Bam Margera's 'Potentially Dangerous' Game Show Gets Green Light From TBS

Bam Margera has found a new outlet for his prank-happy ways.

TBS has given the go-ahead for a new series for the "Jackass" star in the form of "Bam's Bad Ass Game Show," a competition series in which contestants will engage in "incredibly demented, potentially dangerous and occasionally painful challenges" in pursuit of a $10,000 prize, the network said Wednesday.

On the show, which has been given the go-ahead for a six-episode season, contestants will endure such ordeals as "answering trivia questions while dangling above a pool of trash-filled water or dropping a watermelon on a target after being shot out of a cannon." The loser of each competition will be sent home until a final victor emerges -- though, truth be told, elimination from the series sounds like the real prize.

Naturally, the series will have an educational component, with Margera and his cohorts helping to design and demonstrate the challenges and "occasionally wind[ing] up worse off than any of the contestants."

Margera is executive-producing, along with David A. Hurwitz ("Fear Factor") and Noah Bonnett ("Total Blackout"). Bill's Market & Television Productions is producing.

"Bam's Bad Ass Game Show" will premiere in 2014.

CBS Orders Pilots for 'Bad Teacher,' Bruno Heller Drama

A pilot based on the 2011 Cameron Diaz film "Bad Teacher" and a drama from "The Mentalist' creator Bruno Heller have been ordered by CBS, an individual with knowledge of the orders told TheWrap on Wednesday.

"Bad Teacher" will be written and executive-produced by "My Name Is Earl" and "Community" veteran Hilary Winston, with Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, who were behind the film, executive-producing as well. Sam Hansen and Jimmy Miller will also executive-produce the pilot, which comes from Sony Pictures Television in association with the Mosaic Media Group, and follows a  a sexy, foul-mouthed divorcee who becomes a teacher to find her next husband.

"The Advocates," written and executive-produced by Heller, revolves around a female lawyer and a male ex-con who team up as “victim advocates,” going to the very edge of the law to right wrongs and fight for the underdog. Warner Bros. is producing.

The new pilot orders follow on the heels of CBS ordering pilots for a small-screen adaptation of the Eddie Murphy film "Beverly Hills Cop" -- which is being executive-produced by "The Shield" creator Shawn Ryan, and Murphy will appear in -- as well as the sitcom "Friends With Better Lives" and the detective drama "Backstrom."

'Home Improvement' Co-Creator Matt Williams Enters First-Look TV Deal With Lionsgate

Matt Williams, the co-creator of the '90s sitcom "Home Improvement," has aligned with Lionsgate for a first-look television deal, Lionsgate and Williams' company, Wind Dancer Films, said Wednesday.

Under the agreement, Williams and Wind Dancer Films will develop scripted comedies and dramas with Lionsgate.

Williams' other television work includes the groundbreaking comedies "Roseanne" and "The Cosby Show." On the film side, he's produced the Mel Gibson-Helen Hunt comedy "What Women Want" and the Jack Black-Shirley MacLaine offering "Bernie."

Lionsgate Television Group President Kevin Beggs praised Williams and Wind Dancer as "masterful producers, known for creating and developing distinctive original material with great success."

Beggs added that the deal has already yielded potential projects.

"We’ve already discussed a number of exciting ideas and can’t wait to get started,” Beggs said.

Williams enthused that the agreement with Lionsgate "feels like a great match," adding, "we look forward to this collaboration."

Tricia Penrose, Frankie Dettori evicted from Celebrity Big Brother

Frankie Dettori and Tricia Penrose have become the latest stars to be evicted from Celebrity Big Brother.

The pair missed out on a place in Friday's final after receiving the fewest votes to win from the public earlier tonight (January 23).

Frankie was the first to leave the house this evening, making the jockey the fifth celebrity to be evicted from this series.

He was soon followed by Heartbeat actress Tricia, who had recently been made the bookies' second favourite to win.

Both contestants left to cheers from the crowd, with their fellow housemates expressing shock at their departures.

Heidi and Spencer, Rylan Clark, Ryan Moloney, Neil 'Razor' Ruddock and Claire Richards will now battle it out to be crowned winner of Celebrity Big Brother 2013 on Friday (January 25).

'Ben and Kate' Pulled From Fox Schedule

Fox has pulled its freshman comedy "Ben and Kate" from its schedule, effective immediately, the network said Wednesday.

The series, which has aired 13 episodes so far and aired Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m., will return at a later date to be determined, the network added.

