Alan Tudyk in 'Dollhouse'

‘Firefly’ and ‘Dollhouse’ alum Alan Tudyk is reportedly joining NBC’s reboot of ‘Rockford Files.’

Centred on Jim Rockford, a private investigator who investigates dangerous, quirky and unpredictable cases, the 1970s reboot is written by ‘House’ creator David Shore with Steve Carell as executive producer.

Tudyk will play LAPD sergeant Dennis Becker.

This follows the annoucement of Dermot Mulroney joining the cast as Jim Rockford.

Source: The Ausiello Files

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

Debra Messing

Emmy Award-winning actress Debra Messing is set to make her return to network television, with starring role in ABC’s upcoming comedy pilot ‘Wright vs. Wrong’.

The single-camera comedy centres on Evelyn Wright (Messing), a driven conservative pundit who tries to maintain her public persona despite facing her own vulnerabilities.

The ‘Will & Grace’ star will serve as an executive producer on the project, which is based at Sony Pictures Television and Tantamount Productions.

‘Wrong’ was written by actress-writer Stephnie Weir (‘Mad TV’), who will also serve as an executive producer along side Tantamount’s Mitch Hurwitz, Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum.

Andy Fickman (‘Aliens in America’, ‘She the Man’) is set to direct.

Following her eight-year run on the hit NBC sitcom ‘Will & Grace’, Messing starred in the cable dramedy series ‘The Starter Wife’ on USA Network. The original six-part miniseries was filmed in Australia, with the Gold Coast standing in for Malibu, California.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Jerry Seinfeld in NBC's 'The Marriage Ref'.

Some may ask what is ‘The Marriage Ref’?…and rightly so. Despite heavy promotion during NBC’s Olympic coverage, the actual promos didn’t seem to reveal much about Seinfeld’s latest comedy endeavour. But following the 2010 Winter Olympics’ Closing Ceremony, a sneak peek was broadcast giving the entire nation look at what Seinfeld has up his sleeve with the new series, ‘The Marriage Ref.’

Last century Seinfeld was a household name around the world and a ratings powerhouse for NBC. When the sitcom ‘Seinfeld’ ended, NBC’s reign as the number 1 network dissipated with it, and for the past five years they have been languishing in fourth place. So when Seinfeld proposed his new project to NBC early last year, it was greenlit immediately.

What seemed to be a routine husband/wife argument between Jerry Seinfeld and his wife Jessica, who conveniently had a friend over, has turned into a TV Show. Awkwardly placed, Jessica’s friend decided to leave, rather than see her out the door, Jerry asked her to be the ‘ref’ aka judge as Jerry and his wife pleaded their case.

The TV show is a cross between a reality, comedy and panel show. Our host is Tom Papa, who looks like he has been separated from birth with ‘Cougar Town’s’ Ian Gomez. He is joined by Jerry Seinfeld and two other celebrities as they provide their ‘expert opinion’ on the relationship at hand. Tonight’s episode featured Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) and Kelly Ripa.

In the sneak peak, we are shown clips of Danielle and Kevin who are arguing over a stuffed pet and Dianah and Greg disputing over whether or not a stripper pole should be fitted in the bedroom. The panel of experts attempts to parody the clip and the ‘contestants’ but it fails to draw many laughs, Baldwin came up with some good one liners but Seinfeld and Ripa didn’t add much to the panel.

Further, the corniness provided by Natalie Morales (NBC newsreader) the statistician who provided some useless numbers, some sports guy Marv Albert who might as well not be there and Tom Papa giving his ‘verdict,’  ‘The Marriage Ref’ isn’t NBC’s best replacement for Leno.

But who knows? NBC did include a clip show of what’s to come which included some big names in Ricky Gervais, Larry David and Madonna all on the same panel which had me excited otherwise it left a lot to be desired. Granted NBC has ordered only seven hours and the star power on display in the upcoming episodes, I’ll be returning for seconds.

‘The Marriage Ref’ premieres in its permanent timeslot, Thursday on NBC.

2 out of 5 stars

Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres’ syndicated daytime talkshow has been renewed for three additional seasons.

‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’, which is the No. 2-rated talk show among women 25-54 behind ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’, will continue to air on NBC’s owned-and-operated stations until at least 2014.

“Ellen is one of those unique personalities that comes along once in a generation,” said Ken Werner, president of Warner Bros Domestic TV. “Her program has been embraced by viewers as their generation’s talk franchise, and we couldn’t be happier that the NBC stations will continue to have ‘Ellen’ as the cornerstone of their syndicated lineup for years to come.”

“I’m so excited to sign on for three more years at NBC,” said DeGeneres. “They were the ones that believed in my show from Day 1. So, I’m thrilled to know I’ll be here ’til at least 2014. Things will be a lot different by then. I won’t be dancing over my coffee table anymore. Through the magic of 3D, I’ll be dancing over yours!”

‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ airs 12pm weekdays on Nine.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Jennifer Finnigan, Patrick Flueger and Rose Rollins

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

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

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

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

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

The project will be produced by Jerry Bruckheimer for NBC.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

I apologize for being a bit late to the party with this, I was intending to post this last week but for some reason it just flew by me. Anyway, unless you have been asleep for half a month, NBC has decide to end their primetime talkshow experiment by axing ‘The Jay Leno Show’. Hopefully, I will have a bit more on that in the coming days.

So now NBC has released their 10pm replacements and for those scripted fanbois, there is more scripted programming than previous rumours suggest. A few weeks ago, new NBC chairman Jeff Gaspin claimed a current affairs program ‘Dateline,’ will be occupying the majority of the 10pm timeslots, this has now changed but it doesn’t get any better with Law and Order occupying two of the five free slots.

NBC scheduling chief Mitch Metcalf said, “This is a schedule that, given the situation we’re in, we’re really proud of, It has a nice balance of scripted, unscripted, new and returning. No schedule is perfect, but this will serve the needs of our affiliates really well.” And I whole heartedly agree, given the short notice, they have managed to shift ‘Parenthood’ and ‘The Marriage Ref’ to the weekday slots, maximising their potential by providing both with the best lead in possible. The former will lead out of NBC’s biggest show ‘The Biggest Loser’ with the later proceeding NBC’s Thursday comedy block. ‘Law and Order: SVU’ has been moved back to 10pm and the original ‘Law and Order’ will move to Mondays.

Here’s the press release via NBC:

NBC PRESENTS POST-WINTER OLYMPICS PRIMETIME SCHEDULE BEGINNING MARCH 1

New Premiere Dates Set for “Parenthood” (March 2) and “The Marriage Ref” (March 4); New Series Join the Lineup Including “Who Do You Think You Are?” (March 5) and “Minute to Win It” (March 14); “Friday Night Lights” Returns April 30

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – January 14, 2010 – NBC unveiled its new post-Winter Olympics primetime program schedule today. The new drama series “Parenthood” will premiere on Tuesday, March 2 (10-11 p.m. ET) and the comedy panel series “The Marriage Ref” from Jerry Seinfeld will premiere Thursday, March 4 (10-11 p.m. ET) after its sneak preview on Sunday, February 28 (10:30-11 p.m. ET) following NBC’s coverage of the Closing Ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

In addition, the new alternative series “Who Do You Think You Are?” from Lisa Kudrow will premiere Friday, March 5 (8-9 p.m. ET) and the new game show “Minute to Win It” joins the lineup on Sunday, March 14 (8-9 p.m. ET). Also, “Friday Night Lights” will begin a new broadcast season on NBC on Fridays (8-9 p.m. ET) starting April 30 after “Who Do You Think You Are?” concludes its run.

