BuzzFeed: "13 Returning TV Shows To Get Excited About"

Girls is back on Sunday and the onslaught of returning shows is just beginning. Set your DVRs now!

At BuzzFeed, you can read my latest feature, "13 Returning TV Shows To Get Excited About," in which I run down 13 returning television series worth watching this winter. (And, yes, I know that Game of Thrones isn't on there: We still don't have an airdate.)

1. Justified (FX)

Season 5 of Justified finds Timothy Olyphant’s Raylan Givens tangling with some Florida lowlifes, relatives of Dewey Crowe (Damon Herriman), one of Harlan County’s sleaziest denizens. Plus, Boyd (Walton Goggins) tries to find a way to get Ava (Joelle Carter) out of prison… and he exacts a bloody revenge against those who put her there in the first place. Along the way, wisecracks are exchanged, along with gunfire.

Season 5 premieres on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 10 p.m.

2. Girls (HBO)

The stellar third season of HBO’s Girls finds the quartet struggling with new challenges and the first two episodes — which air back to back as a one-hour premiere — reintroduce new realities for these characters. (The brilliant second half of the premiere is a precise and gorgeous tone poem about a road trip.) While Hannah (Lena Dunham) has settled into a life of domestic bliss (relatively) with Adam (Adam Driver), Marnie (Allison Williams) is in a perpetual state of free fall, reeling from her breakup with Charlie (Christopher Abbott). Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet) is trying to find her wild side, while Jessa (Jemima Kirke) continues to create chaos in her wake. Change both big and small is on the horizon for these women, and the first few episodes of the season capture the pain and humor of self-transformation. Not to be missed under any circumstances.

Season 3 premieres Sunday, Jan. 12 at 10 p.m.

Continue reading at BuzzFeed...

The Daily Beast: "18 Shows to Watch This Winter"

Stay cozy this New Year: I find the 18 new and returning television shows that will keep you warm this winter, from Girls and Justified to The Staircase, The Americans, and House of Cards.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "18 Shows to Watch This Winter," in which I round up 18 new and returning noteworthy shows that you should be watching between January and March. Some you're looking forward to, some you may not have heard of, and there are a few that you've already drawn a big red circle on the calendar on the day that they return...

Yes, Downton Abbey is back: the beloved British period drama returns to PBS’s Masterpiece for a third season beginning on Jan. 6, but it’s not the only new or noteworthy show heading to television this winter.

Indeed, some of the most intriguing, dynamic, or plain interesting shows are launching in midseason this year, from Fox’s serial killer drama The Following and Sundance Channel’s Jane Campion-created murder mystery Top of the Lake to FX’s Soviet spy period drama The Americans (starring Keri Russell!), Netflix's American remake of political potboiler House of Cards, and the return of both NBC’s subversive comedy Community and HBO’s Girls.

Jace Lacob rounds up 18 new and returning television shows that will help keep you warm during these chilly winter months, from the intriguing to the sensational.

Continue reading at The Daily Beast...

Justified, Downton Abbey, Shameless, and More: What to Watch on TV This Winter

With the return of Justified, Downton Abbey, and Shameless, and the launch of Touch, Luck, and others, I take a look at what’s coming to your TV this winter over at The Daily Beast, in my latest feature, "What to Watch on TV This Winter." (To get right to my thoughts on the 18 shows included and bypass the intro, you can click here.)

January brings some fresh opportunities for the broadcast and cable networks to try and lure you back with new and returning programming. Among the highlights: costume drama fiends will be lined up for the Jan. 8 return of British drama Downton Abbey; FX’s Justified returns for a third season of Kentucky shootouts on Jan. 17; HBO’s cult comedy Eastbound and Down returns on Feb. 19; auteurs David Milch and Michael Mann unite for HBO’s Luck, launching Jan. 29; and Kiefer Sutherland returns to television with Fox’s Touch, which will get a preview broadcast on Jan. 25. (It officially premieres on March 19.)

Absolutely Fabulous, the outrageous British cult comedy that gave the world the fashion-obsessed Edina Monsoon (Jennifer Saunders) and Patsy Stone (Joanna Lumley), will celebrate its 20th anniversary with three brand-new specials this year, the first of which airs on both BBC America and Logo on Jan. 8 at 10 p.m. ABC will offer the globe-spanning espionage/revenge drama Missing, starring Ashley Judd as a former CIA agent in search of her son, who vanished in Europe, and Game of Thrones’s Sean Bean, beginning March 15. In the not-soon-enough category, Mad Men’s long-delayed fifth season is expected to turn up on AMC sometime this spring, possibly as early as March.

Elsewhere, the usual slew of reality shows—Fox’s American Idol (Jan. 18), NBC’s The Voice (in the coveted post–Super Bowl slot on Feb. 5), and CBS’ The Amazing Race (Feb. 19)—returns with new cycles, while AMC gets into the unscripted business with the Kevin Smith–produced Comic Men, launching Feb. 12. And ABC may have a contender for the worst television show of all time with Work It, a cross-dressing “comedy” starring Ben Koldyke and Amaury Nolasco that already has GLAAD up in arms. (It uses male anxieties, unemployment, and a relentless misogyny to wring jokes out of a stale, Bosom Buddies–like premise.)

Continue reading at The Daily Beast...

Yup, Archer Is Back Tonight: Why You Need to Watch

FX's subversive animated comedy Archer returns tonight and not a moment too soon, for television needs the gonzo spirit and out-there humor of this Adam Reed creation.

The first seven episodes of Season Two of Archer, provided to press for review, might be the strongest to date, offering up a virtual cornucopia of sight gags, double entendre, shockingly foul language, superspy hijinks, and one of the worst examples of humanity in HR executive Pam Poovey.

To say that these memorable characters are flawed is an understatement of the highest order; they're so morally corrupt, so self-absorbed and tragically insane, that it makes for obsessive and unpredictable viewing. And that's perhaps the beauty and magic of Archer: in creating a cast of characters who are so reprehensible in every way, it's impossible to turn your eyes away from the carnage--both physical and personal--that follows in their wake.

Along the way, Sterling Malory Archer and his covert cohorts at ISIS are tasked with protecting a slew of important VIPs: from a slutty, seemingly nymphomaniac teenager in the season opener "Swiss Miss" to a Chihuahua-toting actress in "Movie Star," while a pipeline, a blood sample, the wee Baby Seamus, Cyril's sex addiction, Pam's thirst for gossip, Mallory's Hollywood dreams, and Lana's low self-esteem all play right into the various plots unfolding his season.

Building on the strength of the first season, creator Adam Reed deepens the characters here, giving screen time to supporting characters like Krieger and Ray Gillette and broadening the world of ISIS exponentially. Familiar faces (voices?) make their return appearance here, as well, giving some sense of continuity and serialization to the adventures of Sterling Archer and Co., even as the throwaway lines and dirty jokes leave you gasping for air on the ground. (Hmmm, flashbacks to Judy Greer's Cheryl here.)

The result is a gleefully psychotic comedy, and I mean that in the very best possible sense. Archer is a touchstone for the sort of subversive humor and no-limits comedy that FX embraces and I'm glad to see that a break between seasons hasn't dented the delightfully twisted psyche of this unique series.

With spies like these, who needs national enemies?

Season Two of Archer premieres tonight at 10 pm ET/PT on FX.

Midseason TV Preview: 16 Shows to Watch This Winter

Winter is coming...

Well, not that winter, not just yet. While we continue the long slog until April when HBO launches its adaptation of Game of Thrones, there's quite a lot of new and returning television series to keep us entertained in the meantime.

Over at The Daily Beast, I offer "16 Shows to Watch This Winter," a round-up that includes such series as Episodes, Shameless, Big Love, Downton Abbey, Parks and Recreation, Portlandia, Off the Map, The Chicago Code, Lights Out, Archer, Justified, The Killing, Body of Proof, and others.

In other words: quite a fair bit coming up.

