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Primetime TV is running along pretty smoothly these days at ABC, with "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" at the tops of their games, but ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson still faced some tough questions on Wednesday morning at the TV critics press tour. Despite its success, the network had some trouble getting new shows such as "Pushing Daisies," "Dirty Sexy Money" and "Private Practice" off the ground. There are also rumors that ABC is trying to land Jay Leno when he leaves NBC, and that's where Wednesday began.

A "reporter" in the back of the room asked McPherson about the Leno rumors, which include the possibility that Jimmy Kimmel's show would be pushed back to 12:30 a.m.

"If you were talking with Jay Leno, wouldn't that be illegal? Couldn't you go to jail for that?" the person asked, before most of the actual reporters in the room began to recognize the voice and realize that it was Kimmel in the back of the room in a T-shirt and baseball cap.

"Are you afraid that if you were to do something with Jay Leno, that Jimmy Kimmel might do something crazy to you or your car?" Kimmel asked. "I'll be in the parking lot."

McPherson said he couldn't believe that NBC was going to let Leno go when he's "at the top of his game."

"If that does happen, we'll deal with it when the time comes and Jimmy will be involved in those discussions," McPherson said.

On Katherine Heigl: McPherson said, "She's a fantastically talented actress and it's unfortunate when there's any kind of turmoil on a show, because there are so many people who work so hard to make that the Number 1 show in the country. I never like to see when any of them are in any way taken lightly. But she's absolutely staying with the show and there's an unbelievable storyline with her this year, which is essential to the season."

On "Private Practice": McPherson was asked what went wrong with the "Grey's" spinoff, and he sort of agreed with the premise of the question. "One of the things that was critical is that the best episodes of the show were still when there was unbelievable medical drama," he said. "When it just became a soap opera about those people's live, it was a lot of talking. We're going to Kate (Walsh's) character back in some surgeries. (Show creator Shonda Rimes) does an unbelievable job with character, but it does best when it's on top of the medical dramas."

In other announcements, McPherson confirmed that Katie Holmes will be guest starring on "Eli Stone." "She is fabulous, it's a great role for her, there's some singing and dancing she does. It's exquisite," McPherson said.

On "Dancing with the Stars": McPherson admitted that last season got a little boring when Kristi Yamaguchi became a clear front-runner and the rest of the cast was made up of basically just nice people. "There wasn't a lot going on, and I think it's good to have some controversy, something going on. It's all about compelling personalities, and those can come from all different walks of life and situations. The show, even though it's a reality competition, it's really about the characters."

"One of the things that we all felt was that it didn't feel like a real business, it didn't feel like there were real stakes, like in a hospital," he said. "They really do have to get back to helping people, saving people, as opposed to it being just this eco-friendly great place to be."


*** What do you think? Were you bothered by Heigl's comments? Are you looking forward to "Grey's"? Will you watch Katie Holmes on "Eli Stone"? Click here to comment!

****** Victor Balta and Tracy Phillips are blogging live from the TV critics press tour. What do you want to know about your favorite shows? Let us know. Click here to ask about your favorite TV shows!

More from the TV critics press tour:

• William Petersen Leaving 'CSI'
• 'Lost' Creator Even Confused Himself
  
• Fox Programming on the 'Fringe'
  
• PBS Takes on God, the Bible
  
• 'Dance' Finalist Drops Out with Injury
  
• TCA's Naughty Bits

Message Edited by Victor_Balta on 07-17-2008 01:14 PM