TV Q&A: HGTV stars will be back this year

Q Where are HGTV stars such as David Bromstad and Candice Olson? The endless "summer" replacements are getting old.

A Both will be back this year, according to HGTV publicist Lynne Davis. She said that Bromstad will be back on "Design Star" this summer and that Season 5 of "Candice Tells All" will be back at some point this year.

Moving backgrounds annoy Q Why do so many news shows have annoying moving backgrounds? This is especially true of Fox and CNN. The moderator is talking split-screen with someone; the bottom of the screen is a scrolling message. There is so much going on.

A Networks make pretty much all decisions with the notion of keeping viewers tuned in and engaged. Evidently, the backgrounds aren't doing that for you, but the networks' goal is not to turn off or alienate viewers.

'Army Wives' coming back Q Has "Army Wives" been renewed?

A Lifetime has renewed "Army Wives" for a new season, but no announcement about a premiere date has been made. My guess is it will be spring.

These 'Animals' are deadQ Any info on whether USA's "Political Animals" from last summer will return?

'House of Cards' is the real deal Q What is your take on "House of Cards"? Will it be like R-rated shows on HBO and Starz to attract subscribers?

A Yes, I think Netflix wants its series to compete with the quality dramas on HBO, Showtime and AMC. I never saw the British series the show is based on, but the American version shows promise.

Cable TV has too much fillerQ Today's cable-TV packages contain channels that I don't really want to pay for, but the cable operator bundles them in anyway. Do you think we'll get to a place where subscribers can choose just the channels we want?

A I would love not to have to subsidize channels I never, ever watch. But I understand that if not for those channels being bundled with channels that I do like that draw a lot fewer viewers, those channels with fewer viewers would cease to exist.

'Last Resort' didn't last Q I enjoyed "Last Resort" on ABC and thought it would succeed. What happened?