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*Tyra Banks received a Daytime Emmy nomination Wednesday in the category of best talk show host. She will compete against fellow nominees Dr. Phil McGraw, Ellen DeGeneres, Rachael Ray, and Lisa Rinna and Ty Treadway of "Soap Talk." CBS soap opera "Guiding Light" captured a leading 17 nods, while CBS’ "As the World Turns," got 16. Renee Elise Goldsberry, who played Nettie in the original Broadway production of "The Color Purple," was nominated for best actress in a drama series for her work on "One Life To Live." The Emmys will take place on June 15 from the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. The ceremony will be broadcast live, from 9 to 11 p.m. on CBS.
*To make room for Star Jones Reynolds’ new daytime show, Court TV has decided to cut back the hours devoted to its current star attraction, Nancy Grace, reports Variety. After the launch of Jones' as-yet-untitled show in late summer, Grace's program will run for one hour, from 3 to 4 p.m., down from two hours. Jones' show will start at 4 p.m. Court TV also said it will also undergo a massive re-branding to reflect a shift in content from legal news to entertainment. The cable channel will still cover trials, starting at 9 a.m., but that will move to its Web site at 3 p.m. ET to make way for the network's talk show lineup of Grace, Jones and Catherine Crier at 5 p.m..
*Tamala Jones has been cast opposite Dean Cain in the CBS drama pilot "Protect and Serve," which follows the lives of street cops in suburban Los Angeles. Jones will portray the wife of a cop played by Steve Harris, while Cain will play a veteran officer. Jones will next be seen in the features "What Love Is" and "Show Stoppers."
*HBO has agreed to develop "Hurricane Season," a film based on the true story of a New Orleans high school football team that worked through obstacles after Hurricane Katrina. Based on the Neal Thompson book due out this summer, “Season” centers on the John Curtis Christian School football team, which in the fall of 2005 overcame poverty, homelessness and other hardships to win the state championship. George Tillman and Robert Teitel will executive produce through their State Street Pictures shingle ("Barbershop").
*Actress Vivica A. Fox just concluded a photo shoot for the Red Cross with volunteer Garfield Richards, who serves as captain of the Brooklyn Disaster Action Team. The photographs are for a campaign aimed at encouraging more folks to volunteer.