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Showing posts with the label Series Cancellations

Channel Surfing: Elizabeth Banks Joins "Modern Family," Shawn Ryan to "Ridealong" with FOX, Tina Fey Talks Emmys and "30 Rock," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Elizabeth Banks ( Scrubs ) has signed on guest star on ABC's upcoming comedy series Modern Family in a potentially recurring role. TV Guide Magazine 's William Keck is reporting that Banks will play Sal, a close friend of gay couple Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cameron (Eric Stonestreet), in an October episode and that she came to the project via her real-life friendship with Ferguson. "Sal is their old running buddy," executive producer Steven Levitan told Keck. "Mitchell and Cameron decide they need a night out on the town, so they call her up." Lloyd adds, "She's thrilled to be back with her old friends until they start talking about their new (adopted) baby and she doesn't want to hear about the baby, so she starts saying things like, 'I wouldn't mind killing the baby.'" ( TV Guide Magazine ) FOX has given a put pilot commitment to Shawn Ryan's one-hour drama pr

HBO Renews "True Blood," "Hung," and "Entourage," Others Still Up in the Air

HBO's Richard Plepler and Michael Lombardo took to the stage yesterday at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Pasadena that HBO had locked in its entire current Sunday night lineup for additional seasons next summer. The pay cabler has officially renewed True Blood for a third season, Hung for a second season, and Entourage for a staggering seventh season. All will return to the lineup next summer rather than premiering earlier. " True Blood , Hung , and Entourage will all be coming back next summer and we're very excited about it." Lombardo told the press. "So stay tuned for next June." The duo, in an executive session at the aforementioned TCA panel, also relayed information about HBO's other crop of series and whether we could expect to see them return or not, with the fate of several series still very much up in the air. Curb Your Enthusiasm returns September 20th with a new series and will be slotted together with new comedy

Channel Surfing: "Robin Hood" Slain by BBC, Hulu Plans September Launch in UK, Neil Patrick Harris to Host Emmys, and More

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

Channel Surfing: Drea de Matteo Moves to Wisteria Lane, Meloni and Hargitay Return to "Law & Order: SVU," Showtime Axes "Brotherhood," and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Sons of Anarchy 's Drea de Matteo (best known as The Sopranos ' Adrianna) is joining the cast of ABC's Desperate Housewives next season as a series regular, reports Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello. De Matteo will play "the matriarch of a new Italian family," writes Ausiello. "Casting is underway for her landscape designer husband and their tightly wound son." ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay WILL be coming back to NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit next season, after all. The duo have finally signed deals that will keep them in the lead roles on the NBC drama series for the next two seasons and will be paid just slightly less than $400,000 per episode. Neal Baer also closed a deal to remain on board the series as showrunner and Christine Lahti ( Jack & Bobby ) has signed on to guest star in the first four episodes of

Channel Surfing: Neil Patrick Harris Sings Again as "Batman" Villain, Spielberg Woos Wyle for TNT Sci-Fi Pilot, Mohinder Heads to "Psych," and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Neil Patrick Harris ( How I Met Your Mother ) won't be reprising his role from Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible but he will be singing in an upcoming episode of Cartoon Network's Batman: The Brave and the Bold slated to air this fall. In the episode, Harris will play villain The Music Meister who "has the power to create song wherever he goes, and he’s trying to dominate the world," according to series executive producer James Tucker. Fans looking to catch an animated glimpse at Harris as the Music Meister should attend the Batman: Brave and the Bold panel at Comic-Con next month, where the entire "Mayhem of the Music Meister!" episode will be screened. ( TV Guide ) Steven Spielberg is said to be wooing Noah Wyle ( ER ) to star in his untitled TNT sci-fi pilot, which, according to Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello, "takes place six months after evil extra terrestrials decimate mankind.&quo

Channel Surfing: Whedon Talks "Dollhouse" Season Two, "My Name is Earl" Officially Dead, Middleton Talks "Sarah Connor," and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Wondering what Joss Whedon has in store for Season Two of Dollhouse , which returns to FOX this fall? Entertainment Weekly 's Mandi Bierly caught up with the Dollhouse creator to find out what to expect. "About two hours after starting to talk to the writers about story, I was back with such a vengeance, and so energized and so pumped because we really understand the show now," said Whedon. "We understand what works, and what didn't work so well or what we weren't so thrilled about. We don't have the onus of trying to be a big hit sitting on our shoulders. We can just be ourselves. And so the stories we're breaking are pure, and exciting, and everybody's on-board in the room, and it's never flowed better." Look for Echo to use that final word of Season One as a springboard for her second season mission. ""Echo wants to find not just Caroline, but what's going on behind ever

Channel Surfing: Emilie de Ravin to Return to "Lost." Jeff Bell Joins "V" as Showrunner, Knepper Lends Hand to "Heroes," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Emilie de Ravin is set to return to ABC's Lost next season as a series regular after her character Claire Littleton was absent for most of Season Five, leaving her character's fate tantalizingly ambiguous. (It's still not clear, in fact, whether Claire is dead or alive after disappearing and then being spotted in Jacob's cabin with Christian.) "Damon and I are very excited to bring Claire back to the show," said showrunner Carlton Cuse, "and even more excited for people to experience just how she will return." ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) WBTV has signed an two-year overall deal with writer/producer Jeff Bell ( Angel ), under which he will come on board ABC's midseason sci-fi series V as showrunner/executive producer. He'll also develop new series projects for the studio later on as well. "Like many people, I have fond memories of whatching the original miniseries,

CW Announces Primetime Schedule, Orders Four Series, Shifts "Smallville" to Friday Nights

Welcome to Day Four, the last day of the 2009 network upfronts. Up last is netlet the CW, which has now unveiled its primetime schedule for advertisers. As expected, the CW has ordered three new series for fall, with Melrose Place, Vampire Diaries , and The Beautiful Life joining the schedule and drama Parental Discretion Advised (formerly known as Light Years ) getting a midseason berth. Melrose Place gets the post- 90210 spot, echoing the original pairing of the two series when FOX launched Melrose Place way back in 1992. And it was widely believed that the CW would pair new drama The Beautiful Life --about the personal and professional lives of young models--with reality franchise America's Next Top Model on Wednesdays and, sure enough, they did. (No surprises there.) More intriguing, however, is that the CW will break up its combination of Smallville and Supernatural on Thursdays and bump Smallville , returning for its ninth and final season, to Friday nights in order to

CBS Announces Fall Primetime Schedule, Picks Up "Medium" from NBC, Orders Eight New Series

Welcome to Day Three of the 2009 network upfronts. Up next is CBS, which has unveiled its fall schedule to advertisers. Not too many surprises for CBS, which once again sticks with overall stability and picks up a bunch of new drama series (and one lone comedy holdout). Turning around the shortest series cancellation ever, CBS has picked up supernatural drama series Medium for another season. Medium , produced by CBS Television Studio, had been axed yesterday by NBC and will now shift networks and join fellow chiller drama Ghost Whisperer on Friday nights. The network also ordered several new series including comedy Accidentally on Purpose , legal drama The Good Wife, medical dramas Miami Trauma and Three Rivers , NCIS: Los Angeles, and unscripted series Arranged Marriage and Undercover Boss . While not on the schedule, Canadian co-production Flashpoint will return--in Summer 2010--and CBS will launch another CTV co-pro, The Bridge , in midseason. Also scheduled to join the sch