Confirming a statement made earlier by series star Jon Hamm, AMC has set “Mad Men‘s” long-awaited premiere date for March 25. The cable channel also expanded its season three order of “The Walking Dead” to 16 episodes, as opposed to the original 13 episode order.

“Mad Men’s” two-hour season five premiere will air at 9pm on March 25, returning to its regular timeslot at 10pm on April 1, when “The Killing” makes its two-hour season two premiere at 8pm. “The Killing” settles into its regular 9pm timeslot as of Sunday, April 8.

AMC also set a series premiere date for its first unscripted  series, Kevin Smith‘s “Comic Book Men,” slotted to follow the midseason return of “The Walking Dead” on February 12 at 9pm.  The eighth episode of “The Walking Dead’s” second season is meant to provide a strong lead-in to Smith’s six-part exploration of fanboy culture, which premieres on the same night at 10pm.

Regarding the expanded episode order for “The Walking Dead’s” third season, AMC’s head of original programming Joel Stillerman revealed that the network will likely air a split season again, dividing the 16 episodes into two blocks of eight. The network is targeting the fourth quarter of 2012 for the third season premiere.

The premiere dates were announced as part of AMC’s presentation to TV reporters attending the Television Critics Association’s Winter Press Tour in California.

Winter is coming, but it’ll be springtime when it arrives.

HBO’s hit fantasy series “Game of Thrones” makes its second season premiere on Sunday, April 1.  The drama, based on the bestselling series of books “A Song of Ice and Fire” by author George R.R. Martin, will have 10 episodes in its second season.

HBO also set premiere dates for its new comedies “Veep,” starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and “Girls,” the comedy from Tiny Furniture director Lena Dunham. “Veep’s” eight episode first season begins on Sunday, April 22 at 10pm. “Girls” launches its 10-episode first season at 10:30pm on Sunday, April 15.

Meanwhile, HBO’s highly anticipated dramatization of the McCain-Palin 2008 campaign “Game Change,” starring Julianne Moore as Palin, premieres at 9 pm on March 10. The film also stars Ed Harris as John McCain and Woody Harrelson as McCain’s senior campaign strategist Steve Schmidt.

People have accused the television industry of being creatively bankrupt and out of ideas.

There are plenty of examples to counter that argument. But today, The CW did not add one to that list. Instead, the network announced it was picking up ten episodes of “Oh Sit!”, a game show version of musical chairs.

You read right: musical chairs.

According to the network’s announcement at the Television Critics Association’s Winter Press Tour, each episode will challenge 20 contestants to run through five obstacle course-style elimination rounds, each attempting to claim a chair as a live band plays. The last contestant remaining wins a cash prize.

The CW has yet to select a host or a premiere date for “Oh Sit!” but the comments section of this blog is accepting suggestions.

Meanwhile, the official Twitter account for (the once real but currently non-existent) UPN confirmed that it has passed on picking up reality shows based on “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” or “Clothespin Drop.”

On Tuesday, ABC is hosting a comedy showrunner’s panel for reporters attending the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour. Conspicuously missing from the list of names on that panel is Bill Lawrence, creator and executive producer of “Cougar Town.” Makes sense, considering that his show also is missing from the midseason line-up.  Paul Lee, president of ABC Entertainment Group, still has not assigned a premiere date to the third season premiere beyond saying it would likely return in March. (He told reporters that he expects to announce a specific date within the next few weeks.)

Meanwhile, Lee did announce dates for the midseason comedy “Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23” (9:30 Wednesday, April 11) and the new Shonda Rhimes drama “Scandal” (10 pm Thursdays, starting April 5) and explained that “Private Practice” is moving to Tuesdays at 10 from April 24 through May 15.

Needless to say, the continued delay of “Cougar Town’s” season premiere is making fans very nervous.

Having navigated the TV industry, and ABC in particular, for most of two decades, Lawrence decided to take matters into his own hands. On Monday night he hosted a cocktail party for TCA members to answer all of their questions about “Cougar Town’s” fate and get news (and spoilers) straight, no chaser, from the man himself.

