USTV on UKTV

Channel 5 get Flash Forward, Breaking Bad

2009-07-29T06:35:00.000-07:00

Channel 5 have bought the new ABC series Flash Forward. Everybody on the planet blacks out for two minutes and 17 seconds and sees visions of their future. Charlie and Penny from Lost are both among the cast of this intriguing new series which ABC are clearly grooming as a replacement for Lost which ends in 2010. 5 fought off SKY to secure the rights

In addition, Breaking Bad is moving over from FX. The brilliant black comedy which won Bryan Cranston an emmy will air its first season on free to air for the first time in September on Five US with the new second season to follow in December.

Here's a look at the Flash Forward trailer.

The Doctor is in

2009-04-20T04:47:00.000-07:00

SKY have taken the rights to the fifth season of House.

Channel 5, in an extraordinary move, have decided not to stick with the show. Having given its Thursday night slot to the lousy Mentalist and stuck 30 Rock and The Shield on Five USA, they have not decided to part company with what has been a sizeable hit for them.

The Hugh Laurie drama, which also repeats on Hallmark, will screen its fifth series on SKY1 this summer. This will be in addition to the new Tim Roth series Lie To Me which starts on Thursday May 14th at 10pm.

Lots of schedule news

2009-01-22T01:19:00.000-08:00

Here's an update of lots of schedule news. Sky1 has picked up the UK rights to new US crime drama Lie To Me. The show stars Tim Roth as an FBI-enlisted scientist who uses body language to detect deception. Practice star Kellie Williams is also in the cast......Fringe continues its run on SKY1 in March.....BBC1 will start airing the second seaason of Damages in mid February while it is still showing in the US....About the same time Channel 5 will screen the seventh and final run of The Shield.....FX will screen The Wire, in its entirety, from February 23rd....Samantha Who begins its second season on E4 a week on Monday at 10pm.....

Leno, and what it all mens

2008-12-11T08:31:00.000-08:00

As you may have seen, Jay Leno is to move to 10pm on NBC and isn't leaving the network after all. As planned Conan O Brien takes over the Tonight Show while Jimmy Fallon follows. What does all this mean? Well the good news is that Leno gets to stay on the air which is a good thing as he's better than Conan and Fallon is a novice at this game. The bad news, well there is plenty of it. Leno will get the pick of the best guests which completely devalues the 'Tonight Show' brand. Who will want to appear on Conan just after midnight to plug their movie when they can do it in primetime?

It also means that NBC will now have to commission five hours less drama. So its likely to be goodbye to those shows with marginal ratings, newbies like Lipstick Jungle and Life, and long runners like Medium. It means that ABC and CBS will get all the best dramas in that time slot, FOX doesn't programme the 10pm hour.

And what if it doesn't work? Does Leno face the indiginity of getting cancelled after 16 years? How does NBC fill five hours of primetime every week? Its hard to see how Jay can compete with the CBS procedurals and the likes of Lost on ABC, and 3 hours of chat seems way too much but hey who knows it might just work

Lots of start dates

2008-12-09T06:03:00.000-08:00

A whole set of big US shows are returning in January. The long awaited new run of 24 is back on SKY One on Tuesday January 13th while Lost returns on Sunday 25th at 9pm on the same network. Battlestar Galactica is also back

The third series of Brothers and Sisters starts up on Thursday January 8th at 9pm on More4, its third first run network. The first series was on Channel 4, the second on E4. It will be followed by the premiere of the final series of E4 at 10pm Dirty Sexy Money will be back on E4 in January while the second series of Eli Stone airs on Sc-Fi from Monday 12th at 9pm

Damages season 2

2008-11-26T07:42:00.000-08:00

Here to complete our little flurry of trailers are not one but two sneak peaks at the second series of Damages.
It returns in the US in January, expect it in the Spring on BBC1

And heres a longer one

Galactica and Lost return

2008-11-25T01:22:00.000-08:00

Battlestar Galactica returns for the second half of its fourth and final season in the United States on January 16th, expect it on SKY One at about the same time. Here is the trailer for the big finish.

And here is the brand new season 5 trailer for Lost, music comes from the band The Fray. The show returns to SKY 1 on Sunday January 25th.

Lipstick removed and other stuff

2008-11-13T04:03:00.000-08:00

NBC are about to announce they've axed Lipstick Jungle. It will come as a blow to Living who are just about to launch the second series which will also be the last....The Christian Slater show My Own Worst Enemy is also being dumped by NBC after a handful of episodes...Heroes slumped to yet another all time ratings low in the US last Monday, as hard as it may seem to believe, it may all be over this season.....The 24 prequel movie airs on SKY1 at 10pm on Monday November 24th, repeating the next night on SKY 2 at 9pm....Channel 4 will screen the recent HBO Chris Rock special Kill The Messenger at 10.35pm on Friday November 28th.....

Great trailer

2008-11-06T06:43:00.000-08:00

This looks terrific.

Tim Roth is coming to TV and is bringing Kelli Williams, formerly of the Practice, with him

Its about a man who knows when you are lying, and I am not lying when I say I want to see this one

24 season 7

2008-11-03T05:07:00.001-08:00

Yes, I know season six was terrible.
Yes, I Know its hard to believe that Tony is going to come back from the dead and be a bad guy
Yes, I know you've lost interest after such a long absence.
But admit it, this trailer looks rather good doesn't it?

9021 O dear

2008-10-27T08:49:00.000-07:00

Remember all that fuss about Channel 4 cutting back on their imports? Less money to spend on American shows? Cutting back by a third? Remember all that. Interesting that they have won the 'bidding war' for the lousy Beverly Hills 90210 remake. Does this mean shows like Brothers and Sisters (currently getting burned off late night) are set to be dumped for higher profile drivel? And just how much did the network have to cough up?

Lost season 5

2008-10-24T04:08:00.000-07:00

Here it is. The first trailer for the fifth season of Lost coming to ABC in the US and SKY One in February 2009.
Its mostly bits we have seen before, but its better than 42 minutes of Heroes...

Lipstick on a pig

2008-10-23T07:52:00.000-07:00

I have a confession. Forgive me. I like Lipstick Jungle. No really, I do. I thought I would watch one, dismiss it as trash and not bother again. But having watched 5episodes of a series of 7, it looks like I'm going to make it to the end. Worse still, I'm really enjoying it. Its easy to say its a Sex and the City copy. Its the same writer and while that was about four women in New York with unrealistic lifestyles, this is about three women in New York with unrealistic lifestyles. There's lots to like. Lots of New York locations which look great, Kim Raver is fabulous in it and its the fastest show on the box. No really the thing just speeds by, propelled by so much plot that you don't have time to realize that its no good. Storylines and characters whizz past you at great momentum without pausing for breath. And next season we get Mary Tyler Moore joining the cast. However a thumbs down for Living who next week take it off for some scary-Halloween-makey-up-in-a-haunted-house crap show (who watches them?). But check out the show before it disappears, its more enjoyable than bloody Heroes.

The joy of FX

2008-10-16T08:05:00.000-07:00

I now have more shows on FX on my SKY+ than any other digital network. There's Burn Notice on a Sunday which is frothy and silly but gets away with it via charming performances, a great Miami locale and a nice tongue in cheek script. Breaking Bad which airs right after it, features Bryan Cranston in an emmy winning performance as a man dying in cancer. The third episode which aired last Sunday is probably one of the best eps I have seen this year. Catch it while you can, there are only 7 shows in the first season. Add in Nip/Tuck and the just ended Wire, Dexter and NCIS as well as the upcoming David Simon series Generation Kill, True Blood from Six Feet Under scribe Alan Ball, and a new sereis of Brotherhood and FX is becoming the home of quality US drama...now if only they would pick up Rescue Me...

Bye bye Dave

2008-10-14T05:17:00.000-07:00

David Letterman has been dumped - again. One of America's top talk shows is again without a home in the UK. He's been on Channel 4, Paramount, ITV2, SKY One, Diva and on BBC2 when he was in London. Diva, owned by Hallmark are the latest channel to ditch the show. They were airing the series every night and then moved to only showing it at weekends, a sure sign that the writing was on the wall. And now its gone. Again. Its was always a strange fit amongst wall to wall Oprah and Rachael Ray. Ironically it comes at a time when Dave is making waves ahead of the US election. Sure, you can download it an illegal form but it seems a shame that while we are getting both Jay Leno and Conan nightly we are denied Letterman. Who is going to buy it next then?

