The Daily Beast: "The Emmy Awards’ 10 Biggest Snubs"

The nominations are out: Parks and Recreation, Game of Thrones, Friday Night Lights, and Mad Men get their shot at the awards, while Community, Nick Offerman, and many others are shut out.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, entitled, "The Emmy Awards’ 10 Biggest Snubs," in which I examine shows and actors were snubbed by the TV Academy. Plus, view our gallery of the nominees.

The 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards will be televised live on September 18th on Fox.

Year in TV: The 10 Best (and 5 Worst) TV Shows of 2010

It's that time of year when we bid farewell to the last twelve months and start looking toward the future, but it's also a chance to reflect, to catalogue, and to reminisce as well.

My selections for the Ten Best (and, cough, five worst) TV shows of 2010 have now gone live over at The Daily Beast.

The series selected represent the very best that television had to offer the past twelve months and include such shows as Mad Men, Community, Terriers, Parks and Recreation, The Good Wife, Fringe, Justified, Boardwalk Empire, Friday Night Lights, and Modern Family.

It wasn't easy to whittle down the competition to just ten shows as, despite the overall drain in creativity this calendar year, there were quite a lot of fantastic series. (In fact, one of the very best of the year didn't even air on American television at all: Season Three of BBC One's Ashes to Ashes--including its breathtaking and gut-wrenching series finale--would have made this list if it had been open to overseas programming that hadn't aired within the US during 2010. Additionally, Downton Abbey would have made the list but it's set to air in January on PBS, so will be held until the 2011 list.)

As for other runners-up, that category would include (but wouldn't be limited to) such series as Damages, Party Down, Nurse Jackie, Sherlock, Bored to Death, Better Off Ted, Doctor Who, True Blood, Treme, Big Love, Archer, The Choir, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The IT Crowd, The Life and Times of Tim, Luther, and 30 Rock (for the current season, at least).

But now that the list is (finally) live, I'm curious to hear what you had to say:

What's your take on the best of 2010? Do you agree with my picks for the best of the year and the worst? Head to the comments section to discuss, debate, and analyze, as well as share your own best-of list for 2010.

Brilliant But Canceled: FX's John Landgraf on Terriers' Cancellation

Critics and audiences alike were disheartened--if unsurprised--by FX's decision to cancel the critically-adored but low-rated freshman drama series Terriers this morning.

The announcement about the fate of Terriers, created by Ted Griffin and executive produced by Shawn Ryan, was made via a PR email to press members, which promised further information and a statement from FX president John Landgraf at an unprecedented telephone press conference later today.

Many of us were curious to see just what Landgraf had to say about the network's decision not to bring Terriers back for a second season (and why he was willing to host this conference call), though the writing was on the wall for the drama, considering the ratings chart that FX sent out this morning, which compared Terriers's thirteen-episode run with that of fellow FX series Dirt, Damages, The Riches, and Over There, all of which were canceled by FX yet all had significantly higher ratings than Terriers (more than two times), particularly in the key Adults 18-49 demographic.

(It's worth noting that Damages was rescued from the scrapyard by DirecTV's The 101 Network, which will air the next two seasons exclusively.)

Landgraf said that he had met with Ted Griffin, Shawn Ryan, and Tim Minear on Friday to have a "postmortem" for the show and told them that the network would not be picking up Terriers for a second season. Landgraf called New York Magazine's decision to name Terriers as the third best show of 2010 "bittersweet."

The reason behind the call with press? An effort at transparency, which is something that Landgraf believes in both internally and externally. Given the support the show received from the creative community, Landgraf didn't want press to speculate about why the show was axed.

Landgraf did take some umbrage at the notion that the terrier-centric billboard campaigns in New York and Los Angeles affected the ratings (he went as far as saying that FX's marketing team had unfairly taken the blame for the series' failure), particularly as the on-air campaign tested well with the network's 600-person focus group, who felt that it captured the tone, setting, and plot of Terriers.

"For whatever reason the show didn't work, it wasn't because the promos didn't show Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James..."

So what did the postmortem findings show about why Terriers failed?

"People felt the show was compatible with the FX brand but dissimilar to other FX shows," said Landgraf about the postmortem he had with the series' producers. "The things that were wonderful about the show were subtle... It had a subtle charm that crept up on you. [But] I don't know if subtlety is something that the American public is buying in droves today."

(Interestingly, the focus group testing showed that the perception was that Terriers was "less sexy [and] less edgy" than FX's other programming.)

The numbers, according to Landgraf, further supported this: Terriers was losing 47 percent of its lead-in audience an dropped an average of 16 percent over the course of its hour run.

"What would I have done differently? At a minimum, I'd probably call it 'Terriers: PIs," said Landgraf, chuckling.

"The show failed to launch," he continued. "It was the weakest premiere that FX has ever had... One of the luxuries that cablers have that broadcasters don't is that we could leave it on-air... You put things out there, you give people the opportunity to find it and sample it, and talk to their friends."

