Amy Poehler, Aziz Ansari, Rashida Jones, and writers Greg Daniels and Michael Schur just got the room laughing here at the TCA press tour in their first session for their new show. (Seriously, go here to hear about Poehler's Jason Bourne connection.)The show's still untitled, but we now know a little bit about the plot: Poehler plays Leslie, a mid-level local government operative who partners with Jones's character to help get a park built. Ansari plays a schmoozing networker who's most interested in his own rise. Here's some of what we learned:

• Despite Poehler's role as a woman in local politics who believes she could one day rise to the top, we shouldn't look at the show as a satire of any recent political events. "It really doesn't specifically deal in any way with tapping into any of those women," Poehler said. "But [Leslie] certainly looks at a lot of the women in media and politics right now as her heroes. They're sort of her Cal Ripkins."
• More about Leslie: "Leslie is an optimist, and she's really ambitious," Poehler said. "She's really kind of hoping that the place she is now is not the place she's going to stay. So she really is struggling to find her way in a man's world, to kind of make her mark. Along the way, she's deluded." She's nice, but not too nice: "it's going to be very easy to humiliate and be mean to me in the show."
• About that title: Daniels said they just haven't found the right words to sum up the show yet — but they kind of spoof their own difficulties in the pilot with a section about finding the perfect name for their public works project.
• The realm of local politics isn't new to Poehler: "My parents watch town council metings on their TV," she said. "They sit and wtch them and care, obviously, about what is next to them — what is being built, or are they going to put a prison where the muffin shop used to be."

To find out why Poehler took the job and whether there will ever be a proper Office spinoff, read more

While I won't be heading down to the 2009 Sundance Film Festival this year, I will be sorting through the humongous pile of festival entries to share with you some of the films I think look most promising. From quirky documentaries to talented young filmmaker debuts to a potential runaway hit, Sundance is filled with entertainment possibilities. Here are today's selections:

Good Hair
It's impossible not to feel a little emotional listening to Chris Rock describe how the idea for this documentary came about. In the video clip below, he says that despite how much he tells his daughter how beautiful she is every day, she still cried to him once, "Daddy, how come I don't have good hair?" Troubled by this, Rock "committed himself to search the ends of the earth and the depths of black culture to find out who had put that question into his little girl's head!" He himself claims this might be the best movie he's ever made. Intriguing? I'd say so.

To check out the comedian talking about his project, plus the lowdown on two other Sundance movies, read more

In a TV world increasingly filled with dance shows, there will always be a soft spot in my heart for MTV's America's Best Dance Crew. The show, which pits crews from around the country against each other, starts its third season on MTV tonight.

This time around, So You Think You Can Dance fans might want to take note, because a few of the show's most popular alumni will be back on TV. Hok and Dominic from season three are two members of Quest, one of the nine crews to be competing for this year's title. And longtime ABDC fans are also getting a treat in the first episode, when Rainen Paguio of the JabbaWockeeZ turns up as a guest judge.

Will you be watching the show's new season? Anyone already have a favorite crew? To check out a video with the newbies, just read more

• A love letter to Thirtysomething. — Clique Clack TV
• Gus Van Sant talks Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test casting: From Heath Ledger to . . . Jack Black? — MTV Movies Blog
• Ryan Adams is quitting music and blogging? — Stereogum
• Yikes: Will Jack Bauer die on the big screen? — Watch With Kristin
• The View got a big backstage makeover. — CasaSugar
• A nice farewell to Ricardo Montalban, may he rest in peace. — Cinematical
• Check out Robyn's "With Every Heartbeat" video. — Spinner
• The CollegeHumor kids get to work in the coolest office of all time and they get to have a TV show about it! Lucky. Check out the preview for their MTV show. — BWE

Source

It's NBC day at TCA, and I'm most looking forward to the session with Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, and the creators of the non-spinoff spinoff of The Office. The show is still technically untitled, but some bits of the plot have dribbled out thanks to copies of the pilot script that were left in reporters' hotel rooms last night. Meanwhile, The Office mothership is getting an exciting new cast member — well, at least for fans of The Wire. Read on . . .

• First things first: The Amy Poehler series is set in Pawnee, Indiana, where Leslie Knope (Poehler),is a "mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department." The show will be filmed in the same mockumentary style as The Office, and comedian Aubrey Plaza has just been cast to play her intern, April.
• Second: Idris Elba, maybe best known as Stringer Bell from The Wire, will appear in six episodes of The Office this season as a new nemesis for Michael Scott in Dunder Mifflin corporate. You know, Stringer Bell always did have some business sense about him . . .

What do you think of the news so far? To watch a clip of Elba's previous, er, "business experience" (beware of some NSFW language), just read more