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.

Channel Surfing: Shonda Rhimes Talks "Grey's" Twists, FOX Delves into "Past Life," CW Staffing on "Melrose Place" and "Vampire Diaries," and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Still reeling from last night's season finale of ABC's Grey's Anatomy? Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has an exclusive interview with series creator Shonda Rhimes about some of the shocking plot twists in last night's season ender. Responding to rumors about whether Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight wanted off of Grey's Anatomy and how this impacted their characters' fates, Rhimes said simply, "I don't think there are any coincidences. I think Katherine's stated publicly that she's happy to stay. I think that there have been lots of rumors about TR, but TR's never said anything. Take from it what you will." Rhimes also discusses the fates of Izzie and George, Mer and Der's wedding day, Jessica Capshaw, and a host of other Grey's related issues. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FOX has given a series order to supernatural drama Past Life (formerly known as The Reincarnationist), about a psychologist and a former NYPD homicide detective who assist people in solving "their past-life traumas and present-day crimes." Project, from Warner Bros. Television, is written and executive produced by David Hudgins. Cast includes Kelli Giddish, Nicholas Bishop, Richard Schiff, and Ravi Patel. (Variety)

The CW has reportedly locked Melrose Place and Vampire Diaries into its fall schedule. Both series were given the go-ahead yesterday to bring staffing, which points rather strongly to both projects getting ordered to series. Meanwhile, Beautiful Life, Life Unexpected, and Privileged continue to battle it out for the last remaining slot on the schedule and the Gossip Girl spin-off is said to still be in contention for a midseason bow. (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC is said to be considering making some rather big changes to bubble comedy Samantha Who? and is reportedly even debating whether to change the series' format into a traditional multi-camera comedy, albeit it one that follows a similar format to 20th Century Fox Television's How I Met Your Mother, which shoots over four days on a soundstage with multiple cameras but without a live audience. The network still has seven unaired episodes of Samantha Who?, which would mean that it's unlikely ABC would renew it for a full 22-episode order. (Variety)

Zach Braff and Sarah Chalke have signed on to appear in six episodes of Scrubs, should ABC opt to renew the series for a ninth season. Additionally, John C. McGinley, Donald Faison, and Neil Flynn are set to return full-time for a potential ninth season if their pilots aren't ordered to series. The short-term return of Braff and Chalke would help the series set up new storylines for the younger doctors. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Meanwhile, ABC is said to be high on Patricia Heaton comedy vehicle The Middle, along with Bill Lawrence's Cougar Town (starring Courteney Cox), and The Law. Network was said to be less than pleased with the pilots for Romantically Challenged and Awesome Hank yet may still order one or both of them to series. On the drama front, The Forgotten has the best chances of landing on the schedule but the net is also considering such projects as V, Inside the Box, Eastwick, and Happy Town. (Variety)

Janeane Garofalo will not be returning for Day Eight of FOX's 24 next season. "I think the secret of this show is knowing when characters have had their story," executive producer Howard Gordon told Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "And to transpose everybody [from D.C. to New York] starts feeling very coincidental. Even getting Chloe there ... you have to explain how she got from Washington to New York and what happened. You can't do that for everybody." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

NBC has renewed Last Call with Carson Daly for the 2009-10 season, a move which solidifies NBC's latenight strategy. Series, entering its ninth season, will return with a significantly lower budget next season. (Broadcasting & Cable)

Pushing Daisies' Anna Friel is set to star as Holly Golightly opposite Joseph Cross (Milk) in an upcoming stage adaptation of Breakfast at Tiffany's, set to preview beginning September 9th for a September 29th launch at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London. (Variety)

Hilarie Burton has told Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello about her departure--which she says was "not a rash decision"--from CW's One Tree Hill at the end of the current season, which wraps on Monday evening. "There really wasn't a lot of turmoil," said Burton about her departure. "It was a fabulous six-year run, which is how long my contract was for, and I feel really lucky to have been a part of the show. So when I hear that there's turmoil or negotiations based on money it kind of hurts my feelings, because it's not what's been going on at all. I think my fan base in particular knows that money isn't necessarily a big motivator for me, that's why I work in the world of independent film... I've known for a little while. For me, it was definitely an emotional decision. And a professional decision as well. I got really, really lucky. One Tree Hill was my very first television audition; it was a fairytale. I feel really lucky to have that level of success right out of the gate." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Confirming a rumor swirling several weeks ago, Warner Bros has acquired screen rights to ITV series Primeval, which airs in the US on BBC America and Sci Fi, with the aim to adapt it into a feature film, set in the US, under the aegis of Akiva Goldsman and Kerry Foster. "There is a solid mythology to the series, but the movie has the dinosaur element of Jurassic Park and the time travel element of Lost, and it just feels like the kind of big movie that Warner Bros. does well," said Foster. (Variety)

