[Televisionary]

While ABC may have canceled The Unusuals , series creator Noah Hawley has signed an blind deal with ABC Studios to write two new series projects for the studio, according to The Hollywood Reporter . "For his encore Hawley is looking to employ some of the storytelling elements he used on Unusuals ," writes Hollywood Reporter 's Nellie Andreeva, "where stories with different characters often intersected in unexpected ways. Also, he plans to continue mixing comedy and drama." With the cat out of the bag, Hawley himself addressed the ABC Studios announcement on his personal website , where he posted an explanation this morning as to why he would go into business with ABC Studios after the network canceled The Unusuals . As for the hopes that The Unusuals might end up on a cable network, Hawley downplayed any chances that the series might continue elsewhere. "While we haven't heard officially from all cable networks, I'd say the lack of a timely respons...

I'm really going to miss The Unusuals . Given that the series ended last Wednesday evening without much fanfare, you might be wondering why I'm bringing this up now. I was on vacation so have only just gotten the chance to watch the final installment of ABC's tragically underrated cop drama The Unusuals ("EID"), written by Danny Zuker, and was not only impressed by the way it seemed to effortlessly fuse serious character beats, zany cases (this week's involved a serial accuser and break-and-enter gonzo porn), and off-kilter humor. Throughout its (far too) short run, The Unusuals --created by Noah Hawley ( Bones )--has always played by its own rules. Much like the dynamo partnership of Casey Shraeger (Amber Tamblyn) and Jason Walsh (Jeremy Renner), one of the best mismatched cop partners on television. Ever. Her wounded rich girl shtick was diametrically opposed to his low-key salt of the earth approach but they found a supportive (and, indeed at times, nurtur...

I'm really going to miss The Unusuals . I might be one of the very few people watching this quirky ABC cop dramedy but I have to say that I've enjoyed every single minute of this series from creator Noah Hawley and I think it's a shame that ABC canceled The Unusuals so quickly. This week's episode ("The Tape Delay"), written by Treena Hancock and Melissa R. Byer, found Walsh and Shraeger organizing a protection detail on a wealthy businessman who had faced a series of mysterious threats, while Banks and Delahoy were on the trail of a octogenarian (guest star Shelley Berman) on a crime spree, Beaumont and Cole tried to get a confession out of a criminal through some elaborate means, Alvarez fixated on his man-crush on Walsh, Beaumont seethed at Walsh for a dream she had, and Delahoy faced some rather unusual (heh) symptoms stemming from his secret brain tumor. In other words, just another day for the cops at Manhattan's second precinct. Throughout its shor...

While I am still over the moon about NBC's decision to renew Chuck for a third season this fall , this weekend didn't bring good news for fans of several series. ABC has confirmed that it will not be renewing freshman drama series The Unusuals for a second season. The Sony Pictures Television-produced series, created by Noah Hawley, had struggled in the ratings this season, launching in the post- Lost berth on Wednesdays at 10 pm (traditionally a show killer). ABC attempted to test The Unusuals in an alternate timeslot, airing one episode in a Tuesday slot at 10 pm but the series, about the cops in Manhattan's quirky 2nd Precinct, never quite gelled with audiences. Which is a shame as the series offered a fantastic character study each week, some bizarro crimes, and one of the best ensembles on television today, with all of the actors--including Amber Tamblyn, Jeremy Renner, Adam Goldberg, Harold Perrineau, Kai Lennox, Monique Gabriela Curnen, Joshua Close, and Terry Ki...

A few days ahead of its upfront presentation to advertisers on Tuesday, ABC indicated several early pickups and renewals, creating a diverse slate of programming that includes six new dramas and two new comedies (in addition to several already previously announced) and a slew of surprising renewals. ABC has gone ahead and reportedly handed out series orders to dramas The Forgotten, Happy Town , The Associates (which is also being referring to by some outlets as The Deep End ), and Eastwick and comedies Cougar Town , Hank (a.k.a. Awesome Hank ), and The Middle . An updated version of sci-fi cult hit V , from The 4400 creator Scott Peters, is said to be on tap for midseason, though as of press time discussions are still ongoing between the network and studio Warner Bros. Television about the episodic order, with ABC said to have offered six episodes in a limited series format and the studio pushing for a larger episodic count. The series pickups come on the heels of ABC's announc...

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. With May Upfronts only a few weeks away, there are an awful lot of series that are on the bubble for renewal next season. Chuck , which airs its penultimate episode of the season tonight, is definitely on the bubble, with its return hindered by the lack of real estate now that NBC will use the 10 pm hour next fall for a nightly Jay Leno talk show and by the numbers for midseason replacement Southland . There's a slightly better chance for Medium to return, however. ( Life is expected to be cancelled, as is Kath & Kim .) FOX's Dollhouse is said to have a 50/50 shot at coming back. CBS' Without a Trace and Cold Case are said to have a 50/50 shot at a renewal, things are looking brighter for The Unit after the network asked Shawn Ryan for a fifth season bible, while Eleventh Hour is thought unlikely to return. At ABC, Better Off Ted, Castle , and The Unusuals could get a second go-around as the network is said to be ...

"Everybody has secrets, especially cops." On the surface The Unusuals , which launches tonight on ABC, may not seem all that unfamiliar in an age when all cops, doctors, and lawyers are routinely portrayed as either unfailable heroes or crackpot eccentrics. But scratch beneath the surface and you'll find an intriguing and offbeat police drama. Yes, The Unusuals , from creator Noah Hawley and Sony Pictures Television, is quirky. Hell, it wears its quirkiness on its sleeve like a badge of honor. After all, the cops of the 2nd precinct in Manhattan tackle some rather unusual crimes, like the premiere episode's cat murderer and there are cases overheard on the police radio involving a streaker in a cape, a suspect with a samurai sword, and a (ahem) ninja. They're the front line of defense against crimes that are just too... odd for others to pay attention to. Is it a little much at times? You bet. But don't let the series' innate quirkiness get to you. The Unu...

After several weeks of guessing, I'm finally happy to report that ABC has announced launch dates for the three new drama series it will launch this spring: Castle , Cupid , and The Unusuals . First up is Castle , starring Desperate Housewives ' Nathan Fillion (though he'll always be Firefly 's Mal to me), which launches Monday, March 9th at 10 pm. Fillion stars as mystery novelist Richard Castle who is called in to assist the NYPD with a series of homicides that seem virtually recreated from scenes within his own novels. Series also stars Stana Katic, Susan Sullivan, Molly Quinn, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Tamala Jones, Jon Huertas, and Seamus Dever. Rob Thomas' Cupid , starring Bobby Cannavale and Sarah Paulson, launches Tuesday, March 24th at 10 pm. Cannavale stars as Trevor Hale, a man who claims to be the Roman god of love exiled to Earth until he can make 100 mortal couples fall in love; Paulson plays a psychiatrist and self-help author assigned to keep an eye on T...

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. I definitely felt the lack of Pushing Daisies last night (my Wednesday night cure for any rough week) but I was completely sucked in by the season premiere of Top Chef (airing next week), which had more tension, drama, and pitch-perfect casting in its one-hour running time than the entire last season of Project Runway did. ABC has yanked midseason comedy Single With Parents off of its schedule. The comedy, from ABC Studios and Kristin Newman, starred Alyssa Milano, Eric Winter, Annie Potts, Beau Bridges, and Amanda Detmer. Decision behind the cancellation (months before it was to launch on ABC) is said to stem from creative differences between the studio and the series' creator Kristin Newman. ( Variety ) In other ABC midseason news, the Alphabet has opted to reduce its initial order on two midseason drama series, Castle and The Unusuals . ABC has approached ABC Studios about reducing Castle from 13 episodes to ten and has...

In a flurry of ordering activity, ABC has granted series orders to no less than five projects today. The Alphabet handed out series orders to procedural mystery series Castle , Rob Thomas' update of romantic dramedy Cupid , and cop drama The Unusuals . Castle , which stars Nathan Fillion ( Firefly ), is about a womanizing horror novelist who assists the New York Police Department with crime-solving. Project, from ABC Studios, was written by Andrew Marlowe and is executive produced by Marlowe, Laurie Zaks, and Armyan Bernstein. Pilot was directed by Rob S. Bowman ( The X-Files ) and also stars Stana Katic ( 24 ), Monet Mazur ( The House Bunny ), Molly Quinn ( Walk Hard ), Ruben Santiago-Hudson ( Law & Order ), and Susan Sullivan ( The Nine ). (Yes, it is Captain Tightpants himself. I wasn't crazy about the pilot script but think that Fillion will bring a certain je ne sais quoi to the role. And rest assured, I am trying to get my hands on the completed pilot.) Rob Thomas...

Good morning and welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. I'll be concise today as I am still feeling a little worse for wear from last night's outing to Father's Office in Culver City... and passed out before I could finish watching this week's episode of Project Runway . (So come back to discuss that tomorrow.) ABC has invented its own national holiday in the form of National Stay at Home Week, urging people to stay home and conserve fuel the week of September 21st. Lest you think that the Alphabet is being purely altruistic, note that that very same week just happens to be fall premiere week at the network... ( Variety ) Speaking of ABC, the network is expected to order one drama and one comedy series for midseason by Friday and later pick up three additional orders each in comedy and drama down the line. The likely contenders are: Nathan Fillion-starring drama Castle , in which he plays a womanizing horror novelist turned police consultant from ABC Stud...

"You can go now, Michael." Truer words were never spoken than on last week's season finale of Lost , which saw cast returnee Harold Perrineau's Michael seemingly killed after the freighter exploded after he got a send off from the mysterious and ghostly Christian Shepherd. Perrineau's return to Lost --which he exited at the end of Season Two when he and Walt (Malcolm David Kelley) sailed off into the sunset after he betrayed his fellow castaways to secure freedom for himself and his son--seems phenomenally short-lived: his character's sole purpose in returning to the series was to be Benjamin Linus' man aboard the Kahana and to devise the plan to freeze the battery so as not to trigger a widespread C4 explosion. Perrineau, in an interview with TV Guide , says that he was "disappointed" by the fact that producers killed off his character after bringing him back and said it was "disappointing and a waste to come back, only to get beat up a few...