Castle

Warner Bros to pay Men crew

Warner Bros has confirmed that it will be paying the crew of Two and a Half Men for the four remaining episodes of the current season which has been axed. The company will cover the crew’s wages in full after it was decided to shut down production following Charlie Sheen’s stint in rehab.

Rob Dyrdek launching new MTV show

MTV’s Rob Dyrdek is launching a new series on the network later this year called Ridiculousness. The series, which will run alongside his Fantasy Factory, will see him put his own spin on the funniest amateur videos from the internet in front of a studio audience.

Dancing with the Stars contestants named in the US

Dancing with the Stars in the US has named its latest batch of celebrities to take part in the upcoming season. Former boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, E! Channel star Kendra Wilkinson and actress Kirstie Alley are among those set to take to the d-floor.

CSI actress to guest on Castle

Former CSI actress Liz Vassey has landed a guest role on drama series Castle where she will play a real estate agent who gets caught up in a murder investigation.

Thankfully the double episode of Hawaii Five-O was a one off.

Next Sunday, NCIS: LA returns to Sunday 9.30pm with new episodes.

The first episode of last nights’ Hawaii Five-O double was watched by 723,000 while the second by just 531,000.

The double on Nine faired better – the first episode of The Mentalist watched by 841,000, the second 726,000.

On Seven, Bones at 8.30 was watched by 971,000, Castle 680,000.

Miss Marple on ABC1 beat them all – 1,006,000.

Seriously, Ten, put NCIS: LA on Tuesday night after NCIS instead of the NCIS repeat. The repeat NCIS could go to Sunday 9.30pm instead – it would probably do as well as the new content.

Here’s another thought – wonder how well Undercover Boss would go on a Sunday night at 9.30? Could do OK as people chose to relax later in the night?

 

8:30pm – Sunday, February 27 on Seven

This week on CASTLE, Castle and Beckett’s case of a young man killed by a 200-year-old bullet takes them into a secret steampunk society.

Castle and Beckett look into the murder of a young mathematician gunned down with a 200-year-old bullet, sparking some wild theories by Castle about a time-travelling killer. When their investigation uncovers a tricked-out DeLorean and a suspect in Victorian clothing, is it possible Castle’s crazy idea has some validity?

This winding tale twists through the towers of Wall Street and into the world of a secret steampunk society that embraces the romance and simplicity of the past, while coupling it with the hope and promise of the future.

CASTLE stars NATHAN FILLION as Richard Castle, STANA KATIC as NYPD Detective Kate Beckett, SUSAN SULLIVAN as Martha Rodgers, MOLLY QUINN as Alexis Castle, RUBEN SANTIAGO-HUDSON as NYPD Captain Roy Montgomery, TAMALA JONES as Medical Examiner Lanie Parish, JON HUERTOS as NYPD Detective Javier Esposito and SEAMUS DEVER as NYPD Detective Kevin Ryan.

8:30pm – Sunday, February 20 on Seven

This week on CASTLE, Castle and Beckett try to solve the mystery of a dead bail bondsman.

When a coded document hidden by a murdered bail bondsman gets Castle’s imagination running wild, Beckett must steer the case back to the violent felons who populated their victim’s world – only to discover that maybe Castle’s crazy theories aren’t so crazy after all.

Complicating matters is the surprise arrival of Beckett’s ex-partner (now a bounty hunter). As the two reunite over a history that Castle has no part of, Castle is forced to watch the relationship take a turn towards the romantic.

CASTLE stars NATHAN FILLION as Richard Castle, STANA KATIC as NYPD Detective Kate Beckett, SUSAN SULLIVAN as Martha Rodgers, MOLLY QUINN as Alexis Castle, RUBEN SANTIAGO-HUDSON as NYPD Captain Roy Montgomery, TAMALA JONES as Medical Examiner Lanie Parish, JON HUERTOS as NYPD Detective Javier Esposito and SEAMUS DEVER as NYPD Detective Kevin Ryan.

8:30pm – Sunday, February 13 on Seven

This week on CASTLE, when a famous psychic is murdered, Beckett and Castle search for her killer while also carrying on a spirited debate on the existence of extrasensory abilities.

