Television News

Showtime announced last week that Episodes has been renewed for a fourth season. Nine new half-hour episodes of the comedy have been ordered. Today's news comes ahead of the show's third season, which will premiere next month on Sunday, January 12, 2014. (Source: TV by the Numbers) Click here to view the article

[imgleft]http://rtv6blogs.com/rtv6_gm/files/2008/05/abc_logo_hi-res.thumbnail.jpg[/imgleft]ABC is pushing the return of "FlashForward." The Thursday drama will return March 18th instead of the previously announced March 4. The series will air straight through to its finale on May 27. The show will have a two-hour premiere and a two-hour finale -- very "Lost"-esque. The move gets "FlashForward" out of the way of "American Idol" on March 4 and 11th. Source: http://series.nu/top...urn-march-18th/

NBC announced today that freshman series The Blacklist has been renewed for a second season. The drama, which stars James Spader, is the network's top new show of the 2013-2014 season. It also currently ranks as broadcast television's #1 drama in the 18-49 demographic. 22 episodes have been ordered for Season 2 of The Blacklist for next fall. The current season is now on a mid-season break until January 2014. (Source: TV by the Numbers) Click here to view the article

[imgleft]http://ewausiello.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/the-oc_l.jpg?w=300&h=400[/imgleft] Julie Cooper’s comin’ to Mystic Falls! Sources confirm to me exclusively that Vampire Diaries has tapped the inimitable Melinda Clarke (The O.C., CSI) to play Kelly Donovan, Matt’s irresponsible, hard-drinking absentee mother. How rotten is this woman? She didn’t even bother to show up to her own daughter’s funeral. (In other words, my kind of gal!) I’m told Clark’s scenery-chewing boozehound will blow into town in March and stick around for at least three episodes. Memo to Kevin Williamson: Let’s get that series regular paperwork started now! Source: EW.COM

Lifetime announced today that Witches of East End has been renewed for a second season. The freshman drama, which is based on the best-selling novel of the same name, will return with 13 new episodes in 2014. The show's first season wraps up next month on Sunday, December 15 at 10:00pm ET/PT. (Source: TV by the Numbers) Click here to view the article

“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1″ shot past “Guardians of the Galaxy” to become the highest grossing domestic release of 2014. It’s the second time in a row that the dystopian franchise has topped the charts. It gives Lionsgate bragging rights as the studio with the top film in consecutive years, something that no one else has achieved in over a decade. “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1″ hit $333.2 million on Wednesday, edging past “Guardians” at $333.17 million at the U.S. box office. Lionsgate also announced that it will release the Digital HD verison of “Mockingjay Part 1″ on Feb. 17 and the Blu-ray Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital HD), DVD (plus Digital) and …

Fox is making some changes to its prime time schedule, moving new entry Second Chance to Friday nights. The freshman drama premiered earlier this month, airing two low-rated episodes in the post-American Idol Wednesday night time slot. With the new series underperforming, the network is putting Hell's Kitchen in its place beginning this week. New episodes of Second Chance will now air Friday nights at 9:00pm beginning January 29. View full article

[imgleft]http://ewausiello.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/chuck-levi-scott_240.jpg?w=240&h=320[/imgleft] Okay, this is Chucking awesome. Scott Bakula has signed on to reprise his role as Chuck’s spy daddy, Steve, for multiple episodes. Pops was last seen in the season 2 finale fleeing daughter Ellie’s wedding reception for parts unknown. Chuck exec producer Josh Schwartz calls Bakula’s comeback arc — which would fall at the end of the spy comedy’s third season (premiering this Sunday!) — “the biggest thing we’ve ever done on the show.” Bakula is currently starring in TNT’s Men of A Certain Age. With production wrapped on that show’s first season, Bakula was f…

Linda Hamilton will reprise her role as Chuck's (Zachary Levi) mom, Mary, in the two-hour series finale. And that, alas, is about all we can tell you at the moment. "If I said anything" about the circumstances of Hamilton's return, "I'd be ruining too many good spoilers," co-creator Chris Fedak tells TV Guide. "Chuck" is in its final week of filming, and the cast and crew have already shot the last scene of the finale (though not the last scene ever, since they're going out of order). "There were a lot of tears," Fedak says. "... We have been cherishing each day as we've neared the end." Fortunately for the rest of us, that end won't come for a while. "Chuck" …

It is being reported that BBC One will not be ordering a third series of drama Ripper Street. Declining viewership was cited as contributing towards the decision to axe the show, which aired on BBC America stateside. (Source: Digital Spy) Click here to view the article

The CW announced its winter schedule today, which includes a January 25 season finale date for Frequency. This confirms that the network has decided not to order any additional episodes for the show's first season. The freshman drama premiered in early October but failed to generate much interest in its 9:00pm time slot following Arrow on Wednesday nights, losing roughly half of its lead-in viewership. The show's soft ratings resulted in no back order, which likely means it will not be returning for Season 2. There may be a small glimmer of hope, though. As part of a new deal with Netflix, Frequency will be available on the streaming service eight days after its…

HBO announced today that the upcoming fifth season of Boardwalk Empire will be its last. The decision to conclude the award-winning drama after five seasons was made jointly between the network and the showrunners. The final season of Boardwalk Empire will premiere later this year in the fall. (Source: TV by the Numbers) Click here to view the article

It was announced today that ABC will be shifting second-year series Quantico into a new time slot when it returns from hiatus in January. The sophomore FBI drama will take over Monday nights at 10:00pm, filling the hour currently occupied by the new Hayley Atwell drama Conviction, which did not receive an order for any additional episodes past its original 13. The network is likely hoping to improve Quantico's fortunes with the move, which will see it following hit reality series The Bachelor - a reliable performer that pulls in much stronger numbers than its current Sunday night lead-in Secrets & Lies. Quantico's ratings have been tapering off after an impressiv…

HBO announced today that The Newsroom has been renewed for a third and final season. The Emmy Award-winning drama is set to begin production on its last season this spring, with a return later in the fall. (Source: TV by the Numbers) Click here to view the article

It is being reported that USA Network has cancelled Benched after one season. The new series, which is the cable network's most-recent original comedy, premiered last fall airing 12 episodes between October and December. Get Your Very Own Self Defense Keychain: just click here Click here to view the article

CBS has made a scheduling change to its Thursday night lineup, moving Training Day to Saturday nights when it returns from its current month-long break. The freshman drama has struggled to find a sizable audience since its February premiere, reaching under 5 million viewers per episode and garnering below-expected ratings in the adults 18-49 demographic. Inspired by the 2001 crime thriller of the same name, Training Day stars the late Bill Paxton as a boundary-pushing veteran detective of the LAPD who is partnered with a younger, by-the-books officer who is actually undercover as part of an operation to spy on his new partner regarding his questionable methods. …

FX confirmed today at the 2014 winter TCA press tour that Justified will end after its sixth season. The network's president of programming, John Landgraf, stated the reason as a joint decision between the show's executive producer, Graham Yost, and star Timothy Olyphant. Season 5 of Justified premiered last Tuesday, meaning the show will likely conclude in 2015. (Source: E! Online) Click here to view the article

It is being reported that Fox has made some scheduling changes to Lucifer, and will be moving the final four episodes of its current sophomore season to be part of Season 3. The result of that decision will see Season 2's tally drop from 22 episodes down to 18. It's not all bad news though, as the four episodes being shifted to next season are said to be mostly standalone in nature and will not play a big part in the ongoing storyline. The five remaining episodes in Season 2 begin airing on May 1, with the season finale scheduled for May 29. View full article

Juliet and Shawn go away for a "grown-up" vacation, where they encounter a couple, Clive and Barbie, who turn out to be a couple of conmen. Shawn and Juliet thwart their racket, while simultaneously solving a murder committed by "Arrested Development's" Tony Hale. The real interesting news, though, is that Shawn was going to propose. What is awesome is that all along, I thought he was going to. But when it didn't happen in the hot-air balloon, I thought I must be wrong. But instead of it happening, Gus finds Shawn's hidden ring in the Nintendo that was stolen from Shawn's room by Clive and Barbie. Didn't the look on Gus's face just break your heart a little? In an a…

Syfy announced today that Haven has been renewed for a double-sized fifth season that will consist of 26 episodes. The news comes on the heels of the show's recently-wrapped fourth season, which was up 3% year-to-year in the Adults 18-49 demographic, with a healthy average of 2.3 million total viewers per week. The first 13 episodes of Season 5 will premiere in the fall of 2014, with the second half of the season scheduled for sometime in 2015. (Source: Syfy) Click here to view the article

Fox announced today that another limited run of The X-Files has been ordered to continue the event series revival from 2016. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will be back as agents Mulder and Scully, with creator and executive producer Chris Carter returning as well. The cult favorite sci-fi series was revived early last year after a 13-year absence. After a short, but successful run, fans were left unsure of its future after there was no mention of the show when the network announced its schedule for 2016-2017. At the time though, Fox executives stated that the door was being left open for an eventual return. Now after a one-year break, Fox has ordered 10 ne…

Silverstone is said to be playing the part of Eden, a potential love interest for George, being played by Sisto. Apparently, Eden's "unusual" line of work even comes between George and Noah, and it's got to be some pretty powerful stuff to break up that bromance. There has been no word yet on whether Eden and George actually hook up, so I guess we'll have to wait until it airs to see if any sparks fly between these two characters. Let's just hope that they'll do a little "rollin' with the homies" for old times' sake. Click here to view the article

It is being reported that NBC has cancelled Sean Saves The World, stopping all production on the show today. The freshman comedy has struggled in the ratings since its premiere last October, failing to find an audience in its Thursday night time slot. A total of 18 episodes were ordered by the network, 14 of which have already been shot. The show is currently twelve episodes into its run, and it is possible that the remaining two will be aired once the upcoming Olympics are over. (Source: E!) Click here to view the article

Just two days after a strong first showing, CBS has handed out a full-season order to Young Sheldon. The new Big Bang Theory spin-off debuted Monday with a "preview" episode that netted an impressive 3.8 rating in the adults 18-49 demo with a total of 17.2 million viewers. The show also fared well in retaining 98% of its lead-in audience from the season premiere of The Big Bang Theory. The comedy follows a 9-year-old Sheldon Cooper growing up in East Texas. At a young age, his advanced mathematical and scientific mind isn't necessarily helpful when living in a town where football and church get all the attention. Vulnerable, gifted and naive, Sheldon is embarking on …

Cinemax announced today Banshee has been renewed for a third season. The Emmy-winning action drama is currently airing new Season 2 episodes on Fridays, and will return for its next season in 2015. (Source: TV by the Numbers) Click here to view the article