Heroes no more

2008-10-10T06:40:00.000-07:00

Something happened ten minutes into the second episode of the third series, sorry volume, of Heroes. I stopped watching. Turned it off. Gave up.

Bailing out on a TV show is unusual for me, I normally stick it out until the bitter end, but time ran out for Heroes this week.

Why did I give it up. Here are the reasons.

1. Season two was dire. I needed a lot of good reasons to watch season 3, I can't find them
2. Characters die, characters come back. Characters die, characters come back. Enough
3. The really interesting people like Matt Parkman and Nikki have been marginalised. In fact the latter now seems to be somebody else entirely.
4. Too many characters. I reckon there are now 18 regular characters. You can't justify that in a 42 minute show.
5. The first series Save The Cheerleader, Save the world, got that. Since then they since to be making it up as they go along.
6. There are, wait for it, TWENTY SIX episodes this season. I don't think so.
7. When you watched the pilot of Fringe, you knew they knew where it was going. I don't think anyone knows where Heroes is going, the audience, Tim Kring, the cast, NBC, anybody.
and finally, number 8 the ratings. Down to an all time low in its first week in the US, down even further in week 2. Not just me then.
Goodbye Heroes, you saved the cheerleader, saved the world but I'll have my Wednesday nights back now

Rescue Me rescued - sort of

2008-10-08T03:57:00.000-07:00

After being ditched by SKY One, Rescue Me is set to re-appear in the UK in a new form.

Season four will debut on iTunes in the UK and will be the first major series to air exclusively here on a non-TV platform.

The Dennis Leary shows will offer its new season on the download platform from November 7th.

The first three seasons will be available to consumers on iTunes from the 14th, 21st and 28th of October respectively.

The blog is back and isn't happy

2008-10-08T02:10:00.000-07:00

After a long period of downtime the blog is back. Over the next few days I will be sharing thoughts on some of the new US shows that are currently on our screens and answering questions like how did Heroes get so bad so fast? Why is Lipstick Jungle so addictive when its so poor, and how can Channel 4 dump Brothers and Sisters on a Saturday afternoon?

But first The Riches. The FX series first appeared a year ago and while it meandered around a bit mid-season, the superb performances of Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver carried the show. It was a year between seasons, but the second run currently airing on Virgin1 (yes, that network is still on the air), has been terrific. There are only 7 episodes because of the writers strike and ends with a suitable cliffhanger.

But after 20 shows, FX in the US have announced the show has been cancelled. No wrap up movie, no conclusion nothing. Just stopping in the middle of nowhere. Be interesting to hear what Izzard makes of it.

So enjoy the show this week and next week because that will be it. Poor show FX and shame on you Virgin for shoving it out to 11pm, catch it while you can, and we will remember you fondly Doug Rich

Moonlight and Shark dead, Trace returns

2008-05-14T02:55:00.000-07:00

CBS have cancelled Moonlight after all now, but there is speculation that it might re-emerge on the CW as part of their new advertisre-owned Sunday night schedule.

Perhaps more surprisingly CBS have axed the James Woods show Shark, which is bad news for Channel 5 who have done decent business with the legal drama

in other news the sixth season of Without a Trace will premiere on More4 on Thursday June 6th

Upfront upsum

2008-05-13T07:44:00.000-07:00

The US networks are announcing their fall plans this week, here some of the key news with regard to shows currently screening or due to screen in the UK or involving UK talent.....Eli Stone starring Jonny Lee Miller has been renewed by ABC, due to air on the BBC at some point, The Unit will return to CBS and Virgin 1, despite speculation it might not, How I Met Your Mother also comes back. If you have not seen it on BBC2 or Trouble it is now airing on Living also....and that network might lose CBS Moonlight which has not been renewed but hasn't been cancelled either....The Kelsey Grammar sitcom Back To You has been killed by FOX before it starts on More4 in July....But E4 will get Reaper back, renewed by the CW...Life On Mars has been picked up by ABC but David E Kelley won't be involved and the show will be re-cast...again. Kelley will concentrate on the returning Boston Legal....That shows' Saffron Burrows joins Christian Slater in his new spy series on NBC....while another Brit Rufus Sewell toplines Jerry Bruckheimer's Elemental. Its a remake of the Patrick Stewart vehicle The 11th Hour which flopped in the UK.....

When bad things happen to good networks

2008-04-28T02:46:00.000-07:00

Here are five bizarre decisions that have recently been made by our beloved television networks.
1. Top of the list has to be ITV's decision to 'skip' episode 2 of Pushing Daisies and go straight to episode 3. This they claim is so they can finish the series before Euro 2008. After the story getting loads of press attention, ITV could have scored a major PR victory by then re-instating episode 2. But no, they missed that opprtunity. Clearly other options like starting the series a week earlier, showing two episodes in one night or screening the second episode on one of their THREE digital channels were clearly far too difficult. Michael Grade recently said that ITV bought the show "as soon as they saw the pilot". And then decided to ruin it.
2. SKY One's decision to drop Rescue Me makes no sense. After three years of not so great numbers, they will not screen series 4. FX have also declined to pick up the show. Madness. Ranks alongside the Channel 5 decision to keep Dirt and ditch Big Love.
3. Do you want find out how The Dead Zone ends? Well good luck, Sci-Fi won't be showing the sixth and final series. Instead we get Flash Gordon. Thank goodness they lost Heroes.
4. How good was the third episide of the new series of the Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia? A great guest turn from Stephen Collins. But don't hold your breath for episode 4. Virgin have pulled the show and replaced it with repeats of Shooting Star. Show it properly or give it back to Bravo
5. And Kyle XY despite all his powers, could not have imagined been dropped by Trouble. They won't show the second half of season 2. Here's hoping BBC2 show it after they air series one in May

A hero is born and Heroes returns

2008-04-07T04:39:00.000-07:00

Stephen Colbert is finally arriving in the UK

FX has picked up the rights to air the brilliant Colbert Report.

If you don't know it, the show is a daily satirical blast, hosted by political comedian Stephen Colbert - and is a spinoff from The Daily Show, which airs on More4 in the UK.

The Colbert Report will air Tuesdays to Fridays on FX at 11pm, beginning on May 6th

Meanwhile Heroes is returning for a second season, albeit only 11 episodes. Its back on BBC2 at 9pm on Thursdays from April 24th.....which will make Dr House over on Channel 5 very grumpy indeed.

Bits and pieces

2008-03-27T06:18:00.000-07:00

The third series of Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia begins on Virgin 1 on Monday April 7th at 11pm. The first two seasons debuted on sister channel Bravo. The good news is that there is a mighty fifteen episodes in this new run. Given the amount of junk and repeats on the network though, don't know why they have decided to screen it so late

Another Virgin channel, Living, have picked up Private Practice, the Greys Anatomy spin-off. There are only nine episodes in the first run but it will return for a full set in the autumn. And a slightly stranger acquisition, E4 are set to screen the fabulous Gilmore Girls from the beginning. Its bounced around from Nick to Hallmark here and the last two seasons were not shown at all, but this is the first time it will be shown to free to air.

Finally, ITV1 are set to screen the short-lived JJ Abrams series Six Degrees. Its well worth a look with Campbell Scott and Hope Davis among the cast. It will air in a post 1030 slot from May.

Brothers, criminal and Chuck

2008-03-19T07:45:00.000-07:00

Brothers And Sisters returns for its second series on Sunday March 30th. Not too surprised that Channel 4 are deciding to only screen the show on E4 given its poor ratings last year. But I'm staggered that its been shunted out to 11pm. Hard to believe there is a long term future for the series at all really.. Series two starts with Justin missing in the Middle East, Nora trying to pull the family together, Sarah fighting to save her marriage, Kevin finding true love, Tommy struggling after the death of his newborn son and Kitty gacing the challenge of being engaged to senator Robert McCallister.

Later that week Criminal Minds is back on Living, with Joe Montegna set to replace Mandy Patinkin in the lead role. The series is back on Friday April 4th at 9pm/

New US hit Chuck premieres on Monday April 7th on Virgin 1, its stars Zachary Levi as an ordinary man who becomes a spy after accidentally downloading CIA secrets to his brain.

ITV brings on the new shows

2008-03-13T09:50:00.000-07:00

ITV are set to launch a raft of new US shows on the back of this weeks Bionic Woman premiere.

