30 Rock is pulling in the big names for their upcoming season (which begins October 30th). Jennifer Aniston was just shooting an episode (pictured), Will Arnett is also reprising his Devin Banks role, and now word is coming in that Oprah Winfrey herself will even be making an appearance. E! reports that the episode "is tentatively set to air Nov. 6. According to reliable insiders, the initial plan (subject to change) is that she will......

Former NYC public defender and current Seton Hall Law professor David Feige co-created, along with veteran producer Steven Bochco, the new TNT drama, Raising the Bar (premiering tonight), about Manhattan public defenders. Feige told the AP he was relieved to finally blast myths that defenders are "schlubby, disillusioned, generally incompetent people who can’t get other jobs. The reality is that my Bronx office hired people from Harvard and Yale" And the office was "in a......

File this one under: should have seen it coming. Robert Burck, better known as The Naked Cowboy, has landed his very own reality television series. The busker who has made his way up to a tourist attraction, donning underwear and a guitar in Times Square, will host an American Idol-type show, The NY Post reports. He'll judge other buskers in an attempt to find the world's greatest street musician (ahem, besides himself, naturally). Burck said,......

A decade after leaving the airwaves, Seinfeld is coming back...as a bio-diesel fueled bus. Hitting a highway or parking lot near you this fall: The Seinfeld Campus Tour. They've mapped out about 10,000 miles, with the bus stopping at college campuses in an effort to bring the Seinfeld experience to "the 70 million-strong millennial generation." Fact: Seinfeld went off the air a decade ago, when current college freshman were about, oh, 7 years old...though undoubtedly......

Looks like The Real World's latest cast has finally settled in to their Red Hook digs. NewYorkology spotted the seven strangers as they left their new residence at Pier 41, "they were heading toward Sunny’s, but instead made the turn, map, toward Van Brunt, with the Ikea straight ahead down Beard Street." They can have their IKEA; just stay away from Sunny's! Anyway, this could very well be their first Friday night in town...you've all......

Starting this September the History Channel will be airing their new series, Sandhogs. The eleven episodes will focus on the people and the projects that maintain New York City's infrastructure, from the past to the present. They say, "For more than 150 years, a legendary band of mostly unknown urban miners has toiled in obscurity far below the streets of New York. They are the builders of water and sewage tunnels, subway systems and bridge......

The Observer points out a new program coming to Showtime -- turns out the network has a New York-based series in the works called Studio. "The show is less about the history of Studio 54 than it is about New York in the late '70s, what people were going through, the political and social issues. Studio 54 is the backdrop for exploring that." While a Steve Rubell character is planned for the cast, "the rest......

Verizon has entered the cable TV game today, providing an alternative to Time Warner and Cablevision in select neighborhoods. For $94.99, the current promotional deal for FiOS includes unlimited local and long-distance phone service, an Internet connection of 20 megabits per second and a television package that includes 100 high-definition channels. But according to the Times, the company’s expansion could be hindered by some 65,000 Verizon workers who are threatening to strike for higher wages,......

Photo courtesy jth10036. Notice anything unusual about this photo? If you were riding in the back of this cab you might immediately realize – as you reflexively move to liberate yourself from the tyranny of ubiquitous commercial television – that there is actually no way to turn the bloody thing off! The reader who sent us this photo wonders if this is the beginning of a new trend, or at least a stepping stone to......

While MTV is keeping mum on the whereabouts of the upcoming Real World Brooklyn location, the borough is all wise to the fact that they're setting up camp in Red Hook (after not moving to Carroll Gardens or Downtown's BellTel Lofts). The Brooklyn Paper asked some residents how they felt about their new future neighbors, who will reside at Pier 41 at 204 Van Dyke Street.“I’d rather have another Ikea,” said John Varonian, who has......

Has a Jimmy Fallon-hosted Late Night reality sunk in yet? Well, it's happening, and the ex-SNL cast member will be getting a head start by popping up at a URL near you sometime soon. The NY Times reports that "Lorne Michaels has decided to try to get a jump on things by starting NBC’s next edition of Late Night, with its new host Jimmy Fallon, as a nightly entry on the Internet." The web performances......

Just when the iPod jingle got out of your head, it's back! Feist stopped by Sesame Street to sing a new version of her song "1 2 3 4" to Elmo & Co. The episode featuring the Canadian songstress will premiere on August 11th, but you can watch the video here. Other celebs who will be stopping by the Street during the 39th season include: Will Arnett, Jessica Alba, David Beckham, Heidi Klum, Neil Patrick......

All signs pointed to Ugly Betty taking over DUMBO today (remember, this 3rd season the show has moved filming to New York), and even though the show infiltrated the cobblestone streets, no one really noticed in the sweet shadow of the Van Leeuwan Ice Cream Truck. For fans of Betty, here are some scenes that confused onlookers were treated to...the cast and crew should be out there til around 9 p.m. tonight. America Fererra, Becki......

If you're a Law & Order fan and happen to be home this afternoon, you might want to watch or DVR the only Law & Order movie, Exiled. The two-hour 1998 effort, airing on TNT at 5 p.m. as part of its traditional July 4th L&O; marathon, features a demoted Detective Mike Logan on patrol duty on Staten Island, his punishment after punching out a politician in his final episode on regular L&O.; Not only......

The revolving door of Law & Order universe rotates again. Producers of Law & Order: Criminal Intent announced Chris Noth is leaving and Jeff Goldblum will be joining the show. Producers and Noth describe the decision as mutual. Executive producer Dick Wolf said, "Chris has been a member of the 'Law & Order' family since the beginning, and Mike Logan is one of the most popular detectives in the history of television." And Noth told......

