On April 8, A&E renewed Bates Motel for a second season. Same order as before–10 new episodes will premiere in 2014.

A&E president Bob DeBitetto: “Bates Motel has garnered critical acclaim and a loyal audience in its first few weeks. With superb writing and exceptional acting, led by the critically acclaimed performances of Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore, we’re incredibly excited to see where Carlton and Kerry take Norma and Norman Bates next.”

On April 26, NBC renewed five dramas including freshmen Revolution and Chicago Fire, Law & Order: SVU (for a fifteenth season), Parenthood (for a fifth season), and Grimm (for a third season).

NBC entertainment president Jennifer Salke: “On the verge of our 2013 fall scheduling decisions, we’re pleased to renew five drama series that will be important to our new season line-up. We’re proud and very appreciative of all of the actors, producers, writers and directors who work so hard to deliver such high-quality work week in and week out. These complex shows represent a broad range of genres and tones, and all of them stand out for us in a television landscape now filled with one-hour series. We’re especially pleased to be renewing Revolution and Chicago Fire — two first-season successes — and there will be more returning series announcements made in the next couple of weeks.”

For more renewal news, jump after the break. (Click here for more…)

Louis C.K. fans listen up: the dirty, dirty comedian is about to air his next stand-up comedy special on HBO this week. In Louis C.K.: Oh My God, Louie discusses such topics as the food chain, animals, divorce, strange anecdotes, broken morality, murder and mortality. The stand-up, which features brand-new material, was taped at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix. Written, directed and executive produced by Louis C.K. (per usual, he does it all), Oh My God debuts April 13 at 10PM on HBO, so set your DVRs accordingly.

Watch a trailer starring C.K. above, and after the break you’ll find a few more clips promoting the special. (Click here for more…)

No surprise here: two days after airing the season 3 premiere of Game of Thrones, HBO renewed the fantasy series based on George R.R. Martin’s books for a fourth season. As previously reported, the season 3 premiere ranked as the series’ highest rated episode to date attracting 4.4 million viewers.

Game of Thrones airs Sunday nights at 9PM on HBO.

The battle for the Iron Throne resumes this Sunday night at 9PM on HBO. The network’s hugely successful and popular fantasy series Game of Thrones returns for its highly anticipated third season promises more surprises and more dragons; just look at the season’s key art above for proof of the latter. Or rewatch the season’s two brilliant trailers if you need to be reminded of the stakes at hand in the upcoming batch of episodes. After the break you’ll find a couple of recap clips that will catch you up on everything Thrones seasons 1 & 2. Directly below you can browse a gallery of 12 too-cool-for-school posters that each feature gritty close-up shots of the series’ main characters including the bastard Jon Snow, the conniving Cersei Lannister, the terrible Joffrey Baratheon, the Kingslayer Jaime Lannister, and everyone’s favorite Imp Tyrion Lannister.

Update (4/1): Last night’s season 3 premiere episode of Game of Thrones ranked as the series’ most watched installment to date. A record-breaking 4.4 million viewers tuned into “Valar Dohaeris,” up 13% from the 3.9 million who watched the season 2 opener last year. That tally is also up 4% from the season 2 finale which attracted 4.2 million sets of eyeballs; that ep was the previous record holder. In total, across three airings on HBO last night, 6.7 million took in the premiere.

(Click here for more…)

In exactly two weeks time Game of Thrones will back, and if these next round of trailers have anything to prove it’s that the show is ready to elevate to entirely new level of epic. Today HBO released the second full-length trailer hyping the third season of the network’s fantasy series; and if you thought the first trailer was unbelievable, you just wait. Trailer numero dos is thirty seconds longer and manages to pack in more action, more dragons, and a freakin’ bear! The score behind it all, of course, is Daft Punk’s “The Game Has Changed” (how appropriate a title here) as made famous in Tron: Legacy. The marketing gurus behind Thrones sure know how to ignite a fire under a fanboy’s flittering heart.

Game of Thrones returns Sunday, March 31 at 9PM on HBO. After the break, catch two new teasers titled “War” and “The Beast.” (Click here for more…)

At last, HBO has released a trailer featuring actual footage from the upcoming third season of the epic fantasy series Game of Thrones. Was it worth the wait? Although it’s merely a 60-second spot, the answer is a resounding yes.

