Former “Survivor” producer Bruce Beresford-Redman landed at Cancun’s airport early Thursday Mexico City time and got in an SUV accompanied by three police vehicles. He will be taken to a jail in the Caribbean resort town before he sees a judge.

He is charged in the death of his wife, Monica Beresford-Redman, whose body was found in a sewer cistern at a swank resort following an April 2010 family vacation.

Image via Wikipedia

New Jersey’s second largest city is rolling out the welcome mat for the women of the “Jersey Shore.”

Jersey City has issued producers a permit to film a spinoff of the reality series featuring Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Jenni “JWoww” Farley. Filming is expected to begin later this month in the city’s Grove Street Path neighborhood.

Nearby Hoboken last week denied the permit, citing safety and quality of life concerns for residents of the city along the Hudson River.

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy says he believes the show is an opportunity to promote the city.

City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill says the cast and crew must obey all laws and the production company will be required to hire police to reduce any impact on the public.

Fox’s medical drama “House” is ending its eight-year run this season.

The show’s producers, including Emmy-nominated star Hugh Laurie, said it was a “painful” decision but that the time had come to bring “House” to a close.

The drama stars Laurie as Dr. Gregory House, a brilliant but troubled physician with a gift for unraveling medical mysteries. Omar Epps, Robert Sean Leonard and Charlyne Yi are part of the ensemble cast.

In a statement Wednesday, Laurie and his fellow producers said they imagined Dr. House as an “enigmatic creature,” and that it was best for him to vanish while there was still mystery in the air.

The season finale date for “House,” which airs 9 p.m. EST Monday, was not announced.

Image via CrunchBase

NBC hoped the Super Bowl would prompt viewers to sample a couple of its promising new shows and, at least initially, the network is getting its wish.

The network premiered the second season of “The Voice” directly after Sunday’s Super Bowl, which attracted a record-setting audience of 111.3 million viewers. The Nielsen company said that 37.6 million people hung around for its music competition series on Sunday.

Perhaps more importantly, an estimated 17.7 million people watched “The Voice” the next night. That’s up 49 percent from the show’s first season average of 11.9 million last year. It’s also a larger audience than “American Idol” gathered for its second episode of the week last Thursday.

The premiere of “Smash,” NBC’s highly-publicized drama about life backstage at Broadway play rehearsals, had 11.5 million viewers on Monday. Those are the best ratings in the Monday 10 p.m. time slot for NBC since 2008.

Thanks to the Super Bowl, NBC’s weekly average in prime-time was 21.4 million viewers (9.9 rating, 16 share). CBS had 8.4 million viewers (5.3, 9), Fox had 6.8 million (4.0, 6), ABC had 5.1 million (3.3, 5), the CW had 1.6 million (1.0, 2) and ION Television had 1.1 million (0.7, 1).

Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision led with a 3.5 million viewer average (1.8, 3), Telemundo had 1.1 million (0.6, 1), Telefutura had 660,000 (0.3, 1), Estrella had 210,000 and Azteca 170,000 (both 0.1, 0)

NBC’s “Nightly News” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 9.3 million viewers (6.2,11). ABC’s “World News” was second with 8 million (5.3, 10) and the “CBS Evening News” had 6.5 million viewers (4.4, 8).

A ratings point represents 1,147,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation’s estimated 114.7 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

For the week of Jan. 30-Feb. 5, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: Super Bowl: N.Y. Giants vs. New England, NBC, 111.35 million; “Super Bowl Post Game,” NBC, 76.8 million; “The Voice,” NBC, 37.61 million; “American Idol” (Wednesday), Fox, 18.48 million; “American Idol” (Thursday), Fox, 17.41 million; “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 16.54 million; “Person of Interest,” CBS, 15.1 million; “The Mentalist,” CBS, 13.78 million; “NCIS,” CBS, 13.04 million; “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 11.44 million.

Less than a second stood between British singer M.I.A. giving the finger to 114 million people watching the Super Bowl halftime show and no one noticing at all.

That’s how close NBC censors came to preventing the gesture from being seen Sunday night, but the Super Bowl instead wound up with another entertainment oops moment. The gesture swept across social media, showing up in screen grabs and video, reminding everyone of Janet Jackson’s infamous wardrobe malfunction in 2004 when a nipple was exposed ever so briefly to a Super Bowl audience.

Both NBC and the NFL, which puts on the halftime show, apologized.

M.I.A.’s record label said Monday it had no comment and her Twitter account was silent since noting she was in Lucas Oil Stadium with Madonna. And the Material Girl, who invited M.I.A. to appear during her performance of “Give Me All Your Luvin’,” had no immediate comment.

The Nielsen Co. said that 114 million people watched Madonna’s halftime show, even more than the average of 111.3 million who watched the game. It was the most-watched halftime entertainment show ever.

The gesture was “so shocking that I had no idea she even did it until NBC issued an apology for it,” wrote Time magazine TV critic James Poniewozik on his blog.

The digital video recorder maker Tivo said there were no appreciable bumps in playbacks at the time of M.I.A.’s gesture, meaning many people either didn’t see it or shrugged it off. Tivo has some 2 million customers in the U.S., said Tara Maitra, the company’s senior vice president.

“I never even noticed,” said Joan Kistner, a marketer from Chicago who watched the game. “It wasn’t until this morning when I heard the news” and so many people were talking about it that she knew it happened.

“I don’t know why they glorify bad behavior,” Kistner said. “Some things should just be left alone. I really think she owes Madonna, who obviously wanted her to be part of the show, an apology.”

The NFL and NBC should take steps to hold people accountable for their actions, said Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council.

“Most families would agree that the middle finger aimed directly at them is not appropriate, especially during the most-watched television event of the year,” Winter said.

Back in M.I.A.’s native Britain, the London Times noted that while all eyes may have been on Madonna at halftime, “it was the extended middle finger of the British hip-hop star M.I.A. that caused the most controversy.”

The Guardian wondered whether anyone would really be outraged.

“You’d be forgiven for not having a coronary over the fact M.I.A. gave Super Bowl viewers the finger during her halftime guest spot with Madonna,” the newspaper wrote in its music blog. “For most fans, it was probably more shocking to see M.I.A. performing a rehearsed dance routine than flipping the bird.”

Indeed, M.I.A. is provocative and an artist taking advantage of all those TV viewers might not be all that surprising. Still, host Gretchen Carlson on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” urged M.I.A. to “get a life” and culture vulture Perez Hilton tweeted: “Think she’ll ever be invited on live TV again?”

