ABC's Steve McPherson Talks "Pushing Daisies," "Dirty Sexy Money," and "Eli Stone," But No Return Dates

Fans of Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, and Eli Stone shouldn't hold their collective breath waiting for ABC to run the remaining episodes of their favorite series, all of which the Alphabet cancelled last year.

Speaking at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson was maddeningly vague when questioned several times about when viewers could anticipate seeing the leftover episodes of Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, and Eli Stone.

"I wish that we had been able to give the producers really series-ending notice to some extent so they could really get that done and really have kind of a finale, if you will," said McPherson. "Because of the way the timing worked out, we didn't, and we weren't able to. But I'd love to find a way to get those out, because Pushing Daisies and Dirty Sexy Money for me -- most of the time when shows don't work, you can really, in hindsight, look back and kick yourself and say, 'I should have seen that.'"

"I really love those shows [and] commend those producers," continued McPherson. "They delivered what they promised. For us, it was just a frustration that we couldn't get a larger audience or that Nielsen said we couldn't get a larger audience."

Still, ABC did not announce any scheduling of those remaining episodes today and McPherson pointed to a number of obstacles standing in there way from airing those installments, including the preciousness of "real estate on air," especially in these economically uncertain times, rights clearance issues, and just scheduling dilemmas.

So, would McPherson have done anything differently coming out of the writers strike in regard to these series? Would he have brought them back in the spring rather than attempt to "relaunch" them in the fall?

"It wasn’t like there were a lot of options," said McPherson, who said that they could have "maybe gotten two or three episodes of the Wednesday night shows back on the air in the spring... So we made the gamble. Hindsight is 20/20. People did not come back to them the way we hoped. I don’t know that we had a better option. But I wished the strike didn’t happen because we are all trying to recover."

As for Pushing Daisies, McPherson didn't really have any answer about why the series underperformed on ABC. "You could look back and maybe say, okay, Pushing Daisies was a little bit too much this or that, but [Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, and Eli Stone] are great shows. There may be something out there in terms of the way we promote these shows, the way we deliver these shows, and the way that the viewership is actually counted. I think that there's a tremendous amount of viewership that nobody, no network gets credit for. And hopefully, if we can get those viewers and get them counted for, we can keep great shows like that on the air."

Stay tuned.

Out of the Frying Pan: BBC America Announces Season Two of Fiery Culinary Series "Last Restaurant Standing"

Sharpen your knives (and your claws), BBC America's deliciously addictive culinary competition series Last Restaurant Standing returns later this month with a brand new season.

Launching Tuesday, January 27th at 8 pm ET/PT, Season Two of Last Restaurant Standing (or The Restaurant, as it's known in the UK) will find host and judge Raymond Blanc (of the world famous two-Michelin starred Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons) and judges Sarah Willingham and David Moore selecting one of nine couples to win their own eatery as they compete head to head over 14 weeks by opening restaurants that serve everything from traditional British fare to--wait for it--Welsh-Chinese fusion food.

As in Season One, each of the nine couples, who have little to no professional cooking experience, must transform an empty restaurant into their very own, individual eatery and open it to the public within a week.

The nine couples competing for a shot at their own restaurant this season are:

• Kashelle, a single mum, and her mother Annette, offer a Caribbean-inspired menu.
• Stephen, an ex-Naval officer, and his wife, Helen, offer a rustic European fusion-style cooking set in a family restaurant.
• Caroline and Chris, a young married couple, serve a simple menu of traditional British fare made from quality ingredients.
• Peter, a blue chip company executive, and his wife, Laura, have the chance to amaze us with their Welsh-Chinese fusion concept.
• Best friends Alasdair and James offer a fine dining concept.
• Buffet business owners Michele and Russell serve up a warm, friendly place with eclectic furniture and home-sewn table cloths.
• Tom, a line cook, and Lindsie, his HR manager wife, offer a modern European-style brasserie.
• Father and daughter team, Harriet and Mike, devise a diner dishing out modern takes on classic dishes.
• Scott, an airline manager, and his partner Richard open a relaxed meeting place, serving up seasonal, locally-sourced food.

Which couples will buckle under the immense pressure and have to close their restaurants prematurely and see their dreams go up in smoke? And which couple will make it all the way to the end and win the restaurant? Find out this month.

Season Two of Last Restaurant Standing launches Tuesday, January 27th at 8 pm ET/PT on BBC America.

Channel Surfing: NBC Gives Primetime Timeslot to Jay Leno, Scandal du Jour at "Grey's Anatomy," and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

The news that everyone is talking about since yesterday afternoon is that NBC has handed over its 10 pm timeslot Mondays through Thursdays to Jay Leno, beginning Fall 2009. This has been rumored for the last few months but I don't think even NBC was prepared to make it fact until the recent economic (and ratings) downturn of recent times. First, it solves two issues: keeping Leno--who is losing his 11:35 timeslot to Conan O'Brien (while Jimmy Fallon will take over his old digs)--at NBC and thus out of the grabs of rival networks such as ABC and FOX; and allows the Peacock to continue programming the 10 pm hour instead of handing it back to the local affiliates. (Something, believe it or not, that was also widely discussed.) (Variety)

Which means that scripted television has just taken another hard-to-handle blow. If NBC goes ahead with its plans for a Leno talk/variety series at 10 pm weeknights and has Sunday Night Football and repeats on Saturday, that leaves just ten hours of programming remaining. Given NBC's propensity for reality franchises (Biggest Loser, Apprentice), expect to see even less comedy and drama at NBC next season.

Granted, NBC hasn't had a lot of success with its 10 pm series lately; one need only look at the floundering series My Own Worst Enemy and Lipstick Jungle for examples, while ER closes its doors this season and Law & Order: SVU represents really the only shot at success in the timeslot.

Does this decision make sense financially? You bet it does: NBC will be able to save a hell of a lot of coin producing a Leno-based "live" series than it would a scripted drama in that hour. But it does smart, just a little. Jeff Zucker claims that they aren't "retrenching" or "throwing in the towel" but it does seem like they are giving up on scripted programming five hours a week. And that makes me sad.

Other networks have said they are not looking to make schedule cutbacks at this time and one unnamed insider said that NBC's logic could be perceived as "counterproductive" because "it's like the automakers shutting down plants: It saves some money short-term, but it also prevents an opportunity to make any." (Hollywood Reporter)

And NBC also made headlines yesterday afternoon for its massive corporate restructuring, which saw the layoffs of drama EVP Katie O'Connell, UMS comedy head Erin Gough Wehrenberg, UMS drama head Elisa Roth, programming EVP Ted Frank, and casting veteran Marc Hirschfeld, among many others. Layoffs come on the heels of the announcement Friday that Teri Weinberg, Katherine Pope, and Craig Plestis would exit. NBC Universal will instead launch a new merged network/studio arrangement, to be overseen by Angela Bromstad, recalled from her London-based position for NBC Universal International. Bromstad will now serve as president of primetime for NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios while former BBC Worldwide executive Paul Telegdy will oversee alternative programming for NBC and Universal Media Studios. (Variety)

Rumors are swirling that Grey's Anatomy's T.R. Knight has quit the ABC drama series. However an ABC publicist attempted to put the lid on such allegations by telling TV Guide that "T.R. has never walked off set in the middle of filming. He attended the table read [on Monday] and will be shooting this week, like any other week of production." Hmmm. (TV Guide)

UPDATE: Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello says that "multiple sources" have confirmed to him that T.R. Knight has been asked to be cut loose from his contract and that Shonda Rhimes and the ABC executives are willing to fulfill his request, according to one source. ("They're working out the details now.") (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

ABC will attempt to counter-program NBC's Super Bowl with a football-themed special episode of reality competition series Wipeout to air during the halftime concert by Bruce Springstein. Immediately following the Super Bowl telecast, ABC will air another special episode of Wipeout, in which cheerleaders compete against male "couch potato" sports fans, opposite NBC's hour-long The Office event. Strategy represents one of the most ambitious Super Bowl Sunday plans to date. (Hollywood Reporter)

