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Margaret Cho to Portray Paralegal in New Series

Comedian and actress Margaret Cho, who plays smart-mouthed paralegal Teri Lee in the US series, says the show is a natural response to the shallow portrayal of women on television. "I think we, as a collective of women, started to feel invisible in the world of The Hills and Gossip Girl," she says, "so this show is responding to something. It addresses that need to feel visible, to see women who look like ourselves. There's just so much out there that isn't for women in a positive way."

In the opening episode, slim, sexy Deb Dobson (Brooke d'Orsay) is killed in a car crash. Once in heaven, she manages to get herself returned to Earth but lands in the body of Jane Bingum (Brooke Elliott), a size 24 lawyer. In addition to Cho's Lee, the series stars April Bowlby as Deb's vapid best friend, Stacy, and Ben Feldman as Fred, her guardian angel, the only two characters who know what is going on.

There is a lovely sensibility to the show, a gentleness combined with an Ally McBeal-esque sense of humour. It seems a good fit with the current taste for television with a softer touch.

Cho was the first actor cast in the project, having met series creator Josh Berman through a mutual friend. "I think when he saw me he realised I was perfect for the part. He ran up to me and was so excited and I got the script the next day and I loved it," Cho says.

"This is a topic I have talked about a lot in my stand-up comedy - body issues, weight, women and their relationship to beauty and the accessibility of beauty for us - so it was something I really believed in from the beginning."

On paper, Berman seems an unlikely creator and producer of Drop Dead Diva as his best-known credit is CSI. "But he's also a lawyer and he's a gay man - a young, very thin gay man," Cho explains. "Gay men experience the same kind of body fascism as women because so much of it is focused on the cult of the body, body perfection and becoming this ideal. He writes so beautifully from a woman's perspective because, as a gay man, he experiences the same thing."

In one of Cho's first stand-up tours, I'm the One That I Want, she talked candidly about working on the sitcom All American Girl, where she was pressured by network executives to lose weight, was told her face was too round and was criticised, at different times, for being "too Asian" and "not Asian enough". Almost a decade later, she says, the entertainment industry's obsession with image has not improved.

"This world has become a very treacherous place for young women because the ideal is so impossible to achieve," she says. "These thin role models that girls have nowadays, their bodies are so emaciated that nobody can look like that. It's unfair and many young girls feel like they don't exist, so I'm glad in the show we have different images of women."

Drop Dead Diva seems a significant departure for Cho, who has worked most recently in stand-up comedy or playing herself in reality shows such as The Cho Show. Drop Dead Diva requires her to turn down the volume, she concedes, but she isn't your typical working actress. "I don't have an acting technique. I just walk to the tape mark and say words," she laughs. "I love it but I don't have any serious method. I didn't go live as a paralegal for a year. I know there are real actors who do that kind of stuff but I don't know anything about that kind of stuff."

Cho says she and the show's star, Brooke Elliott, found a rhythm very quickly. "We're very close. We became friends instantly. There was just a lot of connection there. I think she's such a brilliant actress and she's such a wonderful person and so beautiful that I'm really excited that she's out there. We need images of women like her - she's so physically appealing and in the show she always wins and it does the heart so much good to see her win."

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

Original Cha-Ka from TV's 'Land of the Lost' was a Paralegal

I've always loved the original series, 'Land of the Lost' and particularly the cute, furry character Cha-Ka.  All he had to do was appear on screen and I'd start to laugh.  For years I thought he closely resembled Clint Howard, actor and brother to famous sibling, Ron Howard.  In truth though, the actor who played the original Cha-Ka is Philip Paley and was only 10 when he was cast in the role. 

Now 45, he's a litigation support project manager at a Los Angeles law firm, helping attorneys gather and preserve evidence during the discovery phase of a trial. Before that, he was a paralegal for 10 years. He's also getting married in July. But he says he misses acting.

"Of course," he said. "It's a lot of fun, I think I'm pretty good at it. I have a problem with the whole pursuit of acting. It's so fraught with rejection, and the pursuit of it is not really for me, but I really enjoy the doing of it."

Attending the premiere and seeing the "Land of the Lost" movie "was very exciting," he said.

"For 35 years, the cast never really received any recognition for the work we did, and so it was pretty cool to finally get a little recognition for our work. We've always known it was a positive show -- people love the characters, people were really into it. It imprinted on people some really good things from their childhood.

