This spring, TVScreener.com was honored to become a member of the Broadcast Television Journalists Association, an offshoot of the Broadcast Film Critics Association. The BFCA hosts the annual Critics Choice Movie Awards that air on VH1, and our TV group will dole out our own set of accolades, via the first Critics Choice Television Awards.

The TV awards ceremony will be hosted by So You Think You Can Dance star Cat Deeley on June 20 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and VH1.com will stream them live (June 20, 3:30PM ET), while on June 22, the ceremony airs on TV  at the ReelzChannel (8PM ET).

And here, our first class of nominees. I think it’s a great mix of shows, including some truly fantastic series and actors and actresses who have been overlooked at other TV awards ceremonies. I am particularly thrilled that we have nominated It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Charlie Day, one of the funniest guys on TV, and one who’s still flying a bit under the radar, for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, as well as shows and stars of shows like The Middle, Sons of Anarchy, Raising Hope, Archer and Justified, all so deserving of being called out as among the best TV has to offer.

Sound off in the comments about our nominees … do you like the mix? Who would you choose as the winner in each category? Are there shows and stars you think we missed?

And be sure to tune in for the first annual Critics Choice Television Awards on ReelzChannel on June 22!

Best Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire – HBO
Dexter – Showtime
Friday Night Lights – DirecTV
Fringe – FOX
Game of Thrones – HBO
The Good Wife – CBS
Justified – FX
The Killing – AMC
Mad Men – AMC
The Walking Dead – AMC

Best Actor in a Drama Series
Steve Buscemi – Boardwalk Empire – HBO
Kyle Chandler – Friday Night Lights – DirecTV
Michael C. Hall – Dexter – Showtime
Jon Hamm – Mad Men – AMC
William H. Macy – Shameless – Showtime
Timothy Olyphant – Justified – FX

Best Actress in a Drama Series
Connie Britton – Friday Night Lights – DirecTV
Mireille Enos – The Killing – AMC
Julianna Margulies – The Good Wife – CBS
Elisabeth Moss – Mad Men – AMC
Katey Sagal – Sons of Anarchy – FX
Anna Torv – Fringe – FOX

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Alan Cumming – The Good Wife – CBS
Walton Goggins – Justified – FX
Shawn Hatosy – Southland – TNT
John Noble – Fringe – FOX
Michael Pitt – Boardwalk Empire – HBO
John Slattery – Mad Men – AMC

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Michelle Forbes – The Killing – AMC
Christina Hendricks – Mad Men – AMC
Margo Martindale – Justified – FX
Kelly Macdonald – Boardwalk Empire – HBO
Archie Panjabi – The Good Wife – CBS
Chloë Sevigny – Big Love – HBO

Best Comedy Series
Archer – FX
The Big Bang Theory – CBS
Community – NBC
Glee – FOX
Louie – FX
The Middle – ABC
Modern Family – ABC
The Office – NBC
Parks and Recreation – NBC
30 Rock – NBC

Best Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock – NBC
Steve Carell – The Office – NBC
Louis C.K. – Louie – FX
Charlie Day – It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – FX
Joel McHale – Community – NBC
Jim Parsons – The Big Bang Theory – CBS

Best Actress in a Comedy Series
Courteney Cox – Cougar Town – ABC
Edie Falco – Nurse Jackie – Showtime
Tina Fey – 30 Rock – NBC
Patricia Heaton – The Middle – ABC
Martha Plimpton – Raising Hope – FOX
Amy Poehler – Parks and Recreation – NBC

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Ty Burrell – Modern Family – ABC
Neil Patrick Harris – How I Met Your Mother – CBS
Nick Offerman – Parks and Recreation – NBC
Ed O’Neill – Modern Family – ABC
Danny Pudi – Community – NBC
Eric Stonestreet – Modern Family – ABC

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Julie Bowen – Modern Family – ABC
Jane Krakowski – 30 Rock – NBC
Jane Lynch – Glee – FOX
Busy Philipps – Cougar Town – ABC
Eden Sher – The Middle – ABC
Sofía Vergara – Modern Family – ABC

Best Reality Series
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition – ABC
Hoarders – A&E
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills – Bravo
Sister Wives – TLC
Undercover Boss – CBS

Best Reality Series – Competition
The Amazing Race – CBS
American Idol – FOX
Dancing with the Stars – ABC
Project Runway – Lifetime
RuPaul’s Drag Race – Logo
Top Chef – Bravo

Best Reality Show Host
Tom Bergeron – Dancing with the Stars – ABC
Cat Deeley – So You Think You Can Dance – FOX
Ty Pennington – Extreme Makeover: Home Edition – ABC
Mike Rowe – Dirty Jobs – Discovery
Ryan Seacrest – American Idol – FOX

Best Talk Show
Chelsea Lately – E!
The Daily Show – Comedy Central
The Ellen DeGeneres Show – Warner Bros.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! – ABC
The Oprah Winfrey Show – Harpo

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• Filed in Award shows, Boardwalk Empire, Comedy, Dexter, Drama, Fall 2010-11 TV season, Glee, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Justified, Mad Men, Project Runway, Real Housewives, Reality, Sons of Anarchy
• Tags: Critics Choice Television Awards, Critics Choice TV Awards

Lone Star? Gone. My Generation? Gone. The next new fall TV series on the chopping block? NBC just shut down production on Outlaw, so yes, even a Jimmy Smits drama can get the heave-ho after just a few weeks.

