newsmakers

May 15, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

newsmakers

‘Modern Family’ star Hyland has transplant

NEW YORK

“Modern Family” star Sarah Hyland has had a kidney transplant after a lifetime of pain and fatigue.

The 21-year-old actress, who plays teenager Haley Dunphy on the hit ABC comedy, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” for a report aired Monday that she had the surgery in April.

At age 9, she was diagnosed with abnormal kidney development. The condition often left her exhausted or in pain. But as her health grew worse, she began seeking an organ donor. Her father, actor Edward James Hyland, was a match.

The end is near for NBC’s ‘30 Rock’

LOS ANGELES

NBC confirmed Monday that “30 Rock” would end its seven-season run this season with a final 13 episodes.

Speaking Monday at his network’s upfront presentation at Radio City Music Hall, NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt called the multiple Emmy-winning show “synonymous with wit and originality” and said it would conclude with an hourlong series finale. He later said he thought the series would be “charged up” as it went into its home stretch.

“30 Rock” returned this year in January, its debut delayed by creator and star Tina Fey’s pregnancy.

It led off NBC’s prime-time slot for the first time, airing at the top of the network’s Thursday comedy block at 8 p.m. It will reprise that slot next year.

Spears, Levato join Fox’s ‘X Factor’

NEW YORK

Britney Spears and Demi Lovato are joining the judging panel on “The X Factor” this fall, part of Fox’s effort to boost its underperforming music competition shows.

The network’s executives, in presenting next season’s schedule to advertisers Monday, also promised changes for “American Idol.” While “Idol” remains Fox’s centerpiece, as it has been for the past decade, it has lost a quarter of its audience this year.

Fox is adding two new comedies and a drama in the fall, pumping new life into “Glee” by moving it to a new night with guest stars Kate Hudson and Sarah Jessica Parker and touting a midseason drama starring Kevin Bacon as “the new ‘24.’”

The Spears announcement overshadowed the others. Despite weeks of rumors, it wasn’t official until she strode onto New York’s Beacon Theater stage wearing a white minidress, accompanied by show creator Simon Cowell and fellow judges Lovato and L.A. Reid.

“I’m so excited about the whole experience,” Spears said. “It’s going to be so much fun and different from anything I’ve ever done. I’m ready to find the true star.”

Lovato said she was “totally stoked” to join the cast.

They replace judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger, who were dispatched along with host Steve Jones after last fall’s debut season of the competition didn’t meet the creator’s expectations.

Vindicator wire services