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On January 15, 1981, NBC premiered the police drama Hill Street Blues, which went on to air for seven seasons and collect 26 Emmy Awards wins during its run. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review of the show’s early episodes is below:

Wouldn’t it be ironic if Hill Street Blues lost the cutting edge that prompted the critics to rave and the Emmys to flow — and the ratings picked up? Now ensconced in a Thursday night position opposite 20/20 on ABC and movies on CBS, the second season debut of Hill Street, directed by supervising producer Greg Hoblit, still has the qualities and quality that made critics wax effusive, and which apparently turned a lot of viewers off.

For first-time viewers, the carnival of characters which gives the series its richness for addicts such as this viewer, may seem initially confusing. The structure is still the bits-and-pieces-flow-of-events unfolding over the course...

Decades before shows like "Search Party" took an ever-shifting approach to the comedic TV format, "Laverne & Shirley" was switching things up season after season. The "Happy Days" spinoff started with a pretty consistent premise in its early seasons, focusing on two zany roommates working at a Milwaukee bottling company. By season 5, though, tomboy Laverne (Penny Marshall) and optimist Shirley (Cindy Williams) ended up in the Army Reserves, and season 6 saw them move to Burbank and work as department store gift wrappers. By the final season, Shirley was gone, and Laverne was working in the aerospace industry.

As wild as the twists and turns of "Laverne & Shirley" were, the show had some constants across its eight seasons, including the presence of neighbors Lenny (Michael McKean) and Squiggy (David Lander), Laverne's dad Frank (Phil Foster), and Shirley's fame-hungry ex, Carmine (Eddie Mekka). Most of the actors who made "Laverne & Shirley...

Spoiler Alert: This article contains details for the Season 5 return of Yellowstone on Sunday.

Written as usual by Taylor Sheridan, the long-awaited final half of Yellowstone’s fifth season opened Sunday with Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) pulling up to the governor’s mansion to see all hell has broken loose with emergency vehicles flashing everywhere. It isn’t much suspense that her beloved father, John Dutton (Kevin Costner), lay dead inside, before he was to face an impeachment tribunal set up by his son Jamie (Wes Bentley), the Montana attorney general.

She’s held outside by police, but brother Kayce (Luke Grimes) pulls up, flashes a badge and tells the lawman to piss off. And their worst nightmare is revealed. We don’t see John Dutton’s face, but the body is frail and bluing, the wall in the bathroom is painted with blood from a single gunshot to the head.

Blue Mountain State is a college sitcom that depicts American state college culture, including partying and college football. The show originally aired from 2010-2011 on Spike, gained a cult following on Netflix, and received a sequel movie in 2016. The talented cast includes actors like The Bold and the Beautiful star Darin Brooks, Reacher star Alan Ritchson, and Chris Romano, who also co-created the series with Eric Falconer.

Created by Chris Romano and Eric Falconer, Blue Mountain State is a college sitcom about the rowdy misadventures of the titular university's football team, the Mountain Goats. Though fictional, Blue Mountain State embodies the typical American state college by embracing the raunchiest parts of the culture, including binge drinking, drugs, sex, and, of course, the phenomenon that is college football.

Blue Mountain State ran for three seasons from 2010-2011 and originally aired on Spike, but gained a cult following once it started streaming on Netflix.

Born Eugene L. Kay, also known as “Dusty,” a writer and Emmy-nominated producer whose credits include “Entourage,” “Roseanne” and “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” died on April 10 in Summerlin, Nev., following a brief illness, his long time collaborator and friend Bill Nuss announced. He was 69.

Kay was born in the Bronx, N.Y., and grew up in Yonkers and Spring Valley. His 45-year long career in television earned him several credits including the 1987 ABC sitcom “Once a Hero,” which he created, which starred Robert Forster, Milo O’Shea, Caitlin Clarke, and Jeff Lester. It followed a comic book hero who crosses over from a fictional world to fight crime in the real world, then he discovers he’s lost all his superpowers.

Kay wrote and produced the TV films “Triplecross,” starring Ted Wass, and Markie Post, “Mick and Frankie,” starring Ed Marinaro, Robert Firth and Robert Forster, and Cutty Whitman,...

Dusty Kay, a writer and Emmy-nominated producer whose credits include Entourage, Roseanne and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, died April 10 in Summerlin, Nevada, following a brief illness. He was 69.

His death was announced today by his friend and collaborator Bill Nuss. A cause of death was not specified.

