ABC unveils its schedule
The network upfront presentations continue in New York and ABC unveiled its schedule today. We've already told you what has been canceled and renewed, so here's a look at your Alphabet net line-up for next season. A few returning shows are getting night and timeslot shifts including "Last Man Standing," which moves to Friday, and "Revenge" which is sliding to Sunday. Among the new shows, "Nashville" should be of interest to "Friday Night Lights" fans as it stars the fabulous Connie Britton aka Tami Taylor.
ABC's fall 2012-2013 schedule (New programs in ALL CAPS):
MONDAY (fall)
8pm - 10pm "Dancing With the Stars"
10pm - 11pm "Castle"
MONDAY (midseason)
8pm - 10pm "The Bachelor"
10pm - 11pm "Castle"
TUESDAY (fall)
8pm - 9pm "Dancing With the Stars" Results Show
9pm - 9:30pm "Happy Endings"
9:30pm - 10pm "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23"
10pm - 11pm "Private Practice"
TUESDAY (midseason)
8pm - 8:30pm HOW TO LIVE WITH YOUR PARENTS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE
8:30pm - 9pm THE FAMILY TOOLS
9pm - 9:30pm "Happy Endings"
9:30pm - 10pm "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23"
10pm - 11pm "Private Practice"
WEDNESDAY
8pm - 8:30pm "The Middle"
8:30pm - 9pm "Suburgatory"
9pm - 9:30pm "Modern Family"
9:30pm - 10pm THE NEIGHBORS
10pm - 11pm NASHVILLE
THURSDAY
8pm - 9pm LAST RESORT
9pm - 10pm "Grey's Anatomy"
10pm - 11pm "Scandal"
FRIDAY
8pm - 9pm "Shark Tank"
9pm - 10pm "Primetime: What Would You Do?"
10pm - 11pm "20/20"
FRIDAY (starting in November)
8pm - 8:30pm "Last Man Standing"
8:30pm - 9pm MALIBU COUNTRY
9pm - 10pm "Shark Tank"
10pm - 11pm "20/20"
SUNDAY
8pm - 9pm "Once Upon a Time"
9pm - 10pm "Revenge"
10pm - 11pm 666 PARK AVENUE
'Bachelorette' season premiere: Emily Maynard meets the guys
ABC/CRAIG SJODIN
Emily Maynard in the season-eight premiere of "The Bachelorette."
Emily Maynard is looking for love on reality TV again as the latest single lady on ABC's "The Bachelorette." Single mom Maynard, who once seemed destined for post-reality TV bliss when season 15 "Bachelor" Brad Womack proposed at the end of his run on "The Bachelor," met her suitors on the May 14 premiere.
Maynard spent the episode sizing up her 25 guys, including one flashy type who arrived in a helicopter. What did you think about the season-eight kickoff? Did the right guys get a rose? Take our poll and sound off in the comments!
'America's Got Talent' welcomes Howard Stern
Notorious shock jock Howard Stern made an energetic debut on the season-seven premiere of NBC's "America's Got Talent" on May 14.
FULL ENTRYTV Upfronts: Renewed? Canceled? Coming Soon?
Watch a clip of "Revolution," a new NBC drama about the fallout of a worldwide cataclysmic blackout from J.J. Abrams.
It's that time of year again, upfronts, when the TV networks unveil their line-ups for the upcoming season to their advertisers, and also, the rest of us.
Of course, most viewers are less concerned about what will be on next fall than whether or not their favorite bubble show is getting the axe right now, so herewith is a partial round-up of some of the good news and the bad news -- broken down by the networks who have made their announcements thus far -- and shows to look forward to in the 2012-2013 season we've been able to cobble together.
(NBC and FOX made their official announcements today. ABC holds their presentation tomorrow, CBS goes on Wednesday, and the CW on Thursday.)
NBC
Canceled: "Awake," "Bent," "Best Friends Forever," "The Firm," "Harry's Law," and "Are You There, Chelsea?"
Renewed: "Parks and Recreation," "Community," "30 Rock" (for a final season), "Parenthood," "The Office," "Up All Night," "Whitney," "Law & Order: SVU," "The Voice," "Rock Center with Brian Williams," "Grimm," "Fashion Star," "Celebrity Apprentice," and "Smash," which moves to mid-season.
New shows:
Dramas: "Revolution" (about the fallout of a worldwide cataclysmic blackout from J.J. Abrams, see clip above), "Chicago Fire" (from Dick Wolf), and "Do No Harm."
Comedies: "Go On" (starring Matthew Perry), "The New Normal," "Animal Practice," and "Guys With Kids" (executive produced by Jimmy Fallon).
'Desperate Housewives' finale: What did you think?
AP Photo/ABC, Ron Tom
In this publicity image released by ABC, Marcia Cross, left, and Scott Bakula are shown with, from right, Eva Longoria, Felicity Huffman and Teri Hatcher in a scene from the series finale of "Desperate Housewives."
After eight racy seasons, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" has wrapped up the primetime antics. The fabulous foursome signed off on the series finale, which aired on May 13.
Did you check out the final walk down Wisteria Lane? If you caught the series finale, let us know, did you like it?
Arcade Fire, Foo Fighters to back Mick Jagger on 'SNL'
Mick Jagger may not have his Rolling Stones bandmates on the May 19 season finale of "Saturday Night Live," but he has found some serviceable fill-ins for when he performs as musical guest, in addition to hosting the show. Arcade Fire and Foo Fighters will serve as Jagger's backing band, according to Entertainment Weekly. A pair of tweets from the rock bands confirmed the news.
FULL ENTRYFriday 11 a.m. 'American Idol' chat
The top three singers have been revealed! Globe critic Sarah Rodman will be online at 11 a.m. to chat about the week on "American Idol." Log on and sound off!
