FX finally announced season premiere dates for two of its biggest hits: “Damages” and “Nip/Tuck,” which will both debut right after we ring in the new year.

TV Guide is reporting that the fifth season of the plastic surgery drama begins Tues., Jan. 6 at 10 p.m.

And thirteen new episodes of “Damages” kicks off the following night — Weds., Jan. 7 — in the same time slot.

When we last left Hewes & Associates, the diabolical Patty had just wrapped up her case against Arthur Frobisher, who was left for dead after being shot by one of the employees he’d swindled. And Ellen is now working with the FBI to destroy Patty. (She did try to kill Ellen and all.)

So who’s on board for the new season?

None other than two—count ‘em, two—Oscar winners. With Glenn Close’s five Oscar nods—and her recent Emmy win for playing Patty—the cast was already pretty formidable, and it keeps getting better.

William Hurt will play Daniel Purcell, a man from Patty’s mysterious past. (Hmm, Patty’s baby daddy, perhaps?) Marcia Gay Harden joins the show, too, as an attorney going up against Patty in her latest case.

And Timothy Olyphant of “Deadwood” shows up as a guy who gets caught up in Ellen’s personal and professional problems.

Wow, with “Lost” gearing up to start at 9 p.m. on ABC in late January, and “Damages” to follow on FX at 10, my winter Wednesdays are looking pretty cozy. You know where you’ll find me, fellow couch potatoes!

(Photo courtesy of FX and the Associated Press)

Emmy nominations were announced this morning, and the good news: Comedies like “30 Rock” and “The Office” are in the mix for best series, as well they should.

The bad: I swear the only reason “The Wire” isn’t among the best drama nominees is because lazy Emmy voters—i.e. most of them—never saw the show. Despite a phenomenal fifth and final season, it’s only up for one writing award. Its only other nomination, also for writing, was back in 2005.

Geez. Where’s the acting love for Lance Riddick (Daniels), Clarke Johnson (Gus), Michael K. Williams (Omar) or Sonja Sohn (Kima)? The only rationale for no acting nominations I can think of is that so many talented “Wire” actors have split the vote over the last five seasons.

“John Adams” led the Emmy nomination pack with 23, and “Mad Men” (17) and “Damages” (16) were the first basic-cable series to be up for top drama.

I’m sure you’ll hear more Emmy commentary from many of us in the weeks to come before the Sept. 21 broadcast, but here’s the crucial info you need to know.

Drama: “Boston Legal,” “Damages,” “Dexter,” “House,” “Lost” and “Mad Men.”

Comedy: “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Entourage,” “The Office,” “30 Rock” and “Two and a Half Men.”

Best actor—drama: Gabriel Byrne (“In Treatment”), Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”), Michael C. Hall (“Dexter”), Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”), Hugh Laurie (“House”) and James Spader (“Boston Legal”).

Best actress—drama: Glenn Close (“Damages”), Sally Field (“Brothers and Sisters”), Mariska Hargitay (“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”), Holly Hunter (“Saving Grace”) and Kyra Sedgwick (“The Closer”).

Best actor—comedy: Alec Baldwin (“30 Rock”), Steve Carell (“The Office”), Lee Pace (“Pushing Daisies”), Tony Shalhoub (“Monk”) and Charlie Sheen (“Two and a Half Men”).

Best actress—comedy: Christina Applegate (“Samantha Who?”), America Ferrera (“Ugly Betty”), Tina Fey (“30 Rock”), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“The New Adventures of Old Christine”) and Mary-Louise Parker (“Weeds”).

And here’s the complete list of 2008 Emmy nominees.

UPDATE: More good news/bad news, this time in the category of best supporting actress in a comedy series. A long-overdue and well-deserved nod has been given to “Saturday Night Live’s” Amy Poehler, but how in the world is Jenna Fischer snubbed for her work on “The Office”? Instead, the category includes Jean Smart for “Samantha Who?” and Holland Taylor on “Two and a Half Men.” As Poehler herself on Weekend Update would say, “Really?!”

(Photo courtesy of Fox.)

For the first time ever, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is announcing the 10 finalists for the Best Comedy and Best Drama categories.

