'Doctor Who' exec Caroline Skinner hints at 'epic' new series

'Doctor Who' exec Caroline Skinner hints at 'epic' new series

Doctor Who's new executive producer Caroline Skinner has dropped hints about the seventh series.

The sci-fi drama's latest run began shooting earlier this week in Wales, with Saul Metzstein directing.

"We had our first read-through a couple of weeks ago, which was a huge pleasure," Skinner told SFX. "[It was] two brilliant scripts."

She confirmed that the current shooting block is comprised of two single episodes, rather than a two-parter.

"What we tend to do is shoot in a block, so one director will do a couple of episodes," she confirmed. "Those two are individual stories."

Skinner also promised that the series premiere, written by showrunner Steven Moffat, will "blow everybody's mind".

"We've got a lot of [the scripts] and the ones that are written are really, really epic and very exciting," she said.

Sherlock star Rupert Graves, The Fast Show's Mark Williams and Harry Potter's David Bradley are among the guest actors confirmed to appear in the new episodes.

Doctor Who will return to BBC One in the autumn.

'Good Vibes' cancelled by MTV after one season

'Good Vibes' cancelled by MTV after one season

MTV has chosen not to renew the animated series Good Vibes for a second season.

Good Vibes follows the adventures of two friends living in a Southern California beach town.

MTV decided that the series did not attract a broad enough audience to be picked up for another season, reports Deadline.

The series was paired with Beavis and Butt-Head when it debuted last year, airing from October to December.

The news of Good Vibes' cancellation comes after another animated series from a different cable channel was picked up for another season.

FX has renewed the animated spy comedy Archer for a fourth season with 13 new episodes.

Jason Alexander responds to Mitt Romney's 'Seinfeld' reference

Jason Alexander responds to Mitt Romney's 'Seinfeld' reference

Jason Alexander has joked about being referenced by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney during this week's CNN debate.

Romney was in the midst of his opening debate remarks, when the audience began cheering his vow to "restore America's promise".

The former Massachusetts governor acknowledged the cheers by declaring: "As [Seinfeld character] George Costanza would say, 'When they're applauding, stop'."

The line Romney quoted from Seinfeld was not actually spoken by Alexander, but his co-star Jerry Seinfeld.

In the 1998 episode 'The Burning', Jerry tells George: "Showmanship, George. When you hit that high note, you say goodnight and walk off."

Alexander - who played George Costanza on Seinfeld - responded to Romney by posting a series of messages on his official Twitter.

The actor retweeted several 'Costanza 4 Pres' posts from fans and also mocked Romney's switch from some liberal political positions to more conservative stances in recent years.

"Thrilled that Gov. Romney enjoys my old character. I enjoyed the character he used 2 b 2. If he'd embrace that again, he'd b a great candidate," Alexander wrote.

Alexander has continued to post 'Constanza 4 Pres' slogans since the CNN debate.

'Once Upon A Time': Sebastian Stan to play the Mad Hatter

'Once Upon A Time': Sebastian Stan to play the Mad Hatter

Sebastian Stan has signed up for a guest role in Once Upon A Time.

The actor will play the Mad Hatter from Alice In Wonderland when he appears on the ABC drama, TV Guide reports.

The show's executive producer Edward Kitsis explained that the episode will explore "how the Mad Hatter became mad".

"The first difference you'll notice is who the Mad Hatter was and his backstory," he said. "Then what Wonderland is and the changes of it is something we hope to explore also."

Stan has previously appeared in shows such as Kings and Gossip Girl.

The Who star Roger Daltrey has also signed up for the episode and will provide the voice of the Caterpillar.

Barbara Hershey and Noah Bean are among the other stars who have recently signed up for guest roles on Once Upon A Time, which airs on Sundays on ABC.

Sherri Shepherd, Jack Wagner, Gilbert join 'Dancing with the Stars'?

Sherri Shepherd, Jack Wagner, Gilbert join 'Dancing with the Stars'?

The identities of three celebrities from the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars have reportedly been leaked.

TMZ claims that The View host Sherri Shepherd, former Melrose Place actor Jack Wagner, and Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert are all set to compete on the long-running dance show this year.

Wagner split with Melrose Place co-star Heather Locklear last year, after she called off their engagement due to stress and drug problems.

The much-rumoured full cast of the new season will be announced Tuesday, February 28, on Good Morning America.

Season 14 of Dancing with the Stars is scheduled to begin March 19.

A special two-hour results show is being planned for the following Tuesday, March 27, at 8pm on ABC.

'Survivor' Producer Breaks Silence on CBS Special, Denies Killing Wife

'Survivor' Producer Breaks Silence on CBS Special, Denies Killing Wife

In an interview with "48 Hours Mystery," airing Saturday, Bruce Beresford-Redman proclaims his innocence.

Former Survivor producer Bruce Beresford-Redman has broken his silence surrounding the mysterious death of his wife.

"Everyone seems to have decided that I killed my wife," he says in a 48 Hours Mystery episode airing Saturday, Feb. 25 at 10 p.m. "I didn't kill my wife -- I really didn't."

The ex-producer is currently being held in a Mexican jail cell after he was extradited from the U.S. earlier this month. His wife Monica Burgos' body was found naked and beaten in a sewer in Cancun, where the couple and their two children were vacationing in April 2010. 

Prosecutors in Mexico claim that the couple had a violent fight before dumping her body, fleeing to the U.S. In November that same year, Beresford-Redman was arrested in Los Angeles.

Beresford-Redman, who co-created MTV's Pimp My Ride and served as a supervising producer on the CBS reality series Survivor from 2003-04, tells 48 Hours that he has submitted evidence to Mexican court that will exonerate him, but he has been ordered to stand trial. Found guilty, he could be facing 40 years to life in jail.

"For anyone who really believes … that you're innocent until you're proven guilty, please take a look at the evidence," says Beresford-Redman. "Or in this case, the absolute complete lack of evidence."

"This is not CSI or Law & Order or any of those shows where at the end we have a satisfying resolution," he adds. "I doubt that there will ever be a satisfying resolution for this because the evidence is gone. Even if I do manage to get off, I don't know if Monica's killers will ever really be caught."

