'Walking Dead' exec hints at Rick, Shane clash

'Walking Dead' exec hints at Rick, Shane clash

The Walking Dead showrunner Glen Mazzara has hinted at an upcoming clash between Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Shane (Jon Bernthal).

The two former friends have come into conflict on the AMC zombie drama, with both keen to lead the other survivors.

"It will be played out in the next episode," Mazzara told TV Guide. "The next episode... really puts Shane and Rick at odds, and Rick is tired of secrets, and a lot will come spilling out."

Mazzara also discussed reports that Bernthal is in talks to join TNT pilot L.A. Noir, overseen by former Walking Dead exec Frank Darabont.

"I haven't read the Frank script, but it is conceivable that Bernthal's character gets offed in that pilot," he said. "I haven't read it."

Discussing Shane's fate, he added: "We are a show that is going to surprise people. People can speculate.

"I don't want to say anything about secrets or spoilers or anything like that, but I think fans will be satisfied with our story, and I'm just going to focus on that, not other material."

The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman recently teased that things will "keep getting worse" for the show's characters.

"There are more dangerous things out there than the zombies," he said. "Things just keep getting worse from here."

The Walking Dead continues on Sundays at 9/8c on AMC. In the UK, the show airs on Fridays at 10pm on FX.

Paz de la Huerta 'can always come back to Boardwalk Empire', says exec

Paz de la Huerta 'can always come back to Boardwalk Empire', says exec

Terence Winter has suggested that Paz de la Huerta could return to Boardwalk Empire.

De la Huerta, who plays Nucky Thompson's (Steve Buscemi) former mistress Lucy Danziger, will not be returning for season three.

However, showrunner Winter has told New York Magazine: "On The Sopranos, too, we had so many people that came and went, sometimes you wouldn't see somebody for an entire season, and they popped back.

"As long as you're not dead on the show, you can always come back. Even if you are [dead]! Dreams, flashbacks, anything can happen."

The HBO drama series ended its second season in December with a shocking finale twist.

Boardwalk Empire was renewed for a third season back in October and will return to the air later this year.

Jennifer Saunders joins new BBC Three sitcom 'Dead Boss'

Jennifer Saunders joins new BBC Three sitcom 'Dead Boss'

Jennifer Saunders has signed up for a role in BBC Three's new comedy Dead Boss.

The show, which was written by and stars Sharon Horgan and Holly Walsh, focuses on a woman called Helen who is falsely imprisoned for the murder of her boss.

Saunders has now joined the cast and will play the prison governor, Chortle reports.

Her character is described as "a sexual Margaret Thatcher" who is "probably even more psychotic than any inmate in [the prison] Broadmarsh".

Call The Midwife star Bryony Hannah will play Helen's arsonist cellmate, while Spy's Tom Goodman-Hill will star as one of the prison guards.

Geoffrey McGivern, who was recently seen in This Is Jinsy, has joined the cast as a lawyer, and Lizzie Roper and Susan Calman will play members of a gang. Caroline Quentin will reportedly also have a guest role in the comedy.

Horgan is also currently working on Channel 4 pilot Bad Sugar, which has been penned by Peep Show writers Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong and also stars Olivia Colman and Julia Davis.

Dead Boss is expected to air on BBC Three in April.

'Lord of the Rings' Marton Csokas cast in Sky Atlantic's 'Falcon'

'Lord of the Rings' Marton Csokas cast in Sky Atlantic's 'Falcon'

Lord of the Rings actor Marton Csokas has been cast in Sky Atlantic's new detective series Falcon.

Based on the Robert Wilson best-selling novels about Seville police chief inspector Javier Falcon, the first two-parter will be Falcon: The Blind Man of Seville.

Csokas is most famous for playing Elven Lord Celeborn in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings, but more recently starred alongside Helen Mirren in The Debt.

Joining him in Falcon are Fifth Element star Charlie Creed-Miles, Hayley Atwell (Captain America), Emilia Fox (Silent Witness) and Kerry Fox (Cloudstreet).

