Fall TV Blog

Encore!

Britney Spears may reprise her successful cameo role as a dippy but adorable receptionist in CBS’s How I Met Your Mother, TVGuide.com reports.

Spears’s first guest appearance on March 25 drew warm reviews from critics and fans — and gave the comedy its highest ratings ever.

For Spears personally, the triumph was a comeback of sorts following her
recent months of turmoil, during which she was hospitalized and father, Jamie, was named co-conservator of her affairs.

According to a show source at the time, Spears “had a lot of fun doing
[Mother] and she even mentioned extending her character. She got along really well with everyone.”

Indeed, her co-star Josh Radnor told PEOPLE earlier: “It pains me to report that on the first day of the shoot, Britney knew her lines better than I knew mine. She’s been great to work with.”

A rep for CBS had no comment.
– Natasha Stoynoff

Monty Brinton/CBS

90210’s West Beverly High School has its first student.

Canadian native Dustin Milligan will play Ethan, who is described as beautiful, likable and a star athlete, all valuable qualities in the elite, star-studded zip code, according to reps from the CW pilot.

Last month, the network fast-tracked a pilot for a spinoff of Beverly Hills, 90210, the popular series about a group of kids living an upscale life. For 10 years starting in 1990, viewers watched the lives unfold for Brandon and Brenda Walsh, Kelly and Dylan and others.

While there is talk of someone from the original cast making an appearance (Tori Spelling told PEOPLE she’d love to be a part of the remake), Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas, who penned the pilot, is bringing a whole new cast of characters to make Beverly Hills their playground.

Earlier, Thomas revealed that the pilot’s premise is about a former graduate of West Beverly who reluctantly returns from the Midwest, with his wife and two children, to become the next school’s principal. The principal’s mother is a former actress who is headed back to rehab.

So far, Milligan, 22, is the first official cast member. He has appeared in several television shows, but most recently appeared in an episode of the CW show Supernatural. –Elaine Aradillas

Michael Caulfield/WireImage

Drama on the set of Gossip Girl! Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum Michelle Trachtenberg isn’t straying far from the CW. The actress just confirmed that she will guest star on at least four episodes of Gossip Girl beginning in May, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Trachtenberg has signed on to play Georgina Sparks — a blast from Serena Van Der Woodsen’s dark past. A troublemaker and a manipulator (even by the Upper East Side crew’s standards), Sparks arrives back in Manhattan from rehab to shake things up. According to the Reporter, Mischa Barton was rumored to be up for the role. –Brian Orloff

Tell us: Is Michelle Trachtenberg right for the role of Georgina?

Jemal Countess/WireImage; Charley Gallay/Getty

Kirstie Alley has signed a deal with Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions to develop television projects — which could include her own daily show.

“Kirstie is a tremendous talent who is incredibly relatable and a true fan favorite,” said Tim Bennett, president of Harpo Productions.

The actress, 57, recently stepped away from her role as an official spokeswoman for Jenny Craig, and announced plans to launch her own weigh-loss brand.

Alley, who notably modeled a bikini The Oprah Winfrey Show after losing 75 lbs., said she hopes her willingness to be honest and open will come together to help her “offer something totally fresh for the television audience.”

Matt Sayles/AP

MTV is joining the search to find America’s next great singing sensation in a new reality competition. But instead of auditioning tens of thousands of people across the country, they’re hedging their bets by selecting contestants with a genetic predisposition for stardom.

Rock the Cradle, which premieres April 3 (10 p.m. EST), will feature the children of rock royals like Bobby Brown, Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, M.C. Hammer and Olivia Newton John.

The show will air live weekly and will have the contestants battle it out in singing competitions to be judged by a mix of celebs and influential people in the music industry.

