TVSquad

• Aaron Brown's contract with CNN ended last week, and now he can talk. Here's part one of his interview with TV Newser, and here's part two (parts three and four coming this week).
• Gordon Ramsay says the parents of fat kids should be hauled off to court and fined.
• A woman has filed a paternity suit against ER's Goran Visnjic.
• Fans are mounting a bring back The Black Donnellys campaign, a la Jericho fans.
• Catherine Crier might be gone from Court TV, but she's blogging over at The Huffington Post.
• In the middle of a summer of reruns, Martha Stewart suddenly has new shows starting July 16.
• What is The Dynamite Action Squad?

News about NBC's fall schedule continues to trickle out, this time from Bill Carter over at the New York Times.

Looks like the network is going to pick up five dramas: Lipstick Jungle (from Sex and the City creator Candace Bushnell), Chuck, Life, Journeyman, and The Bionic Woman. The network has not made a decision on Law and Order or Law and Order: CI yet, but it looks like Friday Night Lights is coming back for a full season.

The shows being canceled? No surprise that Studio 60, The Black Donnellys, and Crossing Jordan are gone, but it's a little bit of a surprise that Scrubs isn't coming back. There's been talk that ABC might take the show, but no official word on that yet.

NBC's upfront announcement is this Monday.

Update: Nikki Finke is reporting that Scrubs has been picked up by NBC, but no other info is available about it.

That's one of the revelations in this Forbes mag piece about Jeff Zucker and NBC. It says that not only is it possible that NBC will cancel Law and Order (the first one, CI and SVU are pretty safe), Zucker and Kevin Reilly are thinking seriously about making The Office a one hour show.

Hmmm...a one hour Office? I don't know. Will that be too much of a good thing? Bigger isn't necessarily better.

Zucker also discloses that when NBC gives its upfront (on May 14), there will be 5 new shows announced: three dramas, one comedy, and one reality show. I've never been good at math, so I'll leave it to you to decipher what that means about which current shows will and won't return.

[via TV Tattle]

Christian Slater is coming back to weekly television.

The actor has signed to star in a new NBC drama called Dirty Little Secrets. He'll play an investigative reporter who tackles the stories that "get swept under the carpet." The show will be produced by Arymyan Bernstein, one of the producers of the acclaimed Clive Owen film Children of Men.

It's good to hear that NBC isn't abandoning scripted shows after canceling so many this season (Kidnapped, Andy Barker, P.I., The Black Donnellys, probably Studio 60, Raines, etc). This new show has an interesting premise. Anything but another reality show or game show, eh?

Just in time for the May upfronts (that time of year when all of the networks - ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and The CW - unveil their lineups for the fall), The Futon Critic has a complete guide to what shows have been renewed and what shows have been canceled for the 2007-08 season.

Most of the news isn't that surprising. We already know that shows like The Black Donnellys and Six Degrees and King of Queens are ending, and that shows like Lost, Bones, and 30 Rock have been renewed. However, I wasn't aware that Men in Trees had already been renewed, and isn't it a little odd to put 60 Minutes in the "Fate To Be Determined" category? I would assume it's definitely renewed.

There's also a very handy guide to all of the pilots that are currently in development (at the top), so you can see what shows just might replace your favorites.

NBC may have canceled Andy Barker, P.I., The Black Donnellys, and (probably) Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, but they seem to have a hard on for reality shows, and more are coming this summer.

Returning reality shows include America's Got Talent, which has a new host ... Jerry Springer. Expect the throwing of chairs and DNA tests to be "talents" this season, which starts May 29. The Biggest Loser, which returns for a fourth season late in the summer with new host Allison Sweeney (Days Of Our Lives). It still amazes me that a show about fat people losing weight can be a hit and last for four seasons. Before The Biggest Loser returns, we'll get another season of Last Comic Standing, which will also have a new host, Bill Bellamy. It returns on June 13. And then we have the new show Age of Love, a "new twist on the reality dating show format" (yeah, right). It will be hosted by Mark Consuelos.

This just shows us how accurate Studio 60 was, with that whole plot involving the new VP of alternative programming at NBS pitching a show titled All You Need Is Love. NBC says that Age of Love will be "bringing romance back to television." Oh, I can hardly wait.

• At 7, ABC Family has the season finale of Lincoln Heights.
• At 8, NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal.
• FOX has a new Prison Break at 8, then a new 24.
• Three cool detective shows on American Life starting at 8: Harry O, 77 Sunset Strip, and Surfside 6.
• ABC Family repeats the pilot to Kyle XY at 8, if you missed it the first time.
• At 9, CBS has the NCAA Tournament finals.
• USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
• Food Network has a new Unwrapped at 9, focusing on "Chewy Treats."
• Also at 9: VH-1 has the season (series?) finale of I Love New York.
• At 10, NBC has a new Black Donnellys.
• FX has a new ep of The Riches at 10 (repeated at 11).

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, The New Adventures of Old Christine returns to CBS with two new episodes.
• NBC has a new, two hour Deal Or No Deal at 8, then a new episode of The Black Donnellys.
• There's a new Wildfire on ABC Family at 8.
• Emeril cooks pasta on a new Emeril Live, on Food Network at 8.
• At 9, FOX has a new 24.
• ABC has a new Supernanny at 9, followed by a new What About Brian.
• Bill Maher is the guest on Larry King Live, at 9 on CNN.
• The new movie Cleaverville airs on Lifetime at 9.
• Another new movie at 9: The Kings of South Beach, on A&E.
• GSN has a new High Stakes Poker at 9.
• Also at 9: USA has a new WWE Monday Night RAW.
• At 9:30, CBS has a new Rules of Engagement.
• At 10, FX has the premiere of the new Eddie Izzard/Minnie Driver show The Riches (repeated at 11).
• Discovery has a new Stunt Junkies at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

I almost didn't write this, because I'm really just inviting every person who hates me or hates Studio 60 (or the many people who seem to have a part-time job hating me and Studio 60) to just jump into the comments section and tell me why the show was bad and why I'm a terrible, terrible human being for even liking it. But then I decided, what the hell. In fact, let me help you with your comments. Cut and paste as you desire:

1. No one cares about what's going on behind the scenes of a late night comedy show
2. Sarah Paulson isn't funny.
3. The show isn't funny.
4. Sorkin is too preachy!
5. There's no chemistry between Paulson and Perry, and they focus on the Matt/Harriet plot too much.
6. Amanda Peet isn't believable/too young/too pretty to be a network exec.
7. You suck Sassone!