TVSquad

With a new Scrubs contract in hand and a movie to promote, you know that Zach Braff will be on the interview circuit very soon. But part of that circuit will be hosting the season finale of Saturday Night Live on May 19, with musical guest Maroon 5.

Braff is going to be promoting his movie The Ex, which co-stars Jason Bateman, Amanda Peet, and SNL cast member Amy Poehler (she's been in a lot of movies lately, hasn't she?). It's the first time Braff has hosted SNL, and I think he'll do well. As all Scrubs fans know, he's good at goofy physical comedy, and I don't think he'll be fazed by the live setting, the cue cards, and everything else that trip up other hosts. By then, he should also know the fate of Scrubs, so we may see a very happy Zach on stage next week.

Amidst all the hoopla about The Office, My Name Is Earl, How I Met Your Mother, and other comedies, people tend to forget that the highest-rated sitcom on TV right now is Two and a Half Men. Yes, its ratings were helped a lot by its old lead-in, Everybody Loves Raymond. But it's truly a funny show, even if it's in the dreaded multicamera "traditional" format. Again, it's a case of good writing and good acting overcoming a tired premise.

CBS knows what it has on its hands; that's why it chipped in to make show star Charlie Sheen the highest paid sitcom actor currently on the air. The Hollywood Reporter writes that Sheen is ready to sign a contract that will pay him between $350,000 - $400,000 per episode, which is twice what he was making before. A network contribution, according to the article, has become common in such high-profile negotiations. No word, though, on if the other one and a half men on the show -- Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones -- got raises, too. I definitely think Jones should get a big raise; he may just be telling fart jokes, but he's doing it with conviction.

[via Pop Candy]

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced a new TV deal with FOX and Turner that will change the baseball-watching habits of America. The big news? The first round Division Series will be broadcast exclusively on cable (except, I would imagine, in the local markets of the teams involved), starting next year.

In 2007, TBS will broadcast that first-round exclusively, and will have a Sunday-night package starting in 2008. This means they will start cutting back on their broadcasts of Braves games, which they've been doing since it was over-the-air Atlanta station WTBS. FOX will retain the rights to the Saturday Games of the Week, the World Series, the All-Star Game, and one League Championship Series per year; the other LCS is now up for grabs. Both contracts run through 2013.

Additionally, TBS has the rights to any tie-breaking playoff games this year. So if, for example, the White Sox and the Tigers tie for the AL Central lead and need to play a one-game playoff, TBS will have the game.

So, where does this leave ESPN? The article here doesn't say, but it might just leave them in the lurch after 17 years of broadcasting Sunday night games, and, recently, first-round playoff games.