When Doctor Who returns to BBC America on March 30^th, the Doctor (Matt Smith) kicks off this new run of adventures through space and time by searching for his companion Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman), a mysterious girl that he’s already lost twice.  Together they find themselves battling monsters on distant alien planets, trapped in a Russian submarine with a deadly passenger, chasing terrifying ghosts, delving into the heart of the TARDIS, facing the Crimson Horror in Victorian Yorkshire, and coming face-to-face with an army of upgraded Cybermen.  The action grows and the Doctor’s oldest secret threatens to be revealed, as the world’s longest running science fiction series builds toward its highly anticipated 50^th anniversary in November.

During this recent interview to promote the upcoming episodes, executive producer/lead writer Steven Moffat talked about what Jenna-Louise Coleman brings to the series, what made Clara the right companion for the Doctor, his favorite upcoming episodes, which monsters were the most fun to write, the impetus for bringing the Ice Warriors back, his approach to writing characters as iconic as the Doctor and Sherlock Holmes (he’s co-creator on Sherlock with Mark Gatiss), the biggest challenges and surprises in this set of upcoming episodes, what makes Doctor Who so universal, and the fact that he’s pretty confident that they’ll be able to deliver something great for the 50^th anniversary.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Anticipation is high for the upcoming third season of the excellent BBC series Sherlock, and production on the three-episode season recently got underway in the UK.  Though the episodes won’t begin to air until this coming winter, executive producer Mark Gatiss has taken to Twitter to reveal the title of the first episode and, subsequently, plot details have also surfaced by way of the Arthur Conan Doyle source material for the story.  Since I know not everyone is completely caught up with season two of Sherlock (you should really get on that), I’ll leave the spoilerish material until after the jump.

If you haven’t yet seen season two of Sherlock, be warned that you will be very much spoiled if you keep reading.

It’s an exciting week for fans of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss’ excellent BBC series Sherlock.  We learned yesterday that season three of the show is set to begin filming next Monday, with the three new installments slated to begin airing on BBC One this winter.  Now comes the even better news that Sherlock will be continuing even further, as star Benedict Cumberbatch has confirmed that he and Martin Freeman agreed to two more series, which means that season four is essentially guaranteed.  Hit the jump for more.

Two of Britain’s best recent miniseries are finally gearing up for new seasons: on the heels of Idris Elba‘s psychological crime drama Luther‘s third season announcement, there has now finally been confirmation of a new series of the BBC One hit Sherlock as well.  Though Sherlock was more of a “when, not if” scenario (with writing taking place, reportedly, near the end of last year), its stars have been busy with other projects – Benedict Cumberbatch has been in Germany filming the Wikileaks movie The Fifth Estate, while Martin Freeman has been filming The Hobbit trilogy.

But somehow it’s all finally coming together (Amen!) and initial read-throughs will start next Monday.  This is a few months after its original shooting date, but better late than never.  Hit the jump for more about upcoming directors for the three new episodes.

As part of the PBS portion of the TCA Press Tour, President and CEO Paula Kerger took some time to discuss the hugely popular drama series Downton Abbey.  During the interview, she spoke about why she thinks both Downton and Sherlock have experienced such tremendous success, whether the casting changes for Season 4 of Downton might affect the show’s popularity, the chances of synching up the timing of the U.S. run of Downton to the show’s run in Britain to avoid spoilers, and that they’re already at work on Season 4.  Check out what she had to say after the jump.

The nominations for the 2013 Producers Guild Awards have been announced.  The PGA’s are a fairly reliable predictor of the Academy Awards, as last year all but two eventual Best Picture nominees (The Tree of Life and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) were PGA nominees.  This year’s contenders include expected fare like Argo, Les Miserables, and Lincoln, indies such as Beasts of the Southern Wild and Moonrise Kingdom, and critical favorite Zero Dark Thirty.  The PGA’s are also fond of singling out one “popular” choice, and in this year’s case that film looks to be the excellent Skyfall

In addition to the feature films, the PGAs also announced the nominees in television.  Drama series nominees include the usual suspects like Homeland, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and Game of Thrones, while the comedy category is filled out by 30 Rock, Louie, Modern Family, and for some reason The Big Bang Theory.  Notably absent is HBO’s Girls and NBC’s brilliant Parks and Recreation.  Hit the jump to check out the full list of film and television nominees.  The 24th Annual PGA Awards will be held on January 26th.

