Alison Brie

Following the early renewal handed out to ‘Parks and Recreation,’ NBC has renewed the remaining comedies of their Thursday comedy block.

Freshman comedy ‘Community’ produced by Universal Media Studios in association with Sony Pictures and veteran Universal Media Studios pair ‘The Office’ and ‘30 Rock’ will all be back in fall 2010.

“We are happy to give these early pickups to these critically acclaimed, incredibly funny comedies,” said Angela Bromstad, NBC entertainment president. “As a result, we look forward to continuing our rewarding partnership with the respective creative teams and talented show-runners for ‘30 Rock,’ ‘The Office’ and ‘Community’ as they all consistently deliver quality shows.”

Despite these pick ups, NBC has up to ten comedies in the works, so if the Thursday block remains NBC must be planning for another comedy block which can only be good news for fans of comedy.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Sony's Emmy Award winning XMB (XrossMediaBar) interface.

Things are really heating up in the IPTV arena. Today, Sony unveiled its new lineup of Bravia televisions, most of which include internet connectivity for IPTV.

As part of the unveil, Sony also announced a partnership with Yahoo!7 to deliver content from the Seven Network and other providers directly on Bravia Internet Video capable sets.

18 of Seven’s top television shows will be available, including ‘30 Rock’, ‘Border Security’, ‘City Homicide’, ‘Heroes’, ‘Sunrise’, ‘Seven News’ and some of those already available on PLUS7. More shows are expected to join the lineup over time.

Yahoo!7 will also provide a number of TV widgets including weather, news, and Flickr, with select Bravia models including additional widgets for Facebook and Twitter.

Other content providers, include SBS, Billabong, Wired, Golflink, eHow, Epicurious, Style.com, Blip and YouTube.

Content will be accessed via Sony’s Emmy Award winning XrossMediaBar (XMB) interface, which PlayStation 3 customers will already be familiar with.

Sony said that they’re in talks with other TV networks and content providers to bring to the service later this year.

There will be 15 channels available from launch, with plans for pay-per-view movies and content in the future.

They also promised that more devices (presumably Blu-ray players and set top boxes) will come with the Bravia Internet Video service in the future.

Source: Gizmodo Australia

The Seven Network, in partnership with Yahoo!7, have followed through with their plans to launch a new catch-up TV portal. The service launched today, under the name PLUS7.

The service, similar to ABC’s iView, will allow viewers to catch-up on all Seven’s most popular television shows online.

The shows will be free and ad-supported with an estimated 3-4 mid-roll ads per episode. The latest episodes will become available immediately after broadcast and remain online for 7-28 days (depending on online delivery rights).

Shows currently on offer are 30 Rock, Airways, Better Homes and Gardens, Border Security, Brothers and Sisters, Castle, Cougar Town, Criminal Minds, Desperate Housewives, Flash Forward, Gangs of Oz, Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes, Home and Away, LOST, My Kitchen Rules, Parks and Recreation, Private Practice, RSPCA Animal Rescue and Ugly Betty.

Seven have yet to partner with any ISPs (unlike ABC iView), so viewers should take note of the expected data requirements per episode. A 22 minute episode will consume between 45mb and 160mb, while a 42 minute episode will consume between 90mb and 370mb.

PLUS7 can be accessed from yahoo7.com.au/plus7

For a full list of film and television nominees, visit the Screen Actors Guild Awards website.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

• KEVIN BACON / Lt. Col. Michael R. Strobl – “TAKING CHANCE” (HBO)
• CUBA GOODING, JR. / Ben Carson – “GIFTED HANDS: THE BEN CARSON STORY” (TNT)
• JEREMY IRONS / Alfred Stieglitz – “GEORGIA O’KEEFFE” (Lifetime)
• KEVIN KLINE / Cyrano de Bergerac – “GREAT PERFORMANCES: CYRANO de BERGERAC” (PBS)
• TOM WILKINSON / Salter – “A NUMBER” (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

• JOAN ALLEN / Georgia O’Keeffe – “GEORGIA O’KEEFFE” (Lifetime)
• DREW BARRYMORE / Little Edie – “GREY GARDENS” (HBO)
• RUBY DEE / Mrs. Harper – “AMERICA” (Lifetime)
• JESSICA LANGE / Big Edie – “GREY GARDENS” (HBO)
• SIGOURNEY WEAVER / Mary Griffith – “PRAYERS FOR BOBBY” (Lifetime)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

• SIMON BAKER / Patrick Jane – “THE MENTALIST” (CBS)
• BRYAN CRANSTON / Walter White – “BREAKING BAD” (AMC)
• MICHAEL C. HALL / Dexter Morgan – “DEXTER” (Showtime)
• JON HAMM / Don Draper – “MAD MEN” (AMC)
• HUGH LAURIE / House – “HOUSE” (FOX)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

• PATRICIA ARQUETTE/ Allison Dubois – “MEDIUM” (NBC/CBS)
• GLENN CLOSE / Patty Hewes – “DAMAGES” (FX)
• MARISKA HARGITAY / Det. Olivia Benson – “LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT” (NBC)
• HOLLY HUNTER / Grace Hanadarko – “SAVING GRACE” (TNT)
• JULIANNA MARGULIES / Alicia Florrick – “THE GOOD WIFE” (CBS)
• KYRA SEDGWICK / Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson – “THE CLOSER” (TNT)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

• ALEC BALDWIN / Jack Donaghy – “30 ROCK” (NBC)
• STEVE CARELL / Michael Scott – “THE OFFICE” (NBC)
• LARRY DAVID / Himself – “CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM” (HBO)
• TONY SHALHOUB / Adrian Monk – “MONK” (USA NETWORK)
• CHARLIE SHEEN / Charlie Harper – “TWO AND A HALF MEN” (CBS)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

