The Daily Beast: "The Downfall of Law & Order"

Law & Order: LA is undergoing a massive retooling (beginning with tonight's two-hour reboot), Criminal Intent is about to end on USA, and SVU’s leads’ contracts are set to expire.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, entitled "The Downfall of Law & Order," in which I report on the once-mighty franchise.

Law & Order: Los Angeles returns tonight, after a 19-week hiatus, at 9 pm ET/PT on NBC.

The Daily Beast: "NBC's Disastrous Season"

Poor Peacock.

NBC continues to flail in last place, with new shows like Outlaw and Undercovers bombing and veterans like The Office eroding.

Over at The Daily Beast, I take a look at the current state of NBC in my latest feature, "NBC's Disastrous Season," in which I offer six possible ways to save the Peacock.

What do you think of NBC's current crop of programming, from highs like Chuck, Community, and Parks and Recreation to lows like Chase, Undercovers, and The Event? Do you agree with my assessment and my suggestions? Head to the comments section to discuss.

The Daily Beast: "TV's Pop Art Boom"

Law & Order: SVU valentines, anyone?

Over at The Daily Beast today, I offer a look at "TV's Pop Art Boom."

In my latest feature, I talk to graphic artists Dyna Moe and Ty Mattson about their Mad Men-, Lost-, and Dexter-inspired artwork, which has redefined the term "fan art" and taken it to an entirely different level, where television-inspired pieces are challenging the way that we look at the medium and offering a new perspective to the atmosphere, characters, setting, and tone of some of our favorite series.

Plus, I offer a gallery of television-inspired pieces of art from Dyna Moe, Ty Mattson, Brandon Bird, and others, including some must-see Law & Order-inspired pieces.

Channel Surfing: HBO Renews Boardwalk Empire, Law & Order: Criminal Intent to Return, Lone Star DOA, Fringe, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Break open the moonshine! HBO has renewed period drama Boardwalk Empire for a second season, after airing just one episode of the Terence Winter/Martin Scorsese crime drama, which averaged 4.8 million viewers in its premiere broadcast. “All the ingredients aligned for this one, from Mark Wahlberg and Steve Levinson’s initial pitch, to Martin Scorsese’s enormous contributions as director and executive producer, to the genius of Terry Winter and the expertise of Tim Van Patten, to a stellar cast led by Steve Buscemi,” said Michael Lombardo, President of HBO Programming, in a statement. “The response from the media and our viewers has been nothing short of amazing.” (via press release)

In other renewal news, USA has finally closed a deal to renew Law & Order: Criminal Intent for a tenth and final season of eight episodes, with original series lead Vincent D'Onofrio set to reprise his role as Detective Robert Goren, while producers are said to be in talks with Kathryn Erbe and other former stars to return. “We have been the fortunate caretakers of this legendary series, and we plan to give it the world-class farewell it so richly deserves,” said Jeff Wachtel, USA's president of original programming and UCP's co-head of original content. The cabler has also given executive producer Dick Wolf a pilot commitment for a new project at USA. New episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent are set to launch next year. (Deadline)

After the deadly ratings encountered by FOX's new fall drama Lone Star, the 20th Century Fox Television-produced drama is already said to be on death watch, according to The Hollywood Reporter's Andrew Wallenstein. "No one in TV should be happy about this," Wallenstein quotes one agent with a client on Lone Star as saying. "This is going to have a chilling effect on networks taking chances on anything but cookie-cutter shows." xxx "Though Fox declined comment, it's possible the network is delaying the announcement of a decision, perhaps waiting for the cover that will be provided today by its announcement of the American Idol judges," wrote Wallenstein. "That Star will be canceled is being treated in industry circles as fait accompli, a matter of when, not if. Tellingly, while most underwhelming TV debuts are often followed by entreaties from counter-spinning execs magnifying glimmers of hope in the ratings data -- "did you see that uptick in the last quarter-hour among women 25-34?" -- the back-channel phone calls from network and studio execs never came." (Hollywood Reporter)

More Bubbles! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Andre Royo (The Wire) will reprise his role on FOX's Fringe after his first appearance in tomorrow night's season premiere, where he plays a cab driver that Anna Torv's Olivia Dunham encounters "over there." [Editor: Having seen the episode in question, I can say that it was a no-brainer than Royo would be back at some point.] (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