Jackson’s incident raised a storm of controversy and put CBS in hot water with the Federal Communications Commission amid questions about the responsibility of TV networks to police their airwaves. The network and FCC are still fighting over whether CBS should pay a $550,000 fine.

One person who didn’t miss M.I.A.’s message was Marlee Matlin. The actress, who is deaf, tweeted: “When we expected some beautiful sign language during the #SuperBowl National Anthem, we got instead a ‘sign’ during M.I.A.’s rap. Ahem.”

RHOBH star Kyle Richards, 43, has also had her share of drama. Although she has a loving family life with her four daughters and husband Mauricio Umansky, her rollercoaster relationship with sister Kim Richards has captivated viewers since the show’s premiere.

Richards, who has written a new book called Life Is Not a Reality Show, talked to Parade.com about the cast’s painful second season, her relationship with Kim, and whether she’ll return for another season.

On the bond she shares with her castmates.
“It’s hard to explain. There was some rumor saying that we weren’t really friends and it was all made up, but none of us would ever agree to pretend we were friends. We do spend birthdays and holidays together and go trick-or-treating with our kids on Halloween. We also visit each other’s homes without cameras around. Yes, we have fights and disagreements, but we cry and make up just like normal people.”

8 Jaw-Dropping Reality TV Moments

On the drama-filled three-part reunion.
“It’s very difficult, especially when [host] Andy Cohen asks us questions that we don’t want to relive. But that’s what the reunion is all about. We have to go back over these things. It’s very painful at times, but we’re expected to be honest. It’s hard because we don’t want to be, but we can’t all just sit there and say ‘Everybody looks so beautiful today’ and ‘How are the kids’?”

On her relationship with her sister Kim, who checked into rehab in December for alcohol addiction.
“I’m very happy to say that my relationship with Kim today is in the best place it’s been in many years. We are having fun together and we’re able to laugh and just be real sisters again.”

On watching their tumultuous relationship play out on the small screen.
“For so long, people didn’t know what was going on with her and what her issues were and I was holding everything in. I had a lot of anger for many years towards Kim about her issues. Watching the show, I realized that the way I was interacting with Kim and the way I was dealing with that situation with her wasn’t getting me anywhere. Even though the comments I made were hurtful during the Season 1 finale, that’s how I was feeling in the back of the limo that night. I was very angry, but I couldn’t explain to the world why and how because I didn’t want to reveal family secrets. But I sat back and said ‘Ok, I can still learn from this.’ Obviously, the way I was handling my relationship with Kim wasn’t healthy, so there were some changes to be made.”

‘Real Housewife’ Lisa Vanderpump: ‘I Felt Under Attack This Season’

On returning for a third season.
“Since Bravo has not announced a third season yet, we’re all just taking the time to think if it’s something we want to do because of what we’ve all been through. Yes, there are some good things that come with it, but it’s a big price to pay being on a show like this. It’s something you really have to think long and hard about. I’ll have to sit down with my family and make it a family decision. There was more drama than we needed this year.”

On the secret to having a long and successful marriage in Beverly Hills.
“Making each other the priority is really the number one thing. My husband and I are so busy right now, but we know when we’re getting too wrapped up and need to pull back on the reins and remember our priorities. Mutual respect is an important thing in a relationship. We really make a point of letting each other know how much we love each other and that we appreciate each other.”

On growing up in Beverly Hills.
“Because I was a child actress, I had a different experience than most who grew up in Beverly Hills. I was going to the set every day in Simi Valley and riding horses on the set of Little House on the Prairie and catching tadpoles in the stream. It gave me a glimpse into a different world, which I really appreciate now looking back as an adult. In Beverly Hills, everybody is very privileged and has help and drivers, so it was a nice break from that.”

What’s Your Reality TV Personality? Take the quiz!

On why she’s decided not to have nannies, stylists, or personal chefs (like many of her co-stars).
“I grew up in a town where everyone had so much and we always had nice things, but my mom was one of these women who liked to do everything herself. Even though we had housekeepers, she’d be right there with them and she would always do her own hair and makeup while all the other women were at salons. That was my role model growing up. It was always very important to my mom that we were down to earth. She made us clean our own rooms and wash our own cars. That’s how I was raised and that’s how I want my daughters to be raised. Plus, I enjoy it. I enjoy being with my kids. I don’t want someone else driving my children to school. I want to be there with them in the car having those conversations.”

On her famed locks.
“I think brunettes have more fun, what can I say! I know I have fun. As a child, I was a brunette in a sea of blondes in my family, but I’ve always loved being a brunette. I think people tend to take brunettes more seriously. It’s funny how many viewers on the show will tweet me and ask, ‘Did you trim your hair?’ They don’t miss a trick! Eventually, I will cut it. I don’t know how short because I’m just not a short hair person. I wouldn’t feel like myself.”

The pressure was on. The tension was thick. And then, there were yawns in between.

The Super Bowl may have been a nail biter, but the ads were a snooze.

Actor Clint Eastwood waxed for two minutes about Detroit and Chrysler. An M&M stripped “naked” at a party. And stars from the 90s were everywhere, as were dogs and babies, of course.

How social media reacted the Super Bowl ads

Companies paid an average of $3.5 million for a 30-second spot for the right to duke it out Sunday in front of the expected 111 million-plus fans. But there were it was all so ordinary with fewer surprises.

That’s mostly because nearly half of the 70 Super Bowl advertisers put their spots out online in the days leading up to the game. And the companies that did wait until game day for the “big reveal” didn’t take many risks. In fact, most settled on cliché plots with babies, celebrities, sex and humor.

“Advertisers this year are playing it very safe,” said Tim Calkins, a professor of marketing at Northwestern University. “They’re running spots that are clearly designed to appeal to a broad audience and not to offend.”

Here’s a look at the game’s ads, play by play:

SEX SELLS — OR AT LEAST ADVERTISERS HOPE IT DOES

Advertisers showed a little skin in their Super Bowl.

An ad for domain name-hosting site GoDaddy shows racecar driver Danica Patrick and fitness expert Jillian Michaels body painting a nude woman. An spot for clothing retailer H&M features soccer star David Beckham in black-and-white in his undies. And online florist Teleflora and automaker Kia both use Victoria Secret’s model Adriana Lima in their Super Bowl ads.

But perhaps the two most blatant examples of “letting it all hang out” came from car companies.

Toyota’s spot for its “reinvented” Camry features a “reinvented” couch made up of women wearing bikinis. “It also comes in male,” a voiceover in the ad says while showing a couch of shirtless men.

