Question: For quite some time now you’ve been kind enough to provide your fellow TV Addicts with an incredibly useful calendar highlighting the month’s big TV events. Seriously, my cubicle at work is practically wallpapered with them and I really can’t thank you enough for your hard work. The only problem is that you totally dropped the ball when it came to August. Please explain yourself? — HookedonTVA
The TV Addict: Truthfully, the TV Addict was on strike. And by that I mean, if the networks aren’t going to bother to program quality television in August, I certainly am not going to take time away from my FREAKS AND GEEKS marathon busy schedule to help promote the return of MILLIONAIRE on ABC. Plus, between Comic Con, my much-deserved vacation and the Television Critics Association Press Tour, I simply ran out of time. That said — here in a nutshell is everything you need to know for August: MONK and PSYCH returned to USA on August 7, MAD MEN returns to AMC on August 16, PROJECT RUNWAY makes it’s Lifetime premiere on August 20, TOP CHEF returns to Bravo on August 19, while GREEK picks up exactly where it left off on ABC Family on August 31.

Question: GMMR has got me totally hooked on GREEK. Got any spoilers? — Cappietastic
The TV Addict: Are you sitting down? Because I’m about to drop an honest-to-goodness GREEK game-changer on you. A spoiler so big, it may-or-may-not rock Greek row forever. Ready for it? When the hit ABC Family series returns from hiatus on August 31 [Please take a moment to ensure that there are no spill-able liquids within your computer's proximity!] expect to see hear a proposal from a series regular.

Question: Loved your sneak peek at FRINGE’s second season premiere, but found myself wondering as to why it was completely William Bell free? — TheOtherSider
The TV Addict: Unfortunately, there is a very good reason that my little tease was completely William Bell free —because that’s exactly what the episode was. Leonard Nimoy was MIA. That said, FRINGE executive producer Jeff Pinkner did confirm at last week’s TCA panel for the show that Nimoy has already filmed one episode for season two and “is welcome back as much as he wants.”

Question: Since you missed the boat on an August TV Calendar, can you at least let us know when we can we expect to see one for September? With the new fall season just around the corner, it’s somewhat of a big deal, No?
The TV Addict: Does October work for you? But seriously folks, I assure you that I’m already strategizing ways in which I’ll be able to fit 423 season premieres on one page of 8.5 x 11″ paper. Stay tuned.

Question: As much as I’m loving the previews for V, I’m really hoping the new series won’t preclude Elizabeth Mitchell from returning to LOST. Heard anything as to when we can expect to see Juliet again? — JulietismyConstant
The TV Addict: Lucky for LOST fans, the producers of V are with you. And by ‘with you’ I mean huge fans of the the series as well. Which is why Mitchell was able to confirm at Saturday’s TCA panel for her new ABC series V that she will be heading back to Hawaii, possibly more than once. “I will be back on LOST,” teased the actress. “I can’t say whether I’m dead or not and as with all things on LOST, it will be fairly tricky.”

Question: Over the weekend, Nathan Fillion tweeted a first look at the Richard Castle manuscript for his upcoming thriller Heat Wave. I understand you were on the set. Got any scoop? — OhCaptainMyCaptainMal
The TV Addict: Taking a page from Richard Castle’s on-screen sleuthing abilities, your very own TV Addict did in fact use his spy camera iPhone to snag this exclusive photo (above) of Castle’s new book. Which, by the way will be hitting shelves on September 29th. Can’t wait that long? Click here to download the first chapter for free.

I couldn’t help but notice that you had the chance to catch FASTFORWARD over the weekend, is it all it’s cracked up to be? And more to the point, do we have ourselves a frontrunner for a LOST replacement come next season? — FFFanatic
The TV Addict: Indeed you do, and in more ways than one. Not only is the David S. Goyer  (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight) produced FLASHFORWARD a top notch production across the board. Like LOST, it offers up a ridiculously good looking cast (including Joseph Fiennes, Sonya Walger, John Cho among others) — who through glimpses into the future must piece together what happened to them after the world blacks our for 2 minutes and 17 seconds, characters you’ll very quickly become emotionally invested in, and most importantly, an ending that will have you wishing you could flash forward to next week’s episode. Not to mention, continued employment for LOST alum Dominic Monaghan, who will be joining the cast in what the actor promises to be a drastically different character than Charlie.

