It's time to start the backlash against…backlash. 

To read the media and technology press this week, the big story out of London is the backlash NBC is facing for its tape-delayed coverage.  But this notion begs a deeper analysis, one that has to consider the vehicle where backlash gets funneled: social media.

When you look at the TV ratings, it's hard to square the undeniable success NBC has had over the first three days--35.8 million viewer average makes London the most watched Summer Olympics to date--with all the supposed dissatisfaction out there.

Is it not reasonable to deduce that: a) if more people are watching the Olympics than ever, then... b) more people are happy with the Olympics than ever... c) doesn't that make the disproportionate amount of coverage about those who are unhappy unwarranted?

That doesn't mean criticism of Olympics coverage doesn't merit any coverage. What's questionable is the sheer volume of this coverage relative to other angles that could be taken.

That's to be expected given its the media's natural inclination to seek out stories framed as conflict--the conventional wisdom has always been that tension makes for the most compelling journalism. It certainly makes for a more interesting read than a headline like "Millions of Fans Pleased With Olympics Coverage."

So here's a deceptively simple question: What is "backlash" exactly? What portion of a population needs to vocalize its discontent to qualify as backlash, a majority or a minority? If it's a minority, does it need to be a significant minority? Or even if just one person complains, is that enough to frame a story as a backlash?

Argue if you will that even a small minority constitutes a backlash. But then what should we make of situations where there is a majority expressing discontent; do we call that a backlash, too? Do we do a disservice to something that gets a truly broadly pervasive backlash when we give that label to something much smaller? 

That just seems wrong.

What seems to be happening here is that a vocal minority of naysayers are drowning out a largely satisfied but silent majority. And for that we have social media to thank, specifically Twitter.

Social media is an incredible tool for getting the word out whether you support or disdain something. But that's also the problem here. Show me something people are talking about on Twitter that doesn't have its detractors. And if everything has detractors, what is backlash really if everything invites somedegree of backlash?

That doesn't mean there is something inherently wrong with Twitter. The blame really resides with the journalists who mistake the mirror-walled echo chamber formed by the Twitter accounts they follow for the larger public. Perhaps they are parroting the groupthink of a congenitally disgrunted, hypercritical lot rather than feeding off a greater diversity of opinion.

And even if every single human with a Twitter account in the U.S. did disdain NBC's Olympics coverage--a population of 140 million by a recent estimate--there's still a majority of Americans whose thoughts on the Olympics aren't being heard.

So the bad news is that social media seems to be distorting any sense of scale in gauging real-time grass-roots reaction. But here's the good news: there's a cottage industry of companies out there engaging in the nascent science of sentiment analysis. They're capable of quantifying who is saying what and in what volume.

Consequently, stories that claim to convey some sense of consumer reaction should require data that supports otherwise wildly unsupportable conclusions. Maybe it's high time journalists looking to gin up a good story put some refined definition to a slippery concept like backlash.

Implicit or explicit in many of these backlash articles is the notion that NBC is deaf/dumb/blind to the backlash because they haven't responded in any demonstrable fashion to this supposed flood of anger coming their way. But isn't it possible that NBC is indeed listening and quantifying feedback from the audience and its lack of a response is proof positive that the scale of the #NBCfail lobby isn't of a significant size.

There's no easy answers here. It's not like if we had the most finely tuned Sentiment-o-meter at our disposal, it would offer hard and fast answers. Is there some magic number that marks "backlash" level? But this is a question of profound importance to media companies who live and die on public perception of their products. If news organizations are going to be the ones raising those questions, maybe it's time we step up our own game in this arena.

The CW's latest action-packed drama "Arrow" will not be Green Arrow's first foray on the small screen...or even on The CW.

Actor Justin Hartley gave the DC Comics superhero life for seven episodes on the recently-retired CW skein "Smallville," and Stephen Amell will take the reins as the vigilante superhero on "Arrow," which is set to bow October 10.

"Arrow" exec producer Marc Guggenheim, though, doesn't see the character's past on the net as a problem.

"I think audiences are savvy enough to understand there are different iterations of characters," Guggenheim told press at The CW's "Arrow" TCA panel. "Michael Keaton doesn't affect your love for Christian Bale...and look at the 'Bond' franchise." Guggenheim also noted the 5-year spread between the iterations of the 'Spider-man' franchise that featured different leading men.

Guggenheim also discussed the faithfulness of "Arrow" to the DC comic book series. "We're taking a lot of inspiration from the comic books, but we've already taken a fair number of liberties," explained Guggenheim. He stated that while Oliver Queen didn't have siblings in the "Green Arrow" comics, the character has a sister on the show. Also, while both parents are dead in the comic series, Arrow's mother is kept alive on the skein.

"One of the good things about 'Green Arrow,'" said Guggenheim, "is that it has an origin that is subject to a lot of interpretation. There's not as much canon that's precious. We can play around."

"Arrow" is, though, a violent show, and is being promoted during a time when violence in the media is under heavy scrutiny after the movie theater massacre in Aurora, CO. Recently, the Colorado "Dark Knight Rises" shooting has led Warner Bros. to bump "Gangster Squad's" release date to January 2013 in order to give the production crew more time to reconceive a shooting scene in the movie. The WB's toon series "Beware the Batman" is also undergoing format changes to tone down the violence in the skein. Guggenheim weighed in on how violence is approached in "Arrow."

"I think it's incredibly important to be responsible, first and foremost," said the exec producer, who noted the show does not portray "random violence" and that killing has purpose behind it. "There's violence in our culture seeping into our world in incredibly tragic ways...Aurora came up in the 'Arrow' writer's room."

However, Guggenheim sees "Arrow" as a chance to offer new perspective on violence. "I think this show has an opportunity to explore the consequences of violence in a way other shows do not. We're going to be exploring aspects of vigilante-ism...our goal is to provide helpful social commentary."

Horror naturally extends its claws on cable nets where its gruesome imagery can bloom. "American Horror Story" frightens FX viewers, while "Walking Dead" and "True Blood" flaunt gore on AMC and HBO respectively. This fall, however, horror is creeping over to ABC with the premiere of "666 Park Ave." During the show's panel at ABC's TCA press tour, exec producer David Wilcox offered insight as to how he and the skein's creative team bring scares in spite of the limitations of broadcast nets.

"I've been a horror fan for a long time," said Wilcox to the audience at the Beverly Hilton. "It's the kind of genre that has a real, direct connection with the audience. I've thought there could be a show in the horror genre that could work on network TV for a long time because it's so successful theatrically."

From the creative inception of "666's" TV adaptation, however, Wilcox knew his team would face certain challenges within the genre. "I told my writers, we don't have the tool of gore and blood and that kind of spectacle. It has forced us to be a lot more clever in how we tell these stories."

Wilcox and the "666" crew have looked backwards, then, while moving forward with the project. "We looked at Hitchcock films, and how so much of those stories keep playing in your head even when you're not seeing [action] on screen. That was very instructive for us as we were getting into the ['666'] stories."

If fans of the genre are looking for gore, Wilcox knows the new ABC drama may fall short of expectations. "There are people that love to see blood, murder and mayhem," Wilcox remarked. "And there are shows on cable that have freedom to do that."

However, Wilcox is confident in the "666" product. "For us, it's a different kind of horror. It's a psychological horror," he said. "That's not to say there aren't some shocking, visceral moments in the show...But ['666'] is driven by suspense and mystery."

Just because AutoHop is stuck in the courts doesn't mean it can't court consumers.

While Dish Network's controversial new ad vaporizer--mere "skipping" is for bush-league DVRs--isn't mentioned by name in a new ad from the satcaster, its spirit sure seems to be lurking on the billboard pictured at right.

The tagline "Watch shows, not commercials" reads like a not-so-veiled reference to AutoHop's core functionality, which prompted broadcasters to sue Dish for copyright infringement and breach of contract last month. AutoHop allows Dish subs who use its whole-home DVR, dubbed the Hopper, to cut out the commercials in primetime programming recorded the day before with one click of the remote control.

It's ballsy enough to tout a product that Dish may ultimately have to scrap if it doesn't pass legal muster. But distilling AutoHop into a catchphrase for a corporate brand campaign? That may be a whole new level of cojones--which is really saying something for bold execs like Dish CEO Joe Clayton and chairman Charlie Ergen.

Asked about the ad, Dish advertising veep Stephanie Spence noted the "Watch shows, not commercials" billboard is just one execution of a broader campaign encompassing many different marketing messages speaking to everything from the Hopper's multi-room capability to its storage capacity. But Spence acknowledged that the tagline has been used in ads specifically pertaining to AutoHop, though she noted the message could just as easily apply to the Hopper as well.

"Lots of companies define their brand by what their premiere product is," said Spence. "I would say we're glad to associate the benefits of the Hopper with the Dish brand."

As marketing goes, leveraging AutoHop to enhance Dish itself has some logic to it; what better way to attract subs than put the hard sell on a rather seductive technology that differentiates the satcaster in the marketplace. But in the highly possible event that the courts rule in the broadcasters' favor, what then? How wise is it to pitch consumers on a product feature that may not be in existence for much longer after they've signed on for a subscription?

As for the broadcasters, they can't be too amused by this. Then again, they're the ones with the momentum in the ongoing legal battle. Last we saw AutoHop, a federal judge rejected a Dish request to have legal proceedings in New York instead of Los Angeles.

    After Fox’s TCA panel for “The Mindy Project,” I spoke with Chris Messina in the scrum about one of his other TV series that is a world away in both content and channel lineup: “Newsroom.”

    “I was shocked at some of the early response,” said Messina about the negative reception of the skein by critics. Indeed, once screeners hit the desk of journalists across the nation, once the series bowed on HBO, the internet lit up with a cacophony of harsh remarks and misgivings about the dramedy’s writing and storytelling. Sorkin took hits left and right in both short tweets and long form essays. Journalists treated “Newsroom” like a train wreck they could not turn away from.

    I follow primarily fellow journalists on Twitter and watched tweet after tweet (some being my own) flow down my feed criticizing the skein. Out of curiosity, I clicked on the “Newsroom” hashtag link when it was trending during the days after the show’s premiere. Upon scanning the feed, I was, like Messina, surprised by what I saw -- but for a different reason.

    When not filtered, the Twitter feed revealed how broader audiences received “Newsroom.” The verdict? Profound love and respect for the show. Dialogue and soliloquies dubbed “preachy” by journalists were warmly embraced by average viewers. Apparently Sorkin’s scripture, while wince-inducing for those of us working in a newsroom environment, struck a chord with American audiences. The show’s writing, while polarizing for TV critics, resonated with viewers and evidently gave voice to sentiments churning within the American conscience -- or at least within HBO subscribers.

    “The Newsroom is seriously so good”; “It’s my favorite new show”; “Finally, a show with intelligent characters, content and writing.”

    Messina has noticed this discrepency as well. He has found himself being approached by strangers while walking down the street, strangers who praise not only his acting but “Newsroom’s” content in general. Messina referred to Sorkin as “Shakespeare,” and noted that, when it comes to negative reviews, “sometimes people love to build other people up and then drag them down.” Nevertheless, Sorkin is reported to have axed part of his writing staff in preparation for season 2, leading many of the show’s detractors to wonder if the move was a typical restructuring of a writer’s room or, perhaps, a sign that Sorkin has caught on to the inherent flaws in his skein and is making moves to change them.

    Dick Wolf, an equally prolific industry member, stated succinctly during NBC’s “Chicago Fire” TCA panel that “the secret to success on television is writing.” “There’s never been a good show with bad writing,” said Wolf. “And there have been very few bad shows with good writing. Quality tops out...in ‘Chicago Fire,’ the writers are writing about people that you do admire.”

    Wolf is known for bringing viewers into the foreign (and albeit fictional) world of gritty occupations as he does with the “Law & Order” franchise, and "Chicago Fire" will be no exception. But, many in the legal world are quick to note that skeins like “Law and Order” glamorize the practice of law, and that it isn’t as exciting as it is portrayed to be on TV. Even in HBO’s doc “Sex Crimes Unit” that follows the real life “special victims unit” in New York City, the featured D.A. points out that her line of work isn’t as thrilling as it seems on Wolf’s hit NBC series, “Law & Order: SVU.”

