Late Night: 'I'm Khloe Kardashian's father,' says Tracy Morgan

Put a microphone in front of him and Tracy Morgan can be relied on to say something outrageous -- and that's putting it mildly. On Wednesday night, the "30 Rock" star visited "Conan" and made a jaw-dropping claim: He is Khloe Kardashian's father.

It all began innocently enough. Conan O'Brien asked Morgan about his fondness for the reality series "Khloe & Lamar," which just wrapped its second season with an episode about the paternity rumors swirling around the youngest Kardashian sister. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, consider yourself one of the lucky ones.) 

In response to O'Brien's question, Morgan replied, "Test results just came back. She’s my daughter." He claimed that Khloe was the result of a "threesome" that also involved O.J. Simpson and that he met "the mom, Krissi" -- otherwise known as Kris Jenner -- after the Penn Relays in Philadelphia. (A reference to Bruce Jenner, maybe? When it comes to Morgan, it's impossible to know.)

A strange beginning, to be sure, but the story has a happy ending. "Khloe's mine, and she loves her father. We spoke on the phone, and she loves Daddy," Morgan explained before giving a shout-out to his "daughter: "I love you, booby!"

Morgan clearly had family on the brain last night. He also made the following outlandish claims: He is a descendant of Clark Gable; Charlton "Chuck" Heston is his "great-great-uncle"; and Michelle Obama will become pregnant if President Obama wins a second term. 

We'll take your word for it, Tracy.

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twitter.com/MeredithBlake

Upfronts 2012: The end is near for '30 Rock'

NBC confirmed Monday that "30 Rock" would end its seven-season run this season with a final 13 episodes.

Speaking Monday at his network's upfront presentation, held once again at Radio City Music Hall, NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt called the multiple Emmy-winning show "synonymous with wit and originality" and said it would conclude with an hour-long series finale. He later told Show Tracker that he thought the series would be "charged up" as it went into its home stretch.

"30 Rock" returned this year in January, its debut delayed by creator and star Tina Fey's pregnancy.

VIDEO: Watch 2012 TV previews

It led off NBC's prime-time slot for the first time, airing at the top of the network's Thursday comedy block at 8 pm. It will reprise that slot next year.

NBC will follow "30 Rock" with "Up All Night" with mainstays "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation" rounding out its Thursday comedies.

Despite the exit of another "Office" cast member (Mindy Kaling, who leaves for a new sitcom on Fox) Greenblatt said the workplace show "still [has] creative juice," noting "explosive story twists" in the coming season.

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Photo: Tina Fey as Liz Lemon in "30 Rock." Photo credit: Ali Goldstein / NBC

NBC renews '30 Rock' and 'Parenthood,' adds two new series

NBC's veteran series "30 Rock" and "Parenthood" have been picked up for another season, and the network this fall will add two other series, "Do No Harm" and "Infamous," the network announced.

The new season of "30 Rock" -- its seventh and final season -- will be abbreviated, with only 13 episodes. "Parenthood" will be entering its fourth season.

"Do No Harm" is a medical drama that puts a twist on the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story, revolving around a neurosurgeon with a dark alter-ego. "Infamous" features a female detective who goes undercover to the rich family she grew up in — as the maid's daughter — to solve the murder of the heiress who had been her best friend.

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Photo: Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey of "30 Rock." Credit: Ali Goldstein / NBC.

 

 

 

Jon Hamm does blackface for live '30 Rock' episode

The second live "30 Rock" episode aired Thursday night and though the episode was performed without a hitch, one moment in particular is causing raised eyebrows all over the Internet: Jon Hamm's blackface cameo.

The plot of the episode, "Live From Studio 6H," involved NBC page Kenneth (Jack McBrayer) explaining the history and value of live TV to the cast and writers of "TGS," including Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) and Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan). Intercut with his explanations were "clips" from the various live shows from the network's history. One of those shows was an "Amos 'n Andy"-style show called "Alfie and Abner" starring Morgan and Hamm, with Hamm appearing in blackface.

The bit pointed out the unfortunate TV history of hiring white actors to play black characters, with Morgan's Alfie expressing increasing disgust at his co-star's buffoonish performance. The gag seems to have been the most notable thing about the live episode -- with people either praising Hamm as the best thing about the show, or condemning the bit for trafficking in racist humor.

Truthbesold tweeted, "I believe Tina Fey is a racist morally repugnant socially insensitive culturally incompetent bigot I'm done@30rock jon hamm #blackface."

Cornelius Jemison tweeted, "Blackface isn't funny."

Nodnerb B. tweeted, "Jon Hamm in blackface?! #DEAD. #30Rock . I cannot.

Zig Me tweeted, "And now we have Jon Hamm is blackface  (sort of) making fun of blackface  (sort of). I don't know how to feel about this."

However, the scene did have its fans.

Derrick tweeted, "Whoa, was that #JonHamm in pseudo-Blackface doing the Amos & Andy parody? Funny! And a bit uncomfortable."

Chris Gannon tweeted, "You wouldn't think blackface could be funny in 2012 but there's Jon hamm to prove everyone wrong."

Andrew Shaw tweeted, "Jon Hamm in blackface on 30 Rock Live is now my favourite thing in the universe. #BANJO."

Andrew Davis tweeted, "member when Jon Hamm was in blackface on 30 Rock? That was awesome."

Russell Johnson tweeted, "The Tracy Morgan and John Hamm blackface bit may be the best gag ever done on the entire show's run. Watch the cast try to hold back laughs."

The live show was performed twice, for the East and West coasts, and though the Hamm and Morgan scene was performed the same both times, there were many differences between the two airings.

On the East Coast, viewers got a surprise cameo by Paul McCartney. On the West Coast, it was Kim Kardashian. On the East Coast, Hamm also portrayed a sexist version of late NBC newsman David Brinkley. On the West Coast, Brian Williams took the sexist anchor spot.

Though Thursday's live "30 Rock" episode drew better ratings compared with recent weeks, it didn't surpass last season's live episode, which drew 6.7 million viewers.

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Photo: Jon Hamm, left, and Tracy Morgan in "30 Rock." Credit: NBC

Alec Baldwin says he's sticking with '30 Rock' until the end

Rest easy, America. Alec Baldwin is not abandoning his post on NBC's "30 Rock." This year, anyway.

Last week, in a rage about camera crews from NBC's "Today" camped outside his NYC apartment in the wake of the arrest of an alleged female stalker, Baldwin tweeted he was "leaving NBC just in time."

Alarm bells immediately went off in the heads of "30 Rock" fans everywhere. How could he leave "30 Rock" before the show had ended? Baldwin had revitalized his career over six seasons on the acclaimed NBC comedy, playing Jack Donaghy, the TV executive in charge of the show-within-a-show, "TGS." The role has earned him two Emmys, two Golden Globes and five SAG Awards for the role.

The tweet, apparently, was Baldwin thinking long-term. Really long-term. Baldwin, in Washington on Monday to lobby for more government funding of the arts, said that he plans to be on "30 Rock" for its seventh and what he claims is final season, according to the Associated Press.

Baldwin retains his antipathy for "Today" but stands by NBC's programming legacy (pointing you in the direction of ABC's "Good Morning America" for your morning show needs).

Though there's been no official word about "30 Rock's" seventh season, Baldwin isn't the only star from the show beginning to talk as though its days are numbered. Tina Fey appeared on "The View" last week and told the audience that the end of the series was "visible on the horizon."

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Photo: Alec Baldwin. Credit: Paul J. Richards / AFP / Getty Images.

'30 Rock' plans to do another live episode

"30 Rock" can't seem to stay away from its live television roots. The NBC comedy is planning to do a second live episode on April 26.

Star Alec Baldwin spilled the beans on "Extra" on Wednesday, revealing that the live episode would be the final episode produced in the comedy's sixth season. But not the last one to air.

Baldwin is the current record-holder for hosting "Saturday Night Live." He's hosted 16 times, with the most recent spin being the 37th season premiere last fall.

Additionally, costars Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan are "SNL" alums, seemingly making the transition from recorded episodes to a live one easy.

Among the highlights of the first live "30 Rock" in October 2010 was a stream of celebrity guest appearances, including from Matt Damon, Jon Hamm and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as "Flashback Liz" -- the version of Liz Lemon seen in the show's trademark cut-aways and asides.

The first live episode (which was actually two episodes, one performed for the East Coast and one for the West) grabbed 6.7 million viewers, making it the highest-rated episode of the season.

No word on who, if anyone, will be making guest appearances in the upcoming live show.

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Photo: Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin in a scene from "30 Rock." Credit: Ali Goldstein / NBC

Thursday’s Highlights: '30 Rock' on NBC

Click here to download TV listings for the week of Feb. 26 - March 3 in PDF format

TV listings for the week of Feb. 26 - March 3 in PDF format are also available at latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv

Weekly TV Listings and more can be found at: www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv

This week's TV Movies

---

KENNETH (Jack McBrayer) learns the dark side of the business world when he encounters a new nemesis on “30 Rock” at 8 p.m. on NBC.

SERIES

American Idol:  Viewers’ votes select the first set of finalists and the remaining hopefuls perform for the judges in this new episode (8 p.m. Fox).

When Vacations Attack:  The series depicting holiday nightmares returns for a new season (8 p.m. Travel).

Rob: Rob’s (Rob Schneider) dad (Fred Willard) meets Maggie’s (Claudia Bassols) family in the season finale (8:30 p.m. CBS).

Up All Night: Ava’s (Maya Rudolph) television show’s new owner (Eve Best) is something of a hero to Ava and Reagan (Christina Applegate), but her right-hand man (Steven Pasquale), not so much, in this new episode (9:30 p.m. NBC).

Awake: In this surreal new crime drama series, Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs), a police detective, awakens after a car accident to find himself inhabiting two different realities. In one, his wife (Laura Allen) died in the crash, but his son (Dylan Minnette) lived; in the other, she’s alive, and the boy is dead. Wilmer Valderrama, Steve Harris and Cherry Jones also star (10 p.m. NBC).

SPECIALS

Russia and the West: Putin Takes Control:  Top advisers, as well as the world leaders who came up against him, offer their views on Vladimir Putin’s reign in Russia and the West (9 p.m. National Geographic).

MOVIES

Exit Through the Gift Shop:  This Oscar-nominated 2010 documentary follows an eccentric shopkeeper-turned-amateur filmmaker as he attempts to capture many of the world’s most infamous vandals on camera. Narrated by Rhys Ifans (9:30 p.m. Showtime).

SPORTS

College basketball: Michigan at Illinois (4 p.m. ESPN); Florida State at Virginia (4 p.m. ESPN2); Georgia at Kentucky (6 p.m. ESPN); Villanova at Rutgers (6 p.m. ESPN2); Colorado at Oregon (7:30 p.m. FSN); New Mexico State at Nevada (8 p.m. ESPN2).

Pro basketball: The Oklahoma City Thunder visit the Orlando Magic (5 p.m. TNT); the Clippers visit the Sacramento Kings (7 p.m. FS Prime); the Miami Heat visit the Portland Trail Blazers (7:30 p.m. TNT).

Photo: Ali Goldstein / NBC

NBC announces return of 'Community,' gives new comedies premiere dates

School is back in session over at Greendale Community College: NBC announced Tuesday the return of its struggling comedy "Community" -- along with premieres for other laffers on the network.

After a winter hiatus, "Community," now in its third season, will return to the network on March 15 at 8 p.m., putting it head-to-head with CBS' ratings hit "The Big Bang Theory."

Creator Dan Harmon took to his Twitter page to spread the news:"What you call 8:00, we call home. Community returns to Thursday nights on March 15th."

The addition will reshuffle the Thursday lineup with "30 Rock" airing after "Community," followed by "The Office" and freshman series "Up All Night." 'Parks and Recreation" will return to its 9:30 p.m. slot on April 19 after "Up All Night" finishes its season in the time period.

NBC also announced the premieres of new Wednesday comedies:  "Bent," a romantic comedy starring Amanda Peet, will debut March 21, with friend-fest "Best Friends Forever" and hidden-camera series "Betty White's Off Their Rockers" making their bow April 4. Wednesday nights will also get restructuring with "Rock Center With Brian Williams" once again moving, this time one hour later on Wednesdays to 10 p.m. starting March 7. And then it will, uh, move back to 9 p.m. on April 11 -- (Still with us?) -- as "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" returns with new episodes at 10 p.m.

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Photo: The cast of "Community." Credit: NBC

Border agents, clown couple team up on new 'The Amazing Race'

A pair of border agents, a married clown couple and last season's winner of CBS' "Big Brother" will be among the contestants competing in the upcoming 20th season of "The Amazing Race" premiering Feb. 19 on CBS.

The series this season will make first-time visits to Paraguay, Azerbaijan and other exotic locations. Along the way, the teams will travel five continents, 22 cities and nearly 40,000 miles.

One team will be composed of last year's winner of "Big Brother," Rachel Reilly, and her fiancé and fellow Houseguest, Brendon Villegas.

Other teams include:

'Modern Family,' 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' and cable dramas top DGA noms

Will "Modern Family" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" cancel each other out?

The comedies received double nominations in the comedy category when the Director's Guild of America's television and commercial nominations were announced Tuesday. The final slot went to NBC's "30 Rock."

Cable dominated in the drama field, with individual episodes of "Game of Thrones" (HBO), "Homeland" (Showtime), "The Killing" (AMC), "Breaking Bad" (AMC) and "Friday Night Lights" (101 Network) in the running.

Competition-based shows governed the reality front. NBC's "The Biggest Loser" and "Fear Factor" are up against CBS' "The Amazing Race," Fox's "Master Chef" and Food Network's "The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs."

In the daytime serials category, ABC's "All My Children," which ended its run in September after a 41-year run, earned two nominations, as did the network's other sudser "General Hospital." They'll compete against ABC's other canceled soap, "One Life To Live" -- which ends its run this week to make way for the lifestyle show "The Revolution" -- and CBS' "The Young and the Restless," and "The Bold and the Beautiful."

The winners will be announced at the 64th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Jan. 28 in Los Angeles.

Here's a full list of DGA nominees.

 -- Yvonne Villarreal

Twitter.com/villarrealy 

Photo: "Curb Your Enthusiam's"Larry David. Credit: HBO

Alec Baldwin to stay on '30 Rock' two more years, if it stays too

Alec Baldwin has committed to another two years for his role as Jack Donaghy on NBC's "30 Rock," NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt confirmed Friday.

The news comes after Tina Fey said as much during her appearance Thursday on "Late Show With David Letterman." Still uncertain, though, is whether "30 Rock" will be around for two more seasons. No word on a seventh season — let alone eighth — renewal has been announced.

In the past, Baldwin has been vague about his future on the show once his contract is up — which would have happened at the end of the sixth season — often suggesting that if he should return, it would be in a smaller capacity.

The sixth season of the show premieres Jan. 12.

— Yvonne Villarreal

twitter.com/villarrealy

Photo: Alec Baldwin. Credit: Getty Images.

Q+A: James Marsden 'hopes to be funny' on '30 Rock'

The midseason return of "30 Rock" kicks off Thursday, Jan. 12, and with another season comes another love interest for Tina Fey's quirky onscreen persona, Liz Lemon. 

Anyone else think she has more game — and probably as many losers — than Carrie Bradshaw? We've seen her fall for Dennis (Dean Winters of "Oz," "Rescue Me"), the beeper-selling dude who called Liz "dummy; there was Floyd ("SNL's" Jason Sudeikis), the "flower guy" who moves to Cleveland; Drew (played by "Mad Men's" dapper Jon Hamm), the doctor completely oblivious of his good looks; and the pilot with the unfortunate name, Carol Burnett (played by Matt Damon). And that's just naming a few. (An honorary mention should go to her imaginary boyfriend, Astronaut Mike Dexter.)

This season, Liz fancies a guy who hawks meat on the street. And the show has enlisted James Marsden, known for his roles on "X-Men" and "The Notebook," to be that guy. Marsden will appear in a six-episode arc as a laid-back hot dog vendor. Show Tracker spoke to the actor on playing in the TV pond, what we can expect from his "30 Rock" stint and his playing a game that has proved troublesome for "30 Rock" stars in the past: Words With Friends.

You guest-starred on "Modern Family" last year.  Now "30 Rock." And we all remember you on "Ally McBeal" -- or at least, I do.  Would you ever consider a more permanent TV presence down the line?  All the cool film actors are doing it.

It’s definitely something I’m thinking about more and more these days, frankly, because it feels like there’s just as much good work on TV as there is in film, if not more. And there are more great outlets. I don’t know. It just depends if I would find the right fit. I’ve never considered myself someone who would never consider it.  If it’s a great role, a great script, has a great show runner — absolutely, I would. It’d be nice to stay in L.A. and be around my kids more often. There are a lot of upsides to doing it. I’d be open to it.

What can you tell us about your role on “30 Rock”?

The guy I play, Chriss, is a pretty laid-back guy. And this season Liz is trying to — I mean, she’s typically the over-thinker, the over-analyzer — and I think she’s trying to have someone in her life who has a positive effect in the other direction. He sort of forces her to chill a little bit. In the end, it may be a good thing for her.  It might not be. We don’t really know yet. I don’t know yet, to be honest. It’s such a great show and the writing is so unique. It was just such a cool opportunity not to pass up. I’m essentially coming in after [Matt] Damon. I tend to gravitate towards characters with a little bit of crazy in them. I mean, on “Modern Family” I had a princess castle in the backyard.  And when I read this role, I thought it’d be fun.

It sounds fun. You play a hot dog vendor, right?

Yes. His aspiration at the moment is to have a gourmet hot dog truck. And Liz loves her hot dogs.