Showing Out

Syfy just announced some of their upcoming shows, and clearly, this one caught the eye. According to THR, Tracy Morgan has been tapped once again to host Scare Tactics, a reality show that puts unsuspecting victims into terrifying situations by using conventions of cinema (scary makeup, spooky environments, etc). Not only that, but Morgan will executive produce the show, for which the fourth season will begin production on 13 episodes that are set to premiere this fall. “Tracy has his finger on the pulse when it comes to comedy, and having him on board as executive producer just adds another layer to the huge success of our show,” executive vp programming Mark Stern said. All we need is a Tracy Morgan reality show and life is complete.

Comedian Craig Robinson, best known for his role on The Office, can next be seen on the big screen in the upcoming film Hot Tub Time Machine. But he’s also hitting the small screen - you know, for like, the three-hundredth time. According to THR’s Live Feed, Robinson has been tapped to host NBC’s Last Comic Standing, a position that’s previously been held by Anthony Clark, Bill Bellamy and Jay Mohr. Though the show skipped a season last year, this marks the show’s seventh recurring season on the network, with the grand return taking place this summer. No word on when it’s going to actually air, but keep that Google button in mind for when the month turns to June.

Andre from BlackNerdComedy.com did a video for Comedy.com, and it couldn’t be more on-point. In the above clip, Andre goes in on ABC’s Lost and NBC’s Heroes and their treatment of black characters on the shows. Of course, since no one really watches Heroes anymore, the Lost references make a lot more sense, but he makes a lot of good points here. Black on black crime? Decapitations? Black characters getting shot left and right? Obviously, the presence of black characters on the show doesn’t mean that the networks hate black people. We’re all very aware of that. But seriously, this is hilariously done. Bravo.

After all the drama of Conan O’Brien getting the boot from The Tonight Show and Jay Leno getting reinstated in his old position, it seems like all the fanfare has died down about NBC and Leno doing Conan dirty. And, of course, they’re pressing on, right after the Olympics are a wrap. On March 1st, Leno returns to his post as host of the show, with the list of his couch guests for the first two weeks having already hit the net. According to THR, the March 1st premiere will feature Jamie Foxx, Olympic Gold Medal Skier Lindsey Vonn and a performance from Brad Paisley, with future guests including Sarah Palin, Shaun White, Morgan Freeman, Judd Apatow and a host of others. Hit the jump to see the full list, and, of course, tune in when he returns at 11:35 P.M. You know he’s going to be all smiles.

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If you happened to follow The L Word like the throngs of viewers that do, you probably know about Rose Rollins. The L alum has just signed on to star in her next TV foray, this time hitting basic cable with the recent news that she’s been cast on the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced series Chase. The drama, which is headed for NBC, focuses on a “high-priority fugitive-apprehension team in South Texas,” with Rollins playing the group’s weapons/tactical specialist. There’s no official date on when production will begin or when the series will bow on the network, but considering that fall isn’t that far away, we could probably expect it to air on our TV sets in no time.

It’s funny to find out just how long certain people take to find out about things before taking legal action. That’s clearly the case for Lee Zlotoff, who created the 1985-92 ABC series MacGuyver that’s being parodied in a big screen adaptation of an SNL skit dubbed MacGruber. Though the film has been in production for quite some time (watch the trailer here), Zlotoff has just launched a fierce war against the producers of MacGruber, following his realization that he in fact retained the right to make a movie based on the show via his “separated rights” under WGA rules. Though Relativity Media (who is producing the film) didn’t have any comment on the matter, Zlotoff’s lawyer Paul Mayersohn had something to say. “We feel they’re infringing our rights,” he said, explaining that they might file suit against the film and an injunction against the studio to prevent the movie’s release. Looks like they messed with the wrong guy - even if he is a little late to the party.

Once upon a time, there was a show in the UK where celebrities would trace their ancestry and discover secrets from their past that they may or may not have wanted to know. So like all good things in the UK, the U.S. is snatching the idea, with NBC making an American version of the show featuring a strange assortment of celebrities. In the trailer above, you can get the gist of the entire series, with Brooke Shields, Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker, Susan Sarandon, Spike Lee, Emmitt Smith and Lisa Kudrow digging around in their past to discover their roots. Some hilarious bits from the trailer? Spike Lee actually had a slave-owning white ancestor and ends up sitting on a couch next to his white country cousin. “Oh, the irony,” he says. Couldn’t have put it better ourselves. Look out for this one when it debuts on NBC on March 5th at 8 P.M.

In case you missed it, Oprah Winfrey sat down with Jay Leno to have one of her signature heart-to-hearts about what went down over the past few weeks at NBC. Her website offered the full transcript of the conversation, which makes for an interesting, in-depth read giving Leno’s side of the story here. And to be honest, this doesn’t make us like him any more than we did at the beginning of this whole fiasco. Instead of speaking up, Leno just let the suits make all the decisions as Conan spoke up and took all the heat. Unfortunately for Jay, the fans gravitated towards Conan’s side as he fought for his rights, all while Leno acted like the corporation’s doormat. In this interview, he plays the victim, saying “It broke my heart. It really did. I was devastated” on when he found out he lost The Tonight Show hosting position. Yeah right. Bet it hurts now, too. Hit the jump and read the full transcription.

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Yikes, what a week this has been for late night television. Last Sunday, NBC announced that they were canceling the Jay Leno Show, putting Conan O’Brien in a tough position and giving him the ultimatum to scatter off or push his show back to give Leno a later airtime. Well, looks like Conan has had enough of NBC’s sneakery. Last night, lawyers for both the network and O’Brien ironed out a deal to cut Conan loose, a deal for which the terms haven’t yet been disclosed but sources say is close to $40 million. This will most likely reinstate Leno as host of the Tonight Show on March 1st, putting an end to the seven-month gig that Conan had as host of the legendary show. There is no word on where Conan will go after the deal goes through, but seriously? He can just sit around counting his stacks. We wouldn’t hold it against him.

Excited for the 67th annual Golden Globe Awards this Sunday? So are we. To get you up to speed as to whom you can expect to present awards at this weekend’s ceremony, a list of talent slated to give out awards has been announced, with the lineup as follows: Zoe Saldana, Ashton Kutcher, Kate Hudson, Amy Adams, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Aniston, Halle Berry, Josh Brolin, Gerard Butler, Cher, Chace Crawford, Cameron Diaz, Colin Farrell, Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster, Jennifer Garner, Matthew Fox, Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, Neil Patrick Harris, Nicole Kidman, Taylor Lautner, Sophia Loren, Paul McCartney, Amy Poehler, Julia Roberts, Mickey Rourke, Kiefer Sutherland, Olivia Wilde, Kate Winslet, Reese Witherspoon and Sam Worthington. That’s a whole lot of names to digest, but read through it and get ready to watch the awards this Sunday when Ricky Gervais hosts on NBC.