The CW Source

One of our favorite TV moms turns 37 today -- Tichina Arnold, who plays the no-nonsense, not-to-be-messed-with Rochelle on Everybody Hates Chris. Happy birthday, Tichina!

Tichina was born in Jamaica, Queens -- not too far Rochelle's TV home in Bed-Stuy - and got into acting at a young age. She hit the big screen in 1986 as Crystal, one of the girl-group narrators in Little Shop of Horrors. Not bad for a 16-year-old! After that, she landed a role-and an Emmy nomination - on the soap Ryan's Hope. Her next big gig was a recurring role on the sitcom Martin. And through it all, she kept up a stage career, too. We're amazed she even had time to take on Everybody Hates Chris, but we're glad she did -- we can't imagine anyone else brining that combination of heart and spice to the role of Rochelle. Critics agree -- she's made a bunch of best lists, and has won an NAACP Image Award for the role.

That's not all - Tichina has starred in movies (many critics say she was the only redeeming feature in 2007 flick Wild Hogs); started up a line of custom-designed, crystal-studded bandanas and clothing; and sung the national Anthem at celebrity sporting events. Whew!

We hope Tichina has a great time on her birthday -- and that no one gives her a cheap knock-off perfume that makes her break out in hives, like Chris gave to Rochelle on Mother's Day!

Leave your birthday wishes for Tichina in the comments!

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Eonline reports that Gossip Girl received a whopping 14 Teen Choice nominations, including Best Drama, Best Breakout Show, and Choice TV Actor/Actress.

It's true that GG is everywhere on the list of nominations. All three female leads (Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, and Taylor Momsen) are up for Best Breakout Female Star, and we were especially excited to see Ed Westwick's Chuck Bass nominated for Choice TV Villain along with Smallville's Michael Rosenbaum. But One Tree Hill also earned its fair share of nominations, including Choice TV Drama, Hilarie Burton and Sophia Bush for Choice TV Actress and Chad Michael Murray for Choice TV Actor. Our complaint: where are James Lafferty and Bethany Joy Galeotti? They deserve some noms, too!

Other shows represented include America's Next Top Model (Cycle 10 winner Whitney is up for Choice TV Female Reality Star, Tyra is up for Choice TV Personality, and the show itself is in the running for Choice TV: Reality Beauty and Makeover), Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious (for Reality Music Competition), and Smallville (Choice TV Show Action/Adventure, Choice TV Actor/Actress Action/Adventure for Tom Welling and Kristin Kreuk). Even Beauty and The Geek made the list with a nomination for Choice TV: Reality Beauty & Makeover.

Notably absent from the list: Supernatural and Reaper. And what about Everybody Hates Chris, Aliens in America, Girlfriends, and The Game? We think these shows were seriously overlooked -- do you agree?

Let us know what you think of the nominations in the comments!

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The CW has a sizzling new lineup coming to us this fall and we couldn't be more excited! Not only are some of our favorites back, we've got new shows that are sure to have us talking.

Monday Nights

The winning combo of Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill will be back and filled with drama.

Continue reading "Get Ready for What's Coming Your Way at The CW" »

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Tyler James Williams stopped by The CW Source studios to chat with Jason C. about his very first onscreen kiss! He tells us why it was more like work than you might think. Check out the interview with the always charming Tyler!

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Without further ado, the six shows that The CW has confirmed will be back for the fall season:

We love Everybody Hates Chris -- it's funny, it's snarky, it's got a great cast, and the writing is superb. We're not alone: The sitcom is the sole CW show to make the American Film Institute's top-10 list of the best TV shows and movies of 2007. It joins such critical and audience darlings as The Sopranos, Pushing Daisies, Friday Night Lights and Ugly Betty. Congratulations, Chris!

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Got a pressing question for the cast of Everybody Hates Chris? We'll be interviewing them soon, and of course, we want your questions, so post away! Remember, the more unique your question is, the more likely it is that we'll use it, so get creative. The cast will love hearing from you!

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The Writer's Guild of America strike isn't stopping some of our favorite CW folks from bringing the funny. Check out this great video of Everybody Hates Chris showrunner Ali LeRoi explaining why DVD residuals are so important. After all, you don't want Tyler James Williams to end up like Todd Bridges, do you?

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Here at The CW Source, we spend a lot of time covering your favorite weeknight dramas. But we don't want to leave out other favorites, so we want to know -- which of these shows would you like to see us cover more? Want Life Is Wild recaps? Girlfriends polls? Features about The Game? Vote for the one show you'd like to see more of here on The Source, then feel free to submit ideas in the comments. We want to hear from you!

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The supremely awesome Tichina Arnold of Everybody Hates Chris dishes on loving improv, working with Chris Rock, and Tyler James Williams' not-so-secret sugary indulgences!

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We finally got to see Chris Rock on Everybody Hates Chris as his fictional young alter-ego's guidance counselor. How do you think he did? We loved watching Tyler and Chris play off each other -- the word association test was classic. What about you? Would you want to see Chris return as the guidance counselor, or do you prefer him in voice-over only? Tell us what you think in the comments!

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Jason C. caught up with the kids from Everybody Hates Chris, and confirmed what we long suspected: These kids are awesome! They're funny, they're sweet, and they're seriously talented -- we even get one of them singing! Check it out:

The new season premiers tonight at 8/7C. Plus, Chris Rock himself will guest-star!

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So far, Gossip Girl's the clear winner in Friday's poll about the new shows you most want to check out. Now it's time to turn to some old favorites -- the returning shows. We saw some of you in the comments who wanted to get to vote for Supernatural -- now's your chance!

Are you counting down the minutes until the Smallville premiere? Is it the lovable nerds and babes on Beauty and the Geek that'll get your vote? Or are you still angry about One Tree Hill's midseason postponement (we feel you; we miss the gang, too!)? Vote in the poll, and let's see which returning CW show has the most eager fans!

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We've got pics from The CW launch party in Los Angeles! You'll see stars like Terry Crews, Erica Durance (right), Jared Padalecki, Chelsea, Robin, and Melissa R. from Pussycat Dolls Present, Tyler James Williams, Tichina Arnold, Ray Wise, and more! Jason C. interviewed many of the CW stars at the party, so we'll be posting chats with them very soon. For now, enjoy the pics, and keep checking back -- we're adding more daily.

A few tidbits: the cast of Everybody Hates Chris is AWESOME -- we'd love to hang out with them on the set sometime. It's got to be hard to keep a straight face with the jovial Terry Crews, hilarious Tichina Arnold, and straight man Tyler James Williams around.

We got some juicy updates from fan favorites Chelsea and Melissa R. of Pussycat Dolls Present (and yes, we made them sing for us). Both girls were touched when they heard how much love they got here on the Source in the spring. Plus, Robin Antin revealed what's new about Season Two of PCD Present.

Erica Durance shared some Smallville scoop, Amy Pietz talked about Aliens in America's controversial nature, and Ray Wise dished on his devilish ways on Reaper. Oh, and we chatted with Stevie Ryan and Tanika Ray of Online Nation and CW Now, respectively, to find out what those new Sunday shows have to offer.

Check out the pics and tell us what you think!

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The powers-that-be at The CW apparently have a sense of humor. Not only is Kevin Federline guest-starring on One Tree Hill (and boy, did you all have something to say about that!), K-Fed’s ex is showing up on Everybody Hates Chris. No, not Britney – Shar Jackson, from Moesha and (more recently) The Ex-Wives Club. You may also remember her as the woman K-Fed left for Britney, despite his two kids with her. How’d that work out for you, K-Fed?

Shar will be showing up as a young mother whose daughter uses Tanya as a cover for all sort so of illicit activity – sneaking into R-rated movies and even (gasp!) seeing boys. As you can imagine, Rochelle has something to say about this.

"I am having a blast," Shar told People magazine. "The cast is absolutely amazing."

We’re just glad the two shows film on different coasts. Can you imagine the two of them meeting between sets? Awkward!

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BlackAthlete.net reports that Everybody Hates Chris will be getting a lesson in ice-hockey history from Willie O'Ree.

