In the Frame: An Advance Review of the Fall Finale of USA's "White Collar"

I've fallen for the charms of USA's crime procedural White Collar, although I have to admit that I'm usually more enamored of the winning chemistry between series leads Matthew Bomer and Tim DeKay than the cases of the week, which tend to be predictable and a bit flat.

The fall finale of White Collar ("Free Fall"), which airs Friday night on USA, was perhaps my favorite episode of the procedural series since the sensational pilot, which introduced the very unlikely partnership between master thief Neal Caffrey (Bomer) and Peter Burke (DeKay), the dogged FBI agent who had managed to catch Neal not once but twice.

This week's episode of White Collar will definitely put that partnership to the test when Neal is suspected of orchestrating an elaborate jewel heist from Manhattan's most exclusive boutique. Will the duo be able to trust one another long enough to clear Neal's name? Who is putting him in the frame? And how does all of this connect to Neal's missing girlfriend, the mysterious Kate? Well, that would be telling.

The mystery itself is one of the most interesting and suspenseful ones on the season so far. As I mentioned earlier, the series' strengths lie in the rapport between Bomer and DeKay but also in the snappy banter between the two and the slick stylishness of the art direction, which calls to mind not only the vintage suiting Neal Caffrey prefers (along with a rakishly tilted fedora) but also the coolness of It Takes a Thief and The Persuaders, perhaps. There's a nice visual aspect to the series that was unexpected from its initial premise and the producers have wisely played up the throwback aspect of Caffrey's personality; he's a 1960s peacock stuck in a modern world, a Sy Devore suit in the era of Banana Republic.

But the mysteries themselves haven't been quite as original or as dramatic as they need to be; the solution is often the most obvious one and apparent from within five minutes of Peter's briefing to Neal and the FBI agents. So I was intrigued that this week's mystery would involve not only the framing of Neal Caffrey for a job that seems custom-picked for the old Neal but also dovetail quite nicely with the Kate storyline, following last week's reveal that the ringed man holding Kate works within the FBI.

"Free Fall" plays to the series' strengths then, allowing both Neal and Peter to embark on separate investigations to clear Neal's name (or in Peter's case, perhaps to confirm his worst suspicions about his partner) and demonstrating the canny moves of both men as they chase their quarry, even as both of them are themselves being followed by the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility. Neal in particular gets a chance to shine as he engineers a plan so devilishly complicated that it's a joy to watch it unfold.

There's also an extremely bizarre (and almost surreal) twist at the end of the episode that had me scratching my head. I won't reveal it here but I will say that I'm intrigued to see whether the writers will be able to pay this off in any meaningful and logical way. It's perhaps both very interesting and very odd.

All in all, Friday night's season finale brings the fun and froth and combines it with the wittiness and charm of the very best of White Collar. I can't wait to see just what happens next.



White Collar's fall finale airs Friday evening at 10 pm ET/PT on USA.

If You Can't Stand the Heat: "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares" Returns Tonight to BBC America

Gordon Ramsay isn't always the blustery, cuss-prone figure that he cuts on such programs as Hell's Kitchen.

In fact, on series like The F Word and Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, both of which air on BBC America, Ramsay allows his softer side to come through: calm, supportive, and empathetic. He offers a particular brand of tough love on his less showman-esque series that doesn't really come through amid the stageyness of FOX's Hell's Kitchen.

Which isn't to say that he doesn't scream to the high heavens. Because he does, especially when he can't get through the thick skull of one of the struggling restaurateurs he's attempting to save from financial ruin, as on Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, which returns to BBC America beginning tonight with two new episodes.

Despite offering a significantly shorter season than the previous entries in Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (the two episodes were originally transmitted as Great British Nightmare when it aired in the UK earlier this year), Ramsay and the producers pack a hell of a lot of punch into these two episodes.

Tonight's episode "Runaway Girl" might just be my favorite episode of the series, full stop, due to the fact that the owner of the struggling Sheffield tapas restaurant is so mindboggingly clueless. But it's not all tantrums and tears. The owner's poor best mate Ritchie, lured in two years earlier to be the head chef and then reduced to reheating buckets of food (quite literally), snaps once Gordon arrives. He's been so unappreciated, suffered such a loss of passion, that Ramsay's appearance not only reawakens his culinary passion but also touches him in a way that no one--not the audience or Ritchie himself--might expect.

Likewise, next week's episode ("Mick's Bisto") presents another major hurdle for Ramsay as he has to contend with a struggling family-run bistro in Devon... and the misogynistic, verbally abusive, and outright delusional pater familias Mick, whose treatment of his wife and adopted daughter is as staggering as his lack of culinary skills. Hint: his duck a l'orange features orange squash and his lamb comes from an unrefrigerated vacuum-sealed plastic bag that's filled with chemicals and astonishingly pre-made, despite his restaurants alleged ethos of fresh food from scratch.

Both episodes are the television equivalents of a trainwreck; it's impossible to look away even though you might be gagging to. Yet, even as you have to pick up your jaw off the floor, there's the hope that Gordon Ramsay will somehow use his superhuman culinary skills and business acumen to turn around these flailing businesses and pull them back into solvency. Just how he manages to do so--with clever marketing, simplified menus, and, yes, even some screaming--is what makes Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares so absolutely addictive.

Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares airs tonight at 8 pm ET/PT on BBC America.

Channel Surfing: "Ugly Betty" Moves to Wednesdays, FX Slates "Damages" Return, "Shield" Reunion on "Lie to Me," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Looks like Betty Suarez is moving again. Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd is reporting that struggling dramedy series Ugly Betty, now in its fourth season, will be rescued from the Friday night death slot and given a berth on Wednesdays at 10 pm ET/PT, essentially creating a three-hour block of comedy programming for ABC. Meanwhile, the now vacant Friday night timeslot will be filled by the five remaining unaired episodes of Shark Tank. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

FX has announced a launch date for Season Three of serpentine legal thriller Damages, which will return to the lineup on Monday, January 25th at 10 pm ET/PT. In other scheduling, Nip/Tuck will debut its final season on Wednesday, January 6th at 10 pm ET/PT and animated comedy Archer begins on Thursday, January 14th while drama Justified will premiere in March and comedy Louie will debut later in the spring. (Televisionary)

Los Angeles Times' Maria Elena Fernandez is reporting that six cast members from FX's The Shield will reunite on screen for an upcoming episode of Lie to Me, which is now executive produced by Shield creator Shawn Ryan in its second season. The episode, which will air in the spring, will feature Benito Martinez, Catherine Dent, Kenny Johnson, Cathy Cahlin Ryan, David Marciano, and David Rees Snell. (Los Angeles Times/Show Tracker)

NBC is developing legal drama Tommy Supreme, based on the life of Tom Goldstein, a lawyer who has argued 21 cases before the Supreme Court. Project, from writer/executive producer Barry Schindel, Universal Media Studios, and Circle of Confusion, is described as an "inverse House" with a "likable guy in the most unlikable profession." (Variety)

BBC America has announced their January plans, which include the launch of comedy The Inbetweeners on Monday, January 25th at 9 pm ET/PT, the launch of Season Three of Last Restaurant Standing on Tuesday, January 5th, and the premiere of supernatural drama Demons on Saturday, January 2nd. (Televisionary)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos has confirmed with the CW that Kelly Hu will be guest staring on Vampire Diaries, where she will appear in flashbacks as Pearl, an apothecary. "Contrary to other reports," writes Dos Santos, "she doesn't go door to door and accidentally try to sell vervain to Katherine (Nina Dobrev)." Hu's first appearance is slated to air on January 28th. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Simon Cowell has partnered with Philip Green to bring reality competition series X Factor to Las Vegas in a global pay-per-view online venture. ""The plan is to take it to Vegas," Green told British GQ in an interview. "We'll have a permanent place. The home of The X Factor -- live from Vegas." The duo plan to produce two talent shows per week and offer them via pay-per-view online. (Hollywood Reporter)

20th Century Fox Television has signed a multi-year overall deal with Glee co-creator/executive producer Brad Falchuk, who will remain aboard the FOX musical comedy while also developing new projects for the studio. He'll also be considered for directing gigs on the studio's pilot after his direction of several episodes of Glee this season. (Variety)

Musician/producer T Bone Burnett has joined Epix drama pilot Tough Trade as an executive producer while Azita Ghanizada has been cast as the wife of Cary Elwes' character in the Lionsgate Television-produced project. (Hollywood Reporter)

CBS Television Stations have signed a deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution for a two-year syndicated pickup for crime procedural Cold Case in 16 markets. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

BBC America Announces January Plans: "The Inbetweeners," "Last Restaurant Standing," "Demons," "Top Gear"

BBC America has today announced their scheduling plans for January 2010, unveiling new programming additions and the return of several series to the lineup. (Sadly, still no mention of Season Two of Ashes to Ashes, however.)

The digital cabler has announced launch dates for comedy The Inbetweeners, drama Demons, and unscripted competition series Last Restaurant Standing, as well as the launch of Season Thirteen of Top Gear.

Having seen the first two seasons of comedy The Inbetweeners, from creators Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, I can tell you that you'll likely be bowled over as much as I was by this raucous teen comedy when it finally premieres Stateside on Monday, January 25th at 9 pm ET/PT. Two back-to-back episodes will air in its initial outing before it relocates to its regular timeslot on Wednesday evenings. (You can read my advance review of the first two seasons of The Inbetweeners here.)

Culinary competition series (and Televisionary obsession) Last Restaurant Standing returns with its third season on Tuesday, January 5th at 9 pm ET/PT as restaurateur Raymond Blanc puts a new batch of couples through their paces with the opportunity to partner with him on a new restaurant.

Missing Life on Mars' and Ashes to Ashes' Philip Glenister? You're in luck as he stars in supernatural drama Demons, which launches Saturday, January 2nd at 10 pm ET/PT. Here's how BBC America describes the series: "The battle against the dark underworld of half-lives, monsters and in-humans lie deep beneath the streets of modern-day London in the U.S. premiere of Demons. This contemporary spin on the character of Van Helsing features Luke Rutherford (Christian Cooke) as an average teenager, but with the arrival of his dead father’s best friend Rupert Galvin (Philip Glenister, Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes), Luke’s life is about to be flipped upside down. Galvin is a straight-talking, headstrong American who has come to tell Luke his secret destiny - he’s the real-life great-great grandson of Abraham Van Helsing, the vampire hunter in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Luke’s destined to inherit the family mantle as a warrior in the coldest of cold wars against the supernatural entities behind every myth and legend from vampires to werewolves and all things that go bump in the night."

The full press release from BBC America, with full series descriptions and TX info, can be found below.

RING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH U.S. PREMIERES OF TOP GEAR, THE INBETWEENERS, LAST RESTAURANT STANDING AND FRIDAY NIGHT WITH JONATHAN ROSS

TOP GEAR SEASON 13 – U.S. PREMIERE
Top Gear skids, roars and explodes its way back to BBC AMERICA with a new season of man versus machine experiments, exhaustive road tests of the latest cars, weekly power tests featuring the world’s most exotic super-cars and a surprise revelation. Their adventures this season include testing the new Lambo Murcielago, a terrifying French ice race, filming their own Volkswagen commercial and in a television first, the mysterious Stig reveals his true identity. All the Top Gear faves are back including Star in a Reasonably Priced Car featuring celebrities such as Jay Leno, actress Sienna Miller, Stephen Fry and Olympic Gold sprinter Usain Bolt.
Top Gear premieres Monday, January 25, 8:00 p.m. ET/PT

THE INBETWEENERS – U.S. PREMIERE
Written and created by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris (Peep Show, Flight of the Conchords) and named the best new sitcom of 2008 at the British Comedy Awards, The Inbetweeners offers a painfully funny take on the squirming humiliations of teenage life. It begins with the new kid in town, Will (Simon Bird), who has unwillingly had to move, change schools and, as a result, make new friends. He soon meets Simon (Joe Thomas), Jay (James Buckley) and Neil (Blake Harrison), who are neither that cool nor that credible. The four friends get drunk too quickly, ride roller coasters and crush on the girl next door. Simon’s the first to throw Will a line—reluctantly agreeing to show him around school. He then meets Jay, who’s constantly lying about his sexual conquests and daring feats, and Neil, who’s really just out to lunch and often the butt of cruel jokes. The four of them will together try to make it through the trials of growing up in middle-class suburbia.
The Inbetweeners premieres with back to back episodes Monday, January 25, 9:00p.m. ET/PT. All future episodes premiere on Wednesdays, 9:30 p.m. ET/PT

DEMONS – U.S. PREMIERE
The battle against the dark underworld of half-lives, monsters and in-humans lie deep beneath the streets of modern-day London in the U.S. premiere of Demons. This contemporary spin on the character of Van Helsing features Luke Rutherford (Christian Cooke) as an average teenager, but with the arrival of his dead father’s best friend Rupert Galvin (Philip Glenister, Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes), Luke’s life is about to be flipped upside down. Galvin is a straight-talking, headstrong American who has come to tell Luke his secret destiny - he’s the real-life great-great grandson of Abraham Van Helsing, the vampire hunter in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Luke’s destined to inherit the family mantle as a warrior in the coldest of cold wars against the supernatural entities behind every myth and legend from vampires to werewolves and all things that go bump in the night.
Demons premieres Saturday, January 2, 10:00 p.m. ET/PT

LAST RESTAURANT STANDING SEASON 3 – U.S. PREMIERE
World-renowned chef and restaurateur Raymond Blanc with his industry experts Sarah Willingham and David Moore return to BBC AMERICA with another season of Last Restaurant Standing in which nine couples battle it out for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to open a restaurant with him. But in the current economic climate, Blanc is searching for a couple who proves they can tough it out in the harsh realities of working in the restaurant trade. The couple must have strong ideas, impeccable cooking skills and strong partnerships to win the ultimate prize. From their first meeting with Blanc the couples are in at the deep end facing a series of increasingly tough challenges like pitching their restaurant ideas, running a famous UK chain restaurant, making dishes to sell at a farmer’s market and even serving afternoon tea for 100 guests, to test the creativity and practical skills they need to get keys to their own restaurants. But getting the keys is only a start. Tough times on the high street means Raymond Blanc is not in the market for dreamers, and the pressure is on to show him they have what it takes to survive.
Last Restaurant Standing premieres Tuesday, January 5, 9:00 p.m. ET/PT

FRIDAY NIGHT WITH JONATHAN ROSS – U.S. PREMIERE
Friday night’s are back with a new season of Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. Jonathan Ross, one of the BBC’s best known personalities, continues blending humor and pop culture every week with America and Britain’s brightest A-list celebrities and musical performances. Last season, Jonathan welcomed Ricky Gervais, Vince Vaughn, Christopher Walken, Gerard Butler, Shakira and Jay Z as well as musical legends Barry Manilow and Barbara Streisand and this season continues the excitement with exclusive interviews and guest musical performances.
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross premieres Friday, January 22, 9:00 p.m. ET/PT

MOVIES
THE BIRDS – BBC AMERICA PREMIERE
Alfred Hitchcock's most popular film, The Birds, is a powerful, terrifying study of paranoia and hysteria in the wake of unexplained chaos. A beautiful, strong-willed socialite (Tippi Hedren) travels to the coastal town of Bodega Bay to hook up with a guy (Rod Taylor) she’s only just met. Once there, however, bizarre things start happening and the birds start behaving strangely.
The Birds premieres Sunday, January 3, 8:00 p.m. ET/PT

PYSCHO – BBC AMERICA PREMIERE
Nominated for four Academy Awards, Psycho, made people think twice before stepping into the shower and Psycho remains one of the most shocking and frightening movies of all time. Anthony Perkins delivers a chilling performance as the nervous but amiable proprietor of the Bates Motel whose trouble with his mother and obsession with a beautiful guest leads to murder. Janet Leigh earned an Oscar nomination for her supporting role as the ill-fated traveler.
Psycho premieres Sunday, January 10, 8:00 p.m. ET/PT

VERTIGO – BBC AMERICA PREMIERE
Silver screen legend James Stewart with Barbara Bel Geddes team with the Master of Suspense to play a detective who falls in love with a tortured, beautiful woman (Kim Novak) he is hired to follow. The detective lapses into obsession and desperation against the backdrop of a haunting San Francisco.
Vertigo premieres Sunday, January 17, 8:00 p.m. ET/PT

REAR WINDOW – BBC AMERICA PREMIERE
Academy Award winning screen legends James Stewart and Grace Kelly star in the story about an injured photojournalist confined to his tiny, sweltering courtyard apartment with nothing to do but look out on his unsuspecting neighbors through the film's titular portal. It's all harmless voyeuristic fun until during one hot, restless night he thinks he witnesses a man murder his wife. Grace Kelly plays the fashionista girlfriend who helps him solve the crime.
Rear Window premieres Sunday, January 24, 8:00 p.m. ET/PT

STUNTS
KITCHEN NIGHTMARES SUNDAY
Gordon Ramsay heats up the kitchen both sides of the pond by helping struggling ventures all on the brink of collapse. Kitchen Nightmares Sunday features the newest shows with five back-to-back episodes.
Kitchen Nightmares Sunday airs Sunday, January 3, starting at 3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT

DEMONIC SUNDAY
Catch up on the first three episodes of Demons as Luke (Christian Cooke) and Rupert (Philip Glenister, Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes) battle good and evil with monsters, vampires and all creatures that go bump in the night.
Demonic Sunday airs Sunday, January 17, starting at 3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT

GET YOUR MOTOR RUNNING TOP GEAR MARATHON
Gear up for a new season of Top Gear and relive the adventures and laugh-out-loud moments
from seasons past. Top Gear Marathon is just in time for the new season of Top Gear which
premieres the very next night.
Top Gear Marathon airs Sunday, January 24, starting at 1:00 p.m. ET/ 10:00 a.m. PT

ALFRED HITCHCOCK MOVIE MARATHON
Enjoy a Sunday marathon of Alfred Hitchcock’s most thrilling and terrifying films, including Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho, and The Birds, starting first thing Sunday morning and continuing deep into the night.
Alfred Hithcock Movie Marathon airs all day Sunday, January 31

BBC WORLD NEWS AMERICA - NEW YEAR’S DAY SCHEDULE
Please note that BBC World News and BBC World News America will not air Friday, January 1.

ONGOING PREMIERES
Other series that continue to premiere new episodes in January include:
Tuesdays: Britain’s Missing Top Model
Wednesdays: Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares
Fridays: Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Saturdays: The Graham Norton Show

BBC AMERICA brings audiences a new generation of award-winning television featuring news with a uniquely global perspective, provocative dramas, razor-sharp comedies, life-changing makeovers and a whole new world of nonfiction. BBC AMERICA pushes the boundaries to deliver high quality, highly addictive and eminently watchable programming to viewers who demand more. BBC AMERICA is distributed by Discovery Networks. It is available on digital cable and satellite TV in more than 65 million homes.

FX Announces Midseason Schedule, Launch Dates for "Damages," "Archer," "Justified," "Louie"

FX has today announced its midseason schedule, including return dates for Damages and Nip/Tuck and series launches for Timothy Olyphant-led drama Justified (formerly known as Lawman) and comedies Archer and Louie.

Season Three of Damages will kick off on Monday, January 25th at 10 pm ET/PT. (The series previously aired on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings during its first two seasons.) Series regulars Glenn Close, Rose Byrne, Tate Donovan, and Ted Danson are all set to return for the third season, which will also feature new regulars Campbell Scott (Joe Tobin) and Martin Short (Leonard Winstone) and guest stars Lily Tomlin (Marilyn Tobin), Keith Carradine (Julian Decker), and Len Cariou (Louis Tobin).

Elsewhere at the cabler, Nip/Tuck will launch its final season on Wednesday, January 6th at 10 pm ET/PT and animated comedy Archer begins on Thursday, January 14th.

Looking further afield, Justified will premiere in March and comedy Louie will debut later in the spring.

The full press release from FX announcing their schedule can be found below.

FX SETS MIDSEASON LINEUP

Final Season of Landmark Series Nip/Tuck Begins on Wednesday, Jan. 6

New Animated Comedy Series Archer Debuts on Thursday, Jan. 14

Award-Winning Damages Returns on Monday, Jan. 25

New Drama Justified (formerly Lawman) Starring Timothy Olyphant Premieres in March

New Comedy Louie Slated for Spring Launch

Plus Primetime Movie Lineup Features
of The Simpsons Movie, Superbad, Spiderman 3, Live Free or Die Hard

LOS ANGELES, December 1, 2009 – FX’s midseason schedule features a lineup of new and returning original series, kicking off 2010 with the final season of the Emmy® and Golden Globe® award winning drama Nip/Tuck on Wednesday, January 6; the new animated comedy Archer debuting on Thursday, January 14; and the third season of the Emmy and Golden Globe award winning drama Damages on Monday, January 25. FX’s new drama Justified (formerly Lawman) starring Timothy Olyphant debuts in March, and the new comedy Louie, starring Louis C.K., will launch in the spring.

Nip/Tuck, The Final Season, premieres on Wednesday, January 6. The final nine episodes of the groundbreaking series’ seventh season will air consecutively on Wednesday nights at 10:00 PM ET/PT. The series finale – Nip/Tuck's 100th episode – will air on Wednesday, March 3, 2010. Guest stars for the final season include Melanie Griffith, Joan Rivers, Mario Lopez, Frances Conroy, Donna Mills and Joan Van Ark.

FX will debut its new animated comedy series Archer on Thursday, January 14 at 10PM E/P. Archer is an animated, half-hour comedy set at the International Secret Intelligence Service (ISIS), a spy agency where espionage and global crises are merely opportunities for its highly trained employees to confuse, undermine, betray and royally screw each other. The series features the voices of H. Jon Benjamin as suave master spy “Sterling Archer,” whose less-than-masculine code name is "Duchess”; Jessica Walter as his domineering mother and boss, “Malory”; Aisha Tyler as his ex-girlfriend, “Agent Lana Kane”; George Coe as his aging-but-loyal butler, “Woodhouse”; Chris Parnell as ISIS comptroller and Lana’s new love interest, “Cyril Figgis”; and Judy Greer as Malory’s lovesick secretary, “Cheryl/Carol.” FX has ordered 10 episodes.

Damages, FX’s acclaimed series starring Glenn Close, will premiere its third season on a new night, Mondays, beginning January 25 at 10 PM ET/PT for 13 weeks. The show brings back its award-winning cast with Close, Rose Byrne, Tate Donovan and Ted Danson. Standout series regulars joining the cast are Campbell Scott (Joe Tobin), Martin Short (Leonard Winstone), and guest stars Lily Tomlin (Marilyn Tobin), Keith Carradine (Julian Decker) and Len Cariou (Louis Tobin). Damages is produced by Sony Pictures Television and FX Productions. The show is executive produced by Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler and Daniel Zelman, and co-executive produced by Mark A. Baker and Aaron Zelman.

In Justified, which debuts in March (date TBD), Olyphant plays the lead role of Deputy U.S. Marshal “Raylan Givens.” Givens is a modern-day 19th century-style lawman, enforcing his brand of justice in a way that puts a target on his back with criminals and places him at odds with his bosses in the Marshal service. Justified was developed by Graham Yost (Boomtown, Speed) and is based on the popular character featured in several books and short stories by famed novelist Elmore Leonard. Yost wrote the pilot and will serve as Executive Producer/Showrunner of the series. Leonard is Executive Producer, along with Sarah Timberman (Kidnapped), Carl Beverly (Kidnapped) and Michael Dinner (Karen Sisco), who directed the pilot episode. Produced by Sony Pictures Television and FX Productions. FX has ordered 13 episodes of the series, which is shot in Los Angeles.

Louie, starring comedian Louis C.K., will premiere in the spring (month/date TBD). Louie is a comedy filtered through the observational humor of Louis C.K. and his daily life as a successful stand-up comedian and newly single father helping to raise his two daughters in New York. His recent credits include Parks & Recreation and the Emmy nominated Showtime comedy special Chewed Up. Louis C.K. serves as executive producer, writer and director, and Dave Becky and 3 Arts are executive producers. FX has ordered 13 episodes which will be shot in New York.