    “Newsroom” also brings viewers behind the scenes of an occupation that many know only through tele-prompters and rehearsed camera cues. As the news industry is fictionalized on "Newsroom," journalists are quick to point out that no, we do not have black tie New Year’s Eve parties in the newsroom, and no, we do not have blowout fights with our significant others in the middle of the office. And with the such public means to express distaste for the series, the noisy influx of negative reviews began on Twitter, blogs and publications. Meanwhile viewers of “Newsroom” with a meager number of followers quietly tweeted out: “Hey, I like this,” and hashtagged the show.

    “Series like ‘ER,’ ‘Law & Order,’ and ‘Hill Street Blues’...they’re never being written down to an audience,” said Wolf at the “Chicago Fire” TCA panel. With Sorkin’s rapid fire dialogue on intellectual news events, “Newsroom” certainly isn’t written down to the broad audience that has embraced it on Twitter, either. At the same time, no occupation-based show can be expected to write to the niche that inspired it. Even Nigel Lythgoe emphasized during Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” TCA panel that show’s like “Idol” and “SYTYCD” are first and foremost “entertainment shows,” and not aimed solely at the dance and music communities.

    Would members of the medical community, the legal community, and now the fire-fighting community be so quick to point out the discontinuities between the onscreen portrayals of their occupation and their actual jobs? Maybe, maybe not. Mostly, they shrug off the discontinuities: it's television, after all. But Sorkin met the cruel fate of inviting criticism about a fictional news show from an industry that, well, makes the news. This world isn't so forgiving.

    In spite of this, the journalism and media industry has not given up on the skein, even as it continues to lash out at each episode’s flaws. The flurry of negative comments on Twitter each Sunday night is proof that for better or for worse, “Newsroom” offers a certain intrigue that keeps detractors watching. It has managed to romanticize a career in the same way that the “Law & Order” franchise romanticized police and legal work. And while I may know better about the realities of this line of work, I continue to watch Will McAvoy and his team grapple with issues because at the end of the day, when my reporter hat is hung up, I just want to be entertained too.

The Television Critics Assn. summer confab has just begun, yet it might have already peaked with Saturday night’s delicious “Downton Abbey” panel. 

Critics, by nature, are a group that’s hard to impress and gushing is, oh, so unprofessional, yet the sesh in the intimate Beverly Hills Ballroom in the BevHilton was nothing less than a lovefest for the PBS series that has turned a nation that a few centuries ago revolted against the British into a collective group that rushing over the Pond to tour the actual Downton estate.

On a panel led by creator Julian Fellowes and who was joined by actors Hugh Bonneville (Robert Crawley aka Lord Grantham), Joanne Froggatt (Anna), Brendan Coyle (John Bates), Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary), Elizabeth McGovern (Cora Crawley) and newcomer Shirley MacLaine (Cora’s mother, Martha Levinson), the back and forth was infectious.

Before the conversation started, clips were shown of the upcoming third season, which begins Jan. 6. While state secrets have been more guarded than what happens next at Downton, the scenes did reveal that there are bumps on the road to matrimony for Matthew and Lady Mary, the loss of fortune is hitting hard and Maggie Smith’s Violet Crawley will have her hands full when MacLaine’s Levinson arrives from the States.

In painting an overview of what’s to come, Fellowes said, “This season is about the recovery from the war,” and whether aristocracy is still relevant in a nation that both mourns and is quickly changing.

Coyle chatted about everything, from how Bates got his limp (the actor put a brace on his knee and something in his show to figure out how, exactly, the limp should feel like) and that when playing the Facebook game of “What ‘Downton’ character are you?” he readily confessed that he’s Lady Mary.

MacLaine added that she never watched the show before being cast and got schooled on the goings-on of the series by her Malibu hairdressers. And asked if she and Smith had ever worked together, she said they were lovers in a previous life.

Froggatt, who is getting married in October (sadly, not to Coyle; what a darling couple), said she learned of her Emmy nomination while at the post office during a lunch break in shooting last week and then came back to set for a scene with Coyle with redder ears and more a proud glow.

Bonneville said he knew the series was a sensation when a 10-year-old friend of his young son came up to him and said, “You know, I don’t like that Thomas!”

The actor ended the night in hysterical fashion, when, in the midst of answering a question, undid his tie, unbuttoned his dress shirt to show off his undershirt that read, “Free Bates.”

At a post-conference dessert reception, Coyle was one of the star attractions, chatting up his many admirers before walking back to his room upstairs in the hotel. Without the limp.

Leave it to the guys who mastered "the show about nothing" to bring that sensibility to digital platforms.

Jerry Seinfeld's new digital series "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" premiered with his former "Seinfeld" creative partner Larry David as the guest on an interview program that positively luxuriates in its own formlessness.

As its title suggests, the conversation is split between a ride together in a car (in the premiere, a 1952 VW Bug) and a sitdown in a coffee shop (Los Angeles' John O' Groats on Pico Blvd.). But calling it a conversation implies some sense of coherence, a logical flow from point A to point B.

"Coffee" is more like dialogue as comedy jazz, and in Seinfeld and David we have two trumpeters who aren't going to stick to the sheet music. It's an overly edited pastiche of non-sequitirs skipping around from one mutual preoccupation to another, including cereal, free-range chicken and boxer briefs. Don't expect a sustained dissection of the Greek debt crisis.

If you miss the minutiae that was the essence of "Seinfeld-ian" humor, "Coffee" will be manna. If you don't, it's not really all that funny, though stick around to the very end of the 13-plus minute premiere episode for an inspired bit on the difference between cigars and cigarettes.

But the problem isn't entirely that "Coffee" isn't particularly humorous. It's that Seinfeld and David are constantly cracking each other up in this episode for no apparent reason. It's nice to see two friends enjoying each other's company but awill viewers enjoy their enjoyment? Not so much.

If anyone was expecting Seinfeld to hatch some brilliant new creation that was going to be digital entertainment's long-sought-after sensation, "Coffee" ain't it. If anything, the series seems an exercise in subverting expectations in its utter disregard for trying to be much of anything, though certainly fans of the A-listers that will join Seinfeld in future episodes will make sure "Coffee" at least isn't ignored.

Better luck next episode, when Ricky Gervais is the guest.

Spider-Man, Doofenshmirtz, Hulk and Ferb all in one special? "Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel" will have them all, and more. Details here.

In a packed Comic-Con panel in Ballroom 20, the cast and fans of HBO's "True Blood" got the opportunity to say goodbye to exec producer Alan Ball. Scribe/co-exec producer Mark Hudis will take over as showrunner for the vamp camp after Ball steps down next season.

During the Q&A, Ball has asked about future episodes, and he had to gently inform audience members that he "would not be involved in those decisions."

"Alan Ball never makes you do the same thing again. Just when you film the amazing scene he gives you, you have something even better next time," said star Stephen Moyer. "We must say thank you to Alan Ball."

The soon-to-be-former showrunner received a standing ovation from the cast and the audience.

"Thank you," said Ball. "If I wasn't so old and so beat up, I would do 11,000 more episodes because this job is the most fun I ever had in my career."

The panel included Ball, along with "True Blood" stars Anna Paquin, Sam Trammell, Moyer, Ryan Kwanten, Rutina Wesley, Alexander Skarsgard, Deborah Ann Woll, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Joe Manganiello, and recent cast addition, Christopher Meloni, who talked a little about his former job as Lt. Elliot Stabler.

"What is considered a sex crime on this show is very different," joked Meloni, who recently left his longtime gig on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."

When asked if he would ever return to the show, Meloni stated: "I had 12 great years and no bad blood, so we will see what comes."

The cast talked about the upcoming season, but offered very limited info so not to reveal any plot points. Moyer's recent turn as a director was also discussed by the cast.

"I was quite nervous because I love them all, and wanted them to be pleased, so it was terrifying. But I was pleased with it," said Moyer. "It's something I always wanted to do...I was the artistic director in a theater company for ten years back in London. It look 15 years for me to go back to it. I asked Alan in the first season, and he said, 'No.' I asked again, and he said, 'No.'"

"It just didn't make any sense to not let him do it after I let him suffer," said Ball.

The vamp drama is one of the cabler's most-watched shows. The fifth-season preem aired on June 10 to 5.2 million viewers in its initial telecast (6.3 million for two airings).