The long-running series “Law & Order” continues its 20th season debuting on a new night with a two-hour telecast (9-11 p.m. ET) on Monday, March 1 before settling into its regular time period the following week, Monday, March 8 (10-11 p.m. ET). “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” will move to Wednesdays at 10-11 p.m. (ET) beginning March 3. Encore episodes will air at 9-10 p.m. (ET) followed by original episodes (10-11 p.m. ET). “Trauma” returns to the schedule Monday, March 8 (9-10 p.m. ET).

“Parenthood” is a one-hour drama inspired by the box-office comedy hit of the same name that debuts Tuesday, March 2 (10-11 p.m. ET). The re-imagined and updated production introduces audiences to the large and colorful yet imperfect Braverman family and features an all-star cast that includes Lauren Graham, Peter Krause, Craig T. Nelson, Erika Christensen, and Bonnie Bedelia among others. Serving as executive producers are Oscar winners Ron Howard and Brian Grazer (“A Beautiful Mind,” “Frost/Nixon”), Jason Katims (“Friday Night Lights”) – who wrote the pilot episode – and David Nevins (“Friday Night Lights,” “Arrested Development”). Emmy Award winner Thomas Schlamme (“The West Wing”) is the director and executive producer of the pilot. “Parenthood” is from Imagine Television and Universal Media Studios.

“The Marriage Ref” – which has a special sneak preview following the Closing Ceremony of the Winter Olympics on February 28 – is NBC’s new comedy panel series about the unpredictable and hilarious institution commonly known as marriage. It features comedian/actor Tom Papa, who was personally selected by executive producer Jerry Seinfeld to host and serve as the “marriage ref.” The show will premiere in its regular slot on Thursdays (10-11 p.m. ET) beginning March 4.

“The Marriage Ref” is produced by Seinfeld’s Columbus 81 Productions and Ellen Rakieten Entertainment. Seinfeld, Ellen Rakieten (“The Oprah Winfrey Show”), Shed Media’s Nick Emmerson (“Supernanny”) and Jennifer O’Connell (“Supernanny”), Al Berman (“The Biggest Loser Live Finale,” “The Celebrity Apprentice Live Finale”), Howard West (“Seinfeld”) and George Shapiro (“Seinfeld”) serve as executive producers. International distribution is by Endemol.

“Who Do You Think You Are?” premieres Friday, March 5 (8-9 p.m. ET) and gives viewers an up-close and personal look inside the family history of some of today’s most beloved and iconic celebrities. Among the celebrities featured are Matthew Broderick, Lisa Kudrow, Spike Lee, Sarah Jessica Parker, Susan Sarandon, Brooke Shields and Emmitt Smith. Ancestry.com is NBC’s official partner on the series. From executive producer Kudrow (“Friends,” “The Comeback”) – in conjunction with her production company Is or Isn’t Entertainment and the U.K.’s Wall to Wall productions – “Who Do You Think You Are?” is an adaptation of the hit BBC television documentary series created and executive-produced by Alex Graham.

“Who Do You Think You Are?” is produced by Wall to Wall productions (a Shed Media Company) in association with Is or Isn’t Entertainment. Alex Graham and Lucy Carter from Wall to Wall and Lisa Kudrow, Dan Bucatinsky and Don Roos from Is or Isn’t Entertainment are the executive producers. Bryn Freedman is the co-executive producer.

All-American chef and television personality Guy Fieri (“Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”) will host NBC’s new game show “Minute to Win It” as it debuts on Sunday, March 14 (8-9 p.m. ET). Fieri will serve as master of ceremonies and will lead competitors through a series of simple, yet nerve-wracking games that can reward them a $1 million prize. Over eight one-hour episodes, competitors will face 10 challenges that escalate in level of difficulty using everyday household items. Each game has a 60-second time limit and failure to finish the task on time will eliminate the contestant. At various points throughout the game, the contestant can walk away with the money earned up to that point – but it’ll take nerves of steel to complete all 10 tasks to win $1 million.

“Minute to Win It” is produced by Universal Media Studios with Friday Television. Craig Plestis, Tim Puntillo (NBC’s “Identity”), Mattias Olsson and Jock Millgardh serve as executive producers.

The new post-Olympics program schedule grid follows (all times ET); new series are in upper case.

MONDAYS
8-9 p.m. – “Chuck”
9-10 p.m. – “Trauma” (beginning March 8 )
10-11 p.m. -”Law & Order” (returns March 1 with two-hour episode, 9-11 p.m. (ET); resumes in regular time slot March 8 )

TUESDAYS
8-10 p.m. – “The Biggest Loser”
10-11 p.m. – “PARENTHOOD” (premieres March 2)

WEDNESDAYS
8-9 p.m. – “Mercy”
9-10 p.m. – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (encores beginning March 3)
10-11 p.m. – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (originals beginning March 3)

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 MARRIAGE REF” (premieres March 4; sneak preview February 28 )

FRIDAYS
8-9 p.m. – “WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?” (premieres March 5; “Friday Night Lights” returns on April 30)
9-11 p.m. – “Dateline NBC” (begins March 5)

SATURDAYS (all beginning March 6)
8-9 p.m. – “The Biggest Loser” (encore episode)
9-10 p.m. – “Law & Order” (encore episode)
10-11 p.m. – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (encore episode)

SUNDAYS (all beginning March 14)
7-8 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”
8-9 p.m. – “MINUTE TO WIN IT” (premieres March 14)
9-11 p.m. – “The Celebrity Apprentice” (season premiere March 14)

Gugu Mbatha-Raw

J.J. Abrams has found his female lead for ‘Undercovers’, British actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

Mbatha-Raw will play Samantha Bloom, a former CIA agent who’s drawn back into the field along with her husband and fellow agent Steven (Boris Kodjoe).

While having appeared on several hit UK dramas including ‘Spooks’ and ‘Doctor Who’, Mbatha-Raw is new to US television scene.

Her casting in ‘Undercovers’ follows the trend with other J.J. Abrams produced projects. The writer/director/producer is know for casting relatively unknown female leads in his projects, including Keri Russell in ‘Felicity’, Jennifer Garner in ‘Alias’, Evangeline Lilly in ‘Lost’ and Australian actress Anna Torv in ‘Fringe’.

‘Undercovers’, was co-written by Abrams and fellow ‘Felicity’ writer Josh Reims.

Abrams also will direct the pilot, marking the first directorial television project since the $10 million 2-hour ‘Lost’ pilot in 2004.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

According to The Wall Street Journal, CBS Corporation and The Walt Disney Company are seriously considering a proposal from Apple to kill off cable TV with a subscription based TV show service through iTunes.

The report explains that under Apple’s proposed subscription model, users would have “access to some TV shows from a selection of major networks” and basic cable channels for a flat monthly fee of around $US30.

CBS Corp. could offer programs from both CBS and The CW, including ‘NCIS’, ‘The Good Wife’ and ‘90210′; while The Walt Disney Co. could offer programs from ABC, ABC Family and Disney Channel, including ‘Lost’, ‘Desperate Housewives’, ‘Greek’ and ‘Hannah Montana’.

As to how this could kill off pay TV, the WSJ notes that the networks could actually make more money per subscriber via iTunes than they do from cable TV providers, with broadcast networks receiving up to $US2-$US4 per subscriber, and basic-cable networks receiving $US1-$US2 per subscriber.

