Fox announced the renewal of three more of their series for next season.  The three series are freshman comedy New Girl, musical comedy Glee and family comedy Raising Hope.

These renewals mean a second season for New Girl, a third season for Raising Hope, and that Glee will get a fourth season. The three comedies join recently renewed Fox drama Bones.

“Over the past season, New Girl has become the hottest new appointment series for young adults; Raising Hope has established itself as one of the smartest and most unique offbeat comedies on television; and Glee has continued its success as a genre-defying, global cultural phenomenon,” said Fox’s entertainment president Kevin Reilly. “All three of these comedies add a fresh and distinctive flavor to our Tuesday nights, and I’m really happy to bring them back to our air next season.”

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Dr. House is one of the most interesting and complex TV characters of the last decade. Originally a thinly veiled medical Sherlock Holmes, House has become one of the best formulaic Doctor shows that is always willing to shatter it’s characters in exciting and unexpected ways.

Fox announced yesterday that the current season of House will in fact be it’s last. Despite strong ratings the show continues to be increasingly expensive as each season passes, and like 24 before it, Fox wanted to cut costs and end the popular drama before it grew to stale.

This news will be no surprise to the creative crew of the show. Fox originally wanted to end the series last year, but brought the show back for one more season. The team behind the show have already gone on record that they will end the series with some sort of satisfying conclusion.

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As with NBC earlier today, Fox jumped into the fray and announced its primetime schedule for next season also. The network has one new drama, Terra Nova, three comedies, New Girl, I Hate My New Daughter and the animated Allen Gregory, launching in the fall.

Dramas Alcatraz, the Bones spinoff Finder and animated comedy Napoleon Dynamite drop in midseason. Prehistoric drama Terra Nova wil anchor the network’s Monday lineup at 8 PM with House moving to 9 PM. House will return to 8 PM in midseason to help launch the J.J. Abrams show Alcatraz.

Fox is keeping the Tuesday comedy block with New Girl joining Glee and Raising Hope. I Hate My Teenage Daughter will launch after X-Factor. Also remaining where it is is American Idol on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Thank goodness for that, right?

Obviously, we’re happy to see Family Guy and Fringe back for next year. It just would have been nice to see Human Target get another chance. That could have fit nicely in the hole left by Terra Nova once it gets cancelled.

Yes, we’re cynical about Fox so we assume they will cancel the show just when it starts to get interesting. Fox, this is why we can’t have nice things.

Here are Fox’s fall and midseason schedules followed by descriptions of the new shows:

FOX FALL 2011 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE

MONDAY
8:00-9:00 PM  - TERRA NOVA (new)
9:00-10:00 PM  - HOUSE

TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM  - GLEE
9:00-9:30 PM  - NEW GIRL (wt) (new)
9:30-10:00 PM  - RAISING HOPE

WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:30 PM  - THE X FACTOR Performance Show (new)
9:30-10:00 PM  - I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER (wt) (new)

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Some of our favorite shows happen to be on the Fox Network. Sure, Fox is also the network that, shall we say “mis-handled” both Firefly and Dollhouse, but that doesn’t stop them from also having some shows we really like.

With that in mind, we bring you the announcement of Fox’s premiere dates for most of its upcoming Fall shows. Some of the ones we are most interested in include the return of House on September 20th, the return of Glee on September 21st, the return of Fringe on September 23rd and the return of Human Target on September 24th.

Also, Family Guy is back on October 3rd with a one-hour special which will, most likely, feature a couple musical numbers. Click through for the full schedule of new and returning Fox shows along with their premiere dates.

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During The Flickcast’s set visit to USA Network’s new series Covert Affairs we spoke with Executive Producer Doug Liman about the origins of the show. Following that we had the opportunity to speak with three of the show’s regulars, Christopher Gorham (Ugly Betty, Harper’s Island), Anne Dudek (House, Mad Men) and Piper Perabo (The Prestige, Coyote Ugly).  All the interviews took place on the Covert Affairs sets in Toronto, Canada.

Playing to the extreme opposite of Christopher Gorham’s CIA Officer, Auggie Anderson, is Anne Dudek as Danielle.  Older sister to Piper Perabo’s lead character of Annie Walker, Dudek balances the intense CIA action with a life in which the biggest challenge is getting her kids to school on time.

Don’t let the pedestrian existence of domestic bliss fool you, Dudek explains the critical part she plays in the world of Covert Affairs:

“I mean you know the sisterly relationship that, it’s a little more than that because Danielle sort of feels motherly in a way that’s a little inappropriate towards Annie.

But then also, Annie really needs Danielle and they really do need each other.  And so I think it’s sort of like well, there’s this huge lie in the middle of this really vital relationship.

And what would happen if that really came out?  But everything Danielle knows about her sister is like a complete lie and that’s what’s being built is this web of lies.  And so it is a support system that if it breaks down, I mean, it’s going to be really, really bad news.”

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Much like NBC did today, the Fox network also had its very own upfront party and revealed the shows that will make up its new Fall schedule later this year. This fall, Fox will pair top drama House with new Texas oil soap Lonestar on Mondays.

The network will launch a comedy block on Tuesdays anchored by the returning Glee. Wednesdays will see Lie to Me and Hell’s Kitchen together. Thursdays will continue pretty much the same with Bones and Fringe. On Fridays (the traditional “death slot” for network shows), Fox plans to air Human Target, which will lead into its upcoming summer drama The Good Guys.

You may also notice that Steven Spielberg’s Terra Nova, which tells the story of a family from the future that travels back in time to prehistoric earth, isn’t on the schedule. However, the network confirmed the show will start midseason along with comedies Bob’s Burgers and Mixed Signals.

Check out the full Fox lineup after the break.

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We’ve been following this one closely here at The Flickcast because we’re big fans of Hulu and think it’s a great way to watch TV shows and movies you missed when they originally aired or to discover new shows. The service has many things going for it but one of its main attractions is that, at the moment, its free. You only have to watch a few commercials during a normal episode of a TV program, for example, and other than that, the service costs you nothing.

As we’ve discussed before, that may change in the near future. And now, Hulu is talking about yet another pricing model: charging users to watch episodes of 30 Rock, Modern Family and House. The move would mark a significant change for the site, which was launched nearly two years ago by a group of studios to distribute TV shows and movies via the Internet without charge.

According to reports, Hulu has spent the last several months trying to figure out how to balance what users expect to see for free with what they would be willing to pay for. Another plan being considered would allow users to view the five most recent episodes of TV shows for free but would require a subscription of $4.99 a month to watch older episodes.

Hulu believes it will need at least 20 TV series — both current ones and those no longer on the air — to make such a pay service attractive to users. A firm pricing model could emerge within six months. Well, at least they seem to be taking their time to figure out the right way to screw serve us.

While most of the “best of 2009″ lists are petering off in the new year, there are still a few statistics still rolling in. One being the most-illegally-downloaded TV program of the year, which also happens to be one of the least popular. NBC’s Heroes has been on the bubble since last year, which is why the network only ordered half of a season for this year, and will be spreading the episodes out until Spring sweeps.

With that in mind, it would be considered that fans wouldn’t be rushing to their torrent sites or DVD stores to catch up on the super-powered drama, seeing as how they didn’t give it enough of a chance when it was on the air in the past. According to The Hollywood Reporter, that’s just what they’re doing.

“This year, the buzz is that the show may be on the verge of cancellation thanks to dwindling ratings (it averages about 6 million viewers a week, down from nearly 14 million when the show first premiered in 2006).

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Sure, people complain about Fox for it’s repeated canceling of shows involving Joss Whedon and/or Terminators, but at least the network is now stepping up and offering a boost to the J.J. Abrams co-created show Fringe. The Futon Critic reports Fringe will return from it’s winter hiatus on January 7, but then that following Monday, Fox will air a new episode after a new episode of House.

The duo will be facing off with some heavy competition in the form of NBC’s Chuck and Heroes, ABC’s The Bachelor, and CBS comedies like How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory. Then in February, the Fringe will take a seven-week break to allow the mid-season drama Past Life, starring Kelli Giddish (All My Children) and Richard Schiff (West Wing) is about “an unlikely pair of past-life detectives who investigate whether what is happening to you today is the result of who you were before.”

Fringe will then return on April 1. According to TV Guide, as of the December 4 episode, “Snakehead”, Fringe had it’s highest ratings since the season premiere, with an audience of 6.9 million viewers. So, it’s good to see not only the show succeeding, but Fox putting their faith into it.

For the most part, medical dramas tend to come and go pretty regularly on network TV. Some stick around and have a pretty successful run, such as E.R. or Chicago Hope, and some are long gone before you can even remember the show’s name, like Heartland starring Treat Williams. Thankfully, FOX’s House falls under the former category.

Now in it’s sixth season, House is picking up steam like never before, and we’ve got some brand new clips from tonight’s episode, “Known Unknowns.” In the episode, House must deal with the perils of the office while away at a medical conference, while Foreman (Omar Epps) treats a returning patient.

In the first clip, the sardonic Hugh Laurie as House discusses his distaste for the returning trend of the 1980s. In the second, Foreman checks out a former patient who goes through some hallucinations that could prove deadly. In the final clip, Dr Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) confesses her problems with Dr. House.

Take a look at the three new clips after the jump, and catch “Known Unknowns” airing tonight, Nov. 9 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

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This summer’s big tv shows are coming to a close, and while you’re freaking out over the ending of True Blood and considering the last, somber few minutes of Hung, a more pressing question emerges… what will you watch next?

Well, have no fear, because The Flickcast is here to help you with all the buzz-worthy shows that you’ll need to catch this month. Since September is normally the big season premier month, we’ve decided to remind you of some of the shows, both old and new, you just can’t live without.

Get ready to set those TiVo’s!

The Office — Premiers September 17th, 9/8c on NBC

Last season on The Office left Michael without Holly, Dwight without Angela and Jim and Pam with a little one on the way. Now starting its sixth season, audiences are definitely ready to be back at work at Dunder Mifflin. Expect The Office to be turned upside down as Jim and Pam prepare to say “I do”, Andy deals with his heterosexuality, and Dwight continues to watch out for bears.

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