This week on TVHackr, we talked about what’s coming up on Zero Hour, Scandal’s early syndication, and the 2013 Emmy nominations, while the internet pontificated on a TV landscape that has gradually been filled with deeper roles for actresses and a potential Turkish TV takeover.

Magic City Recap: Pray That Nobody Gets Killed
While Vera’s opening night doesn’t go quite as planned, Ike approaches Sy about cutting a deal and Danny goes along on an arms raid that will change him for good.

Hit the Floor Renewed for Season 2 by VH1
VH1’s dance team drama will return for a second season of scheming, side eyes, and sex appeal. Will Jelena get a leg up on Ahsha?

True Blood Renewed for Season 7 by HBO
After averaging about 10 million viewers per episode this season, True Blood will return for a seventh season in the summer of 2014.

BET to Broadcast Scandal’s First Two Seasons This Summer, Season 3 in Fall
The first two seasons of Scandal will be broadcast on BET later this summer, while season three episodes are set to encore eight days after their initial ABC run.

The Fosters Recap: He Told Me I Was Special
Callie reveals the extent of the ways Liam hurt her, Lexi goes missing after being threatened with boarding school, and Mariana may have gotten herself into a situation that she can’t talk her way out of.

Zero Hour Series Finale Spoilers: Can Hank Save the World?
Will Hank be able to stop both the Pyrates and the Shepherds from acquiring the True Cross and changing the world as we know it?

Renewal Notice: Lying Game Canceled, Ray Donovan Renewed, American Dad Moving
While The Lying Game has been canceled after months of no information about its renewal status, Showtime’s Ray Donovan has been renewed for a second season and FOX’s American Dad will be moving to a new network beginning in late 2014.

ABC Announces Fall 2013 Premiere Dates
When will the next seasons of Scandal, Revenge, and Nashville premiere? What dates will we get to see the first episodes of Agents of SHIELD and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland?

2013 MTV Video Music Award Nominations
Justin Timberlake and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis lead the way in the 2013 VMA nominations, while Bruno Mars, P!nk, Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, and 30 Seconds to Mars all scored multiple nominations.

News Roundup: Sharknado Gets a Sequel and You Get to Name It
Syfy has given social media phenomenon Sharknado a sequel movie, which will be named using suggestions from Twitter. Have you sent in your awful pun yet?

2013 Primetime Emmy Award Nominations Announced
Who was nominated for an Emmy this year? We have the major categories, where the likes of House of Cards, Modern Family, and Breaking Bad did quite well for themselves.

The Fosters Summer Finale Spoilers: Who Gets Married?
On the summer finale of The Fosters, someone’s getting married and there’s news that could shake the family to its core. What could potentially rip the Foster family in half?

Twisted Spoilers: Is Karen the Potential Weak Link?
Of all the problems that Danny has had to worry about threatening his freedom, it turns out that his biggest threat may live in the same house.

Mistresses 1.08 Preview: April is Stunned From the Latest Revelation About Paul
April has to come to terms with what she found out about Paul, while Joss looks to redefine her relationship with Alex and Savi fights to save her marriage, regardless of whether the baby is Dom’s.

Casting News: Billy Campbell Joins Syfy’s Helix; Karine Vanasse to Guest on Revenge
Billy Campbell has become the first actor cast in Syfy thriller Helix, while Pan Am alum Karine Vanasse will have an arc on Revenge as someone from Daniel’s past.

The Fosters 1.08 Sneak Peeks: Ana Won’t Stop Contacting Mariana
Ana crosses the line by calling Mariana at home, Brandon can’t seem to please his demanding piano teacher, and Jesus takes matters into his own hands.

Twisted 1.07 Sneak Peeks: Is Lacey Sending Danny Mixed Signals?
Danny grows frustrated at receiving conflicting messages from Lacey, Rico attempts to come to terms with his feelings for Jo, and Kyle sets his sights on cracking Karen.

Teen Wolf Winter Season Premiere Set for January 6th
The second half of Teen Wolf‘s third season is set to premiere Monday, January 6th. Catch a trailer for the next set of episodes at the link above.

A Good Time for TV Ladies (Slate)
Slate examines a television landscape that has become much kinder to actresses, considering the rise in complex female roles in recent years.

