Channel Surfing: Allison Janney Heads to Lost, Damon Lindelof Speaks, Chuck Fans Plan Flash Mob, Veronica Mars Update, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

SPOILER! "Presence," huh? TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck attempts to get to the bottom of just who Allison Janney (The West Wing) will be playing on the May 11th episode of Lost by going right to the source: Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, who are being rather cagey about Janney's mystery role. "We were so happy that she was able to do this," said Cuse. "It was really hard for her because she was getting ready to shoot a pilot, but she squeezed us in. Then once we saw her in this part we were like, 'How could anyone else have done this but Allison Janney?'" Lindelof wasn't giving Keck anything either: "We’ve been talking about this character for awhile and how nervous we were that we wouldn’t find the right actress," he said. "When we first started talking about this character in the writers room we called her 'Allison Janney' under the assumption that we wouldn’t be able to get her." [Editor: so who is Janney playing? My first instinct said that she'd be playing the mother of the Man in Black (or Penny's never-before-seen mother), though whether that will turn out to be true remains to be seen. Regardless, the role calls for someone with "incredible presence" and Janney has that in spades.] (TV Guide Magazine)

Elsewhere, The Hollywood Reporter's Matt Belloni has a video interview with Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof in which the two discuss the series finale, the flash-sideways, and the fact that Desmond wasn't in the series' final cast photo ("A cast photo that includes some characters but not others is beyond our area of involvement," he said). Most intriguing is the fact that producers had brand new sets built for the final moments of Lost's series ender. "We did not shoot the final scene of the series on the final day ... for reasons of maintaining the secrecy of the show, and we had to build some sets for the finale -- the construction of the new sets took awhile so that's the work that we did last," Lindelof said, who went on to say that there will be a definitive ending to the series, even if some questions are left for the viewers to answer on their own. "The Sopranos ending only worked on The Sopranos," said Lindelof. "The series finale has to fit the show. We're trying to end lost in a way that feels Lost-ian and fair and will generate a tremendous amount of theorizing. We're going to be as definitive as we can be and say this is our ending, but there's no way to end the show where the fans aren't going to say, 'What did they mean by this?' Which is why we're not going to explain it."(Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Chuck fans are headed to Chicago, Seattle, San Diego, and Philadelphia (and possibly other cities as well) to initiate flash mob publicity stunts in support of a Chuck renewal. The idea, the brainchild of chucktv.net, will have fans congregate wearing the series' trademark Buy More uniforms. "Chuck fans are the most loyal, dedicated, imaginative and passionate fans any show could ever hope for," Chuck co-creator Josh Schwartz told The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd. "Every season they offer more proof they should be licensed and professional fans teaching other fans how it's done. This is yet another example of their awesomeness. We are, as always, grateful and inspired to deliver a show as good to them as they are to us." (Hollywood Reporter)

E! Online's Breanne L. Heldman caught up with Kristen Bell to ask her about the status of the potential Veronica Mars feature film that's been rumored for quite some time (and which someone asked creator Rob Thomas about at last week's Party Down panel at the Paley Center). "I wish I had news," said Bell. "Still in the process of campaigning to tell Warner Bros. that people would actually see it. I think that as long as you guys keep asking those questions and I keep answering them, Warner Bros. will one day get the picture that everybody does want it and that it will make its money back. I think, truthfully, they're a company and they want to know that they'll make their return back. We just have to convince them that they will." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

ABC Family has decided not to move forward with its comedy series 10 Things I Hate About You, which will wrap its second season in a few week. News of the cancellation was made originally by executive producer Carter Covington via Twitter."Sad news... ABC Family canceled the show," wrote Covington. "Thanks to our amazing fans. You are the reason I do this." (Variety)

SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has a first look at Rob Lowe on NBC's Parks and Recreation, where he is set to join the comedy series next month along with Party Down's Adam Scott. According to co-creator/executive producer Mike Schur, Lowe's character, state auditor Chris Traeger, "very quickly falls into a romantic entanglement" with a resident of Pawnee. "I don’t want to spoil who it is because it’s kind of a surprise," said Schur. [Editor: having already seen a sizable chunk of Lowe and Scott's first Parks and Rec episode a few weeks back, I can honestly say that fans are in for a treat with these new characters.] (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Well, that makes one NCIS cast member who definitely will be returning next season: Deadline.com's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that David McCallum yesterday closed a deal to return to the CBS procedural drama next season. Negotiations continue for the three other actors--Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perrette, and Sean Murray--whose deals have expired. (Deadline.com)

USA Today's Gary Strauss has a profile of Breaking Bad's Dean Norris, who plays DEA Agent Hank Schrader on the AMC drama series. In its third season, Norris' Hank has quickly psychologically unraveled. "For an actor, playing one character and transitioning to a completely different one is a dream come true," Norris told Strauss. "Part of me misses the old Hank. But nothing could be better than to set up a character, dismiss him and then bring a whole different side to him." (USA Today)

Warner Bros. Television is said to be about to close a multi-year overall deal with Sex and the City multi-hypenate Michael Patrick King that will have him launch his own shingle at the studio, according to Deadline.com's Nellie Andreeva. (Deadline.com)

Futon Critic is reporting that NBC will keep struggling freshman medical drama Mercy in the 9 pm timeslot on Wednesdays for the remainder of its season. (Futon Critic)

VH1 has ordered eight episodes of The OCD Project, in which an anxiety expert will attempt to rehabilitate six individuals with several obsessive-compulsive issues who will live together in a house and participate in "exposure and response prevention" therapy. Project, launching May 27th at 10 pm ET/PT, is executive produced by JD Roth, Todd A. Nelson, Adam Greener, Matt Assmus, Jeff Olde, Jill Holmes, and Noah Pollack. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

UK satellite network Sky1 has commissioned a musical competition series, Must Be the Music, in an effort to compete with ITV's X Factor and Britain's Got Talent. Rather than dangle a recording contract, the series will award the winner a cash prize and the opportunity to perform live in a music arena. (Hollywood Reporter)

Elsewhere in UK television news, Kevin Lygo will quit Channel 4, where he served as director of television and content, in order to head up ITV Studios as managing director. (Broadcast)

Disney Channel has ordered a telepic based on Mark Peter Hughes' novel "Lemonade Mouth," about five high school freshmen who meet in detention and launch a band centered around unusual musical instruments. Project will be written by April Blair and executive produced by Debra Martin Chase. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

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: NBC Silences "The Listener," "Top Chef: Las Vegas" Premiere Moved Up, More on Acevedo's Cut from "Fringe", and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. I'm still recovering from a very late night involving French cuisine, wine and port, a 1 am viewing of last night's episode of Top Chef Masters, and an early rise for the Emmy nominations. Fortunately, just a few headlines to get through this morning....

NBC confirmed that it will end the run of Canadian drama series The Listener on Thursday, July 23rd and replace the series with repeats of Law & Order beginning July 30th. The remaining five unaired episodes of The Listener will be streamed over NBC.com. (Futon Critic)

Bravo has announced that it has moved the premiere of Top Chef: Las Vegas forward a week. The season premiere will now air August 19th at 9 pm ET/PT followed by the season finale of Top Chef Masters. (Twitter)

More on the reasons behind Kirk Acevedo's departure from FOX's Fringe, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "Storyline dictated," wrote Ausiello. "Charlie wasn't going to have much to do this season, and rather than waste Kirk's time, they cut him loose. But as I teased last week, we haven't seen the last of him." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

NBC announced that, after shifting Parenthood back to midseason (due to actress Maura Tierney's medical condition), the Peacock will now launch medical drama Mercy on Wednesday, September 23rd at 8 pm ET/PT. Parenthood will now launch at a later date. (via press release)

Fox Television Studios has signed a first-look deal with Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment, a comedy production/management shingle that reps the likes of Jenna Ficher, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, and writers on several comedies including Ugly Betty, The Cleveland Show, and Cougar Town. Deal will likely focus on low-cost animated comedies. "We're starting to feel that there are opportunities both in cable and in the international market for comedy," said Fox TV Studios EVP David Madden. "We decided we wanted to figure out a way to get into edgier, less broadcast-oriented comedy. Something more adventurous. That's when Marc [Provissiero] and Naomi [Odenkirk] approached us." (Variety)

