— The third season premiere of Emmy-winning drama “Mad Men” opened to 2.8 million viewers, an all-time high for the series. That tops last year’s premiere (2.1 million viewers) by 33% and is nearly double the 1.5 million viewer second season average.
In adults 18-49, the show aired for 1.2 million viewers, a 75% increase over last season’s average.
— “24” executive producer Evan Katz told Entertainment Weekly that the writers have developed a series-ending storyline in the event that “24” wraps up after its upcoming eighth season. With Kiefer Sutherland’s (Jack Bauer) contract expiring after this year and the show’s notoriously large budget always a concern for the studio and network, it is not a lock to continue past 2010, and the “24” team wants to assure a proper ending is in place.
At the same time, Katz added, “We also have a bunch of scenarios where the show could go on in different ways,” indicating that the writers are absolutely not operating under the sole assumption that season eight will be the final one.
Katz noted that, as it stands, the series-ending storyline is not expected to involve a reunion with Jack Bauer and Audrey Raines (Kim Raver).
— “Friday Night Lights” has added Michael B. Jordan and Matt Lauria to the cast as Vince and Luke, respectively.
Plagued by his criminal upbringing, Vince is the charming–yet misguided–running back for East Dillon. Luke, reluctantly forced onto the East Dillon squad as a result of the redistricting, is Vince’s cocky, rival teammate.