Evidence mounts on both sides, especially when a letter arrives from the victim, penned the day she was killed and predicting her own death — or was it written by a clever killer, hoping to throw off the investigation?

CASTLE stars NATHAN FILLION as Richard Castle, STANA KATIC as NYPD Detective Kate Beckett, SUSAN SULLIVAN as Martha Rodgers, MOLLY QUINN as Alexis Castle, RUBEN SANTIAGO-HUDSON as NYPD Captain Roy Montgomery, TAMALA JONES as Medical Examiner Lanie Parish, JON HUERTOS as NYPD Detective Javier Esposito and SEAMUS DEVER as NYPD Detective Kevin Ryan.

Seven have released programming details for next Sunday (Feb 6) as well as confirmation that Packed to the Rafters returns Tuesday week (Feb 8th).

Sundays from Feb 6:

6.30pm Sunday Night
7.30 Border Security – new
8.00 The Force – new
8.30 Bones – new
9.30 Castle – new.

Bones will also remain on Monday nights at 8.30pm with new episodes – so for now, Bones is on twice a week.

And on Tuesday Feb 8, Packed to the Rafters returns at 8.30pm. Parenthood settles into its regular timeslot of 9.30pm Tuesdays as well.

 

Modern Family, Grey’s, Cougar Town renewed

ABC has renewed its comedy series’ Modern Family and Cougar Town for third seasons along with an eighth season for Grey’s Anatomy and a fifth for its spin-off Private Practice. The Middle will also return for a third season with Castle picked up for a fourth. Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters are yet to be greenlit for new seasons.

Snoop Dogg to guest on 90210

Snoop Dogg will make a guest appearance on an episode of drama series 90210. The rapper will make a brief cameo along with his daughter Cori Broadus who will have a small acting role as well.

Galecki lands Entourage cameo

The Big Bang Theory’s Johnny Galecki will make a guest appearance on the final season of Entourage. The actor who plays Leonard will guest as himself on the series which wraps its eighth season later this year.

Devlin to return to Cougar Town

Actor Ryan Devlin will return to Cougar Town during the latter stages of the show’s second season after having a small involvement in its first season. Devlin, who also appears on Brothers & Sisters and has had previous roles on Grey’s Anatomy, plays the character of Smith, a love interest for Laurie.

Band of Brothers leader dies

The American Army officer who was the inspiration for the Band of Brothers TV series has passed away aged 92. Dick Winters led “Easy Company” during the D-Day invasion of Normandy, destroying an enemy battery with 13 of his men and obtaining a detailed map of German defences along Utah Beach.

Week 49 (Nov 28 – Dec 4) is the first week of summer non-ratings – a time when the networks rest most of their premium content, and especially anything locally made in favour of repeats and lower quality programming.

What will be different this summer, compared to others, is that Seven and Nine have three channels to fill, rather than two as it was last year, and one in previous years. Content that, in the past, would normally have been shown in summer, now lands on digital channels as well during ratings season which places a strain on available content during non-ratings. The net effect is generally that we end up seeing a lot more repeats.

Seven’s program guide for week 49 so far gives little away as to what will air in key prime time timeslots for the first week of summer.

Listed as TBA is 6.30-8.30pm Sunday Nov 28, 7.30-8.30pm Monday Nov 29, 9.30-10.30pm Monday Nov 29, 7.30-10.30pm Tuesday Nov 30, 7.30-11.30pm Wednesday Dec 1 and Thursday Dec 2 8.30-10.20pm (the odd finishing time suggests a movie might be there).

Continuing so far in summer are repeats of Bones and Castle from 8.30pm on Sunday night and Criminal Minds repeats on Monday night at 8.30. New episodes of the Event will continue on Mondays at 10.30pm (come on guys, why not move it to 9.30 in summer) with its encore remaining on 7mate on Thursday night.

The Amazing Race continues at 7.30pm Thursdays and 30 Rock also remains on Thursdays in double episodes BUT are repeats – that will put us further behind the US, as we most likely won’t see any new episodes now until 2011. Crazy – why not try new episodes of 30 Rock at an earlier time and see how it goes?

With Home and Away finishing up On Friday Nov 26, How I Met Your Mother will be stripped across the 7pm timeslot, Monday to Friday on Seven from Monday Nov 29. How I Met Your Mother also airs on 7mate at 7.30 Tuesdays and Wednesdays – and, unless changed prior by way of an amendment, remains at those times in summer.

 Also appearing on both Seven and 7mate at varying times is Scrubs and That 70′s Show.

Programs filling TBA timeslots on Seven for Week 49 will be advised soon.

 

UPDATED: Seven have decided to hold off new episodes of Castle for now. On October 31, Castle will still be a repeat episode.

Bones and Castle have been together on Sunday nights in new, then repeat episodes for most of the year – even when the start time of Bones was pushed back almost to 10pm with the late finishing times of some of the earlier X Factor shows.

As already reported, new Bones premieres this Sunday (Oct 17) at 9pm (not 8.30pm like some of the promors on Seven have been suggesting), after The X Factor.

Two weeks later, new episodes of Castle will air from 9.30pm, Sunday October 31. The first episode of its third season – called “The Deadly Affair” – sees Beckett and her team burst into an apartment on a murderer’s trail, they see Castle standing over a dead woman’s body holding a gun. When Beckett arrests Castle on the spot, he asserts his innocence, claiming he was not the one to do the dirty deed.

If you are up late on the night of Monday November 1, Seven have a premiere special called Sexiest Voluptuous Vixens at 11pm that night. It is a top 25 countdown of the world’s sexiest voluptuous vixens, including Beyonce, Jessica Biel and Carmen Electra. Tune in to see who will be number one!

Repeat episodes of Castle remain - 9.30pm Sundays on Seven, from Oct 31.

Updated November 9, 2010

The US ratings season 2010/11 started on Monday Sept 20, 2010.

Here is the Throng guide to what shows are starting when in the US and when they might be likely to be seen in Australia.

The list of shows is presented with the date they premiere or return in the US, followed by if or when we are likely to see them in Australia, in alphabetical order.

30 Rock – US Thur Sept 23. New season on Seven, 10.30pm, Thur Oct 21.

90210 – US Mon Sept 13. Will be shown on Eleven in 2011, but we have a lot of catching up to do.

America’s Next Top Model – US Wed Sept 8. FOX8, 7.30pm, Tuesday October 19, 2010

American Dad – US Sunday Oct 3. Expect to see it on 7mate, after we catch up with old episodes not yet shown. American Dad (first run eps, but still S6) on 7mate Wednesday nights 9pm from Sept 29. 

Blue Bloods – Ten in 2011.

Bones – US Thur Sept 23 – Seven currently airing repeats. New Bones on Seven from Sunday, October 18. Last new ep Sun Nov 7. Only showed four of them.

Brothers and Sisters – US Sun Sept 26. Seven in 2011, most likely back to Monday nights after Desperate Housewives.

Castle – US Mon Sept 20. Seven in 2011. They chose not to run the new episodes for now.

Chase – US Mon Sept 20. Part of Nine’s line up still to come in 2010. Yet to see promos though.

Chuck – US Mon Sept 20. Last season still showing on FOX8. New season in 2011 sometime, although FOX8 are notoriously slow to put it on. No chance of a fast track here, but possibly the new season will just carry on once the current ends.

Community – US Wed Sept 22. GO say they plan to fast track. Possibly late Sept or October.

Cougar Town – US Wed Sept 22. Unlikely to be seen on Seven until summer, if at all. Possibly will go to 7TWO.

Criminal Minds – US Wed Sept 22. CONFIRMED for Monday Oct 25 at 8.30pm. Last new ep Mon Nov 15.

CSI - US Thur Sept 23. New season premires on Nine Thursday October 21, 9.30pm.

CSI: Miami - US Sun Oct 3. On Nine from Mon Oct 25, 9.30pm

CSI: NY – US Fri Sept 24. Will be seen on Nine, but not likely to be fast tracked.

Dexter - US Sun Sept 26. New season on Showcase November 2010.

Desperate Housewives – US Sun Sept 26. Seven in 2011. Probably back to Monday nights as always. No surprises there!

