[Televisionary]

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. "Danger zone!" FX has ordered a second season of its animated action-comedy Archer , from creators Adam Reed and Matthew Thompson. The cabler has commissioned 13 episodes for the series' second season, which is set to launch next year. The order is up from the seven installments that comprised Season One of Archer . [Editor: while Archer started off rocky and is somewhat hit-or-miss, I'm actually quite enjoying its off-kilter madcap action now that the season is set to wrap in a few weeks' time.] ( Variety ) The Los Angeles Times ' Maria Elena Fernandez talks to Lost showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse about their partnership on the show. And thanks to a video interview, you can get the words from Team Darlton themselves as they recount the events back in 2004 that lead to the duo forming one of Hollywood's strongest creative partnerships. ( Los Angeles Times ' Show Tracker ) SPOILER! Mean...

Anticipation is running high for the return of NBC's action-comedy Chuck after three weeks off the air (thanks to the Olympics) and the unveiling of a romantic subplot that, er, may have rubbed certain fans the wrong way. The public reaction to the last episode that aired ( "Chuck Versus the Mask" ) took many people--including this critic--by surprise, not because the writers had once again managed to keep Sarah and Chuck separate but by the vehemence and venom being hurled at the series' producers and the installment's writer, Phil Klemmer. (It also had some fans clamoring for what would most certainly be a destructive boycott of the series itself, a terrible and foolhardy effort that would lead not to any plot direction changes but to an inevitable cancellation.) I had the opportunity over the weekend to watch the next four superb installments of Chuck , which returns to the NBC schedule a week from today, and was extremely pleased by what I watched. For one, t...

"I'm not that person that you think I'm becoming." - Bill This week's stunning episode of Big Love ("Blood Atonement"), written by Julia Cho and directed by David Petrarca, featuring not only one of the most shocking moments so far on the series to date but also offered an exploration of the characters' innermost psyches by focusing on their past mistakes. Both Bill and Joey have been beset by feelings of vengeance, but both carried them out in different ways. Bill has long attempted to escape the squalid filth and treachery of the Juniper Creek compound but far too often finds himself dragged right back in. He never chose to leave in the first place; that decision was made for him by Roman Grant and his father Frank Harlow and that moment has haunted him for the rest of his life. Joey, meanwhile, murdered Roman as an act of revenge for the death of Kathy Marquart and his quest for payback extends to the twisted Hollis Greene as well, even if it mea...

PBS' long-running (and recently rebranded) Masterpiece has signed a co-production deal with BBC Worldwide that will encompass several international co-productions. These will include a new production of beloved period drama Upstairs, Downstairs , Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss' modern take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes ( Sherlock , starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, and Rupert Graves), and three mysteries based on Michael Dibden's Aurelio Zen novels starring Rufus Sewell. "I'm so proud of this particular group of programs," said Masterpiece executive producer Rebecca Eaton in a statement. "These three series say everything about what Masterpiece aims to be: iconic, rich with wonderful actors, witty, literate, and timeless. I can't wait to see them all." "These three co-productions offer a new spin on well-known, treasured stories and we're thrilled to be working with Masterpiece to bring them to life,...

Looking to discuss the latest episode of CBS' fantastic reality series The Amazing Race ? Head over to the Los Angeles Times /Show Tracker to read my latest piece, entitled " The Amazing Race : Don't Let the Cowboy Hat Fool You," where you can read my take on the latest episode, why the cowboys Jet and Cord are my new favorite team (and "the most magical people ever"), why you should always check what terminal your bus departs at, and more. Sound off in the comments section and be sure to come back next week as I'll be discussing each episode of The Amazing Race all season long. Next week on The Amazing Race ("Run Like Scalded Dogs!"), nine remaining teams depart the Pit Stop at Gruta de la Virgen in Puerto Varas, Chile on the third leg of a race around the world for one million dollars.

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Loads of headlines to get through today! Former Battlestar Galactica star Katee Sackhoff (currently co-starring as Dana Walsh on FOX's 24 ) has landed the lead in ABC's untitled Richard Hatem drama pilot, which revolves around a female detective (Sackhoff) who teams up with a disgraced former cop who has been framed and gone underground. Together, they solve crimes and attempt to unmask the conspiracy that ensnared him. Sackhoff, who last season starred in NBC drama pilot Lost & Found , had received multiple offers this pilot season before deciding to jump into Hatem's drama pilot. Sackhoff's casting doesn't shed any light on a possible Day Nine of 24 , with producers saying that she could take this role should it go to series, even if 24 returns next season. ( Hollywood Reporter ) Want a frozen banana with that? FOX is said to be thisclose to giving a pilot order to an untitled single-camera comedy starring ...

