'Neighbours' celebrates 25 years.

Did you know?

• ‘Neighbours’ first premiered on the Seven Network on the 18th March 1985.
• Pin Oak Court is the name of the cul-de-sac which doubles as Ramsay Street, and is located in Vermont South, Melbourne.
• Since 1985 there have been six versions of the theme song, originally written by Tony Hatch and his wife Jackie Trent.
• Vivean Gray, who played acid-tongued Mrs Mangel, was forced to leave her role after she received abuse from people who were unable to separate fact from fiction. She is now a recluse.
• ‘Neighbours’ was presented with a Hall of Fame Award at the Logies in 2005.
• Several of the show’s writers have also appeared onscreen, including Alan Hopgood, Louise Le Nay, Chris Milne, Perri Cummings, Shane Porteous and Ian Smith.
• ‘Neighbours’ is the only TV show to have had its entire cast flown to the UK to perform in a Royal Command Performance in front of the Queen.
• Filming locations outside of Australia have included Kenya, the United States and the UK – which has been featured on three separate occasions.
• Erinsborough is a loose anagram of ‘Neighbours’.
• ‘Neighbours’ is the longest running series in Australian television. Worldwide it is beaten only by ‘Coronation Street’.

‘Neighbours’ kicked off its 25th anniversary tonight with the launch of new opening titles, which according to executive producer Susan Bower, features “a bit of bling” — in reference to the milestone anniversary.

“25 is the silver anniversary,” says Bower.

She calls the show “25 years young”, hinting at the big plans she has in store for the show during its 25th anniversary season.

“I’d like to celebrate the future as well as the present,” she says.

“We are planning a ‘family’ party in a couple of weeks to celebrate turning 25. This will be a celebration involving past and present cast and crew and will be featured on the Neighbours website for you all to see.”

The show’s renowned Lassiter’s Complex will undergo a huge makeover, with the village centre being completely upgraded inline with an upcoming storyline.

“The old back lot was bulldozed over Christmas and the new one built in its place. It’s not all that different to the eye, all the favourites are still there but everything is fresher and ‘modernised’,” says Bower.

New sets include a university campus, metropolitan police station and a new terrace cafe. Erinsborough News, Lassiters Hotel and Erinsborough Hospital will all receive new facades as part of the upgrade.

The updated sets will make their first appearance in May/June.

In regards to the show’s upcoming episodes, Bower wouldn’t reveal the specifics of any story lines, but says “We have fantastic stories leading up to the 6000th episode [in August] with a cliff-hanger you won’t believe. The consequences go on for ages.”

A few past ‘Neighbours’ stars will also return as a result, but before you start speculating, “it won’t be Charlene and Scott,” jokes Bower.

Bower does however promise a one-hour TV special which will take a look back at the show’s past and hint at what’s to come in the future.

Ten will screen a special later this year.

Check out the new opening credits below.

A family awaits the return of a kidnapped soldier in the Israeli drama ‘Hahatufim’ (Kidnapped).

With the future of ‘24’ still hanging in the balance, 20th Century Fox Television has lined up executive producer/showrunner Howard Gordon to helm a new project for the production company, adapted from the Israeli drama ‘Hahatufim’ (Kidnapped).

The drama is based on three real life soldiers who return home after being held under Syrian captivity for 17 years.

Translated scripts of ‘Kidnapped’ were brought to 20th Century Fox Television, who optioned the rights to produce an American version of the series — which was re-titled ‘Prisoners of War’.

After hearing the pitch for ‘Prisoners of War’, Fox TV chairman Dana Walden said it was an instant decision to take the project to Gordon.

“The format is very smart and has all of the exciting elements that go into ‘24′: an ongoing story, an incredible story engine and a very emotional situation,” Walden said.

Gordon will co-write the adaptation with fellow ‘24’ writer/producer Alex Gansa and original ‘Kidnapped’ creator Gideon Raff.

The American adaptation will revolve around three US soldiers presumed killed during the invasion of Iraq following 9/11 — two of which are found alive in a cave 10 years later.

“They come home greeted as heroes, but they are traumatised by the treatment there, and their families have become collateral damage to their captivity,” said Gordon.

It’s a “suspense, psychological drama” which explores the mystery of the third soldier’s whereabouts/death and the possible threat one of the returning soldiers may pose now that he’s home.

Gordon will exec produce the pilot with Gansa, Gideon and Avi Nir.

‘Hahatufim’, has generated a lot of interest and controversy since is launch earlier this month, with one of the soldiers, Gilad Shalit, still dominating news headlines in Israel. Some have argued that the show is insensitive to the Shalit family and to relatives of other kidnapped soldiers.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Forward.com

Matt Moran

Matt Moran will be returning to Ten’s ‘MasterChef Australia’, following a guest stint on rival network Seven’s ‘My Kitchen Rules’.

Producers called on Moran to step in as emergency guest-judge, replacing Gary Mehigan, who slipped at the end of a long day two weeks ago.

Moran joins several other guest judges who’ve been covering for Mehigan, while he recuperates from surgery to his knee and thigh.

The temporary loss of one of its judges couldn’t come at a worse time for the reality cook-off, as production ramps up on the final challenges of the season.

Mehigan will miss some crucial final cooking challenges, which were key to the success of the first season.

Some within the industry are already speculating that the second season of ‘MasterChef’ wont live up the first, with audiences appetites for cooking contests already fulfilled thanks to Seven’s ‘My Kitchen Rules’.

An unnamed rival executive said ‘My Kitchen Rules’ was partly designed to soak audiences appetites for cooking shows.

“We believe the viewers’ stomachs will be full so the questions is will MasterChef work after they’ve had their fix?” said the exectuive.

However, a ‘MasterChef’ source remains optimistic — confident that the hunger will remain.

“It’s good for us because it has got the viewers thinking about food again and people can wait for five weeks or so for us to come on,” said the source.

Mehigan is expected to return to the ‘MasterChef’ kitchen — on crutches — over the weekend.

‘MasterChef Australia’ is expected to go to air in late April on Network Ten.

Source: Perth Now

Earlier this year Ten promoted the new season of ‘So You Think You Can Dance Australia’ with the song “The Rhythm of Life” from the broadway musical ‘Sweet Charity’.

Now, Ten are wowing us with yet another show tune promo, this time “Food, Glorious Food”, the opening song from the hit musical and subsequent movie ‘Oliver!’.

Check out an extended version of the promo below.

