Cher has been standing up for her son Chaz ever since it was announced in August that he was joining the cast of "Dancing With The Stars." And last night, she made a public showing of her support with a surprise visit to the show. And last night, she made a public showing of her support with a surprise visit to the show. The heart-warming video below features Chaz' performance on last night's episode, and more than a few close-ups of Cher in the audience. more ›

HazMat has been called to the CBS Television City studio this afternoon to investigate a report that some white powder "spilled out of a letter" being handled in the mailroom. Who was the (un)lucky recipient? It's not known yet to whom the piece of mail was addressed. more ›

If you passed on seeing how Charlie Sheen's character passed away on "Two and a Half Men" in favor of seeing talent like Ricki Lake, Metta World Peace, and Chaz Bono take to the dance floor, you might not have known that there was one well-known would-be hoofer who had to say no to being on the show. more ›

Where there's a high-profile kerfuffle, there's Gloria Allred at the ready to throw in her two cents' worth when it comes to injustice and the human condition. The controversy surrounding transgendered celeb offspring Chaz Bono's upcoming participation as a male tango and cha cha partner on TV's "Dancing With the Stars" has now proven no exception to the Allred rule. more ›

This week's announcement that Chaz Bono is part of the new cast of "Dancing With The Stars" brought out the haters and the transphobes -- over at the DWTS message boards, viewers suggested that the show was no longer family-friendly and that the producers were pushing a homosexual agenda. more ›

"Dancing With the Stars" fans are not happy at all that ABC has included Chaz Bono, a transgendered man, in this year's line-up. Some in the anti-Chaz camp (which may overlap with the pro-Bristol Palin camp) say they will boycott the show, complaining that putting a transgendered man on robs the show of its family-friendly status. more ›

Pittsburgh Steelers player Hines Ward has been spending his time in Los Angeles under the flashing lights of the "Dancing With the Stars," set, but early this morning the flashing lights came from a Los Angeles Police Department squad car. The LAPD pulled over the vehicle in which Hines was a passenger, and wound up cuffing the athlete and TV dance-testant at gunpoint, explains TMZ. more ›

The "Revolution" will not be televised, it seems. Well, at least not in May. ABC has decided that viewers are far more likely to tune in to see a repeat of celebri-dancers hoofing it on "Dancing With the Stars" than fresh episodes of Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution" series for the next few weeks. The network has pulled the show for the duration of May Sweeps, and will resume airing the remaining eps in June. more ›

A threatening letter containing white powder, "brought police, firefighters and the FBI to the CBS studios in the Fairfax District Friday night," reports KTLA. The questionable powder was found in a piece of "fan mail" addressed to Bristol Palin and sent to the production offices for Dancing With The Stars, according to TMZ. more ›

First she was secretly videotaped in the nude, now ESPN's Erin Andrews has been the target of death threats sent via e-mail, according to an AP report published on cbs2. Andrews' attorney, Marshall Grossman, reveals the blonde sports reporter and current "Dancing With the Stars" contestant has been getting sexually explicit and threatening e-mails since September. The e-mails reference Andrews' convicted secret video-taper, Michael David Barrett, and include details about where and how the author would commit murder. Grossman says the FBI has been made aware of the threats; Andrews does not plan to leave DWTS, but "has asked ABC to beef up its security" for the show. more ›

On Sunday, "Dancing with the Stars'" Carrie Ann Inaba and "The Bachelor's" Chris Harrison will be working the Red Carpet for TV Guide Network's coverage of the Primetime Emmy Awards. Earlier this week, LAist had the pleasure of sitting down and talking with the tandem who will be interviewing the biggest stars of the small screen on “Live at the Emmy Awards with Carrie Ann and Chris” from 6:00-8:00 p.m. ET/PT. more ›

In what seems to be yet another case of famous-by-proxy (see: Jewel's husband), the rumor mill is whirring over the latest buzz that puts "shock jock" Howard Stern's blonde bride of less than a year, Beth Ostrosky, as a contender for the coveted Dancing With the Stars prize. The pair hooked up soon after Stern's divorce from his first wife of 20 years, and became engaged on Valentine's Day in 2007. more ›

NBC has announced that the first guests on "The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien" will be Will Ferrell and Pearl Jam. | We were pleased that AMC's "Breaking Bad" won at Monday's Peabody Awards ceremony but we weren't happy to read that "Saturday Night Live"'s Lorne Michaels is considering a "MacGruber" movie. "MacGruber" is funny for the 20 second segments it has on "SNL" but it doesn't have legs beyond that. more ›

According to the LA Times, about 1 in 4 TVs were tuned to "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" when President Barack Obama made an appearance last week. Leno has had higher ratings only 3 other times in the past, but the media space is a lot more crowded than it was even 4 years ago, so it was a stellar night for NBC. more ›

