[Televisionary]

Is your favorite show safe? I take a look at what’s on tap for the broadcast networks for the 2013-14 season, which shows are coming back, and which ones have gotten the axe. At The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "TV Upfronts 2013: NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, and The CW By the Numbers," in which I offer a running total (which will be updated throughout the next week) at all the broadcast network shows that have been renewed, ordered, and cancelled as we move into upfront presentations week for the broadcast networks. Every May, advertisers and members of the press descend on New York City as the broadcast networks host their annual upfront presentations, where they will unveil their fall schedules, trot out talent, and announce which shows will be coming back next season and which ones won’t. The Daily Beast will be reporting on every move being made by ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, and The CW as they prepare to launch their 2013-2014 schedules. As the week wears on, The ...

Over at The Daily Beast, we're keeping you up-to-date with all of the news, renewals, cancellations, and series orders coming out of this week's broadcast network upfronts. You can read our Network Scorecard , which keeps track of all of the renewals and cancelations as well as reactions to the scheduling changes and check out video promos for all of the networks' new shows. And you can read detailed descriptions--as well as insider information--about all of the new series heading to your television in the fall and spring. Jace Lacob and Maria Elena Fernandez take a look at what’s coming up and what’s coming back on TV this fall as television's network upfronts week comes to a close. The CW moved Supernatural to Wednesdays, ordered five new shows, renewed Hart of Dixie, and canceled Secret Circle and Ringer. CBS moved Two and a Half Men to Thursdays and The Mentalist to Sundays, while The Good Wife is staying put. ABC renewed Revenge (moving it to Sundays at 9 p.m....

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 ) ...

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 your Friday morning television briefing. Could ABC be dipping its toes back in the Alias well? According to a story by E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos, ABC Studios is said to be considering a reboot of J.J. Abrams' Alias , which starred Jennifer Garner as superspy Sydney Bristow. "It's only very initial talk at this point, but I'm told that the development folks over at the Alphabet network are considering doing a new version of Alias that would borrow some elements of the original series," writes Dos Santos. "But the series would most likely not include any sort of complex mythological throughline such as the Rambaldi prophecy (a storyline that lost some of the fans). According to this source, ABC is hoping to hold onto its lost Lost audience with a re-envisioned J.J. Abrams series, in light of FlashForward not working out so well. (It was canceled last week.)" [Editor: Interestingly, ABC seems slow to get back into the superspy game, ...

A day ahead of its official upfront presentation, CBS announced that it had canceled seven series, including The New Adventures of Old Christine, Ghost Whisperer, Cold Case, Miami Medical, NUMB3RS, Gary Unmarried and Accidentally on Purpose and had issued reprieves for Medium and Rules of Engagement . CBS is expected to announce orders for new dramas Hawaii Five-O, Defenders, and Blue Blood , comedies Bleep My Dad Says and Mike & Molly , and the untitled Criminal Minds spinoff. It's still possible that the Warner Bros. Television-produced Old Christine could turn up on ABC as Steve McPherson has previously indicated his desire to acquire the Julia Louis-Dreyfus-led comedy should CBS opt not to renew it... and the same fate could hold true for supernatural drama Ghost Whisperer , which could be saved by ABC as well. Charlie Sheen, meanwhile, has successfully concluded a contract renegotiation that will see him return to CBS' Two and a Half Men for two additional seas...

Over at The Daily Beast, I've been updating our gallery of new broadcast network television series, as the networks unveil their fall schedules and announce new programming at this week's upfronts. You can check out the gallery at The Daily Beast and keep track of all of the renewals and cancellation by visiting my post "Bring On the New TV Shows!" (and get to the gallery directly by clicking here ). I'll be continually updating the gallery with new photography, descriptions (not pulled straight from the press releases, thank you very much), and tidbits that you won't see elsewhere. In the meantime, I'm curious to know which new series are you most excited about? And which do you think are doomed to fail? Head to the comments section to discuss.

It's official: NBC has confirmed that it has canceled Law & Order , which will end its run on May 24th, tying with Gunsmoke for the title of longest running television drama. News comes a day after conflicting reports about the fate of the original flavor Law & Order , which has aired on NBC for twenty seasons, but after news of eleventh hour talks evaporated, NBC confirmed the original report by Deadline that the axe had fallen on the historic series by releasing an official statement. The same press release announced the renewal of Law & Order: SVU and confirmed rumors from several months back that the network was developing yet another iteration of the legal procedural, this time set in Los Angeles, and entitled Law & Order: Los Angeles (or just LOLA ). The series, from executive producer Dick Wolf and Blake Masters ( Brotherhood ), is currently in pre-production. Any casting attachments have yet to be announced. "The full measure of the collective contr...

Not content to be left out of today's announcements, ABC has made its first series pickup for the 2010-11 season, ordering superhero drama No Ordinary Family to series, according to The Hollywood Reporter . Project, from ABC Studios and Berlanti Television, is written by Jon Feldman, directed by David Semel, and executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Michael Chiklis, Morgan Wandeell, and David Semel. No Ordinary Family stars Michael Chiklis, Julie Benz, Jimmy Bennett, Christina Chang, Romany Malco, Autumn Reeser, and Kay Panabaker. The pilot episode featured guest star Tate Donovan. [Editor: having read the pilot script, I dare say that Donovan, who plays doomed pilot Mitch McCutcheon, will be back.] Here's how ABC describes the project: "The Powells are about to go from ordinary to extraordinary. After 16 years of marriage, Jim and Stephanie’s relationship lacked the spark it once had, and their family life now consists of balancing work and their two children; leaving li...

Just a few days ahead of its upfront presentation to advertisers, FOX announced that it had ordered four pilots to series, adding two new dramas and two comedies, and has reportedly issued renewal notices to dramas Lie to Me and Human Target . Shawn Ryan's cop drama Ridealong and bigamist con man drama Lone Star (formerly known as Midland ) and comedies Traffic Light and Keep Hope Alive (from My Name is Earl creator Greg Garcia) have all been given greenlights and will be part of the scheduled unveiled officially on Monday by FOX brass at their upfront presentation, according to The Hollywood Reporter 's James Hibberd . Move marks the first official orders for the fall season from FOX. No word as of yet on some of the other buzz-worthy projects awaiting greenlights such as Terra Nova and Breakout Kings . Meanwhile, the network surprised some by issuing reprieves for Lie to Me and Human Target , the former of which will continue without showrunner Shawn Ryan, departing t...

Another day, another pickup at NBC. The Peacock today announced that it had given an early series order to new drama Chase from executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Series, created by Jennifer Johnson ( Cold Case ) has landed a spot on the schedule for the 2010-11 season, the fifth series order handed out by NBC thus far. News comes on the heels of last week's orders for Undercovers, The Event, Love Bites, and Outsourced . Additional pickups will be announced before NBC unveils their fall schedule to advertisers a week from today. " Chase has all the undeniable elements of a thrill ride that you would expect from a Jerry Bruckheimer action series,” said Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios, in a statement. "Equally important, it also features a great cast. Kelli Giddish is a breakout star as the lead.” Here's how NBC is pitching the procedural drama series: Chase is a fast-paced drama that drops viewers smack into 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...

Looks like the Peacock is in the J.J. Abrams business. NBC today confirmed that it had given a series order to romantic dramedy Undercovers , from executive producers J.J. Abrams and Josh Reims, the first series pickup for the 2010-11 season. The announcement was made by Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios, and Jeff Gaspin, Chairman, NBC Universal Television Entertainment. “We have tremendous confidence in this promising series and feel this is a great way to kick off our upcoming Upfront development announcements,” said Gaspin. “J.J. has delivered another signature series, along with our partners at Warner Bros., and we couldn’t be happier.” “Having J.J. on our creative team is a great reason for celebration,” said Bromstad. “In Undercovers , J.J. and Josh have found a breakout couple that is rich in character and brimming with romance and action. We feel he’s found the perfect cast.” Here's how NBC is positioning the series: ...

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello talks to 24 executive producer Howard Gordon about this season's ridiculous storyline involving Katee Sackhoff's Dana Walsh. "God almighty there has been a Dana backlash," Gordon told Ausiello. "I understand how it appears [to be] tiresome and lazy storytelling, but I really would betray anyone to try to sit in our chair and figure out how to do 24 continuous, real-time episodes, without using certain devices. I would implore people to be more patient with Dana." [Editor: out of curiosity, I'd love to know what readers think of Dana's plotline...] ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos has more details on Matt Damon's upcoming appearance on 30 Rock, where he'll be playing--gasp!--a love interest for Tina Fey's Liz Lemon and he may appear in more than one episode. "Though 30 Rock 's produc...

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. AMC has ordered six episodes of zombie drama series The Walking Dead , based on the Robert Kirkman comic book series of the same name. Production on the six-episode first season of The Walking Dead is set to begin in June in Atlanta, with Kirkman serving as executive producer alongside writer/director Frank Darabont, Gale Ann Hurd, David Alpert, and Charles "Chic" Eglee. News comes as cabler AMC begins to cast the production, with Jon Bernthal ( The Pacific ) attached to star as Shane; the cabler has targeted an October 2010 launch date for The Walking Dead . "AMC strives to make original shows that play like movies and The Walking Dead is a perfect complement to the network's celebrated movie franchise, Fearfest, which has always been an important destination for our audience," said Charlie Collier, AMC President, in a statement. "With its depth of story and the remarkable talent attached, The Walking D...

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Ahead of its publication, Entertainment Weekly has released some excerpts from Michael Ausiello's in-print Q&A with former Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl, in which she dishes about why she left the ABC medical drama, Emmygate, Isiahgate, and, well, a heap of controversies. "Yeah, I think so," said Heigl when asked if the parting was amicable. "I think it was a little bit shocking for everybody, and a little bit like, 'Can’t we find a way to work it out?' And I really wanted to, but at the same time I just felt like I couldn’t sacrifice my relationship with my child. Naleigh and I will always be a little bit complicated. I really had to work on bonding with her because I was obsessed with her, but she could really do without me. [Laughs] It was really hard because she loved Josh so much but she just kind of tolerated me. And I want this child to know that she will forever have me in her corn...

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. Former White Collar co-star (and The Middleman star) Natalie Morales has landed a recurring role on NBC's Parks and Recreation , according to Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello. Morales has signed on to Parks for a multiple-episode story arc in which she will play Lucy, described as "a smart and funny busgirl at a local Pawnee bar." [Editor: Hollywood Reporter 's Nellie Andreeva, meanwhile, indicates that Morales will be appearing "in at least two episodes," the same ones that are set to feature guest stars Rob Lowe and Adam Scott.] ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files , Hollywood Reporter ) The Chicago Tribune 's Maureen Ryan is reporting that Caprica executive producer Jane Espenson--who previously wrote for Battlestar Galactica and Buffy the Vampire Slayer --will write a script for HBO's upcoming fantasy drama series Game of Thrones , based on the George R.R. Martin nove...