Frozen Yoghurt

It's been a while but here's a jumble of some of the shows I've been watching recently.

2 Broke Girls: It's still a guilty pleasure/dumb fun but this series does provide the laughs and whether it's Caroline having the joy of Christmas sucked out of her or Max actually realising that she likes Chestnut more than she lets on. I still wish some of the male characters were better developed though. Max and Caroline's co-workers are little more than caricatures still (though I like Earl a lot) and Johnny's function is little more than a love interest for Max. Still, it's a diverting 30 minutes.

Bedlam: We're at the point where next week is the final episode of Series 2 and it's overall been an improvement. The dynamics between Max and Ellie have been fun, the Eve mystery has been interesting, both Kiera and Dan have become less annoying and even Warren has greatly improved as a character. Thankfully, also the ghost of the week storylines have shown a bit of variety as well too, so all in all, this has been an improvement for a pretty uninspiring show when it began.

Don't Trust The Bitch In Apartment 23: Another guilty pleasure series for me but yeah, the last few episodes have been a laugh riot. It's still formulaic in the sense that Chloe will do something selfish, June will scowl about it but will see something in her roommate's selfishness that benefits her while James will say something cheesy and Robin will blather on about her obsession with Chloe. Still, I've enjoyed the episodes that have seen June loosen up a little and hopefully tonight's finale will be a good ending for a ridiculously short first season of the show.

Hit & Miss: This show really has lived up to it's title, hasn't it? It's had some excellent moments and less excellent ones too and having Mia's family fall apart all around her (as well as her relationship with Ben) has made the show a bit more enjoyable than usual. I'm still not loving the whole idea of Riley being pregnant but the death of John was pretty damned welcomed and that cliffhanging moment between Ryan, Eddie and Mia really does make me hope that the show is picked up for a second run now.

Veep: I have to admit that despite being a fan of The Thick Of It, watching this show wasn't especially high on my list of things to do but seeing as both shows share the same creator, I thought I'd give it a whirl. It's not bad - Elaine from Seinfield makes a decent, buffoonish vice president in Selina Meyer and I have a certain degree of sympathy for her aides, in particularly Amy (looks like Vada aged really well) but if you've seen the antics of Malcolm Tucker, this this is going to be feel rather light weight by comparison. I might give it a few more episodes though.

- Sky1 have scooped the rights to Arrow while SkyLiving will air Elementary from the Autumn.
- True Blood has been renewed officially for a sixth season with Mark Hudis as the new showrunner for the show.
- John Bradley will feature in the fifth series of Merlin, playing a character called Tyr Seward. The show is due to return to BBC1 from late September.
- Benedict Cumberbatch will provide a voiceover for an upcoming episode of The Simpsons.
- Denis Leary has confirmed that casting has commenced for his version of the axed Channel 4 show, Sirens.
- Tara Fitzgerald has been cast in an unknown role for the third season of Games Of Thrones, which is scheduled to start filming this month.
- Trevor Donovan is returning for two episodes of the fifth season of 90210 for the CW.
- Yvonne Strahovski has talked about her character, Hannah McKay in Dexter being a woman haunted by her past.
- Laura Fraser has been cast in a role for the fifth and final season of Breaking Bad, which premieres in the States next Sunday.
- Both Dallas and Falling Skies have been picked up for further seasons by TNT.

The Lady Is A Vamp

Okay, this one is a little shorter than usual but I've been catching up on other things ...

Bedlam: I have to be honest, I wasn't that enamoured with the first series, so I wasn't too broken up by the idea of an entire new cast for the second run and so far, it's looking pretty good. Ellie and Max are a somewhat better ghost busting duo compared to Jed and Ryan and while Kate, Kiera and Dan are pretty forgettable as characters, Warren is improving and the fact that's there's a continued mystery with that block at Bedlam and Ellie and a mystery man with a tattoo on the back of his head, this might actually be a lot more watchable now.

Game Of Thrones: What a way to end this season. The last two episodes were some of the best television I've seen so far this year. The fight at Blackwater coupled with defining character moments for Cersei, Joffrey, Sansa, the Hound, Tyrion and Shae was one thing but the finale with Daenerys trip into the House of the Undying, Jon winning Ygritte's confidence, Maergerys making her moves into power and the arrival of the White Walkers - all I can say is that after a few little hiccups, this season was every bit as compelling as the first one and certainly has left me wanting more.

Hit & Miss: Well, it certainly lives up to it's title alright. It's definitely been interesting to see Mia balance killing people for a living and trying to raise a family that one minute seem warm to her and then the next minute are treating her with disdain. However I do wish the show would find some way of getting rid of John. Having to see him sleeping with Riley and getting her pregnant was not a plot I particularly wanted to see and while I'm glad Ben did have a believable reaction to learning about Mia being a pre-op transsexual but I'm starting to think that Eddie isn't as friendly as he seems and I'd like some answers to that man who keeps watching the farm as well.

The Vampire Diaries: Despite finding Klaus utterly annoying in places, this has been a wonderful season to watch and the ending was certainly unexpected. I know the books turned Elena into a vampire but I thought the series would either avoid it altogether or wait until the last ever episode to do so. Still, it should make for a great dynamic next season but can we please get some new villains? I didn't like that we ended up with Bonnie storing Klaus in Tyler's body to save her friends from all being killed. It's the one important thing the show desperately needs now.

