Fox takes run at musical comedy

The Fox network is making a musical comedy, a somewhat unusual project for prime-time television.

Fox said Tuesday it had ordered 13 episodes of “Glee,” a scripted series about a high school teacher trying to transform a glee club into a national power.

The characters include a diva-in-training, a nerdy soprano and a quarterback who tries to stay cool while singing. At least three musical numbers will be performed in each show.

Sound familiar? The success of the movie franchise “High School Musical” proved youngsters don’t consider musicals an anachronism.

Fox said the series will appear sometime in 2009.

‘Today’ goes nighttime

Four hours in the morning apparently isn’t enough: NBC’s “Today” show is going prime-time, for one night only.

Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira, Al Roker and Ann Curry will host a one-hour review on Dec. 22 of the year’s biggest news events.

It won’t be strictly serious; the show will include big moments in pop culture and “Today” show bloopers.

It’s the first time “Today” has tried something like this in more than a decade.

Image hosts: Berry, Perry

Fox TV says Halle Berry and actor-screenwriter Tyler Perry will host the 40th NAACP Image Awards in February.

Nominations for the Image Awards, which honor those who promote diversity in the arts, will be announced Jan. 7.

The Feb. 12 event, airing on Fox, will launch a yearlong centennial celebration for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Berry, an Academy Award-winner for “Monster’s Ball,” and Perry, whose credits include the film “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” are former Image Award winners.