We’re back this month with Cortney’s TV Digest, everything you need to know about the latest and greatest shows on the tube. This month we’ve got some interesting new shows to tell you about from a bunch of your favorite networks, as well as the resurrection of one show we worried we’d never see again.

Parenthood – NBC

Based on the 1989 film of the same name, this new show is produced by movie and tv genius Ron Howard. The show follows the parenting experience of the Bravemen family: single mom Sarah (Lauren Graham), her brother Adam (Peter Krause) and wife Christina (Monica Potter) whose son is diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, and their headstrong father (Craig T. Nelson). Parenthood premiers March 2nd at 10 PM on NBC.

Southland – TNT

Back in 2009, NBC premiered their new, gritty cop drama, Southland. The show centered around Los Angeles and the members of the LAPD, including The OC’s Ben Mackenzie as rookie Officer Ben Sherman. Shortly before the beginning of its second season, NBC suddenly canceled Southland. It was doubtful whether we’d ever see the six episodes scheduled to air, but TNT swooped in and bought them, effectively saving the show from certain doom. The previous season began airing in January and season 2 starts on March 2nd.

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Former The Shield writer/producer and current Sons of Anarchy creator/exec. producer/writer Kurt Sutter has a blog and on it he tells it like it is about working in Hollywood, making the show, the motorcycle culture and pretty much anything else he damn well pleases. He’s also recently posted a list of frequently asked questions about his show, Sons of Anarchy, that he obviously gets asked, well, frequently.

The questions are some of the typical ones a successful person in Hollywood who is producing a well-known and respected show gets asked. In fact, he’s probably heard these questions so may times he’s lost count. Hence, the FAQ. Really, if you think about it, Sutter is not only providing a great show for us to watch but also a valuable public service as well. Gotta hand it to the guy.

Some of the highlights of the FAQ include:

I have a great idea for the show, can I send it you?

No. I cannot accept any ideas, pitches, stories, scripts, notions or dreams from anyone. It’s a legal issue. It protects me and you. If you send it, post it or email it — it will be shredded, removed and deleted. Sorry.

I want to be an actor on your show, how do I audition?

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We’ve said it before, but this season has to go down as one of the best years for new comedies on TV. Between NBC’s Community, ABC’s Modern Family, and FX’s The League and now Archer, this year has kept most TV junkies in stitches since September. It now looks like FX has noticed the same, and will be giving more time to the animated spy comedy, Archer.

The series stars Home Movies voice actor H. Jon Benjamin, along with SNL vet Chris Parnell, Jessica Walter, and Aisha Tyler about a ne’er-do-well spy and his comical shenanigans. The show is outlandishly funny, and delivers every week. FX seems to think the series is a hit, as well.

FX has given the go ahead for a second season of its critically acclaimed animated series Archer, announced Nick Grad, Executive Vice President of Original Programming, FX Networks.  The network increased the episode order to 13 for season two, which is scheduled to debut in 2011.

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In the first installment of TV Digest: Canceled, I talked about shows such as Moonlight, Jerico and Studio 60 that were gone too soon. This time I’ve got more shows that were canceled way before their time, and are a testament to both how amazing television can be but also how nearsighted executives can be when making the decision to cancel a show.

While these shows may no longer grace our television sets with shiny, fresh new episodes, they live on in our hearts and on our DVD shelves. These are what I consider to be the most beloved canceled TV shows of our time.

Arrested Development

Produced by brilliant filmmaker Ron Howard and starring a slew of incredible actors, Arrested Development ran for three seasons from 2003-2006. Shot in a documentary style fashion, like The Office, the show is about the wealthy but seriously crazy Bluth family after their father gets arrested and their company faces bankruptcy.

Oldest son Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) is the glue that holds everyone together while siblings Gob (Will Arnett), Lindsay (Portia de Rossi) and her husband Tobias (David Cross), and Buster (Tony Hale) do their best to make a mess of things. I really can’t say enough about how good this show was.

Other than the incredible casting, this show has some of the best writing and comedic timing I’ve ever seen on television. I have watched all three seasons multiple times and I can watch an episode now and still find something brand new to laugh about, because of how well the writers reference old jokes and spin new ones in their wake.

But the show also can have these incredibly heartfelt moments, in between the insanity, that remind us how important it is to be a family despite how much money you have in the bank. And as the economy continues its slump, this crazy family in the midst of financial turmoil is looking far less eccentric and just plain average. As this show ages it becomes more and more relevant, and it becomes clearer and clearer just how great it is.

Despite all that, as well as numerous Emmy nominations and wins, the show was canceled. Luckily we’ll see more of the Bluth family soon, in a feature length movie that begins shooting this year.

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The year 2010 is here! With a new year comes resolutions to make, new goals in mind, and new schedules to follow. But it also means some brand new TV for us all to enjoy.

January 14th

This night brings the return of some of our favorite shows here at The Flickcast including 30 Rock, Bones, Fringe, Supernatural, Grey’s Anatomy, CSI, Private Practice and The Mentalist.

All these shows have been on hiatus, some for almost a month, so with these ratings giants this is sure to be the biggest night on TV all month, no matter what channel you’re watching.

Chuck

Everyone’s favorite geek-turned-spy is back, and Chuck is better than ever. After downloading the Intersect 2.0, we’ll see Chuck perform karate chops AND Spanish Guitar in his quest to keep his family safe and lead a normal life.

Chuck returns for its third season on January 10th with a two hour premiere, and a brand new episode the day after!

American Idol

Regardless of how you feel about this show, you can’t deny its cultural impact and the success it has produced. However, the fun in watching the first few weeks of American Idol is not the talented singers or the tense eliminations.

It’s watching all the people who really can’t sing try their hand at making it big and failing miserably. Let’s face it, with the economy in the can and the current political climate, we all need a little schadenfreude. Idol returns on January 12th on Fox.

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2009 has been a great year for TV. Everyone’s favorite shows like The Office, Lost, Weeds, and True Blood continued with some killer seasons, new shows like Trauma, Castle, and Lie to Me caught audience’s interests. We’ve got a list for you of our favorite TV shows of this year, including some of the latest and greatest of 2009 as well as some old favorites.

Glee – Fox

Glee has stolen viewer’s hearts this season not just with its love triangles and intense drama, but also the song and dance that the students in William McKinley High School’s glee club perform. The mid-season finale just aired, and it surely made “gleeks” even more anxious for the rest of the season, which will air beginning April 13th.

Not only has Glee swept the nation’s TV sets, but also it’s iTunes playlists. The first soundtrack to the season has already gone gold, while the second soundtrack is climbing the charts in the top 5.

True Blood – HBO

Where the Twilight series fails to thrill audiences, True Blood succeeds. Just finishing its action packed and hair-raising second season, the show, based off Charlaine Harris’ vampire mystery series continues to confuse us, surprise us, and make our blood boil with such storylines as an anti-vampire cult, a love triangle, and flying Eric, all in this season alone!

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Chestnuts are roasting and Jack Frost is nibbling. It’s December already, and here at The Flickcast we’ve got another TV digest for you, ready to keep you entertained in between all your caroling, pigging out, and gift exchanges this holiday season.

This month, we’ve got the season finales of some of our favorite shows.

Glee

After last week’s huge reveal and with sectionals ahead for the Glee kids, this is one mid-season finale you won’t want to miss.  Musical tracks on the bill for the episode, which airs December 9th on Fox, include The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, and “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” from the musical Dreamgirls.

Glee will return for the remaining 9 episodes of the season April 13th, 2010.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

The season finale of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia airs December 10th on FX. In this episode, the gang tries to reignite their old rivalry with another local bar in a local drinking competition appropriately named “Flipadelphia.”

Finding that they are in need of some serious practice, the guys head to Dennis’ old fraternity house at the University of Pennsylvania to get their game up to speed.

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With Twilight: New Moon breaking all kinds of records and such this past weekend, it only makes sense that studios would be trying to jump on the gravy train (whether or not the train is “Edward” or “Jacob” is neither here nor there). It was a little surprising when the first studio to jump in was the cable network FX, however.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the network has purchased the rights along with Summit Entertainment for exclusive TV distribution:

FX has acquired the ad-supported TV rights to the four “Twilight” movies in a package deal with producer Summit Entertainment that also includes the indie studio’s Oscar hopeful “The Hurt Locker,” the Nicolas Cage thriller “Knowing” and actioner “Push.”

Under the pact, FX will start running last year’s “Twilight,” the first movie in the franchise, beginning in late 2011. “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” which shattered projections to open at $142.8 million domestically this past weekend, will be available in late 2012. “Eclipse,” which is slated for a June 30 release, will have its premiere on FX in early 2013. Summit has yet to greenlight production on “Breaking Dawn,” an adaptation of the fourth book in Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series.

With the purchase of the Twilight rights, the network also purchased the distributions rights to other huge 2009 hits such as 2012, Star Trek, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Monsters vs. Aliens, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, The Proposal and Zombieland.

A few years back, when FX decided they wanted to branch out into comedy, they put out two shows. One was about a group of people with different eating disorders and how they were dealing in comedic ways called Starved. The other, which seemed pretty low budget, was about a group of no-good residents of the Philadelphia area who constantly get themselves into self-inflicted situations that mock things like race, gender, abortion, and all things “taboo”. Needless to say, the latter show made it past the first season.

The show struggled in it’s second season, before veteran actor Danny DeVito decided to come on as producer and co-star. Now the show is bigger than ever, selling out panels at Comic-Con and entering their fifth successful season later this month. A new clip has popped up online, highlighting season five, but more importantly, a naked DeVito.

Check out the blooper of a leather couch giving birth to a naked Danny DeVito after the jump, and enjoy the next season of It’s Always Sunny next Thursday, September 10, on the FX Network.

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Louis C.K. might not be a name that many people know, but he may just be one of the more innovative, and possibly best comedians of our time. You might know his face from several small roles in films like Role Models and TV shows like Home Movies, or his writing on such shows as Saturday Night Live and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. You may soon know both his name and face more as the FX network has picked up a show based on him simply titled Louie as well as a second series titled The League.

Some may remember the brief 13-episode run of Lucky Louie on HBO, but the new Louie is said to be done in a different vain. According to Variety:

“Louie” is based on the star’s life and will blend standup material with what Landgraf described as “extended vignettes” depicting moments from his offstage experiences. Louis CK is exec producer, writer and helmer of the series.

Meanwhile, The League seems to still be on the comedic side, but won’t be as much about the comedian:

FX Networks president John Landgraf described “League” as a kind of suburban-set “Sex and the City” for men. The semi-improv show revolves around the lives of a group of college friends as they’re forced to take on more responsibilities as husbands and fathers.

These two half-hour comedies will be added to FX’s growing comedy line up along with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which has already become a big hit both on the air, and on DVD. To get a hint at what the new series will be showcasing, check out a famous rant Louis C.K. had on Conan O’Brien a few years back after the jump. Both shows are expected to start next year.

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