Soul singer Isaac Hayes has quit being the voice of Chef on South Park after a recent dissatisfaction with the show's cuts at religion. Hayes, a practicing member of the Church of Scientology, was quoted as saying, "there is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins." A recent episode of the cartoon poked fun at Tom Cruise and Scientology, but Hayes didn't specifically mention that show in his reasoning. South Park co-creator Matt Stone says that episode is exactly what caused this rift. "This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology. He has no problem - and he's cashed plenty of cheques - with our show making fun of Christians," Stone said. It remains to be seen whether the character will be written out or simply revoiced.

Source: NME

The acclaimed HBO drama Six Feet Under, that recently closed out its five-year run, is finding new life on Bravo. The cable network locked down exclusive rights to show past episodes for the remainder of the decade. Bravo has had a history with HBO in the past, syndicating The Larry Sanders Show and bankrolling a third season of Project Greenlight after HBO passed on renewing it. Fellow HBO series the Sopranos will also be spinning its repeats on A&E next year. Six Feet Under is due to begin airing on Bravo later this year.

Source: Zap2it

It seems the curse of the Bachelor has struck again. Its only been a week since viewers found out Dr. Travis Stork picked hometown girl, Sarah Stone, to be his happily ever after. The couple has confirmed they are no more. The split was blamed mostly on the mandatory seperation the couple was forced to take between the final episode taping in November until the broadcast finale on February 27th. The pressure involved in being a TV couple was also cited as a factor. They have confirmed that they will be "friends forever" so at least they haven't lost their ability to sling the BS.

Source: E!

The end is near for Jennifer Garner's spy drama Alias. After being on hiatus since December, allowing Garner to finish her maternity leave and clear the dance floor for Dancing with the Stars, the JJ Abrams' drama will begin its sprint to the finish with a two-hour episode on April 19th at 8pm. This is a switch over to Wednesday nights. ABC has said that the final episodes will finally reveal the secrets of the Rambaldi prophecy as well as the birth of Sydney's baby and the return of the supposedly dead Vaughn.

Source: Zap2it

Network television's impatience seems to be hitting new lows every day. Emily's Reasons Why Not only got one episode out of the box before it was shut down by ABC. Now CBS chokes the highly promising Love Monkey at the 3rd episode. The much acclaimed dramedy has been shelved to make room for the Unit, an action drama featuring covert special ops. Ratings for Love Monkey proved disappointing for the network, averaging 8.1 million viewers. This was 6 million fewer than its time slot rival Law & Order: SVU.

Source: E!

The six stars of Friends have just signed a multi-million dollar deal to star in four hour-long specials for NBC. Of the six, Aniston was the final friend to sign on for the return. There is speculation that a second Friends spin-off is in the works called It's a Guy Thing starring Perry, Schwimmer and LeBlanc.
Screenwriters are already busy penning the new Friends episodes which are due to air next year.

Source: Hollywood.com

Heather Graham's new comedy Emily's Reasons Why Not didn't get a second date after all. The fledgling new comedy was let go by ABC after only one airing of the series pilot. After launching a large promotional campaign to support life after Monday Night Football, television execs at ABC deemed it a dog creatively and decided to pull the cord early. It's not known what they are planning to do with the six episodes that have already taped.

Source: CNN

John Spencer, who plays the president's Chief of Staff on NBC's the West Wing, has died of a heart attack at the age of 58. In a strange twist of fate, the character he played on the West Wing, Leo McGarry, suffers a heart attack forcing him to give up his job in the White House. Later, he recovers, returning to politics. Spencer is an Emmy winning actor, appearing on LA Law and films such as Copland.

Source: BBC News

The bugles were already playing taps for the quirky, fledgling Fox comedy Arrested Development when the network effectively pulled the plug on the series, slicing the third season episode order from 22 to 13. Just as a spot was being dug in the television graveyard for one of television's funniest shows, talks are swirling about that the Bluth family may just be getting a change of address to Showtime. Talks at this point are said to be in the very early goings, and that the tab would be a hefty one for the cable network to take on with the show's extensive cast. Arrested Development won the Emmy for best comedy series in 2004 and has been a constant darling of the critics, but the viewers have been hard to come by in its two year run. Hopefully the show will see new life on the more savvy cable channel tier of the dial.

