Gather Up the Dolls: The End of FOX's "Dollhouse"

I've had a very complicated relationship with Joss Whedon's Dollhouse, the metaphysical action series that wraps up its troubled run tonight on FOX with "Epitaph Two: The Return."

While I felt that there were moments of genius among the forced procedural element, the convoluted storylines, and gaping plot holes, Dollhouse often just left me pounding my head against the wall in frustration at times.

I never felt like Eliza Dushku's Echo became a gripping enough central character to anchor the series, which was always much more interesting when the focus shifted to that of Dollhouse's supporting players like Dichen Lachman, Enver Gjokaj, Olivia Williams, or Fran Kranz. (The latter of which grew on me exponentially as the series wore on.) But rather than shift into a full-blown ensemble, the action continually circled back to Dushku's Echo and Tahmoh Penikett's Paul Ballard, easily the two least interesting of the bunch. (Lachman's Priya/Sierra and Gjokaj's Anthony/Victor remain easy favorites.)

Additionally, while I thought that the early second season storyline involving Amy Acker's Whiskey was profoundly moving, it was quickly undone by the eleventh hour reveals of the last few weeks, which turned Dollhouse's compelling post-apocalyptic storyline (begun in last season's unaired and fantastic thirteen episode, "Epitaph One") into a bit of a mess.

Dollhouse has always been creatively uneven: the serialized aspect of the series has always tended to take a backseat to the procedural in both seasons and when the overarching plot has come into play, the results have been less than stellar. Season One's Alpha plot, which had such promise, degraded into a hodgepodge of soap operatics, truncated subplots, and metaphorical mustache-twirling. (It also revealed a shocking lack of security at the Dollhouse, a plot hole that has been used about a dozen or so times over the last two seasons as dolls, prisoners, and clients seemingly can wander in or out of the premises at will.)

The coming apocalypse gave Season One's "Epitaph One" such promise and emotional resonance; the Active technology, used for nefarious purposes via the doll's engagement, took on a portent of doom as it was the advancement of this tech that seemingly brought about the end of civilization. But some truly odd plot twists that come off as glaring retcons--such as the reveal that Harry Lennix's Boyd was in fact one of the founders of Rossum Corporation and that he'd kept the LA Dollhouse employees alive because he "loved" them--remove any sense of strong throughline here. To use one of the complaints of Lost-phobes, it seems like they are making it up as they go along.

Dollhouse will end tonight and that ending will be the ending of this narrative. It's highly unlikely that there will be any spinoff feature films, comics, or tie-in novels. And I'm glad about that. Not every one of Whedon's series can click with a huge audience nor can it find the same sort of obsessive adoration and respect that even the short-lived Firefly engendered.

I've stuck with Dollhouse against my better judgment at times; sometimes I was rewarded (the gripping Priya arc and Summer Glau's appearances as Bennett) and other times I wasn't (the lactating episode). I can't fault Whedon for trying something different and creating a series that asked some deep and dark questions about the nature of identity and reality.

But, ultimately, Dollhouse was a television series that no one--not Whedon, not FOX, not the series' writing staff--seemed to be on the same page about; it was as though everyone's agendas were at odds with one another and that was felt and seen on the screen each week. I'm hoping that Whedon lands somewhere more suited to his talents (FX, anyone?) and that his creative instincts and vision gel better with those of a future network.

In the meantime, I am more than ready to say goodbye to Dollhouse. Here's to hoping that some of the series' stand-out talents land on their feet after tonight's final future-set showdown.

The series finale of Dollhouse airs tonight at 8 pm ET/PT on FOX.

Channel Surfing: ABC Benches "FlashForward" Until March, "V" Return Set, Whedon on "Dollhouse," and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Looks like FlashForward won't be back in January, after all. ABC has announced its intentions to delay the return of FlashForward until March 4th, according to The Wrap's Josef Adalian. "Insiders said the network wants to run the remaining episodes without repeats," wrote Adalian. "Avoiding the Olympics onslaught in February is also part of the equation." However one issue that could become a narrative speed bump is the fact that it's still unclear how the revised scheduling will affect the series' key April 29th episode. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

ABC has revealed that sci-fi drama V, which aired four episodes last month, will return for the run of its back nine episodes beginning March 30th, when it will move into the Tuesdays at 10 pm ET/PT timeslot currently occupied by The Forgotten. The news means a sci-fi two-hour block of programming for ABC as V will air directly after Lost on Tuesdays. (HitFix)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has a phenomenal interview with Joss Whedon about the end of Dollhouse, what's next for Joss, Dr. Horrible, and his views of cable network programming and development. "The problems that the show encountered weren’t standalone versus mythology [episodes]," Whedon told Ryan about Dollhouse. "Basically, the show didn’t really get off the ground because the network pretty much wanted to back away from the concept five minutes after they bought it. And then ultimately, the show itself is also kind of odd and difficult to market. I actually think they did a good job, but it’s just not a slam-dunk concept." It's a must read for fans of Whedon's work... or indeed fans of television, full stop. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

FOX has given a script order to supernatural drama Howl, described as "an epic family saga about warring families of werewolves in a small Alaskan town." Project, from DreamWorks Television, is written by Joshua Miller and M.A. Fortin and will be executive produced by Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank. (Variety)

TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams talks to Private Practice star (and former Veronica Mars co-star) Chris Lowell about last night's explosive episode of Private Practice. "What's so nice about this episode, in terms of that specifically, is that it's finally when you see a darker side of Dell," Lowell told Abrams. "Up until now, he's always been searching for the good, and the right, and the positive and he just got freaking ugly. He just wanted her to die. It was horrible. Some of the stuff I got to say was crazy. It was a lot of fun. You would've expected to see some mercy, but a wall went up with Dell." (TVGuide.com)

Trace Adkins, Joey Lauren Adams, Boyd Holbrook, and Claire van der Boom have joined the cast of Epix's Nashville drama pilot Tough Trade, from Lionsgate Television and executive producers Jenji Kohan and Chris Offutt. (Hollywood Reporter)

UK's Channel 4 has closed a deal for the UK rights to HBO's upcoming animated comedy The Ricky Gervais Show, which it will launch in March, just a few weeks after HBO's February 19th premiere. Series features the voices of Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington as they discuss a number of topics (it's based on their series of podcasts). "Channel 4, like HBO in the US, is the perfect home for this show, as they acquire innovative, cutting edge programmes such as Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Sopranos," said Gervais. "Like The Sopranos, C4 made me an offer I couldn’t refuse." (Broadcast)

Mark Burnett will executive produce Season Five of HGTV reality competition series HGTV Design Star. "We expect (Burnett and his team) will infuse 'HGTV Design Star' with fresh perspectives and innovative ideas," said Freddy James, HGTV SVP of programming development and production. (Variety)

Country music group Rascal Flatts will appear in an upcoming episode of CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation set to air next year. The episode, according to executive producer Carol Mendelson, is "a riff off [the group's] hit album, tour and song… [they'll] be playing themselves. One of the guys — and tear out my fingernails, but I won’t say who — will become the victim of a crime. The other two ‘Rascals’ will be suspects... thus, jeopardizing the future of the band." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Former Twenty Twenty executive Jamie Isaacs has been hired by reality production company Studio Lambert (CBS' upcoming Undercover Boss), where he will develop new unscripted formats and move the shingle into other areas of production. He'll report to Stephen Lambert. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Reincarnation Sleuths, Child Geniuses, and Show Choristers: FOX Announces Midseason Schedule

FOX today announced their midseason plans for 2009-2010, unveiling a lineup that includes giving reincarnation drama Past Life the post-Bones slot on Thursday evenings (current occupant Fringe will be going on a prolonged hiatus for seven weeks), bringing Kitchen Nightmares back (on Friday nights this time around) and giving the post-American Idol slot to new reality series Our Little Genius.

MONDAYS: The network announced that it had given a full season pickup to drama series Lie to Me, though the Shawn Ryan-produced series will take a breather on Mondays, which will be taken over by House and 24 come January. There's no return date yet for Lie to Me but the pickup ensures that the series will eventually return to the schedule at some point during the season.

TUESDAYS: Which brings us to Glee. We all knew that the musical comedy would go on hiatus after its initial thirteen-episode commitment and that there would need to be some time for scripting and production and that it would get a post-Idol slot. Glee will shift to Tuesday nights beginning April 13th (following the conclusion of Our Little Genius), where it will do battle with ABC's Lost, entering its sixth and final season. (As I mentioned on Twitter, if I am forced to choose between the two, Lost wins with no contest.)

WEDNESDAYS: The Idol juggernaut continues on Wednesdays, where it will lead into new unscripted series Our Little Genius beginning January 13th for a week before moving to Tuesdays and giving the timeslot to new action drama Human Target. (I wasn't crazy at all about the pilot for Human Target and, unless the producers have completely altered the format and structure of the series, I won't be tuning in.)

THURSDAYS: The biggest headscratcher is why FOX wouldn't move the struggling sophomore drama series Fringe off of Thursdays. Fringe will instead have its "winter finale" on February 4th and will return seven weeks later with new episodes on April 1st. In between those dates, FOX will give over the timeslot to Past Life. Having seen the pilot for the reincarnation drama, I would be amazed if FOX kept it around for all eight episodes. (FOX will launch the series with a two-hour premiere on February 11th.)

FRIDAYS: Kitchen Nightmares returns in midseason and lands the Friday night at 9 pm timeslot, taking over for the cancelled Dollhouse, which wraps up its run on January 22nd. However, it's likely a good thing that FOX is choosing to rest Hell's Kitchen for the time being. I assume they'll wait to bring the format back until summertime and I hear that they have two cycles of the reality competition cycle already in the can.

SUNDAYS: Sunday nights remain more or less intact after the start of 24's two-night launch on January 17th, with The Simpsons, The Cleveland Show, Family Guy, and American Dad remaining as is from the current schedule. Come March 14th, new live-action comedy Sons of Tucson will take over the 8:30 pm slot and The Cleveland Show will shift to 9:30 pm for the remainder of the season.

And, oh, FOX was generous enough to make sure we all knew that unkillable comedy 'Til Death would return to the schedule at "a later date."

The full press release from FOX announcing their midseason lineup and the night-by-night schedule (with launch dates) can be found below.

FOX ANNOUNCES 2009-2010 MIDSEASON SCHEDULE

“AMERICAN IDOL” RETURNS WITH TWO-NIGHT SEASON PREMIERE
TUESDAY, JAN. 12 AND WEDNESDAY, JAN. 13

NEW UNSCRIPTED SERIES “OUR LITTLE GENIUS” DEBUTS
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 13

NEW ACTION DRAMA “HUMAN TARGET” PREVIEWS
DURING EXTENDED PRIMETIME SUNDAY, JAN. 17 AND
MAKES ITS SERIES PREMIERE WEDNESDAY, JAN. 20

“24” STARTS THE CLOCK DURING TWO-NIGHT, FOUR-HOUR EVENT
SUNDAY, JAN. 17 AND MONDAY, JAN. 18

CELEBRATE THE “BEST. 20 YEARS. EVER.” OF “THE SIMPSONS”
WITH “THE SIMPSONS 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: IN 3-D! ON ICE!”
AND MILESTONE 450TH EPISODE SUNDAY, JAN. 10

GORDON RAMSAY’S “KITCHEN NIGHTMARES” TURNS UP THE HEAT
FRIDAY, JAN. 29

NEW THRILLER “PAST LIFE” EMERGES THURSDAY, FEB. 11
AND NEW COMEDY “SONS OF TUCSON” DEBUTS SUNDAY, MARCH 14

“GLEE” ROCKS ITS FALL FINALE WEDNESDAY, DEC. 9
AND RETURNS WITH ALL-NEW EPISODES TUESDAY, APRIL 13

“FRINGE” AIRS WINTER FINALE THURSDAY, FEB. 4
AND RESURFACES WITH ALL-NEW EPISODES THURSDAY, APRIL 1

“LIE TO ME” PICKED UP FOR THE BACK NINE EPISODES BRINGING
THE ORDER TO A FULL SEASON

FOX is announcing premiere dates of new and returning series as well as revisions to its 2009-2010 midseason schedule. FOX also has ordered a full season of the sophomore drama LIE TO ME.

