TV Squad

Stand up comedians Lavell Crawford and Ralphie May might be starring in an 'Odd Couple' situation comedy for Comedy Central, but the two have more in common than Oscar Madison and Felix Unger ever did.

They both worked as cooks in their pre-stand-up career: Ralphie as a chef in several four star restaurants and Lavell as a short-order cook. Both were born and raised and live in the South: Ralphie is from Chattanooga, Tenn. and lives in Nashville and Lavell lives in his native homeland of St. Louis, Mo. And, yes, there is that one painfully obvious similarity. They're also two successful, edgy and hilarious comedians who have worked in an untold number of clubs and theaters and competed on NBC's 'Last Comic Standing.'

The two already sound like the perfect sitcom pair and they don't even have a script yet for their multi-camera Comedy Central sitcom 'Brothers from Another Mother.' Check out our interview with Crawford and May about how their sitcom is coming along, why they chose to do a show with a live studio audience and how they hope to help TV comedies grow a pair.

(S04E04) I don't know why, but something told me this episode was going to be about oxygen, and I don't mean the cable network. That said, we did get the women of Eureka taking more of a center stage role this week, for better or worse. Even more fun, we got to check in with Zoe (Jordan Hinson) to see both how she's handling college, and if anything's changed with her in the new timeline.

Jamie Kennedy ('Ghost Whisperer') flexed his acting chops -- if that means playing basically the same character as he did on 'Ghost Whisperer,' only as a scientist -- in a typically 'Eurekian' guest spot. It's always fun seeing who they can convince to come over for some of the fun. Next week promises Allison Scagliotti, in character from 'Warehouse 13,' for a crossover episode.

But first, it's a "soap box derby" race to the moon. Oh yeah, this is definitely the 'Eureka' we all know and love.

Among the well-known faces who appeared on the first season of VH1's heartbreaking reality series 'Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew,' one looked especially familiar. But his body, formerly so agile, resembled that of a hunched-over (albeit youngish-looking) old man. It was the once-vibrant 'Taxi' actor Jeff Conaway, who looked like he's had a rough time of it since his glory days. Sadly, his first season on the show was torturous, and he returned for season 2 to combat drug addiction once again after a number of surgeries.

For three seasons now, doctor-to-the-stars Drew Pinsky has helped everyone from former wrestlers to adult film stars kick their destructive drug habits, some attempts more successful than others. Conaway's is just one of many ongoing recovery stories resulting from the show.

Here's tonight's lineup of new shows and events (all times Eastern). Check your local TV listings for additional information.

* = Series/Season Premiere
** = Series/Season Finale

Remember the made-for-TV movie? Well, it is alive and thriving on the cable outlets. Tonight, three channels offer original television movies for your enjoyment.

8:00 to 9:00
FOX: 'Cops'
NBC: 'Persons Unknown'
Univision: 'Sabado Gigante' -- Three hours
Animal Planet: 'Last Chance Highway'
DIY: 'Dream House' -- 8:30 start
Nick: 'Big Time Rush' -- 8:30 start
TLC: 'Best Food Ever'

The rest of the schedule after the jump.

It's hard to keep up with everything on the Internet -- trust us, we know. In an effort to simplify your lives, we're presenting you with the best Web finds of the week all in one convenient place: this post!

This week in Internet fun: Steve Carell and Zach Galifanakis have an emotional exchange, the best of Snooki and more.

Comedians may be quick to make jokes at the expense of others but it's always easier to dish it out than to take it. Take a look at this emotional exchange between Steve Carell and Zach Galifanakis when both push each other too far.

Welcome to the Soap Round-Up, our weekly recap of all the soap action this past week. Each week, we sum up all the best stories from each and every soap, from 'All My Children' to 'The Young and the Restless.'

If you don't want to know what aired already, consider this a SPOILER ALERT. ... Oh, one last thing, please comment and join the conversation.

For instance, what do think of the latest from 'General Hospital,' with Franco faking his own death and stealing Elizabeth and Nikolas' baby? What kind of a sick, evil nut case is he? Share your thoughts in the comments below ...

Procedurals are a dime a dozen on primetime, but NBC is hoping to capture audiences with two new crime/legal dramas that -- according to the casts and producers at the TCA press tour -- will offer brand new perspectives on an already crowded genre.

First up was 'Outlaw,' a series starring Jimmy Smits as Supreme Court Justice Cyrus Garza, who retires his gavel to take on controversial cases from the other side of the bench. Then (after a delicious dessert break courtesy of 'Top Chef') NBC introduced 'Chase,' a Texas-based drama about a team of U.S. Marshals. Join us after the jump for highlights from both panels.

We critics are a sensitive bunch. We try to think like the audiences who will watch the shows we review, and try to pick out what we think people may like or dislike. But often we're wrong, mainly because we forget that, through it all, it's our opinion that we're writing here.

I mention this because 'Outsourced' came to the TCA press tour in the same situation as CBS's 'Mike & Molly' did two days ago. Critics threw questions at the producers about 'Mike & Molly' being one long fat joke. Today, producers Ken Kwapis and Robert Borden basically got the same questions, only about the fact that many thought the 'Outsourced' pilot was one long Indian joke.

They insisted it wasn't, even though there's three different jokes about the name "Manmeet." It's a workplace comedy at its core, they say, one that will point out the cultural differences between the U.S. and India. And they swear the cultural humor will cut both ways.

Her CBS show might've been cancelled, but Jennifer Love Hewitt's career shows no sign of slowing down. The former 'Ghost Whisperer' star has one highly rated Lifetime movie, 'The Client List,' under her belt, and now TV Guide is reporting that she'll guest on the Sept. 29 episode of 'Law & Order: SVU.'

Executive producer Neal Baer told the magazine that J. Love will be playing a rape victim who is so scarred by her attacks that she is afraid to leave her house.

It's official: Paul Lee is the new head of ABC Entertainment Group.

"I'm proud of everything we achieved at ABC Family, and I'm looking forward to working with another great team at ABC Entertainment Group to bring even more compelling stories to viewers," Lee said in a statement. "ABC is a great network defined by creativity and known for delivering some of the best shows on television. I'm excited to be part of it, and deeply honored to be chosen for the unique opportunity to lead the network and the brand into the future."

Disney made the announcement via press release.

Lee served as head of ABC Family since 2004. He helped usher in original programming such as 'The Secret Life of the American Teenager,' 'Greek,' Kyle XY' and 'Pretty Little Liars.'

Lee will not serve as presidents of both networks. His replacement at ABC Family will be named at a later date.

In other TV news ...

'Jersey Shore' premiered last night to its highest ratings yet, and today the show is getting another publicity boost. TMZ is reporting that breakout star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi was arrested this afternoon in Seaside Heights, N.J. for disorderly conduct.

Though there are photos of the handcuffed star being escorted by police, there is no word on what led to the arrest.

After the triumphant ending of 'Lost' and the ignominious flame-out of 'Heroes,' you'd think that audiences would no longer be in the mood to buy into a complicated, serialized drama that -- most of the time -- ends up asking more questions than providing answers.

That seemed to be the mood in the room at 'The Event' panel at TCA as the producers of the new NBC series were peppered with questions from critics about the complicated nature of the pilot. It's an intricate story, with flashbacks that explain a particular scene in the present, lots of characters to keep track of, and finally the "Holy crap" moment at the end that's the actual event of the title.

The presentation of the story will be more linear going forward, however, exploring the relationships between the characters starting from Episode 2. "We're very cognizant of rewarding audience's patience," said executive producer Evan Katz. "We want to keep them hooked but asking other questions (at the same time). We're keeping mysteries open, but we're solving them. In the second episode, we'll clearly answer the two biggest questions in the pilot."

'Law & Order' is dead -- long live 'Law & Order'! Though the veteran show, which producers affectionately refer to as "the mothership," is now officially dearly departed after two decades on the air, creator Dick Wolf is back in the saddle with 'Law & Order: Los Angeles' (or 'LOLA'), and he brought executive producers Rene Balcer and Blake Masters along with cast members Skeet Ulrich and Corey Stoll to discuss the freshman procedural.

The show will premiere on Wed., Sept. 29 at 10PM on NBC. There was no footage to be previewed, so read on for highlights from the panel.

NBC's 'Late Night With Jimmy Fallon' has enjoyed a smooth run so far, but the show is now facing its first major controversy: A male ex-employee is accusing Fallon and his staff of sexual discrimination.

Paul Tarascio, a former stage manager for Fallon, claims he was unjustly demoted after a show executive told him "Jimmy just prefers to take direction from a woman,'' according to E! Online.

What a difference six months makes. In January, with the Leno/Conan mess blowing up all around them, NBC Universal entertainment execs Jeff Gaspin and Angela Bromstad sat before the critics and answered questions as unassuredly as people in their position could be. Gaspin, who had just been inserted in his job, tried to be honest about the fiasco and their mistakes, but really couldn't talk about how the network's future would look.

Now, though, with a development season under their belts, both executives took a more confident stance at the TCA press tour, talking about "rebuilding" the network. More on that in a bit.

First some news: '30 Rock' will air a live episode on Oct. 14. 'Parenthood' and 'Outlaw' will premiere early, after the final two episodes of 'America's Got Talent' on Sept. 14 and 15, respectively. Rob Lowe is now a permanent cast member of 'Parks and Recreation.' And there will be guest stars galore on various NBC shows, including Drew Carey on 'Community.' Finally, 'The Apprentice' comes back with a two-hour premiere on Sept. 16.