The Daily Beast: "The Real Race for Best Drama: Why Mad Men May Not Win"

The race for the Emmy Awards’ top drama prize isn’t as cut and dried as it looks.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "The Real Race for Best Drama: Why Mad Men May Not Win," in which I examine the cutthroat competition this year for best drama, and why Mad Men may not win the top spot at next weekend's awards ceremony. (Though it probably will.)

What's your take on the drama race this year? Will Mad Men four-peat? Will The Good Wife claim the top pick? Will HBO's Game of Thrones or Boardwalk Empire walk away with the statuette? Or will Friday Night Lights pull off the impossible and finally get some recognition for its outstanding fifth and final season? Head to the comments section to discuss.

The Daily Beast: "Emmys 2011: The Good Wife's Best Actress" (Julianna Margulies)

Julianna Margulies has been nominated for an Emmy Award for CBS’ The Good Wife.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature (and the first in a series of Emmys-centric pieces heading your way), "The Good Wife's Best Actress," in which I speak with Margulies about playing the brilliant and career-driven Alicia Florrick on The Good Wife, Alicia and Will (Josh Charles), Alicia and Kalinda (Archie Panjabi), wigs, gate-crashing the Governor's Ball, and her Emmy nomination.

Season Three of The Good Wife begins Sunday, September 25th at 9 pm ET/PT on CBS.

The Daily Beast: "The Death of Will-They-or-Won't-They"

In recent years, it’s been a given that romantic pairs on television had to be subjected to the will-they or-won't-they dilemma—where couples as clearly in love as Ross-and-Rachel, Sam-and-Diane, or Jim-and-Pam were prevented from jumping into bed together for years, as the writers forced them through increasingly tight narrative hoops.

These days, though, it seems like more and more TV couples just will. As writer-producers have sought to surprise the audience, they’re puncturing romantic tropes in the process.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "The Death of Will-They-or-Won't-They," for which I talk to Community’s Dan Harmon, Parks and Recreation’s Mike Schur and Greg Daniels, and Bones’ Hart Hanson about how TV is throwing off that age-old will-they-or-won’t-they paradigm in the post-Jim-and-Pam era.

Slugger: The Truth About Kalinda Comes Out on The Good Wife's 'Ham Sandwich"

Whatever secret you thought Kalinda was keeping, it certainly wasn't this one.

Last night's tension-filled episode of The Good Wife ("Ham Sandwich"), written by Keith Eisner and directed by Griffin Dunne, may have seemingly revolved around the episodic plots--the continued story of Peter's political campaign, here embodied in race issues involving the kids and the campaign, and the firm handling Lemond Bishop's divorce proceedings--but it was the Kalinda plot that once again fueled the installment and offered an emotional knee-capping at the very end of the episode.

Throughout the series thus far, Archie Panjabi's Kalinda has remained the mysterious presence in the room, the one with all of the answers who seems to be the source of most of the questions on the show. Just who is she? What is she hiding? Why is she so determined to keep her past a secret? And what does Blake (Scott Porter) really have on her?

The audience learned the answers to some of those questions last night, as Blake dropped a bombshell: the reason Kalinda is being so secretive and the fact that there are no clues to her old identity are all connected. Kalinda, the subject of a grand jury, is at the center of a conspiracy that involves not only herself but also her seemingly closest friend Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) and Peter (Chris Noth).



Yes, Kalinda slept with Peter years ago, when she worked for him at the state's attorney's office. While this pales in comparison to some of the shocking or operatic conclusions to the Blake/Kalinda battle this season, it has an emotional truth to it. Looking back at Season One of The Good Wife, there was that scene where Kalinda visited Peter in prison which--in retrospect--simmered with repressed tension and desire.

These two had an affair and colluded to not only keep it a secret from Alicia but also to engineer a new identity for Leela/Kalinda, one that would take her away from her husband (the one who keeps calling) and offer her a new life away from what Blake deems the boredom of her old existence.

While we still don't know the details of what Leela's life was like (kudos to the Kings to keeping some things about Kalinda under wraps), the truth of this extra-martial affair threatens to smash the tentative romance between Alicia and Peter, should it come out, but also the friendship between Kalinda and Alicia as well.

Just why would someone befriend the wife of someone they had an affair with? Likely out of some sense of guilt. When Kalinda and Alicia first met, Alicia was still reeling from the fallout from Peter's scandal, emerging from her role as Peter's wife and the mother of his children into an independent woman trying to make her own way in the world, to forge her own career, and fight her own battles. Likely, there was something simpatico about Alicia's struggles and her own, but Kalinda also knew exactly who Alicia was in the pilot episode and it shouldn't be said that Kalinda immediately sparked to the new associate at Lockhart/Gardner in that first installment.

Over time, these two have become close as both have let down the walls around them, removing emotional shields to open up to one another, though always Alicia more than Kalinda. So when Alicia tells Kalinda, "We're friends," it's both a genuine gesture of honesty and friendship... and a slap across the face, given the way that Kalinda betrayed Alicia, both all of those years ago and currently by concealing this from her.

The truth of her relationship with Peter is the biggest wedge between the two, the unspoken elephant in the room every time these two women sit down together or toss back a tequila. The friendship they've formed was built on a shaky foundation of lies and betrayal and, when the truth is dragged out into the light, it's likely to collapse around their ears. Can there be any forgiveness between the two? Can Alicia ever look at Kalinda the same way again?

Viewers were wondering just how the love triangle between Alicia/Will/Peter would take another turn and it has here. Very likely, this is the revelation that will drive Peter back out of Alicia's bed and drive her into Will's arms. In making the truth about Kalinda something so personal, they loaded this reveal with emotional shrapnel, one that will rip open several characters by the time all is said and done.

And there's an inherent beauty to that. This isn't a case of Kalinda being in federal witness protection or being a criminal on the run: she's a home-wrecker whose dalliance affected the marriage of Alicia, a woman she later befriended and who trusts her implicitly. By undermining that relationship, the Kings have once again put some of the central relationships within the show off-kilter and that's a wonderful, wonderful thing that serves to make this intelligent series even more unpredictable.

Aside from the Kalinda reveals, I will say that the scene that stuck out to me (in the best possible way) was the phone call between Alicia and Cary, in which they almost shared a moment of something approximating friendship, or at least sincere caring. The silence on the line, Alicia's nearly off-handed question, and Cary's reluctant confession all served to show how damaged this relationship is, but also how there is the potential here for rapport, for respect, and for a future in which these two might not be enemies, after all. (Dare I say that Season Three will have Cary back at the firm?)

And what should we be making of the fact that Blake covered up Will's "theft" years earlier? Just what did Will steal? And how exactly did Blake cover it up? While we now know just what their past encounter involved, it opens the door for a host of other questions as we ponder just what dark secrets Will's backstory holds. Hmmm...

What did you think of this week's episode and the revelations about Kalinda and Peter's affair? What will the fallout be? And have we seen the last of Blake? Head to the comments section to discuss.

On the next episode of The Good Wife ("Killer Song"), a convicted murderer (guest star Sam Robards) is sued when he profits from the crime by writing a song that describes the killing; Eli tries to help Natalie Flores (America Ferrera) and her family.

The Right Reasons: An Advance Review of Tonight's Episode of The Good Wife

Do we do things for the right or wrong reasons? When you cut beneath the surface, are all the "right" reasons really wrong?

I've been raving about CBS' gripping and intelligent series The Good Wife all season long, and hopefully the praise has rubbed off on those who wouldn't normally tune into a legal drama.

But The Good Wife is no mere episodic courtroom potboiler: it's a canny and critical arbiter of society and technology, a stirring and often emotional exploration of family and morals in the media age, a portrait of working women, and a romance- and intrigue-laden drama that manages to stir both your heart and your mind on a weekly basis.

Tonight's episode of The Good Wife ("Great Firewall"), written by creators Robert King and Michelle King (with a story by Leonard Dick) and directed by Nelson McCormick, ranks up there with some of the very best installments the series has produced to date, an exceptionally crafted installment that juxtaposes the political maneuverings of Peter Florrick's campaign with the backroom politics underway at Lockhart, Gardner, and Bond.