My personal choices for the top 5 in each are in bold. The top 10s are:

Top 10 Comedy Series Finalists

Curb Your Enthusiasm
Entourage
Family Guy
Flight of the Conchords (I’d love to see this win)
The Office
Pushing Daisies
30 Rock (I expect to win, as it did last year)
Two and a Half Men
Ugly Betty
Weeds

Top 10 Drama Series Finalists

Boston Legal
Damages (Probably will win)
Dexter
Friday Night Lights
Grey’s Anatomy
House
Lost
Mad Men
The Tudors
The Wire (If this doesn’t win, there is no justice.)

The man formerly known as Seth Bullock on “Deadwood”—and Sam’s gazillionaire almost-boyfriend on “Samantha Who?” last season—has joined the cast of “Damages.”

Premiere Of Paramount’s “Flags Of Our Fathers” Arrivals served by picapp.com

Timothy Olyphant joined Glenn Close and the rest of the cast when the legal thriller kicked off production of its second season in NYC this week.

He’s the second newbie named to the show this month: Oscar winner William Hurt is also on board.

Understandably, FX is trying to keep a lid on at least some of the secrets surrounding the legal thriller—especially since it won’t air until at least January.

But according to the Hollywood Reporter, Olyphant plays a man who gets close to Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) as Hewes & Associates takes on a new client (Hurt).

Vague enough for you, “Damages” fans? But on the positive side, if the casting is any indication, could the series’ sophomore season be even better than the first?

(Photo courtesy of FX)

Man, “Damages” just gets better and better—and it doesn’t return to the air for more than six months.

Oscar winner William Hurt—currently starring in “The Incredible Hulk”—will join Glenn Close and the rest of the cast when the show kicks off production of Season 2 in NYC next week.

FX was candid about withholding details of Hurt’s character: The better to preserve the suspense of the series, which won’t air until January.

But producers did say he’ll play a new client of Patty Hewes, who’ll be taking on a new case next season now that the Frobisher brouhaha is wrapped up.

The only other tantalizing hint is that Hurt’s latest alter ego will have had a personal relationship with Patty in the past.

Hmm, could he possibly be the father of Patty’s baby girl, who was stillborn in 1972?

We’ll have to see. In the meantime, not a bad casting coup, eh?

Hurt’s been nominated four times for the Academy Award, most recently in 2006 for “A History of Violence.” (He won in 1986 for “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”) And like Close before “Damages,” he’s never done a TV series before.

There’s another Close connection, too: The two starred together 25 years ago in “The Big Chill.”

That was on the big screen, of course. And look how well that turned out. Hopefully their reunion will do as well for “Damages.”

(Photos courtesy of AP/Dan Steinberg and FX)

Everyone keeps yammering on about how the writers’ strike wrecked the mainstream fall-spring TV season.

While true, I’m more upset about how the strike ruined this summer’s schedule: With a few exceptions, the small screen is pretty much a wasteland for the next few months.

For instance, I’m recalling how happy I was about last year’s warm-weather sensation, FX’s “Damages,” which debuted in July. Those back-and-forth storylines could be a tad confusing, and some episodes occasionally veered towards the overwrought. The series also tended to score more critical acclaim than high ratings.

But who cared? Man, did star Glenn Close keep you on your toes! Ted Danson as a sleazy CEO was genius! And the question of whether Patty tried to kill Ellen—and who murdered Ellen’s fiance, David—kept me riveted until the very end.

So I was thrilled to hear that FX planned to give the second season of “Damages” another summer run. Until the strike happened.

Now, the second season won’t kick off production until sometime next month, which means it won’t premiere until January.

But in the meantime, Kristin Dos Santos at E! Online cornered two of the show’s executive producers and got some scoop on what’s in store for Hewes & Associates.

We already know that Patty (Close), Ellen (Rose Byrne) and Tom Shayes (Tate Donovan) will be back. There will be some new characters introduced, in addition to reappearances of the FBI folks who popped up late last year.

But don’t rule out appearances by David (Noah Bean) and Ray Fiske (Zeljko Ivanek).

(Since David had his head bashed in, and Ray’s brains went kablooey all over Patty’s office wall, I’m assuming any  possible pop-ups would be in flashbacks.)

