The final season of Spartacus: War of the Damned begins January 25^th on Starz.  That’s tonight! We left off last season with Spartacus and his merry band of rebels facing the full might of the Roman legion, which are not against pulling shenanigans.

I was more than happy to sit down with Manu Bennett, who plays the undefeated Gaul and Spartacus BFF, Crixus.  Manu was passionate, assured, and especially candid as he spoke about his former co-star Andy Whitfield and what awaits Crixus in the new season. Generous to a fault, he also shared some spoils of war. (Note: This interview contains spoilers.)

The Flickcast: “Be Here Now” is emblazoned on your shirt.  Can you talk about why the phrase “Be Here Now” is important to you?

Manu Bennett: “Be Here Now” was a tattoo Andy [Whitfield] had on his forearm when he was going through his cancer treatment.  There’s a documentary that’s going to be coming out soon.

Rather than not being in the know about what happened to Andy, this documentary is for people who are really interested in the show and really fell in love with Andy and I know there’s so many people out there who did. I’m sure Andy would have liked everyone to go and watch this documentary to see what cancer can destroy in this life.

April showers bring great television, as you’ll see in this month’s installment of Cortney’s TV Digest.

Game of Thrones

HBO premiered the first fifteen minutes of Game of Thrones on Sunday night, and audiences got a taste of the gorgeous cinematography, stellar acting, and killer violence that is sure to be a part of every episode of this new series. Based on George R. R. Martin’s best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels, Game of Thrones takes place in the world of Westeros, where many noble familes fight for control of the Iron Throne.

Game of Thrones stars the likes of Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage, and will be directed by Thomas McCarthy, best known for his work on The Station Agent and The Visitor.

Game of Thrones will premiere April 17th on HBO.

February is in full swing, so I’m taking a break from freezing my butt off in upstate NY and conjugating Spanish verbs to bring you this month’s TV Digest. With all the snow that’s been plaguing the US and the winter movie slump in full swing, it’s great to have some excellent tv to watch. Look no further than here, dear readers, as I’ve got everything you need to check out on the tube in February.

Top Shot (History Channel)

Those of you who read my TV Digest regularly will know I’m not too big on reality tv. But man, I LOVE Top Shot. 16 contestants, including expert sharp-shooters, award-winning rifleists, and former U.S. miliary from around the country compete for $100,000 and the coveted title of Top Shot.

The show is a blast to watch every week, between the history you get about each rifle and challenge, the skill exhibited by the competitors, and of course the usual reality tv drama. Top Shot airs on the History Channel Tuesdays at 10.

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.

In between all the shopping, cooking, and holiday planning, December is a great month to find some free time, curl up on the couch, and enjoy some quality television. Fortunately, this month is chock-full of that, with upcoming season finales of some of this season’s hottest shows, plus some new additions to the lineup.

Top Chef All-Stars

If you’ve read my TV Digests before you’ll know I really can’t stand most reality television, but Bravo’s Top Chef is one exception. Between Top Chef, Top Chef Masters, and Top Chef: Just Desserts, this series about up and coming chefs duking it out for the top spot is both addiction and appetizing.

This month, a new addition to the lineup is being added, Top Chef All-Stars. In this new show, 18 previous Top Chef contestants are returning to reclaim their honor, including Season 7 favorites Tiffany and Angelo. Top Chef All-Stars premiers December 1st on Bravo.

The Walking Dead

I’m sure I’m not the first person to tell you to watch The Walking Dead if you haven’t already, and I won’t be the last. AMC has finally given zombie fans a television show to love, with some amazing source material from The Walking Dead comics and an amazing showrunner in Frank Darabont.

The show’s sixth and final episode of the season will air on Sunday, December 5th on AMC, and while this season has been short, The Walking Dead has already been renewed for a second season with thirteen episodes.

While the Summer might be ending, great television for the year is just beginning. That’s why Cortney’s TV Digest returns to The Flickcast this month, where we’ll be bringing you some great shows from our favorite networks, including Showtime and MTV.

Mad Men

AMC might not have a lot of television shows, but what they lack in quantity they certainly make up for in quality. Breaking Bad just finished up a fabulous third season over the Summer, and that means it’s time for Mad Men. Season 4 started last month but continues on this month, as Sterling, Cooper, Draper and Pryce begin to establish their new, but struggling, ad firm.

Mad Men is on every Sunday at 10/9C on AMC.

Weeds

Our favorite pot-dealing, crime-scheming Nancy Botwin is back, as Weeds enters its sixth season. It’s so hard to write about this show without absolutely spoiling everything, but to be discrete, this episode picks up right after the last one left off, and looks like this season is going to be a doozy as everyone in the Botwin pack deals with the implications of Shane’s actions.

If you’re a new-comer to Weeds, you’ve got about two weeks to catch up on all five of the previous seasons, but the episodes are so good (and, luckily, short) that it won’t take you much time at all to see what all the fuss is about. Weeds begins its new season on August 17th on Showtime.

Last month’s television show finales like LOST, 24 and Chuck more were packed with emotional endings and incredible cliffhangers. But while there might not be many new TV shows on the horizon for June, it’s always nice to get a bunch of shows returning that you’ve been looking forward to.

The HBO Bunch

Summer is when HBO shines. This month we have returning True Blood, Hung, and Entourage, three of the network’s biggest shows of the entire year.

Last fall, True Blood ended with a cliffhanger, as the second Sookie agreed to marry Bill he completely disappeared. This season, things are sure to heat up between Sook and Eric in Bill’s absence, and with the arrival of werewolves Sookie’s loyalty is bound to be tested. True Blood returns Sunday June 14th at 10 PM.

The first season of Hung was absolutely amazing, and the show is no less relevant with America’s economy still in turmoil and in need of a few good laughs. Hung returns to HBO on June 27th.

Entourage is returning this summer for its seventh season, which will revolve around Vince’s new role in an apocalyptic drama. Expect to see some interesting guest stars including John Stamos, Bob Saget and Jessica Simpson. Vince and the rest of the gang also return to your TV on June 27th.

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.

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.

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.