Thompson on Hollywood

What TV to Watch this Winter: 'Downton,' 'Girls,' 'Top of the Lake,' 'House of Cards' and More [VIDEO]

Television

Check out this photo gallery from the Daily Beast on the 18 TV shows to watch this winter. Included in the list are buzzy returning series like PBS' "Downton Abbey," HBO's "Girls," FX's "Justified" and IFC's "Portlandia," while intriguing newcomers like Netflix's David Fincher-Kevin Spacey collaboration "House of Cards" and Jane Campion's Elisabeth Moss-starrer "Top of the Lake" also make the cut. Left off presumably because it is already under way is BBC America's guilty pleasure second season of "The Hour," starring Romola Garai ("Atonement"), Ben Whishaw ("Skyfall") and Dominic West ("300").

By Beth Hanna
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January 2, 2013 12:26 PM
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'Downton Abbey' Christmas Special Spoilers Cause Twittersphere Uproar, Ruining Season 3 for American Audience

Television

"Downton Abbey" fans, you might want to block your ears and eyes. The UK regularly enjoys their native period drama before us Yankees, so spoilers are to be expected for those following "Abbey" chatter.

By Sophia Savage
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December 26, 2012 1:55 PM
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Trailer for 'Girls' Season Two: More Sex and Shenanigans for Dunham & Friends

Video

Season two of Lena Dunham's HBO hit show "Girls" debuts on January 13. The shenanigans continue for Dunham's Hannah Horvath and friends as they awkwardly navigate through their messy, sexy twenties in Brooklyn, NY. Check out the season two trailer below:

By Sophia Savage
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December 26, 2012 1:22 PM
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'The Walking Dead' Loses Another Executive Producer, Will Show Chase Zombie Gore?

Television

Yet again there is a creative parting of the ways on hugely popular AMC series "The Walking Dead," which the cabler is renewing for a fourth season. "The Walking Dead" series based on Robert Kirkman's zombie graphic novels was first created by writer-director Frank Darabont ("The Shawshank Redeption"), who left after Season One. After that AMC and remaining executive producer Gale Anne Hurd relied on exec producer and showrunner Glen Mazzara, who shepherded Season Two and Three.

By Anne Thompson
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December 21, 2012 1:20 PM
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Participant Media to Launch Cable Channel in 2013; 'Entertainment to Inspire Social Change'

Television

Jeff Skoll's Participant Media, which has backed a number of consciousness-raising narrative and documentary features -- "Lincoln," "The Help" and "An Inconvenient Truth," for example -- is extending its reach to TV and launching a cable channel in summer of 2013. The target demographic is 18-to-34-year-olds.

By Beth Hanna
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December 18, 2012 12:47 PM
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HBO Backs Martin Scorsese's Official Bill Clinton Documentary

Television

Martin Scorsese is jumping tino the current appetite for presidential profiles. In this case the director and HBO are partnering on an official documentary of the 42nd president of the U.S., Bill Clinton. This doc will be Scorsese’s fourth collaboration with HBO

By Anne Thompson
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December 17, 2012 1:13 PM
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Weekend Recap: SNL Christmas Clips, Tarantino on 'Django,' More Top Tens, Tim Burton and Winona Ryder's Music Video

News

We cover the weekend's breaking news, from SNL and Tarantino to the latest ten best lists and Andrew Sullivan on "Zero Dark Thirty."

By Maggie Lange
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December 16, 2012 11:30 PM
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In the Works: BBC Set to Adapt J.K. Rowling's 'Casual Vacancy'; 'Jane Eyre' Producer Onboard

Television

The BBC is adapting J.K. Rowling's foray into non-YA lit, "The Casual Vacancy." Brit film and TV producer Paul Trijbits will executive produce a television production of the bestseller. Trijbits is first tasked with finding a writer to adapt.

By Beth Hanna
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December 12, 2012 11:47 AM
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AFI Awards 2012: Film and TV Ten Bests

Awards

The American Film Institute's AFI Awards are revealing because they are chosen by two juries--filma nd TV--who represent a cross-section of critics, academics and industry insiders. The AFI Award juries focus on the community’s creative ensembles as collaborators. See full awards lists below.

By Anne Thompson
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December 10, 2012 2:30 PM
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FX Takes Rights to 'Homeland' Team's Next Drama Series, 'Tyrant'

Television

FX has scooped up the rights and ordered a pilot for "Tyrant," the next project from "Homeland" executive producing team Gideon Raff and Howard Gordon. Like "Homeland," "Tyrant" has Middle Eastern themes, centering on an American family accidentally caught up in the political turbulence of the region.