"Spamalot" tops Olivier nominations

LONDON — The sublimely silly Monty Python musical "Spamalot" dominated nominations for the 2007 Laurence Olivier Awards, with nods in seven categories, including best new musical.

Nominations for the prizes, which honor the best of the London stage, were announced Thursday.

"Spamalot" is based on "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"; it won three Tony Awards on Broadway.

The show gained a best-actor Olivier nomination for Tim Curry, who returned to the London stage after a 19-year absence.

An acclaimed production of Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park With George" took six nominations, including actor (Daniel Evans), actress (Jenna Russell) and director (Sam Buntrock) in a musical.

A revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's "Evita" gained four, including actor (Philip Quast) and actress (Elena Roger).

The winners will be announced Feb. 8.

For a complete list, see www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk.

"Heroes" gets early pickup

PASADENA, Calif. — NBC has given the first-year hit "Heroes" an early pickup for the 2007-08 season.

Three other series — comedies "My Name Is Earl" and "The Office" and long-running drama "Law & Order: SVU" — also got the go-ahead for next season.

"Heroes," which returns from hiatus next week, has also added one more episode to its order for this season, bringing the total to 23.

More NBC news

PASADENA, Calif. — New shows getting spring tryouts on NBC are:

• "Thank God You're Here," in which improvisational comedy actors are thrown into costumes, sets and situations they know nothing about.

• "Raines" stars Jeff Goldblum as a troubled cop who imagines conversations with dead people.

• "The Black Donnellys" follows young, Irish-American brothers in a power struggle in the New York City crime scene.

• "Andy Barker, P.I." will get a trial run on Thursdays. It has Andy Richter as an accountant who accidentally becomes a detective.

Irwin show, tribute are simulcast

"Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin's last special will be simulcast on Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel at 8 p.m. Sunday.

The show stresses how skilled Irwin was at his chosen work, and how responsibly he approached it.

Irwin was killed last September. The producers deal with his death separately, in a 30-minute tribute show that follows the special at 9:30.

Compiled from The Associated Press, Zap2it.com, Gannet News Service and New York Daily News