Television News

[imgleft]http://image.com.com/tv/images/genie_images/story/2010/s/sharon_stone_signs_u.jpg[/imgleft]The Basic Instinct actress will guest star as a policewoman turned prosecutor in four episodes of the NBC cop drama. Stone, 51, will appear in the 11th season of the hit US show, whose previous guest stars include Hilary Duff. The glamorous Hollywood star, who was nominated for a best actress Academy Award for Casino in 1996, has not yet started to film the episodes. The Oscar-nominated actress's previous TV roles have included guest-starring on the series The Practice and appearing on Will and Grace. She won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Seri…

CBS announced that its new sci-fi drama Under the Dome has been renewed for a second season. The freshman summer series has been pulling in solid ratings since its premiere last month, making it an easy decision for the network to issue today's pickup for another 13 episodes in summer 2014. It was also announced that Stephen King, who penned the bestselling novel of the same name, will write the premiere episode for Season 2. (Source: TV by the Numbers) Click here to view the article

ABC Family has cancelled Bunheads after one season. The freshman dramedy premiered in the summer of 2012 and aired a total of 18 episodes, but its ratings ultimately fell short of what was needed for a second-season pickup. (Source: TV by the Numbers) Click here to view the article

Famous for its torrid love triangles, gruesome violence, and tawdry sex scenes, True Blood isn't your typical vampire show. Currently five episodes into its sixth run, True Blood has been biting necks and cashing checks since 2008, and shows no signs of stopping any time soon. True Blood will return for a seventh season of ten episodes in summer 2014. While True Blood has seen a drop-off in critical praise the last few years, fan support seems to be nearly as strong as it's ever been. Hopefully the human/vampire war that appears to be brewing manages to end season six on a high note. Click here to view the article

Faster than a speeding sloth, more powerful than a shopping cart, able to sleep long hours in a single sitting! Look! Up in the sky, it's Superman's grandfather! Syfy announced on Monday that it's developing Krypton, a one-hour drama that will follow one of the man of steel's forebears in order to "reveal a chapter of the DC Comics universe that has rarely been told." But don't get excited about seeing an old man enter a phone booth to change his clothes and then fall asleep inside, because Krypton is going to be a prequel. According to the project's official logline, Krypton takes place years before Superman is born and centers on his grandfather as the elder superdude b…

Showtime announced today that Nurse Jackie has been renewed for a sixth season. Production will begin in New York this fall with a premiere date slated for sometime in 2014. (Source: Twitter) Click here to view the article

It is being reported that Syfy and Canada's Showcase have renewed Continuum for a fourth and final season. The science fiction drama has been picked up for a run of six episodes that will conclude the series in 2015. Click here to view the article

CBS has signed the star to a talent holding deal, meaning he will headline a new project set for next fall. Sources say the actor was offered the deal the same day The CW decided to not give "Life Unexpected" a full-season order. Polaha is thus far the only dramatic actor on CBS' roster this pilot season. [Deadline] "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice" creator Shonda Rhimes is creating a new series for ABC set in the world of public relations crisis management. The show will be based on the career of legendary public relations consultant Judy Smith, who worked with Bill Clinton, Michael Vick and New York Governor David Paterson. Not much is known about the project (it …

Syfy has renewed Warehouse 13 for a shortened fifth season to conclude the series. Six episodes have been ordered to finish off the storyline, and are expected to air in 2014. "Warehouse 13 has been an incredible signature series for us, " said Mark Stern, Syfy's president of original content. "We are grateful to the loyal and passionate fan base and know that Jack Kenny, his gifted creative team, and outstanding ensemble cast will give them an amazing finale season." The show currently has seven episodes remaining in its fourth season. (Source: TV by the Numbers) Click here to view the article

FXX announced today that The League has been renewed for a seventh season that will conclude its run. The comedy recently finished Season 6, which was its second on FXX after moving there in 2013 from original network FX. The League's final season will premiere on FXX in the fall of 2015 and consist of 13 episodes. Click here to view the article

Williamson is working on a project that could be a "companion series" to "TVD," The CW's most-watched show. Deadline describes the new show as "'The X-Files' meets 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'" and says it revolves around people who track unexplained phenomena. (So, more "X-Files" than "Buffy," based on that logline.) The rather large catch at the moment is that Williamson hasn't actually written a script yet, and The CW hasn't committed to anything. Williamson may co-write it with fellow "Vampire Diaries" creator Julie Plec. "Companion series," by the way, doesn't mean "spinoff." That's TV-exec-speak for a show that people think might be a good match with "TVD" on The CW's…

The CW has announced that the final six episodes of cancelled drama Cult will air this summer to conclude the series. The show will air in 2-hour blocks on three Friday nights: June 28, July 5 and July 12, each at 8:00pm-10:00pm. Click here to view the article

USA Network announced today that freshman comedy Playing House has been renewed for a second season. Written and executive produced by comic duo Jessica St Clair and Lennon Parham, who also star as its leads, the show's first season aired earlier this year to critical acclaim and healthy viewership. USA has ordered eight new episodes for Season 2 of Playing House, which will return in 2015. Click here to view the article

"We were very excited that that didn't leak, somehow, because we've had that in the works for a very long time," says executive producer Kelly Souders. "It's going to have a very significant role in her life for the rest of the season. Some of it really comes to a head in episode 10. We'll see how it's impacting her and how it's going to start changing her life a bit." Episode 10, airing Friday Dec. 3, is aptly titled "Luthor." It explores not only Tess's connection to the Luthor name, but also gives us a glimpse into what would have happened if it was Lionel Luthor, not the Kent family, who found Clark (Tom Welling) in that cornfield after the meteor hit Smallville. "It'…

It is being reported that NBC has cancelled freshman sitcom 1600 Penn after a single season. The new comedy ran for a total of 13 episodes since premiering late last year, with its series finale taking place on March 28, 2013. (Source: TV by the Numbers) Click here to view the article

TNT announced today that Rizzoli & Isles has been renewed for a sixth season. The crime drama has been a mainstay as one of basic cable's top shows over the course of its run, with its current fifth season finishing this past summer as basic cable's #1 series. The remaining episodes in Season 5 will return this February, with Season 6 expected to premiere in summer 2015 with an 18 episode order. Click here to view the article

Zap2it confirms that AJ has been tapped for a recurring role on her sister's series, Hellcats. AJ, who recently appeared in Disney's "Secretariat," will make her CW debut in the second half of the season as a girl who works at a record store near Lancer University. Of course, Aly and AJ are in a band together called 78violet - which was previously known simply as "Aly and AJ." When AJ's character befriends Marti, a musical connection is made, and The CW tells us that "a musical performance with the two is very likely." When Zap2it spoke with Aly at the Television Critics Association press tour over the summer, she told us that despite "Hellcats" filming in Vancouver, she…

Fox has cancelled Touch after two seasons. The sophomore drama had been considered a bubble series for the bulk of its run, failing to draw significant numbers in the ratings. The Touch series finale aired May 10, 2013. (Source: TV Line) Click here to view the article

The popular action-adventure drama will return in January, 2015. BBC America has renewed The Musketeers for a second season. The freshman series, which premiered this last January, has thrilled audiences accross the globe. Season 2 is expected to return on January 17, 2015. Click here to view the article

Epix announced today that Pennyworth has been picked up for a second season. The good news comes a month after the drama wrapped its freshman run, which was a successful one for the cable network. Per Epix, the series was the best-performing original to ever premiere on the network, with over double the viewership of any other show before it. Reviews have leaned positive as well, with critics noting that it stands on its own as a thriller while not necessarily adding to the DC Universe mythos in which the character originated. Taking place in 1960s London, the series follows former British SAS soldier Alfred Pennyworth, who forms a security company with b…

The twin revelations that Thomas wasn't planning an attack on the United States (at least not directly) and of the reason why Dempsey was after Leila and her little sister gave the show a nice note on which to go out. But they were more "Hmm" than "Whoa!" as these things go, and while they worked, it's hard to say whether they worked well enough to keep fans on the hook until late February. That the show won't be back until then is not The Event's fault, of course, and if it were coming back sooner, then this would have been a fine bit of teasing to tide us over till, say, mid-January. But that's not what's happening, and NBC's decision to hold off longer could end up h…

ABC has renewed Modern Family for a fifth season. The comedy will wrap up Season 4 on May 22, capping another successful season as one of televisions highest-rated comedies. (Source: ABC) Click here to view the article

The conclusion to the seven-season journey of Sons of Anarchy had a certain sense of inevitability to it and that's exactly what the show's creative team intended. In other words, the finale, which saw Jax Teller tying up a lot of loose ends for both the club and in his personal life before ultimately sacrificing himself to give his kids hope for a life away from the bullets and blood was always going to end with Jax dead, but even though Jax's fate was seemingly written in the stars, what about those he left behind? Will Jax's grand gesture be enough to save his boys from becoming outlaws? And will the club go back to the simpler organization it was originally intended t…

Shudder announced today that Creepshow has been picked up for a second season. The good news arrives on the eve of the show's Halloween freshman finale, which will conclude a successful debut run. The comedic horror anthology series premiered in September as the first hour-long original on the AMC-owned streaming service. On top of drawing critical acclaim, the show is pulling in record audiences according to the outlet. Executive produced by Greg Nicotero, best known for his work on The Walking Dead, Creepshow is based on the 1982 classic film where a comic book comes to life in a series of vignettes that explore horror stories about topics like murder, …

And let us all now praise Timothy Dalton. There could have been easier ways for the character of Volkoff to go in this episode -- the psycho part of him could have melted away in favor of the lovesick part -- but to his immense credit, Dalton played crazy-in-love about as well as I've ever seen it played on television. "Chuck" hasn't really gotten any recognition from the Emmys in its first three seasons, but Dalton gave an award-worthy performance here -- funny, scary, intense and great. While we still don't quite know what Mary Bartowski is up to -- she says her mission is to take down Volkoff's network, but do we want to take her at her word? -- "Leftovers" at least ga…