If Comedy Central has anything to say about it, Jesus will be coming back in 2011...at least in animated form. The network that brought you "South Park" is discussing bringing a half-hour cartoon about the son of God moving to New York City to live as a regular guy outside of his father's shadow.
The series is tentatively named "JC."
Among the other projects in the Comedy Central pipeline?
"Highdeas": Comedians answer questions posed by stoners.
"Guide to White People": Stand-up comic Patrice O'Neal examines race relations.
"Steel Panther": Docu-reality series follows rock band Steel Panther who parodies '80s metal bands.
"Odd Couple": Bill Burr stars in a modern take on the classic TV sitcom produced by Bruce McCulloch of "The Kids In the Hall."
"Aholes": Two jerks spend their days "scamming on girls, bilking Alzheimer's patients out of money and generally being the opposite of model citizens."
Royalty comes to 'Anarchy'
Fans of the FX series "Sons of Anarchy" will get a glimpse of literature royalty when the show returns to TV in September.
Horror master Stephen King will play a loner who comes to the aid of Katey Sagal's character, Gemma.
King is an admitted fan of the biker drama and jumped at the opportunity when producers approached him about the cameo spot.
Taxi-drivin' Tony Sometime after the screen went black in "The Sopranos" series finale, Tony Soprano left the mob and became a politically incorrect New York City taxi driver.
It looks like James Gandolfini, who played the surly mob boss in the HBO classic, may be coming back to the network in "Taxi 22," a remake of a French Canadian series which Gandolfini will also produce.
No official word yet on any potential release date.
Katee says no to 'True Blood'
Readers of this column know how much of a "True Blood" fan I am. They also know how much I love "Battlestar Galactica and "24's" Katee Sackhoff.
So imagine my excitement when I heard a rumor that the two could merge for season three of the HBO vampire series.
But alas, it was not to be.
Seems Sackhoff was approached to play Debbie Pelt, the ex-girlfriend of new character, Alcide. She turned it down. How on Earth do you turn down a role on one of TV's hottest series?
"I am a huge fan of 'True Blood,'" Sackhoff told Entertainment Weekly. "It's a phenomenal show and (executive producer) Alan Ball is a (expletive deleted) genius."
Sackhoff said she wanted more security than just one season of "True Blood" so she opted for a new cop-themed drama on ABC called "Boston's Finest."
That series airs in the fall.
The 'MIB' are back
The next film in the "Men In Black" series looks to have a release date before it has a cast.
Sony announced this week that the next installment, "Men In Black III," would no only be shot in 3-D but would hit theaters on May 25, 2012.
Will Smith has signed on to return to the franchise, and Sony is working frantically to get "MIB" regular Tommy Lee Jones and newcomer Josh Brolin signed, sealed and delivered.
The May 25 date puts "MIB3" in a very crowded lineup with "The Avengers," "Star Trek 2," "Spider-Man" and "Batman 3" all scheduled around the same time.