Lawrence made it clear that his party-crashing party was not meant in any way to snub his employer ABC, saying that if he wanted to be on the showrunners panel he only had to call Lee and ask.

“But, why would I want to do that, and be up there acting like, ‘Hey, I’m so psyched to be here, with a giant question a mark!’? It also puts me in the position of being disrespectful to the ABC execs,” Lawrence said. “So I’m doing this event, and I’m footing the bill.”

We can only imagine what the final total was. A large crowd of critics showed up to drink and chat with Lawrence and the “Cougar Town” cast, including Courteney Cox, Busy Philipps, Ian Gomez, Dan Byrd,  and Christa Miller, all of whom were excited to talk about season three’s developments.  The “Cougar Town” folks believe in their show so much that they’re flying to cities all over the country to host watching parties with fans and stoke excitement for the new season. (Upcoming dates include Seattle, San Francisco and Las Vegas; follow @vdoozer on Twitter for details.)

Asked how he felt about the continued lack of a specific premiere date, Lawrence says he’s not worried. Besides, he understands ABC’s reasoning for keeping mum.

“I expect they had a date for the premiere,” Lawrence says, “but they’re not going to announce it because they expect the show will come on sooner.”

That is a veiled reference to “Cougar” possibly being called upon to replace the low-rated and critically reviled midseason comedy “Work It,” which debuted to soft ratings and is expected to shed even more viewers with the airing of its second episode. Lawrence didn’t refer to “Work It” by name — that’s not his style — but he knows where the next gap is likely to show up.

Besides, the real battle isn’t getting the show back on. That’s going to happen, and Lee confirmed it. At this point, the question is whether “Cougar Town” will be picked up for a fourth season.  Hence, the Cul-de-Sac crew’s viewing party tour.

Lawrence feels the difference between the show being picked up for another season and, well, a fate we’d rather not mention, is not insurmountable. “When I did ‘Spin City,’ the difference between being on and not, in the demo, was 4 or 5 million people. Now the difference is about 600,000,” he explained. “For us, it’s about turning the old core audience back on to the show by giving them good content.”

The cast and crew considers these events to be part of an unspoken contract with fans. In exchange for buying them free drinks, handing out “Cougar Town” swag and showing them a few episodes from the new season, they’re asking fans to 1.) watch it on the air when it returns; 2.) remind other fans that its coming back and urge them to watch it; and 3.) persuade five to ten new people to give it a shot as well.

He would not be paying for these grassroots promotions if he didn’t think it could work. And he truly believes it makes good business sense for ABC to pick up another season of “Cougar Town,” even though the network reduced this season’s order from the full 22 episode commitment to 15. In a word, syndication.  Lawrence frequently pointed to the fact that ABC owns the show, and stands to make more money if they make enough episodes to syndicate it.

“The bar is not very high on what number we have to do to be back,” Lawrence said. “I’d be truly bummed out and shocked if we didn’t make it.”

Lawrence also revealed details about what’s in store for the Cul-de-Sac crew in the upcoming season, so if you don’t want to know any specifics, stop reading now.

Last chance: SPOILERS AHEAD.

“Once we knew we were going to be a midseason show, which was early on, we shifted gears really quickly and made the first episode essentially like a third year pilot so that new people weren’t excluded,” Lawrence explained.  “It’s a big spoiler to tell you what happens in it, but it certainly eliminates all elements of any cougars. This is one show called ‘Cougar Town’ without any cougars in it.”

He followed this up by revealing specifics as to what happens:

– Jules (Cox) and Grayson (Josh Hopkins) are headed for the altar.

– Travis (Byrd) is going to spend a significant amount of time with a helmet on his head. Lawrence says that’s payback for Byrd refusing to cut his hair last season.

–Laurie (Philipps) is attempting to behave more like an adult, and is opening a bakery that specializes in whimsical cakes. It will be called Krazy Kakes by Keller. Note the unfortunate acronym.

–Andy (Gomez) is running for political office.

–Lastly, the romantic tension between Laurie and Travis will be resolved this season.

Bottom line?  Watch “Cougar Town” already, and keep a very funny comedy alive.

