News, Top Stories Archive:
Golden Globes 2009: Nominees
Mad Men, 30 Rock, Brothers and Sisters, John Adams and In Treatment feature prominently in the 2009 Golden Globe nominations.
Both the Hollywood Foreign Press and the Writers Guild of America placed Mad Men and Dexter high on their list, with In Treatment and True Blood getting “new series” nods from the latter. In comedy there was more agreement over 30 Rock, Weeds, The Office and Entourage.
Rachel Griffiths will compete for Best supporting actress in a series, miniseries or made-for-television movie, while January Jones, in Australia for the AFI Awards, is up for …
Nominees: WGA Awards
Awards season in the US is looming with the Writer’s Guild of American announcing its brightest hopes of the year.
In drama Mad Men will vie with Dexter, Friday Night Lights, Lost and The Wire which had its series finale in March.
30 Rock will take on Entourage, The Office, The Simpsons and Weeds for comedy.
Vying for best new series are Breaking Bad, Fringe, In Treatment (pictured), True Blood and Life on Mars.
DRAMATIC SERIES
Dexter, Written by Scott Buck, Daniel Cerone, Charles H. Eglee, Adam E. Fierro, Lauren Gussis, Clyde Phillips, Scott Reynolds, Melissa …
Californication wins 3rd season
Racy -and sometimes introspective- drama Californication has been approved for a third season by US cable network Showtime.
The series which screens on Network TEN will premiere the third season later in 2009 (US) with another 12 episodes.
Showtime is having a good run lately with Dexter, Weeds and The Tudors all returning in 2009.
TEN is continuing to screen the David Duchovny drama on Sunday nights in summer.
Source: Variety
Hustle
First a confession: I haven’t seen much of the preceding first or second series of BBC drama Hustle. My penance may well be seeing every episode of the third series.
If the first episode is anything to go by, I’ve surely missed a lot.
Stylishly crafted, lavishly designed, lit up like the high roller room at a casino, this is intoxicating stuff. The con men of Hustle are expert at deception and accomplished in their allure.
In the first episode, the gang decide to trick an obnoxious, wealthy pub owner, Benny Frazier (Mel …
Looking for the magic touch
TEN’s line up for 2009 includes more factual series than ever, returning favourites and new international content. After a disappointing 2008, especially in the second half, TEN will need the magic touch to win back loyal viewers.
The network made the announcement today as part of a three day tour across the country.
Headlining the announcement is the acquisition of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Cooking show MasterChef Australia will replace Big Brother across a 7pm timeslot mid year.
Another 7pm strip show is yet to be announced.
The new locally produced factual shows include …
Dexter renewed for two more seasons
Showtime has picked up a fourth and fifth season of Dexter, at 12 episodes each.
Production on season four is set to begin in L.A. in the US spring.
The third series premiere drew 1.2m viewers in the US last month, no doubt boosted by its (edited) screening on CBS during the writers strike. It also nabbed some Emmy nominations, including for Michael C. Hall as Most Outstanding Actor.
In Australia the third series will air on Showcase in January. TEN is likely to screen a second season in 2009, but no confirmation just …
Dexter season 3 -when?
The third season of Dexter will air in Australia on the Showcase Channel in January.
Showtime confirmed the news to TV Tonight today.
The new season has just launched in the US, enjoying an increase in its audience. That’s no doubt thanks to CBS screening it in an edited form during the Writers’ Strike.
It drew 1.2 million viewers during its season debut, up 21% from last season’s premiere and 20% from the season finale.
TEN finished re-screening the first series just over a week ago, replacing it with another Showtime drama, Californication.
No word yet …
Lucky escape on Dexter set
A near-tragedy was avoided on the set of Dexter through a miracle of fate after Jimmy Smits accidentally stabbed a stuntman for real during a fight scene.
Smits grabbed a real knife instead of a prop during shooting.
The stuntman was only saved by a piece of plastic placed over his heart - which Smits miraculously hit.
Smits recently joined the third series, which has seen a boost in its US ratings, up 21% from last season’s premiere and 20% from the season two finale.
No doubt that’s thanks to its screening on CBS during …
Darkly deconstructing Dexter
Online media continues to be a great space for the deconstruction of television, allowing fans of programmes to see behind the scenes.
This photo of a patient Michael C. Hall sitting on the set of Dexter is one of many that are featured in a photo shoot in “Hollywood Backlot”, a feature of the LA Times. You can see a lot more on make-up artists working on grisly murder victims, and other actors from the third series, which has just launched in the US. Here’s another on Terminator: Sarah Connor …
Returning: Mad Men
The second season of the stylish, critical darling Mad Men will air on the Movie Extra channel in December.
It premieres 9:30pm Sunday December 14.
The series set in the smoky, executive rooms of Madison Avenue’s advertising agents in the 1960s was a big winner at the Emmys this week, defeating Dexter, Damages, Boston Legal, Lost and House. It also scored a writing award.
Previously the series has won Golden Globes including Best Drama and Best Actor in a dramatic series. Add to that WGA wins and SAG nominations, it isn’t hard to see …
Returning: Californication
Quick, go and alert conservative lobby groups and politicians… David Duchovny is coming back to screen.
The second series of Californication returns to TEN on Sunday October 5 at 10:10pm. It will replace the first series of Dexter.
To be “Seriously fastracked” by TEN, it airs following its US return on September 28th.
The first season of the Showtime drama attracted considerable criticism for its racy themes and raunchy scenes -a strategy that usually plays into the hands of the network and boosts ratings.
But TEN was also found to be in breach of the …