Laura Prepon, Bret Harrison and Michael Kelly

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

It’s the final episode of the year! In the season finale we take a look back at some of our 2009 predicitions — what we got right and what we got wrong.

We discuss the latest television news, including the abrupt end of ‘Rove’, ‘Packed to the Rafters’ creator Bevan Lee’s assault on vampires, the government’s plan to introduce Aussie drama quotas on digital channels and the launch of ABC3.

We see what’s hot this summer, including ‘The Office’, ‘Accidentally on Purpose’, ‘White Collar’, ‘The 7PM Project’, ‘The Middle’, ‘The Vampire Diaries’, ‘Parks and Recreation’, ‘Reaper’ and ‘Private Practice’.

Finally, we look back at some television highlights from the past decade and a brief look at what’s in store for 2010.

Lucy Hale as Rose Baker in 'Privileged'.

As the CBS and CW upfronts draw closer, both networks have started making official announcements of cancellations and early pick ups.

On the CBS front is the cancellations of ‘Eleventh Hour’ and the long running crime drama ’Without a Trace’ which starred Australia’s Anthony LaPaglia and Poppy Montgomery.

Over at the CW the cancellations are equally as devastating, including ‘Reaper’, ‘The Game’, ‘Everybody Hates Chris’ and the worst news of all ‘Privileged’.

Despite much talk about ‘Privileged’ returning as a midseason replacement, The CW’s strong development plate left little room for a number of bubble series on the green network.

“It’s truly heartbreaking,” said ‘Privileged’ series creator Rina Mimoun. “I’m so grateful to everyone out there who supported our little show and fell in love with Megan Smith. She was the most delightful character I’ve ever had the pleasure to write and watching JoAnna Garcia bring her to life every day was a gift I will never forget. I’m incredibly proud of the work we did and forever indebted to all the fans, critics and to Warner Bros. for being so wonderful and supportive. I will miss this more than you know.”

So long ‘Privileged’, we hardly knew you.

On a lighter note, CBS have renewed ’Numb3ers’, ‘How I Met Your Mother’, ‘Gary Unmarried’, ‘Rules of Engagement’, and ‘The New Adventures of Old Christine’.

The CW have officially picked up ‘Melrose Place’, ‘Vampire Diaries’ and ‘The Beautiful Life’ for next season.

Stay tuned for more announcements from the CBS and CW upfronts over the next two days.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

For those who have given up all hope on a renewal for ‘Reaper’, here’s a little rumour to re-ignite your fire.

Sources say that ABC Studios is in talks with The CW affiliate stations to continue ‘Reaper’ next season as a syndicated series on Sunday nights.

While the show has failed to make a major mark on viewers this season, CW affiliate stations are said to be big fans of the show.

Since the series returned as a midseason replacement, ‘Reaper’ has been averaging a 1.0 rating in the 18-49 demo, coming in as the lowest-rated drama on The CW. However, these figures still trump what the network was scoring on Sunday nights during it’s short partnership with Media Rights Capital.

Now that The CW have dropped Sunday nights from their schedule, the prime-time programming block has reverted back to their local affiliates. This move is what has said to have triggered the preliminary discussions between ABC Studios and the affiliates.

Sources also say that ABC Studios are exploring a possible move to cable.

While both scenarios are considered a longshot, it does give us a little bit of hope in something we thought was all but dead.

Hooray for The CW!

The CW has pushed the season 2 premiere of Reaper forward a few weeks to March 3! Season 2 will now premiere 8/7c March 3 as a lead in to 90210. This pips the quirky drama against ratings juggernaut American Idol, fingers crossed it won’t be a casualty.

This decision comes as both 90210 and Privileged had the highest percentage of DVR viewing in the week January 12-18 (33.5% and 33.9% respectively).

Now for the bad news, a thirteen episode order still remains.

• Lost season 5 premieres Wednesday 21st January

• United States of Tara a half hour comedy premieres Sunday 18th January

• Dollhouse series premiere Friday 13th February

• Castle series premieres Monday 9th March

• Reaper season 2 premieres Tuesday 17th March

• Kings series premieres Sunday, March 15

• Medium season 5 premieres Monday 2nd February

Leave a comment if you think I missed out on your favourite show.