Thursday noon TV chat
Globe critic Sarah Rodman is here to chat about everything going on in TV-land over the past week. Log on and sound off!
Lady Gaga 'The Simpsons' trailer released
Springfield is about to welcome another celebrity visitor: Lady Gaga.
AP
Lady Gaga leaves a hotel in Hong Kong Tuesday, May 8, 2012.
In "Lisa Goes Gaga," "The Simpsons" season 23 finale, the pop megastar will head to the funny family's town to cheer up Lisa through the power of music, a flash mob, and more. Judging by the trailer, Gaga's penchant for outrageous outfits will also play a big role in the episode, as the promo features Homer nibbling her famed meat dress and Maggie shuffling around in her best Gaga drag.
FULL ENTRYJermaine Paul wins 'The Voice'
Former background singer Jermaine Paul is now in the spotlight.
The 33-year-old crooner, who has backed stars like Alicia Keys and Mary J. Blige, was crowned the winner of the second season of NBC's "The Voice" on May 8. Paul, bested rocker Juliet Simms, who Boston.com readers had pegged as the singer to take home the "Voice" title.
After learning that he won, Paul was joined on stage by members of his family and sang an emotional version of R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly."
'The Voice': Who will win?
The last four voices gave it their all last night, leaving the choice of who wins "The Voice" in America's hands. The winner will be revealed in tonight's episode on NBC.
Tony Lucca put a country spin on Jay-Z's "99 Problems" that Blake Shelton and Cee Lo seemed to dig, and Christina Aguilera had a problem with. Aguilera took issue with the track, whose chorus includes an insult typically lobbed at women, calling the lyrics "derogatory." Perhaps the lyrics were a not-so-subtle way of Lucca taking a dig at Aguilera, who has been basically slyly slamming her fellow ex-mouseketeer for much of the season (Lucca's coach Adam Levine said he and Lucca previously discussed the lyrics and did not interpret the song as being derogatory toward women).
'Mad Men' recap: Megan quits, Pete cheats
"Mad Men" keeps rolling on toward more drama.
In this episode, Pete takes the advice of his commuting companion on how to cheat, and ends up having an extramarital affair with the fella's wife, Beth, played by Alexis Bledel. He keeps trying to meet up with her, while she spends most of their time together putting the kibosh on any other rendezvous.
While Megan seems to have a knack for this whole copywriting thing, she'd much rather be following her dream of being an actress. So, she quits. However, Megan ditching Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce means that Peggy has to fill in as Don's wife for a Cool Whip commercial that is supposed to play off their easy chemistry. But since Don and Peggy don't have easy chemistry, their pitch is super awkward and Peggy ends up screaming at Don in a way she's probably wanted to do for, oh, five seasons now.
'American Idol' chat -- transcript
Globe critic Sarah Rodman took your questions and comments about all things "American Idol," which is now down to the final four. Check out the transcript below.
'The Voice': The final four
OK, we are down to the final four on "The Voice" and each team has to rely on the moxie and vocal riff-ability of only one singer to snag the title. Here's who's duking it out on the mike for the ultimate crown next week.
FULL ENTRY'New Girl' star Jake Johnson Q&A
Greg Gayne/FOX
Jess (Zooey Deschanel, left), Nick (Jake Johnson, center) and Schmidt (Max Greenfield, right) attend a friend's wedding in the "Wedding" episode of "New Girl."
Actor Jake Johnson, who plays the oft-frowning Nick opposite Zooey Deschanel’s Jess on “New Girl,” visited the Boston.com offices on Wednesday, May 2, to hang out and take your questions online. He talked about his popular Fox show, his roles in films such as “21 Jump Street” and “No Strings Attached,” and much more.
'Khloe and Lamar' not canceled, just on a break
Despite multiple reports, fans of Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odam's E! reality show, "Khloe and Lamar," may not have seen the last of the affectionate TV couple.
FULL ENTRYWill you watch E!'s new shows?
AP Photo/Starpix, Dave Allocca
Do you need another music-centric reality TV show? How about another celebrity couple grappling with life and love in front the cameras? Can't get enough sassy send-ups of celebrities from an "It" girl comedian? Well, E! Entertainment network is all about filling those voids in TV-land.
MTV's 'Snooki & J WOWW' trailer
Photo credit: MTV
It's happening! "Jersey Shore" starlets Snooki and JWOWW are starring in their own spinoff series on MTV, aptly titled "Snooki and JWOWW." The girls' latest go at the reality show rodeo, however, is shaping up to be different than the five seasons of boozy, bed-hopping antics on the "Shore" because Snooki is pregnant and engaged.
FULL ENTRY'American Idol' top 5: check out who made the cut
"American Idol" has narrowed the field down to just five finalists. On the April 26 episode, rockin' songstress Elise Testone, who had hit the bottom two a few times, was eliminated. The current lineup of "Idol" hopefuls is now Jessica Sanchez, Phillip Phillips, Skylar Laine, Joshua Ledet, and Hollie Cavanaugh.
Check out the latest "American Idol" updates and tell us what you think about this season' top five finalists.
About Viewer Discretion
Contributors
Matthew Gilbert is the Globe's TV critic.Sarah Rodman is a staff TV and music critic for the Boston Globe.
Michael Brodeur is the assistant arts editor for the Boston Globe, covering pop music, TV, and nightlife.
Nicole Cammorata is a producer for Arts & Entertainment and Things to Do at Boston.com.
Katie McLeod is Boston.com's features editor.
Rachel Raczka is a producer for Lifestyle and Arts & Entertainment at Boston.com.
Glenn Yoder is an Arts & Entertainment producer at Boston.com.
Mawuse Ziegbe is an Arts & Entertainment producer at Boston.com.






