Channel Surfing: Charlotte's "Lost" Timeline; Krause and Tierney Find "Parenthood," Silverman Talks "Parks and Recreation" Testing, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Still scratching your head about the apparent confusion surrounding the age of Lost's Charlotte Staples Church, played by Rebecca Mader, who was allegedly born in 1979 but then turned up as a kid on the island in 1974? You're not the only one. In executive producer Damon Lindelof and Carlton's Cuse's latest podcast, they placed the blame for the mixup about Charlotte's age squarely on Mader, saying that she changed her character's age from 37 to 28. Mader then shot back on her Facebook page, blaming Team Darlton for the error.

Now Darlton have cleared up the confusion and apologized to Mader. "Rebecca is absolutely right and we apologize to both her and the entire fan community for screwing up the story," said the duo in an email to Michael Ausiello (click through to read the full statement). "Our first mistake was the timeline gaffe, but the much more significant one was wrapping Rebecca up in this when she had nothing to do with it. Not her fault on any level. It was our bad. One hundred percent. We will say as much in a very special "Eating Crow" edition of our Podcast tomorrow. Speaking of which, what a wonderful world we live in where we can make a comment in a Podcast that triggers a response on someone's Facebook page and that triggers a mea culpa on someone else's blog. Ah, technology." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Peter Krause (Dirty Sexy Money) and Maura Tierney (ER) have signed on to star in NBC drama pilot Parenthood, based on the 1989 feature film. Krause will play Adam Braverman, a married man with two kids who seems normal but is a raving madman underneath his calm exterior, while Tierney will play his sister Sarah, a single mother to a rebellious 16-year-old daughter (Mae Whitman). Craig T. Nelson and Dax Shepard are also in talks to join the cast of the Unviersal Media Studios/Imagine TV project. (Hollywood Reporter)

NBC's Ben Silverman has hit back after news of the poor testing for the Peacock's new comedy series Parks and Recreation, launching April 9th, were made public yesterday. Silverman claims that such findings aren't unusual for a new series. "All of the research we do around initial rough cuts is negative," Silverman told Entertainment Weekly's Tim Stack. "If you had seen the initial research on all of ours and our competitors' successful shows, it tends to be like that."(Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

John C. McGinley (Scrubs) has been cast in CBS drama pilot Back, opposite Skeet Ulrich and Sherry Stringfield. In the project, about a man thought missing after 9/11 who comes home and must reconnect with his family, McGinley will play Tom, a firefighter who is now married to the former wife (Stringfield) of the missing man (Ulrich). (Hollywood Reporter)

Amanda Bynes (What I Like About You) has landed the lead in ABC comedy pilot Canned, about a group of friends who all lose their jobs on the same day. Bynes will play Sarabeth, a "naive Midwesterner who's being exploited by her boss and doesn't realize it." Project, from ABC Studios and Brillstein Entertainment Partners, is written/executive produced by Kevin Etten and executive produced by David Rosenthal and Peter Traugott. Already cast in the project: Tim Peper, Stephanie Lemelin, and Baron Vaughn. (Variety)

Elsewhere, a whole string of pilot casting alerts: Jacqueline Bisset (Nip/Tuck) will play one of the leads in CBS drama pilot The Eastmans, about a family of doctors, where she will play the family matriarch, an ER nurse; Steve Howey (Reba) has been cast as the male lead in NBC comedy pilot State of Romance (also cast: Zoe Lister Jones and Grace Rex); Andrea Parker (Less Than Perfect) will star in ABC comedy pilot presentation This Little Piggy; and Lourdes Benedicto (Cashmere Mafia) has been cast in ABC drama pilot V. (Hollywood Reporter)

Kiefer Sutherland said that he is committed to FOX drama 24 and likened his relationship to the drama series to a romantic one. "If I was going to liken 24 to a girlfriend, 24 has been really good to me. And I need to be really good back," said Sutherland said. "There are plays I want to do. There are so many different things I would like to do, but I was so fortunate to be part of something like 24 that my focus is still on that right now. [...] The real pressure is placed on the writers. It's a real question about how much they feel they can give and what they can do." (Associated Press)