Bernard Hill (Titanic) and Santiago Cabrera (Heroes, Merlin) will also star in the series.

The second Falcon story to be filmed will be The Silent and the Damned.

Falcon is Sky Atlantic's second homegrown UK drama commission, following Chloe Sevigny's Hit and Miss, which premieres in May.

Nick Offerman: 'Parks and Recreation is like a delicious meal'

Nick Offerman: 'Parks and Recreation is like a delicious meal'

Nick Offerman has compared Parks and Recreation to a delicious meal.

In an interview with The AP, the actor suggested that Parks and Recreation's success comes down to a perfect mix of 'ingredients'.

"There's so much luck involved in mixing up a pot of goulash and you're not sure exactly which ingredient is going to make you say, 'You know, that's a delicious meal'," he explained.

Offerman continued: "Sometimes it's the cumin that takes it over the top. If I were ever referred to as the cumin on Parks and Recreation, I would consider it high praise."

The actor went to say that he considers it an honour to be working with Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari and Rob Lowe on the NBC sitcom.

"In my cast, I'm surrounded by Michael Jordans and I'm happy to just be a petrified tree stump where I get a laugh because a bird lands on me and picks an insect out of my hair," he joked.

Parks and Recreation airs Thursdays at 8.30/7.30c on NBC.

Chelsea Clinton to renew NBC News contract?

Chelsea Clinton to renew NBC News contract?

Chelsea Clinton is in talks to renew her NBC News contract, according to reports.

The former US First Daughter signed a three-month deal with NBC in November to highlight inspiring news stories for the network's 'Making a Difference' segments.

Clinton debuted on NBC in December with a report on an Arkansas non-profit group for Brian Williams's primetime news show Rock Centre.

NBC and Clinton are now close to reaching an agreement to extend the 31-year-old's contract, sources have told The Washington Post.

Clinton will apparently remain a correspondent for Rock Centre if a further contractual agreement can be reached.

The length of Clinton's possible new deal with NBC has not yet been revealed.

Clinton is also currently pursuing her doctorate in Public Health at New York University.

Last year, Clinton spoke out in support of same-sex marriage at a benefit for the social networking website Friendfactor.

"I certainly believe that all of my friends, as [husband] Marc [Mezvinsky] and I did, should have the right to marry their best friends," she said at the time.

Syfy's Spring 2012 to Feature More Original Series and Original Hours

Syfy's Spring 2012 to Feature More Original Series and Original Hours

Highlights include the return of "Eureka" on Monday, April 16 followed by season two of "Lost Girl."

Featuring a record number of original programming hours and original series for a spring season, Syfy's Spring 2012 schedule will include the fifth and final season of the beloved Eureka (April16); premieres of the reality shows Monster Man (March 14), Dream Machines (April 10) and Total Blackout (April 25); the return of the hit series Ghost Hunters (April 11), Lost Girl (April 16), Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files (April 17) and Hollywood Treasure (May 22), Saturday Original Movies such as the St. Patrick's Day Leprechaun's Revenge and the miniseries Treasure Island (May).

Highlights of Syfy's 2012 Spring Programming Schedule (All Times ET/PT)

MARCH

MONSTER MAN (NEW ORIGINAL SERIES)

Special Premiere Wednesday, March 14 at 11PM following Face Off season finale; regular time slot Wednesdays at 10PM beginning March 21 -- Monster Man goes behind the scenes of one of Hollywood's most respected monster prop building workshops. For more than 30 years, when studios have wanted a bizarre creature or out-of-this world alien, they've turned to Cleve Hall and his very unique family business. Only the horrifying monsters they build match the craziness of this extremely talented family. Monster Man stars Cleve Hall, his daughters Constance and Elora Hall, his ex-wife Sonja Maddox-Hall, best friends Roy Knyrim, Hill Vinot & Johnny Saiko, as well as office manager Cindy Miller. Executive producers are Scott Gurney and Deirdre Gurney for Gurney Productions.

