[Televisionary]

The date we've been waiting for is finally here. HBO today announced a launch date for Game of Thrones , its adaptation of George R.R. Martin's novels. That date? April 17th at 9 pm ET/PT. (The pay cable network also announced the start date for its upcoming Kate Winslet-led miniseries Mildred Pierce , which will air its first installment on March 27th. The sizzle reel they showed made the mini look insanely amazing.) As for Game of Thrones , I watched the 15-minute clip reel that HBO assembled and think that it looks extraordinary. Entire scenes have been reshot since the original pilot I saw last summer and several roles (in addition to the two major ones) have been recast. I also sat down with George R.R. Martin and David Benioff and Dan Weiss earlier today as a few of us joined the author and the series' executive producers for a series of roundtable discussions. More on that to come! Stay tuned.

AMC ANNOUNCES NEXT ORIGINAL SERIES, “THE KILLING” TO PREMIERE SUNDAY, APRIL 3rd AT 10PM/ET From Writer and Executive Producer Veena Sud Starring Mireille Enos, Billy Campbell, Joel Kinnaman, Michelle Forbes and Brent Sexton Pasadena, CA – January 7, 2010 – AMC announced today, from the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California, the premiere of AMC’s next original series, “The Killing,” on Sunday, April 3rd at 10pm ET/PT. From writer, executive producer and series’ showrunner Veena Sud (“Cold Case”), “The Killing” is based on the wildly successful Danish television series “Forbrydelsen.” It tells the story of the murder of a young girl in Seattle and the subsequent police investigation. Season one consists of thirteen, one-hour episodes. “The Killing” ties together three distinct stories around a single murder including the detectives assigned to the case, the victim’s grieving family and the suspects. Set in Seattle, the story also explores local politics a

The irony of airing a series based on a hit British series ( Shameless ) back-to-back with a comedy that satirizes that very process ( Episodes ) isn't lost on Showtime's president of entertainment David Nevins . But that juxtaposition is part of the charm of seeing these two series launch on Sunday evening. While tonally dissimilar, there's an anarchistic quality to both Shameless and Episodes . While both are enjoyable series in their own right, it's Shameless that is the true breakout hit for the network, a remarkable translation of Paul Abbott's hit C4 drama, which deposits the rough-scrabble Gallagher family to the mean street of Chicago. Overseen by ER 's John Wells, Shameless is gripping and absorbing television that's instantly ranks as the best of 2011. At turns hilarious, gut-wrenching, heartbreaking, and sexy, Shameless upholds the high quality of the British original (along with borrowing some plot points in the first few episodes as well). T

Former producer David Nevins stunned many Hollywood insiders when he announced that he was stepping down from his role at Imagine Television and taking the top job at Showtime, recently vacated by Robert Greenblatt. Now five months into his term at Showtime, I sit down with Nevins over lunch in a new feature at The Daily Beast, entitled "Showtime's New Mastermind, David Nevins," in which he tells me about his “girly taste in television,” and why it’s “fun to be naughty” as a programmer. We also discuss what's coming up for the network, what's in development (Damian Lewis/Claire Danes psychological drama Homeland, House of Lies , starring Don Cheadle), the challenges and opportunities facing Showtime, which is on a growth trend, and, um, selling Time Life books over the phone.

Things fall apart. That would seem to be the message of this week's powerfully moving episode of Friday Night Lights ("Fracture"), written by Bridget Carpenter and directed by Allison Liddi, but that's not really what's at play here. A beautifully nuanced episode about fracturing relationships and imploding teams, it was also a portrait of the way in which connections can occur and fractured relationships can knit themselves back together. Just as the Dillon Lions seem to be at their lowest point, things get even worse for them. A fight breaks out between Vince and Luke as they prepare to take the stage at a pep rally. Coach Taylor is forced to utter a lie about victory even as he sees his team struggling to be a unified front. Julie turns her car around once more. But it's the little moments that offer some hope: the way that Becky leaves the note for Luke on his windshield, the blossoming of the bond between Tami and Epyck, that final knock at the door. Thi

It's that time of year once again: the start of the twice-yearly Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour. As always, I'll be attending the press tour--held once again in Pasadena--and will be reporting and live-tweeting from the press confab as well as conducting one-on-one interviews for use at a later date. Among the series and their talent being brought over for the press tour: HBO's hotly anticipated Game of Thrones , AMC's superlative thriller The Killing , Starz's Torchwood and Camelot , Mildred Pierce , Upstairs Downstairs , The Good Wife , Falling Skies , Franklin and Bash , IFC's Portlandia , A&E's Breakout Kings , Off the Map, The Chicago Code, Terra Nova, The Borgias, Shameless, Justified , and dozens more. But I'm sadly skipping the journey to Pasadena today as I need write two features for The Daily Beast and start on a third. Stay tuned.

In the U.K.'s smash hit Downton Abbey , coming to PBS Sunday, the period drama is reinvented for a new generation. After all of the scrapes with The Daily Mail , the praise from yours truly , and huge ratings in the UK, Julian Fellowes' sumptuous costume drama Downton Abbey finally reaches American shores this weekend. Over at The Daily Beast, I spoke with creator Lord Fellowes and stars Dan Stevens and Hugh Bonneville about Downton Abbey for my latest feature, entitled " Downton Abbey Comes to Masterpiece " , in which I also look at the drama series as a condition-of-England piece and its relationship to another British import, the return of Upstairs, Downstairs . Downton Abbey premieres Sunday evening at 9 pm ET/PT as part of PBS' Masterpiece Classic . Check your local listings for details.