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Fox’s American Idol ended its ninth season on a slightly damp note, early viewing figures indicate.

On Wednesday night, Lee De Wyze’s win, and judge Simon Cowell’s ultimate farewell, won 23.15m between 8pm and 10pm.

However, the figures represent the show’s least-watched finale since its opening season in 2002, and an approximate 4.4m drop on last year’s audience. Furthermore, the talent contest’s 8.2 rating with adults 18-49 was its lowest ever. Nevertheless, Idol still saw off competition and was primetime’s most-watched program.

Elsewhere, the fifth season of Criminal Minds finished with 12.81m on CBS in the 9pm hour, signalling only a modest 300k drop in the face of heavy competition. At 10pm, CSI: NY climbed 600k to reach a slot-winning 11.9m for its respective sixth season close. Earlier at 8pm, a repeat of this year’s Superbowl lead-out – Undercover Boss – fetched 6.13m.

On NBC, a double bill of Minute To Win It repeats at 8pm and 9pm could only muster 3.29m and 2.64m, after which a rerun of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit scored 3.86m.

Meanwhile, ABC’s movie Transformers took 4.81m between 8pm and 11pm, while 1.38m tuned in for two America’s Next Top Model catch-ups on The CW for two hours from 8pm.

Details of the American remake of Being Human have been revealed.

Broadcast reports that the show, which was first ordered by Syfy in October, will be set in Boston.

Meanwhile, executive producer Rob Pursey revealed that although the show will keep the original’s “chemistry”, the characters will be changed slightly.

Pursey explained that the werewolf George will be renamed Josh, while the vampire Mitchell will be Jewish.

“Without letting go of the DNA of the original, it is evolving into quite a different show,” he said. “It will be pacier and the characters’ hinterlands are broader. So with Josh you get to see another aspect of how he copes with being the outsider.”

Pursey added: “Syfy is very keen to take the humour and humanity rather than just the vampires. They want it to push the channel more mainstream.”

The script is being penned by Everwood and Privileged writer Anna Fricke and Supernatural scribe Jeremy Carver. The show, which is currently being cast, is expected to go into pre-production next month and is scheduled to air in 2011.

The second season of the UK Being Human will premiere in the US on July 24 on BBC America.

The finale of Lost may be considered for an Emmy Award thanks to a recent change in nomination rules.

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has announced via its website that under the new regime the show’s extended conclusion will be considered for the 2010 Primetime Emmy Awards.

In previous years, extended episodes would not be considered if they ran longer than twice their usual length.

However, the Academy’s board of governors has now voted to update the rules, meaning the two and a half hour Lost finale will be submitted for award consideration.

Shrek Forever After has taken pole position at the US box office.

The fourth film in the animated comedy series nets $70 million, besting blockbusters Iron Man 2 and Robin Hood to emerge as the top movie Stateside over the weekend.

Letters To Juliet and Just Wright complete the top five, while Saturday Night Live spinoff MacGruber is at number six.

Elsewhere, Bollywood production Kites opens at number ten.

The US box office top ten in full:

1. (-) Shrek Forever After – $70,838,207
2. (1) Iron Man 2 – $26,361,258
3. (2) Robin Hood – $18,769,220
4. (3) Letters To Juliet – $9,006,266
5. (4) Just Wright – $4,290,431
6. (-) MacGruber – $4,043,495
7. (7) Date Night – $2,913,504
8. (6) A Nightmare On Elm Street – $2,321,388
9. (5) How To Train Your Dragon – $1,901,211
10. (-) Kites – $958,673

Brittany Murphy’s husband Simon Monjack has been found dead at his Hollywood Hills home.

Los Angeles police sergeant Louie Lozano confirmed that Monjack had passed away, only five months after his wife died from pneumonia.

Early reports claim that Murphy’s mother-in-law found Monjack unconscious in his bedroom at 9.30pm. Paramedics attempted to resuscitate the 40-year-old, but he was pronounced dead from cardiac arrest last night.

“We have detectives at the scene. They are conducting their investigation. Once we have further information, we will provide it,” said sergeant Lozano.

8 Mile star Murphy died on December 20, 2009. The cause of death was a combination of pneumonia, an iron deficiency and multiple drug intoxication. The drugs involved were legal and used to treat a respiratory infection, according to an autopsy.

Monjack, who was a screenwriter and producer on the films Factory Girl and Two Days, Nine Lives, blamed Hollywood for his partner’s passing, claiming that the movie industry had “blood on their hands”.

Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives has won the Palm d’Or prize at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.

Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s feature, about a dying man who is visited by the spirits of his death wife and son, was awarded the in competition section’s top prize tonight by the Tim Burton-led Cannes jury.

Taking to the stage to accept the accolade, Weerasethakul dedicated the honour to his fellow countrymen and used the platform to criticise Thailand’s rigid rules on censorship.

“I’d like to thank the jury, particularly Tim Burton, whose haircut I really like,” Weerasethakul said during his acceptance speech. “I’d like to send a message home: this prize is for you.”

Xavier Beauvois’s drama Of Gods And Men, which centres on Christian monks living in a monastery in Algeria, won the ‘Grand Prix’ gong.

In the acting categories, Javier Bardem and Elio Germano shared the ‘Best Actor’ prize for their respective roles in Biutiful and La Nostra Vita. Juliette Binoche scooped the ‘Best Actress’ award for Copie Conforme.

Kirsten Dunst presented France’s Mathieu Amalric with the directorial gong for his burlesque comedy-drama Tournee, and the screenplay prize went to South Korea’s Lee Chang-dong for Poetry.

The Jury Prize was awarded to A Screaming Man, the first ever Chadian entry at Cannes, while Michael Rowe’s Leap Year took home the Camera d’Or, the top award handed out to first-time directors.

William Shatner has joked that his new TV series is making history.

The actor’s show S**t My Dad Says, which is based on the cult Twitter account, was recently picked up by CBS.

“You can’t say the title of the show on air, you can only think it,” Shatner told Zap2It. “We’re making television history.”

He continued: “Not only will it be the funniest show on television at 8.30 on Thursday night, it will be the funniest show on television on Thursday night… It was born electronically. That’s a first. And you’ll have to watch it to find out how we did it.”

However, Shatner admitted that his own Twitter feed is written by other people.

“I know nothing about Twitter,” he explained. “I don’t read Twitter. But what I have done is acquired the knowledge of how it works. And so knowing that to reach people… about things I’m doing or things I’m thinking. I’m very careful to tell the people who do the actual typing what I want to do, what I want to say, the questions I want to provoke.”

The BBC has revealed the episode titles for the series finale of Doctor Who.

The two-part story is penned by Steven Moffat and will air June 19 and June 26 on BBC One. The first episode is called ‘The Pandorica Opens’ and the second ‘The Big Bang’.

Alex Kingston will reprise her role as River Song for the finale, which is also thought to include appearances from The Daleks, The Cybermen and The Sontarans.

In the US, the finale will air June 26 and July 3 on BBC America.

Lindsay Lohan has signed to star in upcoming 3D thriller Black Friday.

Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura announced the project and Lohan’s casting at the Cannes Film Festival in France, reports Bloody Disgusting.

The movie centres on a group of family and friends who avenge the brutal murder of a couple and come face-to-face with a killer named Tyler Hillburg.

Kitamura previously directed Versus and The Midnight Meat Train.