Spread the word and “stuff the ballot box” for several deserving CW series to receive national recognition at the first awards show of 2010.  The deadline to vote for your favorite People’s Choice nominees is Tuesday, Dec. 8, and this competition encourages the public to cast a ballot as often as possible.  Just log on to peopleschoice.com and easily click through the categories—but note that the only way to vote for Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show and Favorite Talk Show is by texting “VOTE” to 24475.  This new wrinkle is important since Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, Lost and The Tyra Banks Show are among those nominated.  Here’s a rundown of the choices involving WBNX stars or shows:

 TV Drama:   Lost
TV Comedy:   The Office and Desperate Housewives
TV Actor:   Matthew Fox (Lost)
TV Actress:   Blake Lively (Gossip Girl) and Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU)  
TV Comedy Actor:   Steve Carell (The Office)
TV Comedy Actress:   Eva Longoria Parker (Desperate Housewives)
TV Obsession:  Gossip Girl
TV Sci-Fi/Fantasy:  Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries and Lost
TV Talk Show:  The Tyra Banks Show
New TV Drama:   The Vampire Diaries and Melrose Place
Movie Actress:  Jennifer Aniston (Friends)
Independent Movie:  Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail
Music collaboration:  Cobra Starship & Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl)

Awards Season is fast approaching and the one ceremony which relies on fan balloting needs our early input.  The 36^th annual People’s Choice Awards want to condense their list of potential nominees in each category from a dozen to the top five.  There are ten television-related groups, plus 12 for movies and nine for music.  If your favorite is not already listed, voters can also write in their own choices.  Here are the current WBNX-related names which appear on the ballot: 

Favorite Competition Show:  America’s Next Top Model

Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show:  Smallville, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries

TV Comedy:  The Office, Desperate Housewives

TV Comedy Actress:  Jenna Fisher, Sarah Chalke, Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria

TV Comedy Actor:  Steve Carell, Zach Braff

TV Drama:  Lost, Law & Order: SVU

TV Drama Actress:  Blake Lively, Evangeline Lilly, Mariska Hargitay

TV Obsession:  Gossip Girl

TV Talkshow:  The Tyra Banks Show

Movie Actress:  Jennifer Aniston

Breakout Movie Actor:  Ed Helms (The Office)

Breakout Movie Actress:  Rashida Jones (The Office)

Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail received several nominations.

We know there are other CW stars and series you’d like to include, as well.  To take part in this month-long nomination process, log onto peopleschoice.com and vote often.  In December, you’ll be given the chance to select winners in each category, who will then be honored on January 6.

It was a busy—and exciting—weekend at The CW, with several breaking news stories. Here’s a quick recap:

• Laura Leighton will reprise her role as devious schemer “Sydney” on the new Melrose Place. In fact, she’s now the landlord—so Sydney can mess with the heads of all the young tenants. Fans of the original MP assumed Sydney was killed in a car accident, but c’mon…it’s a soap opera; amazing recoveries are the norm. Laura (photo, left) is married to former costar Doug Savant, who now plays “Tom Scavo” on Desperate Housewives.
• In another link to the first Melrose Place, Shaun Sipos has been cast as the sexy, spoiled bad boy son of “Jake Hansen.” WBNX viewers might remember Shaun (photo, right) from Maybe It’s Me; others know him from The Savages.
• With The CW’s half-hour Friday comedies expected to exit at the end of this year, says The Hollywood Reporter, producers of The Game will repitch the series to the network this week as a one-hour dramedy. Does this mean the May 8 episode of Everybody Hates Chris is the series finale?
• Reaper co-creators Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters just signed a two-year, seven-figure deal with another studio, and the terms include their departure from The CW series. Could Reaper return with a new creative team?

Desperate Housewives ended this past TV season as the most-watched comedy on earth with 61.5-million viewers.  The just-released figures, compiled by Eurodata TV Worldwide, are based on ratings in 51 countries with a potential 1.6 billion viewers.  This fall, the Wisteria Lane divas come to WBNX with the juicy storylines that made Bree, Lynette, Gabby, Susan and Edie an overnight sensation.  As fans of the show realize, Desperate Housewives is not your typical sitcom.  It’s probably best described as a dark comedy with many dramatic elements.  The white picket fences and picturesque homes mask some rather twisted plots, including murder, extortion, suicide, infidelity, imprisonment and arson…for starters!  Of course, the cheerful demeanor of the leading ladies, especially Marcia Cross, provides a humorous counterbalance to each mystery or disaster.  Set to begin its fifth season in September, Desperate Housewives will borrow a page from One Tree Hill, skipping the characters ahead five years into the future.  The first 86 episodes, however, contain some of wildest prime-time entertainment ever, earning its status as a cultural phenomenon and the world’s most popular comedy.