And although producer Daniel Zelman said not to rule out any character comebacks, I was intrigued by who he DIDN’T mention: Ted Danson—a.k.a. Arthur Frobisher.

Frobisher’s fate was definitely left open-ended in the finale, and while I seriously enjoyed Danson’s performance, I hope the writers leave well enough alone—and Frobisher dead in that open field.

And, no surprise here, the producers say the season’s big tension will be over whether Patty knows Ellen is now an FBI informant, determined to bring her down.

Even if it’s not until winter—sob!—I’m psyched for more. Bring on the drama, gals, bring it on!

(Photos courtesy of FX) 

Well, you won’t find it.

The new Julianna Margulies legal drama has fared so poorly in the ratings (last Monday’s episode drew just 5.7 million viewers), that FOX has exiled the show to Friday nights at 9 p.m. for the rest of its run.

It’ll be replaced by repeats of “House,” until new eps of that show return on April 28.

Apparently Fridays are where FOX series go to die.

“Canterbury” will join “The Return of Jezebel James,” the Parker Posey-Lauren Ambrose sister sitcom, in the TV wasteland. “Jezebel” did even worse with viewers: Its first two outings attracted an audience of just over 3 million.

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Here’s a look at who won, and who your Remote Accessories thought were going to win:

Here we go:

Best TV drama:

Mad Men wins.
Amy and Brian predicted it would win (but thought Big Love should).
Chris thought it should, but figured House would win.
Heather wanted Damages, predicted House

Best TV comedy or musical

Extras wins
Chris nailed it, even though he thought 30 Rock should have won.
Amy and Brian also rooted for 30 Rock, though Amy thought Pushing Daisies would win. Heather put it all on Daisies.

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The Golden Globes Press Conference airs tonight on NBC. Sure, it’s hardly the same drama and pageantry as it usually is with the champagne dinner, but there’s still a whole lotta hardware handed out.

So I snagged the Remote Accessories’ Golden Globes picks from a previous post and reworked it to make it easy for you to see our picks and our predictions for each of the television categories. Come back later to see how right (or wrong) we were.

Will 30 Rock and Damages walk away with armfuls of trophies? Stay tuned.

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It’s nine days until the premiere of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and in this universe of too little scripted television that might feel like an eternity.

Well, Fox has got your back. The network will start sneak previewing the Jan. 13 premiere at Yahoo! TV tonight at 9 p.m. The advance look will stream for 24 hours and features an introduction by Lena Headey (Sarah Connor herself).

In less immediate but still kinda cool news, the pilot will feature a 30 Rock connection (hence the innate coolness) that nearly went right over my head. Here’s the deal…

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As usual, we’ll just present the TV nominees here, but if you want to see the film nominees too, go here. As usual, my picks in parentheses, but I haven’t seen the vast majority of the TV movie/miniseries nominees, so no comments from me on those.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Michael Keaton / James Jesus Angleton – The Company (TNT)
Kevin Kline / Jacques – As You Like It (HBO)
Oliver Platt / George Steinbrenner – The Bronx is Burning (ESPN)
Sam Shepard / Frank Whiteley – Ruffian (ABC)
John Turturro / Billy Martin – The Bronx is Burning (ESPN)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Ellen Burstyn / Posey Benetto – Mitch Albom’s For One More Day (ABC)
Debra Messing / Molly Kagan – The Starter Wife (USA)
Anna Paquin / Elaine Goodale – Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (HBO)
Queen Latifah / Ana – Life Support (HBO)
Vanessa Redgrave / Woman – The Fever (HBO)
Gena Rowlands / Melissa Eisenbloom – What If God Were the Sun? (Lifetime)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
James Gandolfini / Tony Soprano – The Sopranos (HBO)
Michael C. Hall / Dexter Morgan – Dexter (Showtime) (my pick)
Jon Hamm / Don Draper – Mad Men (AMC)
Hugh Laurie / Dr. Gregory House – House (FOX)
James Spader / Alan Shore – Boston Legal (ABC)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Glenn Close / Patty Hewes – Damages (FX) (my pick)
Edie Falco / Carmela Soprano – The Sopranos (HBO)
Sally Field / Nora Walker – Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Holly Hunter / Grace Hanadarko – Saving Grace (TNT)
Kyra Sedgwick / Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson – The Closer (TNT)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin / Jack Donaghy – 30 Rock (NBC) (my pick, though Carell is a close second!)
Steve Carell / Michael Scott – The Office (NBC)
Ricky Gervais / Andy Millman – Extras (HBO)
Jeremy Piven / Ari Gold – Entourage (HBO)
Tony Shalhoub / Adrian Monk – Monk (USA)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate / Samantha Newly – Samantha Who? (ABC)
America Ferrera / Betty Suarez – Ugly Betty (ABC)
Tina Fey / Liz Lemon – 30 Rock (NBC) (my pick)
Mary-Louise Parker / Nancy Botwin – Weeds (Showtime)
Vanessa Williams / Wilhelmina Slater – Ugly Betty (ABC)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Boston Legal (ABC)
The Closer (TNT)
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
Mad Men (AMC) (my pick)
The Sopranos (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
30 Rock (NBC)
Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Entourage (HBO)
The Office (NBC) (my pick – close, but as an ensemble, The Office slightly edges out 30 Rock)
Ugly Betty (ABC)