The online community Myspace just became a bit more sinister. On the closing credits of last night's episode of Nip/Tuck was a commercial clip announcing our knife happy slasher is carving out his own piece of cyberspace. Checking in this morning, it appears the Carver enjoys lounging in his bath robe and bunny slippers to watch According to Jim, likes to "Whip It" to early 80s pop, and ladies, he's single...well assuming he's a he that is. The Carver already has 22000 friends, speculating that he's everyone from Sean to President Bush. The consensus seems to be leaning towards Quentin or Matt. My money is on that weasel Quentin.

Become friends with the Carver at http://www.myspace.com/thecarver/

One of the most sought after DVDs in television is hitting the shelves this Valentine's Day. Grey's Anatomy: Season 1 has finally been loosed from ABC's grasp so you can relive all of the drama between Meredith and Dr. McDreamy, hold the fries. Head on over to Amazon and snatch up your copy of Grey's Anatomy: Season 1 today.

It seems Jennifer Garner will be closing the door on Alias for good this May. In its fifth season, the J.J. Abrams spy drama has been ailing in the ratings this season, struggling against Survivor in its new Thursday night time slot. ABC is promising a big finish to the global escapades of Sidney Bristow.

Source: Yahoo News

Jailbird Martha Stewart is finding freedom to be a slippery ratings slope leading to cancellation. Martha's Apprentice will finish out its season on NBC, but the studio has said it will not order another round of episodes. After the intense interest in Donald's Apprentice, a spin-off seemed inevitable. The spark just wasn't there, only drawing an average of 6.8 million viewers. The show's two-hour finale is set for December 21.

Source: CNN

Fans have been cringing for this announcement for a while, but Fox has finally decided to ax the critically acclaimed, ratings challenged comedy. After a long hiatus due to baseball playoff coverage, its one-two punch last week brought in a meager 4 million viewers. Fox will take Arrested and Kitchen Confidential off the schedule for the next three weeks for November sweeps, replacing them with reruns of Prison Break. The quality of television took a hefty blow on that announcement.

Source: Yahoo News

Just when you thought you couldn't get more Lost with all the websites and message boards picking apart every morsel of the show, this spring it gets worse. The hit series will launch a subplot about Gary Troup, a author of fiction who evidently died in the crash of Oceanic Flight 815. Hyperion Press will be publishing his manuscript, entitled Bad Twin, that will correspond with plot developments on the show. Do we really need to feed the obsessive frenzy any more? Do you realize hundreds of Powerball hopefuls played Hurley's unlucky numbers trying to win the $340 million jackpot last month?

Source: E!

Ever since ABC decided to move Alias to the graveyard of Thursday nights, fans have been wondering what will become of Sydney Bristow. With silly storylines, pregnant Sydney, and offing Vaughn, the show is in serious trouble clocking in at 70th place in the Neilson ratings last week. Even the abysmal Joey trumped it at 68th place. Alias even scored no mention in this weeks ABC press release. Jennifer it's time to shift that movie career into high gear and that doesn't mean choking down a Daredevil sequel.

Source: Yahoo TV

Just when you thought we'd killed off another deserving reality TV show, the damn thing comes back like Night of the Living Dead. Fox dropped the Simple Life due to lack of room on its schedule. According to resident hottie Paris Hilton, the show will go on. At a fashion show recently she was quoted as saying, "We're shooting Nov. 1. All the networks are fighting over it." It is rumored that the WB and NBC are taking a shot at securing the show for their line-ups. MTV and VH1 are seen as other possible contenders.

Source: E! Online

Scrubs fans everywhere have been busy bemoaning existence every since the lame brains at NBC didn't give the four time Emmy nominated drama a slot on their fall schedule. Studio execs gave the cop out that Braff was off shooting a movie thus they couldn't deliver episodes on time. The show's producer Bill Lawrence says that's a load of crap, saying the episodes have been ready to roll. Lawrence predicts Scrubs will magically pop up on NBC in October, and Eliot will be at a different hospital at least for a while. As far as guest stars go, look for Braff's lady Mandy Moore to make an appearance as well as possibly John Cusack.

Source: Chicago Tribune

Oscar winner Charlize Theron joins the critically acclaimed Arrested Development at the start of season 3 for a five-episode arc. She will play a British woman who is the love interest of Michael (Jason Bateman). She will debut in the second episode of the season on September 19th. Theron has recently wrapped production on much talked about Aeon Flux and will star in this fall's release North Country.

