Fall TV Blog

Fans were shocked by Grey’s Anatomy’s sudden decision to fire Brooke Smith (who plays Dr. Erica Hahn). Turns out, costar Patrick Dempsey was just as caught off-guard.

“ABC actually sends me over what I should [say] …,” he tells Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show Wednesday.

So what’s the official spin?

“ABC’s response … is that [I] should say: ‘We’ve had a great time working with her and that the conclusion of her [character] has been orgasmic’ — I’m sorry, I’m dyslexic! — ‘organic’ ending to the story line.’ “

Some have argued that Smith was axed because of her character’s developing relationship with Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez).

Grey’s Anatomy’s creator, Shonda Rhimes, previously released a
statement insisting that “Brooke Smith was obviously not fired for playing a lesbian.”

“Thursday night is her last show, which is too bad she has been great character,” McDreamy continues. “I don’t know what happened with that story line. They decided not to continue it for some reason.” – Kate Stroup

Chad Buchanan/Getty

Are you ready for some Melrose?

The CW, the network that modernized Beverly Hills, 90210 with a fresh 90210 this season, is working on creating a new version of that show’s original spin-off, Melrose Place. According to the Hollywood Reporter, a new version of the campy ‘90s soap that put Heather Locklear’s career in high gear is in its very early stages. The network is still in search of a writer for the series.

While the new 90210 has introduced some new faces to the television landscape, the exciting part was seeing the comeback of Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth. Could a new Melrose provide Locklear with yet another comeback? Would Andrew Shue return as Billy? And how great would it be to see Marcia Cross, who’s so cool and collected on Desperate Housewives now, return for cameos as crazy-psycho Dr. Kimberly Shaw Mancini! – Mark Dagostino

Tell us: Would you watch a new version of Melrose? Who would you like to see make a comeback on the new spin-off?

AP

The creators of Project Runway and America’s Next Top Model are debuting Stylista, a new reality competition (Wednesday, 9 p.m., on the CW). But instead of aspiring designers or models, wannabe fashion editors are competing for a spot at Elle magazine. And it’s not going to be easy. The contestants will have to work as fashion assistants and impress the magazine’s tough fashion news director, Anne Slowey, and her stylish staff. Sorta like Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada. They’ll be judged on their personal style, how well the complete challenges (delivering a healthy breakfast to Slowey, preparing a hotel suite for a supermodel) and the pages they create for the magazine. And just like any reality show, there’s no shortage of nastiness on the part of some of the contestants.

Tell us: Will you watch Stylista?

Daisy De La Hoya may have had her heart broken in the season finale of Rock of Love 2, when Poison frontman Bret Michaels picked Ambre Lake, but the tattooed former stripper may have the last laugh.

While Bret and Ambre have called it quits, blaming their busy schedules, Daisy is getting back in the game on a new VH1 show called Daisy of Love, premiering spring 2009.

She is “determined to find her one man who will rock her world,” a press release from VH1 reads. “Daisy is on a quest for true love and this time she is giving her fans the chance to vie for her love and vote to help determine which contestant makes the cut.”

Men willing to vie for Daisy’s heart can log onto daisyoflovecasting.com to upload their profiles and vote for potential contestants.

The profile with the most votes (330 currently) belongs to m1kee26, who says he’s 18 and from Staten Island, N.Y.

“I love to go out and have a great time,” he writes. “I am a fan of all the vh1 reality shows. My favorite so far was I love Money. I enjoy playing basketball, baseball and bowling. I am a liberal arts major and planning on become a Physical Therapist later on.”

Nate, also 18, from State College, Penn., is in a distant second place with 120 votes and writes: “I would love to go on this show and meet Daisy, since I know we’ve both been through a lot. I haven’t had much luck with love in my life, so going on this show and meeting a beautiful woman may be just what I need.”

Tell us: Will you watch Daisy of Love?

Sthanlee B. Mirador/Shooting Star

Is Lauren Conrad losing another friend? Whitney Port is running from The Hills — and she’s headed to the Big Apple.

But there’s no drama here: Port, who interned with Conrad at Teen Vogue and later helped her get a job at People’s Revolution, is working her own MTV reality show, called The City, scheduled to air in the beginning of 2009, the network announced on Thursday.

The new series will follow Port as she settles into her job working for fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg. And the network promises new faces, new friends and new romance.

“I am thrilled and honored to be in New York City,” Port (pictured right in New York’s Central Park) says in a statement. “Not only working for one of the most renowned fashion designers, Diane Von Furstenberg, but to be able to mature as a young woman both professionally and personally.” –Brian Orloff

Tell us: Will you watch Whitney on The City?

