[Televisionary]

It's amazing that the actors of Parks and Recreations are ever able to get through a scene without cracking each other up repeatedly. I had the good fortune of attending Saturday night's Tig and Friends show at Largo at the Coronet, where The Sarah Silverman Program 's Tig Nataro hosted an evening of comedy centered around the cast of NBC's hysterical comedy Parks and Recreation . Needless to say, I never never laughed quite so much or so hard in my entire life. Parks and Recreation 's Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Aziz Ansari, and Retta were on hand to treat us with everything from songs to stand-up routines, and a Donohue-style talk show setting where Notaro and the audience asked them a range of inappropriate, offensive, and hilarious questions and the cast made some startling confessions. (For example, Plaza told us that she was an NBC Page and recounted a situation where she had to attend sensitivity training; in another anecdote, she told us about

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. It was only a matter of time before someone snapped up River Tam. Former Firefly and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles star Summer Glau, who most recently appeared in a multiple-episode story arc on Dollhouse this season, has landed one of the leads in NBC's vigilante drama pilot The Cape . Project, from writer Tom Wheeler and directed by Simon West, revolves around a a disgraced former cop (David Lyons), framed for a crime he didn't commit, who becomes a costumed vigilante in order to clear his name. Glau will star opposite Lyons, James Frain, and Dorian Missick, and will play Orwell, described as "a cute and intrepid investigative blogger who fearlessly goes after corrupt cops and costumed bad guys" and who "gets physical and is quite capable of kicking ass." If that isn't a part made for Glau, I don't know what is. ( Hollywood Reporter ) Los Angeles Times ' Denise Martin talks to Pa

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. While FOX and 20th Century Fox Television won't comment, Variety 's Michael Schneider is reporting that it appears that Day Eight of 24 will be the series' last. A final decision on the fate of the Kiefer Sutherland-led serialized drama will be made in the next day or so but it's not looking as though 24 will continue for a ninth season, at least at FOX. "The studio is said to be considering shopping 24 to other nets -- but given the thriller's age and pricetag, it's believed interest from other outlets will be limited," writes Schneider. "Yet even as the bell tolls for 24 in primetime, the franchise is far from dead. Sutherland and the 24 team have been keen on adapting the show as a feature film, and have made major strides in recent months toward making that long-term goal a reality." ( Variety ) In quite possibly one of the best pieces of casting news around, Keri Russell ( Felic

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Good news for Fringe fans: the Pattern will be continuing next season. FOX has officially renewed the drama series for a third season this fall. " Fringe tapped into a deep creative mine this year that built momentum throughout the season and helped give us our first real foothold on TV’s most competitive night,” said Kevin Reilly, President, Entertainment for Fox Broadcasting Company, in a statement. "The entire Fringe team – from the producers and writers to the cast and crew – has taken smart storytelling and top production quality to a whole new level. The rest of this season is mind-blowing, and we can’t wait to get started on the third installment of this amazing journey." Meanwhile, Fringe resumes with eight all-new episodes on Thursday, April 1st. (via press release) The Guardian 's Simon Hattenstone has a huge profile of new Doctor Who star Matt Smith, who takes over the mantle of the Doctor from forme

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Los Angeles Times ' Denise Martin is reporting that Party Down star Adam Scott is heading to NBC's Parks and Recreation , where he is slated to turn up in the final episodes of the season... alongside Rob Lowe, in fact. [Editor: could their sudden appearances in Pawnee be linked?] Scott, who will serve as as a series regular for Parks ' third season, has also signed a first-look deal with NBC and Universal Media Studios, under which he will develop new series projects. Parks and Recreation co-creator Mike Schur described Scott as "brilliant and funny -- and he's funny in a lot of different ways. There just aren't that many people with a comedic range that spans Step Brothers to Party Down ." As for Party Down fans worried that this would mean the end of Henry Pollard, Martin reports that "Scott said he'd be open to coming back to reprise his role should "Party Down" be renewed."

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. I had a fantastic time at the Community panel last night at the 2010 William S. Paley Television Festival (followed by some late-night carousing with some other TV types). But onto today's headlines, of which there are many. Outbound Brothers & Sisters star Rob Lowe will be heading to Pawnee. Lowe has signed on to appear in multiple episodes of NBC comedy Parks and Recreation later this season and his contract, according to Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello, calls for him to appear on the Universal Media Studios-produced series next season. ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) Meanwhile, Fancast's Matt Mitovich has details about just who Lowe will be playing this season, thanks to an interview with Parks and Recreation executive producer Mike Schur. While Schur--who likened Lowe's participation as "the perfect fit" for the series--was tight-lipped when it came to details about Lowe&

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Great news for fans of NBC's killer comedy Parks and Recreation : the Peacock has renewed the series for a third season, set to launch this fall. News of the renewal was broken by The Wrap's Josef Adalian, who reported that due to "certain production timing issues," an early renewal was required on the Universal Media Studios-produced comedy, which is executive produced by Greg Daniels and Mike Schur. ( The Wrap ) Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Torchwood 's John Barrowman is joining the cast of ABC's Desperate Housewives for at least five episodes this season. Barrowman, who is slated to appear beginning in April, will play "the Big Bad at the center of the Angie (Drea de Matteo) mystery," writes Ausiello. ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) BBC Three has commissioned a third season of supernatural drama Being Human and announced that all three of the ser

As 2009 begins to wind down, I figured now was the perfect time as any to look back at the series that that have entertained and inspired me over the past calendar year. And what a year it was for the television industry, which was (and is) still recovering from the writers strike of 2007/08. This past year also saw NBC box up the 10 pm hour for scripted programming, a move that hasn't had quite the effect that the network hoped (I do feel for poor scapegoat Jay Leno), while sending viewers scurrying over to cable, which continued to make huge inroads this year. It was also a year that saw comedy make a huge comeback, from the success of FOX's musical-comedy hybrid Glee to the season's biggest critical hit, ABC's Modern Family and the surprising resilience of NBC's Parks and Recreation (hands down the winner of the Most Improved Series award). And a year that saw much beloved series Chuck teeter dangerously towards cancellation, only to receive an eleventh hour