• CHRISTINA APPLEGATE / Samantha Newly – “SAMANTHA WHO?” (ABC)
• TONI COLLETTE / Tara Gregor – “UNITED STATES OF TARA” (Showtime)
• EDIE FALCO / Jackie Peyton – “NURSE JACKIE” (Showtime)
• TINA FEY / Liz Lemon – “30 ROCK” (NBC)
• JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS / Christine Campbell – “THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE” (CBS)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

• THE CLOSER (TNT)
• DEXTER (Showtime)
• THE GOOD WIFE (CBS)
• MAD MEN (AMC)
• TRUE BLOOD (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

• 30 ROCK (NBC)
• CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM (HBO)
• GLEE (FOX)
• MODERN FAMILY (ABC)
• THE OFFICE (NBC)

Source: Screen Actors Guild Awards

MONDAYS

8-9 p.m. — ‘Chuck’ (begins Jan. 11; two back-to-back season-premiere episodes on Jan. 10 from 9-11 p.m.)

9-10 p.m. — ‘Parenthood’ (premieres March 1)

10-11 p.m. – ‘The Jay Leno Show’

TUESDAYS

8-10 p.m. – ‘The Biggest Loser’ (its new season premieres on Jan. 5)

10-11 p.m. – ‘The Jay Leno Show’

WEDNESDAYS

8-9 p.m. – ‘Mercy’

9-10 p.m. – ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’

10-11 p.m. – ‘The Jay Leno Show’

THURSDAYS

8-8:30 p.m. – ‘Community’

8:30-9 p.m. – ‘Parks and Recreation’

9-9:30 p.m. – ‘The Office’

9:30-10 p.m. – ‘30 Rock’

10-11 p.m. – ‘The Jay Leno Show’

FRIDAYS

8-9 p.m. — ‘Law & Order’

9-10 p.m. — ‘Dateline NBC’

10-11 p.m. – ‘The Jay Leno Show’

SATURDAYS

8-11 p.m. — encores of dramas

SUNDAYS

7-9 p.m. — ‘Dateline NBC’ (through March 7, then moves to 7-8 p.m. beginning March 14)

8-9 p.m. – ‘The Marriage Ref’ (debuts March 14)

9-11 p.m. — ‘The Celebrity Apprentice’ (premieres March 14)

Media Release

NBC ANNOUNCES NEW MID-SEASON PREMIERES FOLLOWING THE WINTER OLYMPICS AS ‘PARENTHOOD’ AND ‘THE MARRIAGE REF’ DEBUT WHILE ‘THE CELEBRITY APPRENTICE’ AND ‘THE BIGGEST LOSER’ RETURN

“Parenthood” Debuts Monday, March 1 (9-10 p.m. ET) While “The Marriage Ref” Premieres on Sunday, March 14 (8-9 p.m. ET)

“The Celebrity Apprentice” Premieres Sunday, March 14 (9-11 p.m. ET) and “The Biggest Loser” Begins a New Season on Tuesday, January 5 (8-10 p.m. ET)

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – December 14, 2009 — NBC revealed its mid-season and post-Winter Olympics schedule today as the new drama “Parenthood” debuts Monday, March 1 (9-10 p.m. ET) while “The Marriage Ref,” a hilarious comedy panel series from Jerry Seinfeld about marriage, premieres on Sundays (8-9 p.m. ET) beginning March 14.

In addition, “The Celebrity Apprentice” returns in its third installment with an all-star lineup of celebrity candidates on Sunday, March 14 (9-11 p.m. ET). Likewise, the ninth edition of the popular “The Biggest Loser” kicks off on Tuesday, January 5 (8-10 p.m. ET) with 11 family teams of two ready to transform their bodies, their health and ultimately their lives. Other January programming includes “The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards” hosted by Ricky Gervais on Sunday, January 17 (8-11 p.m. ET) and “The AT&T U.S. Figure Skating Championships” on Saturday and Sunday, January 23-24 (9-11 p.m. ET).

“Parenthood,” from Oscar winners Ron Howard and Brian Grazer along with fellow executive producers Jason Katims (”Friday Night Lights”) and David Nevins, is inspired by the box-office hit of the same name and features a star-studded cast. The series assumes the Monday (9-10 p.m. ET) time slot beginning March 1 following the season finale of “Heroes” on Monday, February 8 and NBC Universal’s exclusive coverage of the Winter Olympics from February 12-28. “Chuck,” as previously announced, will return with a two-hour premiere on Sunday, January 10 (9-11 p.m. ET) before moving to its regular day and time Monday, January 11 (8-9 p.m. ET).

The new mid-season additions to NBC’s program schedule grid follows (all times ET).

A couple of notes, ‘Heroes’ ends its run on February 8 and there is no news on the extra episodes of ‘Trauma’ NBC ordered.

‘Friday Night Lights’ which is currently airing on DirecTV is scheduled for summer.

Source: NBC

Comcast acquires '30 Rock' parent company NBC Universal.

Comcast, America’s largest cable television and internet provider, has agreed to acquire the majority share of NBC Universal from General Electric in a $30 billion deal.

The cable company will own 51 percent of the new entity, while General Electric will retain the remaining 49 percent.

The acquisition is set to change America’s television landscape, with the new joint venture set to become a massive entertainment powerhouse.

Film and television properties include NBC, Universal Studios, USA Network, SyFy, CNBC, MSNBC, Bravo, The Weather Channel and Hulu.

In addition to NBCU’s entertainment portfolio, Comcast will contribute $7.25 billion of its own cable channels, sports and online properties to the joint venture, including E!, Style and The Golf Channel.

“This deal is a perfect fit for Comcast and will allow us to become a leader in the development and distribution of multiplatform ‘anytime, anywhere’ media that American consumers are demanding,” said Brian Roberts, Comcast Chairman and CEO. “In particular, NBCU’s fast-growing, highly profitable cable networks are a great complement to our industry-leading distribution business.”