Preceding Archer’s premiere on January 10 at 8PM ET/PT will be the FX premiere of the smash-hit feature The Simpsons Movie. The following week on January 17 at 8 PM ET/PT will be the FX premiere of Superbad. Other movie highlights in early 2010 are Spiderman 3 and Live Free or Die Hard.

FX is the flagship general entertainment basic cable network from Fox. Launched in June of 1994, FX is carried in more than 95 million homes. The diverse schedule includes a growing roster of distinctive original series and films, an established film library with box-office hit movies from 20th Century Fox and other major studios that run in prime time and an impressive lineup of acquired hit series.

TV on DVD: "Better Off Ted: Season One"

Every now and then a comedy series comes along that's so wickedly inspired and so incisive that it's a shame that so few viewers are actually tuning in.

This past season, that series was ABC's little gem of a single-camera comedy, Better Off Ted. Created by Victor Fresco (who also gave birth to the way undervalued comedy Andy Richter Controls the Universe), Better Off Ted is an wittily acidic workplace comedy revolving around shady multinational corporation Veridian Dynamics and its employees.

Specifically, we're taken inside the head of the company's self-appointed moral compass Ted Crisp (Jay Harrington), a single dad who is the head of Veridian's R&D department and who (sometimes) draws the line at creating products that are outright designed to make people's lives worse. Sometimes, anyway. Ted has a crush on his researcher Linda (Andrea Anders) but he used up his "office affair" on their terrifyingly icy boss Veronica (Portia de Rossi). Ted oversees a team of crack scientists including Phil (Jonathan Slavin) and Lem (Lem Hewitt), who are the best of the best.

But it's not all weaponized pumpkins. Better Off Ted is at its heart an exploration of workplace mores. Particularly, how the employees manage to keep their sanity and humanity while working at a company that produces seemingly everything under the sun. The series deftly satirizes Veridian's slew of products via integrated (and hysterical) commercials with a revolving door of punny taglines.

Fox Home Entertainment today releases the first season of Better Off Ted on DVD. The two-disc release contains all thirteen hilarious installments from Ted's first season but, unfortunately, little else. There are no extras, no featurettes. For a series as smart, innovative, and unique as Better Off Ted, I had hoped that the studio would have offered something more than a bare-bones DVD release.

I would have loved to have gone behind the scenes of Ted and gotten some information about the genesis of the idea from Fresco or seen de Rossi slipping out of character on a gag reel. Alas, we'll have to make do with the episodes themselves, which are slick and acerbic, just the way I like my comedy.

Ultimately, Better Off Ted is a sharp parody of corporate culture and of consumerism. It's the perfect addition to your DVD library... and just in time for the launch of Season Two next week on ABC.

Better Off Ted: Season One is available today for purchase on DVD for a suggested retail price of $29.98.

Channel Surfing: CBS Dams "Three Rivers," Alec Baldwin to Quit Acting in 2012, "Torchwood," Two Sink Teeth into "True Blood," and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Sorry Alex O'Loughlin fans: CBS has pulled Three Rivers from its schedule, effective immediately. Beginning this Sunday, Cold Case will move to 9 pm ET/PT with the 10 pm timeslot to be filled by a revolving door of drama repeats. According to the Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd, Three Rivers "is still in production and the network will complete all 13 episodes of the show's initial order." Whether or not CBS will burn off the remaining installments remains to be seen but it's clear that there's no future for the low-rated medical drama. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Could 2012 bring about the end of the world? Or at least the end of Jack Donaghy? Alec Baldwin has revealed his intentions to quit acting when his contract with NBC's 30 Rock expires in 2012 in an interview with Men's Journal. "I don't have any interest in acting anymore," said Baldwin. "I'm not young, but I have time to do something else." [Editor: a 30 Rock sans Baldwin isn't 30 Rock at all, so let's hope that Tina Fey manages to back that truck of money up to Baldwin's door ASAP.] (via E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Captain Jack Harkness likely won't be appearing in Season Five of Doctor Who, according to John Barrowman... who revealed, however, that Torchwood will be back with a fourth season of thirteen episodes. "I don't know about Captain's Jack future in Doctor Who because nothing has been said or I haven't been asked. I'm kind of prepared that I won't be in any of it, which is fine," Barrowman told Radio 2. "But we are discussing the future of Torchwood because most definitely Torchwood will come back to the BBC, which is fantastic. We're not sure when, because we have to work out the logistics of the filming - and it's already said that it'll be 13 episodes instead of 5." So, some good news then, right? (via Digital Spy)

Two more actors heading to Bon Temps next season: Marshall Allman (Prison Break) has been cast in HBO's True Blood, where he will play Sam Merlotte's younger brother Tommy, and Shannon Lucio (The O.C.)--no stranger to vampires herself, having appeared in the original pilot for CBS's short-lived Moonlight--has joined the cast as Bill's wife Caroline, whom he abandoned after becoming a vampire during the Civil War. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Pilot casting alert! Heroes' Sendhil Ramamurthy and Jane Curtin (3rd Rock from the Sun) have been cast opposite David Tennant in NBC legal dramedy pilot Rex Is Not Your Lawyer. Ramamurthy will play "an ambitious but good-natured lawyer who was in Rex's shadow until Rex's career switch and whose friendship with Rex becomes complicated when he falls in love with his pal's fiancee (Abigail Spencer)." His participation is said to be in second position to Heroes, but it's thought likely that he'll join the cast full-time should the project go to series. Curtin, meanwhile, will play the mother/mentor of Rex (Tennant), a highly successful lawyer who falls for Rex's therapist (Jeffrey Tambor). (Hollywood Reporter)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has a fantastic interview with Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter ahead of tonight's second season finale on FX. "The one challenge that FX had with the show [when it was being developed] is that they’d never had a lead character this young," Sutter told Ryan. "They were trying to cast it older initially, and I fought against it. My point was that Jax is a man, but he hasn’t decided what kind of man he is going to be. That’s what the series is about...
Not to compare [Sons] to The Sopranos, but what rooted Tony [Soprano] was always the vulnerability. At the root of it, Tony was just a guy who had immense self-loathing, which always brought him to his knees and always had him questioning. Ultimately I think people tap into [Jax] because of his vulnerability and his questions... Jax makes mistakes." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

TNT has announced that it has canceled legal drama Raising the Bar, which starred Mark-Paul Gosselaar (and his Season One co-star, a terrifying haircut). "Everyone at TNT had a great experience working on Raising the Bar with Steven Bochco and the rest of the show's terrific cast and crew," said a network spokesperson. "We're proud of the series and appreciate the efforts of all of the creative people who were involved. Unfortunately, ratings for Raising the Bar's second season did not reach the levels required for TNT to renew the series." Three unaired episodes remain, with TNT thought likely to burn them off in March, according to E! Online's Jennifer Godwin. (TVGuide.com, E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

ABC is developing an untitled single-camera comedy to star Nicole Ritchie (Chuck), in which she would play "a professional woman with complicated family relationships and struggling to figure out what role she'll take as her life and her family evolve," according to Variety's Michael Schneider. Daisy Gardner (Californication) will write the pilot script under the guidance of executive producer Warren Bell (According to Jim), who will produce alongside Jamie Tarses. (Variety)

Bravo announced that it would launch docusoap Kell on Earth, which follows fashion PR maven Kelly Cutrone, on February 1st at 10 pm ET/PT. Series, executive produced by Magical Elves' Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz, will follow Cutrone as she "balances running her wildly successful fashion PR company, People's Revolution, juggling Fashion Weeks in New York and London, with being a single mother and one of New York's most notable women about town." (via press release)

Elsewhere at the cabler, it's still unclear whether partycrashers Tareq and Michaele Salahi will end up on the channel's upcoming Real Housewives of D.C. after they allegedly crashed a state dinner at which President Obama and other dignitaries were present. "The decision as to who will be included in the series will not be made for several months," a Bravo spokesman told Variety. "We are continuing with the production of the show. However, specifics with respect to the Salahis are yet to be determined." What is clear is that the cameras won't continue to follow the Salahis. "Nothing is scheduled at this time," said the same spokesperson. (Variety)

FOX has ordered thirteen episodes of animated comedy Bob's Burgers, from writer/executive producers Loren Bouchard and Jim Dauterive. Series, from 20th Century Fox Television, revolves around a man who runs a struggling burger restaurant with his high-strung wife and three slacker children and is expected to air in 2011. Deals are underway for the voice talent, though the pilot presentation featured the voices of H. Jon Benjamin, John Roberts, Kristen Schaal, Eugene Mirman, and Dan Mintz. (Variety)

Kimberly Williams-Paisley (According to Jim) has been cast to topline Lifetime Movie Network telepic Amish Grace, based on a true story about the aftermath that followed the schoolhouse shooting in the Amish community of Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. Also cast: Matt Letscher (Brothers & Sisters) and Tammy Blanchard (Living Proof). (via press release)

Stay tuned.

