ABC's 'Lost' Star Naveen Andrews Predicts Short Run for Hit Show

"Lost's" Naveen Andrews is looking over film prospects to do over hiatus time, but notes, "It all depends on whether the dates work around the series. When ABC owns you, they own you.

A short stint for 'Lost?'

I'd think they'd be loathe to let you off and do movies when they could be squeezing your life blood.

There's a huge season finale May 7 to promote," he adds.
 
The candid Andrews doesn't foresee a long future for his hit mystery drama. "To me, it's always been the kind of show I couldn't imagine going as long as 'Friends' -- three, maybe four season at the very most. Surely after the third season it really will be scraping bottom."

He shrugs. "Maybe not."
 
Andrews spent last hiatus in Morocco and Hungary making ABC's lavish, brutal, non-traditional treatment of "The 10 Commandments," which airs April 10 and 11, with Dougray Scott as Moses and Andrews as his Egyptian family member-turned-enemy, Menerith. He's starting to feel the wear and tear.
 
"To be honest, I've only realized the way I've been working over the last three or four weeks. It's starting to sink in that I didn't take any time off last year. I might do that this time around. It's a new thing for me to sustain a role for two years. The longest I played a part before was four months."
 
CLOUDS ON THE HORIZON:

With the future of her "Everybody Hates Chris" series assured as a headliner on the new CW network -- after the pending merger of UPN and the WB -- Tichina Arnold admits she has decidedly mixed feelings.
 
"I'm very happy to know 'Everybody Hates Chris' is part of the new programming. It's exhilarating to relaunch the show," she says of the award-winning comedy created, executive produced and narrated by Chris Rock, with Tyler James Williams playing the young Chris. "UPN and Paramount have been very into making sure it's promoted and marketed right. There's a wonderful synergy around the show. "The problem is the flip side," acknowledges Tichina, who recently took NAACP Image Award honors as Outstanding Actress in a Comedy. "A lot of people woke up the day after the announcement knowing they weren't going to have a job anymore.
 
"Of course, I have my ear to black Hollywood and the black community, and the overall feeling is, here you have 33 slots, 33 opportunities. They're now being condensed to 13, between the WB and UPN, which is where all the African-American shows are," she points out. "There aren't a lot of ethnic shows on the other networks. That's the scary side. The bright side is it creates a whole new door of opportunity. It's just that the odds are a lot higher now, unfortunately."
 
BABIES HAPPEN IN JOLIET:

Christopher Knight and Adrianne Curry are excitedly planning their early summer wedding, which will be highlighted on their VH1 reality show 'My Fair Brady," but the former "Brady Bunch" star says they are in no hurry to start a family. 'We're going to wait a little while. She's young, and she's got a career over the next five to eight years that requires her attention. But then again, she is from Joliet [Illinois], and people there just find that they have babies," said Knight with a laugh outside the fourth annual TV Land Awards.
 
Knight was one of the many veteran TV stars, including the cast of "Cheers," "Dallas," and "Good Times," who picked up an award at the event, hosted by Megan Mullally and airing tonight (3/22).
 
Asked how his wedding plans are coming along, Knight responded, "Slowly, because we didn't have enough time to really do this. We thought we'd have a moderately sized wedding, but this thing has ballooned. It's a huge wedding. Plus, it's an out-of-town wedding. It's back where she's from. I feel like every moment I should be doing something."
 
CLOSELY WATCHED:

Casting forces have been working hard to fill the leading lady role in Nick Lachey's untitled comedy pilot for the new CW network, which is set to roll mid-April. Formerly called "She Said/He Said" the prospective show has the former "Newlyweds" star and husband of Jessica Simpson as bachelor In New York City. He'll meet Sydney, a "tough, smart, attractive" realtor who's had it with "hot, commitment-phobic guys," according to casting sources, and thus, tries to avoid Nick's character -- but will nevertheless begin a courtship with him.

(With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster)