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By Rachel Bennett
Television Editor & Columnist
Every Friday, Rachel recaps the week’s major TV-related news, announcements, and gossip!
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TOP STORIES
• The fifth episode of TLC’s Here Comes Honey Boo Boo tied CNN’s coverage of the Democratic National Convention (including President Bill Clinton‘s speech) Wednesday. Americuhhhh…?
• NBC’s The New Normal has found a new home: After KSL-TV of Salt Lake City, Utah, refused to air the comedy, Ogden, Utah, station KUCW-TV has picked it up and will show it on Saturdays before Saturday Night Live.
• Producer J.J. Abrams (ABC’s Lost) and show runner J.H. Wyman (Fox’s Fringe) have sold a comedy to Fox. The series, which is still untitled, centers on a future that sees Los Angeles police officers work with human-like androids.
• NBC’s The Voice will have a three-night premiere, as opposed to a two-night one, this fall. The change will put the final night of The Voice in competition with Fox’s The X Factor. In other words, it’s the Christina Aguilera vs. Britney Spears debate of 1999 all over again.
• Megastar Justin Timberlake and actress Sofia Vergara (ABC’s Modern Family) have joined the Stand Up to Cancer telethon. Actor Tom Hanks, singer Taylor Swift and Olympian Gabby Douglas will also make appearances.
• All news concerning Netflix’s Arrested Development is big news, mostly because it’s still hard to believe it’s happening. This week, it was revealed that Henry Winkler will be returning for the fourth season as Bluth family attorney Barry Zuckerkorn.
• A sneak peek at the final season of NBC’s The Office has been released.
• And now for the trailer we’ve all been waiting for: PBS’s third season of Downton Abbey.
SHOW BIZ
• Bravo has renewed The Rachel Zoe Project for a fifth season.
• Gordon Ramsay‘s Hotel Hell will be coming back for a second season on Fox.
• NBC’s Saving Hope, not to be confused with Fox’s Raising Hope, has been taken off of the network’s schedule. The last two episodes of the first season will be available online.
• FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The League will premiere new seasons on Oct. 11.
• Graham Yost, executive producer of FX’s Justified, is developing a drama at NBC called L.A. Woman. The series will follow a Los Angeles spy in the 1970s.
• The Voice coach Cee Lo Green has signed a deal with NBC to develop, produce and possibly star in both scripted and unscripted series for the network.
• Kurt Sutter, creator of FX’s Sons of Anarchy, has sold a script to FX for the dark comedy series Diva. Clown. Killer. Wife Katey Sagal, who stars in Sons of Anarchy, will executive produce and possibly lead the show.
• NBC has ordered a script for Injustice, a legal drama from NBC’s Law & Order executive producer Dick Wolf. The show is an adaptation of a British miniseries.
• Kyle Killen, the creator of Fox’s Lone Star and NBC’s Awake (two of the best pilots from the past two seasons), has sold the pilot for Influence to ABC.
• CBS has ordered the pilot for Beverly Hills Cop, an adaptation of the 1984 film brought to the small screen by actor Eddie Murphy and producer Shawn Ryan (FX’s Terriers).
• The CW is looking to add more superheros to its schedule: In addition to the new drama Arrow, the network is developing a series that will follow the early life of Wonder Woman. It’s tentatively called Amazon.
• Fox’s Beverly Hills, 90210 co-stars Jennie Garth and Luke Perry may reunite again: They’re working to create a new comedy.
COMINGS & GOINGS
• Rita Wilson (Sleepless in Seattle) will be guest star on the second season of HBO’s Girls. She will play Marnie’s (Allison Williams) mom.
• CBS’s The Good Wife has added Christina Ricci (ABC’s Pan Am) for an episode of its upcoming season as a “controversial comedienne.”
• Speaking of The Good Wife, after suffering an injury on set, Kristin Chenoweth (ABC’s Pushing Daisies) returned to the legal drama despite announcing her storyline was being cut short. “I was able to go back a shoot a short scene with Alan Cumming on The Good Wife — #blessed,” she tweeted.
• Jillian Michaels announced on NBC’s Today show that she will be returning to NBC’s The Biggest Loser.
• Catherine O’Hara (HBO’s Six Feet Under) and Bryan Cranston (AMC’s Breaking Bad) will appear in the final season of NBC’s 30 Rock. They will play Kenneth’s (Jack McBrayer) mom and “friend,” respectively. Olympian swimmer Ryan Lochte will also make a cameo on the comedy.
• June (Dreama Walker) will have someone else to contend with aside from her roommate Chloe (Krysten Ritter) on the upcoming season of ABC’s Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23: Angelique Cabral (ABC’s Happy Endings) has signed on to play her co-worker and enemy.
• Kim Raver may have left ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, but she won’t be gone from our TV screens for long. The actress has signed on to NBC’s Revolution for a recurring role.
• FX’s American Horror Story‘s Frances Conroy will return to the second chapter of the series, American Horror Story: Asylum.
• Tricia Helfer (NBC’s The Firm) will appear on the fourth season of NBC’s Community. She will play a fan of Inspector Spacetime, the fictional TV series Abed (Danny Pudi) loves.
• Here comes trouble: Shelley Long (NBC’s Cheers) will come back to Modern Family as Jay’s (Ed O’Neill) ex-wife.
• ABC’s Desperate Housewives‘ Steven Culp has joined Grey’s Anatomy as (what else?) a doctor.
• A familiar face is coming back to Showtime’s Weeds: Guillermo Diaz (ABC’s Scandal) is returning as Nancy Botwin’s (Mary-Louise Parker) enemy.
• Geoff Stults (Fox’s The Finder) will play a recurring role on Fox’s new comedy Ben and Kate. He will appear as a love interest for Kate (Dakota Johnson).
• TV’s favorite couple, Amy Poehler (NBC’s Parks and Recreation) and Will Arnett (NBC’s Up All Night), have decided to separate after nine years of marriage.
• Singer Enrique Iglesias has been offered a seat at the judges’ table for the upcoming season of Fox’s American Idol. He will reportedly receive about $4 million per year.
• On Fox’s other singing show, The X Factor, singer Marc Anthony has joined as a guest mentor.
COMING UP
• Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Amy (Mayim Bialik) may not make it in this promo for CBS’s The Bang Big Theory.
• The CW’s The Vampire Diaries ended with a big cliffhanger last season, and here’s your first look at season four.
• “Fight the Dead. Fear the Living,” says the poster for the third season of AMC’s The Walking Dead.
• Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) preps for the big day in this preview for the eighth season of CBS’s How I Met Your Mother.
• Castle (Nathan Fillion) gets “Caught in the act” in season five of ABC’s Castle.
• Ready for more Scandal? Here’s a sneak peek at the second season.
• Wade (Wilson Bethel) or George (Scott Porter)? Zoe (Rachel Bilson) will have to make a decision in season two of The CW’s Hart of Dixie.
• Deadly airplane crash be damned: Derek (Patrick Dempsey) and Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) look pretty happy in this pic from season nine of Grey’s Anatomy.
Friday Fun: Check out the (NSFW) bloopers from the fourth season of Parks and Recreation.