Jennifer Beals (The L Word) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on FOX drama Lie to Me, where she will play Zoe Landau, the ex-wife of Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) and mother of their daughter, Emily (Hayley McFarland). Zoe, an assistant U.S. Attorney, will hire Cal to investigate an arson case though it will become clear that these two have unresolved feelings for one another. Beals' first episode is slated to air April 29th. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online's Jennifer Godwin is reporting that some fans of One Tree Hill have caught star Chad Michael Murray talking about the future on the CW series... or, more specifically, his future on the series. "I won't be back," he told stunned onlookers who captured the disclosure on video. It's not yet known if Murray was kidding in his remarks about One Tree Hill, which has already been renewed for a seventh season on the CW. "They don't want me," said Murray, speaking about the series' producers. "I'm not joking." CW has yet to issue an official comment denying or supporting Murray's comments. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Chelsea Handler has signed a three-year deal that will keep her as the host and executive producer of E!'s latenight talk show Chelsea Lately through 2012 and also have her produce new series for Comcast's portfolio of channels, which includes G4, Style, and Fearnet through her production company, Borderline Amazing Prods, with Comcast getting a first look at any projects emanating from the shingle. (Variety)

Robert Wuhl (Arli$$) is developing an untitled comedy series for HBO about a father and son who run a New York sports arena. Wuhl will co-write the pilot script with Seth Greenland as well as direct and executive produce. (Hollywood Reporter)

Nikke Finke has confirmed that Laurence Fishburne is being paid more than $14 million for his role on CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. (Deadline Hollywood Daily)

Spike has acquired rerun rights to HBO's period drama Band of Brothers, which the cabler will launch in third quarter 2009. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "Chuck" Plans Game Changer Finale, "Melrose Place" Character Breakdowns, Whedon Has His Fill of Vampires, Pilot Updates, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Chuck creators Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak said that this season's finale will be "game changing" for Chuck and his band of spies. "We're going to launch the show in a really exciting direction next year. We designed our season heading toward it," said Schwartz, appearing this weekend at New York Comic-Con. While Schwartz and Fedak are being tight-lipped, they did mention that Jordana Brewster will reprise her role as Chuck's deadly ex Jill in an upcoming episode. (TV Guide)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has the character breakdowns for the CW's planned update of Melrose Place, including a character who is the son of the original's Jake (Grant Show), an omni-sexual PR maven, a wannabe filmmaker, a recovering alcoholic, a med student turning tricks to pay her tuition, and a teenage sex kitten. The pilot, produced by CBS Paramount Network Television, will be overseen by Smallville's Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Joss Whedon has had his fill of vampires, as he tells TV Week's Josef Adalian in a new interview, in which he talks about Buffy, Dollhouse, and Dr. Horrible. (TV Week)

Elsewhere, Joss talks about Eliza Dushku, the possibility of a Buffy feature film, and what to expect to see in Season One of Dollhouse. (Televisionary)

NBC has given out a pilot order to single-camera comedy State of Romance, described as a modern take on Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" set in Chicago, from Universal Media Studios, and writer/executive producers Barbara Wallace and Tom Wolfe. (Hollywood Reporter)

CBS, meanwhile, picked up four pilots: dramas Three Rivers, from CBS Paramount, writer Carol Barbee (Jericho), and executive producers Curtis Hanson and Carol Fenelton, about organ transplants, and cast-contingent The Good Wife, about a politician's wife who goes back to work as a defense attorney from writer/executive producers Robert King and Michelle King (In Justice), CBS Paramount and Scott Free, and comedies Accidentally on Purpose (also cast-contingent), about a San Francisco movie critic who finds herself pregnant after a fling with a younger man from writer/executive producer Claudia Lonow, CBS Paramount and BermanBraun, and Waiting to Die, about two single guys happy with their lives, from writers Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen and Sony Pictures Television. The pickups join Jerry Bruckheimer-produced medical drama pilot Miami Trauma, about a team of trauma surgeons from writer Jeffrey Lieber (Family Practice) and Warner Bros. Television, which was also picked up on Friday. (Hollywood Reporter)

Variety discusses just what happened to primetime comedies (CW doesn't even bother to develop them anymore) and points to a possible re-emergence of the genre this midseason, with a slew of comedies being launched at the networks. (Variety)

Ed O'Neill (Married with Children) has been cast in ABC comedy pilot An American Family, where he will play a man who becomes a step-father after he marries a woman 30 years younger than him (Sofia Vergara). Also cast: Eric Stonestreet (This Might Hurt), who will play part of a gay couple (along with Jesse Tyler Ferguson) who adopt a Vietnamese baby. (Hollywood Reporter)

David Nutter (The Mentalist) will direct ABC drama pilot Eastwick, from Warner Bros. Television. Nutter has now gone 14-for-14 in directing pilots that have gone on to be picked up to series. "She has come up with an amazing starting-off point -- I can really see where the series is going to go," Nutter said of writer Maggie Friedman's script. "She's got a great bedrock of characters and a great mystery." (Variety)

