[Televisionary]

Wondering just what went down with Flipping Out 's Jeff Lewis and Ryan Brown? Or where their relationship stands now following last fall's explosive reunion special? Head over to The Daily Beast, where you can read my latest feature, entitled " Flipping Out 's Real-Life Fall-Out," where I talk to Jeff Lewis, Ryan Brown, Jenni Pulos, and Bravo's Andy Cohen about Season Four of Flipping Out , Jeff's now booming design business, and whether television ruined his relationship with Ryan Brown. Were you on Team Jeff or Team Ryan last year? And does the piece change your perspective at all or strengthen your convictions? Head to the comments section to discuss, debate, and analyze. Season Four of Flipping Out begins tomorrow night at 9 pm ET/PT on Bravo. You can read my advance review of the fourth season premiere here .

At the end of it all, sometimes all we leave behind is a mark on the wall. That seemed to be the message behind this week's beautiful and lyrical episode of Mad Men ("The Good News"), written by Jonathan Abrahams and Matthew Weiner and directed by Jennifer Getzinger, which seemed to offer the suggestion that just about everything in life--whether that be beer and abalone at the beach, an afternoon movie, or a rendezvous with a call girl--are in themselves welcome distractions from the true issues at hand, from the omnipresent threat of death and loss. It's only fitting then that the distractions faced by Don Draper, Lane Pryce, and Joan Harris, are offered up as the calendar pages flit from one year to the next. New Year's Eve and New Year's Day represent the alpha and omega of the neverending cycle of life, the passage of time. It's only fitting that January should be named for the Roman god Janus, whose two heads looked in either direction and so too th

"Someday, it won't hurt so bad." - Alcide Whether it's love or guilt--or something in between--there's an invisible thread binding us to those in our lives. In an installment filled with reunions, reconciliations, and rather disturbing dreams, True Blood 's characters had a knack for ricocheting off of one another in some intriguing and eye-opening ways, resulting in a cascade of emotions--and blood--that mark a major turning point for the season. Last night's episode of True Blood ("Night on the Sun"), written by Raelle Tucker and directed by Lesli Linka Glatter, managed to pull off just that, turning in a crimson-soaked installment that was high on both drama and emotional resonance as an age-old quest for revenge struck home, parents sought to protect their offspring, and friends gathered together for a moment in the sun, a respite from the darkness that has been closing in all season long. But it was also an episode that offered up questions

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Former Friday Night Lights star Zach Gilford has joined the cast of ABC's midseason medical drama Off the Map , from executive producers Shonda Rhimes and Jenna Bans. TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams reports that Gilford will play Tommy, a physician who travels to a remote medical clinic in South America along with fellow doctors Lily (Caroline Dhavernas) and Mina (Mamie Gummer). (The series' other stars include Martin Henderson, Jason George, and Valerie Cruz.) Gilford's casting comes on the heels of the hiring of Rachelle Lefevre as a regular and the departure of Enrique Murciano, though ABC was quick to point out that Gilford won't be playing the same role that Murciano did, a spoiled and uptight plastic surgeon. [Editor: I'm chuffed to see Gilford--who we all know best as Saracen--head back to primetime.] ( TVGuide.com ) Not a moment too soon: HBO's long-running comedy Entourage will end next year, accord

HBO teased a fifteen-second clip of its upcoming George R.R. Martin series Game of Thrones to critics on the final day of the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour. At the executive session earlier this afternoon, the pay cabler declined to name an exact launch date for Game of Thrones but indicated that it would premiere in Spring 2011, possibly as early as March. "It's about a quest for power and a quest for the kingdom," said Michael Lombardo, HBO president of programming, about the series, which is based on Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. "It was an easy answer," said Richard Plepler about picking up the project to series, considering it's a genre that HBO isn't typically known for and which isn't usually a favorite of Plepler or Lombardo. "It wasn't the genre that we responded to, it was the storytelling," he continued. In other HBO-related news: True Blood : Alan Ball's involvement in upcoming drama

It's a homecoming of sorts. Televisionary has confirmed reports that Jane Badler, who starred in NBC's 1983 miniseries V (and the subsequent V: The Final Battle and the short-lived 1984-1985 series) and is currently recurring on Aussie soap Neighbours , has been cast in ABC's revival series, which returns for a second season in November. V showrunner/executive producer Scott Rosenbaum teased crowds at the V panel at San Diego Comic-Con (moderated by yours truly) when he let slip that we would soon be meeting the mother of Visitor high commander Anna (Morena Baccarin) and that Mommy Dearest's name was, um, Diana. (I then asked Rosenbaum point-blank if Badler would be cast and he declined to answer.) Rosenbaum today confirmed a TV Guide Magazine report that indicated that Badler had been cast in the role. "I'm very excited," Rosenbaum said to me via email earlier today. "As I said [at] Comic Con, the role would go to the best actor. Jane's aud

Good news for Torchwood fans: pre-production on the fourth season of Torchwood seems to be moving apace, with production set for January in the United Kingdom and North America. Overseen by Russell T Davies, Season Four of Torchwood --will will be titled Torchwood: The New World , according to publicity reports I've seen--has shored up its writing staff for the series, which is set to kick off next summer on Starz and BBC One. According to The Chicago Tribune 's Maureen Ryan , Davies will write several episodes out of the ten-installment season and has hired some noteworthy scribes to join him in the hub, including Caprica 's Jane Espenson (who is also contributing a script to HBO's Game of Thrones ), John Shiban ( Breaking Bad ), Doris Egan ( House ), and original-flavor Torchwood 's John Fay. The new season of Torchwood , if you couldn't tell from the subtitle, will have more of an international feel than the previous seasons, where the action was more or le