Flying dragons. Fire. Dick Joffrey (“Everyone is mine to torment.”). Sexy Daenerys (with her very own army?). A grown up Bran Stark weilding a mighty bow-and-arrow. Our favorite Imp.

Game of Thrones is back March 31. And because I know you want the pulse-pounding background track I’ll save you the trip: it’s “Bones” by MS MR available at iTunes.

Update: HBO has released an extended version of this trailer featuring even more brand new footage and it’s embedded after the break. (Click here for more…)

Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night’s Watch, for this night and all the nights to come.

That, my friends, is the Night’s Watch oath. It is required to be recited by those who give up their lives to join the Night’s Watch, a military force that guards the enormous Wall and serves to protect the people of the Seven Kingdoms from the mysteriousness that lives beyond it. The Watch and its oath were invented by author George R.R. Martin, the man behind A Song of Ice and Fire, a collection of fantasy novels that inspired the critically acclaimed HBO series Game of Thrones. In the show we’ve been introduced to the Night’s Watch and even witnessed Jon Snow, the bastard of Winterfell, be inducted into the cold group.

As we get closer to the third season premiere of Game of Thrones, HBO is promoting the series with a fun, interactive way to feel like you’re part of it all. At mywatchbegins.com you can hit record and recite the Night’s Watch oath along with Lord Snow as the words pass on the screen, karaoke style. Then you can hear it back and share the awesomeness with your friends. (Here’s my recording!) Though there really isn’t much to it, hearing your echo behind Snow’s oath…it’s epic and empowering.

Before you get started, watch the clip above to get reacquainted with the oath. Game of Thrones returns March 31.

Ever since Entourage came to an end in September 2011 fans of the longrunning HBO series have been drooling over the idea that the boys might return for one last hurrah on the big screen. Over the past couple years creator Doug Ellin and producer Mark Wahlberg have expressed interest in doing a movie; most recently in September Ellin told Deadline that he was fully invested in completing a feature-length script. And now, it’s officially a-go: Warner Bros. has given the green light for a theatrical version of Entourage. Ellin (who has completed the script by now) is set to direct and Wahlberg will produce with Stephen Levinson. Adrian Grenier (Vinny Chase), Kevin Connolly (E), Kevin Dillon (Johnny Drama), Jerry Ferrara (Turtle), and Jeremy Piven (Ari Gold) are all expected to reprise their memorable roles.

Ellin is keeping wraps on the film’s plot but he spilled this to Deadline in September. “There are interesting developments about Ari as a studio head…But foremost is the friendship between the guys who are still hanging out and going to fun parties, and it continues with the same characters,” he said.

And now we wait for the trailer!

[Via Deadline]

High off its recent Golden Globe wins for Best Comedy and Best Actress (Lena Dunham), HBO’s Girls has been renewed for a third season. The premium cable network ordered 12 episodes for the next season–that’s an additional two half-hours more than the first two seasons received. Star/creator/executive producer/director/writer Lena Dunham let the news out early on Thursday when she told Alec Baldwin on his podcast that “We’re starting season three at the end of March. I’m so excited.”

Girls airs Sunday nights at 9PM on HBO.

Bored to Death is making a comeback. The critically acclaimed entertaining neo-noir series from Jonathan Ames has a development deal at HBO Films that could result in a feature-length TV-movie airing on the premium cable channel. Ever since its cancellation in December 2011, a Bored to Death revival-as-a-movie has been rumored and now the project is swimming much closer to reality.

The logline goes like this: ”Jonathan, Ray, and George reunite to fight crime, commit crime, lose their minds and fail at love in a Bored to Death feature-length slapstick adventure.”

Ames will pen the script and serve as executive producer along with Sarah Condon and Stephanie Davis. Stars Jason Schwartzman, who played a fantastical version of real-life Jonathan Ames as a novelist and private eye, Zach Galifianakis, who played Jonathan’s best friend Ray, and Ted Danson, who played Jonathan’s pot-smoking boss George are not officially signed on for the project yet, but all three have expressed interest to team up again and bring these characters back to life.

