You might not know the name H. Jon Benjamin, though you should, but you have probably heard his voice. The star of the FX animated series Archer has been a staple of primetime and late night animation for years. From Adult Swim to FX and even Fox, Benjamin has been almost anywhere animation is aimed at teens and adults.

TheFlickcast recently had the opportunity to hear insights on all things H. Jon Benjamin from the man himself. He discusses the process of Archer as well as the new season, how he is just like Sterling Archer and even the fate of his Comedy Central show.

On ad-libbing in the Archer recording booth 

Very little.  There is not a lot of room.  The scripts are tightly written and he encourages sometimes on occasion, he’ll be like do you want to add anything, and I’ll say no.  So it’s not the same kind of production as Bob’s Burgers, which is a lot improvising all the time, but the scripts don’t really require it.

On Archer‘s popularity with the masses

Well, the masses are idiots, so they don’t know any better.  They’re too busy just staring at the light and cartoons are colorful.  So don’t get me started about the masses.  I’m really not a fan.

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As is the usual practice almost anywhere were column inches or post counts matter, writers such as myself take to their keyboards and make lists. I am no exception and, with a great deal of difficulty and toil, have managed to cobble together a list of what I think are some of the best things of 2011.

I don’t really want to bore you with a lot of explanations as to why I picked what I did. Suffice it to say these picks are mine and mine alone. Also, they are not in any particular order, mostly because I find it hard to rank them that closely. Or, I was just too lazy.

Either way, here you go.

Movies

Drive
The Artist
Attack the Block
X-Men: First Class
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
The Descendants
Thunder Soul
13 Assassins
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo

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With NBC leaving us in shock after their midseason schedule change up, TV fans are a bit weary to hear about news of their favorite shows. Good news comes to those with cable, however, as FX announces their plans for Archer and Justified.

Not only will both shows be returning to prominent spots in the primetime lineup, Archer on Thursday, January 19th at 10pm and Justified on Tuesday, January 17th at 10pm, but they’ve got a brand new show to add to their ever-rising chunk of original content with the animated series Unsupervised.

“Unsupervised” is a comedy about optimistic best friends Gary and Joel, who navigate the harsh landscape of teenage life and trying to do what’s right without any parental guidance.

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It’s nice when good, quality shows get the treatment they deserve. In this case the show in question is Justified, which airs on FX.

Today, the network announced it is renewing the series, which features Timothy Olyphant as a crusading yet morally ambiguous U.S. Marshall, and giving it a third season on the network. According to the report, FX bosses were pleased with the show’s performance overall, even though its taken a little ratings dip this season.

In spite of the dip, the series is still ahead of Season 1 and has emerged as a DVR winner, getting a 55%-60% ratings bump from time-shifted viewing. Season-to-date, the drama has averaged 4 million viewers for its original Wednesday 10 PM telecasts.

Great news for a great show. If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, you should.

In related news, FX is also reportedly close to a renewal for another cool show you should be watching: the animated spy comedy Archer. More on that as it comes to us. In the meantime, kudos to FX for recognizing quality and for sticking with it.

Welcome to another edition of  On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage during the week. Let is know if we missed something interesting.

Let’s get started!

• What if some of our favorite Oscar nominees had spot-on posters? Well, they may actually make money then…

• James Franco is such a good co-host, he’s even prepared to take Anne Hathaway down in case of an Oscar wardrobe malfunction.

• Nerdy shirts are all the rage these days, but when Star Wars meets Back to the Future, a purchase needs to be made.

• Some things need no introduction…so here’s a bunch of Muppets made out of balloons.

• You know what the world needs? A Russian MST3K ripoff. This is definitely why we won the war…

• Harry Hanrahan has brought us some pretty amazing supercuts in the past, but now….It’s Showtime!

• Why is it the US gets films like No String Attached and Just Go With It when other countries get films like Robot? It’s just unfair.

• And for your list of the week, The 10 Most Obscure Archer Jokes Explained. Enjoy!

It’s a new year, and a new month, which means that Cortney’s TV Digest is here to tell you everything you need to watch. And since it’s a new year, I figured we’d try something a little different, and talk about some shows I’ve never discussed here until now! January’s a big month for tv, with some new shows bursting on the scene, but also some old favorites of mine returning for a new season.

V

With shows like Caprica getting the axe, it’s great to still have some decent sci-fi on television these days. Which is why I’m super psyched that V has returned for its second season.

V is a re imagining of the 1983 mini-series of the same name, in which an alien race arrives on Earth, claiming they come in peace and bringing with them both technology and medical knowledge, as well as some ulterior motives.

V premiered on Tuesday, but that’s plenty of time to catch up on the series in time for the next episode, which airs January 11th on ABC.

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Back in the old days we had three TV networks and they scheduled new shows to premiere in the Fall and reruns all Summer. That scheduling model is now a distant memory as new shows premiere pretty much any time of the year these days.

One of the biggest times for networks to bring out new shows is during what is known as midseason. This midseason is no exception with many new shows hitting the air for the first time or previous ones coming back after the holiday break. So, to help you get your DVRs ready, here is a list of the major premiere dates on broadcast and cable compiled by the extremely helpful folks over at Deadline.

It includes season/series premieres and many return dates for series with split seasons. Now to find that DVR remote and get to programming.

Jan. 3
The Bachelor, ABC, season premiere
Pretty Little Liars, ABC Family, winter season premiere
Greek, ABC Family, season premiere

Jan. 4
V, ABC, season premiere
Live to Dance, CBS, series premiere
The Biggest Loser: Couples, NBC, season premiere
Southland, TNT, season premiere
Chopped, Food Network, season premiere
Caprica, Syfy, final 5 episodes

Jan.5
Ghost Hunters International, Syfy, season premiere
Are We There Yet?, TBS, season premiere
Flying Wild Alaska, Discovery, series premiere

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Being in the movie game, there is very little that surprises us anymore. We hear about a sequel to Avatar or a reboot of Spider-Man and it barely garners a raised eyebrow. On the opposite of that, sometimes a movie comes along completely out of left field. That movie is called Operation: Endgame and we can’t wait to see it.

Originally titled Rogues Gallery, the film is an action comedy about two rival spy factions that face off in an epic spy game. Are you ready for the exciting part? The cast consists of the following names: Rob Corddry, Zach Galifiniakis, Odette Yustman (Cloverfield), Bob Odenkirk, Jeffrey Tambor, Maggie Q, Adam Scott (Party Down), Emilie de Ravin, and Ving Rhames. Think of it as a live action version of FX’s Archer.

The most shocking part? You won’t be rushing to the theaters to see this film. It’s actually going straight to Blu-ray and DVD on July 27th. That’s right, possibly one of the most exciting films we’ve heard about in a while isn’t even getting a theatrical release.

Check out the first red band trailer (thanks to Trailer Addict) for the film after the jump, and you’ll know what we’re talking about. We’ll be sure to keep you posted on any and all news about this upcoming action comedy.

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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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