- It seems that Gugu Mbatha-Raw may not be returning for the second season of Touch.
- Production on the third season of the US version of Being Human has begun with Kristen Hager to return as series regular as Nora.
- ITV viewers can finally watch the fifth series of Primeval from Saturday at 6pm.
- Valerie Cruz will play Major Joy Mendez, a military officer who interacts with Carrie in the second season of Homeland.
- Spartacus's upcoming third season will be it's last one according to Starz.
- Jorge Garcia and Maggie Grace will be reunited in an upcoming episode of Californication.
- Victor Webster will be in an upcoming episode of White Collar.
- Catherine Tate is set to become a regular in the upcoming ninth season of The Office.

The Play's The Thing

Actually, there's more shows I want to discuss in the next few days, so um, look forward to a blog dedicated to The Bridge and another on some of the comedies airing on UK TV at the moment. For now though, a look at the stuff I've been watching in the last week or so.

Desperate Housewives: Before anyone spoilers it, I already know how the series ends but with two episodes left to go, the build up has been entertaining to watch. Of course Bree would develop feelings for trip, considering that he's stepped into the role of her white knight but it's a fun enough pairing, so I don't mind. I do however mind that none of the housewives are making any actual effort to really help Bree though, instead turning on each or making plans (Susan offering to help raise her grandchild, Lynette's scheming to get Tom, Gabby being her usual self) but overall, looking forward to the last two episodes.

Game Of Thrones: This has certainly been a wordier season than the last one with not much in the way of actual action happening. Cersei seems to realise that she's created a monster in Joffrey and while one minute, she's being sympathetic with Sansa, the next she's threatening Tyrion (whose confession to Varys of enjoying the game is a little worrying). Even Daenerys herself seems to be in perpetual entitled mode rather than being the more assertive self I would like to see but I do find her scenes pretty interesting to watch. And then there's the events of Blackwater, which I will definitely be watching later on today.

Glee: Okay, the prom episode was fun and the finale had it's moments but ultimately was a pretty unsatisfying experience (why couldn't both Kurt/Rachel go to NYADA instead of one of them?), though Gloria Estafan as Santana's mother was worth it alone. It's the middle episodes that were more interesting - Tina's body swap dream was a good source of comedy and partial insight and it was about bloody time the kids actually won at Nationals for once. I really do hope the 'show within a show' concept mapped out for the fourth season does work in the show's favour though.

Hit & Miss: I talked about this a while ago on my blog and thankfully SkyAtlantic are generous with the repeats because it took their third airing for me to catch up with this show. Chloe Sevigny as transgendered assassin Mia is utterly brilliant and having Mia father a son named Ryan and look after the kid and his siblings now that their mother Wendy is dead is a workable touch to the series. I hope the premise can be sustained for the next five episodes but I think it will. Definitely a hit more than a miss. I know, terrible pun, don't shoot me.

Lip Service: I liked the finale but it could've been better, couldn't it? I didn't mind the fact that Sam finally admitted that she was losing it and I didn't mind that both her and Lexy did the deed but at the same time, I kind of wish they hadn't intensified Tess's feelings for Lexy in the process either. Still, at least Tess got to pull a brilliant performance on her opening night in spite of Hugh and Nora being massive hindrances and Sadie proved yet again that a leopard doesn't change it's spots when Lauren dumped as well. If this show comes back for a third run, I will be pleased but surprised, considering how bad the ratings have been.

The Vampire Diaries: Warning: I might have two episodes left to watch but I already know what's gonna happen in the finale but don't spoil it in the comments though. Alaric's fate just made me realise that people really do drop like flies on this show and while Esther has a similarly fanatical bent that her annoying son, Klaus (please, can we get rid of him, already?) has, I actually do prefer her, even if she is possessing the likes of Rebekah and Bonnie to carry out her own acts of genocide. As for the usual Stefan/Elena/Damon stuff, where's Katherine when you need her?

- Kate Hudson will be appearing in six episodes of Glee's fourth season as Rachel's mentor in New York. Sarah Jessica Parker will be in one episode as Kurt's.
- American Horror Story's second season will be set in the 1960s with Evan Peters character being the hero of the bunch and Chloe Sevigny playing an antagonist for Jessica Lange's character.
- A prequel series for Silence Of The Lambs called Clarice is in the works for Lifetime.
- Touch will get an online spin-off named Daybreak, starring Ryan McPartlin.
- Vanessa Ray will be playing a mentor of the late Allison in the new season of Pretty Little Liars.
- Jaime Cepero, Raza Jaffrey, Brian D'Arcy James and Will Chase will all not be returning for the second season of Smash.
- Mark Hudis has been named as Alan Ball's successor for True Blood if the show gets a sixth run.
- Seth Gabel will not be a regular for the final season of Fringe.

First Look: Hit And Miss

It's been over a year since SkyAtlantic has launched and it's been an interesting year. Not only has the station given us the UK rights to shows such as Boardwalk Empire, Game Of Thrones and Blue Bloods and reran classic shows such as The X Files, The Wire, Six Feet Under and The Sopranos but now it's giving us their own drama in the former of Hit And Miss.

Starring former Big Love (also airing on SkyAtlantic) actress, Chloe Sevigny, the show centres on a hitwoman named Mia who is also revealed to be a pre-op transsexual and when she isn't putting bullets into her targets, Mia also discovers that she's fathered an 11 year old son with her ex-girlfriend Wendy, who is dying of cancer.

I have to admit that despite my confidence in Paul Abbot, I did initially fear this would be a bit on the gimmicky end of the scale but the trailer released a few weeks back has shown that it might be a series definitely worth giving a go. It's certainly got Abbot's trademark stamp all over it and it's nice to see SkyAtlantic branch out with their own dramas as well.

Hit & Miss Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WkBB2JZxT8&feature=player_embedded
Press Release: http://skyatlantic.sky.com/new-drama-chloe-sevigny-to-star-in-hit-and-miss

Hit & Miss will premiere on SkyAtlantic from May 2012.