Morning Edition:
Giuliana Rancic has extended her contract with the E! network until 2015. Giuliana will continue cohosting E! News and covering E!’s red-carpet award shows as well as remain on Fashion Police and continue as managing editor of E! News. In exchange for all of those duties, the E! network gets first look rights to her ideas for specials and series. Rancic said, “It’s been an amazing ride, and I’m excited for my journey at E! to continue. I’m extremely proud of the tremendous opportunities E! has given me over the past 10 years and I’m excited to be part of the network’s exciting future. The best is yet to come.”
Michael McKean, star of many Christopher Guest comedies like Best in Show and A Mighty Wind, was struck by a car yesterday in Manhattan and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. McKean’s condition was upgraded to stable at the hospital, but his rep said he suffered a broken leg in addition to cuts and bruises. His publicist, Harriet Sternberg, said, “He’ll be OK, hopefully he’ll be fine. It’s pretty devastating. It’s the first time he will have ever missed a curtain in his entire life. His understudy has never gone on in 40-plus years.” McKean was currently performing in Gore Vidal’s The Best Man. According to the Daily News, two other people involved in the accident were also taken to the hospital and police are not investigating the incident as a crime.
Evening Edition:
***SPOILER ALERT***
Last night was the finale of Dancing With the Stars and the show finally crowned a champion. NFL receiver Donald Driver and his partner, Peta Murgatroyd, beat out Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins and her partner, Mark Ballas, for the mirrorball trophy. Actor William Levy took home third place. Driver is the seventh athlete and third football player to win in Dancing With the Stars’ 14 seasons. Returning contestant Gladys Knight was on hand to perform her rendition of “The Way We Were” and Kelly Clarkson took the stage with her medley of “Dark Side” and “Stronger.” Dancing With the Stars will return this fall with its 15th season, which will be its first All-Star season.
With a new showrunner coming aboard for its second season, ABC’s Smash has announced that four characters will not be returning as season regulars. Jaime Cepero, Raza Jaffrey, Brian D’Arcy James and Will Chase will not be returning for the next season. That means their characters, pesky assistant Ellis, Karen’s boyfriend Dev, Julia’s husband Frank and Julia’s lover Michael Swift will not be regulars for the next season. This comes weeks after the announcement of a new showrunner, Josh Safran, who formerly was a showrunner for Gossip Girl.