January starts off on a high note when the ninth season of AMERICAN IDOL, television’s No. 1 series, begins with a two-night premiere Tuesday, Jan. 12 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) and Wednesday, Jan. 13 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT). Immediately following AMERICAN IDOL on Jan. 13 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), FOX unveils the not-to-be-missed series debut of OUR LITTLE GENIUS, a new unscripted series that features America’s most gifted kids as they are tested with some of the most challenging and difficult questions that only a remarkable little genius could answer.

A special extended primetime event on Sunday, Jan. 17 kicks off with the NFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF (4:00 PM-CC ET live/1:00 PM-CC PT live), which leads into the explosive series preview of HUMAN TARGET (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT), the new full-throttle, action-packed drama about a unique private contractor (Mark Valley) who will stop at nothing – even if it means becoming a human target – to save his clients. The special primetime event concludes with the first installment of the pulse-pounding two-night, four-hour premiere of 24 (9:00-11:00 PM ET/PT). The season premiere of 24 clocks in for two more hours of action Monday, Jan. 18 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), and the season premiere of HUMAN TARGET airs Wednesday, Jan. 20 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) following AMERICAN IDOL (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT).

On Sunday, Jan. 10, FOX presents a special SIMPSONS event beginning with the animated series’ milestone 450th episode, “Once Upon a Time in Springfield” (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT), in which BART (Nancy Cartwright) and MILHOUSE (Pamela Hayden) try to help KRUSTY (Dan Castellaneta) regain his popularity after network executives force him to restructure the format of his television show by hiring a female sidekick, PRINCESS PENELOPE (guest voice Anne Hathaway). Then, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Morgan Spurlock (“Super Size Me,” “30 Days”) will present THE SIMPSONS 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: IN 3-D! ON ICE! (8:30-9:30 PM ET/PT). The documentary special examines the global phenomenon that is THE SIMPSONS and serves as the momentous conclusion to the “Best. 20 Years. Ever.,” a year-long global celebration of THE SIMPSONS that launched in January 2009.

Chef Gordon Ramsay steps out of his own kitchen to serve up a new season of KITCHEN NIGHTMARES on Friday, Jan. 29 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). Each week, Chef Ramsay will try to help turn around some of the most unsanitary and unsuccessful restaurants in New York, New Jersey, Florida and California on the verge of closing their doors forever.

PAST LIFE, a new drama series inspired by the book “The Reincarnationist” about detectives who investigate the world of the unexplained, will bow with a two-hour series premiere Thursday, Feb. 11 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) and will make its time period premiere Thursday, Feb. 18 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).

SONS OF TUCSON, the new family comedy from Emmy Award winner Todd Holland (“Wonderfalls”) about three young brothers who hire a charming, wayward schemer to stand in as their father when their real one goes to prison, debuts Sunday, March 14 (8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT).

AMERICAN IDOL sings on Tuesdays (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) when it makes its time period premiere Jan. 19 followed by the time period premiere of OUR LITTLE GENIUS (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), and 24 syncs up for its time period premiere Monday, Jan. 25 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).

After its fall finale Wednesday, Dec. 9 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), GLEE returns from its interlude with a score of all-new episodes on a new night beginning Tuesday, April 13 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). FRINGE delves into its winter finale Thursday, Feb. 4 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) and then resurfaces with new cases beginning Thursday, April 1 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). Joss Whedon’s DOLLHOUSE goes out with a bang with its series finale Friday, Jan. 22 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).

RECAP – FOX 2009-2010 MIDSEASON SCHEDULE
(All times ET/PT except as noted)

MONDAY
Monday, Jan. 4:
7:30 PM-CC ET TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL (LIVE)

Monday, Jan. 18:
8:00-10:00 PM 24 (2-Night / 4-Hour Season Premiere, Part 2)

Mondays, beginning Jan. 25:
8:00-9:00 PM HOUSE
9:00-10:00 PM 24 (Time Period Premiere)

****************************

TUESDAY
Tuesday, Jan. 5:
7:30 PM-CC ET FEDEX ORANGE BOWL (LIVE)

Tuesday, Jan. 12:
8:00-10:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL (Season Premiere, Part 1)

Tuesdays, beginning Jan. 19:
8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL (Time Period Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM OUR LITTLE GENIUS (Time Period Premiere)

Tuesdays, beginning April 13:
8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL
9:00-10:00 PM GLEE (Time Period Premiere)

***************************

WEDNESDAY
Wednesday, Jan. 13:
8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL (Season Premiere, Part 2)
9:00-10:00 PM OUR LITTLE GENIUS (Series Premiere)


Wednesdays, beginning Jan. 20:
8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL
9:00-10:00 PM HUMAN TARGET (Series Premiere)

***************************

THURSDAY
Thursdays, beginning Jan. 14 (no change to lineup):
8:00-9:00 PM BONES (All-New Episodes)
9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE (All-New Episodes)

Thursday, Feb. 4:
8:00-9:00 PM BONES
9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE (Winter Finale)

Thursday, Feb. 11:
8:00-10:00 PM PAST LIFE (Two-Hour Series Premiere)

Thursdays, beginning Feb. 18:
8:00-9:00 PM BONES
9:00-10:00 PM PAST LIFE (Time Period Premiere)

Thursdays, beginning April 1:
8:00-9:00 PM BONES
9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE (Time Period Premiere)

***************************

FRIDAY
Friday, Jan. 1:
8:00 PM-CC ET ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL (LIVE)

Fridays, beginning Jan. 8:
8:00-9:00 PM BONES (Encore Episodes)
9:00-10:00 PM DOLLHOUSE (All-New Episodes)

Friday, Jan. 22:
8:00-9:00 PM BONES (Encore Episode)
9:00-10:00 PM DOLLHOUSE (Series Finale)

Fridays, beginning Jan. 29:
8:00-9:00 PM HOUSE (Encore Episodes)
9:00-10:00 PM KITCHEN NIGHTMARES (Season Premiere)

**************************

SATURDAY
Saturdays (no change to lineup):
8:00-8:30 PM COPS
8:30-9:00 PM COPS
9:00-10:00 PM AMERICA’S MOST WANTED
11:00 PM-Midnight THE WANDA SYKES SHOW
Midnight-12:30 AM SIT DOWN, SHUT UP

***************************

SUNDAY
Sunday, Jan. 10:
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS (450th Milestone Episode)
8:30-9:30 PM THE SIMPSONS 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: IN 3-D! ON ICE!
9:30-10:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW

Sunday, Jan. 17:
4:00 PM-CC ET NFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF (LIVE)
8:00-9:00 PM HUMAN TARGET (Series Preview)
9:00-11:00 PM 24 (2-Night / 4-Hour Season Premiere, Part 1)

Sunday, Jan. 24:
6:00 PM-CC ET NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (LIVE)

Sundays, beginning Jan. 31 (no change to lineup):
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS (All-New Episodes)
8:30-9:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW (All-New Episodes)
9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY (All-New Episodes)
9:30-10:00 PM AMERICAN DAD (All-New Episodes)

Sunday, March 14:
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 PM SONS OF TUCSON (Series Premiere)
9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY
9:30-10:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW (Time Period Premiere)

[EDITOR’S NOTE 1: LIE TO ME will return to the schedule in the late spring, and ‘TIL DEATH will return to the schedule at a later date.]

[EDITOR’S NOTE 2: THE CLEVELAND SHOW takes over the timeslot previously held by AMERICAN DAD, which will return to the schedule at a later date.]

[EDITOR’S NOTE 3: THE SIMPSONS milestone 450th episode and THE SIMPSONS 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: IN 3-D! ON ICE! special, which were previously announced to air Thursday, Jan. 14, are now scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 10.]

Channel Surfing: FOX Sends "Dollhouse" to the Attic, ABC Axes "Hank," Syfy Blasts into "Outer Space," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

It's official: FOX has canceled Joss Whedon's metaphysical drama series Dollhouse. The series, which is currently in production on this season's eleventh episode, will finish production and the network is currently expected to air all thirteen installments of the low-rated Friday night drama beginning December 4th. Whedon himself posted on Whedonesque about the cancellation news (which didn't come as a surprise to anyone tracking the ratings) and said, ""I don't have a lot to say. I'm extremely proud of the people I've worked with: my star, my staff, my cast, my crew. I feel the show is getting better pretty much every week, and I think you'll agree in the coming months. I'm grateful that we got to put it on, and then come back and put it on again. I'm off to pursue internet ventures/binge drinking," he wrote. "Possibly that relaxation thing I've read so much about. By the time the last episode airs, you'll know what my next project is. But for now there's a lot of work still to be done, and disappointment to bear. Thank you all for your support, your patience, your excellent adverts. See you again." (Hollywood Reporter, Whedonesque)

ABC has canceled struggling Kelsey Grammer comedy series Hank and has yanked it off of the schedule, effective immediately. The network will instead use the Wednesdays at 8 pm timeslot to air a mix of comedy specials and holiday specials. There are five unaired episodes of the Warner Bros. Television-produced Hank on the shelves and it's not clear whether any of these installments will air. News comes after the network opted not to pick up supernatural drama Eastwick for its back nine, while the rest of ABC's Wednesday lineup--Modern Family, The Middle, and Cougar Town--have all been picked up for full seasons. (Variety)

Syfy has ordered five half-hour episodes of hybrid animated comedy Outer Space Astronauts. Series, from executive producers Russell Barret, David O. Russell, and Scott Puckett, will follow "eight military misfits who journey to the far reaches of the galaxy on board the O.S.S. Oklahoma" in a style that will blend both live-action as well as 2D and 3D animation techniques. It's slated to launch on December 8th. "Syfy fans have never seen animation quite like this before," Syfy EVP of original content Mark Stern told the Hollywood Reporter. "Out of the basement and mind of show creator, Russell Barrett, he's delivered a funny and fresh take on the future of underground and homegrown animation today." (Hollywood Reporter)

Martha Plimpton, Lucas Neff, and Olesya Rulin have been cast in FOX single-camera comedy pilot Keep Hope Alive, from writer/executive producer Greg Garcia. Project, from 20th Century Fox Television, follows Jimmy, a 25-year-old man (Neff) who is forced to raise his infant child with the help of his quirky family after the mother, with whom he had a one-night stand, ends up on death row. Plimpton will play Jimmy's no-nonsense mother. Michael Fresco is attached to direct. (Hollywood Reporter)

Author Ray Bradbury has signed a deal with indie producers White Oak Films to develop The Bradbury Chronicles, a six-hour miniseries based on six of his short stories. No network is currently attached to the project, which will be executive produced by Bradbury, John Dayton, Merrill Capps, Todd Klick, Cory Travalena, and Dale Olson, with Bradbury himself adapting his own work. (Variety)

