Chris Egan

‘Kings’
The short lived US drama ‘Kings’, premieres 10.30pm Wednesday, February 24 on 7TWO. The series stars Australia’s Chris Egan as David Shepherd in a modern day telling of the Biblical story of King David.

‘The Sopranos’
HBO’s acclaimed drama series ‘The Sopranos’ makes its premiere on 7TWO at 9.30pm Tuesday, February 16th. The Emmy award-winning series stars James Gandolfini as mobster Tony Soprano, trying to balance his home life and the criminal organisation he heads.

Episode 1 – “Savior” (Season Premiere)

Aired September 25th 2009

Written By: Brian Peterson & Kelly Souders

Directed By: Kevin Fair

Guest Stars: Brian Austin Green (Metallo/John Corben), Alessandro Juliani (Dr. Emil Hamilton), Monique Ganderton (Alia), Terence Stamp (Voice of Jor-El) Sharon Taylor (Fiona)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Promo Pics: One ,  Two , Three & Four

Trailer: One, Two & Three

Tom Welling Interview

Preview Clips

Episode 2 – “Metallo”

Aired October 2nd 2009

Written By: Don Whitehead & Holly Henderson

Directed By: Mairzee Almas

Guest Stars: Brian Austin Green (Metallo/John Corben)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Promo pics: One , Two , Three & Four

Trailer: One

Interviews: One

Preview Clips: One

Episode 3 – “Rabid”

Aired October 9th 2009

Directed By: Michael Rohl

Written By: Jordan Hawley

Guest Stars: Cameron Bancroft (Dr. Coats)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Trailer: One

Preview Clips: One

Episode 4 – “Echo”

Aired October 16th 2009

Directed By: Wayne Rose

Written By: Bryan Q. Miller

Guest Stars: Chris Gauthier (Toyman), Terence Stamp (The Voice of Jor-El)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Promo Pics: One & Two

Trailer: One

Preview Clips: One

Episode 5 – “Roulette”

Aired October 23rd 2009

Directed By: Kevin Fair

Written By: Genevieve Sparling

Guest Stars: Steph Song (Victoria/Roulette)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Casting News: Steph Song

Promo Pics: One

Trailer: One

Episode 6 – “Crossfire”

Aired October 30th 2009

Directed By: Michael Rohl

Written By: Holly Henderson & Don Whitehead

Guest Stars: Elise Gatien (Mia/Speedy), Emilie Ullerup (Catherine “Cat” Grant)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Sneek peek for this episode

Promo Pics: One & Two & Three

Trailer: One & Two

Preview Clips: One

Episode 7 – “Kandor”

Aired November 6th 2009

Directed By: Jeannot Szwarc

Written By: Al Septien & Turi Meyer

Guest Stars: Julian Sands (Jor-El)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Promo Pics: One

Casting News: Julian Sands

Trailer: One

Preview Clips: One

Episode 8 – “Idol”

Aired November 13th 2009

Directed By: Glen Winter

Written By: Ann Coffel Saunders

Guest Stars: David Gallagher (Zan), Allison Scagliotti (Jayna), Dylan Neal (Ray Sacks)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Casting News: Wonder Twins Cast

Promo Pics: One

Trailer: One

Episode 9 – “Pandora”

Mid-Season Finale

Aired November 20th 2009

Directed By: Morgan Beggs

Written By: Drew Landis & Julia Swift

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Preview Clips: One & Two

Promo Pics: One

Trailer: One

Episode 10 – “Disciple”

Aired January 29th 2010

Directed By: Mairzee Almas

Written By: Jordan Hawley

Guest Stars: Elise Gatien (Mia/Speedy), Steve Bacic (Dark Archer)

TVAUSCAST Update:

CW’s Official Description

Trailer: One & Two

Preview Clips: One

Smallville delayed in favor of a Telethon for the tragedy in Haiti

Episode 11 – “Society” (Part 1 Movie)

Smallville: Absolute Justice [first hour]

Aired February 5th  2010

Directed By: Glen Winter

Written By: Geoff Johns

Guest Stars: Michael Shanks (Carter Hall/Hawkman), Brent Stait (Kent Nelson/Doctor Fate), Britt Irvin (Courtney Whitmore/Stargirl), Phil Morris (John Jones/Martian Manhunter)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Trailer: One, Two, Three & Four

Preview Clips: One & Two

Promo Pics: One, Poster Art, Two

Casting News: Michael Shanks dials in to ‘Smallville’ & Phil Morris Returns

Interviews: Michael Shanks talks “Smallville” & Hawkan spreads his wings on ‘Smallville‘

‘Smallville’ TV movie takes flight!

Smallville: Absolute Justice (New movie title)

‘Smallville: Absolute Justice’ interview round up

Episode 12 – “Legends” (Part 2 Movie)

Smallville: Absolute Justice [second hour]

Aired February 5th 2010

Directed By: Tom Welling

Written By: Geoff Johns

Guest Stars: Michael Shanks (Carter Hall/Hawkman), Brent Stait (Kent Nelson/Doctor Fate), Britt Irvin (Courtney Whitmore/Stargirl), Phil Morris (John Jones/Martian Manhunter), Pam Grier (Amanda Waller)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Trailer: One, Two, Three & Four

Preview Clips: One & Two

Promo Pics: One, Poster Art, Two

“Society” will be a 2 part epic

‘Smallville’ TV movie takes flight!

Smallville: Absolute Justice (New movie title)

Casting News: Pam Grier cast for multi episode arc on ‘Smallville’

‘Smallville: Absolute Justice’ interview round up

Episode 13 – “Warrior”

Air’s February 12th 2010

Directed By: Allison Mack

Written By: Bryan Q. Miller

Guest Stars: Serinda Swan (Zatanna), Carlo Marks (Stephen/Warrior Angel)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Trailer: One & Two

Preview Clips: One

Promo Pics: One, Two

Casting News: Zatanna returns to Smallville, Carlo Marks returns

Scoop on “Warrior”

Smallville delayed in favor of a Telethon for the tragedy in Haiti

Episode 14 – “Persuasion”

Air’s February 19th 2010

Directed By: Christopher Petry

Written By: Ann Coffel Saunders

Guest Stars: G. Michael Grey (Buddy Brown)

Episode 15 – “Conspiracy”

Air’s February 26th 2010

Directed By: Turi Meyer

Written By: Al Septien & Turi Meyer

Guest Stars: J.R. Bourne (Bernard Chisholm), Nicholas Carella (Dr. Flores)

Episode 16 – “Escape”

Air’s April 2nd 2010

Directed by: Kevin Fair

Written By: Genevieve Sparling

Guest Stars: Odessa Rae (Siobhan McDougal/Silver Banshee)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

A curious case of dejavu on ‘Smallville’

The Silver Banshee comes to ‘Smallville’

Episode 17 – “Checkmate”

Air’s April 9th 2010

Directed By: Tim Scanlan

Written By: John Chisholm

Guest Stars: Pam Grier (Amanda Waller), Phil Morris (John Jones/Martian Manhunter), Jonathan Walker (Dr. Paul Brenner)

Episode 18 – “Upgrade”

Air’s April 16th 2010

Guest Stars: Brian Austin Green (John Corben/Metallo)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

Brian Austin Green returns

Episode 21 – “??”

Air’s May 2010

Guest Stars: Annette O’Tool (Martha Kent), Michael McKean (Perry White)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

Martha Kent returns to ‘Smallville’!

Perry White returns to ‘Smallville’!

Jennifer Finnigan, Patrick Flueger and Rose Rollins

Jennifer Finnigan (‘Close to Home’) is set to star opposite Joanna Garcia (‘Privileged’) in ABC’s untitled Shana Goldberg-Meehan sitcom.

The multicamera comedy, from Warner Bros. Television, revolves around two sisters who are at different stages of their relationships. Finnigan’s character, who is in a happy, long-term relationship but unwed and Garcia’s character, who gets pregnant and winds up marrying her boyfriend.

Meanwhile, Patrick Flueger (‘The 4400′) has landed a role on ABC’s ‘Scoundrels’ opposite Virginia Madsen. The project is based on the New Zealand dramedy ‘Outrageous Fortune’.

Flueger will play twin brothers Logan, the only honest member of the family who is about to graduate from law school, and Cal, the not-so-smart future criminal.

Finally, Rose Rollins (‘The L Word’) joins Warner Bros. Television’s ‘Chase’, which centers on a high-priority fugitive-apprehension team in South Texas.

The project will be produced by Jerry Bruckheimer for NBC.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Kes$ha is set to performance on Ten's 'So You Think You Can Dance Australia'.

Ke$ha is set to visit Australia from March 20 – 25 as part of a promotional visit which includes an exclusive TV performance on Ten’s ‘So You Think You Can Dance Australia’.

The worldwide pop sensation currently has two singles and one album in the Top 5 ARIA charts. Her debut single, ‘TiK ToK’, which spent 8 consecutive weeks at #1, has been certified 3 x platinum and spent 5 weeks at #1 on the National Airplay chart. Her current single ‘Blah Blah’ is currently at #4 and is certified gold.

Her debut album ‘Animal’, which was released just 4 weeks ago has already been certified Gold coming in at #4 on the ARIA album chart.

Ke$ha, whose single ‘TiK ToK’ is also currently featured on Seven’s ‘My Kitchen Rules’, will visit Sydney and Melbourne as part of her promotional visit.

Source: Sony Music Entertainment

Daniel Dae Kim

Daniel Dae Kim won’t be leaving the island after all. The ‘Lost’ star has landed a role in CBS’ upcoming ‘Hawaii Five-O’ remake.

Kim will play Detective Chin Ho Kelly, made famous by Kam Fong in the original series.

The leading role of Detective Steve McGarrett has yet be cast, however Australia’s Alex O’Loughlin (‘Moonlight’, ‘Three Rivers’) is still believed to be in talks.

‘Hawaii Five-O’ is being developed by ‘Fringe’ co-creators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. Peter Lenkov (‘CSI: NY’) will serve as showrunner.

Production on the pilot will take place at the Hawaii Film Studio in Oahu, the same stages where ‘Lost’ shoots.

‘Lost’ airs 8.30pm Wednesdays on 7TWO.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

‘Weekend Sunrise’
As reported last week in the media, a Saturday edition of ‘Weekend Sunrise’ begins this weekend (Feb 13th) at 7am.

‘Saturday Disney’ will move to a new regular timeslot of 9am.

‘CSI: New York’
Channel Nine had scheduled a new episode at 9:30pm this week (Feb 11th) and a repeat at 10:30pm.

Instead they will air a repeat of ‘The Mentalist’ at 9:30pm with the new episode of ‘CSI: New York’ at 10:30pm. Only the repeat is out.

Don’t look at this as a trend as the Winter Olympics begin next week and ‘The Footy Show’ NRL and AFL editions should return in March.

‘Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’
The first season aired on Channel Nine some time ago and then was repeated on GO! late last year.

The second and final season will make its FTA debut after ‘Fringe’ each week beginning on Wednesday 24th February at 9:30pm.

A full 22 episode season aired in America and was completed in April 2009.

Asher Keddie and Kat Stewart star as sisters in Ten's upcoming series 'Offspring'.

According to The Australian, Network Ten have commissioned a 13-episode series based on their upcoming telemovie ‘Offspring’.

The family drama, from Souther Star and producers John Edwards (‘Rush’, ‘Love My Way’, ‘The Secret Life of Us’) and Imogen Banks (‘Tangle’), stars Asher Keddie (‘Underbelly’, ‘Love My Way’) as a 30-something obstetrician Nina Proudman.

‘Offspring’ has been described as a “buoyant, romantic comedy set on the streets of Fitzroy.” It follows Keddie’s character Nina in a story of impossible loves and her fabulously messy family, as they navigate the chaos of modern life.

Kat Stewart stars as Nina’s wild sister Billie. Don Hany, John Waters and Deborah Mailman are also set to star.

Production will commence in May.

Source: The Australian

David Goyer

‘FlashForward’ is set to get yet another new showrunner.

David Goyer is stepping down from the top job to focus on feature films and directing.

“As my feature projects have started ramping up again, I felt I was being pulled in too many directions,” said Goyer in a statement. “I’m proud of the show and excited about the relaunch. It’s in great hands.”

Goyer will still remain involved with the show, but will pass his day-to-day showrunning duties on to another yet to be announced producer.

Production is currently taking place on episodes 17 and 18 of the 23-episode season order.

‘FlashForward’ returns March 18 on ABC. Seven have yet to announce a return date.

UPDATE: Dateline Hollywood reports that Goyer, who co-wrote ‘Batman Begins’, and penned the story for ‘The Dark Knight’, is working on the third ‘Batman’ installment with director Chris Nolan’s brother Jonah.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

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*Channel Nine have chosen not to release their guides to me at this time. I am hoping they will come to the party as soon as possible. If you would like to see the Nine guides here at TVAUSCAST then drop an email to publicty at Channel Nine hvirtue@nine.com.au and ask them to make those guides available – Aaron Ryan

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*Channel Nine have chosen not to release their guides to me at this time. I am hoping they will come to the party as soon as possible. If you would like to see the Nine guides here at TVAUSCAST then drop an email to publicty at Channel Nine hvirtue@nine.com.au and ask them to make those guides available – Aaron Ryan

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ABC1
ABC2
ABC3
SBS ONE
SBS TWO
ABC2
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7TWO
Nine (N/A)
GO!
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*Channel Nine have chosen not to release their guides to me at this time. I am hoping they will come to the party as soon as possible. If you would like to see the Nine guides here at TVAUSCAST then drop an email to publicty at Channel Nine hvirtue@nine.com.au and ask them to make those guides available – Aaron Ryan

Ask Aaron is a new weekly column where you can have your questions answered about television.

To ask a question, send an email via askaaron[at]tvauscast[dot]com.

Answers to your questions will be published here each Saturday.

Zach Braff and Donald Faison

‘Scrubs’ returns 10.30pm Sunday, February 14 on Seven for its ninth and possibly final season.

The long running comedy performed well for Seven in the demos last year but the major cast changes this season, the lack of enthusiasm among American fans and the impending cancellation sees the show move to a 10.30pm time slot.

Only Donald Faison and John C. McGinley return as series regulars. Zach Braff and Sarah Chalke return as special guest stars for six episodes each.

Michael Shanks (Carter Hall/Hawkman):

Talks about his role as Hawkman and his determination to do the character Justice.

MovieWeb.com and Newsarama.com.

Also there are four audio interviews: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4

Geoff Johns (Writer):

Absolute Justice is written by comic book favorite Geoff Johns, whose episode “Legion” also topped votes for Favorite Episode in last year’s KryptonSite Awards. The two-hour story brings in some legendary heroes from comics’ past.

Mr. Johns has taken the time to participate in an interview with KryptonSite where he talks about the episode and even offers some hints as to what his next project might be.

IGN.com, Kryptonsite.com, MTV.com and an Audio interview at ComicGeekSpeak.com.

Brent Stait (Kent Nelson/Dr. Fate):

He talks about his role as Dr. Fate and his experiences with the seasoned actor/director Tom Welling and best friend Michael Shanks.

ShermanScoopsSinCity.com

Erica Durance (Lois Lane):

AOL’s “Inside TV” conducted an interview with Erica Durance to ask her about her role as Lois Lane in up-coming episodes of “Smallville”.

TVGuide.com, AOL.com, Fancast.com and and audio interview at SciFiMediaZone.com

Justin Hartley (Oliver Queen/Green Arrow):

He has spoken to three websites about what his character of Oliver has in store for the next few episodes and beyond.

TVAUSCAST.com, TVGuide.com and Zap2It.com.

Brian Peterson (Exec Producer):

Fancast talks with Brian about upcoming episodes and explains why ‘Absolute Justice’ will be right up there with Christopher Reeve’s “Rosetta” back in season 2.

Fancast.com

While TVGuideMagazine.com has a round-table interview with a number of the people involved with “Absolute Justice”.

Michelle Trachtenberg, Jaime Lee Kirchner, Taylor Schilling and Guillermo Diaz.

‘Mercy’ returns 9.30pm Wednesday, February 17 on 7TWO.

The US medical drama failed to make an impact on Seven late last year, being pulled after just six episodes.

It returns with episode 7 — “Destiny, Meet My Daughter, Veronica” – following the new season of ‘Lost’ on 7TWO.

Laura Prepon, Bret Harrison and Michael Kelly

Laura Prepon (‘October Road’, ‘That ’70s Show’) is set to star opposite Danny Wallace (‘The IT Crowd’) in ABC’s ‘Awkward Situations’ pilot.

The comedy centres on Wallace, who stars as himself following his move to the States, only to discover that his everyday behaviour clashes with American values. Pepron will play his wife Meg, who works in a smoothie shop with a former fling, played by Matt Letscher.

Meanwhile, ‘Reaper’ star Bret Harrison has landed the lead in an untitled CBS pilot from Adam Goldberg (‘Aliens in America’, ‘Fanboys’).

The single-camera comedy, which will be directed by Seth Gordon, revolves around twentysomething geniuses (one played by Harrison) who crack computer security systems

Finally, ‘The Sopranos’ alum Michael Kelly has joined CBS’ upcoming ‘Criminal Minds’ spin-off.

Kelly will play a member of an outside FBI profiling team, lead by Cooper (Forest Whitaker).

The backdoor pilot will air later this season as an episode of ‘Criminal Minds’.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Michelle Trachtenberg and Connor Paolo

According to TV Guide, Georgina Sparks is set to ruffle some more feathers on The CW’s ‘Gossip Girl’.

‘Mercy’ full-timer, Michelle Trachtenberg, will be dropping by the Upper-East Side in the show’s upcoming season finale.

Meanwhile, Connor Paolo who plays Eric van der Woodsen on “Gossip Girl’ will be guest starring on the March 3 episode of Trachtenberg’s ‘Mercy’.

Paolo, will play a patient whose emitted to Mercy Hospital after setting off a pipe bomb on a bus. Things worsen for him when the father of a bus passenger pulls a gun on him whilst being treated.

‘Gossip Girl’ airs 10.30pm Thursdays on GO!. ‘Mercy’ returns 9.30pm Wednesday, February 17 on 7TWO.

Source: TV Guide

INTERVIEW: “FRINGE” CO-CREATOR J.J. ABRAMS

By Brian Ford Sullivan

When “Fringe” premiered in September of 2008, co-creator J.J. Abrams said the fun of the show “was taking the kinds of things we loved growing up and combining them and sort of playing with them and making them into something that is hopefully brand new while being in the spirit of things that inspired us.” Fast forward to 2010 and Abrams hasn’t lost his enthusiasm for the show. The prolific writer, director and producer was on hand at the TCA Winter Press Tour last month where he chatted with reporters about what’s in store for the show, his new pilot at NBC and his boundless love of the television medium.

Question: What can you tell me about where the second half of the season is going?

