It's a busy time for "MADtv" cast members of the recent seasons. Crista Flanagan is on "Hank", Keegan-Michael Key is on "Gary Unmarried", and Jordan Peele is going to be on a television show called "The Station" premiering next year. With all these former cast members getting big roles on television shows who is left out of the party? Well one less member is now left out as Bobby Lee's hand has been stamped and he is ready to enter the party, as he will be playing a key role in the new NBC comedy "State of Romance".

"State of Romance", according to The Futon Critic is about two people, Emily (Lindsey Broad) and Mike (Steve Howey) wine distributors who meet on a plane from Green Bay to Chicago. She hates him because she hears him rating her over his phone as a 6 or 7 out of 10, his choice in books "The Omnivore's Dilemma", and his "look-at-me-aren't-I-smart" attitude. He hates her because she just stole his latest client. Though they should never meet again, fate says otherwise, as while there friends Ed (Stephen Rannazzisi) and Regina (Grace Rex) end up meeting at the Chicago Airport, and after Ed defends Regina when a Korean War vet takes Regina's parking spot, they become very close. Now Emily and Mike will be forced together as there mutual friends get closer and closer.

Bobby will be playing Andrew, a slacker friend of Regina who just spends his days making web videos, and posting them on his website WildAsianBush.com, which is just what you think it is. Him playing president George W. Bush running a bubble tea stand in the mall. Kids apparently love it.

The show is going to be a single camera comedy, that will be filmed in Chicago. By the article, this show may be DOA, but time will have to tell on that, but the point of this is that Bobby has entered the party, it's just a question of how long he will be allowed to stay, before the bouncer throws him out. It is on NBC however, so with that added handicap, it might stand a better chance.

Well, days after Crista Flanagan mangled a company executives foot with a John Deer lawn mower as Lois on "Mad Men", it seems that she has found another job already, as she will be replacing Melissa McCarthy on the new Kelsey Grammer series "Hank".

Crista will be playing Dawn, the sister in law to Hank who, get this, will be married to David Koechner (of "Anchorman", and Todd Packer on "The Office" fame), who plays a hillbilly type character. Crista may not be in the first, or first few episodes, as Melissa may have been playing the role for a few episodes before the canning, but unless the show gets canceled before that, Crista should appear. Though an odd connection, Flan fans may rejoice at the fact that they can now see Crista week to week, unlike on Mad Men, where they could only see her in certain episodes.

This does however raise a whole bunch of questions.

• What will happen to her "Mad Men" character? I mean, after all, who hasn't gotten drunk, and caused a bloody mess at an office party?
• Will Crista's Flan Ship help "Hank", which is already being panned even before it's airing, stay around longer?
• Why in the article posted does it say that Crista was on "MADtv" for 3 years?! 3 years?! Why do none of these sites go to "Planet Sketchcom" to get there facts right! It was 5 years!

Well regardless of how long Crista's stint on "Hank" lasts, one thing should be mentioned. The later, and often criticized cast of MADtv is probably doing more things right now than any other cast in MADtv history. With Crista on "Mad" and "Hank", Keegan on Gary Unmarried, Arden doing all different kinds of things, Matt hosting his own podcast, Nicole P ruling it on Broadway, Jordan playing Barack Obama on the show "The Station" premiering later this year, and Lauren having a role of True Blood, it is looking like despite the fact "MAD" is gone, the later cast is doing so much in the entertainment world, that "MAD" will not be forgotten too quickly.

Welcome to the return of the Rapid-Fire Appearances – September 2009 Edition, covering most things SNL and MADtv for the month of September. For the sake of time/space/preference, I have decide to focus on current/recently departed SNL cast members and for the few busy MADtv cast members.

To kick things off, let’s look into the lives of our former MADtv stars.

Orlando Jones’ latest film, “Beyond a Reasonable Doubt” is in limited release September 11th. To coincide with the release, Jones is appearing on BET’s “The Wendy Williams Show.” Also look out for Orlando in the upcoming John C. Riley movie “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant” this October.

September 18th marks the opening of Steven Soderbergh’s “The Informant!” with Matt Damon. As previously reported by Planet Sketchcom (in an article unable to be found by yours truly) Andrew Daly and Arden Myrin make appearances in the film. Per Arden’s Twitter, her part isn’t big enough to warrant any press or talk shows. Arden continues to make the rounds on Chelsea Lately as a roundtable guest, most recently appearing on September 9th.