Meanwhile, as the halo effect from the record breaking first season of ‘MasterChef Australia’ spreads internationally, TV networks around the world are taking cues from the Australian promos that kicked it all off.

Here’s a reminder.

Now here’s New Zealand’s take.

And from Norway.

"Glee: The Music - The Power of Madonna EP" out April 16.

The upcoming fifteenth episode of ‘Glee’ is set to be a musical spectacular, paying tribute to Queen of Pop.

The episode, which is set to air on April 20 on FOX, was directed by series creator Ryan Murphy.

Murphy describes the episode as “big…huge”, saying “it’s got like 10 numbers in it, and the production value is very big. We adore her and worship her, so when I’m directing, I’m always like, ‘Do it for Madonna.’”

The singer granted ‘Glee’ the rights to her entire catalogue of music, ten of which were covered by the ‘Glee’ team for the highly anticipated episode.

Sony Music Australia will release seven of the tracks as an EP, which is set to be released on April 16.

“Glee: The Music – The Power of Madonna EP” track-listing:

1. Express Yourself
2. Borderline / Open Your Heart
3. Vogue
4. Like A Virgin
5. 4 Minutes
6. What It Feels Like For A Girl
7. Like A Prayer

‘Glee’ returns with all new episodes in April on Network Ten.

James Sorensen

James Sorensen is leaving Network Ten’s long-running soap ‘Neighbours’ in April to pursuit “other interests aside from acting”.

Sorensen’s departure from the show was confirmed back in January, but it has now been revealed that the 23-year old is seriously considering signing up as a new army recruit.

Fellow ‘Neighbours’ star Jordan Smith, who plays newcomer Andrew Robinson, told TV Week magazine about Sorensen’s future army plans.

“He’s really serious about it. It’s just something he really wants to do,” said Smith.

“He’s been training really hard, but I wish he’d stay. He’s become a really good mate. I’ve told him he’s going to get shot on his first day, but he’s adamant he wants to go!”

In true soap tradition, Sorensen’s depature from the soap won’t spell the end for his character Declan Napier. Actor Erin Mullally has been cast to take over role of the single Dad.

Source: The Daily Telegraph

Photo (left to right:) Ria Vandervis, Tom O Sullivan, Martin Dingle Wall, Kate Ritchie, Kelly Paterniti and Graeme Squires.

Media Release

NINE ANNOUNCES CAST OF NEW AUSTRALIAN DRAMA SERIES – COPS: L.A.C.

COPS L.A.C., Channel Nine’s new Australian drama series about the fast-paced working life and complicated relationships of a diverse range of uniformed cops and plainclothes detectives, begins principal photography in May.

These police officers working in a busy Local Area Command are the new frontline of law and order. The territory of COPS L.A.C. covers the inner city, the harbourside and the eastern beaches of Sydney, from lowlifes to high society and everything in between. Their brief is to fight and control crime on their turf. From shoplifting to murder, small-time drug deals to major organised crime, these cops see it all every day.

COPS L.A.C. stars Gold Logie winner Kate Ritchie as Detective Senior Constable Samantha Cooper and Martin Dingle Wall as her partner, Detective Senior Constable Rhys Llewellyn. They are joined by Gary Sweet as Superintendent Jack Finch and Denise Roberts as Inspector Diane Pappas.

Tom O’Sullivan stars as Senior Constable Nathan Holt, with Ria Vandervis as Senior Constable Roxanne Perez, along with Kelly Paterniti as Probationary Constable Priscilla Smith and Graeme Squires as Probationary Constable Daniel Vandermark.

The cast also includes 2009 AFI Winners Roy Billing as Senior Sergeant Graeme Sinclair and Damian de Montemas as forensic expert Matt “Matilda” Hilton.

At the L.A.C. dedicated officers work and play side-by-side. They are passionate cops on the beat, the first ones at the crime scenes; savvy plainclothes detectives marked by their gut instinct and tenacity; naive recruits uncertain if they’ll make the grade; daring undercover officers flirting with danger; ambitious superintendents juggling politics with policing; and forensics experts with hi-tech toys.

It’s a competitive, pressure-cooker environment where the line between professional and personal relationships is easily blurred, and it takes plenty of grit, grunt and humour to get these cops through the day. Theirs is a tough and unpredictable job where some succeed beyond their wildest expectations while others fall by the wayside.

“We are really excited about COPS L.A.C. It has great scripts, a fantastic cast, and all the ingredients for another exciting Aussie drama series from Nine,” said Jo Horsburgh, Head of Nine Drama.

COPS L.A.C. is produced by the Nine Network and will screen later in 2010.

Source: Nine Network

Michaela McManus

According to Entertainment Weekly, Michaela McManus has landed the female lead in The CW’s upcoming action pilot ‘Nomads’.

The drama follows a group of young backpackers who earn extra money by undertaking secret missions for the CIA.

McManus, 26, will play the brave and resourceful Army Brat, who’s determined to land a place with the CIA — all the while fighting an attraction to her handler (Warren Kole) and a fellow CIA newcomer (Scott Porter).

‘Nomads’ which has been likened to J.J. Abrams’ actioner ‘Alias’, was penned by ‘Numb3rs’ writer/producer Ken Sanzel. Sanzel is also set to direct the pilot.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Kiefer Sutherland

Late last week it was reported that US network FOX and production company 20th Century Fox Television were nearing a mutual decision to end the long running action drama ‘24’ with its eighth season finale this May.

Declining ratings and rising production costs were cited as major reasons for its cancellation.

“Some writers are already leaving to do other shows — It’s more possible than ever that this is the end” says show-runner Howard Gordon.

Contracts for both Gordon and star Kiefer Sutherland are also set to expire following the current season.

Entertainment Weekly now reports that 20th Century Fox have approached rival network NBC to pick up the series, should FOX ultimately decide to pull the plug.

It’s been tipped as a very long shot, considering the high production costs, but “there’s definitely some interest,” says an insider close to the talks.

A move to NBC would likely delay 20th Century Fox’s plans to bring Jack Bauer to the big screen, which won’t take place while the series is still on the air.

Gordon expects to bring a ‘24’ movie to the big screen within 18 months of the series’ conclusion.

“I think the fans could wait a year or a year and a half for the movie, but not much longer than that.”

All new episodes of ‘24’ air 8.30pm Tuesdays on 7TWO.

Source: Entertainment Weekly, The Star

The cast of 'Glee'.

According to Entertainment Weekly, ‘Glee’ fans will be in for some extra musical numbers next season, with the show returning with an extended 25 episode season.

