Twentieth Television announced seven Fox O&Os will air a six-week preview run of The Huckabee Show, an hour-long weekday talk show hosted by Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas and a 2008 Republican presidential candidate. Beginning July 26, the seven local markets and stations testing the show include WNYW/New York (12p); KDFW/Dallas-Fort Worth (1p); WFXT/Boston (10a); WAGA/Atlanta (1p); WJBK/Detroit (12p); WTVT/Tampa (11a); and KMSP/Minneapolis-St. Paul (10a). The daily talk show, taped in New York in front of a live studio audience, will focus on current topics in addition to featuring political and cultural personages. Huckabee will also continue to host his weekend show, Huckabee on FOX News Channel.

The Hub adds two new original series to its programming lineup, the game show Pictureka! hosted by Cory Almeida (BECOMEAHOST ALUM!!!!) and the animated series The Adventures of Chuck and Friends.  Based on Hasbro's board game and produced by Hasbro Studios in conjunction with Ellman Entertainment, Pictureka! will feature kids and their families racing against the clock to find objects hidden in complex drawings.  Targeted to preschoolers, The Adventures of Chuck and Friends is based on Tonka's Chuck the Truck and his pals.  The series is produced by Hasbro Studios and is educational/instructional (E/I) compliant.  A joint venture between Discovery Communications and Hasbro, The Hub will launch on October 10, 2010.

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Paula Abdul will soon appear on CBS as executive producer, creative partner and lead judge for the network's new reality competition series Got To Dance (wt). Abdul will additionally be a coach, mentor and advocate for contestants during the performance and elimination phases as well as offering critiques and guidance. Got To Dance is inspired by the UK series which premiered earlier this year on Sky 1 and is now one of Britain's top-rated pay TV series for the season. Amateur dancers from across the US, performing solo or as a group, can display any form of dancing and the most talented and entertaining will audition for Abdul and the other judges. The best of the crop will then perform live in the Semi-Finals and Finals rounds where they will compete to become the Got To Dance champion. The panel of expert judges and information on auditions will be available at a later date. The series format is from Shine Group, created by Princess Productions and Shine TV and produced by Reveille. In addition to Abdul, other executive producers include Elisabeth Murdoch, Howard T. Owens, Mark Koops and Robin Ashbrook. Shine International will handle distribution.

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Oprah Winfrey's OWN network announced on Friday that it partnered with reality producer Mark Burnett on "Your OWN Show," a nationwide talent search that will see Oprah choose a winner to host his or her own studio talk show on the network.

Contestants may submit three-minute audition videos through June 26, which will be narrowed by public voting to five finalists, who will receive an audition in Los Angeles with Mark Burnett Productions.

Kohl's department stores has signed on to sponsor the series, and is also hosting open casting calls in June in New York, Dallas, Los Angeles and Atlanta.

http://myown.oprah.com/audition/index.html

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 Regis Philbin will host the 37th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, airing June 27 on CBS. Philbin's show Live With Regis and Kelly is also up for three awards including outstanding talk show.

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tbs has Revolutionized Late Night  CONAN O'BRIEN - GEORGE LOPEZ  Joke-By-Joke, We're Changing Late Night Forever. Making It Younger. More Diverse. Better For Your Brand. And, Very Funny.

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Donna Martin graduates ... to daytime TV talk show host?
- Kim Potts

That's ABC's plan, according to the Los Angeles Times, which reports that ABC is developing a daytime talk-show for 'Beverly Hills, 90210' and 'Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood' star Tori Spelling and a male co-host to be named later.

Though the new series is in the early rounds of development (i.e., there's a chance it'll never even make it to the pilot stage), the Times reports that the network wants to pair Spelling with a "Bff"-type guy, someone who would help her provide a "'Will & Grace' vibe" for the show.

Hmmm ... 'Will & Grace' alum Sean Hayes? Nah, he probably wouldn't do a talk show. Neil Patrick Harris? Ditto. Rupert Everett? Maybe. 'Sex and the City' star Mario Cantone, who does frequent segments on 'The View' and is hilarious? And why »

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 NBC has retained GotCast.com for its 'Stand Up For Diversity' initiative, a nationwide search for stand-up comedians of diverse backgrounds. The search, which supplements NBC's live open calls, kicks off this week and will run through July 2010.

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William Shatner has just signed on to host reality series Weird or What for the Discovery Channel, which will air on the History Channel in Shatner's native Canada.

