[Televisionary]

Looking to get caught up on Veronica Mars before the movie comes out on March 14? Turns out, the only place you can do so now is on Amazon Prime Instant. At BuzzFeed, you can read my latest feature, "9 TV Shows You Can Only Stream On Amazon Prime," in which I run nine shows that you can only watch on Amazon Prime. 1. Veronica Mars A long time ago, we used to be friends… and you used to be able to stream Veronica Mars on Netflix. But those days are long gone and on Jan. 9, Amazon Prime Instant announced that it had secured exclusive streaming rights to all three seasons of the UPN/CW sleuth series. And what perfect timing to get caught up (or refresh yourself) on all of the intrigues in Neptune: The feature film sequel opens on March 14, marshmallows. 2. Downton Abbey Episodes of Julian Fellowes’ well-heeled period drama — which airs Stateside on PBS’ Masterpiece Classic and centers on the Crawley clan and their servants — can only be seen on Amazon Prime Inst...

TNT’s gripping police drama Southland is back for a fifth season, but hardly anyone’s tuning in. My take on television’s most criminally overlooked show. Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, " Southland : Television’s Most Underrated Drama," in which I take a look at a superlative yet underrated drama: Southland , which returned last week for a fifth season. Why aren’t more of you watching Southland ? Created by Ann Biderman ( NYPD Blue ) and executive-produced by John Wells ( ER ), TNT’s uncompromising cop drama returned for a fifth season last week to only 1.16 million viewers, down 34 percent from last year. In a television season that has given us dreck like Zero Hour, Mob Doctor , and Do No Harm, Southland should be a hit. That it’s not is a shame, as Southland remains one of the most morally complex and insightful dramas on television today. It deftly juggles multiple crimes and incidents, as well as the private lives of these LAPD office...

Larry Hagman, best known as the dastardly J.R. Ewing, died Friday at age 81. I explore the indelible mark Hagman left on television and popular culture. At The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, " Dallas Loses Its Schemer," in which I offer an obituary and appreciation for the late Dallas actor Larry Hagman, who passed away on Friday at the age of 81. Actor Larry Hagman, best known for his role as Dallas’s Machiavellian oil baron J.R. Ewing, died Friday at age 81, after complications from cancer. Hagman’s career spanned over 60 years, and included not only Dallas and its revival series, which launched earlier this year on TNT, but also the seminal 1960s comedy series I Dream of Jeannie, where he played Major Anthony “Tony” Nelson opposite Barbara Eden’s titular character. Hagman had, according to The Hollywood Reporter, filmed six of the new Dallas’s 15 episodes at the time of his death, with the second season scheduled to start on January 28. How the show ...

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...

Over at The Daily Beast, you can check out my latest feature as I offer a report card for the Summer TV Season: picking the winners, losers, and draws across broadcast and cable. Be sure to check out the gallery at "The Summer's Best (and Worst) TV," where I break down the successes and failures of the past season show by show. Where did White Collar , Pretty Little Liars , and Covert Affairs end up? And which shows ended up at the bottom of the barrel? Head over to The Daily Beast to find out and head to the comments section to discuss your favorite and least favorite shows of the past summer season and why you felt certain programs succeeded or failed.

While the full schedule of events for San Diego Comic-Con 2010 is still somewhere in the ether, more details continue to emerge about several television-focused events planned for next month. CBS today announces details for its Hawaii Five-O panel, scheduled for Friday, July 23rd in Room 6BCF. No Alex O'Loughlin, I'm afraid (sorry, Moonlight fans!) but on hand will be Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Peter Lenkov, and Len Wiseman to offer a sneak peek at the Hawaii Five-O pilot and an in-depth discussion of the series, launching his fall on CBS. Elsewhere, TNT officially announced its panel for Steven Spielberg's alien invasion drama Falling Skies , set to take place Friday, July 23rd from 4:45-5:45 pm in Room 6A. Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, and executive producer Mark Verheiden will be participating. The official press releases from CBS and TNT announcing these panels can be found below. "HAWAII FIVE-0" SAYS ALOHA TO COMIC-CON Panel Se...

