"Glee: The Music - The Power of Madonna EP" out April 16.

The upcoming fifteenth episode of ‘Glee’ is set to be a musical spectacular, paying tribute to Queen of Pop.

The episode, which is set to air on April 20 on FOX, was directed by series creator Ryan Murphy.

Murphy describes the episode as “big…huge”, saying “it’s got like 10 numbers in it, and the production value is very big. We adore her and worship her, so when I’m directing, I’m always like, ‘Do it for Madonna.’”

The singer granted ‘Glee’ the rights to her entire catalogue of music, ten of which were covered by the ‘Glee’ team for the highly anticipated episode.

Sony Music Australia will release seven of the tracks as an EP, which is set to be released on April 16.

“Glee: The Music – The Power of Madonna EP” track-listing:

1. Express Yourself
2. Borderline / Open Your Heart
3. Vogue
4. Like A Virgin
5. 4 Minutes
6. What It Feels Like For A Girl
7. Like A Prayer

‘Glee’ returns with all new episodes in April on Network Ten.

Kiefer Sutherland

Late last week it was reported that US network FOX and production company 20th Century Fox Television were nearing a mutual decision to end the long running action drama ‘24’ with its eighth season finale this May.

Declining ratings and rising production costs were cited as major reasons for its cancellation.

“Some writers are already leaving to do other shows — It’s more possible than ever that this is the end” says show-runner Howard Gordon.

Contracts for both Gordon and star Kiefer Sutherland are also set to expire following the current season.

Entertainment Weekly now reports that 20th Century Fox have approached rival network NBC to pick up the series, should FOX ultimately decide to pull the plug.

It’s been tipped as a very long shot, considering the high production costs, but “there’s definitely some interest,” says an insider close to the talks.

A move to NBC would likely delay 20th Century Fox’s plans to bring Jack Bauer to the big screen, which won’t take place while the series is still on the air.

Gordon expects to bring a ‘24’ movie to the big screen within 18 months of the series’ conclusion.

“I think the fans could wait a year or a year and a half for the movie, but not much longer than that.”

All new episodes of ‘24’ air 8.30pm Tuesdays on 7TWO.

Source: Entertainment Weekly, The Star

Neil Patrick Harris

Neil Patrick Harris has been confirmed for a guest-starring role on 20th Century Fox TV’s musical comedy ‘Glee’.

Harris is no newcomer to the musical genre. The 36-year old appeared on Broadway in 2001 as Tobais Ragg in ‘Sweeny Todd’, as Emcee in ‘Cabaret’ in 2003 and starred in Joss Whedon’s Emmy Award-winning musical web series, ‘Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog’ on 2008.

Details of Harris’ role have yet to be released, but the Emmy nominated actor has only confirmed for the one episode.

Early reports linked Harris to director Joss Whedon’s upcoming episode of ‘Glee’, but that has yet to be confirmed.

‘Glee’ returns in April on FOX and Network Ten.

Source: TVGuide.com

Will Arnett

While the ‘Arrested Development’ movie is still far from completion, a reunion project at FOX is inching closer to reality.

‘Arrested Development’ creator/executive producer Mitch Hurwitz, co-star Will Arnett and co-executive producer Jim Vallely are awaiting a pilot order on a new comedy series for FOX.

The untitled half-hour comedy was originally based at Sony Pictures Television, who have since pulled out. However, Lionsgate Television (the producers of ‘Mad Men’ and ‘Weeds’) have now stepped to take over the project.

Deals are yet to be finalised, but are looking positive now that the studio issues have been resolved.

The comedy stars Arnett as a rich Beverly Hills jackass who falls in love with a charitable tree-hugging woman who can’t stand his lifestyle or values.

Arnett will serve as a producer on the pilot, which he co-wrote the pilot with Hurwitz and Vallely. Hurwitz and Vallely will serve as executive producers alongside Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum, Peter Principato and Paul Young.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Press Release

GLEEKS REJOICE! FOX PICKS UP SECOND SEASON OF “GLEE”

NATIONWIDE OPEN CASTING CALL FOR “GLEE” BEGINS FEBRUARY AND WILL AIR AS MULTI-PART SPECIAL THIS FALL ON FOX

Series Returns with All-New Episodes Tuesday, April 13, on FOX

FOX has ordered a second season of the genre-defying comedy GLEE, it was announced today by Kevin Reilly, President, Entertainment for Fox Broadcasting Company. GLEE has become a bona fide cultural phenomenon boasting winning ratings, critical acclaim, a rabid fan base of “GLEEks,” two certified Gold albums and more than 4 million song downloads. The series has received four Golden Globe nominations, including one for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy; a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series; two Directors Guild of America Award nominations; and a Writers Guild of America nomination for Best Comedy Series and Best New Series. Additionally, the American Film Institute named GLEE one of the Top 10 TV Programs of the Year, and the series also recently won a People’s Choice Award for Favorite New TV Comedy.

“We’ve loved GLEE ever since it was a pilot script, so it’s been an incredible thrill to watch the show take root and see audiences embrace these characters in such a huge way this season,” said Reilly. “The show is a true and rare gem in television. We couldn’t be more proud of what Ryan Murphy and the GLEE team have created so far, and can’t wait to see what they come up with for Season Two.”

GLEE has also launched the acting and singing careers of its young, talented cast, and turned them into international sensations. Replicating and expanding on the process used to discover the stars from Season One, the series’ executive producers will begin a nationwide casting search this February to fill three new roles that will be added to the show’s second season.

Building upon the show’s incredibly supportive community of GLEEks and with the hope of bringing fans even closer to the series, auditions will be open to amateur individuals as well as professionals between the ages of 16-26, and all hopefuls will be able to submit auditions online. Additional details to be announced soon, please check www.fox.com/glee for updates.

This unique casting search and process will be chronicled in a multi-part special that will air leading up to the premiere of the series’ second season in fall 2010 on FOX, and the new cast members will be revealed in the premiere episode.

“GLEE has always been about finding new fresh exciting voices. Our second season search for young talent will be in the vein of our first season. We launched a nationwide search for talent for our first season with great unexpected results, and Season Two expands that search in an even bigger way,” said executive producer and creator Ryan Murphy. He added, “Anybody and everybody now has a chance to be on a show about talented underdogs. No matter who you are – a Broadway talent or a struggling singing waiter with a dream in the Midwest – you now have an opportunity to make that dream come true by posting your talent video and showing us what you can do. ALL the roles will be chosen from the video audition process, which is exciting and unprecedented. We want to be the first interactive musical comedy on television, and the search is ON.”

“GLEE is the hottest new show of the season, and it’s amazing to look back at the audition tapes of those stars as they were being discovered,” said Mike Darnell, President of Alternative Entertainment for FOX. “Just like GLEE, there’s never really been an unscripted program like this on television before. The stakes are real, and it’s going to be incredibly compelling to watch the lives of these unknowns transformed before our eyes.”

GLEE returns with all-new episodes on a new night beginning Tuesday, April 13 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

GLEE follows an optimistic teacher who – against all odds and a malicious cheerleading coach – inspires McKinley High’s Glee Club to conquer the world one singing competition at a time. GLEE stars Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Matthew Morrison, Amber Riley, Mark Salling and Jenna Ushkowitz.

GLEE is produced by Ryan Murphy Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan are co-creators of the series. Murphy, Falchuk and Dante Di Loreto serve as executive producers, while Ian Brennan serves as co-executive producer.

Source: FOX Broadcasting Company

The cast of 'New Amsterdam', coming soon to GO!

GO! have just announced that the short-lived drama series ‘New Amsterdam’ will screen over the summer.

The series stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (‘Wimbledon’, ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, ‘Virtuality’) as the brilliant NYPD homicide detective John Amsterdam, who also happens to be immortal.

