News

THE BOYS ARE BACK

The low-brow lads of Trailer Park Boys will return to television in a new comedy series. The Maritimer trio of Mike Smith, Robb Wells and J.P. Tremblay have been cast to play multiple characters on a new Showcase series titled The Drunk and on Drugs Happy Funtime Hour. The show will focus on a fictional children's show that takes a bizarre twist after the cast, played by the TPB stars, accidentally ingests an addictive hallucinogenic drug created by a character portrayed by Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson. Set in the fictional burg of Port Cockerton, the show's cast of regular characters will also include a bumbling crime family and members of a dangerous cult. "I think the new series will appeal to a very broad audience," said Tremblay in a release. "It's definitely not like anything that's ever been on Canadian television before." Showcase has signed a deal for six episodes of the series, which will air in mid-2010.

BAD GRAMMER

ABC has made the inevitable move of yanking Hank. On Wednesday, the network sent out the announcement cancelling the rookie sitcom, which starred Kelsey Grammer as a former CEO who loses his job and is forced to relocate his family from New York to the more déclassé locale of River Bend, Va. According to the ABC release, the series was allowed to finish shooting its current episode - the 10th in a 13-show order - but there are no plans to broadcast the unaired episodes.

MONEY TALKS

American Idol judge Simon Cowell is prime-time TV's top male earner, according to Forbes magazine's annual list. The famously testy Cowell topped the list with an estimated annual income of $75-million (U.S.). Finishing distant second was The Apprentice's helmet-haired host Donald Trump with $50-million, followed by Idol's Ryan Seacrest ($38-million), Two and a Half Men's Charlie Sheen ($21-million), The Office's Steve Carell ($20-million), Deal or No Deal's Howie Mandel ($15-million), 24's Kiefer Sutherland ($13-million), Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?'s Jeff Foxworthy ($11-million) and House star Hugh Laurie ($10-million). Tied for 10th place was CSI: Miami's David Caruso and Grey's Anatomy's Patrick Dempsey, both pulling in $9-million.