He pointed out that FX's upcoming drama Lights Out is unique in the respect that it's the only show featuring an ex-boxer trying to make it, whereas there is a lot of familiarity with buddy private detectives. Clearly, FX couldn't make the public feel that Terriers was innately different or superior to those similar series that came before.

"There's a relatively low correlation between excellence and commercial success," said Landgraf, who went on to say that FX is committed to finding the overlap. "We just try to make really good shows."

"Part of what was great about Terriers was its integrity and its subtlety. Season Two would have been great and it would have been better than the first. But the question was, can we at FX justify [a second season] as a business?"

Despite being heartbroken about FX's decision, I do applaud Landgraf for taking the time to make the network's decision-making process transparent and speaking to press about the reasons and rationale behind the cancellation. Series, even beloved ones, get axed all the time without the sensitivity and grace shown by FX in this case. ("I'm glad that some people saw it and loved it," he said courteously thanking members of the press for supporting the show and writing about it. "That's not nothing.")

"One of the things we've done well is take risks and continue to put shows on the air," said Langraf. "The reality is that this is hard when you're aiming for creative excellence... and commercial success," said Landgraf, somberly.

"This isn't the first really good show that we've had to cancel and it won't be the last."

Putting the Dog to Sleep: FX Cancels Terriers

It's official: FX has opted not to move ahead with Ted Griffin and Shawn Ryan's brilliant PI drama Terriers.

The news of the cancellation was announced this morning by FX SVP of Media Relations, John Solberg, in an email to members of the press which invited us to participate in a conference call with FX president John Landgraf later this morning, in which Landgraf would discuss the network's decision not to order a second season of Terriers.

The cancellation hits amid a fall season that hasn't generated too many hits, either critical or audience ones. (In fact, the only two new series that I fell in love with this fall season were Terriers and Boardwalk Empire, which should say something about the lackluster nature of the offerings this season>.)

Hank and Britt's tagline may have been "too small to fail," but in the end it seems that Terriers itself was too small to succeed. Despite its creative triumph, the series was undone by low ratings, a terrible title, an even worse marketing campaign, the FX/Dish carriage dispute, and audience apathy.

Which is a real shame, as the public missed out on a remarkable series that those of us who tuned in week after week had fallen head over heels in love with. I've already written about the joys of watching this beautiful, introspective, and genre-busting series over in another post, "Don't Put This Dog Down: TV Needs FX's Terriers," so I won't reiterate my thoughts again here. (Though I urge you to check it out as it will be, tragically, a eulogy for the already mourned show.)

If I'm being honest, I'll say that it was a longshot for Terriers to get renewed, given the ratings that it had achieved in the 13-episode run but it would also have been a triumph of the medium--and of creative achievement--if FX had given the show a reprieve and allowed it time to grow... and time for the audience to discover it on DVD.

Alas, it was not meant to be. The cancellation shows once again that television might be a medium but it's also a business, even in the more creatively charged waters of cable.

I loved Terriers and I was continually astounded and impressed with what Griffin, Ryan, the writers, and the series' talented group of actors, was able to achieve in the thirteen episodes allotted to them. Even if this is the end for this amazing series, I did relish every minute of those thirteen episodes, every pithy line of dialogue, every hard moment of emotion, and every smile that passed between Hank (Donal Logue) and Britt (Michael Raymond-James).

Ultimately, Terriers might be too small to fail, but it's not small enough that it will fade from memory any time soon. You and your maverick spirit will be missed, my scrappy friend.

Don't Put This Dog Down: TV Needs FX's Terriers

"Which way will it be?"

And now we wait.

I'm not typically an optimistic person. My cynical worldview has served me well in my thirty-plus years on this Earth, but for some reason I'm holding out hope when it comes to FX's Terriers, which wrapped up its sensational first season last night and is currently on the bubble for renewal.

It will take a bit of a Hail Mary for this remarkable if underrated series to avoid the guillotine and return to fight again. Too small to fail? You bet. But unfortunately the smallness of the ratings have made Terriers' future less than certain.

Which is a shame, really, because those of you who didn't give Terriers a chance missed out on what was easily the best new series of the fall season, a genre-busting crime drama about real estate swindles, brotherhood, secrets, and lies. It was humorous, heartbreaking, and human drama at its finest, the story of two men who try to do good yet usually wind up making things worse for everyone around them.

But whether FX ends up going straight or turning left, Ted Griffin's smart and savvy Terriers, executive produced by Shawn Ryan, gave us a fantastic season of deft characterization, tautly scripted dialogue, and one of the best TV partnerships in leads Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James.

Along the way, the series' early episodic cases gave way to a taut overarching plot which managed to dazzle and surprise in equal measure, a smart callback to the Lindus case of the pilot transforming into something far more sinister and complex than it originally seemed. Bodies piled up, vengeance was had, the real puppet master revealed, and both Logue's Hank Dolworth and Raymond-James' Britt Pollack learned that their actions had consequences.

