Channel Surfing: Bones Bounces Sabato, Sam Page Lands Gossip, SOA's Hunnam Talks Season 3, Victor Webster to Castle, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Bones producers have turned lemons into lemonade with their upcoming Jersey Shore-inspired episode, following the breakdown in talks with The Situation. Instead, Bones has recruited Antonio Sabato Jr. to play a "guido bouncer at a Jersey Shore club that Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Booth (David Boreanaz) visit to question someone involved with a murder." (TV Guide Magazine)

Mad Men's Sam Page is heading to the Upper East Side, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, who reports that Page has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on the CW's Gossip Girl, where he will play a new love interest for Blake Lively's Serena. He's first expected to turn up in an episode slated to air in October. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan--soon to be AOL's chief television critic--has an interview with Sons of Anarchy's Charlie Hunnam about just where Jax is going this season and how much of his journey will be influenced by reading John Teller's manuscript. "I think it informed the path that I'm trying to take," said Hunnam. "I think that was really always there, though, and it was reassuring me that I wasn't crazy for desiring these things. It pulled into focus exactly what I was [thinking about]. But I also think about the fact that, these were his wishes -- they were unrealized. Jax realizes how idealistic that was. I think I'm trying to figure out what I can actually change and be realistic and be happy with that. Obviously there are giant problems between Jax and Clay but I think all of that stuff, though it rears its head here and there, needs to be put on the back burner until we get Abel back and figure out what we're doing. There's also this big thing hanging over us [the gun charges the Sons face]." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Victor Webster (Melrose Place) has been cast in a recurring role next season on ABC's Castle, where he will provide a new love interest for Stana Katic's Beckett. "There’s an element of mystery to him,” executive producer Andrew Marlowe told Ausiello. “He’s more of a motorcycle guy…A person that is going to intrigue Castle, because he’s going to see a different side of Beckett.” Ausiello also reports that Secret Life of the American Teenager's Ken Baumann will play a love interest for Castle's daughter Alexis, played by Molly Quinn. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Kate Micucci (Scrubs)--better known as half of musical-comedy act Garfunkel & Oates (a Televisionary fave after seeing them open for The Thrilling Adventure Hour)--has been cast in a recurring role on FOX comedy Raising Hope, where she will play Shelly, the "owner of a baby and doggy day care center," a role that was created for her by executive producer/creator Greg Garcia after her original character was cut from the pilot. (Hollywood Reporter)

Bad news for fans of NBC's Persons Unknown--however many of you are still watching. According to The Futon Critic, NBC is pulling the eleventh episode ("Seven Sacrifices") from the linear broadcast and will make it available online before the series wraps its run with a two-hour finale on Saturday, August 28th. (Futon Critic)

The Hollywood Reporter's Leslie Bruce talks to Nurse Jackie star Edie Falco about her Showtime dark comedy and why she wouldn't rule out reprising her role as Carmela Soprano in a movie version of The Sopranos, should it ever get made. "Frankly, I think it's not going to materialize, but stranger things have happened," said Falco. "I would definitely be interested in being involved; I'm pretty good at rolling with the punches. I would be fine if it never happened, but I would also love to go back there and see all the people I love again. Who knows? I'm not the one making the decisions and I would jump at the chance to participate." (Hollywood Reporter)

Can't wait for next week's release of Lost: Season Six and Lost The Complete Series? E! Online's Watch with Kristin already has the sixth season blooper reel--which features Josh Holloway, Terry O'Quinn, Michael Emerson, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim, Alan Dale, and Dominic Monaghan--and which you can watch online now, exclusively at the site. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck reports that Mandy Moore will reprise her role as Mary on the sixth episode of the upcoming season of ABC's Grey's Anatomy. (TV Guide Magazine)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that former Paramount Film Group chief John Lesher has set up two projects at HBO, both based on books. The first is drama Keys to the City, based on Joel Kostman's memoir of his time as a Manhattan locksmith. Adapted by William Monahan, the project will revolve around a "New York locksmith and offers a view of people and sights glimpsed beyond the doors he unlocks." The second project is The Three Weissmans of Westport, to be written by Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting Married), based on Cathleen Schine's novel, about "a woman's search for meaning after her husband of 48 years walks out on her" and how she "reconnects with her grown daughters who are also dealing with professional and familial irrelevance." (Deadline)

ABC has renewed reality series Wipeout for a fourth season, according to The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd, and will get some new obstacles next season. "I'm excited that a fourth season will give our team the opportunity to create bigger and funnier ways to wipe out contestants and thrill families across America," said creator and executive producer Matt Kunitz. (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC Family has ordered a script for drama pilot What Would Jane Do, about a "dateless high school outsider living a double life as a twentysomething career girl in the corporate world." Project hails from executive producer Gavin Polone and writer April Blair. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Judy Greer Finds Mad Love, David Strathairn Circles Alphas, Gossip Girl, True Blood Twist, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Judy Greer (Miss/Guided) is heading to CBS. The actress--whose voice appeared this season on FX's animated comedy Archer--has signed on to star in CBS ensemble comedy Mad Love, which has been picked up for thirteen episodes and will launch in midseason. Greer replaces Lizzy Caplan, who had only signed on to appear as a guest star in the pilot, and will star opposite Sarah Chalke (who herself replaced Minka Kelly), Jason Biggs, and Tyler Labine (who replaced Dan Fogler). Project, from writer/executive producer Matt Tarses, revolves around a group of Manhattan friends looking for love. (Variety, Deadline)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that David Strathairn (Matadors) is in talks to topline Syfy's action-adventure pilot Alphas, which revolves around a team of people with extraordinary abilities. Strathairn would play the "the overseer/team leader/prescribing doctor and all around mother hen to the team: an eccentric, absent-minded professor at times, who is also a cunning and manipulative power-player willing to bend the rules in pursuit of his objectives." Ryan Cartwright (Mad Men), meanwhile, would play a team member with Asperger's Syndrome who is able to receive wireless transmissions. (Deadline)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Katie Cassidy (Melrose Place) has signed on to a multiple-episode story arc on the CW's Gossip Girl next season, where she will play "a student at Columbia and a love interest for fellow undergrad Nate (Chace Crawford)" who will cause trouble for the well-heeled set of the CW drama series. Her first appearance is slated to air during the fourth season premiere this fall. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

POTENTIAL SPOILER E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos has an interview with Mariana Kleveno--who plays vampire Lorena on HBO's True Blood--about the disturbing final-act twist in last night's taut installment. "[That scene] was actually the most shocking thing that I've ever read in a television script," Kleveno told E! "My jaw dropped on the floor when I read it and thought, 'Oh my god, I actually have to do that?!" Kleveno also goes on to say that filming the pivotal scene was "kind of uncomfortable." [Editor: when I interviewed Stephen Moyer a few weeks back, we discussed the scene and he referred to it as "f---ing gnarly."] (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Remember those rumors circulating last week that the Beeb was considering resurrecting Philip Glenister's Gene Hunt character from Ashes to Ashes and Life on Mars? Looks like--thankfully--there is absolutely no truth to them whatsoever. Ashes co-creator Matthew Graham has denied the report, originally published by The Daily Mirror, stating in no uncertain terms that Gene's story was done. [Editor: Whew! As much as I love Gene and Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes, it had the perfect ending.] (Den of Geek)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that A.J. Cook will be returning to CBS' Criminal Minds this fall... at least for a "brief stint to tie up JJ's storyline." Additionally, Paget Brewster will also be returning for another season, having successfully concluded a contract renegotiation that will see her return in the fall for "a significant number of episodes," according to an unnamed Criminal Minds insider. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Lolita Davidovich and Kathleen Quinlan have joined the cast of of HBO telepic Cinema Verite, which revolves around the making of the landmark reality series An American Family. (Also cast: William Belli and Nick Eversman.) Elsewhere, Steve Hytner (Hung) has been cast in CMT's comedy pilot The Hard Life, where he will star opposite Matthew Lillard and Gillian Vigman, appearing in flashbacks to the 1970s. (Deadline)

SPOILER! TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck has some dirt on the Season Seven opener of FOX's House, which finds Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) taking Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) away for an "idyllic day." "Anywhere other than Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital is an easier place for them to be together in a relationship," House executive producer Katie Jacobs tells Keck. "That's where we start — 'What if we only have each other?' As their day goes on, Cuddy will learn that the locales they visit hold a secret significance... It would be impossible for Cuddy to spend every day as if her child and her professional life don't exist; a little easier for House, since he is somewhat of a child himself. But what's cool about Season 7 is that House is going to try to stay off drugs and have a meaningful relationship. We don't rush through this. It's taken six years to get there, so this is not a story that's going to be done in three episodes." (TV Guide Magazine)

Marvel Entertainment has created a television division and named scribe Jeph Loeb (Heroes) to head up the new sector. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Loeb will "oversee the translation of Marvel’s popular characters and stories to the television medium, in both live-action and animation formats" as well as "the development and distribution of live-action, animated and direct-to-DVD series." (Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision)

Peter Horton (Grey's Anatomy) will direct and executive produce FOX's upcoming con man drama Lonestar, signing a deal with 20th Century Fox Television and FOX that will also secured him a premium script commitment. He'll also direct a pilot for the studio and network next season. Horton will direct the first episode of Lonestar after the pilot episode, which was directed by Marc Webb. (Variety)

Former Dexter showrunner Clyde Phillips has signed a two-year overall deal with Lionsgate Television, under which he will develop programming for the studio. Anything that is ordered to pilot (or series) would be shot on the East Coast, where Phillips lives with his family. (Deadline)

