Nominations for the 2013 Critics’ Choice Television Awards have been announced, and along with plenty of welcome surprises there are a couple of snubs that are likely to have people talking.  Here’s a brief rundown of some of the highlights:

• Best Drama Series nominees include Game of Thrones, Homeland, Breaking Bad, and FX’s excellent new series The Americans.  Conspicuously absent is Mad Men, which only scored one nomination overall for Elisabeth Moss as Lead Actress.
• Best Comedy Series nominees include Louie, New Girl, Parks and Recreation, and Veep, with Emmy favorite Modern Family failing to land a nomination along with last year’s winner Community.  Instead, ABC sitcom The Middle made the cut.
• Netflix’s House of Cards scored two nominations for Best Actor (Kevin Spacey) and a very deserved Best Supporting Actor nod for Corey Stoll.
• David Lynch landed a Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series nom for his excellent work in Louie, and Happy Endings alums Casey Wilson and Adam Pally were recognized in the supporting categories.
• The love it/loathe it HBO comedy Girls didn’t get a Best Comedy Series nod, but received acting nominations for Lena Dunham, Alex Karpovsky, and Patrick Wilson.
• FX’s American Horror Story and CBS’ The Big Bang Theory scored the most nominations with six each, topping all other programs.

Hit the jump to check out the full list of nominees, and sound off in the comments with your thoughts on the lineup.  The awards will be handed out on June 10th.

Thursday evening’s TV ratings are in, and it’s season finales galore.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• The emotional series finale of The Office scored a 3.0 rating in the 18-49 demo and 5.7 million viewers, which is up from last week’s 2.3 rating and marks the highest-rated episode of the show since January of 2012.
• The season finale of CBS’ The Big Bang Theory, however, topped the night with a 4.4 rating and 14.78 million viewers.  That’s down half a ratings point from last week’s 4.9 rating but even with last year’s finale rating of 4.4.  The episode was the most watched program of the night, besting even the season finale of American Idol.
• Another season finale on CBS, that of Elementary, was up a tenth from last week’s series low with a 2.0 rating and 8.93 million viewers for the two-hour episode.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Thursday, May 16th, including Hannibal, Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and more.

Thursday evening’s TV ratings are in.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• The season—and possible series—finale of NBC’s Community hit a 1.3 rating in the 18-49 demo and scored 3.14 million viewers, which is up a tenth from last week’s 1.2 rating.  Though the show is still very much on the bubble for renewal, the latest word is that NBC might actually pick the show up for another season after all.
• CBS’ Elementary fell to a new series low with a 1.8 rating and 9.15 million viewers, dropping two tenths from last week’s series low 2.0 rating.  Nevertheless, the better-than-it-has-to-be Sherlock Holmes show has already been renewed for a second season.
• Elsewhere at CBS, The Big Bang Theory dropped three tenths from last week’s 4.9 rating to a 4.6 rating and scored 15.7 million viewers.  Despite the drop, the comedy juggernaut still managed to stand way above anything else on television for the night.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Thursday, May 9th, including Hannibal, Glee, The Office, Grey’s Anatomy, and more.

Thursday evening’s TV ratings are in.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• NBC’s Community saw a healthy rise from last week’s series low, as last night’s episode hit a 1.2 rating in the 18-49 demo and 2.8 million viewers. That’s up 20% over last week’s 1.0 rating.
• Also up was the season finale of Parks and Recreation, which hit a 1.5 rating and 2.89 million viewers for a 15% rise over last week’s season low 1.3 rating.  However, the rating was down 12% from last year’s season finale’s 1.7 rating.
• The swell new NBC drama series Hannibal continues to struggle a tad, as last night’s episode notched a 1.0 rating and 2.51 million viewers, matching last week’s series low.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Thursday, May 2nd, including The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Elementary, The Vampire Diaries, and more.

Thursday evening’s TV ratings are in, and the networks faced a sharp drop in viewership against the NFL Draft.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• NBC’s fantastic new drama series Hannibal sadly saw another drop in ratings, as last night’s episode hit a 1.0 rating in the 18-49 demo and 2.4 million viewers.  That’s down four tenths from last week’s 1.4 rating.
• Even though CBS stalwart The Big Bang Theory drew more total viewers than all of NBC’s programming combined (yes, really), the show hit a season low rating of 4.2 for a drop of a full ratings point from its last originals’ 5.2 rating.  Nevertheless, the comedy dominated the night with 14.38 million viewers.
• Back over at NBC, though, a Jim Rash-penned episode of Community notched a series low 1.0 rating and 2.4 million viewers.  A sad fate for what was by far the best episode of an uneven season.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Thursday, April 25th, including Parks and Recreation, Person of Interest, Scandal, Elementary, The Vampire Diaries, and more.

