Sigh. Television will lose another one of its better series tonight, September 7, after the extended 80-minute series finale of FX firefighter dramedy Rescue Me airs at 10pm ET. The swan song debuts at a fitting time, too, since the tenth anniversary of the historic event that inspired the show — the September 11th terrorist attacks — occurs this Sunday.

Titled “Ashes,” the last new episode ever of Rescue Me reveals what happens to the members of fictional Ladder Company 62 following their most recent efforts to extinguish a brutal fire. Predictably, the lives of veterans will change as the New York City Fire Department introduces a new batch of probationary firefighters to the job.

I’m definitely going to miss hanging out with Tommy Gavin & Company in the future. Thanks for seven interesting seasons of hard knocks, rampant crudeness and occasional feel-good times.

The last few days have not been kind to entertaining dramedies. First basic-cable network TNT canceled its sophomore original series Men of a Certain Age on July 15, and then NBC did the same to rookie series Love Bites on July 19.

The usual culprit in both cases was underwhelming ratings, of course. In fact, not even a prestigious Peabody Award and yet another Emmy nomination for star Andre Braugher could sway TNT to keep Men of a Certain Age around for another season, apparently. What a shame, too, because the series was all about quality, intelligent, fun, and realistic storytelling, as was Love Bites.

Although Men of a Certain Age‘s second and last season wrapped up on July 6, viewers can catch the final episode of Love Bites‘ lone season tomorrow, July 21, at 10pm ET. I will miss both shows.

The 13-episode fourth season of gritty AMC original series Breaking Bad begins tonight, July 17, at 10pm ET with the dangerous-sounding premiere “Box Cutter.”

When we last saw clever Walt White and his sneaky right-hand man Jesse Pinkman, the situation was dire indeed. Held hostage by drug dealer Gus’ goons for his impending execution, Walt managed to call Jesse.

The two partners in meth-making had already realized Walt’s only value to Gus was his ability to cook his special meth recipe. Thus, the only way the pair could survive much longer was by murdering Gale, Gus’ preferred drug lab assistant for Walt, before Gale figured out Walt’s exclusive formula and managed to produce his unique meth without Walt.

Yet, apparently not as hardcore as he’d like everyone to believe, Jesse confessed to Walt that he wasn’t up for that kind of task. His attitude changed real fast after Walt’s desperate call, however, leading to a killer cliffhanger in the Season Three finale when Jesse arrived at Gale’s apartment, pointed a gun right at the terrified dude, and pulled the trigger.

Since viewers didn’t actually see Gale go down back then, who knows what really happened next? We’re about to find out during “Box Cutter,” though, and AMC promises Walt and Jesse’s latest escapade will provoke “deadly consequences” this season. Can’t wait to learn what those repercussions are.

Take a peek at Breaking Bad‘s fourth-season premiere in the clip below, which features Skyler upsetting overly suspicious Saul in a major way. The fun is about to begin.

FYI: The July 17 airing of “Box Cutter” will include a special treat for fans of another standout AMC original series, The Walking Dead. During the episode, keep your eyes peeled for a first look at The Walking Dead‘s second season, which kicks off this fall.

As hard as it is to believe, the seventh and last season of abrasive FX firefighter series Rescue Me kicks off tonight, July 13, at 10pm ET with the premiere “Mutha.”

When we last hung out with loudmouthed Tommy Gavin and his equally vulgar gaggle of colleagues, acquaintances, and relatives, times were as tense as ever. Most significantly, rookie firefighter Damien — the son of Tommy’s every-now-and-then lover Sheila and dead cousin Jimmy — became a brain-damaged invalid while putting out a fire after Tommy convinced him not to quit the job.

The final season of Rescue Me continues that storyline while introducing other complications, such as the typical family strife and an event in honor of 9/11 that endangers Tommy’s career.

So, will Tommy sink (yet again) or swim (ditto)? Who knows, but watching as the inevitable drama unfolds will be the best part, no doubt.

Peek behind the scenes of Rescue Me‘s last season in the following video titled simply “The End.”

The summer is finally here, and so is the exciting fourth-season of hit TNT crime dramedy Leverage on June 26 at 9pm ET.

Titled “The Long Way Down Job,” the summer premiere features guest star Eric Stoltz (of the recently departed Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica) as a missing millionaire. Our favorite team of clever cons head to the frigid and treacherous mountains of Alaska to track him down when they learn of his predicament.

Of course, once on-site of his last known whereabouts, they quickly realize there’s much more to his disappearance than they initially thought. The episode features the familiar banter and teamwork between the group of regulars, as well as an unexpected turn of events that mark a first for the series. Fans will not want to miss the latest adventure in the Leverage files, and newcomers will have no problems enjoying the action and fast-paced plot.

Take a behind-the scenes peek at the summer opener below before tuning in to the real thing.

TNT dramas HawthoRNe and Memphis Beat don’t seem to generate as much “buzz” as the network’s higher profile series — such as its bread and butter The Closer and the upcoming sci-fi saga Falling Skies, for example — but I, for one, am very happy that both shows begin new seasons tonight, June 14.

Paired once again, just like during their last respective runs, HawthoRNe and Memphis Beat open their third and second season, respectively. The medical drama starring Jada Pinkett Smith as brash nurse Christina Hawthorne ends the night at 10pm ET with the extremely dramatic premiere “For Better or Worse.”

