American Idol and House are both coming back, of course. There was no doubt since they’re FOX’s two biggest shows. And also the only two I watch. The Loop is on the canceled list, which is funny because its second season still hasn’t premiered yet. I watched the first season last year, and thought it was an enjoyable enough show, but I was shocked last spring when they renewed it. But it was being held back “for midseason”, they said, and now here it is May and it still isn’t on the air. And now it’s gone. I guess they know how to treat a show they don’t like.

There was nothing on The CW that I watched last year. This spring brings several cancellations that are big news, but I never watched the shows so I can’t really get worked up about them. The only reason the cancellations of Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars register at all in my brain is because I listen to the TV Guide Podcast, and they love those shows over there. So it’s sort of sympathy by association for me to look at the news and go, “Huh.” Other than that, it’s the CW, so who cares?

As for the new shows? On either network? I saw an episode of Kitchen Nightmares, the British version, when I was in Canada, and it was funny but mostly because of all the cussing, which you can’t get away with in America, and because the restaurateur that Gordon Ramsey was helping looked and sounded just like the Travelocity gnome. So maybe I’ll give that show a watch, although it should be on the Food Network. And Reaper, on the CW, might be worth one episode, but it’s going to have to go a long way to prove itself.

And that’s about the level of excitement I have for those two networks. If you want to find out more, here are the links.

Fox: TV Squad coverage, Zap2it coverage, new shows.

The CW: TV Squad coverage, Zap2it coverage, new shows.

The Amazing Race is of course the news I’m looking at here. The All-Stars season didn’t completely kill the show, but it didn’t do it any favors either. The Amazing Race has been renewed, so it will be coming back for a 12th season, but for the first time in years it’s not on the fall schedule. Instead it’s being held back for the dreaded “midseason”, which could mean that CBS is losing faith in our little Race. Or it could mean that they’re just holding it back until the inevitable happens and one of the new fall shows gets cancelled, then they’re be able to drop TAR right into the waiting slot. Whatever. At least it’s coming back, but not in September.

How I Met Your Mother is back. It was kind of a close call, since that was a bubble show right until the last minute. It’s the best laugh-track sitcom out there, though, so it’s good to see they’re keeping it around.

Jericho and The Class are cancelled. We stopped watching Jericho long ago, but my wife will be sad to hear about The Class.

And of course Survivor is back, this time at a lake in China.

Out of the new shows, only Moonlight stands out. A vampire private investigator? Hmmm, that sounds familiar for some reason. It might be worth a look. But Jimmy Smits as a sugar cane patriarch? Kids forming a new society in a New Mexico ghost town? The swinging 70s? I’m thinking I’ll take a pass.

I’m also thinking The Amazing Race will be back sooner than we think.

Among the new shows, probably the most notable one is Cavemen, all about the life and adventures of the Geico cavemen. Yes, from the commercials. When I first heard about this, I thought it was a joke, a way to drum up publicity for Geico. Then I kept hearing about it, again and again, and now here it is on the fall schedule. I think this is one of those shows that turns into a punchline. It’ll only be on for five or six weeks, but people will be talking about it for years and what a bad idea it was. Or it could break out and be the surprise hit of the year, which might be even funnier.

Among the other ones, Pushing Dasies grabs my attention a little bit. It’s bout a guy who can bring dead people back to life with just one touch, and then kill them again with a second touch. Completely out there premise, but it’s done with a comedic touch so it just might work out. Watch the video preview and see what you think.

Aside from that? A sitcom about carpooling, which sounds lame but has Fred Goss from Sons and Daughters, so it’s worth at least one look. Also an all-girl ensemble, an all-guy ensemble, and Christina Applegate with amnesia.

Wake me up tomorrow, when CBS makes their announcements.

Today was NBC’s day to make their announcements. And I’m not going to cover everything, since you can find full coverage in a hundred other places, including TV Squad and Zap2It. But here are some of the things that jump out at me:

Scrubs had been on the bubble over the last few weeks, with news coming out that it was renewed, or it was cancelled, or NBC was cancelling it and it would move to ABC, to a hundred other possibilities. But today it’s official that the show is staying on NBC, Thusday nights, although this will almost surely be the last season. For a show that has ridden under the radar with middling ratings for its entire life, seven seasons is damn good. Glad to see it’s back.

Studio 60 is cancelled. Officially. Which isn’t a huge surprise since it got trememdously low ratings and was jerked all around the schedule this spring. At least it wasn’t cancelled and pulled early in the season, like so many other unlucky shows were, but it certainly wasn’t treated well. It’s coming back on May 24th to finish out the rest of the season, probably another six episodes. And that’s a courtesy many cancelled shows don’t get, so I guess we should be happy.

Also cancelled: a whole raft of midseason shows that just didn’t catch on. This was a really weak midseason, for all the networks but NBC in particular. The Black Donnellys, Andy Barker, P.I., Raines. Didn’t watch ‘em, don’t care.

Heroes is back, of course. It’s one of the biggest hits NBC has right now. And next year they’re making six extra episodes, called “Heroes: Origins”, that will be outside the season’s main story arc and each introduce one new character. Kind of a strange idea, and we’ll have to see how it plays out. There’s nothing wrong with more Heroes.

New shows: All dramas and dramadies this year for NBC. And they’re trying to cash in on the whole sci-fi/superheroes thing a little bit, which might backfire on them. Bionic Woman is an update of the old show from the 70s, Journeyman is about a guy who travels through time changing lives, and Chuck is an ordinary guy who gets a bionic brain implant. Can’t say any of those jump out at me, but I’ll probably give the first episodes a try, at least.

The Apprentice is not on the schedule at all, but that doesn’t mean it’s dead. It just means they still have a Trump headache and don’t want to think about him for a while. Can’t say I blame them.

Tomorrow? ABC’s new shows.