Q: I love the show “Parenthood,” and at the end of every season, I’m always hoping NBC will bring it back for another year. I read in your column that “Smash” will be premiering during the “Parenthood” time slot, midseason. Does this mean that “Parenthood” is being canceled or are they moving it to a new time?
A: Neither. “Parenthood” will wrap its season on Jan. 22. Then we’ll likely have to wait until May (again) to see if the show gets renewed. Ratings have been ticking up some this season, so there is reason to be optimistic that it will be back.
Q: I loved the Discovery Channel’s reality show “Deadliest Catch.” While I know that the show has ended, are there any plans to air reruns of it in syndication on any other channel?
A: “Deadliest Catch” has not been canceled — it’s just between seasons. “Deadliest Catch” will be back for a new season on Discovery in April.
Q: I recently signed up for Hulu Plus and I’m not totally happy about it. First off, I pay for the service, so why do I still have to watch commercials? Also, some of my favorite shows — “30 Rock,” ‘‘Happy Endings” and “60 Minutes” — aren’t even offered. Why not?
A: There should be no expectation that “60 Minutes” would be offered since it’s not on regular Hulu (Hulu does not have a deal with CBS for its shows to appear on the site). But it is surprising that “30 Rock” and “Happy Endings,” which are on regular Hulu, don’t show up on Hulu Plus.
Here’s my understanding of that conundrum: Due to content-rights issues, not all of the Hulu.com content is available on the devices that Hulu Plus plays on. It’s a device issue and some content providers don’t want their shows viewable on mobile platforms. That’s why content available on Hulu.com is different from that offered on the Hulu Plus subscription service.
Hulu says it includes ads on Hulu Plus to reduce the monthly subscription price.
Q: Has MTV announced if we’re going to see another run of new “Beavis & Butt-Head” episodes like what we saw last year, or has MTV pulled the plug on those?
A: Back in April, an MTV spokeswoman said no decisions had been made. Now it looks like the show won’t be back.
“There are no immediate plans for new ‘Beavis & Butt-Head’ episodes on MTV, but you never know,” said an MTV spokesperson in an emailed response to Aaron’s query.
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