Former NBC Exec Warren Littlefield Writing Memoir of ‘Must-See’ Years

Former NBC Entertainment president Warren Littlefield will write a memoir of his years overseeing “Must-See TV,” when the network’s primetime schedule went from third to first place, Variety reports.

He has a deal with Doubleday for a 2011 publication.

Littlefield, now a producer, headed NBC’s entertainment division from 1990 to 1998, when shows such as "Seinfeld," "Frasier," "Mad About You" and "ER" were on the schedule.

--Elizabeth Jensen

Billboard and Fox Team for New Year's Eve Special

Fox will collaborate with Billboard to create a new musical special celebrating the New Year.

Fox's "Billboard's New Year's Eve Live" will broadcast Dec. 31 from two major entertainment hot spots, the strip in Las Vegas and Times Square in New York City, with musical guests performing in concert.

The bands and host will be announced soon, but already set is a retrospective of many famous musical moments from the "Billboard Music Awards" and the official Billboard Top 10 count down of the year in music, movies and television.

-- Allison J. Waldman

CBS' 'Numb3rs' Wrapping Up With Fifth Season

CBS' recent decision to cut the episode order for "Numb3rs" from 22 to 16 was a signal that the show will not be returning for a sixth season, reports Michael Ausiello in Entertainment Weekly.

The producers have been given notice and have accepted the end date as an opportunity to wrap up all the storylines in the remaining shows.

-- Allison J. Waldman

'Nurse Jackie' and 'United States of Tara' Return in March

Showtime has announced that the "United States of Tara" starring Toni Collette and Edie Falco's "Nurse Jackie" will both be back for second seasons starting March 22, 2010, reports the Hartford Courant.

Showtime also revealed that "The Tudors" will be back for a fourth, final season on April 11.

Even sooner that those premieres, "Secret Diary of a Call Girl" and "Tracey Ullman's State of the Union" will begin new seasons on Jan. 25, as will a new show called "La La Land" starring U.K. comic James Wootton.

-- Allison J. Waldman

ABC Wins Thursday in Demo, CBS in Total Viewers

ABC's overall average in the key adults 18-49 demographic put it in first place Thursday night, with a 3.7/10, while CBS was smidge behind with a 3.5/9, according to B&C. NBC's comedy line up earned a 2.4/7 with Fox trailing at 2.1/6.

In total viewers, CBS led with 14.4 million for the night.

By the hours, from 8-9, CBS' "Survivor" was tops with a 3.7/10, with ABC's "FlashForward" next at 2.6/7, Fox's "Bones" a 2.5/7 and NBC's "Community" and "Parks and Recreation" 2.3/6 and 2.2/6, respectively.

At 9, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" had a 5.0/13. CBS's "CSI" scored 3.4/9, which was tied on average with NBC's "The Office" (3.9/10) and "30 Rock" (2.9/7). Fox's "Fringe" lagged with a 1.7/4.

The 10 o'clock hour was practically a tie: CBS's "The Mentalist" (3.4/10) and ABC's "Private Practice" had a 3.5/10. NBC's "The Jay Leno Show" pulled a 1.6/5.

-- Allison J. Waldman

Elliott Gould to Appear in 'Law & Order' Episode

Elliott Gould will make a guest appearance on the Nov. 20 episode of NBC's "Law & Order," reports TV Guide.

Gould will play a Harlem business owner who's fed up with the crime in his neighborhood, taking the law into his own hands.

-- Allison J. Waldman

Julianne Moore Guesting on '30 Rock'

Julianne Moore will be guesting on NBC's "30 Rock" perhaps as a new squeeze for Alec Baldwin's Jack Donaghy character, reports E! Online.

The two actors were spotted filming on location in Rockefeller Center, in close proximity to the GE Building.

-- Allison J. Waldman

‘Goode Family’ Makes Jump to Comedy Central Jan. 6

Comedy Central said the animated series "The Goode Family," which it picked up after a summer ABC run, will debut on the cable network Jan. 6, The Hollywood Reporter reports.

The 13 episodes will air on Wednesdays at 10:30 p.m. If the show is a success, original episodes could also be produced.

--Elizabeth Jensen



http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i961fcb41f361f029c271cc613c43e5cd

NBC General Counsel Says Discussions With FCC Over Spectrum are Inevitable

 NBC Executive VP and General Counsel Rick Cotton said it’s inevitable that broadcasters will have a discussion with the FCC about the government’s desire to reclaim some broadcast spectrum to use for wireless broadband, reports B&C.

The topic is "a set of discussions that are going to have to take place," Cotton said. He added that "the network local affiliate over-the-air broadcast system has served this country enormously well over a period of 60 or 70 years. I don't think anyone wants to see, frankly, damage done to that system." 

--Elizabeth Jensen 

'Benny Hill' Image Rejected Royal Mail for Stamp Series

The U.K.'s Royal Mail service has rejected using an image from "The Benny Hill Show" for a set of stamps commemorating the 50th anniversary of ITV, reports the Telegraph.

The Royal Mail explained that there had been concerns raised about using an image from Hill 's show because some sketches on the program were deemed politically incorrect

-- Allison J. Waldman