For the time being, one-hour installments of "Raising Hope" will run Tuesdays at 8 p.m. to cover the programming hole through the February sweeps (except for Feb. 19, when a "New Girl" repeat will air at 8:30).

The season premiere of "Hell's Kitchen" will air Tuesday, March 12 at 8 p.m. The Gordon Ramsay reality hit will occupy the Tuesdays at 8-9 p.m. slot from there on in, preceding "New Girl" and "The Mindy Project."

"Raising Hope" will air its season premiere with a one-hour episode on Thursday, March 28, following "American Idol."

The series, which stars Dakota Johnson as Type-A single mother Kate and Nat Faxon as her laid-back brother Ben, who moves in with his sister to help care for her daughter, premiered in September with a lukewarm 2.0 rating/6 share in the 18-49 demographic most important advertisers and 4.2 million total viewers. Its most recent episode, airing this week, posted a 1.2/3 -- a modest improvement over the previous week -- with 2.6 million total viewers.

During the Television Critics Association winter press tour in January, Fox entertainment chief Kevin Reilly expressed disappointment that the network's Tuesday night comedy block hadn't been a bigger ratings hit so far, noting that he believes in the quality of the shows but that audiences may need time to find them.

CW Revives 'The Selection,' Gives Pilot Order to Taylor Hackford's 'Company Town'

The CW is taking another crack at its "Hunger Games"-esque drama project "The Selection," and has given a pilot order to "The Devil's Advocate" director Taylor Hackford's naval drama "Company Town," a spokesman for the network told us on Wednesday.

Based on the Kiera Cass novel of the same name, "The Selection" --  which received a pilot order last year, but didn't go forward, follows a working-class young woman in a futuristic land who's chosen to participate in a lottery with 25 other women to compete for the Royal Prince's hand in marriage, as a budding rebellion threatens to topple the royal family.

Also read: Can CW's "The Selection" Catch "Hunger Games" Fire Like "Vampire Diaries" Did With "Twilight"?

Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain ("Dollhouse," "666 Park Avenue") are executive-producing the Warner Bros. Television project.

"Company Town," meanwhile, follows a scandal at a Naval base in Virginia that affects both civilians and military personnel. The pilot revolves around two women in their 20s who were once best friends, but now find them selves on opposing sides of the civilian/military divide. Hackford is directing and executive-producing, with Sera Gamble, of the network's "Supernatural," writing and executive producing.

The CBS TV Studio project is also executive-produced by Bill Haber.

Joanna Lumley on NTA Recognition Award: 'It was earth-shattering'

Joanna Lumley was awarded the Special Recognition prize at last night's National Television Awards.

Visibly shocked and surprised to be handed the award, it was proceeded by a short film about her career featuring contributions from her many co-stars and fans including Jennifer Saunders, Coronation Street's Bill Roache, prime minister David Cameron and Wolf of Wall Street director Martin Scorsese.

Speaking of her secret award, she told journalists backstage: "I've got to say it's the most unexpected and sort of earth-shattering thing that's happened to me.

"To see those kinds of people talking so generously about me - excluding Ms Saunders! - and to see my life coming back again, and to see me at 18 diving into a river in a Nimble advert right up to Patrick Macnee to the prime minister, who's taken time out of his busy life.

"Martin Scorsese, who I've only just worked with talking properly about shows that I was in, Ruby Wax, who's one of my great icons, Bill Roache - I mean, I nearly married him! I'd still be in Corrie now if he'd let me marry him.

"The whole thing was like a trance. I just sat there with my son beside me and I'm afraid to say tears were coursing down both our cheeks. It was unbelievably touching. And they showed the northern lights as well, I just [choking up] damn, I'm sorry, I just love you and I'm so touched."

When asked what makes an awards ceremony such as the NTAs special, she said: "I've always had a great passionate and undying and in fact growing love for people. I just love people and what we do in the acting world is read people written by people acted by people for people.

"It's a strange and dull way of putting it but everything we do is about connecting with people. A lot of acting is artifice and a lot of it isn't, and I think it's just very thrilling to be at something as important as this where what we call members of the public - when actually all members of the public are actors as much as we are - recognise the work that other people do to entertain them.

"So I just love humankind and I love us and I love tonight more than I can tell you - thank you."

On whether she still ever gets nervous about her work, she said: "No, not about my work, because I prepare properly and I love it. I love doing it and once you've done something, all of you know this, when you've done something many times - when you take your first picture, you're anxious it's going to be in focus, you're not going to be able to find it properly.

"When you've taken 140,000 you know pretty much that you're on the money - not that you're going to be successful, but that you're not going to let people down. So as an actor you just prepare the best you can and do it."

