Viola Davis to star in Shonda Rhimes’ ‘How to Get Away With Murder’

Viola Davis to star in Shonda Rhimes” “How to Get Away With Murder”
She”ll join fellow former “The Help” star on the Fox legal drama pilot.

Rashida Jones” parents — Quincy Jones and Peggy Lipton — are joining her TBS pilot “Tribeca”
They will play her fictional parents on the cop comedy. Also, Lisa Kudrow and Alfred Molina may also appear.

“Supernatural” spinoff taps Sean Faris
The “Pretty Little Liars” and “Life as We Know It” alum will play a rich werewolf on “Supernatural: Tribes.” PLUS: “Body of Proof”s” Geoffrey Arend joins “Madam Secretary.”

Is it too late to add Harold Ramis to Oscar”s In Memoriam segment?
The In Memoriam segment is likely completed already, and yet there will be hackles if Ramis, Cory Monteith and Sid Caesar aren”t included.

Liam Neeson is the latest big name added to “Entourage” movie
Neeson, who”s busy promoting his new movie “Non Stop,” was spotted filming on set today.

Advice for Seth Meyers: Stop being nice, stop doing the same old thing – late-night is war!
As Verne Gay notes, “late night is war — TV war, and pleasantness is not going to be a winning strategy. Late night really is late night — with the only sentient beings watching inebriated college boys and insomniacs. This is the crowd that you want to be daring in front of, mostly because you have nothing to lose. (And they won't remember the next morning, anyway.) Plus, consider what you're up against in the overall genre – 'The Daily Show,' which is consistently excellent, and 'The Colbert Report' too. You not only have to bring your
game every night – but a better game.”

Lena Dunham on “SNL”: Here are some of her likely sketches
“Lena Bieber”? “True Girls Detective”? “Boys!” PLUS: Inside the “Girls” hairstyles, is Marnie the worst character on TV?, and Richard E. Grant talks Jessa.

Tim Gunn feels “conflicted” about using transgender models on the runway
“The fact that fashion designers would put basically adolescent-shaped boys or men in women's clothes is head-scratching for me because, anatomically, women and men have different shapes,” says the “Project Runway” star.

Claim: The Supreme Court is scared of Jon Stewart
CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin says the main reason Supreme Court justices don”t want cameras in their courtroom is because they fear being mocked on “The Daily Show.”

Seth Meyers is kicking off his “Late Night” with one of the most diverse writers” rooms
David Letterman never had a black person write for him in 32 years. Meyers has two black writers.

Al Roker slams Conan: I miss him on “real TV”
The “Today” weatherman, who used to be Conan”s frequent guest on “Late Night,” says Conan these days is on “this web thing.”

“Portlandia”s” Fred Armisen & Carrie Brownstein answer Reddit questions, address “SNL” butt-touching
“I think the question is, have I ever NOT touched Bill Hader's butt?” says Armisen. PLUS: Armisen and Brownstein intend to do a Season 5.

“Bachelorette” winner calls Juan Pablo “by far the sleaziest ‘Bachelor””
“He basically just hooks up with the girls,” says Jef Holm. PLUS: Will Andi Dorfman become “The Bachelorette”?

Is “House of Cards” really a hit?
Can the Netflix series be called a hit with two million, three million or five million viewers?

James Ellroy hated “The Wire”: It”s BS with “bad writing”
Says the noted crime writer: “I watch TV shows at a friend”s house most Friday nights. I think 'Deadwood' and 'Mad Men' were intermittently quite wonderful, but often shoddy and veered into incoherence. I saw one or two episodes of 'The Wire' and thought it was bullsh*t. Bad writing. And I have no sympathy for the underclass.”

Ken Jennings interviews “Jeopardy!”s” Arthur Chu
“At this point,” Chu tells Jennings, “it almost is a fake controversy–the comments on nearly every single article about how I”m a 'hated villain' on ‘Jeopardy!' are 99.9999% people supporting me, defending me and calling out the “haters” for being jerks and hypocrites.” PLUS: Watson also used game theory, and Chu describes the audition process as being a “freak show” where the 5% most telegenic people get through.

Will “True Detectives” get 2 female detectives next season?
Creator Nic Pizzolatto hinted at it in a tweet he has since deleted.

Jenna Fischer is pregnant
The former “Office” star is expecting her 2nd child.

Jimmy Kimmel”s pregnant wife tweets a photo of her lying on the bathroom floor
“Being pregnant has been FUN!” tweets Molly McNearney. To which the also-pregnant Jenna Fischer – who, like McNearney, is from St. Louis – tweeted “Let”s talk.”

Why Jimmy Fallon is less edgy than Jay Leno
Fallon wants to please everybody, so the result is being less opinionated.

Meyer Lansky”s daughter was shocked to learn her dad was portrayed on “Boardwalk Empire”: “It”s awful”
“The episode with the drugs – they were anti-drugs,” says Sandra Lansky. “Charlie got in trouble one time with drugs, and promised he never would again.” PLUS: NYC is promoting “Boardwalk Empire” costume designers.

“Vampire Diaries” cast and crew remember a crew member killed in a movie train accident
Sarah Jones was killed last week while filming “Midnight Rider” in Georgia.

Here”s your 1st look at “Friends With Better Lives” starring James Van Der Beek
Brooklyn Decker and Kevin Connolly also star in the sitcom about friends that premieres after the “How I Met Your Mother” finale.

Ellen & Minnie Driver “audition” for “Downton Abbey”
Watch them go back to the early 20th century.

AMC is presenting Don Draper”s “Mad Men” journey in 2 minutes
There will also be two-minute recaps for the other major characters. PLUS: Saturday Evening Post gives “Mad Men” the Norman Rockwell treatment.

Sports Illustrated posts pics of the very young teenage Rob Lowe
Here”s Lowe – who turns 50 next month – in his first acting composite sheet.

Ex-“Mob Wives” star accusing “Graft Theft Auto V” of using her image
Karen Gravano is demanding $40 million in her lawsuit.

ABC”s “Mind Games”: Too complicated?
“Lone Star” and “Awake” creator Kyle Killen is attempting his third network show, with stars Christian Slater and Steve Zahn. But viewers may need a lot of patience for a 10 pm show, especially one on ABC. PLUS: “Mind Games” is exhausting to watch, an off-putting misfire, and it”s time for Killen to take his approach to cable.

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