With FOX premiering THE CLEVELAND HOW, how long until the inevitable FAMILY GUY crossover? — FamilyGuyFan42
The TV Addict: Although the production team promises that they’re trying to keep the two shows somewhat separate, Seth MacFarlane did concede at last week’s TCA event highlighting THE CLEVELAND SHOW that, “the whole Brown family shows up on FAMILY GUY for an episode in the spring.” With co-creator Mike Henry adding that “Quagmire comes to town for a very relevant-to-the-story reason — and then he refers to something that happened in Quahog — so we see Peter. But I think that’s the only time.”

Question: I’m still reeling from the PRIVATE PRACTICE season finale. Please tell me Amy Brenneman’s Violet is going to be okay. — Patient31
The TV Addict: Not only was the former JUDGING AMY star alive and well on my recent set visit (interview coming soon), she tweets!

Well that about wraps it up folks for this edition of “Ask the Addict.” if you’ve got a question for the TV Addict, you can email me directly at ask@thetvaddict.com or follow me on twitter at twitter.com/thetvaddict.

You’ve seen the teasers. You’ve heard the hype. Now there’s only one thing you want to know: Which of the new fall shows midseason offerings are worth watching and which should be avoided at all costs? In this continuing series, we give you the scoop on some of the most highly-anticipated shows of the season. Which will be the next GREY’S ANATOMY… and which will be the new JOEY? Next up, an early look at the FOX’s FAMILY GUY spin-off THE CLEVELAND SHOW.

Why We’ll Watch: Giving new meaning to the phrase “Animation Domination,” comes Seth MacFarlane with his third contribution to FOX’s Sunday night lineup: THE CLEVELAND SHOW. And while Cleveland Brown, alongside his 14-year old son Cleveland Jr. may not have been the most obvious choice for this much-buzzed about FAMILY GUY spin-off, fans will be grateful to know that MacFarlane, alongside executive producers Rich Appel and Mike Henry (who coincidentally enough, provides the voice of Cleveland among others) are smarter than the average bear (or, as the case may be, comedy writers). Cleverly surrounding the show’s somewhat less exciting titular character with; A newly adopted family which include a rebellious stepdaughter named Roberta and a foul-mouthed tyke named Rallo, who who may-or-may-not bare a passing resemblance to one Stewie Griffin, two off-beat religious environmentally friendly bears voiced by Arianna Huffington and Seth MacFarlane, a loudmouth redneck named Lester and a hipster wanna-be named Holt (Voiced by Jason Sudeikis). All of whom keep the yuks flowing and contribute to what may in fact be MacFarlane’s funniest project yet.

What to Fast Forward Through: Uneven pacing and jokes that fall flat aside, it’s always something with MacFarlane. FAMILY GUY has Chris, AMERICAN DAD has Klaus and unfortunately for Cleveland and the viewers, we’re stuck with son Cleveland Jr., who (trust us) is why remote controls have “fast forward” buttons.

Watch Live or DVR: Considering THE SIMPSONS, FAMILY GUY and yes, even AMERICAN DAD (Which FYI, has kind of grown on us this past season) are all appointment TV, you can bet where we’ll be come Sundays at 8:30PM. After-all, it’s Seth MacFarlane’s world and we’re just living in it.

You’ve read his take on the most promising fall shows and least promising ones. Now, in what we promise is our final look back at the Network’s UpFront offerings comes our very own Ken Tucker in-training Aleks Chan, with a look at the shows that fall somewhere in-between.

ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE (CBS)
After the horridly ill-conceived COURTING ALEX, Jenna Elfman returns to the small screen as Billie, a San Francisco film critic who hooks up with a younger guy and – surprise – gets pregnant. Pregnancy as a premise hasn’t always worked, and the clips don’t really provide much hope that AOP will be any different, but Elfman is one deft comedienne, so if anything, it’ll be tolerable. 

EASTWICK (ABC)
Also known as Charmed Lipstick Housewives and the City. Based on the John Updike novel about three women (Lindsay Price, Rebecca Romijn, and Jamie Ray Newman) who are imbued with magical powers, it looks as tawdry and superfluous as I remember CHARMED ever was – not that there’s anything wrong with that.  

FLASH FORWARD (ABC)
Everyone in the world blacks out at the exact same time and for the same duration, during which they see a few minutes into their futures. The preview opened with a “From the network that brought you LOST,” which only prompted the following afterwards: this is going to be convoluted, tricky show, and if they don’t do it right, will be painful to traverse.  

THE GOOD WIFE (CBS)
Julianna Margulies plays victimized really well, so it should suit her well in this drama where she plays the wife of a politician (Chris Noth, very much channeling Mr. Big) who takes after Eliot Spitzer, forcing her to return to her work as a lawyer after taking 13 years off. As long as they don’t fall into a procedural trap, could be a rich piece of drama.  

HUMAN TARGET (FOX)
Mark Valley stars in this adaptation of the DC Comic, about a private investigator/bodyguard who works by impersonating people close to his clients. A lot of explosions and running around in the trailer – could be campy fun as long as it keeps itself from going too far over the top.  

MERCY (NBC) 
It’s the GREY’S ANATOMY spin-off nobody asked for: a hospital drama about “feisty” and “complicated” nurses who can save others, but can barely save themselves. The cast (which includes newcomer Taylor Schilling, MEN IN TREES’ James Tupper and GOSSIP GIRL’s Michelle Trachtenberg) could save it from being utterly insufferable.  

NCIS: LOS ANGELES (CBS)
The first of what I expect to be many spin-offs of the popular procedural that everyone seems to be watching but not talking about. The backdoor pilot already aired a few weeks back on NCIS, and looks to be about the same: the cast (which includes Chris O’Donnell and LL Cool J) is perfectly capable, the stories nice and easy, and the tensions is about as tight as seatbelt – comfortable. It’s perfectly harmless TV. That’s either good or bad, depending on how old you are.  

PARENTHOOD (NBC) 
Based on the 1989 Ron Howard film starring Steve Martin and Dianne Wiest, it sounds exactly like what it’s about, and marks NBC’s second attempt to launch this series, its previous foray having been swiftly cancelled in 1990 (but coincidentally starred a then unknown Leo DiCaprio). This one looks more promising (and stars Peter Krause and Maura Tierney), if a bit of a BROTHERS & SISTERS knockoff.  

SONS OF TUCSON (FOX)
Tyler Labine (REAPER) plays oafish sporting goods store employee Ron Snuffkin, who is hired by three boys to play their father after their own is sent to jail. Also reminds me of MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE (appropriately seeing how MITM’s Todd Holland directed the pilot), it will be entirely up to Labine, who’s shown his comedic chops before, to keep interest from waning.

THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE (THE CW)
I don’t why the CW didn’t just call it a MODELS INC. remake, because it’s essentially what THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE is: Pretty young models livin’ really hard, really expensive lives, except this time in New York.

THE CLEVELAND SHOW (FOX)
FAMILY GUY’s brand of irreverent, arbitrary, largely childish humor looks as if it will serve this spin-off well. Starring the otherwise harmless second banana Cleveland Brown, it follows him and his son as they start their new life with their new family. Just like FG, you’ll laugh, but it will probably be twice as empty.

GLEE
According to the official FOX description: After a special preview event airing tomorrow, Tuesday, May 19, GLEE, the distinctive new comedy from Ryan Murphy (NIP/TUCK) starring Jane Lynch (The 40 YEAR-OLD VIRGIN) and newcomers Matthew Morrison (Broadway’s “Hairspray”), Lea Michele (“Spring Awakening”) and Cory Monteith (KYLE XY), will enter its freshman year this fall. Combining biting humor with a soundtrack of hit music from past to present, the inventive series follows an optimistic high school teacher who – against all odds – attempts to restore McKinley High’s fading Glee Club to its former glory, while helping a group of underdogs realize their true star potential.