She added: "What touched me tonight so much was [choked up again] seeing a picture of my daddy. He's dead now and was the inspiration behind me supporting the Gurkhas as much as I do. My parents have gone but I've got them here. I don't always cry like this - I never cry like this actually."

NBC Orders Cross-Cultural Unplanned Pregnancy Pilot

NBC has ordered a pilot about an unplanned pregnancy that unites a white and Latino family.

"Welcome to the Family," a single-camera comedy from Sony Pictures Television, is written and executive produced by "Rules of Engagement" veteran Mike Sikowitz.

Pregnancy-based sitcoms are becoming a thing at NBC, which Tuesday ordered "Girlfriend in a Coma" about a woman who awakens from a coma to discover she has a teenage daughter. A surrogate pregnancy is also at the heart of this season's Ryan Murphy sitcom "The New Normal."

ABC Orders Pilots for Drama 'Betrayal' and Sitcom 'Pulling'

ABC has ordered pilots of the drama "Betrayal," about an affair that spirals out of control, and "Pulling," about "dysfunctional" women living the way they want.

"Betrayal," written by David Zabel, follows a beautiful, unhappily married woman who has a torrid affair with a lawyer for a powerful family. "When he turns out to be defending a murder suspect who is being prosecuted by her husband," ABC says, "the relationship and the case begin a spiraling series of betrayals with cataclysmic results for everyone involved."

Rob Golenberg and Alon Aranya will executive produce the ABC Studios show.

"Pulling," a single-camera comedy written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky through ABC Studios, is about three women in their 30s "living their lives the way they want, even if society tells them they should have it all figured out by this point," according to ABC.

Aaron Kaplan, Sharon Horgan, and Dennis Kelly will executive produce.

National TV Awards 2013: The winners

Dermot O'Leary was handing out the National TV Awards gongs at London's O2 Arena on January 23, which celebrates the best and most popular TV shows of the past year.

Factual Entertainment
Paul O'Grady: For The Love of Dogs - WINNER
The Apprentice
The Great British Bake Off
Top Gear

Comedy Panel Show
Have I Got News For You
Mock the Week
QI - WINNER
Would I Lie To You

Drama
Doctor Who
Downton Abbey - WINNER
Merlin
Sherlock

Drama Performance: Male
Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock)
Daniel Mays (Mrs Biggs)
Colin Morgan (Merlin) - WINNER
Matt Smith (Doctor Who)

Talent Show
Britain's Got Talent
Dancing on Ice
Strictly Come Dancing - WINNER
The Voice UK
The X Factor

Drama Performance: Female
Karen Gillan (Doctor Who)
Miranda Hart (Call the Midwife) - WINNER
Suranne Jones (Scott & Bailey)
Sheridan Smith (Mrs Biggs)

Situation Comedy
Absolutely Fabulous
Benidorm
Mrs Brown's Boys - WINNER
The Big Bang Theory

Documentary
Big Fat Gypsy Weddings
Frozen Planet - WINNER
One Born Every Minute
Planet Earth Live

Serial
Coronation Street - WINNER
EastEnders
Emmerdale
Hollyoaks

Serial Drama Performance
Alan Halsall (Coronation Street) - WINNER
Michelle Keegan (Coronation Street)
Emmett J. Scanlan (Hollyoaks)
Adam Woodyatt (EastEnders)

Daytime
Come Dine With Me
The Chase
The Jeremy Kyle Show
This Morning - WINNER

Newcomer
Liam Fox (Emmerdale)
Natalie Gumede (Coronation Street)
Joseph Thompson (Hollyoaks)
David Witts (EastEnders) - WINNER

Entertainment Programme
Alan Carr's Chatty Man
I'm a Celebrity - WINNER
The Only Way Is Essex
The Graham Norton Show

Entertainment Presenter
Alan Carr
Ant & Dec - WINNER
Keith Lemon
Dermot O'Leary

Landmark Award
London 2012 - WINNER

Special Recognition Award
Joanna Lumley - WINNER

GLAAD Protests Nat Geo's Collaboration With Boy Scouts

GLAAD is backing a petition protesting National Geographic Channel's collaboration with the Boy Scouts of America, a group that does not allow openly gay members.

The advocacy group backed a Change.org petition started by Will Oliver, a 20-year-old gay Eagle Scout, that calls on Nat Geo to air a disclaimer clarifying the network's views before each episode of its new series, "Are You Tougher than a Boy Scout." It debuts this spring.

