Channel Surfing: ABC Clarifies Lost Wreckage Shots, Julie Benz to Return to Dexter, Friday Night Lights Heads to ABC Family and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

The Los Angeles Times's Maria Elena Fernandez is reporting that the final shots of the Oceanic Flight 815 wreckage that accompanied the closing credits of the series finale of Lost were not placed there by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, but rather by ABC executives who wanted to "soften the transition from the moving ending of the series to the 11 p.m. news and never considered that it would confuse viewers about the actual ending of the show," according to Fernandez. ABC went on to release a statement to confirm this fact. "The images shown during the end credits of the Lost finale, which included shots of Oceanic 815 on a deserted beach, were not part of the final story but were a visual aid to allow the viewer to decompress before heading into the news," said an ABC spokesperson in a statement. [Editor: I am hoping this finally puts an end to the misread of the series' ending, as some have taken to believing that the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 died in the initial plane crash, despite the presence of some lengthy exposition from John Terry's Christian Shephard that spelled out about the nature of the purgatory that they had created... and stated that everything that happened on the island, happened in real life.] (Los Angeles Times' Show Tracker)

[Editor: elsewhere, Movieline attempts to solve as many of the 100 "unanswered" questions from Lost, as raised by a recent College Humor video called "Unanswered Lost Questions."]

SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Julie Benz is set to reprise her role as Rita in the first episode of Season Five of Showtime's Dexter but that Benz won't be playing Rita as a ghost. Confused? "We’re not going to do some ghostly thing with her," said executive producer Chip Johannessen. "We reserve those for Harry," executive producer Sara Colleton told Ausiello. "If you have too many things like that it becomes gimmicky." So just how will the writers bring her back from the dead? That's them mystery, although a Showtime spokesperson told Ausiello that Rita's presence will "help Dexter deal with his newfound feelings of loss and grief — emotions he has never really felt before." So interpret that as you will. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Looks like Friday Night Lights is heading to ABC Family. The cabler has acquired basic cable rights to all five seasons of Friday Night Lights, which airs on DirecTV's Channel 101 (and has a second window on NBC), and plans to launch repeats of Season One in September. "Friday Night Lights is a perfect fit for ABC Family's sensibility for the modern day family program," said Bruce Casino, senior vp of cable sales at NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution, in a statement. "ABC Family will introduce this award-winning show to a whole new audience segment where the series can thrive in its new environment." (via press release)

TNT has ruled out saving Law & Order, according to a statement released to The Los Angeles Times. "We are not in current talks, and we are not interested in a Season 21," said the cabler in a prepared statement. News comes even as creator Dick Wolf attempts to find a savior for the cancelled NBC procedural drama. (Los Angeles Times's Show Tracker)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that ABC drama Castle will relocate to Wednesdays this summer, a temporary move before it reclaims its Monday night timeslot this fall. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Brett Davern (Desperate Housewives) and Beau Mirchoff (Case 219) have been cast in MTV drama pilot That Girl, about a high school student who becomes the center of attention when she's involved in an accident that everyone believes was a suicide attempt. (Hollywood Reporter)

Variety's Cynthia Littleton takes a look at MGM's television business, which includes the twelve-episode order for drama Teen Wolf at MTV and its This TV movie channel. (Variety)

CBS has announced launch dates for several of its summer series, including Big Brother (July 8th), Flashpoint (June 4th), and the burn-off of medical drama Three Rivers (June 5th). (Hollywood Reporter)

Meanwhile, international co-production The Bridge, which stars Battlestar Galactica's Aaron Douglas, will premiere on CBS on Saturday, July 10th at 8 pm ET/PT. (via press release)

UK's Channel 4 has commissioned a fifth season of comedy The IT Crowd as creator Graham Linehan prepares to assemble a team of writers. (Broadcast)

Style Network has given a series order to docuseries Too Fat for 15, which will center on "four extremely overweight teens and one preteen whose parents bring them to Wellspring Academy, a weight-loss boarding school in North Carolina." Series will debut in August. (Hollywood Reporter)

Warner Bros. Television has expanded the oversight of executive Lisa Gregorian, who will now serve as both chief marketing officer and EVP. The former title was created specifically for Gregorian. (Variety)

Elsewhere, former Channel 4 executive Simon Andreae has been hired as West Coast SVP of development and production for Discovery Channel. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

2010 William S. Paley Television Festival Lineup Announced

The Paley Center for Media has announced the lineup for the the 27th Annual William S. Paley Television Festival (known affectionately to its attendees as PaleyFest).

Critical darling Modern Family will kick off the festival on February 26th. Other series getting individual sessions include ABC's Lost, CW's The Vampire Diaries, FOX's Glee, NBC's Community, ABC's Cougar Town ABC's FlashForward, TNT's Men of a Certain Age, CBS' NCIS, Showtime's Dexter, AMC's Breaking Bad, and HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, the latter of which will be the festival's final offering this year.

Additionally, keep your eyes peeled for Seth MacFarlane and Friends, an evening celebrating McFarlane's animated comedies Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show.

The day-by-day breakdown of the festival can be found below. (All panels begin at 7 pm.)

Feb. 26th: Modern Family
Feb. 27th : Lost
March 1st: NCIS
March 3rd: Community
March 4th: Dexter
March 5th: Cougar Town
March 6th: The Vampire Diaries
March 9th: Seth MacFarlane and Friends
March 10th: Breaking Bad
March 11th: FlashForward
March 12th: Men of a Certain Age
March 13th: Glee
March 14th: Curb Your Enthusiasm

The 27th Annual William S. Paley Television Festival runs from February 26th to March 14th at the festival's new location, The Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. Tickets go on sale Friday, January 22nd for members and January 24th for the general public.

Individual tickets will go on sale to Paley Center Members on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. PT. Individual tickets will become available to the general public beginning the following Sunday, January 24, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. PT. For Paley Center Members, ticket prices are $60/$35/$25/$15 per event. For the general public, tickets are $75/$45/$35/$25 per event. All PaleyFest2010 tickets are available only via TicketWeb at www.ticketweb.com or call TicketWeb toll-free at (866) 468-3399 (service charges apply).

Wet, Wet, Wet: The 67th Golden Globe Awards

Just a few quick words about last night's Golden Globes.

I spent the evening watching the (thankfully) live telecast from home and then went over to the Beverly Hilton for HBO's Golden Globes after-party at Circa 55. As usual, HBO did an incredible job transforming the outdoor space (right at the poolside)... but, rather sadly, the network's handiwork was undone by the weather, rendering the glass-enclosed firepits and open-air seating unusable.

But the party must go on and it was moved under the tents and inside Circa 55 itself, where executives, celebrities, and bon vivants sipped Copper-tinis and Moet et Chandon champagne. Those celebrities included Mad Men's January Jones and Entourage's Jeremy Piven, Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet, Big Love's Chloe Sevigny (Golden Globe-winner Chloe Sevigny, I should say), Ginnifer Goodwin, and Mary Kay Place, True Blood's Anna Camp, Hung's Natalie Zea (with whom I chatted about her role in FX's upcoming drama series Justified), Grace Jones, and many, many others. Spotted at the Hilton on the way into the party: Tina Fey, the cast of Glee, White Collar's Tim DeKay, Busy Philipps, Aaron Paul (of HBO's Big Love and AMC's Breaking Bad), Flipping Out's Jenny Pulos, True Blood's Kristin Bauer, Mad Men's Christina Hendricks (and husband Geoffrey Arend), and... I'm forgetting a ton of others. (Forgive me, I'm still recovering.)

As for the actual telecast itself, it was a mixed bag, really.

I thought that Ricky Gervais' self-deprecating opening bit was absolutely hysterical but there was too little Gervais sprinkled throughout the ceremony, which seemed oddly stiff and rudderless at the same time. After the Hollywood Foreign Press Association made such a big deal about hiring a host for the awards telecast (the first time since 1995), it was odd that the evening seemed so, well, hostless.

I think that Gervais' humor, despite the copious amounts of alcohol flowing at the relatively more laid-back Golden Globes, is perhaps more suited for the Emmys in the end, where his seemingly impromptu comedy killed last fall. Here, there are so many categories to cover in two mediums, a host of celebrity presenters, and a hell of a lot of confusion. I didn't quite feel like Gervais had the MC role over the entire evening but rather just offered a comedic introduction to the evening's festivities.

