Looks like HBO is doing some house cleaning before the new year as the network has decided to cancel several of its shows and give at least one another chance. That’s right, if you’re a fan of Hung, How to Make It in America or Bored to Death, you’re probably not going to like what I’m about to tell you: HBO has canceled all three of those shows.

The network has decided to give the Laura Dern comedy Enlightened at least one more season, however. So, if you’re a fan of that show, at least the day isn’t a total loss for you.

Of the three getting the axe today, I’m particularly sad to see Bored to Death go. I really liked it and its quirky blend of humor and drama. Plus, the three leads: Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis really worked well together. Bummer.

I’m also a bit disappointed to see How to Make It In America go as well, mostly because it had the awesome Luis Guzman and the fetching Lake Bell in it. Plus, I was really interested in finding out, you know, how to make it in America. Now I’ll never know.

I gave the Enlightened pilot a chance, but it din’t grab me. Oh well, kudos to Mike White and star Laura Dern. You’ve got another season to make it sing. Break a leg.

I know there’s a lot of ladies reading this, so I’m going to start out with a question: Significant other aside, would you date/make out with Larry?

He doesn’t strike me as the world’s most gorgeous man (that would be guest star and People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive,” at least for 1986, Harry Hamlin), but he takes care of himself, might make you laugh, and, of course, he could dip his bald head in oil and rub it all over you body.

It doesn’t have anything to do with episode (well, Larry does date a curvaceous restaurant hostess), it’s just that after this one, Cheryl, Lucy Lawless, Gina Gershon’s character from season 4, and last week’s Palestinian women (and, to an extent, her sister), I’m curious if Mr. David is really God’s gift to women.

“The Smiley Face,” has a lot going for it with guest star Hamlin, the return of Larry’s assistant Antoinette (one of my favorite characters), and even some Lewis, but it’s one of those that seems more focused on the plotting than the humor.

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What do Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, Elijah Wood, Jack Black, John C. Reilly, Will Arnett, Susan Sarandon, Rainn Wilson, Seth Rogan, Ted Dansen, Stanley Tucci, and a whole bunch of other named celebrities have in common?

They’re all in a brand new semi-biographical, semi-science fictional short film by The Beastie Boys, about The Beastie Boys, titled Fight For Your Right-Revisited.

The film is done in conjunction with the trio’s highly anticipated eighth album, “Hot Sauce Committee Part Two”, and has got Ferrell, McBride, Black, Reilly, Rogan, and Wood playing both the Beastie Boys from the past and the Beastie Boys from the future.

Expect zany, wacky, convoluted awesomeness when the 30-minute film hits DVD (as well as the the web) when Hot Sauce Committee Part Two hits music stores on May 3. In the meantime, check out the star-studded trailer after the jump.

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I will have to admit that I’ve not watched the FX series Damages very much. In truth, I’ve only seen the first few episodes. However, that hasn’t stopped the show from being a hit with many fans.

Unfortunately, that number of fans wasn’t enough for FX to keep the show on the air another season and it was officially canceled. But wait, there’s good news if you love the show. According to Deadline, the ratings-challenged show has been rescued by DirecTV. What does this mean? Well, count on Glenn Close, Rose Byrne and other major cast members being on board for two more seasons (20 episodes) of the Emmy-nominated show.

In addition, the satellite company is also picking up the rights to air seasons one through three so fans will get a chance to experience the series in its entirety all on one network. This deal will be different than DirecTV’s previous pickup of NBC’s canceled Friday Night Lights in that, unlike that show, Damages will only air on the satellite network and not on NBC as well.

Expect more episodes of Damages to being airing on DirecTV next year.

With True Blood kicking off this Sunday, HBO is getting their new and returning series ready for the world to see. That means that we get some of the first glimpses at our favorite comedies returning since last season, such as Bored to Death and Eastbound and Down.

The former, Bored To Death, stars Jason Schwartzman as a failed writer living in Brooklyn who decides to moonlight as a private detective. The only problem is that he isn’t very good at that either. The show is actually made watchable by the supporting characters played by Zach Galifiniakis and Ted Danson.

The latter, starring Danny McBride, is about a rundown, foul-mouthed, ex-major league pitcher who has to settle into the life of a regular gym teacher in a small town. The show comes from Jody Hill (Observe & Report) and Will Ferrell, and had us in stitches for the first season.

Both comedies are slated to return around the same time, keeping HBO’s popular comedy series together in one night, most likely. Check out the new teasers for both shows after the jump, and get ready for Eastbound & Down and Bored To Death to return this September.

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Coming on of the heels of Monday’s news that Showtime would be ordering a fourth season of their adult comedy Californication, it looks like another cable movie network is having the same success with their newest show Bored to Death.

The series has great potential, bringing together names like Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifiniakis, and Ted Danson into a noir-like situation comedy about a bored writer who decides to moonlight at a private detective Each week, Schwartzman finds himself in yet another predicament while dodging his pot-smoking boss (Danson) and confiding in his best friend, a scruffy comic book artist (Galifiniakis).

The show has gotten big numbers in ratings since it’s start 4 weeks ago. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the pilot received 4.1 million viewers, not including an extra 500,000 who watched online for free. Following this past week’s episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm in which the cast of Seinfeld made a reunion, the show (which followed) earned 1.1 million viewers, which was an increase from the previous week.

Though the series is only 4 episodes into an 8-episode season, things are already looking up for them. This is the third new series from HBO, following Hung and Eastbound and Down, all of which have been renewed for another season.

We’ve been known to gush a bit about rising star Zach Galifianakis here at The Flickcast, and for good reasons. There is one new project that Zach is attached to in particular that seems to look better and better, the more we get to see of it.

Bored to Death is a brand new HBO comedy about a writer who decides to pick up a night job as a noir-style private detective. Starring Jason Schwartzman (very funny), Ted Danson (was funny once), Patton Oswalt (SUPER funny), and Galifianakis (superstar), the show looks to be HBO’s new breakout comedy hit.

Not many can recall a good noir spoof done in the past decade. The first two that come to mind, The Singing Detective and Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, both star Robert Downy, Jr. Both films also pull off the “smoke and gun” look of the 1950′s crime drama, while still not taking themselves very seriously. Bored to Death seems to walk that same line, and walk it well.

Catch the full-length trailer after the jump. Bored to Death premieres on HBO Sunday, September 20th.

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