‘Glee’ creator Ryan Murphy spoke at PaleyFest ‘10 over the weekend, where he confirmed FOX’s plans to super-size the show next season.

“Season 2 will be much bigger and much longer,” said Murphy. “We are talking about doing 25 episodes as opposed to [the standard] 22.”

Murphy added that he already has the first four years mapped out, with season two seeing New Directions hit the road.

“As a kid I loved it when The Brady Bunch went to Hawaii,” he said. “I want them to go to some competition that’s in New York. I think that’s what we’re thinking about.”

‘Glee’ fans can catch the highly anticipated back-nine episodes of season one, when the series returns this April on Network Ten.

Source: Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide

Roadshow Films will release the Australian comedy ‘I Love You Too’ on May 6.

‘I Love You Too’ follows Jim, a 30-something emotionally stunted man whose inability to declare his love to his girlfriend, Alice, threatens to cost him the best thing he ever had but leads him to befriend a talented dwarf who helps him find the words to get her back.

It’s romantic buddy movie about the meaning of relationships, the importance of friendship, and having the courage to pursue the one you love.

The comedy stars Brendan Cowell (‘Love My Way’), Yvonne Strahovski (‘Chuck’), Peter Dinklage (‘30 Rock’), Megan Gale and Peter Hellier.

It was written by Helliar and directed by Daina Reid (‘Very Small Business’, ‘City Homicide’).

Check out the trailer:

Visit the offical website, iloveyoutoomovie.com

Ana Ortiz, America Ferrera, Becki Newton and Ashley Jensen on the set of 'Ugly Betty'.

‘Ugly Betty’ is gearing up for its series finale, which airs on April 14 in the US.

According to Entertainment Weekly, producers have already started recruiting former cast members for guest appearances before the series concludes.

Ashley Jensen — who is currently starring on the CBS comedy ‘Accidentally on Purpose’ — will reprise her role as Betty’s BFF Christina in episode 18, in which Betty heads overseas to cover London Fashion Week for Daniel.

Also set to return is Betty’s former flame Gio, played by Freddy Rodriguez. The last we saw of Gio was back in the Season 3 opener, following the love birds’ whirlwind tour of Rome. Things turned sour for the couple when Betty decided she just wanted to be friends. Could Gio perhaps be returning to rekindle his love with Betty?

Finally, Christopher Gorham, who played Betty’s former lover Henry — is also believed to be in negations to return. Nothing has been confirmed yet, so it may be a case of the unknown until an actual episode airs.

Another cast mate who we’d love to see return before the series ends is Rebecca Romijn, who played Daniel’s transgender brother Alex, turned sister Alexis. She fled the country with her long lost son DJ, following her escape from prosecution for the attempted murder of surrogate Christina/Wilhelmina’s unborn child.

Check out some more snaps from Ashley Jensen’s return on ‘Ugly Betty’ below.

In case you were wondering, the cast didn’t actually fly to London to film the episode. Instead, several New York locations were redressed to represent the British capital. The episode is currently schedule to air on March 31 in the US.

Ashley Jensen films a scene for her return to 'Ugly Betty', set to air March 31 on ABC.

Ashley Jensen on the set of 'Ugly Betty'.

Source: EW.com

Debra Messing

Emmy Award-winning actress Debra Messing is set to make her return to network television, with starring role in ABC’s upcoming comedy pilot ‘Wright vs. Wrong’.

The single-camera comedy centres on Evelyn Wright (Messing), a driven conservative pundit who tries to maintain her public persona despite facing her own vulnerabilities.

The ‘Will & Grace’ star will serve as an executive producer on the project, which is based at Sony Pictures Television and Tantamount Productions.

‘Wrong’ was written by actress-writer Stephnie Weir (‘Mad TV’), who will also serve as an executive producer along side Tantamount’s Mitch Hurwitz, Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum.

Andy Fickman (‘Aliens in America’, ‘She the Man’) is set to direct.

Following her eight-year run on the hit NBC sitcom ‘Will & Grace’, Messing starred in the cable dramedy series ‘The Starter Wife’ on USA Network. The original six-part miniseries was filmed in Australia, with the Gold Coast standing in for Malibu, California.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Paramount Home Entertainment Australia will release the 2-disc Blu-ray set, which contains all 14 episodes from the show’s thirteenth and first high definition season.

‘South Park’ fans can pick up a copy of The Complete Thirteenth Season in high def on May 6.

South Park season thirteen comes, in high definition glory, to Blu Ray. In this season Kenny’s hopes to get to first base when he takes his girlfriend to a Jonas Brothers concert, Cartman and Jimmy come up with the funniest joke ever only to have it stolen from them and Kyle goes looking for a professional ghost hunter to stop the poltergeist that is haunting Ike.

No local cover was available, but here’s a look at the Region A cover.

For the first time, Paramount Home Entertainment Australia will release The Complete Ninth Season of the Emmy Award winning comedy ‘South Park’, from creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

The 3-disc set contains all 14 episodes from the show’s ninth season. It hits shelves on May 6.

The boys from South Park are back for the ninth season, released in Australia for the first time on DVD. In this outrageous season, Mr Garrison gets a sex change, South Park is flooded with hippies and in one Emmy winning episode Kenny gets a Playstation Portable – the device that God created to see who has the best skills to defeat the armies of Satan.

'Gossip Girl' returns March 8 on The CW.

‘Gossip Girl’ returns next Monday on The CW with the first of 10 consecutive episodes, following a three-month break.

The drama is in its third season and according to Entertainment Weekly, ‘Gossip Girl’ fans will be in for a treat come May.

The season finale will conclude with — as executive producer Stephanie Savage puts it — “two OMG moments.”

Savage wouldn’t reveal the specifics, but did say that the season three finale — which is currently being filmed — will be unlike the show’s previous two finales.

“It’s not centred on a big event,” says Savage. “There’s not a giant wedding or a graduation. It’s a real potboiler where all of this season’s stories bear down on each other.”

“It’s one of those episodes that just really moves,” she continues. “Every scene leads to the next scene in a very sort of tight and exciting way. I’m hopeful it’ll feel like a satisfying conclusion to all the stories we’ve been telling this year and also give you a sense of what season 4 will hold.”

Michelle Trachtenberg is set to return for the season finale as the manipulative and somewhat psychotic Georgina, however, fans shouldn’t expect the same Georgina we’ve seen before.

“[She'll have] a different persona,” teases Savage. “We’ll find out where she’s been the past couple of months.”

Fans are probably asking the same thing about the show itself, which has been on hiatus since early December.

“I’m excited that we’re running 10 in a row without any interruptions,” says Savage. “Last season, we had a very erratic schedule during the second half of the season, and I think it was hard for [viewers]. We’re excited to come back and have 10 in a row — If we were a cable show it’s practically an entire [season].”

‘Gossip Girl’ returns Monday, March 8 on The CW.

The second season is currently airing 10.30pm Thursdays on GO!

Source: EW.com

The Eighth Season of ‘Beverly Hills 90210’ is set to be released on May 6 by Paramount Home Entertainment Australia. The 7-disc set contains all 32 episodes from the show’s eight season.

Joining the cast this season is Acadmey Award winning actress Hilary Swank as Carly. Guest stars include Jessica Alba, Lindsay Price (‘Lipstick Jungle)’, Michael Trucco (‘Battlestar Galactica’) and Daniel Dae Kim (‘Lost’).

The Real World: 90210… School is over and friends of Beverly Hills 90210 are discovering that life after graduation is not as easy as they thought! Come along with Brandon (Jason Priestley), Kelly (Jennie Garth), Donna (Tori Spelling), David (Brian Austin Green), Steve (Ian Ziering), Val (Tiffani Amber-Thiessen), Noah (Vincent Young) and Carly (Hilary Swank) as they explore love and life outside of college in all 30 titillating episodes of Season 8. Experience Kelly’s recovery from a drive-by shooting, Brandon and Kelly’s wedding plans, and Donna’s drug overdose. It doesn’t take long for the gang to discover that the real world can be just as unpredictable as college.

Dustin Hoffman

Dustin Hoffman is headed to television, to star in HBO’s horseracing drama pilot ‘Luck’, from feature film writer/producer Michael Mann (‘Public Enemies’, ‘Ali’) and David Milch (‘Deadwood’, ‘NYPD Blue’).

Described as a provocative look at the worlds of horseracing, ‘Luck’ follows Hoffman’s character, a tough but intelligent gambler, who’s done everything from bookmaking and money laundering to casino operations.

Following his release from prison, he teams up with Gus Economou (Dennis Farina), his former chauffeur and “brawn”, and Turo Escalante (John Ortiz), a successful trainer with a sordid reputation, to craft a complex plan involving the racetrack.

The pilot was penned by Milch, with Mann set to direct. Both will serve as executive producers alongside Carolyn Strauss and Henry Bronchtein (‘The Sopranos)’.

Production on the pilot is expected to take place over the next few months in Los Angeles.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

'Prisoner'

The 52nd Annual TV Week Logie Awards are still two months away, but already voting has begun for both public and industry voted categories.

A list of nine contenders up for the Logies Hall of Fame were leaked this morning by The Australian, who had an unauthorised peek at this year’s ballot.

The Hall of Fame Gold Logie is awarded for “outstanding and sustained contribution” to television by an individual or televsion program.

This year, Network Ten’s cult favourite ‘Prisoner’, which ran from 1979 to 1986,  has been put forward as a contender for this year’s industry voted award. Should it win, it’d mark only the fourth television program to receive the honour.

ABC’s ‘Four Corners’, Ten’s ‘Neighbours’ and ABC’s ‘Play School’ were all previously inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1992, 2005 and 2006 respectively.

Other names in contention this year are: retired newsreaders Brian Henderson and Ian Ross, the late Brian Naylor, who was killed last year in the Black Saturday bushfires, SBS’s George Negus, sports presenters Ken Sutcliffe and Les Murray, Foxtel presenter Maggie Tabberer and ‘Home and Away’ actor Ray Meagher.

The 52nd Annual TV Week Logie Awards will be televised on May 2 on the Nine Network.

Source: The Australian

Despite their woes in the court room, iiNet are still moving ahead with their plans to launch IPTV services next month.

The ISP has already started trialling the internet television service with a group of its own staff.

iiNet are set to compete with a number of other companies due to launch similar services, including FOXTEL, Internode and Telstra.

iiNet chief executive Michael Malone said the service will launch commercially “towards the end of the month,” with a small group of internet savvy users. A more aggressive advertising push will take place next quarter.

The reason for the slow sign up period is because unlike the company’s last service/device — the integrated BoB router and telephone device — IPTV is still quite new in Australia.

“BoB — was fundamentally taking a lot of existing elements that were already pretty well tested in the Australian marketplace, and bringing them together in a single unit,” said Malone. “With IPTV, it’s testing a lot of stuff that’s fresh to the Australian market, [which] hasn’t been done before.”

iiNet doesn’t yet know what impact the service will have on its network.

During the company’s presentation on Thursday, Malone reveal more details on users can expect from the service.

iiNet will be offering the service through a subscription model, which will include the set-top box for connecting to users’ TVs.

The device will have “all the standard features”, like multiple free-to-air tuners, video recording, an electronic programming guide, video-on-demand and selected web applications.

There will also be what Malone describes as “linear channels”, including Discovery and National Geographic, channels previously only available to cable TV subscribers.

Unlike Telstra’s upcoming T-Box — which is based on NetGem’s software and hardware — the iiNet’s device will be custom built.

Pricing for the service and any content deals the company has signed are still under wraps.

Content providers are “all keen to get their content to market,” but are concerned about the digital rights management technology to ensure content isn’t pirated.

Source: apcmag.com

Neil Patrick Harris

Neil Patrick Harris has been confirmed for a guest-starring role on 20th Century Fox TV’s musical comedy ‘Glee’.

Harris is no newcomer to the musical genre. The 36-year old appeared on Broadway in 2001 as Tobais Ragg in ‘Sweeny Todd’, as Emcee in ‘Cabaret’ in 2003 and starred in Joss Whedon’s Emmy Award-winning musical web series, ‘Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog’ on 2008.

Details of Harris’ role have yet to be released, but the Emmy nominated actor has only confirmed for the one episode.

Early reports linked Harris to director Joss Whedon’s upcoming episode of ‘Glee’, but that has yet to be confirmed.

‘Glee’ returns in April on FOX and Network Ten.

Source: TVGuide.com

Seven and Nine in a bidding war over 'The X Factor'.

The Daily Telegraph reports that Seven and Nine are set begin a bidding war over a new local version of ‘The X Factor’.

The show’s creator Simon Cowell called a summit in London last week, which Nine’s Director of Production and Development Andrew Backwell, Seven’s Head of Programming Tim Worner and Sony Music CEO Dennis Handlin all attended.