ABC Family president Michael Riley tossed a bone to fans of the late and underappreciated drama “The Nine Lives of Chloe King” on Monday morning, hinting that the cable channel is thinking about developing a TV movie based on the series.

“The Nine Lives of Chloe King” followed the adventures of a teenage girl who developed superpowers upon turning 16, forcing her to come to terms with her new abilities and use them to protect the people around her. It aired 10 episodes during the summer of 2011, capping off its initial arc with a number of key characters appearing to be dead, dying, imperiled, or slammed with game-changing revelations. (To read the synopsis of the series finale, click here.)

ABC Family reacted to that cliffhanger by canceling the show.

“Chloe King’s” cancellation may not have been all that surprising to anyone who took a look at its ratings. Fellow dramas “The Lying Game” and “Switched at Birth” became breakout successes during their first seasons, while “Chloe” struggled to grow its viewership. But there’s also the matter of fit: “Chloe” was a genre series joining a network buoyed to pop cultural significance by the soapy thriller “Pretty Little Liars,”  premiering alongside other series about fashionable teenagers facing various intrigues and twists.

Citing “Chloe’s” dedicated if small fan base, Riley told reporters that “we’re always looking at the intellectual property that we’re capitalizing on, and making sure that there’s opportunities for even more storytelling.” (Perhaps leaving viewers hanging was a good move, then.)

In a subsequent one-on-one conversation with Riley, he elaborated on his earlier announcement by explaining, “Obviously we know that the ‘Chloe King’ audience is very passionate…and knowing ‘Chloe King’ is still on the horizon is fantastic.”

It’s only fair to warn ‘Chloe King’ fans that the entertainment industry is full of tales of long-forgotten “in development” projects that never made it beyond the idea stage.

When we asked Riley if this announcement was akin to HBO assuring us that those “Deadwood” movies were definitely going to happen (and yes, we realize “Deadwood” is on a completely different level than “Chloe”… give us some credit ) Riley replied with, “I cannot honestly speak to that… All I can say today is that it’s in development, because that’s where it is: in development.”

All 10 full episodes of “The Nine Lives of Chloe King” can be viewed on IMDb. Click here to watch.

During the Fox executive session, entertainment president Kevin Reilly set critics back on their collective heels with this shocking, truly alarming news:

“Allen Gregory” has been canceled. So have previously announced plans for a “Glee” spinoff.

You were perhaps expecting definitive word on the fates of “Fringe,” “House,” or “Terra Nova“?  Ha. No such luck.

Reilly admitted to reporters attending Fox’s portion of the Television Critics Association’s Winter Press Tour that executives have been actively avoiding coming to final decisions on all of these shows. Really, though, he’s just putting off the inevitable. His office will be bombarded by tons of baked custard mailed by irate “Fringe” fans if (or when) the bad news comes down. It’s going to be a heck of a carpet cleaning bill.

“I’m not quietly doing the soft cancel here, I’m just telling you where it stands,” Reilly continued, pleading with us to refrain from urging the letter writing campaigns to begin.

As much as he could, Reilly attempted to reassure “Fringe’s” devoted fans that he took pride in the fact that Fox did not drop the ball with the show too early, something the network has been criticized for doing to past genre programming. Having said that, he also added that “Fringe” has been consistently losing a lot of money on Friday nights and executives are going to have to take a hard look at whether the numbers are continuing to make sense.

“We’re not in the business of losing money,” Reilly reminded us.

On whether this would be the final season of veteran drama “House,” Reilly explained that he had yet to sit down with the show’s producers, but if this were to be its final season, he was certain executive producer David Shore would bring it to an ending that will satisfy fans.

As for “Terra Nova,” Reilly said the show was “an exciting bet to take,” and pointed out that in the larger scheme of things, it garnered better ratings than most new series. It’s also more expensive, hence his hesitation.

Following this string of non-news, Reilly did have something to tell us about “Glee.” He explained that New Directions’ seniors will be  graduating, but show creator Ryan Murphy will keep them with the show next season and has a few “cool” developments in store. (Meaning there may yet be a spinoff, in a sense. It’ would just be within the existing plot.) Reilly also specifically confirmed that Lea Michele is not going anywhere.

In other news…

–Fox is developing a slate of animated series, shorts and “user-adapted material” in the vein of Adult Swim. This will culminate in a block of Saturday late-night programming anchored by four shows, scheduled for a January 2013 debut. The unit developing this block, headed by former Adult Swim head of program development Nick Weidenfeld and producer Hend Baghdady (“Warren the Ape“), is also developing content for a new digital channel accessible via multiple platforms, including mobile apps, game consoles, Video on Demand and online, start later this year.

–During a panel for his new series “Touch,” Kiefer Sutherland said that he expects shooting on the theatrical version of “24” to begin in late April or early May.

–Fox also announced dates for the 11th season of “American Idol,” which has its two night premiere Wednesday, January 18 and Thursday, January 19.  Hollywood Rounds start on February 9. Semifinalists will be revealed on February 23, performing for the first time on the 28th and the 29th. The first vote of the season is revealed on March 1.

As for “The X Factor,” Reilly said that the show would experience a few tweaks between now and its second season and would not specifically confirm that dropping Steve Jones would be part of the tinkering. He did mention Jones by name, however, which is not a good sign.

–The 500th episode of “The Simpsons“, titled “At Long Last Leave,” airs Sunday, Feb. 19.

Kathy Griffin‘s comedy specials appear so regularly on Bravo that she might as well be considered the network’s house comedian.

On Saturday, Bravo renewed its serial love affair with the comedian, announcing that Griffin will be hosting a one-hour weekly talk show titled “Kathy.”

According the network’s press release, “Kathy” will be a platform for “Griffin’s thoughts on everything pop culture as she rants on the week’s biggest headlines and tabloid gossip as well as feature stand-up routines, celebrity interviews and taped segments.” In addition to her new weekly talker, Griffin will perform two new stand-up specials in 2012.

Bravo also announced renewals for its series “Pregnant in Heels,” “Millionaire Matchmaker,” and “Million Dollar Listing LA.”

Joining Bravo’s line-up along with “Kathy” is the previously announced Ryan Seacrest produced series “Shahs of Sunset” which, along with new series “Love Broker,”  spinoff “Million Dollar Listing New York” and “Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis,” premiere in March. Coming later this spring is a vehicle for “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Kim Zolciak titled “Don’t Be Tardy to the Wedding”;  and “Around the World in 80 Plates,” hosted by Curtis Stone and Cat Cora, which debuts in May.

Read on for official descriptions of each show and details about other upcoming programs, including an upcoming special from Zolciak’s co-star Kandi Burruss, “The Kandi Factory” (premiering March 4 at 10pm ET/PT), taken from Bravo’s  press release.

NEW SERIES:

“Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis”

Premieres Wednesday, March 14 at 9pm ET/PT Everyone’s favorite obsessive-compulsive house-flipper is taking on a new role as a home therapist in the new series following Jeff Lewis, his trusted assistant, Jenni, and his loyal housekeeper, Zoila, as they take over someone’s home to redesign not only their space, but their lives. Jeff will observe the homeowners and diagnose their problems with the goal of improving them inside and out.

“Shahs of Sunset”

Premieres March 2012

The new docu-series will explore a group of young Persian-American friends who juggle living and working in Los Angeles while balancing the demands of their families and traditions.

“Love Broker”

Premieres March 2012

The series follows New York’s most passionate matchmaker, Lori Zaslow, as she hits the streets of Manhattan searching tirelessly for soulmates for her clients.

“Million Dollar Listing New York”

Premieres March 2012

“Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles” has been known to show some of the biggest and most expensive properties that California has to offer, but now it’s time for the East Coast to showcase its luxury properties in “Million Dollar Listing New York.”

“Around The World in 80 Plates”

Premieres May 2012

Culinary experts, Curtis Stone and Cat Cora, are confirmed to host the network’s most ambitious productions to date. The series follows 12 chefs competing in a culinary race across 10 countries in 44 days.

“Kathy”

Premieres spring 2012

The network has greenlit a one-hour weekly talk show hosted by two-time Emmy winner Kathy Griffin which will premiere this spring. Unlike any other talk show, this will be the destination to get Griffin’s thoughts on everything pop culture as she rants on the week’s biggest headlines and tabloid gossip as well as feature stand-up routines, celebrity interviews and taped segments.

“Don’t Be Tardy for the Wedding”

Premieres spring 2012

Fans will have a front row seat for Kim Zolciak’s extravagant wedding with Kroy Biermann, Defensive End for the Atlanta Falcons, in the new docu-series.

NEW SPECIALS:

“The Ring Leader”

Premieres Monday, February 27 at 10pm ET/PT Follows larger than life wedding planner, Kristin Banta, whose out-of-the-box style is revolutionizing the way couples look at their special day.

“The Kandi Factory” Special

Premieres Sunday, March 4 at 10pm ET/PT

Following “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” star and multi-platinum songwriter, Kandi Burruss, as she transforms two music hopefuls into the next big popstar.

Kathy Griffin Comedy Specials

Premieres 2012

Kathy Griffin has been confirmed for two new one-hour stand-up specials this year, adding to her already impressive 13 original comedy specials she has performed for Bravo since 2005.

RETURNING SERIES:

“Watch What Happens: Live” Season Six

Airs Sunday through Thursday beginning January 8 at 11pm ET/PT Bravo’s popular, interactive, late night talk show, hosted by Andy Cohen, begins airing five nights a week.

“Tabatha Takes Over” Season Four

Premieres Tuesday, January 10 at 10pm ET/PT Tabatha Coffey hits the road again, but this time she is taking over more than just salons when the fourth season of the newly titled series returns.

“Inside The Actors Studio”

George Clooney Episode Premieres Tuesday, January 31 at 8pm ET/PT The Emmy nominated series will return with high profile celebrity guests.  First up on Tuesday, January 31 at 8pm will be George Clooney followed later in the year with the cast and creators of “Glee.”

“Bethenny Ever After” Season Three

Premieres Monday, February 20 at 9pm ET/PT Bethenny Frankel is living life in the fast lane, juggling her many roles as wife, mother and mogul.

“Pregnant in Heels” Season Two

Returns spring 2012

The docu-drama returns following maternity concierge, fashion designer and pregnancy guru, Rosie Pope, as she guides the most affluent, expectant mothers in New York City through the joys and perils of preparing to have a baby.

Hey, girl! Whatcha doin’? As of today, the answer is, “I’m sticking around through May 2012.”

Fox has officially granted a full season to  Zooey Deschanel‘s comedy “New Girl,” making it the first pick-up of the 2011-2012 freshman class.

The network ordered 11 additional episodes of “New Girl”.  That means Jess and her new roommates will be entertaining viewers for 24 half-hours as opposed to the usual 22 episode season.

Considering the robust ratings and positive morning-after reviews for “New Girl’s” second episode, a full season order for the show – the second-place recommendation on our list of Ten Shows to Watch – was inevitable.

“New Girl’s” premiere became Fox’s strongest comedy bow in a decade. More than 10 million viewers tuned in for it, making it that night’s highest-rated program in the network’s target demo of adults 18-49. The second episode retained about 92 percent of the premiere’s viewership.

Early sampling of the series premiere via Hulu, iTunes, and Deschanel’s blog as well as live viewing parties in select markets, seems to have worked to “New Girl’s” benefit.  Expect more networks to employ similar strategies as new series premiere in midseason.

Dorky Jess is the most popular girl on TV, so look for the high-profile guest star announcements to start racking up.  Natasha Lyonne guest stars in next week’s “New Girl,” and  Lake Bell has a significant role in an upcoming episode. Fox previously announced that Justin Long will be playing a love interest (or as Schmidt would say, a “nice rebound”) for Jess.  That sounds nice.

Although Kelsey Grammer‘s drama does not officially premiere for three more weeks, the premium cable channel that is not Showtime or HBO has signed on for a 10-episode second season of the show.

Risky? Of course. Unwise? Not necessarily. Here are the reasons that this could be either the best decision Starz execs could make or, shall we say, an interesting lesson waiting to learned. Notice we did not call it the worst thing the channel could have done, because it isn’t. Let us explain.