UK network Sky1 has scored the world premiere of two Prison Break episodes that are being billed as a special event movie entitled Prison Break: The Final Break. The network will air the two-hour movie on Wednesday, May 27th at 10 pm, a week after airing the fourth season finale which marks the end of the series. (Digital Spy)

Comedy Central has ordered seven episodes of animated comedy Ugly Americans, about an alternate universe where mythological creatures live among everyday people. Project, from writer David Stern (The Simpsons), will feature the voice talents of Matt Oberg, Randy Pearlstein, Mike Britt, Kurt Metzger, Rebekka Johnson, and Pete Holmes. The cabler also announced several projects in development, including: Judah Friedlander and Jordan Rubin's animated comedy Gypsy Cab, about a taxi driver in Manhattan who looks to pick up celebrity fares; single-cam workplace comedy The Sklar Brothers Sports Comedy Show; Midwest Teen Sex Show; The Boys and Girls Guide to Getting Down; procedural cop comedy The Fuzz, where police are played by humans and puppets; buddy comedy Workaholics; Ghost/Aliens; and several others. (Variety)

Cabler The N (which will be rebranded as TeenNick this fall) has ordered thirteen episodes of half-hour dramedy Gigantic, described as a "a coming-of-age story set in the world of the Hollywood elite packed with parties and privilege" which will feature "testimonials by real-life Hollywood teenagers as well as celebrity cameos." Project, from Reveille, is executive produced by Marti Noxon and Dawn Parouse. (Hollywood Reporter)

Former Survivor executive producer Tom Shelly has signed an overall deal with Endemol USA, under which he will serve as executive producer on ABC's upcoming reality series Dating in the Dark as well as develop format ideas. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

"Prison Break" to End and Other News from FOX's TCA Panel

Yesterday's FOX panel at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour wasn't filled with too many surprises (did we really need to find out what Kiefer Sutherland's exercise regimen entails?) but there were a few revelations in store for attendees, most of which came from FOX entertainment president Kevin Reilly.

(Those of you who were following my Twitter feed during the panel can attest to some shocking/funny/bizarre moments throughout the day, including when Reilly described NBC as "the crazy ex-wife that I can't get away from." Those of you who weren't following the feed: shame on you!)

Chief among the revelations: Reilly claiming that the network would "let [Dollhouse] play out for 13 episodes" and that FOX would end Prison Break at the end of this season.

"Creatively, the show is just played out," said Reilly. "Creatively, everybody feels enough stories were told. We want it to finish strong and not just gimp out next season."

Currently, Prison Break has four additional episodes yet to air and these new installments are slated to return on April 17th. However, an undisclosed number of additional episodes are currently under discussion which could neatly tie up some dangling storylines and act as a series ender.

"We've got our remaining batch of four episodes," said Reilly, "and then there are a couple more we're contemplating."

Reilly discussed FOX's decision to slot Joss Whedon's Dollhouse on Friday nights "Joss Whedon does a certain kind of show," said Reilly. "He’s right in the zone again on that. It's the kind of show that we know has a core passionate audience. In some other scheduling scenarios, there could be enormous pressure on it but there could be an upside. We have a very compatible lead in with Sarah Connor."

Still, slotting the series elsewhere on the schedule would have put a lot of pressure on Whedon to perform at higher expectations which could have led FOX to "yank it from the schedule."

"We’re going to let the show play out for 13 episodes and hopefully it will catch on," continued Reilly. "If we can do some business there, that would be a great thing for the future."

Meanwhile, don't look for Fringe to fade off of the schedule. "I already know Fringe is a keeper," said Reilly. "The show's been a bear creatively because it's been very ambitious. They've really found the storytelling model now. What you're going to see in the second half in the year, if you follow the serialized story you will not be disappointed, yet the stories really do reset themselves each week. I would not expect it to take off after Idol, but I do think it will tick up another level," he says.

(We picked up review copies of next week's episode of Fringe, the first of 2009, so look for a review next week.)

Reilly hopes to keep Bones--which has moved around the schedule more than any other FOX series, I believe--sitting tight in the future. "I'd like to stop moving it around," said Reilly. "If it does what we think it's going to do on Thursdays, we will glue it there."

Elsewhere, FOX will launch animated comedy series Sit Down, Shut Up--starring Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Cheri Oteri, Nick Kroll, Kristin Chenoweth, and others--on April 19th, where it will take over the 8:30 pm timelsot on Sundays, following The Simpsons.

And FOX is committing itself to comedy development, despite the network's current "low pulse on live-action" comedy, although Reilly admitted that it's possible no new live-action comedies may appear on the schedule this fall. He said that the network doesn't want to just launch something blindly (as, perhaps it did with last fall's Do Not Disturb?)

Despite plans to pick up five drama pilots and five comedy pilots in the next few weeks, Reilly indicated that they may not launch another live-action comedy until they have a series "that can fire up time period" or they find a series that "can be compatible behind Idol" or can be launched in their Sunday night animated block and moved elsewhere.

Ultimately they want comedy series that are "bold and have a view."