Bravo has renewed unscripted series Flipping Out and Million Dollar Listing for third seasons. Also on tap for 2009: new seasons of The Rachel Zoe Project and Tabatha's Salon Takeover. (Variety)

Lauren London (Entourage) has been cast as bisexual cheerleader Christina Worthy on CW's 90210; she was seen in the November 18th episode attempting to flirt with Dixon (Tristan Wilds) but we'll soon learn that Christina has a girlfriend when the series returns on January 6th. (TV Guide)

TBS has ordered a pilot presentation for Frat House, a late night series from Bunim-Murray that will follow three comedians--Bret Ernest (Weeds), Theo Von (America's Prom Queen), and Bert Kreischer (Reality Bites Back)--as they push a group of guys at an impasse in their lives back into the simpler days of frat life. (Hollywood Reporter)

David E. Kelley is said to be "satisfied" with the series finale of his five-season-long drama Boston Legal, which wrapped up last night. However, he did have some parting words for ABC. "ABC didn't want us back," said Kelley. "It's as simple as that. They didn't even want us back for this year at all. We had to fight to get back on with 13. It's not a product they care to market." (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Talpa and Endemol have dissolved their joint venture, under which Endemol had exclusive right to distribute Talpa's formats, by "mutual consent." (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Peacock Unveils Midseason Schedule; "ER" Ends Shift in March; No Date for Amy Poehler Comedy

NBC has announced their full midseason schedule.

Among the announcements, NBC has confirmed the special 3D episode of Chuck will air on February 2nd (which signals the start of all new installments for our favorite action/comedy series), a special one-hour episode of The Office in the post-Super Bowl slot, the launch of Kings in March, and new episodes of Life and Heroes on deck for February. (And, oh, Knight Rider has been cut to only 17 episodes. Huzzah!)

No surprise: no official launch dates for the Untitled Amy Poehler Comedy, from executive producers Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, or The Philanthropist.Given the fact that the Amy Poehler project still hasn't filled out its cast (or, as far as I know, has a finished script), I have a feeling that this will be pushed to fall 2009 at this point.

The full press release from NBC can be found after the break.

NBC KICKS-OFF A POST-SUPER BOWL PRIMETIME SCHEDULE WITH NEW MID-SEASON SERIES PREMIERES, POPULAR SERIES RETURNS, THE 'ER' SERIES FINALE AND AN ORIGINAL MOVIE EVENT

"Super Bowl XLIII" on February 1 -- Followed by an Hour-long Original Episode of "The Office" -- Will Serve as Launching Platform for Returning Series, Including New Volume of "Heroes" and a Special "3-D" Episode of "Chuck" both on February 2

New Lineup Showcases Premiere of New Drama "Kings" with Two-hour Event on March 19 in Addition to the Returns of "Medium" (February 2) and Two-hour "Celebrity Apprentice" (March 1), as well as Original Episodes of "Heroes" (February 2), "Chuck" (February 2) and "Life" (February 4)

Two-hour Series Finale of "ER" Slated for March 12

NBC Offers Original Movie Event "XIII" on February 8 and 15

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – December 3, 2008 -- NBC unveiled today a wide spectrum of its post-January mid-season schedule that features the series premieres of the new drama "Kings" (March 19) with a two-hour event, plus the season debuts of "Medium" (February 2) and a two-hour "Celebrity Apprentice" (March 1) -- as well as original episode returns for "Chuck" (returning with a special "3-D" episode February 2), "Heroes" (which begins "Fugitives," a new volume on February 2) and "Life" (February 4) -- and the movie event "XIII" (February 8 & 15). All the series and movie events will be given a huge promotional boost during "Super Bowl XLIII" on February 1.

Immediately following "Super Bowl XLIII" on February 1, NBC will broadcast an original, hour-long episode of "The Office" (10:30-11:30 p.m. ET; simultaneously to all time zones). Noteworthy announcements regarding this special episode are forthcoming.

In addition, NBC has scheduled the two-hour series finale of "ER" for Thursday, March 12 (9-11 p.m. ET).

The original movie event "XIII," starring Val Kilmer and Stephen Dorff, will air on Sunday, February 8 and 15 (9-11 p.m. ET both nights).

Premieres for additional mid-season shows -- "The Untitled Amy Poehler Project" and "The Philanthropist" – will be announced at a future date.

The announcements were made by Ben Silverman, Co-Chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios.

"February and March are going to be exciting months on NBC and the Super Bowl is just the beginning," said Silverman. "The biggest event on television will provide the perfect promotional platform as we launch some of the most eagerly anticipated new and returning shows on any schedule."

Beginning February 2, Monday nights will feature original episodes of "Chuck" (8-9 p.m. ET), the latest volume of "Heroes" (9-10 p.m. ET) and the return of "Medium" (10-11 p.m. ET).

The new post-January mid-season additions to NBC's program schedule grid follows (all times ET); new series are capitalized except for "ER":

MONDAYS (beginning February 2)
8-9 p.m. -- "Chuck" (returns with "3-D" episode)
9-10 p.m. -- "Heroes" (new volume "Fugitives" begins)
10-11 p.m. –"Medium"

WEDNESDAYS
8-9 p.m. -- "Knight Rider" (season finale February 25; new show beginning March 4 to be announced soon)
9-10 p.m. – "Life" (beginning February 4)

THURSDAY (March 12)
9-11 p.m. – "ER" Series Finale

THURSDAY
9-11 p.m. – "KINGS" (two-hour series premiere March 19)
10-11 p.m. – "KINGS" (regular day and time beginning March 26)

SUNDAYS (February 8 and 15)
9-11 p.m. -- "XIII" (original movie event)

SUNDAYS (beginning March 1)
9-11 p.m. -- "Celebrity Apprentice" (special two-hour episodes)

SUNDAY EVENT SPECIALS
6:15-10:30 p.m. – "SUPER BOWL XLIII" (February 1)
10:30-11:30 p.m. (ET) – "The Office" (February 1; broadcast simultaneous to all time zones)
9-11 p.m. – "XIII" (February 8 and 15)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Neve Campbell Gets Charitable with NBC's "Philanthropist," CBS Adds "Harper's Island," CW Announces "Reaper" Return Date, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. Let's get to the headlines, shall we?

Neve Campbell (Party of Five) will return to network television with NBC's midseason drama The Philanthropist, starring James Purefoy and Jesse Martin, about a renegade billionaire who uses his wealth to help people in need. The former Scream queen will play the wife of Teddy Rist's business partner and BFF Phillip (Martin), who runs the men's philanthropic organization and finds herself drawn to Rist (Purefoy). (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC released some new footage from the Season Five premiere of Lost. (Televisionary)

Samantha Who? (and former Ugly Betty) writer Marco Pennette has three projects in development, including ABC drama pilot The Romeos, about four men in the 1960s who eventually become the country's biggest pop stars, which he'll write and executive produce with Brad Meltzer and Steve Cohen (Jack and Bobby), and ABC comedy Straight Up and Dirty, based on Stephanie Klein's autobiographical book about recovering after a traumatic divorce. (Variety)

ABC has announced launch dates for its midseason dramas Cupid, Castle, and The Unusuals. (Televisionary)

Little Britain USA will return for a second season on HBO and BBC. (BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat)

Horror-themed reality competition series 13: Fear Is Real, from executive producers Sam Raimi and Jay Bienstock, will air Wednesdays at 8 pm on the CW, beginning January 7th. Fear will take over the timeslot from America's Next Top Model while it is between cycles. In other CW programming news, Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill will return with new episodes on January 5th and 90210 and Privileged will return on January 6th. And look for repeats of 90210 to take over Stylista's Wednesdays at 9 pm timeslot in January. (TV Week)

In other CW news, Season Two of dramedy Reaper will kick off on March 7th at 9 pm; the thirteen episodes filmed for the series' sophomore season will air uninterrupted this spring. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

