There is some major casting news in this post that may spoil upcoming episodes of “The Walking Dead,” so if you’re not keen on being spoilered, skedaddle.

Frank Darabont, who has long had a reputation for working with the same set of actors, is currently developing a series for TNT called “LA Noir,” which takes place in 1940′s L.A. and will chronicle the battle between the LAPD and mobster Mickey Cohen. While the show itself sound compelling, the more interesting development here is that Darabont is wooing Jon Bernthal for the lead role of a gumshoe detective, and Jon Bernthal likewise is interested in that role.

If, however, Bernthal takes the role, Darabont would be spoiling his former show twice. First, if Bernthal — who plays Shane on “The Walking Dead” — signs on to “LA Noir,” we can then assume that his character will be killed off (or, at least, his role will diminish). Second, if Bernthal takes the role and is killed off, “The Walking Dead” will lose one of its best non-zombie villains, which will also probably mean more screen time for Bernthal’s co-lead, Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes). And no one wants more Rick. It would, however, be a fitting revenge for DarAbont to be able to screw over the show that screwed him over.

Also, here’s this. You’re welcome.

(Source: Variety)

Elephant in the Room (Comedy Central) — Patrice O’Neal’s stand-up special will air at 8 p.m. and again, uncensored, at midnight. People, do NOT mess with diabetes.

Psych (USA) — William Shatner guest stars. Shatner looks like someone with diabetes, right?

I Hate My Teenage Daughter (Fox) — Series premiere. The buzz for the Jaime Pressly comedy is almost universally negative, and its odd debut date — late in the fall season instead of midseason — suggests that Fox doesn’t have high hopes for it, either.

Hot in Cleveland/The Exes (TV Land) — Season/series debuts. “Hot in Cleveland” has somehow made it to a third season, while Kristen Johnston (“3rd Rock from the Sun”) stars in the new comedy about a divorce attorney who lives across the hall from three divorced guys (Wayne Knight, Donald Faison, and David Alan Basche).

Ricochet (TNT) — A TNT original film starring John Corbett, Gary Cole (Office Space), and Warming Glow favorite Julie Benz. That cast legitimately does not suck.

American Horror Story (FX) — Mena Suvari guest stars as 1940s murder victim “the Black Dahlia,” which has conveniently been co-opted for “AHS’s” salacious purposes. My point is, I would love to grab Mena Suvari’s ass.

The X Factor (Fox) — The seven remaining contestants sing Michael Jackson songs in an attempt to tarnish the King of Pop’s legacy more than his habit of touching children.

Christmas in Rockefeller Center (NBC) — The 79th annual tree-lighting ceremony kicks off the season of infuriating pedestrian gridlock between 5th and 6th Avenues and 46th and 50th Streets.

Thanks for reading, everybody. Come back tomorrow (and the next day/week/month/year) to enjoy your talented new staff of writers. I’ll see you in the comments section.

I was away from the blog on Friday, and I’m afraid I have to apologize for a couple oversights. First of all, the series premiere of AMC’s “Hell on Wheels” was excluded from the Weekend Preview. Those responsible have been sacked. Another unforgivable exclusion from the news: late last week, TNT cast the canine leads for “Scent of the Missing,” the dog-cop show that will star Tricia Helfer. Needless to say, this should have been the lead story.

Competition among canine actors was fierce for the starring roles in TNT’s drama pilot Scent Of The Missing. After an extensive auditioning process, golden retriever Jackson landed the lead dog role of Puzzle… Scent Of The Missing centers on Susannah (Tricia Helfer), a tenacious, strong-willed K-9 Search and Rescue volunteer who works with an equally determined partner — her mischievous golden retriever.

Saint Bernard/Australian Shepherd mix Bolt [above left] and German Shepherd San [right] nabbed the key supporting roles of Shadow and Chaos, the canine partners of K-9 Search and Rescue team members Jake (Eric Winter) and Sedona (Summer Glau), respectively.

I’m dead serious when I say that this is going to be my absolute favorite show on television, and I can’t wait to see a dog out-act Summer Glau. But I haven’t even gotten to the best part of the article, though. Deadline is kind enough to share the press release that summarizes the dogs’ acting careers:

Jackson, a golden retriever, started his acting career as a puppy in Disney’s Treasure Buddies. He’s thrilled to be making his small screen debut as Puzzle, a rambunctious, water loving, search and rescue dog. Like Puzzle, Jackson loves to work and has his nose to the grindstone, learning search and rescue techniques and training to do his own stunts. Jackson is especially looking forward to be being partnered with Tricia Helfer.

Wouldn’t we all like to be partnered with Tricia Helfer. Lucky dog.

Hot off the set of Disney’s Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3, Bolt, a Saint Bernard/Australian Shepherd mix, joins the Scent of the Missing canine cast as Shadow, a rubber ball obsessed, uber energetic search and rescue dog.  Being half Saint Bernard, Bolt is anxious to showcase his breed’s great affinity for saving human lives. He is excited about being partnered with Eric Winter, who plays Jake, a firefighter, and thinks they’ll make a great team.

Rounding out the canine cast is Sam, a German Shepherd, who plays Chaos, the newest member of the search and rescue team.  Chaos may not be the most experienced, but his fierce drive and heroism make him an invaluable asset to the team.  A Hollywood veteran, Sam appeared in Disney’s Beverly Hills Chihuahua 1&2 as Delgado. A huge sci-fi fan, he can’t believe his luck in being partnered with Summer Glau, who plays Sedona, and is especially grateful that his love of salmon jerky was written into the script. Jackson, Bolt and Sam are all represented by Birds and Animals Unlimited.

Man, the characters for those dogs are REALLY fleshed out. If “Charlie’s Angels” had worked half as hard on characterization it might still be on the air.

Last month, I nearly lost my mind with happiness when I heard that TNT had ordered a pilot about a crime-solving golden retriever. Now the show has cast its lead: “Battlestar Galactica” alum Tricia Helfer, whose inspirational 2007 Playboy shoot remains a revelation. Oh, and Gerald McRaney will be there too. Tits or GTFO, dude.

Scent Of The Missing centers on Susannah (Helfer), a tenacious, strong-willed K-9 Search and Rescue volunteer who works with an equally determined partner — her mischievous golden retriever, Puzzle. McRaney will play her father, Jerry. The dog has not been cast yet. [Deadline]

Listen to me, TNT. It’s not too late to have a corgi in that role. Shake things up. Cast against type. I mean, people want a black James Bond. A corgi cop is the next logical casting shakeup.

Hello, and welcome to a watershed day in television history. TNT has ordered a pilot about a CRIME-SOLVING GOLDEN RETRIEVER. I’ve been waiting for this day my entire life.

The network has ordered a pilot for an adaptation of the Susannah Charleson book “Scent of the Missing,” about her experience with Puzzle, a dog with a strong aptitude for rescue missions. The pilot’s log line says of the show, “An adrenaline junkie leader of a canine search-and-rescue team assists various law enforcement agencies with her best friend and partner, a golden retriever.” [The Wrap]

Finally, a worthy successor to “Poochinski”! And TNT is the absolute PERFECT home for this show. Because 95% of TNT’s programming is cop procedurals, it’s awash in all the tired stereotypes that bore me on most shows but would enthrall me if the show’s about a dog.

HARDBITTEN DETECTIVE interrogates a suspect. PUZZLE paces in the background, pausing occasionally to lick his balls.

HARDBITTEN DETECTIVE: Tell me where McNally is! Trust me, I’m the nice one. My partner ain’t gonna be so gentle.
PUZZLE: *growls*
SUSPECT: Screw you, pig!
HARDBITTEN DETECTIVE: Well, I warned ya. Puzzle! This guy won’t talk.
PUZZLE: *bites SUSPECT in crotch*
SUSPECT: Oh God! I’ll talk, I’ll talk!
HARDBITTEN DETECTIVE: Good boy! *gives PUZZLE treat*

In short, I’ll be devastated if this doesn’t become a long-running series. Here, I’ll get the casting process started:

(Just because.)

TNT announced a little while back that they were getting into the TV movie game, and now they’ve settled on the first installment: “Hide,” a crime drama based on a book by Lisa Gardner, starring Carla Gugino as Boston detective D.D. Warren. From The Hollywood Reporter:

The story will revolve around Warren, who will investigate the mummified remains of six missing women found inside a buried chamber at an abandoned mental hospital. The case will lead Warren to investigate Annabelle, a woman with a secret past and twisted family history.

The telepic is part of the cable network’s new lineup of original movies under its upcoming “TNT Mystery Movie Night” announced at the upfronts in May that will feature six contemporary crime dramas based on true-crime stories and fictional mysteries.

Don’t look now, but between “Rizzoli & Isles,” “The Closer,” reruns of “Bones” and “Cold Case” and some of these new movies (including a second one starring Catherine Bell from “JAG”), TNT is damn near cornering the market on ladycop shows. I mean, USA’s got that one with Piper Perabo as a spy and “In Plain Sight,” but they’re not really “cop” shows. And “In Plain Sight” is shutting it down after this season, anyway. FX has none. AMC had “The Killing,” but let’s keep on pretending that never happened. Hell, even the big networks really can’t keep up with TNT. There’s “Castle” and “Body of Proof” on ABC (but those are stretches because “Castle” is more about, well, Castle, and “Body of Proof” is about a medical examiner, but I called “Bones” a ladycop show, so I’ll allow it), and there are other shows with female cops, but not many others that rise to the level of the ones on TNT.

