Channel Surfing: "Chuck" On the Bubble for Renewal, "Seinfeld" Cast Members Reunite for "Curb," "Life on Mars" Will Get Different Ending, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Variety's Michael Schneider takes a look at the current batch of network series that are on the bubble for renewal next season, including NBC's Chuck and Life and FOX's Lie to Me and Dollhouse. Chuck co-creator Josh Schwartz is pitching a "game-changing" season finale to NBC execs in the next few weeks but its chances for renewal will "mostly be up to how well those shows perform during the final weeks of the season -- and how all those pilots look once the nets head into the screening room." Complicating matters for Chuck is the reduction of primetime real estate at the network, with The Jay Leno Show taking five of its primetime hours this fall. (Variety)

This, that, and the other: The cast of Seinfeld--Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards--appear with co-creator Larry David in a multiple-episode story arc on Curb Your Enthusiasm's seventh season, expected to air this fall on HBO. The reunion marks the first time that all four Seinfeld actors have appeared together on a scripted series since the end of Seinfeld. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

The executive producers of ABC's canceled Life on Mars are fortunate to have the opportunity to have some closure on the series, which will end its run after 17 episodes, and are said to be "determined" to provide a satisfying wrap-up to the series... one that won't be the same as the original BBC version. "We’ve felt from the beginning that if the show wasn’t going to get its legs for a second season, nothing would have been more of a gift from the network and the studio than to give us the opportunity to find the creative closure a lot of shows don’t get," said executive producer Andre Nemec. "It’s all a bit sad, but it doesn’t come without its closure and its finality." (Los Angeles Times)

Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen) and Chi McBride (Pushing Daisies) have been cast in FOX drama pilot Human Target opposite Mark Valley. Pilot, from Warner Bros. Television, follows a mysterious security freelancer named Christopher Chance (Valley) who assumes the identities of people in danger. Haley will play Chance's intelligence source; McBride will play Chance's friend and business partner. (Hollywood Reporter)

Julianna Margulies (Canterbury's Law) has been cast as the lead in CBS drama pilot The Good Wife, where she will play the wife of a politician who decides to embark on a career as a defense attorney. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Pilot casting alert: Erika Christensen (Six Degrees) has been cast in NBC drama pilot Parenthood; Madchen Amick (My Own Worst Enemy) and Ryan Devlin (Big Shots) will star opposite Cedric the Enterainer in ABC comedy pilot The Law; Stuart Townsend (Night Stalker) has been cast in FOX drama pilot Maggie Hill, where he will play the imaginary boyfriend of a surgeon with schizoprenia (Christina Cole); and Josh Hopkins (Swingtown) and Ian Gomez (Felicity) have joined the cast of ABC comedy pilot Cougar Town. (Hollywood Reporter)

Elsewhere, Andrew McCarthy (Lipstick Jungle) has joined the cast of CW's untitled Gossip Girl spin-off. He'll play Rick Rhodes, the father of a teenage Lily (Brittany Snow), a music company executive, and will appear in the backdoor pilot episode on May 11th. And Tim Matheson (The West Wing) has been cast in political drama pilot Body Politic, where he will play a charismatic senator. (Hollywood Reporter)

Sex and the City creator Darren Star has signed a two-year first-look deal with HBO, under which he will develop comedy and drama series for the pay cabler and oversee projects written by other scribes. "They say you can never go home again, but with this deal at HBO, I feel I am," said Star. "I can say from my fortunate experience that there is nothing in the world quite like having a series on HBO." (Hollywood Reporter)

Michael Ausiello has some hints about what Season Four of NBC's Heroes could be about, should the Peacock renew the series for a fourth season. "Basically, the last act of episode 25, similar to what's been done in the past, opens up a new chapter of Heroes," consulting producer Bryan Fuller told Ausiello. "It sets up arcs for a variety of characters." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

BBC One has confirmed that it has commissioned a third season of Bill Gallagher's period drama Lark Rise to Candleford, which will shoot this summer and air in 2010. (BBC)

Pilot season is back on track after being derailed following the WGA strike and the push towards year-round development... but that's not necessarily a good thing. "What struck me the most is how much things are exactly the same," said an unnamed top studio executive. "We're still producing the same pilots, seeking the same talent and going through that lemming-style behavior. The process is so tiring." (Hollywood Reporter)

Bravo has renewed reality competition series Shear Genius for a third season and has ordered reality series Double Exposure, which follows photographers Markus Klinko and Indrani as they shoot celebrity and fashion clients. (Variety)