SATURDAY ORIGINAL MOVIE LEPRECHAUN'S REVENGE

Premieres Saturday, March 17 at 9PM -- Billy Zane (Titanic, The Phantom), William Devane (24, Knot's Landing) and Courtney Halverson (MTV's Death Valley) star in this special St. Patrick's Day telecast about an evil leprechaun who wants revenge on the Irish immigrants who imprisoned him. A production of After Dark Films.

APRIL

DREAM MACHINES (NEW ORIGINAL SERIES)

Premieres Tuesday, April 10 at 10PM - Dream Machines follows Florida-based brothers Marc and Shannon Parker as they take the most imaginative vehicles ever seen in movies, comic books, and TV shows, and engineer them into on the road realities. There's no design challenge too fantastical - or even impossible - for the brothers to take on, and each week they'll stop at nothing to create these one-of-a-kind "dream machines" for their vast array of celebrity and collector clients. Produced by Triage Entertainment with Steve Kroopnick (Iron Chef America) serving as executive producer. Steve Nigg (American Chopper, UFO Hunters) is co-executive producer.

GHOST HUNTERS (SEASON 9 PREMIERE)

Premieres Wednesday, April 11 at 9PM -- The countdown begins: Grant's final episodes!

This winter, the Ghost Hunters received shocking news when co-lead investigator and TAPS co-founder, Grant Wilson, announced his departure from the series. On Wednesday, April 11 at 9PM, ride along for Grant's final investigations, culminating in a very special farewell episode on Wednesday, May 16 at 9PM. Ghost Hunters is produced in association with Craig Piligian's Pilgrim Films and Television (Dirty Jobs, The Ultimate Fighter, My Fair Wedding). Piligian and Thomas Thayer, along with Mike Nichols and Alan David, serve as executive producers.

EUREKA (SEASON 5 PREMIERE)

Premieres Monday, April 16 at 9PM - Eureka's fifth and final season culminates with an exciting series conclusion that will complete the journey of the residents of the unique little town of Eureka. As the thrilling final season kicks off, the town is reeling after the Astraeus and her crew mysteriously vanished just before their planned launch to Titan. When they finally crash land, Allison and the crewmembers are shocked to find themselves back in Eureka - and that they've been missing for four years. As the town copes with the shocking personal changes that have happened during their long absence, Sheriff Carter and Henry try to uncover the truth about the forces behind the crew's bizarre disappearance -- with deadly results. Returning for the final season are popular guest stars Wil Wheaton (Big Bang Theory, Star Trek: The Next Generation) as the contentious Dr. Parrish and Felicia Day (The Guild, Red) as Dr. Holly Marten. Eureka stars Colin Ferguson (Sheriff Jack Carter) Salli Richardson-Whitfield (Allison Blake), Joe Morton (Henry Deacon), Erica Cerra (Jo Lupo), Neil Grayston (Douglas Fargo) and Niall Matter (Zane Donovan). Co-creator Jaime Paglia and Bruce Miller are executive producers. The series is produced and distributed by Universal Cable Productions.

LOST GIRL (SEASON 2 PREMIERE)

Premieres Monday, April 16 at 10PM -- The sexy supernatural drama kicks off season two with a nomadic Fae sideshow taking advantage of the chaos created by the bombing of the Light Fae headquarters. Lost Girl stars Anna Silk as Bo, co-starring Kris Holden-Ried as Dyson; Ksenia Solo as Kenzi; Zoie Palmer as Lauren; Rick Howland as Trick, and K.C. Collins as Hale. Lost Girl is a Prodigy Pictures Production in association with Showcase. Executive producers are Jay Firestone, Michelle Lovretta and Peter Mohan. Lost Girl was created by Michelle Lovretta.