The 8-episode run will begin 9.30pm Wednesday, December 30 on GO!.

Watch a preview of ‘New Amsterdam’ below:

Kevin Connolly

FOX are looking into a new sketch comedy project after the long-running late nighter ‘Mad TV’ ended earlier this year.

However unlike ‘Mad TV’, ‘Inside Jokes’ (working title), is said to be putting a new spin on the sketch comedy genre as well as shifting gears to primetime.

“We’re reinterpreting the genre,” said Merv Griffin Entertainment president Roy Bank. “There’s a troupe of actors, but it’s not as sketchy as a lot of those other shows. It’s pure comedy, straight jokes. Imagine cutting up a sitcom into a million different pieces. It’s like a clip show,” he added.

Bank will executive produce the pilot through Merv Griffin Entertainment alongside ‘Entourage’ star Kevin Connolly, Ted Brunetti, Ron Ward and John Moffitt.

The cast includes a troupe of unknown actors, including Carrie Wiita, Lauren Lewis, Jay Phillips, Cameron Bender, Paul Schackman and Mary Scheer.

The pilot is already in production, under the direction from Gerry Cohen (‘The Drew Carey Show’).

Source: Variety

Brendan Hines, Tim Roth, Monica Raymund, Mekhi Phifer and Kelli Williams star in FOX's 'Lie to Me'.

FOX have ordered the back-nine episodes of the Tim Roth drama, ‘Lie to Me’.

The pick-up comes just a month after the network ordered three additional scripts of the second year drama.

Under the hand of the new showrunner, Shawn Ryan, ‘Lie to Me’ has become as solid performer for FOX in the post-’House’ time slot.

This past week, ‘Lie to Me’ averaged 7.3 million viewers overall, with a 2.7 rating in adults 18-49. A 60% retention of its ‘House’ demo lead-in.

Other dramas less fortunate include Joss Whedon’s ‘Dollhouse’ — which has already been cancelled — and J.J. Abrams’ ‘Fringe’ — which will go on a 7-week hiatus in February.

Source: Fox Broadcasting Company

Monday

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

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

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

Tuesday

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

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

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

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

Wednesday

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

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

Thursday

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

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

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

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

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

Friday

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

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

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

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

Saturday

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

Sunday

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

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

Sunday, Jan. 24:
6:00 pm-CC ET – NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GamE (LIVE)

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

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

* All times ET/PT except as noted

Media Release

FOX ANNOUNCES 2009-2010 MIDSEASON SCHEDULE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Note: ‘Lie to Me’ and ”Til Death’will return return in Spring with return dates yet to be released. ‘The Cleveland Show’ will occupy the post ‘Family Guy’ slot.

Source: Fox Broadcasting Company

'Dollhouse' star Eliza Dushku.

According to Entertainment Weekly, FOX has informed Joss Whedon that they will not be ordering additional episodes of his drama series ‘Dollhouse’ beyond its current 13-episode order.

The struggling drama has been averaging a paltry 3 million viewers this season, down from a mere 4.7 million viewers last season.

“I’m extremely proud of the people I’ve worked with: my star, my staff, my cast, my crew,” said Whedon.

“I feel the show is getting better pretty much every week, and I think you’ll agree in the coming months. I’m grateful that we got to put it on, and then come back and put it on again.”

“By the time the last episode airs, you’ll know what my next project is. But for now, there’s a lot of work still to be done, and disappointment to bear. Thank you all for your support, your patience, your excellent adverts. See you again,” added Whedon.

The network still intends to air the remaining episodes from December.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

‘Fringe’ exclusive: J.J. Abrams on ‘bad’ ratings, good vibes, and the show’s future

by Michael Ausiello

'Fringe' stars Joshua Jackson and Aussies Anna Torv and John Noble.

It’s hardly a secret that Fringe is having a tough go of it on Thursday night this season. Last week, the sophomore drama’s audience shrunk to just 5 million viewers — an all-time low. Sure, two weeks of pre-emptions due to baseball didn’t help, but the fact remains: Fringe is struggling.

On the bright side, everyone seems to be in agreement that Fringe has never been better creatively. And inside sources say Fox, although not thrilled with the ratings, remains committed to the show — a fact corroborated by the drama’s boss, J.J. Abrams.

“The mood on set and in the writer’s room is as good as the ratings are bad, which is to say, wonderful,” Abrams tells me. “Luckily, Fox has been insanely supportive, for which we are deeply grateful.”

Abrams is encouraged by the show’s “strong” DVR numbers as well as the glowing reviews from critics. “But given that we’re on one of the hardest [nights] on television, we’re just focusing on making the best show we possibly can,” he says. “What else can we do?”

Bottom line: Fringe is in no immediate danger of going “over there” (a.k.a. TV graveyard). The key word there being immediate.

What do you think? Worried about Fringe’s future? Got a theory why more people aren’t watching? Should Fox move it to a less-crowded night — and, if so, which one? Sound off below!

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Melissa George

Melissa George has landed a recurring role on FOX’s crime drama ‘Lie To Me’.

The former ‘Home and Away’, ‘Alias’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ star will play Clara Martin, an Anna Nicole Smith-type, who will face off with Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth).

Clara Martin is the sassy wife of an older billionaire who has been murdered. After being exonerated in a high-profile murder trial, she assumes control of her husband’s empire. Lightman sees himself in her — naughty, fearless, strategic, and always game for the next adventure.

George will make her first appearance in the eleventh episode .

‘Lie To Me’ airs 9.30pm Tuesdays on Network Ten.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

'American Dad'

Seth MacFarlane’s work load does not seem to be getting any shorter with news that his animated sitcom ‘American Dad’ has been renewed for a sixth season by the FOX network.

Having to prepare animated shows further in advance ‘American Dad’ has been given an early renewal that will see it guaranteed to be on air through to the 2010- 2011 ratings season.

The show regularly achieved numbers between six to eight million viewers this season against tough competition and has strong results in the demographics with men aged 18-49 and adults 18-34.

‘American Dad’ now joins Seth MacFarlane’s ‘Family Guy’ spin off,’ The Cleveland Show’ as being renewed for next season.

Source: TV By the Numbers

The season finale of 'MasterChef Australia' ranks as one of Australia's most-watched programs in a decade.

FOX have picked up the ‘MasterChef’ cooking show format for next season, with Gordon Ramsay set to co-produce and star.

“['MasterChef' is] a huge reality format that works great in other countries plus Gordon Ramsay guarantees success,” said FOX’s president of alternative programming, Mike Darnell. “Gordon is like our ‘CSI.’ ”

While details are still being worked out, the network are believed to be basing their US edition on Australia’s overhauled version, which amped up the drama in the kitchen.

The show will join FOX’s other Ramsay projects, ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ and ‘Kitchen Nightmares’.

“‘Hell’s Kitchen’ is about finding a head chef that can work in a restaurant,” Darnell said. “['MasterChef'] is about creating the perfect dish, and the contestants can be plucked from anywhere.”

FOX are ordering a relatively small amount of episodes (between 12 and 15) compared to Australia’s edition, which aired six nights a week. The format will be restructured to suit FOX’s schedule.

“Hell’s Kitchen” is FOX’s second-most-popular reality series behind mega storm ‘American Idol’. However, it’s a much more solid performer, with the network changing its time slot multiple times, yet continuing to performs competitively.

“Because we’ve had such success with cooking reality, we’re the best place to make this into a big show,” said Darnell.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Gregory Itzin is set to reprise his role as ex-president Charles Logan on '24'.

Gregory Itzin is returning to the series to reprise his role as the slightly psychotic ex-preisdent Charles Logan.

Itzin’s love-to-hate character will resurface towards the end of Day 8 when President Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones) reluctantly recruits him to assist with an escalating diplomatic crisis.

