Channel Surfing: Fox Snags Locke and Key, Trouble for Tilda, Torchwood Star Lands Three Inches, Temps, The Office, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Vulture's Josef Adalian is reporting that FOX is in talks with 20th Century Fox Television and Dreamworks to develop a series based on Joe Hill's comic book "Locke and Key," which revolves around "three kids who end up watching over a secret, spooky New England mansion filled with mystical doors that transport them to different worlds and give them special powers (like turning into a ghost)," according to Adalian. But FOX isn't turning to just anyone to adapt the series created by Hill (who happens to be the son of Stephen King): Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Fringe, Hawaii Five-0) and Josh Friedman (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) as well as Steven Spielberg are attached as executive producers. (Vulture, Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that there's some major behind the scenes drama brewing at HBO's much anticipated dark comedy pilot Tilda, which stars Diane Keaton as a Nikki Finke-esque Hollywood blogger. Showrunner Cynthia Mort has been removed from the project after the pilot shoot, during which she allegedly clashed with director/executive producer Bill Condon and with Keaton herself. "It was an unhappy marriage from day one,” an unnamed source told Ausiello about Mort and Condon's working relationship. “They banged heads about almost everything…and during production she picked huge public fights with anyone who disagreed with her on anything, including Diane.” Mort's removal prompted a nasty email to the production and the studio; neither she nor HBO would comment on the story, though Ausiello notes that Condon is assembling a new creative team and is close to picking a new showrunner for the project. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Which former Torchwood star is crossing the pond to star in Syfy drama pilot Three Inches? Naoko Mori--who played the much missed Toshiko for two seasons on BBC Three's Torchwood--has been cast as a series regular in Three Inches, which follows a slacker who discovers that he has a useless superpower: he can move any object three inches with his mind. Mori will play "a woman who can duplicate and recite any sounds she hears." Also cast: Melrose Place's Stephanie Jacobsen, who will play Watts, described as "a beautiful 'super' hero who has the ability to shape the emotions of anyone she meets at close range." (Deadline)

Good news for fans of Party Down: the creators of the short-lived Starz comedy series have landed a put pilot from NBC for their next project, a single-camera comedy entitled Temps. The project, created by Rob Thomas, Jon Enbom, and Dan Etheridge, was the subject of an intense bidding war before a deal was reached between NBC and studio Warner Bros. Television. According to Variety's Michael Schneider, Temps will revolve around "a group of recent college grads who are forced to take a variety of oddball temp jobs to make ends meet." Any chance those trademark pink bowties could make a return appearance? (Variety)

E! Online's Jennifer Arrow is reporting that producers of NBC's The Office, which will see the departure of series lead Steve Carell after the upcoming season, would prefer to promote from within rather than bring in an A-lister to replace Michael Scott. Arrow caught up with writer/producer Warren Lieberstein to ask him about whether the show can go on without Carell and just where Michael's replacement will come from. "We're really sad. I don't know how you soldier on from Steve leaving," said Lieberstein. "He's such an amazing talent. He's the best. He's the best, honestly. But we're kind of lucky, we have a lot of movie stars in our cast! Craig Robinson, Ed Helms, Rainn Wilson—and that Krasinski guy is not bad, and Jenna Fischer, she's pretty great. I think the reason we've been able to survive as many seasons as we have is because of the supporting cast." As for the matter of succession, Lieberstein said, "We're still debating. A lot of us want from within, because we think we have such a strong cast, but we'll see. We have a network that also [has] wants." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

In other Three Inches-related news, The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd is reporting that Andrea Martin (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) has also joined the cast of the Syfy superhero pilot, where she will play Belinda Spackman, the mother of the main character, who is described as "a brutally cynical force of nature who will do anything to protect her son, who has developed a unique not-so-superpower: the ability to move any object three inches using his mind." (Hollywood Reporter)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos has an interview with True Blood star Denis O'Hare, who is stealing scenes this season as the Vampire King of Mississippi, Russell Edgington. O'Hare told E! Online that, despite his character's longevity, he can still be killed. "I am 3,000 years old, but it can be done," said O'Hare. "The vampire rules are if you behead them, if you stake them with wood, or if you put silver on them, they're going down. The silver weakens them incredibly, the wood will actually kill them, and beheading is game over." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

FOX is developing an untitled drama pilot with writer Rick Eid and executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci about a prosecutor who discovers that he can tell whether a defendant is guilty or innocent. "Show revolves around an overly ambitious prosecutor who wrongfully convicts an innocent man for murder, an event that becomes the trigger for his magical flashes and an understanding that he has a debt an understanding that he has a debt to repay to the innocent," writes Variety's Cynthia Littleton. (Variety)

Meghan Markle (Fringe) has been cast as one of the leads in USA's legal drama pilot A Legal Mind, where she will star opposite Patrick Adams and Gabriel Macht. She'll play Rachel Lane, described as "an attractive paralegal with an encyclopedic knowledge of the law who's assigned to Mike [Patrick Adams] and becomes his valuable after-hours research ally." Whedonverse alum Gina Torres has also been cast in the project, though her role--senior partner Katherine Pearson--is in second position to ABC Family's Huge. (Hollywood Reporter)

FX is developing comedy 13th Grade, about a "a high school graduate who's content with his meager lifestyle -- until his girlfriend dumps him for being 'stuck' between childhood and adulthood"--with Michael Cera, Derek Waters, and Emily Kapnek. Kapnek and Cera are writing the script, while Waters is set to co-star in the project. (Variety)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Jamie-Lynn Sigler (The Sopranos) will star opposite Sherry Stringfield in Lifetime's currently untitled Josh Berman drama pilot, where she will play Brooke Kross, the partner to Stringfield's police detective Molly Collins. Elsewhere, John Hawkes (Lost) will star in FX drama pilot Outlaw Country, where he will play Tarzen Larkin, the uncle to Luke Grimes' Eli, who is described as "one of the most charismatic and compelling characters in Slaughter, a big-time player in the Southern crime world." (Deadline)

Amy Sedaris (Strangers with Candy) and Tom Cavanagh (Ed) are set to guest star in an upcoming episode of USA's Royal Pains when the series returns for its first ever winter season this January, according to Fancast's Matt Mitovich. Sedaris will play Nan Noonan, "Jill's partner for a Hamptons golf tournament," while Cavanagh will play pro golfer Jack O'Malley. (Fancast)

TLC has ordered eight episodes of Sextuplets Take New York, which is--you guessed it!--about a family raising four boys and two girls in Queens, New York. It will launch on September 14th. (Hollywood Reporter)

Yep, Jennifer Aniston is going to guest star on ABC's Cougar Town next month, when she'll drop by as a therapist for Courteney Cox's Jules. (via press release)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Life Unexpected's Reggie Austin has been cast as the husband of Vanessa Williams' character on ABC's Desperate Housewives this season. He'll make his first appearance in the fifth episode of the season and will be playing Doug, the New York pro baseball player husband of Williams' Renee Perry. (TV Guide Magazine)

20th Century Fox Television and Chernin Entertainment have signed a blind script deal with Get Him to the Greek writer/director Nicholas Stoller. (Hollywood Reporter)

Former TNT programming executive Julie Weitz has been hired as president of Carol Mendelsohn's production company. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: HBO's Miraculous Year Lands Lee Pace, Team Darlton Talk Lost, Friday Night Lights, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

According to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, HBO's drama pilot Miraculous Year, from executive producer Kathryn Bigelow just got even more miraculous. The project, which is described as "an examination of a New York family as seen through the eyes of a charismatic, self-destructive Broadway composer," just signed a slew of stars to round out its cast, including former Pushing Daisies star Lee Pace, Linus Roache (Law & Order), and Stark Sands (Generation Kill)... who will join the already high-wattage cast of Eddie Redmayne, Hope Davis, Frank Langella, and Patti LuPone. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online's Megan Masters spoke to former Lost showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse about the ABC drama's Emmy nominations now that the series has wrapped up its six-season run... and why they chose to break their radio silence. "Every year after the finale we've always gone into radio silence just because we're pretty sick of ourselves, so we can't even imagine what everybody else thinks of us," said Lindelof. "And we've always broken our radio silence at Comic-Con, and this year we're obviously not going to Comic-Con because it's about promoting something to come. The idea of looking back on the show is not something we were particularly interested in, looking back at ourselves. But around a week ago, Carlton and I had both been on vacation and received an email from someone at ABC asking [if we would] be willing to do some press. And that was our first contact with each other where it was like, alright, of course. If the show gets recognized, it feels totally appropriate for us to express out feelings about how awesome that is. There's no reason to not talk about Lost ever again, it's just not in our DNA. Had the show not been nominated for anything, I'm sure Carlton and I would have emerged at some appropriate time over the summer to talk about—" "To begin begging for work at Starbucks," Cuse cut him off, laughing. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Elsewhere, Deadline's Nellie Andreeva also caught up with Team Darlton to discuss the 12 Emmy nominations that Lost racked up yesterday and on the divisive series finale. "I do feel we spent so much time talking about how we were gonna end the show (we started getting questions about that right after the pilot) so the fact that we ended it on our own terms makes us feel absolutely no regrets," said Lindelof. "We acknowledge that it was always a polarizing show that created many theories and made fans passionate about it. It wouldn’t be Lost if everyone loved the finale, but we’re pretty pleased." (Deadline)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello caught up with Friday Night Lights's Connie Britton, who received an Emmy nomination alongside her co-star Kyle Chandler yesterday and who thought that "there must be some mistake." (Aw.) Asked whether she had received an interesting phone calls after the nomination, Britton replied, "I just had a really fun phone call with our executive producer Sarah Aubrey. She works with Peter Berg and has been involved with Friday Night Lights since the movie, and is arguably one of the most passionate people ever about this show. She was like, 'I was doing Pilates and I just unabashedly started jumping up and down!' It’s just exciting. We’re about to wrap the show—we’re two weeks away from wrapping the show—and it’s been really melancholy. I’m just feeling it. I’m feeling it approaching—the end is near. So this just feels like such an unexpected surprise and present." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Remember the rumor floating about the other day that the star of Vicky Cristina Barcelona would be dropping by Glee as a rock star who befriends Artie? Apparently, there's no truth to that story whatsoever, according to Los Angeles Times's Maria Elena Fernandez. A 20th Century Fox Television spokesperson has denied reports that Javier Bardem--and Snoop Dogg--would be appearing on FOX's Glee next season. (Los Angeles Times' Show Tracker)

With Steve Carell set to leave NBC's The Office at the end of next season, one of the show's producers has her sights on his replacement. Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to co-executive producer Mindy Kaling about her pick to take over as the boss in Scranton. "I’d love to see Rainn Wilson in that position,” said Kaling. “Dwight has become so nuanced — you actually care about him now. I think if [we did a good job laying the groundwork] this coming season, he would be a fantastic boss... But that’s my dream. It certainly hasn’t been approved by people that are more powerful than me and who make those kinds of decisions." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

ABC has announced premiere dates for all of its new and returning fall series (except, that is, for Body of Proof and Secret Millionaire):

September 20th:
Dancing with the Stars
Castle

September 21st:
Detroit 1-8-7

September 22nd:
The Middle
Better With You (formerly known as Better Together)
Modern Family
Cougar Town
The Whole Truth

September 23rd:
My Generation
Grey's Anatomy
Private Practice

September 24th:
20/20

September 26th:
America's Funniest Home Videos
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Desperate Housewives
Brothers & Sisters

September 28th:
No Ordinary Family
Dancing with the Stars Results Show

You'll notice that while ABC did change the the title of one of its series, that series isn't Cougar Town, which will keep its title going into its sophomore season after all. (via press release)

Comedy Central has ordered a script for multi-camera comedy Brothers From Another Mother, which will feature comedians Ralphie May and Lavell Crawford as long-time friends who discover that, despite their racial differences, they are actually brothers when their father dies and leaves them his barbeque business. (Hollywood Reporter)

Lewis fans, take heart: ITV has ordered a fifth season of Lewis, comprised of four episodes. (Broadcast)

File under litigious: Hayden Christensen is using USA, claiming that the network stole his idea about a concierge doctor who makes house calls to his wealthy patients and turned it into its dramedy series Royal Pains, now in its second season. Christesen and his brother Tove filed the lawsuit in New York District Court. "The brothers allegedly brought the idea for a concierge doctor show titled Housecall to USA and met with Alex Pepiol, who at the time was manager of original scripted series programing at the network," writes The Hollywood Reporter's Eriq Gardner. "They say they also sent him materials including a treatment, character biographies and show ideas." (Hollywood Reporter)

Season Four of reality series LA Ink will kick off on TLC on Wednesday, August 11th at 10 pm ET/PT. (via press release)

Stay tuned.

Talk Back: What Are You Watching This Summer?

As the Summer Solstice has come and gone now, the hot months of summer are officially in full swing as the broadcast and cable networks bring out their slate of originals and burn-offs during the sweltering season.

While I'm sinking my teeth into quite a bit of programming this summer (including HBO's True Blood, Bravo's Top Chef, and my latest obsession, BBC America's upcoming Come Dine With Me) and catching up on some others (cough, Friday Night Lights, cough), I'm curious to know just what you are watching right now... and what you intend to watch this summer. Are you hooked on USA's dramedies? Can't wait for the return of Entourage? Trembling at the thought of more True Blood? Intrigued by Work of Art? Spooked by the thought of Syfy's Haven?

Head to the comments section to discuss what's on your season pass this summer, what's failed to click with you so far, and what new and returning television series you are most looking forward to over the next few months.

Channel Surfing: Leigh and Morissette Return to Weeds, Jamie Foxx Preps TV Pilot, Sarah Drew Talks Grey's, Doctor Who, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alanis Morissette will return to Weeds for the Showtime dark comedy's sixth season, set to launch August 16th. Leigh will reprise her role as Nancy's sister Jill in one episode, with Morissette due to appear in two episodes as Andy's girlfriend Audra Kitson, who also happened to be Nancy's doctor. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Jamie Foxx has shot a trailer for a potential television project entitled Tommy's Little Girl, which features Paul Sorvino, Selma Blair, James Russo, and Tony Sirico. Project would revolve around the relationship between a mobster (Sorvino) and his daughter (Blair) and will be pitched to cable networks. (Deadline)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has an interview with newly promoted Grey's Anatomy series regular Sarah Drew, in which they discuss her "polarizing alter ego" April, among other topics. " I definitely had that feeling," said Drew when asked if the season finale pushed April together with the rest of the Seattle Grace crew. "April has been kind of annoying this past season. [Laughs] Just neurotic and really insecure, and this was the first time she was able to band together — both with Cristina and Meredith — to help solve a [crisis]. Most of my stuff before was with Patrick [Dempsey] and fawning over him awkwardly. So this was the first opportunity to actually bond in a positive way with them. They say tragedy brings people together, so I guess that’s what happened." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

MAJOR SPOILERS! UK paper The Daily Mirror has an interview with Doctor Who head writer/executive producer Steven Moffat about the season finale of Doctor Who, which brings an end to the first season under new Doctor, Matt Smith, and finds the Time Lord in a bit of a bind. "The doctor is trapped inside a prison from which even he can't escape," said Moffat. "Amy Pond is dead. Rory is plastic. River Song has been blown up in the Tardis, which has been blown up and destroyed every sun in the universe. I think any other hero would be in a pickle but I think the Doctor can take it... I really do think episode 13, the episode we'll see on Saturday, is a story only Doctor Who can do - no other show could have come close to a story like this." The finale will air Saturday night in the UK on BBC One and in two weeks on BBC America in the US. (via Digital Spy)

Vulture's Josef Adalian is reporting that FOX will not go ahead with its unscripted Glee spinoff, which would have depicted the search for actors to play three new roles on the musical-comedy. "Though they collected the tryout videos, Murphy and Fox execs have since quietly agreed to kill the on-air competition after it became clear that working on the reality show would mean less time for planning season two (and the recently announced season three)," writes Adalian. "As it is, Murphy and his team have already had their schedules crowded by such extracurricular events as the brief Glee live tour, multiple hit soundtrack albums, a trip to the White House, and, of course, Oprah." (Vulture)

TVGuide.com's Gina DiNunno talks to Tom Colicchio about Season Seven of Bravo's Top Chef and weighs in on the change at the judges' table, where master chef Eric Ripert has taken over for Toby Young. "For me, I like having him there," Colicchio told DiNunno. "I liked working with Toby [Young], but he didn't have the most authoritative voice when it came to the food. Toby is more of a scene critic when it comes to restaurants — or at least that's my understanding of it. He did know a good amount about food though. Having Eric judging the food has a little bit more weight than Toby judging your food. But you're not going to get the one-line zingers that we got out of Toby. [Laughs]" (TVGuide.com)

[Editor: elsewhere, The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd has an interview with Top Chef executive producers Jane Lipsitz and Dan Cutforth, in which they talk about why this season is Obama-less, the reason behind the name Magical Elves, how they pick the cities for Top Chef, and the status of other projects in development, including spinoff Top Chef Jr.)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Jon Cassar (24) has come board FOX's upcoming adventure series Terra Nova as an executive producer/director. He joins a staff that includes former 24 executive producers Brannon Braga and David Fury and will direct multiple episodes of the series. (Alex Graves is set to direct the pilot episode.) (Deadline)

The Futon Critic is reporting that Project Runway will return to Lifetime on Thursday, July 29th at 9 pm ET/PT, right before half-hour spinoff series On the Road With Austin & Santino. (Futon Critic)

V star Elizabeth Mitchell has indicated that she's open for a possible romance between her character on the ABC sci-fi series, Erica Evans, and Charles Mesure's Kyle Hobbes. “He’s awesome, isn’t he? When he first came on, I said to [exec producer Scott] Rosenbaum, 'You need to make this guy a deal, now,'" Mitchell told Fancast's Matt Mitovich, though she added that Erica could fall for either Hobbes or Joel Gretsch's Father Jack. "Maybe it’s just because I’m a woman, but I’m up for a little romance!" (Fancast's The Big Tease)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck has the dish on the upcoming two-parter on USA's Royal Pains, in which Mark Feuerstein's Hank heads to Cuba. The two-episode arc will feature guest stars Tony Plana (Ugly Betty) and Ana de la Reguera (Cop Out), the latter of which will be a potential love interest for Hank. The actress will also appear on Season Two of HBO's Eastbound and Down, where she is set to recur all season as the new love interest for Danny McBride's Kenny Powers. (TV Guide Magazine)

ABC's reality series Shark Tank will return to the lineup this summer... for one episode (a shelved installment from last season) on July 15th at 8 pm ET/PT, while ABC will repeat several other episodes during July and August. There's been no official word on the fate of the Sony Pictures Television-produced series. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer will produce the 83rd Academy Awards telecast, which is slated to air Sunday, February 27th on ABC. Mischer will also serve as the director for the awards telecast. (via press release)

In other Oscar-related news, Deadline's Nikki Finke is reporting that Board of Governor members have discussed moving the annual awards telecast to January, which could lead to conflicts with NBC's Golden Globes. "The awards season is too long currently. This will shorten and reduce the amount of campaigning," an unnamed studio head told Finke. "Also, it will make the Oscars the definitive awards show again. The Globes can't move a lot earlier as all the movies wouldn't be released yet. The only potential downside is how do people see all the films in time to vote for nominations?" (Deadline)

Lifetime has hired Discovery executive Gena McCarthy as SVP of reality and alternative programming at the cabler. She will report to JoAnn Alfano. (Variety)

Tyra Banks' production company Bankable has hired former Warner Music International chairman/CEO Patrick Vien as president/COO, effective immediately. He'll be based in New York and will report to Banks. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: No Mr. Eko for Lost Finale, Lost Live in LA, Unhappy Ending for 24, Shawn Ryan Leaves Lie to Me, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Don't expect Mr. Eko to turn up among the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 this season on Lost. Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice is reporting that Adewale Akinnoye-Agbaje will not be returning to ABC's drama series Lost before it wraps up its epic run on May 23rd. "Though the producers wanted to find a reason to bring back the former tailie, EW has learned that a deal could not be reached in time," writes Rice. Akinnoye-Agbaje, who played Nigerian warlord-turned-pious-fake-priest Mr. Eko, had previously made it clear that he would be more than happy to return to Lost, which he departed during the series' third season. "I’m here for [the producers]," Akinnuoye-Agbaje said in an August 2009 interview. "Adewale is open for business. We have had talks about some things they might do for the final season and there are other dead folks coming back allegedly but at the moment it is still a maybe. A strong maybe but I have not shot anything yet or signed any contracts. But I’m hoping." It does appear than time was not on the side of Mr. Eko. Or the smoke monster managed to intervene once more. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Variety's Cynthia Littleton has details about Thursday evening's Lost Live: The Final Celebration event here in Los Angeles, during which Michael Giacchino will conduct a full live orchestral performance of the music from Lost for 1800 lucky fans (myself included), which will be followed by a screening of the following week's episode, the series' penultimate. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Colburn School of Performing Arts. We thought it was a great way to connect working musicians with students who are looking to make a living playing music," Giacchino told Variety. "And we want it to be fun -- not all academic and serious. We're celebrating what is quite an amazing ending to a long run." Executive producer Carlton Cuse, meanwhile, wanted a way to pay tribute to Giacchino's enormous contributions to the series and the fans. "Lost is so much about the community that has grown up around the show. It seemed like it would be a great culmination for all of us to watch the (penultimate) episode together and have that shared experience," said Cuse. "I think it's going to be a powerful and emotional evening." (Variety)

[Meanwhile, The New Yorker's Alex Ross has a fantastic interview with Lost composer Michael Giacchino that's worth reading.]

Fans of FOX's 24, also set to wrap its run this month, shouldn't expect a happy ending for Kiefer Sutherland's Jack Bauer, according to executive producer Howard Gordon. "[It] leaves him in a compromised place morally, ethically and emotionally," said Gordon. "This show is a tragedy, and to give Jack a happy ending didn't feel authentic..." Meanwhile, a first draft of the script has been written for the big screen version of 24, with a second draft currently being worked on. "We're honoring the series and the creative integrity of (Bauer) and then possibly bringing in a whole new group [of characters]," Gordon said. "What I do think is important is that we do not retread." (Hollywood Reporter)

Shawn Ryan, who took over as showrunner/executive producer of FOX's Lie to Me, has said that he's looking to depart the procedural drama, which is currently on the bubble for a third season renewal. "I had a great year working on the show and helped develop a team that’s ready for more responsibility," wrote Ryan on Twitter. "Time for me to go …When I took gig, I had things in development, nothing in production. Now with Terriers and possibly Ride-Along, too much work... As for timing, this allows studio time to give network succession plan to increase odds of pickup. Still very excited to show you 12 episodes we have in the can. The great Howard Hessman guest stars in one of them." Lie to Me is set to return to the schedule on June 7th. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Lifetime is developing a drama spinoff of its series Army Wives, which will revolve around Brigid Brannagh's Pamela, described as "a former police officer whose husband was a Delta Force soldier" who "is now divorced and back in her old job as a Charleston, S.C., cop," according to Variety's Michael Schneider. The potential new series, which will follow Pamela back to Charleston, will be written by Bruce Zimmerman and T.D. Mitchell and executive produced by Mark Gordon and Deb Spera. (Variety)

USA has announced an official launch date for Season Five of dramedy Psych, which will return to the schedule on Wednesday, July 21st at 10 pm ET/PT. (Hollywood Reporter)

In other USA news, Emmanuelle Vaugier (Human Target) has been cast in USA's upcoming espionage drama Covert Affairs, where she will star opposite Piper Perabo and play a "fearless journalist/blogger." Series is set to launch on July 13th. (Hollywood Reporter)

Variety's Rick Kissell is reporting that venerable crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation could be headed to a new timeslot when CBS unveils their new fall schedule network. "All three [CSI] shows remain fairly popular -- and on most weeks they win their hours in total viewers -- but there's no guarantee they will all be on the fall sked. And keeping all three in the same timeslot for a sixth straight fall seems even more unlikely," writes Kissell. "As currently scheduled, each CSI is the beneficiary of some of the Eye's strongest lead-ins, and CBS may feel the time is right to get more production out of those slots." He believes that CBS will leave CSI: Miami on Monday nights, possibly rest CSI: New York during the fall or shift it to Fridays, and either flip CSI and The Mentalist on Thursdays or move it to Fridays as a lead into another drama, such as The Good Wife. (Variety)

A new Facebook campaign has sprung up, perhaps in response to the success of the Betty White/Saturday Night Live grassroots effort, around Modern Family. The group, "Let Cam & Mitchell kiss on Modern Family," is look for just that: an on-screen smooch between Eric Stonestreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson: "Cam & Mitchell, the adorable gay couple on ABC's Modern Family, have not been shown sharing even a brief kiss throughout the series' first hit season. ABC isn't afraid of gay characters, so why won't they let them show some love?" (New York Magazine's Vulture)

Classic detective drama Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) is getting another remake, this time for American television as Syfy has handed out a pilot order to an updated version of the project, which revolves around a pair of mismatched detectives, one of whom is a ghost who was killed in the line of duty. Josh Bycel and Jonathan Fener will write the script and executive produce along with Howard Braunstein; project hails from ITV Studios. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Mary Lynn Rajskub will guest star in the June 10th episode of USA's Royal Pains, where she will play the stepdaughter of Christine Ebersole's Mrs. Newberg. "I play a girl who does yoga on diet pills," Rajskub wrote on Twitter. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

20th Century Fox Television drama development czar Patrick Moran has departed the studio and will be replaced by Michael Thorn, the former NBC executive who was most recently the president of Marty Adelstein's 20th Century Fox-based shingle, Lost Marbles Television. He'll move into the position of SVP of drama development in June, and report to Jennifer Nicholson Salke. "Marty has been a great friend and mentor, but this was an opportunity I couldn't pass up," Thorn told Variety. "Twentieth has a legacy of developing and producing some of the most creative drama series in TV. To get to be a part of that, and make my own mark, and be able to sell to Fox and the other networks, it was something I couldn't say no to." (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: TNT Renews Southland, Legend of the Seeker Axed, FX Heads to Outlaw Country, Royal Pains, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

In a surprise move, cabler TNT has ordered a third season of hyper-realistic cop drama Southland, commissioning ten episodes that will launch in January 2011. "Southland is a challenging, visceral show that engages viewers with its immersive style, provocative storylines and complex characters," said Michael Wright, EVP/head of programming, for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies, in a statement. "These qualities have made Southland a favorite among critics and appointment viewing for an extremely loyal audience." It's a sign of support from the cabler, which picked up the drama series after it was cancelled by NBC before it had even aired a single episode of its second season. TNT aired the six-episode sophomore season run earlier this year. [It's noted in this Variety article that the median viewer age of Southland--47--is younger than any other series on the channel.] (via press release)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that syndicated fantasy series Legend of the Seeker has been cancelled and will not be returning for a third season. "The outlook had been bleak since last March, when many of Tribune Station Group’s markets dropped the syndicated series, which had been developed from Terry Goodkind’s fantasy novels by Hercules/Xena producers Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert," wrote Ausiello. "ABC Studios, which produces it, kept shopping it around. But, I’m told, they found no takers. So, after two action-packed seasons, Legend is history." Sorry, folks, it's the end of the road for Richard Cypher. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FX is heading back South once more: the cabler has ordered a pilot for thriller/family drama Outlaw Country, written by Josh Goldin and Rachel Abramowitz and executive prodced by Art Linson and John Linson. Project, which has no casting attachments, will revolve around organized crime in the South. Production on the pilot, produced by FX Prods., will begin this fall. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Marcia Gay Harden (Damages) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on USA's Royal Pains, where she will play Dr. Elizabeth Blair, described as "a surgeon, board member of Hamptons Heritage Hospital, and an adversary-turned-mentor to Jill (Jill Flint)." She's set to first appear in Royal Pains' second season premiere, set to air on June 3rd. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting that The Amazing Race executive producers Bertram van Munster, Elise Doganieri, and Jerry Bruckheimer are developing a new action-based reality competition series at ABC, entitled Catch Me, details for which are being kept firmly under wraps. Adalian writes that the potential series--thought to still be in the pilot stage--is described as "a heart-stopping reality competition" that will reward contestants who "have an adventurous streak and a poker face." (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Freplicate alert: Merrin Dungey (Alias) has been cast in a recurring role on Season Two of HBO's Hung, which returns this summer. She'll play Liz, described as a potential new love interest for Thomas Jane's Ray Drecker who is one of his clients and a highly successful businesswoman. (Deadline.com)

Adam Kane (The Mentalist) will direct the pilot for Syfy's upcoming supernatural series Haven, based on the Stephen King novella "The Colorado Kid." (Hollywood Reporter)

SPOILERS! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to House executive producer Katie Jacobs about what's coming up next on the medical drama, ahead of the sixth season finale next month, and what to expect next season. "Considering the fact that he’s not on Vicodin, things have been going as well as they could possibly go," said Jacobs about House's emotional journey this season. "He’s living with Wilson, and I think that’s helpful. And he’s really making an effort to hold it together. It sort of seems like in every episode there’s a new revelation about how well he really is doing. How is he faring just taking ibuprofen for the pain? Is that working? In episode 17 he was stuck in that room for two hours with David Strathairn and we found out he is in pain. And from now until the end of the season, there’s going to be something that challenges House’s [sobriety] in almost every episode." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Dane DeHaan (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) has joined the cast of Season Three of HBO's In Treatment, where he will play a teenage patient for Gabriel Byrne's Paul. He'll be joined by Irrfan Khan, while Debra Winger has not yet decided whether or not to accept a role. (Dianne Wiest will not be returning.) The series will now be overseen by new showrunners Anya Epstein and Dan Futterman, who replace Warren Leight. (Variety)

Vulture has a quick review of the pilot script for TNT's Untitled Alien Invasion Project, from executive producers Steven Spielberg and Robert Rodat. (New York Magazine's Vulture)

The Wrap's Josh Dickey offer his theory about what the real problem is with American Idol: Glee. (The Wrap)

FOX has ordered a pilot for reality series Panic Attack, in which a group of five participants will face off against the shared fear--whether that be heights, snakes, or spiders--with the help of a pair of therapists, Nik and Eva Speakman. Project hails from A. Smith & Co. (Hollywood Reporter)

Meanwhile, The Los Angeles Times' Scott Collins and Denise Martin have an article about the songwriters featured on FOX's Glee. "They really worked hard to make it their own," Steve Perry said of the series' use of "Don't Stop Believin'." "It's actually brought people's attention to go check out the original… It's something I never thought I'd see in my lifetime." (The Los Angeles Times)

Jamie Kennedy (The Ghost Whisperer) is set to guest star on Season Four of Syfy's Eureka, where he will play Dr. Ramsey in an upcoming episode that will be directed by Colin Ferguson. Here's how Syfy describes the episode ("The Story of O2"): "Sheriff Jack Carter (Ferguson) leaves Eureka to visit his daughter Zoe (Jordan Hinson) at Harvard while the town celebrates Space Week. A new self-propagating oxygen technology developed by Dr. Ramsey in order to potentially colonize on Mars mysteriously begins to build up in the atmosphere above Eureka threatening to incinerate the entire town. The episode is scheduled to premiere Friday, July 30, 2010." (via press release)

Looks like The Transporter is headed to the small screen, with an international production--in English--set to start shooting in Europe and Canada early next year. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Two-Season Renewal for Burn Notice, Patton Oswalt Out of Beach Lane, Anatasia Griffith to Royal Pains, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. I still have to get caught up on last night's telly as I was out rubbing elbows with the cast and crew of Doctor Who at a BAFTA/LA screening, Q&A, and cocktail party. (Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Steven Moffat, and former showrunner Russell T Davies were all in attendance and all very chatty.)

Burn Notice fans will be very happy this morning: USA has announced that it has renewed the drama series for a fifth AND sixth season even before Season Four of Burn Notice has even launches. The two additional seasons will run at least a respective 15 and 18 episodes, with Season Five set to begin shooting in about a year. "Once Saturday Night Live makes fun of you,' how can you not commit to extra seasons?" Jeff Wachtel, USA's president of original programming, told Variety. It also helps that USA will begin stripping the series in October 2011, following a deal with studio Fox Television Studios for the off-net rights. (Variety)

The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd is reporting that Patton Oswalt has departed NBC comedy pilot Beach Lane, just days after being cast alongside Matthew Broderick and Kristen Johnston. Move comes after Tuesday's table read, though it was immediately unclear just what Oswalt's status on the pilot was. "One source added that producers have offered Oswalt another part instead," writes Hibberd, "but it's unclear at this time if Oswalt is interested in staying on the show in a different role." (The Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Anastasia Griffith (Trauma) is joining the cast of USA's Royal Pains when the series returns for its second season on June 3rd. Griffith will recur as Dr. Emily Peck, described as "a no-nonsense MD and a potential business rival of Hank’s (Mark Feuerstein)." Ausiello also has the spoilery details about just how Griffith's Emily becomes entangled in Hank's world: "Griffith’s doc will be introduced during the USA Network hit’s second season (premiering June 3) when Boris (Campbell Scott) hires her to temporarily fill in for an MIA Hank." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

SPOILER! E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos has the skinny on a surprising twist (or not too surprising, if you pegged it from the start) coming up on FOX's Glee, which just happens to involve Lea Michele and Idina Menzel. (Guessed it yet?) Regardless, the two will duet on Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" later this season and co-creator Ryan Murphy teased a link between the two characters. "Lea and Idina Menzel will do an acoustic version of 'Poker Face' that [Lady Gaga] blessed and that she wanted us to do," Murphy told Dos Santos. "It's sort of like a stripped-down mother-daughter 'Poker Face' that Lady Gaga was involved in." [Editor: ahem!] (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Debra Winger is said to be in talks to come aboard HBO's In Treatment as a series regular next season, where she would play "a patient of Gabriel Byrne's psychotherapist character Paul [who is] a former big star who is battling insecurity and fear about her career," according to Deadline.com's Mike Fleming. (Deadline.com)

E! Online's Megan Masters interviews Smallville showrunner Brian Peterson about what's coming up on the rest of season for the CW superhero drama. Asked if Lois will learn Clark's secret, Peterson said, "What I can say is that this year we've really explored the tough duality of Lois having one relationship with this hero, the soldier of duty relationship, and one romantic love relationship with Clark, and so that just drives all the way through episodes 19, 21 and the finale. Everything that's been going on with that love triangle converges." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Fancast's Matt Webb Mitovich is reporting that Tim Matheson will not only direct the Season Two opener for USA's White Collar, but will also guest star in the episode as "a hedge fund manager who likes to dip into other folks‘ funds – as a part-time bank robber." Season Two of White Collar is set to launch in July. (Fancast)

FOX has announced launch dates for Hell's Kitchen and new culinary competition series Masterchef, with the new season of Hell's Kitchen set to start on Tuesday, June 1st, when it will air two-hour episodes until Masterchef takes over at 9 pm on Tuesday, July 27th. (via press release)

Stage actress Lynn Blackburn has been cast in a recurring role for Season Five of Friday Night Lights, where she will play Laurel, described by Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello as "a smart, tough, and dedicated teacher at East Dillon who befriends [SPOILER ALERT!] the school’s newest hire, Tami." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Casting update: Emily Rios (Men of a Certain Age) has been cast in a multiple-episode arc on DirecTV/NBC's Friday Night Lights, where she is set to play Epyck, described as "a rebel goth girl"; Austin Highsmith (Big Love) will guest star on CBS' Criminal Minds; Sunny Mabrey has been cast in a recurring role on TNT's upcoming drama series Memphis Beat; Janel Parrish (Heroes) will recur on ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars; and Warren Kole (24) has been cast in CW drama pilot Nomads, where he will play Ryker. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to Desperate Housewives executive producer Bob Daily about the drama's May 16th season finale and has five hints about upcoming twists, from money problems and an explosion to a birth and a death. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Elsewhere, TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that a former series regular of ABC's Desperate Housewives will return to Wisteria Lane in the season finale this May. "I've promised the show that I'd keep the actor's identity a secret," writes Keck, "but the way they re-introduce this character is genius and sets the stage for some major awkwardness in Season Seven. (TV Guide Magazine)

Spike has ordered a pilot for comedy Playing With Guns, which will star Danny Masterson (That '70s Show) and Joey Kern (Super Troopers). Project--from writers Bob Castrone, Brian Levin, and Jason Zumwalt and executive producers Brian Robbins and Sharla Sumpter Bridgett--revolves around two "childhood best friends who become police officers in their hometown for the everyday perks." (Hollywood Reporter)

Bill Irwin will reprise his role as Nate Haskell on CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation for the season's final two episodes, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "Nate knows who Dr. Jekyll is, which is kind of interesting since he’s been in prison for the last 11 years," executive producer Carol Mendelsohn told Ausiello. "The [May 20] season finale is all about what it will take to get him to give them a name." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

HBO has renewed Real Time with Bill Maher through 2011 and has bumped its episodic order to 35 episodes per season. The current season is set to end in November, with Season Nine expected in February. (Variety)

CBS Television Studios has signed a two-year overall deal with Lost co-executive producer Paul Zbyszewski, under which he will develop new drama projects for the studio and will become a co-executive producer on Hawaii Five-O, should it be ordered to series. (Deadline.com)

The Wrap's Josef Adalian has issued a request of ABC: to let the final credits for Lost's series finale run unadorned by promos, bugs, or spots for The Bachelorette. "Specifically, what if ABC actually just aired the closing credits to Lost unadorned, as Darlton intended them, and with the haunting closing score viewers hear only if they watch the show on DVD, on demand or via syndication?" writes Adalian. "A nation of Lost fans whose minds will (hopefully) have just been blown and heartstrings tugged will appreciate the time to let what they've just seen sunk in." (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Discovery Channel has ordered a sixth season of Cash Cab. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Sheen Could Leave "Men," "Modern Family" iPad Love, S. Epatha Merkerson to Leave "Law & Order," Sidibe to Host "SNL," and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Charlie Sheen might just walk away from his role on CBS' Two and a Half Men. Citing a People report, The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd is reporting that Sheen has rejected a contract renewal offer and is looking to leave the CBS comedy series, which is produced by Warner Bros. Television. "This report came as news to CBS and studio Warner Bros., with some insiders thinking the news might simply be a negotiation tactic," writes Hibberd. "Yet sources tell THR that the People report is no April Fools joke and that Sheen is indeed serious about currently wanting to leave." (Hollywood Reporter)

Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed has the scoop from Modern Family co-creator Christopher Lloyd about why the ABC comedy series' use of the iPad this week wasn't product placement but was in fact just a story-driven plotline. "In fact, there was no product placement," Lloyd explained. "This was widely assumed, and everybody was wrong. We wanted to do a show about Phil getting very excited about a new product and it seemed the perfect one to use, since it was debuting [April 1]. We approached Apple about getting their cooperation (using the product, for example, and they are notoriously secretive about their products prior to their being launched) and they agreed and gave us a few other small concessions. But there were no stipulations as with normal product placement, i.e. we give you X dollars and you have to feature our product such-and-such a way and say such-and-such nice things about it. We are not angels -- we have made those agreements with other companies. But that was not the deal with Apple. It was all story-driven." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Meanwhile, The Wrap's Josef Adalian calls for an end to the Modern Family "non-troversy" over the iPad inclusion, following several attacks on the series by CNET and the Hollywood Reporter, among others. "Dudes: Chill!" writes Adalian. "It's one thing to find a plotline unfunny or subpar. There's also nothing wrong with making note of the timing of the episode, or of raising the question of whether a company paid to have its product integrated into a show. Hot TV shows generate buzz, both positive and negative. We get it -- and we're not trying to condemn anyone for identifying something interesting about a show. But until somebody uncovers evidence to the contrary, this was simply a case of writers trying to make a 2010 half-hour comedy relevant to a sophisticated audience." [Editor: amen.] (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that S. Epatha Merkerson will depart Law & Order after a staggering 16 years and talks to the actress about her decision to leave the Dick Wolf-executive produced procedural at the end of the current season. "It’s a graceful way to go," Merkerson told Ausiello. "It’s the end of my contract this year, and the storyline has been so perfect. I’ve given it my best for 16 years. It’s time to move on. I’m doing other things and this will be a great way to leave what has been an extraordinary gig." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Precious star Gabourey Sidibe is among the hosts on tap for Saturday Night Live this month. Also taking to the historic stage during the month of April: Tina Fey, who will be joined by musical guest Justin Bieber, Ryan Phillippe (with Ke$ha), and Sidibe, who will host with musical guest MGMT on April 24th. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has gotten a hold of some of the casting notices for Season Four of AMC's Mad Men, including three potentially recurring roles. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online's Megan Masters has an exclusive look at Showtime's upcoming reality series The Real L Word and breaks down the real-life lesbians who have been assembled in Showtime's "rare, fly-on-the-wall look into the lives of attractive and successful L.A. lesbians." The series is set to launch on Sunday, June 20th at 10 pm on Showtime. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Casting update: Chad Lowe (24) has been cast in ABC Family's upcoming drama series Pretty Little Liars, where he will replace Alexis Denisof, who played the role in the pilot; Gina Torres has signed on to play Dr. Dorothy Rand in ABC Family's other upcoming series, Huge; Riki Lindhome (Gilmore Girls) will star opposite Jack Carpenter and Kristin Kreuk in Josh Schwartz and Matt Miller's CBS comedy pilot Hitched; Greg Germann (Ally McBeal) and Damon Gupton (Deadline) have come on board FOX comedy pilot Strange Brew; and Robbie Jones (One Tree Hill) and Heather Hemmens (The Candy Shop) have joined the cast of the CW's Hellcats. (Hollywood Reporter)

SPOILER! TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Season Six of FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia will feature a storyline involving Dennis (Glenn Howerton) getting married... and divorced. (TV Guide Magazine)

Julie Gonzalo has been cast as a guest star in a May sweep episode of ABC's Castle, where she will play "a beautiful and dynamic restaurateur who finds herself mixed up in [a] murder investigation" that takes revolves around the contestants of a Top Chef-esque culinary competition series. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

CONFIRMED: Syfy has announced that Robert Knepper (Heroes) and Julie McNiven (Mad Men) have joined the cast of the cabler's Stargate Universe for its second season. Knepper will appear in six episodes as Simeon, described as a "member of the Lucian Alliance," while McNiven has joined the cast in a five-episode story arc where she will play Ginn, also a member of the Lucian Alliance. The second half of SGU's freshman season premieres tonight on Syfy. (via press release)

ABC shows are heading to the iPad. Disney has signed a deal with Apple to create an application that will stream--for free--full-length episodes of series from ABC, ESPN, and Disney. (Variety)

NBC series, meanwhile, will NOT be heading to the iPad as NBC executives have opted to "prohibit iPad viewing of full episodes at this time," according to The New York Times' Brian Stelter. (New York Times' Media Decoder)

USA has announced return dates for two of its original series, with Burn Notice and Royal Pains returning to the schedule on Thursday, June 3rd, when they will air back-to-back beginning at 9 pm ET/PT. July, meanwhile, will bring the return of White Collar and Psych and the launch of Covert Affairs. (Broadcasting & Cable)

E1 Entertainment and Tijuana Entertainment have teamed up to develop reality series They Call Me Crazy, featuring NBA player Ron Artest that will enable him to "make amends for past transgressions," and help struggling musicians through his music label. Series will be executive produced by Artest, along with John Moryaniss, Tara Long, Troy Searer, and John Foy. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Daniel Dae Kim Finds "Hawaii Five-0," David Goyer Leaves "FlashForward," Zach Gilford Lands "Matadors," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Daniel Dae Kim won't be leaving the island. Or, Hawaii, rather. The Lost star has landed a lead role in CBS drama pilot Hawaii Five-0, where he will play Detective Chin Ho Kelly. Kim's co-star, however, is still unknown. Reports have indicated that former Moonlight star Alex O'Loughlin had been offered the role of Detective Steve McGarrett, but no deal has been reached yet for him to star in the remake project, which hails from executive producers Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Peter Lenkov. (Hollywood Reporter)

FlashForward co-creator David S. Goyer is leaving the ABC drama series, where he has served as showrunner since taking the creative reins from Mark Guggenheim in October. No replacement has been named for Goyer on the series, which still has roughly five more episodes to produce for this season's 23-episode order. Goyer, meanwhile, will segue back into film but will retain his executive producer credit on FlashForward. "As my feature projects have started ramping up again, I felt I was being pulled in too many directions," said Goyer in a statement. "I'm proud of the show and excited about the relaunch. It's in great hands." [Editor: just whose hands remain unknown at press time.] FlashForward returns with new episodes on March 18th. (Hollywood Reporter, Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Friday Night Lights star Zach Gilford has been cast in ABC drama pilot Matadors, citing unnamed sources. Gilford will play Alex Galloway, half of a star-crossed pair of lovers whose families work respectively in the Chicago D.A.'s office and in a high-powered law firm and often find each other on opposing sides of the courtroom. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Michael Chiklis (The Shield) has been cast in ABC drama pilot No Ordinary Family, where he will also serve as co-executive producer following the closing of a development deal at the studio. Chiklis will play the patriach of a family that discovers they have super-powers. Dave Semel will direct and executive produce the ABC Studios-produced pilot alongside Greg Berlanti and Jon Harmon Feldman. (Variety)

In other pilot casting news: Jason Ritter (The Dry Land) has been cast as the lead in NBC drama pilot The Event; Todd Williams (In Plain Sight) has joined the cast of FOX drama pilot Ridealong, where he will play a beat cop who is addicted to the adrenaline rush his job provides; and Aisha Hinds (True Blood) has been cast in ABC drama pilot 187 Detroit as an "overworked and underpaid lieutenant." (Hollywood Reporter)

Confirmed: Neil Gaiman is set to write an episode of Doctor Who to air in 2011 as part of the series's sixth season. (Televisionary)

