Rob Thomas

Bradley Cooper and Justin Bartha teamed up in NYC last night for a screening of The Hangover. The event wasn't quite as star-studded as the LA premiere, but the guys still looked handsome, especially with Gerard Butler and Will Arnett joining the fun. This weekend we'll get to see the film go head to head with some box office hits, and if Buzz's glowing review is any indication, we might have another blockbuster on our hands.

More photos including Danny Masterson, Lake Bell, and Molly Sims if you read more

The end of the TV season is always full of big, blockbuster drama, but sometimes I just need a break from all the death, destruction, and cliffhangers. So when I've needed a laugh these past few weeks, I've been turning to the Starz series Party Down. Over its first season — it's already been renewed for a second — this show about a group of misfit caterers with big Hollywood aspirations has only gotten funnier.

Tonight's episode sounds like it could be the best yet, with Kristen Bell (obviously a favorite muse for Party Down co-creator Rob Thomas, the man behind Veronica Mars) swinging by for a guest turn as the snappish Uda Bengt, head of a powerful rival catering firm. Oh, and the event being catered in this episode? A gay wedding with George Takei as one of the partners. Awesome!

Don't have Starz? If you can access Netflix's instant viewing feature, watch all the episodes online. And to watch a preview of tonight's episode, just read more

It's not like TV remakes are anything new (holla, 90210!). But a show's creator getting another shot at his or her own failed series is practically unheard of. That's why I'm curious about Cupid, the new — well, and old — series from Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas that starts tonight on ABC.

The first Cupid, starring Jeremy Piven and Paula Marshall, aired 10 years ago on ABC but only lasted 14 episodes. Thomas said back at the TCA press tour in January that he hadn't even talked about the show in almost a decade. "There was no reason to," he said. "It was an idea that I had gotten on the air. There was no reason to believe anyone would want to do it again." Then ABC approached him about a remake (as did the CW, which ended up making the short-lived Valentine, Inc. instead), and soon he was jumping back into Cupid's world.

This version of the story stars Bobby Cannavale in Piven's old role and Sarah Paulson in Marshall's. The premise is essentially the same: Cannavale believes he's Cupid sent down from heaven to match up lovelorn singles; only after 100 successful love matches can he return to Mt. Olympus. Paulson is a well-regarded relationship therapist and skeptic assigned to Cupid's case (though she calls him by his human name, Trevor).

I wasn't a fan of the original series (nor was I a detractor — I somehow missed the whole thing entirely), but I saw enough in the first episode of this Cupid to keep me watching for a while. Specifically, Cannavale is a lot of fun as the goofy Trevor, and while I'm less a fan of Paulson, she plays well off of him. What I didn't like was the dull couple-of-the-week story, and those are going to have to get better in a hurry if Cupid wants to keep me around. But I'm most curious to see what fans of the original have to say about this one, so if that applies to you, come back here and tell me, OK? In the meantime, to watch a couple of clips from tonight's premiere, just read more

Starz isn't necessarily the most popular of the premium cable channels, but here's a good reason to rustle up a subscription: Next month, the channel will premiere Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas's new series, Party Down.

Thomas is one of the co-creators of the half-hour comedy, which revolves around a team of cater-waiters and aspiring writers and actors in Los Angeles. The cast includes Lizzy Caplan, Adam Scott, Ken Marino, and Martin Starr, and there are a few big-name guest stars lined up — including Ms. Mars herself, Kristen Bell, who will appear in the May 22 season finale. Another Mars alum, Jason Dohring, will pop up in the series as well.

The trailer made me laugh out loud a bunch ("Who's your agent?" "State Farm"), and if you've ever known any struggling creative types, you've probably known people like this. I'm excited to check it out when it premieres March 20. To watch the trailer, just read more

The Arrested Development movie was a hot topic at this month's TCA press tour, but it wasn't the only TV-to-film adaptation on reporters' minds. When Rob Thomas turned up to talk about his forthcoming Cupid, he also entertained some questions about the future of Veronica Mars — and what he said was mostly good news for fans.

With Cupid's episode order cut from 13 to eight, Thomas said he now finds himself with "a couple months to write the Veronica Mars movie." But that doesn't get it onto screens: "Somebody else had to pay for it," he said. "[Executive producer] Joel Silver does have a certain pile of money that he can decide on and he called me asking if we — you know, can we do this now? So I know that Kristin [Bell] wants to do it. I want to do it. Joel wants to do it, and now I suddenly find myself with enough time to write that script."

As for what the project would entail, Thomas was pretty quiet about any plot details — but he did say the story wouldn't follow the Veronica-in-the-FBI path they'd explored for a possible season four. Instead, he said "it would open just days before her college graduation, so Veronica would be just at the end of her college career."

In addition to Kristen Bell, Thomas said, he's also talked to Jason Dohring and Enrico Colantoni about the film. A while back, the majority of you said you'd love to see a Veronica Mars movie, but are you still feeling that way almost two years after the end of the show?

Photo courtesy of The CW

Sarah Paulson, last seen as the uptight Harriet Hayes on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, is heading back to TV — in a comedy this time. Paulson has landed the female lead in Cupid, Rob Thomas' remake of his own 1998 series.

Paulson will play opposite Bobby Cannavale on the show, which originally aired for one season on ABC. Cupid focuses on Trevor Hale, who believes he's a Roman god sent to earth to help people find love. Paulson will play his therapist, Claire, who's assigned to cure him of his delusions. In the original, Paula Marshall played Claire, while Jeremy Piven starred as Trevor/Cupid.

It's not every day that we get to see a producer remake his own material, so I'm curious to see what becomes of this pilot. If you've never seen the original, TV critic Alan Sepinwall has a great set of recaps of the whole series, which is available nearly in full on YouTube. The only thing missing is the start of the first episode, so to check out the script for that part, just head over here.

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"Her?" Yes, her! Mae Whitman, previously known (to me) as Ann Veal on Arrested Development will be joining one of Rob Thomas' many upcoming projects. The ABC pilot, Good Behavior will be an American version of the New Zealand series Outrageous Fortune. The show follows "the mother of a family of criminals, who decides to take the family down the straight and narrow path after her husband is jailed."

Whitman has been cast as one of the children in the family, the teenage daughter "who's extorting her principal and running a hall-pass scam at her school."

This is fantastic. I'm already going to watch this show. And now it leaves the other daughter role of the wannabe model named Pascalle to — maybe just maybe — Kristen Bell. How funny would it be to have Veronica Mars and Ann Veal be sisters? Fingers crossed!

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