Born Eugene L. Kay, in the Bronx, New York, Kay created the short-lived 1987 ABC series Once a Hero, about a comic book hero who crosses over to the real world but loses his superpowers in the transition. The series starred Robert Forster, Milo O’Shea, Caitlin Clarke, and Jeff Lester.

Kay also wrote and produced the TV films Triplecross (1986), starring Ted Wass, and Markie Post, Mick and Frankie, starring Ed Marinaro, Robert Firth and Robert Forster, and Cutty Whitman (1996) starring James Remar, and Richard Libertini.

Other writing credits include Good Times, James at 16, Eight is Enough, Early Edition, and...

Dusty Kay, a writer and Emmy-nominated producer with credits including Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Roseanne and Entourage, has died. He was 69.

Kay died April 10 in Summerlin, Nevada, after an undescribed brief illness, Bill Nuss, his friend and longtime collaborator, announced. The pair authored the book for a musical based on The Honeymooners that premiered in 2017 at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey.

Kay also created the ABC series Once a Hero, starring Robert Forster, Milo O’Shea, Caitlin Clarke and Jeff Lester. The show, about a comic book hero, Captain Justice (Lester), who crosses over from the fictional world to fight crime in the real world, only to discover he’s lost his superpowers, aired seven episodes in 1997.

He served as a co-supervising producer on five episodes of ABC’s Lois & Clark in 1993, wrote and produced on the seventh season of ABC’s Roseanne...

Cult college football series Blue Mountain State is making a comeback. A sequel to the 2010 comedy recently hit the TV marketplace, with Reacher’s Alan Ritchson set to reprise his role as Kevin “Thad” Castle. The original series’ co-leads Darin Brooks and Chris Romano also are expected to be back for the followup, from Lionsgate Television.

According to sources, the project has not fully landed yet with negotiations ongoing. The likely destinations are said to be Amazon, where Ritchson headlines hit series Reacher, and Netflix, where Blue Mountain State found new audience and cemented its cult status following its original three-season run on Spike.

(from left): Sam Jones III, Gabrielle Dennis, Darin Brooks, Chris Romano, Alan Ritchson, Ed Marinaro

Created by Chris Romano and Eric Falconer, who I hear are back for the sequel, Blue Mountain State is about a fictitious university, Blue Mountain State, and its football team,...

The TV series Hill Street Blues aired on NBC from 1981 to 1987. Here’s a look at which cast member has the highest net worth today.

Charles Haid Cast of Hill Street Blues | Herb Ball/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Net worth: $2 million

Charles Haid played Andrew Renko. As of this writing, Haid has an estimated net worth of $2 million. One of his early acting roles was in a 1974 episode of Gunsmoke titled “Like Old Times.” After Hill Street Blues, Haid appeared in The Twilight Zone (1989), Murder, She Wrote (1989–1990), and NYPD Blue (1994).

Ed Marinaro Ed Marinaro | Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Net worth: $3 million

Ed Marinaro played Joe Coffey. As of this writing, Marinaro has an estimated net worth of $3 million. One of Marinaro’s early roles was in the TV series The Edge of Night. After Hill Street Blues, Marinaro appeared in Falcon Crest...

In what seemed like more of an acceptance speech than a draft announcement, former Hill Street Blues actor and Minnesota Vikings running back Ed Marinaro took the better part of two minutes trying to entertainment crowd before finally announcing the team’s second round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft in Las Vegas today.

Marinaro, who played in two Super Bowls, started by observing that there were more people there to watch the draft than in attendance at the big game when he played.

He went on to tell the crowd just how hard it was to find an appropriately purple sports coat in which to announce the Vikings’ pick, before taking some shots at the Packers and their fans and then waxing rhapsodic about being drafted by Minnesota 50 years ago.

Not that it wasn’t entertaining, but the former Heisman Trophy runner-up went on so long that the NFL Network...

"All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."

"History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into d ifferent and unexpected images."

― Anselm Kiefer

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1955: On Hawkins Falls, Dr. Floyd Corey (Maurice Copeland) dealt with fallout from the interview he gave to the local newspaper.

1961: On As the World Turns, David Stewart (Henderson Forsythe) and his wife Betty dealt with the aftermath of Ellen Lowell's (Patricia Bruder) revelation that Danny was her son.