Emily VanCamp (Brothers & Sisters) has been cast in CBS' upcoming Hallmark Hall of Fame telepic Let Them Shine, where she will play a novice teacher who makes a difference in the lives of several homeless students. Project is written by Camille Thomasson and directed by Jeff Bleckner. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: White Collar Nabs Hilarie Burton, Natasha Henstridge Gets Drop Dead Role, Jim Parsons on Big Bang Move, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Fancast's Matt Mitovich is reporting that former One Tree Hill star Hilarie Burton has signed on to appear in a six-episode story arc on Season Two of USA's White Collar, where she'll play Sarah Ellis, a new love interest for Matthew Bomer's Neal Caffrey, who is described as "an insurance investigator-slash-white collar bounty hunter who has a bit of a score to settle with Neal." Bomer's Neal will quickly find himself enmeshed in a game of cat and mouse with Sarah. Season Two of White Collar is set to launch Tuesday, July 13th at 9 pm ET/PT. (Fancast)

Former Eli Stone star Natasha Henstridge is heading back to the courtroom, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, who reports that Henstridge has signed on to a multiple-episode story arc on Season Two of Lifetime's legal dramedy Drop Dead Diva, which returns June 6th. She'll play the "heretofore-unseen partner at Harrison & Parker," according to Ausiello. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online's Megan Masters talks to The Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons about the CBS comedy's move to Thursdays next season and Sheldon's new love interest, played by Mayim Bialik. "I am optimistically excited about it," said Parsons about Big Bang Theory's new scheduling. "We all know the world of television is unpredictable...but I do feel hopeful about it. It will be very exciting to be a part of a new night of comedy, a new section of comedy, whatever it turns into. My initial reaction was slight disbelief because I didn't see it coming, but as the day wore on I felt like this could be good. It will certainly keep things exciting and interesting. CBS has always been with us. From really very early on they've done these moves like this that made you realize that they have a lot of faith in the show." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

SPOILER! (If you haven't seen last night's 24 series finale) Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice has an interview with 24 executive producer Howard Gordon about the series finale, which aired last night. "Yes, that was very much designed from the beginning," said Gordon when asked if he knew early on that the season would end with Jack going off the rails. "How it would end, however, was something that was really unknown. I saw a little bit further ahead than I generally do, and we wanted to knit Jack and Renee together, only to take them apart, and for that to have a really profound effect on Jack. That’s about as far as we knew in the broad strokes. How that was going to happen, and how it would impact Allison Taylor and Chloe — those were late-to-the-party additions that I think helped bolster that initial idea." (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos has the skinny on the fake spoiler that Lost showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse attempted to put out into the ether, one that the series ending with a wedding between Sun (Yunjin Kim) and Jin (Daniel Dae Kim). "But this wedding, unlike the Kwons' first one (with special guest Jacob), was actually a red herring planted by producers to throw off any spoiler hounds trying to sniff around finale storylines," writes Dos Santos. "According to reliable sources close to the show, a fake call sheet was sent out to the entire cast and extended crew detailing a Jin and Sun wedding scene for the finale. The 'spoiler' never leaked." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that ABC has put five drama scripts into development for spring, hoping land two pilot orders from the pack of new projects. These include the Sony Pictures Television-produced reboot of Charlie's Angels, from Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and Javier Grillo-Marxuach's Department Zero, and three projects from ABC Studios: Ghostworld, from Ian Sanders and Kim Moses (Ghost Whisperer), Behind the Blue, from executive producer Taye Diggs, and medical drama Island of Women, from Matthew Gross. These are on top of the six more scripts ordered for Rand Ravich's quirky bounty hunter drama Edgar Floats. (Deadline)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos talks to Gossip Girl's Chace Crawford about the fact that Crawford's Nate Archibald desperately needs a new love interest on the CW drama series... and that it likely won't be Taylor Momsen's Jenny. "I always thought [Nate and Jenny] was a little weird," Crawford admitted. "There's the age gap, she's still in high school..." Meanwhile, Crawford indicated to Dos Santos that the shocking season finale might point to a darker Nate next season. "That may be where they're going," Crawford said. "It'd be fun to play. Who knows, maybe I'll be the one getting shot next year." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

SPOILER! Elsewhere, Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Gossip Girl producers are casting the role of Eva, described as " an utterly gorgeous female in her 20s or 30s who boasts a warm heart and an authentic French accent." Eva will be the new love interest for Chuck, natch, as shooting gets underway in New York and Paris in July. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Jace Alexander (Burn Notice) will direct the Syfy action-adventure drama pilot Three Inches, which is said to focus on "an underachiever who develops a unique 'super' power after being struck by lightning — the ability to move any object by 3 inches using his mind – and is soon recruited by a covert team of superheroes." (Deadline)

Meanwhile, Nellie Andreeva also reports that Ken Sanzel (NUMB3RS) is in the process of closing a deal to come aboard new CBS drama series Blue Bloods as showrunner. (Deadline)

Overall deal roundup: Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Greg Malins, newly installed as executive producer/co-showrunner on ABC comedy Better Together, has signed a two-year overall deal with Warner Bros. Television... and Zach Reiter (CSI: NY) has signed a two-year overall deal with CBS Studios, which will keep him aboard the crime procedural and develop new projects for the studio. (Deadline)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Chuck's Renewal Chances Looking Up, Glee Circles Britney Spears Episode, Parks and Recreation, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that a potential fourth season of NBC's Chuck is looking more and more likely. While we shouldn't breath a collective sigh of relief just yet, Ausiello speaks to an unnamed source close to the production who tells him that it's "looking good" that NBC will renew the Warner Bros. Television-produced action-comedy for another season, bumping the series' position on the Bubble Show Scorecard from "could go either way" to "safe bet." Still, it's important to note that a final decision about Chuck's ultimate fate at the network won't be made for several more weeks... (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Additionally, Ausiello also has a first-look video at the May 3rd episode of Chuck (entitled "Chuck Versus the Role Models"), which features an homage to Hart to Hart and features guest stars Fred Willard and Swoosie Kurtz as a spy couple who are tasked with training Chuck and Sarah. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy has told Entertainment Weekly that he is considering creating an episode around the music of Britney Spears, following an idea floated by Spears' manager on Twitter. "I’m interested in the Britney Spears idea," said Murphy, who is also considering episodes based around Billy Joel, Led Zepplin, and Courtney Love. "I’ve always loved her. I’m entertaining it. I think young kids would like that." (Entertainment Weekly's Music Mix)

Universal Media Studios and NBC have signed Parks and Recreation co-creator Mike Schur to an overall deal that will keep him at the helm of NBC's Parks for several years to come and also develop new material down the line. "I'm an NBC nerd," Schur told Variety. "Every time NBC takes a hit in the press I get angry. They've been nothing but good to me. Their notes on scripts are good. This deal is about solidifying this show and me at NBC." (Variety)

Meanwhile, The Wrap's Josef Adalian reports on the real reason Rob Lowe is being added to the cast of Parks and Recreation: NBC Entertainment chief Angela Bromstad, who felt the series "could benefit from some added star wattage," according to Adalian, and that Lowe could provide the sort of element that Alec Baldwin provides to fellow Thursday night comedy 30 Rock. Still, producers weren't upset by the, er, request to add Lowe to the ensemble, though it did take some pitching from Jeff Gaspin in order for Mike Schur and Greg Daniels to envision how Lowe would fit into the world of Pawnee. "Some of the fans have expressed fears that he won't fit into the world (of Pawnee), but I think those fears will be allayed when they see him," said Schur. He's handsomer than everyone else, but he's also happy to be part of a large ensemble. He fits in because he's being really funny." While Adam Scott's contract locks him in for the long-term, Lowe's deal will be revisited down the line when the network and producers have a chance to see how he meshes with the comedy series. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Meanwhile, you can catch a glimpse of Rob Lowe and Adam Scott on the set of NBC's Parks and Recreation below, courtesy of a new video released by the Peacock:



HBO has announced return dates for comedies Entourage and Hung, which will return with new seasons on June 27th. (Variety)

The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd has a breakdown of which pilots are currently looking like front-runners for series orders at the broadcast network, including CBS' Hawaii Five-O, NBC's Rockford Files and Undercovers, as well as David E. Kelley's Kindreds, Love Bites, Chase, This Little Piggy, Friends with Benefits, Next, Perfect Couples, and Outsources all looking good at the Peacock. CBS is said to be circling Chaos, Defenders, Bleep My Dad Says, Mike & Molly, True Love, and Hawaii Five-O. FOX is said to be high on Breakout Kings, Midland, Ride Along, Terra Nova, Security, Keep Hope Alive, and Most Likely to Succeed. ABC is keen for 187, Off the Map, Body of Evidence, No Ordinary Family, Wright Vs. Wrong, and Mr. Sunshine. At the CW, the network is particularly high on Nikita and Betwixt. (Hollywood Reporter)

Sorry Gina Torres fans, looks like the former Firefly star won't be popping up on Season Two of Syfy's Warehouse 13 after all. Torres has been replaced by Tia Carerre (Relic Hunter) on the sci-fi series, which returns on July 6th for its second season. Lindsay Wagner (Bionic Woman), meanwhile, will guest star as an "in-house doctor for Warehouse 13, home base for the secret storage facility that houses all sorts of strange phenomena being tracked down by agents (Eddie McClintock and Joanne Kelly)." (Hollywood Reporter)

The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting that Warner Bros. TV is still in "deep talks" to move Conan O'Brien's production company Conaco from NBC Universal to TBS, the cable network now home to O'Brien's upcoming latenight revival. Sources indicated that such a deal could be made by the end of the month. "The deal has been a no-brainer since the April 12 announcement that O'Brien was head to Turner's TBS, which, like WBTV, is part of the Time Warner family," wrote Adalian. "Turner chief Steve Koonin told TheWrap then that he wanted to do 'multiple projects together,' making it inevitable that there'd be a production deal with WBTV." (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

