Nick Nolte

Looking over the cast lists of TV shows airing this coming season, you'll find a lot of familiar names that have been lying low of late.

Some are returning just before becoming a "whatever happened to ..."; others seem to be virtually emerging from witness protection. And we're not talking 'I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here,' either. These comeback stories are lined up with some of the hottest projects headed our way.

Matt LeBlanc
The 'Friends' spinoff 'Joey' was primetime's highest profile flop of the '00s (OK, maybe it was 'The XFL'). Now we find LeBlanc thousands of miles away from Hollywood, but that might be a very good thing.

Before he starred in the most famous celebrity mug shot in America, Nick Nolte was known for his explosive performances in films ranging from drama to action to comedy. Now we may find out if television fans are ready to accept him as an actor again.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nolte, who since his 2002 drunk driving arrest has taken mostly low profile roles in foreign and low budget productions, is currently in talks to co-star alongside Dustin Hoffman in the upcoming HBO series 'Luck.'

Nick Nolte will be joining stars like Dustin Hoffman in the upcoming HBO pilot 'Luck.' It says a lot about a premium cable series when they can get movie-level stars to be in them. It says that either the programming is top-notch or the economy is in the crapper. Maybe it says a little of both.

Michael Mann is one of the people behind 'Luck,' and that probably helps in terms of casting. The show is about a disparate group of people at a horse track.

Keep in mind this is only for the pilot. If this gets turned into a series, there is no guarantee about who will stay and who will go.

Nolte's last television appearance was in 'Rich Man, Poor Man' in 1976 (according to his IMDB profile). He's done a couple of movies since then (a personal favorite remains '48 Hours'), but you have to admit 34 years is a long time between television roles. 'Luck' is something to look forward to.

TMZ.com has a new mug shot of Rip Torn, formerly of The Larry Sanders Show, that is downright hilarious. He was allegedly driving drunk (which is not funny) in New York over the weekend. Rip, with his hair flying to the right and a confused grin on his face, posed for the camera when cops took his mug shot. This is Rip's second arrest for drunk driving. In 2004, he crashed his car into a NYC taxi. Despite his outlandish behavior at the cop shop, Rip was found not guilty.

While it's not quite the caliber of the Nick Nolte mug shot, or as creepy as Michael Jackson's mug, it still gives me a chuckle.