men in trees

There's going to be a new lady swinging down Wisteria Lane this spring. Entertainment Tonight reported that Justine Bateman has signed onto Desperate Housewives for a few episodes. The actress, who will forever be remembered for playing Alex P. Keaton -- Michael J. Fox's -- sister Mallory on Family Ties, will be playing "a hip artist living with Gabby and Carlos."

• At 8, CBS has a new Big Brother.
• ABC has a new Wife Swap at 8, followed by new episodes of Supernanny and Men in Trees.
• FOX has new episodes of Moment of Truth and American Idol.
• NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal at 8.
• There's a new America's Next Top Model on The CW at 8.
• Also at 8: TCM has The Rat Race, then Boeing, Boeing (both starring Tony Curtis).
• At 9:30, HBO has a new In Treatment.
• At 10, NBC has a new Law and Order.
• Bravo has the season premiere of Top Chef at 10.
• TBS has two new episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne at 10.
• TV Land has a new High School Reunion at 10.
• Comedy Central has the season premiere of South Park at 10, then the series premiere of Lewis Black's Root of All Evil.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, FOX has a new American Idol, then a new Moment of Truth.
• CBS has a new Big Brother at 8.
• ABC has new episodes of Wife Swap, Supernanny, and Men in Trees.
• There's a new America's Next Top Model at 8 on The CW.
• At 9, NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal, followed by a new Law and Order.
• Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters at 9.
• At 9:30, HGTV has a new Design on a Dime.
• Also at 9:30: HBO has a new In Treatment.
• At 10, Bravo has a new Project Runway.
• STARZ has a new Head Case at 10, then a new Hollywood Residential.
• TV Land has the premiere of High School Reunion at 10.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Reno 911.

Check your local TV listings for more.

It was finally ABC's turn to unveil its winter schedule yesterday. There aren't many surprises in it except that Lost, as rumored, will now air on a new night and that Big Shots, who was benched last week, will get a fifth another chance. ABC's winter programming will also include the premieres of Cashmere Mafia, Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann, Eli Stone and Oprah's Big Give and the return of a few reality series, such as Supernanny and Wife Swap, to fill the void left when scripted series will have aired all their new episodes.

• At 8, ABC has a new Men in Trees, then new episodes of Women's Murder Club and 20/20.
• CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer at 8, followed by new episodes of Moonlight and Numb3rs.
• There's a new Next Great American Band on FOX at 8, then a new Don't Forget The Lyrics.
• The CW has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• PBS has a new NOW at 8, then new episodes of Washington Week and Bill Moyers Journal.
• At 9, Discovery has a new Man vs. Wild.
• Lifetime has a new Lisa Williams: Life Among The Dead at 9, followed by a new America's Psychic Challenge.
• HGTV has Decked For The Holidays at 9.
• At 10, E! has a new ep of The Soup.
• At 10:30, Food Network has a new Giada's Weekend Getaways.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, ABC has a new Men In Trees, then new episodes of Women's Murder Club and 20/20.
• CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer at 8, followed by new episodes of Moonlight and Numb3rs.
• NBC has new episodes of Deal Or No Deal, Friday Night Lights, and Las Vegas.
• FOX has a new Next Great American Band, then a new Don't Forget The Lyrics.
• There's a new NOW on PBS at 8, then new episodes of Washington Week and Bill Moyers Journal.
• The CW has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• AMC has Blazing Saddles at 8, then Psycho.
• Also at 8: Sci-Fi has a new Flash Gordon.
• At 9, Discovery has a new Man vs. Wild.
• Lifetime has a new Lisa Williams: Life Among The Dead at 9, followed by a new America's Psychic Challenge.
• Food Network has a "Deep Fried Thanksgiving" episode of Paula's Party at 9.
• At 10, Sci-Fi has a new Stargate Atlantis.
• E! has a new ep of The Soup at 10.
• At 11, VH-1 has a new Best Week Ever.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Sweeps period is not only important for networks but also for TV viewers. Sweeps periods are when some of the biggest events in a TV series happen: deaths, explosions, extra special guest stars, etc.

To prepare you for November sweeps, I've combed through the networks' sweeps press releases and official episode descriptions and extracted what seems to be the juicy information for almost all scripted series on the five major networks.

All spoilers listed after the jump are actually spoilers the networks want you to know!

