[Televisionary]

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Brit Morgan ( The Middleman ) has been cast in Season Three of HBO's True Blood , where she has landed the pivotal role of Debbie Pelt, the "psycho ex-girlfriend of werewolf Alcide (Joe Manganiello)." ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) SPOILER! In other True Blood -related news, TV Guide Magazine 's Will Keck is reporting that an upcoming storyline will involve an Eric flashback to the year 900 A.D., where viewers will meet Eric's father, a Swedish Viking king named Ulfrick. Casting is currently underway for the role. ( TV Guide Magazine ) Emily Rose ( John From Cincinnati ) has been cast as the lead in Syfy's supernatural series Haven , which is based on Stephen King's novella "The Colorado Kid." Rose will play FBI Agent Audrey Parker, who is sent to the titular Maine community in order to investigate a murder and finds...

I've been raving about British comedy The Inbetweeners, created by Iain Morris and Damon Beesley, for almost a year. (You can read my review of the first three episodes here and my review of the first two seasons here .) I spent last night at a little gathering in West Hollywood hosted by Iain Morris and his lovely fiancee (congratulations, you two!) for The Inbetweeners ' US launch on BBC America last night. Despite having seen the first two episodes about three times already, my wife and I--and the entire party--were rolling on the floor with hysterics as Iain gleefully shouted out the bleeped-out words that had been censored from the American broadcast. (And, believe me, there were many.) Now that the first two episodes have finally aired Stateside as of last night, I'm curious to know what you thought of the series. Did you find it painfully funny? Did you laugh and cringe in equal measure? Did you feel relieved that you're no longer in your teens? What did you thi...

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...

BBC America has today announced their scheduling plans for January 2010, unveiling new programming additions and the return of several series to the lineup. (Sadly, still no mention of Season Two of Ashes to Ashes , however.) The digital cabler has announced launch dates for comedy The Inbetweeners , drama Demons , and unscripted competition series Last Restaurant Standing , as well as the launch of Season Thirteen of Top Gear . Having seen the first two seasons of comedy The Inbetweeners , from creators Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, I can tell you that you'll likely be bowled over as much as I was by this raucous teen comedy when it finally premieres Stateside on Monday, January 25th at 9 pm ET/PT. Two back-to-back episodes will air in its initial outing before it relocates to its regular timeslot on Wednesday evenings. (You can read my advance review of the first two seasons of The Inbetweeners here .) Culinary competition series (and Televisionary obsession) Last Restaurant St...

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. NBC has given a put pilot order to an untitled drama that follows the employees of a unit whose task is to apprehend fugitives. Project, from Warner Bros. Television and Bruckheimer Television, will be written/executive produced by Jennifer Johnson ( Cold Case ) and executive produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman. Deal marks first sale for Bruckheimer at NBC since 2005's E-Ring . ( Variety ) FOX has given a script commitment with a penalty to an untitled western from Chuck writer/executive producer Scott Rosenbaum and executive producers McG and Peter Johnson. Project, from Warner Bros. Television and Wonderland Sound and Vision, is said to have a sci-fi twist that is a tip of the hat to Planet of the Apes and will focus on a "a gunslinger caught between worlds," according to Rosenbaum. "What I'm really interested in is the revamping of the Western genre where you still have all of the iconic W...

Back in April, I had the opportunity to watch the first three episodes of British teen comedy series The Inbetweeners , created by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, and instantly fell in love with the series' quirky charms. Since then, I've had the opportunity to watch the entire first and second seasons of this side-splitting teen series, which will air Stateside later this year on BBC America. Thanks to some Region 2 DVDs picked up in London, I was able to blaze through the painfully hilarious twelve episodes that exist thus far. (It's worth noting that digital channel E4 recently announced that it had commissioned a third season .) Over the course of twelve half-hour episodes, Morris and Beesley manage to paint a painfully precise picture of a group of four teenage social rejects teetering on the edge of adulthood. They might not be the most popular kids (far from it) or the basest of pariahs, but they're miserably average in every respect, belonging to a group hovering...

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Grant Show, set to star on CBS comedy Accidentally on Purpose this fall, has said that he's open to appearing on the CW's revival of Melrose Place . "We've been talking, but nothing solid," Show says. "I'm not opposed to it... They haven't come up with the writing for me yet. I'm not sure they're even going to need me this year — maybe next year." Should Show close a deal to return to the series, he'll join original stars Josie Bissett, Thomas Calabro, Laura Leighton, and Daphne Zuniga as those who have turned up on Melrose 2.0 . ( TVGuide.com ) Jennifer Ehle ( Possession ) has joined the cast for the HBO fantasy drama pilot Game of Thrones , where she will play Catelyn Stark, the wife of Sean Bean's Ned Stark. Ehle's character was originally promised to Ned's older brother who was killed before they could marry; she then "fulfilled her duty by marrying Ned and sec...

Imagine if you will the cult British teen series Skins with less melodrama, more acne, and a hell of a lot more laughs and you might come close to describing BBC America's latest comedy import The Inbetweeners , which airs in the UK on E4. Created by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, The Inbetweeners tells the story of four sixth form college students--nerdy Will (Simon Bird), lovelorn Simon (Joe Thomas), sex-obsessed Jay (James Buckey), and gawky Neil (Blake Harrison)--as they attempt to navigate the perilous mine field that his high school, laced as it is with the lure of girls, cheap booze, and mischief. Thanks to the good folks at BBC America, I had the opportunity to watch the first three episodes of The Inbetweeners ' two-season run (so far, anyway), which the digital cabler plans to air back-to-back beginning later this year. As a former teenage boy myself (fortunately since recovered), I found this series boisterous and painfully funny, often at the same time. But one ne...

BBC America has today announced the acquisition of two comedies series, The Inbetweeners and Katy Brand’s Big Ass Show . Both series, which are each comprised of twelve episodes, are slated to launch later this year on the digital cabler. The Inbetweeners originally aired on E4 and Channel 4, while sketch comedy Katy Brand's Big Ass Show aired on ITV2 in the UK. Music fans should especially take note of The Inbetweeners, which features music from such acts as The Fratellis, Arctic Monkeys, Lily Allen, The Feeling, Kate Nash, The Wombats, The Cure, and Feist, among others in its first season. The official descriptions for the two series from BBC America can be found below. THE INBETWEENERS - U.S. PREMIERE Written and created by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris - who were involved with Peep Show , The 11 O’Clock Show and The Flight of the Conchords - The Inbetweeners offers a painfully funny take on the squirming humiliations of teenage life. Will’s parents have just divorced an...