TNT has placed a 13 episode order for the new pilot Truth In Advertising.

The drama, starring Will & Grace’s Eric McCormack and Ed’s Tom Cavanagh, focuses on two good friends, Mason and Conner, who work in the Chicago advertising agency of Rothman, Greene, & Mohr. Their partnership and friendship are pushed to the edge when one of them is named creative director.

Also guest starring are Monica Potter, Griffin Dunne, Sarah Clarke, Mike Damus and Geoffrey Arend.

Truth in Advertising will premiere in 2009.

We intentionally stay as far away from talking about politics as we can here at TV Jab. We’re a TV blog, not a political blog. But occasionally, especially in an election year, the two intersect.

If you’ve been following the current U.S. Presidential race at all, you’ve undoubtedly heard about the speech that Democratic hopeful Barack Obama gave on Monday about comments that his hometown pastor made about race. Well, that live speech pulled in over four million viewers, compared to the usual two million and change that usually watch the cable news networks.

Obama will appear on Larry King Live tonight, and will also be a guest on The View on Friday, March 28.

Whether you blame it on the strike, on the studios, or just the low quality product that is being put out, the fact remains that there are a ton of shows out there in jeopardy right now. The Hollywood Reporter has broken down the shows in the most danger of cancellation, and their perceived chances of renewal.

I really hate to see that Jericho is struggling so much. On the other hand, I really grew to enjoy Sarah Connor Chronicles this season, so hopefully there’s a ray of light for it.

Here’s a simple breakdown of Hollywood Reporter’s verdict…hit the link at the bottom for the full writeup.

Probably to Return

Bones
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Scrubs
How I Met Your Mother
Knight Rider
Moonlight
Law & Order
Friday Night Lights
Prison Break
According to Jim (why, God, why?)
‘Til Death (I honestly had no idea it was still on)
Back to You

In Trouble

Jericho
Reaper
Cashmere Mafia

(Source: Hollywood Reporter)

Former WWE Diva Trish Stratus has begun filming a new travel show called ‘Stratusphere’ which will air on the Travel Channel. In the show, she will travel around the world and explore other countries outside of North America. The series will begin airing on August.

I was poking around in iTunes just now, and I noticed something interesting…

I guess it’s just pretty awesome to me that Lost constitutes three of the top five shows downloaded on iTunes recently. This season is possibly better than the show has ever been, and the top spot is much deserved.

Click here to head to the Lost section of the iTunes store.

This Monday, NBC returns with another phase of the NBC Universal Auction, and the goodies seem particularly…creepy, I guess.

If you want the shirt and sweater that Jenna Fischer wore on The Office or the waitress outfit that Hayden Panettiere wore in Heroes for whatever strange purposes you could desire, they could be yours, if the price is right.

Also included in the schwag up for sale are a Panthers state championship ring from Friday Night Lights, a Greenzo and “Me Want Food” shirt from 30 Rock, and Montecito chips and cards from Las Vegas.

Auctions open Monday, January 21 and run through Wednesday, January 30. Head to the official NBC.com Auction site for more details.

Since their return on January 2, the late night talk show hosts have had difficulties booking guests, since most air-worthy folks want to show their solidarity with the WGA and not cross the picket lines. What is a host to do?

On Thursday, Jimmy Kimmel will make the jump from his ABC talk show and appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Then, they will reverse roles, and Jay will sit down with Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

I wonder how much confusion this will cause. Even though most of the thinking public doesn’t really think that either of these shows are actually broadcast live, I’m willing to bet that there will be a few watchers whose heads will explode when the two talk shows overlap and seem to violate the very laws of space and time.

(Source: TVGuide)

In no way does TV Jab endorse the heinous act of pirating television shows. Don’t do it.

TorrentFreak has posted a list of the 10 Most Pirated Movies and TV Shows, according to Mininova. Though this is just one of many torrent sites, it is one of the largest, and a good sample of the population.

Heroes (2,439,154)
Top Gear (1,217,923)
Battlestar Galactica (706,209)
Lost (705,724)
Prison Break (608,487)
Desperate Housewives (457,805)
24 (524,303)
Family Guy (522,839)
Dexter (435,670)
Scrubs (427,420)

I would say the most shocking thing is that Desperate Housewives is at number 6 on that list. I can imagine some dude downloading Heroes or Lost in their parents’ basement, but that doesn’t seem to be the demographic that DH would appeal to.

Anyway, that’s what the seedy underbelly of the internets is into right now.

Happy New Year from all of us here at the Bloggy Network and TV Jab. It’s been a great first year for TV Jab, and Strike or no Strike, 2008 is going to be even better! We want to thank you for visiting the site, subscribing to our RSS Feed, and leaving your thoughts and feelings in the comments of our posts.

We’re going to kick back and take it easy today, and spend some time with our families, but we’ll be back in full swing tomorrow.

Thanks again for supporting the site….we couldn’t do it without you.

Okay, this is the funniest Strike-centric story I’ve read yet.

As you’ve probably seen by now, Carson Daly crossed the picket lines and went ahead with production of his late, late night talk show, Last Call with Carson Daly. The heckling he received for being a scab back then wasn’t enough, however, and some writers/mercenaries took it to the next level.

Last night, during a taping with NFL star Jerry Rice, a member of the audience quickly stood up and told Carson that his jokes weren’t funny, and he needed a writer to write better questions. Security quickly swooped in and escorted the villainous writer out. Whew…situation dissolved, right?

Wrong. After Daly restarted the interview with Rice, another member of the audience stood up and said, “I feel so bad for the striking writers! Can I please leave?”, and went on to point out that Carson was using cue cards, and asked who was writing those. He was also escorted out, along with three more.

After this disruption, someone stood up and said that anyone else who interrupted the production would be prosecuted, and that any other striking writers should leave. A whopping twenty or so got up and excused themselves.

I think this infiltration settles it…the writers’ ninja skills are unparalleled.

(Source: Defamer)