Source: CNN

According to the New York Post, Michael Vaughn may not be Sydney Bristow's resident boy toy for much longer. The paper reports he shot his final scenes last week though the show's producers have failed to confirm this. A web site has been setup by fans of Vartan (www.mvcampaign.com) to try to save Vaughn from getting the ax. Factor this in with Jenny's pregnancy, and we could be in for a onslaught of changes this season. Catch all the action and excitement on ABC Thursday, September 29 8/7c.

Source: IMDB

You heard it right from the horses' mouth...er, at least from the horses' stable. Charlie Murphy told TV Guide those exact words. He goes on to say, "I'm disappointed it ended the way it did, but I'm not angry with anybody," he said. "Chappelle's Show was like the Tupac of TV shows. It came out, it got everybody's attention, it was a bright shining star, but it burned out and for some strange reason, it burned out quick." Comedy Central said that the door is always open for Chapelle to return, but their last communication with Chapelle was on June 3rd. Half of the third season had been filmed before Chapelle went on spiritual retreat to South Africa according to Murphy.

Source: CNN

You knew it was coming ever since news sprouted of Affleck knocking up poor Jennifer Garner. So what does that mean? Less bathing suits, less running, less kicking ass -- less fun in other words. They are planning on bringing in a young babe to serve as Sidney's protege. The rumor mill has Rachel Nichols of Fox's the Inside (sizzling Maxim shots) filling the sex quotient for the time being and there is word that a main character will be leaving the show early in the season. Speculation is also running rampant that this will be Alias' last season since ABC has moved the show to the traditional graveyard timeslot of Thursdays at 8 opposite Survivor. Production on season five of Alias is set to begin today.

Source: Yahoo TV

Rumor has it that season 2 of Scrubs will be released on DVD November 15 here in the States and in September for the U.K. These dates have yet to be confirmed by the distributor Buena Vista Home Entertainment. On the syndication front, it is official. Comedy Central has secured all four seasons with expectations of starting rerun broadcasts in the fall of next year.

Source: Scrubs - My Own Personal 'Net Thing

Peter Jennings has said "The Daily Show, when it's ruthless and outraged and hilarious, which is a lot of the time, says things that the rest of the media only say in their newsrooms." Ted Koppel worries how many viewers are getting their news from the Daily Show -- that comment is pointed right at you 18 to 24 year olds. Regardless which side of the aisle you fall on, Stewart and company have caused a fundamental shift in the news paradigm. In a day when more people seek out their news from alternative news sources, the Daily Show is a refreshing take on the stuffy genre. This week shows the release of the 3-disk DVD set Indecision 2004, which is a collection of their coverage 2004 presidential election. Witty, biting and funny, this was some of the crew's best work and shows old news can still be relevant if packaged correctly.

Source: Toledo Blade

Michelle Rodriguez in all her sexy buffness will become the latest fixture on Lost. The alluring beauty from guilty pleasure flicks like Blue Crush, the Fast and the Furious and the indie fare of Girlfight will become a regular castaway on the ABC hit series next season. While it isn't certain how Rodriguez will factor into the cast, speculation has been fueling that the passengers that were sitting in the back portion of the plane have yet to be uncovered.

Read the full article at CTV.ca and pre-order your copy of Lost: Season 1 today.

With rumors floating around concerning the possibility of McMahon taking on the role of 007 and the ominous ending of last season's Nip/Tuck where he was about to get carved up like a turkey, McMahon insists that he is still onboard Nip/Tuck.

In response to Christian Troy fighting for his life at the hands of the Carver, McMahon replied "They tried to kill me off about 150 times in my previous show Charmed, so this is nothing to worry about."

Read the short news release at contactmusic.com. Catch season 3 of Nip/Tuck on FX this September and look for McMahon as Dr. Doom in the movie adaptation of the Fantastic Four hitting theatres July 8th.

Monday night the quirky hit drama, Six Feet Under, will be premiering for the last time on HBO. After four seasons, the Fisher lives are drawing to a close. So will Nate and Brenda find stable love? Are the men in white coats and butterfly nets going to take George away? Is Claire really going to get involved with Billy? Entertainment Weekly looks to bring us up to speed on the most interesting plot twists of the funeral home family before the new season begins.

