'Big Love' Season 4 teaser trailer revealed

Well, it's almost Thanksgiving, which makes it practically Christmas, which means that 2010 is just around the bend. And that could mean just one thing: new episodes of "Big Love!" The Emmy-nominated extended family drama returns for its fourth season Jan. 10 on HBO. And to whet your appetite, here's a teaser trailer featuring plural marrieds Bill, Barb, Nikki and Margene floating around in outer darkness:

Anyone else excited for this new season? Who's ready for some more "Love"? 

— Allyssa Lee

Exclusive: Sissy Spacek to join 'Big Love'

Major casting alert: Oscar-winning actress Sissy Spacek is joining HBO's "Big Love." She'll play a powerful Washington D.C. lobbyist in a multi-episode arc starting in the third episode of next season.

It's quite the coup for the HBO drama. Spacek has a whopping six Academy Award nominations for her memorable roles in films such as "Carrie," "Crimes of the Heart," and "In the Bedroom," and she won the Best Actress statuette for her indelible portrayal of Loretta Lynn in 1980's "Coal Miner's Daughter." The  actress was just at the Toronto film festival promoting her latest feature, "Get Low." 

Spacek is just the latest addition to "Big Love"'s fourth season; other actors cast include Bella Thorne, who will replace Jolean Wejbe as Barb and Bill's youngest daughter Teenie, and Ben Koldyke as Dale, a state-appointed trustee and love interest for Alby (Matt Ross).

The Emmy-nominated HBO drama is slated to begin its fourth season early next year.

-- Allyssa Lee

Photo credit: Getty Images

'Big Love' creators talk Emmys, Season 4 surprises

File it under things that are awesome: “Big Love” has been nominated for a best drama Emmy! It’s sweet vindication for fans of the acclaimed HBO series who have seen this extended family drama finish its strongest season yet.

And the show runners don’t find it too shabby, either. “We're beyond thrilled to be recognized, finally, and honored to be a part of a really amazing group of nominees,” wrote “Big Love” creators/executive producers Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer in an e-mail. “Honestly, we feel just to be nominated is already to have won. And to be nominated, for a first time, for our third season, suggests to us it really is about the work -- not the buzz or the hype, but the bone-crushing, sleep-depriving, punishing, yet exhilarating work that all of us invest in the show.”

The news is a little bittersweet, however, as the series failed to garner any nominations aside from best drama. “Of course, we're disappointed that our actors, writers, directors and creative team were not nominated,” Olsen and Scheffer wrote. “But we're hopeful this nomination opens the door for a fuller, longer look by the Academy next year. A show really can't be recognized as being superior without recognizing the superiority of its constituent parts. In fact, we think our show is so strong in all of its elements, from acting to costumes, music and editing (not to mention writing), that we're confident it really is just a matter of time, and that due recognition will come.”

'Big Love': Season 3 insight, Season 4 scoop and why we're wild about Harry

“Harry Dean Stanton rocks,” declared one audience member while filing out of the “Big Love” panel at PaleyFest on Wednesday night. And the 82-year-old actor sure kept things lively during the event (moderated by our very own Mary McNamara) -- alternating between bemoaning his alter ego’s death and waxing philosophical, and in effect stealing the show in between.
 
In addition to Stanton and the show’s creators, Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer, most of the main cast members of the critically acclaimed HBO drama were in attendance, save Ginnifer Goodwin (Margene), whose unexplained absence spurred sighs of disappointment from the crowd. Turns out she, along with Amanda Seyfried (Sarah) and Mary Kay Place (Adaleen), were off filming movies. Some highlights:

Grant him peace As previously reported,  Roman Grant is, in fact, dead. “Dead is dead on this show,” confirmed Olsen. Good thing Harry Dean Stanton isn't. In the first of many musings, the venerable actor responded to Roman’s demise by declaring, “I’m famous and a legend, and they kill me in the series, and why?…Christ rose from the dead. And where do you go after you die? What were you before you were born? I’m playing a patriarch and all, ... so everything I do is ordained by God, and I’m a gangster, similar to the Sopranos, actually, and all religions are gangs to me and I have no beliefs. I am nothing. But I mean that in a good way.”

Scheffer said Roman's hulking presence will linger next season -- in spirit, if not in body. '“He was a looming presence. And he’s still a looming presence,” declared Scheffer. “From the grave, let’s say, all things are coming to light that are hidden.”

The deal with Ana “She was our Yoko,” proclaimed Jeanne Tripplehorn (Barb). Even though this fourth wife was married and divorced within the course of an episode -- “If he hadn’t pressed her on those tips, she might still be with us!” said Bill Paxton ruefully -- Paxton (Bill) is not closed to the possibility to furthering the Henrickson clan. “I hope there’s going to be more wives,” he said.