Veteran Oscar Writer Carol Leifer Calls Billy Crystal the 'Comfort Food' of Hosts

Veteran Oscar Writer Carol Leifer Calls Billy Crystal the 'Comfort Food' of Hosts

The seven-time show scribe tells THR why she keeps coming back, how Crystal compares to host-that-wasn't Eddie Murphy and who's really to blame if the show goes horribly awry.

The Oscars can be something of an endurance challenge.

Dependably stretching past three hours and offering little in the way of surprises, viewers generally see many opportunities for complaint -- no matter the hosts, winners or absurd fashions.

Yet they always come back, something Carol Leifer knows a lot about. The comedian, who's written for Saturday Night Live, Seinfeld and Modern Family, returns to this year's Academy Awards for her seventh time scripting the broadcast. And she told The Hollywood Reporter why it won't likely be her last.

"As much flack as award shows get, nothing else comes close to [The Oscars]," Leifer tells THR. "It’s the grand daddy of all the award shows -- and every year there seem to be more [of them] --  but there’s only one Oscar. It just never stops being exciting to me. Working with the presenters on their spiel and big celebrities that I’ve never met before, I’m still as starstruck as anybody else. Half the time I’m at the Kodak -- soon not to be -- I’m pinching myself because it’s just so exciting."

Leifer boarded the 2012 show after producer Brian Grazer and host Billy Crystal stepped into the vacancies left by Brett Ratner and Eddie Murphy, but she was open to joining that earlier incarnation of the broadcast.

"I was looking forward to Eddie," she says. "He’s another old friend of mine from my stand-up days, and I think it would have been very interesting to see what Eddie would have come up with... But I think that what I’m feeling in the zeitgeist is the real anticipation for the return of Billy."

This year's show marks Leifer's third with Crystal as host. The nine-time MC offers something, as Leifer sees it, that no other comedian can bring to the show: mainly an unparalleled work ethic.

"I don’t think people know Billy Crystal works so incredibly hard on the Oscars," she says. " He might be the host that works the absolute hardest on it. And yet when he walk out there in front of a billion people, it’s like it’s rolling off his back. He’s in the moment. What I’m gleaning from people who I just see out getting coffee in the morning, they're excited about Billy. It’s kind of like he’s comfort food."

Still, it's not always a love-fest. Last year's hosts, James Franco and Anne Hathaway, were greeted with a tepid reception from critics and viewers. And in the ensuing finger-pointing, Franco blamed Oscar writer Bruce Vilanch, and vice versa, for the show's shortcomings. They later apologized to one another, but it posed an interesting question about where the buck stops if the show isn't a resounding success.

"It’s hard to say because there are so many facets of the show involved in getting it to air," Leifer tells THR. "It’s a little bit of a complicated process. It’s not something that I dash something off, the presenter gets it and they shows up and just do it. There's a lot of approval to be made throughout the production team. That’s what makes it a big show."

That big show is also breed camaraderie. Leifer said that when she stood up at the first big production meeting for this year's show, she said she felt like a member of the old guard saying it was her seventh writing for the show -- until other people started to stand up.

"I’m a baby compared to people who get up and say, 'I’ve been doing this 17 years,'" she says. "We only see each other six weeks out of the year, but there is a bit of a family with the Oscars. I’m so honored every year when they choose me again."

But there is one thing that has become less familiar over the years, the paperwork.

"The confidentiality agreement is no longer the maybe half of a page they tacked on at the end," she says, laughing. "My lawyer called me this year, saying "Read this!” It’s pretty intense."

Leifer's seventh Oscars air on ABC, Sunday, at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.

5 Ways to Fix Oprah Winfrey's OWN Network

5 Ways to Fix Oprah Winfrey's OWN Network

Now that Winfrey and Discovery have tried everything -- staff shake-ups, pregnancy shock shows, even begging via Twitter -- it's time to follow a critic's prescription.

This story first appeared in the March 2 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

Who would have thought it would come to this: Oprah Winfrey begging for viewers? The former queen of daytime syndication recently sent a tweet to her nearly 9 million followers, begging the ones with Nielsen boxes to watch her channel. The original tweet (since deleted) read thusly: "Every 1 who can please turn to OWN especially if u have a Neilsen [sic] box."

She deleted the message, apologized via The New York Times and will have ratings for that night listed with an asterisk that indicates coercion or bias has occurred. But what does the tweet say about Winfrey and OWN after 13 long months trying to launch a new channel?

That this is less a numbers story than the implosion of a cult of personality -- perhaps the biggest and most surprising ego check in recent entertainment history. Maybe that's why, not long after pleading for her Twitter followers to watch OWN -- and they didn't -- Winfrey popped up in entertainment news saying she might get back into acting. That's a great idea, as long as the movie isn't shown on OWN.

The problem here isn't just that Discovery and Winfrey seriously miscalculated how difficult it is to launch a new channel. And it's not just that it needs better shows than I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant, America's Money Class With Suze Orman or Unfaithful: Stories of Betrayal. It's that even in the brutal cable TV world of narrowcasting -- all sports, all food, all weather, etc. -- the market for a channel that's all Oprah just doesn't exist.

Oprah's Next Chapter is OWN's biggest hit (with about 900,000 viewers), but it pales in comparison to her glory years on The Oprah Winfrey Show, where she dominated the airwaves for a quarter-century. At its peak, Oprah pulled in roughly 13 million viewers a day, and even toward the end she was still attracting nearly 8 million.

OWN is supposedly available in 78 million U.S. households, which makes that 900,000 figure for Next Chapter even more depressing. Despite the power of Discovery and the ubiquity of Winfrey, not one OWN series is in the top 40 of cable's rankings, where the lowest-ranked show, a repeat of NCIS on USA, pulls in 3 million viewers. OWN doesn't come anywhere close to the weekly averages of the top 35 cable channels -- meaning it's getting trounced by TruTV, Travel Channel, Spike and many others.

In an earnings conference call Feb. 16, Discovery Communications president and CEO David Zaslav said, "We are excited to grow this network in 2012." Well, good luck with that. Despite upper-management deck-chair shuffling and the creation of Rosie O'Donnell's fun talk show, almost nothing has worked to give OWN an identity.

