[Televisionary]

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Charlie Sheen might just walk away from his role on CBS' Two and a Half Men . Citing a People report, The Hollywood Reporter 's James Hibberd is reporting that Sheen has rejected a contract renewal offer and is looking to leave the CBS comedy series, which is produced by Warner Bros. Television. "This report came as news to CBS and studio Warner Bros., with some insiders thinking the news might simply be a negotiation tactic," writes Hibberd. "Yet sources tell THR that the People report is no April Fools joke and that Sheen is indeed serious about currently wanting to leave." ( Hollywood Reporter ) Hollywood Reporter 's The Live Feed has the scoop from Modern Family co-creator Christopher Lloyd about why the ABC comedy series' use of the iPad this week wasn't product placement but was in fact just a story-driven plotline. "In fact, there was no product placement," Lloyd explained.

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Robert Knepper ( Heroes, Prison Break ) has reportedly been cast in a villainous recurring role on Season Two of Syfy's Stargate Universe . Citing internet reports, several sites are reporting that Knepper will play Simeon, a mysterious member of the Lucian Alliance, and will appear in a multiple-episode story arc to last between six to seven episodes. (via TV Squad ) Producing partners Josh Schwartz ( Chuck ) and Stephanie Savage ( Gossip Girl ) have signed a multi-year deal with Warner Bros. Television and have set up their own shingle, Fake Empire, which will be based at the studio. Pod will develop projects for television, film, digital, videogames, music, and publishing. ( Variety ) The Wrap's Josef Adalian, meanwhile, has an interview with Schwartz and Savage, who jointly answered Adalian's questions via email. [Editor: The duo answered the question I had, which was whether Chuck would fall under the Fake Empire um

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello has an interview with Dexter executive producer Clyde Phillips about last night's season finale of the Showtime serial killer drama. One very interesting tidbit: when asked about when the decision was made about pulling the trigger on the episode's final scene, Phillips said, "I would say we made the decision pretty late in the season. We didn’t quite know what we were going to do [in the finale]." As for when Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) will find out about Dexter's true nature, don't hold your breath. "We’ve bounced that around the [writers] room," Phillips told Ausiello. "But once we do that... want to talk about game-changers? Once we do that, the game is changed in a way that we just don’t know how to anticipate just yet." ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) Syfy has given series renewals to Stargate Universe and Sanctuary , pickin

Confession: I've never watched Stargate SG-1 or Stargate Atlantis , other than a few episodes here or there. So it wasn't with any real familiarity with the Stargate , er, universe (other than vague reminiscences of the Kurt Russell/James Spader feature film) that I watched the gloomy three-hour series premiere of Stargate Universe , the newest iteration in the fifteen-year-old franchise which seems hell-bent on being as broadly accessible to the mainstream population as possible. Taking some visual clues from the darker Battlestar Galactica , Stargate Universe tells the story of a disparate band of survivors who are thrust through one of the titular gateways and discover themselves trapped on an ancient spaceship on a course to some distant location among the stars. While searching for a way home (said ship is on a one-way course that can't be changed), they must band together to find a way to survive and create a new home for themselves under some remarkable and unexpec

Proving that it's possible to kickstart a franchise after fifteen years on the air, Stargate Universe creators Brad Wright and Robert Cooper and stars Robert Carlyle, Elyse Levesque, Ming-Na, Brian J. Smith, David Blue, Alaina Huffman, and Jamil Walker Smith appeared at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend to talk up the newest addition to the Stargate franchise, which launches this October. After screening an intense and gripping trailer for Stargate Universe (see below, though the music is slightly different than what screened at SDCC), the cast and creators took to the stage to discuss the impetus behind the darker, more verite Stargate Universe , why it's accessible to new viewers and old alike, and what to expect from the first season. "We really had to keep the franchise going and make sure that Stargate fans have something to watch," said co-creator Robert Cooper. "It is quite a different feel. It will reintroduce what a Stargate is. It will give you a who

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Looks like Kelly isn't going anywhere. Jennie Garth has signed a deal to reprise her role as Kelly Taylor on Season Two of the CW's 90210 , where she will appear in multiple episodes, according to Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello. "Garth reappears in episode 3," writes Ausiello, "when Kelly gives Harry advice on how to deal with his, ahem , situation with Annie." ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) Elsewhere at the CW, Melrose Place continues to get more and more crowded. Nip/Tuck's Kelly Carlson (yes, Kimber!) has signed on to join the cast of Melrose Place this fall, where she will play a madam who "eventually entices Lauren (Stephanie Jacobson) to work for her as part of her prostitution ring." ( E! Online's Watch with Kristin ) Parenthood 's Erika Christensen has booked a guest starring role on Season Two of FOX's Lie to Me this fall. Christensen will

After weeks of anticipation (and speculation), Syfy has finally announced which series they will be bringing down to San Diego Comic-Con next month. The cabler will be offering panels based around Caprica and telepic Battlestar Galactica: The Plan , Eureka , Sanctuary, Warehouse 13 , and Stargate Universe . Additionally, Syfy will be taking over the Hard Rock Cafe and will re-brand the eatery as Eureka ’s own “Cafe Diem” for entire breadth of the convention. Cafe Diem will be the focal point for many of Syfy's planned activities throughout the convention. The full press release from Syfy can be be found below, along with dates and times (and descriptions) of each of their panels. SCI FI FEATURES FAN FAVORITE SERIES AND STARS AT COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL 2009 New York, NY – June 30, 2009 – In keeping with its longstanding tradition of hosting some of Comic-Con’s most popular, crowd-pleasing events over the years, SCI FI Channel will once again feature some of its biggest hits – as we

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that FOX will not be renewing sophomore drama series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles for a third season. While the network has declined to comment on a cancellation, saying that they won't be announcing their fall schedule until May 18th, Ausiello has several unnamed insiders stating that the series is dead. "It's done," said one source. "Everyone has pretty much known for a couple of weeks." Ausiello was told by one network insider, "Consider it canceled." ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) As previously reported, Richard Dean Anderson, Michael Shanks, and Gary Jones will reprise their roles from various Stargate franchise series in Sci Fi's upcoming series SGU: Stargate Universe. Also joining them in providing a guest starring role on the first season of the spin-off series is Amanda Tapping, who will reprise

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. NBC has exiled struggling freshman drama Kings to the dire Saturday night at 8 pm timeslot, where the network will burn off the remaining installments beginning April 18th. In its former Sunday night slot, the Peacock will air two-hour episodes of Dateline NBC from 7-9 pm ET/PT. In its last outing, Kings captures a lowly 1.1/3 among adults 18-49 and 3.6 million viewers overall. ( Variety ) Thomas Calabro will reprise his role as Dr. Michael Mancini in the CW's revival of Melrose Place in a recurring capacity. Casting marks the second former cast member from the original FOX series joining the cast of the updated Melrose Place as he'll join Laura Leighton, who will reprise her role as Sydney Andrews. Could these two have ended up unhappily-ever-after, after all? ( Entertainment Weekly ) Liza Weil ( Gilmore Girls ) and Debra Mooney ( Everwood ) will guest star in Grey's Anatomy 's two-hour season finale, set to a

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. The Pie Maker returns to ABC! Pushing Daisies fans will finally be able to catch the final three episodes of the prematurely canceled series. ABC is expected to officially announce that it will air the final three episodes of Pushing Daisies on Saturday evenings at 10 pm ET/PT beginning May 30th. (Sadly, still no news for when or if Dirty Sexy Money or Eli Stone will return to the lineup to burn off their remaining installments.) Also on tap for May on ABC: four-hour mini-series Diamonds , starring Judy Davis and James Purefoy, on May 24th and 26th; the launch of The Bachelorette on May 18th; the return of reality competition series Opportunity Knocks on May 26th; Wipeout returns on May 27th; and comedy The Goode Family will kick off on May 27th. ( Futon Critic ) Despite her character seemingly dying in the fifth season finale of Melrose Place (where she was run over on her wedding day), Laura Leighton will reprise her role a

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Showtime has apparently passed on The L Word spin-off entitled The Farm , starring Leisha Hailey, and the Matthew Perry-led comedy The End of Steve . Neither pilot will be picked up to series, though the pay cabler has indicated that it is currently weighing fellow pilots Possible Side Effects , about a family-run pharmaceutical company from writer/executive producer Tim Robbins, and comedy Ronna and Beverly , from Jessica Chaffin, Jamie Denbo, and Jenji Kohan ( Weeds ). It's worth noting that Showtime has a whole slew of returning series including Californication, Dexter, The Tudors, Tracey Ullman's State of the Union, United States of Tara, Weeds , and Secret Diary of a Call , the latter two of which have already been renewed for two additional seasons, and is about to launch Edie Falco comedy Nurse Jackie . ( Hollywood Reporter ) Peter Gallagher ( The O.C. ) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc in Season Three of

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. I'm still in shock after last night's jaw-dropping episode of Skins on BBC America; fortunately, I've already got the season finale in my possession. Otherwise, I think I would explode from anticipation. Lost fans can look forward to watching Season Five of the ABC hit without interruption, according to sources. However, the network has expressed some interest in stretching out the fifth season with one or two weeks off, in order to have the finale air closer to the end of May sweeps, so don't count this a done deal quite yet. ( TV Guide ) It looks like One Tree Hill creator Mark Schwahn will write the script for the CW's update of Melrose Place , after all. That is, one a deal closes. Schwahn is currently under a deal at Warners, which produces One Tree Hill, and although he recently signed a deal with CBS Paramount Network Television, that deal does not start until June. Additionally, his current Warners deal