FX is one of the few cable networks that does an executive session here at the press tour, and for good reason: they've having a heck of a good last couple of years, on both the comedy and drama fronts. And they seem to be very high on their new shows in development, including Justified, Louie, and a new show from Shawn Ryan called Terriers.

But network president John Landgraf mentioned that he's having lunch in the next few weeks with someone whose presence on the network could be potentially very interesting.

"I think I'm supposed to have lunch with Joss Whedon in two or three weeks," he told us, adding, "I have enormous respect for him."

Of course, a lunch doesn't mean that a Whedon-produced show is in the works. But the prospect of a Whedon show on FX in the next year or two is intriguing, given the network's envelope-pushing style.

What do you folks think an FX show by Joss Whedon would look like?

Over the past several years, TV fans have been fortunate enough to be able to say a proper good-bye to some of the medium's finest dramas ever made. Alias, The Wire, The West Wing, The Sopranos, and Six Feet Under have all bowed out within the past four years, and the list could go on. They all got "endings" - whether you liked them or not. However, none of them (save for The Wire and for entirely different reasons) were as consistently riveting as Vic Mackey's exploits on FX's The Shield.

Since the seventh and final season began airing, FX has sent critics the first 11 episodes. So, despite the fact that I've been in the know, I've tried to avoid sounding like "I have a secret" in my episode reviews. Still, I was in the dark like everyone else when it came to how it all ends. So imagine my glee when I received an invite last month to attend a screening of the show's final two installments followed by a Q&A with Shield creator Shawn Ryan.

You'd have thought that after 32 episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (premieres on FX, next Thursday, 9/18 at 10PM) that Mac, Dennis, Dee, Charlie, and Frank would have tackled just about anything you can think of that's offensive. They've hit on underage drinking, Nazis, sex offenders, dumpster babies, religion, retardation, homosexuality, and homeless people. Well I'm here to tell you that it's far from over. There's still plenty of off-color material for these five fools to rape (considering the context... I think that is the right word) and it isn't stopping with this season, which will run for 13 episodes. FX president John Landgraf has confirmed that 39 more episodes will follow. But I'm getting ahead of myself. My thoughts on the season four premiere are after jump.

It's amazing to me how different the standards of success are for cable and broadcast TV, even within the same company. Take FOX, for example: they just decided to cancel Drive, after what they saw as dismal ratings on their broadcast network. But on their cable network, FX, two shows that have gotten so-so ratings and very little critical buzz -- The Riches and Dirt -- are likely to be renewed, according to MediaWeek.

Speaking before a screening for their new Glen Close series, Damages, network president John Landgraf told the trade paper, "We're really happy with the performance of Dirt and The Riches, and I expect them to return." Apparently, the cumulative ratings garnered by multiple airings of each show's episodes put it on the same audience levels as the network's more established shows. Huh. Go figure.