There's an innate elegance to the parallel structure of the stories unfolding here, games of manipulations and shadows enacted to entrap and foil various adversaries. As Alan Cumming's Machiavellian Eli Gold attempts to turn the three-way race for state's attorney into a two-man battle, Diane (Christine Baranski) and Will (Josh Charles) find themselves attempting to outwit Derrick Bond (Michael Ealy) through some underhanded means of their own.

But this is The Good Wife, after all, which means that the action concerns itself with both the bedroom and the courtroom. The case this week focuses on Shen Yuan (Lost's Ken Leung), a Chinese dissent who was tortured for five years in prison after his IP address was turned over to the Chinese government after he posted an anonymous blog about democracy coming to the Communist country. While no one sets foot into a courtroom this week (the action revolves around a series of depositions), the tension over the case and the ethical questions it raises give this week's episode a visceral punch. Should American companies operating oversees have to follow the letter of the law abroad? Is there a moral dimension to the cost of doing business?

In this case, it's the social networking site that's being sued after they turned over Shen's IP address to the Chinese authorities. Did they have a legal obligation to do so? Were there unforeseen consequences to their actions that they couldn't anticipate? That's the defense undertaken by the global site's counsel, Viola Walsh (Rita Wilson, reprising her role here), who returns to Chicago and is sitting on the other side of the table from her one-time friend Diane. Viola argues just that, bringing in a slew of experts and witnesses in an effort to derail Shen's case.

In addition to Leung and Wilson, the episode is overflowing with strong guest stars. Look for The Big C's John Benjamin Dickey to turn up as Neil Gross, the hoodie-wearing head of the social networking site who is raked over the coals by Will and Co. during the deposition. While I don't want to give too much away about the case (or the episode as a whole), I will say that there's an additional dimension to the case, one with ramifications for companies doing business overseas as well as personal ones for the firm itself. Opening the door to the light in China comes with a price, it seems.

Elsewhere, a tip from Zach (Graham Phillips) and Becca (Dreama Walker) might just help Eli eliminate one of the players from the state's attorney race, after the recent revelation that Wendy Scott-Carr (Anika Noni Rose) employed an illegal alien for five years. While Eli grappled with whether or not to out the illegal nanny (America Ferrera), he ultimately pulled the trigger after getting to know her on a personal level. (SPOILER: I'm told she'll return later this season in two episodes.)

We've seen all three players here engage in some dirty politicking as they hope to nab the position. Fingers of blame are pointed, wriggling attempted, and ultimately the conniving and manipulation, the games of politics, pay out in dividends. But, just as in China, there's a price to pay for such business. Politics and big business are both morally corrupt institutions and the hypocrisy of both worlds is all too clear here. Look for Julianna Margulies' Alicia to see first hand just what price is and how it changes the way she looks at someone at the firm. What is interesting is the way in which Zach and Becca jump into the race, all but giving Eli a smoking gun to use against Glenn Childs (Titus Welliver).

That smoking gun metaphor applies to the battle for the future of the firm as well, especially with the eleventh hour plotting by Diane, Will, Julius (Michael Boatman), and David Lee (Zach Grenier) against Bond, as they attempt to gain the upper-hand over the named partner by any means necessary. I'm erring on the side of caution here so as not to spoil, but there are some great scenes between Diane and "altacocker" Howard Lynn (Jerry Adler) and use of Roger Stern's "Gang of Three." I will say, however, that by the end of the episode, the ultimate fate of the firm will be revealed...

Those wondering why there's been little mention of Kalinda Sharma (Archie Panjabi), rest assured that our favorite investigator is being used here to good effect. A change of address card brings some unexpected consequences for Kalinda, who appears to be opening up. Look for a sweet and hysterical scene between Kalinda and Alicia (hint: it jokingly involves "Eat Pray Love") and an intriguing one between Kalinda and Matt Czuchry's Cary Agos. Could it be that the little card Kalinda sent out is her way of opening up to some people? Or is she attempting something else altogether? An attempt to protect herself? And how does this play into the repeated calls she was receiving last week, potentially from that mysterious husband of hers? Hmmm...

Ultimately, "Great Firewall" is one of those episodes of The Good Wife that lingers with you long after the closing credits have run, an installment that fuses together the breakneck pacing of an episodic legal plot with payoffs in the overarching story. There will be numerous consequences yet to unfold as a result of this pivotal and gripping episode. It's not to be missed.

The Good Wife airs tonight at 10 pm ET/PT on CBS.

Bat Girl: Kalinda Takes a Swing, Alicia Strikes Out on The Good Wife

Batter up...

I knew that last night's episode of The Good Wife ("Net Worth"), written by creators Robert and Michelle King, would have a doozy of a twist embedded in its episodic plot, because the episode was being kept under firm wraps by the folks at CBS... and even Archie Panjabi was coy about what was going to happen when I interviewed her a few weeks ago. (For that interview and more information about what's coming up between her and Blake, you can click here.)

But I also didn't quite expect the breathless hotel room showdown between Panjabi's Kalinda and Scott Porter's Blake that followed so closely on the heels of an encounter between Kalinda and Jill Flint's steely FBI agent Lana, an extended sequence that had both Blake and Lana seemingly aiming for Kalinda's, er, heart.

Despite Lana's job offer to Kalinda, she seemed more interested in her body in those moments than in her mind and the aura of conquest hovered over the entire sequence. But while these two danced around the question of sexual union, Kalinda seemed to relish seducing Blake, regaining the upper hand in their twisted relationship in order to strike home a fairly brutal blow. Yet it was Blake who managed to wipe the satisfaction right off of Kal's face in the end...

So what do we know about Kalinda Sharma thus far and how have these preconceptions been changed by this week's episode? Let's discuss:

* Her real name is Leela, rather than Kalinda.
* She may be a Canadian national who is living under an assumed identity.
* She may have faked her death in a house fire in order to escape... something.
* She's married! (This one came as quite a surprise to me.)
* Her husband is still alive and Blake claims to have been in contact with him, so he didn't die in the alleged house fire.

All of these elements come together to paint a rather different picture of Kalinda/Leela than the tough-as-nails badass that Kalinda presents herself as. There's a sense that Kal has been running from something, something dangerous and potentially life-threatening, and that she had faked her own death in order to escape. The obvious answer would be that mystery husband that Blake dangles over her like a Sword of Damocles in the final minutes of their scene together.

It seemingly comes as a surprise to Kalinda as well, whose entire modus operandi in the scene seems to be to string Blake along, get a hold of that baseball bat (now evidence in the beating of that trial witness and an object that the state's attorney's office wants to their hands on), and then deliver a coup de grace that leaves him struggling to breathe on the floor. Unexpected? Brutal? Cunning? All of the above.

But Kalinda is blindsided by the news that "fixer" Blake has been speaking to her husband (or, at least, he claims to be), leaving the victor of this particular round up in the air. Kalinda may have been able to wrap Blake around her little finger, getting him to strip down to next to nothing in an electrifying encounter, and then slugging him with her bat. But I can't help but wonder whether Blake truly wins no matter what Kalinda does, that the demons that she's been trying to outrun have finally and truly caught up with her.



I also loved the reveal that Blake's connection to Will dates back to his days in Baltimore as well and some illegal work that Blake did on Will's behalf. Just what this work was and whether it was professional or personal remains to be seen. Also of note: how Cary (Matt Czuchry) attempts to both protect Kalinda and distance himself from her, though his investigation into Blake and the search warrant he obtains links Blake to Bishop at MS 13... but it also proves to Blake that Kalinda has hacked his computer system and is attempting to set him up. (Consensus is still out whether Cary helped or hindered his new BFF this week.)

Fantastic skewering of Aaron Sorkin (and his TWoP debacle and struggles with drug abuse) and The Social Network in this week's case, which found the subject of a Social Network-esque film, Patric Edelstein suing the movie studio that released the film, claiming that it defamed him. Along the way, we got Rita Wilson as the insanely jealous Viola, F. Murray Abraham as Burl Preston, and a plot that, once it veered too closely into Social Network territory, even pulled out a mention of said film to ground the plotline further still. Questions of right of publicity, defamation of character, and emotional truth marked this intriguing and realistic depiction of the battle between art and commerce. (Well played, Gardner & Lockhart.)

Elsewhere, I loved the scenes between Julianna Margulies' Alicia and Dallas Roberts' Owen; they crackle with the authenticity of siblings and it was fantastic to see these two out of their elements (Alicia searching desperately for wifi, their hotel room banter, Owen smoking "medical marijuana" in the bathroom) as they spent some quality time together. I'm happy that the Kings have chosen to keep Owen in the picture, moving him from Portland to Chicago, where hopefully he'll be more of a (bad) influence in Alicia's life.

Still, I was happy to see that he was willing to ask her what she wanted and their "it's Alicia time!" conversation was insightful and adorable ("sultry-eyed Will") in equal measure. While Owen's line about needing a minute of Will's time was said half in jest, there was an emotional truth to it and to Alicia's need to clear the air and find out just what Will had said on that second voicemail message, to attempt to get the facts and make an informed decision about her future, even as she's finally allowed Peter (Chris Noth) back into the marital bed.

So why doesn't Will (Josh Charles) come clean? Is it that he's moved on and doesn't want the complication of getting involved romantically with Alicia? Are things already just too chaotic at work with Bond? Does he not want to be responsible for jeopardizing Alicia's marriage? Or is he testing her? Seeing whether she'll come after him even if he claims to have taken the moral high road on that voicemail, telling her that she should stay with Peter.

Or is it as simple as Will not wanting to be responsible for a "plan," for something that's not as easy as a casual relationship, to take that plunge and try to be with Alicia? Despite all the talk of everything being fine between them, I can't shake the feeling that the chasm between Will and Alicia has widened even more considerably.

What did you think of this week's episode? Will Will and Alicia ever get their ducks in order and take the plunge together? When will Alicia realize that it was Eli who made the decision for her and deleted Will's voicemail? And just how will things end between Kalinda and Blake? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Next week on The Good Wife ("Last Shot"), Diane represents ballistics expert Kurt McVeigh in a lawsuit; Eli takes an interest in Wendy Scott-Carr s illegal nanny.

The Daily Beast: "The Good Wife's Scene-Stealer" (Archie Panjabi)

Archie Panjabi plays The Good Wife’s law firm snoop, Kalinda, and viewers are obsessed. “I don’t think there’s ever been a no-nonsense, bisexual investigator of Indian origin,” she says.

When Archie Panjabi won the Emmy Award for outstanding supporting actress last year, many said, “WHO?” But to the millions who watch The Good Wife, and are obsessed with Panjabi’s mysterious, ass-kicking investigator character on the CBS legal drama, she was the Academy’s logical choice.

Over at The Daily Beast, I sit down with Archie Panjabi (in a private cabana at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, no less) to discuss playing the hard-edged Kalinda Sharma, the character's bisexuality, tonight's pivotal episode of The Good Wife, and why Panjabi will forever be a "breakout" star in my latest feature, entitled "The Good Wife's Scene-Stealer."

I'm curious though: why do you think viewers are so entranced by Panjabi's Kalinda?

I discussed this issue with Panjabi, but I'd love to hear your take on the character and the audience's engagement with Kalinda. Head to the comments section to discuss.

The Good Wife airs tonight at 10 pm ET/PT on CBS.

The Good Wife: What is the Deal With Kalinda?

I've been fairly obsessed with CBS' The Good Wife this season as the series continues to effortlessly fuse together taut legal drama, compelling family conflict, and a smart serialized storyline that has tackled everything from infidelity to personal desire, politics to underage sex.

But the thing that's keeping me awake at night is the mystery surrounding Archie Panjabi's Kalinda Sharma, the kick-ass investigator employed by Lockhart-Gardner-Bond who might not be what she appears. Throughout the season, the formidable Kalinda been thrown off her balance by the inquiries made by her rival at the law firm, Scott Porter's devious Blake, who seems hell-bent on revealing the truth about her past.

And now State's Attorney's office--under the orders of Glenn Childs himself--is conducting their own investigation into Kalinda, something that rubs Cary the wrong way. (I loved the scene between Matt Czruchy's Cary and Blake in the prison parking lot. Was it just posturing or is Blake as dangerous as he seems?) With the walls closing in around Kalinda, the hunter, it seems has become the hunted.

Last night's fantastic episode ("Silly Season") sought to shed some more light onto Kalinda's possible past, lifting the veil of mystery as Blake contended that Kalinda was actually a Canadian national named Leela who had faked her death in a fire. Kalinda, with her indeterminable poker face, didn't crack under Blake's scrutiny, not revealing whether he's got her or is simply barking up the wrong tree.

Which brings us to the here and now and the question contained within this post's headline. What do you think is really going on with Kalinda? And what dark secret from her past is she concealing? Is Blake right in his determination? Head to the comments section to discuss and debate, though no spoilers please. Let's keep it limited to conjecture and analysis, shall we?

Next week on The Good Wife ("Real Deal"), as Alicia prepares to face Louis Canning (returning guest star Michael J. Fox) in a class-action lawsuit, the firm discovers that it has a mole in its midst.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Daily Beast: "The Naughty Side of The Good Wife"

Yes, I'm in love with The Good Wife.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, entitled "The Naughty Side of The Good Wife," in which I speak to creators Robert and Michelle King and series lead Julianna Margulies about topical plots (masseuse scandal!), wonky cameos (Lou Dobbs!), and adult sexuality (oral sex on CBS!), all of which add up to The Good Wife being one of the best--and most consistently challenging--shows on TV.

But that's not all. In addition to the in-depth interview/thinkpiece on the show, I also got the Kings and Margulies to offer character-specific teases (read: minor spoilers) about what's coming up for Alicia, Peter, Will, Kalinda, Cary, Blake, and more in the second season. (You can read their take here in the gallery.)

What's your take on the show? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Shattered Glass: What is Going on with The Good Wife's Kalinda?

Just what is going on with Kalinda (Emmy Award winner Archie Panjabi) on The Good Wife?

The tensions between Kalinda and the firm's new investigator, Blake (Scott Porter), came to a head on last night's episode ("Cleaning House"), amid a storm of shattered glass, taut sexual tension, and lipstick marks on the rearview mirror as Blake threatened to reveal the truth about Kalinda's past. His inquiries have gotten a little too uncomfortably close for Kalinda's liking, so she took a bat to Blake's car and then waited around for him to show up so she could, uh, toy with him further.

While Blake is playing his cards close to the vest when it comes to revealing all that he knows about Leela--I mean, Kalinda--I'm curious to know what you think Kalinda is covering up. Let the theorizing begin. (No spoilers please!)

Head to the comments section to share your theories on what skeletons are in lurking in Kalinda's closet, beside her kick-ass wardrobe...

Next week on The Good Wife ("VIP Treatment"), Will and the partners must decide whether to take on the case of a VIP massage therapist who accuses a Nobel Peace Prize winner of sexual assault; Peter and Eli try to figure out what Wendy's candidacy means for their campaign.

Crossroads: An Advance Review of Season Two of The Good Wife

Over the course of its first season, CBS' legal drama The Good Wife transformed itself from a legal procedural into a strong ensemble drama. Which isn't to say that it jettisoned the cases of the week, because, in the hands of skilled creators Robert and Michelle King, it managed to both deepen the characters without sacrificing the courtroom hook, pulling off the rare legal-focused series that actually manages to make us care about the the accused, the defense counsel, and the kids at home.

Inspired by the slew of sexually-charged political scandals, The Good Wife's first season also held up a mirror to our own society, giving us a female lead in Julianna Margulies' Alicia Florick who was determined, harried, and often second-guessing her own decision to stand by her man. In the process, the series posed questions about the choices we make, the value of honesty and fidelity (both in the bedroom and in the state's attorney's office), the plight of the working woman attempting to raise her kids and provide for them with her husband out of the picture.

Of course, Alicia's scandalized husband Peter (Chris Noth) wasn't entirely out of the picture, as the action tracked both the conspiracy that ensnared this crusading state's attorney, his own admitted shortcomings and failures, and his efforts to be released from prison and head back on a campaign to win back both the wife and state that he had lost.