Peter Bowker (Blackpool, Occupation) will write a one-off 90-minute biopic about the lives of comedic duo Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise for BBC One. Bowker told Broadcast that Morecambe and Wise were "true British legends." "The comedy style at the time was very much about making gags to the audience, but Morecambe and Wise realised quite early on that they could be funny by talking to each other as well," said Bowker. "I’ve written quite a lot of extremely dark scripts lately so it was incredibly refreshing to be writing some comedy for a change." (Broadcast)

TLC has ordered eight episodes of reality competition series Ultimate Cake Off, in which three cake artists will create cakes head-to-head with a winner named in each installment. Series will debut on August 3rd with its premiere installment and then return on August 31st. (Variety)

RDF USA EVP of development and current Greg Goldberg has left the company in order to set up Blackbird Television and become an independent producer, signing a one-year first-look deal with RDF USA. (Hollywood Reporter)

Cox Communications might be looking to sell cabler Travel Channel, despite only acquiring the network two years ago, according to reports. "We have received unsolicited inquiries regarding Travel Channel Media," said Cox in a statement. "Our advisers will help us to better understand our options." (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "Parenthood" Pushed to Midseason, Michelle Forbes Talks "True Blood," Two More Move to Wisteria Lane, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Following an announcement that actress Maura Tierney would require an eight-week medical evaluation for an undisclosed condition, NBC has pushed the start of its drama Parenthood, which was slated to debut on September 23rd, to midseason. The Peacock will instead push up the launch of its midseason medical drama Mercy to the fall, although it is still unclear whether Mercy will inherit Parenthood's Wednesdays at 8 pm timeslot. The production shutdown on Parenthood, meanwhile, will give writers additional time to complete scripts. (Hollywood Reporter)

UPDATE: "In an effort to guard my privacy, it seems that the wording of NBC's press release has unfortunately caused some confusion and undue alarm about my health," said Maura Tierney in an official statement. "I have discovered a tumor in my breast which requires surgery. I will not know either my exact diagnosis or course of treatment until that surgery is performed. My doctors have all assured me this is a very treatable condition. I'm very optimistic as to the outcome and want to thank everyone who has sent positive thoughts and support. I look forward to going back to work soon." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TVGuide.com talks with True Blood's Michelle Forbes about Maryann, the shaking, the pig, and Maryann's interest in Tara. Of the latter, Forbes said, "Tara is just the one of the moment, the conduit into this town. Before her, it was Eggs. Before Eggs, it was someone else. After Tara, it will be someone else. The goal is much larger. Tara is just the most vulnerable and the most susceptible right now." As for the vibrations, Forbes says they "are very integral to who she is. She thrives off the energy of the people around her. When they are in a place of ecstasy, that feeds her. Her appetite is fed off the appetite of others." Hmmm... (TVGuide.com)

Jeffrey Nordling (24) and Beau Mirchoff (The Grudge 3) have been cast in Season Six of ABC's Desperate Housewives as series regulars. Nordling will play a landscape designer who relocates from New York to Wisteria Lane with his wife (Drea de Matteo) and their "tightly wound, sexy and intense son (Mirchoff)." (Hollywood Reporter)

Showtime is said to be developing drama series Revelation, from Dirty Sexy Money creator Craig Wright and executive producer David Janollari. Project, from CBS TV Studios, follows the lives of an "unconventional minister who moves to a Texas church with his two teens after his wife suddenly dies." (Variety)

Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) has joined the cast of CBS' The New Adventures of Old Christine in a recurring role. He'll play a therapist and a potential love interest for Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Christine Campbell. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Sci Fi UK has picked up first run rights to Syfy's newest drama series Warehouse 13, securing both standard definition and HD rights to the series from NBC Universal International Television Distribution. The channel plans to launch the series this autumn. "There was a tremendous buzz ahead of its launch in the US and the first night ratings are testament to what a fantastic show it is," said NBCU Global Network's head of channels. "The special effects and exciting plot twists make it a real gem for our autumn schedule."(Broadcast)

Not unsurprisingly, ShineReveille has acquired worldwide distribution rights to NBC's documentary series The Wanted, which features terrorism experts attempting to track down terrorism suspects around the world. ShineReveille intents to shop the series to outlets around the globe. (Variety)

The New York Times' Bill Carter takes a look at the ratings success that is HBO's True Blood, which has come at a time when the pay cabler desperately needed a hit series following the end of such network-defining series such as The Sopranos and Sex and the City. (New York Times)

TNT has moved its reality series Wedding Day once more, after slotting it in a Tuesday evening timeslot for its series premiere and then shifting it to Thursdays. Wedding Day will now air Saturday mornings at 9 am ET/PT. In other scheduling news, Bravo has announced that it will air yet another Real Housewives special on Thursday, July 23rd, this time for The Real Housewives of Atlanta featuring "lost footage," that will lead into the season finale of The Fashion Show and will air a week ahead of the second season premiere of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. (Futon Critic)

PBS will begin stripping its new reinvention of classic kids' series The Electric Company across weekdays on September 7th. It had previously aired the series in a weekly format, so far airing sixteen of the thirty-five installments it shot in 2008. (Variety)

Lastly, a look at the trailer for ABC's drama acquisition Defying Gravity, courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed:



Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Helfer, Hogan, Sheppard in "Warehouse 13," "Mad Men" Clashes with AMC Over Ad Break, "Cranford" Returns this Christmas, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer, Michael Hogan, and Mark Sheppard have signed on to guest star in Syfy's upcoming series Warehouse 13, which launches July 7th. Helfer will play a Chicago-based FBI agent on the drama series, while Hogan has been cast as the father of Joanne Kelly's Myka, with her mother played by Hogan's real-life wife Susan Hogan. Finally, Sheppard will appear as an "enigmatic figure who represents the organization that controls the Warehouse." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Nikki Finke is reporting that cabler AMC has told producers of drama series Mad Men that they will have to shave off roughly two additional minutes of content per episode next season in order to insert more commercial ads, a decision which has angered some staffers on the drama series. "That might not sound like such a big deal, but it's galling given how well the show has done, how carefully it's put together, and how much money it's already making AMC," writes Finke, "and parent company Cablevision which recently announced a $20M 1st-quarter profit, while subsidiary Rainbow Media cited a 7.6% increase in ad sales." AMC executives, meanwhile, blamed the stumbling economy and said that Mad Men doesn't bring in enough revenue. (Deadline Hollywood Daily)

Award-winning period drama Cranford will return to BBC One this Christmas with a two-part special that will feature Dame Judi Dench, Imelda Staunton, Julia McKenzie, Deborah Findlay, Francesca Annis, and Barbara Flynn reprising their roles in a story set one year after the events of the original mini-series. Also set to appear in Cranford's Christmas specials are Jonathan Pryce, Celia Imrie, Lesley Sharp, Nicholas Le Prevost, Jodie Whittaker, Tom Hiddleston, Michelle Dockery, Matthew McNulty, and Rory Kinnear. Filming is set to begin in June. (BBC)

ABC's plans to burn off the remaining episodes of canceled comedy In the Motherhood beginning next week have changed, with the network now shifting the three-week run from Fridays at 9:30 pm ET/PT to Thursdays at 8:30 pm ET/PT starting June 25th. (Futon Critic)

TLC has given a series order to unscripted series Wedded to Perfection and give the series a sneak peek tonight. The series, from Peacock Productions, follows the professional lives of married couple Jung Lee and Josh Brooks, professional wedding planners who launch elaborate nuptials in Manhatan. (Hollywood Reporter)

Cabler TBS has ordered ten half-hour episodes of unscripted latenight series The Very Funny Show, which will feature host Tim Meadows overseeing a series of standup performances at Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago. The series, which will feature such comedians as Bob Marey, Dwight Slade, and Steve Byrne, is set to launch in November. (Variety)

Universal Media Studios has signed a two-year overall deal with writer/executive producer Liz Heldens (Mercy), under which she will remain on board NBC's midseason medical drama Mercy as showrunner and develop new projects for the studio. She was previously a co-executive producer on Friday Night Lights. (Variety)

ABC will launch seven-episode reality series Crash Course this summer, likely in August. Series, from executive producers Arthur Smith and Kent Weed, features five teams as they undertake four extreme driving challenges ranging from driving on two wheels to driving under intense weather conditions, with a team eliminated after each round. Commentary will be provided by Orlando Jones and Dan Cortese. (Hollywood Reporter)

NBC has partnered with reality production company Shed Media to produce the network's upcoming six-episode unscripted series The Marriage Ref with Jerry Seinfeld, slated to debut in midseason on Sunday nights. (Variety)

Showrunner Kevin Abbott (Surviving Suburbia, Roseanne) has sued 20th Century Fox Television, asserting that the studio owes him $1.38 million for "improperly withholding payments and suspending his overall deal during the 2007-08 WGA strike," according to the Hollywood Reporter. Abbot was released from his studio deal during the writers strike but claims that his deal "was markedly different from the contracts of many of his peers" and "specifically protected him from suspension or termination based solely upon a strike." The studio had no comment on the litigation. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

NBC Announces Six New Series, Renews Four Returning Series... But No News for "Chuck"

NBC unveiled part of its plan for the 2009-2010 season just a few hours ahead of its infront presentation to advertisers in New York.

The Peacock ordered six new series including dramas Trauma, Parenthood, Mercy, and Day One (described as an "event series") and comedies 100 Questions and Community.

NBC also officially announced that it had renewed dramas Heroes and Southland and comedy Parks and Recreation, as well as ordering six new installments of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday.

As expected, there was no mention of on the bubble series like Chuck, Law & Order, and My Name is Earl, although the network was quick to acknowledge that additional renewals and pickups will be announced May 19th, when NBC announces its full 2009-2010 schedule. (Also missing: Medium, which some news outlets had reported as already being renewed.)

It's a rather full offering (with the potential for further orders), considering that NBC has lost its 10 pm hour during the week. Just how all of these series, along with the slew of programs that the Peacock had already renewed ahead of its infront presentation (including The Office, 30 Rock, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Biggest Loser,Celebrity Apprentice, and Friday Night Lights), will fit into the complicated rubric that is NBC's primetime schedule remains to be seen.

The full press release from NBC, along with descriptions, photos, and featurettes about the new series, can be found below.

NBC ANNOUNCES AMBITIOUS LINEUP OF PROGRAMMING DOMINATED BY NEW SCRIPTED SERIES FOR 2009-2010 PRIMETIME SEASON THAT EXTENDS THE NETWORK'S QUALITY BRAND

New Series Include Four Dramas: Trauma, Parenthood, Mercy and the Event Series Day One as Well as Two Comedies: Community and 100 Questions

Returning Series Pickups Include Heroes, Southland, Parks and Recreation and Six New Episodes of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday

NEW YORK CITY – May 4, 2009 – NBC unveiled today a strong lineup of broad and diverse quality programming for the 2009-2010 television season announcing the pickups of six new series featuring four new dramas including Trauma, Parenthood, Mercy and the event series Day One, as well as two new comedies including Community and 100 Questions. Four returning series pickups were also announced today including Heroes, Southland, Parks and Recreation and the addition of six new episodes of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday skewering today's top stories in live half-hour primetime shows.

The new and returning series will launch next season and the epic event series Day One is slated to premiere out of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

The Jay Leno Show will be broadcast Monday-Fridays, 10-11 p.m. ET beginning in the fall. Previously announced series pickups include The Office, 30 Rock, The Biggest Loser, The Celebrity Apprentice, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Friday Night Lights, and new alternative series The Marriage Ref, Breakthrough With Tony Robbins and Who Do You Think You Are?

Additional series pickups will be announced May 19, when NBC announces its 2009-2010 schedule.

NBC unveiled pickups for the upcoming broadcast season in the first of a series of presentations today and tomorrow to key advertisers from Studio 8H-the home of NBC's Saturday Night Live-at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Presentations will continue in Chicago on May 7 and Los Angeles on May 12.

"We are thrilled to be announcing such an awesome slate of new series that build on our existing quality brand and deliver emotional, human stories," said Ben Silverman, Co-Chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios. "NBC will strive to make viewers feel and our shows represent the full range of human emotion from laughter to tears. We can't wait to share these concepts with our audience and our advertising partners."

"These new series will showcase fresh talent and bold, original concepts that are extremely well executed," said Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios. "We are grateful to the producers, casts and crews -- and our team -- who have delivered incredibly compelling and entertaining new series."
In response to an evolving media marketplace and the changing needs of advertisers, NBC has created a more innovative, client-centric approach to its traditional Upfront with a series of one-on-one client presentations, which began today in New York City. These presentations are interactive and, unlike other networks' Upfront presentations, will include a Q & A with advertisers and NBC sales and entertainment executives.

NBC will also host advertisers and affiliates at a "Night of Comedy" featuring appearances by some of its biggest comedy stars including Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Rainn Wilson and Tracy Morgan on Tuesday, May 19 in New York City.

2009-2010 NEW SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

New Dramas:

PARENTHOOD

From the executive producers of the box-office hit Parenthood -- Ron Howard and Brian Grazer (Oscar winners for "A Beautiful Mind"), and writer/executive producer Jason Katims ("Friday Night Lights") -- this contemporary re-imagining of the blockbuster film depicts the colorful and imperfect Braverman family -- four grown siblings sharing the headaches, heartaches and joy of being parents. The star-studded cast includes Peter Krause, Maura Tierney, Craig T. Nelson, Dax Shepard, Bonnie Bedelia, Monica Potter, Erika Christensen and Sarah Ramos. When Sarah Braverman (Tierney, "ER"), a financially strapped single mother, returns home to her parents and siblings in Berkeley, Calif. after packing up her Fresno apartment and uprooting her two inconvenienced kids, Amber (Mae Whitman, "In Treatment") and Drew (Miles Heizer, "ER"), she is greeted by her opinionated father, Zeek (Nelson, "Family Stone," "Coach"), and strong mother, Camille (Bedelia, "Heart Like a Wheel"), who are privately dealing with their own marital issues. As Sarah is reunited with her siblings -- sister, Julia (Christensen, "Traffic"), and brothers Crosby (Shepard, "Baby Mama") and Adam (Krause, "Six Feet Under") -- all struggling with issues of their own, it's clear that the Braverman reunion is just what they need to face the everyday challenges of modern family life. "Parenthood" is a production from Imagine Entertainment and Universal Media Studios. Emmy winner Thomas Schlamme ("The West Wing") directs the pilot.



TRAUMA

Executive producer Peter Berg (NBC's "Friday Night Lights") delivers "Trauma," the first high-octane medical drama series to live exclusively in the field where the real action is. Like an adrenaline shot to the heart, "Trauma" is an intense, action-packed look at one of the most dangerous medical professions in the world: first responder paramedics. When emergencies occur, the trauma team from San Francisco General is first on the scene, traveling by land, by sea or by air to reach their victims in time. From the heights of the city's Transamerica Pyramid to the depths of the San Francisco Bay, these heroes must face the most extreme conditions to save lives -- and give meaning to their own existence in the process. Starring in "Trauma" are Derek Luke ("Notorious"), Cliff Curtis ("10,000 B.C"), Anastasia Griffith ("Damages"), Aimee Garcia ("George Lopez"), Kevin Rankin ("Friday Night Lights") and Jamey Sheridan ("Law & Order: Criminal Intent"). "Trauma" is a production of Universal Media Studios and Film 44. Berg, Sarah Aubrey ("Bad Santa," "Friday Night Lights"), Dario Scardapane and Jeffrey Reiner ("Friday Night Lights") serve as executive producers. The pilot was written by Scardapane and directed by Reiner.



MERCY

"Mercy," a new medical drama with a unique point of view, portrays the lives of the staff at Mercy Hospital as seen through the eyes of those who know it best -- its nurses. Nurse Veronica Callahan (Taylor Schilling, "Dark Matter") returns to Mercy from a military tour in Iraq -- and she knows more about medicine than all of the residents combined. Together with fellow nurses Sonia Jimenez (Jamie Lee Kirchner, "Rescue Me") and Chloe Payne (Michelle Trachtenberg, "Gossip Girl"), Callahan navigates through the daily traumas and social landmines of life and love both inside the hospital and out in the real world. The cast also includes: James Tupper ("Men in Trees") as Dr. Chris Sands, a new doctor at the hospital who complicates Veronica's life; Diego Klattenhoff ("Supernatural") as Mike Callahan, Veronica's husband; and Guillermo Diaz ("Weeds") as Nurse Angel Lopez. "Mercy" is a production from Universal Media Studios and Berman Braun. Joining writer/executive producers Liz Heldens (NBC's "Friday Night Lights") and Gretchen Berg & Aaron Harberts ("Pushing Daisies," "Pepper Dennis") are executive producers Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun. Emmy Award winner Adam Bernstein (NBC's "30 Rock," "Rescue Me") is the director.



DAY ONE

From executive producer/writer Jesse Alexander ("Heroes," "Lost," "Alias") and director Alex Graves ("Fringe," "Journeyman"), "Day One" tells the story of life on earth following a global catastrophe that has devastated the world's infrastructures. Beginning with the immediate aftermath of the cataclysmic event, an eclectic band of survivors -- played by Adam Campbell ("Date Movie"), Catherine Dent ("The Shield"), Julie Gonzalo ("Eli Stone"), David Lyons ("ER"), Derek Mio ("Greek"), Carly Pope ("24"), Thekla Reuten ("Sleeper Cell") and Addison Timlin ("Cashmere Mafia") -- strives to rebuild society as they unravel the mysteries of what happened and face their uncertain future. The group, all residents of one apartment building in suburban Van Nuys, Calif., embarks on a quest for survival and discovers that hope is found in small victories -- and heroes are born every day. "Day One" is a Universal Media Studios production.



New Comedies:

100 QUESTIONS (fka 100 Questions for Charlotte Payne)

Emmy winner James Burrows ("Will & Grace," "Friends") directs "100 Questions," a new comedy series written and executive-produced by Christopher Moynihan ("For Your Consideration") that provides hilarious answers to 100 questions about love. Charlotte Payne (Sophie Winkleman, "Peep Show") is looking for love and has rejected multiple marriage proposals -- but she has yet to meet Mr. Right. When she joins a popular online dating site, she gets a little help from her dating counselor Ravi (Amir Talai, "The Ex List") – who requires her to take a 100-question compatibility test. The questions aren't easy for Charlotte to answer, and each one requires her to recount a poignant and humorous time in her life with friends Leslie (Elizabeth Ho, "Women's Murder Club"), Jill (Joy Suprano, NBC's "Law & Order"), Mike (Christopher Moynihan "For Your Consideration") and Wayne (David Walton "Quarterlife"). The test becomes a journey of self-discovery for Charlotte who begins to realize what she truly wants in a relationship. Ron West ("Psych"), Kelly Kulchak ("Psych") and Michelle Nader ("King of Queens") join Moynihan as executive producers. The series is produced by Universal Media Studios and Tagline.



COMMUNITY

From Emmy Award-winning directors Joe and Anthony Russo ("Arrested Development") comes "Community," a smart comedy series about higher education -- and lower expectations. The student body at Greendale Community College is made up of high-school losers, newly divorced housewives, and old people who want to keep their minds active. Within these not-so-hallowed halls, "Community" focuses on a band of misfits, at the center of which is a fast-talkin' lawyer whose degree has been revoked (Joel McHale, "The Soup"), who form a study group and end up learning a lot more about themselves than they do about their course work. In addition to McHale, the series also stars: Gillian Jacobs ("The Book of Daniel"); Yvette Nicole Brown ("Rules of Engagement"); Danny Pudi ("Greek"); Alison Brie ("Mad Men"); and comedy legend Chevy Chase ("Saturday Night Live"). "Community" is a Krasnoff Foster Entertainment, Harmonious Claptrap and Russo Brothers production in association with Sony Pictures Television and Universal Media Studios. Russ Krasnoff ("The Soloist"), Dan Harmon ("The Sarah Silverman Program"), Joe Russo ("Arrested Development"), Anthony Russo ("Arrested Development") and Gary Foster ("The Soloist") serve as executive producers. Joe and Anthony Russo directed the pilot that was written by Dan Harmon.



Stay tuned.