Which brings us to that climactic final scene between the two of them and the question that lingers in the air: do we run or do we face up to what we've done? It's a question that's unanswered as the screen fades to black, offering a cliffhanger ending even after the Montague land grab storyline is more or less wrapped up in "Hail Mary." Have the events of this season lead Britt to see that running never truly equals freedom? Will he serve his time or flee? Will we, the viewers, have a chance to see just what he chooses?

The uncertainty of that final moment in "Hail Mary," (written by Ted and Nicholas Griffin and directed by Ted Griffin), of which way Hank turns the car, of where we go next, encapsulates the uncertainty of the series' future at FX. While some have pointed towards the fact that the scrappy Terriers doesn't quite fit into the FX brand, I blow a big raspberry at that logic.

Granted, yes, FX has a particular brand and most of its shows tend to fit into the network's depiction of brash, loud, and raucous manhood (which might be why the more female-centric Damages got the boot earlier this year), and Terriers might be a quieter, more low-key exploration of modern masculinity and brotherly love. Yet, I can't help but wonder whether Terriers' ratings would have been better if the FX/Dish conflict hadn't come to pass. After all, the series wasn't available to Dish Network customers and had to have been adversely affected by the elimination of FX from Dish's offering lineup. But also, Terriers was also perhaps undone by its title and the promotional/marketing campaign, which I've already discussed in full elsewhere.

I'm not going to be blind and pretend that people were tuning into this series in droves because they weren't. The ratings were not good, but for those of us who looked past the title and the dog-focused advertising and gave Terriers a chance, we discovered its beauty and humanity, its humor and its pathos, and its incredible array of eccentric and flawed characters.

There's special praise necessitated for the many superb actors who filled out Ocean Beach so memorably, each turning in nuanced performances that made me fall in love with this quirky crime drama. Logue, Raymond-James, Laura Allen, Kimberly Quinn, Jamie Denbo, Rockmond Dunbar, Loren Dean, Karina Logue, Alison Elliott, Michael Gaston, Daren Scott: you each brought your A-game to Terriers and it hasn't gone unnoticed. In the pinball machine of Terriers' plot, your characters served as the the flippers, bumpers, and kickers, knocking Britt and Hank around, either physically or emotionally.

I'm not ready to say goodbye to Terriers, certainly not yet. While the plot of the Ocean Beach land grab scheme may have been tied up now, there's the matter of the duplicitous and menacing mastermind behind the scheme, Cutshaw, played ably by Neal McDonough, a corrupt soul whose seemingly benevolent charity work belies a horrific true nature, the man behind the mask willing to kill Mickey Gosney and whoever got in his way in order to get that scandalous photograph back. (I'm going to assume that the photo depicts him engaged in child abuse of the most awful kind.)

Is Cutshaw intended to be Hank and Britt's new target next season? Do they go straight or turn left? Does Britt cut and run or serve his jail time? Will we get an answer or will their decision sit, unanswered, forever, a car idling eternally at a traffic light? Do we need tidy endings to our stories or does the messiness of life--and art like Terriers depicting that messiness--mean that some things are unknown and unknowable?

The one certainty is that television was improved by Terriers' bark. Fusing together a buddy comedy, a relationship drama, a crime procedural, and a taut thriller, Terriers truly defied pigeonholing. If this is the end for the series, its creative spirit and its gonzo nature will be remembered for some time to come. For those of us who fell in love with its quirky charms and underdog status, these 13 perfect episodes represented an alternative to the by-the-numbers nature of this season's programming.

Ultimately, it's not just Hank and Britt who have to make a decision, but FX as well. Will the show have time to develop, to win over audiences who might have been put off by titles or campaigns, and who might discover this winning series on DVD? Do they take a chance on Terriers or do they cut and run?

For those of us who love television, I hope it's the former rather than the latter. With the broadcast nets decidedly uninterested in taking risks at the moment, Terriers represents the outlaw spirit of cable. I just hope that, in the end, FX gives this dog its rightful day.

Biting Back: An Advance Review of the Final Four Episodes of FX's Terriers

I've been extremely forthcoming about my love for FX's brilliant drama Terriers. Scratch that. I've been gushing about the show--created by Ted Griffin and executive produced by Shawn Ryan--for months now and I wish that more of you were tuning in to this remarkable and unique series.

The first of the final four episodes of Terriers' season begins tonight with the sobering "Asunder," a major turning point for the season both in terms of the overarching conspiracy plot (yes, the shady circumstances of the Montague come back into focus)--which Hank (Donal Logue) and Britt (Michael Raymond-James) are dragged back into--but also the character-driven subplots that have been lurking beneath the surface all season.

I ripped into these next four installments with my teeth last week, insatiable for more of this groundbreaking series, and I wasn't disappointed in the least. In fact, I think that they rank up there with the very best that the series has produced to date, as the serialized plot is shifted into high gear and secrets--both big and small--begin to spill out onto the pavement of Ocean Beach.

