Mike Tyson's been undergoing a career resurgence of late. Since his cameo in 'The Hangover' introduced audiences to a more lighthearted side of the former boxing world champion, he's had his own TV show about pigeon fancying and appeared in the Argentine version of 'Dancing With the Stars.'

Now comes news that he's teamed up with filmmaker Spike Lee and 'Entourage' creator Doug Ellin to develop a drama series for HBO loosely based on his experiences growing up.

According to Deadline.com, 'Da Brick' is "described as a contemporary exploration of what it means to be a young, black man in supposedly post-racial America." The drama will be set in Newark, NJ -- nicknamed "brick city" -- in the current day.

'Da Brick' will be written by John Ridley ('Three Kings,' 'Third Watch'). Ellin, Ridley, Lee, Tyson and Jim Lefkowitz are all executive producing, with Tyson's wife Lakiha Tyson and Azim Spicer, CEO of Las Vegas' SpiceReel Prods., co-executive producing.

You might say genealogical research runs in Lisa Kudrow's family. Long before the former 'Friends' star decided to bring the British TV show 'Who Do You Think You Are?' to American television, her father had already written a family tree that Kudrow says takes up roughly 46 pages.

Kudrow saw the long-running original show, which investigates the family history and genealogy of celebrities, when visiting Ireland, and decided to bring it to American audiences. The only question was, would she tell her own story on the show?

HBO has announced that Spike Lee's Peabody Award winning documentary 'When the Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts' will be getting the follow-up treatment.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the documentary is set to start shooting today, with Lee taking his eye on New Orleans and the Katrina aftermath five years later. Lee's original series won accolades for its compelling depiction of New Orleans' citizens and how they coped within the aftermath of the tragedy.

The project is set to debut in Summer 2010.

Having trouble staying awake today? This high-spirited trailer for Spike Lee's vibrant documentary/musical, Passing Strange, should help get you going.



We told you about Passing Strange back in May when PBS picked it up as part of its Great Performances series. Lee's doc is a filmed version of the theatrical stage production of the Tony nominated Broadway musical of the same name. It's about a young black man who travels to Europe in the 1970s to become an artist and live a bohemian lifestyle.

Trailblazing filmmaker Spike Lee has done some great work for TV. One of my favorite Lee TV projects is Sucker Free City, his underappreciated pilot/telemovie for Showtime about San Francisco's criminal underground. And who could forget the Emmy Award-winning Hurricane Katrina doc When the Levees Broke for HBO?

Lee is returning to TV with his latest project, Passing Strange, which has just been picked up by PBS' Great Performances series at the Tribeca Film Festival. Strange is expected to air on PBS next year.

The film is a theatrical stage production of the Tony nominated Broadway musical of the same name. It's about a black man who travels to Europe in the 1970s to find himself. The music is by Mark Stewart, or Stew, an acclaimed L.A. based singer/songwriter.

It's a sad day for NBC. Nora O'Brien, a drama programming executive with the network, died on Wednesday after collapsing on the Berkley, Calif., set of the new series 'Parenthood.'

In other TV news, ABC Family has canceled its fledgling series 'Roommates,' John McCain is set to host a Memorial Day weekend war movie marathon on AMC, and PBS has nabbed Spike Lee's film adaptation of the Tony-winning rock musical 'Passing Strange.'

See more of today's TV headlines, casting scoops and premiere dates after the jump.

At TCA yesterday, two very big stars were on hand to discuss their new shows. Spike Lee attended the ESPN Films panel to promote his documentary Game Day with Kobe Bryant. And Elvis Costello was on hand at the Sundance Channel panel to talk about Spectacle: Elvis Costello with..., his new talk show.

ESPN announced several film projects, both documentary and theatrical. The network will be presenting four documentaries this fall, one of which is by acclaimed director Spike Lee. On the surface the film seems pretty bland; it's just cameras following Kobe Bryant around on game day. But I'm sure you want to hear what Lee said about his film.

ESPN Films is co-producing a film for theatrical release about legendary baseball player Jackie Robinson and Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey. The film will center around their struggle to break down racial barriers in the late 40s. The project, which is yet untitled, will be produced by Robert Redford, Tracy Falco, Karen Baldwin and Andrew Cohen. Redford will star in the role of Rickey. No word on who will play Robinson.

ESPN Senior VP, Ron Semiao, says "ESPN Films is honored to be collaborating with such accomplished storytellers and filmmakers for such an important sports and American story." Semiao was at the Beverly Hilton yesterday along with Branch Rickey III to discuss the project. Semiao added that doing this theatrical film was a natural extension for the company which tries to serve sports fans "however they consume sports content."

(S01E01) The premise here is that a high-priced defense attorney grows a conscience and heads up an new unit of the prosecutor's office to convict high-profile (read rich and/or famous) criminals. This set-up is dispensed with in a couple short scenes so we can get on with it. I appreciated that. There's also a subplot with Sebastian Stark (James Woods) learning to feel and become a better father to his daughter. Squeeze in a couple scenes to establish Jessica Devlin (Jeri Ryan) as a no-nonsense D.A. who is doubtful about having Stark in her department. Then add in four or five difficult-to-distinguish attractive young associates to complete Stark's team, and even before we get to his first case, the one-hour pilot is packed full of character types we've seen in prime time many times before.

Formative filmmaker Spike Lee has signed a development deal with NBC. Talks between the network and Lee reportedly began in May, after he directed the pilot for the CBS legal drama, Shark (starring James Woods). No word yet on exactly what the show will be about.

Knowing that Spike Lee is creating a television drama is very exciting. I'm not sure how his work will translate onto television, but you can bet that whatever he comes up with will be thoughtful and poignant. At least, that's what I'm hoping. In the meantime, Lee is premiering a four-hour documentary on HBO on August 16th about the government's response to Hurricane Katrina.

Love is in bloom at The Office as it is Valentine's Day. We first see Pam (with her new hairdo that makes her look even more attractive than ever) describing what is going on, and then Phyllis gets a huge bouquet of flowers from her boyfriend Bob. We then learn that Michael is set to leave for New York City for a big meeting with other branch managers and Dunder Mifflin's CFO. Plus, he mentions that his boss Jan, with whom he hooked up with a few months before, will be there, and he slyly mentions the fact that it is Valentine's Day.

Jim then discusses his plans for the evening--since he broke up with his girlfriend a few weeks back, he's looking to get a few guys together to play some poker. Meanwhile, Dwight gets a box that contains a bobblehead doll of himself. He is absolutely thrilled, and we see Angela, normally very tightly wound, smile. We then learn that office chatterbox Kelly hooked up with Ryan, and she can't stop talking about it to Jim, who seems uncomfortable with the whole situation.