Jackson Lee-Tom Meinelt/Splash News Online

Kitchen Nightmares kicked off last night with a two-hour look back at some of last season’s most unfortunate restaurants. Nostalgia and, naturally, star Gordon Ramsay’s fiery temper were key ingredients in the Fox drama. Before the celebrity chef doles out the advice to an all-new set of troubled eateries this season, he visited six especially troubled spots that he schooled last year. But these weren’t just goodwill missions. Ramsay wanted to see if they followed his advice a year out.

So, did they listen? You better believe they did!

Unlike Hell’s Kitchen where Ramsay rages like a grease fire, Kitchen Nightmares casts the Brit in a mentor-like role. But he’s cranky enough to get his point across — and make you fear the possibility of not heeding his sound advice. That’s because ultimately he’s there to teach and support the failing restaurant staff. Think of him as Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’s Ty Pennington with a lot less soul(patch).
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Forget the Hamptons. Blair Waldorf and Serena van der Woodsen, or at least their alter egos, are heading to Rockefeller Center this November.

Blake Lively and Leighton Meester will guest star in an episode of NBC’s 30 Rock during November sweeps, according to EW’s Michael Ausiello. The girls will play old classmates of Tina Fey’s character Liz Lemon during flashback sequences.

The episode will be Lemon’s 20-year high school reunion, and it reveals a teenage Lemon was something of a Gossip Girl herself. Meester’s and Lively’s grown-up versions haven’t been cast yet, but producers are looking at Lively’s older sister Robyn as a possibility.

30 Rock seems to be on a roll with their slate of high-profile guest appearances this season. Jennifer Aniston has been filming her guest spot this week on the NBC hit, her return to the network since Friends ended in 2004. –Emmet Sullivan

STEVE SANDS/NEW YORK NEWSWIRE; Michael Swarbrick/I

Brazilian super model Adriana Lima will break into the fashionable world of Mode magazine when she makes her acting debut on an upcoming episode of Ugly Betty.

“Adriana has always been a huge fan of Ugly Betty and is thrilled for the opportunity to make a guest star appearance,” says Lima’s rep Liza Anderson.

On a future Betty (returning to ABC Sept. 25, 8 p.m. ET), Lima will be hired to pose on the pages of Mode’s “sizzling hot issue” and will work with Betty Suarez (America Ferrera) on a cover story about the virtues of exotic fruit, including the fictional “tico berry,” which the Vicoria’s Secret model — playing herself — will credit as a booster to her sexy appearance.

But in a twist right out of Betty’s madcap world, Lima, 27, will sport a broken finger from a real-life fall she suffered while on vacation in Croatia.

Lima starts filming next week. – Bryan Alexander

Francis Specker/Landov; BOB D’AMICO/ABC

Audrina Patridge gets dramatic on MTV’s reality soap The Hills. She played up her sexy side at Pure Nightclub in Las Vegas where she hosted a Pussycat Dolls show. And she’s set to show off her bikini body in an upcoming sequel to Into the Blue.

And the roles just keeping rolling in. After landing guest spot on an episode of FOX’s new sitcom Do Not Disturb, “MADtv has offered me a guest spot on their show and I’m so excited!” Patridge posted on her official blog. “I can’t wait to show you guys a little bit of my goofy side.”

Patridge is also seeking the advice of her fans ahead of her appearance on the sketch comedy show. “What are some of your favorite sketches?” she asks. “I know the writers are busy working to create a special sketch for me, but I’d love to hear some of your ideas too!”

The new season of MADtv debuts Sept. 13.

Tell us: Do you think Audrina will be able to make you laugh?

Polk Imaging/WireImage

She’s back! Well, she will be soon.

Jennifer Aniston will guest star on an episode of 30 Rock this season, her publicist confirmed to the Associated Press. It will be the actress’s first appearance on an NBC sitcom since Friends went off the air in 2004.

“She is shooting now,” a source tells E! Online. “We are not giving any specifics on her character.”

Aniston, 39, has been taking mostly film roles since Friends wrapped four years ago after 10 seasons. She did appear in one episode of the FX series Dirt, a show about celebrity journalism starring Aniston’s Friends-mate — and real life pal — Courteney Cox, in 2007.

That episode caused a stir when Aniston, who played a lesbian, kissed Cox’s character.

The new season of the Emmy-winning 30 Rock premieres October 30. – Tim Nudd

Carlos Diaz/INF