[Televisionary]

Another quick bit of indulgent self-promotion on Emmy day. Please be sure to check out my latest piece for The Daily Beast, entitled "HBO's Troubadours Take Flight," featuring a one-on-one interview with Flight of the Conchords co-creator James Bobin. It's the latest installment of an Emmy story package at The Daily Beast and features a Q&A with James Bobin about the possibility of a third season, musical influences, Jemaine Clement's nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, working with Michel Gondry, and much more. You can read the piece in full here . Be sure to read the whole intro for Flight of the Conchords and then click on the gallery to read the Q&A .

Another quick bit of indulgent self-promotion this morning. Please be sure to check out my latest piece for The Daily Beast, entitled "The Magic of Mad Men ," featuring a one-on-one interview with Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner. It's the latest installment of an Emmy story package at The Daily Beast and features a Q&A with Matthew Weiner. The period drama is up for thirteen nominations this year, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor (Jon Hamm), Outstanding Lead Actress (Elisabeth Moss), Outstanding Supporting Actor (John Slattery), and Outstanding Writing, among others. You can read the piece in full here . Be sure to read the whole intro for Mad Men and then click on the gallery to read the Q&A .

Quick bit of indulgent self-promotion this morning. Please be sure to check out my first piece for The Daily Beast , entitled "Damages' Stylish Mind Game." It's the first installment of an Emmy story package at The Daily Beast and features a Q&A with Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman, the creators/executive producers of FX's legal thriller Damages , which is up for seven nominations this year, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Glenn Close), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (William Hurt), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Rose Byrne), Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (Ted Danson), Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (Todd A. Kessler), and Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series (Julie Tucker and Ross Meyerson). You can read the piece in full here . Be sure to read the whole intro for Damages and then click on the gallery to read the Q&A.

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. Cabler Syfy has ordered a 90-minute pilot for Zak Penn and Michael Karnow's action-adventure drama Alphas , which had been previously set up at ABC two season ago under the name Section 8 . Project, from BermanBraun Television and Universal Cable Studios, follows a team of agents who "possess hyper-developed neurological abilities" (read: superpowers). "What we loved about this idea is that it played into a new way of approaching the superhero genre: the idea of ordinary people who have one slightly extraordinary feature about them and are singularly not so special but together can do extraordinary things was very attractive," said Syfy EVP of original programming Mark Stern. Section 8 , which had a six-episode order from ABC, left the network post-writers' strike over creative differences before winding up at Syfy, which ordered it to pilot from the three projects in had in development. ( Hollywood Repo

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Grant Show, set to star on CBS comedy Accidentally on Purpose this fall, has said that he's open to appearing on the CW's revival of Melrose Place . "We've been talking, but nothing solid," Show says. "I'm not opposed to it... They haven't come up with the writing for me yet. I'm not sure they're even going to need me this year — maybe next year." Should Show close a deal to return to the series, he'll join original stars Josie Bissett, Thomas Calabro, Laura Leighton, and Daphne Zuniga as those who have turned up on Melrose 2.0 . ( TVGuide.com ) Jennifer Ehle ( Possession ) has joined the cast for the HBO fantasy drama pilot Game of Thrones , where she will play Catelyn Stark, the wife of Sean Bean's Ned Stark. Ehle's character was originally promised to Ned's older brother who was killed before they could marry; she then "fulfilled her duty by marrying Ned and sec

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. NBC has acquired Fox Television Studio's international co-production Persons Unknown , written and executive produced by Chris McQuarrie ( Valkyrie ). Series, which stars Jason Wiles ( Zodiac ), Chadwick Boseman ( Lincoln Heights ), Daisy Betts ( Out of the Blue ), Tina Holmes ( Six Feet Under ), and Alan Ruck ( Drive ), revolves around a group of strangers who are seemingly kidnapped and taken to a deserted ghost town from which they cannot leave and where they are watched by omnipresent security cameras. McQuarrie is executive producing with Remi Aubuchon and Heather McQuarrie. No US launch date was announced for Persons Unknown , which has already produced thirteen installments with Italy's RAI and Mexico's Televisa. ( Variety ) Lost 's Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse were surprised by the ABC drama series getting an outstanding drama series Emmy nod yesterday following this past season's heavily serialized time

I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised this early morning in Los Angeles. The Emmy nominees were announced this morning and I have to commend them for showering such love onto diverse and unique series such as Big Love, Mad Men, 30 Rock, Breaking Bad, Little Dorrit, Flight of the Conchords, , and Damages , even though Battlestar Galactica failed to garner a single nomination in the major categories. Hell, one of the talented troika of female leads on AMC's Mad Men --Elisabeth Moss--even landed a nomination, as did the entire main cast of 30 Rock ! So, something's right in Hollywood for a change. Meanwhile, FOX's Family Guy snagged the first outstanding comedy series nomination for an animated series... in fifty years. (Not since The Flintstones has an animated comedy scored a nomination.) Something which sadly The Simpsons was never able to achieve in its heyday. So which series and actors landed Emmy nominations? Let's talk about the major categories. (The

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. Daphne Zuniga ( One Tree Hill ) will reprise her role as photographer Jo Reynolds in the CW's relaunch of soap Melrose Place in at least two episodes. Zuniga will join several other cast members from the original Melrose Place on the CW series this fall, including Thomas Calabro, Josie Bissett, and Laura Leighton. ( Entertainment Weekly 's Hollywood Insider ) Martha Plimpton ( ER ) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc next season on ABC's Grey's Anatomy , where she will play the mother of a young patient at Seattle Grace. Her first appearance is set for the sixth season premiere, slated to air September 24th. In other Grey's casting news, Mitch Pileggi ( Stargate: Atlantis ) will reprise his role as Larry Jennings, the chairman of Seattle Grace's board of directors, in the sixth season premiere. ( Hollywood Reporter , TVGuide.com ) Eliza Coupe has been upgraded to series regular on Scrubs next s

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. TVGuide.com talks to Lost 's Titus Welliver, who played the mysterious man in black seen in the fifth season finale (that many of us are referring to as Esau). "The way that I interpreted it, on a biblical level, is that it's a sort of Cain-and-Abel scenario," said Welliver of the showdown between Jacob and his character. "So by destroying Jacob, what does that prove — that [the man in black] can ultimately have power over the island? Do the castaways become solely his playthings? And why was it so important that he find the loophole to be able to kill Jacob? That moved me in the direction of thinking that if he needs this loophole, there's a greater power than the two of them that they're answering to." ( TVGuide.com ) FX has ordered six episodes of animated comedy Archer (working title), about the eccentric employees of an international spy agency, from writer/executive producer Adam Reed. Proj

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Hollywood seems more or less shut down already for the Fourth of July weekend, so just a few headlines this morning. The Beeb has confirmed that it will not be bringing back drama series Robin Hood for a fourth season. The series, which starred Jonas Armstrong in the title role, saw its viewership decline to roughly four million viewers during its third (and now final) season (compared to the 8.6 million who tuned in for the series premiere in 2006). For his part, Armstrong had made it clear that the third season would be his last, stating, "It's been a great thrill, a great ride, but you can't play one part forever." ( BBC News ) Hulu has announced plans to launch a UK-based online video service in September and has indicated that it is close to reaching content deals with local broadcasters after offering them equity stakes in the service as well as a share of advertising revenues. Rumors are swirling that Hulu ha

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Christian Slater ( My Own Worst Enemy ) is in talks to topline ABC drama series The Forgotten , from Warner Bros. Television and executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer. If the deal closes, Slater would replace Rupert Penry-Jones, who appeared in the original pilot episode as a former cop whose daughter was kidnapped and went missing. Another role--that played in the pilot by Reiko Aylesworth--is also being recast. The series is set to launch Tuesday, September 22nd at 10 pm. ( Hollywood Reporter ) Don't look for the series finale of Lost to feature a happy ending, according to series regular Michael Emerson. "I don't think Lost will have a happy ending," Emerson told Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello. "It's the end and I think we are going to start seeing more casualties. I would put money on major characters being killed. I believe it will be a sad ending to the show -- or at least bittersweet.

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. I'm back from vacation so there's loads of television-related headlines to catch up on. Buckle your seatbelts; it's going to be a bumpy ride! Weeds star Mary-Louise Parker has put those rumors that she's leaving the Showtime comedy series to bed, stating that she's sticking around for quite some time. "Sometimes when I think about the show ending I get sad. I just can't imagine what it's going to be like," Parker told E! Online's Watch with Kristin. "We for sure have one more year, so I don't have to be sad yet. I can smile a little bit longer. I would stay on, but at a certain point it would get a little bit tired. It'd be like, we don't need to see Nancy and Andy running around in their 60s. I think it will depend on how this season goes, as to whether or not it will have a little velocity for staying around a little longer." ( E! Online's Watch with Kristin ) When

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles ' Brian Austen Green is said to be in "advance talks" to join the cast of the CW's One Tree Hill next season. Should the deal close, he'll be playing Clayton, a Jerry Maguire-esque sports agent representing Nathan (James Laferty) on Season Seven of One Tree Hill . "They're ironing out a few issues," an unnamed insider told Ausiello, "but it's pretty much a done deal." The Hollywood Reporter describes the character as "a brash sports agent who represents Nathan Scott's (James Lafferty) basketball interests and has become a close friend, ally, business partner and advisor to him while also enjoying the spoils that come from being a wealthy, handsome single guy." ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) SPOILER! According to a report in Britain's paper The Sun