On the heels of the unprecedented critical acclaim for Showtime's original series The Tudors and This American Life, the network is announcing that both series have been renewed for second seasons. Additionally, the network has also greenlighted five episodes of a new sketch comedy series from the incomparable Tracey Ullman, tentatively titled State Of The Union.

With a 10-episode order and production slated to begin in Dublin, Ireland this spring, The Tudors took Showtime subscribers and the media by storm when it premiered April 1st, generating record viewership.

This American ...

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"If it had a subtitle, it would be One Upon A Time... In Nazi-Occupied France." Moviemaker Quentin Tarantino on his upcoming spaghetti-western-themed war movie, Inglorious Bastards.

"I was the leader of a gang that...

Jonathan Rhys-Meyers has defended his casting as famously overweight English king Henry VIII, insisting US audiences don't want to watch an obese royal. The Irish heartthrob is playing the 16th century tyrant - who married six times - in TV Series The Tudors, which shows a sexed up side to Tudor England.

Rhys-Meyers says, "You're trying to sell a historical period drama to a country like America, you don't want a big, fat, 250 pounds, red haired guy with a beard. It doesn't let people embrace the fantastic monarch he was because they're not attracted to the package. Heroes do not look...