"Everywhere and anywhere. Every star that ever was... Where do you want to start?" BBC One and BBC America have released a new one-minute teaser trailer for Season Five of Doctor Who , which is set to air this spring. Featuring new series lead Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, who plays the Eleventh Doctor's first companion Amy Pond, the trailer depicts the duo cast into the time vortex, surrounded by some of the Doctor's most fearsome adversaries, including a Dalek, a Weeping Angel, a Smiler, and more. Not to mention the classic Doctor "who?" pun. You can check out the trailer below. Season Five of Doctor Who will air this spring on BBC One and BBC America.

Imagine a world where the very simplest of actions, the most basic of decisions, could produce a flood of absurd consequences. You'd likely be too terrified to even step outside of your box-sized Manhattan apartment but for Tim, the hero and titular character of HBO's animated comedy The Life and Times of Tim seems to have not heeded the lesson that if you stick your hand in the flames, you're likely to get burned. Season Two of HBO's cheeky The Life and Times of Tim begins tonight and finds Tim (voiced by series creator Steve Dildarian) attempting to get out of a slew of bizarre circumstances that he has found himself in by dint of being, well, Tim. Whether it's his possible replacement at the nebulous company Omnicorp by a homeless man named Vince (guest star Tony Hale), thanks to his efforts to grow a beard, or suffering through a terrible revival of a 1940s play ("it's like an Arthur Miller play... only slower") so that his friend Stu (Nick Kroll...

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Syfy's latest original series Caprica isn't going anywhere any time soon, according to the cabler's EVP of original programming Mark Stern in an interview with Airlock Alpha's Michael Hinman. "We're definitely with Caprica for the long haul," said Stern. "There's no question about it. We knew exactly what it was not going to be, that is an easily adopted show. It's not Battlestar Galactica , it's its own animal. And we definitely recognize that it's going to find its audience and it's going to grow its audience... We're certainly not sharpening the axe by any stretch of the imagination. We all really believe in the show, and it has a lot of potential." Set to air its fourth episode tonight, Caprica will air the first half of its freshman season (10 episodes) before taking a breather and returning in late summer, where it will be paired with another original series as a...

If you ever listened to Ricky Gervais' hilarious podcast, you know what to expect from HBO's newest animated offering, The Ricky Gervais Show . But even if you have, the series will still make you laugh until it physically hurts. Featuring the voices of Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington, The Ricky Gervais Show takes those podcasts and animates them, transforming the musings of Gervais, Merchant, and Pilkington into something resembling a Flintstones cartoon, if Fred and Barney had a ridiculous naive friend and they all sat around talking bollocks and trashing him all the time. Meet Karl Pilkington. He of the roundest head in the world, Karl is a very easy target for the savage wit of writing partners Gervais and Merchant (who together created The Office and Extras ), who use the opportunity to pounce on anything remotely ridiculous emanating from Pilkington's mouth. Which, to be honest, is very thankfully most of the time. Arranged ostensibly as a roundtable ...

Lucky, lucky Brits. Broadcast 's Will Strauss is reporting that UK cinemas will show a special 3-D trailer for Season Five of Doctor Who , which features new series leads Matt Smith and Karen Gillan... as well as new head writer/executive producer Steven Moffat. The 40-second trailer, which will be converted to 3-D from 2-D, will mirror a new Doctor Who promo spot set to run this weekend on BBC One (and which will be made available Stateside by BBC America). It's expected to begin running in cinemas across the United Kingdom (as well as "external promotional screening events") in March. " Doctor Who is the appropriate vehicle for 3D," said a BBC spokesperson in a statement. "It just fits. It’s a great way to introduce and showcase the new Doctor to younger viewers." Season Five of Doctor Who will launch this spring on BBC One and BBC America.

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly 's Jeff Jensen and Dan Snierson are reporting that Maggie Grace is set to reprise her role as Shannon Rutherford on ABC's Lost later this season in an unspecified number of episodes. "We’re really excited about having her back on the show," showrunner/executive producer Carlton Cuse told EW.com, "and we have a good story for her." Grace joins fellow former cast members Ian Somerhalder, Harold Perrineau, Cynthia Watros, and Rebecca Mader, all of whom are set to return to Lost this season. Sadly, Malcolm David Kelley will be the only original cast member not returning. [Editor: Grace has been the center of several conflicting reports about her possible return or non-return, so this confirmation should finally put those to bed.] ( Entertainment Weekly 's PopWatch ) Looks like Nine Lives found another one. The twelve-hour mini-series from executive producer Steven Spielbe...