Which of these new and returning shows are you most excited about? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Danger Zone: FX's "Archer" Wraps Its First Season Tonight

I'm going to really miss FX's gleefully absurd animated comedy Archer.

The Adam Reed-created action/workplace comedy wraps up its first season tonight after last week's hilariously perverse and just plain weird episode that finds ISIS' best two agents--that would be Sterling Archer and Lana Kane, natch--poached by a rival intelligence agency, ODIN.

(The same agency that happens to be headed up by a man voiced by Jeffrey Tambor, which makes this episode all the more delicious because it's another Arrested Development reunion between Tambor and the former Lucille Bluth, Jessica Walter.)

Anything with Walter's Mallory is a plus and tonight's season finale features a mystery-style set-up involving a sleeping Mallory, a blood-covered Sterling, and a sharp cleaver, all before flashing back 18 hours earlier to reveal just how we got to this point.

I'll admit that I wasn't knocked head over heels by the pilot for Archer when I saw it last year, but the series itself has found its voice and settled into a nice rhythm of espionage-related action, workplace humor, gross-out humor, and double- and triple-entendres.

It's helped that the series doesn't take itself too seriously and has a hell of a lot of fun with its premise, a spoof of both James Bond films, office-based sitcoms, 1960s red terror, and anything the writers can get their hands on. (The same can't be said for ABC's FlashForward, which returns tonight just as Archer ends its freshman season.)

But I'm curious to know: have you been enjoying Archer this season? Going to miss Mallory, Archer, Lana, Cyril, Pam, Cheryl (or whatever her name is this week) and the rest of the gang at ISIS? Discuss.

Archer's season finale airs tonight at 10 pm ET/PT on FX.

Channel Surfing: FX Renews "Archer," Team Darlton on "Lost" Partnership, Hiroyuki Sanada Speaks, Jim Belushi Suits Up for "Defenders," and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

"Danger zone!" FX has ordered a second season of its animated action-comedy Archer, from creators Adam Reed and Matthew Thompson. The cabler has commissioned 13 episodes for the series' second season, which is set to launch next year. The order is up from the seven installments that comprised Season One of Archer. [Editor: while Archer started off rocky and is somewhat hit-or-miss, I'm actually quite enjoying its off-kilter madcap action now that the season is set to wrap in a few weeks' time.] (Variety)

The Los Angeles Times' Maria Elena Fernandez talks to Lost showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse about their partnership on the show. And thanks to a video interview, you can get the words from Team Darlton themselves as they recount the events back in 2004 that lead to the duo forming one of Hollywood's strongest creative partnerships. (Los Angeles Times' Show Tracker)

SPOILER! Meanwhile, TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck has an interview with Lost's Hiroyuki Sanada, who plays the mysterious temple master Dogen on the ABC drama series' final season. Look for the March 2nd episode to reveal more about Dogen's past. "I believe Dogen and Sayid will experience some kind of friendship in the end," Hiro told Keck. "Temples are built for peace and saving people." Hmmm... (TV Guide Magazine)

No, it's not a joke: former According to Jim star Jim Belushi has landed one of the lead roles in CBS legal drama pilot The Defenders, from writers/executive producers Niels Mueller and Kevin Kennedy and director David Guggenheim. Belushi will play Nick, described as "as Las Vegas attorney with marital and drinking issues." (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that the cast of FOX's Glee will perform at the White House Easter Egg Roll on April 5th, after being invited by First Lady Michelle Obama. "Rumor has it Mrs. O and her daughters are big fans of the show," writes Ausiello. "And since a White House gig is an offer that’s pretty darn hard to refuse, Glee’s producers did some lickety-split schedule rejiggering in order to honor the request." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

PBS' Masterpiece has signed a co-production deal with BBC Worldwide that will encompass several international co-productions, including a new production of period drama Upstairs, Downstairs, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss' Sherlock--starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, and Rupert Graves--and three mysteries based on Michael Dibden's Aurelio Zen novels starring Rufus Sewell. (Televisionary)