Despite producing a failed attempt in 2005 by Network Ten, Cowell hopes to overtake the current global success of the ‘Idol’ format and make the show a worldwide phenomenon.

Cowell told the reps an Australian version would have to be made “my way or the highway”, said one source.

“He said that any other version would have to match his production values and his uncompromising vision, which would cost at least $20 million for 21 hours of television.”

Seven is believed to be making a very aggressive bid for the format, while Nine, who is equally interested, were also quite conscious of the costs involved in producing the format.

“One way or another, expect it to be on air around February next year,” added the source.

‘The X Factor’ has become a massive hit in the UK, turning out one of the biggest names in pop, Leona Lewis.

US network FOX announced plans to bring the format stateside after Cowell leaves ‘American Idol’ next season, joining the other 21 local versions across Europe and the Middle East.

Source: The Daily Telegraph

Adam Lambert

‘American Idol’ runner up, Adam Lambert, is set to visit Australia next week as part of a local promotional tour.

Lambert will visit Sydney and Melbourne, with live performances scheduled for Ten’s ‘So You Think You Can Dance Australia’ on March 5, as well as Seven’s ‘Sunrise’.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing Australia and meeting my fans Down Under! I know it’s going to be so much fun!” said Lambert.

The trip will coincide with the Australian release of his debut album ‘For Your Entertainment’, which is out next Friday, March 5th.

The Australian version of the album will feature an exclusive bonus track ‘Voodoo’, which is a collaboration with ARIA-nominated singer, Sam Sparro.

Source: Sony Music Entertainment

TV.com

TV.com is set to stream episodes of ‘Home and Away’ and ‘Neighbours’ for free to viewers in the UK.

The entertainment site, which is owned by CBS Interactive — a subsidiary of US broadcaster CBS, have partnered with the soaps’ UK broadcaster Five.

The move will give British audiences access to shows from Five’s catch-up TV service, Demand Five, which houses around 250 hours of content, including the two Australian soaps.

Five’s head of digital media, Jonathan Lewis, said, “Our partnership with TV.com is a further example of Five’s strategy to expand and grow the reach of its content beyond the smallscreen to premium secure digital platforms.”

It’s the first European partnership for TV.com, who are set to compete with the Fox, NBC and ABC backed Hulu.

Just last week, Hulu’s director of international business development Simon Gallagher announced the company’s plans to expand internationally, with both Australia and the UK in their sights.

TV.com which also operates in Australia, are believed to be considering similar distribution arrangements locally. The site could provide a single online destination for viewers to access programs from all free-to-air broadcasters.

Source: Variety, CBS Interactive

Television Sydney goes digital.

Late last year, the community television sector was granted $2.9 million in funding from the Federal Government to commence digital broadcast trials across Australia.

A band of vacant digital broadcasting spectrum, was temporarily allocated to C31 in Melbourne, TVS in Sydney, QCTV in Brisbane and Channel 31 in Adelaide to simulcast their services.

This week Sydney’s TVS commenced its digital trials on channel 44, which was previously allocated to the datacasting service Digital Forty Four.

Sydneysiders will need to rescan their television and set-top boxes to receive the new channel, which officially launches next week.

Perth’s community television station West TV are set to launch as a digital-only channel on March 1.

Melbourne’s C31, Brisbane’s QCTV and Channel 31 in Adelaide have yet to announce dates for their digital trials.

Mildura not ready for digital TV?

On June 30, the north-west Victorian district of Sunraysia — which includes Mildura — will become the first region in Australia to make the switch from analogue to digital TV.

It’s reported that 79 per cent of residents in the Sunraysia district have already adopted digital television, but federal member John Forrest, whose seat of Mallee includes Sunraysia, believes that up to 5000 people could be left without television reception come June 30.

“If you take the footy off my constituents, it’s going to be World War III,” said Forrest.

“We’re running out of time, and I’d like the government to consider deferral of the June 30 date until they can be confident.”

Concerns had also been raised over the digital upgrade to a transmission facility in Ouyen, one of 100 that the government had announced last month.

Some believe the facility would not be ready for the switch-off on June 30, however, Digital Switchover Taskforce executive director Andy Townend is confident that the Ouyen facility, plus another site in Underbool, are both on track to meet the deadline.

”That should deal with the vast majority of blackspot signal deficiencies in the area,” said Townend.

The first country to make the switchover to digital broadcasting was Luxembourg, which took place in 2006. Since then, ten other countries have made the transition including, the Netherlands also in 2006; Finland, Andorra, Sweden and Switzerland in 2007; Belgium (Flanders) and Germany in 2008; and the United States, Denmark and Norway in 2009.

Canada’s analog switch-off is scheduled for August 31, 2011, followed by July 24, 2011 in Japan, and by 2012 in the United Kingdom.

Australia will be one of the last developed countries in the world to make the digital TV transition, with the switchover scheduled to take place over a three year period — beginning in Mildura on June 30 and rolling out across the country through to metropolitan cities in late 2013.

Source: The Age

Kylie and Dannii Minogue

Kylie Minogue will take over Dannii’s judging seat on the ‘The X-Factor’ this season, while her younger sister takes time off to have her baby.

“I’ll be at home in Australia while the early stages of this year’s show are being filmed,” said Dannii.

“I really need to be near my family at such an important time.”

Fellow judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole and Louis Walsh are all expected to return for the new season and will be joined by a number of guest judges, including big sis Kylie.

“There will be American Idol-style guest judges to fill her vacant seat, one of whom will be Kylie,” one source told the Daily Star newspaper.

Dannii will return to the show later in the season, during the final stages of the contest.

“She will be back for the live shows,” said the source.

Meanwhile, Dannii is currently working on the new season of ‘Australia’s Got Talent’, which began the audition process earlier this month.

This season, Minogue will be joined by former ‘Australian Idol’ judge Kyle Sandilands and singer Brian McFadden, who are replacing Red Symons, who’s defecting to Nine’s ‘Hey Hey It’s Saturday’, and Tom Burlinson.

The series will return soon on Seven.

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The ratings system which all television programs are classified under.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has announced plans to develop a parental lock standard for digital television.

The parental lock feature would allows controlled access to television programs based on their classification — G, PG, M or MA15+.

There are already some devices on the market that include a built in parental lock system, however, there’s no industry wide standard. The ACMA’s goal is to create an industry wide standard, so that it can be mandated and included as a feature in all devices.