"She's not interested in money." Strand Releasing has debuted an official trailer for a film titled An L.A. Minute, from writer/director Daniel Adams. More importantly, the film stars the very talented up-and-coming actress Kiersey Clemons, who also appears in Hearts Beat Loud - which is now playing in theaters (go see it!). In this film, Clemons plays "an avant-garde performance artist" who befriends a best-selling author who wants to write more personal books rather than the stuff that got him famous. Gabriel Byrne (seen in Hereditary) also co-stars in this film about celebrity and fame and how it works and how fake it all is. The cast includes Bob Balaban, Katherine Kendall, Ed Marinaro, Ned Bellamy, Brianna Baker, Jake Adams, and Ash Adams. Doesn't look that great. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Daniel Adams' An L.A. Minute, direct from YouTube: An L.A. Minute is a satirical look at fame,...

"All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."

― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1955: On Hawkins Falls, Dr. Floyd Corey (Maurice Copeland) dealt with fallout from the interview he gave to the local newspaper.

1961: On As the World Turns, David Stewart (Henderson Forsythe) and his wife Betty dealt with the aftermath of Ellen Lowell's (Patricia Bruder) revelation that Danny was her son.

Thanks to Jennifer for sending in the clip above.

1967: ABC aired the...

Blue Mountain State: The Rise Of Thadland is a drug-fueled dystopian comedy that would make Rob Gronkowski blush – we’re coming out of the gate guns-blazing on this one! Everything that television audiences love about the hard-partying Mountain Goats makes a return in Lev L. Spiro’s spinoff film, as creators Eric Falconer and Romanski leave a trail of cocaine dust while they unleash epic, Thad-Castle-approved anarchy.

It’s perversely familiar and relentlessly immature (in a good way), which is everything Bms fans have come to expect. We’re gifted an epic, multi-day party that reunites all our favorite characters, but with the calculated exclusion of on-field football antics, something feels slightly amiss. Not enough to detract immensely, just a little more welcomed playmaking to balance…ah, who am I kidding. You’re watching for the sloots and booze, and that’s exactly what you’ll get!

As Alex Moran...

[caption id="attachment_42706" align="aligncenter" width="393"] image courtesy of Lionsgate PR/caption]

More sloots. More party favors. More Thad. The Blue Mountain State TV series ran three seasons, before being cancelled by Spike, in 2011. Now, Lionsgate is releasing a revival film, February 2, 2016. Like Veronica Mars, the Blue Mountain State revival was crowd-sourced on Kickstarter. This release is direct-to-digital and On-Demand.

Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland, revisits Blue Mountain State University and its Mountain Goats football team, with football, sex, and plenty of booze. Television series creators Eric Falconer and Romanski (Chris Romano) reunite the original cast. Stars include: Alan Ritchson, Romanski, Darin Brooks, James Cade, and Frankie Shaw, with Ed Marinaro. Watch the trailers, below.

Read More…...

Network: Spike

Episodes: 39 (half-hour)

Seasons: Three

TV show dates: January 11, 2010 -- November 30, 2011

Series status: Cancelled

Performers include: Darin Brooks, Denise Richards, Alan Ritchson, Page Kennedy, Rayea Dinning, Sam Jones III, Chris Romano, Gabrielle Dennis, Ed Marinaro, Courtney Coleman, Frankie Shaw, Rob Ramsay, and Omari Newton.

TV show description:

This comedy series takes place at the fictional Blue Mountain State university and its football team, The Mountain Goats.

Coach Marty Daniels (Ed Marinaro) is a six-time national champion football coach from New Jersey, and is a pillar of the Bms community. Formerly a running back for the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys, he dates his sex-crazed ex-wife, Debra (Denise Richards).

Kevin "Thad" Castle (Alan Ritchson) is a Senior linebacker and team captain from Connecticut. Despite his status as a two-time All-American...

The game is over for Coach Daniels (Ed Marinaro) and his team. There won't be a fourth season for Blue Mountain State. The Spike TV series has been cancelled.

The comedy series revolves around the on and off-field antics of Pennsylvania college football powerhouse, Blue Mountain State. Coach Daniels has his hands full with the hijynx of his wife (Denise Richards) and students like team captain Thad (Alan Ritchson), quarterback Alex (Darin Brooks), and team mascot Sammy (Chris Romano).

The comedy performed decently for Spike in season one and realized significant gains in season two. The cable channel reported that the series saw a 33% increase with men 18-34, a 50% climb in men 18-24, and a 14% increase with men 18-49.

Total viewership dropped however in season three which kicked off this past September. While some episodes of season two...

Bad news, Mountain Goats fans. Zap2it has learned exclusively that the plug has officially been pulled on "Blue Mountain State," the Lionsgate-produced college comedy, following its third season.