The New York Times's Joe Rhodes has a feature about FOX's upcoming action-comedy series The Good Guys, starring Bradley Whitford and Colin Hanks and created by Matt Nix (Burn Notice). Series, produced by FTVS, was ordered to series without a pilot. "Matt walks in the door with not only a finished script and a pitch for what the whole season was going to be," Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly told Rhodes, "but with a willingness to deliver a network-quality show on a cable budget. We are getting a lot of bang for our buck, literally." (The New York Times)

Over at Los Angeles Times's Show Tracker site, Claire Zulkey talks to the latest winner of Project Runway. (Los Angeles Times's Show Tracker)

The cast of ABC's reality competition series Dancing with the Stars seems to be enjoying themselves more now that Kate Gosselin has been booted from the series. "It’s a whole new place around the set of DWTS this week!" an unnamed insider told Fancast's Kelly Will. "The cast and crew are working in an entirely new environment. Kate wasn’t the problem, it was the drama that followed her. It was like a cloud of energy everyday that changed the dynamics of the cast when they were filming segments. Now that Kate is out, it’s a quieter place to be. It was a media storm when Kate was around, not by her choice, but it was... Jon may not have been a cast member of the show, but every time he did something in public it quickly trickled down onto the set. If Kate was dealing with something difficult, people noticed, heard about it and had an opinion. The moms were supportive and the guys pretty much tried to avoid it. Bachelor Jake was always very nice to Kate – people liked her but she had so much to deal with besides the show. It was hard to really befriend her because of the media circus." (Fancast)

E! Online's Megan Masters talks with Gossip Girl's Billy Baldwin about his upcoming arc as Serena's father. "This is a good guy who has made some bad choices in his life," said Baldwin about Van der Woodsen, who he said "poses some interesting conflicts and problems for everybody." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

NBC is bumping this week's episode of Mercy to 9 pm (and filling the 8 pm timeslot with a repeat of Minute to Win It) in an effort to give the struggling freshman drama series a shot in the arm, hoping that it will have a better chance at luring viewers when it's not leading off the night. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

TV Squad's Chris Harnick has an interview with Nigella Lawson about her upcoming new series, Jamie Oliver, and KFC's Double Down. "I don't want to feel guilty every time I eat some potato chips," said Lawson, laughing. "But I do admire him for the work he's done. I have to say, he's a great boy." (TV Squad)

Showtime will offer a sneak-peek at the upcoming reality series The Real L Word tonight at 11 pm ET/PT, following new episodes of Nurse Jackie and United States of Tara. The series itself will launch on Sunday, June 20th at 10 pm ET/PT. (via press release)

The Hollywood Reporter has a recap of Friday night's Psych panel at the Paley Center. "Discovering, inventing or stealing a pill that reverses the aging process, kidnapping Barbara Hershey and watching Boxcar Bertha with her, convincing Gus to purchase one of those Japanese video games where you dance ... and possibly kissing Detective Juliet O'Hara on the mouth," said James Roday when asked about his character's five-year plan. (Hollywood Reporter)

CBS Television Studios has signed a two-year overall deal with former NUMB3RS executive producer Don McGill, under which he will come aboard CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as an executive producer next season and develop new projects for the studio. (Variety)

The Daytime Emmy Awards telecast is returning to CBS and will air during primetime on Sunday, June 27th. (Hollywood Reporter)

Pennsylvania labor officials has approved TLC's request to film Jon and Kate Gosselin's eight children for a series of Kate Plus 8 specials to air on the network, according to Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice, who reports that the kids will not be appearing in TLC's spin-off series Twist of Kate, which launches this summer. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Disney Channel has ordered a second season of I'm in the Band. (via press release)

Stay tuned.

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

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "True Blood" Finds Its Debbie Pelt, Emily Rose Heads to Syfy's "Haven," "Ugly Betty," and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Brit Morgan (The Middleman) has been cast in Season Three of HBO's True Blood, where she has landed the pivotal role of Debbie Pelt, the "psycho ex-girlfriend of werewolf Alcide (Joe Manganiello)." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

SPOILER! In other True Blood-related news, TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that an upcoming storyline will involve an Eric flashback to the year 900 A.D., where viewers will meet Eric's father, a Swedish Viking king named Ulfrick. Casting is currently underway for the role. (TV Guide Magazine)

Emily Rose (John From Cincinnati) has been cast as the lead in Syfy's supernatural series Haven, which is based on Stephen King's novella "The Colorado Kid." Rose will play FBI Agent Audrey Parker, who is sent to the titular Maine community in order to investigate a murder and finds herself caught up in a series of supernatural events. Project, from E1 Entertainment and Universal Networks International, is executive produced by Scott Shepard, Lloyd Segan, Shawn Piller, John Morayniss, and Noreen Halpern, along with writers Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to Ugly Betty creator/executive producer Silvio Horta about the upcoming end of the ABC dramedy series. "The braces are coming off," Horta told Ausiello about an upcoming March episode in which Betty is sent on a metaphysical journey about what her life might have been like. "There’s a big fantasy element to it. We’ll ask the question, 'What if Betty had perfect teeth?'" Also coming up on the series: a new job opportunity for Betty, a wedding, the return of Wilhelmina's first love, and much more. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

HBO is developing comedy series Tilda, about a "powerful female online showbiz journalist with a no-holds-barred style." [Editor: Hmmm, sound like anyone we know?] Bill Condon (Dreamgirls) and Cynthia Mort (Tell Me You Love Me) are attached to write and executive produce the project, with Condon also attached to direct, should it be ordered the pilot. (Hollywood Reporter)

Broadcasting & Cable's Melissa Grego is reporting that NBC is considering airing the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards telecast live across the country on August 29th. The move to end the tape-delay comes on the heels of NBC's decision last month to air the Golden Globes live in all timezones across the country. "According to sources, NBC is in the process of discussing a similar live Emmys scenario with affiliates," writes Grego. "Spokespeople for NBC and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which administers the top TV awards, declined to comment." (Broadcasting & Cable)

Syfy has acquired the basic cable rights to BBC's Merlin, the first season of which NBC aired last summer. Syfy will debut the fantasy series in April and will air the first two seasons of the series. "A viewer favorite after only one season, Merlin will be a strong addition to our schedule this spring," said Thomas Vitale, EVP of programming. "We expect its enthralling imaginative vision, engaging young talent, and rich production values to resonate with our audience." BBC, meanwhile, will launch the third season of Merlin in September in the UK. (Hollywood Reporter)

Pilot casting alert! Laura Prepon (That '70s Show) will star opposite Danny Wallace in ABC comedy pilot Awkward Situations for Men, where she will play Meg, the wife of British television personality Danny Wallace who moves to the US and who takes a job at a smoothie job with a boss (Matt Letscher) whom she shares a romantic past. Bret Harrison (Reaper) has landed the lead role in FOX's untitled Adam Goldberg single-camera comedy, where he will play a member of a team who crack computer security systems. Michael Kelly (The Sopranos) has been added to the cast of CBS' currently untitled Criminal Minds spinoff; he'll play a former gang member who joins a team of profilers. (Hollywood Reporter)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that Michelle Trachtenberg will return to Gossip Girl for the current season's final episode, while Gossip Girl's Connor Paolo is set to make a guest appearance on Trachtenberg's NBC medical drama Mercy. "I'm sure Georgina will be seeking vengeance," Trachtenberg told Dos Santos. "They haven't written it yet, but she was tricked and sent away, after all. And that li'l lady certainly doesn't like to be tricked." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

ABC has given a pilot order to single-camera comedy pilot Wright vs. Wrong about a female Republican political commentator. Project, from Sony Pictures Television and Tantamount, is written by Stephanie Weir (MadTV), who will executive produce alongside Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum, and Mitch Hurwitz. (Hollywood Reporter)

BBC America announced that it will premiere the second season of comedy The Inbetweeners on Wednesday, February 24th at 9:30 pm ET/PT, a week after the first season wraps its run. (via press release)

Fox Television Studios has signed a two-year first-look deal with documentary filmmaker RJ Cutler (The September Issue) under which he will develop scripted projects for broadcast and cable, a first for the director who has seen success on the small screen with such unscripted projects as 30 Days and American High. (Variety)

VH1 has ordered an untitled dramedy telepic about two twenty-something African-American women in Atlanta, one a wannabe fashion mogul, the other a former dancer. Project, from writer Stacy Littlejohn, is executive produced by Queen Latifah, Sha-Kim Compere, Maggie Malina, and Jeff Olde. The cabler is treating the telepic as a backdoor pilot; should it be successful, it could be ordered to series. (Variety)

Nickelodeon is developing an untitled comedy, from executive producers Joe Simpson and Tommy Lynch and writer Emily Cutler, that will be loosely based on Simpson's life, revolving around a psychologist raising two daughters in Texas. (Hollywood Reporter)

Telemundo executive Enrique Guillen has been moved to NBC, where he will take over as VP of alternative programming and production. NBC also promoted Nicole Silveira to manager of alternative series and specials. Both report to Paul Telegdy. (Variety)

Michael Grindon, Sony Pictures Television's head of international television, will leave the studio in March after a 24-year tenure. Move comes after much of his oversight was taken over by Steve Mosko in a corporate restructuring. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Team Darlton Talk Season Six of "Lost," Alan Ball Dishes on "Blood" Connection, Summit Developing "Push" Series, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has published the first part of a massive and fantastic Q&A with Lost showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. The best part? It's 100 percent spoiler-free, so even the spoiler-averse among us can enjoy. [Editor: Go, Mo!] "We... spent a lot of time talking about how we don’t want the last season of the show to be didactic," said Cuse, when asked whether they anticipated a harshly critical reaction to the final season. "It’s very dangerous to basically create a checklist of answers and then start trying to tick them off, because we want to make sure we’re telling engaging stories. For us really, while the mythology is important, for us it’s a story about these characters. And so most of our focus has been on, how are we going to resolve the character stories?" (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

