· Friday's two-hour Hope for Haiti Now benefit will be the most widely distributed telethon to reach viewers across the globe, according to MTV. The event, organized by George Clooney, will feature performances from Los Angeles, New York and London by Coldplay, U2, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Wyclef Jean, Shakira, Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake and more still. The event will air on networks including MTV, ABC, NBC, Fox, CNN on Friday at 8 P.M. and be streamed live on websites including YouTube and Hulu. All performances will be also available on iTunes. [THR]
Fox invests in beer, ABC bets on drugs, and more TV Bites after the jump.
· Fox has ordered a multicam pilot from Will & Grace creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick called Strange Brew, about a family-owned brewery. Warner Bros. TV is slated to produce. [THR]
· In other pilot news, ABC has picked up two pilots. The first, Cutthroat sounds like a network-version of Weeds: an "ambitious single mother who finds running her own international drug cartel is perfect training for navigating the cutthroat world of Beverly Hills high society." The second, Generation Y, is a documentary style drama that follows people back to their senior year of high school view flashbacks. [THR]
· The Two and a Half Men star Jon Cryer has alerted the FBI that his wife, who is embattled in a nasty custody battle, has hired a hitman against him. [TMZ]
· Family Feud found a replacement for host for John O'Hurley in Steve Harvey [ABC News]
· Gary Sinise's character on CSI: NY will find a new girlfriend in a character played by Madchen Amick, the actress responsible for Californication's Janie Jones. [THR]