It’s Friday again (well, Saturday if you’re being technical) and time for a new episode of The Flickcast. Sadly, this isn’t an episode devoted entirely to the new Star Wars movie. That will have to wait until next week.

It is, however, a damn fine episode. Here’s what you can expect from it: Star Trek: Beyond!, X-Men: Apocalypse!, Independence Day: Resurgence!, Mr. Robot Season Two! And a whole lot more! Don’t worry, we’ll stop using exclamation points now . . .until next time.

Picks this week include Chris’ pick of the Showtime Documentary The Spymasters: CIA in the Crosshairs and Joe’s pick of the Syfy Channel mini-series Childhood’s End, based on the classic novel by Arthur C. Clarke. But if you don’t want spoilers, might want to wait to click on that link after you’ve watched.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship, or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook, Google+ or via email.

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Penny Dreadful, Showtime’s new series, has all the ingredients to become a cult sensation – a very weird cult sensation. I can just imagine the fan fiction this intriguing, but strange, horror show will produce. Set in Victorian England the series features Vanessa Ives (Eva Green), who is a spiritualist/medium of great power. Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett) is the American Wild West sharp shooter hired to help her and Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton) who is combing the underworld of London to find his missing daughter, Mina. This world is filled with supernatural creatures, swathed in violence and psycho erotic moments, where psychic powers are real and everyone has a secret, or two.

John Logan (Skyfall, Hugo), who created Penny Dreadful and wrote all eight of the first season episodes, surrounds his characters with other literary legends: Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) and his monster/companion, along with dilatant Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney) all wander this macabre world. And in the second episode (Séance) we meet the wild, Irish prostitute Brona Croft (Billie Piper) who is entangled in both worlds.

The possible connections to other literary, historical characters and events are endless. This has made some critics suggest it’s too close to the premise of The League of Extraordinary Gentleman (the wonderful comic book series/graphic novels by Alan Moore/Kevin O’Neil, not the dreadful movie version.) This literary device has been used many times, but to me Penny Dreadful has more of a flavor of Kim Newman’s Anno Dracula.

The 65th Primetime Emmy Awards nominations were announced this morning by Aaron Paul, Neil Patrick Harris and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Chairman/CEO Bruce Rosenblum at the Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre in North Hollywood, CA. The 65th Primetime Emmy Awards telecast will air live on Sunday, September 22nd (8 PM ET/5 PM PT) on CBS from the NOKIA Theater L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles.

Here are the major nominees:

Outstanding Drama Series

Breaking Bad • AMC • Sony Pictures Television

Downton Abbey • PBS • A Carnival / Masterpiece Co-Production

Game Of Thrones • HBO • Bighead, Littlehead, TV 360, Startling TV and Generator Prodns with HBO Ent

Homeland • Showtime • Showtime Presents, Teakwood Lane Prods, Cherry Pie Prods, Keshet, Fox 21

House Of Cards • Netflix • Donen/Fincher/Roth and Trigger Street Prods with Media Rights Capital for Netflix

Mad Men • AMC • Lionsgate Television

When we first heard about Showtime’s drama Homeland we have to admit we were a tiny bit skeptical. The truth is we had a bit of a hard time imagining Claire Danes as a CIA analyst gone rogue.

Fortunately, after watching the first few minutes of the first episode, we realized how wrong we were. She kills it, as do the rest of the cast, writers and everyone involved in this excellent show. Soon, the award-winning Homeland will be back for a second season and Showtime has released a new teaser for that season to help get you excited for it.

In it we see the return of our favorite cast members: Claire Danes is back in action, this time both as a blonde and a brunette, joined by Damian Lewis and Mandy Patinkin. Looks awesome and we cant’t wait.

Homeland season 2 premieres September 30th on Showtime. Click through for the video.

Fans of Chuck, the series that would not die (until it did) have probably been missing one of the best reasons to watch that show: Yvonne Strahovsky. Fortunately, the TV gods have smiled on us and will be giving us more of our favorite female super spy soon.