And among the few standouts for the night was a Fiat ad that equated seeing a Fiat for the first time with making out with a sexy Italian super model. The tagline: “You’ll never forget the first time you see one.”

“They did a good job of showing that some decisions are made with the heart, some decisions are made with the head and the Italian car decision resides in the groin,” said Greg Dinoto, chief creative officer of advertising agency Deutsch in New York. “It was sexy and surprising and fun.”

BABIES AND DOGS, OH MY

Who doesn’t love cute animals and babies? Advertisers are banking there aren’t many among us.

That’s why Doritos used both. One Doritos spot shows a man being bribed by a dog with the chips to keep the animal’s dirty secret about a cat’s disappearance. In another spot, a grandmother uses a slingshot to hoist a baby up to grab a bag of Doritos that belongs to a boy in a tree who had been taunting the baby with the chips.

Those two ads were crowd favorites, said Peter Dabol, who analyzes advertising effectiveness at research firm Ace Metrix. The firm polled 500 viewers about the ads to find the most popular.

“It’s a typical Super Bowl, funny carries the day,” he said. “Advertisers are driving for attention and likeability.”

Skechers shoe company introduced its new running sneaker with an ad showing a French bulldog winning a greyhound race by wearing the shoes, of course. The dog then moon walks across the finish line.

And software company 2nd Story Software’s ad used toilet bowl humor, literally. The ad to promote its free TaxAct software shows a boy who looks everywhere to find a respectable place to relieve himself. He winds up going in a pool.

The tagline: “Totally free. Feels good.”

THE STARS WERE OUT

Celebrities always draw attention. And advertisers took a gamble that using stars would be enough to grab attention.

Chrysler, one of nine automakers advertising during the game, aired a Super Bowl ad starring Clint Eastwood. The aging actor talks about the rebirth of Chrysler and Detroit. The two-minute “Imported from Detroit” ad, one of the few spots that weren’t released before the game, follows the company’s ad last year that starred rapper Eminem.

“How do we come from behind, how do we come together and how do we win?” he asks. “Detroit is showing us it can be done. What’s true about them is true about all of us.”

Chrysler’s ad was among the few surprises — and standouts — on Sunday. “Those very few ads that weren’t overexposed up front ended up with a real advantage,” said Raymond Taylor, a professor of marketing at the Villanova School of Business in Villanova, Penn.

Meanwhile, real-estate company Century 21′s ad shows that a real estate agent is able to outdo speed skater Apolo Ohno on the ice, business mogul Donald Trump in business and former football player Deion Sanders at an open house.

And in an ad for Pepsi, “The X Factor” winner Melanie Amaro belts out “Respect” for music icon Elton John, who plays a king in the spot. “Pepsi for all,” she says. At the end of the ad, John finds himself in the dungeon with rapper and reality TV star Flavor Flav.

REMEMBER THAT? NOSTALGIA FACTOR

Some advertisers attempted to tug at viewers’ heart strings by stirring up old, fond memories.

Honda’s ad for its compact sports-utility vehicle CR-V shows actor Matthew Broderick living a grown-up version of his 1986 hit movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The ad includes two dozen references to the movie.

An Acura NSX ad features 1990s comedic titan Jerry Seinfeld battling with late-night talk show host Jay Leno over the sportscar. The ad includes Seinfeld references like a cameo by the “Soup Nazi” character.

And during Downy’s pre-game ad, the company remakes one of the most classic commercials of all time, Coke’s 1980 spot “Mean Joe Greene.” In the original, a little boy gives a gruff football player Joe Greene a Coke as he comes off the field. The Downy remake stars Greene and actress Amy Sedaris (in the little boy role) giving Greene a can of Downy fabric softener.

For all the pomp and excess of Madonna’s Super Bowl halftime extravaganza a single extended middle finger by guest singer M.I.A. is likely to be the most remembered piece of the show.

The gesture, accompanied by a barely disguised expletive, came during a performance of Madonna’s new single, “Give Me All Your Luvin.’” At the end of her lines, M.I.A. appeared to sing “I don’t give a (expletive),” although it was hard to hear clearly.

The incident was reminiscent of Janet Jackson’s infamous “wardrobe malfunction” eight years ago — a surprise risque moment in front of tens of millions of unsuspecting viewers. The brief exposure of Jackson’s nipple during the 2004 halftime show raised a storm of controversy and put CBS in hot water with the Federal Communications Commission.

The Super Bowl, shown on NBC this year, is routinely viewed by more than 100 million people, the biggest TV event of the year. The screen briefly went blurred after M.I.A.’s gesture in what was a late attempt — by less than a second — to cut out the camera shot.

“The NFL hired the talent and produced the halftime show,” NBC spokesman Christopher McCloskey said. “Our system was late to obscure the inappropriate gesture and we apologize to our viewers,”

The NFL blamed a failure in NBC’s delay system for allowing the gesture to be seen. Spokesman Brian McCarthy said M.I.A. did not do anything similar during rehearsals and the league had no reason to believe she would pull something like that during the actual show.

“The obscene gesture in the performance was completely inappropriate, very disappointing, and we apologize to our fans,” McCarthy said.

The British singer M.I.A. is best known for her 2007 hit “Paper Planes,” a Grammy nominee for record of the year that memorably features a sample of the Clash song, “Straight to Hell.” It was featured on the soundtrack to the movie “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Madonna had admittedly been nervous about her performance, hoping to position herself as the queen of a new generation of pop stars with an opulent show and a sharp performance that mixed her new release with more familiar songs. She seemed like Roman royalty when muscle-bound men carried her extravagant throne across the football field to the stage for her opening song, “Vogue.”

Guests Cee Lo, Nicki Minaj and dance rockers LMFAO also appeared with Madonna. The singing and dancing on “Vogue” was smartly choreographed, as Madonna moved more deliberately — she is 53 — but still adroitly. She briefly appeared to stumble at one point while trying to make a step on the stage set, but recovered in time.

She let a tightrope walker make the more acrobatic moves during a performance of “Music.”

Madonna carried gold pompons for a performance of her new single. Twitter was alight with questions about the vocals being lip synched or augmented by tapes, particularly during this song.

The best guest was clearly Cee Lo, who joined Madonna for the final song, “Like a Prayer.” They were joined by a robed chorus in the show’s most soaring performance. With a puff of white smoke, Madonna disappeared down a trap door in the stage, and lights on the field spelled out “World Peace.”

The performance was also carried live on SiriusXM Radio, giving Madonna the biggest single audience of her career. For all the elaborate choreography and flashy effects, the finger incident is the more likely headline from the event.

Earlier, Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert offered some pregame patriotism. Shelton and Lambert did a twangy duet on “America the Beautiful” and Clarkson, in a simple black dress, sang “The Star Spangled Banner” without a hitch after last year’s performer, Christina Aguilera, flubbed a line.

Super Bowl ads battle for championship

Click the jump to see some of our favorite responses.

Actor John Stamos appears in an ad for Dannon's Oikos yogurt. (AP)

By MAE ANDERSON

If you’re expecting to be shocked by all the Super Bowl ads, don’t hold your breath: There won’t be many surprises.

About 20 of the roughly 36 Super Bowl advertisers put their TV commercials online before Sunday’s broadcast. That’s a major shift: It’s up from last year when only a handful of companies released their ads before the game.

Acura put out its spot showing talk show host Jay Leno zooming off in a jet pack. Actor John Stamos already can be seen getting bonked in the head in a Dannon ad. And tens of thousands have viewed Victoria’s Secret model Adriana Lima in a Teleflora commercial.

Why the flurry of pre-releases? The Super Bowl is advertisers’ biggest stage, with 111 million-plus fans expected to tune in. But after paying an average of $3.5 million for 30 seconds, advertisers are eager to stand out in the crowded field of about 70 Super Bowl commercials. Companies figure what better way to do that than to generate buzz online. But does it pay to show all your cards, err, ads?

“It’s creating `pre love’ for your spot,” says Greg DiNoto, chief creative officer of advertising agency Deutsch in New York. “Advertisers are creating an armed camp of habituated enthusiasts.”

Advertisers are taking their cue from Volkswagen. The German automaker took a risk last year by releasing its Super Bowl ad for its redesigned 2012 Passat sedan that features a young boy in a Darth Vader costume before the game aired. The gamble paid off and the ad quickly became a viral hit on video-sharing website YouTube, with 49.4 million views since.

The ad also helped boost sales of the Passat: The sedan went on sale in the summer and has been a popular seller for Volkswagen in the U.S. In December, for example, volume sales of the car more than doubled to nearly 23,000 for the year.

This year, marketers are hoping to make a big splash by releasing their ads early, too. Careerbuilder.com’s chimps are back for the eighth time, as is E*Trade’s baby who’s making his fifth appearance. One Chevrolet spot has an end-of-the world scenario. And a vampire party is cut short by bright LED headlights on an Audi in an ad for the automaker.

So far, the two most talked about pre-released spots are by carmakers. Honda’s CR-V ad starring Matthew Broderick in a grown-up version of his 1986 movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” has 10.2 million views.

Volkswagen’s teaser ad – one that’s not actually going to air during the Super Bowl – shows dogs barking “The Imperial March.” The ad, with 11.2 million views, has been more popular than the actual Super Bowl ad, which shows a dog losing weight to chase a Beetle. It had had 2.1 million views.

Releasing the spots early is a way for advertisers to engage people where they spend a lot of their time these days – online. Indeed, about two-thirds of smartphone and tablet computer users check their devices while they watch TV, according to research firm Nielsen. The ads can also make people feel like they’re in the “know.”

“People feel like they have a horse in the race if they find a commercial they like before the Super Bowl,” says Barbara Lippert, curator of popular culture at ad agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco, which worked on three Chevy spots for the Super Bowl. “They feel like an insider when they finally see it.”

But with so many pre-released ads this year, the strategy could backfire, said Raymond Taylor, a professor of marketing at the Villanova School of Business in Villanova, Pa.

For instance, he says Honda’s Acura ad that shows comedians Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld competing for the first Acura NSX sports car might have gotten more buzz if it hadn’t been released early. The ad, which has gotten 10.8 million views, includes little touches like a cameo from the “Soup Nazi” from the “Seinfeld” sitcom.
“Releasing the ad early takes away the element of surprise and reduces the possibility of a real `wow’ factor during the game,” Taylor says.

Best Buy wanted to preserve the surprise factor of its spot, so it decided to only release details about its ad – not the ad itself. The features superstars in the tech world who invented everything from the camera phone to mobile game app Words with Friends.

“It’s the one moment that you have an audience of that scale and proportion that will give you 30 seconds to talk about you’re brand and what you’re doing,” said Drew Panayiotou, a Best Buy senior vice president. “You can’t find that anywhere.”

I’d say that whatever NBC pays the people responsible for the promos for “Smash,” they need to quadruple it — they’ve been everywhere, including all eleventy-three of NBC Universal’s stations, magazines, and probably the inside of your eyelids (they can do that now, we hear. No unused advertising space). Even before it bows on Super Bowl Sunday, you probably know that it’s the behind-the-scenes story of a fictional musical about Marilyn Monroe, from the conception to auditions to rehearsals and the actual show, with all the soapiness and drama that surreal talent, ego, bright lights and competition can bring.

It’s gonna be soapy. But is it realistic? I know a little something about show business, having written about it for almost two decades, and being an occassional performer myself (My Ariel in the the 1999 Dreamworks production of “The Tempest” in a park in York, Pennsylvania was a triumph of will and a particularly smug flame-painted body stocking). Also, my twin sister Lynne has been a professional in musicals and theater in general, including two tours with Children’s Place for the Kennedy Center. But I wanted to get the opinion of someone who’s spent a lot of time on both sides of that auditioning table — so I watched the first few episodes of “Smash” with Donalda McCarthy.

Donni started as a performer and is now a professional theatre educator, having worked both domestically and in Hong Kong (fancy!). She’s the Artistic Director of Acting UP! Performers’ Academy (www.ActingUP.webs.com) and works with developing playwrights with her monthly New Playwrights’ Workshop at the S.D. Spady Museum in Delray Beach. She’s also a friend, dryly hilarious and a scream to watch TV with. We watched the first two episodes, which introduce fresh-faced newcomer Karen (“American Idol” runner-up Katharine McPhee, who the show insists it’s introducing you too almost 10 years after she became famous) and jaded, competitive and deadly-talented chorus vet Ivy (Megan Hilty), and then she watched the next two on her own and told me what she thought.

