Three ‘Nightline’ co-anchors will succeed Koppel

ABC is making a 3-for-1 swap with its late-night news program “Nightline,” naming a trio of anchors to replace the outgoing Ted Koppel.

Cynthia McFadden, Martin Bashir and Terry Moran will become co-anchors of the show starting Nov. 28. Moran, the chief White House correspondent for ABC News, will report from Washington, where Koppel has been based, while Bashir and McFadden will anchor from New York.

The show also will switch to covering multiple stories each night rather than exploring one topic per half-hour.

McFadden is a co-anchor of ABC’s newsmagazine “Primetime” and will continue to contribute to that show. Bashir, who came to the network’s “20/20” last year after working for ITV in Great Britain, is best known for his documentary “Living with Michael Jackson.”

Sorkin back at NBC

Two years after leaving “The West Wing” over creative and production issues, writer Aaron Sorkin is returning to NBC.

The network has ordered a pilot from Sorkin and fellow “West Wing” alum Thomas Schlamme about the backstage dealings on a network sketch-comedy show not unlike NBC’s own “Saturday Night Live.”

The series, called “Studio 7 on the Sunset Strip,” will deal with the conflicts between cast and crew and the larger corporate culture of the network, which is part of a larger conglomerate.

“Studio 7” is similar to another project NBC is developing with “SNL” head writer Tina Fey. That show is a comedy, but it’s also about the goings-on at an “SNL”-like comedy show.

Fox headed to ‘Boston’

Emmy-winning actor Michael J. Fox, whose last TV role was a guest appearance on “Scrubs” more than a year ago, is headed back to the small screen with David E. Kelley.

Fox has signed to guest in three episodes of ABC’s “Boston Legal,” playing a “charismatic and dynamic” CEO who’s also battling Stage 4 lung cancer. Airdates haven’t been scheduled yet.

Fox has been living with Parkinson’s disease for the past 14 years, and in recent years it has limited his ability to put in the long hours often required of movie and TV work.