TV

FOX is not giving up without a fight because we've learned they have come back into the "American Idol" bidding war with what one source connected with the negotiations called an "over-the-top offer."

TMZ broke the story ... ABC is far, far along in making a deal to reboot the show for a March 2018 launch. The deal isn't signed but ABC hopes to announce the show at the Upfronts in about a week.

Not so fast. Our sources say FOX was unaware ABC was so far along until TMZ posted our story, and it has now made an offer that is richer than ABC's.

We're told the co-owners of the show, Core and Fremantle, are open to both options and it's all about the deal.

Our sources say both networks want Ryan Seacrest as the host, and we're told Ryan's deal with ABC for 'Live' with Kelly allows him to pursue other projects. As we reported, he could fly back and forth and do both shows, but it would be borderline super-human.

Australian Parliament member Graham Perrett says the combination of sushi and HBO's "Veep" almost killed him, and he has the scars to prove it.

Perrett was sitting at home with his wife watching season 6, episode 1 when he laughed so hard at one of the jokes ... well, he tells the story better than us.

Check out the scene ... it's pretty damn funny.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus was not a believer when she heard the story, but when you think about it ... it's high praise.

"American Idol" is all but certainly coming back on the air in March 2018, and even though it looks like Ryan Seacrest is out of the picture as host ... we've learned he's not out of the picture ... at all.

TMZ broke the story ... ABC wants the show and is far along in the negotiations with Fremantle, which produces the show. We're told ABC wants to announce it at the Upfronts a week from next.

As for Ryan ... as we reported, ABC inquired last week if the show could be shot in NYC, where he now has a full-time gig with Kelly Ripa. ABC wanted it NYC-based so Ryan could host, but Fremantle fired back that the show had to be shot in L.A.

So, it's impossible for Ryan to do the 'A.I.', right? Not so fast.

We're told Fremantle has always wanted Ryan as the host of the reboot, and it has been pushing ABC to run the show on Sunday nights. Here's how it could work for the 10 weeks 'A.I.' is live.

-- THURSDAYS Ryan does 'Live' with Kelly, and pre-tapes Friday's show. Kelly's been doing a Friday pre-tape for a long time, so that's not a change. Ryan jumps on a private jet early Thursday afternoon for L.A. and has Friday to prep for 'Idol.'

-- SUNDAYS Ryan does 'Idol' live at 8 PM ET, which is 5 PM PT. He jumps on his jet at 7 PM, sleeps for 4 hours and lands in NYC at around 3 AM ET.

-- MONDAYS Ryan does 'Live' at 9 AM ET, jumps in a car by 10:15 for the airport and jumps on his jet before noon for a second trip to L.A. He lands between 2:30 and 3 PM, goes to ABC and shoots the results show at 5 PM. He books it to the airport and is back in the air by 7 PM.

-- TUESDAYS Ryan sleeps on the plane for 4 hours and lands in NYC at around 3 AM ET. He's back on the 'Live' set for a 9 AM show.

His radio show is unaffected.

We're told ABC has not reached out to Ryan, but we know both the network and Fremantle think he's the franchise. There is a sticking point ... sources familiar with the negotiations tell us ABC wants the show on Monday nights opposite "The Voice," which would make this plan impossible for Seacrest, but if ABC capitulates and Fremantle wins the Sunday battle, Ryan is doable.

Newly engaged "Morning Joe" host Mika Brzezinski had her new ice on when she took her dog out for a walk Thursday morning in NYC.

She and fiance, Joe Scarborough, have co-hosted the MSNBC show since 2007, and just went public with their engagement in Vanity Fair. They say Joe proposed in the South of France.

There have been longtime rumors they were dating. Both have kids from previous marriages. Joe ended his in 2013, while Mika split with her husband just over a year ago.

They say they've turned down an offer from President Trump to officiate the wedding.

"American Idol" seems headed for ABC for a March 2018 launch ... sources connected with the negotiations tell TMZ.

TMZ broke the story, ABC made the offer a week ago and asked the owners of the show if it could be moved to NYC so Ryan Seacrest could host, now that he's living there. That idea was quickly nixed and the show will go on in Hollywood.

ABC tells us ... there's no signed deal, but our sources say the negotiations are far along and the fine points are being worked out right now. We're told both sides expect to seal the deal "soon."

We're also told NBC, which made an offer several months ago, is out as a bidder. FOX also made an offer but from everything we're hearing, it's now all about ABC.

Our sources say the plan is for ABC to announce the return of 'Idol' at the Upfronts a week from next.

Stephen Colbert gave the weirdest apology/non-apology in recent memory ... sort of walking back his presidential male-on-male oral sex joke ... seemingly saying gay men who partake are "American Heroes."

Colbert was criticized by some who felt his remark during Monday night's monologue -- "The only thing your mouth [Trump's] is good for is being Vladimir Putin's cock holster" -- was homophobic.

Colbert began Wednesday night's monologue by saying he had "no regrets" about his rant and he'd do it again, but then he walked it back.

"13 Reasons Why" star Brandon Flynn makes a compelling case why parents should DEFINITELY tune in to the super popular, but very controversial, Netflix show.

Brandon was out in NYC Wednesday when we asked about criticism by many parents that the show glorifies teen suicide. It's about a teen who leaves behind 13 audio tapes before committing suicide.

