TVSquad

It looks like guest-starring on Chuck isn't the biggest thing going on in Nicole Richie's TV career. The former Simple Life star has just announced that a TV show based on her 2005 novel is in the works. Richie's roman à clef, titled The Truth About Diamonds, follows Chloe Parker, the adopted daughter of a rock star who runs around with a bad crowd in Hollywood. Throughout the novel, Parker faces struggles with the law, drugs and her friends. Sound familiar?

Not only is Richie planning on producing the show, but she'll be appearing in it as well. Even though she based Chloe Parker on herself, Richie says that she won't necessarily be playing the lead, "I would definitely produce and definitely be in the show, [but] I don't know if I need to be the star of this show." Since production is still in the early stages, the details surrounding the series remain unclear, such as what network it will be on, and whether or not it will be a drama or a comedy.

Like Darth Vader before her, good things can even come out of a person like Paris Hilton. The wealthy socialite best known for her role on television's The Simple Life as well as an amateur porn video has made an "extremely generous" donation to Children's Hospital Los Angeles for the construction of a medical building. No exact amount was specified. The new building, called the Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases, will open in 2010.

"The children I have met through my involvement with Children's Hospital have truly touched my heart," Hilton said in a statement. "I am proud to make a donation and lend my name to the fundraising effort to help children who are facing terribly serious illnesses."

Far be it from me to be a cynic in light of such charity, but this is a woman who has lived such a life of debauchery that the gossip rags have their own special section regarding her. I'm not sure what to think.

So what do you folks think? Actual generosity, or publicity stunt? Or maybe a little of both?

This fall Special Agent Sarah Walker will get a blast from the past as she attends her ten-year high school reunion and comes face-to-face with her old nemesis. Nicole Richie will play a spiteful and sarcastic character who tortured the special agent for years. Sarah Walker has to go to the reunion for a mission; her date, of course, is Chuck.

Executive producer Josh Schwartz says Nicole Richie is actually quite funny: "Nicole auditioned for the part and was very funny. This role is a great opportunity for her to show off her comedic skills and be diabolically evil and kick some butt."

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Jim Hager: The comedian/musician was one of the Hager Twins from the TV show Hee Haw. He appeared in other TV shows as well, including The Bionic Woman, and received a TV Land Award last year for his work on Hee Haw. He died after collapsing in a Nashville coffee shop. He was 66.

A day hasn't gone by where we haven't received some sort of tip or email asking us, the TV Squad, how to get on [insert reality show here]. Unfortunately no, Simon Cowell does not work for us, and Donald Trump isn't my BFF, so we really can't help all that much.

The folks at RealityWanted.com often send us a list of new and existing reality shows that are looking for new, er, talent, and they've given us permission to make mention of them here. We'll try to make this a regular feature as often as we get a new list.

This time we have The Bachelor, The Pick Up Artist, Teen Dream and other new shows.

A few months ago I wrote an article about how sad it is that FOX no longer gives its new shows a decent chance to find an audience. Shows like Vanished and Drive barely get started before the network decides to pull the plug. I still feel that FOX is too quick on the trigger, however in the case of their latest fatality, Anchorwoman, they did the right thing.

I just got back from doing my weekly grocery shopping. It took me almost an hour and a half because of the people at the grocery store and the traffic. That's about the amount of time that Nicole Richie stayed in jail today.

The official time was 82 minutes. Seems that's all the time she had to do, apparently. Although she was sentenced to 96 hours in jail but got out rather, um, quickly, "based on her sentence and federal guidelines." Richie was sent to jail for DUI and...well, it's hard to remember what she did and what Paris did and what Lindsay did and what Britney has done.

So what did they do, just give her a tour of the jail and then release her? Did they just strip search her and do her paperwork and then it was time to leave? Did she get a meal or at least a snack in that 82 minutes?

• At 7, NBC has a new Dateline.
• ION (formerly PAX) has the suspense movie Killer Wave at 7.
• At 8, CBS has a new Big Brother.
• The CW has the new reality show Schooled at 8.
• Lifetime has a new Side Order of Life at 8, then a new State of Mind.
• ABC Family has two new episodes of Fallen starting at 8.
• TV Guide Channel has Sci-Fi: Comic-Con Unleashed at 8.
• At 9, Spike has a new Kill Point.
• HGTV has a new Design Star at 9.
• HBO has a new John From Cincinnati at 9, followed by new episodes of Entourage and Flight of the Conchords.
• At 9:30, A&E has a new Gene Simmons' Family Jewels, followed by a new Two Coreys.
• At 10, E! has a new episode of The Simple Life Goes To Camp.
• History Channel has a new Ice Road Truckers at 10.
• Showtime has the season finale of Meadowlands at 10.
• Lifetime has a new Army Wives at 10.
• Also at 10: Comedy Central has a new Mind of Mencia, then a new American Body Shop.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Paris and Nicole, we hardly knew ye.