Here are a few proposals for the network:

Develop a string of reality/unscripted shows that are more than some kind of Oprah-esque feel-good mantra stretched out for an hour, culminating in hugs.

Part of the problem at OWN is that all the shows feel similar, like a self-help chat. OWN needs to hire someone who can either help shape that direction or buy up ideas from the outside. It needs someone who can take Oprah's message and apply it to a concept that's entertaining, not just a lecture on being your best self. MTV got Jersey Shore. Bravo got The Real Housewives. Discovery got Deadliest Catch. History got Ice Road Truckers. The list goes on. And what it means is that niche channels broadened their horizons with reality fare.

Instead of this master class nonsense of talking to celebrities, Oprah should get some of those big names to make series for her.

Tap someone who hasn't yet sold material to Fox or Bravo, and sell OWN as a rare opportunity: a lab for unscripted series to find purchase.

Branch out the Oprah's Book Club idea.

Make this a cultural gem, a PBS-like effort (with the requisite Oprah bonding element, of course). Make it a weekly series.

Right now, OWN feels like a bunch of random programs wrapped around talk shows.

It needs a five-days-a-week series, something that gives Winfrey's audience a reason to tune in every night. But it can't be yet another yawn-inducing talk show. What OWN needs is what ESPN with SportsCenter and Comedy Central with The Daily Show and The Colbert Report already have: a must-watch daily information show. There's no reason it can't be done Oprah-style on OWN. You're welcome. Send me a check

Emma Thompson to Play the Queen in New TV Drama

Emma Thompson to Play the Queen in New TV Drama

"Walking the Dogs" centers on the real Buckingham Palace break-in that took place in 1982.

Emma Thompson is set to play the Queen in a new Sky Arts TV drama about the day she was confronted with an intruder in her bedroom at Buckingham Palace.

Based on the real Palace break-in that took place 1982, Eddie Marsan will play intruder Michael Fagan, who was 31 at the time.

Fagan broke into the Queen's bedroom while the Queen was sleeping and the two are understood to have talked for a period of time before the monarch was able to raise an alarm.

Fagan was initially charged with the theft of wine, but eventually the charges were dropped. He subsequently spent several months in a psychiatric hospital and said he had been undergoing a breakdown after his marriage broke up.

The half-hour drama Walking The Dogs has been re-imagined by writer Helen Greaves and is part of a Sky Arts strand of one-off dramas called Playhouse Presents.

In the TV show the Queen and the intruder discuss themes of love, family and freedom and at one point the monarch offers Fagan a dog biscuit, explaining that it is all she has available. Russell Tovey plays Palace footman who also becomes involved.

The drama, which will be screened later this year, has not won the support of at least one of it's real life characters.

"It was just a moment of madness," the 61-year-old Fagan told The Telegraph newspaper. "For her to be dragged through the dirt by me isn't nice. And how can they make a drama? They don't know what happened in there," he said.

Canada's Rogers Communications Unveils Online 'Anyplace TV' Offering

Canada's Rogers Communications Unveils Online 'Anyplace TV' Offering

The NextBox 2.0 service will allow subscribers to stream live and recorded shows from any room in the home, using a tablet and WiFi connection.

TV subscribers with Canadian mobile and cable giant Rogers Communications can now take their favorite U.S. network shows anywhere in the home for viewing, via their tablet and WiFi connection.

Rogers’ NextBox 2.0 TV offering, unveiled in Toronto, allows subscribers to stream live and recorded TV shows on their tablet throughout the home.

The next-generation TV offering aims to help Rogers continue fending off competition from Netflix Canada, Apple TV and other U.S. digital platforms setting up shop here.

Rogers is also set to offer Apple’s iTV product in Canada, supplying wireless and broadband capabilities to turn Canadian TV sets into giant iPads.

Meanwhile, Rogers’ whole-home PVR recording and streaming service unveiled Friday will also replace an earlier TV-anywhere offering called Rogers On Demand Online.

NextBox 2.0 promises more control over where, when and how Canadians view TV by turning any room in the house into an entertainment destination.

And the NextBox PVR will allow any recorded show to be viewed on any TV in the home.

WME Agent’s Phone Hacked By News Corp

WME Agent’s Phone Hacked By News Corp

I’ve learned that Scotland Yard has informed Hollywood music agent Julie Colbert that her cell phone calls were intercepted because she represented Welsh pop star Charlotte Church. The WME tenpercenter who works for music clients in film and television was back and forth between Los Angeles and London when the hacking occurred, my insiders say. That’s because, at the time, Church was working closely with the crossover agent and even staying as a guest in Colbert’s home for several months to get away from the paparazzi constantly trailing the singing sensation. ”Scotland Yard told Julie, ‘Your number came up as one of the ones that was hacked,” an insider tells me. I understand that Colbert hasn’t decided yet whether to file a claim because of the hacking. That might prove touchy because her agency William Morris Endeavor Entertainment does a lot of business with News Corp subsidiaries like Fox Broadcasting, Twentieth Fox TV, and the Fox Filmed Entertainment Group.

No information was provided Colbert exactly who did the hacking: News Corp’s journalists or private detectives. But Bloomberg reported earlier today that Glenn Mulcaire, the former News Corp private detective who hacked phones for the company’s News Of The World, had an unidentified WME agent’s numbers as well as Charlotte Church’s New York publicist Kevin Chiaramonte of Paul Freundlich Associates among thousands of pages of notes seized by police. That agent, I’ve learned, was Colbert.

Church told an officially UK inquiry into press ethics in November that the evidence includes “many pages of names, numbers, notes, addresses, pin numbers and the fact that my mother and I were each a ‘project.”’ Church sang at News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch’s wedding in 1999 when she was 13 years old. Now 26, she settled a lawsuit this week against Murdoch’s company days before the first trial over the phone-hacking scandal was scheduled to start. Terms will be disclosed at a London court hearing next week.