While CBS and Disney have plenty to gain from an iTunes subscription service, the two companies are also quite nervous about giving Apple more control and market-share. Apple already have a stranglehold over TV episode pricing on iTunes, with all episodes priced at a fixed $US1.99 — which lead to a brief fallout with NBC in 2007.

Even if Apple can win over CBS and Disney, the California-based company will have a tough time convincing other networks to join the bandwagon, with NBC Universal and Warner Bros. Television holding significant cable TV interests — with Comcast’s recent acquisition of NBC and Warner’s own TimeWarner Cable.

How this could affect the Australian market remains to be seen. Although it’s worth noting that all major US networks and content providers (sans CBS) currently distribute shows via the Australian iTunes Store.

Provided the local networks have no objections (though that could be a whole other can of worms), would you be interested in seeing a subscription based iTunes TV show service?

Source: The Wall Street Journal via Apple Insider

US cable network Syfy will begin airing eight ‘Chuck’ episodes from the second season, hand picked by producer Josh Schwartz and co-creator Chris Fedak, starting Thursday January 7. Episodes include ‘Chuck vs.’ The First Date, The Seduction, The Break-Up, The Santa Claus, The Predator, The Dream Job, The Colonel and The Ring.

Reminder: Chuck season 3 returns on Sunday, January 10.

Of course, the real reason for this post is to reveal the season three poster NBC released yesterday, click for a larger view.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

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

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

Sendhil Ramamurthy as Mohinder in 'Heroes'.

With limited opportunities to showcase his talents, Sendhil Ramamurthy aka Mohinder Suresh from ‘Heroes’ has signed on to another NBC dramedy, ‘Rex Is Not Your Lawyer.’

‘Rex Is Not Your Lawyer’ follows Rex Alexander – David Tennant (Doctor Who), a top Chicago litigator who begins suffering panic attacks and takes up coaching clients to represent themselves in court.

Ramamurthy is cast as a lawyer who previously played second fiddle to Rex until Rex leaves, things get complicated when he falls for a Rex’s friend’s fiancee (Abigail Spencer).

‘Rex Is Not Your Lawyer’ is produced by Universal Media Studios with the David Semel directing the pilot. Scripts will be by Andrew Leeds and David Lampson and Larry Schindel, Semel, Gail Berman, Lloyd Braun and Gene Stein will serve as executive producers.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

NBC's 'Trauma'

I don’t know how much you should read into this, but there are reports that NBC has done an about turn with their earlier decision to cease production of freshman drama ‘Trauma’. The Hollywood Reporter claims NBC has ordered an additional three hours of ‘Trauma.’

Even though ‘Trauma’s’ ratings have stabilized, the figures aren’t anything to crow about and ordering another three hours of the struggling drama indicates the dire straits the network is in. According to a NBC source, it was ordered to plug up some holes for the remainder of 2009.

Who else gets depressed at the ratings for the network who brought you Friends, ER, Will and Grace and Frasier?

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Zachary Levi and Adam Baldwin from 'Chuck'.

The wait is almost over as the adventures of special agent Charles Carmichael returns on January 10.

The third season of spy drama ‘Chuck’ will premiere with a special double episode on Sunday January 10 9/8c, before moving to its regular timeslot the following night (Monday) at 8/7c.

This follows the news that NBC has ordered an additional six episodes.

As usual, it is not ‘Chuck’ without the guest stars, which include Angie Harmon, Brandon Routh, Kristin Kreuk, Armand Assante, Steve Austin, Robert Patrick and Vinnie Jones this season.

J.J. Abrams

J.J. Abrams is hoping direct his upcoming spy series pilot for NBC.

Providing his schedule permits, Abrams will make his directorial return to television following two successful features ‘Mission Impossible III’ and ‘Star Trek’.

Abrams’ last television pilot was the 2004 2-hour opener of  ’Lost’, which he received an Emmy win for best direction.

Prior to ‘Lost’, he similarly directed the pilot for his spy series ‘Alias’.

‘Undercovers’, which Abrams will exec produce, has been described as a cross between ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ and ‘The Bourne Identity’.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Adrian Pasdar

Adrian Pasdar is leaving sci-fi drama ‘Heroes’.

Rumours began circulating early last month of a major character’s death and departure from a former hit series, these latest reports seem to confirm that ‘Heroes’ was in fact the show in question.

NBC would not confirm Pasdar’s exit, however a TV Guide source has since confirmed his departure.

Pasdar was apparently quite blindsided by his ousting, the actor only finding out when he read his characters sudden death the script.

“He was hurt that the producers didn’t tell him first,” said an Entertainment Weekly source. “He deserved better.”

Word is, actors on ‘Heroes’ have long been frustrated by the lack of communication between the set and production office. But, as the insider points out, “This was low even for them.”

Source: TV Guide, Entertainment Weekly

It’s official. TNT have picked up the critically acclaimed police drama ‘Southland’. The network will air all 7 episodes the from the first season, plus the six episodes from the second season before making a decision on ordering additional episodes.

TNT Picks Up Acclaimed Drama SOUTHLAND

TNT has picked up the critically acclaimed series SOUTHLAND, closing a deal with Warner Bros. Television that will bring the drama from Emmy®-winning producer John Wells (ER, The West Wing) to the network in January. TNT has obtained exclusive rights to air all six episodes that have been shot for the second season, as well as the seven episodes from the series’ first season. SOUTHLAND will air on TNT Tuesdays at 10 p.m. (ET/PT), beginning with the first episode of the series on Jan. 12.

“This is a great win for fans of SOUTHLAND and a perfect opportunity to introduce the series to new viewers,” said Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks. “It’s also another outstanding example of how TNT has established itself as the go-to place for the best dramas on television.”

“We are extremely pleased that TNT has acquired all 13 episodes of SOUTHLAND, giving devoted fans the opportunity to watch a show that they passionately support,” said Peter Roth, president of Warner Bros. Television.

“We’re delighted that TNT has stepped forward to pick up SOUTHLAND. We are all extremely proud of the show,” Wells said.

SOUTHLAND premiered on NBC in April to rave reviews. The series was called “tough-minded [and] suspenseful” by The New York Times, which also said, “SOUTHLAND is commendably stinting and cold, a series that doesn’t aim to please, and is all the more pleasurable for it.” The Hollywood Reporter called SOUTHLAND “exciting, smart, realistic and brilliant,” while Daily Variety said, “[John] Wells and company have delivered a cop drama with its own racing pulse. The crisp execution … has a decidedly elite cable feel.

In SOUTHLAND, John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz – A River Runs Through It) is a veteran cop assigned to train young rookie Ben Sherman (Ben McKenzie – The O.C.). Cooper attacks his job with a no-nonsense firmness that sometimes leaves Sherman wondering if he’s really cut out to be a cop.

The series also follows Detective Lydia Adams (Regina King – Ray, Jerry Maguire), who spends her off-work hours serving as her mother’s primary caregiver. Her partner, Detective Russell Clarke (Tom Everett Scott – Boiler Room), is a father struggling with an unhappy marriage. Detective Daniel “Sal” Salinger (Michael McGrady – The Thin Red Line) oversees a unit of gang detectives, including Nate Moretta (Kevin Alejandro – Drive, Ugly Betty) and Sammy Bryant (Shawn Hatosy – Alpha Dog). And patrol officer Chickie Brown (Arija Bareikis – Crossing Jordan) is a single mom determined to make her mark as the first woman in the SWAT unit.