Read the full article here and be sure to tune in Monday night at 9pm on HBO.

The brusque chef who inspired Seinfeld's "Soup Nazi" episode is franchising across North America, but don't expect the rude New York treatment at the hundreds of planned take-out soup outlets.

Franchisees from Princeton to Toronto won't shout "No soup for you!" at customers. They'll be "strongly discouraged" from mentioning the "Soup Nazi" or comedian Jerry Seinfeld, whom chef Al Yeganeh claims he made famous.

Yeganeh and his partners aim to franchise 1,000 outlets at shopping mall food courts, airport kiosks and other high-traffic U.S. and Canadian locations within seven years; they've signed deals for 123 so far, with the first slated to open in Ridgewood this summer.

Read the full article at Newsday.

The Daily Show regular will star each night in The Colbert Report, likely starting in September. Comedy Central is revamping its schedule, recognizing that late-night programming is essentially prime time for its youthful audience.

"He'll be a very well-intentioned, poorly informed, high-status idiot, not unlike some people who have these shows in the real world," Colbert said.

Besides lampooning O'Reilly, the king of the cable TV opinion shows, he's sending up people such as Sean Hannity, Joe Scarborough and Anderson Cooper, he said.

Read the full article at CNN.

In a surprise announcement Wednesday, Comedy Central announced that the highly anticipated third season of Dave Chappelle's will not make its May 31 premiere date.

No official reason was given for the shutdown, but sources told E! News that Chappelle has been MIA from the set for weeks.

Read the full article at Yahoo.

Past his usual day gig as J.D on "Scrubs" and continuing to revel in the success of his directorial/writing debut Garden State, Zach got Punk'd. Donald Faison covered his brand new car in graffiti. Oh man, how I would have liked to have seen his face when he saw that. He is also taking the reigns on Gavin Degraw's new video "Chariot". He has a new movie ready to shoot this spring called Last Kiss which I hear Rachel McAdams (the Notebook) is set to co-star. The episode of Arrested Development that Braff guest stars in airs April 10th. He also weighs in on the Flech rumors circulating on the Internet. Whew, boy is certainly busy.

Read the full post at Zach Braff's Garden State blog.

To the relief of "Nip/Tuck" devotees everywhere, writer/creator Ryan Murphy has signed on for another two seasons with the critically acclaimed program. There had been a lot of speculation swirling about concerning Murphy's return given ample interest for him to work on feature films instead. He is currently set to write and direct an adaptation of the book Running with Scissors. He said that following the massive response to the Carver finale last season he decided there were more stories he needed to tell.

Read the full article at E! International.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A promising young boxer who got the break of a lifetime when he was selected by NBC's upcoming reality TV program, The Contender, committed suicide.

Read the whole Sports Illustrated article.

There appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel concerning the "Scrubs" DVD release for season 1. It has been confirmed that Buena Vista will be releasing the 4-disk set (including all 24 episodes) on May 17th which according to the press release will include "a host of great bonus features including some never-before-seen dream sequences and a fascinating retrospective documentary." More time rummaging around in JD's head. Sweetness!

Pre-order your copy of season 1 at Barnes and Noble now.

HBO's "Six Feet Under" and Showtime's "Queer as Folk" will both be closing the door to their lives following their upcoming season. Starting its fifth season early this summer, "Queer as Folk" has rightfully run its course. Starting as a cutting edge unflinching look at gay life in Pittsburgh, it has drifted from its defining storylines and raw look at life as a gay male and become somewhat stagnant and neutered in the past couple of seasons. Though it has been lacking something of late, it has remained the best show for fostering tolerance and educating heterosexual America on gay lifestyle that doesn't pander to traditional stereotypes, as is often the case in network television. The Emmy winning "Six Feet Under" is still firing on all cylinders approaching its fifth season. The funeral home based family business of Fisher and Sons has never failed to serve up innovative, quirky storylines and to emotionally dig its fingers into its viewers. It is still the finest drama on television today and will leave a considerable void that won't be easily filled. It will start its final 12-episode arc this June.

Zach Braff, one of our favorite up and comers, will be making an appearance on the critically acclaimed series, "Arrested Development." According to his "Garden State" Blog (he's still updating it!) he just shot a small part last week. Sorry, no word on air date.