Why is this man smiling so darn hard? Because he just heard the great news. Not only has FX announced the April 7 premiere date for the fifth season of his smokin’ series Rescue Me, but also the network’s order for a sixth season of 18 hot episodes.
Also revealed in the press release is the launch of star Denis Leary’s 11-City live Rescue Me Comedy Tour, which will stop by New York City’s famed Radio City Music Hall on Thursday, April 2, to benefit The Leary Firefighters Foundation and present a screening of Rescue Me’s Season Five premiere. …read more

I would love to be around on set when the naughty Rescue Me cast is at work, and last week, two days before Christmas, that’s just what some photographers got to do near 145th Street in New York City’s Harlem.
The lucky bystanders managed to catch star Denis Leary and his colleagues John Scurti (Kenny Shea) and Mike Lombardi (Mike Silletti) as they filmed a few really authentic-looking scenes. One photo features Leary’s Tommy Gavin, in full firefighter gear, leaning out of a building’s open window while smoke surrounds him. We’ll learn what fire they put out — and …read more

Bravo! Bravo! Rescue Me rocks, and so did this summer’s very entertaining minisode series.
Last night’s tenth installment “Smoke” is also the final installment, at least for now, and it ended the series of shorts on a high. In slow motion and without a single word uttered throughout aside from musical vocalization, “Smoke” has nothing to do with what you’d assume given the title and the main characters’ occupation. Yet, the 4½-minute mini-masterpiece still manages to go from being initially terrifying to ultimately funny.
I really hope Denis Leary & Crew give us another round of minisodes in …read more

Heads-up, Rescue Me fans. Tonight’s 10pm EST installment of the first ever summer minisode series, “Smoke,” is the last of the bunch. I really enjoyed the weekly five-minute-or-less sagas, so I hope the Rescue Me team puts together more of the video shorts in the future.
For those who missed any of the earlier minisodes or just want to rewatch them, here’s a complete list of the videos here at Comedy Centric. Of course, you can also find them at AOL Video, Crackle, Hulu, Joost, Sprint TV for mobile devices, Tidal TV, MySpace, and YouTube.
Rescue Me Minisodes — …read more

The latest Rescue Me minisode is called “Sweat,” and it’s the second one in a row that didn’t strike my funny bone in the right places. Admittedly, I did enjoy it more than last week’s “Clue.”
This time around, Tommy and his fellow firefighters try to get a drink of fresh water while they’re cleaning up on the scene after a recent fire. Too bad for them it was slow Mike’s turn to refill the water supply, and he forgot or didn’t bother.
When Mike suggests his colleagues quench their thirst at a sidewalk hydrant instead, this leads to accusations …read more

Call me a party pooper or whatever, but the latest Rescue Me minisode “Clue” didn’t quite do it for me.
I mean do firefighters really hang out in the burning buildings they’re supposed to be securing and talk crap while waiting to take a crap? Is that even what’s actually going on in the piece? Or is this another one of Tommy’s bizarre dreams, minus all of the usual hot babes who want him so badly? I’m confused, and it doesn’t get any better the more I think about it.
If you missed the minisode, take a look at …read more

I was under the impression that the Rescue Me webisodes wouldn’t appear online until they first premiere on FX Tuesday nights at 10pm EST. But I watched the latest installment on Hulu a couple of hours before that time, and then it was taken down. Boo-boo? Limited time offering? Who knows?
The August 5 entry is back online now, though. It’s another good one called “Sandwich,” which refers to the food that Lou repeatedly attempts to eat, and his frustration when he can’t complete that simple task prompts him to give his fellow firefighters a choice …read more

The July 29 installment of the Rescue Me minisode series is the sixth, and it’s called “Supreme.” I waited and waited and waited some more last week for the Web version to get posted online, to no avail, and I finally gave up.
The plot this time around focuses on Denis Leary’s Tommy, who’s gone back to that familiar deep, dark place in his mind where every woman he wants wants him back. I guess it’s good to be Tommy … until you inevitably wake up from your fantasy.
“Supreme” follows the jump.

It’s getting kind of confusing following the order and titles of FX’s Rescue Me minisodes since different sources are listing different names and premiere dates for some of them.
I also thought the webisodes weren’t supposed to appear online until after their minisode counterparts debut on television. However, either I must be wrong or somebody slipped up because tonight’s new minisode, which doesn’t come on until 10pm EST, is already posted at Hulu. Go figure…
[NOTE: The video just expired a few minutes before 8pm EST, while I was writing the post but after I watched it, so I’ll blog …read more

Up next on FX’s fun little Rescue Me minisode series is tonight’s “Spelling.” Check it out at 10pm EST on FX if you can, and if not, no worries. The minisode will miraculously transform into a webisode overnight and will be available tomorrow at AOL Video, Crackle, Hulu, Joost, Sprint TV for mobile devices, Tidal TV, MySpace, and YouTube.
In the meantime, last week’s installment “Juiced” follows the jump. I was so thrilled to learn it doesn’t have anything to do with the kind you drink.