Discussion: What Are Your Favorite Holiday Classics?

With Thanksgiving behind us (for the American readers, anyway) and the holiday season nearly upon us, I'm curious to know which holiday classics--either new or old--you and your family watch on a recurring basis this time of year.

In the Televisionary household, there's always been a fondness for Elf, Charlie Brown Christmas (which is airing next Tuesday), Olive the Other Reindeer, and Muppet Christmas Carol, along with the Christmas-related episodes of BBC's Vicar of Dibley, an annual tradition, particularly "The Christmas Lunch Incident."

(My wife is also a big fan of White Christmas as well and I'll admit an unwavering love for Richard Curtis' Love Actually.)

But we also usually watch the entirety of BBC/PBS mini-series Bleak House as well. And the latter has nothing to do with any holiday, secular or otherwise. (Andrew Davies' gripping adaptation of Charles Dickens' novels just bloody good television and the perfect thing to watch on cold winter evenings.)

Which brings me to my question: what television specials or movies do you typically put on just before the holidays kick off? Which films/specials are rightly viewed as classics and which ones should get added to that list? Are you a sucker for A Christmas Story? Devoted to rewatching Doctor Who Christmas specials? Can't get enough of How the Grinch Stole Christmas? Discuss.

Los Angeles Times: "The Amazing Race: A Kafkaesque Evening in Prague"

Looking to discuss last night's episode of CBS' The Amazing Race?

Head over to the Los Angeles Times/Show Tracker site where you can read my take on this week's episode, entitled "The Amazing Race: A Kafkaesque Evening in Prague," about the penultimate leg of this season's race, which featured golems, absinthe, ringing telephones, sub-zero rooms, and beer, all while the contestants had to do their best to avoid drunken Prague tourists and soccer hooligans.

Be sure to head to the comments section to weigh in.

Channel Surfing: USA Overhauls Its Schedule, Aunjanue Ellis Takes on "The Mentalist," "Big Love," BBC Confirms "Doctor Who" Dates, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. For those of you Stateside, hope that you're feeling rested (and hopefully recovering from a few days of gluttony) after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Major changes afoot at USA, according to The Futon Critic's Brian Ford Sullivan. Rather than follow the plans the cabler had outlined for January, USA has chosen to revise its entire schedule, moving its series White Collar, Burn Notice, and Psych onto separate evenings, come January. White Collar will return to the lineup on January 19th, where it will move into its new timeslot of Tuesday evenings at 10 pm ET/PT. Meanwhile, Psych will take over the Wednesday night slot beginning January 27th and Burn Notice will remain on Thursdays, returning with new episodes on January 21st. The move gives the cabler original series on three weeknights. Perhaps a ploy to lure viewers from broadcast sibling NBC to some scripted fare at 10 pm? (Futon Critic)

Aunjanue Ellis (The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3) has been cast in CBS' The Mentalist in a major recurring role. Ellis will play "the beautiful but tough new head of the California Bureau of Investigation who is installed following the resignation of the unit's former chief, Virgil Minelli" (who is played by Gregory Itzin). Her first episode of the Warner Bros. Television-produced drama series will air in April. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has a first look at the official poster for Season Four of HBO's Big Love, which returns on January 10th. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

BBC One has confirmed its airdates for David Tennant's final two Doctor Who specials, which will air on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, respectively. Doctor Who: The End of Time, Part Two is set to air at 7:30 pm GMT on New Year's Day, followed by EastEnders and the final episode of Gavin & Stacey. (Digital Spy)

Syfy has signed on as the US broadcaster for E1's international co-production of Haven, a thirteen-episode supernatural thriller based on Stephen King's "The Colorado Kid." Pilot will be written by Sam Ernest and Jim Dunn, who will executive produce with showrunner Scott Shepherd, Lloyd Segan, Shawn Piller, John Morayniss, and Noreen Halpern. (Variety)

Pilot casting alert: Lucas Black (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift) and Cary Elwes (A Christmas Carol) have been cast in Epix pilot Tough Trade from Lionsgate Television. Black will play an exceptional guitarist and singer who could have followed in his family's musical legacy in Nashville but instead sells illegal ammunition. Elwes will play his father. Elsewhere, Garrett Dillahunt (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) has been cast in Greg Garcia's FOX comedy pilot Keep Hope Alive, where he will play the dysfunctional father of Lucas Neff's Jimmy, a man who has to raise his infant daughter--the product of a one-night stand--after the baby's mother winds up on death row. (Hollywood Reporter)

Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who) and Naoko Mori (Torchwood) have been cast in BBC Four's one-off biopic drama Lennon Naked, which will depict the life of John Lennon (Eccleston) between 1967 and 1971. Project, written by Robert Jones (Party Animals) and directed by Edmund Coulthard (Soundproof), will air in 2010. (BBC)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has two exclusive images from the two-hour Smallville: Absolute Justice telepic, which introduces the Justice Society of America. Ausiello has one shot of Justin Hartley's Green Arrow tangling with Michael Shanks' Hawkman and another of Brent Stait's Doctor Fate and Britt Irvin's Stargirl. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Barry Sonnenfeld (Pushing Daisies) will direct ABC comedy pilot Funny in Farsi, based on Firoozeh Dumas' memoir about growing up in Newport Beach in the 1970s after leaving Iran, which was adapted by Jeffrey Hodes and Nastaran Dibai. (Hollywood Reporter)

Tony Curran will play Vincent Van Gogh in an upcoming episode of Doctor Who, slated to air next year as part of the Matt Smith-led Season Five that is written by Richard Curtis (Pirate Radio). ""We've got a brilliant guy playing Vincent van Gogh... He's a guy called Tony Curran, who really could not look more like [him]," Curtis told Bullz-Eye. "He's a wonderful actor who was in this brilliant movie called Red Road that came out, a rather serious movie. But he's going to be great. I’ve had a lot of fun. We start to shoot in about a month." (Digital Spy)

FOX is developing animated comedy series Rooster Tales with executive producers Matthew McConnaughy, Mark Gustawes, Mike McConaughey, and writer Kell Cahoon. Project is based on the life of Mike "Rooster" McConaughey, described as a "a beer-swilling, redneck sheriff who marries a much younger woman from Mexico [and] soon realizes, however, that he's gained not only a wife but an entire clan -- 114 members and counting." Project hails from 20th Century Fox Television and J.K. Livin'. (Variety)

Ryan Devlin (Veronica Mars) has been cast in ABC comedy Cougar Town, where he will recur as Smith, described as "a love interest for Laurie (Busy Philipps), Jules' (Courteney Cox) ditsy assistant and close friend." (Hollywood Reporter)

Callum Keith Rennie (Battlestar Galactica), Molly Parker (The Road) and Camille Sullivan (Da Vinci's Inquest) have been cast in E1's drama series Shattered, a Canadian series that the indie is shopping to international broadcasters. Project, which will air in Canada on Showcase, will revolve around a homicide detective (Rennie) with multiple personality disorder. (Variety)

TBS comedy VP Nina Howie is leaving the cabler after 3 1/2 years. No reason was given for her departure. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Hold Tight: HBO Unveils "Big Love" Season Four Promo

If you're at all like me, you've been counting down the days until Big Love returns with new episodes... in just a few weeks' time.