HBO recently gave a sixth season order to "True Blood."

By Erin Maxwell

Disney is opening its character vault for the new season of "Once Upon a Time."

During it's Comic-Con panel in Ballroom 20 on Saturday, co-creators and executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz teased fans with a montage of show openers that not only reviewed past plot points, but unveiled possible upcoming Storybrooke residents and storylines. Characters and items in these episode openers included Mulan, Aurora (a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty), a beanstalk (possible Jack reference) and a silhouette of Emma Swan's classic VW bug (Hmmm..."Love Bug," anyone?)

In addition to the episode openers, the panel also showed a teaser trailer featured Captain Hook breaking into Mr. Gold's (Robert Carlyle) pawn shop.

As for other developments, the showrunners did not reveal upcoming storylines, but reassured the Hall H audience that despite the fact that "Magic is Coming," the show will stay true to its fans.

"The show will not change from the show you loved last year. We will continue to go back and forth between the two worlds," said Kitsis.

"I never could have conceived the brilliance of the first few scripts, but as a viewer, it's everything I could have hoped for," said star Ginnifer Goodwin.

It was also confirmed that former "Lost" star Emilie de Ravin will join the show as a series regular.

The duo also revealed that the character of Dr. Whale (David Anders) will get his own backstory, and that auds will find out the identity of Henry's (Jared Gilmore) father.

"It's Sneezy," joked Kitsis. "I told you that Emma had a past."

Moderated by William Keck of TV Guide Magazine, the panel included Horowitz, Kitsis, Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Josh Dallas, Lana Parrilla, Meghan Ory, and de Ravin.

"We want to tell you new things and go beyond the stories we grew up with," said Horowitz. "Thanks to you guys, we have the opportunity to tell more stories this year.

"We premiered against football and the World Series. Thanks to you, we are here," said Kitsis.

"Once" is the the highest-rated new-scripted series on ABC and third most-watched drama overall on the net. The fantasy skein drew a 4.1 rating/10 share in the 18-49 demo on Sundays, and 11.8 million viewers overall.

Both Kitsis and Horowitz recently extended their overall deal with ABC Studios. The duo will stay with Disney for another three years.

By ERIN MAXWELL
“Wow, there are craploads of you here,” remarked “The Walking Dead” moderator Chris Hardwick at the Comic-Con presentation of the hit AMC show.

Considering the show’s humble beginning on Room 6 and now the transition to the cavernous Hall H, the packed-to-capacity San Diego Convention Center venue was a perfect fit considering the popularity of the show.

In addition to the news that the upcoming season will launch Oct. 14, auds were also privy to a first look at the trailer as was well as new characters David Morrissey as the Governor of Woodbury and Danai Gurira as Michonne.

“This next season will be fantastic, not just because of a prison location but because we introduce Woodbury and we get the kick-ass Michonne,” said exec producer Gale Anne Hurd.

“We are in the zone on this one. We are really pushing each other,” said exec producer and showrunner Glen Mazzara. “We have to stay true to the comic, but what is good about that is we have the time to do it.”

The cast chatted about the problems filming in a prison (“We all have black lung now,” joked Steven Yeun), odd run-ins with fans (“I only play a home wrecker on TV,” said Sarah Wayne Callies) and the love they have for their fans, especially the ladies.

As for hints on next season, “We open with a scene of We Can’t Tell You and transition to Wait and See,” added creator Robert Kirkman.

By ERIN MAXWELL
Mercedes Becerra, you’re going to space!

In possibly one of the most original giveaways ever at Comic-Com, Becerra won a trip that was, literally, out of this world. The fan from Paso Robles, Calif., was one of about 10 audience members who queried the cast of “The Big Bang Theory.”

Upon asking a question, they were brought to the Hall H stage and each choose an envelope with one containing the golden ticket.

Idea for the giveaway was based on Simon Helberg’s character, Howard, who was flown into space in last season’s finale.

“You can totally wear you spacesuit to Comic-Con next year,” joked co-star Kaley Cuoco.

By Erin Maxwell

For the seventh and final season of "Dexter," the stars and creators of the show took the time at Comic-Con to say goodbye to the fans that made their show an international hit.

"I didn't think anyone would ever put a serial killer on TV and that someone would want to watch it," said star Jennifer Carpenter. "I thought I was only signing up for the pilot."

But while the stars said their farewells, they also introducted new cast member Yvonne Strzechowski. to the show. The former star of "Chuck" talked about her transition from the NBC comedy to the hit Showtime drama.

"I can only talk about so much," she said. "I have never been a guest on any show before. The cast has been very welcoming, but it's a different energy. The energy on 'Chuck' was fun and crazy. I have only spent a few days on the set, so it's hard to say."

On the show, she play as woman named Hannah, a lady with a dark past who helps Dexter on an investigation.

For the most part, mum was the word as far as any upcoming plots and possible outcomes.

"I always wanted the final season to be a series of finales, one right after the other," joked star Michael C. Hall. "Maybe one of them could be a musical episode."

The cast also chatted about staying with a character for such a long stretch of time and how to keep the character fresh to audiences.

"I needed to keep making him conceivable. To still have authentic human responses to things, but still feel the compulsion to kill people," said Hall. "He is self serving but still likeable...when you do something this long you know it on a cellular level."

At the panel, Showtime also announces a "Dexter" art contest for fans, as well as a new series of webisodes about his early years, titled "All in the Family." SDCC auds are also treated to the first few minutes of the debut episode for season seven.

The final season of "Dexter" airs on Sept. 30.

By ERIN MAXWELL

After teasing fans of USA Network show "Psych" for several years with the idea of a musical episode, series creator Steve Franks finally confirmed it was happening — with a twist.

"We have partially written the musical episode ... as a two-hour musical movie," said creator Steve Franks during the "Psych" panel at Comic-Con.

Also announced for "Psych" at the panel was a guest appearance of Jeffrey Tambor, who will appear on the show as the stepfather of Julia (played by Maggie Lawson).

As the first TV panel of the day in Ballroom 20, the fans of the USA Network packed the 2,000-plus-seat theater to maximum capacity. "Psych" star Tim Omundson led the Q&A panel.

USA programming chief Jeff Wachtel, the show's "benevolent god," hinted at a season eight, but would not confirm.

Above: Maggie Lawson reacts at today's "Psych" Comic-Con panel. (Alexandra Wyman/Getty Images Entertainment)

Fox is using tonight's 2012 MLB All-Star Game to kick off a promotional campaign for the new Tuesday comedy block beginning this fall.

As the promo (above) scheduled to run just before the game starts indicates, the network is looking to brand Tuesday with a moniker--"Laugh Your Fox Off"--similar to the "Animation Domination" designation its Sunday lineup carries. The two-hour block features returning series "New Girl" and "Raising Hope" as well as new half-hours "Ben and Kate" and "The Mindy Project."

The new comedy block doesn't kick in until Sept. 25, but Fox likes to use the All-Star Game as a promotional platform for its programming priorities headed into the fall. Last year, "The X Factor" got a special preview the night of the big game.

With Dish Network subscribers still missing channels owned by AMC Networks due to their ongoing contract dispute, AMC is resorting to a little creative marketing ahead of the fifth-season premiere of "Breaking Bad" on July 15th. The cable network just announced a "Breaking Bad" Party Kit will be made available to the first 500 fans who are willing to adopt out-of-luck Dish subs who need a place to watch the series. Popcorn, candy and coasters are a nice way to kill two birds with one stone: come to the rescue of fans who don't have a home to watch their favorite show and impromptu viewing parties to whip the "Breaking" fan base into a proper lather.

It will be interesting to see whether the prospect of subs missing out on such a acclaimed show will put additional pressure on Dish, which has argued that the channels--including WE and IFC--aren't worth what AMC Networks wants to be paid for them. If you want to add to that pressure, visit SwitchFromDish.com. It will also be interesting to see how the ratings for "Breaking" will be impacted given the series will be without a key distributor.

One of the biggest stars in TV history is skipping TV to launch his latest project.