Her first impression seemed to be a tapping toe — the show’s original music, written for the “Marilyn” show-within-a-show, is pretty great. She says she thinks it “gives a fair portrayal of how politics and subjective opinions revolve within the arts world” — for instance, the show’s producer, played by Anjelica Huston, both loves the work and wants to prove herself in the industry apart from her former production partner, her cheating weasel of an ex. Co-writer Tom (Christian Borle) advocates for Ivy, who he’s worked with before and champions over newcomer Karen, and Tom’s creative partner Julia (the divine Debra Messing) is irked by Tom’s assistant, who seems to believe the musical was all his idea and resents his neophyte arrogance.

In other words, just because it involves music and feelings doesn’t mean there aren’t games being played — “Some call it ‘office politics’ when cubicles abound, but its definitely safe to advise your up-and-coming students how to ‘play the game,’” Donni says.

She also approved of the ambition of the young performers, whose plans for Broadway and world domination includes off-stage maneuvers as well  — “Madonna is a perfect example of going to New York on a mission, not to make friends and hope her dream comes true. Build that network! Take the ‘right’ classes just as lawyers attend the ‘right’ sports clubs. (It) portrays this in-your-face with the Personal Assistant character, but I enjoy the tangled version of the ‘Marilyn’ cast and crew, as well.”

Yes, even the drama is real — later in the episodes we screened, some catty veteran dancers nevertheless give the naive, unpolished Karen a style and dance intervention of sorts, which Doni thought was “written a bit too swiftly and syrupy, but the reality of it happening rings true. The other performers definitely heard the talent in (Karen’s) voice, and that makes you very popular in this world. We label it ‘Frenemy’ now.”

As for the some of the off-stage hijinks, Donni thought the writting was uneven in some parts — “I was unhappy with the extreme roller-coaster shift of the Debra Messing storyline away from dealing with her career-vs-marriage/family,” she says. “That was just so annoyingly abrupt to me I had to go back and re-watch with the focus on your intention.”

But there’s one part she adored, a later episode where an impromptu performance to impress a possible investor materializes in about 20 seconds, loose choreography, fabulousness and all, finding it “so organic to celebrate talent amongst your own. I giggled when I realized that indeed, every flat I’ve ever chosen was because of its open floor plan should a rehearsal randomly need to be held in my home. Even Andrew Lloyd Webber eventually build a theatre in his backyard because his living room ‘shows’ were getting too tight.”

Donni and I are both cautiously optimistic about the future of “Smash” — it’s amazing to see truly talented people in a show about adults — which is why it isn’t “Glee.” (Sorry, “Glee.”) “You only have the four episodes?” she said, laughing. “Now I’m gonna want to see the rest of it now!”

Me, too!

Donalda McCarthy’s monthly New Playwrights’ Workshop (Fourth Sundays at 5:00pm at the S.D. Spady Museum in Delray Beach.) She advocates for Keeping the Fun in Learning on her blog facebook.com/TheEdutainer. Follow her on Twitter @MissDonni.

Alligator hunters, raccoon wranglers and crawfish catchers in Louisiana’s critter-filled swamps and bayous are increasingly common on television.

Since the introduction of the History Channel’s wildly popular “Swamp People” in 2010, roughly a dozen other Louisiana-based reality shows have made their television debuts, among them the Travel Channel’s “Girls, Guns and Gators,” CMT’s “Crawfish Cowboys” and the Discovery Channel’s “Ragin’ Cajuns.”

The reason for the recent boom in Louisiana-based reality TV is two-fold, said Louisiana Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne. Not only do reality shows filmed in Louisiana take advantage of the state’s TV and film tax credit program, but Louisiana has a rich culture that makes for great entertainment, he said.

“There’s no question it’s a combination of the two,” said Dardenne, who sponsored the original 2002 bill granting tax credits for television and film production in Louisiana.

While some reality shows are far-fetched or have little to do with Louisiana, some are actually good for the state’s image, Dardenne said. Shows such as “Swamp People” and “Ragin’ Cajuns” feature aspects of Louisiana life not found in any other state. They also educate people on issues including coastal erosion and conservation, Dardenne said.

“It captures this interesting, fascinating, very unique aspect of Louisiana life with its beautiful landscape and a strong streak of adventure,” Dardenne said. “It’s not something you’re going to find anywhere else. It’s indigenous to Louisiana.”

Other reality shows filmed in the state in recent years include MTV’s “The Real World”, A&E’s “Steven Seagal: Lawman” and TLC’s “Trashmen” about a New Orleans garbage collection company. Just last month, two new shows, “Bayou Billionaires” and “Crawfish Cowboys,” premiered on CMT.

History channel spokesman Chris Meador said authentic storytelling is an important component in its programming and one reason for the success of “Swamp People.” Last season the show drew in more than 4 million viewers, making it one of the network’s most watched shows.

News coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the BP oil spill in 2010 has actually increased people’s interest in the Gulf Coast region, priming audiences for Louisiana-based programming, Meador said.

“No matter what they go through down there they come back better and come back stronger,” Meador said. “While everything that happened happened, they’re continuing with the lives that they’ve always led, that their parents led. I think it’s an amazing story and symbolic of the American story. It’s the great American success story.”

With the premiere of the third season of “Swamp People” set for Feb. 9, History is building a swamp in New York’s Chelsea Market this week. It will include alligators, turtles and dozens of 15-foot-tall cypress trees draped in Spanish moss. A wooden dock has been constructed to jut out over the roughly 6,500 gallons of water containing the swamp critters.

Dardenne is traveling to the promotion using BP oil spill funds acquired by the state to help promote Louisiana. Dardenne arranged to bring along a Louisiana woodcarver, a basket weaver, a man who makes paint from Louisiana soil, a Cajun band and a naturalist to talk about the state’s unique and fragile ecosystem.

Dardenne said Louisiana is spending roughly $50,000 of the BP oil spill funds to supplement the swamp at Chelsea Market. It will be open to the public from Thursday through Feb. 12.

The reality TV twosome are set to begin filming their own spinoff, and they’re ready to show their fans a softer side.

“It’s not going to be so much of the partying that you see on Jersey Shore,” Snooki told Parade.com “You’re going to see a different side of us when it comes to our relationships with our boyfriends and just our normal lives.”

“Hopefully people will see that I’m not always the party girl and I’d rather not drink and stay in and play board games.” she added.

The pair have taken their shenanigans from the Jersey Shore to Miami to Italy, but where their new spinoff will take place is still up in the air.

Snooki: ‘Reality Shows Capture Your Worst Moments’

The city of Hoboken, N.J., recently rejected a request by the producers of MTV’s Jersey Shore to film the spinoff in the small town. Mayor Dawn Zimmer said the city’s Film Commission worried that the project might compromise the safety and quality of life of city residents.

