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...

BuzzFeed: "Sherlock Is Back From The Dead And Better Than Ever"

The hotly anticipated British mystery drama returns with the revelation of just how Sherlock Holmes faked his death two years ago. Warning: Minor spoilers ahead!

At BuzzFeed, you can read my latest feature, "Sherlock Is Back From The Dead And Better Than Ever," in which I review the spectacular third season opener of Sherlock ("The Empty Hearse"), which airs Jan. 1 in the U.K. and on Jan. 19 on PBS' Masterpiece.

Just how did Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) fake his own death?

When Sherlock picks up — two years after the action of the 2012 Season 2 finale, “The Reichenbach Fall” — the facts surrounding how the master sleuth pulled off the seemingly impossible are kept firmly under wraps for much of the ingenious 90-minute season opener, “The Empty Hearse” (which airs Jan. 1 on BBC One in the U.K. and on Jan. 19 on PBS’s Masterpiece).

This is not to say that viewers are denied a revelatory sequence in which the truth about just how Sherlock faked his own death is laid out. The taut sequence that reveals how he achieved such a feat is both simple, yet cunningly complex (not to mention quite spectacular), though I won’t spoil the outcome for anything on this Earth. However, the episode’s writer Mark Gatiss (who once again pulls double duty as Sherlock’s glacially cold brother Mycroft) rather smartly withholds the reveal until “The Empty Hearse” is almost concluded, creating an ongoing mystery that continues to swirl around the minds of both the viewers and several characters within Sherlock itself.

And throughout “The Empty Hearse,” those characters fantasize about just how Sherlock may have pulled off the stunt of faking his death, though the fantasies they depict often say more about the characters themselves than they do about the great detective. Forensic tech Anderson (Jonathan Aris) sees Sherlock as a swashbuckling daredevil, crashing through windows and planting kisses on co-conspirator Molly Hooper (Louise Brealey), a fantasy that sets up Holmes as someone inherently larger than life. (Which makes sense given the obsessive Carrie Mathison-style wall of clues he’s created in his flat.) Another character sees the entire exploit as a romantic bluff by Sherlock and Moriarty (Andrew Scott), a fantasy that plays to a very particular subset of Sherlock slash fiction.

Continue reading at BuzzFeed...

The Daily Beast: "The 10 Best TV Shows of 2012: Borgen, Girls, Parenthood, Mad Men, and More"

From Borgen to Downton Abbey to Girls, Jace Lacob and Maria Elena Fernandez pick the 10 best TV shows of the year. Warning: may contain spoilers if you are not entirely caught up on the shows discussed here.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature,
"The 10 Best TV Shows of 2012," in which Maria Elena Fernandez and I offer up our individual Top 10 TV Shows lists for 2012. My list, not surprisingly, contains shows like Borgen, Mad Men, The Good Wife, Louie, Parks and Recreation, Shameless, and others. What was on your list this year?

Now is the winter of our (TV) discontent. After a fall season that largely failed to deliver on the promise of new shows—and, in some cases, returning programs as well—it’s time to take a look back at the year in television as a whole, as we try to remove such canceled shows as Partners, The Mob Doctor, and Made in Jersey from our collective memory.


But rather than dwell on the very worst of the year (ABC’s Work It!), let’s celebrate the best of what the medium had to offer us over the last 12 months. Below, our picks for the 10 best shows of 2012, which include a Danish political drama, a sumptuous period drama, a resurrected primetime soap, and a navel-gazing comedy.

A few caveats before proceeding: these are individual lists representing personal opinions; omitting a particular show does not invalidate the rest of the list, nor does including a specific show; and the lists are limited to what aired on U.S. television during the calendar year. Finally, a WARNING: For those of you who aren’t entirely caught up on the shows selected, read on at your own risk—the descriptions contain many spoilers.

He Said: Jace Lacob’s 10 Best
‘Borgen’ (LinkTV)
No other show comes this close to epitomizing the best of television this year as the exquisite Danish political drama Borgen, which depicts the rise to power of Denmark’s first fictional female prime minister, Birgitte Nyborg (Sidse Babett Knudsen) amid the infighting and back-biting that categorizes partisan politics around the world. As Birgitte sacrifices everything for her position—her marriage, her children, and even her sense of self—her journey from naïve crusader to hardened politician is juxtaposed against that of ambitious journalist Katrine Fønsmark (Birgitte Hjort Sørensen). The two women deliver two of the best performances on television of the past decade, reveling in, rather than avoiding, the realistic flaws of their respective characters while overcoming the institutionalized misogyny of their respective spheres. Brash spin doctors (including the great Johan Philip “Pilou” Asbæk as Kasper Juul), venal civil servants, and arrogant tabloid magnates spin in orbit around Birgitte, as Borgen delves into the interlocking worlds of politics and the media. The result is nothing less than riveting, insightful, and heartbreaking, not to mention powerfully original.

‘Girls’ (HBO)
Despite its deeply polarizing nature, the first season of Girls—Lena Dunham’s navel-gazing HBO drama—proved itself every bit as witty, sharp, and biting as the promise exhibited in those early episodes, perfectly capturing the insular world of privileged and underemployed 20-somethings in Brooklyn with astute honesty and self-effacing charm. In Hannah Horvath, Dunham has created a character who is so oblivious to her failings, her egotism, and her flaws that it’s impossible to look away from her—whether she’s eating a cupcake in the bath, getting an STD test, or breaking up with her quirky boyfriend Adam (Adam Driver)—or to not fall in love with her don’t-give-a-damn attitude as she bares her body and her soul, even as the show skewers the elitist sensibilities of Hannah and her friends: flighty Jessa (Jemima Kirke), prim Marnie (Allison Williams), and sheltered Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet). Alternately awkward, tender, funny, and depressing, Girls is more than just Hannah and her sisters; it’s a brilliant portrait of disaffected youth on the delayed brink of adulthood.

‘The Good Wife’ (CBS)
Whether you loved or hated the storyline involving kick-ass legal snoop Kalinda (Archie Panjabi) and her psychotic estranged husband, Nick (Marc Warren), this year on The Good Wife had more than enough to offer: its typically intelligent and insightful analysis of politics, the media, technology, and cultural mores, as viewed through the prism of the legal system and the tumultuous marriage between the title character, Julianna Margulies’s Alicia Florrick, and gubernatorial candidate Peter (Chris Noth). Nathan Lane—appearing as the court-appointed trustee after Lockhart/Gardner finds itself moored in bankruptcy proceedings—has been a welcome addition to the show, sowing seeds of distrust among the partners at the firm during an already shaky time. As always, the show excels at dramatizing the internal struggles within Alicia; as her career has advanced, her sense of morality has grown ever more flexible, and her sense of compromise and sacrifice have been tested at work and at home. The slowly thawing dynamic between Alicia and Kalinda provided a measured exploration of trust issues in the wake of betrayal from a friend, while Will (Josh Charles) had his own fortitude tested by a grand-jury investigation and suspension, and Diane (Christine Baranski) fought to keep the firm afloat. Few shows remain as nuanced and smart as this one, regardless of whether they’re on cable or broadcast television, nor do many offer as much grist for thought as each episode does, along with insight, subtlety, and humor. If last season’s sly and hilarious elevator scene didn’t make you chuckle aloud, you have no soul. The Good Wife, as always, isn’t just good; it’s great.

Continue reading at The Daily Beast...

Talk Back: Sherlock's "The Great Game"

Well, that's it. For now, anyway.

Last night brought the season finale of PBS' addictive Sherlock ("The Great Game") and what an installment it was. For a season composed of just three installments, it delivered quite the requisite bangs and thrills, particularly in this final act, which I rate as strong as the first episode ("A Study in Pink") in the series. (I reviewed the first three episodes of Sherlock here, and spoke with Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Martin Freeman in a feature over here at The Daily Beast.)

It contained all of the elements that make Sherlock just gleeful fun: Mark Gatiss' Mycroft, the banter between Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Watson (Martin Freeman), creepy criminals like the Golem, a fantastically deranged performance from Andrew Scott as the terrifying Moriarty, and one hell of an intricate mystery. Or in this case, no less than five interconnected mysteries designed to test Holmes' mettle, a battle of wills and minds between the consulting detective and the consulting criminal.

All this and one hell of a cliffhanger, designed to keep us on the edge of our seats until the second season. Despite the fact that Holmes as Saved Watson's life and gotten that pesky explosive vest off of his partner, Moriarty returned to finish them both off... but Holmes had another idea, shifting his gun from targeting Moriarty to that explosive vest, removed minutes earlier. Will he pull the trigger? Is he that desperate that he's willing to put all of their lives at risk or is it a dangerous bluff? We'll have to wait to find out.

But now that the episode has aired, I'm curious to know what you thought of "The Great Game" and the season as a whole? Did you fall in love with Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss' take on the great detective? And with Cumberbatch and Freeman's performances as the famous sleuths? Were you glad that Watson may have found love with Zoe Telford's Sarah, rather than fall into the monk-like trap that most adaptations have placed him in? Did you gasp with appreciation at just how utterly insane this incarnation of Moriarty is?

And, most importantly, are you dying with anticipation for Season Two of Sherlock right now?

Talk back here.

Sherlock has already been commissioned for a second season by the BBC.

Talk Back: Sherlock's "A Study in Pink"

Now that Sherlock has premiered Stateside on Masterpiece Mystery, I'm curious to know what you thought of the modern-day version of Sherlock Holmes, from creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss.

I reviewed the first three episodes of Sherlock here, and spoke with Moffat, Gatiss, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Martin Freeman in a feature over here at The Daily Beast.

But now that the series premiere--"A Study in Pink" (so clearly an allusion to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "A Study in Scarlet")--has aired last night, I want to hear what you thought of the mystery series.

What did you think of the partnership of Cumberbatch's Holmes and Freeman's John Watson? Did you like the way that Mssrs Moffat and Gatiss updated elements of both characters and included such technological advances such as iPhones, text messaging, and blogging? Did you love the way that director Paul McGuigan visually translated these elements to the screen with thought bubbles and the like?

What did you make of Gatiss' M? Or Rupert Graves' Lestrade? And of the mystery itself this week, that woman in pink, her coat, and that missing suitcase? And of the way that Watson came to Holmes' rescue?

And, most importantly, will you tune in again next week?

Talk back here.

Next week on Sherlock ("The Blind Banker"), Sherlock and Watson work on deciphering the deadly symbols that are covering the walls all around London and killing everyone who sees them within hours before any further victim succumbs to the mysterious Black Lotus.

The Daily Beast: "Sherlock Comes to the U.S."