“That National Geographic would brush aside countless gay teens suffering at the hands of the BSA, shrugging off injustice as just another ‘point of view,’ is irresponsible,” GLAAD president Herndon Graddick said in a statement. “By airing this program, National Geographic is providing support and publicity to an organization that harms young people simply because of who they are. If the network is truly committed to standing by its non-discrimination practices, it should have no problem airing a disclaimer to that effect.”

Nat Geo did not immediately respond to calls from TheWrap requesting comment.

But in a statement to GLAAD, the network said the show has "nothing to do with this debate" over the Boy Scouts' LGBT policies.

"As it relates to our upcoming show with the Boy Scouts, we certainly appreciate all points of view on the topic," Nat Geo said in the statement, "but when people see our show they will realize it has nothing to do with this debate, and is in fact a competition series between individual scouts and civilians."

GLAAD pointed to the Boy Scouts' October 2012 Progress Report of its National Council Strategic Plan 2011-2015. It cites the Nat Geo series as a “strategic partnership” aimed at promoting the idea that "scouting is ‘cool’ with youth.”

The report states that the Scouts will begin working on marketing plans with National Geographic for “leveraging the show with Scouting audiences and audiences outside of scouting.”

“It’s all too clear that this show is just a marketing ploy, crafted by the BSA to boost dwindling membership and distract Americans from the Scouts’ long history of discrimination,” Graddick said. “National Geographic Channel is the means to that end and must therefore make it clear where the network stands.”

Paul Hollywood on 'Bake Off' success: 'It's getting your hands dirty'

Paul Hollywood has suggested that people love The Great British Bake Off because it's about "getting your hands dirty".

Speaking to reporters backstage at the National Television Awards, Hollywood's co-host Mary Berry was asked how the show has made baking "sexy".

However, Berry jokingly deferred the question, saying: "Anything sexy goes to Paul!"

"I think it's down to the fact that people want to get involved in baking," Hollywood said. "It's all about getting your hands dirty, getting stuck in there and creating something magical. Everybody loves it."

Meanwhile, Berry pointed out that baking has become something that the whole family can enjoy together.

"They've got the next generation and the generation after that baking - very rewarding," she said. "And to get the young baking... mums, dads and grans are helping and enjoying it, and how lovely to have something delicious to eat at the end."

The Great British Bake Off had been nominated for 'Best Factual Entertainment' at the National Television Awards, but lost out to Paul O'Grady's For The Love of Dogs.

‘American Horror Story’ season 1 alumnus Taissa Farmiga in talks to star in season 3

Fan favorite Taissa Farmiga may be back for the next season of American Horror Story!

After revealing that the next installment of the miniseries American Horror Story would bring back it’s romance roots, Ryan Murphy is teasing another season 1 actor he’d like to join the cast. Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Taissa Farmiga who starred in the first season as Violet Harmen is in talks to rejoin some of her former castmates for the third season. Could this mean another romance focusing on Farminga and Evan Peters, who will also be returning?

Murphy never wanted to let the actress go, he reveals that he just didn’t have a role for her in the second season, which focused on an insane asylum. He explained, “I missed her this season. There wasn’t really a role for her. I feel very protective of her and I didn’t want her to go back into the loony bin—it was too dark. So I thought, well, ‘I want Taissa to be one of the leads next year.’ I called her up and pitched her the character for the season and she loved it, and she said, ‘Yes let’s do it.’ So we’re in negotiations for her to headline season 3.”

Already confirmed for season 3 are Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, and Evan Peters. It will be lighter with a female antagonist and take place in three different cities.

Ron Howard, Les Moonves Among TV Hall of Fame Inductees

Actor-director Ron Howard, sportscaster Al Michaels, CBS chief Les Moonves, journalist Bob Schieffer and writer-producer Dick Wolf will be inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences 22nd Hall of Fame, the selection committee said Wednesday.

For the first time, proceeds from the ceremony, slated for March 11 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, will benefit the Television Academy Foundation's Archive of American Television, a collection of hundreds of video interviews with TV pioneers.

In addition to the five honorees, the Hall of Fame will posthumously induct Philo T. Farnsworth, credited with inventing all-electronic television transmission.

"Each of this year's Hall of Fame inductees is incredibly deserving of this honor and is truly a legend of our industry," Bruce Rosenblum, chairman and CEO of the Academy, said in a statement. "This will be a spectacular evening, rich with stories and reminiscing."

More than 120 individuals have been inducted into the Hall of Fame since its inception in 1984.

The six-person selection committee -- made up of television and talent executives -- is chaired by Warner Bros. Television President Peter Roth.