"The allure of the show still is that it's great for kids," he continued. "It's filled with intrigue and it's a little bit scary and there's a lot of innocence in the characters, particularly between Cha-Ka and Holly and how they interact."

Paley is writing a book about his time on the show. He also has a Facebook page to interact with Cha-Ka fans.

Sherri Shepherd Portrays Paralegal in Lifetime's New Comedy

Lifetime Television, the number one women's network, has picked up 12 episodes of the all-new, multi-camera comedy series Sherri, starring comedienne and 2009 Daytime Emmy(R) Award-nominated co-host of The View Sherri Shepherd (30 Rock, Less Than Perfect). The program, to be produced in New York by Lifetime Studios, marks the first comedy series ever to be wholly owned by Lifetime. The announcement was made today by JoAnn Alfano, Executive Vice President, Entertainment, Lifetime Networks.

Sherri centers around a newly single mom, paralegal and part-time comedienne/actress who tries to get back into the dating scene and move on with her life after divorcing her cheating husband. Sherri finds solace and support among her girlfriends at the office while juggling her hectic life. Also starring in the series are Tammy Townsend (Lincoln Heights), Kali Rocha (Grey's Anatomy), Elizabeth Regen (The Black Donnellys) and Kate Reinders (Ugly Betty). Terri Minsky (Less Than Perfect, Lizzie McGuire) has been named writer/executive producer of Sherri. The program will also be executive produced by Nina Wass and Gene Stein (Less Than Perfect), while Dave Flebotte (Desperate Housewives), who executive produced the pilot, will be a consultant. Shepherd, who will continue to co-host the hit ABC daytime talk show The View, will serve as a co-executive producer of Sherri. The comedy reunites Shepherd, Minsky, Wass and Stein, who last worked together on the ABC sitcom Less Than Perfect.

"I've been a big fan of Sherri's for a long time and am thrilled to work with her again. She is one of the most gifted comedic actresses around, and we are very excited to have her on the Lifetime schedule," said Alfano. "The best comedy originates from real-life experiences, and Sherri will take a hilarious, no-holds-barred look at life after marriage as only she can do."

Alfano continued, "It is our goal to program contemporary and relatable comedies that reflect our brand and speak to today's women. Sherri is the perfect complement to Rita Rocks and the off-net sitcoms How I Met Your Mother and Will & Grace."

Sherri will join Lifetime's family comedy Rita Rocks. Set to return for its second season in the fall, the series stars Nicole Sullivan as Rita Clements, an overworked wife and mother trying to find time for herself. Other comedies that currently air on Lifetime include the off-net acquisitions How I Met Your Mother, Reba, Will & Grace and Frasier.

This summer, Lifetime will roll-out a robust slate of original programming, beginning with the May 30 debut of the highly-anticipated miniseries Maneater, presented by Vaseline Aloe Fresh and based on Gigi Levangie Grazer's New York Times best-selling novel. On June 7, Army Wives, 2008's number one original drama on cable among W18-49 and the highest rated series in the Network's history, will return for its third season. The new comedic drama Drop Dead Diva will debut on July 12; and on August 20, Lifetime will launch the sixth season of Project Runway, the highest-rated unscripted competition series on cable, and its all-new companion series, Models of the Runway.

ABOUT SHERRI SHEPHERD

Shepherd currently co-hosts the hit ABC daytime talk show The View alongside Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Last week, the program's co-hosts were nominated for a 2009 Daytime Emmy(R) Award in the Talk Show Host category. In addition, she often guest stars as Tracy Morgan's wife, Angie, on the critically acclaimed and award-winning 30 Rock.

For four years, Shepherd appeared on the ABC sitcom Less Than Perfect, following memorable guest spots on series including Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, Joan of Arcadia, Suddenly Susan, The Jamie Foxx Show, Living Single and Emeril. Recently heard as the voice of Ben Stiller's "lioness mother" in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Shepherd has enjoyed a film career highlighted by roles in Who's Your Caddy?, Beauty Shop, Cellular and Guess Who. She will soon be seen opposite Mo'Nique, Lenny Kravitz and Paula Patton in the upcoming Precious (based on the novel Push by Sapphire) and Tyler Perry's upcoming film (yet to be titled).

A beloved stand-up comic, Shepherd has performed at notable comedy clubs across the country, and she has released both a DVD and a CD of her act entitled No Refund, No Exchange.

