Fox, Roseanne Discussing New Saturday-Night Show

Fox, which has become known as the network for breaking ground and surprising viewers, Wednesday dropped another surprise: It is negotiating with Roseanne to develop a new program.

“Yes, we are having talks with her about developing a late-night show on Saturday night,” said John Matoian, head of Fox entertainment.

Roseanne, who enters her last season next year with her sitcom on ABC, can develop programs to sell to other networks but is limited contractually to appear elsewhere only several times a year. Interviewed several months ago on “Larry King Live,” Roseanne described her project as a kind of “Saturday Night Live” meets MTV.But Matoian said a new show would not replace “MAD TV.”

Matoian said the new show could hit the airwaves before the fall.

Selleck joins ‘Friends’

Tom Selleck, best known to TV viewers as the Hawaii-based “Magnum P.I.,” is returning to television for what could end up being a three-episode run on NBC’s “Friends.”

Selleck will appear in the Feb. 8 episode, titled “The One Where Ross And Rachel … You Know,” playing a divorced eye doctor and family friend of Monica’s (Courteney Cox) parents. Despite the obvious age difference, sparks of the romantic sort fly after Monica caters a party for the hunky doctor.