TVSquad

Ladies, your dreams have come true. It looks like you will have a chance to date television star Brad Garrett. He's executive-producing and starring in an online dating reality show called, duh, Dating Brad Garrett.

Garrett is best known for his nine-year stint as Ray Romano's brother in the popular sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. He is currently entering his third season as one of the stars of the Fox sitcom Til Death.

"An online dating show seemed like a logical choice given that I'm in the midst of a midlife crisis and averse to pain, which makes getting my ear pierced out of the question," Garrett said. "And since I'm not picky about my choices, I hope women of all sizes, shapes and colors will be compelled to submit their videos."

Women can submit videos to the Crackle.com site at Crackle.com/DateBrad. I wonder if he'll be more popular than Tila Tequila?

Summer hasn't even started yet (though I always consider Memorial Day the start of summer), but FOX has all of the premiere dates for the new and returning shows. Some of the shows were announced as starting the week of August 25, but those dates have been pushed to September 1. In fact, all of the FOX shows bow in September this year. But that's OK. Better than waiting until October like a lot of networks, right? (Of course, the World Series starts on FOX at the end of October so there will be an interruption.)

After the jump, the rundown (except for 24 and Dollhouse, which premiere in early '09). Feel free to print out and post on your refrigerator!

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.

Fox has made the call, and it's a big "see ya later" for Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. But their loss is someone else's gain. The pilot for the Jason Bateman directed comedy series The Inn has been picked up for a 13-week commitment, while Back to You has been axed. The Brad Garrett-Joely Fisher sitcom, Til Death, meanwhile, has been given another year.

Bateman, who starred in Arrested Development -- the Emmy-award winning comedy that the network dumped unceremoniously because of low ratings -- was behind the camera for The Inn pilot. The show, which is about the haves and have-nots in a fancy, five-star New York City hotel, has a promising cast of funny folks including Niecy Nash (Reno 911!), Jerry O'Connell (who looks like Jason's twin), and the really hilarious Jesse Tyler Ferguson (remember him on The Class -- he was so funny!).

Welcome to Subtle Subtitles. For those of you who are uninitiated to the purpose of this feature, we're asking you to come up with your funniest quote or description for what's going on in the screen grab we choose for the week. Winners are announced in the following Friday's contest.

Last contest's winner: pacheco

This week, a scene from last night's episode of Lost ...

Showbiz has gone green, and that's not just ecologically! Green is flashing all over Hollywood. CBS has given the greenlight to three more pilots, including a doctor drama, a psychic romance, and a British-based tale of international love.

NY-LON (no, not nylon the fabric!), refers to the New York-London connection via air. The story, which writers Patti Carr and Lara Runnels (who both worked on 'Til Death) are translating from the U.K. version, is about a British businessman who meets a New York City record store clerk while she's in London, and then their subsequent attempts to maintain a transatlantic romance. The series ran seven episodes in England, which is not atypical. Of course, for American TV, many more episodes than that will be necessary to constitute a hit.

• At 8, CBS has a new Kid Nation, then new episodes of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY.
• NBC has Christmas in Rockefeller Center at 8, followed by new episodes of Bionic Woman and Life.
• ABC has the Christmas special Shrek The Halls, then the 40th Anniversary Special Edition of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, then new episodes of Pushing Daisies and Dirty Sexy Money.
• FOX has a new 'Til Death at 8, followed by a new Kitchen Nightmares.
• There's a new America's Next Top Model on The CW at 8, then a new Gossip Girl.
• CNN has a Republican Presidential Debate at 8.
• At 9, PBS has a new Great Performances, with Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Jeff Beck, Buddy Guy, Sheryl Crow, Bill Murray, and others.
• Discovery has a new Mythbusters at 9.
• ABC Family has The Christmas List at 9.
• Hallmark has A Christmas Visitor at 9.
• Also at 9: Food Network has All Star Holiday Gifts.
• At 10, Bravo has a new Project Runway.
• HBO has a new Inside the NFL at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Is the final season of Battlestar Galactica in danger now because of the ongoing WGA (Writer's Guild of America) strike? According to Deadline Hollywood Daily, NBC Universal is utilizing the force majeure clause in SAG (Screen Actors Guild) agreements to suspend actors' and actresses' working contracts. The clause indicates studios and networks can do this if production is halted on their shows.

It looks like letters have been sent to the casts of such shows as The Office, 30 Rock, Bionic Woman and Battlestar Galactica. Sony Pictures has sent similar letters to the casts of Til Death and Rules of Engagement, indicating that more letters could be forthcoming from other studios if the strike lingers.