J.J. Abrams: I will say that there are… the story that [we established] at the very beginning of the season is going to play out. There were some adjustments we made along the way… but what I think is fun about where it’s going is on the one hand there’s this inevitable thing that will happen but I think there’s going to be a huge surprise too. I’m really excited about it… The fun of [the conflict with alternate universe] is there’s this growing problem and that there is something brewing sort of between these two places. To me it’s just a fascinating kind of premise. It’s so big! And the key is how do you make it specific and how do you make it personal and I think some of the stuff you’ll be getting to with all three of our characters [will be fantastic].

Question: Any plans for Leonard Nimoy?

J.J. Abrams: I have tons of plans for him. Whether he’ll be part of them is another question but there are plans aplenty… I would love to return to that character, I know there’s a chance that will occur.

Question: Are you satisfied with the ratio of standalone to arc episodes? And will that change going forward?

J.J. Abrams: I think it will be somewhat consistent with where it’s been but I think I always like a great standalone but I’m also a sucker for that like ongoing serialized story. We’re sort of in a place where I’d be thrilled with more serialized stuff but I also know that’s an increasingly difficult way of doing television.

Question: Will the same apply to your NBC pilot “Undercovers?”

J.J. Abrams: This show does have ongoing stories as well but they are much more personal based and character based. But I’m trying to do a show that has a more fun energy and a little more comedic than ["Fringe"]… There won’t be any of [the Rambaldi-type mythology, i.e. "Alias"]. I think that there will be, again, something that will give the story a sense of inevitability and yet, you’re right, it won’t be going into that place of like crazy, mythology heavy stuff.

Question: Why did you decide to direct the pilot?

J.J. Abrams: I just enjoyed the idea of it. I enjoy the script… I enjoyed the chemistry of these two people and it became clear as we were working on it, rather than be sitting on the set every day with someone else directing it, being annoying, I’d rather just take the burden on myself.

Brian Ford Sullivan: I talked to [executive producer] Jeff Pinkner and he said [tonight's episode] is your best one yet and the one coming back [after the hiatus] is even better. [Abrams laughs.] What’s so great about them?

J.J. Abrams: The great thing about Jeff is he knows how to lower expectations. [Laughs.] I would just say that it’s always wonderful to get director’s cuts of episodes that make me smile. And it’s nice when they are on important dates, and it’s nice when they are consecutive so I will just say we’re on a nice internal run right now where things are, you know, when a story’s entertaining and fun and has that weird combination – which is the goal of “Fringe” to be scary as hell and funny in one show, it’s a weird thing to do – when that works, it’s just, you know, you just thank God.

“Fringe” airs its winter finale tonight at 9:00/8:00c. Look for the second season to resume on Thursday, April 1 at 9:00/8:00c.

Source: The Futon Critic

Rose Byrne stars in FX's 'Damages'.

If you’ve never watched an episode of ”Damages” before, well Season 3 could officially be your jumping in point. As far as legal dramas on television go, there is nothing like it. Impeccably acted, incredibly written and intricately plotted, its easily one of the most confounding, head-unscrewing dramas around. This is not television to be taken lightly by any means.

Perhaps a jumping-in point is perhaps a little much. There is a long history between civil law great Patty Hewes and her once-protégée Ellen Parsons that the summing up over the pre credits montage glosses over way too easily. Deception, underhanded dealings, lies and betrayal – all the really juicy stuff in law are just regular occurrences in the past two seasons. And while Season 3 starts with Ellen now out of Patty’s firm and working for the District At tourney’s office, you can bet your bottom dollar that she’ll be pulled back in soon enough.

Certainly something that’s noticeably missing is the head-to-head grudge match between Patty and Ellen. What made the early seasons great is Ellen slowly realising the lengths to which Patty would go to get what she wants, and then the trajectory of her going back at Patty. Not so much a full blow war, but the subtleties in the dialogue and their characters is what made their relationship must see viewing every week.

The fact that time and space now separate the two means, again hopefully only for the moment, its about coming to grips with the case of the season. Again, its another CEO who has frauded his company’s investors and lost them all their money. Including a ‘Damages’ regular as the second episode drops into the plot. So Patty is firmly ready to bring the money-cheating bastard down; except that she is doing so through the seemingly innocent son who claims to know very little about the situation and simply wants to help the unflappable Patty in an effort to reclaim his family’s name, if for no other reason than to protect his wife and son.

As is always the case with ‘Damages’, there is waaay more to the plot here than meets the eye, especially in a single episode; or in the case of this review, two episodes. By the end of the second instalment you’ll find yourself wondering what the hell is going on; no more or less so than any other season at this stage. But for those that love being confused and tested by their television shows rather than the passive experience most shows usually afford, ‘Damages’ is a series like no other.

The enigmatic unfolding of a seasons mystery is one that certainly requires dedication to the series; thankfully each run has a brisk 13 episode commitment. But its that tight episode order that maintains the highest level of writing a television show can muster these days; not only in the brilliantly written and defined characters, but also in delivering only the most important details in each episode to make it wholly compelling viewing. Don’t be fooled, you can be certain that everything, even the seemingly minor drug bust that Ellen’s involved in in the first two episodes, has something to do with what is happening six months later.

Perhaps a little contrived, but hey, its TV. This is what makes it compelling, slightly hyper-real, but always amazingly taut viewing each and every episode.

Other than the skilfully written episodes and characters, ‘Damages’ is also known for its brilliant (but also expensive) casting coups; Martin Short, Lily Tomlin, Campbell Scott have all featured brilliantly so far, as well as 24 alum Reiko Aylesworth, the mysterious architect hitting on Patty in Keith Carradine and even another Aussie Sarah Wynter is still to turn up.

So far, Martin Short will be robbed not to get an Emmy nod come September as a guest star. And no doubt completing the trifecta will be Close after two Best Actress in a Drama series wins in a row. She is that good.

This show is that good. Season 3, only two episodes in, is that good. Its certainly an acquired taste with its fractured plotting methods, which has shown in its continual lacklustre ratings – even cable networks take that into account now, so nothing is safe. It requires dedication, intelligence and patience, but every season has been worth it, and Season 3 so far looks like its lost none of its ability to draw you in and keep you guessing until the very end. If only all television was this good.

Media Release

KYLE SANDILANDS RETURNS TO TELEVISION

Kyle Sandlilands

Kyle Sandilands will have a new television home in 2010 – joining Channel Seven as a judge on Australia’s Got Talent.

Sandilands will bring his unique, no-nonsense style to the fourth season of Seven’s nationwide talent search.

Currently host of Sydney’s top-rating Kyle and Jackie O breakfast radio program on 2DAYFM and heard around Australia through the Austereo Network, Sandilands made his mark on our TV screens as a judge on four seasons of Australian Idol.

“I am thrilled to be joining Channel Seven – so Australia, you think you’ve got talent – I am going to be the new judge of that,” Sandilands said today.
“Singers, dancers, comedians – if you have an act worth watching or think you have what it takes to be a star – we want you. I have always been a massive fan of the show and can’t wait to get behind the desk of Australia’s only free-for-all talent show.”

Last year, the UK version of ‘Got Talent gave birth to international success story Susan Boyle while at home, winner Mark Vincent established himself as Australia’s youngest opera virtuoso at just 15 years of age with a top-selling album on the ARIA charts.

The competition in Australia’s Got Talent is open to everyone from solo acts and group performances to comedians and dance troupes – and there is no age limit. Now, this season’s recruits will have Sandilands on hand to tell them if they’ve ‘got talent’.

Auditions begin this weekend in Sydney and will travel around the country over the next month on the lookout for Australia’s next big superstar. Full details on the auditions are available at yahoo7.com.au/talent.

Australia’s Got Talent is coming soon to Channel Seven. Further announcements regarding the upcoming season will follow in the coming weeks.

Source: Seven Network

iiNet wins. Case dismissed. AFACT to pay.

The film and television industry giants have lost their case against internet service provider iiNet. The landmark decision was handed down in the Federal Court today.

“I find that iiNet simply can’t be seen as approving infringement,” said Justice Cowdroy.

The 200 page judgement did confirm that iiNet users had infringed copyright by downloading films via BitTorrent, however the number of infringements was far less than alleged by The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft.

AFACT, who represented Village Roadshow, Warner Bros., Sony, Walt Disney, Paramount, 20th Century Fox and the Seven Network, has been ordered to cover iiNet’s legal costs.

A significant finding by the court was that the provisioning of internet access is not the means to infringement.

“Copyright infringement occured as result of use of BitTorrent, not the Internet,” said Justice Cowdroy. “iiNet has no control over BitTorrent system and not responsible for BitTorrent system.”

The landmark case had attracted interest across Australia and overseas, with it being the first trial of its kind in the world to proceed to hearing and judgment.

The outcome of the iiNet case has potential to influence similar cases around the world.

AFACT have yet to decide whether they will appeal to the High Court of Australia.

Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence in last year's telemovie 'My Fake Fiance'.

Following their stints on in celebrity reality series ‘Dancing with the Stars’, Melissa Joan Hart (‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’) and Joey Lawrence (‘Blossom’) will return to their sitcom roots in ABC Family’s aptly unimaginatively titled ‘Melissa and Joey’.

Hart will play a politician whose niece and nephew are left in her care when her sister is thrown in jail. Unable to juggle both work and parenthood, she hires a manny (Lawrence) to help care for them.

The half-hour sitcom was developed with the actors in mind, after their ABC Family original movie, ‘My Fake Fiance’, shattered ratings records for the cable channel early last year.

‘Melissa and Joey’ will premiere later this year on ABC Family.

Source: TV Guide

Emma Booth in Nine's upcoming series 'Underbelly: The Golden Mile'.

Screentime, the producers of ‘Underbelly’, will adapt Tim Winton’s highly acclaimed award-winning novel ‘Cloudstreet’ into a six-hour miniseries for Foxtel’s Showcase.

The novel chronicles the lives of two working class Australian families living together, over a period of twenty years — from 1943 – 1963.

Joining the cast of the upcoming miniseries is Essie Davis (‘Australia’, ‘The Matrix Revolutions’) as Dolly Pickles, Stephen Curry (‘:30 Seconds’, ‘The King’) as Sam Pickles and Emma Booth (‘Underbelly: The Golden Mile’) as their daughter Rose.

Geoff Morrell (‘Bed of Roses’, ‘Sea Patrol’) will play Lester Lamb and Kerry Fox (‘Bright Star’) as his wife Oriel Lamb.

Todd Lasance (‘Home and Away’) joins the cast as Quick and recent NIDA graduate Hugo Johnstone-Burt rounds out the cast in the crucial role of Fish.

Tim Winton and Ellen Fontana co-wrote the six-part series, which will be directed by Matthew Saville (‘Tangle’, ‘East of Everything’, ‘The King’).

Brenda Pam (‘Underbelly’) will produce, along side executive producers Greg Haddrick (‘Underbelly’), Kim Vecera (‘Tangle’) and Des Monaghan (‘Underbelly’).

Production on the miniseries will commence in Western Australia on Monday. ‘Cloudstreet’ is expected to air in 2011 on Showcase.

Source: The Australian

'My Kitchen Rules' judges Pete Evans and Manu Feildel.

When Network Ten announced plans to scrap ‘Big Brother’ for ‘MasterChef Australia’ back in November 2008, there was a resounding “huh?” across the industry. Little did we know that a mere 7-months later ‘MasterChef’ would be breaking ratings records in Australia.

Skip forward 1 month and Seven have announced plans to revive the ‘Rules’ brand in a new cooking format, pitting state against state and kitchen against kitchen.

If Seven were ever going to take another stab at a cooking show, then why not try to leverage the success of their most resounding cooking format?

So after several weeks of heavy promotion and publicity, ‘My Kitchen Rules’ is finally here. But will it set kitchens on fire?

From the get go, ‘My Kitchen Rules’ would be in for a tough battle, trying to beat down the stigma of being just a ‘MasterChef’ rip-off. In that regard, the ‘Rules’ name probably works strongly in its favour, seeming more like revival and less of a copycat format.

Renowned chefs Manu Feildel and Pete Evans play judge on ‘Kitchen Rules’, who are probably the greatest assets of the show. Coincidentally (or not), both Feildel and Evans also provided guidance to the aspiring chefs on ‘MasterChef’ last year. I gather they won’t be receiving invitations back to the ‘MasterChef’ kitchen this year…

It’s clear that ‘My Kitchen Rules’ has taken plenty of inspiration from its Network Ten counterpart. From the show’s (arguably-simulated) high drama presentation, to the whimsical mood-setting soundtrack, there are ‘MasterChef’ cues written all over it.

None of this is a surprise really. This style has become somewhat synonymous with the reality TV format — just watch ‘The Biggest Loser’, ‘The Amazing Race’ or ‘Survivor’.

The problem of utilising this high-drama presentation style on ‘My Kitchen Rules’ is that no matter how different the show may be, audiences will automatically be reminded of ‘MasterChef’.

To its advantage ‘My Kitchen Rules’ differs from ‘MasterChef’, in that it pits couples against couples — a competition style which proved highly successful for ‘My Restaurant Rules’ and Nine’s renovation spectacular ‘The Block’.

What made these formats so engaging was the highly competitive nature of the contestants, whose ego’s became even more inflated as the series progressed. This made for must-see TV back in 2003-2004.

But will this be enough to keep viewers glued to the screens in 2010?

Just examining the most popular reality TV shows on the air today — ‘MasterChef’, ‘So You Think You Can Dance’, ‘The Biggest Loser’, ‘Beauty and the Geek’ — theres clearly a new trend where reality shows pride themselves on being a positive and uplifting. Contestants are guided and nurtured, despite being in competition with each other.

It’s possible that the spitefulness and negative nature of ‘My Kitchen’ contestants judging each other could prove fatal for Seven.

Just look at last year’s biggest reality flop, Nine’s renovation disaster ‘homeMADE’, which pitted one team of designers against another. The show was fast paced and had plenty of drama, but there was also a significant amount of manipulation and sabotage at play.

Even ‘Big Brother’ struggled to maintain its popularity once this new “positive reality show” trend set in.

Will ‘My Kitchen Rules’ be the one to buck the trend? Only time will tell.

If it doesn’t catch on, Seven will no doubt need to significantly rejig the format if they even hope to retain somewhat of an audience over the season. Scrapping its ludicrous and obviously flawed contestant-on-contestant judging system would be a start. Distancing itself from the elephant in the room that is ‘MasterChef’ may be slightly more difficult.

2 out of 5 stars

Media Release

ALL WILL BE REVEALED: FINAL SEASON OF LOST PREMIERES ON 7TWO

What is the ultimate fate of the LOST castaways? What is their destiny? These are the questions the survivors of Oceanic Air Flight 815 face as LOST begins its sixth and final season on 7TWO . . .

7TWO today announced it will premiere the sixth and final season of LOST on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10 beginning with the one-hour special Lost: Final Chapter at 8.30pm followed by a two-hour premiere of season 6 at 9.30pm.

A 2008 recipient of the prestigious Peabody Award and awarded the 2005 Emmy and 2006 Golden Globe for Best Drama Series, the final season of LOST starring Matthew Fox is set to deliver more of its signature action-packed mystery and adventure.

The global phenomenon that is LOST centres on Oceanic Air flight 815 and its crash landing on a Pacific island, leaving 48 passengers alive and stranded. The survivors included a diverse group of people from different walks of life – a doctor, an escaped fugitive, a con man, an Iraqi interrogator, a married Korean couple and a man formerly confined to a wheelchair who is now inexplicably healed. As the castaways attempted to get home, flashbacks (and forwards) illuminated their troubled lives before and after the crash, when the island they find themselves stranded on begins to slowly reveal its mysterious nature. Faith, reason, destiny and free will all clashed as the island offered opportunities for both corruption and redemption… but as to its true purpose? That’s the greatest mystery of all.

Taking viewers through the story so far, Lost: Final Chapter (8.30pm on 7TWO) will retrace the steps of the survivors from the moment they board flight 815. The crash, their bid for survival and numerous attempts to get off the island will be relived along with special character re-caps of the survivors’ lives before and after the crash.
With only 18 original hours left until the final episode airs, the countdown begins with LOST season 6 premiere at 9.30pm on 7TWO.

The island’s violent shifts through time were ended by Locke when he travelled off-island in an attempt to persuade the Oceanic 6 to return. Back on the island, the survivors’ stay in late ‘70s Dharmaville was over when their covers were blown and they were accused of aiding “The Others,” and Sayid was gravely wounded. In addition, Ben killed Jacob at Locke’s request. But since Locke’s body was found to still be inside the coffin, exactly who – or what – is John Locke? And if Juliet was successful in detonating the hydrogen bomb, was she able to reset time, allowing flight 815 to land safely in Los Angeles, or was the island destroyed along with all of its inhabitants?

**The LOST season 6 premiere will also screen on Channel Seven at 11.30pm on February 10**

Source: Seven Network

The US will air the next episode of The Vampire Diaries, Children of the Damned, on February 4. This episode will be the one to watch to get all the answers to so many questions we have. There will be more flashbacks, and we learn more about Katherine and what drives the brothers apart.

To view the webclips and interviews, here they are:

TVD: Children of the Damned preview with Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson

TVD: Children of the Damned Trailer

Children of the Damned Webclip 2

FTA ad revenue drops across the board

Metropolitan ad revenue of free-to-air networks dropped 5% in the six months to December last year, compared with the corresponding period in 2008, with all metro and regional areas dropping revenue.

Total ad revenue for FTA, including regional areas, was down 4.4%, hitting $1.9bn. Of the metro areas, Sydney was worst hit, reporting an ad revenue slide of 7.2% at $525.5m, while Melbourne posted a drop of 4.6% at $399.4m. Brisbane was similarly hit at -4.5% and$ 246.5m. Adelaide and Perth were not hit as hard, percentage wise, with the former dropping 1% and the WA capital down 2% at $148.7m.

Seven had the lion’s share of ad revenue across all capital cities at 38.1%, over Nine with 31.91% and Ten with 30.08%.

Regional areas were down -2.2% overall, with Victoria showing the second greatest decline at -4.3% and $63.5m. New South Wales was down 0.2% at $194m. Queensland posted -3.5% and $108m. Western Australia was down the most at -6.7% and $22m. South Australia was down -2.4%, and Northern Territory/Tasmania slid 3%.

Source: B&T

'Gilmore Girls' creator Amy Sherman-Palladinois returning to The CW.

Another season, another remake for The CW. The green network will next tackle a remake of the 90’s action thriller ‘Nikita’, by famed french director Luc Besson.

The film spawned a television series in the late 90’s, starring Australia’s Peta Wilson, under the title ‘La Femme Nikita’. The Canadian/US spy drama ran for five seasons on cable network USA Network.

The CW’s ‘Nikita’ remake will follow the assasin who is trained to replace the original Nikita, after the original goes rogue. The Warner Bros. and Wonderland Sound and Vision project will be written and executive produced by Craig Silverstein, with McG and Peter Johnson serving as executive producers.

The second project hails from the creator of ‘Gilmore Girls’, Amy Sherman Palladino and her husband/producer Dan Palladino. The untitled family drama will be set on a horse farm in Wyoming.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Ana Ortiz and America Ferrera

‘Ugly Betty’ will end this season after ABC decided to swing the axe on the struggling dramedy.

It has been a steep fall from grace for the once ratings powerhouse with ratings falling dramatically after its break through freshman season.

Despite this bad news there is some good news for those long suffering fans, with an ABC spokesman confirming that there would be some sort of closure.

“We’ve mutually come to the difficult decision to make this Ugly Betty’s final season, and are announcing now as we want to allow the show ample time to write a satisfying conclusion,” said the spokesman.

“We are extremely proud of this groundbreaking series, and felt it was important to give the fans a proper farewell.”

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Forest Whitaker

Oscar winner Forest Whitaker is believed to be in final negotiations to headline a potential ‘Criminal Minds’ spinoff.

The project, which is current in development at CBS, would be a back-door pilot episode of ‘Criminal Minds’, following a new group of criminal profilers who work outside the FBI bureaucracy.

The episode could air as early as March.

Whitaker would play Cooper, the squad leader, who’s described as dynamic, mysterious, charming and a father figure to the rest of the team. He is a former star profiler in the Behavioral Unit who has been off the radar for the past eight years.

‘Criminal Minds’ executive producer Chris Mundy penned the spinoff episode, based on a story by him and executive producer/showrunner Ed Bernero. Richard Shepard who’s previously directed an episode of ‘Criminal Minds’ and also the pilot for ‘Ugly Betty’ is set to direct the upcoming episode.

ABC Studios, The Mark Gordon Company and CBS Studios will produced the episode, and series, should it be given the green light next season.

Whitaker will receive a producing credit as part of the deal.

The new season of ‘Criminal Minds’ begins 8.30pm Wednesday, February 3 on Seven.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Calista Flockhart

Today, Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Calista Flockhart’s future on ‘Brothers and Sisters’ will be limited next season. The online rag claims that the Golden Globe-winning actress will be scaling back her workload next season.

An ABC spokesperson declined to comment, although they did maintain that Flockhart will remain a series regular. Entertainment Weekly speculates that she’ll most likely appear in around 13 episodes next season.

The news comes just days after it was confirmed that Rob Lowe would be leaving the hit family drama, stating that he felt underused on the show.

If Flockhart’s decision to reduce her workload is accurate, it would seem like a plausible reason for Lowe to feel like his role would become even more diminished next season.

SPOILER AHEAD

With Kitty’s recent decision to run for Senate and all this behind-the-scenes drama, it’d seem like an all too convenient time for the McCalister’s to exit Pasadena for good.

END SPOILER

Now the question remains, will ‘Brothers and Sisters’ still be able to maintain its title with yet another family member’s exit?  Perhaps the the return of Tommy (Balthazar Getty) could help fill the void. Or have we already forgotten and thus couldn’t care less about the black sheep returning the show full-time?

The new season of ‘Brothers and Sisters’ returns 9:30pm Monday,  February 1 on Seven.

Steve Bacic as the Dark Archer

Newsarama:  I know you have a run in with Dark Archer in the upcoming episode.  So can you give us some info on the relationship you guys have?  Sort of set it up for us?

Justin Hartley:  Sure.  So basically we’ve all seen Oliver take this turn for the worse this year and then kind of recover from it.  And right now he’s on the brink of recovering from this whole downward spiral thing and trying to figure out who he is and making sure…he’s teetering back and forth, and I don’t think he really trusts himself that much.  But he’s on this good path right now.  So what happens is, because timing is everything on ‘Smallville’, right?  This Dark Archer, this guy from Oliver’s past comes back to kind of claim what’s rightfully his.  They were both members of this underground society and one of the deals of this society is, when you get older, your apprentice is supposed to take your life so that you don’t watch yourself decay and all that stuff.  So he comes back to claim that, and people around Oliver are kind of mistaking him for Oliver.  They’re not quite sure if it’s Oliver.  Maybe he’s lost his mind, maybe he really is a bad guy.  So they start second guessing him, which is kind of depressing in a little way.  But they square off at the end, and…I’m not sure if I should tell you what exactly happens, but I am in the next episode, so I don’t die.  I can tell you that.  [laughs]  They square off, and Oliver is trying to claim what is his, saying, ‘Look.  I’ve changed.  I’m a different person.  That’s not me anymore.’  So there is a big face off there.

Nrama:  We know that Speedy is back.

Hartley:  Yes.  She’s one of the victims of the Dark Archer.  What he’s doing is, when Oliver denies him, when he says, ‘Look, I’m not part of that anymore,’ he stars going after people that Oliver cares about, so he goes after Speedy and Lois (Erica Durance) and Chloe (Allison Mack), and it’s only a matter of time before things get really bad.  So he’s got to figure out a way to stop this guy from doing what he’s doing, without giving this guy what he wants.  So it’s kind of an interesting little situation he’s got himself into.

Nrama:  Everyone is really freaking out about the two hour “Absolute Justice”.  If Twitter is to be believed, it’s going to be the highest rated show in television history.

Hartley:  [laughs] Good!

Nrama:  So how does “Disciple” set up “Absolute Justice”?  Or does it?

Hartley:  No…you know…it does in a way.  I think it sets up Oliver for what he does in “Absolute Justice” more than the series.  Those two shows are basically…I don’t want to say they’re stand alone shows, because they’re not.  They do tie into the main theme of the year.  But those two episodes, they were so well done that they stand on their own.  They don’t contradict anything that we’ve done all year, but at the same time, they don’t necessarily need any of that to stand on their own.  They’re individuals.  It’s basically a movie…and then afterwards we still talk about it a bit.  In the subsequent episodes, we still talk about what’s happened in those two.  It doesn’t set up the story line for any other character, but…for all the other heroic things that Oliver’s doing, or that Green Arrow’s doing in “Absolute Justice” and the things he does and the decisions he makes in “Disciple” kind of makes it more believable that this guy just came back from this downward, hurried momentum, is now kind of back and ready to do the hero thing.

Hawkman and Green Arrow don't get along

Nrama:  I read the official description of “Absolute Justice”, but they don’t really talk much about what’s going on with Oliver.  Michael Shanks (Hawkman) has talked about you guys butting heads.  Geoff Johns has spoken about a ’shared behavior’.  So can you talk a bit about your role in that?