TV Dramas From Turkey Draw Hollywood’s Eye (The Hollywood Reporter)
Could Hollywood be heading for an explosion in Turkish television adaptations? The Hollywood Reporter looks at what could be the next trend to watch out for.

Google said to weigh supplying TV channels (The New York Times)
According to the New York Times, Google is said to be one of several tech giants trying to license TV channels from an internet cable service.

Mugabe to cripple ‘invader’ television station (The Africa Review)
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has shut down a television station that was expected to begin broadcasting from South Africa, per The Africa Review.

Emmys 2013 winners and losers: 30 Rock, Homeland, The Office (Hitfix)
Hitfix analyzes the 2013 Emmy nominations, including the surprises that could lead to even more surprising victories and the snubs that stopped promising shows in their tracks.

The post The Week in Television Wrap July 13-19 appeared first on TVHackr.

To our awesome #lyinggame fans, thank you for these two amazing seasons.  Unfortunately, ABC Family has decided not to bring us back for a third season.  We so wanted to do 10 more for you guys! Thanks for your support and keep up  with the cast to see what’s next for us!

The series had been off the air since March following what turned out to be its cliffhanger-filled series finale, as ABC Family decided to wait until the premieres of summer shows The Fosters and Twisted before making a renewal decision. The only other show on the network that has yet to have its fate determined is ballet drama Bunheads, which last aired in late February.

Receiving better news was Showtime fixer drama Ray Donovan, which was renewed for a second season after becoming the highest rated series premiere ever for the network and the first freshman series to climb in the ratings during its second week. The show, which currently airs Sundays at 10:00 following the final season of Dexter, will return for its second season in 2014, likely assuming the 9:00 mantle from its current lead-in and being used to launch a new drama in the process. Ray Donovan stars Liev Schreiber, Paula Malcomson, and Jon Voight.

Somewhere in the middle is FOX’s American Dad, set to move to TBS as an original series starting in late 2014. The next season of the show, the animated comedy’s 10th, will be its final on FOX, where it will give up the post-Family Guy slot to either something live-action, midseason offering Murder Police, or a hot property in FOX’s animated development slate. Reruns will continue to air on Adult Swim for the 11th season, which will feature 15 episodes. TBS currently airs daily repeats of American Dad at 1:00 and 1:30.

Do you think that ABC Family was right to cancel The Lying Game? What have you thought of the first three episodes of Ray Donovan? Will you be following American Dad to TBS?

The post Renewal Notice: Lying Game Canceled, Ray Donovan Renewed, American Dad Moving appeared first on TVHackr.

-ION Television has added encores of Burn Notice and White Collar to its programming slate, which includes the likes of Criminal Minds, Psych, and House. There’s no word yet on when they’ll make their channel debuts, however. While Burn Notice is currently in its final season, White Collar returns this fall.

–Person of Interest fans are in for a treat at Comic-Con, as CBS has issued nearly 40,000 limited-edition hotel keycards featuring images from the hit drama. Included are one with Reese and Fitch keeping a watchful eye and one meant as a response to people thinking that the show could be a work of fiction, given recent world events.

-Put into development at Discovery today is an untitled miniseries centering on William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, Scottish patriots who were forced to deal with King Edward I of England taking over Scotland and the discontent this produced among their people.

–Ray Donovan has become the first freshman Showtime series to see a rise in the ratings for its second episode, as it garnered a 15% increase this past Sunday. Thus far in its premiere week, the fixer drama is pacing 49 percent ahead of Homeland‘s freshman season premiere week. Meanwhile, Dexter grew from its highest-rated premiere ever, marking the first time the show has increased its numbers from a premiere to a second episode.

-Former American Idol judge Paula Abdul will guest judge on tonight’s episode of So You Think You Can Dance, which will feature the top 18 battling it out to stay in the competition.

-The entire first season of CBS drama Unforgettable has been made available on CBS.com, the CBS app, and various CBS Audience Network partner sites. The series, which stars Poppy Montgomery, returns for a second season on Sunday, July 28th.

-Syfy and Trion Worlds will be giving fans of Defiance a chance to become further involved in the show, thanks to the “Play the Game. Join the Show.” in-game contest. The ten Ark Hunters who complete the most Major Arkfall events between July 8 and July 30 will compete for a chance to have their  character written onto the show. These ten semifinalists will be fleshed out  with backstories written by the show’s writing staff, which will then be  featured on Facebook, where Defiance fans will choose their five favorites. A member of the Defiance team will then select the winner, who will appear on the show. Season two of Defiance premieres in June 2014.

-NBCUniversal is set to distribute the syndicated talk show of Meredith Viera, which will debut in the fall of 2014. The show will be taped on a set meant to resemble her home and feature a mix of feel-good human interest stories, celebrities guests with stories to tell, and various lifestyle segments.

-Jenna Elfman has officially been cast in NBC’s Growing Up Fisher (formerly The Family Guide), taking over for Parker Posey. The show will premiere this midseason.

-Esquire Network has released an extended look at The Getaway, a new original series that explores the world’s greatest cities through the eyes  of a revolving cast of travel-loving celebrities. Here’s who to expect during the first season and where they’ll be going:

Joel McHale (The Soup, Community) in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Aisha Tyler (Archer) in Paris.
Grammy Award-winning performer-songwriter Eve in  Kingston, Jamaica.
Aziz Ansari (Parks and Recreation) in Hong Kong.
Acclaimed chef José Andrés in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Josh Gad (Book of  Mormon) in New York City.
True Blood‘s Ryan Kwanten in Los Angeles.
Brothers Seth Meyers (Saturday Night Live) and Josh Meyers (MADtv) in  Amsterdam.
Rashida Jones (The Office, Parks and Recreation) in London.
Paul Feig (creator of Freaks and Geeks, director of Bridesmaids) in Boston.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbhXwP6JgcA

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The post News Roundup: Meredith Viera Gets a Talk Show, Person of Interest Key Cards, and Defiance Guest Stars appeared first on TVHackr.

On the series premiere of Ray Donovan, Mickey has been paroled five years early and blames Ray for the two decades of life he spent behind bars. In his mind, Ray is the one responsible for the arrest and therefore, his main objective is to get revenge on his son. How Mickey intends to go about doing that remains to be seen, but for now, finding a balance between home and work will be of utmost importance to Ray, as his father will likely be targeting his wife and children in his bid for vengeance. He won’t be able to take the time off of work to protect his family, as no Ray Donovan means that Los Angeles wouldn’t be able to function properly, but he’s got to find a way to loosen his workload enough to where he can look after Abby, Bridget, and Conor and ensure that Mickey doesn’t get near enough to do something to them. Can Ray outsmart his father and exorcise the emotional demons he thought were long gone?

The series premiere of Ray Donovan airs Sunday, June 30th at 10:00 on Showtime. You can check out two teasers for the show, which will be premiering following the final season premiere of Dexter, here.

How do you think the series premiere stacks up to your expectations of the show and the promotional material that has been released thus far? Where can a show like this go over the course of, say, 6-7 seasons? Did Schreiber acclimate himself to television well, in your opinion?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCjXhhJ7avk

The post Ray Donovan: Watch the Series Premiere Here appeared first on TVHackr.

Ray Donovan tells the story of a Los Angeles fixer (Liev Schreiber) in charge of tending to the needs of the city elite. He’s the man tasked with making problems disappear and keeping Los Angeles running like clockwork, which has afforded him an affluent, comfortable lifestyle in which to house his family. However, when his father Mickey (Jon Voight) gets paroled five years earlier than expected, Ray’s old childhood wounds are reopened and he’ll be forced to face demons that he thought were long exorcised. Is Ray going to be able to stay one step ahead of his father and keep his seemingly perfect life exactly the way it was before Mickey’s parole? In addition to Schreiber and Voight, Ray Donovan stars Katherine Moennig, Paula Malcomson, and Pooch Hall.

Meanwhile, Masters of Sex stars Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan as William Masters and Virginia Johnson, real-life pioneers in the field of human sexuality. The series, based on the novel “Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, The Couple Who Taught America How To Love” by Thomas Maier, will document their rise from researchers in St. Louis to prominent pop culture figures during the sexual revolution, as they appeared on several magazine covers and talk shows to talk about their work. The series also stars the likes of Caitlin Fitzgerald, Nick D’Agosto, and Teddy Sears.

The series premiere of Ray Donovan airs Sunday, June 30th at 10:00 following the final season premiere of Dexter, while Masters of Sex is set to debut Sunday, September 29th at 10:00 following the season premiere of Homeland.

Will you be watching either, neither, or both of Ray Donovan and Masters of Sex? Do you think that they’re paired with the shows that will help them most in the ratings? Would you like to see the network focus on premiering new comedies next year?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwZNPjmvoBk

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Cable got an additional honoree in FX’s The Bridge, an adaptation of Scandinavian crime drama Bron that follows a detectives from Mexico and the United States as they try and solve a murder case. On the broadcast side, CBS summer show Under the Dome, originally developed at Showtime, was honored prior to its June 24th series premiere. Additionally, two fall shows made the cut – Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., set to air Tuesdays on ABC, and The Michael J. Fox Show, which marks the Family Ties star’s return to the network that made him a household name.

Listed below are the past series that have made the cut for Most Exciting Series recognition:

2011

1. Alcatraz
2. Awake
3. Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt. 23
4. Falling Skies
5. New Girl
6. Ringer
7. Smash
8. Terra Nova

2012

1. The Following
2. The Mindy Project
3. Nashville
4. The Newsroom
5. Political Animals

You can check out the full list of 2013 Critics’ Choice Television Award nominees, which are led by The Big Bang Theory and American Horror Story: Asylum, here. The ceremony will be held Monday, June 10th and hosted by Parks and Recreation‘s Retta.

Do you think that the right series were selected for recognition? If not, what was the biggest snub? Which series will come away with the most Critics’ Choice Television Awards this year?

The post Critics’ Choice TV Awards Name Most Exciting New Series appeared first on TVHackr.

-John Oliver is set to assume his guest hosting duties on The Daily Show Monday June 10th, as Jon Stewart takes time off to direct his first feature film. Stewart is set to return on Tuesday, September 3rd.

-Oprah Winfrey’s interview with the first openly gay active NBA player, Jason Collins, will air Sunday, May 5th at 8:00 on OWN. The interview will also feature Collins’ parents and twin brother Jarron.

-KSL, NBC”s Salt Lake City affiliate, has decided it will no longer air Hannibal, citing viewer complaints about the serial killer drama. The affiliate, owned by the Church of Latter-Day Saints, has already pulled The New Normal this season, long been opposed to Saturday Night Live, and yanked The Playboy Club in the fall of 2011. Hannibal will now air on Salt Lake City’s CW station, KUCW.

–Pretty Little Liars star Tyler Blackburn has agreed to star in Ravenswood, the Pretty Little Liars spin-off debuting this October. Blackburn’s character, Caleb Rivers, will travel to Ravenswood during the annual Pretty Little Liars special Halloween episode; he’s still set to appear in the summer run of Pretty Little Liars episodes, though, which begin Tuesday, June 11th.

-ABC Family has released descriptions for the season premieres of Melissa & Joey and Baby Daddy.

Melissa & Joey – “Works for Me” (May 29th – 8:00)
Joe pursues a new job opportunity, sending Mel into a panic when she realizes he may actually leave. But the job isn’t quite what Joe expected, causing him to reevaluate his place in the house and Mel’s scheming to prove how much everyone needs him. Meanwhile Lennox thinks her artist boyfriend, Zander, may have found another muse, and Ryder’s class trip has an unexpected outcome.

Baby Daddy – “I’m Not That Guy” (Wednesday, May 29th – 8:30)
Ben thinks he might like Riley and tries to convince her he’s changed his playboy ways. Riley invites Ben to be her date at a work party, but Ben’s efforts to prove he’s dependable fall short. Danny hopes to come to Riley’s rescue, but arrives only to find Riley getting friendly with another man (guest star Matt Dallas). Meanwhile, Tucker schemes to go out with a model, and Bonnie attempts to get to know a handsome stranger…with a little help from Emma.

–Dallas has officially been renewed for a third season by TNT. Season three is set to have 15 episodes and launch in early 2014, though there’s no word on if they’ll run consecutively or if some will be held for a summer run.

