(S03E01) Wow, I missed this show. This was far and away the best twenty-five minutes I spent this week. Why you ask?

Lloyd (upon realizing that James Woods hasn't been to Ari's new office): Oh, you haven't been up here yet?

James Woods: No, he's been hiding this place like Anne Frank.

Lines like that are why.

Get it? Sleeper Cell "wakes up?" That's a pun... fine, make fun of me later.

Showtime has ordered up a second season of it's acclaimed mini-series Sleeper Cell. Here's a question though. Why did they call it a mini-series? Wasn't it ten episodes long? Shouldn't that make it just a season? Last I checked, ten episodes wasn't very "mini." Anywho, the second go around will have eight episodes, and according to the press release both stars Michael Ealy and Oded Fehr will be back. Last year's two-hour finale will set the stage for the coming events. Production is set to start later this summer.

First it looked like there wasn't going to be a fourth season of Deadwood at all. Then David Milch said he was trying to raise the $60 million himself for another season. Now comes official word that Milch and HBO have reached a deal. After this third season, the show will wrapup with two two-hour movies.

Interestingly, HBO did offer Milch a fourth season. But it was for only 6 episodes, and Milch didn't want to do that. So they're going with the movies instead.

Entourage's Johnny Chase isn't exactly an A list star, and his resume proves it. Even when he's been on a well-known, hit TV show, like Friends or Melrose Place or Law and Order: SVU, it's usually in small roles like "dead body," "drunk frat guy," or, um, "dead body."

My favorite parts of the resume: under Special Skills it says "Pasty Arts," and he lists his PS 159 performance of Lords Of Flatbush. That must have been an advanced school.

Oh, and he has no agent. Sad.

You can always count on Bill Maher to cut to the very heart of the matter. He's interviewed at Time.com about his new Amazon.com show, his politics, where he gets his daily news, and about whether or not Katie Couric will do a good job as the new anchor over at CBS (side note: someone should tell the folks over at Time's site that there is a "bold" function in most web programs):

Will you watch Katie Couric?

I think she'll probably read the teleprompter the same way the others did.

Ha!

[via TV Newser]

(S02E10) I was starting to wonder what the story arc for the rest of this season would be and it's finally starting to take shape: the similarities and comparisons between Craig and his father, Ben. It comes at a poignant time too. Now that Ben is gone for good (I honestly don't think he'll be back), it's left Craig to inherit all his father's flaws and mistakes. As much as Craig wants to not become his father, he has and it'll probably take him the rest of the season to realize that. Also, you might notice that I'm referring to Huff as "Craig" and not as "Huff." I have a point to make there, I swear. But I'll get to that later.

Here's an update to our earlier news that David Milch had confirmed that Deadwood was, indeed, dead: Milch himself is trying to raise the $60 million dollars he would need to continue the series! I guess that HBO hasn't given a definite "no" to another season of the western, so Milch is trying to save the show himself. Milch says:

"I'm doing what I can ... any financial participation could take the pressure off. HBO hasn't said no ... if I were a gambling guy, which I am, I'd say odds are less than even money."

Milch says the actors were shocked that HBO said no to another season too. Stay tuned ...

[via TV Tattle]

While everyone is BBQ'ing this weekend, HBO and Showtime have both made the wise choice of holding off on new episodes of The Sopranos and Huff this Sunday night. Instead, HBO will run a mini-marathon on the past three episodes of The Sopranos ("The Ride," "Moe n' Joe,"and "Cold Stones") starting at 9PM. The Sopranos will return the following Sunday (June 4) with the mid-season finale entitled "Kaisha."

Over on Showtime, this Sunday night at 10 will be a re-run of the Huff two-hour season two premiere, "Maps Don't Talk." Huff will also return on Sunday, June 4 with a new episode entitled "Bethless" at 10PM. It's the first of three new episodes before the season two finale which airs on Sunday, June 25.

