[Televisionary]

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. SPOILER! E! Online's Megan Masters and Kristin Dos Santos talk to Dexter 's Julie Benz and Jennifer Carpenter about what's coming up on the Showtime serial killer drama. "Rita is not going to be a ghost!" Benz revealed about her planned appearance on Season Five of Dexter . "The writers would never do something so cheesy. I am not going to confirm or deny anything, but if she does come back, it would be to move things along." Meanwhile, viewers shouldn't expect that Dexter will lose its humor, even in the face of unspeakable horror. "What's funny is that even in the face of tragedy [of Rita's death], there's still room to laugh with our show," Carpenter told E! Online. "That's why people can stomach it, because as bloody as it gets, they make you laugh two seconds later." ( E! Online's Watch with Kristin ) Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is repo...

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Variety 's Michael Schneider takes a look at how ABC executives are attempting to stake out a strategy for the future of Lost , which will wrap up its run in May... but might be sticking around via ancillary products and potential sequels. "We've been talking about this for a couple of years now," ABC marketing exec VP Mike Benson told Schneider. "We want to keep it alive but make sure we maintain the integrity of the franchise. We're not about milking this thing for all that it is right now; it's important to see this live for years to come... What Lost becomes after it ends its run is up in the air. It really depends on who comes in to interpret it next." But whatever that future might hold, whether it be novels and comicbooks or indeed a spinoff series down the line, it won't involve current Lost showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, who will end their oversight on the franchise once...

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. British actor and former footballer Vinnie Jones ( Loaded ) will guest star on an upcoming installment of NBC's action-comedy series Chuck , which returns with its third season next year. Jones will play Karl Stromberg, "an expert hit man with a soft side," on the Warner Bros. Television-produced series. Jones has also been attached to an untitled new series based on a comic book by Howard Chaykin about an "international spy who teams with his long-lost daughters he never knew existed." That project hails from Elevate Entertainment and Prodigy Pictures, the Canadian production company behind NBC mini-series XIII . ( Hollywood Reporter ) TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams has the scoop behind "that kiss" in the second season premiere of FOX's Fringe last night. According to Abrams, the lip-lock didn't come as a surprise to the two stars of the FOX drama, as they claim that a romantic past betwee...