According to the TV Addict: We’re GLEE-ful in anticipation. So much so that you’ll definitely want to return to theTVaddict.com tomorrow… trust us.

BROTHERS
According to the official FOX description: Starring Michael Strahan (FOX NFL SUNDAY) and Daryl “Chill” Mitchell (ED, VERONICA’S CLOSET), BROTHERS is a new half-hour comedy about a former NFL hot shot who learns that even though you can always go home again, the trip back might be tougher than you think….

According to the TV Addict: And a whole lot less funny that we were hoping. Which is a shame because not only are we rooting for Daryl “Chill” Mitchell from his ED and VERONICA’S CLOSET days, it’s awfully refreshing to see a comedy on network television that doesn’t revolve around a bunch of skinny white people.

HUMAN TARGET
According to the official FOX description: HUMAN TARGET is a full-throttle, action-packed thrill ride from executive producers McG (TERMINATOR: SALVATION) and Simon West (CON AIR, TOMB RAIDER). Based on the popular DC Comics graphic novel and starring Mark Valley (FRINGE), Chi McBride (PUSHING DAISIES) and Academy Award nominee Jackie Earle Haley (“Watchmen”), the series follows CHRISTOPHER CHANCE (Valley), a unique private contractor who will stop at nothing – even if it means becoming a human target – to keep his clients alive.

According to the TV Addict: We’ve already marked our calendar for the January 17 (2010!) premiere, thanks to FOX’s choice of human targets. Mark Valley, Chi McBride, Jackie Earle Haley and Tricia Helfer (Who does a bang-up job of guesting in the series premiere). Talk about your casting call, mission accomplished.

THE CLEVELAND SHOW
According to the official FOX description: THE CLEVELAND SHOW is a new animated series that follows everyone’s favorite soft-spoken neighbor, CLEVELAND BROWN (Mike Henry), to his hometown in Virginia as he settles down with his high school sweetheart, her unruly kids and his own 14-year-old son, CLEVELAND JR. (Kevin Michael Richardson).

According to this TV Addict: Considering we pause our PVR/DVR to watch Seth MacFarlane shill for hulu.com, the chances that we’ll be missing THE CLEVELAND SHOW are about as good as Meg’s chances of being voted prom queen.

SONS OF TUCSUN
According to the official FOX description: In the tradition of MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE and THE BERNIE MAC SHOW, SONS OF TUCSON is a family comedy about three brothers who hire a charming, wayward schemer to stand in as their father when their real one goes to prison. What begins as a business relationship evolves into something more complex and compelling: a family unlike any we’ve ever seen….

According to this TV Addict: … Unless of course you’ve seen MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE, which let’s face it, TUSCAN bares an eery similarity to. Luckily for FOX, we kinda dug MALCOLM and so did America. Which is why we’re not about to crown Tyler Labine the new “show-killer” just yet (RIP: REAPER and INVASION)

PAST LIFE
According to the official FOX description: Have you ever experienced déjà vu or met someone you thought seemed familiar? Do you believe in karma, fate or love at first sight? From writer David Hudgins (“Friday Night Lights”), and inspired by the book “The Reincarnationist” by M.J. Rose, comes PAST LIFE, a new drama series about an unlikely pair of past-life detectives who investigate whether what is happening to you today is the result of who you were before.

According to this TV Addict: This show belongs on CBS. ‘Nuff said.

THE WANDA SYKES SHOW
According to the official FOX description: On Saturday, Nov. 7 (11:00 PM-Midnight ET/PT), late night will never be the same when Emmy Award winner Wanda Sykes returns to FOX to host THE WANDA SYKES SHOW (working title). The irreverent Saturday late-night series will feature Sykes’ outspoken comedic perspective on current events along with topical, high-energy roundtable discussions.

According to this TV Addict: Where Wanda goes, we will follow.

Good News: Bryan Fuller, the man who many (including this TV Addict) believe was responsible for the high quality of HEROES first season is getting set to re-join the show. Bad News: When PUSHING DAISIES finishes shooting its final episode this week. [Source]

Good News: Tori Spelling is getting set to return to the CW. Bad News: On SMALLVILLE, not 90210 (yet!) [Source]