Lost's final season just got longer

ABC is adding one more hour to the final season of 'Lost.'

The 6th and final season will now run 18 hours, an hour longer than originally announced.

Though the reason for the extra time hasn't been confirmed, one insider said that the producers felt they had some extra story to tell in the final season.

As far as I'm concerned, the more 'Lost,' the better.

NBC secures 'SVU' stars

Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay have finally signed a contract that will keep them on 'Law and Order: SVU' for 2 more seasons.

Meloni and Hargitay are believed to have secured a payday at just below $400,000 an episode, slightly up from the approximately $375,000 each was making under their most recent deal. Although Meloni and Hargitay were also believed to also be asking for a single point of profit participation in the show, that wasn't believed to be included in the final deal. All sides were quiet on the specifics of the two-year pact late Monday.

Talks between the actors and 'SVU' producers broke down in the spring over the contract, but heated up again about three weeks ago.

Even without a deal in place for Meloni and Hargitay, NBC picked up its Tuesday stalwart for an 11th season. At the time, execs made no bones about the fact that the show would go on with or without its anchor stars.

Meloni and Hargitay have starred in 'SVU' since its 1999 launch. Hargitay, who had suffered a partially collapsed lung last season -- leading to surgery and, later, a second hospitalization -- had been asking for work flexibility to be written into her contract.

Meloni and Hargitay ultimately joined forces and put forth similar contract demands.

Showtime Cancels 'Brotherhood'

Showtime has confirmed the cancellation of 'Brotherhood.'

They did so in a rather odd way, retitling the 3rd Season DVD set as 'The Final Season.'

The sweeping story of the mob and politics in Providence had long suffered lack of an audience that would have likely warmed to its Irish-American twist on "The Sopranos" tale with more than a nod to the Whitey Bulger story in Boston. Its final episode in December certainly had the feel of a series end.

Ignored by the Emmys, Golden Globes and even the TV Critics Association, it did pick up a Peabody Award in its time and an ASCAP award for the music by Jeff Rona.

Michael Jackson Dead

Music icon Michael Jackson has died.

Debra Opri, a former Jackson family attorney, confirmed that the legendary singer, 50, was rushed to the hospital Thursday afternoon, where he later died at 3:15 p.m. EDT after falling into a deep coma.

Multiple reports claimed that shortly after noon Thursday, Jackson went into cardiac arrest and had to receive CPR in the ambulance. As the news broke, Joe Jackson, his father, told multiple news sources that his son was "not doing well."

Paramedics responded to a 911 call at around 12:26 p.m. PDT, the Los Angeles Times reported. He was reportedly not breathing at the time of their arrival.

His death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music's premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.

Jackson was born in Indiana in 1958. He rose to fame as part of the successful pop group The Jackson Five, formed with his brothers in 1967. The group went on to earn four number one hits in 1970 alone, and the 12-year-old Jackson became the undeniable breakout star of the group.

In 1972, Jackson enjoyed his first solo hit with the song “Ben.” Six years later, he made his film debut in “The Wiz,” where he renewed his friendship with producer Quincy Jones.

Collaborating with Jones, Jackson went on to become remarkably successful with his solo efforts “Off The Wall” in 1979 and “Thriller” in 1982.

From there, Jackson went on to become the undeniable “King of Pop,” winning seven Grammy awards for “Thriller” alone.

Michael is survived by three children: Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince "Blanket" Michael Jackson II.

------ Fox News

Farrah Fawcett dies of cancer at age 62

Multiple sources are reporting that Farrah Fawcett has died after a long battle with cancer. She was 62.

Fawcett shot to fame in the 70's as one of 'Charlie's Angels.'

Fawcett died at 9:28 a.m. PST at St. John’s Heath Center in Santa Monica, Calif. She had recently returned to St. John's for treatment of complications from anal cancer, first diagnosed 3 years ago. Her longtime partner Ryan O'Neal was at her side throughout her final days.

Blonde, blue-eyed and petite – and with a trademark mane as flowing and famous as the M.G.M. lion's – the Corpus Christi, Texas, native was born Feb. 2, 1947, the younger daughter of an oil-field contractor and his homemaker wife.

A magnet for male students at the University of Texas at Austin, Fawcett eventually set off for Hollywood. Quickly noticed by casting agents, she began landing small parts in forgettable movies, such as 1970's Myra Breckinridge, based on a gender-bending novel by Gore Vidal. Her role: an ingenuous blonde.

In 1973, Fawcett married actor Lee Majors, forever known as Col. Steve Austin on TV's The Six Million Dollar Man. Three years later, she appeared in the cult sci-fi film Logan's Run and began her stint with costars Jackson and Jaclyn Smith on Charlie's Angels. Well-coiffed and scantily-clad, the threesome created an instant sensation, with a weekly following of 23 million fans.

