TV News

2011 Emmy Winners

The results for the 2011 Emmy
Awards are in, and it’s a mix of long-running winners and first
timers. Mad Men
drew in it’s fourth win for Outstanding Drama Series, while Modern
Family repeated last year’s win for Comedy. In fact, Modern
Family turned out to be
the big winner of the night, taking awards in nearly every category
it was nominated. With Breaking
Bad out of the running
this year, the door was left open for Friday
Night Lights star Kyle
Chandler to pick up the award for the series’ final season. Peter
Dinklage also nabbed the supporting actor trophy for the first season
of Game of Thrones.

New Fringe Trailer Gives A Better Look At Season Four

After weeks of some of the most confusing yet intriguing promotional material for any television show ever, Fox has seen fit to put out yet another trailer for the fourth season of sci-fi drama Fringe. The trailer gives a better look at actual fourth season material that isn’t distorted by cryptic messages like those that have come before it, but does once again largely revolve around the theme of “Where is Peter Bishop?” 

Though his name is never mentioned, there are various flashes of the character, who disappeared from all states of existence at the climax of the third season. There is also a heavy emphasis on the fact that Lincoln Lee (Seth Gabel) has been promoted to a regular cast member, following his stint as a recurring character since the second season of the show, as he appears in almost every scene shown.

FX Picks Up Animated Series From ‘It’s Always Sunny’ Gang

Just as the seventh season of It’s
Always Sunny is launching, FX has announced that they have given
a thirteen episode order to a new animated series from the same minds
behind their twisted sitcom. Unsupervised is set to premiere
in January and will run alongside FX’s other animated series, Archer,
as it continues into it’s third season. Sunny alums, Rob Rosell,
Scott Marder, and David Hornsby(who is already busy with his new CBS
series, How To Be Gentleman)
with serve as executive producers.

The
series centers on two best friends who must overcome the trials of
life as teenagers. Gary and Joel are too optimistic lads who try to
stay morally grounded even without any parental guidance. Several
actors will be lending their voices to the series, including; Justin
Long, Kristen Bell, Romany Malco, Kaitlin Olson, and Alexa Vega.

Fox Developing Drama Based on ‘The Spectre’ from DC Comics

According to Deadline Hollywood, Fox is developing a drama series based on DC Comics’s The Spectre. The project has only received a script commitment, which means it is still far from being picked up as a series.

Created by Jerry Siegel (Superman)
and Bernard Baily, the Spectre first appeared in comic books in 1940 as
the spirit of a cop enacting justice for the dead. The character then
lived through several reboots of the DC universe and significant
personal transformations including a change in the identity of its
host, or more precisely, a transfer of the role to another
spirit. The network’s adaptation seems to be based on the original
story, although not set at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Hannibal Lecter Heads To Television

It looks like the zombies of The
Walking Dead are going to have some competition for all that
human flesh. After continued attempts to recapture the success of Silence of the Lambs, Gaumont International
Television are taking the story of Hannibal Lecter, originally
created by author Thomas Harris, to the small screen. Bryan Fuller,
creator of Pushing Daisies and Wonderfalls, has been
tapped to write the television adaption. Fuller will also serve as
executive producer along with Martha De Laurentiis, who produced the
films; Hannibal, Red Dragon, and Hannibal Rising.

The series, dubbed Hannibal,
will draw on the relationship between the good Dr. Lecter, and FBI
profiler, Will Graham, that was featured in the book and film, Red
Dragon(as well as the first film featuring the cannibal
psychiatrist, Manhunter). This prequel to the events of
Silence of the Lambs will focus on Graham seeking guidance
from Lecter in his investigations, which are troubling for Graham
because of his ability to empathize with serial killers.

Spartacus Star Andy Whitfield Dead at 39

Actor Andy Whitfield, former star of the Starz TV series Spartacus: Blood and Sand, succumbed to non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. Vashti, the Australian actor’s wife, said her husband died on a ‘sunny Sydney morning’ in the ‘arms of his loving wife.’ 

The actor was diagnosed with the disease in March 2010 and began treatment immediately in New Zealand. He appeared in all 13 episodes of the first season of the Spartacus: Blood and Sand, first aired in 2010. The diagnosis lead to his decision to part ways with the show, including future seasons, to focus on treatment.

Fox Launches Fringe Web Series ‘Past + Present + Future’

As a lead-in to the season four
premiere of Fringe, Fox has
launched a recap web series titled Past + Present + Future.
The videos are obviously designed to bring new viewers up to
speed on Fringe, while also
reacquainting regular fans with the essentials before the upcoming
season begins.

The webisodes are narrated by Fringe
star, John Noble, and do not follow the season arcs as they
chronologically unfolded, but rather are organized by themes laid out
over the Fringe time line. Two installments have already been
released and the rest will follow this week. They are available on
the Fringe 101 page and can also be viewed on YouTube.

Syfy Renews ‘Alphas’ for a Second Season

Syfy has announced via a press release the renewal of its new superhero show Alphas for a second season of thirteen episodes. Mark Stern, the network’s president of original programming, explains the decision. “Alphas‘
smart, innovative approach to a superhero franchise has clearly caught
on with our audience.” He then goes on to add, “From the first-rate
writing to the outstanding cast lead by David Strathairn, we’re very
proud of what was achieved in its first season and look forward to
seeing this series fulfill even more of its creative potential in a
second season.”

Showtime Working on ‘Under the Dome’ Project with Steven Spielberg and Stephen King

According to The Wrap, Showtime has confirmed an adaptation of Stephen King’s 2009 novel Under the Dome is being developed for the network by Steven Spielberg and the author himself.

Has TNT’s Falling Skies Inspired Fox?

TNT’s alien-themed show Falling Skies
is set to rank as basic cable’s number one drama of the summer among
adults 18-49 and 25-54, as well as the top new series in total viewers.
The network made the announcement via a press release around the same
time Fox ordered a pilot for the alien-themed show Stranger Planet.