News Roundup: Late May

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Renewals, Cancellations, & Scheduling:
Oxygen has renewed Best Ink for a second season.

Disney XD has ordered a second season of Lab Rats. [haven't heard of the show? don't worry; most people haven't heard of the channel.]

Rules of Engagement, believe it or not, was renewed by CBS for a 13-episode seventh season. Look for it mid-season.

TruTV has renewed South Beach Tow for a second season.

Rather than canceling LA Complex completely, the CW has decided to air 13 new episodes over the summer, beginning in July.

Just when we thought that Pan Am was off the air, it seems that Amazon might actually pick them up again. We previously mentioned that Amazon is looking to do original sitcoms and children's programming, but I guess dramas are in their minds as well.

MTV has canceled I Just Want My Pants Back.

A&E has canceled Breakout Kings. They've also canceled Dog the Bounty Hunter. [I'm glad. Every time I hear about that show I flash back to this horrible car trip I took four or five years ago where the girl sitting next to me wouldn't shut up about that show for over an hour!]

SyFy has canceled Sanctuary.

Cake Boss is back on TLC this Monday, May 28th at 9pm ET/PT.

The National Championships of the History Bee will be televised on Friday, June 1st at 8pm on History. Al Roker will be the moderator to the 32 regional competitors.

Over on CMT, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Brides premieres Friday, June 2nd at 8pm ET/PT.

History has renewed Ice Road Truckers, with the new season beginning Sunday, June 3rd, 9pm ET/PT.

Also on Sunday, June 3rd, at have Fast Food Mania premiering at 10pm ET/PT on Discovery.

Dance Moms will return on Tuesday, June 5th at 9pm ET/PT.

Flying Wild Alaska returns to Discovery on Friday, June 8th at 10pm ET/PT.

Redneck Island, Steve Austin's reality competition series, begins Saturday, June 9th at 10pm ET/PT on CMT.

True Blood's fifth season on HBO begins Sunday, June 10th at 9pm ET/PT.

Sunday, June 17th at 9pm ET/PT is the premiere of Forensic Firsts on the Smithsonian Channel.

Disney XD's Pair of Kings will begins its third season on Monday, June 18th at 8:30pm ET/PT.

Baby Daddy, ABCFamily's new comedy, begins Wednesday, June 20th at 8:30pm ET/PT.

The Soul Man, Cedric "The Entertainer"'s new show, begins Wednesday, June 20th at 10pm ET/PT.

The Exes is returning to TVLand on Wednesday, June 20th at 10:30pm ET/PT.

Lifetime's Army Wives continues on Sunday, June 24th at 10pm ET/PT.

TVLand's Retired at 35 will return on Tuesday, June 26th at 10pm ET/PT. [yeah, I forgot that this show was still going, too.]

Disney's Gravity Falls will begin Friday, June 29th at 9:30pm ET/PT, though there will be a special preview on Friday, June 15th at 9:55pm ET/PT.

Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World premieres July 6th at 9pm ET/PT on PBS.

Breaking Bad will return to AMC Sunday, July 15th at 10pm ET/PT.

AMC's Small Town Security will debut Sunday, July 15th at 10pm ET/PT.

AMC's Hell on Wheels returns Sunday, August 12th at 9pm ET/PT.

SyFy's Haven will begin its third season on Friday, September 21st at 10pm ET/PT.

Cast & Plot Updates:
Britney Spears may appear in a fall episode of Glee to be a tribute to the pop star.

After recent allegations that Raven-Symone is gay, the actress tweeted in response that it's her right to be straight or gay and to disclose whatever she wants.

Remy Gonzalez (ex-husband of Buddy's sister Lisa on Cake Boss), has been sentenced to nine years in prison for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.

Amber Portwood, of 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom, is probably going to prison for five years, as she just can't keep it together trying to complete a drug court program.

JoAnna Garcia will be the new lead on Animal Practice on NBC in the fall.

Season 2 of American Horror Story will be set in the sixties.

Shows in Development & Other Fun Stuff:
ABC is still developing a new Hulk television show, possibly for the 2013-2014 season.