But Alicia is also no meek politician's wife. As proven in the first season, she's a legal dynamo who gives her all to win her clients' cases, even when she doesn't necessarily believe in their innocence. And while we can question her decision to remain with her philandering husband, Alicia has been up-front about putting her children's needs and wants ahead of her own, even as she continues to fall for her boss, Will (Josh Charles), a former law school buddy with whom she missed her chance years earlier.

She might be the good wife of the title but Alicia Florick is also her own woman.

I sped through the first season of The Good Wife on DVD this summer and was immediately struck by how accomplished and self-assured the series was once it allowed its characters to breathe, allowing for a narrative that placed weight not solely on Margulies but on its gifted ensemble: Emmy Award-winner Archie Panjabi's cynical investigator Kalinda (who, it needs to be said, kicks ass), Christine Baranski's liberal partner Diane Lockhart, Matt Czruchy's ambitious climber Cary Agos, Mary Beth Peil's overbearing Jackie Florrick, and Cumming's fantastic Eli Gold.

The focus has also swung at times to sit upon Alicia and Peter's children--Graham Phillip's Zach Florrick and Makenzie Vega's Grace--who continue to grapple with the fallout from their father's bad decisions and sexual appetites as much as they do with the work-related absences of their mother. Wisely, the series explores the insidious nature of scandal, how the consequences infect not just the perpetrator but those around him.

As Zach and Grace attempt to protect their mother from a series of mysterious packages, they are drawn ever closer to the epicenter of the conspiracy, even as they deal with "normal" teenage angst: unprotected sex, privacy issues, strife with parents and grandmother alike. When Peter does return home--and does break his home arrest in order to chase after Alicia--it's their quick thinking that keeps him at home. It's the rare series that explores the bonds of love and forgiveness in such a nuanced fashion.

The second season of The Good Wife, which launches tonight with "Taking Control," picks up in the seconds following Season One's cliffhanger: would Alicia step out on stage to support her husband or would she pick up the phone and open herself up to the possibility of an extra-marital relationship with Will? Would she put her own desire before that of her husband's political career? And would Peter's image consultant Eli Gold (Alan Cumming, here deliciously slimy) allow her to jeopardize their campaign? Hmmm...

The first two episodes ("Taking Control" and "Double Jeopardy"), provided to press for review, retain the strengths of the first season while also throwing several spanners into the works for the team at Lockhart & Gardner. While Alicia may have won the competition and earned a spot at the firm, it came at a heavy price: she had to trade upon her connections and name in order to lure Eli Gold (and likely several of his clients) to the firm in order to keep her place. Cary, meanwhile, lost his job and has gone to work at the state's attorney's office for Glenn Childs (Titus Welliver), setting up yet another turn of the screw for the insatiable war between the SA's office and the Florricks, one that's even more personal as Cary knows Alicia's tactics only too well.

But at the firm, there's even more drama following the arrival of the new third partner that Will and Diane have been so keen to bring on board. While the two of them claim that they want a ref, what they really want is someone they can side against together. They'll find they have an uphill battle with Derek Bond (FlashForward's Michael Ealy), who clearly has an agenda of his own. While Will and Diane settled on Derek together due to a lack of prior connection, a question is raised at the end of the second episode that makes us question whether or not that's really the case.

And Bond's arrival also jeopardizes the role that Panjabi's fantastic Kalinda plays within the law firm as Bond has his own carefully cultivated investigator in Blake (Friday Night Lights' Scott Porter), who proves just as surprising and mercurial as Kalinda herself. He's just as fast, just as resourceful, and just as cunning and Kalinda but Blake also has an ace up his sleeve. One season in and we're still in the dark about Kalinda's past and even, quite possibly, her true sexual orientation. The Kings and Panjabi have done an incredible job making Kalinda sympathetic and intriguing even as they leave her backstory in the shadows.

Which leads us to an interesting twist: Blake knows something about Kalinda that she's rather he didn't, something that she's worked hard to conceal. While the truth about Blake's knowledge isn't revealed in the first two episodes (far too early for that), it's indicated that Kalinda might not be who she says she is. And that Kalinda might not even be her real name...

And then there's Zach's troublesome ex-girlfriend Becca (Dreama Walker) causing trouble again for everyone. Just how much does Becca know? And did Eli's threats to her last season sink in? Look for things to get explosive among the younger generation enmeshed in this political battle, even as a familiar face from Peter's past returns to shake up the foundations of his campaign. Things are going to get nasty.

All of which adds up to a winning start for The Good Wife's second season. While there is already more than enough drama going on, the writers also concoct two provocative cases, one clearly inspired by the real-life WikiLeaks news story. Two murders, two very different clients, and two very different courtroom engagements, the second of which takes Alicia and Will to military court, and, um, Lou Dobbs. There's a delicate balancing act to these early episodes in the season run and the Kings and their talented writing staff manage to deftly pull it off.

You'll want to stay up late for this fantastic and engaging series.

Season Two of The Good Wife begins tonight at 10 pm ET/PT on CBS.

Channel Surfing: Emerson/O'Quinn Pilot Targets NBC, Teri Hatcher to Smallville, Goodfellas TV Project, The Good Wife, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

It's official: that Michael Emerson/Terry O'Quinn hit man drama pilot from executive producer J.J. Abrams and writers Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec (Alias, Happy Town) is heading to NBC after the Peacock landed the rights to the pilot from studio Warner Bros. Television. The untitled project--which had a working title of Odd Jobs--stars former Lost adversaries Emerson and O'Quinn. Which means that your Dharma-branded fantasies of seeing John Locke and Benjamin Linus on television again might not be coming true exactly, but you may get to see these two in action side-by-side again. (Vulture)

[Editor: Meanwhile, Deadline's Nellie Andreeva has some further details about Abrams' and Elizabeth Sarnoff's Alcatraz, which landed at FOX earlier this week with a pilot order. According to unnamed sources, the project is described as "a show about mysteries, secrets and the most infamous prison of all time: Alcatraz."]

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher will fly over to the CW's Smallville (which kicks off its tenth and final season tomorrow night), where she will guest star in an upcoming episode as--wait for it--the mother of Erica Durance's Lois Lane. Hatcher, who played Lois on ABC's Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman for four seasons way back when, will appear as Ella in the season's eighth episode. But don't necessarily think that she'll appear on-screen opposite Durance, given that Lois' mother is believed to be dead at this point. "In episode 8, titled 'Abandoned,' Lois discovers old videotapes of her mother," writes Ausiello. "I think you can figure the rest out for yourself. Am I right?" (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline's Mike Fleming is reporting that several studios are in the running to land a television pilot project based on Martin Scorsese's 1990 feature film Goodfellas, which was written by Nicholas Pileggi. Pileggi is said to be on board to write the pilot and Warner Bros. Television is believed to be the top studio in the running to produce the project, given that the feature film arm released the original film. Fleming indicates that Irwin Winkler would likely be the executive producer on the project. (Deadline)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that iCarly star Miranda Cosgrove will guest star on CBS' The Good Wife in a November episode where she will play Sloan, described as "a troubled pop star who is arrested on a DUI charge" and with whom "Alicia finds herself bonding with the misunderstood tabloid magnet." Cosgrove will appear in the November 16th episode. “We’re big iCarly fans, so we really couldn’t think of anyone better for this role than Miranda Cosgrove,” executive producer Robert King told Ausiello. “We were thrilled when she agreed to do it. It’ll be fun to see her handle both the comedy and drama in the role, and we can’t wait to see how she’ll play across from Julianna.” (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FOX is getting into business again with Fringe co-creators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who were behind this season's Hawaii Five-0 resurrection and also landed a series commitment from the network for Locke & Key. FOX has given a pilot order to drama pilot Exit Strategy, from writer David Guggenheim, which is described by Deadline's Nellie Andreeva as "as a high octane procedural set in the world of CIA agents who are sent in to 'fix' operations gone bad." (Deadline)

FOX has also given a script order to drama The Detail, from writer/executive producer Jason Smilovic, executive producer Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, and director Michael Dinner, from Sony Pictures Television. According to Deadline's Nellie Andreeva, "it is described as Ocean’s Eleven meets Revenge of the Nerds" and "centers on a private detective, who, after being released from jail for a crime he didn’t commit, assembles a group of rejects, each with a unique talent, to form a detective agency and bring down his old business partner who framed him." (Deadline)