Fawcett moved on after just one season. By then, she was already a phenomenon, having donned a one-piece red bathing suit and a perfect smile for her legendary pin-up poster, which sold a still-record 12 million copies.

Farrah Fawcett is survived by her long time partner Ryan O'Neal and by her son with O'Neal, Redmond.

Lou Diamond Phillips wins 'I'm a Celebrity...'

Actor Lou Diamond Phillips won the 2nd American version of 'I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!" on last night's finale. he defeated fellow finalists Torrie Wilson and John Salley.

His victory was determined by home viewer voting which took place after Tuesday night's broadcast.

Salley was the first of the three remaining finalists to be eliminated from the finale based on the results of Tuesday night's voting results, leaving Phillips and Wilson to face-off

Co-Host Damien Fahey said the vote between Phillips and Wilson was "incredibly close."

"Congratulations, you deserve it," Wilson told Phillips as she immediately embraced him.

The show did not reveal Phillips' exact margin of victory.

Phillips had selected the charity Art Has Heart Foundation, which awards scholarships to lower income high school students, to receive a portion of his prize money.

TV Legend Ed McMahon dies

Ed McMahon, the greatest sidekick in TV history, died yesterday in Los Angeles after a long illness. He was 86 years old.

He was TV's most famous second banana, sitting alongside Johnny Carson during what was arguably the golden age of NBC's Tonight Show, from 1962 to 1992, welcoming a nightly national audience with his opening cry of "Heeeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny."

McMahon died shortly after midnight at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. McMahon's publicist Howard Bragman didn't give a cause of death, but said Ed had a "multitude of health problems the last few months."

In February, Bragman announced that McMahon had been hospitalized for nearly a month with pneumonia and that other medical problems emerged, though little information was given since then.

In addition to his stints on "The Tonight Show" and "Star Search," McMahon became well-known as the presenter of the American Family Publishing sweepstakes and as a pitchman for numerous commercials, most notably for Budweiser beer.

He also served as the longtime co-host of Jerry Lewis' annual Labor Day telethon benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Aside from his entertainment career, McMahon was a colonel in the United States Marines, serving during the late 1940s and 1950s.

He is survived by his wife Pam and five children. A sixth child, McMahon's son Michael, died in 1995.

Big changes for 'Scrubs' 9th season

The surprising 9th season of 'Scrubs' will bring big changes to the ABC comedy.

The show will make a move from the familiar surrounding of Sacred Heart Hospital to the classrooms of a medical school. Dr. Christopher Turk and Dr. Cox will become the main players on the show.

Series creator Bill Lawrence told Entertainment Weekly, "It's going to be a different show. It'll still be life-and-death stakes, but if the show is just Scrubs again in the hospital with a different person's voiceover, it would be a disaster, and people would be mad."

But fans of the old 'Scrubs' fear not. Lawrence promises that now and then, students will visit Sacred Heart, where they will run into old cast members Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, Judy Reyes and Ken Jenkins, who will all return as guests throughout the season.

Zach Braff's character JD left Sacred Heart at the end of last season, so we're not too sure how he would end up back at Sacred Heart.

At least half of the cast next season will be new hires, among which will be a big name actor. "ABC is really after us to hire a big name," Lawrence said. "So one of them will be fairly famous."

'Twin Peaks' to live again?

Interesting article I came across on Cinematical.

Actor Kyle MacLachlan who played Special Agent Dale Cooper on the cult series 'Twin Peaks' wants to bring the series back in some form, possibly on the web.

MacLachlan said, "I have a crazy idea to bring back Twin Peaks on the net as five minute webisodes."

He said series creator David Lynch would not be involved.

This is a cool little idea and it would be great to see that amazing character in action once again, even it is only for a few minutes at a time. I hope this happens.

For anyone who hasn't seen this show, go and rent or buy the DVD's. You will not be disappointed. Season 1 is one of the greatest TV seasons any show has ever had.

Heigl apparently returning to 'Grey's'

Contrary to previous reports, Katherine Heigl will be returning to 'Grey's Anatomy' next season.

Multiple sources have confirmed that her option has been picked up. This news comes shortly after the news that her close friend T.R. Knight will not be returning to the show.

ABC has not officially confirmed the news yet.

The lives of Heigl's and Knight's characters were left hanging in the balance in the "Grey's" season finale last month.

Izzie, diagnosed with stage IV metastatic cancer in the brain and liver, underwent successful brain surgery but lost her short-term memory and flat-lined during the final minutes of the finale.

Knight's character, Dr. George O'Malley, was hit by a bus.

Heigl had been rumored to be looking to exit the show in order to focus on her film career but in public statements maintained her desire to continue in the role.

All 4 judges returning to 'American Idol'

The website Radar Online is reporting that Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and Kara DioGuardi will all be returning to 'American Idol' next season.