Looking to set your TiVo season pass this summer before you head out on vacation? Or sticking around and wondering just what's worth watching (or at least checking out) this summer? Head over to The Daily Beast, where you can read my piece entitled, "19 Reasons to Watch TV This Summer," where I break down 19 new and returning series airing during the sweltering season, including HBO's True Blood AMC's Rubicon and Mad Men , Bravo's Work of Art and Top Chef: DC , FOX's Masterchef , Syfy's Haven , USA's White Collar , TNT's Memphis Beat and Rizzoli & Isles , BBC America's Being Human , and a lot more. Check out the gallery to read descriptions of the series and then head to the comments section to discuss just what you're most excited about this summer.

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. The Los Angeles Times 's Maria Elena Fernandez is reporting that the final shots of the Oceanic Flight 815 wreckage that accompanied the closing credits of the series finale of Lost were not placed there by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, but rather by ABC executives who wanted to "soften the transition from the moving ending of the series to the 11 p.m. news and never considered that it would confuse viewers about the actual ending of the show," according to Fernandez. ABC went on to release a statement to confirm this fact. "The images shown during the end credits of the Lost finale, which included shots of Oceanic 815 on a deserted beach, were not part of the final story but were a visual aid to allow the viewer to decompress before heading into the news," said an ABC spokesperson in a statement. [Editor: I am hoping this finally puts an end to the misread of the series' ending, as some have taken ...

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Good news for Chuck fans: Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Chuck has been renewed for a fourth season of thirteen episodes, though NBC declined to comment on the report. While I had hoped for a full-season order, any Chuck is better than no Chuck , right? ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) Good news as well for fans of the Visitors: ABC has reportedly given a thirteen-episode renewal to freshman sci-fi drama V . " V was likely a no-brainer, as ABC wants to bring back at least one frosh drama, and the alien thriller is showing signs of life," writes Variety 's Michael Schneider. "Its fellow frosh sci-fi drama, FlashForward , is not." ( Variety ) Yep, it's not looking good for FlashForward , which Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting has already been cancelled, along with Better Off Ted, Scrubs, and Romantically Challenged . ( Entertainment W...

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that multiple sources have confirmed to him that NBC will be renewing action-comedy Chuck for a fourth season and that "the show has thus far figured into all of the network’s preliminary plans for its May 17 upfront presentation," with Chuck likely to get a thirteen-episode initial order with the possibility of a full season order still in the cards as well. However, co-creator Josh Schwartz hadn't heard anything regarding a renewal as of yet. "That’s news to me," said Schwartz. "I would urge fans to take nothing for granted..." ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) NBC's Angela Bromstad also cautioned fans about reading too much into rumors about Chuck 's future and wouldn't confirm that it had been picked up when speaking with The Hollywood Reporter 's James Hibberd. "It's our highest performing Monday ni...

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 Tuesday morning television briefing. Mark your calendars, Mad Men fans: Season Four of the period drama is set to launch on Sunday, July 25th at 10 pm ET/PT while new drama Rubicon will launch with two back-to-back episodes on Sunday, August 1st at 8 pm before it moves into its regular 9 pm timeslot the following week. "Sunday nights are where you find the best of premium television so it should be no surprise that AMC -- the home of premium television on basic cable -- is stacking our original dramas there as well," said Charlie Collier, president of AMC, in a statement. "We welcome back Mad Men and look forward to introducing Rubicon all on Sunday nights this summer." Rubicon stars James Badge Dale ( The Pacific ), Dallas Roberts ( Walk the Line ), Jessica Collins ( The Nine ), Christopher Evan Welch ( Vicky Cristina Barcelona ), Lauren Hodges ( Law & Order ) with Arliss Howard ( The Sandlot ) and Miranda Richardson ( Sleepy Hollow ). (via...

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...

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that the fate of FX's serpentine legal thriller Damages , set to wrap its third season in two weeks' time, is in the hands of DirecTV. "Multiple sources confirm to me exclusively that Sony is talking to DirecTV’s 101 Network about partnering on a possible fourth season of Damages ," writes Ausiello. "The cost-sharing arrangement would be similar to the one DirecTV and NBC forged with Friday Night Lights , which means future seasons of Damages would air first on DirecTV with a second window on FX." An unnamed source further tells Ausiello that Sony Pictures Television began talks with DirecTV after it became untenable to maintain financing Damages on its own and the studio has engaged in talks with other outlets as well. Both FX and Sony refused to comment for the story. ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) The Chicago Tribune 's Maure...

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...