Elsewhere, ABC Studios signed a format deal with Mediaset for a US remake of a drama format entitled Anti-Mafia Squad, with Gina Matthews and Grant Scharbo attached as executive producers. Project is being regarded as a possible summer series for ABC, though no networks have been pitched on the idea yet. Cougar Town star Courteney Cox has been given a script order for 911 Operators, a drama pilot that she'll executive produce with husband David Arquette, which focuses on, well, 911 operators. (Variety)

Showtime has officially announced launch dates for Shameless, Episodes, and the return of Californication on Sunday, January 9th. The two new series were slated to begin the following day and air on Mondays. But Showtime has apparently changed its mind and scheduled all three series together in a single two-hour block on Sundays. Californication will kick off the night at 9 pm ET/PT, followed by Episodes, while the US adaptation of British drama Shameless will close out the night at 10 pm ET/PT. (via press release)

In other Showtime news, Emmanuelle Chriqui (Entourage) will guest star in three episodes of the pay cabler's upcoming period drama The Borgias, where she will play Sancia, a Neapolitan princess who marries the Pope's youngest son but has her eye on his brother. Series is set to launch in Spring 2011. (via press release)

Fancast's Matt Mitovich is reporting that Serina Swan (Smallville) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Supernatural, in which she will play "a news reporter chronicling an unsettling series of suicides." She's set to appear in the fourth episode fo the sixth season, which kicks off tomorrow night. (Fancast)

Wolfgang Petersen and Ron Shelton are said to be developing period racing drama Kings of Speed for pay cabler Starz, which is being viewed as a possible ten-hour limited series focusing on the international automobile racing circuit of the 1950s and 19960s, Enzo Ferrari, and "the underground car culture of Southern California." (Variety)

Stay tuned.

The Daily Beast: "Fall TV Preview: Grey's Anatomy, Dexter, 30 Rock and More"

With so many new fall series premiering over the next two weeks, it's possible to forget that some of our favorites are heading back to the airwaves as well.

Can’t remember how Grey’s Anatomy or 30 Rock ended? Head over to the Daily Beast to read my latest feature, "Here Comes the TV Season!", in which I round-up 13 cliffhangers for returning shows—and offer previews of what’s to come. (It goes without saying: minor SPOILERS aheads.)

The series in question? Oh, the usual suspects, including Dexter, The Good Wife, Fringe, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Chuck, Private Practice, Brothers and Sisters, Friday Night Lights, Bones, Community, Castle, and 30 Rock, presented in order of premiere dates. (Which means Chuck is up first.) Plus, you can watch video previews for all 22 new network series, to boot.

Which returning series are you most excited about watching this fall? Head to the comments section to discuss.

The Daily Beast: "2010 Emmys: Who Will Win This Year?"

With the 2010 Emmy Awards less than a week away, it's time to take a look at this year's front-runners and weigh the major races that are already underway.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "2010 Emmys: Who Will Win This Year?" in which I take a look (via a visual gallery) at who will win the top spots this year and who should be taking home those statuettes come August 29th.

Do you agree with my assessments? Think Julianna Margulies is a lock? Or do you think that I'm wrong and Aaron Paul won't get overlooked for a Best Supporting Actor award? Head to the comments section to discuss and debate and post your take on the major categories.

The 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards will air live coast to coast on Sunday, August 29th on NBC.

Channel Surfing: USA Renews Covert Affairs, Lost Star Could Be Rockford, Lie to Me Grabs Gunn, Cannavale to Blue Bloods, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Good news for Annie Walker fans: USA has officially ordered a second season of espionage drama Cover Affairs. No word was given on an episodic order nor when Season Two of the Universal Cable Production-based series would launch, though the first season of the CIA drama is currently in full swing on the cabler. Series, which is shot on location in Toronto, is currently the highest rated cable series on Tuesdays in the 10 pm hour. (via press release)

Longtime followers on Twitter will remember that I pushed Josh Holloway for the role of Jim Rockford in NBC's resurrected The Rockford Files back in the spring when I read the pilot script. Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is now pushing Holloway as well and reports that the former Lost star has been "mentioned in connection to the project, but [an unnamed] insider stresses that there are no serious talks going on at this time." So it's not like an offer has gone out to Holloway or anything but the project is still alive and kicking, even after an abysmal pilot that starred Dermot Mulroney in the role that James Garner made famous. [Editor: Personally, I think Holloway would be a significant improvement.] (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Breaking Bad star Anna Gunn will guest star this fall on FOX drama Lie to Me, where she will play Internal Affairs Detective Jenkins, described as "an ambitious, politically savvy police officer on the fast track to the top [who] realizes Lightman is someone who must be handled with caution as she tries to bring down Detective Wallowski." Gunn is set to appear in the season's third episode, which will air on November 24th. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TVGuide.com's Adam Bryant is reporting that Bobby Cannavale (Cupid) has joined the cast of CBS' fall drama series Blue Bloods, where he will play Charles Rosselini, the boss of Bridget Moynahan's Erin. Rosselini is described as a "talented and popular Manhattan DA [who has] political ambitions, but as an ex-cop who served nearly 10 on the force before finishing law school, he remains a bit rough around the edges." He'll first appear in the October 15th episode. (TVGuide.com)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Ryan Devlin is headed back to ABC's Grey's Anatomy this season, where he will appear in a multiple-episode story arc set to begin in November, when he will reprise his role as the husband of Mandy Moore's character. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

HBO is said to be developing a series based in Los Angeles' adult film business, according to a report in The New York Post's Page Six, which claims that Mark Wahlberg and Steve Levinson have teamed up with writer James Frey--yes, that James Frey--for a drama series that will feature actors and adult performers. "The plot will focus on a giant video company under siege from Internet competitors and a girl from the Midwest whose boyfriend convinces her to move to Los Angeles to become a star," according to Page Six. Frey, meanwhile, said, "We're going to make a sprawling epic about the porn business in LA. We're going to tell the type of stories no one else has told before, and go places no one has gone before." (New York Post)

Could John May (Michael Trucco) be heading back to ABC's V? Showrunner Scott Rosenbaum tells TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams that Trucco might be popping up on the alien invasion drama again. "John May may return," said Rosenbaum. So could he be alive? "That's what they hinted to me," Michael Trucco told TVGuide.com. "I thought, 'OK, he's dead, but he's coming back?' They're like, 'Nope, he's dead.' I wrote that off as a one-off [appearance], but they made some indication that maybe he'd come back." (TVGuide.com)

Michael J. Fox is set to guest star on CBS' The Good Wife this season, where he will play Simon Canning, described as "a shrewd and cynical litigator whom Alicia (Margulies) faces in a massive class action [who] is willing to use anything in court, including symptoms of his neurological condition, to create sympathy for his otherwise unsympathetic client: a giant pharmaceutical company." “We’re absolutely thrilled that Michael has agreed to play this role,” said executive producers and show creators Robert and Michelle King in a press release. “His intelligence as an actor, combined with his incredible comic timing will really bring this smart, cynical lawyer to life.” (via press release)

TVGuide.com's Gina DiNunno has an interview with this week's ousted Top Chef contestant, Alex Reznik, in which they discuss, yes, the pea puree debacle and the Restaurant Wars drama, among other topics. "At no time during the show did I know the pea puree was an issue and that people were accusing me of stealing something," said Reznik. "It's not in my inherent nature [to steal]. So at no point did I ever try to defend myself... Amanda saw me make it. The day before, Kelly tasted my peas. The people on the show know I didn't take it. I can't really say what happened to [Ed's pea puree]. All I know is when I got to the challenge, the first thing I did was puree peas. They can't show everything. The reality was I won that challenge and it was masked by the pea puree." (TVGuide.com)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Stephen Collins--best known for his role on 7th Heaven and next to be seen on ABC's fall drama No Ordinary Family--will guest star in the fourth episode of the upcoming season of Brothers & Sisters, where he will play Charlie, a man who helps Saul deal with his HIV diagnosis. "I don't want this to be like a TV Movie of the Week," executive producer David Marshall Grant told Keck. "Even though he didn't know his diagnosis until recently, I have a feeling Saul has been dealing with this for years. He hasn't been frequenting gay bars." (TV Guide Magazine)

