TV

Donald Trump is still knee-deep in the TV ratings game -- even as President of the United States -- as Roseanne Barr can attest ... 'cause he called to congratulate her on her 18 million viewers.

Trump confirmed the phone call Thursday, during an event in Ohio, and it sounds like he was more excited about it than even Roseanne and ABC execs -- because he's kinda taking credit for her big win.

He definitely knows his demographics, and told the audience of factory workers "Roseanne" was "about us." On the show, Roseanne voted for Trump ... and butts heads with her sister who supported Hillary.

The reboot bug has bitten FOX hard, and the biggest beneficiary is Tim Allen's recently-canceled show, "Last Man Standing."

Our FOX sources tell us Allen's show -- which was controversially canceled last year -- is now under serious consideration for a reboot. There were rumors the show was canceled because of Allen's personal conservative affiliations -- he compared being a conservative in Hollywood to 1930's Nazi Germany, as well as the conservative character he portrayed on the show.

The irony ... we're told the success of "Roseanne" has intrigued FOX because there appears to be a big Trump-supporting audience out there. FOX produced the show when it aired on ABC, and we're told the talk now is to possibly reboot and put it on FOX.

Our sources say the other show most likely to come back -- in derivative form -- is "How I Met Your Dad" ... which is currently in development.

We're told at the top of the wish list is "Married with Children" ... but it's impossible to reboot because Ed O'Neill and Katey Sagal aren't available.

The other 2 shows FOX is considering ... "That 70's Show" and "Malcolm in the Middle."

Former "Smallville" star Allison Mack chased down Mexican cops as they carted away an alleged sex cult leader, and she might be the next one to be thrown behind bars.

It's a bizarre story ... Mexican officials took Keith Raniere into custody in Puerto Vallarta, where he fled last year. Raniere co-founded a purported self-help group called Nxivm. Authorities now believe the group is a cult which brands women with Raniere and Mack's initials and forces them into sex slavery.

Mack, who played Chloe Sullivan on "Smallville," is believed to be second-in-command to Raniere.

Former Nxvim publicist Frank Parlato blew the whistle on the group last summer, and got video of Mack standing by helplessly on Monday as Mexican cops arrested Raniere.

Rosa Salazar haunted the crap outta people on "American Horror Story," but her ex-bf claims she's way scarier in real life.

Sam Setzer filed for a restraining order against Rosa, and in the docs he says she's been terrorizing him ever since their March 19 breakup. Sam says Rosa -- who played murdered nurse Maria on season 1 of 'AHS' -- showed up at his house around midnight, rang his doorbell and screamed loudly enough to wake his neighbors. He's pretty confident she was intoxicated.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, he says Rosa threatened to call cops and lie about him hitting her. Sam says he decided to call cops first, and that's when Rosa bolted. Besides that horror show, he says Rosa's flooded him with calls and texts ... including one that said, "If pushed I can be a stressful/stressed person." Mind you, Sam says they only dated for a month.

He was granted the restraining order which requires her to stay 100 yards away from him.

Ya might also recognize Rosa from the "Parenthood" TV series. She was far less scary on that than 'AHS' ... though Sam probably doesn't think so. She's also slated to star in the Robert Rodriguez/James Cameron blockbuster, "Alita: Battle Angel" ... coming out in December.

John Goodman is either as shocked as the rest of us that "Roseanne" completely smashed the ratings in its return to TV screens across America ... or he just doesn't care.

We got John at LAX -- who was recast in his old role as Roseanne's hubby, in a revival season that premiered on ABC Tuesday night -- and his response to "Roseanne" churning out a whopping 18.2 million viewers was, well, oddly anticlimactic ... to say the least.

Our photog asks if he expected such a YUGE turnout -- seeing how the show now features Roseanne as a Trump voter and her sis on team HC. He says it quite simply ... not really. John also doesn't think the show's too political now either, as some have suggested.

Kyle Richards is relieved Paris Hilton found her $2 million engagement ring -- but she's even more emphatic about her niece protecting her fortune when she walks down the aisle.

We got the 'Real Housewives' star Tuesday night leaving Craig's in WeHo and asked what she thought about Paris almost losing her expensive bling while partying. Kyle says she told Paris about taking care of that hardware -- she offered a permanent solution.

Morgan Spurlock admitting to past sexual misconduct screwed over the media company he was working with, and there's also a bunch of money missing ... according to a new suit.

Turner Entertainment Network claims the "Super Size Me" filmmaker made a deal with them in March 2017 to produce a show called "Who Rules the World?" ... which aimed to "unpack the most divisive and complicated issues facing women today, from the policing of their bodies and judgments to their family planning choices."

Problem is -- Spurlock stepped down from the project in December 2017 after admitting to various forms of sexual misconduct and harassment. Turner claims because of Spurlock's actions, it was impossible to continue with the show.

According to the docs ... Turner's also pissed because Spurlock was in control of the production accounts, and is now refusing to come clean on what happened to the funds.

Turner's suing Spurlock for damages for costs related to the abandoned show, as well as a court order forcing him to fess up on where the cash went.

Chrissy Metz scoffs at the idea Jessica Simpson is jealous of Mandy Moore's success.

We got the "This Is Us" star out in NYC Monday and wanted to get her take on a recent report that Jessica's raging with envy at Mandy's on-screen success on the hit NBC show. As you know, Jessica and Mandy rose to stardom around the same time nearly 2 decades ago.

Jessica now reportedly feels a slap in the face when she sees Mandy on billboards all over L.A. and resents she was never taken seriously as an actress. Mandy's critically-acclaimed performance is salt in an open wound.