But the reality stars aren’t taking the rejection personally. In fact, they’d like to take their new show to a warmer climate.

“I would actually love us to travel because it’s still kinda chilly in Jersey right now,” JWoww said. “I’d love us to go explore beaches.”

In addition to their upcoming spinoff, both girls are keeping busy with a variety of business ventures. JWoww has written her own modern girls’ guide to dating, The Rules According to JWoww, while Snooki has two books, her own signature perfume, slippers, tanning lotion, lashes, boots, and smart phone apps under her belt. Most recently, she partnered with iHip headphones to design her own stylish line.

“They’re going to be very gaudy with animal prints and bling-bling. Totally my style,” she said.

What’s Your Reality TV Personality? Take the Quiz!

The pair has also found the secret to having successful relationships while in the spotlight.

“The less the relationship is in the spotlight, the better,” JWoww said. “There’s business time and then there’s personal time. When you cross that barrier you’re going to get a lot of criticism and people will get into your relationship. That’s when the problems occur, so the less I let my relationship be dissected, the better.”

JWoww is also quick to shoot down rumors that she’s had several plastic surgery procedures in between seasons.

“I just laugh. The things they said I had done are so outrageous. If they’re not going to believe me, just look at my schedule. I was doing appearances twice a week and TV shows at least once a week during the time they said I had it done, so they should realize that I wouldn’t have been able to have anything done.”

8 Jaw-Dropping Reality TV Moments

Snooki has also found a way to keep her relationship going despite the spotlight. She’s on again with her boyfriend of one year, Jionni La Valle, despite on and off screen drama with Jersey Shore co-star Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino.

“We’re really good. He’s a great guy, so we’re doing great,” she said about her relationship with Jionni. As for Mike: “I really don’t care for the kid let’s put it that way.”

Season 5 of Jersey Shore is currently underway, but can fans expect the drama to continue?

“I really hope so. I really can’t see it ending on Season 5,” JWoww said.

“At this point, we have no idea, but obviously we all want to go back,” Snooki added.

This is a hearwarming moment.

This is not.

Dear “Glee” children:

Well, looky here!

I was all set to be all annoyed with “Glee”‘s special Michael Jackson episode, because they have proven not only to do a disappointing theme episode now and then (that Madonna episode was lacking, and the less said about the Christmas episode and its outing to sing depressing guilt-inducing songs about starving Africans to homeless children.) And they seem to have a habit of taking older music and singing it without seeming to be listening, you know, to the words they are singing, and then making a concerted effort to have it make sense in the story. You know, like you should.

So I didn’t hold out much hope. OK…no hope. Negative hope. A hope account with a negative balance and checks bouncing all over the place. Imagine my surprise that “MJ” was not only one of the better episodes of the season, musically speaking, but managed to make at least a minimal effort to tailor the songs being sung to the action of the episode – action that actually compels the season’s biggest stories forward. And they were gorgeously done – Artie and Hot Mike Chang (this is his new name) danced their way through the anime space-time continuum of “Scream,” and the surprise cast face-morphing in “Black and White,” just like Michael did it, was a sweet tribute. Also, Mercedes and Sam’s “Human Nature” was sexy, well-harmonized and romantic.

Just a couple of things – because you knew they were going to be:

- The lyrics of “Smooth Criminal” were creepy enough when Michael was singing them and we weren’t sure what he was saying. Hearing an attractive teenage girl doing a menacing duet about “blood stains on the carpet,” with a guy who’s just blinded one of her friends with a toxic slushie, is a wee unsettling. And creepy. Nice hat, though, Santana.

- No matter how much you frame “Ben” as a sweet song about a true blue friend, and no matter how adorable and accurate the harmonies are, and how cute Darren Criss looks in an eye patch, it’s still a song about a friendship with a rat. A murderous rat leader of a rat gang who will reward your friendship with gentle chewing on your face.

Look it up.

But overall, good effort, kiddies.

Love, and I almost mean it this time,

A (not that bitter) Gen-Xer

P.S. Nice Andrew McCarthy reference.

Image via Wikipedia

The city of Frank Sinatra’s birth has denied a request for a spinoff of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” reality show to film in the city.

Hoboken, N.J., Mayor Dawn Zimmer says the Film Commission’s decision was made based on safety and quality of life concerns for residents of the city along the Hudson River.

Hoboken officials say 495 Productions was seeking a 24-hour filming permit to follow two “well-known reality television celebrities” who would live in the city.

It’s not clear who the personalities would be. But The Jersey Journal reported last month that MTV was scouting locations for Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Jenni “JWoww” Farley.

The company, which has filmed “Jersey Shore” in Seaside Heights, Miami and Italy, can appeal the decision to the Hoboken City Council.

First lady Michelle Obama cajoled Jay Leno into nibbling on apples, sweet potato fries and a pizza made with eggplant, green peppers and zucchini on the “Tonight Show,” breaking his long-held aversion for all-things-healthy in his diet.

Leno once told a magazine he hadn’t eaten a vegetable since 1969, and he insisted he tasted his last apple in 1984. That didn’t dissuade the first lady, who’s promoting her “Let’s Move!” campaign to get kids excited about fitness and healthy eating habits.

Earlier, Obama poked at him in a Twitter post, hinting she’d “get Jay to eat some veggies” on the NBC show.

He did.

“That does smell very good. I assume this is sausage-pepperoni,” the comedian quipped as he eyed the pizza made with a whole-wheat crust.

She convinced Leno to dip an apple in honey made from beehives in the White House garden: “It will help it go down easier,” she assured him.

“White House honey? That sounds bad,” Leno told her. “You know, with a different president that could mean a whole different thing, ‘a little White House honey.’”

The first lady is on a two-day swing through California where she’ll promote her initiative while attending two events to help Democrats raise money for the upcoming elections.

She told Leno she’s not doing anything special to prepare for what’s expected to be a tough re-election campaign for her husband, President Barack Obama.

“You know, there’s really no way to mentally prepare for it. You take each day as it comes,” she said.

Republican Mitt Romney has been ridiculing the White House and might face the president in November, but the first lady graded the former Massachusetts governor’s singing voice with something like a sly endorsement. Romney surprised supporters in Florida with an on-pitch version of “America the Beautiful” on Monday, and Leno asked the first lady for her opinion.

“It’s beautiful,” she said after a pregnant pause, with a laugh and raised eyebrows. “And it is America’s song, and it’s a song that’s meant to be sung by every American,” the first lady said in a taped appearance for the NBC show.