"Blue Mountain State," which aired its series finale in November, shot in Montreal and followed the often crude hijinks of a Pennsylvania college football team led by Thad (Alan Ritchson), Alex (Darin Brooks), and Sammy (Chris Romano). Denise Richards also starred as the wife of Coach Daniels (Ed Marinaro). The actors have now been released from their contracts.

The series aired for three 13-episode seasons on Spike, experiencing significant audience growth in its second season and dipping to about 900,000 viewers in Season 3. When Spike passed on renewing the series for Season 4, Lionsgate considered shopping it elsewhere, but recently notified cast and crew that it would not be revived.

While we'll miss the "American Pie" type humor that is rarely seen on television,...

Spike TV.s original scripted college comedy series .Blue Mountain State. returns to campus for a third season starting Wednesday, September 21 with back-to-back episodes at 11 Pm and 11:30 Pm, Et/Pt. Season Three Premieres Wednesday, September 21 and stars Denise Richards and guest appearance by New England Patriots Wide Receiver Chad Ochocinco. .Blue Mountain State. follows the on and off-field antics of college football powerhouse, Blue Mountain State. Former NFL running back and veteran actor, Ed Marinaro (.Hill Street Blues.), stars as no-nonsense Coach Daniels. In season 3, Coach Daniels will have his authority challenged when the boosters force him to hire a hotshot offensive coordinator/head coach-in-waiting. Alex, played by Emmy Award®-winner Darin Brooks (.Blue Crush.), will...

Blue Mountain State: Season One

Stars: Darin Brooks, Alan Ritchson, Ed Marinaro, Sam Jones III | Created by Eric Falconer, Chris Romano

Blue Mountain State sees three football-mad freshman – Alex (Brooks), a talented quarterback who is content to sit on the bench and party with his best friend Sammy (played by co-creator Chris Romano), who aspired to be nothing more that the school’s football mascot; and Craig (Jones III), whose life and career has already been mapped out by his overbearing girlfriend – arrive at a football-crazy mid-western college where they must learn to juggle football, girls, studying and non-stop partying.

One of the more outrageous sitcoms to hit Us television screens in recent years, Blue Mountain State combines the two most popular teen genres – the sports movie and the gross-out comedy – to great effect, and follows in the footsteps of American Pie in successfully capturing both Ott sexual humour and the college experience.

Take a gander at the various Emmy nomination ballots and you'll quickly discover something: Almost everyone puts their name in for a nomination.

It doesn't matter if the show died a quick and painless death, if it was critically derided for much of its short run, it's so obscure no one has ever heard of it, or it's an established -- and sometimes quite good -- show whose chances of being nominated are about the same as our seeing dinosaurs roaming the planet in our lifetimes.

This isn't an ego thing, surprisingly enough; the academy encourages casts and crews from all shows to submit themselves for a nomination, likely under the axiom that you've got to be in it to win it (did you hear that, Charlie Sheen?). What this all-inclusive attitude can lead to, though, is some pretty funny discoveries.

So, let's pretend that we're in the Bizarro world...

Actress Denise Richards ("Wild Things") is heading back to Montreal to film a new season of the 'raunchy' Spike TV comedy TV series "Blue Mountain State".

The series focuses on a fictional college and its football team "The Goats", covering topics of college life, including football, sex, drinking binges, drugs, wild partying and hazing.

Richards plays 'Debra', the 'crazy ex-wife' of 'Coach Marty Daniels' (Ed Marinaro), who after their divorce, married the dean of 'Blue Mountain State'.

The show has averaged 949,000 viewers through its first six episodes while improving on the time slot by 165% among men 18-24. As a result, it was renewed for a second season.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Blue Mountain State"...

Go Goats! There's good news for fans of Blue Mountain State. The Spike TV series has been renewed for a third season of college football comedy. The cable channel has ordered another 13 installments and they're expected to begin airing in September.

Denise Richards, who plays the wife of Coach Daniels (Ed Marinaro), will appear in eight of the 13 episodes.

Here's the press release from Spike TV:

Spike TV Scores Another 13 Episodes Of Original Scripted Comedy "Blue Mountain State"

Produced By Varsity Pictures And Lionsgate

New York, NY, April 27, 2011 - Spike TV has picked up a third season of 13 episodes of its first original scripted comedy series, "Blue Mountain State," it was announced today by Larry Sullivan, director of original scripted series, Spike TV. Produced by Varsity Pictures' Brian Robbins and Sharla...

Spike TV has renewed its first original scripted comedy Blue Mountain State for a third season with a 13-episode order. Produced by Varsity Pictures’ Brian Robbins and Sharla Sumpter Bridgett and Lionsgate, the series posted double-digit gains across all male demos in its second season. Blue Mountain State, about a college football team, stars Ed Marinaro, Darin Brooks, Alan Ritchson, Romanski as well as Denise Richards, who joined in Season 2 and will return next season.

Atwt in New York Times: Stay Tuned for Soap Stars’ Next Acts

When production at the As The World Turns studio in Brooklyn halted in June, New York was left with only one soap — One Life To Live, on ABC — and hundreds of actors plotting their next real-life story lines.

“It’s the loss of a creative environment as much as a loss of paychecks,” said Trent Dawson.

In interviews with actors who brought life to the soap’s fictional Oakdale, few said they were caught off guard by the show’s demise. Mr. Silbermann said he sensed a certain end-time mood almost immediately after joining the show in 2007. Veteran cast members, he recalled, “would say, ’Oh, man, if only you were here years ago, when location shoots meant going to Rome instead of Staten Island.’ You know, too bad.”

Ugly Betty's Ana Ortiz lands on Fox

Ortiz will...

Former Bond girl Denise Richards has joined the cast of risque U.S. TV comedy "Blue Mountain State" for the raunchy series' second season. The actress will play the sex-mad ex-wife of a football coach who seduces quarterback Alex Moran (Darin Brooks) on the Animal House-inspired show set on the campus of fictional Blue Mountain State college.

Her ex on the show is played by former "Hill Street Blues" regular Ed Marinaro, a former running back for the Minnesota Vikings. Richards tells the USA Today newspaper, "It's a fun, over-the-top show. I enjoyed pushing the envelope, being a little inappropriate."

"Blue Mountain State" is Richards' return to scripted TV as she previously starred on reality TV shows - "Denise Richards: It's Complicated" and "Dancing with the Stars". On this, she says, "I love reality, but I love acting, and it's nice to get back into it. Hopefully, I can do more.

Former Bond girl Denise Richards has joined the cast of risque U.S. TV comedy Blue Mountain State for the raunchy series' second season.

The actress will play the sex-mad ex-wife of a football coach who seduces quarterback Alex Moran (Darin Brooks) on the Animal House-inspired show set on the campus of fictional Blue Mountain State college.

Her ex on the show is played by former Hill Street Blues regular Ed Marinaro, a former running back for the Minnesota Vikings.

Richards tells the USA Today newspaper, "It's a fun, over-the-top show. I enjoyed pushing the envelope, being a little inappropriate."...

Get ready for more college football games and crazy antics, Goats fans. Spike TV has announced that season two of Blue Mountain State will kick off on Wednesday, October 20th.

Blue Mountain State revolves around the football team of the fictional Bms college. Castmembers for season two include Alan Ritchson, Chris "Romanski" Romano, Darin Brooks, Ed Marinaro, Frankie Shaw, and Page Kennedy.

Gone from the cast are Gabrielle Dennis and Sam Jones III. In the case of Jones, it seems he was booted because of his legal problems. Late last year, Jones was charged with possessing 10,000 oxycodone pills with the intent to distribute and faced up to 20 years in jail. He's been in court a couple times but the matter apparently isn't settled yet. Most recently, Jones and his girlfriend Karissa Shannon have been trying to block the release of...

The newly brunette Denise Richards has been added to the cast of "Blue Mountain State" for its second season. The Spike TV comedy follows the misadventures of a fictional college football team, The Goats, led by Coach Marty Daniels (played by former football player Ed Marinaro). Richards will play Coach Daniels' meddling ex-wife, Debra.  Season two of "Blue Mountain State" will see the team seek redemption for their horrible record the previous year. It will also feature guest appearances from Ufc fighter Chuck Liddell, actress Stacy Keibler, sportscasters...

The newly brunette Denise Richards has been added to the cast of "Blue Mountain State" for its second season. The Spike TV comedy follows the misadventures of a fictional college football team, The Goats, led by Coach Marty Daniels (played by former football player Ed Marinaro). Richards will play Coach Daniels' meddling ex-wife, Debra.  Season two of "Blue Mountain State" will see the team seeking redemption for the horrible record they earned the previous year. It will also feature guest appearances from Ufc fighter Chuck Liddell, actress Stacy Keibler,...

Filed under: TV News

Denise Richards has joined the cast of Spike TV's original series 'Blue Mountain State.'

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Richards will play coach Marty Daniels' (ex-footballer Ed Marinaro) ex-wife Debra. 'Blue Mountain State' follows the fictional college football team at Blue Mountain State. Season 2 premieres Oct. 20 and will also feature Bill Parcells, Brian Bosworth, Stacy Keibler and Chuck Liddell as guest stars.

The series' first six episodes were seen be less than 1 million viewers, but it delivered a 165 percent increase in males 18-24 in its the time slot.

In other TV news ...

o. Cristián de la Fuente will guest star on 'Private Practice.' The former 'Dancing With the Stars' contestant and 'In Plain Sight' star has been tapped to play Eric Rodriguez, a self-possessed and funny new doctor. The role may become recurring. [Ausiello Files]

o. 'How I Met Your Mother...

Spike TV.s hit original scripted sports/comedy series .Blue Mountain State. returns to the gridiron for a second season this fall starting Wednesday, October 20 (11:00 . 11:30 Pm, Et/Pt). Denise Richards joins the cast as the contentious ex-wife of Coach Marty Daniels, played by Ed Marinaro. The series chronicles the on and off-field antics of the fictional college football powerhouse Blue Mountain State. Season two of .Blue Mountain State. finds Coach Marty Daniels (Former NFL-er Marinaro) under pressure to deliver a winning season after an embarrassing showing last year that has put his legacy and job security in grave danger. Adding to the coach.s troubles is the arrival of his contentious and meddling ex-wife Debra (Denise Richards). The...

New York -- Spike TV original sports/comedy series "Blue Mountain State" has added Denise Richards to its cast.

The show, which chronicles the on and off-field antics of the fictional college football powerhouse Blue Mountain State, coached by Marty Daniels (former NFL star Ed Marinaro), returns for its second season on Oct. 20.

Richards will play the coach's contentious and meddling ex-wife Debra who adds to his troubles as he must deliver a winning season.

Spike also said that such football legends as Bill Parcells, Boomer Esiason and Bill Romanowski, Brian Bosworth, dancer/actress Stacy Keibler, Ufc star Chuck Liddell and sportscasters Craig Carton and Dan Patrick will guest star on the show this season.

Toronto -- The Quebec government has poured another $5.4 million in Lionsgate's tank as it shoots the second season of Spike TV's "Blue Mountain State" in the French-speaking province.

The cash injection comes from the Societe generale de financement du Quebec (Sgf), which invests in Quebec film and TV projects on behalf of the provincial government.

The sophomore season of "Blue Mountain State" will be top-lined by Ed Marinaro, Alan Ritchson, Page Kennedy and Darin Brooks.

The Canadian coin first started flowing to Lionsgate when it signed in 2007 a four-year, $400 million financing pact with Quebec's provincial government to make movies and TV series in the province.

As part of their pact, the Quebec investment arm will finance up to 35% of production costs for a film and TV slate in the province -- an aggregate investment of $140 million.

Lionsgate in turn is to cover the remaining $260 million in possible local production over the four-year period.

Actress Denise Richards has landed a raunchy new TV role in football comedy Blue Mountain State. She plays Debra, a hot-headed former flame of head coach Marty Daniels, played by actor Ed Marinaro. “She plays the coach’s ex-wife, and I think I sleep with her! She’s trying to get back at him (Daniels),” usmagazine.com quoted her co-star Darin Brooks as saying. The actor said Richards has been getting along famously with the rest of the show’s cast. “Everyone said she was really cool, really nice, it was great to work with her. I’m really looking forward to sleeping with her!” he said. ...

Denise Richards has landed a new television gig - and it's not a reality series.

The former Bond girl (she played Dr. Christmas Jones in 1999's "The World Is Not Enough") has joined the cast of Spike TV's sitcom "Blue Mountain State" in a recurring guest role, the network announced on Thursday.

Denise will play Debra, the ex-wife of Marty Daniels, played by Ed Marinaro on the half-hour comedy. Ed plays the football coach at the school the series is centered around.

The actress and mother of two previously had guest spots on "Spin City" and "Melrose ...

Copyright 2010 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Los Angeles, July 1 – Actress Denise Richards has landed a raunchy new TV role in football comedy ‘Blue Mountain State’.

She plays Debra, a hot-headed former flame of head coach Marty Daniels, played by actor Ed Marinaro.

‘She plays the coach’s ex-wife, and I think I sleep with her! She’s trying to get back at him (Daniels),’ usmagazine.com quoted her co-star Darin Brooks as saying.

