Super Bowl Update

Good news, soap fans: NBC has extended its long-running daytime drama Days of our Lives for an additional year, taking the show through September 2014 and past its 48th anniversary in November 2013. The extension was announced Wednesday by Jennifer Salke, president of NBC Entertainment.

The announcement was made as the show prepares to air its 12,000th episode on Friday.

“We are thrilled to announce that Days of our Lives is not going anywhere. It is NBC's longest-running drama series by far and is one of the most historic brands in television,” said Salke. “We commend Ken Corday and the entire creative team on continuing to keep the stories and characters fresh, exciting and relevant year after year.”

Executive producer Ken Corday follows in the tradition of his parents, Betty and Ted Corday, who co-created Days of our Lives and helmed the series for many years.

“After so many years in the homes and hearts of our loyal fans, I’m both humbled and elated to say it’s 2013 and we’re still going strong,” said Corday. “I am equally proud that the sense of family which my mom and dad established in our show 48 years ago, is still what drives it today. As we celebrate our 12,000th episode with an amazing cast and great support from our network, we look forward to what’s yet to come!”

In the 12,000th episode, Sami (played by Alison Sweeney, who coincidentally celebrates her 20-year anniversary on Days this week) and Rafe (Galen Gering) start getting close again. Chloe (Nadia Bjorlin) finds an ally in her quest to win Daniel (Shawn Christian) away from Jennifer (Melissa Reeves). Meanwhile, Gabi (Camila Banus) prepares to marry Nick (Blake Berris) while carrying the baby of Will (Daytime Emmy winner Chandler Massey). All three continue to struggle with what role Will should play in the baby’s life. Before the episode’s end, someone throws a huge wrench into the wedding proceedings.

Days of our Lives (Mon.-Fri. at noon CT/1 p.m. ET) first premiered as a half-hour drama in 1965 and expanded to an hour 10 years later.

In its 47-plus years, the show has garnered 215 Daytime Emmy nominations and 32 wins, including a recent Emmy win for Outstanding Writing as well as a GLAAD Award win for Outstanding Daily Drama. The show, set in the fictitious midwestern town of Salem, focuses on three core families ― the Bradys, the Hortons and the DiMeras.

Fox made two major announcements this morning regarding its programming plans.

First ― and most importantly for fans of the show ― the network announced that it has renewed the hit series Bones for its upcoming ninth season.

“After more than 150 episodes, Bones continues to be one of television’s most dynamic and consistent dramas,” said Kevin Reilly, Fox's chairman of entertainment. “We at Fox, along with millions of zealous fans, look forward to seeing where the incredible creative team takes the series next season.”

Bones returns with all-new episodes, beginning with a special two-hour winter premiere on Monday, Jan. 14 (7 p.m. CT / 8 p.m. ET). In the episode, “The Diamond in the Rough/The Archeologist in the Cocoon,” the Jeffersonian team investigates the death of a professional ballroom dancer who was murdered three days before her audition on a popular dancing competition show. In order to solve the case, Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Booth (David Boreanaz) go undercover as dance competitors to see if they can find potential suspects. Then, the team investigates the murder of a well-known archeologist with a questionable reputation, who came upon a career-defining discovery right before his death.

Fox's second announcement of the day is a new Saturday late-night program block.

Animation Domination High-Def, Fox's new alternative animated programming block, will premiere July 27 (10-11:30 p.m. CT / 11 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET). As part of the network’s overall Animation Domination High-Def initiative, the late-night block will serve as the on-air component of Fox's digital, multi-platform animation network.

In its debut season, Animation Domination High-Def will feature a number of new quarter-hour animated series, including Axe Cop, based on the hit graphic novel; High School USA!, created by Dino Stamatopoulos (“Community”); and the untitled Lucas Brothers project, from identical twin comedians Kenny and Keith Lucas (aka The Lucas Brothers). The network initially has ordered six quarter hours of each show. Additional scheduling and programming information will be announced later.

Building on its more than 20 years of animation domination, Fox Broadcasting Company created the Animation Domination High-Def unit to oversee the development and production of alternative animated series, shorts and user-adapted material for its brand-new late-prime animated programming block and new digital multi-platform network. The digital channel will extend across platforms such as Web, mobile apps, game consoles and Video on Demand.

Led by former Adult Swim executive Nick Weidenfeld, the unit develops and produces original animated shorts and series, building a clear bridge for talent to develop and grow ideas in the digital arena and organically move them into the mainstream. Producer Hend Baghdady (“Community,” “The Andy Milonakis Show,” “Crank Yankers”) is the executive in charge of production for the new division.  Under their leadership, the unit will develop and produce an ambitious slate of original animated shorts and series to run both on-air and online.

Series descriptions follow the jump.

Fox announced on Monday that the network has ordered a third season of The X Factor.

“I couldn't be happier about The X Factor already being renewed for another season,” said Simon Cowell. “I am so proud of the show and the team who have made it this season."

“This season, Simon and the producers took an already strong show and made it absolutely fantastic,” said Mike Darnell, Fox's president of Alternative Entertainment. “We feel great about the show and I’m thrilled to bring it back next year for Season Three.”

Season to date,  the show is averaging a 3.9 rating among adults 18-49 and 10.6 million total viewers.  The show is a Top 15 this fall among adults 18-49 and 18-34. It's also a Top 5 entertainment program among teens this season.

Following schedule changes due to the rain-delayed MLB NLCS game last week, the highly anticipated conclusion of the “Judges’ Homes” round of The X Factor will air at a special time Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. CT (9:30 ET). Simon Cowell, Demi Lovato, L.A. Reid and Britney Spears will reveal the 16 acts among the Teens, Young Adults, Groups and Over 25s categories that will continue in the competition.

Next week, the Top 16 acts will perform on a special live two-and-a-half hour show, hosted by Khloé Kardashian Odom and Mario Lopez, on Thursday, Nov. 1 (7 p.m. CT/8 ET).  The live shows continue on a special night on Sunday, Nov. 4 (7 p.m. CT/8 ET) with additional performances and the announcement of the Season Two finalists.

Big Brother, the summer reality hit, has been renewed for its 15th edition, to be broadcast next summer on CBS.

Since premiering on CBS in the summer of 2000, the show has consistently finished among the summer's top-rated series in young demographics. This summer's edition is averaging 6.79 million viewers, 2.5/08 in adults 18-49, 3.0/08 in adults 25-54 and 1.7/06 in adults 18-34.

The show, hosted by Julie Chen, follows a group of people living together in a house outfitted with more than 52 cameras and 95 microphones recording their every move, 24 hours a day.  Each week, the Houseguests vote someone out of the house. The last remaining Houseguest will receive the grand prize of $500,000.

Big Brother spans all platforms, from on-air to online and on cable.   Online content, including full length episodes and highlight clips, are available at CBS.com.  Additionally, CBS and RealNetworks provide 24/7 streaming video from inside the Big Brother house.  On cable, viewers can continue their live look inside the Big Brother house with Big Brother: After Dark on Showtime 2.

On social media websites, Big Brother is one of television's most socially engaged series. This year on Twitter, Big Brother has had five times the average number of tweets per episode (according to BlueFin Labs) compared to last season.