[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.

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Kristen Bell, movie mogul? The former Veronica Mars star told The Hollywood Reporter 's Lesley Goldberg that she would self-finance a feature film version of her dearly departed CW/UPN noir drama... if Warner Bros. would release the rights to Veronica Mars . "It's a business and the sad truth is that ... they're not going to relinquish the rights to something and let us do it," said Bell. "We really have to do it with them because they own it... At this point, Warner Bros. can make it but like any studio they have research that tells them whether or not they'll make their money back," she added. "And that's what we've been told: That it's just not there. So my duty, because I wanted this movie made from the minute our show got canceled, is to a) do it before I'm 40; and b) to prove to Warner Bros. that there is an audience. You already have 3 million who watched it every week h...

"Nothing in the world is more flexible and yielding than water. Yet when it attacks the firm and the strong, none can withstand it, because they have no way to change it. So the flexible overcome the adamant, the yielding overcome the forceful." - Lao Tzu Water has been at the heart of HBO's criminally under-appreciated series Treme since the beginning. After all, it's a series that recounts the lives and passions--both physical and intellectual--of New Orleans inhabitants several months after Hurricane Katrina. Everywhere one turns there is evidence of the power of water, from the stained and mildewed walls of the homes to the changed waterfront, dramatically altered after centuries due to failing levees and now-missing structures. However, water was never so front and center on Treme as it was with last night's episode ("Wish Someone Would Care"), written by David Simon and George Pelecanos and directed by Dan Attias, the season's penultimate ins...

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. It took just one episode, apparently, before HBO ordered a second season of New Orleans-set drama series Treme , from creators David Simon and Eric Overmyer. "We would have picked up this show last week," HBO president Michael Lombardo told The Hollywood Reporter 's James Hibberd. "We've seen the first nine episodes it's as strong as any show we've seen. Much like The Wire , the audience is so passionate and so invested. We're about servicing our subscriber base and I believe that people will become addicted to this show. We have to be a place where this kind of excellence is giving space to continue." According to Lombardo, Season Two of Treme is being targeted for a spring 2011 debut, where it will likely be paired with the first season of fantasy drama Game of Thrones . "They should be ready about the same time," said Lombardo. "[ Game ] looks beautiful, the compelling scri...

Now that HBO's new drama series Treme has premiered, I'm curious to see what you thought of the series' 80-minute pilot episode, which aired last night. As a reminder, you can read my advance review of the first three episodes of Treme here and my feature interview with co-creators David Simon ( The Wire ) and Eric Overmyer ( Homicide: Life on the Street ) here . But now that Treme has premiered, I'm curious to know just what you thought of the new series. Did you find the characters engaging? Were you turned off by Steve Zahn's Davis? (And don't worry if you were: I found him shrilly irritating until about Episode Three.) Did you like the juxtaposition of culture--music, cuisine, tradition--and survival? Curious about what happened to Daymo? Shocked at the Mardi Gras Indian costume coming out of the darkness? What did you think overall? Did it grab you or leave you cold? And, most importantly, will you tune in again next week? Talk back here. Next week on T...

The challenging and engaging new drama series Treme launches this weekend on HBO. Looking to learn more about the latest series from David Simon and Eric Overmyer? Head over to The Daily Beast to read my latest piece, entitled " Treme Is Not The Wire , Says David Simon." I caught up with Simon, Overmyer, and HBO's Michael Lombardo to discuss the series, set three months after Hurricane Katrina, its characters and influences, and why it's not The Wire . Treme launches Sunday evening at 10 pm ET/PT on HBO.

It's been nearly five years since Hurricane Katrina and the specter of loss and tragedy hangs over the American South as recovery from this disaster continues to this day. But while Katrina shifted neighborhoods and displaced hundreds of thousands from New Orleans and tales of death and destruction became commonplace, there also emerged something else from the wreckage: an eternal symbol of the ability of the human spirit to adapt and to overcome. In HBO's new drama series Treme , from creators David Simon ( The Wire ) and Eric Overmyer ( Homicide: Life on the Street ), the clock is rewound to three months after Katrina and the audience is taken to a New Orleans fighting for its very survival in the face of insurmountable odds. In the historic and musically significant neighborhood of Treme, we're introduced to a colorful cast of characters who are struggling to return to something akin to normalcy in the midst of chaos, bureaucratic ineptitude, and squalor. Houses, formerl...

Looking for something to watch this spring? Head over to The Daily Beast, where you can read my latest piece, "15 Reasons to Watch TV This Spring," where I round up fifteen new and returning series airing this spring--from Doctor Who , V, Nurse Jackie , and Fringe to Treme, Peep Show, and Top Chef Masters , among others--as well as some major events like the end of ABC's Lost in May. What are you most looking forward to this spring and what's caught your fancy as your latest television obsession? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. CBS has given second season renewals to freshman dramas The Good Wife and NCIS: Los Angeles . "Two great new series, fronted by talented stars on one big night of television," said Nina Tassler, President, CBS Entertainment in a statement. "We're proud of these shows and what they've accomplished on Tuesday night." The renewal news comes on the heels of pickups for fellow froshers Glee at FOX and Modern Family, The Middle , and Cougar Town at ABC. (via press release) While still in the pilot stage, buzz continues to build for HBO's fantasy project Game of Thrones , based on George R.R. Martin's series of novels. HBO programming czar Michael Lombardo indicated at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour yesterday that Game looks very likely to get a pickup and that the dailies look "fantastic." "I would be surprised if it doesn't (get a green light)," Lombardo ...

HBO's Richard Plepler and Michael Lombardo took to the stage yesterday at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Pasadena that HBO had locked in its entire current Sunday night lineup for additional seasons next summer. The pay cabler has officially renewed True Blood for a third season, Hung for a second season, and Entourage for a staggering seventh season. All will return to the lineup next summer rather than premiering earlier. " True Blood , Hung , and Entourage will all be coming back next summer and we're very excited about it." Lombardo told the press. "So stay tuned for next June." The duo, in an executive session at the aforementioned TCA panel, also relayed information about HBO's other crop of series and whether we could expect to see them return or not, with the fate of several series still very much up in the air. Curb Your Enthusiasm returns September 20th with a new series and will be slotted together with new comedy...

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. The Office co-star/writer Mindy Kaling has signed an overall deal with NBC and Universal Media Studios under which she will continue to write for and star in The Office as well as develop a new comedy project which will be a vehicle for the actress. "This is my first step in a Transformers-style way to take over the whole world," joked Kaling. "I've only ever worked for NBC, and I've felt an enormous amount of support from the executives there." Kaling says she is drawn to workplace comedies as well as buddy series such as HBO's Flight of the Conchords or projects focusing on women. ( Variety ) There's still no news on the fate of NBC's Chuck , despite a massive fan-based initiative to create buzz for a third season of the action-comedy. The Hollywood Reporter 's Matthew Belloni talks to Chuck co-creator/executive producer Josh Schwartz about the series' rabid fan base, Lily , the...