News Brief : A lotta number(s) news for shows aired last week

Its numbers time, The Big Bang Theory shows its still the numbers-king, NCIS is still the most watched crime drama procedural. After all the media hype and buzz in the summer, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had an impressive series premiere. The Emmys also had an impressive night on sunday night with increase in viewership from last year's event. Cable shows also continues to draw in big numbers, as Dexter goes out with a bang, Ray Donovan and Devious Maids end their first season on a high.

.. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the most talked-about new series of the fall, premiered last night to 12.1 million viewers, coming in with a 4.7 rating in the 18-49 demo. That's ABC's largest premiere in three years,and Joss Whedon's largest premiere in the history of the universe. The show premiered last week to impressive ratings, scoring the best debut of a new drama in all of television since 2009’s V.

...  In another numbers news, NCIS pulled in 20.02 million viewers and had its third largest season-opening audience ever. What kind of voodoo magic are those kids practicing that they get that many viewers?

... The Big Bang Theory also returned last week to its biggest ratings ever. 20.44 million viewers tuned in for the Season 7 premiere.

... Congratulations, Emmys! had the biggest audience for the awards show since 2005. Sunday's broadcast on CBS averaged 17.63 million viewers, up a third from last years telecast on ABC.

... More ratings! Dexter's apparently disappointing final episode reached the series' biggest audience yet, with 2.8 million viewers tuning in for the initial airing. Ray Donovan's Season 1 finale also did well, with 2.1 million viewers. That's a Showtime best for a freshman series' season finale. As for Breaking Bad, it continued to be awesome and rise in the ratings even with a lot of competition from Dexter and the Emmys, and hit a series high with 6.6 million viewers. Remember when you had to convince people to try to watch this show? While we're at it, let's just mention that Lifetime's Devious Maids wrapped up its first season on Sunday, and 3 million viewers watched that for a season high.

... FOX's Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Dads both premiered to okay numbers last night (6 million viewers and a 2.5 demo rating, and 5.6 million viewers and a 2.1 demo rating, respectively). This is sort of disappointing for Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which I've heard called the best new comedy of the fall

... FX has concluded that the Season 6 premiere of Sons of Anarchy has become the most-watched FX broadcast of all time. So far, it's accumulated 8.32 million viewers.

Back to other news apart from viewership ratings and numbers

 ... Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The most anticipated new show of the season debuted to big numbers for ABC, but very mixed reviews. Some people loved it, some people thought it was only mediocre, some people were very confused (and in some cases angered) by the lack of superheroes (which means they didn't read anything that came out before the series premiered). But regardless of what The People thought, it was a strong start for ABC, Marvel, and the Joss Whedon himself.

... James Spade is back on TV and carrying most of NBC's new—and largely mediocre—FBI thriller The Blacklist on his shoulders. But the series is worth a look to just to see the actor (who plays a most-wanted criminal who suddenly surrenders himself to the FBI) chew scenery, cling to every pregnant pause, and let lines like "Well I think you're special," slide out of his mouth.

... Another edition of NCIS again! So another spin-off is in the works. The new series would be set in and around New Orleans, with a backdoor pilot planned for a super-sized spring episode of the original series. NCIS star Mark Harmon would produce, with fall 2014 a likely debut date for what can only be called NCIS: NO.

... A Walking Dead spinoff, AMC announced that it's developing a "companion series" (a.k.a. a fancy term for spin-off) of its zombie mega-hit The Walking Dead. The new series will focus on "an entirely new story and cast of characters," and Robert Kirkman, who created the comics, will serve as a co-executive producer along with Walking Dead EPs Gale Anne Hurd and David Alpert. The series, which doesn't currently have a title, is expected to premiere in 2015.

... Ken Jeong, better known as Chang from Community ( The Hangover triologies), is set to star and produce in a medical multi-camera comedy on NBC. Dr. Ken will loosely be based on Jeong's own experience as a real physician (he was a doctor before he turned to acting). Can't wait for this.

... TNT has canceled its drama King & Maxwell after one season. The series starred Rebecca Romijn and Jon Tenney as secret-service agents who became private eyes.

News Brief : Post 'Breaking Bad' era or Creator and actor

Breaking Bad Creator and actor move on to other projects, E! has started their own scripted series,Robert De Niro replaces the late James Gandolfini , more people join The Mindy Project and more......