It's official: Bravo has finally confirmed what has been floating about the internet for quite some time now. The next season of Top Chef will be an all-stars edition, with 18 runners-up from previous seasons returning to compete for another shot at the title. While the full cast has been available at various web sites for the last few weeks, Bravo will officially unveil the cast on tonight's Top Chef reunion special. [Editor: Also, Anthony Bourdain will return as a regular judge this time around, alternating with Gail Simmons.] (TVGuide.com)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Jorge Garcia (Lost) will guest star in an upcoming episode of ABC midseason comedy Mr. Sunshine, starring Matthew Perry. Garcia will play "a staffer at the second-rate San Diego sports arena that Perry’s character manages" and will appear in the retooled pilot episode. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Elsewhere, Entertainment Weekly's Mandi Bierly reported that Lyle Lovett will be guest staring on an upcoming episode of ABC's Castle this season, where he will play Agent Darryl Shafer, described as "a shadowy government figure who detains and interrogates Castle (Fillion) and Beckett (Stana Katic) as they investigate the death of a prominent astrophysicist whose body was found in her car—a victim of explosive decompression." Lovett's appearance is slated for the ninth episode of the current season. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Hollywood Reporter's Allison Hope Weiner has an interview with No Ordinary Family star Michael Chiklis about his role on the ABC superhero family drama. "The big question for me was tone, and how do I pull this off in terms of tone," said Chiklis when asked about any concerns about being on network television rather than cable. "As you know, network television, television in general, has become very niche-oriented. It's very targeted toward a certain audience. Now we're embarking on a show that is all too rare on television: It's one of those kinds of shows that tries to appeal to a broad audience and, in order to do that, the things that are successful don't take themselves too seriously. This is pure entertainment and it's witty and fun, yet soulful and heartfelt. But you also have those great adrenal moments. The threat there is if you go too far in any direction, you go over the top comedically or be too melodramatic and you can fail. Yet if you aren't bold in any direction, you can become vanilla. Tonally, we felt it had to be crisp and smart and fun -- yet not taking itself too seriously." (Hollywood Reporter)

SPOILER! E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that Dave Annable's real-life fiancee Odette Yustman will guest star on an upcoming episode of ABC's Brothers & Sisters as a new interest for Annable's Justin. Yustman, set to appear in one episode, will play a "nurse who starts to fall for Justin, as he's still mending his broken heart from his split with Rebecca." Rebecca, of course, is played by Annable's ex-girlfriend Emily Van Camp, who is set to depart the series after just a handful of episodes this season. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Will Forte will return to CBS' How I Met Your Mother, where he will reprise his role as Randy. "Marshall will wrestle with whether or not to fire Randy, who is as hopeless as a paralegal as he is with the ladies," co-creator Craig Thomas told Keck. "There is also a shocking twist as it starts to become clear that Robin — in a moment of weakness — may or may not have hooked up with Randy on Halloween night." (TV Guide Magazine)

ABC has given a put pilot order to a drama inspired by Jennifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett, and Amanda Pressner's book "The Lost Girls Three Friends, Four Continents, One Unconventional Detour Around the World," which will be adapted by Idly Modrovich (Californication). Project, from Warner Bros. Television, will be executive produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: The Future of Serialized Dramas, Dan Akroyd on Defenders, Outnumbered, Law & Order: SVU Lands Sagemiller, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Variety's Robert Abele has a very interesting feature on the future of serialized programming, following the conclusion of Lost and 24 (and the narrative burn-out of ABC's FlashForward and NBC's Heroes) last season. Abele talks to AOL Television's Maureen Ryan, NBC's Laura Lancaster, and The Event executive produce Evan Katz about viewer fatigue, commitment, and concerns. "Viewer trust is something you earn by delivering -- it's that simple," said Katz. "It's not easy to accomplish, but when it works, you have something big on your hands... This show is very Hitchcockian in that it's an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances, and you experience the twists emotionally with him," said Katz. "We don't have 660 beats laid out," Katz says, "but you need to know where the characters are going, and those benchmarks are in place. The line is, mystery is good, confusion is bad." (Variety)