The last twelve months have been great for TV, with some decidedly memorable moments.  We’re still firmly entrenched in this Second Golden Age of Television … if you discount 90% of what’s out there (looking at you, reality television!).  There were some great hits, some surprising flops and a few heartening comebacks.  After the jump you’ll find some of my picks for the best, worst, most confusing and also the most underrated of the year (spoiler-free!).  It’s not meant to be exhaustive or definitive, but contains a few memories and considerations from 2012.  And though I do watch an ungodly amount of TV, there’s plenty I’m not caught up on, so let me know what I’ve missed. Hit the jump to check it out.

It appears that Sherlock fans will have to wait a bit longer to get some closure to that season two finale cliffhanger.  Season three of the excellent BBC series had been poised to start production this coming January for a Fall 2013 debut, but EW now reports that the start date has now been pushed back to March in order to accommodate the busy schedules of stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.  Cumberbatch is gearing up to shoot director Bill Condon’s untitled WikiLeaks project and Freeman is likely needed for some additional Hobbit filming now that Peter Jackson has expanded the adaptation to three films instead of two, so the move makes sense.

Nevertheless, the longer wait for more Sherlock isn’t exactly fun.  Series creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss previously teased three tantalizing key words for the upcoming season, so at least we know we’re in for a treat.  The BBC will air season three first, with PBS noting that the third season will run here in the U.S. in late 2013 or early 2014.

At last weekend’s London Comic-Con, I was able to participate in a very small roundtable interview with Matt Smith for Doctor Who.  While many were nervous when Smith took over the role from David Tennant, I think he’s done an incredible job and I’m glad he’s committed to being the Doctor for at least a few more years.  During the interview Smith revealed:

• When he first got the job, a little boy gave him a very small Dalek that can fit in his jacket pocket and he always has it with him when he wears that coat.
• He’s open to a Sherlock crossover/cameo, but he’s pretty sure Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss are against it.
• The upcoming Christmas episode features Richard E. Grant as the villain and we’ll meet a very important new character.
• They filmed the first episode of season 7 part 2 and they’ve got five more weeks of filming.
• Neil Gaiman is writing an upcoming episode and Smith says, “he’s going to do something brilliantly reinventive.”
• With next year being the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who, Smith says, “I think we’re going to make it a big year for Doctor Who on the BBC.”

Hit the jump to listen to or read the full interview.

Two of my favorite shows are Sherlock and Doctor Who.  Both star amazing actors, feature brilliant writing, film in the United Kingdom, and share some of the same creative team (specifically Steven Moffat).  Since Doctor Who is currently filming part two of season 7 and Sherlock will be filming its third season starting in January, I thought now would be the perfect time to make my dream happen: I want to see the Doctor (Matt Smith) walking behind Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Watson (Martin Freeman) in a scene, or vice versa. I think having the characters cameo on each other’s show would be a very cool nod to the fans.  Keep in mind, I’m not looking for a full scene.  I’m looking for a second or two.  I’d just like to see they are in the same universe.

Cut to a few days ago.

At London Comic-Con this past weekend, I got to participate in a small roundtable interview with Matt Smith where I asked his thoughts on making my dream happen.  He didn’t sound optimistic: “I think Mark (Gatiss) and Steven (Moffat) kind of hate the idea of Doctor Who and Sherlock ever meeting.”  But Smith did admit, “I’m not averse to it.  I’m kind of open.  I’m like yeah, because I just think they would find each other so remarkable.”  Hit the jump for more.

The wait for season three of the BBC series Sherlock just got considerably tougher.  Series creators/showrunners Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss just revealed three tantalizing key words for the upcoming season, giving Sherlock fans a hint as to what classic Arthur Conan Doyle stories the show may be pulling from in season three.  The modern spin on the Sherlock Holmes character debuted in 2010 to a wildly positive response.  The chemistry between Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock and Martin Freeman’s Watson is dynamite, and Moffat and Gatiss have thus far cooked up six 90-minute episodes of some of the most entertaining and enthralling television we’ve seen in quite a long while.

Season two came to a close with one hell of a conclusion/cliffhanger, and Moffat and Gatiss have now spoken up to tease what’s to come in the show’s third season (which will likely debut in fall 2013).  Hit the jump to see what they had to say.  

If you’re looking forward to Star Trek 2 but don’t know who Benedict Cumberbatch is, it’s time to get more excited.  The BBC series Sherlock is what launched Cumberbatch into his current “hot get” status in films like The Hobbit and in ST2, and it proves that he is a phenomenal talent, and someone well worth keeping an eye on.  He plays the titular character opposite Martin Freeman’s Dr. Watson, and in the second season the show hits new levels of greatness. Our review of the Blu-ray of Sherlock Season 2 follows after the jump.

While at Comic-Con for a big presentation in Hall H, director Peter Jackson, along with actors Martin Freeman, Sir Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis, talked to press about the highly anticipated release of The Hobbit films, and whether or not there might be some additional shooting for a possible third film.  During the press conference, they discussed how The Hobbit films will fit in with The Lord of the Rings films in their tone, why it was right to shoot in 3D and 48 frames per second, and the biggest advances in technology since Rings.  You can read our recap of the Comic-Con panel here.

Andy Serkis also talked about how he came to be the Second Unit director, while Martin Freeman revealed that Season 3 of Sherlock is likely to shooting from January through April, of next year.  Check out what they had to say after the jump.

Last night the second annual Critics’ Choice Television Awards were revealed, and while fans usually gripe about these kinds of people being out of touch with the public, they’re usually more accurate than the Emmys when it comes to picking the best that TV has to offer. This time was no exception as Homeland, the best new drama of the season took home the big award for Best Drama Series and Community finally won its biggest award yet by winning the Best Comedy Series award. It’s just a shame that creator Dan Harmon won’t be around next season to try again, though we’re going to give the new showrunners a chance before truly griping.

There were also some great wins for cast members from Breaking Bad, Parks and Recreation and Modern Family, not to mention some much deserved loved for BBC’s Sherlock and its star Benedict Cumberbatch, and FX’s animated comedy series Archer. I can’t say there’s much I disagree with here. Even the tie for Best Actress in a Comedy Series makes perfect sense. My favorite award though is the one that went to Louis C.K. for his turn on his own series Louie, followed closely by Paul Rudd‘s guest turn on Parks and Recreation as opposing city council candidate Bobby Newport (“Leslie, we did it!”). In addition, critics even gave us a taste of what they think the most promising shows of next season are by naming five of them the most exciting of the upcoming slate.  Check out the full list of winners after the jump.

Yesterday we brought you the Critics’ Choice Award nominees.  Tonight belongs to the Television Critics Association.  Homeland tops the list with 4 nominations.  While it got the extra boost over established veterans in the Outstanding New Program category, the taut thriller earned its spots in Best Drama and Program of the Year as well as the nod to Claire Danes for her stellar performance.  The critics understandably still love Breaking Bad and Bryan Cranston, Mad Men and Jon Hamm, Louie and Louis C.K., Game of Thrones and Peter Dinklage, Parks and Recreation and Amy Poehler.  Creator/star Lena Dunham is the freshest face in the bunch, representing in both Individual Achievement in Comedy and Outstanding New Program with Girls.  But as always, there are a few head-scratchers.  Jessica Lange for American Horror Story is a legacy vote, and while her scenery-chewing was very entertaining—for Individual Achievement in Drama?  No.  And Smash somehow sneaked into Outstanding New Program rather than, say, Veep or Awake.

Still, the TCA always gets more right than they do wrong, especially with their neat Heritage Award.  (This year’s eclectic contenders are Cheers, Lost, Saturday Night Live, Star Trek, and Twin Peaks.)  Read the full list after the jump.