ABC has acquired US rights to four-hour German disaster mini-series Impact, from Tandem Communications, Jaffe/Braunstein Entertainment, and Muse Entertainment. Sci Fi Channel has secured second-window rights to the mini, about a meteor that strikes the moon and sends it on a crash course with Earth. Impact stars David James Elliott, Natasha Henstridge, Steven Culp, and James Cromwell. (Hollywood Reporter)

USA Today talks to Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston just a few days before the launch of Season Two on AMC. "I wanted to go in a different direction," said Cranston of his flawed character, Walter White. "This was fantastically written, nuanced, just beautifully sculpted. You have a character who has troubles, he's trying, but his inability to function in certain areas is very honest, very human." (USA Today)

A&E ordered 13 episodes of reality series Tattoo Highway, following Inked's Thomas Pendelton and his wife Monica, as they travel the country in a mobile tattoo parlor, making stops in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City. Cabler plans to launch the series, from executive producer Bob Horowitz, later this spring. (Hollywood Reporter)

Comedy Central handed out a series order to Tosh.0, a weekly comedy series that will feature comedian Daniel Tosh offering blistering criticism of blogs and other Internet destinations. Cabler ordered ten episodes of the series, executive produced by Tosh and Mike Gibbons, which it plans to launch in June. The cabler also parterned with Paramount Vantage to acquire rights to Trey Hamburger's "Ghosts/Aliens" novel, which will be separately developed as a pilot, to be written by Phil Johnston, and a feature film. (Variety)

TBS has canceled Frank Caliendo's sketch comedy series Frank TV. (Broadcasting & Cable)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: NBC Likely to Renew "Heroes," Chenoweth and Garber Find "Glee," No Gretchen-Based Spin-off for "Prison Break," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

NBC will likely be renewing superhero drama Heroes for a fourth season. At least, according to NBC Entertainment President Angela Bromstad, who said that the series wasn't currently on the bubble for the next season and that the network was likely going to order 18-20 episodes for next season. One of the major factors is said to be NBC's sci-fi pilot Day One, from Heroes writer Jesse Alexander, which could air on Monday evenings. "Day One is a big event and we're looking at that to come into the Heroes spot," said Bromstad. "It's right now being looked at as a 13-episode run -- something people could commit to and we could make a big splash with." And the network is also said to have been privately discussing issuing an end date for Heroes, however " even if NBC ever made such a move, Bromstad said, they wouldn't want to make next season the conclusion." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Kristin Chenoweth (Pushing Daisies) and Victor Garber (Eli Stone) have joined the cast of FOX musical dramedy Glee in recurring roles. Garber will play the father of Matthew Morris' character, while details of Chenoweth's character are being kept firmly under wraps. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Speaking of Glee, FOX has announced that it will air the pilot episode of Glee on Tuesday, May 19th, following an episode of American Idol. However, the drama series itself won't be launching until this fall. "An ambitious and unique show such as Glee deserves an ambitious and unique kick-off," said Peter Liguori, Chairman, Fox Broadcasting Company. "We also wanted to take advantage of the huge American Idol promotional platform to launch the marketing campaign in May." (via press release)

Indira Varma (Rome, Torchwood) has nabbed the lead role in ABC drama pilot Inside the Box, from executive producer Shonda Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy); she'll play Catherine, an uber-ambitious and tightly wound news producer who oversees the Washington D.C. network news bureau who believes she is finally getting a promotion but is mistaken. Pilot will be directed by Mark Tinker. Elsewhere, Gina Torres (Firefly) has joined the cast of CBS drama pilot Washington Field, where she will play a "rapid-deployment team coordinator and tactical pilot." And David Giuntoli (Privileged) will star as a wealthy young attorney on CBS' untitled US Attorney drama pilot from writer/EXP Frank Military. (Hollywood Reporter)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that the final two episodes of FOX's Prison Break, which have yet to be shot will wrap up the series in a two-hour telepic that features "a self-contained Prison Break adventure in which Michael faces the most challenging break ever," rather than the basis for a spin-off to star Jodi Lyn O'Keefe's Gretchen. "Despite what many of you fans have emailed, Fox is not cooking up a show around Gretchen, nor is it working on a ladies-behind-bars spinoff," writes Dos Santos. "The Prison Break creative team is finally making that much-discussed two-hour wrap-up film." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm will begin production next week in Los Angeles on a new season. Larry David's improvised comedy wrapped its previous season in November 2007. (New York Post)

