Supernatural is a popular show, or so I am told. My TV watching principles force me to avoid shows that air on The CW. It is nothing personal, I just have an important man card renewal hearing coming up and I don’t want to take any risks.

Aside from my unfair avoidance of the show, Supernatural has done an excellent job of finding its core audience and growing its fan base over six seasons of well crafted TV. The show has also been a hit overseas, especially in Japan, which prompted Warner Home Video and animation studio Madhouse to develop an anime series based on the show.

Marking the first time a live-action American TV show has been adapted into a Japanese anime, Supernatural: The Anime Series mirrors the events of the first two seasons of the show. The series, however, isn’t just a retelling of those stories, it is a supplement to the main show.

Offering side tales, prequel stories and spin-offs from different episodes during the first two years, this series stays true to the series continuity, while telling new stories from this era.

Supernatural: The Anime Series stars Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, reprising their roles as the Winchester brothers from the main series. The full 22 episode series hits the US July 26, 2011.

With the resurgence in popularity for comics over the decades, there have been plenty of incarnations of our favorite heroes. In that time, we’ve had two Hulks, three Clark Kents, and nearly a dozen Batman’s. The likes of Christian Bale, Jeremy Sisto, Diederich Bader, and the always talented Kevin Conroy have played the Dark Knight in the 5 few years, and now it’s time for Bruce Greenwood to step in.

This time, Batman faces his greatest foes, one of his former sidekicks. Taken straight from a story arc by Judd Winick about the resurrection of Jason Todd, this story has to be one of the darkest DC animated films to date.

You may know Greenwood best as playing Captain Pike in J.J. Abram’s Star Trek. He joins a star-studded cast including Futurama’s John DiMaggio, Neil Patrick Harris, and even Supernatural’s Jensen Ackles.

We got the chance to discuss playing the World’s Greatest Detective with Bruce Greenwood, as well as his interesting relationship with his on-screen nemesis. Check out the interview after the jump, and pick up Batman: Under The Red Hood in stores today.

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With Comic-Con only days away, one of the bigger events during the show will be the world premiere of the DC Universe’s next animated film: Batman: Under The Red Hood. This film will be taking a far more serious approach to the source material and includes the death and trauma of a former Boy Wonder.

We’ll be bringing you plenty of coverage of the film straight from the show next week and we’ve had a few clips for you already to whet your appetite. The first was a few weeks ago when Batman finally confronts his titular enemy. Now the Red Hood is back in a new clip as he confronts Gotham’s top mob bosses.

The movie features an all-star cast with Bruce Greenwood stepping in as the Dark Knight, Jensen Ackles (Supernatural) as The Red Hood, Neil Patrick Harris as Dick Grayson, and John DiMaggio as The Joker. Check out the new clip after the jump. Catch Batman: Under The Red Hood on DVD and Blu-Ray on July 27th.

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With Comic-Con in San Diego only a few short weeks away, more networks, studios and the like are releasing their plans for what they will be showcasing at the Con. This year, Warner Bros. TV looks to be pulling out all the stops and is bringing representatives from 14 of their TV series to San Diego.

Among those attending are some of the stars and producers of The Big Bang Theory, Chuck, Fringe, Human Target, Nikita, Smallville, Supernatural, Children’s Hospital and more. In addition, Warner Bros. Entertainment will have a booth at the Con to host signings, video game demos, giveaways and more.

It’s nice to see major studio like Warner Bros. giving the Con such a great amount of attention. Although, they really should be, as should all studios and networks. After all, the people who attend the Con are the exact people they want watching their shows.

Check out the full press release for all the details on Warner Bros. at Comic-Con. And, be sure to check back right here for all your San Diego Comic-Con 2010 previews, news, reviews, interviews and more.

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DC’s animated film department has only gotten bigger and better since they took off back in 2007 with Superman: Doomsday. Each film since has done an impressive job by either retelling a classic story, or staying true to an original one shot, such as Justice League: New Frontier. Their newest venture does a little of both.

Batman: Under the Red Hood comes straight from scribe Judd Winick’s “Under the Hood” storyline from 2005. The book not only touches on the murder of Jason Todd, but the origin of The Joker, and some amazing growth of characters that we’ve loved for decades.