FACT OR FAKED: PARANORMAL FILES (NEW EPISODES)

Returns Tuesday, April 17 at 9PM -- Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files uncovers the truth behind supernatural and unexplained occurrences that have been caught on camera. In each episode, the team searches for the most intriguing images, videos and unnatural phenomenon found online and around the world. After selecting the most compelling cases, they head into the field, attempting to recreate the video, carrying out key experiments and questioning eyewitnesses. The team investigates all the clues and evidence with the most advanced techniques and tools at their disposal, and their objective is to answer the question, "Is this real?" In one of the season's upcoming episodes, Ben Hansen, Austin Porter and Jael de Pardo investigate a mysterious hovering light piercing through the night's dense fog over the waters of Bodega Bay - a California paranormal hotspot that has been featured in movies including The Fog, Puppet Master and Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files is executive produced by John Brenkus and Mickey Stern for BASE Productions, and is a co-production with Universal Networks International.

TOTAL BLACKOUT (NEW ORIGINAL SERIES)

Premieres Wednesday, April 25 at 10PM -- Hosted by Jaleel White (Family Matters), Total Blackout is a half-hour extreme game show in which contestants battle each other and their fears in a series of challenges, confronting their own worst enemy - themselves. However, there is a twist -- all the challenges are played in complete darkness; no lights, no blindfolds and no-holds barred as the players face their fears and unexpected surprises in a series of nerve-wracking games. Total Blackout was created by Henrik Nielsen (Can You Duet?, Danish versions of The X Factor, Got Talent and Pop Idol). Nielsen and Jeff Apploff (Million Dollar Money Drop, Don't Forget the Lyrics) serve as executive producers. Jack Martin (Who's Still Standing, Deal or No Deal) is co-executive producer.

MAY

HOLLYWOOD TREASURE (SEASON 3 PREMIERE)

Premieres Tuesday, May 22 at 10PM -- Hollywood Treasure is a documentary-reality series that delves into the fascinating world of collecting showbiz and pop culture memorabilia, including science fiction and fantasy props and costumes. The series follows Joe Maddalena, owner of Profiles in History and the world's largest auctioneer of original movie, television and pop culture collectibles. Each episode follows Joe and his crew as they travel the globe searching for the most compelling, rare, and sought-after Hollywood memorabilia. Sometimes combing through basements and attics to uncover lost Hollywood treasure, and other times meeting with celebrities to view their personal keepsakes, Joe tracks leads and does whatever it takes to seal the deal for a piece of Hollywood history. Each episode, Joe presides over world-class auctions, where the collectibles are sold to fans and collectors from around the world. Some of Joe's previous finds include the Wicked Witch of the West's hat from The Wizard of Oz and the vintage Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car. Joe recently worked with Debbie Reynolds to auction off her amazing estate of film costume and prop memorabilia. In the new episodes, Joe continues his quest to hunt down some of the most iconic Hollywood collectibles of our time, including the original camera George Lucas used to shoot Star Wars and Joe's holy grail -- the lost pair of ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz. Hollywood Treasure is produced by Gurney Productions with Scott Gurney and Dierdre Gurney as executive producers.

TREASURE ISLAND (ORIGINAL MINISERIES)

Premieres May TBD -- This new adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel Treasure Island will star Eddie Izzard (The Riches, Oceans 12, Oceans 13) as Long John Silver, Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings, Everything Is Illuminated) as Ben Gunn and Donald Sutherland (Pride & Prejudice, Ordinary People, M*A*S*H) as Flint. Executive producers are Robert Halmi Sr. for RHI Entertainment, Alan Moloney for Parallel Films, Mark Grenside for MNG Films, Melanie Stokes and Anne Brogan for Kindle Entertainment and Annie Harrison-Baxter for Sky. The producer is Laurie Borg (Made in Dagenham, Sense and Sensibility, Little Voice) and it is written by Stewart Harcourt (Hearts & Bones, Poirot, Marple). Treasure Island is directed by Steve Barron (Merlin, Arabian Nights).