As for the television awards themselves, I was happy to see both Alec Baldwin and Chloe Sevigny take home statuettes for their respective work in 30 Rock and Big Love. Considering that Big Love got shut out in the other categories--losing Best TV Drama to AMC's Mad Men--I was glad to see that Sevigny was recognized for her honest and soul-baring performance on the last season of Big Love.

I figured that Glee and Mad Men would take home the top prizes in their categories as well, so I wasn't surprised, though I was hoping that Modern Family would have won for Best TV Comedy. Yes, Glee fuses together comedy and music (thus making it perhaps the first honest double contender in the comedy or musical category) but Modern Family definitely deserved to win for its winning comedic chops.

Was happy to see Michael C. Hall win for Showtime's Dexter (would have loved to see Bill Paxton win an award for a change) as well as that for John Lithgow, but I was surprised by Julianna Margulies' win... but then again the HFPA does love to give awards to new series and The Good Wife was the only new drama in that category. Additionally, I was pulling for Edie Falco to win for Best Actress (Comedy) but that accolade went to Toni Collette. Still, very happy with the love very deservedly heaped on Grey Gardens, which won for Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television and Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television for Drew Barrymore's amazing turn as Little Edie Beale. (Which, incidentally, must be seen and heard to be believed.)

What did you think of the awards? Who were you happy to see win and who would you have rather had take home the statue? Which winner surprised you the most? And who had the best ensemble? Discuss.

HFPA Announces 2010 Golden Globes Nominations: "Glee," "Big Love," "Damages," "Dexter," "Mad Men," "30 Rock" Get Love

Another December, another batch of Golden Globe nominations. I got up very early on this very brisk Los Angeles morning to watch the nominations live as they were announced on-air by John Krasinski, Diane Kruger, and Justin Timberlake. (The latter of whom stole the show a little bit with his comment to Krasinski, "Someone's gonna have a good night tonight," after Emily Blunt earned a nomination for her role in The Young Victoria.)

But onto the nominations themselves. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association this morning announced its nominees for the 2010 Golden Globes, which will be handed out at a live telecast on NBC on January 17th.

Glee was the clear favorite this year, walking away with four nominations this morning, followed closely by 30 Rock, Big Love, Damages, Mad Men, and Dexter, each of which garnered three nominations in their respective categories, along with telepics Georgia O'Keeffe and Grey Gardens.

I'm thrilled, first off, that so many fantastic dramas got selected by the HFPA for recognition. While Lost was missing from the big picture (though Michael Emerson landed a supporting actor nod), Big Love earned a spot in the Best Television Series - Drama category and nominations for series leads Bill Paxton and Chloe Sevigny. Given that the third season of the HBO drama series was so phenomenal and so absolutely perfect, I wish that more of the cast had been recognized for what was the series' very best to date. Still, I'm beyond thrilled that both Paxton and Sevigny (who had an amazing season) were singled out for praise. (If you can't tell, I think that Big Love doesn't get nearly as many kudos as it should.)

Big Love has some tough competition in the category, however, going up against HBO's True Blood, Showtime's Dexter, AMC's Mad Men, and FOX's House. (Still, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that it pulls off a win.)

More thoughts on the nominations below, along with the full list of television nominees.

The acting awards in the drama category look particularly fierce with Glenn Close, January Jones, Julianna Margulies, Anna Paquin, and Kyra Sedgwick landing nominations for their lead roles. I'm glad to see that Jones in particular landed a nom for her performance this season on Mad Men and, while each of these ladies are extremely talented, I'm again irked that neither Elisabeth Moss and Christina Hendricks landed a nomination. I was happy to see that Jon Hamm did received a nomination for his work on Mad Men; he's up against Simon Baker, Michael C. Hall, Hugh Laurie, and the aforementioned Bill Paxton.

On the comedy side, beyond excited that ABC's Modern Family got a nomination for its first season (which launched earlier this fall). I fully expected them to select the mockumentary comedy. Likewise, the inclusion of stalwarts 30 Rock, The Office, and Entourage didn't come as a surprise. While I love 30 Rock, I'm going to be rooting wholeheartedly for Modern Family to take the prize next month.

The Hollywood Foreign Press poured some love on Glee, nominating it not just for Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical but also for Best Actor - Comedy or Musical (Matthew Morrison), Best Actress - Comedy or Musical (Lea Michele), and Best Supporting Actress (Jane Lynch). Michele will go up against Toni Collette for United States of Tara, Courteney Cox for Cougar Town, Edie Falco for Nurse Jackie, and Tina Fey for 30 Rock. (I have to say that I'm pulling for Falco, who turned in a bravura performance this year in the stunning Nurse Jackie.)

As for Morrison, he'll have some very tough competition from Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), Steve Carell (The Office), David Duchovny (Californication), and Thomas Jane (Hung). (The latter of which is also joined by co-star Jane Adams, who landed a nomination for Supporting Actress.)

All in all, quite a few expected veteran series and actors landing nominations this year and a few newbies (Glee, Modern Family, Cougar Town, Hung) sneaking into the mix. But some interesting (read: head-scratching) snubs from the HFPA as well: Sons of Anarchy, In Treatment, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Big Bang Theory, Breaking Bad all failed to garner nominations, while Lost got just one (for Emerson). Hmmm... the list goes on. (I'd get more indigent but then I remember that it's the Golden Globes.)

A full list of the Golden Globe nominees in the television categories can be found below.

5. BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
a. BIG LOVE (HBO)
Anima Sola and Playtone in association with HBO Entertainment
b. DEXTER (SHOWTIME)
Showtime Presents, John Goldwyn Productions, The Colleton Company, Clyde
Phillips Productions
c. HOUSE (FOX)
Universal Media Studios in association with Heel and Toe Films, Shore Z
Productions and Bad Hat Harry
d. MAD MEN (AMC)
AMC
e. TRUE BLOOD (HBO)
Your Face Goes Here Entertainment in association with HBO Entertainment

16. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –
DRAMA
a. GLENN CLOSE - DAMAGES
b. JANUARY JONES - MAD MEN
c. JULIANNA MARGULIES - THE GOOD WIFE
d. ANNA PAQUIN - TRUE BLOOD
e. KYRA SEDGWICK - THE CLOSER

17. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
a. SIMON BAKER - THE MENTALIST
b. MICHAEL C. HALL - DEXTER
c. JON HAMM - MAD MEN
d. HUGH LAURIE - HOUSE
e. BILL PAXTON - BIG LOVE

18. BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
a. 30 ROCK (NBC)
Universal Media Studios in association with Broadway Video and Little
Stranger Inc.
b. ENTOURAGE (HBO)
Leverage and Closest to the Hole Productions in association with HBO
Entertainment
c. GLEE (FOX)
Twentieth Century Fox Television
d. MODERN FAMILY (ABC)
Twentieth Century Fox Television
e. THE OFFICE (NBC)
Universal Media Studios, Deedle Dee Productions, Reveille LLC

19. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –
COMEDY OR MUSICAL
a. TONI COLLETTE - UNITED STATES OF TARA
b. COURTENEY COX - COUGAR TOWN
c. EDIE FALCO - NURSE JACKIE
d. TINA FEY - 30 ROCK
e. LEA MICHELE - GLEE

20. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES –
COMEDY OR MUSICAL
a. ALEC BALDWIN - 30 ROCK
b. STEVE CARELL - THE OFFICE
c. DAVID DUCHOVNY - CALIFORNICATION
d. THOMAS JANE - HUNG
e. MATTHEW MORRISON - GLEE

21. BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a. GEORGIA O'KEEFFE (LIFETIME TELEVISION)
Sony Pictures Television
b. GREY GARDENS (HBO)
Specialty Films and Locomotive in association with HBO Films
c. INTO THE STORM (HBO)
Scott Free and Rainmark Films Production in association with the BBC and HBO
Films
d. LITTLE DORRIT (PBS)
Masterpiece/BBC Co-production
e. TAKING CHANCE (HBO)
Motion Picture Corporation of America and Civil Dawn Pictures in association
with HBO Films

22. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION
PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a. JOAN ALLEN - GEORGIA O'KEEFFE
b. DREW BARRYMORE - GREY GARDENS
c. JESSICA LANGE - GREY GARDENS
d. ANNA PAQUIN - THE COURAGEOUS HEART OF IRENA
SENDLER
e. SIGOURNEY WEAVER - PRAYERS FOR BOBBY

23. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION
PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a. KEVIN BACON - TAKING CHANCE
b. KENNETH BRANAGH - WALLANDER: ONE STEP BEHIND
c. CHIWETEL EJIOFOR - ENDGAME
d. BRENDAN GLEESON - INTO THE STORM
e. JEREMY IRONS - GEORGIA O'KEEFFE

24. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A
SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a. JANE ADAMS - HUNG
b. ROSE BYRNE - DAMAGES
c. JANE LYNCH - GLEE
d. JANET McTEER - INTO THE STORM
e. CHLOË SEVIGNY - BIG LOVE

25. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES,
MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a. MICHAEL EMERSON - LOST
b. NEIL PATRICK HARRIS - HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
c. WILLIAM HURT - DAMAGES
d. JOHN LITHGOW - DEXTER
e. JEREMY PIVEN - ENTOURAGE

What do you think of the nominees? Who will you be rooting for come next month to take home the statue? Who do you think should have been nominated and who do you hope goes home empty-handed? Discuss.