Besides Church, recently Jude Law, Steve Coogan, and other high-profile showbiz figures have settled. News Corp still faces possible claims by more than 800 likely victims identified by police. The presence of the U.S. phone numbers in Mulcaire’s notes may interest U.S. prosecutors and also may complicate News Corp efforts to contain lawsuits to the UK. Meanwhile, News Corp is launching a new Sunday edition of The Sun to replace the News Of The World which was shuttered because of the scandal.

Sacha Baron Cohen “Outraged” By Oscars Ban: “I Applaud The Academy For Taking Away My Free Speech”

Sacha Baron Cohen “Outraged” By Oscars Ban: “I Applaud The Academy For Taking Away My Free Speech”

This publicity stunt just gets better and better, and funnier and funnier. Sacha Baron Cohen Today ShowThis morning Sacha Baron Cohen, posing as Middle Eastern General Alladeen from his upcoming movie The Dictator, released a video to me with his much-anticipated statement about the Oscars ban.

From the Republic of Waddiya Media, it said: “I am outraged at being banned from the Oscars by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Zionists,” he said, “while I applaud the Academy for taking away my free speech.”

He warned of “unimaginable consequences” if his 84th Academy Awards tickets were not returned to him by 12 pm Sunday.

He also complained that he’d paid actress Hilary Swank $2 million to be his date “and she won’t give back a penny”. (That’s a reference to Swank’s paid appearance at tyrannical Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov’s birthday party.)  He also takes a swipe at director Brett Ratner, who was supposed to produce the Oscars and then bowed out for bad behavior. Baron Cohen concluded by chanting, “Death to the West. And death to America. And good luck, Billy Crystal.

Fantastic!” it’s safe to assume now that the moment Baron Cohen mentioned the words ‘Academy’ and ‘Zionists’ in the same sentence that he wouldn’t be allowed within 2 miles of the Academy Awards on Sunday.

CBS Beats New York's Naked Cowboy in 'Bold and the Beautiful' Lawsuit

CBS Beats New York's Naked Cowboy in 'Bold and the Beautiful' Lawsuit

Plaintiff Robert Burck claimed that a character on the daytime soap who also performed guitar in briefs confused consumers and tarnished his brand.

A New York federal judge has dismissed a trademark lawsuit brought by Robert Burck, aka The Naked Cowboy, over a character featured on The Bold and the Beautiful.

The Times Square performer alleged that the CBS soap infringed his trademarked brand and tarnished his reputation, but in a decision issued on Thursday, a judge finds that the claims are legally naked.

The Naked Cowboy, playing guitar only in briefs and a cowboy hat, has obtained corporate sponsorships, licenses merchandise, and has a distribution syndicate. He's become so famous that the New York Tourism Department says that he is more popular than the Statue of Liberty.

Still, his trademark rights only go so far.

In late 2010, The Bold and the Beautiful featured a character named Oliver who for several seconds during one episode also played guitar only in his briefs and a cowboy hat. Show sponsor Bell-Phillip put a recap of the episode online. CBS also posted a clip on YouTube with the title, "The Bold and the Beautiful -- Naked Cowboy," also purchasing adword advertising on "naked cowboy," so that consumers would find it if they searched for the term.

All this activity led to a lawsuit against CBS and Bell-Phillip by Naked Cowboy Enterprises. Burck demanded the show's $1.5 million in ad revenue for the more than 3 million people who watched and were confused.

New York judge Barbara Jones has now granted defendants' motion to dismiss the litigation.

Judge Jones notes that the mark doesn't appear anywhere within the show.  The only use of the mark is in the YouTube clip's title, but the judge says this isn't actionable.

"Here, the challenged phrase, 'Naked Cowboy,' is an example of non-trademark use," the judge writes. "It is clear that CBS used the phrase in an effort to describe the contents of the video clip, not as a mark to identify the source of the video clips."

CBS, represented by Levine Sullivan Koch & Shulz, is also successful in beating the Naked Cowboy's other claims, including unfair competition, dilution, fraud, and civil rights violations. The judge agrees with the network that the Naked Cowboy isn't in the daytime soap business, that the quality of the plaintiff's brand was never suggested to be low quality, and that there's really no confusion.

"The Naked Cowboy costume is indeed distinctive, but...the similarities between Oliver's costume and the Naked Cowboy costume are minimal at best," writes the judge.

'The Voice's Justin Hopkins: 'Carson Daly support is great'

'The Voice's Justin Hopkins: 'Carson Daly support is great'

The Voice contestant Justin Hopkins has said that working with Cee Lo will help him decide what music genre is most suitable for him.

The 30-year-old singer from Redondo Beach, California, joined Team Cee Lo following a performance of 'Babylon' by David Gray on Monday night (February 20).

Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Hopkins said: "Cee Lo has so many different levels and for me musically, I've never really been able to grasp what it is exactly I wanted to accomplish.

"[Working with Cee Lo], the possibilities are endless. My goal is just to learn and be a sponge in this process.

"I've always been a little bit of a wild wheel and it's really nice to have something to focus on and have somebody to learn from versus doing everything on your own with your own reckless abandon."

Hopkins was previously a member of the Carson Daly show house band, and told reporters that he is grateful for Daly's continued support.

"To have Carson Daly really have my back on a show of this level [is great,]" he said. "It's been years since we worked together and he was such amazing cheerleader for us when we were on the band.

"To have him getting out there and giving us some recognition and love after probably about 300 shows since I last saw the man... It feels like a bit of a rebirth back to 2007."

'Celeb Apprentice' George Takei: 'I didn't deserve to be called meek'

'Celeb Apprentice' George Takei: 'I didn't deserve to be called meek'

George Takei has disclosed that he was offended when Celebrity Apprentice competitor Paul Teutul Sr called him "meek".

The Star Trek star's Team Unanimous won last weekend's sandwich-selling task, but Takei was singled out as the weak link by project manager Teutul in the boardroom.

Speaking about the incident with Esquire, Takei rejected the American Chopper star's claim that he was "meek" during the first task.

"I was really stunned. I don't know where he got that, but you know, he was one of those people that I'd never heard of," Takei quipped. "I didn't know who he was and I thought he was kind of a crass, old man, so I didn't pay much attention to him."