More as this exciting, slightly unexpected story develops.

[Via THR]

As we sprint toward spring the next season of Game of Thrones looms on the horizon. Here is a behind-the-scenes look at season 3 with commentary by the cast and the producers. “This is the rise and fall season because there are so many characters who come into the season with power of some kind who lose everything, and other characters who enter with almost nothing and achieve great power,” says executive producer David Benioff. “It’s still very much about power and very much about family,” adds Benioff partner D.B. Weiss. “I also think that this is a season of tremendous reversals of fortune. I think you will be pleasantly surprised and horrified in equal measure.” Star Peter Dinklage says, “The show keeps expanding and breathing more deeply.”

Game of Thrones returns March 31 at 10PM on HBO.

Update (1/25): HBO has released a slew of cast photos from the upcoming season. See new faces and old in the gallery below.

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The (mis)adventures of Hannah, Marnie, Jessa, and Shoshanna continue when the critically acclaimed HBO series Girls from creator/executive producer/writer/star Lena Dunham returns for its second season tonight (1/13) at 9PM. The season 2 poster features Dunham up-close-and-personal with the perfect tagline “Almost getting it kind of together.” In an interview with EW Dumham said, “If you loved what we were doing last season, then we’re speaking right to you. If you hated it, then I’m afraid things aren’t going to change.”

After the break, get a taste of what’s in store and watch two trailers containing new material from the upcoming season. There you’ll also find a “Girls on Guys” featurette, or a primped Dunham conducting a fun conversation with Girls guys Adam Driver, Alex Karpovsky, Christopher Abbott, and Andrew Rannells (who is performing double duty this year working on this show and Ryan Murphy’s The New Normal).
(Click here for more…)

Don’t expect to see any new footage from the third season of HBO’s fantasy series in this recently released teaser for Game of Thrones. Still, it is intriguing nonetheless. It features the three-eyed raven from Bran’s dreams flying over a modern cityscape. Pretty sure this has nothing to do what unfolds in the story. I haven’t read the books but I don’t think we’ll be seeing the Starks and the Lannisters discovering a portal to 2013. “Their world returns to ours” is what the promo is trying to say, meaning we will be transporting to Westeros soon when the series returns March 31. Allow “The Rains of Castamere” to soothe your soul and click play above.

March might not feel so close right now, but I’m about to make the wait a bit more bearable. Today EW broke news that the third season of Game of Thrones will feature longer episodes than ever before. Showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff explain the situation thusly. “There’s almost another full episode’s worth of extra minutes spread across the season,” says Weiss. “One of the great liberties with HBO is we’re not forced to come in at a specific time. We can’t be under 50 minutes or over 60, but that gives us a lot of flexibility.” So what are we talking about exactly? “Last year we had a lot of 52-minute episodes. This year is a lot of 56, 57,” adds Benioff. This should come as a pleasant surprise for not only fans of the show but also the readers of the books on which the series is based. Season 3 plans to cover approximately the first half of George R.R. Martin’s thickest Song of Ice and Fire novel, A Storm of Swords. “A super-sized season, as befitting Storm of Swords,” Benioff exclaims. Additionally, EW reports that a jam-packed season 3 finale will likely exceed an hour in length provided HBO gives the fantasy series the go-ahead. In sum, though HBO still caps the episode count at 10 it will feel like there’s 11 when all is said and done. “So for people clamoring for another episode, it’s in there,” Weiss elaborates. “It’s just been cut into tiny pieces.”

Game of Thrones premieres March 31, 2013. To learn about the series-inspired beer, jump after the break. (Click here for more…)

It’s not an epic trailer, but here is our first look into the next season of Game of Thrones. The two minute clip takes you behind-the-scenes of production on the third season of HBO’s fantasy series based on a series of books by George R.R. Martin. In it you’ll hear from the series showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, as well as some of the cast including Richard Madden (Robb), Maisie Williams (Arya), and Emlia Clarke (Daenerys). Peter Dinklage also makes a brief appearance and you get to see how Tyrion’s permanent scar looks. With new locations, characters, and an upgraded wardrobe being introduced next year, the upcoming season of Thrones “is the season [we've] been anticipating from the very beginning,” says Benioff. Clarke will get your blood pumping with her closing remarks: “The game’s been upped. There’s so much more danger. There’s so much more risk.”