Fans of Mad Men may have noted that Crista Flanagan returned as Lois. It’s unclear if we’ll see her pop up again, but rest assured, she’s still employed with Sterling-Cooper.

Fresh off baby number two, Nicole Sullivan returns to her hit Lifetime series "Rita Rocks" October 5th.

Dipping into the waters of SNL, our recently departed Casey Wilson and her writing partner June Diane Raphael come off the success of their 2009 movie “Bride Wars” with 2010 lady comedy “Ass Backwards,” with previous SNL co-star Kristen Wiig slated to appear.

Kristen Wiig currently appears in Mike Judge’s “Extract,” which has been receiving less than stellar reviews. Her next movie role is as Malice in Wonderland in Drew Berrymore’s upcoming directorial debut, “Whip It,” alongside 2007 host Ellen Page. For those of you with HBO, Kristen will also appear in Jason Schwartzman’s “Bored to Death,” which premieres September 20th.

Amy Poehler’s NBC comedy “Parks and Recreation” found its way to DVD yesterday, and the second season begins next Thursday, September 17th. Amy will be hitting the New York morning talk circuit on the 16th, visiting both the “Today” show and “The View.”

Though I’m mostly ignoring the older cast members, it’s worth mentioning that SNL original Chevy Chase’s new show “Community” has been added to NBC Comedy Thursdays, and has positive buzz surrounding it. If it’s a hit remains to be seen, as it premieres the same night as “Parks and Rec.”

Apatow-favorite Bill Hader will appear on “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” on the 11th to promote the September 18th opening of his movie “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.” Also voicing characters in the movie are fellow cast mates Will Forte and Andy Samberg.

For those looking to see a movie recently released, look out for a couple SNL-ers in the following:

• Tina Fey voicing a character in “Ponyo.”
• Tracy Morgan voicing a character in “G-Force.”
• Fred Armisen in “Post Grad.”
• Will Ferrell and Rob Riggle in “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard.”
• Casey Wilson in “Julie and Julia.”
• Mike Myers in “Inglorious Basterds.”

SNL returns September 26th with host Megan Fox and musical guest U2.

Should you find any other SNL/MADtv appearances for the month of September newsworthy, feel free to post them. My personal philosophy is that if said cast member hasn’t appeared on the show since 2000 but are still relevant in the entertainment industry, perhaps they’re “too big” for Planet Sketchcom. They have escaped the throngs on sketch comedy and are stars in their own rights. But if you want the world to know that Shrek Forever After and Iron Man 2 are coming out soon, feel free to post it. I have mad love for all cast members, I just prefer to focus on those who need the publicity. Except Jimmy Fallon. Jimmy Fallon never deserves publicity.

Due to the fact that this is pretty insulting news, I wasn't sure weather to post this or not, but as Dart told me in this quote here, no award is unimportant, also the nomination doesn't directly insult a MADtv cast member, it just insults a movie a lot of them were in with supporting roles that most of us would agree the movie would have sucked from beginning to end without.

The Razzie Award is given to the creme ala creme of crappy movies every year in multiple categories. Movies that stink at the bottom of the movie society most of all. What 2 movies that I have called "MADtv movies (not for there quality, but for the fact that they had so many current and former cast members in them)" have graced this list not once, but 11 times combined for multiple categories? In the regular world, they go by the names of Meet the Spartans which feature MADtv current and former cast members Nicole Parker, Ike Barinholtz, and Crista Flanagan, and Disaster Movie which also stars Parker, Barinholtz, and Flanagan.

The nominations don't directly effect the aforementioned cast members in name, but they do effect them in certain categories. The categories include Worst Picture, Worst Rip-Off (hopefully not for there impressions), and Worst Screenplay (which effect the cast members because they were the ones that agreed to be in this movie after hearing the screenplay) for both movies. In fact since both movies were made by the same director, and were both equally bad, the Razzies had to combine them in these categories as a joint nomination so they wouldn't clog the nominations list. Other categories the movies were nominated in include Worst Actress Carmen Electra for both movies, and Kim Kardashian for Disaster Movie, and Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer for Worst Director(s).

Kim Kardashian has already mentioned the nomination on her website saying "it's an honor just to be nominated" so there is a possibility that she could be accepting the awards for Disaster Movie if they win, but if she does not go who knows, maybe Crista, or Ike (Nicole can't because she will most likely be busy on Broadway with Wicked) can accept the awards for both movies, because as Kim said "it's an honor just to be nominated".

Okay, so that title is a little misleading... although, one of the two men these impressions are of will be hailed as the new President of the United States in a few months.

With the season 14 premiere a mere few weeks away, what better time to give you the first piece of information we have been made aware of regarding what you can expect to see? While most of us have grown used to Keegan Michael Key's Barack Obama and Nicole Parker's Hilary Clinton impressions over the last two years, with Hilary now out of the running, its time for the show to introduce an impression of Republican candidate John McCain to feature in the shows political satire.

In true MADtv tradition, the show is taking a big risk by casting someone none of us expected would ever be cast for the role. Perhaps it is a response to the controversial casting of Fred Armisen as Obama on SNL, perhaps he was just the best suited person for the job, perhaps it was neither of these things... but I can now reveal to you that none other than Bobby Lee will be debuting his John McCain impression in episode #1401. Also making their first mark in the presidential stakes will be Arden Myrin's Nancy McCain and Erica Ash's Michelle Obama impression.

Here's what FOX's official release has to say about the premiere:

MADtv returns for a 14th season of off-the-wall humor and side-splitting laughs. Keegan-Michael Key and Erica Ash are "Barack and Michelle Obama" and they join Bobby Lee and Arden Myrin as "John and Cindy McCain" on a spoof of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE: PRESIDENTIAL EDITION. The McCains try to impress the judges with their waltz as the Obamas try to win votes with their hip-hop number on the season premiere episode of MADtv airing Saturday, Sept. 13.

Just to remind you all, the new cast of regulars includes returning favorites Crista Flanagan, Keegan Michael Key, Bobby Lee, Arden Myrin, Nicole Parker and Johnny Sanchez. They will be joined by Matt Braunger and new featured players Erica Ash, Eric Price and Lauren Pritchard. The season premiere is on September 13th this year, and the show will, hopefully, be taking a step back towards the favored format by being shot, in part, in a brand new theatre. So those of you who were left disappointed by season 13, give this new season a chance before you pull the plug completely. You may be pleasantly surprised!

After months of blackmail both administered and received, we can at last reveal everything you could possibly want to know about Season 14 of "MADtv," at least before it debuts. All right, admittedly, we will not be reporting what Nicole Parker ate for breakfast this morning; nevertheless, with this update, rest assured that you will have all the Season 14 information with which any rational fan will be more than happy. Here, then, is your full scoop on the upcoming season, complete with brown chips which have not been conclusively identified as chocolate.

Let us begin by introducing you to our final addition to the Season 14 "MADtv" cast. According to this article, the fourth newbie for the upcoming season will be the lovely, versatile Erica Ash. Smile prettily for the camera, dear:



As is the case with Eric Price and Lauren Pritchard, Erica will be joining the "MADtv" cast as a featured player. According to her impressive resume, which can be found here, Erica's experience with televised sketch comedy does not actually begin with "MADtv." For two seasons, she has been a cast member on "The Big Gay Sketch Show," which, coincidentally, is directed by "MADtv" mainstay Amanda Bearse. Add to that stint her various appearances in theatrical productions and commercials, her numerous voiceovers for video games, and a list of special skills that makes most of us look downright boring by comparison; and Erica Ash may have just what it takes to survive on a show that has always prided itself on multifaceted cast members. Erica, here is hoping that you get to stick around for a while on FOX's late-night sketch comedy series.

In other news, what would a final Season 14 update be without one last surprise farewell? Fans of Jordan Peele's "MADtv" work will no doubt feel a sense of emptiness as the show's resident Morgan Freeman impersonator ends his five-year run as a cast member. Apparently, Jordan somehow managed to escape the rumored coercion by "MADtv" to squeeze a few more episodes out of its five-year players. Unfortunately, it is not known at this time whether he, Nicole Parker, and Keegan-Michael Key drew straws to determine who would get to leave after Season 13 or whether Quincy Jones simply went "eenie-meenie-miney-mo" to determine their fates. At any rate, Jordan, we at Planet MADtv hate to see you go; and we wish you the best of success in whatever showbiz endeavors you decide to pursue from this point on. Thanks for the many laughs!