CBS is launching thriller series Harper's Island on April 9th, where it will air on Thursdays at 10 pm following the run of current timeslot holder Eleventh Hour. Harper's Island will air its serialized story over the course of thirteen episodes... which will run until July 2nd. The Eye will also return crime drama Flashpoint to the schedule on January 9th and will air on Fridays at 9 pm. (Variety)

Meanwhile, CBS will burn off back-to-back episodes of unscripted series Game Show in My Head--from executive producer Ashton Kutcher--on Saturday nights beginning January 3rd. (Variety, TV Week)

Craig T. Nelson (My Name is Earl) will appear in a three-episode story arc on CBS' CSI: NY, where he will play Manhattan publishing mogul Robert Parker, who happens to be a nemesis of Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise). (Hollywood Reporter)

Christine Ebersole will drop by ABC's Samantha Who?, where she'll play Amy, the "secret sister" of Samantha's mom Regina (Jean Smart)... who has used Sam's amnesia as a way to erase her sister from their family. She'll appear in the fourteenth episode of the current season. (TV Guide)

Disney Channel has ordered six additional episodes of Hannah Montana, bringing the Season Three total to 30 episodes. (Variety)

NBC will be airing two-hour editions of Celebrity Apprentice on Sunday nights beginning in February, with an announcement about the decision to come as early as this week. The decision would appear to be financial, as it would give the Peacock a way to cull some programming costs; NBC would then have five hours worth of unscripted series per week this spring with two-hour Biggest Loser: Couples on deck and Howie Do It to air on Fridays. “Donald has always felt the boardrooms were too short, and I think he’s right,” said executive producer Mark Burnett. “Right now, there’s really only about nine minutes of footage that we use and the boardroom (scenes) go on for hours sometimes. The problem has been trying to squeeze it all in. Every season we go through the struggle of cutting the show down." (TV Week)

Dick Clark Prods. is developing an unscripted series based on the popular "Chicken Soup for the Soul" franchise of books. (Hollywood Reporter)

VH1 has ordered eight episodes of unscripted series Tough Love, which follows a group of women, chosen to live together in a house and trained in the art of meeting Mr. Right via a "Tough Love Boot Camp." Project comes from Flower Films, High Noon Entertainment, and executive producers Nancy Juvoven and Drew Barrymore; Steve Ward will host the series. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

ABC Announces Launch Dates for "Cupid," "Castle," and "The Unusuals"

After several weeks of guessing, I'm finally happy to report that ABC has announced launch dates for the three new drama series it will launch this spring: Castle, Cupid, and The Unusuals.

First up is Castle, starring Desperate Housewives' Nathan Fillion (though he'll always be Firefly's Mal to me), which launches Monday, March 9th at 10 pm. Fillion stars as mystery novelist Richard Castle who is called in to assist the NYPD with a series of homicides that seem virtually recreated from scenes within his own novels. Series also stars Stana Katic, Susan Sullivan, Molly Quinn, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Tamala Jones, Jon Huertas, and Seamus Dever.

Rob Thomas' Cupid, starring Bobby Cannavale and Sarah Paulson, launches Tuesday, March 24th at 10 pm. Cannavale stars as Trevor Hale, a man who claims to be the Roman god of love exiled to Earth until he can make 100 mortal couples fall in love; Paulson plays a psychiatrist and self-help author assigned to keep an eye on Trevor. Will there be sparks? Rick Gomez and Camille Guaty also star.

Lastly, The Unusuals will bow Wednesday, April 8th at 10 pm. The ensemble cast of this quirky police drama includes Amber Tamblyn, Jeremy Renner, Harold Perrineau, Adam Goldberg, Kai Lennox, Monique Curnen, Terry Kinney, and Joshua Close. (If my earlier reports didn't tip you off, I'm already a fan of this quirky and suspenseful series, which blends together mystery, comedy, and drama with some seemingly supernatural elements.)

Stay tuned.

Flailing Peacock: NBC Announces Midseason Schedule, No "Chuck," "Life," or "Heroes" Until February

Cherish the episodes of Chuck that may be left before Christmas because the series sadly won't be returning to NBC until sometime in February. (Same holds true for Heroes and Life.)

NBC today announced their midseason schedule which features series launches of reality series Superstars of Dance (debuting January 4th) and Howie Do It (January 9) and the returns of The Biggest Loser: Couples (January 6th) and Friday Night Lights (January 16th), the latter of which will have already aired its season on DirecTV.

I can't say that I am too impressed with the offering especially the reality fare and the lack of scripted dramas like Chuck, Life, and Heroes. Yes, they'll be back come February sweeps but their replacements are less than thrilling. At least, we've got 30 Rock. Sigh.

The full schedule can be found after the jump.

MONDAYS (beginning January 5th)
8-10 pm: Superstars of Dance; premieres Sunday, January 4th (9-11 pm); season finale Monday, January 26th (8-9 pm)
10-11 pm: Momma's Boys

(N.B.: Chuck and Heroes return in February)

TUESDAYS (beginning January 6th)
8-10 pm: The Biggest Loser: Couples
10-11 pm: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

TUESDAY (January 20th)
10-11 pm: Dateline NBC Presidential Inauguration Special (10-11 pm ET)

WEDNESDAYS (beginning January 7th)
8-9 pm: Knight Rider
9-10 pm: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (repeats)
10-11 pm: Law & Order

(N.B.: Life returns in February)

THURSDAYS (beginning January 8th)
8-8:30 pm: My Name Is Earl
8:30-9 pm: Kath & Kim
9:00-9:31 pm: The Office
9:31-10 pm: 30 Rock
10-11 pm: ER

FRIDAYS
8-9 pm: Howie Do It (series premiere January 9th)
9-10 pm: Friday Night Lights (beginning January 16th)
10-11 pm: Dateline NBC (beginning December 5th)

SATURDAYS (beginning January 10th)
8-11 pm: Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit repeats

SUNDAYS (January 4th)
7-9 pm: Saturday Night Live Sports Extra
9-11 pm: Superstars of Dance (premiere)

SUNDAYS: Event Specials
8-11 pm: Golden Globe Awards (January 11th)
9-11 pm: Saturday Night Live Film Festival (January 18th)
9-11 pm: The Last Templar (January 25th and Monday, January 26th)
6:15-10 pm: Super Bowl XLIII (February 1st)

Stay tuned.

ABC Tweaks Midseason Schedule Ahead of Announcement

Remember that leaked ABC midseason schedule I had on Televisionary a few days ago? Well, it now appears that much have that will be changed, given ABC's eleventh hour decision not to renew sophomore series Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, and Eli Stone. (Eli Stone, according to that schedule, was meant to air on Tuesdays at 10 pm in the spring.)

So what can we expect when ABC officially announces their lineup later today?

For one, According to Jim will be double-pumped in the 8 pm timeslot on Tuesdays, followed by back-to-back episodes of Scrubs at 9 pm. (Really? Double episodes of comedies, rather than another drama? Sigh.) The two comedies will kick off with new episodes on January 6th.

Private Practice will move to Thursdays at 10 pm ET/PT beginning January 8th, where it will air behind Grey's Anatomy. It's the perfect spot for the ratings-starved medical drama, especially given that ABC is planning a Grey's/Private Practice multiple-episode crossover during February sweeps.

And Life on Mars, which got picked up for another four episodes, will get the plum post-Lost timeslot on Thursdays at 10 pm, rather than the previously mentioned freshman police drama The Unusuals. Life on Mars won't offer any fresh installments until it takes over that timeslot on January 28th.

As for what series will now take over the Tuesdays at 10 pm and Wednesdays at 8 pm slots, that remains to be seen. (I'm hoping ABC rethinks Border Security: USA.) But look for The Unusuals to get one of those timeslots (my guess: Tuesdays at 10 pm) and likely the earlier slot on Wednesdays will go to The Goode Family... or Cupid, should they decide to launch earlier than March. But we'll find out for certain later today...

Stay tuned.

Alphabet Soup: "Pushing Daisies" Still Not Canceled But Missing from Midseason

Well, Pushing Daisies fans, there's the good news and then there's the bad news.