Former Universal Media Studios president Katherine Pope has been hired as a consulting producer on FOX drama Lie to Me for the final four episodes of the series' 13-episode first season run. It is said that Pope will support showrunner Sam Baum "in a role similar to Katie Jacobs' duties on Fox's House alongside creator/exec producer/showrunner David Shore." (Hollywood Reporter)

FOX is developing a US remake of Argentinian teen telenovela The Rebels (Rebelde Way), about private school kids who form a pop band, with Jennifer Lopez and Simon Fields' Nuyorican Prods. on tap to produce. Script will be adapted by Duane Adler (Step Up). (Variety)

Maureen Ryan has a first look at a notable guest star appearing in Galactica's medical bay this week: The Daily Show's John Hodgman, who currently lends his voice to the feature film Coraline. He'll drop by to lend Doc Cottle a hand in Battlestar Galactica's February 13th episode, entitled "No Exit." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

CBS Paramount Network Television has asked the stars of the majority of its produced dramas such as CSI, NCIS, and NUMB3RS, to waive their annual raises and keep their salaries at a plateau next season, as part of an overall cost-cutting measure. However, some argue that this could produce the opposite effect: stars who won't fall in line and accept a salary freeze. "If our lead doesn't accept the freeze, we will have no choice but to let one of our supporting actors go," says on CBS Paramount drama executive producer. "There's no question that it's the second-tier actors who are most vulnerable." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Julia Ormond (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and Mahershalalhashbaz Ali (The 4400, Benjamin Button) have been cast in Lifetime Movie Network telepic The Wronged Man, based on a true story. Project, from Sony Pictures Television, is directed by Tom McLoughlin and written by Teena Booth. (Hollywood Reporter)

SAG has once again voted to remove Doug Allen as the guild's chief negotiator and has replaced the negotiating committee with a new task force. Move comes on the heels of president Allen Rosenberg's legal claims that the previous vote violated guild procedure. Talks between SAG and AMPTP are expected to begin on February 17th, following a more than two month silence between the two parties. (Los Angeles Times)

Jerry Springer will not return as the host of Season Four of NBC's America's Got Talent. The Peacock is currently on the hunt for a host to replace Springer, who dropped out due to time commitments with his syndicated talkshow and a stage production this summer. (Variety)

Syndicated talkshow The Steve Wilkos Show has been renewed for a third season, to run during the 2009-10 season. (TV Week)

However, syndicated court show Cristina's Court, produced by Twentieth Television, will not be renewed for a fouth season, though episodes will be produced through September. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Truth Be Told: An Advance Review of FOX's "Lie to Me"

I won't lie to you: I am not typically a fan of procedural series. I'm usually more interested in the sort of character development and long-term plotting that are involved in a serialized drama but every now and then a procedural mystery comes along with a unique enough premise that it makes me question my standpoint.

Tonight, FOX launches its new procedural drama series Lie to Me, starring Tim Roth, Kelli Williams, Brendan Hines, and Monica Raymund.

Unlike those cops on CBS, this squad of sleuths isn't solving crimes using the latest in forensic technology. Rather, their characters comprise a crack team of, well, human lie detectors. Instead of ultraviolet wands searching for blood splatter, the team uses videotaped interviews with suspects and witnesses and reads the almost imperceptible micro-expressions that each of them make. Suspects can lie with their words but it's pretty hard to lie with your body language and facial expressions, especially when some of them last mere fractions of a second. (The science is based on the work of Dr. Paul Ekman, author of the book "Telling Lies.")

Operating under the aegis of the The Lightman Group, a consultation company run by former government contractor Dr. Cal Lightman (Roth), the group is available to consult on any number of cases, ranging from criminal to corporate and a wide array in between. In the pilot episode, the team tackles two cases: one a Jehovah's Witness-practicing teen is arrested for the murder of his teacher and another involving a US Congressman, the head of the ethics committee, suspected of frequenting a prostitution ring.

It's the the unique twist on the crime-solving series and the wide variety of cases which gives Lie to Me a certain charm as well as some much needed breadth; it's reassuring to know that the Lightman Group won't be chasing after criminals every week. After all, we all lie, the series posits, but it's up to these investigators to determine why the suspects are dissembling... even though they clearly have a hard time telling one another the truth. To wit: Lightman is in a bit of a bind because he knows that the husband of colleague/friend Dr. Gillian Foster (Williams) is lying to her but won't do anything about it. So much for truth always setting you free.