Next, we can confirm that Season 14 of "MADtv" will be shot at the Sunset Bronson Studios, which are both the original location of the Warner Bros. Studios and the current home of CW affiliate KTLA, Channel 5, in Los Angeles, CA. Although we will obviously have to wait until the Season 14 debut, on September 13th, to see how these new facilities will work out for the cast, something tells me that most, if not all, of the series' diehard fans will no doubt wet themselves with glee over the sheer mention of the word studio. While Sunset Bronson Studios may not be the original "MADtv" home we all knew and loved for twelve years, I think it has to be considered a major step up from the Henry Fonda Music Box Theater. Unlike that almost roundly hated facility, Sunset Bronson will probably not inspire fans to wish all season long for a well-placed wrecking ball to find its way into the exterior walls. Enjoy your new and (we assume) vastly improved, home, you crazy Season 14 cast members, you!

Fittingly, we will conclude this "full scoop" update by reminding you of all the cast members who will be enjoying these new quarters during Season 14 of "MADtv," as well as providing you with a recap of those who will not. Established series regulars who will help provide the Season 14 fun are Crista Flanagan, Keegan-Michael Key, Bobby Lee, Arden Myrin, Nicole Parker, and Johnny Sanchez. Joining them will be new series regular Matt Braunger and three new featured players, Erica Ash, Eric Price, and Lauren Pritchard. Sadly, we have been forced at gunpoint to accept the departures of Season 13 featured players Daheli Hall, Anjelah Johnson, and Dan Oster; five-year veteran Jordan Peele; and the show's longest-running cast member ever, ten-year stalwart Michael McDonald. All in all, it will be very interesting to see how everything unfolds come September 13th. Can you handle the anticipation? I know I can. Season 14 of "MADtv," the world awaits.

As the anticipation for Season 14 of "MADtv" builds to a whimpering crescendo, let the discussion of its sordid details commence in earnest. If, like me, you have already moistened several pairs of Hanes with pleasure juice over what will be yet another abbreviated season, then you are already in the perfect frame of mind to receive the following newsworthy tidbits regarding the upcoming season, few though they may be at this time. For now, we have confirmation on at least one fan favorite's definite return, as well as a truckload of speculation about a few other cast members' Season 14 fates. Now that I have you on the edge of your bean-bag chair, the one littered with Cheetos and dandruff, let us begin dissecting who will be doing what next season.

Perhaps the only truly humane way to begin this discussion of the cast members' futures is to let all of you Crista Flanagan fans ("Flanboys"?) off the hook. Allow me to assuage your many fears by reassuring you that your favorite Krumpin' Klown; nervous standup comic; and curly, wet dream will indeed be back for Season 14. Granted, this news comes as hardly a shock to any fan who has been paying close attention. After all, this will be Crista's fifth season on "MADtv," her fourth as a full-time repertory player; and her popularity seems to grow exponentially with each passing season. At any rate, if you love you some Crista, then get ready to love her some more in the not-so-distant future.

Other than the assurance of Crista's return, however, we have nothing concrete to report at this time. Still, permit me to remind you of some other casting possibilities, especially since we have nothing better to do right now. Although Bobby Lee originally indicated that Season 13 would be his last (see this thread if you need a refresher course), we have a fair amount of reason to believe that he could in fact change his mind. Therefore, suffice it to say that if Bobby dashes your Season 14 hopes by daring to stick around for a little while longer, then you have had ample warning in this regard. Also, since Nicole Parker, a five-season cast member, is sticking around for eight Season 14 episodes per a rumored power play by the higher-ups (read up here), we should not be at all surprised if the show's other remaining five-seasoners, Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, are around next season for a similar number of episodes. In other words, aside from the certain returns of Nicole and Crista, the only thing we can be certain of at this time is our uncertainty. Par for the course, dead grass and all.

The good news, though, is that we will not have to wait much longer for the final spiked shoe to drop; for the Season 14 cast will be finalized in mid-June. The accompanying bad news, naturally, is that those who are anticipating further news on the aforementioned cast members, as well as word on the fates of other cast members not mentioned here, will have a little more waiting to do. Simply put, if you want the hot scoops on these comings and goings before they cool off, then stay tuned to Planet MADtv for further updates.

With MADtv's thirteenth season now behind us (along with, we can only hope, most of the unfavorable changes that came with it), the show's cast has turned its attention to a variety of summer side-projects. As we await this year's customary batch of information leaks about the upcoming season, let's take a moment to examine what's in the cards for the lovely Crista Flanagan, shall we?

From Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, the creative visionaries who brought you such non-invasive lobotomy substitutes as Scary Movie, Scary Movie 2, Scary Movie 3, Scary Movie 4, Date Movie, Epic Movie, and Meet the Spartans, comes what's sure to be their latest low-cost, high-grossing box-office smash, Disaster Movie -- a title film critics will surely have a field day with, and one that reads like a Simon Cowell zinger just waiting to happen. Details on the upcoming train-wreck are sparse at this time, but we're able to confirm that poor, poor Crista (who, we can only assume, lost a bet with these two somewhere along the line) has been cast as, appropriately enough, a very pregnant Juno -- the titular character from last year's indie film of the same name. What kind of jimmity-jams will Juno find herself in this time around? Well, word on the street, homeslice, is that this disaster-in-the-making centers on a group of young friends -- Juno, hopefully, among them -- who, when every known natural disaster hits town on the same night, are tasked with making their way to safety and solving a series of mysteries to end the destruction. Joining Crista in her adventures -- adventures, of course, that will surely amount to little more than the glue between hackneyed parody after hackneyed parody -- are Nicole Parker and Ike Barinholtz, both of whom were brought in to play indeterminate roles. It seems safe to assume that their trademark Britney Spears and Dane Cook impressions will make an appearance at some point -- after all, what film about disasters would be complete without those two? -- but again, we have nothing concrete to go on at this time. Beyond that, if past Friedberg/Seltzer joints are any indication, it's entirely possible that one or more of the three could end up playing additional parts as well, which begs the question: Who else just voided their bowels in excitement?

Originally slated to primarily be a parody of Superbad, this Carmen Electra, Kim Kardashian, and Vanessa Minnillo-fronted effort -- because, after all, who better to play the leads in a comedy than a Playboy model, a vapid socialite, and one of the many post-Carson Daly hosts of "TRL"? -- has, apparently, drifted far, far away from its roots. Of course, then again, maybe it hasn't -- perhaps Superbad is, in fact, still a key theme. Who knows? With an official plot synopsis of "a group of young friends embark on a wacky, life-changing adventure", one gets the feeling that not even Friedberg and Seltzer know what they're doing this time around and are simply making things up as they go along. In any case, Disaster Movie hits theaters on August 29th, and will surely hit your local Blockbuster's bargain bin shortly thereafter. If you're a fan of Crista, Nicole, or Ike, be sure to check this one out at some point -- preferably when a "fast forward" button is in reach. Oh, and if you're a fan of the film's directors, be sure to grab the nearest gun and put a bullet in your head. We at Planet MADtv thank you for your cooperation.

On the complete opposite end of the artistic integrity spectrum comes word that AMC's "Mad Men" has been renewed for a second season spanning thirteen episodes, and guess who's returning to reprise her role as Lois Sadler? If you said "Nicole Parker", I'd recommend taking another glance at the title of the article you're currently reading and, perhaps, developing some small semblance of short-term memory. Since its debut last summer, "Mad Men" has been a darling of both critics and the general public alike, and has already won numerous awards, including an Art Directors Guild award for the episode "Shoot" -- one of two episodes Crista appeared in last season. Despite being quite the work of art herself, it's hard to imagine she in any way factored into the award committee's decision; still, there's always this year to make an impression. Season 2 of "Mad Men" premieres on July 27th, so if you're a fan of Crista or just plain ol' good television in general, be sure to mark this one on your calendar! Will Lois make any further progress in her quest to get into the pants of closeted homosexual, Salvatore Romano? Will the show's hair & makeup department bestow upon her a hairdo that accentuates rather than downplays her immense beauty? Will she receive more than five minutes of screen-time throughout the entire season this time around? The answers to all these questions and more will be revealed this summer/fall on AMC! It's once again unknown at this point in which episodes our bright-eyed belle will appear, but this post will, of course, be updated as further details come in.

To those who were hoping to learn of Crista's status for Season 14 of MADtv here, I'm afraid we have nothing to report at this time. Word can't be too far off now, though, so be sure to stay tuned to Planet MADtv for further updates! Unless the powers that be choose to announce this year's cast lineup the moment it's finalized (hint: they won't), we will, as always, be the first site to carry the news!