[Televisionary]

In recent years, it’s been a given that romantic pairs on television had to be subjected to the will-they or-won't-they dilemma—where couples as clearly in love as Ross-and-Rachel, Sam-and-Diane, or Jim-and-Pam were prevented from jumping into bed together for years, as the writers forced them through increasingly tight narrative hoops. These days, though, it seems like more and more TV couples just will. As writer-producers have sought to surprise the audience, they’re puncturing romantic tropes in the process. Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "The Death of Will-They-or-Won't-They," for which I talk to Community ’s Dan Harmon, Parks and Recreation ’s Mike Schur and Greg Daniels, and Bones ’ Hart Hanson about how TV is throwing off that age-old will-they-or-won’t-they paradigm in the post-Jim-and-Pam era.

"I'd be heartbroken if it went away." That's FOX President of Entertainment Kevin Reilly talking about sci-fi drama Fringe as the TCA Winter Press Tour rolls on, with FOX's Kevin Reilly and Peter Rice addressing the press. One topic widely expected to be discussed was the fate of FOX's Fringe , which will move from Thursdays to Fridays later this month. Among the other topics raised at the low-key (a change for FOX, given the previous years', uh, traditional hubbub) executive session: the future of Lie to Me, House , and Bones , Terra Nova , Lone Star , and more. So what did the two have to say? Let's take a look. Fringe : "I beg you not to write the eulogy prematurely," said Reilly. "It's been in a four-way scripted race. I want that audience to transfer to Fridays." And just like many of us, Reilly seems to really like Fringe : "I'd be heartbroken if it went away." Reilly said that, with the move to the Friday

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. And another one bites the dust. The axe has fallen on Noah Hawley's drama My Generation , which was cancelled by ABC after just two episodes. Production has come to a screeching halt on the series, which debuted to more than 5 million viewers in its initial airing and then plummeted a staggering 31 percent for the second episode. ABC has yet to announce a replacement for My Generation , which had the Thursday evening at 8 pm ET/PT timeslot. News comes on the heels of FOX's decision to can Lone Star after two airings, while all eyes are on ABC's Whole Truth and NBC's Outlaw , which mark the two most likely targets for cancellation, should ratings not improve. ( Hollywood Reporter 's The Live Feed ) Better fire up that invisible plane: The Hollywood Reporter 's James Hibberd and Borys Kit are reporting that Warner Bros. Television is said to be developing a modern-day take on DC Comics' Wonder Woman for te

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that Gwyneth Paltrow is in talks to join the cast of FOX's Glee in a two-episode story arc in which she would play a potential love interest for Matthew Morrison's Will Schuester. "According to rock-solid Glee sources, Gwyneth would play a substitute teacher in two episodes airing in November," writes Dos Santos. "Mr. Schuester gets sick, so Gwyneth's character steps in and takes over the glee club. The kids love her, and Will starts to fall for her... complicating his relationship with Emma (Jayma Mays)... I'm told Glee creator/executive producer/creative badass Ryan Murphy wrote this role expressly for Gwyneth, as the two are friends. If it all comes together, Ryan will be directing her first episode, which begins shooting in two weeks." Should the deal close, Paltrow would appear in two episodes slated to air in November. ( E! Online's Watch

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. It's official: TBS has cancelled comedy My Boys after four seasons. News comes after series stars Jordana Spiro and Kyle Howard had to withdraw from pilots that had been ordered to series due to their first position on the TBS comedy, whose days many suspected were already numbered. According to Variety 's Jon Weisman, roughly 14 months passed between the end of the third season and the beginning of the fourth season, which kicked off in July. One cast member--Jim Gaffigan--left between the seasons. Spiro's role on Love Bites was eliminated when she was unavailable as the show under went some retooling. ( Variety ) Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that John Schneider ( Smallville ) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on ABC's Desperate Housewives this season, where he will play the father to Brian Austin Green's Keith, the new handyman/contractor overseeing the remodeling of

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Deadline's Mike Fleming broke the news yesterday that Universal has landed the rights to Stephen King's massive multiple-novel series "The Dark Tower," and is developing an adaptation that will comprise both a feature film franchise as well as a television series element, an unprecedented use of the two platforms. Ron Howard will direct the first film as well as the first season of the television series that would follow on its heels; likewise both elements will be written by Akiva Goldsman, with Universal Media Studios attached as the studio. The first season of the series would use the same actors and focus on gunslinger Deschain after the events of the film, while the second season would revolve around Deschain's past. “What Peter [Jackson] did [with Lord of the Rings ] was a feat, cinematic history,” Howard told Fleming. “The approach we’re taking also stands on its own, but it’s driven by the material. I l

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Quite a fair amount of headlines and stories to get through today, so let's get cracking! E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that Joshua Jackson is possibly contemplating making a trip to Mystic Falls next season. The Fringe star is said to be weighing a possible guest stint on the CW's Vampire Diaries . "We talked about it," said Jackson about a conversation he had with Kevin Williamson at Comic-Con. "It turns out that he's not making a comedy with Vampire Diaries and it might be too inside baseball comedy if I popped up. But who knows... They're all too handsome." Meanwhile, was Dos Santos able to get any clues about Season Three of Fringe out of Pacey-Con's Jackson? "It picks up literally where it left off last year," said Jackson, "and our show just continues to get greater and more bizarre and strange and disgusting and wonderful every time we put it on the ai

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello and Andy Patrick are reporting that Amber Tamblyn ( The Unusuals ) will join the cast of FOX's House while Olivia Wilde is shooting feature film Cowboys and Aliens for Universal. Tamblyn has signed on to appear in a multiple-episode story arc where she will play " a whip-smart med student House (Hugh Laurie) recruits for his diagnostic team — despite the fact that she isn’t yet 100 percent qualified to treat patients" who will "have to find a way to adjust to her new mentor’s unique bedside manner." [Editor: as someone still mourning the loss of ABC's The Unusuals , I'm glad to see Tamblyn heading back to network television.] ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) Is there anything Betty White can't do? The octogenarian actress, hot off a streak that includes hosting Saturday Night Live , a slew of films, and a new sitcom ( Hot in Cleveland )

FOX today announced the launch dates for its new and returning series this fall. House and Lone Star will be the first two scripted series to launch on the network this autumn, with their respective seasons kicking off on Monday, September 20th. The following night brings the second season premiere of Glee and the launches of new comedies Raising Hope and Running Wilde on Tuesday. Hell's Kitchen takes over the two-hour block on Wednesdays, beginning September 22nd and Bones and Fringe return Thursday, September 24th, followed the next night with Human Target and The Good Guys . The full press release from FOX can be found below. FOX ANNOUNCES FALL PREMIERE DATES FOR THE 2010-2011 SEASON NEW DRAMA “LONE STAR” DEBUTS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 NEW COMEDIES “RAISING HOPE” AND “RUNNING WILDE” TO PREMIERE TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 Award-Winning Drama HOUSE Checks In Monday, September 20; GLEE Begins Sophomore Season Tuesday, September 21; Gordon Ramsay Serves Up New Season of HELL’S K

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. It's official: former Life on Mars star Jason O'Mara has signed on to topline FOX's new action-adventure series Terra Nova , following the successful close of his deal, according to Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. Series revolves around a family from the future who travels back in time to the Earth's prehistoric past in order to save mankind. O'Mara will play Jim Shannon, described as "a devoted father with a checkered past who guides his family through this new land of limitless beauty, mystery and terror." (The role was reportedly offered to Friday Night Lights star Kyle Chandler prior to O'Mara.) Alex Graves ( Fringe will direct the pilot. ( Deadline ) Back Stage's Jessica Jardine has an interview with True Blood 's Mariana Klaveno, who plays Bill's maker, the devious vampire Lorena. "That's one of the really brilliant things about the show," said Klaveno. "[The wr

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. In a surprise move, cabler TNT has ordered a third season of hyper-realistic cop drama Southland , commissioning ten episodes that will launch in January 2011. " Southland is a challenging, visceral show that engages viewers with its immersive style, provocative storylines and complex characters," said Michael Wright, EVP/head of programming, for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies, in a statement. "These qualities have made Southland a favorite among critics and appointment viewing for an extremely loyal audience." It's a sign of support from the cabler, which picked up the drama series after it was cancelled by NBC before it had even aired a single episode of its second season. TNT aired the six-episode sophomore season run earlier this year. [It's noted in this Variety article that the median viewer age of Southland --47--is younger than any other series on the channel.] (via press release) Entertainm

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 Tuesday morning television briefing. The Chicago Tribune 's Maureen Ryan is reporting that Paula Malcomson ( Caprica ) has been cast in an eight-episode story arc on Season Three of FX's Sons of Anarchy , where she will play a character named Maureen. Sons of Anarchy is expected to return to FX's lineup in September, with production slated to begin in roughly three weeks' time. ( Chicago Tribune 's The Watcher ) SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Seth Gabel ( Dirty Sexy Money ) has joined the cast of FOX's Fringe . Gabel will play the lead Fringe Division investigator in the alternate universe and is slated to make his first appearance during the season's two-part finale, airing May 13th and 20th, and could, according to Ausiello, also recur next season. ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) The second half of Maureen Ryan's mammoth interview with Chuck co-creator Chris Fedak is now live at