Entertainment

Starr Report

Talk about bucking a trend . . . CBS’s “NCIS” is actually increasing its viewership each week, which is a rarity in these days of dwindling network ratings — especially for a show in its 10th season.

The series (Mark Harmon, Pauley Perrette, David McCallum, Michael Weatherly) topped 25 million viewers last week, factoring in an additional 2.5 million viewers who watched the show on playback (DVR, On Demand, etc.) in the three days following the Jan. 15 episode (which averaged nearly 23 million viewers, which in itself is quite remarkable).

That’s the first time that “NCIS” has topped the 25 million-viewer milestone with Nielsen measuring playback viewership added after three- and seven-days, respectively.

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Dan Lauria, known to series TV fans as the dad on “The Wonder Years,” will be featured in an invitation-only reading of “A Queen For A Day,” a new play from Michael Ricigliano, Jr. directed by John Gould Rubin.

The reading will be held this Sunday, Jan. 27, at the Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce St.). Lauria, of course, is no stranger to Broadway, having recently starred in “A Christmas Story” after wrapping a long run as Vince Lombardi in “Lombardi” at the Circle in the Square.

The play’s title refers to written “proffer agreements” between federal prosecutors and individuals under criminal investigation; here, that refers to lead character Nino, a captain in a New York crime family who’s caught in a sweep of organized crime and “reluctantly agrees” to a proffer session to talk about his kid brother (the family’s acting crime boss).

Ricigliano, by the way, is also working on the feature-length version of his award-winning short film, “Lily of the Feast,” starring Tony Lo Bianco, Paul Sorvino and Federico Castelluccio.

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Prospect Park’s efforts to breathe life into new, online versions of two extinct soaps, “One Life to Live” and “All My Children,” went nowhere last year — but they’re still serious about this, and have announced deals with leading cast members from both shows to headline new Web-only versions of the classic daytime shows.

The company announced yesterday (Tuesday) that it’s inked deals with “OLTL” stars Erika Slezak, Robin Strasser, Kassie DePaiva, Hillary B. Smith and a host of others — and has also closed deals with a slew of writers, including Susie Bedsow Horgan and Thom Racina.

On the “AMC” front, Prospect Park says it has struck deals with stars including Darnell Williams, Debbi Morgan, Vincent Irizarry, Jill Larson and Thorsten Kaye.

No word, yet, on when both shows might begin their online lives — but Prospect Park says it expects to announce more deals “in the coming weeks.”

Stay tuned.

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The four-year, multi-platform sponsorship between Men’s Health magazine and STARZ, which was built around “Spartacus,” enters its final phase as the series kicks off its third and final season this Friday on STARZ.

Not only does the January/February cover of Men’s Health feature “Spartacus” star Liam McIntyre, and the Jan./Feb. cover of Men’s Health, featuring the show’s star, but the partnership will also encompass “The Spartacus Workout” and “The Spartacus Workout DVD program,” which has sold nearly 10,000 copies since launching last month.

The partnership will also include a “Spartacus” workout with the show’s cast and trainer, Tyrone Bell, this Saturday at Chelsea Piers.

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Last, but not least:

* Carla Facciolo (VH1’s “Mob Wives”) will showcase Wine by Wives at Midway Wine and Liquor (Scarsdale) this Saturday (1-4 p.m.) . . . “The Arsenio Hall Show,” launching next fall, has now been sold in 95 percent of the country by CBS Television Distribution . . . TV One has renewed “R&B Divas” for a second season of eight episodes, premiering this spring — and will launch a spinoff series, “R&B Divas: LA” . . . The second season of Food Network’s “Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell” premieres Thursday, Jan. 31 (10 p.m.).