Sherlock Holmes has an iPhone, Watson blogs: The 21st-century version of Sherlock, a BBC phenomenon, begins Sunday on Masterpiece Mystery.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "Sherlock Comes to the U.S.," in which I talk to Sherlock creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss and stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman about Sherlock and Watson, the similarities and differences between Holmes and Doctor Who's The Doctor, The Hobbit, and more.

Meanwhile, you can read my glowing advance review of the three Sherlock installments here.

Sherlock begins tonight at 9 pm ET/PT on PBS' Masterpiece Mystery. Check your local listings for details.

When You Have Eliminated the Impossible: An Advance Review of Sherlock on Masterpiece

Mention Sherlock Holmes and there are a great many things that immediately come to mind for most: that dearstalker hat (which the great detective never actually wore) and a magnifying glass, 221B Baker Street, "Elementary, my dear Watson" (a conflation of two separate quotes, actually), and that damned hound running around on the moors.

Of the seemingly infinite literary characters ever created, the human imagination has latched onto Sherlock Holmes and John Watson in a way that very few other creations have. Scores of adaptations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's consulting detective have been launched in the years since Holmes was first created. We've see young Sherlock, Nazi-fighting Sherlock, and bare-knuckle brawler Sherlock, courtesy of Guy Ritchie.

We also now have a truly modern-day Sherlock Holmes (and I'm not counting House's Gregory House here, though the comparison is apt and the homage intentional) in Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss' sophisticated and stellar Sherlock, which premieres Stateside on Sunday evening on PBS' Masterpiece Mystery.

With the simply titled Sherlock, Moffat and Gatiss bring the consulting detective and his companion into the 21st century, to a London that's just as fast-paced and desperate as its Victorian counterpart and just as hung up on technology. But the magnifying glasses and Inverness capes have given way to iPhones and stylishly modern tailoring, text messaging and high-tech forensics labs.

The series, containing three feature-length episodes, stars Benedict Cumberbatch (The Last Enemy) and Martin Freeman (The Office) as Holmes and Watson and each is perfectly cast here. Finding actors to bring a famous partnership such as this to life is a delicate thing but together Cumberbatch and Freeman are so supremely balanced, so ideally matched, that it seems as though each was born to play the role.

Cumberbatch's take on Holmes is one of supreme arrogance bordering on hubris; he's so misanthropic, so utterly detached from the rigors of the real world that his interpersonal skills are appalling. Witnesses, victims, police officers are all mere ants under the shoes of this intellectual Goliath, who has sublimated his emotions to the point where his every interaction is based purely on analysis, with no consideration for the feelings or secrets or others. Every encounter is a chance to score another victory for his unrivaled intellect, to deconstruct the world to its bare bones, seeing connections and implications in the simplest of details. A wedding band's condition becomes proof positive of the strength of the marriage, a coat indicative of where the wearer has been and when. He's a loner in a long coat, a scornful curmudgeon who is so very bored with the antics of the stupid and sloppy. What Holmes wants is a worthy opponent.

For his part, Freeman's Watson isn't the rotund, clumsy sidekick that many might expect. Freeman infuses the former army doctor--recently returned from Afghanistan--with a vulnerability and humor but also a steely resolve. He's handy with a loaded gun and, unlike Holmes, geography. If Holmes sees the worst of man, Watson might represent the very best that the species has to offer: he's steadfast, loyal, and even-tempered. Here, he's once again cast in the role of chronicler, providing the narrative spine to Holmes adventure. Given that this is 2010, it's only fitting that he's a blogger, albeit a reluctant one, the blogging part of his therapy after he was injured in the war.

As in the original novels, he'll also cross paths with the ladies, the fair sex being, according to Holmes, Watson's "department." So too is Freeman's Watson no monk, as much as Sherlock would prefer that he tamp down his sexual needs and lead an ascetic life like him. But there's also an intriguing sexual tension between Sherlock and Watson and a continual recurring thread in which everyone they encounter naturally assume the two men--roommates and partners--to be lovers.

It's a modern view that's not played for belly laughs but rather an indication of the times we live in. And, in the eyes of Sherlock's observers, it might make the great detective appear just a bit more human. Holmes, after all, doesn't have a lot of friends or even sympathizers, though he has formed a working relationship with Inspector Lestrade (Rupert Graves), one of the few coppers who sees Holmes' deductive methods for what they are: the work of a genius.

In the hands of Moffat and Gatiss and directors Paul McGuigan and Euros Lyn, Sherlock's world leaps off of the screen in dramatic fashion. Text messages appear on-screen as thought bubbles in a comic strip, a great chase sequence is brought to life using maps, smash cuts, and slick cinematography. The effect manages to take us inside Sherlock's mind, to see the way that his brain processes data, and to be a part of his deductive reasoning. While the solutions are concealed from the audience until Holmes chooses to speak them aloud, the methodology is brought to live with a clarity that's not been seen before in other adaptations. His genius--and perhaps madness--made so abundantly vivid and clear.

As for the mysteries themselves, they are top-notch. Moffat's "A Study in Pink" and Gatiss' "The Great Game" (the third and final installment) are masterworks of suspense and gripping mystery. While the second episode, "The Blind Banker"--based on "The Dancing Men"--is still better than quite a lot of television mysteries, it fails to match the superb quality of the first and third outings, which introduce Holmes' world to the audience and, in the case of "The Great Game," leave us on a tantalizing cliffhanger until the second season of Sherlock, which will head to BBC One in Fall 2011.

Along the way, the creators of Sherlock layer in some of the most memorable things about the Holmes canon: Mrs. Hudson, Moriarty, the bullet-laden smiley face, and more. I don't want to give away too much about these three lusciously layered mysteries because they're really best experienced first-hand when your mind can attempt to be half as sharp as Sherlock Holmes'. (And, yes, that is Mark Gatiss himself as, well, that would be telling.)

But it goes without saying that behind the door of 221B Baker Street lies this irresistible gem of a mystery series, an intelligent, humorous, and incisive drama for the ages. It's far from elementary, really.



Sherlock begins this Sunday at 9 pm ET/PT on PBS' Masterpiece Mystery. Check your local listings for details.

The Daily Beast: "Nine Shows to Watch, Six Shows to Shun"

My fall TV preview--or at least part of it, anyway--is finally up.

Head over to The Daily Beast, where you can read my latest feature, "Nine Shows to Watch, Six Shows to Shun," where I offer up nine new series to watch this fall and six shows to avoid like the plague.

Just which ended up on which list? Hint, The Event ended up on my worst-of list, while things like Boardwalk Empire, Terriers, Nikita, Sherlock, Luther, Undercovers and others ended up on my watch list. (While The Walking Dead is on there, I still--like every other critic--have not seen a full episode, so there's that to consider.)

But while this is my list, I'm also extremely curious to find out what you're looking forward to this autumn. What are you most excited about watching this fall? Head to the comments section to discuss, debate, and tear into my list.

Telly News From Blighty: Doctor Who, Sherlock, Luther, Case Histories

Yes, I'm back from my holiday-slash-birthday-weekend-extravaganza and catching up on what I missed while I was gone, including news about three of my favorite series, all of which happen to hail from the other side of the pond, and a fourth that is likely to become a new favorite when it launches next year. (Hint: it involves the creators of Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes and novelist Kate Atkinson.)

Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has indicated that Season Six of the time-travel drama series will be split into two separate segments, with seven episodes to air in the first half of 2011 and six episodes to air in fall 2011.

What comes between? Well, a "game-changing cliffhanger," according to Moffat, speaking at the Edinburgh International Television Festival. (You can watch video of the session over at The Guardian as well.)

"Looking at the next series I thought what this show needs is a big event in the middle," said Moffat. "I kept referring to a mid-season finale. So we are going to make it two series – seven episodes at Easter building to an earth-shattering climax, a cliffhanger we could never normally do because it would be too long before it came back. An enormous game-changing cliffhanger that will change everything. The wrong expression would be to say we are splitting it in two. We are making it two separate series."

"What I love about this idea is that when kids see Doctor Who go off the air, they will be noticeably taller when it comes back," he continued. "It's an age for children. With an Easter series, an autumn series and a Christmas special, you are never going to be more than few months from the new series of Doctor Who. Tart that I am, we will now have two first nights and two finales, twice as many event episodes as we had before."

Let the guessing games begin about just what the cliffhanger might be...

Sherlock.Moffat, meanwhile, might have his hands full already with Doctor Who but that hasn't stopped Auntie Beeb from rightly commissioning a second season of the truly fantastic mystery series Sherlock, created by Moffat and Mark Gatiss.

(It's not a surprise as the first season of Sherlock--which consisted of three feature-length mysteries--lured approximately 9 million viewers in the U.K. It launches Stateside next month on PBS' Masterpiece Mystery.)

BBC One has ordered another three feature-length cases for Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Watson (Martin Freeman), set to launch in fall 2011. The creators have promised "baffling new puzzles, old friends and new enemies" when the series returns. (Holmesians will be happy to note that I put in a request for Irene Adler when I met with Moffat and Gatiss a few weeks back.)

Luther.BBC One has ordered two hour-long specials for psychological crime drama Luther, which wrapped up its sixth episode run earlier this year in the UK and which will launch this fall on BBC America. A co-production between BBC One and BBC America, Luther stars Idris Elba; the two specials will air in 2011.

Case Histories. Elsewhere, Monastic Production's Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah--the creators of Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes--have announced their new project: an adaptation of Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie novels, beginning with "Case Histories." I'm a huge fan of Atkinson's novels and Graham and Pharoah, so I can't wait to see how they tackle her books and adapt them for television.

The duo will adapt all three novels--"Case Histories," "One Good Turn," "When Will There Be Good News," for the first season of Case Histories, with Pharoah set to adapt the first, Graham to adapt the second, and an as-yet-unnamed writer to tackle the third. Project, which will be produced by Ruby Television with Monastic, is set to air in 2011, with production slated to begin in Edinburgh this autumn.

But the best bit is who the guys have got to play Jackson Brodie: none other than Jason Isaacs (Brotherhood) himself. Isaacs was attached to play the lead in FOX drama pilot Pleading Guilty (an adaptation of Scott Turow's novel), which was overseen by Bones creator Hart Hanson, but the project was not ordered to series.

FOX's loss is Case Histories' gain. Congrats to Ash and Matt for the commission and for landing Isaacs. Can't wait to see him as Jackson!

What do you make of the news? What's behind the splitting up of the next season of Doctor Who? Anxious for more Sherlock? Ready to have Luther put you on the edge of your seat again? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Channel Surfing: Jane Lynch to Host SNL, Good Guys Gets Retooled, CW Plans Crossover, More Sherlock on Tap, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Sue Sylvester, SNL host? Moveline is reporting that Glee's Jane Lynch will be hosting the October 9th episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live. No word yet on whether Lynch--who is nominated for an Emmy Award in the Supporting Actress in a Comedy category--will be packing Sue's ubiquitous track suits for the hosting gig. What is certain, however, is that Lynch will be bringing her acute comic timing to the host role for SNL's 36th season. (Movieline)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that the CW is planning to launch a crossover between One Tree Hill and Life Unexpected this fall, with One Tree Hill's Haley (Bethany Joy Galeotti) and Mia (Kate Voegele) dropping by the October 12th installment of Life Unexpected, where they will perform at a Portland music festival that's sponsored by the radio station where Shiri Appleby's Kate works. "Haley and Cate are surprised to learn that they share a similar back story [as] mothers,” an unnamed insider told Ausiello. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that FOX's action-comedy The Good Guys will get some retooling before it returns this fall with an eleven-episode run (which was ordered by the network before the series even premiered). "I hear the focus will be on attracting more female viewers," writes Andreeva. "The show is adding a new recurring female character, a young CSI, that could potentially become a regular. There also will be more emphasis on romantic relationships, with the new character part of that effort. Additionally, RonReaco Lee, who guest starred in the pilot and appeared in 2 more episodes this summer as bumbling criminal Julius, is expected to heavily recur in the fall." Two episodes of The Good Guys' summer run are being held back and will air as part of the series' eleven-episode autumn "season." (Deadline)

Good news for Sherlock fans: Auntie Beeb is in talks with producers Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss, and Sue Vertue about commissioning a second season of the mystery drama. Vertue indicated on BBC One's Breakfast that talks are about to get under way about more Sherlock and that the format--90-minute episodes--won't change. "There will be more. We're having a meeting to talk about how many and when really," said Vertue. "Steven and Mark are very busy – Steven is obviously doing Doctor Who as well - so it's just when we're going to do them." Moffat, meanwhile, appeared on Radio 5 Live to discuss the season finale and the possibility of more Sherlock. "We're going in for a meeting any second now about it," said Moffat. "But yes, of course it will [come back]. It's not officially confirmed yet but yes, it will – of course it will." (Guardian)

Ryan Devlin is heading back to ABC's Cougar Town this fall, reports Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. Devlin--who was originally cast in CBS' $#*! My Dad Says--is set to reprise his role as Smith in multiple episodes of the Courteney Cox-led ensemble comedy. "We went into this year prepping for Ryan to be on [$#*!],” executive producer Bill Lawrence told EW, “so now we’re in the middle of trying to decide what we’re going to do. I enjoy him, so I think I want him to still be in our world. But I don’t know if [Laurie's] going to be [tied down] the whole year.” (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Oscar winner Jonathan Demme will direct two episodes of HBO's upcoming Mike White/Laura Dern comedy series Enlightened and may also direct a pilot for HBO, according to Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. After posting the story, Andreeva received an email from White announcing who else would be taking turns behind the camera this season: "Demme is awesome - only wish you had included our other awesome directors We also have John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig) and Phil Morrison (Junebug), directing TV for the first time, as well as indie darlings Nicole Holofcener (Please Give, Lovely and Amazing) and Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl, Chuck and Buck)." (Deadline)

It appears that Levi Johnston won't be going away any time soon: Variety's Michael Schneider is reporting that Johnston will make a big for the mayoral race in Wasilla, Alaska, as part of a new reality series that is being pitched to networks by Stone and Co. Pilot, entitled Loving Levi: The Road to the Mayor's Office, has already begun shooting and follows Johnston as he both pursues a career in Hollywood and runs for mayor. [Editor: yawn.] (Variety)

FOX's time travel/prehistoric action drama Terra Nova is heading down under and has finally settled on a location. The drama--which will launch with a sneak peek in May 2011 before an official series launch in Fall 2011 and stars Jason O'Mara (Life on Mars)--will shoot in Queensland, according to Australian state premier Anna Bligh. "Fox Broadcasting has today confirmed Queensland as the location of choice for Terra Nova … and once again shows Queensland's ability to attract first rate productions to the state," said Bligh. "My government provided considerable incentives through Screen Queensland to secure this production which, in turn, will generate in excess of AUS$54 million ($50 million) in economic activity and create thousands of jobs." Location was previously one of two bases for Steven Spielberg's HBO miniseries The Pacific, the other being Victoria. (Hollywood Reporter)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Wayne Brady will reprise his role as James Stinson on CBS' How I Met Your Mother next season and will be bringing along his dad, to be played by Ben Vereen (Webster). "Since Ben, Wayne and Neil [Patrick Harris] are all song and dance men, I can't imagine the show not utilizing their talents for some kind of colorful production number," writes Keck. (TV Guide Magazine)

Shark Tank is returning to ABC next year, with production slated to begin on a new batch of episodes this fall. Joining the entrepreneurs: comedian Jeff Foxworthy, who has signed on to appear in three episodes. (Variety)

Comedy Central has ordered a pilot presentation for Dwaynebook, described as "a green-screen roundup show in the tradition of The Soup that will focus on social networking sites," according to The Wrap's Hunter Walker. Stand-up comedian Dwayne Perkins, who created the series, will host and present segments that shine a spotlight on various social networking sites. (The Wrap)

