Jamie Foxx sketch comedy series approved by FOX

By TV Insider
JR Staff Writer

Outside of his own projects, Jamie Foxx is a businessman and steadily making deals. Foxx has produced several projects over the past few years. To date, his most-notable project was the MTV series, "From Gs to Gents." Now, Foxx will be trying his hand at sketch comedy with a new series.

Inspiration for the new show, titled "In the Flow," was inspired by past FOX comedy sketch, "In Living Color." Foxx was also a part of "In Living Color." The exposure on the show allowed Jamie Foxx to boost his career. Following the series, he had minor roles in movies, which led to his "The Jamie Foxx Show."

Foxx's new series will be hosted by Affion Crocket and it has been given the green light by FOX. The show will run this summer, in order to keep fans interested. Networks have been trying to change things up in order to keep fans interested in their programming all year long. Jamie Foxx's new project will be the first, among many, by FOX to keep fans interested.

The series will air six episodes this summer.

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Xzibit returns to TV in FOX drama

By TV Insider
JR Staff Writer

Initially, Xzibit was the bad boy of the rap game. He was hand-picked by Dr. Dre to take over gangsta rap. X to the Z, as he calls himself, was featured in videos by Snoop Dogg and other legends from the West. When Dr. Dre began working on the second album from Eminem, Xzibit was pushed to the side.

Following his 2000 hit, "X," Xzibit was unable to provide the game with another hit single. Soon, he was forgotten and named another one hit wonder. While most fans had forgotten Xzibit, apparently MTV had not. Xzibit was cast as the host for their experimental series, "Pimp my Ride."

Over the next five years, Xzibit proved not to be the bad guy he portrayed himself to be. Instead, he was actually a geniunely funny guy. Quickly, Xzibit became the face of MTV, as they did minor promotional work on his albums. Despite his attempts to stay in the rap game, Xzibit's claim to fame soon became "Pimp my Ride."

In 2009, the ride officially ended and Xzibit has had roles on other shows. He has made appearances on the ratings monster "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." Now, Xzibit has landed a more secure gig with FOX on their upcoming fall drama, Weekends at Bellvue. Xzibit will be playing the role of 'Chuck.'

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Martin Lawrence finds Second Career as Television Producer

By TV Insider
JR Staff Writer

During the late 1980s, Martin Lawrence began rising the ranks of fame. Lawrence had built a solid career as a stand-up comedian, but he was on the verge of much more. By the early 1990s, the comedian had launched a production company. This company partnered with HBO to create "Martin."

In 1992, FOX picked up the series and Martin Lawrence gained international fame. The comedian soon became one of the biggest stars in the planet. His series went from being a major hit to becoming iconic. Nearly twenty years after the series premiered, it still is met with high ratings.

Following his time on "Martin," Lawrence hit the big screen in a major way. Throughout the early 2000s, Martin Lawrence became a movie star. Soon, Lawrence began producing these films before his health became a major issue. In 2005, Martin Lawrence attempted a minor comeback before returning to the spotlight in 2008.

In 2008, Martin Lawrence launched another television production company and began working on several television programs. Lawrence's hit sitcom, "Martin," had posted major ratings for TV One, the upstart rival to BET. Because of what his sitcom had done for the network, Martin Lawrence pitched his sitcom idea to the network. TV One agreed to pick up his series, which had cast Tatyana Ali in the starring role, also teaming up with a few former UPN producers.

His "Love that Girl" series has become one of the highest-rated series on TV One. Martin Lawrence has become the face of TV One through both his "Martin" sitcom and "Love that Girl." The network has accepted Martin Lawrence as the producer of their only scripted original program. Recently, Martin Lawrence was featured in an exclusive "TV One on One" interview with Cathy Hughes. Following the success of his first series, Martin is interested in creating more television programs in the future.

