cast

Take a good look at these people. They seem strong and content right now, but in a few months they're going to be dirty, emcaciated, irritable, and just a little bit evil. It's that time of year again, kids: meet the new cast of Survivor!

CBS.com has some details about the cast of the 13th (!) edition of the show, which will take place on the Cook Islands, but not many. Among the cast, we have a boxer/waitress, a volleyball instructor, a guitarist in a heavy metal band (can you identify him in the picture? It's hard, I know), a nail salon manager, and someone who is being called an "actress/rollergirl." The teams in this edition will be divided by race (I shit you not; read about it here), which has been generating some controversy, but there aren't too many more twists that Mark Burnett can come up with at this point. I might actually tune in for once, since I haven't watched the show since Richard Hatch won. How's he doing, by the way?

Cast members of the sitcom The Facts of Life will be reuniting on Today tomorrow morning to talk about, I assume, how much fun it was to work on the Diff'rent Strokes spinoff. I'm sure the DVD release of the first two seasons will be mentioned, as well. Cast members to appear include Nancy McKeon, Lisa Whelchel, Kim Fields, and Mindy Cohn. What? No George Clooney or Cloris Leachman? And what about Mackenzie Astin, brother of Sean? Is he really that busy these days? Well, actually I did see him on an episode of House recently, so  I guess he's still getting work. The segment will air during the second half of the program. Charlotte Rae, who played Mrs. Garrett, won't be making an appearance, either.

Right before Everybody Hates Chris hit the airwaves, the show was hyped like crazy. Eventually, the hype settled down, so if the show has slipped off your radar, no one can really blame you. However, if you haven't been tuning in on Thursday nights, you're missing one of the best new shows of the season, a perfect balance of real heart and gut-busting comedy. The show is also incredibly well-cast, especially Chris' mother, Rochelle, played by Tichina Arnold (she was "Pamela" on Martin and was also one of the three singers who popped up throughout Frank Oz's 1986 film version of Little Shop of Horrors). She did an interview with TV Filter recently where she confirmed that, yes, Everybody Hates Chris will be one of the shows to survive the move when UPN and the WB merge into The CW. I expected as much, but it was nice to hear it, nonetheless.

Despite the headline to this article which reads "JLo and Travolta set to do Dallas" neither of those actors are officially tied to the movie remake of the popular 1980s primetime soap opera. Director Robert Luketic has offered them roles, however, so it remains to be seen. Travolta would play JR Ewing, while Lopez would play Sue Ellen, his wife. Also in negotiations are Luke Wilson, who would play Bobby (he'd make a great Bobby, actually) and Shirley MacLaine, who would play Miss Ellie, the kind matriarch originally played by the late Barbara Bel Geddes. I'm mildly interested in the casting decisions for this movie, but it's diluted by the fact that this is yet another example of no one being able to come up with an original idea anymore.

But what the heck, let's have fun with it anyway. Who would you pick to play these roles?

Names like Regina King, Madeleine Stowe, Christine Taylor and Jonathan Silverman should add some clout to all sorts of dramas and comedies being planned by the networks for next fall.

Here is the latest casting news from The Hollywood Reporter: