There are quite a few new and exciting developments that have surfaced lately, but unfortunately, there isn't much information regarding them.

Former castmember Ron Pederson has landed a gig on CBS' "The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson", where he will be featured in various comedy sketches. The show airs Monday through Friday at 12:35 am.

Paul Vogt will be appearing in a production of "Hairspray" at the Luxor Las Vegas, debuting in Febuary.

Frank Caliendo once again needs your vote! Frank is a contender in Comedy Central's "Stand Up Showdown", where fans decide the pecking order of Comedy Central's top 25 stand up comedians. If I recall correctly, Frank was ranked in the top 5 last year. You can vote for Frank to be #1 here or text "CALIENDO" to 91757 to cast your vote via text messaging.

Bobby Lee will be making an appearance in a new film by Chris Chan Lee. From IMDb:

A crime drama set in LA's Koreatown, UNDOING introduces us to Samuel, who returns after a mysterious absence to reconcile the death of his best friend exactly one year ago.

Bobby's character is named Kenny, and you can view the offcial site here.

And finally, Simon Helberg has two upcoming film appearances, the first is in "The TV Set", which is the story of a TV pilot as it is being made, and "For Your Consideration" the latest comedy by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy, in the tradition of "Waiting For Guffman" and "Best In Show". Christopher Guest comedies are in my opinion some of the best movies ever made, and easily my favorite comedies of all time. Will Sasso has had brief appearances in the last two, and while he hasn't been credited in the latest, Simon's appearance should be interesting nonetheless.

2005 was a great year for former and current MADtv castmembers, with almost half the show cast (past and present) getting their "big (post MADtv) break." Hopefully the success of some of Hollywoods most gifted actors and comedians will continue in the new year.

We've been waiting a long time for this, and it's finally surfaced thanks to a bit of sleuthing. The cast changes for the 11th season of MADtv are as follows:

Departing: Spencer Kayden, Ron Pederson, Aries Spears, Paul Vogt

Returning: Ike Barinholtz, Frank Caliendo, Daniele Gaither, Keegan-Michael Key, Bobby Lee, Michael McDonald, Nicole Parker, Jordan Peele, Stephnie Weir

New Castmembers: Arden Myrin, Crista Flanagan

New Featured Players: Frank Caeti, Nicole Randall Johnson

So there you have it. Now, in addition to two Franks in the cast, we also have two Nicoles! Nicole Randall Johnson studied at the Groundlings and has made appearances in tv shows such as CSI, Reno 911!, Felicity and Monk. She also made a brief appearance in the current #1 movie in America, The 40 Year Old Virgin.

And this tiny spoiler comes from FOX.com, outlining what we can expect in the first episode:

For the momentous 11th season premiere, the late-night comedy lampoons Hugh Laurie (Michael McDonald) and the FOX hit HOUSE. The hilarity continues with parodies of Vince Vaughn (Ike Barinholtz) in “Wedding Crashers” and Morgan Freeman (Jordan Peele) in “March of the Penguins” on MADtv airing Saturday, Sept. 17 on FOX.

Don't forget to watch!

As most of you guys know by now, a number of season 10's biggest cast members will not be present for season 11. For some of them, it was a personal decision not to renew their contracts, while others were cut by the producers. Whatever the reason, this is a first glance at what the cast will look like as of right now:

Departing Cast: Ron Pederson, Aries Spears, Paul Vogt and Stephnie Weir.

Returning Cast: Ike Barinholtz, Frank Caliendo, Crista Flanagan, Daniele Gaither, Keegan-Michael Key, Bobby Lee, Michael McDonald, Nicole Parker and Jordan Peele.

In addition to the cast mentioned above, for the first time ever on MADtv there will be two African American female cast members. When I recently spoke to Debra Wilson, she informed me that a new black female has been added to the cast for season 11. She's got an improv background like Daniele and performed with Groundlings. I'm not sure of her name yet, but I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. I have not heard yet if Spencer has been added to the regular cast, but we'll find out very soon I'm sure.

Thanks to forum member mrekim as well as Debra Wilson and Mo Collins for updating us with this information.

Thanks to MJB12 for the heads up.

According to this FutonCritic.com press release, there will only be five more new episodes of MADtv this season; 23 episodes in total instead of the normal 25.

The April 23rd episode (#1019) has no guest star announced, but will include a "Pimp My Ride" parody entitled "Pimp My Bride", with Jordan Peele as the host, Xzibit.

In the April 30th episode (#1020) we will see the second return of Artie Lange this season in a parody of Inside the Actors Studio, with Paul Vogt as host James Lipton.

In the first episode of May Sweeps (#1021) on May 7th, Arrested Development's Tony Hall and Michael Cera take a late-night break from the Bluths to provide a sophisticated accent and look in a British version of COPS - "C.O.N.S.T.A.B.L.E.S."

Ryan Reynolds' appearance that was canned a few months ago will finally surface in the episode before the season finale (#1022), on May 14th. He will appear in a new installment of "The B.S," where he plays a new security guard who wears really tight pants.

