Given its success with original series, USA greenlit quite a few not so long ago - and now, there's not room for all of them. Reports suggest that four of the cable net's more recent shows are in danger of cancellation: Fairly Legal, Necessary Roughness, Common Law and Political Animals.

Of the four, it's Fairly Legal that it would be the biggest shame to lose. It's a not that uncommon case of a series that didn't find itself right away, and this one is on the verge of doing so. While it's understandable how it ended up on the bubble, the show has plenty of potential and a charismati...

Michael Trucco will be getting more than a cameo on CBS' How I Met Your Mother. After an all-too-brief appearance in the season six episode "Hopeless," the actor will return in the comedy's upcoming eighth season.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, HIMYM showrunners sought to bring Trucco's character back in the show's seventh season, but the actor's obligations to his regular role on USA's Fairly Legal prevented that from happening. Now he'll be present for multiple episodes in season eight.

Trucco currently plays Assistant District Attorney Justin Patrick on Fairly Legal, and should...

USA's Fairly Legal returns for its second season tonight with one big ace up its sleeve: co-star Michael Trucco.

When is a series regular a secret weapon? When he's doing fantastic work and still playing second chair. Yes, Fairly Legal belongs to the character of Kate Reed (Sarah Shahi), but there's something about her not quite ex-husband that sticks.

As played by Trucco, Justin Patrick is that hard-working, dedicated Assistant District Attorney that you'd want fighting for you in court, and he's also the voice of reason in his complicated relationship with Kate. In a conventional legal ...

Psych goes out to the ballgame this week, and treats us to a fantastic time. The only way this episode could get better is if it had come with a box of Cracker Jack.

Minor league manager Mel Hornsby (the always fantastic Danny Glover) comes to Shawn asking him to look into the death of his hitting coach. To do so, Shawn and Gus join the team - even if Gus has to be the mascot. It's clear pretty early on that the victim was drugged, because Shawn makes the mistake of drinking a water bottle in the dead guy's house and likewise gets high on speed. (And James Roday does a pretty good ...

Fairly Legal star Sarah Shahi had a few choice words for Paris Hilton over the weekend. Apparently the actress had a run-in with the socialite and was nearly run over after Paris didn't see her and then ran a stop sign.

Sarah took to her Twitter account on Friday and Saturday to call out the hotel heiress over her skills behind the wheel, and let us know how she really feels.

"Paris Hilton- worst driver ever. Almost hit me, then ran a stop sign.what if there was a kid around that corner, you dumb b*tch," she Tweeted.

Afterward in a series of follow-up Tweets, Sarah said things like, "Par...

The Fairly Legal season finale is upon us. It ends up being a fair reflection of the entire first season: while there are some highlights, ultimately, it ends up being merely a passable diversion.

Kate is brought to the Croatian consulate to handle a custody dispute. Veronica's soon-to-be adoptive father Pete (that's Scott Holroyd, aka Chuck's evil CIA agent Justin Sullivan) wants to keep the daughter that isn't biologically his from being taken back to Croatia by his mother-in-law. The frustrated father and the protective mother-in-law eventually realize that they want the same thin...

I've heard it said that you can learn a lot about someone from their friends. Well, this week we meet one of Kate's friends, Julie (Brittany Ishibashi), who's about to get married. Lauren is working on the prenuptual agreement with Julie's father Joseph (Clyde Kusatsu), who's more concerned with protecting his family business from Julie's husband-to-be Eric (David Alpay) than his daughter's happiness. Yes, you've pretty much heard this story before.

The show tries to throw a wrench in there by revealing that Eric's supposedly dead mother isn't really dead, but it doesn't really work...

One way to make a good show? Bring a great guest star.

Chris Vance can turn up on my TV anytime he likes. I liked him as Mason Gilroy on Burn Notice (anyone ever notice how these USA shows tend to share guest actors?), loved him even more as Dr. Jack Gallagher in the short-lived Mental, and am glad to see him in this week's Fairly Legal as Paul Shelton, a former rock star who needs Kate to help him mediate a business deal with his two old bandmates. Unfortunately, Mack and Sherry are married, raising a family, and want nothing to do with him. As if that's not harsh enough, he's dying.
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What makes up a person's identity? Is it what's on paper, or is it what they do with it? That's the question Fairly Legal tackles, and it ends up being one of the series' better outings.

This week, Kate's mediating for an Army soldier who's not a legal U.S. citizen. In order to enlist, Sophia Pena (Carrie Ruscheinsky) stole the identity of Claudia Evans, and now it's coming back to haunt her. It's up to Kate to settle things between the two women without getting Sophia deported back to Honduras. Coming from a military family, the plot does resonate with me, and it's supported by one ...

