NEW YORK, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ – Five years after the United States‘ most devastating natural disaster, Hurricane Katrina, BET News returns to New Orleans for an exclusive prime time special, HEART OF THE CITY: KATRINA FIVE YEARS LATER – Sunday, August 22 at 10:00 p.m.* For the past year, BET News has followed stories of several men and women living in the Ninth Ward, the community in New Orleans most devastated by the hurricane and levee breach. With emotions running high, residents take viewers inside their lives by detailing their challenges and outlining their hopes for the future. This hour long special will also raise the question: will the BP oil spill make it harder for the people of the Ninth Ward to recover from Katrina? Or will the disaster put fresh attention on an area in distress? HEART OF THE CITY: KATRINA FIVE YEARS LATER is hosted by actress and activist, Jurnee Smollett.

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Cheers to Jurnee Smollett for completing a tricky arc on Friday Night Lights.

When the TGIF alum (who costarred with five of her siblings in the 1994-5 sitcom On Our Own) joined FNL at the start of Season 4 as Jess Merriweather, it looked like she was being brought in for more light comedy. She and high-school classmate Landry Clarke (the effortlessly winning Jesse Plemons) met cute when he ran over her bicycle. Over the course of the season, however, she's become caught in an emotionally charged triangle with Landry and his street-tough teammate Vince Howard (Michael B. Jordan), and Smollett hasn't made a false step dramatically. (She makes her choice in the season finale, airing Aug. 6 at 8/7c on NBC)

via Cheers & Jeers: Friday Night Lights’ Incredible Jurnee – Today’s News: Our Take | TVGuide.com.

While Jurnee Smollett has previously been tied to Tyler Perry’s film adaptation of the play “For Colored Girls” along with Mariah Carey, Phylicia Rashad, Kerry Washington and Macy Gray, she took to her Twitter account today to announce that she had to back out of the film due to filming conflicts with Friday Night Lights.

While I’m sad that she won’t be able to take part in this film, I’m glad that we’ll be seeing her on FNL!

The CBS network has picked up two other dramas, “Defenders” and“Blue Bloods.”

“Defenders” is CBS’ new legal drama starring Jim Belushi andTanya Fischer (”Life on Mars”). It centers on two charismatic and fiery Las Vegas defense attorneys who go to the mat for their clients. Written by newcomers Niels Mueller and Kevin Kennedy, it was directed by the Oscar-winning Davis Guggenheim. Carol Mendelsohn of the “CSI” franchise is producing it. Jurnee Smollett (”Eve’s Bayou”) is also in the cast.

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