USA Sets Return Dates for 'White Collar,' 'Royal Pains,' Series Premiere Date for 'Common Law'

USA Sets Return Dates for 'White Collar,' 'Royal Pains,' Series Premiere Date for 'Common Law'

USA has released its 2012 mid-season schedule, which means that 'White Collar' fans, your wait to find out what happens to Elizabeth Burke is almost over.

'White Collar' returns to the network to continue Season 3 on Tues., Jan. 17. And don't worry 'Collar' fans, Neal Caffrey and his fancy suits will definitely be back for Season 4. Meanwhile, 'Royal Pains' will continue its own third season on Wed., Jan. 18. Both shows will air at the 10PM ET time slot.

The network will also premiere its new buddy cop dramedy, 'Common Law,' on Thurs., Jan. 26. The series stars Michael Ealy and Warren Kole as a pair of bickering LAPD detective partners who are ordered into couples therapy by their boss.

The show made headlines a few months ago when cinematographer Dennis Hall died on set while shooting the new USA series.

Angelina Jolie on '60 Minutes': 'I didn't die young, so I'm very lucky'

Angelina Jolie on '60 Minutes': 'I didn't die young, so I'm very lucky'

For some of her "60 Minutes" interview, Angelina Jolie talks about her wild past and how she has settled down now.

"I went through heavy, darker times and I survived them. I didn't die young, so I'm very lucky," says Jolie. When pressed for details, she remains vague.

"Nothing I want to go into a lot of detail about. But people can imagine I did the most dangerous and I did the worst and for many reasons, I shouldn't be here ...too many dangerous things, too many chances taken, too far," she says.

But she does make assurances that she hasn't completely lost her bad girl side.

"I'm still a bad girl. I still have that side of me, it's just in its place now. It belongs to Brad, or it belongs to our adventures," says Jolie.

As for the constant tabloid fodder that is her relationship with Brad Pitt and their six children, she says, "I don't see those [magazines], but I assume they're not me ... I find them quite shallow and often very wrong."

And what's their secret to their successful family? Complimentary work schedules and a great example to draw from in her late mother.

"We never work at the same time," says Jolie, of herself and Pitt. "My mother was a full-time mother. She didn't have much of her own life, everything was for her children. I will never be as good a mother as she was. She was just grace incarnate, the most generous, loving [gets choked up] She's better than me."

Angelina's directorial debut, "In the Land of Blood and Honey," opens Dec. 23.

'Desperately Seeking Santa's' Laura Vandervoort: 'A nice twist on the typical Christmas story'

'Desperately Seeking Santa's' Laura Vandervoort: 'A nice twist on the typical Christmas story'

ABC Family is kicking things off with "Desperately Seeking Santa," which star Laura Vandervoort tells Zap2it is not your typical Christmas movie.

"I play Jennifer Walker. She's a girl very driven to succeed, make it up the corporate ladder at a mall in Boston," says Laura. "She comes up with this idea to have sexy Santa or hunky Santa instead of the regular Santa. She holds auditions with local men to be the new hunky Santa. It's a fun Christmas comedy, but it's also a romance. I'm a romantic at heart and I really related to the script."

Naturally, Jennifer finds her hunky Santa, in David Moretti (Nick Zano) and then the romantic sparks fly. But he also teaches Jennifer that there's more to life than work.

"In the end, she realizes she has no family, she's always just been about work, and she realizes with this new man in your life that family comes first. Having love in your life is more important than succeeding in the corporate world," says Laura.

"I consider Jennifer to be the Scrooge in this film. It's a nice twist on the typical Christmas story. Eventually she realizes that Christmas has more meaning than sales and profits at the mall," she continues.

The film was actually shot a year ago, but Laura tells us it was nice to be doing Christmas-y things at a non-Christmas time of the year.

"Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. It was nice to have the Christmas songs and the cozy sweaters even though it wasn't Christmas. We had the hot chocolate, it felt like a little Christmas for real," says Laura.