Sweeps period is not only important for networks but also for TV viewers. Sweeps periods are when some of the biggest events in a TV series happen: deaths, explosions, extra special guest stars, etc.

To prepare you for November sweeps, I've combed through the networks' sweeps press releases and official episode descriptions and extracted what seems to be the juicy information for almost all scripted series on the five major networks.

All spoilers listed after the jump are actually spoilers the networks want you to know!

It seems that both Harold and Kumar will be taking a detour on their way to White Castle and heading toward Fox -- which I guess you would have to be a little "altered" to go to as well.

In addition to his CBS pilot, Cho will have another TV role this fall on Fox's 'Til Death, the Eddie Kay Thomas/Brad Garrett marriage-is-crazy sitcom. Cho is slated for three episodes as the prestigious private school principal that has confrontations with Thomas' public school vice principal character.

• At 8, ABC has two new episodes of George Lopez, then new episodes of According To Jim, In Case Of Emergency, and Lost.
• CBS has a new Jericho at 8.
• NBC has new episodes of Friday Night Lights, Crossing Jordan, and Medium.
• FOX has a new Bones at 8, followed by new episodes of American Idol and 'Til Death.
• There's a new America's Next Top Model on The CW at 8.
• American Life has spy shows starting at 8: I Spy, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.
• Discovery has a new episode of Hazard Pay, about repo men. It's on at 8 too.
• At 9, The Travel Channel has a new ep of The World Poker Tour.
• At 10, Food Network has a new Good Eats, all about espresso.
• Also at 10: Comedy Central has a new South Park, then a new Halfway Home.
• At 11, HBO repeats The Comedian Award, with Jerry Seinfeld honored by Chris Rock, Robert Klein, Garry Shandling, Anderson Cooper, and others.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

1. American Idol - Tues (FOX)
2. American Idol - Weds (FOX)
3. Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
4. Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
5. CSI: Miami (CBS)
6. NCIS (CBS)
7. Criminal Minds (CBS)
8. 'Til Death (FOX)
9. Deal Or No Deal (NBC)
10. Cold Case (CBS)
11. CSI: NY (CBS)
12. Survivor (CBS)
13. Without A Trace (CBS)
14. 60 Minutes (CBS
15. Extreme Makeover (ABC)
16. Lost (ABC)
17. The Unit (CBS)
18. 24 (FOX)
19. Two and a Half Men (CBS)
20. October Road (ABC)

The weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

1. American Idol - Tues (FOX)
2. American Idol - Weds (FOX)
3. Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
4. Deal Or No Deal (NBC)
5. Cold Case (CBS)
6. 60 Minutes (CBS)
7. CSI: Miami (CBS)
8. 'Til Death (FOX)
9. October Road (ABC)
10. Without A Trace (CBS)
11. Two and a Half Men (CBS)
12. Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? (FOX)
13. Lost (ABC)
14. 24 (FOX)
15. Deal Or No Deal (NBC)
16. Amazing Race (CBS)
17. NCIS (CBS)
18. Rules of Engagement (CBS)
19. Ugly Betty (ABC)
20. Criminal Minds (CBS)

• At 8, ABC has a new George Lopez.
• CBS has a new Jericho at 8.
• There's a new Bones on FOX at 8, then new episodes of American Idol and 'Til Death.
• The CW has a new America's Next Top Model at 8.
• TNT has an ER marathon starting at 8.
• Daniel Boulud joins Emeril in the kitchen on a new Emeril Live, at 8 on Food Network.
• At 9, ABC has a new According To Jim, followed by new episodes of In Case of Emergency and Lost.
• NBC has a new Crossing Jordan at 9.
• Discovery has a new Mythbusters at 9.
• At 10, Food Network has a new Good Eats, then a new Dinner: Impossible.
• Bravo has a new Top Design at 10 (actually starts a little bit before 10).
• Also at 10: Comedy Central has a new South Park, then a new Halfway Home.

Check your local TV listings for more.

American Idol appears to be the "show-that-can't-be-stopped." At last week's Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, executives referred to it as the "Death Star" because it consistently destroys the competiton. And few expected that Amercan Idol, now in its six season, would not only maintain its monstrous ratings -- but continue to grow.

It's no wonder then that Fox executives are planning on scheduling at least 45 hours of Idol -- and possibly more -- to take full advantage of their ratings powerhouse.