Channel Surfing: Silverman to Leave NBC, Monaghan to "FlashForward," Somerhalder Gets "Lost," Acker Returns to "Dollhouse," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Ben Silverman has stepped down as Co-Chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios; he'll remain on board for several weeks to help transition and oversee the launch of NBC's fall schedule. Silverman will then segue into a new company financed by Barry Diller's AIC which Silverman will run; company's mission is to "unite producers, creators, advertisers and distributors under one roof." Meanwhile, Jeff Gaspin has been named Chairman, NBC Universal Television Entertainment, effective immediately. In this role, Gaspin will have oversight of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios as well as retain his current responsibilities over USA, Syfy, Bravo, Oxygen, Sleuth, Chiller, and Universal HD. Marc Graboff will continue as chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, reporting to Gaspin. "Ben Silverman has many exciting things he wants to accomplish and we applaud him as he sets off on his new endeavors," said NBC Universal president/CEO Jeff Zucker in a statement. "Ben brought us tremendous new thinking in this changing media age, and we're grateful for that. Now, we look forward to working with him in his new venture." (via press release, Hollywood Reporter)

As expected, Dominic Monaghan (Lost) has been cast in ABC's fall drama series FlashForward. The Alphabet let the cat out of the bag a while back by featuring Monaghan in an on-air brand spot where he was seen with other ABC series stars; FlashForward seemed the logical placement for the actor, who guest-starred on Chuck last season. Details about Monaghan's character Simon are under wraps but Monaghan himself said of Simon, "I can't tell you too much. I play a guy called Simon and as I'm sure you saw from that tiny little teaser: he's a snappy dresser, he's a cocky guy, he's not scared of anything or anyone and he's very smart." (via press release)

Ian Somerhalder is returning to Lost next season. Appearing at Comic-Con to promote his new CW series Vampire Diaries, Somerhalder stunned the crowd by acknowledging that he would be reprising his role as Boone Carlyle on ABC's Lost. "I think it’s safe to say... we sort of discussed that... it’s truly incredible that... I am going to be coming back." Later, Somerhalder told Entertainment Weekly that Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse only informed him thirty minutes before the panel for Vampire Diaries that he would be returning to Lost. "It’s not clear yet" when he'll shoot his scenes but "it’ll be very soon... It’s just a matter of timing and getting me down there. It’s all good." (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Amy Acker has signed a deal to return to FOX's Dollhouse next season for three episodes, via official confirmation from Joss Whedon himself. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Pilot casting alert: Moon Bloodgood (Burn Notice), Jessy Schram (Crash), Seychelle Gabriel (Weeds), and Maxim Knight will star opposite Noah Wyle in TNT and executive producer Steven Spielberg's untitled alien invasion pilot. