News Roundup: lots of cancellations, a few renewals, a bunch of orders

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Renewals, Cancellations, & Scheduling:
Big Brother got renewed for Summer 2012.

ABCFamily's The Nine Lives of Chloe King and State of Georgia were canceled. [we hardly paid any attention to the former, so not upset there. The latter only had a few truly "good" episodes, and was just straying too far from the premise to work.]

ABCFamily did renew Make It or Break It. And, The Lying Game received an order for the back 12 episodes of the first season.

Momster of the Bride premiered this past Sunday on Style. It looks at mothers who try to control their daughters' weddings. Look for this half-hour show Sundays at 10pm.

Style also renewed Tia & Tamera for a second season.

USA renewed Covert Affairs, Royal Pains, and Necessary Roughness, each for 16 more episodes.

Bones had another four episodes ordered... which will either run over the summer or be part of an eighth season should one happen. It's really a tiny mini-season. I can't recall something like this ever happening before...

Hung returns to HBO on October 2nd. This third season will have ten episodes.

Cast & Plot Updates:
Frances Bay, the actress who played Aunt Ginny on The Middle, has passed away. She was 92 and had appeared in more than 100 film and television roles. You may remember her as the grandmother on Happy Gilmore or as the Marble Rye Lady on Seinfeld.

Charlie's Angels, which hasn't even premiered yet, has changed the order in which the second and third episodes will run. Interesting idea, and many are skeptical of possible continuity issues and publicity stunts.

The Price is Right is celebrating 40 years on the air. Episode 7500 will air on the 28th. A special celebrity week will start January 2nd, 2012, and will feature Neil Patrick Harris, Snoop Dog, and Jenny McCarthy. I know I'm looking forward to that!

Shows in Development & Other Fun Stuff:
CBS is developing a Sherlock Holmes series. I know one of TheTalkingBox's writers will be thrilled to hear that!

ABCFamily is developing several new shows, including Intercept, which will be a drama about college students fighting crime, and Strut, about a Vegas Showgirl who marries a Texan and moves to a small town. Other shows coming up for them include Village People, Baby Daddy, and Bunheads (which might be the same as Strut, from what I can tell).

Downton Abbey, in addition to winning a ton of Emmys this week, has also been awarded a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records under "highest critical review ratings for a TV show."

FX ordered an animated comedy to be called Unsupervised, about two teenage friends with no parental supervision. So... Rugrats with older kids?

Would you watch an all-Simpsons channel? That's the hot question on the internet lately, as apparently it's a possibility...

MTV has ordered six new shows - and only two are going to be scripted. But neither of those two are really standing out yet - one is about a guy fresh out of HS, the other is about a group of friends a year out of college.

Nicholas Sparks has sold a drama to ABC.

Looking forward to Holiday Specials already? FOX is! On November 24th, they will air Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas and Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown. I know I'm in for both!