SPOILER ALERT! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to True Blood creator Alan Ball about two potential, er, erotic connections next season on the vampire drama, one of which might be very surprising to fans of the show. [Editor: I can't imagine that it would go much further than some steamy dreams, to be honest.] (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Summit Entertainment, the indie studio behind the Twilight franchise, has announced that they are teaming up with E1 Entertainment to develop a series project based on the 2009 feature film Push, about a group of individuals with paranormal abilities who band together to take down a ruthless government agency. The pilot will be written by David Hayter (Watchmen), who will executive produce alongside Benedict Carter, Noreen Halpern, and John Morayniss. The companies are currently shopping the project to US networks. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Billy Baldwin (Dirty Sexy Money) has signed on to appear in at least three episodes of the CW's Gossip Girl this season, where he will play Serena and Eric's father, William van der Woodsen. His first appearance is slated to air in April. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Pilot order alert!ABC has ordered two drama pilots and one comedy pilot; FOX and NBC each ordered a comedy, and CBS is said to be considering one drama. At ABC, the pickups were for Shonda Rhimes-executive produced medical drama Off the Map, about a group of doctors who work in a clinic in a remote area of the world, from writer Jenna Bans; Chris Murphey's crime procedural Body of Evidence, about a female medical examiner; and single-camera comedy Happy Endings, about a group of friends whose lives are thrown into chaos when two of them break up at the altar, from writer Dave Caspe, executive producer Jamie Tarses, and Sony Pictures Television. FOX has given a greenlight to pilot an untitled Ajay Sahgal comedy (a.k.a. Nevermind Nirvana) from 20th Century Fox Television, about two Indian brothers, one of whom enters a traditional arranged marriage and the other who marries a white woman. Over at NBC, the Peacock ordered a pilot for creators/stars Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant's multi-camera comedy The Strip, about an aged child star who owns a strip-mall Hooters-style restaurant on the outskirts of Las Vegas, which hails from Universal Media Studios. And CBS is said to be considering a pilot order for Joel Silver-executive produced buddy cop comedy The Odds, from writer Jeff Wadlow and Warner Bros. Television, about two cops in Las Vegas who are said to be "just as outrageous as the crimes they solve." (Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Annette O'Toole will reprise her role as Martha Kent on the CW's Smallville later this season, citing unnamed sources. "Producers are still working out the exact timing of Martha’s reappearance, but a Smallville insider tells me it’ll most likely fall during May sweeps," writes Ausiello. "That same source hints that the mother-son reunion will be rocked by an 'unexpected surprise' or two." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Theresa Rebeck (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) has been hired to write the pilot script for Showtime's untitled Broadway project, from executive producers Steven Spielberg, Justin Falvey, and Daryl Frank. Project follows the development of a Broadway musical from idea to opening night and producers plan to take the musical to the real-life stage should the project get ordered to series. (Hollywood Reporter)

Twentieth Television's game show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? will get a second round of syndication, following the conclusion of a renewal deal in the top five markets. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "Dexter" Season Finale Postmortem, Syfy Renews "Stargate Universe" and "Sanctuary," "Lost" Season Six Photos, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has an interview with Dexter executive producer Clyde Phillips about last night's season finale of the Showtime serial killer drama. One very interesting tidbit: when asked about when the decision was made about pulling the trigger on the episode's final scene, Phillips said, "I would say we made the decision pretty late in the season. We didn’t quite know what we were going to do [in the finale]." As for when Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) will find out about Dexter's true nature, don't hold your breath. "We’ve bounced that around the [writers] room," Phillips told Ausiello. "But once we do that... want to talk about game-changers? Once we do that, the game is changed in a way that we just don’t know how to anticipate just yet." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Syfy has given series renewals to Stargate Universe and Sanctuary, picking up both series for additional twenty-episode runs that will begin next fall on the cabler. Stargate Universe, which recently aired its midseason finale, will return with the second half of its freshman season in April. "We're dealing with 15 seasons of expectations with a certain fanbase," executive producer Robert Cooper told Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd when asked about fan reaction. "Hopefully, as the show goes on, people will appreciate Universe for being its own thing." Fans should look for an alien race to show up in the second half of the season, more scenes set aboard the ship, and a storyline involving Rush (Robert Carlyle). (Hollywood Reporter)

New York Post's PopWrap has a look at the newly released promotional photos for Season Six of ABC's Lost, which launches on February 2nd. While the gallery shots reveal absolutely nothing in an of themselves (they feature the regulars against a grey backdrop), PopWrap's Jarett Wieselman notes, "it's interesting that although Boone, Charlie and a whole host of dead Losties will be returning, Miles, Lapidus and Ilana are integral enough to... Lost's endgame to warrant series regular status over characters like Desmond!" (New York Post's PopWrap)

Changes are afoot at the CW's Gossip Girl, according to executive producer Josh Schwartz, who promises that Taylor Momsen's Jenny is going to become a lightning rod for controversy. "You're really going to see a real emotional arc from Chuck [Ed Westwick]," Schwartz tells TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams. "I think Jenny [Taylor Momsen] and Chuck are really going to be driving a lot of story as we move into the back half of the season." (TVGuide.com)

History has ordered eight-hour scripted miniseries The Kennedys from writer Stephen Kronish, director Jon Cassar, and executive producer Joel Surnow (all of whom worked together on FOX's 24). Production on the miniseries, which will track the famed political dynasty between the 1960 presidential election and John F. Kennedy's 1968 assassination (and flashback, as well, to earlier times), is slated to begin this spring for a 2011 premiere. "I didn't want this miniseries to be a Valentine -- there have been plenty of them -- neither did I wanted it to be a hatchet job," said Kronish. "I think it is a fairly even-handed look at people who achieved big things at amazingly early ages. We're really trying to see them as people and to strip away some of the patina that has attached itself to them because of their early deaths and to show them, warts and all." (Hollywood Reporter)

Scott Patterson (Gilmore Girls) has been cast in the CW's 90210, where he is expected to appear in at least two episodes as the biological father of Matt Lanter's Liam. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Tyler Posey (Lincoln Heights), Tyler Hoechlin (7th Heaven), Crystal Reed (Hard Times), and Dylan O'Brien have joined the cast of MTV's werewolf pilot presentation Teen Wolf, which has been reimagined as "a dramatic thriller with a buddy-comedy element at the center and a romantic plot line." (Hollywood Reporter)

NBC Universal has renewed its overall deal with indie production shingle BermanBraun for another three years. Under the terms of the deal, BermanBraun will continue to function as a fully independent production entity within the studio, with NBC Universal's broadcast and cable networks retaining a first-look on all of BermanBraun's projects. The shingle's current projects include Mercy for NBC and Accidentally on Purpose and pilots such as NBC's Rex Is Not Your Lawyer and Alphas for Syfy. (Variety)

TNT has secured off-network rights to the CW's drama series Supernatural and will launch repeats of the series weekdays at 10 am ET/PT beginning Monday, January 4th. (Futon Critic)

Thomas Haden Church has been cast in FearNet's six-episode short-form series Zombie Roadkill, about a park ranger who forms a partnership with a teenager (David Dorfman) "to escape a portion of highway where roadkill is resurrected as flesh-eating zombie animals." Each episode will last between four and five minutes and the series, written by Henry Gayden and directed by David Green, will be available on FearNet.com and on its On Demand VOD network. (Variety)

Syndicated daytime medical series The Doctors has been renewed through the 2011-12 season, the series' fourth. (Broadcasting & Cable)

Disney XD will launch musical comedy I'm in the Band, about a teenager who joins a once-hot band and sets out to orchestrate its comeback, on January 18th at 7 pm ET/PT. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: CBS Mulling "Criminal Minds" Spin-off, John Simm Talks "Doctor Who" Send-Off for Tennant, Kevin Zegers Hears "Gossip" Call, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

CBS is said to be developing a potential spin-off from its crime drama series Criminal Minds that will be created by showrunner/executive producer Ed Bernero and executive producer Chris Mundy, the latter of which will write the script for the potential spin-off which will air as an episode of Criminal Minds later this season. No concrete details are available but the series is thought to revolve around a new team of FBI agents, rather than focusing on any of the existing Criminal Minds characters. (Hollywood Reporter)

John Simm (Life on Mars), who returns to Doctor Who to reprise his role as The Master this winter, has said that David Tennant's swan song on the British sci-fi series is a "brilliant send-off" for Tennant and the Tenth Doctor. "It'll be a brilliant send-off for Mr Tennant," said Simm. "Last time I did it it was such fun to do. It was wonderful to be asked back and to be in the very, very last one. To go head-to-head with him was a really honour. It was lovely to be asked. It was a great, great experience. We had such fun doing it. Hopefully it'll come across." (BBC News)

Kevin Zegers (The Jane Austen Book Club) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on the CW's Gossip Girl as the potential love interest for Taylor Momsen's Jenny. Zegers will play Damien, "an international bad boy who somehow gets tied up with the likes of little Jenny Humphrey—-who is, in fact, the new Queen Bee." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Diane Ruggiero (Veronica Mars) will write the pilot script for an untitled FOX supernatural dramedy, said to be in the style of Shaun of the Dead, about "a group of dysfunctional siblings who are forced to live together in the family's haunted house after their father dies." Project, from executive producers Peter Chernin, Katherine Pope, and Ruggiero and studio 20th Century Fox Television, has received a script order from the network. (Variety)

TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams talks to Pushing Daisies' Kristin Chenoweth who guest stars on tonight's episode of FOX's Glee as April Rhodes, a former classmate of Will's who has a certain thing for younger men. "This part is like nothing I've had the chance to do on TV," said Chenoweth of April. "She's very happy when drinking to ease her pain. I also sing in three very different styles, which is always fun and challenging." (TVGuide.com)