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Kevin Hart to star in FOX sitcom

By TV Insider
JR Staff Writer

For the past few years, Kevin Hart has been one of the most popular comedians in the game. He has been touring for years and he has risen in popularity each year. Hart has been compared by some as the second coming of Martin Lawrence. While he likes the comparisons, Hart wants to create his own lane.

After a slip-up, Lawrence has successfully put his career back together. Martin Lawrence landed a sitcom with FOX that was a success from 1992 to 1997. But, his increasinly erratic behavior led to the network cancelling the show. Lawrence now has a successful sitcom airing on TV One.

Kevin Hart has been on top of his game for years and FOX has noticed him. The network has been attempting to diversify its schedule for a long time. In 2009, they brought on the Michael Strahan sitcom, called "Brothers." The sitcom did not catch on with fans and was cancelled within months.

However, FOX is willing to try again. Kevin Hart has landed the starring role in the new sitcom, "Little in Common." Hart will play the role of Ty Burelson, a former athlete and sports writer who is now a house-husband. Burelson coaches little league baseball. The show is original, in concept, as it includes three familes, of three different races, interacting through the baseball team. Rob Corddry also stars in the upcoming sitcom.

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Cee Lo may be a judge on "The Voice"

By TV Insider
JR Staff Writer

Ever since 2009, NBC has been revamping its programming, due to the low ratings. The network has been steadily losing viewers for nearly eight years. In order to bring more viewers to the network, NBC's new programs have been featuring more black characters. This spring, NBC has plans of bringing more shows to the network.

NBC is preparing to begin airing a singing competition show later this spring. The show will be called "The Voice" and it will feature people singing songs. These singers will be judged by music industry insiders and casting is still taking place for judges. Among the people being cast as a judge is Cee Lo.

After being overlooked for years, Cee Lo rose to the top of the game last year. His single, "Fuck You," grabbed listeners ears with the aggressive title. But, after it was censored to "Forget You," the song won over pop culture and made Cee Lo a pop icon. He had been recording for years, but he never had much recognition outside of the R&B community. With one song, this has all changed.

Aside from Cee Lo, NBC has also approached Mary J. Blige, Lenny Kravitz, John Legend, and others. The show is being compared to the FOX hit, "American Idol." But, instead of winning a record deal, the winner of the contestant will win $100,000 in cash. On "The Voice," the judges must listen to the contestants while their back is facing them, so they only judge based on their voice. Adam Levine, of Maroon 5, has already agreed to join the cast of the series, along with an unnamed female singer.

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Kanye West gets animated for "Cleveland"

Kanye West plans to come out of hiding this year. He plans to do it in a big way. Not only is he planning his comeback album, Good Ass Job, but West also plans to animate himself. In the past, Kanye West has tried to step into acting. A few years ago, he reached a deal with HBO to star in a sitcom. At the last minute, the deal fell through and Kanye West was without a sitcom.

In 2008, there was so much outrage about the lack of black characters on television that a lot of new black sitcoms were created. Among the black sitcoms created was "The Cleveland Show," which is a spin-off of the popular animated FOX sitcom, "Family Guy." When the show was still in its developmental stages, there was a lot of talk about who was going to be on the show. Kanye West was listed among the stars.

It was said that the Chicago rapper would star as Kenny West, the next-door neighbor to the Brown family. He was going to be the primary rival to Cleveland Brown, the main character. However, as the show actually hit television screens, more details were revealed. Kanye West was going to provide a guest appearance as opposed to being one of the stars of the show. His appearance is scheduled for the first season, which still has a few more months left.

Kanye West will guest star as Kenny West, who will be the primary rival to Cleveland, Jr., for one episode. In this episode, Cleveland, Jr. will enter a freestyle competition and he will have to go against Kenny West. Not only will the two boys be rivals behind the mic, but they will also clash after it is revealed that they both have feelings for a girl who is voiced by Taraji P. Henson. This episode will air on May 2, 2010 at 8:30 pm, eastern time, on FOX.

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