Author: Erin Carlson

Fabrizio Maltese

James Franco

Comedy Central’s next celebrity roastee? James Franco.

That’s right, the puzzling, polarizing actor — who’s also an author, artist and perpetual grad student, among other vocations — has agreed to put himself in the hot seat as the next famous face to get knocked by a panel of comedians on national television.

Comedy Central Roast of James Franco will tape next month and premiere on Labor Day.

“If only James Franco was a more successful, multihyphenated, incessant creative risk taker in different media, he’d be the perfect person to roast. Oh well …  I suppose we’ll just have to make do,” Comedy Central’s Kent Alterman, president, content development and original programming, said in a statement Wednesday.

Franco added: “I’ve dreamed about this roast for as long as I can remember.” 

STORY: James Franco Seeks $500,000 in Crowdfunding for ‘Palo Alto Stories’ Trilogy

(In a separate video statement on his Instagram page, the 35-year-old star — looking like he just woke up — slurred, “Hey yo, what’s up? I’m gonna get roasted on Comedy Central. Be sure to check it out. They wanted me to tell you that.”)

Franco being Franco, there should be plenty of fodder for his special on the the cable network, which has previously roasted Donald Trump, Charlie Sheen, Joan Rivers and Roseanne Barr. Franco’s most public foible was perhaps his disastrous turn co-hosting the 2011 Oscars with Anne Hathaway during which Franco seemed to mentally check out while Hathaway struggled to pick up his slack.

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler referenced the Franco/Hathaway fiasco while emceeing the Golden Globe Awards earlier this year. Addressing Hathaway, Fey cracked: “You gave a stunning performance in Les Miserables. I have not seen someone so alone and abandoned like that since you were onstage with James Franco at the Oscars.”

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SWV

WE tv has greenlit a new reality series starring the R&B girl group Sisters With Voices as they attempt to reclaim the fame of their ’90s heyday.

The cable channel ordered six, one-hour episodes of the series, called SWV — Sisters With Voices, which will air in early 2014. The trio, consisting of Cheryl “Coko” Clemons, Leanne “Lelee” Lyons and Tamara “Taj” Johnson, announced the news while performing at the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans on Sunday.

The New York City-based group, whose chart-topping hit songs include “Weak” and “Right Here/Human Nature,” broke up in 1998, amid internal fighting, to embark on separate solo careers. They reunited in 2005.

“The journey of SWV is the kind of real and personal comeback story our viewers love to see,” said Lauren Gellert, WE tv’s senior vice president of original production and development, in a statement Monday. “These dynamic women experienced enormous success together, then it all fell apart. United again, the stakes are higher than ever, and so – at times – is the drama and tension. We can’t wait to present this fresh, new series to WE tv viewers.”

Sisters With Voices is produced by Entertainment One Television, with Tara Long, John Morayniss, Howie Long and Jennifer Long executive producing alongside Kate Farrell of WE tv.

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Kris Jenner

It’s been nearly one month since Kim Kardashian gave birth and still no picture of her daughter, North: Where’s the Big Reveal on the cover of People magazine? The link to the first Instagram image of the Kardash-ling on the snap-happy reality star’s Twitter feed? The billboard in Times Square?

If you’re secretly excited to see the offspring of Kardashian and her rapper-beau, Kanye West, then you might consider DVR-ing the premiere of Kris Jenner‘s talk show, which begins a six-week trial run July 15 on Fox.

Promoting Kris on Monday’s edition of Today, Jenner offered a knowing grin — but no confirmation — when asked by Matt Lauer whether she would show off the first glimpse of her granddaughter during the first week of her chatfest.

“I won’t tell you it won’t happen,” she teased. “Give you a little something to think about. You never know who’s gonna show up.”

(At the end of the interview, she said she would allow Lauer to take a peek at just one photo on her phone.)

PHOTOS: Kris Jenner: Exclusive Portraits of the Matriarch, Momager and Talk-Show Host

Kris is joining the roster of celebrity-hosted talk shows that have launched to much fanfare — and, in several cases, flatlined due to dwindling buzz and ratings. More recently, those include Anderson Cooper, Ricki Lake and Jeff Probst.

“My style is more of a lifestyle show,” said Jenner. “There will be some celebrity interviews, but I’m gonna start out with a different co-host every single day. So I’m gonna have people on like Kathie Lee Gifford and Ryan Seacrest and Diddy and Mario Lopez and Maria Menounos and NeNe Leakes — names like that that will come on and co-host with me for the first 15 minutes to a half an hour.”

She added: “And then I want to do a lot of segments about lifestyle — so fashion and beauty and fitness and food and things that people haven’t seen, that side of me that I love and I’m really passionate about.”