Jerry Seinfeld issued a promo Thursday for "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee," which will launch July 19th on Sony's digital-only network Crackle. Neither he nor Sony is saying much about it so far, but from the looks of the promo, "Comedians" is pretty much what its title suggests: Seinfeld chatting up fellow comedians including Ricky Gervais, Alec Baldwin and Michael Richards, as they drive vehicles from his vintage-car collection.

"Comedians" isn't entirely surprising considering Seinfeld had been teasing his new project for months via his robust social media presence, though the snapshots of him and other stars gave little sense of what they were actually up to. But the very fact that he was doing anything on his own like this gives a hint of just what a potential gamechanger a production like this could be: rather than buy commercial airtime or court the press, he's able to get the word out to millions at zero expense with zero intermediaries.

But is "Comedians" a gamechanger? At first blush, it would seem so. Here's a huge star who could probably be back on TV easily if he wanted to sidestepping the medium entirely taking a format that could work easily on TV straight to digital platforms. Money is not the point here, though it would be interesting to learn more about just what the arrangement is between Seinfeld and Sony, which has made billions of dollars syndicating his classic NBC sitcom on TV stations and Crackle itself.

But in all likelihood Seinfeld could have gotten a richer deal had he done "Comedians" on TV. The problem with going that route is in return for the big bucks he would have likely lost some degree of creative control. Not even the biggest celebrities are immune to some degree of interference from the networks and distributors who hand them the checks, and surely Seinfeld has gone through enough of that kind of relationship to want to give that up for good.

It will also be interesting to find out whether Seinfeld even bothered to pitch the usual networks with a project like this, and if he did, did any of them want it? Because as reflexively as you might assume that no programmer in their right mind would refuse Seinfeld in any shape or form on their air, a project like "Comedians" might give them some reservations. It's not Seinfeld in the sitcom milieu where he was was so successful, and he's already shown on network TV that he isn't a sure thing given his prominent presence in an unscripted series called "The Marriage Ref" on NBC a few years ago that didn't do too well.

Know this much about network TV shows: it's a lot of time and work if you are playing a significant role on either side of the camera. My guess is at this stage in his life Seinfeld doesn't want to work too hard anymore, and something like "Comedians" affords him the ability to film something that he just happens to be filling his luxurious leisure time with anyway. "Comedians" will likely come across like a lark, the kind of production someone given carte blanche to do what they wanted would do. More power to him--literally.

Regardless, will "Comedians" amount to hit programming, pulling the kind of audience Seinfeld could have gotten on TV? Don't be so sure. The obvious comparison to make here is to the groundbreaking experiments in one-man distribution Seinfeld's buddy, Louis CK, is up to but that's not entirely a fair comparison. While Louis CK is taking a product--his stand-up act--that could otherwise run on film or TV more or less unchanged and putting it out there himself online, "Comedians" isn't necessarily the kind of content a TV network would have put on its own air intact (especially if "Comedians' turns out to be a short-form series though several could be bundled into 30-minute form). And let's not forget it's not entirely an either-or proposition given Louis CK eventually sold a second window of his self-distributed performance back to TV, which Seinfeld and Sony could potentially do as well.

What may be even more telling about the intent of "Comedians" is the role that advertising will play in the production, which isn't clear from the promo either. Surely Crackle will sell ads in and around the series, which also airs on YouTube (though interestingly not as a YouTube original channel--now that would have been a huge coup for Google). But given the centrality of both coffee and cars in "Comedians," the brand integration possibilities with blue-chip marketers are endless. A production like this would have fit hand-in-glove with integration (get a sense of how it might have been structured with "Speakeasy," a recent tie-up between Bacardi and Break Media).

Given there's no sign of this in the promo, my prediction is it's not there and if that's true, Madison Avenue should be beside itself. Here's a comedian who has shown a rare interest and talent in creative collaboration with brands like American Express and Microsoft but for some reason didn't do so here. They could have conceivably bankrolled the entire production themselves, and yet it's possible Seinfeld saw fit to keep them out of the equation.

Maybe just as he's tired of the rigors and meddling of traditional TV, he isn't too interested in playing the shill, too. Strange as it might seem that Seinfeld would ignore his TV options, bypassing the brands may be even more remarkable. 

UPDATE: Two weeks later, here's my take on the series now that it's out.