It’s that time of year when networks start announcing show renewals. While some are expected, many viewers, including myself, wonder about their favorite on-the-bubble series. Both The CW and NBC gave the official word on two and five dramas respectively. See if your favorites made it to Fall 2013.

First up is The CW. The network previously announced Supernatural, Vampire Diaries and Arrow were returning. Joining the trio on the fall schedule are Beauty and the Beast and Hart of Dixie. Despite having dedicated fans, both shows were iffy to return due to mediocre ratings. Reportedly, both are solid digital performers- DVR and online.

In a somewhat surprising twist, the network also gave the greenlight for The Vampire Diaires spinoff. The backdoor pilot which aired this past Thursday garnered fewer numbers than a normal Diaries episode, but The Originals is a go for next season. Still waiting to hear their fate are Nikita and The Carrie Diaries. Hopefully, both earn another year as well. They’re two of my favorite on The CW.

find out NBC’s renewals after the jump

Holy embarrassing Batman. This past Thursday night, NBC Cleveland affiliate WKYC-TV decided to preempt NBC’s scheduled lineup. Instead of airing a repeat of The Office and Law & Order: SVU and new episode of 1600 Penn, WKYC-TV aired a program from the 90s. LOL. The hilarious part… their rebellious airing beat 1600 Penn’s recent ratings in the Cleveland market. To be fair, it was on par with The Office, but rated significantly lower than the SVU repeat.

After winning last year’s November sweeps for the first time since 2003, NBC has fallen on hard times. Without football, The Voice and Revolution, the peacock network fell to fifth during the recent February sweeps. That’s right… FIFTH. For the first time in history, the Spanish-language network, Univision, beat NBC in the coveted 18-49 demo. LOL. Given it’s abysmal ratings, I don’t blame Cleveland for their experiment. Find out what they aired instead below.

find out what was aired instead after the jump

Rihanna & Chris Brown are back together, but the infamous and unfortunate “incident” that occurred before the Grammy’s a few years back hasn’t gone away.

In next week’s episode of Law & Order: SVU, without saying it exactly in so many words, they are portraying a story inspired by what happened between Rihanna and Chris Brown – complete with the photographed bruised face. The narrator says, “A familiar story of two celebrities intertwined by abused.”

Instead of Chris, the character’s name is Caleb and the members of the SVU team have a hard time getting through to the abused girlfriend because they say Caleb has a hold on her. Of course it’s Law & Order so expect a twist at the end of the episode, just as the preview suggests. Check out the preview below.

Preview after the jump…

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is one of the shows I should probably break up with. Fourteen seasons is a lot of time to invest on a drama. In my defense, it’s the only crime procedural I watch religiously. I never got into any of the CSIs, both NCIS series or other crime-solving franchises. That said, I’m really looking forward to Kevin Bacon’s The Following on FOX. That looks soooooo good.

Even though very little surprises me on the show anymore, there is something that keeps drawing me in. When Stabler (Christopher Meloni) left, it would’ve been an ideal time to bid sayonara, but my curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to check out the new additions. Surprisingly, I’ve grown to like both Det. Nick Amaro (Danny Pino) and Det. Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish). I’m sure I’m not alone with this sentiment and figured there might be a couple of you who might find this bit of casting news interesting. Find out upcoming guest stars below.

find out who after the jump

“Law & Order: SVU” returns this week, signaling a string of new episodes. Amen to that. Even after 13 seasons, this NBC crime drama is still one of my favorite shows on television. Along with their recognizable musical intro, SVU is known for their high-profile guest stars. In the coming weeks, there are a few noteworthy names dropping by the set including one of my favorite actresses, Chloe Sevigny. As much as I adore the fashionable Sevigny, it’s another special guest star I’m most looking forward to.

In the episode titled, “Learning Curve“, this culinary master is set to play a private school headmaster. The show airing April 25th revolves around a teacher who is fired from his job after being accused of inappropriate behavior with a student. Care to make any guesses on whom between Rachael Ray, Martha Stewart or Bethenny Frankel will moonlight as an actress? All three are proven ballbusters and would make a believable tough school headmaster. Continue reading to find out.

find out who after the jump

OMFG. I really hope this casting rumor for “True Blood” turns out to be true. It would officially make the male cast of the HBO show the sexiest and most doable. Before I reveal which super studly hottie might be considering a move to Bon Temps next summer, I thought I’d share some other show-related news.

Abtastic Ryan Kwanten is doing a little moonlighting during the show’s off season. E! Online is reporting that the tasty Aussie signed on for a guest star stint on Fox’s breakout hit “New Girl“. Kwanten will appear on the show’s Valetine’s Day themed episode. Zooey Deschanel’s Jess will meet Kwanten’s character, Oliver, at a bar where he’ll drunkenly woo her. Obviously looking the way that Ryan does, Jess is initially attracted to him, but soon realizes he’s president of dullsville.

Personally, he could be as interesting as a sheet of lined notebook paper and I wouldn’t care, as long as they had Kwanten’s defined abs. I could slurp a well-balanced meal of every ridge and valley of his stomach all day long. But enough of this fantasy, let’s move on to another wet dream.

see who might be joining True Blood next season after the jump

Reunited and it feels so good. The following stories have very little in common besides the fact they involve a reunion of fan favorites from each of the aforementioned shows. Who doesn’t love a good reunification, right? Without beating around the bush, let’s get to the task at hand.

Jillian Michaels left “The Biggest Loser” last season and it hasn’t been the same since. I’m not the only one who thinks so. The ratings have plummeted for the reality competition for Season 12. Apparently, a beautiful blond tennis vixen didn’t fill the void left by Jillian. Poor Anna Kournikova. She and her tough-love approach won’t be back for next season. Now, she’ll have more time to reminisce about all her Grand Slam singles title wins. Ooops, I forgot she never won one. My bad.

For those longing for the days of Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper, you can get your fill this Thursday. The two will reunite for the first time since “The Biggest Loser” on Jillian’s new gig on “The Doctors“. The two personal trainers will show viewers how to use CrossFit to get your body back in shape. Harper will pit Jillian against Dr. Travis Stork for the ultimate in-studio strength and endurance fitness challenge. Be sure to catch all the action on Thursday, November 17 (check your local listings).

see Stabler and Benson reunite after the jump

Technically the new Fall television series doesn’t start til next week when the Primetime Emmys airs, but a few shows begin their new season this week. We thought it’d be the perfect time to signal out our favorite returning shows and brand new offerings by the networks that we’re looking most forward to. Today, we’re tackling on returning favorites which have entertained us in the past and hope continue to do so. Tomorrow, we highlight the new shows vying for freshman hit honors.

Patrick, Tyrell and myself have compiled a list of our respective five favorites. Be sure to comment on your favorite shows after reading this post. Without further ado, let’s begin with my list first.

Donovan’s 5 Returning Show Picks

America’s Next Top Model: All-Stars

Ashamedly, I have to admit that ANTM’s highly-anticipated upcoming All-Stars season tops my list. I know the same sentiment is echoed by true hardcore ANTM fans as well. While the returning models aren’t the ones with the most model potential, they’re definitely the crème de la crème when it comes to drama and bitchy tendencies. Be sure to check on my preview pics on a weekly basis and for Rich‘s hilarious and popular show recaps.

check out the rest of my Top 5 and Patrick & Tyrell’s top picks after the jump