Halloween 2012: The Middle, The Neighbors, Suburgatory, South Park, Guys with Kids, The Big Bang Theory, 1313 Mockingbird Lane, Ben and Kate

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Although a couple of shows have yet to air their Halloween-inspired episodes because of multiple pre-empting conditions, I wanted to go ahead and give you guys recaps of all of the Halloween episodes I've seen this year. [except The Simpsons, who did theirs really early.] The episodes below appear in the order in which they aired. When shows like Go On and The New Normal finally run theirs, they'll be posted separately.

It's an interesting year for television in that I can't remember the last time that so many different shows actually featured Halloween episodes! I was pretty excited, actually, as they kept showing up in the descriptions on my DVR. One can only hope that Thanksgiving and Christmas will also bring us such festive storylines, but we'll see!

The Middle "Halloween III: The Driving" (S04E06): Brick tells the school that his mother isn't working so she's available to volunteer at the school Halloween carnival. [I find it hilarious that the Hecks don't have Called ID with all of the people they try to avoid!] Though Frankie winds up having to bring home a bunch of extra goldfish, she is able to get Mrs. Donahue to agree to take Brick trick-or-treating. [...what did they do with the fish?] The kid returns home with a huge Halloween haul - about 500 pieces! [holy moly!]

ABC/MICHAEL ANSELL

Frankie wants to send most of it to the soldiers overseas, so she tells him he can only keep it for 24 hours. [except she's TOTALLY the type of mother who would keep it for herself instead.] In true childhood fashion, Brick manages to eat ALL OF IT in that time period. He winds up acting semi-normal for a few days, very focused and social, only to crash from the sugar eventually. [but with Mike and Frankie now aware of this "trick," I can see them employing it more often than "special occasions"!]

Sue has her learner's permit, but is taking her time getting ready to drive an actual car, wasting time picking out a keychain and practicing puttering around the house. She freaks out on both Frankie and Mike, saying that they rush her, but on her third try things get worse - she runs over Axl's foot and is so distraught that Mike eventually has to throw her from the car and back up so the tire is no longer on Axl! [omg that's terrible!] Oh, and by the way, Axl is really taking his new responsibility as a registered voter seriously, so when both of his parents aren't home on Election Day (and he can't drive because of a broken foot), Sue manages to pull herself together and drives him to the polls (with Aunt Edie riding along to be the "adult supervision"). [good for Sue!]

The Neighbors "Halloween-ween" (S01E05): The Weavers have always wanted to take their children trick-or-treating in a neighborhood instead of an apartment building, so they're pretty psyched about the houses in the area. [Christmas! Thanksgiving! Halloween! was cute.] Max and Marty being Nemo and Marlin while Abby is being Rapunzel. Amber was the financial collapse last year and will be Obamacare this year, though the pun is for Debbie's sake - Amber is really doing Sexy Nurse. But, when Max and Abby talk about Halloween on the school bus, a girl invites him to trick-or-treat with her, so he wants to go as a zombie to fit in.

ABC/MICHAEL ANSELL

The Zabvronians are paranoid about people coming into the community on Halloween, so they set-up scarecrows and prepare for an invasion. Jackie asks the Weavers to teach everyone in the neighborhood about Halloween. Larry is skeptical, especially of weapons. When they open their gates to trick-or-treaters, the community panics, taking shelter at Larry's. He eventually decides to answer the door for a little girl, gives her a piece of candy, and then tells everyone to go ahead home to answer their doors. [Jackie as Effie Trinket?]

Meanwhile, Reggie wants to get in on Amber's costume, but he was thinking "Death Penalty" until she tells him to go as Sexy Doctor. This falls through because he dresses as a sexy nurse, plus Debbie and Marty are sad that Amber has "gone slutty" instead of topical. Their hands are still full, however, as they take Dick along, and he   dresses as Debbie (someone he admires), complete with a Marty puppet. [he NAILS it! that was hilarious and got better as time went on!] In the end, Amber and Reggie bail on a party and join the Weavers, who have reunited because Abby wants her parents to help her scam adults and Max wants to avoid Emma because she wants them to be boyfriend-girlfriend. [not the funniest ever but some poignant moments and a great bunch of Debbie/Marty jokes!]

Suburgatory "The Witch of East Chatswin" (S02E02): Dallas goes to the Country Club Halloween Party as Barbie, planning to get George to be her Ken. But, he doesn't think he can pull off the look, so she decides to take Dalia as Skipper. [hahaha! I'm glad to hear that Skipper still exists. I think Tutti/Todd, Stacie, Kelly, Chelsea, and Krissy have all faded, LoL.] George thinks about going as Jerry Seinfeld, but he can't do the jokes, so he decides to go as Noah after learning his best friend is shadowing him to get the mannerisms and voice accurate enough to go as him! [is this a thing? going as your friends? between these guys and Dick going as Debbie on The Neighbors, I'm not sure what's going on here.] At the party, The guys are shocked at how differently they're treated as one another. Dalia tells George about how her mother wanted to go to the party with him, and he decides to confront Dallas and ask her out.

ABC/ADAM TAYLOR

"It's Stripper Shoe Season!" After Tessa tries to get Dalia and her friends to not objectify themselves this year, she thinks that someone is following her, even planting a creepy book in her backpack. [it was a bit odd, let's not lie.] Sheila burns the book, saying it's from "a witch," a girl who took shop class, opened her own pudding cups, and ruined a doll. [why does Tessa have an office in the school bathroom at this point??] Tessa decides to seek out this "witch," and runs when she sees a "coven of witches" over a cauldron. [I liked Tessa as Daphne, Lisa as Velma, and Malik as Fred for the Scooby-Doo gang. Ryan also dressing as Fred was only slightly funny.] Turns out, Paula was just running a book club, and she tells Tessa that she's also into female empowerment. [haha, Chatswin sees witches and feminists as the same.] Sheila leads a mob towards them, but Paula disappears. [does Tessa have a new friend as well as a new cloak? hmmmm...] Tessa realizes that her mother was a brave feminist to "leave the world that was thrust upon her,"though George doesn't see it that way. [and, neither do I.]
 
South Park "A Nightmare on Facetime" (S16E12): Randy buys a Blockbuster, still full of DVDs and BluRays. He makes the family work with him, and nobody comes the first two days that they're open. You get the feeling that renting DVDs is so antiquated that young children no longer know what it means. By the fifth day, someone comes in to rent Turner and Hooch... but it turns out to be a ghost... the first of many. The next day is Halloween, but Randy won't let Stan join his friends to celebrate. [Butters as a were-prechuan was great, but I should have seen Jimmy as Gangnam Style in advance!] Stan is to be the Captain America to go along with Kyle as Thor, Cartman as the Hulk, and Kenny as IronMan. But, using iPads, Stan trick-or-treats via FaceTime, moving forward on a skateboard somehow. [I didn't like how that part wasn't explained.] People don't get that Cartman is the Hulk, thinking he's Honey Boo Boo or Bruce Vilanch or Chas Bono. [so odd! I feel like it's really easy to guess, especially in the context of the other kids!]

photo courtesy: Comedy Central

The kids decide to try stopping a convenience store robbery, but when there are more villains than they expected (and a dead cashier), they split, but Stan-via-Facetime is captured and tortured, via scratching the glass. [odd. funny. kinda suck. interesting all around!] The bad guys dump the iPad in a field, where a couple finds it and brings it to the hospital. Stan explains that the robbers are going to the Monster Mash at the community center, and he goes "in disguise" as GangamStein. [loved the jokes about the "Monster Mash," and everyone dressed as Gangnam Style is funny.] Meanwhile, at Blockbuster, Randy talks to an employee ghost, then goes after the family, taking over Stan's FaceTime until he's thoroughly shot. [this was too weird.] The battery dies before Stan can help the Avengers win the costume contest, Shelly burns down the video store, and we're back to status quo by the end. 

Guys with Kids "Apartment Halloween" (S01E06):  The building's co-op president died, and the new president, Linda, takes down all of Nick and Emily's Halloween Haunted Hallway decorations. ["what do I look like, the grim reaper?" was weak. cute change in font for the credits, tho.] But, she's really into Chris (immediately giving him extra storage space for no reason), so Nick and Sheila decide to team-up and use Chris to get what they want - Halloween decor for him and permission to alter the apartment for her. Sheila and Nick set up Chris with Linda, saying that they'll only be friends if he helps them, so he turns it around and forces them to share food and hug, like real friends would. [hahaha!] However, all bets are off when it seems that Linda wants Chris to dress like her father. In a possible future storyline, Emily and Sheila both proposed to run for co-op president next time.

(Photo by: Vivian Zink/NBC)

Because the now-dead president was Gary and Marny's neighbor, they want to buy that apartment and expand their own place... but it has to be on the market for a week before a current tenant can buy it. [is this a common rule?] The family goes crazy trying to get people to hate the apartment by spreading a story about how the previous tenant died via explosion, and her body was eaten by ants for two weeks before it was found. [gruesome!] Of course, this winds up backfiring when the boys are scared to live there because of the stories, and the lights mysteriously flicked off when the family was taking a look at the place. [I was only half on-board with this plotline. If the family is to expand, I wouldn't do it so early in the series!]

The Big Bang Theory "The Holographic Excitation" (S06E05): Raj offers to help Stuart throw his 9th annual Halloween party, going so far as to theme the menu, "foods that go bump in the night," to include "Halloweenies" and "Draculoni and Cheese." [a little cheesy but I like the concept.] Raj goes as Indian Jones, Bernadette and Howard go as Smurfs, Penny goes as a sexy cop, Leonard goes as Einstein, and Stuart goes as Willy Wonka. Amy asks Sheldon to dress in a couples costume, and he agrees a bit readily, though he wants R2D2 and C3PO to her Romeo & Juliet or Cinderella & Prince Charming. [other ideas included Hewlett & Packard, Batman & Robin, Jobs & Wozniak, Kirk & Spock, Arhtur Dent and Ford Prefect, The Doctor & a Dalek, Salt & Pepper, Raggedy Ann & Andy, and Dharma & Greg. You can figure out who suggested which!] In the end, Amy goes as Raggedy Anne and Sheldon as Raggedy C3PO, which is a robot with a wig. [funny and disturbing.]

Warner Bros.

Howard gives out autographed, framed photos of himself in his NASA suit, leading Leonard and Sheldon to see if they can talk about any single topic without Howard bringing up his space trip, but it's not working. [haha at Sheldon shaking Leonard's p0wn fist!] Bernadette decides to try telling Howard that he shouldn't bring it up in every single conversation, but he's bummed out until Raj sends Howard a video of Buzz Aldrin handing out candy (Milky Ways and Moon Pies!) to trick-or-treaters, telling each child he went to space.

Penny goes to Leonard's lab to see him work on a hologram that you can move with your hands, and they end up getting frisky. The next thing he shows her is a levitation thing (through magnets), with the same result. [okay, so they're definitely together, got it.]

