Fun Friday: Character Demographics This Season

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

For seventeen years now, GLAAD has been tracking the number of LGBT characters in scripted programming. You can see their entire report here, which is full of fantastic facts and figures. I wanted to share some highlights, though, as the numbers are pretty interesting.

Their estimate for the 2012-2013 television season (defined as any show premiering 6/1/12-5/31/13) is that 4.4% (of 701, meaning 31) of all regular characters (on new shows and returning shows) on the five major networks are LGBT. An additional 19 recurring characters are LGBT as well. Cable adds another 35 regulars and 26 recurring.

Where We Are On TV 2012-2013 Season
http://www.glaad.org/files/whereweareontv12.pdf

For comparison, they counted only 1.1% of all regular characters on network programming being LGBT in 2007.

Some other facts from the report that stood out to me:

- Women make up 45% of television characters this season.

- Of the network LGBT characters, 61% are gay men, 20% are lesbian women, 14% bisexual women, and 4% bisexual men. On cable, 49% are gay men, 27% are lesbian women, 15% are bisexual women, and 8% are bisexual men. Of the cable LGBT characters, 4% are transgender, a category not addressed yet this year on network TV.

- Glee and True Blood tie for the highest number of LGBT characters at six each!

- Showtime has 12 regular LGBT characters, the highest of any cable network.

- The CW only had one LGBT character at the start of the 2011 season, but now they have four. Speaking of The CW, 83% of their characters are white. (For comparison 72% of NBC's characters are white.) Latinos are specifically under-represented, with only 4% of the characters on network programming being Latino, despite the US being 16% Latino!

- Last year, only five LGBT characters were "people of color," (POC) but this year there are 14.

- The only network shows this year to have LGBT POC are Bones, Don't Trust the B---- in Apt. 23, Emily Owens, MD, Glee, The Good Wife, Grey's Anatomy, The LA Complex, Malibu Country, The Office, Smash, and Suburgatory. Four are Latino, three are Asian/Pacific Islander, and seven are Black.

- On cable, LGBT POC can be found on Anger Management, Army Wives, Enlightened, House of Lies, Major Crimes, Pretty Little Liars, Single Ladies, Superjail!, Teen Wolf, True Blood, and White Collar.

- The number of disabled characters (a population we've looked at before) decreased this year, to just four - one on each of the four largest networks. GLAAD counts characters with "non-apparent disabilities such as cancer or HIV/AIDS" (as does the ADA). [Because the number is so low, I'll name them for those interested: Dr. Robbins on Grey's Anatomy is an amputee, CSI has a character using prosthetic legs, Parenthood has a character with Asperger's, and Artie on Glee uses a wheelchair. Dr. Robbins will be one of only two LGBT characters with disabilities, the other is the diabetic Thor on Nurse Jackie.]

How do these numbers compare with what you thought they were or where you think they should be? 

For starters, I know that I was surprised to see there were shows featuring six LGBT characters, and I'm surprised at how many of the depicted LGBT characters are white.  

Saturday at Comic-Con: Around Town and Back

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Saturday morning could have been Once Upon a Time, followed by Futurama, The Simpsons, and Family Guy. But, I woke up at 6am to consider heading down to get in line for Ballroom 20 (Hall H was busy with the big movie panels and all) and took a look at Twitter. Things didn't look fabulous... in fact, it was already starting to be doubtful that I'd get into that room, and I hadn't even considered the fact that Warehouse 13 was in that room before any of the things I was thinking of seeing even started. So, I made the executive decision to roll back over for another hour and a half, then truck on down to the Con.

I spent a couple of hours on the floor, hitting up various booths and grabbing swag (including FOX for the poster tubes and ABC's The Neighbors for a shirt and a "new name). Then, I ventured next door to see the Batmobiles exhibit, the Hobbit video game testing, and then into downtown to see what was going on. Jonathan and I apparently hit the Grimm area at the only down time they had all weekend, so we were able to meander through at our own pace.

