lietome

I had just gotten into watching The L Word when it got the ax, but at least now we can see more of Jennifer Beals. She guest-starred in two episodes of Lie to Me last season, and will have a recurring role in the upcoming season, playing Assistant U.S. Attorney Zoe Landau, Cal Lightman's ex-wife and mother of their teenage daughter.

Mekhi Phifer (Dr. Gregory Pratt from ER), who also appeared in two episodes, will come back as FBI agent Reynolds, brought in as a liaison between the Lightman Group and the FBI for those tough cases the FBI can't solve through traditional methods.

The show's second season kicks off Sept. 28 with Shawn Ryan as the new showrunner. He's got some great creds, having worked on The Unit, The Shield and Angel.

Lie to Me really seems to be picking up steam heading into its second season. We gotten a little hooked on it in this household, meaning it isn't "must-see" TV, but if we know it's on, we'll definitely check it out -- and pick up a few pointers on lie detection from Cal Lightman and crew.

Anyone else watching Lie to Me?

Mekhi Phifer and Jennifer Beals return to 'Lie to Me,' Rumer Willis joins '90210,' Neil Patrick Harris will host another awards show and more of today's top TV headlines.

Fox is planning to enter the upcoming fall TV season a bit later this year.

Today, the network announced premiere dates for its biggest new and returning series, including 'House,' 'Fringe' and a brand new season of 'So You Think You Can Dance,' set to air beginning Sat., Sept. 12. This is the first time in years where Fox will debut shows closer to TV's official premiere week (beginning Sept. 21), according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Check out the full list of premiere dates after the jump.

Fox showed some surprising stability in its schedule (our network is growing up) for the 2009-2010 season. But they are bringing in four new comedies, two dramas and a late night Saturday show.

Returning Summer: Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, Don't Forget the Lyrics!, So You Think You Can Dance

Returning Fall/Winter: 24, American Dad, American Idol, Bones, Dollhouse,, Family Guy, Fringe, House, Kitchen Nightmares, Lie to Me, The Simpsons, 'Til Death (for some reason), So You Think You Can Dance (yeah, two separate seasons summer and fall)

Gone: Do Not Disturb, King of the Hill (though there's still episodes in the can which will air sometime next year), Prison Break (a 2-hour film is being produced that may air next year), Sit Down Shut Up, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

New: Brothers, The Cleveland Show, Glee (sneak peek tomorrow), Human Target, Past Life, Sons of Tucson, The Wanda Sykes Show (late night Saturdays)

The schedule and some details on the new shows after the jump.

Do the American people really like watching their favorite shows this way? Assuming you have more than one or two shows you enjoy following, this week is daunting to say the least and beyond exhausting. Just last night I had a three-hour finale of The Biggest Loser and that awesome Fringe finale. In the past few days we've said goodbye to The Amazing Race, The Apprentice, Cold Case, The Unit, Brothers & Sisters, The Big Bang Theory, House and Castle. And that's just on the major networks.

Over the next two days we have America's Next Top Model, Lie to Me, Lost, Bones, My Name Is Earl, Smallville, Parks & Recreation, CSI, Grey's Anatomy, Hell's Kitchen, The Office, Supernatural and even CSI: NY on a special night. And it goes on through the weekend. In an era where ratings are slipping, how can it make good business sense to put all of these finales on against one another all within a few days of each other. I know they've always done that, but I just don't think it makes sense anymore.

"When you try to hide an emotion ... you cannot inhibit the signal from being sent to the facial nerve, you can only compress the amount of time it shows for." -- Samuel Baum, creator of 'Lie to Me'

The average person lies three times in every 10 minutes of conversation. But after a quick training in lie detection, we couldn't read any fibs or half-truths happening on the L.A. set of Fox's newest hit drama, 'Lie to Me' (Wed. 9PM ET).

Based on the real-life work of Dr. Paul Ekman, 'Lie to Me' follows Dr. Cal Lightman (played by Tim Roth) and his team of human lie detectors for hire.

AOL TV got the scoop on the new show and sat down with Dr. Ekman, series creator Samuel Baum and the extremely candid cast to find out the secret behind lying, the curse of being able to detect lies and which newly elected high-ranking official (ahem, President Obama!) will be making an appearance on the show soon. --By Maggie Furlong

If there's one thing we know about the American television landscape, it's that there just aren't enough procedurals on the air. And while CBS has managed to snatch most of them up before anyone else can get their hands on one, it looks like FOX managed to sneak one by the almighty Eye. And as with most crime dramas of this sort, it must differentiate itself from the others by having a little twist all its own. Lie to Me offers that twist in the form of Tim Roth's character, Cal Lightman, who is essentially a human lie detector.

Loosely based on the findings of author and professor of psychology Paul Ekman, FOX was kind enough to send along Ekman's book, Telling Lies, with the pilot so I could follow along and see which of his strategies were used on the show. Yeah, I didn't do that.

'Lost'
(9PM, ABC) 5th season premiere
It's the kickoff of the penultimate season of the series, and with just 34 episodes to go before the Gilligans sail (?) off into the TV sunset forever, there's much storyline to unfold, beginning with tonight's quest by Jack and Ben to get the Oceanic Six back to the island.

That's going to be more complicated than the frienemies planned, however, as Hurley and Sayid are on the run from the police (leading to a delightfully funny moment for Hurley in a convenience store) and Kate goes on the lam when she faces a DNA test to prove she's Aaron's mom.

Meanwhile, back on the island (wherever it is), Sawyer and the others start to feel the effects of time travel.

With the new year comes a whole new batch of shows to watch -- everything from Whitney's big move to 'The City' to Edie Falco's big return to primetime.

Think your DVR can handle it all?

Check out our guide to what's new in midseason and see what everyone will be talking about in 2009.

Between the sessions for So You Think You Can Dance and Fringe, FOX Entertainment president Kevin Reilly happily took answers from the gathered critics. Perhaps the most interesting piece of news he unleashed on us was that the network is officially going to have two development seasons: the traditional one that ends in May with the upfronts, and a new one that ends in December, which will position the network to air pilots in the January/February time frame, a time Reilly called the network's "high season." (Which it is, of course, given the presence of the BCS and American Idol).

In fact, Reilly has eight pilots currently in development for consideration in December, far more than he had for this past May, due to the writers' strike and other reasons. Other interesting bits after the jump.

Lots of casting news for Fox pilots lately. Tim Roth, who recently appeared in The Incredible Hulk, is set to star in Fox's pilot Lie to Me. The show, which is produced by 20th TV and Imagine Entertainment, follows a researcher in the field of deception detection named Cal Lightman. Roth is also currently filming King Conqueror and 44 Inch Chest.

And the casting news doesn't end there. The CW made some announcements too. Brian Hallisay, who has appeared in Bones and Bionic Woman, will co-star in the CW's new drama called Privileged. The show is about Megan (played by Joanna Garcia), a woman who is hired to be a life coach for a pair of rich 16-year-old twins in Florida.