Jon Stewart hosts “Night of Too Many Stars”

Starstruck: Benefit shows are great; everyone comes out a winner.

Audiences at home get to see some of their favorite stars on their TV screens having a good time. The stars themselves get a chance to use their celebrity status to make a real difference. And, of course, the beneficiaries come out the real winners in the end.

“Night of Too Many Stars: America Comes Together For Autism Programs” may have a cheeky name, but that doesn’t mean that this isn’t a serious benefit. The live phone-in telethon -- its sixth biennial event -- airs Sunday, March 8, on Comedy Central and wraps around a pre-taped stage benefit that was filmed in New York City on Feb. 28.

Just like in the past, Comedy Central’s leading funnyman Jon Stewart (“The Daily Show With Jon Stewart”) is taking the reins this year to lead the charge for some of the people who need it the most: the men and women, boys and girls living with autism.

The money raised in “Night of Too Many Stars” will go towards helping people with autism live happy lives by providing funding for programs, schools and services.

With a cause this good, is it any wonder that there are “too many” celebrities coming out to help? Stewart won’t be the only star found on screen this night. Comedians Louis C.K. (“Louie”) and Amy Schumer (“Inside Amy Schumer”), actors Paul Rudd (“This is 40,” 2012) and Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”), and HBO host John Oliver (“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”) are just some of the stars who will be joining Stewart on stage to increase awareness for Americans with autism.

“Night of Too Many Stars” really is a win-win-win kind of event: the celebrities win, TV audiences win but, most of all, people with autism win. “Night of Too Many Stars: America Comes Together For Autism Programs” airs Sunday, March 8, on Comedy Central.

Of elves and humans: Things are moving ahead quickly with MTV’s adaption of “Shannara.”

With the massive success of "Game of Thrones" on HBO, other stations have been sniffing around for other fantasy works to adapt for the small screen, and MTV’s pickup of “The Shannara Chronicles” was announced in July of last year.

Since that announcement, it seems that casting has been moving ahead at full speed. Young heartthrob Austin Butler (“The Carrie Diaries,” “Arrow”) has been cast in a leading role as a man trying to hide the fact his heritage might not be quite as human as people think.

Joining him in the fantasy realm are Poppy Drayton (“Downton Abbey”), Ivana Baquero (“Pan’s Labyrinth,” 2006), Daniel MacPherson (“City Homicide”), Marcus Vanco (“Unbroken,” 2014), Brooke Williams (“The Almighty Johnsons”), Manu Bennett (“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” 2014) and John Rhys-Davies ("The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," 2001).

The “Shannara” series, written by novelist Terry Brooks, got its start in 1977 with “The Sword of Shannara,” the first book in the extensive series. Since then, more than 25 books have been published, and Brooks has gone on to become one of the most popular fantasy authors in the world. That’s a lot of material for any script writer or producer to work with.

To begin with, at least, the TV adaptation will focus on the events of the series’ second book, “The Elfstones of Shannara.”

No premiere date has been announced, but with MTV’s “Shannara” adaptation currently in production, it’s expected to hit TV screens later this year.

High school hijinks: HBO is going back to school. The premium channel skipped the pilot phase and ordered “Vice Principals” straight to series early last year, and it's looking like things are at last moving ahead with the comedy.

Set in a typical American high school, “Vice Principals” is about the people who almost run it -- the people almost, but not quite, at the top of the ladder.

Danny McBride and Walton Goggins have been cast as the the two VPs, each overseeing a different part of the school. McBride (“Pineapple Express,” 2008, "Eastbound & Down") will star as the divorced Neal Gamby, the vice-principal in charge of his school’s discipline. Goggins’ character, on the other hand, is in charge of the curriculum at the school, and his offer of an unholy alliance with Gamby is the setup for the laughs. Goggins earned himself an Emmy nomination for his role in “Justified,” and he’s also starred in “The Shield” and the big-screen hit “Django Unchained” (2012). Joining McBride and Goggins on screen will be “Boardwalk Empire’s” Shea Whigham, the new husband of Gamby’s ex-wife.

A premiere date for “Vice Principals” has yet to be announced.