That’s right, the lovely Strahovsky will be joining Showtime’s Dexter in season seven for a multi-episode arc. She’ll play a “strong, independent woman” who helps Dexter and his colleagues with a few old cases — but Dexter thinks there’s something she’s not telling them. I’ll bet he’s right.

Of course, as we all know, Showtime is a premium cable network which often features a great deal of blood, violence and nudity/sex. Does this mean we’ll finally get to see more of Strahovsky than we’ve seen on those websites where they put celebrity heads on other nude bodies for fun? Not that we’ve ever gone there of course. . .

Whatever happens, this development is more than enough reason for us to take an interest in Dexter again. Kudos Showtime. Kudos.

Even though this is technically a blog, we like to think of ourselves primarily as writers here at The Flickcast. Many of us have even been paid to write over the years and you can bet that pretty much everyone here has one or two screenplays, comic books or other literary works they are currently working on. It’s just the nature of things.

So, when the Writer’s Guild of America announces the nominations for outstanding writing for Television, we take notice and bring you all the details. That’s especially true when the top nominees are shows we really like.

One such show is Showtime’s freshman drama Homeland, which received 3 nominations including best drama series, best new series and best episodic drama. Homeland tied with perennial favorites Modern Family, Breaking Bad and Boardwalk Empire for the most nominations.

In addition to Homeland, Game Of Thrones, The Killing, New Girl and the Matt LeBlanc comedy Episodes all received nominations with Showtime getting a first time record of six for its shows. You may be wondering where Mad Men is in all of this?

Sadly, as the fifth season of the show was delayed, it didn’t make the cut for eligibility for this year’s awards. That’s probably okay as it gives a few other shows, like Homeland and Game of Thrones, a chance to shine. Can’t have Mad Men taking up all the awards, now can we?

The winners will be announced at the 2012 Writers Guild Awards on Feb. 19, 2012, at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York. Click through for the full list of nominee.

If you’ve never read Brian K. Vaughn’s comic series Y: The Last Man, you’re really missing out. It’s very well written and has enjoyed tremendous popularity.

So much so, in fact, that it’s one of the reasons Vaughn ended up as a writer for ABC’s LOST for several seasons. Now, it looks like Vaughn’s TV writing career is going to continue.

According to Deadline, he has been signed to write Showtime’s drama series adaptation of Stephen King’s 2009 novel Under the Dome, from DreamWorks Television. According to the report, Vaughn was chosen after a long search by the show’s producers and will begin writing the adaptation immediately.

In case you’re not familier with the story, the supernatural thriller concerns locals at a Maine vacation spot who battle one another when a force field suddenly surrounds their town and cuts them off from the rest of the world. Yes, it takes place in Maine. Try to contain your surprise.

To be honest, this is not my favorite Stephen King novels. However, Vaughn is one of my favorite writers so hopefully he will bring his trademark wit and style to the project. The series expects to begin filming early next year for a debut sometime next Fall.

Arrested Development is one of those series not really appreciated in its time. When it was on the air originally, it had rather low ratings and was cancelled by Fox after three seasons. It was a great show but sadly, a lot of people just didn’t “get it.”

Since its original run, the show has enjoyed newfound success in reruns as well as on DVD and Netflix and has attained cult status among those who appreciate great TV. There’s also been talk of a movie version of the series for years as well and now it seems those plans are finally coming to fruition.

But wait, there’s more. According to reports the show’s creator, Mitch Hurtwitz, plans to bring the Emmy-winning series back to television for 9 or 10 episodes before making movie. That’s right, a new series and a movie. Awesome.

Hurwitz didn’t say where the potential series would air but reportedly the two front runners are Netflix, which is looking for original programming, and Showtime, whose new entertainment president David Nevins used to work at Imagine TV and served as an executive producer on the original series.

Original series star Jason Bateman also confirmed the news on Twitter. “It’s true,” he posted. “We will do 10 episodes and the movie. Probably shoot them all together next summer for a release in early ’13. VERY excited!”

Pretty sure he’s not the only one.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to reveal I’ve had Stephen King’s Under the Dome on my Kindle for about a year and still haven’t gotten around to reading it. Not that I think it won’t be good, it’s just that other things have come up.