Scott Caan's recent knee injury will be worked into the plot of CBS' Hawaii Five-0 this season, according to E! Online's Megan Masters. "According to an H50 rep, Scott's injury will not affect production in the least," writes Masters. "In fact, the also-Entourage star won't even need to miss an episode during his recovery, and is set to return to work Aug. 23... Said bumps and bruises will simply be written into the script, when Danno suffers a spill at the hands of his partner (played by Alex O'Loughlin—sigh). In the post-injury ep, the two visit the doctor's office together and when asked if he's suffered any trauma lately, Mr. "Book 'Em" responds: "I've got a partner—this guy is a physical injury!" (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

TVGuide.com's Adam Bryant is reporting that David Alan Grier will guest star on FOX's Bones this season, where he will play Professor Bunsen Jude the Science Dude, described as the "quirky host of a children's TV program" in the vein of Bill Nye the Science Guy. "He comes to the Jeffersonian Institute hoping to get Brennan (Emily Deschanel) on his show as a guest scientist," writes Bryant. "When Brennan scoffs at Jude's offer because she doesn't consider him a serious scientist, Jude volunteers to work with the 'squinterns' to help solve a murder case. Brennan agrees to appear on Jude's show if he is successful." (TVGuide.com)

More guest stars heading to Syfy's Eureka, with Ming-Na (Stargate Universe) and comic book legend Stan Lee set to descend on the Pacific Northwest town. "Ming-Na will portray U.S. Senator Alice Wen who arrives in Eureka to handle a sensitive matter within Global Dynamics," according to a Syfy press release. "Her character may appear in more than one episode. Details of Stan Lee's appearance are being kept under wraps. No airdates have been set at this time." They join previously announced guest stars Wil Wheaton, Jamie Kennedy, Chris Parnell, Felicia Day, Jaime Ray Newman, Ed Quinn, and Matt Frewer. (via press release)

NBC has renewed Last Call with Carson Daly for a fifth season. (Variety)

Chelsea Handler will host this year's MTV Video Music Awards. "If there's one awards show that I should be hosting, it's probably this one," Handler told The New York Times. "My personality probably wouldn't gel with the Emmys or the Golden Globes." (New York Times)

Don't hold your breath waiting for a Glee cover of a Kings of Leon song: the band turned down a request to license its music to the FOX musical-comedy. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Renee Felice Smith has been cast in a recurring role on CBS' NCIS: LA, where she will play Nell, described as "an incredibly bright, somewhat quirky, and extremely chatty intelligence analyst who’ll be assisting Eric (Barrett Foa) in the OPS center." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Universal Media Studios has signed a two-year overall deal with Parks and Recreation writer/producer Alan Yang, under which he will remain aboard the ensemble comedy while also developing new projects for the studio. (Deadline)

Former AMC executive Christina Wayne and her new company Cineflix Studios is set to pitch a comedy series based on Ariel Leve's novel "It Could Be Worse, You Could Be Me," according to Variety's Cynthia Littleton. Script was written by Leve "with guidance from Wayne," and revolves around "successful femme journo in her late 30s whose life is turned upside down when she loses her job." (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: HBO Renews Tim, Prison Break's Chris Vance Targets Dexter, The Good Wife, 90210's Gay Character Revealed, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Sometimes the networks taketh and sometimes they give back. Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that HBO has had a change of heart about animated comedy The Life and Times of Tim, which it cancelled two months ago. The pay cabler has now reversed its position on the cult hit, ordering a third season of Tim, with ten episodes slated to air sometime next year. Media Rights Capital, the production company behind the project (along with Good Humor TV), attempted to shop Tim to other networks--including Comedy Central, Adult Swim, and TBS--but no buyer materialized... and now the project has headed back to HBO. [Editor: I'm relieved as I was really upset when I heard earlier this year that the series wasn't going to get picked up.] (Deadline)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Chris Vance (Prison Break) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on Season Five of Showtime's Dexter. Vance--most recently seen in FOX's short-lived drama series Mental and on Burn Notice--will play Cole, described as "a meticulous, physically fit, well-spoken personal aide to a famous businessman," and is set to appear in at least three installments of the serial killer drama. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline has an interview with The Good Wife creators Robert and Michelle King about their Emmy nominated CBS drama series, which will compete with several cable-based series in the Best Drama category. "It’s hard not to look at cable with envy at times, for sure," said Michelle King when asked if she wishes The Good Wife were on cable rather than broadcast television. "The tradeoff is we get to tell more stories and usually have a bigger budget, so it probably evens out." And don't call the show a procedural. "We prefer to be seen as a hybrid," said Robert King. "It’s a polite way of saying we want to have our cake and eat it, too. Mind you, we don’t hate procedurals. There’s nothing better when you’re sick in bed at home than taking in a Law & Order marathon. We’re not trying to run away from that, but we work to stuff the procedural aspect so tightly bound into a script that there’s a lot of room left to show the impact on our characters. We don’t feel hampered by the label, but we hope people can get past it and any angst they may have over it." (Deadline)

SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has confirmed just which one of the boys of 90210 will come out this season on the CW teen soap. Actor Trevor Donovan--who plays Teddy--revealed that he'll be playing the famous zip code's gay character. “I read all your tweets and know you are all curious about the ‘gay’ character this season," said Donovan via Twitter. "Let me say, gay or straight, relationships are relationships. Everyone goes through the same kind of troubles and joys. A gay storyline will have an added issue of dealing with judgment from others. Acceptance, by family, friends, society, and self is just one of the concerns the character will be going through. It is a part of life, and it should be portrayed. I was told, and am confident, [that] the storyline will be written very well and the change in the character will be organic, NOT overnight. It’s going to be a great season 3. I look forward to chatting with you all as we progress.” Ausiello, for his part, confirmed that Donovan's Teddy is gay. Thus, the speculation can now end. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FlashForward's Michael Ealy--who will next be seen on CBS' The Good Wife--has been cast as one of the leads on USA's buddy cop pilot Common Law, where he will play LAPD officer Travis Marks, described as "charismatic, casually attired, and unshaven—the polar opposite of his police partner, Wes Mitchell," who, unlike Wes, is "a freewheeling, impulsive maverick, not to mention an avid womanizer who is extremely successful with the ladies." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Among the presenters at this year's Primetime Emmy Awards: January Jones, Ricky Gervais, Julianna Margulies, Matthew Morrison, Sofia Vergara, and John Krasinski. (Hollywood Reporter)

Spike has renewed Deadliest Warrior for a third season, with ten episodes on tap for Summer 2011. (Variety)

Looks like you've gotten there. TBS has ordered an additional 90 episodes of comedy Are We There Yet? The series, which debuted on June 2nd, will wrap up its initial ten-episode order this summer and then return with a massive reorder. (Hollywood Reporter)

David Madden has been named the successor to outbound Fox Television Studios president Emiliano Calemzuk, who is departing the studio to become the CEO of Shine Group Americas. Madden, meanwhile, has been promoted to the position of president and will report to Dana Walden and Gary Newman. [Editor: congratulations, Dave!] (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Fringe Fest, Diablo Cody Targets FOX, Carol Burnett to Be Sue's Mom on Glee, Ferrigno to Torment Chuck, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello caught up with Fringe star Jasika Nicole to get some information about Season Three of Fringe, kicking off this fall, and a "groundbreaking and mind-blowing" twist. "She is indeed," said Nicole when asked if Astrid would get more to do in Season Three. "And that's due to the fact that there are now two of her that I get to play, which is awesome. [For the first half] of the season, we're alternating episodes, so we've got one in the alternate universe and one in the present universe, so if you were to only [watch] every other episode, you would only see the story happening in one universe." Nicole told Ausiello that the two storylines will converge into a single stream where "everyone's world will be turned upside down." Wowsers. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Diablo Cody is heading to FOX. The network signed a put-pilot deal with the Juno creator--who is the executive producer of Showtime's multiple-personality comedy United States of Tara--for comedy The Breadwinner, which will be produced by Warner Bros. Television, should FOX opt to order a pilot. Details on the plot of the project, which Cody will executive produce with Mason Novick, are being kept tightly under wraps. It's not the first time that Cody has sought to work with the network; she previously developed comedy Sydney Dare at FOX back in 2009. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stop the presses: Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that legendary comedienne Carol Burnett has been cast as the Nazi-hunting mother of Jane Lynch's Sue Sylvester on Glee. While details of her arrival at William McKinley High are being kept secret (for now, anyway), it's expected that Burnett will make her appearance in an October or November episode of Glee's second season and Ausiello also indicates that she will be turning up without Sue's father. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