President of NBC Universal, Jeff Zucker, will become the new CEO of the joint venture, reporting to Comcast COO Steve Burke.

“This marks the start of a new era for NBCU, and I’m genuinely excited that I will be leading this wonderful organization, along with the Comcast team, at this important time in our history,” Zucker said.

How the merger will affect NBC Universal’s television programs remains to be seen.

Perhaps less NBC subsidiary of Sheinhardt Wig Company subsidiary of General Electric jokes on ‘30 Rock’?

Will '30 Rock' need to update their corporate structure flowchart?

Alec Baldwin

“I don’t have any interest in acting anymore,” Baldwin, 51, told Men’s Journal in an interview for its December issue.

With that line, the future of NBC’s ‘30 Rock’ and Jack Donoghue, Baldwin’s infamous character in ‘30 Rock’ hangs in the balance.

Baldwin claims it is “pretty much it for him” after ‘30 Rock,’ “in a couple of years or so.” He said he will be “done” with acting in 2012 and will retire at “30 Rock’s” wrap party.

He also added he won’t be pursuing a movie career, referring to his previous failures. “I consider my entire movie career a complete failure,” he told Men’s Journal. “The goal of movie-making is to star in a film where your performance drives the film, and the film is either a soaring critical or commercial success, and I never had that.”

Alec Baldwin has won numerous emmies for his portrayal of Jack Donoghue in ‘30 Rock’.

It is still unclear of what he will do after acting but he did previously show some interest in politics

Will ‘30 Rock’ be the same without him or can Tina Fey steer the boat?

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

James Franco

After surprising fans with the news of an upcoming stint on daytime soap ‘General Hospital’, the ‘Spider-man’ star is  now setting his sights on primetime comedy — Emmy award winning primetime comedy ‘30 Rock’ to be exact.

The Emmy nominated actor will make a guest appearance on the Tina Fey comedy as himself, as a faux love interest for Jenna (Jane Krakowski). The relationship will be engineered by their respective agents.

Tina Fey hinted at the possible storyline during the Emmys back in September, ”[Jenna gets] into a high-profile relationship with a movie star that is arranged by their agents,” said Fey.

Franco filmed his ‘30 Rock’ appearance last week.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Robert Pattinson

Following last year’s Emmy win, creator and star Tina Fey expressed her interested in getting Oprah Winfrey to appear on ‘30 Rock’, which seemingly worked out for the comedy series.

So this year, Fey and co-star Alec Baldwin hoped to drum up even more celebs, following another consecutive win for Best Comedy Series at this years Emmys.

“I think our new dream guest star is Meryl Streep,” said Fey backstage at the Emmys. “I think she would be a great love interest for Alec, but I guess they already did a movie like that, so I don’t know if she’ll do it. I would like her to be Alec’s love interest, or Grizz’s love interest to change it up.”

After winning his Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, Baldwin expressed interest in getting The Beatles’ Paul MCartney.

“We want McCartney; I want McCartney to come on. We’re working on it.” he said.

Another star Baldwin hopes to”get” is ‘Twilight’s’ Robert Pattinson.

“I’m sure that [Pattinson] has no shortage of shows that want him to come on, like Desperate Housewives, shows like that. I mean, those women would sure like to get their hands on [him].”

It’ll be interesting to see if any of these work out.

Who else would you like to see drop by ‘30 Rock’ this season?

Source: TV Guide

'The Vampire Diaries' coming soon to The CW and GO!

The season will kick-off with The CW’s sophomore drama ‘90210’. You might remember that ‘90210’ premiered to The CW’s biggest numbers in history (4.65M, A18-49: 2.6/7) but those viewers abandoned it in droves with the finale only mustering a little more than half that audience (2.49M, A18-49: 1.3/3). This is a make or break season for the remake and if it continues to shed viewers it will not only damage The CW’s brand but will have a detrimental effect on the heavily promoted freshman drama ‘Melrose Place’ 2.0. The CW is pinning their hopes on ‘Melrose Place’ and their other fall freshman ‘The Vampire Diaries’, which was inexplicably added to their Thursday line-up at the expense of The CW’s highest rating drama ‘Smallville,’ which has now been bumped to Fridays. If both ‘Melrose’ and ‘Vampire’ fail, it may well be the final year for the struggling network as CBS and WB cannot continue to run a network at a loss in this sort of climate. Elsewhere, Tuesdays will be a little dull with procedurals occupying CBS and reality on ABC, NBC and Fox. However, recently the alphabet made a late change noticing a chance to pounce in that timeslot, by pushing mid season sci-fi drama ‘V’ forward for a November 3 start.

The following night sees the fall premiere of summer reality show, ‘So You Think You Can Dance.’  Fox’s decision to air a second cycle of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ was quite bizarre, the show captures a solid but not spectacular audience during the summer and who’s to say airing it twice a year won’t damage the franchise? Fall has always been the achilles heel for the News Corp. Network and no doubt ‘Dance’ will improve on past year offerings, but will viewers return for future seasons? The decision to move ‘Dance’ to fall was to provide some lead-in support for freshman drama ‘Glee,’ which squandered its ‘Idol’ lead in when Fox aired a sample episode behind one of Idol’s final 2009 episodes, in the ended it averaged only 9.62M, A18-49: 4.4/11.