Mockingbird Lane (Special): [note that I'm calling this a special, though technically it's a pilot to 1313 Mockingbird Lane, which may never see the light of day again.] On a camping trip, a bear snatches a couple of scouts and the rest run to the car for the night. In the morning, young Eddie is out there, and the situation causes the family to move unexpectedly to 1313 Mockingbird Lane, a condemned home that was scheduled to be torn down because a serial killer took out his aggression on hobos there. [creepy! also, this appears to be in the San Francisco area... interesting.] Movers deliver rats, which combine to form Grandpa. [um, what??] Smoke comes out of an accompanying box to showcase Lily, who calls upon spiders to wrap her dress. [neat!] Herman and Lily talk about Eddie's "baby bear attack" and think that two more rounds will happen (every 29 days?) before he becomes majorly suspicious. But, Lily winds up talking about how she tries not to eat things but sometimes it happens, and Herman explains that Eddie WAS the baby bear... though he's really a werewolf. Eddie is freaked out, as he had just decided that he didn't even want to eat meat anymore. [I felt that scene came out of nowhere... perhaps something was cut?] To help the boy cope, his parents get him a pet dragon to help protect him from eating anything the next time it happens. [is it partially invisible?]

Herman collapses as his heart gives out from loving too hard. [awww. #firstworldproblem?] Grandpa puts in a new one but Herman demands the old one be put back inside, only to later need a transplant... from another person. Enter Steve, who is the pack leader of Eddie's new scout troop and has no family. Grandpa invites him over with the intention of devouring him, which Eddie knows because he has seen his grandfather transform into a pterodactyl of sorts to eat a mountain lion. Sure enough, Steve's heart is put into Herman and Grandpa drinks the blood. [creepy!]

Photo by: Jordin Althaus/NBC

We also learn that Grandpa can pause time at the snap of a finger when he and Marilyn (a cousin) take some cookies (into which Grandpa put blood) to the neighbors. 

Ben and Kate "Scaredy Kate" (S01E06): BJ wants Kate to be wh0rish for Halloween, and she decides to go for it when a neighbor is throwing a party. So, she foes as a Babe Ruth / Bader Ginsberg mix, with a sluttier baseball costume underneath. With BJ's coaxing, she even kisses the host immediately. But, she realizes that she's not being herself, leaves, and on her way home meets a guy with whom she has a lot in common, and they call the police over the party noise. [I understand that Kate is supposed to be an incredible goody-goody (hello, massive emergency kit?), but this storyline was very curtailed, I thought.] She also manages to finally scare Ben by pretending that a razor blade cut up her mouth. [gotta admit, that was a bit horrifying!]

Cr: Jennifer Clasen/FOX

Tommy wants to go to the club, but Ben thinks they should answer the door for trick-or-treaters and hit on hot moms. [haha!] But, Tommy eats a couple of BJ's candies, which are from Amsterdam. [hint, hint.] Tommy wants to go to the hospital, but Ben decides to join him in ecstasy, and after one set of trick-or-treaters, they decide to bail on that plan. [omg, BLTs are the ONLY sandwich I eat with mayonnaise! I'm like Kate, LoL!]

Also, Maddie is dressed as Marie Curie. [her previous costumes include Baby Ghandi, tiny Geraldine Ferraro and the Death of Print Journalism. mmhmm...]

News Roundup: June 2012

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

You know, being the summer and all, one might think that there would be fewer updates as far as renewals, cancellations, and guest announcements. But, no. In fact, we've made the executive decision to stop giving updates for networks that we don't cover at all - like HGTV, FUSE, Reelz, LOGO, Sprout, and qubo. We may extend this to rarely-covered networks, like G4, Spike, Military, NatGeo, and Food, but we'll see. If you object and specifically want us to continue coverage of a network such as this, let us know and we'll reconsider!


Renewals, Cancellations, & Scheduling:
Shake it Up has been renewed by Disney for a third season. The network also renewed Doc McStuffins for a second season.

Lost Girl has been renewed by SyFy for a third season. Look for it in January 2013.

Investigation Discovery renewed On the Cast with Paula Zahn for a seventh season. Look for it in the 4th Quarter.

Discovery renewed The Devils Ride for a second season.

TLC has renewed My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding for a second season.

Maury, The Jerry Springer Show, and The Steve Wilkos Show were all renewed through 2016.

A&E has renewed Duck Dynasty for a second season.Same thing with Longmire.

truTV renewed Impractical Jokers for a second season of 15 episodes, to launch in December. They've also renewed Full Throttle Saloon for 12 episodes this winter.

ABC has renewed Rookie Blue for a fourth season.

Destination America (formerly Planet Green) has renewed BBQ Pitmasters for a fourth season.

TBS has renewed Men at Work for a second season.

Travel Channel has renewed Hotel Impossible and Baggage Battles.

TNT has renewed Rizzoli & Isles for a fourth season. [I hadn't realized that show had been on for so long already!]

TNT has also renewed Dallas, for a second season.

HBO has renewed True Blood and The Newsroom. And Eastbound & Down, for that matter.

CBS is bringing back Unforgettable from the dead for a 13-episode run next summer.

CNN has canceled John King, USA.

Showtime has announced that Weeds will end after eight seasons.

SyFy has a new reality series, Haunted Highway, beginning Tuesday, July 3rd at 10pm ET/PT.

Season 4 of Hoarding: Buried Alive begins Sunday, July 8th at 9pm ET/PT.

