Quick Takes: Washington pair the Salahis get invite to Bravo show

Statuesque blond model Michaele Salahi and her husband, Tareq, will be part of the Bravo series “The Real Housewives of D.C.” when it launches Aug. 5, but not because they allegedly gate-crashed the White House.

The couple, finally confirmed as part of the cast, was already embedded in the series well before showing up at a state dinner last year, Bravo executives said Tuesday. (The Salahis contend they were invited; state and federal investigations have yet to put their stamp on that explanation or issue any reprisals.)

The lead-up to the alleged gate crashing will be part of the show, focusing on the Salahis as they primp for the special night. What happened inside the White House gates, where “Housewives” producers weren’t credentialed, will not.

— T.L. Stanley

Prince merits BET tribute

This month’s BET Awards will be a royal affair: Prince is getting a lifetime achievement honor.

The 52-year-old joins the likes of James Brown, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross and Al Green in being honored by the BET Awards, which will celebrate their 10th year in Los Angeles on June 27.

BET says the Prince tribute will stand out. Stephen G. Hill, president of programming, music and specials for the network, said BET will celebrate the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s “unique style.”

— Associated Press

Crowe goes into spy mode

Russell Crowe has attached himself to play Robert McCall, the mysterious agent made famous by Edward Woodward in the 1980s CBS crime series “The Equalizer.” Fans of the series will remember that McCall’s background was murky — he once worked for a top-secret agency, where he did some pretty horrible things — and we watched him every week in his new, repentance-minded guise, righting wrongs for the persecuted by settling scores with their persecutors (and assorted miscreants).

Crowe will be seen in another character-driven thriller — the kind of role in which he excels — when he unites with Paul Haggis in the thriller “The Next Three Days,” in which he plays a husband whose wife is wrongly accused of murder. Crowe is also loosely attached to some other films, but does not have a new movie lined up.

— Steven Zeitchik

Olbermann sub’s new show

Lawrence O’Donnell, whose career has taken him from the halls of the U.S. Senate to the writing room of a top entertainment show, is now getting his own prime-time show on MSNBC.

The cable news network announced Tuesday that O’Donnell, a longtime political analyst for MSNBC who has been a regular substitute for Keith Olbermann, will helm a show that will air weeknights at 7 p.m. PDT, replacing the repeat of Olbermann’s nightly program.

MSNBC President Phil Griffin said O’Donnell fits perfectly with the rest of the network’s lineup, calling him “smart, progressive and based in fact.”

Griffin said he concluded O’Donnell was the right pick for the time slot after seeing that he was able to hold much of Olbermann’s viewership when he filled in for him during the last year. “He’s proven to connect with our audience,” Griffin said.

— Matea Gold