FOX has announced that it will air Osbournes: Reloaded as a series of variety specials rather than an ongoing series. The first special is now set to air on Tuesday, March 31st at 9 pm, after an episode of American Idol, and will return at a later date with specials to air throughout the season. And Fringe fans, take note: Osbournes: Reloaded will pre-empt the series for a week; Fringe is now set to return on April 7th. (Variety)

ABC has given a pilot presentation to multi-camera comedy This Little Piggy, about two adult siblings who are forced to move back in with their older brother and his family in their childhood home when faced with the tough economic crisis. Project, from ABC Studios, is written/executive produced by Steven Cragg and Brian Bradley. (Hollywood Reporter)

MTV is said to be considering continuing "reality" series The Hills even if Lauren Conrad leaves at the end of next season, set to launch March 30th. Series would instead continue to follow the existing cast--without Conrad--of other well-heeled Angelenos, including Heidi, Spencer, Audrina, and Brody. (Los Angeles Times)

Sundance Channel has renewed musical series Live From Abbey Road for a third season. (Series airs in the UK on Channel 4.) The third season, consisting of 12 episodes, will feature such arists as James Taylor, Seal, Fleet Foxes, Keane, the Killers, and Sugarland. (Hollywood Reporter)

Sony Pictures Television has promoted Karen Glass to VP of development, where she will handle development and production for alternative series in New York. She reports to Holly Jacobs. (Variety)

RDF USA has hired British reality producer Claire O'Donohoe as an EVP, where she will oversee the nonscripted development team, developing projects for broadcast and cable. She will report to Chris Coelen. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Monaghan Heads to "Chuck," Jason Dohring, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. I had a wonderful night of telly viewing last night, between another fantastic episode of Pushing Daisies, Old Christine, and Dirty Sexy Money. (I'm saving Top Model, which I'm growing bored of, for later in the week.)

Jason Dohring fans have some positive news for a change. The former Veronica Mars star--who appeared in last season's short-lived vampire drama Moonlight--has signed on to star in HBO comedy pilot The Washingtonienne, based on Jessica Cutler's semi-autobiographical book of the same name. Also cast in the comedy about the lives of a troika of sophisticated 28-year-old women on Capitol Hill: Kate Burton of Grey's Anatomy. (Hollywood Reporter)

In other casting news, Lost's Dominic Monaghan has been cast to guest star on the February 2nd episode of NBC's Chuck (which will be presented in 3-D), where he will play Tyler Martin, a "free-spirited British rock star targeted for death by a shadowy group of evildoers." Michael Ausiello sits down with Monaghan to get the scoop about his return to television, why he thinks Tyler is "like Charlie in a hallucinogenic dream," and whether or not he'll be returning to Lost any time soon. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Variety's Season Pass has a fantastically in-depth interview with Mad Men creator about the series. Among some of the extremely interesting points: we haven't seen the last of Freddy Rumson. Could the man who memorably wet himself before an important meeting be returning to Sterling Cooper? Hmmm. (Variety)

Lindsay Lohan's recurring arc on ABC's Ugly Betty has allegedly been cut from six episodes to four, following some on-set issues with the tabloid-prone actress. Behind the rationale for the reduced episodic count: Lohan allegedly failed to get along with series star America Ferrera, frequently turned up to work with an entourage, made a mess of her dressing room, refused to go on set until Ferrera arrived for work, and supposedly wasn't wearing underwear in a key scene when Ferrera's Betty was meant to pants Lohan's character. (New York Post)

UPDATE: E! Online has now confirmed that Lohan's episode count on Ugly Betty has been downgraded. "She was not so interested in creating a character," said a source. "She was more interested in just playing herself, and that doesn't work on a show like this with such heightened reality." (E! Online)

Production on Season Seven of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm will begin in December, with seven episodes slated to air sometime in 2009. The series last aired an original episode last November and has yet to announce an executive producer roster or a projected season launch. (Variety)

Sci Fi has ordered a pilot for a spinoff of reality franchise Ghost Hunters that will focus on a group of college students traveling across the country in search of paranormal activity. Like its parent series, Ghost Hunters: College Edition will be executive produced by Craig Piligian. (Hollywood Reporter)

Keith Samples has stepped down as president of television at Media Rights Capital, the programming entity responsible for foisting the CW's Sunday night block of programming on the public. Said lineup--which includes In Harm's Way, Valentine, and Easy Money--have landed with a thud, attracting a 0.2/1 among adults 18-49 and only 692,000 viewers. (Ouch.) Easy Money went so far as to attact a 0 share this past Sunday night. Susanne Daniels remains at MRC as a consultant and Dawn Parouse continues as MRC's development head, though she allegedly turned down an offer to become Samples' replacement. (Variety)

Shannyn Sossamon (Dirt) and Scott Mescudi have been cast in HBO's comedy pilot How to Make It in America, opposite Bryan Greenburg and Victor Rasuk. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

TV Academy Shines Emmy Love on "30 Rock," "Mad Men," "Damages"

After weeks of leaked semi-finalist nominee lists, it's good to finally get a glimpse of which series and actors actually made it onto the ballots, instead of seeing yet another list that showed who could make it to the nomination stage.