If you're interested in learning more about Oprah's switch to being a CEO of a network, check out Oprah Builds a Network, airing in two parts: Sunday, July 8th at 9pm and Sunday, July 15th at 9pm.

Bounty Wars, a new competition series on Discovery, begins Sunday, July 8th at 10pm ET/PT.

The final six episodes of The Closer will begin on TNT on Monday, July 9th at 9pm ET/PT. Following that, Perception will air its pilot.

Opening Act, a new E! series, begins Monday, July 9th at 10pm ET/PT.

History has a new competition series, Picked Off, beginning Wednesday, July 11th at 10pm.

TLC has Cheer Perfection beginning Wednesday, July 11th at 10pm.

The second season of The Franchise, this time focusing on the Miami Marlins, will premiere on Wednesday, July 11th at 10pm ET/PT.

HGTV's Natural Born Sellers premieres on Thursday, July 12th at 9pm ET/PT.

Season 5 of Leverage on TNT begins Sunday, July 15th at 8pm ET/PT.

TLC has Strange Sex returning on Sunday, July 15th at 10pm ET/PT.

At 11pm on Sunday, July 15th, AMC will debut Small Town Security, an unscripted workplace comedy set in Georgia.

The Weather Channel's Ice Pilots will begin its second season on Monday, July 16th at 9pm.

MTV2's Guy Code will begins its second season on Tuesday, July 17th at 11pm ET/PT.

Project Runway is back Thursday, July 19th at 9pm ET/PT.

History's Great Lake Warriors will premiere Thursday, July 19th at 10pm.

Super Saver Showdown will begin on OWN on Friday, July 20th at 9pm ET/PT.

SpongeBob SquarePants fan? Well, four new episodes are coming! Check it out Saturday, July 21st beginning at 8pm ET/PT.

On Sunday, July 22nd at 10pm ET/PT, look forward to the return of SpikeTV's Flip Men, an original unscripted show following a couple of Utah-based real estate gurus.

Bachelor Pad is back Monday, July 23rd at 8pm ET/PT.

The Godfather Legacy begins Tuesday, July 24th at 9pm on History. It will look at the film and its sequels.

Bravo's Love Broker starts Tuesday, July 24th at 10pm ET/PT.

HGTV's Design All Stars is beginning on Tuesday, July 31st at 9pm ET/PT.

Discovery's SHARK WEEK is back beginning Sunday, August 12th at 9pm!

Major Crimes will premiere on TNT on Monday, August 13th at 10pm ET/PT, but will regularly air in the 9pm timeslot.

Bravo's Gallery Girls debuts on Monday, August 13th at 10pm ET/PT. Get excited if you want to follow around seven NYers who have dream jobs in art.

Toy Hunter will premiere on Travel Channel on Wednesday, August 15th at 10pm ET/PT.

SyFy's Face Off is back Tuesday, August 21st at 9pm. Note that this is a new night and time.

Sunday, August 23rd will see the premieres of GSN's The American Bible Challenge and Beat the Chefs.

A&E will present Coma, a four-hour epic thriller, on Monday, September 3rd at 9pm ET/PT and Tuesday, September 4th at 9pm ET/PT.

Effective immediately, Life's a Tripp, the Bristol Palin reality show on Lifetime, will move to 11pm ET.

Beginning September 10th, General Hospital will move from 3pm to 2pm.

The CW has a bunch of summer premiere dates for us. Remodeled is back Monday, July 9th at 9pm ET/PT, The LA Complex returns Tuesday, July 17th at 9pm ET/PT, Oh Sit! will debut Wednesday, August 15th at 8pm ET/PT, The Next: Fame is at your Doorstep starts Thursday, August 16th at 9pm ET/PT, and America's Next Top Model: College Edition shows up Friday, August 24th at 8pm ET/PT.

Regarding other TNT shows, look for Season 5 of Southland to air in February 2013, and Monday Mornings, Boston Blue, and 72 Hours to come in early 2013.

The final (10-episode) season of Spartacus (Starz) will come in January 2013.

Cast & Plot Updates:
Jerry O'Connell will play Herman Munster on NBC's Mockingbird Lane. Portia de Rossi will play his wife, Lily. Beth Grant will play Maryanne, a nosy neighbor.

John Carroll Lynch and Nicholas Bishop have departed from Body of Proof.

Mario Lopez will NOT be on Dancing with the Stars.

Ashley Tisdale will have a two-episode stint on Sons of Anarchy.

Ray Romano will appear in several episodes of Parenthood next season.

Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons and Futurama, has finally ended his Life in Hell comic strip, which he began in 1978.

Ben Mulroney will join Good Morning America.

Jennifer Hudson will appear in several episodes of next season's Smash. And, Andy Mientus will join Smash in its second season.

Alex Trebek suffered a heart attack but is expected to be fine and keep taping Jeopardy! in July.

Kelsey Grammer is a defendant in a large Ponzi scheme case.

Maura Tierney will join The Good Wife as Maddie, a dot-com billionaire.

Charlie Sheen will be the "Social Media Ambassador" for Monday Night Raw's 1,000th episode on July 23rd.

Jenelle Evans of 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom 2 has been arrested for drug possession.

Ann Curry has stepped down from Today, and Savannah Guthrie will replace her.

Anderson Cooper has come out as a gay man.

Glee's 15 regular cast members will ALL return in the fourth season, for one length of time or another.

Andy Griffith has passed away.