'Voice' UK winner Leanne Mitchell on single flop: It hasn't bothered me

The Voice UK's winner Leanne Mitchell has said that she's not bothered by the underperformance of her debut single.

The singer won last year's contest after being coached by Sir Tom Jones on the BBC One talent show, but her winner's track 'Run to You' peaked at number 45 on the chart.

"To be honest, I think because it's on the BBC I think it's very difficult to get as much exposure as maybe you would on other programmes," Mitchell told BBC Newsbeat of the single's failure to chart higher.

"It hasn't bothered me, but the main thing I wanted to work on is my album. So hopefully people will get to hear that very soon."

Mitchell also confirmed that she has co-written her second single 'If You Knew', which will be released in the near future.

Voice of Charlie Brown Arrested for Stalking

Peter Robbins, who provided the voice of Charlie Brown on animated specials inspired by the "Peanuts" comic strip, was arrested Sunday on charges of stalking.

California authorities told TheWrap that the voice actor was detained at a border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico on Sunday at about 8 p.m.

He was taken into custody after a border patrol officer discovered Robbins was wanted by the San Diego County Sheriff's on a felony warrant, Ralph DeSio, a public affairs officer with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office, told.

DeSio did not say what crimes Robbins allegedly committed, but the website for the San Diego County Jail, where he was transported and booked, says he faces five felony counts, including stalking and making a threat to cause death or bodily injury. Bail is set at $550,000.

Robbins is due in court on Wednesday morning.

The 56-year-old actor was the doleful voice behind Charlie Brown on several of iconic TV specials that aired in the 1960s. His "Peanuts" work includes “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," and he also appeared on such shows as "My Three Sons" and "F Troop," according to IMDB.

Robbins remains active on Facebook, where he goes by Peter "Charlie Brown" Robbins and recently posted about Lance Armstrong's doping confession to Oprah Winfrey and solicited recipe ideas from fans.

U-T San Diego first reported Robbins' arrest.

Celebrity Big Brother Brian Dowling: 'Rylan scandal not a big deal'

Brian Dowling has said that Rylan Clark being allowed to leave the Celebrity Big Brother house is "not a big deal".

The show host told BBC Radio 5 live that Rylan's exits have not affected the reality of the show.

Asked by DJ Nicky Campbell how Rylan was coping with being in the house and rehearsing for the X Factor tour, Dowling laughed: "Are you trying to trip me up?"

Campbell responded: "No, just tell me the truth... he's out of the house, is he?"

Dowling replied: "Contractually, before he entered the show he was told he could leave on two occasions with a chaperone and a choreographer to rehearse for the tour.

"As far as I'm aware he obviously didn't speak about anything BB. It's not really affected the reality - the housemates don't mind.

"Big Brother don't mind. It's not really affected Rylan's time in the house. I just don't really see it as a big deal. The show is not what it was on Channel 4."

When Campbell said that you can't leave the house for rehearsals, Dowling quipped: "According to his contract he can!"

Black Mirror series 2 episode 1 spoiler-free review: Be Right Back

Charlie Brooker's sci-fi suspense series returns in style with Be Right Back. Here's our review of the first in a new season...

2.1 Be Right Back

First broadcast in late 2011, Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror trilogy of suspense dramas - loosely connected by their satirical humour and concerns about current and future technology - were refreshingly sharp, concise and well-made.

Just over a year later, Black Mirror's back, and once again provides a bleak reflection of modern life. What's surprising about the opening episode Be Right Back, though, is how subtle and low-key it is. Where the first series opened with a porcine relations bang - a button-pushing hour of drama designed to get audiences talking - Be Right Back brings with it a sombre tone more akin to the final episode of the last season, The Entire History Of You - the closing chapter written not by Brooker, but by Jesse Armstrong.

Those expecting the dark humour of The National Anthem or the harsh jabs at televised singing contests in Fifteen Million Merits may be somewhat taken aback by the relatively naturalistic air of Be Right Back - this is Brooker working from a more muted palette, and perhaps even growing in confidence as he explores his themes with greater subtlety.

Once again, the underlying theme is about technology's effects on relationships. Haley Atwell plays Martha, a commercial artist who's blissfully in love with Ash (Domhnall Gleeson) - an affectionate boyfriend who's easily distracted by the inviting glow of his mobile phone. The happy couple have just moved to a remote cottage which once belonged to Ash's parents, and a sedate, bucolic future appears to beckon.

