Joshua Alston

Jimmy Fallon prepares for the late-night wars.

Of the all things "mistresses" has going for it, originality isn't one of them. Wives' husbands and husbands' wives slink away for scandalous trysts. Shocking secrets come to light.

By the third episode of "United States of Tara," Showtime's new dissociative-identity-disorder dramedy, things are going relatively well for the title character.

Last night, as the 51st Annual Grammy Awards were airing, I was staring intently at the screen. Not the television, my laptop, so I could keep up to date on the latest breaking news on Chris Brown and Rihanna.

Mike did 'School of Rock.' Mel worked for Pat Robertson. Now they're an amazing 'Race' team.

In TBS's new dramedy "Trust Me," Eric McCormack, formerly America's favorite gay man on "Will & Grace," plays Mason McGuire, a conscientious professional trying to work on his relationship with his partner, Conner (Tom Cavanagh.) Before you start thinking McCormack has been typecast, I'll have you know that Mason is happily married.

Television years are much like dog years. With each year that passes, television shows age exponentially. Their narratives peter out and their production staffs try everything in the book--stunt casting, shocking deaths, changes of locale--to energize them.

Two years ago, I was so keyed up for the four-hour season premiere of "24" that I couldn't wait until the big night. Instead, I badgered a co-worker until he gave me his advance copy and I stayed up all night watching it.

After a shocking online suicide, an expert says that fear of being stigmatized keeps young black men from getting the mental health help they need.

The old conventional wisdom held that there were no substantive, red-meat roles for actresses of a certain age. Try telling that to Katey Sagal, 54, one of the many tough, gorgeous and, yes, older women holding the television airwaves in their manicured grips.In FX's "Sons of Anarchy," Sagal plays Gemma Morrow, the treacherous matriarch of a California biker gang.

After months of coverage, how did TV do on the big night?

What good is political satire if comedians shy away from the biggest target?

What a TV genre teaches us about the gov's appeal

With 'Crusoe' and 'My Own Worst Enemy,' NBC tries to update the classics.

Our critic watches a big batch of new television shows—mostly so you don't have to.

For the first time in maybe forever, the TV industry served up an unpredictable awards show.

Predicting award-show winners is never an exact science. But we always hated science anyway.

Our critic ponders the cancellation of MTV's top video countdown phenomenon.

Reality shows have long pioneered inclusive casting. Now they're pushing the boundaries again.

Even as American TV has evolved, one of its most charming aspects—the title sequence—has become scarce. To save precious seconds, many shows have jettisoned opening credits in favor of a brief flash of a logo, à la "Lost." It's a shame.

Our TV critic catches up with the next wave the endless fall TV rollout.

The fall TV season has started, in all its usual mixed-bag glory.

Well, one of them would. The others sell ads, paper—or drugs. We should watch the company we keep.

Yeah, it's a chick show—but with fully rounded male characters.

After The Washington Post ran a series of surveys and stories called "Being a Black Man" in 2006, comedian Bill Cosby lambasted the project for being too rosy. "I'm not interested in hearing that things aren't as bad as they seem," Cosby told an audience.

From "Dirty Jobs" to "Deadliest Catch," "Ax Men" to "Ice Road Truckers," the airwaves are overrun by TV shows about people—er, men—with dangerous, physical, soot-collar jobs.

The list of this year's Emmy nominations has our critic pleasantly surprised.

The Emmy nominations won't be announced until tomorrow, but there's no reason we can't be already be annoyed by the likely snubs.

'The Wire' was brutal. Now David Simon tries Iraq.