Ellen DeGeneres and longtime girlfriend Portia de Rossi are jumping at the chance to get married.

DeGeneres announced their engagement during a Thursday taping of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," telling the studio audience the news that the California Supreme Court had struck down state laws against gay marriage.

"So I would like to say now, for the first time, I am announcing: I am getting married," she said during the show, which aired yesterday.

The studio audience leapt to its feet for a long ovation, and De Rossi ("Ally McBeal," "Nip/Tuck") was sitting in the audience, beaming and clapping.

Then DeGeneres cracked: "Thank you. I'll tell you who the lucky guy is soon."

The court ruling means same-sex couples could tie the knot in as little as a month. However, religious and social conservatives are seeking to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November that would undo the Supreme Court ruling and ban gay marriage.

DeGeneres, 50, has boldly used TV before to make a stand for gay rights.

In 1997, she brought her character on the ABC sitcom "Ellen" out of the closet, making the show the first on prime-time network TV to have an openly gay lead.

DeGeneres and the glamorous de Rossi, 35, have been a familiar couple at Hollywood events, including the Academy Awards. Previously, DeGeneres had a high-profile relationship with actress Anne Heche.

(Lynn Elber, Associated Press)

Lauren Lee Smith is joining "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" as a regular, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Smith, who appeared on Showtime's "The L Word," will play Bryce Adams, "a smart, flirtatious and witty nonconformist who is hired as a CSI on the night-shift team led by Grissom (William Petersen)."

Canadian-born Smith is expected to fill the void left by the departure of "CSI" co-star Jorja Fox. Also leaving the show is Gary Dourdan, who appeared in his final episode on the May 15th season finale.

(Wire reports)

Bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman's TV show will return to the air this summer, months after it was pulled when the reality star used a racial slur in a profanity-laced tirade.

Filming has begun on the fifth season, according to executives with A&E, the cable network that broadcasts "Dog the Bounty Hunter." Reruns of the show will start June 25, with new episodes, including ones from the fourth season that have not previously aired, coming a few weeks later.

The show features Chapman and crew chasing down bail jumpers in Hawaii and other states. It was pulled from the air in November when Chapman was heard in a taped phone conversation using a racial slur in reference to his son's girlfriend, who is black.

The Chapman family, A&E executives and a representative from a civil rights organization were part of a carefully choreographed press conference Wednesday to announce the relaunch of the show.

The message: Chapman deserves a second chance.

"It's not about ratings," A&E spokesman Michael Feeney said. "We know his heart. We know him and know he's not a racist."

Niger Innis, national chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality, said Chapman's use of the racial slur was wrong. But he noted that Chapman "took ownership of the harm it caused" and "sought to turn his life around."

Alphonso Braggs, Hawaii chapter president of the NAACP, disagreed, saying Chapman got off lightly for behavior that is "absolutely unacceptable."

"If individuals see they are able to behave inappropriately with little or no consequence, they will continue that pattern," he said.

(Sudhin Thanawala, AP)

Scottish-born actor Alan Cumming ("Tin Man," "X-Men 2") has been tapped to host the upcoming season of PBS's "Masterpiece Mystery!" according to an announcement made Thursday.

The new season will start June 22, with "Inspector Lewis, Series I," a spinoff of the "Inspector Morse" series, followed by other British television mysteries.

(Lynn Smith, Los Angeles Times)

A person familiar with efforts to restart talks between the Screen Actors Guild and Hollywood studios says negotiations will resume within two weeks.

Talks will resume by May 28.

The two sides parted ways last week after 18 days of talks over a contract that covers both movies and prime-time TV shows. That contract ends June 30.

The studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, are currently negotiating with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists for a contract covering a handful of TV shows.

(Ryan Nakashima, AP)

When Fox executives presented their fall schedule to advertisers Thursday afternoon, the execs announced a plan they're calling "remote-free TV."

On two shows next season -- "Fringe" in the fall, "Dollhouse" at midseason -- there will be substantially fewer commercials and promos, maybe just five minutes of ads per hour (plus time for promotional spots).

It's no doubt an effort to draw viewers back to TV.

According to The Washington Post, "Fringe" and "Dollhouse" will be allowed 46 to 48 minutes of program time per hour. Most shows these days contain just 42 minutes of program.

Under "remote-free TV," that means each hourlong program will have about 12 minutes of ad/promotions, down from 18 minutes for most current one-hour series.

(Rob Owen, Post-Gazette TV editor)