Reality giant Endemol has acquired a majority stake in unscripted production company Authentic Entertainment, the makers of Flipping Out, Ace of Cakes, Toddlers and Tiaras, and The Best Thing I Ever Ate, among others. The deal is estimated to be in the area of $60-70 million. (Variety)


Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Damages Season Four Details, Susan Sarandon Gets Miraculous, RTD Teases Torchwood, Fringe, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Now that the ink has dried on Damages's DirecTV deal, Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to executive producers Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman about whether the format for the serpentine legal drama will be altered for its fourth and fifth seasons, whether the budget will be affected, why Ellen has gotten past the fact that Patty tried to have her killed, who will be returning, and a host of other issues. "DirecTV wants us to do the show that we’ve been doing," said Zelman. "If anything, they want us to push what we’ve been doing even further. They’re encouraging us to be as bold as possible, which is something we strive for anyway. There have been no discussions about altering the show in any fundamental way." Except for the fact that the episodes will be longer, that is. "What’s exciting for us as creators is that on the 101 Network there are no commercials, so it’ll be an uninterrupted hour," said Todd A. Kessler. "And that lends itself to the type of storytelling we do." Production on Season Four begins in January. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The cast of HBO's drama The Miraculous Year--from writer John Logan and director Kathryn Bigelow--just keeps getting better and better. Susan Sarandon (The Lovely Bones) will join Norbert Leo Butz, Frank Langella, Hope Davis, Lee Pace, Patti LuPone, Eddie Redmayne, and Linus Roach, among others in the cast of the drama pilot, which follows the lives of a wealthy Manhattan family. Sarandon, who will guest star in the pilot, will play Patty Atwood, the director and choreographer for the new show that Norbert Leo Butz's Terry is mounting. (Deadline)

Russell T Davies has teased information about the upcoming fourth season of Torchwood that will air in the US on Starz next year, telling a journalist from SFX that it will be very dark indeed, if not darker than Torchwood: Children of Earth. "Actually, this story is also very dark," said Davies. "I think with that, Torchwood found its feet. People found something very compelling and very chilling about it. I love the way people got on their high horse saying, 'Oh, he killed his grandson!' Hello! He saved every single child in the world! If you would fail to do that then you're the monster, frankly. It's this extraordinary treatment that only science fiction heroes get You find that. If ever a word is said out of place by the Doctor or Captain Jack, or even by Sarah Jane sometimes, people throw their hands up in horror, whereas in any other drama any character is capable of any thing at any time. That's the only way to write, and it's the same for these people as well. I thought it was fascinating and challenging what he did there, but hard—it was so hard. I do think with the whole of Children Of Earth we found a new heartland for Torchwood." (via Blastr)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has a video interview with the stars of FOX's Fringe, in which Anna Torv, Josh Jackson, and John Noble discuss Season Three, the romance between Olivia and Peter, and familial bonds. Well worth a look if you don't mind vague spoilers. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan talks to Bruce Miller and Jaime Paglia, the producers of Syfy's Eureka about Felicia Day and Wil Wheaton's upcoming turns on the dramedy series as well as about James Callis' Dr. Grant. According to Paglia, Day will play a "very eccentric scientist, someone who was invited to be at Eureka but turned it down," when the series returns for the back half of its season in 2011. According to Ryan, Day's character will be "brought in to consult on a problem and Day's character and the character played by Wheaton, who will appear in several episodes, will be involved in a love triangle with a Eureka regular. The producers wouldn't say who it is, but I'd bet money that it's Fargo." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Glee fans, say goodbye to Coach Tanaka. TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Patrick Gallagher--who plays the surly high school coach/gym teacher, is not expected to return for the second season of Glee this fall and the producers will be introducing a new character--Dot Jones' Shannon Beiste--as the new football coach at William McKinnley High. "As he has not been written into the show's first few episodes," writes Keck, "it appears that Tanaka ran his course after failing in his attempt to marry Emma." (TV Guide Magazine)

Liam Neeson is set to guest star on an upcoming episode of Showtime's Laura Linney-led dark comedy The Big C, where he will play Bee Man, an eccentric man whom Cathy consults for a possible cancer treatment. (via press release)

Nigel Lythgoe is said to be thisclose to finalizing a deal that will see him return to FOX's American Idol as an executive producer for the tenth season. Lythgoe is widely expected to close the deal and serve alongside Ken Warwick, Simon Fuller, and Cecile Frot-Coutaz. "Fox is seeking to bring back Lythgoe to work on the hit series as part of a master plan to reboot the show following the exit of top judge Simon Cowell," writes The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd. "In addition, Idol fans can add pop star Justin Timberlake to the list of potential Cowell replacements. Timberlake, along with legendary singer Elton John, is on Idol producer 19 Entertainment chief Simon Fuller's wish list." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Common (Date Night) has been cast in AMC period drama pilot Hell on Wheels, the first talent attachment to the drama, which depicts the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. Common will play Elam, described as "a freed slave who comes west seeking work on the railroad and his place in the world" and who, "as a half black, half white man... does not completely belong to either world." (Deadline)

G4 has purchased four anime-inspired series based on Marvel characters from Sony Pictures Entertainment. The cabler has ordered twelve episodes each of X-Men, Wolverine, Iron Man and Blade, which it will launch in 2011. Marvel Entertainment will produce with Madhouse and each of the anime series will have some thread connecting it to Asia in some way. [Editor: the inclusion of Wolverine here then makes sense, given his history in Japan, but X-Men? Interesting.] (Variety)

It's thought quite elementary that BBC One's new mystery series Sherlock--a modern-day version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's sleuth from Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss--will be recommissioned for a second season after 7.5 million viewers tuned in on Sunday to watch the first episode. (Broadcast)

In other UK news, British viewers will be able to watch the CW's Nikita and NBC's Chase, following a deal between studio Warner Bros. Television and The Living TV Group (a division of BSkyB) that will bring the series to Living. Nikita will air this fall on the channel, while Chase will jump across the pond in 2011. (Hollywood Reporter)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Jeff and Jackie Filgo have left ABC's comedy pilot Awkward Situations For Men, which is being reworked and will be reshot. The cast of the original pilot--Danny Wallace, Tony Hale, and Laura Prepon--will return for the redone pilot though studio Warner Bros. Television will have to find a replacement for the Filgos, who wrote the pilot with Wallace and served as executive producers on the project. (Deadline)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that an earthquake will rock Los Angeles in the September 13th season premiere of 90210. "We wanted to open the season with an event that has both physical and emotional ramifications for several people," co-executive producer Jennie Snyder Urman told Keck and added that the incident will seriously affect one character. "One of them has a very serious injury that takes time to resolve and sort of changes the direction of his or her life." (TV Guide Magazine)

Epix has acquired rights to stand-up comedy film Louis C.K.: Hilarious, which premiered at Sundance earlier this year. The pay cabler will air the film on September 18th on Epix, its website, and its on demand service before Comedy Central gets a second window in 2011. (Variety)

CBS and CBS Studios have signed a talent holding deal with former King of Queens star Leah Remini, who will also serve as one of the hosts of CBS' new mom-centric daytime talk show. Under the terms of the deal, Remini will star in a new half-hour comedy pilot for the network. (Deadline)

Former ITV managing director Lee Bartlett has returned Stateside, where he has moved into the business affairs EVP position at Discovery Communications. He'll be based in Los Angeles and will report to Peter Ligouri. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Trailer Park: BBC One and PBS' Modern-Day Sherlock Trailer

"My name is Sherlock Holmes and the address is 221b Baker Street..."

The details might be the same but this is most definitely not your great-grandfather's Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's detective is given a modern-day makeover courtesy of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss with the new Sherlock, which launches on Sunday in the UK on BBC One and Stateside at the end of October on PBS as part of Masterpiece Mystery.

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch (The Last Enemy), Martin Freeman (The Office), and Rupert Graves (Death at a Funeral), Sherlock deposits the titular master sleuth and his trusted companion Dr. John Watson to contemporary London, where they will use their deductive skills to solve all manner of bizarre, surprising, and just plain weird cases.

"Conan Doyle's stories were never about frock coats and gas light," said Moffat. "They're about brilliant detection, dreadful villains and blood-curdling crimes... and, frankly, to hell with the crinoline. Other detectives have cases, Sherlock Holmes has adventures, and that's what matters."

The full trailer for Sherlock can be viewed below, as well as an interview with Doctor Who head writer/executive producer Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss about the new series.





Sherlock launches Sunday, July 25th at 9 pm GMT on BBC One and October 24th on PBS' Masterpiece Mystery.

Channel Surfing: Heigl to Leave "Grey's Anatomy," "Skins" Refreshes Cast Again, Tudyk Gets "Rockford" Gig, "Doctor Who" May Get Wii Game, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Katherine Heigl will be departing Grey's Anatomy for good this time, citing unnamed sources. "Series creator Shonda Rhimes has agreed to release the fast-rising movie star from her contract. It’s now up to ABC Studios and Heigl’s reps to hash out a final exit agreement," writes Ausiello. "After taking more than half of the current season off to make another movie and connect with her adopted daughter, Heigl was scheduled to return to the Grey’s set on March 1 to begin work on the five remaining episodes of the season. There’s just one problem: March 1 came and went and there was no Heigl." Long story, short: Heigl's final episode as Izzie has already aired and Heigl will not be returning to the set of Grey's Anatomy. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

UK network E4 has commissioned two additional seasons of teen drama Skins, the series' fifth and sixth, and has announced that it will once again replace the cast with new actors following the fourth season (which wraps up in the UK next week but has yet to air Stateside) and will hold open auditions next month. "Skins has always been about new talent, both on and off screen, and the decision to recast the series every two years is one of the reasons Skins stands out," said Channel 4's head of drama Camilla Campbell. "Now another group of teenagers will have the rare opportunity to be part of a British drama series that says something about their lives and is one of the most exciting shows on television. I can't wait to find out who they will be." (BBC News)

Alan Tudyk (V, Dollhouse, Firefly) will star opposite Dermot Mulroney in NBC drama pilot Rockford Files, an update of the 1970 private investigator series that is written by by David Shore (House). Tudyk will play Detective Dennis Becker, a friend of Jim Rockford (Mulroney) who is said to be a little embarrassed by his friendship with Rockford as the other cops all hate him. (Hollywood Reporter)