Instead, a tragic incident tears the couple apart, suddenly leaving Martha alone and depressed in an unfamiliar and lonely landscape. A concerned friend signs Martha up for an unspecified yet ominous-sounding online service, which can harvest Ash's web activity to recreate a passable version of him inside a computer - in short, it's like a Windows Live Messenger for the bereaved.

"It helped me," Martha's friend says. "You can speak to him. It's not like those stupid spiritualist things. It's in beta, but..."

If the above sounds like spoiler territory, fear not: this is merely the opening few minutes in a slowly-unfolding, melancholy and intimate drama. What follows isn't full of sharp twists or gut-wrenching turns of fortune, but it is undoubtedly mesmerising.

Shorn of the heightened drama of the previous episodes, Be Right Back allows its performances to come to the fore, and Hayley Atwell is excellent here. The hub of almost every scene, she puts in one of the best performances in Black Mirror's short history - it's undoubtedly as good as Rory Kinnear's desperate, sympathetic turn as the luckless prime minister in The National Anthem, which is really saying something. There's a real spark, too, between Atwell and Gleeson in the few scenes they share together; their little in-jokes, shared love of cheesy 70s tunes and childhood memories are illustrated in brief moments that are subtly acted and carefully written.

There are hints of Philip K Dick's Ubik or maybe John Carpenter's Starman in Charlie Brooker's story, but these are probably coincidental; Be Right Back is so effective because it examines several themes at once - the difference between intimate relationships and virtual ones via social media, and more universally, the gaping hole left after the death of a loved one.

Director Owen Harris, whose work includes Misfits, Skins and Holy Flying Circus, creates the perfect tone for Brooker's story. The various hints of a linked-in future - huge digital easels, thumb-print identity for parcel deliveries - are threaded in subtly with the quiet coastal landscape. Like Mark Romanek's criminally under-seen adaptation of Never Let Me Go, Be Right Back's cinematography and lighting are subtle and exquisitely judged.

It's notable that, with each passing episode, Black Mirror has worked on a canvas of decreasing size - a London full of jeering voters in the first, a future of apathetic cyclists in the second, the crumbling relationship in the third, and so on.

By reducing his scope still further, Be Right Back merely intensifies its dramatic strength. A sci-fi parable about bereavement and digital ghosts, this opening episode is appropriately haunting.

Black Mirror season 2 episode 1 is due to air in February.

Comedy Central's Kent Alterman Promoted

Comedy Central's Kent Alterman has been promoted to the network's president of content development and original programming, a job in which he will oversee development and production of original content across all platforms.

Alterman, who was previously head of original programming and production, will continue to be based in the network’s offices in Santa Monica, and to report to Comedy Central president Michele Ganeless.

Alterman (pictured, with Amy Poehler) will work to extend existing franchises and push new voices. He will also continue to write his own quotes for news releases, like the one that accompanied news of his promotion.

“I couldn’t be more excited to continue my relationship with Comedy Central," he said. "I couldn’t be less excited either. I really feel I have the perfect level of excitement for this job.”

He will also remain in charge of the network's Talent and Specials team, which produces Comedy Central stand-up series and specials, as well as special events such as the network's celebrity roasts and “Night of Too Many Stars” autism benefit.

Alterman and the talent team will also work more closely with Mitch Fried's Enterprises division, which tries to extend the comedy central brand into merchandise, home entertainment, recordings, live entertainment and publishing. Under the new alignment, Fried will report to  Ganeless and Alterman.

Since returning to Comedy Central in 2010, Alterman and his development team have launched new franchises including "Workaholics," "Key & Peele," "Brickleberry," "The Burn With Jeff Ross," and the new "Kroll Show."

He departed the network in 2001, and went on to direct and executive produce the Will Ferrell comedy "Semi-Pro." He also oversaw films including “Elf,” “A History of Violence” and “Little Children" as executive vice president at New Line.

Being Human UK series 5 start date confirmed

It's official: Being Human will return to BBC Three at 10pm on Sunday the 3rd of February...

It's the news Honolulu Heights fans have been waiting for: we can finally confirm that Being Human will return to BBC Three for series five at 10pm on Sunday the 3rd of February.

Six brand new episodes following the stories of Hal (Damien Molony), Tom (Michael Socha), and Alex (Kate Bracken) are on their way, in which the new-look supernatural Barry three are faced with an enemy of unusual evil.

