The television networks are preparing to announce their fall schedules next week. Headlining this article is Minka Kelly. The soon to be former Friday Night Lights star is set to play the lead in the new CW pilot Body Politic. Unfortunately the pilot is being overshadowed by Twilight: The Series Vampire Diaries, recycled material Melrose Place 2.0 and a scripted version of America’s Next Top Model Beautiful Life. So here I am doing another plug in hopes of generating more attention to a potentially good show, unlike the other stuff that the CW has to offer. I want the show to make it into the fall schedule because it has a great cast and it has a storyline that doesn’t involve a bunch of rich spoiled teens (also the inner VM/FNL fan is also yearning to see this)! While Body Politic isn’t generating enough buzz, the good news is that it appears people are starting to warm up to it. However, the bad news is that the CW usually makes the wrong decisions and are too stupid to realize it until it’s too late (in this case, pick up Vampire Diaries, Beautiful Life and Melrose Place 2.o instead).

After the jump… some good news… and bad news…

Good News: Angels and Demons tops the Friday box office numbers, but it’s performing below expectations! Alright, that means no more film adaptations based on those horrendous Dan Brown novels.
Bad News: Too bad the same can’t be said for the Twilight series. (Nikki Finke)

Good News: Despite lackluster ratings, Dollhouse has been renewed for another season!!! FOX is giving it a 13 episode order, which means 13 more weeks of Eliza Dushku! Isn’t Kevin Reilly the best network president out there? He gave us Chuck and Friday Night Lights and now a second chance for Dollhouse!
Bad News: FOX is asking for a reduced budget for the show… we should be expecting some cuts to the cast and/or sets. (Chicago Tribune)

Good News: While the CW is looking to dump Reaper, it seems like the show might just end up back on the CW on Sunday nights. ABC Studios is looking produce the show and syndicate it to affiliates.
Bad News: There is no bad news! Unless you’re Dawn Ostroff, because that would be a big slap to the face no? (Broadcasting and Cable)

Good News: Parks and Recreation’s ratings have steadied.
Bad News: Southland’s ratings continue to go south. This is certainly not bad news to me because it’s make Chuck look awfully good by comparison. Alright NBC, just pick up Chuck already. (TV by the Numbers)

Good News: Even though the ratings are down across the board, Grey’s Anatomy wins the ratings battle on Thursday night with its two hour finale. While the current season struggled creatively, it was nice to see Grey’s Anatomy pick up again in the last few episodes. The show was once a great medical drama, now it has become a shadow of that. The finale brought the show back to where it was a few seasons ago, even though the storyline involving T.R. Knight was recycled from a past episode of ER. Did I mention FNL’s Zach Gilford guest starred in the episode? That’s a definite plus.
Bad News: Many Grey’s fans are angered by the cliffhanger regarding the fates of two of their favourite characters. Ausiello’s attempt to get Shonda Rhimes to talk about the finale didn’t work out very well as she walked circles around his questions. While it is understandable that the writers/producers don’t want to spoil the show, Shonda sounded like a pompous ass in the interview as she refuses to admit to mistakes and denies that she ever acknowledges comments from fans and the media. Alright everyone, let’s go watch Morpheus on CSI instead! (Ausiello)

Good News: Scrubs is coming back for a ninth season! Zach Braff and Sarah Chalke have signed on for 6 episodes to smooth the transition to the new batch of interns. I don’t mind tuning in again… I find Eliza Coupe’s portrayal of the emotionally-detached Denise to be awesome.
Bad News: I was reluctant to write up a send off to Scrubs because of rumbling rumours about a ninth season. The show ended perfectly and I don’t want anything to ruin it. Now there’s a chance my favourite comedy could be forever tainted by ABC! Creator Bill Lawrence tells the viewers to see the new season of Scrubs as a spin-off rather than a continuation of the previous eight seasons. Let’s hope Bill is right. (BBC News)

That’s all for now. Stay tuned throughout the week for updates on the TV upfronts. In the meantime, let’s cap it off with an awesome clip from Scrubs. IF the ninth season can live up to something like this, then it’s not a bad thing after all.

Also, the awesomeness of Kevin Reilly doesn’t stop at the renewal of Dollhouse. Tuesday May 19th marks the premiere of FOX’s anti-High School Musical called “Glee”. It would be described as the show that punched High School Musical in the stomach and stole its lunch money. FOX has already given it the green light for the fall season, so this is the show to look out for. This musical/comedy is created by Ryan Murphy (Nip/Tuck), so this is going to be good. Plus the show has awesome music, crude humour and it has an awesome cast (Jane Lynch signed on to be a regular)! (LA Times)