· Pop the Nikolai. MTV has inked deals for all members of the Jersey Shore (including evictee Angelina) to return for a second season. The cast's shrewd Friends-style negotiations paid off -- with each member reportedly getting $10,000 per episode (MTV has ordered a 12-episode season). To facilitate a mid-to-late summer premiere, the cast will begin shooting this winter in a new location. Tony DiSanto, president of MTV programming, released the following statement welcoming his network's orange cash cows back to pasture: "We're thrilled to reunite these friends to bring fans more of what they love -- laughs, love, drama and of course, GTL." [THR]
Oprah spawns another television show, ABC wants to produce Better Americans, and more TV Bites after the jump.
· Another year, another one of Oprah's regular guests lands a talk show. This time, design expert Nate Berkus has signed on to host The Nate Berkus Show, which will be co-produced by Harpo Prods. and Sony Pictures TV, and will appear on 10 NBC owned-and-operated stations in the fall. [THR]
· ABC has ordered a single-camera comedy called How to Be a Better American, centering on a father who embarks on a journey to become a better person and drags his family along with him. [THR]
· Chuck has recruited Fred Willard and Swoosie Kurtz to guest star as an over-the-hill spy couple later this season. [EW]
· NBC has renewed Parks and Recreation for a third season. In related news, there is a far-flung theory that India-themed comedies (apparently India-themed also means featuring a prominent Indian actor) are on the upswing. [THR]
· Chuck Lorre has nailed down two co-stars for his upcoming CBS pilot Mike and Molly, a romantic multicam comedy about a police officer and a plump woman who meet at Overeaters Anonymous, in Katy Mixon (Eastbound & Down) and Reno Wilson (Crank: High Voltage). Mixon will play Molly's older sister and Wilson will play Mike's partner at the police department who teases him incessantly. [THR]