[Televisionary]

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. The start date for Lost 's sixth and final season could be in peril, according to The Wrap's Josef Adalian, who is reporting that the White House is considering using January 26th or February 2nd--the launch date for Season Six of Lost --for President Obama's State of the Union address. The move would require ABC to shift back the start of Season Six, which the network would be particularly loath to do, considering the amount of marketing coin spent on publicizing the February 2nd start. "The good news, according to sources, is that the White House hasn't decided to press the button on the Feb. 2 idea," writes Adalian. "No doubt ABC has made its displeasure with the date very clear." ( The Wrap's TVMoJoe ) The Paley Center for Media have announced several more series being feted at this year's William S. Paley Television Festival. Lost, Modern Family, Dexter, and Curb Your Enthusiasm will

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Former Hex star Christina Cole has been cast as the lead in FOX's untitled Ian Biederman drama, where she will play a female surgeon who suffers from adult-onset schizophrenia; Cole Hauser ( K-Ville ) will star in CBS drama pilot Washington Field , where he will play the squad's supervisor; Michael Nouri ( Damages ) has been cast in ABC drama pilot Empire State, where he'll play the wealthy father of a girl involved in a star-crossed romance with a blue-collar worker; and Anthony Carrigan, Michelle Borth, Bob Stephenson, and Rochelle Aytes have been cast in ABC's untitled Jerry Bruckheimer drama pilot (formerly known as The Unknown ). ( Hollywood Reporter ) NBC has ordered reality/comedy hybrid series The Marriage Ref , from executive producers Jerry Seinfeld and Ellen Rakieten, in which celebrities offer advice to real-life couples battling "classic marital disputes." So far there is no launch date for t

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. But is it The Pattern? The big news is, of course, the full season pick up for FOX's freshman drama Fringe , bringing this season's total to 22 episodes. "We're having a blast working on this show with this great team of producers and amazing cast," said FOX Entertainment president Kevin Reilly. "The series has really taken off creatively, and it's exciting to see that the audience is responding. We believe this is the first full season of many years to come." The pickup for Fringe marks the second full season order so far this year; last month, the CW ordered a full season of 90210 . To date, Fringe has ranked as the number one new series among adults 18-49 this season. ( Variety ) Pushing Daisies ' second season launch plummeted in the ratings, sadly. "Despite strong reviews, the return of Daisies (6.3 million viewers, 2.0/6) had the steepest drop of any show this fall, declining a

Good morning and welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. It's my birthday today (yesterday was my brother's and--before you ask--no, we're not twins) so between work, dinner, and present-opening, I still hope to find the time to watch tonight's Project Runway . When there's a will, there's a way as they say. Season 18 of venerable reality franchise Survivor is about to launch on CBS in just a few weeks. But if you're curious as to who the eighteen men and women are who are competing for the million-dollar prize on Survivor: Gabon , look no further. They include a pin-up girl/actress, a fashion photographer/Cartier salesman (seriously, you can't make this stuff up), a professional gamer, a retired nurse, a personal trainer, and many others. ( Entertainment Weekly ) Creator Craig Wright talks about what went wrong with Season One of ABC soap Dirty Sexy Money , including "experimenting" with tone shifts between installments, and wh

Good morning and welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Everyone wanted to talk about yesterday's announcement that ABC had picked up five series (three dramas and two half-hour comedies) and had seemingly passed over Rob Thomas' Good Behavior (based on the Kiwi series Outrageous Fortune ). But there's still hope for the Catherine O'Hara-led dramedy. ABC says that it hasn't yet made a decision on Good Behavior, half-hour comedy Never Better (starring Damon Wayans), or the untitled legal drama from David Hemingson (the script of which I quite enjoyed)... and it still has yet to screen Prince of Motor City and Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas . Keep your fingers crossed, Rob Thomas fans. ( Variety ) SPOILER ALERT! Lost will resurrect--for one episode, anyway--one of its dead characters, likely as a flashback, vision, or ghostly apparition. And, no, it's not Artz. ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) Why does Battlestar Galactica

In a move that surprised no one, CBS has gone ahead and renewed reality powerhouse Survivor for the 2008-09 season. Additionally, Jeff Probst has also signed a new deal to continue on as the unflappable host of the series, which will return next season with its 17th and 18th installments. "I still get excited to get on the plane and travel to another exotic location with another group of adventure-seeking, type-A personalities," Probst told The Hollywood Reporter . "It is without question the best job I've ever had." Survivor 's current installment launches February 7th while casting is already underway on the 17th season. * * * Meanwhile, fans of The Amazing Race will be happy to know that the sophisticated and decidedly unsnarky elder statesman of the reality genre will be returning with another season of Road Blocks, intra-team fighting, and Phil Keoghan. While there has still been no official announcement from CBS, The Ama