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Once upon a time, premium cable was kind of a one-trick pony. HBO was the go-to channel for original, risk-taking programming without the strictures and irritating commercial interruptions of broadcast network TV, and other pay-cable networks just couldn't rival HBO's subscriber base, impressive production budgets or awards season glory.

Thankfully, this is no longer the case, with both basic cable networks (like AMC and FX) and smaller, edgier premium channels (like Showtime and Starz) having stolen the spotlight from their pay-cable granddaddy over the past few years.

This Sunday, Showtime is debuting two of its most buzzworthy new series -- Matt LeBlanc's triumphant return to TV, the single-camera comedy 'Episodes,' and dysfunctional family drama 'Shameless,' starring William H. Macy. And, to sweeten the deal, the network is offering a free preview weekend from Jan. 7 through Jan. 10, so that 60 million homes will have the opportunity to get hooked on the new shows without subscribing. Three excellent reasons to predict that 2011 might be Showtime's strongest year yet; join us after the jump for more!

Andy Rooney is 90 years old, and has spent the greater half of the twentieth century (and well into the twenty-first) providing political and cultural insight to the masses through op-eds in both print and on CBS newsmagazine staple 60 Minutes. Despite remaining America's favorite most recognizable curmudgeon, Rooney's weekly diatribes have grown increasingly stale, and significantly more bizarre with each episode.

Any semblance of lucidity Rooney may have employed in ... I guess (?) what was once considered clever or funny or - at the very least - entertaining material has most assuredly fallen to the wayside. The scraps with which we've been left are, indeed, entertaining, but not for the reasons Rooney (or the producers of 60 Minutes) probably intended.