The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards, hosted by Ricky Gervais, will air on NBC on January 17th at 5 PM PST and 8 PM EST.

Channel Surfing: Clyde Phillips Leaves "Dexter," "True Blood" Casting Roundup, Julian Fellowes Mines "Vanderbilts" for Showtime, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Just a day after the record-breaking season finale of Showtime's Dexter, executive producer/showrunner Clyde Phillips announced yesterday that he is leaving the series. He'll be replaced at the helm by Chip Johannessen (24). According to the Hollywood Reporter, Phillips made the "hugely difficult decision" to leave in order "to spend more time with his family in Connecticut." "Clyde Phillips has made an enormous contribution to the phenomenal success of Dexter for the past four years, but we know he needs to spend more time with his family on the East Coast than he spends with the Dexter family in L.A.," said Showtime entertainment president Robert Greenblatt. "We reluctantly say good-bye to him at a turning point in the series, but fellow Dexter executive producers Sara Colleton and John Goldwyn have chosen a great successor -- Chip Johannessen, who has been a key producer of '24' for the past two years. We're confident that he will bring intelligence, emotion and great storytelling to the next chapter of Dexter." (Hollywood Reporter)

Time for a True Blood casting roundup after the HBO vampire drama landed three actors. First up: J. Smith-Cameron (Law & Order) will recur as Melinda, the "dirt-poor, hungover, and trashy-looking" estranged mother of Sam Trammell's shapeshifter Sam. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Alfre Woodard (Three Rivers), meanwhile, will guest star on True Blood as the mother of short-order cook Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis), according to the Hollywood Reporter's Nellie Andreeva. (Hollywood Reporter)

SPOILER! Finally, James Frain (The Tudors) has been cast in True Blood, where he will recur next season as Franklin Mott, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. Franklin is described as "tall, dark, and handsome vampire who seems to have an 'immediate and torrid' connection to Tara." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) has signed on to write the pilot script for Showtime's period drama The Vanderbilts, which will follow the saga of the wealthy railroad and shipping family. [Editor: I'm hugely familiar with the story of the Vanderbilts, so rest assured, there's plenty of drama for Fellowes to mine.] Project, from CBS Television Studios and Simon West Productions, is executive produced by Bob Balaban and Rob Paris. Project shouldn't be confused with Joel Silver's HBO Vanderbilts project, which is in development at the rival pay cabler. (Variety)

While the full schedule has yet to be announced, The 2010 William S. Paley Television Festival will include sessions on FOX's Glee and CW's Vampire Diaries. Plus, the festival this year will move from the Cinerama Dome at the Arclight to the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, which will accommodate approximately 1000 more seats. The festival is slated to run between February 26th and March 14th. (Variety)

TVGuide.com's Mickey O'Connor talks to Scrubs executive producer Bill Lawrence about the series, which underwent a huge overhaul and cast change when it relaunched earlier this month. "I've been doing this a long time and we knew there's no possible way to please everyone," Lawrence told O'Connor. "Look, if I had done a brand-new show, you would read 9,000 things about how the new characters all suck. Even though when Scrubs premiered eight years ago, I read 9,000 things in the first two episodes about how these characters suck. With new characters, it takes three, four, five, six episodes to figure out who they are. And then the other hand, we got these people to make transitions to people hopefully you'll still like. You'll also read stuff, "why can't it just be about Zach, where's Carla and the Janitor" and I'm, like, well, that show's over." (TVGuide.com)

Callie Khouri (Thelma and Louise) and Angelina Burnett will write the pilot script for FOX legal dramedy The Real Amanda Strauss, about a woman who works in the district attorney’s office and secretly comes from a family of con artists. Project, from Sony Pictures Television and Furst Films, will be executive produced by Sean and Bryan Furst, along with Burnett and Kouri, who may direct should the project get ordered to pilot. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson will reprise his role as Betty's orthodontist Dr. Farkus on ABC's Ugly Betty later this season. Ferguson will appear in the January 6th episode of Ugly Betty but whether he'll be removing Betty's braces is another question. It’s a really fun scene between the two of them," executive producer Silvio Horta told Ausiello. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

NBC has announced their midseason schedule, including launch dates for Parenthood and The Marriage Ref. Parenthood will launch on Monday, March 1st at 9 pm ET/PT while The Marriage Ref will join the schedule on Sunday, March 14th at 8 pm ET/PT. (Televisionary)

VH1 has ordered eight one-hour episodes of a Tough Love spinoff entitled Tough Love: Couples, in which Steve Ward and his mother JoAnn will "take five couples on the verge of becoming engaged and puts their relationships to the test." Series will launch in second quarter 2010. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "Dexter" Season Finale Postmortem, Syfy Renews "Stargate Universe" and "Sanctuary," "Lost" Season Six Photos, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has an interview with Dexter executive producer Clyde Phillips about last night's season finale of the Showtime serial killer drama. One very interesting tidbit: when asked about when the decision was made about pulling the trigger on the episode's final scene, Phillips said, "I would say we made the decision pretty late in the season. We didn’t quite know what we were going to do [in the finale]." As for when Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) will find out about Dexter's true nature, don't hold your breath. "We’ve bounced that around the [writers] room," Phillips told Ausiello. "But once we do that... want to talk about game-changers? Once we do that, the game is changed in a way that we just don’t know how to anticipate just yet." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Syfy has given series renewals to Stargate Universe and Sanctuary, picking up both series for additional twenty-episode runs that will begin next fall on the cabler. Stargate Universe, which recently aired its midseason finale, will return with the second half of its freshman season in April. "We're dealing with 15 seasons of expectations with a certain fanbase," executive producer Robert Cooper told Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd when asked about fan reaction. "Hopefully, as the show goes on, people will appreciate Universe for being its own thing." Fans should look for an alien race to show up in the second half of the season, more scenes set aboard the ship, and a storyline involving Rush (Robert Carlyle). (Hollywood Reporter)

New York Post's PopWrap has a look at the newly released promotional photos for Season Six of ABC's Lost, which launches on February 2nd. While the gallery shots reveal absolutely nothing in an of themselves (they feature the regulars against a grey backdrop), PopWrap's Jarett Wieselman notes, "it's interesting that although Boone, Charlie and a whole host of dead Losties will be returning, Miles, Lapidus and Ilana are integral enough to... Lost's endgame to warrant series regular status over characters like Desmond!" (New York Post's PopWrap)

Changes are afoot at the CW's Gossip Girl, according to executive producer Josh Schwartz, who promises that Taylor Momsen's Jenny is going to become a lightning rod for controversy. "You're really going to see a real emotional arc from Chuck [Ed Westwick]," Schwartz tells TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams. "I think Jenny [Taylor Momsen] and Chuck are really going to be driving a lot of story as we move into the back half of the season." (TVGuide.com)

History has ordered eight-hour scripted miniseries The Kennedys from writer Stephen Kronish, director Jon Cassar, and executive producer Joel Surnow (all of whom worked together on FOX's 24). Production on the miniseries, which will track the famed political dynasty between the 1960 presidential election and John F. Kennedy's 1968 assassination (and flashback, as well, to earlier times), is slated to begin this spring for a 2011 premiere. "I didn't want this miniseries to be a Valentine -- there have been plenty of them -- neither did I wanted it to be a hatchet job," said Kronish. "I think it is a fairly even-handed look at people who achieved big things at amazingly early ages. We're really trying to see them as people and to strip away some of the patina that has attached itself to them because of their early deaths and to show them, warts and all." (Hollywood Reporter)

