Channel Surfing: Heigl to Leave "Grey's Anatomy," "Skins" Refreshes Cast Again, Tudyk Gets "Rockford" Gig, "Doctor Who" May Get Wii Game, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Katherine Heigl will be departing Grey's Anatomy for good this time, citing unnamed sources. "Series creator Shonda Rhimes has agreed to release the fast-rising movie star from her contract. It’s now up to ABC Studios and Heigl’s reps to hash out a final exit agreement," writes Ausiello. "After taking more than half of the current season off to make another movie and connect with her adopted daughter, Heigl was scheduled to return to the Grey’s set on March 1 to begin work on the five remaining episodes of the season. There’s just one problem: March 1 came and went and there was no Heigl." Long story, short: Heigl's final episode as Izzie has already aired and Heigl will not be returning to the set of Grey's Anatomy. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

UK network E4 has commissioned two additional seasons of teen drama Skins, the series' fifth and sixth, and has announced that it will once again replace the cast with new actors following the fourth season (which wraps up in the UK next week but has yet to air Stateside) and will hold open auditions next month. "Skins has always been about new talent, both on and off screen, and the decision to recast the series every two years is one of the reasons Skins stands out," said Channel 4's head of drama Camilla Campbell. "Now another group of teenagers will have the rare opportunity to be part of a British drama series that says something about their lives and is one of the most exciting shows on television. I can't wait to find out who they will be." (BBC News)

Alan Tudyk (V, Dollhouse, Firefly) will star opposite Dermot Mulroney in NBC drama pilot Rockford Files, an update of the 1970 private investigator series that is written by by David Shore (House). Tudyk will play Detective Dennis Becker, a friend of Jim Rockford (Mulroney) who is said to be a little embarrassed by his friendship with Rockford as the other cops all hate him. (Hollywood Reporter)

Take with a large grain of salt. British tabloid The Sun is reporting that Nintendo has signed a contract with BBC Worldwide to bring its iconic series Doctor Who to Wii and DS consoles later this year. "This has been in the pipeline for years," said an unnamed insider quoted by the paper. "We're delighted to have finally nailed down a deal. We went with Nintendo as they have huge appeal for families and Doctor Who is very much a family brand. The Wii console is key for us as it's something families play together." [Editor: Don't get excited just yet. I'd be extremely surprised if a game were able to be produced by this Christmas, just nine months away, as The Sun contends, should this actually be true.] (via Digital Spy)

Jon Voight (24) has signed on as one of the leads in FOX drama pilot Midland, where he will play a Texas oil tycoon described as "a gravely voiced titan equally at home in boots or a three-piece suit." Move marks the first TV series regular role for Voight. Also cast in the 20th Century Fox Television-produced pilot: David Keith (The Class), who will play the con-man father of Jimmy Wolk's Bob. (Hollywood Reporter)

Glee Live! In Concert! has added two additional performances for both the Los Angeles and New York City stops, with a matinee planned for each city. Los Angeles will get a matinee performance and an evening performance on May 22nd while New York City gets a matinee on May 29th and an evening show on May 30th. (via press release)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Arianna Huffington will guest star as herself on the May 10th episode of CBS' How I Met Your Mother. "Huffington will be a guest at a high-falutin’ New York party that Ted, Barney, Marshall, and Lily find themselves at," writes Ausiello. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Jennifer Morrison will be returning to FOX's House, on April 12th episode directed by Hugh Laurie... and next season. "There have been discussions of me doing a few episodes next year based on what they end up writing," Morrison told Keck. "Contractually, they’ve guaranteed me a certain number of episodes next year - I think three or four, which means that they’re probably very much leaning toward writing a storyline for the character." (
TV Guide Magazine)

Constance Zimmer (Entourage) and Kat Foster ('Til Death) have been cast in TBS hour-long comedy pilot In Security, which centers on two sisters who inherit their father's private-security firm. The attachment of Zimmer and Foster lifts the casting contingency on the pilot. Elsewhere at TBS, Malcolm McDowell will star opposite Breckin Meyer and Mark-Paul Gosselaar in comedy pilot Franklin & Bash, where he will play the senior partner at the law firm where street lawyers Jared (Meyer) and Steven (Gosselaar) are hired. (Hollywood Reporter)

In other pilot casting news, Patrick J. Adams (Weather Girl) and Danneel Harris (One Tree Hill) have been cast as the leads in NBC comedy pilot Friends With Benefits, about a group of friends who are looking for love but settle for something else in the meantime. Adams will play Ben, described as "an Everyman who, while waiting for Ms. Perfect to come along, enjoys a relationship with Sara (Harris), a doctor trying to find Mr. Right." They join the already cast Fran Kranz in the 20th Century Fox Television-produced comedy pilot, written by Michael Weber and Scott Neustadter and directed by David Dobkin. (Hollywood Reporter)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck has a first look at how Betty Suarez (America Ferrera) will get her braces off on Ugly Betty's March 24th episode. Hint, it involves a million-dollar bra, the Guggenheim Museum, and a collision. "I chipped my front tooth rehearsing this scene - and it hurt!" Ferrera told Keck. "I thought how incredibly ironic that I mess up my tooth in the episode where Betty's smile is supposed to be perfect and there are extreme close-ups of my mouth." (TV Guide Magazine)

VH1 has ordered ten episodes of docudrama The Tournament, which will follow Chad Ochocinco as he travels the country to find love with 85 women who will compete for his affects "via a March Madness bracket." Series, slated to launch in July, is from JUMA Entertainment and 51 Minds Entertainment. (Variety)

Production has begun on BBC One's three-part drama Sherlock, a modern-day update of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic detective Sherlock Holmes, from writers/executive producers Steve Moffat, Mark Gatiss, and Steve Thompson, directors Euros Lyn and Paul McGuigan. Project stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, and Rupert Graves. "Everything that matters about Holmes and Watson is the same," said Moffat. "Conan Doyle's stories were never about frock coats and gas light; they're about brilliant detection, dreadful villains and blood-curdling crimes – and frankly, to hell with the crinoline. Other detectives have cases, Sherlock Holmes has adventures, and that's what matters. Mark and I have been talking about this project for years, on long train rides to Cardiff for Doctor Who. Quite honestly, we'd still be talking about it if Sue Vertue of Hartswood Films (conveniently also my wife) hadn't sat us down for lunch and got us to work." (BBC)

Radical Media, the production company behind Sundance Channel's Iconoclasts, is said to be gearing up for more television development, including a docusoap following the dancers of the Miami City Ballet, the Oprah Winfrey-hosted Masterclass, and a series adaptation of Stephen Dubner and Steve Levitt's best-selling nonfiction book Freakonomics, which would "investigate a wide range of topics: from the inner workings of a crack gang to whether walking drunk is more dangerous than driving drunk." Project is currently being shopped to networks. (Variety)

The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting yet more changes afoot in the executive roster at Oprah Winfrey and Discovery Communications' nascent cable network OWN, with Jamila Hunter stepping down from her position as head of programming to segue into a new role at the network. Programming will now be overseen by three new hires: Rod Aissa, Michele Dix, and Drew Tappon, all of whom will report to COO Lisa Erspamer. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Nickelodeon ordered six new series, including musical Victorious, featuring former Zoey 101 co-star Victoria Justice, and renewed 16 series, from iCarly to SpongeBob SquarePants. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Rob Lowe Heads to Pawnee, Debra Messing is "Wright", Scott Porter is One of CW's "Nomads," Dana Delany Circling "Body," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. I had a fantastic time at the Community panel last night at the 2010 William S. Paley Television Festival (followed by some late-night carousing with some other TV types). But onto today's headlines, of which there are many.

Outbound Brothers & Sisters star Rob Lowe will be heading to Pawnee. Lowe has signed on to appear in multiple episodes of NBC comedy Parks and Recreation later this season and his contract, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, calls for him to appear on the Universal Media Studios-produced series next season. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Meanwhile, Fancast's Matt Mitovich has details about just who Lowe will be playing this season, thanks to an interview with Parks and Recreation executive producer Mike Schur. While Schur--who likened Lowe's participation as "the perfect fit" for the series--was tight-lipped when it came to details about Lowe's character, he did say that Lowe will play a "powerful person entering our world form the outside." But don't rule out a possible romance with Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope. "Anytime Rob Lowe is anywhere, he’s a possible love interest for someone," Schur told Mitovich. Lowe's first appearance is set for this season's penultimate episode and he'll reprise his role next season. (Fancast)

Debra Messing (Will & Grace) is heading back to half-hour comedies, booking the lead in ABC comedy pilot Wright vs. Wrong, where she will also serve as an executive producer, alongside Mitch Hurwitz, Eric Tannenbaum, and Kim Tannenbaum. Messing will play Evelyn Wright, described as "a driven conservative pundit who tries to maintain her public persona despite facing her own vulnerabilities" in the Sony Pictures Television-produced project, written by Stephnie Weir. (Hollywood Reporter)

Scott Porter (Friday Night Lights) has been cast in the CW drama pilot presentation Nomads, where he will play John, described as " a magnetic and forceful college grad who is determined to find his missing brother." Project, from writer/executive producer Ken Sanzel (NUMB3RS)and executive producers Ridley Scott and Tony Scott, revolves around a group of backpackers who work secret missions for the CIA. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files, Hollywood Reporter)

Desperate Housewives' Dana Delany has received an offer to star in ABC drama pilot Body of Evidence, which places her future on Wisteria Lane under question. Delany's participation in the ABC Studios-produced Body is said to be in second position to her role on Desperate Housewives. If a deal closes, Delany would play the lead, Dr. Megan Hunt, a former neurosurgeon turned medical examiner who solves crimes. Already cast: Geoffrey Arend, John Carroll Lynch, and Windell Middlebrooks. (Hollywood Reporter)

Blair Underwood (Dirty Sexy Money) has been cast in NBC drama pilot The Event, where he will play the US president in the Universal Media Studios-produced thriller. He joins Jason Ritter, Zeljko Ivanek, Ian Anthony Dale, Laura Innes, Scott Patterson, and Sarah Roemer in the project, which is written by Nick Wauters and will be executive produced by Steve Stark. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Drea de Matteo will leave ABC's Desperate Housewives in May... but it's not related to any rumors of on-set friction between the former Sopranos star and the ladies of Wisteria Lane. "When I heard that stuff, I was stunned," creator Mark Cherry told Ausiello. "We adore her. She is the sweetest gal in the world... Part of the deal when we hired Drea was she was only interested in doing one season. She has a baby and is eager to get back to her life in New York." Look for John Barrowman's arrival in April to get de Matteo's Angie storyline in full swing. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Ryan Devlin (Cougar Town) has been cast in CBS comedy pilot Shit My Dad Says, where he will star opposite William Shatner and Nicole Sullivan. Project, written by Justin Halpern and Peter Schumacher and directed by James Burrows, will be executive produced by David Kohan and Max Mutchnick. (Hollywood Reporter)

Pilot casting alert: Ana Ortiz (Ugly Betty) has been cast as one of the leads in ABC cop drama pilot True Blue; Alicia Witt (Friday Night Lights) has landed the female lead in ABC drama pilot Edgar Floats (also cast: Derek Webster); Will Yun Lee (Bionic Woman) has booked one of the leads opposite Katee Sackhoff in Richard Hatem's untitled ABC drama pilot (as well as a guest spot on CBS pilot Hawaii Five-O); Richard T. Jones (Judging Amy) has also joined the cast of the untitled Hatem drama; Nicole Steinwedell (The Unit) and Brooke Nevin (Worst Week) have come aboard FOX drama pilot Breakout Kings; Oswaldo Castillo has joined the cast of NBC's untitled Adam Carolla comedy pilot; and Carmen Ejogo (Kidnapped) has signed on to CBS drama pilot Chaos. (Hollywood Reporter)

