Tuning In

It’s a celebration

Billy Crystal and new Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez will drop by “The Late Show” tonight to wish David Letterman a happy 57th birthday.

Mr. Crystal, a Bronx Bomber booster, is making his 14th visit to “The Late Show,” which airs at 11:35 weeknights on CBS. For the man known as A-Rod, the appearance marks his first visit to the Ed Sullivan Theater since joining the Yankees in one of the biggest trades in baseball history.

Kimmel in D.C.

Jimmy Kimmel finally is joining the District’s late-night lineup.

“Jimmy Kimmel Live” debuted about 15 months ago throughout most of the country, but not in the nation’s capital. Local ABC affiliate WJLA didn’t air the new late-night show for months because of scheduling conflicts.

The hourlong show, airing weeknights at 12:05 a.m., replaces “Extra” and “Celebrity Justice” and will follow hard-news stalwart “Nightline.”

Tonight, Mr. Kimmel welcomes actor-musician Bow Wow, who is appearing in the film “Johnson Family Vacation.” His co-star, Vanessa L. Williams; “Friends” co-star Matthew Perry; and actor Michael Madsen will pay Mr. Kimmel visits later this week.

The genial but sly Mr. Kimmel previously served as co-host of “Win Ben Stein’s Money” and “The Man Show,” both on cable’s Comedy Central.

Berry finds ’God’

Oprah Winfrey is getting back into the film-producing game, and she’s taking Oscar-winner Halle Berry along for the ride.

ABC and Miss Winfrey are moving forward with production on “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” a TV movie starring Miss Berry, Reuters News Agency reports.

The film, more than two years in development, will co-star Silver Spring native Michael Ealy (“Barbershop”), Tony-winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson and Emmy-winner Ruby Dee in the Harpo Films project, adapted from Zora Neale Hurston’s 1937 novel.

Miss Berry will play Janie Crawford, a free-spirited 1920s woman whose search for identity and happiness through three marriages with very different men puts her in opposition to the mores of her small Florida town.

Mr. Santiago-Hudson will play Janie’s ambitious second husband, who forces her into submission and often beats her. Mr. Ealy co-stars as husband No. 3, the first man to truly love and respect her.

Production on the movie has begun in Los Angeles for a premiere during the 2004-05 season under ABC’s “Oprah Winfrey Presents” banner.

Miss Winfrey will serve as an executive producer along with Quincy Jones, who was a producer on Steven Spielberg’s 1985 film “The Color Purple,” which co-starred Miss Winfrey. Suzan-Lori Parks (“Topdog/ Underdog”), the first black woman playwright to win the Pulitzer Prize, wrote the script.

Hanson redux

Don’t the members of Hanson realize that aging boy bands are meant to fade away, not reinvent themselves as maturing musicians?

VH1 chronicles the band’s attempt at a comeback with “All Access Spotlight: Hanson,” which follows the brothers as they reunite to cut their new album, “Underneath.”

The special debuts tonight at 11.

The band sold 15 million records worldwide and earned three Grammy nominations before stepping away from the spotlight. The new release, four years in the making, came about after the brothers formed their own label (3CG Records) to ensure control over their music — and their future.

The young men are getting a little help in their comeback. Matthew Sweet co-wrote the title track for “Underneath,” and Michelle Branch, who used to belong to Hanson’s online fan club, sings backing vocals. Also look for Samaire Armstrong from Fox’s “The O.C.” in the band’s new video for the song “Penny & Me.”

Compiled by Christian Toto from staff and wire reports.