Tuning In

’Folk’s’ fourth

Before “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” made homosexuality a benchmark for style, Showtime’s “Queer as Folk” showed the complexities within the homosexual community.

The unapologetically raw drama returns for its fourth season, with the first of 14 new episodes debuting Sunday evening at 10 on Showtime.

The show, whose success prompted the cable channel to create “The L Word” — a drama centering on lesbian characters — focuses on the love lives of a group of homosexual men and women living in Pittsburgh. Returning cast members include Hal Sparks, Robert Gant, Thea Gill and Sharon Gless of “Cagney & Lacey” fame.

The network promises viewers that a “life-changing event” will occur by season’s end.

’Spartacus’ reborn

“ER’s” Goran Visnjic tries on Kirk Douglas’ toga for size in a two-part remake of “Spartacus.”

The miniseries, which begins at 8 p.m. Sunday on USA Network, casts the Croatian actor as the slave who leads a revolt in ancient Rome.

The second installment airs Monday evening at the same time.

The original film, made in 1960 and directed by Stanley Kubrick with Mr. Douglas in the title role, won four Academy Awards, including a best supporting actor Oscar for the late Peter Ustinov.

Carey-ing on

Drew Carey is returning to television as part of a live-action/animated improv show, Reuters News Agency reports.

The WB Network has given the green light to “Green Screen,” which calls for the cast to film in front of a green screen several improv games involving topics and settings suggested by the audience.

In post-production, the audience suggestions will be brought to life through different animation styles. For example, the producers might insert the actors into the skit in an animated version of the theme (or environment) pitched by the audience, such as a barbershop or a soda can.

Mr. Carey, who created the show, is executive producing with Ron Diamond, the CEO of Acme Filmworks, which will provide the animation for the green screen effects.

While the premise of “Green Screen” bears some similarity to a recurring segment on ABC’s improv comedy “Whose Line is it Anyway?” (also hosted and executive-produced by Mr. Carey) the new show is not a spinoff of “Whose Line,” which ended its five-year run on ABC last year, said Mike Clements, the WB’s co-executive vice president for comedy development.

“This is something that’s completely different, sort of taking improv in a new interesting direction,” Mr. Clements said. “It’s got a unique twist to that genre that’s never been tried before, and it feels like a really good experiment to try.”

The cast of the project includes “Whose Line” and “The Drew Carey Show” alumni Colin Mochrie, Kathy Kinney, Brad Sherwood, Jeff Davis, Charles Esten, Jonathan Mangum, Greg Proops and Sean Masterson, with Ryan Stiles set to guest star in the pilot.

Mason’s ’Shot’

Marsha Mason and Paul Le Mat headline a new made-for-Hallmark film this weekend inspired by the true tale of a blind horse.

“The Long Shot,” co-starring Julie Benz (“Angel”), premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. on the Hallmark Channel.

The movie, directed by Georg Stanford Brown (of “Roots” and “The Rookies” fame), follows a young family stranded in a strange town after the father takes off one day. Annie (Miss Benz) makes ends meet by riding her horse, Tolo, in local competitions but tragedy strikes when the horse is blinded.

Still, that won’t stop Annie from keeping her family together.

Jane’s new ’Carol’

Tony-winner Jane Krakowski has joined the cast of NBC’s “A Christmas Carol,” an upcoming movie musical based on the annual stage production at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Reuters reports.

The former “Ally McBeal” star will play the Ghost of Christmas Past. Filming is scheduled to begin in June in Budapest with an eye on a November premiere. The production also will star Kelsey Grammer (“Frasier”) as Ebenezer Scrooge, Jesse L. Martin (an original cast member of Broadway’s “Rent” and now a co-star on NBC’s “Law & Order”) and “Seinfeld’s” Jason Alexander.

As if that gig weren’t enough, Miss Krakowski also headlines the CBS comedy pilot “Taste,” currently a contender for a slot on the network’s fall schedule.

The actress followed up her five-year stint on “Ally McBeal” by winning a Tony Award last year for her work in “Nine,” a revival of the 1982 Broadway musical based on Federico Fellini’s 1963 film “8½.”

Compiled by Christian Toto from staff and wire reports.