The wedding of Gretchen (Kimberly Quinn) and Jason (Loren Dean) drives the plot of tonight's episode but it's the destruction that left around them--the threats of violence, the siren's lure of temptation, spilled drinks and botched plans--that echo long after the closing credits. Gretchen and Jason's life might be filled with hope but for Hank and Britt, their lives are about to get very messy indeed.

Before you ask, yes, I'm being deliberately vague. There is so much joy to be had from Terriers' plot twists ahead, that it would be a shame to spoil them. Far better that you experience them firsthand, feel the searing heat of the emotional grenades that get detonated over the course of these four episodes, the sensation of loss, humility, vengeance, and rage that color these installments.

Along the way, we're privy to some crucial backstory as well: just what went wrong with Hank and Gretchen's marriage, why Hank got booted from the force, how Hank met Britt, and how all of these things are all tangled together. And we get a fantastic new recurring character with Laura Ross (Alison Elliott), a muckraking online journalist (or "blogger" as she's dismissively called) who might hold the key to revealing the larger forces of darkness at work in Ocean Beach.

That is, if she survives long enough to publish her next piece.

Laura makes an admirable addition to the Terriers team, her scrappy nature and fringe-element maneuverings a match for those employed by Britt and Hank and Elliott sparkles here, her nose for trouble getting her into some hot water with some dangerous types who wish to do her harm. That is, unless Hank has anything to say about it.

The story behind the Montague and the falsified environmental data--realized in a heartbeat by Hank's genius sister Steph (Katrina Logue)--comes full circle here as that plot becomes the driving force behind the final four episodes. And, why yes, that is Ben Zeitlin (Michael Gaston) and Burke (Daren Scott) lurking around the periphery. Just what is going on in Ocean Beach? What does it have to do with why Hank's drinking buddy Mickey Gosney was murdered? And can Hank and Britt and Laura uncover the truth before it's too late?

Other familiar faces turn up throughout the final four episodes. I was happy to see just how instrumental a role Rockmond Dunbar's Mark Gustafson plays in the proceedings as well as Jamie Denbo's deliciously snarky Maggie Lefferts and others as well. It's a testament to the world that Griffin created that it expands outwards to include some new characters as well as some favorites, a living, breathing landscape that tinged with noir but also realistically drawn.

Meanwhile, look for some major complications in the relationships between Britt and Katie (Laura Allen) as well as between best friends Britt and Hank. Each of these relationships undergoes its own crucible, the bonds that hold them together tested by betrayal and a host of lies. Tonight's amazing episode, "Asunder," brings one of the most painful and emotionally disturbing scenes between Katie and Britt and its aftermath is felt in more ways than one until the final shot of the season, a cliffhanger that ends the thirteen episode run on an unanswered question, one that hangs in the air like cigarette smoke.

But these episodes also recount the quest for adulthood that these happily stunted men embark upon. As they continue the long, hard slog towards maturity, issues of responsibility, of personal duty, and of the greater good become hauntingly clear. Actions have repercussions, they learn. In some cases, hugely dramatic ones. It's how you roll with the fallout that defines who you are. Do you run? Do you stand your ground? Do you turn the other cheek? Or do you hit back even harder?

Ultimately, these fantastic and taut final installments of Terriers are gripping, emotionally resonant television at its very best. I'm not ready to say goodbye to Hank and Britt or to Ocean Beach anytime soon and it would be a travesty if FX didn't renew this extraordinary drama for a second season. (Television needs a show like Terriers like the world needs oxygen.) If you're at all like me, you'll be screaming at the television and/or tearing up when it fades to black at the end of the season.

You'll also be dying with anticipation to know just what happens next to these dogged detectives. Fingers crossed that we get to face the future with them.

Terriers airs tonight at 10 pm ET/PT on FX.

An Open Letter to FX: Please Keep Terriers Around

Dear FX,

This fall television network has been pretty lousy at the broadcast networks. Massively hyped series have fizzled and viewers seem largely turned off by the prospects for new offerings, with several series already cancelled. It's likely that the axe will fall on a bunch more before winter comes.

Which is why your new series, Terriers, is such a breath of fresh air amid a what's largely a creatively stagnant landscape this fall.

For some reason, viewers haven't flocked to this remarkable series.

Perhaps it was the odd choice of title (it's not about dogs or dog breeders, despite the scrappiness of our protagonists) or the advertising campaign that played up images of snarling, biting, and scrappy dogs rather than focus on the beachy private investigator angle or series leads Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James. Or perhaps this would have performed better in the summer rather than competing against a crush of new series, all premiering at the same time and jockeying for viewers' attention.

Regardless of the ratings (they, like the canines alluded to in the title, are small but fiercely loyal), Terriers is a series worth sticking with, a hysterical and heartbreaking series that's quirky and original and broadens the brand of FX.

Creators Shawn Ryan and Ted Griffin have winningly fused together the crime-based procedural with serialized, character-based arcs, fleshing out the world of Ocean Beach in include a cast of colorful characters that only get more, well, colorful over the next four episodes, which I gleefully watched recently.

Over the course of its first five installments, Terriers developed into a deeply nuanced series that explored the bond between brothers, between lovers, and between people, a taut emotional cat's cradle that examined the consequences of action.

These next four episodes, beginning with tonight's "Ring-a-Ding-Ding," find Hank and Britt grapple with a number of changes to their lives as the wedding between Hank's ex-wife Gretchen (Kimberly Quinn) and Jason (Loren Dean) fast approaches, the condition of Hank's sister Steph (Karina Logue) worsens considerably, and secrets between Katie (Laura Allen) and Britt threaten to derail their entire relationship. (I'll say that all four episodes were outstanding, and I adored the guys' unusual client in "Pimp Daddy," who nearly stole the show, and the tension of "Agua Caliente.")

Along the way, supporting characters like new mother Maggie (Jamie Denbo)--the guys' putative boss as well as attorney--and Hank's ex-partner Mark Gustafson (Rockmond Dunbar) get fleshed out further, as the series itself grows up a bit. It still hasn't lost its focus on odd couple Hank and Britt, but there's a remarkable sadness that's crept into its bones as well, making this far more than a one-trick pup.

Terriers may not be an out of the gate smash hit like Sons of Anarchy, your top-rated series, but it's also a critical favorite that adds a bit of screwball fun to the lineup. Positioned differently, it could be a quiet hit for the network as well as sit separately from the acid-tongued humor of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The League, the sweeping Shakespearean Sons of Anarchy, and the Western trappings of Justified.

Besides, those ratings aren't quite accurate now that Dish Network subscribers can't even watch Terriers, much less FX at all. So reports that ratings have plunged for this winning series aren't all that accurate, considering it's not available in as many homes as a few weeks earlier. Let's just keep that in mind when taking a look at the fate of this series.

But with so many doctor/lawyer/cop tropes on display yet again this season, Terriers has been a refreshing alternate to regurgitated and rewarmed genres that we've seen time and time again. And while PIs aren't exactly novel nowadays, the way in which they're handled here--they're too small to fail--makes for compelling and intelligent programming, something that's severely lacking on the broadcasters right now.

So why not do Terriers fans a solid and not put this dog to sleep just yet?

Terriers airs Wednesday evenings at 10 pm ET/PT on FX.

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.

Talk Back: Series Premieres of FX's Terriers and CW's Hellcats

I could make a joke about dogs and cats fighting here but that would be too easy, no?

I've been raving about FX's new drama series Terriers for weeks now but now the Ted Griffin-created series (executive produced by Shawn Ryan) has finally aired so I'm curious to see what you thought of last night's series premiere. (You can read my advance review of the first five episodes here and check out my feature interview with Shawn Ryan over at The Daily Beast.)

Did you fall for the series' mixture of comedy and drama? What did you make of the camaraderie and chemistry between series leads Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James? Of the San Diego setting and the overarching conspiracy plot that arcs over the whole first season? Glad to see Laura Allen sink her teeth into a meaty role as Britt's vet girlfriend Katie? Wondering just what will happen next?

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

And then there was the CW's Hellcats. I didn't write a review of the pilot episode mostly because I found it to be hellishly awful and entirely tedious, but I'd be curious to know what those of you who tuned in thought about the series premiere. Did you bother watching? Will you tune in again? And why oh why has the CW sunk so low again?

Talk back here.

Dogged Detectives with Bite: An Advance Review of FX's Terriers

As the owner of a small dog, I can attest to the fact that the size of the beast isn't indicative of the largeness of their personalities... nor the fact that they're only too willing to take on adversaries far bigger than them.

Which seems to be the metaphor behind the title of FX's new drama series Terriers, which premieres tonight. Despite the title, Terriers isn't about dog breeders or, well, dogs at all, though there are more than a few canines lurking in the background of this scrappy and sly series, created by Ted Griffin (Ocean's Eleven, Matchstick Men) and executive produced by Shawn Ryan (The Shield).

While the unlicensed private detectives of the series, ex-cop Hank Dolworth (Life's Donal Logue) and his BFF Britt Pollack (True Blood's Michael Raymond-James), might be small fry in the sunny San Diego coastal town of Ocean Beach, they're not ones to back down from anything, even when they've bitten off far more than they can chew.

For this winsome duo, their low-level business isn't a lucrative line of work but rather an effort to remain a little longer in Neverland, despite the efforts of everyone in their lives--whether that be Hank's ex-wife Gretchen (House's Kimberly Quinn), now moving on with her life, or Britt's would-be veterinarian girlfriend Katie (Dirt's Laura Allen)--to push them, kicking and screaming, into adulthood.