The good news is that ABC hasn't quite decided what to do about the fate of Pushing Daisies. Daisies and fellow sophomore drama series Dirty Sexy Money are both said to be in contention for renewal for the 2009-10 season. However, then there's the bad news: Pushing Daisies isn't anywhere on ABC's midseason schedule. (Its Wednesday night timeslot, according to the schedule obtained by Futon Critic from ABCStagePass.com, has been taken over by Scrubs and The Goode Family.)

The decision to take Daisies off the schedule could mean that ABC merely decided to cut costs and truncate the second season and could later decide to magnanimously renew the series for a third season despite low ratings. (Production wrapped on the series' initial thirteen episodes last week so it's now a given that it won't shoot any additional episodes for this season.) I'm hoping that ABC does come to its senses and decide to bring back Daisies, even with another shortened season. (After all, thirteen episodes is more than the series aired in its first season.)

Also missing from the lineup: Life on Mars, which could continue to air new episodes through January and February, should ABC decide to delay the start of its new series until March, the Nathan Fillion-led mystery drama Castle, Cupid, and comedy Better Off Ted. (Could the latter series be delayed until next season? Possibly but it's more likely they'll bow in March.)

And what series gets the plum post-Lost timeslot? Why that would be new series The Unusuals, a police procedural with some intriguing metaphysical and serialized elements. (If you couldn't tell, I quite enjoyed the pilot for that one.)

Meanwhile, the rest of ABC's midseason schedule can be found after the jump.

ABC MIDSEASON SCHEDULE 2009

MONDAY
8-9:30 pm: The Bachelor
9:30-10 pm: Samantha Who?
10-11 pm: True Beauty (New Series)

TUESDAY
8-9 pm: Border Security USA (New Series)
9-9:30 pm: According to Jim
9:30-10 pm: According to Jim
10-11 pm: Eli Stone

WEDNESDAY
8-8:30 pm: Scrubs
8:30-9 pm: The Goode Family
9-10 pm: Lost
10-11 pm: The Unusuals (New Series)

THURSDAY
8-9 pm: Ugly Betty
9-10 pm: Grey's Anatomy
10-11 pm: Private Practice (New Time Slot)

FRIDAY
8-9 pm: Wife Swap
9-10 pm: Supernanny
10-11 pm: 20/20

SATURDAY
8-11 pm: Saturday Night Movie

SUNDAY
7-8 pm: America's Funniest Home Videos
8-9 pm: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
9-10 pm: Desperate Housewives
10-11 pm: Brothers & Sisters

Stay tuned.

FX Announces Return Date for "Damages," "Nip/Tuck"

I've been on pins and needles awaiting some word from FX about when we'd next get to see Patty Hewes and Ellen Parsons tangle. The wait, Damages viewers, is finally over.

Cabler FX has announced today that Season Two of the Emmy Award-winning legal drama/thriller Damages will kick off on Wednesday, January 7th at 10 pm ET/PT. (Cue me jumping up and down with glee.)

FX has lined up thirteen new episodes for Season Two and the cast for the sophomore season includes Glenn Close, Rose Byrne, William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, and Timothy Olyphant.

Take a look at Damages' Season Two promo, set to the music of Duffy's "Stepping Stone," below:



I absolutely cannot wait for this sleek and serpentine series to return to the airwaves, even if I'll have quite the TiVo conundrum as it conflicts with both Bravo's Top Chef and ABC's Dirty Sexy Money (if the latter is still on at that point).

In other news, FX has also announced that Nip/Tuck will return to the schedule with eight new episodes beginning Tuesday, January 6th at 10 pm ET/PT.

The full press release from FX about Damages' and Nip/Tuck's returns can be found after the jump.

FX SETS RETURN DATES FOR NIP/TUCK AND DAMAGES

Basic Cable’s #1 Scripted Drama in Adults 18-34 Nip/Tuck Continues Its Fifth Season on Tuesday, January 6 at 10 PM ET/PT

Emmy® and Golden Globe® Winning Damages Returns For Its Second Season on Wednesday, January 7 at 10 PM


LOS ANGELES, November 12, 2008 – FX announced the return dates of two of its award-winning dramas, Nip/Tuck and Damages. The continuation of the fifth season of Nip/Tuck begins on Tuesday, January 6 at 10 PM E/P for eight weeks, while the second season of Damages premieres on Wednesday, January 7 at 10 PM E/P with 13 new episodes.

Nip/Tuck revolves around the lives of Dr. Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh) and Dr. Christian Troy (Julian McMahon), two plastic surgeons, close friends and business partners who run McNamara/Troy, an overwhelmingly successful plastic surgery practice.

Earlier this season, Sean and Christian departed Miami for Los Angeles seeking a fresh start for McNamara/Troy in a new city. As season five continues, Sean tries to re-build his life after surviving a brutal attack from Colleen Rose. McNamara/Troy faces an unexpected, serious medical crisis. Christian decides to settle down with one woman and Sean discovers a new love in a moment of extreme vulnerability.

Guest stars include Sharon Gless, Portia de Rossi, AnnaLynne McCord, Bradley Cooper, John Schneider, Jennifer Coolidge, Morgan Fairchild and Katee Sackoff.

Damages, fresh off its Emmy wins for Outstanding Lead Actress (Glenn Close) and Outstanding Supporting Actor (Željko Ivanek), follows the turbulent lives of Patty Hewes (Glenn Close), the nation’s most revered and reviled high-stakes litigator and her bright, ambitious young protégé Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne).

After her unprecedented victory over billionaire Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson), Patty Hewes has the legal world at her feet. Just as she’s pondering her next move, Daniel Purcell (William Hurt), a man from Patty’s mysterious past, storms back into her life, catapulting Patty into a new legal challenge.

At the same time, Ellen is on a mission to take down Patty. She's agreed to act as an informant for the FBI, assisting them in their criminal investigation of Patty and the firm. As Patty unravels the mystery surrounding Daniel Purcell, she must also negotiate the perilous minefield both inside and outside her office.

In addition to Academy Award® winner William Hurt, Academy Award winner Marcia Gay Harden and Timothy Olyphant join the cast of Damages for its second season.


Nip/Tuck was the #1 scripted drama series on basic cable among Adults 18-34 in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007/2008 to-date. Season five averaged more Women 18-34, Men 18-34, and Men 18-49 viewers than its prior four seasons on a first-run basis with an average of 3.5 million total viewers and 2.7 million Adults 18-49 – a retention of 97% from season three. In a weekly four-telecast cume, the show averaged 6.9 million total viewers and 5.1 million Adults 18-49.

Nip/Tuck was created and is executive produced by Ryan Murphy. Michael M. Robin is executive producer. It is produced by The Shephard-Robin Company in association with Warner Bros. Television Productions Inc.

Damages was recently nominated for seven Emmy Awards, and helped make history by being one of the two first basic cable shows ever nominated for Outstanding Drama Series. Close garnered the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (a basic cable first); Željko Ivanek won for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (a basic cable first) and Ted Danson was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor. The show also earned the most Golden Globe Award nominations (4) of any show on television. Close won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a TV Series – Drama. The show received a nomination for Best TV Series – Drama and supporting stars Ted Danson and Rose Byrne were nominees.

Damages was created by Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler and Daniel Zelman who also serve as executive producers, writers and showrunners. The series is produced by KZK Productions, FX Productions and Sony Pictures Television.

FX is the flagship general entertainment basic cable network from the Fox Networks Group. Launched in June of 1994, FX is carried in more than 94 million homes. The diverse schedule includes a growing roster of critically acclaimed and award-winning original series; an established film library with box-office hits from 20th Century Fox and other studios; and an impressive roster of acquired hit series. For more information about FX, visit our web site at www.FXnetworks.com.

Stay tuned.

"Lost" Finds Itself on Wednesdays

Lost is found. ABC has finally announced a launch date for the fifth season of white-hot Televisionary obsession Lost.