The adorable twins on "Big Little Lies" are already big shots when it comes to negotiating sweet deals in Hollywood.

Cameron and Nicholas Crovetti were barely 7 years old back in 2015 when they each landed their roles on 'BLL' and each scored a $50k payout for season 1 ... this according to docs obtained by TMZ.

Cameron and Nicholas -- now 10 years old -- play Josh and Max Wright ... the twin sons of Nicole Kidman and Alexander Skarsgård's characters. Before landing a role on the hit HBO show, their only other on-screen work had been a brief appearance on "Black-ish."

"Big Little Lies" just started filming season 2, and the twins should know ... it's never too soon to request a massive raise.

A lesson for costumed character enthusiasts -- if you hijack Nickelodeon's "Paw Patrol" characters ... they'll sic their legal dogs on your ass.

Nickelodeon's parent company, Viacom, is suing Hearrt Events for allegedly stealing its lovable animated characters from "Paw Patrol" and using 'em for furry mascots that get booked for meet and greets with kiddos.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Viacom says Hearrt hosts events where kids, or more likely their parents, pay $20 to "meet" the "Paw Patrol" squad, and get a photo with 'em. You can even get an autographed "paw print."

Viacom says the events co. isn't just using Ryder and his puppy pals' images without permission -- it's also selling unauthorized "Paw Patrol" merch at their events.

The media company wants a judge to shut down Hearrt's operation, and, of course, to award damages. We've reached out to Hearrt Events, but no word back.

Kevin Dillon's estranged wife is calling BS on the date he says they separated ... saying she remained on wife patrol for YEARS after that.

Jane Stuart filed docs stating she and the "Entourage" star separated on May 29, 2016, and NOT October 10, 2008 as he's claimed in divorce docs. Jane admits she moved out of the family home in 2008 ... but says they remained intimate, she cooked for him, and they went to premieres and dinners together.

She also says nothing about their finances changed ... he continued being the breadwinner.

In the docs, Jane says she and Kevin agreed to it when she moved out with their daughter, Ava -- mainly because they both needed their own space. What's more, Jane claims she and Kevin spoke about having more children together as recently as 2015.

Gaten Matarazzo -- who plays curly-haired, potty-mouthed Dustin on the Netflix smash hit "Stranger Things" -- didn't just get a raise for season 3 ... he hit the jackpot.

According to Gaten's original contract, he was scheduled to get a slight salary increase for the upcoming season, much like he did for season 2. The docs, obtained by TMZ, show he was due a bump of slightly less than $1,000 per episode -- from $16,800 to $17,640 per episode in season 3.

Nothing to sneeze at, but according to multiple reports, Gaten and his co-stars renegotiated their deals and will now make between $200 to $250 THOUSAND per episode for season 3!!

Now, we know how sweet a deal it is -- around a 1,200 percent raise ... for a 15-year-old.

Kudos to his agent!

The stars of "Empire" gave all 300 or so crew members a sweet jacket at the Season 4 wrap party, as a thank you for making the hit series possible ... TMZ has learned.

Taraji P. Henson, Andre Royo, Bryshere Y. Gray, Gabourey Sidibe, Jussie Smollett, Ta’Rhonda Jones and Terrence Howard all went in together to buy about 300 bomber jackets as gifts for the crew ... according to our "Empire" sources.

We're told the fly custom jackets are from Alpha Industries and go for $150 a pop, so if you do the math ... that's a lot of dough for the gifts. Each person who got one also received a tag from the cast saying, "With Love & Appreciation..."

Our sources say the cast hands out wrap gifts after every season ... last year the crew got onesies.

John Mahoney, the beloved dad on "Frasier," left behind millions of dollars ... and TMZ's learned there's a long list of potential benefactors.

John's friend, Bernard Dowling, filed legal docs in Cook County, Illinois to open a probate case for his estate. According to docs, obtained by TMZ, John's estate is worth north of $5 million, including around $300k worth of real estate. There are also 38 relatives and friends listed as potential benefactors.

TMZ broke the story ... John died in hospice care back in February. As we first reported ... the official causes of death included brain disease, lung cancer and seizures. He also suffered from kidney disease and diabetes.

John played Kelsey Grammer's cranky father, Martin Crane, for 11 seasons on the hit sitcom.

Judd Apatow says his late mentor Garry Shandling became a nicer, wiser guy toward the end of his life, which will be explored in a new documentary about the comedian.

We spoke to Judd on "TMZ Live," and he gave us a rundown on what's behind his new project with HBO -- a 2-part documentary about his deceased pal and comedy great, Garry, that's airing March 26 and 27 on HBO at 8 PM.

Judd tells us Garry's diaries and journals -- which are the centerpieces in the doc -- revealed the comic became much more compassionate and giving throughout the years ... as neurotic of a creative genius as he was. He says Garry realized giving more to others was a W.

It sounds like a crazy deep dive into the mind of Shandling, who was groundbreakingly innovative with his shows like "It's Garry Shandling's Show" and "The Larry Sanders Show."

Send in THE clown ... to God.

Frank Avruch, TV's original Bozo the Clown, died Tuesday in Boston after a long battle with heart disease ... according to his family. He was 89.

The Boston legend created Bozo back in 1959, and played the lovable clown until 1970. Although Frank wore a lot of hats -- as a local host on radio and WCVB-TV -- he'll most be remembered for wearing that red-orange wig, oversized red shoes and pajamas with the frilly collar.

Avruch is an inductee of the National Television Academy's Gold Circle. Bozo's survived by his wife Betty, 2 sons, grandchildren, and, of course, his cousin Homey.

After Frank had the role some other clown, Larry Harmon, slipped into Bozo's famous getup. Harmon died in 2008.