HBO announced a fifth season for the drama “Big Love,” giving it a 10-episode order for season five. The series, which stars Bill Paxton, begins production in the summer, and the new season premieres next winter.

FOX announced “So You Think You Can Dance” opens a seventh season with a two-hour premiere on May 27 at 8 p.m.

Syfy picked up the rights to “Merlin,” a British series from FremantleMedia. The series premiers in April. The first season aired on NBC last summer, but the second series will also air for the first time ever in the US.

Actress Brit Morgan will play Debbie Pelt, the psycho ex-girlfriend of Alcide in HBO’s “True Blood.” Emily Rose, from NBC’s “ER” will star in the new Syfy drama “Haven” based on Stephen King’s “The Colorado Kid.” Rose plays an FBI agent who comes to a small town in Manie to investigate a murder. Supernatural stuff happens.

A few interesting shows tonight. FOX has a special cooking show one-hit called “Gordon Ramsay: Cooking Live” at 9 p.m. following part 1 of the finale of “So You Think You Can Dance,” which is at 8.

A&E has a few odd premieres tonight in “Psychic Kids” at 9 p.m. and “Paranormal State” at 10.

NBC set dates for the return of its sitcoms before and after the Winter Olympics. “The Biggest Loser” returns January 5 at 8 p.m. “Chuck” returns January 11 at 8. “Paranthood” at 9 p.m. March 1. “The Marriage Ref” premieres March 14 at 8, and “The Celebrity Apprentice” at 9.

At the same time as the return of “Chuck” to the tube, NBC is launching a social media game around the show called “Mission” Chuck Me Out,” for fans to earn points by tracking mentions of the show on Twitter, MySpace and Facebook.

Showtime reported strong numbers for the “Dexter” season four finale on Sunday. The show put together the largest audience in 10 years for the premium channel with 2.57 million total viewers. Showtime’s “Californication” also reported a 71 percent increase in viewership over last season’s finale. The season four finale of that show on Sunday garnered 1.055 million viewers and was the most-viewed episode of “Californication.”

E! reports “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” season four premiere on Sunday brought in more than double the viewers as its season three premiere.

History Channel is putting together an eight-hour miniseries about the storied Kennedy family. “The Kennedys” will debut in 2011 as History’s first scripted show.

One thing you might have missed Friday: “Dollhouse” was on FOX with two new episodes. The network is squeezing it out, to get rid of the canceled show with a cult following. FOX had a 1.5/3 rating on Friday, putting it in fifth place behind shows like “Law and Order” on NBC and “En Nombre Del Amor” on Univision.”

The premiere season has just about wound down at this point, but we have a few cable shows on tap tonight.

Animal Planet premieres “Weird, True and Freaky” at 9 p.m., with “Lost Tapes” to follow at 10. MTV has some reality shows starting tonight; most notably is the reality-drama “The Hills” at 10 with “The City” to follow at 10:30.

Actor Omar Miller is joining CSI: Miami as a regular starting with the October 5 episode. Miller will play Walter Simmons, an art chief from Louisiana who joins the crime fighting CSI team.

CBS had the best night on Friday, according to Nielsen, with premieres of “Ghost Whisperer,” “Medium” and “Numb3rs” scoring big on the ranking charts. We predict that will continue tonight as CBS has new episodes of three of its biggest shows, “NCIS,” the new “NCIS: Los Angeles,” and “The Good Wife.”

We wonder how long “NCIS: Los Angeles” will continue to air on Tuesdays. The two NCIS shows are hits, and we have to assume one will get moved to bolster a slower weekday.

“Dancing with the Stars” is on ABC tonight and “So You Think You Can Dance” is on FOX.

Finally, no it’s not the 90s, but new episodes of the new “90210,” and “Melrose Place” are on The CW tonight.

By the way: Because of a reporting error, we said “NCIS: Los Angeles” aired on Mondays. It airs on Tuesdays.

It wasn’t long ago that audiences fell in love with Kherington Payne’s performances on the hit dance series, “So You Think You Can Dance.” After an upsetting vote off toward the end of season four, many fans couldn’t help but wonder what would come next for the bright young dancer.

