Janet Jackson Rips Michael's Doc: "I Think He's Responsible"
While many of her family members have danced around the accusation, Janet Jackson isn't hiding her thoughts on who's to blame for her brother's death.
Dr. Conrad Murray is at fault for Michael Jackson's premature passing, she says.
"He was the one that was administering," she tells ABC's Robin Roberts in an exclusive interview airing Wednesday night. "I think he is responsible."
The doc is still under investigation for the death, and has admitted to giving the icon the anesthetic propofol.
Placing blame isn't the only thing Miss Jackson is spilling in the rare sit-down.
"I couldn't believe it," she says, recalling June 25 and the moment she found out her brother was deceased.
This Is Not a Joke—James Franco Really Is Joining General Hospital
LUIS GUERRA/©2008 RAMEY PHOTO
While we here at Team WWK don't make a habit out of reporting daytime television scoop, we just couldn't resist this one.
That's right, tubers: Golden Globe winner, Judd Apatow muse and former Freaks and Geeks heartthrob James Franco is set to join the soapy goodness that is General Hospital!
A network rep confirms the addition to E! News, telling us that James' multi-episiode stint begins airing Nov. 20.
James' character steers clear of the hospital, though, opting instead to go toe-to-toe with resident mob thug and G.H. superstar Jason Morgan (Steve Burton), says Fancast.
No official word on why the Pineapple Express star took the gig, but sources tell ABC Soaps In Depth that the movie star "wants to do everything" throughout his career. Franco is scheduled to be on set one day a week, filming several episodes at a time.
Don't get us wrong—any chance to see more James on the small screen is always welcome. We're just a little surprised by the Funny or Die dude's latest career move. Hey, if they keep this up, we might just have to make General Hospital one of our regulars from now on.
Hoarse Whitney Houston & Bobbi Kristina Wake Up GMA
Someone get Whitney Houston a lozenge.
It's a good thing Good Morning America didn't choose to go live with the songbird's Central Park performance Monday. She arrived with a case of hoarseness verging on laryngitis. Thankfully, not airing the appearance until today bought the ABC morning show a little time to spread the word that the comeback show's weakness was Oprah Winfrey's fault.
According to the New York Daily News, Whitney apologized for all the vocal cracking, adding, "I'm so sorry. I did Oprah. I've been talking for so long."
Still, she pushed through, although the performances themselves were not without a dash of strangeness.
Update
Jon Gosselin Talks to Good Morning America, Says the Media (Not TLC) Is "Exploiting" His Plus Eight
Jerritt Clark/Getty Images
UPDATE: In response to our earlier report, Gosselin explains to E! News: "I'm not saying TLC is exploiting my children. But I do believe the media and tabloids covering my family and the show for their own financial gain are the ones exploiting them."
The father of eight refutes claims that he's biting the hand that feeds him, saying: "I have said on numerous occasions TLC has afforded my kids a better life and has helped provide a better roof on their heads."
________
After his almost-ex-wife's brief press tour over the past few weeks, Jon Gosselin is finally ready for a sit-down of his own.
E! News has learned exclusively that Good Morning America scored the first post-split interview with the new man about town. On Friday, Gosselin sat down with GMA's Chris Cuomo and chatted about Kate Gosselin, the network that started it all and his future in showbiz.
Since Kate has remained fairly neutral when it comes to comments about Jon in her interviews, does he reciprocate the courtesy?
A source on set during the taping tells E! that Gosselin was "very open and honest" about his feelings toward Kate and even delved into his thoughts on the future of Jon & Kate Plus Eight.
"TLC has had him on a gag order and he's sick of it," says the source. "Jon basically comes right out and says he's worried the show is 'exploiting' his eight children."
He might be sick of the cameras following his family around, but that doesn't mean Jon's ready to leave the spotlight...
Rumor Patrol: Who's Dancing With the Stars This Season?
Michael Caulfield/Getty Image, Jeffrey Mayer/Getty Images,John M. Heller/Getty Images,Maury Phillips/Getty Images
There's no tiptoeing around it, the question weighing on everyone's mind this weekend is: Who'll be putting on their boogie-woogie shoes for Dancing With the Stars' ninth season?
That's right, we did say nine seasons.
With the announcement of the next cast just around the corner, Monday morning to be exact, we thought we'd compile a list of possible candidates for you.
Some are just rumors, some have more or less confirmed the news, but either way, let's play the speculation and see what we come up with...
ABC Joins the Fight for a Piece of Paula Abdul
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
Leaving American Idol has turned Paula Abdul into the belle of the ball! Not only is Nigel Lythgoe trying to talk her into a gig on So You Think You Can Dance, but we just learned at the Television Critics Association press tour that ABC boss Steve McPherson would love to get her a job on Dancing With the Stars.
If Paula signed on to DWTS, would she be a judge, a choreographer or a dancer? Here's the dish from today's press tour:
Scrubs: Is Sarah Chalke Returning?
Nancy Kaszerman/ZUMAPress.com
Is the quirky and adorable Dr. Elliot Reid scrubbing back in for the ninth season of the hit ABC series?
The short answer? She's still not sure. But the long answer is more fun anyway, right?
The lovely Sarah Chalke is one busy lady. She's making the rounds promoting her new Lifetime miniseries, Maneater. She's still a shoo-in to drop by CBS's How I Met Your Mother. And, unfortunately, she's also still up in the air about that offer to return to ABC's just-renewed Scrubs.
