Denis Leary, Louis CK
If you're the sort that looks for role models on TV, then FX probably isn't your default destination. The network for bad boys (and the not-so-saintly women who often helped make them that way) kicks into high summer gear Tuesday night with the return of the blisteringly bitter Rescue Me (splitting its final season over two years, concluding in 2011 to coincide with the 10th anniversary of 9/11). It's joined this year by the not-much-sunnier comedy Louie, which premieres with back-to-back episodes.
Both are quintessentially New York series, finding extremes of very dark humor in the noise and grit and gutter mentality of surviving in the city—although in the case of Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary), the self-destructive wretch at the booze-drenched heart and possible soul of Rescue Me, many could argue that he may have been better off dead....
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Rescue Me
The sixth season of Rescue Me will premiere tonight at 10/9c on FX, but the cast has already wrapped filming on this season and next, which will be the last. So no wonder actors John Scurti (Lou) and Adam Ferrara (Needles) are feeling nostalgic.
Scurti compares the chemistry between himself and executive producer/star Denis Leary (Tommy) to some great comedic teams. "I don't know if it's the ghosts of Laurel and Hardy or Ralph and Ed, or Fred and Barney," Scurti tells TV Guide Magazine. "It just kind of works."
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It's fitting, then, that Scurti's favorite moment from the show is a scene between he and Leary from an earlier season....
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Louie - Louis C.K.
For funnyman Louis C.K., having the final say in the production of his new FX comedy series, Louie, is key.
"When you have a writing staff, you have a community of people you have to convince of everything," C.K. says. "It's like being a dictator."
Check out Louie clips
The single- camera comedy, premiering Tuesday at 11/10c, features ...
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Denis Leary
KEVORKIAN (Monday, 9/8c, HBO)
If you still think you don't know Jack after Al Pacino's turn as "Dr. Death" in HBO's You Don't Know Jack movie, this new documentary on Dr. Jack Kevorkian presents a very intimate portrait of the notorious assisted-suicide specialist. In addition to a lengthy Kevorkian interview, the filmmakers interview friends, family, lawyers and journalists to help interpret his passionate feelings about life and death...
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So You Think You Can Dance
Please send all questions to askmatt@tvguidemagazine.com and follow me on Twitter at @RoushTVGuideMag
Question: A couple of summers ago, I gave So You Think You Can Dance a shot, based partially on your glowing praise for it. It quickly became one of my all-time favorite reality competition shows, and after Mad Men, the show I look forward to most every summer. Unfortunately, the last two seasons have been underwhelming, so I supported the show's decision to make some radical changes this season...
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Felicity Huffman; Kyra Sedgwick; Anna Torv
Every week, senior editors Mickey O'Connor and Adam Bryant satisfy your need for TV scoop. Please send all questions to mega_scoop@tvguide.com.
Do you know which Desperate Housewives kid was switched at birth? — Daniel
MICKEY: Our source is saying that the new season will raise several possibilities, and that we shouldn't jump to any conclusions based on this recasting. That said, Lynette's daughter Penny will have more heavy lifting to do this season, acting-wise...
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Walton Goggins and Timothy Olyphant, Justified
[WARNING: The following story contains spoilers from the Season 1 finale of Justified.]
Few were left standing at the end of Justified's bloody first-season finale, but among the survivors was Walton Goggins' Boyd Crowder, a character who has escaped death twice this season.
Check out photos of the Justified cast
In the finale, Boyd, who was originally intended to die in the pilot, survived a shootout between his friend/nemesis Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) and two Miami drug-cartel assassins. Even though Raylan spent much of the second half of the season trying to put Boyd back in jail after he blew up a meth lab, he still lets Boyd give chase to an assassin instead of bringing him in...
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Modern Family
Freshman comedy Modern Family grabbed a leading five nominations for the Television Critics Association Awards.
The ABC show was nominated for best new series, best comedy series and best program of the year. Stars Ty Burrell and Eric Stonestreet were...
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