United States of Tara

CHICAGO – In a somewhat surprising move, Showtime has canceled the Emmy-winning comedy “United States of Tara,” while also renewing “Nurse Jackie” for a fourth season. Neither show has been much of a ratings hit, but both programs seemed to bring some critical esteem to the network. In fact, the pair has won the last two Best Actress in a Comedy Series with Toni Collette winning in 2009 and Edie Falco winning in 2010. Both are sure to be nominated again this year.

CHICAGO – Brian Tallerico guests on Bill Moller’s show on WGN-Radio in Chicago on Apr. 16, 2011 to preview and review new shows for the next week including HBO’s “Game of Thrones” and USA’s “Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe.”

CHICAGO – I’ve said for two seasons now that Showtime’s “United States of Tara” isn’t as good as it should be, partially because the writing and parts of the ensemble don’t live up to the Emmy-winning work by its stunningly talented star, Toni Collette, but I might have been wrong. The start of season three, debuting tonight, Mar. 28th, 2011 on Showtime, hints at a broader program with a deeper ensemble, but I’m not sure any more that this is a good thing.

CHICAGO – Brian Tallerico guests on Bill Moller’s show on WGN-Radio in Chicago on Mar. 26, 2011 to preview and review new and upcoming shows including HBO’s “Mildred Pierce,” Showtime’s “Nurse Jackie” & “United States of Tara,” Starz’s “Camelot,” CBS’s “Chaos,” and ABC’s “Body of Proof.”

CHICAGO – Showtime has built a critical and award-winning reputation around strong lead characters for some of our most best TV actors: Michael C. Hall in “Dexter,” Edie Falco in “Nurse Jackie,” Mary-Louise Parker in “Weeds,” Laura Linney in “The Big C,” and Toni Collette in “United States of Tara” are only a few examples.

CHICAGO – I personally think the show is slightly inferior to its hour-partner “Nurse Jackie,” but Toni Collette does such spectacular work on “United States of Tara” that her performance alone demands you tune in. Like Edie Falco on “NJ,” the incredibly talented Collette takes a challenging role that could have turned into caricature in the hands of a lesser actress and makes it genuine.

CHICAGO – We were considering looking back at the best programming of 2008 when something dawned on us - a lot of it isn’t on the air right now and not yet available on DVD. We at HollywoodChicago.com believe in being productive and helpful, so why tell you something is great when you can’t even see the show?

Television Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Writer Diablo Cody, the Oscar-winning scribe of “Juno,” Executive Producer Steven Spielberg, and the Oscar-nominated actress Toni Collette have joined forces for the impressive and intriguing “United States of Tara,” airing this Sunday, January 18th on Showtime.

CHICAGO – Be honest, TV fans. Fall 2008 was lackluster at best. The TV season really starts now.

With the strike delaying production on established series and the development of new ones, many more programs are returning or premiering in Jan. 2009 than the average mid-season. It couldn’t have come at a more important time for the medium, too.