Despite the fact that Hank and Britt are slumming it a bit, it's a joy to chew the fat with them in the gutter. In the hands of Logue and Raymond-James, there's a genuine camaraderie and rapport between these two and it's hard to imagine that they've been anything but the best of friends for years now. They have a shorthand between them for their professional maneuvers--which often include the illicit, immoral, and outright illegal--and, like any friends of the male variety, seem hellbent on driving each other crazy. (In the pilot episode, this includes Hank's repeated attempts to create an earworm--a song that gets stuck in one's head--to torment Britt.)

But this isn't a USA dramedy. While there's a hell of a lot of comedy going on here, it's nicely juxtaposed against some toothy drama that exposes the seedy underbelly of this sunny beach town. It's not all suntanning and beers on the ocean. A rotting corpse is discovered in a lifeguard tower. A real estate developer is as dirty as they come. A parking lot confrontation--over a missing girl under Hank and Britt's protection--turns brutally nasty. Underneath the crisp air and rays of sunshine lurks a violence that's always threatening to erupt and overtake the status quo.

And Hank, we learn over the course of the first few episodes, was dishonorably discharged from the local police department thanks to his alcoholism. Now clean and sober, he's lost everything--his job, his house, and his wife--to his addiction, but he's maintained a contentious relationship with his ex-partner Mark Gustafson, played here to delicious perfection by Rockmond Dunbar (Prison Break). But Britt is no angel, either, as we learn in a later episode. How the two met is only too fitting, really.

(Points too for Jamie Denbo's hilarious and super-pregnant lawyer Maggie Lefferts, here presented as a cross between the guys' confessor, mother, and manager. Denbo--half of Ronna and Beverly--shines in her scenes and I only hope we see more of her in the back half of the season.)

It's also worth noting that this isn't a crime procedural, but rather a gripping and taut serialized drama. Each episode builds on the one that preceded it and gracefully unfolds the further development of the characters while also broadening out the world. Throughout it all, the case in the pilot--the one involving the aforementioned real estate developer--hovers uneasily over the action as Hank and Britt find themselves drawn deeper and deeper into a scandal that puts their lives--and those of their loved ones--in serious risk.

Will the guys throw in the figurative towel? Or will they doggedly pursue the truth about just what is going on at the Montague development, even as all number of obstacles are thrown up in their way? (You can guess which way the wind blows.)

Thanks to the crack writing staff of Terriers, what develops is a smart, funny, and compelling series that masterfully balances light and dark, humor and drama, pain and catharsis. The five episodes that I screened earlier this month point towards Terriers being an accomplished and gutsy series that's unlike anything else on television. While the fall season has only gotten under way today, it's safe to say that Terriers is already high atop the list of the very best new series on television right now.

This dog's bite is just as fierce as its bark.

Terriers premieres tonight at 10 pm ET/PT on FX.

The Daily Beast: "The Shield Creator Shawn Ryan's New Show, Terriers"

Before I post my (glowing) review of FX's new drama series Terriers, starring Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James, I thought I'd plug my latest feature over at The Daily Beast.

Head over to The Daily Beast to read "The Shield Creator Shawn Ryan's New Show, Terriers," in which I talk to Shawn Ryan about Terriers--created by Ted Griffin--and Ryan's upcoming FOX midseason drama Ride-Along (one of the very best of the season) and discuss the thematic links with The Shield, which transformed FX into a major player in the original programming game and transformed cable as a result.

Be sure to head to the comments section to discuss the legacy of The Shield and whether you'll be tuning in to Terriers tonight. (You really should be: it's hands-down one of the best new shows of the year.)

Channel Surfing: James Tupper Heads to Grey's Anatomy, Game of Thrones, Tammy Blanchard Gets The Good Wife, Michael Emerson, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that James Tupper (Mercy) has joined the cast of ABC's Grey's Anatomy, where he is set to recur as trauma counselor Andrew Perkins, who is "brought in to help Seattle Grace recover from that nightmarish season-ending bloodbath" and who will appear in at least two episodes next season. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has some dish on the casting--and recasting--going on at HBO's upcoming fantasy drama Game of Thrones. "Varys, the calculating spymaster for the king of Westeros, will be played by UK actor Conleth Hill," writes Ryan. "The role of Waymar Royce has been recast due to a scheduling issue. Jamie Campbell-Bower had played the role in the pilot but when the producers decided to do reshoots of his scenes, Campbell-Bower was unavailable. The role of Royce will now be played by Rob Ostlere." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Tammy Blanchard (Guiding Light) has been cast in a recurring role on Season Two of CBS' The Good Wife, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. Blanchard will play a "fair-minded assistant state’s attorney who looks more like an indie-band drummer than a lawyer,” and who will serve as "one of Glen Childs’ underlings and a confidante to Cary (Matt Czuchry)." Meanwhile, Chris Saradon (Judging Amy) has been cast as Judge Goode; he'll recur throughout the season. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online's Megan Masters talks to former Lost star Michael Emerson about his desire to appear on HBO's True Blood, alongside his real life wife Carrie Preston. "When I see Alan, he always says 'We have to find something for you.' I'm delighted to hear him say it," said Emerson, who said he'd be up for anything on the vampire drama. "Yes, some new kind of supernatural creature," he tells us. "Or [I could play] just an everyday humanoid. I could be a pizza delivery man who's torn apart by werewolves... I would be more than happy to do something on that show if they have the right part and I'm available. It would be a treat." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