So perhaps it’s fitting that her emergence on the big screen would come in the remake of the classic film “Fame” a story of hard work and big dreams. Set in a New York school for performing arts, the original 80s musical gave audiences an eyeful into the competitive world of theater, dance and music.

In finding out more about the film, Blast spoke with Payne on her experience on the set as well as the dancer’s decision to take up acting.

BLAST: How did you land this chance in working on the film? What was the process?

KHERINGTON PAYNE: Being on the show, “So You Think You Can Dance” the filmmakers saw me on the show. They wanted dancers to audition, a bunch of dancers actually. So I ended up going for it, got a callback, and a week later I got the part. So it was very cool seeing how “So You Think You Can Dance” can open doors for you.

BLAST: What was the difference for you going from each week of “So You Think You Can Dance” to the film set of “Fame?”

KP: They were both stressful difference experiences, but both very relateable working with these great choreographers and then to these great actors.

BLAST: And were you familiar with the original movie “Fame” before doing this project?

KP: I’m familiar with the movie, but not a die hard fan because I wasn’t born in the 80s. I definitely love it. I went back and did my research once I got the part.

BLAST: You play the character of Alice on the film, she’s a bit of a firecracker, that one. What part of you connects with her?

KP: Yes, it was really fun playing Alice. She’s not completely stuck-up even though she’s very upper class. But it was easy playing her because her dreams and goals, the hard work she puts into dancing is exactly like mine.

BLAST: And what was it like working with the different cast members in the film because it’s very much divided between acting, singing, and dance? How was integrating your time with each of them, was the transition fluid?

KP: It was very fluid, and we worked off of each others talents. And to watch some of them sing was amazing because I can’t sing, it’s amazing. We’re all very supportive of each other. And worked off each other very well.

BLAST: It must seem surreal, like life reflecting art, considering “Fame” is about achieving your dreams, and you’re kind of at that place right now.

KP: Yeah it’s very surreal. And all of us are very much like our characters, and have the same dreams. And we (the cast) all have wanted to be these great dancers, singers, and actors. Our characters are very much the same way. And it’s very surreal for me that I’m in this position right because it’s exactly how I went through it.

BLAST: And amongst your cast members, who did you bond most with while filming? I know that not all the different talents’ storylines overlap.

KP: Yeah, you can’t film with everyone. It’s not a film about ten best friends. (laughs) You’re filming with certain people throughout the film. Most of my scenes are with (actor) Walter Perez (“Victor Taveras” in the film. And I got really close with him, and mainly because he’s my love interest in the film. We became really good friends, I spent most of my days on the set with him. But everyone else, we all got along well.

BLAST: With a lot of different high profile names like Debbie Allen, in the film, was there ever a moment where you felt starstruck?

KP: Starstruck for sure. And all these great actors in the film, we all aspire to be as great as them. They were approachable, and sweet and an honor to work with these people.

BLAST: What are your favorite moments in the film?

KP: I definitely think “Black and Gold” It’s a dance I perform in the film, it’s kind of Alice’s big senior dance number. And it was so much fun to work on and film. It’s a really entertaining moment in the film.

BLAST: You grew up in southern California, and California is known for arts and entertainment. Were you as competitive growing up as your character Alice?

KP: I grew up in Orange County. The competition (there) in the dance world, there are so many talented dancers. It’s kind of like a small community of dancers, and there’s so many studios. You grow up with these kids, going to the same competitions and it’s very competitive. So I can definitely relate to the characters in “Fame”, how competitive it was to get into that school.

BLAST: In the previews there have shown you doing different kinds of dance. What is your favorite kind of dance?

KP: On the film, I felt more connected as a Jazz dancer than a contemporary dancer. But my strong points are both contemporary and jazz. In the movie, I felt like I was more of a strong jazz dancer.

BLAST: This is the first time people will get to see you do some acting. It must be somewhat of a challenge since it’s still new for you.

KP: Dancing is like acting, but it’s on a whole different level. It was challenging for me, but it was a great learning experience for me. It made me realize I have this new passion for something.

BLAST: And so with acting, is that something you’re going to be doing more of?

