Having mastered the art of playing pranks on famous people, “Punk’d” mastermind Ashton Kutcher is now setting his sights on the masses.

Kutcher and producing partner Jason Goldberg will unleash a new hidden-camera show called “You’ve Got a Friend” on MTV Oct. 24. It will join the “Sunday Stew” lineup that also features new episodes of “Pimp My Ride” and “Viva La Bam.”

In announcing the show, MTV is playing coy with what actually happens on “You’ve Got a Friend.” Part of the network’s press release reads thusly: “(W)hen asked, the elusive Kutcher simply stated, “For $15,000, would you give the creators of “Punk’d” 48 hours of your time to mess with your life?”‘

Lois Curren, head of MTV Series Entertainment, extends the ruse by saying that “Ashton assures me that “You’ve Got A Friend’ will take messing with people’s heads to a new level.”

“You’ve Got a Friend” is based on a British show called “My New Best Friend,” which originally aired on Channel 4 in the U.K. Having no need for fake secrecy, Channel 4 describes its show this way:

“Could you pass off a complete stranger as your new best friend for one weekend? Six competitors tried to do just that. … But it wasn’t easy. Their so-called “friend’ was really an undercover actor hell-bent on causing as much mayhem as possible. His sole aim was to infuriate and exasperate them into giving the game away.”

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‘Hollywood Wives’ author signs with E!

It’s a match made in Tinseltown heaven: Jackie Collins, the best-selling purveyor of fictional Hollywood scandal, has signed a deal with celebrity-obsessed E! to host and produced six one-hour specials.

The specials, grouped under the title “Jackie Collins Presents,” will dish on some of the real-life affairs and power plays that she’s fictionalized in novels like “Hollywood Wives” and “Lady Boss.” The series is set to debut Oct. 24.

“Jackie Collins is one of the most recognized and best-selling novelists in popular fiction today, and a true Hollywood insider,” says Mark Sonnenberg, executive vice president for entertainment at E! “We look forward to working with Jackie to bring her distinctive viewpoint to the small screen.”

The shows will cover such topics as “Hitched in Hollywood,” “Sinners” and “Divorced Women.” Collins will dish about some of the actual people and incidents that have fueled the Hollywood rumor mill for decades.

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NBC stays friendly with ‘Joey’

It’s early in the fall season, but many of NBC’s new offerings are struggling. Thus, it’s no surprise that NBC is anxious to hold onto “Joey,” one of the network’s few early bright spots. NBC has given the “Friends” spin-off a full season order, adding at least nine more episodes.

“We’re overjoyed with the news! Our thanks to the cast, writers and crew for all their great work,” say the show’s producers Kevin Bright, Scott Silveri and Shana Goldberg-Meehan.

Starring Emmy nominee Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani, recently transplanted from New York to California, “Joey” has averaged 16.4 million viewers through its first three airings. “Joey” and its partner “Will & Grace” are the season’s two highest rated comedies among adults 18-49. Although “Joey” has struggled to keep up with CBS’ “Survivor: Vanuatu,” viewer attrition has been only moderate since the show’s Sept. 9 premiere.

“The team behind “Joey’ is one of the most dynamic in sitcom production today,” says NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly. “They have successfully managed to take this beloved character and build a wonderfully entertaining new world around him while maintaining the essence of what we all love. We are all excited about the creative direction of the show.”

In addition to LeBlanc, who played the same character for 10 seasons on “Friends,” the “Joey” cast includes Paulo Costanzo, recent Emmy winner Drea De Matteo and Andrea Anders, who was a late addition to the cast, replacing Ashley Scott after the original pilot was shot.

With the exception of Fox’s “Quintuplets,” “Joey” becomes the first new comedy of the season to be picked up for a full slate of episode.

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