Chris Lowell Cast in "Grey's" Spinoff: Could Piz Be Leaving "Veronica Mars"?

Color this Veronica Mars fan extremely worried.

I'm not talking about the relative success of timeslot replacement Pussycat Dolls Present The Search for the Next Doll (though it's, er, sobering to say the least), but rather the news that Veronica's (potential) love interest Piz might be moving on.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Chris Lowell has signed on for a pilot. And not just any pilot, but the much buzzed about Grey's Anatomy spin-off starring Kate Walsh, and Taye Diggs.

Grey's creator/executive producer Shonda Rhimes is keeping any details about Lowell's character firmly under wraps. It's assumed that Lowell's participation is in second position to his regular gig on Veronica Mars, but Lowell's agents must have been given the go-ahead for Lowell to go out for pilots this season.

While it's not a definitive nail in the coffin for Veronica Mars, it's more than a little worrisome. CW still has not renewed Veronica for a fourth season and, while Kristen Bell and Jason Dohring haven't been cast in any pilots, Lowell's casting in the Grey's spinoff is not exactly a positive sign.

Fingers crossed that something--even, hell, an even further reduced episode count, if need be--can be worked out and fans of Veronica Mars (including this obsessive) get the chance to take another trip to Neptune next season.