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.

We return after our mid-season hiatus with all the news about Freeview, One HD and the Get Ready For Digital TV conference.

We talk ‘Prison Break’, ‘90210′, ‘Friday Night Lights’, ‘Home Made’, ‘MasterChef’ and the Logies.

We wrap up with a few topics from the forums and an insight into our April Fools post on the blog.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment have announced the fourth and “Final Season” of ‘Prison Break’ on DVD.

The 6-disc set will be released on June 2 in the States, with audio commentaries from the cast and crew and other bonus features yet to be announced.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will release “The Complete Second Season” of ‘Pushing Daisies’ on DVD and Blu-Ray July 21 stateside.

The 4-disc set will include all 13 episode from the show’s second season, including the 3 remaining episodes which have yet to air in the States.

Bonus materials will include:

• Easy as Pie Featurette: An on-screen Pop-Up book, narrated by Jim Dale.
• The Master Pie Maker: Inside the Mind of Creator Bryan Fuller
• From Oven to Table: Crafting a Script Idea Into Reality
• Super Sweet Ingredients: Spotlight on Composer Jim Dooley’s Work
• Add a Little Magic: Executing Some Giant-Sized Visual Effects

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.

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.

The podcast returns with the first episode of 2009. We discuss all the new and returning series, including Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities, Sunday Night, Life On Mars, Bondi Vet, Guerilla Gardeners, So You Think You Can Dance, LOST, Kyle XY, Packed to the Rafters and Ugly Betty. We also delve into the issues surrounding Freeview and make our predictions for the 2009 television season.

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

We’re live in the new primetime! Just like Prison Break, Heroes and Gossip Girl! However, like our friends in the same timeslot, we struggle to find an audience from the start. As the numbers grow, we dive into deep discussions on Freeview, Thank God You’re Here, This Is Your Laugh, Packed to the Rafters, Eli Stone, Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, Prison Break, Gossip GIrl, How I Met Your Mother, Fringe, Dance Machine, American Gladiators, Rush and Don’t Forget The Lyrics. We also play three rounds of Mystery Voice and a challenging segment of Cameron’s Sixth Sense.

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.

As TVAUS is down, here’s a special ratings report for those missing their daily ratings fix.

Wednesday Night finished as follows:

ABC: 18.4
Nine: 24.5
SBS: 4.4
Seven: 31.1
Ten: 21.5

It might have been a better performance by Network Ten but they still finished fourth behind the alphabet (19.1 to 21.1) in Sydney and were beaten by Network Seven in their coveted 18-49 demo. But the story of the night goes to Ten with their medical drama House picking up steam. House (Ten) managed 1.02M with 594k in the 25-54 bracket and a night topping 440k in the 16-39 demo. In comparison, Criminal Minds (Seven) netted 1.379M (A25-54: 625k; A16-39: 295k) and Christmas with the Kranks (Nine) pulling a paltry 692k* (A25-54: ~ 360k; A16-39: ~230k). So, you may ask, why the sudden spike in ratings for House? Here’s what I came up with:
i) The absence of Spicks and Specks and Nine’s poor attempt at scheduling (dumping The Mentalist even though they had an episode available)
ii) The special 65 minute episode

I would think the former was the reason for the sudden spike as last week House couldn’t even manage 900k with a 1.3M lead in.

The 9:30pm hour saw under-rated shows Life and The Unit pick up some ground. Here’s how that hour panned out:

Life (Ten): 889k; A25-54: 499k; A16-39: 324k
The Unit (Seven): 839k; A25-54: ~422k; A16-39: ~220k
Christmas with the Kranks (Nine): 692k*; A25-54: ~378k; A16-39: ~240k

Earlier in the night, Nine dominated the 7:30 hour, here’s the breakdown:

Two and a Half Men (Nine): 1.246M; A25-54: 641k; A16-39: 396k
Big Bang Theory (Nine): 1.001M; A25-54: 508k; A16-39: 353k
Air Crash Investigation (Seven): 1.14M; A25-54: 475k
Futurama (Ten) 1 hour average: 667k; A16-39 295k

Over on the ABC, The New Inventors finale garnered a respectable 1.01M with Summer Heights High averaging 449k.

