Today is a sad day at the Pie Hole. Pushing Daisies, one of my favorite shows, will soon be, well, pushing daisies.

ABC has decided not to order any additional episodes beyond the 13 already shot for this season. Although the network didn’t use the word “canceled,” the deed is all but done. The cast and crew of Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money received the same news.

Pushing Daisies is, to borrow an expression from TV funerals, too good for this world. Dorothy Snarker summed up the show perfectly: “[It’s] like eating ice cream and petting puppies and spotting rainbows on a sunny day.”

But as sweet as it is, Pushing Daisies never descends into sappiness. Sure, Olive often bursts into song. But if I sang like Kristin Chenoweth, so would I. … continue reading

Earlier this week, an ABC promo teased that this week, "Bianca and her partner Reese make love!" and showed a quick scene of the two women in bed together.

Unfortunately, what was in the promo was pretty much all you saw on the show.

But this was still a breakthrough for All My Children (and daytime TV overall), which previously has only shown two women in bed together once, to my recollection (Bianca in Lena's hotel room), and they were sitting side-by-side — not lying down — in a "morning after" scene (not kissing or engaging in sexual activity the way the heterosexual characters do all the time on the show).

Although Bianca and Reese's sex scene was blink-and-you'll-miss-it brief, this time the writers showed us the lead-up to it, and it was pretty good. (Spoiler alert: episode details below!) … continue reading

Bianca (Eden Riegel) and Reese's (Tamara Braun) much-anticipated engagement finally took place on ABC's daytime drama All My Children today (the first lesbian marriage proposal on daytime TV), and for once, the AMC writers didn't disappoint.

Reese arrived in town yesterday with Miranda, after Bianca gave birth to their daughter Gabrielle in the middle of a tornado.

When Reese surprised Bianca at the door, they gave each other a big...hug. Yes, a hug, not a kiss. Good to know the more things change, the more some things stay the same.

In today's episode, Reese led up to the proposal by first surprising Bianca with plans for their new house, which she has secretly been building in France. Then she pulled out a ring box, got down on one knee, and gave an appropriately sweet and mushy speech about how much she loved Bianca.

In the proposal, Reese recalled how they met, when Miranda hit Reese in the face with a ball (presumably in a park), and Bianca felt so guilty she insisted on taking Reese home to take care of her.

REESE: "That day, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. And I knew that I wanted to have a home with you and Miranda, and a future together. And so today, I am asking you my beautiful, beautiful, beautiful Bianca... will you marry me?"
BIANCA: "Yes, I will marry you."

Then they had an actual kiss — a real one, not a peck on the cheek. (For those who aren't familiar with AMC, a romantic kiss between two woman is even rarer than an episode of Grey's Anatomy in which Callie doesn't sleep with Mark Sloane.) We'll probably have to wait several months until the actual wedding for another kiss between Bianca and Reese, but it's better than a post-engagement hug! … continue reading

AE reader Jessica tipped us off to a lesbian story line in this week's episode of the ABC sitcom Samantha Who?.

The half-hour comedy stars Christina Applegate as the victim of a hit-and-run accident who wakes up from an eight-day coma with retrograde amnesia, and as she slowly regains her memories, discovers she was basically a big bitch to everyone, and tries to make amends. Her best friends are played by Andrea (Jennifer Esposito) and Dena, aka Sookie from Gilmore Girls (Melissa McCarthy).

In the episode that aired tonight (2.3 "The Pill"), a cute coffee-house guy mistakes Andrea and Dena for a couple. Dena teases Andrea about being uptight about it, Andrea insists she isn't — that she can get any woman she wants, including "Hot Lesbian Carol From Payroll" (or "Carol" for short), etc. Watch the scene here:

If you've ever watched any sitcom on U.S. television, you know what's coming: ultra-straight Andrea sets out to prove to Dena she can "get" Carol, even though she doesn't actually want her, first by trying to seduce Carol in the elevator at work with cheesy lines and cleavage...

Left to right: Dena, Andrea and Carol

...and then by adopting a hot, bookish Tina Fey look (have even straight people figured out how much lesbians love Tina?). … continue reading

Pushing Daisies makes me happy — like eating ice cream and petting puppies and spotting rainbows on a sunny day happy. Well, actually, not like ice cream (lactose intolerance), but the other stuff, definitely. I think it makes me so happy because it's just so sweet. Not sweet in the cup of sugar, glass of Kool-Aid sense. But sweet in the charming, delightful, filled-with-wonder sense.

Season 2 starts tonight on ABC, and I can't wait watch the continued Technicolor adventures of the pie maker and his back-from-the-dead gal. Not sure what all the fuss is about? Well, do you have five minutes to spare?

… continue reading

As soon as I read that Janina Gavankar would be joining the cast of Grey's Anatomy this fall, I had to do it. I just had to hope that the salacious Seattle Grace staff would take her in under their wing, and she'd end up in an elevator with Sara Ramirez (sorry, Dr. Hahn).

Gavankar did her best as Papi on The L Word, but the part of a tipped-hat wearing Latina Shane didn't sit well with the show's fans, and she was ousted. However, this may be to the betterment of Grey's, one can only hope.

Ganvakar will play an intern, and we all know what happens to interns — they become part of the drama, and eventually, part of the staff. But producers haven't gotten that far just yet, as her role and longevity on the show have yet to be decided. … continue reading

Good news for fans of the web series In the Motherhood: The show is moving to primetime television on ABC. The network has scheduled 13 episodes based on the popular MindShare series about the zany lives of three mothers and girlfriends, inspired by the real adventures of women across the country who write into the show’s site with their stories.

Though comic actress Chelsea Handler will stay on board, her costars Leah Remini and Jenny McCarthy aren’t involved in the ABC project. That bums me out because I love Chelsea and Jenny as sisters. Check out this clip and try not to giggle:

Who will be Chelsea’s new costars? The buzz right now is that busy Ms. Handler — who also hosts a late night talk show and has penned two bestselling books — will be joined by Megan Mullally (Will & Grace) and Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm). … continue reading

This is a live blog from the bi-annual Television Critics Association conference. See more TCA live blog posts here.

The last panel of the day — and the three-week TCA conference — is the much-anticipated Grey's Anatomy spinoff Private Practice, starring Kate Walsh (#14 on The AfterEllen.com Hot 100 List, for good reason). There are double the normal number of people in the audience, and on the stage, with creator Shonda Rhimes in the middle flanked by Taye Diggs and Kate Walsh.

ABC rolls the promo for Private Practice, and it focuses mostly on Addison's story line on Grey's Anatomy. Clearly they're still retooling the spinoff after the critical lashing the back-door pilot received in May.

Shonda fields a few questions about how she's handling the pressure, but she doesn't really say much. Not saying much, I'm about to discover, is her MO. When it comes to saying something while saying nothing, the woman has skills.

Kate's asked about her reaction when she found out about the spinoff, and she says she was "in bed at 3am reading it like a teenager emitting screams of joy, like a super-top secret diary of someone else's that I'd just found." I start to picture that scene, but stop when I realize it's interfering with my ability to focus on the panel.

A reporter asks why Audra McDonald replaced Merrin Dungey, and after Shonda jokes, "I don't think we can go wrong with a four-times Tony winner," she says they were rethinking the character of Naomi and needed someone "strong and tough." Um, have you ever seen a show called Alias? Evil Francie can kick some serious ass! … continue reading

This is a live blog from the bi-annual Television Critics Association conference. See more TCA live blogging here.

It's Men in Trees time on the last day of the TCA. I like this show, and my mom loves it, but I stopped watching about halfway through last season because there were just too many shows on the air and not enough time in the day to watch them all.

ABC begins the promo for last season, and the cast files out on stage. Anne Heche looks great in her pale pink dress, and I like her hair like this. She seems happy, almost giddy. I find myself instinctively rooting for her. I'm a sucker for the underdog.

I don't even recognize half of the rest of the cast, which is what I get for tuning out mid-season. But where's Sarah the prostitute? And Cynthia Stevenson? And that bartender guy?

The promo ends and Anne starts clapping and yelling "yay!" No reaction from the reporters. This is a tough crowd.

The first question is the first of many variations on the topic of why ABC is running the last five episodes from the first season with the second season? There's no good answer except that ABC wanted the space to promote other shows. Creator Jenny Bicks (seated between Anne and James, below) says they've since gone back and filmed a "bridge" episode that will be inserted before the five from last season.

The cast is waiting for the next question, but what they get is a deafening wall of silence. We're only two minutes in, and no one has a question? This is not a good sign. Although I think this has less to do with the show than with the fact that it's the last day of a very long three-week press tour, and everyone's too exhausted to think. … continue reading

This is a live blog from the bi-annual Television Critics Association conference. See more TCA live blog posts here.

It's time for the panel on Women's Murder Club, a drama based on the novels by James Patterson about a homicide detective, a medical examiner, a newspaper reporter and a young assistant district attorney who work together to solve homicide investigations.

Or as I like to call it, The Angie Harmon Show. You'll see why in a moment.

The cast, creator, writers and director file onto the stage and take their seats, with Angie Harmon perched in the center like the crown jewel. She looks good, as usual- too thin, but great outfit: white pants with a black sleeveless top and her black hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her co-hosts, Aubrey Darling, Laura Harris, and Paula Newsome, look happy and comfortable, James Patterson is patched in via a video screen, and Joe Simpson (aka father of Jessica and Ashlee Simpson) sits on the far right as an executive producer (huh?).

But I'm wondering, where is Elizabeth Ho, the show's Asian American character? She's in some of the cast photos, but she's not part of the core foursome, so apparently she doesn't rate an appearance. [Wednesday night update: an ABC publicist told me that Ho's character has been dropped from the show. Damn. One less Asian American woman on TV next season.]

There are two female writers on the panel, Sarah Fain and Elizabeth Craft, but I can't tell which is which (even though they look completely different) because I was checking my email when they introduced everyone. So I'm just going to attribute whatever either of them say to "SarahBeth." … continue reading

Now that ABC has officially picked up Cashmere Mafia — a drama series about four successful 30-something friends climbing the ladder in their respective careers, starring Lucy Liu, Miranda Otto, Frances O'Connor and Bonnie Somerville — we're finally going to get at least one lesbian/bi character on network TV next season. And I have the lowdown for you!

First, a disclaimer: this info is based on the initial casting calls for the pilot. Pilots often undergo re-writes, re-shoots and other changes along the way to airing on your television set, so it's very likely that some details will change — names, dialogue, plot points. Whole story lines can be dropped, even, although usually only the minor ones, unless the pilot is completely re-done. It's not very likely that the lesbian/bi character would suddenly become straight, for example. But Lucy Liu's character Dylan was originally described in the casting sides as having "blonde good looks." Obviously, that didn't happen.

So what follows is just how the pilot started out — where it ended up, we'll have to wait to find out. But it will at least give you an idea of the basic characters involved, the sensibility of the show and what kind of tone the writers are aiming for.

Now, on to the details!

Caitlin (Bonnie Somerville) is a cosmetics industry VP in her late 30s described in the initial scripts as "a Boston Irish working girl transformed into a saucily attractive Jil Sander suit." This is what she looks like:

In the pilot, Caitlin finds herself inexplicably attracted to a woman she hires named Alicia, who is described as "37, British, with a striking physical beauty made all the more appealing by a disarmingly scattered, un-self-conscious air. Men want to be with her, women want to be like her." (No word yet on who has been cast in this role.) … continue reading