[nicofiend]

But no gun . Let's news.

Tyler Perry

Tyler Perry has written, produced and starred in two surprise hit movies in the past couple of years, and he's now hoping to take that success to television.

The "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" creator is working with syndication company Debmar-Mercury to launch a sitcom called "Tyler Perry's House of Payne." The show, which had a test run in a few cities earlier this year, will launch on TBS in June 2007 and move into broadcast syndication the following year on a handful of FOX-owned stations.

The show, about a multi-generational family sharing the same house, has been in production for a while, and Perry expects to have a library of 100 episodes before the show even premieres on TBS.

"For a creator, you couldn't ask for a better opportunity," Perry says. "With TBS and FOX committed to 100 episodes of my series, I can concentrate on telling great stories and producing the best series possible."

Syndicated sitcoms are a rarity in TV, but Perry's track record with "Diary" and this year's "Madea's Family Reunion" helped sell "House of Payne." The series stars Allen Payne ("The Perfect Storm"), LaVan Davis, Cassi Davis ("Madea's Family Reunion") and Rochelle Aytes ("White Chicks"). Perry will write and direct episodes and executive produce the series.

Following its premiere on TBS next year, the show will debut on FOX-owned stations in New York, Houston, Washington and Dallas, as well as independent station WCIU in Chicago in the summer of 2008. The four FOX stations are part of the new MyNetwork TV, which launches in the fall.


ER

Forest Whitaker and Kenneth Johnson, whose characters' fates on "The Shield" were intertwined last season, will each make the move to network TV this fall.

Whitaker, along with "Love, Inc." star Busy Philipps, will have a recurring part on NBC's long-running hospital drama "ER" in the coming season. Johnson, meanwhile, will appear in multiple episodes of "Cold Case," continuing a part he played in last season's finale.

Whitaker will appear in five episodes of "ER," starting in October, as a man who comes to County General with an apparently benign cough, according to The Hollywood Reporter. His condition goes south quickly, however, when he suffers a paralyzing stroke.

In addition to "ER," Whitaker will appear in at least the first two episodes of "The Shield's" next season as dogged/obsessed Internal Affairs Lt. Jon Kavanaugh. The FX series is due to return in early 2007.

Philipps, meanwhile, will play an intern whose on-the-job training isn't going so well. She starred in UPN's sitcom "Love, Inc." last season and was a regular on "Freaks and Geeks."

Johnson, whose "Shield" character, Curtis "Lemonhead" Lemansky, was murdered in last season's finale, will continue a role he originated in May's third-season finale. He'll be playing a love interest for the show's lead character, Detective Lilly Rush (Kathryn Morris).

In other casting news, "Brick" star Nora Zehetner will appear in multiple episodes of NBC's new drama "Heroes" as a struggling New York actress. Zehetner also had a recurring part on "Everwood," playing Coma Boy Colin's sister. At CBS, David Gallagher ("7th Heaven") will guest on two episodes of "Numb3rs," and Lisa Vidal ("The Division," "Third Watch") will have a recurring part as an FBI agent on the new series "Smith."


People bitch about Survivor

The political backlash against the sorting of players on "Survivor" by race has begun.

Members of the New York City Council's Black, Latino and Asian Caucus are calling on CBS, which airs the unscripted series, to dump "Survivor: Cook Islands," which is scheduled to premiere Thursday, Sept. 14. The show's 20 contestants will be divided by ethnicity -- African-American, Caucasian, Hispanic and Asian-American -- at the start of the game.

"We are going to call on CBS to pull the plug on this," Robert Jackson, co-chair of the caucus, tells the New York Post. "Is this going to help to bring people together? I don't think so."

John Liu, another caucus member, calls the plan "plain stupid."

CBS announced its plans for the newest "Survivor" on Wednesday, and the reaction to the segregation has been largely negative -- even within the network. Harry Smith, who helped unveil the players on "The Early Show" that morning, told "Survivor" host Jeff Probst he was "dismayed" at the idea.

The network, however, doesn't seem likely to pull "Survivor" from the airwaves.

"CBS fully recognizes the controversial nature of this format but has full confidence in the producers and their ability to produce the program in a responsible manner," the network says in a statement. "'Survivor' is a program that is no stranger to controversy and has always answered its critics on the screen."


Six Degrees

ABC's new series "Six Degrees" will be getting more than just a lead-in from "Grey's Anatomy." It's also getting one of that show's producers, at least temporarily.

Peter Horton, an executive producer of "Grey's Anatomy," is headed to New York to lend a hand on "Six Degrees," the showbiz trade papers report. He'll work with the show's writers and producers for the next month or so and may receive a credit as a consulting producer.

"Six Degrees," which will follow "Grey's Anatomy" on Thursday nights this fall, focuses on six New Yorkers whose lives are intertwined, despite the fact that they don't know one another. It was created by "Elektra" writers Stu Zicherman and Raven Metzner and is executive produced by J.J. Abrams. Like "Grey's," it's a product of ABC's Disney sibling, Touchstone TV.

According to the trades, ABC has been a little concerned about the show's direction in its early episodes. Production stopped for a week earlier this month, and Jace Alexander, a co-exec producer and director, has left the series.

Horton, a former star of "thirtysomething," has been with "Grey's Anatomy" from the beginning, directing the show's first two episodes (and several more since) and serving as an exec producer alongside creator Shonda Rhimes. He's also working with Rhimes on a pilot about a group of female journalists.

His directing credits also include "The Shield," "Line of Fire" and "Once and Again."

"Six Degrees," which stars Campbell Scott, Hope Davis, Erika Christensen and Bridget Moynihan, is scheduled to premiere Thursday, Sept. 21, following the season premiere of "Grey's Anatomy."


Another person for 24

Harry Lennix, who co-starred on ABC's "Commander In Chief" last season, is joining another show in which the White House plays a role.

Lennix, whose credits also include the "Matrix" sequels, has signed on to a recurring part on "24," according to The Hollywood Reporter. The FOX series has also added Steven Schub and Adoni Maropis to this season's crop of bad guys.

At ABC, meanwhile, "Everybody Loves Raymond" creator Phil Rosenthal will step in front of the camera for a recurring part on the network's new comedy "Help Me Help You," Variety reports.

Just where Lennix will fit into the season six story on "24" remains to be seen. FOX has revealed that David Palmer's brother Wayne (D.B. Woodside, who's now a regular on the show) is the president, and star Kiefer Sutherland has said that Jack Bauer will be trying to save his own skin as well as the world.

Lennix played White House Chief of Staff Jim Gardner on "Commander In Chief." He's also appeared on "House" and "The Practice" and in the films "Ray" and "Collateral Damage."

Schub's credits include "E-Ring" and "The Thirteenth Floor," while Maropis has been seen on "Angel" and in the films "Hidalgo" and "Troy."

On "Help Me Help You," which centers on a psychologist (Ted Danson) with issues of his own, Rosenthal will play a colleague whom Danson's Bill Hoffman turns to when he needs help. Variety says Jane Lynch ("Talladega Nights") and Jonathan Katz ("Dr. Katz") will also play therapists.

Rosenthal originally set out to be an actor but turned to writing some years ago. He does have some on-camera experience, with a role in the film "Spanglish" and a guest appearance on "Curb Your Enthusiasm" to his name.



And sigh, now that midget week is over, you would think that I would nothing to look forward to. But, YOU'RE WRONG people. This week, it's a somewhat forum-wide event we like to call "Offensive week". So sit back and enjoy. Later.