

ABC's 'Beauty and the Beast' Ordered to Pilot

ABC's 'Beauty and the Beast' Ordered to Pilot

The project joins the CW's modern-day take on the 1980s CBS series this pilot season.

ABC is making it a pair of Beauty and the Beast reboots this pilot season.

The female-skewing network is moving forward with its reimagining of the classic fairy tale set in a mythical, dangerous world where a beautiful and tough princess discovers an unlikely connection with a mysterious beast.

Human Target scribe Jonathan E. Steinberg (Jericho) will pen the project with Gary Fleder (Life Unexpected) and Mary Beth Basile (October Road) attached to executive produce the ABC Studios project through their Mojo Films shingle.

ABC's Beauty and the Beast update comes as the network has found success with freshman fairy tale Once Upon a Time, the dual universe drama revolving around Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and her long-lost daughter (Jennifer Morrison).

It also marks the second Beauty and the Beast project ordered to pilot this month, joining the CW's modern-day take on the 1980s CBS drama that starred Ron Perlman as Vincent (aka the Beast) and Linda Hamilton as Catherine (the Beauty).

Felicity's Jennifer Levin and Brothers and Sisters' Sherri Cooper are attached to pen the project and executive produce alongside Paul Witt, C. Anthony Thomas, Ron Koslow and Bill Haber.

The ABC update is the latest in a long line of remakes of the classic tale.

Disney's 1991 animated feature, featuring the voices of Angela Lansbury and Jerry Orbach, among others, grossed more than $387 million worldwide.

The 1987 CBS live-action drama starring Ron Perlman as Vincent (aka the Beast) and Linda Hamilton and Catherine (the Beauty) ran for three seasons.

More recently, last year's feature adaptation of Alex Finn's 2007 novel Beastly, starring Alex Pettyfer and Vanessa Hudgens, collected $28 million domestically.

Adam Lambert Reveals Dream 'Glee' Gig; Respects Show's 'Brave Agenda'

Adam Lambert Reveals Dream 'Glee' Gig; Respects Show's 'Brave Agenda'

The "American Idol" season 8 runner-up talks about the Fox show's appeal and what role he sees for himself on a future episode.

Adam Lambert is itching to get on Glee.

The American Idol season 8 runner-up thinks the Fox show is “so cute” in that it “really paints a picture of what it’s like to be an arts kid in high school. Glee is really irresistible -- it's charming.”

So where’s Lambert’s walk-on invite, Glee powers-that be? “I don't know, ask them,” Lambert tells the Hollywood Reporter. “I think there were murmurs about it. Hopefully, maybe now that I have some new music, I could go on there.”

Lambert's second full-length album, Trespassing, is due out this Spring.

As for who he could potentially play? The answer should come as no surprise to the scores of Glamberts, but to their delight. “I want to just be me,” he says. “Why do I have to be a fictional character?”

Still, Lambert freely admits he didn’t always feel so warm and fuzzy about the hit series. “When Glee first came out, I was like, ‘I don't really like this show,’” he says. “But now I watch it... And you know what? I do think the show has an agenda, but I respect the agenda. I think it's a very brave agenda to try to push. I think that they're one of the few people that are doing it. So it's definitely one of a kind and very revolutionary in that way.”

Spike Teams With Film Duo for Nonscripted Fare

Spike Teams With Film Duo for Nonscripted Fare

The male-skewing network has pacted with Josh and Dan Braun at Submarine Entertainment to identify and create original series.

Spike TV is continuing its push into original programming, pacting with film veterans Josh and Dan Braun at Submarine Entertainment.

Submarine's Josh Braun, previously head of sales at Fremantle where he focused on producing theatrical releases including A History of Violence, and Dan Braun will identifu and create nonscripted programming for the male-skewing cable network.

"This deal signifies Spike's commitment to finding fresh voices outside the traditional non-scripted world," said Sharon Levy, exec vp original series at Spike. "No one is better at identifying film makers with unique stories to tell than Josh Braun, and now he will help find them for Spike."

The duo currently is in Park City and stand as Sundance's top seller, closing deals for features including Queen of Versailles and Searching for Sugar Man.

The news comes as Spike has grown its slate with original projects including Auction Hunters, Flip Men and Repo Games.

'Oprah's Next Chapter' Expands to Second Night After Recent Rebound

'Oprah's Next Chapter' Expands to Second Night After Recent Rebound

With more competition entering its Sunday timeslot, an additional hour of the interview series will air on Monday nights through February.

OWN is doubling up on Oprah's Next Chapter.

After bowing with a two-hour premiere and settling into one-hour outings, the CEO's new interview series will screen upcoming outings in two separated hours.

Starting Jan. 29, with a trip to Haiti to chronicle actor Sean Penn's humanitarian efforts, Oprah's Next Chapter will air on Sunday nights at 9:00 p.m. and Monday night's at 10:00 p.m.

The move comes as Next Chapter saw a ratings rebound with the Jan. 23 episode, following a steep drop the week prior. Hitting highs with the Jan. 8 interview with pastor Joel Osteen (1.6 million, a network record), the series has averaged 924,000 total viewers in its first month on the air. This past Sunday's visit Star Wars creator George Lucas's Skywalker Ranch brought in audience of 557,000 (up from 501,000 the week prior).

Recent Sundays have presented the additional obstacles of football playoffs and league championships and the 2012 broadcast of the Golden Globes.

Other interviews scheduled for two parts include Winfrey's Feb. 12/13 visit to Brooklyn's Hasidic Jewish communities and a Feb. 19/20 interview with motivational speaker Tony Robbins.

Paula Deen and Deepak Chopra are also on deck as subjects for the freshman run.

'Scrubs' Creator Bill Lawrence Lands Comedy at Fox

'Scrubs' Creator Bill Lawrence Lands Comedy at Fox

"Scrubs" creator Bill Lawrence has landed a comedy pilot with Fox, an individual with knowledge of the deal confirms to The Wrap.

The half-hour, single-camera effort, titled "Like Father," is described as "centering on a father-son relationship, inspired by Lawrence's real-life experience." Lawrence will write, direct and executive-produce. The series comes via production company Doozier -- whose Jeff Ingold will also executive-produce -- in association with Warner Bros. Television.

This isn't the only good news that Lawrence has received lately -- after a prolonged absence, his other creation, "Cougar Town," has been added back to ABC's roster in place of the quickly-canceled "Work It." New episodes will resume Feb. 14.

Jay Leno Sued Over 'Tonight Show' Mitt Romney Crack

Jay Leno Sued Over 'Tonight Show' Mitt Romney Crack

Jay Leno's really taking it on the chin over his joke about Mitt Romney last week.

Leno has taken heat from a religious group after cracking that presidential contender Romney keeps the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, as his summer home. And how he's being sued by a religious organizer who claims that Leno libeled the entire Sikh religion with his joke.

In court papers filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday and obtained by TheWrap, Dr. Randeep Dhillon, who does business as Bol Punjabi All Regions Community Organization, claims that Leno "hurt the sentiments of all Sikh people in addition to those of the plaintiff" with his joke. Dhillon further claims that Leno's joke "clearly exposes plaintiff, other sikhs and their religion to hatred, contempt, ridicule and obloquy because it falsely portrays the holiest place in the Sikh religion as a vacation resort owned by a non-Sikh."

Claiming libel, Dhillon is seeking unspecified damages, plus court costs.

Since making the joke -- which was a riff on Romney's wealth -- Leno has taken heat, with one group launching an online petition against Leno. The petition claims that Leno has a history of making discriminatory comments about the Sikh religion.

"Previously, in 2007 he called Sikhs 'diaper heads.' In 2010, he remarked, falsely so, in his monolog that President Obama could not visit Sri Darbar Sahib because of requirements of wearing a turban," the petition reads. "Clearly, Jay Leno's racist comments need to be stopped right here."

WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange to Host TV Series

WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange to Host TV Series

Controversial WikiLeaks founder Julianne Assange is getting into the television game.

Assange, who has made headlines with his disclosure of government secrets along with allegations of sexual misconduct, will host a TV series comprising "in-depth conversations with key political players, thinkers and revolutionaries from around the world," WikiLeaks said late Monday.

The title of the series has not been announced yet, but the theme will be "the world tomorrow."

The series -- which is scheduled to premiere in mid-March -- "will draw together controversial voices from across the political spectrum -- iconoclasts, visionaries and power insiders -- each to offer a window on the world tomorrow and their ideas on how to secure a brighter future," WikiLeaks said.

"Are we heading towards utopia, or dystopia and how we can set our paths?" Assange said of the questions to be raised by the show. "This is an exciting opportunity to discuss the vision of my guests in a new style of show that examines their philosophies and struggles in a deeper and clearer way than has been done before.”

Presumably, plenty of spoilers will be issued by WikiLeaks prior to the show's run.

The series, which will consist of 10 weekly half-hour episodes, has already struck licensing agreements that will cover more than 600 million viewers across cable, satellite and terrestrial broadcast networks, according to WikiLeaks.

'Walking Dead' Spoiler: Does an Actor's Potential New Role Mean His Character Is Doomed?

'Walking Dead' Spoiler: Does an Actor's Potential New Role Mean His Character Is Doomed?

(Spoiler alert: Don't read this if you don't even want to think about a central "Walking Dead" character leaving.)

Is Shane doomed on "The Walking Dead"?

Actor Jon Bernthal is in talks to star in the pilot for TNT's cop drama "L.A. Noir," according to Variety. The pilot, to be directed by former "Walking Dead" showrunner Frank Darabont, would feature Bernthal as Joe Teague, a Los Angeles cop who battles local mobsters in the 1940s and '50s.

Which doesn't sound especially promising for his character on "The Walking Dead," Deputy Shane Walsh.

Bernthal's rep didn't immediately respond to TheWrap's request for comment on his future with either show.

Shane has certainly ticked off plenty of his fellow survivors -- he carried on an affair with the wife of his best friend (and may be the father of her unborn child). He's also butted heads with fellow survivor Dale, and set off the mass killing -- well, re-killing -- of the walkers hidden on Hershel's farm.

So, does a new job in real life (and a reunion with Darabont, from whom Bernthal has expressed much admiration) + a character who continues to alienate himself =TV Shane fated to die?

We can't look to the graphic novels that inspired the show for any clues about Shane's fate: The show's writers have said they feel free to depart from them.

"The Walking Dead" returns with new season two episodes on AMC on Feb. 12.

The Next 'Bachelorette': Single Mom Emily Maynard

The Next 'Bachelorette': Single Mom Emily Maynard

ABC has announced Emily Maynard, the single mom who accepted Brad Womack's final rose in the season 15 finale of "The Bachelor," is single -- again -- and ready to mingle -- again -- on the eighth season of "The Bachelorette."

Maynard, the first single mom to star on "The Bachelorette," will have her choice of 25 bachelors on the show's upcoming season, which premieres in the spring.

Maynard is "hoping that third time is the charm," according to ABC's press release. Before her ill-fated engagement to Womack -- the two announced their breakup in June -- Maynard was engaged to NASCAR driver Ricky Hendrick, who died in a plane crash in 2004.

She was pregnant with their daughter, six-year-old Ricki, when Hendrick died, and is now hoping to meet "someone who makes her laugh, doesn't take himself too seriously and can be her best friend."