Some schools are warning parents about the show ... imploring them to remind their kids there are professionals out there who will help them face challenges.

Brandon says parents aren't the only ones who should watch.

"Versace: American Crime Story" is going for total authenticity by moving into Gianni Versace's Miami mansion where he was shot and killed.

We're told 'ACS' started filming Wednesday at the mansion, which is now The Villa Casa Casuarina -- a luxury boutique hotel with 10 guest rooms. The FX series -- slated for 10 episodes premiering in 2018 -- is filming there for nearly all of May.

The mansion is obviously pivotal to the show because it's where Andrew Cunanan murdered Versace back in 1997.

It looks like no guests are booking there during filming, and we're told 'ACS' plunked down 6 figures to rent out the location.

Killer deal.

Stephen Colbert launched back into his verbal assault of President Trump ... the day after he caught some heat for calling Trump "Vladimir Putin's c**k holster."

Colbert didn't address any of the backlash against, or support for, his comment. Instead he tackled Trump's phone call with Putin ... suggesting Putin is the voice of reason between the two leaders. It was the opening minute of Tuesday's monologue. Interestingly, it didn't get anywhere near the laughs the c**k joke did.

He also skewered the prez over his media attacks and the First Amendment (starts at 4:54 in the video).

"American Idol" has only been off the air a year, but seems it's still the hottest property out there, because we've learned ABC has now made an offer to buy the show.

Sources at ABC and Fremantle -- the company that produces the show -- tell TMZ the network contacted Fremantle last week and made the bid. We're told the network wanted to reboot the show for a March 2018 premiere.

We're also told ABC inquired about making Ryan Seacrest the host, but even last week the network knew it was on the verge of signing Ryan as co-host of 'Live' with Kelly Ripa. As a result, we're told ABC asked if the show could be shot in New York, which is now Ryan's home base. Our sources say Fremantle made it clear ... NYC was a no-go. The show will be shot in L.A.

We're told Ryan hasn't been approached by ABC about hosting the show and our ABC sources say it's virtually out of the question, given his commitment to 'Live.'

TMZ broke the story ... NBC and FOX were in a bidding war a few months ago to get the show, but Fremantle stopped negotiating because of squabbling with CORE, co-owner of 'A.I.'

Our sources say Fremantle is going back to CORE to see if they can agree to negotiate with ABC, and go back to NBC and FOX.

Jimmy Kimmel was on the verge of tears during his opening monologue Monday as he described the terrifying experience immediately after the birth of his son ... who needed life-saving heart surgery.

Jimmy's son, Billy, was born a little over a week ago and seemed fine at first ... but hours later was diagnosed with a heart condition that required open heart surgery.

The comedian says Billy's pulmonary valve was completely blocked, and he also had a hole in the wall between the left and right sides of his heart. His first open heart surgery was apparently a success ... but Jimmy says he'll have to have more operations in the future.

It's a pretty emotional clip ... grab the tissues.

Tomi Lahren has settled her wrongful termination lawsuit against Glenn Beck, and she's leaving with millions ... of social media followers.

Tomi sued Beck and TheBlaze after she was suspended. She claimed she was only benched for saying she was pro-choice on "The View". Sources connected to the case confirm to TMZ ... Tomi will be allowed to leave before her contract expires in September.

She also gets to keep her 4.3 million followers from a Facebook account, which had been started by TheBlaze. Tomi will have to return all videos that were produced by her old employers.

Ryan Seacrest is the new co-host of 'Live' with Kelly Ripa ... which means a coast-to-coast move for the former "American Idol" host.

Ripa has been without a co-host for a year, since Michael Strahan bailed for "Good Morning America."

Seacrest has had a long-standing relationship with NBC, so it looks like he's bailing from the Peacock.

We know talks have been in the works for more than a month, and there's no doubt he's making wheelbarrows full of loot.

Unclear if he'll still do stuff for E!.

Sterling K. Brown thinks we've made progress in the 25 years since the L.A. riots ... but there are still huge problems we can't ignore.

We got the "This is Us" and "The People vs. O.J. Simpson" star out in Bev Hills, and he says one of the biggest differences between then and now ... people actually believe there's a problem.

Megyn Kelly will debut her new show with a sit-down with the entire Kardashian family ... minus 2.

Sources involved in the interview tell TMZ ... the reason Megyn was on the set of 'KUWTK' Thursday was to tape a very long interview with Kim, Khloe, Kourtney, Kylie, Kendall, and Kris ... everyone but Rob and Cailtyn. Ryan Seacrest, the producer and brainchild of the show, was also interviewed.

You don't see Kim in the pics, but we're told she was there.

Our sources say they were told the interview would consume Kelly's premiere Sunday night show in June on NBC.

The entire family rarely does interviews together ... nonetheless it's unclear whether Kelly walked away with a headline.

Kim discussed her Paris robbery this week on 'Ellen.'

Oprah was ready and willing to fork over $10 if a kid knew her name, but let's just say ... she still has the money.

O's company took part in Thursday's Take Your Kid to Work Day. One OWN employee's child came face-to-face with the TV legend, and she made a bet: say my name and you get the cash.

You gotta see it! The kid stands silent ... no clue who dad's boss is. Awkward? For Dad?