'Parks and Recreation' stands very tall next to 'Boardwalk Empire' on the American Film Institute's list of Top 10 TV shows of 2011. Can you imagine a meeting between Leslie Knope and Nucky Thompson?

A who's who of veteran shows and critical darlings filled out the rest of the list, some for the first time. 'The Good Wife,' 'Parks,' 'Louie,' and 'Justified' are all brand new entries to AFI's year-end list.

Showtime's 'Homeland' and HBO's 'Game of Thrones' were the only new 2011 shows to make the list.

Take a peek at the full list below.

Alanis Morissette is staying 'Up All Night.'

According to TVLine, Morissette will play a former member of Ava's (Maya Rudolph) music group, Sound LLC. Talk show host Ava's musical past was previously touched upon when Lonely Island's Jorma Taccone guest starred as her ex-boyfriend.

Morissette has previously done guest spots on 'Sex and the City,' 'Weeds,' 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' and 'American Dreams.' Her episode is set to air in early 2012.

In other casting news ...

FX has released it's 2012 midseason schedule, and the network will open its new year with their hit drama 'Justified.'

The network's new age Western, which stars Timothy Olyphant as U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, comes back on Tues., Jan. 17 at 10PM ET. This season, Raylan finds himself facing off against dirty politics, a mysterious man named "Limehouse" and a lethal criminal from the Motor City.

FX also released the premiere dates of Season 3 of 'Archer' (Thurs., Jan. 19 at 10PM ET) and its new animated comedy 'Unsupervised,' which will air after 'Archer' at 10:30 PM ET.

Use this Thanksgiving break -- and Christmas too -- to rest up. Don't overdo it during the holidays. You'll need to be strong to survive the onslaught of good TV that is coming in the new year.

The trailers below remind us that 'Justified,' the terrific FX drama starring Timothy Olyphant as a U.S. Marshal, comes back in January.

Also returning that month: 'Portlandia' (Jan. 6), 'Downton Abbey' (Jan. 8), 'Shameless' (Jan. 8), 'Spartacus' (Jan. 27), and that's to say nothing of the new shows that'll premiere that month, notably HBO's 'Luck' and Showtime's 'House of Lies.' It's going to be a busy, busy time.

Your next question no doubt is: What day does 'Justified' premiere? Well, we don't have an exact date yet, but I'll keep you posted if one is announced.

'The X Files' star Annabeth Gish is heading to 'CSI.'

According to EW, Gish will star in a three episode arc as a childhood friend from Catherine Willows' (Marge Helgenberger) past. Gish's character, Laura, is married to a billionaire military contractor honcho who is investigated by the CSI team. It turns out he may be involved in an arms theft.

Gish's arc starts with episode nine.

Marg Helgenberger is rumored to be leaving the series after the first 12 episodes, could Gish's character be involved in her character's departure?

In other casting news ...

'Justified' has lined up its new bad guys. Neal McDonough and Mykelti Williamson will guest star throughout Season 3.

According to EW, McDonough will recur as Quarles, a mobster from Detroit who comes to town with intentions of becoming a crimelord. Williamson plays Limehouse, a man who is desperate to protect his land.

Jeremy Davies will also return to the FX series. Season 3 premieres in January.

In other casting news ...

Whether or not Margo Martindale wins a best supporting actress Emmy on Sunday, the nomination for her role on FX's 'Justified' has already had an impact on her life.

I spoke to her last month about her new role in the promising CBS drama 'A Gifted Man,' and she said she was both surprised by the Emmy nomination and gratified by how it had raised her profile after decades in the entertainment industry.

"It's lovely to be treated with such respect," Martindale said. "That has changed, and I think it changed with 'Justified.' I have been working for a long time, but it makes me feel great at my age to have a wonderful dressing room, for people to tell me how wonderful I am at what I'm doing."

Critics tend to rave about dramas like 'Boardwalk Empire,' 'Game of Thrones,' 'The Good Wife,' 'Mad Men' and 'Justified,' so it was no surprise to learn that all those awards picked up multiple nominations from the Television Critics Association, which announced its TCA Awards nominees Monday.

The Television Critics Association is an organization of more than 200 television critics and journalists, and this year, the group made some pretty unimpeachable choices.

On the comedy side, 'Parks and Recreation,' 'Louie,' 'Modern Family' and 'Community' picked up multiple nominations.

