upfronts

The CW held its annual upfronts today and its motto this year appears to be "everything old is new again," as next season's schedule will look nearly identical to last season's. The only new arrivals this fall: 'Nikita' and 'Hellcats,' which will replace outgoing shows 'Melrose Place,' 'Fly Girls' and 'High Society.'

Those changes will result in some shuffling of the schedule, however, with '90210' and 'One Tree Hill' swapping time slots; '90210' will now air on Mondays as lead in to 'Gossip Girl,' forming perhaps the cattiest block on television, while 'One Tree Hill' moves to Tuesdays and a more synergistic partner in 'Life Unexpected.' 'Supernatural,' meanwhile, jumps to Fridays to team with fellow sci-fi staple 'Smallville,' with 'Hellcats' and 'Nikita' filling the 9PM slots on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

The rumors of a Conan O'Brien appearance, plus the fact that a cello and two guitars were sitting on the stage that would host TBS and TNT's upfront presentation at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City this morning meant only one thing: Coco was gonna sing.

O'Brien, whose new nightly talk show on TBS will debut on Nov. 8, opened the networks' presentation to media buyers and members of the media with a video that hilariously showed what he's been up to since joining the ranks of the unemployed earlier this year. In short: He was spending time on his trampoline; making "health" shakes with protein, fruit, Doritos and Orange Crush; covering his toes with peanut butter and letting his dog, Mollie, lick it off; and enjoying the Pop-o-Matic action of Trouble all by himself. In fact, Eric Carmen's 'All By Myself' played in the background of the clip, which will almost certainly pop up on the Interwebs by the end of the day.

But then video Conan got the call from TBS, and live Conan appeared on stage, looking fit and bearded.

Who knew that, of all the broadcast networks, CBS would be the one making the most news during upfronts week? Not only did the Eye Net cancel a slew of shows, but it also decided to take one of their highest-rated comedies, 'The Big Bang Theory,' and use it to start a comedy block on Thursdays.

Think about that for a second: When was the last time CBS had comedies on Thursdays? Take a random tour through the various primetime schedules through the years, and you'll find out that it has happened rarely, if ever. But CBS knows what it has in 'Big Bang,' which is a strong show with an ardent following.

But it also knows what it doesn't have: a lot of strong competition, especially when it comes to comedy. Which is why this is a gamble that just might work.

It's a bird, it's a plane! Nope, it's just another TV show set to leave the small screen.

According to the Live Feed, the CW series 'Smallville' will officially end after next season, wrapping up an impressive 10 seasons on the air. The network is expected to make the official announcement at its upfront presentation on Thursday.

The story of Clark Kent's younger days (Tom Welling) has defied expectations after a move to Friday, averaging a stunning 2.35 million viewers this season.

In its prime, 'Smallville' averaged 6.30 million viewers.

Earlier today, Welling broke the news to Hollywood Life.

Conan O'Brien's new late-night talk show will make its official TBS debut on Nov. 8.

O'Brien himself flew in for the presentation, held this morning in New York, to sing the praises of his new network. "They believe in me, I believe in them, and I cannot wait to get back to having fun on television again. That's all I want to do," he said, according to the NY Times.

Staying true to form, Conan also saved time for a few jokes. "Thanks Steve for that blank creative check," he said of Turner exec Steve Koonin. O'Brien also quipped that he plans to use his talk show to pick up where 'Hee-Haw' left off.

CBS surprised many TV insiders yesterday when it canceled seven series -- four dramas and three comedies.

Although many expected the Eye network's upcoming fall schedule to remain relatively unchanged, the axing of veteran dramas 'Cold Case,' 'Ghost Whisperer' and 'Numbers,' mid-season replacement 'Miami Medical' and sitcoms 'Accidentally On Purpose,' 'Gary Unmarried' and one-time hit 'New Adventures of Old Christine' freed up 5 1/2 hours on its time table.

So many open slots allowed the network to re-jigger it's schedule, most notably moving 'The Big Bang Theory' from its Monday-night berth to anchor Thursday night, followed by '$#*! My Dad Says.' Other notable changes include 'Survivor's' move to Wednesdays and 'CSI: Miami's' move to Sundays.

ABC has announced its new fall schedule packed with stars from Dana Delany to Matthew Perry. Interested in whether these shows can fill the void of 'Lost'?

Check out the video clips and my initial opinions on ABC's new lineup including 'Body of Proof,' 'Detroit 1-8-7' and 'Mr. Sunshine.' Be warned, I am always skeptical of new shows and these opinions are based off of only a few clips, not full episodes. My tune may change once the entire pilots make their way to the TV Squad offices.

'Body of Proof'
Delany is a capable actress. She reinvigorated 'Desperate Housewives' and ABC is very keen on her. In her new Friday drama, Delany plays Dr. Megan Hurt, a neurosurgeon turned medical examiner who is known for getting a little too involved in the police department's investigations. The clips served up by ABC show Dr. Hurt's fractured family life -- her daughter won't talk to her -- and her relationship with the police.

It looks like 'One Tree Hill' will live on for another season

According to the Live Feed, the CW gave the longrunning series a surprise renewal order today, while also picking up the low-rated freshman dramedy 'Life Unexpected.'

This will mark 'One Tree Hill's' eighth season on the air.

Meanwhile, the CW also made room for two newbie series. First up is 'Nikita,' starring Maggie Q as a rogue assassin.