FOX has given a pilot presentation order to an untitled animated project from Robot Chicken creators Seth Green, Matthew Senreich, and Tom Root that will revolve around various characters at home and at high school and will feature traditional, rather than stop-motion, animation. Project hails from 20th Century Fox Television. (Hollywood Reporter)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan is reporting that the two-hour pilot for Syfy's Caprica, which launches in January, is hitting the film festival circuit, with airings planned for the San Diego Film Festival as well as the Woodstock Film Festival and the Austin Film Festival in October. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

TLC will relaunch its brand-defining reality series Jon & Kate Plus Eight as just... Kate Plus Eight. The newly retitled series will be relaunched on November 2nd and will focus on Kate Gosselin as the single mother of eight children. But don't count Jon Gosselin out just yet; he's set to continue to make appearances on the series, albeit "on a less regular basis." The cabler is also said to be developing a new series for Kate Gosselin for 2010. (Variety)

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (Drop Dead Diva) have received script commitments for two projects at FOX and NBC. The FOX project, a legal drama entitled Laney Sparrow, will be written by Dana Calvo (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) and hail from 20th Century Fox Television. The NBC project, dramedy Inside Mary Baxter, is set in a women's prison; that script will be written by Maria Maggenti (Without a Trace), who will executive produce with Zadan and Meron. (Hollywood Reporter)

Billie Piper (Doctor Who), Theo James (Untitled Woody Allen Film), Andrew Lee Potts (Primeval), Sue Johnston (Waking the Dead), and Alun Armstrong (New Tricks) have been cast in BBC One drama Kay Mellor's A Passionate Woman, based on Mellor's stageplay about a young mother who calls in love with a Polish neighbor and its dangerous consequences over a thirty-year period. Project, from Rollem Productions, will air next year. (BBC)

Warner Bros. Television has signed a two-year overall deal with Cold Case executive producer Greg Plageman, under which he will continue to oversee the CBS drama series with Jennifer Johnson and develop new projects for the studio. (Hollywood Reporter)

UK viewers will get a chance to watch Warner Bros. Television's new sci-fi series V (which is airing Stateside on ABC), following a deal between the studio and NBC Universal Global Networks that will see the Scott Peters-executive produced series air on the UK's Sci Fi, as well as the midseason drama series Human Target. (Broadcast)

History Channel has ordered several new reality series, including Extreme Trucking, a spin-off of its Ice Road Truckers, American Pickers, Madhouse, and Sliced. (Hollywood Reporter)

Camryn Manheim (The Practice) has been cast in Lifetime telepic Pregnancy Pact, opposite Thora Birch and Nancy Travis. She'll play a local nurse who alerts the school to the rising rate of teen pregnancies. Telepic is slated to air in early 2010. (Variety)

Jason Priestley will star in Canadian pay TV comedy Meet Phil Fitz, about a "morally bankrupt" used car salesman who "walks a fine line of acceptable behavior on the lot." Project, from writer/executive producer Sheri Elwood (Defying Gravity). E1 Entertainment, Amaze Film and Television, and Big Motion Pictures, will air on Movie Central and the Movie Network in 2010. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: NBC to Stream "Chuck" Episodes Online, Desmond Harrington to Get More "Gossip," Andrew Connelly Powers Up for "Heroes," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that NBC will today begin streaming already aired episodes of Chuck on its website. For now, the installments include the original pilot episode and the entire second season of Chuck, which is being released in batches of five episodes at a time. Chuck is currently slated to return to the airwaves in March. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams is reporting that Desmond Harrington (Dexter) will reprise his role as Jack Bass on the CW's Gossip Girl later this season. "I will be back this year," Harrington told Abrams. "I think it's episode 15 or 16 where I show back up. It's fun playing Uncle Jack... I think, if anything, I am there to screw that kid's life up basically," Harrington says. "I think he might be, out of all the most evil characters the show has ever had on it, the most evil character. He's evil." (TVGuide.com)

Andrew Connolly (Lost) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on Heroes this fall. He'll play the older brother to Robert Knepper's Samuel Sullivan, "the charismatic but evil Earth-moving ringleader of a traveling carnival who recruits people with special powers for a mysterious purpose." (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Ugly Betty will shoot an upcoming episode on location at the Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas next month. "I’m told most of the cast will be making the trek for the special episode, which will air in November and revolve around a big Mode photo shoot," writes Ausiello. He also quotes an unnamed Ugly Betty insider who reveals, "Location shoots can make or break you as an editor, so it’s a big deal for Betty... there’s also some drama with a certain love triangle." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Variety's Michael Schneider investigates the surge in animated development at the networks, with several animated projects--from FX's Archer to Nick at Nite, TBS, HBO, and Comedy Central--planned for the next few studios. "It's the engine that allows us to have all sorts of ancillary revenues of distribution -- syndication, home entertainment, licensing and merchandising," 20th Century Fox Television chairman Gary Newman told Schneider. (Variety)

The third season of Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures will air twice a week in the UK on BBC One. "We've been planning this for a very long time now," executive producer Russell T. Davies told Doctor Who Magazine. "The whole of Children's BBC is excited by this transmission pattern. It feels like the old days, when Doctor Who would transmit twice a week!" The spin-off series, which stars Elisabeth Sladen, aired its first season Stateside on Sci Fi; no plans have been announced yet for the second or third seasons. (Digital Spy)

TVGuide.com talks to House star Lisa Edelstein about what's coming up on the fifth season of the medical mystery series. Edelstein addressed the bait-and-switch love scene in the season finale. "The thing that I thought was good news about it is that there's only so far we can take it on the show before you change the dynamic, so the fact is, we kind of got a freebie in, because ultimately it can't really be that successful because that's not what House is about," she told TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams. "The more time you eke out of the opportunity to just explore two people who have no relationship skills, the more we can play around. I get to be a virgin another time." (TVGuide.com)

Broadcast has a fantastic interview with British comedian Katy Brand, whose eponymous sketch comedy series Katy Brand's Big Ass Show is set to launch in States on BBC America later this year. (Broadcast)

Stay tuned.

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

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Christian Slater Gets "Forgotten," Emerson Says No Happy Ending for "Lost," Piper Perabo Engages in "Covert Affairs," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Christian Slater (My Own Worst Enemy) is in talks to topline ABC drama series The Forgotten, from Warner Bros. Television and executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer. If the deal closes, Slater would replace Rupert Penry-Jones, who appeared in the original pilot episode as a former cop whose daughter was kidnapped and went missing. Another role--that played in the pilot by Reiko Aylesworth--is also being recast. The series is set to launch Tuesday, September 22nd at 10 pm. (Hollywood Reporter)

Don't look for the series finale of Lost to feature a happy ending, according to series regular Michael Emerson. "I don't think Lost will have a happy ending," Emerson told Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "It's the end and I think we are going to start seeing more casualties. I would put money on major characters being killed. I believe it will be a sad ending to the show -- or at least bittersweet. I think it will definitely be a series finale for grownups." And Emerson is still trying to make sense of this season's finale. "I killed Jacob... maybe... probably," mused Emerson. "It isn't like we haven't seen plenty of other people be killed and somehow come back. And what does it mean if I did kill him? I Who the hell was he anyway? Obviously, Ben wanted a father. So much of our show is about bad fathers. It is one of our biggest themes. And Jacob disappointed in those final moments. And maybe Jacob made it easy for him. Maybe that was all meant to happen. Is it all ordained? Maybe. And for that matter, can Jacob even be killed? Stay tuned is my response." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Piper Perabo (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) has been cast as the lead in USA's espionage drama pilot Covert Affairs, which has yet to receive a firm greenlight from the cabler (though a pilot order is expected in the next few weeks). Perabo will play Annie Walker, a CIA trainee who joins the agency while still recovering from a relationship with an ex-boyfriend who is of special interest to her spymasters. The search is on to cast male lead Auggie Anderson, a blind tech expert. Project, written by Matt Corman and Chris Ord, comes from Universal Cable Prods. Perabo last year starred in ABC drama pilot The Prince of Motor City. (Hollywood Reporter)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan raves about BBC America's upcoming Torchwood: Children of Earth and talks with series creator Russell T. Davies about what viewers should expect from the five-episode third season "event" and promises more to come in the next few days. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Hilary Duff is joining the cast of CW's Gossip Girl next season in a multiple-episode story arc, where she will play Olivia, an incognito movie star who enrolls at NYU in order to live a simpler life and becomes Vanessa's roommate... and gets romantically entangled with Dan Humphrey. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin, Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) is said to be in talks with CBS and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences to host the 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in September. (Variety)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan is reporting that there will be not one but two Farscape panels at San Diego Comic-Con later this month. The first, scheduled for Friday, July 24th at 10:15 am, will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the series and will feature creator Rockne O'Bannon, executive producer Brian Henson, and stars Ben Browder and Claudia Black. The second will focus on the Farscape series of comic books. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Meanwhile, A&E Home Entertainment yesterday announced that they are releasing the entire series of Farscape as a repackaged "series megaset" featuring all four seasons of the series in November. (via press release)

ABC is developing reality competition series The Fast and the Funniest, which follows stand-up comedians as they travel around the country completing various tasks and performing at stops along the way. Series is described as a cross between "Last Comic Standing and The Amazing Race." Casting is underway on the series, which hails from Keep Calm Prods. and executive producers Page Hurwitz and Javier Winnik. (Variety)

Four pilots--ABC's Solving Charlie, This Little Piggy, and Romantically Challenged and CBS' House Rules--remain in contention for midseason slots on their respective schedules after cast options were extended on the pilots. Options on Alyssa Milano, Kyle Bornheimer, and Kelly Stables on Romantically Challenged have been extended; on Solving Charlie, Jimmy Wolk, Dakota Goyo, Brad Henke, and Dania Ramirez have stayed on; on This Little Piggy, only options on Andrea Parker and Rebecca Creskoff have been extended; and on House Rules, most of cast will remain on board, including Zoe McLellan, Eion Bailey, Kristin Bauer, Tawny Cypress, Anna Chlumsky, and Denzel Whitaker. (Hollywood Reporter)

