TVSquad

Almost a year ago, it was announced that there would be a movie sequel for the hit TV series Sex and the City. It took years for producers and actresses to agree to a first movie, but a few months to decide a sequel was needed. Then again, with the popularity of the Sex and the City movie, it was inevitable that a sequel would follow.

Production is underway for the movie, set to be released at the end of May 2010, which means spoilers are leaking on the web! As expected, all four main ladies are back. But what is in store for them? Who, besides the ladies, will star in the movie?

Spoilers coming up!

HBO has slowly become my favorite network over the past few years. I don't know if it's because the mainstream networks have turned to lots of reality programming or what, but HBO just seems to get better and better. Just about every show on the premium channel is feature film quality (if not better), and I've got some favorites listed below.

I know I'm missing a few biggies, like Rome, Deadwood, Flight of the Conchords, and Extras, but it's only because I either haven't watched these shows or have only watched a few episodes -- not enough to make an informed opinion. I'm sure they'll make my Jane After Dark column at some point in the future. So I hope you'll tell me your favorites in the comments below.

Ron Livingston, who is probably best-known for his role as the lovable slacker, Peter Gibbons, in the cult classic, Office Space, is no stranger to television. He played the rakish captain Lewis Nixon on HBO's seminal miniseries, Band of Brothers, and will go down in Pop Culture history as Berger, the douche who broke up with Carrie via Post-It note on Sex and the City.

This summer, Livingston is starring in the new ABC drama, Defying Gravity, with a special two-hour premiere on Sunday, August 2, at 9:00. Described, to the dismay of many, as "Grey's Anatomy in Space," Gravity follows a group of astronauts on a planetary mission 40 years from now. While everybody's sleeping with their coworkers, they aren't quite as angst-ridden about it as their Grey's counterparts. These astronauts cut through all the BS and get down to the business of doing it in zero gravity, as any rational person would.

Recently, I was able to chat with Ron Livingston about Defying Gravity. We talk about some of the more mysterious elements of the show, how he prepared for the role, and why they're wearing t-shirts in the future, instead of Mylar jumpsuits.

(There aren't any major spoilers, but we do discuss the pilot, so keep that in mind).

I think HBO is getting turned on by tackling sex in unconventional ways. They've found recent success with Thomas Jane's male gigolo in Hung. And now HBO's nabbed the venerable Diane Keaton to star in an as-yet-untitled series about a feminist icon who tries to light a fire under the movement by launching a dirty magazine for women.

Hell, the idea of a dirty magazine for women is taboo enough for a TV show. Aren't we led to believe that women are above all that; that only men are depraved enough to prop up that entire industry? Suddenly, in two different half-hour comedies, HBO is taking a long hard look at female sexuality in a way that's even more scrutinizing than Sex and the City.

The original idea was to have a young feminist work at an existing porn magazine. Thank god creators Marti Noxon and Dawn Parouse changed their minds. It's much more intriguing to consider an older woman spearheading such an enterprise. I am interested in what name they ultimately come up with for the show. What would you call it?

I'm not sure what "addicted to" really means. If I love a show and never miss an episode, does that mean I'm "addicted?" Or do I have to have some sort of sadness/emotional withdrawal if I miss an episode, or some sort of chemical reaction in my body that forces me to watch the show every week?

I'm not sure, but according to a survey of 3000 TV fans by LOVEFiLM, the most addictive show is 24.

David Letterman doesn't usually have monotone robots on his show, except for the nights that he has a politician on, but last night Optimus Prime showed up to give the Top Ten list, "Top Ten Things That Sound Cool When Spoken By A Giant Robot." My favorite is number seven, because it's just so bizarre. I don't quite understand number one.

The first Sex and the City movie wasn't just a hit. It was a big, big hit. The worldwide box office was $400 million, which even in today's inflated dollars is an awful lot of cash. Therefore, it was no surprise that New Line has green lighted a sequel to the feature based on the HBO series for release in 2010.

Debra wasn't thrilled with more Sex features, but I have faith in Michael Patrick King. However, there is another issue; while all the ladies are inked for the Sex and the City sequel, Chris Noth is not, which may -- or may not -- be a "big" deal.

Actor and comedian Jim Gaffigan has come a long way from driving down the stock price for Hot Pockets.

He landed his own short-lived sitcom on CBS, thanks to David Letterman, called Welcome to New York and a co-starring role on the hit TBS' dramedy My Boys, which returns for a third season on March 31.

He also racked up a long resume of funny and dramatic roles on hit shows like Sex and the City, Flight of the Conchords, and That 70's Show. He is also one of the few actors to score appearances on all of the Law & Order series if you don't count the spinoff that hardcore L&O cultists are forbidden to say out loud.

