Guests of the Week: April 13-17, 2009

After a rerun week, get ready for some big names on this week's shows: David Letterman hosts Zac Efron (tonight), Drew Barrymore (Wednesday) and Russell Crowe (Friday), while Jay Leno welcomes Sen. John McCain (tonight), Jamie Foxx (Tuesday) and Jessica Alba (Thursday). Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, always a great talk show guest, sits down with Craig Ferguson on Thursday. After a vacation day, "The Colbert Report" returns Tuesday night with its long-awaited NASA announcement. Crowe and Barrymore pop up again on "Regis and Kelly," on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.

"Dancing with the Stars" host Tom Bergeron plugs his new autobiography on "The View" Thursday. Speaking of "DwtS," the week's castoff usually appears that same night on "Jimmy Kimmel Live." Last week, however, Kimmel was on vacation so his old pal David Alan Grier never got the chance to have his shoes burned (symbolically, of course -- we understand the real ones are kept or donated to charity). DAG is scheduled to turn up on today's "Ellen DeGeneres Show," but we hope Jimmy gives him some air time soon. In other "DwtS" related guest spots, Cloris Leachman sits down with Bonnie Hunt on Tuesday and rodeo star/contestant Ty Murray is scheduled to appear on "Chelsea Lately" on Wednesday.

Chelsea Handler naked

Did we get your attention, talk show fans? "Chelsea Lately" host Chelsea Handler posed nude for Allure magazine's Naked Issue, although judging from the photo on Allure's web site, Chelsea has been Photoshopped and airbrushed more than a little bit. No one's body is that unblemished in real life. Handler told the magazine about her favorite feature: "My boobs are good. They're real and perky. Even if you can't see them, the important thing is that I know about them, and the guys I've slept with know about them."

Also posing for the mag: Eliza Dushku, Padma Lakshmi, and actresses Sharon Leal and Lynn Collins. The issue will be available on the newsstands April 21.

NASA announcement on Tuesday's Colbert

It's been a quiet, relatively news-free week in the world of late night talk shows. Hopefully everyone is all caught up on their reruns now and ready for fresh shows beginning Monday. Of course, "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" did have new shows on the air this past week... and fans should be aware that Monday's "TDS" and "TCR" will be reruns, but both shows will be back with fresh eps on Tuesday! We're also eagerly awaiting the first high def broadcast of "Jimmy Kimmel Live" that night.

Reader Ted sent us a link to this Yahoo article announcing that NASA plans to announce the name of its new space station module Tuesday on "The Colbert Report." Astronaut Sunita Williams will appear on the program. Of course, "Colbert" beat out pre-approved names like Serenity and Legacy in NASA's online contest to name the module; we suspect the space agency will not be conducting any more naming contests with write-in options in the future, but the publicity can only help generate much-needed buzz for the space program.

If the new node doesn't get the Colbert moniker, look for NASA to give Stephen a consolation prize -- a space toilet, perhaps?

HD MSNBC coming in June

Talk Show News doesn't really consider pundit shows part of our purview, but as diehard HD fans, we can't resist reporting the news that MSNBC will be going high def on June 29, according to Variety. Good news for everyone who wants to watch Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann in glorious high definition -- provided, of course, that your cable or satellite company plans to offer the HD version of the channel.

Hell no Leno

Boston's NBC affiliate WHDH has declared that it won't broadcast Jay Leno in primetime this fall, choosing instead to show a 10 o'clock local newscast. Ed Ansin, who owns the station's parent company, told the Boston Globe, "We don't think the Leno show is going to be effective in primetime. It will be detrimental to our 11 o'clock (newscast). It will be very adverse to our finances." Meanwhile, NBC has countered with "you will run Leno or else," threatening to strip WHDH of their network affiliation.

One wonders, if WHDH got away with their plan, would other affiliates follow suit? If so, it could easily turn into a disaster for NBC, so we're not surprised the network is taking a hard line with the station. Variety reports that NBC outlets are "nervously wait[ing] to see how NBC's primetime Leno series evolves and ultimately impacts their business... The Peacock affils have been conducting a study to see how viewers actually watch 'The Tonight Show' -- and how there might be ways to produce and schedule Leno's new show in order to help out affiliates. NBC has also put a task force in place to work with the stations on the launch."

A commenter on the Huffington Post asserts that this isn't the first time Ansin has stirred up trouble with NBC. "When his Miami station WSVN (then WCKT) was an NBC affiliate, the network castigated the station for covering network commercials to run locally originated spots (increased revenue). Carson even called out the station on-air during a 'Tonight Show' telecast."

Wanda Sykes on Saturday nights

Salon.com's Broadsheet blog just passed along the news (from Reuters) that Wanda Sykes will be filling FOX's recently vacated "Mad TV" timeslot this fall with her own talk/sketch show. Reuters:

The hourlong show, slated to premiere in the fall, will succeed the recently canceled sketch comedy show "MadTV." It will be topical, featuring a panel of recurring guests sparring over issues concerning politics as well as pop culture. Sykes will appear in field segments as well.

Sounds like it could be a bit like HBO's old "Chris Rock Show," which Sykes appeared on. In any case, Talk Show News is looking forward to it.

Vacation time for Jimmy Fallon

Most of us, upon starting a new job, have to work for at least a few months before getting a week off. Not Jimmy Fallon, though. After an arduous five weeks of shows, it's time for Jimmy to kick back, relax and show some reruns.

In case you missed 'em the first time around, here are the listings for next week's repeats.

Since sweeps were in March instead of February this year, next week, the first full week of April, will bring a bumper crop of reruns; David Letterman, Jay Leno, Craig Ferguson, Carson Daly, Jimmy Kimmel, "The View" and Ellen DeGeneres will also be on vacation April 6-10.