Some of you might know how much I despise The CW and this dark side is back again. The CW has been quite good during the fall with two brilliant freshman shows in 90210 and Privileged but again they have let me down. Their top rating freshman drama of last year and my favourite show to come out of the 2007-2008 fall season Reaper has been treated like sh*t again! Dawn Ostroff what are you smoking? Here’s some evidence:

• Reaper was on the bubble until the final minute but Gossip Girl which had a lower season average was renewed earlier in its run.
• When I heard Reaper was not returning this fall, instead held back until mid-season and now pushed back even further, starting March 17th is absolutely absurd.
• Only a thirteen episode order! The CW you really know how to kill shows.

To further illustrate my point, The CW is down nearly 14% in the key 18-49 demo. Ok, ok, they might be up 11% in their target demo women 18-34, miniscule in the wider scheme of things, but this drop in the key demo will never be compensated by this small gain in their target demo.

Couple this with the way they have treated their top rating dramas like Supernatural and Smallville, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure they are struggling financially. Yes, they have made it clear their target demo is women 18-34, but surely from the numbers Supernatural and Smallville have managed this season, they can and should widen their target audience. I don’t know if anyone has seen the pdf – What a spot costs? But it is well worth a look. Even though both Supernatural and Smallville are The CW’s top rating shows outside of America’s Next Top Model, its timeslot is worth less than lower rating shows Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill and on par with The CW’s struggling Friday comedies. The executives at The CW need to wake up to themselves and swing the axe on Dawn not their quality shows. Recently, Dawn talked about the importance of flow which totally contradicts her scheduling of Reaper proceeding 90210. Oh Dawn you frustrate me!

As for Reaper, The CW should’ve given it a full season order and premiered season two in January!

Full schedule below:

Monday
8-9 p.m. Gossip Girl (New episodes begin January 5)
9-10 p.m. One Tree Hill (New episodes begin January 5)

Tuesday
8-9 p.m. 90210 (New episodes begin January 6)
9-10 p.m. Privileged (New episodes begin January 6)

Wednesday
8-9 p.m. 13 – Fear is Real (Series premiere January 7)
9-10 p.m. 90210 (Encore Episodes Begin January 7)

Thursday
8-9 p.m. Smallville (New episodes begin January 15)
9-10 p.m. Supernatural (New episodes begin January 15)

Friday
8-8:30 p.m. Everybody Hates Chris (New episodes begin January 9)
8:30-9 p.m. The Game (New episodes begin January 9)
9-10 p.m. 13 – Fear is Real (Encore episodes begin January 9)

Tuesday (Beginning March 17)
8-9 p.m. 90210
9-10 p.m. Reaper

• TiVo Australia announces free online movie downloads (via Blockbuster) and online interactive features.

• Showtime renews Californication for a 12-episode third season.

• ABC announces mid-season replacements Cupid, Castle and The Unusuals.

• CBS announces mid-season replacements Harper’s Island and Game Show in My Head.

• Reaper returns March 17 on The CW.

• The Office scores post-Super Bowl slot on NBC.

• The Mentalist (3.8/9) beats Fringe (3.7/9) in target demo for the third week in a row.

Sources: Variety, The Australian

So we’re not quite sure why ABC Studios sold the DVD rights for Reaper to Lionsgate, but we’re fairly certain that Reaper Season One has one of the fugliest DVD covers I’ve seen in a while. It looks like something my 4 year old cousin put together on scrap-booking day in kindergarten.

Despite the afore mentioned flaw, it looks to be one devilish set.  The five-disc boxed set will be released on November 4 by Lionsgate in the US, with all 18 episodes plus bonus features. $US39.98 RRP. (Source: TVShowsonDVD.com). Walt Disney Studios are expected to release Reaper Season One locally soon after.

Reaper stars Brett Harrison (The Loop), Ray Wise (Twin Peaks) and Missy Peregrym (Heroes).

It returns mid-season on The CW and in 2009 on Seven.