TV News

Dexter Renewed for Seventh and Eighth Seasons

After months of drawn out contract negotiations with the series’ star Michael C. Hall, serial killer drama Dexter has been picked up for two more seasons by Showtime, taking its total run to at least eight seasons. Whilst there is no official word of confirmation, it seems likely that the eighth outing would be intended as the show’s last, giving it a likely end date of December 2013.

Showtime president David Nevins said: “Dexter‘s enormous success is a real tribute to the great achievements of its cast, producers, and the powerhouse performance of Michael C. Hall. The series is bigger than it’s ever been in its sixth season, both in terms of audience and its impact on the cultural landscape

NBC Pulls Community!

NBC sitcom Community moved one step closer to its much feared cancellation today after it was announced that the show has been pulled from the network’s mid-season line-up, presumably due to its less than stellar numbers.

The critically-acclaimed-but-inexplicably-low-rated sitcom will be replaced by new episodes of 30 Rock starting January 12th. 30 Rock‘s traditional 9:30 PM slot will be filled by Will Arnett/Christina Appelgate/Maya Rudolph vehicle Up All Night.

Brian K. Vaughan Hired to Adapt Stephen King’s ‘Under The Dome’ for Showtime

It was back in August when Showtime
picked up Stephen King’s Under the Dome for a series, but it
wasn’t until this week that Brian K. Vaughan was settled on to pen
the adaption. Deadline was first to report the news on Vaughan
undertaking the retelling of the 2009 novel. King, whose Dark
Tower series is also flirting with an adaption at HBO, will serve
as an executive producer on the series.

Not
a stranger amongst sci-fi fans, Vaughan is best known as a comic book
author, most notably for his series; Y:
The Last Man,
Ex Machina,
Runaways,
and Pride of
Baghdad.
He has also lent his talent to television before, serving as a key
writer on Lost
from the third to fifth season.

Summer Glau Attached to TNT Drama

Summer Glau has joined the cast of TNT’s Scent of the Missing. 

The dramatic pilot will follow Susannah (Tricia Helfer), a K-9 Search and Rescue volunteer who solves crimes with her golden retriever Puzzle. Glau will play a beautiful, but tough member of Susannah’s team, according to Deadline. The actress previously starred in short-lived NBC superhero drama The Cape and also appeared in post-cancellation cult titan Firefly as well as Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, which many also consider to have been cancelled before its time.

DirecTV Will Continue To Carry Fox Networks

Though it wasn’t quite down to the
eleventh hour, things sure came close, as the new carriage agreement
between DirecTV and Fox wasn’t finalized until the afternoon before
the satellite provider’s midnight cutoff. Apparently ending earlier
than expected so the execs could take their children trick or
treating, the new deal means DirecTV will continue to carry all of
Fox’s cable networks, including FX and the regional sports stations.
Fox Broadcasting’s local affiliates, whose contract was up at the end
of this year, are also in the clear.

There was no information released on
the agreement’s numbers, but an insider has claimed Fox walked away
with a double digit percentage increase to their license-fee. Before
the deal was brokered, DirecTV claimed that Fox was after a 40% jump
in fees, but Fox dismissed the claim, declaring they were only asking
for an amount consistent with what other providers were being asked
to pay.

CBS Gives Full Season Orders to ‘Unforgettable’ and ‘Person of Interest’

CBS has given full season orders to its freshman dramas Unforgettable and Person of Interest, but no word on its struggling medical drama A Gifted Man.

Unforgettable is a police procedural starring Poppy Montgomery (Without a Trace) as Carrie Wells, a female police detective with a medical condition giving her the ability to remember everything she has been through, literally. Since its very respectable premiere (14.09 million viewers) the show has dominated its Tuesday (10 PM EST) time slot even if the acceptable ratings, hovering between 2.5 and 2.9, have not been particularly impressive by CBS’s standards.

Hulu to Stream All Primetime Shows From The CW

According to TV Guide, the CW has signed a five-year deal with Hulu to bring all its primetime TV shows to the streaming video website. The agreement only covers current season episodes, which will be available through the site premium service Hulu Plus.

The news comes not long after the four-year deal between the CW and Netflix, announced earlier this month, covering the streaming of all shows from the CW, but excluding current seasons that will only be available to Hulu users starting later this year with Gossip Girl, Hart of Dixie, 90210, Ringer, America’s Next Top Model, The Vampire Diaries, The Secret Circle, Nikita and Supernatural.

Homeland Renewed for Season Two

Homeland has officially been picked up for a second season by Showtime.

The cable network has ordered an additional 12 episodes of the drama series, which stars Damian Lewis and Claire Danes. Danes plays Carrie Mathison, a CIA officer who becomes convinced that former prisoner of war Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) has been turned by terrorists and is key to an upcoming attack on U.S soil.

DirecTV Subscribers In Danger of Losing Fox’s Cable Networks

It isn’t the first and it won’t be the
last, but another carriage dispute has broken out, this time between
satellite provider DirecTV and Fox Networks. The stalled
negotiations could mean subscribers will be without any of Fox’s
cable stations come November 1^st. The deadline is a
result of DirecTV holding out against a supposed license-fee increase
of 40% by Fox. Though the loss of FX will certainly have the biggest
impact if a deal is not reached, subscribers will also lose National
Geographic Channel, Fuel TV, Speed, Fox Movie Channel, Fox Soccer,
Fox Deportes, and the host of Fox regional sports networks.

AMC Renews The Walking Dead For a Third Season

The news comes as no surprise to anyone
following the ratings for The Walking Dead, which have only
improved over the breakout success of the first season.
Nevertheless, it was made official that AMC has ordered a third
season of their zombie infested series. No official start date has
been announced, but another October premiere is a safe bet.

After drawing in 7.3 million total
viewers for the second season premiere, and then retaining 6.7
million of them for the following episode, the announcement from AMC
president Charlie Collier was all but a forgone conclusion. “Today
we are pleased to announce that the ‘dead’ shall live as we
proudly renew The Walking Dead for a third season on AMC and
globally with our terrific partners at Fox International Channels,”
said AMC’s head honcho.