Scott Patterson (Gilmore Girls) has been cast in the CW's 90210, where he is expected to appear in at least two episodes as the biological father of Matt Lanter's Liam. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Tyler Posey (Lincoln Heights), Tyler Hoechlin (7th Heaven), Crystal Reed (Hard Times), and Dylan O'Brien have joined the cast of MTV's werewolf pilot presentation Teen Wolf, which has been reimagined as "a dramatic thriller with a buddy-comedy element at the center and a romantic plot line." (Hollywood Reporter)

NBC Universal has renewed its overall deal with indie production shingle BermanBraun for another three years. Under the terms of the deal, BermanBraun will continue to function as a fully independent production entity within the studio, with NBC Universal's broadcast and cable networks retaining a first-look on all of BermanBraun's projects. The shingle's current projects include Mercy for NBC and Accidentally on Purpose and pilots such as NBC's Rex Is Not Your Lawyer and Alphas for Syfy. (Variety)

TNT has secured off-network rights to the CW's drama series Supernatural and will launch repeats of the series weekdays at 10 am ET/PT beginning Monday, January 4th. (Futon Critic)

Thomas Haden Church has been cast in FearNet's six-episode short-form series Zombie Roadkill, about a park ranger who forms a partnership with a teenager (David Dorfman) "to escape a portion of highway where roadkill is resurrected as flesh-eating zombie animals." Each episode will last between four and five minutes and the series, written by Henry Gayden and directed by David Green, will be available on FearNet.com and on its On Demand VOD network. (Variety)

Syndicated daytime medical series The Doctors has been renewed through the 2011-12 season, the series' fourth. (Broadcasting & Cable)

Disney XD will launch musical comedy I'm in the Band, about a teenager who joins a once-hot band and sets out to orchestrate its comeback, on January 18th at 7 pm ET/PT. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Russell T. Davies Defends "Torchwood" Twist, "Dexter" Animated Prequel for Fall, T.R. Knight Dishes on "Grey's" Departure, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has an interview with Torchwood creator/executive producer Russell T. Davies, in which Davies defends the latest plot twist in Torchwood: Children of Earth (MAJOR SPOILER alert if you haven't yet seen "Day Four"), which has resulted in some angry fans. "It's not particularly a backlash," Davies corrected Ausiello. "What's actually happening is, well, nothing really to be honest. It's a few people posting online and getting fans upset. Which is marvelous. It just goes to prove how much they love the character and the actor. People often say, 'Fans have got their knives out!' They haven't got any knives. I haven't been stabbed. Nothing's happened. It's simply a few people typing. I'm glad they're typing because they’re that involved. But if you can’t handle drama you shouldn’t watch it. Find something else. Go look at poetry. Poetry’s wonderful." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Dexter fans have something to look forward to before Showtime launches the next season of Dexter. The pay cabler will release "Earl Cuts," twelve animated webisodes that will serve as a prequel to the series that explore how Dexter (Michael C. Hall) honed his craft as a serial killer, this fall. Hall will provide the voice for the titular killer. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has an exclusive interview with T.R. Knight, who candidly discusses the true reasons behind his departure from ABC's Grey's Anatomy after appearing on-screen for just 48 minutes during the entire fifth season of the series. Rather than confront Shonda Rhimes, Knight opted to just leave the series. "My five-year experience proved to me that I could not trust any answer that was given [about George]," Knight told Ausiello. "And with respect, I'm going to leave it at that." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Drama project Exit 19, from CBS Television Studios and writer/executive producer Jeffrey Bell, isn't quite dead. The project, which was shot as a pilot presentation for CBS in 2008, has been brought to cabler Lifetime, where it is being redeveloped. Bell will write a new version of the pilot script for Lifetime. (Variety)

Warren Leight (In Treatment) has come aboard FX drama project Lights Out, where he will serve as executive producer/showrunner alongside creator Justin Zackham should the project be ordered to series. Lights Out stars Holy McCallany and Melora Hardin. Elsewhere, Leight has signed a script deal with Peter Chernin's new production venture and, should HBO pick up another season of In Treatment, Leight will not stick with the series. (Hollywood Reporter)

TBS has ordered twenty additional episodes of comedy House of Payne--that's in addition to the twenty-six it recently ordered--bringing the series' total episodic count to 172 installments. (Variety)

ABC will launch reality competition series Crash Course on Wednesday, August 26th at 9 pm, following the run of I Survived a Japanese Game Show. (Variety)

30 Rock scribe Donald Glover--who also co-stars in NBC's Community this fall--has signed a two-year talent holding deal and blind script commitment under which he will write and star in a project for Universal Media Studios. (Variety)

AMC has hired former Brillstein-Grey Television executive Susie Fitzgerald as SVP of scripted series (though her title seems to still be under discussion), where she will spearhead series development at the cabler, which is quick to point out that she won't be a direct replacement for Christina Wayne, who resigned from the network in February. (Hollywood Reporter)

Reality shingle A. Smith and Co. is developing unscripted series Shark Boat, which follows diver Stefanie Brendl and the crew of Hawaii Shark Encounters, the only company in the US that allows people to free dive with sharks. (Variety)

American Idol executive producer Ken Warwick has signed a three-year deal to continue on as showrunner on the musical competition series, a deal that would making him "one of the highest-paid showrunners in TV -- if not the highest paid," according to Variety's Michael Schneider. (Variety)

UK network Channel Five has purchased the UK terrestrial and digital rights to ABC's upcoming drama series FlashForward for a sum believed to be between $500-600,000 per episode, significantly lower than the enormous sums paid by UK outlets for such Disney ABC Television series such as Lost and Desperate Housewives. (Hollywood Reporter)

Meanwhile, ITV has acquired the rights to US series The Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl from Warner Bros. International Television Distribution. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Stephen Moyer Talks "True Blood," Madeline Zima Suits Up for "Heroes," Rehearsals to Begin on Final "Gavin & Stacey" Season, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

E! Online's Watch with Kristin caught up with True Blood star Stephen Moyer, who plays vampire Bill Compton on the HBO supernatural drama, to talk about Season Two, which kicks off on June 14th. "There's no getting away from the fact that Bill is a vampire. He can't wish to be anything else, because he's a vampire, but he's a vampire who wants to live a human life," said Moyer about his character. "Actually, in fact, he wishes not for a human life, but for a moral life. It's not that he doesn't want to feed on blood, it's that he doesn't want it to involve killing—but in his first season he kills as many people as the murderer. That was something that was very present in our minds. He has that blood lust, he has that very strong sense of right and wrong. If somebody f--s him off, he's going to take them out. He's torn. He's not going to do it just for the sake of it. But if somebody hurts him or hurts his family or hurts his loved one... they're history. [Chuckles]. I like that." As for Bill's relationship to telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), Moyer said, "I think that they love each other more than they have loved anything ever. Speaking from Bill's point of view, she's given him reason to live again." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Californication's Madeline Zima has been cast in a recurring role on Season Four of NBC's Heroes, where she will play Gretchen, described as "an edgy outsider and college roommate to Claire (Hayden Panettiere)," who is heading to college next season. (Hollywood Reporter)

Rehearsals are set to start next Monday on the final season of British comedy series Gavin and Stacey, which will start shooting on June 15th. James Corden, who co-created the series with Ruth Jones and co-stars alongside her, didn't rule out further writing collaboration with Jones after wrapping the third and final season of Gavin and Stacey. "It's an emotional time because we're saying goodbye to these characters that we love. So the whole thing is very sad and I just hope it can be as good as possible," said Corden. "You know, when we wrote the words, 'This really is the end, the end', we were both a bit welled up and we looked at each other and we were sure that's it. I just hope it's good enough. Ruth and I, we'd like to write something else again but we're inevitably not going to spend as much time locked in a room together." (BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat)

USA is said to be close to handing out a pilot order for espionage thriller Covert Affairs, from writers Matt Corman and Chris Ord. Project, from Universal Cable Prods, executive producers Doug Liman and Dave Bartis, and Dutch Oven, focuses on Annie Walker, a linguist and CIA trainee who is "summoned to headquarters and given assignments assisted by blind tech expert [Auggie] Anderson. While she believes she'd been recruited for her language skills, it might be an elusive former boyfriend her CIA bosses are after." USA has very quietly engaged the services of a casting director and is beginning to reach out to agents about potential candidates for the roles of Annie Walker and Auggie Anderson. (Hollywood Reporter)

Comedy Central has ordered a second season of Important Things With Demetri Martin, with ten new episodes expected to launch early next year. (Variety)

