December 21, 2011

Though inserting several new titles to their line-up, most networks still maintain their regular programs that constantly deliver strong ratings. This second part of AceShowbiz's 2012 Midseason TV Guide discusses those shows whose returns, either from the holiday hiatus or for a new season, have been eagerly awaited by their fans.

Reality shows, "American Idol" and "The Voice", are set to compete in recruiting talents with their own iconic methods and styles. Meanwhile, scripted series like "Pretty Little Liars" and "The Walking Dead" arouse people's curiosity with growing intrigues in the second half of the season. On the other hand, "Spartacus: Vengeance", which possibly undergoes the biggest change among other shows, returns after the long delay with a new hunk on the title role.

Gearing up to entertain audience for another year, TV networks try to present something fresh with their programming. To provide a preview to some shows that will grace the small screen throughout the rest of winter and the following spring, AceShowbiz presents 2012 Midseason TV Guide in two parts.

The first part focuses on new series that will make their debut in early next year. From "Touch", which marks the return of "24" alum Kiefer Sutherland, to "Oprah's Next Chapter" that sees former daytime talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey entering the primetime, all of these shows will provide more alternatives for your home entertainment. Also, there are such rookies as "The River" and "Smash" which apply the already familiar styles, but with new twists that distinct them from previous works.

A few months after winning the first season of "The Voice", Javier Colon finally releases his first-ever music video. In support of a single called "As Long as We Got Love", he shares screen with his featured guest Natasha Bedingfield. Together, they narrate a love story of a young couple as they start a family.

Talking about Natasha, Javier has nothing but praise. "She is amazing!" he once told AOL. "We unfortunately did the song in separate studios so we've emailed a bunch back and forth, but we haven't had a chance to meet in person."

J.R. Martinez won't be tying the knot in the near future. Days after sharing news that he's going to be a father to a baby girl, the current champion of "Dancing with the Stars" revealed that his girlfriend, Diana Gonzalez-Jones, refused to get married while being pregnant with their child.

"She made it very clear to me even before she was pregnant... that [she is] not walking down the aisle with a big belly," he told Us Weekly. "It'll definitely be something that's NOT happening in the next six months. Right now the focus is the baby and bringing the baby into the world. But [marriage is] definitely something we want."

Although gaining a huge number of viewership with its latest episode, "Saturday Night Live" is under fire for one of the skits in the same outing. Televangelist Pat Robertson slammed the show for featuring a skit that mocks Tim Tebow, an open and devout Christian who is famous for bending on his knee to pray during a game.

Calling it an "anti-Christian bigotry," Robertson said on the Christian Broadcasting Network, "If this had been a Muslim country and they had done that, and had Muhammad doing that stuff, you would have found bombs being thrown off!"

The man accused of defrauding Eddie Murphy's ex-wife of at least $7 million has been arrested and charged in an unsealed federal indictment. On Tuesday, December 20, Troy David Stratos made his first appearance in Los Angeles federal court and was indicted on charges of mail fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice.

According to the federal indictment, Troy acted as Nicole's financial manager and persuaded her to invest around $7 million of her divorce from Eddie overseas with a promise that she would earn a high rate of return. Instead, he transferred the money, which constituted almost half of what Nicole earned in the divorce settlement, into personal accounts.

The sequel to "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" might feature apes which are able to talk. In a recent Q&A podcast with Jeff Goldsmith, screenwriters Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa hinted at a possibility to make Caesar and co. speak in the anticipated movie.

"We're working on the sequel right now, to the prequel, and so the excitement is - I'm not gonna tell you, but - are they gonna talk or not?" teased Silver. "Part of the challenge was how to get across what was happening between the apes without words. In the end I think it was a good challenge for us. It created better storytelling."

Producers of "Terra Nova" are leaning towards a possibility of renewal. Although FOX has not picked up the show for a new season, people behind it are reported to have been moving to secure key actors, including Jason O'Mara and Stephen Lang, in preparation for production of season 2.

In addition, the producers are said to be in the hunt for high-level writers, who will join executive producers Brannon Braga and Rene Echevarria, as they are working on to improve the story. Meanwhile, the network's decision on whether or not it renews the series is expected to be announced in mid-January.

Vin Diesel has confirmed that Universal Pictures is currently developing not only the sixth "Fast and Furious" film, but also the seventh one. The actor playing Dominic "Dom" Toretto in "Fast and Furious" and "Fast Five" recently shared to The Hollywood Reporter that the sixth installment has to be split into two films, resulting in a seventh movie being produced.