The role of Kristin, the eldest daughter on Last Man Standing, will be recast for the second season. [I sure hope this doesn't lose the series viewers. I LOVE that comedy!]

Should Jersey Shore continue past the seventh season, the case may completely change. Also, Deena Cortese was arrested for disorderly conduct.

The tenth season of Top Chef will be set in Seattle.

Season two of Smash will add two new songs to "Bombshell" as well as have the show vie for Tony attention.

Shows in Development & Other Fun Stuff:
MTV is developing a tv series based on Scream.

On Saturday, September 29th, ALL of the surviving cast members of the Waltons will be reuniting.

If you want a really big chair for your living room, consider picking up a replica of the Game of Thrones iron throne.

Spike has a competition show this fall called Last Family on Earth, where survivalists who believe the end of the world is coming will showcase their resourcefulness. The prize will be a fortified bunker. Seriously.

FX has ordered Legit as a comedy series that will follow a comedian attempting to become "legitimate" in life.

Showtime has ordered two dramas - Masters of Sex will look at true pioneers of human sexuality while Ray Donovan is about a problem-solver for LA's elite population.

MTV will have a second It Gets Better project. Casting is currently taking place. They also have a new late-night comedy show, The Nikki and Sara Show, which will premiere later this year.

Are you a descendent of the Hatfields or McCoys? There's a reality show planned to film in West Virginia that you could take part in!

If you're ready to start thinking about Christmas, ION has announced their holiday movies to be Christmas Twister (about a Texas disaster), A Christmas Wedding (a high-powered exec loses her job and returns to her small hometown for the holidays), Anything but Christmas (a rom-com), Golden Christmas 3 (three golden retrievers bring a couple of opposites together), and A Star for Christmas (a small-town success wonders if a relationship could work with a famous actor).

Gilligan's Island: The Musical may just become a thing.

Do you enjoy home shopping? Well, TiVo is about to let you use your PayPal account to buy stuff on the screen!

The development of the newest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film has halted - don't look for it until May 2014 now.

CBS put in a pilot order for a game show based on the Zynga app Draw Something.

An Entourage movie is in the works.

Let's hope that 2 Broke Girls continues to be popular, as TBS has scored the rights to air reruns in 2015. In a more immediate change, CMT will now have Reba and Yes, Dear at their disposal, so look for them starting August 1st.

FOX is planning a Sesame Street movie.

FX has ordered a pilot for Bronx Warrants, a comedy to be about the exploits of David Joglar and Richard Wetzel.

BBC One wants No Strings Attached to be a puppet show, partnered with The Jim Henson Company.

Fan of New Girl? You can catch the tour bus in Miami July 3-5, Kansas City, MO July 10, Chicago July 14-15, Dallas July 25-26, Austin July 27-28, Phoenix August 3, Las Vegas August 4-5, San Diego August 10-12, Los Angeles August 15-19, San Francisco August 24-26, and Seattle August 31-September 3.

Devious Maids has been picked up for 13 episodes by Lifetime.

Wanna see the first episode of HBO's The Newsroom? Head over to HBO.com, YouTube, iTunes, TV.com, or DailyMotion, as it's free in all of those locations until July 23rd.

If you want to see Louis C. K. live, it'll only cost you $45 flat from October through February.

USA has ordered Graceland, a drama that has agents from the DEA, FBI, and Customs all living together in a beach house.

If you have AT&T U-Verse, you may have noticed that AMC, IFC, Sundance, and WEtv were all potentially getting turned off. Luckily, a deal was reached and all is well. DISH has not yet reached a distribution agreement wit the AMC networks.

A&E has ordered ten episodes of Bates Motel without first seeing a pilot.

News Roundup: USA Dates, New Shows, & More

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Renewals, Cancellations, & Scheduling:
FOX's Hell's Kitchen will have 11th and 12th seasons... the 10th season begins Tuesday, May 29th at 8pm ET/PT.

BET has renewed The Game for a sixth season, Let's Stay Together for a third season, and Reed Between the Lines for a second season.

TLC renewed My Crazy Obsession for a second season.

VH1 renewed Stevie TV for a second season.

Discovery has canceled Cash Cab. I never got into the show much, but we did a feature on it as part of our Game Show series.

HBO has canceled (for a second time) The Life & Times of Tim.

BBC canceled Upstairs Downstairs after two seasons.

Discovery's Auction Kings returns on Wednesday, April 25th at 10pm ET/PT.

A&E's Monster In-Laws will begin its second season on Monday, May 28th at 10pm ET/PT.

CBS has Dogs in the City beginning Wednesday, May 30th at 8pm ET/PT. It's a reality show where a NYC dog guru will resolve "issues between canines and their owners."

USA has given summer start dates to many of its shows. Check out Royal Pains and Necessary Roughness returning on Wednesday, June 6th, Burn Notice and Suits coming Thursday, June 14th, and White Collar and Covert Affairs on Tuesday, July 10th.

When Arrested Development debuts its fourth season next year, all ten episodes will premiere on the same day via Netflix streaming. There have also been talks about possible fifth and sixth seasons as well. Oh, and Bob Loblaw is also scheduled to return as well.

Remember when the cancelled Breaking In was brought back? Well, FOX has pulled it from their schedule and will air the final three episodes at some point in the future.

Many people were looking forward to Seth MacFalane's The Flintstones reboot next year, but the man is just too busy... so it'll be put off.


Cast & Plot Updates:
The Rock will star in The Hero, overseeing contestants in this "global action reality series."