Michaela McManus, Fordham graduate who was recently on One Tree HIll, is going to be the new ADA on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Producer Dick Wolf said he looked forward to creating "another interesting and memorable character in the Law & Order universe." Previous ADA Casey Novak (played by Diane Neal) left because of her over-aggressive tactics to nail a suspect and the ADA before that, Alexandra Cabot (played by Stephanie March), went......

NBC News just announced that retired Nightly News anchor and eminence grise Tom Brokaw will moderate "Meet the Press" through the 2008 election. NBC News president Steve Capus said, "A lot has been said in recent days about what 'Meet the Press' means to NBC News and to the nation. To have someone of Tom's stature step up and dedicate himself to ensuring its ongoing success is not only a testament to his loyalty to......

Photo of Dutch fans in Basel, Switzerland, by Matt Dunham, AP The European Cup soccer tournament heads into the quarterfinals this weekend and it's shaping up to be one of the most exciting and highest-rated international tournaments in some time. For those who contend that soccer is too boring to watch, one should try watching it surrounded by football fanatics who can not only clue you in on the finer parts of the game,......

Footage of Fidel Castro was released yesterday, showing the former Cuban president visiting with Venezulan President Hugo Chavez and his young brother Raul Castro, who now rules Cuba. Per CBS News:A thin but animated Castro, dressed in an open-neck track suit over pajamas, is seen in a spirited conversation with the other two men in an unidentified garden setting. There is no audio, but the government news anchor said the three were discussing the......

The weekend was filled with tributes to the late NBC News journalist, Tim Russert. New York State lawmakers, including Senators Schumer and Clinton, announced yesterday that they are going to introduce a resolution to rename part of U.S. Route 20 after Russert. The section they want to rename runs in front of the Buffalo Bills' stadium--Russert grew up in Buffalo and was an unabashed fan of the Bills, as well as the Sabres. His favorite......

The sudden death of Tim Russert, NBC News Washington bureau chief and Meet the Press moderator, shook the media and political communities as well as the many faithful viewers of Meet the Press yesterday. Last night's NBC Nightly News was completely about Russert's career and legacy, as a journalist, friend and family man. MSNBC spent the evening remembering Russert; Fox News and CNN also spent considerable time remembering him. Tomorrow's edition of Meet the......

Reports say that NBC News Washington Bureau Chief and host of Meet the Press Tim Russert has died. It's believed he had a heart attack. A source told the NY Post he collapsed in the Washington Bureau. NBC News now confirms Russert's death and says he was recording voiceovers for Sunday's Meet the Press. The NY Times reports that at 3:39 p.m., retired anchor Tom Brokaw went on the air to announce Russert's death.“Our beloved......

On June 15, 1948, WPIX signed on as the second independent television station in the city from studios in the Daily News Building on 42nd Street. (The first, WATV signed on a month earlier and eventually became WNET in 1961.) Like stations in many other cities, it was owned by a newspaper, in this case the Daily News and its then corporate parent the Tribune Company (the paper was sold off in 1991). The call......

Breathe a sigh of relief Carroll Gardens, The Real World's newest seven strangers won't be moving in to your neighborhood after all -- the original report of the cast heading to Downtown Brooklyn is now confirmed. Their keys will open the door to a 6,000-square-foot, two-story penthouse in the BellTel Lofts (video); and while that's a lot of square-footage for a New York abode, it's still the smallest home in Real World history. The loft......

This installment of NY1’s Today in New York City History aired ten years ago today (a Tuesday for those keeping score at home). Now thanks to someone randomly taping this back then and YouTube it is preserved in digital amber. In the twenty five second piece there was room for only two historical tidbits - the cornerstone of City Hall being laid in 1803 (it is the oldest continuously used City Hall in the country)......

Photo of Chuck and Sue at work by author Fans of Chuck Scarborough and Sue Simmons won’t have to stay up to 11 p.m. to see the long time anchor team together. WNBC will also have the team anchoring back at 6 p.m. starting next week. Simmons will also be moving back into her seemingly traditional 5 p.m. slot anchoring with David Ushery who will be displaced from the 6 p.m. newscast. Scarborough will......

One more reason not to watch television, coming soon to a TV near you! amNewYork is reporting that "two of television's most recognizable voices (to put it very, very, very mildly and kindly) are coming together: Rosie O'Donnell and Fran Drescher." The sitcom will be Manhattan-based and called The New Thirty; geared at the midlife crisis-set, the two will play old high school friends living in the same apartment building. Drescher described it as being......

A prostitution ring named Excalibur! Hookers! Puns about men with big swords! A NY Governor who uses a hooker! Federal authorities who hate the governor! And a blog that gossips about the Manhattan DA! Law & Order stacked the deck last night in its season finale, by trying to involve murder, rising gold prices, Governor Spitzer's dalliances, and back room politics in one episode. In case you missed the show, there's a 2-minute "replay"......

Tonight, in the 18th season finale of Law & Order (NBC, 10 p.m.), the detectives investigate the murder of a jeweler whose brother-in-law runs an illegal prostitution ring called The Excalibur Club. And in true ripped-from-the-headlines fashion, one of Excalibur's VIP clients is NY Governor Donald Shalvoy (guess "Schmelliot Schmitzer" didn't really sound that good). According to the AP, the fact that a governor is involved "creates a quandary for District Attorney Jack McCoy,......

What part of Brooklyn will MTV's newest seven strangers inhabit when their show "The Real World” moves in this summer? The Brooklyn Paper reports that they may move into the BellTel Lofts (pictured) located Downtown...and decidedly "unhip." Allegedly MTV has scouted the penthouse units at the Bridge Street building, which is still under construction.Executive Producer Jim Johnston confirmed that he has looked at the building, though he would not say if a lease has been......