Why are the networks so quick to pull the plug on shows they’ve pumped millions of dollars into? How do they decide, after just two airings in the case of Lone Star, that a show isn’t likely to catch on (or that they don’t want to spend the money to wait around and find out if it will)?

Check out Advertising Age’s article “The Calculus of Canceling TV Shows,” a good explanation of what makes the networks tick when it comes to deciding how much time they’re going to give new series to make their marks on the schedule. Ratings, DVRs, DVDs and international markets all factor in, but, as with most things, you can shorthand the explanation to the fact that it’s all about the benjamins.

By the way, the next shows likely to bite the dust after Outlaw, according to TV by the Numbers (the go-to source for series ratings info and analysis): ABC’s The Whole Truth and Detroit 1-8-7 and Fox’s The Good Guys, all shows that sounded great in theory and casting …

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• Filed in Fall 2010-11 TV season, TV 101, TV News
• Tags: Cancelled shows, Fall TV 2010, Lone Star, Network cancellations

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– Tonight’s must-see viewing: Sons of Anarchy (10PM ET, FX), which features a clever guest appearance by Stephen King.

– Worth checking out among tonight’s series premieres: Fox’s Raising Hope (9PM), from the creator of My Name Is Earl. The comedy revolves around 23-year-old Jimmy, who finds out his one-night-stand — a murderer who’s about to be executed — is about to give birth to his baby. High concept, yes, but surprisingly funny, and with that same Earl vibe.

– The success of the Glee soundtrack has prompted Billboard to recall some of the most memorable, charting TV theme songs of all time.

– More Glee news: Gwyneth Paltrow is the latest potential celeb guest star.

– Notice anything different about The Price Is Right, which kicked off its 39th season this week? Like Drew Carey‘s amazing 80-pound weight loss? He did it with exercise and changing his eating habits … he looks incredible!

– Boardwalk Empire has been renewed for a second season. Who watched the premiere? Did you love it? Like it? I think it’s really good, and definitely worth checking out, but it’s not yet at that must-see level of The Sopranos or The Wire (or the aforementioned Sons of Anarchy).

– Weeds and The Big C have been renewed by Showtime.

– CBS has already cast its competition for The View, and now Oprah is planning a View-ish talk show of her own, which will launch on her OWN TV network in January and be produced by Mark Burnett.

– ABC seems to be planning its own version of Mad Men, but with the action revolving around Pan Am pilots and flight attendants in the ’60s.

– Lost stars Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson have been talking about re-teaming for a new TV show, and it looks like it might actually happen, with Lost creator J.J. Abrams involved.

– NYMag.com answers nine questions you might have about the new TV season.

– The cast of Saturday Night Live, along with producer Lorne Michaels, will be Larry King‘s guests Friday night, and on Thursday, Jerry Seinfeld will appear, and promises to reveal “one of Hollywood’s best kept secrets.” Any guesses as to what could it be? NYMag.com has a funny theory.

– Sad news about Spartacus: Blood and Sand star Andy Whitfield, who is once again battling cancer. The actor, who lives in Australia, has announced that he won’t return to the Starz series.

– Like season 12, season 25 of The Real World will be based in Las Vegas.

– ABC announced that Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will join the judges on Shark Tank for season two, though the entrepreneur is going to have his hands full with that just-reinstated insider trading case.

– And can’t wait to see the holiday episode of Community, which is being Rankin/Bass-ized.

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• Filed in Boardwalk Empire, Fall 2010-11 TV season, Glee, Saturday Night Live, Sons of Anarchy, TV News
• Tags: Raising Hope Fox, Sons of Anarchy Stephen King

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– Jennifer Aniston‘s latest big-screen venture, The Switch, made a poor debut at the box office last weekend, but good news on the TV front: she’ll guest star in the season two premiere of BFF and former Friends co-star Courteney Cox‘s Cougar Town on Sept. 22. PS – After many a movie flop, who thinks Aniston should grab a TV series of her own? PSS – She’s also reportedly interested in a role in that Arrested Development movie (with The Switch co-star Jason Bateman) we’re all waiting (and waiting and waiting and …) for.

– Put that Behind the Music episode on American Idol alum Fantasia on your schedule for tomorrow night (9PM ET, VH1), because the timely episode includes scoop from the singer on the married man scandal that led to her recent suicide attempt.

– EW.com has a preview of Betty White guest-starring on Community in the season two premiere on Sept. 23.

– American Chopper star Paul Teutul Jr. got married last week, and no, though his father (and American Choppers: Senior vs. Junior rival) was invited, he didn’t attend. Sad.

– Modern Family season two: All about the upcoming Cam/Mitchell kiss.

– Lessons learned from last week’s Lost memorabilia auction: People love Lost a loooooot more than anyone guessed, and those Lost fans apparently have quite a bit of extra cash laying around. Among the goodies that sold at a premium: A signed script that was estimated to go for $300, but actually went for $18,000 (no, there are not too many zeroes there), and an Oceanic Airlines water bottle that was estimated to go for $200, but ultimately went for $1,680. Water bottles!

– This sounds like a must-TiVo show: Rachael Ray will launch a new show on The Cooking Channel called Week in a Day, in which she’ll show viewers how to cook a whole week of meals in just one day. The show will air on Saturday afternoons and premieres on Sept. 25.

– TMZ claims Spencer Pratt is trying to blackmail estranged wife Heidi Montag into starring in another reality show with him by threatening to release their sex tapes. Of course, as with everything involving these two, there’s also a good chance that the whole thing is a giant publicity scam. Sigh … there are no winners in this case, least of all viewers.

– Here’s how The Situation from The Jersey Shore is going to earn $5 million this year.

– And before this Sunday’s primetime Emmy telecast, the aforementioned Betty White has already snagged an Emmy for her Saturday Night Live hosting gig.

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• Filed in American Idol, Award shows, Betty White, Fall 2010-11 TV season, Lost, Saturday Night Live, TV News

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– ABC is holding a live press conference, with reporters, during the Aug. 30 episode of Bachelor Pad, to announce the next cast of Dancing With the Stars. This better be soooome cast, with all that hubbub. Among the many names that have been rumored to be contestants for season 11: Betty White (who’s pretty much rumored to be cast in everything these days … wishful thinking, usually), David Hasselhoff, Real Housewives of New Jersey stars Teresa Giudice and Danielle Staub, Richard Simmons, The Situation from Jersey Shore, Hilary Duff, Brandy, Ali Fedotowsky, Jennifer Grey, NFL vet Kurt Warner and Ryan Seacrest (where would he find the time?).

– Speaking of The Hoff, last Sunday’s Comedy Central roast of David Hasselhoff was the network’s fifth highest-rated celeb roast ever. What did you think? I loved Seth MacFarlane as host — dude should have his own talk show — but the rest of it was a little low-key. And the ending, with The Hoff singing, was just weird.

– Another big ratings winner: Showtime’s premiere of The Big C on Monday, which was the network’s highest-rated premiere in eight years.

– And, speaking of Real Housewives Jerseyites Teresa and Danielle, they both may need jobs on DWtS, or anywhere else they can get paid. One of them — Danielle — reportedly hasn’t been asked to return to RHoNJ for the show’s third season (the season two finale airs Monday, Aug. 23), while the other’s (Teresa) bankruptcy case has taken another bad turn, as the court now has proof that Giudice and her husband went on a $60,000 home furnishings shopping spree after filing for bankruptcy.

– Betty White has signed a deal to write two new autobiographies.

– “More pie, Andy?” There’s definitely more Andy, Andy, as TV Land is asking viewers to vote for their fave Andy Griffith Show episodes, which will make up a 50-episode marathon to celebrate the show’s 50th anniversary, in September.

– The Kids in the Hall have reunited for a miniseries, Death Comes to Town, which aired in Canada earlier this year, but debuts in the U.S. on IFC this Friday.

– The Brits love them some Glee, apparently: A new Glee FM radio station in Oxford will play only songs from the show.

– And have you seen the new Glee Slushee poster?

– Did you know Lindsay Lohan is in a movie with the Shamwow dude? Me neither. The Hollywood Reporter, uh, reports, that her appearance in Vince “Shamwow Guy” Offer‘s The Underground Comedy Movie is one of the many pathetic ways people, including Lohan, will be trying to capitalize on her downward spiraling life when she gets out of rehab.

– CBS’ Undercover Boss is getting a new companion series, which will pit two employees against each other in the name of getting a promotion.

– The big Lost auction is being held in Santa Monica this weekend, and among the many, many props and other Lost goodies that are expected to fetch a pretty penny: Claire’s creepy squirrel baby.

– E! Online reports that ABC wants recent Bachelorette runner-up Chris Lambton to be the next Bachelor, but he, sanely, wants to simply return to his pre-reality TV life. That actually kinda makes him an even more appealing Bachelor, no?

– Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which kicks off its new season on Sept. 13, is getting some major changes. The biggest one: no more hot seat … the contestants will now stand for the competition.

– And, this is awesome: Rapper Wale has made another album that was inspired by Seinfeld. And it turns out everything from 24 and Lost to The Dukes of Hazzard and Married … with Children have also inspired rappers.

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• Filed in Betty White, Fall 2010-11 TV season, Game shows, Glee, Real Housewives, Reality, Seinfeld, TV News
• Tags: Dancing With the Stars season 11, Lost auction, The Big C, The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town