Game of Thrones returns March 31, 2013.

This official poster serves as a reminder that HBO’s fantasy series Game of Thrones returns for its third season on March 31, 2013.

Update (11/19): A promo teaser joins the promo poster after the jump. There is no actual footage from the upcoming season; what we get is this fiery and icy quote: “The great war is between death and life, ice and fire. If we lose, the night will never end.” (Click here for more…)

Is Alfred Hitchcock rising from the grave? No, but you might make a double take when you watch this trailer for Hitchcock, a biopic that follows the famed director as he attempts to get one of his most adored films Psycho into theatres. Directed by a Brit Sacha Gervasi, the movie is based on Stephen Rebello’s non-fiction book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho and it stars Anthony Hopkins as a convincing Sir Alfred Hitchcock, Helen Mirren as Hitchcock’s wife Alma Reville and Scarlett Johansson and James D’Arcy as the leads of Psycho, Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The good-looking cast appears up to the challenge in this premiere trailer, and with a November 23 release date the movie will be up for contention at this year’s Oscars.

With Hitchcock releasing next month, the master of horror is getting the star treatment this year if you also factor in HBO’s upcoming TV film The Girl. This one stars Toby Jones as Hitchcock and it explores his questionable relationship with actress Tippi Hedren, the girl who starred in his films The Birds and Marnie, played by Sienna Miller. The Girl airs Saturday, October 20th at 9PM on HBO. The trailer sits after the break. (Click here for more…)

If you thought you’d never see the boys again, you thought wrong. Entourage creator Doug Ellin spilled to Deadline that his plans to bring back Vince, Drama, Turtle, E, and Ari for one last big screen hurrah are chugging along at a brisk pace. As of this past Wednesday he claimed to be on page 110 of the screenplay and that he has hopes to finish it by this Sunday. Though the plot is being kept under wraps, Ellin teased what’s in store for fans of the hit HBO series. If you recall, during a post-credits sequence agent Ari Gold received an important phone call from John Ellis asking if he would succeed him as the head of a studio. “There are interesting developments about Ari as a studio head, and that’s still the first page for me,” said Ellin. “But foremost is the friendship between the guys who are still hanging out and going to fun parties, and it continues with the same characters.”

And now we wait with bated breath for HBO to greenlight Entourage: The Movie. When there’s more, you’ll know. For now, smoke more weed Turtle, seriously.

[Via Deadline]

Game of Thrones season two just ended last month so what better way to bide your time than by marking your calendars with the season three premiere date. Ready? Here it is: March 31, 2013.

Other than announcing this special day, the Game of Thrones panel at Comic Con moderated by author George R.R. Martin included a five-and-a-half minute recap of the epic second season and a brief introduction to (a whopping) 14 new characters we will be forced to know next season. The former video is embedded above while the latter one hangs after the break. Under that video there’s a listing of all the new characters explaining how they’re each tied to the ones we already know. (Click here for more…)

Jeff Daniels’ epic monologue was worth it; after two episodes had aired HBO renewed Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom for a second season. The June 24 series premiere attracted a healthy 2.1 million total viewers. The drama follows network anchor Will McAvoy (Daniels) and his newsroom staff led by executive producer MacKenzie McHale (Emily Mortimer) as they attempt to revamp the way news is reported to viewers whilst weaving their way through personal entanglements. The premiere was solid and typical Sorkin: dialogue-heavy, which can be dizzying but at the same time quite invigorating. Have you seen his previous TV effort The West Wing and his award-winning recent screenplay in The Social Network? The Newsroom is intellectual and highly entertaining; if anything it’s an uplifting look into the chaotic world of reporting. If you missed the premiere you’re only two episodes behind; catch up because this isn’t one to miss.

In related HBO renewal news, True Blood is coming back for a sixth season (but without series creator Alan Ball because he’s moving onto a new show for Cinemax called Banshee) and Eastbound & Down will swing once more in season four (the network ordered eight more episodes).

The Newsroom airs Sunday nights at 10PM on HBO; True Blood precedes it at 9PM.

[Via Deadline 1, 2]