Alphabet Soup: "The Unusuals" Creator Noah Hawley Signs Blind Script Deal at ABC Studios

While ABC may have canceled The Unusuals, series creator Noah Hawley has signed an blind deal with ABC Studios to write two new series projects for the studio, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"For his encore Hawley is looking to employ some of the storytelling elements he used on Unusuals," writes Hollywood Reporter's Nellie Andreeva, "where stories with different characters often intersected in unexpected ways. Also, he plans to continue mixing comedy and drama."

With the cat out of the bag, Hawley himself addressed the ABC Studios announcement on his personal website, where he posted an explanation this morning as to why he would go into business with ABC Studios after the network canceled The Unusuals.

As for the hopes that The Unusuals might end up on a cable network, Hawley downplayed any chances that the series might continue elsewhere.

"While we haven't heard officially from all cable networks, I'd say the lack of a timely response means the chances of The Unusuals continuing on are slim," wrote Hawley. "So I've taken the next step toward getting a show back on the air next fall. I closed a deal with ABC Studios to develop two shows over the next few months. I'm excited to explore in greater depth some of the storytelling devices and tonal shifts I feel we perfected on The Unusuals."

"As to why stay in business with ABC after they cancelled the show," wrote Hawley, "I'd have to say my relationship with the network was always very positive, and despite the fact that they cancelled the show, they were great supporters of me and my vision for it. I do believe that partnering with ABC Studios to develop shows for the network will put me in a stronger position, and give whatever shows I develop from here on out a better shot at success."

"...So much of the TV game is decided at the corporate level," he continued. "By partnering with the ABC at both the studio and network level, I hope to remove some of the business/political obstacles that doomed The Unusuals."

Hawley went on to urge fans to continue to check his website and personal blog for more information about the projects he's developing at ABC Studios and thanked fans for their ongoing support.

Stay tuned.

Emotionally Invested Detectives: One Last Look at ABC's "The Unusuals"

I'm really going to miss The Unusuals.

Given that the series ended last Wednesday evening without much fanfare, you might be wondering why I'm bringing this up now. I was on vacation so have only just gotten the chance to watch the final installment of ABC's tragically underrated cop drama The Unusuals ("EID"), written by Danny Zuker, and was not only impressed by the way it seemed to effortlessly fuse serious character beats, zany cases (this week's involved a serial accuser and break-and-enter gonzo porn), and off-kilter humor.

Throughout its (far too) short run, The Unusuals--created by Noah Hawley (Bones)--has always played by its own rules. Much like the dynamo partnership of Casey Shraeger (Amber Tamblyn) and Jason Walsh (Jeremy Renner), one of the best mismatched cop partners on television. Ever. Her wounded rich girl shtick was diametrically opposed to his low-key salt of the earth approach but they found a supportive (and, indeed at times, nurturing) partnership that played to both their strengths. Both came from unexpected backgrounds: Shraeger from one of Manhattan's wealthiest families; Walsh from professional baseball. They were outsiders in a profession that many today still regard as little more than trash collectors, public servants who round up the city's detritus and send it away from delicate eyes.

But The Unusuals didn't stop there. No, it also provided us with two other remarkable partnerships of opposites: that between Eric Delahoy (Adam Goldberg) and Leo Banks (Harold Perrineau) and Alison Beaumont (Monique Gabriela Curnen) and Henry Cole (Josh Close). While brain tumor-afflicted Delahoy seemingly couldn't die (even after several scenarios that should have resulted in his death), Banks is obsessed with his own mortality at the age of 42, wearing bulletproof vests, buying inflatable furniture, and investing in a lifetime supply of hand sanitizer. Cole concealed a misspent youth that was at odds with his deeply religious views, which themselves were a source of humor for his street-savvy partner.

And that's to say nothing of the hugely ambitious precinct pariah Eddie Alvarez (Kai Lennox), who sadly didn't even appear in this week's series ender. Nor did Terry Kinney's space-obsessed Sgt. Harvey Brown, for that matter. Their absence from this nearly flawless installment depressed me even further as the episode didn't function as a season (or series) closer in any way, especially as some of our main characters weren't even along for the ride.

Still "EID" let The Unusuals go out on a high note. While Cole and Beaumont had to go undercover as a couple in therapy (complete with an embarrassing and awkward session where they had to hold each other in silence for fifteen minutes) and Delahoy and Banks had to wade through a stack of pornos (in order to identify apartments which the "Bagman" had broken into), Shraeger became the titular emotionally invested detective.

Investigating the strange accusations made by Abigail Allen (Fringe's Betty Gilpin) a.k.a. Margot Stanford, a mentally unstable woman who changed her identity years before, Shraeger uncovers a long buried secret from the woman's past: an unsolved abduction and beating that left her in a coma for ten days when she was sixteen. It's a case that forces Shraeger to come to grips with her own privileged youth as an unwitting member of New York City society and the fact that she moved in the same circles as both Margot and her attackers.

The scene in which Shraeger finally gets one of the perps to confess to the decade-old crime was a thing of beauty and showcased Tamblyn's rough-and-ready charms in this role: confident, strong, and canny, she fully embodies the reality of this role. And the solemnity of the final scene, in which she tells Abigail/Margot that her attackers have been caught--only to receive little more than a blank stare from the intensely in-denial Abigail--and then sits beside her on the couch and allows Abigail to put her head on her shoulder was a masterclass in nuance and emotional depth.

I do wish that we could have gotten to the bottom of Delahoy's condition. After getting medical examiner Dr. Monica Crumb (Susan Parke) fired from her job for illegally using the hospital's MRI machine, Delahoy learns that he does have a mass in his brain that is likely causing the bizarre symptoms he's experiencing (not least of which is smelling horses everywhere). Delahoy's storyline has been an intriguing element of the series since the pilot episode. Yes, the seemingly supernatural elements fell by the wayside along since that first installment (remember the angelic hail of buckshot?) but his battle with mortality--and accepting his possibly fatal condition--have been one of the series' most compelling backbones, especially when juxtaposed with Banks' irrational fear of dying. I'm sad that we won't get to see what happens to both of them next, just as Delahoy finally comes to grips with the severity of his condition and gets brutally shafted by one-time lover Monica.

