It's a very darling sort of year for the Emmys with critical/Internet/real people favs like Girls, Breaking Bad, Homeland, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Parks and Recreation and 30 Rock popping up in multiple categories. Mad Men and American Horror Story lead with 17 nominations. Somewhat weirdly, American Horror Story qualifies for the miniseries categories because, as Vulture explained earlier this year, "the miniseries distinction is reserved for programming that has a story line that gets resolved in a single season." This logic led the first season of Downton Abbey to be considered by the Emmys as a miniseries last year, although that was bullshit then (clearly Mary and Matthew had more heart-dragging to do — no one could have possibly thought that the first season finale constituted resolution). It's a bit more understandable in the case of American Horror Story, which will focus on an entirely different story every season, but it's still a little weird since we know several characters from last time around will return. (Actually, word is that returning actors will not be reprising their Season 1 roles but take up all new ones. Jessica Lange, for example, is supposed to play a nun.) No matter - whatever it takes for a show so batshit crazy to be regarded as distinguished is fine with me.

Do you ever watch Downton Abbey and think "That's the life for me," only, for some reason, you are referring to the miserable lives of the drab little servants rather than the opulent, ennui-filled ones of the well-heeled Crawleys?

Warning: Gore above.

Cold bisque doll and star of BBC's Sherlock series, Benedict Cumberbatch is not, how you say, a fan of Downton Abbey. Doth the Queen know of this split among her people? In a recent interview with the New York Times, Cumberbatch was asked if he resembles the sociopathic character he portrays on the show. Yes, as it turns out, he does:

Carnival Films, the studio behind popular period drama Downton Abbey, issued a statement categorically denying a Daily Mail report that actress Maggie Smith asked to be written out of the show so she could focus on her film and stage careers.

Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes has finished production on a four-part miniseries called Titanic, which will premiere on ABC this April.

Last night's SNL featured a fantastic Lana Del Rey impression from Kristin Wiig during "Weekend Update." In the sketch, LDR responded to the people who criticized her performance on the show, though she did not mention Brian Williams by name.

I usually don't give a fuck about casting news, but when I saw that Shirley MacLaine was cast on Downton Abbey it seemed so awesomely perfect I thought for sure it had to be a prank. It isn't.

How are we going to look Dame Maggie in the face after this?

You might have seen your friends posting about it on Facebook and Twitter, read about it in Entertainment Weekly, or even read the scathing things we had to say about, but absolutely everyone is talking about Downton Abbey. For all the uninitiated here is what you need to know about the British import.

Julian Fellowes' Edwardian soap Downton Abbey returns for its second season Sunday night which is very excited news indeed. The first season was filled with many a twist and turn and, very often, this news was delivered via ominous letters that our beloved characters stared at blank-faced. In fact, each of the first season's seven episodes included at least three instances of characters receiving news, most times troubling news, in a letter. Here are all of them.

It took me a while to realize this, but people don't listen to advice. I'm not sure why. My sense is that we tend to learn life lessons through experience, and the warnings of others, even those that we solicit, have trouble penetrating through to the part of brain where "fire is hot" and "there is no such thing as a 'break' in a relationship" were imprinted whenever you passed by those particular painful milestones. Case in point: I'm going to give you a bit of advice—not "don't touch the fire"-important advice, but advice that will make your life better—and you're not going to listen to it. You're going to think you know better. You're going to want, explicitly or subconsciously, to learn this lesson yourself, and learn it you will, though by then it will be too late.

Every single television critic has written their "10 Best of 2011" article and it's all, "Oooh, Breaking Bad." "Let's hear it for Community." "Friday Night Lights should never leave!" "Do you love Louie? I love Louie. You should love LOUIE!" Fuck them! All their damn lists are the same year after year. Here are some of the other things that happened on television when the critics were playing Ookie Cookie with each other.

Wow, those Emmys sure were a stinker, weren't they? Not only did they fall into the same old Emmys trap of giving the same awards to the same people, but the show itself was a complete dud. It was slow and dated and every opportunity for excitement landed with a great thud.

Emmys! Television's highest honors (after the Peabodys and the TV Guide Awards) will be doled out on Sunday night to an approx. three million lucky TV actors and creators. Who will win? Who should win? Let's take a look!

It's late August, and there is nothing on TV except for Big Brother and crappy reruns. What the hell are you supposed to watch before the new TV season starts in September? We're here with some suggestions for DVD/iTunes/Netflix marathons that will have you glued to your couch.

This year's Primetime Emmy award nominations will be announced tomorrow, meaning we can finally celebrate television actors. So who will be nominated? Well we kind of already know that. But who should be nominated?

Last night HBO's star-studded pedigree mini-series Mildred Pierce lit up TV screens across America, not because that many people wanted to see a warmed-over Depression-era rags-to-riches story, but because the culture created some need in us to watch it. Enough already.