Paula and Kara's contracts both expired at the end of last season, and it was widely speculated that at least one of them would not be returning.

Although the contracts for each of them are still being worked out, they are believe to be finalized in the next few weeks.

I like this news. Even though the extra judge sometimes bogged the show down and caused timing problems, I think Kara's presence and personality added something good to the show. Now Paula, on the other hand I could do without.

'Survivor' to film back to back seasons, Probst unsure of his future

Seasons 19 and 20 of Survivor will be filmed back to back instead of taking a 3 month break in between as usual. The reason is entirely about saving money.

Host and Emmy winner Jeff Probst says, "This season we're also doing back-to-back seasons because of budget cuts, and that's just the truth. We are having to do two seasons to save money, because every television show is undergoing some sort of a cut," Probst said "And I think that’s going to be hard on people. It’s a long time to be away from home. We’re gone nearly four months. Six weeks was one thing; 14 weeks is another," he said.

Probst was also asked about his future with the show since his contract expires after season 20. "That will be 10 years, and I really at this point don’t know my own personal feelings about continuing or not. I really don’t," Probst said.

"I’m incredibly loyal to Mark, and we have a crew of 325; I don’t want to be the guy that has anything to do with having a hiccup in Survivor. It’s a hard time to have a job, and I have one, and I certainly don’t want to walk away from a job. So I’m not trying to be coy or cagey," Probst said. "I’ve been telling Mark, 10 years and 20 seasons is a long time to do the same job from a creative standpoint. But then there’s the logical, rational side of, you are employed, you moron."

"On the last Thursday, ‘Survivor’ beat ‘CSI.’ Survivor’ is untouchable on Thursdays at eight. Everything that’s thrown at it, they don’t come close. If a show stays on, it stays on. ‘America’s Most Wanted’ has been on for 20 years, there’s no reason ‘Survivor’ won’t be on for 20 years."

In my opinion it would be extremely difficult to replace Probst as the host of 'Survivor.' More than any other reality host, he is part of the show. Replacing him would show just how critical he is to the show and his absence would be felt.

CBS orders more 'I Get That A Lot'

CBS has ordered 3 more episodes of the hidden camera show 'I Get That a Lot.'

The eye network plans a trio of additional hours of the show, which first aired April Fools Day and featured Heidi Klum, Jeff Probst, Jessica Simpson and other celebrities working low-wage jobs while incognito and fooling unsuspecting customers. The special stunned observers by drawing 10 million viewers and a 3.4 rating among adults 18-49, winning its time period.

It's possible that the show could air quarterly and stunt cast with talent from other high-profile specials airing around the same time (for instance, casting all music artists for a ' I Get That a Lot' to air near the Grammys).

'Chuck' could return sooner than March

NBC has indicated all along that 'Chuck' wouldn't be returning until after the Winter Olympics in March, and only for 13 episodes.

However, co-star Vik Sahay, and creator Josh Schwartz have been saying publicly that a sooner return could be possible and that more episodes could also be possible. The series begins shooting it's 3rd season in August.

Sahay told TV Guide, "We will be ready to come back whenever we're asked to come back."

It is possible if a show from NBC's fall lineup fails and is cancelled early that 'Chuck' could be asked to return sooner than expected.

Schwartz also indicated that if the show returned to strong ratings that more episodes could be tacked on, hopefully bringing it to a full 22 episode season.

TBS and 20th Century Fox cannot reach agreement on 'Earl'

Although TBS and 20th Century Fox were in talks to save 'My Name is Earl' from cancellation, it is not going to happen.

20th Century Fox Television released the following statement today...

"Greg Garcia's brilliant My Name is Earl kept America laughing for the past four seasons and certainly deserved to continue for many more. While we had hoped to find a way to produce additional episodes for TBS, in the final analysis we simply could not make the economics work without seriously undermining the artistic integrity of the series. As none of us, Greg included, want the show to go out on anything but a high note, we regret that we must put to rest any speculation that Earl will continue. We are grateful to everyone at TBS for their enthusiasm for the series and wish to offer our heartfelt thanks to the cast and crew of My Name is Earl for their incredible work."

I really don't think this is bad news. 'Earl' was a show whose time had come. It had really run its course. Although, so has 'Scrubs' and that's coming back.

Courtesy of The Live Feed.

TBS might save 'My Name is Earl'

TBS is in preliminary talks with 20th Century Fox to order 13 new episodes of 'My Name is Earl.'

NBC cancelled the series just a few weeks ago, and the rumors of another network picking it up have been floating ever since.

The series, which has won 5 emmy's, would be a good fit at TBS, since the station is already scheduled to start showing reruns of the series this fall.

Battlestar Galactica's Katee Sackhoff joins '24'

Katee Sackhoff, best known as Starbuck in the retooled version of Battlestar Galactica has been cast on Fox's '24.'