And, really, that need to know what would happen next applies to all of the members of the second precinct, from Delahoy and Banks to Shraeger and Walsh and all of the other members of this colorful and well-drawn cast of characters. I'm beyond crushed that this intelligent and riveting series isn't continuing next season. After just ten episodes, I feel an intense camaraderie with this motley crew, from their choice of after-hours hangout (a Chinese restaurant where the oysters are not recommended) to their ongoing squabbles (just look at Banks and Delahoy's old married couple routine). We saw them on the clock, off duty, on dates, and getting shot at. But the action never took a turn for the obvious, soapy angle and it never lost the sense of humor that made it such a fun hour of television.

Yes, I suppose you could say that I was emotionally invested in these characters. Do we, like Walsh tells Shraeger, get one of these a year, a series that we find ourselves sucked into despite wanting to remain aloof viewers? If so, The Unusuals was mine, a series that proved itself too different, too smart, too unconventional for network television.

Ultimately, The Unusuals was unlike any other police drama on television, a quirky and entertaining dramedy that didn't take itself too seriously but instead used its innate humor to conceal a beating heart underneath the uniform. That, in and of itself, is, well, unusual. It will be severely missed.

Tape Delays, Man Crushes, and Octogenarian Crime Sprees: I'm Already Missing "The Unusuals"

I'm really going to miss The Unusuals.

I might be one of the very few people watching this quirky ABC cop dramedy but I have to say that I've enjoyed every single minute of this series from creator Noah Hawley and I think it's a shame that ABC canceled The Unusuals so quickly.

This week's episode ("The Tape Delay"), written by Treena Hancock and Melissa R. Byer, found Walsh and Shraeger organizing a protection detail on a wealthy businessman who had faced a series of mysterious threats, while Banks and Delahoy were on the trail of a octogenarian (guest star Shelley Berman) on a crime spree, Beaumont and Cole tried to get a confession out of a criminal through some elaborate means, Alvarez fixated on his man-crush on Walsh, Beaumont seethed at Walsh for a dream she had, and Delahoy faced some rather unusual (heh) symptoms stemming from his secret brain tumor.

In other words, just another day for the cops at Manhattan's second precinct.

Throughout its short run, The Unusuals has proven a sly and smart character study, deftly balancing some rather odd crimes against, well, some rather oddball cops. It's a police procedural, but it's also a nuanced investigation of the men and women behind the shield, their quirks and foibles, their fears and dreams.

This week's episode proved no different as it forced Shraeger to come to terms both with her judgment in the field (vis-a-vis the businessman who goes missing) and in the office as Walsh convinces her to come clean to her fellow cops about her wealthy background. Walsh believes that as Shraeger is "good police" (a term that always makes me think of The Wire) her coworkers won't care that she comes from the 25th wealthiest family in Manhattan. And, sure enough, when Shraeger gets up on a table at their local hangout and finally tells the cops her deep, dark secret, no one bats an eyelash. Sure, they rib her for it and make Shraeger pick up the next round but you could literally see the weight being lifted from Shraeger's shoulders as she finally bared her soul... and removed the final obstacle that had held her back from truly being a member of the team. (Kudos go to Amber Tamblyn for making Casey Shraeger such a fascinatingly multi-layered character who's at once tough and headstrong and sensitive and feminine.)

The secret shame she had carried around this entire time had vanished but it has its counterpart in Delahoy, who still has not been able to tell anyone about his brain tumor other than shifty medical examiner Dr. Monica Crumb (Susan Parke), who freaks out when Delahoy refers to their lunchtime discussion of his medical condition as a "lunch date." The neat symmetry between ticking time bomb Delahoy (who seemingly can't be killed) and his death-phobic partner Banks, convinced he'll die before he turns 43, has provided the series with a poignant throughline that investigates the knife's edge these cops--and indeed all of us--exist on: here today, gone tomorrow.

Banks has to face up to some of his own issues when he's forced to deal with Tom Speigelman, an 87-year-old man on a city-wide crime spree that's intended to make him feel something after living a lifetime of regrets. Like Speigelman, Banks has lived his own life in soul-quaking fear about dying; too afraid to go anywhere or do anything that might put his mortality in jeopardy. His fixations on things like bullet-proof vests and hand sanitizer prevent him from living in the moment and, well, just living period. In fearing death, Banks has actually given over his life to the very thing he's running away from.

And while I predicted very early on that Walsh and Shraeger's businessman had plotted his own disappearance (and even went so far as to stage a murder and substitute a co-conspirator for his own corpse), I thought it was handled extremely well and I loved the reveal that the shipping container the guy was hiding in with his masseuse mistress wasn't some dank hellhole (out of The Wire Season Two), but rather a gleaming, ultra-white bachelor pad for traveling in style.

And the Alvarez-Walsh subplot--in which Alvarez went out of his way to try to do something outside of work with Walsh--was a nice character moment that revealed just how much outsider Alvarez really wanted to fit in and, well, be Jason Walsh, the ultimate guy's guy (despite his admission earlier in the episode that his mother dressed him as a girl until he was six). Rarely has a "man-crush" been dealt with on television with such humor, sensitivity, and charm.

All in all, yet another fantastic installment of The Unusuals that makes me even more depressed that ABC has axed the series. There's still a few more first-run episodes to enjoy before The Unusuals goes to the precinct in the sky but I have to say that I believe, long after its run has ended, I'll still be thinking about these characters.

Next week on The Unusuals ("The Dentist"), Eddie Alvarez is in charge of the station while Sergeant Brown is away but things don't exactly go to plan; a U.S. Marshall convinces Alvarez to release a perp recently arrested for trying to rob a Chinese restaurant into his custody but, after a fake bomb threat is called in to the precinct, Casey, Alvarez and Walsh discover that the Marshall isn't who he seems to be; Banks decides to stay in his apartment until he turns 43 in order to avoid getting killed.

Dancing with the Upfronts: ABC Dumps "The Unusuals," FOX Officially Axes "Sarah Connor," CBS Renews "Cold Case"

While I am still over the moon about NBC's decision to renew Chuck for a third season this fall, this weekend didn't bring good news for fans of several series.

ABC has confirmed that it will not be renewing freshman drama series The Unusuals for a second season. The Sony Pictures Television-produced series, created by Noah Hawley, had struggled in the ratings this season, launching in the post-Lost berth on Wednesdays at 10 pm (traditionally a show killer). ABC attempted to test The Unusuals in an alternate timeslot, airing one episode in a Tuesday slot at 10 pm but the series, about the cops in Manhattan's quirky 2nd Precinct, never quite gelled with audiences.

Which is a shame as the series offered a fantastic character study each week, some bizarro crimes, and one of the best ensembles on television today, with all of the actors--including Amber Tamblyn, Jeremy Renner, Adam Goldberg, Harold Perrineau, Kai Lennox, Monique Gabriela Curnen, Joshua Close, and Terry Kinney--turning in memorable and fully realized performances. The Unusuals is slated to wrap its first season run with a handful of unaired episodes beginning May 27th.

Meanwhile, FOX has finally confirmed what many have known for some time now: it has terminated Sarah Connor Chronicles. The series, from Warner Bros. Television, will not be returning for a third season, despite an outpouring of fan support for another go-around.

While it seemed like on-the-bubble Privileged, which wrapped its freshman season earlier this year, could be returning for a second season on the CW, it's now thought to be extremely unlikely that Privileged will return.

CBS reached a deal with studio Warner Bros. Television to renew cop procedural Cold Case for a seventh season this fall. However, it's thought very unlikely that fellow procedural Without a Trace will return.

And should NBC not be decide in the eleventh hour to renew supernatural drama Medium, CBS has reached a deal with sister studio CBS Television Studios (formerly CBS Paramount Network Television) to pick up the Patricia Arquette-led drama, much like ABC picked up Scrubs after NBC passed on continuing the series.

Meanwhile, ABC has a deal in place to pick up The New Adventures of Old Christine, should CBS not renew, but it's thought that Old Christine will get a spot on CBS' fall schedule, after all.

Stay tuned.

Dancing with the Upfronts: ABC Orders Eight More New Series, Renews "Better Off Ted," "Castle," and "Scrubs"

A few days ahead of its upfront presentation to advertisers on Tuesday, ABC indicated several early pickups and renewals, creating a diverse slate of programming that includes six new dramas and two new comedies (in addition to several already previously announced) and a slew of surprising renewals.

ABC has gone ahead and reportedly handed out series orders to dramas The Forgotten, Happy Town, The Associates (which is also being referring to by some outlets as The Deep End), and Eastwick and comedies Cougar Town, Hank (a.k.a. Awesome Hank), and The Middle.

An updated version of sci-fi cult hit V, from The 4400 creator Scott Peters, is said to be on tap for midseason, though as of press time discussions are still ongoing between the network and studio Warner Bros. Television about the episodic order, with ABC said to have offered six episodes in a limited series format and the studio pushing for a larger episodic count.

The series pickups come on the heels of ABC's announcement last week that it had ordered ensemble sci-fi drama Flash Forward and comedy Modern Family to series.

Additionally, the Alphabet has announced renewals for freshman drama series Castle, starring Nathan Fillion, and comedies Scrubs and Better Off Ted, the latter of which made me jump with joy. (I had seriously considered a Ted a goner.)

Not such good news, however, for fans of ABC's freshman drama The Unusuals, which is not expected to return next season. (As I consider myself one of the series' few devoted viewers, it is bad news indeed.)

Scrubs is returning next season with Donald Faison, John C. McGinley, and Neil Flynn set to reprise their roles on the long-running comedy series. Zach Braff has signed on to appear in six episodes in order to help the series transition into a new storylines. However, one fly in the ointment: E! Online's Watch with Kristin is reporting that Sarah Chalke has yet to sign a similar deal and Judy Reyes is not yet under contract to return and "would more than likely be billed as a guest star." Additionally, series creator/executive producer Bill Lawrence is reportedly looking into altering the series' single-camera format as well, likely in order to reduce costs.

Castle and Better Off Ted, meanwhile, are both expected to return next season with thirteen episodes a piece. Given the number of comedies which were either ordered to series or renewed, it seems extremely likely that ABC will look to expand its comedy offerings to more than one evening next season. (Just don't expect any pickups for comedy pilots Canned, No Heroics, and Best Thing Ever, all of which are said to be out of the running completely.)

Looking for some more info on ABC's new series, expected to be announced on Tuesday? Look no further.

Flash Forward, from ABC Studios and creators Brannon Braga (24) and David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight), follows a group of diverse strangers across the planet after a strange incident renders the entire planet's population unconscious for two minutes and seventeen seconds, during which they all glimpse into a period six months into their own future. A group of FBI agents attempts to construct a pattern of this occurence--codenamed The Mosaic--and find out its origins and just what these fragments are trying to tell them. Series stars Joseph Fiennes (Pretty/Handsome), John Cho (Star Trek), Jack Davenport (Swingtown), Sonya Walger (Lost), Zachary Knighton (Life on a Stick), Peyton List (Mad Men), Courtney B. Vance (ER), and Christine Woods (Welcome to the Captain). (For more on Flash Forward, you can read my advance review of the pilot script from December here.)

The Forgotten, from Warner Bros. Television and Jerry Bruckheimer Films & Television, stars Reiko Aylesworth (24), Rupert Penry-Jones (Spooks), Rochelle Aytes (Drive), Michelle Borth (Tell Me You Love Me), Anthony Carrigan (Law & Order: Criminal Intent), and Bob Stephenson (Jericho) and revolves around a group of amateur crimefighters who belong to a group called the Identity Network that seeks to solve John Doe murder cases and bring their killers to justice.

Happy Town, from ABC Studios and executive producers Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, and Scott Rosenberg (all of whom worked on ABC's Life on Mars this season), focuses on a seemingly idyllic small town in Minnesota (nicknamed "Happy Town"), only just recoved after a slew of child abductions seven years earlier, is once again shaken to its core when another crime occurs. The series' ensemble cast includes Geoff Stults (October Road), Amy Acker (Dollhouse), John Patrick Amedori (Gossip Girl), Lauren German (Hostel: Part II), Sarah Gadon (Being Erica), Sam Neill (The Tudors), Dean Winters (Rescue Me), Robert Wisdom (The Wire), and Jay Paulson (October Road).

The Associates (a.k.a. The Deep End), from 20th Century Fox Television, was originally developed for this season and then retooled. Written and executive produced by David Hemingson (Kitchen Confidential), it follows a group of young associates and the well-dressed partners at a high-profile and cutthroat Los Angeles law firm both in and out of the office. It stars Tina Majorino (Big Love), Billy Zane (Samantha Who?), Ben Lawson (Neighbours), Matthew Long (Jack & Bobby), Clancy Brown (Carnivale), Norbert Leo Butz (Dan in Real Life), Leah Pipes (Life is Wild), and Sherri Saum (In Treatment).

Eastwick, from Warner Bros. Television, writer Maggie Friedman, and director David Nutter, is based on the 1987 film The Witches of Eastwick and follows a group of very different women in small town New England who are blessed (or is it cursed?) with supernatural powers and whose lives become intimately entangled with a devilishly seductive mystery man. The series stars Rebecca Romjin (Ugly Betty), Jaime Ray Newman (Veronica Mars), Lindsay Price (Lipstick Jungle), Sara Rue (Less Than Perfect), Ashley Benson (Days of Our Lives), Veronica Cartwright (The Nine), Paul Gross (Slings and Arrows) and Johann Urb (Dirt).

V, from writer/executive producer Scott Peters (The 4400), is expected to bow midseason as a limited "event" series and is based on the cult 1980s series about an alien invasion by manipulative reptilian aliens (albeit disguised behind human-like flesh) known as The Visitors. The series stars Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost), Morena Baccarin (Firefly), Joel Gretsch (The 4400), Morris Chestnut (The Perfect Holiday), Scott Wolf (The Nine), Alan Tudyk (Dollhouse), Lourdes Benedicto (Cashmere Mafia), and Logan Huffman (America).

Cougar Town, from Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence, stars Courteney Cox (Dirt) as a newly divorced 40-year-old Florida realtor who faces reentry to the dating scene after raising a 17-year-old son (Dan Byrd). Series, from ABC Studios, also stars Christa Miller (Scrubs), Ian Gomez (Felicity), Josh Hopkins (Swingtown), Busy Phillipps (ER), and Brian Van Holt (John From Cincinnati).

Hank (a.k.a. Awesome Hank), from Warner Bros. Television and writer/executive producer Tucker Cawley (Everybody Loves Raymond), revolves around a laid-off Wall Street executive (Kelsey Grammer) who is forced on hard times and must return to his hometown with his wife and kids and reconnect with his family. Series also stars David Koechner (American Dad), Melinda McGraw (Mad Men), Macey Cruthird (Hope & Faith), and Ryan Wynott (Tell Me You Love Me).

The Middle, also from Warner Bros. Television and creators Eileen Heisler and Deanne Heline (Lipstick Jungle), was originally developed for ABC several years ago as a Ricki Lake vehicle. This time around it stars Patricia Heaton (Back to You), Neil Flynn (Scrubs), Charlie McDermott (Frozen River), Atticus Shafer (The Unborn), and Eden Sher (Sons & Daughters) as the members of a typical middle-class American family living in the Mid-west.

Modern Family, from 20th Century Fox Television and creators Steve Levitan and Christopher Lloyd (Back to You), tracks the lives of three American families--one a traditional nuclear family, one a gay couple with an adopted Vietnamese baby, and the last an older man with a young Latina wife--as they are filmed by a Dutch documentary crew. Series stars Ed O'Neil (John from Cincinnati), Ty Burrell (Back to You), Sofia Vergara (Dirty Sexy Money), Julie Bowen (Boston Legal), Eric Stonestreet (This Might Hurt), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Do Not Disturb), Sarah Hyland (Lipstick Jungle), Nolan Gould (Eleventh Hour), and Ariel Winter (ER).

Earlier this year, ABC announced renewals for such series as Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Desperate Housewives, Private Practice, America's Funniest Home Videos, Brothers & Sisters, Dancing with the Stars, Ugly Betty, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Supernanny, and Wife Swap.

ABC will unveil its full schedule to advertisers on Tuesday.

Channel Surfing: BubbleWatch for "Chuck," Potter Replaces Farr on "Parenthood," Sci Fi Tackles "Unfinished Business," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

With May Upfronts only a few weeks away, there are an awful lot of series that are on the bubble for renewal next season. Chuck, which airs its penultimate episode of the season tonight, is definitely on the bubble, with its return hindered by the lack of real estate now that NBC will use the 10 pm hour next fall for a nightly Jay Leno talk show and by the numbers for midseason replacement Southland. There's a slightly better chance for Medium to return, however. (Life is expected to be cancelled, as is Kath & Kim.) FOX's Dollhouse is said to have a 50/50 shot at coming back. CBS' Without a Trace and Cold Case are said to have a 50/50 shot at a renewal, things are looking brighter for The Unit after the network asked Shawn Ryan for a fifth season bible, while Eleventh Hour is thought unlikely to return. At ABC, Better Off Ted, Castle, and The Unusuals could get a second go-around as the network is said to be happy with all three series, while Cupid is dead in the water. Privileged could return to the CW in midseason, now that Reaper has been axed. (Hollywood Reporter)

Monica Potter (Trust Me) will replace Diane Farr (Rescue Me) on NBC drama pilot Parenthood after Farr had to drop out of the project due to to scheduling conflicts with her upcoming role on Showtime's Californication. Potter will now play the wife of Peter Krause on the Universal Media Studios pilot. Sam Jaeger (Eli Stone) has also been cast in Parenthood, where he will play the stay-at-home husband of Erika Christensen's character, while Bonnia Bedelia is in talks to play the family matriarch. Elsewhere, Josh Lawson (Chandon Pictures) has been cast in CBS comedy pilot Waiting to Die. (Hollywood Reporter)

Sci Fi has ordered a pilot for supernatural police drama Unfinished Business, about a former police officer who sees "flashes of memories from the recently deceased," which propel him to help restless souls resolve the titular unfinished business. Project, from writer Sally Robinson, director Mikael Salomon (Band of Brothers), and executive producers Will Smith, James Lassiter, and Ken Stovitz, will air as a two-hour backdoor pilot. (Hollywood Reporter)

FOX has now announced that new series Mental will launch on Tuesday, May 26th before it moves to Fridays on July 3rd, while the network will be bringing back reality series The Moment of Truth on Wednesday, July 29th. (Futon Critic)

Hollywood Reporter has taken a look at the pilot projects gathering steam at the networks, offering a rundown of which projects have the best buzz so far at each individual network:

ABC: Flash Forward is a lock for a series pickup, while Happy Town, Inside the Box, Limelight, V, and the untitled Dave Hemingson dramedy are also looking good and last year's Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas is in contention again; chances for comedies An American Family, untitled Ricky Blitt, Cedric, and Cougar Town are all high.
FOX: High on dramas Human Target and Maggie Hill, as well as comedies Cop House and Sons of Tucson.
NBC: Slate could be joined by dramas Trauma, Parenthood, Legally Mad, or Lost & Found or comedies Community, Off Duty, or 100 Questions for Charlotte Payne, all of which the network is said to be strong on.
CBS: Likely going ahead with the untitled NCIS spin-off, while pilots Three Rivers, The Good Wife, Washington Field, US Attorney, Happiness Isn't Everything, and Accidentally on Purpose are all gathering steam.
CW: Melrose Place looks to be certain and the network is said to be happy with the Gossip Girl backdoor pilot, while Light Years, Vampire Diaries, A Beautiful Life, and Body Politic are all in contention as well. (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC is giving a chance to new drama series The Unusuals this Tuesday, replacing this week's planned installment of Cupid with a new episode of The Unusuals at 10 pm ET/PT. (The Unusuals, meanwhile, will also air a new episode on Wednesday as well, while Cupid will be back next week.) "Alphabet net has high hopes for The Unusuals, which hasn't made much noise behind Lost," writes Variety's Michael Schneider. "ABC execs would like to see how it does with an entirely different lead-in, the results edition of Dancing with the Stars." (Variety)

The New York Times' Alessandra Stanley takes a look at why FOX's 24 continues to lure audiences in and couples it with that ubiquitous sign of the times: the YouTube video of Susan Boyle from Britain's Got Talent. "That’s why 24 still works after so many seasons (or days, in the now slightly tiresome real-time conceit) and so many repetitive and preposterous red herrings," writes Stanley. "Viewers cannot be fooled the same way twice, but they can be sucked in all over again if the formula is tweaked a little. If nothing else, Britain’s Got Talent and 24, now in its seventh season, prove how quickly memory fades and how willingly audiences suspend disbelief. [...] the whole point of 24 is that we kind of know what’s coming but watch because we want to be surprised all over again." (New York Times)

Michaela McManus, who plays Assistant District Attorney Kim Greylek on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, will not be returning to the series next season. Stephanie March, who reprised her role as ADA Alexandra Cabot, is slated to appear in four additional episodes this season. (TV Guide.com)

Variety's Michael Schneider takes a look at the way the networks are rewriting previously sacrosanct scheduling rules this year: offering 90-minute or two-hour reality series, lowering their ratings expectations, giving up on programming certain difficult nights like Fridays, offering edgier fare on NBC in an earlier timeslot, and exploring low-cost programming, such as international co-productions. (Variety)

Nielsen has some new competition: from TiVo itself, which is launching Stop Watch, a local TV ratings service, this summer. "We'll launch in no more than 10 markets and build it from there," said TiVo VP/general manager of audience research Todd Juenger. "We're in discussions with all sorts of people [...] I would say that our product addresses a whole bunch of deficiencies in the current system." Those deficiencies include being able to offer a larger sample size than Nielsen and offering second-by-second ratings, which would allow for commercial measurements on a local market level, as well as live and time-shifted measurements. Still, TiVo isn't looking to replace Nielsen outright. "This will work well side-by-side with Nielsen," said Juenger. "We'll produce a much more stable, reliable household rating number. If you have a data source from Nielsen, there's no reason you can't overlay the two." (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Arresting Television: An Advance Review of ABC's "The Unusuals"

"Everybody has secrets, especially cops."

On the surface The Unusuals, which launches tonight on ABC, may not seem all that unfamiliar in an age when all cops, doctors, and lawyers are routinely portrayed as either unfailable heroes or crackpot eccentrics. But scratch beneath the surface and you'll find an intriguing and offbeat police drama.

Yes, The Unusuals, from creator Noah Hawley and Sony Pictures Television, is quirky. Hell, it wears its quirkiness on its sleeve like a badge of honor. After all, the cops of the 2nd precinct in Manhattan tackle some rather unusual crimes, like the premiere episode's cat murderer and there are cases overheard on the police radio involving a streaker in a cape, a suspect with a samurai sword, and a (ahem) ninja. They're the front line of defense against crimes that are just too... odd for others to pay attention to.

Is it a little much at times? You bet. But don't let the series' innate quirkiness get to you. The Unusuals is clearly positioning itself as NYPD Blue crossed with Barney Miller. Yes, there are homicides and other crimes typically found in every single cop series, but there's a levity and humor here that's not often found in most straightforward police procedurals. And there are also some other interesting approaches at work here that might make you a believer in the unusual as well.

For one, there's a rather intriguing and taut serialized element that runs underneath the mysteries of the week and a compelling partnership between two very different police officers. Amber Tamblyn (Joan of Arcadia) plays Casey Shraeger, a vice cop from a extremely well-heeled family who is pulled off of a honey trap gig in order to partner up with Detective Jason Walsh (Jeremy Renner), an oddball cop whose last partner, Burt Kowalski, was just discovered stabbed to death in a local park.

Walsh, a cop who also runs a terrible greasy spoon hole-in-the-wall (where a Skittles reduction is the height of haute cuisine) as an escape, quickly puts Shraeger to work as they clear out Kowalski's locker--filled with cash, drugs, and porn--and set to working on figuring out who killed him. It's not an easy case as this guy had a wife aware of his proclivity for cheating around, a mistress who's not exactly grieving for his death, and a host of enemies... including one from within the NYPD itself.

In an interesting twist, this crooked cop seemed to have detailed files on all of his comrades at the NYPD, each of which detailed their histories, vices, and dirty little secrets. And, believe me, there are secrets aplenty here as every one of the cops in the 2nd precinct seems to be hiding something, from the mundane to the illegal.

Additionally, there's a compelling supernatural element to the series, in particular the case of Detective Eric Delahoy (Adam Goldberg, here all twirly mustache and spindly nerves), a cancer-stricken cop who seemingly cannot be killed. In the pilot episode alone, we see Delahoy face down a charging subway train and get shot at point-blank range and yet walk away from both encounters. Meanwhile, his partner Leo Banks (Lost's Harold Perrineau) is terrified that he'll follow in the footsteps of every man in his family and die at an the age of 42. Banks is so scared, in fact, that he spends his days in Kevlar body armor and using anti-bacterial cleanser. There's a nice juxtaposition there between two partners, one of whom can't seemingly be killed, the other who is traumatized that he'll die at any second; the mystery behind Delahoy's seeming invincibility isn't explained in the first episode but remains tantalizingly vague. What should we make, after all, of that halo effect on the wall after his shooting? Hmmm...

The cast is all sensational. Tamblyn and Renner make a fantastic pair; both are completely different yet both are brilliant, if eccentric cops. Tamblyn's family gives her access to higher levels of society than the other cops and her background as a wealthy scion of a Manhattan socialite clan contrasts sharply with the grittiness of her work. (Look for Joanna Gleason to turn up as Shraeger's oblivious mother, who tells her that she "looks like a lesbian" in her outfit and questions whether she is wearing a bra.) Renner, meanwhile, makes a compelling if offbeat detective/former pro baseball player/short-order cook, prone to giving his vegetarian customers pork chops and issuing off-the-cuff brutal truths. (Of Casey, his new partner he says, "You're new and you're wearing too much eye makeup and a thong. I don't think you'll last that long.")

Likewise, Goldberg and Perrineau are absolutely amazing together, comprising one of the more memorable cop show pairings in recent memory. Rounding out the cast in the precinct bullpen: Kai Lennox as the bombastic Eddie Alvarez, a detective prone to speaking of himself in the third person; Josh Close as Southern boy Henry Cole, who has a penchant for Bible-thumping and group prayer who is hiding a rather huge secret about his identity; Monique Curnen plays gruff street-savvy Detective Allison Beaumont; and Terry Kinney plays Sergeant Harvey Brown, man hoping to rid the precinct of corruption and graft.

Ultimately, The Unusuals is an offbeat and compelling police series that offers a tantalizing blend of bizarre cases, eccentric characters, and an overarching mystery that seems to involve the secrets of every single character in the precinct. I'm intrigued enough to see where this story is going and to find out just what Kowalski was up to with his mysterious files. For a cop show that could rest its laurels and just be a run of the mill procedural, that is, in and of itself, pretty unusual.

The Unusuals launches tonight after Lost at 10 pm ET/PT on ABC.

ABC Announces Launch Dates for "Cupid," "Castle," and "The Unusuals"

After several weeks of guessing, I'm finally happy to report that ABC has announced launch dates for the three new drama series it will launch this spring: Castle, Cupid, and The Unusuals.

First up is Castle, starring Desperate Housewives' Nathan Fillion (though he'll always be Firefly's Mal to me), which launches Monday, March 9th at 10 pm. Fillion stars as mystery novelist Richard Castle who is called in to assist the NYPD with a series of homicides that seem virtually recreated from scenes within his own novels. Series also stars Stana Katic, Susan Sullivan, Molly Quinn, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Tamala Jones, Jon Huertas, and Seamus Dever.

Rob Thomas' Cupid, starring Bobby Cannavale and Sarah Paulson, launches Tuesday, March 24th at 10 pm. Cannavale stars as Trevor Hale, a man who claims to be the Roman god of love exiled to Earth until he can make 100 mortal couples fall in love; Paulson plays a psychiatrist and self-help author assigned to keep an eye on Trevor. Will there be sparks? Rick Gomez and Camille Guaty also star.

Lastly, The Unusuals will bow Wednesday, April 8th at 10 pm. The ensemble cast of this quirky police drama includes Amber Tamblyn, Jeremy Renner, Harold Perrineau, Adam Goldberg, Kai Lennox, Monique Curnen, Terry Kinney, and Joshua Close. (If my earlier reports didn't tip you off, I'm already a fan of this quirky and suspenseful series, which blends together mystery, comedy, and drama with some seemingly supernatural elements.)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: ABC Dumps "Single With Parents," "Heroes" Nabs "Everwood" Alum, Van Der Beek and Denman Check Out "Eva Adams," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. I definitely felt the lack of Pushing Daisies last night (my Wednesday night cure for any rough week) but I was completely sucked in by the season premiere of Top Chef (airing next week), which had more tension, drama, and pitch-perfect casting in its one-hour running time than the entire last season of Project Runway did.

ABC has yanked midseason comedy Single With Parents off of its schedule. The comedy, from ABC Studios and Kristin Newman, starred Alyssa Milano, Eric Winter, Annie Potts, Beau Bridges, and Amanda Detmer. Decision behind the cancellation (months before it was to launch on ABC) is said to stem from creative differences between the studio and the series' creator Kristin Newman. (Variety)

In other ABC midseason news, the Alphabet has opted to reduce its initial order on two midseason drama series, Castle and The Unusuals. ABC has approached ABC Studios about reducing Castle from 13 episodes to ten and has spoken with Sony about doing the same with The Unusuals (easily the best new series ABC has on offer in midseason). Decision is said to be based on inventory needs rather than creative decisions. (Hollywood Reporter)

NBC's Heroes has cast Justin Baldoni (Everwood) in its next story arc, entitled "Fugitives." He'll play Alex, a surfer from California who works at a comic book store. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Battlestar Galactica returns to Sci Fi on Friday, January 16th but before that, keep your eyes open for a half-hour special entitled BSG: Essential Elements on January 11th at 11 pm and the latest batch of Battlestar Galactica webisodes, scheduled to air during the January 15th telecast of Pitch Black. Meanwhile, Sci Fi will add repeats of Invasion and Moonlight to its Friday night lineup beginning January 23rd. (Futon Critic)

James Van Der Beek (Dawson's Creek) and David Denman (The Office) have joined the cast of FOX drama pilot Eva Adams, based on telenovela Lalola. Project, from Journeyman creator Kevin Falls and Sony Pictures Television, follows a egocentric sports agent who turns into a gorgeous woman after being the victim of a witch's spell and is forced to endure the same sexist treatment he once dished out. Van Der Beek and Denman will play agents at the firm. (Hollywood Reporter)

A&E is developing paranormal/medical procedural drama Signs & Wonders with executive producer Jed Mercurio (Bodies), Fox Television Studios, and Mandalay Television. Project will follow a psychiatrist who oversees the cognitive sciences research division at a university and leads a team of graduate students in solving bizarre medical mysteries. (Variety)

Executive producer Joel Fields has left Ugly Betty after eight months and has accepted a position on TNT's legal drama Raising the Bar. Fields, brought in to replace Marco Pennette, was hired to oversee the series' transition from Los Angeles to New York and now that stories have been approved by the network for the remainder of the season, his services are considered completed. (Hollywood Reporter)

TV Guide talks Supergirl with Laura Vandervoort who returns to Smallville tonight as Clark's cousin Kara, following a brief stint in the Phantom Zone. (TV Guide)

Bob Balaban will direct Joan Allen and Jeremy Irons in Lifetime biopic Georgia O'Keefe, which will follow the two-decades-long tortured romance between celebrated painter Georgia O'Keefe and photographer Alfred Steiglitz. Telepic is slated to debut in third quarter 2009. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

UPDATED: ABC Orders "Castle," "Cupid," and "The Unusuals" to Series, Plus Two Comedies

In a flurry of ordering activity, ABC has granted series orders to no less than five projects today.

The Alphabet handed out series orders to procedural mystery series Castle, Rob Thomas' update of romantic dramedy Cupid, and cop drama The Unusuals.

Castle, which stars Nathan Fillion (Firefly), is about a womanizing horror novelist who assists the New York Police Department with crime-solving. Project, from ABC Studios, was written by Andrew Marlowe and is executive produced by Marlowe, Laurie Zaks, and Armyan Bernstein. Pilot was directed by Rob S. Bowman (The X-Files) and also stars Stana Katic (24), Monet Mazur (The House Bunny), Molly Quinn (Walk Hard), Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Law & Order), and Susan Sullivan (The Nine).

(Yes, it is Captain Tightpants himself. I wasn't crazy about the pilot script but think that Fillion will bring a certain je ne sais quoi to the role. And rest assured, I am trying to get my hands on the completed pilot.)

Rob Thomas' update of his own shortlived CBS dramedy Cupid, has also been ordered to series. It stars Bobby Cannavale (The Station Agent) as Trevor Hale, a man who is either mentally insane or the actual living Eros himself; Sarah Paulson (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) plays Dr. Claire Allen, a psychologist assigned to monitor Trevor as he is released from psychiatric care... who happens to be writing a book that could use Hale as a case study. Cupid also stars Camille Guaty (Prison Break) and Rick Gomez (What About Brian). The pilot was directed by Bharat Nalluri (Life on Mars).

Also on deck: Sony's The Unusuals, which is a cop drama (with some comedic elements) that uses the listings of yesterday's crimes (in police parlance, "the unusuals") as a procedural entry to the story. Project stars Amber Tamblyn (Joan of Arcadia), Harold Perrineau (Lost), Joshua Close (The Pacific), Adam Goldberg (Entourage), Terry Kinney (Canterbury's Law), Monique Gabriela Curnen (The Dark Knight), Kai Lennox (40 Days and 40 Nights), and Jeremy Renner (The Oaks). Project was written by Noah Hawley and executive produced by Peter Tolan (Rescue Me); pilot episode was directed by Stephen Hopkins (Californication).

UPDATE: ABC has now also given series stripes to two half-hour comedies, Single With Parents and Better Off Ted.

Single With Parents (formerly known colloquially as the untitled Kristin Newman comedy), from ABC Studios and Dreamworks, is a single-camera comedy about a woman forced to deal with her dysfunctional family, friends, and boss. It stars Alyssa Milano (My Name is Earl), Beau Bridges (My Name is Earl), Amanda Detmer (What About Brian), Meagen Fay (How I Met Your Mother), Annie Potts (Men in Trees), and Eric Winter (Viva Laughlin).

The Alphabet has also granted a series order for single-camera workplace comedy Better Off Ted, from 20th Century Fox Television, about the employees of a corporation that manufactures everything from, say, light bulbs to weapons. From writer/executive producer Victor Fresco (Andy Richter Controls the Universe), it stars Jay Harrington (Desperate Housewives), Andrea Anders (The Class), Portia de Rossi (Arrested Development), Malcolm Barrett (Side Order of Life), and Jonathan Slavin (Andy Richter Controls the Universe).

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: ABC Invents Holiday, Series Orders Imminent, "Army Wives" Creator Out, and More

Good morning and welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. I'll be concise today as I am still feeling a little worse for wear from last night's outing to Father's Office in Culver City... and passed out before I could finish watching this week's episode of Project Runway. (So come back to discuss that tomorrow.)

ABC has invented its own national holiday in the form of National Stay at Home Week, urging people to stay home and conserve fuel the week of September 21st. Lest you think that the Alphabet is being purely altruistic, note that that very same week just happens to be fall premiere week at the network... (Variety)

Speaking of ABC, the network is expected to order one drama and one comedy series for midseason by Friday and later pick up three additional orders each in comedy and drama down the line. The likely contenders are: Nathan Fillion-starring drama Castle, in which he plays a womanizing horror novelist turned police consultant from ABC Studios; ensemble cop drama The Unusuals from Sony; Rob Thomas' update of Cupid (which is said to sadly have overshadowed his other heat-gathering project Good Behavior, which I thought to be superior); the untitled legal dramedy from writer/executive producer Dave Hemingson (a simply great script) from 20th Century Fox TV; young adult fantasy drama Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas; the untitled Kristin Newman comedy which stars Alyssa Milano, the untitled workplace comedy from Victor Fresco, and family comedy Never Better, starring Damon Wayans. Out of all of these, I'm still rooting for Good Behavior to make the cut, along with Hemingson's dramedy. (Hollywood Reporter)

Army Wives creator Katherine Fugate has been dismissed from the Lifetime drama that she created; the move comes after a creative shake-up at the drama earlier this year when showrunner Dee Johnson was replaced with Nick Thiel. Fugate will "focus on developing new projects" post-Army Wives. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TV critics around the country are not happy that they still haven't received screeners of new fall series entries (like CW's 90210, NBC's My Own Worst Enemy, or ABC's Life on Mars, to name three), due to the development delays from the writers strike last winter and reshoots, not to mention, er, creative shuffling behind-the-scenes on several high-profile series. (Variety)

Looks like King of Queens' Leah Remini is making a bid to become a daytime talk queen: the actress is said to be developing a daytime series with CBS Television Distribution for fall of 2009. (Hollywood Reporter)

BBC One will launch the six-part dramedy series Mutual Friends--starring Marc Warren (State of Play), Alexander Armstrong (Life Begins), and Keeley Hawes (Ashes to Ashes)--on August 26th. Series revolves around Martin (Warren), a decent family guy married to Jen (Hawes) whose friend Carl throws himself under a train and derails his entire organized life... until an old friend in the form of Patrick (Armstrong) re-enters his life. Project also stars Sarah Alexander, Claire Rushbrook, Naomi Bentley, Rhashan Stone, Lee Ross, and Emily Joyce. (BBC)

NBC has given a five episode order to Granada America's unscripted series Celebrity Come Dine with Me, based on a foreign format in which a host--in this case, a celebrity--organizes a dinner party for four friends, with each event judged on various criteria like food, presentation, and entertainment as the hosting duties rotate around the table. The winner will receive $20,ooo for the charity of his or her choice. The Peacock is currently casting and plans to air the series in December. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Big Brother 10 (CBS); Summer Olympics (NBC; 8-9:30 pm); Smallville (CW); Ugly Betty (ABC)

9 pm: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS); Supernatural (CW); Grey's Anatomy (ABC)

10 pm: Flashpoint (CBS); Private Practice (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching:

10 pm: Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List on Bravo.

Okay, I know, I know, but I find her acerbic overeagerness somehow calming. On tonight's episode ("Red, White and Don't Be Blue"), Kathy heads to New York, where she performs for members of the armed forced injured in combat.

Casting Couch: Harold Perrineau Gets "Unusual"

"You can go now, Michael."

Truer words were never spoken than on last week's season finale of Lost, which saw cast returnee Harold Perrineau's Michael seemingly killed after the freighter exploded after he got a send off from the mysterious and ghostly Christian Shepherd.

Perrineau's return to Lost--which he exited at the end of Season Two when he and Walt (Malcolm David Kelley) sailed off into the sunset after he betrayed his fellow castaways to secure freedom for himself and his son--seems phenomenally short-lived: his character's sole purpose in returning to the series was to be Benjamin Linus' man aboard the Kahana and to devise the plan to freeze the battery so as not to trigger a widespread C4 explosion.

Perrineau, in an interview with TV Guide, says that he was "disappointed" by the fact that producers killed off his character after bringing him back and said it was "disappointing and a waste to come back, only to get beat up a few times and then killed."

Ouch.

Luckily, ABC seems to have realized that they are lucky to have the talented actor on their network and have cast Perrineau in drama pilot The Unusuals, where he'll play Detective Leo Banks, a cop plagued by paranoia that he'll be killed. It's a bit of a role-reversal for the actor, especially after we saw Michael unable to die all season on Lost.

In other casting news, Rick Gomez (What About Brian) has joined the cast of Rob Thomas' dramedy pilot Cupid, where he'll play Felix, the owner of a dive bar who rents a room above the bar to Trevor (Bobby Cannavale), despite thinking he's a complete nutter for claiming to be the titular god of love.

And Gail O'Grady (Boston Legal) has landed a lead role on the untitled Dave Hemingson legal dramedy pilot; she'll play cutthroat attorney Susan Oppenheim, who is married to one of the firm's partners. Also cast in the pilot episode as guest stars: George Segal (Just Shoot Me), Lolita Davidovich (Dirty Sexy Money), and Alexandra Holden (Friday Night Lights).

I'm actually very excited to see how this one turns out. Fingers crossed that it's a keeper.

Stay tuned.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Big Bang Theory/How I Met Your Mother (CBS); Gossip Girl (CW); The Bachelorette (ABC; 8-10 pm); Bones (FOX)

9 pm: Two and a Half Men/Rules of Engagement (CBS); Dateline (NBC); One Tree Hill (CW); House (FOX)

10 pm: CSI Miami (CBS); Dateline (NBC); The Mole (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: Gossip Girl.

Looking to relive the freshman season of the teen soap? On tonight's repeat episode ("The Wild Brunch"), Blair tells Serena she knows all about her past betrayal and shuns her; Chuck hosts a fundraiser brunch, to which Serena brings an unwelcome Dan.