NBC yesterday announced their fall launch dates for new and returning series and you know what that means: we've got a return date for Chuck! Yes, Team Bartowski returns to the Peacock on Monday, September 20th at 8 pm ET/PT, joined by new dramas The Event and Chase, launching the same evening. The next night brings the returns of The Biggest Loser and Parenthood; Wednesday, September 22nd will see the launch of JJ Abrams' Undercovers as as well as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Los Angeles. Thursday, September 23rd brings Community, 30 Rock, The Office, Outsourced and The Apprentice. (Parks and Recreation sadly won't return until midseason.) Finally, on Friday, September 24th, it's School Pride, Dateline, and Outlaw's turn. (via press release)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Criminal Minds's Kirsten Vangsness may pull double-duty and appear on the Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior spinoff in either a regular or recurring capacity, following a similar trend to Rocky Carroll on NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles. Vangsness would bring her Penelope Garcia to a cast that also includes Forest Whittaker and Janeane Garofalo. (Deadline)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to Supernatural creator (and former showrunner) Eric Kripke about why he stepped down from overseeing the CW drama, which returns for a sixth season this fall, and what's coming up for the Winchester boys. "We were reaching the end of this five-year story line [so] I thought the timing was right," said Kripke of his decision. "I knew that we were closing this chapter and opening a new one. It felt like it was the right time to take a step back and focus on new projects, but still keep my grubby little mitts in the show. It was a lot about Sera and her enthusiasm and her ambition. I really think after five years of all of my crap, to have someone who has a fresh perspective and a fresh energy on these characters and this universe is healthy for the show. Supernatural has always been a show about reinvention. We try really hard not to do the same thing. I thought that Sera’s [increased] involvement really helped guarantee that this season is going to feel a little different, a little fresher. She has a different sensibility." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FX has announced its fall launch dates: Season Three of Sons of Anarchy begins Tuesday, September 7th at 10 pm ET/PT, Shawn Ryan's dramedy Terriers launches Wednesday, September 8th at 10 pm ET/PT, Season Six of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia launches Thursday, September 16th at 10 pm, followed by the Season Two opener of The League at 10:30 pm. (via press release)

The Guardian's Data Blog has a breakdown of every Doctor Who villain the Time Lord has ever faced since 1963. A must see for Who fans. (The Guardian, h/t Dave Izkoff)

Good news for Mad Men fans who also happen to be AT&T U-Verse cable subscribers: Raindbow Media--which owns AMC, IFC, and WEtv--has successfully concluded a carriage deal with AT&T U-Verse to keep their channels on the cable provider's lineup. "We are happy to report that AMC, IFC and WE tv will remain on AT&T U-verse(R) TV," said AT&T in an official statement. "We're very satisfied that we were able to reach the fair deal we wanted for our customers - one that includes the right content, across platforms, at prices that are in line with the marketplace, and that helps us with important strategic content initiatives. We are very grateful to our customers for their support." (via press release)

Production has been pushed by roughly a week and a half on the start of NBC's Law & Order: Los Angeles, according to Deadline's Nellie Andreeva, who reports that producers need additional time to continue casting the project. At press time, there was only one talent attachment on the series as Skeet Ulrich signed on to play Detective Rex Winters, though four series regular roles remain uncast. (Deadline)

Veronica Mars, Pushing Daisies, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Nip/Tuck are all heading to Netflix Instant, following a streaming rights deal between Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Netflix. Separately, Nip/Tuck will also go into off-net syndication on MTV's Logo. (Variety)

Broadcasting & Cable's Andrea Domanick has a great recap of the session for CBS' The Good Wife at NATPE's recent LATV Festival earlier this week. (Broadcasting & Cable)

Remember how the CW shut down its comedy department a while back? While they're not reopening the shuttered development division, the netlet has dipped its toe back in the comedy game, acquiring US rights to Canadian single-camera comedy 18 to Life, which will air Tuesdays at 9 pm this summer, beginning August 3rd. Project, created by Derek Schreyer and Karen Troubetzkoy, revolves around two eighteen-year-olds who get married. (It was originally a CBC-ABC co-production but ABC dropped out ahead of production.) Move comes as the CW looks for ways to slot first-run programming on during the summer and the series will join reality show Plain Jane on the lineup. (Variety)

EVP of current programming Marcy Ross is staying put at FOX, signing a deal that will keep her at the network for three more years... and seems to point towards the fact that FOX is committed to keeping its current programming department, unlike other networks, which have in recent years merged theirs with development. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: J.J. Abrams Back in Spy Game, Aylesworth Briefed for "Damages," FX Orders "Terriers," "Lights Out" to Series, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting that J.J. Abrams is returning to the spy business with a new potential series project with writer/executive producer Josh Reims (Felicity, Dirty Sexy Money) and executive producer Bryan Burk that is the subject of a heated bidding war with several broadcast networks including ABC, NBC, and CBS. The untitled project, from Warner Bros. Television and Bad Robot, follows a husband and wife who work as spies. According to Adalian, the script is described as a "fun romp" in the style of classic television spy adventures. (The Wrap)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Reiko Aylesworth (24, Lost) has been cast in Season Three of FX's legal drama Damages in a recurring role. Details about who Aylesworth--who starred in the original pilot for ABC drama series The Forgotten--will be playing are being kept firmly under wraps. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FX has given series orders to dramas Lights Out and Terriers, ordering thirteen episodes of each series. Fox21's Terriers, which stars Donal Logue as a former cop who launches an unlicensed private eye firm with his best friend (Michael Raymond-James), is set to debut in Summer 2010. It was created and will be executive produced by Ted Griffin and Shawn Ryan. Lights Out, from Fox Television Studios and FX Prods., stars Holt McCalleny as a former boxing champ who tries to support his wife and children. Series, from creator Justin Zackham, executive producer/showrunner Warren Leight, and executive producers Phillip Noyce and Ross Fineman, will launch in late 2010. That series will undergo some casting changes from the pilot episode, which had been tweaked by Leight. (Hollywood Reporter)

Rumors swirled yesterday that Comcast was in talks to acquire part or all of NBC Universal for $35 billion, but Comcast was quick to shoot down a report on The Wrap, saying that it was "inaccurate." (Editor: not untrue but inaccurate. Hmmm.) What is clear, however, is that the two companies are in talks of some kind as the deadline looms in the next few months for former Universal owner Vivendi to decide what to do with its remaining 20 percent ownership stake in the company, said to be in the neighborhood of $4 billion. Stay tuned on this one. (Broadcasting & Cable, Variety)

USA has given a cast-contingent pilot order to legal drama Facing Kate about a divorced lawyer in San Francisco who leaves her job as an attorney to become a mediator. Project, from Universal Cable Prods., is written by Michael Sardo, who will executive produce with Steve Stark and Russ Buchholz. (Hollywood Reporter)

E! Online's Megan Masters speaks with Modern Family star Ty Burrell about what's coming up on the ABC comedy series, including this little doozy: "Jay likes to fly model airplanes, so Phil goes out to fly [them] with him, and Jay gets fed up with Phil yacking on, so that goes sour." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Bravo is developing three new series around some of its most memorable stars, including Real Housewives' Bethenny Frankel, Project Runway's Christian Siriano, and Top Chef's Fabio Viviani. Frankel's as-yet-untitled series, from Shed Media, will follow her as she looks for love and grows her business as a natural foods chef. Siriano's series will follow the flamboyant designer as he opens a shop and promotes his clothing line. Viviani will star in Fabio: A Catered Affair, which will follow him and his business parter Jacopo Falleni as they look to "expand their restaurant and catering business in Los Angeles." The latter two projects hail from Magical Elves. (Variety)

Guest stars aplenty for ABC's Ugly Betty. E! Online's Megan Masters is reporting that Christie Brinkley will join the cast of the dramedy this season as rival fashion editrix Penelope Graybridge while Shakira will guest star as herself in a November episode of Ugly Betty that finds the Mode staffers overseeing a photo shoot in the Bahamas. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

ABC Family has given pilot orders to two comedies. The first, an untitled multi-camera comedy starring Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence, will see the duo play a "a political dynasty wild child-turned-politician who takes in her teenage niece and pre-adolescent nephew when her sister goes to prison and her brother-in-law flees. She turns for help to Jack (Lawrence), who, desperate for a job, moves in and becomes the family's "manny.'" (Whew.) That project is from writers Bob Young and David Kendall, who will executive produce with Melissa Joan Hart, Paula Hart, and Joey Lawrence. The second greenlight went to an untitled single-camera comedy from writer/executive producer Michael Jacobs about a father who gets laid off from his architecture firm who "begins to mentor his underdog middle daughter, while his veterinarian wife shares a closer bond with their Type A older daughter." (Hollywood Reporter)

CBS Studios International has closed deals to bring several of its new series to the UK, with rights deals in place for NCIS: Los Angeles at Sky1 and The Good Wife and Accidentally on Purpose at Channel 4. Sky1 will launch NCIS: Los Angeles on October 21st while The Good Wife will bow on on More4 and Accidentally on Purpose on E4. (Broadcast, Variety)

R.J. Cutler's reality single Actual Reality has signed a co-production deal with Evolution Media under which Evolution will co-produce the nonscripted projects that the company has at MTV, Bravo, TruTV, and Sony Pictures Television and will have a first-look option at any new projects that Actual Reality develops. (Variety)

Stay tuned.