Raylan Givens fans are in for something of a dry spell. Now that the second season of FX's outstanding 'Justified' is over, we'll likely have to wait until early 2012 to see the U.S. Marshall again. The good news is that we'll also get a new Raylan Givens novel, appropriately titled 'Raylan,' from Elmore Leonard early next year.

At the Peabody Awards ceremony on Monday, Leonard spoke about the show -- the first television adaptation of his work to have both staying power and critical acclaim -- and I also sat down to talk with Graham Yost, the show's creator and executive producer, about what transpired in season 2 and where the show might go in season 3.

There are no spoilers as such in what's below, but it sounds as though the stories of Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) and fellow Harlan, Kentucky native Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) will be even more deeply intertwined going forward.

The magnificent season finale of 'Justified' had one flaw. Well, okay, it wasn't a flaw -- the season finale was actually perfect. I still reserve the right to be disappointed that the season had to end at all.

If you got hooked on the second season of 'Justified,' which is the leading contender for best drama of 2011 in my humble opinion, you probably would have happily spent another dozen hours with Raylan Givens, Mags Bennett and the story of vengeance that connected not only them but the many wily characters in their world.

Sadly, we had to say goodbye to the second season of FX drama on Wednesday night. But what a tremendous way to go out.

The season wrapped on 'Justified' (Weeknights, 11PM ET on FX) and, like a great novel, it brought a satisfying sense of closure, as well as taking us full circle. The pacing, tone and presentation of this show is something special on television, capturing the mood of the Old West beautifully.

Long stretches of quiet and mellowness interspersed with bursts of wild violence punctuating the malaise. This season saw the Bennetts at the center of most of the insanity, led brilliantly by Margo Martindale as family matriarch Mags.

In control from the moment we laid eyes on her, she maintained that control until the end. But not before a magnanimous -- though ultimately futile -- gesture.

This week on the Talking TV podcast, Ryan McGee and I spent a long time talking about two of our current favorites, 'Justified' and 'Fringe,' both of which air their season finales this week.

Be sure to check back here Thursday and Saturday for my thoughts on how these fine dramas ended their seasons.

Also, as we did in last week's podcast, we also took on a couple of reader questions. One related to commercials that air alongside clips for TV shows, and one asked about how and why programs change showrunners. Running times are below.

The penultimate episode of this stellar second season of 'Justified' (Wed., 10PM ET on FX) saw Raylan Givens at the end of his nerves. But was he so far frayed he would kill an unarmed man?

Maybe if that man was Dickie Bennet, the same little weasel who'd just killed his Aunt Helen in cold blood. As great as Timothy Olyphant is as Givens, Jeremy Davies ('Lost') has been a revelation as the stupider than stupid, but devious and twisted, Bennett.

So when Raylan handcuffed Dickie and drug him into the middle of the woods, we got one of the most intense and wonderful scenes of the entire series so far. Was this going to be just another chapter in the long feud between their families.

On 'Justified' (Wed., 10PM ET on FX), there's been bad blood between the Bennetts and the Givenses for decades. Dickie Bennett (Jeremy Davies from 'Lost') was U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens' high school nemesis, and Dickie has the knee injury to prove it. (Raylan whacked it with his baseball bat.)

Now the tiff is between Dickie and Raylan's dad Arlo. But when he shows up at the Arlo's house, only his wife Helen is there.

"You best be gone when he gets back. Otherwise he's gonna make what Raylan did to your knee feel like a hand j-- from an angel," she tells him.

"If Arlo cares about you at all, the only thing that he's gonna be doing when he gets back home is figuring out how to get me back what's mine."

Still unfazed, she preps her gun. Shots fly, and Helen cries out in pain.

'Justified' (10PM ET Wednesday, FX) has created a big problem for itself: Its excellent second season isn't even over, but I'm already wondering how it'll create a character as compelling as Mags Bennett when it returns next year.

It's definitely a high-class problem to have, and who's to say Mags won't stick around beyond season 2? (Here's hoping.) But at least we know that 'Justified,' which won a Peabody Award and got a much-deserved renewal last week, will get a third season in which to further explore Harlan County and the life of deputy U.S. marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant).

For fans of Mags and the woman who plays her, the extraordinarily versatile Margo Martindale, Wednesday's episode of 'Justified' is a particular treat, though it'd be hard for the show to top last week's outing, which should have been titled 'And the Emmy Goes to Margo Martindale.'