I have seen the first episode of the Jimmy Smits drama Cane and it was great but it looks like it won't get picked up for next season. Its about a Cuban-American family running a rum and sugar business in Florida. It starts on ITV3 on Thursday March
27th.

That's the same day that Gossip Girl begins on ITV2. Based on the novels by Cecily von Ziegesar its about wealthy teenagers who go to school in New York's affluent Upper East Side. I have seen the first one of these also, and quite frankly don't need to see it again.

Pushing Daisies now be destined for Saturday nights. It seemed ITV had been planning to air this at 9pm on Fridays but won't now want to do that opposite Dirty Sexy Money on Channel 4 (which by the way will get a first look on E4 on Tuesdays). Daisies and the Damien Lewis series Life will both start in April.

Housewives and brothers and sisters

2008-03-11T05:56:00.000-07:00

Desperate Housewives is returning at last. The fourth season arrives on Channel 4 on Wednesday March 26th. The second season of Brothers and Sisters is also joining the schedule, but only on E4 following its low ratings last year.

24 to return earlier

2008-03-06T01:38:00.000-08:00

The postponed seventh season of 24 is not scheduled to return until January 2009. But so viewers don't lose interest (and they might given how poor season six was), a two hour prequel will air in the autumn.

The film will help bridge what is now likely to be a 20 month gap between series.

Supersized Update

2008-03-02T14:13:00.000-08:00

Apologies for blog neglect, life got busy. Here's a massive update......Dirty Sexy Money opens for business on Channel 4 at 9pm on March 21st. The drama which stars Peter Krause, Donald Sutherland, Billy Baldwin and others is about a Kennedy style family. The first season of short as a result of the writers strike but its coming back next year......Unlike The Bionic Woman which is dead after 13 episodes. It starts in the UK on March 11th on ITV2 with star Michelle Ryan on with Jonathan Ross next Friday.....ITV will also soon premiere Pushing Daisies and Life both of which are set to return....Las Vegas has been axed after 5 years......The current series of Lost will run for 13 weeks, but there will be a break of a month after episode 8 airs on SKY One....Monk, currently airing on Hallmark, will begin its fifth season on BBC2 next Saturday afternoon. The USA network which has already aired series six is bringing it back for a seventh run in the summer.....Jimmy Smits series Cane, cue for ITV4, looks to be heading for the CBS scrapheap and Moonlight, currently on Living, could be going with it as well as Jericho.....again......The final season of the Shield won't air on FX in the US until September so it will be a while before Channel 5 get it.......Former Shield regular Anthony Anderson will replace Jesse L Martin in Law and Order......The 11th Hour, an ITV drama with Patrick Stewart, will be remade in the US by Jerry Bruckheimer with Rufus Sewell set to star........and one more NY-LON, a Channel 4 drama is also being remade by CBS.

Galactica returns

2008-02-21T01:30:00.000-08:00

Battlestar Galactica returns to SKY One on Tuesday April 8th.

There are 20 episodes in this fourth and final series which picks up from where we left off (spoiler alert!) lafter the revelation of which of the cast were cylons and the re-appearance of Starbuck.

Ten shows have been shot and will air from April. There are ten more to be filmed and production will start in March. No word as to when we will see the final batch but its likely they will split the series in the US and hold on to the final set of episodes.

Dexter and Mad Men

2008-02-15T01:29:00.000-08:00

Two of the most acclaimed cable series of recent years begin terrestrial screenings in the next couple of weeks.

Dexter, which has already aired on FX, begins on ITV1 on Wednesday February 27th after the News. Michael C Hall is a serial killer who deals with other killers in this Showtime drama which is also about to screen for the first time, albeit slightly trimmed, on CBS in the United States

Mad Men, winner of the Golden Globe for best drama series, premieres on BBC4 from Sunday March 2nd. From Sopranos director Matthew Weiner, this AMC series tells the story of a group of admen in sixties who are trying to promote smoking. It runs for 13 episodes and a second season is now in production.

In other news Nip/Tuck returns on Tuesdays at 10pm at the end of March, but the new series will be on FX and not SKY One this time.

A full round of the effects of the writers strike soon, but Lost which is airing its eight episode run on SKY One at the moment wil shoot a further five shows this season for a total or 13. But there will still be a 4 week break between episode 8 and 9 on both sides of Atlantic.

In other news Life starring Damien Lewis will air on ITV1 after Easter as will Pushing Daisies, both have been picked up for second seasons but won't shoot anymore for their first series. Heroes will also return - and with only 11 episodes, with no new shows planned until September in the US,

Schedule Update

2008-02-09T08:15:00.000-08:00

The Sarah Connor Chronicles premieres on Virgin1 on Thursday Feb 21st. the 13 part series will air exclusivly on the network....House will return to Channel 5 on Thursday March 20th at 9pm. I have seen the first episode and its terrific. Greys Anatomy will air at 10pm in a medical double bill. Due to the writers strike nobody yet knows how many episodes will get of each series and screening the shows on Thursday means they are likely to be disrupted by UEFA Cup football.

Flash ah-ah

2008-01-29T06:32:00.001-08:00

Sci-Fi are set to premiere the new live action Flash Gordon series next month. The 22 part series begins on Monday 3rd of March. Smallville's Eric Johnson plays the hero hero of the 1936 Alex Raymond comic strip. The cast also includes Jonathan Walker, Karen Cliche, Jll Teed, Carmen Moore, Anna Van Hooft and John Ralston as Ming. Oh, and its no good. Really really no good. If you have never seen the Buster Crabbe originals, try and find them. Or watch the 1980 big screen remake. Anything but this.

Lots of updates

2008-01-28T02:05:00.000-08:00

Channel 4 will debut the Big Bang Theory on E4 on Wednesday February 13th. The CBS comedy stars Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons as two brilliant theoretical physicists who fall for their beautiful neighbour played by Kaley Cuoco......FX will show the third series of American Dad from Thursday 14th February.....Living have picked up the CBS vampire drama Moonlight and have scheduled it quickly, it starts on Tuesday February 19th. It stars Alex O'Loughlin as private investigator and vampire Mick St John and Sophia Myles as reporter Beth Turner who team on murders and mysteries....SKY One will premiere the fifth season of Cold Case from Thursday February 21st.....ITV will show Pushing Daisies in March, even though only nine episodes of the first series have been made so far......

Brotherhood renewed

2008-01-22T05:35:00.000-08:00

Showtime are set to renew Brotherhood for a third series. Currently screening its second season on FX, another eight episodes will be ordered for the third run. Jason Isaacs who stars in the series will be talking to Simon Mayo about the show on BBC Radio 5 Live after 2.30 this Friday afternoon.

Entourage, The Office and Weeds

2008-01-18T05:30:00.000-08:00

Entourage returns to ITV2 on Thursday January 31st at 11pm followed by new episodes of the American version of the office.

Weeds is also back. SKY One don't have a new series of 24 to screen on Sunday nights so from February 3rd we get brand new lost at 9pm followed by the third season of Weeds at 10pm. That's assuming Mary Louise Parker survives the second series cliffhanger.....

Curb is back

2008-01-10T05:03:00.000-08:00

The new series of Curb Your Enthusiasm starts on More 4 on Monday 21st January. It was thought that Larry David would end the show after this run, the first for two years. But now rumours persist that he is in negotiation with HBO for two more seasons.
If you're a fan of HBO comedies, you will be pleased to know also that Entourage is back on ITV2 on Thursday January 24th

Monk returns

2008-01-08T08:38:00.000-08:00

Hallmark will debut the fifth season of Monk from 7pm on Sunday January 20th. Its the first time the network have shown the series ahead of BBC2 which has previously had premiered the show on Saturday afternoons.

There are 16 episodes in the new series and the opening story Mr Monk and the Actor features guest appearances from Stanley Tucci and Greg Grunberg.

