This week on TVHackr, we talked everything (and I do mean everything) TCA and the third season finale of The Killing, while the internet touched on Facebook TV ads, South Park cursing, and television embroidery.

Black Sails Renewed for Season 2 by Starz
Six months ahead of its series premiere, the Michael Bay-produced pirate drama has been picked up for a second season by Starz and given two additional episodes for said season.

Starz at TCA: The White Queen Early Start, Dancing on the Edge Premiere
During its TCA session, Starz revealed that The White Queen premiere will air after the Magic City season finale, while UK miniseries Dancing on the Edge is set to premiere in October.

MTV at TCA: Miley Cyrus, Nurses, and the Fall Season of Awkward
During its TCA session, MTV revealed the premiere windows for Awkward and two upcoming docuseries, while also announcing a Miley Cyrus documentary and new writers added to its Scream pilot.

AMC Greenlights Scripted Series Halt & Catch Fire, Turn
AMC has picked up its next two scripted series, the first centering on the computer boom of the 1980s and the latter being a spy drama set in 1778.

Witches of East End to Premiere October 6th on Lifetime
Lifetime will debut its next new scripted series this fall, an adaptation of the book of the same name, which co-stars the likes of Julia Ormond and Jenna Dewan-Tatum.

Magic City Recap: Bacchanalian Disc Jockeys Gone Wild
While Stevie’s convention doesn’t go quite as expected, resulting in an attempted rape and quite a bit of property damage, Ike’s plan to fix the Cuban national lottery goes off without a hitch.

News Roundup: NBC at TCA, Syfy Pilots, and 30 for 30 Documentary Dates
Get all the details of what NBC revealed at TCA, in addition to information on the latest Syfy pilot and the fall schedule for ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series.

Devious Maids Spoilers: Valentina Reaches Out to Zoila About Remi
Coming up on Devious Maids, Remi’s new habit has Valentina at her wit’s end, while Evelyn blackmails Rosie into seeing baby Tucker and Carmen learns that Odessa is hiding something.

The Killing Season 3 Finale Preview: Could Seattle PD Have Something to Do with the Murders?
After discovering new evidence in the Pied Piper case, will Holder and Linden suss out the involvement of someone at Seattle PD in the abductions and murders they’ve been investigating?

Under the Dome Renewed for Season 2 by CBS
CBS officially renewed ratings behemoth Under the Dome for a second season, which will premiere in the summer of 2014.

Masters of Sex: A Behind the Scenes Look at the Upcoming Showtime Drama
Get a look at the upcoming Showtime drama, which stars Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan as sex researchers William Masters and Virginia Johnson.

The CW Changes Fall Premiere Dates for Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries
The CW has pushed up the season premieres of Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries, while also moving up the series premiere of The Originals and sliding Reign back a week.

News Roundup: Homeland Season 3 Teaser, Teen Choice Hosts, and a Whose Line Renewal
The first teaser for Homeland‘s third season has been released, while hosts for the 2013 Teen Choice Awards have been named and the Whose Line revival has been renewed for a second season, set to consist of 24 episodes.

The Fosters Recap: Life Gave Us the Gift of You
The family gathers at the hospital waiting for news on Stef, while Mike makes a decision about his drinking and we get copious flashbacks of how Lena and Stef came to be.

Hit the Floor Season Finale Recap: Gagging on the Irony
Which Devil Girl ended up biting the bullet during the season finale of Hit the Floor? And how will that impact the show going forward?

ABC Family Renews Switched at Birth, Orders More Episodes of The Fosters and Twisted
ABC Family officially renewed Switched at Birth for a third season while picking up back orders for The Fosters and Twisted.

Showtime at TCA: Josh Hartnett, Eva Green, Ruth Wilson, and Philip Seymour Hoffman Castings Announced
Added to Showtime pilots were Ruth Wilson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Kathryn Hahn. Josh Hartnett and Eva Green, meanwhile, are the first two cast members for thriller Penny Dreadful, which begins series production this fall.

Shameless, House of Lies, and Episodes to Premiere January 12th
The first three original series to air next year on Showtime will debut Sunday, January 12th beginning at 9:00.

The Fosters Summer Finale Sneak Peeks: Will Callie Have to Say Goodbye to Wyatt?
Callie gets more bad news after finding out that Brandon and Talya have gotten back together.

Twisted 1.09 Sneak Peeks: Did Karen Kill Regina Crane?
Even though Karen confessed to killing Regina on the last episode of Twisted, did she actually commit the crime? And if so, why?

Parks and Recreation: Rob Lowe and Rashida Jones to Leave During Season 6
Veteran NBC comedy Parks and Recreation will say goodbye to an original cast member and someone who had been involved with the show for 70 episodes. Their last episode will air during February sweeps.

Continuum Season 3 to Air on Syfy in 2014
The series was already renewed for a third season in Canada and will likely stay put on Fridays, as its up about 20% in the ratings since moving from Mondays.

The Fosters Marathon to Air Monday, August 5th
The day that The Fosters is set to have its summer finale, ABC Family will air the previous eight episodes beginning at 12:00 p.m.

Devious Maids Marathon to Air Sunday, August 4th
After climbing in the ratings since its modestly-rated series premiere, the first six episodes of Devious Maids will be reaired on Sunday.

FOX at TCA: A Broadchurch Adaptation, a 24 Casting, and Junior Masterchefs
During their TCA session, FOX announced an adaptation of hit UK miniseries Broadchurch, the second cast member in its 24 miniseries, and the cast for Masterchef Junior, airing Fridays this fall.

News Roundup: Kelly Reilly to Star in ABC’s The Black Box
ABC has found its leading lady for limited series The Black Box, from The L Word‘s Ilene Chaiken and House‘s Bryan Singer, while Florida-Georgia Line will perform at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards and there will be Sharknado merchandise.

Casting News: Elementary, Nashville, Blue Bloods, Hawaii Five-0, Hart of Dixie, and More Add to Casts
Among the shows that have added to their casts in recent days are Drop Dead Diva, Saint George, Hart of Dixie, Elementary, Nashville, and Open.

Baby Daddy Spoilers: Emma’s Baptism Brings Difficult Decisions for Ben
Who will Ben choose to be Emma’s godfather: Tucker or Danny?

CineStitch: The Best of Etsy’s Film and TV Embroidery (Vulture)
Vulture gathered several embroideries with TV-related images or phrases, all for sale on Etsy. Among the shows included are Friday Night Lights, Arrested Development, and Bob’s Burgers.

A South Park episode that’s a real “shit” show (The A.V. Club)
The A.V. Club has a roundtable discussion about an episode of South Park that uses a certain expletive 200 times.

Netflix Users Aren’t Abandoning Traditional Television (WebProNews)
According to a study by TiVo, which was reported on by WebProNews, Netflix users are watching just as much cable television as non-Netflix users.

Primetime Television Is Looking Less Gay (Huffington Post)
With the cancellations of The New Normal, Smash, Southland, Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt. 23, 1600 Penn, Happy Endings, 90210, and Partners, broadcast just got rid of quite a few gay characters, but what happens now? The Huffington Post pontificates this very matter.

Pakistan TV show hosted by Aamir Liaquat Hussain gives away babies to audience (CNN)
And you get a baby! And you get a baby! And you get a baby! Everybody gets babies! (Everybody in the audience at Aamir Hussain’s show, that is.)

In Defense Of … Netflix Being the Future of Television (PopMatters)
Is Netflix in the same conversation with the likes of HBO, Showtime, and FX at the television “big boys’ cool table”? PopMatters seems to think so.

WVU Healthcare uses television to help patients (Charleston Daily Mail)
Doctors on Call, a popular West Virginia live medical call-in program that features physicians and other health professionals, reached 700 episodes recently.

Nielsen’s Facebook-commissioned report adds fuel to television-style ad fire (BizReport)
Facebook will begin selling 15 second television-style ads later this year. Users reportedly won’t have to deal with more than three per day.

The post The Week in Television Wrap July 27-August 2 appeared first on TVHackr.

Halt & Catch Fire takes a look at the computing boom of the 1980s and follows a visionary, an engineer, and a prodigy as they tackle an industry that could make or break their personal and professional partnerships. The series stars the likes of Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies), Scoot McNairy (Argo), Mackenzie Rio Davis (Smashed), Kerry Bishe (Red State), and David Wilson Barnes (The Bourne Legacy).

Meanwhile, Turn, developed and written by Nikita’s Craig Silverstein, is based on Alexander Rose’s Washington’s Spies and takes place in the year 1778. The series follows a New York farmer who helps form an unlikely group of spies and stars Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot), Kevin McNally (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Strange Tides), and Burn Gorman (The Dark Knight Rises).

“The simultaneous greenlights today are the first in network history and  underscore AMC’s growth and commitment to original scripted programming,” said Joel Stillerman, AMC’s EVP of original programming, production and digital content. “Each of these projects takes the audience into a unique world through compelling characters told with an original voice. We are so fortunate to be  working with such exceptional talent on these series and can’t wait to bring  them to viewers.”

It should be interesting to see how the greenlight for both Halt & Catch Fire and Turn will impact the fates of The Killing and Hell on Wheels, the two weakest performers in ratings and critical reviews that the network has. The Killing, which is currently airing its third season, might be saved due to the deal the network made with Netflix that lowered the licensing fee, in addition to the more positive reception it’s had this season; meanwhile, Hell on Wheels is owned by the network, but its move to Saturdays doesn’t inspire confidence that it can keep its head above water, particularly with a new showrunner at the helm. Could AMC possibly keep all four, if ratings allow them to?

Which pilot do you think sounds better? Does the fact that AMC picked up two new shows mean that more pressure is now on The Killing and Hell on Wheels to perform? What type of show would you like to see the network pick up in the future?

The post AMC Greenlights Scripted Series Halt & Catch Fire, Turn appeared first on TVHackr.