News
3.31.06 - Larry Wilmore, who currently is a writer/producer on NBC's The Office, has been cast in CBS's untitled Christine Baranski/Ed O'Neill sitcom. Even if the pilot gets picked up, the Hollywood Reporter hints that he may be able to continue on as a consultant for The Office.
4.3.02 - A Chicago janitor is accusing Eddie Murphy of stealing his
likeness for a character on the now-defunct comedy The PJs. According to
Variety, Tally Collier is seeking $10 million in damages from Murphy and his
fellow PJ producers, which includes Imagine Entertainment execs Ron Howard and
Brian Grazer.
9.9.01 - Ja'Net DuBois won an Emmy for her voice-over work as Mrs. Avery.
5.15.01 - The PJs is not on the WB's Fall Schedule and has been cancelled.
4.12.01 - Look for Loretta Devine in the new movie, "Kingdom Come," now in theaters everywhere.
4.5.01 - Eddie Murphy will be appearing at Nickelodeon's 14th Annual Kids' Choice Awards.
3.6.01 - The Los Angeles Times reports that The PJs will not be returning next season.
2.20.01 - There is a picture of Eddie Murphy shaking hands with Jerry Seinfeld at the L.A. premiere of "Down to Earth" in the February 26th issue of People magazine.
1.29.01 - "Doctor Dolittle," starring Eddie Murphy, will air on ABC on Sunday, February 11th and Saturday, February 17th.
1.26.01 - Look for Eddie Murphy playing the title role in the movie "Pluto Nash," due in theaters in early April.
1.5.01 - Latest news is that the WB would like very much to
renew The PJs for another season and has ordered 13 new episodes from
Imagine Television. The problem comes from the shows production partner
-- Warner Bros. Television who has chosen not to continue with the show
because of financial issues. Perhaps the show doesn't earn enough with
the short episode orders (10-13 at a time) to warrant continued
production; or they don't think they can fully regain their investment
when it goes to syndication. Whatever the case, Imagine is now trying to
find its third production partner for the show (before Warner Bros was
Touchstone Television). Paramount has indicated an interest provided it
also distributes the shows 56 episodes. That may give BET, a
soon-to-be-sister entity of Paramount, a solid shot at picking up the
show. If Imagine can put together the deal with Paramount, they will
also have to convince Warner Bros and Touchstone Television, to share the
backend profits with Paramount, before the first two partners even get
back their original investments.
11.30.00 - Eddie Murphy, together with Director Betty Thomas (Dr. Doolittle), is in negotiations with Columbia Pictures for a film loosely based on the 1960's television series "I Spy." The story is about a government agent on assignment to retrieve a lost jet, with the assistance of a professional athlete played by Murphy. The movie is not scheduled to begin production until after the threat of strike or an actual strike by the actors/writers is over.
10.15.00 - "Vampire in Brooklyn," starring Eddie Murphy, will air on ABC on Saturday, October 28th.
6.24.00 - Don't miss Ja'net DuBois in the feature film "Best Friends For Life" on CBS Sunday, July 2nd.
5.16.00 - It's official! "The PJs" will be airing on the WB this fall in the 7pm ET Sunday time slot.
2.10.00 - On TV Land's list of the 2000 best things on television, Eddie Murphy is #1880.
8.6.99 - Ja'Net DuBois won an Emmy in the voice-over performance category for her role as Mrs. Avery on "The PJs."
7.22.99 - "The PJs" was nominated for a 1999 Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music. "He's Gotta Have It" received a 1999 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Animated Program.
1.25.99 - Spike Lee is not a fan. He has taken offense to depictions of the black inner-city housing project afflicted with drugs, guns and poverty. He tells the Associated Press, "I'm not saying we're above being made fun of... but it's really hateful, I think, towards black people. Plain and simple." NAACP offiicals are reviewing the program and several Los Angeles-area black groups have denounced the show.
1.17.99 - "The PJs" got off to a great start ranking as the 6th highest show last week (the Sunday episode).
1.5.99 - "The PJs" is already getting criticism from groups like Project Islamic H.O.P.E. because the pilot episode contains "offensive jokes" about inner-city poverty. FOX is standing strong, saying "Fox looks forward to 'The PJs' joining its schedule, and believes the true measure of any show lies in its ability to raise important cultural... issues rather than avoid them. We respect the opinion of each member of the FOX audience, and so hope everyone will judge 'The PJs' for themselves."