“Mandating the inclusion of parental lock in digital receivers will support parents and guardians in protecting their children from inappropriate or harmful content on television,” said ACMA Chairman, Chris Chapman.

The ACMA are seeking industry and public comment to help determine a technical standard that will make the parental lock a required feature for all digital televisions and set-top box receivers.

“The ACMA’s primary aim is to ensure this standard meets consumer needs for an appropriate and effective protection mechanism for their children. This is best achieved through consultation to assist in the development of a standard that is clear, unambiguous and readily understood by industry,” said Chapman.

A discussion paper outlining the approach the ACMA intends to take in determining the parental lock standard is now available on their website.

Several issues that the ACMA are seeking industry and public opinions on are:

• Whether particular classes of equipment should be exempt from the parental lock standard.
• The compliance arrangements that should accompany the parental lock standard.
• The date on which the parental lock standard should commence.
• How the requirement for equipment to have parental lock capability should be expressed in the parental lock standard.

The closing date for comment is Friday, April 2, 2010.

For more information visit acma.gov.au

Source: Australian Communications and Media Authority

David Anders

TV Guide.com has confirmed that David Anders will be joining the cast of  The CW’s ‘The Vampire Diaries’.

The 28-year old, who previously had recurring roles on ‘Alias’ and ‘Heroes’, will play Jonathan Gilbert, Elena and Jeremy’s uncle.

Anders will make his first appearance in The CW’s April 15th episode and will recur throughout the remainder of the season.

‘The Vampire Diaries’ episode 14 “Fool Me Once” airs 8.30pm tonight on GO!

Source: TV Guide.com

Mark Ruffalo and Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese's 'Shutter Island'.

As far as directors go, Martin Scorsese is one of the greats. With films like ‘Taxi Driver’, ‘Raging Bull’ and ‘The Departed’ up his sleeve, his name alone is enough to get moviegoers in seats.

So to heard that ‘Shutter Island’ had been pushed back four months — due to Paramount not having “the financing in 2009 to spend the $50 to $60 million necessary to market a big awards pic like this” — came as a bit of a surprise. February has never been a huge opening box office month for studios.

Fortunately, working in its favour is the the fact that buzz surrounding James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ has finally begun to slow.

So how does Scorsese’s latest flick stack up against his growing list of iconic films?

‘Shutter Island’ is based on a novel by Dennis Lehane, whose previous novels have been turned into Academy Award winning/nominated films ‘Mystic River’ and ‘Gone, Baby, Gone’.

The film centres on two US marshals, Edward “Teddy” Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), who travel to an island off Boston Harbour to investigate the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane.

On the island, they meet the hospital administrator Dr. John Cawley (Ben Kingsley), who they find is unwilling to provide them complete access to the facility throughout their investigation.

The plot begins to thicken when a hurricane hits the facility, leaving them trapped on the island. During this time, Daniels begins to piece together a series mysterious clues, which lead him down a path to uncover what’s really happening on the island.

Despite being marketed as a edge-of-your seat horror flick, ‘Shutter Island’ is really more of a deeply threaded psychological thriller.

Scorsese pulls out all the tricks, from dark and harrowing environments, to long foreboding shots. It appears like an homage to an old Hitchcock thriller.

The biggest let down is the film’s feeble plot, which when you take into consideration all the build up and atmospheric conditioning which Scorsese has carefully crafted, the ending unfortunately fails to meet its own expectations. There’s far too much exposition, for what is considerably a less than earth-shattering plot twist.

Having said that, ‘Shutter Island’ is so precisely crafted, from a technical and directorial standpoint, the film is a beautiful work of art.

Curiously, one of the most memorable elements of the film was the score, which is actually an ensemble of previously recorded material. Scorsese re-teams with his long time collaborator music supervisor Robbie Robertson to create a rather cohesive soundscape. It lacks the subtly of traditional original score, but memorable none the less.

Cinema aficionados will appreciate the film’s strong self-awareness as a genre piece, while average moviegoers are likely to leave satisfied knowing they’ve witnessed more than just an edge-of-your-seat horror flick.

The film isn’t likely to win Best Picture at next year’s Oscars, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few nominations in the creative categories like Best Cinematography or Best Editing.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Sony's Emmy Award winning XMB (XrossMediaBar) interface.

Things are really heating up in the IPTV arena. Today, Sony unveiled its new lineup of Bravia televisions, most of which include internet connectivity for IPTV.

As part of the unveil, Sony also announced a partnership with Yahoo!7 to deliver content from the Seven Network and other providers directly on Bravia Internet Video capable sets.

18 of Seven’s top television shows will be available, including ‘30 Rock’, ‘Border Security’, ‘City Homicide’, ‘Heroes’, ‘Sunrise’, ‘Seven News’ and some of those already available on PLUS7. More shows are expected to join the lineup over time.

Yahoo!7 will also provide a number of TV widgets including weather, news, and Flickr, with select Bravia models including additional widgets for Facebook and Twitter.

Other content providers, include SBS, Billabong, Wired, Golflink, eHow, Epicurious, Style.com, Blip and YouTube.

Content will be accessed via Sony’s Emmy Award winning XrossMediaBar (XMB) interface, which PlayStation 3 customers will already be familiar with.

Sony said that they’re in talks with other TV networks and content providers to bring to the service later this year.

There will be 15 channels available from launch, with plans for pay-per-view movies and content in the future.

They also promised that more devices (presumably Blu-ray players and set top boxes) will come with the Bravia Internet Video service in the future.

Source: Gizmodo Australia

Will Arnett

While the ‘Arrested Development’ movie is still far from completion, a reunion project at FOX is inching closer to reality.

‘Arrested Development’ creator/executive producer Mitch Hurwitz, co-star Will Arnett and co-executive producer Jim Vallely are awaiting a pilot order on a new comedy series for FOX.

The untitled half-hour comedy was originally based at Sony Pictures Television, who have since pulled out. However, Lionsgate Television (the producers of ‘Mad Men’ and ‘Weeds’) have now stepped to take over the project.

Deals are yet to be finalised, but are looking positive now that the studio issues have been resolved.

The comedy stars Arnett as a rich Beverly Hills jackass who falls in love with a charitable tree-hugging woman who can’t stand his lifestyle or values.

Arnett will serve as a producer on the pilot, which he co-wrote the pilot with Hurwitz and Vallely. Hurwitz and Vallely will serve as executive producers alongside Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum, Peter Principato and Paul Young.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Vince Colosimo and Rebecca Gibney start in Nine's 'Wicked Love: The Maria Korp Story'.