YouTube's latest original content channel is HUNGRY, which goes live on July 2nd. It will feature 60-180-second how-to videos, celebrity-driven food videos, with new episodes being posted weekly. Longer format videos may come later.

Did you know that the slow-motion running on Baywatch stemmed from a lack of funding that caused them to have to fill the time slot?

Now that House is finished, Jesse Spencer (Dr. Chase) has admitted to taking his pen and his badge from the set.

Eugene J. Polley, inventor of the television remote control (in 1955), has passed away.  

Hulu has a bunch of original series coming up. Spoilers begins June 4th. Up to Speed and We Got Next begin in August.

News Roundup: Early 2012 Development & Fun

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

This is the final part of our first news round-up of the year, so it covers nearly three weeks of entertainment fun facts. The original post was so large that we broke it up to be more digestible for you guys. Next week we plan to return to our normal, one-news-post-per-week schedule.

Shows in Development: 
There's a new animated/live action comedy hybrid in development called Honey Badger U... yes, based on the viral video of Honey Badger.

Like those period television shows that are on? ABC has ordered a pilot for another one - Gilded Lillys, set in 1895, about the opening of the first luxury hotel in NYC.

Hulu has announced its first slate of original programming, including A Day in the Life (which will launch its second season in March), Up to Speed (which will be a documentary series debuting this summer), and Battleground (a mockumentary to debut on February 14th).

Back when the CW was the WB (and UPN, for that matter), they had bought a crime drama called Cult, but it never got made when the CW swallowed other projects. Now, it's back on the table, though it'll be altered to fit the "teen content" of the network.

Also for the CW, they're getting close to finalizing a deal for a pilot called Arrow, to be based on Green Arrow, a la DC Comics fame. Oh, and a prequel to Sex and the City, called The Carrie Diaries.

CBS is betting on an adaptation of Sherlock Holmes to work out for them.... it'll be called Elementary and take place in modern-day NYC.

OWN has three new shows coming up: Lovetown, USA (two expert matchmakers will spend 30 days in Kingsland, GA to help eight dingle find true love), Lives on Fire (about four female firefighters in California), and Are you Normal, America? (a game show where people admit what they do and a jury of polled folks will determine if that's normal).

Dance Moms is getting a spin-off... Dance Moms: Miami.

TNT's first reality competition series will be called The Great Escape. Ten episodes will air this coming summer. They also ordered a drama series called L. A. Noir, based on John Buntin's book, L. A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City. 

Marcia Gay Harden will play the matriarch of "a normal middle-class family that wrestles with the challenges of everyday life while raising a daughter who has magical qualities" on Isabel, a comedy pilot for NBC.

A&E is developing a miniseries of Bonnie and Clyde. They're also working on a Psycho prequel series called Bates Motel.

AMC, on the other hand, is looking to develop a Goodfellas series

Tom Hanks has a futuristic animated series in the works, and Electric City's twenty episodes will air on Yahoo this spring.

SyFy has a two-hour pilot coming called Rewind, an action thriller set to begin production this April.

IFC has two new scripted comedies coming in June - Comedy Bang! Bang! (a sketch variety show) and Bunk (a game show parody).

FOX has a pilot going called Ben Fox is My Manny, a single-camera comedy, about a single mother whose brother moves in to help her raise her child. Living Loaded is yet another of FOX's pilots for next season.

Remember that musical chairs game show that the CW was talking about? It's called Oh Sit!, and ten episodes will debut later this season.

Starz has plans to make Marco Polo a series.

J-Lo and Marc Anthony created !Q'Viva! The Chosen, a Latin-American reality talent competition set to debut on Univision in October.

Bravo is adding quite a few new programs to their lineup in 2012, including Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis (starting March 14), Shahs of Sunset, Love Broker, Million Dollar Listing New York, Don't Be Tardy for the Wedding, and Kathy, a primetime talk show with Kathy Griffin. [NBC Universal - Bravo Press Release]

Big fan of Martin Lawrence? CBS sure is. They're developing two different shows in which the comedian may star. One has him being a foster parent and the other has him keeping his kids grounded in spite of wealthy in-laws. More info will be coming soon!

