Watch With Amanda: CBS Renewals, Game of Thrones Spoilers, HBO’s Luck Cancellation

Have you been keeping track of what shows are getting renewed and who is getting the axe?  CBS has announced they are renewing 15 shows for the 2012-13 TV season, including NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, Criminal Minds, The Good Wife and rookie hits Person of Interest and 2 Broke Girls.  These shows join previously renewed How I Met Your Mother, Survivor and The Big Bang Theory.  The original CSI was also renewed, but missing from the list is CSI: NY and CSI: Miami, whose futures are uncertain right now.  Also missing from the list are rookie dramas A Gifted Man and Unforgettable.  CLICK HERE for a full list of CBS Renewals.

TVLine reports that Gaius Charles, who played Smash Williams on Friday Night Lights has been cast as Jason on NCIS.  Jason is described as a charming, likable and keenly intelligent Baltimore native whom Tony (Michael Weatherly) saved from a fire years ago.  You may recall in the season 9 premiere the “kid from Baltimore” was mentioned.  Jason is now an arson investigator but still haunted by the death of a family member years ago.  He is driven (perhaps too far) to do his best work and try to save as many lives as he can.  Executive producer Gary Glasberg told TVLine “Many of the people involved with NCIS were big Friday Night Lights fans, so having Gaius join us is a genuine pleasure.  We are thrilled to have him on board and look forward to everything he brings to the role.”

For those of you who are too lazy to read “A Clash Of Kings” but still want spoilers for Season 2 of Game Of Thrones, CLICK HERE. HBO has released descriptions of the first five episodes of Season 2 returning April 1st, and they contain some major spoilers!

HBO has also announced that they are ending the Dustin Hoffman series Luck after three horse fatalities.  The latest casualty was being walked back to its barn at Santa Anita Racetrack when it reared up, fell backwards and injured its head/neck. “Unfortunately, the injury was serious and could not be treated,” the American Humane Association said, which had staff on the premises at the time. Though the injury was neither sustained while on set nor during the filming of a scene, the AHA went on to demand that “all production involving horses shut down… pending a complete, thorough, and comprehensive investigation.”  Here is the full statement from HBO:

“It is with heartbreak that executive producers David Milch and Michael Mann together with HBO have decided to cease all future production on the series LUCK. Safety is always of paramount concern. We maintained the highest safety standards throughout production, higher in fact than any protocols existing in horseracing anywhere with many fewer incidents than occur in racing or than befall horses normally in barns at night or pastures. While we maintained the highest safety standards possible, accidents unfortunately happen, and it is impossible to guarantee they won’t in the future. Accordingly, we have reached this difficult decision. We are immensely proud of this series, the writing, the acting, the filmmaking, the celebration of the culture of horses and everyone involved in its creation.”