Starz is getting in on the reality show phenomenon (arguably, a little late). Starting June 19, it will air ten-minute episodes of a new reality show where the winner gets a role in a new movie starring Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, and Jessica Biel. The series follows more than 200 actors from auditions to the winner's appearance on set of the movie, Next. I'm not sure if the series is meant to deter people from becoming actors or inspire them-- or maybe it's simply a behind-the-scenes look at landing a role in a movie. The series is called Looking for Stars.

IFC, aka Independent Film Channel, has added two new half-hour programs to its summer line-up. The first, called The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman, is about two best friends who are struggling to make it in Hollywood. One is a screenwriter and the other is an aspiring producer. Laura Kightlinger, head writer of Will & Grace, created and stars. The second series, called The Business, follows the bumbling cast of a previous series called The Festival as they try to make a movie.

Also this summer on IFC, June is Pulp Indies month, including Pulp Fiction, Dirty Pretty Things and the director's cut of Dawn of the Dead. And July is Queer Month, featuring an IFC original documentary, Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema.

(S02E09) I often find that this show has a lot in common with Curb Your Enthusiasm. Mainly, that it frequently makes me feel uncomfortable during certain scenes. You know something is good when it literally puts you off just by watching it. In particular, one of the final scenes between Huff and Beth was done quite well. So well that I almost stopped watching because I felt so bad. But we'll come back to that.

Elsewhere in the Huffstodt home, Ben is back! He even went out of his way to get Izzy her license back... by threatening a judge. He laughed when he told her how he got it, but I actually believe him. I wouldn't put anything past Ben Huffstodt, especially now that we found out why Ben is back in town: he's in debt to the Malaysian mob. Good times.

David Milch pretty much confirms the news we posted last week, that Deadwood will vanish after this third season. And in true Deadwood fashion, Milch had this to say:

"How &%$#@! is it that we're not coming back?"

Milch also confirms that it was HBO that decided not to pick up the options on the cast, which freed the actors to go look for other work. Milch doesn't sound too happy about it, but he's still busy. He's working on the new surfer drama John From Cincinnati, which the same network is interested in.

In news that might be kind of a shock for fans, it looks like the upcoming third season of Deadwood might be the last.

HBO is letting the cast "explore their options," which bascially means that they are free to consider other options.  In fact, creator/writer David Milch is exploring his own option, concentrating on a new surfer drama for HBO titled John From Cincinnati.

More on this as it develops ...

(thanks to Dave for the heads up)

(S02E07) The Huffstodt home just can't have a quiet evening. With everything going on in this family, it's a wonder they haven't tried to kill each other... knock on wood. For the most part, the problems seem to be stemming from Ben. He's still hanging around, after he supposedly only had ten hours before he had to go away forever to who knows where. The odd thing is that he's suddenly taken quite the interest in his estranged family. I'm starting to think that maybe he's sick.

They gave us the impression that he's no longer with his Chinese (Japanese? Korean? I forget...) wife and he's clearly looking for some company. The only problem is that nobody, especially Izzy, wants Ben sticking around. In one of the most powerful scenes so far this season, Izzy completely went off on Ben and you can clearly see why Danner won the Emmy for best supporting actress in a drama series last year.

(S02E06) Once again, this show continues to mesmerize me. So many different and varied things happened in this episode that it boggles my mind when you think about how well it all flowed together. Only this show could hop back and forth between a tearful father/son reunion and crystal-meth fueled house party.

Yes, in case you skimmed that first paragraph, I did say father/son reunion. Ben Huffstodt is back, he's only got ten hours until he has to disappear forever, and in true Ben Huffstodt fashion we have no idea why. But before he goes, he wants to see Teddy and maybe Izzy. Obviously, he comes to Craig first. For those that saw the first season of Huff, you may have noticed that Ben looked a little different. Formerly played by Robert Forster, the role of Ben Huffstodt now belongs to Tom Skerritt and I thought he handled the role much better (even though it seemed like a different character).