Tony Soprano and those other tough guys are muscled out

Somewhere, in a prop warehouse owned by HBO, there is a big pile of guns. Dusty, unused, bewildered perhaps by their strange and sudden obsolescence, they can only wait and wonder why premium subscriber television, a business they created, built by God out of nothing, has simply abandoned them.

 Where once Tony Soprano, "Deadwood's" Al Swearengen and " The Wire's" Jimmy McNulty ruled their hellish fiefdoms with a righteous love of the f-word and a fistful of bullets, now a sweet-voiced Botswanan lady detective solves crimes without a cellphone much less a weapon, a sassy Southern gal explores the nature of love with a very sad and sensitive vampire and the once-rough-and-tumble hunk Gabriel Byrne sits around listening to a bunch of neurotic New Yorkers talk about their feelings.

The only characters in recent months who seemed to appreciate the importance of violence in the culture was a group of off-the-grid polygamists, and most of their show is dedicated to exploring topics like love and faith and the meaning of family.

These are shows that redefine the concept of adult television. Somehow, over the years, "mature" has become synonymous with profanity, sexual explicitness and graphic violence. None of which, by the way, are necessarily a bad thing. But "mature themes" don't begin and end with adultery and murder. While the networks are still trawling for the elusive youth vote with shows like "90210" and " Harper's Island," HBO is unapologetically making television for grown-ups.

Read More: Tony Soprano and those other tough guys are muscled out

(Photo courtesy HBO)

'Big Love': Q&A with co-creator Will Scheffer

Those suffering from "Big Love" withdrawl, take heart: The writers have already started prepping for Season 4. And while its January premiere date is still a ways away, Will Scheffer (a creator of the series, along with Mark V. Olsen) was gracious enough to talk to us about the shocking Season 3 finale, answer some burning questions (where was Teenie?) and give us a taste of what to expect next year.

Is Roman really dead?
Roman is 100% absolutely completely dead. There’s no trick in terms of, he was pretending to be dead, or it was a hallucination. He is gone. His spirit has left the earth. ... No one can bring him back from the dead. But I think that doesn’t take away from the impact of what his loss is going to mean to our characters. What the loss of a father means to Alby, and to Nicki, and what the loss of that antagonism means to Bill, our main protagonist.

What kinds of responses are you getting to his death?
I figured some people would respect us for a bold choice, but that most of the fan base would be furious, because he really is a beloved, you know? He’s Harry Dean Stanton, he’s nothing short of superb. I thought people were going to really be spitting on us on the street. Not that we get out on the street that much. But from reading the boards, I haven’t seen a lot of real heinous anger at us. Yet.

What was the thought behind Joey killing him off?
As we get further and further into this series, we knew that we had to really make bold choices for all of our characters. Some of them had to kind of be the same but change, but some of them can really make big changes, and Joey was someone who we thought needed that. He needed to be put on a course of action that was going to take him in a whole new direction. And we felt he certainly had the most vengeful heart with Roman for what he did to Kathy. And if we took him all the way there, who knows what’s going to happen next year? He could end up throwing his hat into the compound ring, you know, along with Alby. And J.J., now, is another antagonist. And we just thought it was time for him to have a fall from grace.

The kiss Roman gave to Bill in the season ender was powerful, if a bit ambiguous. Was he handing over his power?

Harry Dean Stanton's 'Big Love'

Last week's explosive finale of "Big Love's" third season offered many revelations, but perhaps none quite as shocking as the death of polygamist patriarch Roman Grant.

It was a seismic shift that registered on screen and off, for Roman's passing was a send-off not only to the critically acclaimed HBO drama's public enemy No. 1, but also to Harry Dean Stanton, who plays him. The esteemed actor endeared himself to "Big Love" fans as the righteous, megalomaniacal, charismatic head of the Juniper Creek compound who served as main antagonist for lead character Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton).

"It was a calculated risk," explained "Big Love" co-creator Will Scheffer. "HBO was nervous about it: They didn't want to lose Harry, and for God's sakes, we didn't want to lose Harry. . . . But we felt we had to go bold and take away that character that might have been one of the most precious to us, and let everyone deal with the loss."

Scheffer maintained that Roman's deliverance was necessary to move the series forward. "Other characters have the possibility of growing," he said. "We never wanted there to be any sort of redemption for Roman. That was not in the cards for him, ever. So there was really no place to go."

Read more Harry Dean Stanton's 'Big Love'

(Photo courtesy HBO)

'Big Love': The truth shall set you free

It was quite the explosive finish to an already action-packed season. This episode, titled “Sacrament,” had everything one could wish for — tension, redemption, a big bang and a big death — tying up enough story lines to keep one satisfied and giving enough to chew on before the next season.