Hartley:  First of all, huge mistake not mentioning my name.  [laughs]  Just kidding.  Green Arrow is all through the thing and Oliver is all through the thing.  It’s mostly about the Justice Society, and Clark kind of finding out…there is this interesting thing where you find out who was after them is now after us.  So we have to work together.  And you’re right.  Hawkman and Green Arrow do not get along.  They do not see eye to eye politically.  [laughs]  They don’t see eye to eye on any kind of social issue.  But yet they’re stuck together because they work well together.  So here you have two guys that are basically forced to work together to find out who the ‘bad guy’ is, and put a stop to all this bleeding, and in the process, they kind of, towards the end, grow to…I don’t want to say like each other, because I don’t think that really ever happens, but a mutual respect is kind of formed throughout the course of the show.  I would say about half way through the second one, when you start to see that, although I don’t agree with everything he’s doing and he doesn’t agree with everything I’m doing, the two characters kind of help each other out.  It’s interesting that Green Arrow is the one telling Hawkman things that basically he should have told himself three months ago.  But since he’s been able to figure all of that out, now he can help Hawkman get over what was lost to him.  They definitely have common ground at the end.

Silver Banshee in DC Comics

Nrama:  You’ve got some amazing characters from the DC Universe coming up in the rest of the season.  Silver Banshee (Odessa Rae) was just announced.  Is there someone from the universe you’d like to see that you haven’t yet?

Hartley:  You know, every time someone comes in from the universe, they usually end up beating the hell out of Oliver, so I don’t want to see anybody.  [laughs]  Every time they bring in a new character, I get my ass kicked on that show.  So I guess the question is, who would I like to get my ass kicked by?  You know, man, I think that every time someone comes on the show…and to be quite honest with you, Silver Banshee came on the show, and I’m reading this script and I see Silver Banshee…I don’t know Silver Banshee.  I’d never heard of that, but just from the description, I thought I should look that up, because it probably has something to do with the comics and the DC Universe, and sure enough it did.  I don’t know.  I like to see the people return a little bit.  I’d like to see Cyborg (Lee Thompson Young) back for an episode.  I think his story needs to be told a little bit more.  But then, you know, I appreciate it when no one is there and they can dive in to the Clark (Tom Welling) story a little bit more.  The Superman story.  I have a lot of faith in them and what they’re doing.  They tend to know exactly…they have their finger on the pulse, you know what I mean?  They have their story, their year, and they do a really good job of keeping everybody tuned in throughout the course of the year.  So however many new characters they need or to maybe keep them away for a while and focus on Clark, they really do a good job.  I was always an Incredible Hulk kid, but I don’t think we can bring him on, because it’s Marvel.  [laughs]  Let’s see what happens there.

Nrama:  Everyone wants to know what’s up with Ollie’s love life.  Who are we going to see him end up with?

Hartley:  We will see him with, let’s see.  In “Disciple”…you can assume that he’s with a lot of women.  I will say this.  One of them is…I can’t tell you who it is, but I can tell you that it’s a series regular, and it’s not someone that I’ve been with before.  So we’ll see how that goes.

Nrama:  The message boards are going to go crazy with that little hint!  We wanted to ask you about another upcoming episode, “Warrior” that Allison Mack is directing.  What was that experience like?

Hartley:  That was really great.  I learned a long time ago…I think it was two years ago, maybe three years ago, when Tom (Welling) directed an episode.  My first instinct was, ‘Oh crap.’  Basically I don’t know how I’m going to handle that.  But it was such a great experience.  What I learned from that was, though it’s hard to do sometimes, is not to have any preconceived notions that are so easy to have.  Tom turned out to be…what I think his talent is, is directing.  I think he’s one of the best directors I’ve ever worked under, to be totally honest with you.  The guy is wonderful to work with.  So then Allison comes in and directs this episode and she’s so smart, but yet she understands what her grasp of directing is now.  OK?  So she’s not afraid to ask for help or listen to other people or any of that stuff.  Which makes her even smarter.  Working under her is great also…unfortunately I only get to do two quick little scenes, but one of them is with her.  And she’s got this way about her.  She’s really fun to be around and work for.  It was really, really great.  We’re lucky.  We have a great cast.  Everybody likes each other and there’s never a big ego thing going on, you know what I mean?  Everyone’s there for the baby.

Nrama:  Another thing I happened to see online was something about you and Stargirl (Britt Irvin) clashing.

Hartley:  Yeah.  I guess a little bit, although I just kind of flick her off to the side a little bit.  She’s really small.  I mean, I don’t know about us clashing, but she just kind of annoys me.  [laughs]  But yeah, we do clash a little bit.  I think it’s funny, actually.  Oliver is funny with women, you know what I mean?  [laughs]  You never know what you’re going to get with him.  But she’s bound and determined and she’s this little firecracker and so we have a little bit of a thing going on there I guess.

Nrama:  The way it’s been sounding, it’s looking like there may be a Season 10.  Are you signed on for that?

Hartley:  Yeah, but I’m looking for a lot more money.  I’m going to renegotiate for a sh*t load more money.  [laughs]  No, I’m kidding.  But yeah. That’s something I am signed on for.  So the way it works is that, to be quite honest with you, if they want me on the show next year, if there is a Season 10…then they have me contracted.  And if they don’t want me on the show, then they can let me go.  That’s kind of the way it works.  It works in their favor.  So I have to mind my p’s and q’s.  I have to be nice.  Know what I mean?  I can’t just be a jerk.  [laughs]

Source: Newsarama

Phil Keoghan

Reality fans are in for a shock…not. CBS have picked up both ‘Survivor’ and ‘The Amazing Race’ for the 2010-2011 television season.

‘Survivor’ has been renewed for two more editions with host Jeff Probst, making it the longest-running reality series on US television.

The Emmy-winning reality series ‘The Amazing Race’ will return for a seventeenth season, with host Phil Keoghan.

‘Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains’ premieres on Thursday, February 11 on CBS. The series will air later this year on Nine.

Season 16 of ‘The Amazing Race’ premieres on Sunday, February 14 on CBS. The series is expected to air later this year on Seven.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

'How I Met Your Mother' retuning for a sixth season.

Fans of Seven’s hit primetime comedy ‘How I Met Your Mother’ have reason to cheer. CBS have picked up the Emmy-nominated comedy for a sixth season.

The early pick up comes hot on the heels of the show’s 100th episode — which aired on January 11 in the States — and show creators/executive producers Carter Bays and Craig Thomas newly inked deal with production company 20th Century Fox Television.

‘How I Met Your Mother’ joins fellow CBS comedies ‘Two and a Half Men’ and ‘The Big Bang Theory’, which were picked up for multiple seasons early last year.

The new season of ‘How I Met Your Mother’ returns after the tennis, this February on Seven.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter