[Televisionary]

Over the course of the last three seasons, we've gotten to know the, uh, intimate secrets and details of the double life of Hannah/Belle (Billie Piper), the working girl attempting to life her life and figure out just what she wants out of it. Tonight marks the launch of the fourth and final season of the frothy and fun Secret Diary of a Call Girl and we see Belle standing at the edge of a precipice: Will she allow herself the chance to be happy with Ben (Iddo Goldberg)? Can she ever be happy or hope to settle down, given her line of work? Will she choose between personal fulfillment, professional success, or something that blends the two? As Season Four--which launches tonight on Showtime--begins, Belle finds herself grappling with a series of transformative changes in her life. She's back in London after a luxurious gig that took her far away from her life and from Ben, of whom she's still sure of what the future holds. Returning to the city, she's now a proud homeow...

Yes, spring is finally here (or thereabouts, anyway), and that brings warmer weather and, very fortunately, a slew of new and returning television series. Over at The Daily Beast, you can check out my latest feature, "15 Reasons to Watch TV This Spring," which includes a look at such series as Mildred Pierce, Game of Thrones, The Borgias, The Kennedys, Camelot, The Killing, Body of Proof, Upstairs Downstairs, and returning series such as Nurse Jackie, The United States of Tara, Treme, Doctor Who, Top Chef: Masters, Secret Diary of a Call Girl and the NBC premiere of the final season of Friday Night Lights . What are you most excited about that arrives on the airwaves between now and May? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Showtime's Matt Blank kicked off the festivities on Day Two of the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour by offering a look at what's coming up for their slate of original programming over the next six months or so. "Showtime continues to thrive in every part of our business," said Blank. "We received more 2010 Emmy nominations for our original series than any other premium cable network." Here are some highlights from the very brief session, during which Blank acknowledged the behind-the-scenes changes going on at the pay cabler, where Robert Greenblatt has stepped down and will be succeeded by David Nevins. Weeds comes back in August. Guest stars this season will include Richard Dreyfus, Alanis Morrissette, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Linda Hamilton, and Peter Stomare. The Big C , which launches on August 16th as well, will feature Idris Elba, Cynthia Nixon, and Liam Neeson, whose participation was announced earlier this week. Dexter 's latest sea...

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. The Hollywood Reporter 's James Hibberd is reporting that Showtime has renewed Billie Piper-led dark comedy Secret Diary of a Call Girl for a fourth season, which would be the series' last. The series, which airs on ITV2 in the UK, is expected to return in early 2011 and the final season would likely focus on the relationship between Piper's Belle/Hannah and her best friend Ben (Iddo Goldberg). ( Hollywood Reporter 's The Live Feed ) UPDATE: According to Showtime's press release, "Season Four, which will be comprised of eight, half-hour episodes, will follow Belle (Piper), an internationally successful author, torn between her career and her feelings for her best friend Ben (Iddo Goldberg). Additionally, Season Four will feature a storyline where the high-end London call girl visits New York City." The Wrap's Hunter Walker has details on HBO's latest pilot, Tilda , the Diane Keaton-led comedy wh...

The musings of ambitious call girl Belle de Jour (Billie Piper) have made for some tongue-in-cheek and witty narration but the third season of Showtime's British series Secret Diary of a Call Girl finds art imitating life as Belle--or Hannah as she's known outside of the bedroom--authors a tell-all book about her life as one of London's most sought-after, er, companions. Season Three of Secret Diary of a Call Girl , which begins tonight on Showtime, finds Hannah grappling with her newfound notoriety while also attempting to remain anonymous. It's a conundrum tantalizingly set up in the season's opening episode, in which she goes undercover at her own book launch party, only discover that her publisher Duncan (James D'Arcy) has hired a staggeringly stupid blonde bimbo to pose as "Belle de Jour" and read an excerpt from her book. It's a nice moment that challenges both Hannah and our own preconceptions about who prostitutes are and who they should ...

Showtime's British comedy series Secret Diary of a Call Girl returns with its third season tonight (or at least a behind-the-scenes special before the official launch next week) as Hannah (Billie Piper) returns for another round of clients and romantic entanglements. Head over to The Daily Beast to read my latest piece, entitled "Diary of a Not-So-Secret Call Girl," in which I talk to series lead Billie Piper about meeting the real-life Belle de Jour, Dr. Brooke Magnanti, and about what's coming up on Season Three of Secret Diary . Season Three of Secret Diary of a Call Girl begins tonight with a behind-the-scenes special in which Piper and Magnanti meet at 10 pm ET/PT on Showtime.

Wondering what to watch tonight? Chuck , of course, but there's also three premieres tonight that you need to be aware of and should definitely tune in for... and none of them actually conflict with NBC's Chuck . (Always a perk.) At 9 pm ET/PT, it's the US premiere of Iain Morris and Damon Beesley's British comedy The Inbetweeners on BBC America. But this isn't a comedy of social conventions but rather a raucous and touching British sitcom that's almost the anti- Skins in a way. Laugh and cringe in equal measure as four sex-starved social outcasts attempt to fit in, find love, and lose it, not always in that order. (You can read my review of the first three episodes of The Inbetweeners here and my review of the first two seasons here .) Season Three of FX's gripping legal thriller Damages begins tonight at 10 pm ET/PT and gets off to a rollicking start by offering a riveting case, new mysteries, and old rivalries. You do not want to miss this season. Yo...

Fans of Showtime's imported British drama series Secret Diary of a Call Girl might want to check out the second season on DVD, which is being released today. After all, Season Two of Secret Diary of a Call Girl finds Hannah, a.k.a. high class call girl Belle ( Doctor Who 's Billie Piper), branching out onto her own while juggling all matter of problems, not least of which is her confused relationship with best friend Ben (Iddo Goldberg), a flighty protege named Bambi ( The Beautiful Life 's Ashley Madekwe), and the prospect of genuine happiness with boyfriend Alex ( Dead Like Me 's Callum Blue). The only problem is that Hannah hasn't quite gotten around to telling Alex, a dashing doctor recently relocated to London, what she does for a living. (Or who she does, really.) Season Two of the witty and provocative series finds Hannah living a double-life once again, lying to Alex even as she falls for him and trying to work up the courage to reveal to him who she reall...

Due to the loveliness that is a three-day weekend, I didn't quite get around to discussing everything that aired this past weekend, although I did manage to write up my theories and thoughts about the Cylon race, past and future, on Battlestar Galactica and offer an illuminating Talk Back for the series premiere of FOX's new drama series Dollhouse . However, rather than let the week go by without discussing what else was on this past weekend, I just wanted to share a few thoughts about Sunday night's premiere of The Amazing Race and new installments of HBO's Flight of the Conchords and Showtime's Secret Diary of a Call Girl . The long weekend might be over and the work week sadly beginning, but that doesn't mean we can't dish about Hannah and Alex, Mike White and his dad, and Kiwis Jemaine and Bret on this rainy Tuesday morning. The Amazing Race . I'll admit that I was considering giving up on TAR after a lackluster season that saw more drama at the ...

Weeds ' Nancy Botwin might get more press but the Showtime girl I can't get enough of is Belle. That's right, the British drama Secret Diary of a Call Girl returns to Showtime on Sunday at 10:30 pm ET/PT for a second season of secrets, lies, clients, and, well romance. Billie Piper ( Doctor Who ) returns as Hannah, a down-to-earth girl who works nights as a high-class call girl with the pseudonym of Belle du Jour. The only problem is that her family has no idea what she does for a living, a fact that Hannah goes to great lengths to maintain, including the use of two different phones, two different names, and two different halves of herself. I had the opportunity to watch the first four episodes of Season Two, kicking off later this week, and immediately fell under Piper's spell once again. As in Season One, which aired last year on Showtime, Secret Diary of a Call Girl is darkly seductive, slick, and mordantly funny. While the subject matter is salacious, it's sof...

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. But is it The Pattern? The big news is, of course, the full season pick up for FOX's freshman drama Fringe , bringing this season's total to 22 episodes. "We're having a blast working on this show with this great team of producers and amazing cast," said FOX Entertainment president Kevin Reilly. "The series has really taken off creatively, and it's exciting to see that the audience is responding. We believe this is the first full season of many years to come." The pickup for Fringe marks the second full season order so far this year; last month, the CW ordered a full season of 90210 . To date, Fringe has ranked as the number one new series among adults 18-49 this season. ( Variety ) Pushing Daisies ' second season launch plummeted in the ratings, sadly. "Despite strong reviews, the return of Daisies (6.3 million viewers, 2.0/6) had the steepest drop of any show this fall, declining a ...

I'm curious to know what everyone thought of Showtime's two program launches last night, which saw the return of Weeds (now in its fourth season) to the lineup and the addition of British import Secret Diary of a Call Girl to the mix as well. If you couldn't tell from my advance review of both series, I was completely captivated by Secret Diary of a Call Girl and by Billie Piper's incandescent performance as Hannah/Belle in the ITV2 series which aired in Blighty last year. Showtime was definitely smart not to buy the format and remake it here in the US but to just air the original British production as is; it's absolutely perfect the way it is and I can't imagine very many young actresses pulling off the combination of vulnerability and sexual confidence that Piper manages to effortlessly deliver. (You can read my original advance review of Secret Diary of a Call Girl here .) As for Weeds , I thought that the Season Four premiere was a sign that the series, w...

If you remember Billie Piper best from her role as Rose Tyler, the brash companion to the Doctor on BBC's Doctor Who reinvention, her new series may be quite an eye-opener. Piper stars in Showtime's delicious new import Secret Diary of a Call Girl , which is itself based a blog and book created by the pseudonymous Belle de Jour. The ITV2 series, written by Lucy Prebble, revolves around a twenty-something Londoner named Hannah who poses as a legal secretary to throw off the scent from her friends and family that she's actually a high priced call girl who goes by the name of (you guessed it!) Belle. Lest you think that this is a depressing look at one woman's descent into hell, complete with--as Hannah puts it--drug addiction, child support, and other unsavory motivations to enter the sex trade, think again. Hannah claims that she likes her job, loves sex and money (though one has to wonder which takes precedence) and even has an agent, Stephanie (played by Cherie Lunghi...