Zap2It's Hanh Nguyen has a story about the recent press call with James Marsters, to discuss his upcoming role on Syfy's Caprica as revolutionary Barnabus Greely. Marsters went on to discuss Twilight, the current vampire craze, and whether he'd be willing to reprise his role as Buffy and Angel's Spike. (Zap2It)

Universal Media Studios has signed an overall deal with Jeffrey Reiner (Friday Night Lights, Caprica), under which he will direct the pilot for NBC's thriller The Event (and will retain an executive producer credit if it goes to series) and will develop new projects for the studio. He's said to be already generating some ideas with Trauma creator Dario Scardapane and wants to work with Jason Katims again. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice is reporting that Sarah Palin and Mark Burnett are shopping a TV docudrama about life in Alaska, allegedly a "Planet Earth-type look" at America's northernmost state. "The former candidate for the vice presidency was seen leaving ABC today with Burnett, and an insider confirmed that she met with reality topper Mike Darnell yesterday at Fox (where she and her family ended the day by visiting American Idol. Palin stayed in the green room)," wrote Rice. "She also stopped by CBS today and plans to meet with NBC Universal TV Chairman Jeff Gaspin tomorrow." (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Meanwhile, The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting that "at least one broadcaster is already likely to pass on the project" from Palin and Burnett. According to Adalian, "ABC has decided the project isn't a right fit and won't be pursuing it," citing an unnamed source who is familiar with ABC's reaction to the pitch. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that the March 25th episode of ABC's Grey's Anatomy will feature flashbacks scenes depicting Owen (Kevin McKidd) and Teddy (Kim Raver) in Iraq and will reveal, according to Raver, "this really fun, lighthearted bond, but also how loyalty is so important out there under very intense circumstances." (TV Guide Magazine)

BBC One has commissioned two additional seasons of Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures, with twelve episodes on deck for both the fourth and fifth seasons, expected to air in Autumn 2010 and Autumn 2011. Russell T. Davies, who had departed Doctor Who late last year, will remain on board as executive producer of The Sarah Jane Adventures and will be joined by newly minuted executive producer Nikki Wilson and producer Brian Minchin. (Broadcast)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that many of the former cast members from ABC's Ugly Betty will reprise their roles before the series takes a final bow next month. Ashley Jensen, Freddy Rodriguez, and likely Chris Gorham will return to Ugly Betty before its April 14th series finale. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Disney Channel has ordered two-hour telepic Phineas and Ferb: Across the Second Dimension, spun off from its Phineas and Ferb animated series, which it will air in summer 2011. Also on deck at Disney Channel and Disney XD: animated comedy Fish Hooks, live action comedy Pair of Kings, and animated superhero series The Avengers: Earth's Mighiest Heroes. (Variety)

ABC has announced launch dates for Season Two of True Beauty and Season Three of Wipeout, with the series set to return to the schedule on Monday, May 31st and Tuesday, June 22nd respectively. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Sony Entertainment Television has signed a deal with BT Vision in the UK for a branded channel that will offer British audiences such US series as Damages, The Shield, and The Tudors. (Variety)

Discovery is looking to rollout its TLC network to international viewers, with Norway the first network to receive the lifestyle-oriented network. (Hollywood Reporter)

Meredith Viera's contract with The Today Show is likely to be extended until fall 2011; her current contract was due to expire in September. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Kate Winslet is HBO's "Mildred Pierce," Series on the Bubble, Marsha Thomason Returns to "White Collar," and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

HBO has officially announced that Academy Award winner Kate Winslet (The Reader) has come aboard the pay cabler's five-hour miniseries Mildred Pierce. Based on the novel by James M. Cain (which was the basis for the 1945 melodrama starring Joan Crawford and Eve Arden), Mildred Pierce will star Winslet as the titular character, a self-made millionaire who struggles to earn her daughter's love. Project will be directed by Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven), who will write the script with Jon Raymond. Production on the five-hour miniseries, to be executive produced by Haynes, Christine Vachon, and John Wells, is set to being in New York in April. (Variety)

The Wrap's Josef Adalian breaks down the current crop of series that are said to be on the bubble for renewal next season, including Chuck, Fringe, V, FlashForward, and Community and names the five series he feels are worth saving. "Being on the bubble is incredibly stressful," Chuck co-creator Josh Schwartz told Adalian. "You are living and dying every week. Those moments before the ratings load onto your iPhone your hands are clammy, your vision blurry, your stomach doing flips. And then, since you're on the bubble, inevitably the rating is exactly low enough to guarantee you remain on the bubble, yet not so low as to ensure you are canceled. So that feeling persists for the entire week until the next ratings come in. Rinse and repeat." (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd also offers a look at this season's endangered series and ranks their shots at coming back in the fall. For example: V has a 60 percent shot at returning, while FlashForward gets a 40 percent chance... and Melrose Place gets a five percent chance of another go-around. Ouch. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Marsha Thomason (Lost) will be returning for Season Two of USA's White Collar as a series regular. Thomason had appeared in the pilot episode as junior FBI Agent Diana Lancing. She's set to turn up first in the season finale on March 9th and then will return as a full-fledged cast regular for Season Two. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

CBS has ordered a pilot presentation for an untitled comedy from executive producers Larry Charles and Ant Hines (Borat). Project, from Sony Pictures Television and Tantamount, will star Paul Kaye as a father who reenters the life of his estranged daughter, who is now famous. Hines, who wrote the pilot script, will executive produce with Charles, Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum, and Mitch Hurwitz. (Variety)

Pilot casting update: Jimmy Wolk (Solving Charlie) has been cast as the lead in FOX drama pilot Midland, where he will play a polygamist living a double life in the oil industry; Laz Alonso (Avatar) will star FOX drama pilot Breakout Kings, about a team of ex-cons and federal agents who track down escaped felons; Amaury Nolasco (Prison Break) has joined the cast of NBC's drama pilot Chase, Kathryn Hahn (Crossing Jordan) has been added to FOX comedy pilot Most Likely to Succeed, Erinn Hayes (Worst Week) will star in NBC comedy pilot This Little Piggy, Utkarsh Ambudkar has joined the cast of FOX comedy pilot Nevermind Nirvana; and Damon Wayans Jr. boarded ABC comedy pilot Happy Endings. (Hollywood Reporter)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that Heidi Klum and Paulina Porizvoka will guest star on ABC's Desperate Housewives this season and will be playing themselves in an episode slated to air in May. "In the episode Gaby (Eva Longoria Parker), who is a former model, and Angie (Drea de Matteo) run into the Project Runway host and former America's Next Top Model judge in New York City," writes Dos Santos. "The storyline will take place in NYC, but the episode will be shot here in Los Angeles." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Fringe) are said to be developing a new animated Transformers series for The Hub, the new joint venture channel owned by Hasbro and Discovery Communications. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Kathy Najimy has been cast to guest star on ABC's Ugly Betty, where she will play the orthodontist removing Betty's braces. "Najimy will also play a pivotal role in the episode’s It’s a Wonderful Life-esque fantasy subplot," writes Ausiello. "Per an Ugly insider, her character will serve as the guardian angel who shows Betty what life would have been like had she been blessed with perfect choppers." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TLC has ordered six episodes of reality series Cupcake Sisters, which will follow two sisters and business partners who run a cupcake shop in Georgetown. Project, from Big Fish Entertainment, will launch in July. (Variety)

Former MTV executive Maira Suro has been hired by Universal Cable Prods. as SVP, development and current programming. The division has also promoted Christina Sanagustin to SVP, development and current programming, Tom Lieber to director of current and development, and Korin Huggins to current and development manager. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "True Blood" Finds Its Debbie Pelt, Emily Rose Heads to Syfy's "Haven," "Ugly Betty," and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Brit Morgan (The Middleman) has been cast in Season Three of HBO's True Blood, where she has landed the pivotal role of Debbie Pelt, the "psycho ex-girlfriend of werewolf Alcide (Joe Manganiello)." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

SPOILER! In other True Blood-related news, TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that an upcoming storyline will involve an Eric flashback to the year 900 A.D., where viewers will meet Eric's father, a Swedish Viking king named Ulfrick. Casting is currently underway for the role. (TV Guide Magazine)

Emily Rose (John From Cincinnati) has been cast as the lead in Syfy's supernatural series Haven, which is based on Stephen King's novella "The Colorado Kid." Rose will play FBI Agent Audrey Parker, who is sent to the titular Maine community in order to investigate a murder and finds herself caught up in a series of supernatural events. Project, from E1 Entertainment and Universal Networks International, is executive produced by Scott Shepard, Lloyd Segan, Shawn Piller, John Morayniss, and Noreen Halpern, along with writers Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to Ugly Betty creator/executive producer Silvio Horta about the upcoming end of the ABC dramedy series. "The braces are coming off," Horta told Ausiello about an upcoming March episode in which Betty is sent on a metaphysical journey about what her life might have been like. "There’s a big fantasy element to it. We’ll ask the question, 'What if Betty had perfect teeth?'" Also coming up on the series: a new job opportunity for Betty, a wedding, the return of Wilhelmina's first love, and much more. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

HBO is developing comedy series Tilda, about a "powerful female online showbiz journalist with a no-holds-barred style." [Editor: Hmmm, sound like anyone we know?] Bill Condon (Dreamgirls) and Cynthia Mort (Tell Me You Love Me) are attached to write and executive produce the project, with Condon also attached to direct, should it be ordered the pilot. (Hollywood Reporter)

Broadcasting & Cable's Melissa Grego is reporting that NBC is considering airing the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards telecast live across the country on August 29th. The move to end the tape-delay comes on the heels of NBC's decision last month to air the Golden Globes live in all timezones across the country. "According to sources, NBC is in the process of discussing a similar live Emmys scenario with affiliates," writes Grego. "Spokespeople for NBC and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which administers the top TV awards, declined to comment." (Broadcasting & Cable)

Syfy has acquired the basic cable rights to BBC's Merlin, the first season of which NBC aired last summer. Syfy will debut the fantasy series in April and will air the first two seasons of the series. "A viewer favorite after only one season, Merlin will be a strong addition to our schedule this spring," said Thomas Vitale, EVP of programming. "We expect its enthralling imaginative vision, engaging young talent, and rich production values to resonate with our audience." BBC, meanwhile, will launch the third season of Merlin in September in the UK. (Hollywood Reporter)

Pilot casting alert! Laura Prepon (That '70s Show) will star opposite Danny Wallace in ABC comedy pilot Awkward Situations for Men, where she will play Meg, the wife of British television personality Danny Wallace who moves to the US and who takes a job at a smoothie job with a boss (Matt Letscher) whom she shares a romantic past. Bret Harrison (Reaper) has landed the lead role in FOX's untitled Adam Goldberg single-camera comedy, where he will play a member of a team who crack computer security systems. Michael Kelly (The Sopranos) has been added to the cast of CBS' currently untitled Criminal Minds spinoff; he'll play a former gang member who joins a team of profilers. (Hollywood Reporter)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that Michelle Trachtenberg will return to Gossip Girl for the current season's final episode, while Gossip Girl's Connor Paolo is set to make a guest appearance on Trachtenberg's NBC medical drama Mercy. "I'm sure Georgina will be seeking vengeance," Trachtenberg told Dos Santos. "They haven't written it yet, but she was tricked and sent away, after all. And that li'l lady certainly doesn't like to be tricked." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

ABC has given a pilot order to single-camera comedy pilot Wright vs. Wrong about a female Republican political commentator. Project, from Sony Pictures Television and Tantamount, is written by Stephanie Weir (MadTV), who will executive produce alongside Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum, and Mitch Hurwitz. (Hollywood Reporter)

BBC America announced that it will premiere the second season of comedy The Inbetweeners on Wednesday, February 24th at 9:30 pm ET/PT, a week after the first season wraps its run. (via press release)

Fox Television Studios has signed a two-year first-look deal with documentary filmmaker RJ Cutler (The September Issue) under which he will develop scripted projects for broadcast and cable, a first for the director who has seen success on the small screen with such unscripted projects as 30 Days and American High. (Variety)

VH1 has ordered an untitled dramedy telepic about two twenty-something African-American women in Atlanta, one a wannabe fashion mogul, the other a former dancer. Project, from writer Stacy Littlejohn, is executive produced by Queen Latifah, Sha-Kim Compere, Maggie Malina, and Jeff Olde. The cabler is treating the telepic as a backdoor pilot; should it be successful, it could be ordered to series. (Variety)

Nickelodeon is developing an untitled comedy, from executive producers Joe Simpson and Tommy Lynch and writer Emily Cutler, that will be loosely based on Simpson's life, revolving around a psychologist raising two daughters in Texas. (Hollywood Reporter)

Telemundo executive Enrique Guillen has been moved to NBC, where he will take over as VP of alternative programming and production. NBC also promoted Nicole Silveira to manager of alternative series and specials. Both report to Paul Telegdy. (Variety)

Michael Grindon, Sony Pictures Television's head of international television, will leave the studio in March after a 24-year tenure. Move comes after much of his oversight was taken over by Steve Mosko in a corporate restructuring. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Maria Bello Finds "Emergency Sex" for HBO, NBC Gets "The Cape" and "Outsourced," Leno on Oprah, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Maria Bello, Simon Beaufoy, and Russell Crowe have teamed up to develop HBO drama project Emergency Sex, based on Kenneth Cain, Heidi Postlewait and Andrew Thomson's nonfiction book "Emergency Sex and Other Desperate Measures: A True Story From Hell on Earth," about "the larger-than-life exploits of expatriate nongovernment-organization workers who find their sanity tested in the face of atrocities, loneliness and primal desires." Bello (A History of Violence) will star in the project, which is being adapted by Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire), who will executive produce with Bellow, Russell Crowe, and John Carrabino. (Hollywood Reporter)

NBC has handed out pilot orders to two projects, both hailing from Universal Media Studios. One-hour drama The Cape, from writer Thomas Wheeler (Empire) and BermanBraun, revolves around an ex-cop in Los Angeles who is framed and sets out to become a masked vigilante in order to clear his name and reunite with his son. NBC also picked up single-camera comedy Outsourced, based on the indie film about about a demoted middle manager who is sent to India to manage a call center. Robert Borden (The Drew Carey Show) will write the pilot script and Ken Kwapis (The Office) is still attached to direct and executive produce alongside Tom Gorai and David Skinner. (Hollywood Reporter)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has a fantastic feature on Jay Leno's appearance yesterday on The Oprah Winfrey Show. "How can you do the right thing and just have it go so wrong? 'Maybe I'm not doing the right thing,' I would think," Leno told Winfrey. "Maybe I'm doing something wrong. This many people are angry and upset over a television show. ...My show got canceled. They weren't happy with the other guy's show. They said, 'We want you to go back,' and I said, 'OK.' And this seemed to make a lot of people really upset. And I go, 'Well, who wouldn't take that job though? Who wouldn't do that?'" (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Score yet another job for Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother). The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting that Harris will travel to London later this year to tape a pilot for a US adaptation of British game show The Cube for CBS. Once executives view the pilot, CBS will decide whether to order the project to series. News comes after FOX abandoned its plans to adapt the unscripted format for US broadcast audiences in December. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Leonard Roberts (Heroes) has been cast in the two-part episode of ABC's Castle that will feature Desperate Housewives' Dana Delany. Roberts will play Delany's federal agent partner on the two-parter, the first half of which is scheduled to air March 21st on a special night. In other Castle-related news, ABC ordered two additional episodes of the crime procedural, bumping its episodic total this season to 24 installments. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FX has ordered a pilot presentation for comedy Sweat Shop, about a pair of step-siblings who run a gym in a Scottsdale, Arizona strip mall. Project, from creator/star Pell James, director Jonas Pate, and fellow executive producers Thomas Moffett and Braxton Pope, hails from FX Prods. and Lionsgate Television. (Variety)

Pilot casting alert!Tony Hale (Chuck) Matt Letscher (Eli Stone) will star opposite Danny Wallace in ABC hybrid comedy pilot Awkward Situations for Men, about an Englishman who moves to the US with his wife and discovers that his "everyday behavior clashes with American values and gets him into trouble." Hale will play Will, Danny's first American friend, while Letscher will play the boss at a Jamba Juice-type eatery. Elsewhere, John Michael Hill has landed a role on ABC drama pilot 187 Detroit, where he'll play a rookie homicide cop whose wife is expecting a child. British actor Matt Ryan (The Tudors) is said to be in talks about joining the cast of CBS' untitled Criminal Minds spinoff. (Hollywood Reporter)

In other casting news, many actors of cancelled or on-the-bubble series are said to be in particular demand this pilot season. The cast of Ugly Betty--including Eric Mabius, Becki Newton, Vanessa Williams, Michael Urie, and Ana Ortiz--have been inundated with pilot offers. Additionally, the casts of Lost, Nip/Tuck, Better Off Ted, Scrubs, Dollhouse, 24, and Three Rivers are said to be in demand. (Hollywood Reporter)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that an upcoming episode of ABC comedy Modern Family will focus on the real-life fears of the child actors that portray the extended Pritchett clan's kids. (TV Guide Magazine)

Variety's Stuart Levine is reporting that NBC will offer a two-hour episode of The Biggest Loser on Tuesday which will go head-to-head with the sixth season premiere of ABC's Lost. "Move pits one of NBC's highest-rated shows against a Lost premiere that has been anticipated for months," writes Levine. "By having the second half of Biggest Loser from 10-11 p.m., net is extending an olive branch to the affiliates who have taken a beating since The Jay Leno Show has been on the air and were instrumental in having scripted programming return at 10 o'clock." (Variety)

TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams talks to Smallville's Justin Hartley about a potential relationship between his Oliver and Allison Mack's Chloe. "Yeah, I think that's in the works," said Hartley about a Oliver-Chloe romance. "I don't know how long it will last or how far they're going to go with it because we haven't shot that much yet, but that's what's going on right now." But don't count out Cassidy Freeman's Tess, either. "She threw a knife at me the other day, so yeah, we're going to be working together," said Hartley. "I think I pissed her off again, so that's always fun. I don't know if they're going to be involved anymore. I would say no, but then at the same time who knows what Oliver's going to do? He's a dirty bird." (TVGuide.com)

SPOILER!Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has some details about what the series finale of ABC's Ugly Betty, slated to air in May, will contain. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

VH1 has ordered several series that represent an expansion of their brand. Net ordered eight episodes of reality makeover series Transform Me, in which four transgender women help a woman remake herself from her clothes to her outlook on life. Series, from Left/Right Inc., will launch on March 15th. VH1 ordered seven episodes of Famous Crime Scenes, which will delve into the well-publicized deaths of celebrities such as Michael Jackson and Selena beginning February 12th. The cabler also ordered a week-long strip of primetime specials entitled Undateable, which will explore what guys shouldn't do when dating, from the woman's perspective. It's set to air the week of April 19th. Finally, the cabler acquired MTV Canada reality series Peak Season: Vancouver, following the lives of Whistler ski resort bunnies and workers, which it will debut on February 14th. (Variety)

TBS has given a cast-contingent pilot order to one-hour comedy Glory Daze, about the the 1980s pledges at a Wisconsin college fraternity. Project, from executive producer Walt Becker (Wild Hogs), is written by Becker and Michael LeSieur (You, Me and Dupree); Becker is also attached to direct, should the project officially go ahead to pilot. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Brace for Impact: ABC Cancels "Ugly Betty"

Looks like it's curtains for Betty Suarez.

ABC today announced that this will be the final season of Ugly Betty and that the series will wrap up its run this spring.

The series had been placed on life support on Friday nights this season before being given a last chance with a Wednesday night 10 pm ET/PT timeslot as part of the network's comedy block.

"We’ve mutually come to the difficult decision to make this Ugly Betty’s final season, and are announcing now as we want to allow the show ample time to write a satisfying conclusion," said ABC in a prepared statement. "We are extremely proud of this groundbreaking series, and felt it was important to give the fans a proper farewell."

What do you think of the news? Was it time to bid Betty farewell? Is it good that the producers will have time to wrap up the series' storylines before a final episode?

Discuss.

Channel Surfing: Team Darlton Talk "Lost" Final Season, Mann and Milch Team Up for HBO, Ball Staying on "True Blood," Sharon Stone to "SVU," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd has an interview with Lost showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse in which they speak about the looming ending of the iconic ABC series, which launches its sixth and final season next month. While Cuse and Lindelof's involvement with the franchise will end at that time, both were quick to point out that they don't own Lost and that the studio could revive the series in some fashion down the road. "The Walt Disney Co. owns Lost," said Cuse. "It's a franchise that's conservatively worth billions of dollars. It's hard to imagine Lost will rest on the shelves and nothing will ever be made with Lost. Eventually somebody will make something under the moniker of Lost -- whether we do it or not. We just made a commitment to this group of characters whose stories are coming to a conclusion this May." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Are David Milch (Deadwood) and Michael Mann (Public Enemies) joining forces for an HBO project? You read that correctly. Michael Mann is reportedly in talks to direct HBO horse-racing drama pilot Luck. Project, written by David Milch (who will executive produce with Carolyn Strauss), revolves around Ace Bernstein, described by Milch as "a guy versed in all the permutations of finance, elicit and otherwise. When he is released from jail for securities violations, he resumes his place at the race track, where he is a figure of long-standing repute." Production will begin in April, when it will shoot at the Santa Anita Race Track. (Variety, Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Is Season Four of True Blood nearing a lock? True Blood creator/executive producer has reportedly signed a two-year deal with pay cabler HBO that will keep him at the helm of the vampire drama series through the fourth season. "I just closed a deal to show-run [True Blood] for two more seasons, so I would assume that [the series is at minimum] going through Season Four," Ball told Abbie Bernstein of Buzzy Multimedia. (Buzzy Multimedia)

Sharon Stone has signed on for a four-episode story arc on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit later this season. Stone, who will first appear in an episode slated to air in April, will play "a former cop-turned-prosecutor who will (presumably) go toe-to-toe with Benson, Stabler, and the gang," according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Elsewhere at Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Mischa Barton (The Beautiful Life) has been tapped for a guest star role on the NBC procedural, where she will play a prostitute named Gladys on the March 3rd episode. According to TV Guide's Will Keck, "Mischa’s character is hiding a secret that will prove complicating for Mariska Hargitay’s Benson." (TV Guide Magazine)

FOX has given a put pilot order to Shawn Ryan's cop drama project Ridealong, which follows a group of police officers--ranging from beat cops to the female police chief--in Chicago. Project, written and executive produced by Ryan, hails from 20th Century Fox Television. "Something will happen in the pilot that will have overarching (ramifications) that we deal with over time. It will be less serialized than Grey's but more than CSI," Ryan told Variety's Michael Schneider. "I don't think it will be as gritty a world as The Shield was, but it will feel authentic." (Variety)

There's an online petition started by some diehard Lost fans to have Disney to consider creating a Lost-themed ride at one of its amusement parks. Lost showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse endorse the idea, according to The Wrap's Josef Adalian. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

ABC picked up two multi-camera comedy pitches from Sony Pictures Television and Tantamount, both untitled. The first, a family comedy from writers Mitchel Katlin and Nat Bernstein, will star comedian Carlos Mencia and his based on his life and stand-up act as he plays a man living amid a "very large multigenerational immigrant family." The second, a Cedric the Entertainer comedy vehicle, is written by Al Higgins ('Til Death) and Devon Shepard (Cedric the Entertainer Presents); Cedric will play "a retired baseball player-turned-radio host forced to re-evaluate the type of father he has been when his son and 6-year-old granddaughter re-enter his life." (Hollywood Reporter)

Could romance be in the cards for Ugly Betty's Daniel and Betty? According to executive producer Silvio Horta, it's definitely possible. "We’ve been batting around the idea," Horta told Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "It is not outside the realm of possibility that something [could] happen, but we’re not sure yet." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

CBS has given a pilot order to Matt Tarses' comedy True Love, about a group of twenty-something friends in Manhattan looking for love. Project, from Sony Pictures Television, is executive produced by Tarses and his sister Jamie Tarses. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting Jeffrey Tambor will lend his voice to an upcoming episode of FX's animated comedy Archer, slated to air January 28th. The casting reunites Tambor with his Arrested Development costar Jessica Walter, who is a series regular (or her voice is, anyway) on Archer as Malory, the mother/boss of the titular spy. "In the episode, Tambor plays a United Nations intelligence chairman who Walter’s Malory tries to woo for the benefit of her spy agency," writes Ausiello. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TruTV has ordered eight episodes of docudrama Southern Fried Stings, which follows a former state trooper who investigates criminals as part of a private security firm. Series, from Zoo Productions and Studio Lambert, will launch in March. (Variety)

Lacey Chabert (Mean Girls) and Ryan Merriman (Taken) star in Hallmark Channel original telepic Elevator Girl, set to air on Saturday, February 13th. (via press release)

Two promotions at Syfy: Blake Callaway has been named SVP of marketing, brand and strategic and Michael Engleman has been bumped to SVP of marketing, global brand strategy and creative. Both executives report to Dave Howe. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Clyde Phillips Leaves "Dexter," "True Blood" Casting Roundup, Julian Fellowes Mines "Vanderbilts" for Showtime, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Just a day after the record-breaking season finale of Showtime's Dexter, executive producer/showrunner Clyde Phillips announced yesterday that he is leaving the series. He'll be replaced at the helm by Chip Johannessen (24). According to the Hollywood Reporter, Phillips made the "hugely difficult decision" to leave in order "to spend more time with his family in Connecticut." "Clyde Phillips has made an enormous contribution to the phenomenal success of Dexter for the past four years, but we know he needs to spend more time with his family on the East Coast than he spends with the Dexter family in L.A.," said Showtime entertainment president Robert Greenblatt. "We reluctantly say good-bye to him at a turning point in the series, but fellow Dexter executive producers Sara Colleton and John Goldwyn have chosen a great successor -- Chip Johannessen, who has been a key producer of '24' for the past two years. We're confident that he will bring intelligence, emotion and great storytelling to the next chapter of Dexter." (Hollywood Reporter)

Time for a True Blood casting roundup after the HBO vampire drama landed three actors. First up: J. Smith-Cameron (Law & Order) will recur as Melinda, the "dirt-poor, hungover, and trashy-looking" estranged mother of Sam Trammell's shapeshifter Sam. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Alfre Woodard (Three Rivers), meanwhile, will guest star on True Blood as the mother of short-order cook Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis), according to the Hollywood Reporter's Nellie Andreeva. (Hollywood Reporter)

SPOILER! Finally, James Frain (The Tudors) has been cast in True Blood, where he will recur next season as Franklin Mott, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. Franklin is described as "tall, dark, and handsome vampire who seems to have an 'immediate and torrid' connection to Tara." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) has signed on to write the pilot script for Showtime's period drama The Vanderbilts, which will follow the saga of the wealthy railroad and shipping family. [Editor: I'm hugely familiar with the story of the Vanderbilts, so rest assured, there's plenty of drama for Fellowes to mine.] Project, from CBS Television Studios and Simon West Productions, is executive produced by Bob Balaban and Rob Paris. Project shouldn't be confused with Joel Silver's HBO Vanderbilts project, which is in development at the rival pay cabler. (Variety)

While the full schedule has yet to be announced, The 2010 William S. Paley Television Festival will include sessions on FOX's Glee and CW's Vampire Diaries. Plus, the festival this year will move from the Cinerama Dome at the Arclight to the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, which will accommodate approximately 1000 more seats. The festival is slated to run between February 26th and March 14th. (Variety)

TVGuide.com's Mickey O'Connor talks to Scrubs executive producer Bill Lawrence about the series, which underwent a huge overhaul and cast change when it relaunched earlier this month. "I've been doing this a long time and we knew there's no possible way to please everyone," Lawrence told O'Connor. "Look, if I had done a brand-new show, you would read 9,000 things about how the new characters all suck. Even though when Scrubs premiered eight years ago, I read 9,000 things in the first two episodes about how these characters suck. With new characters, it takes three, four, five, six episodes to figure out who they are. And then the other hand, we got these people to make transitions to people hopefully you'll still like. You'll also read stuff, "why can't it just be about Zach, where's Carla and the Janitor" and I'm, like, well, that show's over." (TVGuide.com)

Callie Khouri (Thelma and Louise) and Angelina Burnett will write the pilot script for FOX legal dramedy The Real Amanda Strauss, about a woman who works in the district attorney’s office and secretly comes from a family of con artists. Project, from Sony Pictures Television and Furst Films, will be executive produced by Sean and Bryan Furst, along with Burnett and Kouri, who may direct should the project get ordered to pilot. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson will reprise his role as Betty's orthodontist Dr. Farkus on ABC's Ugly Betty later this season. Ferguson will appear in the January 6th episode of Ugly Betty but whether he'll be removing Betty's braces is another question. It’s a really fun scene between the two of them," executive producer Silvio Horta told Ausiello. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

NBC has announced their midseason schedule, including launch dates for Parenthood and The Marriage Ref. Parenthood will launch on Monday, March 1st at 9 pm ET/PT while The Marriage Ref will join the schedule on Sunday, March 14th at 8 pm ET/PT. (Televisionary)

VH1 has ordered eight one-hour episodes of a Tough Love spinoff entitled Tough Love: Couples, in which Steve Ward and his mother JoAnn will "take five couples on the verge of becoming engaged and puts their relationships to the test." Series will launch in second quarter 2010. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "Ugly Betty" Moves to Wednesdays, FX Slates "Damages" Return, "Shield" Reunion on "Lie to Me," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Looks like Betty Suarez is moving again. Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd is reporting that struggling dramedy series Ugly Betty, now in its fourth season, will be rescued from the Friday night death slot and given a berth on Wednesdays at 10 pm ET/PT, essentially creating a three-hour block of comedy programming for ABC. Meanwhile, the now vacant Friday night timeslot will be filled by the five remaining unaired episodes of Shark Tank. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

FX has announced a launch date for Season Three of serpentine legal thriller Damages, which will return to the lineup on Monday, January 25th at 10 pm ET/PT. In other scheduling, Nip/Tuck will debut its final season on Wednesday, January 6th at 10 pm ET/PT and animated comedy Archer begins on Thursday, January 14th while drama Justified will premiere in March and comedy Louie will debut later in the spring. (Televisionary)

Los Angeles Times' Maria Elena Fernandez is reporting that six cast members from FX's The Shield will reunite on screen for an upcoming episode of Lie to Me, which is now executive produced by Shield creator Shawn Ryan in its second season. The episode, which will air in the spring, will feature Benito Martinez, Catherine Dent, Kenny Johnson, Cathy Cahlin Ryan, David Marciano, and David Rees Snell. (Los Angeles Times/Show Tracker)

NBC is developing legal drama Tommy Supreme, based on the life of Tom Goldstein, a lawyer who has argued 21 cases before the Supreme Court. Project, from writer/executive producer Barry Schindel, Universal Media Studios, and Circle of Confusion, is described as an "inverse House" with a "likable guy in the most unlikable profession." (Variety)

BBC America has announced their January plans, which include the launch of comedy The Inbetweeners on Monday, January 25th at 9 pm ET/PT, the launch of Season Three of Last Restaurant Standing on Tuesday, January 5th, and the premiere of supernatural drama Demons on Saturday, January 2nd. (Televisionary)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos has confirmed with the CW that Kelly Hu will be guest staring on Vampire Diaries, where she will appear in flashbacks as Pearl, an apothecary. "Contrary to other reports," writes Dos Santos, "she doesn't go door to door and accidentally try to sell vervain to Katherine (Nina Dobrev)." Hu's first appearance is slated to air on January 28th. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Simon Cowell has partnered with Philip Green to bring reality competition series X Factor to Las Vegas in a global pay-per-view online venture. ""The plan is to take it to Vegas," Green told British GQ in an interview. "We'll have a permanent place. The home of The X Factor -- live from Vegas." The duo plan to produce two talent shows per week and offer them via pay-per-view online. (Hollywood Reporter)

20th Century Fox Television has signed a multi-year overall deal with Glee co-creator/executive producer Brad Falchuk, who will remain aboard the FOX musical comedy while also developing new projects for the studio. He'll also be considered for directing gigs on the studio's pilot after his direction of several episodes of Glee this season. (Variety)

Musician/producer T Bone Burnett has joined Epix drama pilot Tough Trade as an executive producer while Azita Ghanizada has been cast as the wife of Cary Elwes' character in the Lionsgate Television-produced project. (Hollywood Reporter)

CBS Television Stations have signed a deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution for a two-year syndicated pickup for crime procedural Cold Case in 16 markets. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Jason Lee Mired in "Delta Blues," Fred Willard Drops By "Modern Family," Gretchen Mol Strolls on HBO's "Boardwalk," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Jason Lee (My Name is Earl) has been cast as the lead in TNT drama pilot Delta Blues, where he will play Dwight Hendricks, a Memphis cop who moonlights as an Elvis impersonator and lives with his mother. Pilot, from Warner Horizon and Smokehouse Pictures, is written by Liz M. Garcia and Joshua Harto and will be directed by Clark Johnson, who will executive produce with George Clooney and Grant Heslov. (Hollywood Reporter)

Proving that the series' casting directors have inherited the comedy casting mantle from Arrested Development and 30 Rock, Fred Willard (Back to You) has signed on to guest star on an upcoming episode of ABC's Modern Family, where he will play the father to Ty Burrell's Phil. [Editor: look for Willard to turn up, oh, before the end of the calendar year.] (Fancast)

Gretchen Mol (Life on Mars) has joined the cast of HBO's upcoming period drama Boardwalk Empire in the recurring role of Gillian, a showgirl in 1920s Prohibition-era Atlantic City. Elsewhere, Sarah Burns (I Love You, Man) will star opposite Laura Dern in HBO's untitled Mike White comedy pilot, where she will play a workplace friend to Dern's Amy, described as "a self-destructive woman who has a spiritual awakening and becomes determined to live an enlightened life, creating havoc at home and work." (Hollywood Reporter)

Pilot casting alert: Amaury Nolasco (Prison Break) will star opposite Radha Mitchell in A&E drama pilot The Quickening, where he will play a homicide detective who was married to Mitchell's bipolar detective Maggie Bird. Elsewhere, Ethan Embry (Vacancy) has joined the cast of USA legal drama pilot Facing Kate, where he will play the brother to Sarah Shahi's Kate who gave up a promising legal career to be a stay-at-home dad. (Hollywood Reporter)

Will Arnett will guest star on NBC's Parks and Recreation later this season. (Televisionary)

Syfy has quietly announced that it will air direct-to-DVD film Battlestar Galactica: The Plan on Sunday, January 10th at 9 pm ET/PT. And the cabler has confirmed that Caprica will be airing in the Friday at 9 pm ET/PT timeslot, followed by repeats of Warehouse 13 at 10 pm. (Futon Critic)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that, unless the series sees a ratings spike by the spring, it seems likely that this will be the last season for ABC's Ugly Betty. Citing an unnamed mole within the production, Dos Santos writes, "The writers have accepted that this season may be the last and are brainstorming endings now, just in case. The big question is: Who will Betty end up with? The writers room is deeply divided." Those three candidates include Freddy Rodriguez's Gio, Eric Mabius' Daniel, or Chris Gorham's Henry. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Daniel Radcliffe will lend his voice to The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror XXI, where he will play Edmund, a child vampire that Lisa falls in love with in a parody of the Twilight franchise. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that four former cast members of Melrose Place will reunite later this season on the CW revival series, with Heather Locklear, Josie Bissett, Daphne Zuniga, and Thomas Calabro set to appear in a scene together at the iconic apartment complex. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

ITV has announced the cast for the latest adaptation of Agatha Christie's Poirot, once again starring David Suchet as the titular Belgian detective. Joining him in the adaptation of Christie's Murder on the Orient Express will be Dame Eileen Atkins, Barbara Hershey, Hugh Bonneville, and Samuel West. No airdate has been given for the telepic, but it will follow the four upcoming Poirot films Appointment with Death, The Clocks, Three Act Tragedy, and Hallowe'en Party. (BBC News)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that the two-part Justice Society storyline on the CW's Smallville has now been combined into a seamless two-hour event movie entitled Smallville: Absolute Justice, which will air on February 5th. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

CTV has renewed supernatural drama The Listener for a second season, despite the Canadian series' cancellation at NBC. Series, produced by Shaftesbury Films, will air in Canada on CTV and Spaced and internationally on Fox International Channels but currently has no US outlet. (Variety)

Jeri Ryan (Leverage) and Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Without a Trace) have been cast in Lifetime Movie Networks horror telepic Secrets in the Walls, about a woman who discovers that her dream house in the suburbs is haunted. (Variety)

Graham King has launched a television division of his GK films shingle and hired former Lionsgate TV international executive Craig Cegielski as president of the new GK-TV division, which will "focus on programming with strong international appeal in an effort to capitalize on the growing appetite at U.S. nets for international co-production and co-financing deals." [Editor: Congrats, Craig!] (Variety)

The Wendy Williams Show has been renewed for two more seasons on Fox TV stations, keeping the syndicated talker on the air through the 2011-12 season. (Hollywood Reporter)

MTV has acquired domestic television rights to the Michael Jackson documentary This Is It, following a deal with Sony Pictures Television under which the cabler and its channel siblings will be able to air the film in 2011 in a six-year window. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Tricia Helfer Sets Sights on "Two and a Half Men," Lauren Graham Talks "Parenthood," Alan Ball on "True Blood" Season Three, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Battlestar Galactica star (and Maxim cover girl) Tricia Helfer will guest star in an upcoming episode of CBS comedy Two and a Half Men, where she will play a friend of Charlie's fiancee. "Natch, when Chelsea hears her bosomy buddy is recovering from a breakup," writes Ausiello, "she insists that she do so at Casa Harper." Helfer's episode is slated to air November 16th. [Editor: while I love that Helfer is working steadily, can we please land her a series regular gig ASAP?] (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

SPOILER ALERT! TVGuide.com's Natelie Abrams talks to True Blood executive producer Alan Ball about what's coming on Season Three of the HBO vampire drama, set to air next summer. "It's a crazy season," Ball told Abrams. "It picks up right where we left off and things get weird really fast." [Editor: Ball teases some tidbits about the third season but beware of a MASSIVE spoiler for people who haven't read Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels.] (TVGuide.com)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello catches up with Lauren Graham to talk to the actress about her new role on NBC's Parenthood, her decision behind joining an ensemble drama, and her character, Sarah Braverman. "I’m getting together to talk with Jason this weekend," Graham told Ausiello about discussing her character with the series' executive producer Jason Katims. "That’s one of the key things [I liked] about this job was he was like, 'I really want to hear what you want [this role] to be.' We’re still kind of working that out a little bit. What I said to him is I’m interested in the flawed part of her. For seven years I played someone who people come up and say, 'I wish my mom was just like Lorelai.' That’s not this character. She’s not perfect. She’s funny and smart and she’s doing a pretty good job, but she’s struggling, and that’s what I’m drawn to. In my experience, it’s the less noble parts of someone that are the most interesting, especially over a long story." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Showrunner Dee Johnson will depart CBS' The Good Wife, which will see showrunner duties on the well-reviewed new drama taken over by co-creators Michelle and Robert King. Johnson will focus on development for next season after fulfilling her commitment to oversee the pilot and first twelve episodes of the The Good Wife. (Hollywood Reporter)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that the downed plane that will land on Desperate Housewives could be an Oceanic Airlines plane in a bit of cross-network branding/promotion with Lost. "The plane's Oceanic branding would just be a fun little Easter egg for Lost fans to find," and ABC insider told Dos Santos. "And while the crossover has yet to be finalized, I'm told the higher-ups at ABC are keen on the idea." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

NBC has given a script order to drama Welcome to Hitchcock, from writer/executive producers Steve Mitchell and Craig Van Sickle and executive producer Teri Weinberg (yes, that Teri Weinberg) and Universal Media Studios, about a "skilled but restless police detective who, in search of his missing brother, relocates to the city of Hitchcock, Calif., where he soon discovers a world of half-truths, peculiar characters and unanswered questions lying beneath the town's sparkling, friendly, blue-sky veneer of tradition and family values." Meanwhile, ABC has given a script order to dramedy Go Girls, a US adaptation of the Kiwi series about three women in their twenties and their male childhood friend who "dissatisfied with their lives, make challenging promises to one another that they set out to fulfill." The latter project, from ABC Studios, will be written by Liz Tuccillo and executive produced by Tuccillo, Julia Franz, and John Barnett. (Hollywood Reporter)

Ouch. ABC's Hank will be pre-empted by a second airing of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on October 28th, a night after the network airs the "expanded one-hour" version of Great Pumpkin. While ABC isn't commenting about Hank's future, it doesn't bode well for the Kelsey Grammer vehicle. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

NCIS star Michael Weatherly is definitely against having his character, Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo hook up with Cote de Pablo's Ziva David. "Let’s look at it from a practical angle," he told EW.com. "It’s Kryptonite! She’s an assassin! That’s like marrying a hooker. You gotta be real comfortable with the fact she’s gonna go hook! I don’t see how, domestically, (a relationship) would work. But that’s me. Tony DiNozzo is completely unaware. You never know. Maybe they’ll be like those YouTube videos when you see the mongoose and the snake. Before they ever got together, one of them will kill each other. You never know." (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss will guest star on an upcoming episode of NBC's Mercy, where she will play Lucy Morton, a cancer patient has lost her hair due to treatment. Moss' episode is slated to air November 4th. (TVGuide.com)

Fox Reality Channel will be replaced by Nat Geo Wild, a joint venture between National Geographic Ventures and Fox Cable Group that will focus on animals in "wild, natural environment." (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

TVGuide.com's Gina DiNunno talks with Ugly Betty star Eric Mabius about what's coming up on the fourth season of the comedy series, which returns tonight with a two-hour opener. "Daniel is kind of losing it this season," Mabius tells DiNunno. "There's a bunch of funny stuff that happens, but it's sad at the same time. For quite a few episodes, we see him lost and sort of little boy-like. He's grasping at straws, and he's having serious anger issues, which he's trying to get a handle on. Daniel's lost because this was the first mature love of his life. He's completely not over Molly and doesn't know how to process it." (TVGuide.com)

Paige Turco (Damages) and Barry Bostwick (Spin City) have been cast in NBC's two-hour backdoor pilot The Mountain. The project, from Canadian production company Muse Entertainment, revolved around "Dana (Turco) a single mom with three kids who inherits a remote mountain cabin from a supposedly dead uncle. But when she heads off to the cabin, she discovers that her Uncle Henry (Bostwick) is very much alive, and they set out to keep an evil buyer from gaining access to the mountain that holds secrets and treasures." (Hollywood Reporter)

Oxygen has renewed docusoap Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood for a fifth season, set to air on the cabler in spring of 2010. (Variety)

Modern Family scored 444,000 viewers during two airings of its pilot episode on Sky1 in the UK last night, handily doubling the timeslot average over the last six weeks. (Broadcast)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: J.J. Abrams Back in Spy Game, Aylesworth Briefed for "Damages," FX Orders "Terriers," "Lights Out" to Series, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting that J.J. Abrams is returning to the spy business with a new potential series project with writer/executive producer Josh Reims (Felicity, Dirty Sexy Money) and executive producer Bryan Burk that is the subject of a heated bidding war with several broadcast networks including ABC, NBC, and CBS. The untitled project, from Warner Bros. Television and Bad Robot, follows a husband and wife who work as spies. According to Adalian, the script is described as a "fun romp" in the style of classic television spy adventures. (The Wrap)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Reiko Aylesworth (24, Lost) has been cast in Season Three of FX's legal drama Damages in a recurring role. Details about who Aylesworth--who starred in the original pilot for ABC drama series The Forgotten--will be playing are being kept firmly under wraps. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FX has given series orders to dramas Lights Out and Terriers, ordering thirteen episodes of each series. Fox21's Terriers, which stars Donal Logue as a former cop who launches an unlicensed private eye firm with his best friend (Michael Raymond-James), is set to debut in Summer 2010. It was created and will be executive produced by Ted Griffin and Shawn Ryan. Lights Out, from Fox Television Studios and FX Prods., stars Holt McCalleny as a former boxing champ who tries to support his wife and children. Series, from creator Justin Zackham, executive producer/showrunner Warren Leight, and executive producers Phillip Noyce and Ross Fineman, will launch in late 2010. That series will undergo some casting changes from the pilot episode, which had been tweaked by Leight. (Hollywood Reporter)

Rumors swirled yesterday that Comcast was in talks to acquire part or all of NBC Universal for $35 billion, but Comcast was quick to shoot down a report on The Wrap, saying that it was "inaccurate." (Editor: not untrue but inaccurate. Hmmm.) What is clear, however, is that the two companies are in talks of some kind as the deadline looms in the next few months for former Universal owner Vivendi to decide what to do with its remaining 20 percent ownership stake in the company, said to be in the neighborhood of $4 billion. Stay tuned on this one. (Broadcasting & Cable, Variety)

USA has given a cast-contingent pilot order to legal drama Facing Kate about a divorced lawyer in San Francisco who leaves her job as an attorney to become a mediator. Project, from Universal Cable Prods., is written by Michael Sardo, who will executive produce with Steve Stark and Russ Buchholz. (Hollywood Reporter)

E! Online's Megan Masters speaks with Modern Family star Ty Burrell about what's coming up on the ABC comedy series, including this little doozy: "Jay likes to fly model airplanes, so Phil goes out to fly [them] with him, and Jay gets fed up with Phil yacking on, so that goes sour." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Bravo is developing three new series around some of its most memorable stars, including Real Housewives' Bethenny Frankel, Project Runway's Christian Siriano, and Top Chef's Fabio Viviani. Frankel's as-yet-untitled series, from Shed Media, will follow her as she looks for love and grows her business as a natural foods chef. Siriano's series will follow the flamboyant designer as he opens a shop and promotes his clothing line. Viviani will star in Fabio: A Catered Affair, which will follow him and his business parter Jacopo Falleni as they look to "expand their restaurant and catering business in Los Angeles." The latter two projects hail from Magical Elves. (Variety)

Guest stars aplenty for ABC's Ugly Betty. E! Online's Megan Masters is reporting that Christie Brinkley will join the cast of the dramedy this season as rival fashion editrix Penelope Graybridge while Shakira will guest star as herself in a November episode of Ugly Betty that finds the Mode staffers overseeing a photo shoot in the Bahamas. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

ABC Family has given pilot orders to two comedies. The first, an untitled multi-camera comedy starring Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence, will see the duo play a "a political dynasty wild child-turned-politician who takes in her teenage niece and pre-adolescent nephew when her sister goes to prison and her brother-in-law flees. She turns for help to Jack (Lawrence), who, desperate for a job, moves in and becomes the family's "manny.'" (Whew.) That project is from writers Bob Young and David Kendall, who will executive produce with Melissa Joan Hart, Paula Hart, and Joey Lawrence. The second greenlight went to an untitled single-camera comedy from writer/executive producer Michael Jacobs about a father who gets laid off from his architecture firm who "begins to mentor his underdog middle daughter, while his veterinarian wife shares a closer bond with their Type A older daughter." (Hollywood Reporter)

CBS Studios International has closed deals to bring several of its new series to the UK, with rights deals in place for NCIS: Los Angeles at Sky1 and The Good Wife and Accidentally on Purpose at Channel 4. Sky1 will launch NCIS: Los Angeles on October 21st while The Good Wife will bow on on More4 and Accidentally on Purpose on E4. (Broadcast, Variety)

R.J. Cutler's reality single Actual Reality has signed a co-production deal with Evolution Media under which Evolution will co-produce the nonscripted projects that the company has at MTV, Bravo, TruTV, and Sony Pictures Television and will have a first-look option at any new projects that Actual Reality develops. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: NBC to Stream "Chuck" Episodes Online, Desmond Harrington to Get More "Gossip," Andrew Connelly Powers Up for "Heroes," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that NBC will today begin streaming already aired episodes of Chuck on its website. For now, the installments include the original pilot episode and the entire second season of Chuck, which is being released in batches of five episodes at a time. Chuck is currently slated to return to the airwaves in March. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams is reporting that Desmond Harrington (Dexter) will reprise his role as Jack Bass on the CW's Gossip Girl later this season. "I will be back this year," Harrington told Abrams. "I think it's episode 15 or 16 where I show back up. It's fun playing Uncle Jack... I think, if anything, I am there to screw that kid's life up basically," Harrington says. "I think he might be, out of all the most evil characters the show has ever had on it, the most evil character. He's evil." (TVGuide.com)

Andrew Connolly (Lost) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on Heroes this fall. He'll play the older brother to Robert Knepper's Samuel Sullivan, "the charismatic but evil Earth-moving ringleader of a traveling carnival who recruits people with special powers for a mysterious purpose." (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Ugly Betty will shoot an upcoming episode on location at the Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas next month. "I’m told most of the cast will be making the trek for the special episode, which will air in November and revolve around a big Mode photo shoot," writes Ausiello. He also quotes an unnamed Ugly Betty insider who reveals, "Location shoots can make or break you as an editor, so it’s a big deal for Betty... there’s also some drama with a certain love triangle." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Variety's Michael Schneider investigates the surge in animated development at the networks, with several animated projects--from FX's Archer to Nick at Nite, TBS, HBO, and Comedy Central--planned for the next few studios. "It's the engine that allows us to have all sorts of ancillary revenues of distribution -- syndication, home entertainment, licensing and merchandising," 20th Century Fox Television chairman Gary Newman told Schneider. (Variety)

The third season of Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures will air twice a week in the UK on BBC One. "We've been planning this for a very long time now," executive producer Russell T. Davies told Doctor Who Magazine. "The whole of Children's BBC is excited by this transmission pattern. It feels like the old days, when Doctor Who would transmit twice a week!" The spin-off series, which stars Elisabeth Sladen, aired its first season Stateside on Sci Fi; no plans have been announced yet for the second or third seasons. (Digital Spy)

TVGuide.com talks to House star Lisa Edelstein about what's coming up on the fifth season of the medical mystery series. Edelstein addressed the bait-and-switch love scene in the season finale. "The thing that I thought was good news about it is that there's only so far we can take it on the show before you change the dynamic, so the fact is, we kind of got a freebie in, because ultimately it can't really be that successful because that's not what House is about," she told TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams. "The more time you eke out of the opportunity to just explore two people who have no relationship skills, the more we can play around. I get to be a virgin another time." (TVGuide.com)

Broadcast has a fantastic interview with British comedian Katy Brand, whose eponymous sketch comedy series Katy Brand's Big Ass Show is set to launch in States on BBC America later this year. (Broadcast)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Ed Norton Drops By "Modern Family," Bryan Fuller and Bryan Singer Team Up at NBC, Anna Camp Heads to "The Office," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Ed Norton will guest star on an upcoming episode of ABC's new comedy series Modern Family. Norton will play "the bassist of a famous band whom Claire (Julie Bowen) hires as an anniversary surprise for husband Phil (Ty Burrell)," writes Ausiello. His episode is slated to air in November. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Pushing Daisies' Bryan Fuller and Bryan Singer are teaming up to develop SelleVision, a comedic one-hour adaptation of Augusten Burrough's novel, which is set behind the scenes at a home shopping network. Fuller will write the pilot script while Singer is attached to direct; both will executive produce with Mark Bozek and Russell Nuce. Universal Media Studio is behind the adaptation. "We were all big fans of Augusten and the book, and we all got along great," Fuller told Variety. "So we decided to get into bed together... I love the world of home shopping -- it's such a rich world," he said. "There are those great metaphors of consumerism, buying happiness, all of that chasing material thing." Elsewhere at NBC, Fuller also has a half-hour workplace comedy pilot script called No Kill, which revolves around the employees of a no-kill animal shelter. Project, from Universal Media Studios and BermanBraun, will be executive produced by Fuller, Gail Berman, and Lloyd Braun. And there's still the Pushing Daisies comic book. "Fuller is still working on a comicbook adaptation of his late ABC series Pushing Daisies," writes Variety's Michael Schneider. "Fuller said he remains hopeful that the 12 issues of the comicbook will eventually serve as a blueprint for a Pushing Daisies movie.(Variety)

True Blood's Anna Camp has been cast as a guest star in an upcoming episode of NBC's The Office this season. Who's she playing? E! Online's Megan Masters has the scoop: Camp, who very memorably played Sarah Newlin on the HBO vampire drama this summer, will play Penny, the sister to Scranton's Pam Beesley (Jenna Fischer) on the October 8th episode that features the wedding of Pam and Jim (John Krasinski). (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Ellen DeGeneres has been named the fourth judge on FOX's American Idol, filling the seat left vacant by the departure of Paula Abdul. "I've been dealing with this for the last couple of weeks, and I've been dying to tell everyone," DeGeneres announced to the audience of her eponymous daytime talk show. "It's been so hard to keep it a secret." DeGeneres will join the judges in January and will continue to also host to her Warner Bros. Television-produced daytime series through 2014. (Variety)

Peggy Lipton (Twin Peaks) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on Starz's drama Crash, where she replaces Valerie Perrine, who has dropped out due to surgery. Lipton will play Suzy Fields, the ex-wife of record producer Ben Cendars (Dennis Hopper) who is now married to author Owen Fields (Keith Carradine). (Hollywood Reporter)

The BBC has teamed up with Ecosse Films to develop a mini-series adaptation of Kate Atkinson's 1999 novel "Behind the Scenes at the Museum." Written by Brian Fillis (The Curse of Steptoe) and executive produced by Lucy Bedford (Mistresses), the four-hour Behind The Scenes At The Museum is slated to air in 2010 on either BBC One or BBC Two. "I’ve loved the book for ages but was conscious that it is a very difficult adaptation," said executive producer Lucy Bedford. "It’s structurally complex because there are multiple timeframes and the sweep of the story is enormous." (Broadcast)

FOX has ordered a pilot script (with a penalty attached) for a comedy Texts From Last Night, based on the website of the same name, to be written by Steve Holland (The Big Bang Theory). Site invites users to submit embarrassing text messages they sent while drunk or tired. Project, from Sony Pictures Television and Happy Madison, will focus on "he whole idea of racy -- and sometimes embarrassing -- communication, particularly among the twentysomething set." (Variety)

Adam Rodriguez (CSI: Miami) will appear in at least five episodes of ABC's Ugly Betty this season. According to TVGuide.com, Rodriguez will play Bobby, a high school boyfriend of Betty's sister Hilda. "He's an old high school boyfriend, and [he comes] back into their lives," Rodriguez told TVGuide.com. "A little romance buds, and there's some drama to go along with it." (TVGuide.com)

CBS has renewed reality series Big Brother for a twelfth season, slated to air next summer. (Hollywood Reporter)

Season Two of Canadian soap Being Erica will air Stateside on SOAPNet beginning on January 20th. The cabler has also announced that it will repeat the entire first season beginning October 17th. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

The Wrap's Josef Adalian takes a look at the "disappointing" premiere ratings for the CW's Melrose Place (about half of that of the series premiere of 90210) and investigates whether or not a further drop-off would spell doom for the nighttime soap. "It will be at least a month before CW programmers have a clear sense of just how well or poorly Melrose is actually doing," writes Adalian.
"The big mystery: Will Melrose suffer the same massive week two dropoff experienced by 90210 last fall? That show lost 30 percent of its premiere audience in week two, and was down to just over 2 million viewers by its finale. If Melrose slides another 30 percent next week, then it could very well be curtains for the show, since it's starting from a much smaller premiere base." Still, cautions Adalian, it's too soon to call the series dead. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Ascends to "Thrones," FOX Breaks in with Olmstead and Santora, Edie Falco Talks "Nurse Jackie," and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Virtuality star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has been cast in the pilot for fantasy drama Game of Thrones, HBO's adaptation of George R.R. Martin's novel series. Coster-Waldau will play Jaime Lannister, described by The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd as "one of the king's guards and a ruthless usurper of the previous king." Also cast in the Tom McCarthy-directed pilot: Tamzin Merchant (The Tudors), Richard Madden (Hope Springs), Iain Glen (Into the Storm), Alfie Allen (The Other Boleyn Girl), Sophie Turner (Doctor Who), and Maisie Williams, all of whom join the previously announced Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Jennifer Ehle, Kit Harrington, Harry Lloyd, Peter Dinklage, and Jack Gleeson. Production begins this October in Ireland. (Hollywood Reporter)

FOX has handed out a pilot script order with penalty to drama Break Out Kings, from 20th Century Fox Television and Prison Break writer/producers Matt Olmstead and Nick Santora, about a group of former convicts who become members of the US Marshall service in Manhattan and track down fugitives. Gavin Hood (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) is attached to direct and executive produce, alongside Olmstead and Santora. (Variety)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has a fantastic interview with Nurse Jackie star Edie Falco, the series' creators Linda Wallem and Liz Brixius, and Showtime president Robert Greenblatt about the dark comedy, which wraps its first season run on Monday. "Don’t pin it down," said Falco of her belief that she doesn't want the audience to have any specific conclusions about Jackie's complex life. "Leave questions. Treat the audience like they’re smart. Let five people who are viewing it have five different ideas about what just happened in that scene."(The Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson will star in HBO's adaptation of Cormac McCarthy play The Sunset Limited, about a man who saves another from throwing himself in front of a subway train. Jones will direct the two-hour telepic, which will be produced by Barbara Hall. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Kirsten Johnston (3rd Rock from the Sun) has been cast in a recurring role on ABC's Ugly Betty, where she will play Helen, a new office temp at Mode magazine who befriends Becki Newton's Amanda. If the character description sounds familiar, it's because the role was originally meant to be played by former American Idol judge Paula Abdul before talks between Abdul and the series' producers collapsed. "I’ve always considered myself a poor man’s Paula Abdul," Johnston joked to Ausiello and then described her character as "Amanda in 10 years. She’s still trying to get into the right clubs, wearing tight dresses... tragic. I think [Helen] sees herself as Samantha from Sex and the City. Except, of course, she’s a temp." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FOX has given a premium script commitment to an untitled multi-camera family comedy pilot from My Name is Earl executive producer Bobby Bowman about a strange kid who attempts to be normal, even while living among a highly eccentric family. Project, which will be written by Bowman, hails from Peter Chernin's new company and 20th Century Fox Television. (Hollywood Reporter)

Broadcast is reporting that the BBC has announced that it will not order a second season of period fantasy comedy Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire after its funding partner--that would be Comedy Central here in the US--pulled out of the international co-production. (Broadcast)

Anyone else troubled by executive producer Todd Slavkin's recent comments in an E! Online interview about the CW's new Melrose Place, where he describes the "sexual revolution" going on in the series as "post-AIDS"? Said Slavkin: "We feel that there is a current sexual revolution going on. Kind of post-AIDS—where the boundaries are off. Their parents have been shackled, and they want to explore." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Canadian sketch comedy troupe Kids in the Hall have reunited for Death Comes to Town, an eight-episode "comic murder mystery" for the CBC. According to Variety's Brendan Kelly, the series will revolves around a "small town when all its most distinguished citizens are murdered. A suspect is arrested, there's a trial and many dark secrets are revealed along the way." Production is currently underway for a January launch on CBC. (Variety)

BBC Two has given a series order to culinary comedy Whites, starring Alan Davies (Jonathan Creek) as a highly successful executive chef who lacks the motivation to turn his restaurants into an empire, Pam Ferris (The Darling Buds of May), Darren Boyd (Saxondale), and Isy Suttie (Peep Show). Project was created by Matt King (Peep Show's Superhans) and Oliver Lansley (FM) and six half-hour episodes will be shot. (Broadcast)

FearNet has acquired five unaired episodes of short-lived NBC horror anthology series Fear Itself, which it will begin running on FearNet.com beginning September 2nd and on FearNet OnDemand beginning September 7th. (Hollywood Reporter)

Cartoon Network has ordered a second season of reality series Destroy Build Destroy, which Andrew W.K. attached to return as host of the live-action series. (Variety)

Tijuana Entertainment has hired former Reveille executive Ronak Kordestani as director of development and Todd Berger as a creative consultant. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Patton Oswalt Lands on "Caprica," NBC to Attend "Midnight, Mass," January Jones Talks "Mad" Betty Draper, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Patton Oswalt (United States of Tara) has been cast in a recurring role on Syfy's upcoming Battlestar Galactica prequel series Caprica, where he will play Baxter Sarno, the comedian talk show host of a Caprican-based television series on which Eric Stoltz's Daniel Greystone and Paula Malcomson's Amanda Greystone appear. Oswalt is no stranger to genre-based series; he did a memorable guest turn on FOX's Dollhouse last season in the game-changing episode "Man on the Street" (pictured here). Caprica is slated to launch in January 2010 on Syfy. (Hollywood Reporter)

NBC has ordered a pilot script for Midnight, Mass, a series adaptation of DC Comics/Vertigo title about Adam and Julia Kadmons, a married couple who travel the world solving mysteries and tackling bizarre supernatural crimes. Pilot script will be written by Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts, who will executive produce along with Pushing Daisies producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen. Project hails from Warner Bros. Television and Jinks/Cohen. Berg and Harberts, meanwhile, are showrunners on NBC's upcoming medical drama Mercy. (Hollywood Reporter)

E! Online's Watch with Kristin has a new video interview with Mad Men star January Jones, in which the actor--who plays the frustrated Betty Draper on the AMC drama series--reveals that Betty's affair at the end of Season Two has been deeply divisive among the audience, with many male viewers feeling betrayed by her one-night stand with the handsome stranger (Ryan McPartlin) while women felt that Betty was "finally getting hers." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Looks like Paula Abdul won't be turning up on Ugly Betty, after all. The Los Angeles Times' Denise Martin is reporting that talks between Abdul and the network have "fallen apart" and she "will not be guest starring on Ugly Betty." Abdul, as previously reported last week, had been in talks to guest star on Betty as a Mode magazine temp who develops a friendship with Amanda (Becki Newton). (Los Angeles Times' Show Tracker)

ABC has announced the sixteen new celebrities participating in Season Nine of Dancing with the Stars, which include: Aaron Carter, Olympian Natalie Coughlin, actor/martial artist Mark Dacascos, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Macy Gray, actor/songwriter Ashley Hamilton, Melissa Joan Hart, Kathy Ireland, former Dallas Cowboy Michael Irwin, actress Joanna Krupa, mixed martial arts icon Chuck Liddell, Debi Mazar, Mya, Kelly Osbourne, Donny Osmond, and pro snowboarder Louie Vito. (via press release)

Jay Leno has revealed that his first guest on his new 10 pm nightly talk show The Jay Leno Show will be Jerry Seinfeld, who is expected to "do standup on Leno and possibly race cars in the NBC parking lot -- a bit the show will probably go to often," writes Variety's Stuart Levine. (Variety)

Dave Franco (Superbad) has been cast in ABC's Scrubs as a series regular next season. Franco will play Cole, "a charming, conservative, confidently stupid and incredibly entitled medical student whose family donated a wing to the school. With his arrogance and erroneous medical decisions he becomes an enormous irritant to Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley)," according to the Hollywood Reporter's Nellie Andreeva. Scrubs is seeing the focus shift from Sacred Heart Hospital to a medical school next season; Franco will be among the new cast members helping to carry this new direction. (Hollywood Reporter)

HBO has optioned two volumes of Andrew Loog Oldham's biography "Stoned" and "2Stones," about his experiences as the producer and manager of the Rolling Stones. Pay cabler is developing a comedy series that will be loosely based on Oldham's life set in 1960s London. Wesley Strick will write the pilot script and will executive produce with Oldham and Lou Adler. (Variety)

UK audiences will finally get to see HBO's psychotherapy drama In Treatment: digital channel Sky Arts has acquired rights to the 43-episode series and plans to air episodes weeknights at 10 pm beginning in October. Sky Arts will also air an omnibus edition of In Treatment on Sunday evenings as well. (Broadcast)

Former NBC drama executive Lauren Stein has been hired at Peter Chernin's nascent production shingle, where she will oversee television drama development, a move that reunites her with her former boss at NBC, Katherine Pope. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Barrowman Could Get "Desperate," Michael Hogan Checks into "Dollhouse," USA Renews "In Plain Sight," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Torchwood star John Barrowman has told BBC1 Radio host Chris Moyle that he is meeting with the producers of ABC's Desperate Housewives about a possible role on the series next season. "I'm off to Los Angeles on Sunday again," said Barrowman on the air. "I probably shouldn't say this but I've got a meeting with the execs of Desperate Housewives; can you believe it, I'm going to be a Desperate Housewife!" No word yet on what role Barrowman could be playing or if a deal is in place for the actor to come on board the long-running drama. (Guardian's Media Monkey)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan is reporting that former Battlestar Galactica co-star Michael Hogan will be guest starring in an upcoming episode of FOX's Dollhouse this fall. Hogan, set to appear in the second episode of the sophomore season, will play "a customer of the Dollhouse who has used the services of the 'dolls' in the past." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

USA has handed out a third season order to drama In Plain Sight, which stars Mary McCormack, giving the Universal Cable Studios-produced series a sixteen-episode renewal. Behind the scenes, creator David Maples and executive producer Paul Stupin will step down from running the series, segueing into consulting roles on the series. An as-yet-undetermined executive producer will be brought into to give In Plain Sight "a little more narrative drive," according to USA president of original programming Jeff Wachtel. In other USA news, the cabler is said to be close to renewing Law & Order: Criminal Intent as well. (Hollywood Reporter)

20th Century Fox Television has confirmed that they have signed deals with all of the original voice actors on Futurama to reprise their roles in the new Comedy Central Futurama series, which will launch next year. The terms of the deals are unknown but it's clear that some sort of compromise was reached on one or both sides. "We are thrilled to have our incredible cast back," said creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen in a prepared statement. "The call has already gone out to the animators to put the mouths back on the characters." (Variety)

FOX has handed out a cast-contingent pilot order to multi-camera comedy The Rednecks & Romeos, about a group of teen friends living outside Buffalo, New York dealing with the results of economic turmoil, from writer/executive producer Mark Brazil and executive producers Tom Werner and Mike Clements. Project hails from Warner Bros. Television and Good Humor TV. (Hollywood Reporter)

Grant Bowler will reprise his role as slick thief Connor on ABC's Ugly Betty next season, reports Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. Bowler is said to have signed on for a multiple-episode story arc beginning this fall. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

NCIS' Pauey Perette will guest star in the second episode of spin-off series NCIS: Los Angeles. "She does a crossover and she's directly involved with helping us solve the case. It's a fun little cameo for her," said showrunner Shane Brennan. "We have plans for her to perhaps be in more episodes. And perhaps not just her. I can't tell you yet." Brennan also gave E! Online's Watch with Kristin some additional scoop about what to expect this fall. "It's Callen's (Chris O'Donnell) first day back on the job, and we see his scars. We literally see his scars," said Brennan. "And he rolls into this new venue and away we go from there. Will we answer what happened to him and how it happened and why? In the very best tradition of NCIS, yes. And in the very best tradition of NCIS, you'll just have to wait. So it will be a sweeps episode. I'll give you that." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Universal Media Studios has signed a blind script deal with Tom Arnold, under which he will write and produce an untitled comedy pilot script for NBC through his 2 Dog Limit shingle. He'll next be seen on the small screen in a recurring role on FX's Sons of Anarchy this fall. (Variety)

Tyra Banks is set to guest star on the CW's Gossip Girl next season, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, citing unnamed sources. Banks will play an actress who co-stars in a film alongside Hilary Duff's character. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

CBS has given a series order to a revival of vintage game show Let's Make a Deal, which will likely fill the daytime timeslot vacated by cancelled soap Guiding Light. Pilot for the series had already been shot with Wayne Brady as the host and he is expected to return for the FremantleMedia North America-produced series as well. (Variety)

ABC Family has ordered telepic The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice, the third sequel to 1992 ice skating film The Cutting Edge, which will star Francia Raisa and Brendan Fehr. Project, written by Holly Brix and directed by Stephen Herek, will premiere in spring 2010. (Hollywood Reporter)

A fifth season of Radical Media's Iconoclasts is on tap at Sundance Channel, which the cabler ordering six episodes to air in 2010. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Monaghan Gets "Lost" for Three Episodes, Joey Lauren Adams Falls for "Tara," "Ugly" Betty's New Look Focus-Grouped, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

E! Online's Watch with Kristin is reporting that Dominic Monaghan will reprise his role as rocker Charlie Pace on ABC's Lost next season for three episodes. "Sources tell us exclusively that, yes, Dom's deal to reappear on Lost is done and that the original castmember is set to appear in three episodes in Season Six," writes Jennifer Godwin. "No word yet on the answer to the big question: Is Charlie alive? We'll have to wait until Lost returns to ABC in January 2010 to find out." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Joey Lauren Adams (Party Down) has joined the cast of Showtime's United States of Tara for the series' second season. Adams will play Pammy, a barmaid who "has a history of picking the wrong guys," writes Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "Her luck changes the day she meets 'Buck' and falls head over heels in love." She'll appear in at least three episodes next season. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that ABC executives are testing scenes of Ugly Betty featuring America Ferrara's Betty rocking her new glam makeover. "Based on ABC’s questions to the panel, the suits appear most concerned about whether fans of the show will deem Betty’s transformation appropriate, given her four-year journey from flunky to editor, or whether the changes are too drastic and compromise the essence of the Everygal," writes Ausiello. "They’re also asking for opinions about Betty’s new hair, styled eyebrows, and makeup." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TLC still has thirty episodes remaining on its deal for unscripted family series Jon and Kate Plus 8 and said that the family--whose behind-the-scenes drama has become headline news--isn't hesitating about continuing on. "It's the family's decision to be involved in the show," said TLC president Eileen O'Neill said. "We want to stay with them as long as they want to stay with us." The series, however, will change, with the emphasis placed more squarely on the children that their parents' dating lives. (Variety)

Amy Poehler is set to return to her Weekend Update anchor roots during September, when she will rejoin Seth Meyers on the Weekend Update desk for Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday on September 17th and September 24th. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Shingle Ish Entertainment has several projects in development, including Bayside Boys, from writer/director/star Ed Burns, about a group of twenty-something male friends from Bayside, Queens. Project is being shopped to cable nets. Elsewhere, the company has Comedy Central male comedy Gnarly, about two thirty-somethings who travel back in time to their high-school selves to determine what made them so unattractive to the opposite sex. Other projects include MTV pilot Bridge and Tunnel, about students on Staten Island; dramedy One if by Land from Hitch writer Kevin Bisch, about a cafe in New York where couples get married, which has been bought as a script at CBS; and a slew of others. (Hollywood Reporter)

BBC One Daytime has commissioned a second season of drama Moving On, ordering ten stand-alone episodes that will be filmed on location in and nearby Liverpool. Series, from a group of writers who were mentored by Jimmy McGovern, is a loose narrative about people each coming to grips with how best to move on in life. The original season featured such actors as Shelia Hancock, Richard Armitage, Lesley Sharp, Mark Womack, Dervla Kerwin, and Ian Hart. (BBC)

FOX has added two encore airings of its new unscripted dating series More to Love, with repeats slated to air tonight at 8 pm ET/PT and Monday, August 3rd at 9 pm. (Futon Critic)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Richardson to Reign on "Tudors," Ty Pennington on "Great British Adventure" for ABC, Jamie-Lynn Sigler Gets "Ugly," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Nip/Tuck's Joely Richardson has been cast in the fourth and final season of Showtime's The Tudors, where she would play King Henry VIII's final wife, Katherine Parr. The Tudors is set to return in Spring 2010 and Showtime would not comment on the casting. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

In a first, British channel UKTV has sold lifestyle special Ty's Great British Adventure to ABC. Special, which will air Sunday, August 2nd at 8 pm on ABC, features Extreme Makeover: Home Edition's Ty Pennington transforming the rundown Cornish beach down of Portreath, including commissioning a children's park, a sports shop, and walking routes, along with other improvements. (Broadcast)

Jamie-Lynn Sigler (The Sopranos) has joined the cast of ABC's Ugly Betty, where she will recur as Natalie, Daniel Meade's new assistant who is described as "sexy, spiritual, [and] funny," according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. Sigler's first appearance is set for the second episode of Season Three, which kicks off October 9th on ABC. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

ABC has ordered a third season of unscripted series Wipeout, which it will air next summer. The exact episodic order was unclear but producers say that they will be constructing a whole new course for Season Three. "We're planning a completely new course next year that's nothing like anybody has ever seen," executive producer Matt Kunitz told the Hollywood Reporter. "What keeps this show running is keeping the show's course fresh." (Hollywood Reporter)

E! Online's Watch with Kristin has an interview with Nurse Jackie's Peter Facinelli, in which the actor talks about Dr. Fitch Cooper's sexual Tourette's and what's coming up on the fantastically addictive Showtime series. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Also on E! Online, the Watch with Kristin crew has a new interview with Leverage's Christian Kane, in which he talks about his hair, Eliot's love life (and anger management issues), and why Kane does his own stunt work on the series. "It's gonna be fun over the course of this season" for both Eliot Parker, said Kane. "These two people don't have hearts, but Nate [Timothy Hutton] has given them a heartbeat again. It's a little uncomfortable for both of them because they are starting to care about people. But Eliot in a sense is still going to be the James Bond of the show...It's not so much about love, as it is about beautiful women." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Actress Mischa Barton is said to be "seeking treatment but making improvements," according to her spokesman Craig Schneider. It's still unclear what Barton's future will be with the CW's new fall drama series The Beautiful Life, but Schneider says that the actress plans to return to work. (Hollywood Reporter)

E! has renewed docusoap Kendra for a second season of twelve episodes (plus a one-hour special), set to launch in 2010. (Variety)

TV Guide Network has acquired off-network rights to ABC dramedy Ugly Betty, which it will strip weekdays beginning Fall 2010. Deal covers all existing and future episodes of the series and the cabler will repurpose episodes from series' upcoming fourth season, which it will begin airing this fall, airing new episodes within two weeks of their broadcast on ABC. (Episodes will also be available on Hulu and ABC.com after transmission on ABC.) (Hollywood Reporter)

Spike has renewed Deadliest Warrior for a second season of thirteen episodes, slated to air next spring. Cabler is also said to be discussing commissioning a stand-alone special that would air before the launch of Season Two that would pit champions from the first season against one another. (Variety)

Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek), Noel Fisher (The Riches) and Linda Emond (Julie & Julia) have been cast in CBS' holiday telepic A Dog Named Christmas, based on Greg Kincaid's novel. Project will be written by Jenny Wingfield and directed by Peter Werner. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Syfy Discovers "Alien Nation," ABC Falls for "Defying Gravity," "Castle" Novel Out Next Month, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Syfy is developing a new incarnation of Alien Nation, the 1988 feature film that spun off into a FOX drama, with writer/executive producer Tim Minear (Firefly, Drive). The project, from Fox21, will tell the story of the partnership between a veteran police officer and an alien detective in the Pacific Northwest as the two races attempt to live side-by-side on Earth following the aliens' arrival and efforts to assimilate into human society. The new version will include a mythology that will unfold over time and will use contemporary issues, such as immigration, racism, terrorism, and paranoia, in its storytelling. "It's very much in keeping with what we've been looking to do -- find themes that are more than just hard sci-fi, something that feels contemporary and relevant and invites a broad audience in," said Syfy original programming EVP Mark Stern. "It's genre mixed with procedural mixed with funny and mixed with big, giant scary," Minear said. "I love serialized stuff, but this is also a cop franchise. That Starsky and Hutch/Lethal Weapon buddy cop comedy is absent from TV right now." (Variety)

ABC has acquired Fox Television Studios' thirteen-episode international drama Defying Gravity, which will air on Canada's CTV, Germany's ProSieben, and the BBC. Project, which stars Ron Livingston, Laura Harris, Christina Cox, Malik Yoba, and Florentine Lahme, follows eight astronauts from five different countries in the near future who are on a six-year mission through the solar system. (Try not to get it confused with FOX's own Virtuality.) Defying Gravity, which will air on ABC this summer, is written/executive produced by James Parriott (Grey's Anatomy) and executive produced by Michael Edelstein, Brian Hamilton, and Michael Chechik. (Hollywood Reporter)

Viewers of ABC's mystery series Castle now have a new way to interact with the series. The network is teaming with Hyperion to publish a stand-alone mystery novel, entitled "Heat Wave," written by the series' lead character Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion)--or a ghostwriter at any event--and will publish chapters of the book each week beginning August 10th, leading up to the second season premiere. Hyperion, meanwhile, will publish the full novel on September 29th. (Hollywood Reporter)

Liza Minnelli and Delta Burke are set to guest star in Lifetime's upcoming dramedy series Drop Dead Diva, where they will play sisters in an episode slated to air September 20th. Minnelli will play "a psychic who takes her sister (Burke) to court after she opens a competing psychic shop directly across the street from her store," according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The premiere of HBO's comedy series Hung drew 2.8 million viewers, making it the most watched series launch in two years, since John From Cincinnati, which aired after the series finale of The Sopranos. Lead-in True Blood also attracted 3.7 million viewers in its first airing this week, a number which surges to 5.1 million with encore presentations... and to a staggering average of 10.8 million viewers on all platforms (linear, HBO On Demand, and DVR). (via press release)

FX has announced launch dates for Season Two of Sons of Anarchy on September 8th, Season Five of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on September 17th, and the sixth and penultimate season of Nip/Tuck in October. (Televisionary)

Britain's Got Talent runner-up Susan Boyle will NOT be guest starring on ABC's Ugly Betty, despite rumors to the contrary. ABC has officially shot down stories that Boyle would play herself in an upcoming episode of Betty. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Elsewhere at ABC, the network has quietly ended its burn-off run of comedy In the Motherhood. The Alphabet will instead program two back-to-back episodes of Samantha Who on Thursdays. (Futon Critic)

Trevor Donovan (Days of Our Lives) has been cast in Season Two of the CW's 90210, where he will play Teddy, a charming tennis prodigy and movie star scion who is clearly being earmarked as a potential love interest for Annie (Shenae Grimes). His first appearance is slated to air on September 8th, the date of the series' second season premiere. (TVGuide.com)

SOAPnet is developing a US adaptation of BBC Worldwide reality series Bank of Mom and Dad, in which women in their 20s and 30s move back in with their parents and give up control of their expenses to their parents and money consultant Farnoosh Torabi. Series launches September 30th at 10 pm ET/PT. The cabler also ordered ten episodes of reality dating series Holidate, in which two women swap cities to pursue relationships in the other's hometown; series will kick off on July 29th at 10 pm ET/PT. (Variety)

Syfy announced their Comic-Con plans, which includes panels for such series as Caprica/BSG: The Plan, Sanctuary, Warehouse 13, Eureka, and Stargate Universe. (Televisionary)

WE will spin-off a new wedding-themed channel, drawing programming from the cabler's stable of wedding-related programming such as Bridezillas, Platinum Weddings, Amazing Wedding Cakes, and My Fair Wedding. WE, meanwhile, will become more parenting-oriented with the emphasis placed squarely on such programming as The Mom Show, Raising Sextuplets, and Adoption Diaries. The new channel is set to launch in August on Cablevision's platform. (Broadcasting & Cable)

MTV has renewed reality series 16 & Pregnant for a second season. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.