SOUTHLAND is from John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. Created by Emmy winner Ann Biderman (NYPD Blue, Public Enemies), the series is executive-produced by Biderman, Emmy winner Chris Chulack (ER, Third Watch) and Wells. Chulack is also a primary director of the series.

Warner Bros. Television (WBTV) is one of the entertainment industry’s most respected providers of original content, producing award-winning drama and comedy series for both broadcast network television and cable. For the 2009-2010 television season, WBTV is producing more than 25 primetime series, with at least one show on each of the five broadcast networks. New programs include the one-hour drama The Vampire Diaries, the #1 show on The CW; one-hour shows Human Target and Past Life for Fox; the hourlong V, Eastwick and The Forgotten, as well as half-hour comedies The Middle and Hank for ABC; and an untitled medical drama from Jerry Bruckheimer Television for midseason on CBS, among others. Continuing programs include TV’s #1 comedy among households and total viewers in Two and a Half Men, TV’s #1 comedy among adults 18-49 in The Big Bang Theory, the #1 new program of 2008-2009 among households and total viewers in The Mentalist, the Julia Louis-Dreyfus-starring comedy The New Adventures of Old Christine and veteran drama Cold Case for CBS; the #1 new program of 2008-2009 among adults 18-49 in Fringe for Fox; Chuck for NBC; and Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, Smallville and Supernatural for The CW. WBTV also produces The Closer for TNT and Nip/Tuck for FX.

TNT, one of cable’s top-rated networks, is television’s destination for drama and home to such original series as the acclaimed and highly popular detective drama The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick; Saving Grace, starring Holly Hunter; HawthoRNe, with Jada Pinkett Smith; Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton; Raising the Bar, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben and Jane Kaczmarek; and Dark Blue, starring Dylan McDermott. TNT also presents such powerful dramas as Bones, CSI: NY and Numb3rs; broadcast premiere movies; compelling primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards®; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA. TNT is available in high-definition.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

Source: TimeWarner

Derek Luke of 'Trauma'

A couple of big news stories today, following the annoucement of ‘Chuck’s’ extension, NBC has halted the production of high octane medical drama, ‘Trauma.’

This news hardly comes as a surprise granted the show’s budget and sagging ratings. However, NBC plans to air all thirteen episodes in its current slot.

This paves the way for ‘Chuck’ to return to its previous Monday slot.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Zachary Levy as 'Chuck'.

Despite not premiering until March, NBC has ordered six more episodes of spy drama ‘Chuck,’ bringing the third season episode order to 19.  This follows the abysmal ratings of their freshman class this fall with most shows on ‘the bubble.’

Further good news for ‘Chuck’ fans is NBC plans to push the third season premiere forward to January rather than March 2010.

This annoucement is the complete opposite to how NBC treated fellow Warner Bros. show, ‘Southland,’ which was cancelled earlier on in the month without airing any sophomore season episodes despite NBC ordering more in spring.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Ricky Gervais

NBC have recruited comedy genius Ricky Gervais to host the 67th annual Golden Globes, to be broadcast live on January 17.

The film and television awards ceremony has gone without a host since 1995, when John Larroquette (‘Boston Legal’) and Janine Turner (‘Friday Night Lights’) hosted the 52nd gala event.

However, when execs from NBC and Dick Clark Productions sat down with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s president Philip Berk to discuss the upcoming awards, the idea of bringing back the host was raised.

“We never thought a host was necessary,” said Berk. “Only when NBC suggested the idea that a host might enhance the show, my response was the only person we could consider for the task would be Ricky Gervais, and we were lucky to get him.”

The comedy veteran had often been tipped as a potential host for Hollywood’s other big awards — the Emmys and Oscars. However, on the promise he’d have free rein as host, Gervais jumped at the opportunity to host the Globes.

“I have resisted many other offers like this, but there are just some things you don’t turn down,” said Gervais.

Gervais’ latest comedy flick, ‘The Invention of Lying’, co-starring Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe and Tina Fey, is in cinemas now.

The nominations for the 67th annual Golden Globes will be announced December 15.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Joel McHale stars in NBC's new comedy 'Community'.

It’s NBC’s turn for pickups and they come as quite a surprise, at least from a rating perspective.

The former number 1 US network has given full season orders to comedies ‘Parks and Recreation’ and ‘Community’ and medical drama ‘Mercy’.

Angela Bromstad, NBC/Universal Media Studios’ primetime entertainment president, gave special mention to ‘Community’ for “delivering a first-rate, quality show that is very promising as the newest of NBC’s first-rate Thursday night comedies.”

The comedy has averaged a 2.6 rating and 5 share with adults 18-49, with 5.7 million viewers overall.

Bromstad, on picking up ‘Mercy’ for full season, said that she thought the show could “be a strong player for us.”

The new medical drama, has averaged a 2.1 rating and 5 share with adults 18-49, with 7.8 million viewers overall. A far cry from the 15 million viewers tuning into ABC powerhouse ‘Grey’s Anatomy’.

As for the pickup of ‘Parks and Recreation’, Bromstad put it down to conventional wisdom, stating that the show had taken a giant creative leap this season.

Of all the pickups, ‘Parks’ has probably fared the worse in overall figures, averaging a 2.1/5 in adults 18-49 and 4.8 million viewers overall.

Conspicuously missing from the list is the new drama ‘Trauma’, which has similarly struggled on its Monday night slot — with a 1.8/4 share in viewers 18-49 and 5.52 million overall on its last outing.

Source: Variety

Jillian Michaels and Curtis Stone

Jillian Michaels, who rose to fame on the weight loss reality series ‘The Biggest Loser’, is set to host her own show for NBC.

Entitled ‘Losing it with Jillian’, the series will follow a new family each week trying to change their lives, not just physically but mentally and even financially.

While sharing similar themes, the new show will be somewhat distinctive from ‘The Biggest Loser’.

“Biggest Loser is the last resort — our show is an intervention,” said Michaels. “I wanted an opportunity to [go] to people’s homes and [teach] them in their own environment.”

Michaels isn’t kidding, she will literally be moving into their homes, going to work with the parents and attending school with the kids.

Joining Michaels on the new series is Aussie Chef Curtis Stone, who has made several appearances in the US on ‘The Biggest Loser’. Stone will be the resident nutrition expert, teaching the families about eating and maintaining a health diet.

The eight-episode series is scheduled to air in 2010 o NBC.

Source: TV Guide

'Southland' may find a new home on cable channel TNT.

Fans of the cancelled NBC cop drama can breath a little easier, with word that John Wells is in talks with two networks about finding a new home for the series.

The executive producer called actors late last week to let them know about the recent negotiations.

While it hasn’t been confirmed which networks are in the running, it’s believed that the Warner Bros. owned cable channel TNT is the top contender.

However, even if a deal can be struck, production on the series may not resume any time soon, as the series may restart from the beginning of the first season.

13 episodes have been produced all up, just enough for a standard cable television cycle.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Benjamin McKenzie

NBC have decided to cancel ‘Southland’, before it even had its second season premiere.

Production on the gritty cop drama has been shut down after just six episodes.

The show was originally scheduled to premiere in a new in September, but in August, the network decided to push the premiere back to October 23.

The show’s broadcast future is not clear, but series producers are believed to be shopping the drama around to other broadcast and cable networks.

“I’m disappointed that NBC no longer has the time periods available to support the kind of critically-acclaimed series that was for so many years, a hallmark of their success,” said executive producer John Wells. “We remain extremely proud of ‘Southland’ and are actively looking for another home for the series.”