Pilot casting roundup: Jane Kaczmarek (Raising the Bar) and Adam Arkin (Life) have been cast in ABC comedy pilot Who Gets the Parents? (Also cast: Greek's Andrew West and Men in Trees' Derek Richardson); Leah Remini (The King of Queens) has landed a lead in ABC comedy pilot It Takes a Village; Zeljko Ivanek (Big Love) and Ian Anthony Dale (Taken) have joined the cast of NBC drama pilot The Event; Ben Koldyke (Big Love) has snagged the lead in NBC comedy pilot This Little Piggy; Romany Malco (Weeds) has been cast in ABC superhero drama pilot No Ordinary Family; Wayne Knight (Seinfeld) has been added to the cast of Ant Hines and Larry Charles' untitled CBS comedy pilot presentation; Olivia Munn (Attack of the Show) will star in NBC comedy pilot Perfect Couples; D.J. Cotrona (Dear John) has come aboard ABC cop drama pilot 187 Detroit; Julian Morris (24), Daniella Alonso (Friday Night Lights), and Kelli Garner (Lars and the Real Girl) have been joined the cast of Noah Hawley's ABC drama pilot Generation Y; Kaitlin Doubleday (Cavemen) will play one of the leads in FOX comedy pilot Most Likely to Succeed; Taran Killam (Scrubs) has joined the cast of ABC comedy pilot Freshmen; and Malcolm Goodwin (Leatherheads) has been cast in Matt Olmstead and Nick Santora's FOX drama pilot Breakout Kings. (Hollywood Reporter)

Lionsgate Television has signed a new two-year overall deal with Weeds creator Jenji Kohan that will keep her at the helm of Showtime's Weeds for a sixth season as well as develop other projects. First up is an untitled musical comedy for Showtime that Kohan is writing with Stephen Falk. "Having gotten to second base with Lionsgate in my former 'under the shirt but over the bra' deal," said Kohan, "it's a thrill to now be in bed with them and going all the way." (Kohan is also executive producing the studio's Epix drama pilot Tough Trade.) (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has a first look at Cynthia Watros' upcoming arc on FOX's House, where she will play the first ex-wife of Robert Sean Leonard's Wilson beginning April 19th. "There can be great comfort in the past," Leonard told Ausiello. "He wants his blankie. And there’s the extra benefit of familiarity and, in a way, a lack of drama." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Comedy Central has ordered six episodes of an untitled comedy showcase, from executive producers Russell Simmons and Stan Lathan, which will air this summer and will be hosted by Curb Your Enthusiasm's JB Smoove. (Variety)

Bristol Palin, eldest daughter of former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin, is set to play herself on an upcoming episode of ABC Family’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager that will air this summer. "Bristol Palin is the most famous teenage mother in America," said executive producer Brenda Hampton in a statement. "We're thrilled to have her join us, and I think she will bring additional attention to the issues facing teen parents that we've been exploring for a couple of seasons now." (via press release)

Cabler TLC has ordered a third season of docuseries The Little Couple, with 20 episodes set to launch in June. (via press release)

MTV has promoted Chris Linn to executive VP of MTV Production, where he will continue to oversee development and production of telepics as well as physical production and planning for pilots and series. Linn will be based in New York and will report to MTV programming chief Tony DiSanto. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Stay tuned.

Loose Bond: Quick Thoughts About FX's Animated Comedy "Archer"

Just a few quick thoughts about FX's new comedy series.

While the comparison between FX's new animated comedy Archer and James Bond is an obvious one, the comparing this series, from creator Adam Reed (Sealab 2021), to Better Off Ted would be more apt.

While Archer follows the high-flying exploits of a suave James Bond-esque secret agent man, at its heart the series is a deliciously loopy and perversely raunchy workplace comedy.

Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin) is Codename: Duchess (and, yes, his less-than-virile codename is the source of constant amusement), an insufferable superspy working for a top-secret organization called ISIS that just happens to be run by his tartly vindictive mother Malory (Arrested Development's Jessica Walter). Between globe-spanning missions and snuffing out world domination plans, the plot focuses on office politics, double-agents, health care plans, and the absurd love triangle that has developed between Archer, his deadly black ops ex-girlfriend Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler), and stuffy ISIS comptroller Cyril Figgis (Chris Parnell).

Throw in Judy Greer, some cool 1960s style (I'm in love with Archer's single-button suit), a portly HR executive with a girl-crush on Lana, an almost zombified butler/punching bag (George Coe), poorly conceived spy gadgets, and more double-entrendres, single-entendres, and blatantly raucous dialogue than you could spit at and you begin to approximate the subversive fun of Archer.

It's worth taking an aim at tonight.



Archer premieres with two back-to-back episodes tonight at 10 pm ET/PT on FX.

Channel Surfing: Team Darlton Talk "Lost" Final Season, Mann and Milch Team Up for HBO, Ball Staying on "True Blood," Sharon Stone to "SVU," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd has an interview with Lost showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse in which they speak about the looming ending of the iconic ABC series, which launches its sixth and final season next month. While Cuse and Lindelof's involvement with the franchise will end at that time, both were quick to point out that they don't own Lost and that the studio could revive the series in some fashion down the road. "The Walt Disney Co. owns Lost," said Cuse. "It's a franchise that's conservatively worth billions of dollars. It's hard to imagine Lost will rest on the shelves and nothing will ever be made with Lost. Eventually somebody will make something under the moniker of Lost -- whether we do it or not. We just made a commitment to this group of characters whose stories are coming to a conclusion this May." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Are David Milch (Deadwood) and Michael Mann (Public Enemies) joining forces for an HBO project? You read that correctly. Michael Mann is reportedly in talks to direct HBO horse-racing drama pilot Luck. Project, written by David Milch (who will executive produce with Carolyn Strauss), revolves around Ace Bernstein, described by Milch as "a guy versed in all the permutations of finance, elicit and otherwise. When he is released from jail for securities violations, he resumes his place at the race track, where he is a figure of long-standing repute." Production will begin in April, when it will shoot at the Santa Anita Race Track. (Variety, Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Is Season Four of True Blood nearing a lock? True Blood creator/executive producer has reportedly signed a two-year deal with pay cabler HBO that will keep him at the helm of the vampire drama series through the fourth season. "I just closed a deal to show-run [True Blood] for two more seasons, so I would assume that [the series is at minimum] going through Season Four," Ball told Abbie Bernstein of Buzzy Multimedia. (Buzzy Multimedia)

Sharon Stone has signed on for a four-episode story arc on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit later this season. Stone, who will first appear in an episode slated to air in April, will play "a former cop-turned-prosecutor who will (presumably) go toe-to-toe with Benson, Stabler, and the gang," according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Elsewhere at Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Mischa Barton (The Beautiful Life) has been tapped for a guest star role on the NBC procedural, where she will play a prostitute named Gladys on the March 3rd episode. According to TV Guide's Will Keck, "Mischa’s character is hiding a secret that will prove complicating for Mariska Hargitay’s Benson." (TV Guide Magazine)

FOX has given a put pilot order to Shawn Ryan's cop drama project Ridealong, which follows a group of police officers--ranging from beat cops to the female police chief--in Chicago. Project, written and executive produced by Ryan, hails from 20th Century Fox Television. "Something will happen in the pilot that will have overarching (ramifications) that we deal with over time. It will be less serialized than Grey's but more than CSI," Ryan told Variety's Michael Schneider. "I don't think it will be as gritty a world as The Shield was, but it will feel authentic." (Variety)

There's an online petition started by some diehard Lost fans to have Disney to consider creating a Lost-themed ride at one of its amusement parks. Lost showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse endorse the idea, according to The Wrap's Josef Adalian. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