Just in time for Thanksgiving, here's your chance to catch a first look at HBO's newly unveiled promo for Season Four of Big Love, a gorgeous teaser trailer that features the Henrickson clan in a state of freefall. (Hmmm, a sign of things to come, perhaps?)

And if you're wondering about the haunting song used in the video? It's "Untitled" by Interpol."

Let the countdown begin...



A more than worthy successor to last season's evocative trailer featuring The Black Keys' "Lies," no?

Season Four of Big Love begins January 10th on HBO.

The Daily Beast: "DVD Rentals for Thanksgiving Cranks"

Hate your houseguests?

Over at The Daily Beast, I offer my suggestions for TV-on-DVD viewing during to alleviate stress during the Thanksgiving holiday in a piece entitled "DVD Rentals for Thanksgiving Cranks."

Organizing the weekend into specific time-based sections, I offer some TV-on-DVD suggestions to entertain and divert everyone's attention from squabbling relatives and burnt Brussels sprouts.

Of course, you needn't hate your houseguests this holiday season to enjoy the bounty of TV collections on DVD, either...

Los Angeles Times: "V: The Way of the Gun"

Looking to discuss last night's fall finale of ABC's V ("It's Only the Beginning"), written by Cameron Litvack and Angela Russo-Otstot?

Head over to the Los Angeles Times/Show Tracker site where you can read my write-up of last night's episode of V (entitled "V: The way of the gun") and weigh in on the twists from last night's episode.

Did the four episodes live up to your expectations? Will you be tuning in when the series returns with its back nine episodes?

Be sure to head to the comments section to discuss the latest installment and what you think will happen when V returns from his hiatus in the spring.

V returns to the ABC schedule in March 2010.

Channel Surfing: "Fringe" to Go on Hiatus in February, FOX Announces Midseason Schedule, "Lie to Me" Gets Full Season, "Burn Notice" Renewed, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. Just a few headlines to get through today as the Hollywood PR machine begins its annual shutdown for Thanksgiving.

Futon Critic yesterday broke the story that Fringe will go on a seven-week hiatus beginning February 11th in order to accommodate the seven-week run of reincarnation drama Past Life. Fringe will return for the remainder of its run on April 1st and will air all-new episodes for the rest of the season. Sadly, FOX has opted to keep Fringe in its Thursday night berth rather than move it out of the line of fire. (Futon Critic)

FOX announced its full midseason schedule yesterday afternoon, which included news that Glee will be returning with new episodes in April after wrapping up its initial thirteen-episode commitment in December. (Televisionary)

In other FOX-related news, the network has given sophomore drama series Lie to Me a full season order, bringing the episodic total this season to 22 installments. News comes after FOX ordered three additional scripts for the Shawn Ryan-produced series but there's no indication as of yet when Lie to Me will return to the schedule or in what timeslot. (Hollywood Reporter)

USA has renewed Burn Notice for a fourth season, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, who is reporting that despite press reports in July about a renewal, a deal for Season Four only came together on Monday. Burn Notice's fourth season would likely launch in summer 2010. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Lea Thompson has been cast in ABC Family's Greek, where she will play April, the free-spirited mother of Scott Michael Foster's Cappie. (24's Jim Abele will play his father Tobias.) Thompson and Abele are set to appear in the latter half of Greek's next ten-episode cycle, which kicks off on January 25th. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Carolina Lightcap has been named president of Disney Channels Worldwide effective immediately. Lightcap replaces Rich Ross, who left the division last month to become become chairman of Walt Disney Studios. (Hollywood Reporter)

TiVo has signed a deal with Virgin Media in the UK to roll out a set-top box that will be co-branded and allow broadband delivery. "TiVo’s proven track record of innovation, strength of its patented technology and experience in developing best in class user environments, make it an ideal strategic partner for Virgin Media as we move aggressively to bring our next generation TV service to market," said Virgin's CEO Neil Berkett. "The superiority of our fibre optic network combined with TiVo’s capabilities, will allow us to offer consumers the most significantly advanced and compelling TV service available in the UK, and we believe will do to the TV market what Virgin Media has done to the high speed broadband market." (Broadcast)

CMT has ordered Posse: The Young Guns of PBR, a one-hour special that follows eight pro bull riders as they travel across the US looking to become the next Professional Bull Rider champion. Special will air on December 12th. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Reincarnation Sleuths, Child Geniuses, and Show Choristers: FOX Announces Midseason Schedule

FOX today announced their midseason plans for 2009-2010, unveiling a lineup that includes giving reincarnation drama Past Life the post-Bones slot on Thursday evenings (current occupant Fringe will be going on a prolonged hiatus for seven weeks), bringing Kitchen Nightmares back (on Friday nights this time around) and giving the post-American Idol slot to new reality series Our Little Genius.

MONDAYS: The network announced that it had given a full season pickup to drama series Lie to Me, though the Shawn Ryan-produced series will take a breather on Mondays, which will be taken over by House and 24 come January. There's no return date yet for Lie to Me but the pickup ensures that the series will eventually return to the schedule at some point during the season.

TUESDAYS: Which brings us to Glee. We all knew that the musical comedy would go on hiatus after its initial thirteen-episode commitment and that there would need to be some time for scripting and production and that it would get a post-Idol slot. Glee will shift to Tuesday nights beginning April 13th (following the conclusion of Our Little Genius), where it will do battle with ABC's Lost, entering its sixth and final season. (As I mentioned on Twitter, if I am forced to choose between the two, Lost wins with no contest.)

WEDNESDAYS: The Idol juggernaut continues on Wednesdays, where it will lead into new unscripted series Our Little Genius beginning January 13th for a week before moving to Tuesdays and giving the timeslot to new action drama Human Target. (I wasn't crazy at all about the pilot for Human Target and, unless the producers have completely altered the format and structure of the series, I won't be tuning in.)

THURSDAYS: The biggest headscratcher is why FOX wouldn't move the struggling sophomore drama series Fringe off of Thursdays. Fringe will instead have its "winter finale" on February 4th and will return seven weeks later with new episodes on April 1st. In between those dates, FOX will give over the timeslot to Past Life. Having seen the pilot for the reincarnation drama, I would be amazed if FOX kept it around for all eight episodes. (FOX will launch the series with a two-hour premiere on February 11th.)

FRIDAYS: Kitchen Nightmares returns in midseason and lands the Friday night at 9 pm timeslot, taking over for the cancelled Dollhouse, which wraps up its run on January 22nd. However, it's likely a good thing that FOX is choosing to rest Hell's Kitchen for the time being. I assume they'll wait to bring the format back until summertime and I hear that they have two cycles of the reality competition cycle already in the can.

SUNDAYS: Sunday nights remain more or less intact after the start of 24's two-night launch on January 17th, with The Simpsons, The Cleveland Show, Family Guy, and American Dad remaining as is from the current schedule. Come March 14th, new live-action comedy Sons of Tucson will take over the 8:30 pm slot and The Cleveland Show will shift to 9:30 pm for the remainder of the season.

And, oh, FOX was generous enough to make sure we all knew that unkillable comedy 'Til Death would return to the schedule at "a later date."

The full press release from FOX announcing their midseason lineup and the night-by-night schedule (with launch dates) can be found below.

