Tuning In

Royal gambit

Alicia Silverstone hasn’t given up on television despite the tepid reception her romantic drama “Miss Match” drew on NBC last year.

The attractive actress has signed to star in “Queen B,” a Fox comedy sitcom being developed by former “Seinfeld” scribe Jennifer Crittenden, Reuters News Agency reports.

The sitcom centers on Beatrice (Miss Silverstone), a twentysomething single who was the “queen bee” in high school, but now realizes the skills that once kept her on top don’t work in the real world.

“It’s kind of a character that we’re used to seeing men play, and I’m really excited about it being a woman who is totally self-absorbed and immature and charming enough to get away with it,” said Miss Crittenden, who is writing the pilot script.

That’s progress, we suppose.

Miss Silverstone, who executive produces the ABC Family animated series “Braceface,” next appears in the feature comedy “Beauty Shop.”

Miss Crittenden’s “Seinfeld” credits include the “Apology” episode starring James Spader, and the “Burning” episode where Elaine learns her boyfriend is a devout Christian. She also worked on “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “The Simpsons.”

Back to ’Schoolhouse’

A generation of children learned the nuts and bolts behind government, science and grammar via those animated snippets known as “Schoolhouse Rocks.”

Now those tuneful ’toons are returning to the airwaves, courtesy of Toon Disney.

The Emmy Award-winning shorts begin airing today after the channel’s weeknight animated feature at 5 p.m.

Viewers can sing along with such favorites as “I’m Just A Bill,” “Conjunction Junction” and “Interjections!”

The shorts, which originally aired on ABC from 1973 to 1985, combine animation, catchy tunes and memorable lyrics to make learning more enjoyable.

Sundance leans left

The folks behind the Sundance Channel make no bones about which candidate they’re rooting for tomorrow.

The indie network trots out a “greatest hits” sampler of Bush-bashing documentaries tonight for its election eve schedule.

First up is “Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election” at 7 p.m., followed by “Uncovered: The Whole Truth about the War in Iraq” and “Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties”; the latter two from progressive filmmaker Robert Greenwald.

The cable channel will broadcast the recent film documentary “Bush’s Brain,” a profile of key presidential adviser Karl Rove at 10:10 p.m.

Elsewhere, cable’s IFC gets into the act as well, broadcasting director David O. Russell’s short documentary “Soldier’s Pay” tonight at 9:35, followed by a rebroadcast at midnight.

The 35-minute program was to be released on DVD along with “Three Kings.” Warner Bros., however, decided against packaging it together and allowed Mr. Russell to find a different distribution channel. The film documents American soldiers, as well as Iraqis, talking about their experiences during and after the invasion of Iraq.

LeAnn’s ’Star’ rises

Next season’s “Nashville Star” contestants won’t have to look far for inspiration.

Country singer LeAnn Rimes has been tapped to host the third season of USA Network’s “American Idol” goes country program.

Miss Rimes, who performed as a special guest on the show’s second season finale in May, succeeds Nancy O’Dell, USA announced last week.

“As a singer and songwriter, I have great admiration for many of the budding stars who come to try their hand at performing and can relate to the hopes and aspirations of all the contestants, no matter how good or bad,” Miss Rimes said on her Web site.

The reality talent show pits country music singing hopefuls against each other in an “Idol” style showdown. The first episodes of the third season are set to begin airing on March 25.

Miss Rimes lives with her husband, Dean Shereme, in Nashville, Tenn., where the show is based. The 22-year-old singer is promoting her new Christmas album, “What a Wonderful World.” Her next studio album, “This Woman,” is set for release on Jan. 25.

Compiled by Christian Toto from staff and wire reports.