I just watched the Sex and the City movie for the first time last night. I was a big fan of the TV show, and I really enjoyed the movie. Just like Serenity, it's always fun when a favorite TV show makes it to the big screen.

Coincidentally, this week I also learned that there is a Sex and the City movie sequel in the works. The girls have officially signed on ... but for what? Here's where the problem lies for me: Sex and the City was a great series and a decently entertaining movie. Can they really pull it off again?

I am always wary of sequels, but this case really gets me quaking in my boots. They are so lucky they pulled the movie off as a success. I loved seeing Carrie and Big finally tie the knot, I wept for Charlotte who finally has the life she's always dreamed of, and Miranda finally came around and accepted being a part of a family. And Samantha? Well, we got to see her acknowledge her selfishness, but at least it was in character. Why should Samantha evolve? I even loved Jennifer Hudson as Carrie's assistant.

It took years after the series ended for the first Sex and the City movie to get made yet it took only a few months for them to decide to make a second movie. Money talks, eh?

E! reports that Kim Cattrall said the sequel would go into production next summer, and a Warner Bros. Studios representative confirmed that the negotiations with the actresses for the sequel have begun.

Somehow, I never imagined that Sarah Jessica Parker's next TV gig after Sex and the City would be a reality show about art. In fact, it makes me a little sad thinking she'll be doing that instead of some fabulous new series with big stars and groovy music.

But, here you have it: Bravo has picked up an art competition reality show from Parker's Pretty Matches production company and producers Magical Elves. They're expected to announce the deal today at the Television Critics Association press tour, so Joel might have more info on this later.

The hour-long show is described by Elves' Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz as a Project Runway-style competition, only with art instead of fashion. Aspiring artists compete to produce various styles of artwork, including painting, sculpting, etc., which is then judged by a panel of experts.

I think that would be called Holding Hands in the City.

Hannah Montana herself tells TV Guide that she wants to make a younger, cleaner version of the HBO hit show (and now movie hit, too) Sex and the City. Not sure if she's ever seen the show, but sex was a rather big, important part of the lives of Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha. It's even the first word in the title of the show. Maybe she actually meant to say that she wants to remake Saved by the Bell: The College Years.

Other words of wisdom from Cyrus: her most important things in the world include her mommy (no word on daddy?), her black Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers, grilled cheese sandwiches and the Bible. I'm kind of the same way when it comes to those last two, only I'd change them to pizza and Esquire magazine.

[via TV Tattle]

What's happening on other blogs via the interweb.

• Hmmm...maybe we are a little closer to a strike after all.
• Is a cast member of Ugly Betty leaving the show for CBS' new show Harper's Island?
• TV Newser has reactions to the death of Tony Snow.
• Yes fans, it looks like there will be a Sex and the City sequel.
• Stephen Collins says that Hallmark Channel would be a perfect place for a 7th Heaven movie.
• Ed McMahon is recovering from yet another neck surgery.
• Variety has some ideas on how to improve The CW.
• Broadcasting & Cable has a roundtable of TV critics: what if they ran the networks?

Looks like a Dead Zone movie is possible. Anthony Michael Hall, who starred in the USA network sci-fi show, told SCI-FI wire that he'd be interested in doing a Dead Zone movie. Hall, who played psychic Johnny Smith for the show's six-season run, reminds everyone that he's not optimistic a Dead Zone movie will be made. "I don't think we had the size of a cult following that, let's say, The X-Files did. You look at Sex and the City or The X-Files, these movies were done long after the shows pumped out their last episodes," says the actor. Also, The Dead Zone having a previous incarnation as a feature film might preclude any new attempts. (In the film, which was released in 1983, Christopher Walken starred as Johnny Smith.)

Whatever the case may be with the possible movie, Anthony Michael Hall remains grateful about the opportunity to star in The Dead Zone. "I would certainly be open to the potential for [a reunion feature]. I would never turn my back on what [the show's late producer] Michael Piller did for me. He gave me this incredible opportunity. When I look back at [my] career, I view him and John Hughes as almost guardian angels of my career," Hall says.

[via PopCandy]

Another week, another list issue of Entertainment Weekly.

I'm not sure what to make of all of these lists. We do them here too, but it seems to me the more giant lists that are done the more meaningless they become. This EW issue is "The New Classics," the 1000 best TV shows, movies, books, and music of the past 25 years. Since this is a television blog, I won't get into their book, movie, and music picks (but if I can just say as a side note, they pick both Clueless and The Naked Gun before L.A. Confidential?!), but let's talk about their TV choices.

And argue about those choices in the comments, of course.