Photo by Jonathan Bredemeyer

Photo by Jonathan Bredemeyer
(you can see the Gandalf hat and my "Danica Patrick" nametag)

We made our way through the throngs of the gaslamp quarter, deciding to pop into the CNet party for a bit (again, lucky on the timing - less than 10 people were in front of us in line! and BATMAN was the DJ!) and getting a ton more swag, including some Science Channel bags.

Photo by Jonathan Bredemeyer

Then, we stopped over at the Omni to donate blood - there's a big drive every year at Comic-Con, you know! True Blood gives you some good stuff for doing good, and the process wasn't that slow. Actually, quite a few people there were talking about how the lines were the greatest of any at Comic-Con! You sat in the waiting room, then went to a room to fill out your paperwork, then waited for someone to call you over and input your information into the system, then waited for a nurse to call you in to take your blood pressure, iron level, etc., then waited to turn in your paperwork, then were given your blood bags and sent to another room, where the line was a bit slower but still moved... and you got right into a chair and away you went! By the time we grabbed our swag and had our snack, we hadn't even been there 90 minutes - yes, slower than your everyday blood drive, but not bad for what was going on! The only downside is that, when we went to the Sails Pavilion later that night to see if we hit any of the TON OF DRAWINGS they did for all of the donors, neither of us won anything. The number before mine won a Vamplet thing, but the number before Jonathan's got A SIGNED STAN LEE POSTER! Anyway, moving on...

By 4pm we were in 6BCF for The Following Screening and Q&A. I'll talk about the pilot itself another time, but here are a couple of highlights from the panel, which featured Kevin Williamson, Kevin Bacon, Marcos Siega, and James Purefoy.
- Kevin Bacon wanted "to play a hero who had some complexity" and "a darker side."
- Kevin Williamson alluded to the fact that the second episode hasn't even been written yet!
- They were surprised with how much gore they got away with... they shot it as a cable show and then toned it down as required.
- Kevin Williamson: "it turns out, Kevin Bacon has chemistry with everyone!" (as if the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game had never taught you that...)

Next up in that room was the Person of Interest Screening and Q&A, which was a little different, not being a brand-new show and all. [sidenote: I didn't really care about this all that much, but it was in the room after The Following and before Revolution and MythBusters, so I wasn't prepared ahead of time.] After the typical updates like the return date (9/27) and the DVD release date for the first season (9/4), we jumped right into some Q&A with panelists Jim Caviezel, Michael Emerson, Taraji P. Henson, Kevin Chapman, Jonathan Nolan, and Greg Plageman.

Photo by Jonathan Bredemeyer

- Taraji says that her character "believes in the moral good of all men" and that she get that they're "doing good things" even if they're continuing to break laws.
- Kevin shared that he'll hear people say, "hey, I like you on that show. Try not to get shot."
- As a child, Jonathan Nolan realized that nobody watched the security cameras all the time in London, and in Chicago there were no cameras, so he began to wonder what happened to the information collected, which is where the idea for Person of Interest came from.

At 6pm we were treated to Revolution pilot screening and Q&A, to promote the new fall NBC show. Again, we'll be covering the new pilots at a later date. The Q&A with the panelists (Eric Kripke, Billy Burke, Giancarlo Exposito, Tracy Spiridakos) was very short, and the most interesting moment had to be learning that Billy is learning his swordsmanship from the guy behind The Pirates of the Caribbean.

Photo by Jonathan Bredemeyer

By Saturday evening, people are really in the Comic-Con groove. A good chunk are hitting up the Masquerade in either the competition room or watching from an overflow room. Many flock to see the annual Kevin Smith panel. Others are out in the streets of San Diego, either hitting up parties or enjoying the weekend nightlife. Well, 7:15pm found me settling in for the MythBusters panel with stars Adam Savage, Jamie Hyneman, Tory Belleci, Grant Imahara, and Kari Byron (moderated by John Landis) for 45 minutes (not the hour that was advertised, by the way). This is a show that I don't regularly try to catch, and I have really only seen a handful of episodes. I'm not against it, I just don't care enough to make the effort to tune-in. Still, it was a great panel, so let me share some moments with you:

Photo by Jonathan Bredemeyer

- When asked what their favorite mythbuster is, Jamie said "whatever the latest one is" and Adam likes the car stuff (like the re-creation of the Speed bus stuff).
- all of the cast members are sick of being asked questions related to Kari.
- There are some myths they'd like to tackle but they can't because of danger/expense, like the Indiana Jones refrigerator theory when it comes to nuclear weapons. There are others that insurance has just turned down - like going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. And, sometimes, insurance is picky about WHICH one of the cast members can bust the myth! To debunk the idea that falling through canvas awnings would break your fall, they turned down Adam but allowed Tory to do it!
- Adam's motto is that "failure is always an option."
- They were all kinda surprised at the outcome of the blind driving experiment. The amusing part was having Jamie drink and then give instructions to a blind driver - he drove like he was drunk!
- They get letters all the time from people disagreeing with myths they've covered, like ice bullets, split arrows, and even the plane on the conveyor belt.
- It would have required too much precision to use curved mirror on the Archimedes Death Ray.
- when asked if they would test some pregnancy myths, Kari says that "one of you guys can knock someone up. I'm done."
- Adam's favorite thing to blow up is a hot water heater.

Comic-Con 2012: The Superlatives

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Well, I'm home from Comic-Con 2012. As I continue to catch you all up on the fabulous things that I saw and heard while there, I wanted to go ahead and give a little run-down list in the meantime. I imagine that those who also attended will have some strong opinions as well, so sound off below. If you didn't make it there this year, let us know what you thought of our picks - would you have guessed they'd go this way? Are there other superlatives you'd like to hear me rant about?

Best Panel: "And Then What Happened?" This Friday night panel had some fabulous writing talent there to talk about how some great shows (like Dollhouse, Firefly, Sarah Connor Chronicles, and FlashForward) met their demise. We learned about how storylines changed to fit cancellation in some cases but not others, and heard about what was planned to take place next, should a miracle-save have occurred.

Best Screening: Elementary, screened Thursday afternoon in Ballroom 20. I was pleasantly surprised.

Best Swag: Game of Thrones! they loaded us down with TONS of goodies! 

Photo: Amy K. Bredemeyer

Photo: Amy K. Bredemeyer

Best Poster: The four in the Lionsgate plastic win this one. The Hunger Games, Expendables 2, Dredd, and Possession were all nice.

Best Booth Experience: Going to the Falling Skies booth and having a Skitters harness nearly put on you was a lot of fun. Not only did you get a photo of the experience, but you also got a set of light-up spikes that attached to the back of your lanyard.

Best Downtown Option: Giving blood at the Omni netted you a True Blood shirt, an extra swag bag, various other goodies, and a Brave print. Though the C-Net party was a lot of fun in a short period of time, complete with free food and drinks!

Best Costume: I saw two very good Trons. One used light-up wire and the other looked so realistic, complete with the ring that came off the back! also, what was with all of the stormtroopers this year? I feel like there were WAY MORE than last year! Brave was also everywhere you looked.

Photo: Amy K. Bredemeyer

Photo: Jonathan Bredemeyer

Worst Panel: The Big Bang Theory. Johnny Galecki wasn't there. Only children were asking questions. The cast didn't know the answers to anything. The surprise astronaut thing confused Simon Helberg and pissed off a good portion of the audience. AND there was no "special screening" of any kind.

Worst Screening: Aside from the fact that The Big Bang Theory lied in their description about having a screening, I'd give this one to The Walking Dead. Who shows the same two-minute clip twice within an hour? We weren't looking for Easter Eggs, guys.

Worst Swag: aside from the panels where one might expect swag that wasn't delivered, I'd have to say Falling Skies. I couldn't believe that we got zip-up hoodies last year and bracelets this year! Psych is a close second, though... plastic sunglasses were weak, especially compared with last year's t-shirts! oh, and Revolution giving out the same pin you could get other places was junky, too.

Photo: Amy K. Bredemeyer

Worst Poster: Oz! I couldn't believe that the swag ticket was for the same mini-poster that you could get elsewhere at the Con!

Worst Line: Overall, it was probably for Firefly. I had a couple of close calls, but the only time a line seriously pissed me off this year was Hall H on Sunday afternoon. I didn't get in it until after Doctor Who had started, as I wanted to see The Cleveland Show and Sons of Anarchy. Well, nobody was updating us on the situation, but we saw people pour out after Doctor Who was over... yet we weren't being let in. Twenty-three minutes after Doctor Who ended (and eight into the time allotted for The Cleveland Show), we still weren't even moving, though we had easily seen a thousand people exit Hall H. We eventually walked into a very-nearly-empty room (which I hear never filled up after that), but the schedule was hugely thrown off and The Cleveland Show began about half an hour late.

Funniest Panel: The Cleveland Show. The singing and voices were great, and the questions led to some fun answers from the panel. I almost said Psych, though. The chemistry on that cast and the humor in the questions from the audience made for an entertaining hour.

Most Surprisingly Good Panel: The Cleveland Show. I wasn't expecting too much, so the live songs and tons of voices on-the-spot thrilled me.

Most Surprisingly Bad Panel: Again, The Big Bang Theory just disappointed me all over the place.

Biggest Regret: not going to the Lynn Johnston's panel. It conflicted with The Big Bang Theory, and probably would have kept me out of that room for the rest of the day. I saw tweets about how awesome that hour was.

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: 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 April Edition

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Renewals, Cancellations, & Scheduling:
Oprah's Master Class was renewed by OWN.

HBO has renewed Game of Thrones for a third season.

FOX renewed New Girl, Glee, and Raising Hope.

ABC is keeping General Hospital and extending Good Morning, America into an additional hour-long segment in the afternoons, beginning this summer. 

FOX is cutting back on COPS, mainly because they're filling Saturday nights with sports.

Sunday, April 15th brings back another season of True Life on MTV.

HBO's new comedy series, VEEP, begins Sunday, April 22nd at 10pm ET/PT.

A new season of Discovery's American Guns begins Wednesday, April 25th at 9pm ET/PT.

TLC's My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding will begin Sunday, April 29th at 10pm ET/PT.

Tuesday, May 8th begins The United Stats of America, a History program designed to teach you about America using numbers. Check it out at 10pm.

Food Network Star returns on Sunday, May 13th at 9pm ET/PT to Food Network.

The CW has The Catalina, a reality series about Miami hotel employees, premiering Tuesday, May 29th at 8pm ET/PT and Breaking Pointe, a reality series about a ballet company in Utah, premiering Thursday, May 31st at 8pm ET/PT.

On Wednesday, June 6th at 9pm ET/PT, Travel Channel will debut Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in America.

A&E will debut Cajun Justice on Thursday, June 7th at 10pm ET/PT. The series is about a police station in southern Louisiana.

True Blood returns to HBO on Sunday, June 10th at 9pm ET/PT.

HBO's The Newsroom will kick off its first season on Sunday, June 24th at 10pm ET/OT.

Showtime's Web Therapy will be back on July 2nd at 11pm and The Real L Word will return July 12th at 10pm.

On Friday, August 17th at 10pm ET/PT, Starz will premiere the second season of Boss.

BBCAmerica's first original drama, Copper, will premiere Sunday, August 19th at 9pm ET/PT. The 10-episode show will be about an 1860s cop in NYC.

Cast & Plot Updates:
James Denton will play a love interest for Joy on Hot in Cleveland.

Peri Gilpin (most known as Roz from Frasier) will play Ted Danson's wife on CSI.

Matt Laurer will remain with Today, making $25M each year.

Rosie O'Donnell and Dan Akyroyd will appear on Happily Divorced, albeit in separate episodes.

Shows in Development & Other Fun Stuff:
Netflix has added some new cartoons to their streaming: My Little Pony, GI Joe: Renegades, The Adventures of Chuck & Friends, and Transformers Prime. Later this year, JEM & the Holograms, Transformers: Generation 1, GI Joe: Real American Heroes, and Transformers: Beast Wars and Rescue Bots will also be added.

The Smash soundtrack will be available May 1st.

CMT has picked up Bounty Hunters (an animated series) and Trinity 911 (a reality show about hijinks in a small Texas police force).

Disney has ordered the family comedy pilot Bits & Pieces, where step-siblings will have to learn to get along.

Disney XD has ordered a live-action series called Crash & Bernstein, about a 14-year-old boy whose puppet comes to life. It should premiere this fall.

OWN has four new series coming: Elura and Michele Take Staten Island (BFFs who are former prosecutors tell people what to do), Iyanla Fix My Life (an author who believes in the power of acting on faith solces people's problems), Married to the Army: Alaska (military wives in Alaska, many of whom have husbands serving in Afghanistan), and Six Little McGhees (Ohio's first sextuplets and their family).

Discovery has four new series coming, including Top Engineer (pitting engineering teams against one another), One Car Too Far (drive to survive!), Mark Burnett's Alaska (yet another Alaska show), and Fast and Loud (restoring classic cars).

Matt Groening has finally announced that The Simpsons is set in Springfield, OREGON. [edit: nope. that was a misinterpretation.]

Bravo has green-lit a bunch of new projects. Silicon Valley is about some young folks in that area trying to become the next big thing. Life after Top Chef will look at the lives of some former contestants. Below Deck will look at the lives of those who work on yachts. Huh? will look at internet memes. Newlyweds: The First Year looks at the trials and tribulations of the first year of marriage of couples across the country.

News Roundup: Cancellations, Renewals, Reboots, and More

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

They have indeed recast Lily on Modern Family. Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, age 4, will take over the role for the upcoming season. Her natural acting talent combined with how closely she resembles Jaden and Ella Hiller  should work out great! (Entertainment Weekly)

Kate Plus Eight got canceled. There may be a few specials done in the future, but we're at the end of regular episodes. The current season airing on TLC will finish - 4 episodes to go. After a two-year stint on late-night television, TBS has canceled Lopez Tonight. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty glad. In Plain Sight will be canceled after its 8-episode fifth season. Breaking Bad only has 16 episodes to go.

CBS is rebooting Bewitched... look for it Fall 2012? Roseanne is working on another blue-collar family show, titled Downwardly Mobile. Apparently there's a possibility that Sex and the City will be returning to television. bleh.

SyFy's Haven is incorporating a Twitter storyline into the current 7-ep arc. If you like the series and use Twitter, go find out more about they they're working together.

If Oprah can have her own network, so can Tyler Perry. He's working with Lionsgate to make it happen!

Ashton Kutcher and Hugh Laurie both make $700,000 for each episode of their respective shows. Jon Cryer makes $600k an episode, Mark Harmon makes $500k an episode, and Tina Fey makes $350k an episode. Tim Allen's new show will net him $225,000 per episode. For more info on these numbers, check TVGuide.

Seth MacFarlane will be the Roast Master for Charlie Sheen's upcoming roast.

True Blood got renewed for a 12-episode fifth season. MTV's strange show, Awkward, has been renewed for a second season. Leverage got renewed as well, for a fifth season on TNT. Lastly, Warehouse 13 on SyFy will get a 4th season.