Lots of New Year stuff

2008-01-05T06:57:00.000-08:00

The late night talk shows are back on in the US. David Letterman has returned with his writers but we won't get to see that for several weeks as Diva continue to show random shows from random weeks in a random fashion.....The Tonight Show with Jay Leno returned last Wednesday and screens here from Monday at 11pm on CNBC with Iowa victor Mike Huckabee among the guests.....The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is back on More4 from Tuesday at 8.30pm, it will be interesting to see how he fares with no script.......ER is back on More4 from this Thursday at 10pm repeating on Saturdays on Channel 4 at 8pm......Army Wives starts on Living at 8pm on Friday January 25th with Kim Delaney and Catherine Bell among the stars.....Bravo will air Kill Point in March, the accclaimed hostage drama stars Donnie Wahlberg and John Leguizamo.......ITV will screen the cancelled Heist at 11.30pm from Friday January 18th. Apparently and incredibly after it limps through its six week run, it will be replaced by Pushing Daisies. Now I can understand them airing Dexter in that slot but if they condemn Pushing Daisies to oblivion they should quite frankly be banned from buying any further imports......Don't forget that Brotherhood returns Sunday at 10pm repeated Tuesdays on FX and Damages starts on BBC1 on Sunday at 10.20pm with a repeat next Friday.....

Schedule Update

2007-12-27T02:29:00.000-08:00

Damages premieres on BBC1 on Sunday January 6th at 10.20pm.....Brothehood shows up the same night, season starting at 10pm repeating on Tuesday at the same time on FX.....UK Gold will screen the remaining 12 new episodes from season two of the New Adventures of Christine beginning January 2hnd at 6pm. The show continues in double bills daily for a week.....ER starts at 10pm on 10th January on More 4, repeated on Channel 4 at 8pm on the 12th.....CSI starts on 8th January at 9pm on Five and CSI:NY 4 days later, on the 12th at 9pm.

Stewart and Leno return

2007-12-21T02:02:00.000-08:00

Despite the writers strike continuing, America's talk show hosts are preparing to return to work. Jay Leno and Conan O Brien (both screened here by CNBC) will be back behind the desk on January 2nd, but without their writers. This is likely to mean more guests, less jokes. David Letterman is yet to confirm he will also be back.
Comedy Central announced The Daily Show with Jon Stewart will be back on January 7th, returning to More4 the next day. Jon Stewart's statement said "We would like to return to work with our writers. If we cannot, we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence."

USA wields the axe

2007-12-20T02:54:00.000-08:00

The USA cable network has axed the 4400 after four seasons. The SKY One show ended this summer with a not quite conclusive finale. After a terrific mini-series and a great first run the show never quite fufilled its potential. The Dead Zone has also been chopped. It returned for a sixth season this year, to be screen in '08 on the Sci-Fi Channel in the UK.

Lost Trailer II

2007-12-19T01:12:00.000-08:00

If you thought the 30 second tease was exciting, here is the two minute cinema trailer now showing in US cinemas.

Lost returns

2007-12-16T04:54:00.001-08:00

Lost returns to ABC in the US on Thursday January 31st at 9pm with SKY One likely to screen the opening episode on Sunday February 3rd. Only eight episodes of the planned 16 have been filmed however as a result of the writers strike so nobody knows quite what will happen after these eight are done. Here's a rather exciting preview.

Breaking News

2007-12-13T03:43:00.000-08:00

NBC have cancelled Journeyman. The sci-fi series starring Kevin McKidd is currently airing on SKY One. It will ends after its initial 13 episode run. The Bionic Woman looks likely to join it, the ITV2 purchase has still not been ordered for a full season.

The NBC spy drama Chuck which has been given a full season has been picked up for a UK showing by Virgin 1.

Damages arrives

2007-12-10T01:02:00.000-08:00

Damages will premiere on BBC1 in the second week of January.The acclaimed FX drama stars Glenn Close and Ted Danson and was a critical hit in the US last year. Although low rated, the series has been renewed for a further two seasons. BBC1 will screen the first thirteen episodes in a presumably post-news slot.....In other news the US version of The Office returns to ITV2 in January alongside Entourage....

Dexter, Channel 4, and more sex

2007-12-07T05:57:00.000-08:00

ITV1 have purchased Showtime's Dexter for a terrestrial screening. The series which stars Michael C Hall as a killer handing out justice of his own, has already been shown on the FX network. FX are quick to point out they will show season two first, and they have not lost the show entirely. ITV1 need to plug a hole with their new purchases Bionic Woman and Cane heading for cancellation and both Pushing Daisies and Life held up by the writers strike......The strike means that Channel 4 will hold back shows like Desperate Housewives and Reaper until their full seasons are available.....Keifer Sutherland is in jail, his 48 day sentence means even the strike ends tomorrow, a new series of 24 is still some way off....No good news then, but this might cheer you up, the first trailer for the Sex and the City movie.

All the news you need

2007-11-29T14:20:00.000-08:00

ITV have picked up Life, the Damien Lewis cop show being screened by NBC in the US. The pickup comes days after NBC ordered a full season of 22. The show got slammed by critics (the pilot is terrible) but it has improved since and ratings are steady. Lewis plays a cop who has returned to the force after serving time for a crime he didn't commit. Adam Arkin and Brooke Langton are also among the cast.......ITV2 meanwhile are already trailing the Bionic Woman for january. The episode that aired in the US on Wednesday was the last to be completed before the writers strike began, and the word is that NBC won't put the show back into production when the strike ends. the fact that they picked up Life and Chuck and not Bionic Woman and Journeyman for full seasons looks to spell the end for both. Journeyman has 12 completed episodes and its cancellation is bad news for SKY One who have already started screening the show.......The GOOD news is that Trouble start screening the second series of How I met Your Mother every weeknight in double episodes from 10pm from Wednesday December 5th.....Channel 4 have announced new shows Reaper, Back To You and Big Bang Theory as part of their Winter season along with the return of ER and Desperate Housewives.

Galactica, Quarterlife, Kimmel and Dirty Sexy

2007-11-19T03:52:00.000-08:00

SKY One have put back screening the new Battlestar Galactica movie until Wednesday December 19th.....ITV4 will screen the American Music Awards a week on Wednesday at 9pm. The show was affected by the writers strike, so see how Jimmy Kimmel does with a script that couldn't be polished up.....NBC have bought the Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick online series Quarterlife which debuted November 11th on MySpace.com, about a twentysomething young woman whose online blog tells the truth about her closest friends. This is the first online series to transition to television. The 36 eight-minute episodes will be turned into a six-part one-hour drama airing in early 2008 on NBC. Look out for it here also....Good news for Channel 4, ABC has ordered a full season of Dirty Sexy Money, although when the series will be completed remains to be seen.....

24 on hold

2007-11-08T04:20:00.000-08:00

24 is the first big casualty of the writers strike. There are just 7 episodes in the can for the new season which is due to start in the US on January 13th and in the UK a week later. Production has been halted because of the strike. Even if the strike ends in the next few weeks, production won't be able to resume as Kiefer Sutherland has already agreed to serve part of his jail sentence in December, during what would have been a planned break in filming. There is little point in screening seven episodes so FOX have announced that the entire series will be shelved until all 24 episodes can be completed. This means if the strike continues we may not see 24 at all this TV season with the show potentially not returning next Autumn of maybe 2009.

There's a tough choice ahead also for Lost who only have 8 episodes completed. They may need to decide on running 8 and postponing the other 8, running a longer season next time, with the postponed 8 and 16 new episodes. Or - postponing entirely until next season.

This is all likely to have a major impact on SKY One's Winter schedule who have 24 and Lost as their Sunday night crown jewels.

Saturday Night Live

2007-11-05T05:06:00.001-08:00

Check out the opening sketch from Saturday Night Live in the US this past weekend.

Writers Strike is on

2007-11-05T02:39:00.000-08:00

The writers strike is underway in the US and will have an impact on your favourite shows. Chat shows like the Daily Show, David Letterman and Jay Leno are likely to come off air immediately. But if the strike goes on, scripted drama will also be hit. The creators of Heroes have prepared to wrap the second series on December 3rd if necessary, meaning season 2 will have only 11 episodes. Lost has only 8 of its 16 episodes ready, SKY One is due to air the show in February along with 24 which has only completed 8 or 9 of its 24 shows, meaning they will probably have to shelve it for a while. Loads of other top shows are in similar positions which is likely to have impact on the UK Winter schedules.

In other news FX have picked up Rescue Me for a mighty 22 episodes. Previous seasons have had only 13 shows in them. Additionally Showtime have ordered a fourth season of Weeds. There are seasons of both shows yet to be screened in the UK by Sky One.

Heroes spin-off shelved

2007-11-01T05:35:00.001-07:00

The Heroes may need to save themselves before they save the cheerleader or the world.

NBC sent the cast off a world tour before the second series, a bit much for a show only 23 episodes old.