Writers are not supposed to reveal spoilery details, which leaves me reluctant to disclose anything at all given the far-reaching nature of the episode’s main plot. However, viewers who are familiar with the series will instantly recognize — and once again appreciate — HawthoRNe‘s tendency to stir drama by following lighthearted, emotionally uplifting segments with events designed to evoke the opposite reaction.

Viewers will also notice the absence or reduced screen time of key characters from previous seasons and the arrival of new faces to make up for the loss. The latter includes Marc Anthony (Man on Fire) returning as Detective Nick Renata, a romantic interest of Christina introduced near the end of Season Two, and Derek Luke (Trauma) and Lauren Vélez (Dexter) as doctors. Anthony appears throughout the season, providing the third point in a simmering love triangle involving Christina and surgeon Tom Wakefield (Michael Vartan, Alias), and, of course, the tension is on full display already during the third-season premiere.

Things are slightly less tense at 9pm during “At the River,” the Season Two premiere of charismatic crime series Memphis Beat, although the central investigation revolves around a murdered, well-liked cop. The death hits close to home for Jason Lee‘s character Dwight Hendricks, whose own police office father was murdered years ago.

The episode features Beau Garrett, a star of CBS’ quickly canceled Criminal Minds spinoff Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, making her first appearance as Internal Affairs staffer Claire Ryan. She teams up with Dwight while his regular partner Whitehead (Sam Hennings, CSI) is otherwise disposed and demonstrates some nice chemistry with the star of the show. Alfre Woodard fans will also enjoy spending more time with the boss Lieutenant Tanya Rice as she takes an active role in the case at hand.

Review what happened during the last season of both shows in the following video recaps, before they start new runs this summer. When TNT first presented the series together, I initially thought they weren’t well-matched thematically. Yet, watching them back-to-back gives me an entertaining “down home” night of TV with realistic and engaging characters, so I’m definitely looking forward to what unfolds next.

Sundays on USA Network are going to be exciting yet bittersweet this summer. Although fans definitely appreciate having fresh installments of both Law & Order: Criminal Intent and In Plain Sight to watch, the first crime drama will be presenting its 10th and too-short final season of just eight episodes.

The summer fun begins tonight, May 1, at 9pm ET with much-missed detectives Alexandra Eames (Kathryn Erbe) and Bobby Goren (Vincent D’Onofrio) investigating on the “Rispetto” season premiere of the Law & Order spinoff. Actor Jay Mohr (Gary Unmarried, Ghost Whisperer) guest stars.

In Plain Sight follows in the 10pm time slot with its Season 4 premiere “The Art of the Steal.” Since the newer series has a total of 13 episodes during the current run, fans will get to watch it a bit longer in coming weeks. We’ll take what we can get of both shows.

Finally, what fans have been awaiting for months. USA Network has at last scheduled the season premieres of crime series In Plain Sight and Law & Order: Criminal Intent for the lovely month of May.

Both shows are now joined at the time slot and will return on Sunday, May 1. Law & Order: Criminal Intent, back for its tenth and last season of eight episodes with original series stars Vincent D’Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe thankfully in place, starts the night off at 9pm ET.

In Plain Sight follows on Sundays at 10pm with 13 episodes in its fourth season. The show’s third season ended abruptly three episodes early at the end of June 2010 due to showrunner John McNamara‘s leave for medical reasons, so many viewers will be that much more happy to see Mary, Marshall and Stan in action again.

Welcome back to both missed series. Spring is looking better already.

Meaningless-but-fun ABC Family suspense series Pretty Little Liars returns to the tube tonight, January 3, at 8pm ET to launch the second half of its successful freshman season.

The first episode up in the shiny new 2011 year has the curiosity-inspiring title “Moments Later.” The moments in question are those following Hanna’s fall season-ending date with a car, and the terrifying incident apparently represents the end of the “nice” A era. Now the anonymous texter known only as A is ready to kick her (his?) harassment up a notch and become even more threatening. Smells like really good times are on the way!

But wait … there’s more. Fans of entertaining ABC Family college dramedy Greek have something to look forward to also. The series begins its fourth season on January 3 at 9pm ET, immediately after the return of Pretty Little Liars, with the premiere episode “Defending Your Honor.” Sounds tense.

Check out the network’s promo for the new Monday-night matchup of its two popular teen-oriented shows below.

The holiday season is upon us, and so is the first-ever Christmas-themed episode of hit TNT dramedy Leverage on Sunday, December 12, at 9pm ET.

Appropriately titled “The Ho Ho Ho Job,” the installment finds Team Nate attempting to do good by Santa and holiday shoppers on Christmas Eve in order to keep the season full of year-end cheer. Achieving that goal requires thwarting a no-good mall owner and his partner in crime, who are determined to take advantage of customers through a devious, spirit-killing scheme.

NewsRadio and Kids in the Hall vet Dave Foley plays the corrupt retail businessman, and Star Trek: The Next Generation fan favorite Wil Wheaton returns to reprise his role as daring hacker Colin “Chaos” Mason, who perturbed Team Nate previously during last season’s fun “The Two Live Crew Job” episode.

Sneak a two-minute peek at “The Ho Ho Ho Job” in the preview clip below. The episode is the first of three installments in Leverage‘s brief winter run, which ends next Sunday, December 19, with the two-part, back-to-back Season Three finale “The Big Bang Job” and “The San Lorenzo Job.” Good stuff.