It's good to see Roth on an American television series and he plays Lightman with a mix of jaded cynicism and bursts of unexpected joie de vivre, such as when he blocks a lying driver who has stolen his parking space in with his car. Williams is well suited to playing Gillian but I still hope that there is more to her character than her odd couple friendship with Lightman and penchant for junk food.

While there's certainly a wide range of cases and situations that the series can tackle, the writers--operating under the watchful eye of series creator Sam Baum--do need to ramp up the tension and suspense of the mysteries of the week. In watching the somewhat predictable cases i the pilot episode, I felt one or two steps ahead of Lightman and Gillian the entire time, so it was frustrating having to watch them play catch up. The science behind lying is fascinating but it doesn't replace the need for a top-notch mystery plot each week and if Lie to Me hopes to stick around longer than its initial run, the writers had better start generating some creative and twisty whodunits (or even, in the case of this series, whydunits).

Additionally, I couldn't help shake the feeling that the supporting cast members felt particularly one-note. The introduction of "natural" Ria Torres (Raymund), a TSA agent working at Dulles Airport, felt particularly forced and clunky. Arriving at the airport to recruit Ria for her deception-detection abilities, Lightman and Gillian immediately make contact with Ria, offer her a job, leave her a suitcase filled with money ("your signing bonus," Lightman explains), and walk away... leading Ria to show up the following day and--without any on-the-job training or instructors--she's suddenly following leads of her own, going undercover, and gathering evidence. Wha-huh? (Typically on my first day at a job, I'm trying to figure out how the phone works.) The result is that Ria comes off as an odd combination of being a bit prickly and completely dull.

Likewise, Lightman and Gillian also employ another consultant at the company named Eli Loker (Hines). I say consultant but he could be an assistant at the firm. In any event, Eli practices radical truth-telling as in he only ever tells the truth. This quirk could be interesting (why bother lying when you work with Lightman?) but it quickly wears out its welcome with Eli meets Ria and tells her that he wants to sleep with her after staring at her for half a second.

No lie: these two definitely need some deeper brushstrokes.

All in all, Lie to Me could be a compelling procedural drama in the vein of FOX's own drama Bones, but without the latter's trademark blend of forensic mystery and sexual tension. Unlike Brennan and Booth, Lightman and Gillian don't have the sort of chemistry that will keep you guessing about when they'll trade in their professional relationship for a personal one, but there is an ease between Roth and Williams that is refreshing to watch in this day and age of oversexed TV leads.

But if I'm telling the truth, Lie to Me definitely needs to ramp up the character development and create some memorable mysteries if it has a shot of surviving up against ABC's Lost, which has more than excelled at doing both.

Lie to Me launches tonight at 9 pm ET/PT on FOX.

FOX Announces Midseason Schedule, Sticks "Dollhouse" in Friday Attic

After weeks of anticipation, FOX has announced its midseason schedule for winter 2008/09.

Among the winners? Fringe, which gets the highly prized post-American Idol timeslot on Tuesdays, and new drama Lie to Me, which gets a Wednesday night timeslot also following American Idol. Among the losers? Genre series Dollhouse--from creator Joss Whedon--and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, which get shipped out to timeslot Siberia, namely Friday nights. (Ouch.)

While many Whedon fans are already up in arms about what they perceive as a slight against Dollhouse, I can say that I am not at all surprised that FOX has chosen to ship the creatively struggling Dollhouse and ratings-starved Sarah Connor to Friday nights. Having seen the first two episodes of Dollhouse (and failing to be very impressed despite being a die-hard Whedon-ite), it makes sense that FOX would try to minimize any expectations and put Dollhouse on an evening where ratings are slim to begin with.

However, one can't help but be reminded of the decision to move Dollhouse to Friday evenings of FOX's programming decision a few years back when it placed Whedon's own Firefly in the very same timeslot. A self-fulfilling prophecy? That remains to be seen. But fans shouldn't get too comfortable when Dollhouse kicks off on February 13th.

FOX's full midseason schedule can be found after the jump.

