[Televisionary]

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. The CW has given early renewals to five of its series, including freshman drama The Vampire Diaries , reality series America's Next Top Model , and Gossip Girl, Supernatural , and 90210 . However, not on the list are One Tree Hill , which has even odds at renewing, the ratings-starved Melrose Place , and newbie Life Unexpected , which has struggled in the ratings. ( Variety ) There's a bit of a caveat to that early Supernatural renewal. Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that creator/executive producer Eric Kripke will be stepping down as showrunner on the Warner Bros. Television-produced series, with executive producer Sera Gamble set to take over the reins next season. "Kripke will remain actively involved in the show — and not just in name only," writes Ausiello. "Although CW and Warner Bros. reps declined to comment, a Supernatural insider assures me that Kripke and his current co

"You always said you were a terrible mother." - Ellen This week's episode of Damages ("Don't Throw That at the Chicken"), written by Jeremy Doner and directed by Matthew Penn, ramped up the tension and offered some truly jaw-dropping plot twists this week, after last week's episode, which confined the action to the present day and focused mainly on Ellen's familial situation and the Danielle Marchetti/airport storyline. Instead, last night's absolutely fantastic episode offered several tantalizing subplots and gave us some answers as well as moved Ellen and Patty closer together again, pushing Ellen into the orbit of the Tobin fraud case and back into Hewes & Associates (or, rather, Hewes & Shayes) and back on the couch with Patty, the site of oh so many plans and so many bitter memories. The theme for this week's episode? Escaping the past expectations of ourselves and our parents. Perfectly fitting for a storyline that encapsulates

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Given that it's the day after a US holiday, there are precious few headlines this morning but here's what we've got. TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams is reporting that Michael Trucco ( Battlestar Galactica ) has been cast as a guest star on ABC's sci-fi drama V . Trucco is set to appear in the April 13th episode as the enigmatic John May, the leader of the Fifth Column, a group of rebel Visitors who have been plotting to overthrow the leadership of the alien race. ( TVGuide.com ) A slew of pilot castings: Amy Smart ( Scrubs ) has been cast in CBS' untitled medical drama from executive producer John Wells ( ER ) and writer Hannah Shakespeare ( The Philanthropist ) about a mobile medical team that travels the US and helps those less fortunate yet in need of serious medical attention. Smart will play Meg Cooper, "a tough nurse who stands up to the doctors and sleeps with one of them." Elsewhere, Michelle Bo

"I'm damaged." - Nicki "I think I can understand how difficult this must be, keeping a secret." - Bill Last night's exquisite episode of Big Love ("Under One Roof"), written by Coleman Herbert and directed by Dan Attias, was the halfway point for the fourth season of Big Love and it built on the slow burn approach of the last few episodes to deliver a staggering and heartbreaking installment about the struggles of several characters, each of whom has attempted to overcome their imperfections to attempt to become worthy of the celestial kingdom they each hope to ascend to. The quest for perfection and the damage done by the polygamist lifestyle the characters have been either born into or (in some cases) thrust into has always been lurking in the background on Big Love , but never has this intriguing theme been so perfectly explored than in last night's episode, which continues to haunt me the morning after it aired. A sister's love, a lov

Looking to discuss the season premiere of CBS' fantastic reality series The Amazing Race ? Head over to my piece, entitled " The Amazing Race : Painting the Town Red," on the Los Angeles Times /Show Tracker site , where you can read my take on the season opener, map-averse beauty queens, the difference between Brazilian and Chilean money, interior painters, and much more. (The piece itself is a post-air story that follows up Friday's piece about five reasons why you should tune in this season to The Amazing Race .) 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 ("When the Cow Kicked Me in the Head"), the ten remaining teams depart the Pit Stop at Palacio Baburizza in Valparaiso, Chile on the second leg of a race around the world.

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Just a few headlines to get through today, which is Presidents' Day here in the US. (If you're lucky enough to have the day off, get out there and do something fun.) Los Angeles Times ' Maria Elena Fernandez is reporting that studio 20th Century Fox Television has temporarily suspended production on FOX's 24 in order to accommodate a medical procedure for series lead Kiefer Sutherland involving a ruptured cyst. Production on the series, likely in its final season, is thought to begin again in roughly a week and will not affect scheduling for Day Eight of 24 . "While Kiefer Sutherland is frustrated to miss even one day of work, he and Fox decided together that it would be best to complete this minor elective procedure now as a precaution as opposed to six weeks from now when production wraps," said Sutherland's publicist Evelyn Karamanos in a statement. "He looks forward to returning to work next wee

Looking for more information about BBC America's post-apocalyptic drama series Survivors ? Head over to The Daily Beast to read my latest piece, entitled, "The Lonely Life of Survivors ," which is an interview with writer/executive producer Adrian Hodges in which we discuss the differences between Survivors and Terry Nation's original 1970s drama series, H1N1 fears, hope versus hopelessness, the human condition, and much more. Survivors premieres tonight at 8 pm ET/PT on BBC America.