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series
24 (FOX) (my pick – c’mon, what’d you think I’d choose?)
Heroes (NBC)
Lost (ABC)
Rome (HBO)
The Unit (CBS)

Screen Actors Guild Awards 44th Annual Life Achievement Award
Charles Durning (He’s done so much on TV as well as movies, so I figured I’d include him here. Most recently on the small screen, he’s been playing Tommy’s dad (that’s even how he’s credited!) on Rescue Me. By the by, did you know he was born in Highland Falls, just outside the LoHud, by West Point?)

As I previously posted, the Golden Globe television nominations (by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association) were announced this morning and lots of new shows got their due.

Well, my fellow Remote Accessories and I have had a chance to mull these over and here’s some of our picks (and predictions) for winners, after the break

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The awards are coming. The awards are coming!

Here’s a look at who the (striking) Writer’s Guild of America nominated for its annual awards (just the TV nominees):

Dramatic series:
Dexter, written by Scott Buck, Daniel Cerone, Drew Z. Greenberg, Lauren Gussis, Kevin Maynard, Clyde Phillips, Melissa Rosenberg, Tim Schlattman; Showtime
Friday Night Lights, written by Bridget Carpenter, Kerry Ehrin, Carter Harris, Elizabeth Heldens, David Hudgins, Jason Katims, Patrick Massett, Andy Miller, Aaron Rahsaan Thomas, John Zinman; NBC
Mad Men, written by Lisa Albert, Bridget Bedard, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Tom Palmer, Chris Provenzano, Robin Veith, Matthew Weiner; AMC
The Sopranos, written by David Chase, Diane Frolov, Andrew Schneider, Matthew Weiner, Terence Winter; HBO
The Wire, written by Ed Burns, Chris Collins, Dennis Lehane, David Mills, George Pelecanos, Richard Price, David Simon, William F. Zorzi; HBO

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Released this morning, the Golden Globe television nominations (by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association) had lots of love for critical (and ratings) darling Pushing Daisies, as well as lots of cable fare, particularly Damages.

Here’s a look at the (television only) nominees, with my picks noted (as well as what I think will actually win):

Best TV drama:
Big Love (my pick — this season was outstanding!)
Damages
Grey’s Anatomy
House
Mad Men (what I think will win)
The Tudors

Best TV comedy or musical:
30 Rock (my pick)
Californication
Entourage
Extras
Pushing Daisies (will win)

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Because it’s awards season, the International Press Academy (who? I dunno, either) announced its nominees for the 2007 Satellite Awards (never heard of them, either, but this is apparently the 12th annual ceremony, to be held Dec. 16). Awards will be given in 49 categories, in television, film, DVD and “new media.”

Here’s a link to the official list of all the nominees and past nominees and winners, too). Variety also reported that Mad Men won a special achievement award for best ensemble cast, but I couldn’t find that on the official list.