The Alphabet will launch Season Five of Lost on January 21st, returning the J.J. Abrams-created series to Wednesday evenings. (It aired on Thursdays at 10 pm this past season.)

Even better news for those too tired (or in my case) old to make all the way to 11 pm: ABC has moved the series back to a 9 pm timeslot. (Whew.) It will, however, air opposite FOX's new crime drama Lie to Me, starring Tim Roth, but, thankfully, that's what TiVo was invented for.

Season Five will kick off on January 21st with a three-hour event: at 8 pm, there's a one-hour recap of what's already happened on Lost to date; at 9 pm, a one-hour season premiere; and at 10 pm, another brand-new episode. Subsequent weeks will air in the 9 pm hour.

That sound you hear? It's me jumping up and down with glee at finally having a date to look forward to. I'll be counting down the days until Lost returns and the 21st can't come quickly enough for me.

Stay tuned.

FOX Announces Midseason Schedule, Sticks "Dollhouse" in Friday Attic

After weeks of anticipation, FOX has announced its midseason schedule for winter 2008/09.

Among the winners? Fringe, which gets the highly prized post-American Idol timeslot on Tuesdays, and new drama Lie to Me, which gets a Wednesday night timeslot also following American Idol. Among the losers? Genre series Dollhouse--from creator Joss Whedon--and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, which get shipped out to timeslot Siberia, namely Friday nights. (Ouch.)

While many Whedon fans are already up in arms about what they perceive as a slight against Dollhouse, I can say that I am not at all surprised that FOX has chosen to ship the creatively struggling Dollhouse and ratings-starved Sarah Connor to Friday nights. Having seen the first two episodes of Dollhouse (and failing to be very impressed despite being a die-hard Whedon-ite), it makes sense that FOX would try to minimize any expectations and put Dollhouse on an evening where ratings are slim to begin with.

However, one can't help but be reminded of the decision to move Dollhouse to Friday evenings of FOX's programming decision a few years back when it placed Whedon's own Firefly in the very same timeslot. A self-fulfilling prophecy? That remains to be seen. But fans shouldn't get too comfortable when Dollhouse kicks off on February 13th.

FOX's full midseason schedule can be found after the jump.

FOX MIDSEASON SCHEDULE

MONDAY

Monday, Jan. 5th:
7:30 pm-CC ET: TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL (LIVE)

Monday, Jan. 12th:
8-10 pm: 24 (Season Seven Premiere, Part 2)

Mondays, beginning Jan. 19th:
8-9 pm: House (Time Period Premiere)
9-10 pm: 24 (Time Period Premiere)

TUESDAY

Tuesday, Jan. 13th:
8-10 pm: American Idol (Season Premiere, Part 1)

Tuesdays, beginning Jan. 20th:
8-9 pm: American Idol (Time Period Premiere)
9-10 pm: Fringe

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday, Jan. 14th:
8-10 pm: American Idol (Season Premiere, Part 2)

Wednesdays, beginning Jan. 21st:
8-9 pm: American Idol (Time Period Premiere)
9-10 pm: Lie to Me (Series Premiere)

THURSDAY

Thursday, Jan. 1st:
7:30 pm-CC ET: FEDEX ORANGE BOWL (LIVE)

Thursday, Jan. 8th:
7:30 pm-CC ET: FEDEX BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (LIVE)

Thursdays, beginning Jan. 15th:
8-9 pm: Bones (Time Period Premiere)
9-10 pm: Kitchen Nightmares

Thursdays, beginning Jan. 29th:
8-9 pm: Bones
9-10 pm: Hell's Kitchen (Season Premiere)

FRIDAY

Friday, Jan. 2nd:
7:30 pm-CC ET: ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL (LIVE)

Friday, Jan. 9th:
8-10 pm: FOX MOVIE SPECIAL: BRUCE ALMIGHTY

Fridays, beginning Jan. 16th (no change to lineup):

8-9 pm: Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?
9-10 pm: Don't Forget the Lyrics!

Fridays, beginning Feb. 13th:
8-9 pm: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Time Period Premiere)
9-10 pm: Dollhouse (Series Premiere)

SATURDAY

Saturdays, beginning Jan. 3rd (no change to lineup):
8-8:30 pm: COPS
8:30-9 pm: COPS
9-10 pm: America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back
11-Midnight: MADtv
Midnight-12:30 am: Talkshow with Spike Feresten

SUNDAY

Sunday, Jan. 11th:
8-10 pm: 24 (Season Premiere, Part 1)

Sundays, beginning Jan. 18th:
7-7:30 pm: Hole in the Wall (Time Period Premiere)
7:30-8 pm: Hole in the Wall (Time Period Premiere)
8-10 pm: ANIMATION DOMINATION (The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy, and American Dad)

[N.B.: Prison Break and 'Til Death will return to the schedule at a later date.]

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "24" Returns, Wallace and Gromit, Brooke Smith, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. I can't believe that today is Election Day and I hope that all of you out there, before reading this, have done your civic duty and exercised your democratic right to vote today. I know I won't be resting easily until after this election is called, one way or the other, though naturally there's a specific winner I have in mind.

Following Sunday's news that Jeph Loeb and Jesse Alexander had been fired from NBC's Heroes, series creator Tim Kring announced that he will "focus on simplifying what's been criticized, even by ardent fans, as an overly complex storytelling structure to get back to the show's comicbookish good vs. evil themes and to emphasize character development more than plot twists." Execs seem to believe that Kring has focused more on post-production than on breaking stories; he'll have to switch gears and spend more time in the writers' room fixing the series' wavering tone. (Variety)

24 will return to FOX with Day Seven in a two-night event to kick off on January 11th and 12th. (You can, however, get your Jack Bauer fix this fall with two-hour feature-length outing 24: Redemption on November 23rd.) In other FOX programming news, the network has announced a December 3rd start date for unscripted series Secret Millionaire from RDF, which will air twice weekly on Wednesdays and Thursdays during December. No word on whether Joss Whedon's Dollhouse is still scheduled to launch on January 19th. Sit tight on that one. (Variety)

Brooke Smith has been fired from her role as Erica Hahn on ABC's Grey's Anatomy, in a decision that was clearly not made by series creator Shonda Rhimes but rather by network executives said to have "issues" with the rather explicit direction that Callie and Erica's relationship was going. Given the positive fan reaction to this pairing, it seems rather odd that ABC would go this route and rather sad. "I don't know for sure, but it definitely seemed like [Shonda's] hands were tied," said Smith. "That was just my gut." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Everyone's favorite stop-motion duo, Wallace and Gromit, will return to BBC One this Christmas with a new half-hour outing entitled Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death, in which our cheese-loving pair open up a bakery and encounter success, because a serial killer known as the Cereal Killer is targeting their competition. No news on when this new adventure will air Stateside, but I cannot wait! (BBC)

ABC is said to be interesting in picking up King of the Hill, which will not be renewed past the 14th season by FOX. Animated series is said to be make a good companion to ABC's midseason animated offer, The Goode Family, which is created by King creator Mike Judge. (Variety)

Ron Livingston and Florentine Lahme will star in Fox Television Studio's new series Defying Gravity, a co-production between the News Corp division and BBC, Canada's CTV, and Germany's ProSieben. Project, from creator/executive producer James Parriott (Grey's Anatomy) and executive producer Michael Edelstein (Desperate Housewives), follows a group of international astronauts who sign up for a mysterious six-year mission through the solar system. David Straiton (House) will direct the 13-episode series' first installment, which begins production in Vancouver on January 19th. (Personally, I much prefer Ronald D. Moore's far-more-interesting Virtuality that's up for midseason contention at FOX.) (Hollywood Reporter)

David Sutcliffe, Lauren Holly, and Jennifer Westfeldt will star in Hallmark Channel film Then Again, slated to air on Valentine's Day; film follows a man, heartbroken when his fiancee refuses to marry him, who travels back in time to save his future fiancee from her own broken heart. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Macaulay Culkin Heads to "Kings," Bravo Gets Stylish with "Fashion House," "Persons Unknown," and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Just a few quick headlines this morning as I've been called to perform my civic duty today and have to drive downtown for jury duty.

