ABC CANCELS BARR.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

Two days, two cancellations for Roseanne Barr.

ABC said Tuesday it was pulling the plug on ``The Real Roseanne Show'' after two weeks, replacing the reality show with comedy reruns until the new season starts in September.

A day earlier, the ABC Family cable channel canceled ``Domestic Goddess,'' Barr's cooking show that was to begin airing Sept. 20. Barr is scheduled to undergo a hysterectomy this week and production had barely begun.

Since ABC's ``The Real Roseanne Show'' was about her pitching the cooking show to various networks, its cancellation rendered the reality series pointless.

Its poor ratings didn't help, either.

``We're confident the audience would have grown, given time, but with ABC Family's decision to cancel `Domestic Goddess' due to Roseanne's illness, the show's dynamic shifted irrevocably,'' said executive producer R.J. Cutler. ``We are very sorry that it didn't work out and we wish Roseanne the best and a speedy recovery.''

Starting tonight, it will be replaced by reruns of ``George Lopez'' at 9 p.m. and reruns and new episodes of the ``The Drew Carey Show'' at 9:30, ABC said.

MAGERS ACQUISITION: KCBS-TV has signed Paul Magers to anchor the weekday editions of CBS 2 News at 11 p.m. as well as early evening newscasts for the station. He will join KCBS-TV later this year. The station called Magers, who has a top-rated show in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, ``one of the nation's most successful and sought-after news anchors.''

``We're thrilled to have an anchor of Paul Magers' stature joining CBS 2,'' said KCBS and KCAL-TV President and General Manager Don Corsini. ``There are only a few anchors who have established a bond and earned the respect and trust of a community the way Paul has in Minnesota over the past 20 years and we look forward to having him on our team.''

Magers, who began his broadcasting career in 1975, also has national television experience. Most recently, in March, he served as a substitute anchor on the weekend editions of NBC's ``Today'' show.

SMILEY TO PBS: Tavis Smiley, the first African-American to have his own signature talk show on National Public Radio, is expanding his franchise to PBS.

``The Tavis Smiley Show,'' to air in late night, will launch Jan. 5, the public network announced Monday. Produced by Hollywood's KCET, ``Smiley'' is the first West Coast-based talk show on PBS.

No time slot yet, but the 30-minute ``Smiley'' will be partnered weeknights with New York-based Charlie Rose, whose hour-long talker is seen in most of the country at 11 p.m.

``Smiley'' will feature a mix of news and pop culture, with preproduced packages and on-set interviews. Before NPR, Smiley hosted ``BET Tonight With Tavis Smiley'' on Black Entertainment Television.

Smiley's NPR program averages more than 1 million listeners per week.

DROPPING ANCHOR: Andrea Thompson, who left ABC's ``NYPD Blue'' to become a journalist, is returning to show business.

Thompson will join Fox's ``24'' in the recurring role of Nicole Duncan, an anti-terrorism specialist brought in by the Counter Terrorism Unit ``to play a critical role'' in dealing with the threat of an attack.

Thompson will appear in ``multiple'' episodes, beginning Nov. 11, Fox says. The series' third season premieres with a commercial-free episode Oct. 28.

Thompson played Detective Jill Kirkendall on ``Blue'' from 1996 to 2000 before embarking on a news career. She was an anchor on CNN Headline News in 2001-02. Most recently, she served as a host on Court TV.

NURSE THELMA?: ``Scooby-Doo'' star Linda Cardellini has joined the cast of NBC's medical drama ``ER'' as a regular.

She will make her debut in the show's fifth episode in the fall, playing Nurse Samantha Taggart, a free-spirited single mother.

``We're pleased to have an actress of Linda's caliber joining the show,'' said ``ER'' executive producer John Wells, who is overseeing the Emmy-winning series.

Cardellini is the latest addition to the cast of the enduring drama for its upcoming 10th season following the recruitment of ``Bend It Like Beckham'' star Parminder Nagra as a regular and Glenn Howerton as a recurring with an option to become a regular.