In terms of writing this season, episodes one and six come from creator Toby Whithouse, episode two from new writer Daragh Carville, episode three from Becoming Human's Jamie Mathieson (Educating Creature, Type 4, and The Graveyard Shift), episode four from John Jackson (Puppy Love, The Pack), and episode five from former Neighbours writer and Merlin/Primeval script-editor, Sarah Dollard. Regular directors Phil John and Daniel O'Hara will also be returning behind the camera.

Guest stars for the series so far are The Mighty Boosh's Julian Barratt, Eastenders and Getting On's Ricky Grover, and Skins and Bedlam's Kathryn Prescott. Will Ellie Kendrick, one of Game of Thrones' newest recruits, be returning in the role of Allison with two ls? Let's just say we wouldn't bet against a cameo...

'Mad Men' Season 6 Gets Premiere Date

Lift a highball, television lovers: "Mad Men" will return to screens this April.

The critically adored, relentlessly blogged about, frequently awarded AMC show will kick off a sixth season of alcoholism, infidelity and advertising accounts with a special two-hour premiere.

Will Don cheat on Megan? Did Betty lose the weight? Is Peggy happy at Cutler, Gleason, and Chaough? Will Sally and Glen live happily ever after? Did Kinsey's "Star Trek" episode get picked up?

The answers to all those questions could be revealed on April 7 at 9 p.m. when the series starts up again.

Matthew Weiner, the creator of the series, will write the script and Executive Producer Scott Hornbacher will direct. Hornbacher previously oversaw directing duties on some of the show's more evocative episodes, such as season three's  "Wee Small Hours," also known as the one where Sal get fired, and "Far Away Places," or the one where Roger takes LSD.

Following the premiere, “Mad Men” will return to its regular timeslot at 10 p.m. with an episode written by Jonathan Igla and Weiner, and directed by star Jon Hamm.

“To be able to continue exploring the stories of these characters for a sixth season is an amazing opportunity,” Weiner said in a a statement. “We love mining this world and look forward to bringing the audience stories that we hope will continue to both surprise and entertain them.”

For the record: This article originally stated that the premiere episode will premiere on April 14. The second episode of season 6 will air on that date.