FOX MIDSEASON SCHEDULE

MONDAY

Monday, Jan. 5th:
7:30 pm-CC ET: TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL (LIVE)

Monday, Jan. 12th:
8-10 pm: 24 (Season Seven Premiere, Part 2)

Mondays, beginning Jan. 19th:
8-9 pm: House (Time Period Premiere)
9-10 pm: 24 (Time Period Premiere)

TUESDAY

Tuesday, Jan. 13th:
8-10 pm: American Idol (Season Premiere, Part 1)

Tuesdays, beginning Jan. 20th:
8-9 pm: American Idol (Time Period Premiere)
9-10 pm: Fringe

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday, Jan. 14th:
8-10 pm: American Idol (Season Premiere, Part 2)

Wednesdays, beginning Jan. 21st:
8-9 pm: American Idol (Time Period Premiere)
9-10 pm: Lie to Me (Series Premiere)

THURSDAY

Thursday, Jan. 1st:
7:30 pm-CC ET: FEDEX ORANGE BOWL (LIVE)

Thursday, Jan. 8th:
7:30 pm-CC ET: FEDEX BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (LIVE)

Thursdays, beginning Jan. 15th:
8-9 pm: Bones (Time Period Premiere)
9-10 pm: Kitchen Nightmares

Thursdays, beginning Jan. 29th:
8-9 pm: Bones
9-10 pm: Hell's Kitchen (Season Premiere)

FRIDAY

Friday, Jan. 2nd:
7:30 pm-CC ET: ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL (LIVE)

Friday, Jan. 9th:
8-10 pm: FOX MOVIE SPECIAL: BRUCE ALMIGHTY

Fridays, beginning Jan. 16th (no change to lineup):

8-9 pm: Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?
9-10 pm: Don't Forget the Lyrics!

Fridays, beginning Feb. 13th:
8-9 pm: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Time Period Premiere)
9-10 pm: Dollhouse (Series Premiere)

SATURDAY

Saturdays, beginning Jan. 3rd (no change to lineup):
8-8:30 pm: COPS
8:30-9 pm: COPS
9-10 pm: America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back
11-Midnight: MADtv
Midnight-12:30 am: Talkshow with Spike Feresten

SUNDAY

Sunday, Jan. 11th:
8-10 pm: 24 (Season Premiere, Part 1)

Sundays, beginning Jan. 18th:
7-7:30 pm: Hole in the Wall (Time Period Premiere)
7:30-8 pm: Hole in the Wall (Time Period Premiere)
8-10 pm: ANIMATION DOMINATION (The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy, and American Dad)

[N.B.: Prison Break and 'Til Death will return to the schedule at a later date.]

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Fichter and Stringfield Are "Night and Day," CBS Renews "Flashpoint," Emmys, Muppets, "Doctor Who," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

I had a wonderful if busy weekend which--not atypically--revolved around television. The wife and I attended Saturday's BAFTA/LA TV Tea Party and shared more than a few Pimm's Cups with Flight of the Conchords, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, 90210 executive producer Gabe Sachs, The Office's Kate Flannery, Leslie David Baker, and Creed Bratton, Mad Men's Rich Sommer, Aaron Staton, and Michael Gladis, The Riches' Noel Fisher, 30 Rock's Scott Adsit, Battlestar Galactica babe Tricia Helfer, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles' Thomas Dekker, Jeff Garlin, and many, many others. (Fun, to say the least.)

Reaction to this year's Emmy Awards--the 60th installment--wasn't quite what producers likely intended, with many critics--myself included--lashing out at the format, the hosts, and the distinct lack of scripted funnies. (Televisionary)

FOX has given a script order to workplace comedy The Station, about the employees of a covert CIA office in South America, from writer Kevin Napier, Fox Television Studios, and Red Hour Films' Ben Stiller, Jeremy Kramer, and Stuart Cornfeld. (Variety)

In other FOX news, the network has given a series order to Sam Baum's procedural drama Lie to Me, starring Tim Roth, Brendan Hines, Monica Raymund, and Kelli Williams. Project, from 20th Century Fox Television and Imagine Television, is about the fractious partnership between a former police officer who is a "human lie detector" (an expert in reading facial and body language that gives away deception) and a female clinical psychologist as they solve Washington-based crimes. I'm usually not a fan of procedurals but I found this to be a really compelling, interesting twist on a familiar crime-solving formula and a cracking script.

