As far as successful Internet campaigns go, Zach Anner is the Betty White of OWN.

Friday night, Oprah Winfrey announced that Anner, who became an early favorite on 'Your OWN Show: Oprah's Search for the Next TV Star' after his video submission went viral online, would get his very own show on her network. Winfrey also gave a show to fellow finalist Kristina Kuzmic-Crocco.

"Both of you have given your heart and the truth is that both of you really deserve to have your own show," Winfrey told the two winners. "I'm going to make that happen."

For twenty-five years we saw the power Oprah Winfrey held over her studio audiences. The excitement levels reached Beatles level at times, with people screaming and collapsing. So while she may be off on her OWN network now, It's nice to see she can still bring an audience to exuberant tears.

Her targets this time were the contestants on 'Your OWN Show: Oprah's Search for the Next TV Star' (Fri., 9PM on OWN). You would have thought the contestants would have to figure there's a decent chance she would show up, but if they had any inkling, they certainly hadn't prepared themselves.

Any sense of decorum and competitive spirit vanished as soon as Winfrey appeared. "I wanted to come because I want to say I know a few things about talk shows," she said.

After fan petitions and strongly worded letters from Michael Jackson's estate, Discovery has canceled its planned special about Jackson's autopsy.

The special was to air in the United Kingdom on Jan. 13. "Given the commencement of legal proceedings beginning next week, and at the request of Michael Jackson's estate, the scheduled broadcast of the medical documentary related to Michael Jackson's official autopsy has been postponed indefinitely," Discovery Networks International said in a statement.

According to Reuters, John Branca and John McClain, co-executors of Jackson's estate, were pleased with Discovery's decision.

In other TV news ...

• Diego Klattenhoff has joined the cast of Showtime's 'Homeland.' Klattenhoff will play Mike Faber, a Marine and friend of Damian Lewis' character, Scott Brody. The series stars Claire Danes as a CIA agent who suspects the Scott Brody character is planning an attack on the US. [Hollywood Reporter]

• Veteran actor Pete Postlethwaite has died. Postlethwaite appeared in 'Inception,' 'The Usual Suspects' and countless more films. He also starred in a number of TV miniseries including 'Criminal Justice' and 'The Sin.' [Variety]

• Oprah has named the finalists for 'Your OWN Show.' They include Zach Anner, a wheelchair-bound travel guide, a Texan minister who lived on the streets after dropping out of high school and three people trying to get their own cooking show. More than 9,500 people submitted video entries. The first episode of the competition is set to air Jan. 7. [New York Times]