"Desperately Seeking Santa" premieres Sunday, Nov. 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC Family.

'Homeland' review: Claire Danes, the CIA's (and Showtime's) secret weapon

'Homeland' review: Claire Danes, the CIA's (and Showtime's) secret weapon

Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes in her first return to series TV since "My So Called Life") is a basket case. Seriously, she's potentially psychotic. She may also be the only person standing between the U.S. and another massive terrorist attack. In "Homeland," debuting Sunday (Oct. 2) on Showtime, Danes plays a CIA analyst with big-time doubts about a just-released prisoner of war.

The show, based on the lauded Israeli series "Prisoners of War," chronicles Mathison's personal mission to save the country from another 9/11-sized terrorist attack. Her Carrie Mathison takes personal responsibility for not preventing the devastating attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon and so she's haunted and convinced that -- if only she can figure it out, by any means necessary -- the next attack can be prevented.

British Transplant Damian Lewis ("Dreamcatcher") plays Nicholas Brody, who may be positioning himself as one of the most chilling characters to appear on TV since "Lost's" Benjamin Linus. He's a Marine sergeant who, after almost a decade in captivity, is freed from al Qaeda's clutches.

He returns home to a complicated family situation -- his wife kind of thought he wasn't coming back (draw your own conclusions) and his two kids have grown up without him around. Then there's the wife of Brody's best friend, who died while a POW with him, who just wants to know how it happened and was he there? The guy is scarred -- but the question is how did he heal?

Like all of fiction's best characters -- neither Carrie nor Nick are purely good or evil and the series opener keeps us in suspense about who to trust and whether or not one or both is maniacally dangerous. Is Nick a "Manchurian Candidate" who has been brainwashed into helping al Qaeda plot its next hit? Is Carrie a potentially paranoid psychotic nymphomaniac who has way too much access to sensitive information?

We're looking forward to the rest of the season to watch this finely drawn mystery unravel.

Also turning in a stellar, if understated, performance -- Mandy Patinkin ("Criminal Minds") as Saul, Carrie's CIA handler, mentor and father confessor.

"Homeland" airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on Showtime.

'Hell on Wheels' review: A slow ride but a lovely view

'Hell on Wheels' review: A slow ride but a lovely view

AMC has delivered some of the most compelling and intellectual dramas on television in recent years with "Mad Men," "Breaking Bad" and "The Walking Dead." The network is now seeking to add another program to that line-up with the series "Hell on Wheels."

The show focuses on the construction of the transcontinental railroad in post-Civil War America. And with this new America comes the challenges of integration, reconciliation and Westward expansion. It's an ambitious objective that sometimes delivers and sometimes goes a bit off track.

The main character is Cullen Bohannan (Anson Mount), a former Confederate soldier who is looking to start a new life while seeking to avenge his wife's murder. Hip-hop artist Common joins the cast as Elam Ferguson, a recently-freed slave who finds that life after the Emancipation Proclamation isn't significantly different than it was before. The rail building effort is run by Thomas "Doc" Durant (Colm Meaney), a corrupt businessman who is more focused on personal profit than creating the best railroad possible.

What's most impressive about "Hell on Wheels" is the production value. It appears that no detail was overlooked - from the costumes to the set design to the location. Because of this, the show instantly grabs viewers and takes them back in time. What was surprising and worthy of note is how graphic some of the violence and medical practices are. This is mostly a function of the equipment available in the 1860s, so it adds to the realism. But it can be a little much.

The pilot itself is a bit slow in the story department but strong in the character development. The series heats up in the second episode with the introduction of the railroad security chief The Swede (Christopher Heyerdahl). His quiet yet threatening presence is reminiscent of the Arnold Toht character from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (a.k.a. The guy who burns the medallion in his hand).

