The funniest things happen when old friends get together.  And that was undoubtedly true when Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe) asked former Friends pal Courteney Cox (Monica) to guest in several episodes of her gut-busting Web Therapy.  The online series stars Kudrow as a self-absorbed shrink (with dubious credentials) who’s more interested in exploiting her webcam patients for profit rather than offering guidance.  Two seasons have been produced, a total of 30 short therapy sessions featuring top comedic talent.  Improv is encouraged and—as seen in the two gag reels—often leaves Lisa doubled-over in laughter.  Courteney’s arc involves an alleged missing ‘gift’ and an off-camera fiasco on The Tyra Banks Show.  Both actresses are nominated for the 2^nd annual Streamy Awards, which honor the best in webisodes:  Lisa for Best Actress in a Comedy Web Series, and Courteney for Best Guest Star.  Click here to watch both seasons and outtake reels.  Joining the Friends nominees is Tatyana Ali (Ashley on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), who’ll contend for Best Actress in a Drama for her ten episodes of Buppies.   

In other award news, Tyler Perry’s House of Payne garnered four NAACP Image Awards this past weekend:  Best Comedy Series, Best Actress (Cassi Davis), Supporting Actor (Lance Gross) and Supporting Actress (Keshia Knight Pulliam).  In addition, Chris Rock (Everybody Hates Chris) won the Best Documentary nod for Good Hair; and The Office claimed honors for Best Writing in a Comedy Series.      

Rashida Jones is so naturally low-key, it’s easy to overlook the mysteries beyond her girl-next-door beauty.  As Karen on The Office, she’s the ‘other woman’ from the Stamford branch who lost her heart to Jim (John Krasinski).  In real life, she’s a Harvard graduate; the daughter of legendary composer Quincy Jones and actress Peggy Lipton (The Mod Squad); a 3-time People’s Most Beautiful honoree; and a guy-magnet who’s been engaged to Spiderman (Tobey Maguire) and dated stars like Krasinski, Josh Hartnett and John Mayer.  She’s currently linked with White House speechwriter Jon Favreau.  Rashida has also now transferred a bit of hidden girl power to a new comic book heroine loosely based on—ready for this?—socialite Paris Hilton.  Frenemy of the State will be published early this year, featuring a young heiress who works undercover for the C.I.A.  Rashida tells Vanity Fair she developed the idea from the “funny notion that (Hilton) was actually some crazy genius who knew exactly what she was doing.”  Apparently Hollywood likes the premise, as well, since Universal snapped up the spy series for a big-screen film months before the first issue was ever printed!  The actress and her writing partner, actor Will McCormack, will pen the screenplay.  The moral of this story is:  if your TV boyfriend chooses the receptionist over you, grab a ream of Dunder-Mifflin paper and start writing.

The CW scored two major victories in the first awards ceremony of 2010.  The Vampire Diaries was named Favorite New TV Drama at the 36^th annual People’s Choice Awards this week, defeating Flash Forward, NCIS: Los Angeles, V, and The Good Wife.  Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder’s smoldering Salvatore brothers led the vampire series to overnight breakout status, earning media praise as one of the year’s top ten programs.  The New York Post went to so far as to detail “Five Reasons Why Vampire Diaries is Better Than Twilight,” the film saga that’s grossed over $1-billion worldwide.  Not to be outdone, Thursday companion drama Supernatural captured honors as Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show, upsetting stiff competitors Lost, Heroes, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries.  Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki have built one of the industry’s most loyal and protective fanbases, enabling the fifth-year thriller to harvest plenty of votes from the public.  Viewers aren’t alone in their praise for Supernatural, however, as the NY Times includes it as one of the past year’s 10 Memorable Shows, saying it’s “currently among the wildest and most entertaining series in prime time.”  To cap off the People’s Choice plaudits, Steve Carell (Michael on The Office) was also named Favorite TV Comedy Actor.  A great night for WBNX talent in Hollywood!     

Spread the word and “stuff the ballot box” for several deserving CW series to receive national recognition at the first awards show of 2010.  The deadline to vote for your favorite People’s Choice nominees is Tuesday, Dec. 8, and this competition encourages the public to cast a ballot as often as possible.  Just log on to peopleschoice.com and easily click through the categories—but note that the only way to vote for Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show and Favorite Talk Show is by texting “VOTE” to 24475.  This new wrinkle is important since Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, Lost and The Tyra Banks Show are among those nominated.  Here’s a rundown of the choices involving WBNX stars or shows:

 TV Drama:   Lost
TV Comedy:   The Office and Desperate Housewives
TV Actor:   Matthew Fox (Lost)
TV Actress:   Blake Lively (Gossip Girl) and Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU)  
TV Comedy Actor:   Steve Carell (The Office)
TV Comedy Actress:   Eva Longoria Parker (Desperate Housewives)
TV Obsession:  Gossip Girl
TV Sci-Fi/Fantasy:  Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries and Lost
TV Talk Show:  The Tyra Banks Show
New TV Drama:   The Vampire Diaries and Melrose Place
Movie Actress:  Jennifer Aniston (Friends)
Independent Movie:  Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail
Music collaboration:  Cobra Starship & Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl)

Awards Season is fast approaching and the one ceremony which relies on fan balloting needs our early input.  The 36^th annual People’s Choice Awards want to condense their list of potential nominees in each category from a dozen to the top five.  There are ten television-related groups, plus 12 for movies and nine for music.  If your favorite is not already listed, voters can also write in their own choices.  Here are the current WBNX-related names which appear on the ballot: 

Favorite Competition Show:  America’s Next Top Model

Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show:  Smallville, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries

TV Comedy:  The Office, Desperate Housewives

TV Comedy Actress:  Jenna Fisher, Sarah Chalke, Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria

TV Comedy Actor:  Steve Carell, Zach Braff

TV Drama:  Lost, Law & Order: SVU

TV Drama Actress:  Blake Lively, Evangeline Lilly, Mariska Hargitay

TV Obsession:  Gossip Girl

TV Talkshow:  The Tyra Banks Show

Movie Actress:  Jennifer Aniston

Breakout Movie Actor:  Ed Helms (The Office)

Breakout Movie Actress:  Rashida Jones (The Office)

Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail received several nominations.

We know there are other CW stars and series you’d like to include, as well.  To take part in this month-long nomination process, log onto peopleschoice.com and vote often.  In December, you’ll be given the chance to select winners in each category, who will then be honored on January 6.

With The Office debuting in syndication, Steve Carell sat down with WBNX for a Q & A session:

What’s your impression of the character you play?
Michael Scott…I think, generally, people know one of these guys.  It’s somebody who lacks a self-awareness and doesn’t really understand how other people perceive them.  He’s an idiot.  (Series creator) Ricky Gervais told me, ‘If you don’t know Michael Scott, then you are Michael Scott.’ 

When did you sense that The Office was going to be a hit?
The cast realized early on that it felt special, and we all felt very lucky to be a part of this.  But none of us had any inkling that the show would continue past a couple of episodes, so the fact that it’s now gone over 100 episodes was shocking for everybody involved.  It’s the best work environment you could ever imagine. 

The cast was relatively unknown, yet the chemistry is so strong…
A lot of the credit goes to (executive producer) Greg Daniels, who cast everybody and hired all the crew.  I think he understood the personal dynamics of it all.  Whether we were all exactly right for our characters, I don’t know.  But the fact that he knew we would blend together as people was important to him, and he hired folks who he thought were good people…and that made a difference.  We all became very good friends in the process, and I hope it shows on TV.  There’s very little ego involved in any of this.  Everybody’s just having fun and supporting one another.

 Can you recall a favorite funny scene?
There was a scene with Phyllis at her wedding where I kept referencing her (alleged) flatulence; and Phyllis Smith is one of the dearest, sweetest people I’ve ever met.  And trying to get through the scene that dealt with that subject matter—without laughing—was nearly impossible.  I’ll bet it took five times as long to shoot as it normally would.  But we crack up on-set every day because some of the stuff is so absurd, trying to say it with a straight face is the hardest part.    

Many of the writers are actors on the show—who’s similar to their character? 
Most people are nothing like their characters.  The closest in real life would be Creed.  Creed, I would say, is pretty much on target.  He’s as weird as you would think he is (laughs).  He is extremely funny—and did you know Creed was an original member of The Grass Roots rock band back in the ‘60s?  He was supposed to be an extra, just a background guy on the show, but he was so quirky and so interesting that the writers incorporated him more and more into the show.  He’s hilarious.

Quickies:
Steve attended Denison University near Columbus, and he’s a Buckeye fan. 
He met his wife while teaching a comedy class in Chicago.  She was one of the students.
Favorite episode?  “Diversity Day” in Season 1.  “It was incredibly politically-incorrect.”
Prior jobs?  Produce dept. at Stop-n-Shop, mail carrier, waiter…never worked in an office.

Admit it, you wouldn’t mind toiling in the same sales office as Michael Scott, Jim Halpert, Dwight Schrute and their cast of quirky cohorts: Creed, Phyllis, Stanley, Angela, Oscar, Meredith, Ryan, Kelly and more.  A lot of laughs and very little actual work.  Now you have the chance to fill out a Dunder-Mifflin “application for employment” to enjoy some of those great paper company perks!  The first is a chance to win a $1,000 cash prize—and that might buy you a trip to Scranton or a box of Jan Levinson scented candles.  Just click here for sweepstakes details, and get set for award-winning comedy with The Office, six nights a week beginning later this month on WBNX.

It’s a big week for The CW, with tomorrow’s unveiling of the new Fall lineup.  Media outlets have already confirmed three of the slots will go to Melrose Place, The Vampire Diaries and The Beautiful Life…all star-laden and buzzworthy additions.  Fans of the original Melrose Place melodrama can expect much more, as the reboot opens with a bloody body floating in the courtyard pool.  More series pickups are expected to be announced in New York.  On the local front, WBNX is excited to add seven more high-profile series, a diverse mix which includes:

• The Office: A three-time Emmy nominee for Best Comedy Series (and winner in 2006), Steve Carell leads the cast of what many consider one of the funniest shows in television history. Last week the quirky sitcom celebrated its 100th episode.
• Bones: The popular forensic mystery, starring David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel, is still going strong, receiving a new two-year extension this week.
• Scrubs: It’s the medical comedy with nine lives—or at least nine seasons, after its post-finale renewal. Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke and a hospital staff brimming with dry humor are a welcome addition!
• Everybody Hates Chris: This CW series wrapped up two weeks ago in hilarious Sopranos-style, suddenly cutting to black with the Rock family in a local diner ready to reveal Chris’s fate. A longtime favorite of critics, EHC could easily be the next big weekday syndication hit.
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: One of the rare dramas to amass well over 200 episodes, this ten-year veteran crime procedural stars Mariska Hargitay, Chris Meloni and Ice-T.
• Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?: Well, are ya? Jeff Foxworthy brings his primetime game show hit to weekdays. It’s a half-hour format, with all new episodes.
• The Tyra Banks Show: She’s one of TV’s most engaging personalities, and Tyra takes up residence on WBNX weekdays at 3pm this fall.