Regarding FOX's surprising recent decision to renew lackluster comedy 'Til Death for another season, Reilly said simply: "We want to keep original programming on the air."

More Secret Millionaire could be on tap.

Scarily, FOX has an entirely unseen season of 22 episodes of reality series Moment of Truth on the shelf and could roll it out later this year. "Fortunately, we have other options," said Reilly. "And I don't mean that pejoratively to that show. We have it as a tool when we need it over the summer or to fill a time period. We have a season of them on the shelf... I think it will come back on the air at some point."

And then there was that winning bit about NBC, Reilly's former home, which he described as "the crazy ex-wife that I can't get away from." (FYI, the crowd erupted into laughter with that one.)

Of the Peacock's decision to fill its 10 pm hour with a Jay Leno talk show, Reilly said: "I was surprised to see that. I think it's the a smart strategic move in a very, very troubled place. Just looking at the facts, the network historically has struggled to establish scripted shows at 8 pm. You have to go back to Fresh Prince to find a self-starting scripted hit. It's been historically a challenge for NBC even at their height. So if 8 pm is a place they're going to struggle with scripted shows, if they don't program Friday, Saturday or Sunday for half the year with scripted show, on a historic level you look and say for the network that was the premiere brand for scripted television, 'that's a sad statement.' Whether they make it go at a business level, we'll see."

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Third Season of "Gavin & Stacey" On Tap, "Doctor Who," SAG Delays Strike Authorization Vote, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. This being a scant two days before Christmas, there aren't many television-related headlines to discuss but rest assured there are still quite a few.

Oh, what's occurrin'? The big news is, of course, that Ruth Jones and James Corden have announced--from Barry Island, no less--that they will write a third season of their hit comedy Gavin & Stacey. The third season, which had been commissioned by the BBC earlier this year, had been in doubt when Jones and Corden said that their schedules were a bit too full at the moment to write the next season of the romantic comedy, which airs in the States on BBC America. While pesky details like actor availability still have to be worked out, it's fantastic news that we'll get to see more of Nessa and the gang from Barry and Essex before long. The Gavin & Stacey Christmas Special, meanwhile, will air tomorrow night on BBC1. (BBC News)

Doctor Who executive producer Russell T. Davies talks at length about this week's Doctor Who Christmas Special, entitled "The Next Doctor." While there's spoilers aplenty for those looking for that sort of thing, some of Davies' comments seem to echo my recent theory that David Morrissey, who co-stars with David Tennant in the special, will be named the Eleventh Doctor later this week... and that he isn't just a man claiming to be the Doctor in Dickensian London but he is the future incarnation of the Doctor crossing paths with his past self. "...this other Doctor isn't lying," says Davies. "He's not a con man. So we've got this story about how these two men can possibly be together. It's a buddy movie, in a way. I mean, two of the best actors in the land - how lucky are we?" Only time will tell... (The Daily Mail)

SAG has announced that it has postponed its controversial strike authorization vote for two weeks. The ballots, which were meant to be delivered on January 2nd, will be delayed until after January 13th following two days of talks among SAG's national board, which has remained split over the option of a strike. (Variety)

Los Angeles Times talks to FOX Entertainment Chairman Peter Liguori and FOX Entertainment President Kevin Reilly about the challenges for the network in the next few months, Dollhouse, moving Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles to Fridays, and American Idol. As for why the network scheduled Dollhouse on Fridays, Ligouri said: "It's a night where there's not a hell of a lot of competition. So we're able to get the show on there. We're able to allow the show to grow. The expectations may be slightly lower for its performance." Hmmm... (Los Angeles Times)

Aussie actor Damon Herriman (Cold Case) has been cast in NBC's drama pilot Lost & Found, opposite Katee Sackhoff, Josh Cooke, and Brian Cox. He'll play Anthony Yeckel, "an oddball civilian consultant to the police's lost-and-found department who has an obsessive love of old detective TV shows." (Hollywood Reporter)

Lost's Jeff Fahey will guest star in an episode of CBS' Cold Case, slated to air in early 2009. He'll play the owner of a "boutique motorcycle customization shop who has cleaned up from his early days as a biker." Elsewhere, rapper/actress/mogul Eve will guest star in an episode of CBS' NUMB3RS; Wes Brown (We Are Marshall) will appear in at least six episodes of HBO's True Blood as a Luke, a religious hunk who bonds with Jason at church camp; Dina Meyer (Birds of Prey) will play Michael's former fiancee on USA's Burn Notice in the Season Two finale airing on March 5th. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TV Guide chats with Prison Break's Jodi Lyn O'Keefe about her long-running stint on the FOX thriller, whether or not we've seen the last of Gretchen, and the potential SAG strike. (<TV Guide)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Echo Forgets in "Dollhouse" Clip, "Gavin & Stacey" Cast Talk, "Prison Break", and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. This being the week of Christmas, look for the television programming news to be light but we do have a few headlines to discuss. I spent the weekend catching up on some screener-viewing (episode 203 of Damages, for example) and preparing for the hols this week.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has a sneak peak clip of Joss Whedon's latest drama, Dollhouse, which launches Friday, February 13th on FOX. In the two-minute clip, Echo (Eliza Dushku) has her imprinted memories wiped by Fran Kranz's Topher, who then engages in a philosophical discussion about the nature of his work with Echo's handler Boyd (Harry Lennix). Does it make you rethink your position on the series? Are you more or less excited to see it now? (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Guardian has a brand-new interview with the oh-so-talented cast of British import comedy Gavin & Stacey, including James Corden and Ruth Jones (who also wrote and created the series), Matthew Horne, and Joanna Page, in which the gang talks about Christmas wishes, the Queen's speech, and the uber-memorable The Office Christmas Special. Fair play. (The Guardian)