Also getting picked up today: 'Hellcats,' a new series about a competitive cheerleading squad at a Southern university. Ashley Tisdale of 'High School Musical' fame stars alongside singer-actress Aly Michalka.

And now for the bad news: The CW has decided not to renew its 'Melrose Place' reboot for a second season, according to Variety. 'Merlose' is the network's only scripted series not returning next season.

Apparently, Heather Locklear can't save everything.

CBS officially canceled seven series today, the Live Feed is reporting.

Among the shows axed is the Sunday-night procedural 'Cold Case,' which slipped in the ratings in recent seasons but still drew relatively decent numbers in its 10PM timeslot. 'Cold Case' ends after seven seasons on the network.

Meanwhile, in a somewhat surprising decision, CBS will bid farewell to its steady Friday-night drama 'Ghost Whisperer,' starring Jennifer Love Hewitt.

'The New Adventures of Old Christine' will also depart the network this season, though it's possible it may be saved by ABC. No official decision has been made.

Yesterday, FOX unveiled its Upfront presentation at the historic Beacon Theatre on Manhattan's Upper West Side. One of the reasons why TV critic types like the upfront presentations, even though they're designed and presented for advertisers and not journalists, is the potential for potshots from the executives and painful banter from the network's stars.

Neither really took place at FOX's presentation. Aside from network entertainment president Kevin Reilly getting a dressing down from Jane Lynch as 'Glee's' Sue Sylvester -- she made fun of his teeth, hair and "local weatherman" look -- and a slight jab at NBC from Reilly -- which, given his history with Jeff Zucker and company, is almost a reflex for him -- the presentation was straightforward and confident. That's what you get when you're first in primetime for six consecutive years, as the network's execs claimed.

But between the executives' celebratory talk and the rousing rendition of Madonna's 'Like A Prayer', which closed things out, FOX showed everyone previews of their new shows. And the new slate is interesting to say the least. Clips and comments are after the jump.

Fresh off of NBC's recently canceled 'Heroes,' Greg Grunberg is joining the cast of 'Love Bites' as a series regular, TV Guide has confirmed.

Grunberg appears in the pilot of NBC's love anthology series from 'Sex and the City' writer Cindy Chupack as a married man who has a steamy in-flight encounter with guest star Jennifer Love Hewitt, who plays herself.

Meanwhile, fans hoping for some resolution to 'Heroes' and its sweeping mythology are not out of luck. NBC has made it know it wants to wrap up the series in some manner. Check out the full report here.

'Love Bites' also stars Becki Newton from 'Ugly Betty' and Jordana Spiro of 'My Boys' fame. The series follows several different stories of love and romance. 'Love Bites' will air Thursday nights at 10PM, beginning this fall.

Check out the trailer ...

ABC has announced its new fall schedule ahead of its upfront presentation, slated for later today in New York City. The network has picked up five new dramas including 'No Ordinary Family,' 'Detroit 187,' 'The Whole Truth,' 'Body of Proof' and 'My Generation.'

The new comedy 'Better Together' joins ABC's Wednesday night comedy block, and reality game show 'My Secret Millionaire,' which previously ran on Fox, will air on Friday nights. All in all, it looks like ABC has greenlighted 10 new shows for next fall, including comedies 'Mr. Sunshine' and 'Happy Endings' and Shonda Rhimes' medical drama 'Off the Map' to debut later in the season.

Network staples like 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Castle,' 'Desperate Housewives,' and the mega hit 'Dancing With the Stars' are all coming back, and, of course, ABC has renewed all of its current Wednesday night comedy lineup, led by the hit 'Modern Family.' And Sci-fi drama 'V' is set to return in November.

Check out the new schedule (updated with new show descriptions), courtesy of The Live Feed, below and head back to TV Squad after 4 PM ET today for more coverage of ABC's upfronts.

CBS has picked up the Twitter-inspired sitcom '$#*! My Dad Says.'

The pilot starred William Shatner and Ryan Devlin, but according to the Ausiello Files, Devlin will be recast when the series heads to air.

The show is based on material from Justin Halpern's Twitter account. Halpern, 29, lives with his 74-year-old father and chronicles his words of advice, rants and everything in between on Twitter.

'$#*! My Dad Says' joins other CBS pickups such as 'Hawaii Five-0,' 'Mike & Molly,' 'Defenders' and the 'Criminal Minds' spinoff. For more on those shows check our report here.

CBS will debut its full schedule on Wednesday when it gives its presentation to advertisers. Keep checking TV Squad for more updates.

NBC has announced their new fall schedule, and while some might be mourning the loss of 'Law & Order,' 'Heroes,' 'Mercy,' and 'Trauma,' the network has several new shows that look promising.

After the jump, watch clips from NBC's new dramas and sitcoms. Obviously it's a little unfair to judge an entire TV show based on a one minute clip from the pilot episode, but we can at least tell if the show is something we want to watch.

CBS has officially picked up the much hyped 'Criminal Minds' spinoff starring Oscar winner Forest Whitaker.

Whitaker guest starred in an episode of 'Criminal Minds' last month to test the waters. According to the Live Feed, CBS was lukewarm to the pilot, but picked up the series anyway.

The spinoff joins new CBS shows such as 'Hawaii Five-0,' 'Defenders' and 'Blue Bloods.' A full report on those shows can be found here.

More details are expected on Wednesday when CBS has its presentation to advertisers.

A title for the spinoff has yet to be revealed.