"With the success of this last one ['Fast Five'], and the inclusion of so many characters, and the broadening of scope, when we were sitting down to figure out what would fit into the real estate of number six, we didn't have enough space," Diesel explained. He added that the sixth and seventh films are being written simultaneously.

Kim Kardashian is expressing disappointment in the media after some false reports about her Haiti trip surfaced. Words spread recently that the trip was a sham since she went there for a fashion show and to pamper herself, but the "Kourtney and Kim Take New York" star was quick to defend herself through a posting on her blog.

The 31-year-old began by explaining that she flew to the earthquake-stricken country earlier this month to learn more about Maria Bello's charity, We Advance. She continued, "While my experience was completely life-changing... a very emotional and surprisingly positive journey that I will never forget, some media outlets have tried to tarnish the motive behind my visit and have written completely ridiculous and untrue things."

Jennifer Lopez's long-delayed music video for her song called "Good Hit" has finally been revealed in full. Wearing animal-print leotard, the female judge of "American Idol" channels her inner sexy teacher busting her moves in a classroom and school hallway with several hairdryer girls.

"Good Hit" is one of the buzz songs for J.Lo's 2011 return after she stepped away from the spotlight following the release of "Brave" in 2007. The heavily-autotuned track was, however, bashed by music critics and never made the cut to her comeback album "Love?" which was released months later.

David Guetta brings supernatural theme into a music video for his latest single "Titanium". Instead of appearing in person, the French disc jokey taps a "Super 8" star Ryan Lee as the lead star. He's chased by a SWAT team for being the source of "a supernatural occurrence at local school."

"Titanium" features Aussie singer Sia Furler. "I was totally amazed by Sia," Guetta said. "This has made me more curious to study her music more because I was really impressed. I have the biggest people on the album and she has a different profile, more like an indie kind of artist and it makes her song even more special, it makes it stand out I think."

Steve Jones has yet to be kicked out from "The X Factor (US)". Playing down rumor that his contract is not renewed for season 2, the Welsh hunk told Access Hollywood, "British tabloids, thank you very much for that. Merry Christmas, me."

"There's been no conversation with FOX or Fremantle and there won't be until the New Year," he further explained before adding, "If I'm back, great, if I'm not, I'll do something else. Simple as that."

Though he is known as a tight-lipped director, J.J. Abrams recently revealed a few tidbits of his much awaited "Star Trek" sequel. Speaking to MTV News during the New York premiere of "Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol", Abrams shared that the yet-to-be-titled sequel is going to have a high-end 3D conversion.

"We're shooting on film, 2D, and then we'll do a good high-end conversion like the 'Harry Potter' movie and all that," the 45-year-old filmmaker said. "Luckily, with our release date now we have the months needed to do it right because if you rush it, it never looks good."

The first sneak peek to "The Borgias" season 2 has made its way out via E! Online. Filled with conspiracy, lust and rivalry, the footage sees Alexander gathering his family to help him take a revenge on the great noble houses that dared to stand against him.

Meanwhile, King Charles and his French army who are marching to Rome are eager for vengeance after realizing Alexander tricked him. Also putting his life in danger, the Pope's old enemy Della Rovere conspires to assassinate him.

Following their big win on the U.K. version of "The X Factor", Little Mix release a music video in support of their winning single "Cannonball", which is originally Damien Rice's song. The clip follows the all-female group's journey to stardom which started from the audition room to the final round.

The video additionally highlights their stay in the bootcamp during their participation in the eighth series of the talent show. It culminates in the Sunday night, December 11 episode which sees them sharing the joy with their mentor N-Dubz's Tulisa Contostavlos.

Piers Morgan has given his testimonial before a media ethics inquiry about his alleged involvement in Britain's phone hacking scandal. Speaking via video link from Los Angeles on Tuesday, December 20, the "Piers Morgan Tonight" host denied that phone hacking had taken place during his stint as an editor at the Daily Mirror.

When asked about the issue, Morgan told Robert Jay, the top lawyer for the Leveson Inquiry, "I have no reason... to believe it was going on." When Jay pressed him by asking, "You don't believe so or you are sure?", the 46-year-old journalist said in response, "To the best of my recollection, I do not believe so."

Warner Bros. Pictures has debuted the first teaser for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey". A courtesy of Apple, the fresh sneak peek gives a look at Peter Jackson's take on J.R.R. Tolkien's imaginative world that is filled with hobbits, wizards, elves and dwarves. It also sees Frodo's uncle Bilbo Baggins being introduced to Thorin Oakensheild and the twelve dwarves before they begin their adventure. The video ends with a glimpse at Gollum who shows up in front of Bilbo.