Today in the web TV world, Josh Schwartz's (Gossip Girl, The O.C., Chuck) music-themed web series, "Rockville CA" premieres on TheWB.com. The show features both indie favorites and up-and-coming bands such as Eagles of Death Metal, The Broken West, and Bishop Allen. “Rockville CA” is set in a fictional Los Angeles rock club and was shot on location at The Echo, which is an actual, real rock club, that you might have heard of if you have a heartbeat. more ›

AMC's "Breaking Bad" is so good that we can't stop thinking about last night's episode. Both macabre and humorous, it was the best thing we saw on TV last night. The show starts with Walter White already out of the frying pan and in the fire and it ends with him seemingly consumed by the flames - we don't know how they're going to keep it up. more ›

Today NBC launched a 24-hour cable channel in New York called "New York Non-Stop", replete with expanded news coverage, on-location stories, and interactive elements. When can LA expect the same investment? more ›

Fans of dance-reality television programming and gluttons for punishment alike, listen up: ABC's massive hit series Dancing With the Stars is warming up for a March 9 return to the airwaves, and the talent pool has just been revealed. more ›

Oh, Cloris Leachman, you silly bawdy 82-year-old who has charmed your way through Dancing with the Stars this season. You've done it again. Today, you were named the grand marshal of the 2009 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena! Big kudos. more ›

With recent news that Misty May-Treanor is probably out of the competition due to an injury she sustained to her Achilles on Friday, and reports that dancer Derek Hough was rushed to the hospital after blacking out in rehearsal on Saturday, it almost appears that the secret to winning DWTS this season is avoiding (or surviving) injury! more ›

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Last night TLC's "I Can Make You Thin" had some good ideas in it but it felt and looked like a frickin' Ronco infomercial. Did anyone watch "John Adams" on HBO? How about Parker Posey in "The Return of Jezebel James" on Friday night? For a St. Paddy's Day themed show tonight, check out the "Ghost Hunters" repeat on SciFi at 9:00pm. more ›

I have said it before and I'll say it again, the best designers on Project Runway this season are from Los Angeles. In my holiday wish, I see Rami Kashou, Sweet P, and Kit Pistol in the final three and visions of their collections on the runway in the finale. more ›

Joel McHale hosts The Soup, a celebration of the most embarrassing moments in pop culture every Friday night on E! From Tila Tequila to Yo Gabba Gabba you can count on The Soup to gather all the "best of" moments into one big pot of funny. LAist headed to the E! studios for a backstage tour, taping of the show, and one on one with the man who is not afraid to say Oprah's Va-Jay-Jay on national television. When we arrived Joel was in the makeup chair prepping for the show. more ›

Just read that one of Sid Caesar's writers, Mel Tolkin, just passed away at age 94, godlove'im. Instead of running vintage Leno re-runs they should be running some of this classic comedy that actually had great writing from way back in the day. The kids might learn something. 8:00pm A Charlie Brown Christmas ABC - If only this didn't have commercials, hmm, but if it didn't have commercials the show would be about 11 minutes... more ›

The WGA and the producers are back at the negotiating table, hopefully they will catch the breaks that they need so that the collapse of Western civilization is averted. In a desperate attempt to avoid family time over the holiday, I managed to watch season one of Showtime's Dexter and my optimism for the future of mankind was restored. I missed Dexter when it premiered last year but was happy to cover the zany stunts... more ›

Tuesdays are a slow day for the networks. Dancing With the Stars will soon require someone to pass out every week in order for the show to remain interesting and House seems like it jumped the shark a while ago. For satisfaction we'll have to delve deep into cableland or pay-TV. 8:00pm TCM Crime Drama Marathon TCM - Starting out with The Lineup and following on with Armored Car Robbery, and Follow Me Quietly 8:00pm... more ›

Watching Nip/Tuck has always been a dirty and guilty pleasure. Season five of the show returns tonight on FX and McNamara/Troy are moving the business to our own Los Angeles (as if you haven't been pummeled incessantly by the promos for the last month, and particularly during the World Series). The overpromotion irritates me a bit because it can set up what has been a pretty good show for a fall. Since Nip/Tuck has always... more ›

Did you know you can still get tickets for Monday night's Rilo Kiley show at the Santa Monica Civic? Do you know why you can still get tickets for the show? Because it's in Santa Monica. And when the people of Santa Monica aren't trying to destroy old trees and houses, they're looking for things to do Other than see great rock shows. Let's think of things they do on the Westside other than... more ›

8-11pm CBS - All new episodes of: How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory (series premiere!), Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, CSI: Miami 8:00pm The War PBS - I think PBS completely effed this up by taking this great series head-to-head against a week of season and series premieres on the networks and cable. They should have shown it last week or the week before where there wasn't jack-shit... more ›