“Larry King Live” will pay tribute to Bernie Mac on today’s show, Multichannel News reports. Ashton Kutcher, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, Steve Harvey, Camille Winbush and Dee Dee Davis will appear on the program, the newspaper says. Mac died…
Kim Dickens (“Deadwood”) has been cast as Matt’s mother on “Friday Night Lights,” TV Guide reports. She first appears in the second episode of season three, which premieres Oct. 1 on DirecTV, the magazine notes. —Vlada Gelman
Colin Hanks will guest star in three episodes of AMC’s “Mad Men,” the Chicago Tribune reports. Hanks will play a young priest beginning with the Aug. 17 episode, the newspaper notes. —Vlada Gelman
Ellen Burstyn will guest star on “Law & Order: SVU,” Entertainment Weekly reports, citing unnamed sources. Burstyn will play the mother of Christopher Meloni’s character, the magazine says. The article didn’t indicate whether the producers had been contacted to confirm…
NBC responded to charges that some of the fireworks during the Beijing Olympics’ Opening Ceremony were computer-generated by pointing out that commentators Matt Lauer and Bob Costas called the fireworks a “cinematic device,” the Hollywood Reporter says. The network also…
NBC is considering airing Saturday’s prime-time Olympics coverage live in all time zones, TVNewser reports, citing an anonymous tip. The change is because Michael Phelps could win his eighth gold medal then, the Web site says. Thus far, West Coast…
Ben Lyons will host Nickelodeon’s “My Family’s Got GUTS,” an update of the network’s ’90s extreme-sports competition show “GUTS,” the New York Daily News reports. Lyons, an E! Network film critic and entertainment correspondent, recently was named the new co-host…
Telemundo’s stations have created Telemundo Conexion, a “multimarket, multiplatform branded sales solution,” Broadcasting & Cable reports. The venture combines local TV, local stations’ Web sites, mobile, digital and out-of-home, and is enhanced by grassroots consumer events or customized sales promotions,…
IFC has acquired all three seasons of British comedy “The IT Crowd,” Daily Variety reports. The series will debut Sept. 29 on IFC, the newspaper says. Universal Media Studios and FremantleMedia North America produced a U.S. version that NBC passed…
The networks have received few pitches for new shows this summer despite moving to a more year-round development schedule, the Hollywood Reporter says. One agent places the blame on the networks, claiming they are buying only prepackaged shows with big…