Gregg Henry (The Riches) has joined the cast of HBO comedy series Hung in a recurring role, where he will play Mike, an assistant coach at the high school where Thomas Jane's character coaches basketball. Elsewhere, Courtney Ford (Cold Case) has joined the cast of Showtime's Dexter in a multiple-episode story arc where she will play a reporter. (Hollywood Reporter)

NBC will launch primetime talk show The Jay Leno Show on Monday, September 14th at 10 pm ET/PT. The network will use the season finale of America's Got Talent to help launch the series, which takes over the 10 pm hour across the week. It's also thought possible that the network could launch its Thursday night comedy series that week as well but the network hasn't confirmed any plans to that effect. (Variety)

FOX has quietly moved the air date for its two-hour sci-fi telepic Virtuality (originally a two-hour backdoor pilot) from the Fourth of July to Friday, June 26th at 8 pm ET/PT. (Televisionary)

BBC One controller Jay Hunt has said that she will seek out innovative home-grown drama series rather than hand over primetime slots to acquired American series. The network currently airs FX's Damages in a latenight slot. "It is very unlikely that we will show U.S. series in primetime. It is nice to have Damages in the mix. The show is hugely valued by a very small audience, but it is a very small audience," said Hunt speaking at the Broadcasting Press Guild on Tuesday. "Part of what the charter (the BBC’s constitution) commits us to is to find the best of world television and showcase it ... but my main job in drama is to spearhead real innovation and creativity in original British production." (Variety)

Bravo has announced that Las Vegas will be the setting for Season Six of culinary competition series Top Chef. Host Padma Lakshmi and head judge chef Tom Colicchio, along with judges Gail Simmons and Toby Young, are all set to return for Season Six. There's no official launch date for Season Six but it's widely believed that Top Chef will return this fall. (via press release)

TLC will offer a sneak peek at new docusoap Masters of Reception, from executive producers Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, Charlie Corwin, and Milojo Prods., on June 12th. The series, which follows a New Jersey family-owned catering business and its clients and events, will return this fall with five one-hour installments. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Serial Boxes: John Lithgow to Play Killer on Season Four of Showtime's "Dexter"

In a rather surprising twist, John Lithgow (Confessions of a Shopaholic) has been cast in Season Four of Showtime drama Dexter.

Lithgow will appear in all twelve episodes of Dexter's fourth season, which launches September 27th, and will play serial killer Walter Simmons, known by his sobriquet The Trinity Killer, one of America's deadliest murderers who kills in threes and masquerades as an "unassuming mild-mannered suburbanite."

Having relocated to Miami, Simmons will cross paths with Michael C. Hall's Dexter Morgan as Dexter assists F.B.I. Special Agent Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine) investigate the three-decades long crime spree of The Trinity Killer.

(Lithgow is no stranger to playing characters with psychotic tendencies; remember his turn as multiple characters in the 1992 Brian De Palma film Raising Cain?)

The full press release from Showtime, announcing John Lithgow's casting, can be found below.

JOHN LITHGOW TAKES ON A KILLER ROLE

AWARD-WINNING ACTOR TO APPEAR IN ALL 12 EPISODES OF SEASON FOUR OF
SHOWTIME’S EMMY®-NOMINATED DRAMA SERIES DEXTER™

LOS ANGELES, CA – (May 27, 2009) – Academy Award®-nominated and Emmy®, Tony® and Golden Globe® award-winner John Lithgow will take on one of his most intense and intriguing roles to date portraying Miami’s latest serial killer in SHOWTIME’s top-rated drama series DEXTER. Lithgow will be featured in all 12 episodes of season four which are scheduled to premiere Sunday, September 27th on SHOWTIME.

Lithgow will play Walter Simmons, an unassuming, mild-mannered suburbanite who has been living a dual life as one of America’s most prolific and deadliest serial killers. Dubbed the “Trinity Killer” because of his proclivity to kill in three’s, he relocates to Miami after being tracked by F.B.I. Special Agent Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine). Brought on to assist in the investigation of Miami’s latest serial killer, Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) becomes fascinated with “Trinity’s” unique killing methods and his ability to evade capture for almost three decades.

John Lithgow is an actor with a broad range of interests and talents in every area of the entertainment industry. He has been working in show business since the early seventies, and has achieved stunning success in wildly varied ventures. He was nominated for Oscars® in back-to-back years for The World According to Garp and Terms of Endearment. For his television work he has been nominated for ten Emmy® Awards, winning four times, one for an episode of Amazing Stories and three times for his lead role in the comedy series 3rd Rock from the Sun. In that show’s six year run, Lithgow also won the Golden Globe®, two SAG Awards®, The American Comedy Award and a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1973, Lithgow won a Tony® Award for David Storey’s The Changing Room. Since then, he has appeared on Broadway nineteen more times, earning another Tony®, three more Tony®-nominations, four Drama Desk awards and an induction into the Theatre Hall of Fame.

One of the most acclaimed series on television, DEXTER stars Michael C. Hall (three-time Golden Globe®-nominee, two-time Emmy®-nominee) as a complicated and conflicted blood-spatter expert for the Miami police department who moonlights as a serial killer. The show has received both an Emmy® and Golden Globe® nomination for best television drama series as well as a prestigious Peabody Award in 2008 and was twice named one of AFI’s top ten television series. The show also stars Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter, C.S. Lee, Lauren Vélez, David Zayas, and James Remar.

Season Four of Dexter kicks off on September 27th on Showtime.

Channel Surfing: Lindelof on "Lost" Finale, Olyphant Not Leaving "Damages," "Southland" Cast Feeling Positive About Renewal, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Just shortly after the airing of Lost's 100th episode, The New York Times' Dave Itzkoff recalls a recent interview with showrunner Damon Lindelof about he and the writing staff are preparing for the end of Lost in May 2010. "I think one of our biggest concerns is reaching the climax of the story too soon – you have to time it right, you have to walk that line between giving a steady supply of story and character pathos and mysteries being answered along the way, so that the audience doesn’t feel like it all comes in one big chunk," said Lindelof. "But then if you do it too soon, they kind of feel like, 'I got everything that I cared about halfway through the season, so why am I still watching?' And it’s terrifying. Finally, we’re going to do it. There’s no excuses, we don’t get to say, 'We didn’t get to end the show on our own terms. They kept us on the air three years longer than we wanted to be. Blah blah blah.' It’s like Galactica, you have to say, 'Here it is, do you like it? I hope you like it.' There’s a lot of second-guessing going on. I think the show will end exactly as it began. There’ll be people who love it, there’ll be people who hate it. There’ll be people who’ll be confused by it, there’ll be people who love being confused. It’ll end on its own terms." (New York Times' ArtsBeat)

Despite landing the lead role in an FX drama pilot, Timothy Olyphant won't be leaving the cast of FX's Damages, says series co-creator Todd Kessler. "We had a fantastic time working with him, and he’s expressed interest in wanting to come back," said Kessler. "And that pilot that he’s in is actually for FX and for the same studio that does our show, Sony, so it couldn’t be more conducive to bringing him back for our season as well." Later, Kessler also added that, while they hope that Olyphant's pilot gets ordered to series, they would love him to return for Season Three of Damages, should the scheduling work out. (Business Insider)

The cast of NBC's new drama series Southland are certain that they'll be getting renewed for next season. "We are feeling positive," said Southland's Regina King. "We're getting really great feedback. The reviews have been good, but it's not the reviews that make us feel confident. It's the fact that all of us have had at least nine or 10 instances each where we've been in the grocery store or the car wash and someone has been like, ‘Oh my God, I love that show!' "(E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Signs meanwhile are looking promising for a potential third season order for NBC's Chuck and a second season renewal for Parks and Recreation, while ABC is gearing up to order sci-fi series Flash Forward, for which the network launched a viral campaign this week during Lost. NBC is also said to be high on dramas Parenthood, Trauma, and Mercy while Legally Mad and Lost & Found received mixed responses but could still be in the mix. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to Ugly Betty showrunner Silvio Horta about what to expect next season on the ABC drama, Justin's sexuality, Betty's braces, and Ashley Jensen's departure from the series. Of the latter, Horta said, "It was mutual. She's amazing. From the get-go, we found some really good stories for her, but we never found enough to service her character the way we wanted to and the way she wanted to. She wanted to do more, but it was [difficult] with a large ensemble like this to give her more. I hope in the future she'll come back. She's an important part of the show. [...] Next week's episode will [set things in motion] with Wilhelmina's baby – or her supposed baby – and it's going to lead to a lot of complications." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick will guest star in the upcoming third season of Showtime comedy Californication, where he will play Balt, a vampire lit-obsessed student of Hank Moody (David Duchovny). He's slated to appear in the season's second episode. (TVGuide.com)