The aforementioned ‘The Vampire Diaries’ has its series premiere on Thursday, September 10 and it will be partnered with The CW’s other sci-fi drama ‘Supernatural’. The CW greenlighting ‘Diaries’ was no surprise as they wanted to capitalise on the ‘Twilight’ and ‘True Blood’ hype. Even though ‘Diaries’ has generated a lot of negative press, initial sampling will be large but the million dollar question is how long will the audience give it? The following Thursday sees the return of JJ Abram’s latest demo hit ‘Fringe’. ‘Fringe’ will have its work cut out going up against heavyweights, ‘CSI’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ which both return on September 24. ‘Fringe’s’ departure from a solid lead in indicates the confidence Fox has in the sophomore drama, however in comparison to Abram’s previous projects, ‘Fringe’ focuses less on mythology and more on individual episodes which should make it easier to follow but less intriguing to the dedicated fans. Another huge Thursday development is the movement of last year’s freshman hit ‘The Mentalist’ to 10/9c following CSI. CBS is grooming it as the next CSI, which I might add has lost a lot of steam since the departure of William Petersen, however the timeslot is somewhat of a bogey one for CBS as nothing has remained there for more than one year.

Thursdays also see the return of ‘Survivor’ for its 19th season, the 6th season of the Office, the 2nd season of ‘Parks and Recreation’ and the debut of critical darling ‘Community’ which all premiere on September 17. For those waiting for ’30 Rock’ it returns on October 15. The biggest premiere to Thursdays is ‘Flash Forward’, which is being promoted by ABC as the new ‘Lost.’  ‘Flash Forward’ looks to be the biggest show to come out of the states since ‘Lost’ and ‘Desperate Housewives’ and it comes with a lot of buzz. Just recently, the directors noted, they will need at least three seasons to complete the arc they have planned. In a nutshell, ‘Flash Forward’ follows the life of an FBI agent who investigates the reason for a mysterious event, which sees everyone blackout for two minutes and seventeen seconds, travelling six months into the future.

The following two Mondays see the return of ‘WTF’ (No, not What The Beep, but Watch This Fall) drama ‘Gossip Girl’ and veteran ‘One Tree Hill’. This fall, Dawn has decided to do a switcheroo with the two, moving her baby ‘Gossip’ to a higher household viewing time and avoiding direction competition with ‘House’. The aforementioned ‘House’ and the trouble ridden ‘Heroes’ both return with two hour premieres on September 21. It has been quite a steep fall for ‘Heroes’, if Kring can’t stop the bleeding, this might be the end of the one season wonder. The following Monday sees NBC launch their new high-octane medical drama ‘Trauma,’ a number of photos/clips for this show have being doing the rounds on the internet, so expect a large initial sampling. ‘Lie to Me’ will occupate the post ‘House’ slot as Fox tries to groom this as a replacement for ‘House’. Over at CBS, ‘How I Met Your Mother’ has been moved to 8/7c providing some lead in support for the dead on arrival ‘Accidently on Purpose’. ‘Two and a Half Men’ remains, but ‘The Big Bang Theory’ moves to the post ‘Men’ slot. ‘Bang’ was trialled in the slot late last year or early this year and maintained close to 100% retention, so look for ‘Bang’ to reach series highs again.

Wednesdays will be interesting for a number of reasons, ABC has a completely new line up with critical darlings ‘Modern Family’ and ‘Cougar Town’ occupying the key 9/8c and 9:30/8:30c timeslots. ‘Cougar Town’ follows Jules (Courtney Cox), a recently divorced single mother exploring honest truths about dating and aging in our beauty and youth obsessed culture, while ‘Modern Family’ explores the complications that come with being in a family in this day and age. The entrees ‘Hank’ and ‘The Middle’ debut the following week. ‘Eastwick’ a cross between ‘Valentine’ and ‘Sex and the City’ also debuts in the same week as ‘Modern Family’ and ‘Cougar Town’, but things don’t look good for the romantic drama.

The landscape for Fridays has completely changed; networks are finally getting aggressive with their programming. There is less reality from the other three networks which might finally give CBS’ combo of Ghost Whisperer, Cold Case and Numb3rs some headaches. Fox kicks off with a comedy hour with waiting to be cancelled ‘’Til Death’ and ‘Brothers’ followed by the ever improving and surprise renewal ‘Dollhouse’ which all premiere on September 25. The CW veteran ‘Smallville’ has been yanked to Thursdays along with the ever fading ‘Ugly Betty’.

Nothing much has changed on Sundays, with ABC’s ‘Desperate Housewives’ and ‘Brothers and Sisters’ starting on September 27. Fox has shuffled their line up knocking out the every reliable – ‘King of the Hill’, for Seth McFarland’s new, albeit belated project ‘The Cleveland Show’. ‘The Simpsons’, ‘Family Guy’ and ‘American Dad’ all return for their 21st, 8th and 5th season respectively. ‘The Cleveland Show’s’ pilot has been leaked for a while and it doesn’t look too different to ‘Family Guy’ or ‘American Dad’.

Finally, the biggest news this fall is Jay Leno moving to primetime, which begins daily from September 14, 10/9c. All eyes will be on the ratings for ‘The Jay Leno Show,’ but NBC isn’t expecting much, as long as it remains profitable, NBC will be satisfied. Jay Leno recently said he doesn’t expect his show to beat first run CSI, but hopes to push CSI repeats to the limit. The format of the show is: Leno will begin with a 10 second opening sequence which leads into a monologue. He will have at least one special guest a night and music will come from multiple acts. Jaywalking and newspaper headlines will be held until the end of the show to give News affiliates a strong lead in. Leno also gave us a snippet of the ‘Green Car Challenge’ where you can see, as Leno puts it, “who is faster, Shaquille O’Neal or Cameron Diaz.” There will be pre-recorded segments from D.L Hughley and Rachel Harris.As always, this is will be an interesting fall, with networks trying something different.

I hope everyone enjoys the fall TV season and wish for everyone’s favourite TV show to survive.

Premiere Dates

• ‘90210’ 2nd Season Premiere September 8
• ‘Melrose Place’ Series Premiere September 8
• ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Fall Premiere September 9
• ‘Glee’ Series Premiere September 9
• ‘The Vampire Diaries’ Series Premiere September 10
• ‘Supernatural’ 5th Season Premiere September 10
• ‘One Tree Hill’ 7th Season Premiere September 14
• ‘Gossip Girl’ 3rd Season Premiere September 14
• ‘The Jay Leno Show’ Series Premiere September 14
• ‘The Beautiful Life’ Series Premiere September 16
• ‘Bones’ 5th Season Premiere September 17
• ‘Survivor’ 19th Season Premiere September 17
• ‘Parks and Recreation’ 2nd Season Premiere September 17
• ‘Fringe’ 2nd Season Premiere September 17
• ‘The Office’ 6th Season Premiere September 17
• ‘Community’ Series Premiere September 17
• ‘Heroes’ 4th Season Premiere September 21
• ‘House’ 6th Season Premiere September 21
• ‘How I Met Your Mother’ 5th Season Premiere September 21
• ‘Accidently on Purpose’ Series Premiere September 21
• ‘Two and a Half Men’ 7th Season Premiere September 21
• ‘The Big Bang Theory’ 3rd Season Premiere September 21
• ‘Castle’ 2nd Season Premiere September 21
• ‘CSI: Miami’ 8th Season Premiere September 21
• ‘NCIS’ 7th Season Premiere September 22
• ‘The Goode Wife’ Series Premiere September 22
• ‘The Forgotten Series’ Premiere September 22
• ‘Mercy’ Series Premiere September 23
• ‘Criminal Minds’ 5th Season Premiere September 23
• ‘Modern Family’ Series Premiere September 23
• ‘Cougar Town’ Series Premiere September 23
• ‘Eastwick’ Series Premiere September 23
• ‘Flash Forward’ Series Premiere September 24
• ‘The Mentalist’ 2nd Season Premiere September 24
• ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ 6th Season Premiere September 24
• ‘Brothers’ Series Premiere September 25
• ‘Smallville’ 9th Season Premiere September 25
• ‘Dollhouse’ 2nd Season Premiere September 25
• ‘The Amazing Race’ 15th Season Premiere September 27
• ‘The Simpsons’ 21st Season Premiere September 27
• ‘The Cleveland Show’ Series Premiere September 27
• ‘Desperate Housewives’ 6th Season Premiere September 27
• ‘Brothers and Sisters’ 4th Season Premiere September 27
• ‘Family Guy’ 8th Season Premiere September 27
• ‘American Dad’ 5th Season Premiere September 27
• ‘Lie to Me’ 2nd Season Premiere September 28
• ‘Trauma’ Series Premiere September 28
• ‘Hank’ Series Premiere September 30
• ‘The Middle’ Series Premiere September 30
• ‘Private Practice’ 3rd Season Premiere October 1
• ‘Ugly Betty’ 4th Season Premiere October 9
• ‘30 Rock’ 4th Season Premiere October 15
• ‘V’ Series Premiere November 3
• Cable Premiere Dates
• ‘Dexter’ 4th Season Premiere September 27
• ‘Californication’ 3rd Season Premiere September 27
• ‘Stargate Universe’ Series Premiere October 2
• ‘Sanctuary’ 2nd Season Premiere October 9

Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay star in NBC's hit drama 'Law & Order: SVU'

NBC have renewed ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’ for its 11th season despite having yet to close deals with the show’s two leads.

The network are currently in talks with Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay, however both stars are looking for  changes and salary bumps to their contracts, so their commitment to next season is still unclear.

With their current contracts with the show expiring at the end of this season, it is believed that the two stars are looking for a bump to their $350,000-per-episode salaries, in addition to more personal time built into Hargitay’s contract.

‘SVU’ will join other NBC pickups, ‘The Office’, ‘30 Rock’ and ‘The Biggest Loser’.

Stage legend Patti Lupone will be guest starring on another New York based comedy this year.

The actress who appeared on Ugly Betty as the mother of  Marc St. James in 2007, will be playing mum once again, but this time to Judah Friedlander’s character Frank Rossitano on 30 Rock.

So we’ve already seen Jack’s mother and now Frank’s. Next feat will be seeing who they cast as Liz Lemon’s mum on the hilarious NBC comedy. Now those will be interesting shoes to fill…

Who do you think?

The cast of “30 Rock”, “Mad Men”, Hugh Laurie of “House” and “Brothers & Sisters” Sally Field top the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.  See the full list of winners after the break.

“30 Rock” (2006) 
“Desperate Housewives” (2004) 
“Entourage” (2004) 
“The Office” (2005) 
“Weeds” (2005) 

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series 
“Mad Men” (2007) 
“Boston Legal” (2004) 
“The Closer” (2005) 
“Dexter” (2006) 
“House M.D.” (2004) 

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series 
Alec Baldwin for “30 Rock” (2006) 
Steve Carell for “The Office” (2005) 
David Duchovny for “Californication” (2007) 
Jeremy Piven for “Entourage” (2004) 
Tony Shalhoub for “Monk” (2002) 

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series 
Tina Fey for “30 Rock” (2006) 
Christina Applegate for “Samantha Who?” (2007) 
America Ferrera for “Ugly Betty” (2006) 
Mary-Louise Parker for “Weeds” (2005) 
Tracey Ullman for “State of the Union” (2008) 

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series 
Hugh Laurie for “House M.D.” (2004) 
Michael C. Hall for “Dexter” (2006) 
Jon Hamm for “Mad Men” (2007) 
William Shatner for “Boston Legal” (2004) 
James Spader for “Boston Legal” (2004) 

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series 
Sally Field for “Brothers & Sisters” (2006) 
Mariska Hargitay for “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (1999) 
Holly Hunter for “Saving Grace” (2007) 
Elisabeth Moss for “Mad Men” (2007) 
Kyra Sedgwick for “The Closer” (2005) 

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries 
Paul Giamatti for “John Adams” (2008) 
Ralph Fiennes for Bernard and Doris (2007) 
Kevin Spacey for Recount (2008) (TV) 
Kiefer Sutherland for 24: Redemption (2008) (TV) 
Tom Wilkinson for “John Adams” (2008) 

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries 
Laura Linney for “John Adams” (2008) 
Laura Dern for Recount (2008) (TV) 
Shirley MacLaine for Coco Chanel (2008) (TV) 
Phylicia Rashad for A Raisin in the Sun (2008) (TV) 
Susan Sarandon for Bernard and Doris (2007

• NBC’s new winter show King’s will now premiere at 8/7c Sundays, effectively swapping timeslots with freshman cop show Southland.

• The Office, 30 Rock and The Biggest Loser have all been renewed for another season.

• The Philanthropist, another NBC freshman may air earlier than expected

• The CW are close to ordering a Gossip Girl spin off. It will surround ‘a rich girl who loses a wealthy lifestyle and has to go to public school’.

Best Television Series – Drama
Dexter (SHOWTIME)
House (FOX)
In Treatment (HBO)
Mad Men (AMC)
True Blood (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Drama
Sally Field – Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Mariska Hargitay – Law & Order
January Jones – Mad Men (AMC)
Anna Paquin – True Blood (HBO)
Kyra Sedgwick – The Closer (TNT)

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Drama
Gabriel Byrne – In Treatment (HBO)
Michael C. Hall – Dexter (SHOWTIME)
Jon Hamm – Mad Men (AMC)
Hugh Laurie – House (FOX)
Jonathan Rhys Meyers – The Tudors (SHOWTIME)

Best Television Series – Musical Or Comedy
30 Rock (NBC)
Californication (SHOWTIME)
Entourage (HBO)
The Office (NBC)
Weeds (SHOWTIME)

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Musical Or Comedy
Christina Applegate – Samantha Who? (ABC)
America Ferrera – Ugly Betty (ABC)
Tina Fey – 30 Rock (NBC)
Debra Messing – The Starter Wife (USA)
Mary-Louise Parker – Weeds (SHOWTIME)

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Musical Or Comedy
Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock (NBC)
Steve Carell – The Office (NBC)
Kevin Connolly – Entourage (HBO)
David Duchovny – Californication (SHOWTIME)
Tony Shalhoub – Monk (USA)

Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made for Television
A Raisin In The Sun (ABC)
Bernard And Doris (HBO)
Cranford (PBS)
John Adams (HBO)
Recount (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Judi Dench – Cranford (PBS)
Catherine Keener – An American Crime
Laura Linney – John Adams (HBO)
Shirley MacLaine – Coco Chanel
Susan Sarandon – Bernard And Doris (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Ralph Fiennes – Bernard And Doris (HBO)
Paul Giamatti – John Adams (HBO)
Kevin Spacey – Recount (HBO)
Kiefer Sutherland – 24 (FOX)
Tom Wilkinson – Recount (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Eileen Atkins – Cranford (PBS)
Laura Dern – Recount (HBO)
Melissa George – In Treatment (HBO)
Rachel Griffiths – Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Dianne Wiest – In Treatment (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Neil Patrick Harris – How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
Denis Leary – Recount (HBO)
Jeremy Piven – Entourage (HBO)
Blair Underwood – In Treatment (HBO)
Tom Wilkinson – John Adams (HBO)

What an interesting fall it has been, with a number of good performances from The Mentalist, Smallville, Supernatural and Gossip Girl to name a few and many casualties in My Own Worst Enemy, Dirty Sexy Money, Eli Stone, Pushing Daisies, Do Not Disturb, Lipstick Jungle, The Ex-List, Easy Money, Valentine, In Harm’s Way and Til Death. Here is how I rate each show.

Winners

The Simpsons: Back for its 20th season, The Simpsons has been Fox’s Sunday night stable mate pulling in an average of ~9M viewers this season. Couple this with the highest rating Treehouse of Horror episode in five years. Simpsons is definitely a winner for Fox even though the jokes seem to be recycled over and over again.

Family Guy: Has not dropped out of the weekly top 10 in the 18-49 bracket and dominates the 18-34 demo against the likes of Desperate Housewives and NFL. Has a number of years left in it.

Desperate Housewives: Now into its fifth season, the housewives seem to never age. Viewership has diminished due to a lacklustre third season (?), nevertheless it is Sunday’s night top scripted drama in total viewers and 18-49 demo.

Chuck: Against some tough opposition, Chuck managed to remain around the 6.5M mark and over the 2 rating in key demos in the fall.

Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother: Continually defies the critics, occasionally winning the timeslot in the key demos and has slowly built an audience over the fall season.

Two and a Half Men: Veteran CBS comedy which defies logic and reaps in excess of 14M viewers every week.

CSI: Miami and CSI: NY: The two spin-offs constantly pull in the masses and in Miami’s case building on its lead in.

Gossip Girl: Season 2 has been somewhat of a break through season for the teen drama, hitting series high numbers and providing a suitable and beneficial lead in for One Tree Hill.

One Tree Hill: After falling below the 3M mark during its 3rd, 4th and 5th seasons, One Tree Hill has bounced back nicely, regularly rating in the mid to low 3M range.

House: The move to 8/7c hasn’t helped its numbers, but it is taking one for the team as Fox continue to develop Fringe. Still pulls in massive demos for the news corp. network.

The Mentalist and NCIS: Against the House and Dancing juggernauts these two dramas have performed admirably, especially The Mentalist which does particularly well for the eye in the demos.

90210: Was off to a flying start, but numbers have settled around the 3M mark. Occasionally out-rates CW’s other teen dramas in One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl.

Criminal Minds: Behind the CSI franchise, it is CBS’s best rating demographic show amongst all the crime procedurals.

30 Rock: Has been nurtured nicely and off the back of the US election and Tina Fey’s extra exposure, numbers have soared to series highs.

