Sarah Jessica Parker returns to TV for show based on Daily News reporters

BUSTED, the memoir from the Daily News' own Barbara Laker and Wendy Ruderman, based on their Pulitzer Prize-winning series, "Tainted Justice," has been optioned for a television series from Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, with Sarah Jessica Parker starring. The show will be co-produced by Anonymous Content, the company behind the much-buzzed-about "True Detective."

"We're bonkers out of our minds with glee," Ruderman said.

This is Parker's first return to TV since a stint on, appropriately, "Glee," and her first major role since "Sex and the City."

Producer Carla Hacken told the duo that SJP finished the book on a plane to the Caribbean with her kids and she cried at the end, saying that she simply had to be a part of this project.

David Frankel ("The Devil Wears Prada") will direct the pilot, while Don Roos will write. Both are used to working with Philly writers: They were the team behind the Inquirer-set "Marley & Me."

Laker is a massive "True Detective" fan, while Ruderman said that she can watch "The Devil Wears Prada" over and over again.

The show will be a limited series. The project will be shopped to select outlets after the other role is cast.

No word about whether the show will be filmed in Philadelphia. Greater Philadelphia Film Office executive director Sharon Pinkenson said she was thrilled by the news, but it was too early to discuss locations.

Nick Cannon was at the Hotel Monaco last night to receive an Angel Award from the Community Angel Foundation, dedicated to encouraging and empowering underprivileged youth.

It's a cause near and dear to Cannon's heart.

"I always focused on youth empowerment, especially with my career," Cannon said. "I kind of became this example of what you become as a young person if you were guided in the right direction. I wanted to give the same opportunity to other young people."

Cannon has quite a full plate (hence why he won't be able to make it to his fave cheesesteak spot, South Street's Ishkabibbles, this time around). His directorial debut, "School Dance," hits theaters July 2, and he's hosting "America's Got Talent" on NBC. But Cannon will be back in Philly soon to sell his newly released tablets on QVC on July 12.

But with all that's going on, one thing comes above all.

"Family is definitely first. You need to be able to understand that that's your No. 1 priority and everything else falls in line," Cannon told me, about life with wife Mariah Carey and twins Moroccan and Monroe. "It's about the quality of time you spend with your family as you watch your children grow into people."

Starting Sept. 6, Fox 29 will begin broadcasting weekend morning news. On Saturdays, the show will run from 8 to 10 a.m.; on Sundays it'll air from 8 to 9 a.m. No word yet on who will anchor the new broadcast, but I hear that an announcement is coming soon. Fox currently has an evening newscast on the weekends.

* Some fresh-faced NHL prospects hit Geno's Steaks (1219 S. 9th St.) yesterday before the big draft day tomorrow and Saturday. Sam Reinhart even got to get on the grill and make his own cheesesteak. Other potential draft picks were Aaron Ekblad, Samuel Bennett, Leon Draisaitl and Michael Dal Colle.

* Recently traded Flyer Scott Hartnell dined at Barclay Prime (237 S. 18th St) last night with five other gentlemen. Nearby, 6ABC's Melissa Magee and NBC10's Brittney Shipp were spotted in the lounge.

* Two Philly-born comedians will compete on the competition rounds of NBC's "Last Comic Standing" starting tonight at 10. Jimmy Shubert, a Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts grad, is the son of a detective, while Monroe Martin mines his comedy from growing up in Philly's foster system.

* Tukufu Zuberi, professor of sociology and the director of the Center for Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, is a member of "History Detectives: Special Investigations," a PBS show that seeks to answer some of the enduring questions of our time, such as who killed Jimmy Hoffa and what happened to Glenn Miller. "History Detectives" debuts Tuesday at 9 p.m. on PBS.

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