What's troublesome, sadly, is Cullen Bohannon. He's just your run-of-the-mill Western character in that he's a hard drinking, cigar smoking, rough-and-tumble kinda guy who won't take guff from anyone. He offers the predictable sneers from under his black hat but is seemingly unable to offer much humanity to balance his Western machismo. The biggest question about Bohannon is what will he do after he avenges his wife's murder. He doesn't seem to be particularly invested in the railroad construction and he's pretty much a lone wolf.

Common is competent in his role, although he's not give a lot to work with. Meaney, on the other hand, doesn't offer the bite this role requires. It really deserves someone who can exude conniving and ruthless, like Ian McShane.

At the end of the day, "Hell on Wheels" is beautifully-filmed project that offers exceptional attention to detail on everything but the main character. Here's hoping they can steer it in the right direction.

"Hell on Wheels" airs on AMC on Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.

'Leverage' Season 4: Aldis Hodge bares (almost) all as the season continues

'Leverage' Season 4: Aldis Hodge bares (almost) all as the season continues

"Leverage" returns on Sunday, Nov. 27, on TNT with the winter half of its season-four episodes, and fans will get to see a whole lot of series star Aldis Hodge.

In "The Experimental Job," tech wizard Alec Hardison (Hodge) and rest of the team -- grifter Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman); retrieval specialist Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane) and reformed thief Parker (Beth Riesgraf), led by former insurance investigator Nate Ford (Timothy Hutton) -- return to continue fighting for the little guy against giant corporations and overbearing government officials.

When homeless veterans start disappearing in Boston, the team must go back to college and infiltrate secret societies. And that's where things start getting dodgy for Hardison.

"Fans might get a little leg action," Hodge tells Zap2it, "because, my character, there's a scene where he's ... actually, I don't want to give it away."

aldis-hodge-320.jpgUrged to share a little bit, Hodge says, "My character, he goes to college, and there's a hazing that goes on where he has to jog around in his underwear. The ladies may be getting a little leg action, a little man-cake.

"We know the girls care, and we're trying to give the girls a little something."

Since the show shoots in Oregon, it wasn't exactly toasty warm while the scene was being filmed.

"We were shooting, of course, in Portland," says Hodge, "so it's cold even throughout the summer. Every now and then, you'll get a nice day, but not on that day. We were shooting at a college that was open. We sectioned off part of the property, but still everybody was going to school, doing their thing, and me and a bunch of dudes are running around in our underwear.

"We had to streak. It was weird because, not so much for the part where I'm streaking in front of strangers, but I was streaking in front of my work people, who I've been with for the last three, four years, and I've gotta see them again next week, next year, you know what I mean.

"It's like, 'Oh, dang, I don't want them to see this much of me.'"

Asked who made him suffer the most afterward, Hodge says, "Um, well, actually, I shot the scene with just a few other extras in the scene, so it wasn't with my fellow co-stars. I think they have yet to see it. I'm pretty sure the suffering will come right after the episode on Sunday."

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for christian-kane-leverage-large.jpgAs to which cast member he expects to give him the most grief in the future, Hodge says, "Christian. Yeah, Christian, definitely."

Since Kane is a musician, perhaps he will immortalize the moment in song.

Hodge says, "He probably will."

'Once Upon a Time's' Raphael Sbarge: 'Consciousness always comes with a price'

'Once Upon a Time's' Raphael Sbarge: 'Consciousness always comes with a price'

"Once Upon a Time" is back Sunday (Nov. 27) with an episode that centers around Jiminy Cricket/Archie Hopper, played by Raphael Sbarge. The episode description says that Cricket is looking to get away from the family business in Fairytale Land. So what is this family business and what is Jiminy looking to do instead?

"I'm not actually allowed to divulge that information," laughs Sbarge.

"What we get to see in the episode essentially is the person who is Jiminy Cricket. Essentially how he evolved," says Sbarge. "Jiminy Cricket is ultimately an icon of doing the right thing, 'let your concience be your guide.' What we get to see is the struggle, the fire that he has to walk through in order to have a sense of what the right thing is. Consciousness always comes with a price."

