[Televisionary]

We’re starting our summer at a bit of a disadvantage: there is no new season of Mad Men to look forward to this year, as we’ll have to wait until March 2012 to find out what happens to Don Draper and the other staffers at Draper Cooper Sterling Pryce. It’s enough to put a damper on anyone’s television-viewing this summer, but there are still some bright points amid a series of repeats and burn-offs like NBC’s Love Bites . (Seriously, avoid that one like you would the plague.) Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, entitled "Summer 2011 TV Preview: 15 Reasons to Watch TV This Summer," in which I round up what’s new and noteworthy on the telly in the coming months, from True Blood and Torchwood: Miracle Day to British period drama The Hour and the return of Damages and Breaking Bad . All in all, 15 reasons to come in from the warmth of the summer evening and sit down on the couch for a few hours. What are you most excited about heading to the small scree

Warm up a bottle of Tru Blood, because we're heading back to the Louisiana bayou for another season come June. HBO today announced the official launch date for Season Four of the vampire drama, which will kick off its twelve-episode season on Sunday, June 26th at 9 pm ET/PT. The pay cabler also announced return dates for Curb Your Enthusiasm , which will launch its ten-episode eighth season on Sunday, July 10th at 10 pm ET/PT, and the final season of Entourage , which will begin on Sunday, July 24th at 10:30 pm. Glad to finally have a date to circle on your calendar, True Blood fans? You're not the only ones anxious to sink your teeth into the fourth season this summer...

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. HBO yesterday announced that it had renewed Larry David vehicle Curb Your Enthusiasm for an eighth season of ten episodes, slated to air in 2011. Production will begin this summer in New York and Los Angeles. "After much soul searching – and by the way, it was nowhere to be found – I have decided to do another season of Curb ,” said Larry David in a statement. "I look forward to the end of shooting, when I can once again resume the hunt for my elusive soul. I know itʼs here somewhere or perhaps in the rugged mountainous regions of Pakistan." The renewal was announced by Michael Lombardo, president, Programming Group and West Coast Operations, HBO. "Larry always loves to paint himself into a corner, and after the incredibly wonderful seventh season of Curb , you have to ask, "How does he ever top this?' But he always finds a way," said Lombardo. "We canʼt wait to see what he does in season ei

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. Looks like The Walking Dead has grabbed its lead (and fortunately not feasted on his brain): British actor Andrew Lincoln ( Teachers, This Life, Love Actually ) has been cast as Rick Grimes in AMC and Frank Darabont's adaptation of Robert Kirkman zombie comic series, which has been ordered for six episode. Series, which is set to launch in October, will revolve around a group of human survivors who attempt to find a place to live after a global apocalypse renders the majority of the planet's population into zombies. Lincoln will star opposite Jon Bernthal, who plays his police partner, Shane. Meanwhile, Sons of Anarchy 's Jack LoGiudice has come aboard the series as a co-executive producer. ( Variety ) The Chicago Tribune 's Maureen Ryan has a brand-new interview with Chuck 's Yvonne Strahovski, in which they discuss the major plot twist that occurred in this week's episode and what's coming up on the n

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Huzzah! Just a few days after returning Nurse Jackie and United States of Tara to the lineup, pay cabler Showtime has handed out series renewals to both comedies, ordering twelve-episode third seasons for both, which will begin production later this year. "Showtime is enormously proud of these two series starring two of the best actresses working today," said Showtime President of Entertainment Robert Greenblatt. "Both are iconic shows for our brand and our thanks to the dedicated producers, cast, and crews who work so hard to make them so great. Edie Falco's portrayal of the fierce Jackie is another extraordinary example of her range and brilliance, and recent Emmy and Golden Globe wins for Toni Collette in her tour de force role as a woman with multiple personalities put her in a class by herself. Strong women will continue to rule on this network for a long time to come." (via press release) Sayonara Heidi

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. It was only a matter of time before someone snapped up River Tam. Former Firefly and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles star Summer Glau, who most recently appeared in a multiple-episode story arc on Dollhouse this season, has landed one of the leads in NBC's vigilante drama pilot The Cape . Project, from writer Tom Wheeler and directed by Simon West, revolves around a a disgraced former cop (David Lyons), framed for a crime he didn't commit, who becomes a costumed vigilante in order to clear his name. Glau will star opposite Lyons, James Frain, and Dorian Missick, and will play Orwell, described as "a cute and intrepid investigative blogger who fearlessly goes after corrupt cops and costumed bad guys" and who "gets physical and is quite capable of kicking ass." If that isn't a part made for Glau, I don't know what is. ( Hollywood Reporter ) Los Angeles Times ' Denise Martin talks to Pa

The Paley Center for Media has announced the lineup for the the 27th Annual William S. Paley Television Festival (known affectionately to its attendees as PaleyFest). Critical darling Modern Family will kick off the festival on February 26th. Other series getting individual sessions include ABC's Lost , CW's The Vampire Diaries , FOX's Glee , NBC's Community , ABC's Cougar Town ABC's FlashForward , TNT's Men of a Certain Age , CBS' NCIS , Showtime's Dexter , AMC's Breaking Bad , and HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm , the latter of which will be the festival's final offering this year. Additionally, keep your eyes peeled for Seth MacFarlane and Friends, an evening celebrating McFarlane's animated comedies Family Guy, American Dad , and The Cleveland Show . The day-by-day breakdown of the festival can be found below. (All panels begin at 7 pm.) Feb. 26th: Modern Family Feb. 27th : Lost March 1st: NCIS March 3rd: Community March 4th: Dexte

Looking to discuss last night's season finale of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm and the latest episode of CBS' The Amazing Race ? Head over to the Los Angeles Times /Show Tracker site where you can read my takes on both episodes, including last night's Seinfeld -centric season finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm and the latest installment of CBS' The Amazing Race , which featured some whiny behavior, dirty gamesmanship, and a laughing opera singer . Be sure to head to the comments section to weigh in on both episodes.

Looking to discuss last night's episodes of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm and CBS' The Amazing Race ? Head over to the Los Angeles Times /Show Tracker site where you can read my takes on both episodes, including last night's "Table Read" episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm (complete with a parody on Michael Richard's controversial 2006 comments) and what will likely come to be known as the pixelated crotch episode of CBS' The Amazing Race . Be sure to head to the comments section to weigh in on both episodes.

Looking to discuss the latest episodes of CBS' The Amazing Race and HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm ? You're in luck. Head over to the Los Angeles Times /Show Tracker site, where you can read my take on last night's episodes of both series. In "The Amazing Race: For Whom the Bell Tolls," I take a look at last night's episode which featured feats of strength, counting, and herring-eating as well as some tears. You can also read my take ("Curb Your Enthusiasm: Swan's Way") on last night's episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm , which was a bit of a return to form for the absurdist comedy, which this week depicted Larry accidentally killing a man, somewhat intentionally killing a black swan, and basically making a mess of everything he touched, not least of which his mother's headstone. Head to the comments to discuss both.

Looking to discuss the latest episodes of CBS' The Amazing Race and HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm ? You're in luck. Head over to the Los Angeles Times /Show Tracker site, where you can read my take on last night's episodes of both series. In " The Amazing Race : Slip and slide," I explore what some people aren't willing to do, even with a million dollars at stake. And, yes, deal with the push heard around the world head-on. Switching channels, I explain why I am still scratching my head over the oddly surreal episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm in a piece entitled " Curb Your Enthusiasm : Trust your gut," following an episode "overflowing with flashbacks, splashbacks, murder, an arrest for napkin theft, a bald police lineup, a urine-stained Jesus painting, a suicide attempt, and finally life-saving belly flab." Head to the comments to discuss both.

Looking to discuss the latest episode of HBO's painfully funny comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm ? Head over to my piece, entitled " Curb Your Enthusiasm : Wendy wheelchair," on the Los Angeles Times /Show Tracker site, where you can read my take on the latest installment of the Larry David-created series ("Denise Handicapped") and discuss your feelings about the episode. What did you think of this week's episode? Was Larry in the wrong or in the right for the most part? How much did you cringe this week? Speak out in the comments section!

Looking to discuss the latest episode of HBO's painfully funny comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm ? Head over to my piece, entitled "Curb Your Enthusiasm: Can't Take My Eyes Off of You," on the Los Angeles Times /Show Tracker site , where you can read my take on the latest installment of the Larry David-created series ("The Hot Towel") and discuss your feelings about the episode. What did you think of this week's episode? Was Larry in the wrong or in the right for the most part? And would you have freaked out at Ted and Mary? Speak out in the comments section!

Looking to discuss the latest episode of HBO's painfully funny comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm ? Head over to my piece, entitled "Curb Your Enthusiasm: The C Word," on the Los Angeles Times /Show Tracker site , where you can read my take on the latest episode of the Larry David-created series ("Vehicular Fellatio") and discuss your feelings about the episode, which I thought was one of the funniest--and most painful--to date. Thought Larry was crazy to concoct a plan to get Loretta to break up with him? Wish he wouldn't have agreed to pay for Dean's broken glasses? Astounded that Dr. Trundle beat Larry mercilessly with a copy of her "Walking Out on Cancer" book? Sound off in the comments.

Looking to talk about Curb Your Enthusiasm ? You can head over to the Los Angeles Times /Show Tracker site to find out my thoughts on last night's season premiere of Curb Your Enthusiasm ("Funkhouser's Crazy Sister"), where I'll be discussing each week's installment every Monday morning. This week's piece can be found here .

Some more self-promotion this morning as the Los Angeles Times /Show Tracker has today run my first piece for their website, an interview with Curb Your Enthusiasm creator/star Larry David. I caught up with David earlier this week to discuss Season Seven of Curb (which launches Sunday evening), that Seinfeld reunion, Larry's relationships with Cheryl and Loretta, sacred cows, and much more. You can read the piece in full here at the Los Angeles Times /Show Tracker site . Curb Your Enthusiasm 's seventh season launches Sunday evening at 9 pm ET/PT on HBO.

There's a lot of anticipation for Season Seven of Larry David's absurdly entertaining Curb Your Enthusiasm , which returns to the HBO lineup on September 20th after a hiatus of nearly two years. For one, there's a meta plot in there about the reunion of the main castmembers of NBC's Seinfeld , which David co-created with Jerry Seinfeld. Acting as a throughline for the season, the Seinfeld reunion not only allowed David to rope in his former Seinfeld actors for one last time but also serves to fulfill the audience's desire to see the quartet reunite. Sort of, anyway. Rather than actually write a Seinfeld reunion, David has given us a about him writing a Seinfeld reunion. And this being Larry David, there's a pretty selfish reason behind his desire to give the audience what they want. (Just what that is, you'll have to wait and see.) I had the opportunity the other day to watch the first three hysterical episodes of Curb's seventh season and was inst

The cast of Seinfeld will reunite for a look at what happened to their characters eleven years after the end of Seinfeld 's run on NBC. Sort of, anyway. The reunion is actually a major storyline threaded through the upcoming seventh season of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm , which launches on September 20th. The cast of Seinfeld , including Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards--will each appear in approximately five episodes apiece on Curb this season as the fictional Larry David gets the cast together for a reunion special. "For years, I've been asked about a Seinfeld reunion... and I would always say no," David told reporters at yesterday's Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour gathering about the impetus for the idea. "It's a lame idea. But it might be very funny to do on Curb ." Given David's disinclination from staging a Seinfeld reunion, just does the fictional Larry David give in and dec

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. I'm back from vacation so there's loads of television-related headlines to catch up on. Buckle your seatbelts; it's going to be a bumpy ride! Weeds star Mary-Louise Parker has put those rumors that she's leaving the Showtime comedy series to bed, stating that she's sticking around for quite some time. "Sometimes when I think about the show ending I get sad. I just can't imagine what it's going to be like," Parker told E! Online's Watch with Kristin. "We for sure have one more year, so I don't have to be sad yet. I can smile a little bit longer. I would stay on, but at a certain point it would get a little bit tired. It'd be like, we don't need to see Nancy and Andy running around in their 60s. I think it will depend on how this season goes, as to whether or not it will have a little velocity for staying around a little longer." ( E! Online's Watch with Kristin ) When

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Lost co-creator J.J. Abrams tells The Guardian that the writing staff on the ABC series, which airs its fifth season finale next week, approach the series a bit like Charles Dickens approached his own serialized storytelling. "It's a leap of faith doing any serialized storytelling," said Abrams in a new interview. "We had an idea early on, but certain things we thought would work well didn't. We couldn't have told you which characters would be in which seasons. We couldn't tell you who would even survive. You feel that electricity. It's almost like live TV. We don't quite know what might happen. I'm sure when Charles Dickens was writing, he had a sense of where he was going - but he would make adjustments as he went along. You jump into it, knowing there's something great out there to find." ( Guardian ) (SPOILER) Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello talks with Bones sta