Macaulay Culkin will appear in a multiple-episode arc on NBC's midseason drama Kings, where he will play the nephew of King Silas Benjamin (Ian McShane) who has been exiled from the kingdom of Shiloh for mysterious reasons. Also slated to appear in the series: Miguel Ferrer (Crossing Jordan), Leslie Bibb (Popular), Michael Stahl-David (The Black Donnellys), and the previously reported Brian Cox. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

(Aside: I saw the pilot for Kings about two months back and while it was gorgeously directed, I thought that the pacing (it's currently scheduled to air as a two-hour) was glacially slow and could use significant tightening; I think it would be a hell of a lot more compelling at 60 or even 90 minutes.)

Could Bravo be readying a Project Runway clone? Sources say that the project Fashion House is remarkably similar to Project Runway, currently the subject of a lawsuit between NBC Universal and the Weinstein Company. One source went so far as to call Fashion House "a shameless copycat show" and is said to be using Runway's original production team, Magical Elves, on the new series. (New York Post)

CBS will give freshman comedy Gary Unmarried a shot in its Monday night lineup, reairing the pilot episode on Monday at 9:30 pm, replacing Worst Week. The move is said to be an attempt to get viewers to sample Gary Unmarried and it's thought that CBS will keep the series on Wednesdays for now. (Hollywood Reporter)

FOX has put reality competition series Hole in the Wall on hiatus and will fill the series' Thursdays at 8 pm timeslot with repeats of Kitchen Nightmares for the "foreseeable future." Yeah, it was only a matter of time before the death knell sounded for that one. (Futon Critic)

Gary Cole (Desperate Housewives) is set to join the cast of HBO's Entourage as a series regular next season; he'll play Hollywood agent Andrew Klein, one of Ari Gold's oldest friends in the business, and will be introduced during the current season in a three-episode arc to begin in November. (Hollywood Reporter)

Dan Byrd (Aliens in America) has joined the cast of Heroes, where he'll play David, a twisted compulsive liar who could potentially be an apprentice of Sylar (Zachary Quinto). Byrd will appear in at least three episodes of Heroes' Volume 4: Fugitives.(Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Fox TV Studios has hired Michael Rymer (Battlestar Galactica) to direct the first episode of its of Persons Unknown, a co-production with Mexico's Televisa and Italy's RAI, that is set to start shooting on Monday. (Series, which has an initial 13-episode order, does not yet have a home in the US.) Cast in the project, from creator Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects): Daisy Betts (Out of the Blue), Jason Wiles (Third Watch), Tina Holmes (Six Feet Under), Sean O'Bryan (Vantage Point), Lola Glaudini (Criminal Minds), Alan Ruck (Drive), Chadwick Boseman (Lincoln Heights), Gerald Kyd (Casualty), and Kate Lang Johnson (Days of Our Lives). (Variety)

In other casting news, Nathan Lane will play the gay brother to Brad Garrett's Eddie Stark in a November sweeps episode of FOX's 'Til Death. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! has renewed latenight talk show Chelsea Lately through 2009; series has seen a 21 perecent increase year to year. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: NBC Looks for Gold with "Jason" But "My Own Worst Enemy" Launch Less than Golden, "Battlestar Galactica," More "Eli Stone," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Wondering where the frak BSG is? Battlestar Galactica will return with the back half of Season Four, the series' final installment, on January 16th at 10 pm. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

NBC has given a put pilot commitment to Jason and the Argonauts, a green-screen drama based on the Greek myth about the quest for the golden fleece from writer/executive producers Josh and Jonas Pate (Surface) and Media Rights Capital. (NBC previously aired a mini based on the myth in 2000.) I'm not quite sure that they should have done so until after they see the numbers from the premiere of Crusoe later this week but there you go. The Peacock landed the project after a fierce bidding war, apparently with FOX. (In other news, MRC received an order for seven additional scripts for its animated ABC comedy The Goode Family and three additional scripts for Lifetime comedy Rita Rocks.) (Variety)

In other NBC news, My Own Worst Enemy didn't exactly take the ratings by storm. The Christian Slater-led drama opened in fifth place among the seven new dramas that launched on the broadcast networks this fall with a 3.0/8 in adults 18-49 and 7.27 million viewers overall, enough to put it in third place in the key demo behind football and CSI: Miami. The series premiere held onto 70 percent of the Heroes audience, the same retention figure as cancelled Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. (Variety)

ABC has ordered four additional scripts of sophomore drama Eli Stone, which launched its second season last night. The order suggests that studio ABC Studios is happy with the creative direction of the drama. (Hollywood Reporter)

Amy Sedaris (The Closer) has signed a deal with 20th Century Fox Television to create, write, and star in an untitled single-camera comedy series project from Worldwide Pants. She'll co-write the script with writing partner Paul Dinello, who will direct should the project get ordered to pilot. (Hollywood Reporter)

Former Dawson's Creek star James Van Der Beek will guest star in a November episode of the CW's One Tree Hill. In a weird twist of fate, One Tree Hill films on the very same lot where Dawson's Creek was filmed. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

ABC has given a put pilot commitment to single-camera comedy Made Over from writer/executive producer Caroline Williams (The Office, Miss/Guided) and Warner Bros. Television. Project follows a shallow LA-based comestics executive who "has a crisis of conscience and quits her job," in order to start a consulting firm with a younger woman with very different values than her own. (Hollywood Reporter)

D.L. Hughley will host a CNN series. Yes, you read that correctly. (Variety)

Holy Vicky Pollard! Little Britain co-creator/co-star Matt Lucas has joined the cast of Comedy Central's scripted period fantasy comedy Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Firea, which stars Sean Maguire. Also joining the cast: India de Beaufort, Steve Speirs, Kevin Hart, John Rhys-Davies, James Murray, and Marques Ray. (Hollywood Reporter)

CBS has signed a deal with Tribeca Prods. to develop three pilots with a guarantee that one of the projects will be ordered to pilot. Under the guidance of Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal, Tribeca is developing its first project an untitled NYC-based one-hour drama to be written by William Monahan (The Departed). Details are sketchy at best but is said to play to Monahan's strengths. (Variety)

Amy Pietz (Aliens in America) will star in Lifetime drama pilot The Amazing Mrs. Novak, based on the UK series The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard, about a supermarket manager (Pietz) who unexpectedly becomes governor of New Jersey. Also cast: Tom Verica and Kristen Dattilo. Project comes from Warner Horizon and Kudos Prods. (Hollywood Reporter)

HBO Films president Colin Callender has left HBO after 21 years at the pay cabler; he'll launch his own entertainment and content company next year. (Variety)

Anna Paquin (True Blood) has been cast as the lead in CBS' telepic The Irene Sendler Story, from Hallmark Hall of Fame. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

TNT Renews Two Series, Preps Two Others

In a move that's hardly a surprise to anyone watching the ratings, TNT has renewed original series Saving Grace and Raising the Bar.

Saving Grace will air the back eight episodes of its 15-episode second season beginning in March; it will kick off Season Three with 15 new installments sometime later in 2009. Saving Grace averaged 4.4 million viewers this summer.

Raising the Bar has only aired three episodes to date (and has lost about 2.2 million viewers since the premiere) but that hasn't stopped the cabler from ordering a second season, which has been slated for sometime in 2009. TNT ordered 15 episodes of the Steven Bochco-produced legal drama.

No news on the fate of The Closer, which will wrap its fourth season in January, though a renewal for a fifth season is said to be in the bag and will be announced soon.

Elsewhere, TNT will launch Dean Devlin and John Roger's Leverage about a former insurance adjuster turned Robin Hood-style enforcer in December and will launch Trust Me (formerly known as Truth in Advertising)--which stars Tom Cavanagh, Eric McCormack, and Monica Potter--in January.

Stay tuned.

