It seems there is a chance that not only is an Arrested Development movie really happening, but there may also be a limited season of new episodes.

That girlish shriek you may have heard this evening was me …

Series creator Mitch Hurtwitz was speaking at The New Yorker Festival on a panel that reunited the entire main cast - Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Michael Cera, Tony Hale, Jeffrey Tambor, David Cross, Alia Shawkat and Jessica Walter – and said that there was a chance that the series may come back as a limited engagement series, and then finally follow that up with long-awaited movie.

According to Deadline, the plan is to do a 9 to 10 episode limited series with each episode focusing on a different member of the Bluth clan.  Once the new episodes would run their course, they would finally move on to the film (although I will believe all of this when it actually appears on a screen).  Apparently none of the plans involve airing the episodes on Fox, but instead have involved talks with Netflix which is looking for original content.  Premium cable channel Showtime has also apparently been looking into the concept, and that comes partially from the fact that the network’s new entertainment president is David Nevins who assisted in getting the series developed when he was at Imagine TV.

Following the surprise announcement, series star Jason Bateman confirmed the news on his Twitter account:

It’s true. We will do 10 episodes and the movie. Probably shoot them all together next summer for a release in early ’13. VERY excited!

The concept of an Arrested Development movie has been floating around since the series ended, and despite numerous promises, it has just never come to be.  It has felt like a cruel joke on fans of the series at times, but with actual entities such as Netflix and Showtime being named, it sounds like things may actually be coming together.

I am ready for some more Bluth family in my life, and I’ll take whatever I can get.

AMC is kicking the marketing for the second season of The Walking Dead into high.

With the season premiere set for October 16th, get ready to see a ton of zombie action coming to your commercials everywhere you turn.  These first two definitely show the different sides of the series: Zombie action and character development.  Considering they changed the zombies from the comic (they can’t run or climb walls or stairs in the comic series), and the addition of new characters, and changes to others, who knows where they’re going with this.  (add in the fact some folks have lived longer than they should have already …)

I find myself getting mildly excited for our second go around with this series, but also ready to be horribly devastated once again.

Action promo

Hope Survives promo

No matter what age you are, you more than likely are familiar with the Sesame Street character of Elmo. What you may not be so familiar with is the man behind the furry creation, Kevin Clash.

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey is a documentary film about the journey Kevin Clash’s life has taken that got him to the moment that he is the person behind one of the most popular puppets ever created.  The film has received critical acclaim at numerous film festivals and has generally been well received by audiences.

To be blunt, I had only head of this film in passing before today, and I honestly can’t remember if I had ever heard the name “Kevin Clash” before today, but with this brief trailer you see below, I am totally enamored.  And I want to see this movie … desperately.  Considering all of the negative things I generally write about films and television programs, it’s refreshing for once to say, “I need to see this as soon as humanly possible.”

And the interesting aspect is … I generally can’t stand Elmo.  Ever since the great “Tickle Me Elmo” toy debacle back in the 90′s, I really couldn’t stand how this one character had essentially taken over the franchise that is Sesame Street.  Now learning just even a slice of the backstory you get from the film, I have a very different take on Elmo, and a very big interest in learning more about Mr. Clash.

I dare you to watch this trailer and not immediately say, “I need to see this.”

The second season of The Walking Dead is almost upon us as it starts on Oct. 16th, and that means it’s time to start promoting the heck out of it.

If a lot of this footage feels familiar, you aren’t dreaming.  A good chunk of this was shown in the San Diego Comic-Con reel from back in July, but this is the first time it’s being used as the trailer.

Having just read the latest trade paperback in the series, I am reminded again of why the comic is so much better than the book, and especially when it comes to the character of Andrea.  The discussion she has in this trailer about how she chose to stay behind at the CDC for certain death?  The comic Andrea would have never done that.  And – spoiler, spoiler – she’s still alive in the book after 90 some issues.  She is one of the few remaining original characters, so that should tell you something about her toughness.

As I always say, I’ll still tune in and watch this season, but every clip just makes me that much sadder for the truly great story all of you only watch the series are missing out on.

After 41 years, and 10,712 episodes, All My Children ended its run today on ABC.

