I think it's time for a linkspam

[next_to_normal]

* I still haven't gotten around to House of Cards, but as a longtime West Wing fan, I'm really glad that politics is becoming a feature of so many TV shows lately. I don't know that I'd necessarily call them "political procedurals," since most of the shows mentioned - of the ones I've watched, which is Parks and Rec, Scandal, Battleground, Nashville, and 1600 Penn, and someone on Twitter also suggested The Good Wife should be included in this genre - are actually very serialized in their storytelling and could only loosely be described as having a "political crisis of the week" the way legal, medical, or police procedurals have cases of the week. Scandal started out that way in season 1, but season 2 has gone full-tilt into serialized plot, which - even though it's been absolutely off-the-wall bananas, lol - has actually turned it into a much more interesting show. I feel like part of that is the nature of politics, because unlike those other professions, politics is almost always in pursuit of a long-term goal, whether it's winning an election or passing a bill or whatever. And so you always have to be moving the story forward, whereas a doctor or lawyer or crime scene investigator can be a lot more static.

* Speaking of shows with a political bent, HOW GOOD WAS LAST NIGHT'S AMERICANS? Here's a nice write-up that focuses on the show's intersecting themes of marriage and feminism. Matthew Rhys also talks about the show and why Keri Russell keeps slapping him before takes.

* Emmy Rossum talks about Shameless, which is another excellent show you should be watching.

* Lost Girl is getting a fourth season.

* If Touch gets canceled, I won't be sorry to see Kiefer Sutherland shift to playing "the world's most wanted criminal."

* Cool new poster for Iron Man 3.

ETA: The guys behind Next to Normal are making another musical! WITH IDINA MENZEL! \o/