Could Dan Akroyd be dropping by CBS' upcoming legal drama The Defenders? It certainly looks that way, as creator/executive producer Kevin Kennedy indicated Friday night at the Paley Center preview event for for the Jerry O'Connell and Jim Belushi-led drama series. We have a lot planned and we certainly have a dream list," Kennedy told The Hollywood Reporter. "The [guest star] we've talked about most recently, and we'll see if we can get it arranged -- it's a scheduling thing and it wouldn't happen until the end of the year if it happens this year -- we want to get Dan Aykroyd together with Jim." (The Hollywood Reporter)

FOX has given a pilot order to a US adaptation of British comedy series Outnumbered, the second time the network has attempted to import the family comedy. (The first time was a 2008 pilot starring Ken Marino and Brooke Bloom, which wasn't ordered to series.) Barbara Wallace and Thomas Wolfe are attached to write the pilot, which will be produced outside of the normal production cycle. The Hat Trick-produced original series revolves around a married couple who are "outnumbered" by their three young children. [Editor: It's also a hysterically funny comedy. The key to the US version succeeding or failing really lands on the strength of the kids they cast.] (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Melissa Sagemiller (Raising the Bar) will take over the role of ADA on Law & Order: SVU, after Paula Patton had to drop out of the role after just one episode thanks to her casting in Mission: Impossible 4. No details were available about her character. Sagemiller will first appear in November. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Well, this might be why NBC hasn't sent it out to press yet... Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Wanda De Jesus has left Law & Order: Los Angeles after two episodes and her part--that of LAPD Robbery Homicide Division captain Arleen Gonzales--will be recast and her scenes in the first two episodes will be reshot. Producers are said to be looking for a potential replacement. They're swiftly running out of time, however, as the series is set to launch at the end of the month. (Deadline)

Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice is reporting that Michael Badalucco (The Practice) has been cast in a recurring role on CBS daytime soap The Young and the Restless, where he will play Hogan, described as "a tough bookie who helps Jeff (Ted Shackelford) and Kevin (Greg Rikaart) come up with cash to help pay for Jeff’s nightclub/restaurant, Gloworm." He's set to make his first appearance on October 13th. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Lennie James has been promoted to series regular on HBO's Hung, where he previous recurred as Charlie the pimp. Elsewhere, Arie Verveen (Cold Case) has been cast in a six-episode story arc on FX's Sons of Anarchy, where he will play Liam O'Neill, described as "a high-ranking member of a motorcycle club in Belfast, Northern Ireland." (Hollywood Reporter)

Let them eat (period) cake? Mad Men writers Andre and Maria Jacquemetton have been hired to write the scripts for 12-episode period drama Versailles, an English-language French production that is currently looking for British or American production partners. Former HBO executive Anne Thomopoulos is executive producing the project, which revolves around the court of King Louis XIV, for Canal Plus. (Variety)

Lifetime has given a greenlight to telepic Unanswered Prayers, an adaptation of the Garth Brooks song, which will star Samantha Mathis, Eric Close, and Madchen Amick. Telepic, from Sony Pictures Television, will premiere in November. (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC's marketing co-head Mike Benson has stepped down from his position as newly minted ABC entertainment president Paul Lee looks to put his own imprimatur on the Alphabet's brand. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Syfy Renews Eureka, Lone Star Lands Chad Faust, Teri Polo to Law & Order: Los Angeles, True Blood, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

It's official: Syfy has renewed drama Eureka for a fifth season. The news of the renewal--no surprise given the ratings and the creative resurgence of the series this summer--was announced by Mark Stern, EVP of Original Programming for Syfy and Co-Head of Content for Universal Cable Productions, which produces the series. “Eureka remains a steadfast performer for Syfy with its superb cast and perfect blend of drama, comedy and eye candy,” said Stern in an official statement. "Given what Jaime, Bruce and their entire team have done collectively to reinvent the show this year, we can't wait to see what's in store for season 5." (via press release)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Chad Faust (The 4400) has been cast in a recurring role on FOX's upcoming drama series Lone Star, where he will play Harrison, the ex-husband of Adrianne Palicki's Cat. Ausiello, per unnamed sources, confirms the casting and offers up an official description of Faust's character. Harrison is described as "[Cat's] mistake carried over from high school. What was charming about him at seventeen is less than attractive in a grown man with adult responsibilities that until now, he has not wanted to shoulder. But his motorcycle-riding, noncommittal, unfaithful-husband ways are behind him, or so he claims, and he’s back in town now, ready to prove that he’s changed.” Lone Star premieres September 20th. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Teri Polo (Little Fockers) has been cast in a "major recurring role" on NBC's upcoming procedural drama Law & Order: Los Angeles, where she will play Casey Winters, the wife of Skeet Ulrich's Detective Rex Winters. Her character is described as "a former hard-nosed cop who retired to start a family." (Deadline)

MAJOR SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has confirmed that Season Four of HBO's True Blood will feature Hallow Stonebrook, learning from series creator Alan Ball that the "were-sorceress" will turn up in Bon Temps next season, though Ball maintains that Hallow is a necromancer, and said that she is "actually a medium. She communicates with the dead, and she’s interested in developing further powers." No word yet on who will be playing Hallow, though Ausiello has already put in a bid for Buffy's Juliet Landau to take on the role. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Good news for UK fans of Mad Men: Season Four of the period drama will now launch next month on BBC4, several months ahead of the anticipated launch. While the exact launch date is yet to be announced, The Guardian is indicating that it will launch the week of September 4th. (Guardian)

The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd is reporting that CBS is developing a companion reality series for Undercover Boss, handing out a pilot order for an untitled project from the producers of Boss that would "feature two employees who work at the same company competing against one another for a major promotion." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Kevin Spacey and Rod Lurie's cult drama is heading to HBO. Reports are swirling that the pay cabler is close to finalizing a deal to pickup Spacey and Lurie's cult drama The Crux, which revolves around the leader of a billion-dollar global cult. Project is being written by Lurie and Marc Frydman and will star Spacey as said leader. (Variety)

Lainie Kazan (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on ABC's Desperate Housewives, where she will play "a self-employed business owner and neighbor to Teri Hatcher’s character, Susan." Kazan will make her first appearance in the seventh season premiere. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Showtime's series debut of Laura Linney-led dark comedy The Big C brought the pay cabler their highest rated original series premiere in eight years, luring 1.154 million viewers at 10:30 pm on Monday and an additional 429,000 during the 11:30 pm airing, bringing the night's total to 1.583 million viewers. (via press release)

AMC has promoted Ben Davis to VP of scripted programming and Susan Goldberg to VP of production. Davis will report to Susie Fitzgerald, while Goldberg will report to an as-yet-unnamed SVP of production. (Variety)

Disney Channel will launch Shaun the Sheep spinoff Timmy Time with a sneak peek on September 7th, followed by the official premiere on September 13th. "Timmy, the baby lamb drawn into misadventures on Shaun, becomes the centerpiece of stories about initial preschool experiences in his new show," writes Variety's Jon Weisman. "Gestures and animal sounds are emphasized rather than human dialogue." (Variety)

Sony Pictures Television has promoted Kim Hatamiya to EVP, where she will now have oversight of worldwide marketing for the television division. Her role now encompasses the duties of Robert Oswaks, who left the studio in April. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Linda Hamilton Ups Chuck, Alfred Molina to Law & Order: LA, Felicia Day Gets Eureka, Burn Notice, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. It's the brief calm between the dual storms of Comic-Con and the TCA Summer Press Tour and there oh so much to do. Let's hit the headlines.

Chuck's executive producers Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak stunned audiences at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend by announcing that Linda Hamilton (Terminator 2: Judgment Day) would be playing Chuck's mama Mary Bartowski, the oft-mentioned missing mother of the Bartowski siblings who was briefly glimpsed in the season finale. Hamilton will recur throughout Season Four of Chuck, though producers are being cagey about saying just what Mary has been up to since she walked out on her family, though they do admit that espionage runs in the family. "Hamilton will appear throughout the season, leading Chuck to discover that her life was shrouded in secrets," said Warner Bros. Television in an official press release about the casting. "She was a spy, a CIA agent ... and that's just the beginning. Who is she today? One thing is certain: She's not the soccer mom who left her children so many years ago." (via press release)

[In other Chuck news, composer Tim Jones will take over scoring FOX action drama series Human Target for its second season, which launches this fall. Jones will replace Bear McCreary, who will himself move over to AMC's The Walking Dead, while--fret not!--Jones will also continue on Chuck as well.)

In a surprising twist, Alfred Molina has joined the cast of NBC's Law & Order: Los Angeles, where he will play a deputy district attorney on the latest incarnation of the long-running procedural, set in the City of Angels this time around. Molina is the second actor to join the production and will star alongside Skeet Ulrich in the Universal Media Studios-produced series, which launches September 22nd. (Hollywood Reporter)

Felicia Day (Dollhouse) has signed on to appear in ten episodes of Eureka, while Caprica's Polly Walker will appear on two episodes of Syfy's Sanctuary, where she will play Ranna, described as "a powerful foe who faces Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) after the team encounters her in the show's mid-season cliffhanger." No details of just who or what Day will be playing on Eureka were immediately available and the network seems to be keeping the lid on such details for now. [Editor: could it be that they're saving something for TCA? Hmm...] (Hollywood Reporter)

USA has ordered a telepic for its action series Burn Notice that will serve as a prequel focusing on Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell) in his final assignment as a Navy SEAL. No writer or director have been announced for the project, which will be shot between the fourth and fifth seasons of Burn Notice, nor were any other actors announced for the two-hour film. (Variety)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Melora Hardin (The Office) has signed on to recur on NBC's legal drama Outlaw, where she will play Claire Sax, described as "a powerful senior partner in an elite law firm and love interest to Garza." She replaces Gina Gershon, who played the role in the original pilot. Hardin has also signed on to appear in a multiple-episode story arc on The Office, where she will turn up once again as Jan Levinson for Steve Carell's potentially final season on the comedy series. (Deadline)

Elsewhere, Andreeva is also reporting that British actor Ben Whishaw (Brideshead Revisited) has been cast as the lead of Alan Ball's new HBO drama pilot All Signs of Death, based on Charlie Huston's novel "The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death." Whishaw will play Webster Filmore Goodhue, described as "an inveterate twenty-something slacker who stumbles into a career as a crime scene cleaner, only to find himself entangled with a murder mystery, a femme fatale and the loose ends of his own past." (Deadline)

Indira Varma--most recently seen in BBC One's Luther--has joined the cast of FOX's Human Target as a series regular. Varma, best known for her roles on HBO's Rome and BBC's Torchwood, will play Ilsa, a wealthy widow who purchases the protection service company run by Mark Valley's Christopher Chance and becomes their new boss. (Hollywood Reporter)

E! Online has a full recap of yesterday's Glee panel at San Diego Comic-Con, including news that the series will feature a Rocky Horror Picture Show-inspired episode this season, there will be new love triangles (including an Artie-Tina-Mike Chang one), the Britney Spears episode will air in September, Idina Menzel will return, and more. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Jonathan Sadowski (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) will replace Ryan Devlin on CBS' $#*! My Dad Says and will star opposite William Shatner in the Warner Bros. Television-produced comedy series. (Variety)

Sarah Carter (Dirty Sexy Money) has joined the cast of TNT's upcoming alien invasion drama Falling Skies, according to Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. Carter will star opposite Noah Wylie and Moon Bloodgood, and will play a member of a motorcycle gang who helps the heroes escape the aliens. (Deadline)

The Futon Critic is reporting that Stargate Universe and Sanctuary will move to Tuesday nights beginning in September. Both series will return with new seasons on September 28th. (Futon Critic)

The New York Times' Sarah Lyall has a great feature on Showtime/BBC's new comedy series Episodes, which stars Matt LeBlanc, Tamsin Greig, and Stephen Mangan. "It takes the whole Joey persona that I have and meets it head-on," LeBlanc told Lyall. "It’s really liberating. When you get pigeonholed as one character, people tend to think, 'That’s all he can do.' [...] The Matt LeBlanc in the show uses the fact that people assume I’m dumb because I played the dumb guy on Friends — he uses that to manipulate situations to his advantage. He manipulates the writers so that the show is more the way he wants it to be. Not that he’s right, but it exposes his insecurities about his ability." (New York Times)

Nickelodeon is transitioning animated series The Fairly OddParents into a live-action telepic to star Drake Bell, Cheryl Hines, and Jason Alexander next year. Pic, entitled A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner, will also feature Steven Weber and Daniella Monet. (Variety)

Producer Francie Calfo will succeed David Nevins as the president of Imagine Television. (Nevins has left to take over as entertainment president of pay cabler Showtime.) Calfo will report to Brian Grazer and will step into the role within the next fortnight. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Mark Pellegrino Bites into Being Human, Weeds Snares Richard Dreyfuss, Marg Helgenberger Staying on CSI, and More

Welcome to your (slightly delayed) Thursday morning television briefing. A few headlines to get through on Emmy nomination day...

Score another genre hit for Mark Pellegrino. The former Lost and Supernatural co-star is heading to Syfy's US adaptation of supernatural drama Being Human, where he will play Bishop, described as the "charismatic and menacing mentor" to Sam Witwer's vampire Aidan. Pellegrino's casting nearly rounds out the cast for the American adaptation, though there's still one role outstanding (that would be Josh, the werewolf, though there have been rumblings about several actors auditioning for the role). Elsewhere, Patrick J. Adams (Friends With Benefits) has been cast as the lead in USA legal drama A Legal Mind, where he will play Mike Ross, described as "a brilliant but unmotivated college student who gets recruited by a top Manhattan corporate law firm despite not being a lawyer" and who must "use his book and street smarts and hustling skills to keep the charade." (Deadline)

In a bit of absolutely amazing casting, Richard Dreyfuss will appear in at least four episodes of Showtime's Weeds, which returns for its sixth season on August 16th. While the pay cabler is keeping a tight lid on just who Dreyfuss will be playing, Showtime revealed that he will play "an unexpected character" who previously crossed paths with Mary-Louise Parker's Nancy Botwin. Hmmm... (via press release)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Marg Helgenberger is staying put on CBS' CSI following the successful conclusion of her new contract. "With Helgenberger’s deal done, the spotlight shifts to fellow CSI vets George Eads (Nick), Eric Szmanda (Greg), and Paul Guilfoyle (Jim), all of whom are negotiating new deals ahead of the show’s 11th season," writes Ausiello. "Jorja Fox is also in talks to return in some capacity. Liz Vassey, meanwhile, will not be back." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Alec Baldwin has reiterated his claims that he'll be leaving the cast of NBC's 30 Rock in 2012, when his contract with the Universal Media Studios-produced comedy expires. "As much as I like acting,I know that I would love to have a different life," Baldwin told CNN's Alina Cho. "A private life... I think that doing this now for a living has become really, really hard. I would rather go do other things, and [with] whatever amount of time I have left in my life, have a normal life." (via Vulture)

Which shows aren't going to be at San Diego Comic-Con this year? The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd rounds up the few television series that won't be making the trek down to San Diego, including Undercovers, Game of Thrones, $#*! My Dad Says, Haven, Doctor Who, Torchwood, and Conan O'Brien. And, oh, the reasons why they won't be down there. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Skeet Ulrich (Jericho) has been cast as one of the leads in NBC's upcoming Law & Order spinoff Law & Order: Los Angeles. Production on the series, from executive producer Dick Wolf, is slated to begin later this month. (Hollywood Reporter)

Vulture's Josef Adalian is reporting that ABC has opted to drop the mockumentary format from its upcoming cop drama Detroit 1-8-7. "The idea of dropping Detroit’s faux doc format was first brought up even before ABC officially ordered the show in May (though as recently as Tuesday, the network's online press materials still included the conceit in the show's description)," writes Adalian. "ABC is also launching another mockumentary-style series in the fall — My Generation, a soapy relationship drama which revolves around a group of pals who've been harassed by documentary makers since they were high school seniors back in 2000 — so one wonders if the network decided that three such shows (counting Modern Family) might test viewers’s patience. Detroit executive producers Jason Richman and David Zabel, however, say that wasn’t the motivating reason for the decision." As for the actual reason, the producers say that ABC found the narrative strong enough without the documentary conceit... and film crews are now banned from accompanying police officers on ride-alongs in Detroit, as of May. Art imitates life? (Vulture)

TV Land has ordered 20 additional episodes for its comedy Hot in Cleveland, a major sign of confidence in the series, which stars Jane Leeves, Valerie Bertinelli, Wendie Malick, and Betty White, as the initial commitment was only for ten installments. (via press release)

CBS has signed a blind script deal with writer Tom Spezialy (Desperate Housewives) through CBS Television Studios, under which he will write a new series project for the network... and won't be able to take the project elsewhere should a similar situation emerge as it did with Spezialy's last project, the 20th Century Fox Television-produced Chaos. (Variety)

Eric Lange (Lost) has been cast in a recurring role on Season Six of Showtime's Weeds, which launches next month. Lange will play Ellis Tate, described as "an old classmate of Nancy's." Further details were not immediately available as the pay cabler is keeping casting information very close to the vest this season. (Hollywood Reporter)

TeenNick's Degrassi will return to the schedule for its tenth season on July 19th (with a two-hour opener) and will then air Mondays through Thursdays before wrapping on August 26th. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: ABC Clarifies Lost Wreckage Shots, Julie Benz to Return to Dexter, Friday Night Lights Heads to ABC Family and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

The Los Angeles Times's Maria Elena Fernandez is reporting that the final shots of the Oceanic Flight 815 wreckage that accompanied the closing credits of the series finale of Lost were not placed there by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, but rather by ABC executives who wanted to "soften the transition from the moving ending of the series to the 11 p.m. news and never considered that it would confuse viewers about the actual ending of the show," according to Fernandez. ABC went on to release a statement to confirm this fact. "The images shown during the end credits of the Lost finale, which included shots of Oceanic 815 on a deserted beach, were not part of the final story but were a visual aid to allow the viewer to decompress before heading into the news," said an ABC spokesperson in a statement. [Editor: I am hoping this finally puts an end to the misread of the series' ending, as some have taken to believing that the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 died in the initial plane crash, despite the presence of some lengthy exposition from John Terry's Christian Shephard that spelled out about the nature of the purgatory that they had created... and stated that everything that happened on the island, happened in real life.] (Los Angeles Times' Show Tracker)

[Editor: elsewhere, Movieline attempts to solve as many of the 100 "unanswered" questions from Lost, as raised by a recent College Humor video called "Unanswered Lost Questions."]

SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Julie Benz is set to reprise her role as Rita in the first episode of Season Five of Showtime's Dexter but that Benz won't be playing Rita as a ghost. Confused? "We’re not going to do some ghostly thing with her," said executive producer Chip Johannessen. "We reserve those for Harry," executive producer Sara Colleton told Ausiello. "If you have too many things like that it becomes gimmicky." So just how will the writers bring her back from the dead? That's them mystery, although a Showtime spokesperson told Ausiello that Rita's presence will "help Dexter deal with his newfound feelings of loss and grief — emotions he has never really felt before." So interpret that as you will. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Looks like Friday Night Lights is heading to ABC Family. The cabler has acquired basic cable rights to all five seasons of Friday Night Lights, which airs on DirecTV's Channel 101 (and has a second window on NBC), and plans to launch repeats of Season One in September. "Friday Night Lights is a perfect fit for ABC Family's sensibility for the modern day family program," said Bruce Casino, senior vp of cable sales at NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution, in a statement. "ABC Family will introduce this award-winning show to a whole new audience segment where the series can thrive in its new environment." (via press release)

TNT has ruled out saving Law & Order, according to a statement released to The Los Angeles Times. "We are not in current talks, and we are not interested in a Season 21," said the cabler in a prepared statement. News comes even as creator Dick Wolf attempts to find a savior for the cancelled NBC procedural drama. (Los Angeles Times's Show Tracker)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that ABC drama Castle will relocate to Wednesdays this summer, a temporary move before it reclaims its Monday night timeslot this fall. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Brett Davern (Desperate Housewives) and Beau Mirchoff (Case 219) have been cast in MTV drama pilot That Girl, about a high school student who becomes the center of attention when she's involved in an accident that everyone believes was a suicide attempt. (Hollywood Reporter)

Variety's Cynthia Littleton takes a look at MGM's television business, which includes the twelve-episode order for drama Teen Wolf at MTV and its This TV movie channel. (Variety)

CBS has announced launch dates for several of its summer series, including Big Brother (July 8th), Flashpoint (June 4th), and the burn-off of medical drama Three Rivers (June 5th). (Hollywood Reporter)

Meanwhile, international co-production The Bridge, which stars Battlestar Galactica's Aaron Douglas, will premiere on CBS on Saturday, July 10th at 8 pm ET/PT. (via press release)

UK's Channel 4 has commissioned a fifth season of comedy The IT Crowd as creator Graham Linehan prepares to assemble a team of writers. (Broadcast)

Style Network has given a series order to docuseries Too Fat for 15, which will center on "four extremely overweight teens and one preteen whose parents bring them to Wellspring Academy, a weight-loss boarding school in North Carolina." Series will debut in August. (Hollywood Reporter)

Warner Bros. Television has expanded the oversight of executive Lisa Gregorian, who will now serve as both chief marketing officer and EVP. The former title was created specifically for Gregorian. (Variety)

Elsewhere, former Channel 4 executive Simon Andreae has been hired as West Coast SVP of development and production for Discovery Channel. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Meet the Press: Angela Bromstad and Jeff Gaspin Talk NBC's Fall Schedule

While NBC's upfront presentation isn't scheduled to get under way until tomorrow morning, the Peacock's top brass did answer some questions about the schedule and the new programming announced earlier today.

Jeff Gaspin, Chairman, NBC Universal Television Entertainment, and Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios, hosted a conference call with reporter this afternoon, to discuss NBC's fall schedule, its new pickups, and other programming and scheduling issues.

While I won't recap the entire call, here are a few tidbits from that call, organized by topic, from Chuck and Law & Order to Parenthood and The Event.

Chuck:"Chuck came out of the wild card and performed very well for us," said Bromstad. "We think it will come back stronger in the fall."

"Where we felt we could be consistent this year, we felt we should, which is why Chuck stayed on Mondays at 8," said Gaspin.

Chase: "Chase is very much a straight-ahead procedural but has an adrenaline rush you don't normally see in a procedural," said Bromstad.

Parenthood: "Parenthood has worked for us. There's a reason for that... It's a broad show that is really welcoming to so many viewers," said Gaspin.

Day One: "Right now, Day One is not scheduled to air," said Bromstad of the sci-fi project, which had been cut back from a full order, to a short run... to a two-hour backdoor pilot... and now into oblivion altogether.

Law & Order Franchise: "It was time to move on," said Bromstad about the Law & Order cancellation and the order of new iteration, Law & Order: Los Angeles. "It's about the future and overall health of the franchise... it's up to us to reinvent it with Dick [Wolf] in a very modern, inventive way."

Law & Order: Los Angeles pilot is being written, according to Bromstad. But nothing is ready for an official announcement and it be a few weeks after upfronts until information is actually available.

"Yes the chung-chung will still be there," said Bromstad, but it's "too early to say whether they were be characters crossover from... the mothership."

Bromstad said that they are still in talks with Dick Wolf about a way to wrap up Law & Order via a 2-hr movie or event. So, it's possible that the series finale, scheduled to air this month, won't be the end of the original flavor Law & Order, after all.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent will now only be on USA, said Bromstad.

Rockford Files: The Rockford Files is being reworked for midseason or even next fall. "We really want to get it right," said Bromstad. #NBC

Parks and Recreation:"It's very possible that #ParksandRec will get a run at 9:30 but we have not determined that," said Gaspin.

"One of the toughest decisions we had to make," said Jeff regarding delaying Parks and Recreation until midseason. "It's not an indication that we think it's not as good" as the other Thursday comedies.

The Event: "We think The Event will appeal to [#Chuck's] young, male viewers," said Jeff. #NBC

Heroes: "NBC and Tim Kring, we felt we had fulfilled the viewers' desire [re] length of the show but we are in discussions about 2-hr movie," said Bromstad. So it's still possible that Heroes will get a series ender. But don't hold your breath as Bromstad indicated that, if it happens at all, it would be for "next year."

NBC will unveil its schedule to advertisers tomorrow.