mo rocca

It's been a solid Fall TV season for comedies, with breakout hits 'New Girl' and '2 Broke Girls,' joining 'Modern Family' at the head of the pack. 'The Early Show' (weekdays, 7AM ET on CBS) held a panel discussion to determine why sitcoms are once again surging in popularity.

'Early' host Erica Hill started the discussion with the premise that people may be looking for laughs because of the struggling economy. Mo Rocca disagreed, instead offering the theory that TV viewers are just getting tired of procedurals and reality shows. "It's cadavers and Kardashians ... we've had enough of them," he joked.

In an interview with 'The Early Show' (weekdays, 7AM ET on CBS) 'Mike & Molly' star Billy Gardell discussed how the CBS sitcom has rocketed his career to a new level of success. While his co-star Melissa McCarthy has had a truly epic year, winning an Emmy and starring in 'Bridesmaids,' Gardell told Mo Rocca that the show's fans have been steadily increasing the size of the crowds at his stand-up shows.

But while his comedy shows may be getting bigger in size, Gardell is decreasing in size himself. He's lost 25 pounds, or "one chin," since the show began. Gardell said that his producers were behind him in his weight-loss journey, assuring him that they would write the changes into his character's story. Even with the support, Gardell admitted that "sometimes the cake wins."

Anchor Maggie Rodriguez of 'The Early Show' (weekdays, 7AM ET on CBS) appears dressed as Kim Kardashian for Halloween. Rodriguez does her best to channel the reality star by wearing a tight dress, dark wig and oversized sunglasses.

If you take your remote control and surf on over to Fine Living Network on May 31, well, it won't be there. Instead, you're going to see The Cooking Channel, Food Network's new channel devoted to food (of course), drinks, and travel. They've announced the lineup for the network's debut, and while some of the shows seem like something we could see on the parent network, there's enough quirky new stuff to grab your attention.

Some are using the word "edgy" to describe the new channel too, but unless they're breaking the necks of live chickens right on television, this is still just a food channel. Oh, wait, they actually are going to break chicken necks! Alrighty.

After the jump, my picks for the four shows that look the most interesting, as well as a quick rundown on what else we're going to see on the new channel.

I'll admit that I wasn't swayed by the allure of Twitter at first. As someone who tried Facebook for three weeks a couple of years ago and then quickly canceled the account, I didn't want to get on a social networking site that was like Facebook but only had status updates. Why would I want to do that? But then I started using Twitter and then I got it. I got why it's so great (note: I'm on Facebook again, but only because Facebook is the new phone book - even if you don't use it that much, it's good to be listed).

Twitter haters always say the same thing when they explain why they're not on it: "Why would I care when someone's eating a sandwich?" It's so much more than that. I even think it has evolved into something the creators of Twitter could never have imagined. Sure, it's social networking, but not social networking in the sense that Facebook is. It's a whole different thing. It's like getting a stream of e-mails or IMs or breaking news posts throughout the day from people you're actually interested in hearing from.

And that list of people just might include TV personalities.

• Two guys play the Beverly Hills, 90210 theme on one guitar.
• More talk about a merger between CBS and CNN.
• This fall's new shows can teach you a lot about life.
• The season is over, so why not catch up on some reading?
• Star airbrushes Jennifer Aniston.
• Rate the season at AOL Television's Best and Worst poll.
• Mo Rocca hangs out with Former President Bill Clinton.

NBC has announced that they are searching for a new national correspondent for the Tonight Show. Viewers who think they have what it takes to be Jay's field reporter are encouraged to send video or DVD auditions to the show. Submissions will be reviewed by a team of Tonight Show producers and writers. And hey, if you are just too busy this week to get to making your video, no worries. According to NBC, this is not a contest and the submission period does not close.

The winner, or winners, will join the long list of roving reporters for the Tonight Show, which includes Howie Mandel, Kevin Smith, Mo Rocca, Ross the Intern, and Tom Green, among others. More information on the rules for submissions, as well as some tips on making your video, can be found on the Tonight Show website.

I say they combine this with Who Wants To Be A Superhero? and send Lumeria and Major Victory to interview some nutters at a U.F.O. convention.

Jon started by applauding the audience's dedication to the show, queuing in New York's 4000 degree weather. He then jumped in on some other hot news (ha-HA! Segue)... Democracy and liberty is currently flowering all around the world -- wait. Not "flowering". What's the word?... Oh, that's right... "Napalming"!