"I actually don't know yet what I'm going to do, but I will very soon. You guys will be the first to know," says Sarah. "Regardless, I'm excited that the show got picked up again and it's going to go another year."
So there you have it. Nothing set in stone yet, but what Sarah said next about what was presumed to be the series finale of Scrubs and where she might end up next may surprise you...
NBC News: Chuck Renewed; My Name Is Earl, Medium Canceled
Trae Patton/NBC
And now we're on to NBC's official scheduling announcements. What a busy day! The most important general note about NBC is that it's running two schedules for the 2009-10 season, one in fall and one in spring.
Canceled NBC Shows
- My Name Is Earl star Ethan Suplee twittered: "Just got the call that My Name Is Earl has been canceled. They sure did take their time with that decision or rather informing us of it." Theoretically Earl could still go to another network, but it's leaving NBC for sure.
- NBC has also canceled Medium. The show is produced by CBS Paramount, so according to Industry reports, it might go to the CBS network, where it might even fit better, at least as far as network brands are concerned.
- As previously announced or leaked, Life, Kath & Kim and Knight Rider have all been canceled.
Returning NBC Shows
- Chuck is officially coming back, thanks to the largesse of sponsor Subway. Chuck will air Mondays at 8 p.m. beginning in February, after the Olympics.
- Heroes will take the Monday 8 p.m. time slot in the fall.
- Law & Order has been renewed for season 20.
- Law & Order and Southland will share Friday nights at 8 and 9 p.m., respectively. This Jay Leno situation makes TV all strange and unnatural.
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit will air Wednesdays at 9 p.m. in both halves (fall and spring) of NBC's 2009-10 schedule.
New NBC Shows
- New paramedic show Trauma will follow Heroes at 9 p.m.
- New apocalypse show Day One will air Mondays at 9 p.m. beginning in February.
- Joel McHale's Community will air at 9:30 p.m. on Thursdays after The Office.
- Parenthood will air at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays in the fall, and then cede that slot to Mercy at midseason.
- 100 Questions launches midseason at 9:30 p.m. on Tuesdays.
Read on for more NBC news in our liveblog of the Peacock's scheduling conference call...
ABC News: Samantha Who? Dead; Elizabeth Mitchell Stars in V Remake
ABC/DAVID GRAY
ABC boss Steve McPherson held a press conference this morning at the Alphabet's New York headquarters, and we were there to interrogate him about what just got canceled, what (and who) is coming back and all those new programs that are airing in the fall.
Read along with our liveblog to get all the news about Elizabeth Mitchell's fate on Lost, the return of Scrubs and who killed Samantha Who?. Plus, all the facty data you could ever want about scheduling, time slots and pilot stars!
Breaking News
Easy as ABC: Lost, Grey's, Housewives Renewed
Brian Ach/Getty Images; Nancy Kaszerman/ZUMAPress.com; Ray Tamarra/Getty Images
Yay! ABC has just announced early pickups for 12 series, including six dramas we love: Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty and Brothers & Sisters. (Renewals were expected for all of these shows but this official nod means the studio and producers can now securely start spending budget dollars on new staff and new stuff.)
On the "unscripted" side of things, look for more of The Bachelor, Dancing With the Stars, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Wife Swap, Supernanny and good ol' America's Funniest Home Videos.
ABC series that are notably not included on this early pickup list include Samantha Who?, Better Off Ted, The Unusuals, Castle, Cupid and Surviving Suburbia, but any of those series might still be picked up before the ABC upfront presentation to advertisers in New York City on May 19. (Scrubs is reportedly also under consideration for a ninth season, but a renewal is dependent on negotiations with key talent, so perhaps an early pickup is too much to hope for.)
Among those ABC shows ending for sure are According to Jim and Life on Mars.
Samantha Where? Applegate Benched for Bachelor
ABC/MITCH HADDAD
Looks like Christina Applegate won't be receiving a rose anytime soon.
ABC announced today that Samantha Who? will be benched to make way for the better-performing Bachelor. Samantha previously aired at 9:30 p.m. on Mondays, following Dancing With the Stars. The 13th cycle of the romantic reality show took over the time slot at the beginning of January.
This temporary hold allows singleton Jason Mesnick and his lovelies to continue to get inflated episodes on Mondays from 8 to 10 p.m.
Fans shouldn't worry too much about Samantha When. The network hasn't set a return date for the sitcom yet, but it will most likely be soon after Mesnick awards his final rose on March 2.
But just to hold you over a bit, an ABC spokesperson tells E! News that when the laugher does return, Golden Globe nominee Applegate will be joined by former Women's Murder Club hottie Angie Harmon as the ex-wife of Billy Zane's Funk.
Exclusive
ABC Delays End of Daisies, Eli and Dirty Sexy Money
ABC/Scott Garfield, ABC/Craig Sjodin, ABC/Scott Garfield
Dying to know where the Piemaker and his beloved Charlotte Charles will end up when Pushing Daisies comes to a close?
Join the club! But apparently ABC is in no hurry to give the fans closure.
Sources close to the Alphabet network tell me exclusively that the remaining episodes for Daisies will not air until—wait for it, ‘cause you're gonna have to—this summer.
And that's not all. It's the same case for those two other much-loved but recently canceled ABC series: Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money.
Yes, word is Daisies' final three episodes and Eli and DSM's final four won't air until June at the earliest.
According to insiders, the original plan was for the final three episodes of Daisies to begin airing last Wednesday, but ABC decided to air reruns of Scrubs instead.
And what you really won't want to hear is...
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