A familiar face is back on the air at Austin’s YNN.

After spending the past two-plus years in Prague, Amy Hadley has returned, anchoring the midday newscasts on Time Warner Cable’s 24-hour local news channel.

She takes the place of anchor Paul Brown, who has shifted full-time to YNN’s political team. Look for him weeknights at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. on “Capital Tonight.”

“My husband and I talked about living abroad for years, so we decided to go for it,” Hadley told me. “We learned the history and the language – as best we could – and saw as much of Europe as we could.”

Not long after the couple returned to Austin late last year, YNN came knocking.

“While I was away, I watched the YNN newsroom transform,” she said. “The people I most respected moved into senior management. So when my news director, Michael Pearson, approached me about anchoring, it was a chance to work with a stellar news team.”

Hadley is a viewer favorite, Pearson said, so bringing her back was a no-brainer.

“We know already from the buzz out there that our viewers in Central Texas are looking forward to getting reacquainted with Amy,” Pearson said. “The other day, when Amy and I went to lunch at a downtown spot, we couldn’t get seated before people walked up and said, ‘Are you Amy Hadley? Where have you been? I watched you every day.’”

So why’s she such a hit with Central Texans? Hadley has a few ideas.

“I aim to be me on camera, and I think people appreciate that,” she said. “They feel like they know me and they trust me. Also, I don’t take myself too seriously. There’s a whole blooper reel at YNN of me falling off things as a reporter.

“As an anchor, I intend to bring the same energy and authenticity to the desk. And while I don’t think I’ll manage to fall off my chair, we’ll be building in opportunities for fun and personality.”

Hadley says she hopes to try some new and different things on the newscasts she helms. She’ll also contribute weekly reports on interior decorating and landscaping, things she says she dreams about each and every night.

“It’s not very often news stations have the opportunity to experiment with their format,” she said. “Because we’re a 24-hour station, we have room to try some new things. My managers are up for it, and though I’m not exactly sure what it will look like yet, I can tell you I plan to have some fun with it.”

Austin companies on A&E

Austin’s Alamo Drafthouse is featured this season on A&E network’s “Shipping Wars.”

The show focuses on several independent shippers competing for cross-country jobs posted on uship.com.

UShip is based in Austin, as well.

In an episode that airs at 8:30 p.m. Jan. 26, Alamo is awaiting a shipment of rare film prints that – hopefully – will arrive in time for a very important screening.

Time Warner Cable subscribers can find A&E on Channels 60 and 240.

Channel surfing …

Austinites apparently love “Downton Abbey.” Our city had the third-highest rating in the country for the show’s third season premiere, according to PBS. Seattle and Boston had the top two spots, respectively. … Glenn Beck’s radio show, which has been homeless since 98.9 KXBT-FM dropped its all-talk lineup, has resurfaced on 590 KLBJ-AM. Listen to it weekdays from 7 to 9 p.m. It’s not live and the station’s not airing the full three-hour show, but something’s better than nothing, right? … Read my blog at austin360.com/tvblog or follow @gdinges on Twitter to get the latest updates on local radio and TV stations.