Sackhoff will play Dana Walsh, a smart, competent, expert data analyst at CTU with a secret past who is involved with CTU agent Davis Cole (Freddie Prinze Jr.).

This marks the final major casting of a new regular for the series' upcoming eighth season, which is in production.

'The Shield' tops TCA Award nominations

The Television Critics Association announced nominees for its annual TCA Awards, with the final season of FX's 'The Shield' leading the list.

'The Shield' earned four nominations, including program of the year. NBC has struggled in the ratings and critics have knocked some of the network's newer programs, yet NBC led rivals with 11 nominations for '30 Rock,' 'The Office,' 'Saturday Night Live' and other shows. HBO also had a fine year, with six nominees and dominating the movies and miniseries category.

For Program of the Year, critics favored serialized dramas, nominating the final season of Sci Fi Channel's 'Battlestar Galactica,' ABC's 'Lost,' AMC's 'Mad Men,' FX's 'The Shield' and NBC's 'Saturday Night Live.'

For best new program, Fox's 'Fringe,' CBS' 'The Mentalist,' HBO's 'No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency,' HBO's 'True Blood' and Showtime's 'United States of Tara' made the list.

The ceremony will be held Aug. 1 in Pasadena, and will be hosted by E! personality Chelsea Handler.

The full list of nominees can be found here.

Actor David Carradine found dead in apparent suicide

Actor David Carradine has died of an apparent suicide.

The 'Kung Fu' star was found dead in his hotel room in Bangkok, where was filming a movie.

The actor was found hanged in his hotel room and was believed to have committed suicide. A hotel maid reportedly found the actor in a closet at around 10 in the morning on Thursday. According to investigators, he had hung himself with a rope used in the curtains. There were no signs that he fought or was assaulted.

Carradine, who became famous in the 1970s when he starred as Kwai Chang Caine in the television series 'Kung Fu,' was 72. He is also well know for his portrayal of the character Bill in the 'Kill Bill' films.

His career included more than 100 feature films, two dozen television movies and theater work.

Carradine, who was married five times and divorced four, is survived by his widow, Annie Bierman, according to People magazine.

'Heroes' casts a new villain

NBC's 'Heroes' has cast their new lead villain for the upcoming season.

Robert Knepper, so creepy and memorable as Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell in 'Prison Break,' has joined the cast as Samuel. Samuel is being described as a Jim Jones type, charismatic but evil, with a twisted sense of humor, who will interact with all of the heroes. The character has been referred to already on the series, being called the "Carnival Barker."

Great casting by NBC here. Nobody on TV plays creepy better than Knepper has over the last 4 years.

'Heroes' is slated to return in the fall for an all new, supposedly uninterrupted, season, like 'Lost' and '24.' The show will end it's season in the spring and fan favorite 'Chuck' will assume it's timeslot.

A&E cancels 'The Beast'

A&E's show about a rogue FBI agent in Chicago, starring Patrick Swayze, has been cancelled.

Ratings were so-so for the series that got off to a rough start when Swayze was diagnosed with cancer. At the TV Critics Assn. panel for the series in January in which he was supposed to appear and promote the show, he was hospitalized with pneumonia.

There was speculation at the end of the season that because of Swayze's illness, a new lead would have to take over if the show was renewed. Lou Diamond Phillips came aboard for a guest role for episode 7, but sources say he wasn't considered as a headliner.

'Idol' auditions are coming!

If you're still in shock over Kris Allen beating out Adam Lambert? Do you think you have it what it takes to become the next American Idol? Auditions for Season 9 are about to get underway.

Here is the schedule for this years round of auditions:

Boston, Gillette Stadium (June 12-14)
Atlanta, Georgia Dome (June 16-18)
Los Angeles, Rose Bowl (June 28-30)
Orlando, Fla., Amway Arena (July 7-9)
Denver, Colo., INVESCO Field at Mile High (July 12-14)

Chicago and Dallas are also on the list, but official dates for those locations have not yet been announced.

Emmy's get rescheduled

This year's prime time Emmy's were set to be broadcast on September 20th on CBS. However, due to scheduling conflicts with the NFL, the network has bumped the telecast up a week earlier to September 13th.

CBS is broadcasting an NFL doubleheader that day and doesn't want to take the chance that the late game could run late and interfere with the awards show.

The move means that the Emmy's will no longer air the night before the official launch of the TV season, taking away a strong marketing opportunity for CBS.

But the shift will also take the Emmys out of harm's way, as NBC's 'Sunday Night Football' showcase on Sept. 20 will feature the opening of the new Dallas Cowboy's stadium as the team faces off with New York Giants. Interest in that game could have taken a big bite out of the Emmy ratings -- particularly in TV's No. 1 market.