ABC picked up two multi-camera comedy pitches from Sony Pictures Television and Tantamount, both untitled. The first, a family comedy from writers Mitchel Katlin and Nat Bernstein, will star comedian Carlos Mencia and his based on his life and stand-up act as he plays a man living amid a "very large multigenerational immigrant family." The second, a Cedric the Entertainer comedy vehicle, is written by Al Higgins ('Til Death) and Devon Shepard (Cedric the Entertainer Presents); Cedric will play "a retired baseball player-turned-radio host forced to re-evaluate the type of father he has been when his son and 6-year-old granddaughter re-enter his life." (Hollywood Reporter)

Could romance be in the cards for Ugly Betty's Daniel and Betty? According to executive producer Silvio Horta, it's definitely possible. "We’ve been batting around the idea," Horta told Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "It is not outside the realm of possibility that something [could] happen, but we’re not sure yet." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

CBS has given a pilot order to Matt Tarses' comedy True Love, about a group of twenty-something friends in Manhattan looking for love. Project, from Sony Pictures Television, is executive produced by Tarses and his sister Jamie Tarses. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting Jeffrey Tambor will lend his voice to an upcoming episode of FX's animated comedy Archer, slated to air January 28th. The casting reunites Tambor with his Arrested Development costar Jessica Walter, who is a series regular (or her voice is, anyway) on Archer as Malory, the mother/boss of the titular spy. "In the episode, Tambor plays a United Nations intelligence chairman who Walter’s Malory tries to woo for the benefit of her spy agency," writes Ausiello. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TruTV has ordered eight episodes of docudrama Southern Fried Stings, which follows a former state trooper who investigates criminals as part of a private security firm. Series, from Zoo Productions and Studio Lambert, will launch in March. (Variety)

Lacey Chabert (Mean Girls) and Ryan Merriman (Taken) star in Hallmark Channel original telepic Elevator Girl, set to air on Saturday, February 13th. (via press release)

Two promotions at Syfy: Blake Callaway has been named SVP of marketing, brand and strategic and Michael Engleman has been bumped to SVP of marketing, global brand strategy and creative. Both executives report to Dave Howe. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

FX Announces Midseason Schedule, Launch Dates for "Damages," "Archer," "Justified," "Louie"

FX has today announced its midseason schedule, including return dates for Damages and Nip/Tuck and series launches for Timothy Olyphant-led drama Justified (formerly known as Lawman) and comedies Archer and Louie.

Season Three of Damages will kick off on Monday, January 25th at 10 pm ET/PT. (The series previously aired on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings during its first two seasons.) Series regulars Glenn Close, Rose Byrne, Tate Donovan, and Ted Danson are all set to return for the third season, which will also feature new regulars Campbell Scott (Joe Tobin) and Martin Short (Leonard Winstone) and guest stars Lily Tomlin (Marilyn Tobin), Keith Carradine (Julian Decker), and Len Cariou (Louis Tobin).

Elsewhere at the cabler, Nip/Tuck will launch its final season on Wednesday, January 6th at 10 pm ET/PT and animated comedy Archer begins on Thursday, January 14th.

Looking further afield, Justified will premiere in March and comedy Louie will debut later in the spring.

The full press release from FX announcing their schedule can be found below.

FX SETS MIDSEASON LINEUP

Final Season of Landmark Series Nip/Tuck Begins on Wednesday, Jan. 6

New Animated Comedy Series Archer Debuts on Thursday, Jan. 14

Award-Winning Damages Returns on Monday, Jan. 25

New Drama Justified (formerly Lawman) Starring Timothy Olyphant Premieres in March

New Comedy Louie Slated for Spring Launch

Plus Primetime Movie Lineup Features
of The Simpsons Movie, Superbad, Spiderman 3, Live Free or Die Hard

LOS ANGELES, December 1, 2009 – FX’s midseason schedule features a lineup of new and returning original series, kicking off 2010 with the final season of the Emmy® and Golden Globe® award winning drama Nip/Tuck on Wednesday, January 6; the new animated comedy Archer debuting on Thursday, January 14; and the third season of the Emmy and Golden Globe award winning drama Damages on Monday, January 25. FX’s new drama Justified (formerly Lawman) starring Timothy Olyphant debuts in March, and the new comedy Louie, starring Louis C.K., will launch in the spring.