• At 8, ABC has a new Men In Trees, followed by new episodes of Women's Murder Club and 20/20.
• CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer at 8, then new episodes of Moonlight and Numb3rs.
• FOX has a new, two-hour Next Great American Band.
• NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal at 8, then new episodes of Friday Night Lights and Las Vegas.
• There's a new NOW on PBS at 8, followed by new episodes of Washington Week, Bill Moyers Journal, and Expose'.
• The CW has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• At 10, E! has a new episode of The Soup.
• Lifetime has a new America's Psychic Challenge at 10.
• At 10:30, Food Network has a new Giada's Weekend Getaways.
• At 11, HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher, with guests Valerie Plame Wilson and Joseph Wilson, Martin Short, Markos Moulitsas, and Alison Stewart.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, FOX has a new, two-hour Next Great American Band.
• CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer at 8, then new episodes of Moonlight and Numb3rs.
• NBC has new episodes of Deal Or No Deal, Friday Night Lights, and Las Vegas (cast of Magnum, P.I. reunion!).
• PBS has a new NOW at 8, then new episodes of Washington Week, Bill Moyers Journal, and Expose'.
• There's a new Smackdown! on The CW at 8.
• The Travel Channel has Halloween's Most Extreme at 8.
• At 8:30, Nick has a new Avatar: The Last Airbender.
• Also at 8:30: Disney has a new Wizards of Waverly Place.
• At 9, ABC has a new Women's Murder Club, followed by a new Men In Trees.
• Lifetime has a new Lisa Williams: Life Among The Dead at 9, followed by a new America's Psychic Challenge.
• Food Network has a new Paula's Party at 8, then a new Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels.
• Sci-Fi has a new Flash Gordon at 9, then a new Stargate Atlantis.
• VH-1 has a new Best Week Ever at 9.
• At 10, E! has a new ep of The Soup.
• At 11, HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher, with guests General Wesley Clark, Andrew Sullivan, Martina Navratilova, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, and David Frost.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Do you love ABC's new schedule? Don't get too used to it.

October Road, the drama critics hate but viewers seem to love, returns to the ABC lineup on November 22 at 10pm, for one night only. Then it moves to Monday nights after Dancing with the Stars ends its season. The new Monday night schedule will be Samantha Who? at 9pm, Notes From The Underbelly at 9:30, and then October Road at 10pm. No word on what's going on at 8, but there might be a Dancing with the Stars spinoff going in that slot.

A Dancing with the Stars spinoff. FANTASTIC.

• At 8, FOX has the two hour series premiere of The Next Great American Band.
• ABC has a new 20/20 at 8, followed by new episodes of Women's Murder Club and Men In Trees.
• CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer at 8, then new episodes of Moonlight and Numb3rs.
• NBC has new episodes of Deal Or No Deal, Friday Night Lights, and Las Vegas.
• There's a new Smackdown on The CW at 8.
• PBS has a new NOW at 8, then new episodes of Washington Week and Bill Moyers Journal.
• At 9, Lifetime has a new Lisa Williams: Life Among The Dead.
• CNBC has the special October '87: Crash and Comeback at 9.
• Food Network has a new Paula's Party at 9.
• Also at 9: Sci-Fi has a new Flash Gordon, then a new Stargate Atlantis.
• At 10:30, Cartoon Network has a new Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends.
• At 11, HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher, with guests John Edwards, Chris Matthews, Joel Stein, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, and Garry Kasparov.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 7, FOX has the first game of the Indians/Red Sox playoffs.
• At 8, ABC has a new 20/20, then the series premiere of Women's Murder Club and the season premiere of Men In Trees.
• CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer at 8, followed by new episodes of Moonlight and Numb3rs.
• NBC has new episodes of Deal Or No Deal, Friday Night Lights, and Las Vegas.
• The CW has a new Friday Night Smackdown at 8.
• There's a new NOW on PBS at 8, then new episodes of Washington Week and Bill Moyers Journal.
• At 9, Food Network has a new Paula's Party.
• Sci-Fi has a new Flash Gordon at 9, followed by a new Stargate Atlantis.
• Also at 9: TV Guide Network has Heroes: The Return, a behind the scenes look at the sci-fi show.
• At 10, TBS has the second game of the Rockies/Diamondbacks playoffs.
• E! has a new ep of The Soup at 10.
• At 11, HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher, with guests Vicente Fox, Joy Behar, Tucker Carlson, Paul Krugman, and Naomi Klein.

Check your local TV listings for more.

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we'll supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com or call and leave a message at 917-421-9477 (NY) - your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have: CSI: Miami, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, Men In Trees, Nip/Tuck, Prison Break, Smallville, The Office, and Ugly Betty. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

Ex-Practice star Kelli Williams will have an arc on Men in Trees this season. She'll play a love interest for Jack (James Tupper). The story is that Jack goes out of town for a spell to do some work and finds himself falling for a married woman, played by Williams. She'll appear in 5-6 episodes, starting with episode 7 this next season.

Sounds a little bit like art is imitating real life here, with Tupper hooking up with his married co-star Anne Heche last year.

Also? Sounds like Justine Bateman must be leaving the show because the last time we saw Men in Trees (last February), Jack was dedicated to his relationship with Lynn.

ABC had so much star and producer power attending its All-Stars party for the TV Critics at the Beverly Hilton last night, it had to have had to have two -- count 'em two -- tip sheets (one with stars; one with producers) for the media.

There was one typo, however For some reason, Marc Cherry was listed on the producers' list; sure, he's Desperate Housewives' top exec, but the man should have been put on the talent tip sheet, too. He knows how to tease a season and entertain a table full of reporters like no other!

Cherry gave the scoop on new characters played by Dana Delany and Nathan Fillion -- also, a preview of what's ahead for the other ladies of Wisteria Lane.