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.

Random Thoughts: Oprah's Final Farewell

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

First, a confession. I had never seen an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show in my entire life before tuning in to the finale. And, it has been on for the majority of my life. I've flipped past it, sure. I've seen a clip or two online, yes. But I've never watched more than a couple of minutes. This is particularly of interest when you consider the facts that a) I've known a handful of people who have been ON her show (albeit before I knew them), and b) I spent an entire summer watching Jenny Jones' talk show every day.

When I heard that Oprah was starting her own television network, I was amused. I even planned to DVR the first thing that aired... but my DVR didn't understand how to record a channel that did not yet exist. Or, at least I couldn't figure out how to make it recognize what I wanted (I was out of town when it premiered). And now, I can't say that I've even tuned in to her channel once, though I do look at the lineup now and then while I'm scrolling through the on-screen guide. I didn't even realize when The Oprah Winfrey Show was ending (though I did know this was her final season) until maybe a week before the finale.

So, I DVR'd the two-part finale spectacular (which, for some reason that an Oprah fan could probably tell me easily, ran on Monday and Wednesday) and watched. Here are my thoughts, and I encourage you to share with me whether you watched the finale and what you thought. 

Part I:
- I liked her clothing choice (the purple dress seen to the right) for the first part. 
- I love "Tonight's Gonna be a Good Night," so hearing the Black Eyed Peas was cool.
- Apparently the guests are surprises... Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise... Tom Cruise has been on her show TWELVE times.
- There's a LOT of singing. First, a kid sings. Then, a guy sings. Then, Patti LaBelle comes on singing. Then, some Madonna. Geez! Is Oprah always so musical?
- I liked Dakota Fanning comes introducing those young girls who share how Oprah changed their lives.
- I really liked finding out that, because of Oprah, a bunch of schools have libraries. But, I totally rolled my eyes at the "Oprah Tree" being put in front of all those libraries. And then some more... 25,000 to be exact.

Part II: 
- Nice highlights of the early years... I found them amusing and cute.
- The motivational thoughts didn't hit me the way they affected some of the people I talked to about the episode, but they were nice nonetheless.
- um, the rest of the hour kinda bored me... nothing else notable.

Well, what did you think of the finale?

Oprah's Final List of Favorite Things

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I've seen several blogs that do "Thankful Thursday" once a week (and others that do "Wordless Wednesday" for that matter), where they list things that they're thankful for. I haven't jumped on that bandwagon on any of my blogs (which, by the way, I'm up to four. might I throw in a quick plug for my Restaurant Review Blog - www.thecasualeater.com), but I often think about specific things that I love and want to recommend to others. Similarly, Oprah does this every year. I heard about it a few years ago when she famously gave away a car to everyone in her audience. Since today is the final episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, I thought that I'd take a look at her last list of "Favorite Things" from November 2010. 

A watch: I hate it. I think it's ugly. The oval face is okay, but the two clocks is weird to me.

Set of candles. I think that candles are overpriced in general, but if I can get 18 Oprah-recommended candles for $55, I'll call it a success. Good move, O. EXCEPT, those are $55 EACH, which is probably the most extreme thing I've seen in a while! 

A tote and ballerina flats: okay, take them or leave them. But it disturbs me that a flannel tote can cost $250.

A camera. The Nikon D3100, to be specific. I'm not into fancy cameras, but I'll call this one a winner.

A sweater & throw from Ralph Lauren. another annoying item, in my opinion. I love a fancy sweater as much as the next gal, but I'm not willing to drop $500 on one, so I'm a bit bothered by choosing it as a "favorite thing."

Brownie & Lasagna Pans. The kind that allow you to have all edge pieces. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to try this for lasagna. And, for $35-50, I think that she chose some reasonable options. And, I totally support her Ghiradelli mix for the brownie pan!

Earrings. I love earrings. I feel like I wear them well. I have three holes in each ear, so I have plenty of options, LoL. But, again with the $500 per item thing... no.

Haircare products from Andre Walker. I know nothing about this line. But, at a modest price of $65, I'll celebrate it. Maybe even look into it.

Panini press. eh. We got one for our wedding and have never even opened the box. We had a George Foreman grill (which, you know, is kinda similar), but sold it since we never used it. So, $100 on a panini press isn't something I'd go for, but I do think that others may enjoy it.

Cutlery. A good knife isn't always easy to find. We LOVE our cutlery, so if Oprah supports some, I'm glad people will have a standard to branch from.

Macaroni & Cheese. This is one of my husband's favorite foods. We buy it from Costco, LoL. We've gotten it at restaurants on more than a few occasions. But spending $29 for one package seems a bit extreme to me. However, if it is truly Oprah's favorite mac & cheese, I'd be glad to receive it!

Books. One by Jay-Z and one weight loss book. no comments from me.

Netflix. I have it. I love it. But, 5 years is a long time, why not just get people a 1-year subscription? Kinda flaunting money, I say.

A 52" TV with a Blu-Ray Player. Cool. 100% support this one.

Kiva Gift Card for $100. Pick a small business to support, for as little as $25. Pretty cut-and-dried. Good job on letting others choose who to help!

Closet System. I've had two now, both were installed before I had the rooms. And, I've hated both. I support the idea, but think that it's such a personal thing that one person's closet system doesn't work for another. But, if you're figuring out your own decision, cheers!

T-Shirt. you know, to commemorate the final year of the show. cool.

Pants. Well, I would argue that $98 is awful high for lounge pants (I'd believe it for jeans or dress pants), but I bought the softest pair of lounge pants in the world last year. They were on clearance and were like $7, marked down from $88. And I wish I had bought more. So, $98 pants sound good to me!

Nike Sneakers. I like Nike. After Adidas, they are my preferred sneaker. My last two pairs of running shoes were Nike. But, at the same time, one pair at a time is plenty. Two if you're a big athlete. Oprah gave our FOUR pairs to each person. Excess.

A Royal Caribbean cruise with airfare on United. I'm in love. I wish I was in the audience just for that. My husband and I have taken four cruises and can't wait for our next!

A CD. from the Black Eyes Peas. Love them. Love CDs. Done deal.

iPad. While I personally haven't figured out what I'd use a tablet for (I mean, I am already checking email before I get out of bed on my phone. I'm thinking an additional internet device is overkill!), I have come to understand why other people enjoy them. And so, kudos to Oprah on this selection.

Uggs. Specifically, the ultra-sparkly kind. While I find them a bit garish, at least she only got 1 pair per person (they come in three colors). Acceptable.

A Purse. from Coach. not in love with it, but I know people pay $400 for such items. I mean, if it was a kate spade, I'd probably be thrilled, LoL. Thumbs up.

A Tunic and Leggings. Simple in concept. And, $300 for the tunic isn't that outrageous. But, I draw the line at $260 leggings. #FAIL.

Hope in a Jar. It's a moisturizer. 8 oz is over $100. A bit pricey for my tastes, but if that's what Oprah likes, so be it.

Lingerie. More specifically, a $500 gift card to buy lingerie at Nordstrom's, PLUS another $500 card to pass on to a friend! That's a lot of money for lingerie. But, it ain't cheap, and I'm sure that Nordstrom's has pricey items, so it probably balances out in the end. Hoorah for good bras!

Herb Savor. A great idea. It keeps herbs fresh for weeks. And, it's reasonable. approved.

Chicken Pie. I love a chicken pot pie. I was surprised to learn that this one is all meat, no veggies. And it's $20. But, if Oprah prefers it to Marie Callender's, okay.

Tin of popcorn. When I was a kid, we got a tin of popcorn every Christmas. And, the cheese flavor went the quickest. Well, Oprah chose Garrett Popcorn from Chicago, and the tin was filled with the cheese kind and the caramel kind. Sounds like a great choice... and then you find out that it costs $135. I'm pretty sure the tins we got were more of a $10 (maybe $20) deal.

Cookware. As someone who had a larger wedding (175 in attendance), one things I was hoping to open the next day was the pots and pans we registered for. They weren't there, amongst the piles of wonderful things. But, we got gift cards a-plenty, and now have a very full line of pots and pans (I say "very full" because we ended up with "bonus items" because we bought the big set and stuff). And, we adore our set. We mention is once a month or so to one another. And, our pans weren't cheap. So I fully stand behind Oprah's selection of $600 Le Creuset cookware.

Jeans. Miraclebody Jeans. $110, and they claim to make you look 10 pounds slimmer. I'd be willing to try them on, and though $110 is a bit more than I'd want to pay, you could convince me to if they lasted! Nice choice.

A Jewelry Box. Not my style, but I can see the appeal. Not cheap, but for the design, probably not too overpriced, either. Moving on. 

$100 donorschoose.org giftcard. This I can definitely get behind. I donated some money through donorschoose last year, since I enjoyed the fact that I could choose exactly who got the money and what for (and I could judge their entry based on grammatical coherence, haha). They also emailed me a couple times to let me know when they reached their goal, how the project worked out, and (my project helped a specific classroom) some notes from the children who were aided by my gift. Yay.

Croissants. $40 for 24 minis. Sounds like a bit much, but if they're really fantastic, I'd believe it! We have a good french bakery near us, and since it's not cheap to buy delicious pastries ready-made, I totally believe that $40 would be worth the price if those croissants are that good!

Teas. I'm not a tea person (I'm a hard-sell on most hot drinks, though I never turn down hot spiced cider!), but my husband's family enjoys it quite a bit. And, while we tend to keep some tea in the house, it's certainly not the kind that Oprah chose ($150? really?), but I respect her pick.

