... Betty White, 88 years young, has been named the Associated Press' Entertainer of the Year because... it was so obvious? White had a great year as TV writers discovered that an old lady saying inappropriate things can be funny. The joke was run into the ground in her various appearances on Saturday Night Live, Community, and The Middle—and then TV Land gave her the lead in Hot in Cleveland, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe award. Oh, and she also just won a SAG lifetime achievement award. Congratulations, Betty. [The Wall Street Journal]
... The next edition of Survivor is going to be brutal for those who are voted off early. The show will add "Redemption Island," which will give voted-off players a second chance to get back into the game. Here's the twist: Only one person can live on Redemption Island at a time. As players are voted off, they'll compete against the island's lone resident. The winning loser stays to live in exile on Redemption Island, in hopes of getting a shot at returning to the game later in the season; the losing loser is eliminated for good. [USA Today]
... 30 Rock's Tracy Morgan will be taking a few episodes off this season while he recovers from kidney transplant surgery. The writers are explaining his absence by saying that his character, Tracy Jordan, has suffered a meltdown. [EW]
... Starz's Camelot has been given a premiere date: April 1. The recounting of the King Arthur legend stars Joseph Fiennes, Eva Green, and Claire Forlani. [Multichannel]
... Off the Map hasn't even premiered yet, but ABC has already greenlit the latest show from Grey's Anatomy showrunner Shonda Rhimes. The new drama will follow the life of a professional PR person as she fixes the messed-up lives of various famous people. [Deadline Hollywood]
... Matt Dillon has signed on for a guest appearance on Modern Family. The Crash star will play an old boyfriend of Claire's, and may even end up hitting on Claire's mom. Awwwwwkward. [EW]
... Will Smith isn't quite rich enough, so he'd like to produce a television show to earn some more money. Fox has landed his project, a drama about a female college student in China who fights crime. But will it be like all the other shows about female college students in China who fight crime? [Variety]
Follow TV.com writer Tim Surette on Twitter: @TimAtTVDotCom
"Fox has landed his project, a drama about a female college student in China who fights crime"Oh my god that sounds EPIC! Can't wait to watch the Chinese version of Buffy! /sarcasm.
LOL at the Will Smith thing. That little description of the show I know exactly what I would do to make it good. My thing is I cannot ever seem to come up with a premise. But once the premise is set in I know where to go from there. I hope it works out for Will Smith.
Well deserved, Betty White has always been one of my favorite all around entertainers.
That's great news for Betty.
Didn't Off the Map first have another premise? When did it change? Or am I just hallucinating and am I thinking of something else?
For Will Smith's new show is he planning to put his daughter or niece on it?
Tim! No "old" jokes in the Betty White segment? Does this mean you have conquered your fears? i am so proud of you. I just love it when the kids find their way...
For Will Smith's rep, I hope it's a good show, though I will doubtfully watch it.