HBO will launch new comedy series Hung, which stars Thomas Jane, Anne Heche, Jane Adams, Charlie Saxton, and Eddie Jemison, on June 28th at 10 pm ET/PT behind the Season Two premiere of drama True Blood. (Futon Critic)

Disney Channel has ordered a third season of The Wizards of Waverly Place, starring Selena Gomez, and has announced an original Wizards telpic, following the Russo clan as they go on a vacation to the Caribbean resort where their parents met, set to debut in August. (Hollywood Reporter)

Showtime drama series Dexter won't return until the fall but Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to executive producer Sara Colleton about what to expect for Season Four. "This season, we're going to deal with: Can a serial killer juggle a personal life, work, and his 'dark passenger'?" said Colleton. "In other words, can Dexter have it all? Which is something all of us grapple with every day of our lives. So we're taking something that is a very human dilemma and putting it through the prism of Dexter's special needs." Ausiello has more specific detail about what to expect for Season Four, but beware: it's very spoilery. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Mark Burnett Prods. has acquired international remake rights for Starz comedy Head Case, marking the first time that the company has attempted to sell a scripted series format outside of the US. (Variety)

NBC Universal executive Nora O'Brien died unexpectedly on the set of NBC pilot Parenthood on Wednesday evening after complaining of dizziness and then collapsing. "Our hearts go out to the family and friends of our beloved colleague Nora, who was respected and cherished by so many people in the entertainment community," said NBC Universal in a statement. "She'll truly be missed by all of us." [Those of you who knew Nora knew her warm and generosity. She'll definitely be missed.] (Hollywood Reporter)

ITV has denied reports in The Sun that it had canceled sci-fi series Primeval, which launches its third season Stateside on May 16th on BBC America. "It's not true - it's not going to be axed," said an ITV spokesperson. "It just hasn't been recommissioned and it is not unusual to wait for a series to run before considering recommission." (Digital Spy)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has offered up a cheat sheet for the statuses of all new and returning series on broadcast networks. Take a quick look at the list, organized by network, to see which of your favorite series are tipped to return, guaranteed a renewal, or guaranteed a swift cancellation. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: ABC Picks Up Tab for "Private Practice," Showtime Keeps "Dexter" Killing, Bomer and DeKay Try On "White Collar," Tony Hale, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. I'm still on cloud nine after last night's perfect combination of sweet and tart on BBC America's Gavin & Stacey. Could that series be any funnier or any more genuinely emotional? It's well lush.

Looks like Kate Walsh won't be returning to Seattle Grace any time soon. ABC has picked up Grey's Anatomy spinoff Private Practice for a full season of 22 episodes. Series, which had its freshman season truncated due to the writers strike, has averaged 3.2/8 in adults 18-49 and 8.3 million viewers across two original episodes this fall. (Variety)

Showtime wants more Dexter: the pay cabler announced that it had renewed the serial killer drama for two additional seasons (that would be Season Four and Season Five) of twelve episodes each. Production on Season Four will begin in Los Angeles next spring. (Hollywood Reporter)

CBS has ordered two additional scripts for freshman comedy Worst Week, which--after premiering to some dismal numbers--has remained steady in the ratings with a 3.2/7 among adults 18-49 and 9.9 million viewers overall. (Yep, Worst Week is doing better than Private Practice, folks.) (TV Week)

Tim DeKay (Carnivale, Tell Me You Love Me) has been cast as the lead of USA's 90-minute drama pilot White Collar, opposite Matthew Bomer. DeKay's attachment lifts the cast contingency on the project, which will be directed by Bronwen Hughes (Burn Notice) and comes from Fox TV Studios and writer/executive producer Jeff Eastin. (Hollywood Reporter)

In other casting news, Gina Torres (Standoff, Dirty Sexy Money), Brett Davern (American Summer), Scott Cohen (The Return of Jezebel James), Sammi Hanratty (American Girl), and Jen Drohan have been cast in Lifetime's drama pilot The Amazing Mrs. Novak. (Hollywood Reporter)

Tony Hale (Arrested Development, Chuck) and newcomer Ben Koldyke (Thirteen Days) have been cast in FOX comedy pilot Boldly Going Nowhere, from the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia boys. Koldyke will play a rogue spaceship captain in this high-concept comedy that looks at the lives of the ship's crewmembers between intergalactic missions. Hale will play the ship's put-upon robot. (Hollywood Reporter)

CBS Paramount has signed a first-look deal with comedy troupe Second City Entertainment; under the deal, the studio will have a crack at the troupe's performer/writers who will workshop potential projects for pilot consideration. (Variety)

Rosie O'Donnell will star in and executive produce telepic America for Lifetime, about a 16-year-old boy who struggles within the foster care system. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Priestley to Direct "90210," "Greek" Creator Gets New Pilot at ABC Family, Jimmy Smits, "Kath & Kim," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Once again, I am feeling burnt out after an overstuffed night of TV viewing that included new episodes of Pushing Daisies, Top Model, Old Christine, Project Runway, and Dirty Sexy Money. Whew.

Jason Priestley has signed on to direct an upcoming episode of the CW's 90210 but don't expect to see him in front of the camera any time soon. Priestley will direct the series' 18th episode, slated to air in the spring. While Priestley's Brandon Walsh won't be turning up in that hallowed zip code, Shannen Doherty is said to be returning for two episodes later this season (though executive producer Gabe Sachs wouldn't comment officially) and producers are also said to have locked Jennie Garth for six additional segments. (All that hubbub about Garth not coming back? Allegedly just a "misunderstanding.") (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

On the eve of the premieres of US versions of Life on Mars, Kath & Kim, and Eleventh Hour, the New York Times takes a look at the prevalence of format importing but says that "not all copycat shows are equally well made" but that "the closer an original fits into indigenous American settings and sensibilities, the better." It gives high marks to Life on Mars but says that Kath & Kim and Eleventh Hour are both pale imitations of the originals. (New York Times)

Cabler Spike has ordered an untitled two-hour drama pilot about the Irish mob in Boston from executive producers Tom Lynch and Dana White. Project, from MGM Television, will chart the war between various factions vying for power when the head of the mob steps down from his position. Pilot will be directed by Walter Hill (Broken Trail). (Hollywood Reporter)

Over at ABC Family, the cabler has ordered two pilots including a half-hour single-camera series adaptation of feature film 10 Things I Hate About You, from writer/executive producer Carter Covington (Greek) and director Gil Junger, and Ruby and The Rockits, a half-hour multi-camera comedy written and executive produced by Shaun Cassidy and Ed Yeager. The latter project--about a former teen idol who gave up music to settle down with his wife and kids but finds he can't leave his past behind when a former bandmate shows up in his life with a teen daughter--stars Alexa Vega (Spy Kids), Austin Butler (Zoey 101), Patrick Cassidy (Smallville), and David Cassidy (The Partridge Family).

Jimmy Smits (The West Wing) talks about his role on Season Three of Showtime's Dexter, where he plays Assistant D.A. Miguel Prado. Of the role, Smits says in this interview that the character of Miguel "is something different than I've done before on television and what television audiences are used to seeing me as." (Associated Press)

NBC has shifted the premiere of its reality competition series Momma's Boys by two weeks to Wednesday, November 12th at 9 pm. (Futon Critic)

WGA has banned its members from working on FOX's Osbournes-fronted variety series, The Osbournes: Loud And Dangerous, produced by Fremantle North America. According to a letter sent to its members, the WGA asserted that "Fremantle wanted to treat certain portions of the show as 'reality content,' not cover the writers who create it, and lower the compensation of the WGA-covered writers, arguing that they would only be responsible for writing part of the show." (Deadline Hollywood Daily)

USA Today's Robert Bianco says that NBC's US adaptation of Aussie hit comedy Kath & Kim is "the worst sitcom." Ouch. I'm tempted to agree but there are far other sitcoms floating about in the ether that are just as bad as Kath & Kim when you stop to think about it. (USA Today

Sci Fi Channel has signed a deal with RHI Entertainment for five original movies, which include Jason Gedrick-starrer Sand Serpents, Alien Western, Carney, the Ricky Schroder directed Hellhounds, and Rise of the Gargoyle, starring Eric Balfour. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

TV Academy Shines Emmy Love on "30 Rock," "Mad Men," "Damages"

After weeks of leaked semi-finalist nominee lists, it's good to finally get a glimpse of which series and actors actually made it onto the ballots, instead of seeing yet another list that showed who could make it to the nomination stage.