The 74-year-old actor continued: "That word, 'meek', came out of the clear blue. I mean, I noticed he struggled to find a word to describe me, and then he finds a word like 'meek'.

"Then I figured he's probably illiterate and didn't know whatever word he wanted to use, and that word came to him."

Takei also admitted he was surprised that Donald Trump leapt to his defence in the boardroom.

"He was supposed to be the neutral arbiter. I was about to start responding, but Donald took over for me," he commented.

Cheryl Tiegs - the first star fired on this season of Celebrity Apprentice - insisted this week that she is too nice to have succeeded on the reality show.

The Celebrity Apprentice airs Sundays at 9/8c on NBC.

TV Tonight 25th of February 2012

TV Tonight 25th of February 2012

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

    48 Hours Mystery S25E17: "Fatal Episode: The Producer's Story"
    Area no Kishi S01E08: "Episode 8"
    Bakuman. S02E21: "Selfishness and Advice"
    Ben 10: Ultimate Alien S02E27: "Catch a Falling Star"
    Billy the Exterminator S04E18: "Predator in the Pond"
    Billy the Exterminator S04E17: "Giant Rats in the City"
    Cardfight!! Vanguard S02E08: "Episode 8"
    Casualty S26E24: "Grand Canyon"
    Color Splash S10E14
    Cops S24E19: "Street Arrests #2"
    Cops S24E20: "Dazed and Confused #4"
    Dan vs. S02E07: "Dan vs. TBA"
    Fairy Tail S03E24: "The Deepest Realm"
    Harry Hill's TV Burp S14E04: "Series 14, Episode 4"
    How to Rock S01E05: "How to Rock a Music Video"
    Last Exile (JP) S02E17: "Dynamic Possibilities"
    Let's Dance for Comic Relief S04E02: "Series 4, Episode 2"
    Match of The Day S47E36: "Season 47, Show 36"
    My Big Redneck Vacation S01E06: "The Clampets Take Manhattan"
    Oddities S03E12: "Sorceress of LOVE"
    Parking Wars S06E06: "Season 6, Episode 6"
    Parking Wars S06E05: "Season 6, Episode 5"
    Pokémon S15E02: "Battle-Dazzling the Nimbasa Gym!"
    Power Rangers S19E02: "Shell Game"
    Saturday Kitchen S10E35: "February 25, 2012"
    Shakugan no Shana S03E20: "Episode 20"
    Take Me Out (UK) S03E08: "Series 3, Episode 8"
    Take Me Out: The Gossip S01E08: "Episode 8"
    The Bronson Pinchot Project S01E03: "The Grand Gallery"
    The Dog Whisperer S08E09: "Pack Leaders in Training"
    The Football League Show S03E26: "Series 3, Episode 26"
    The Jonathan Ross Show S02E08: "Sean Bean, JLS, Amir Khan, Rizzle Kicks"
    Transformers: Prime S02E02: "Orion Pax | Part 2"
    UFC PPV Events S20E03: "UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson"
    Ultimate Factories S04E16: "Heineken"
    Vanilla Ice Project S02E08: "The Master Hideaway"
    Wakfu S02E25: "La Dimension Blanche"
    You've Been Framed S19E22: "February 25, 2012"
    Zero no Tsukaima S04E08: "Episode 8"

'Kidnap and Ransom' premieres to 4.3m on ITV1

'Kidnap and Ransom' premieres to 4.3m on ITV1

The series premiere of Kidnap and Ransom opened with more than 4.3 million viewers last night, according to overnight data.

The ITV1 Kimberley Nixon drama averaged 4.33m (18.2%) in the 9pm hour to convincingly beat BBC One's Inside Men (3.55m/14.9%). An additional 341k (1.9%) caught Kidnap and Ransom on timeshift.

Earlier for BBC One, The Great British Countryside picked up 3.07m (12.6%).

Channel 5 had a particularly strong night thanks to Europa League football with Manchester United attracting 3.35m (14.2%).

In contrast, BBC Two's Raymond Blanc: The Very Hungry Frenchman and This World could only muster 1.2m (4.9%) and 753k (3.2%) respectively.

On Channel 4, Location, Location, Location grabbed 1.49m (6.1%) from 8pm (+1: 484k/2%) and Dispatches took 1.02m (4.3%) from 9pm (+1: 157k/0.9%).

ITV1 won primetime overall in convincing fashion with 21.2% (+1: 0.7%) ahead of BBC One's 18.1%. Channel 5 rocketed up to 11.1%, beating Channel 4's 4.8% (+1: 1%) and BBC Two's 4.3%.

On the multichannels, Celebrity Juice dominated for ITV2 with 1.61m (8.6%). The show also drew an additional 233k on +1.

'Fringe' execs on show future: 'We're hoping for the best'

'Fringe' execs on show future: 'We're hoping for the best'

Fringe showrunners Jeff Pinkner and Joel Wyman have confirmed that the programme's future is still unclear.

In a recent conference call, the pair told reporters that they are "hoping for the best" following rumours of a shorter fifth and final season.

"We will find out like everybody else," said Wyman. "We don't fret about it because it's really out of our control. We can only step back and do our work, and therein lies the path to serenity."

Co-producer Pinkner also hinted that tonight's (February 24) Fringe episode 'The End of All Things' will be "a game-changer".

"It's the 14th out of 22 episodes and it's very much an episode that's going to launch us into the back half of the [season]," he said.

Meanwhile, Wyman described episode 15 'A Short Story About Love' - which will air after a month's break on March 23 - as the "perfect" Fringe instalment.

"It has a great, terrifying element to it [but] at the same time it has this incredible love story aspect with things that people are going to be very excited for, [related to] the relationships on the show."

Fringe continues on Fridays at 9/8c on Fox. Sky1 airs the show on Wednesdays at 10pm in the UK.

Simon Cowell wants to do US and UK 'X Factor'

Simon Cowell wants to do US and UK 'X Factor'

Simon Cowell has said that he is looking into ways he could work on the UK and US X Factor.

The Syco boss and millionaire TV mogul revealed that he is considering switching the dates of the ITV1 and Fox talent shows so he can return to the British series.