In other casting news, Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that former Incredible Hulk star (and motivated home seller in I Love You, Man) Lou Ferrigno will guest star on Chuck this fall. Ferrigno, who is set to appear in the second episode of Season Four, will play "the bodyguard of an evil spy model (ex-Victoria's Secret Angel Karolina Kurkova." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos has two video interviews with the stars of FOX's Bones, Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz, in which the two talk about the power shift when Deschanel directs an episode of Bones this season and jokingly vows to make Boreanaz "pay." Plus, the duo tease details of the next season of Bones, including--SPOILER ALERT!--a potential death, a new love interest for Booth named Hannah, and much more. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Sorry sci-fi fans: it turns out that Sky1 has dropped its plan to resurrect classic sci-fi series Blake's 7, created by Terry Nation, after announcing its plans to develop an update back in 2008. "Following the development process we have decided not to produce Blake's 7," said a Sky1 spokesperson. "However, Sky continues to invest heavily in original drama and it remains at the heart of our plans. We have just announced an extended run for the second series of Chris Ryan's Strike Back and we'll soon be unveiling a new long-running series for prime time." The satcaster will also not proceed with a spy drama that was to star Gillian Anderson (The X-Files). But the production company behind the resurrected Blake's 7 plans to shop the series elsewhere. "Sky's deciding to not proceed with the planned TV revival of Blake's 7 is obviously disappointing, but the development process has resulted in the dynamic reinvention of this 'branded' series ... There is a huge opportunity for investment in a TV series that is fully developed, has genuine global appeal and has exciting 360-degree exploitation opportunities," said a B7 Productions spokesperson. "With much praised scripts from lead writers Richard Kurti and Bev Doyle (Going Postal) and 60% of the finance already in place, by anyone's standard we have pulled together a compelling package. We are confident that this reboot of Blake's 7 has the creative and commercial credentials that will enable us to find a partner with the vision to recognise the strength and enduring appeal of the show and the opportunity it represents to produce a bold new drama series with significant international appeal." (Guardian)

Dallas Roberts (Rubicon) has been cast in a potentially recurring role on CBS' The Good Wife, where he will play Owen, Alicia's gay brother, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. But don't look for the series to make a big deal out of the University of Oregon professor's sexual orientation. "“We just thought [it would be interesting] if it didn’t matter. Everybody around them thinks it’s an issue between them, but there’s no issue,” said executive producer Robert King. “We kind of like that it voids expectations of what will happen between them." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TVGuide.com's Gina DiNunno has some further details about Roberts' Good Wife character and talks to executive producer David W. Zucker about Owen. "I think [creators and executive producers] Robert and Michelle [King] came up with a very sort of compelling and surprising way to introduce her brother into the world that immediately impacts [her] and Peter, and then gets us to explore a little bit of what their history was and how it pertains to their future," said Zucker. "What about Alicia's own familial experience informed the way she handled [the] with situation with Peter, and her vigilance about protecting the children and the family first and foremost? We were really interested in trying to start exploring, for Peter and Alicia, what that greater world is, especially as Peter is coming to the public eye in a different way now." (TVGuide.com)

So it turns out that Lost's enigmatic Man in Black does have a name. Sort of. TVOvermind has confirmed that Titus Welliver's character was named Samuel. Or, was on the back of his director's chair, anyway. The news doesn't exactly send ripples through the Lost community, but it does lay to rest one dangling plot thread. (via Blastr)

Jeff Goldblum will be departing Law & Order: Criminal Intent after only two seasons, citing uncertainty "surrounding the show's future." (Ahem.) News comes on the heels of the order for Law & Order: Los Angeles and the cancellation of the flagship Law & Order. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Courtney Ford (Dexter) is heading to the CW's Vampire Diaries, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, who reports that Ford will potentially recur as Vanessa, described as "a grad student at Duke who helps Damon, Alaric, and Elena go through Isobel’s old research." But Vanessa might be more than she seems as she's concealing a secret or two... (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Colm Meaney (Get Him to the Greek) will star opposite Anson Mount, Dominique McElligott, and Common in AMC period drama pilot Hell of Wheels, about the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. Meaney will play Thomas "Doc" Durant, described as "a businessman determined to make his fortune building the transcontinental railroad, a man of vision and a self-serving opportunist who is capable of 'creative financing.'" (Deadline)

Sherry Stringfield has landed the lead in Josh Berman's new untitled Lifetime drama pilot, where she will play San Diego police detective Molly Collins, described as a "married mother of two on the verge of divorce, who, along with her partner Brooke Kross, investigate the city’s most high-profile crimes while navigating their divergent personal lives." (Deadline)

Disney Channel has assembled the cast for its upcoming original musical movie franchise, Lemonade Mouth, which follows a group of high school students who meet in detention and start a band. (Deadline)

Stay tuned.

TCA Awards: Critics Honor Glee, Modern Family, The Pacific, Lost, Breaking Bad, Jane Lynch, Julianna Margulies, and More

At an awards ceremony hosted by Parenthood's Dax Shepard this evening in Beverly Hills, the Television Critics Association announced their award winners for 2010 as part of the annual summer press tour held twice a year by the professional organization.

Among the winners: Glee, Modern Family, The Pacific, Lost, Breaking Bad, Jane Lynch, and The Good Wife's Julianna Margulies.

Glee took home the top prizes for both Program of the Year and Outstanding New Program while the FOX musical-comedy's Jane Lynch walked away with the prize for Individual Achievement in Comedy. Her counterpart on the drama side? Julianna Margulies, who walked away with the award for Individual Achievement in Drama.

ABC's Modern Family was named the recipient of Outstanding Achievement in Comedy, while Lost and AMC's Breaking Bad tied for Outstanding Achievement in Drama.

In the other categories, James Garner received the Career Achievement award, while the Heritage Award went to M*A*S*H. The news and information category went to Discovery's Life, Nick Jr.'s Yo Gabba Gabba took home the top prize in Youth Programming, and HBO's World War II mini-series The Pacific was awarded an outstanding achievement prize in the movies, miniseries, and specials division.

UPDATE: Just home from the TCA Awards themselves. The highlights of the evening? Dax Shepard hosting (seriously, I take back every bad thing I've said about Dax over the years) and doing both a pitch-perfect Owen Wilson impression (admonishing a "fat" Luke Wilson for doing those ubiquitous mobile phone TV ads) and Arnold Schwarzenegger to boot; Tom Hank's acceptance speech for The Pacific ("This is the last time I f---ing dress up for you); the entire Television Critics Association singing happy birthday to Modern Family's Rico Rodriguez on his twelfth birthday; Damon Lindelof reading off mean-spirited tweets he received after the Lost series finale; the standing ovation for M*A*S*H; Modern Family co-creator Steve Levitan taking some digs at former ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson; and Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan teasing four things that Jane Lynch's Sue Sylvester says in the second season premiere of Glee, including "You should’ve gone with the poop cookies, Will." (Yes, seriously.)

The full press release--along with the full list of the winners--can be found below.

THE TELEVISION CRITICS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES 2010 TCA AWARDS WINNERS

Fox’s “Glee” Takes Home Multiple Honors as “Program of the Year,” “Outstanding New Program” and “Individual Achievement in Comedy” for winning actress Jane Lynch
“Modern Family,” “The Pacific,” “The Good Wife,” “Life,” “Breaking Bad” and “Lost” are honored along with “M*A*S*H” and James Garner
BEVERLY HILLS – Members of the Television Critics Association (TCA) recognized the top programs and actors representing the 2009-2010 TV season tonight at its 26th Annual TCA Awards, held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Dax Shepard, star of NBC’s “Parenthood,” introduced the ceremony that bestowed 11 awards in categories reflecting comedy, drama, miniseries, news and youth programming at its annual event in conjunction with the TCA’s summer press tour.