Elsewhere, James Corden has said that he doesn't know whether there will be a third season of Gavin & Stacey. "We really don't know," said Corden. "Ruth and I are executive producing an American version of the show for ABC and we're looking at some writers. It's so strange getting these CVs from people who've written some of my favourite TV shows: Arrested Development, Seinfeld, Will & Grace." [Editor's note: Ruth Jones claims NBC, who had optioned the format, is out and ABC is in.] (The Times)

Kristin Dos Santos has a sneak peek clip of tonight's episode of Prison Break (the winter finale), in which Michael learns something pretty shocking about his mom, the Company, and some news that he might want to provide to the DMV. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

BBC has commissioned a second season of apocalyptic drama Survivors, a remake of the cult 1970s series created by Terry Nation, which stars Julie Graham, Max Beesley, and Paterson Joseph. The final episode of the current season is slated to air on Tuesday evening on BBC1. (The Guardian)

HBO has signed a deal with Maria Bello (ER) to develop and star in an untitled series at the pay cabler to be written by Gary Lennon (The Shield). Bello would star as a woman forced into a life of crime in order to support her three teen sons, whom she employs as criminal henchmen, after her husband is killed. Project will be executive produced by Bello, Lennon, Gavin Polone, and John Carrabino. (Variety)

FOX handed out a script order (plus penalty commitment) for werewolf dramedy Bitches, about four female friends in Manhattan... who happen to be werewolves. Project, from writer/executive producer Michael Dougherty, executive producers Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts (Pushing Daisies), and Warner Bros. Television, has been garnering much buzz in the last few months and, given its subject matter (and snarky title), I had it pegged for months as a pickup. (Hollywood Reporter)

In a sign of the times, ITV has pulled the plug on its two-part adaptation of E.M. Forster's A Passage to India, which was to star Matthew Macfadyen (Spooks) and Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky). Production on the expensive period drama was slated to begin in January in India and the two-part mini was slated to air in Fall 2009. “We are working hard to make sure that we extract maximum value from the schedule and spend money carefully and, as a result, we will not be taking forward the commission of A Passage to India,” said an ITV spokesman. “We remain committed to high-quality drama on ITV1 and in 2009 have Demons, Law and Order: UK, Wuthering Heights, Whitechapel and the return of Primeval coming to screen.” (Variety)

In other UK drama news, former Office star Martin Freeman will star as Doctor John Watson and Benedict Cumberbatch (Starter for Ten) will star as the titular sleuth in Sherlock, a contemporary remake of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels. Also secured for the one-hour pilot, from creators Steven Moffat (Doctor Who) and Mark Gatiss (Doctor Who): Rupert Graves, who will play Inspector Lestrade. Coky Giedroyc will direct the pilot episode, slated to begin shooting next month. I had the chance to read Moffat's script a few months back and it had some interesting moments, even as I had a difficult time believing the contemporary trappings around this modern-day Sherlock and Holmes duo. Still, good casting such as this will definitely elevate the material. (BBC)

Billy Zane (Charmed, Titanic) will replace Timothy Olyphant on ABC's Samantha Who?. Olyphant, who played Samantha's ex-boyfriend/boss Funk last season, is unavailable due to his commitments to FX's Damages, where he plays Wes. Zane will assume the role of Funk in this season's fifteenth episode, when Funk and Sam reunite for the first time after she turned down his marriage proposal. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

MTV has announced that it has no less than 16 new reality series on tap for 2009, including offerings from Matt Stone & Trey Parker (South Park), Donald Trump, Nick Lachey, and Sean Combs. The cabler, which has been suffering declining ratings, will launch all of the new series over the next 4 1/2 months; the launches represent a shift more towards the "meta-scripted reality of MTV's The Hills." (Variety)

NBC won't be developing a US version of BBC's long-running series Top Gear. BBC Worldwide and the Peacock have parted ways from the project and the Beeb issued a statement about their decision to take the format elsewhere. "BBC Worldwide and NBC have decided to part ways on the Top Gear format and we are in the process of finding a home more suited to the show. With Top Gear UK version now playing on BBCA it has become clear the series attracts a strong, highly valuable, young male audience in the U.S. and we are already in discussions with several interested networks." (Top Gear Blog)