The Emmy nominees were announced this morning and I have to commend them for showering such love onto diverse and unique series such as Mad Men, 30 Rock (17 nominations, no less!), and Damages... while also locking some repeat offenders--like Ugly Betty in the comedy category--out in the cold. (Yes, I watch Ugly Betty but should it be competing with such comedy series as 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, or The Office? Hells no, especially when HBO's hysterical Flight of the Conchords didn't even get a mention.)

So which series and actors did land Emmy noms? Let's talk about the major categories.

Outstanding Drama Series:
Mad Men (AMC)
Boston Legal (ABC)
House (FOX)
Lost (ABC)
Damages (FX)
Dexter (Showtime)

I'm actually quite impressed with the selection here as well as the fact that it must be the first year in a long, long time that HBO didn't have a nominee for best drama series in the mix. (Though I do wish that Big Love would start getting some, well, big love from the TV Academy.) Damages and Mad Men made Emmy history as the first basic cable programs to receive nominations in the outstanding drama series category. It's a tough call for me between Lost, Damages, and Mad Men, all of which have had exceptionally good years. The TV Academy does love a comeback story and Lost managed to please on all levels during a season in which the producers creatively reinvigorated the series; Damages dazzled with deft plotting, overlapping storylines, and a dense, complex storyline; Mad Men ambitiously recreated the world of the 1960s, complete with sexism, racism, and the eternal battle of the haves and have-nots that percolated underneath the gorgeous costumes and set pieces. Forced to choose one, I give the edge to Mad Men in the end.

Outstanding Comedy Series:
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
Entourage (HBO)
The Office (NBC)
Two and a Half Men (CBS)
30 Rock (NBC)

Is there really any doubt in your minds? I'm picking 30 Rock all the way.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series:
James Spader, Boston Legal
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Hugh Laurie, House
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Again, another tough race to call with some real power-players competing neck and neck here for the title. My money is on Jon Hamm for turning in a performance that was at once self-assured and completely vulernable. The scene at the very end of Mad Men's first season--in which Don Draper sits alone in his house, abandoned by the family he pushed away--was absolutely heartbreaking, powerful, and established Hamm as the one to beat.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series:
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Glenn Close, Damages
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

I'd be insane not to put my money on Glenn Close for her role as Damages' cutthroat attorney Patty Hewes, who gives new meaning to the phrase toxic corporate culture. Her tough-as-nails Patty is willing to do anything--from covering up a crime to having her associate murdered--in order to win her crusade against Arthur Frobisher. It's a performance that as rich and layered as any film role as Patty strips away the last vestiges of her very soul in order to defeat her nemesis.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series:
William Shatner, Boston Legal
Ted Danson, Damages
Zekjko Ivanek, Damages
Michael Emerson, Lost
John Slattery, Mad Men

Um, wow. I really don't know who I'd want to win this category but as long as Shatner doesn't walk away with the statuette, I'd be thrilled. Any of these guys would be an incredible win and represent the cream of the crop on the supporting actor side, from Danson's amazing turn as malevolent Arthur Frobisher to Emerson's turn as Machiavellian Benjamin Linus. Tough race to call.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series:
Candice Bergen, Boston Legal
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters
Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy
Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment

Me, I'm just happy to see that Katherine Heigl isn't up for anything for Grey's Anatomy. That's almost enough of a present for me, though I do wish that the ladies of Mad Men--January Jones, Elisabeth Moss, and Christina Hendricks--would have ended up on this nominee list.

Oustanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series:
Steve Carell, The Office
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies

I'm thrilled to bits to see Lee Pace's name up here against such luminaries as Steve Carell, Alec Baldwin, Charlie Sheen, and Tony Shalhoub; his performance as Ned the Pie Maker on Pushing Daisies was a master class in understated comedy, deft wordplay, and simmering desire. Still, I have to say that it's Baldwin's star turn as Jack Donaghy that truly defines the words "lead actor," as he absolutely pulls the cast of 30 Rock to a whole new level.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series:
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

Tina Fey.
Tina Fey.
Tina Fey.

Need I say more? Sure, Mary-Louise Parker has dazzled with her performance as Nancy Botwin on Weeds but I can't say that I've found Nancy to be particularly sympathetic these days and I'm finding I have a strong aversion to her character lately, while America Fererra's Betty Suarez is now grating on my nerves. Christina Applegate is absolutely adorable on Samantha Who, but she doesn't hold a candle to Fey's self-assured performance as Liz Lemon. What other actress could eat an entire sandwich (with special dipping sauce!) in one take in an outrageous sight gag that underplayed her character's insistent need to stop ex-boyfriend Floyd at the airport gate and still come off as entirely lovable?

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series:
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Kevin Dillion, Entourage
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Rainn Wilson, The Office
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men

Hmmm... give it to Rainn Wilson already, won't you?

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series:
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies
Jean Smart, Samantha Who?
Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live
Holland Taylor, Two and a Half Men
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty

My money's on either Pushing Daisies' Chenoweth, whose Olive is a study in sublimated desire, or SNL's Amy Poehler, who will get her own scripted comedy series next spring on NBC. I'd love Pushing Daisies to walk away with an acting prize and Chenoweth might just find herself singing about the birdhouse in her soul on that Emmy stage.... Or Jean Smart will manage to walk away with the top prize. Hmmm.

Outstanding Mini-Series:
Cranford (PBS)
John Adams (HBO)
The Andromeda Strain (A&E)
Tin Man (Sci Fi)

If you haven't seen Cranford, you've done yourself a major disservice; the PBS mini-series featured a dream cast that included Dame Judi Dench, Philip Glenister, and Michael Gambon and deftly interweaves three novels into a glorious exploration of the war between technological progress and small town England as the railroad tries to make its way to the female-run village of Cranford. Along the way, beloved characters die, couples marry and spat, and a cold dowager discovers the beating of her heart, possibly too late. Brilliant and spellbinding.

Outstanding Reality-Competition Series:
American Idol (FOX)
Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
Project Runway (Bravo)
Amazing Race (CBS)
Top Chef (Bravo)

I have a feeling Amazing Race will walk away with the top honor but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Bravo's Top Chef, which has tranformed culinary competition into a cutthroat, edge-of-your-seat extravaganza.

So there you have it. Who are you rooting for to walk away with the top prize? Who got snubbed? And who do you wish the Academy would award the Emmy to? Discuss.

Life Serial: "Dexter" Heads to CBS

It's official. After weeks of speculation, Showtime serial (and ratings) killer Dexter, starring Michael C. Hall as a police forensics expert who happens to be a serial killer, will head over to scripted-starved network CBS in a rare display of network/cable repurposing, especially for a pay cable drama.

CBS will air edited versions of the twelve episodes from Dexter's first season on Sunday nights at 10 pm, beginning February 17th.

Content will be edited for violence and language, as well as screen time; an average episode of Dexter runs pretty darn close to an hour, so expect that about 12 or 13 minutes will be removed to get it down to a broadcast runtime.

"Dexter is a "high-quality, compelling series that will be new and original programming for most CBS viewers," said CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler. "It's also a great match with our existing lineup."

CBS plans to repurpose all twelve eps over twelve consecutive weeks, so Showtime-deprived audiences will get to see what all the fuss over Dexter is all about, without any gaps.

Still, not everyone is thrilled about Dexter being repurposed for network TV. Former Dexter executive producer Daniel Cerone (who wrote the Season Two premiere and finale as well as the Season One finale) doesn't think that the series is appropriate for broadcast television.

"We didn't pull any punches," Cerone told Variety. "We were very aware that we were writing for a premium cable audience. The most interesting thing about Dexter is he kills without remorse. I'm curious and intrigued at how they would cut the show down to make him a character that works on broadcast TV. I wouldn't feel like a responsible writer-producer if I didn't express that concern."

While the moral and ethical dilemma over whether or not to tune in to CBS' Dexter is completely in your lap, gentle readers, I do predict some boffo numbers for the series' network run.

Paging Dexter and Nancy Botwin to CBS

Could racy Showtime hits Weeds, Dexter, and The Tudors be heading to primetime on CBS?

It certainly looks that way, based on comments made by CBS topper Leslie Moonves, who says that the Tiffany network will look to repurpose Showtime's slate of edgy series.

"Dexter is probably the first one to go on -- with some edits, "Mooves said. "It fits with our crime shows."