The Office: The peacock’s best rating show in the fall, challenges the likes of Grey’s Anatomy, House and Desperate Housewives for the 18-49 crown.

ER: In its final season and still pulling in the viewers left, right and centre. Also defeats the likes of lead in assisted shows Life on Mars and Eleventh Hour in the key demos. One of NBC’s top rating shows of the fall.

CSI: Still pulling in the masses in its ninth season, also stays competitive in the demos against the demo king Grey’s Anatomy.

Grey’s Anatomy: Numbers have died down for the once ratings juggernaut, but it is still the week’s top rating demo show.

Supernatural and Smallville: Are up year-on-year and ratings can not be better with Supernatural soaring to series highs. Well deserved winners.

On the Bubble

King of the Hill: The recently cancelled animated comedy just misses out on the winners list. Regularly winning its timeslot in the 18-34 demo and hovering around the 6-7M mark week in week out. What were the execs at Fox smoking when they swung the axe?

American Dad: My favourite animated comedy of them all, does well in the demos but poor retention out of Family Guy has it a bee’s d**k away from a winner.

Amazing Race: Has slipped significantly in the demo, sometimes even dropping below the 2 rating in the 18-34 demo.

Cold Case: Solid numbers for veteran CBS, but its demos aren’t what CBS are looking for. If not for NFL overrun, CBS would be dead last in the demos on Sundays.

Brothers and Sisters: Averages 10M every week and a 4 rating in the demos, but losing a third of a compatible lead in is not good enough. Anymore it would’ve been a loser.

Heroes: Has lost a lot of steam, in previous seasons in has dominated the demos with nothing coming close to it, but this season Two and a Half Men constantly beats it in the key demos.

Prison Break: Has been stable across the fall season and regularly clears the 2 rating in the demos.

Old Christine and Gary Unmarried: Numbers for a relatively easy timeslot are soft, but CBS haven’t had another comedy block outside of Mondays, so this deserves a little credit, only just.

Samantha Who?: Just makes it into this list, retention out of Dancing with the Stars is a paltry 50 odd percent, but nothing else has done better out of Dancing. My judgement on Samantha Who? might change when the ratings for last night are released early tomorrow morning our time.

Boston Legal: After surviving the culling last year, Boston Legal continues to out perform a number of the alphabet’s other shows even though it is in its final season.

Fringe: Still a work in progress and if it weren’t for a House lead-in would be in the trash by now. Nevertheless, does well in the demos and is Fox’s best rating drama since House itself.

Law and Order SVU: Has tumbled to series low numbers, but still a consistent performer for an otherwise struggling network.

The Biggest Loser: Constantly slides under the radar for NBC, it is one of NBC’s best performers in demos.

America’s Next Top Model: Initially numbers were soft but has built as the season progressed, with the finale pulling in 4.8M and was the night’s top rating program amongst the 18-34 demo.

Private Practice: Best of a bad bunch on a Wednesday night, numbers will improve once it proceeds its sister show, Grey’s Anatomy.

Ugly Betty: Hasn’t reached the highs of its inaugural season, but still one of ABC’s better shows.

Life on Mars and Eleventh Hour: Poor retention out of lead in, but numbers have been acceptable.

Survivor: The reality veteran continues to kick off CBS’s Thursday night with a bang.

Ghost Whisperer and Numb3rs: Solid but not spectacular Friday night performers.

Everybody Hates Chris and The Game: Numbers are down on Smackdown, but approx 1.5-2M isn’t a bad effort for The CW.

Losers

The Unit: Moving it from Tuesday night to Sundays has sugar coated some flaws but retention out of Cold Case is good, however demos are a worry.

In Harm’s Way, Easy Money and Valentine: all lasted less than 6 weeks, could only muster 1M or so viewers and couldn’t even crack a point in the demo.

My Own Worst Enemy: The recently cancelled drama had a lot of potential, but numbers just didn’t stack up.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Continues to bleed viewers from its series premiere, with its last airing netting less than 5M viewers. It might have a core fan base, but that is where it ends.

Privileged: Even though its one of my favourites of the new fall season, numbers have been poor out of a compatible 90210.

Eli Stone: Poor retention out of Dancing which eventually led to its cancellation.

Without A Trace: No longer appeals to the masses, but averages reasonable numbers for procedural kings CBS.

Pushing Daisies: Struggled in a relatively easy slot, with figures slipping below the 5.5M mark and 2 rating in the demo.

Dirty Sexy Money: Another sophomore drama culled due to ABC’s stupidity, however ratings were poor and cancellation was justified.

Stylista: What were The CW thinking here? Project Runway, Shear Genius to name a few.

Knight Rider: Exciting show which hasn’t caught on to the masses.

Life: Has lost its oomph factor from its freshman season and even with the shift to a more viewer friendly timeslot, numbers have been poor.

Lipstick Jungle: Numbers have headed south since its season two premiere.

Do Not Disturb and Til Death: Should have never green lit these two shows.

Deal or No Deal: Viewer fatigue has finally set in for this once stable performer.

My Name is Earl: Novelty is wearing off this once funny comedy.

Kath and Kim: Hasn’t worked out for NBC, but has the potential to be a good comedy.

Kitchen Nightmares and Hole in the Wall: Down year-on-year in that timeslot.

The Ex-List, Crusoe, Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader and Don’t Forget the Lyrics: Crusoe and Ex-List both couldn’t crack it on Friday, averaging ordinary numbers. The shift to Fridays for 5th Grader and Lyrics hasn’t worked out with both pulling less than its Thursday numbers.

Worst Week: Poor retention out of Two and a Half Men.

Welcome to Australia, home of convicts, criminals and pirates. In honour of the release of Australia’s largest and most expensive film ever, go download this episode and spread the pirate cheer by sharing it on bittorrent. But only if you’re on iiNet, okay?

Hilary Duff has signed a one-year talent and development deal with NBC.

