NBC Picks Up Chuck for 24-Episode Full Season (And, yes, Picks Up Chase Too)

No couch-lock here: NBC has picked up action-comedy Chuck for a full season.

Yes, it's official: the Peacock has indicated that Chuck's current fourth season will get its back nine episodes plus an additional two, bringing this season's total to 24 installments. The series had initially been renewed this season for just 13 episodes.

The news comes significantly earlier than last season, when the show's writers had completed a 13-episode arc (it launched in January rather than September) before receiving word of a back-nine pickup, leading to a mini-season in which Chuck and Sarah became a full-blown couple.

“Chase has introduced an appealing new star to television audiences in Kelli Giddish and we think it has potential to grow,” said Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios, in a statement. “We also are glad that Chuck will be with us for a full season delivering its loyal, passionate audience.” [Editor: Bromstad seems to have forgotten about Past Life, clearly.]

In other news, NBC also picked up a full season of Jerry Bruckheimer's procedural drama Chase and ordered four additional scripts for J.J. Abrams and Josh Reims' espionage dramedy Undercovers.

So, Chuck fans: are you excited about the full season? And that the writers will be able to plan accordingly this time? Head to the comments section to discuss.

The full press release from NBC can be found below.

NBC ORDERS FULL-SEASON PICKUPS FOR NEW DRAMA ‘CHASE’ AND FOR RETURNING ‘CHUCK’
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – October 19, 2010 – NBC has given full-season pickups to the new high-octane drama “Chase” and the returning action-comedy “Chuck” for 2010-11. The announcement was made by Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios.

“‘Chase’ has introduced an appealing new star to television audiences in Kelli Giddish and we think it has potential to grow,” said Bromstad. “We also are glad that ‘Chuck’ will be with us for a full season delivering its loyal, passionate audience.”

“Chase” is averaging a 2.0 rating, 5 share in adults 18-49 and 6.5 million viewers overall in “most current” averages through its first five telecasts this fall. "Chase" has captured an 18 percent improvement in the time period versus year-ago "most current" results for NBC in 18-49 rating (with a 2.0 rating vs. a 1.7) and a 23 percent gain in total viewers (6.5 million vs. 5.3 million). "Chase" is heavily time-shifted, adding 21 percent to its "live plus same day" 18-49 rating when Nielsen issued "live plus seven day" results for the opening two weeks of the season (to a 2.66 rating from a 2.19).

Through October 18, “Chuck” has averaged a 2.2 rating, 6 share in adults 18-49 and 5.9 million viewers overall in "most current" averages from Nielsen Media Research. “Chuck” is heavily time-shifted, adding 29 percent to its "live plus same day" 18-49 rating when Nielsen issued "live plus seven day" results for the opening two weeks of the season (to a 2.56 rating from a 1.99).”

“Chase” (Mondays, 10-11 p.m. ET) -- from Emmy Award-winning executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer (“CSI” franchise, “The Amazing Race,” “Pirates of the Caribbean”) and executive producer Jennifer Johnson ("Cold Case," "Reunion," "Lost") -- is a lightning-fast drama that showcases an elite team of U.S. Marshals that hunts down America's most dangerous fugitives. Kelli Giddish (“Past Life”) stars as U.S. Marshal Annie Frost, a deputy whose sharp mind and unique Texas upbringing help her track down violent criminals on the run. Also starring are Cole Hauser (“K-Ville”), Amaury Nolasco (“Prison Break”) and Rose Rollins (“The L Word”). Jesse Metcalfe (“Desperate Housewives”) also stars.

“Chase” is produced by Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Jerry Bruckheimer Television and Warner Bros. Television. Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman (“CSI” franchise, “The Amazing Race,” "Cold Case”) and Johnson are as executive producers, while KristieAnne Reed is the co-executive producer.

“Chuck” (Mondays, 8-9 p.m. ET) stars Zachary Levi ("Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel") as Chuck Bartowksi, a regular guy who also happens to be the government’s most vital secret agent. The cast also includes Adam Baldwin ("My Bodyguard") as Colonel John Casey and Yvonne Strahovski (the upcoming "The Killer Elite") as partner Sarah Walker. Also starring are: Joshua Gomez ("Without a Trace"), Sarah Lancaster ("What About Brian?"), Ryan McPartlin ("Living with Fran"), Mark Christopher Lawrence ("The Pursuit of Happyness"), Vik Sahay ("Time Bomb"), Scott Krinsky ("The O.C.") and Bonita Friedericy ("The West Wing").

"Chuck" is co-created by Josh Schwartz ("The O.C.," "Gossip Girl") and Chris Fedak, and is executive-produced by Schwartz, McG ("Charlie's Angels," "Terminator Salvation"), Fedak, Robert Duncan McNeill, and Nicholas Wootton. "Chuck" is produced by Fake Empire, Wonderland Sound and Vision, in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Channel Surfing: Eddie Cibrian Cut from CSI: Miami, Dexter Lands Hernandez, Woods Bumped to Regular on The Office, Community, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

SPOILER! E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that Eddie Cibrian is leaving CSI: Miami. "With original castmember—-and fan fave!—-Adam Rodriguez (Delko) returning this fall, a source close to the series confirms Eddie's departure, and tells me the Powers That Be are more interested in focusing on the core cast next season," writes Dos Santos, "which eliminates the need for the poor Cardoza character." Meanwhile, Dos Santos has the dirt on just how Cirbian's Cardoza will be written out of the crime procedural, but--beware!--it's highly spoilery. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

April Lee Hernandez (ER) has been cast in a recurring role on Season Five of Showtime's serial killer drama Dexter. She'll play a police officer in the homicide department of Miami Metro. Hernandez's casting comes on the heels of news that Julia Stiles, Shawn Hatosy, and Maria Doyle Kennedy have joined the cast, each on a recurring basis. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Zach Woods has been bumped to series regular on Season Seven of NBC's The Office. Woods plays Sabre executive Gabe on the Universal Media Studios-produced comedy. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Critics are coming around to something that many of us already know: namely that NBC's Community is one of the very best comedies on television right now. The criminally under-rated comedy, produced by Sony Pictures Television, has seen a resurgence of critical support in the back half of its freshman season, which not only helped it get renewed for a second season and may help its chances at securing Emmy Award nominations. But even creator Dan Harmon understands why some critics were wary of the series at first. "Community definitely has elements that would have cynical viewers file away as a pop-culture-reference fest," said Harmon. "The actors are more comfortable with one another, and the writers are syncing up with the actors' voices. So the show is getting better, and people are more accustomed to its sensibility." [Editor: I'm actually hoping that Community, Parks and Recreation, and Modern Family wind up in the comedy category... and can push out Glee.] (Variety's Emmy Central)

Thomas Dekker (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) has been cast opposite Tim Robbins, Diane Lane, and James Gandolfini in HBO Films' telepic Cinema Verite, which takes a look at the real-life family who was the focus for the groundbreaking 1970s reality series An American Family. Dekker will play Lance Loud, "who became the center of scrutiny when he came out as a gay man on the show." Robbins and Lane will play his parents, while Gandolfini will portray Craig Gilbert, the documentary series' producer. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Syfy has ordered six episodes of reality series Hunting Hollywood, which will be hosted by Profiles in History's Joe Maddalena as he goes hunting for authentic Hollywood and pop culture props and memorabilia, which will be auctioned off at the end of each episode. Project, from Shevick*Zupon Entertainment, is expected to launch in November. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Susan Young has an interesting article at Variety's Emmy Central about the role of social networking conversations on interactions between showrunners and television critics and how services like Twitter are changing the dialogue. "I generally make networks nervous because I act first and think later," Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter told Young. "I've learned to be more cautious about what I tweet. A showrunner isn't just representing himself, but a studio and network, and I think it's legitimate for them to get a little nervous about what we say online." (Variety's Emmy Central)

ITV Studios and Debmar-Mercury have teamed up to produce talk show format The Chefs, with the distributor signing a deal that will see it acquire worldwide rights to the series, which will feature four chefs discussing various culinary topics. It's expected that the series would get a "multiweek on-air test of the strip" in the US later this year or in 2011 before it segues into national distribution. (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC has ordered eight additional episodes of Primetime: What Would You Do?. (Variety)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Fred Goss (Sons & Daughters) is close to signing a deal to topline CMT comedy pilot 30 Percent (with Sarah Rafferty also joining the cast), while Debra Mooney (Everwood) has signed on to the cabler's untitled David Litt comedy pilot. (Deadline)

Style has ordered another ten episodes of reality series Jerseylicious, bumping the total of installments for Season Two from ten to twenty. Series returns to the lineup this fall. (Hollywood Reporter)

Former Bravo executive Cori Abraham has been hired as SVP of development at Oxygen Media and will oversee development on both the West and East Coasts. She'll be based in Los Angeles and will report to Amy Introcaso-Davis. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "Primeval" Rescued from Extinction, Sonnenfeld Suits Up for Super-powered Comedy, Stephen King Finds "Haven," and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Sci-fi drama series Primeval has been saved from extinction thanks to an unprecedented international co-production deal between Impossible Pictures Limited (IPL), ProSieben, BBC Worldwide (BBCW), ITV, and UKTV. Under the terms of the deal, thirteen new installments of Primeval will be produced for 2011 (the thirteen episodes will comprise two seasons). BBC America will step in to take on a full co-production credit and UKTV will become a first-time investor. Adrian Hodges will again oversee the creative direction of the series, which will feature the return of stars including Hannah Spearritt, Andrew Lee Potts, and Jason Flemyng. "Primeval is one of BBC AMERICA's all time top ten shows and we're thrilled to be co-producing the new season," said BBC America SVP of Programming Richard de Croce. "It’s an innovative deal securing the future of an innovative show - and we can’t wait to bring it back to U.S. fans." (via press release)

Barry Sonnenfeld (Pushing Daisies) is attached to executive produce and direct an untitled multi-camera ABC comedy series about an overworked mother who finds a special suit that grants her super powers. Project, from ABC Studios, will be written by Laura House and executive produced by Sonnenfeld and Stu Bloomberg. (Variety)

Stephen King has signed a deal with independent studio E1 Entertainment to adapt his 2005 novella "The Colorado Kid" into a one-hour drama series entitled Haven, which will revolve around a small town in Maine "where cursed folk live normal lives in exile." But then those curses rear their ugly heads, FBI Agent Audrey Parker is sent in to keep the supernatural forces at bay. Sam Ernest and Jim Dunn will write the pilot script and Scott Shepherd (The Dead Zone) has signed on as showrunner and will executive produce with Lloyd Segan Shawn Piller, John Morayniss, and Noreen Halpern. E1 has already committed to producing 13 episodes of the series, which was previously in development at ABC during the 2008-09 season, and is said to be in talks with several foreign broadcasters about co-production deals. (Variety)

CBS has given a script commitment plus penalty to an untitled project from executive producers Craig Wright (Dirty Sexy Money), Mark Burnett, and Roma Downey. Project, from Sony Pictures Television, follows a lawyer who gets a second chance at life by the ghost of his ex-wife after a near-fatal accident. Wright will write the pilot script for the project, which was the subject of a bidding war. (Hollywood Reporter)

NBC has ordered eight one-hour episodes of reality competition series Perfect 10, in which contestants will have to compete ten seemingly innocuous tasks in 60 seconds. Project, from Universal Media Studios, will be executive produced by Craig Plestis and Tim Puntillo. The network hopes that people will play along at home and NBC will post demonstrations of 50 of the series' games on a web site before the series' launch, which is thought to be in midseason. (Hollywood Reporter)

Omar Miller (Transformers) has joined the cast of CBS' CSI: Miami as a series regular. He'll play Walter Simmons, described in press materials as a "Louisiana native and art theft specialist who transfers over from the night shift to join Horatio's team." Miller's first appearance is slated for the Monday, October 5th episode. (via press release)

Syfy has ordered six episodes of supernatural reality series Ghost Hunters Academy (formerly known as Ghost Hunters: College Edition), which the cabler will launch on Wednesday, November 11th at 10 pm ET/PT. (Futon Critic)

TLC has ordered eight one-hour episodes of docusoap BBQ Pit Masters, which will dissect the "cutthroat world of competing grillers." Series, from Original Media, is slated to launch December 2nd. (Variety)

Summer Glau (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Chris Carmack (Drop Dead Diva), and Zoe McLellan (Dirty Sexy Money) will star in Lifetime Movie Network telepic Deadly Honeymoon, based on the real-life disappearance of groom George Allen Smith. Glau and Carmack will play Lindsey and Trevor Forrest, newlyweds who get caught up in a partying and sex-fueled honeymoon after crossing paths with a group of Eastern European passengers on a cruise. Telepic is written by Ron McGee and will be directed by Paul Shapiro. (Hollywood Reporter)

RDF Media Group has named SVP Karrie Wolfe as its "chief emissary" for the shingle's RDF Rights division, where she will oversee the acquisition of US formats and set them up at broadcasters worldwide. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Disney Channel has ordered eight additional installments for Season Three of Wizards of Waverly Place, bringing the total order to 86 episodes. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Natalie Zea Tackles "Lawman," Armande Assante Targets "Chuck," CW Orders More Scripts for "Melrose" and "Diaries," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Former Dirty Sexy Money star Natalie Zea, who most recently recurred on HBO's Hung, has signed on a series regular on FX's drama Lawman, starring Timothy Olyphant. Zea, who appeared in Lawman's pilot, will reprise her role as the ex-wife of Olyphant's US Marshall Givens in the series. Project hails from Sony Pictures Television and FX Productions. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Emmy winner Armand Assante has been cast as a guest star on NBC's Chuck, where he will play "a Castro-esque dictator who Casey has unsuccessfully tried to assassinate multiple times." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The CW has given a full season order to veteran drama series One Tree Hill, which is currently in its seventh season. Initially, the netlet had only ordered 13 installments for this season but the order bumps the episode total to a full 22. Elsewhere, the CW ordered nine additional scripts for drama series Vampire Diaries and six more scripts for ratings-starved soap Melrose Place. (TVGuide.com, Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

NBC has given a script order to an untitled multi-camera comedy pilot starring former Saturday Night Live cast member Jim Breuer about a man who decides to stay at home to look after his three daughters and take care of his elderly parents at the same time. Project, from Sony Pictures Television and Varsity Pictures, will be written and executive produced by Wil Calhoun (Friends); Breuer, Brian Robbins, Judi Brown-Marmel and Sharla Sumpter. (Variety)

Stephen Root (True Blood) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on Day Eight of FOX's 24, where he will play Ben Prady, "an officer of the Department of Corrections looking into a parolee gone missing." (Hollywood Reporter)

E! Online's Watch with Kristin has the first official photograph of Charisma Carpenter on syndicated fantasy drama series Legend of the Seeker. Carpenter appears in the November 7th second season premiere, where she will play "Triana, one of the feisty Mord-Sith warrior women who regularly make Richard Cypher's life miserable—when they're not trying to sex him up, that is." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Empire creator Tom Wheeler has set up two high-concept dramas at NBC and FOX, which have received script commitments with penalties attached. The NBC project, entitled The Cape, is about a former cop who, after being framed for a crime, becomes The Cape, a marked vigilante out to clear his name and reunite with his son in a city beset with corruption. Project, from Universal Media Studios and BermanBraun, will be executive produced by Wheeler, Lloyd Braun, and Gail Berman. FOX project, The Mysteries of Oak Island, is about a mother and daughter who inherit a 200-year-old lighthouse on a privately owned island off the coast of Nova Scotia where there are legends of buried treasure. That project, hails from Warner Bros. Television, and is described by Wheeler as "mixing Romancing the Stone and What Lies Beneath with a little bit of The Goonies thrown in. It's a family adventure but also about the adventure of being a family." (Hollywood Reporter)

Daniel Mays (The Street) has joined the cast of BBC One's time travel drama series Ashes to Ashes for its third and final season. Mays will play Jim Keats, a Discipline and Complaints Officer with the Metropolitan Police on the series, which returns to BBC One in 2010. "Series three of Ashes To Ashes will have the same combination of thrilling crime drama, outrageous '80s outfits and cutting one liners," said executive producer Piers Wenger. "We’ll be sad to see Gene and the gang go but the journey that will take us to that finale will be one of the most exciting, compelling and edge-of-your seat rides on TV!" (Digital Spy)

Allison Silverman (Colbert Report) has signed a blind script deal with Broadway Video to write a pilot. Word comes shortly after Silverman announced her intention to step down from Colbert Report. (Variety)

The Hollywood Reporter's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Simon Cowell is talks to bring his British reality competition series The X Factor to FOX in a deal that would also extend his role on American Idol for two additional years, through the 2011-12 season. (Hollywood Reporter

UK fans will get to watch Glee after all. Digital channel E4, home to Skins and The Inbetweeners, has closed a deal with 20th Century Fox Television for the UK rights to Glee. No air date was announced. (Broadcast)

Looks like MTV will be airing the late DJ AM's intervention series Gone Too Far after all. According to the Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd, a source close to the cabler has indicated that the network will be airing the series and has been in touch with Adam Goldstein's family to consult about the timing of the broadcast. MTV for its part has declined to comment. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

TNT Extends Summer Drama Series "Leverage" for Two Additional Episodes

Cabler TNT has announced that it has extended the run of its drama series Leverage this summer.

Leverage will air two additional installments on Wednesday, September 2nd and Wednesday, September 9th. The latter episode, which features guest star Jeri Ryan (Shark) will serve as the series' so-called "summer finale." The two additional episodes are entitled "The Ice Man Job" and "The Lost Heir Job."

The full press release from TNT, announcing the two additional episodes, can be found below.

TNT Adds Two More Episodes of Hit Series LEVERAGE to Summer Lineup

Summer Finale, Guest-Starring Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Voyager),
Scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 9, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT)

TNT has added two episodes to the summer run of its hit series LEVERAGE, starring Academy Award® winner Timothy Hutton (Ordinary People), Gina Bellman (Coupling), Christian Kane (TNT’s Into the West), Beth Riesgraf (Alvin and the Chipmunks) and Aldis Hodge (Friday Night Lights). The summer finale, guest-starring Star Trek: Voyager’s Jeri Ryan in a new recurring role as Tara, a grifter who helps the team out, will air Wednesday, Sept. 9.

The following is the schedule for the two episodes added to LEVERAGE’s summer lineup:
“The Ice Man Job” – Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT)
Summer Finale: “The Lost Heir Job” – Wednesday, Sept. 9, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT).

In LEVERAGE, Hutton stars as Nate Ford, a former insurance investigator determined to bring down the kind of corrupt bigwigs whose neglect led to the death of his son. His highly skilled team includes Sophie Devereaux (Bellman), a grifter who uses her acting skills to corner her marks; Eliot Spencer (Kane), a “retrieval specialist” with bone-crunching fighting skills; Alec Hardison (Hodge), a gadget and technology wizard who keeps the team connected and informed; and Parker (Riesgraf), a slightly off-center thief adept at rappelling off buildings or squeezing into tight places.

LEVERAGE is executive-produced by Dean Devlin (Independence Day, TNT’s The Librarian) and creators John Rogers (Transformers) and Chris Downey (The King of Queens). It comes to the network from Devlin’s Electric Entertainment.

TNT, one of cable’s top-rated networks, is television’s destination for drama and home to such original series as the acclaimed and highly popular detective drama The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick; Saving Grace, starring Holly Hunter; Raising the Bar, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben and Jane Kaczmarek; Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton; HawthoRNe, with Jada Pinkett Smith; and Dark Blue, starring Dylan McDermott. TNT also presents such powerful dramas as Bones, CSI: NY, Cold Case, Law & Order, Without a Trace, ER and Charmed; broadcast premiere movies; compelling primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards®; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA. TNT is available in high-definition.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

Channel Surfing: Jamie Bamber to Play in "Dollhouse," Day, Denisof, and Glau Set for "Dollhouse" Season Two, Syfy Sets "Caprica" Launch, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Battlestar Galactica's Jamie Bamber will guest star in the season premiere installment of FOX's Dollhouse next season. According to E! Online's Watch with Kristin, Bamber will play a character who is "heavily involved in an engagement Echo (Eliza Dushku) and her new handler Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) have been assigned to." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

In other Dollhouse-related news, Joss Whedon has confirmed that Season Two of the FOX drama will feature some familiar faces from the Whedonverse including Dr. Horrible's Felicia Day (who appeared in the unaired "Epitaph One" episode), Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles' Summer Glau, and Angel's Alexis Denisof. (TVGuide.com)

Syfy has announced that Battlestar Galactica spin-off Caprica will debut on Friday, January 22nd at 10 pm. Of course, if you read my coverage of the Caprica/BSG: The Plan panel at Comic-Con, you already knew all about this. (Variety)

FOX has pushed up the return of Glee by a week to Wednesday, September 9th, where it will air at 9 pm, behind the launch of the new season of So You Think You Can Dance (which also got bumped up a week as well). (Futon Critic)

ABC Family has ordered ten additional episodes of freshman drama Make It or Break It, bringing the first season run to twenty episodes. The back ten episodes will launch in early 2010. (Variety)

Elsewhere at ABC Family, the cabler has announced that Season Three of Greek will launch on Monday, August 31st. Guest stars this season include Olivia Munn, Kadeem Hardison, Thomas Calabro, Tom Amandes, and Jerry Lambert. Greek will air ten new episodes through November. (via press release)

E! Online's Watch with Kristin has some Gossip Girl scoop for Season Three, directly from the mouth of executive producer Josh Schwartz: "Well, you know Georgina (Michelle Trachtenberg) is coming back even though she is at Mercy. She is going to have a very unexpected roommate and a very unexpected love interest." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

UK terrestrial network ITV unveiled its autumn plans, which include the return of The X Factor, Duchess on the Estate, which follows Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson as she helps "communities raise ambitions and standards," a new Life Stories go-around with Piers Morgan, and game show The Cube. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Russell T. Davies Defends "Torchwood" Twist, "Dexter" Animated Prequel for Fall, T.R. Knight Dishes on "Grey's" Departure, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has an interview with Torchwood creator/executive producer Russell T. Davies, in which Davies defends the latest plot twist in Torchwood: Children of Earth (MAJOR SPOILER alert if you haven't yet seen "Day Four"), which has resulted in some angry fans. "It's not particularly a backlash," Davies corrected Ausiello. "What's actually happening is, well, nothing really to be honest. It's a few people posting online and getting fans upset. Which is marvelous. It just goes to prove how much they love the character and the actor. People often say, 'Fans have got their knives out!' They haven't got any knives. I haven't been stabbed. Nothing's happened. It's simply a few people typing. I'm glad they're typing because they’re that involved. But if you can’t handle drama you shouldn’t watch it. Find something else. Go look at poetry. Poetry’s wonderful." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Dexter fans have something to look forward to before Showtime launches the next season of Dexter. The pay cabler will release "Earl Cuts," twelve animated webisodes that will serve as a prequel to the series that explore how Dexter (Michael C. Hall) honed his craft as a serial killer, this fall. Hall will provide the voice for the titular killer. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has an exclusive interview with T.R. Knight, who candidly discusses the true reasons behind his departure from ABC's Grey's Anatomy after appearing on-screen for just 48 minutes during the entire fifth season of the series. Rather than confront Shonda Rhimes, Knight opted to just leave the series. "My five-year experience proved to me that I could not trust any answer that was given [about George]," Knight told Ausiello. "And with respect, I'm going to leave it at that." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Drama project Exit 19, from CBS Television Studios and writer/executive producer Jeffrey Bell, isn't quite dead. The project, which was shot as a pilot presentation for CBS in 2008, has been brought to cabler Lifetime, where it is being redeveloped. Bell will write a new version of the pilot script for Lifetime. (Variety)

Warren Leight (In Treatment) has come aboard FX drama project Lights Out, where he will serve as executive producer/showrunner alongside creator Justin Zackham should the project be ordered to series. Lights Out stars Holy McCallany and Melora Hardin. Elsewhere, Leight has signed a script deal with Peter Chernin's new production venture and, should HBO pick up another season of In Treatment, Leight will not stick with the series. (Hollywood Reporter)

TBS has ordered twenty additional episodes of comedy House of Payne--that's in addition to the twenty-six it recently ordered--bringing the series' total episodic count to 172 installments. (Variety)

ABC will launch reality competition series Crash Course on Wednesday, August 26th at 9 pm, following the run of I Survived a Japanese Game Show. (Variety)

30 Rock scribe Donald Glover--who also co-stars in NBC's Community this fall--has signed a two-year talent holding deal and blind script commitment under which he will write and star in a project for Universal Media Studios. (Variety)

AMC has hired former Brillstein-Grey Television executive Susie Fitzgerald as SVP of scripted series (though her title seems to still be under discussion), where she will spearhead series development at the cabler, which is quick to point out that she won't be a direct replacement for Christina Wayne, who resigned from the network in February. (Hollywood Reporter)

Reality shingle A. Smith and Co. is developing unscripted series Shark Boat, which follows diver Stefanie Brendl and the crew of Hawaii Shark Encounters, the only company in the US that allows people to free dive with sharks. (Variety)

American Idol executive producer Ken Warwick has signed a three-year deal to continue on as showrunner on the musical competition series, a deal that would making him "one of the highest-paid showrunners in TV -- if not the highest paid," according to Variety's Michael Schneider. (Variety)

UK network Channel Five has purchased the UK terrestrial and digital rights to ABC's upcoming drama series FlashForward for a sum believed to be between $500-600,000 per episode, significantly lower than the enormous sums paid by UK outlets for such Disney ABC Television series such as Lost and Desperate Housewives. (Hollywood Reporter)

Meanwhile, ITV has acquired the rights to US series The Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl from Warner Bros. International Television Distribution. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: ABC Tells Lauren Graham to "Let It Go," CBS Picks Up Three Pilots, Layoffs Announced at Disney-ABC, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. I'm currently drowning in pilot scripts and hoping to use this weekend to get through a bunch of must-read scripts. Fingers crossed.

ABC handed out a pilot order to comedy Let It Go, starring Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls), about a self-help guru whose teaching mantra to women is to let it go, but she can't quite follow her own advice when her seemingly perfect boyfriend dumps her. Project, written by Alex Herschlag (Will & Grace) and executive produced by Hersclag, Mitch Hurwitz, Eric Tannenbaum, and Kim Tannenbaum, will be produced by Sony Pictures Television and Tantamount. Also on order at the Alphabet: an untitled multi-camera comedy from writer/executive producer Tad Quiller (Scrubs) about two forty-something friends who face different challenges when one has a baby and the other deals with a suddenly empty nest. (Hollywood Reporter)

CBS finally announced some pilot orders, handing out pilot pickups to three drama projects, all from CBS Paramount Network Television: an untitled US Attorney legal drama from writer/executive producer Frank Military (The Unit) about a group of federal prosecutors in Manhattan; mystery drama Back, from writer Dean Widenmann (Bones) and executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, about a man who returns home to his family to discover that he had been reported missing eight years earlier after September 11th and must find a way to reconnect with his family; and procedural drama Washington Field, about the FBI's National Capital Response Squad, an elite team of experts that travel the globe responding to threats to the country's national interests, from writer/executive producer Ed Bernero (Criminal Minds) and writers Tim and Jim Clemente. (Variety)

Nikki Finke says that Ben Silverman is holding a corporate meeting at his home for top executives. "Its purpose is to ask 'Can't we all get along?' and then 'Hug it out,' says my source," according to Finke. "(Remember, Ben did a cameo on Entourage last season, ergo Ari Gold's phrasing.) 'And then to figure out what to do with the network.' Oh yeah, that." (Deadline Hollywood Daily)

TNT is launching the encore run of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which launched on Cartoon Network in October, with two back-to-back episodes on February 14th at 11 pm. The following week, the series will move into its regular timeslot of Wednesdays at 10 pm. (Hollywood Reporter)

Doctor Who's Easter Special ("Planet of the Dead") will reportedly have the Doctor face off against a new alien race called the Tritovore, a half-man, half-fly-like creature. (Digital Spy)

NBC has ordered an additional twelve episodes of unscripted series Howie Do It, which has seen gains for the network in the Friday at 8 pm timeslot, previously home to Crusoe. (Variety)

Elsewhere at the Peacock, NBC confirmed the episodic orders for its other current series this season, with Heroes (26 episodes), The Office (29 half-hour episodes plus one hour on May 14th), and My Name is Earl (26 episodes) all coming in above the traditional 22-episode season. Chuck, 30 Rock, Law & Order, and Law & Order: SVU will air 22 episodes this season, while Medium will air 19 episodes. (Futon Critic)

Michael Ausiello talks to Prison Break's Robert Knepper about T-Bag's endgame and whether the writers will find a way to redeem his psychopathic character. (Hint: they won't.) (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The networks quietly unveiled their May Upfront plans yesterday, expected to be another low-key affair given the state of the economy. CBS will make its presentation on Wednesday, May 20th without a post-upfront party; ABC will announce their schedule on May 19th (no party there either); FOX will move its presentation to Monday, May 18th, in order to use NBC's absence from the day they traditionally announced; CW will stick to Thursday, May 21st but will present in mid-morning; NBC will once again host "in-fronts" with advertisers in April. (Variety)

A&E has ordered eleven episode docuseries Obsessed, which follows the lives of people who have obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and other generalized phobias. Network plans to launch the series in the second half of 2009. (Hollywood Reporter)

Former MTV executive Christina Norman has been named CEO of Oprah Winfrey's OWN network, where she will work closely with president Robin Schwartz; network is slated to launch either later this year or in 2010. (Variety)

The US Senate unanimously passed a bill that would extend the DTV switch-over from February 17th to June 12th. (TV Week)

Disney-ABC Television Group will eliminate 400 jobs across the board, an estimate of about five percent of its total workforce, with layoffs expected for about 200 employees and the culling of 200 additional open positions that had been frozen several months ago. "After months of making hard decisions across our businesses to help us adjust to a weakening economy, we're now faced with the harsh reality of having to eliminate jobs in some areas," said president Anne Sweeney in a letter to staffers. "This was not an easy decision, nor one made lightly." (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Sci-Fi Orders "Caprica," "Eleventh Hour" Keeps Ticking, Davenport and Vance Discover "Flash Forward," and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. I'm still smarting from the reveal in last night's episode of Gossip Girl just who was involved in that oh-so-predictable accident rather than the, uh, party I'd rather get axed from the series. Sigh.

Better news then for fans of Sci-Fi's Battlestar Galactica. The cabler has given a series order to spin-off Caprica, which is set fifty years before the action of BSG. Sci-Fi had earlier this year shot a two-hour backdoor pilot for Caprica, which stars Eric Stoltz, Esai Morales, Paula Malcomson, and Polly Walker, from director Jeffrey Reiner and plans to launch the series in early 2010. Production on twenty additional episodes is slated to begin in mid-2009 in Vancouver. "We want people to come to this who have never heard of Battlestar Galactica," said Sci-Fi president Dave Howe. "I think, because [Galactica's] backdrop was space and spaceships, there was a barrier to entry for some viewers. Caprica has none of that. It's an intense family drama set on an Earthlike planet, in the near future, speaking to a lot of the ethical dilemmas that we as a human race are going to have to face very shortly."

Those of you on the fence about a BSG spin-off that doesn't feature any of the characters you've come to know and love (save a very young Adama), should rest assured that the script--from Ronald D. Moore and Remi Aubuchon--was among the very best that I read this year and perfectly set up this new universe and world order. And after a stunning first act, it would take a heart of ice not to get sucked into Caprica. (Variety)

CBS has ordered five additional episodes for freshman procedural drama Eleventh Hour, making it more than likely that the series will clock in at eighteen installments this season rather than the traditional 22. The Eye is said to be keen to use Eleventh Hour's plum post-CSI timeslot to try out another series, most likely midseason serialized thriller Harper's Island, though CBS could do something quite foolish and shift The Mentalist--this season's only certifiable ratings hit--into that timeslot. But they wouldn't be short-sighted enough to throw off their Wednesday night now that it's clicking, would they? (Hollywood Reporter's Live Feed)

There are no current plans for Wil Wheaton to appear on NBC's Heroes. So says series creator/executive producer Tim Kring, who states ""there is nothing in the works for him at this point – although a bunch of us over here are big fans of his and would love nothing more than to find some part for him." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Looks like I can take Jack Davenport off my short list for the Doctor at the moment. Courtney B. Vance (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) and Jack Davenport (Swingtown) have been cast in ABC drama pilot Flash Forward, which is said to be a possible companion to Lost. (Ideally, though it wouldn't be a companion but rather ABC would air it during Lost's interminable fall hiatus.) The project, from David S. Goyer, Brannon Braga, and ABC Studios, is based on Robert J. Sawyer's apocalyptic novel in which everyone in the world blacks out for two minutes and seventeen seconds and awakens with a terrifying vision of the future. Davenport will play Lloyd Simcoe, a man trapped in Northern California when the event occurs who attempts to reach his son in a hospital in Southern California. Vance will play FBI Los Angeles bureau chief Stan Wedeck. (Hollywood Reporter)

Could we be getting a Sayid flashback to his childhood on Season Five of Lost? It certainly seems that way as Michael Ausiello has reported that the producers are looking to cast the "roles of a father and his 12- and 8-year-old sons, all of whom, I'm told, will have to be fluent in Arabic. So wouldn't a logical assumption be that the hotheaded dad is Sayid's pop and the older boy, a sensitive type who's painfully aware that he lets down his formidable paterfamilias, is the future assassin himself?" Hmmm, it certain would seem that way, no? (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The second season premiere of HBO's much-awaited comedy Flight of the Conchords will be able to viewed online at FunnyOrDie.Com beginning December 17th, several weeks ahead of its premiere on HBO. In the meantime, you can check out the promo for Season Two here. (TV Squad)

Killer Films has acquired the format rights to Israeli drama series Danny Hollywood, about three investigative journalists who travel back in time to the 1960s where they try to prevent the mysterious death of pop singer Danny Hollywood the day before his wedding. (Hollywood Reporter)

Yes, that was Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin making goo-goo eyes at Chuck Bass at the Snowflake Ball on last night's episode of Gossip Girl. (Los Angeles Times)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "Arrested Development" Feature Moves Closer to Reality, "Life on Mars" Gets Four More, CW Takes Back Sundays, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. I'm still depressed from yesterday's news about Pushing Daisies but another fantastic episode of 30 Rock (and the hilarious Nightman-laden season finale of It's Always Sunny) helped remove some of the sting.

One piece of good news: it seems like that Arrested Development feature film might actually be happening. After a host of rumors, there's finally some solid intelligence on the big screen adaptation moving forward. Series creator Mitch Hurwitz and executive producer Ron Howard have signed deals for the project, which would be released by Imagine and Fox Searchlight. Hurwitz will write the script and co-direct the feature with Howard. Me, I'm pleased as punch about this news. If there's one series that I feel could work on the big screen, it's Arrested Development. Hell, just think of the DVD sales alone. (Hollywood Reporter)

Looking for a fix of Lost? ABC has released a new promo for Season Five that features a new single from The Fray. (Televisionary)

The CW has decided to pull the plug on its Sunday night programming experiment, under which it gave control of the lineup to Media Rights Capital, which filled it with such memorable series as Valentine, In Harm's Way, and Easy Money, among others. Instead, the netlet will use the Sunday night real estate to air repeats of Everybody Hates Chris and The Game in the 5 pm slot, followed by double-pumped repeats of The Drew Carey Show at 6 pm, repeats of CBS' Jericho at 7 pm, and a movie slot at 8 pm. (Meanwhile, MRC is said to be shopping its midseason comedy Surviving Suburbia to other buyers but no deal is in place.) Is the new lineup better... or just oddly different? You decide. (Variety)

ABC has opted not to order any additional episodes of sophomore series Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, or Eli Stone. (Televisionary)

In other programming news, ABC has ordered four additional episodes of freshman drama Life on Mars and has now confirmed, in a bit of a reversal from an earlier leaked schedule, that it will air Wednesdays at 10 pm ET/PT after Lost, beginning January 28th. (TV Week)

AMC is developing period police drama Sugar Hill, which will follow the lives of two police detectives--one white, the other black--in 1960s Harlem. Project, from Fox TV Studios, was created by Alex Winter (Ben 10: Race Against Time), Steven Pearl (The Beast), and Allan Loeb (New Amsterdam). Winter and Pearl will write the pilot script and executive produce with Loeb. (Hollywood Reporter)

Gossip Girls' Connor Paolo, who plays Eric van der Woodsen, has turned down an offer to become a series regular on the CW drama. But lest you think that Serena's baby bro is going anywhere, think again. It actually makes more sense for Paolo to remain a recurring actor than a regular as he would still appear in the same number of episodes (rather than ASP or all episodes produced) but have less opportunity to pursue feature or side projects while continuing on Gossip Girl. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TV Guide talks to Kath & Kim creator Michelle Nader and stars Molly Shannon and Selma Blair about the NBC comedy. One the terrifying tidbit: "There's talk of Britney Spears coming on for a story about Kath and Kim going to Las Vegas to see the Cher show." (TV Guide)

Paterson Joseph speaks out about the constant rumors that he will replace David Tennant as the Doctor on Doctor Who. "His [the Doctor's] parameters are so vast," said Joseph. "I don't see why he can't have more regenerations than the 13 that those who know think a Time Lord can have." (BBC News)

Horatio Sanz has been cast in ABC's single-camera comedy series In the Motherhood, opposite Megan Mullally and Cheryl Hines. He'll play Horatio, a man who had a child with the daughter of Megan Mullally's character Megan and is now a stay-at-home dad trying to raise his daughter after his wife leaves him. In other casting news, Jason London has joined the cast of Showtime drama pilot Possible Side Effects from writer/director/executive producer Tim Robbins; London will play Silas Hunt, the middle son of an eccentric family in the pharmaceutical business. (Hollywood Reporter)

Smallville fans will get to see the Legion of Super-Heroes in the January 15th episode written by Geoff Johns... well, at least three Legionnaires, anyway. Alexz Johnson (Instant Star), Calum Worthy (Psych), and Ryan Kennedy (Whistler) have been cast respectively as Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, and Cosmic Boy. Their arrival in the 21st century is linked to the recent appearance of Doomsday in the series. (TV Guide)

Bravo has signed a new one-year deal with Kathy Griffin that includes a fifth season of Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, hosting duties in next year's A-List Awards, and two hour-long comedy speicals for the network. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: CBS Hands Out Full Season Orders, "Medium" Gets Super-Sized, "Grey's Anatomy," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. I hope everyone remembered to tune in to HBO's Ricky Gervais: Out of England special on Saturday, which was absolutely hysterical (if not, it repeats about a zillion times throughout the week) and to a rather odd and dream-like episode of Skins last night and another brilliant episode of Summer Heights High.

CBS has given a seven-episode pickup to freshman comedy Gary Unmarried, bumping its season total to a surprising twenty episode order, and also ordered two additional scripts beyond that. Additionally, the Eye also gave some good news to the producers of comedy Worst Week, giving the comedy an additional three episode order, despite sagging ratings. (Variety)

Over at NBC, Medium (which returns to the lineup in January) received a six episode pickup. The news comes as NBC is in desperate need of some schedule hole-filling, with the recent cancellations of My Own Worst Enemy and Lipstick Jungle. Medium was originally intended to air a shortened thirteen-episode season but those aforementioned needs have upped the ante for the Peacock, which might decide to air Medium in the timeslot soon to be vacated by My Own Worst Enemy. (Variety)

Hoping Denny will hang out at Seattle Grace despite being, well, dead? You're in luck as Jeffrey Dean Morgan will be sticking around on Grey's Anatomy for the foreseeable future, appearing in at least five episodes as Izzie's poor dead lover in what could either be an homage to Truly Madly Deeply or a sign that Izzie is developing that oft-discussed brain tumor. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

NBC has is developing an untitled workplace comedy pilot that is set in the world of magic from executive producers Dave Baram, Jason Verone, Adam Shulman, and Criss Angel. Chris Moynihan (Foster Hall) has been hired to write the project script, which is based on Angel's experiences as a magician. Universal Media Studios will produce. Moynihan also has another comedy script set up at NBC entitled 100 Questions for Charlotte Payne, about a woman trying to find her way in Manhattan with each episode beginning at a dating service where Charlotte is asked a question about herself. That project comes from Tagline Pictures, UMS, and executive producers Kelly Kulchak and Ron West. (Variety)

John Simm, who memorably played The Master in Season Three of Doctor Who, could turn up again on the sci-fi series. "I'm not, by the way, ruling out a return to Doctor Who in the future," said Simm, after explaining his performance's impact on his seven-year-old son's social life. "It's too exciting a show to be a part of for me to do that." (Digital Spy)

Joan Cusack is co-creating an untitled NBC comedy set in the world of psychiatry that will be written and executive produced by John Markus (The Larry Sanders Show). Project, based on an original idea of Cusack's, is from Universal Media Studio. (Hollywood Reporter)

USA has ordered an eighth and final season of dramedy Monk, with 16 episodes scheduled to air next summer. (Variety)

Michael Ausiello teases some facts about Reiko Aylesworth's character Amy on Season Five of Lost, kicking off in January. "There's definitely some conflict with the suitors," said Aylesworth about the mysterious Amy. Just what that means is deliberately vague. "Obviously, we want that to be a surprise," said executive producer Carlton Cuse. "Let's just say her role will be emotional." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

HBO and writer Joan Didion are developing a telepic based on the life of Washington Post doyenne Katharine Graham, who lead the newspaper during its Watergate investigation that brought down the Nixon administration. Laura Linney is said to be extremely interested in playing Graham. (Variety)

Brian Dennehy (Righteous Kill) will star opposite Donnie Wahlberg in TNT drama pilot Bunker Hill, where he will play mob boss-turned-flower shop owner Martin Kelsey. (Hollywood Reporter)

In other casting news, Mather Zickel (Rachel Getting Married) and Todd Stashwick (The Riches) have joined the cast of CBS comedy pilot The Kareskys, opposite Sasha Alexander (NCIS). Zickel will play Emily's biology professor husband while Stashwick will play Emily's brother Little Max, who runs their father's butcher shops and has seven children with his wife (Tinsley Grimes). (Hollywood Reporter)

NBC has ordered reality competition series Superstar Dancers of the World, which will follow professional dancers from eight countries as the compete head to head. Former Lord of the Dance himself, Michael Flatley, will host the series, which comes from executive producers Nigel Lythgoe and Simon Fuller and 19 Entertainment. (Variety)

Oxygen's Kirsten Connolly Vadas is in talks to join the staff of the CW as the SVP of alternative programming, replacing Jennifer Bresnan who departed the netlet in August for a position at CBS. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

NBC Hasn't Killed "Life"... Yet

It looks like there's still life left in, well, Life.

The NBC crime drama--which stars Damien Lewis, Sarah Shahi, Adam Arkin, Brent Sexton, and Donal Logue--was granted a stay of execution today as the Peacock opted to order a full season of Life with an additional order of the back nine episodes.

Created by Rand Ravitch, Life (now in its second season) was believed by many insiders to be on the bubble despite positive critical traction.

"This unique crime drama continues to offer consistent and compelling stories each week," said Teri Weinberg, Executive Vice President, NBC Entertainment, in a press release. "We love Life and are thrilled that we get to see more of these characters and amazing new cases."

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Starz Orders New Rob Thomas Series, Doherty Returns to "90210," More "Gossip Girl,"

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. I hope you all tuned in to watch the third episode of Chuck last night as well as a pretty soggy installment of Gossip Girl in which the laws of college applications, logic, and, well, sense of any kind sort of went out the window. But at least the kids looked fabulous, right?

Rob Thomas is proving himself to be quite prolific, in the post-Veronica Mars universe. Pay cabler Starz has ordered ten episodes of half-hour comedy series Party Down, written by the Veronica Mars creator, who is set to executive produce with John Enbom, Paul Rudd, and Dan Etheridge. (Enbom will act as the series' showrunner.) Series follows the lives of six Hollywood wannabes as they attempt to pursue their dreams while trying to get by day by day with their shared catering company. Party Down will likely launch in March 2009. (Variety)

Brenda will be returning to 90210. Yep, Shannen Doherty has agreed to appear in two additional episodes of the teen soap, with the possibility that she will return for more installments at a later time. Look for Brenda to cross paths with Jennie Garth's Kelly in the series' 11th and 12th episodes, set to air next month. (Los Angeles Times)

Prince Charles has turned down an invitation to appear on Doctor Who, a fact that made outbound Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies very unhappy. (Davies called HRH "a miserable swine" for turning his nose up at the offer.) (New York Times)

Production has been shut down on Easy Money and Valentine, Inc., the two hour-long dramas produced by MRC for the CW's Sunday night block. Both series will go on a "planned" hiatus for four to six weeks in order to "give writers time to catch up on scripts." Both series are, however, expected to fulfill their 13-episode commitments and shooting will continue on the eight segments already written. (Hollywood Reporter, Variety)

Andy Richter will guest star on the current season of Bones in an episode, slated to air in January, that will follow Brennan and Booth as they work undercover as a "knife-throwing team named Buck and Wanda" at the circus. Richter will play the circus' owner and ringmaster. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Jason Jones and Samantha Bee (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart) will co-write and star in an untitled CBS comedy series about the behind-the-scenes world of a celebrity chef (Jones) and the two women (one of whom will be played by Bee) who run his culinary empire. The duo have signed separate talent holding deals with CBS and CBS Paramount Network Television. (Variety)

CW has ordered two additional episodes of Gossip Girl, bringing its season total to 24 episodes. If you feel like you've read this item before, it's because the CW had ordered 24 episodes this season back in May... but then allegedly changed their mind and only ordered 22 segments but seemingly have changed their minds again. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Showtime has ordered a pilot for dark comedy The End of Steve, written by and starring Matthew Perry (Friends). Project, from Sony Pictures Television, revolves around an egomaniacal talk show host who is forced to work on an afternoon series in Rochester and seeks personal and professional redemption. (Variety)

Jonathan Prince (Cane) has signed a two-year first-look deal with CBS Paramount Network Television to develop series for cable, network, and new media. Prince already has set up an untitled medical drama at CBS about college grads who enroll in a medical school that throws its students into a teaching hospital rather than have them study. Project was co-created with Elle Johnson (Ghost Whisperer) and Fred Einsman (Private Practice). (Hollywood Reporter)

Spike has ordered six half-hour episodes of Worldwide Biggie's videogame-spoofing comedy MoCap, LLC, a mockumentary about a motion-capture studio. The network plans to launch the series--based on a series of web shorts--in January. (Variety)

Sci Fi has promoted Thomas Vitale to EVP of programming and original movies. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Salma Hayek Heads to "30 Rock," More "Knight Rider"

Yet another guest star for 30 Rock.

Salma Hayek (Ugly Betty) has signed on to guest on the upcoming season of NBC's 30 Rock, where she will recur in several episodes as Elisa, a new love interest for Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin).

"Salma is truly a gifted talent and an incredible force in our industry," said Teri Weinberg, Executive Vice President, NBC Entertainment in a statement. "I've had the privilege of working with her and I can't wait to see what comedic sparks fly with our brilliant 30 Rock cast."

"I have been a fan of Tina's talent, both as an actress and a writer, since working with her years ago on SNL," said Hayek in a statement. "I am so excited to be part of such an intelligent, funny show, as well as working with the brilliant Alec Baldwin and the rest of the cast of 30 Rock," said Hayek.

30 Rock kicks off its third season on October 30th at 9:30 pm on NBC.

In other NBC-related news, the Peacock has ordered four additional scripts for freshman drama series Knight Rider.

Scarily, it's looking very likely that we'll be stuck with Knight Rider through the entire 2008-09 season. The series hasn't done particularly well in the ratings but has shown growth and stability with young men. Somewhere, Devon Miles in rolling over in his grave...

Channel Surfing: FOX to Remake "Absolutely Fabulous," Renewals for "Sons of Anarchy" and "Entourage," Three Set for "Washingtoniennes," and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. I hope you all watched the second episode of Chuck last night; we need to try to get those numbers up ASAP!

Don't break open the Bolly just yet. FOX has ordered a script for an American remake of hit British series Absolutely Fabulous from executive producers Mitch Hurwitz (Arrested Development), Eric and Kim Tannenbaum, and writer/executive producer Christine Zander (Saturday Night Live). Project, from Sony Pictures TV, Tantamount, and BBC Worldwide America, is the latest attempt to remake Jennifer Saunder's AbFab. (Previous attempts have included a Roseanne Barr adaptation with Carrie Fisher, CBS' Cybill and High Society, both of which were thinly veiled attempts to cash in on AbFab.) This version will shift the action to Los Angeles, where two boozy over-the-hill BFFs attempt to stay hip while earning a disapproving eye from Edina's straitlaced teenaged daugher Saffron. I would have thought that, post-Arrested Development, Hurwitz was the prime person to guide this project but, after the disaster that was The Thick of It (and the disaster-in-the-making of Sit Down, Shut Up), I have significant worries about anyone tampering with this brilliant format. After all, remember what FOX did with Spaced... (Variety)

Meanwhile, Summer Heights High creator Chris Lilley is developing a new comedy series with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that is thought to possibly revolve around cop-turned-motivational speaker Phil Olivetti or spoiled Summer Heights High student Ja'mie King. But don't look for Summer Heights High to turn up in a US format reversioning. Lilley reveals that he had turned down "lots of money" to remake Summer Heights High for the US market. "They wanted me to do it again in an American accent - all these terrible ideas," said Lilley in an interview. "I wouldn't let it happen. I spent so long working on the characters, I hate the thought of someone else playing them." (Digital Spy)

FX has renewed its freshman drama Sons of Anarchy for a second season; series has been a consistent ratings hit for the cabler, averaging an audience of 5.4 million total viewers and 3.5 million adults 18 to 49 in its five outings to date. “I think the underlying themes of family and the common man's fight against oppressive corporate greed has grabbed people's attention," said creator Kurt Sutter in a statement. "It's relatable, it's very timely and it's why the audience is coming back week after week. I love the action and the dark places the show goes, but ultimately it's the bigger, more poignant themes that inspire me.”

In other series renewal news, HBO has quietly renewed Entourage for a sixth season. Production will start on the sixth season early next year for a summer launch. (Variety)

CBS has ordered six additional scripts for freshman procedural drama series The Mentalist, starring Simon Baker. A full season pickup could come as early as this week. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Rachael Taylor (Transformers), Amanda Walsh (Sons & Daughters), and Bitsie Tulloch (quarterlife) have been cast as the leads of HBO's comedy pilot The Washingoniennes, from executive producer Sarah Jessica Parker and writers/executive producers Susaanna Fogel and Joni Lefkowitz. Series, based on a semi-autobiographical book by Jessica Cutler, will follow the exploits of three 28-year-old women working on Capitol Hill. Also cast: David Furr. (Hollywood Reporter)

Put this in the unsurprising category: CW's latest experiment in selling off its real estate on Sunday nights to Media Rights Capital has proven a resounding failure, generating only meager numbers for the lineup, which included In Harm's Way, Valentine, and Easy Money. Each only received a 1 share in adults 18-49 and 18-34. Ouch. But each of the hour-longs did improve on their audience in their respective second half-hours. All series are secured for 13-episode runs this fall. (Variety)

The premiere episode of NBC's Kath & Kim can be found online at Yahoo! TV, though I don't know why anyone would want to watch this sad, painfully unfunny half-hour. (Yahoo!)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: NBC Orders More "Chuck," New Comedy Pilot from Creators of "Back to You," Roerig Joins "Friday Night Lights," and More

Good morning and welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. Thanks to all for the birthday wishes both via email and Facebook (I had a wonderful birthday dinner at Comme Ca and saw Ali Larter and Amy Smart); it was definitely a birthday to remember.

NBC has gone ahead and ordered the back nine episodes of action-comedy series Chuck a month before the start of its sophomore season. As all Chuck fans know, the first season of the genre-busting series was cut short by the writers strike last season and the Peacock only aired 13 episodes. Series co-creator Josh Schwartz called the news "unexpected" and went to say, "It's an incredible show of faith by NBC and so amazingly nice to get based on the work alone." I couldn't have put it better myself and am pleased as punch that Chuck will get to air 22 episodes this year. Happy days! Chuck returns to the airwaves September 29th. (Variety)

The Peacock also ordered a fourth season of reality competition series America's Got Talent, to air next summer. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly has interviewed 90210's Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth... together. They chat about reuniting, why the new 90210 is so shocking ("Aaron Spelling is rolling over in his grave right now," says Garth), and more. You know you want to read it. (Entertainment Weekly)

Top Chef's Wolfboy (a.k.a. Marcel Vigneron) was arrested on suspicion of DUI. (The OC Register)

ABC has handed out a put pilot commitment to an untitled comedy series from creators/executive producers Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd; the duo last collaborated on last season's FOX comedy Back to You, which was canceled after a single season. Their new comedy will be a single-camera affair about three families--a married couple with three children, an older man with his much-younger wife and adopted son, and a gay couple who have adopted an Asian baby--seen through the eyes of a Dutch filmmaker, who has returned to the US many years after he was an exchange student living with one of the aforementioned characters. (Variety)

FOX will preview Japanese game show format Hole in the Wall, from Fremantle North America, on Sunday, September 7th and Tuesday, September 9th, ahead of its official launch. (Futon Critic)

CSI creator Anthony Zuiker has signed a deal with Dutton to create three suspense-thriller "digital novels," which will include filmed elements and a social networking component. Readers will be given codes to access a website that will offer two-minute filmed scenes filling in the blanks between five-chapter chunks of the "novel." (Variety)

Zach Roerig (As the World Turns) has joined the cast of Friday Night Lights, where he'll play Cash, a "local rodeo star who lassoes Adrianne Palicki's Tyra." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The New York Times takes a look at the current crop of teen dramas, from ABC Family's The Secret Life of the American Teenager and CW's Gossip Girl to BBC America/Channel 4's Skins. "If you are past the point of lying to your parents about going out for a whiskey sour," opines the Times' Gina Bellafante, “Secret Life’s success is likely to seem puzzling." Oh, Gina, you bet it does. (The New York Times)

ABC Studios has promoted Gary French and Paula Warner to co-heads of production, filling the post left empty after Barry Jossen moved over to the network to run creative. They will report to Mark Pedowitz. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Big Brother 10 (CBS); Smallville (CW); Ugly Betty (ABC); Moment of Truth (FOX; 8-10 pm)

9 pm: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS); Supernatural (CW); Grey's Anatomy (ABC)

10 pm: CBS News: Democratic National Convention (CBS); Dateline (NBC); Vote 08 (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching:

10 pm: Tabatha's Salon Takeover on Bravo.

Yes, it's a complete and utter retread of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares with salons subbing in for restaurants, but there's absolutely nothing else on tonight to watch, so here goes. On this week's episode ("De Cielo Salon: Burbank, CA"), Tabatha Coffey tries to save another struggling hair salon but tangles with the salon's boss and unhygienic conditions.

Peacock Orders More "Kath & Kim"

NBC has ordered seven additional episodes of its comedy Kath & Kim, bringing the freshman episodic order to thirteen installments.

Kath & Kim, a remake of the beloved Australian series, stars Molly Shannon, Selma Blair, John Michael Higgins, and Mikey Day. Shannon and Blair play a bickering mother and daughter pair who can't quite manage to get out of one another's hair even when they're not (metaphorically) choking each other to death.

The additional episodic order for Kath & Kim comes swiftly on the heels of the wrap of production on the series' first installment. (NBC had ordered the project directly to series without shooting a pilot.) Production on the remaining episodes is expected to begin in July.

Kath & Kim will launch on NBC this fall in the plum post-Office slot at 9:30 pm ET/PT.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: The Big Bang Theory/How I Met Your Mother (CBS); American Gladiators (NBC); Gossip Girl (CW); The Bachelorette (ABC); Bones (FOX)

9 pm: Two and a Half Men/Rules of Engagement (CBS); Nashville Star (NBC; 9-11 pm); One Tree Hill (CW); The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All (ABC); House (FOX)

10 pm: CSI Miami (CBS); The Mole (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: Gossip Girl.

Looking to relive the freshman season of the teen soap? On tonight's repeat episode ("Blair Waldorf Must Pie!"), after Blair disinvites the van der Woodsens from their traditional turkey dinner, Dan invites Serena's family to share Thanksgiving dinner with the Humphreys, which creates some awkwardness for Rufus and Lily.

Peacock Applies More "Lipstick," Alphabet Chases "Women"

Looks like the fat lady hasn't quite sung yet for midseason drama Lipstick Jungle.

NBC has ordered six additional scripts for the struggling freshman drama, which launched to virtually no online buzz, despite a massive marketing and PR campaign behind the series and leads Brooke Shields, Kim Raver, and Lindsay Price.

Lipstick Jungle, based on Candace Bushnell's book, follows a troika of high-powered Manhattan execs who try to balance their professional and personal lives. (It should, of course, not be confused with ABC's Cashmere Mafia about FOUR high-powered Manhattan execs who also try to balance their professional and personal lives.)

If shot, the six scripts would boost the series' episodic count to thirteen, thus fulfilling its initial order on NBC. If the numbers rate, especially in the female demos, look for Lipstick Jungle to return next season.

In other female-driven drama news, ABC has hired Robert Nathan (Law & Order) as showrunner on struggling freshman drama Women's Murder Club. The hiring comes on the heels of the departure of executive producer/showrunners Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain, as well as exec producer Scott Gemmill.

Nathan will oversee three additional episodes of Women's Murder Club this season. Production is expected to ramp up on the drama in the next few weeks and additional installments could air as early as April.

Just don't look for Nathan to make any improvements to the series. “There are no plans to revamp the series dramatically or shift the emphasis in any way,” said a 20th Century Fox TV spokesperson in a statement. “It remains a procedural focused on the four women leads who partner together to solve crimes.”

Darn.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: How I Met Your Mother/Welcome to the Captain (CBS); Deal or No Deal (NBC); Gossip Girl (CW); A Raisin in the Sun (ABC; 8-11 pm); Moment of Truth (FOX)

9 pm: Two and a Half Men/New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS); My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad (NBC); Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious (CW); Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (FOX)

10 pm: CSI Miami (CBS); Medium (NBC)

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: Gossip Girl.

It's another chance to catch up on the teen soap. On tonight's repeat episode ("Dare Devil"), Dan tries to impress Serena on their first official date, Jenny snags an invite to Blair's exclusive sleepover party but finds herself caught up in a high-stakes game of Truth or Dare, and Lily turns to Rufus for help when Eric disappears from the treatment center.

8:30 pm: Welcome to the Captain.

It's not the best series out there, but there's something winsome about this low-key comedy. (And, hell, at least it's scripted.) On tonight's episode ("The Wrecking Crew"), Josh tries to get over Hope with some help from the guys, while a lonely Hope tries to make new friends.

9 pm: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

On tonight's installment ("The Demon Hand"), Sarah tries to track down a missing cyborg arm and breaks into Ellison's apartment and discovers a file on Dr. Silverman (guest star Bruce Davison), a psychiatrist who made her hospital stay unbearable, while Cameron tries to track down Dmitri through his sister.

9:30 pm: Old Christine.

On tonight's episode ("Traffic"), Christine promises to go to an important function with Mr. Harris but leaves him stranded when Ritchie's soccer game runs into overtime.

10 pm: No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain on Travel Channel.

It's a brand new season of No Reservations on the Travel Channel; follow enfant terrible chef Anthony Bourdain as he travels the world in search of good food. In tonight's installment, Tony heads to Romania, where he helps his friend Zamir celebrate his 50th birthday and tracks down some stories about vampires and Communists.

"The Riches" Reduced; "Dirt" Too

FX has scaled back the episode orders for two sophomore dramas set to launch in the next few months.

Both Dirt and The Riches, whose production was impacted by the writers strike, have had the episodic order for their second seasons reduced to seven episodes apiece, following FX's decision not to produce any more installments of their series after the strike has ended.

Both productions ran out of scripts during December and will have to wrap their sophomore seasons without any resolution to their current storylines.

The basis for FX's decision to cut back their Season Two orders is said to be pure economics and will not impact either series' shot at getting a third season order. But let's be realistic here. Neither series was a smash hit in the ratings their freshman year (though I do love The Riches and miss it terribly), so the creators of both series were left with quite a lot to prove to the network suits and the critics.

Dirt's second season is scheduled to launch on March 2nd. (Those animated promos that FX is running seem more interesting than the series itself.) As for The Riches, the cabler is expected to make an announcement about an airdate sometime next week.

Stay tuned.

"Boys" of Summer: TBS Orders Additional Episodes of Freshman Comedy

Looks like PJ will be hanging with her boys for some time to come.

Basic cabler TBS has ordered nine additional episodes of its freshman comedy My Boys, the network's first original series.

Series, from Sony Pictures Television and creator Betsy Thomas, will resume production after the New Year and the newly ordered episodes will air sometime during summer 2007.

The back nine order bumps My Boys' episode count to 22 episodes.

News comes as the original 13-episode order for My Boys wraps next week, with TBS scheduling no less than five original episodes just after Christmas Day. The series' ninth and tenth episodes will air back-to-back on Tuesday, December 26th at 10 pm ET/PT, with episodes 11 and 12 popping up on December 27th from 10-11 pm ET/PT, and the final episode will air the following night (that would be December 28th) at 10 pm.

For the uninitiated, My Boys follows the travails on tomboy PJ Franklin (Jordana Spiro), a sportswriter looking for romance, but she discovers that just being one of the guys has its downfalls: namely preventing her from achieving an actual love life. Series costars Jim Gaffigan (Ed) as PJ's married brother, Kyle Howard (Related, Grosse Point) as the object of PJ's affections, Reid Scott (American Dreams) as her best friend, Kellee Stewart (Guess Who?) as her only female friend, and Michael Bunin (Scrubs) and Jamie Kaler (The Family Stone).