TV Squad

On the heels of the slew of Emmy nods it received this morning (with big props going to 'Lost' and 'Modern Family'), ABC has announced its premiere dates for this fall, including the dates for five of the pilots it picked up this spring.

Dates for the Dana Delany drama, 'Body of Proof' and 'Secret Millionaire' will be forthcoming.

According to hollywoodinsider.com, the lineup will look like this:

Florida police have made an arrest in a grisly murder case that took the life of a writer of the cult cartoon classic 'Thundercats.'

Zephyrhills police arrested James "Jimmy" Davis and charged him with first degree murder in connection with the death of comic book writer Stephen J. Perry.

Davis and his wife shared a home with Perry as "roommates." Perry was reported missing last May under what police called "suspicious circumstances." The Davises also went missing at the same time as of Perry's disappearance.

I feel as if I have to put a disclaimer at the start of this article, so here goes:

I LOVE 'BURN NOTICE!'

Now that we have that out of the way, can I say that I'm beginning to fall a little bit out of love with it? It's like a woman that you start dating because she's fun and unpredictable and entertaining and pretty, and you just love the little quirky habit she has of eating Lucky Charms for dinner. But then you realize that she eats Lucky Charms for dinner every single night of the week. And suddenly you don't love it anymore. In fact, you're worried that it might lead to something bad.

That's how I feel about 'Burn Notice' right now.

It's been 10 years since 'Freaks and Geeks' ended (the finale aired July 8, 2000). The last we saw of Lindsay Weir she was heading off into the sunset with her Deadhead classmates.

Looking back at the show, it's evident that the short-lived series had a pretty profound impact on pop culture. Not only did the show give viewers a closer look stars-in-the-making Linda Cardellini, Seth Rogen, James Franco and Jason Segel, but it also showcased some great music. There was something for everybody in 'Freaks and Geeks' and its themes still resonate today as much as they did 10 years ago.

Even with the power of 'America's Got Talent' reduced to a single hour, NBC (2.4/8, 8.153 million) still managed to take the night in both total viewers and the 18-49 demo. In a competitive second place, down only a tenth in the demo, Fox (2.3/8, 6.319 million) saw improvements on their two-hour performance show of 'So You Think You Can Dance.'

Despite the strength of ABC's (1.1/3, 4.182 million) comedy lineup, and the improvements they've seen with 'Castle' at 10PM, CBS (1.4/4, 5.701 million) still came in ahead of them. Never underestimate the power of CBS's procedural franchises.

'America's Next Top Model' continues proving itself for The CW, outperforming most of their scripted shows in this season of summer repeats. Unless they change their target demographic, there's no reason Tyra Banks can't keep riding this series to the bank for many more seasons.

This morning's Emmy nominations went more or less as expected, but with a few really strange surprises.

Some were huge (the TV Academy's recognition of Conan O'Brien's 'Tonight Show' and not Jay Leno's was a jaw-dropper).

Some were small but still worth mentioning, including nominations for some unlikely but deserving performers, as well as interesting nominations in categories I didn't even know existed.

Here are 10 of the strangest surprises among this year's Emmy nominees.

This week, 'America's Got Talent' judges Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel put their heads together as the search for the nation's most entertaining act moved on to Las Vegas, where the more than 100 acts culled from their nationwide search would be whittled down to just 48 contenders.

It wasn't easy for the judges, either: tears were shed, dreams were crushed and hearts were broken, but that's not to say that the show's fans necessarily agreed with the judges' final picks. Popular Puerto Rican singer Carlos Apponte was out while the oddball yodeler Mary Ellen was in; dance squad Style Pros Crew got the boot, yet deadpan illusionist Chipps Cooney made it through.

Still, several acts from the Vegas trials were no-brainers. Here's a roundup of some of the standouts who made it on to the Top 48 this week. Next stop? Hollywood, where those of us at home will finally get to make the call and decide which acts have talent.

Eesh. It doesn't get much more awkward than this.

'Attack of the Show' (Weekdays, 7PM ET on G4) host Kevin Pereira tosses to Alison Haislip for a news break by announcing that it's time for news to be "shoved" into viewers.

Leaving Las Vegas? That's not on the cards for Marg Helgenberger, since the Ausiello Files is reporting that the 'CSI' vet has signed a new contract that will keep her on for the procedural's 11th season.

Helgenberger isn't the only investigator in search of a new deal; her co-stars George Eads, Eric Szmanda, and Paul Guilfoyle are also attempting to hammer out fresh contracts, along with Jorja Fox. Liz Vassey, on the other hand, will not be returning next season.

For those of you not up-to-date on the comings and goings of basketball warlock LeBron James, ESPN will be airing a one-hour special focusing on him tonight at 9PM ET.

What's the "special" about, you ask? A chronicle of his freakish career? A montage of highlights? A story about LeBron teaching a quadriplegic how to dunk? Nope. None of those. Unfortunately.

No, tonight at 9PM ET, we'll finally know which team LeBron will be on. That's it. Information that you will inevitably be able to decipher by looking at his shirt will be the subject of a one hour television "special."

2010 is undoubtedly Betty White's year -- 'SNL,' Snickers, an Emmy nomination, and now, a second season for her freshman comedy 'Hot in Cleveland.'

According to the Hollywood Reporter, TV Land has ordered 20 episodes for the sitcom's sophomore season -- double the amount of its debut offering. Having only been on the air since June, the comedy has already made a significant impact, debuting with 4.8 million viewers -- which TV Land touts as the most-watched sitcom telecast in cable TV history.

It may be faint, but New York Magazine's Vulture blog is reporting that there may be hope for the original 'Law & Order.' According to the report, AMC, home to 'Mad Men' and 'Breaking Bad,' has contacted NBC Universal about producing new episodes of the crime procedural, which NBC canceled in May after a 20-year run.

The cancellation reportedly was over money -- 'Law & Order' costs about $3 million per-episode to produce, and according to Vulture, producer Dick Wolf had been asked to reduce his per-episode producer fee to help offset that. NBC wanted him to cut the fee from $350,000 to $150,000 per episode, and when he refused, NBC canceled the show.

The USA Network certainly isn't scrimping on the production budget for 'Covert Affairs', a spy show set to debut on July 13. We had a behind-the-scenes tour of the show's elaborate multiple sets in Toronto, including the White House replica used for 'Murder at 1600', and a custom-built CIA headquarters set.

The show stars Piper Perabo ('Coyote Ugly') as Annie, a rookie undercover CIA agent who's immediately thrown into the field for some complex assignments. Her co-worker Auggie, played by Chris Gorham of 'Ugly Betty', shows her the ropes. By the way – he's blind, but that's not really an issue because he's totally smooth and has tons of cool gadgets to help him navigate his way around. The cast is rounded out by Anne Dudek ('Big Love', 'House') as Annie's sister, Canadian Kari Matchett ('24', 'ER') as her difficult boss and Peter Gallagher ('The OC') as a CIA honcho.

We caught up with Perabo, Gorham, Dudek and Doug Liman, one of the show's creators and producer of the 'Bourne' trilogy, to fill us in on what to expect from TV's newest spy show.

Everything you need to know about 'Covert Affairs' after the jump!

Last week Hulu announced plans for its new Hulu Plus service. Immediately following the announcement, internet commenters from around the world did something they rarely do: complained long and loud about the details of the announcement.

"The price is right, but they're still going to have ads? No thanks!" "So let me get this straight, they're giving us access to all the seasons of 'Arrested Development' -- which we already have now, for free! -- except now they want us to pay for them? Choke on your own genitalia and die, Hulu Plus!" said the usually very reasonable denizens of the interwebs.

While I'm never one to doubt the insightfulness of snap decisions, I think in this case the complaints are wrongheaded. Sure, the announced set of features for Hulu Plus leaves a little something to be desired, but get beyond that. What we're seeing right now is a game changer. Hulu Plus is about to take over the way we consume television.

Here's tonight's lineup of new shows and events (all times Eastern). Check your local TV listings for additional information.

* = Series/Season Premiere
** = Series/Season Finale

Programming Note: NBC is presenting a 'Community' marathon tonight hosted by Joel McHale and Ken Jeong.

8:00 to 9:00
ABC: 'Wipeout'
CBS: 'Big Brother 12'*
ESPN: 'World Cup Primetime' -- Two hours
Food Network: 'Good Eats'
HGTV: 'My First Place' and 'My First Sale'
Nick: 'SpongeBob SquarePants'

The rest of the schedule, and the late night talk shows, after the jump.