Henry Winkler will recur on the second season of USA's dramedy Royal Pains, where he will play Eddie Larson, the absentee father of Mark Feuerstein and Paulo Costanzo's Hank and Evan, who heads out to the Hamptons to make up for lost time. Season Two of Royal Pains, which was increased to 18 installments, is set to air this summer. (Variety, Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Sheryl Crow will appear in a multiple-episode story arc on ABC's Cougar Town, where she will play a new girlfriend for Josh Hopkins' Grayson. Her first appearance is set for March. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Enrique Murciano (Without a Trace) has been cast in Shonda Rhimes' ABC drama pilot Off the Map. He'll play a former plastic surgeon who takes a job at a remote tropical clinic overseen by Martin Henderson's character. (Hollywood Reporter)

Could this be the final season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for Christopher Meloni? According to remarks the actor made to Courier & Mail, it seems as though Meloni could be leaving the series to focus on theatre and film projects. "I think 12 years is enough, a good number," he said. "The writers will have fertile ground to figure out how to arc [Elliot Stabler] out to another place—whether it's this world or the next." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

A&E has passed on drama pilot The Quickening, which starred Radha Mitchell as a bi-polar police detective. Move leaves drama Sugarloaf as the only pilot currently in contention for a series order at the cabler. A decision about whether it will go ahead will be made before the end of the month. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has details about Andy and Erin's upcoming courtship on NBC's The Office. "It’s been a slow process of Andy gaining the courage to ask her out, but he finally does," showrunner Paul Lieberstein told Ausiello. "The wrinkle in their first date is she gets sick [with the flu], but they attempt to push on anyway." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Mathew Horne (Gavin and Stacey), Marc Warren (Hustle), Mark Gatiss (The League Of Gentlemen), and Douglas Booth will star in BBC Two drama Worried About The Boy, about "a young Boy George and his journey to become a star on the Eighties fashion and pop music scene." Project is written by Tony Basgallop (Hotel Babylon) and directed by Julian Jarrold (Brideshead Revisited). (BBC)

Elsewhere, ITV1 has commissioned three-part drama series Kidnap and Ransom, which will star Trevor Eve (Waking the Dead) as international K&R negotiator Dominic King. Project, from Projector Pictures and executive producer Patrick Harbinson (24), will also star Helen Baxendale, John Hannah, Natasha Little, Emma Fielding, and Amara Karan. (Broadcast)

TVGuide.com's Adam Bryant has an interview with Castle star Stana Katic about the recent storyline involving the murder of Kate Beckett's murder. "It was really a smart way to drop more information but not fully resolving it," Katic told Bryant. "I think it is going to be a driving force as we continue to move on. They'll definitely be dealing with it — probably not in the next couple of episodes. But I'm sure before the season's end, we'll get another big bombshell regarding that story line." (TVGuide.com)

Warner Bros. Television Worldwide Publicity SVP Sharan Magnuson will exit her position due to medical issues. "(Sharan's) leadership, talents and relationships working with creative talent, executives and the press are matched only by her character, selflessness and extraordinary work ethic," said Warner Bros. TV president Peter Roth. "She will be sorely missed by us all." (Variety)

TV Guide Network president Ryan O'Hara is leaving the cable network, effective immediately. He's reportedly set to take a new position at the company's New York office beginning next week. (Hollywood Reporter)

Nickelodeon has promoted Roland Poindexter to SVP of animation, current series. He'll report to Brown Johnson. The cabler also promoted Rich Magallanes to VP of animation, current series and will oversee Nickelodeon's diversity fellowship program. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Elizabeth Mitchell Talks "Lost" and "V," Gabrielle Union Gets "FlashForward," USA Renews "Burn" and "Pains," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. I had an amazing time at the Mighty Boosh's secret show at the Roxy last night and found myself singing "Nanageddon" as I tried to go to sleep.

E! Online's Watch with Kristin has an exclusive interview with Lost star Elizabeth Mitchell, who toplines the upcoming remake of V on ABC. Describing her character on V, Mitchell said: "Erica is a federal agent doing counter-terrorism. She deals with finding sleeper cells and basically eradicating them as much as possible. She's smart and intelligent and all the things that you would want someone who is protecting our country to be. I must have a hero complex—I keep gravitating toward these roles. She has a son, and she's in love with her son, and her son is in love with the Visitors. She has to deal with the fact that she has to save him for the most part. Her husband just left her, so she's a brokenhearted counterterrorist detective." Mitchell also discusses the final season of Lost, Juliet's relationship with Sawyer, and what her V role means for Juliet's presence on Lost's sixth season. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Gabrielle Union (Ugly Betty) has been cast on ABC's fall drama series FlashForward in the recurring role of Zoey, described in press materials as "a criminal defense attorney who will have a romantic arc" on the series' freshman season. "We're thrilled that Gabrielle is joining our cast," said FlashForward executive producer David S. Goyer. "When we met with her, we immediately knew she was our Zoey. She's witty, soulful and beautiful. I've been wanting to work with her for a long time." (via press release)

In a move that will surprise no one, USA has renewed summer drama series Burn Notice and Royal Pains, with Burn Notice getting a fourth season order and Royal Pains getting a sophomore season. Both series landed in the top 20 programs on ad-supported cable for the month of July. (Hollywood Reporter)

Alfre Woodard (Desperate Housewives) has joined the cast of CBS' medical drama Three Rivers, where she will play female lead Sophia Jordan, the head of surgery at Three Rivers Hospital, a role originally played by Julia Ormond in the original pilot. In other recasting news, Heather Stephens (Saved) has replaced Reiko Aylesworth in ABC drama series The Forgotten, where she will play Lindsay, an amateur sleuth whose husband is jailed for unknown crimes and who must care for her baby on her own. (Hollywood Reporter)

FX has given a thirteen-episode series order to Lawman, starring Timothy Olyphant. Series, from Sony Pictures Television and FX, is based on an Elmore Leonard short story and is written and executive produced by Graham Yost (Boomtown). Series is expected to launch in spring 2010. (Televisionary)

Robert Knepper (Prison Break) has been promoted to series regular on NBC's Heroes, where next season he plays Samuel, the "charismatic but evil Earth-moving ringleader of a traveling carnival who recruits people with special powers for a mysterious purpose." (Hollywood Reporter)

Starz has ordered ten episodes of half-hour dark comedy Failure to Fly from Eric Schaeffer (Starved) and Jill Franklyn (Seinfeld) about a support group for people who once tried to kill themselves but are now relishing their second chance at life. Schaeffer will star and executive produce in the series, which is expected to launch in spring 2010. Also on tap at Starz: one-hour coming-of-age drama Waterloo from writer/executive producer Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars) about a rock band; Jonah and the Whale, from executive producers Matthew McConaughey, Mark Gustawes, and Chad Mountain, about a man's efforts to find his own life outside the shadow of his famous and disapproving father; an untitled interracial romance from executive producer Martin Lawrence and writer Michael Scoccio; and an untitled drama about a female fashion photographer from executive producers Chris Albrect and Rob Lee. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks with CSI executive producers Carol Mendelsohn and Naren Shankar about the previously reported return of Jorja Fox to the seires for five episodes next season. "We had several major characters departing over the last year and a half, and it felt like the family had disintegrated a little bit," said Shankar. "We had people off in their own bubbles, and that suggested a theme for this season, which is really about family. We wanted to restore that balance of the family. And that initial creative impulse led to the notion of Jorja coming back and helping to assist with that." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TBS has announced that George Lopez' latenight talk show Lopez Tonight will launch on November 9th at 11 pm ET/PT. (Variety)

The Beautiful Life's Elle Macpherson and Corbin Bleu have been upped to series regulars on the CW fall drama after they guest starred in the pilot episode in recurring roles; Macpherson played a former supermodel who now owns a top agency in Manhattan while Bleu played a male model. (Hollywood Reporter)

Animal Planet is launching a series of quarterly-scheduled investigative documentaries that explore controversial animal-related issues. First up is Dogfighting: An Animal Investigates Special that will launch in January; future installments will explore animal testing, exotic pets, gang dogs, cloning, and slaughterhouses. (Variety)

TV Guide Network has hired Carrie Ann Inaba (Dancing with the Stars) and Chris Harrison (The Bachelor) as their on-air red-carpet correspondents, replacing Lisa Rinna and Joey Fatone. Their first appearance is set for the Primetime Emmy Awards on September 20th. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Talk Back: USA's "Royal Pains"

One of the biggest surprises so far this summer to me is the charm of USA's new dramedy series Royal Pains, which kicked off last night with a 90-minute pilot episode.

You had the chance to read my positive advance review of the series, created by Andrew Lenchewski, but now that the episode has aired, I want to hear what you thought.

Were you as enchanted by the series as I was, even after a little bit of a shaky start? Do you find Mark Feuerstein's Hank Lawson a compelling character? Do you like the wealthy excess of the tony Hamptons setting and the use of concierge medicine? Think Paulo Constanzo's Evan nearly steals the series away altogether?

And, most importantly, do you plan to watch Royal Pains again next week?

Talk back here.

Extreme Social Climbing: An Advance Review of USA's "Royal Pains"

I'll admit that I was a bit wary of USA's new summer series, Royal Pains, prior to watching the 90-minute pilot episode.

After all, Royal Pains' cutesy title, oddball casting, and fluffy subject matter could have made this either an unwatchable hot mess or a winning summer series that's equal parts dry wit, flashy environs, and winsomely quirky characters.

Fortunately, having watched Royal Pains' first episode, which airs tomorrow night on USA, I am happy to say that it's the latter. Royal Pains, which stars Mark Feuerstein (Defiance, 3 Lbs.) as disgraced doctor Hank Lawson, is exactly the sort of thing you want to be watching on those long, hot summer nights. It's the television equivalent of snacking on a Popsicle: cool, sweet, and relatively fat-free.

Royal Pains, written by Andrew Lenchewski (UC: Undercover) and directed by Jace Alexander (Burn Notice), tells the story of promising Manhattan ER doctor Hank Lawson (Feuerstein) who, after opting to save the life of a young kid while a vital hospital patron lay dying, is booted out of the hospital... and his relationship with his bitchy fiancee. With nowhere to go and money quickly disappearing from his bank account (thanks to said fiancee and lawyer fees stemming from malpractice), Hank drifts inside himself and becomes little more than a sad sack has-been sitting in his own filth and watching an endless loop of trashy daytime television and 80s flicks.

Enter Hank's younger brother Evan (Joey's Paulo Constanzo) who can't bear to see his brother throw his life away. He convinces Hank to join him in the Hamptons for the weekend and mingle with the beautiful people at a decadent party thrown by an elusive and eccentric billionaire named Boris (played with aplomb by the one and only Campbell Scott), where he promises ice flown in from Antarctica, supermodels mud wrestling, and sushi rolls made with diamonds. (One of my favorite lines in the pilot involves Evan promising a "diamond fight" among guests; the other is a rip at "fractional ownership.")

It's an orgiastic event where--depending on your point of view--everything goes horribly wrong... or goes right for the first time for Hank in months. At the party, Hank is called upon to save the life of a woman who appears to have overdosed on some recreational drugs. Or so the callous concierge doctor would seem to believe, until Hank steps in and correctly diagnoses the damsel in distress, realizing that she's having a fatal reaction to pesticides on some flowers she sniffed in Boris' rose garden. Hank saves the day... and word quickly spreads like wildfire through the well-heeled hamlet that Hank is the new go-to concierge doctor in town.

It's a situation that Hank is more than reluctant to finesse, despite social-climbing CPA Evan's protestations that this is their ticket to the high-society and out of the run-down beach motel where they're currently staying. Rich people in the Hamptons do not use the local hospital (it's there for the bridge and tunnel crowd that comes in for the weekend and the service-industry locals) and they want someone available 24 hours a day for all of their medical needs: a concierge doctor at their beck and call.

It's an arrangement that also works well for adorable, whip-smart Hampton Heritage Hospital administrator Jill Casey (Gossip Girl's Jill Flint) who would rather treat patients seeking actual emergency medical care than raving lunatics who would seek to jump the patient queue when one of their breast implants leaks. (Which is exactly what happens, I might add, to Christine Ebersole's society dame Mrs. Newberg in the pilot episode.) Jill can allow the hospital to prioritize its patients while Hank can make house calls. They both win.

Everyone seem to be conspiring in one way or another to keep Hank captive in the Hamptons. Besides for the obvious spark between him and Jill, there's the hefty gold bar that Boris gives to Hank as payment for his assistance at his party (and the offer of his estate's guest house), the attentions of said damsel in distress (in the throes of Nightingale Syndrome), and the arrival of well-prepared physician's assistant Divya (Reshma Shetty), an ambitious PA who has an SUV overflowing with pricey medical equipment and the need to prove herself.

The solution seems obvious, despite Hank's bizarre (and at times illogical) refusal to take over the mantle of concierge doctor to the Hamptons' elite. In the pilot episode alone, he tackles a number of medical cases but none quite so dire as that of hemophiliac rich kid Tucker (Californication's Ezra Miller), who crashes his dad's pricey Ferrari and then tries to conceal from Hank the extent of his injuries.

It's a rare medical series that can deftly balance romantic comedy, buddy comedy, and actual medical emergency yet Royal Pains does so with a flair that's helped by the delightful casting of the zany Costanzo as Hank's brother Evan. In the hands of a lesser actor, Evan could have been a one-note walking punchline but Constanzo imbues him with a hell of a lot of heart, even as he attempts to deceive nearly everyone he comes in contact with and walks away with nearly every scene in the process. He's the consummate hanger-on, a beggar at the feast whom you want to love despite his many flaws.

The rest of Royal Pains' cast is equally nimble. Virtual unknown Shetty is a real find as the uber-ambitious Divya, all slick angles and posh Anglo-Indian accent. And Flint wows from the moment she appears on-screen, offering Hank not only a love interest but a grounded voice of intelligence and reason in a world that's built around wealth and excess. (I'm also hoping that Miller's Tucker sticks around for a bit in the series.)

In fact, my only real disappointment is with Feuerstein himself, who doesn't quite manage to charm the way he should as Hank Lawson. Yes, Hank is meant to be a stiff outsider who is ill at ease with the trappings of wealth being thrust at him but Feuerstein himself seems to bristle, lacking the charisma and charm necessary to pull off this role. The strength of the supporting case manages to uphold the energy and zing of Royal Pains' pilot but I couldn't help thinking the entire time that there were far more magnetic actors who could have given Hank more energy and verve.

Likewise, Alexander's direction of the pilot goes for the obvious rather than attempting to push the envelope in terms of visuals. Many of the shots are predictable and staid and don't service the flair and beauty of the location. (Though, I'll admit that I do love that swooping fast-motion overhead shot of the beach manses.) Additionally, some of the wittiness of the script's banter gets lost from time to time, with well-turned dialogue getting buried amid some poor direction.

Still, these are minor quibbles when presented with a finished product that offers escapist fun and infuses the medical drama with a hefty dose of comedy. Royal Pains is a guilty pleasure that you don't really have to feel all that guilty about enjoying. Rather than offer you some empty calories, there is some real pleasure here, thanks to the revolving door of talented guest stars, the rich supporting cast, and the mirth of the social calendar in the Hamptons.

Diagnosis: Royal Pains might not be the most inventive or original series ever to hit the small screen but it has an engaging energy and a winning group of quirky characters that make it a fun and frothy summertime treat. Well worth checking out, even if you can only afford to stay in the Hamptons for the weekend.



Royal Pains premieres June 4th at 10 pm ET/PT on USA.