Amber Tamblyn will be on the House finale, May 21st, reprising her role as Martha Masters. There are also rumors of Kal Penn returning as Kutner for the finale.

Have you even had time to miss Rosie O'Donnell yet? She's going to be back on television soon, joining Star Jones and Donny Deutsch on Today's "The Professionals" panel in the 8am hour.

Shows in Development & Other Fun Stuff:
NBC's 13 Mockingbird Lane (which I think is just going to be called "The New Munsters" by everyone) now has some artwork available, and they've mentioned that the costumes are going to be "almost the Real Housewives of Transylvania" and will feature animal textures. Lily's wardrobe "comes from nature," for instance.

If you want to catch Girls or Veep and don't subscribe to HBO, you can catch the pilots for free until the middle of May on HBO.com, DailyMotion, YouTube, TV.com, and some Free-On-Demand platforms.

Is Smash not enough Marilyn Monroe for you? If so, you're in luck - Finding Marilyn will feature twelve women vying for a chance to become "the next great American icon."

BET has ordered four new shows, including Generation Wayans (Craig & Damien + four nephews), House Husbands (based on the skit from the BET Awards), The Mathis Project (criminal docu-reality series), and Don't Sleep with TJ Holmes (late-night).

Disney has Dog with a Blog coming to the small screen - "a family sitcom from the pet's point-of-view" where parents buy step-siblings a dog "to encourage them to get along." Turns out, the dog can talk... AND BLOG. Interesting, huh?

NBC will have a new matchmaking show this winter, called Ready for Love, which will use Facebook to get things started.

Go On, the NBC comedy starring Matthew Perry, has a series order. Perry plays a sportscaster who is in mandatory group therapy.

If you use Chrome, you can add the "My Episode Guide" extension to track when your favorite shows have new episodes coming up.

News Roundup: 5 Renewals, 2 Cancellations, & a Whole Lot More

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Renewals, Cancellations, & Scheduling:
MTV has renewed Jersey Shore for a sixth season.

Starz has gone ahead and renewed Magic City (the show that follows a hotel in Miami) for a second season before it even premieres. You may recall that they did this with Boss last fall.

IFC has renewed Portlandia for a third season and Whisker Wars for a second season. They also have a new premiere date: Comedy Bang Bang and game show Bunk on Friday, June 8th.

NBC has renewed Smash for a second season.

The upcoming fourth season of Teen Mom will be the end of the show.

IFC has cancelled Onion News Network after two seasons.

SeaWorld is behind the new ABC show Sea Rescue, which will debut on April 7th. The half-hour show will "give viewers a first-hand look at how SeaWorld works to rehabilitate wounded animals and return them to the wild."

With the upfronts coming fast now, ABCFamily has a bunch of premiere dates. Bunheads, the Vegas showgirl-turned-dance-teacher drama will premiere Monday, June 11th at 9pm ET/PT. Baby Daddy, a comedy about a teen father, begins Wednesday, June 20th at 8:30pm ET/PT. Beverly Hills Nannies, an hour-long docuseries, begins Wednesday, July 11th at 9pm ET/PT.

FOX has announced many of its season finale dates, including Glee on Tuesday, May 22nd, House on Monday, May 21st (preceded by a one-hour retrospective), Raising Hope on Tuesday, April 17th, New Girl on Tuesday, May 8th, Fringe on Friday, May 11th, Bones on Monday, May 14th, and The Simpsons on Sunday, May 20th.

CBS has also announced some season finale dates, such as The Good Wife on Sunday, April 29th, The Amazing Race on Sunday, May 6th, 2 Broke Girls on Monday, May 7th, CSI on Wednesday, May 9th, CSI: NY on Friday, May 11th, The Big Bang Theory on Thursday, May 10th, Undercover Boss on Friday, May 11th, Survivor on Sunday, May 13th, How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men on Monday, May 14th, NCIS and NCIS: LA on Tuesday, May 15th, and Rules of Engagement on Thursday, May 17th.

TBS' Men at Work will launch on Thursday, May 24th. The network's Sullivan & Son will begin Thursday, July 19th.

NBC's Best Friends Forever begins Wednesday, April 4th at 8:30pm ET/PT. This six-episode comedy showcases the friendship of two girls after one faces a sudden divorce.

If you're a WrestleMania fan, you're in luck. Before the April 1st event, a one-hour documentary, Once in a Lifetime: Rock vs. Cena, will air plenty of times. First on USA on Monday, March 26th at 8pm ET/PT, it'll also be seen on SyFy, Bravo, E!, Oxygen, G4, Style, NBC Sports, Cloo, mun2, and Universal HD before the match.

The Ricky Gervais Show returns to HBO on Friday, April 20th.


Cast & Plot Updates:
Jason O'Mara (most recently seen playing a cop father on Terra Nova) will co-star in CBS' "untitled period drama pilot based on the life of rodeo cowboy-turned-Vegas sheriff Ralph Lamb."

When Alan suffers from a cardiac event on Two and a Half Men, Charlie ghost appears... and will be played by Kathy Bates.

Although Cuddy won't be back for the series finale of House, Thirteen will be! Olivia Wilde has been confirmed to do one final episode.

Eddie Izzard will play Grandpa Munster on the new CBS comedy, Mockingbird Lane. 

Teen Mom 2 subject Jenelle Evans has had a few of the charges against her dropped. Not the drug ones, though, just "making threats and harassing phone calls."

Martha Stewart will make an appearance on the Law and Order: SVU episode "Learning Curve" in April.