Other notable figures include:

Prison Break (Seven): 446k
Newstopia (SBS): 142k
Late Show with David Letterman: 153k

*Two hour average for Christmas with the Kranks
Note: Some of my 16-39 and 25-54 figures are calculated

All data sourced from Oztam

The silly season is almost here and it’s the time of the year where networks air shows which have failed during the official ratings period. Here is a list for each network (If I have left out your favourite show, just leave me a comment).

Note: I have only included new content and excluded factual shows.

Nine

ER: returns Wednesday 3rd December 9:30pm
Fringe: returns Monday 1st December 9:30pm
Gossip Girl – Season 1: premieres Wednesday 3rd December 10:30pm
McLeod’s Daughters: returns Saturday 6th December 8:30pm
Monster House: returns Friday 5th December 10:45pm
Pushing Daisies: Some time during the summer
Survivor – Micronesia: continues Monday 1st December 9:30pm and Tuesday 2nd December 10:35pm
Temptation: 7pm Weeknights
The Big Bang Theory: Sunday and Monday 30th November and 1st December 8:00pm
The Closer: returns Thursday 4th December 9:30pm
The Hills: Premieres on Saturday, December 6 at 12.30pm
Wife Swap USA: Saturday 6th December 7:30pm

SBS

Carla Cametti PD (New Aussie Drama): starts Thursday 8 January at 8:30pm
Food Safari: begins Wednesday 3rd December 8:30pm
Inspector Rex – Rex in Rome: starts Thursday 4 December at 7:35pm
Iron Chef: series returns Saturday 14 February at 8:30pm.
Long Way Down (Documentary Series): begins Wednesday 3rd December 8:30pm
Mad Men: late summer 2009
Top Gear Season 11: begins Monday 24th November 7:30pm
Wall Street Warriors (Documentary Series): begins Friday 5th December 7:30pm

Seven

24: Redemption: premieres Friday December 5th 9:30pm
Dance Machine: premieres Saturday December 6th 7:30pm
Dirty Sexy Money: begins Tuesday December 2nd 9:30pm
Eli Stone: premieres Tuesday December 2nd 8:30pm and continues on Thursday
Heroes: continues Thursday December 4th 10:30pm
Holby Blue: premieres Sunday November 30th 8:30pm
Kath & Kim (US): returns Monday December 1st 11:00pm
Las Vegas: returns Wednesday December 3rd 8:30pm
Prison Break: returns Tuesday December 2nd 10:30pm and continues on Wednesday
Scrubs: continues Monday December 1st 10:30pm
The Amazing Race: continues Thursday December 4th 9:30pm
The Unit: continues Wednesday December 3rd 9:30pm
Ugly Betty: returns Tuesday December 2nd 7:30pm and continues on Thursday

Ten

90210: returns Sunday 30th November 7:30pm Monday 24th November 7:30pm
America’s Next Top Model – Season 8: premieres Sunday 30th November 6:30pm
Army Wives – Season 1: premieres Monday 1st December 8:30pm
Don’t Forget The Lyrics - Season 2 episode 15: begins Wednesday 3rd December 7:30pm
How to Look Good Naked – Season 2: begins Wednesday 4th December 7:30pm
In Plain Sight - Season 1: premieres Tuesday 9th December 9:30pm
Out of the Blue: continues Weeknights 10:30pm
The Bold & The Beautiful: continues Weeknights 6:00pm
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart: continues Sunday 30th November 10:40pm
The Ex-List: premieres Monday 1st December 9:30pm
The Office – Season 3 episode 20: continues Sunday 30th November 10:30pm

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

Episode 16 gets off to a false start, but we recover quickly and begin in depth discussions on the American Kath & Kim, Bogan Pride, The Mentalist, Heroes, Fringe, Prison Break and Psych. Plus we also brainstorm ideas for faltering network’s Ten and The CW. We wrap up with a broadband update and the future of the TVAus forum.