The Emmy nominees were announced this morning and I have to commend them for showering such love onto diverse and unique series such as Mad Men, 30 Rock (17 nominations, no less!), and Damages... while also locking some repeat offenders--like Ugly Betty in the comedy category--out in the cold. (Yes, I watch Ugly Betty but should it be competing with such comedy series as 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, or The Office? Hells no, especially when HBO's hysterical Flight of the Conchords didn't even get a mention.)

So which series and actors did land Emmy noms? Let's talk about the major categories.

Outstanding Drama Series:
Mad Men (AMC)
Boston Legal (ABC)
House (FOX)
Lost (ABC)
Damages (FX)
Dexter (Showtime)

I'm actually quite impressed with the selection here as well as the fact that it must be the first year in a long, long time that HBO didn't have a nominee for best drama series in the mix. (Though I do wish that Big Love would start getting some, well, big love from the TV Academy.) Damages and Mad Men made Emmy history as the first basic cable programs to receive nominations in the outstanding drama series category. It's a tough call for me between Lost, Damages, and Mad Men, all of which have had exceptionally good years. The TV Academy does love a comeback story and Lost managed to please on all levels during a season in which the producers creatively reinvigorated the series; Damages dazzled with deft plotting, overlapping storylines, and a dense, complex storyline; Mad Men ambitiously recreated the world of the 1960s, complete with sexism, racism, and the eternal battle of the haves and have-nots that percolated underneath the gorgeous costumes and set pieces. Forced to choose one, I give the edge to Mad Men in the end.

Outstanding Comedy Series:
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
Entourage (HBO)
The Office (NBC)
Two and a Half Men (CBS)
30 Rock (NBC)

Is there really any doubt in your minds? I'm picking 30 Rock all the way.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series:
James Spader, Boston Legal
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Hugh Laurie, House
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Again, another tough race to call with some real power-players competing neck and neck here for the title. My money is on Jon Hamm for turning in a performance that was at once self-assured and completely vulernable. The scene at the very end of Mad Men's first season--in which Don Draper sits alone in his house, abandoned by the family he pushed away--was absolutely heartbreaking, powerful, and established Hamm as the one to beat.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series:
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Glenn Close, Damages
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

I'd be insane not to put my money on Glenn Close for her role as Damages' cutthroat attorney Patty Hewes, who gives new meaning to the phrase toxic corporate culture. Her tough-as-nails Patty is willing to do anything--from covering up a crime to having her associate murdered--in order to win her crusade against Arthur Frobisher. It's a performance that as rich and layered as any film role as Patty strips away the last vestiges of her very soul in order to defeat her nemesis.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series:
William Shatner, Boston Legal
Ted Danson, Damages
Zekjko Ivanek, Damages
Michael Emerson, Lost
John Slattery, Mad Men

Um, wow. I really don't know who I'd want to win this category but as long as Shatner doesn't walk away with the statuette, I'd be thrilled. Any of these guys would be an incredible win and represent the cream of the crop on the supporting actor side, from Danson's amazing turn as malevolent Arthur Frobisher to Emerson's turn as Machiavellian Benjamin Linus. Tough race to call.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series:
Candice Bergen, Boston Legal
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters
Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy
Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment

Me, I'm just happy to see that Katherine Heigl isn't up for anything for Grey's Anatomy. That's almost enough of a present for me, though I do wish that the ladies of Mad Men--January Jones, Elisabeth Moss, and Christina Hendricks--would have ended up on this nominee list.

Oustanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series:
Steve Carell, The Office
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies

I'm thrilled to bits to see Lee Pace's name up here against such luminaries as Steve Carell, Alec Baldwin, Charlie Sheen, and Tony Shalhoub; his performance as Ned the Pie Maker on Pushing Daisies was a master class in understated comedy, deft wordplay, and simmering desire. Still, I have to say that it's Baldwin's star turn as Jack Donaghy that truly defines the words "lead actor," as he absolutely pulls the cast of 30 Rock to a whole new level.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series:
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

Tina Fey.
Tina Fey.
Tina Fey.