ABOUT LIFETIME TELEVISION

Lifetime is a diverse, multi-media company, committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and information programming that celebrates, entertains and supports women. Through its award-winning public affairs initiatives, the Company also advocates a wide range of issues affecting women and their families. Lifetime Television, Lifetime Movie Network, Lifetime Real Women and Lifetime Digital (which includes myLifetime.com, Lifetime Games, Roiworld.com, DressUpChallenge.com and MothersClick.com) are part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a 50/50 joint venture of Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney Company.

Source: KCAU-DT ABC 9

Paralegal Studies Director Wanted to be a Millionaire

Suffolk University professor Mary Flaherty had a good time watching herself on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" with her students and colleagues. The group gathered at the school to witness Flaherty winning $16,000 from host Meredith Vieira on the show. (The 48-year-old Gloucester mom won her cash by defining what a "jumper" is in England. "I knew that from reading so many Agatha Christie novels as a kid," she said. And this wasn't her first trivia turn; she was also on "Jeopardy!" 10 years ago.) Flaherty said Vieira was just "lovely," on-camera and off. But the director of paralegal studies, who claims she has "a head full of useless information," bombed out on this question: "How many sides does an icosahedron have?" "I called my brother and he was trying to Google it, but he couldn't type fast enough," she said. "He feels terrible. He won't even watch the show." But Flaherty has no regrets. She's taking one daughter on a trip to Finland, buying her other daughter a cat, and said she had a great time. "What's so terrible about that?" Flaherty said. (For the record, we Googled it, and the icosahedron has 20 sides.)

Source: The Boston Globe

Paralegal a Contender on Web Reality Show

The George Foreman(R) division of Applica Consumer Products, Inc., the company behind the popular web-based weight-loss reality show "Knock Out the Fat," will be taping part of an upcoming webisode at the US Open on September 4th, George Foreman(R) Day at the tournament. The taping, focused on "The Knock Out the Fat Cook-off Challenge," was made possible through the company's sponsorship of the US Open and will feature tennis great Monica Seles as a guest judge.

The special webisode will air on September 5th and will "serve" up great tasting healthy meals cooked on the new George Foreman(R) G-broil(TM) grill. To celebrate the occasion, four fans at the US Open that day will be able to win a new G-broil(TM) grill.

The four contestants from the web series have lost a total of 55 pounds during the two months of competition and are vying to lose the most weight in six-months for the Grand Prize of a trip for two to a luxury spa overseas. For the challenge, the contestants will be asked to cook a unique, healthy and tasty meal they developed in the past months from their experiences using the G-broil(TM) grill. Their grilling creations will be judged by Seles on taste, fitness expert and show host Michael Feigin on healthy approach, and Evanghela Hidalgo, President and General Manager of the Americas Division of Applica Consumer Products, Inc. on how the unique technology of the G-broil(TM) was used.

"We are excited to host this challenge and special episode of 'Knock Out the Fat' at the US Open," said Evanghela Hildago. "Eating healthy, along with exercise like tennis, is important when trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The George Foreman(R) G-broil(TM) grill is a great way to cook a tasty, healthy, convenient meal and to help reduce fat from your food."

The "Knock Out the Fat" monthly Web show (www.KnockOuttheFat.com) consists of host and expert commentary, home footage, online blogs and video diaries of the contenders' experiences. Viewers can interact with contenders by commenting on their blog postings, rating and uploading recipes, and submitting videos that share their own grilling tips and healthy eating and dieting advice.

Meet the Contenders

The following four contenders are eager to make healthful changes in their lifestyle:

-- Caprice Corona, 33, 275 pounds, is an opera singer and stay-at-home mom in New York, NY ready to get back to her pre-pregnancy weight for auditions.

-- Troy Goodwin, 22, 259 pounds, is a paralegal in Boston, MA, who also helps promote the Boston Celtics basketball team as part of the Green Team. Goodwin is looking to lose the weight he has put on since his knee-injury playing Division II basketball with Southern New Hampshire University.

-- Derek Walker, 40, 266 pounds, is a flight attendant and former entertainer living in New Jersey. Walker would like to lose 50 pounds to feel healthier.

-- Yannick Yasmine, 28,195 pounds, is a residence hall director and adjunct professor for William Patterson University in Wayne, NJ. Yasmine is aspiring to reach her goal weight in time for her 10-year high school reunion.

About Applica

Based in Miramar, Florida, Applica and its affiliates are leading marketers and distributors of a broad range of branded small household appliances. Applica markets and distributes small kitchen and home appliances, pet and pest products, and personal care products. Applica has a broad portfolio of well recognized brand names, including Black & Decker(R), George Foreman(R), Russell Hobbs(R), Toastmaster(R), LitterMaid(R), and Farberware(R). Applica's customers include mass merchandisers, specialty retailers and appliance distributors. Applica, with its line of Black & Decker(R), Farberware(R) and George Foreman(R) branded products, holds a No. 1 market position in several product categories, including toaster ovens, percolators, contact grills and irons. (Source >>>)

Paralegal Wants to 'Work for Diddy'

"I Want to Work for Diddy," the latest "celebreality" show to hit VH1, features 13 contestants battling for the position of personal assistant to Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Diddy, an entertainment mogul known for his music, acting and fashion, has embarked on a nationwide search for a new assistant.

Diddy typically has about six assistants at a time, according to VH1, and now he's turning his search to expand his group of hired hands into a reality show.

Sterling's Boris Kuperman, a 2005 graduate of Park View High School, is one of the contestants featured on the show, which airs Monday nights at 9 p.m.

"Diddy is an icon in the entertainment industry," said the 21-year-old, who goes by the nickname "Can Do." "He's inspiring and motivating. He could open doors for anyone. It's a dream come true to work side by side with somebody like him."

On the show, three judges appointed by Diddy deliberate each week and eliminate the contestant who performs the most poorly at the challenges.

Three of the show's contestants already have been eliminated in the first and second episodes, which aired Aug. 4 and Aug. 11 and featured some tough challenges, Kuperman said.

The first challenge was to perform a list of 50 tasks in 24 hours. The tasks sent contestants running errands all over New York City, including going to visit Diddy's business associates, buying clothes for his children or washing his Cadillac Escalade.

The second episode featured an "Army Challenge" composed of a trek through the woods to answer questions about Diddy and map their way back out of the wooded terrain.

"It's very fast-paced," Kuperman said. "It takes everything you've got. You just have to push constantly and not take no for an answer."

Kuperman, who works as a paralegal in Fairfax County, said he never could have pictured himself on a reality show, but now that he is there, he is going to do whatever it takes to win.

"Working with [Diddy] would be crazy, but I know I'll do it," he said. "It'll take drive and motivation. I'm not going to give up."

For more on Kuperman, visit www.FamousVH1friends.com or www.myspace.com/toplaw. (Source>>>)

Paralegal is Featured Character in the New Series, "Reaper Madness"

By A.C. FERRANTE

Every TV season, there’s always a handful of new genre shows hoping to capture attention with their new takes on old formulas. The key, of course, is having a mission statement, a mythology and a tone, and sticking to it—which is exactly what CW’s REAPER (debuting Tuesday at 9 p.m.) does.

A wicked blend of slacker comedy and creepy horror, the new series features Bret (LIGHTNING BUG) Harrison as layabout Sam—who on his 21st birthday discovers that his parents sold his soul to the devil (Ray Wise) before he was even born. Naturally, Satan has come to collect, but instead of sending him to the depths of hell for eternal damnation, he takes Sam under his wing, employing him to hunt down various demons who have escaped from the underworld and are hiding on Earth. Rounding out the recurring cast are Tyler (INVASION) Labine as Sam’s slacker best friend Bert “Sock” Wysocki, Missy Peregrym as Andi, Sam’s potential love interest, and Valarie Rae Miller as Sock’s ex-girlfriend Josie, who also happens to work as a paralegal (which obviously will come in handy in locating the criminal elements).

“We knew we’re making a crazy show,” says Harrison. “We’re talking about the devil. It’s like any sci-fi or supernatural-esque show, but we’re just winking at the audience, saying, ‘We know what we’re doing, we’re kind of making fun of the genre a little bit.’ It’s been done for 100 years, but what’s different and cool about it is we’re in on the joke. We know we’re talking about Satan, and that’s what makes it fun.”

Adding to the humorous element is the fact that Sam treats his side job as a bounty hunter for the devil like any modern 20something would: with a complete awareness of horror-movie conventions, and the ability to track down information on the Internet with a click of a button. “Sam is constantly on-line,” Harrison says. “And it’s funny, it’s exactly what’s going on these days; he can find out anything on the web nowadays. As soon Sam hears he has this guy to track down, boom! Google.”

While many genre TV shows have become tangled in their own hypercomplex mythologies, Harrison says that REAPER will be structured very much like THE X FILES or BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER in that there will be a loose, ongoing story arc, but the show will work on a weekly basis as a stand-alone series, regardless of whether you miss an episode or not. “In the beginning, we have to stay a little demon-of-the-week,” Harrison explains. “We’re trying to put a bit of mythology in there and segue over into the next episode—but not too much, because we want people to catch on. On LOST, if you come in now, you don’t know what the hell is going on, so we’re just trying to make sure people know what’s up. Hopefully, if someone doesn’t catch the first episode, they’ll catch the second or the third and won’t be confused. We’ll get people started on what’s really happening, and then we’ll branch out.”

Creators and executive producers Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters originally had the idea for the show eight years ago while toiling as assistants for X FILES’ Frank Spotnitz and BLADE’s David Goyer, respectively. “We had always had this in the back of our minds,” Fazekas says. “And I saw SHAUN OF THE DEAD, which kind of influenced me. What I liked about SHAUN was these two ordinary guys who were too hung over to realize the world has been taken over by zombies. I started to think about these kinds of kids, who are in their 20s, who have gone to college and who live in nice suburbs, in nice houses and have nice cars, Xboxes and all the comforts of home. And if you’re not really motivated to do anything, why would you leave to live in a crappy apartment downtown? So we married the two ideas.”

Of course, the devil is in the details, so to speak, and Fazekas and Butters didn’t want to go for the obvious clichés in portraying old Scratch himself. “It doesn’t serve the devil to be evil, to come at you with horns and a pitchfork,” Fazekas notes. “His purpose is to tempt, to cajole, to get you to do bad things. So if he’s scaring you off, you’re not going to listen to him. He’s going to be solicitous. He’s going to be your buddy to get you to do evil deeds.”

Casting the right actor for the part was a snap, however, as the role fell to TWIN PEAKS star Wise. “I’ve pretty much remembered every devil that has been on screen, big or small, then been forgetting all about that and doing my own, which is a combination of probably me and every other character I’ve ever played, from Caligula, Caesar and the mad emperor of Rome to Leland Palmer and a variety of other villainous and terrible people,” Wise says. “I ran into David Strathairn this morning on an airplane; we did GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK together. He said, ‘What are you doing?’ and I said ‘I’m playing the devil in REAPER, a new TV show.’ He said, ‘You’re playing the devil?’ and I said ‘Yes.’ ‘You mean the devil is a good guy?’ So he knows me only from GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK and is not aware of a lot of the other things I’ve done in the past. So, to him, the devil would be a good guy, but he could also be perceived as a very bad guy. Personally, I don’t think the devil sees in terms of good and bad, or black and white.”

For Harrison, the freedom the executive producers have granted the actors to improvise and riff off each other, in order to bring more spontaneity to the situations, has been liberating. “They just want to make sure they get the story across,” the actor explains. “With any project, the writers bring you a script, and the actors, if they’re good, they put a little sugar on top and make it all that much better. All of a sudden, it’s 10 times stronger than you would have ever thought. A bad scene can become good, because the actors added some choices to make it fun to watch.”

The pilot’s director, who certainly sets the right tone for the rest of the series, was Kevin Smith, who’s better known for features like the CLERKS films and DOGMA, and surprisingly delivers one of his most confident and breezy efforts to date. “He’s the actor’s director of all time,” Harrison says. “He asked us to do things 50 different ways, and never wanted the same take twice. For improvisers like Tyler and myself—‘OK, you say this, and I’ll say this, cool, cool’—it’s so much more fun that way.”

While Harrison isn’t a slacker himself, he does relate to his REAPER role. “I’m not as much of one, but I almost wish I was,” he says. “I think everybody, at the end of the day, still ends up playing CALL OF DUTY, drinking a beer, having a pizza. And the slacker always ends up happier. If there is anything I do share with Sam, it’s that I value friendship, and Sam is insanely loyal to his buddies. If you know anyone who tracks down evil demons every week, and has their friends helping them do it, please let me know.”

With REAPER’s tone echoing such films as SHAUN and GHOSTBUSTERS, Harrison says that should hopefully open up the series to a wider audience looking for a few frights with their weekly dose of laughs. “It’s a really good show for anybody,” he says. “It has comedy, action and horror. It has a little something for everybody, anybody can relate to this kind of series.”

Well, except for that devil thing… (Source)