And as the season draws to a close, we will once again see Nicole Sullivan return for a season finale, along with the star of "Joan of Arcadia," Amber Tamblyn. This season finale (#1023) will air on May 21st.

And there you have it. Seems that some of the forum members predictions that this season might be cut short was true after all. However, it's only two episodes, and the new season is not too far away.

The MADtv cast is back a second time to do not one, but two shows at the 8th Annual Chicago Improv Festival. The entire cast will not be back, but the performance will headline five cast members: Mo Collins, Keegan-Michael Key, Michael McDonald, Ron Pederson and Paul Vogt. The cast will be the main act with an opening featuring the MADtv writers, who are also performing for the second time. Last year the annual live festival featured 120 hilarious live acts, ensembles from nine countries and more than 700 improv and sketch performers. The full list is not yet up this year, but I'm sure it will be just as impressive considering over 200 groups from around the world submitted material hoping to be picked for the show. The festival runs from April 22nd - May 1st. Here's a list of the days that feature the cast of MADtv:

Friday, April 29th - 7pm - $25

• MADtv Improv Jam
  Featuring Mo Collins, Keegan-Michael Key, Michael McDonald, Ron Pederson and Paul Vogt.
• Also featuring MADtv's Writers on Hiatus

Saturday, April 30th - 7pm - $25

• MADtv Improv Jam
  Featuring Mo Collins, Keegan-Michael Key, Michael McDonald, Ron Pederson and Paul Vogt.
• Also featuring MADtv's Writers on Hiatus

Don't forget to also check out Mo Collins' One-Woman Show, as previously announced. There may be more performances that could include MADtv cast members, they don't have the full list up yet. You may also notice that the SNL writers are having an event. For more info, visit CIF's Official Site. No ticket info is available at this time.

I can't wait, I'm definitely going again this year. Hope to see some of you guys there as well!

According to businesswire.com, Daniele Gaither and Paul Vogt will be judging a Halloween costume contest.

The heart of West Hollywood--Santa Monica Boulevard--will once again be pulsing with excitement on Halloween night as hundreds of thousands of Halloween revelers are expected to flock to the famous Boulevard for the 2004 West Hollywood Halloween Costume Carnaval on Sunday, October 31, 2004 from 6 p.m. to 12 midnight. This year, self-proclaimed "D-List" diva Kathy Griffin will be crowned Queen of the Carnaval. The Costume Carnaval will be held along Santa Monica Boulevard between Doheny Drive and La Cienega Boulevard. Admission is free.

The Costume Stage will feature the Costume Contest Grand Finals, a culmination of a week of costume contests held in the City of West Hollywood and throughout Southern California. Prizes will be awarded for Best Individual Costume, Best Group Costume and Most Creative Costume. The Costume Stage will be located on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Larrabee. For the eighth year in a row, comedian Ann Farthing, the "Ultimate Mistress of Ceremonies," will provide color commentary for the costume contest. Guest Judges for the contest include cast members from MADTV, Daniele Gaither and Paul Vogt.

The West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval is the Los Angeles area's second largest event, second only to the Rose Parade. The West Hollywood Halloween Celebraton is one of the nation's largest gay and lesbian Halloween parties, attracting visitors from all over the country. Entertainment will include Klimaxx, Jody Watley, Nina Sky and the M-80's.

Thanks to Raphaela for bringing this to my attention, and for also allowing me to see the segment.

On Thursday's (9/2/04) edition of E! News Live, reporter Jason Feinberg took a look behind the scenes at MADtv studios as the Season 10 cast prepared for an upcoming photo shoot for Entertainment Weekly. The 2 page spread, acknowledging MADtv's 10 year history, will hit news stand on Friday (9/3/04). Some of the featured impressions in the segment were Clay Aiken (Ron), Michael Moore (Paul), Eve (Daniele), Judy Garland (Nicole) and Rod Roddy (Frank) as well as Characters including Dot (Stephnie) and Coach Hines (Keegan).

Be sure to pick up a copy of Entertainment Weekly on Friday, and anyone who is able to scan the spread for the rest of the forum members, who perhaps can't get their hands on it, will win a special prize.

According to an article in the Futon Critic, the season 10 cast is as follows:

Returning Cast: Ike Barnholtz, Frank Caliendo, Bobby Lee, Michael McDonald, Ron Pederson, Aries Spears, Paul Vogt and Stephnie Weir

New Regular Cast: Daniele Gaither, Keegan- Michael Key, Nicole Parker, Jordan Peele

Departing Cast: Mo Collins, Josh Meyers, Melissa Paull, Gillian Vigman

Final Cast: Ike Barinholtz, Frank Caliendo, Daniele Gaither, Keegan- Michael Key, Bobby Lee, Michael McDonald, Nicole Parker, Ron Pederson, Jordan Peele, Aries Spears, Paul Vogt and Stephnie Weir

Tune into the Season 10 premiere on September 18th!