Television multi-hyphenate Neal Baer is one of those guys who’s so busy that you get tired just thinking about his schedule. The former “ER” and “Law & Order” executive producer is currently executive-producing CBS’s “A Gifted Man” — more on that later — and has co-written “Kill Switch,” the first in a trilogy of mystery thrillers (Katherine Heigl is lined up for the big-screen movie). He’ll also have his first graphic novel, “Gap Year,” published later this year (the co-writer is “A Gifted Man” co-EP Dan Truly).
If that’s not enough, Baer also co-owns Neela’s, a Northern California Indian restaurant located in Napa and run by renowned chef Neela Paniz — who, last month, won an episode of Food Network’s “Chopped” (and the $10,000 prize), giving her the chance to move on in the competition. The episode was repeated last night.
“I met Neela 21 years ago in LA when I was first starting out and she owned a restaurant called Bombay Café,” Baer told me. “It was the city’s premiere Indian restaurant, and my wife and I loved it — we took our son there from the time he was born. About four or five years ago, Neela decided to retire and I said, ‘If you ever decide to open a restaurant, let me know.’ When she moved to Napa, I told her we’d do whatever she needed to make it work — and we’ve been working with her nonstop for three years now.”
Baer says is favorite dish of Neela’s is something called “Frankie,” which he loves. “It’s an egg crepe filled with very spicy hot lamb,” he says. “It’s not the traditional gravy and thick sauce but is very fresh and vegetable-based. It’s one of the wonderful street foods from Mumbai, the kind of food you don’t get at ‘traditional’ Indian restaurants. And Neela uses local ingredients, and since she’s in Napa, she can pair everything with different wines.”
Baer is also psyched about tonight’s episode of “A Gifted Man” (8 p.m./Ch. 2), in which the show’s protagonist — arrogant surgeon Dr. Michael Holt (Patrick Wilson) — has to be treated at the free clinic where he works after becoming sick during a raging snowstorm.
“As Dr. Sykora [Rachelle Lefevre] says [about Holt], ‘Worst. Patient. Ever.,” Baer says, laughing. “I love the blizzard and the interaction among all the characters. And everyone is in the episode. Holt is stuck at the clinic when he really wants to be treated at his fancy concierge spa. He won’t even let them put him under because he’s so controlling — and I just love how he clashes with everyone.”
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The news broke late last night that Samantha Harris is leaving “Entertainment Tonight” after two years on the show. Insiders say her contract was not renewed.
Harris joined “ET” after two seasons as a correspondent on sister show “The Insider.”
“We’ve had wonderful adventures with Samantha – from news stories in our studio to celebrity interviews across the globe,” “ET” executive producer Linda Bell Blue said in a statement. “We’ve loved having her as part of the ‘ET’ and ‘The Insider’ family. With great respect, we wish her well on all her future projects.”
“I couldn’t be happier for the opportunity and experience while at ‘ET’ and ‘The Insider,’” Harris said in a statement.
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None other than Johnny Knoxville has recorded a voiceover for an upcoming episode of “SpongeBob SquarePants.” He plays Johnny Krill, “the leader of an extreme sports team called the Drasticals and a champion of undersea Extreme Sports” who tries to recruit SpongeBob and Patrick onto the team.
“I got a lot of street cred in the office for doing ‘SpongeBob,’ says Knoxville. “Everyone is psyched. As soon as I was done recording this episode [last month], I started begging them to let me come back and record another one.”
Paul Tibbitt, the ’toon’s executive producer, says the episode was written specifically for Knoxville, “because there are few humans living that are as extreme as him.”
The episode is slated to air this summer.
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Daytime: Amy Coleman will be the executive producer of “Jeff Probst,” the new syndicated show manned by the “Survivor” host which premieres next fall. Coleman spent 16 years at “Oprah.”
“Judge Judy,” meanwhile, is kicking some serious butt (and taking names, no doubt). For the week ending Dec. 25, the show (hosted, of course, by Judy Sheindlin) averaged a huge 10.2 million viewers — and was up a startling 76 percent from the same week the year before. It airs 4 p.m. on Ch. 2.
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Last, but not least:
* ABC’s “Modern Family” returned strongly with its first new episode of 2012 Wednesday night — 14 million viewers. It also won in adults 18-49 for the 10th consecutive week (first-run episodes) . . . Liam McIntyre, who’s replaced the late Andy Whitfield as the star of “Spartacus: Vengeance,” on his predecessor: “Andy was amazing at his job. I want to do justice to the character he already created. I think of Andy and remind myself that no day is too hard.” Whitfield passed away last September at the age of 39 after battling non-Hodgkin lymphoma.