Episode 15 brings us up to date with all the latest tv news, gossip and programming developments. We discuss the 90210 full season pick up, The Emmys, Prison Break series finale, NBC’s Kath & Kim, Australian Idol top 10, who is Kyle XY?, AFL Grand Finale coverage, television show recaps and a sort of new segment ‘Most Underrated Show of the Week’.

ABC have cleaned up on the first night of ratings for the US fall season, boasting the largest overall audience figures of all networks. CBS won in the demos with its CSI: Miami/Monday night comedy block.

ABC’s Dancing With the Stars won its timeslot from 8pm to 10pm with massive overall audience figures (5.3/13 in 18-49, 21.34m), setting up a huge lead in audience for legal dramedy Boston Legal. It made for the largest audience on the opening Monday of the season in nine years for the alphabet network.

The CBS comedy block scored highly in the young adult demo with The Big Bang Theory (3.6 rating/10 share in adults 18-49, 9.32 million viewers overall) and How I Met Your Mother (4.0/10, 9.79m) which scored its highest season premiere ever. Two and a Half Men gained on its previous years figures (5.3/12, 14.48m), while newcomer Worst Week closed the night (3.8/8, 10.87m).
NBC didn’t fair as well with overall audience figures. Heroes scored its lowest season premiere ever, however still holding up quite well in the demos (5.0/12, 10.09m).

FOX’s Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2.3/6 in 18-49, 5.89m) and Prison Break (2.5/6, 5.84m) failed to impress as usual, having the unfortunate disadvantage of starting several weeks before ratings season.

The CW remained steady in its demos with Gossip Girl (1.6/4, 3.33m) and One Tree Hill (1.5/3, 3.14m), placing the green network third for the night in women 18-34 (3.6/9). Gossip Girl also scored its second best 18-34 score to date (2.4/7).

It’s that time of year again. So jump in front of the tube and get ready for hours of tears, laughter and joy. The US fall season is here!

Prison Break, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, The Closer and The Hills headlined today’s festivities, while tomorrow kicks off the anticipated series premiere of 90210 and the return of The Shield and ABC Family’s Greek.

Stay tuned as we review some of this season’s most anticipated series returns and premieres.

It’s a new season of television! And boy is there a lot to talk about. In our first post-olympics podcast, we discuss Packed the Rafters, All Saints, Idol, Make Me a Supermodel, ABC Family, and plenty of Aussie Drama. The return of Cult Show of the Week and our new segment So You Think Concepts.  We wrap up by discussing the new season of Dancing with the Stars.

Hold on to your hats people! In just under one week, the new US fall television season begins and it’s going to be one hell of a ride.

Kicking off the new season are some of your favourite shows and last years biggest hits. The CW does what it does best, cat fights and melodrama with Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill. FOX breaks into its fourth season of Prison Break. MTV hits The Hills for yet another season of “like whatever” and TNT closes with The Closer.

The prime time US fall season commences Monday, September 1st, 8/7c  (Tuesday, September 2nd, 10:00am AEST).

Australia’s Simon Baker (The Guardian, Smith) makes a return to network television in the new CBS drama The Mentalist. Baker plays Patrick Jane, a former psychic medium who now acts as a consultant to the CBI (California Bureau of Investigation).

The Mentalist also stars Robin Tunney (Prison Break), Owain Yeoman (The Nine), Tim Kang (The Unit) and Amanda Righetti (Reunion). 

See Nine’s promo below.

The Mentalist premieres September 23 on CBS and will be fast-tracked by the Nine Network.

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

Hit more to see the list.

All dates are local time.

24th August

• Australian Idol – TEN

2nd September

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

19th September

• Smallville – CW
• Supernatural – CW

23rd September

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

25th September

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

26th September

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

29th September

• Desperate Housewives -ABC

30th September

• The Amazing Race – CBS
• Chuck – NBC

2nd October

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

4th October

• Ghost Whisperer

7th October

• Samantha Who? – ABC

11th October

• Kath & Kim  - NBC

15th October

• Eli Stone – ABC

31st October

• 30 Rock – NBC