(I don't want to argue with Moonves that his crime series typically feature law enforcement officers solving murders rather than, you know, committing them, but who am I to quibble?)

There's no launch date as of yet for Dexter other than indications that it will air "in the near future," but the strength of the crime drama's second season ratings point towards a potential primetime hit for CBS.

Sister series Weeds, which recently wrapped its third season, and period drama The Tudors may also bow on the Eye, but both would require judicious editing due to the strong sexual content and adult language on both. (If the strike persists, I'd imagine CBS will be getting editors involved with those shows pronto.)

Showtime's execs were quick to counter that CBS had been reviewing their programming slate but noted that no deals were in place.

Elsewhere, NBC is said to be considering repurposing USA's action drama Burn Notice, which seems like a good fit for the Peacock's blend of action and comedy. Perhaps it can fill in for the already-missed freshman drama Chuck?

Which leads me to wonder: what cable series would you like to see make the jump to broadcast network? Should Battlestar Galactica and Top Chef air on NBC? Would you watch The Shield on FOX? Discuss.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Kid Nation (CBS); Deal or No Deal (NBC; 8-10 pm); America's Next Top Model (CW); Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (ABC); Back to You/'Til Death (FOX)

9 pm: Criminal Minds (CBS); Gossip Girl (CW); Private Practice (ABC); Kitchen Nightmares

10 pm: CSI: New York (CBS); Life (NBC); Dirty Sexy Money (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: America's Next Top Model.

On tonight's episode ("The Girls Go to the Great Wall"), the girls get a Chinese history lesson from J. Alexander and soon-to-be-gone Twiggy while they move into their new home in Beijing; later, they face a challenge in which they must transform some traditional Chinese garb into their own inimitable style, one girl gives another bad advice, and they participate in a warrior-themed photo shoot at the Great Wall.

10 pm: Dirty Sexy Money.

On tonight's episode of the highly addictive screwball soap ("The Nutcracker"), Nick uncovers Karen's tryst with Simon Elders, which threatens to derail a Darling family tradition and unsettles Nick more than he can admit; Brian tells Tripp he wants to leave the ministry and work for him instead; Juliet falls for her visitor from the Seychelles; Carmelita is convinced she's being followed; and Lisa helps Jeremy impress Sofia with his art, but was that them locking lips in the promo? I can't wait!

10 pm: Project Runway on Bravo.

Season Four of Bravo's Project Runway continues. On tonight's episode, the designers are separated into teams, leading to much angst, chaos, as well as a fair share of tears and recriminations, when they are tasked with transforming a fashion "don't" into a fashion "do."

Showtime Dreams of More "Dexter," Another Puff of "Weed(s)"

The serial (killer) drama is here to stay after all.

Showtime has renewed drama Dexter for a second season. Series revolves around Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a Miami PD forensics expert whose nighttime vocation is as a serial killer... of other serial killers. Jennifer Carpenter, Julie Benz, Lauren Velez, Erik King, David Zayas, and James Remar also star.

The pay cabler has ordered 12 episodes of the drama, which is scheduled to begin production in the spring, and plans to premiere Season Two in Summer 2007. To date, Dexter has aired five episodes on Showtime and is the net's highest rated series. (The freshman season finale is scheduled for December 17th.)

Meanwhile, Showtime is also close to signing a deal to bring pot-fueled dramedy Weeds back for a third season of suburban scandal and munchies-related mischief. An announcement on the Mary Louise Parker-led series, produced by Lionsgate TV, is said to be "imminent," according to Variety.

Pilot Inspektor: Showtime's "Dexter"

One of the perks of working in the television business is that you occasionally (or during the summer months frequently) get to see pilots before they air on television... in most cases, many months before they premiere. So yesterday I was therefore fortunate to view the pilot for Showtime's new drama series, Dexter, based on the novels by Jeff Lindsay.

Dexter stars Michael C. Hall, whom most viewers will remember from Six Feet Under. Here, Hall portrays the title character who is vastly different from David Fisher, the character he played for several years on Six Feet Under...well, except for the connection to death. For one thing, Dexter is a forensic investigator--his specialty is blood splatter--and for another, he's a serial killer.

But before you get all uptight about it, he's a serial killer who only kills other serial killers. Gruesomely. Brutally. He stalks them, captures them, and kills them, chopping up their bodies and disposing of them while holding onto a keepsake--a bit of their blood preserved in scientific glass slides--for a trophy? Research? His modus operandi is explained in a nifty bit of flashback as we see Dexter as a child, caught by his police officer father killing animals. We know that something traumatic happened to Dexter before he was taken in by this family and Dad knows that Dexter will kill again. He can't change his nature. But if he can teach him who to kill, and how, and how not to get caught... It's a secret that only they can share.

Now, many years later, Dexter works as a forensic expert with the same Miami police force that his dad--now long dead; same with mom--worked on, the same force that his foul-mouthed adopted sister Debra (The Exorcism of Emily Rose's Jennifer Carpenter) works as a vice cop. Sis wants to get transfered off of vice and onto the homicide division and often uses Dexter's insight into bizarre murders to attempt to advance her career. In fact, she calls him in on a really bizarre case, in which a someone is murdering women, chopping them up without, wrapping the parts up like gifts, and reassembling them at a scene... all without any blood. Dexter immediately knows it's a serial killer and he begins to become drawn into the killer's mind, as the two play a twisted cat-and-mouse game that's not resolved in the pilot.

Everyone on the police force loves Dexter--he's charming, erudite, and polite--but there's one particularly gruff cop (OZ's Eric King) who for some reason senses that Dexter is not what he appears to be. Completely taken in, however, is Dexter's single mom girlfriend Rita (Buffy's Julie Benz), who is almost as messed up as Dexter is. After her rape by her philandering husband, Rita contracted some nasty venereal disease, which means she is not into sex at all. Which is fine with Dexter, because he finds the very idea of sex to be discomforting. So they're the perfect match for one another and Dexter is so good with her kids. Little does she know that she's invited one of the deadliest killers into her heart and home...

And remember that serial killer that Dexter is stalking? Turns out he's one step ahead of Dex.

Dexter's cast is first rate. Hall is simply amazing as Dexter; he can be completely charming and wittily funny one second and then icy and deadly the next. Hall completely embodies the character of Dexter without making any judgement calls about this moral ambiguous character, which is a very difficult feat to pull off. Benz is beautifully fragile and vulnerable as Rita, demonstrating a real change from the tough and/or deadly characters she usually plays (Darla on Buffy and Angel, an FBI agent on Roswell). Carpenter's police officer both grounds Dexter and gives him someone to almost care about (if he were capable of real emotion) and injects some humor with her temper and sailor's mouth. Setting the story in Miami provides a sweltering background as well as a never-ending supply of crimes (which helps Dexter get away with his own).

My only problem with the show in fact is that I've heard that writer Jim Manos (writer previously on The Shield and The Sopranos) has been removed from the show because the network wants to play up the comedy angle more. Um, hello? It's a show about a serial killer who gruesomely does away with other serial killers while solving truly heinous crimes for the police. How light and fluffy can this concept be? I thought that Manos totally nailed the dark humor and morbid curiosity of Dexter's character and created a taut, compelling crime drama that me on the edge of my seat.

Ultimately, killing the tone that Manos deftly created is a crime that even Dexter would take issue with.

"Dexter" is expected to air on Showtime beginning in November.

What’s On Tonight

8 pm: Ghost Whisperer (CBS); Tim McGraw: Reflected (NBC); Survival of the Richest (WB); America’s Funniest Home Videos (ABC); The Bernie Mac Show/The Bernie Mac Show (FOX); WWE Friday Night SmackDown! (UPN)

9 pm: Close to Home (CBS); Las Vegas (NBC); Reba/Modern Men (WB); America's Funniest Home Videos (ABC); Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy (FOX)

10 pm: NUMB3RS (CBS); Conviction (NBC); 20/20 (ABC)

What I’ll Be Watching

6-8 pm: High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman/Little Britain/Creature Comforts.

My new Friday night routine: the psychic parody High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman (whose fake Spirit Academy competition has reached new lows), outrageous sketch comedy Little Britain (home to Lou, Andy, Vicky Pollard, and the rest of the gang), and documentary series Creature Comforts.

9 pm: Doctor Who.

Otherwise known as Part Two of last week's two-part episode. On tonight's installment ("World War Three"), the Doctor and Rose attempt to escape 10 Downing Street as the world heads towards an interplanetary war with the creepy Slitheen. And what's up with that "Bad Wolf" graffiti and the little pig?