Scott Cohen (Gilmore Girls) and Stephanie Childers (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) have been cast in ABC Family's untitled Michael Jacobs single-camera comedy pilot, where Cohen will play an unemployed architect who "begins to mentor his underdog middle daughter, while his veterinarian wife (Childers) shares a closer bond with their Type-A older daughter." Elsewhere at ABC Family, Troian Bellisario and Ian Harding will star opposite Lucy Hale in drama pilot Pretty Little Liars. (Hollywood Reporter)

FOX has given a series order to Mark Burnett-produced game show Our Little Genius, in which child geniuses, ranging from six to twelve years old, are given the chance to put their knowledge to the test and earn cash prizes. "In television, we often showcase kids who are incredible singers, actors or dancers, so it's high time we give the spotlight to kids with incredible brains," said Mike Darnell, President of Alternative Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company, in a statement. "The kids on this show are ridiculously smart, and with its unique appeal to both parents and children alike, I think Our Little Genius is one of Mark Burnett's most compelling creations yet." (via press release)

Warner Bros. Television has signed a new three-year overall deal with Old Christine creator Kari Lizer, under which she will develop projects for the studio as well as remain on board Old Christine as executive producer, should the series be picked up by CBS for a sixth season. (Hollywood Reporter)

NBC has confirmed its plans for its musical competition series The Sing-Off and will strip the series across a single week beginning Monday, December 14th. Series, from Tenth Planet Prods., Outlaw Entertainment, and Sony Pictures Television, will launch with a two-hour installment and air double-length episodes on Tuesday, December 15th and Wednesday, December 16th before wrapping up with a two-hour finale on Monday, December 21st. It will take a breather on Thursday, December 17th, when NBC airs a two-hour primetime Saturday Night Live Christmas special. (Variety)

BBC Two has acquired UK rights to Showtime's dark comedy series Nurse Jackie, which it plans to launch early next year. (Variety)

Elsewhere at the British terrestrial network, Mad Men's Vincent Kartheiser will star opposite Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz), Emma Pierson (Little Dorrit), and Jerry Hall (Calendar Girls) in a BBC Two adaptation of Martin Amis' novel Money, a "comedic tale of excess, greed and flawed ambition set at the beginnings of Eighties capitalism." Production begins this month on the two one-hour installments, written by Tom Butterworth and Chris Hurford and directed by Jeremy Lovering. (BBC)

Broadcast's Robin Parker takes a look at the new production models emerging as American and British comedy writers join forces, with several Atlantic-crossing series such as David Cross' The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret and Matt LeBlanc-led Episodes becoming a reality. (Broadcast)

CurrentTV pinkslipped 80 full-time staffers yesterday in the company's Los Angeles, London, New York, and San Francisco offices as the cabler moves from a shortform content strand to a more traditional television network model, with its schedule likely to be filled mostly by acquisitions. (Hollywood Reporter)

TruTV has ordered reality series NFL Full Contact, which will offers viewers a behind-the-scenes-look into the inner workings of the football league and focus on key personalities within the sport. Series, from executive producers Steve Sabol and Anthony Horn, will launch on February 8th. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "Dollhouse" Remains on Fridays in January, NBC Keeping "Trauma" Alive for Another Three Weeks, Kudrow Set for "Cougar Town," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Good news for Dollhouse fans. After double-booking Dollhouse episodes on Friday nights in December, FOX has indicated that it will continue to air the remainder of the second season of Dollhouse, with the series returning to its regular timeslot of Friday evenings at 9 pm ET/PT beginning January 8th. Meanwhile, 'Til Death will move to Sundays at 7 pm beginning January 10th while Brothers will wrap its run on December 27th. (Futon Critic)

NBC has announced that it will keep underperforming medical drama Trauma in the Monday night timeslot for the next three weeks. No decision has yet been made about the ultimate fate of the medical series, which failed to garner a back nine pickup along with fellow freshman series Community and Mercy. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Lisa Kudrow will guest star on an upcoming episode of ABC's Cougar Town, which will reunite her with her former Friends co-star Courteney Cox. Kudrow is slated to appear in an upcoming episode as a mean-spirited dermatologist. TV Guide Magazine broke the story and Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has confirmed the casting, saying that Kudrow's episode will air sometime in early 2010. (TV Guide, Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Lost executive producer Carlton Cuse has teased the identity of an upcoming guest star on the sixth and final season of ABC's Lost. Via Twitter, Cuse sent the clue-laden message, "Damon and I are die hard fans of this impeckable actor who keeps the barr high and just signed to guest star on the show. Life is good!" After sending fans guessing for roughly two hours, Cuse confirmed the theories of many readers that veteran character actor William Atherton (Life) would be guest starring on Lost. (Twitter)

In other Lost-related news, Jeff Fahey has been upgraded to a series regular for Season Six of Lost. USA Today's Whitney Matheson has a fantastic interview with executive producer Damon Lindelof about the final season of Lost, where he reveals Fahey has been promoted. "Lapidus is definitely a series regular this season," said Lindelof. "Jeff Fahey was just a recurring character up through last year. Now, whether or not Lapidus makes it until the end of the season is anyone's guess, but he's definitely one of the A-team this year." This and much more in the interview. (USA Today)

NBC is developing an untitled legal drama about "a vigilante lawyer who uses any means necessary to defend his clients against a corrupt district attorney and city establishment," that will star Idris Elba (The Wire). Project, from writers Sean O'Keefe and Will Staples, will be executive produced by David Eick (Battlestar Galactica). Elba appeared in a seven-episode story arc on NBC's The Office; deal could potentially keep him on the network, should the project go to series. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that former Women's Murder Club star Paula Newsome has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on ABC's FlashForward this season, where she will play a doctor. Her first appearance on the series is set for early 2010. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Gabourney Sidibe (Precious) is said to be in talks to appear in Showtime comedy pilot The C Word opposite Laura Linney. If a deal closes, Sidibe would guest star in the pilot as a "teen whom Linney's character tries to help lose both weight and the bad attitude." (Variety)

E! Online's Jennifer Godwin has some spoilers for Season Three of HBO's True Blood. I won't be reading it (I prefer to be surprised) but if you're of the spoiler-loving persuasion, you can check out what tidbits she's pulled together. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Lakers star Pau Gasol will guest star in the November 16th episode of CBS' CSI: Miami, where he will play a person of interest in an investigation involving a car accident. (Hollywood Reporter)

Comedy Central has acquired 13 episodes of ABC's short-lived animated comedy The Goode Family beginning in January. The cabler is also said to be in talks to pick up FOX animated comedy Sit Down, Shut Up. (Variety)

Disney Channel has given a pilot order to musical comedy Dance Dance Chicago, which will follow two teens working as back-up dancers on an American Bandstand-esque series. Project, from writer/executive producer Chris Thompson, is slated to begin production in January. (Hollywood Reporter)

Reveille has formed a joint venture with former Ish Entertainment co-founder Stella Stolper. Company, dubbed Wikked Entertainment, will focus on reality projects that are talent-driven, with the venture run by Stolper. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

TruTV has ordered eight episodes of an untitled reality series set inside the Vegas county jail from executive producers John Langley and Morgan Langley's Langley Prods. Project, which is currently known under its working title of Las Vegas Lockdown, is slated to launch in January. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Victims and Villains: Belonging on "Dollhouse"

I've expressed frustration with FOX's Dollhouse in the past; the series seemed always out of touch with its own potential, focusing on engagements of the week or fitting up Eliza Dushku in outrageous ensembles rather than delving into the heart of darkness within the Dollhouse itself.

With the notable exception of the unaired post-apocalyptic bookend "Epitaph One," the series hasn't come close to fulfilling its promise over the past seventeen episodes or so. Until this past episode, "Belonging," that is.

The evocative and bleak installment, beautifully scripted by Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen and flawlessly directed by Jonathan Frakes, showed us the Dollhouse that might have been: a series filled with ethical dilemmas, morally compromised characters, and tough decisions. In an episode, it posits that the evil performed by the Dollhouse's staffers isn't being done willingly; in fact, they could be victims as much as the poor Actives they whore out to the highest bidder.

It's a novel conceit that forces the audience to question everything we've seen so far from the morally grey characters like Adelle (Olivia Williams) and Topher (Fran Kranz) and it opens up a host of new and intriguing questions about their motivations. Is it evil if you're forced into it? How complicit are they in the cycle of abuse and exploitation going on? How do they live with what they've done?

They're thought-provoking questions that have lingered on the fringes of the series but here they're brought front and center, as they should be as several staffers, including the aforementioned Adelle and Topher, as well as Boyd (Harry Lennix) are forced to examine their own lines in the sand, over which they must step at their peril. They are part of the machinery that keeps the Dollhouse moving, keeps the clients satisfied, keeps the money rolling in, keeps the institution's numerous victims continue to be used and discarded.

But how do they live with it? Adelle says that each of the Dollhouse's employees are "morally compromised," such as herself, but that Topher has no morals whatsoever. And yet that's not quite the case. He firmly believes that he's helping Priya not once but twice: by wiping her memories away when she arrives at the Dollhouse, he's giving clarity and purpose to a woman he believes is beset by paranoid schizophrenia. Later, when forced by the higher-ups to turn Sierra over to her rapist and kidnapper Nolan, he reinstates Priya's true personality, knowing full well that she's likely to murder Nolan.

Did he help her by enabling her to enact her deadly vengeance? Or did Topher make things far worse for Priya than he could have imagined? Having finally conquered the man who made her a slave and destroyed her life, Priya chooses not to run but to have her memories wiped clean again, to return to the Dollhouse, and to forget what happened. Some might see that as weakness but for Priya, she's crossed a moral line that can't be uncrossed; the blood on her hands can't be washed off so easily. Revenge might have been on her mind a few hours earlier but her actions, unlike those of Topher or Adelle, are not something she can live with. In asking Topher to erase her knowledge of killing Nolan, she's seeking to step back over that line in the sand, even if it means going back to sleep for a while.

Well-deserved praise goes to Dichen Lachman for effortlessly carrying this episode on her shoulders; her performance was so nuanced, so profoundly moving and powerful, that it's yet another reminder of my feelings since the first episode that she be the focal point of this series rather than Eliza Dushku. The raw emotion she pulled off, both in Priya's mental hospital scenes and in her murder of Nolan, were starkly contrasted with the look of serenity as Sierra emerged, tabula rasa-style, from the chair once again. (Should Dollhouse go to the way of the dodo, I heartily predict that Lachman will be one of the series' breakout stars and land a series regular gig elsewhere within a matter of seconds.)

Likewise, Kranz, Williams, and Lennix each turn in magnificently polished performances within this episode that not only serve to broaden the plot but also deepen their characters. Seeing Adelle as perhaps the ultimate victim in this scenario made for a nice change of pace as we're used to seeing her as the ice queen of her own domain; by setting her up as a pawn in the larger machinations of the Rossum Corporation, her actions--forced as they are by blackmail and threats of murder--take on new and tragic consequences. Her speech to Nolan, in which she hisses that she would not let him near Sierra or any of their other dolls ("I would no sooner allow you near one of our other actives as I would a mad dog near a child"), displays a stunning contradictory nature within Adelle and points to some moral fiber as well. Too bad that she's as trapped as the others; a bird in a gilded cage who can no more fly away than Sierra or Echo.