Earrings. Another pair. These are much pricier, just under $2,000. But, they're definitely cute! If they weren't that much, I'd add them to my Christmas list!

Another book. This one is full of inspirational bits, meant to give you daily doses of hope. Okay, cool.

And that's the list. Which items would you want? Do you disapprove of any of the selections like I do?

Vote on Nedna; Oprah Finale

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

On the season finale of The Simpsons this week, Flanders got together with Bart's teacher, Mrs. Krabappel. Fans can now vote on whether that relationship will last. 

Katie Couric is close to signing a deal for an afternoon talk show on ABC.

TVLine offers some spoilers for next season's How I Met Your Mother if you're interested.

Nurse Jackie was renewed; United States of Tara was not.

Ashton Kutcher's contract with Two and a Half Men is only for one season.

Sometime in 2013, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides will air on television, specifically on the ABCFamily network.

I can't stop being excited about the new Muppet Movie coming in November. If you haven't seen the trailer yet, go here!

In a clever move, Oprah's network will be dark during her finale tomorrow.

Teen Wolf Coming; Grey's Anatomy App

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Well, at this point it's not a spoiler that Dana from Delaware won Cake Boss: The Next Great Baker, but it is news that the show was renewed, and will do another season! I'm excited.

I have not seen MTV's Skins, but enough people have that at least NINE advertisers have pulled their support for the show, including Subway, Orbit, Extra, Foot Locker, and L'oreal.

I find it amusing that, apparently, rich people (defined as household making more than $100,000/year) are more likely to watch major sporting events.

In case you missed it being all over every media outlet, Oprah has been reunited with her long-lost sister, that was born 9 years after Oprah.

It's possible that FOX's Lie to Me was not properly credited... aka the idea was stolen. I wonder if this story will continue to make headlines... since that show isn't doing too well...

Another bit that was all over the media... NBC is doing a pilot in the fall backed by Steven Spielberg. The big deal is that it is to be a competitor for Glee. The story revolves around the mounting of a Broadway musical, and will be titled, Smash.

Lifetime has been jumping on getting the ball rolling on their movie about William & Kate's courtship and royal wedding. The role of Kate has already been cast!

Jennifer Aniston has stated that she hated "The Rachel" haircut that was so famous, and Luke Perry admitted that he loved Dylan's pompadour-of-sorts on Beverly Hills, 90210.

The Kennedys may finally have found a place... Tribune Broadcasting might pick up the eight-part miniseries.

New to Netflix Steaming for February: all of The Cosby Show, Roseanne, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and That '70s Show.

The Burn Notice prequel tv-movie has now been cast, and will air on USA this Spring.

Starting with tonight's Grey's Anatomy, there will be opportunities to interact with the show through the iPhone/iPad app.

Sal Picinich, of Cake Boss, passed away from cancer on January 30th. TLC added a small note to the new episode that aired on the 31st. Sad.

Charlie Sheen has been all over the news lately, from asking a porn star to babysit his kids to being rushed to the hospital. Last week, rumors went wild over whether or not he entered rehab, and CBS has had its hands full dealing with the change in production schedule for Sheen's hit show, Two and a Half Men. Well, the latest is that he's having rehab come to his house, LoL.

Beavis & Butthead will return to MTV. Not sure when, but apparently the tv series of Teen Wolf will premiere on June 5th.

Steve Sanders Sells Cosmetics; Teen Moms Profit

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Okay, folks. I wanted to let you guys know that I'm now living in the Pacific Time Zone, so stuff may get posted at times more aligned with my new awake/asleep times, LoL. Now, I did collect some great bits of info over the weekend and I wanted to share those with you. :)

ABC's The Whole Truth was canceled, and most of the world probably heard it first from Twitter.

The DIY Network (yeah, I've never seen it, either) has given The Vanilla Ice Project a second season. This is really only interesting to me because the guy is in Port St. Lucie every now and then (the show focuses on his just-outside-Palm Beach estate)... my brother has seen him at Duffy's at least three times, LoL.

Ian Ziering (aka Steve from the original 90210) is now selling cosmetics. AND he hopes to start a reality show where he helps people come up with good marriage proposals, LoL.

Apparently Joan Rivers wanted that Snickers commercial that Betty White did for last year's SuperBowl. In fact, Joan called Betty a b!tch who is stealing work from her.

The folks over on Teen Mom make between $60,000 and $65,000 per season. Not a ton of money, and nowhere near the amount the Jersey Shore fools make, but they are pulling in some real dough. My question is, how much of Amber's portion actually goes to Gary, or how does that work, LoL??

Not that I've ever seen it, but HBO's Big Love will be starting its final season on January 16th.

CBS is starting another reality show, this time it's Live to Dance, and will feature Paula Abdul. Starts Tuesday, January 4th.

For some reason, TLC's Sister Wives got renewed for a second season. How have they not been arrested yet? Is polygamy no big deal anymore?

Whoa, whoa, whoa... Susan Boyle can now be called SuBo??!? Regardless, the woman is getting a guest spot on Glee's holiday episode.

Kung Fu Panda is going to be a balloon in this year's Macy*s!!

Who knows who is going to be receiving OWN, Oprah's new channel? But, for those who might be curious to learn more about it, there is now information available about the early programming plan. Don't forget, it goes live at noon on January 1st, 2011.

Three holiday episodes are coming for Minute to Win It. They're going to air on December 7th, 14th, and 21st. 8pm all three nights.

Cake Boss's mini-spin-off, Cake Boss: Next Great Baker, is going full force now. They've got 10 contestants to play the 8-week series of challenges, trying to win $50,000 and the chance to work with Buddy. It starts December 6th at 9pm.

Silly ABCFamily and their constant updates on ideas for television series. This time around it's developing something based on the 1998 film, Practical Magic. Apparently, this is not the first time somebody has tried to make a show out of this film-based-on-a-novel, but the last attempt never got off the ground.

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...)

New Gossip

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

As I mentioned in this week's television commentary, I really like the new show Better with You. Here's a little video of Joanna Garcia & Jennifer Finnigan talking about the show.

Glee is having a Rocky Horror-themed episode, set to air October 26th. Barry Bostwick (Brad) and Meat Loaf (Eddie) are set to appear. I am gonna have to watch this one, as much as I dislike Glee.

Oprah is doing a few episodes from Australia.... bringing some of her biggest fans with her to tour parts of the country. It's costing Australian taxpayers almost $3,000,000, but the former tourism minister believes that the publicity is worth every penny.

Grad student (in Computer Science) Roger Craig won $77,000 on a single episode of Jeopardy!. This beats Ken Jennings, whose highest one-day total was $75,000. This was the fifth time in his life that he's tried out for the show, but the first time he's made it.

There are a bunch of celebrities who are afraid of flying. In particular, Ben Affleck recently told his story on Jay Leno.

The fact that a bunch of episodes in last season's How I Met Your Mother don't really fit a larger arc was because they weren't meant to. They also know bits and pieces about how the series is going to end, but no hints there. They have written a new Robin Sparkles song. Wayne Brady is coming back as Barney's brother.

Hulk Hogan is going to be hosting a new kids' show. The first season is ordered for 26 half-hour episodes where Hogan is a referee of sorts for kids' arguments.

Last week I mentioned that Penny on The Big Bang Theory had broken her leg and was missing a taping. Well, she's going to be missing several more, the the point where the show is on production hiatus.

Boardwalk Empire got picked up for a second season a mere TWO DAYS after it premiered.

The Flintstones turned 50 this month. To celebrate, Boomerang will air the original episode this Thursday, September 30th, at 8:30pm, which is the same slot the pilot occupied in 1960. Then two more episodes, The Man Called Flintstone, and a 24-hour marathon the following day.

The Oprah Winfrey Show

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

New Monday, new television special. We're stepping away from game shows this week, and going to focus on talk shows (probably for two weeks, seeing the past pattern, LoL). Today's feature: none other than The Oprah Winfrey Show. She's less than a year older than my mom, but her abilities are astounding. I love how she can talk about anything to such an intelligent degree. Not only is her show the longest-running daytime talk =show, it is also the most highly-rated talk show. (And, it actually might have an ending. Oprah has mentioned that she will not be renewing her contract come 2011.) Ironically, in another comparison to my family, the show premiered the day after my brother was born.

Other accolades for the show include Time magazine's shortlist of the Best TV Shows of the 20th Century (1998) and TV Guide's 2002 list of the Greatest Television Shows of All Time. The show has 6 Daytime Emmy Awards, with Oprah as host holding another 7.

While I have never personally been a fan of Oprah (Jenny Jones is my favorite), the show has had many giveaways and dream-come-true moments. (Let's all take a second to recall the 2004 episode where EVERYONE IN THE AUDIENCE was given a Pontiac G6.) Throughout the history of the show, Oprah has revealed personal information about herself when it relates to a guest... like talking about being sexually abused, skipping a grade, being made fun of for her poverty, and having a child at fourteen. (Sidenote, Oprah's never been married nor had another child. While she's been engaged since 1992, no wedding has ever taken place.)

Guests of The Oprah Winfrey Show span all walks of life, and include Michael Jackson, Liberace, Barack Obama (twice before he even announced his candidacy for the 2008 Presidential Election), innumerable entertainment stars, blue-ribbon-at-the-county-fair winners, and authors (hence her book club's crazy following).

Actually, I'm now bored of talking about Oprah, so if you care, you'll have to read up more about her show yourself.