"The Office" star Creed Bratton appears in a series of compromising web-only episodes

WORKPLACE 'BLACKMAIL': Imagine that the creepiest guy in your office manages to get some dirt on you and is using it to blackmail you. Imagine how that would threaten your quiet life among the cubicles.

But throw in the fact that your workplace happens to be Dunder Mifflin's Scranton office, and the scenario suddenly seems aimed towards darkly comic laughs.

That is, at least, what NBC hopes will be the case. The network recently launched a new web series about the most unusual quality assurance director around, "The Office's" Creed Bratton.

The web series, titled "The Office: Blackmail," will follow Bratton as he attempts to blackmail his fellow Dunder Mifflin employees and will undoubtedly offer an expanded look at the quirky character, who is already known for being a marijuana-smoking kleptomaniac and former cult member who frequently sleeps under his desk.

B.J. Novak, a writer and co-executive producer of "The Office," who also stars as Ryan Howard in the series, is directing the "Blackmail" webisodes. Nate Federman and Jonathan Hughes, who got their start writing for the parent show, are the scribes credited with all the hijinx  that go on in "Blackmail."

But, of course, large amounts of that credit will also be due to "Blackmail's" star, Bratton, who portrays a fictionalized version of himself around the Dunder Mifflin office.

The web series also features other familiar faces from "The Office," including Meredith Palmer (played by Kate Flannery), Andy Bernard (Ed Helms), Kelly Kapoor (Mindy Kaling), Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey) and Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nunez).

The web series can be found at www.nbc.com/The_Office/webisodes, which also features bonus material such as Bratton's video commentary, his weekly blog and behind-the-scenes footage. There's even a section that allows viewers to upload images and create their own joke blackmail video threats to send to friends.

THE SOUNDS OF ABC: Whether it's for grooving, dancing, rocking or just relaxing, ABC has its viewers' music needs covered with two new initiatives that are bringing the sounds and their fans closer together.

For starters, the network has launched a new installment of its annual tradition that brings together the network's top-rated morning show and some of the biggest names in the music business. They converge in a special concert series that takes place in New York's Central Park.

The debut of the 2009 Summer Concert Series last week saw Green Day rock the "Good Morning America" set at the park's Rumsey Playfield, which was the band's first-ever appearance on a morning television show. The concert series is the first of its kind to be broadcast live on a morning program from Central Park.

This Friday will feature a performance by R&B/soul man John Legend, followed next week by teen sensations The Jonas Brothers.

Performances will continue every Friday through to the end of August, with a lineup that includes Jamie Foxx, the cast of Broadway's "Hair," Brad Paisley, Queen Latifah, Kelly Clarkson, Kenny Chesney, Reba McEntire, and more.

As well, the network recently launched the ABC Music Lounge (musiclounge.abc.go.com), which utilizes modern digital tools to connect ABC viewers to the music featured in their shows.

The site has everything an ABC music fan could need, including a streaming radio station featuring songs that have been used in such hit ABC shows as "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives," "Scrubs" and "Ugly Betty." Artists' music videos are also available, as are clips of exclusive live performances on the network's talk shows; featured artist pages that include photos, quotes and interviews; and discussions with music supervisors and series producers, who explain how they chose the songs used in the shows. There is even the option to buy and download the songs heard on the streaming radio station.

BURNETT'S BOOMING REALITY: Mark Burnett and his production company have a very busy year ahead of them.

Not only has one of the company's most popular shows been renewed for a ninth season, but it also has a new venture in the works that will expand the reach of the company's international arm as well as mark its first foray into scripted television.

NBC recently announced that it has renewed "The Celebrity Apprentice" for another turn, which is set to air next spring.

Donald Trump, the intimidating businessman whose catch phrase, "You're fired," has become synonymous with the show, is set to return for the new season. However, the list of celebrity contestants has not yet been announced.

Celebrities seem to work well with Mark Burnett Productions, so when the company recently decided to venture into scripted television, picking up "Head Case" was a natural choice.

The company has signed on to market the Starz comedy to international audiences. The series, which stars Alexandra Wentworth as an unconventional therapist with an A-list clientele, is being shopped around to various foreign broadcasters, including those in Britain, Colombia and Argentina.

Burnett hopes that the new versions of the show will be produced locally and feature guest appearances by celebrities from those respective regions. The American version has already featured guests such as Jerry Seinfeld, Jeff Goldblum, Hugh Hefner and Jeff Probst.

Burnett is often credited as the architect of modern reality-television formats. His hit show "Survivor" was one of the two main series (the other being "American Idol") that kick-started the surge in popularity of reality programs in the early 2000s. Since then, Mark Burnett Prods. has been behind other such international successes as "Amne$ia," "Rock Star: INXS," "On the Lot" and "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?"