And it does appear as though NBC has canceled reality revival series American Gladiators. (Hollywood Reporter)

In case you didn't know, politics turned out to be very, very good for late-night satirical series like Saturday Night Live, The Colbert Report, and The Daily Show. (The New York Times)

Elsewhere at the Times, Alessandra Stanley has picked her selections for Best TV of 2008, which includes series such as Mad Men, Fringe, The Wire, Gossip Girl, NCIS, and In Treatment, HBO telepic Recount, and the incomparable Tina Fey. (The New York Times)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing; NBC Cans "My Own Worst Enemy," "Lipstick Jungle," Sci Fi Asks for More "Sanctuary," Novak to Leave "The Office," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. I hope everyone watched the season premiere of Bravo's Top Chef, which nearly made up for yet another week without a new Pushing Daisies... though from what I gather, there's going to be quite a lot of those come soon. Sigh.

NBC has canceled freshman drama My Own Worst Enemy, which starred Christian Slater in the dual role of Edward/Henry. Series will wrap production after shooting its current episode, the ninth of the initial 13-episode order. No word yet on what NBC will substitute in the Monday 10 pm timeslot. (Variety)

As for the fate of sophomore drama Lipstick Jungle, NBC has also given the drama the sack as well. Ouch. (Hollywood Reporter)

Should Pushing Daisies be canceled tomorrow, creator Bryan Fuller says that the series' storylines will be wrapped up in comic book form. "The idea would be to finish out the season's story arcs in comic books," said Fuller, "to satisfy the fans and ourselves, to finish up the stories we'd love to tell." Sigh. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that ABC comes to their senses but it's not looking good, people. (TV Week's Blink)

Sci Fi has renewed drama Sanctuary for a second season, ordering thirteen episodes to launch sometime in 2009. Production on Season Two is expected to begin early next year in Vancouver. (TV Guide)

In other renewal news, the CW has ordered five additional episodes of freshman dramedy Privileged, bringing its season total to 18 episodes. While slightly short of a full 22-episode order for the series, it does show a vote of confidence on the part of the netlet, which has now given its sole new drama series full season orders. In order to promote sampling of Privileged, the CW will air two new episodes on December 1st and Devember 8th behind new episodes of lead-in Gossip Girl. (One Tree Hill, which was scheduled to air repeats, will be pre-empted those weeks.) Those episodes will be repeated in the series' regular timeslot on Tuesday evenings. (Variety)

20th Century Fox Television has informed the cast of FOX's Prison Break that they may extend the current filming schedule to include two additional episodes. While Prison Break's writers have yet to pitch their take on these episodes, speculation is that they may function as a series finale or as a "special" two-hour feature next season a la 24: Redemption. FOX, meanwhile, has not yet committed to airing these extra two episodes though the network is currently engaged in talks with the studio on this matter. (Hollywood Reporter)

B.J. Novak will take a leave of absence from NBC's The Office, where he serves as writer/producer and a performer in order to film a role in Quentin Tarantino's upcoming feature Inglorious Bastards. Conflicting reports either have Novak disappearing from Dunder-Mifflin for "several episodes" or permanently. Given that Novak's Ryan is currently filling in for receptionist Pam, who WILL return to Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch eventually, it seems as though the writers have already engineered an easy exit for Ryan. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FOX has canceled latenight sketch comedy series MADtv after fourteen seasons; the series will end its run at the end of the current 2008-09 season. Producers say that they are weighing their options and that the series could turn up at another network. (Variety)

FX has announced return dates for Damages and Nip/Tuck. (Televisionary)

Matthew Lillard will guest star in an upcoming episode of CBS' Gary Unmarried, where he will play Gary's irritating ex-brother-in-law Taylor "who has a knack for rubbing his well-to-do status in people's faces." (TV Guide)

Sasha Alexander (NCIS) has been cast in CBS' multi-camera comedy pilot The Karenskys, where she will play Emily, a woman who returns to her hometown when her husband is forced to relocate due to his job and reconnects with her eccentric family while her husband is uncomfortable with their quirks. Also cast: Tinsley Grimes (That '80s Show). Project comes from writer/executive producer Linwood Boomer (Malcolm in the Middle), BermanBraun, and Universal Media Studios. (Hollywood Reporter)

Showtime is developing an untitled drama project based on Perry Moore's novel "Hero," that will follow the life of a gay superhero. Project comes from writer Moore and executive producer Stan Lee, the co-creator of such Marvel properties as X-Men, Fantastic Four, and the Avengers, and Gill Champion. (Variety)

Also at Showtime, the pay cabler is developing half-hour comedy Kevin and the Chart of Destiny, about a "a brilliant but lonely market researcher who designs an elaborate 'dating system'--as laid out in a complex wall chart--in order to achieve his goal of finding a wife within one year." Project comes from writer/executive producer Tim Long (The Simpsons). (Hollywood Reporter)

Comedy Central has greenlit two pilots: animated comedy Ugly Americans, about a social worker who helps new US citizens--both human and non-human--adapt to life in NYC; and live-action comedy Evan and Gareth Are Trying to Get Laid, about two men earning first-hand experience in the perils of dating so they can offer advice at the relationship website where they work. (Variety)

Abby Elliott (King of the Hill) and Michaela Watkins (Old Christine) have joined the cast of Saturday Night Live, following the departure of Amy Poehler. The sketch comedy series may also add additional cast members later this season. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: ABC Might Shift "Mars" and "Practice," Quinlan Locks Down "Prison Break," BBC Drama in Jeopardy, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. While I watched this week's episode of Chuck yet again (and fell in love with it all over again), I couldn't help shake the feeling that last night's episode of Gossip Girl was absolutely beyond ludicrous. Anyone else agree?

ABC is allegedly making some changes to its midseason schedule, with Grey's Anatomy spin-off Private Practice shifting to Thursdays at 10 pm, where it will air right behind Grey's. Meanwhile, the current timeslot holder, Life on Mars, will move to Wednesdays at 10 pm, where it will receive a hell of a lead-in from Lost. The Alphabet didn't comment on the leaked schedule, which it has yet to announce. Can we see ABC launching a Wednesday night around Pushing Daisies, Lost, and Life on Mars... or does this once again signal a death knell for Daisies? (Hollywood Reporter)

Samaire Armstrong's Juliet Darling WILL be returning to ABC's Dirty Sexy Money after all. (Come on, I wasn't the only one who didn't believe producers when they said she wasn't off the series altogether!) Armstrong will return for a special Thanksgiving episode that will air on November 26th that finds chauffeur Clark offering his take on the Darlings' many scandals, including Juliet's year-long globe-spanning love affair with Kai. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Kathleen Quinlan (Made of Honor) has been cast in at least four episodes on FOX's Prison Break, where she will recur as a "mysterious woman who has ties to the Company and a surprising connection to Michael." Quinlan's first appearance is slated to air on the series' December 22nd fall finale. Could Quinlan's character be the basis for FOX's long-delayed Prison Break spin-off Cherry Hill? Hmmm... (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Lifetime has ordered seven additional episodes of freshman comedy series Rita Rocks, bringing this season's total episodic count to 22 episodes.

Rita Rocks is perhaps some much-needed positive news for indie shingle Media Rights Capital, which has bombed with its scripted offerings this season, courtesy of the CW's Sunday night lineup. (Variety)

Departing BBC drama head Jane Tranter, who commissioned such hits as Doctor Who and Life on Mars, warned that BBC drama budgets were at their "breaking point" and that UK production was in grave danger from cost-cutting initiatives. "There's really not much more we can cut without endangering not just the quality of the work, but also the quality of the lives of the people who work on these things," said Tranter, who will become EVP of programming and production at BBC Worldwide this January. (Hollywood Reporter)

USA Today's Robert Bianco offers up three suggestions on how to improve US networks' ailing schedules, including: create more, import less; get serious about comedy; and develop on your time, not ours. I have to say I agree. (USA Today)

Tracy Pollan (Law & Order: SVU), a.k.a. Mrs. Michael J. Fox, has been cast in a three-episode story arc on Season Five of NBC's Medium, slated to launch in January. Pollan will play Caitlyn, a "corporate intuitionist who befriends Arquette's Allison and attempts to bring her to the corporation she works for because of her gift. " (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Hills' Heidi Spencer and Spencer Pratt will guest star on a January episode of CBS' How I Met Your Mother, where they will play themselves (naturally) when they taunt Marshall from the cover of a tabloid as he searches for a "quiet place." (TV Guide)

Colm Feore (24) has been cast in Canadian drama The Listener, which will air in the US on NBC. (Elsewhere, it will air on CTV in Canada and on Fox International Channels.) He'll play the mentor of a young parametic (Craig Olejnik) who uses his telepathic gifts to help the people he heals. (Hollywood Reporter)

Whoopi Goldberg has signed a development deal with Discovery Emerging Networks, under which she will develop series for Investigation Discovery and Science Channel with her Whoop Inc. partner Tom Leonardis, one of which is guaranteed to be ordered to series. (Variety)

Cabler AMC has named Charlie Collier as president; Collier has been EVP/general manager since 2006 and has overseen the cabler's expansion into original programming via Broken Trail, Mad Men, and Breaking Bad. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Robin Takes Flight at CW, "Partridge" Lands at NBC, Norman Lear, "Sarah Connor" Woes, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. I suffered through some sweltering heat here in Los Angeles last night and watched the latest lackluster episode of 90210 and a fantastically taut episode of Fringe (more on that in a bit).

CW has given a put pilot commitment to drama The Graysons, based on the pre-Boy Wonder life of Batman sidekick Robin before he dons the mask and cape (a la Smallville). Drama, from Smallville executive producers Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson and Chuck/Supernatural executive producer McG, will follow Dick "DJ" Grayson in a new take on the iconic character. (In the original comics, Robin was the orphaned son of a high-flying trapeze artist family who was taken in by Bruce Wayne and trained to be Batman's sidekick.) Series is viewed as a potential replacement for Smallville, should this be final season, or as a companion piece if Smallville is renewed. Studio Warner Bros. Television also hopes to use this development to prove that the netlet isn't in any serious jeopardy. But they're really going to call Robin "DJ"? Ick. (Variety)

Could Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles be canceled in an effort to save the ratings of FOX's Prison Break? That's what one network source has said as the axe could come swinging down on ratings-starved Terminator as early as this week. "All I can say is that production will likely stop," said the unnamed source, "and I would think that Fox might try to air some of the episodes already in the can. But I don't know. They don't want to lose Prison Break, so there could be some schedule shuffling in the future."(SyFy Portal)

Television icon Norman Lear is developing Everybody Hurts, a drama series following a pro-wrestling business in 1970s New York, at HBO. Project is written by Aaron Blitzstein (The Riches) and will be executive produced by Lear and Lara Bergthold. (Hollywood Reporter)

The revamped single-camera comedy pilot The Partridge Family has landed at NBC. This version, from Reveille, Geffen Records, and Sony Pictures Television, will have a struggling single mom "pimping her kids in order to create a wholesome-slash-sexy cash cow." Pilot will be written by Jeff Rake, who also serves as executive producer. (Hollywood Reporter)

Rake has also teamed with Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz on an untitled action dramedy pilot about ""a Pentagon-based inventor who decided he couldn't live another day standing on the sidelines while Rome burns and accordingly set out [to] put his inventions to very real use, behind the back of friends, family and the entire U.S. government," according to Rake. Arrested Development pilot helmers Anthony and Joe Russo are attached to direct the project, which has been set up at FOX. (Hollywood Reporter)

CBS and CBS Paramount Network Television have signed a talent deal with Cole Hauser (K-Ville), who recently starred in drama pilot The Tower for the network and studio. (I actually quite liked the journalism drama pilot, which also starred Rosamund Pike, Marcia Gay Harden, Denis O'Hare, and CCH Pounder.) (Variety)

Fred Willard will guest star in two episodes of CBS' comedy series Worst Week. The former Back to You star and Connie Ray (Thank You for Smoking) will play the parents of hapless Sam (Kyle Bornheimer) in two installments set to air later this fall. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Cory Monteith (Kaya) has joined the cast of FOX's Ryan Murphy pilot Glee, opposite Jayma Mays and Matthew Morrison. He'll play Finn, a football player who is coerced into joining the high school glee club by its new advisor. (Hollywood Reporter)

Valerie Bertinelli just got some company on her untitled TBS comedy: Nadia Dajani (Emily's Reasons Why Not), Kevin G. Schmidt (Cheaper by the Dozen), and Dean Collins (The War at Home) have joined the cast of Dave Caplan's comedy pilot about a woman whose husband leaves her to deal with their kids, his struggling lumber business, and life in general on her own. Already cast: Juliette Goglia and Anjelah Johnson. (Hollywood Reporter)

Vanessa Marcil (Las Vegas) will serve as the host for Lifetime's upcoming reality competition series Blush: The Search for the Next Makeup Artist alongside judges Hal Rubenstein and Joanna Schlip and mentor Charlie Green. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Prison Breakdown: Sara Lives!

Sara lives!

Lucky attendees of the Prison Break panel at Comic-Con were treated to two very exciting sights, even though series lead Wentworth Miller was a no-show. The first was a look at the first act of Prison Break's fourth season, launching this fall, and the second was seeing Sarah Wayne Callies herself, last seen on the series tied to a chair as the captive of the sadistic Gretchen... before her head was mailed to Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell).

What a difference a year makes. Last year, Callies was on her way out of Prison Break, killed off-screen, but now she's making her triumphant return to the series in a story arc that will give the actress an extremely meaty, emotionally complex role to sink her teeth into.

As for the story behind Sara's, er, resurrection, we learn in the opening act of Prison Break's first episode this fall that Gretchen didn't actually kill Michael's love Sara, who managed to escape Gretchen's clutches. With no leverage over Michael, she used the head of a cadaver to take Sara's place as a warning. Meanwhile, Michael appears to be out to avenge Sara's death and he's starting with Gretchen, whom he catches in the midst of a high-stakes robbery at Los Angeles' Roosevelt Hotel, with Whistler pulling quite a James Bond move in killing the seller of a disk containing data that The Company wants to get their hands on... and duplicating the disk itself for a third party. Catching them with the police en route, Michael pulls a gun on Gretchen, who tells him the truth about Sara's "death."

So where is Sara Tancredi then? The mystery of where she's been and what happened to her will be a major element to Prison Break's fourth season. Ten months have passed since the events of Season Three and Sara will be a very changed person when we next see her. "Sara is coming back a very different person," said Callies. Whatever happened to her over the last few months "makes the Kellerman-bathtub stuff," as Callies dubbed her character's attempted murder at the hands of Agent Kellerman, look like child's play.

What we will see is an exploration of what happens when someone "experiences trauma and then tries to come back and love someone," said Callies.

It's an interesting approach but I have to say that I was more intrigued by what Dominic Purcell was doing on his phone the entire panel than by these announcements. Maybe he was texting Wentworth to tell him what he was missing out on? Hmmm.

Prison Break's fourth season kicks off this fall on FOX.

FOX Captures Another Season of "Prison Break," Slays "Jezebel James"

FOX giveth and it taketh away.

Thus was the moral yesterday when FOX announced that it had officially ordered a fourth season for crime drama Prison Break, with 22 episodes expected for the 2008-09 season. The news of an official pickup came after Prison Break writer Nick Santora spilled the beans on the renewal on his MySpace blog.

While this past season's 13 episodes had Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) trapped inside Panama's bleak Sona prison, Season Four will find him and brother Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) on the run once again, with Michael out for revenge against the people who brutally murdered his lover, Sarah Tancredi.

Production will relocate for Season Four from Dallas to Los Angeles; the series had been based in Chicago during its first season as well.

Meanwhile, it was the end of the road for Amy Sherman-Palladino's struggling comedy The Return of Jezebel James, which starred Parker Posey, Lauren Ambrose, and Scott Cohen.

After two weeks of disastrous ratings, FOX announced that it had pulled Jezebel James off the schedule, effective immediately, and would fill its Friday night timeslot with repeats of drama Bones.

I can't say that I am surprised by the news. I love Sherman-Palladino, but I was not a fan of the pilot episode and the sub-par ratings predicted that FOX would not take a dim view of yanking the series off before it had burned through the truncated seven-episode run.

Better luck next time, Amy.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: NCIS (CBS); Biggest Loser (NBC; 8-10 pm); Beauty and the Geek (CW); Dancing With the Stars Recap (ABC); American Idol (FOX; 8-9:30 pm)

9 pm: Big Brother 9 (CBS); Reaper (CW); Dancing with the Stars (ABC)

10 pm: Jericho (CBS); Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC); Primetime: What Would You Do? (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: Beauty and the Geek.

Sigh. After the latest disastrous "game-changing twist," I don't know why I am still watching this disastrously botched series. On tonight's episode ("It's Game Time"), the beauties and the geeks play a game of flag football that turns ultra-competitive and one player winds up injured.

9 pm: Last Restaurant Standing on BBC America.

On the eighth episode of this addictive British import, three teams are forced to enter Raymond's latest challenge: to cater a three-course meal for 50 guests at Blenheim Palace. They won't have the opportunity to meet their clients ahead of time and they'll be cooking (and serving) side-by-side in a reception tent. Oh, is that rain I see on the horizon?

10 pm: The Riches on FX.

On tonight's installment ("Friday Night Lights"), Dahlia, the kids, and Nina are taken hostage in Texas and are forced to use their Traveler skills in order to escape the clutches of their captor; back in Eden Falls, Wayne tries to deal with Hugh, Dale, and the dead Pete and the family must make a decision about their next move.

"There's No Hope in Hell": A "Prison Break" Season Three Promo from the UK

New prison. New break.

For those of you anxiously awaiting next week's season premiere of Prison Break, I may have quite the little video treat for you.

I wasn't the biggest fan of Prison Break over the past two seasons but watching the absolutely brilliant promo from British network Sky One for the launch of the action drama's third season may have just made me a jail house convert.



Seriously, though, have you ever seen such a beautifully atmospheric promo for a series like this one? (Just look at that fire.) Robert Knepper's T-Bag may have managed to creep me out in the past but I honestly think that the combination of his venomous drawl and Massive Attack's haunting "Angel" might just keep me awake tonight.

For those of us on this side of the pond, Prison Break launches in the US on September 17th at 8 pm on FOX.

Casting Couch: Vance and Garcia Part of "Prison Break" Gang

Casting on Season Three of FOX's crime drama Prison Break has kicked into high gear.

Just a few days after announcing the casting of Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (who will play a shadowy government agent named, yes, "Betty Crocker") and Robert Wisdom, FOX has added two more actors to the mix, both of whom will play integral roles in the drama's third season, set in Panama.

British actor Chris Vance (All Saints) will play an enigmatic character named Whistler, a fellow prisoner at SONA Prison, where Michael has just been incarcerated. (No blueprint-heavy tattoos for him.) Meanwhile, Danay Garcia (CSI: Miami) will play Whistler's Panamanian girlfriend, Sofia. With Michael and Whistler being held captive at a prison, and Sofia and Linc on the outside, expect each pair to team up to launch an escape or, uh, prison break.

Both actors have been hired as series regulars on Prison Break's third season, which kicks off this fall.