USA has announced “Monk” will begin its eighth and final season this summer with 16 episodes. Fox announced that it will cease production of the long-running “Mad TV.” The “Saturday Night Live”-esque show has seen ratings stagnate and has not produced any notable skits or major personalities recently. Due to soaring ticket sales, Summit Entertainment is in the planning stages for “Twlight” sequels. The company has acquired rights to three of author Stephenie Meyers’ follow-up books. FX series “Nip/Tuck” and “Damages” will begin new episodes in early January. “Quantum of Solace” director Marc Forster will direct “World War Z,” which is about the aftermath of a zombie crisis. NBC is currently developing a Hillary Duff series since she recently signed a one-year talent and development deal with the network. “Prison Break” may soon be canceled. Reports say it will wrap up early in 2009. “Lipstick Jungle” will likely be canceled once it finishes its 13-episode order. Rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson has signed on to join the indie gangland movie “Dead Man Running.” The fight over “Project Runway” continues. Now Lifetime TV has joined the battle between Bravo Media and NBC Universal and the Weinstein Co. The network claims it holds the copyright to the program. “Beauty and the Geek” could end up on MTV soon and in the form of a celebrity version. Sean “Diddy” Combs will soon be a prosecutor on “CSI: Miami” later this winter. His guest appearance will be over two episodes.