Valerie Bertinelli is BACK on TV

Two-time Golden Globe® winner Valerie Bertinelli (One Day at a Time) is returning to the world of sitcoms. She has just signed to star in a new comedy pilot for TBS from writer/executive producer Dave Caplan, whose credits include TBS’s highly popular sitcom The Bill Engvall Show, as well as George Lopez and The Drew Carey Show. The as-yet-untitled sitcom centers on a single mother trying to run a business while raising two children. The premise of the show is inspired by events in Caplan’s own life.

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TBS/TNT Summer Shows

Click on the photo for larger version to see what's coming up this summer on TBS and TNT!

SAG Awards VIRTUAL Red Carpet!

As a build-up to the 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards presentation, TNT and TBS will present a special live webcast of the red carpet at tnt.tv and tbs.com, as well as through the TBS and TNT domains within the Kaneva virtual world.

The webcast, which will open with SAG president Alan Rosenberg and SAG Awards nominee Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma) announcing the recipients of this year’s new Stunt Ensemble honors, will be hosted by Entertainment Weekly’s Dave Karger and comedian Jamie Kaler, co-star of TBS’s acclaimed comedy series My Boys. Karger and Kaler will cover the red carpet arrivals of this year’s nominees, past winners and other attendees. Following the Red Carpet Pre-Show, the webcast will shift backstage to the press and photo rooms, where this year’s SAG Awards honorees will answer questions from reporters and pose for pictures with their Actor® statuettes.

In addition to watching the Screen Actors Guild Awards Red Carpet Pre-Show at tbs.com and tnt.tv, fans worldwide can now walk the SAG red carpet inside the 3D virtual world of Kaneva. Set to take place in the 3D TNT backlot inside Kaneva, the event will allow fans to create and dress their avatars in high fashion, walk the carpet, watch live interviews of the hottest celebrities on the Hollywood red carpet on multiple in-world screens, mingle and chat with friends and even participate in a red carpet photo shoot. Additional details are available at http://www.kaneva.com/redcarpet.htm.

"10 Items or Less" Premiere Tonight & Webcast

In conjunction with the Tuesday, Jan. 15 return of TBS’s popular late-night comedy series 10 ITEMS OR LESS, the network’s broadband destination, tbs.com, is giving fans a cart full of digital tie-ins.

Headlining the offerings is a special webcast featuring the entire cast and director Nancy Hower, set to take place immediately after the 11 p.m. (ET/PT) season premiere. 10 ITEMS OR LESS, co-created by acclaimed comedy improv actor John Lehr (Memron), is TBS’s loosely scripted look at life at Greens & Grains, a family-owned grocery store run by a less-than-skilled manager.

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TBS Enjoys Engvall

Setting the stage for continued success in the original sitcoms arena, TBS has ordered a second season of 10 episodes of its hit sitcom THE BILL ENGVALL SHOW, according to an announcement by Michael Wright, senior vice president in charge of the Content Creation Group for TBS, TNT and TCM. In addition, Engvall will host BLUE COLLAR COMEDY: THE NEXT GENERATION, a special to be shot at HBO and AEG Live’s The Comedy Festival (TCF) at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for premiere on TBS Saturday, Nov. 17.

“Working with Bill and the wonderful and immensely talented people behind his show has been a great experience, and we couldn’t be happier about continuing that relationship on this, TBS’s first in-house production,” said Wright. “We’re also thrilled to be working with Bill and four fresh comic talents on BLUE COLLAR COMEDY: THE NEXT GENERATION.”

Don't We All Love Those Funny Foreign Commercials?

What: New One-Hour TBS Special WORLD’S FUNNIEST COMMERCIALS

When: Premieres Thursday, Aug. 30, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT)

Who: Kevin Nealon (Saturday Night Live, Weeds) and his wife, actress-comedian Susan Yeagley (Friends, Curb Your Enthusiasm), host this special from Paris.

Description: WORLD’S FUNNIEST COMMERCIALS will showcase more than 60 of the cleverest and most humorous commercials from such countries as Sweden, Norway, Argentina, Peru, Thailand and Japan, to name a few. It also features ads from former Soviet bloc nations Russia, Poland and Romania.

Producers: Robert Dalrymple Productions in conjunction with TWI; Dalrymple & Steve Mayer, executive producers.

Online: TBS’s enormously popular broadband site VeryFunnyAds.com features a seemingly endless collection of commercials from around the world, including many beyond the ones that will be featured in WORLD’S FUNNIEST COMMERCIALS. VeryFunnyAds.com has delivered more than 65 million video streams (Source: Omniture) since its launch in conjunction with last year’s edition of WORLD’S FUNNIEST COMMERCIALS

Background: TBS’s Funniest Commercials specials in August and December consistently rank among the network’s highest-rated shows of the year. The premiere of last year’s Funniest Commercials of the Year: 2006 special was watched by nearly 5 million viewers (Source: Nielsen Media Research). The show invited viewers to vote on their favorite commercials via TBS’s VeryFunnyAds.com broadband site.

Ellen Knows Variety is the Spice of Life...

Emmy®-winning talk show host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres is bringing her winning personality to TBS this November, when she presents ELLEN’S REALLY BIG SHOW, according to an announcement made today by Michael Wright, senior vice president in charge of the Content Creation Group for TBS, TNT and TCM. The two-hour variety special will feature performances by top talents from the worlds of comedy and music. It will be shot at HBO and AEG Live’s The Comedy Festival (TCF) at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, for which TBS serves as title sponsor. It will then premiere on TBS Sunday, Nov. 18.

“We are truly thrilled to be working with the enormously talented Ellen DeGeneres on her first TBS special,” said Wright. “It’s especially exciting to see her bring back the variety special format, which for decades provided television with some of its most memorable performances.”

DeGeneres added, “I’m very happy to be working with TBS. I usually put two TBS of sugar in my coffee every day, so this is a dream come true for me.”

The third annual edition of The Comedy Festival will take place Nov. 14-17 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Continuing its tradition of presenting comedy’s biggest stars and cutting-edge talent, the four-day event will feature multi-artist performances, tributes, stand-up comedy, sketch comedy and televised special events. The Comedy Festival will take place in several venues throughout Caesars Palace, including the Palace Ballroom, which is being converted into the TBS Very Funny Theater. ELLEN’S REALLY BIG SHOW will be shot in the renowned Caesars Palace Colosseum.

DeGeneres has taken home three Emmys® as Outstanding Talk Show Host for The Ellen DeGeneres Show and four for Outstanding Talk Show. She began her career as a stand-up comedian and has headlined a number of award-winning specials. In 1994, she starred in her own series, Ellen, which was followed up by The Ellen Show. DeGeneres also used her distinctive voice to bring the absent-minded Dory to life in the hit animated film Finding Nemo. She is also well known for her appearances as commercial spokeswoman for American Express and her hosting of the 57th Annual Emmy Awards and the 79th Annual Academy Awards®.

"My Boys" and "Bill Engvall" Special Skits on TBS.com

TBS is pumping up its broadband offerings by launching two new projects on tbs.com tied into TBS’s original series. ASK BILL ties into TBS’s hit series THE BILL ENGVALL SHOW with a collection of segments featuring Bill Engvall (Blue Collar TV) as the title character offering humorous advice to viewers. And ANDY’S CAR promotes TBS’s acclaimed series MY BOYS through comedic vignettes set in a car owned by one of the show’s characters, Andy, played by Jim Gaffigan (That ‘70s Show, Ed). Both projects, created by the digital production unit of Turner Entertainment Networks’ Content Creation Group, can be found at tbs.com by accessing the TBS broadband video player, which delivered 5.3 million video streams in July, the player’s best month since launching last fall.

“These two projects demonstrate one aspect of our multi-prong strategy when it comes to broadband content,” said Jeff Gregor, chief marketing officer for TBS, TNT and TCM. “The broadband extensions for THE BILL ENGVALL SHOW and MY BOYS allow us to promote these shows by creating new, original, very funny content not available through the linear network. In addition, their presence on tbs.com will help give our already successful TBS broadband player an opportunity to reach ever greater heights.”

ASK BILL is a companion piece to TBS’s hit series THE BILL ENGVALL SHOW. In it, family counselor Bill Pearson (Engvall) reads letters from people seeking his input on issues in their daily lives. He then offers pointedly humorous advice in return. Eight ASK BILL installments have been produced to date, with a new segment appearing on tbs.com each week.

ANDY’S CAR promotes TBS’s critically acclaimed MY BOYS through a series of humorous segments based on the premise that Andy (Gaffigan), PJ Franklin’s loveable brother now living in the suburbs, has a lot of time to spend in his car commuting. This promotional clips feature characters from the series sitting in Andy’s car and shooting the breeze about everyday life. One such segment includes Andy and Mike, played by Jamie Kaler, wolfing down fast food while pontificating on its nutritional properties. There are currently nine installments of ANDY’S CAR available at tbs.com.

In addition to these broadband tie-ins, users can also check out episodes of both MY BOYS and THE BILL ENGVALL SHOW through the TBS broadband video player.