Doris Roberts will guest on Desperate Housewives before the series' end.

Austin Stowell (best known for playing Jesse on The Secret Life of the American Teenager) is now part of the cast of Ned Fox is My Manny, the upcoming FOX show.

Shows in Development & Other Fun Stuff:
A sequel to Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is in the works. More information should be available this summer, but, for now, know that an outline and several songs are written!

DirecTV, DISH, Verizon FiOS, and AT&T U-verse will offer a free preview of Starz and Encore March 29th - April 2nd.

Ripper Street is BBCAmerica's newest drama, an eight-part series that just began filming.

WEtv has two docuseries coming this summer: Kendra on Top and Cyndi. The first follows Kendrea Wilinson-Baskett, of course, and the second follows Cyndi Lauper.

GSN will have Jeff Foxworthy host a new game show, The American Bible Challenge, to begin shooting later this month.

MTV has four new shows in the making, including The Heights (hour-long docuseries about a group of friends living in Washington Heights), Epic Fail (half-hour panel show to re-enact "cringe-worthy moments"), Totally Clueless (a hidden camera game show), and This is How I Made It (lessons in how to succeed from two celebrities each half-hour).

With SOAPnet disappearing on Friday (March 23rd), be ready for Disney Junior to take its place! It'll be geared toward kids ages 2-7.

OWN isn't doing so hot. They've had to let go of 20% of their staff (though they had a larger staff than typical cable channels) and their numbers aren't as high as they had hoped.

If ABC doesn't renew The River, Netflix might pick it up.

News Roundup: Mid-February 2012

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Renewals, Cancellations, & Scheduling:
As we mentioned earlier in the week, House has officially been canceled, so there won't be any more episodes after May. FOX renewed Kitchen Nightmares for a fifth season, though.

Flip Men, Spike's show about real estate investors, has been renewed for a second, 12-episode season. Ink Master was also renewed for a second season.

Shamless, House of Lies, and Californication have all been renewed by Showtime.

Bravo's Top Chef has been renewed for a tenth season.

TVLand renewed The Exes for a second season, set to premiere in June. [yeah, we did mention this in our recap of the first season finale.]

FX renewed Sons of Anarchy for a sixth season, even though season five has yet to air.

TLC's My Crazy Obsession premieres on Wednesday, March 7th, at 10pm ET/PT. Look forward to people who collect Cabbage Patch Kids or have entire households of pink items.

The Secret Life of the American Teenager has been renewed by ABCFamily for a fifth season.

SyFY has renewed Face Off for a third season and Being Human for a third season.

Bravo's Real Housewives of Miami was renewed for a second season.

The Bates Family (you've probably seen them on 17-, 18-, and 19 Kids and Counting) will be getting a television special on TLC on March 27th to share the arrival of their nineteenth child, Jeb Colton Bates. Rumors speculate that this mega-family is also negotiating a deal for a regular series.

TLC's Breathless Bride: Dying to Live premieres on Wednesday, February 29th at 10pm ET/PT, a new special about a woman born with cystic fibrosis waiting on a transplant.

TLC, along with OWN, have acquired the rights to the UK and Australian versions of Undercover Boss. TLC plans to begin airing them weekly beginning tonight at 9pm, while OWN will start airing them tomorrow and subsequent Tuesday nights at 8pm ET/PT.

A&E's Breakout Kings returns for their second season on Sunday, March 4th at 10pm ET/PT.

The Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures returnshttp://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/02/08/travel-channels-ghost-adventures-returns-for-a-sixth-season-on-friday-march-9/119177/ for a sixth season on Friday, March 9th at 9pm ET/PT. Also, Hotel Impossible will premiere Monday, April 9th at 10pm ET/PT.

Nicktoons has Monsuno, a new half-hour action-adventure series premiering Thursday, February 23rd at 8pm ET.

TeenNick has Dance Academy beginning Monday, February 20th at 9:30pm ET. The half-hour show will follow 15-year-old Tara as she pursues her dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer, alongside other teens living in a boarding house. [TheTalkingBox plans to cover this show, so stay tuned!]

The Hub has The Aquabats! Super Show! premiering on Saturday, March 3rd at 1pm ET. It's about an alternative rock band, and will feature live-action and animated segments.

HBO's animated The Ricky Gervais Show will return on April 20th at 9pm ET/PT.

The Pauley D Project, the spin-off from Jersey Shore, will premiere on MTV on Thursday, March 29th.

FOX's Bones returns April 5th with Hotel Hell to begin April 6th, Bob's Burgers being back March 11th, and Touch officially premiering March 19th.

Jake and the Never Land Pirates has been renewed for a third season by Disney Junior.


Cast & Plot Updates:
Kevin Bacon has been cast as an FBI agent in one of FOX's yet-unnamed pilots.

Rosie O'Donnell's The Rosie Show ain't doin' so well. They've laid off ~30 employees and contract workers, plus they've eliminated the game show segment, as well as reduced the size of the studio audience from several hundred to about 70, and pre-taping more of the interviews. She also said that it wasn't authentic for her to get a conversation going with a big audience and a band.

Sarah Chalke, of Roseanne and Scrubs fame (plus a run on How I Met Your Mother) will star in ABC's How to Live With Your Parents for the Rest of your Life, a comedy about a recently divorced single mom who moves in with her parents. [too long a title!]

Tony Shalhoub and Allison Janney will star as the parents on NBC's version of the UK comedy, Friday Night Dinner. Instead of being Jewish, the family will just be "quirky." [I'm a little nervous about how NBC will translate this odd BBC show, but I guess we'll see!]