Fairly Legal starts this week in a fun place. Justin is in a chippy mood, because he's in Kate's office with a boatload of other ADA's and she's not. (Does this woman ever get anywhere on time?) She's meeting with a top-flight exec named John Marsden (Currie Graham of House, 24 and Desperate Housewives fame) who wants her to mediate the termination of a genius employee (Devon Gummersall, who looks a lot like a younger D.B. Sweeney). Marcus would rather throw the company's expensive prototype - or himself - off the roof. It's certainly not a slow opening for a series that sometimes s...

If you ever want to know what it's like to be hit by a truck, this episode of Fairly Legal will elucidate that for you.

Richard Neumeyer (Brian Markinson, who will always be "the other guy from Touching Evil" to me) was smacked by one while out with his wife Marsha, and now Kate has to mediate a settlement between theNeumeyers and the insurance company, within one day. She soon discovers that while Richard may be physically fine, he's not the same man he once was. The plot echoes the same issue raised in episode two, "Priceless": how does one put a monetary cost on things which are in...

It's Valentine's Day, and that means love is in the air (for some of us, anyway). It's also a perfect time to pay tribute to the fictional men who've made my heart melt this TV season, for one reason or another, or oftentimes several. These are ten guys who, if they were real, would have no problem getting my phone number.

Warning: there are spoilers for certain series. Each show is listed in each character's heading. If you're waiting for the DVD's, I'd advise skipping those particular sections.

Before I get too mushy, here's the criteria for making my list:

1) They had to be from...

Last week's Fairly Legal was another so-so episode in my book, so I was curious to see if the show would rebound this week. One way to do that is to open the episode with the always amazing Michael Trucco. Justin's being called in on his off Sunday, which he'd hoped to be spending with Kate, who's been roped into a case between a TV chef named Bo (Warehouse 13's Eddie McClintock) and the company manufacturing his barbecue sauce. Great, five minutes in and I'm feeling a Famous Dave's craving coming on.

Bringing the two arguing parties together, Kate gets them talking and seems to iron ...

After last week's pretty good episode, I had high hopes for this week's Fairly Legal, which sees Kate trying to settle things between a difficult high school football coach (Dean Norris) and angry parents who dislike his controversial treatment of their children. This plot makes me think of deposed Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach, but we don't have time to completely mirror Leach's complicated story (thankfully). Instead, we're left with a fairly light portrayal of a question that comes up a lot if you follow high school or college football: is the coach too tough, or are the kid...

As dedicated Assistant District Attorney Justin Patrick on USA's new original series Fairly Legal, Michael Trucco has turned my head to the point of being near show-stealing. Recently, I had the pleasure of talking to the former Battlestar Galactica star to find out what makes the character of Justin tick, about his own Northern California upbringing, and how he has more in common with his on-screen alter ego than you might think.

I feel like I should apologize. I have realized I'm probably the only person on the planet who hasn't yet seen Battlestar Galactica.

Whoa. We’ve got somethi...

I had high hopes for the second episode of Fairly Legal based on the guest cast alone. "Priceless" features Paul Schulze as a man who wrongfully spent more than two decades in prison. Anyone who saw Schulze's run as Ryan Chappelle on 24, or even his guest appearances on shows like Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles or Standoff, to name two of my favorites, knows that he's turned in some great performances.

Justin personally hands Kate her next case: Steve (Schulze) has spent twenty-two years behind bars only to be found innocent, and now she has to mediate a settlement between hi...

I want to like Fairly Legal more than I do.

There's a lot to love about USA Network's newest original series, beginning with Sarah Shahi, who proves that her outstanding performance as the cynical recovering alcoholic Dani Reese on NBC's late-but-still missed Life wasn't a fluke. As lawyer turned mediator Kate Reed, Shahi has plenty of charm, a winning smile and an earnestness that's infectious. Kate is almost the complete opposite of Reese - except for maybe the father issues - and Shahi plays both roles equally well, proving that it's about time someone gave her a series of her ow...

All of USA Network's series share one quality: distinctive lead characters who become media personalities in their own right. For example, there's no doubt that while White Collar is a great ensemble piece, it's Matt Bomer's Neal Caffrey who gets most of the attention and promotional exposure. So it is that the network's newest series, Fairly Legal, is resting on the shoulders of Sarah Shahi. If you're one of those people still annoyed at NBC for cancelling Life, you know that she's more than deserving of her own series. She is a very talented actress, and though she doesn't get to s...