The cancellation of both All My Children and its sister show One Life to Live were announced this past April, and normally that would mean both shows would be lost to the pages of time, but someone stepped in to save both shows.  It was announced in July that a company named Prospect Park had obtained the rights to both series, and that they would become Web series that you could watch online.  Since that time there has been some talk that the shows would also find some way to air on cable, but details of how this will work have not been made clear as of yet.

Due to the lead time of the announcement that the show would live on, All My Children was given time to work on an ending that would make the series feel like it had reached any normal conclusion on a Friday afternoon.  With all of the series regulars gathered in one place, and one of the “bad boys” of the show hiding in a tunnel with a pistol, a gun shot rang out as the screen faded to black and the credits rolled.  We are left to wonder who may have been on the receiving end of that bullet until the series returns, but for now it just feels like it will be some sort of extended hiatus.

The original plan called for the new version of the series to premiere this coming Monday, but due to prolonged contract issues, the new start date is now set for January.  With only two actors having been named so far as continuing with the series, that leaves a whole lot of potential people to have been killed off.

I will admit I had wandered away from this series for a year or two, but when I saw the end coming, I jumped back on to see how it would all wrap up.  I have watched the series on and off since the mid-70′s, so it was still intriguing to me to see how some of my favorite characters would end their days in Pine Valley.  The ending left me both elated and annoyed to be honest.  While there was some sense of closure to some stories, we were left with two major cliffhangers: The gunshot and the identity of the mysterious woman with a charm bracelet that simply reads “B.”

Ending the series this way does give you a sense of continuity when the new version fires up, but for those who wished to make a clean break, or may not have access to the relaunch, you’re left with a, “What the hell?” sort of feeling.  Yes, there were a lot of nods to the history of the series in the waning days, but couldn’t we have just started fresh when it comes back?  You could have dug up any number of story lines to engage the old audience as well as new people, but instead you totally left it up in the air without a thought to those who may not be able to continue on.

Either way, a chapter has closed, and a bold experiment begins.  I plan on watching when the show relaunches just to see how an hour long show works as a daily Web entity … and because now I have to know who the heck “B” is!

The 2011 Emmys have come to an end and it appears to be a lot of the same.

Mad Men and Modern Family appear to continue to be the darlings of the Academy, and I guess it means it’s finally time for me to start watching them.  I’ll add them to the ever growing list of things I need to get around to watching.

Congratulations to all of the winners!

— Drama Series: “Mad Men,” AMC.

— Actress, Drama Series: Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife,” CBS.

— Actor, Drama Series: Kyle Chandler, “Friday Night Lights,” DirecTV/NBC.

— Supporting Actor, Drama Series: Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones,” HBO.

— Supporting Actress, Drama Series: Margo Martindale, “Justified,” FX.

— Writing, Drama Series: Jason Katims, “Friday Night Lights,” NBC.

— Directing, Drama Series: Martin Scorsese, “Boardwalk Empire,” HBO.

— Comedy Series: “Modern Family,” ABC.

— Actor, Comedy Series: Jim Parsons, “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS.

— Actress, Comedy Series: Melissa McCarthy, “Mike&Molly,” CBS.

— Supporting Actress, Comedy Series: Julie Bowen, “Modern Family,” ABC.

— Supporting Actor, Comedy Series: Ty Burrell, “Modern Family,” ABC.

— Writing, Comedy Series: Steven Levitan and Jeffrey Richman, “Modern Family,” ABC.

— Directing, Comedy Series: Michael Spiller, “Modern Family,” ABC.

— Miniseries or Movie: “Downton Abbey (Masterpiece),” PBS.

— Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Kate Winslet, “Mildred Pierce,” HBO.

— Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Barry Pepper, “The Kennedys,” ReelzChannel.

— Supporting Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Maggie Smith, “Downton Abbey (Masterpiece),” PBS.

— Supporting Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Guy Pearce, “Mildred Pierce,” HBO.

— Directing, Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special: Brian Percival, “Downton Abbey (Masterpiece),” PBS.

— Writing, Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special: Julian Fellowes, “Downton Abbey (Masterpiece),” PBS.

— Reality-Competition Program: “The Amazing Race,” CBS.

— Variety, Music or Comedy Series: “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” Comedy Central.

— Directing, Variety, Music or Comedy Series: Don Roy King, “Saturday Night Live,” NBC.

— Writing, Variety, Music or Comedy Series: “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” Comedy Central.

The Lifetime cable channel has picked up a 20 episode order for a 25th season of America’s Most Wanted following the unexpected cancellation by Fox for the 2011/12 season.

While it is nearly a miracle for any television series to last over two decades, the difference with America’s Most Wanted was that it actually served a purpose, capturing over 1100 fugitives over the course of its run.  While the show was canceled, Fox did agree to keep the toll free number and website running, and since the series ended its run in June it has gone on to capture four more people due to those efforts.  ”People are still going to the site; the public has played a tremendous part in getting us back on the air,” show creator John Walsh told The New York Post.

Currently Walsh still owes four time specials to Fox as part of their cancellation deal, but it appears that those will have no impact on the new series launching.  ”Lifetime will probably repeat the show, which will up our capture count and will give more exposure to help catch these creeps,” Walsh told the paper. “They haven’t picked a night or time for the show, but they wanna go hard. They mentioned October, but we still have to saddle up.”

This is one of those shows that I may not tune into each week, but it was always comforting knowing that it was there and that they were continuing to do good in this country.  While they may not have been making the biggest money in the world from the show, I always viewed it as more of a public service, and one that made me think positively about Fox.

Guess I’ll think positively about Lifetime now …

Ben & Jerry’s has teamed up with Broadway Video, the company behind Saturday Night Live, to release a new “limited batch” ice cream flavor for the holidays named, “Schweddy Balls.”

For those of you unfamiliar with the sketch – you can see it at the bottom of this post, sorry to those of you outside of the U.S. – it ran several years ago when Alec Baldwin was guest hosting, and in my book, it is one of the funniest sketches to ever run on the show.

The “Schweddy Balls” flavor will be a “limited batch” flavor meaning that it will be available nationwide, but only for three to four months.  Should it prove to be popular, it could come back again, but it will depend on sales.  Even if you don’t get the joke, it actually sounds pretty tasty: Vanilla ice cream with a hint of rum with fudge covered rum & malt balls.

Speaking with Ben & Jerry’s Alec Baldwin said, “For a long time, I thought that ‘Here Lies Pete Schweddy’ would end up on my tombstone.  Now, thanks to Ben & Jerry’s, the goodness of the Schweddy family recipe won’t go with me to the great beyond.”   He went on to add, “It is immortalized here, right now, and it’s an ice cream. Ben & Jerry’s and Schweddy. Two great names in American dessert, together at last.”

Ana Gasteyer who also starred in the sketch said of the unique honor, “The Schweddy Balls sketch was a personal favorite from my SNL run, so I am pleased as holiday punch that Ben and Jerry’s has taken it upon themselves to share the Schweddy Family recipe with the world. As a person and a performer, I am a sucker for holiday balls. And I have no doubt this ice cream will cause many to scream ‘Good Times.’”

Personally, I’m calling my local grocery store tomorrow to make sure they will be carrying Pete Scweddy’s family recipe ice cream.

Supposedly Dancing With the Stars wanted to go more towards A-List celebrities this time around, but apparently they use a different alphabet then the rest of the world.

Apparently they decided to go with a mixture of people who USED to be on the A-List, and then add in some people you’ll be left scratching your head about until they eventually get voted off the show.  There’s a few easy picks for early eliminations, and a couple that might stick around … you know, like every other season of the show.

The professional partners for each dancer will be announced on Aug. 31st and I;ll make sure to update this past as soon as they are announced.

• David Arquette – Actor and part of the fairly eccentric Arquette family.
• Ron Artest – Mandatory male sports star of the season.  At least this time he’s a basketball player.
• Chaz Bono – Son of Cher and Sonny Bono, transgender rights activist.  (Now legally a man, Chaz was born a girl)
• Elisabetta Canalis – Model and former girlfriend of George Clooney.
• Kristin Cavallari – Actress … and I use the term loosely.
• Nancy Grace – The insanely irritating “legal expert.”
• Rob Kardashian - Yes, those Kardashians.
• Carson Kressley – Fashion expert and formerly of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.
• Ricki Lake – Actress and former talk show host.
• J.R. Martinez - Severely burned soldier from Iraq who is now a motivational speaker and actor on All My Children.  Definitely who I am rooting for.
• Chynna Phillips – Actress and singer
• Hope Solo – Goalie for the U.S. Women’s Soccer team.

In an effort to fill the hole left by the end of Smallville, The CW is working on developing a series based on the DC Comics character Deadman.

According to Deadline, Supernatural creator Eric Kripke is currently readying a development treatment for a Deadman series that will follow the original stories from DC Comics.  For those of you unfamiliar with the character, which is probably 99.9% of you as who ranks as a D list character as best, Deadman was a man named Boston Brand who was killed while he was a well-known trapeze artists.

Upon his death, a made up Hindu Goddess gave him the power to possess the living to try to find his killer.  Along the way he ends up helping other people he jumps through.  After finally finding his killer he continues with helping others.

If this sounds like a mixture of The Crow and Quantum Leap, well, yeah, kinda, except Deadman first appeared in 1967.  Most people would never realize this and think that a TV series based on the character was a rip off, but he actually did come first.

Beyond that, I can almost see this working as a TV series 20 years ago, but these days, and with The CW involved, I have nothing but reservations.  This is a network known for producing half-assed television shows, so I see this being nothing more than another of their excuses to make an over dramatic piece of tripe.  I’m sure they’ll throw in a love interest, lots of longing shots, musical montages … you know, just like Smallville.

Of all the characters in the DC Universe, and this is the one they pick to make into a series?  DC never ceases to amaze me.

Are you ready for a sixth Star Trek TV series? Apparently some people think we are.

Multiple sources are reporting that David Foster, a writer/producer who used to work on Battlestar Galactica, has gone to CBS with a pitch for a sixth Star Trek television series.  Despite the fact that J.J. Abrams 2009 film set up an alternative timeline that completely ignored the five television series and numerous movies in the franchise, but apparently this new concept is set in the time after Star Trek: Voyager, the fourth series and the one that pushed the timeline the furthest into the future.

Apparently the new series will continue along the original timeline and ignore the new film chronology.  Not a big deal, it did seem silly to me to throw out decades of history so, sure, why not, go ahead and run two different timelines.

How close is this to reality?  “The series concept is fully developed, subject to change, of course, with a solid 5- to 7- year series plan, pilot script and conceptualized finale that intends to define Star Trek for generations,” Foster told The New York Post.  A pilot script has been completed and far more development than your normal pitch, but the official presentation has still yet to happen.

Will it get to air?  Who knows.  Mr. Foster says that this series will return more to the original roots of the series than some of the later incarnations did.  You can interpret that a lot of different ways, but my hopes is it will be less about technobabble and how many ridges the make-up department can fit on a nose, and more about telling actual stories and morality tales.

One of the biggest concerns is that apparently the concept focuses on younger characters, so I’m fearful we may get “Teen Drama in Space,” but we’ll just have to wait to see.

Does this mean I may finally have to update my “Who is the Best Star Trek Captain” post?

The second season of The Walking Dead kicks off on Oct. 16th, and it only makes sense that a big promotional push would happen at San Diego Comic-Con. What I’m not sure anyone was counting on was over four minutes of footage to be shown.

Judging by what is shown in the below footage, the television adaptation will continue to mix original storylines in with what happened in the comic.  The fact that the character of Shane is still with the survivors (I’m not saying if he died in the book or just left the group) tells us that things definitely are still diverging from the original story, but then we see “the farm,” and we’re suddenly pulled back into the book.  (please tell me the prison and the Governor are coming up … please, please, please)

All that being said, I would say easily 95 percent of this trailer shows us things that never happened in the book, and while I’m okay with some divergence, if you’te doing to call this The Walking Dead, couldn’t we be at least a little bit closer?  At this point they should have just gone with a different name and said, “Inspired by the comic book series, The Walking Dead.”

Despite my grievances with the series at the end of season 1, I’ll still be watching.