In summation, I suppose the two most important takeaways of this post would be: 1) Carla Gugino is very attractive. 2) I know an awful lot about ladycop shows.

TNT has renewed the bro-riffic “Franklin & Bash” for a second season, thus ensuring that Warming Glow’s fratty recaps of the show will continue next summer, assuming Danger Guerrero doesn’t get a job in a law office (which, let’s face it, he probably won’t). The show averages 3.9 million viewers and — even more impressively — makes Breckin Meyer significantly less punchable.

“This summer, Franklin & Bash has broken out as a hugely entertaining series with great characters, sharp writing and a terrific cast,” said Michael Wright, executive vice president, head of programming, for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies in a statement. “We’re thrilled that the show has drawn such a remarkably strong following and look forward to bringing it back next summer.”

I hate to agree with something that an entertainment executive said in statement, but I’ve gone from watching “Franklin & Bash” on an ironic whim to adding it to my DVR rotation and genuinely enjoying it. It’s a fun — and funny — hour that goes quickly, and I especially enjoy its complete disregard for any established legal procedure. Lawyers and courts bore the ever-loving sh*t out of me. I’m glad someone finally threw out the idea of realism and substituted it with extra cleavage.

Co-starring Larry the Cable Guy's brother, Barry the Oil Guy

Below is the first trailer for TNT’s continuation of “Dallas,” which won’t air until next summer. The original CBS series, of course, spanned 13 seasons from 1978 to 1991 — and now Patrick Duffy and Larry Hagman will reprise their roles as Bobby and J.R. Ewing in the new series, which “will primarily center around J.R. Ewing’s son John Ross Ewing III, and Bobby Ewing’s adopted son Christopher Ewing.” [Wikipedia]

Christopher and J.R. the 3rd are played, respectively, by a young Carson Daly lookalike and a Jonathan Rhys Meyers impersonator who can’t grow facial hair. In the trailer, there’s some yelling about money and oil, Jordana Brewster doesn’t have pants on, somebody has a shotgun, a girl takes her shirt off, Hagman’s caterpillar-like eyebrows threaten to leave his face and take over the city, someone gets slapped, and more yelling. Basically, it looks like the new “90210″ if Jason Priestly and Luke Perry were teachers at the high school. I will enthusiastically not watch this.

[via EW]

Poor Patrick Duffy. Remember when he was an actor, and not Scuzzlebutt’s leg?

“Falling Skies” had the strongest cable debut of 2011, and TNT rewarded the show’s performance last week with a renewal order after only three episodes.

The series, starring Noah Wyle, has averaged 6.4 million total viewers in its first three episodes and is attracting strong ratings in overseas territories. The network has ordered 10 episodes for Season 2, which is slated to air in summer 2012. [Deadline]

As I’ve said before, there’s some pretty good action in “Falling Skies” if you can get past the cloyingly sweet family touches that are so obviously shoehorned into the show by Steven Spielberg. That’s what makes the show perfect for DVR: if you see a child onscreen, hit fast-forward and keep fast-forwarding until you don’t see any dumb wiener kids. I’ll rescind this rule of thumb if — and only if — the aliens tear a child’s limbs off or vaporize a kid on a skateboard. C’mon, Spielberg. Do it, you pussy.

MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE OUUUUUUUUUUUUT

TNT’s “Rizzoli & Isles” was the inexplicable hit of the summer last year: the series debut pulled in 9 million viewers, and the show averaged 8.7 million a week — almost unthinkable numbers for cable. (To put that in perspective, “So You Think You Can Dance” is averaging 5 million viewers for Fox this summer.) Q: What’s the secret to show’s success?

The first season of TNT’s crime drama “Rizzoli & Isles” featured an episode with the title “I Kissed a Girl.” Its stars, Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander, played on a softball team, shared some intimate dinners, drank wine over candlelight and hopped into the same bed for girl talk. [LA Times]

A: LESBIAN SEXUAL TENSION!

However, despite the obvious sapphic undercurrent between the two leads, Harmon insists that they do NOT want to furiously scissor until the bedroom smells like Chinatown:

“I hate to disappoint, but these characters are straight,” Harmon insisted. “If we lose viewers because of it — sorry!” [...]

“Women in the workplace are often portrayed as catty and competitive, and it’s rare that you get to see them as smart friends and colleagues who can debate and disagree,” Alexander said. “They don’t have to always sabotage each other and fall for the same guy.”

Uh huh, right. People like the show because of the non-catty female friendship. That’s what made “Xena: Warrior Princess” a hit, too.