TVSquad

Here's some good news for you "LieHards" out there:

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fox has ordered an additional three scripts for Lie to Me, the Shawn Ryan-helmed drama.

Assuming Fox approves the scripts once they've had a chance to see where the story goes, that'll bump Lie to Me's season two total to 16 episodes. It's not a full back nine - but it's closer. That being said, don't forget that Lie to Me was a mid-season replacement earlier this year and the fact that it got picked up at all was a pleasant surprise.

Just when I'd added Southland to my list of shows to spotlight in upcoming editions of "Gone Too Soon," now there are glimmers of hope for its future. After NBC unceremoniously dumped it before it premiered this season, in favor of more Dateline, fans and television pundits were stunned.

Executive producer John Wells has reportedly been in contact with the cast to tell them he has at least two cable networks interested in picking up Southland. The good news comes in two ways. One, the series gets to come back. And two, a cable network is a lot less likely to tamper with the storytelling style Southland was developing in its first season. NBC already had them de-emphasizing the larger cast and the serialized nature of their storytelling in the episodes they were filming for the new season.

With just about a month to go until the season two premiere of Fringe, FOX has released the promotional poster for the new season. Much like the ad campaign and show bumpers used throughout the first season (that code did get cracked), the new poster is full of clues, both old and new.

There hasn't been much else teasing the new season of Fringe, save for the short video I posted last week, so for now, this is the best we've got if we want to try and figure just what the heck is going to happen to Olivia now that she's in an alternate universe.

At first glance, you can pretty quickly see the Observer, Walter drinking some sort of slushie, and tons of the glyphs seen in the first season. But keep looking and there's a lot more. The poster is after the jump - take a look and tell us what you see or if you've got any theories.

[via Fringe Bloggers]

Yesterday was cable's last day here in Pasadena, with only a few quotable lines of note (mostly from Omarosa, promoting her new TV One reality show, Life After). The afternoon was full of set visits; first to the Paramount lot to visit Three Rivers and NCIS: Los Angeles, then to Fox to drop by Bones and Dollhouse.

Of course, the last one is probably the one of most interest to the Squad's readership. And that's something Joss Whedon emphasized as he appeared first solo, then with the cast; despite the show's dismal Nielsen numbers, its "non-traditional" numbers -- DVR, online, etc. -- were enough to get the show renewed.

Still, Joss was astounded to be in front of us on that set again: "Welcome back to the biggest surprise of my career: our season two."

More on the panel, including the impact of "Epitaph One" on the second season, after the jump.

If you read my updated TV Squad profile, you'll see that besides infomercials, my guilty pleasure is blooper shows. You don't see many of them on TV nowadays, but you do get a lot of gag reels on DVD sets. Since Burn Notice is on tonight I thought I'd post this clip of season two outtakes. They sure do swear a lot.

We haven't done a giveaway in a while, but we couldn't resist when we were offered this opportunity: We've got three copies of Mad Men: Season Two on DVD for three lucky, random commenters. The DVD is out in stores starting tomorrow.

To enter, leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Friday, July 17 simply telling us why you'd like to own this DVD set. As always, we'll randomly choose three winners amongst the eligible entries. Some other details:
Click here for complete Official Rules.

(S01E05) "Lookin' sharp, Buffy, lookin' sharp." - Devil to Sam while he was holding a wooden stake

Season two of Reaper continues to entertain: it's funny, smart and unexpected, while still delivering all the things we loved about Reaper in season one. From using Sam's zombie dad to scare the poop out of Ben in the car, to the tongue-in-cheek shout-out to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this episode delivered.

One thing this episode did suffer from, though, is something I feared. Because they've introduced so many characters, we only saw a brief bit of them this week (and we didn't see Nina at all), and I was left wanting more of some. I guess we got a good fill of the dad, and it was so great to have demon Tony back. But I missed Nina, and I craved more Morgan. I'm wondering, too, if Kristen will end up being more than a bizarre sex symbol for Sock.

(S02E03) "No, I'm not growing a douche tag!" - Sam to Ben when he suggests Sam grow a soul patch

The only way I can begin this review is... yay Reaper! The first two episodes this season were enjoyable and got me back into the Reaper spirit. Tonight's episode raised the game; the writers went beyond hitting their stride and hit it out of the park.

You think that's too strong a stance for this episode? Come, explore with me, if you will, the finer points of tonight's episode....

(S02E01) "Shut your mouth, that's my sister! I have dibs." -- Sock, to Ben who referred to Sock's stepsister as "smokin' hot"

Reaper's back, and our resident lovable losers are in full form: homeless (evicted from their apartment), jobless (though they get them back with a little blackmail), Sam's in the doghouse with Andi, and it's just another devilish day at The Work Bench.

That all may add up to a typical episode of Reaper for you, but they've taken a couple of steps to bring this show to the next level, as well as bringing us everything we loved so much about the first season.

I just finished watching season one of FX's Damages and, wow! What a gripping, twisty-turny show that had me hooked the whole way. Glenn Close acts the socks off anyone in close range, but the rest of the cast are no slouches either.

I've gained new respect for Ted Danson in his role as Arthur Frobisher, a high-stakes entrepreneur who's gotten himself into some pretty deep doo-doo. And Rose Byrne as the young-pup attorney Ellen is like watching a steely-eyed carp in the making.

I can't wait for season two to start on Jan. 7 at 10 PM, but until then I'll have to appease myself with Jonathan's early look and this poster.

I just can't get enough of Damages. Season two is right around the corner (it premieres on FX on Wednesday, January 7th at 10PM ET) and to generate some buzz, FX put together a conference call yesterday with Glenn Close, and Executive Producers/Co-Creators Glenn Kessler, Todd A. Kessler, and Daniel Zelman.

After I got off the call, I typed some thoughts while it was still fresh in my mind; there's a lot I want to talk about.

I've already seen the first two episodes (you can check out my early review here) and with that in mind, be aware that what follows after the jump is 100% spoilerish. Though some of it is general, if you don't want to know what happens as season two kicks off - this is your warning.

The law/crime genre is a tired and used television landscape. In an era where almost every channel has been saturated with no less than four Law & Order's, three CSI's, and countless other attempts - some good, some bad - it reached a point where it seemed as though we'd seen it all. Then FX premiered Damages back in July 2007 and everything changed. Fast-forward over a year later, add in three history-making Emmy wins, a Golden Globe, and one lingering question remains - how can they possibly re-create the tense past-meets-present plot device that made season one so unique and memorable?

I have to admit, I've been slightly obsessed with checking the mid-season replacement schedule over at The Futon Critic. You see, I've been waiting to find out when one of my favorite shows from last season, Reaper, would be coming back.

Finally, I need wait no more: The CW has finally announced Reaper's timeslot, and it's not half bad. Or, I guess it is half bad, depending on how you look at it.

First things first: it's not on Friday night, which is something I feared because CW's schedule is so wide open on that night. So that's good, right?

A few days ago I mentioned that both Nip/Tuck and Damages were returning after the New Year, but no premiere dates were known yet. However, FX has now announced that the highly anticipated second season of the Glenn Close legal thriller will make its sophomore debut on Wednesday, January 7th at 10PM. The network has been running ads for Nip/Tuck for a few weeks now, but this past weekend they released the first of what I'm sure will be many new promos for Damages. I've got a bit of an issue with it though.

(S02E04) "Oh Golly" - Sylar, grade A meanie.

I really want to thank all you guys who sent in such positive feedback on the new format for Heroes reviewcaps. JJ is going to follow a similar structure, as he displayed last week, so we can have some consistency from week to week, episode to episode.

The above quote was one of the single most hilarious moments ever on Heroes, which is usually suffering from too much drama... or more accurately melodrama.

This week saw the introduction of Micah's extended family, the return of a clean-shaved Nathan Petrelli and the answer to who is Molly's monster, so lets get it started.