The biggest winner of the night was Fox’s musical ensemble comedy “Glee” which was the only series to win multiple awards from the 200-plus professional TV critics association, garnering the top honor “Program of the Year,” as well as “Outstanding New Program,” and “Individual Achievement in Comedy,” with lead actress Jane Lynch’s victory.

ABC’s “Modern Family” was voted “Outstanding Achievement in Comedy,” and ABC’s “Lost” and AMC’s “Breaking Bad” tied as the victors in the category of “Outstanding Achievement in Drama.”

Nick Jr.’s children’s show “Yo Gabba Gabba” won its second consecutive TCA Award as “Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming,” and Discovery Channel’s “Life” series took the top honors as “Outstanding Achievement in News & Information.”

Julianna Margulies, star of CBS’s “The Good Wife,” received the award for “Individual Achievement in Drama,” and HBO’s World War II miniseries epic “The Pacific” garnered “Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials.”

In addition to recognizing the year’s finest programming, the TCA bestowed a Heritage Award trophy to CBS’ former series “M*A*S*H” for the cultural and social impact that program has had on society.

The organization also presented actor James Garner with a Career Achievement Award for the influence his work has had on the small screen.

2010 TCA Award recipients are as follows:
• PROGRAM OF THE YEAR: “Glee” (FOX)
• OUTSTANDING NEW PROGRAM: “Glee” (FOX)
• INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY: Jane Lynch, “Glee” (FOX)
• OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY: “Modern Family” (ABC)
• OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA: TIE - “Lost” (ABC) and “Breaking Bad” (AMC)
• INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA: Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife” (CBS)
• OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NEWS & INFORMATION: “Life” (Discovery)
• OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN YOUTH PROGRAMMING: “Yo Gabba Gabba” (NICK JR.)
• OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MOVIES, MINISERIES & SPECIALS: “The Pacific” (HBO)
• HERITAGE AWARD: “M*A*S*H*” (CBS)
• CAREER ACHIEVEMENT: James Garner

ABOUT THE TELEVISION CRITICS ASSOCIATION

The Television Critics Association represents more than 200 journalists writing about television for print and online outlets in the United States and Canada. For 26 years the TCA has honored outstanding achievement in television and enduring contributions to the medium’s heritage through the TCA Awards. Membership in the Television Critics Association is open to full-time TV writers at newspapers, magazines, trade publications, news wire services, news syndicates, and text-based Internet news organizations. For additional information on the TCA, please visit www.tvcritics.org

Channel Surfing: Olivia Munn Tackles Chuck, Scott Porter Investigates The Good Wife, Chris Isaak Could Replace Simon, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. A few things to get through before I hit the road for San Diego and Comic-Con.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Olivia Munn (the newly minted Daily Show correspondent) will guest star on NBC's Chuck this fall when the series returns for its fourth season on September 20th. Munn, who is a series regular on NBC's midseason comedy Perfect Couples, will play "an impossibly cool, smart, and pretty CIA agent who intimidates and schools Chuck and Morgan" in the same installment that features Dolph Lundgren. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

In other scoop, Ausiello writes that former Friday Night Lights star Scott Porter will be joining the cast of CBS' The Good Wife this fall. Porter, whose CW pilot Nomads was not ordered to series, will play Blake, described as "Kalinda’s private-eye counterpart at the D.C. firm that’s merging with Lockhart & Gardner" who "offsets his cynical attitude with lots of hidden humor and sexual charisma. He is disguised as a landlord when he first encounters Kalinda, who doesn’t appreciate being taken in by this ‘master of disguise.’ However, underneath their fractious interactions, there’s definite chemistry between these two." Porter is expected to appear in at least ten episodes of The Good Wife's second season. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Wicked Game? Singer Chris Issak is among the frontrunners to replace Simon Cowell on FOX's American Idol, as is Harry Connick Jr. while Bret Michaels and Donald Trump have each lobbied to replace Cowell for the tenth season of Idol. "The network is determined to land a widely known music industry figure for the post, and THR has learned that singer Chris Isaak has met twice with the network," write James Hibberd and Kim Masters. "Also, at least one desirable candidate has set off a tug-of-war between Idol executive producer Simon Fuller and Cowell -- whose upcoming Fox singing competition The X Factor is similarly seeking judges." Hmmm... (Hollywood Reporter)

Syfy has announced that the back half of Season One of Caprica will not air until January 2011, a sizable delay given that the first half of the season wrapped in the end of March. Here's how Syfy is positioning the remainder of the season: "In season 1.5, the once idyllic world of Caprica – as well as life across the colonies – falls prey to an explosive chain reaction of consequences set off by the characters’ many questionable actions in the season’s first half. Tensions rise, power shifts and the line between reality and the virtual world becomes increasingly blurred as everyone struggles to learn – and conquer – the stakes in this volatile setting. As the season races towards its stunning conclusion, events of each episode lay the framework for the inevitable (and brutal) clash between the newly-created Cylon race and their human creators." (via press release)

Universal Media Studios has signed a deal with The Office writer/co-star B.J. Novak that will keep him aboard the NBC comedy series for two more seasons and will be bumped to an executive producer title halfway through the series' upcoming seventh season. He'll also develop new projects for the studio as well. "B.J. has been an integral part of The Office since the launch of the show," said Angela Bromstad, NBC's president of primetime entertainment. "Whether he's in the writing room or appearing on screen, we always get the smart, sophisticated, ridiculously funny humor from him that the fans have come to love." (Variety)

Mark your calendars: HBO has announced that Bored to Death and Eastbound and Down will return for their second seasons on Sunday, September 26th at 10 pm and 10:30 pm ET/PT respectively. (via press release)

TVGuide.com's Denise Martin is reporting that Katherine Moenning (The L Word) will guest star in the upcoming season of Showtime's serial killer drama Dexter, where she will play a tattoo artist appearing in one episode. "How she'll become embroiled in the serial killer's world remains unknown," writes Martin. The fifth season of Dexter launches Sunday, September 26th at 9 pm ET/PT. (TVGuide.com)

Doris Roberts (Everybody Loves Raymond) will be dropping by ABC's The Middle for the second season premiere, airing September 22nd. She'll play a new teacher for Brick who is "an intimidating force to be reckoned with" and "'strong' opinions about Frankie's parenting methods." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

File under strange but true: CBS' drama pilot Chaos, the subject of a lively back and forth between the network and studio 20th Century Fox Television, is allegedly alive again, according to Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. "The resurrection process took a step forward yesterday when CBS' entertainment president Nina Tassler had lunch with 20th TV chairmen Dana Walden and Gary Newman to discuss the matter," writes Andreeva. "I hear the Brett Ratner-directed Chaos is now back on track for a midseason series order at CBS, possibly as a co-production between 20th TV and CBS TV Studios. The only major obstacle is bringing back the cast, led by Freddy Rodriguez, which was released on June 30 when the actors' options expired. I hear the actors have been approached about returning and things look optimistic on that front." (Deadline)

If you were worried that the cast of MTV's Jersey Shore wouldn't be back for a third season, you can rest easy today: the entire cast has renegotiated their contracts and will be approximately $30,000 per episode for Season Three. [Editor: the sound you hear? Me gagging.] (The Wrap)

ABC Family is launching new comedy Melissa & Joey on Tuesday, August 17th, with two back-to-back episodes at 8 and 8:30 pm ET/PT. (via press release)

Cinemax is resurrecting the thriller anthology genre with a new latenight series Femme Fatales, based on the magazine. Format will be a half-hour anthology, airing in a latenight slot with a narrator introducing short-form thrillers. Project, which has received a series order, is executive produced by Mark A. Altman and Steve Kriozere. (Hollywood Reporter)

Bert Salke will replace Chris Carlisle as the president of Fox21, the subdivision of 20th Century Fox Television that specializes in cable and reality programming. He is expected to start in August and will report to Dana Walden and Gary Newman. (Deadline)

FremantleMedia has teamed up with Mark Sennett Entertainment and Headline Pictures to develop period racing drama The Drivers, which will be based on Wallace A. Wyss' book, "Shelby: The Man, the Cars, the Legend." Series will revolve around a group of drivers from US and Europe who race for the top prize at Le Mans and will be set in either the 1950s or 1960s. (Variety)

Stay tuned.