Wells had been behind some of NBC’s biggest hits over the past 15 years, including ‘ER’ and ‘The West Wing’.

‘Southland’ debut modestly last season n NBC, but saw ratings erode over the course of the original seven episode run. Its second season renewal came as a great surprise, as many thought it it saw little chance of being renewed.

The series was created by Ann Biderman and starred Benjamin McKenzie, Kevin Alejandro, Arija Bareikis, Michael Cudlitz, Shawn Hatosy, Regina King, Michael McGrady, Tom Everett Scott.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Jennifer Garner starred as super spy Sydney Bristow in J.J. Abrams' spy series, 'Alias'.

UPDATE: It now looks like NBC secured the project.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, a new spec script from J.J. Abrams has sparked a bidding war between three major US networks.

NBC, ABC and CBS are all said to be vying for the spy genre project, with NBC said to be out in front.

The spec script, written by Abrams and fellow long time collaborator Josh Reims, revolves around two spies working together, who are also husband and wife.

The duo previously collaborated on The WB college drama ‘Felicity’ and ABC’s short lived series ‘What About Brian’.

The new project would also mark Abrams’ return to the spy genre, following the conclusion of his hit spy series ‘Alias’, on ABC back in 2006.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Jerry Bruckheimer

Following interest from several networks, NBC have landed a new action procedural from Jerry Bruckheimer and writer Jennifer Johnson.

The untitled project, from Warner Bros. Television and Jerry Bruckheimer Television, is said to tell the stories of a team charged with making sure fugitive criminals don’t evade justice.

Johnson, executive producer of ‘Cold Case’, will pen the pilot under the three-year overall deal she inked with WBTV over hiatus.

Johnson will also serve as an executive producer alongside Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman and co-executive producer Kristie Anne Reed.

WBTV/Bruckheimer TV have eight series in production this season, including newcomers ‘Miami Trauma’ for CBS and ‘The Forgotten’ for ABC.

Bruckheimer is currently developing features ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 4′ and ‘National Treasure 3′.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

The studio ran this promo image in a magazine promoting the film, which will feature both 3D animation and live action.

Columbia Pictures will release the film on December 17, 2010 in North America.

The movie rights to ‘The Smurfs’ were originally secured in 2002 by Paramount/Nickelodeon, who now have the option to co-finance the film and distribute internationally.

‘Smurfs’ (aka ‘Smurfs 3D’) is currently in pre-production under direction from Raja Gosnell. The screenplay was written by J. David Stem, David N. Weiss and Audrey Wells.

‘The Smurfs’ were created in 1958 by Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford. They were adapted for television by NBC — the series ran from 1981-1990.

Source: PVCBlue via ComingSoon.net

'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

NBC's fall primetime schedule has been announced.

NBC today announced their 2009 fall primetime schedule. ’Law & Order’ and ‘Chuck’ officially join previously announced renewals ‘Heroes’, ‘30 Rock’, ‘The Office’ and ‘Southland’.

New comedy ‘Community’ joins the Thursday night comedy block, while ‘Heroes’ and ‘Truma’ form a new power night on Mondays; with the highly anticipated ‘Day One’ and ‘Chuck taking over mid-season after the Winter Olympics.

NBC FALL 2009 SCHEDULE

*New programs in UPPER CASE

MONDAY
8-9 p.m. “Heroes”
9-10 p.m. – “TRAUMA”
10-11 p.m. “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

TUESDAY
8-10 p.m. “The Biggest Loser” (two-hour edition)
10-11 p.m. “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. “PARENTHOOD”
9-10 p.m. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
10-11 p.m. “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

THURSDAY
8- 8:30 p.m. “SNL WEEKEND UPDATE THURSDAY” (multi-episode run)
8:30-9 p.m. “Parks and Recreation”
9- 9:30 p.m. “The Office”
9:30-10 p.m. “COMMUNITY” (moves to Thursdays 8-8:30 p.m. after multi-episode run “30 Rock” returns)
10-11 p.m. “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. “Law & Order”
9-10 p.m. “Southland”
10-11 p.m. “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

SATURDAY
8-9 p.m. “Dateline NBC”
9-10 p.m. “TRAUMA” (encore broadcast)
10-11 p.m. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (encore broadcast)

SUNDAY
7- 8:20 p.m. “Football Night in America”
8:20-11 p.m. “NBC Sunday Night Football”

NBC MID-SEASON 2010 SCHEDULE

(2010 WINTER OLYMPICS preempt regularly scheduled programming from February 12-28)

*New programs in UPPER CASE

MONDAY
8-9 p.m. “Chuck” (season premiere)
9-10 p.m. – “DAY ONE”
10-11 p.m. “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

TUESDAY
8-9:30 p.m. “The Biggest Loser” (90-minute edition) 9:30-10 p.m. “100 QUESTIONS”
10-11 p.m. “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. “MERCY”
9-10 p.m. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
10-11 p.m. “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

THURSDAY
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”

FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. “Law & Order”
9-10 p.m. “Southland”
10-11 p.m. “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

SATURDAY
8-9 p.m. “Dateline NBC”
9-10 p.m. “Southland” (encore broadcast)
10-11 p.m. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (encore broadcast)

SUNDAY
7-8 p.m. “Dateline NBC”
8-9 p.m. THE MARRIAGE REF
9-11 p.m. “The Celebrity Apprentice” (season premiere; two-hour edition)

'Jay Leno', '30 Rock' and 'The Office' are joined by new series 'Parenthood' next season on NBC.

NBC ANNOUNCES 2009-2010 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE BOLSTERED BY MORE ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING THAN EVER BEFORE

Shared Time Period Strategy Around NBC’s Broadcast of 2010 Winter Olympics Along with Jay Leno at 10 p.m. Enables Network to Broadcast Original Programming Year-Round

Network Renews Returning Series “Law & Order” and “Chuck”

NEW YORK CITY — May 19, 2009 – NBC announced today its 2009-2010 schedule featuring more original programming than ever before and a shared time-period strategy around NBC’s Olympics platform that, along with “The Jay Leno Show” (Mondays-Fridays 10-11 p.m. ET), allows the network to broadcast all-new content year-round.

In addition, NBC issued renewals to “Law & Order” and “Chuck” (see accompanying release) as part of its strong slate of new and returning shows announced recently at the network’s highly successful Infront.

“NBC has picked up more scripted shows than last season even with “The Jay Leno Show” at 10 p.m.,” said Ben Silverman, Co-Chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios. “We’re incredibly excited about our new and returning series and have more comedy programming than anyone else, as well as two of the most buzzed about new shows, ‘Community’ and ‘Parenthood.’ We can’t wait for the fall.”

“We are extremely proud to introduce these strong new series to NBC’s schedule next season in strategic timeslots that position them for success,” said Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios. “They join some of the highest quality returning shows on television, which will serve as a strong foundation to the new schedule. I think viewers are going to be happy to see this lineup of great new shows that will truly fit the NBC legacy of quality, culturally defining shows.”

NBC’s shared time period strategy will kick off this fall on Mondays with the premiere of “Heroes” (8-9 p.m. ET) continuing with all originals before “Chuck” assumes the time period after the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, which will be a powerful launching platform with its broad, female appeal and strong ratings as the most-watched event of the year. Using “NBC Sunday Night Football’s” potent promotional platform, the new high-octane drama “Trauma” will debut Mondays (9-10 p.m. ET) with the epic event series “Day One” taking over the time period following the Olympics.