This has been followed by a poorly received second season in the US. The ratings are down and the critics just think its a bit dull, and even more disjointed than season one. Added to that the introduction of new characters has led to limited screen time for the established core.

Now, there's news this week that NBC have shelved "Heroes: Origins", the six episode spin-off that BBC2 already has a deal to show. This was to feature one off tales about new characters in the show's universe, with the public voting for one of them to be included in the main show.

The reason given is financial concerns related to the expected writers strike in Hollywood, but NBC may have realised they are in danger of killing the show through over-exposure. Kevin Smith and Eli Roth were among the directors signed up for the spin-off.

24 Trailer

2007-10-26T01:38:00.001-07:00

After a terrible sixth season, 24 returns with a seventh series that looks a lot better. Not sure how we are meant to believe that Tony Almedia, back from the dead, is the bad guy, lets hope they pull it off. Here's a look at the new season which premieres in the US on January 13th and presumably will air on SKY One from January 19th.

Schedule Stuff

2007-10-25T02:34:00.001-07:00

SKY One will premiere the Battlestar Galactica movie Razor on Wednesday December 5th. The two hour special precedes a final run of 20 episodes set for next year.....The second series of Brotherhood opens up on FX on Sunday January 6th......If you missed out on Richard Jeni, the late great comedian who took his own life earlier in the year, ITV4 screen one of his HBO specials at 1.15am on Saturday November 3rd off the back of a showing of Chris Rock:Bigger and Blacker. I saw Jeni live and he remains one of the best stand-ups I ever seen.....Good news for ITV, and they need some, ABC have picked up Pushing Daisies for a full season. The Barry Sonnenfeld produced fantasy series that has Anna Friel among the cast, has been one of the hits of the new US season. Destined for ITV1, the network will now have to figure out where to schedule it, a worrying thought given their track record for killing top US shows stone dead.......FOX have picked up Back To You for a full season, the Kelsey Grammar/Patricia Heaton sitcom is suffering from mediocre reviews and rating, but Channel 4 will at least get a mighty set of 24 shows.

The first cancellation is.......

2007-10-23T01:44:00.000-07:00

Viva Laughlin. The CBS series, picked up in the UK by Living, has been axed after just two episodes. Hugh Jackman produced the show which was an adaptation of the BBC series Blackpool. Lloyd Owen and Madchen Amick were among the stars. CBS will replace the show with a CSI repeat. There's a surprise.

Bits and pieces

2007-10-22T02:51:00.000-07:00

The final episode of the Sopranos airs next Sunday on E4 at 10.30pm......The comedy The Big Bang Theory has been picked up for a full season, good news for Channel 4 who bought the show.....meanwhile ITV will be worried about the Bionic Women on NBCwhich is losing audience numbers week on week and might not be around much longer.....Andrea Roth from Rescue Me will appear on Lost next season, it returns to SKY One in February.....The same network will give us the new 2 hour Battlestar Galactica movie as a Christmas present.....Jon Stewart has signed up for 2 more seasons on the Daily Show which airs here on More4. His contract runs until 2010, the same time David Letterman is on the Late Show until, prompting speculation that Stewart may replace him at CBS......

Lots of Sci-fi stuff

2007-10-15T02:06:00.000-07:00

Bravo are set to premiere ABC's Masters of Science Fiction series, a week on Thursday at 10pm with repeats on Saturday and Sunday. Sam Waterston, Terry O' Quinn, Malcolm McDowell, Anne Heche, John Hurt, Brian Dennehy and James Cromwell are among the stars, Mark Rydell and Michael Tolkin and Jonathan Frakes among the directors.

If you've not managed to catch Kyle XY on Trouble yet, don't panic, its coming to BBC2 next year.

E4 will premiere the short-lived sitcom The Class from next Saturday at 6pm. The show from the creators of Friends was killed after one season on CBS.

Mad Men and Army Wives

2007-10-08T03:33:00.000-07:00

BBC4 will screen the hit US comedy Mad Men next year. The 13-part series is set in the 1960s at an advertising agency in New York with executives figuring out how to sell tobacco and alcohol to the public. Its written by Matthew Weiner, a veteren of the Sopranos. Its been picked up for a second season already.

Living have picked up Army Wives starring, among others, Catherine Bell and Kim Delaney. This US Drama from Lifetime is about the wives of soldiers serving in war. Its based on the non-fiction book Under the Sabers: The Unwritten Code of Military Marriage by Tanya Biank.

In other news ABC Family have renewed Kyle XY for a third season of ten episodes. This is in addition to the nine episodes being produced for next Spring in the US to backend the 13 currently being shown by Trouble in the UK.

The good, the bad and the ugly

2007-10-05T05:21:00.001-07:00

While I was away I was lucky enough to see a bunch of the new shows. The two I liked were Dirty Sexy Money on ABC which stars Peter Krause as a lawyer trying to keep a Kennedyesque family out of trouble and Cane on CBS which has Jimmy Smits as the head of a Cuban family in Miami. However I am not sure either of them are going to make it. While good there are not great...yet. DSM will be on Channel 4 next year with Cane on ITV1. That network also have the much raved about Pushing Daisies which I am yet to see.
All the rest was pretty disappointing, Bionic Woman (ITV2) is boring and Michelle Ryan out-acted by everybody else on screen, Life starring Damien Lewis is lifeless. Lewis is a great actor in a lousy show. Back To You(c4) starring Kelsey Grammar looks like show from back in the eighties. Reaper (C4) is very funny but how on earth they can keep it going for a whole season remains to be seen. Journeyman (SKY One) is a rehashed Quantum Leap. Lets hope there's better stuff on the horizon.

The Blog is back on October 1st

2007-09-20T07:50:00.000-07:00

Living puts on lippy

2007-09-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

Living have bought Lipstick Jungle from NBC. Due to debut early next year its based on a book by Candace Bushnell, creator of Sex and the City. Brooke Shields and Kim Raver among the stars after the series went through retooling and recasting after initally piloting a year ago.

Ugly Betty returns to Channel 4 on Friday October 5th and the emmy winning 30 Rock will partner up with Californication on Channel 5 from October 11th. And if you have not yet heard, Tony Almedia will back alongside Jack Bauer in 24 in January. The fact that they seemingly killed him off clearly not an issue.

The USTV on UKTV blog is now off for a couple of weeks, back in October with reviews of some of the new shows from the US set to land on UK screens.

Lots of premieres

2007-09-17T07:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a round-up of a whole bunch of shows starting or coming back.

The Tudors are coming to BBC2. This X-rated re-versioning of Henry VIII starts on Friday October 5th at 9pm and runs for ten weeks.

The Riches starring Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver will start the same week when the new Virgin 1 channel takes to the air.

A few already cancelled shows are also taking to the air. The Paul Haggis drama thje Black Donnellys will premiere on ITV2 on Thursday 27th at 9pm, you can see the brand new third season of Entourage at 10.30pm that same night. Also cancelled, Justice starring Victor Garber airs on Living from Friday 28th September at 9pm.

Finally the new channel Zone Romantica are screening Snoops. This shortlived David E Kelley detective drama stars Gina Gershon and Paula Marshall among others.

Openings, closing and casting news

2007-09-10T01:18:00.000-07:00

A network closes. ABC1 is the first big multi-channel to fall off the EPG. The Disney owned network will shut down after failing to make an impact. They blame the fact they could not get a full time slot on Freeview, I blame Hope and Faith. ABC1 will be rememebered for giving us the chance to see the second series of Once and Again - but not a lot else.......Showtime have renewed Californication for 12 episodes, the first season starts on Channel 5 next month....BBC4 premieres the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords at 9.30pm on September 25th. Its preceded by a concert film a week earlier......Former Soprano Edie Falco will appear in 30 Rock, upcoming on Channel 5, while Craig T Nelson will be in several episodes of My Name is Earl next year.....Virgin 1, which goes to air next month, has added the news CBS series Moonlight to its collection. You can check it out below.

Californication

2007-09-03T01:20:00.000-07:00

Channel 5 will premiere the new Showtime comedy series Californication on October 11th. David Duchovny returns to television in this new show. Check it out

Letterman news

2007-08-30T02:00:00.000-07:00

Diva TV which begins broadcasting in October have confirmed details of their Late Show screenings. They say they will be running episodes anything from two to six weeks after their broadcast in the US. This means they can get them shipped rather than satellited over therefore making it a cheaper proposition. The show will air five days a week at 9pm (until they move it to 1am probably).

Living have bought Viva Laughlin from CBS. British actor Lloyd Owen takes the role played originally by David Morrissey when the series was British and set in Blackpool. Madchen Amick is among the co-stars. Its been tipped for early cancellation by most TV critics.

24 fans will be interested to know that Reiko Aylesworth is joing the cast of ER as a potential love interest for John Stamos. Yes, ER is still on the air.

Channel 4 have doubled the screenings of Brothers and Sisters to twice a week, now airing first look on E4 from Mondays at 10 and then on Channel 4 on Wednesdays at 10. My Name is Earl moves from Thursdays at 10pm to Fridays at 10.35pm.

Big news on Heroes, Sopranos and a bit of 24

2007-08-22T11:29:00.000-07:00

Heroes are coming to town, Greg Grunberg, Ali Larter and several others will be in London for three days from August 30th as part of a Heroes world tour..........The Sopranos is back. The final nine episodes begin on E4 on Sunday September 2nd at 10pm.....and finally some 24 news, Jeneane Garofolo is the surprise addition to the cast of the new series which continues to get delayed in production as producers try and recover from the disaster of the last season......

Casting Around

2007-08-20T05:09:00.000-07:00

Portia Di Rossi will join Nip/Tuck next season, she'll play the love interest for Joely Richardson, and no you didn't read that wrong......Kristin Bell, formerly of Veronica Mars, has been linked with Lost in recent weeks but she won't be showing up on the island, she's heading for Heroes next term, as is David Anders who played Sark in Alias......Marin Hinkle of Once and Again and Two and a Half Men will show up in Brothers and Sisters as Rob Lowe's ex-wife.....James Masters is to take a recurring role in Without A Trace next season, maybe he will be the father of Sam's baby, Poppy Montgomery's pregnency will be written into the series.....

Lots of schedule news

2007-08-13T01:24:00.000-07:00

Loads of shows starting or returning in September......Kyle XY is back on Trouble from Monday September 3rd....The L Word is back on Living from Friday September 7th.....Law and Order Criminal Intent returns to Hallmark from Friday September 21st.......The third season of Entourage airs on ITV2 from Thursday September 27th.....The first season of the Showtime drama The Tudors begins on BBC2....SKY One will premiere the next season of Prison Break the week after its starts in the US and show the shortlived Kevin Williamson drama Hidden Palms from October 4th...and The Sopranos opens up its final run on E4

Criminal Update

2007-08-12T04:34:00.000-07:00

Its not Harvey Keitel after all. Joe Montegna will take over from Mandy Patinkin in Criminal Minds.

The 67 year old Keital was nearly locked in to the part when negotiations reportedly fell apart

Montenga signs on for what will be his third regular tv role. He starred alongside James Garner in the shortlived First Monday and then two seasons of Joan of Arcadia for CBS.

Patinkin will apparently return for just one episode.

Criminal casting

2007-08-10T08:01:00.000-07:00

What's going on over at Criminal Minds? Producers are continuingh to scramble around looking for a replacement for the suddenly departed Mandy Patinkin. It seems Geena Dabis was first in the frame but that went away, probably when they realised she's killed two network shows already. Then Michael Keaton apparently turned the gig down and it seems Bob Hoskins may have been on a list. But now its an even more surprising name linked with the show - Harvey Keitel. Seems hard to believe doesn't it. Harvey Keital starring a weekly network TV show but it looks like it might just happen.......Some schedule news, Hallmark premiere the news series of Law and Order:Criminal Intent next month once the new series of SVU is done.....and the fourth run of the L Word begins on Living also in September.

The Riches and K-Ville picked up

2007-08-02T00:32:00.001-07:00

The Riches has been purchased by Virgin Media for their new Virgin 1 channel

The FX drama which stars Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver has already been picked up for a second season in the US.

The pair play a couple of con artists who decide to settle down in the Deep South.

Given the involvement of Izzard and Driver its somewhat surprising that the series was not picked up by a terrestrial network or, dare I say it, a more prominent boradcaster.

In addition K-Ville has been picked up by Channel Five. The police drama is set in New Orleans post Hurricane Katrina and stars Anthony Anderson. It premieres on FOX in the US this autumn.

Letterman returns

2007-07-30T01:21:00.000-07:00

The Late Show with David Letterman is set to return to UK screens. The CBS chat show has been picked up by Diva TV, the new channel from the Hallmark stable set to launch in the autumn.

Letterman has had a bizarre history in the UK, acclaimed by critics but unable to sustain ratings. SKY One, Paramount, ITV2 and ITV4 have all screened the series at various times but all eventually relegated it until after midnight and then dropped the series.

Diva have picked up a several US shows talkies for their late '07 launch

Casting around

2007-07-24T07:13:00.000-07:00

Linus Roache is joining the cast of Law and Order, dropping out of his role in the Julianna Marguilies vehicle Canterburys Law....Meanwhile brand new Special Victims Unit premieres on Hallmark on August 23rd while Channel Five shows season five on Fridays.....NYPD Blue chief Esai Morales will join Jericho.....Cherry Jones will play the first female President on 24.....Dawson Creek star Kerr Smith goes into CSI New York......Geena Davis is rumoured to be replacing Mandy Patinkin in Criminal Minds.....Michael Rappoport will take a recurring role in My Name Is Earl....Danny Glover will play a love interest for Sally Field in Brothers and Sisters next season......

30 Rock arrives and Nip/Tuck is nicked

2007-07-20T02:31:00.000-07:00

Channel Five have bought the acclamed NBC sitcom 30 Rock

The show was nominated for the best comedy emmy yesterday and there were noms also for stars Tiny Fey and Alec Bladwin. Set by behind the scenes of a Saturday Night Live style show, 30 Rock will air on both Channel Five and the networks digital channels.

In other news, Nip/Tuck will move from SKY One to FX for its next season. The plastic surgery drama originates from FX in the US.

Emmy Nominations

2007-07-19T08:06:00.000-07:00

The 2007 Emmy Nominations are out. Here are the main categories
Best Comedy Series nominees: Ugly Betty (C4), 30 Rock, Entourage (ITV2), Two and Half Men (Paramount), The Office (ITV2). Two and Half Men??? Really???
Best Drama Series: Sopranos (E4,C4) Boston Legal (Living), Greys Anatomy(Living, C5) House(C5), Heroes(BBC2). No Shield. No Rescue Me. No Lost. Madness
Best actor: James Gandolfini (Sopranos), Denis Leary (Rescue Me)(SKY One), Keifer Sutherland (24)(Sky One), Hugh Laurie (House), James Spader (Boston Legal)
Best actress; Edie Falco (Sopranos), Patricia Arquette (Medium)(BBC1), Sally Field (Brothers and Sisters)(C4,E4), Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer, E4), Minnie Driver (The Riches)
Best actress, comedy: America Ferrera(Ugly Betty), Julia Louis Dreyfuss (Christine) (UK Gold), Tiny Fey (30 Rock), Mary Louise-Parker (Weeds)(SKY One), Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives)
Best actor, comedy: Steve Carell (The Office), Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), Ricky Gervais (Extras)(BBC), Tony Shaloub for (Monk)(BBC, Hallmark) Charlie Sheen(Two and a Half Men)
What do you think??

While I was gone...

2007-07-17T01:05:00.000-07:00

BBC4 bought Flight of the Conchords, the HBO comedy will air in the autumn......Meanwhile HBO returns Curb Your Enthusiasm in September, expect it here next year......Disgraced Greys Anatomy star Isiah Washington will show up in The Bionic Woman, bought by ITV......Mandy Pantinkin has left Criminal Minds after two series.....Alicia Witt is joining Law and Order:Criminal Intent.....Illeana Douglas is joining Ugly Betty.....The Battlestar Galactica movie airs in the US in November ahead of the final series in January, here's a preview

The Blog returns July 16th

2007-06-27T06:44:00.000-07:00

Preview Part Three

2007-06-27T06:24:00.000-07:00

An extra long third part of the preview to look the latest purchases from ITV, SKY One and a sneek BBC peak.

ITV's top purchase is Pushing Daisies. This was the highest regarded of all the new Fall pilots, It comes from Barry Sonnenfield and stars among others our very own Anna Friel. I won't explain the premise, just enjoy the fabulous preview.