Thursday evening’s TV ratings are in.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• NBC’s excellent new drama series Hannibal debuted to a 1.6 rating and 4.31 million viewers, which is up 60% from NBC’s average in the time slot this year but still a tad on the low side.  Read Allison’s recap here and watch the full pilot here.
• CBS’ The Big Bang Theory continues to slaughter just about everything that runs opposite the comedy, as it raked in a 4.9 rating and a whopping 16.79 million viewers.  That’s up 2% from its last original episode’s 4.8 rating.
• Speaking of getting slaughtered, a return-to-form episode of Community last night earned a series-low 1.0 rating and 2.41 million viewers, which is down 9% from its last original episode’s 1.6 rating.
• Also hitting a series low was the CBS procedural Elementary, which notched a 2.1 rating and 10.36 million viewers opposite the series premiere of Hannibal.  That’s down 9% from its last new episode’s 2.3 rating.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Thursday, April 4th, including Parks and Recreation, The Office, New Girl, Person of Interest, and more.

Thursday evening’s TV ratings are in.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• NBC’s Community hit another series low last night, scoring a 1.0 rating and 2.61 million viewers.  That’s down half a ratings point from last week’s 1.5 rating.
• On the other hand, another excellent episode of Parks and Recreation saw a rise in viewership with a 1.6 rating and 3.01 million viewers.  That’s up two tenths from the last original episode’s 1.4 rating.
• Over on Fox, Glee saw a pretty dramatic dip as it scored a 2.0 rating and 5.46 million viewers for a drop of four tenths from last week’s 2.4 rating.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Thursday, March 14th, including The Big Bang Theory, Grey’s Anatomy, 1600 Penn, The Vampire Diaries, and more.

The TV ratings for Thursday evening’s programs are in.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• A fantastically funny and heartfelt wedding episode of NBC’s Parks and Recreation sadly scored a series low for the comedy, hitting a 1.3 rating and 3.03 million viewers and a 1.4 rating and 2.91 million viewers for two back-to-back episodes.  The first installment is a drop of 13% from last week’s 1.5 rating.
• Season four of Community continues to struggle, as last night’s Comic-Con-inspired episode notched a 1.1 rating and 3.08 million viewers.  That’s down 8% from last week’s episode and marks a series low for the show.
• On the flipside, The CW’s The Vampire Diaries bested all of NBC and ABC’s programming in its timeslot, earning a 1.3 rating and 2.89 million viewers for a rise of 30% from last week’s 1.0 rating in the demo.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Thursday, February 21st, including Elementary, Two and a Half Men, Grey’s Anatomy, Zero Hour, The Big Bang Theory, and more.

Now playing in theaters is the 3D animated feature, Escape from Planet Earth.  The story centers on some aliens who get captured during a mission to Earth and are tossed into the secure holding site of Area 51, but they quickly find that they are not alone.  Escape From Planet Earth features the voices of Rob Corddry, Brendan Fraser, Sarah Jessica Parker, William Shatner, Jessica Alba, Jane Lynch, Sofia Vergara, Craig Robinson, George Lopez, Steve Zahn, Chris Parnell, Ricky Gervais and Jonathan Morgan Heit.

During the recent Los Angeles press day, I landed an exclusive video interview with Shatner (who voices General Shanker).  During the interview we talked about making Escape From Planet Earth, why he wanted to do a voice, will he ever do a guest spot on The Big Bang Theory, what’s it like for him when he attends conventions, what his schedule is like nowadays as he’s working on a wide variety of projects, why Star Trek and Star Wars have stood the test of time, does he get free flights via Priceline, and so much more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Thursday night’s TV ratings are in.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• It wouldn’t be Community without drama.  Following last week’s promising numbers for the show’s long-delayed season four premiere, the comedy fell hard last night with a 1.1 rating in the demo and 2.75 million viewers.  That’s down a whopping 42% from last week’s premiere, but it’s also important to note that TV viewing as a whole was down last night in lieu of the Valentine’s Day holiday.
• The series premiere of ABC’s Zero Hour (read Allison’s recap here) didn’t drum up much interest.  The Anthony Edwards-led mystery adventure drama scored a 1.3 rating and 6.29 million viewers, which is ABC’s lowest rated premiere in the 18-49 demo ever.  On the bright side, it scored the second most-watched series premiere this year behind The Following.
• ABC’s soap Scandal surpassed lead-in Grey’s Anatomy for the first time ever, scoring a 2.8 rating in the demo versus Grey’s’ 2.7 rating.  The show netted 8.04 million viewers.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Thursday, February 14th, including The Big Bang Theory, Glee, The Office, Parks and Recreation, and more.

While I’ve been able to interview a number of amazing people while working for Collider, last weekend I finally talked to one of my favorite childhood heroes: William Shatner.  Like many of you, I grew up watching Star Trek.  Sitting in my grandmother’s living room and watching the original episodes with my father is actually one of my earliest memories, and it will always be one of the biggest influences on why I grew up being a nerd.  Which I am very proud of.  So when I was offered an extended video interview with Shatner for the animated feature, Escape from Planet Earth, I jumped at the chance.  Thankfully, he was in a great mood and we talked about a wide variety of subjects.   As I sit here editing the interview for posting tomorrow, I decided to offer a small tease of what’s to come.

If you watch The Big Bang Theory, you know many Star Trek actors (Leonard Nimoy, Wil Wheaton, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton) have made guest appearances on the show.   When I put on Twitter that I’d be talking to Shatner, a few of you asked if he’d be willing to also guest star on the CBS sitcom.  He told me he’s been asked a few times but he didn’t want to go on the show.  However, it sounds like he’s warming to the idea, because he said “if they came up with a really good reason for being on there…a really funny reason…I would do it.”  Hit the jump to watch and look for the full interview tomorrow.

Thursday evening’s TV ratings are in.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• After a last-minute postponement from its planned October bow, season four of Community finally kicked off last night and the results—ratingswise at least—are pretty good.  The premiere scored a 1.8 rating and 3.98 million viewers, which is up 6% from its 2011 season three premiere rating of 1.7 and up 38% from the season three finale rating of 1.3.  Creator Dan Harmon’s absence was certainly felt creatively in the episode, but it appears that fans are still keen on keeping up with the goings-on at Greendale Community College.
• A particularly sharp episode of Parks and Recreation featuring quite possibly the funniest scene in the show’s history notched a season-high 2.0 rating and 3.83 million viewers, which is up 18% from its last original episode’s 1.7 rating.
• NBC’s new series Do No Harm, which scored the lowest-rated debut in network TV history last week, fell even harder last night with a 0.7 rating and 2.18 viewers for a 22% drop from last week’s 0.9 rating.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Thursday, February 7th, including The Big Bang Theory, Grey’s Anatomy, Elementary, The Vampire Diaries, 1600 Penn, and more.

Thursday evenings TV ratings are in.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• The splendid series finale of 30 Rock notched the show’s largest audience in two years and highest ratings since March of 2012, with a 1.9 rating and 4.8 million viewers.  That’s up half a ratings point from last week’s 1.4 rating.  Blimpies!
• NBC’s new series Do No Harm, on the other hand, was a rather massive failure, as the show’s 0.9 rating and 3.13 million viewers scored the lowest-rated in-season premiere of any Big 4 network scripted program ever.  Makin’ history, folks.
• Coming off a couple of insane series highs, The Big Bang Theory finally came back down to earth with a 5.3 rating and 17.51 million viewers versus its last original episode’s 6.4 rating.  Alas, the show was still the highest-rated and most-watched program of the night.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Thursday, January 31st, including Two and a Half Men, The Vampire Diaries, The Office, Elementary, and more.

Thursday evening’s TV ratings are in.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• The Big Bang Theory continues to soar, as last night’s Star Trek-themed episode notched yet another series high for the comedy with a whopping 6.3 rating and 19.8 million viewers.  That’s up from last week’s rating of 6.1 rating, which at the time was a new series high.  How much higher can the show go?
• Also up was NBC’s departing comedy 30 Rock, which hit a 1.4 rating and 3.77 million viewers (man that looks tiny next to BBT’s numbers).  That’s up a tad from its last new episode’s 1.1 rating, but the numbers don’t necessarily matter anymore since the series finale is only a couple of weeks away.
• The new NBC comedy 1600 Penn, which had its series premiere a few weeks ago, made its timeslot debut last night with a 1.6 rating and 3.93 million viewers.  That’s down from its debut’s 2.2 rating, but we should have good feel for the show’s true audience when a wholly new episode airs next week.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Thursday, January 10th, including Elementary, Two and a Half Men, Grey’s Anatomy, and more.

The Paley Center for Media has released the list of this year’s attendees and honorees for the the 30th annual PaleyFest.  The TV fan festival will take place at the Saban Theater at the beginning of March, and will feature newcomer The Walking Dead, which will be part of the opening night presentation.  That series will join a lineup that includes Community, Parenthood, The Mindy Project, Arrow, The Big Bang Theory, Revolution, Once Upon a Time and more.  American Horror Story: Asylum will close the festival on March 15th.

Ryan Murphy, creator of American Horror Story, Glee and Nip/Tuck will also be honored with the first PaleyFest Icon Award for creative achievement in television.  For the complete schedule and lineup for their biggest festival yet, hit the jump.