Entertainment

Starr report

A little more seasoning . . . Showtime has ordered a third season of “Homeland,” which snared Emmys last month for Best Drama and statuettes for lead actors Claire Danes and Damian Lewis. Sunday night’s episode snared a series-high 1.8 million viewers at 10 p.m. as word-of-mouth regarding Season 2 continues to build the show’s audience.

The third season of “Homeland,” comprised of 12 hour-long episodes, will begin production next spring. No word on an airdate.

The CW, meanwhile, has renewed “Arrow” for a second season of 22 episodes. The series, starring Stephen Amell and Katie Cassidy, premiered to 4.1 million viewers two weeks ago; that number dropped just a bit to 3.5 million viewers for last week’s episode — terrific numbers for the network.

Fox has announced that “The X Factor” will also return for another season, its third, next year. The retooled show, which this season includes new judges Britney Spears and Demi Lovato — and still-to-be-seen co-hosts Khloe Kardashian and Mario Lopez — has averaged nearly 11 million viewers and has performed solidly in adults 18-49. Executive producer Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid are the show’s other judges.

Over at WE, the network has given second-season renewals to “Kendra on Top” and “LA Hair,” both of which will premiere next year, along with a new series, “Obsessed with the Dress,” which revolves around a high-end dress show in that mecca of fashion . . . wait for it . . . Omaha, Nebraska.

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Here’s how it’s looking, from a ratings perspective, over at Hallmark Channel three weeks into the runs of freshman talk shows “Home & Family” and “Marie,” both of which premiered Monday, Oct. 1.

“Home & Family,” co-hosted by Mark Steines and Paige Davis, airs weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon. Its three-week track, in total viewers, was 134,000 viewers (Week 1), 104,000 viewers (Week 2) and 113,000 viewers last week. That comes out to a three-week average of 117,000 viewers — down 30 percent, in total viewers, from what aired in that timeslot on Hallmark Channel last year (“Emeril’s Table,” “The Martha Stewart Show”), according to Nielsen.

Marie Osmond’s “Marie,” which follows at noon, averaged 206,000 viewers in Week 1, falling to 130,000 viewers in Week 2 and down to 105,000 viewers last week. That’s a drop of 100,000 viewers from premiere week and a three-week average of 147,000 viewers — which is actually an increase of 27 percent over last year’s timeslot average (“Mad Hungry with Lucinda” and “Pet Keeping with Marc Morrone”).

Hallmark Channel officials are putting more of a priority on the network’s core viewers, women 25-54, than total viewers (for both shows) — and are happy with what they’ve seen, so far.

“We are pleased with the performance of our two new daytime shows, especially among our core demo of women 25-54,” says Bill Abbott, president/CEO of Crown Media Family Networks.

“In their first 3 weeks, the premieres combined are up 23 percent over the same period in 2011 and ‘Marie’ has increased by 86 percent [in that demo]. The programs resonate with our viewers and we are excited about their potential.”

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We already know that Josh Brolin will narrate “Mankind: The Story of All of Us,” a six-part miniseries that kicks off Nov. 13 on History.

To help publicize the series, History commissioned a nationwide survey regarding historical periods and figures — with some interesting results.

According to the survey, 67 percent of Americans would like to bring back Abraham Lincoln as president, while 36 percent of adults would have liked to travel with Christopher Columbus on his voyage to our shores. Another 48 percent would like to dine with George Washington, followed by Cleopatra (yes, but would they order in or go out?). Another 48 percent would have loved to take a photo of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, followed by the building of the Great Pyramids in Egypt.

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Last, but not least:

* This Friday’s episode of “Dateline,” entitled “Wild, Wild Web,” takes viewers behind-the-scenes of popular sites like Craigslist, eBay and Backpage. Chris Hansen hosts the 10 p.m. telecast (Ch. 4) . . . “OK! TV,” a syndicated entertainment newsmagazine, will launch next fall as a partnership between American Media, Unconventional Partners and Big Fish Entertainment LLC . . . CBS News/Sports reporter Armen Keteyian will become a full-time correspondent for Showtime’s new sports magazine, “60 Minutes Sports” . . . Dr. Jennifer Ashton has joined ABC News as senior medical contributor . . . . . . Steven Weber (“Two Broke Girls”) will host the soiree for The Nelson A. Rockefeller Awards, presented by SUNY Purchase Nov. 19 at Gotham Hall. Joanna Gleason (“The Good Wife,” “Royal Pains”) is among the honorees.