Jones and Itzin’s face-off “was simply too compelling to pass up,” said ‘24′ exec producer Howard Gordon.

Ex-president Logan was last seen in season 6, where he was almost killed after being stabbed by his former equally psychotic wife Martha.

At the time, 24’s then-executive producer Jon Cassar revealed that the initial script called for Logan to die. “I did everything I could not to kill him,” he said. “I wanted to give us the [option] to potentially bring him back.”

‘24′ returns with its two-night, four-hour premiere January 17 and 18 on FOX.

Day 8 is expected to commence on 7TWO early next year.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Eliza Dushku as Echo and Dichen Lachmen as Sierra in Joss Whedon's 'Dollhouse'.

As most of my favourite shows from the states go on hiatus for a week – in place of sports, I thought I would just give a few reviews on shows I have kept in my viewing rotation this fall.

Despite the pre-season buzz surrounding ‘Dollhouse’ after the fantastic finale, unaired episode, ‘Epitaph One’ and the Comic-Con, the sophomore season of ‘Dollhouse’ has somewhat been an anti-climax. Similar to season one, season two of ‘Dollhouse’ has seen more boring episodes than engaging ones but this week’s episode ‘Belonging’ illustrates the potential of the show.

Ironically, the best episode since ‘Epitaph One’ had more of Sierra/Priya (Dichen Lachman) and less of Echo (Eliza Dusku). ‘Belonging’ continued on from last season’s ‘Needs’ where it hinted that Sierra was perhaps sold to the ‘Dollhouse’ rather than volunteering like the others. It also demonstrated how adaptable Dichen Lachman is when given different roles. We flashback one year ago, where Priya is a normal citizen working as a craftswoman when Nolan (Vincent Ventresca) approaches her. Nolan does everything he can to seduce her, giving her a painting gallery, even hiring both Victor and Echo to convince her he is the right man. But when she decides “Nothing in this world could ever make me love you,” we cut back to the present day where the two are hugging and kissing like they are a couple.

We later discover, in an attempt to seduce her, Nolan drugs her, making others believe that she is a schizophrenic, has her institutionalized, and uses his connections with the dollhouse to “help” her by making her a doll. Then he hires her for repeat engagements as his love interest.

Back in the Dollhouse, Echo senses some discomfort with Sierra and decides to show Topher Sierra’s disturbed paintings, who is surprisingly shaken. Topher’s transformation from an arrogant smartarse (season one) to a sympathetic character must also be highlighted. His conversation with Adele (Olivia Williams), after finding out how Nolan is treating Sierra emphasizes the lack of control the supposed boss has over the dollhouse. It is unethical head honchos like Harding (Keith Carradine) who run the show.

Nolan then demands he wants Priya permanently imprinted with his preferred personality and Priya returned to him for good leads to some cool scenes. Topher imprints Sierra with her original Priya which leads to the murder of Nolan and the gruesome hacking and dissolution of his body.

Finally as many of you know, Fox has done a back flip with their November sweeps schedule, after announcing they would stick with ‘Dollhouse,’ they will be airing repeats of Bones and House during November, then will burn off a further six episodes during December by airing episodes back to back. This leaves the remaining three episodes in limbo and who knows with Fox, these episodes might not even reach the airwaves and will eventually be on DVD. I suppose, we fans can only treat this second season as a bonus as this show should’ve ended in May given the ugly ratings.

We can play the blame game all we want, but both Fox and Whedon should cop the blame for the show’s soft ratings, Fox for wanting more stand alone episodes in season 1 and giving it an unfavourable Friday slot and Whedon (who had free rein this season) for bland early episodes. The bottom line is the relationship between Whedon and Fox is no longer as tight – I know Fox is giving Whedon a chance to redeem himself in ‘Glee,’ where he will write an episode or is this just some sort of justification to put ‘Dollhouse’ on hiatus during November? Nevertheless, Whedon and Fox should part ways which will be a win-win for both parties.

Other Notable Quotes:

• Adele to Nolan – after discovering Nolan’s dark events with Sierra: “I would no sooner allow you near one of our other actives as I would a mad dog near a child… given that you’re a raping scumbag one tick shy of a murderer.”
• Harding reminds Adele of her morals “Miss Lonelyheart”
• Sierra to Nolan: “I love him so much more than I hate you.”
• Sierra: “This secret we have… can you keep it?” Topher: “I can keep it, but I don’t know I can live with it.”

4 out of 5 stars

So, I’m not really sure what this new promo is all about, but who am I to take issue with it?

Why can’t FOX hit the club, strip off some clothes and bust some sexy moves? The CW does it every other week.

Watch the promo:

Perhaps FOX should try a new tag line. “Just as sexy as The CW, but with Emmys!”

Oh no I didn’t!

David Boreanaz

David Boreanaz has come down with the flu, causing production on 20th Century Fox series ‘Bones’ to be shut down.

While it can’t be confirmed whether Boreanaz, who called in sick on Monday, has swine flu, showrunner Hart Hanson posted on his Twitter feed that the series would not shoot due to the virus.

“First time in Bones history we are shut down from production,” said Hanson. “Damn swine flu! That’s gonna cut into Christmas hiatus.”

A rep for the show said production on the series is expected to resume Tuesday.

“David is out with the flu and the show shut down today since he was in every scene. We hope to resume production tomorrow.”

Source: Entertainment Weekly

J.J. Abrams

J.J. Abrams, co-creator and executive producer of ‘Fringe’, will turn to laughter for a new medical comedy for FOX.

The untitled half-hour project, which will be penned by Mike Markowitz (‘Becker’), has been given a presentation order from the network, which Abrams will exec produce.

Markowitz and Bryan Burk will also serve as executive producers on the Warner Bros. TV/Bad Robot production.

Details on the project are being kept under wraps, apart from the brief logline of “a comedic medical show”.

Source: Variety

Disappointing results for '90210’ season premiere.

The ratings ‘preseason’ began last week with the series premiere of ‘Melrose Place,’ ‘Glee’ and ‘The Vampire Diaries’ and sophomore premiere of ‘90210.’

The CW started off the preseason with ‘90210,’ despite the heavy promotion and The CW’s spin doctors, the show got off to a slow start with only 2.561M, a 1.3/4 (rating/share) with A18-49 , 1.7/6 in A18-34, 2.6/8 in W18-34 and 1.8/5 in W18-49. Proceeding ‘90210′ was the freshman premiere of ‘Melrose,’ retention was almost perfect but keep in mind numbers were on the low side. ‘Melrose’ mustered a paltry, 2.270M, A18-49 1.3/3 (rating/share), A18-34 1.5/5, W18-34 2.5/7 and W18-49 1.8/5.

On a brighter note, The CW’s other freshman class, ‘The Vamire Diaries’ bit off a lot more viewers, 4.84M, A18-49 2.1/6, A18-34 2.2/8, W18-34 3.0/10 and W18-49 2.8/8. The debut saw the highest audience numbers ever for a CW series premiere.

Elsewhere at Fox, Fall premiere of summer hit ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ posted 6.465M, with A18-49 2.7/8 and A18-34 3.0/9. Lead out Glee managed to build from its lead in, pulling 7.136M, A18-49 3.3/9 and A18-34 3.6/10

Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2009 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.

'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

Kris Allen beats fan favourite Adam Lambert as the winner of 'American Idol' 2009.

After four months of auditions, live performances and verdict shows, dark horse Kris Allen beat fan favourite Adam Lambert to become the winner of ‘American Idol’.

Sources say that out of nearly 100 million votes, only 1% seperated the two finalists in the final episode.

Both versions of the winning single “No Boundaries” by Kris Allen and Adam Lambert have been released on iTunes and can be purchased internationally.

The single has also been posted on YouTube (see below).

On behalf of TVAUSCAST we would like to congratulate Kris Allen on winning ‘American Idol’ for 2009.

FOX unveiled their 2009-2010 schedule with new series including musical comedy 'Glee'.

FOX today announced their plans for the 2009/2010 television season with 4 new comedies, 2 dramas and the renewal of 16 returning series.

Anticipated new shows include: ‘The Cleveland Show’, ‘Glee’ and ‘Human Target’. Top returning series include: ‘24′, ‘Dollhouse’, ‘Fringe’ and ‘So You Think You Can Dance’.

Also announced, but set to bow over the summer, is an domestic pick up for ‘Mental’, starring Australian actress Jacqueline McKenzie (‘The 4400′) and adopted Aussie Chris Vance (‘All Saints’, ‘Prison Break’).

Check out the fall and mid season schedules below:

FOX PRIMETIME SCHEDULE: FALL 2009 (All Times ET/PT)

MONDAY
8:00-9:00 PM HOUSE
9:00-10:00 PM LIE TO ME

TUESDAY
8:00-10:00 PM SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Performance Show

WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Results Show
9:00-10:00 PM GLEE

THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 PM BONES
9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE

FRIDAY
8:00-8:30 PM BROTHERS
8:30-9:00 PM ‘TIL DEATH
9:00-10:00 PM DOLLHOUSE

SATURDAY
8:00-8:30 PM COPS
8:30-9:00 PM COPS
9:00-10:00 PM AMERICA’S MOST WANTED
11:00 PM-Midnight THE WANDA SYKES SHOW (working title)
Midnight-12:30 AM ANIMATION DOMINATION ENCORES

SUNDAY
7:00-8:00 PM THE OT (NFL post-game)
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW
9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY
9:30-10:00 PM AMERICAN DAD

FOX PRIMETIME SCHEDULE: MIDSEASON 2010 (All Times ET/PT)

MONDAY
8:00-9:00 PM HOUSE
9:00-10:00 PM 24

TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL Performance Show
9:00-10:00 PM PAST LIFE

WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL Results Show
9:00-10:00 PM HUMAN TARGET (January) / GLEE (spring)

THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 PM BONES
9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE

FRIDAY
8:00-8:30 PM BROTHERS
8:30-9:00 PM ‘TIL DEATH
9:00-10:00 PM DOLLHOUSE

SATURDAY
8:00-8:30 PM COPS
8:30-9:00 PM COPS
9:00-10:00 PM AMERICA’S MOST WANTED
11:00 PM-Midnight THE WANDA SYKES SHOW (working title)
Midnight-12:30 AM ANIMATION DOMINATION ENCORES

SUNDAY
7:00-7:30 PM ANIMATION DOMINATION ENCORES
7:30-8:00 PM AMERICAN DAD
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 PM SONS OF TUCSON
9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY
9:30-10:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW

Visit our special coverage section for more upfront announcements, video trailers and press releases.

FOX ANNOUNCES PRIMETIME SLATE FOR 2009-2010 SEASON

FOUR NEW COMEDIES, TWO NEW DRAMAS AND ONE LATE-NIGHT SHOW JOIN SCHEDULE

RYAN MURPHY’S NEW COMEDY “GLEE” TO PREMIERE IN FALL AFTER UNPRECEDENTED PREVIEW EVENT TOMORROW NIGHT

NEW COMEDIES “BROTHERS” AND “THE CLEVELAND SHOW” DEBUT IN FALL

NEW SATURDAY LATE-NIGHT ENTRY “THE WANDA SYKES SHOW” (working title) SLATED FOR FALL LAUNCH

NEW ACTION DRAMA SERIES “HUMAN TARGET,” MYSTERIOUS DRAMA “PAST LIFE” AND COMEDY “SONS OF TUCSON” DEBUT MIDSEASON

“SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE” Returns in the Fall

“HUMAN TARGET” and “24″ Premiere Sunday, January 17 Following NFC Divisional Playoff Game

New York (Monday, May 18, 2009) Peter Rice, Chairman, Entertainment; and Kevin Reilly, President, Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company, today unveiled the FOX primetime schedule for the 2009-2010 television season to the national advertising community during its annual Programming Presentation at New York City Center.

“As the No.1 network for the last five years, FOX is the first place viewers go to connect with the stories and characters they love,” said Rice. “With next year’s slate of distinctive shows, we’re continuing to invest in creativity to give viewers the rich, emotional experience they can only get on television.”

Reilly added, “The strategic moves we made last year to build off of our biggest assets are paying off. We’ve created stability and consistently strong performance across the week. Next season, we’re bringing back two top-rated sophomore dramas and using our hits to introduce a broad and compelling slate of new shows that will make our air even more vibrant and alive.”

After a special preview event airing Tuesday, May 19 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), GLEE, the distinctive new comedy from Ryan Murphy (“Nip/Tuck”) starring Jane Lynch (“The 40 Year Old Virgin”) and newcomers Matthew Morrison (Broadway’s “Hairspray”), Lea Michele (“Spring Awakening”) and Cory Monteith (“Kyle XY”), will enter its freshman year this fall. Combining biting humor with a soundtrack of hit music from past to present, the inventive series follows an optimistic high school teacher who against all odds attempts to restore McKinley High’s fading Glee Club to its former glory, while helping a group of underdogs realize their true star potential.

Two additional new comedies will premiere this fall. From the producers of FAMILY GUY, comes THE CLEVELAND SHOW. The new Sunday night animated comedy follows everyone’s favorite soft-spoken FAMILY GUY neighbor, CLEVELAND BROWN (Mike Henry), who moves with his son back to his hometown in Virginia and settles down with his high school sweetheart and her unruly kids. Copy/pasted from The Futon Critic BROTHERS, starring Michael Strahan (“FOX NFL Sunday”) and Daryl “Chill” Mitchell (“Ed,” “Veronica’s Closet”), is a new half-hour comedy about a former big-city NFL hot shot who returns home to his family and his mother’s house to get his life back on track.

On Saturday, Nov. 7 (11:00 PM-Midnight ET/PT), late night will never be the same when Emmy Award winner Wanda Sykes returns to FOX to host THE WANDA SYKES SHOW (working title). The irreverent Saturday late-night series will feature Sykes’ outspoken comedic perspective on current events along with topical, high-energy roundtable discussions.

The new event drama, HUMAN TARGET, premieres with a special preview Sunday, Jan. 17 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) following the NFC Divisional Playoff game. HUMAN TARGET is a full-throttle, action-packed thrill ride from executive producers McG (“Terminator Salvation”) and Simon West (“Con Air,” “Tomb Raider”). Based on the popular DC Comics graphic novel and starring Mark Valley (FRINGE), Chi McBride (“Pushing Daisies”) and Academy Award nominee Jackie Earle Haley (“Watchmen”), the series follows CHRISTOPHER CHANCE (Valley), a unique private contractor who will stop at nothing even if it means becoming a human target to keep his clients alive.

The other drama for midseason is PAST LIFE, a fast-paced emotional thriller inspired by the book “The Reincarnationist.” The series stars Kelli Giddish (“All My Children”) as a gifted psychologist and Nicholas Bishop (“Home and Away”) as a former NYPD detective who work together to explore and unravel mysteries that must be solved in both the past and the present.

One new comedy is scheduled to premiere in midseason. From three-time Emmy Award winner Todd Holland (“Malcolm in the Middle”), the non-traditional family comedy SONS OF TUCSON stars Tyler Labine (“Reaper”) as a charming but wayward schemer hired by three young brothers whose father is in prison.

Summer sensation SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE moves to the fall with its sixth season. Hosted by Cat Deeley and featuring renowned judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy, the original dance competition series will continue to inspire and amaze viewers as dancers skilled in styles ranging from hip-hop to ballroom compete to be named America’s Favorite Dancer.

It was also announced that the eighth season of 24 will return to the FOX schedule with a two-night, four-hour premiere as part of a special extended primetime on Sunday, Jan. 17 (9:00-11:00 PM ET/PT), immediately following the premiere of HUMAN TARGET. The next installment of the Emmy Award-winning series starring Kiefer Sutherland will unfold in New York City, amidst the shadows of the Statue of Liberty and the United Nations.

Other FOX series returning in 2009-2010 include: AMERICAN DAD, AMERICAN IDOL, AMERICA’S MOST WANTED, BONES, COPS, DOLLHOUSE, FAMILY GUY, FRINGE, HELL’S KITCHEN, HOUSE, KITCHEN NIGHTMARES, LIE TO ME, THE SIMPSONS and ‘TIL DEATH. Specials returning to the FOX schedule include: THE 41st NAACP IMAGE AWARDS, NEW YEAR’S EVE LIVE and TEEN CHOICE 2009.

Following are the FOX primetime schedule for 2009-2010 and synopses of the new series:

FOX PRIMETIME SCHEDULE: FALL 2009 (All Times ET/PT)

MONDAY
8:00-9:00 PM HOUSE
9:00-10:00 PM LIE TO ME

TUESDAY
8:00-10:00 PM SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Performance Show

WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Results Show
9:00-10:00 PM GLEE

THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 PM BONES
9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE

FRIDAY
8:00-8:30 PM BROTHERS
8:30-9:00 PM ‘TIL DEATH
9:00-10:00 PM DOLLHOUSE

SATURDAY
8:00-8:30 PM COPS
8:30-9:00 PM COPS
9:00-10:00 PM AMERICA’S MOST WANTED
11:00 PM-Midnight THE WANDA SYKES SHOW (working title)
Midnight-12:30 AM ANIMATION DOMINATION ENCORES

SUNDAY
7:00-8:00 PM THE OT (NFL post-game)
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW
9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY
9:30-10:00 PM AMERICAN DAD

FOX PRIMETIME SCHEDULE: MIDSEASON 2010 (All Times ET/PT)

MONDAY
8:00-9:00 PM HOUSE
9:00-10:00 PM 24

TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL Performance Show
9:00-10:00 PM PAST LIFE

WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL Results Show
9:00-10:00 PM HUMAN TARGET (January) / GLEE (spring)

THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 PM BONES
9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE

FRIDAY
8:00-8:30 PM BROTHERS
8:30-9:00 PM ‘TIL DEATH
9:00-10:00 PM DOLLHOUSE

SATURDAY
8:00-8:30 PM COPS
8:30-9:00 PM COPS
9:00-10:00 PM AMERICA’S MOST WANTED
11:00 PM-Midnight THE WANDA SYKES SHOW (working title)
Midnight-12:30 AM ANIMATION DOMINATION ENCORES

SUNDAY
7:00-7:30 PM ANIMATION DOMINATION ENCORES
7:30-8:00 PM AMERICAN DAD
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 PM SONS OF TUCSON
9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY
9:30-10:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW

"The Observer" spotted during 'Idol', during the 'NFL' and in a scene on 'Fringe'.

FOX have started airing a new viral cross promotion campaign for J.J. Abrams’ sci-fi drama ‘Fringe’.

‘American Idol’ audiences were haunted by a mysterious bald man in a suit sitting among the audience during this week’s live performance show.

‘Fringe’ fans were quick to identify the mystery man as “The Observer” from the hit sci-fi show.

The character was never mentioned by anyone on the talent show, but instead remained seated eerily among the crowd.

This isn’t the first time “The Observer” has appeared on live television, the ‘Fringe’ character has been spotted during NFL and Yankees games; as well as during a NASCAR broadcast.

An ‘Idol’ clip has been posted on YouTube.

It appears those rumours of FOX not screening all 8 remaining episodes of ‘Prison Break’ are true.

FOX will broadcast the first 6 remaining episodes which will tie up the main storyline starting April 17th, but the remaining 2 episodes will be headed straight to DVD on July 21st.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment have announced plans for an 88-minute feature (in other words, the 2 final episodes back to back).

The studio description reads:

The shocking series conclusion was just the beginning. Secrets revealed and mysteries solved. The truth will blow you away.

“The Final Break” will be available on DVD and high-def Blu-ray on July 21st.

Laura Leighton will reprise her role as Sydney Andrews on the CW's reboot of 'Melrose Place'.

Just like The CW’s reboot of ‘90210′, the upcoming drama pilot for ‘Melrose Place’ will see some old faces return.

Laura Leighton, who played the irresponsible and scheming Sydney Andrews, one of the most popular characters on the original ‘Melrose Place’, will reprise her role on the new CW pilot.

Her character was almost killed in the season finale of the show’s fifth season when Sydney was run over by a car on her wedding day in a near-fatal accident.

The dramatic season finale was Leighton’s last episode on the original FOX series as her character was presumed dead.

While the script for the new ‘Melrose’ is a tightly guarded secret, sources say she will be the landlord to the new group of tenants.

It is still unclear at this stage whether or not any other original cast members will be returning to the new ‘Melrose’.

Meanwhile, newcomer Shaun Sipos (‘Shark’), has landed the last series regular role on the CW reboot.

Sipos will play David Patterson, the son of Jake Hansen, played by Grant Show on the original.

His character has been described as bad boy with smoldering good looks who grew up as a rich kid but has been cut off from his family money.

Leighton and Sipos join previously cast Michael Rady, Jessica Lucas, Katie Cassidy, Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, Colin Egglesfield and Stephanie Jacobson.

Bartha starred opposite Nicolas Cage in Disney's 'National Treasure' series.

Justin Bartha has landed the lead role on FOX’s upcoming comedy pilot ‘The Station’, which is set to be directed by Ben Stiller.

‘The Station’ centers on covert CIA operatives in South America, on a mission to install a new dictator.

The 30-year old actor will play the central CIA operative in the comedy series.

Bartha was previously seen on NBC’s comedy ‘Teachers’, based on the UK series by the same name; and in the ‘National Treasure’ series opposite Nicholas Cage.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, FOX is is in final negotiations with actress-comedian Wanda Sykes (‘The New Adventures of Old Christine’, ’Evan Almighty’), for a topical late-night program on Saturdays.

The show will feature a panel of recurring guests discussing hot issues, from politics to pop culture. Sykes will also present in the field segments.

The hourlong comedy program, will fill the shoes of the recently cancelled sketch show ‘MadTV’. Currently, late night time-slots are dominated by white male hosts on other networks.

The comedy program will debut on FOX in the fall (US).

‘Star Trek’ may not even be out yet, but that’s not stopping Paramount Pictures from moving forward with a sequel.

Variety reports that J.J. Abrams, who directed and produced the new film, will be back to produce the follow-up alongside fellow Bad Robot producer Bryan Burk. No decision has been made yet on whether Abrams will direct the sequel.

The studio has also brought back Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof to pen the screenplay.

The story is still in early stages, but the trio are aiming to deliver their script to Paramount by Christmas for a likely June-July 2011 release.

“Obviously we discussed ideas, but we are waiting to see how audiences respond next month,” Kurtzman said. “With a franchise rebirth, the first movie has to be about origin. But with a second, you have the opportunity to explore incredibly exciting things. We’ll be ambitious about what we’ll do.”

Orci and Kurtzman have worked closely with J.J. Abrams ever since their writing stint on ‘Alias’, the three penned the Abrams’ directed ‘Mission Impossible III’ and co-created FOX’s ‘Fringe’.

Abrams and Lindelof co-created ‘Lost’ with fellow show-runner Carlton Cuse, all three currently server as executive producers on the ABC drama.

The world premiere for ‘Star Trek’ will be held April 7 at the Sydney Opera House, with the theatrical release set for a month later on May 7 in Australia.

Clockwise: Scott Porter, Nick Kroll, James D'Arcy and Nora Zehetner

Scott Porter (‘Friday Night Lights’) has joined Fox’s drama pilot ‘Masterwork’, which centers on a globe-trotting FBI agent (Australia’s Matt Passmore), a specialist in the acquisition of stolen art.

Porter will play another agent tracking down international art thieves and Passmore’s wingman.

Nick Kroll (‘Cavemen’) and Nora Zehetner (‘Heroes’) have landed lead roles on Fox’s comedy pilot ‘Cop House’, set at a halfway house for troubled cops.

Kroll will play an overzealous cop with an enormous ego and delusional fantasies. Zehetner will play the house psychologist, who runs group-therapy sessions.

‘Cop House’ will be directed and executive produced by Brett Ratner (‘Prison Break’, ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’).

Brit. James D’Arcy (‘Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World’)  has been tapped to star on CBS’ drama pilot ‘The Eastmans’, about a complicated family of doctors.

D’Arcy will play the eldest of five Eastman children, a top vascular surgeon.

According to this ‘Terminator’ fan’s blog, the set for FOX’s ‘Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’ has been completely taken down. Further more the show won’t “be back” for a third season.

This is hardly surprising news once it was announced ‘Terminator’ would move to Fridays mid-season. The show has averaged a lacklustre 3.5M viewers (plus another 1M via DVR) and 1.3 rating in the key adult 18-49 demo.

It is little wonder why some of the stars of the show have been auditioning for other pilots, Brian Austin Green (‘Body Politic’) and Stephanie Jacobson (‘Melrose Place’). And just to rub salt into the wound for die-hard fans, Shirley Manson (Weaver) has returned to Scotland for an undisclosed “Medical Procedure” with her agent claiming she won’t be back to the states anytime soon.

So enjoy the final episodes while you can.

As an added bonus, you can also enjoy an awesome montage of John (Thomas Dekker) and Cameron (Summer Glau).

More Australians have landed a roles in upcoming US drama pilots.

Matt Passmore, who’s currently starring in Nine’s ‘Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities’ and ABC1’s ‘The Cut’, has landed the lead on FOX’s ‘Masterwork’.

The pilot, from ‘Prison Break’ creator Paul Scheuring, centers on an FBI agent (Passmore), a specialist in the acquisition of stolen art and a fine-arts expert who teams with an MI-5 agent played by Brit, Natalie Dormer. Tom Ellis will play her fiance, a special agent at Scotland Yard.

‘Masterwork’ will be Passmore’s first big break in the US, having had a successful career in a number of high profile Australian dramas, including ‘McLeod’s Daughters’, ‘Last Man Standing’ and ‘Blue Heelers’.

Meanwhile, David Lyons (‘Sea Patrol’, ‘ER’) has landed a role in NBC’s ‘Day One’ pilot, which follows a group of survivors after a apocalyptic world wide event.

Finally, Miranda Otto (‘Cashmere Mafia’) is set to star in the CBS drama pilot ‘A Marriage’, from Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick (creators of ‘thirtysomething’), which is said to be the dissection of a marriage.

Donald Sutherland at Disney's 'Dirty Sexy Money: The Complete 1st Season' launch in Los Angeles.

Donald Sutherland has joined Warner Bros. TV’s ‘Eastmans’, as the rogue and wealthy patriarch of a dysfunctional family of doctors.

Amanda Bynes is returning to series television as naive Midwestern girl Sarabeth, in ABC’s comedy pilot ‘Canned’, about a group of friends who are fired in a corporate shake-up.

Scott Caan will lead ‘Cop House’, as a champion marksman who suffered a nervous breakdown after his wife left him for his sister, in the Fox’s Brett Ratner-directed comedy pilot set in a halfway house for troubled cops.

Michelle Trachtenberg will co-star as an inexperienced newby nurse in NBC’s drama pilot ‘Mercy’, which centres on the friendship of three nurses.

Josh Charles will star opposite Julianna Margulies in has the CBS’ drama pilot ‘The Good Wife’, which centers on a politician’s wife (Margulies) who gets a job as a junior associate at a top law firm. Charles will play a fellow partner at the firm.

Tom Riley has landed the fourth lead on ABC’s comedy ‘No Heroics’.

Catherine Dent has joined NBC’s apocalyptic drama ‘Day One’.

Eliza Dushku stars as Echo in 'Dollhouse'.

Friday the 13th was a very black Friday for Fox. In an attempt to revive Fridays with their male skewing sci-fi dramas, the decision backfired on them with Joss Whedon’s much anticipated drama Dollhouse premiering to mediocre numbers, 4.7M viewers and 2.0/6 in the adult 18-49 demo. Dollhouse trailed Flashpoint (8.7M, A18-49:1.8/6) in total viewers and Supernanny, 6.1M, 2.2/7, in the key demo.

It’s lead in, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, shafted from its Monday night timeslot, averaged a series low 3.7M and 1.3/5. So where does Fox go from here? The opening night of Friday the 13th may have been a factor, netting nearly 20M on its premiere night, finger’s crossed Fox gives Dollhouse a bit more time.

Source: Nielsen Media Research

The first ever HD episode of  The Simpsons went to air today in the US, even the famous opening sequence got a HD makeover. Check out the new extended  sequence below.

Popular Prison Break character Paul Kellerman (played by Paul Adelstein, currently  starring in ABC’s Private Practice) is set to return in the final episodes of the series.

Season 1 he was the enemy, however Season 2 he developed an alliance with brothers Lincoln Burrows and Michael Schofield.  The boys need a fair bit of help on their hands to get themselves out of trouble and he should be the one to help them.  However who knows, he could be set to his evil ways, although I certainly hope not.

Other Characters including LJ, C-note and Surce also look to return.  There are currently 6 episodes scheduled to conclude the series however there is a small possibility they could add a couple of extras to wrap things up.

Prison Break returns April 17th, on the FOX network.

Source: prisonbreakmanhunt.com

FOX have green-lit  a new pilot from Prison Break creator Paul Scheuring and 20th Century Fox TV, entitled Masterwork.

It has been described as an ambitious globe-trotting adventure in vein of “National Treasure” and “The Da Vinci Code”, a race against time to recover the worlds most sought-after artefacts.

The pilot is expected to be filmed in various locations around the world.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

• The financial crisis has taken another casualty with ABC Entertainment and ABC Studios combining to form, ABC Entertainment Group.

• NBC has reduced Kath and Kim’s first season order to 17. The future of the Aussie spin off looks dire.

• NBC has ordered two medical procedurals from Universal Media Studios, Mercy and Trauma.

• Meanwhile, Fox has ordered four comedy pilots, The Station, Walorsky, Two Dollar Beer and Sons of Tucson; and three dramas, Maggie Hill, Human Target and an untitled reincarnation-themed project.

• The winter premiere of House netted season high figures with 14.87M, A18-49: 5.5/13 and A18-34: 4.8/13. This led into 24, which didn’t bleed many viewers from its premiere numbers, 12.04M, A18-49: 4.1/9 and A18-34: 3.3/9.

• Aided by a mammoth Idol lead in, Tuesday’s airing of Fringe received its highest viewership since its third episode (The premiere had no House lead in) with 12.093M, A18-49: 4.7/11 and A18-34: 4/10

• Lost’s season 5 premiere on Wednesday managed a healthy 11.66M, A18-49: 5.2/12 A18-34: 4.9/13 with the second hour pulling in 11.08M, A18-49: 5.0/13 A18-34: 4.6/12. The other big premiere was Fox’s Lie to Me, 13.19M, A18-49: 5.2/13 and A18-34: 5.1/13. However, the final numbers tell a different story with Lost winning in the key demos by .1 of a point.

• On Thursday, the long running battle between CSI and Grey’s Anatomy saw split leadership:
  CSI: 17.526M, A18-49: 5.0/12, A18-34: 3.2/8  
  Grey’s Anatomy: 14.251M, A18-49: 5.6/14, A18-34: 5.9/15
  But the real winner was Private Practice which continues to do a great job leading out of its sister show, 9.635M, A18-49: 3.6/10 and A18-34: 3.7/11. This is the only thing ABC has done well in the 2008/09 season.

• Finally, underrated cable show Burn Notice managed 5.1M and a 1.9 rating in the 18-49 demo. Perhaps NBC should consider moving it to their broadcast network

Source: Nielsen TV Ratings

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.

Tuesday night saw ABC dominate with the finale of Dancing with the Stars and the umpteenth repeat of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, 20.58M; A18-49: 5.1 (rating)/14 (share); A18-34: 3.4/10 and 11.1M; A18-49: 3.5/9; A18-34: 2.6/8 respectively. What will the alphabet do now that Dancing with the Stars is finished? Their Mondays and Tuesdays will certainly collapse.

Fox were a close second in the 18-49 demo but took the crown in the 18-34 demo with House and Fringe (more House than Fringe). House finished with 12.49M; A18-49: 5.0/14 and A18-34: 4.9/15. While Fringe may be a work in progress, its numbers aren’t promising (8.73M; A18-49: 3.9/10; A18-34: 3.6/10) and loosing nearly 3M from its first half hour (first five minutes of the first half hour includes the last 5 minutes of House).

Over at CBS, NCIS managed 18.16M; A18-49: 3.7/10; A18-34: 2.1/6. The Mentalist which followed continues to be the highest rating freshman drama (15.91M; A18-49: 3.6; A18-34: 2.3/6) with Without a Trace completing the night, 10.37M; A18-49: 2.5; A18-34: 1.6/5. CBS’s Tuesday line-up has held up well against the Dancing with the Stars juggernaut and ratings are sure to improve once Dancing is out of the way.

Capping off the night, NBC had a two hour special of The Biggest Loser netting an unusually low 6.77M; A18-49: 2.6/7; A18-34: 2.2/7. Numbers might have been down last night but it deserves more credit for its 2008 performances given NBC’s troubles this year. However, Law and Order: SVU is loosing steam with a series low rating in the demos (8.55M, A18-49: 3.2/9; A18-34: 2.9/8)

Meanwhile on Cable:

Star Wars: Clone Wars (Cartoon Network, 9pm Friday) 2.775M
Sons of Anarchy (FX, 10pm Wednesday) 2.457M
Mythbusters (Discovery, 9pm Wednesday) 2.348M
South Park (Comedy Central, 10pm Thursday) 2.255M
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX, 10pm Thursday) 1.297M
True Blood (HBO, 9pm Sunday) 2.4M
Entourage (HBO, 10pm Sunday) 2M

Sorry no Summer Heights High numbers

Source: Nielsen TV Ratings

Check out the promo for Network Ten’s upcoming tele-movie The Informant. 

The Informant was written by Greg Haddrick (Underbelly, Society Murders, MDA) and stars Colin Friels, Matt Day, Stephen Curry, Leanna Walsman and Anita Hegh.

It is also worth noting that the FOX network have picked up the rights for a US adaptation to be written by Tom Szentgyorgyi (NYPD Blue, Commander in Chief, The Nine, Journeyman).

The Informant airs 8:30pm Friday, November 14th on Ten.

High Five For Privileged

The CW has ordered an additional five episodes of under-rated show Privileged. This is a vote of confidence for the struggling show which only managed 1.87M viewers with 0.9/2 (A18-49) 1.4/4 (A18-34) last night. Further, during the first two weeks of December, The CW is planning to give it a run in One Tree Hill’s timeslot (Mondays 9/8c) during its hiatus.

Besides Cameron, Medallic Mike and myself, are there any other Privileged fans out there?

David Salzman Is Mad

MadTV, the late-night sketch comedy which currently airs on FOX on Saturday nights has been axed due to financial problems.

Sources have confirmed the veteran sketch show will not be returning for its 15th season but David Salzman, the show’s co-creator, has hopes of a cable channel pick up.

“There’s a long list of parties that have called us, including a few very recently, and we’re going to start conversations with them very shortly,” Salzman says.

The final FOX episode, episode number 326, is scheduled to air in May.

“We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, we’re appreciative of what FOX has done and we don’t think it should be over yet,” Salzman says.

• FOX’s Family Guy spin-off, The Cleveland Show, has been pushed back to next year. The network also announced that the animated comedy had been given a full 22-episode order for it’s fall season debut.

• Tori Spelling is set to return to Smallville early next year for another one episode guest spot. Could 90210 also be in the cards?

• Speaking of 90210, Network Ten have announced the return of the teen drama, just in time of the end of the ratings season. It returns 7:30pm Monday, November 24th on Ten.

• Gossip Girl is returning to Australian screens (well, set top boxes anyway). The popular teen drama returns to 8:30pm Tuesday, December 9th on FOX8.

Sources: EW, Variety, TV Tonight, FOXTEL

The landscape of television isn’t what it was fifty years ago, so why hasn’t Australian television really evolved?

In case you weren’t aware, the internet has arrived! And yes, that means television content is no longer restricted to the tube. So why haven’t the networks here embraced the internet like many others have overseas? If you find out the answer, let me know.

In the US and UK not only can you stream all your favourite shows online the day after they air, even in HD for some networks. You can also buy them online for as little as $US1.99 or as a season pass for $US29.99 on iTunes. There are services like BBC’s iPlayer which utilises P2P technology to share video content among users. And NBC/FOX’s Hulu.com which hosts shows from multiple networks that can even be streamed straight to your television with devices like the Slingbox. Yet here in Australia, like most things, we’re left behind scratching our head wondering “what does the internet do?”

Sure some of the networks have dipped their toes in the “new-media” pond, but most of their attempts have been pretty half baked. So let’s take a look at the five free to air broadcasters and see how much or how little they’ve embraced the internet.

Starting off with the worst offender, the Seven Network. Sure they’re winning the ratings race, but their internet presence is almost negligible. The only two shows they offer free streaming episodes of are Heroes and Make Me a Supermodel, and the image quality is terrible. You’re restricted to a small video window on their website and navigating to other shows is poorly implemented. Also, where are the free streaming episodes of Packed to the Rafters, City Homicide and All Saints? You know, the Australian shows that people actually want to watch (sorry Supermodel fans)!

Seven Network online presence: 2/10

Next up is Network Ten. They were the first network to jump onto the internet tv bandwagon a few years ago, with free episodes of Supernatural on their Windows-only DRM supported video player. It was a good start, but had limited potential.

Today they’ve more or less gone all streaming video. Almost all their Australian shows are available for streaming, even a couple of US imports. Unfortunately episodes are only up for a limited time, around two weeks. It’s also let down by the poor image quality and the lack of a streamlined video infrastructure. Meaning video content is spread all over their site, rather than in one place. Launching catch-up TV for one show could be on one page in a certain video player, while another show is on a different page in a different player. It’s messy and not very user friendly. You’re also restricted to watching content on your computer.

Network Ten online presence: 4/10

The Nine Network could have been one of the best, but unfortunately at the same time are one of the worst offenders. There’s no streaming video, but they provide every single episode of their current Australian dramas for free on their website through ad supported downloads, which are even legally allowed to be shared via torrents and other P2P services (which gives them huge brownie points). The image quality is great and the inserted ads are so minimal that it’s hardly an inconvenience to sit through them.

But it’s their paid content let’s them down. They were the first and only Australian commercial broadcaster to jump onto the iTunes store with episodes of Sea Patrol, Canal Road and McLeod’s Daughters, but it’s been nearly five months since TV shows hit iTunes in Australia and still Nine have only put less than seven episodes of each of these shows on the store, leaving purchasers in the lurch for the remainder of each series. It’s almost like they’ve forgotten that they even have shows on iTunes. It’s a real shame because the iTunes buying experience is so good, its easy to use and just works. Plus you have access to all your shows on your computer, iPod and even TV with Apple TV.

Nine Network online presence: 6/10

Now we’re left with the two public broadcasters ABC and SBS. Both have made huge strides to embrace television content via the internet. They seem to be the only two broadcasters that really understand where television is heading, they both have well designed online video players and have been providing free podcasts and downloads of their shows for years. Meaning content was free to played back on iPods and other devices for viewing on your television or on the go.

The ABC iView streaming video player is probably the best internet television service in Australia. It has a well designed, streamline interface in which you have access to almost all of the ABC catalogue. No need to search around for links to other shows. It’s all there in the iView player. Plus iView is quota free if you’re with iiNet, so it wont chew through your internet bandwidth. The ABC also have a reasonable selection of shows on the iTunes store, including: Summer Heights High, We Can Be Heroes, The Chaser’s War On Everything and Enough Rope. Like is said before, iTunes is so easy to use and it just works. Buying shows for playback on your iPod or TV couldn’t be simpler.

SBS online presence: 8/10
ABC online presence: 9/10

There is no doubt that tradition television view-ship is falling, but with such popular (not necessarily legal) alternatives available, the networks really don’t have an excuse for playing the “no one is watching tv anymore” card. The answer is sitting there in front of them. They just need to start embracing it, because clearly the internet is the future.

What it comes down to really is having the options available. Providing legal alternatives that hopefully over time audiences will embrace equally. We need to be given the option to decided on the way we consume our content, we can’t be forced into watching shows at a certain time or in a certain place. It needs to be flexible so suit our timetables – to suit our lives. Television is only one in a number of sources of entertainment these days, so it has to adjust with the times.

We need to see more online video content that is built on well designed and easy to use infrastructure. We need to see more online video content available for purchase from places like iTunes, so that we can take our shows with us and watch tv shows on our televisions. It even wouldn’t hurt to see an online web presence which hosts content from multiple broadcasters like Hulu.com, so that people know the one place where they can easily find content.

There’s nothing worse than clearing your schedule so that you don’t miss an episode of your favourite show, only to find out that the network had bumped the show to another night. Or going online to the shows website to catch up on the episode you missed, only to discover that the episode you wanted to watch has been taken down.

When the network’s are so unreliable, not only on air, but with their “new-media” services also, it’s no wonder people just go back to their illegal downloads, at least it’s reliable and it’s not going anywhere.

Friday, February 13th. No it’s not just black Friday, but it will be FOX’s Sci-Fi Friday. Tell your friends and family, jot it in your diary, do whatever you can to remember this date as this is the date FOX is set to premiere it’s much talked about sci-fi drama, Dollhouse. Given Dollhouse was supposed to be FOX’s silver bullet in terms of dramas, with the news corporation network having little success with dramas since Prison Break. The move to a usually low rating night is sure to anger fans of the show and Whedon who saw his previous project, Firefly fade away on the same night.

Also, recently renewed, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, has been bumped to Fridays providing the lead in to Dollhouse.

As previously reported, 24 will premiere on January 5th and from the 12th House will move into the 8pm slot with 24 proceeding. Does 24 really need the House lead in? Now I understand why FOX have little success with dramas, they just make one dumb decision after another.

FOX’s other new midseason drama Lie to Me, starring Tim Roth as a “human lie detector”, is set to lead out of American Idol on Wednesdays. Anyone else smell a Psych spin-off?

Still no news on Prison Break and the airdate for Seth McFarland’s new animated comedy The Cleveland Show. Watch this space for up to the date news for both shows.

Full FOX midseason schedule and premiere dates after the break.

MONDAY
Monday, Jan. 5:
7:30 PM-CC ET TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL (LIVE)

Monday, Jan. 12:
8:00-10:00 PM 24 (Season Premiere, Part 2)

Mondays, beginning Jan. 19:
8:00-9:00 PM HOUSE (Time Period Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM 24 (Time Period Premiere)

TUESDAY
Tuesday, Jan. 13:
8:00-10:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL (Season Premiere, Part 1)

Tuesdays, beginning Jan. 20:
8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL (Time Period Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday, Jan. 14:
8:00-10:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL (Season Premiere, Part 2)

Wednesdays, beginning Jan. 21:
8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL (Time Period Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM LIE TO ME (Series Premiere)

THURSDAY
Thursday, Jan. 1:
7:30 PM-CC ET FEDEX ORANGE BOWL (LIVE)

Thursday, Jan. 8:
7:30 PM-CC ET FEDEX BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (LIVE)

Thursdays, beginning Jan. 15:
8:00-9:00 PM BONES (Time Period Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM KITCHEN NIGHTMARES

Thursdays, beginning Jan. 29:
8:00-9:00 PM BONES
9:00-10:00 PM HELL’S KITCHEN (Season Premiere)

FRIDAY
Friday, Jan. 2:
7:30 PM-CC ET ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL (LIVE)

Friday, Jan. 9:
8:00-10:00 PM FOX MOVIE SPECIAL: BRUCE ALMIGHTY

Fridays, beginning Jan. 16 (no change to lineup):
8:00-9:00 PM ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER?
9:00-10:00 PM DON’T FORGET THE LYRICS!

Fridays, beginning Feb. 13:
8:00-9:00 PM TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES
(Time Period Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM DOLLHOUSE (Series Premiere)

SATURDAY
Saturdays, beginning Jan. 3 (no change to lineup):
8:00-8:30 PM COPS
8:30-9:00 PM COPS
9:00-10:00 PM AMERICA’S MOST WANTED: AMERICA FIGHTS BACK
11:00 PM-Midnight MADtv
Midnight-12:30 AM TALKSHOW WITH SPIKE FERESTEN

SUNDAY
Sunday, Jan. 11:
8:00-10:00 PM 24 (Season Premiere, Part 1)

Sundays, beginning Jan. 18:
7:00-7:30 PM HOLE IN THE WALL (Time Period Premiere)
7:30-8:00 PM HOLE IN THE WALL (Time Period Premiere)
8:00-10:00 PM ANIMATION DOMINATION
(THE SIMPSONS, KING OF THE HILL, FAMILY GUY and AMERICAN DAD)

Source: Hollywood Reporter

A trailer for Joss Whedon’s new midseason show, Dollhouse is upon us.

Dollhouse will premiere in the new year on Fox over there and Fox8 here.

Just to keep you up to date with the news, here are a few noteworthy headlines from the past week.

• American Dad gets fifth season pick up.

• Courtney Cox signs on to pilot for ABC sitcom Cougar Town from Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence.

• FOX to wrap King of the Hill at the end of this season.

• The CW and CBS Paramount Network Television are discussing possible reboot of Melrose Place, à la 90210.

• ABC Family commit to new pilot based in the competitive world of gymnastics, dubbed Perfect 10.

• BBC’s Australian produced soap Out of the Blue finds new home on UK channel Five.

• Andrew Denton calls it quits for Enough Rope.

• Underbelly picks up 8 nominations for 2008 AFI Awards.

Sources: Variety, TV Tonight, Herald Sun, AdelaideNow, Australian Film Institute.

A trailer for the seventh season of 24 has hit the web. Check it out below.

24 returns for its seventh season in January on FOX – and if you’re really lucky, on the Seven Network, hopefully in a reasonable time-slot.