TVSquad

Frasier has left the building, but Kelsey Grammer hasn't. Or maybe he just doesn't want to. The actor, whose Fox situation comedy, Back to You, was canceled after just one season, doesn't want to call it quits. He wants the show to continue and he's so determined, he's even lobbied for the show personally. The Emmy award winning star phoned CBS executives -- including CBS CEO Les Moonves -- to plead the case for Back to You.

When Kelsey phoned, Les took the call, and he even told Grammer that he'd "think about it," that is, moving Back to You to CBS. However, when Kelsey followed up with a call to Nina Tassler, CBS Entertainment prez, she dismissed it. There really was no room on the CBS schedule for another sitcom; even Rules of Engagement (which CBS has a vested interest in bringing back) won't be broadcast till mid-season next year. There's no mention of Kelsey calling ABC or NBC; perhaps they didn't take his call?

I think Back To You producer Steven Levitan is echoing the sentiments of many TV viewers when he says about the show's cancellation, "we were surprised, but not shocked...nothing surprises me with [FOX Broadcasting] anymore."

As we told you earlier, FOX decided to dump Back To You but keep 'Til Death. This surprised many fans of the show, as they thought that out of the two of them FOX would probably go with the Kelsey Grammer/Patricia Heaton/Fred Willard show instead of the Brad Garrett/Joely Fisher show. Funny how Garrett played Heaton's brother-in-law on Everybody Loves Raymond and now it's his show being renewed while she is kicked to the curb.

Fox has made the call, and it's a big "see ya later" for Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. But their loss is someone else's gain. The pilot for the Jason Bateman directed comedy series The Inn has been picked up for a 13-week commitment, while Back to You has been axed. The Brad Garrett-Joely Fisher sitcom, Til Death, meanwhile, has been given another year.

Bateman, who starred in Arrested Development -- the Emmy-award winning comedy that the network dumped unceremoniously because of low ratings -- was behind the camera for The Inn pilot. The show, which is about the haves and have-nots in a fancy, five-star New York City hotel, has a promising cast of funny folks including Niecy Nash (Reno 911!), Jerry O'Connell (who looks like Jason's twin), and the really hilarious Jesse Tyler Ferguson (remember him on The Class -- he was so funny!).

... Six welcome returns.

Every fall season I get stoked about all the new shows, with cool new premises ("A guy travels through time trying to make right what once went wrong!"-- Journeyman not Quantum Leap), and all the big changes in store for existing shows. But it's equally exciting to see which beloved actors will be returning to television. Brad Garrett coming back to television in 'Til Death last year? Cool! Patricia Heaton and Kelsey Grammer both coming back to television ... together? That's gotta be awesome, right? Jerry O'Connell on Carpoolers ... well ... ? I like the guy, but I'm not scheduling a 'Welcome Back' shindig for him.

Half the fun of a new television season is the return of great actors and actresses to the small screen. And while I could have easily done 10 or even 20 of these, I've narrowed it down to the six talents who were most welcome back in my house on a weekly basis this past year. I've even been so bold as to rank them. Feel free to agree, disagree and present your own lists in the comments.

About two years ago, I set out to list the hottest women on TV who are over 40, over 50, and over 60. There were a lot candidates to choose from, even in the over 60 category, making it a particularly tough set of list to compose.

But now that our friends at AOL have decided to compile a list of TV's 50 sexiest women of all time (starting today with Nos. 50-41), I'm going to take on an even greater challenge: making one master list of seventeen beauties over 40. It's not as easy as you think; the TV landscape has changed a bit, and a few new strong contenders have recently entered their 40s, and a few of the previous list members have left the TV landscape. To make this list, a woman has to have been a regular or significant guest on a TV series or news program in 2007. So, after the jump, a list -- in no particular order -- of fifteen beauties who combine looks, maturity and grace to make one compellingly sexy package.

Thumbnails are with the list, but you can click on the gallery below to get a much better view of these lovely women. Then add your own choices in the comments.

In July, I was at a sitcom writing seminar in which Sam Simon (who helped develop The Simpsons) declared: "the sitcom is dead." Veteran comedy writer Ken Levine (who hosted that sitcom seminar), however, disagrees. Ken believes the traditional multi-camera sitcom might be on a respirator, but still has a pulse. Levine said, "I would amend Sam's statement and say that yeah, the bad, stale, family sitcom with tired rhythms, forced laughs, and bogus characters is dead."

I guess if you're trying to revive the dying sitcom, a good way to start is by assembling a top-notch team. And Fox's new Wednesday night comedy, Back to You, does just that.

By now you may have seen the preview for FOX's new comedy Back to You, which stars Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. In the preview Grammer's character, a prominent Los Angeles news anchor, apparently cusses out a colleague while still on the air. I say apparent because all of the swear words are bleeped out for network television.

You're probably just itching to find out what Kelsey really said, aren't you? Well, thanks to the pack rat known as YouTube you can see that same clip in all of its foul-mouthed glory. It's not the entire preview, just the part that shows Grammer's character yelling and screaming at the off-camera production crew. It's also minus the laughing you hear on the FOX preview. Don't know if this is a good or bad sign for the show or not. I have labeled the video, which you'll see after the jump, as Not Suitable For Work.

Fox Broadcasting Company gets its turn today to go in front of the TCA membership at the Beverly Hilton's International Ballroom.

You can bet Kevin Reilly, president, entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company, is going to be asked a few questions about his exit last spring from NBC.

Once those inquiries get out of the way, Reilly, and Peter Liguori, Fox's chairman, entertainment, will tout Fox's upcoming TV shows.

Fox really only has a handful of new pilots to premiere next season because it's holding on to mega ratings-getters like American Idol, House, Prison Break, and 24... to name a few. It's replacing last season's stinkers such as Standoff and Justice.

At its upfronts presentation last month, the net announced two new reality shows, three new comedies and five new dramas. Of those, we have seen all the comedies and dramas except a drama called Nashville, which Fox has not yet released for preview.

Iconic TV director James Burrows has joined the FOX series Back to You as an executive producer and the main director for at least the first season.

While I've personally never been a huge fan of the sitcoms Burrows has been involved with (Cheers, Friends, Dharma and Greg, Will and Grace, Fraiser, Two and a Half Men, countless others), it's no secret the man has a way of propelling sitcoms to new heights, which is undoubtedly what the hope is for Back to You. Also, let me quickly add that I understand the appeal of many of Burrows' series, I'm just not wired for their style of humor. It could be a factory defect, I don't know.

Back to You stars Kelsey Grammer, Patricia Heaton and Fred Willard as members of a news team in Pittsburgh who reunite after their main anchor, played by Grammer, returns after being disgracefully fired from his position in a bigger market.

I used to work in a television newsroom, which is why I was interested in getting a sneak peek at the script for Action News. Fox has picked up the pilot for the fall season and has attached stars Fred Willard, Patricia Heaton, and Kelsey Grammer (and possibly Nate Corddry, but I'll get to that in a minute). The premise for the multi-camera sitcom is that egotistical anchorman Chuck Tatham (Grammer) has returned to his old stomping grounds of Buffalo, NY to reunite on-air with his former co-anchor, Patty Carr (Heaton).

Action News just got a whole lot more enticing. The initial news that Fox was picking up the newsroom sitcom, starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton, made me throw up in my mouth just a little bit. Now funnyman Fred Willard has been added to the cast. He'll join the comedy vets on the desk as the sports anchor.

I was a little surprised that he's doing sports, rather than weather. Doesn't Fred Willard strike you as a goofy weather guy? He may be the one who holds the show afloat a la Alec Baldwin (wow, I really have no faith in Grammer or Heaton). Willard appeared on later episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond with Heaton when he played Robert's super religious father-in-law.

Action News is about a former anchor team that reunites on the anchor desk of a local newscast. It should appear on Fox this fall.

[Via TV Tattle]

Ooooh. I'm so on the fence about this one. Fox has given a 13-episode order to a comedy called Action News, starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. It's about an old anchoring duo who reunite on local news in some unknown city. It's being shot as a multi-camera show, which most likely means an audience and/or a laugh track (arrrgh!). Fox, ABC, and CBS all bid on it. It's planned for next fall.

On one hand, I tend to enjoy shows that are set in newsrooms because of the never-ending supply of comedic situations. On the other hand, dear Patricia Heaton drives me batty! I wish I could say it was just her character on Raymond that I didn't like, but I also have to mute the television when her grocery store ads come on. Me aside, this will probably grab some decent ratings... at least initially. Heaton and Grammer are big names in the sitcom world and there are probably a lot of Americans who will be happy to see both of them back.

The Hollywood Reporter is saying that Patricia Heaton and Kelsey Grammer are in talks to co-star in a sitcom together. The comedy is called Action News, in which Heaton and Grammer would star as a reunited anchor team at a local television station. It's being written and produced by Steven Levitan of Just Shoot Me, Greg the Bunny and Stacked, and Christopher Lloyd of Wings and Out of Practice.

I'm always a fan of a comedy that's based in a newsroom because I think there is a bottomless supply of humor. But, Patricia Heaton drives me nuts. I didn't like her on Raymond-- by the end of that series, she was a whining, yelling shell of a housewife. And those grocery stores ads are infuriating! I'm lukewarm on Kelsey Grammer.

What do you think of the possible pairing?

Our sister sites Cinematical and Ad Jab --that's me who wrote the Ad Jab post, but when I write for Ad Jab I wear a mustache so as not to confuse me with myself-- have been all over this, so forgive us for being a bit behind, but as many of you probably know, Michael J. Fox has been appearing in campaign commercials for people who are running for senate and who support stem cell research. He's appeared in ads for Maryland's Ben Cardin and for Missouri's Claire McCaskill (clip after the jump).

To drive the point home, Fox appears in these ads, sans medication and with the involuntary tremors and shakes that are a part of his Parkinson's made obvious.* Other celebs from television, however, don't share Fox's view, and one of them is Patricia Heaton, who appears in an ad (also after the jump) that opposes the measure in Missouri. I'll let you folks watch both ads and duke it out in the comments, though my friendly advice to anyone is to not get caught up in the politics of this debate and instead read up on the actual science behind it and then make an informed decision. You may not come to the same conclusion I have, but at least you'll be well-informed and not persuaded by actors, or Rush Limbaugh for that matter.

*Fox's tremors are actually a side effect of being on his medication, not off it. Apologies for my assumption.