Nip/Tuck, The Final Season, premieres on Wednesday, January 6. The final nine episodes of the groundbreaking series’ seventh season will air consecutively on Wednesday nights at 10:00 PM ET/PT. The series finale – Nip/Tuck's 100th episode – will air on Wednesday, March 3, 2010. Guest stars for the final season include Melanie Griffith, Joan Rivers, Mario Lopez, Frances Conroy, Donna Mills and Joan Van Ark.

FX will debut its new animated comedy series Archer on Thursday, January 14 at 10PM E/P. Archer is an animated, half-hour comedy set at the International Secret Intelligence Service (ISIS), a spy agency where espionage and global crises are merely opportunities for its highly trained employees to confuse, undermine, betray and royally screw each other. The series features the voices of H. Jon Benjamin as suave master spy “Sterling Archer,” whose less-than-masculine code name is "Duchess”; Jessica Walter as his domineering mother and boss, “Malory”; Aisha Tyler as his ex-girlfriend, “Agent Lana Kane”; George Coe as his aging-but-loyal butler, “Woodhouse”; Chris Parnell as ISIS comptroller and Lana’s new love interest, “Cyril Figgis”; and Judy Greer as Malory’s lovesick secretary, “Cheryl/Carol.” FX has ordered 10 episodes.

Damages, FX’s acclaimed series starring Glenn Close, will premiere its third season on a new night, Mondays, beginning January 25 at 10 PM ET/PT for 13 weeks. The show brings back its award-winning cast with Close, Rose Byrne, Tate Donovan and Ted Danson. Standout series regulars joining the cast are Campbell Scott (Joe Tobin), Martin Short (Leonard Winstone), and guest stars Lily Tomlin (Marilyn Tobin), Keith Carradine (Julian Decker) and Len Cariou (Louis Tobin). Damages is produced by Sony Pictures Television and FX Productions. The show is executive produced by Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler and Daniel Zelman, and co-executive produced by Mark A. Baker and Aaron Zelman.

In Justified, which debuts in March (date TBD), Olyphant plays the lead role of Deputy U.S. Marshal “Raylan Givens.” Givens is a modern-day 19th century-style lawman, enforcing his brand of justice in a way that puts a target on his back with criminals and places him at odds with his bosses in the Marshal service. Justified was developed by Graham Yost (Boomtown, Speed) and is based on the popular character featured in several books and short stories by famed novelist Elmore Leonard. Yost wrote the pilot and will serve as Executive Producer/Showrunner of the series. Leonard is Executive Producer, along with Sarah Timberman (Kidnapped), Carl Beverly (Kidnapped) and Michael Dinner (Karen Sisco), who directed the pilot episode. Produced by Sony Pictures Television and FX Productions. FX has ordered 13 episodes of the series, which is shot in Los Angeles.

Louie, starring comedian Louis C.K., will premiere in the spring (month/date TBD). Louie is a comedy filtered through the observational humor of Louis C.K. and his daily life as a successful stand-up comedian and newly single father helping to raise his two daughters in New York. His recent credits include Parks & Recreation and the Emmy nominated Showtime comedy special Chewed Up. Louis C.K. serves as executive producer, writer and director, and Dave Becky and 3 Arts are executive producers. FX has ordered 13 episodes which will be shot in New York.

Preceding Archer’s premiere on January 10 at 8PM ET/PT will be the FX premiere of the smash-hit feature The Simpsons Movie. The following week on January 17 at 8 PM ET/PT will be the FX premiere of Superbad. Other movie highlights in early 2010 are Spiderman 3 and Live Free or Die Hard.

FX is the flagship general entertainment basic cable network from Fox. Launched in June of 1994, FX is carried in more than 95 million homes. The diverse schedule includes a growing roster of distinctive original series and films, an established film library with box-office hit movies from 20th Century Fox and other major studios that run in prime time and an impressive lineup of acquired hit series.