Channel Surfing: Incredible Hulk to Smash ABC, Wentworth Miller Spies Spartacus, HBO Eyes Tea Leoni, Weeds' Shane, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Hulk smash... TV? The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd and Brys Kit are reporting that ABC and Marvel are developing a television series based on comic "The Incredible Hulk," which was previously a 1978-82 television series that starred Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno. Hulk is one of two projects, along with Cloak and Dagger (which is said to be in development at ABC Family), that Marvel Studios has in development, though the company is also said to be looking at other properties to develop as series, including Heroes for Hire, The Eternals, Agents of Atlas, Alter Ego, Moon Knight, The Hood, Ka-Zar, Daughters of the Dragon, and The Punisher, the latter of which is said to also be high on Marvel's radar, possibly as a cable series. [Editor: The story, however, fails to discern between several properties, which it has erroneously merged into single entities.] (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that former Prison Break star Wentworth Miller is rumored to be interested in replacing Andy Whitfield as the lead in Starz's gladiator drama Spartacus. Whitfield has dropped out of the project due to the recurrence of his cancer and the need for medical treatment. "But is Miller right for the part?" asks Ausiello. "Since his Fox series wrapped, he’s been largely out of the limelight. And when he has been spotted, he hasn’t quite been the picture of buffness that the sand-and-sandals epic demands. Of course, that’s nothing a month or two with a personal trainer couldn’t fix." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that HBO is weighing a pilot order for fashion-based comedy Spring/Fall, which would star Tea Leoni (who will also executive produce) as "half of a dysfunctional partnership between two women with different approaches to career, family, and friendship," set against the New York fashion world. Project, written by Kate Robin, would be executive produced by Leoni, Robin, Jimmy Miller, and RJ Cutler (The September Issue). (Deadline)

TVGuide.com's Mickey O'Connor has an interview with Weeds star Alexander Gould, who plays teenager/murderer/croquet star Shane Botwin. "He was as normal as could be, given the circumstances," said Gould when asked about initially playing Shane at the start of the first season. "When he learned about his mother's operation, he became sort of like the family's moral compass. I remember early on I had to say the F-word and I was really hesitant about it. Over time, Shane just got more confident and odd. I felt like Shane really was just [slowly] going crazy. He put that craziness away and it manifested itself in a funny way. He always seemed a little out of it." (TVGuide.com)

SPOILER!Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello as a first look at an upcoming scene from NBC's The Event featuring some, uh, surprising transformations for the survivors of Avias Air Flight 514. “They’re [undergoing] a transformation that could eventually lead to death,” creator Nick Wauters told Ausiello. Wauters also indicated that Thomas will “use them as leverage to try and get the president to free his people.” (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Don't expect remakes of The Rockford Files or Prime Suspect to turn up on NBC this midseason, according to Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice. [Editor: I wasn't as it's widely known that both in deep development.] Both projects are back in development following a disastrous pilot for Rockford and the lack of a lead for Prime Suspect, both of which will now be overseen by Peter Berg. Should Rockford move ahead, look for someone to replace Dermot Mulroney as Jim Rockford. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Casting roundup: John Heard and Evan Handler have joined the cast of Curtis Hanson's HBO telepic Too Big to Fail, while Kathy Baker has joined the cast of Lifetime pilot Against the Wall, where she will play the mother of Rachael Carpani's Abby. (Deadline)

ABC ordered four more scripts for family drama No Ordinary Family, while the CW ordered two more scripts for Life Unexpected, while ABC also gave additional script orders to Brothers and Sisters and Off the Map as well. Brothers and Sisters received an order for four additional scripts, while Map got one more. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin, Variety)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Secret Millionaire is going to get the plum Sunday at 8 pm timeslot currently occupied by Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for a six-episode run starting March 6th. "That is the Sunday after the Academy Awards, with ABC planning to heavily promote Secret Millionaire during the awards broadcast," writes Andreeva. "For ABC, which has no football, the Oscars are the most-watched telecast of the year and the biggest possible promotional platform for its shows. Additionally, ABC has asked Secret Millionaire producer Zodiak USA to begin casting on a new cycle, an indication that the network is looking to order more episodes beyond the original 6." (Deadline)

Danny Cohen is the new controller at BBC One, making the move from BBC Three effective immediately. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

The Daily Beast: "Fall TV Preview: Grey's Anatomy, Dexter, 30 Rock and More"

With so many new fall series premiering over the next two weeks, it's possible to forget that some of our favorites are heading back to the airwaves as well.

Can’t remember how Grey’s Anatomy or 30 Rock ended? Head over to the Daily Beast to read my latest feature, "Here Comes the TV Season!", in which I round-up 13 cliffhangers for returning shows—and offer previews of what’s to come. (It goes without saying: minor SPOILERS aheads.)

The series in question? Oh, the usual suspects, including Dexter, The Good Wife, Fringe, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Chuck, Private Practice, Brothers and Sisters, Friday Night Lights, Bones, Community, Castle, and 30 Rock, presented in order of premiere dates. (Which means Chuck is up first.) Plus, you can watch video previews for all 22 new network series, to boot.

Which returning series are you most excited about watching this fall? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Channel Surfing: Elijah Wood Pets FX's Willard, Larry King to Leave CNN, Nestor Carbonell Gets Psych, Doctor Who, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings) will star opposite Jason Gann in the pilot for FX's US adaptation of Aussie comedy Wilfred, about a man and his talking dog, the latter of which will be voiced by Gann, the original creator of the series. Project hails from writer David Zuckerman (Family Guy) and director Randall Einhorn (The Office). Production is slated to begin this summer. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Larry King will be hanging up his trademark suspenders this fall after 25 years as the host of Larry King Live in order to spend more time with his family. The Los Angeles Times' Matea Gold and Yvonne Villarreal have a fantastic interview with King about his decision to leave CNN. "I said, 'I can't top this,'" King told the Times on Tuesday. "I'm not getting younger. I want more time with other things. It's time to go... The daily grind is tough. And there are aspects of it, you know, when you've got to do tabloid shows, which is the nature of the business, you've got to do the girl that's missing in Aruba. It's hard to make the case that that is major news, but that's what news is today. And my curiosity runs to that, but not nightly." (Los Angeles Times)

Fancast's Matt Mitovich is reporting that Nestor Carbonell (Lost) will join the cast of USA's Psych for a multiple-episode story arc, where he will play Declan Rand, described as "a criminal profiler who over the course of two episodes will shape up to be Shawn’s professional – as well as romantic – rival." Season Five of Psych will launch July 14th on USA. (Fancast)

SPOILER! Doctor Who showrunner/head writer Steven Moffat has teased details about next season of the sci-fi drama, which stars Matt Smith and Karen Gillan. The secret behind just what that voice meant by "silence will fall" will be explored in the new season of Doctor Who, which will air in 2011 (after a Christmas Special, confirmed last weekend by BBC). "What is that, who is that, who are the silence, what's coming? The whole point of the silence is next series," Moffat told Doctor Who Confidential "Also, River Song... who is she really? That's what we're going to find out next year." (Digital Spy)

TVGuide.com's Adam Bryant has some details about the new season of AMC's Mad Men via an exclusive video that goes behind the scenes of the new promos to tease some precious morsels about what to expect during Season Four of the period drama. "I wanted to have a continuity of these characters and things that are happening to them ... and don't pretend like that they didn't happen," creator/executive producer Matthew Weiner said. "At the same time, be prepared for the fact that [for] a lot of the things that happened, you're going to have to watch and see how they worked out." (TVGuide.com)

Emily VanCamp has confirmed her departure from ABC's Brothers & Sisters via an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "It is true. I’m going to go back for a couple of episodes, which I’m really excited about," VanCamp told Ausiello. "I really feel like Rebecca has run her course. And the deal I was offered this year was for two more years and I just felt like since renegotiations were happening that maybe it would be the right time to move on. I’ve been doing this for a very long time and other opportunities have presented themselves that I haven’t been able to do. I’ve had such an amazing four years on the show and I felt like maybe it was time. It was a big risk but I’m really excited about it." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

It's official: after weeks of negotiations, A&E has ordered thirteen episodes of drama Breakout Kings, which had been previously set up at FOX. Production will begin this fall on the episodic commitment and will air in 2011 on the cabler. "We are thrilled to collaborate with accomplished talents such as Matt and Nick, as well as Peter Chernin and Katherine Pope; with phenomenal track records of success," said Bob DeBitetto, President and General Manager of A&E and BIO Channel, in a statement. "As soon as we screened the Breakout Kings pilot, it struck us as the perfect fit for A&E as the network of 'Real Life. Drama.'" Series stars Laz Alonso, Domeick Lombardozzi, Malcolm Goodwin, Jimmi Simpson, and Brooke Nevin. (via press release)

SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Mitch Pileggi will be returning for a multiple-episode story arc on the CW's Supernatural, where he will reprise his role as Sam and Dean's presumed dead grandfather. How is Gramps returning from the dead? “For one thing, he’s a Campbell — from Sam and Dean’s mom’s side of the family,which, unlike their dad’s, has actually been into hunting for a very long time,” executive producer Sera Gamble told Ausiello. "There’s a whole side of Sam and Dean’s history that they know nothing about. We’ll get to find out a bit about it this season." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Claire Forlani and Peter Mooney have been cast in Starz's upcoming medieval drama Camelot from writers Michael Hurst and Chris Chibnall. Forlani will play Queen Igraine, the mother of Arthur (Jamie Campbell Bower), while Mooney will play Kay, Arthur's brother. [Editor: you might recall that Forlani was previously attached to Showtime's upcoming comedy Episodes but was replaced by Tamsin Greig.] The rest of the cast includes Joseph Fiennes, Eva Green, and Tamsin Egerton; Camelot is slated to launch in early 2011. (Deadline)

SPOILER! TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that a new baddie is headed to Mystic Falls on the CW's Vampire Diaries next season and talks to executive producer Julie Plec about this mysterious addition to the Lockwood clan. "Our big new addition is Mason Lockwood, the mayor's much younger and cooler brother, who has been estranged from the family," Plec told Keck. "His return introduces a lot of questions about what is so special about that creepy Lockwood family." (TV Guide Magazine)

Nickelodeon's Nicktoons has ordered 22 episodes of animated series Rush Zone: Guardians of the Core, which is based on NFL's website NFLRush Zone and which will feature the voices of NFL players and coaches in segments approximately two to five minutes in length. (Variety)

UK viewers will get to see the revamped CBS drama Hawaii Five-O following a deal between CBS Television Studios and Virgin Media's Bravo, which secured pay television, Freeview, and digital rights to the Alex O'Loughlin starrer. (Broadcast)

Oxygen has snagged the off-network cable rights to FOX's Glee while USA has done the same for ABC comedy Modern Family; both series will debut on their respective channels beginning in 2013. As part of the Glee deal, Oxygen will also air an unscripted reality series that will depict the search for a new cast member, a series that was originally intended to air on FOX before the network scrapped it. According to Variety's Michael Schneider, "Oxygen is expected to produce the "Glee" reality show, with reality producers experienced in reality competitions likely to be hired." (Variety)

Elsewhere, Style has acquired rerun rights to Run's House and spinoff Daddy's Girls, the former of which will begin airing its second window beginning tonight. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Steve Carell Confirms Office Departure, Janeane Garofalo Circles Criminal Minds, Being Human Lands Sam Witwer, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Steve Carell has confirmed that he will leave NBC comedy The Office following the conclusion of next season, the series' seventh. "I just think it's time," Carell told E! Online's Kristina Guerrero while promoting his new film Despicable Me. "I want to fulfill my contract. When I first signed on I had a contract for seven seasons, and this coming year is my seventh. I just thought it was time for my character to go... It doesn't certainly mean the end of the show. I think it's just a dynamic change to the show, which could be a good thing, actually. Add some new life and some new energy... I see it as a positive in general for the show." Carell pointed to the series' ensemble cast and the strength of the writers and didn't seem to feel that his departure would negatively affect The Office at all. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Wait, what? Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Janeane Garofalo (24) is in talks to join the cast of CBS' Criminal Minds spinoff, currently entitled Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, where she will play an agent in the FBI's Behavior Analysis Unit overseen by Forest Whitaker's Sam Cooper. Garofalo had previous been attached to star in the untitled Hannah Shakespeare/John Wells medical drama pilot, which failed to receive a series order at CBS. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

In other casting news, Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Sam Witwer (Smallville) has signed on to star in Syfy's US adaptation of Being Human as vampire Aidan. Meanwhile, Meaghan Rath (The Assistants) is said to have reportedly signed a deal to play Molly, the flat's resident ghost, while Sam Huntington (Cavemen) is "up for the role of werewolf Josh." (Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello)

ABC Family has ordered twelve additional episodes of nighttime teen soap Pretty Little Liars, bringing the episodic commitment this season to 22 installments. (Variety)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva talks to Robert Greenblatt about his future plans following the end of his contract as president of entertainment at Showtime. "I had been wrestling with [the issue] for the last couple of months until I came to the decision that it was the time to move on,” said Greenblatt. "I don’t have any specific plans, I’m not in negotiations on anything, and I don’t have anything lined up." But don't look for Greenblatt to segue back into producing again. "Producing is a lonely, difficult work, and I’m not sure that’s where I’m headed. I’m leaning more towards an executive job at the moment," he said. "It’s all about innovating, building or rebuilding something. I don’t feel like walking into a place that needs a new head. It needs to be a place where I have to rethink the whole system; I’m very entrepreneurial.” (Deadline)

[Editor: meanwhile, Variety's Cynthia Littleton also has an interview with Greenblatt about the legacy he leaves behind at Showtime. "The degree to which we were able to break through the clutter with some programming that people seem to really love," said Greenblatt when asked about his major achievements at the pay cabler. "I've always tried to be innovative, going back to the Fox days (as a programming exec), and certainly as a producer. To be given this platform to reinvent it the way I saw fit was just such an extraordinary gift. And then to see the shows embraced the way they have been is just the icing on the cake."]

Variety's Cynthia Littleton also talks to inbound entertainment president David Nevins and chairman/CEO Matthew Blank about the transition. "With a tremendous batch of new stuff coming over the next year, David has the luxury of getting involved with those shows and looking around for the best new material that would take us forward in a way that is tune with his sensibility," Blank told Littleton. "One of the luxuries of the premium TV business is that we don't have a development season per se. David doesn't have to be ready to go with X number of pilots by any particular date." (Variety)

A&E is said to be in talks with 20th Century Fox Television to order thirteen episodes of FOX pilot Breakout Kings, which revolves around a federal fugitive apprehension program that is staffed with convicts. Project is created by Matt Olmstead and Nick Santora. (Variety)

Meanwhile, Deadline's Nellie Andreeva reports that FOX has ordered two additional scripts for comedy Breaking In, after the network passed on ordering the Christian Slater and Bret Harrison-led pilot to series. Studio Sony Pictures Television will extend the options on the actors, which--as Andreeva points out--will prevent Harrison from being in the running to take over the male lead on NBC's Perfect Couples, which is recasting. (Deadline)

TVGuide.com's Gina DiNunno has an interview with Louis C.K. ahead of tonight's premiere for his new FX comedy, Louie. "It's kind of like an autobiographical fiction," said C.K. of the new series. "It's like I'm playing myself, but none of these things have happened to me. Like I have a brother on the show, but I don't in reality. I just thought it would be interesting to have a one for a little while." (TVGuide.com)

SPOILER! TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck talks to Calista Flockhart and Brothers & Sisters executive producer David Marshall Grant about what the future holds for Flockhart's widowed Kitty. "It will be a little challenging for her," said Grant, who indicated that the action will begin a year after the death of Rob Lowe's Robert. "She might be seeing the kinds of guys that she didn't normally date, and I'm sure she'll have a date from hell." Flockhart added that she's sad to lose Lowe but said that Kitty won't be siting at home alone. "I don't think Kitty will be single for that long," she told Keck. "She'll have lots of guys — at least I hope." (TV Guide Magazine)

Executive shuffle: former ABC Studios executive Morgan Wandell has left Berlanti Television after two years, following the conclusion of his contract with the company. He will remain an executive producer on ABC's No Ordinary Family and will continue to develop projects. His responsibilities will be taken over at Berlanti Television by Melissa Berman. (Deadline)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Two More Years for Housewives, Glee Promotes Morris and Rivera, Conan to Appear on Sunday's 60 Minutes, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Deadline.com's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that ABC is said to be considering renewing nighttime soap Desperate Housewives for two more seasons, which would then wrap up the series' run on the network. "There have been indications that ABC may go for a straight two-year pickup, including making deals with key writers on the show. Creator/executive producer Marc Cherry already has a deal in place with producing studio ABC Studios for three more years," writes Andreeva. "If Desperate Housewives indeed ends its run after eight seasons, he is expected to focus on development in the final year of his deal." She also reports that Patrick Dempsey may not want to continue on Grey's Anatomy after next season... (Deadline.com)

Good news for Brittany and Santana. Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Glee's Heather Morris and Naya Rivera, who play Cheerios/New Directions double agents Brittany and Santana, will be getting promoted to series regulars next season, citing unnamed sources close to the production. A Glee spokesperson had no comment. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Elsewhere, E! Online's Megan Masters has an interview with Chris Colfer about last night's episode of Glee ("Home"), in which he attempts to set up his father (Mike O'Malley) with the widowed mother of Finn (Cory Monteith) in an effort to get closer to his unrequited crush. "It's very emotional—probably the most emotional [yet] for Kurt," said Colfer. "Kurt is so strong. He's more concerned with being OK in his dad's eyes than with anyone else. And that relationship definitely gets stronger. Some of the best stuff is coming up for it." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Conan O'Brien will break his media silence since his departure from NBC's The Tonight Show this Sunday when he grants an interview to 60 Minutes's Steve Kroft, set to air Sunday at 7 pm ET/PT, the day after his gag order from NBC expires. [Editor: some have wondered whether the venue was quite right for the youth-skewing O'Brien to give his first interview since the January debacle at NBC, yet one can't help but imagine that 60 Minutes's median age is going to plummet thanks to this interview.] (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Gilles Marini will be promoted to series regular next season on ABC's Brothers & Sisters, according to the series' showrunner David Marshall Grant, who also told Ausiello that Luke Grimes will be departing the series. "There may be an episode or two that some [characters] might not be in," Grant told Ausiello, "but aside from Rob [and Luke], the [entire] cast is returning." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Michael Ealy (FlashForward, Sleeper Cell) has been cast in a five-episode story arc next season on Showtime's Californication, where he will play a love interest for Natascha McElhone's Karen. He joins Rob Lowe, who will appear next season as an actor hoping to play David Duchovny's Hank in a film. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Deadline.com's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that insiders close to the Warner Bros. Television-Charlie Sheen deal are "optimistic a deal would be done within the final week before CBS’ May 19 upfront presentation." Sheen could end up being paid more than a million dollars per episode of CBS' Two and a Half Men, should a deal come together for another season. (Deadline.com)

It's official: Nancy Dubuc will now handle oversight of Lifetime Networks, where she will serve as president/general manager as well as holding the same role over A&E Television Network's History channels. Move was expected as early as February but the network group announced the official news yesterday. "I am incredibly honored to now lead the Lifetime team," said Dubuc. "Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network are two of the most powerful and evocative brands on the media landscape." (Variety)

Doctor Who's Matt Smith will play author Christopher Isherwood in Christopher and His Kind, a 90-minute telepic to air on BBC Two that will recount the writer's formative years when he departed England for Berlin. (Broadcast)

ABC has renewed reality series Supernanny for the 2010-11 season, but it's likely the last outing for nanny Jo Frost, who has indicated that she wants to leave the Shed Media-produced series. "It feels like the right time for me to end my reign as the Supernanny," said Frost. "I've lived out of a suitcase for the past five years, visiting 47 states for the show. It's time to settle down in one place for the time being." ABC, meanwhile, indicated that Frost might be under contract for an additional season beyond the 2010-11 one. (Variety)

Associated Press' Michael Cidoni has an interview with Party Down's Megan Mullally. "I'm really lucky, because Nick and I are homebodies, strangely enough. We're not Hollywood-y at all," said Mullally about her husband, Parks and Recreations star Nick Offerman. "Like I wonder, when I see a reality show that's set in Los Angeles with really tan women with giant boobs that do a lot of drugs. 'Where are they?' 'Cause I've lived there for 25 years and I've never seen them. We have a normal life and we just kind of keep it on the down low." (Yahoo! News)

TruTV unveiled eight new series in development and announced that it had renewed five series, including Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura, Black Gold, Las Vegas Jailhouse, Full Throttle Saloon, and Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock Hotel. Programs in development include America's Toughest Boss, The Naked Office, Exposed!, Vegas Rep, Limo Bob, Rogue Society, and Ma's Roadhouse. (Variety)

Bill Engvall (The Bill Engvall Show) and Mo Rocca (Wait Wait Don't Tell Me) have been named the hosts of ABC reality pilot Trust Me, I'm a Game Show Host, which is set to tape next week. (Variety)

BBC Worldwide Prods. has hired former AMC executive Vlad Wolynetz as SVP of scripted production and former William Morris Endeavor agent Hugh Fitzpatrick as VP of scripted programming. Both will report to Julie Gardner. (Deadline.com)

CBS has announced a return date for reality series I Get That a Lot, which will air as a one-hour special on Wednesday, May 19th at 8 pm ET/PT and feature Wayne Brady, Tim Gunn, Nick Jonas, Wynonna Judd, Jay Mohr, and Martha Stewart. (The Wrap)

Elsewhere at the Eye, CBS has promoted Noriko Gee to VP of programming planning and scheduling, where she will work with Kelly Kahl. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: CW Renews Five, Kripke Steps Down from "Supernatural," Dinosaurs (and Spielberg) at FOX, Montgomery and Blucas "True Blue," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

The CW has given early renewals to five of its series, including freshman drama The Vampire Diaries, reality series America's Next Top Model, and Gossip Girl, Supernatural, and 90210. However, not on the list are One Tree Hill, which has even odds at renewing, the ratings-starved Melrose Place, and newbie Life Unexpected, which has struggled in the ratings. (Variety)

There's a bit of a caveat to that early Supernatural renewal. Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that creator/executive producer Eric Kripke will be stepping down as showrunner on the Warner Bros. Television-produced series, with executive producer Sera Gamble set to take over the reins next season. "Kripke will remain actively involved in the show — and not just in name only," writes Ausiello. "Although CW and Warner Bros. reps declined to comment, a Supernatural insider assures me that Kripke and his current co-showrunner, Robert Singer, will continue to function as hands-on executive producers." Kripke, meanwhile, is in the process of negotiating a new deal with the studio that will contain a "big development component." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

[Editor: Meanwhile, The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan spoke with Gamble via email about Season Six of Supernatural. "No, you will not be getting Apocalypse, The Squeaquel in Season 6 (that's hilarious)," Gamble wrote to Ryan. "We're climaxing that story this season. We've been working on the Season 6 storyline for quite some time, and we're very excited about it. We have lots of ideas, and are grateful for the chance to keep the show going. Please tell the fans that the writers say thank you! We so appreciate the support." You can read Ryan's full post about the situation here.]

Dinotopia, redux? FOX is said to be in discussions with Steven Spielberg and Peter Chernin about Terra Nova, a potential drama series about a family who travels back in time from 100 years in the future to prehistoric times, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Project, from 20th Century Fox Television, was written by Craig Silverstein and Kelly Marcel and would likely be ordered directly to series, given the expensive nature of the sets and SFX necessary to bring the prehistoric world to life. Should the project get the greenlight, Spielberg, Chernin, Silverstein, and Marcel would serve as executive producers, along with Katherine Pope, Justin Falvey, and Darryl Frank. (Variety)

[Editor: The Wrap's Josef Adalian, meanwhile, takes a look at why FOX shouldn't go ahead with the Terra Nova project by investigating Spielberg's less than stellar track record in the television series business. You can read his piece here.]

Poppy Montgomery (Without a Trace) and Marc Blucas (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) have been cast as the leads on ABC drama pilot True Blue. Project, from ABC Studios, revolves around a group of former best friends who went through the San Francisco Police Department together who now reunite to solve the murder of one of their members. Montgomery will play Katherine Miller, described as "the only female police captain in San Francisco, who was once married to another member of the team (Blucas), a detective." Pilot will be directed by Peter Horton. (Hollywood Reporter, Variety)

Taryn Manning (Sons of Anarchy) has been cast as a regular in CBS drama pilot Hawaii Five-O, a remake of the classic television series. Manning will play Mary Ann McGarrett, the younger sister of Detective Steve McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin), who is said to have a "checkered past." (Variety, Hollywood Reporter)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that former Melrose Place cast member Colin Egglesfield will be guest starring on ABC's Brothers and Sisters in a storyline that is set in the past and which will offer younger incarnations of the Walkers. "Colin is now the frontrunner to fill the shoes of William Walker," writes Dos Santos. "As we previously reported, ex-original Beverly Hills, 90210 star Daniel Cosgrove was set to play Tom Skerritt's dearly departed dad, but once that didn't work out, Colin found himself employed once again." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Eugene Levy (Taking Woodstock) has been cast in CBS multi-camera comedy pilot Hitched, from writer/executive producers Josh Schwartz and Matt Miller (Chuck). Project, from Warner Bros. Television, revolves around a newlywed couple who are still learning about each other. Levy will play the husband's father, described as "a tracksuit-wearing four-times-divorced lothario." (Hollywood Reporter)

British production entity Working Title is entering the television business, launching Working Title Television, which will be a joint venture between the British indie and NBC Universal International and will be based in Los Angeles and London. Unit will be headed up by former NBC Universal Television executive Shelley McCrory; the first project from the venture is Cindy Chupack's NBC romantic comedy pilot Love Bites, with Marc Buckland (My Name is Earl) set to direct. (Variety)

Laurie Metcalf (Easy Money) has been cast in FOX multi-camera comedy pilot Strange Brew, from executive producers David Kohan and Max Mutchnik (Will & Grace) and Warner Bros. Television. Metcalf will play the matriarch of a family who runs a small brewery and has problems working and living together. (Hollywood Reporter)

In other pilot casting news: Nelson Franklin (The Office) has been cast as the lead in FOX comedy pilot Traffic Light, based on an Israeli scripted format about a group of friends who live together in a house; James Murray (Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire) has the cast of CBS drama pilot Chaos, about a team of rogue CIA operatives; and Joe Manganiello (One Tree Hill) has been cast as one of the leads in Craig Thomas and Carter Bays' CBS comedy pilot Livin' on a Prayer. (Hollywood Reporter)

FX has postponed single-camera comedy Louie, starring Louis C.K., to June, where it will be paired with drama Rescue Me. No exact launch date was given for either series but FX has indicated that Rescue Me will air at 10 pm ET/PT, followed by Louie at 11 pm. "Louie is a brilliantly funny and original series, and we are excited by the critical response to the show," said John Landgraf, President and General Manager, FX Networks, in a statement. "Even though it is a drama, Rescue Me has always been regarded as one of the funniest shows on television and it will provide an outstanding, compatible lead-in for Louie. We successfully used Rescue Me as a lead-in for the majority of the first season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. We believe in Louie and want to provide it with the best possible platform for success." (via press release)

As part of the company-wide layoffs announced at Sony Pictures Television, Jeanie Bradley will be leaving the studio. Bradley had most recently been EVP of programming for the studio and had overseen current duties on such series as FX's Damages. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Julianne Moore in Demand, Whedon Talks "Dr. Horrible," Flockhart to Cut Back on "Brothers," "House" Spinoff Possible, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Could Julianne Moore become the lead of the US adaptation of crime series Prime Suspect? If NBC gets their way, she very well could be. Moore is being pursued by NBC for the remake of the Helen Mirren-starring British series as well as ABC to star in another remake: this time Scoundrels, based on Kiwi series Outrageous Fortune. Moore has some competition for the Prime Suspect gig as Maria Bello has also been approached about starring in the remake as well as starring in Jerry Bruckheimer-produced drama pilot Chase, which has offers out to Bello, Tea Leoni, and Christina Applegate. Other in-demand stars this pilot season: Matt Dillon, Jason Isaacs, Michael Chiklis, and Josh Lucas. (Hollywood Reporter)

E! Online's Megan Masters has an interview with Joss Whedon, in which the Dr. Horrible creator talks about the possibility of a sequel, directing FOX's Glee, Neil Patrick Harris, and more. "We very much want to do it," Whedon told Masters about Dr. Horrible 2. "We meet, we hammer out stuff, we have songs, we have ideas, we're really working it, but it's a slow-moving train. We're very passionate about it, and Neil's been great... He's always checking in before he takes a gig." As for whether Harris will turn up on Whedon's episode of Glee, nothing has been settled yet, according to Whedon. ("That's something that's trying to be worked out, but I haven't heard whether or not that's going to take place," he admitted. "I hope so, that'd be great, [but] I don't know anything about it. I'm just a director on hire for that.") (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Brothers & Sisters star Calista Flockhart will scale back her workload next season on the ABC drama series but will remain a series regular. News comes on the heels of an announcement that co-star Rob Lowe will depart the series at the end of the season. "A Brothers & Sisters insider confirms that Flockhart’s lighter workload was a contributing factor in Lowe’s decision to flee," writes Ausiello. "The West Wing alum already felt his role on the show had become diminished. The prospect of his TV spouse appearing in fewer episodes would’ve only increased his sense of marginalization." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

While the Michael Weston-centered House spinoff is definitely NOT happening, FOX president Kevin Reilly has indicated to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello that executive producers David Shore and Katie Jacobs have a "standing offer" to develop another House spin-off. "They have really high standards," Reilly told Ausiello. "These are not guys who commercially are going to chase something just to announce they have a spinoff and then figure out the show later on. They’re probably the most thorough producers... I’ve ever worked with." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

CBS has given a pilot order to hybrid comedy Livin' on a Prayer, from executive producers Carter Bays and Craig Thomas (How I Met Your Mother) and writers Kourtney Kang and Joe Kelly. Project, from 20th Century Fox Television, will follow a Pittsburgh couple who are debating whether to take their relationship to the next level. (Variety)

Elsewhere at CBS, the network ordered three additional pilots: Chaos, about "rogue CIA operatives who combat bureaucratic gridlock, rampant incompetence and political infighting," from executive producer Brett Ratner, Tom Spezialy (Desperate Housewives), and 20th Century Fox Television; an untitled police procedural, from executive producers Ed Redlich (Without a Trace) and John Bellucci, CBS Television Studios and Sony Pictures Television, about a female NYPD detective who has total recall; and legal drama Defenders, from writers Niels Mueller and Kevin Kennedy and CBS Television Studios, about "two charismatic and fiery Las Vegas defense attorneys who go to the mat for their clients." (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC ordered a pilot for an untitled crime drama from writer Richard Hatem (Miracles) and director Gary Fleder, who will executive produce with Bert Salke and Chris Brancato. Project, from ABC Studios, revolves around a female detective who joins forces with a tarnished former cop to solve crimes "and untangle the conspiracy that sent him underground." (Hollywood Reporter)

Over at NBC, the Peacock has given a greenlight to an untitled Conan O'Brien-executive produced drama pilot (formerly known as Justice) about a ex-Supreme Court justice who starts his own legal practice. Project, from writer/executive producer John Eisendrath, hails from Universal Media Studios, where O'Brien's shingle Conaco has a year and a half left on its overall deal. (Variety)

Stan Lee will guest star as himself on the March 1st episode of CBS' The Big Bang Theory. According to TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck, Lee will "pop up in [the boys'] favorite comic book shop hangout." (TV Guide Magazine)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has an interview with NCIS: LA executive producer Shane Brennan about the departure of one of the series' lead actors, which will spark an overarching storyline that will play out through the season. "To my mind, particularly in the first season of a show, there is no main cast," Brennan told Ausiello. "The audience is meeting a whole bunch of characters and you get the opportunity to play around with them. I’m a great believer in playing with the audience’s expectations. It’s about making it as different and fresh as often as you can. And I certainly took that approach with this first season… I want them to know that nothing is sacred. And the cast is aware that this is the game I play. No one’s safe." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Not such good news for FX, sadly, as the Season Three launch of serialized drama Damages lured only 1.4 million viewers, down a staggering 17 percent from its second season premiere. However, once DVR numbers are factored in, the series is expected to receive a boost in the ratings and FX has been quick to point out in the past that many viewers often DVR and save multiple episodes to then watch in a marathon-style viewing pattern. Those viewers who watch more than seven days after the broadcast are not included in any ratings reports. (Variety)

Looks like the cast of MTV's Jersey Shore will be returning for a second season, after all. While MTV refused to comment on the contract negotiations, sources told The Hollywood Reporter that MTV has doubled its episodic offer to the stars of the reality series, offering $10,000 an episode. A deal is thought likely to materialize by the end of the week, a relief for the cabler which wishes to get a new season of Jersey Shore on the air this summer. (Hollywood Reporter)

Martha Stewart is moving her eponymous daytime talk show from first-run syndication to cable, echoing the steps that Oprah Winfrey herself is making over the next year. The Martha Stewart Show will move this fall to Hallmark Channel as part of a programming strategy overhaul that will see telepics shift to Hallmark Movie Channel and Hallmark become a destination for lifestyle shows, series acquisitions, and holiday-themed programming. The Martha Stewart Show will air at 10 am Monday through Friday and then be followed by a 90-minute block of other Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia programming. (Variety)

FOX has promoted Shana Waterman and James Oh to VPs of current programming and promoted David Sleven to director. (via press release)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Rosenbaum and D'Agosto Experience Sibling Rivalry, ABC Announces Season Finale Sched, Moore Talks End of "Battlestar," and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Former Smallville star Michael Rosenbaum and Heroes' Nick D'Agosto will star in NBC's untitled Justin Adler comedy pilot, where they'll play brothers in the Sony Pictures Television and Tantamount project; D'Agosto will play the family's youngest sibling who brings his girlfriend home to meet his family while Rosenbaum will play the middle sibling, a married man freaking out over his adopted baby.

Elsewhere, Noah Gray-Cabey (Heroes), Oded Fehr (Sleeper Cell), Kyle Riabko (Instant Star), and Jessy Schram (Life) will star in ABC musical drama pilot Limelight, about the teachers and students of a performing arts institute; Sam Neill (The Tudors) has joined the cast of ABC drama pilot Happy Town; and Rochelle Aytes (Drive) will star opposite Rupert Penry-Jones (Spooks) in ABC's untitled Jerry Bruckheimer drama pilot, about a team of amateur detectives, where she will play a police officer who slips cases to Penry Jones' team. (Hollywood Reporter)

HBO has announced that they are developing A Ribbon of Dreams, about the history of the Hollywood film industry, with writer/director/executive producer David Chase, creator of The Sopranos. (Televisionary)

Henry Rollins will guest star in a six-episode story arc on Season Two of FX drama Sons of Anarchy, where he will play a new antagonist for the fictional town of Charming, California. (Televisionary)

ABC has announced season finale dates for most of its series, with Scrubs to air an hour-long finale on May 6th (likely the series' last) and According to Jim on May 5th. Meanwhile, Lost will wrap up its fifth season on May 14th with a two-hour season finale; Grey's Anatomy will air a two-hour season finale on May 14th; Desperate Housewives will air a two-hour installment on May 17th; Brothers & Sisters will wrap on May 10th; Private Practice is set to end its season on April 30th; In the Motherhood and Samantha Who? will both air season finales on April 30th. Ugly Betty is set to return to the schedule on May 7th and end its season on May 21st. Freshman series Better Off Ted will wrap on April 29th, Castle on May 11th, and Cupid on May 12th, while midseason offerings Surviving Suburbia and The Unusuals haven't had end dates announced yet. On the reality side, Dancing with the Stars will wrap with a two-hour finale on May 19th, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on May 17th, Wife Swap and Supernanny on May 1st, and America's Funniest Home Videos will end its season with a two-hour episode on May 15th. (Variety)

SCI FI Wire spoke to Battlestar Galactica executive producer Ronald D. Moore about the upcoming series finale, slated to air on Friday. "I was ready to let it go creatively," said Moore of the decision to end the series after the fourth season. "I knew that the show had entered the endgame, and I knew that we were in the third act. It was time to wrap up the story. I wasn't emotionally ready to let it go, and I'm still not. It was a very important experience for me. I love it. I loved working on it. I loved the people I got to know. I loved the end product. I liked watching the show. I was a fan of the show. So it's hard to know that there's not more Galactica coming. But as a producer and as a writer, I'm very happy that we got to end it on our own terms." (SCI FI Wire)

Runaway production is once again on the forefront of everyone's minds. This year, at least 20 of the 39 hour-long broadcast network pilots slated to shoot this season will be produced outside of California, due to stringent new rules governing incentives for new television series in the State of California, which limit tax credits to basic cable series with less than $1 million in episodic budgets. (Variety)

Andy Samberg (Saturday Night Live) will host the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, which will air life from the Gibson Ampitheatre in Universal City on May 31st. It marks his first time hosting the awards ceremony. (Hollywood Reporter)

Oxygen is said to be close to ordering reality series The Naughty Kitchen, featuring Dallas chef Blythe Beck and her employees at her restaurant, from Code Entertainment and Authentic Pictures. Also in development at Oxygen: The Girls, about three wannabe singers in Nashville, and Hogs and Heifers, about the workers and patrons of the eponymous bar. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "Mad" Man Signs Deal, Moore Talks "BSG" and Fifth Cylon, Michelle Ryan Could Join Smith in the TARDIS, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. I'm still recovering from the past week and a half of Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour and Friday night's Battlestar Galactica cast & crew screening, which featured a live rendition by Bear and Brendan McCreary performing the BSG arrangement of "All Along the Watchtower," and a kick-ass afterparty thrown by director Michael Nankin, where much of the cast--including the Fifth Cylon--turned up afterward.

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has a fantastic interview with Battlestar Galactica co-creator/executive producer Ronald D. Moore, writers Bradley Thompson and David Weddle, and director David Nankin about "Sometimes a Great Notion," the season premiere for the final run of BSG. Moore dishes about the reasoning behind the Fifth Cylon, Duala's fate, and shooting this episode during the writers strike. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

The Sunday Mirror claims that Michelle Ryan (Bionic Woman, Merlin) has been picked by Doctor Who's Steven Moffat and the other executive producers as the new companion for the Eleventh Doctor, to be played by Matt Smith. According to their source Ryan has "been in secret talks with BBC bosses. They are likely to announce her as Doctor Who's new assistant very soon. She is perfect for the role. She is good looking and the right age to star alongside Matt. Everyone agrees they look great together and reckon fans will think they're the perfect team too." Other actresses linked to the role of late include Carey Mulligan (who played Sally Sparrow in Who's "Blink"), Lily Allen, and Kelly Brook. (N.B.: Ryan previously worked with Moffat on Jekyll, so there could be an ounce of truth to the story and after seeing her in said series, think she could be great on Who.) (Sunday Mirror)

Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner has signed a two-year deal with Lionsgate and AMC following months of negotiations that will keep him executive producing the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning AMC drama. Under the terms of the deal, Weiner will continue on as Mad Men's showrunner for the third season (to air this summer) and a potential fourth season and develop new series projects for the studio, as well as a feature film. "It's been a long road to try to make this deal," said Lionsgate TV president Kevin Beggs, "but between the support of AMC and the creative deal-making of (Lionsgate TV COO) Sandra Stern, we found a way to cobble together a package that was attractive to Matthew and made sense for us." (Variety, Hollywood Reporter)

The New York Times has a profile of Lost's co-producer/script coordinator Gregg Nation, who keeps track of the series' Byzantine plot developments, from the four-toed statue foot to the smoke monster, all while also charting the complicated character arcs and numerous subplots. "Keeping those details straight is likely to be increasingly important as the series speeds toward its climax, jumping both off and back onto the island and among the past, present and future. If Mr. Eko shows up alive or Jack’s chest hair reappears at an inappropriate time, for example, viewers will notice." (The New York Times)

In other Lost-related news, Entertainment Weekly's Doc Jensen has a video interview with Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse at the writers' office of Lost, as part of a planned Paley Center tribute to the series as they discuss fans' favorite episodes. (Entertainment Weekly)

And Tom Connolly (Veronica Mars) has been cast in an undisclosed recurring role on Season Five of Lost. (Variety)

Laura Prepon (October Road, That '70s Show) has signed on to appear in five episodes of CBS' How I Met Your Mother, where she'll play a former girlfriend of Ted's, whom he dated in high school and college and who was prone to cheating on him. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

ABC has handed out a put pilot commitment to an untitled comedy project from writer/executive producer Ricky Blitt (Family Guy) about a 30-something guy who is caught between his single mom girlfriend and his slacker best friend. (FYI, project was formerly known as Threesome.) (Variety)

Vanessa Marcil (Lipstick Jungle) has been cast in CBS' Without a Trace as a Manhattan social worker in a multiple-episode story arc. Marcil, whose character is intended to be a potential love interest for Eric Close's Martin, will first appear in the seventeenth episode, scheduled to air in March. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Mather Zickel (Rachel Getting Married), Annie Potts (Boston Legal), and Jack Thompson (Australia) have been cast in CBS comedy pilot The Karenskys, opposite Sasha Alexander. Zickel will play Emily's husband Bill, a biology professor; Potts will play Pearl Karensky, Emily's deeply religious mother; Thompson will play Max Karensky, Emily's argumentative father. (Hollywood Reporter)

Matt Letscher (Eli Stone) will join the cast of ABC's Brothers & Sisters in a multiple-episode story arc, where he will play a recent widower and a potential romantic interest for Kitty (Calista Flockhart). His first appearance on the series is slated to air in April. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Patricia Rae (Maria Full of Grace) will guest star on two episodes of NBC's Chuck. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Donna Martin Graduates to "90210," ABC Lands Gaghan Pilot, Stolz Talks "Grey's" Killer, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. I spent last night fully immersed in television, watching screeners of the Season Three premiere of Skins, Lost in Austen, and Mistresses, before indulging in this week's episode of Bravo's Top Chef.

Tori Spelling is in "final negotiations" to reprise her role as Donna Martin in the CW's 90210 in multiple episodes this season. One major point holding up the deal previously was allegedly Spelling's fear or running into Shannen Doherty on the set, but Doherty has now wrapped her role for the season. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Oscar winner Stephen Gaghan (Traffic) was recently the subject of a bidding war between ABC and FOX, with ABC landing the writer with a seven-figure blind put pilot commitment. Under the terms of the deal, Gaghan--who previously wrote for The Practice and NYPD Blue--will write and executive produce a one-hour drama pilot for the network and is attached to direct the potential pilot, should his schedule allow. No studio is currently attached to the project, though both ABC Studios and Sony are said to be in the running. (Hollywood Reporter)

TV Guide chatted with Eric Stoltz, set to appear in Sci Fi's Battlestar Galactica prequel series Caprica, about his upcoming role as a serial killer on ABC's Grey's Anatomy, ethical decisions at Seattle Grace, and MerDer. "I certainly insinuate myself into their relationship," said Stolz, "and am the source of not a little strife." (TV Guide)

In an effort to transform into a network offering original series five nights a week, cabler TNT has ordered drama pilots The Line and Time Heals to series. The Line, from Warner Horizon and executive producers Jerry Bruckheimer, Danny Cannon, Jonathan Littman, and Doug Jung, stars Dylan McDermott (The Practice), Logan Marshall Green (The OC), Omari Hardwick (Saved) and Nicki Avcox (Supernatural) and follows the lives of an undercover crime-fighting unit so hidden that some of its operatives don't even realize they are involved. Time Heals, from Sony Pictures TV, follows the doctors, administrators, and colleagues at a Charlotte, North Carolina hospital; it stars Jada Pinkett Smith, David Hirsh (Lovebites), Laura Kenly, Christina Moore (90210), and Suleka Mathew (Men in Trees). Both series are set to launch later this year. Still under consideration for series order: Ray Romano's Men of a Certain Age. Thought to be dead: crime drama Night and Day, from executive producer Michael Mann. (Hollywood Reporter)

Showtime has ordered a pilot presentation for comedy Ronna and Beverly, with Weeds creator Jenji Kohan, Jessica Chaffin, and Jamie Denbo and Lionsgate Television attached. Project, based on a sketch created by Chaffin and Denbo, revolves around two middle-aged Boston women who decide to self-publish and promote and dating guide for Jewish singles entitled "You'll Do A Little Better Next Time." Chaffin and Denbo, who co-wrote the script with Kohan, will star in the pilot presentation, to be directed by Paul Feig (The Office). (Variety)

NBC has revealed the identities of the 16 celebrities competing in the second season of Celebrity Apprentice, launching March 1st. Clint Black, Andrew Dice Clay, Annie Duke, Tom Green, Natalie Gulbis, Scott Hamilton, Jesse James, Claudia Jordan, Khloe Kardashian, Brian McKnight, Joan Rivers, Melissa Rivers, Brande Roderick, Dennis Rodman, Herschel Walker, and Tionne Watkins will square off in the boardroom for charity. (via press release)

Jason Lewis (Sex and the City) will return to ABC's Brothers & Sisters, where he will reprise his role as Kevin's ex-boyfriend Chad, a closeted actor. Lewis is set to appear in one episode of the ABC drama, set to air in April. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

CBS has pulled gameshow Million Dollar Password from its schedule. (Futon Critic)

National Geographic will launch reality series Hard Time on February 23rd. The six-hour series, the result of a year of embedded filming by producers, follows the lives of inmates and officers in Georgia's state incarceration system. Set to return to the cabler in 2009: new seasons of Dogtown, Locked Up Abroad, World's Toughest Fixes, Naked Science, and Deadly Dozen. (Hollywood Reporter)

MuchMusic VJ Hannah Simone and Joel Gourdin of G4's Attack of the Show will host Sci Fi's eight-episode videogame competition series WCG Ultimate Gamer. Series, from executive producers Michael Agbabian and Dwight D. Smith, is set to launch in March. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "Brothers & Sisters" Thins Out Cast, Bill Lawrence Talks "Scrubs" Future, Kingston Scrubs in for "ER," and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Only a few major headlines this morning, though I am still literally shaking after watching the first two episodes of Season Five of Lost yesterday afternoon. (Nearly 24 hours later and I still can't get it out of my head, but that's hardly surprising.)

The Walker clan is getting thinned out a little bit. According to Michael Ausiello, Brothers & Sisters' Balthazar Getty was told last week that his option as a full-time series regular was not being picked up for next season. However, Getty is said to be in talks with producers to remain on the series, perhaps in a recurring role. Decision to reduce Getty's role is due to both budgetary and storyline reasons, though some insiders have pointed to Getty's "difficult" behavior of late. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Bill Lawrence--the creator of Scrubs, which moves from NBC to ABC on January 6th--talks to the New York Times about writing the ending for the medical comedy. Only that ending is now in question as ABC debates whether or not to continue the series without Lawrence or series lead Zach Braff... or the same title. In a possible move that could signal the future of the series, Lawrence is bringing in a new batch of interns for Season Eight, who will star in a series of webisodes alongside the linear series. (New York Times)

Alex Kingston will return to NBC's ER for the series' January 15th episode, where her character Dr. Elizabeth Corday--last seen on the series five years ago--runs into Parminder Nagra's Neela at an attending interview. ER's series finale is slated to air March 12th. (TV Guide)

Michael Pitt (Funny Games) will star opposite Steve Buscemi and Kelly Macdonald in Martin Scorsese and Terence Winter's HBO drama pilot Boardwalk Empire, about the origins of Atlantic City. (Hollywood Reporter)

The graphic content of Season Three of BBC's Torchwood--airing over five consecutive nights this spring--will be toned down so as to avoid being heavily edited for US broadcast, according to series star John Barrowman. "We're not swearing or doing anything close to the bone because it's been a huge success in the US and the networks won't accept it with all that stuff in it," said Barrowman."We're doing everything so it doesn't have to be heavily edited for the US... I'll still be getting naked and it will still be saucy - but it's done with taste." (Digital Spy)

"What NBC does best these days is turn its failures into The New Broadcast TV Paradigm." So says The Washington Post's Lisa de Moraes, who takes a look at the declining fortunes of NBC, struggling to tie with FOX for last place among the broadcast networks. "In just a few short years, NBC, once the best brand in broadcast TV, has become virtually irrelevant," writes de Moraes. "This season has been a particularly lousy one for the network, leading even former journalist-disciples of the network to pen pieces about its 'sad' descent and its 'lack of quality inventory.'" (The Washington Post)

USA Today talks to Brody Jenner and Whitney Port, the stars of MTV's upcoming reality series Bromance and The City respectively. Says Jenner about his upcoming series which looks to pair the former Hills star with a new male friend, "I've always been a person that's totally comfortable with my sexuality and showing my affections with my guy friends." (USA Today)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "Do Not Disturb" Checks Out Early, Sarah Michelle Returns to TV, "Boston Legal," and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Last night was quite a busy telly-viewing evening here in the Televisionary household, with brand-new episodes of Ugly Betty, The Office, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which once again managed to make me laugh until it hurt. Green man!

We may have our very first cancellation of the season on our hands with FOX's comedy Do Not Disturb. Series, which starred Jerry O'Connell and Niecy Nash and struggled in the ratings since its launch three weeks ago, has been preempted next week and will be replaced with a repeat of 'Til Death. (Ouch.) There was no official announcement as of press time from studio 20th Century Fox Television or the network about the fate of Do Not Disturb, but Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello claims that inside sources at the network have confirmed that the series has been cancelled. Let the guessing games about what the second cancelled series of the year will be begin! (Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Sarah Michelle Gellar has signed on to star in HBO's half-hour comedy pilot The Wonderful Maladys, about the dysfunctional lives of three adult siblings who lost their parents at an early age. In the project, from writer/executive producer Charles Randolph (The Interpreter), Gellar will play a character described as having "a king of zealous immaturity -- like a drug addict with a to-do list." Character was created by Randolph with Gellar in mind; pilot will likely be shot in early 2009. (Variety)

Melissa George (Alias) is in final negotiations to join the cast of ABC's Grey's Anatomy, where she will play an intern who is intended to be a potential love interest of their Sara Ramirez's Callie or Brooke Smith's Erica. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TNT has ordered two procedural cop drama pilots, including an untitled project from writer/executive producer Doug Jung (Big Love) and executive producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Danny Cannon (CSI) about a squad of young undercover police officers as they find themselves torn between performing their duty and being seduced by corruption and cash. The other project ordered by TNT is Bunker Hill (formerly known as Morse Code), which stars Donnie Wahlberg and explores the "crime, corruption, and deceit" of the Bunker Hill neighborhood of Boston. Project comes from writer/executive producer Walon Green and executive producers Donnie Wahlberg and Jon Avnet, who is set to direct the pilot. (Hollywood Reporter)

FOX is developing an untitled single-camera workplace comedy from writer/executive producers Moses Port and David Guarascio, who created last season's CW comedy Aliens in America. Project is about a young man who takes a mood enhancer that breaks him out of his funk and he applies for a job at a pharmaceutical company, where he must deal with working for his high-powered female boss who is nicknamed "The Velvet Hammer." (Variety)

Could Jason Ritter be joining the cast of ABC's Brothers & Sisters as Ryan Walker, the secret child of William Walker? (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

In other FOX news, the network is developing a The New McToms, a single-camera half-hour comedy about a "conservative matriarch who must face the reality of her three children marrying ethnically diverse spouses." Project comes from ABC Studios, executive producer Salma Hayek, and writers Boyce Bugliari and Jamie McLaughlin. (Hollywood Reporter)

Julie Bowen is set to return to ABC's Boston Legal in November in the series' tenth episode. Just don't hold your breath waiting for Mark Valley to return... (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

True Blood has upped four actors to regular status when the series returns for its recently ordered second season. Former guest stars Mehcad Brooks (Desperate Housewives), Todd Lowe (Gilmore Girls), Deborah Ann Woll (The Mentalist), and Michelle Forbes (Battlestar Galactica) are all set to appear in the season finale, which airs later this fall. (Hollywood Reporter)

MTV has renewed reality competition series From G's to Gents, ordering ten episodes to run early next year. (Variety)

David Tennant is said to be suffering from Doctor Who withdrawal while acting alongside Patrick Stewart in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet, joking that "Shakespeare's all right, but he's lacking in spaceships." He went on to say, "It's nice to know that I'm coming back. I'll be reminded of [Doctor Who] in some shape or form pretty much every day until I start filming again in January." (Digital Spy)

ABC Studios has extended director Gary Fleder's overall deal; he's said to be developing a project with Jericho creator Jonathan Steinberg and is set to executive produce and direct CW pilot Light Years. This past development cycle, he directed the pilots for ABC's Life on Mars (launching October 9th) and Finnegan. (Variety)

Oxygen has acquired off-network rerun rights to the CW's America's Next Top Model, which it will begin to air in January. The cabler has purchased the rights to the full library of the series, including its current and future cycles. (TV Week)

Steve Valentine (Crossing Jordan) will sereve as host on Sci Fi's new reality competition series Estate of Panic, which follows seven contestants seeking hidden cash on an estate filled with all sorts of unexpected challenges. Series comes from Endemol and will launch on November 12th. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: The Mentalist (CBS); America's Toughest Jobs (NBC); Friday Night SmackDown! (CW; 8-10 pm); Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? (FOX)

9 pm: Presidential Debate (CBS; 9-11 pm); NBC News Special (NBC); Presidential Debate (ABC); Presidential Debate (FOX)

10 pm: Dateline (NBC); 20/20 (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

Um, I think I'll just go out instead...

Ousted, Not Fired: "Brothers and Sisters" Creator, Er, Departs the Series

In case you haven't heard, Brothers & Sisters creator Jon Robin Baitz is no longer involved with the ABC drama.

But lest you say he was fired off of the series he created, he's quick to point out that he was "ousted, not fired, an important distinction," in a heartbreakingly honest two-part piece Baitz has written for the Huffington Post about the nature of his, er, departure from Brothers & Sisters. (Part One can be found here.)

He admits that the series, which struggled early on in its run, needed help. "I will very openly state on the record that the second show-runner who stepped in, did, in fact, quite literally save the show," writes Baitz, "and that in fact, were I left to my own devices in TV land, it is fairly certain that B&S would have been canceled within hours of the third episode."

Despite acknowledging deep-seated tensions between him and the studio, Baitz is quick to point out that the rumors swirling about his ousting, including a blind item last month in the Ausiello Report, didn't emanate from him.

"The writer of the [...] cutesy blindish item had been digging at the story like a fey Tuscan truffle pig on the hunt, pointed in the right direction by a sly studio farmer," writes Baitz. "In Hollywood, that makes guys like Ausiello seem like Woodward, Bernstein, and Upton Sinclair all rolled into one unctuous package."

Ouch.

Baitz certainly isn't one to hold his tongue, not about Ausiello or about the network and studio demands, the source allegedly of the in-fighting among the series' creator and the suits. If he's learned anything from Brothers & Sisters, it's that he has to fight, Baitz claims. In one particularly brutal passage, Baitz writes:

"I am no longer the SOURCE for any of it, no longer the instigator of plot, and no longer the voice of the thing. It is no longer in my dreams. I do not wake up and make notes about future episodes. I can no longer argue for tone and can only watch as the demographic demands that have turned America into an ageist and youth-obsessed nation drives the storylines younger and younger, whiter and whiter, and with less and less reflection of the real America, which is made up, to the sorrow of the research departments, of people over 35 years of age and of many ethnicities and incomes. Then again, I will never again have to do a notes call wherein the fear and sea-sickness of the creative execs always prevails over taking a risk, resulting more often than not in muddy and flattening or treacly-sweet compromises after a stolid and pointless series of writerly objections. (And note to execs on my next show: you won't wanna be giving me too many of them. Sorry, I shan't roll over ever again.)"

It's an awe-inspiring monologue about the nature of the television beast and about the push and pull between corporate bottom-lines and creative types. (Or as Baitz puts it, "The war with the studios has arguably radicalized me, which is a good thing, and I will never again enter into another relationship with a studio (or perhaps person) in either hope or fear, only the stoic certitude of a veteran of foreign wars.")

It's definitely worth a read and some further discussion, regardless of whether you watch Brothers & Sisters or not.

ABC Rewards "Betty" and "Brothers & Sisters"

Given the dismal state of this year's crop of new series, it's no wonder that the networks are looking to hold on to the few ratings standouts as they crop up.

So it's no surprise then that ABC has given full season orders to two freshman dramas in its stable, Ugly Betty and Brothers & Sisters, picking up the back nine episodes for both... which means a full 22 episodes for fans of Mode magazine or the Walker clan.

ABC's Ugly Betty has averaged the second place spot among A18-49 on Thursday nights (just behind CBS' Survivor) and an average of 15.3 million viewers. It's also worth noting that Betty is the top freshman series among Latino viewers with an average of 1.13 million viewers. Meanwhile, Brothers & Sisters won its 10 pm timeslot this past Sunday night among the key demo, A18-49 (4.9/12), and across the board with female viewers.

While no ratings behemoths along the lines of previous breakouts Lost, Desperate Housewives, or Grey's Anatomy, both have managed to strike a chord with viewers and carve out an audience, with Betty being one of the few bright spots in the freshman class. (The other two breakouts, Jericho and Heroes, have already gotten full season pickups from their respective networks.) It also proves somewhat that the networks need to be programming more female-friendly fare (like Betty or Brothers & Sisters) and that a drama need not be highly serialized in order to find a following. In fact, something tells me that next season we'll see the networks developing a whole slew of Betty clones.

Let's just hope they don't bring along any Guadalajara ponchos.

Family Drama Behind the Scenes at "Brothers & Sisters"

Call it a case of growing pains... or sibling rivalry.

I can't help but wonder what exactly is going on at ABC's Brothers & Sisters, the freshman drama starring Calista Flockhart, Rachel Griffiths, Balthazar Getty, Dave Annabel, and Sally Field as the only-on-TV-are-these-people-related Walker family of not so sunny California. (Ron Rifkin and Patricia Wettig also star.) When the behind-the-scenes drama on a series seems more intense than the actual show itself, that's a sign for alarm, especially as fall premiere dates seem to be looming ever closer.

First, there were the well-publicized cast changes. Jonathan LaPaglia and Betty Buckley were voted off the island; replacing them are Matthew Rhys and Sally Field. Okay, post-pilot cast changes/additions are always to be expected and nine times out of ten they're really for the best. (Just look at the original Willow on the pilot presentation of Buffy the Vampire Slayer if you don't believe me.)

News leaked out about a certain cast member getting killed off early on in the first episode, a very obvious death that network insiders were quick to try to hush up. (If you've seen any promo for the series or have seen the pilot for Brothers & Sisters--reviewed here--or have even heard what the show is about, it's patently obvious who doesn't stick around for the second episode. But if you want to stay in the dark, don't read the review.)

Critics attending the series' Television Critics Association panel last month were mightily confused about what exactly ABC was trying to say when they wouldn't confirm or deny which cast member wouldn't be appearing on the series and executive producer Ken Olin kept waffling about whether that Certain Someone was in fact killed off or not. That is, until a member of the press read a description of Brothers & Sisters pulled off of ABC's website. A burnt-out Olin wasn't sure how to respond. "I don't know," said Olin. "That's what they said. They are my bosses. If that's what it says, that's what it says." Um, right.

Some critics had their own opinions about the series after not being able to screen the pilot. "ABC would to have legitimate reasons for not showing us the Brothers & Sisters pilot — what with the recasting and reshooting," wrote Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret Morning News. "But in the past 16 years, no series that wasn't shown to critics before or during press tour has ever succeeded."

(It's worth noting, however, that Flockhart's Ally McBeal also wasn't screened at the TCA and it went on to become both a critical and ratings hit.)

Showrunner Marti Noxon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and FOX's short-lived Point Pleasant) was quick to defend the show, casting off the "troubled" label that had become someone affixed to Brothers & Sisters at that point. "We're the private show," joked Noxon. Ah. Well, that must explain it then.

It's funny what a difference a few weeks can make. Noxon quit the series unexpectedly last week after what many have said were weeks of "friction" between her and neophyte television writer Jon Robin Baitz, the show's creator. The Los Angeles Times blamed the departure on "a dispute over [the series'] artistic direction." While Brothers & Sisters did continue filming after Noxon's departure, it raises more than a little concern about the future of the show, which many TV critics have referred to as Calista Flockhart's Return to TV (as though she's been on vacation on some tropical island for the last few years).

Still, studio execs at Touchstone Television were hopeful that Noxon might return to the show. It's not final," Charissa Gilmore told the LA Times last week. "Until then, she's on the show."

It's not quite that easy. Yesterday, there was another development in the ongoing Brothers & Sisters family saga. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Everwood creator Greg Berlanti has been said to be "spending a lot of time in the Brothers & Sisters writing room, lending a hand on the show," following Noxon's unexpected depature last week.

While there's currently no deal in place to secure Berlanti's services on the series, insiders said that he was a great fit with the show's writer/producers. "Everyone is thrilled about this collaboration," a Touchtone Television spokewoman told The Hollywood Reporter. (Um, that wouldn't be the same spokeswoman who claimed that Noxon might come back, right?)

Officially, Touchstone Television is still looking at candidates to replace Noxon, but I have a feeling that Berlanti will be the one to fill her shoes, as he has experience overseeing a series: Everwood ran for four seasons on the (now defunct) WB. And it's also worth noting that Berlanti has experience with short-lived dramas as well: Jack & Bobby, while critically acclaimed, failed to make it past its freshman season. Will the beleaguered Brothers & Sisters be added to that list? Or will it be the triumphant return to television that Flockhart's handlers wish it to be? All I can say is find out this fall on ABC.

"Brothers & Sisters" is scheduled to premiere Sunday, 24 September, at 10 pm, following "Desperate Housewives."

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Rock Star: Supernova (CBS); America's Got Talent (NBC; 8-10 pm); Blue Collar TV/Blue Collar TV (WB); George Lopez/George Lopez (ABC); So You Think You Can Dance (FOX; 8-10 pm); America's Next Top Model (UPN)

9 pm: Criminal Minds (CBS); One Tree Hill (WB); George Lopez/George Lopez (ABC); All of Us/Half and Half (UPN)

10 pm: CSI: New York (CBS); Law & Order (NBC); Primetime (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

10 pm: Project Runway on Bravo.

Yay! Another new episode of my new reality fix, Project Runway. Michael finally got some much deserved love from the judges last week, but Robert better step it up if he hopes to stay in the competition. However, it looks like Vincent, Jeffrey, and Kayne are called out this week by style maven Michael Kors. Michael K., as long as Kayne stays, you can get rid of the other two. Just saying...

Channel Surfing: 7.11.06

"Battlestar Galactica" Sets Course for October Launch of Season Three

Sci-Fi has announced a premiere date for the third season of its hit drama, Battlestar Galactica, according to a report filed by The Futon Critic. The third season premiere is set for Friday, October 6th at 10 pm ET/PT. Like its second season BSG's third season will be broken into two sections, with Season 3.0 airing ten episodes through December 8th; Season 3.5 will air sometime in 2007 with an additional 10 installments.

I don't know about you, but BSG has become appointment television for me. If you weren't lucky enough to snag an Emmy screener set containing all of Season 2.0 and 2.5, fret not. Battlestar Galactica Season 2.5 is set to be released on DVD on September 19th, leaving you plenty of time to catch up on the drama and wacky antics of Apollo, Starbuck, Roslin, Adama, and that duplicitous weasel Gaius Baltar.

And after that cliffhanger ending, I'm on pins and needles to to see what's going to happen next.

Did "Lost" Producers Commit "Emmy Suicide"?

Tom O'Neil of the Los Angeles Times' Gold Derby has a rather, er, insightful piece about why Lost and Desperate Housewives failed to receive Emmy nominations for best drama and comedy respectively last week, blaming the series' producers for "committing Emmy suicide" by submitting unsuitable episodes for review.

I've placed the salient bits below regarding the mistakes that Lost's producers made in selecting the "Man of Science, Main of Faith" episode for Emmy review, but I can't help but disagree with O'Neill's assessment that this past season of Desperate Housewives "had another superb season." (I had to tune out halfway through the season.)

"If you saw what sample episodes the producers of Lost and Desperate Housewives submitted to the Emmy judging panels as examples of their "best" work from this past TV season, you'd not only know why their shows got snubbed, but you'd wonder about their sanity or sobriety. [...]

The producers of Lost got their comeuppance for failing to take the Emmy race seriously. Did they really believe they'd impress voters with that "Man of Science, Man of Faith" episode? There's nothing to it and it doesn't make sense. A dog runs away into the jungle at night and a couple of islanders go looking for it. Whoopdeedoo. Meantime, a few other islanders blow the lid off a hatch in the jungle floor and we see partial glimpses of a man living in a modern-style apartment down below. Huh? That's it. That's the whole episode. I repeat: Huh?

Why didn't producers submit the one about the Tailies, ("The Other 48 Days"), which had a full story arc and was dramatically compelling? That would've cinched them a bid for best drama series.

The reason: they didn't think about it. Having won last year, they assumed they'd be nominated again, so they pulled a John Goodman and just pulled any old thing out of a barrel, they got snubbed, and now they blame Emmy voters for not hailing the brilliance of that weird, unintelligible "Man of Science.""

More than a little harsh, no?

I can't really imagine that the show's producers "pulled any old thing out of a barrel." And, while I too was a bit baffled by the snub, I can't totally place all of the blame on Lost's producers; the labyrinthine plots of the show don't exactly make it easy for non-viewers to jump in, especially when those same viewers are watching episodes of easy-to-digest procedural shows. It's really apples and oranges. Would the series have had a better shot with "The Other 48 Days"? Who can say? Yes, it's more of a complete story in a single episode, but it also doesn't feature the series' main cast and isn't really indicative of the season as a whole. We'll never know whether any episode would have clinched a nomination.

But to say that the show's producers lazily grabbed the second season premiere episode because they were that convinced that they'd get a nomination? It doesn't take a man of science or a man of faith to find fault with that logic.

Sci-Fi Pulse Will Let Viewers Decide Future of Animated Series

Many a comic book reader is familiar with that interactive publishing mandate "You decide!", but now television viewers are getting the chance to directly affect the future of a series.

While Sci-Fi's animated series, Amazing Screw-On Head (based on the comic book by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola) won't premiere on the network until July 27th, visitors to Sci-Fi's online broadband destination Sci-Fi Pulse will be able to watch the pilot in its entirety beginning this Thursday.

Additionally, Sci-Fi Pulse visitors who watch the series' pilot, which features the voices of Paul Giamatti, David Hyde Pierce, Patton Oswalt, Mindy Sterling, and Molly Shannon, will be able to answer an online questionnaire, the answers from which to help the cable network to decide whether it should pick up the Amazing Screw-On Head pilot to series.

The animated series follows the exploits of Screw-On Head, a robotic hero with the ability to, well, screw his head onto a number of bodies and fight evil. I don't know about you, but I am so there.

Blood "Brothers"?

ABC's upcoming fall drama Brothers & Sisters has recast two members of the Walker family.

As previously announced, Betty Buckley and Jonathan LaPaglia have left the series, which stars Calista Flockhart and follows the secrets and lies of a wealthy Californian family. In a surprise casting coup, Sally Field has joined the cast, replacing Buckley as the Walker family matriarch. (We like you, Sally, we really do!) Meanwhile, Matthew Rhys will step in to fill LaPaglia's shoes.

With family like this, as they say...

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Big Brother: All-Stars (CBS); Fear Factor (NBC); Gilmore Girls (WB); According to Jim/According to Jim (ABC); The Simpsons/Malcolm in the Middle (FOX); Veronica Mars(UPN)

9 pm: Rock Star: Supernova (CBS); Last Comic Standing (NBC); Gilmore Girls (WB); The Simpsons/Malcolm in the Middle (FOX); Primetime (9-11 pm; ABC); Veronica Mars (UPN)

10 pm: 48 Hours Mystery (CBS); Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC)

What I'll Be Watching

9 pm: Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List on Bravo.

Sure we've learned the sordid little secrets behind the D-List marriage, but let's pretend we're blissfully ignorant of what's really going on here. In tonight's episode, Kathy gets a new puppy but experiences some problems with her new bundle of joy and is asked by the Learning Annex to teach a class. What, Donald Trump was busy?

Pilot Inspektor: ABC's "Brothers & Sisters"

In his film Trust, writer/director Hal Hartley once said, "A family is like a gun; you point it in the wrong direction and you could kill someone." I think Hartley's statement applies nicely to ABC's new family drama Brothers & Sisters, which follows a wealthy Los Angeles clan as they do what families do best: eat together, bicker, love one another, fight, and then fight some more.

This being a television series, there's naturally more lurking beneath the seemingly idyllic surface of the Walker family than initially meets the eye. Told through the voice of outspoken daughter Kitty (Calista Flockhart), the series explores the many secrets and lies that exist in every family. Think of it as My So-Called Thirtysomething Relativity Once and Again. Or something to that effect.

What got me initially intrigued was the truly amazing cast that the show's producers had managed to assemble here, a trend which seems to be keeping in touch with this season's many productions: sprawling casts, interconnected plots, richer, more challenging stories, and the sort of budgets that one would usually associate with feature films. In this respect, Brothers & Sisters fits the bill. The cast is definitely top-notch, consisting of many familiar faces from TV and film (it's even, for some, a mini Alias reunion, but that's to be expected from former Alias executive producer Ken Olin).

Meet Kitty Walker (Flockhart). Unlike her liberal relatives, she's a conservative who escaped the West Coast for New York City, where she's the host of a conservative radio talk show. Kitty has been offered to turn her show into a nationally televised talk show and she uses a trip out West to meet with some producers as an excuse to celebrate her birthday with her family. She's not sure she's willing to entertain the offer, especially as it would take her away from her boyfriend Jonathan (guest star Dan Futterman, here reunited with his costar from The Birdcage), just as they are starting to get serious.

With the notable exception of firebrand Kitty, the Walkers are liberals, the sort of California family with a gorgeous, well-manicured manse that own their own business. The business in question is a food and vegetable supply company that's run by pater familias Henry (Tom Skerritt; warning lights flashing here) and his shifty brother-in-law Saul Ashman (Ron Rifkin). Mother Iva (Betty Buckley) is the sort of warm-hearted well-to-do woman that prefers to garden than employ someone to do that sort of thing for her. She and Henry are supposed to have a storybook romance and marriage that has weathered more than forty years, but it seems a little too perfect, if you ask me. And this being that sort of television series again, even Iva and Henry's perfect marriage has its share of heartbreak and secrets.

Two of the Walker children have gone into the family business: practical middle son Thomas (Balthazar Getty, here for once playing the responsible, ambitious son, rather than his usual screw-up character) and daughter Sarah (Rachel Griffiths, in fine form), who recently left a Fortune 500 company to sink her teeth into the family biz. Sarah's marriage to Jed (John Pyper-Ferguson) is on the brink of failing as the two drift away from one another, and their relationship is tested by the presence of their three children, including son Teddy (Jimmy 'Jax' Pinchak), who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome. Meanwhile, oldest son Kevin, an openly gay politician, learns that his ex-wife is planning to move with their teenage son, with whom he has a strained, distant relationship, to Texas. And youngest son Justin (Dave Annable) is a former Gulf War vet who is struggling with drug abuse.

As everyone gathers at the Walker home to celebrate Kitty's birthday, each of the Walkers reacts differently to what happens next. While talking with his grandson out back, beloved father Henry suffers a heart attack, collapses in the pool, and dies. (I told you that the red warning lights were flashing as soon as I saw that the dad would be played by Tom Skerritt.) Henry's death presents a whole host of complications: it inspires Kitty to take the television job, despite Jonathan's marriage proposal, and gives Thomas and Sarah more incentive to take control of the family business... especially as Saul is acting so strangely.

Taking a page out of Veronica Mars' handbook, Sarah does some snooping and discovers a number of secret, password-protected accounts on her uncle Saul's computer. Is he embezzling? She and Thomas confront him, but he's not talking. Add to this the fact that Justin notices a mysterious woman (Patricia Wettig) at his father's funeral and things begin to become clearer suddenly. At his mother's urging, Justin goes to Musso & Frank's to apply for a job and sees Saul having lunch with that very same woman. He approaches them and Saul quickly introduces her as Holly Harper, "a friend." Justin asks if she was a friend of his father and, before Holly can answer, Saul cuts her off by saying that she was a friend of both of theirs. Justin is instantly suspicious. Sarah, meanwhile, is finally able to access Saul's files and discovers that the company's pension funds accounts have been completely emptied. Is Saul paying off this woman, who was obviously Henry's mistress? Or did Henry do something terrible before he died?

As Sarah confronts Saul and tries to assert her place in their family business, Justin follows Holly from a distance and watches her house from across the street. He sees a young woman leave the house and drive off (hmmm, could it be another of Henry's children?), before knocking on the door. Holly answers the door and greets him, saying that they've met before but Justin doesn't remember her. She invites him inside and closes the door. And while the audience will have to wait until episode 2 to find out Holly's story, I think we can make a few intelligent guesses...

Production values are high and direction--by exec producer Ken Olin (Alias)--glossy and self-assured. Writing, from playwright Jon Robin Baitz, is strong, if a little obvious at times. (Did we really need Kitty's extended monologue at the beginning about the perils of dating Democrats or Republicans?) As can be expected by the cast, the overall quality of the acting is extremely high, especially for such a soapy show. While early pre-upfronts reports said that Flockhart had not tested well, I found her to be a sympathetic, amiable lead, in a role that was vastly different than her turn as the titular character on Ally McBeal. Rachel Griffiths is as wonderful as ever, making me nearly forget who Brenda Chenowith was (almost) and, as previously mentioned, it is wonderful to see Balthazar Getty playing the good son for once, rather than his typical messed up druggie character (played here instead by Dave Annable, as if apologizing for the mess that was FOX's Reunion). Ron Rifkin once again commands attention, even when he's not playing a megalomaniacal villain with an obsession for Rambaldi, as in Alias. (I hope that subsequent weeks give Betty Buckley--here playing matriarch Iva--more to do; she's far too talented of an actor to just shuffle along and offer advice while she prunes the trees.)

In many respects, Brothers & Sisters is a sort of throwback to the female-oriented family-centric soapy dramas of yesteryear (think Sisters or Providence) but I have no doubt that it will find an audience, especially given its plum post-Desperate Housewives timeslot on Sunday evenings. And while the ladies of Wisteria Lane have become far too zany for my taste, Brothers & Sisters could have borrowed just a smidge of that show's humor, if only to break up some of the stifling heaviness and darkness that seem to permeate the series' pilot. (Could that have something to do with the presence of former Buffy exec producer Marti Noxon?) Tonally, I think the show's producers need to figure out where they stand, as there's a little bit too much pathos to make one want to spend a significant amount of time with the Walkers. Just a little bit of humor or sunshine(this being California, after all) could do miracles in evening out the series' tone.

While the plot of Brothers & Sisters, so far anyway, has remained rather predictable, I'd most likely tune in again to catch the second episode. And, given the sometimes strained relations between brothers and sisters, isn't that a commitment in itself?

What's On Tonight

8 pm: The 41st Annual Academy of Country Music Awards (CBS; 8-11 pm); Most Outrageous Moments/Most Outrageous Moments (NBC); Gilmore Girls (WB); Stephen King's Desperation (ABC; 8-11 pm); American Idol (FOX); America's Next Top Model (UPN)

9 pm: 10.5: Apocalypse (NBC; 9-11 pm); Pepper Dennis (WB); House (FOX); Veronica Mars (UPN)

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: The Thick of It on BBC America (11 pm EST).

If you missed the second episode of the British comedy series that the Los Angeles Times is describing as "The West Wing meets The Office," here's your chance tonight to catch up before a new episode on Friday. One caveat: the show is so funny that you might just choke on your dinner whilst watching it. Be warned.