William Fichtner (Prison Break) and Sherry Stringfield (ER) have been cast in TNT drama pilot Night and Day from writers/executive producers Joel Surnow (24) and Todd Robinson. Project follows Dan Hollister (Fichtner), a middle-aged agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms who works for a special intervention task force as he finds himself drifting towards retirement age and dealing with upstarts half his age. Stringfield will play his wife Elizabeth, a stay-at-home mom. Night and Day will be in second position to Prison Break for Fichtner, whose deal expires at the end of the current season. (Hollywood Reporter)

Uma Thurman, Jesse L. Martin, and Jane Krakowski have signed on to appear in NBC holiday special Letters to Santa—A Muppets Christmas, which is slated to air December 17th. Previously announced participants include Whoopi Goldberg, Richard Giffiths, Tony Sirico, and Steve Schirripa. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

CBS has renewed cop drama Flashpoint, which it co-produces with Canadian network CTV, for a second season; series hit a season high on Thursday night and gained 18 percent in the key demo over the last two weeks. No decision whether the 13 episodes will air during midseason or summer; production on Season Two begins in early 2009. (Variety)

In the resolution to one of the worst kept secrets in the entertainment industry, BBC drama czar Jane Tranter will move to Los Angeles to take a position as EVP of programming and production at BBC Worldwide, working alongside Paul Telegdy to oversee the company's North American production activities in LA and New York beginning January 1st. (Televisionary)

MTV has ordered Sex... With Mom and Dad, a sex-themed series for teenagers and their parents, featuring Dr. Drew Pinsky, who will help teens and/or their parents deal with issues related to sex, dating, and relationships. Series launches September 29th at 9 pm. (Hollywood Reporter)

Kathy Griffin has signed on for a fifth season of her Bravo reality series My Life on the D-List, following unsubstantiated rumors that the series would defect--like Project Runway--to cable rival Lifetime. (Variety)

Outbound Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies has said that he would consider returning to the franchise if a feature film is greenlit. "I'd be very interested in going back for it," said Davies, who said the project will happen one day. "I think it could be lovely and could work as an idea. They did one in the 1960s and that worked and it didn't affect the TV series at all." (Digital Spy)

Sorry, GE, Rupert Murdoch has said that he's not interested in acquiring NBC or even smaller parcels of it though he does admire USA for being a "mature channel" that "makes a lot of money." (Hollywood Reporter)

Jennie Garth might not be appearing in any additional segments of 90210 after her original six episode commitment. "Nothing's confirmed at this point," said Garth. "It's still totally up in the air." Hmmm... (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Stay tuned.

FOX Asks Tim Roth to "Lie to Me"

FOX has given a thirteen-episode order for midseason drama Lie to Me and secured the talents of a sought-after A-list British actor as the series' lead.

Tim Roth, currently on screen in theatres in The Incredible Hulk (and Michael Hanke's Funny Games) has been cast as the lead in Lie to Me, in which he'll play Dr. Cal Lightman, a scientific researcher who specializes in the field of lie detection and is able to discern mendacity by noticing facial, vocal, and bodily expressions and movements and assists various government agencies in Washington D.C. with ongoing investigations.

Unfortunately, Lightman can't turn off his particular brand of observation and unfortunately applies his own lie detection skills to the personal relationships in his own private life.

Project was created by Sam Baum (The Evidence) and the pilot episode will be directed by Robert Schwentke (The Time Traveler's Wife; Flightplan); shooting begins in August.

I was really impressed with the script for Lie to Me when I read it earlier this year and I think that Roth will be absolutely perfect as Lightman. The series is completely procedural but the use of natural human lie detection--based on actual, real-life scientific fact--gives the crime-solving drama an interesting twist, one we haven't seen before in primetime US television.

Lie to Me could be a natural fit for FOX, which has had success with crime drama Bones and, if it can get this procedural-hesitant viewer to breeze through the pilot script with interest, that's saying a lot about the strength of this project.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: NCIS (CBS); Celebrity Family Feud (NBC); Beauty & the Geek (CW); Wipeout (ABC); Moment of Truth (FOX)

9 pm: 48 Hours Mystery (CBS); America's Got Talent (NBC; 9-11 pm); Reaper (CW); I Survived a Japanese Game Show (ABC); Hell's Kitchen (FOX)

10 pm: Without a Trace (CBS); Primetime: The Outsiders (ABC)

What I'll Be TiVo'ing

8-10 pm: Britcoms on BBC America.

I don't know about you but by Tuesday night, I'm usually in need of some comedy in my life. Why not stick around on Tuesday nights for BBC America's new comedy lineup, consisting of classic episodes of Coupling, new comedy Not Going Out, and Absolutely Fabulous? You'll thank me in the morning.

10 pm: Flipping Out on Bravo.

Season Two continues tonight with a brand-new episode ("Good Cop, Bad Jeff"), Jeff becomes suspicious of his assistants when he notices that not much is getting done around the house and wants to install surveillance cameras to keep an eye on his employees.