David Bianculli

It's mid-season in the world of television, and that means some are being cancelled -- or simply phased out.

The new TV version of Once Upon a Mattress, which will be broadcast Sunday night on ABC, features the return of Carol Burnett.

A new Showtime cable miniseries tells the story of Muslim terrorists in America. The controversial thriller Sleeper Cell premieres Sunday night.

On the upcoming live episode of NBC's The West Wing, Congressman Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) and Senator Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) will meet in a one-hour presidential debate. Sunday evening, their conflict will be aired live.

Henry Winkler plays a doctor on the new CBS sitcom Out of Practice, which premiered last month and can be seen Mondays at 9:30 p.m. Winkler also spent two seasons playing a lawyer on the TV series Arrested Development.

Mitch Hurwitz is the creator and executive producer of the TV series Arrested Development. The FOX show, which has won critical praise for its irreverently dysfunctional family, airs on Monday nights.

The major networks and several cable units are offering up new seasons in September. A new HBO comedy, Extras, stars Ricky Gervais, who remains best known for starring in and helping to create the original British version of The Office.

Since 1999, Mariska Hargitay has played a police detective specializing in sex crimes on the NBC drama, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the premiere of the new season of Lost. The ABC series about a group of castaways on an island is going into its second season.

Host and Fresh Air TV critic David Bianculli comments on television programming in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.