[Televisionary]

Pay cabler Showtime has announced that it has pacted with filmmaker Oliver Stone on a new ten-episode documentary series that will air next year. Entitled Oliver Stone's Secret History of America , the ten-hour docuseries--narrated by Stone himself--will investigate crucial human events that were "under-reported" at the time of their occurrence, with Stone and his team of researchers sifting through national archives of several countries in order to amass a more detailed view at certain events. Topics explored in the series will include the US bombing of Japan during WWII, the Cold War, America’s national security complex, the Kennedy administration, and the Vietnam War, among others. "We are very happy that Oliver Stone has chosen Showtime as the home for his provocative series about key unknown moments of American history," said Showtime's President of Entertainment Robert Greenblatt. "Not only has his name become synonymous with visionary filmmaker,

Sharpen your knives and prepare for the main course. While there's still one last showdown on Top Chef Masters , tomorrow night brings the season premiere of Top Chef: Las Vegas ("Sin City Vice") as seventeen new contestants square off in the ultimate culinary competition. I had the opportunity a few weeks back to watch the sensational season opener and found myself just as addicted as ever to the tension, imagination, and sheer deliciousness of original flavor Top Chef . So what did I think of the first episode of Top Chef: Las Vegas ? Sharpen your knives and let's discuss. (Though, I promise no spoilers about who wins, who goes home, or who wilts in the heat.) This being the first Las Vegas-set edition of Top Chef , expect lots of twists and turns along the way, most notably some--shall we say--even greater incentives to winning the Quickfire Challenges. Yes, there's a sizable amount of cash on the table with each round and there's also an element of chance

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. David Anders ( Alias, Heroes ) has been cast in a recurring role on Day Eight of FOX's 24 and Zap2It's Rick Porter has managed to obtain some further information about Anders' villainous character. Anders, who is slated to appear in a handful of episodes next season, will play Josef Bazhaev, the son of an Eastern European mobster, who is described in casting breakdowns as being the "heir apparent to an Eastern Promises -style godfather. Josef is a dangerous man but is cautious and worries about things more than his father." ( Zap2It ) Just a few days after the opening of feature film The Time Traveler's Wife , ABC has announced that it is teaming up with Friends creator Marta Kaufman and Warner Bros. Television to develop a drama series based around the film (itself an adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger's novel). Kaufman will write the pilot script and executive produce. "ABC executives believe the

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become." - Buddha You had the chance to read my advance review of this week's episode of True Blood ("I Will Rise Up") , written by Nancy Oliver and directed by Scott Winant, but now that the episode has aired, we can finally talk specifics about this heartbreaking and profound installment of the Southern Gothic series. It's rare that a series can manage to surprise you, much less make you laugh, cry, and shudder all in the same episode. Yet that's just what True Blood managed to do this week, pulling off a death-defying blend of sex, sacrifice, and salvation. The notion of sacrifice has lurked beneath the surface of Season Two of True Blood in several forms: we see both the frenzied need for human sacrifice from maenad Maryann and her crazed disciples, the misguided zealotry of Luke which leads to his silver-laden suicide bombing at Godric's n

Don Draper has been an enigmatic figure throughout the two seasons of Mad Men that have aired so far. He's taken the approach in his life that his identity is a fluid construct that he can shift at will. Don Draper himself is a front, a mask appropriated by Dick Whitman that has become somewhat comfortable to wear. But still, there are echoes from the past, ghostly reminders of his life before his transformation into the stylish and slick ad man that he appears today. On the third season premiere of Mad Men ("Out of Town"), written by Matthew Weiner and directed by Phil Abraham, several truths bubble up to the surface over the course of a few days in the life of Don Draper. Secrets have a way of spilling out in the most unexpected ways and Don is no exception to this rule, facing some hard truths on the occasion of his (real) birthday. But he's not the only one who's exposed in this installment of the lush period drama. You read my advance review of the third se

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Patton Oswalt ( United States of Tara ) has been cast in a recurring role on Syfy's upcoming Battlestar Galactica prequel series Caprica , where he will play Baxter Sarno, the comedian talk show host of a Caprican-based television series on which Eric Stoltz's Daniel Greystone and Paula Malcomson's Amanda Greystone appear. Oswalt is no stranger to genre-based series; he did a memorable guest turn on FOX's Dollhouse last season in the game-changing episode "Man on the Street" (pictured here). Caprica is slated to launch in January 2010 on Syfy. ( Hollywood Reporter ) NBC has ordered a pilot script for Midnight, Mass , a series adaptation of DC Comics/Vertigo title about Adam and Julia Kadmons, a married couple who travel the world solving mysteries and tackling bizarre supernatural crimes. Pilot script will be written by Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts, who will executive produce along with Pushing Daisies

Televisionary is proud to be a member of the TV Blog Coalition. At the end of each week, we'll feature a roundup of content from our sister sites for your delectation. This week, I had an exclusive interview with Bones showrunner/executive producer Hart Hanson about what to expect from Season Five of Bones , Booth's mental state, Brennan's Guatemalan trip, Angela's celibacy vow, a possible return to London, Stephen Fry, and much more . I also offered up advance reviews of the next episode of True Blood and the third season premiere of Mad Men , my thoughts on the season finale of ABC's Better Off Ted , and recounted my personal experiences with the new Lost ARG (which included the reveal of the Season Six premiere episode title) . Elsewhere in the sophisticated TV-obsessed section of the blogosphere, members of the TV Blog Coalition were discussing the following items... It's summer, it's hot, and Vance's brain can no longer think in more than 140 cha