-Months before their debuts, Showtime’s summer and fall scripted programming have new teasers.
Dexter (June 30th – 9:00)
DEXTER stars Michael C. Hall in his Golden Globe and SAG Award-winning role as Dexter Morgan, a complicated and conflicted blood-spatter expert for the Miami police department. Season eight begins six months after LaGuerta’s murder – and Dexter is still managing life as a dad, brother, and serial killer. As Deb (series star Jennifer Carpenter) struggles to deal with the consequences of her actions, a mysterious woman comes to work with Miami Metro, offering first-hand information on Dexter’s past. The series also stars Desmond Harrington, C.S. Lee, Aimee Garcia, David Zayas, Geoff Pierson and James Remar.

Ray Donovan (June 30th – 10:00)
Set in the sprawling mecca of the rich and famous, RAY DONOVAN stars Emmy(R) and Golden Globe(R) Award nominee Liev Schreiber in his first lead television role as LA’s best professional fixer. Ray is the man called in to make the city’s celebrities,’ superstar athletes,’ and business moguls’ most complicated and combustible situations go away. This powerful drama unfolds when his father, Mickey Donovan, played by Oscar(R) winner Jon Voight, is unexpectedly released from prison, setting off a chain of events that shakes the Donovan family to its core.

Web Therapy (July 22nd – 11:00)
Season three finds Fiona (Lisa Kudrow) coming to terms with the new landscape of her life – her politically disgraced husband, Kip (Victor Garber), has run off with his male campaign manager; Fiona’s mother (Lily Tomlin) has started up a rival business called “Net Therapy” and has poached Fiona’s assistant Jerome (Dan Bucatinsky) to run it; her romantic friendship with media-mogul Austen (Alan Cumming) is on the rocks, now that he has fathered a child with hyper-sexualized Gina (Jennifer Elise Cox); she’s being investigated for campaign finance improprieties; and her unpublished manuscript is being adapted into a Broadway musical without her consent! All this, while she continues to offer “therapy” to the hapless clients who have wandered into her web…

Homeland (September 29th – 9:00)
HOMELAND Season 3 opens during the aftermath of the horrific terror attack that decimated the U.S. intelligence apparatus, and prompted a global manhunt for the world’s most wanted terrorist – Nick Brody (Damian Lewis). As Carrie (Claire Danes) and Saul (Mandy Patinkin) begin to pick up the pieces of their shattered professional and personal lives, they are swept up in the political and media firestorm surrounding the terror attack and the subsequent search for Brody’s whereabouts. The series also stars Morena Baccarin, Rupert Friend, Jackson Pace and Morgan Saylor.

Masters of Sex (September 29th – 10:00)
MASTERS OF SEX stars Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan, who will portray the real-life pioneers of the science of human sexuality, William Masters and Virginia Johnson. The series chronicles the unusual lives, romance and pop culture trajectory of Masters and Johnson. Their research touched off the sexual revolution and took them from a mid-western teaching hospital in St. Louis to the cover of Time magazine. The series is an adaptation of Thomas Maier’s book Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, The Couple Who Taught America How To Love.

-HBO has announced their documentary schedule for the summer. Included are Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer (June 10th), about the arrests of feminist art collective Pussy Riot; Love, Marilyn (June 17th), coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s death; Miss You Can Do It (June 24th), spotlighting the first woman with a disability who competed in the Miss USA pageant; Gideon’s Army (July 1st), following public defenders from the south and the challenges they face; Gasland Part II (July 8th), the follow-up to the Oscar nominated original film; The Crash Reel (July 15th), a look at the life of Kevin Pearce, the American snowboarding champion who suffered a traumatic brain injury while preparing for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics; The Cheshire Murders (July 22nd), exploring the triple rape-arson-homicide that rocked the quiet town of Cheshire, Ct. in July 2007; First Comes Love (July 29th), following director Nina Davenport’s quest to have a baby on her own; Casting By (August 5th), spotlighting Hollywood casting directors; and Americans in Bed (August 12th), features candid interviews with ten American couples – captured in the comfort of their own beds – as they openly discuss sex, infidelity and love.

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