For those of us who aren’t hockey savants, O’Ree was the first black player in National Hockey League history, debuting with the Boston Bruins in 1958.

O’Ree will appear in an episode titled "Everybody Hates Gretzky," where Chris and Drew skip school to meet Wayne Gretzky. He plays a helpful gentleman who offers directions and hockey history.

Hockey fans and EHC fans, be sure to check this one out!

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Happy birthday to Imani Hakim, who plays Tanya on Everybody Hates Chris. The precocious teen turns 14 on August 12.

Fourteen. Give us a moment to digest how terribly, terribly old we all are here at CW Source Central.

But seriously, happy birthday, Imani! Post your birthday wishes for Imani here.

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Happy birthday to the one of the hardest working men on The CW, Terry Crews. He turns 39 today, July 30. We hope he takes the day off and celebrates!

Terry gave everyone a little insight to his manic schedule when he was granted the key to the city in his hometown, Flint, Michigan:

"Flint gave me a work ethic. But two or three bad influences will take your life down, so you need to learn to walk alone."

According to the Flint Journal, Crews told the audience that "he received his mannerisms from his father, his sense of humor from his mother and mixed those traits with other life-forming experiences from past role models, including coaches, teachers and others." He also emphasized that hard work, persistence and dreams pay off.

The moment we loved was when a 13-year-old boy won $120 for naming all the pictures Terry has been in, as clips flashed on the screen behind the star. "I don't even know all the names," Crews joked. With all the flicks he’s been in, we can believe it.

Congratulations, Terry!

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The cast of Everybody Hates Chris is hard at work over what should be the summer break. Why? Because growth spurts, deepening voices and other signs of puberty haunt the cast. SFGate.com reports on the summer work schedule.

"I know ... This is all my fault. All my fault," Tyler James Williams tells the Associated Press. But in truth, all the young cast members are showing signs of growth: "We knew if we kept feeding them, they would keep growing and the hormonal changes would kick in," said series co-creator and co-executive producer Ali LeRoi.

So the show is rushing to film as much as possible before the kids start looking less kidlike. "There's a cute factor that people kind of like to hold on to. So being able to shoot a bit early, I think, helps us."

We’ve been amazed to see how tall Tyler is getting – soon he’ll tower over everyone but his Julius, played by Terry Crews – but we can’t help but feel sorry for him and all the other kids, having to deal with puberty in front of the cameras.

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What do we do when we're not watching CW shows and writing for the blog? Sleep, relax, goof off, then sleep some more.

But CW stars are a different, hardier breed. When they're not working on their shows, they're busy working on movie projects.

Take Terry Crews. The Everybody Hates Chris dad may be the hardest-working man on television. His character, Julius, has three jobs. In real life, Crews has just been cast in one picture, while another is in post-production and a two more are awaiting release. When does this man sleep?

First up, Crews will be appearing as a competitor in "Balls of Fury," a movie about a deadly underground Ping Pong tournament and the fiendish mastermind (Christopher Walken, who looks like he's having a blast) who runs it. We can't wait to see Crews in all his bicep-flexing glory. Then he'll be showing up in "Who's Your Caddy," a comedy about a rap mogul (Antwan "Big Boi" Patton of Outkast) who wants to play golf at a snooty country club. No word on if mischievous gophers will be involved.

Crews' third movie, currently in post-production, is "How to Rob a Bank," about a slacker (Nick Stahl) who gets roped into the role of hostage negotiator between the robber (Gavin Rossdale) and the cops (represented by Crews.) It sounds like Crews will have plenty of opportunity to exhibit his comic gifts.

Finally, Crews has just started filming "Get Smart," an update on the 60s TV comedy about spies, shoe phones and the battle between the organizations KAOS and CONTROL. Crews plays Agent 91 alongside current comedy It-boy Steve Carell (love him!), go-to ingénue Anne Hathaway, and a host of other luminaries, including Masi Oka, The Rock, Alan Arkin and Terrence Stamp.

Whew! Just writing about how busy Crews has been has tuckered us out. We need a nap.

Do any of these projects pique your interest? What's your favorite Terry Crews role? Let us know what you think!

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