The actor said Richards has been getting along famously with the rest of the ‘Blue.

Denise Richards is to join the cast of Spike's football comedy Blue Mountain State. The actress will appear in a recurring role in the show's second season as Debra, a former flame of Coach Marty Daniels (Ed Marinaro), reports Us Weekly Richards's new co-star Darin Brooks (Alex Moran) said: "She plays the coach's ex-wife, and I think I sleep with her. "She's trying to get back at him." The actor, (more)...

Actor Kevin Sorbo has an incredible roster of celebrities lined up to support him for his 2nd Annual Kevin Sorbo Celebrity Golf Tournament to benefit his charity, A World Fit For Kids!

The event is scheduled for June 10-11 at the Dragon Ridge Country Club, Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas Nevada.

A partial list of celebrities who will be joining Sorbo for his celebrity golf extravaganza include: Dennis Quaid, Alice Cooper, Dennis Haysbert, Willie Gault, Powers Booth, Marcus Allen, Dean Cain, Michael Chicklis, Rollie Fingers, Joe Mantegna, Ed Marinaro and Meat Loaf!

Read more...

The game will keep going over at Spike. The cable channel has renewed the Blue Mountain State comedy series for a second year.

Blue Mountain State is a half hour comedy that revolves around three college freshman who join the Blue Mountain State University football team. The cast includes Alan Ritchson, Chris Romano, Darin Brooks, Ed Marinaro, Gabrielle Dennis, and Sam Jones III.

The show is produced by Lionsgate TV and Brian Robbins' Varsity Pictures. Robbins produces Smallville and Jones and Ritchson are certainly familiar faces to fans of that CW series.

Created by Eric Falconer and Chris Romano, the show's first season kicked off last month and is still airing. Last week's episode attracted 810,000 viewers with a 0.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic. The 13th and final episode of the season is expected to air in late March.

Spike has renewed "Blue Mountain State" for a second season seven weeks into the football-themed comedy series' first season.

"State," from Lionsgate TV and Brian Robbins' Varsity Pictures, has received a 13-episode order.

"State" revolves around three freshmen, Darin Brooks, Romanski and Sam Jones, who attend Midwestern football powerhouse Blue Mountain State and must adapt to college life while juggling football, women, classes and hazing.

Co-starring on "State" are NFL running back-turned-actor Ed Marinaro as the team's coach, Gabrielle Dennis and Alan Ritchson.

Jones, who was arrested in a federal drug sting in October in connection with a plan to purchase and distribute more than 10,000 oxycodone pills, is not expected to return for Season 2. It is not clear whether his role will be recast.

Romanski (formerly known as Chris Romano) and Eric Falconer created the series and are co-executive producing. Robbins is executive producing with Varsity's Sharla Sumpter-Bridgett.

"Blue Mountain State" is a new Lionsgate comedy series debuting on Spike TV January 12, 2010.

Described as "National Lampoon's Animal House" meets "Van Wilder", the show focuses on the football-centric university of 'Blue Mountain State' and its team called 'The Goats'.

The show covers 'essential' topics pertaining to college life, including football, meeting girls, drinking binges, wild partying and fraternity hazing, from producers Chris Romano and Eric Falconer of "The Sarah Silverman Program".

Characters include 'Coach Marty Daniels' (Ed Marinaro), quarterback 'Alex Moran' (Darin Brooks), 'Sammy Cacciatore' (Chris Romano) who dresses as the team mascot 'The Goat', 'Craig Shilo' (Sam Jones III) star runningback, girlfriend 'Denise Roy' (Gabrielle Dennis) and 'Thad Castle' (Alan Ritchson), team captain.

Click the posters to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Blue Mountain State"...

Shows like "Friday Night Lights" have shown the intense drama and struggle involved in the football process. But not every feature about the gridiron needs to be about the action, as there are plenty of laughs to be found in the sport.

The upcoming series on Spike TV, "Blue Mountain State," is a comedy about the exploits of the football team at the eponymous fictitious college.

The show follows the school's football team, the Goats. Coached by Marty Daniels (former NFL runningback and "Hill Street Blues" actor Ed Marinaro), the national championship squad faces new talent with incoming freshmen Alex Moran ("Days of Our Lives" actor Darin Brooks), a second-string quarterback with little ambition; Craig Shilo ("Smallville" actor Sam Jones III), a skilled runningback whose manipulative girlfriend ("The Game"'s Gabrielle Dennis) intends to turn him pro by any means necessary; and Sammy Cacciatore (Chris Romano), who doesn't play the...