The Nine Network have pumped out two award winning series of ‘Underbelly’ based on real events taking place between 1976 – 1987 and 1995–2004, with a third series bridging the two set to premiere in the coming months.

These true crime dramas have been hugely successful for Nine, there’s no denying it. Over 2.5 million viewers tuned in for the series premiere of ‘Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities’.

With these sort of figures, it’s easy to understand why they’re are keen to bring another true crime to the screen.

This Sunday, Nine will premiere ‘Wicked Love: The Maria Korp Story’ a tele-movie based on the attempted murder of Maria Korp, by her husband Joe Korp and his mistress Tania Herman.

Today, Gust Korp (Joe Korp’s brother) told Radio 3AW that he had urged the Nine Network to pull the tele-movie from Victorian schedules, stating that the couple’s 15-year-old son Damian Korp was still struggling with the death of his mother and subsequent suicide of his father, Joe, in 2005.

“My major concern is for Damian. He’s a 15-year-old boy who has been through a fair bit, he has had quite an extensive period of counselling,” Gust said.

Not unlike the first series of ‘Underbelly’, a time frame of less than 5-years have passed between the actual events and this new dramatisation.

‘Underbelly’ was even banned in the state of Victoria, due to on going legal proceedings concerning persons involved in the events depicted in Nine’s series.

So is 5-years long enough to be considered “enough time having passed” before these harrowing tales are used for entertainment purposes?

Should there be a moratorium in which television networks should respect the families of deceased persons before brining their stories to the screen?

Media Release

IT’S A RUDDY GOOD NEWS WEEK

PM Kevin Rudd took time out of his busy schedule over the weekend to record a special guest appearance on tonight’s (Monday 22nd February) Good News Week.

With a renowned combination of razor sharp satire and rude words, the team at TEN’S really quite good current affairs show were really quite thrilled to welcome the top mover and sauce bottle shaker of Australian politics.

Chivalrously appearing as GNW panellist Claire Hooper’s political champion, the PM was part of a game called “Political Mastermind.” The PM tested his knowledge of the extraordinary people, history and facial hair that make Australian politics great, against the resident GNW political pundit Mikey Robins.

Taking his place opposite master of proceedings Paul McDermott to thunderous applause from the surprised studio audience, the PM said: “I’m pretty nervous to be here, my country beckons.”

“Don’t stuff it up for your team,” was the immediate response of fellow team-mate Corrine Grant. The PM faced a set of cheeky multiple choice questions, one of which was: Which Australian PM famously said, “Life wasn’t meant to be easy?

a) Malcolm Fraser, in a lecture, 1971
b) Harold Holt, underwater, 1967
c) KevinRudd, to a flight attendant, 2009

Revealing his answers would spoil all the fun, but with conversation touching on John Howard’s green and gold tracky dax, confirmation of gossip about a split in the Australian Labor Party, and conjecture about Prime Ministerial appendages, it’s a show not to be missed.

David Mott, Chief Programming Officer TEN said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Kevin Rudd back to TEN as a guest on Good News Week. This promises to be the most unusual Question Time the Prime Minister has ever faced.”

Other guests on the show were the tall funny bloke Tom Gleeson; comedian and Triple J breakfast host Tom Ballard; Canadian stand-up star Stewart Francis; and to keep all that strange testosterone in check, the improvised explosive device, Corinne Grant.

Hosted by the inimitable acid tongued altar boy Paul McDermott, Good News Week transmits tonight (Monday 22nd February) at 8.30pm on TEN.

Source: Network Ten

Hulu eyeing Australia in international expansion plans.

Popular video streaming site Hulu could be heading down under, according to the company’s director of international business development Simon Gallagher.

Gallagher spoke at the Media 2010 event in Sydney on Friday, at which he revealed that Australia was in the top ten countries the company was eyeing for international expansion.

Originally conceived as way of combatting online piracy, the collaboration between 20th Century Fox, NBC Universal and The Walt Disney Company has seen explosive growth over the past three years, since its launch in 2007.

The free ad-supported service allows viewers to watch TV shows online immediately after they have finished broadcasting across all US states — the latest timezone being Hawaii.

The strategy has worked, according to Gallagher, who cited figures that show a significant decrease in pirated content when the the TV programs were made available on Hulu.

Collaboration between the television networks and the speed and price of broadband are two potential hold ups on Hulu’s plans to come down under.

Getting networks on board to deliver content should be the easy part, considering all free-to-air networks already have deals in place to provided catch-up TV online. Providing this content to the bandwidth capped population may be a little more difficult.

But with a large proportion of internet users wanting to view video online, it seems only a matter of time before we see these bandwidth caps eased — if not lifted. Just last week internet service provider AAPT announced the country’s first truly unlimited residential broadband plan.

Meanwhile, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, who’ve raised the bar when it comes to embracing the internet as a medium for content delivery, have expressed interest in bringing their content to Apple’s forthcoming tablet device, the iPad.

The iPad’s mobile Safari browser will not support Adobe Flash, which ABC have built their iView catch-up TV service on. However, Adobe has developed tools to repackage Flash-based content, allowing it to run as a native app on Apple’s multi-touch devices.

A senior executive at Adobe revealed that the ABC had contacted the software giant directly, to discuss a potential partnership deal between the two companies.

Adobe’s AIR platform, which utilises Flash and other technologies, has already been demoed by media companies around the world for delivering content on similar tablet devices — most notable Wired Magazine’s tablet app demonstration.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sydney Morning Herald

DRAMA SERIES

• Mad Men, Written by Lisa Albert, Andrew Colville, Kater Gordon, Cathryn Humphris, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Brett Johnson, Erin Levy, Marti Noxon, Frank Pierson, Robin Veith, Dahvi Waller, Matthew Weiner; AMC

COMEDY SERIES

• 30 Rock, Written by Jack Burditt, Kay Cannon, Robert Carlock, Tom Ceraulo, Vali Chandrasekaran, Tina Fey, Donald Glover, Steve Hely, Matt Hubbard, Dylan Morgan, Paula Pell, Jon Pollack, John Riggi, Tami Sagher, Josh Siegal, Ron Weiner, Tracey Wigfield; NBC

NEW SERIES

• Modern Family, Written by Paul Corrigan, Sameer Gardezi, Joe Lawson, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Dan O’Shannon, Brad Walsh, Caroline Williams, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker; ABC

EPISODIC DRAMA

any length – one airing time

• House - “Broken, Part 1 and Part 2”, Written by Russel Friend & Garrett Lerner & David Foster & David Shore; Fox