KP: Definitely. I’m nowhere near where I want to be in my acting career, but it gave me a start. It opened my eyes to see what else is out there. I’m definitely going to be taking acting classes, and getting a coach then buckle down.

BLAST: Any particular area of acting you feel drawn to?

KP: Honestly, because this is so new to me, I want to try everything. And I haven’t found what works for me, or what my favorite (type) is right now. With genres, I don’t know, I like romantic comedies and actresses like Cameron Diaz and Reese Witherspoon. I love them.

BLAST: “Fame” is about big dreams, and there are a lot of people out there who will watch this movie and hope to be where you are right now. Any advice for them?

KP: Do not get discouraged, if this is something you really want to do whether it’s in the performing arts or not. Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. You have to really work hard at it. If it’s your passion. You have to put the effort towards it, and hard work. It’ll better your chances in the future.

“Fame” is in theaters now. It and also stars Kay Panabaker, Walter Perez, Debbie Allen, Kelsey Grammer, Naturi Naughton, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, Bebe Neuwirth, Charles S. Dutton, Asher Book, Collins Pennie and Megan Mullally.

Thousands flocked to Boston University’s Agganis Arena last week where the “So You Think You Can Dance” Tour gave its final performance in Boston.

The tour, headlined by the top 11 dancers from the show’s fourth season, consists of the best and favorite routines from last season.

“I like the fact that they have the best dancers and the best routines,” said Barry Cosloy, an audience member at the show.

The show was emceed by video recordings of Cat Deeley, the show’s host, and Nigel Lythgoe, one of the show’s judges, as well as by the cast themselves.

One of the dancers, Katee Shean of San Jose, Calif., said that each of the dancers on tour had to come up with their own lines to host the event. Shean was the favorite female dancer from the fourth season of “So You Think You Can Dance.”

“So You Think You Can Dance” is now holding auditions for its fifth season on the air. The show was created by Simon Fuller, creator of the “American Idol” franchise. “SYTYCD” is organized similar to “Idol” – it airs twice a week and the American public vote the first night for their favorite performers and tune in the next night to see who didn’t make the cut. While the show has judges, it is the viewers of the show who decide who stays and who goes.

“I changed a lot [on the show] personally I guess,” said Mark Kanemura of Honolulu, Hawaii, another one of the show’s dancers. “[You realize] you’re capable of so much more than you thought you’re capable of.”

The show tests the versatility of each dancer by forcing them to perform outside their comfort zone. Of the 11 dancers at the performance Thursday, eight said that they were trained as contemporary dancers and two said they were trained as hip-hop dancers, with dancer Gev Monukian of Utah the only one who was a break dancer. However, “SYTYCD” made the dancers perform dances that they were not familiar with under limited time frames. Each contestant only had a week to learn their routines in the television show, so dancers who were unfamiliar with ballroom dancing or the samba or Broadway dancing had to apply themselves even harder.

For the tour, the dancers and show producers took the best routines from the show and chose those as the ones to perform. Monukian said that the dancers practiced for three weeks before the tour began.

“I think [the tour] is better because they have more time to practice and perfect the routine,” said Cosloy.

The tour has been traveling around the country for over a month now. The troupe performed at 28 venues previously and has 12 performances left, as shown on Ticketmaster.

“It just goes by so quickly,” said Monukian.

Dancer Will Wingfield of Nashville said that each set of dances changes night by night, so that each venue gets a different performance than the one previous.

One of the most memorable performances of Thursday’s show was the Bollywood routine, where Shean and Wingfield came out and performed a classic Indian dance, and then were followed by the rest of the cast as they performed an impressive and beautiful ensemble Bollywood routine.

“I think in real life it makes you appreciate how athletic it all is,” said Holli Roth, another audience member.

Roth, who has watched the past three seasons of the show, was at the performance with her mother, who does not watch the show.

“It’s different. It’s fun,” said Roth about the show. “It does make you appreciate the camera work [on TV].”

The dancers hold an optimistic view of their futures after the conclusion of the tour and the end of their time with “SYTYCD.” Each expressed the sentiment that they expected to continue dancing after the tour ended.

“Who knows what the future holds,” said Wingfield.