Much like all of the other DC animated titles, this film pulls no punches with it’s voice cast. Bruce Greenwood steps in as Batman this time, while Neil Patrick Harris plays Dick Grayson/Nightwing, Futurama’s John DiMaggio plays The Joker, Supernatural’s Jensen Ackles plays Jason Todd/Red Hood, and even Lucious Malfoy (Jason Isaacs) from the Harry Potter films gets a part as Ra’s al Ghul.

The movie looks to be quite impressive and with Winick penning the script, we expect it won’t disappoint. Check out an exclusive new clip from the movie after the jump and be sure to catch Batman: Under the Red Hood on DVD and Blu-ray July 27th.

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Warner Home Video has issued its first press release in connection with the upcoming straight-to-video release of ‘Batman: Under the Red Hood.’ Available for pre-order now, but due to release on DVD and Blu-Ray July 27, 2010, the story deals with the return of Jason Todd, the second Robin who was brutally beaten to death by the Joker.

In the film, Batman faces his ultimate challenge as the mysterious Red Hood takes Gotham City by firestorm. One part vigilante, one part criminal kingpin, Red Hood begins cleaning up Gotham with the efficiency of Batman, but without following the same ethical code. And when The Joker falls in the balance between the two forces of justice, hard truths are revealed and old wounds are reopened.

Within the press release, there is some great Q&A with John DiMaggio, who was announced would be portraying  the Joker, and how his approach to giving voice to this iconic villain differs from previous efforts. Best known for his previous work as ‘Bender’ in the long-running ‘Futurama’ franchise, DiMaggio has an extensive voice-over career spanning the past decade.

With credits like Kim Possible, Samurai Jack, Teen Titans, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Duck Dodgers, Jackie Chan Adventures, The Penguins of Madagascar and Chowder, DiMaggio now sets his sights on the much darker role of the Joker in this all-new DC special.

Speaking specifically to his motivation and inspiration in this new role, DiMaggio’s comments give us a sneak peek at this new twist on the Joker, while paying homage to the iconic bad guy’s long and storied past. Check out some quotes straight from the man himself after the jump.

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It’s been a tough season for Supernatural‘s Sam and Dean and now, as the series prepares to air its season finale tonight, things are heating up even more. To commemorate the event, our friends at The CW have sent over a couple preview clips for tonight’s episode entitled “Swan Song” and we are, of course, going to share them with you right now.

Here’s what you can expect, story wise, from tonight’s episode: “The entire season has been leading up to this showdown between good and evil. With the Apocalypse looming, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) realize they are out of options and make heart-breaking decisions that will change their lives forever.”

Well, that does sound pretty awesome. Oh, we forgot to mention that in tonight’s episode a beloved character get’s killed. Not saying who but count on some great drama, suspense and some interesting turns in this episode. If you’re a fan of the show you don’t want to miss it.

Check out both preview videos for the episode after the jump. The Supernatural season finale airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.

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May might not be the month for premiers of amazing shows, but there is something that May always brings us: amazing, shocking, mind-blowing season (or in the case of many, series) finales. This month on Cortney’s TV Digest, we’ve got the end of some of our favorite shows, the continuation of some of tv’s biggest and brightest, and one new show you’re really going to need to watch.

Lost

As heartbreaking as it may be that one of our most beloved and mind-blowing television shows will be coming to an end this May, ABC has a full five hours of programming on the night of Lost‘s finale. There will be a two-hour retrospective on the series prior to the two-hour finale at 9 PM, and then a special “Jimmy Kimmel Live” right after in honor of the show.

We don’t know much yet about Lost‘s upcoming finale episode, only that is is titled “The End” and will be airing on a special night, Sunday the 23rd. Curiously, the number 23 is one of Lost‘s infamous numbers, and if you’ve been keeping up with the show this season, you’ll remember 23 corresponds with one of the candidates written on the ceiling of the cave. Whatever this means will be revealed later this month when Lost finally comes to an end.