Spike TV has picked up football-themed comedy pilot "Blue Mountain State" to series.

The 12-episode order for the project, from producer Brian Robbins, is the second new comedy series pickup recently for Spike, which also greenlighted the Matt Walsh starrer "Players."

Both series are slated for a summer premiere.

Produced by Lionsgate TV and Robbins' Varsity Pictures, "Mountain" is in the vein of "Animal House." The series follows three incoming freshmen (Darin Brooks, Chris Romano, Sam Jones III) who attend Midwestern football powerhouse Blue Mountain State and quickly must adapt to college life while juggling football, women, classes and nonstop hazing.

" 'Blue Mountain State' contains four key ingredients to being a guy: football, partying, women and hazing," said Kevin Kay, president of the male-centric Spike TV.

Added Lionsgate TV president Kevin Beggs, "It's a show that doesn't pull any punches -- it's just all-out funny."

Co-starring on "Mountain...

Spike TV is ready to spike the football with a new half-hour series called "Blue Mountain State." The show will tackle the crazy antics of a big-time Midwestern college football program.

Celebrity News Story is looking forward to the half-hour scripted comedy, in the vein of "Animal House," which will be produced by Varsity Pictures' Brian Robbins, known for "Norbit," "Varsity Blues" and "Smallville."

"Blue Mountain State" follows three incoming freshmen attending college football powerhouse Blue Mountain St. University. Former NFL running back and veteran actor, Ed Marinaro ("Monk," "8 Simple Rules," "Hill St. Blues") stars as the coach. "Alex." Darin Brooks ("Big Bounce") is a talented quarterback, content to ride the bench while partying with his best friend "Sammy," played by Chris Romano, who aspires to be the school's mascot. "Craig," played by Sam Jones III ("Glory Road"), on the other hand, is the school's top recruit and future...

Spike TV is heading to the college gridiron, greenlighting a football-themed comedy pilot from Brian Robbins.

"Blue Mountain State," from Lionsgate and Robbins' Varsity Pictures, is a half-hour scripted comedy in the vein of "Animal House." The project, written by Chris Romano and Eric Falconer ("The Sarah Silverman Program"), follows three incoming freshmen attending Midwestern college football powerhouse Blue Mountain State who must quickly adapt to college life and juggle football, girls, classes and nonstop hazing.

Robbins ("Smallville") is executive producing and will direct the pilot, which goes into production in February. Robbins' producing partner Sharla Sumpter Bridgett along with Romano and Falconer will serve as co-exec producers.

Former NFL running back-turned-actor Ed Marinaro ("Sisters," "Hill Street Blues") stars as the team's coach. Darin Brooks ("Days of Our Lives") plays Alex, a talented quarterback content to ride the bench while partying with his best friend, Sammy (Romano), who aspires to be the school's mascot.

Fango caught up with screenwriter Rafael Jordan to chat about his latest creature feature Yeti, which premieres on the Sci Fi Channel this Saturday, November 8 at 9 p.m. before hitting DVD from Genius Products as part of its Maneater DVD series January 13 (see item here). Jordan describes his freaky tale as Alive with the Abominable Snowman (pictured with producer Daniel Grodnik) thrown in for extra gruesomeness, as it involves a college football team stranded in the Himalayas after surviving a plane crash.

The latest in the scripter’s string of Sci Fi flicks (also including Copperhead and Wraiths Of Roanoke, a.k.a. Lost Colony) also provides a bit of insight to the titular colossal critter’s history. “We start off in the early 1930s on an expedition, though of course most of the movie takes place later, in modern times,” Jordan tells us. “But since there’s such a...

Genius Products gave Fango the first look at cover art for Yeti, the 12th (!) entry in its Maneater DVD series, streeting January 13. The film is described (rather forthrightly) by the company as a “mix of Friday The 13th, Alive and Predator.”

More specifically, the plot concerns a plane carrying a college football team that crashes in the Himalayas. While trying to figure out how to make it to safety, the survivors must also contend with an especially Abominable Snowman determined to have them for lunch. Originally titled Yeti: Curse Of The Snow Demon and set to premiere on the Sci Fi Channel Saturday, November 8 at 9 p.m., the movie was directed and written by Sci Fi stalwarts Paul (Snakehead Terror) Ziller and Rafael (Copperhead) Jordan respectively, and stars Carly Pope, Peter (Children Of The Night) DeLuise, Crystal (Wrong Turn 2) Lowe and Ed Marinaro. No significant supplements have been announced for the DVD,...