FOX ANNOUNCES 2009-2010 MIDSEASON SCHEDULE

“AMERICAN IDOL” RETURNS WITH TWO-NIGHT SEASON PREMIERE
TUESDAY, JAN. 12 AND WEDNESDAY, JAN. 13

NEW UNSCRIPTED SERIES “OUR LITTLE GENIUS” DEBUTS
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 13

NEW ACTION DRAMA “HUMAN TARGET” PREVIEWS
DURING EXTENDED PRIMETIME SUNDAY, JAN. 17 AND
MAKES ITS SERIES PREMIERE WEDNESDAY, JAN. 20

“24” STARTS THE CLOCK DURING TWO-NIGHT, FOUR-HOUR EVENT
SUNDAY, JAN. 17 AND MONDAY, JAN. 18

CELEBRATE THE “BEST. 20 YEARS. EVER.” OF “THE SIMPSONS”
WITH “THE SIMPSONS 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: IN 3-D! ON ICE!”
AND MILESTONE 450TH EPISODE SUNDAY, JAN. 10

GORDON RAMSAY’S “KITCHEN NIGHTMARES” TURNS UP THE HEAT
FRIDAY, JAN. 29

NEW THRILLER “PAST LIFE” EMERGES THURSDAY, FEB. 11
AND NEW COMEDY “SONS OF TUCSON” DEBUTS SUNDAY, MARCH 14

“GLEE” ROCKS ITS FALL FINALE WEDNESDAY, DEC. 9
AND RETURNS WITH ALL-NEW EPISODES TUESDAY, APRIL 13

“FRINGE” AIRS WINTER FINALE THURSDAY, FEB. 4
AND RESURFACES WITH ALL-NEW EPISODES THURSDAY, APRIL 1

“LIE TO ME” PICKED UP FOR THE BACK NINE EPISODES BRINGING
THE ORDER TO A FULL SEASON

FOX is announcing premiere dates of new and returning series as well as revisions to its 2009-2010 midseason schedule. FOX also has ordered a full season of the sophomore drama LIE TO ME.

January starts off on a high note when the ninth season of AMERICAN IDOL, television’s No. 1 series, begins with a two-night premiere Tuesday, Jan. 12 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) and Wednesday, Jan. 13 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT). Immediately following AMERICAN IDOL on Jan. 13 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), FOX unveils the not-to-be-missed series debut of OUR LITTLE GENIUS, a new unscripted series that features America’s most gifted kids as they are tested with some of the most challenging and difficult questions that only a remarkable little genius could answer.

A special extended primetime event on Sunday, Jan. 17 kicks off with the NFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF (4:00 PM-CC ET live/1:00 PM-CC PT live), which leads into the explosive series preview of HUMAN TARGET (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT), the new full-throttle, action-packed drama about a unique private contractor (Mark Valley) who will stop at nothing – even if it means becoming a human target – to save his clients. The special primetime event concludes with the first installment of the pulse-pounding two-night, four-hour premiere of 24 (9:00-11:00 PM ET/PT). The season premiere of 24 clocks in for two more hours of action Monday, Jan. 18 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), and the season premiere of HUMAN TARGET airs Wednesday, Jan. 20 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) following AMERICAN IDOL (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT).

On Sunday, Jan. 10, FOX presents a special SIMPSONS event beginning with the animated series’ milestone 450th episode, “Once Upon a Time in Springfield” (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT), in which BART (Nancy Cartwright) and MILHOUSE (Pamela Hayden) try to help KRUSTY (Dan Castellaneta) regain his popularity after network executives force him to restructure the format of his television show by hiring a female sidekick, PRINCESS PENELOPE (guest voice Anne Hathaway). Then, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Morgan Spurlock (“Super Size Me,” “30 Days”) will present THE SIMPSONS 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: IN 3-D! ON ICE! (8:30-9:30 PM ET/PT). The documentary special examines the global phenomenon that is THE SIMPSONS and serves as the momentous conclusion to the “Best. 20 Years. Ever.,” a year-long global celebration of THE SIMPSONS that launched in January 2009.

Chef Gordon Ramsay steps out of his own kitchen to serve up a new season of KITCHEN NIGHTMARES on Friday, Jan. 29 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). Each week, Chef Ramsay will try to help turn around some of the most unsanitary and unsuccessful restaurants in New York, New Jersey, Florida and California on the verge of closing their doors forever.

PAST LIFE, a new drama series inspired by the book “The Reincarnationist” about detectives who investigate the world of the unexplained, will bow with a two-hour series premiere Thursday, Feb. 11 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) and will make its time period premiere Thursday, Feb. 18 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).

SONS OF TUCSON, the new family comedy from Emmy Award winner Todd Holland (“Wonderfalls”) about three young brothers who hire a charming, wayward schemer to stand in as their father when their real one goes to prison, debuts Sunday, March 14 (8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT).

AMERICAN IDOL sings on Tuesdays (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) when it makes its time period premiere Jan. 19 followed by the time period premiere of OUR LITTLE GENIUS (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), and 24 syncs up for its time period premiere Monday, Jan. 25 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).

After its fall finale Wednesday, Dec. 9 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), GLEE returns from its interlude with a score of all-new episodes on a new night beginning Tuesday, April 13 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). FRINGE delves into its winter finale Thursday, Feb. 4 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) and then resurfaces with new cases beginning Thursday, April 1 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). Joss Whedon’s DOLLHOUSE goes out with a bang with its series finale Friday, Jan. 22 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).

RECAP – FOX 2009-2010 MIDSEASON SCHEDULE
(All times ET/PT except as noted)

MONDAY
Monday, Jan. 4:
7:30 PM-CC ET TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL (LIVE)

Monday, Jan. 18:
8:00-10:00 PM 24 (2-Night / 4-Hour Season Premiere, Part 2)

Mondays, beginning Jan. 25:
8:00-9:00 PM HOUSE
9:00-10:00 PM 24 (Time Period Premiere)

****************************

TUESDAY
Tuesday, Jan. 5:
7:30 PM-CC ET FEDEX ORANGE BOWL (LIVE)

Tuesday, Jan. 12:
8:00-10:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL (Season Premiere, Part 1)

Tuesdays, beginning Jan. 19:
8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL (Time Period Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM OUR LITTLE GENIUS (Time Period Premiere)

Tuesdays, beginning April 13:
8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL
9:00-10:00 PM GLEE (Time Period Premiere)

***************************

WEDNESDAY
Wednesday, Jan. 13:
8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL (Season Premiere, Part 2)
9:00-10:00 PM OUR LITTLE GENIUS (Series Premiere)


Wednesdays, beginning Jan. 20:
8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL
9:00-10:00 PM HUMAN TARGET (Series Premiere)

***************************

THURSDAY
Thursdays, beginning Jan. 14 (no change to lineup):
8:00-9:00 PM BONES (All-New Episodes)
9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE (All-New Episodes)

Thursday, Feb. 4:
8:00-9:00 PM BONES
9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE (Winter Finale)

Thursday, Feb. 11:
8:00-10:00 PM PAST LIFE (Two-Hour Series Premiere)

Thursdays, beginning Feb. 18:
8:00-9:00 PM BONES
9:00-10:00 PM PAST LIFE (Time Period Premiere)

Thursdays, beginning April 1:
8:00-9:00 PM BONES
9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE (Time Period Premiere)

***************************

FRIDAY
Friday, Jan. 1:
8:00 PM-CC ET ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL (LIVE)

Fridays, beginning Jan. 8:
8:00-9:00 PM BONES (Encore Episodes)
9:00-10:00 PM DOLLHOUSE (All-New Episodes)

Friday, Jan. 22:
8:00-9:00 PM BONES (Encore Episode)
9:00-10:00 PM DOLLHOUSE (Series Finale)

Fridays, beginning Jan. 29:
8:00-9:00 PM HOUSE (Encore Episodes)
9:00-10:00 PM KITCHEN NIGHTMARES (Season Premiere)

**************************

SATURDAY
Saturdays (no change to lineup):
8:00-8:30 PM COPS
8:30-9:00 PM COPS
9:00-10:00 PM AMERICA’S MOST WANTED
11:00 PM-Midnight THE WANDA SYKES SHOW
Midnight-12:30 AM SIT DOWN, SHUT UP

***************************

SUNDAY
Sunday, Jan. 10:
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS (450th Milestone Episode)
8:30-9:30 PM THE SIMPSONS 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: IN 3-D! ON ICE!
9:30-10:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW

Sunday, Jan. 17:
4:00 PM-CC ET NFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF (LIVE)
8:00-9:00 PM HUMAN TARGET (Series Preview)
9:00-11:00 PM 24 (2-Night / 4-Hour Season Premiere, Part 1)

Sunday, Jan. 24:
6:00 PM-CC ET NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (LIVE)

Sundays, beginning Jan. 31 (no change to lineup):
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS (All-New Episodes)
8:30-9:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW (All-New Episodes)
9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY (All-New Episodes)
9:30-10:00 PM AMERICAN DAD (All-New Episodes)

Sunday, March 14:
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 PM SONS OF TUCSON (Series Premiere)
9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY
9:30-10:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW (Time Period Premiere)

[EDITOR’S NOTE 1: LIE TO ME will return to the schedule in the late spring, and ‘TIL DEATH will return to the schedule at a later date.]