Fringe - US Thur Sept 23. On GO Wed Nov 11, 9.30pm.

Glee - US Tue Sept 21. SUPER Fast Tracked to Ten Wed Sept 22, 7.30pm. With the time difference, that is hours after it airs in the US. However – the Comm Games break will see us fall two weeks behind the US. Last new ep Mon Nov 22.

Gossip Girl S5 – US Mon Sept 13. FOX8 Dec 2010. S3 on GO Mon Sept 13, 10.30pm

Grey’s Anatomy - US Thur Sept 23. Seven in 2011. No fast tracking likely.

Hawaii 5-O - US Mon Sept 20. Will be on Ten in 2011. Part of the 2011 line up. Rating very well in US.

Hellcats – US Wed Sept 8. Premiered on GO, Mon Sept 13, 7.30pm.

House - US Mon Sept 20. Fast Tracked to Ten Wed Sept 22, 8.30pm. Two week break for Comm Games sees us fall behind be 2 weeks.

How I Met Your Mother – US Mon Sept 20. New season not till 2011 now. There are still repeats on Seven as well as 7mate.

Human Target - US Fri Oct 1. First season currently on GO, Wednesday nights – and now off GO. Seeing S2 then I would say is unlikely. Returns to GO Wed Oct 20, 8.30pm

Law and Order: SVU - US Wed Sept 22. Possible for Ten after the Commonwealth Games, but more likely not to be seen until 2011. Ten are playing repeats of SVU after the Games.

Law and Order LA – US Tue Sept 28. Will be seen on Seven (!), but not likely to be fast tracked. So maybe not until 2011.

Lie to Me – US Brought forward to Mon Oct 4. WAS Wed Nov 10. Possible fast track for Ten after the Commonwealth Games. Lie to Me season 3 brought forward due to Lone Star being axed.

Medium – US Fri Sept 24. Returns to Ten 9.30pm Sunday October 17. And off from Oct 31.

Mike and Molly - US Mon Sept 20. Not until 2011

Modern Family – US Wed Sept 22. New season premieres on Ten 7pm Sunday October 17, 2010

NCIS & NCIS:LA – US Tue Sept 21. New NCIS after the Commonwealth Games, Tue Oct 19. NCIS: LA will still play in repeats though. Last new ep Tue Nov 23.

Nikita – US Thur Sept 9. ON GO 9.30 Thur Oct 28.

Parenthood - US Tue Sept 14. Seven will contuinue into season 2 when season 1 finishes in November. Last new eps for 2010 8.30pm Tue Nov 23.

Private Practice – US Thur Sept 23. Seven in 2011, together with Grey’s Anatomy – as they do every year.

Raising Hope – US Tue Sept 21. Ten Wed Nov 17 8pm. Continues Nov 24 8pm.

Rules of Engagement - US Mon Sept 20. Doesn’t do too well for Ten, so not likely to see any more of it until either summer or on Eleven in 2011.

Smallville – US Fri Sept 24. Eleven in 2011. Also some catching up to do before we get to this new season.

S**t! My Dad Says – US Thur Sept 23. Not until 2011 now.

Stargate Universe – US Tue Sept 28. SciFi channel will fast track new season – premieres Friday October 1, 8.30pm. Free to air will see previous season in 2011 on Eleven.

Supernatural – US Thur Sept 23. Although we have some catching up to do, this show is planned to air on Ten’s new channel Eleven in 2011. Unlikely to be seen sooner.

Survivor Nicaragua – US Wed Sept 15. Returned to Tuesday nights from Sept 28 at 9pm on Nine. Start time has drifted back towards 10pm though.

The Amazing Race S17 - US Sun Sept 26. On Seven 8.30pm Thursday September 30. Moved to 7.30 Thursdays from Thur Oct 7th.

The Apprentice – US Thur Sept 16. FOX8 Wed Oct 20, 8.30pm.

The Big Bang Theory – US Thur Sept 23. New season starts on Nine, 8.30pm Wed Oct 20.

The Cleveland Show – US Sun Sept 26. Possible for Ten over summer, or Eleven in 2011.

