Restive 'Downton Abbey' fans need fret no more: PBS has confirmed that Season 2 will (finally!) premiere in the US on Sunday January 8, 2012. The AP reports Paula Kerger, PBS president, as saying that the abrupt ending to Season 1 and the paucity of episodes -- there were only four -- led to angry phone calls from fans, many of whom worried that PBS might not even air a second season.

PBS also has good news for 'Sherlock' fans. The 21st-century twist on Conan-Doyle's deerstalker-wearing detective will start its second season on PBS on Sunday May 6, 2012. Alas, it's only three episodes long, but fans can be assured that it should be a case of quality triumphing over quantity.

Other gems from the PBS spring lineup include a two-part examination of Bill Clinton's presidency, a look at some celebrity family trees by Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, and a series on American infrastructure, 'America Revealed,' hosted by winner of 'Survivor: Cook Islands,' Yul Kwon. More on these after the jump.

Bill Clinton may not be president anymore, but he's still very much invested in the future of this country, and presents his strategy for creating jobs and climbing out of this economic downturn. More than that, though, his new book 'Back to Work' uses historical trends and data to instill hope in America that this is not an inevitable downward spiral. On 'The Daily Show' (Weeknights, 11PM ET on Comedy Central) he talked passionately about the state of the country.

You could tell that Clinton is very focused on the importance of hope and patience for the American public. He even managed to stay on task when Jon Stewart couldn't resist slipping in a joke at Herman Cain's expense, related to the sexual harassment allegations. Clinton just kept on pressing his message.

With a political powerhouse like Bill Clinton on 'Late Show' (Weeknights, 11:35PM ET on CBS), David Letterman couldn't resist talking about some of the serious issues plaguing the United States today.

He couldn't understand why people who aren't struggling in these trying times aren't willing to have their taxes raised.

"If I was the kind of person who was struggling financially, and I saw somebody who wasn't, I would be more than happy to assail them for doing their fair share," he said.

But, as he argued, he's always looking to blame somebody, which he thinks is human nature. Clinton disagrees.

After being criticized for including some frankly bland reality stars and celebrity offspring as contestants, 'Dancing With the Stars' producers have long been rumored to be pursuing A-listers.

And who's more A-list than the former leader of the free world? Incredible as it may seem, Bill Clinton says that 'DWTS' did once offer him a spot on the show.

When a member of the audience on 'The Rachael Ray Show' asked Clinton if he'd ever appear on 'DWTS' and, if so, what would his best dance moves be, he laughed and said "Well, that's really interesting ..."

Clinton then told an astonished host and studio audience that "They contacted me once about this and I told them I didn't have the time to train for it. You know, you have to train, you really work at it. So I had to pass."

Chris Tucker once traveled to Africa with then-President Bill Clinton. But it was his impression of the president that led to a lifelong friendship. An impression Clinton apparently forced Tucker to perform for foreign dignitaries, according to what he told Jay Leno on 'The Tonight Show' (Weeknights, 11:35PM ET on NBC).

Everyone who dabbled in comedy during the '90s had a Bill Clinton impression, and Clinton overheard Chris Tucker and Kevin Spacey doing theirs on this African trip. He absolutely loved it, asking them to do it for him constantly.

"It'd be in front of the president of Nigeria, and I'd be scared if I mess up I might go to jail in the country or something," Tucker said of when Clinton used to ask him to perform for other people.

Nearly 30 years of one of American television's most storied and beloved traditions (i.e. portraying our presidents as moronic simpletons whose inability to tie their own shoes could send the country to Defcon 3) came to a glorious fountain of awesomeness at Funnyordie.com.

The website premiered a new public service announcement on federal finance laws directed by Ron Howard in the form of a very funny "Presidential Reunion" sketch that features the likes of Will Ferrell, Darrell Hammond, Dana Carvey, Dan Aykroyd and even Chevy Chase reviving their classic impressions of former presidents including (respectively) George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George Bush Sr., Jimmy Carter and (the most hilarious in my opinion) Gerald Ford who come together to help the beleaguered Barack Obama, played by Fred Armisen. Jim Carrey also stepped in the room to play Ronald Reagan probably because Randy Quaid is nuttier than a Payday bar these days.

Bag up? Pull out? New school? Old school? It's just another night of Tracy Morgan and Jon Stewart talking about safe sex on 'The Daily Show With Jon Stewart' (weeknights, 11PM ET on COM).

Somehow, Morgan managed to work Bill Clinton and Harlem into the conversation, too. Wait, is Stewart blushing? Yes, we're pretty sure he's blushing.

Watch the video after the jump.

USA may bring back 'Law & Order: CI' for a ninth season, Bob Saget is returning to 'America's Funniest Videos,' Oprah books 'Mad Men''s Jon Hamm and January Jones and more of today's top TV headlines.

'Parenthood' may swap Maura Tierney for Helen Hunt, Patrick Swayze passes away, Tina Fey, Simon Baker and others to present at the Emmys and more of today's top TV headlines.

-- Suffering from 'American Idol' and 'Dancing With the Stars' withdrawal? Here's how to get through it [NY Daily News]

-- The Paley Center and NBC recently counted down the 50 funniest TV phrases, which included quotes from shows like 'The Simpsons,' 'Friends' and yada, yada, yada ... [Seacost Online]

-- With all the Susan Boyle hoopla happening right now, are you actually following 'Britain's Got Talent'? [Buzz Sugar]

-- Ever wonder what TV shows former President Bill Clinton watches? Now's your chance to find out [NY Times]

We all have tremendous respect for you, Frost/Nixon writer Peter Morgan (yes, that is what I call him when we're hanging out drinking espressos and doing the crosswords), but do you really think the Clinton story America is just dying to see dramatized is the relationship between former president Bill and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair? Unless "The Special Relationship," as they're calling it, involves a special blue suit Mr. Blair kept for no explainable reason without cleaning it, I think there's better Clinton dramatics to be had.

Even if you don't go with the most sensational stories, there is a certain historic Presidential campaign. Hell, tell both stories from her perspective, that should be fun. Casting, should HBO greenlight the film, has Dennis Quaid playing Bill, Julianne Moore taking on the current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Michael Sheen (who played Frost in the aforementioned Frost/Nixon) playing Tony Blair. This would be his third film appearance as Blair, which makes you wonder if more people think Blair looks like Sheen than Blair.

One of the most recognizable figures in ABC News is saying goodbye to the daily grind. In his time with the network, Sam Donaldson has done it all, investigative reporter, anchor, host, talking head, and always with a distinctive, pugnacious style. After four decades at the job, ABC's Sam Donaldson is retiring.

He will be missed, especially at the network. Anchorman Charles Gibson acknowledged as much when he told the Washington Post that Donaldson's retirement "really is a loss of the bedrock" for ABC. These days, the big three have struggled to maintain their dominance in the news business with cable outlets offering so much blanket coverage compared to the nets. Sam Donaldson has been synonymous with ABC. He can't help but be missed. To this day, I think Ted Koppell is missed as well.

Dennis Haysbert recently claimed that his role as President Palmer on 24 may have helped pave the way for a viable African American presidential candidate. He went on to claim that his portrayal of Nelson Mandela in the movie Goodbye Bafana ended apartheid and that his role as Jonas Blane in The Unit cured polio. Haysbert was then wrestled to the ground by his handlers and is now "recuperating" at the Clay Aiken Home for Delusional Celebrities.

My first thought upon hearing this news was that Dennis Haysbert is obviously insane. Since I've been criticized in this space for not having an open mind about insane things, I decided to take Mr. Haysbert at his word. I then went even further and went to work putting together a list of other politicians who exist mainly due to the hard work done for them by TV actors. After researching Wikipedia for almost a full fifteen minutes, this is the list I've managed to put together...

(S04E17) I don't want to seem like I'm not happy for Jerry but did we really need to know so much about him losing his virginity and by "so much" I mean anything at all? More importantly, I have to call BS on Jerry's glowing review of his opening night performance. In my many years of "intimacy," some experiences have certainly been better than others but none of them have ever made me nostalgic for my first time. Not that I don't remember it fondly, it's just not something I would brag about and I really doubt that anyone involved would describe me as caring, respectful or wonderful.

I must admit, Mr. Kelley had me at "THE United States Supreme Court." This was a real test for Alan. On one hand, how does he justify defending a man convicted of raping a child? On the other hand, how will his huge ego be able to pass up the opportunity to argue in front of the highest court in the country?

Slate magazine is running an article regarding how weak most of what passes as political satire on television is. They quote heavily from Russell L. Peterson's new book Strange Bedfellows: How Late Night Comedy Turns Democracy into a Joke and also take some time to body-slam CNN's new comedy show, Not Just Another Cable News Show (Wait. What? CNN has a new comedy show on it? I thought that was the thing Wolf Blitzer hosted every day. Are you telling me that's not a comedy?)

Peterson's book, at first blush, seems to be another overly-alarmist, semi-academic attack on pop-culture -- Darrell Hammond is destroying democracy? Really? -- that I usually just ignore. Well, maybe it's the Tylenol PM I took to ease the pain of being in Utica tonight, but after reading Slate's discussion of it, I started to come around to Peterson's way of thinking...