Liza Minelli had been cast as Victoria's agent on Hot in Cleveland, but she has had to back out, due to an injured ankle.

John Stamos has been cast as the star in Fox's comedy Little Brother, about a man who finds out that he has a half-brother who is an ex-con. TJ Miller will play the ex-con.

John Goodman is close to closing on a deal to be part of Downwardly Mobile, NBC's comedy starring Roseanne Barr as a surrogate mother of sorts to residents of a trailer park.

You may remember that we reported last month about Living Loaded being a new pilot for FOX. Today we report that Mike Vogel has been cast as the lead, provided Pan Am doesn't get renewed out of nowhere.

Ryan Phillipe will be the star of one of CBS's untitled drama pilots, playing a young and ambitious new police officer.


Shows in Development & Other Fun Stuff:
More than 60% of the video streamed by Netflix subscribers during the fourth quarter of 2011 were television shows and miniseries.

With "questionable" photos of Cousin Amy Duggar, someone tried to extort TLC, threatening that if she wasn't paid $10,000, she'd release the images. Or, they could just cancel the show. The FBI have it under control. 

TLC also ordered a new series, Southie Pride, about five South Boston families.

ABC has picked up two more comedy pilots, one written by and starring Reba McEntire, who will play a woman who divorces a cheating husband and moves her family from Nashville to Malibu. [is it just me, or is this turning into a comedy network?]

Tia Mowry and Tori Spelling are slated to star in ABCFamily's 2012 holiday movie, The Mistle-Tones.

Tia's younger brother, Tahj Mowry, is starring in Baby Daddy, a comedy to begin on ABCFamily later this year. The network has another show in the works: Beverly Hills Nannies. Also, Bunheads has just gotten the green light from ABCFamily, which is the tale of a Las Vegas showgirl who married someone she barely knows, moving back with him to work at his mother's dance school.

NBC's reboot of The Munsters is going to be called 1313 Mockingbird Lane - their address.

Nickelodeon has Life with Boys underway, with 22 episodes set to follow a 14-year-old girl who lives her an overprotective dad and three brothers.

Nickelodeon also has a new comedy series coming, NickMom Night Out, set to launch in the fourth quarter of the year on Nick Jr.

CBS has picked up a comedy (yet to be titled) that centers on a single guy in his late thirties who loses everything in the real estate collapse and has to move back in with his parents. Ben Falcone (Melissa McCarthy's husband) is a co-writer and set to be the lead. [how many shows do we need to have about adults moving back in with their parents??]

TBS is planning Sullivan and Son, a workplace comedy set at a bar in Pittsburgh, to air this summer.

FOX has ordered a family comedy pilot called The Goodwin Games, about "a father who leaves his fortune to his three children only if they agree to his terms. How I Met Your Mother's Carter Bays and Craig Thomas are two of the writers.

Iranian officials have banned Homer Simpson dolls, since they promote Western culture.

The founder of a now-defunct al-Qaida propaganda website has pleaded guilty to the online threats aimed at South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker.

If you want to chat with ABC talent, Bill Lawrence, creator of Cougar Town will be participating in a live Twitter chat (@VDoozer) on Tuesday, February 14th, 8:30-9pm PT. Carly Chaikin (@carlychaikin) from Suburgatory will be doing the same on Wednesday, February 15th, 8:30-9pm PT.

Bryan Q. Miller, a writer and story editor from Smallville, will be picking up where the show left off - in a comic book series, which will be digitally published starting April 13, 2012, with a new issue every week.

Roseanne is now the California primary ballot, representing the Green Party.

The Latest

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Hugh Laurie was on Ellen to talk about his naked scene on the season premiere of House.

Matt LeBlanc is to play Matt LeBlanc in Showtime's upcoming co-production with the BBC, "Episodes."

NBC has new holiday specials this year. Halloween special for Shrek coming up on October 28th and a Christmas special for Kung Fu Panda on November 24th.

Oprah is having a The Sound of Music cast reunion... 45 years later! Tune in October 29th.

White Collar, Royal Pains, and Psych all got renewed for another season.

ABCFamily has ordered three new hour-long drama pilots: Nine Lives, based on a girl with superpowers after she turns 16. Strut, where a showgirl has to help out a Texas high school drill team. Switched at Birth, where a rich girl and a poor, hearing-impaired girl find out they were switched at birth, so their families deal with living together.

My Generation has been canceled after just two episodes. I had considered it, but never tried it. I guess that's for the better. Similarly, Lone Star also got the ax after two episodes. However, it was running up against the powerhouses Dacing with the Stars and Two and a Half Men, and also some other promising new shows. Even if you go from 4.1 million viewers to 3.2 million, I think 2 episodes is still too short to call it.

Since the 50th anniversary of The Flintstones was this past week, there's been a lot of "fun facts" thrown around the internet.

There are rumors that The Munsters is being brought back to life. NBC ordered the pilot, and it's said to shoot for a mix of Modern Family and True Blood. Count me out.

Highlights in October television include: American Dad 6th season premiere on the 3rd. The Glades first season finale on 3rd. The third season of Lie to Me premieres on the 4th. Cake Boss mid-season premiere on the 11th (TLC didn't really do a good job telling us it was on mid-season hiatus...). Mad Men 4th season finale is on the 17th. The holiday special Scared Shrekless is on the 28th.

John Stamos will appear in the "Rocky Horror-themed episode" on Glee. He will both sing and dance in the episode (link not working anymore...)