entertainment - "season"

When Top Chef 5 debuts in November, it will have a new fourth judge: Toby Young, who replaces Ted Allen on the panel, which still includes Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, and host Padma Lakshmi.British journalist and food critic Young is the author of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, which Bravo's press release mentions, but it doesn't say anything about Ted Allen. It does, however, promise appearances by 'Martha Stewart, Foo Fighters, Jean-Georges, Eric Ripert, Rocco DiSpirito, Wylie Dufresne, Jean-Christophe Novelli and Natasha Richardson,' who all 'will be featured this season.'The fifth season, which debuts Nov. 12 and was filmed in New York, has the series' biggest cast yet: 17 chefs. They range in age from 21 to 44, and in the press release, Colicchio says 'we've upped the ante because this is our home turf so the pressure's on for the chefs to impress us.'Big Apple, Big Stakes - Bravo's 'Top Chef: New York' Premieres... [Bravo press release]>> share, link to, or e.mail

Exclusives: Thanksgiving special to kick off series -- The table's set for Rosie O'Donnell's holiday-season stab at reviving the variety genre.

A Survivor crew member drowned recently in Brazil while working on a future season.Alton Desiree, 38, was part of an 'advance team for a future production,' according to a CBS statement. He 'drowned in the Rio Novo River in a remote section of Brazil' where he 'was swimming during his lunch break with other members of his team when the accident occurred,' CBS said. He'd worked on the show during the past three seasons (Gabon, Micronesia, and China), and lived in Loubiere, Dominica, with his wife and two kids. According to one early news report, he left home for Brazil on Sept. 9 and died Sept. 15, but it also suggests he died after being 'instructed to go underwater to fix something of the show.'The first Survivor Gabon episode ended with a title card dedicating the episode to his memory. In CBS' statement, Jeff Probst said,'Words cannot describe the shock and grief felt by all of us on the show. Alton has been with us on the last three editions of 'Survivor.' He always had a si

TV Renewals & Rejections: Show ranks No. 1 among new shows in 18-49 -- 'Fringe' has gone mainstream, scoring a full-season order from Fox on Wednesday. Fox's back nine pick up comes as 'Fringe' has so far ranked No. 1 among all new shows in the adults 18-49 demo (with several more entries yet to bow).

PUSHING DAISIES. 8 tonight, Channel 6.ABC'S "PUSHING Daisies" returns tonight as a show with buzz.And not just critical buzz.

September ends and for that we are all very grateful. However, while we are entering the final push of the 2008 box office, things don't look too rosy for the upcoming month. First of all, there are way too many films opening this month, including eight films that are opening or expanding on the first weekend. Of those two, maybe three will thrive. Most will sink without being noticed, which could negatively affect the overall box office going forward. On the other hand, there are a few films opening this month that could be players come Awards season, which is just around the corner. Perhaps this will help a few midlevel hits rise above the crowd.

The P-I's book critic offers his annual selection of the most promising fall books. They are drawn from a variety of different categories that include memoir, debut novels, current concerns and graphic works.

It's sort of stunning to think that The Amazing Race, the ultimate travel porn show, is now in its 13th season, considering how many times it's been on the chopping block...

The top of the per theater chart looks strikingly similar to last week with two holdovers being the only two films to top $10,000. This week Appaloosa squeaked ahead of The Duchess $10,469 to $10,238. However, the latter also saw its theater count explode from 7 to 55, which explains its declining average.

'Friday Night Lights,' which begins Wednesday on DirecTV and moves to NBC in February, is delivered with the precision and manner of ethnography - it never condescends.