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Supernatural is one of those shows that when it debuted, we were a bit skeptical about. Fortunately, over the past seasons it has proven itself to be highly entertaining and suspenseful and worth of attention. If you’ve never seen it, it is definitely worth a look.

To help current fans and those of you just coming to the party we’ve got a preview for tonight’s all-new episode to share with you today, courtesy of our friends at the CW. In these two clips we get quite a bit of info about tonight’s episode entitled “The Devil You Know.”

Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) face off against The Horsemen when the demon Crowley (Mark Sheppard) tells  them he can help them find the remaining Horsemen rings so they can trap Lucifer. The brothers are doubtful until Crowley leads them to Brady (Eric Johnson), the demon Handler for Pestilence (Matt Frewer) and Death. However, Brady refuses to give up their locations and sets Pestilence after the Winchesters — which is not something you want to have happen.

Check out both previews for tonight’s episode after the jump. Supernatural airs tonight at 9/8C on The CW.

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Now that the hiatus is over, everybody’s favorite paranormal adventure series Supernatural is back and even better. Last week’s episode was quite a doozy, but this week things get a bit celestial. From the CW:

It’s no April Fools Day joke when fellow hunters track and kill Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) as retribution for starting the apocalypse.  The boys are surprised to find themselves in Heaven and with Castiel’s (Misha Collins) help navigating Paradise, they begin searching for information about God’s whereabouts.  In the meantime, Zachariah (guest star Kurt Fuller) continues his intense quest to find the brothers and force them to accept their destinies as Lucifer & Michael’s vessels.

Check out three brand new clips from this week’s episode after the jump, and be sure to catch Supernatural’s “Dark Side of the Moon” this Thursday at 9PM ET/PT on The CW.

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Some early renewals for some popular shows over on the CW have just come in. The network has given the green light for new seasons of Supernatural, Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, 90201 and America’s Next Top Model.

No word on any other renewals of yet for shows we’re interested in, like Smallville, but with these early ones announced, it’s only a matter of time before we hear about more. The Supernatural and Vampire Diaries renewals weren’t completely unexpected as they’ve been doing well in the ratings, but for some reason I thought Top Model was on its last legs. Oh well, another season of beautiful models doing photo shoots in skimpy outfits can’t be all bad, right?

Here’s all the info from the CW about these renewals from their official press release:

THE CW ANNOUNCES EARLY PICKUPS FOR FIVE SERIES

Freshman Hit “The Vampire Diaries,” “Gossip Girl,” “90210,” “Supernatural” and “America’s Next Top Model” To Return Next Season

February 16, 2010 (Burbank, California) ─ The CW Network has given early pickups to five series for next season, including four signature dramas and the reality hit AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL. All five shows will return in Fall 2010.

The series receiving early renewals include this season’s breakout hit THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, The CW’s most-watched show (4.6 million viewers) and the network’s number one show among adults 18-34 (2.5/8). THE VAMPIRE DIARIES premiere generated the largest audience in network history for a series debut (5.7 million total viewers). THE VAMPIRE DIARIES has improved The CW’s performance Thursday at 8:00 p.m. by 114% among women 18-34 this season.

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Who doesn’t love a good “swapped bodies” storyline? Just about every show has done it at one point. From Buffy to Gilligan’s Island to The X-Files, there are over 50 TV episodes that focus on the plot, and now that Supernatural has hit its fifth season, its their turn.

It isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Plenty of shows have stooped lower by pulling off a “trapped in a freezer and forced to tell stories” clip show, or even a musical episode. The “body swap” storyline is only a right of passage after you hit so many episodes, and it looks like this one is just that. From The CW:

High school nerd Gary (guest star Colton James), conjures up a body-switching spell and changes bodies with Sam (Jared Padalecki).  Thrilled by his new handsome and built body, Gary (now Sam) investigates a case with Dean (Jensen Ackles) and takes advantage of Sam’s good looks and age by hitting on women and getting drunk. Meanwhile, the real Sam is stuck inside Gary’s teenage body, dealing with intrusive parents and high school.

The episode also guest stars Mad Men’s Sarah Drew. Check out two new clips from the upcoming “Swap Meat” episode, and be sure to catch it this Thursday night at 9:00 PM ET/PT on The CW.

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