The Defenders – US Wed Sept 22. Ten in 2011.

The Event – US Mon Sept 20. Seven Mondays, 8.30pm. Encores 7mate Thursdays 10.30pm. Moves to 10.30 Mondays from Oct 25. Week off Nov 8. Back Nov 15. Due to break in US.

The Good Wife - US Tue Sept 28. New night – S2 Wednesdays on Ten, after Glee, from Wed Oct 20, 2010.

The Mentalist – US Thur Sept 23. Confirmed on Nine from October 25, 8.30pm. No more new episodes after Nov 8, until 2011.

The Middle – US Wed Sept 22. New eps on GO, 8.30pm Sundays from Nov 7.

The Office – US Thur Sept 23. Possible for Ten over summer. More likely on Eleven in 2011.

The Simpsons - US Sunday Sept 26. New season, ep 1 on Ten, 6.30pm, Friday October 15, 2010. New simpsons continues on Ten on Fridays from Nov 19, also Nov 26.

The Vampire Diaries – US Thur Sept 9. Premiered on GO, Mon Sept 13, 8.30pm. Continues on Monday nights but there is a break coming up Nov 22 and 29 due to break in US. Back (I assume) Dec 6.

The Whole Truth – US Wed Sept 22. Nine in 2011.

Two and a Half Men – US Mon Sept 20. Confirmed for Nine for Oct 18. No more new episodes after Nov 8.

Undercover Boss – US Sun Sept 26. Season 2 premieres on Ten Monday Sept 27, 7.30pm. Hours after US airing. But no further eps to be shown for now, due to Australian version airing 8.30pm Mondays, from Oct 18.

Undercovers – US Wed Sept 22. Another one part of Nine’s 2010 shows but not known if it will air in 2010 or not. Like many of these Nine acquisitions, whether they are rushed to air or not will depend on how they perform in the US. THIS HAS BEEN AXED – so if Nine keep the rights, expect it on GO or GEM.

V – US Jan 2011. GO plan to fast track – so possibly on air soon after the US date.

Note: I have not yet included new shows where the Australian network the show is likely to air on is not yet known. These I will add as I find out, and hopefully keep up to date.

Some of these titles include: Lone Star, Running Wild, The Cape, Detroit 1-8-7, Better With You, The Defenders, Outsourced (possibly one for Seven), School Pride, Outlaw, and No Ordinary Family.

If you there is something left out that you know about, or have questions about any of the content, please let us know.

Fast tracking score sheet (0-7 days after US air date):

Australian ratings for 2010 ends November 27. Pretty well everything new, fast tracked or semi fast tracked after that date on the main channels will either go into repeats or disappear until 2011. Therefore, all networks revert to having 0 fast track points after that date with the exception of Survivor and Amazing Race, possibly the Event will continue on Seven due to low ratings.

Ten – 0. Comm Games sees Ten lose their fast track points.
GO! – 2. Hellcats and The Vampire Diaries
Seven - 2. The Event and The Amazing Race S17

Semi-fast tracked (between 7 and 30 days after US air date):

Nine 5 – Survivor Nicaragua, CSI, CSI: Miami, Two and a Half Men and Big Bang Theory. Note Mentalist now outside what I would consider fast tracked. Also Fringe on GO outside of what I consider fast tracked.
Ten 4 – The Good Wife, Glee, House, NCIS – all starting or back in the week after the Comm Games, from Sunday Oct 17. Note – I won’t count new Simpsons, as it looks like the new ep on Friday Oct 15 is a one off, and not regular programming.
Seven 1 – 30 Rock. Criminal Minds misses out as it is more than 30 days after US air date. Bones now gone into repeats from Nov 14 – so no more points there.

Here I’ll define Fast Tracking as airing within 7 days of US date. I’ll have a second category for semi-fast tracked if shows air between 7 days and 1 month of the US air date. Anything beyond a month I would consider not to be fast tracked. The networks may see it differently, but to me, the less than seven days rules is most appropriate as it means we see an episode of a show before the US sees the next one. Whereas, after 7 days, we end up episodes behind, which means it is easy to see spoilers across the internet.

Updated as at Nov 9.