Rocky Carroll will appear in both NCIS and upcoming spin-off NCIS: Los Angeles next season as NCIS director Leon Vance. Carroll is set to appear in at least six episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles' initial thirteen-episode commitment and remains a series regular on NCIS. (TVGuide.com)

NBC will air its two-episode docuseries The Wanted, which centers on "an elite team with intelligence, unconventional warfare and investigative journalism backgrounds as they hunt suspects such as Mullah Krekar, the founder of terrorist organization Ansar Al Islam," on Monday, July 20th and Monday, June 27th at 10 pm ET/PT. (Variety)

Seminal 1990s dramedy Ally McBeal is finally coming to DVD, according to Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch, who writes that both the first season and the entire series are available for pre-order at Amazon. (Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch)

Discovery Channel has given out a series order to unscripted series The Colony, in which ten strangers will spend two months inside an abandoned warehouse complex without electricity, running water, or contact with the outside world and must build a functioning society following a fictional major catastrophe. Series, from Thom Beers Original Productions, is set to launch Tuesday, July 21st at 10 pm. (Broadcasting & Cable)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: David Tennant Talks End of "Doctor Who" Run, Jeri Ryan Finds "Leverage," Noah Wylie to Battle Aliens for Spielberg and TNT, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has an absolutely fantastic interview with Doctor Who star David Tennant on the eve of BBC America's airing of last Christmas' Doctor Who special "The Next Doctor." Among the topics of discussion: the end of his run on the legendary British sci-fi series, the truth behind the all-Doctors reunion rumors (false, says Tennant), and what's next for the actor (Poliakoff's Glorious 39), among other things. "I'm all finished," said Tenannt of his run on Doctor Who. "Three or four weeks ago, I filmed my last scene. So it's over. Still a long time to go before they're all broadcast, though, so I'm still clinging on for a bit. But yeah, it's done. It was very emotional, very exciting. We managed to go out with some of the best scripts I had in four years. So it was a real treat." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Jeri Ryan (Shark) has been cast in a recurring role on Season Two of TNT's drama series Leverage, where she will play "Tara, a smart-ass, street-wise con woman whom Sophie (Gina Bellman) calls on for help and who gets sucked into the Leverage family." (Hollywood Reporter)

It's official: Noah Wylie has signed on as the lead in TNT's untitled sci-fi pilot from executive producer Steven Spielberg and writer Robert Rodat. Project is set in a future where most of humanity has been wiped out by an alien incursion; Wylie will play the leader of a small human resistance force who are attempting to overthrow the occupying aliens. (Hollywood Reporter)

Former Privileged star Joanna Garcia has joined the cast of CW's Gossip Girl for a four-episode story arc next season, where she will play Bree Buckley, "an irreverent, slightly evil Miss America-type who hails from a conservative Southern family" who becomes romantically entangled with Chace Crawford's Nate Archibald. Garcia's first appearance on the series is set to air on September 14th. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Flashpoint returns to CBS will new episodes on Friday, July 17th at 9 pm. The network ordered a third season of the Canadian co-production last month. (Futon Critic)

Meanwhile, CBS has teamed up with its affiliate stations to launch a marketing plan tied around the crucial 10 pm timeslot, which has been named Project LENO (that's, ahem, Late prime Enhanced News Opportunity). The network is offering affiliates at 10 pm "tool kit" including "sponsorable broadcast spots, Web banners and radio spots, as well as behind-the-scenes vignettes" and CBS is also offering "an affiliate swap spot to promote the 10 pm hour." (Variety)

NBC announced their fall premiere dates yesterday, with most series--except 30 Rock--launching in the two week period between September 14th and September 26th. The Peacock will roll out its comedies Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday, Parks and Recreation, The Office, and Community on September 17th (30 Rock, which returns October 15th); The Biggest Loser will launch on September 15th; Heroes returns with a two-hour premiere on September 21st; Trauma kicks off on September 28th; Parenthood and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit debut on September 23rd; Southland and Law & Order will launch on September 25th, followed the next night by Saturday Night Live. (via press release)

BBC Worldwide and WGBH will co-produce a new Emma mini-series starring Atonement's Romola Garai, Michael Gambon, and Jonny Lee Miller and a sequel to Cranford that will star Judi Dench, Imelda Staunton, Francesca Annis, Eileen Atkins, Jonathan Pryce, Tim Curry, and Tom Hiddleston, both of which will air stateside on Masterpiece Classic next year. (More info on Cranford 2 can be found here.) Additionally, WGBH has partnerned with BBC on Framed, an adaptation of Frank Cottrell Boyce's children's book, and two-parter Small Island, based on Andrea Levy's novel about an ambitious Jamaican woman (Naomi Harris) in London after WWII. And the PBS affiliate also acquired three BBC productions: a remake of The 39 Steps starring Rupert Penry-Jones and Sharpe's Peril and Sharpe's Challenge, which star Sean Bean. (Variety)

The N will launch thirteen-episode original comedy series The Assistants, about four Hollywood assistants working for a high-profile producer, on July 10th at 8:30 pm. Series was ordered in November 2007 but the cable network hadn't been able to find a spot for the series on the schedule. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "Chuck" Trio to Return for Season Three, Acevedo Let Go From FOX's "Fringe," Diamantopoulos Counts Down for "24," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Wondering just what Season Three of NBC's Chuck will be like? For one thing the series' core trio isn't going anywhere. "Yes. Chuck, Sarah, and Casey are in all episodes," said Chuck co-creator/executive producer Josh Schwartz. Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello catches up with Schwartz to find out about Season Three, budget cuts, Subway, returning supporting cast members ("We have plans for Anna to return"), and about being off the air for ten months. "It was really a tough choice that the network faced: Put us on Friday or [hold us until] midseason," said Schwartz. "I really believe Chuck is the little show that could. Our fans are clearly passionate, clearly loyal, and hopefully all we'll do is get them more and more [excited] for our return. And we'll come up with fun ways of stoking the fans throughout the fall. We also have something very, very fun planned for Comic-Con this year." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

One cast member who won't be returning for Season Two of FOX drama Fringe is Kirk Acevedo, who played FBI Agent Charlie Francis. Acevedo announced that he had been let go from the drama (due to budgetary cuts) via his Facebook profile status update, writing, "WELL BOYS AND GIRLS THEY DONE DID YER BOY WRONG! THEY FIRED ME OFF OF FRINGE, AND IVE NEVER BEEN FIRED IN MY LIFE!!!!" Series writer/producer Brad Caleb Kane confirmed the news via Twitter, saying: "They fired Kirk Acevedo? WTF?" Meanwhile, blog Oh No They Didn't has information on a casting call for Season Two of Fringe: "MID TO LATE TWENTIES. FBI AGENT SHE IS ATTRACTIVE, BRASH, OUTSPOKEN,QUICK-WITTED AND CAPABLE. CATHERINE HAS A STRONG PERSONAL CENTER THAT COMES FROM A DEEP CORE BELIEF IN THE WONDERS OF THE UNIVERSE. (RECURRING WITH POSSIBLE OPTION FOR SR) PLEASE SUBMIT ALL ETHNICITIES"

Chris Diamantopoulos (The Starter Wife) has been cast as a series regular on Day Eight of FOX's 24. He'll play Rob Weiss, the "argumentative and tough new Chief of Staff to President Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones)," replacing Ethan Kanin (Bob Gunton), President Taylor's current Chief of Staff on 24. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Sarah Chalke likely won't be returning to Scrubs full-time next season. "I would've had Sarah in a heartbeat," Scrubs creator/executive producer Bill Lawrence told Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "I think she's got enough going on in her career [right now]. I'd say it's 50-50 she's in some episodes. I know she'll at least be in one or two." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Producers of Bravo's reality hit The Real Housewives of New York City are reportedly negotiating deals with six replacements who could become the stars of the series' third season, should the network not be able to reach an agreement with the series' current stars, who are allegedly asking for additional compensation for their participation on Housewives. It is still possible, however, that all six women from the first two seasons could return for Season Three. (New York Post)

TNT unveiled a slew of series in development at yesterday's upfront presentation, including an untitled alien invasion drama pilot from executive producer Steven Spielberg and writer Robert Rodat about a group of everyday men and women who battle the invading aliens, legal drama Class Action from executive producers Steven Bochco and Stephen Godchaux about an unlucky attorney who fights the good fight for the disenfranchised, drama Zapata, Texas from executive producer Kyra Sedgwick and executive producer/director Kevin Bacon about the new sheriff of a small Texas border town, an untitled family drama from Roseanne creator Matt Williams about a middle American family, an untitled period noir drama from writer Daniel Pyne about a private detective in 1954 Los Angeles, Pastor Jazz, starring Charles S. Dutton as a minister who uses music to touch the hearts of his congregation, Macalister, about a professor at a school for boys that serves the wealthy and privileged, and Proof, about an eccentric neuroscientist who uses his expertise to help law enforcement solve tough cases. (Variety)

The New York Times' Bill Carter takes a look at why several networks are extending the life of canceled series by picking them up from their rivals, such as CBS' decision to pick up Medium after NBC passed on the series. Carter points to a worrying trend that has networks making programming decisions based on syndication money or DVD sales for their studio side. "The conflict over Medium was emblematic of what transpired at every network this week, when money and ownership were major factors in scheduling decisions," writes Carter. "CBS had no trouble committing to ordering a full season of Medium, which NBC had resisted, because as owner of the show it will benefit financially from the future sale of the episodes of the show produced for the coming season." (New York Times)

MTV will launch Season Twenty-Two of The Real World, set in Cancun, on June 24th. (Variety)

Wondering what Georgina's statement at the end of the season finale of Gossip Girl meant now that actress Michelle Trachtenberg's new medical series Mercy was picked up by NBC? Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello says that Gossip Girl producers "thought ahead and made sure Trachtenberg negotiated a three-episode Gossip Girl 'out' in her Mercy contract. You didn't really think the Georgina-Blair roommate thing would last longer than that, did you?" (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

National Geographic will launch Hooked as an ongoing series beginning June 29th. Series, hosted by Zeb Hogan, explores how various cultures "approach fishing (and underwater conservation) while highlighting the most dramatic catches." Cabler will also return series World's Toughest Fixes on June 4th and Locked Up Abroad on July 15th. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

All Pomp and No Circumstance: An Advance Review of the "Gossip Girl" Season Finale

Gossip Girl unmasked? Could it be?

I had the opportunity last week to see tonight's season finale of the CW's Gossip Girl ("Goodbye Gossip Girl"), in which all signs point to the elusive trash talker being, well, trashed herself after the muckraking maven unveils a series of shocking scandals at the graduation commencement ceremony.

Just who could be behind the juicy blasts? Well, that would be telling but this wouldn't be Gossip Girl without several plot twists being involved. (Hell, I'm not even saying whether Gossip Girl is even really unmasked.)

It's an intriguing storyline that pays homage to the role that the never-seen GG has played on the eponymous series. Her blasts--and ubiquitous narration--have provided no end of groan-inducing pun-based wordplay on the series but there's no way that Kristin Bell, who voices the elusive blogger, would turn up in the flesh on Gossip Girl proper, so don't hold your breath waiting for Bell to walk into the Oak Bar or similar.

What else can I tell you about tonight's episode? It features resolutions to some of the season's romantic storylines, with several twists in store for Lily and Rufus, Chuck and Blair, and Nate and Vanessa. Just who will end up together and who will be torn asunder? You'll have to watch to find out.

Meanwhile, there's a subplot that involves Eric's boyfriend Jonathan and Blair selecting her heir to the throne at Constance Billard School for Girls. To whom will Blair pass her scepter and tiara? That would be telling but look for there to be much in-fighting between Jenny and Mean Girls Penelope, Nelly Yuki, and Hazel as they each set about to win the right to choose Blair's successor for a variety of reasons.

And Georgina Sparks makes a decision that could have major consequences for several characters on the series but it's not quite what you might expect. (One fly in the ointment, however, is that Michelle Trachtenberg's NBC medical drama Mercy was ordered to series, so I don't know how much time Trachtenberg will have come next season.)

Plus, the gang graduates in one of the most unimpressive and unimportant graduating scenes ever to air on television. But given this group's interest in gossip rather than (caps and) gowns, is it really a surprise that the series would downplay this rite of passage? Serena braiding her tassel into her hair rather than wear a traditional mortarboard? Really? Where were the yearbooks, the photographs, the excitement and nerves of graduation? Sure, these kids are oh-so sophisticated but it is the end of an era, an important stepping stone on the path to adulthood.

Basically, I was hoping for a bit more fun here (even if not pomp and circumstance) and for anything of interest to happen to characters like Dan, Vanessa (hiss!), and Jenny. There's a rather intriguing subplot involving Serena that I won't spoil here and the set-up for a major confrontation in Season Three with a mystery figure but overall I wanted the series to rediscover its way a little and recapture the frothy fun and exuberant spirit of excess that defined its first season. One can't help but hope that the summer allows both Gossip Girls' characters--and its writing staff--the opportunity to recharge their batteries.

As it is, the road to college would seem to be just more of the same for these Upper East Siders. Let's hope that it winds up being the blank slate that Serena and Company (and Schwartz and Savage) need in spades.



Gossip Girl returns with a third season this fall on the CW.

Channel Surfing: FOX Renews "Dollhouse," "Bones" Gets Two Season Pickup, "So You Think You Can Dance" on Tap for Fall, and More

Welcome to (a very early edition of) your Monday morning television briefing on the first day of the 2009 network upfronts.

In a surprising twist, FOX has renewed drama series Dollhouse for a second season. Dollhouse, which secured a thirteen-episode order from the network, is expected to remain on Friday evenings next season. Variety's Cynthia Littleton writes, "The 20th Century Fox TV fantasy drama starring Eliza Dushku has delivered modest but consistent ratings on a low-trafficked night, thanks to Whedon's built-in fan base." It's believed that the renewal was secured after the studio agreed to drastically reduce the series' budget and accept a significantly lower license fee. Just what that decision will mean for the writing staff and cast of Dollhouse remains to be seen. (Variety)

Good news for Bones fans (even those irked by the season finale's twist): FOX and studio 20th Century Fox Television have signed a deal to renew Bones for not one but two seasons. The eleventh hour renewal came down to the wire as the two sides had to hammer out a new license fee for the series, which is returning for its fifth season this fall. News of Bones' renewal was announced by creator Hart Hanson via his Twitter account. Hanson also indicated that frequent guest star Stephen Fry would reprise his role as Dr. Gordon Wyatt on the series. "There is every chance," said Hart, again via Twitter, "that Stephen Fry will be on Bones in the future." (Variety)

Elsewhere at FOX, the network is expected to announce a first-ever fall outing for reality franchise So You Think You Can Dance next season, likely to be paired with drama Glee on Wednesdays. Other potential timeslot pairings include House and Lie to Me on Mondays,Fringe and Human Target on Tuesdays, and Bones and So You Think You Can Dance's result show on Thursday. Just what will be paired with Dollhouse on Fridays? Past Life perhaps? Meanwhile, comedies Brothers and Sons of Tucson are expected to bow in midseason. (Hollywood Reporter)

Still more FOX news: FOX has ordered 13 episodes of comedy Brothers, starring Michael Strahan, Darryl "Chill" Mitchell, and CCH Pounder. Series, from Sony Pictures Television and Tantamount, revolves around the strained relationship between two brothers, one a retired NFL player (Strahan) and other a wheelchair bound man (Mitchell) whose own dreams of NFL glory were sidelined by a car accident. Meanwhile, drama Maggie Hill is said to still be in contention for a midseason slot. (Hollywood Reporter)

CBS has reportedly given a go-ahead to begin staffing on three new drama series, making their official series orders all the more likely later this week. The untitled NCIS spin-off, medical drama Three Rivers (starring Moonlight's Alex O'Loughlin), and legal drama The Good Wife (starring Julianna Margulies), all of which hail from CBS Television Studios (formerly known as CBS Paramount Network Television) have all been told to begin staffing ahead of CBS' official upfront presentation on Wednesday. (Variety)

Meanwhile, Nikki Finke is reporting that CBS has given medical drama Miami Trauma a greenlight to start staffing and that the Eye is considering launching U.S. Attorney in midseason. (Deadline Hollywood Daily)

ABC has renewed reality series True Beauty for a second season. Project, from executive producers Tyra Banks and Ashton Kutcher, featured ten handsome contestants who live together in a house and undergo a series of challenges to determine which of them has the most inner beauty. (Futon Critic)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has a fantastic interview/profile of Jane Lynch, currently on the small screen in Starz's Party Down and FOX's Glee. Lynch said that Party Down, created by Rob Thomas, John Enbom, Dan Etheridge, and Paul Rudd, was the most fun she'd had in her life. "It’s what I really love to do. I love being part of a team where everybody’s kind of got equal weight, Lynch told Ryan. "It’s about teamwork. There’s really no room for the big ego-trip thing that you hear about." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

SPOILER: Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello catches up with Prison Break executive producer Matt Olmstead after Friday evening's season finale to discuss the shocking ending of the series, which saw the death of Wentworth Miller's Michael Scofield. "For me, it is a happy ending," Olmstead told Ausiello. "Look at the very first episode of the season when Michael realizes Sara's alive. They have a chance to run away, and they both elect not to because, as two people of conscience, they can't live with what they both now have experienced. And at the end of the finale, when they're on the beach and talking about the baby that's coming, that's a huge victory in that they both stood their ground and, with the help of other people, brought down the ultimate antagonist. So they have their moment." Olmstead also teases the plot of the two-hour direct-to-DVD Prison Break film, which is due to be released on July 28th. "Sara is on the hook for [killing] Michael's mother and she gets locked up while pregnant," said Olmstead. "The tables are turned… once a doctor in prison now imprisoned, and Michael's on the outside. The majority of the cast is back. It's Michael, Lincoln, Sara, Sucre, T-Bag, Mahone... all the heavy-hitters." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

HBO has handed out a series order to animated series The Ricky Gervais Show, which will feature Gervais, his longtime writing partner and friend Stephen Merchant and the quirky Karl Pilkington, who has appeared with Gervais and Merchant on their podcast and will be the focal point for the series. Series, which has been ordered for thirteen episodes, hails from Media Rights Capital and Wildbrain and is expected to launch in 2010. "Karl is a man who believes that a sea lion is a cross between a fish and a dog," said Gervais and Merchant in a statement. "Hopefully, Karl will enter the pantheon of animated greats."(Variety)

Reports are swirling that ITV sci-fi drama Primeval, which airs Stateside on BBC America and Sci Fi, could birth a spin-off of its own. Executive producers Jonathan Drake and Tim Haines have reportedly begun drafting plans for a second Primeval-based project that could expand the series' mythology outside the UK and could be set in the United States. (Digital Spy)

Former CSI castmember Jorja Fox will guest star on an upcoming episode of Lifetime's dramedy Drop Dead Diva, which premieres July 12th. Fox will play a "soccer mom with a criminal past" on an episode of the Lifetime series about a dead model who is reborn into the body of an overweight attorney. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

20th Century Fox Television has signed a deal with Columbia Records to release music from the upcoming series Glee on iTunes and other digital platforms as well as on compact disc. (Hollywood Reporter)

E! Online's Watch with Kristin talks with Gossip Girl's Jessica Szohr about what's to come on the CW drama series. Szohr teases that Vanessa will definitely get over Nate ditching her for Blair and that there could be the potential for another encounter with Chuck Bass. "Obviously, Vanessa's a little bit hurt because that's her boyfriend, but what comes around goes around, so I'm sure Vanessa will be all right. [...] Vanessa hates Chuck... that's what's fun about it. We'll see." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

FOX and animation studio Aniboom have teamed up on a contest where animates can submit short films. The prize: a development deal at FOX and the opportunity to create the "next great animated holiday special" or, potentially, a weekly series. "FOX has long been the sole primetime animation powerhouse, and we're searching for a fresh new animated holiday special that could potentially become an instant classic and maybe even a weekly series," said FOX president Kevin Reilly. "By tapping into Aniboom's community of undiscovered talent, we hope to find the next original hit holiday concept, like Simpsons Treehouse of Horror or A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas." (Hollywood Reporter)

Ryan Seacrest has indicated that there could be some major changes in store for next season of FOX's American Idol. "I don't know what they'll do next year. I don't know if they'll keep the tweaks that they've made this season or if they're going to implement new ones," Seacrest told Broadcasting & Cable's Marisa Guthrie. "But it's no secret that Simon is thinking about it being his last season. Everyone's deal is up next year except for Paula's." (Broadcasting & Cable)

CBS Television Studios have signed a two-year first-look deal with Drew Carey, currently the host of daytime game show The Price Is Right. Under the terms of the deal, Carey will develop projects via his International Mammoth TV shingle. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Like, Totally, Yeah: Cruising the Valley with Lily and Carol on "Gossip Girl"

I have to say that I was excited to see just what Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage had cooked up for their neon-colored 1980s flashback in last night's episode of Gossip Girl ("Valley Girls"), considering that it was the long-awaited backdoor pilot to a potential Gossip Girl spin-off centering on a teenage Lily and her black sheep sister Carol.

I tried to put aside the negative buzz emanating from the project, which some media outlets are saying is already dead at the CW after enjoying quite a lot of hype in the last few months and looking like a lock for the fall schedule. And yet after watching "Valley Girls," I couldn't help but hope that CW doesn't decide to go ahead with this project, which based on the flashback segments here seemed predictable and rather flat.

It didn't help matters that the putative star of the potential series, Brittany Snow--who plays a teenage Lily Rhodes without much depth or any real visual/spiritual connection to Kelly Rutherford's Lily--is completely upstaged by the always sensational Krysten Ritter (Veronica Mars, Breaking Bad), who here plays Lily's older sister Carol, a pariah in the Rhodes family who lives in the Valley and hopes to become an actress. That we've never so much heard the adult Lily mention a sister since the pilot episode of Gossip Girl is a slight misstep on the writers' part and could have been easily set up a few episodes earlier.

Throughout the flashback sequences, Snow irked me beyond belief. Yes, we're meant to see that this is a Lily that is still in the process of being formed, not yet the reformed bad girl and socialite that we see at the beginning of Season One of Gossip Girl but Snow's Lily was so bubble-gummy, perky, and naive that it was hard to take her seriously as a three-dimensional character, much less one that was meant to lead us back into Lily's secret past. Her Lily is a shallow shadow of Rutherford's and, if Valley Girls is to succeed, it needs a strong anchor in the lead role. Not sure Snow can pull this off here. Her surprised, determined, or aggressive displays of emotion all seemed rather the same to me. Unlike, Ritter who managed to dazzle with just a few lines of dialogue.

Not helping matters was the truly awful performance of Jericho's Shiloh Fernandez as Owen Campos, a waiter at the diner where Carol works (between acting auditions) and a possible love interest for Lily. To say that he makes even the most awkward cast member of Gossip Girl seem like an Oscar winner is an understatement. That he actually uttered a line about having to find family in other places (as he and Lily enter the club) made me literally throw up in my mouth, but the blame for that gem falls squarely on the writers who seem to be working way too hard to telegraph what's going on here.

And let's be honest: the montage involving Lily trying on an infinite number of ensembles from Carol's locker wardrobe stuck out as the sort of cliched stuff that this series should be avoiding at all costs.

I will give them credit for some fantastic music choices, which underpinned the era and played to their strengths. And I love Ryan Hansen (Veronica Mars, Party Down) in anything and it's a testament to his abilities that Hansen gives an energy to even a rather thankless role like Shep here. Kudos to Lost's Cynthia Watros and Lipstick Jungle's Andrew McCarthy for playing it straight as Lily's yuppie parents CeCe and Rick.

But, ultimately, Valley Girls is not something I would tune in week after week to watch on the CW, not if this backdoor pilot is an example of what we should expect in terms of story, characters, or tone. Certainly no XOXO's from me.

What did you think of last night's episode as a backdoor pilot for a potential series? Would you tune in to Valley Girls if it were a series? Or should Savage and Schwartz stick to the Upper East Side demi-monde on Gossip Girl? Discuss.

Next week on the season finale of Gossip Girl ("The Goodbye Gossip Girl"), Gossip Girl shakes things up by sending out a damaging e-mail blast during the graduation commencement ceremony, rousing Serena into action; Jenny is challenged by The Mean Girls to throw her hat in the ring to succeed Blair as Queen Bee next year; Lily and Rufus struggle to fix their relationship after Lily's betrayal.

Channel Surfing: McG "Optimistic" About "Chuck" Renewal, ABC Settles Down with "Modern Family," FOX to Air Two-Hour "Virtuality" Pilot, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

While the fate of NBC's on the bubble action comedy series Chuck is still unknown, executive producer McG--who helmed the pilot episode--is feeling positive about an eleventh hour renewal. "We're optimistic," he told SCI FI Wire. "We're going to find out in a week. But the fans have spoken. People really rallied and articulated their love of the show, but it's a cold-hearted numbers business. And I'm happy to report that the people at NBC like the show." (SCI FI Wire)

ABC has given an early series order of thirteen episodes to single-camera comedy Modern Family, from writer/executive producers Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan. The 20th Century Fox Television-producted project, formerly known as My American Family, will track the lives of three American families--one a traditional nuclear family, one a gay couple with an adopted Vietnamese baby, and the last an older man with a young Latina wife--as they are filmed by a Dutch documentary crew. Series stars Ed O'Neil, Ty Burrell, Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, Eric Stonestreet, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Sarah Hyland, Nolan Gould, and Ariel Winter. (Variety)

FOX has announced that it will air the two-hour pilot of Virtuality, created by Michael Taylor and Ronald D. Moore, on Saturday, July 4th at 8 pm ET/PT. Virtuality, which stars Clea DuVall, Erik Jensen, Gene Farber, James D'Arcy, Jimmi Simpson, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Joy Bryant, Kerry Bishe, Nelson Lee, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Omar Metwally, Richie Coster, and Sienna Guillory, follows the crew of starship Phaeton on a ten-year journey on which the crew uses virtual reality modules to escape their mundane existence but a virus infects the system and unleashes a virtual killer into the mix. (Futon Critic)

Nikki Finke is reporting that the Gossip Girl spin-off series focusing on the 1980s adventures of a then teenage Lily Rhodes is now dead at CW. The potential series, which would have starred Brittany Snow and Krysten Ritter, will get a backdoor pilot this Monday as Lily flashes back to her teenage years in 1980s California. However, Finke says "Even though I heard Peter Roth loved its yesteryear vibe, the show went from hot, to lukewarm, to 'fading but wouldn't count out,' to now dead, according to my insiders. I'm really surprised." (Deadline Hollywood Daily)

ABC has pulled comedy Surviving Suburbia off of the schedule for the remainder of the season. Scheduling change goes into effect immediately and will see Dancing with the Stars return to a two-hour format. (Variety)

Could Guitar Hero be coming to television? Video game producer Activision Blizzard is said to be looking into developing its array of video games into television or film projects. Guitar Hero is said to be a likely target for a reality television series and/or concert tour, while World of Warcraft and Call of Duty are being looked at for feature film development. (Hollywood Reporter)

VH1 has ordered a second season of reality series Tough Love, with new episodes slated to air towards the end of 2009. (Variety)

BBC Two has ordered six episodes of comedy series Roger And Val Have Just Got In, starring Dawn French (The Vicar of Dibley, French & Saunders). Series, written by Emma and Beth Kilcoyne, will follow the lives of a middle-aged couple after they arrive home after a long day of work. Casting for the male lead is under way. "Roger And Val leapt off the page at me the very first time I saw it," said BBC Head of Comedy Mark Freeland. "There will be nothing like it when it arrives on BBC Two. It's original, intriguing, sweet, funny and full of pathos. And it's only got two people in it." (BBC)

Hulu has acquired online rights to such British series as Green Wing, Doc Martin, Peep Show, and Kingdom. All four titles are already available for streaming viewing on the site, which is offering all episodes from each of the series' freshman seasons. (Twitter)

ABC has ordered a pilot for an untitled talk show to feature host Aisha Tyler which will incorporate elements of social networking, including Tyler interacting with viewers via Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms. While there were rumors swirling that the Tyler talk show, from ABC Media Prods., would take the place of one of ABC's afternoon soaps, sources at the network were quick to clarify, stating that the potential series was being developed for cable or syndication. (Hollywood Reporter)

ITV Global Entertainment has acquired worldwide television and home video distribution rights to multi-platform series Project Chopin, which follows the adventures of two children who discover a magical piano that can fly. Deal encompasses a film, a television docudrama, and 24 two-minute animated shorts, along with online and mobile content. (Variety)

Former RDF executive Martin Rakusen has been hired by ShineReveille International, where he will oversee their day-to-day operations and explore new joint ventures and partnerships. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.