Miniseries:
Jane Eyre, BBC/WGBH
The Starter Wife, USA Network
The Company, TNT
Five Days, HBO
The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard, BBC/Kudos Productions

Motion picture made for television (otherwise known as the made-for-TV movie, or, now, MPMFT):
The Wind And The Willows, Masterpiece Theater, PBS/BBC
Mitch Albom’s For One More Day, ABC
Longford, HBO/Channel 4
Life Support, HBO
The Trial Of Tony Blair, Channel 4
Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, HBO

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I guess it was worth the nail-biting wait: FX finally announced the pick-up of “Damages” for not one—but TWO—more seasons.

“FX is proud of our status as a leader in fostering bold, high quality scripted programming,â€? said FX President and General Manager John Landgraf. “We commend Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, Daniel Zelman and their magnificent cast, headed by Glenn Close, with pulling off this hugely ambitious series and establishing Damages as one of the best dramas on American television.â€?

FX also confirmed that Close, Rose Byrne (who plays Ellen) and Tate Donovan (Tom Shayes) are currently signed on as series regulars for season two.

So we’ll be getting more Hewes & Associates insanity for 26—count ‘em—full episodes. More Patty. More Ellen, more Tom.

More Uncle Pete cleaning up some more crime scenes? That seems to be his speciality…

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Are you, just like me, still reeling from last week’s head rush—otherwise known as the season finale of “Damages?”

Sure, we got some answers: Frobisher’s flunky killed David, Mr. Nye is really a stand-up guy (we think) and Patty’s as evil as we thought (uh, right?).

Obviously, the finale opened up a lot more doors than it closed. And we still don’t know the answer to the biggest question: Will FX renew the ratings-challenged “Damages” for another season?

No word yet. Sigh. What is that network waiting for? And it seems like the producers are as impatient as we are to find out whether they need to kick start their nefarious plans for Season 2.

TV Guide chatted with the terrific trio that co-created and writes the series: Daniel Zelman and brothers Glenn and Todd A. Kessler.  They answered a bunch of questions that fans have been debating, like:

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So last night’s finale of “Damages” ended like its stellar freshman season began, with Patty on the dock of her beach house.

Except instead of throwing a dog collar into the sea, she’s throwing Ellen back into the deathtrap of working at Hewes & Associates.

But by now, Ellen’s not nearly as naive—having been through what’s quite possibly the worst post-graduate job ever. And she’s out for—as James Brown so fabulously sang in “The Payback” over the closing credits—REVENGE.

Star Glenn Close and the producers had been making rounds of interviews in the last few weeks, drumming up publicity for the critically-acclaimed but ratings-challenged show. (FX has yet to say whether it will renew the drama for Season 2.)

They’d all said that the Frobisher case would be wrapped up, but some new plotlines would develop for another season.

(SPOILER ALERT!)

And they sure did wrap up that Frobisher case—thanks to Larry, the elderly turncoat client.

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Glenn Close is a big old meanie.

I spoke to her for a half-hour last week and she wouldn’t give me a single spoiler about tomorrow night’s finale of “Damages” (10 p.m., FX), which brings the legal drama’s thrilling, mysterious season to an end.

Or does it?

You can read my story about Close and the finale in today’s Journal News, but here’s what the tight-lipped star did say about tomorrow’s conclusion:

“I think enough is answered that will satisfy people, and enough is left hanging that will hopefully bring them back, if we go to a second season.”

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There we all were, “Kyle XY� fans trying to enjoy the second-season finale (Part 1), the contents of which my coworker Amy Vernon blogged about yesterday, when we were distracted the whole time by an annoying “bug� about “Lincoln Heights.� Say what? A dadgum stamp announcing the following day’s debut of the next season of the ABC’s Family series took up an obnoxiously large portion of the our screens’ lower-right-hand corner.

If the net deemed the plug absolutely necessary, why not just put it there for just a few minutes instead of the whole dang hour? Oh, I forgot: How about FX, shoving promos for “Damages� down our throats until we were ready to choke.

What happened to the days of unimpeded views of TV shows—back when networks’ logos weren’t planted on the screen for the duration of every show. Yes, I know that there is such a glut of cable channels that the stations want to help channel surfers find them in the fray, but, goodness, do I miss the era when stations simply followed the FCC requirement to do a station ID on the hour and on the half hour.