TVSquad

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we'll supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479 - your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have: Brothers & Sisters, Chuck, Damages, Desperate Housewives, Heroes, Prison Break, Pushing Daisies, Reaper and Smallville. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

The Emmy Awards voting is different than it used to be (more steps in the voting process and a special panel watches episodes and votes after that), and last year the list of the semifinalists was leaked online before it was officially announced. Well, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences don't really want that to happen again, so they've decided to just announce the finalist list itself.

After the jump, the ten comedies and ten dramas that are semifinalists for the Emmy award this year. The list will be knocked down to five (more if there's a tie) once another round of voting is done. The nominees will be announced live on July 17, and we'll have coverage here at TV Squad.

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we'll supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479 - your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have: Big Love, Brothers & Sisters, Chuck, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, Lipstick Jungle, Nip/Tuck, Pushing Daisies and Weeds. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

Have you been checking out the best American accents on TV today? TV Squad has selected five fantastic nominees for The Excellence in Outsourcing Award, the television actors who have the best American accents. These five are all non-Americans, naturally, but you would never know it by their performances as good old folks from the United States.

So read all about these five worthy candidates and see why they've been selected. Then, check out the poll at the end. That's when you have a job to do. We want to know your top choice from the five nominees we've selected. Please take a moment to answer our poll at the end, casting your ballot for the Reader's Choice award in Excellence in Outsourcing.

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:

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.

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we'll supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479 - your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have: 24, CSI, Gossip Girl, Lost, My Boys, NCIS, One Tree Hill, Pushing Daisies, and Rules of Engagement. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we'll supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479 - your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have: Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, Law & Order: SVU, Lost, Moonlight, Psych, Pushing Daisies, Smallville and The Office. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

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.

The buzz about ABC's Oscar broadcast is starting in earnest, and yesterday it was announced that Kristin Chenoweth, the adorable Olive Snook on Pushing Daisies, has been tapped to sing one of the Academy Award nominated songs, "That's How You Know" from the film Enchanted, according to the Baltimore Sun. Kristin will be joined by Marlon Saunders, who played the Central Park Calypso singer in the movie. By the by, Enchanted's star, Amy Adams, will also be singing on the show. She's doing, "Happy Working Song," another nominated song from the Disney hit. FYI, that's the sing-along tune she did in the film with cockroaches, rats and other happy vermin. You can just imagine Walt Disney spinning in his grave, can't you?

With casting finally complete, NBC can begin to think about how nice it would be to start work on Kath & Kim if they had any writers. Based on an Australian hit by the same name, the series focuses on the relationship problems between a mother (Molly Shannon as "Kath") and her daughter (Selma Blair as "Kim"). The series was originally picked up a year ago but languished due to casting concerns. It was deemed that the main characters had to be cast perfectly for this to work.

Meanwhile, Molly Shannon has stayed busy with a brilliant turn on Pushing Daisies while Selma Blair wowed geeks across the world as Liz Sherman in Hellboy, a role she will reprise in the sequel. Now they'll be able to come together and try to be the most delightfully dysfunctional mother-daughter duo since Lorelai and Rory Gilmore. Hell, if it can get half the critical acclaim that Gilmore Girls did, Kath & Kim will be off to a great start.

It's a shame that the Golden Globes ceremony was cancelled in a year when so many talented comedic actresses received nominations. For the first time since 2004, the category of Best Actress in a Television Musical or Comedy includes none of the Desperate Housewives cast. The housewives have dominated the category over the past few years, and their absence has made room for some fresh faces in 2008.

I couldn't be happier that this category looks more competitive than ever. The fact that I had so much trouble predicting a winner is a very good sign. I'm also pleased that each nominee represents a different style of comedy--and there's not a cranky suburban wife or over-the-top diva to be found. The five characters that these ladies play are likeable, genuine, and hilarious.

This feels weird. Normally, there is a good bit of excitement around the nominees of the Golden Globes, particularly since it's the first big award ceremony of the year and a precursor to the Academy and Emmy awards. However, with the WGA strike in full swing, and the awards ceremony stripped down to a simple one-hour press conference televised by NBC, it all seems a bit anti-climatic.

But, taking a page from my heroes Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, I shall press on in true television reporting style and present my prediction for winner of the Golden Globe for Best Actor - Musical or Comedy.

The media can spin the death of the sitcom all they want. I'll even give them that the traditional multi-camera format that Lucy and Desi founded does seem to be dying a slow death, but comedy itself is alive and well on television. Ever since Ally McBeal stretched the definition of television comedy by daring to be nominated in comedic categories despite being an hour long "drama" (don't you know that dramas are one hour and comedies 30 minutes; it's the only way to tell the difference), the "sitcom" has morphed into the "comedy."

Almost gone is that multi-camera stage set and the live/canned studio audience. Instead we have shows that are filmed just like their dramatic counterparts that happen to be funny. And all of this year's Globe nominees for best musical or comedy TV series fit into this category (sorry According to Jim, maybe next year). Check 'em out after the jump, along with our picks for who should win!

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we'll supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479 - your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have: Aliens in America, Brothers & Sisters, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, Lost, October Road, and Pushing Daisies. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)