Wednesday, May 18, 2011

For Your TV Viewing Pleasure or Displeasure

"Happy Endings" will return for another season.

On the Outs
And Who's In

(We should probably note that the following are not wholly inclusive. For example, Fox's popular animated prime-time series have all be picked-up for fall; you may find some shows are inadvertently missing. We will try and update as we find out more scoop. )

TV shows that have been Canceled:

"America's Most Wanted" (after 23 years on Fox)

NBC's "Law and Order: Los Angeles" (the revamp -- which inexplicably fired Skeet Ulrich and kept Terrence Howard --  was apparently a failure)

NBC's: "Outsourced," "Perfect Couples" (which we loved), "The Cape," "Chase," "Friday Night Lights," "School Pride."   NBC's "The Paul Reiser Show," which was painfully awful, and replaced a show we really liked ("Perfect Couples"), was cancelled after two episodes.

Fox's "Running Wilde" (which we actually liked and hoped would hit its stride), "Lone Star," "Breaking In," "Traffic Light," and its dramas "Lie to Me," "Human Target" and "Chicago Code."

CBS' "The Defenders," "Chaos," "$#*! My Dad Says;" "Mad Love," Crimminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, "Medium."

ABC's "Better With You," "Off the Map," "No Ordinary Family," "Brothers & Sisters," "Detroit 1-8-7," "V," and "Mr. Sunshine."

The CW has canceled "Hell Cats," "Life Unexpected" and "Smallville."

Bravo's "Real Housewives of D.C." is also gone.

FX's "Terriers" also was canceled.

The ABC soaps "All My Children," and "One Life to Live" have also been canceled, as has CMT's "Working Class," a sitcom starring Ed Asner and Melissa Peterman, and FX's "Lights Out." 

We were also disappointed that TNT's "My Boys" was cancelled, although apparently its star, Jordana Spiro, is in demand.

They're Baaack....

Returning will be CBS' CSI: New York, "Mike & Molly," "Hawaii Five-O," "Rules of Engagement," and "Blue Bloods."

ABC will bring back "Castle."  Fox renewed "Raising Hope" in January. And, the well-beaten dead horse "Chuck" will actually return for another (mercifully, its final) season.

The CW has renewed "Nikita" and "One Tree Hill."

NBC's "30 Rock" was not on the 2011-2012 Primetime Schedule, but since star Tina Fey isn't due to have her baby until August, she won't be available to film the series until October, so it will be a mid-season replacement.

Also returning is CBS' Blue Bloods.

From ABC's release: “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” “The Bachelor,” “Body of Proof,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” “Happy Endings,” “Secret Millionaire,” “Shark Tank” and “20/20” join previously announced returning series “Castle,” “Cougar Town,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Middle,” “Modern Family” and “Private Practice.” “Saturday Night College Football” also returns.

In more TV news, Omar Epps and Robert Sean Leonard will return for the (probably final) eighth season of "House." Lisa Edelstein, however, will not be returning.

New!

Thursdays at 9:30 p.m., NBC will air the new "Whitney" starring Whitney Cummings. They will be remaking the British series "Prime Suspect," with Maria Bello. Clearly NBC wants to challenge ABC's juggernaut of comedy on Wednesday nights. They'll air Christina Applegate's "Up All Night," and Hank Azaria's "Free Agents."

Zoey Deschanel joins her sister Emily (who stars on Fox's "Bones" which will have to work out the fact that Emily is due to have her baby late summer/early fall) and  will star on a Fox television series called "The New Girl." It will air on Tuesday nights. Also on Fox is I Hate My Teenage Daughter (which looks pretty funny and stars Jaime Pressley [!!] as the mother of a surly teen). Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul host/judge The X-Factor, and Fox also has Terra Nova and the animated Allen Gregory.

The CW's new series include Hart of Dixie, H8er (which pairs celebrities with people who hate them, and is hosted by Mario Lopez), Ranger and Secret Circle.

New ABC series for the 2011-12 season are “Apartment 23,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Good Christian Belles,” “Last Man Standing,” “Man Up,” “Missing,” “Once Upon a Time,” “Pan Am,” “Revenge,” “The River,” “Scandal,” “Suburgatory” and “Work It."

CBS has The Rookies, Unforgettable (thankfully changed from The Rememberer) and How to Be a Gentleman.

A&E's new series Flipped features seven episodes starring Survior's Russell Hantz, and follows Hantz and his family as they try to "flip" houses (buy low, renovate and make coin).