The reviews are in on Fox’s New Girl, which premiered last night after Glee (to even better ratings) and which we found disappointing after watching an online sneak preview of the show earlier this month. While critics are split on the show — some find it charming and funny, while others call it irritating and trite — what’s most intriguing about their reviews is that most serve as a referendum on its lead, Zooey Deschanel. Famous for her hipster style and quirky, girlie personality, Deschanel is the kind of actress who some adore and others despise. As New Girl‘s Jess, she is everything her fans love and her detractors hate, turned up to 11. This distillation of Zooey-ness to its rawest and most potent essence has many critics wondering whether she’s jumped the shark, and if she’s liable to turn off even those who like her with a character who’s so unbelievably — as the show’s marketing campaign puts it “adorkable.” We’ve rounded up a few of the most interesting critiques after the jump.

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1. Word is that Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook is planning to unveil its latest iPhone on October 4, and that the new device will go on sale in the weeks to follow. [via The Daily Beast]

2. This sounds promising: Jeremy Renner has signed on to star in King of Heists, an adaptation of J. North Conway’s book about one of the greatest bank robberies in American history; he’d be playing George Leslie, the man who spearheaded the 1878 heist. [via Deadline]

3. Gordon Ramsay is going to have another Fox reality series. Hotel Hell will be a makeover show along the lines of Kitchen Nightmares, but not necessarily cooking-centric. “These are stories that everyone can relate to, because virtually all of us have had a bad hotel experience that’s turned a holiday or business trip into a total disaster,” says Ramsay. “It’s time to put the hospitality industry to the test.” [via Inside TV]

4. Thom Yorke has confirmed to BBC Radio 1′s Giles Peterson that Radiohead will be on the road throughout next year; he’s also busy finishing up an album from his supergroup side project Atoms for Peace. [via NME]

5. Steven Spielberg is delaying the release of his forthcoming Abraham Lincoln biopic until after next year’s election, because he says that he doesn’t want the movie to “become political fodder.” The film stars Daniel Day-Lewis alongside Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and John Hawkes. [via Movieline]

Bonus Buzz: Embryonic Superheroes

The new season of Glee promises changes a-plenty with new writers, fewer tribute episodes to glorious pop stars, and the impending sadness at the departure of a few favorite characters. Fear not, though. Jane Lynch isn’t going anywhere, and so long as Sue Sylvester is around to torment the singers of McKinley High or take time to star in hilarious PSAs, then we’ll have Glee programmed into the DVR.

Five songs from the season three opener, “The Purple Piano Project,” have found their way online ahead of next week. Sadly, there are no Foo Fighters or Kings of Leon songs to be heard. Still, after the jump you’ll hear New Directions tackle the likes of Tom Jones, The Go-Go’s, songs from Hairspray, Anything Goes, and The Wizard of Oz/Wicked. Not only do they sound great, but they get double bonus points for not singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Do the new songs get you excited for the upcoming season?

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We have high hopes for Ringer, Pan Am, and Person of Interest. We’ve pretty much decided against watching The Playboy Club. But, as of this morning, we were still on the fence about investing any time in New Girl, the Fox sitcom that stars Zooey Deschanel as a woman who moves into an apartment full of guys after breaking up with her cheating boyfriend. So we’re thankful that iTunes has given us the opportunity to download the pilot at no charge. Check it out yourself here, then follow along with our first impressions after the jump and add your own in the comments.

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1. The pilot for Zooey Deschanel’s new single girl comedy The New Girl is currently available for download on iTunes, and will be streaming on Hulu and Fox’s website beginning September 13 — a week before its official premiere date. [via THR]

2. George Lucas’ crazy new offices for LucasFilm in Singapore look like something out of Star Wars movies, don’t you think? [via Slashfilm]

3. Michael Pedicone, the drummer for My Chemical Romance, has been fired just one year after joining the group for allegedly stealing from the band. His explanation via Twitter: “What happened is more complicated than it sounds but I did make a mistake. It was never my intention to hurt this band or all of you.”

4. Hilarious Daily Show “Senior Black Correspondent” Larry Wilmore has just been cast in what may be a recurring role as Damon Wayans Jr.’s boss on the ABC show Happy Endings. [via Vulture]

5. Newsflash: Madonna absolutely loathes hydrangeas. She also plans to release a new album early next year, her first since signing that deal with Live Nation. [via Billboard]

Bonus Buzz: Cats Celebrating Labor Day

Attention science geeks and ’80s TV addicts: Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy, is teaming up with Carl Sagan’s widow and writer/producer Ann Druyan and colleague Steven Soter to produce a sequel to Carl Sagan’s iconic 13-part TV series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which originally ran in 1980. Hosted by prominent astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, and also projected to come in 13 parts, the sequel, entitled Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey, will air on Fox in primetime, which is pretty ballsy for such nerdy, niche material.

“Never more than at this moment in the modern era have we needed a profound reminder of the colossally important and exciting role that science, space exploration and the human quest for knowledge must continue to play in our development as a species,” MacFarlane said. “We should be vigorously exploring the solar system by now, and who better to inspire us to get there than Ann Druyan, Steven Soter, Neil deGrasse Tyson and, of course, Carl Sagan.”

The new series is scheduled to hit the tube in 2013, so until then, better bone up on your Sagan.

[via kottke]

1. George Clooney’s The Ides of March, an adaptation of Beau Williams’s play Farragut North, which was inspired by events in Howard Dean’s 2004 Presidential primary campaign, will open the Venice Film Festival on August 31st. The film’s all-star cast features Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright, Max Minghella, and Evan Rachel Wood. [via Slashfilm]

2. Jon Stewart explained to his Daily Show viewers last night that producers at Fox edited his interview with Chris Wallace to make him come across as emotional and erratic. “I suggest you look at the unedited version online where my emotional states don’t seem to change so arbitrarily,” he says. “The arguments are a little clearer and a little less like a scene from woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown.” [via The Daily Beast]

3. Jackass’s Bam Margera has responded to Roger Ebert’s controversial tweets about his co-star Ryan Dunn’s death in a car accident yesterday, writing, “I just lost my best friend, I have been crying hysterical for a full day and piece of sh*t roger ebert has the gall to put in his 2 cents … About a jackass drunk driving and his is one, f*ck you! Millions of people are crying right now, shut your fat f*cking mouth!” [via Vulture]

4. We’re not sure how we feel about this: The final season of Weeds will jump three years into the future, with Nancy Botwin entering into the witness protection program in New York City. Watch a behind-the-scenes preview clip here.

5. NPR is streaming the Buddy Holly tribute album, which features contributions from Paul McCartney, Lou Reed, The Black Keys, Julian Casablancas, Cee Lo Green, and Florence and the Machine, among others. [via Pop Candy]

Bonus link: Check out some “top quality giant robot porn.”

Yesterday, we took a look at NBC’s new sitcom slate. We found plenty to like and plenty to groan over. And while we’re not quite as enamored of Fox’s current sitcoms line-up, we can’t deny that they’re still the gold standard as far as cartoons for grown-ups are concerned. The network has signed up four new comedy series, half live-action and half  animated. The class of 2011 includes new vehicles for Zooey Deschanel, Jaime Pressly, and Jonah Hill, as well as the small-screen return of Napoleon Dynamite. We rate the (vaguely hipster-oriented) shows from least to most promising, based on their promo videos, after the jump.

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1. Starting next Monday, Lady Gaga will be streaming her new album, Born This Way, in FarmVille; players will have to complete tasks for access to each of the tracks. Says Gaga: “I want to celebrate and share Born This Way with my little monsters in a special way that’s never been done before. Zynga has created a magical place in FarmVille where my fans can come play and be the first to listen to the album.” [via THR]

2. Fox kicked off the 2011 schedule announcement season by cancelling five of its more forgettable shows and picking up four new ones — including Zooey Deschanel’s The New Girl, “a comedy about a girl who leaves her boyfriend and moves in with a bunch of immature, wacky guys.” [via A.V. Club]

3. Oprah Winfrey is planning not one, but two episodes with James Frey during the final full week of her talk show. The shows will air May 16 and 17. Does anyone else find this totally strange? [via NYP]

4. The Dude’s trademark, zip-front cardigan sweater — one of four created for the costume department of The Big Lebowski, and the only one worn by Jeff Bridges — is going up for auction this weekend in Beverly Hills. [via CinemaBlend]

5. Ethan Hawke has joined Colin Farrell and Bryan Cranston in the cast of the Total Recall remake. Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel are in negotiations for the female leads. [via THR]

Bonus link: Hanksy Strikes Again!

1. Friday Night Lights star Adrianne Palicki (aka Tyra Collette) has been cast as Wonder Woman in David E. Kelley’s pilot for NBC. We’re excited by the news, but we bet that Lyla Garrity is super jealous. [via THR]

2. Wondered what Antony Hegarty has been up to lately? Glad you asked. He’s writing new songs for “The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic,” a play about the infamous performance artist, who will star in the production alongside Willlem Dafoe at the Salford Quays arts center in the UK. [via Spinner]

3. Yesterday Borders officially filed for bankruptcy. Here’s a map of which stores will be shut down — about 30 percent of all locations. [via Pop Candy]

4. Attention Gleeks: Kurt’s dad might be getting his own spin-off series. According to Vulture, “Mike O’Malley, who’s won raves (and an Emmy nomination) for his nuanced performance as a blue collar dude coming to terms with his son’s identity, has been cast as the lead in Fox’s comedy pilot Family Album.” Hopefully this won’t take him away from Glee all together.

5. Every back issue of Spy Magazine — Kurt Andersen and Graydon Carter’s fabulous satirical monthly that basically introduced the idea of skewering celebrities to American audiences — is now available for your reading pleasure on Google Books.

Bonus link: Get paid $50K to be Ashton Kutcher’s VP of Pop Culture