The Friday TV Report: Jeanine Mason wins "So You Think You Can Dance"

I give you the five coolest news items of the week: Cubana Jeanine Mason wins So You Think You Can Dance, Eva Longoria Parker makes a fortune, and a sexy Latina visits a Cougar Town. Plus, Kirk Acevedo visits a parallel universe, while Nestor Carbonell gets Lost in Hawaii—all over again!

1. Cuban Champ: Last night, the foxy Jeanine Mason, 18, made history by becoming the first Cuban (and only the second female dancer in contest history) to win the title of “America’s Favorite Dancer,” on Fox’s summer hit show, So You Think You Can Dance, season 5. The contemporary dancer from Miami beat out favorite Brandon Bryant for the title, and won a hefty $250,000 in cash! The best part? Jeanine plans to attend UCLA to major in journalism. A great dancer and an academic? Maybe she’s the next Sonia Sotomayor too!

2. Rich Housewife: Speaking of winners, this week’s TV Guide cover story: "Who Earns What? TV’s Biggest Paychecks Revealed!” listed the top TV earners by category: Drama, late night, news, reality TV and comedy. Of the 40+ names that made the cut, only one—Eva Longoria Parker—was Latin. My thoughts? At least we have one! While I was bummed that America Ferrera didn’t make the list, I was pleasantly surprised by how much Gaby Solis (Parker) claims for each episode of Desperate Housewives. Can you guess? All right, I’ll just tell you: According to the magazine, Parker makes $400,000 per episode—the same amount made per episode by each of her co-stars: Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross and Felicity Huffman. You go, girl!

3. New Chica on the Block: This week on her blog, Korbi Ghosh of Korbi TV reported that Latina Yasmin Deliz has joined the cast of the ABC comedy Cougar Town (starring Courtney Cox Arquette), where she’ll play a character named Nezzie, a friend of Busy Phillip’s character, Laurie. Deliz, 22, a Dominican-Colombian reggaeton singer-songwriter (who is also a model and actress) is perhaps best known for her work as the co-host on mun2’s music video countdown show Vivo, or more likely, for her role as the star of the New Kids on the Block’s 2008 music video for their song “Single,” which also featured Ne-Yo. She also starred in the crime film Next Day Air.

4: My beef of the week: No matter how many times I hear somebody at FOX (be it the President of the Studio, or an Executive Producer on Fringe) say that Kirk Acevedo didn’t get fired from the Fox series, I still don’t believe a word of it. Now, Eonline.com is reporting that something “heartrending happens with Charlie” in the September 17 premier of Fringe’s second season. “That is going to be a continuing storyline throughout the season. It should thrill. Nobody ever really disappears, and they could come back at any time. There is a parallel universe. Maybe [Charlie] will show up [there]. I get that Kirk’s character will be appearing in a “parallel universe,” and all, but you still haven’t told me if he’ll be back as a series regular?

5. Lost and Found: ABC’s Lost has located Nestor Carbonell! TVGuideMagazine.com reports that Carbonell, who plays Richard Alpert on the show, will become a series regular next season (the show’s last). Carbonell tells the magazine: "I'm moving my whole family to Hawaii next week…This whole time I've been flying back and forth, but now I'll be living on the island with the others. They tell me I'll be in 16 of the 18 episodes." Adds the actor: "Obviously Richard doesn't age, so I'm most curious to know how old he is and if he's in fact pulling the strings." Here’s a new nickname for you Nestor: The Latino Benjamin Button.

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