TVSquad

Can a TV show centered around the $46 billion herbal weight loss industry be interesting? We'll soon find out, because HBO has greenlit a pilot called Fat Sells.

The story will center on the head of a weight loss company, and how his life starts to unravel when the FDA begins investigating the company's claims.

Forest Whitaker is attached to exec produce (and possibly direct the pilot), along with Dave Broome, who served as exec producer on The Biggest Loser. Hmmm ... wonder if he has some insider info he'll bring to this project.

(S07E29) Well, this is what you've all been waiting for, right? What's that? Finale? Yeah, I guess that'll be cool, too. But if you've listened to Ryan all season then you know TONIGHT is really what it's all about! If you're looking to find out who got eliminated by vote last night you're going to have to wait until tomorrow. But if you're looking for two-and-a-half hours of entertainment chock full of celebrities and song and charity, then you're looking for "Idol Gives Back."

Last year's inaugural edition was very good, and Kristin's report of the Idol Gives Back taping from this past Sunday was also very positive. We don't have any pesky (non) eliminations to deal with like last year, so just kick back, donate and enjoy. And, if you want, join us online and chat about it in real-time with other giving Idol fans.

You can join the chat starting just before 7:30/6:30pm CDT by following this link. Look for the full episode review right here later tonight.

Have you seen American Gangster? Did you love it? Then Forest Whitaker has a show for you.

Whitaker has made a deal with Showtime to executive produce a new series called Mr. Untouchable, detailing the life of Harlem gangster Leroy "Nicky" Barnes.

Currently, Cuba Gooding Jr. is portraying Barnes on the big screen alongside Denzel Washington.

The series, however, is not connected to the big screen offering. Instead, it's based on a documentary (also titled Mr. Untouchable) released by Marc Levin, who is also executive producing.

(S06E01) This is why I love TV. This was the second time I've seen this episode (you've got to love press screeners) and I was just as riveted as the first time I saw it. With the way last season ended, people have been waiting a long time for this. It was worth the wait because last night's season six premiere of The Shield was arguably one of the best episodes of the series to date.

Picking up just about a week after Shane killed Lem, the late Det. Lemansky has been buried minus the pomp of a proper police funeral. Turns out that Aceveda and his new political cronies made sure that the city knew Lem was "dirty." Naturally, Vic is not thrilled with that and along with Shane and Ronnie (who now has a much more expanded role), they begin looking for whoever killed Lem.

Recently Jonathan and I got on the phone with The Shield's Walton Goggins, but if you read the interview you'll note we hadn't yet seen the first six episodes released to the press. Having now seen those episodes, I think our line of questioning would have been quite different.

(S32E13) I'm not very familiar with Forest Whitaker's work, but I'm well aware of his new-found status as one of the biggest actors in Hollywood. He recently won multiple awards for his performance in The Last King of Scotland, so I knew that he could act. Whitaker didn't do such a spectacular job on SNL. He was good, yeah, but not spectacular.

However, the writing this week was really something else. It was a lot weirder than usual, I thought. For the most part, I liked it. I see that they've cut down on a lot of the more formulaic recurring character sketches, which is a massive improvement. Plus, none of the those recurring sketches are accompanied shitty little theme songs! Remember the days of "Debbie Downer" and "Carol"? Thank goodness those are over.

What can you say about Inside the Actor's Studio that hasn't already been said by a hundred parodies and humorists' impersonations? It will always be galling to hear hack actors talk about their "craft" and to hear James Lipton wax poetic about the farcial tour de force that is Half-Baked.

The show, however, is inspired precisely because it doesn't make the distinction between "movie stars" and "actors" in the way that most viewers do. It's like Charlie Rose meets Entertainment Weekly - celebrity journalism that aims for something higher.

Inside the Actor's Studio returns to Bravo for a new season on December 18th. In this outing of the 12-time Emmy-nominated series, James Lipton sits down with Eddie Murphy, Matt Damon, Forest Whitaker and Kyra Sedgwick. You can almost hear Lipton's careful intonation, "And, then, you turned your attention to outer space - from fat suit to space suit - with The Adventures of Pluto Nash."

Say what you will about ER, but it's still able to attract a pretty good roster of actors to guest star on the show, either in a one-shot deal or in a multi-episode arc. This year, in its 13th season, one of the guest starts will be Forest Whitaker, who has been cast as a carpenter who comes in with an innocuous cough, but ends up being paralyzed by a stroke. His stint will be five episodes. The role was originally going to be played by Andre Braugher, but he had to pull out due to the age-old "scheduling conflict."

Remember that Whitaker played a big role in The Shield last season, and the show left the door open for his character to return. So this year might be a big TV year for Forest.

Season 5 of The Shield wraps up this Tuesday at 10 PM on F/X with a 90 minute finale, but what kind of finale are we talking about here? For a while I was under the impression that this season had been extended to 21 episodes and it would be split up. But now I'm starting to wonder.

If this is indeed the end of the season (it's not being billed as the series finale), then it's coming in short anyway. Seasons 1, 2, and 4 all had 13 episodes and season 3 was stretched to 15. Counting next week's (mid-season?) finale makes 11 for season 5. Keith reported on a season 5 extension a few months back, but since then I've heard nothing on this. I've seen no press releases or found anything saying as such after googling the topic for about an hour. F/X hasn't even had previews stating that there's more to come, unless that's what we'll get after the finale next week.

I'm starting to wonder if maybe the split season idea has been tossed and we're getting a sixth (and final?) season next year. Anyone else have a theory?

(There's a couple of updates after the jump.)

This was, hands down, the best episode of the season so far. The Strike Team was back to its old tricks, Kavanaugh turns more evil by the day, and now Aceveda's going to play right in the middle of everything. Hell, I was even glad to see Claudette back, as it was pretty obvious where the show's heading as far as her character goes.

The reports of Claudette's death are greatly exaggerated, it seems; we nary hear a word of her fall, just Dutch's report to Kavanaugh that she's doing better. This episode primarily dealt with the now svelte Kavanaugh and the story behind his still-worn wedding ring. I have to admit that, at first, I thought Vic was behind Sadie's alleged rape. Though that turned out not to be the case at all, it sure seemed to help the Strike Team out in some respects.

Oh, and by the way, it's great to see Gina Torres, one of the Firefly crew, back on the small screen!

Forest Whitaker can sure play one nasty bastard. What an F-ing bastard Kavannaugh is, telling Corinne about the affair Vic had. He's definitely turning up the heat this time, pulling no punches on anyone he can get his hands on. Can you just imagine the beating Vic would give Kavannaugh has he heard what he put Corinne through? I also wonder if/when Dutch will jump in to help IAD out.

It's been too long. Way too long. First the return of Battlestar, then this -- that's good TV.

As we saw from the recap from previous seasons, we already know that the Strike Team, and Mackey in particular, is going to see an old crime revisited -- one that a couple of them committed. Namely, the murder of Det. Crowley.

Danny was looking very pregnant, and if you read this recent news, it makes sense why. Did I miss something from last season? I seem to vaguely recall she wanted a baby and asked someone for help, but I could be mixing the story up with another show. The betting pool in The Barn is hilarious, though the look Vic gives Danny sure seems to point toward him as the dad.