Other Fun Stuff:
NBC is incorporating Instagram to integrate "compelling user-generated content into its local news delivery on air and online." You can send in photos of breaking news, special events, severe weather, etc. [NBC Universal Press Release]

After last month's barrage of the Duggars and their memorial for their stillborn baby Jubilee, they're back in the news for backing Rick Santorum for the GOP. 12 of the children are part of the campaign! Michelle recorded some robocalls for the candidate as well.

The annual Nielsen "Television Audience" survey reported that, for the first time in nearly two decades, TV ownersehip actually declined, dropping from 115.9 million homes with a TV to 114.7 million. At the same time, 56% of the nation now have three or more televisions in the home. Oh, and the average viewing time per household is up to nearly 60 hours each week.

MetroPCS became the first cell phone company to announce a Samsung Smartphone that will be able to tune into live (local) television broadcasts. They will receive special Mobile DTV signals by 72 stations in 32 cities.

FOX's New Girl was the most DVR'd new series last fall.

The Simpsons is trying to break the Guinness World Record for "longest continuous television viewing" with a fan marathon... that will last from February 8th through the 19th at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles.

Time Warner is distancing itself from Netflix, Redbox, et al. New DVD releases now have to wait 56 days before they're available through those outlets... it used to be 28 days. Time Warner's HBO folks won't be selling DVDs to Netflix at all.

AT&T U-Verse and Verizon FiOS customers can now access Showtime programming through their free iPad app.

The first ever Golden Collar Awards will be given out this year in five categories, to honor the past year's Best Dog Performances. Best Dog in each: Theatrical Film, Foreign Film, Direct-to-DVD Film, Reality Television Series, and Scripted Television Series. Awards will be presented at the dog-friendly Hotel Palomar in LA on February 13th.

Wondering what else Ryan Seacrest is up to these days? He's working on re-branding a new network, to be called AXS (pronounced "Access"), which will launch this summer.

If you're a White Collar fan (or even if you're not!), there's a new six-week game you can play, coinciding with the mid-season episodes. There are weekly challenges, and when you complete all six, you can enter a sweepstakes to win an iPad2.

News Roundup: Renewals & Return Dates All Around

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Renewals, Cancellations, & Scheduling:
South Park returns with Season 16 on March 14th, 2012. Eastbound & Down and Life's Too Short will premiere Sunday, February 19th, 2012. [Comedy Central Press Release]

FOX's Alcatraz will premiere at 8pm on Monday, January 16th. It will move to 9pm on the 23rd, and House will take the 8pm slot. Napoleon Dynamite will start Sunday, January 15th, at 8:30pm. Bob's Burgers will return March 11th at 8:30pm.

Pretty Little Liars was renewed by ABCFamily for a third season.

A.N.T. Farm was renewed by Disney Channel for a second season.

USA's Common Law will debut at 10pm on January 26th. White Collar will return on January 17th and Royal Pains will resume on January 18th.

Dance Moms will return to Lifetime on January 10th, 2012.

Undercover Boss will return for a third season on Sunday, January 15th.

Web Therapy has been renewed for a second season.

La La's Full Court Life was renewed for a second season on VH1.

Cast & Plot Updates:
Ricky Martin will guest on Glee in late January, as "the hottest Spanish teacher ever in the history of Ohio."

Michelle Duggar has miscarried the 20th child, who was set to debut on 19 Kids and Counting in April. Michelle was in her second trimester and it's believed that the family will hold a funeral once they find out if it was male or female.

Shows in Development & Other Fun Stuff:
Oxygen has three new docu-series in the works (all working titles). First, All the Right Moves, which is about friends living together and forming a dance troupe. Next, That's D'Amore, which looks at the lives of three sisters who live a privileged life thanks to their family's pizza business. Last, Taking NY, which follows some best friends trying to "have it all" in NYC. [Oxygen Press Release]

There's a great Burn Notice giveaway going on! One for Psych, too!

AMC has acquired the syndication rights to CSI: Miami, and it'll premiere on Monday, January 2nd, at 5pm, and will run in that slot on weekdays.

