Katherine Heigl has production company

Katherine Heigl has production company

Katherine Heigl, who became a resident at the end of last season's "Grey's Anatomy," will also try on a new role in real life.

The actress and her manager-mother Nancy Heigl have joined the ranks of Will Smith, Madonna and Drew Barrymore by forming their own production shingle, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The first project at the newly formed company is an untitled action-comedy with Fox. Heigl will star in the project, the plot of which is currently under wraps. A search for writers is underway.

She next stars in "27 Dresses," scheduled for release in January, playing Jane, a woman who has been a bridesmaid 27 times and wonders if she'll have to stand by in an ugly dress again while her sister marries the man that Jane secretly loves.

'Contender' has moved to ESPN

ESPN is extending its boxing franchise "The Contender," ordering up a third season of the Mark Burnett-produced show for a premiere at 9 p.m. on Sept. 4.

The show features 16 fighters vying for the championship and a share of a seven-figure purse. Boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard will be back as host and mentor.

"'The Contender' has found a terrific home on ESPN, and we're proud of the fact that we are able to give a new group of boxers the chance for worldwide exposure," said Burnett.

The show's third season will feature a new weight class, super middleweight, new trainers in James (Buddy) McGirt and Jose (Pepe) Correa and a total purse of $1 million, up 50 percent from last season. Comedian and onetime trainer Adam Carolla and multiple world champ Oscar De La Hoya -- who was involved with Fox's "Contender" rival "The Next Great Champ" previously -- will make guest appearances.

Additionally, viewers will be able to see unedited versions of each week's bout on ESPN2.

The season-two finale of "The Contender," featuring Grady Brewer and Steve Forbes, was ESPN's top-rated boxing broadcast in nine years.

Carson Daly has a new NBC contract

Carson Daly will be staying up late for two more years at NBC. That much is certain.

What happens after that, when NBC's late-night lineup goes through a big transition, remains to be seen. But the network has signed Daly, who passed the five-year mark as host of "Last Call" in January, to a two-year contract extension that will keep him on through 2009. He'll also continue to host NBC's New Year's Eve special.

"Celebrating five years as a part of this incredible late-night lineup is a dream come true," Daly said "Now I have more time to goof off late at night on NBC, and I can't help but think I am one lucky dude. We are having more fun than ever on the show and are continuing to break great new bands and talent. I'm very excited about the future of 'Last Call.'"Last Call" performs better in its target 18-34 age demographic than do ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" or CBS' "Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson." Daly's show is the third leg in what has been a dominant NBC late-night lineup for years.

Chris Mulkey takes role as coach on NBC series

With Eric Taylor setting off for Austin, the Dillon Panthers of "Friday Night Lights" needed a new coach. They now have one.

Chris Mulkey has joined the cast of NBC's second-year series, a network rep confirms. He'll have a recurring role as the new coach of the Dillon High School football team, who takes over after Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) moves on to the college ranks at the fictional TMU.

The new coach, who arrives from outside Dillon, brings a my-way-or-the-highway approach with him and revamps the team's game plan. Naturally, this causes friction with some of the players, with new assistant coach Jason Street (Scott Porter) sometimes getting caught in the middle.

Mulkey co-starred in AMC's multiple Emmy nominee "Broken Trail" last year and also counts a recurring role on "Twin Peaks" and Fox's brilliant-but-cancelled comedy "Bakersfield PD" among his credits.

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