NBC’s successful “The Biggest Loser” series continues Tuesdays (8-10 p.m.) and will help launch the new Wednesday lineup this fall, with the new family drama “Parenthood” debuting (8-9 p.m. ET) and the new hospital drama “Mercy” assuming the time period post-Olympics. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” will air 9-10 p.m. ET following “Parenthood.”

NBC’s Thursday marquee comedy night will begin with the only live comedy between 8-10 p.m. on any network, “Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday” (8-8:30 p.m. ET), followed by “Parks and Recreation” (8:30-9 p.m. ET), “The Office” (9-9:30 p.m. ET) and the new comedy “Community” (9:30-10 p.m. ET). After “Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday” completes its multi-week run, “Community” will move to 8 p.m. and “30 Rock” will debut at 9:30 p.m., enabling NBC to feature more original comedy than ever before.

On Fridays in the fall, the enduring drama “Law & Order” will return for its record 20th season (tying “Gunsmoke” as the longest running drama series in primetime) and will lead off at 8-9 p.m. (ET) while “Southland” follows at 9-10 p.m. (ET), building a great crime block.

Saturdays will be a showcase for “Dateline NBC” (8-9 p.m. ET) and encore episodes of “Trauma” (9-10 p.m. ET) and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (10-11 p.m. ET).

“Football Night in America” (7-8:20 p.m. ET) and ” NBC Sunday Night Football” (8:20-11 p.m. ET) – the number one show of the fall — will return on Sundays in the fall with a fan-pleasing schedule of games to round out the fall season.

Utilizing the compatible demographics provided by the Olympics, NBC will launch the premieres of “The Marriage Ref” from executive producers Jerry Seinfeld and Ellen Rakieten (“Oprah”) on Sundays (8-9 p.m. ET) and the third season premiere of “The Celebrity Apprentice” on Sundays with two-hour editions (9-11 p.m. ET). In addition, the new comedy “100 Questions” will debut on Tuesdays (9:30-10 p.m. ET) following a 90-minute edition of “The Biggest Loser” (8-9:30 p.m. ET).

And coming in the summer, NBC will telecast all original episodes of “The Jay Leno Show,” “Friday Night Lights,” “America’s Got Talent,” “Breakthrough with Tony Robbins,” “Dateline NBC,” with additional programs to be announced later.

To catch up on season finales, watch new “Heroes” and “The Office” web series, and more, please log onto NBC.com.

NBC FALL 2009 SCHEDULE

*New programs in UPPER CASE

MONDAY
8-9 p.m. “Heroes”
9-10 p.m. – “TRAUMA”
10-11 p.m. “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

TUESDAY
8-10 p.m. “The Biggest Loser” (two-hour edition)
10-11 p.m. “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. “PARENTHOOD”
9-10 p.m. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
10-11 p.m. “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

THURSDAY
8- 8:30 p.m. “SNL WEEKEND UPDATE THURSDAY” (multi-episode run)
8:30-9 p.m. “Parks and Recreation”
9- 9:30 p.m. “The Office”
9:30-10 p.m. “COMMUNITY” (moves to Thursdays 8-8:30 p.m. after multi-episode run “30 Rock” returns)
10-11 p.m. “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. “Law & Order”
9-10 p.m. “Southland”
10-11 p.m. “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

SATURDAY
8-9 p.m. “Dateline NBC”
9-10 p.m. “TRAUMA” (encore broadcast)
10-11 p.m. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (encore broadcast)

SUNDAY
7- 8:20 p.m. “Football Night in America”
8:20-11 p.m. “NBC Sunday Night Football”

NBC MID-SEASON 2010 SCHEDULE

(2010 WINTER OLYMPICS preempt regularly scheduled programming from February 12-28)

*New programs in UPPER CASE

MONDAY
8-9 p.m. “Chuck” (season premiere)
9-10 p.m. – “DAY ONE”
10-11 p.m. “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

TUESDAY
8-9:30 p.m. “The Biggest Loser” (90-minute edition) 9:30-10 p.m. “100 QUESTIONS”
10-11 p.m. “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. “MERCY”
9-10 p.m. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
10-11 p.m. “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

THURSDAY
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”

FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. “Law & Order”
9-10 p.m. “Southland”
10-11 p.m. “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

SATURDAY
8-9 p.m. “Dateline NBC”
9-10 p.m. “Southland” (encore broadcast)
10-11 p.m. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (encore broadcast)

SUNDAY
7-8 p.m. “Dateline NBC”
8-9 p.m. THE MARRIAGE REF
9-11 p.m. “The Celebrity Apprentice” (season premiere; two-hour edition)

NBC have unveiled their plans today for the 09/10 television season at the “Infront” event held in New York City.

The media event included the announcement of four new dramas and two comedies for the peacock, plus a number of series renewals, including ‘Heroes’, ‘The Office’, ‘30 Rock’, ‘Southland’ and ‘Parks and Recreation’.

Some shows, including ‘Medium’ and ‘Chuck’, are still up in the air, but are expected to receive the final word on May 19, when NBC will announce their complete 09-10 schedule.

PRESS RELEASE:

NBC ANNOUNCES AMBITIOUS LINEUP OF PROGRAMMING DOMINATED BY NEW SCRIPTED SERIES FOR 2009-2010 PRIMETIME SEASON THAT EXTENDS THE NETWORK’S QUALITY BRAND

NBC unveiled today a strong lineup of broad and diverse quality programming for the 2009-2010 television season announcing the pickups of six new series featuring four new dramas including “Trauma,” “Parenthood,” “Mercy” and the event series “Day One,” as well as two new comedies including “Community” and “100 Questions.” Four returning series pickups were also announced today including “Heroes,” “Southland,” “Parks and Recreation” and the addition of six new episodes of “Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday” skewering today’s top stories in live half-hour primetime shows.

The new and returning series will launch next season and the epic event series “Day One” is slated to premiere out of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

“The Jay Leno Show” will be broadcast Monday-Fridays, 10-11 p.m. ET beginning in the fall. Previously announced series pickups include “The Office,” “30 Rock,” “The Biggest Loser,” “The Celebrity Apprentice,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Friday Night Lights,” and new alternative series “The Marriage Ref,” “Breakthrough With Tony Robbins” and “Who Do You Think You Are?”

Additional series pickups will be announced May 19, when NBC announces its 2009-2010 schedule.

NBC unveiled pickups for the upcoming broadcast season in the first of a series of presentations today and tomorrow to key advertisers from Studio 8H—the home of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live”—at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Presentations will continue in Chicago on May 7 and Los Angeles on May 12.

“We are thrilled to be announcing such an awesome slate of new series that build on our existing quality brand and deliver emotional, human stories,” said Ben Silverman, Co-Chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios. “NBC will strive to make viewers feel and our shows represent the full range of human emotion from laughter to tears. We can’t wait to share these concepts with our audience and our advertising partners.”

“These new series will showcase fresh talent and bold, original concepts that are extremely well executed,” said Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios. “We are grateful to the producers, casts and crews — and our team — who have delivered incredibly compelling and entertaining new series.”

In response to an evolving media marketplace and the changing needs of advertisers, NBC has created a more innovative, client-centric approach to its traditional Upfront with a series of one-on-one client presentations, which began today in New York City. These presentations are interactive and, unlike other networks’ Upfront presentations, will include a Q & A with advertisers and NBC sales and entertainment executives.