... Breaking Bad may not be over until Walt says it's over—or at least until this Sunday—but series creator Vince Gilligan has lined up his next TV gig. CBS has ordered Battle Creek, a drama about two detectives with differing views and attitudes in Battle Creek, Michigan, to series for the 2014-2015 TV season. Along for the ride are House creator David Shore, who will serve as showrunner, and Breaking Bad alum Mark Johnson, who'll executive-produce alongside Gilligan.

... The CW is developing Red, a sci-fi Western drama from The Mentalist creator Bruno Heller and executive producer Tom Szentgyorgyi. The project is about the first human settlement on Mars and centers on the relationships between the town’s female sheriff, a doctor, and a criminal.

... Robert Zemeckis has partnered with Clifton Campbell (The Glades) for Billy Ray, which has a put pilot commitment from FOX, is about a family whose world is turned upside-down when their child who was kidnapped as a baby returns home to them at the age of 16 after being raised by a wackadoodle.

CASTING NEWS

... Bryan Cranston, much like Vince Gilligan, is keeping busy. He'll be reprising his role as Ted's former boss on How I Met Your Mother for one episode in the final season.

... HBO has finally given the go-ahead to Criminal Justice, a miniseries that James Gandolfini had been set to star in prior to his death. Robert De Niro will take over Gandolfini's role. Criminal Justice is about a New York attorney who's just a bit too ambitious in taking on a case involving a Pakistani accused of murder.

... The legendary Vanessa Redgrave has joined ABC's The Black Box, a new drama about a world-renowned neuroscientist played by Kelly Reilly who appears to have her crap together on the surface, but is struggling with a mental illness. Redgrave will play her psychiatrist.

... Martin Freeman, who you may recognize from the hit BBC series Sherlock, or from his roles in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and something called The Hobbit, has landed the lead role in FX's limited event series Fargo. He'll play Lester Nygaard, William H. Macy's character in the 1996 Coen brothers film of the same name. The series will feature an all new "true crime" case.

... Comedian and all-around awesome guy Patton Oswalt is following up appearances on Justified and Parks and Recreation with a guest-starring tole on FOX's Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He'll play a fire marshall who butts heads with Andy Samberg's Detective Peralta.

... Revenge has hired current Devious Maids star Ana Ortiz. She'll guest-star as Bizzy Preston, a public relations specialist hired by Conrad. This role should come as no surprise considering all the crap the Graysons have gone through in the public eye over the course of two seasons.

... Alanna Masterson is joining the cast of The Walking Dead for Season 4. Right now we don't know much about her character, but she'll recur this season, with an option to become a series regular in the future. She'll play a new survivor who first appears midway through the season.

... Loretta Devine has joined USA's new series Sirens. The series follows "three Chicago EMTs whose self-righteous and self-destructive personalities make them unfit for long-term relationships and most occupations. Devine will play the no-nonsense church-hugging mother of one of the characters, and will appear in two episodes.

... Bethany Joy Lenz of One Tree Hill (she played Haley) has landed the lead role in E!'s scripted series pilot Songbyrd. The drama follows a songwriter named Lauren Byrd (Lenz), who has a small group of employees who help her with her unusual songwriting process. And then there's love problems and all that, of course.  Rumer Willis has joined as the sister of Lauren.

... Kendra Wilkinson will appear on FOX's The Mindy Project this season because every single celebrity is legally required to guest-star on this show at some point. The former Playmate and Girls Next Door star won't be playing herself.

... Army Wives' Sally Pressman is dropping by Scandal for a few episodes this season. Her role is being kept under wraps because this is a Shona Rhime's show (that woman is so secretive), Look for her in November.

... D.B. Sweeney will appear on Two and a Half Men this season as the boyfriend of Courtney Thorne-Smith's character Lyndsey. He's only due on one episode as of now.

The Michael J. Fox Show : Michael J. Fox's new comedy show is a heartwarming family show

The Michael J. Fox Show Series Premiere Review: It's Okay to Laugh

 Michael J Fox has Parkinson's disease, he has been battling it for years while still making appearances on different shows (Boston Legal, The Good Wife, Scrubs, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Rescue Me). So when news came out about him headlining his own comedy show, and the show not shying away about the disease, my opinion was that the show might focus too much on the disease and not his talents.

But as seen in the pilot, this isn't a show about a man's struggle with Parkinson's disease. It's a show about a man who's trying to balance family, work, and the quirky cast of characters in his life, and that man just happens to have Parkinson's disease. And while it's certainly a decision-maker for him—the fear of his tremors on live television is what initially encouraged him to retire from being a news anchor—you can't really say that the show is about Parkinson's and its effect on a family. It's just about the family.

The storyworld surrounding Mike Henry is one of warmth and good intentions. People stop Mike on the street because they miss his presence on TV. They try to commune with him by recounting their tales of family members with degenerative disorders (even if they're not remotely related to Parkinson's). When his family sneakily convinced him to go back to work—because his idleness in retirement was driving them crazy, no less—the news stories were about things like budget misappropriation (and a fire). Thankfully, and this has to be by design, there is such a lack of pity from those closest to Mike that you start to not even notice it. Generally, people are behaving themselves and treating him like the person he is and not the disease he exhibits.

Beyond the unconventional lead character, the rest of the cast is basic sitcom fare. Betsy Brandt sheds the purple anxiety of (Marie Schrader in Breaking Bad) for Annie, a more self-assured and sarcastic better half to Mike. There's the college-aged son who's living at home (and trying to start his own search engine), a high-school age daughter blossoming into womanhood, and a precocious youngest son. Annie's best friend and aunt to the Henry children (Katie Finneran from Wonderfalls!) is your typical trainwreck type. And Mike's work family is just as warm (and typical of the family comedy genre), with Wendell Pierce (The Wire, Treme, Suits)as its centerpiece in the role of Harris, Mike's best friend and boss. The plot is standard sitcom fare. There's potential for growth in all these areas, but there are currently no surprises here. Although the story of Mike Henry making a comeback after taking a break from the spotlight is fitting.

And I don't say any of that in an effort to turn you off. Just because the show isn't an innovation doesn't mean it won't be sharply written or heartwarming or entertaining. Michael J. Fox is fun to watch, tremors and all. I'm glad to have him on my TV screen and, even if the plot doesn't focus on Mike Henry's Parkinson's, the show does offer a different perspective from the rest of TV. I'm looking forward to more.

Masters of Sex : new time piece drama about human sexuality

Masters of Sex, Showtime's new drama.

Set in the mid-1950s, Masters of Sex focuses on the work of Dr. William Masters, a regionally famous OB/GYN at Washington University in St. Louis who wants to research human sexuality. Masters meets quite a bit of resistance from the higher-ups at the hospital and university, leading to a whole lot of time spent in brothels, but he finds a willing assistant in former lounge singer and single mom Virginia Johnson. The two take on the project in secret, drumming up various personal frustrations along the way.

Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon, Twilight, 30 Rock, and a slew of other things) plays the brilliant and kinda curmudgeonly Masters, and the even lovelier Lizzy Caplan (Party Down, New Girl, True Blood) is the curious and sexually open Johnson. Beau Bridges toplines a recurring cast full of somewhat-recognizable people including Caitlin Fitzgerald, Nicholas D'Agosto, Teddy Sears, and Annaleigh Ashford. The show was created by Michelle Ashford, who previously worked on The Pacific and John Adams. It's based on Thomas Maier's biography of the lead characters, Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson.

The show debuts this Sunday, September 29 at 10pm on Showtime, right after the Season 3 premiere of Homeland, and at just about the same time as the final act of Breaking Bad.

Masters of Sex is mostly unlike the pay-cable, gritty, anti-hero stuff we've all grown accustomed to over the last decade-plus. You might think of making a Mad Men comparison because of the historical period, but Masters of Sex isn't as internal, or as bleak. And although it's from two character (Male and Female) points of view like many other shows we've seen recently (The Killing, The Americans, The Bridge, Broadchurch), there's no murder investigation. Masters of Sex won't feel unfamiliar to you, but it's not your typical cable drama.

The show isn't quite as interested in the meticulous period details that drive Mad Men, but it makes great use of the time period as far as cultural perceptions of sex and sexuality go. This is a premium-cable series about sex and sex research, so sure, there's a whole lot of nudity and plenty of amusing asides about the general prudishness of the time, but it never feels like those things are used egregiously. Because of their roles as researchers, Masters and Johnson often talk while other people are having sex, which is a fun spin on sexposition. But in general, Masters of Sex plays everything straight, from Masters' professional challenges to Johnson's personal ones, and to great effect.

It helps that the two leads are fantastic. Michael Sheen could've easily turned in an over-the-top, showy performance, but it's so much better to see him really dig into Masters' psyche to create a character that's taking on this big research project at least partially because he's as personally frustrated with sex as he is professionally confused. Lizzy Caplan more than holds her own as Virginia Johnson, a woman who has desires and dreams and who isn't really afraid to do whatever to achieve them. Together, she and Sheen have the type of great unresolved sexual tension that makes audiences go nuts.

Although the supporting cast is pretty strong, once the show starts following various characters outside of the study, it's simply not as compelling. Upcoming episodes suggest some lame stuff with Masters' family history, but the larger world is still solid. Other than that? Not a whole lot. I mean, unless you don't like watching people have simulated sex, or dildos with cameras on them. If that's the case, maybe this show isn't for you.

Masters of Sex is, without question, the best new series of the fall; it's not even close (sorry, Marvel fans). The show is smart, straightforward, well-acted, and very well-produced. And perhaps best of all, at least at this early stage, it has the confidence to just tell the stories it wants to tell, without piling on some of the more familiar ( tired) cable drama tropes.

AMC, HBO and Showtime .......... Troubling times at Cable powerhouses

AMC vesus Showtime versus HBO

Series News : A&E renews Longmire but cancels The Glades, Joshua Jackson returns to TV drama

...  A&E to renew Longmire. A&E has not confirmed the renewal, but Longmire the network's most-watched show has supposedly been renewed, and it's only a matter of time until the A&E makes it official. Following strong Season 2 finale, word is out that the network liked what it saw and wants the drama to come back for more.

The drama stars Robert Taylor as Sheriff Walt Longmire, a Montana lawman who returns to work after the death of his wife. Katee Sackhoff, Bailey Chase, and Lou Diamond Phillips also star in the series. Longmire is a good procedural show about a redneck sheriff in a small town, who rather than use technology to solve his cases, uses his wits and old school and sometimes cowboy tricks to solve cases.

News Briefs : A "Rambo" series? 50 Cent produces series now too? New casting news

... Sylvester Stallone is in talks to join a potential TV series based on his hit movie franchise Rambo. The project, is still in the early stages, but Stallone would work with the show on a creative level and could potentially reprise his iconic role. I don't really want to be the person to say this, but isn't it about time we stopped with the remakes, and the sequels, and the adaptations? Have we seriously run out of all the good ideas already? After the failure of Beverly Hills Cop to get a series order, am not holding my breath on this

News Briefs : Breaking Bad doubles its Midway Season premiere, an 8th clone on Orphan Black?

Breaking Bad had 5.9 million viewers tuned in for Season 5B premiere, crushing the series' previous high of 2.9 million viewers for the Season 5A premiere. Breaking Bad probably has Netflix to thank for the jump, as many shows are using the video-streaming service as a way to hook new viewers. AMC's new series Low Winter Sun used its Breaking Bad lead-in to draw 2.5 million viewers, and Talking Bad, the new post-Breaking Bad chat show, grabbed 1.2 million viewers.

News Brief : Game Of Thrones castings, Show renewals and Who's the best 'Anti-hero' character on TV

.... FX's plan for The Strain 
The network's upcoming adaptation of Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hagan's trilogy of vampire novels is already pretty highly anticipated around these parts: Lost and Bates Motel showrunner Carlton Cuse is working with del Toro to bring it to the airwaves, and House of Cards' Corey Stoll is starring. But at FX's TCA executive session, network head honcho (and all-around smart guy) John Landgraf announced that they already have episode and season limits (39-65 and 3-5, respectively) in mind for the show. Pre-planning doesn't always work, but knowing end dates early, especially for high-concept series, is a really good idea.

65th Emmy Nominations ( Full List)

Here's the full list of nominees in all the a major categories:

Rmmy Nominstions reactions : Emmy Nominations are out....

The Emmys nominations are here, TV shows (second) biggest night is here. To know if all the hard-work put in, over the past 7 months was well received. The nominations to know the contenders for the awards in different categories was released last week, and as expected, there were (alotta) groans, surprises and thumbs up. A lot of the power-players are back again, American Horror Story, Homeland, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, 30 Rock, Modern Family, etc.

News this Week

--- AMC has announced the return date for Breaking Bad.
Sunday, August 11 at 9pm
The Emmy-winning show from creator Vince Gilligan has just eight more episodes left in its run, and depending how you look at it, they either comprise the second half of Season 5 or the entirety of Season 6. Personally, I'm calling it Season 6. Assuming Breaking Bad airs uninterrupted for eight straight weeks, that would place the series finale on September 29.

---Starz has ordered a second season for "Da Vinci's Demons",
"Da Vinci's Demons" the series that replaced "Spartacus" after the show ended. The first episode of Da Vinci's was good, fun to watch, so a new season even after only one episode had already aired is showing the network's faith in the show.

--- Steve Carell to appear in "The Office" finale????
Rumors circulating that Steve Carell might appear on the Series finale of "The Office", even though he had insisted he'll never return to the series as Michael Scott, seemed to have gained a foothold when reports emerged he was on the set of the series, on the last day of shooting.

--- "Heroes" to return?????
Microsoft has been looking to bring in original programming to its gaming console for some time now, and in September the company hired former CBS president Nancy Tellem to create a television studio specifically aimed at developing original series for Xbox Live. With a new Xbox console allegedly in the works for later this year. But is Heroes the answer?

NBC's Heroes ran for four uneven seasons from 2006 to 2010, bursting onto the scene as a huge hit before petering out later on. Its ensemble cast and structure could make for a decent revival. Apparently the idea is to start with a whole new group of ordinary people with extraordinary abilities and bring in past cast members for cameos.

---- More ladies for Hank Moody.
"Californication" continues to beef up its cast for Season 7, adding Heather Graham (Boogie Nights) and Mary Lynn Rajskub (24) for substantial. Graham's will be a season-long run, and she'll play a woman from Hank's past. Rajskub's stay will be a bit shorter, and she'll play a neurotic writer. The Sopranos vet Michael Imperioli was also recently added to the cast.

AMC's Announcements today.

AMC, the Network that owns, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead and Mad Men has made some announcements that arent about their 3 top shows.
Congratulations to Comic Book Men, Talking Dead, and Freakshow... you're all coming back for new seasons! That's a third season for Talking Dead and Comic Book Men, and a second season for Freakshow, the reality program

Congratulations to Comic Book Men, Talking Dead, and Freakshow... you're all coming back for new seasons! That's a third season for Talking Dead and Comic Book Men, and a second season for Freakshow, the reality program that follows a Venice Beach sideshow.

IN DEVELOPMENT
With Mad Men and Breaking Bad approaching their end dates, AMC opened up the cupboard and realized, "Uh-oh. We need some new shows." The network has put seven scripted series in development:

Ballistic City – A futuristic drama, Ballistic City is the story of a former cop thrust into the criminal underworld of a city housed in a generational spaceship destined for an unknown world.

King – In the early 1960s, Floridian King Carmichael sells his soul to a corrupt, racist political machine to win a seat in the Senate. Having run as a segregationist, he is then tapped by Lyndon B. Johnson to champion civil rights in the South.

Ashland – Set in 1950 in Ashland, a tiny mining town in Kentucky, the Evans family has just relocated from California and the matriarch, Del, must hide her family's secrets and find a way to support her three children at the height of the Red Scare.

White City – The drama series follows western diplomats and journalists living in Afghanistan.

Untitled Dahvi Waller Project – Set against the New York automobile industry of the 1920s, two brothers struggle to keep their family-run company afloat with a class-hopping Ziegfeld girl and the daughter of an English competitor blurring the line between love and business.

Untitled Tim Lea/Anonymous Content Project – In America's near future, one family is nearly torn apart in the conflict between a repressive government and the emerging movement for a second American Revolution.

The Wall – In 1960s Berlin, an American businessman becomes embroiled in a web of East-West espionage.

AMC is also beefing up its reality slate, putting three unscripted series into development. We may as well look at those while we're here:

Majority Rules – A docu-style, unscripted series that celebrates the American democratic process. At the most grassroots level, whether it's an election for president of the birdwatchers club or a small-town city council, it will take a lighthearted look at democracy at work as the candidates vie for votes, because in America, Majority Rules.

All-Star Celebrity Bowling – (Previously announced, from Talking Dead host Chris Hardwick's production company.) Take a guess!

Cancelled – A social experiment that will attempt to determine just how far people will really go for fame. Over the course of eight weeks, six households will be outfitted with cameras that will give them the chance to compete for ratings that will determine which household has the most-watched reality show.

Culled from TV.com