TV Tonight 24th of January 2013

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

1600 Penn S01E04: "Meet The Parent"
30 Rock S07E11: "A Goon's Deed in a Weary World"
Air Crash Investigation S12E06: "Grand Canyon Collision"
American Idol S12E04: "Auditions #4"
Anger Management S02E03: "Charlie and the Ex-Patient"
Antiques Road Trip S06E14: "Series 6, Episode 14"
Archer (2009) S04E02: "The Wind Cries Mary"
Beauty and the Beast (2012) S01E10: "Seeing Red"
Bellator MMA Live S01E02: "TBA"
Beyond Scared Straight S03E15: "Western Tidewater, VA"
Big Brother's Bit on the Side S06E22
Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai S02E03: "Our Sisters Must Be Such Cute"
Buck Wild S01E08: "It's Not a Date"
Buck Wild S01E07: "Raging Bulls"
Celebrity Big Brother S11E26: "Series 11 - Live from the House"
Celebrity Big Brother S11E25: "Series 11 - Day 21 Highlights"
Chelsea Lately S07E12
Come Dine With Me S20E94: "Series 20, Episode 74"
Conan S03E35: "Adam Scott, Mo Mandel"
Dag (NO) S03E02: "Season 3, Episode 2"
Daybreak S03E97: "January 24, 2013"
Days of our Lives S48E52: "Ep. #12008"
De Pappenheimers S11E09: "Season 11, Episode 9"
Deadliest Space Weather S01E04: "Mars"
Deal Or No Deal (UK) S08E142: "Episode 2135"
Doctors S14E176: "Please Hold"
EastEnders S29E15: "The Interview"
El Barco S03E12: "Nada por aquí"
Emmerdale S42E21: "January 24, 2013 [Episode 2]"
Emmerdale S42E20: "January 24, 2013"
Escape To The Country S13E44: "West of Scotland"
Face the Clock S01E14: "Episode 14"
Father Brown (2013) S01E09: "The Mayor and the Magician"
Four In A Bed S04E14: "Series 4, Episode 14"
General Hospital (US) S50E203: "#12731"
Glee S04E11: "Sadie Hawkins"
Got to Dance S04E21: "Series 4, Episode 21"
Great British Railway Journeys S04E14: "Inverness to Plockton"
Great Northern Cookbook S01E04: "Episode 4"
Grey's Anatomy S09E12: "Walking on a Dream"
Het Spiegelpaleis S01E15: "Season 1, Episode 15"
Hollyoaks S19E17: "January 24, 2013"
Home and Away (AU) S26E04: "Episode 5664"
Hotel cæsar S29E112: "Season 29, Episode 112"
House Hunters S51E18:
House Hunters International S35E10
House of Anubis S03E08: "House of Mistrust"
House of Anubis S03E07: "House of Pi"
Ich bin ein Star - Holt mich hier raus! S07E14: "Tag 14"
Impact Wrestling S08E121: "Season 8, Epixsode 121"
Impractical Jokers S02E12: "TBA"
Inside Death Row with Trevor McDonald S01E02: "Episode 2"
Jimmy Kimmel Live S11E14: "Matt Damon"
Judge Judy S17E118: "Mobile Home Destruction? | Mother-in-Law's Expectations"
Junior Doctors – Your Life In Their Hands S03E02: "Emotional Cost"
Kathy S02E03: "TBA"
King of the Nerds S01E02: "Imaginary Realms"
Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness S02E19: "Crane On A Wire"
Last Resort S01E13: "Controlled Flight Into Terrain"
Legit S01E02: "Dreams"
Location Location Location S16E04: "Series 16, Episode 4"
Loose Women S17E87: "Series 17, Show 87"
Mary Mary S02E08: "TBA"
Mysteries at the Museum S04E08: "TBA"
Naruto: Shippuuden S11E55: "A Father's Feelings, A Mother's Love"
Nattpatruljen S01E12: "Season 1, Episode 12"
Neighbours S29E14: "Episode 6564"
Newsreaders S01E02: "Hedge Fun"
Parks and Recreation S05E11: "Women In Garbage"
Pasila S06E04: "Naapuri"
Pointless S08E17: "Series 8, Episode 17"
Project Runway S11E01: "Season 11, Episode 1"
Property Wars S02E06: "Boom or Bust"
Property Wars S02E05: "Hidden Treasure"
Question Time S33E15: "Weymouth"
Rehab Addict S03E03: "Bugs, Birds and Bad Plumbing"
Rock Center with Brian Williams S02E16: "Season 2, Episode 16"
Rude Tube S05E08: "Complete Prankers"
Salatut elämät S15E93: "Elias tajuaa Iidan ottaneen raskaasti"
Selling New York S06E06
Silent Witness S16E05: "True Love Waits (1)"
Suits S02E12: "Blood in the Water"
Sweet Genius S03E13: "Wedded Genius"
Tamako Market S01E03: "The Cool Her Meets The Warm You"
Tegen de Sterren op S03E07: "Season 3, Episode 7"
The Bold and the Beautiful S26E211: "Ep. #6495"
The Chase (2009) S06E57: "Series 6, Episode 57"
The Chew S02E97: "Episode 335"
The Colbert Report S09E12: "Tavi Gevinson"
The Daily Show S18E50: "Christopher Walken"
The Dr. Phil Show S11E93: "Shocking Mom Revelations"
The Ellen DeGeneres Show S10E89: "Kristen Bell, Cedric the Entertainer"
The First 48 S12E34: "Family Matters"
The Genius of Invention S01E01: "Episode 1"
The Jeremy Kyle Show (UK) S08E92: "January 24, 2013"
The Millionaire Matchmaker S06E03: "A Tale of Two Jimmys"
The Office (US) S09E12: "Customer Loyalty"
The Project S05E18: "Season 5, Episode 18"
The Restoration Man S02E16: "Pig Barn"
The Sheriffs are Coming S02E09: "Series 2, Episode 9"
The Talk S03E91: "Wayne Brady, Perez Hilton, Lynnette Khalfani-Cox"
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno S21E27
The Vampire Diaries S04E11: "Catch Me If You Can"
The View S16E90: "Julia Stiles, Patrick Duffy, Clare Bowen"
The Young and the Restless S40E212: "Ep. #10081"
This Week (2003) S11E16: "January 24, 2013"
Thuis S18E109: "Season 18, Episode 109"
Tipping Point S02E17: "Series 2, Episode 17"
Tonight S15E04: "What Next for Prince Harry?"
Totally Biased with W Kamau Bell S02E02: "Season 2, Episode 2"
Undercover Boss (CA) S02E12: "Orkin Canada"
Wanted Down Under S07E17: "Series 7, Episode 17"
Waterloo Road S08E14: "Series 8, Episode 14"
Way To Go S01E02: "The Business End of Things"
Wereld draait door, De S08E84: "Season 8, Episode 84"
What Not To Wear (US) S10E04: "TBA"
Wie is... de Mol? S13E04: "Season 13, Episode 4"
Универ. Новая общага S04E04: "Season 4, Episode 4"