Fortunately, it seems I may not ever have to bother reading the book. Why? Well, today it was announced Showtime is partnering with Steven Spielberg and Stephen King for an Under the Dome drama TV series, which will be produced by DreamWorks Television.

In case you haven’t had the time either and don’t know the story of Under the Dome, it’s a supernatural thriller which revolves around locals at a Maine vacation spot who battle one another when a force field suddenly surrounds their town and cuts them off from the rest of the world. Wasn’t that the premise of an old Twilight Zone episode? Huh.

Anyway, now that the deal appears to be done with Showtime, the search is now underway for a writer (or writers) to adapt the novel into series form. No word yet on who that may be.

However, if I may make a suggestion, I hear Frank Darabont is available. I think he would be a great choice.

Showtime, you listening?

While we are kinda sorry that ABC decided to cancel V (hey, it had potential) we are glad at least one of our favorite actresses from the show is moving on to something new. That’s right folks, you’ve loved her since she starred as Inara, the companion with a heart of gold, in Firefly and now you’ll be able to see Morena Baccarin next on Showtime’s upcoming new series Homeland.

The new thriller, from 24 executive producers Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, centers on Marine Sergeant Scott Brody (Damian Lewis), who returns home eight years after going missing in Iraq, and Carrie Anderson (Claire Danes), a driven CIA officer who suspects he might be plotting an attack on America.

Baccarin will play Jessica Brody, Scott’s smart, strong wife. She replaces Laura Fraser, who played the role in the pilot. The series, which also co-stars Mandy Patinkin, is slated to debut in the fall.

Sounds like a cool show — as long as Mandy Patankin doesn’t sing in every episode. Plus, always liked Damian Lewis since he was in Band of Brothers and through his stint on the under appreciated series Life . Could be fun.

Until we know for sure, check out a trailer for the show after the break, coutesy of the folks at Showtime. Sadly, Morena Baccarin isn’t in it.

Recently, we told you about Showtime’s pickup of two new series. One of those series was Homeland and now the network has released the first advance look at the show, which is set to begin production this Summer.

The thriller, based on Gideon Raff’s Israeli series Prisoners of War, was written by former 24 showrunner Howard Gordon, Raff and Alex Gansa. It tells the story of Carrie Anderson (Claire Danes), a CIA officer battling her own demons who becomes convinced that the intelligence that led to the rescue of Scott Brody (Damian Lewis), a U.S. soldier who had been missing and presumed deal for nine years, was a setup and may be connected to an Al-Qaeda plot to be carried out on American soil.

Mandy Patinkin plays Saul, a veteran CIA Division Chief who is Carrie’s boss and mentor. As I said before, sounds interesting. I guess we’ll get a look at the other new Showtime series House of Lies soon enough as well.

Until then, check out the teaser for Homeland after the jump. Homeland comes to Showtime later this year.

In addition to HBO, Showtime has also usually been a home for good original drama and comedy programming. From Weeds to The Tudors, Californication, Dexter and the recent The Borgias, the network has been pulling out all the proverbial stops to up the ante for pay cable entertainment.

Following that line, Showtime has given series commitments to two new show: the drama Homeland and the comedy House of Lies. Both have received 12-episode orders.

Homeland, which comes from 24 showrunner Howard Gordon, stars Claire Danes, Damien Lewis and Emmy-winner Mandy Patinkin. House of Lies stars Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell.

Here’s more info on each show:

Homeland, produced by Fox 21, is based on Gideon Raff’s Israeli series Prisoners of War. written by Gordon, Raff and Alex Gansa, it tells the story of Carrie Anderson (Claire Danes), a CIA officer battling her own demons, who becomes convinced that the intelligence that led to the rescue of Scott Brody (Damian Lewis), a U.S. soldier who had been missing and presumed deal for nine years, was a setup and may be connected to an Al Qaeda plot to be carried out on American soil. Mandy Patinkin plays Saul, a veteran CIA Division Chief who is Carrie’s (Danes) boss and mentor.