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 Oprah has brought you some of daytime's biggest stars: Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray, Dr. Oz, and will this fall with Nate Berkus. Now, it's your turn. Do you have what it takes to have your own show? Oprah and the most successful reality producer in television, Mark Burnett, are joining forces on a nationwide search to discover television's next big star in Your OWN Show: Oprah's Search for the Next TV Star (working title). Oprah will announce all the details on The Oprah Winfrey Show in May, and the search will begin. The series will be produced by Burnett's production company.

NBC Local Media is adding Access Hollywood Live, a first-run Entertainment News and Talk Show emanating from Los Angeles and produced by NBCU Television Distrubution along with the production team behind Access Hollywood. The new 60m daily show will premiere this September on six NBC O&Os including WNBC/New York, KNBC/Los Angeles, WMAQ/Chicago, KNTV/San Francisco, KNSD/San Diego and WVIT/Hartford.

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 Discovery Channel's upcoming original series Worst Case Scenario, based on the book series of the same name, is now in production featuring survival expert and host of Man vs. Wild, Bear Grylls. Produced by Pilgrim Films & Television, each of the six episodes will show viewers skills and knowledge in order to survive unexpected situations such as escaping out of a sinking car to fending off a shark attack. Worst Case Scenario will debut on Discovery Channel this spring.  

Rosie O'Donnell is working with Dick Robertson, former President of Warner Bros. Domestic TV Distribution and Scott Carlin, previous head of HBO Domestic Distribution on a new daytime syndicated talk show, likely based in NYC. Both Robertson and Carlin previously worked on the syndicated The Rosie O'Donnell Show. O'Donnell's show would launch in fall 2011, hoping to step into the void left by The Oprah Winfrey Show. Rosie's show will be produced independently by a new company established by her, Robertson and Carlin.

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 Twitter newbie Conan O'Brien has launched a contest with sponsor American Express to promote his new "Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour." To enter, follow @americanexpress on Twitter and tweet, "Hey @americanexpress I want to be with Coco in (city you want to see show in). Pick me! #amexConan.

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 Way to go Kelly O! The Dancing With the Stars runner-up, 25, is joining Dr. Phil as a contributor beginning March 24. Osbourne tells Entertainment Tonight that she's "excited" to join the self-help talk show. 

"It offers a great opportunity for me to bring a youthful perspective and opinion on the issues that affect our selves, our families and society as a whole, and I'm very honored to be a part of it," she says. "I really hope I can use my life experiences to do some good."

Dr. Phil calls her "an excellent addition... She has dealt with drug addiction as well as addictions within her family. She's also fought the battle with obesity, and the public scrutiny that often accompanies it."

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Jerry Springer, who will host a daily dating show called Baggage on the Game Network beginning this April 19.  "I just keep finding jobs," Springer jokes to the Associated Press of the show, in which contestants have to reveal their worst qualities to potential suitors.  "I'm really lucky and I know that. Being a host is what I'm comfortable doing. I've been doing it forever, joking around with guests, having fun," adds Springer, who has hosted his eponymous talk show since 1991. 

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 Sean Hayes (Will & Grace) will host the 64th Annual Tony Awards airing live on CBS June 13 at 8p from Radio City Musical Hall in New York City. Hayes is also up for a Tony this year for his performance in the musical Promises, Promises.

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Next Wednesday, CMT is launching a new season of its music competition series The Singing Bee at 1030p hosted by Melissa Peterman directly following the 2010 CMT Music Awards. Earlier this same night, Peterman will host the CMT Music Awards Red Carpet 2010 live special starting at 7p. The Singing Bee is produced by The Gurin Company and JUMA Entertainment.

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Just as William Shatner returns to TV with the new CBS sitcom "$#*! My Dad Says," the Montreal-born actor is headed to Canada to salute local films for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC).

Shatner will host "Making A Scene," a retrospective on award-winning Canuck films, on Thursday, Sept. 23, the same night his upcoming CBS comedy drawn from a Twitter feed will air locally, courtesy domestic broadcaster CTV.

News of Shatner's Canadian gig came Thursday as the CBC unveiled a fall 2010 schedule in Toronto that plays its safe with returning shows and familiar faces.

Another Canadian, Alex Trebek, whose career was launched by the CBC, will return to host "Jeopardy!" weeknights at 7:30 after "Wheel of Fortune" at 7, and help usher in the public broadcaster's primetime schedule this fall.