The one-year deal with the peacock will see Duff meet with various writers to find the right project for her. She will also make some appearances on several other current NBC shows.

Could 30 Rock perhaps be seeing yet another celeb drop by this season?

This will be the actress’ first foray back into television since her Disney Channel debut as Lizzy McGuire, she has up until now focused on her film and music careers since the show wrapped in 2004.

It’s our very first episode in front of a LIVE internet audience! Under the added pressure of the live listeners, we discuss all the major headlines of the last few weeks, including: One HD, the US Presidential Election, 111 Hits, Packed to the Rafters, 30 Rock, Recent Movies and IMAX Cinemas, plus a bunch of live audience interaction.

• Samantha Who? gets full season order, but only seven additional episodes due to ABC’s midseason being already over booked with Scrubs, According to Jim and several other midseason replacements.

• 30 Rock hits series high with third season premiere (4.1/10 in 18-49, 8.5 million viewers overall), most likely attributed to Tina Fey’s increased exposure as Governor Sarah Palin on SNL.

• Packed to the Rafters picked up by international broadcasters in Belgium, New Zealand and several other countries at Mipcom.

Sources: Variety, Wikipedia

Molly Shannon and Selma Blair as America's 'Kim & Kim'.

It has been plagued with bad press, re-shoots and shuffling of staff behind the scenes, but now the American version is just under a week away and we have our first review of the NBC half-hour comedy.

While I was never a huge fan of the Australian series, I did have high hopes for the US adaptation of our foxy ladies. I thought if anyone could pull off an adaptation, it would be Ben Silverman and the folks over at Reveille Productions, the brains behind the American versions of The Office and Ugly Betty. Unfortunately for Kath & Kim, this adaptation of falls flat on its face.

I remember seeing the original bunch of promos that NBC ran earlier this year to promote the show, there were signs of the same ridiculous comedy that the Australian version strived on. But since the re-shoots it appears all those seemingly funny moments are gone.

What made the Australian version work so well, was that it was completely outrageous and over the top. The American version doesn’t even seem to have the same style. It’s not funny enough to be a laugh-out-loud comedy and its not well versed enough to be a good dramedy. It’s sort of stuck in this middle ground which doesn’t seem to offer anything remotely new or entertaining. I kept waiting for it to really pick up, having a few humorous moments throughout, but for the most part stayed pretty flat.

While I’ve always thought Molly Shannon was an great choice for Kath and Selma Blair as Kim was starting to grow on me, it’s the script and direction that really lets this pilot down. It wasn’t particularly clever or witty, but rather dull and lacking the outrageous comic prowess of the Aussie original. It often felt half baked or even restrained. I can only imagine how much more intriguing the original Paul Feig (The Office, Arrested Development and 30 Rock) directed pilot would have been.

One thing the script did get right was the pop culture references. There were some good one liners, but the execution was less praise worthy. I don’t know if it was poor direction or just bad comic timing on the actors behalf, but they just didn’t have the impact they should have had.

There were subtle hints of the original in the dialogue and John Michael Higgins plays a pretty great replacement for Glenn Robinns, but thats about it. It don’t think it really resembles enough of the original to be called Kath & Kim. Even Gina Riley’s cheesy soap operatic theme song rendition of “The Joker Is Me” has been replaced (with “Filthy/Gorgeous” by the Scissor Sisters). To top it all off, there are horribly done voice overs which sound more like after thoughts.

Perhaps because the show has undergone so many changes, it’s lost the original spark that attracted the American producers in the first place. Maybe the series will improve as it continues (like The Office did), but for now, I gotta say – It’s nothing nice, different or unusual. I don’t like it.

1.5 out of 5 stars

Kath & Kim premieres Sunday September 12 on Seven.

Jennifer Anniston is returning to NBC in an upcoming episode of 30 Rock. The Friends starlet will play a former roommate of Liz, who begins to stalk Jack. The announcement was made by Teri Weinberg, Executive Vice President, NBC Entertainment.

“What a thrill to have Jennifer back on NBC on a Thursday night. She is the perfect comedic talent to work with the Emmy-winning 30 Rock cast. This promises to be a memorable, hilarious night of comedy.”

Tina Fey, creator, executive producer and star of 30 Rock spoke high praise of the comedy actress.

“Jennifer is not only incredibly lovely to have around, she also has what the young people would call ‘mad skills’. We’re very excited that she’s joining us.”

This will be Anniston’s first foray back into television since her much talked about kiss with fellow Friends star Courtney Cox on cable network FX’s Dirt.

Here is quick list of season and series premieres to get you started.  Let us know of any other premiere dates in the comments.

Hit more to see the list.

All dates are local time.

24th August

• Australian Idol – TEN

2nd September

• Prison Break –  FOX
• Gossip Girl – CW
• One Tree Hill – CW

19th September

• Smallville – CW
• Supernatural – CW

23rd September

• How I Met Your Mother – CBS
• The Big Bang Theory – CBS
• Boston Legal – ABC

25th September

• Lipstick Jungle – NBC
• Criminal Minds – CBS
• Knight Rider – NBC
• The New Adventures of Old Christine – CBS

26th September

• Ugly Betty – ABC
• Grey’s Anatomy – ABC
• The Office – NBC

29th September

• Desperate Housewives -ABC

30th September

• The Amazing Race – CBS
• Chuck – NBC

2nd October

• Private Practice – ABC
• Pushing Daisies – ABC
• Dirty Sexy Money – ABC

4th October

• Ghost Whisperer

7th October

• Samantha Who? – ABC

11th October

• Kath & Kim  - NBC

15th October

• Eli Stone – ABC

31st October

• 30 Rock – NBC

In episode 10 and 3/4, the TV Auscasters discuss what’s hot on the forum.  Some new Australian drama, personalisation of the TVAus forum.  30 Rock, New Amsterdam, recent movie outings and more.