FOX Finally Announces Fall Schedule, Ends Days of Speculation

After days of speculation and very little news about how their actual schedule would shake out, FOX has finally announced their new primetime lineup for the 2008-09 season, just a few hours ahead of unveiling the sked to advertisers.

While I was hoping there would be an eleventh hour reprieve for a fall slot for Joss Whedon's highly anticipated new drama Dollhouse, such was not to be; the series will launch on Monday nights in January, but we will be getting a full season of J.J. Abram's drama Fringe beginning in the fall. (That's got to count for something, no?)

Let's take a look at how the schedule breaks down night by night.

FOX PRIMETIME SCHEDULE FOR 08-09:

MONDAY
8 pm: Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles (Midseason: Dollhouse)
9 pm: Prison Break (Midseason: 24)

TUESDAY
8 pm: House (Midseason: American Idol)
9 pm: Fringe

WEDNESDAY
8 pm: Bones (Midseason: House)
9 pm: 'Til Death (Midseason: American Idol Results)

9:30 pm: Do Not Disturb (formerly known as The Inn) (Midseason: TBA Comedy)

THURSDAY
8 pm: Moment of Truth (Midseason: Hell's Kitchen)
9 pm: Kitchen Nightmares (Midseason: Secret Millionaire)

FRIDAY
8 pm: Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? (Midseason: Bones)
9 pm: Don't Forget the Lyrics (Midseason: 'Til Death/Do Not Disturb)

SATURDAY
8-9 pm: COPS

10 pm: America's Most Wanted

SUNDAY
8 pm: The Simpsons

8:30 pm: King of the Hill (Midseason: Sit Down, Shut Up)
9 pm: Family Guy
10 pm: American Dad (Midseason: The Cleveland Show)

Contenders for Midseason Orders:
Lie to Me, Courtroom K, Boldly Going Nowhere, Outnumbered

New Series:
Dollhouse, Fringe, Do Not Disturb, Secret Millionaire, Sit Down Shut Up (midseason), The Cleveland Show (midseason)

Renewed Series:
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Prison Break, 24, House, American Idol, 'Til Death, Moment of Truth, Hell's Kitchen, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, Don't Forget the Lyrics, COPS, America's Most Wanted, MADtv, Talkshow with Spike Feresten Show, The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy, American Dad, So You Think You Can Dance

Canceled Series:
K-Ville, Back to You, Canterbury's Law, Nashville, Next Great American Band, New Amsterdam

Reactions:
I'm actually very pleased with the strength of FOX's schedule. While we all know that much of it will change over the coming months (not to mention the arrival of ratings juggernaut American Idol), I really love the combination of Fringe and House on Tuesdays (though the folks at Warner Bros. TV must not be too happy with their baby Fringe going up against fellow WBTV drama The Mentalist). Fringe is simply put: dazzling visionary television. But don't take my word for it: you can watch the trailer for Fringe right here.

Holding Dollhouse for the midseason may be a wise cautionary move but it does make me sad not to get my Joss fix now. Following the trailer for Fringe, the sneak of Dollhouse looked a little less glossy and polished but that might be just because the first episode wrapped late last week and they've had less time to get a trailer ready for airing. Still, I have every confidence in Joss and in this brilliant drama project.

Otherwise, it's a mixed bag. I don't think that Do Not Disturb will be around for very long, regardless of however many name changes the series has. I have the pilot episode in my possession so will have to watch it before I give my final judgment but I wasn't impressed with what I've seen so far. I want to like Sit Down, Shut Up because of the pedigree of the creator and talent but I'm having a hard time finding the funny. Though having Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Henry Winkler together again (even in animated form) is pretty darn awesome.

What I am very excited about is the Remote-Free TV initiative that Ligouri unveiled today, which will add six minutes of commercial ad time back into the program. That means, rather than 42 minutes of content, select FOX series (like Dollhouse) will run 48 minutes out of a one-hour slot. To call this a gamechanger is to completely underestimate what this will mean for creative, compulsory series and for ad revenues (supply and demand, my friends).

What do you think? What are you excited for? What do you think of Fringe? And were you as mostly underwhelmed by the upfronts this year as I was? Talk back here.

CBS Launches New Night of Comedy, Cancels "Moonlight" and "Shark"

Following days of speculation (and a whole slew of series orders and renewals), CBS has finally announced its schedule, which it will unveil to advertisers later today.

One notable omission is freshman drama Moonlight, which CBS determined yesterday afternoon would not be returning for a second season; it joins fellow canceled series Shark in the bin, though it's been suggested that Media Rights Capital could resurrect the vampire drama for its Sunday night programming block on the CW.

As expected, the Eye has launched a second night of comedy programming on Wednesdays, anchored by eleventh hour (heh) returnee Old Christine, which was picked up yesterday with a full 22-episode order for the 2008-09 season; it will kick off the night with new comedy Project Gary (formerly known as untitled Ed Yeager comedy starring Jay Mohr).

Let's take a look at how the schedule breaks down night by night.

CBS PRIMETIME SCHEDULE FOR 08-09:

MONDAY
8 pm: Big Bang Theory
8:30 pm: How I Met Your Mother
9 pm: Two and a Half Men
9:30 pm: Worst Week
10 pm: CSI: Miami

TUESDAY
8 pm: NCIS
9 pm: The Mentalist
10 pm: Without a Trace

WEDNESDAY
8 pm: Old Christine
8:30 pm: Project Gary
9 pm: Criminal Minds
10 pm: CSI: NY

THURSDAY
8 pm: Survivor
9 pm: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
10 pm: Eleventh Hour

FRIDAY
8 pm: Ghost Whisperer
9 pm: The Ex-List
10 pm: NUMB3RS

SATURDAY
8-10 pm: Drama Repeats
10 pm: 48 Hours Mystery

SUNDAY
7 pm: 60 Minutes
8 pm: The Amazing Race
9 pm: Cold Case
10 pm: The Unit

TBA
Rules of Engagement
Harper's Island

New Series:
Eleventh Hour, The Mentalist, The Ex-List, Worst Week, Project Gary, Harper's Island (midseason)

Renewed Series:
The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, CSI: Miami, NCIS, Without a Trace, Old Christine, Criminal Minds, CSI: NY, Survivor, CSI, Ghost Whisperer, Numb3rs, 48 Hours Mystery, 60 Minutes, Amazing Race, Cold Case, The Unit

Canceled Series:
Cane, Jericho, Moonlight, Shark, Viva Laughlin, Welcome to the Captain, Kid Nation

Reactions:
I think CBS has done a pretty good job this time around at launching a schedule that's ambitious but builds on the successes of the past. No suburban swingers, vampires, Latino rum barons, or musical murder mysteries here this time around; hell, they even are playing it safe and launching heavily serialized murder mystery/horror series Harper's Island in midseason rather than bow it now. (Personally, I thought the script for Harper's Island was one of the weakest of this past development season and cannot believe that it was ordered to series.)

CBS is smart to launch a second night of comedy on Wednesdays, a night which is lacking in any laughs on any other network. Will the combo of Old Christine and male-driven Project Gary be the ones to crack this? I'm not sure. I probably would have skedded Project Gary after Two and a Half Men and swapped its slot with Worst Week. But that's just me.

As for the other additions, it had been bandied about that The Ex-List would launch on Sundays at 9 pm, which would have been disastrous. (Hello, ladies of Wisteria Lane!) I'm glad to see that they used my line of thinking and shifted Ghost Whisperer to 8 pm and then slotted in Ex-List behind it at 9 pm, creating a female-oriented two-hour block on Fridays and allowing the series the opportunity to grow with some, let's say, diminished expectations, given that it's a weak night.

Speaking of Sundays, I was surprised that they did decide to move Cold Case back to 9 pm and not in the 10 pm slot (which it will occupy this summer) that many thought it would have. I do think The Unit is very good counter-programming against ABC's Brothers & Sisters. I'd be curious to see how the series goes in this new timeslot, especially given the strength of Shaun Ryan's pitch for Season Five.

All in all, a structurally sound schedule that gives CBS some breathing room this fall and the opportunity to take some calculated risks (rather than the foolhardy and unnecessary ones it made last fall). Not a fan of The Mentalist (which was like nails on the chalkboard to me) but very much looking forward to the US adaptation of UK mini Eleventh Hour. This is the one series to keep an eye on as it might just end up being the Eye's next breakout hit.

CW Unveils its Schedule to Yawns

With little fanfare, netlet the CW unveiled its schedule yesterday to advertisers and press in New York. (An LA-based presentation is set for Thursday.) The reason behind the lack of trumpets was that the CW only had three drama pilots in contention for a fall berth and most of its programs would be returning for the 2008-o9 season anyway.

It was hardly a surprise or shock to anyone that the CW picked up its two rich teen dramas, 90210, the Beverly Hills 90210 spin-off (originally written by Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas) and Surviving the Filthy Rich (formerly known as How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls), which like its predecessor Gossip Girl is based on a series of young adult novels from Alloy.

So how does the schedule look for the second year of the CW, scheduled to kick off a little earlier than expected, on September 1st? Let's take a look.

CW PRIMETIME SCHEDULE FOR 08-09

MONDAY
8 pm: Gossip Girl
9 pm: One Tree Hill

TUESDAY
8 pm: 90210
9 pm: Surviving the Filthy Rich

WEDNESDAY
8 pm: America's Next Top Model
9 pm: Stylista

THURSDAY
8 pm: Smallville (Midseason: Reaper)
9 pm: Supernatural

FRIDAY
8 pm: Everybody Hates Chris
8:30 pm: The Game
9 pm: America's Next Top Model (repeats)

SUNDAY
TBA - Network has leased the Sunday programming real estate to Media Rights Capital, which will announce its programming at a later date, which may include comedies Surviving Suburbia and Book of Murphy and dramas I.M. Valentine Investigation and FAT City: Fugitive Apprehension Team. (Yes, those are, um, actual titles under discussion.)

New Series:
90210, Surviving the Filthy Rich, Stylista

Returning Series:
Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, America's Next Top Model, Smallville, Supernatural, Everybody Hates Chris, The Game, Reaper (midseason)

Canceled Series:
Life is Wild, Aliens in America, Beauty and the Geek, Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants, CW Now, Girlfriends, Online Nation, Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious

Reactions:
Um, not many. It's pretty much what everyone in the industry had worked out on paper ahead of the upfront. I think it's risky to launch two new scripted series together on a new night, but ABC managed to do just that with three dramas this past season to much success. Seems like CW is looking towards massive brand identification as well as focusing on its core teen female audience with things like 90210 and Surviving the Filthy Rich. And I can't say I am surprised about the last-minute renewal for Reaper, which will fill in for Smallville once the latter wraps its series run later this year.

As for the deal with MRC to outsource its Sunday night, it smacks of desperation to me and it is never a good idea to give up your programming real estate to a third party like that, especially as the series under discussion seem like those that may have appeared on the first year of the WB. (Ouch.) Dawn Ostroff has once again to have quite a lot of work on her hands.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Price is Right Million Dollar Spectacular (CBS); Deal or No Deal (NBC; 8-10 pm); America's Next Top Model (CW); Wife Swap (ABC); 'Til Death/Back to You (FOX)

9 pm: Criminal Minds (CBS); Farmer Wants a Wife (CW); Supernanny (ABC); American Idol (FOX)

10 pm: CSI: New York (CBS); Law & Order (NBC); Boston Legal (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: America's Next Top Model.

On tonight's episode ("And the Winner is..."), Cycle Nine winner Saleisha Stowers flies into Rome to spend some time with the contestants during their Cover Girl commercial and print ad shoot; one of the girls fails to deliver the goods and is sent packing, while the final two face of on the runway in a once-in-a-lifetime fashion event.

9 pm: MI-5 on BBC America.

If you missed MI-5 (aka Spooks) when it aired on A&E a few years back, you can catch it tonight on BBC America. On tonight's installment ("The Suffering of Strangers"), the gripping third season finale, Danny and Fiona are taken hostage by a ruthless terrorist who demands that the British government withdraw from Iraq or they will execute one of their prisoners, leaving Adam with a moral dilemma.

10 pm: Top Chef on Bravo.

On tonight's episode ("Serve and Protect"), the chefs are tasked with reformulating the humble salad and then must trim calories and fat with a reinvention of a classic entree. Oh, and former cheftestant Sam stops by as well.

Solid as a Rock: ABC Remains Stable with New Fall Schedule

In advance of its network upfront later today (I'll let you know how it is sans Ugly Betty cast-led musical numbers this year), ABC has announced its fall schedule.... with sadly lacked any real surprises in this lackluster upfront season.

The fall schedule looks astonishing like last fall's sked, but we all knew that out of the Big Four, ABC would likely have the most stability going into the new season, with many of its series already earmarked for renewals and very few new projects to choose from. (ABC's current crop of pilots won't be shot until Phase Two this summer, so look for decisions about additional midseason entries later this year.)

ABC PRIMETIME SCHEDULE: 08-09

MONDAYS
8 pm: Dancing with the Stars (Midseason: Untitled Tyra Banks/Ashton Kutcher Reality Series)
9:30 pm: Samantha Who?
10 pm: Boston Legal (Midseason: The Bachelor)

TUESDAYS
8 pm: Opportunity Knocks
9 pm: Dancing with the Stars Results Show (Midseason: Scrubs and The Goode Family)
10 pm: Eli Stone

WEDNESDAYS
8 pm: Pushing Daisies
9 pm: Private Practice
10 pm: Dirty Sexy Money

THURSDAY
8 pm: Ugly Betty
9 pm: Grey's Anatomy
10 pm: Life on Mars (Likely Midseason: Lost, but TBA)

FRIDAY
8 pm: Wife Swap
9 pm: Supernanny
10 pm: 20/20

SATURDAY
Saturday Night College Football

SUNDAY
8 pm: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
9 pm: Desperate Housewives
10 pm: Brothers & Sisters

TBA: According to Jim Primetime: What Would You Do?

New Series:
Life on Mars, Opportunity Knocks, Scrubs* (picked up from NBC), Untitled Tyra Banks/Ashton Kutcher Reality Series (midseason), The Goode Family (midseason)

Cancelled Series:
October Road, Women's Murder Club, Oprah's Big Give, Big Shots, Carpoolers, Cashmere Mafia, Cavemen, Miss/Guided, Notes from the Underbelly

Renewed Series:
Dancing with the Stars, Samantha Who?, Boston Legal, The Bachelor, Eli Stone, Pushing Daisies, Private Practice, Dirty Sexy Money, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Lost (midseason), Life on Mars, Wife Swap, Supernanny, 20/20, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters, According to Jim (midseason), Primetime

Reactions:
Not all that much, to be honest. It's a pretty stable schedule and I am glad, on the one hand, to see that ABC isn't taking unnecessary risks just to shake things up a little at this point, especially as the net has seventeen high-profile pilot projects waiting in the wings as it were to pick up the slack come midseason, should they be ordered to series. (I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for Rob Thomas' Good Behavior.)

While some of the renewals come as a surprise (who is still watching According to Jim?), I am happy that ABC chose to keep their sophomore drama series--Pushing Daisies, Private Practice, and Dirty Sexy Money--all on Wednesday night, which will make it a little easier to market their relaunches as a collective three-hour block. While my expectations for the US adaptation of Life on Mars are pretty dismal (why would the creators of October Road be a natural fit for this twisty, metaphysical time-travel cop series?), I do think the network was smart to give it the plum post-Grey's Anatomy slot while we anxiously await the return of Lost until next winter. And moving Wife Swap and Supernanny to Friday nights, to create a three-hour block of family-oriented reality fare with 20/20, could be a real gamechanger on an always underwhelming evening.

All in all, some smart decisions, programming stability (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday are all basically the same as last season), and foresight, without needless complexity, 65-week schedules, or undue riskiness (ahem, scheduling series without seeing a minute of film).