[EDITOR’S NOTE 2: THE CLEVELAND SHOW takes over the timeslot previously held by AMERICAN DAD, which will return to the schedule at a later date.]

[EDITOR’S NOTE 3: THE SIMPSONS milestone 450th episode and THE SIMPSONS 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: IN 3-D! ON ICE! special, which were previously announced to air Thursday, Jan. 14, are now scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 10.]

The Daily Beast:"Mad Men Postmortem, Part Two"

Looking for more Mad Men goodness?

I was extremely lucky to have the opportunity to conduct an exclusive interview with Mad Men creator/executive producer Matthew Weiner about the third season finale of the AMC period drama. (Which hopefully you read here.)

Now, two weeks after the season finale aired, you can get a look at some never-before-seen details from that interview, which includes some rather illuminating information about the third season..

Head over to The Daily Beast, where you can read my piece "Mad Men Postmortem, Part Two," as Weiner discusses the theme of change in Mad Men’s third season, his narrative use of the Kennedy assassination, the decision made by Betty to leave her husband, Don (Jon Hamm), Greg enlisting in the army, that bloodthirsty John Deere, and much more.

Let me know what you think and head over to the comments section to discuss.

Los Angeles Times: 'V': Previewing tonight's fall finale

ABC's sci-fi series V wraps up the first part of its first season run tonight at 8 pm ET/PT before it returns with new episodes in March.

I had the chance to watch tonight's episode over the weekend and absolutely loved it. You can head over to the Los Angeles Times/Show Tracker site to read my advance review of the fourth episode of V, which I am referring to as the series' fall finale.

Be sure to head over to the comments section (or leave a thought here) about what you think tonight's episode will hold for the Visitors and the humans... and tune in tonight for quite a few surprising twists.

V airs tonight at 8 pm ET/PT on ABC.

TV on DVD: "Life on Mars: Series 2"

Time to go down the yellow brick road again.

Yes, Stateside Life on Mars fans, that day has finally arrived as Acorn Media today releases the complete second season of the original UK drama series Life on Mars on DVD.

Forget about the lackluster (and mercifully short-lived) American version and travel back to the 1970s with the original UK Life on Mars, which has only deepened and grown more mysterious and provocative after its abrupt conclusion in 2007.

Not up to speed on the franchise? Created by Matthew Graham, Tony Jordan, and Ashley Pharoah, Life on Mars is an alternately trippy and gritty crime drama series that follows the adventures of Detective Inspector Sam Tyler (John Simm), a grimly determined investigator in present-day Manchester who is seemingly thrown backwards in time. While in pursuit of the serial killer that abducted his girlfriend, Sam is struck by a car and finds himself mysteriously in 1973 Manchester, where he comes face to face with a personal mystery from his childhood and the best fictional copper on television, the swaggering misanthrope Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister). Can Sam get home and save his girlfriend? Has he traveled back in time? Or is he losing his mind completely?

Season Two deepens the mystery and the drama even as Sam moves closer both to understanding the nature of the place he's in (is he deep within his subconscious? is he in a coma in a hospital someplace) and to a full-blown romance with female copper Annie (Liz White), who might just be one of the most perfectly realized love interests ever to grace the small screen. He's also forced to make a number of life-altering choices throughout the second season. Can be betray his boss, Gene Hunt? Can he leave his police colleagues in jeopardy if an escape route back to his normal life materializes? What price do these decisions have on his very being?

The second season brilliant answers these questions and more, offering a metaphysical mystery that unfolds over eight gripping installments that juxtapose Sam's struggle to regain his life with a vintage procedural police series that's both a parody of such 1970s cop television fixtures as The Sweeney and a gripping tour de force in its own right. (Hell, Glenister's Gene Hunt has proven so popular and so iconic that he's a major element of the sequel series Ashes to Ashes.)

The four-disc release of Life on Mars: Series 2 includes a slew of bonus material including a 45-minute documentary entitled "The Return of Life on Mars," behind-the-scenes footage of select episodes, a tour of the series' set, and a 28-minute featurette entitled "The End of Life on Mars." (Which, if I'm being honest, makes me teary-eyed every time I watch it.)

Ultimately, Life on Mars is one series that is virtually impossible to pigeonhole into a genre and that's a very good thing at the end of the day. Is it sci-fi? A police procedural? Who cares, it’s bloody good television that proves impossible to look away from.

Life on Mars: Series 2 is available today on DVD for the suggested retail price of $59.99. Or pick it up in the Televisionary store for just $39.49 today.

Channel Surfing: USA Renews "Psych," ABC Halts Production on "FlashForward," Drea de Matteo Not Fired from "Housewives," and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

USA has renewed dramedy Psych for a fifth season, set air in summer 2010. The series, which is set to become USA's longest running original drama series in production, will air the second half of its fourth season beginning in January. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that ABC has temporarily halted production on drama series FlashForward, which again hit a new series low last week and has seen some behind-the-scenes drama with the departure of showrunner Marc Guggenheim. The production shutdown will last six days. "They started production early so that they could have the luxury to do this," an ABC spokesperson tells Ausiello. "They want to maintain the high quality of the show, and this gives the writers the opportunity to do so." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

No truth to rumors that Drea de Matteo is going to be written out of ABC's Desperate Housewives, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "Per my source, the terms of de Matteo’s Housewives contract — which calls for her to appear in 20 of this season’s 23 episodes — remain unchanged," writes Ausiello. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

James Remar (Dexter) has been cast in a recurring role on the CW's supernatural drama Vampire Diaries, where he will play Stefan and Damon's father, described as "an aristocrat from the Civil War era." He's currently slated to appear in at least one episode. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams has an interview with V star Laura Vandervoort, who plays the blond Visitor named Lisa. Vandervoort says that she doesn't want Lisa and Logan Huffman's Tyler to have an alien-human baby, however. "No. Even though I'd love to eat anything I want and have a belly for a season, I don't want them to head in that direction just because their relationship is really pure and innocent," she told Abrams. "I think if that did happen, it would be because Anna had told her to do that, to make that mixed race. I kind of want things to go slow for them, and I want it to be a Romeo & Juliet situation in that they have to be together, but they can't. Erica [Elizabeth Mitchell] is an FBI agent and my mother is the leader of the Visitors. That's two different families being torn apart." (TVGuide.com)

Cougar Town is set to resume production next week following the unexpected production shutdown (due to Courteney Cox's recent undisclosed family issue) and a planned hiatus this week. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

FX has signed a deal with Summit Entertainment for the basic cable rights to the Twilight franchise feature films beginning with Twilight in late 2011 and New Moon a year later. Deal also gives the cabler the rights to air The Hurt Locker, Knowing, and Push. (Variety)

TV Guide Network will air the FremantleMedia-produced special I Dreamed a Dream: The Susan Boyle Story on December 13th, the same day that it will air in the UK on ITV1. (Hollywood Reporter)

TruTV has ordered a second season of docuseries All Worked Up, with thirteen new episodes on tap for the spring. Series, from RDF USA, had launched with six episodes on October 19th. (Hollywood Reporter)

Nick Lachey will host NBC a capella musical competition series The Sing-Off, which launches on December 14th. (Variety)

Endemol has acquired three British production companies from IMG Worlwide, securing a deal worth approximately $50 million for Tiger Aspect, Darlow Smithson, and Tigress. Despite the change in hands, all three companies will "retain creative freedom" under Endemol UK. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Sunday Night Television: The Season Finale of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and Latest Episode of "The Amazing Race"

Looking to discuss last night's season finale of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm and the latest episode of CBS' The Amazing Race?

Head over to the Los Angeles Times/Show Tracker site where you can read my takes on both episodes, including last night's Seinfeld-centric season finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm and the latest installment of CBS' The Amazing Race, which featured some whiny behavior, dirty gamesmanship, and a laughing opera singer.

Be sure to head to the comments section to weigh in on both episodes.