Take with a large grain of salt. British tabloid The Sun is reporting that Nintendo has signed a contract with BBC Worldwide to bring its iconic series Doctor Who to Wii and DS consoles later this year. "This has been in the pipeline for years," said an unnamed insider quoted by the paper. "We're delighted to have finally nailed down a deal. We went with Nintendo as they have huge appeal for families and Doctor Who is very much a family brand. The Wii console is key for us as it's something families play together." [Editor: Don't get excited just yet. I'd be extremely surprised if a game were able to be produced by this Christmas, just nine months away, as The Sun contends, should this actually be true.] (via Digital Spy)

Jon Voight (24) has signed on as one of the leads in FOX drama pilot Midland, where he will play a Texas oil tycoon described as "a gravely voiced titan equally at home in boots or a three-piece suit." Move marks the first TV series regular role for Voight. Also cast in the 20th Century Fox Television-produced pilot: David Keith (The Class), who will play the con-man father of Jimmy Wolk's Bob. (Hollywood Reporter)

Glee Live! In Concert! has added two additional performances for both the Los Angeles and New York City stops, with a matinee planned for each city. Los Angeles will get a matinee performance and an evening performance on May 22nd while New York City gets a matinee on May 29th and an evening show on May 30th. (via press release)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Arianna Huffington will guest star as herself on the May 10th episode of CBS' How I Met Your Mother. "Huffington will be a guest at a high-falutin’ New York party that Ted, Barney, Marshall, and Lily find themselves at," writes Ausiello. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Jennifer Morrison will be returning to FOX's House, on April 12th episode directed by Hugh Laurie... and next season. "There have been discussions of me doing a few episodes next year based on what they end up writing," Morrison told Keck. "Contractually, they’ve guaranteed me a certain number of episodes next year - I think three or four, which means that they’re probably very much leaning toward writing a storyline for the character." (
TV Guide Magazine)

Constance Zimmer (Entourage) and Kat Foster ('Til Death) have been cast in TBS hour-long comedy pilot In Security, which centers on two sisters who inherit their father's private-security firm. The attachment of Zimmer and Foster lifts the casting contingency on the pilot. Elsewhere at TBS, Malcolm McDowell will star opposite Breckin Meyer and Mark-Paul Gosselaar in comedy pilot Franklin & Bash, where he will play the senior partner at the law firm where street lawyers Jared (Meyer) and Steven (Gosselaar) are hired. (Hollywood Reporter)

In other pilot casting news, Patrick J. Adams (Weather Girl) and Danneel Harris (One Tree Hill) have been cast as the leads in NBC comedy pilot Friends With Benefits, about a group of friends who are looking for love but settle for something else in the meantime. Adams will play Ben, described as "an Everyman who, while waiting for Ms. Perfect to come along, enjoys a relationship with Sara (Harris), a doctor trying to find Mr. Right." They join the already cast Fran Kranz in the 20th Century Fox Television-produced comedy pilot, written by Michael Weber and Scott Neustadter and directed by David Dobkin. (Hollywood Reporter)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck has a first look at how Betty Suarez (America Ferrera) will get her braces off on Ugly Betty's March 24th episode. Hint, it involves a million-dollar bra, the Guggenheim Museum, and a collision. "I chipped my front tooth rehearsing this scene - and it hurt!" Ferrera told Keck. "I thought how incredibly ironic that I mess up my tooth in the episode where Betty's smile is supposed to be perfect and there are extreme close-ups of my mouth." (TV Guide Magazine)

VH1 has ordered ten episodes of docudrama The Tournament, which will follow Chad Ochocinco as he travels the country to find love with 85 women who will compete for his affects "via a March Madness bracket." Series, slated to launch in July, is from JUMA Entertainment and 51 Minds Entertainment. (Variety)

Production has begun on BBC One's three-part drama Sherlock, a modern-day update of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic detective Sherlock Holmes, from writers/executive producers Steve Moffat, Mark Gatiss, and Steve Thompson, directors Euros Lyn and Paul McGuigan. Project stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, and Rupert Graves. "Everything that matters about Holmes and Watson is the same," said Moffat. "Conan Doyle's stories were never about frock coats and gas light; they're about brilliant detection, dreadful villains and blood-curdling crimes – and frankly, to hell with the crinoline. Other detectives have cases, Sherlock Holmes has adventures, and that's what matters. Mark and I have been talking about this project for years, on long train rides to Cardiff for Doctor Who. Quite honestly, we'd still be talking about it if Sue Vertue of Hartswood Films (conveniently also my wife) hadn't sat us down for lunch and got us to work." (BBC)

Radical Media, the production company behind Sundance Channel's Iconoclasts, is said to be gearing up for more television development, including a docusoap following the dancers of the Miami City Ballet, the Oprah Winfrey-hosted Masterclass, and a series adaptation of Stephen Dubner and Steve Levitt's best-selling nonfiction book Freakonomics, which would "investigate a wide range of topics: from the inner workings of a crack gang to whether walking drunk is more dangerous than driving drunk." Project is currently being shopped to networks. (Variety)

The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting yet more changes afoot in the executive roster at Oprah Winfrey and Discovery Communications' nascent cable network OWN, with Jamila Hunter stepping down from her position as head of programming to segue into a new role at the network. Programming will now be overseen by three new hires: Rod Aissa, Michele Dix, and Drew Tappon, all of whom will report to COO Lisa Erspamer. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Nickelodeon ordered six new series, including musical Victorious, featuring former Zoey 101 co-star Victoria Justice, and renewed 16 series, from iCarly to SpongeBob SquarePants. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.