[Televisionary]

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Many had given up hope that FX's brilliant and labyrinthine legal drama Damages would survive another season, given the low ratings for the series' fantastically taut third season, which wrapped its run earlier this year. Not so: DirecTV has come to the aid of the Sony Picture Television- and FX Productions-produced series and has renewed the Glenn Close-led series for two seasons of ten episodes apiece. The only problem: it won't be airing on FX anymore as DirecTV has the exclusive rights to the series on The 101 Network. "We're excited to partner with Sony Pictures Television as we breathe new life into this outstanding drama," said Patty Ishimoto, general manager of The 101 Network and vice president of entertainment for DIRECTV, in a statement. "It's a win for our customers because only they will be able to see these new episodes and another great step forward for DIRECTV as we continue to buil...

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Showtime's Dexter is on a casting role. Variety 's Stuart Levine is reporting that Jonny Lee Miller ( Eli Stone ) is the latest to board the serial killer drama, signing on to appear in a multiple-episode story arc on Season Five of Dexter . Miller will play "a mysterious man who ends up tangled in a storyline with Julia Stiles, who is beginning her first season on the skein." ( Variety ) Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Jordana Spiro has exited NBC's midseason romantic anthology series Love Bites . Spiro's participation in the series was always in second position to her role on TBS comedy My Boys , which returns for its fourth season next month. "Although the odds appear slim that TBS will renew the show for a fifth season (season 4 premieres July 25), it was a risk NBC apparently wasn’t willing to take," writes Ausiello. "It’s unclear if her role will be recast....

Welcome to the unofficial first day of network upfronts 2010. NBC this afternoon announced its plans for fall, ahead of its official upfront tomorrow, unveiling a schedule that includes several new scripted series, including dramas Undercovers, Chase, The Event, Law & Order: Los Angeles, Outlaw, Outsourced, Love Bites, Harry's Law , and The Cape , comedies Friends With Benefits, Perfect Couples , and The Paul Reiser Show , and reality series School Pride and America's Next Great Restaurant . Having already made the bulk of their pickup announcements over the last two weeks, the word from the Peacock wasn't all that surprising in terms of new content, though the vast majority of the ordered series will sit on the shelf until midseason, with only  Law & Order: Los Angeles, Undercovers, The Chase, The Event, Outsourced, Love Bites , and Outlaw earning spots on the fall sked. What is surprising was that NBC would shift Law & Order: Special Victims Unit out of t...

J.J. Abrams espionage dramedy Undercovers is about to get some company. NBC today announced three more series orders for this fall, issuing greenlights to thriller The Event , romantic anthology Love Bites and comedy Outsourced . All three were much-buzzed about pilots the last few weeks with NBC widely expected to order all of them to series. "Each of these three series reflects a unique point of view and distinct style of quality that fits perfectly with NBC’s dedication to rebuilding the schedule," said Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios, in a statement. "These series showcase excellent writing and casting, and represent the kind of scripted programming our network and studio are committed to producing." [Editor: having read all three scripts, I'm scratching my head the most about The Event , which I found to be a ludicrous thriller with an unsurprising "surprise" twist at the end of the first hour...