NBC will also host advertisers and affiliates at a “Night of Comedy” featuring appearances by some of its biggest comedy stars including Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Rainn Wilson and Tracy Morgan on Tuesday, May 19 in New York City.

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

NBC ANNOUNCES AMBITIOUS LINEUP OF PROGRAMMING DOMINATED BY NEW SCRIPTED SERIES FOR 2009-2010 PRIMETIME SEASON THAT EXTENDS THE NETWORK’S QUALITY BRAND

NBC unveiled today a strong lineup of broad and diverse quality programming for the 2009-2010 television season announcing the pickups of six new series featuring four new dramas including “Trauma,” “Parenthood,” “Mercy” and the event series “Day One,” as well as two new comedies including “Community” and “100 Questions.” Four returning series pickups were also announced today including “Heroes,” “Southland,” “Parks and Recreation” and the addition of six new episodes of “Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday” skewering today’s top stories in live half-hour primetime shows.

The new and returning series will launch next season and the epic event series “Day One” is slated to premiere out of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

“The Jay Leno Show” will be broadcast Monday-Fridays, 10-11 p.m. ET beginning in the fall. Previously announced series pickups include “The Office,” “30 Rock,” “The Biggest Loser,” “The Celebrity Apprentice,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Friday Night Lights,” and new alternative series “The Marriage Ref,” “Breakthrough With Tony Robbins” and “Who Do You Think You Are?”

Additional series pickups will be announced May 19, when NBC announces its 2009-2010 schedule.

NBC unveiled pickups for the upcoming broadcast season in the first of a series of presentations today and tomorrow to key advertisers from Studio 8H—the home of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live”—at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Presentations will continue in Chicago on May 7 and Los Angeles on May 12.

“We are thrilled to be announcing such an awesome slate of new series that build on our existing quality brand and deliver emotional, human stories,” said Ben Silverman, Co-Chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios. “NBC will strive to make viewers feel and our shows represent the full range of human emotion from laughter to tears. We can’t wait to share these concepts with our audience and our advertising partners.”

“These new series will showcase fresh talent and bold, original concepts that are extremely well executed,” said Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios. “We are grateful to the producers, casts and crews — and our team — who have delivered incredibly compelling and entertaining new series.”

In response to an evolving media marketplace and the changing needs of advertisers, NBC has created a more innovative, client-centric approach to its traditional Upfront with a series of one-on-one client presentations, which began today in New York City. These presentations are interactive and, unlike other networks’ Upfront presentations, will include a Q & A with advertisers and NBC sales and entertainment executives.

NBC will also host advertisers and affiliates at a “Night of Comedy” featuring appearances by some of its biggest comedy stars including Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Rainn Wilson and Tracy Morgan on Tuesday, May 19 in New York City.

UPDATE: Network execs have since announced that they’ve yet to make a decision regarding ’Medium’.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, NBC have renewed paranormal drama ‘Medium’ for an expected 13- to 18-episode season.

The CBS Paramount-produced drama has been a consistent rating drama for the peacock.

Also on the renewal list is cop drama ‘Southland’. Despite its mediocre ratings, the network have given a 13-episode renewal with the option for a back-nine.

The debut season drama has however been gaining critical acclaim and  attention within the industry thanks to executive producer John Wells, whose best know for his work on ‘ER’, ‘Third Watch’ and ‘The West Wing’.

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’.

The cast of The CW's 'Privileged'.

E! Online are back again this year with the “Save One Show” campaign.

Here’s why E! thinks you should save Chuck.

Since its second season premiere, ‘Chuck’ has progressively dropped in the ratings each week. Going up against heavy hitters like Dancing With the Stars and House probably hasn’t helped Chuck’s mission (Chuck vs. the Audience), but the show has a devoted fan base, near-universal critical acclaim and the amazing Zachary Levi. As far as getting that coveted third-season pickup, NBC is holding out on us until upfronts, so this show needs a major show of support, pronto.

And here’s why they think you should help save ‘Privileged’.

CW sources assure me that this show is very definitely in danger. This season was already cut down to the bone (with just 18 hours this season, instead of the typical 22), but there’s still much more Palm Beach glamour to come if it gets a pickup! Show runner Rina Mimoun tells us exclusively, “Who wants to see Joanna Garcia wrangle her way out of bed with the hot British boy before Will shows up at the house? Who wants to see more adorable Rose and Sage getting into millionaire mischief? Brian Hallisay and Robert Buckley are at the gym this second trying to win the ‘whose abs are more shredded’ contest. Don’t you want to be the judge of that?” Well, don’t you?!

Vote on which show you’d most like to save on E! Online. Other shows up for the vote include ‘Cold Case’, ‘Dollhouse’, ‘Everybody Hates Chris’, ‘The Game’, ‘Kings’, ‘Lie to Me’, ‘Life’, ‘Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’, ‘The Unit’, ‘Without a Trace’ and ‘Worst Week’.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment announced the “Season 1″ release of NBC’s ‘Kath and Kim’ remake. The 2-disc DVD set will hit US shelves on July 7th.

It will also come with a plethora of bonus features:

• Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel
• 10 Commentary Tracks:
  • “Pilot” Commentary with Executive Producer Michelle Nader and Series Stars Molly Shannon & John Michael Higgins
  • “Respect” Commentary with Executive Producer Michelle Nader and Series Stars Selma Blair & Mikey Day
  • “Old” Commentary with Executive Producer Michelle Nader and Series Star Molly Shannon
  • “Gay” Commentary with Executive Producer Michelle Nader and Series Stars Selma Blair & Mikey Day
  • “Sacrifice” Commentary with Executive Producer Michelle Nader and Series Star John Michael Higgins
  • “News” Commentary with Executive Producer Michelle Nader and Series Star John Michael Higgins
  • “Idols” Commentary wth Executive Producer Michelle Nader, Co-Writer Adam Barr, and Series Stars Selma Blair & Mikey Day
  • “Celebrity” Commentary with Executive Producer Michelle Nader and Series Star Molly Shannon
  • “Competition” Commentary with Executive Producer Michelle Nader and Co-Writers Jim Dubensky & Steve Gabriel
  • “Home” Commentary with Executive Producer Michelle Nader, Co-Writer Adam Barr, and Series Stars Selma Blair & Mikey Day

Judy Garland as Dorothy in the MGM's original 1939 film 'The Wizard of Oz'.

The classic 1939 film ‘The Wizard of Oz’ will see new life as an upcoming drama pilot for NBC.

Entitled ‘Dorothy Gale’, the modern day ‘Oz’ follows the story of Dorothy, from Kansas, who’s swept off to Manhattan (her version of the Emerald City). She finds a job in the art world and must deal with a wicked boss.

Jason Katims, who’s already busy working on ‘Friday Night Lights’ and the fellow NBC pilot, ‘Parenthood’, will oversee the ‘Dorothy’ pilot as an executive producer.

‘Dorothy Gale’ was penned by Bridget Carpenter (‘Friday Night Lights’), who’s also serving as an executive producer along with Meryl Poster (‘Chicago’).

Carpenter’s more recent work includes the short lived series ‘Bionic Woman’ and ‘Dead Like Me’.

George Segal has landed a multi-episode arc on HBO’s hugely successful comedy series ‘Entourage’.

Segal will play a Bernie Brillstein-type veteran manager who is a mentor to up-and-coming talent manager Eric (Kevin Connolly).

The Oscar-nominated actor is best know for his role as the outlandish Jack Gallo on NBC’s ‘Just Shoot Me!’