It began similarly to the season opener, a chaotic scene that launched us right into the midst of another Henrickson morning. But save for a breakfast order without any egg juice left, this scene betrayed an air of solemnity. And sure enough, it’s separation day: Bill was helping Nicki move out of the house and into one of Don’s apartments. Only, Nicki had decided to make a beeline for the compound rather than be relegated to a ratty old two-bedroom.

There was still a lot going on without her, however. Kim Lee (could they really not come up with a better name for an Asian girl?) was still being held for ransom, and Bill was crafting his own crazy schemes to get her back to Ted and Cindy, arrest the Greenes and indict Roman for Kathy's death and get back in Joey's good graces. To his credit, Bill astutely figured out that Selma was the weak link in the Greene brigade. Turns out  Selma unveiled a little Greene monster when it came to Hollis and other women (like Kathy), and she would rather get Kim Lee out of the picture than have that little minx steal her seat and play with her mimeograph. “He dotes on her!” she moaned to big brother Roman.

Roman, for his part, sure did leave his mark on this hour.

Bless this 'Big Love' mess

Sunday's episode caps a season delving deep into the characters' complicated hearts.

HBO's Emmy-free and too long under-appreciated “Big Love” came out of its yearlong, writers-strike-created hiatus like the buffed-up guy tired of eating sand.

But instead of going for fireballs and kidnappings (OK, there were a few of those, but they were totally incidental), cancer scares and intra-cast murder attempts (well, yes, there were those too, but again, not the point), creators Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer took their strange and startling American fable to new heights, and depths.

All of which came to a DefCon 1 "conclusion" in the season finale Sunday night. Oh, there were several moments of "closure" in the final minutes, but that was just the writers handing a bit of narrative Xanax to keep viewers from developing unsightly nervous tics while they wait to see what will really happen next season.

And not just in terms of plot. "Big Love" has become richer in tone and message. What had been quaint -- the mob-like machinations of the compound at Juniper Creek -- grew dark and murderous; what had been solid and structured -- the Henricksons' prefab polygamous corner of the universe -- collapsed into chaos.

Read the full story here.

-- Mary McNamara

(Photo courtesy HBO)

'Big Love': The heart of darkness

The end is near, "Big Love" fans. The penultimate episode of this season has come to pass, and it looks as though the family has gone the way of the McConkey barn: in shambles. Everybody has been cast into their own outer darkness. The Henricksons parted with Nicki, Joey parted with Bill and, most achingly, Barb parted with her beloved church. It was an hour filled with heartbreaking separation and uneasy alliances. (And one that received a lot of attention for depicting a sacred Mormon ceremony.)

Nicki, as we all know, had been banished from the Henrickson household and had taken refuge in her old room at the Big House. Alby, whose confidence had been growing in leaps and bounds, pampered her with fresh calico dresses, an offer of Adaleen’s Hummer and a chance to partner with him in his continued bid for compound power (much to spurned wife Lura’s dismay). And though Nicki demurred that she doesn’t belong at the compound anymore, she may not have anywhere else to go, as a refreshingly frank Barb, still stinging from the betrayal and her own worries of being excommunicated from the LDS church, wanted nothing to do with her (“You’ve just driven the love right out of me, and I’m detaching”). And Bill, either because of his feelings of being cuckolded or his own moral uncertainty, has come to the decision to have her unsealed. “There’s something in you that’s deeply broken, and I don’t know how to fix it,” he said gravely. Though if his unsettling fantasy sequences reveal any sort of truth, he loves Nicki more than he can say and feels more than a little complicit in this whole debacle. I can’t tell if his decision to be unsealed from Nicki is a result of his not wanting to deal with his own feelings of failure or if he really does feel that she is sowing unrest in his family.

(If unsealed, then Nicki will have an 0 for 2 record, as lurking J.J. reminded us at the Big House. And if his creepy mug — so effectively played by Zeljko Ivanek — weren't enough of a reminder of her first marriage, she had a daughter with him as well?)

Bill himself felt as though the heavenly Father was throwing every trial in the book at him. And there is no denying Bill is troubled, as was made clear on his haggard face. As Barb so astutely stated, “We’re just free-floating out here. ... We have no structure, we have no church.” Barb came to him in a moment of crisis and fear, and he hollowly told her to have faith. But in what? In him? What moral compass does he follow? Bill insisted on ending his marriage with Nicki but then slept with her anyway. He trades alliances as easily as he does his morals, and it’s as though his quest for power is stripping him from his true self, whoever that is. Does he really feel that strongly about the Woodruff document, or is it just his ballooning pride and hunger for power that made him insist that Ted get the church to admit of its existence? Bill quickly gave up his stake in the document and made a deal with the D.A. to lift Roman’s probation in order to get Hollis to give up Cindy and Ted’s kidnapped daughter.