Alec Baldwin courtesy NBC Photo
No awards system is perfect, and the TCA Awards is no exception. But arriving two days after the often-inexplicable results of the Emmy nominations, Saturday night's low-key, good-time TCA Awards ceremony at the Beverly Hilton was a welcome course correction to several especially egregious Emmy oversights. (And, lo and behold, nary a mention of Boston Legal anywhere.)First up: Michael C. Hall, ignored by the Emmys but cited by the TCA for “Individual Achievement in Drama,” for his mesmerizing performance in Showtime's Dexter as a serial killer targeting Miami's lowest forms of criminal life. (Other contenders in this category included Friday Night Lights' Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, also shamefully snubbed at the Emmys.)Friday Night Lights, a near shutout at the Emmys despite its status as a first-year critics’ darling (and recipient of Peabody and AFI awards), was later named Outstanding New Program. (The field also included 30 Rock, Dexter, Heroes and Ugly Bet...
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Michael C. Hall by Peter Iovino/Showtime
There will be plenty of changes on and off screen when Dexter returns to Showtime. The second season will kick off one month after Dexter catches his half brother, the Ice Truck Killer, trying to murder his adopted sister Debra moments after proposing marriage.“His world is pretty rocked,” says Michael C. Hall, who plays the serial killer who kills serial killers. “He encounters a person he never anticipated encountering, someone who sees him for who he is, who accepts him as such. And he really has no choice but to do him in. When we meet Dexter at the top of Season 2, he’s still reeling from that.”Production will also move permanently from Miami to Los Angeles. “We shot two weeks in Miami last season for five episodes,” says executive producer Daniel Cerone. “Basically, it was a bigger hassle than it was worth. We didn’t have the money to truly shoot in Miami and there was the hurricane problem. So, this season, we’re shooting in S...
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Michael C. Hall and Erik King by Peter Iovino/Showtime
While sitting in on Dexter panel here at press tour, I made a spoilerific discovery: The press kit Showtime handed out contains a detailed overview of Dexter's second season -- a very detailed overview. Some of it is stuff I've already teased in Ask Ausiello, but most of it is fresh scoop. The entire opus is below. Read at your own risk. "Thirty-eight days after killing his only brother, the infamous Ice Truck Killer, Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) still has problems. Sgt. Doakes (Erik King) remains convinced that Dexter has something sinister to hide. His sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) has moved into his apartment, unable to get over the pain of nearly being murdered by her fiancé Rudy, the Ice Truck Killer. And his girlfriend Rita (Julie Benz) suspects Dexter of framing her ex-husband Paul and sending him to jail.As a result, Dexter hasn't been able to do what he does best – keep Miami clean by taking outs its cold-blooded killers. Eager to get back in the serial-kil...
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Question: Wow, way to not say anything about anything anyone gives a damn about last week.
Answer: Please. That Dexter asterisk quiz had you on the edge of your seat.
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Zachary Quinto and Milo Ventimiglia by Chris Haston/NBC Photo
According to insider reports trickling in to TheEnvelope.com, this year's Primetime Emmy voters won't be showing ABC's Walker family as much Brotherly love as they could have. Newbies that are in the best series races, however, include Heroes, Friday Night Lights and Dexter, and (on the lighter side) 30 Rock.Top 10 Drama Series FinalistsBoston Legal, Dexter, Friday Night Lights, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, House, Lost, Rome, The Sopranos, 24Comedy Series FinalistsDesperate Housewives, Entourage, Extras, My Name Is Earl, The Office, Scrubs, 30 Rock, Two and a Half Men, Ugly Betty, WeedsNoteworthy among the MIA include the aforementioned Brothers & Sisters, The Shield, Deadwood and (in this comedy lover's opinion) How I Met Your Mother. The eligibility period ran June 1, 2006, through May 31, 2007.With the actual nominations due July 19, judges on both coasts this week will screen each category's contenders and rank them against each other. Accountants will then use a 50/50 mix of tho...
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Question: Any idea when Dexter will be available on DVD?
Answer: Aug. 21.
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Question: I'm going to steal my husband's glory. He claims to have figured out your Dexter asterisk quiz from last week. Is Dexter's new nickname the "Bay Harbor Butcher"? He thinks he's so smart, but I'm pretty sure he's wrong.
Answer: That noise you hear is Karen's husband doing the "Told Ya So" dance.
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JoBeth Williams has signed on to play Angel alum Julie Benz's mom in several episodes of Showtime's Dexter.... America's First Top Model (sorry, Janice), Lauren Hutton, will appear in at least three eppies of FX's Nip/Tuck this season, playing a PR whiz whose client needs a little [see title of show].... Munich's Yigal Naor has been cast as Saddam Hussein, and Shohreh Aghdashloo (24) his wife Sajida, in Between Two Rivers, HBO and the BBC's four-hour mini about the dictator's 24-year reign.For details on Barbara Eden's visit to Lifetime's Army Wives, see the TV Guide News Report.
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Question: When's Dexter coming back? Any scoop for the new season?
Answer: Season 2 kicks off Sept. 30 and, as you probably heard, Keith Carradine is joining the cast as, per a Showtime press release, "an FBI agent investigating a large number of dead bodies recently found in Miami." What the press release didn't say was that the body parts (Spoiler alert) all belong to Dexter's victims, and their discovery finds dear ol' Dex at the center of a huge manhunt. He even gets his own nickname, à la the Ice Truck Killer: He's the *a* H***** **tc*e*! In other Dexter news, producers are currently casting the role of Rita's estranged mother. She shows up to try to patch things up, but then she meets Dexter and the mother-daughter reunion goes ka-boom.
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Judy Reyes and Aloma Wright in Scrubs courtesy NBC
Keeping a promise he made to Aloma Wright, Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence tells Variety that though he killed off Nurse Roberts this past season, her portrayer will still have a job for Season 7. Wright will play Laverne's twin sister, Shirley (ha!), a single, alcoholic woman who shuns religion. Says the actress, "I'm glad to know [Lawrence] is a man of his word.".... Brit beauty Jaime Murray (Hustle) is joining Showtime's Dexter in the role of Lila, a "wild, unconventional and daring" artist and former addict who befriends our sick little antihero.
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