Dunder Mifflin will be a new brand of copy paper available through quill.com.

Harry Morgan, better known as Colonel Sherman Potter on M*A*S*H, has passed away at the age of 96.

If you're looking to get caught up Revenge or Once Upon a Time, ABC.com has all of the episodes of both up and available through January 3rd for the former and January 8th for the latter.

After House ends, Hugh Laurie will not take another television acting gig. He's thinking "writing or producing or directing or some other aspect."

Community will be featured on Hulu Plus now. Next-day access of new episodes will be available, as well as the entire back library.

There has been even more talk about Cable providers considering switching to a la carte subscriptions. [even though this particular article is two months old.]

On Live! with Kelly, Neil Patrick Harris snuck in a kiss to Betty White. [totally cute, by the way.] Also while guest-starring with Kelly Ripa, NPH and Kelly both inhaled sulfur hexafluoride, which has the opposite effect as helium!

I never knew that Saved by the Bell was cancelled every single season. Between that and not having the internet, it's no wonder that Mark-Paul Gosselaar and the rest of the SBTB gang managed to stay grounded! They didn't think anybody cared about the show!

Game of Thrones first season will be out on DVD March 6th, 2012.

ABCFamily has finished production on the new pilot Baby Daddy. Now, they're working on production for the new pilot Village People.

News Roundup: A few Renewals and a LOT of Future Projects

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Renewals, Cancellations, & Scheduling:
Disney XD renewed Kickin' It for a second season.

Drop Dead Diva has gotten a 13-episode season four renewal.

Roseanne Barr announced via Twitter that Roseanne's Nuts, a Lifetime show, as been cancelled.

Lifetime did, however, renew Dance Moms for a second season.

The most surprising order goes to The New Girl, getting the go-ahead for a back-11.

TOLN, The Online Network, will launch in January 2012, with new episodes of All My Children and One Life to Live, among other shows.

The best renewal story of the week? Boss received an order for a ten-episode second season. The pilot will air October 21st.

Cast & Plot Updates:
Katie Holmes will play the Slutty Pumpkin that's been referenced semi-annually on How I Met Your Mother.


Shows in Development & Other Fun Stuff:
Comedy Central has a pilot contest going on. Go for it.

FOX has ordered a new Gordon Ramsey Series, currently known as Hotel Hell. This time, the unscripted show will focus on Ramsey & crew fixing hotels, motels, and B&Bs.

FOX also ordered up Touch, a Kiefer Sutherland show to premiere in the Spring. He'll play the dad of a mute son who is gifted with numbers.

Another FOX pick? A show about serial killers who use social networking.

ABC is looking to do a show about an angel who is expelled from Heaven and has to live in NYC. [I know, what??]

Another show ABC is looking to do? A guy has to find clues about the twelve apostles. So, Da Vinci Code fans, get excited.

What else? Oh yeah, another New York show about a cop. But, this is a fictional New York, or, magical, as it were.

CBS, on the other hand, is going to feature a mid-season replacement with Rob Schneider. He marries into a close-knit Mexican-American family, where his father-in-law is played by Cheech Marin.

NBC is looking to have a Dane Cook comedy show next fall.

Weirder yet, NBC also wants an 1880s drama/western. Not a bad idea, until you hear about the doctor character who uses his intellect rather than a six-shooter....

Extreme Musical Chairs, guys. This may be a thing. On the CW.

On Thursday, October 6th, the newest episode of Psych will air in NYC for 1,000 fans... the rest of us will have to wait until the 12th.

There are fewer GLBT characters on television this season than last season. Not a startling number, just less.

Netflix and the Discovery Networks (everything from TLC, the Science Channel, the Hub, and the Military Channel to the Discovery Channel, Investigation Discovery, and Animal Planet) have reached an agreement for a two-year contract to allow streaming of some of the networks' programming.

More on that note, FOX stuff is getting streamed via Amazon and Dreamworks is hitting Netflix.

But, really, the big story about streaming right now is that new episodes of Whitney and Up All Night were available to watch via Yahoo! before they were broadcast this week. Yeah, glad this didn't have publicity three weeks ago, huh?