Actually, we knew ye way too much. But that won't be a problem anymore (at least on a weekly TV show basis). E! has canceled The Simple Life. US Magazine is reporting that producers think that everything happening in the girls' private lives is overshadowing the show. Funny, I would argue that the success of the show is based only on what happened in their private lives. Why else are people watching these two?

A source tells the mag that Nicole was also really hard to work with, saying "Paris was the one willing to do anything. Nicole was the diva."

[via TV Tattle]

Good news, people! It turns out that there can be too much Paris Hilton. I was beginning to get worried there for a second after the daily news updates during her jail term and then all the attention she has received since getting out. One place she's not getting attention is on E!, where her show, The Simple Life, is pulling in crappy ratings.

E! execs said they had hoped that all the mayhem surrounding her stupid stint in jail would garner interest in the show. One exec thinks that people are more interested in what's going on with Paris Hilton right now, rather than what she's doing on a contrived "reality" show. I'm hoping the real reason is that she has finally outstayed her welcome. Over-saturated the market, if you will.

The low ratings mean that E! is seriously considering not bringing back The Simple Life for a fifth season. Hallelujah!

• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, then a new Big Brother.
• NBC has a new, two hour Dateline at 7.
• At 9, PBS has a new Mystery!
• USA has a new episode of The 4400 at 9, then a new Dead Zone.
• There's a new Next Food Network Star at 9.
• HBO has a new John From Cincinnati at 9, then new episodes of Entourage and Flight of the Conchords.
• At 10, Lifetime has a new Army Wives.
• History Channel has a new Ice Road Truckers at 10.
• E! has a new Simple Life Goes To Camp at 10.
• Showtime has a new Meadowlands at 10.
• Also at 10: Comedy Central has a new Mind of Mencia, followed by the premiere of American Body Shop.

Check your local TV listings for more.

In case you haven't heard, Paris Hilton gets out of jail today. Expect so much coverage on MSNBC, CNN, and FOX News that you'll want to stick pencils in your eyes. But there are people interested in her release, so here's a quick guide:

L.A. braces itself for her release. Our own TMZ will have non-stop coverage (and will probably break all the news before anyone else). Her car was repossessed while she was in prison (anything to keep her off the roads, I say). You can buy Hilton's trash on ebay. And who was Hilton's final visitor at the prison last night? Jericho star Ashley Scott.

And don't forget she'll be on Larry King Live tomorrow night at 9 to talk about her new post-jail life trying to save orphans and dolphins.

First they paid $2.5 million for a sit-down with Prince William and Prince Harry (not to them but to a charity), and now The New York Post is reporting that NBC is going to pay $1 million to Paris Hilton for her first interview when she gets out of jail (not to a charity, to her).

In a funny twist, former View co-hosts Barbara Walters and Meredith Vieira were trying to get the interview. Walter's almost got it until Jeff Zucker called Paris' dad. Vieira will conduct the interview (Hilton doesn't like Matt Lauer, supposedly) the day after Hilton is released from jail.

Vieira will probably do the interview for The Today Show, but NBC will also put some of it on Dateline, some on MSNBC, some on the web. So you won't be able to escape it.

• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes.
• NBC has a new, two-hour Dateline at 7.
• CNN has a debate between all the Democrati candidates for President at 7.
• At 8, The CW repeats the pilot episode of Hidden Palms.
• Lifetime has the new movie Write & Wrong, with Kirstie Alley at 8, followed by the series premiere of Army Wives.
• MTV has the (live) MTV Movie Awards at 8 (repeated at 10).
• At 9, PBS has a new Mystery!
• There's a new Gene Simmons' Family Jewels on A&E at 9.
• HBO has a new Sopranos at 9, then the season finale of Entourage.
• Also at 9: Food Network has two new episodes of The Next Food Network Star.
• At 10, MSNBC repeats this morning's Meet The Press, if you missed it.
• HGTV has a new Bought & Sold at 10, then a new My First Place.
• E! has a new Simple Life Goes To Camp at 10, followed by a new Sunset Tan.
• Showtime has a new ep of The Tudors at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, ABC has a new Wife Swap, followed by the debut of The Ex-Wives Club and a new Supernanny.
• FOX has a new, two-hour On The Lot at 8.
• NBC has a new Real Wedding Crashers at 8, then the Miss Universe Pageant.
• Four good Friends repeats on TBS starting at 8.
• TLC has two new episodes of Little People, Big World, then a new Big Medicine.
• At 9 on CNN, Larry King interviews journalist Kimberly Dozier.
• There's a new Monday Night RAW on USA at 9.
• Lifetime has the new movie My Name Is Sarah at 9.
• Also at 9: Food Network has a new Challenge, then a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
• At 10, FX has a new episode of The Riches.
• Discovery has a new Stunt Junkies at 10.
• E! has the season premiere of The Simple Life at 10, then the premiere of Sunset Tan.

Check your local TV listings for more.