EPISODIC COMEDY

any length – one airing time (**TIE**)

• 30 Rock - “Apollo, Apollo”, Written by Robert Carlock; NBC
• Modern Family - “Pilot”, Written by Steven Levitan & Christopher Lloyd; ABC

LONG FORM – ORIGINAL

over one hour – one or two parts, one or two airing times

• Georgia O’Keeffe, Written by Michael Cristofer; Lifetime

LONG FORM – ADAPTATION

over one hour – one or two parts, one or two airing times

• Taking Chance, Teleplay by Lieutenant Colonel Michael R. Strobl, USMC (Ret.) and Ross Katz, Based on the short story by Lieutenant Colonel Michael R. Strobl, USMC (Ret.); HBO

ANIMATION

any length – one airing time

• The Simpsons - “Wedding for Disaster”, Written by Joel H. Cohen; Fox

COMEDY / VARIETY

(INCLUDING TALK) SERIES (**TIE**)

• Saturday Night Live, Head Writer: Seth Meyers, Writers Doug Abeles, James Anderson, Alex Baze, Jessica Conrad, James Downey, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Erik Kenward, Rob Klein, John Lutz, Lorne Michaels, John Mulaney, Paula Pell, Simon Rich, Marika Sawyer, Akiva Schaffer, John Solomon, Emily Spivey, Kent Sublette, Jorma Taccone, Bryan Tucker, Additional Sketch by Adam McKay, Andrew Steele; NBC
• The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Head Writer: Steve Bodow, Writers Rory Albanese, Kevin Bleyer, Rich Blomquist, Tim Carvell, Wyatt Cenac, Hallie Haglund, JR Havlan, David Javerbaum, Elliott Kalan, Josh Lieb, Sam Means, Jo Miller, John Oliver, Daniel Radosh, Jason Ross, Jon Stewart; Comedy Central

COMEDY / VARIETY – MUSIC, AWARDS, TRIBUTES – SPECIALS

• Film Independent’s 2009 Spirit Awards, Written by Billy Kimball, Neil MacLennan; IFC/AMC

DAYTIME SERIAL

• The Young and the Restless, Written by Amanda L. Beall, Tom Casiello, Lisa Connor, Janice Ferri Esser, Eric Freiwald, Jay Gibson, Scott Hamner, Marla Kanelos, Beth Milstein, Natalie Minardi Slater, Melissa Salmons, Linda Schreiber, James Stanley, Sandra Weintraub, Teresa Zimmerman; CBS

The CW picks up CIA-based action pilot 'Nomads'.

In an attempt to diversify their programming line up next season, The CW has picked up the action drama pilot ‘Nomads’, from ‘Numb3rs’ creator Ken Sanzel and producers Ridley Scott and Tony Scott.

The drama centers on a group of young backpackers who find a way to make some extra money by doing secret missions for the CIA.

Sanzel will write and direct the pilot presentation, with the Scott brothers serving as executive producers under their production banner Scott Free Productions.

‘Nomads’ is from CBS Television Studios and Warner Bros. Television.

Source: Variety

Poppy Montgomery

Australia’s Poppy Montgomery has landed a role in the upcoming ABC pilot ‘True Blue’.

The drama revolves around six former best friends who rose through the ranks at the San Francisco Police Department. As the group reunite to solve the murder of one of their own, past rivalries and old flames are reignited.

Montgomery will play the hard-working Katherine Miller, the department’s only female police captain, who struggles to balance her demanding career and complicated personal life following a divorce.

Before landing her seven-year gig on CBS’ ‘Without a Trace’, Montgomery rose to fame following her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in the made-for-television movie ‘Blonde’.

Source: TV Guide

Media Release

Brian McFadden joins the judging panel on ‘Australia’s Got Talent’

Channel Seven today confirmed singing sensation Brian McFadden will join the judging panel on the new season of Australia’s Got Talent.

Brian will sit alongside fellow judges Dannii Minogue and Kyle Sandilands as they search for Australia’s next big superstar. Grant Denyer will return to host the fourth series.

“I am beyond excited to be joining Channel 7 and Australia’s Got Talent – I have always been a massive fan of the show and am looking forward to sitting alongside my respected friends and peers Dannii and Kyle.”

Beginning his music career with the Irish boyband Westlife – selling more than 50 million albums around the globe – Brian is now an established solo artist, with two albums – Irish Son and Set In Stone. His anticipated third album will be released in April.

Last year, the UK version of ‘Got Talent gave birth to international success story Susan Boyle while at home, winner Mark Vincent established himself as Australia’s youngest opera virtuoso at just 15 years of age with a top-selling album on the ARIA charts.

The competition in Australia’s Got Talent is open to everyone from solo acts and group performances to comedians and dance troupes – and there is no age limit. Auditions around the country have just wrapped, and there has been an incredible amount of talent on display. It promises to be the biggest series yet.

Australia’s Got Talent is coming soon to Channel Seven.

Source: Seven Network

Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres’ syndicated daytime talkshow has been renewed for three additional seasons.

‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’, which is the No. 2-rated talk show among women 25-54 behind ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’, will continue to air on NBC’s owned-and-operated stations until at least 2014.

“Ellen is one of those unique personalities that comes along once in a generation,” said Ken Werner, president of Warner Bros Domestic TV. “Her program has been embraced by viewers as their generation’s talk franchise, and we couldn’t be happier that the NBC stations will continue to have ‘Ellen’ as the cornerstone of their syndicated lineup for years to come.”

“I’m so excited to sign on for three more years at NBC,” said DeGeneres. “They were the ones that believed in my show from Day 1. So, I’m thrilled to know I’ll be here ’til at least 2014. Things will be a lot different by then. I won’t be dancing over my coffee table anymore. Through the magic of 3D, I’ll be dancing over yours!”

‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ airs 12pm weekdays on Nine.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

‘Cold Case’
Despite a strong performance up against ‘Criminal Minds’ last week, the plummeting ratings last night is the reason that the show will be pulled after next week’s episode.

Episode 7 of the current season will air as planned on Wednesday 17th February at 8:30pm but then the show is on hiatus with no return plans as yet.

‘RPA’
New episodes will begin at 8:30pm on Wednesday the 24th of February.

‘Lost’
An impressive 216 000 viewers watched ‘Lost’ last night but for those of you that missed it, the two episodes plus the special will air Sunday 14th February at 10pm and Tuesday February 16th from 11:45pm on 7TWO.