[Televisionary]

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello has an exclusive first-look at the upcoming musical episode of FOX's Fringe , set to air April 29th. "We didn’t set out to do a musical," Fringe 's executive producer Jeff Pinkner told Ausiello. "We set out to do an episode that explored Walter’s state of mind — he’s dealing with some very upsetting news. When we realized that the way Walter would deal with such news would be to try to anesthetize himself with copious amounts of marijuana, well, singing and dancing became a natural outcome." [Editor: Hmmm, just what could that "very upsetting news" be?] ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) A rather big speed bump has emerged during the ongoing talks between Conan O'Brien at FOX. Hollywood Reporter 's James Hibberd and Matthew Belloni are reporting that while the negotiations between the former Tonight Show host and FOX have been smoot

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. Nathan Fillion fans, rejoice! ABC yesterday announced that it had ordered a full third season for procedural drama Castle , picking up the Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic-led series for a full season of 22 episodes. The pickup came a day after Castle hit a ratings high (14.5 million total viewers and 3.7/10 in the key demo) and as well as broke a record for scripted series at ABC on Mondays at 10 pm ET/PT and its best key demo ratings in the timeslot since 2001. (via press release) Meanwhile, The Wrap's Josef Adalian has a quick Q&A with ABC chief Steve McPherson about Castle 's renewal. "We all believed, on both the production side and the network side, we believed in the creative on this show from the get-go," McPherson told Adalian. "We loved the casting, we loved Andrew (Marlowe, executive producer) and the work he was doing on the story-telling. It's a great story of patience. It's good to se

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Thomas Haden Church ( All About Steve ) will star opposite Matt LeBlanc, Claire Forlani, Kathleen Rose Perkins, and Stephen Mangan in Showtime's upcoming single-camera comedy series Episodes , where he will play Merc Lapidus, the network president who purchases the format for a British comedy series and then ruins it when he attempts to adapt it for American audiences. Church is slated to appear in six out of seven of Episodes ', er, episodes. Series will air on BBC Two in the UK. ( Variety ) Starz is heading to Camelot. The pay cabler has ordered ten episodes of romantic adventure series Camelot , a contemporary retelling of the Arthurian legends of Thomas Malory's "Morte d'Arthur" that will be written by Chris Chibnall ( Torchwood ) and executive produced by Graham King and The Tudors ' Morgan O'Sullivan and Michael Hirst. Production on the series, originally developed at Showtime, is set to begin

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. Former White Collar co-star (and The Middleman star) Natalie Morales has landed a recurring role on NBC's Parks and Recreation , according to Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello. Morales has signed on to Parks for a multiple-episode story arc in which she will play Lucy, described as "a smart and funny busgirl at a local Pawnee bar." [Editor: Hollywood Reporter 's Nellie Andreeva, meanwhile, indicates that Morales will be appearing "in at least two episodes," the same ones that are set to feature guest stars Rob Lowe and Adam Scott.] ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files , Hollywood Reporter ) The Chicago Tribune 's Maureen Ryan is reporting that Caprica executive producer Jane Espenson--who previously wrote for Battlestar Galactica and Buffy the Vampire Slayer --will write a script for HBO's upcoming fantasy drama series Game of Thrones , based on the George R.R. Martin nove

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Good news for Fringe fans: the Pattern will be continuing next season. FOX has officially renewed the drama series for a third season this fall. " Fringe tapped into a deep creative mine this year that built momentum throughout the season and helped give us our first real foothold on TV’s most competitive night,” said Kevin Reilly, President, Entertainment for Fox Broadcasting Company, in a statement. "The entire Fringe team – from the producers and writers to the cast and crew – has taken smart storytelling and top production quality to a whole new level. The rest of this season is mind-blowing, and we can’t wait to get started on the third installment of this amazing journey." Meanwhile, Fringe resumes with eight all-new episodes on Thursday, April 1st. (via press release) The Guardian 's Simon Hattenstone has a huge profile of new Doctor Who star Matt Smith, who takes over the mantle of the Doctor from forme

Oh, happy day. NBC has announced that it will keep its Thursday night lineup intact next season, renewing Community, The Office , and 30 Rock for the 2010-11 season. The news comes on the heels of an early third season pickup for fellow Thursday laffer Parks and Recreation . "We are happy to give these early pickups to these critically acclaimed, incredibly funny comedies," said Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios, in a statement. "As a result, we look forward to continuing our rewarding partnership with the respective creative teams and talented show-runners for 30 Rock, The Office and Community as they all consistently deliver quality shows.” The news is especially good for Community , the sole freshman comedy among the pack, which will be returning for Season Two this fall. Renewal comes after Bromstad yesterday said she was "hopeful" about the Sony Pictures Television-produced series returning next season.

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Los Angeles Times ' Denise Martin is reporting that Party Down star Adam Scott is heading to NBC's Parks and Recreation , where he is slated to turn up in the final episodes of the season... alongside Rob Lowe, in fact. [Editor: could their sudden appearances in Pawnee be linked?] Scott, who will serve as as a series regular for Parks ' third season, has also signed a first-look deal with NBC and Universal Media Studios, under which he will develop new series projects. Parks and Recreation co-creator Mike Schur described Scott as "brilliant and funny -- and he's funny in a lot of different ways. There just aren't that many people with a comedic range that spans Step Brothers to Party Down ." As for Party Down fans worried that this would mean the end of Henry Pollard, Martin reports that "Scott said he'd be open to coming back to reprise his role should "Party Down" be renewed."

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. This is a series I want to watch: Locke and Ben as cutthroat buddies. Well, sort of, anyway. TV Guide Magazine 's Will Keck is reporting that Lost 's Terry O'Quinn is shopping a bible for a series that would star him and fellow Lost cast member Michael Emerson, in which the duo would play suburban hit men who must balance their work and home lives. "I really hope this works out because Michael would be in his prime in this," O'Quinn told Keck. "We’d play kind of awkward partners." Michael Emerson, meanwhile, is more than open to working alongside Quinn again. "It’s very sweet of him," Emerson told Keck. "I’m all in favor of it. Any reason to work with Terry again." ( TV Guide Magazine ) The Chicago Tribune 's Maureen Ryan has an interview with Caprica stars Sasha Roiz and Alessandra Torresani about what's coming up on the series and how their characters fit into the lar

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. Production on CBS comedy Two and a Half Men has been temporarily shut down after series lead Charlie Sheen checked himself into a rehab clinic. His decision comes on the heels of some serious legal troubles for the star of the Warner Bros. Television-produced series after his arrest in December and a domestic violence charge against his wife Brooke Mueller. ( Variety , New York Times ) CBS' Nina Tassler, Warner Bros. Television's Peter Roth, and executive producer Chuck Lorre issued the following joint statement: "CBS, Warner Bros. Television and Chuck Lorre support Charlie Sheen in his decision today to begin voluntary in-patient care at a treatment center. We wish him nothing but the best as he deals with this personal matter. Production on Two and a Half Men will be temporarily suspended." [Editor: it's a bit of an about-face for Lorre, who had cracked a joke at the TCA Winter Press Tour when asked about