May 14, 2002 |
ABC OVERHAUL
ABC unveils its new fall schedule today in New York, and the network is expected to announce that it's adding seven new shows, including a spinoff of its current miniseries Dinotopia and an interactive mystery from producers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon titled Push, Nevada. The Drew Carey Show, meanwhile, will relocate to Monday nights at 8 pm/ET, followed by Whose Line Is It Anyway? at 8:30 pm/ET. As previously reported, Philly, Spin City, The Job and Dharma & Greg are goners. Also on the way out: Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher. As expected, a new late-night series hosted by The Man Show's Jimmy Kimmel will take over the midnight slot in January. |
MATTHEW PERRY'S NEW LOVE
Friends millionaire Matthew Perry has signed on to star in the Paramount drama One of Us, playing a man who returns to his hometown and falls in love with an alien. Yes folks, this is a drama. |
SAVE THE DATE
The Sopranos will return with new episodes beginning Sunday, Sept. 15, HBO exec Chris Albrecht tells the New York Times. "Nobody is waiting more than we are to get The Sopranos back on the air," Albrecht said. The mob drama's fourth season was delayed when series creator David Chase requested more production time. |
WHY WON'T SHE GO AWAY?
Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire bride Darva Conger is at risk of getting divorced from her teeth! She's agreed to take on Olympic gold-medal gymnast Olga Korbut on Fox's Celebrity Boxing 2 on May 22. Also slated to do battle: Welcome Back, Kotter's Ron "Horshack" Palillo and Saved by the Bell's Dustin "Screech" Diamond. These classy C-listers join a previously announced fight card that includes Joey Buttafuoco. |
JOSH GETS LUCKY
At Monday's presentation to TV advertisers, NBC entertainment president Jeff Zucker revealed that Lily Tomlin and Mary Louise Parker will join The West Wing as series regulars this fall. Tomlin's character will be introduced in this season's finale on May 22. Parker has already been recurring as Amy Gardner, the liberal love interest of Bradley Whitford's White House deputy chief of staff, Josh Lyman. Zucker also revealed that Watching Ellie will return as a midseason replacement and that Friends will sign off with a two-hour series finale in May 2003. |
AALIYAH LAWSUIT
The parents of late singer-actress Aaliyah are suing Virgin Records, alleging that negligence and recklessness caused the plane crash that killed the 22-year-old last August, The Associated Press reports. The lawsuit also named several video production companies and Blackhawk International Airways as defendants. Aaliyah — who had been in the Bahamas shooting a video — was returning to Florida on a charter flight when it crashed on takeoff. |
FAMILY MATTERS
A potentially nasty legal tussle between Liza Minnelli and her 94-year-old stepmom has been averted. On Monday, Lee Anderson Minnelli dropped the elder abuse and breach of contract lawsuit she filed against her stepdaughter. The elder Minnelli claimed she was guaranteed housing in the will of her late hubby, Vincente Minnelli, but that Liza sold the Beverly Hills home where she had lived for 40 years and instructed her reps to remove Lee by "whatever means necessary." |
TAKE A BOW
Madonna finally made her London stage debut on Monday in Up for Grabs, and the audience responded by giving her a standing ovation — before she even opened her mouth! "I have never before witnessed an actress receiving an ovation before she had uttered a word," one onlooker told Reuters. |
SHORT CUTS
Where in the world was Today's Matt Lauer this morning, the second day of his popular globe-trotting series? Marrakech, Morocco... Reps for Nicole Kidman, 34, and Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire, 26, are denying tabloid reports that the two are dating. |
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