I loved seeing Boyd as a cleaner following Priya's murder of Nolan. The ease with which he disposed of Nolan's body, concocted a cover story, and arranged it to look as though Nolan had fled the country were staggering. While he hands Adelle a convenient cover story, there's a spark of recognition and complicity in her eyes; she knows exactly what Boyd has done. If Boyd is truly morally compromised, he still seems largely on the side of the angels here. He discovers that Echo is not only gaining self-awareness but is able to read (knowledge in this place is, after all, deadly and she's keeping notes in her bed chamber) and is pushing the other dolls to "wake up." It's a testament to Boyd's inherent goodness that he doesn't alert Adelle or the higher-ups to Echo's manipulation of the other dolls or of the staffers as well. (After all, it's Echo who starts the chain of events that leads Nolan to demand Sierra forever.) And then there's the matter of that keycard. Given the fact that Echo and Boyd discuss the "storm," we're led to believe that it's Boyd that hides that keycard inside Echo's book, but I think it's a red herring of the most scarlet variety...

The episode also touched on emotional truth. Despite the fact that Priya had only met Victor (Enver Gjokaj) once (and he was in the guise of a programmed Italian art dealer), she knows instinctively that he's the object of her love. She tells Nolan that she loves Victor more than she hates him, despite not knowing who Victor is. Yet, sitting in the Dollhouse with Topher, she knows instantly that she loves Victor. Some truths can't be erased by technology; love endures despite a personality wipe or a doll-like state. The honest emotion between them is real and true. Priya knows it, Sierra knows it, and even a changed Topher knows it too. Like Lachman, Gjokaj is a true find; his charisma and chameleon-like abilities make this actor destined for stardom.

But, despite the sweetness of Sierra and Victor's holding hands and curling up together in bed, there's still a shadow casting a pall over the Dollhouse. Call it a storm, call it a war, call it consequences, whatever you will, it's very likely to rip the lovers apart at the seams. This installment represented perhaps the pinnacle of happiness for Sierra and Victor and, this being a Joss Whedon series, I shudder to think just how hard they'll fall when they come crashing back down to reality.

Ultimately, "Belonging" was the strongest episode of Dollhouse to date and showcased the remarkable potential of the series, should it be allowed to go down a path of exploring self-awareness, morality, and complicity. It also helped that the emphasis was taken off of Dushku's Echo and Tahmoh Penikett's Paul Ballard and placed instead on the far more interesting and compelling supporting cast members here. Should Dollhouse never quite reach the dizzying heights of "Belonging" again, I will at least feel some cold comfort in the fact that for one remarkable episode, Whedon and Tancharoen showed us just what their Dollhouse could be like.

Dollhouse returns December 4th with back-to-back episodes.

Channel Surfing: "Dollhouse" Benched for Sweeps, Perrineau Would Like to Return to "Lost," David Fincher, Sarah Shahi "Facing Kate" at USA, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Loads of television-related headlines to get through today!

Futon Critic is reporting that FOX has pulled Dollhouse from its November sweeps lineup. The Joss Whedon-created series will air its episode this Friday, after which the Friday lineup will be filled with repeats of House and Bones. ('Til Death and Brothers will also go on hiatus after this week.) Dollhouse will then return in December where it will air back-to-back episodes on December 4th, 11th, and 18th. It's unclear when FOX will air the remaining three episodes from Dollhouse's thirteen-episode commitment. No return dates for 'Til Death or Brothers were indicated. (Futon Critic)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos talks to former Lost star Harold Perrineau about the recent rumors that he wouldn't be returning to the ABC drama series this season along with the other original cast members of Lost. The reason, says Perrineau, is not that he's holding out but because he hasn't been asked by producers. "Honestly, no one has asked," Perrineau told Dos Santos. "But if I was asked to come back to Lost, indeed I would say yes. We all started that journey together, and I would love to be able to end it with everybody. It would be a great thing to do, to get to say goodbye to them all at the same time. I would love to go back and hang out a little bit." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Media Rights Capital and David Fincher are developing a US adaptation of British miniseries House of Cards, which will be reimagined as a one-hour drama series about "political ambition and blackmail." Fincher is on board to executive produce with Eric Roth, Andrew Davies, original novel author Michael Dobbs, and Josh Donen. Project will be taken out to networks soon. (Hollywood Reporter)

Former Life star Sarah Shahi has booked the lead in USA drama pilot Facing Kate, about a divorced lawyer in San Francisco who begins a careers as a mediator. Shahi's casting lifts the contingency on the pilot, which was written by Michael Sardo, who will executive produce with Steve Stark. (Hollywood Reporter)

The CW has given a full season order to supernatural drama series The Vampire Diaries, picking up the series for a full 22-episode run this season. The netlet also ordered five additional episodes of struggling soap Melrose Place, clearly looking to see what effect will be of the return of Heather Locklear to the franchise. (Variety)

Sebastian Roche (The Beautiful Life) has replaced Thomas Kretschmann on FOX's Fringe, following the latter's departure from the series due to a scheduling conflict. Kretschmann had appeared in the series' October 8th episode as a super-soldier from another world. Roche will recur as the same character, described by the Hollywood Reporter's Nellie Andreeva as "a soldier from another dimension who is not quite human/not quite machine, trying to gather information for opening a stable door to the other side." (Hollywood Reporter)

E! Online's Jennifer Goodwin teases upcoming developments on Dollhouse, particularly a reunion between former Buffy and Angel co-star Alexis Denisof and Eliza Dushku, writing that "Dushku and Denisof reunite for scenes centered around industrial espionage, counterintelligence and just a smidgen of existentialism." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Trent Reznor has teamed up with Fringe for a new promo featuring Nine Inch Nails song "Zero-Sum" and Reznor reciting lines of dialogue spoken on the series by Leonard Nimoy's William Bell. The promo can be viewed below:


(Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan is reporting that former Battlestar Galactica star Katee Sackhoff, now a series regular on FOX's 24, will guest star as herself on CBS' The Big Bang Theory, in the series' November 23rd episode. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Jamie Denbo (Weeds) has been promoted to series regular on FX drama series Terriers, where she will play an attorney who is frequently consulted by the unlicensed private investigators played by Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James. Elsewhere at FX, Joelie Carter (Wonderland) has been bumped up to series regular on drama series Lawman, where she will play a former girlfriend of Marshal Givens (Timothy Olyphant) after guest starring in the pilot. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Dan Snierson gets Friday Night Lights executive producer Jason Katims to issue some teasers for the fourth season of the drama series, which kicks off on October 28th on DirecTV. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Showtime is developing comedy Rapture, based on Craig Chester's memoir "Why the Long Face?: The Adventures of a Truly Independent Actor," that will dramatize his experiences as the 9-year-old gay son of a "devout mom who has visions of Christ and a rock 'n' roll guitar player dad who fears his wife is losing her mind." Lisa Kudrow and Dan Bucatinsky are executive producing via their Is or Isn't Entertainment shingle, along with Paul Miller and Kimber Rickabaugh. Don Roos is additionally attached to direct, should the project be ordered to pilot. (Variety)

Jerry O'Connell has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on ABC's Eastwick opposite his real-life wife Rebecca Romijn. O'Connell, set to appear in the final two episodes of Eastwick's thirteen-episode commitment, will play Colin, whom Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello describes as "a hot new neighbor of Kat’s (Jaime Ray Newman) who is hiding a dark and magical secret." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Warner Bros. Television has signed an overall deal with Rob Corrdry, under which the former Daily Show staffer will create, star, and executive produce a comedy pilot presentation for the studio, said to be an "unconventional family comedy" parody set in a "an off-kilter world." Peter Principato and Paul Young will executive produce the project along with Corrdry, with production slated for this December. (Variety)

Bravo has renewed culinary competition series Top Chef Masters for a second season, slated to air in 2010. Kelly Choi will return as the series' host, along with judges Gael Greene, James Oseland, and Jay Rayner. (Los Angeles Times' Show Tracker)

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment will release the first thirteen episodes of Glee on DVD on December 29th. Entitled Glee Season One: Road to the Sectionals, the box set will include the director's cut of the pilot episode and behind-the-scene materials as well as a voucher for the Season One box set, which will be released sometime in 2010. (via press release)

In other Glee-related news, Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Madonna has given the FOX musical comedy the rights to her entire catalog, with co-creator Ryan Murphy said to be very keen to do an all-Madonna-music episode for Glee's back nine. (Entertainment Weekly)

NCIS' Pauley Perrette will guest star on NCIS: LA's November 24th episode. "While Abby has talked to the Left Coast expansion team on the phone, this will be her first time touching down at LAX," writes Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "Sadly, it looks like it won’t be much of a vacation, as she finds out not everybody in the City of Angels sports a halo. Someone’s going to abduct our dear Abby!" (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Adult Swim has given a pilot order to live-action comedy Eagleheart, about "the fate of a fading TV action icon, and begins when a low-level TV exec is sent to Texas to produce an action series (Eagleheart) with the star. Instead, he winds up in a power struggle with the temperamental thesp." Project, from Conaco and Dakota Films, will be written by Michael Koman and Andrew Weinberg, who will executive produce alongside David Kissinger and Troy Miller. (Variety)

Jesse Metcalfe (Desperate Housewives) will star in Hallmark Channel telepic Fairfield Road, written by Tracy Rosen and directed by David Weaver. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Future of "Chuck" Hinges on "Trauma," "Southland" May Land at TNT, FOX Committed to Airing All 13 Episodes of "Dollhouse," and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Following last week's Chuck-related rumor of an October launch, The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting that NBC's plans for action-comedy series Chuck will hinge on last night's ratings performance for medical drama Trauma, which has been tanking since its launch and is said to be on cancellation watch. Adalian cites unnamed NBC insiders who say that there's a "very small chance" that Chuck could return as early as the end of the month but goes on to say that there's one scenario in discussion at the Peacock that has Chuck returning to its Monday nights at 8 pm timeslot, with Heroes shifting back to 9 pm, should Trauma need to be pulled from the lineup. "If Trauma goes down, however, it's very likely Chuck will be back before year's end. And if Trauma really tanks, Ausiello's October surprise scenario could well transpire," writes Adalian. "But NBC insiders know rushing Chuck on too quickly doesn't make sense, either. The network needs time to mount a marketing and PR campaign to let viewers know the show is back on the air, and a late October premiere would make that all but impossible. More likely is an early to mid-November premiere. And a post-Olympics bow, as originally planned, is still under discussion as well." (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

As I predicted last week, Warner Bros. Television is said to be in talks with cabler TNT about moving their axed NBC drama series Southland to the cable network. "We continually look at all programming opportunities that fit our portfolio of brands," said TNT in a statement. James Hibberd is quick to point out that it's still unknown, if TNT picks up the series, whether they would order additional episodes or simply air the six installments that have already been produced. (Hollywood Reporter)

FOX executives have indicated that they are committed to airing all thirteen ordered episodes of Joss Whedon-created drama series Dollhouse this season. "We're going to run all the episodes," FOX scheduling chief Preston Beckman told Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd. "We're not saying we're happy with those numbers, or accept them, but we don't have to overreact. During [November] sweeps we might have to jack up the numbers a little [with other programming], but we plan on completing the order for this show." The network hasn't however decided whether or not to order additional episodes or renew the series for a third season, a choice they'll make after Dollhouse wraps its current run. Viewers, meanwhile, can look for some closure, with Whedon writing the thirteenth episode with that express purpose. "We'll definitely have closure, but will leave some doors open," Whedon told Hibberd. "When we got our first numbers, which were bad, the first thing [Fox president of entertainment] Kevin Reilly said was, 'You'll have all 13,' which was great. They're not going to pull the rug out from under us." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

ABC has given a full season pickup to sci-fi drama series FlashForward, ordering twelve additional episodes to bring this season's total to 25 installments. (Televisionary)

A&E has given a pilot order to cop drama The Quickening, about a female LAPD detective who suffers from bipolar disorder. Said cop will be played by Surrogates star Radha Mitchell. Project, from Fox Television Studios, is written and executive produced by Jennifer Salt (Nip/Tuck). (Variety)

NBC has given a pilot order with penalty to an untitled multi-camera comedy from writer/executive producer Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant (Reno 911!). The project, from Universal Media Studios, will star Lennon, with Garant performing in a supporting role, and will be executive produced by Peter Principato and Paul Young. Details of the concept are being kept firmly under wraps. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Rachael Harris (In the Motherhood) has been cast in a "potentially recurring role" on ABC comedy Cougar Town, where she will play Shanna, the "judgmental nemesis" of Courteney Cox's Jules. Additionally, Alan Ruck (Drive) will recur as well as Frank, Shanna's husband. "Look for Frank to develop a bit of a crush on Cox’s character," writes Ausiello, "further inflaming the Jules-Shanna rivalry." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Former Friends star Matthew Perry will co-write, star, and executive produce an untitled single-camera comedy pilot about a "self-involved manager of a second-rate sports arena who begins to re-evaluate his life on his 40th birthday." Project, which hails from Sony Pictures Television, will be co-written with Alex Barnow and Mark Firek, who will executive produce with Thomas Schlamme and Jamie Tarses. Project is being pitched to networks this week. (Hollywood Reporter)

Glee will wrap up the first half of its season on Wednesday, December 9th. It timeslot will be filled by new action series Human Target in January and Glee is expected to return for its back nine sometime in the spring. (Futon Critic)

In other Glee-related news, the stars of the FOX musical dramedy will NOT be performing in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which will air on NBC, after the Peacock rescinded their invitation after weeks of contract negotiation. "No contract had been signed; however, according to insiders on set, wardrobe and choreography was in the works and the cast had been informed they'd be performing," writes E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos. "According to a source at NBC, Macy's made the offer to the Glee cast without consulting NBC first. Fox network and studio reps had no comment. Neither did reps at NBC." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) will direct the pilot for FOX drama Worthy, about an Arizona politician who finds himself being blackmailed by a mob boss after a hit-and-run accident. Project, from 20th Century Fox Television, is written by Davey Holmes and executive produced by Holmes and Gavin Polone. (Hollywood Reporter)

CBS is slating a CSI mega-crossover for November sweeps, during which time Lauren Fishburne's Dr. Raymond Langston will appear in all three series in the CSI franchise, beginning November 9th with CSI: Miami and wrapping up in November 12th on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Carrie Underwood will host a FOX variety special, currently entitled Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special, on December 7th. The special, written by Carol Leifer, Jeffrey Richman, and Seth Morris, will feature sketches, classic holiday songs, and tracks from Underwood's upcoming album. Joining her on stage: Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley, and David Cook. (Hollywood Reporter)

Epix, the pay cable joint venture between Lionsgate, Viacom, and MGM, has announced that it will launch on October 30th with the pay television premiere of Iron Man, the world premiere of Madonna concert special Sticky and Sweet: Live From Buenos Aires, and comedy special Eddie Izzard: Live From Wembley. (Variety)

Comedy Central development chief Lauren Corrao will step down from her post to segue back into a producer role once her contract ends in December. (Deadline Hollywood Daily)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: NBC Drops Axe on "Southland," CBS Books "Hawaii Five-O," Marc Cherry Developing New ABC Series, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

NBC has axed Southland... before the cop drama even began its second season. The Peacock made the announcement about Southland's demise yesterday afternoon, informing studio Warner Bros. Television had it was cancelling the series, which had so far shot six episodes for its sophomore season, slated to begin October 23rd. NBC was quick to point to the series' dark storylines and tone, saying that it wasn't appropriate for a 9 pm timeslot. For their part, creator John Wells and Warner Bros. Television will begin to shop the series to other networks. (Editor: TNT is a likely first port of call for the series.) "I'm disappointed that NBC no longer has the time periods available to support the kind of critically acclaimed series that was for so many years a hallmark of their success," said Wells in a statement. "We remain extremely proud of Southland and are actively looking for another home for the series." NBC hasn't yet announced when--or if--it intends to air the six installments that have already been shot. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Hawaii Five-O has landed a pilot order at CBS. Fringe co-creators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have teamed up with Peter Lenkov (CSI: NY) to develop an contemporary take on the classic series. Lenkov will write the pilot script, under the guidance of Kurtzman and Orci and will be the showrunner should the project be ordered to series; the trio will executive produce the project, which hails from CBS Television Studios. (Variety)

Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry is developing a new series for ABC, which he will write with Desperate Housewives executive producer Alexandra Cunningham. The premise for the series is still being hammered out but, according to Hollywood Reporter's Nellie Andreeva, it will be a standalone series, rather than a spin-off from Desperate Housewives. Cherry is currently under a multi-year deal with ABC Studios. (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC has given full season pickups to comedies Modern Family, Cougar Town, and The Middle. (Televisionary)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan offers an impassioned plea about why FOX should save Dollhouse, once again on the brink of cancellation, and talks with Dollhouse writer Jed Whedon about Dollhouse and a Dr. Horrible sequel. "We did consciously try to do [more standalones at the start of Season 2] because we want to earn the large, arc-y stuff that we're only hinting at in those first couple of episodes," Whedon told Ryan about Dollhouse's sophomore season. "We want her transformation to someone who is self-aware to be gradual. But we end up getting there pretty quickly." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Bradley Whitford (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) has been cast as the lead in Matt Nix's FOX drama series Jack and Dan, which already has a thirteen-episode order from the network for next season. Whitford will play Dan, a "drunken, lecherous, wild-card cop who hangs onto his job only because of a heroic act years before." He's paired with a morally-minded and uber-ambitious cop named Jack. Series, from Fox Television Studios, is slated to start shooting early next year. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Nate Corddry (United States of Tara) will guest star on NBC's 30 Rock, where he will play Brian, Liz's upstairs neighbor in a storyline that "finds duplex-obsessed Liz scheming to get Brian to ditch his apartment so she can buy it and combine it with hers. Natch, her plan hits a snag when she discovers… um… something unexpected and extremely spoilery." Corrdry will appear in the sixth episode of 30 Rock's fourth season, which begins next week. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Richard Curtis has teased some details in ShortList about his upcoming episode of Season Five of Doctor Who. "I am writing a new episode of Doctor Who, which is great," said Curtis. "I wanted to write something my kids would like. So I'm doing a Doctor Who that will be on TV next February. I've got Van Gogh stabbing a monster... Someone from the BBC just sent me a picture of my monster. I had to decide if it was yellow enough." (Digital Spy)

ITV has canned Stephen Fry-led drama series Kingdom after three seasons. Fry announced the cancellation via his Twitter feed, where he wrote, "Our masters at ITV have decided that there shan’t be a fourth series of the television series Kingdom. I am sorry because it was such a pleasure making them in my beloved Norfolk. I am sorry because the crew of mostly local East Anglians was so cheerful, professional and delightful to work with." Series starred Stephen Fry as Peter Kingdom, a Norfolk solicitor who juggles his family and work lives as well as those of the clients looking to him for legal guidance; series also starred Hermione Norris, Celia Imrie, Karl Davies, Phyllida Law and Tony Slattery.(Broadcast)

HBO will air documentary Terror in Mumbai, a co-production with Britain's Channel 4 that examines last year's deadly terrorist attack, on November 19th, one week ahead of the one-year anniversary of the bombings. (Variety)

Warner Bros. Animation has named Peter Girardi as SVP of series and alternative animation, where he will oversee development and production of the new studio unit's animated series, including Cartoon Network's Batman: The Brave and the Bold. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Whiskey-A-Gogo: Secrets and Scars on "Dollhouse"

Just a few quick words about Friday night's season premiere of Dollhouse, which saw the series return for a miraculous sophomore season, only to plummet to its lowest ratings yet.

You read my advance review of the second season opener of Dollhouse ("Vows"), written and directed by Joss Whedon, but now that the episode has aired, we can talk about some of the specific plot points from the installment.

And, in this case, it's the premiere's storyline involving Amy Acker's physically and emotionally scarred Whiskey/Claire Saunders that has piqued my interest more than any other, despite the appearance of Battlestar Galactica's Jamie Bamber as shady businessman Martin Klar and Whedonverse alum Alexis Denisof as Senator Daniel Perrin.

I'm still not entirely sure why Adelle would allow Paul Ballard to use Echo on an engagement to entrap Martin Klar or how Ballard was able to pay for the engagement. Or why Klar was such a powerful emblem of the failures he experienced as an FBI agent that he would want to take him down now. Just odd, really. It seemed like an excuse for a bait-and-switch with Echo's marriage to Klar but it begged the question about just how long this assignment lasted if there was time to arrange not only a first meeting between Echo and Klar but an entire courtship and engagement. But those are questions for another day, perhaps.

I made the point in my advance review that while Echo is the nominal lead character on the series, she and Eliza Dushku are often upstaged by some of the other, more interesting and three-dimensional elements of the series. In this case, it's Amy Acker's Whiskey who provides the focal point of the series and fleshes out Whedon's overarching themes of identity, self-awareness, and actualization.

Forced to come to terms with the fact that her life as Dr. Claire Saunders is nothing more than fiction created by Topher Brink, Whiskey is in a state of emotional freefall. Desperate to cling to some real emotion, she ricochets from thoughts of vengeance (seducing Topher) to violence (her hand lingering far too long on that scalpel while treating Echo). Is she looking to punish Topher and Echo... or to punish herself?

And Acker manages to pull off every excruciating emotional beat of that transformation, beautifully rendering a portrait of a soul in absolute chaos. What if we learned that the life we're leading is a massive lie? That the way we feel, think, hell, breathe was designed by someone else? You'd want to rip your own heart out, really, and Acker conveys the agony she's experiencing while making Whiskey painfully sympathetic. In a series that's filled with wirework, stunt fighting, and geek-chic technology, it's the small moments in Acker's performance that give Dollhouse its true heat and heart.

I thought that there was a gorgeous poignancy in the scene between Acker's Whiskey and Harry Lennix's Boyd, a scene which recalled their possible future relationship (as depicted in the unaired "Epitaph One" episode) but also turns that scenario on its head somewhat. Whiskey's been cut up by a psychopath, given the personality of a dead man, and been imprinted with the fears of an agoraphobic. She's essentially trapped in the Dollhouse between life and death, between a lie and the truth.

Her decision to remain Claire Saunders but run is a telling one. Is the life we know better than the life we don't? As bad as things are, couldn't they be worse? And wouldn't escaping to her former life be as much of a lie--if not more--than remaining Saunders and remembering? It connects to her insistence that her scars not be repaired. Claire/Whiskey wants to remember, she wants to suffer, she wants a visible reflection of the turmoil in her soul.

Likewise, the queasy seduction scene between Acker and Fran Kranz not only deepened Whiskey's character but also Topher's as well, giving me the first scene of the series where I was actively engaged with Topher as a character and saw him less as a quippy Whedon manqué and more of a deeply shaded individual with his own demons to battle. Uncomfortable, apt, and self-destructive, really.

Best line of the episode: "My whole existence was constructed by a sociopath in a sweater vest. What do you suppose I should do?" - Whiskey

Whedon has said that Acker will appear in three episodes this season as Whiskey/Claire and I'm anxious to see just what he has in store for Acker's character after she's attempted to flee the confines of her spa-like prison. For me, Whiskey remains one of the more interesting and intriguing elements of the series and I'll be extremely sad to see her go after her storyline wraps up. Still, it's in this subplot that Dollhouse has achieved some of the depth and potential that it promises, scars and all.

Next week on Dollhouse ("Instinct"), Echo is imprinted as a mother with a newborn baby but takes too strongly to motherhood as a result of Topher's modifications; Adelle pays November a visit; Senator Daniel Perrin ramps up his investigation into the Rossum Corporation.

Sweet Little Dolls: An Advance Review of Season Two of "Dollhouse"

I was largely on the fence about the freshman season of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse.

Conceptually, I felt that there were some fascinating ideas about identity and perception embedded in the series' overarching concept but I felt that these concepts were often let down by some fundamentally flawed execution on a weekly basis. In other words: I wanted to love the series but I found time and time again that I couldn't. Perhaps it was the regular occurrence of plot holes large and numerous, making Dollhouse resemble something akin to Swiss cheese.

The unaired thirteen episode of Dollhouse's first season, entitled "Epitaph One," did manage to change my feelings about the series; it offered a much darker and edgier version of Dollhouse and imbued the series with a strong throughline and narrative purpose. Given that the episode never aired in the US (and is still only available to screen on the Season One DVD boxset or on iTunes), it will be interesting to see as time goes on how "Epitaph One" reshapes the narrative direction of the series.

I was extremely curious then to watch Dollhouse's second season opener ("Vows"), written and directed by Joss Whedon, to see if they learned any lessons from "Epitaph One" or the series' uneven first season.

So what I did I think of "Vows" then? Let's discuss.

For one, I still find Eliza Dushku the least interesting element of the series, which is a bit of a sticky wicket as she is the series' nominal lead. However, she's largely outshone each week by the supporting actors, particularly Dichen Lachman, Enver Gjokaj, Amy Acker, Harry Lennix, and Olivia Williams, and that trend continues in the second season opener.

While Lachman is relegated to the sidelines in this installment (very sadly, though Sierra does get a corker of a tiny scene with Ivy), Acker gets some major attention in this episode, which largely focuses on the fallout from Claire Saunders learning at the end of last season that she's actually an Active named Whiskey. The A-storyline might revolve around Echo's latest engagement (which involves her marriage to a shady arms dealer played by Battlestar Galactica's Jamie Bamber), but it's Claire's story that packs more punch, emotionally anyway, as she's faced to come to terms with the truth about her identity. I won't say how this plays out exactly but I will say that it involves tormenting her "maker" Topher (Fran Kranz) and ties in somewhat with echoes of a Boyd/Claire relationship glimpsed in the "Epitaph One" post-apocalyptic storyline.

It's a shame that Acker isn't a series regular on Dollhouse (she'll instead co-star in ABC's abysmal mystery drama series Happy Town) as Claire brings a stark fragility and depth to the series. Acker has excelled throughout her career at playing brilliantly complex individuals and her Claire/Whiskey is no departure from this formula. Armed with the knowledge about her lack of identity in "Vows," Claire is even more dangerous, fierce, and resourceful. Whether she's out for vengeance or self-awareness, I'll let you discover for yourselves tonight.

Echo and Tahmoh Penikett's Paul Ballard are meant to be the audience's entry point into the world of the Dollhouse, but both of their characters are so distant--and Paul Ballard in particular so chilly and vacant--that it's hard to get a grasp on them or feel much compassion for their situation.

That situation gets even more trippy in the season opener as there's an unexpected twist to Echo's engagement that I didn't see coming, even as I can't quite work out some of its implications. We're meant to feel that there's a connection between them that defies identity and logic but I still don't feel it a season in. Part of that, I think is that Ballard is so unlikable and unsympathetic that it's difficult to wrap your head around their, uh, complicated relationship.

Bamber is fantastic as Martin Klar, a wealthy financier who weds Echo but whose business is just a front for international arms trading. It's a nice change of pace to see Bamber portray a villain for a change (and with his native British accent as well!) and he carries off the role with aplomb. While we only catch a quick scene with Alexis Denisof's Senator Daniel Perrin in the first episode, I'm intrigued to see just where this storyline will go; he seems hell-bent on bringing down the Dollhouse (too bad Ballard didn't know him during the first season) but I can't help but question his motives. Hmmmm...

All in all, "Vows" is an intriguing start to a season that will either broaden Dollhouse's fanbase or keep it limited to its cult audience on Friday evenings. I'm hoping that the dramatic tension of "Epitaph One" can continue to infuse the series with a new purpose and a strengthened mythology and that Whedon and the series' writers continue to focus more on the supporting characters, transforming the series into more of an ensemble drama with Dushku's Echo at its core rather than The Echo Show. Which, in my eyes anyway, isn't the Dollhouse I want to be playing in.

Dollhouse premieres tonight at 9 pm ET/PT on FOX.

Channel Surfing: Whedon Talks "Dollhouse" Season Two, J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Lands FOX Comedy, Amaury Nolasco Leaves "Southland," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Los Angeles Times' Show Tracker has an interview with Dollhouse creator Joss Whedon about Season Two of the FOX drama series, which returns on Friday. Asked about how malleable the future depicted in the unaired thirteen episode "Epitaph One" is, Whedon said, "We talked about whether it was malleable or not, and right now we pretty much take it as gospel. But then we have a lot of different opinions about how it gets there and who does what. We're fascinated by the implications of this future, and a lot of this season has been guided by it without being so beholden to it that people who didn't see it won't understand. We were incited by the idea that the abuse of power is more widespread than just this one house." (Los Angeles Times' Show Tracker)

J.J. Abrams' production shingle Bad Robot has landed a pilot presentation order from FOX for a half-hour comedy series that's being described as a "medical comedy." Details on the project are being kept firmly under wraps, though it's known that Mike Markowitz (Becker) is writing the script and will executive produce the pilot along with Abrams and Bryan Burk. (Variety)

Major casting change for NBC's police drama Southland. Prison Break's Amaury Nolasco has departed the project after filming just three episodes; he played an aggressive new partner for Regina King's Detective Lydia Adams. No reason was given for his departure. Stepping in: Extract's Clifton Collins, who will play a new character named Ray Suarez who "is still being fleshed out." (Hollywood Reporter)

Showtime and DreamWorks Television are said to be developing a scripted series that will revolve around the mounting of a Broadway musical, which would then actually play on the Great White Way after the series airs. The network is said to be in talks with executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron as well as songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Meetings are underway to find a writer for the series, whose format--half-hour or hour--is under discussion. (Variety)

Campbell Scott, Lily Tomlin, Keith Carradine, and Martin Short have joined the cast of FX's Damages for the series' third season. (Televisionary)

Bill Condon (Kinsey) will direct Showtime dark comedy pilot The C Word, which stars Laura Linney as a suburbanite who is diagnosed with cancer. Project, from Sony Pictures Television and Original Film, is written and executive produced by Darlene Hunt and executive produced by Neal H. Moritz and Vivian Cannon. Production on the pilot starts this fall. (via press release)

E! Online's Jennifer Godwin has the scoop on the upcoming season of ABC's Private Practice (including news that Chris Lowell won't be appearing in all 22 episodes) and talks to Kate Walsh about Addison's backstory and what's coming up for the flame-haired doc this season. "There will be more Addison family members coming to the show this year," Walsh told E! Online. "I'm not sure who's going to come over from the East Coast, but I'm sure they're going to be good and WASP-y and awesome. When Grant Show came on last year as my brother, it was fun for me to see Addison in that lower-status position, as someone's daughter or little sister. It's really fun to play because she's such a fierce and agro personality at work, and then to see her smacked down at home is fun." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

NBC is getting back into the international co-production game with the acquisition of Canadian two-hour backdoor pilot The Mountain from Muse Entertainment. Project, written and directed by Doug Barr, will revolve around a woman who moves her family to the mountains, where they move into a cabin she inherited from her uncle, who may or may not be dead. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has details about Heather Locklear's return to Melrose Place, where she will play Ella's boss at the PR firm where she works. He talks to Melrose Place star Katie Cassidy about Amanda Woodward and gets some additional hints at a workplace showdown between the two. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

MTV has announced that its new comedies Disaster Date and Popzilla will launch on Monday back-to-back in the 6 pm ET/PT timeslot. (Variety)

The Wrap's Joe Adalian is reporting that the CW has ordered eight episodes of half-hour docusoap Fly Girls, which will follow five flight attendants from Virgin America as they jet off to such locales as New York, Las Vegas, and South Beach looking for "good times, great parties, adventure and love." Project, from Collins Avenue, will be executive produced by Jeff Collins and Colin Nash and is expected to launch in early 2010. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Shine International has acquired international distribution rights to FX's six-episode animated comedy Archer, which launches in January. (Variety)

Cookie Jar Entertainment has hired former UPN and Regency TV executive Maggie Murphy as SVP of development, where she will focus on developing content aimed at tweens and will report to Tom Mazza. Murphy was most recently president of Kiefer Sutherland's shingle Eastside Entertainment. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Ray Wise to Play with "Dollhouse," "BSG: The Plan" Broadcast Delayed, Ian Somerhalder Returns to "Lost," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. I'm a little bit worse for wear this morning after a fantastic premiere party for HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, so let's get to the headlines...

Let's just hope he's not as terrifying as Leland Palmer: Ray Wise (Reaper) has been cast in a potentially recurring role on FOX's Dollhouse, where he will play Howard, described by Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello as "an intelligent higher-up in the Dollhouse who has huge presence and humor." Fingers crossed that Wise gets the greenlight to return on a regular basis. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan is reporting that Syfy has opted to delay the broadcast of Battlestar Galactica prequel telepic The Plan until a later date, thought to be likely in 2010. The two-hour film, written by Jane Espenson and directed by Edward James Olmos, was slated to air in November, according to reports from Syfy president Dave Howe. The decision hasn't altered the home video release of the two-hour film, which is available for purchase and rental beginning October 27th. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Entertainment Weekly's Mandi Bierly is reporting that Ian Somerhalder is returning for the sixth and final season of ABC's Lost... or at least for a few segments. "I’m literally getting on a plane in 45 minutes to fly to Hawaii," Solmerhalder told Entertainment Weekly. "The only thing I can say is that I’m going back for several episodes... I have a script that weighs like 200 pounds, but I don’t really know what’s happening." (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

FX will offer a sneak peek of its new animated comedy Archer tomorrow (Thursday) night after the fifth season premiere of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Archer, which features the voices of Aisha Tyler, Jon Benjamin, Jessica Walter, Chris Parnell, and Judy Greer, is slated to launch tentatively in January. (Variety)

FOX has given a put pilot order to an untitled multi-camera workplace comedy, from executive producer Ron Howard and writer Brent Forrester (The Office), about the employees of an Internal Revenue Service district office. "It's a classic workplace show; the model for it is Taxi," Forrester told the Hollywood Reporter. "In essence, it's a group of eclectic characters who have come to the job from different paths and who represent different points of view and different voices... L.A. Law had lawsuits, and CSI has murders; this show has audits, tax collection and special ops, with the FBI against organized crime and drug dealers." (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC is developing political comedy pilot Freshman, from 20th Century Fox Television, writer/executive producer Greg Malins (Friends), and executive producers Arianna Huffington and Roy Sekoff, about three newly elected members of Congress who share an apartment in D.C. (Variety)

Jill Scott (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency) will star in Lifetime telepic Sins of the Mother, about a graduate student who returns home to confront her alcoholic and abusive mother (Scott), only to learn that the woman is now sober and has a three-year-old daughter. Telepic is based on Carleen Brice's novel "Orange Mint and Honey" and was adapted by Elizabeth Hunter. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Casting Couch: Brandon Routh Targets "Chuck," Summer Glau and Alexis Denisof Move into "Dollhouse"

Man of Steel, meet Chuck Bartowski.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) has signed on for a multiple-episode story arc on Season Three of NBC's Chuck, which returns to the airwaves in midseason.

According to Ausiello, Routh--who's no stranger to secret identities himself--will play Shaw, "a mysterious new spy who takes control as the new leader of Operation Bartwoski, becoming a mentor to Chuck and a rival in his affections for Sarah."

No airdate was given for Routh's first appearance on the series, nor any specific episode count for his story arc.

Meanwhile, Summer Glau (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) is returning to her Whedonverse roots.

Zap2It is reporting that Glau has signed on for a recurring role in Season Two of Whedon's metaphysical action drama series Dollhouse, where she will play Bennett, "a Dollhouse employee who shares a past with Echo (Eliza Dushku)."

And, if that weren't enough Dollhouse goodness, fellow Whedonverse alum Alexis Denisof (Angel) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Dollhouse as Senator Daniel Perrin, a congressman hell-bent on exposing the Dollhouse.

Denisof joins the ranks of a slew of high-profile guest stars on Dollhouse in the coming weeks, including Battlestar Galactica's Jamie Bamber, who will appear in the Season Two opener as Echo's new "husband" Martin Klar, Michael Hogan, who will play a man looking to end a family member's murder spree, and Keith Carradine, who will play Adelle's nemesis, a businessman named Matthew Harding.

Plus, recurring actors Amy Acker and Miracle Laurie will reprise their respective roles in multiple-episode story arcs on Dollhouse's sophomore season.

What do you think? Excited by the possibilities of what Season Two of Dollhouse could bring? And what other Whedonverse alumni would you like to see drop by Dollhouse?

Channel Surfing: "Sex and Murder" in the "Dollhouse," Same-Sex Snog for "Gossip Girl," Quinn Finds "Beautiful Life," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday television briefing.

E! Online's Jennifer Godwin has a look at what lies ahead for FOX's Dollhouse as she catches up with the Joss Whedon-created series' stars to get some dirt on what's going on inside the Dollhouse next season. "They have a connection," said Tahmoh Penikett of Echo and Paul Ballard next season. "It's not a physical attraction, but I hope it's something that we explore a lot more this season. You're not quite sure what it is. There's a past, there's a history, there's an understanding between them that's very different. I think the audience is really going to like it and be really curious about where we're going in the first few episodes." As for that other would-be couple, Sierra and Victor, Enver Gjokah said, "Sierra and Victor are definitely still involved. They're going to explore that relationship more. They explore the Sierra-and-Victor love as dolls, but then also they're going to go into the backstory of both of them." Lots more detail in the piece, which also hints at just what Season Two is about ("sex and murder"). (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Ed Westwick's Chuck Bass will lock lips this season on Gossip Girl with another man, namely Neal Bledsoe's Josh Ellis, NYU's head of freshman affairs. So what spurs the kissing exactly? "Since Josh is tasked with selecting an incoming student for the honor of delivering the freshman speech, he’s, shall we say, a person of interest to Blair," writes Ausiello. "In fact, she’s so determined to snag the slot that she goes so far as to pimp out her boyfriend to the gay guy in charge." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Ed Quinn (True Blood, Eureka) has been cast in the CW's upcoming fall drama series The Beautiful Life, where he will play the husband of Elle Macpherson's Claudia Foster, a former supermodel who now runs an elite modeling agency. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Beau Bridges (Stargate SG-1) will guest star in an episode of TNT's The Closer next season, where he will play George Andrews, the former partner of G.W. Bailey's Provenza, who "returns to help close a case that has been turned over on appeal." (TVGuide.com)

Paula Abdul will host VH1's VH1 Divas, which returns to the network on September 17th and features performances from Leona Lewis, Adele, Jordin Sparks, Miley Cyrus, and Kelly Clarkson. (Variety)

Zap2It's KorbiTV has a first look at ABC's new promo for Season Six of drama series Grey's Anatomy. (Zap2It)

ABC has given a pilot script order with a penalty to an untitled multi-camera comedy from writer/executive producer Garland Testa (King of the Hill). Project, from 20th Century Fox Television, revolves around a young couple with children who try to balance the adult responsibilities of parenthood with their own youth. (Hollywood Reporter)

Kids cabler Nickelodeon has ordered two live-action comedy series, Victorious and an untitled Scott Fellows project, that will be co-produced with Sony Music and will feature original songs. Twenty episodes apiece were ordered for both series, with the untitled Scott Fellows project, about a boy band that wins a reality television competition, set to launch this fall and Victorious, about a girl who enrolls at a performing arts high school, on tap for January 2010. (Variety)

A&E is moving forward with Jackson family docuseries Jackson Family Dynasty, which will follow Michael Jackson's brothers dealing with their grief over his death and their own issues. A&E plans to launch the series, from executive producer Jodi Gomes, later this year. (Hollywood Reporter)

Sky1 has acquired UK rights to ABC comedy Modern Family, which will launch on the pay satcaster in October. (Broadcast)

Rumors are swirling that Hulu might be close to a deal with ITV in the United Kingdom, under which the terrestrial channel would retain a sizable stake, said to be around 25 percent, in the UK version of the online streaming media player. (Variety)

Broadcasting & Cable's Claire Atkinson is reporting that top executives Maria Grasso and Nina Wass have now left OWN in order to pursue other opportunities; the network, owned by Oprah Winfrey and Discovery Communications, has yet to launch. Move comes after the network hired former NBC executive Jamila Hunter as head of programming. (Broadcasting & Cable)

Former ABC executive Jocelyn Diaz has been hired by HBO as the head of drama development and production at HBO Entertainment. Elsewhere at the pay cabler, Casey Bloys has been promoted to SVP of comedy, where he will oversee development and production on HBO's comedy series, including Hung and Bored to Death. (Variety)

The Real Housewives are coming to daytime. NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution has signed a deal with NBC's owned TV stations for a one-hour daily syndicated strip of The Real Housewives that will launch in Fall 2010. Terms were based on an all-barter basis for the more than 100 episodes of the series. (Broadcasting & Cable)

FremantleMedia Enterprises has acquired international rights to Australian teen drama Slide, which will launch with an online prequel before debuting a linear series on pay television channel Foxtel in April. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Sanada Gets "Lost," Jayma Mays Returns to "Heroes," NBC Crowns "Rex," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada (Rush Hour 3) has joined the cast of ABC's Lost in a recurring role for its sixth and final season. Details of Sanada's character are being kept firmly under wraps as is the number of episodes that he'll ultimately appear in. Sanada's casting comes on the heels of the announcement that Deadwood's John Hawkes had signed on to the drama series as Lennon, the spokesperson and translator for a foreign conglomerate. Could these two roles be connected in any way, given Sanada's Japanese background? Hmmm.... (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Jayma Mays (Glee) will return to NBC's Heroes, where she will reprise her role as Hiro's former love interest Charlie in one episode of the superpowered drama series. But didn't Charlie die? Yep. "As the dying time-traveler zips back and forth through the ages to accomplish his bucket list," writes Ausiello, "well, isn’t it safe to assume that saving his almost-sweetheart would be pretty high on the list?" (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

NBC has given a pilot order to legal dramedy Rex Is Not Your Lawyer, about a lawyer with crippling panic attacks who begins coaching clients on how to represent themselves in court. Project, from writer/executive producer Andrew Leeds and David Lampson, BermanBraun, and Universal Media Studios, was originally pitched and sold to NBC in 2007 and then shut down by the writers strike. Barry Schindle (Law & Order) will server as showrunner on the project, which will be executive produced by Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun. (Hollywood Reporter)

Keith Carradine (Dexter) will guest star in two episodes of FOX's Dollhouse, where he will play Matthew Harding, described by Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello as "a powerful businessman." No other details about Carradine's character are available and it's unclear whether he'll be a client of the Dollhouse or someone looking to take it down. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TVGuide.com's Mickey O'Connor is reporting that Amalia Zinser (Cold Case) has been cast in the CW's 90210, where she will play tomboy surfer Ivy who serve as a potential love interest for both Dixon and Liam. Zinser's first appearance is slated for October. (TVGuide.com)

BET is said to be in talks with CBS Television Studios about ordering a new season of comedy series The Game, which was canceled in the spring by the CW. Should a deal be reached, however, new deals with the actors would have to be made as their options have now already lapsed. (Hollywood Reporter)

Cabler TLC has ordered a second season of docusoap The Little Couple, which follows married couple Bill Klein and Jen Arnold, who are both under four feet tall. Project, from LMNO Prods., will return this fall with eighteen new episodes. (Variety)

VH1 has cancelled reality dating series Megan Wants a Millionaire, after one contestant was charged with murdering a former model. (Hollywood Reporter)

UK satellite network Sky1 has commissioned a six-part mini-series adaptation of Chris Ryan's hostage crisis novel "Strike Back," which will star Richard Armitage, Andrew Lincoln, Jodhi May, Orla Brady, Nicola Stephenson, and Laura Greenwood. Project, written by Jed Mercurio and directed by Daniel Percival, will launch in Spring 2010. (Variety)

Sony Pictures Television has signed a two-year deal with Big Brother executive producers Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan, under which they will form a joint production company, Fly on the Wall Entertainment. Their shingle will develop and produce reality-based programming for the studio. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

First Look: "Dollhouse" Season Two

FOX has released nine promotional images for Season Two of Joss Whedon's metaphysical action drama series Dollhouse, which returns to the lineup on Friday, September 25th.

The nine images can be found below and depict not only a group shot for the series regulars for Season Two but also solo shots of Eliza Dushku (Echo), Tahmoh Penikett (Paul Ballard), Dichen Lachman (Sierra), Harry Lennix (Boyd Langton), Enver Gjokaj (Victor), Olivia Williams (Adelle DeWitt), and Fran Kranz (Topher Brink), all of whom seem to be posing against the backdrop of a bare-bones warehouse set.

Except that is for Echo, who is depicted alternately lounging and posing with a gun in a psychedelically yellow and hot pink room that looks like a windowed jewel box. Hmmm...

Look below to take a peek at just what might lie ahead for the Actives and their handlers next season on Dollhouse. Let the guessing games begin...

(Dollhouse fans, click on the below images to enlarge them.)



DOLLHOUSE: L-R: Dichen Lachman, Fran Kranz, Enver Gjokaj, Olivia Williams, Eliza Dushku, Tahmoh Penikett and Harry Lennix. ©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Frank Ockenfels/FOX



DOLLHOUSE: Eliza Dushku as Echo. ©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Frank Ockenfels/FOX



DOLLHOUSE: Eliza Dushku as Echo. ©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Frank Ockenfels/FOX



DOLLHOUSE: Tahmoh Penikett as Paul Ballard. ©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Joe Viles/FOX



DOLLHOUSE: Dichen Lachman as Sierra. ©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Joe Viles/FOX



DOLLHOUSE: Harry Lennix as Boyd Langton. ©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Joe Viles/FOX



DOLLHOUSE: Enver Gjokaj as Victor. ©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Joe Viles/FOX



DOLLHOUSE: Olivia Williams as Adelle DeWitt. ©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Joe Viles/FOX



DOLLHOUSE: Fran Kranz as Topher Brink. ©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Joe Viles/FO

Season Two of Dollhouse launches Friday, September 25th at 9 pm ET/PT on FOX.

"Idol" Chatter: FOX's Kevin Reilly and Peter Rice Address the Press

Not surprisingly, the topic of conversation at today's Television Critics Association FOX executive session with Kevin Reilly and Peter Rice drifted inevitably to Paula Abdul's recent announcement that she would be leaving American Idol.

Reilly and Rice attempted to get this hot topic out of the way at the very start of FOX's presentation this morning, with Rice stating, "Everyone is aware that Paula is not returning to American Idol and we are sad to see her go."

Was that enough to quell the fervor of reporters clamoring for some insight into what is going on behind the scenes to replace Abdul, whether she was actually leaving Idol, and what producers planned to do in the meantime with auditions slated to begin this week? Hell no.

"Paula’s the only member of Idol whose contract is up right now," said Rice. "We very much wanted her to return... In the past few weeks, the negotiation has sort of come to a conclusion. We made an offer that we feel was very fair to Paula. It was a substantial raise on her salary in the past... It [was announced] only 36 hours ago, so we don’t have big announcements of what we’re going to."

Rice went on to say that the network is focusing on the audition process and that a rotation of guest judges will fill in during each of those auditions. "We will come up with a more permanent solution... before January... and a replacement for Paula," said Rice. "We are very sad that she’s not coming back... We are looking forward to this season... [and] there’s also something exciting about it.

Asked to address rumors that Abdul's departure was part of a negotiation tactic, Rice clarified the network's position, saying, "It is our understanding that we have concluded our negotiations and Paula is not coming back."

The format for next season is still up in the air, but it's thought likely that it will feature four rather than three judges. "We will probably have four judges back," said Rice.

"The finale was probably the best one we’ve ever done," said Reilly. "It was a great moment for Kara."

As for those guest judges previous mentioned, there are two people confirmed so far: Katy Perry and Victoria Beckham. These guest judges will do one week apiece during the auditions, said Rice. There are no expectations on the part of FOX that any of these judges will be long-term. "We have until January to introduce a different energy to the panel," said Rice.

To clarify the contract situation further, Rice said that Ryan Seacrest is still in his old contract on Idol. Kara’s contract hadn’t expired, but rather FOX had picked up her option. It was only Abdul’s contract that had actually expired.

"Our expectation and hope was that Paula would come back," said Rice. "When her current agent made the statement to the press about two weeks ago we started to think what will we do. There are no contingencies."

Reilly, speaking about whether Abdul could simply be replaced, pondered, "Could Walter Cronkite ever be replaced?" He went on to list such notable cast evolutions/changes as Cheers' Sam and Diane becoming Sam and Rebecca and Dick Wolf changing up Law & Order a number of times.

"There is going to be a change and we need to look at that as a positive change," said Rice. "We have to look at it as an opp for the show to bring a different energy to it and be really entertaining for the audience. People are really engaged and interested in how the show is going to evolve after Paula leaves."

The final word on Idol came from Reilly: "It sounds trite but it is ultimately about the contestants."

Kevin Reilly, meanwhile, spoke about the "young schedule" that FOX is offering this fall, which has "more stability than we’ve had" in a long time. He pointed towards the unusual decision to air three hours of So You Think You Can Dance this fall, which will "mirror the schedule we’ll have in the second half of the season." Reilly feels that SYTYCD is the "perfect springboard for Glee," which returns this fall after airing its pilot episode in the spring.

FOX has ordered an eighth season of reality competition series Hell's Kitchen and announced that live cooking special Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live would air on Tuesday, December 15th at 9 pm ET/PT.

Reilly was also excited about the network's decision to schedule appointment viewing dramas on Thursdays and said of Fringe that the “way it comes back is really sharp.”

"It’s been a long-term evolution of the network... getting those scripted shows on Thursday," said Reilly. "We have established shows at 8 jump-starting the night every night of the week... We need to have fall success. If we can be stable and competitive, and add a series or two that will get the back nine, that’s great."

Reilly also pointed towards improvements with procedural drama Lie to Me now that The Shield creator Shawn Ryan has come on board. "The production value is better," said Reilly about the series' second season. "Characters are starting to flourish."

Reilly said that the Save Dollhouse campaign ("you mean the one that started before we made any of the show?") "factored in from a more positive place... They nurtured the show and stuck with it. They are there with Joss and that’s what gave us such a positive cumulative rating...

"Joss is an incredible creator of TV shows," countered Rice, "and the show got better and better as the season went on."

As for what fans should expect from Season Two of Dollhouse this fall, Rice and Reilly were candid about the fact that things had greatly improved and that the series would just get better and better.

So what's Joss' mandate for Season Two? "Keep doing what he’s doing," said Rice of what Whedon would do for Dollhouse's sophomore season. "That is really the gift of Joss... he was open about those hiccups. In the second half, he really found the show and started having fun with it... It’s going to be much smoother sailing this year.”

Reilly said that music-themed dramedy Glee "performed right in line with our expectations" and was a "marketing stunt to a certain extent [that] ended up being very successful." He referred to their decision to air the pilot for Glee in the spring as "markers for something we are going to employ more frequently.

"This is a show we knew all along [would go over well]," said Reilly. "It’s got music but it’s not a musical, it’s got humor but it’s not comedy, it’s sweet but it’s not saccharine. It’s got Ryan Murphy subversity."

FOX said that they plan to repeat the pilot again this fall ahead of Glee's series launch.

"There’s something happening with the show," said Reilly, recounting the massive reaction Glee got at last month's Comic-Con. "We are very confident that there is a core audience for this show that is going to be there. We are not expecting it to be the biggest phenomenon of the fall. All in all, we like [the] strategy [we used] and it worked very well."

"It’s not saccharine but you leave every episode feeling upbeat and positive," he said later. "The show has its heart in the right place. [Murphy has a way to] keep people moving back and forth between something that is subversive... and something that is quite sweet and aspirational."

Rice revealed that the network has wrapped production on thirteen episodes of Glee.

FOX has not yet committed to airing Futurama, which has a second window on Futurama, but won’t rule it out either.

Reilly said that there are currently no plans to air either the final six episodes of King of the Hill or Season Two of unscripted series Moment of Truth. "It’s really unlikely," he admitted.

Asked about NBC's decision to air Jay Leno five nights a week at 10 pm, Reilly was candid about the likely results.

"I think the Leno thing you are going to have to look at holistically," admitted Reilly. "Some nights he’s not up against much competition." Reilly said that we'd see major tapering in the second half of Leno's shows and that this will majorly impact local news lead-ins. "Overall ratings impact, they are going to struggle at 8, and [there's] not a lot of powerhouses at 9," said Reilly about NBC.

And it wouldn't be a FOX executive session without Reilly being still haunted by his dealings at NBC with now former co-chairman Ben Silverman.

"It hasn’t affected Fox for the last two years and I don’t think it will affect it for the next two," said Reilly on whether Silverman’s departure from NBC would affect FOX. "I wish him well. I enjoyed working with him as a producer."

Channel Surfing: Barrowman Could Get "Desperate," Michael Hogan Checks into "Dollhouse," USA Renews "In Plain Sight," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Torchwood star John Barrowman has told BBC1 Radio host Chris Moyle that he is meeting with the producers of ABC's Desperate Housewives about a possible role on the series next season. "I'm off to Los Angeles on Sunday again," said Barrowman on the air. "I probably shouldn't say this but I've got a meeting with the execs of Desperate Housewives; can you believe it, I'm going to be a Desperate Housewife!" No word yet on what role Barrowman could be playing or if a deal is in place for the actor to come on board the long-running drama. (Guardian's Media Monkey)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan is reporting that former Battlestar Galactica co-star Michael Hogan will be guest starring in an upcoming episode of FOX's Dollhouse this fall. Hogan, set to appear in the second episode of the sophomore season, will play "a customer of the Dollhouse who has used the services of the 'dolls' in the past." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

USA has handed out a third season order to drama In Plain Sight, which stars Mary McCormack, giving the Universal Cable Studios-produced series a sixteen-episode renewal. Behind the scenes, creator David Maples and executive producer Paul Stupin will step down from running the series, segueing into consulting roles on the series. An as-yet-undetermined executive producer will be brought into to give In Plain Sight "a little more narrative drive," according to USA president of original programming Jeff Wachtel. In other USA news, the cabler is said to be close to renewing Law & Order: Criminal Intent as well. (Hollywood Reporter)

20th Century Fox Television has confirmed that they have signed deals with all of the original voice actors on Futurama to reprise their roles in the new Comedy Central Futurama series, which will launch next year. The terms of the deals are unknown but it's clear that some sort of compromise was reached on one or both sides. "We are thrilled to have our incredible cast back," said creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen in a prepared statement. "The call has already gone out to the animators to put the mouths back on the characters." (Variety)

FOX has handed out a cast-contingent pilot order to multi-camera comedy The Rednecks & Romeos, about a group of teen friends living outside Buffalo, New York dealing with the results of economic turmoil, from writer/executive producer Mark Brazil and executive producers Tom Werner and Mike Clements. Project hails from Warner Bros. Television and Good Humor TV. (Hollywood Reporter)

Grant Bowler will reprise his role as slick thief Connor on ABC's Ugly Betty next season, reports Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. Bowler is said to have signed on for a multiple-episode story arc beginning this fall. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

NCIS' Pauey Perette will guest star in the second episode of spin-off series NCIS: Los Angeles. "She does a crossover and she's directly involved with helping us solve the case. It's a fun little cameo for her," said showrunner Shane Brennan. "We have plans for her to perhaps be in more episodes. And perhaps not just her. I can't tell you yet." Brennan also gave E! Online's Watch with Kristin some additional scoop about what to expect this fall. "It's Callen's (Chris O'Donnell) first day back on the job, and we see his scars. We literally see his scars," said Brennan. "And he rolls into this new venue and away we go from there. Will we answer what happened to him and how it happened and why? In the very best tradition of NCIS, yes. And in the very best tradition of NCIS, you'll just have to wait. So it will be a sweeps episode. I'll give you that." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Universal Media Studios has signed a blind script deal with Tom Arnold, under which he will write and produce an untitled comedy pilot script for NBC through his 2 Dog Limit shingle. He'll next be seen on the small screen in a recurring role on FX's Sons of Anarchy this fall. (Variety)

Tyra Banks is set to guest star on the CW's Gossip Girl next season, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, citing unnamed sources. Banks will play an actress who co-stars in a film alongside Hilary Duff's character. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

CBS has given a series order to a revival of vintage game show Let's Make a Deal, which will likely fill the daytime timeslot vacated by cancelled soap Guiding Light. Pilot for the series had already been shot with Wayne Brady as the host and he is expected to return for the FremantleMedia North America-produced series as well. (Variety)

ABC Family has ordered telepic The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice, the third sequel to 1992 ice skating film The Cutting Edge, which will star Francia Raisa and Brendan Fehr. Project, written by Holly Brix and directed by Stephen Herek, will premiere in spring 2010. (Hollywood Reporter)

A fifth season of Radical Media's Iconoclasts is on tap at Sundance Channel, which the cabler ordering six episodes to air in 2010. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

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

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned.