TVSquad

The writers' strike forced some of my favorite shows into an unexpected, summer-long hiatus and delayed the return of others. I'm grateful that shows like Lost still have new episodes, but the second half of this TV season hasn't felt the same. I especially miss the promising new series that were cut short.

It feels like other shows have been on hiatus forever. Flight of the Conchords was supposed to return this year, but had its premiere pushed back until 2009. I miss Bret, Jemaine, and their strange circle of friends. I've been wondering about the fates of several absent characters lately. So many storylines were left unresolved.

Here's a short list of some of the faces I can't wait to see again:

Ok, it is after midnight here in the Jet City, and as I sit down to bang this post out on my beloved Model M it would appear that my tasty glass of juice is half empty. Maybe I'm just not in the right frame of mind to spin this news in a positive direction that will lead to a 2009 full of Dollhouse win.

Tucked away in a report on various network goings on over at Hollywood Reporter is a little line that says "Dollhouse is expected to launch mid-season." This is me shaking my fist in the general direction of Fox and screaming "Khaaaaan!" Just, because. Doesn't this seem like a road that has been traveled before? It's one that usually leads to a pretty disappointing destination. We haven't seen the finished fall schedule yet, but I would wager that most of us could easily find three or four hours where the network would be better served by inserting Dollhouse. Highlights of what the networks have planned are available after the jump.

ABC offered a set of fun Valentine's Day e-cards earlier this year, and they're at it again with a more extensive set of Mother's Day e-cards. More of my favorite ABC shows were let in on the fun this time, including Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, and Samantha Who?. Show Mom your love with a clever message from Lost's Claire, Susan from Desperate Housewives, or Hilda from Ugly Betty.

The cards are one part of a "Guide to Motherhood" page on ABC's website. You can watch clips from ABC's hit shows based on four motherhood themes: New Moms, Nesting, Words of Wisdom, and Letting Go. It's an amusing way to look back at some of the unconventional approaches to parenting taken in the last season.

Dirty Sexy Money just got a whole lot sexier. That is, if Cashmere Mafia isn't renewed, and its being on the bubble is the buzz.

ABC is wooing Lucy Liu to stay, this time as a cast member of Dirty Sexy Money. Although her role would be a secret, you can bet she'd be there to look great and shake things up.

Will she be a replacement for Samaire Armstrong (who plays Juliet Darling), who will not be a regular next season? If so, she'll need to be flighty. I picture Liu as a more devious business woman, using her feminine wiles and cunning to get what she wants, from everyone she comes across, but hopefully not in a two-dimensional way. It will be fun to see how her role pans out.

And the really good news is that if Dirty Sexy Money does phenomenally well as a series, they can always unfreeze Liu to star in its revival, a century later.

This explains why Samaire Armstrong was suspiciously absent from the Paley Festival panel for Dirty Sexy Money this week. She's no longer part of the show. At least, she's not a big part of it. This revelation comes from Michael Ausiello over at TV Guide. He says DSM producers chose not to renew Armstrong's contract with the show. She'll appear as a recurring character, as her schedule allows.

Remember last year Samaire Armstrong went into rehab and had to suddenly be written out of a script? According to Ausiello, she then appeared in the very next episode so who knows how long rehab lasted. Still, there's no word on whether her personal problems are the reason she's being demoted.

I find this all very interesting. The point of the show is the Darlings and their extravagant messes. She's a Darling and just as important as the rest, right? I think we would forgive the producers if they needed to get rid of Armstrong and recast the part. Or maybe they were just bored with Juliet Darling.

From March 14th to March 27th, The Paley Center for Media is presenting the twentieth-fifth annual William S. Paley Television Festival. The Paley Center, formerly the Museum of Television and Radio, says that the festival celebrates "television's rich and diverse programming and the creative process behind the medium." This year the festival included Chuck, Friday Night Lights, Pushing Daisies, Gossip Girl, and The Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reunion.

Last night, I attended the Dirty Sexy Money panel. For what happened during the panel discussion, read on past the jump...

Autumn may not look the same way it usually does on ABC in 2008. The network is seriously considering opening the new season sans new drama series. There will still be returning shows, including the dramas from 2007 which have been deemed successes by the ABC brass, including Pushing Daisies, Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money -- but no new pilots.

There's a new guy running the show for ABC's drama Dirty Sexy Money and his name is Daniel Cerone. Cerone replaces Josh Reims. As executive producer, Cerone will be working with creator Craig Wright (Lost), as well as Greg Berlanti (Brothers & Sisters), Matthew Gross and Bryan Singer (House) -- so the show's got lots of first-class pedigree. Now they have to put it all together for the show.

It's so nice now that the WGA strike is over and all the shows are coming back, isn't it? It's like we're suddenly inundated with presents galore. Just the idea of new shows puts a smile on my face; let's hope it's still there once the shows air!

ABC has announced that Samantha Who?, their most promising new sitcom of the season, will be returning with six new episodes on Monday, April 7 (at 9:30). But maybe the network's biggest news is a time shift. Starting April 24, Lost will commence five new episodes at 10:00, rather than 9:00. Also on April 24, Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy both return with five new episodes each.

ABC decided to use the expected end of the writers' strike to announce the renewal of nine shows for the 2008-09 season. The list of returning series are mostly those you'd expect to see: Grey's Anatomy, Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, and Lost are the veteran shows on the list, joined by rookie shows Pushing Daisies, Samantha Who?, Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money. Unchanged is the speculation that most of the newer shows won't have a spring return, as ABC will hold them for a more publicized fall re-launch.

There are very few times that I wish I lived in Los Angeles (I'm a cold weather guy). This is one of them.

The annual William S. Paley Television Festival kicks off on March 14 (at its new home at Hollywood's Cinerama Dome) and runs through the 27th, and it looks like a lot of great shows are going to be celebrated during those two weeks. Already announced are panels that will reunite the cast from Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, as well as nights devoted to Chuck, Mad Men, Pushing Daisies, Gossip Girl, Dirty Sexy Money, Elvis Presley, and Judd Apatow. And there are still more events to be announced next week.

This is my third Festivus at TV Squad and, in past years, just a few of my wishes have come true. For instance: a Kate and Sawyer hook-up on Lost, another season of My Name is Earl, and a little faith in Scrubs from NBC. All those came true after my first Festivus, last year's wish list wasn't really granted. And, CBS has yet to kill off a main character on CSI. Sara almost died, but didn't. Drat!

This year, all I really want for Festivus is for the writers to get a fair shake and for my favorite shows to return to television. But, since that's kind-of a downer, I made a list that's a little more fun.

... Six welcome returns.

Every fall season I get stoked about all the new shows, with cool new premises ("A guy travels through time trying to make right what once went wrong!"-- Journeyman not Quantum Leap), and all the big changes in store for existing shows. But it's equally exciting to see which beloved actors will be returning to television. Brad Garrett coming back to television in 'Til Death last year? Cool! Patricia Heaton and Kelsey Grammer both coming back to television ... together? That's gotta be awesome, right? Jerry O'Connell on Carpoolers ... well ... ? I like the guy, but I'm not scheduling a 'Welcome Back' shindig for him.

Half the fun of a new television season is the return of great actors and actresses to the small screen. And while I could have easily done 10 or even 20 of these, I've narrowed it down to the six talents who were most welcome back in my house on a weekly basis this past year. I've even been so bold as to rank them. Feel free to agree, disagree and present your own lists in the comments.

(S01E10) The Darlings certainly know how to prepare for the holidays, don't they? Not only did they have a performance of "The Nutcracker" in their living room, but they found time to battle Simon Elder. Every week it seems like another Darling is involved in the plot against Simon--I can't wait for Juliet and Jeremy to join the fray. The twins can be excused, however, since they were busy with their gorgeous significant others.

(S01E09) This week's Dirty Sexy Money featured a blast from the past: Dutch George. No, he didn't come back from the dead, but we did get to see what he was up to six months ago. In the present day, Brian had to face the music after his bribery attempt, Juliet returned, and Karen went on a big date. Oh, and a huge Darling secret was revealed! This show keeps getting better and better!