After nearly a two-week hold-out, Brad Garrett is ready to return to “Everybody Loves Raymond.”

Tuesday, it was reported that four supporting members of the “Raymond” cast were offered profit participation deals with the hit CBS show. Patricia Heaton, Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts took the half-percentage point in the show (believed to be valued up to $7 million over the next few years) immediately, but Garrett was still negotiating for a salary increase as well.

CBS confirmed to Zap2it.com late Tuesday afternoon that Garrett had reached an agreement and would head back to work on Wednesday. Because Garrett wasn’t scripted to appear in the season’s first episode, his absence didn’t cause any serious delays for the production (though Heaton’s migraines led to a one-week shooting delay earlier in the month).

“We are looking forward to welcoming him back to CBS,” the network says in a statement.

While terms of the new deal weren’t disclosed, Garrett’s contract had called for him to make $165,000 an episode for this, the series’ eighth season. He was expected to get a salary bump possibly to $250,000 per episode, with some industry sources speculating that raise might be given retroactively to last season.

“We had a big contract negotiation,” says the show’s creator and executive producer Phil Rosenthal. “Now it feels like a hit show.”

Garrett, who plays the title character’s brother Robert Barone, has received three Emmy nominations for his performance, winning in 2002. With Rosenthal and star Ray Romano insisting that the upcoming season will be their last, CBS executives have openly discussed refocusing the show around Garrett, a sign of respect that may have helped prompt this prolonged absence.

Still, Garrett’s high-powered colleague took the big guy’s return in stride.

“Brad was gone?” Romano says.

“MADtv’ features

new cast members

When “MADtv” begins its ninth season Sept. 13, fans will notice a number of new faces. While six core members of the cast are returning, four recurring cast members have been elevated to “regular” status, while four fresh faces will appear in recurring roles.

Fan favorites Frank Caliendo (a recent addition to Fox’s NFL pregame team), Mo Collins, Bobby Lee, Michael McDonald, Aries Spears and Stephnie Weir are all back again for another run skits and parodies on the show that emerged as the No. 1 ranked late-night program of the summer among teens. Ike Barinholtz, Josh Meyers, Ron Pederson and Paul Vogt are stepping up to become larger presences on “MADtv.”

The new additions to the cast include two comics with Second City experience. Jordan Peele, a Sarah Lawrence grad, trained at Second City in Chicago, while Gillian Vigman is a vet of the Second City touring company. Daniele Gaither, a Northwestern alum, is a veteran of The Groundlings and has appeared on “Hype” and “The Rerun Show.” The final new performer is Nicole Parker, who studied her craft at Improv Olympic and the Annoyance Theater.

—

FOX EMBARKS ON ANIMATED “PITCH-O-RAMA’

The general viewer response to the state of television is “I could do better than this tripe.” In response, networks are increasingly saying, “OK. Do better than this tripe.” Fox is entering the DIY fray with “Pitch-O-Rama,”

Fox is looking for pitches for original animated projects. The submission form includes space for sketches of the four major characters in your magnum Opus (named, of course, after the penguin in “Bloom County”). Other submission possibilities include storyboards, VHS tapes or DVDs with animation samples or scripts.

All projects must be postmarked by Sept. 15 and must be in the sweaty palms of the screeners by Sept. 22. In November, 100 finalists will be invited to Los Angeles to do a five-minute pitch for Fox executives. What will happen then? Possibly the world will be opened up to you, as you become the next Mike Judge or Matt Groening.

However, the rules for the contest clearly state “Participation in this program, including making a pitch at the Pitch-O-Rama, in no way implies or guarantees any employment opportunity at Fox or any of its affiliated, parent or subsidiary companies.”

So dig out those drawings and those brilliant ideas and let the pitches fly.

—

(c) 2003, Zap2it.com.

Visit Zap2it.com at http://www.zap2it.com

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

AP-NY-08-27-03 1705EDT