Leno told her, “That is right, regardless of political affiliation.”

But she swooned over her husband’s singing — Obama took a brief turn as a soul singer earlier this month at a New York fundraiser, crooning a bar from an Al Green classic. She says he does a little Marvin Gay, too.

“He does have a beautiful voice, and he sings to me all the time,” she told Leno.

A website statement from LucasArts said Abercrombie died Friday. A friend, Cathy Lind Hayes, told the Los Angeles Times that he died at a Los Angeles hospital from complications of kidney failure and recently had been diagnosed with lymphoma.

“Though he played a villain on our show, you would be hard pressed to meet a kinder person,” said Dave Filoni, a supervising director for “Clone Wars.” ”He loved to laugh and his sense of humor always lightened our record sessions. I will miss his stories, I will miss his performances, and I will miss his contribution to our show.”

Abercrombie began his career as a dancer and made his American stage debut in a 1951 production of “Stalag 17.”

He appeared in the film “Army of Darkness” and on such TV shows as “Wizards of Waverly Place” and “Birds of Prey,” in which he played Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne’s butler.

He also voiced the worldly owl Ambrose in the animated movie “Rango” starring Johnny Depp.

Image via Wikipedia

The geeks have bragging rights over the superstar strivers.

The CBS comedy “The Big Bang Theory” had a slightly larger audience than Fox’s “American Idol” during the half hour when the shows were in head-to-head competition on Thursday, the Nielsen Co. said. The advantage was slight — 16.13 million to 15.56 million — but significant. It is believed to be the first scripted series to beat the Fox juggernaut in head-to-head competition.

That speaks to a slow start for “American Idol” this year, even though the show’s Wednesday edition was the top-rated program of the week.

“The Big Bang Theory,” meanwhile, is up 15 percent in viewership this season in what has been a strong year for comedy. Syndication may be a big factor in its success. It’s the first year reruns of the comedy from past seasons are being shown elsewhere on the TV dial, and that often attracts more viewers to the fresh episodes.

The comedy’s success is also helping Rob Schneider’s new sitcom “Rob,” which immediately follows it on CBS’ schedule. “Rob” finished among Nielsen’s top 10 last week.

Fox News Channel is celebrating a milestone. The end of January marks 10 years since it eclipsed CNN as the top-rated cable news network, a status it has not relinquished. Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes said he was “extremely proud” of the achievement and recognizes how difficult it is to sustain such a level of success.

Also on Tuesday, HBO announced that after one week on the air, the horseracing drama “Luck” starring Dustin Hoffman has been renewed for a second season. An estimated 3.3 million people saw the first episode in either one of the three airings on Sunday or during a December sneak preview.

CBS was the top broadcast network with an average of 9.3 million viewers in prime time last week (5.9 rating, 10 share). Fox averaged 8 million (4.7, 7), NBC had 6.1 million (3.8, 6), ABC had 5.7 million (3.6, 6), the CW had 1.1 million (0.8, 1) and ION Television had 1.1 million (0.7, 1).

Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision led with a 3.7 million average (1.8, 3), Telemundo had 1.4 million (0.7, 1), TeleFutura had 610,000 (0.3, 1), Estrella had 220,000 and Azteca 190,000 (both 0.1, 0).

NBC’s “Nightly News” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 9.3 million viewers (6.2, 11). ABC’s “World News” was second with 8.2 million (5.4, 10) and the “CBS Evening News” had 6.7 million viewers (4.5, 8).

A ratings point represents 1,147,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation’s estimated 114.7 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

For the week of Jan. 23-29, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: “American Idol” (Wednesday), Fox, 19.67 million; “American Idol” (Thursday), Fox, 17.14 million; “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 16.13 million; “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” CBS, 14.26 million; “Criminal Minds,” CBS, 13.82 million; “Undercover Boss,” CBS, 13.15 million; “NCIS,” CBS, 12.55 million; NFL Football: Pro Bowl, NBC, 12.5 million; “Touch,” Fox, 12.01 million; “Rob,” CBS, 11.5 million.

(Note: The “American Idol” number from Thursday on the list exceeds “The Big Bang Theory” because it is an average audience for the competition’s full hour on the air, not just the half hour when the comedy was airing on CBS.)

Patrick J. Adams, star of USA Network’s legal drama, “Suits,” says he was teased when he was a teenager for being interested in theater.

“When you’re the guy doing the school plays, that’s not necessarily as cool as some of the other people,” Adams said in a recent interview. “I got bullied a ton. I got pushed around a lot.”

But things changed for Adams.

“By the end of high school, the same guy who was beating me up in the ninth grade and causing me so much strife, by the end of high school was the guy who was asking me how to write a play,” Adams said. “Now he’s my friend on Facebook and he’s always sort of asking me questions about how he can break into the business and (for) my suggestions to become a better actor and writer.”

Adams recently visited a high school in St Louis, Mo., and talked with students about their experiences with bullying. The visit was part of USA Network’s Characters Unite program, which is designed to stop intolerance.

The network has named February as its second Characters Unite Month. As part of the campaign, various stars from its prime-time shows like “Suits” and “Covert Affairs” have taped public service announcements and are interacting with the public to start a dialogue about discrimination.

USA will air an original, one-hour documentary “NFL Characters Unite,” profiling pro football players who share their personal stories of overcoming prejudice and discrimination on Feb. 10.

“White Collar” and “Royal Pains” will each air a special episode that deals with discrimination.

Chris McCumber, co-president of USA Network, said the campaign is a passion project.

“Characters Unite is one of the most important things we do,” he said. “It was a single PSA a few years ago and … it has grown into this big, multiplatform effort.”

Viewers can log on to the Characters Unite website and pledge to take a stand against intolerance and watch the public service announcements.

“I really do believe when you raise awareness on these issues it does engage people and get people to act,” said McCumber, who hopes spreading awareness during Characters Unite Month will lead to a year-round effort of promoting tolerance and acceptance.

Former 'X Factor' cast members: Steve Jones, Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul. (Jones/Scherzinger photo by AP; Abdul photo courtesy Fox)

There will definitely be changes on Fox’ The X Factor next season.

Judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger and host Steve Jones have all left the show, which had consistently good ratings in its first season, but never reached the popularity of American Idol.

USA Today is among those reporting that Abdul and Scherzinger have followed Jones out the door. Jones reported his exit on Twitter on Monday.

Abdul was initially asked to join the show by X Factor executive producer and fellow judge and Idol cast mate Simon Cowell. Scherzinger replaced Cheryl Cole, who was brought over by Cowell from the British version of X Factor but left early on.

Jones called his departure “a shame” and added that he couldn’t “complain as I’ve had a great time.” He gave no reason why he wasn’t returning.

Jones was originally slated to host X Factor alongside Scherzinger.

That leaves Cowell and Antonio “L.A.” Reid on the judging panel. There was no immediate word from producers on who might fill the open seats.

Abdul said in a statement that she’s learned that “business decisions often times override personal considerations” and that she and Cowell remain friends.

The Deep South drama “The Help” won three prizes Sunday at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, including best actress for Viola Davis and supporting actress for Octavia Spencer.

“The Help” also claimed the guild’s ensemble award, the show’s equivalent of a best-picture prize.

Davis and Spencer won as black maids going public with uneasy truths about their white employers in 1960s Mississippi.

Jean Dujardin won the lead-actor honor for “The Artist” as a silent-film superstar whose career crumbles when the sound era arrives. Christopher Plummer won for supporting actor as an elderly dad who comes out as gay in “Beginners.”

The wins boost the actors’ prospects for the same honors at the Feb. 26 Academy Awards.

Plummer would become the oldest actor ever to win an Oscar at age 82, two years older than Jessica Tandy when she won best actress for “Driving Miss Daisy.”

Backstage, Plummer joked about whether he would like to win an Oscar, an honor so elusive during his esteemed 60-year career that he did not even receive his first Academy Award nomination until two years ago, for “The Last Station.”

“No, I think it’s frightfully boring,” Plummer said. “That’s an awful question. Listen, we don’t go into this business preoccupied by awards. If we did, we wouldn’t last five minutes.”

Spencer, a veteran actress who had toiled in small TV and movie parts previously, had a breakout role in “The Help” as a brassy maid whose mouth continually gets her in trouble.

“I’m going to dedicate this to the downtrodden, the under-served, the underprivileged, overtaxed — whether emotionally, physically or financially,” Spencer said.

On the television side, comedy series awards went to “Modern Family” for best ensemble; Alec Baldwin as best actor for “30 Rock”; and Betty White as best actress for “Hot in Cleveland.”

“You can’t name me, without naming those other wonderful women on ‘Hot in Cleveland,’” the 90-year-old White said. “This nomination belongs to four of us. Please, please know that I’m dealing them right in with this. I’m not going to let them keep this, but I’ll let them see it.”

The TV drama show winners were: Jessica Lange as best actress for “American Horror Story”; and Steve Buscemi as best actor for “Boardwalk Empire,” which also won the ensemble prize.

For TV movie or miniseries, Kate Winslet won as best actress for “Mildred Pierce,” while Paul Giamatti was named best actor for “Too Big to Fail.”

Before the official ceremony, the Screen Actors Guild presented its honor for best film stunt ensemble to “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.” The TV stunt award went to “Game of Thrones.”

The winners at the SAG ceremony typically go on to earn Oscars. All four acting recipients at SAG last year later took home Oscars — Colin Firth for “The King’s Speech,” Natalie Portman for “Black Swan” and Christian Bale and Melissa Leo for “The Fighter.”

The same generally holds true for the weekend’s other big Hollywood honors, the Directors Guild of America Awards, where Michel Hazanavicius won the feature-film prize Saturday for “The Artist.” The Directors Guild winner has gone on to earn the best-director Oscar 57 times in the 63-year history of the union’s awards show.

The guild’s ensemble prize, considered the ceremony’s equivalent of a best-picture honor, has a spotty record at predicting what will win the top award at the Oscars.

While “The King’s Speech” won both honors a year ago, the SAG cast recipient has gone on to claim the top Oscar only eight times in the 16 years since the guild added the category.

Though “The Help” won the ensemble prize this time, “The Artist” and George Clooney’s family drama “The Descendants” are considered stronger contenders for the best-picture Oscar.

Mary Tyler Moore received the guild’s lifetime-achievement award, an honor presented to her by Dick Van Dyke, her co-star on the 1960s sit-com “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”

SAG President Ken Howard put in a plug during the show for the guild’s planned merger with another Hollywood union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. The boards of both groups have approved the merger, and ballots will be sent to members of each union.

“As one union, SAG-AFTRA will support a future of great entertainment for all of us,” Howard said.

A former “American Idol” contestant is heading to Broadway with a character who, it’s safe to say, is truly two-faced.

Constantine Maroulis will play the title dual role in a revival of the musical “Jekyll & Hyde” that’s slated to come to New York in spring 2013 after a 25-week national tour that starts in San Diego on Oct. 2, Nederlander Presentations Inc. announced Sunday.

Maroulis, who was a finalist on the fourth season of “American Idol,” had a three-year run in Broadway’s “Rock of Ages” and received a best actor Tony nomination and a Drama League nomination for his performance. He also played the role of Roger Davis in a recent national tour of “Rent.”

Maroulis made his Broadway debut in “The Wedding Singer” and is currently in the title role of “Toxic Avenger” at the Alley Theatre in Houston. His debut album, “Constantine,” was released on his own label, Sixth Place Records.

“Jekyll & Hyde” features a story and lyrics by two-time Oscar winner Leslie Bricusse and music by Frank Wildhorn, who co-conceived the musical. It will be directed and choreographed by Jeff Calhoun.

Additional cast and creative team, as well as tour cities, will be announced later.

Wildhorn has had a tough time on Broadway recently, with back-to-back shows that have failed. His show this spring called “Wonderland,” an updated telling of “Alice in Wonderland,” was poorly reviewed and his “Bonnie & Clyde” recently closed early this season.

“Jekyll & Hyde” made its Broadway debut in 1997 with such songs as “This is the Moment,” ”A New Life” and “Someone Like You,” earning four Tony nominations. It tells the story of a London doctor who accidentally unleashes his evil alternate personality in his quest to cure his father’s mental illness.

Robert Cuccioli played the lead, and Sebastian Bach and David Hasselhoff later took over. After 1,543 performances, the production played its final performance on Jan. 7, 2001.

The answer, unfortunately, is no. This is for a Honda ad, says the site Jalopnik, coming up during the Super Bowl on Sunday.

(To echo some recent statements by Leslie Streeter — Dear current generation, stop stealing my past!)

(And get off my lawn!)

Here’s the original interview with Dan LeBatard on LeBatard’s ESPN show, Dan LeBatard is Highly Questionable: