Ice Cube Turns Are We There Yet Into TV Sitcom

Westcoast hip-hop legend Ice Cube has partnered with TBS to premier the TV version of Are We There Yet?

TBS secured the 10 episode contract after a bidding war with USA and BET. The network also retains the option to order 90 more episodes. Ali LeRoi, writer of the acclaimed Everybody Hates Chris sitcom, will handle scripting duties. Executive producer credits are split between Cube, LeRoi, and Matt Alvarez. Debmar-Mercury, which backs the Tyle Perry sitcoms (House of Payne, Meet the Browns), will distribute the series.

“When we set out to expand on the television model that Tyler Perry has turned into a runaway success at TBS, we knew we had to be in business with Ice Cube,” explained Debmar-Mercury representative Mort Marcus.

Although Cube has confirmed that he’ll make sporadic appearances on the show, it won’t be in his movie role as Nick, the protagonist father from the films. Replacing him will be Terry Crew, who received kudos from critics and fans for his breakout role as the father on Everybody Hates Chris.

“Terry Crews is the perfect person to replace me as Nick,” Ice Cube disclosed in a statement. “His physical comedy is undeniable and no one runs a show like Ali. We are dedicated to creating a new template for family comedy.”

The first 2005 installment of Are We There Yet? grossed $82 million in theaters. The new show will mark the third movie to TV adaption for partners Matt Alvarez and Ice Cube, following Barbershop: The Series and the animated version of Friday. At press time, TBS’ Are We There Yet is slated to launch in June 2010.

Additionally, Ice Cube is preparing for the release of the comedic film Janky Promoters, which also stars Mike Epps and Young Jeezy.

LL Cool J To Star in NCIS Spinoff

I think it's pretty safe to say that NCIS will never beat CSI, but it may stand one hell of a chance with the creation of the spinoff "NCIS: Los Angeles".

The show is a drama about the high stakes world of undercover surveillance at the Office of Special Projects (OSP), a division of NCIS that is charged with apprehending dangerous and elusive criminals that pose a threat to the nation's security. By assuming false identities and utilizing the most advanced technology, this team of highly trained agents goes deep undercover on "NCIS: Los Angeles," putting their lives on the line in the field to bring down their targets. On "NCIS: Los Angeles," Special Agent "G" Callen (Chris O'Donnell) is a chameleon who transforms himself into whomever he needs to be to infiltrate the criminal underworld. His partner and the yummiest part of it all is Special Agent Sam Hanna played by legendary rapper LL Cool J.

Yes... I admit that LL is the reason why I will be a new viewer of the series. I love LL, and I think he has so much potential to be a really great actor. Only time will tell if he's meant for more small screen roles, or if he should concentrate on the big screen.

BET Premiere of Tiny & Toya

T&T Ep 1
by yardie4lifever2

First let me say, Tiny’s house is gorgeous and her mother is such a nice, supportive woman. This helped me like her a little bit more. But that damn Toya needs to be shaken. She whined and complained about not being able to find a good man the entirrrrrrre episode. Girl welcome to the “I’m Young, Black, and Single Club”, 16 million members and counting.

Porn King Buys A Spot Onto Ugly Betty Set

Well gee... if all it takes is a mere $18,000 to be able to get a guest appearance on ABC's hit show "Ugly Betty", then... I guess I can hang up all those dreams and aspirations huh?

I know this, Wilhelmina (Vanessa Williams) better watch her back because of the king of porn is about to make a BIG scene!

Porn mogul Michael Lucas has a walk-on role in an upcoming episode of popular show "Ugly Betty", which he won through a charity auction held by the Stonewall Community Foundation.

Says Lucas, "I paid $18,000.00 for the opportunity, and this is a chance for adult stars to step out of their box. My appearance will also show American audiences that there is no reason a porn star can’t appear on national television."

Oh my... I'm just worried about all the other aspiring porn stars who long to do real movies and shows that actually have GOOD scripts that actually make sense!

Jamie Foxx Brings Sketch TV to MTV

Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx has partnered with MTV to begin production on a new sketch comedy series.

This will be Jamie's first gig back on the small screen since the UPN show "The Jamie Foxx Show" which debuted in 2001.

While the project is still in early development, the network has verified that it hopes to create a show in the vein of the groundbreaking 90’s series In Living Color, which also served as Foxx’s breakout vehicle. His tenure on that hit series is most remembered for his sketch role as the hideous Wanda Wayne, the self-proclaimed “lost member” of En Vogue who terrorized every man she came in contact with.

For the MTV show, Foxx will work with Marcus King, producer Jamie Rucker King (Held Up), writer/producer Fax Bahr( Malibu’s Most Wanted, In the Army Now), and director/producer Adam Small (Another State of Mind, Malibu’s Most Wanted).

The versatile entertainer will return to theaters in 2010 with the F. Gary Gray directed thriller Law Abiding Citizen, which chronicles a prosecutor’s attempt to stop a calculating killer. At press time, MTV has not confirmed a projected launch date for Foxx’s comedy show.

Eve Replaces Whitney In Glee Show

R&B supastar Eve has just inked a deal to appear in two episodes of the Fox musical as a no-nonsense girls' choir director from a rival school, sources confirmed.

At one point in time, the producers of teh show were considering Whitney Houston for the part, but she has since turned the role down, and that is where Eve has stepped in. So Whit, I guess you really think your album is going to really blow the market out of the water huh? Hmmm. Ok.

It's my opinion that this would have been a perfect way for Whitney to come back and reintroduce her new self to the world. With all of the drug rumors, and outrageous behavior on that silly ass show, she needs something to change the minds of some of us out here about who and what she's about. I'm just wondering how well Eve will do in a serious role such as this. I'll have to watch.

Grey's Anatomy Star T.R. Knight Goin Bye-Bye

It's official folks... no more rumors here! George O'Malley is no longer a resident at Seattle Grace.

T.R. Knight has released a statement confirming his departure.

"Leaving Grey's Anatomy was not an easy decision for me to make. I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to play this character and will miss my fellow cast and crew very much. I continue to wish them the very best, and wholeheartedly thank all of the fans who have supported me and the show with such passion and enthusiasm."

While all of this is going on, the show's creator Shonda Rhimes followed T.R.'s statement with one of her own:

“I think I speak for the entire Grey’s Anatomy family when I say we wish T.R. Knight the best in his future endeavors. He is an incredibly talented actor and a person whose strength of character is admired by all of us.”

The official confirmation comes just hours after word leaked that Knight's co-star and real-life BFF Katherine Heigl will be sticking around next season. It was reported earlier this week that T.R. is currently in talks to headline a Broadway revival of Lend Me a Tenor.

If you're a follower of Grey's Anatomy, then you'll remember that T.R. is more than likely the reason why one of the shows former cast members, Isaiah Washington, is no longer there. JMO.

Stop The Presses... The Truth About The Hills!

Ain't this about a blip??? Seems since LC has made her departure from MTV's "The Hills", she wants to spill the beans. Lauren Conrad was on ABC's "The View" this morning and let the cat out of the bag...: The show's as fake as Heidi's chest. She also told the ladies of The View that the apology that was doled out by Spencer Pratt over the phone was fake as well. She said that she wasn't even on the other end of the phone when that phone call took place.

In other mind boggling news: The sky is blue!

The Game May Be Newest BET Sitcom

It started out as a spin-off to the hit show 'Girlfriends' back in 2006, but soon after, 'The Game' became a favorite among millions of households... but not enough to sustain the blow of being cancelled like it predecessor.

Although the show was cancelled from its home network, The CW, in May of this year, Mara Brock-Akil and co. have been hard at work getting the show resurrected over at another network- BET.

Sources tell that BET may be close to finalizing a deal to actually be the new home of the sports-themed comedy. A network source also says that BET's new co-President Loretha Jones has been aggressively working to secure the budget to make the deal a reality.

From a business standpoint, BET airing a new season of 'The Game' would help kick-start their pursuit to be in the scripted programming business a la TBS and Lifetime. Additionally, since ratings for the re-runs of 'The Game' on BET outperform most original programming on the network, airing new episodes of the sitcom could be a ratings juggernaut for the channel. Even though this deal is not finalized yet, just know that the final buzzer has not sounded on 'The Game.'

50 Cent Hits Up The Entourage Set

50 Cent will become the latest rapper slash actor to appear on the HBO series “Entourage.” Last week 50 posted a picture of himself with Jerry Ferrara (who plays “turtle”) and Andrian Grenier (who plays “vince”). Now another picture of 50 Cent in a luxury car has hit the net in addition to the the trailer for the upcoming season 6 which hits on July 12th. In related news, 50 Cent recently appeared on the Jimmey Kimmel Live show. In the interview with Kimmel, the G-Unit general talked about everything from baseball and Bette Midler to his new album.

Terrence Howard Is Now A Small Screen Producer

Terrence Howard is making moves behind the camera as word comes down that he’s developing a new TV series for the small screen. The actor’s production company, A Huge Quality Film, is joining forces with Radical Media to develop the drama, which will called Pigs and Panthers.

Variety reports the series will be based on the life of Ronald Farwell, an undercover LAPD detective who infiltrated the Black Panthers. Set in 1960s and early 1970s Los Angeles, Pigs and Panthers will draw from the story of Farwell and his wife, an L.A. Sheriff's deputy, as he soon finds himself on the wrong side of the Black Panther Party, the FBI and the LAPD itself.

Brian McKnight To Host Talk Show

He's a singer, songwriter, producer, and now... a talk show host. Brian McKnight is beefing up his résumé with his new late-night talk show. Billboard reports the weekly show will air during the weekends on 218 affiliates of the CW network. According to McKnight, the program will be "not unlike what others are doing but a little closer to what Arsenio used to do. I'm willing to put people on (that) others won't, and have the other people that everyone else has, too."

Trying to fill the void Arsenio left will be a challenge, but Brian has some things up his sleeve as he plans on using his Internet site as a vehicle for fans to send questions for guests. And if you’re worried about the crooner overdoing it with the humor, don't. McKnight promises that he’ll find "ways to be funny" without trying to become a stand-up comedian. And like Arsenio, McKnight will feature a diverse cadre of musical guests as he plans to “have everyone, across so many different genres."

"It'll be like, 'Come over to my place,' except with a studio audience," he told Billboard. "And, of course, at some point of the show I will sing."

Look for Brian McKnight’s late-night talk show to start airing on September 26. As for his day job, the singer says that he is “almost done” constructing his first album in three years. The project, which will be McKnight’s follow-up to his 2006 opus Ten, will feature cameos from Stevie Wonder and Jill Scott. The planned first single from the forthcoming album that should hit radio soon is "What I've Been Waiting For."

Ray J Is Still Looking For Love

Why does VH1 continue to torture us the way they do? They continue to give bafoon after bafoon their time to shine. Uggh!!! It's getting quite annoying... to me that is. Obviously to the viewing public... it's watercooler talk x 10.

4.2 million viewers tuned in to see Ray J pick his leading lady on the For the Love of Ray J finale episode. Cocktail was crowned the winner and all seemed great for the happy couple. We next saw them on the reunion episode where both let viewers know they were excited to see how their relationship would progress! Ray J thought he had found “the one” but unfortunately, things didn’t work out – and he’s now single again.

As viewers saw last season, dating a hip-hip star is a full-time job which includes red carpet events, the paparazzi and handling all the crazy fans. For Ray J, dating has never been an issue – it’s finding the perfect woman that can be harder than you think… especially when you’re a celebrity. Since things didn’t exactly work out with his last girlfriend, Ray J is back to give love a second chance. As R&B’s most eligible bachelor, Ray J is determined to find a woman he can settle down with.

VH1 is looking for women with confidence, personality and class that can handle the pressure of being with a superstar and turn Ray J into a one-woman man. Beginning today, viewers and fans will have the opportunity to submit themselves for consideration on For the Love of Ray J 2. Online users can log onto VH1’s For the Love of Ray J 2 casting site at www.rayjcasting.com.

I'm lost... what the hell happen to him and Whitney???

Morris Chestnut Coming To ABC Sitcom

Morris Chestnut will have a lead role in the pilot for ABC's drama "V," according to the Hollywood Reporter. The Warner Bros. Television project is a re-imagining of the original 1980s miniseries about an invasion of aliens known as Visitors and the resistance against them. It will center on a female Homeland Security agent.

Chestnut will play the woman's boyfriend, who has a dark secret -- he is a Visitor.

The actor's breakout role came as Ricky in John Singleton's 1991 film "Boyz N the Hood." He recently starred in and executive produced Sony Screen Gems' "Not Easily Broken" opposite Taraji P. Henson.

Kelly Rowland To Host Bravo Show

Singer Kelly Rowland, who is preparing for her third solo album (I have no clue why) to be released this year, has been announced as the host of Bravo’s new fashion show which will replace Project Runway. Kelly Rowland, designer Isaac Mizrahi and Senior Vice President of IMG Fashion Fern Mallis will serve as host and a judge respectively on Bravo’s upcoming design show, The Fashion Show. The Project Runway-replacement follows professional designers as they compete for a chance to have their designs sold by a major retail outlet. The designers will face off in challenges and have their fate determined not only by the judges, but also by a studio audience.It was announced last year that Project Runway would be moving to Lifetime.

SOURCE

Nelly Get's New T.V. Show

So word on the street today is that St. Louis hot body rapper Nelly has got himself another gig! Praise the Lord he's given up on the rapping (I hope)! He’s supposedly got a new television show that will be on one of the major networks, unknown as of now. Nelly will be the shows host it is titled, “Nelly’s Night in Vegas”. The show will be a weekly primetime show based in Las Vegas and showcasing major Hollywood stars. So it's a knock off of the CW's Pepsi Smash? Sounds like it to me. Will somebody please come up with a new reality concept? DAMN!

Idris Elba Newest Cast Member On NBC's The Office

Okay... I already love NBC's sitcom "The Office", and putting my husband on their makes it even better, even if it isn't going to be a regular full-time role.

Idris Elba will appear in six episodes of the NBC sitcom "The Office" later this season.

NBC made the announcement Thursday afternoon during its portion of the TV Critics Assn. press tour in Los Angeles.

While details are being kept under wraps, NBC did say the actor will play a no-nonsense hire at Dunder Mifflin's corporate office who rankles Scranton branch manager Michael Scott, played by star Steve Carell. I soooooooo can't wait!

ATL Housewives Replaces A Wife!

Out of all these... chicks... DeShawn was the only one with some dag on sense. In what has proven to be the most dramatic Bravo series, the people in charge have decided that DeShawn will be out for next seasons shows. If you watched the show, then you would know why she's out. She's not outrageous and all over the damn place like these other women are. She has a stable marriage, and has virtually no drama going on. So... to BRAVO execs... she's boring! They want more drama and bigger ratings, so guess who they'll be replacing her with???? *SIGH*....

The chicks that are in the running to be DeShawn's replacement... ugh!!! i hate to even say this first name, but Tameka Foster... yes, Ursh's wife, Radio personality and DJ Frank Ski's wife Tanya, and Dr. Jay's arm piece/girlfriend Dorys. Can you imagine the types of foolishness that will go down if Tameka is on this show? I might have to sit this one out!

BET's New Knockoff Reality Show Harlem Heights

BET is soooooooo on MTV's jock! Ridin the hell outta of it too. Why every show on BET got to be a knock off of something on MTV? Can we get some originality please? This is one of the reasons why I don't watch BET. It's boring and totally redundant! Anyways, BET held a session at the Television Critics Association press tour Saturday to promote their upcoming inauguration coverage, introduce a new head of programming and unveil its promising new series following young urban professionals in New York.

“Harlem Heights,” is BET's newest upcoming reality show following a group of young college-educated professionals living and working in the New York neighborhood. In a departure from many reality shows, most of the "Harlem Heights" cast members either knew each other, or knew the show's creators and producers. Among the cast is Brooke Crittendon, a former assistant to MTV News chief David Sirulnick and ex-girlfriend of Kanye West.

During Saturday morning's Q&A session, Brooke tried to keep her famous ex-boyfriend a secret, apparently unaware that the room full of TV critics were all on laptop computers connected to wi-fi and a click away from Wikipedia. She explained that her reason for doing the show was to repair some of the tabloid damage she endured during her relationship with West.

"I was involved with a very famous rapper for a number of years," she said. "And I worked in the news and documentary department (at MTV). So a lot of our pop news involved myself. But because I sort of played the background to the person that I was dating, I had to go through people saying things about me or just sort of assuming who I was... I just was like, 'I just want to let people know what I really am and what I really do. I’m not just this person’s girlfriend.'”

When a reporter (likely without a laptop) asked Brooke to reveal the rapper's name, she replied:--- "Part of my personal journey beyond actually wrapping the show is to not mention that person, because if I’m trying to get from under the shadow of being that person’s girlfriend, I feel like to constantly drop their name and that association is sort of saying, 'Hey, I don’t want you to think I’m just that, but I did used to date this really cool person,' you know what I mean?"

The show was acquired before Obama became the nominee of the Democratic Party, but cameras were rolling on the night of Nov. 4 and captured several of the cast members' emotional reactions to Obama's victory. ---“None of us expected the election to be so meaningful to us and the people in Harlem,” said Loretha Jones, BET's new programming president. “We happened to be with these people on Election Night. And you saw their reaction to the election.”

The Video Girls Get Their Time In The Spotlight

Well I'll be D.A.M.N. The video girls are finally getting more than their 15 minutes of fame. Although, I think the world could really do without it, but who am I?

A new Hip-Hop themed series is coming to E! Entertainment titled Candy Girls, which will focus on women in rap music videos. The 30-minute show, which is labeled a “docu-soap,” centers around aspiring and established female actresses who work for an agency, which casts the potential models in the videos. E! ordered eight episodes of Candy Girls, which will air Sunday nights at 10:30 PM, immediately following the premiere of the third season of “Keeping up with the Kardashians.”

“In order to reach the career pinnacle of appearing in ‘A-list’ music videos and gain access to the world of superstars, private jets and exclusive parties, you need to be able to play the game as well as you look,” said E! in a press release about the series. “Musicians need to live their image and that includes surrounding themselves with the beautiful women who are so often featured in their videos at all times. However, like runway models, these women know they need to get in early and make their money fast before time takes away the looks that make them so successful.”