Bilbo is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dward Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of dwarves led by Thorin. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapesshifters and Sorcerers.

Betty White's 90th birthday party is going to be a star-studded one. NBC has unveiled a list of celebrities who will help the comedienne celebrate her milestone, naming Hugh Jackman, Amy Poehler, Jay Leno, Joel McHale, Carol Burnett and William Shatner among others.

White's former co-stars from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" are also tapped, with Mary Tyler Moore, Ed Asner, Valerie Harper and Gavin MacLeod confirming to show up. Cloris Leachman was invited as well and she was reportedly enthusiast, but a previous commitment prevents her for coming to the gala.

Lea Michele and Justin Bieber have collected numerous nominations and awards in their respective fields, but they recently got a chance to win an award of a different kind. The Rachel Berry of "Glee" and the "Baby" hitmaker are currently vying for the top honors at the 6th annual Libby Awards, which is sponsored by PETA's youth division, peta2.

Having stood up for carriage horses in New York City, 25-year-old Michele lands the nomination of Top Animal Friendly Celebrity. In the category, she is being put up against "Jackass" star Steve-O, "Victorious" star Daniella Monet and Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta.

One day after Paul McCartney's new song "My Valentine" was released, it's revealed that the love tune is actually the one which he sang to wife Nancy Shevell on their wedding day in October. According to the Mirror, the track was also played when they had their first dance as husband and wife.

The 69-year-old British musician croons about falling for Nancy over the sweet tinkling guitar sound. "As days and nights, would pass me by/ I tell myself that I was waiting for a sign/ Then she appeared, a love so fine, my valentine," he sings. "And I will love her for life, and I will never let a day go by without remembering the reasons why."

Emily Maynard may be given another shot at finding love on a reality show. After her engagement to Brad Womack of "The Bachelor" season 15 was broken off, the 25-year-old blonde is said close to star on "The Bachelorette".

"It's basically a done deal," a source close to Emily tells Life and Style, before adding that the single mother of one "hasn't signed the contract yet, but she's fully on board." The source goes on claiming that ABC believes she's the perfect choice to be the next bachelorette, gushing "Emily is America's sweetheart. Fans are going to be thrilled! Everyone loved her."

Before it is even released in the U.S. theaters, "The Hunger Games" was hit with criticism from The American Federation of Musicians (AFM). On Tuesday, December 20, the union protested the highly anticipated movie and Lionsgate Films for recording the original score for the film outside the U.S.

In a formal video posted on YouTube, AFM international president Raymond M. Hair, Jr. blasted Lionsgate for deciding to record the score in London instead of the U.S. He claimed the movie is being designed to avoid contractual minimums for fair wages, and royalty payments that American musicians would receive.

Rebecca Black and Jennifer Lopez take the top spots on two of YouTube's "Rewind" lists which look back at the most-viewed videos in the past twelve months leading to the year end. The former scores the most-watched clip of 2011 in the viral category, while the latter nabs the most-watched video in the music category.

Black collects more than one and half million views through her much-ridiculed "Friday" clip which was released in late 2010. Although the video was briefly rented last summer and then yanked off the website due to copyright infringement war between the singer and Ark Music Factory, it's apparently still able to draw more viewers.

Another Lady Antebellum is stepping closer to walking down the aisle. Months after lead singer Hillary Scott announced her engagement to drummer boyfriend Chris Tyrell, guitarist Dave Haywood got down on one knee to ask girlfriend Kelli Cashiola's hand in marriage.

A representative for Lady A confirmed the happy news to PEOPLE and dished on how Dave popped the question. Accordingly, the 29-year-old musician turned Kelli's home into a winter wonderland on Monday, December 19. Picking her up from her Music Row office in the evening, he told her to slip on a blindfold.

Scarlett Johansson and Matt Damon have got a short co-hosting class from Anderson Cooper when visiting his talk show "Anderson". Coming as guests for the upcoming Wednesday, December 21 episode, the "We Bought a Zoo" stars give a hand by fielding questions from fans.

Before he lets Scarlett and Matt co-host, Anderson jokingly says that the pressure is on since Hugh Jackman had done this before and he did it great. Soon after they take over the show, the Natasha Romanoff of "Iron Man 2" makes a mistake by letting a man from the audience hold the mic, forcing Anderson to correct it.

Shortly after the six-minute prologue of "The Dark Knight Rises" was unveiled in the IMAX release of "Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol", there have been swirling debates related to Bane's voice. Fans claimed that they couldn't understand the villain with his muffled speech, forcing Warner Bros. Pictures to approach Christopher Nolan to alter the film's sound mix. However, the director reportedly refused to make major change to Bane's voice.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nolan told the studio's executives that he plans only to alter the sound slightly but he's not going to rework it completely. "Chris wants the audience to catch up and participate rather than push everything at them. He doesn't dumb things down," said a high-level exec. "You've got to pedal faster to keep up."

Rihanna takes fans behind the scenes of her video shoot for single "You Da One". The Barbados singer is seen hiding her hair under blonde wigs and undergoing several costume changes which show off her tomboy, yet edgy look. Near the end of the footage, a short-haired Riri is flashing her grill to the camera.

"I'm getting a grill made for an upcoming video shoot for 'You Da One' but I only want the bottom done with fangs and they have to make a mold so they can send it to New Castle, ship it from New Castle," she once said about the special accessory. "Get it made and then send it back to London for the video."

Taylor Swift finds herself entangled in a controversy because of her cosmetics ad. Procter & Gamble (P&G) recently pulled a CoverGirl print spot featuring the "Mean" singer after the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus called it out for excessive Photoshopping.

Before the ad for CoverGirl NatureLuxe Mousse Mascara was being discontinued, the NAD requested substantiation from P&G for the claims that the product produced "2X more volume" vs. bare lashes and was "20% lighter" than the most-expensive mascara. It also looked into whether the ad "conveyed the implied messages" that consumers would get lashes like those depicted in the ad "without post-production enhancement."

James Franco could end up playing Hugh Hefner in Linda Lovelace biopic. Variety reported that the 33-year-old actor is in negotiations to cameo as the Playboy founder in "Lovelace", which tells the story of the late iconic porn star.

The "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" actor is expected to shoot the film for a single day. His scene will be the one that sees Hefner welcoming Lovelace and her husband Chuck Traynor to the Playboy Mansion for a screening of her infamous film "Deep Throat".

Having a bunch of new series on its sleeve, HBO decided to pull the plug on some shows which failed to capture audience. The network has announced that it ended the run of sleeper comedies "Hung", "Bored to Death" and "How to Make It in America" to make room for "Luck", "Veep", "Girls", "Life's Too Short" and "Angry Boys".

Both "Hung", which stars Thomas Jane, and "Bored", which is headlined by Jason Schwartzman, have run for three seasons each. As for "How to Make It", it got canceled after running for two seasons.

Another celebration to welcome 2012 has been officially announced. Continuing its tradition as a star-studded affair, "NBC'S New Year's Eve With Carson Daly" has secured a stellar line-up of musical guests which include Canadian rapper Drake, British singer Jessie J, and "The Voice" judge Blake Shelton.

Those three artists, who represent Hip-Hop, pop and country music, will be joined by another judge and vocal coach of "The Voice" Cee-Lo Green, "Smash" star Megan Hilty, and 15-time Grammy-winning jazz veteran Tony Bennett. Together, they help make merry the annual gig live from Times Square in New York City.

Another long marriage has bitten the dust. On Tuesday, December 20, Debra Messing announced her separation from husband, Daniel Zelman. In a statement regarding the split, her representative told the press that the couple "privately separated earlier this year after a 10 year marriage."

Debra's rep further assured that "the decision was mutual", and that the exes, who are parents to a 7-year-old son Roman, "remain supportive of one another and committed to raising their son as a family." One inside source, in fact, told Us Weekly that even though the two "have been separated the better part of the year", they "continue to live together in New York" for their boy.

David Archuleta made a tearful announcement on Monday, December 19 to tell the world that he will be away from music for a couple of years. Performing in Salt Lake City as part of his My Kind of Christmas tour, the 20-year-old said, "I would like to make a special announcement: that I've chosen to serve a full-time mission."

The "American Idol" season 7 runner-up broke down in tears as soon as his audience cheered to show their support. He paused for about a minute to put himself together before saying, "It's not because someone told me I was supposed to do it and not because I no longer want to do music anymore. It's because it's what I feel I need to do next in my life."

"The Place Beyond the Pines" co-stars and real-life lovers, Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes, hopped on the same bed in a new video from Funny or Die. Titled "Drunk History Christmas", the video also features Jim Carrey as Santa Claus.

It begins with an intoxicated man telling his version of classic tale " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas". Gosling, Mendes and Carrey acted out the parts that the man told. Since he blurted most of the words that came out of his mouth, the video may not be safe for work.