Why an early renewal is a good thing: The Powers That Be at Starz could not give clearer vote of confidence in a series than telling the world it wants more before it even premieres. After all, they’ve seen the entire first season of “Boss,” which follows a fictional Chicago mayor who secures his political power through corrupt deals and backstabbing.  That could buy a certain amount of patience with viewers regardless of what reviewers say about the premiere. Most cranky critics will only have viewed the first few episodes before they weigh in on it, and what do they know?  Starz executives liked what they saw enough to secure season two. So there.

As a cable property in the midst of an aggressive growth spurt, Starz will probably never be in a better position to demonstrate such enthusiasm than it is now. Like Showtime was doing in the early aughts, Starz is building a stable of original content that is good enough to give people a reason to cough up additional bucks for a subscription. Yes, “Spartacus” is a success for the channel, but if Starz really wants viewers to take it seriously, it’s going to need a high profile show that doesn’t feature digitally-rendered geysers of blood and green screen-enhanced violence, one that will gain it wide critical notice and possibly even a few award nominations. (Current Starz president and chief executive Chris Albrecht, the man who made HBO synonymous with the finest content the medium has to offer, knows this.)

Enter Kelsey Grammer. “Boss” is his biggest opportunity yet to establish himself outside of the sitcom realm as a Great and Serious Actor. Grammer also earned a Tony nomination for his Broadway debut in 2010 and, one presumes, makes a nice living off of his production company Gramnet, which produced “Medium” and now, this meaty drama. All of which is to say, Grammer does not necessarily need this job.  Better to lock him in early than give him a reason to ditch if audiences take a while to show up for “Boss.”

Why early renewal is a risk: A show can be a hit with critics and still colossally bomb with audiences. One example that comes to mind is Showtime’s “Huff.“  In the summer of 2004, after seeing its pilot, critics granted so many early raves to “Huff” that the premium channel’s president at the time, Robert Greenblatt (the man currently in charge of righting NBC’s sinking ship), picked it up for a second season months before the first premiered. The reviews were strong. The cast, wonderful. Yet in November 2004, “Huff’s” series premiere attracted only about 456,000 viewers. The numbers did not get better, but fortunately for the actors, producers and crew – if not Showtime – “Huff” was locked in for a second season. That second go-round did not improve its fortunes, and the show crawled to cancellation with barely enough steam to peep goodbye.

It also bears mentioning that as the 2011-2012 season is getting underway, sitcoms seem to be faring far better with audiences than new dramas. Even the second season premiere of the widely-acclaimed HBO series “Boardwalk Empire” was down some 40 percent in the ratings from its series debut a year ago.

Of course, the television landscape today is far different than it was seven years ago. Between downloads and various instant-viewing services that offer sampling opportunities galore, “Boss” has many more ways of building an audience over its first season. If viewers do not gravitate toward the drama during its initial run, then well-placed repeats, a swift DVD release and positive word of mouth could bring the show more viewers in season two.

Either way, this early renewal makes us very curious to see what happens over the course of “Boss’s” first term.

“Boss” makes its series debut at 10pm Friday, October 21, on cable’s Starz.

Sure, “Archer” is only airing first-runs for three weeks, but are you going to complain about being served fresh half-hours of the funniest adult-themed animation on television?

Anyway, “Archer‘s” pairing with “Sunny” seems natural from the standpoint of maintaining ratings, but it also highlights what’s missing from FX’s schedule: more twisted animation.

Come January, that won’t be a problem. FX believes it has found a timeslot partner for Sterling Archer in “Unsupervised,” an animated series created by Rob Rosell, Scott Marder and David Hornsby, all writers and producers for “Sunny.”  It has an initial 13-episode order.

“Unsupervised,” according to FX’s press release, follows best friends Gary and Joel, a pair of teenagers unhindered (and unprotected?) by parental oversight. Justin Long, Kristen Bell, Romany Malco, Fred Armisen, Kaitlin Olson and Alexa Vega are all signed on to the voice cast, along with Rosell and Hornsby.*

Hornsby, by the way, is starring in what we hope will be the short-lived CBS series “How to Be a Gentleman.”

*FX issued a clarification late on Thursday: Although Armisen’s voice is in the pilot, he is not a member of the regular cast.