Here’s a full list of the contestants vying for the top spot on Rock the Cradle:

• Jesse Money, daughter of Eddie Money
• Jesse Blaze Snider, son of Dee Snider
• Lara Johnston, daughter of Tom Johnston of the Doobie Brothers
• A’keiba Burrell-Hammer, M.C. Hammer’s daughter
• Landon Brown (pictured left), son of Bobby Brown
• Lil Al B Sure, R&B singer Al B Sure’s son
• Crosby Loggins, Kenny Loggin’s son
• Chloe Rose Lattanzi, Olivia Newton John’s daughter
• Lucy Walsh (pictured right), daughter of the Eagles‘ Joe Walsh

(more…)

They’ve been together for three years but actress Stacy Keibler tells PEOPLE working with boyfriend Geoff Stults on his show, October Road, was like meeting for the first time.

The former female wrestler and Dancing With the Stars finalist guests on part one of the two-hour March 10 season finale on ABC. Keibler plays Stults’s character Eddie’s ex-girlfriend, Rory, a woman who broke his heart and then comes back into town hoping to rekindle.

“We had our moments where it was kind of awkward,” Keibler, 28, admits. “We had to kiss and both of us were like ‘This is the weirdest thing ever.’ I was so nervous. I had Listerine strips on hand in my backpack for the kissing scene.”

Keibler says if the show is picked up for a third season she is hopeful she will get to reprise that character. Meantime she’s reading scripts (she has a development deal with ABC) and excited about the new season of DWTS.

“DWTS was such a blessing for me,” says Keibler, whose career shifted from pro wrestling to acting (she had recurring roles on ABC’s What About Brian? and George Lopez) after her 2006 ballroom stint. –Monica Rizzo

Danny Feld/ABC

Jamie Lynn Spears is coming to primetime.

The pregnant Zoey 101 star will appear in an episode of the ABC comedy, Miss Guided, premiering March 20 (8 p.m. ET). Judy Greer stars in the sitcom, playing a formerly awkward high school student who returns to her alma mater all grown up — and as a guidance counselor. Spears will appear in the premiere episode, called “Hot Sub,” as Mandy Ferner, a troubled student who gets some exciting news from college, according to ABC.

The show will also feature another big guest star: Ashton Kutcher, who executive-produced the sitcom, will play the titular hot sub — a Spanish teacher and a possible romantic interest for Greer’s character.

As a midseason addition to the schedule, Miss Guided was filmed in October after Spears wrapped Zoey 101 — but before the young actress announced her pregnancy.
– Brian Orloff

Francis Specker/Landov

For Celebrity Apprentice, that is. The one-time Apprentice reject and Kiss lead singer are among the 14 celebs—of varying rungs on the celeb ladder —who will compete to win cash for their favorite charities on the first-ever celeb edition of Donald Trump’s reality series.

Debuting Jan. 3 on NBC, the show will pit the celebs against each other in weekly tasks, where they can win cash for their charities, with the ultimate winner getting a $250,000 prize to donate. How were the celebs chosen for the show?

“These people have all done something very dramatic with money,” says The Donald, who once again will have daughter Ivanka and son Donald Jr. join him in the boardroom to judge the contestants.
(more…)

Laila Ali, third-place finisher in ABC’s Dancing with the Stars last season and current undefeated World Super Middleweight Boxing Champion, is entering a different kind of ring next year. Ali, 29, will join Hulk Hogan as co-host of NBC’s American Gladiators, PEOPLE has confirmed.

“It’s an honor to be reintroducing this American classic to a new generation of fans,” Ali said. Although she competed on DWTS, this will be the first time Ali has ever co-hosted a TV series.

In the new version of American Gladiators, set to air in mid-season, eight new gladiators equally divided by gender will face everyday folks ready to take them on in unique challenges.

This past July, Ali married retired NFL star Curtis Conway in the rose garden of the Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey, Calif. She lost out to Apolo Anton Ohno and Joey Fatone in the fourth season of Dancing with the Stars; she was partnered with pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy. —Cynthia Wang

Photo: Mark Von Holden/WireImage; DR / Retna