Larry Wilmore

The image of so-called reality overrunning prime time has added urgency to this annual rite of spring, along with the pursuit of worthy heirs to aging stalwarts like "Friends" and "NYPD Blue." Yet series development has always been shrouded in mystery, as TV's power players rub ideas and talent together hoping to create magic -- or at least series prototypes capable of tantalizing media buyers.

NBC's "The West Wing" pulled off a rare three-peat as outstanding drama series while "Friends" was recognized as best comedy for the first time in its storied eight-year run at the 54th annual Emmy Awards, which honored the best in prime-time and late-night television programming Sunday night at the Shrine Auditorium.

Talk-show host Ricki Lake and her husband, freelance illustrator Rob Sussman, have purchased the Brentwood home of actress Courteney Cox and her husband, actor David Arquette, for close to its $6.5-million asking price. Lake and Sussman will continue to be based in New York but may eventually spend more time in their California home.

And to think we viewers used to complain about the clutter coming at us during commercial breaks. TV actually may have taken that gripe to heart: Clutter levels decreased in prime time and other periods last fall, says the American Assn. of Advertising Agencies, reversing a long upward trend in nonprogram minutes during network programs. ABC aired less prime-time clutter--ads, promos, program billboards, station IDs--for the first time since November 1992.

It may not look like it at first glance. But it really is a beautiful--though somewhat twisted--day in this neighborhood. The grime-heavy streets are littered with newspapers, and the walls are covered with graffiti. Shuttered-up storefronts line Rev. Al Sharpton Drive. A candy store that has seen better days beckons youngsters with the sign, "Not patrolled by truant officers."

Here are the winners announced Sunday at the 54th annual nighttime Emmy Awards. (Many other categories were recognized in separate ceremonies the previous weekend.) The awards, presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, cover the period from June 1, 2001, to May 31, 2002. * Programs * Comedy series: "Friends," NBC. Drama series: "The West Wing," NBC. Miniseries: "Band of Brothers," HBO. Movie: "The Gathering Storm," HBO.

Reports of Bernie Mac's death have been greatly exaggerated. But his Fox show appears to be in critical condition. The former Original King of Comedy, who was so sick with double pneumonia last year that some media outlets reported he was terminally ill, is alive and well and back at work on the set of "The Bernie Mac Show." With a seasoned air of mischief, Mac proclaims he is ready and able to tackle the demands of a weekly network series. "How's my crew doin'?"

Hades is not one of the settings for Fox's new comedy "The Bernie Mac Show." But those on location with the series during a recent shoot in the San Fernando Valley may have thought otherwise. An unforgiving sun beat down mercilessly on the actors and crew during a shoot around the Encino home used as the Mac family residence. Shirts and blouses were drenched, and the makeshift shade from large umbrellas and awnings offered little comfort as hordes of flies and gnats attacked.

The producing team of Joshua Brand and John Falsey, who like to film their shows on location, were saluted on the home front Thursday as their series "Northern Exposure" and "I'll Fly Away" captured nearly 10% of the nominations for the 44th annual Emmy Awards for nighttime television programming.

Click! Thurgood Stubbs is at war. The superintendent of the Hilton-Jacobs inner-city housing project is being terrorized by a gun-toting street gang. Click! Darryl Hughley is battling his neighbor and good pal, Dave Allen. A successful black businessman living in a predominantly white L.A. suburb, Darryl wonders whether Dave is a closet racist. Click! Rene Jackson has fallen out with her best friend, who is white.