Here’s some breaking news. Literally.

E! Online has confirmed that Kristin Chenoweth, the beloved Broadway superstar who is a series regular on ABC’s much buzzed about new series Pushing Daisies, slipped and fell at home down a concrete staircase and fractured a few ribs.

Sources say the actress is recovering and is even determined not miss a minute of the show’s production schedule.

However, producers have insisted on moving around a few scenes in order to give her as much rest as possible.

We wish her a speedy recovery!

Pushing Daisies may be easier to watch than it is to describe.

In a medium that thrives on the cut-and-dried, the new ABC fall series is part romantic fantasy, part comedy and partly a whimsical take on crime-solving.

And it concerns itself with death, or rather, undeath: Its hero, Ned (Lee Pace) — a pie-shop owner who can bring the dead back to life with a touch of his finger — helps a detective solve murder cases by interviewing the victims. One of them, it turns out, is his childhood sweetheart, but their love must remain unrequited. If he kisses or even touches her again, she’ll die for good.

“I always feel so stupid, like I’m not doing the show justice, when you try to say, ‘I play Ned, who can touch dead people and bring them back to life, but if I touch them a second time, then they die. And if I keep them alive for more than a minute, then someone else will die,’” says Pace. “It makes it sound like CSI with a twist. It’s a really tricky one to describe.”

Therefore, ABC would just as soon not bother.

“Certain people are going to tap into the procedural (murder story) and love that, other people are going to get swept away in the romance, some people will like the magical realism elements or the comedy of it, and hopefully some people will love it all,” ABC Entertainment chief Stephen McPherson says.

Due Wednesdays at 8 ET/PT starting Oct. 3, this ABC comic drama is a visually stunning fairy tale: colorful, life-affirming and dripping with cinematic flourishes, courtesy of creator Bryan Fuller and director Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black).

In a new season full of more shows about cops, lawyers and sexy doctors, Daisies is a genre-busting standout, already embraced by many critics as the best of the freshman crop, but labeled by just as many as a hard sell.

Marketing the show to viewers is “definitely a challenge,” says the network’s promo chief, Mike Benson, “but for us, it’s really about selling the magical romance of the show. We’re really trying to sell an overall feeling rather than trying to make them understand exactly what it’s about.”

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Fans of Boston Public and The Nine know Chi McBride as a portrayer of stand-up citizens.

They may need to readjust their focus on Pushing Daisies, however, as the actor takes on a more nuanced, less ethical role.

McBride describes Emerson Cod, his character on this hyped new show, as follows: He’s a private investigator who uses Ned’s powers to help collect reward money.

“Emerson only cares about two things: ‘I gotta get paid and I gotta go home,’ ” McBride says. “He’s a character of questionable morality. But you will see that’s a veneer for something that happened that was very painful in his life.”

That Pushing Daisies marketing campaign must be working.

So far, the pilot that’s been screened by critics is receiving rave reviews. Here’s a sampling:

• TV Guide’s Michael Ausiello claimed that “ABC has found its next Lost!”
• Variety touted Pushing Daisies as”"the fall show with the most spring buzz.”
• New York Magazine also delivered praise, calling it “funny, imaginative and smart,” while claiming it “boasts Gilmore Girls-speed wit.”

We’re certainly sold! We can’t wait for the Pushing Daisies premiere on Wednesday, October 3 at 8 p.m.

If you had a pick a voice for an animated movie, Kristin Chenoweth would be among the best.

With that in mid, the folks at Disney have selected this Tony Award-winner as one of the characters in the upcoming cartoon film, Tinker Bell.

Before landing the role of Olive on Pushing Daisies, Chenoweth had performed in various musicals, concerts and Broadway productions. Anyone with the soundtrack to Wicked is aware of how well this beauty can carry a tune.

In Tinker Bell, she’ll be providing the voice of Rosetta, while Brittany Murphy portrays the title tole. Look forward to a 2008 release of the movie.

This isn’t really a Pushing Daisies spoiler because it’s an ad being run on ABC.

But some readers may have no interest at all in seeing scenes starring Lee Pace or any of the cast before the show premieres on October 3, so consider yourself warned.

Enjoy:

ABC is throwing its marketing weight behind Pushing Daisies.

The push began with spots for the new dramedy running in movie theaters throughout the summer. From there came a handful of public screenings, including a well-received look at Comic-Con in San Diego.

Next up? A screening at the New York Television Festival on September. 8. There have also been the more traditional on-air radio ads, TV promotions billboards nationwide. Heck, there are even glossy pop-up paper daisies waiting to spring into promotion in various magazines.

The most interesting marketing strategy, however, is handing out to the general public thousands of daisies with tags attached promoting the show.

Creator and executive producer Bryan Fuller - whose credits include Heroes and Wonderfals - said he is thrilled with the marketing so far.

“Heroes got a great marketing push from NBC and that was a great experience, to have people be aware of it, Fuller said. “With Wonderfalls, friends said, ‘Hey, when is the show coming on?’ I said, ‘It was canceled a month ago.’

We doubt anyone will have that same question for Pushing Daisies, which premieres October 3.