TELEVISIONPotential PBS Cuts: In a move to...

TELEVISION

Potential PBS Cuts: In a move to cut costs, WNET-TV, the PBS station in New York, is considering closing the in-house production studio where both the “MacNeil/Lehrer” and “Charlie Rose” shows are produced. William F. Baker, the station president, said that closing the studio was one of several “operating efficiencies” being considered by the station. Both shows would be produced elsewhere if WNET closes its studio.

* Tracking a Serial Killer: Actor Stephen Rea (“The Crying Game”) will star as a real-life Russian detective who spent eight years hunting down notorious Russian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo in a movie for cable’s HBO. Based on Robert Cullen’s book, “The Killer Department,” the film “Citizen X” will chronicle Detective Viktor Burakov’s obsession with apprehending a man suspected of 52 murders--and the enormous resistance Burakov encountered from the Soviet bureaucracy and state-controlled press that kept the public from learning the truth about the case. Production is scheduled to start in Europe in September.

* Quality Picks: CBS’ “Picket Fences” leads the nominees for the 10th annual Quality Awards voted on by members of the Virginia-based advocacy group Viewers for Quality Television. The series was nominated for eight awards, including best “quality drama,” along with ABC’s “NYPD Blue,” CBS’ “Northern Exposure” and NBC’s “Law & Order” and “Homicide: Life on the Street.” In the comedy category, nods went to NBC’s “Frasier,” “Seinfeld” and “Mad About You”; CBS’ “Murphy Brown” and ABC’s “Grace Under Fire.” “Picket Fences’ ” closest competitors for the awards, which will be presented in Hollywood on Sept. 24, are “NYPD Blue” and “Northern Exposure,” which each received six nominations, and “Murphy Brown, which got five.

ART

Overseas Recruit: One of several worrisome vacancies in high-profile American art museum leadership has been filled by an Englishman. Malcolm Austin Rogers, deputy director of London’s National Portrait Gallery, has been named director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. A specialist in 16th- to early 18th-Century portraiture who has raised funds and served as chief operating officer for the London institution, Rogers will succeed Alan Shestack, who left the Boston museum last December to become deputy director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Rogers’ appointment ends a nine-month search in Boston, but new directors have yet to be found for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

POP/ROCK

‘Lounging’ in the Astrodome: Virgin records will premiere the Rolling Stones’ new “Voodoo Lounge” album before an estimated crowd of 30,000 at the Houston Astrodome tonight, immediately after the Houston Astros-Cincinnati Reds baseball game. The album--the band’s first recorded for Virgin--hits stores on July 12 with a worldwide tour to follow. In Los Angeles, Sunset Boulevard’s Tower Records will host a listening party on July 11 from 10 p.m. to midnight, with a tattoo artist and tiki torches providing a “Voodoo Lounge” atmosphere in the store’s parking lot. The store will then offer midnight sales of the new record. . . . Meanwhile, Virgin has served a cease and desist order against Wichita radio station KRZZ, which the record company says was airing a poorly recorded copy of four songs from “Voodoo Lounge.”

* Ticketmaster News: A New York judge has issued a summary judgment in a class-action lawsuit against Ticketmaster, which in effect, dismisses charges against the Los Angeles-based ticket giant of antitrust violations and unfair business practices in that case. Ticketmaster resolved a similar claim two months ago in California by agreeing to give away $1.5 million worth of tickets to charity groups and paying $750,000 in legal fees. Class-action lawsuits in seven other states remain pending against the corporation, whose chairman, Fredrick Rosen, will testify Thursday at a hearing on Capitol Hill to explore anti-competitive practices in the ticket distribution industry.

QUICK TAKES

Jeremy Irons (“Reversal of Fortune”) has been cast as a terrorist bent on destroying New York who goes up against Bruce Willis’ Detective John McClane in “Die Hard 3,” which starts production July 30. Samuel L. Jackson (“Jungle Fever”) plays Willis’ unwilling police partner. . . . Stevie Wonder joined the artist formerly known as Prince onstage to sing the Wonder classic “Maybe Your Baby” during a two-hour concert Sunday night at the symbol man’s downtown club Glam Slam. Mavis Staples also joined the singer for “I’ll Take You There.” All three had appeared earlier that night at the VH-1 Honors, televised from the nearby Shrine Auditorium. . . . Chris Douridas has decided to remain as host of “Morning Becomes Eclectic” on KCRW-FM (89.9). He was expected to leave the station when KLIT-FM (101.9) changes to an adult alternative format later this week. . . . Cable’s Showtime launches a new Wednesday-night programming block on July 6. “Back 2 Back” will feature a double feature of movies showcasing a top Hollywood star, starting with Tom Hanks in “Sleepless in Seattle” and “The ‘Burbs.”