ITV have also picked up Swingtown which stars former This Life star Jack Davenport. Its the tale of swinging couples in the seventies. It looks great but rather left field for CBS. There had been speculation it would head for Showtime if CBS didn't pick it up. The danger of course may be that the network waters it down too much. It won't premiere until 2008.

ITV have also added Cane to their collection. This Jimmy Smits vehicle is the saga of a large Cuban family. It looks good but once again you have to wonder if the older CBS audience are really going to take to it. ITV will screen it on one of their digital channels.

ITV are also set to secure the rights to the re-imagined Bionic Woman starring ex-EastEnder Michelle Ryan, I thought the preview looked pretty ordinary but changed my mind once Katee "Starbuck" Sackhoff shows up in it. In the hands of the Battlestar Galactica team you have to have faith, but will it play at 9pm on a Wednesday on NBC? Might be asking too much of it.

Finally ITV are set to buy Gossip Girl for ITV2. There's been a bidding war for this show which comes from OC showrunner Josh Schwartz. Wherever it ends up I won't be watching.

Journeyman is the title of the new SKY One pick-up from NBC and looks like it might well be applied to the series as a whole. Kevin McKidd stars as a man who travels in time and then has to explain his absences to his family. You can hear it now "no, I'm not having an affair I was fighting the civil war". Sounds all a bit Quantum Leap familiar to me.

Finally The Tudors. This blockbuster new Showtme series has already aired in the US and been renewed for a second season

We interrupt this preview...

2007-06-27T06:18:00.000-07:00

Kelsey Grammer is set to return to Channel 4.

The network have purchased the FOX sitcom Back To You in which he plays a newsreader at a local TV station. He is forced to work alongside his ex-girlfriend played by Patricia Heaton of Everybody Loves Raymond.

In other news the Courtney Cox drama Dirt begins on Five US on Monday July 9th at 8.30pm while the second seasons of Weeds shows up on SKY One at last on August 5th

Preview Part 2

2007-06-25T02:31:00.000-07:00

Channel 4 have not picked up as much this season as in previous years. They've got less money to spend and got burnt last year by buying several shows that got cancelled. Everyone seems very high on Reaper. This CW show is about a young guy looking for the easy way out, who decides to be a bounty hunter for the devil. I think it looks very ordinary indeed and I suspect may be bound for T4. Kevin Smith directed the pilot.

Also underwhelmed by the Big Bang Theory about two geeks who live next door to a beautiful woman. Looks like a warmed over version of Weird Science from about twenty years ago. It comes from Chuck Lorre who helmed Dharma and Greg and sadly Two and a Half Men.

Finally, one to get excited about. Dirty Sexy Money has a fabulous cast incouding Peter Krause, William Baldwin, Donald Sutherland and Jill Clayburgh and is the story of a lawyer hired to protest the interests of a misbehaving Kennedy style dynasty . It airs on ABC this autumn and Channel 4 next year. Its written by Craig Wright who has Brothers and Sisters and Six Feet Under on his cv. Peter Horton directed the pilot.

Tomorrow we will check out ITV's pick-ups.

Early Season Preview Part 1

2007-06-22T06:21:00.001-07:00

As the blog prepares to take a break for a couple of weeks, I thought I would leave you with a dozen previews of American shows to come on British television.

First up is Californication. This is the new David Duchovny comedy that also stars Natasha McElhone. It airs on Showtime and as you will see from the trailer its very much in cable territory. It looks a lot like the old Dream On series than HBO made. Stephen Hopkins directed the pilot. It starts in the US in August, expect it on Channel Five in the autumn.

Channel Five will also have the second season of Big Love which has just started airing on HBO. I thought the first run just got better and better and I hear season two is great

Finally here's a first look at the Sarah Connor Chronicles. It looks expensive thats for sure, but is there enough here to sustain a long running series? The FOX show has been bought by the new Virgin Media 1 network but presumably they could also show it on Bravo.

Next week we will look at new shows coming on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and SKY.

Bits and pieces

2007-06-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

The BBC is reported to have bought Damages, the new Glenn Close/Ted Danson drama from FX. The legal show follows Close spending a year on The Shield........ITV are close to agreeing a deal for the new CW Josh Schwartz series Gossip Girl for screening on ITV2. Negotiations continue also for the re-imgained Bionic Woman starring Michelle Ryan......Four new characters will be on board to get grief from House next season.....Michael Imperioli may join Law and Order full time following his four episode stint last year.....ITV4 will screen the short-lived Rob Cordray comedy The Winner from Friday July 6th.....Virgin have bought The Sarah Connor Chronicles for their new Virgin 1 channel. The series stars Lena Headey as Sarah Connor with Thomas Dekker as her teenage son John, who has the power to save humanity.

Channel Four get two more

2007-06-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

Channel Four have picked up two of the most buzzed about shows at the LA screenings.

Dirty Sexy Money is a family saga about a lawyer who protects the interests of a Kennedy-like family. Stars include Peter Krause, Jill Clayburgh, Donald Sutherland, William Baldwin, Zoe McLellan (Jag) and many others. The series will air on ABC in the autumn.

Reaper is the story of a slacker who works as a bounty hunter for the devil. The pilot was directed for the CW by Kevin Smith.

Bits and Pieces

2007-06-14T07:34:00.000-07:00

Fox News reports that Law and Order are trying to tempt Bradley Whitford on board. The ex West Winger is now free of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and would replace Sam Waterston as ADA, as Waterston takes over the DA role. But Whitfords' salary and the fact that he lives in LA while the show shoots in New York may mean its nothing more than talk......John Laroquette will join Living's Boston Legal as Julie Bowen, Mark Valley and others are shown the door. The bad news is the show still won't be any good......FX will screen the first four seasons of the Wire back to back from July 23rd at 10pm, with one episode a week....James Burrows (Cheers, Frazier, Friends, Will and Grace etc) will be house director for Kelsey Grammar's Back To You, yet to be officially picked up in the UK.......Sci-Fi, still smarting from the loss of Heroes to the BBC, has bought the new version of Flash Gordon. Sadly if its any good SKY will probably have it off them.....Channel 4 have picked up the Big Bang Theory about two geeks who move in next door to a sexy neighbour. It can't be as dreadful as it sounds if Channel 4 bought it though.......CSI Miami returns to Channel 5 on July 17th........

Monday update

2007-06-11T02:11:00.000-07:00

Multiple Oscar nominee Peter O'Toole will join the cast of Showtime's "The Tudors" next season, playing the pope who wants to excommunicate Henry VIII from the Catholic Church. The first series runs on BBC2 in the autumn...The New Adventures of Old Christine begins on UKTVG2 with a double bill on Monday July 9th. Julia Louis-Dreyfus as single mother Christine Campbell, who juggles work commitments at the women's gym she owns along with live-in brother Matthew, ex-husband Richard and his new, younger girlfriend, also called Christine.....The Shield returns to Channel Five with new episodes on Friday June 29th at 11pm.....

Jericho lives!!

2007-06-07T03:31:00.000-07:00

Having cancelled Jericho, CBS have reversed their decision and picked up seven new episodes. Every season there are massive campaigns to save some show or other that has been given the bullet, but this is the first time it has worked. The fans sent nuts to CBS to protest the cancellation and now seem to have got their way. The show will return with a reduced cast and lower budget - but it will be back.....In other news Bradley Cooper (ex-Alias, Kitchen Confidential) is to join Nip/Tuck next season for five episodes....

ITV nab big shows

2007-06-06T08:48:00.000-07:00

ITV have snapped up three of the most talked about shows screened at the US Upfronts this year

ABC's Pushing Daisies was raved about by most critics. From producer Barry Sonnenfeld and starring among others Anna Friel, the series tells the story of man who can bring people back to life by touching them, but they will die again if he touches them a second time.

CBS Swingtown stars This Life alum Jack Davenport and is the story of a group of swinging couple set in the seventies. It won't start in the US until mid-season.

ITV1 will screen both the above with Cane starring Jimmy Smits set for a digital airing. This Cuban family saga is a departure for CBS. Its also a risk for Smits who having joined LA Law and NYPD Blue in their second seasons and The West Wing even later will be trying to launch a show for the first time.

Prison Break escapes from Five

2007-06-05T04:35:00.000-07:00

SKY One have stolen Prison Break from Channel Five. The third series will be shown exclusively by the satellite broadcaster. It comes a year after SKY snatched Lost from Channel Four.
SKY One have also picked up NBC's Journeyman. Kevin McKidd plays a San Francisco newspaper reporter who travels through time changing people's lives. Along the way, he also deals with the difficulties at work and home brought on by his sudden disappearances. Other cast members include Reed Diamond and Prison Break's Moon Bloodgood.
Both shows are from 20th Century Fox which is owned by Rupert Murdoch who also owns SKY.

Schedule Update

2007-06-04T10:52:00.000-07:00

Brothers and Sisters will now start on Channel 4 on Wednesday June 20th which gives them a long time to keep showing that trail. Rob Lowe will be jetting in to promote the show appearing, on among other things, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on June 15th........The Shield returns to Channel Five on Friday June 22nd, in a very late slot no doubt....ITV2 are repeating the first two series of Entourage ahead of series three.....

Bits and pieces

2007-06-01T05:34:00.000-07:00

The second season of My Name Is Earl begins on Channel Four on Thursday June 14th at 10pm. Meanwhile the much trailed Brothers and Sisters is no longer in for Wednesday 13th. Instead E4 will premiere Runaway at 9pm, the shortlived Donnie Wahlberg/Leslie Hope show, from Darren Star. It looks like Brothers and Sisters might be heading for Fridays......Battlestar Galactica will end after its fourth season it has been confirmed. It returns in the US in January 2008 preceded by a special before the holiday season.....Fred Thompson is leaving Law and Order amid rumour that he is running for President, thats President of the United States not NBC......

Lots of schedule news

2007-05-29T07:37:00.000-07:00

Dexter starts on the FX network on Sunday July 8th at 10pm. It will air against Medium on BBC1 and Vanished which starts this week on Channel Five....Channel 4 will open up Brothers and Sisters on Wednesday June 13th with episodes on the main network following by previews of the next one on E4.....Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip looks like airing on Saturday nights from June 30th on Channel 4 and More 4.....The new series of the 4400 airs on Sky One from Tuesday July 17th at 9pm with a repeat the next night on Sky Two at 10pm.

An X Filer returns, Heroes and the 4400

2007-05-23T07:01:00.000-07:00

Channel Five have picked up the new David Duchovny series Californication. The 12 part Showtime series which premieres in the US in August stars the former X-Files star as a novelist struggling with professional and personal issues. Natasha McElhone is among the cast........The BBC has acquired the second series of Heroes before they have shown the first. The BBC will screen season 2 on BBC2 and BBC3, its a major blow for the Sci-Fi Channel who have had first run rights for the first series......The 4400 is back on SKY One in July, check out the trailer for season four which begins in the US next month.

Friday update

2007-05-18T05:50:00.000-07:00

Paramount Comedy have bought the Sarah Silverman show for the UK. The six part series will air in the autumn. Comedy Central have recommissioned the show......SKY One will premiere the fourth seasons of Las Vegas and the 4400 in July along with the 15th run of Law and Order.....Viva Laughlin got picked up by CBS with Lloyd Owen in the lead, yet another Brit fronting a fall US show. The buying frenzy begins next week with the Bionic Woman likely to be the most sort after show.......After weeks of speculation the CW network have cancelled Veronica Mars after three seasons.....

Upfront Latest

2007-05-16T04:14:00.000-07:00

ABC have posted clips from their fall schedule here http://abc.go.com/fallpreview/schedule .
Dirty Sexy Money looks the best of the dramas, check out the video.

According to Variety, CBS has cancelled Jericho (Hallmark and ITV) and The Class (soon on Channel 4) and Close to Home (Living)
How I Met Your Mother (BBC, Trouble) has earned a third season despite speculation it might not make the cut.
Fox has ordered two more seasons of "24," keeping the Emmy-winning drama on the net through to 2009. Lets hope its better than this years dire series.
The CW have picked up and cancelled shows as expected with Smallville (E4), Supernatural (ITV2) and One Tree Hill (E4) all coming back, but no word on Veronica Mars (Living). New shows include Gossip Girl, Reaper and an adaptation of British hit Wild At Heart.

Upfront Update

2007-05-15T02:02:00.000-07:00

ER which is back for a 14th series next year with Stanlet Tucci on board may bow out for good……Former ER vet Julianne Marguilies will return to network TV next year, FOX have picked up legal drama "Canterbury's Law, which comes from Dennis Leary’s production company.

Check out a couple of NBC’s new shows, Life starring Damien Lewis and Bionic Woman with Michelle Ryan

Big Day and Medium

2007-05-14T01:47:00.000-07:00

The third series of Medium, much delayed by the BBC, will now premiere next Sunday at 10.15. If the slot seems too good to be true, don't worry it's 10.45 the week after.

ITV2 will start showing the shortlived ABC sitcom Big Day. It premieres Tuesday week at 10.45pm with a repeat on Fridays at 8pm. Similar to the first run of the BBC show The Worst Week of My Life, the show traces a wedding over the course of a series. Josh Cooke and Marla Sokoloff are the couple, Wendie Malick plays mum.

Upfront fever

2007-05-14T01:39:00.000-07:00

Lots of gossip and rumours ahead of the Upfronts which take place this week.....
Law & Order will stay on NBC, the veteren cop show will be back while Law and Order:Criminal Intent will move over to the USA network for its first run episodes. NBC have also picked up Life with Damien Lewis......Fox have picked up the "Terminator" spinoff "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" starring Lena Headey. Also on their schedule Jezebel James by "Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino starring Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose...New shows on ABC include the Greys Anatomy spin-off, Christina Applegate's Sam I Am, Jerry O’Connell's Carpoolers, Darren Star's Cashmere Mafia, Donald Sutherland's and Peter Krause in Dirty Sexy Money. Pushing Daises with Anna Friel and Eli Stone with Jonny Lee Miller are also expected to make it....CBS are set to renew pick How I Met Your Mother (BBC2), Rules of Engagement (Paramount) and The New Adventures of Old Christine. Jack Davenport's drama Swingtown now looks like making it along with a new Jimmy Smits show. It seems that there won't be a single new comedy coming down the track from CBS......

British actors take over

2007-05-11T01:47:00.000-07:00

If all the rumours are to be believed (and they won't all be true), a large number of the shows about to be picked up by the US networks have British stars. Among the expected pick-ups next week - On NBC The Bionic Woman, starring Michelle Ryan, from the team behind Battlestar Galactica, Journeyman, a time travelling tale with Kevin McKidd, and Life a cop drama starring Damien Lewis. ABC are set to order Eli Stone, a cop show starring Jonny Lee Miller and Pushing Daisies a fantasy series with Anna Friel. CBS are certain to schedule Babylon Fields with Ray Stevenson although Swingtown which has This Life/Couplin star Jack Davenport in the lead now looks like it won't make it, although it could go to Showtime.

The networks will reveal all next week.

Courtney, Eddie and Kyle

2007-05-09T03:22:00.000-07:00

Original episodes of Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent may move from NBC to TNT.......At FX, Dirt starring Courtney Cox has been renewed for another 13 episodes, it airs on Five Life this summer. The Riches with Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver will also get a second season.....If you have not managed to catch Kyle XY on Trouble then make sure you do, its terrific. It comes from the cable network ABC Family who have added ten more episodes to season two making it a total order of 23 one-hour episodes. The second season of Kyle XY debuts in June in the US with the ten extra episodes airing in early 2008.

May Frenzy

2007-05-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

OK, sorry for the long absence, but back now and will be blogging everyday through the Upfronts next week when we find out about the new series for Fall. Heres a digest of what happened while I was off......Medium series three didn't start despite the BBC scheduling it and pulling it every Sunday for the last three weeks. NBC meanwhile have picked up a fourth series.......Lost will return for THREE more seasons, but with just 16 episodes in each. The 48 new episodes will end in 2010 with ep 119 concluding the story. Series four begins next February in the US and the UK....Gilmore Girls is over, it will bow out in two weeks at the end of season seven.....Matthew Modine will join the third series of weeds (season 2, sky? hello?? have you lost the tapes????) while Janel Maloney (West Wing) joins Brotherhood (FX in the UK) for four episodes of season two.....Paramount have started showing Rules of Engagement on Monday nights at 9.30 along with new episodes of that Charlie Sheen crap. The ninth and final series of King of Queens is airing on the same network at 9pm on Tuesdays in double bills.