TVSquad

Jamie-Lynn Sigler is returning to HBO. The actress is set to guest star on the upcoming season of Entourage, playing the challenging role of actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler. Entourage has had a lot of celebrities appear as themselves over the years, ranging from significant (Mandy Moore as Vince's ex) to unremarkable (Kanye West). Fortunately, Sigler will get some significant screen time; her stint will last three episodes.

Details about Sigler's role are available after the jump. Between this news and the return of Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester, season five of Entourage is starting to look pretty darn good.

Here come two more lists of the ten actors and actresses that are finalists for Emmy nominations in the supporting comedy categories. As with the other awards, there are some surprises on the list, and some notable omissions. For the ladies, the headline is that last year's winner, Jaime Pressly (My Name Is Earl), didn't make the cut. Surprise finalists include Conchata Ferrell (Two And A Half Men) and Amy Poehler (Saturday Night Live). I don't mind seeing Conchata on the list because she is consistently funny on the show, but I don't know that there is enough to her role for her to actually garner a nomination when you consider the competition.

On the other side of the coin, the defending champ, Jeremy Piven (Entourage), is back. None of the boys over at SNL managed to make the leap from Variety to Comedy that Poehler did.

Have you been jonesing for the entourage from Entourage? Do you need a little Ari Gold to get your blood flowing? Well, new shows aren't coming back until September (thanks to the writers' strike), but HBO is giving fans a chance to enjoy the most recent shows starting tomorrow, July 4th. Every Friday at 10 p.m. (ET) on, HBO will replay season 3: part 2, and season 4.

That's good to know -- especially in these dog days of summer TV -- but if you want to know what's going to happen next, read on. Both Jerry Ferarra and Kevin Connolly, Turtle and E, got a little chatty with OK! magazine's Oliver Coleman.

If you don't want to know how things are going to unfold in season five, don't read after the jump.

Shortly after the release of 2005's Crash in theaters, I remember reading that a TV series based on the film was in the works. I even pitched the story to a TV trade magazine, but the editor didn't go for it. She must have guessed the show would be years in the works, and she was right.

Three years later, a TV series is finally starting to gain some steam. The Hollywood Reporter just posted a story that five actors have joined the cast of the series produced by Don Cheadle, Paul Haggis (pictured), Mark R. Harris, Robert Moresco, Tom Nunan, and Bob Yari, all of whom were involved with the movie. Produced by Lionsgate, the series is anticipated to premiere on Starz in 2009.

Here's a rundown on the actors who've just signed. It's interesting that most of these folks are not big-name actors, which I find refreshing in an era where many mega-movie stars are crossing over into TV:

It's just good common sense. You get yourself a big time show (Entourage) on a big network (HBO) and then you jump on board with a huge star (Ed Begley Jr?). I'm sure it made more sense in the pitch meeting. Anyway, Entourage star Grenier has a new gig that will be airing on the soon to launch Planet Green channel.

His new show, Alter Eco, will follow his Green Team as they take on environmental projects around Los Angeles. The team includes Boise Thomas, model Angela Lindvall, and Darren Moore. Moore is listed in the linked article as a renovations expert, but I just think of him as the physicist from Twitch City, which is cool enough to get me to tune in at least once. Planet Green, which will also be the home of Begley Jr's Living With Ed, is set to launch on June 4th, with the 13 episode run of Alter Eco premiering June 9th.

As we told you last week, RedEye is in the middle of their annual Best Character on Television tournament, and now we're into the second round. It looks like some strong favorites have emerged, while some fan favorites have been voted off the island.

That wouldn't include Don Draper from Mad Men (who lost to Jermaine and Bret from from Flight of the Conchords), Morgan Grimes from Chuck (who lost to Michael Scott from The Office), or Captain Jack Harkness from Torchwood. He actually lost to Herbert from Family Guy. That has to be embarrassing.

Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester is heading to Los Angeles. According to E!, the actress is set to reprise her guest-starring role on Entourage. Back in season one, Meester played pop singer Justine Chapin in the episodes "The Review" and "Date Night." The character was modeled after a pre-tailspin Britney Spears--a self-professed virgin who happened to have a thing for Vince (Adrian Grenier).

Meester will appear in at least one episode in the first half of the season. Production of season five of Entourage began in April, with a premiere set for September. The show was supposed to return in June, but was delayed by the writers' strike.

File this under the category of do-it-yourself politics. In this YouTube.com era, it was only a matter of time before it happened. MoveOn.org has joined forces with Oscar-winners Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Oliver Stone, multiple Grammy-winner John Legend and author Naomi Wolf to a TV ad contest for Barack Obama. The contest is called "Obama in 30 Seconds," in which Barack supporters are being asked -- challenged -- to come up with half-minute videos that focus on what it is about the Senator from Illinois that inspires them. The winning entry will be shown on national television.

In recent weeks, TV Squad has reported that HBO has made episodes of their new drama series In Treatment available for free viewing online. Now, HBO has taken another step in expanding its brand and making some of their top shows available on the web. The cable channel has just inked a deal with YouTube to create an HBO channel online. The HBO/YouTube site is up and running -- you can click over there today and start catching up on HBO series.

The initial line up is impressive, starting with the Gabriel Byrne drama In Treatment. You can also catch up with Entourage episodes, which are always fun. There are more laughs with Flight of the Conchords, Extras, Stand Up Comedy, Def Comedy Jam, and Real Time With Bill Maher. On the dramatic front, there's The Wire. In addition, you can watch episodes of the award-winning magazine show Real Sports, as well as the Latino documentary series Habla y Habla.

Finally someone shows some love for Lost, which got itself back on track last season. The Directors Guild announced their nominees for this year's awards. Lost nabbed two nominations in the Dramatic Series category, for "The Looking Glass" and "The Brig." The Sopranos picked up two of the three remaining nominations, saving the last one for AMC's excellent freshmen drama, Mad Men.

On the comedy side, 30 Rock nabbed two nominations, with Desperate Housewives and Entourage picking up one each. And the critical love for ABC's incredibly charming Pushing Daisies continues as it snatches the final spot. But one category in which the Directors think very differently than anyone else is in Reality Programs. Not only is the kitschy Who Wants to be a Superhero? nominated, but is joined by Shooting Sizemore and Pros vs. Joes. The full list, including commercials, documentaries and mini-series after the jump.

The media can spin the death of the sitcom all they want. I'll even give them that the traditional multi-camera format that Lucy and Desi founded does seem to be dying a slow death, but comedy itself is alive and well on television. Ever since Ally McBeal stretched the definition of television comedy by daring to be nominated in comedic categories despite being an hour long "drama" (don't you know that dramas are one hour and comedies 30 minutes; it's the only way to tell the difference), the "sitcom" has morphed into the "comedy."

Almost gone is that multi-camera stage set and the live/canned studio audience. Instead we have shows that are filmed just like their dramatic counterparts that happen to be funny. And all of this year's Globe nominees for best musical or comedy TV series fit into this category (sorry According to Jim, maybe next year). Check 'em out after the jump, along with our picks for who should win!

(S04E12) "In France, I'm a Viking god." - Drama

Medellin. We've been talking about it all season. We've seen clips, a ridiculously good trailer for the film, and even a "making of" documentary. Despite all the positive hype, we've only had one question: what if it sucks? Well guess what? It sucks... a lot. Amidst a frantic and hyper crowd at Cannes, Medellin's screening worked like a sedative. Only Billy and Vince seemed to be enjoying the film as if they were in on some joke. It even garnered a few "boos." To be honest, it felt anti-climactic to me if only because this was exactly what I've been expecting. This was the only logical outcome. Everything always comes up roses for this crew. They needed a reality check and this proved to be the perfect vehicle for it.

(S04E11) "Ninety-seven minutes, E." - Drama

It just keeps getting better. Like everyone else, I've complained here and there about some of the mediocre episodes that have aired this summer. However, it's hard to stay angry when we get one like this. It was perfect really. Hands down, one of the best written episodes of Entourage -- spanning all four seasons. Think about it. When was the last episode that flawlessly integrated every character into the action as well as guest spots from Kanye West, Sydney Pollack, and Anna Faris?

(S04E10) "I like being E." - Turtle

Back to the season. This episode did what we like to call "advance the plot." Remember the plot? This show had one at one point, and as much as I've enjoyed the past few episodes exploring E's choices, I'm glad we finally got back to what the show is all about: Vince's career. Another cool factor? Eric had nothing to do with it this time around. As many folks predicted in last week's poll, right out of the gate E seemed to be focusing his energy on Anna and putting Vince on the back-burner. Doubt very much that'll last too long.

Although it seems like John from Cincinnati is dead, another HBO summer season show lives on. Variety reports that Home Box Office has picked up a second season of the musical comedy Flight of the Conchords.

The quirky hit is popular among young viewers, an elusive demographic for the premium cable channel. In addition to Conchords, HBO has given the thumbs-up to a fifth season of Entourage.