We wondered if Jiminy's real-world counterpart Archie being a therapist has anything to do with Jiminy's desire to strike out on his own.

Sbarge says, "I think it's so clever that they made him a therapist. In the world we live in now, it's so complex, with so many gray areas, so many perceptions of right and wrong. There is genuine right and wrong, but there is a big whole world."

"The focus on helping people find their way through and to effectively do the right thing, it's such a wonderful metaphor for the modern world. Someone who helps you find your conscience," says Sbarge.

"Once Upon a Time" airs Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

TV Ratings: A 'Blue Bloods' rerun wins Friday night

TV Ratings: A 'Blue Bloods' rerun wins Friday night

Fast National ratings for Friday, Nov. 25, 2011

It was a night of reruns, holiday specials and movies - so who came out on top? CBS did, as usual, but by a much slimmer margin than the Eye normally wins. A "Blue Bloods" rerun was the overall ratings winner for the night.

CBS averaged 5.3 million viewers and a 3.3 rating/6 share in households. ABC was second with 4.5 million, 2.7/5, NBC was third with 3.979 million, 2.5/4 and FOX was barely fourth with 3.977 million and a 2.4/4. The CW trailed with 1.5 million, 0.9/2.

In the adults 18-49 demo, it was almost exactly reversed. FOX won with a 1.2, followed by ABC with a 1.1, and then CBS and NBC at 1.0. The CW was fifth with a 0.4.


Friday hour by hour:

8 p.m.

ABC: "Shrek the Third" (4.08 million, 2.4/4)
NBC: "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" (4.05 million, 2.6/5)
CBS: "Hoops & Yoyo Ruin Christmas" (3.7 million, 2.2/4)/ "Elf on the Shelf" (4.3 million, 2.3/4)
FOX: "Iron Man" (3.7 million viewers, 2.3/4 households)
The CW: "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" (1.8 million, 1.0/2)

18-49 leader: "Shrek the Third" and "Iron Man" (tie, 1.1)

9 p.m.

CBS: "CSI: NY" rerun (5.5 million, 3.5/6)
ABC: "Shrek the Third" (4.6 million, 2.5/4)
FOX: "Iron Man" (4.2 million, 2.5/4)
NBC: "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" (3.97 million, 2.5/4)
The CW: "Olive, the Other Reindeer" (1.2 million, 0.7/1)

18-49 leader: "Iron Man" (1.4)

10 p.m.

CBS: "Blue Bloods" rerun (6.5 million, 4.2/8)
ABC: "20/20" (4.97 million, 3.3/6)
NBC: "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" (3.9 million, 2.3/4)


18-49 leader: "20/20" (1.2)

Ratings information includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are preliminary and subject to change, especially in the case of live telecasts. Source: The Nielsen Company.

Fast National ratings for Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011

Fast National ratings for Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011

CBS rolled to an easy ratings win on Thanksgiving, with its rerun lineup leading all three hours of primetime in viewers and two of the three in adults 18-49. ABC's special "A Very Gaga Thanksgiving" put up decent numbers as a fair amount of people tuned in to see her sing, do crafts with third-graders and cook with chef Art Smith.

CBS averaged 8.4 million viewers and a 4.9 rating/9 share in households for the night, topping second-place ABC (5.4 million, 2.9/6) by 3 million viewers. FOX took third with 5.1 million viewers and a 2.4/5. NBC (3.7 million, 2.1/4) came in fourth, and The CW trailed with a little under 900,000 viewers and a 0.6/1.

In the adults 18-49 demographic, CBS' 2.1 rating led the pack. FOX's 1.7 edged out ABC's 1.6 for second. NBC drew a 1.1 and The CW a 0.3.

Thursday hour by hour:

8 p.m.

CBS: "The Big Bang Theory" rerun (11.2 million viewers, 6.0/12 households)/"Rules of Engagement" rerun (7.9 million, 4.4/9)
FOX: Specials - "Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas" (7.1 million, 3.2/7)/"Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown" (5.3 million, 2.4/5)
ABC: Special - "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" (5.8 million, 2.8/6)
NBC: Movie - "Horton Hears a Who" (3.4 million, 2.0/4)
The CW: "The Vampire Diaries" rerun (1 million, 0.6/1)

18-49 leader: "The Big Bang Theory" (3.6)

9 p.m.

CBS: "Person of Interest" rerun (8 million, 4.6/9)
ABC: "The Middle" rerun (4.25 million, 2.3/4)/Special - "A Very Gaga Thanksgiving" (5.75 million, 3.2/6)
FOX: "Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown" (4.6 million, 2.1/4)/"The Simpsons" rerun (3.4 million, 1.8/3)
NBC: "Horton Hears a Who" (4 million, 2.2/4)
The CW: "The Secret Circle" rerun (776,000, 0.5/1)

18-49 leader: "Person of Interest" (1.7)

10 p.m.

CBS: "The Mentalist" rerun (7.8 million, 4.7/9)
ABC: "A Very Gaga Thanksgiving" (5.4 million, 3.2/6)
NBC: Special - "85th Anniversary of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade" (3.7 million, 2.1/4)

18-49 leader: "A Very Gaga Thanksgiving" (1.6)

Ratings information includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are preliminary and subject to change. Source: The Nielsen Company.

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011

Almost all shows were down just a bit the night before Thanksgiving, but ABC's comedy block still put up a solid night led by "Modern Family." "The X Factor" results show also had a decent night. "Happy Endings" was actually up just a tick from last week.

ABC led with 8.6 million viewers and an 5.2 rating/9 share in households, followed by CBS at 7.8 million and a 4.8/8. FOX was third with 6.6 million and a 4.0/7, NBC was fourth at 3.7 million and 2.4/4 and the CW trailed with 938,000 and a 0.6/1 share.

In the 18-49 demographic, ABC also won with a 2.7, followed by FOX (2.0), CBS (1.8), NBC (1.2) and the CW (0.4).

Wednesday hour by hour:

8 p.m.

ABC: "The Middle" (9.1 million, 4.7/8)/"Suburgatory" (8.3 million, 4.8/8)
FOX: "The X Factor" (8.5 million, 5.1/9)
CBS: "Survivor: South Pacific" (7.9 million viewers, 4.6/8 households)
NBC: "Up All Night" (4.3 million, 2.8/5)/"Up All Night" rerun (2.99 million, 1.9/3)
The CW: "America's Next Top Model" rerun (863 K, 0.6/1)

18-49 leader: "The X Factor"/"The Middle"/"Suburgatory" (tie, 2.5)

9 p.m.

ABC: "Modern Family" (12.6 million, 7.2/12)/"Happy Endings" (7.2 million, 4.3/7)
CBS: "Criminal Minds" rerun (8.2 million, 5.2/9)
FOX: "Mobbed" (4.7 million, 2.8/5)
NBC: "The Biggest Loser" special (3.7 million, 2.3/4)
The CW: "America's Next Top Model" (992 K, 0.6/1)

18-49 leader: "Modern Family" (4.5)

10 p.m.

CBS: "CSI" rerun (7.25 million, 4.5/8)
ABC: "Revenge" (7.2 million, 4.7/8)
NBC: "The Biggest Loser" special (3.7 million, 2.4/4)

18-49 leader: "Revenge" (2.1)

Ratings information includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are preliminary and subject to change. Source: The Nielsen Company.

Howard Stern, 'America's Got Talent' still talking, but he wants a big payday

Howard Stern, 'America's Got Talent' still talking, but he wants a big payday

If Howard Stern does come to "America's Got Talent," it will be with a sizable price tag. And it might be more accurate to say that "America's Got Talent" will come to Stern.

The King of All Media and NBC are in "advanced talks" about Stern taking Piers Morgan's place as an "AGT" judge next summer, Page Six reports. But he has some serious demands, including a $20 million salary for the show, which is NBC's top summer franchise.

That's a lot of money, but an even bigger stumbling block may be his demand that the show move to New York after six seasons based in Los Angeles. Stern wants to continue doing his New York-based satellite radio show while working on "AGT."

Executive producer Simon Cowell is reportedly very interested in landing Stern. Page Six quotes a pair of insiders who say conflicting things about whether the other judges, Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel, are up for a move to the East Coast. One of the sources adds that the option of having Stern as a part-time presence on the show has also been discussed.

'Fringe' Season 5: Still a possibility, despite ratings dip

'Fringe' Season 5: Still a possibility, despite ratings dip

"Fringe" fans who are dedicated enough to check the show's ratings every week may have gotten a bit of a scare last week, when the mid-season finale delivered the show's lowest ratings ever, dipping below 3 million viewers. It's particularly worrisome given that in Season 1, "Fringe" drew an average of 10 million viewers.

(Shame on 7 million of you. Shame!)

The good news is that Season 4 has already been picked up for a full, 22-episode run, so we don't need to worry about this season being abbreviated.

As for a potential Season 5, TVLine did some digging into the future of the show, speaking to WB TV president Peter Roth about whether it's still realistic to hope for, at the very least, a 13-episode farewell season.

Roth assures fans that things may not be as dire as they seem. "This is a show on Friday nights that audiences love to DVR, and as such we shoot up anywhere from 40 to 63 percent, when you calculate the Live+7," he tells TVLine. "Hopefully that will be good enough for us to continue."

A short Season 5 would push the series over the requisite 100 episodes for potential syndication, which is normally a good incentive for a network to pick up extra episodes. Unfortunately, with a show as serialized as "Fringe," syndication isn't quite so lucrative. Even Joshua Jackson told us last season that at this point, they're making the show for the true fans -- not for those who can catch an episode here and there.

"It feels like we're making the show for people who are into the show now," he said. "We've moved away from trying to branch it out and make it easier for people to sort of dip into. Now it's just red meat for the fans, the purest form of 'Fringe' it can be. As all the actors will tell you, we enjoy so much more shooting the mythology episodes than the freak of the week episodes, because it gives you much more interesting stuff to do."

Weigh in below, "Fringe" fans. Are you hoping that the show gets another season, or do you think it's time to wrap it up this year?

'Justified': Season 3 teasers star Raylan, Boyd and shooting

'Justified': Season 3 teasers star Raylan, Boyd and shooting

One more reason to be thankful this week: The return of "Justified" is only a couple months away, and FX has offered up a pair of teasers for the coming season.

They won't give you much insight into what actually will happen in Season 3, but they do offer three of the things that make the show so good: Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant), Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) and guns.

The first teaser centers on Boyd, who's tracking something through the woods and comes across Raylan's signature cowboy hat lying against a tree trunk. The second is full of tight closeups on Raylan and Boyd, until they both come out shooting -- not at each other, but side-by-side at a common target.

Both of them, though, have us pretty excited for the new season, which arrives in January. Take a look:

'Area 51': Gale Anne Hurd's next big thing?

'Area 51': Gale Anne Hurd's next big thing?

Producer Gale Anne Hurd, who has a massive hit on her hands with AMC's "The Walking Dead," is turning her attention to under-the-radar government operations. According to Deadline, Hurd has optioned the Annie Jacobsen book, "Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base" for development into a TV series.

Area 51, a military base in the Nevada desert, has long been mythologized as a government repository of alien carcasses and UFOs. In the book, Jacobsen talks to 19 former employees of the base who fill her in on some of the covert activities that took place there, allegedly including nuclear-weapons testing, secret supersonic jet development and secret fronts in the War on Terror.

Karl Gajdusek has been tapped as showrunner and the show will reportedly follow "two men working on the base who are thrust into danger when they uncover secrets that the government will protect at any cost."