Need I say more? Sure, Mary-Louise Parker has dazzled with her performance as Nancy Botwin on Weeds but I can't say that I've found Nancy to be particularly sympathetic these days and I'm finding I have a strong aversion to her character lately, while America Fererra's Betty Suarez is now grating on my nerves. Christina Applegate is absolutely adorable on Samantha Who, but she doesn't hold a candle to Fey's self-assured performance as Liz Lemon. What other actress could eat an entire sandwich (with special dipping sauce!) in one take in an outrageous sight gag that underplayed her character's insistent need to stop ex-boyfriend Floyd at the airport gate and still come off as entirely lovable?

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series:
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Kevin Dillion, Entourage
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Rainn Wilson, The Office
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men

Hmmm... give it to Rainn Wilson already, won't you?

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series:
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies
Jean Smart, Samantha Who?
Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live
Holland Taylor, Two and a Half Men
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty

My money's on either Pushing Daisies' Chenoweth, whose Olive is a study in sublimated desire, or SNL's Amy Poehler, who will get her own scripted comedy series next spring on NBC. I'd love Pushing Daisies to walk away with an acting prize and Chenoweth might just find herself singing about the birdhouse in her soul on that Emmy stage.... Or Jean Smart will manage to walk away with the top prize. Hmmm.

Outstanding Mini-Series:
Cranford (PBS)
John Adams (HBO)
The Andromeda Strain (A&E)
Tin Man (Sci Fi)

If you haven't seen Cranford, you've done yourself a major disservice; the PBS mini-series featured a dream cast that included Dame Judi Dench, Philip Glenister, and Michael Gambon and deftly interweaves three novels into a glorious exploration of the war between technological progress and small town England as the railroad tries to make its way to the female-run village of Cranford. Along the way, beloved characters die, couples marry and spat, and a cold dowager discovers the beating of her heart, possibly too late. Brilliant and spellbinding.

Outstanding Reality-Competition Series:
American Idol (FOX)
Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
Project Runway (Bravo)
Amazing Race (CBS)
Top Chef (Bravo)

I have a feeling Amazing Race will walk away with the top honor but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Bravo's Top Chef, which has tranformed culinary competition into a cutthroat, edge-of-your-seat extravaganza.

So there you have it. Who are you rooting for to walk away with the top prize? Who got snubbed? And who do you wish the Academy would award the Emmy to? Discuss.

Casting Couch: Schroder on "24," Fox Joins "Curb"

And on the sixth day, Jack Bauer got some company.

Rick Schroder (NYPD Blue, Scrubs, and, um, Silver Spoons, anyone?) has joined the cast of 24 in the action/thriller's sixth season, set to launch this January on Fox.

Schroder will play a CTU operative named Mike Doyle who will join Jack Bauer in the field. Further details were not available, but that's hardly surprising in a series as tight-lipped as 24.

Schroder's not the only new kid on the block this season, as he joins the previously announced Chad Lowe, James Cromwell, Regina King, Powers Boothe, Peter MacNicol, Kal Penn, and David Hunt. (Also a lock for a return engagement on 24 this season: Gregory Itzin and Jean Smart.)

In other casting news, Larry David is getting a houseguest on the upcoming sixth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm: Vivica A. Fox.

In an allusion to the events of Hurricane Katrina, Fox will play a member of an African-American family that moves in with Larry and Cheryl (Cheryl Hines) after a natural disaster.

Knowing the sort of racial quagmires that Larry David usually gets into on Curb, something tells me Larry's in for a world of trouble.

HBO Demands More "Enthusiasm" From Larry David

It looks like Larry David has come up with a few more reasons to get bent out of shape.

Pay cabler HBO has reached a deal with Larry David and has officially ordered a sixth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, according to Variety.

Production on the semi-improvised comedy series will begin in October and all of Curb's cast members, including Larry David, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Garlin and the potty-mouthed Susie Essman are expected to return. No scheduled premiere for the sixth season was announced, but it is expected to return to HBO sometime next year. A total of ten episodes will be produced.

Seinfeld creator Larry David had been unsure about whether or not he wanted to go ahead with Curb Your Enthusiasm after its most recent 2005 season, but was inspired to revive the series. HBO has not said that the upcoming season of Curb will be its last, but that the decision is in Larry David's hands.

Something tells me not to count David out. After all, there are still many, many annoying things for Larry David to get annoyed about in this modern world. And as long as Larry is fumbling and mumbling, I'm watching.