TVSquad

Alan Ball, creator of Six Feet Under, is coming back to HBO with the new series True Blood, based on the Southern Vampire books by Charlaine Harris.

It's been a couple years since we've mentioned the series, but Variety recently reported that the series was officially picked up by HBO. Both the books and the TV adaptation take place in a time when human beings and vampires live together, thanks to the creation of synthetic blood. A pilot starring Anna Paquin, Ryan Kwanten, Sam Trammell, Stephen Moyer and Brook Kerr was shot earlier this summer. Paquin plays the Louisiana waitress Sookie Stackhouse, who becomes romantically involved with Moyer's Bill Compton, a vampire.

(S11E03) Since I write these little reviews for both The Simpsons and King of the Hill, it's almost impossible for me not to compare them, at least in my head. I don't consider one series better than the other, but what sets King of the Hill apart from its animated brethren on Sunday nights is that it adheres to a much stricter reality than shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy, where the world can be skewed and aspects of a character's personality can be altered or amplified if the story calls for it.

On King of the Hill, much like in real life, people don't change, so the humor is derived from how each person deals with whatever life throws at them. In this episode where Bill worries about the Dautrive name dying with him, we already know Bill is a lonely guy who can't seem to get his life back together after his wife left him all those years ago, so right from the start we're emotionally invested in his character. An episode like this wouldn't have worked as well in an earlier season, but ten years down the road we know these characters, and we actually care what happens to them.

If you haven't gotten your fill of contestants from American Idol, then open wide for a heapin' helpin' of Southern-fried goodness: finalist Kellie Pickler is set to star in a new FOX comedy about a girl from a small town in the South who discovers that the governor is actually her father. The character is based on Pickler herself, so I assume it will be an easy role for her to play. NBC has ordered a script for the new series, which is being written by Chris Peterson and Bryan Moore, who wrote three episodes of That '70s Show between them.

The series is being developed by American Idol's production company 19 Entertainment, proving once again that Idols don't just happen, they're strategically crafted and forced into our homes until we have no choice but to either give in or throw our TVs out the window.

Related:
Kellie Pickler in local singing competition
Kellie Pickler on singing, Simon and salmon
Is Kellie dating Constantine?

If you've ever sprung awake at midnight in a cold sweat and felt the walls closing in around you and felt the only thing that could calm you down is an episode of Designing Women, then I have good news for you. Designing Women debuts on Nick at Nite this evening with a marathon from 10 pm to 2 am. The marathon will continue at these same times through October 5, and then the show will settle into its Monday through Saturday midnight spot starting this Friday, October 6. Set your recording devices and get your fill of sassy Southern ladies. The READ link below also includes a schedule of the marathon, which begins this evening with the pilot episode.

To, answer my own question, yes, Squidbillies is returning to Adult Swim on September 17. I've said it before and I'll say it again: while not every show on Adult Swim thrills me, I'm more than happy to have a few shows in the lineup I don't particularly care for if it means more variety for the rest of the viewing audience. That's not to say I dislike Squidbillies, because it does have some good laughs once in awhile, and it's one of those Adult Swim shows, along with Robot Chicken, that I've been delving into recently after dismissing them when they first aired. I like to think of Adult Swim as a salad bar. I'll just take what I like and leave the rest. Fourteen new episodes of the series are planned.

(S02E07) You know, it's like sitting down for chocolate ice cream and getting strawberry ice cream instead. Sure, you like strawberry ice cream just fine, and heck, it's better than no ice cream at all, but you were still expecting chocolate.

Last night Wonder Showzen did what I could only describe as "pulling a Terrance and Phillip" and dedicated an entire episode to a show within a show. None of our usual puppet pals were around for this episode, instead we got to watch a half hour of Horse Apples, the Hee-Haw spoof which we first saw in the episode titled Knowledge. Now, if you go to the official MTV2 site for the show, they have the episode listed as "Mathematics," which as far as I can tell is actually the season finale, set to air next week. I have no idea what the title of this "not really an episode" episode is supposed to be, but if anyone knows for sure, inform me in the comments.