More recently, he’s found guest spots on ABC Studios’ ‘Private Practice’ and Warner Bros. TV’s ‘Pushing Daisies’.

Jami Gertz, Autumn Reeser and Alexis Dziena are also set to play recurring roles on the upcoming sixth season of ‘Entourage’.

'Friday Night Lights' has been renewed for two more seasons.

NBC sources are today confirming that DirecTV and NBC have struck a deal that will see ‘Friday Night Lights’ back for two more seasons.

The shared broadcast deal guarantees that ‘Friday Night Lights’ will see both a fourth and fifth season of 13 episodes each.

The two upcoming seasons will be filmed back-to-back to save costs.

DirecTV will get first broadcast rights to the episodes, with an encore run on NBC.

Before today’s confirmation, negotiations between DirecTV and NBC had perviously come to a stand still.

It has also been announced that ‘Lights’ show-runner, Jason Katims, would also serve as an executive producer/show-runner on NBC’s ‘Parenthood’ pilot.

Hopefully Katims can juggle both at the same time, should ‘Parenthood’ go to series.

‘Friday Night Lights’ airs on FOX8 and is available for download from iTunes.

Renowned chef, Marco Pierre White, starred in NBC's 'Chopping Block'.

Sources are saying that NBC have decided to pull the plug on ‘Chopping Block’ after just three weeks on the air.

The peacock informed local affiliates on Thursday night that the reality series will be out of the Wednesday night prime-time schedule as of next week. ’Block’ will be replaced with repeats of ‘Law and Order: Criminal Intent’.

‘Chopping Block’ debuted with decent figures on March 12, but has since falling dramatically in the ratings.

NBC plans to burn off the remaining episodes at some point.

The US series starred renowned chef Marco Pierre White and was based on the Australian series by the same name.

The local version saw a similar fate, with only two short lived seasons on the Nine Network.

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’.

Peter Krause and Maura Tierney

TV actors Peter Krause (‘Dirty Sexy Money’)  and Maura Tierney (‘ER’) look to have already found new homes in primetime, with roles on NBC’s ’Parenthood’ pilot.

Erika Christensen (‘Six Degrees’), Mae Whitman (‘Bionic Woman’ pilot) and Sarah Ramos (‘American Dreams’, ‘Kidnapped’) are also set to co-star in the pilot, while Craig T. Nelson (‘Coach’, ‘My Name Is Earl’) and Dax Shepard (‘Punk’d', ‘Zathura: A Space Adventure’) are currently in negotiations.

As previously reported, ‘Friday Night Lights’ creator Jason Katims, will helm the project which revolves around adult siblings, the Bravermans.

Krause will play Adam Braverman, a married man with two children who is a lunatic beneath the surface. Ramos, will play his good-girl daughter.

Tierney will play his sister, Sarah Braverman, a single mother. Whitman, will play her rebellious 16-year-old daughter.

Shepard will play the youngest Braverman, a slacker.

Nelson will play their father, a Vietnam vet-turned-actor/hippie.

The films original director Ron Howard, and fellow producer Brian Grazer will serve as executive producers on the pilot, along with Katims.

Universal Media Studios/Imagine TV are producing the pilot for NBC.

‘Lipstick Jungle’ is starting to looking deader than dead.

Another actor from the NBC drama has signed on to another potential fall season series with Andrew McCarthy joining the CW’s ‘Gossip Girl’ spin-off pilot.

McCarthy will play Rick Rodes, a music company exec and father of the young Lily Van Der Woodsen.

McCarthy joins Brittany Snow who’ll play Lily, and Krysten Ritter as her sister Carol Rodes.

From 'Heroes', Milo Ventimiglia.

This just in…NBC are bringing ‘Heroes’ back for another season, says entertainment president Angela Bromstad.

Many had speculated the show’s demise with ratings slowing, but today’s news puts those rumours at rest.

The network plans to order 18-20 episodes of the show for next season.

Despite the ratings slide, ‘Heroes’ is still considered NBC’s top-rated series among adults 18-49 this season, along with workplace comedy ’The Office’.

NBC are also hoping to tie it’s upcoming ’Day One’ project to ‘Heroes’, should it be ordered to series. The drama, about a group of survivors in the wake of a catastrophic global event, could benefit from having an established sci-fi drama like ‘Heroes’ as it’s lead in/out.

“‘Day One’ is a big event and we’re looking at that to come into the ‘Heroes’ spot,” Bromstad said. “It’s right now being looked at as a 13-episode run — something people could commit to and we could make a big splash with.”

The cast of 'Chuck' at WonderCon. From left: Yvonne Strahovski, Joshua Gomez, Zachary Levi and Adam Baldwin.

Everyone’s favourite spy might be back for another season claims executive producer and co-creator of ‘Chuck’, Josh Schwartz.

During an interview at WonderCon he revealed, the season two finale “will end in a way that’s going to launch the show into season three with a real—it’s a game-changer. I think that it’ll be immensely satisfying in its own right, but it also really, really launches the show in a way that, you know, we’re already breaking season three stories and can’t wait to start telling them.”

Schwartz is optimistic about another season for the series, which has won critical praise despite lackluster ratings.

“The network has been incredibly supportive of the show, and there’s a lot of internal support for the show,” Schwartz said. “Creatively, they’re really happy with the show. They recognize the challenges of the time period we’re in and all of the sort of hiatus impediments that have been thrown in our way. So I think, you know, on that level it’s very positive. But, you know, we still have several more months to go, and … it’s very competitive, (up against ABC’s) ‘Dancing With the Stars’ this year. Will Jewel out-dance Denise Richards? I know that I can’t wait. And Jewel’s husband also, go with the soft shoe, he’s in there. Yeah, yeah. So, um, so you know, I think we feel very, very optimistic, and we feel really, really good about the show creatively, and I think you know, everything that we can control, we feel very good about.”

Quizzed on if NBC has set a benchmark for renewal, Schwartz replied “If there is a threshold number, we have not heard it yet,” further adding “NBC’s been very good about (renewing) the shows that they love based on creativity alone.”

As for the show’s season finale, Schwartz said “This is our finale. This would be our finale whether we knew we were picked up, whether…we were picked up for next year or five years. This is what we’ve been wanting to do for a while, and we’ve had this planned since the beginning of season one.”

Alexis Bledel, has landed her first TV gig since ‘Gilmore Girls’ wrapped two years ago.

According to People Magazine, Bledel has been signed to guest star in the ‘ER’ two-hour series finale, set to air April 2.

She’ll play a new intern named Julia Wise in the finale episode, which will follow a 24-hour shift at County General Hospital.

‘ER’, now in it’s 15th and final season, was created by Michael Crichton. It airs Thursdays, 10/9c on NBC.

A number of guests are appearing in NBC’s dramedy Chuck in the coming weeks. In last night’s episode (US time), Jenny McCarthy stars as a fulcrum agent putting some moves on Chuck as she tries to steal the intersect away from Casey and Sarah. Other guests include:

Tricia Helfer (Burn Notice) as a hot agent, Alex Forrest, who seduces Captain Awesome.

Arnold Vossloo as a Fulcrum agent who helps to identify Chuck as the intersect.

Ted Roark (Chevy Chase) a tech mogul ordered to killed Chuck.

Scott Bakula as Chuck’s father as Chuck and Sarah seek his father via the CIA, but “don’t assume Chuck’s dad is a spy,” says Schwartz.

Josh Schwartz also reveals “this season, Chuck will have his first kill and have his own move, a cool spy move.” Hooray!