Speaking at a Q&A Shooting Star Chase charity event with 16-year-old interviewer Sian Tolfree, he said: "Do you know what, I'm going to see maybe if we can move the dates around so I can do both shows in the future because I miss it... and the other judges are not as good as me."

Cowell initially claimed in 2010 that he had a "little surprise" which would allow him to work on the UK and US series simultaneously, but it never materialised.

He also warned the X Factor judges that they would have to up their game this year because the Britain's Got Talent panel has found "better singers".

Commenting on his latest Got Talent revamp, Cowell added: "We had to come back, freshen it up, make it younger and we've found some really good people."

Louis Walsh and Tulisa Contostavlos are expected to return to The X Factor later this year, but Gary Barlow and Kelly Rowland's roles on the panel are still up in the air. Cheryl Cole ruled herself out of returning to the X Factor UK judging lineup yesterday.

Claudia Winkleman to host 'Stand Up for Sport Relief'

Claudia Winkleman to host 'Stand Up for Sport Relief'

Sports stars will be challenged to tackle stand-up comedy in new BBC show Stand Up for Sport Relief.

Claudia Winkleman will host the charity show, which will feature British sports stars performing at top comedy venues to help raise money for Sport Relief.

Ex-England cricket captain Michael Vaughan, World Cup rugby star Ben Cohen and sports broadcaster Gabby Logan will all be taking part in the show. Other sports stars participating will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Comics Patrick Kielty, Jason Manford, Andi Osho, Chris Ramsey and Daniel Sloss will mentor the sports stars ahead of their big night at London's Bloomsbury Theatre, which will air on BBC Three in the build up to Sport Relief.

Vaughan commented: "I used to play cricket in front of 20,000 people but the thought of making 500 people laugh is terrifying.

"And having spent a day with my comedian, I've realised just how unfunny I am."

Host Winkleman added: "I am incredibly proud to be part of Stand Up for Sport Relief. It sounds both exciting and terrifying which is win-win.

"I'll try and support the brave sportsmen and women who are going to be comics for one night as much as possible."

Taylor Swift Invites Cancer Patient to ACM Awards

Taylor Swift Invites Cancer Patient to ACM Awards

In yet another step in her apparent bid for sainthood, country music superstar Taylor Swift has invited 18-year-old leukemia patient Kevin McGuire to be her date to the Academy of Country Music Awards in April.

Also read: Viacom, Taylor Swift Partner for Global "The Hunger Games" Launch

The invitation grew from a Facebook campaign launched by MacGuire's sister, Victoria, who started up the Facebook page "Taylor Swift take KEVIN McGUIRE TO PROM!" to persuade the "Mean" songbird to attend McGuire's prom at Sterling High School prom in Somerdale, N.J.

"Kevin is the kindest, most noble 18 year old a person could even fathom meeting," Tori wrote on the site, "and throughout his ups and downs Kevin never even questioned 'why me?' Nothing, and I mean NOTHING brightens Kevin's day more than Taylor Swift."

Swift was unable to take up Victoria's invitation, but she went one better and invited him to the ACM Awards, which take place on April 1 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

"Kevin, I'm so sorry but I won't be able to make it to your prom," Swift posted to the Facebook page Friday. "But I was wondering, the ACM Awards are coming up. Would you be my date? Love, Taylor"

Awww ... it's enough to even give Hannibal Lecter a lump in his throat -- and no, it wouldn't be a piece of one of his victims.

Swift is nominated for multiple ACM Awards this year, including Entertainer of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year.

Developement Update: February 25th

Developement Update: February 25th

THE ASSET (FOX) - Bradley Whitford ("The Good Guys") is the latest addition to the drama pilot, about Anna King (Ali Larter), a globe-trotting CIA agent whose cover is that of a renowned photojournalist. He's set as Leo Maxiell ("50s, Yalie type"), the head of New York City's CIA Station who is King's biggest supporter. Josh Friedman is behind the 20th Century Fox Television-based hour, to be directed by Neil Burger. (Deadline.com)

BEN FOX IS MY MANNY (FOX) - Abby Elliott ("Saturday Night Live") is on track to star in the comedy pilot, about Kate, an uptight single mom whose aimless brother Ben moves in to help her raise her five-year-old daughter, Maddie (Maggie Jones). She'd play said mom in the single-camera project, which comes from 20th Century Fox Television. Jake Kasdan is directing from a script by Dana Fox while Echo Kellum also stars. (Deadline.com)

CULT (The CW) - Robert Knepper ("Prison Break") has been tapped to join the cast of the drama pilot, about Skye Yarrow (Jessica Lucas), a production assistant on a wildly popular television show named "Cult," who teams with Jeff Sefton (yet to be cast), a journalist blogger, to investigate the rabid fans of the series who might be re-creating crimes seen on the program in real life. He's on board as Roger Reeves, the actor who plays cult leader Billy Grimm ("eyes filled with intellect; and madness") on the show-within-a-show. Alona Tal also stars as the actress behind Kelly Collins, the detective trying to take down Billy on the show. (Deadline.com)

DEVIOUS MAIDS (ABC) - Judy Reyes, Roselyn Sanchez, Angelique Cabral and Rebecca Wisocky have all joined the cast of the drama pilot, about four maids with ambition and dreams of their own while they work for the rich and famous in Beverly Hills. Reyes and Sanchez will play two of the quartet - Zoila Del Barrio ("tough and sly") and Carmen Verde ("sexy and ambitious"), respectively - joining the previously cast Ana Ortiz and Dania Ramirez. Cabral then is set as Phoenix ("tough and intelligent"), a pop star whom Carmen works for with Wisocky as Evelyn Ford ("sophisticated and acidic"), the wife of a renowned fashion designer, whom Ortiz's character goes to work for. (Deadline.com)

THE GOODWIN GAMES (FOX) - Scott Foley ("Scrubs") has booked a lead role on the comedy pilot, about "a trio of siblings' chance to inherit a fortune from their father, if only they can heed the idiosyncratic terms of his will." He'll presumably play the eldest son Henry ("tall, handsome, exceedingly competent in all things"), a dedicated surgeon. Becki Newton also stars as middle child Coney with the youngest Jimmy yet to be cast. Peyton Reed ("New Girl") is on board to direct from a script by Carter Bays, Chris Harris and Craig Thomas for 20th Century Fox Television. (Variety.com)

HOW TO LIVE WITH YOUR PARENTS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE (ABC) - Comedian Jon Dore has joined the cast of the comedy pilot, about Polly (Sarah Chalke), a recently divorced, single mom, who moves in with her eccentric parents, a couple who's full of life but knows no boundaries. He'll play Julian ("doesn't pay his bills unless they are in a red envelope"), her "Big Lebowski-esque" ex-husband. Julie Anne Robinson ("The Middle") is on board to direct the 20th Century Fox Television-based project, from creator Claudia Lonow. (Deadline.com)

LADY FRIENDS (NBC) - Rachel Dratch and Danny Comden has both scored roles on the comedy pilot, about two longtime female friends who are living very different lives - one, Nicole (Andrea Anders), has a loving husband and family, the other, Jen (yet to be cast) not so much - but couldn't live without each other. She'll play their pal Lisa ("just a little bit worse off in every way than Jen, which is why Jen keeps her around") while he's set as Jen's ex-husband Davis ("one of those rock star type chefs - charming, super confident, verging on arrogant"). Kari Lizer is behind the Warner Bros. Television-based half-hour, to be helmed by Scott Ellis. (TVGuide.com)

LIVING LOADED (FOX) - Larry Wilmore, Anna Maria Horsford and Kaitlyn Black have all been cast in the comedy pilot, about Dan Deegan (Mike Vogel), a hard-partying blogger who changes his ways when he goes to work at his father's (Donald Sutherland) radio station. Wilmore will play Leonard Clark ("a buttoned up man of thirty"), his reluctant co-host; with Horsford as Bernie Marsh ("her Midwestern, librarian demeanor belies her brutal management philosophy"), a national NPR executive; and Black presumably as Maureen ("a blue collar Megan Mullaly"), one of Dan's two best friends (the other played by Michael Marc Friedman). Rob McElhenney and Rob Rosell are behind the half-hour, which is set up at FX Productions. (Deadline.com)

MALIBU COUNTRY (ABC) - Lily Tomlin ("Web Therapy") has joined the cast of the Reba McEntire-led comedy, about Reba Gallagher, a woman who divorces her broke, cheating rock star husband and moves her family from Nashville to the only asset she has left - a little house in Malibu. She'll play Reba's mother Shirley ("an old-time Southern woman") in the multi-camera project, from writer Kevin Abbott and ABC Studios. John Pasquin ("Last Man Standing") is on board to direct. (Deadline.com)

NASHVILLE (ABC) - Powers Boothe ("Hatfields & McCoys") has been cast in the drama pilot, which centers around the Nashville music scene and its stars, both rising and fading. He's set as Lamar Hampton, a powerful philanthropist who disapproves of his daughter Rayna James's (yet to be cast) singing career, despite her burgeoning success. Clare Bowen, Jonathan Jackson and Sam Palladio also star in the ensemble, which comes from writer Callie Khouri, director R.J. Cutler, ABC Studios and Lionsgate Television. (Deadline.com)

NEXT CALLER PLEASE (NBC) - Collette Wolfe ("Cougar Town") has scored the female lead on the comedy pilot, about a mismatched duo - Stella Hoobler ("pretty, spunky, fiercely intelligent, passionate, adventurous know-it-all") and Cam Doherty ("disheveled, unshaven, hung-over; a purposefully detached, magnetic grouch") - who host "Orbit Lifestyle," a relationship call-in show in New York City. She'll play said woman in the Lionsgate Television-based half-hour, from writer Stephen Falk and director Marc Buckland. (Deadline.com)

REWIND (Syfy) - Jack Bender ("Alphas") has signed on to direct and executive produce the drama pilot, about a team of military field operatives and civilian scientists who must use untested technology to travel back in time to alter past events in order to change the future and avoid a devastating terrorist attack. He'll work from a script by Justin Marks for Universal Cable Productions and BermanBraun. (Deadline.com)

THE SELECTION (The CW) - Aimee Teegarden ("Friday Night Lights") has booked the lead role on the drama pilot, "an epic romance set 300 years in the future which centers on a poor young woman who is chosen by lottery to participate in a competition to become the next queen of a war-torn nation at a crossroads." She's on board as the aptly monikered America Singer ("voice of an angel, and the mien of a goddess"), a member of the artist caste who's one of the 34 girls selected. Mark Piznarski is helming the Warner Bros. Television-based hour from a script by Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain. (TVLine.com)

SUCCESSION (USA, New!) - Matt Greenberg ("The Invisible Man") is developing a mini-series at the cable channel which "centers on a scenario where following a devastating attack, the American power structure is shaken." Universal Cable Productions is behind the project, which Greenberg will executive produce alongside J.P. Sarni and Sam Martin. Caroline Self and Darren J. Butler have also been tapped as non-writing consultants. (Variety.com)

TROOPER (CBS) - Mira Sorvino is in final negotiations and Jay Hernandez is set to star in the drama pilot, about a common-sense mother who becomes a New York State Trooper. She'd play said woman, K.J. Flaxton ("bright smile; open-hearted; charismatic"), with Hernandez as Carlos Coto ("Cuban-American; intimidating in his uniform; sunglasses; handsome"), her partner, "a former Miami homicide detective looking for a new start for him and his daughter following the death of his wife." Craig Gillespie is directing off a script by Aron Eli Coleite for the Warner Bros. Television-based Jerry Bruckheimer Television. (Deadline.com)

'Walking Dead's' Governor: David Morrissey

'Walking Dead's' Governor: David Morrissey

British actor David Morrissey has been cast as The Governor in the hit zombie series "The Walking Dead," AMC said Friday.

The Governor, from Robert Kirkman's "Walking Dead" comic book, is the leader of Woodbury, a survivor settlement. Eventually, The Governor becomes the chief antagonist of former sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes (portrayed by Andrew Lincoln) and his group.

The character is beyond creepy. (Warning: Spoilers galore in this paragraph.) In the comics, he keeps a zombified girl named Penny whom he says is his daughter, and at one point removes her teeth so he can kiss her. Readers of Kirkman's "Dead" novel, "Rise of the Governor" learned that the character, who calls himself Philip Blake, is actually impersonating his ruthless dead brother.

Morrissey has starred in TV offerings such as "State of Play" and "Blackpool," as well as films such as "The Reaping" and "The Other Boleyn Girl." He has been nominated twice for a BAFTA Award.

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

The 16-episode season of "Walking Dead" begins production in Atlanta this spring.

Ratings: 'American Idol' Earns Lowest Rating Since Season 1

Ratings: 'American Idol' Earns Lowest Rating Since Season 1

Fox's "American Idol" scored its lowest rating since the show's first season as CBS's "The Big Bang Theory" beat it decisively in the key demographic Thursday, according to preliminary numbers. CBS and Fox tied in the ratings as CBS grabbed more total viewers.

TheWrap reported Tuesday that NBCs "The Voice" is the top-rated show so far this season following eight seasons of "Idol" being television's top-rated series. Ratings like "Idol" scored Thursday won't help the show regain its crown.

Airing at 8 p.m., "Idol" was down 14 percent from last Thursday with a 4.4/13 and 15.4 million total viewers. It last scored a 4.4 rating for a first-season episode that aired on July 24, 2002. (It's worth noting, however, that "Idol" often gains slightly on its preliminary numbers.)

Overall, CBS had an average 3.2 rating/9 share in the demo and 13.7 million total viewers. "Big Bang Theory" at 8 p.m. inched up from last week for a 5.2/15 in the demo and 16.1 million total viewers. "Rob!" at 8:30 ticked down to a series low of 3.0/8 in the demo, with 10.6 million total viewers, while "Person of Interest" at 9 was up 11 percent from last week with a 3.1/8 in the demo and 14.4 million. "The Mentalist" closed the night at 10 with a 2.5/7 in the demo and 13.2 million total viewers.

Fox, like CBS, averaged a 3.2/9 in the demo. But it averaged 10.8 million total viewers. After "Idol," "The Finder" at 9 posted a 2.0/5 in the demo and 6.2 million total viewers.

ABC was third in the ratings and total viewers, with an average 2.3/6 and 6.8 million. "Wipeout" at 8 ran even with last week's airing for a 1.5/4 in the demo and 5 million total viewers, while "Grey's Anatomy" the following hour posted a 3.1/8 in the demo and 8.9 million total viewers. "Private Practice" at 10, which last week was lifted by a "Grey's Anatomy" crossover, dropped 15 percent for a 2.2/6 in the demo and 6.4 million total viewers.

NBC was a distant fourth in ratings and total viewers with an average 1.6/4 in the demo and 3.3 million total viewers. "30 Rock" at 8 was even with last week for a 1.5/4 in the demo and 3.7 million total viewers, followed by "Parks & Recreation" at 8:30, which was also even with last week, receiving a 1.7/5 in the demo and 3.4 million total viewers. "The Office" at 9 was up 13 percent from last week with a 2.6/7 in the demo and 5 million total viewers, while "Up All Night" at 9:30 was also up, climbing 20 percent from last week for a 1.8/4 in the demo and 3.5 million total viewers. The network finished the night with a "Grimm" repeat.

Giuliana Rancic Says No to 'Dancing With the Stars'

Giuliana Rancic Says No to 'Dancing With the Stars'

E! News and "Fashion Police" co-host Giuliana Rancic was approached to compete in the upcoming 14th season of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," but has joined Tim Tebow, Herman Cain and Dolly Parton in turning the show down, she says.

Rancic, who underwent a double mastectomy in December, tells E! Online her busy schedule precludes her from going dancing on the reality show this season, but she doesn't rule out "DWTS" forever.

"I've been a big fan of the show for years," Rancic said. "But sadly, my schedule at the moment would never allow for the grueling rehearsal commitment. Who knows, maybe Bill (Rancic, her husband) and I can be on the show together one day and go toe-to-toe for the trophy."

Also read: Tim Tebow Passes on 'DWTS' -- Sorry, J.R. Martinez

Bill Rancic is also a reality TV veteran, winning the first season of Donald Trump's "Apprentice." He also stars with Giuliana Rancic in the Style network series "Giuliana and Bill," and co-hosts "America Now" with Leeza Gibbons.

Meanwhile, "DWTS" fans will not have to wait much longer to find out who will be in the cast for season 14. Robin Roberts will announce the names of the celebs and their professional partners on Tuesday's "Good Morning America."

Season 14 of "DWTS" premieres on ABC on March 19.

'American Idol': Naked Steven Tyler and a Top 24 Is Set

'American Idol': Naked Steven Tyler and a Top 24 Is Set

Today, let's all take a moment to thank the creator of the "American Idol" logo, since it spared viewers a look at judge Steven Tyler's bare bottom Thursday after the "AI" judges named the last of the 24 semifinalists for this season.

Except there won't be 24. Ryan Seacrest announced the judges will make it a top 25 this year. And then Tyler mooned fellow judges Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson and plunged into a pool.

Next week, one of four male contenders already booted from the competition will be reinstated, meaning 13 men and 12 women will begin live performances on Wednesday.

The contenders for the 25th spot: 6-foot-9 music teacher Jermaine Jones, Michael Jackson-soundalike David Leathers Jr., Johnny Keyser (who Lopez called a future star after his initial audition) and Richie Law, the cowboy who ruffled some feathers with his Hollywood Week bossiness.

Meanwhile, the top 24 semifinalists: Deandre Brackensick, Adam Brock, Baylie Brown, Hollie Cavanaugh, Hallie Day, Colton Dixon, Heejun Han, Creighton Fraker, Eben Franckewitz, Reed Grimm, Jennifer Hirsh, Haley Johnson, Skylar Laine, Joshua Ledet, Chase Likens, Shannon Magrane, Aaron Marcellus, Phil Phillips, Jeremy Rosado, Jessica Sanchez, Chelsea Sorrell, Elise Testone, Erika Van Pelt and Brielle Von Huegel.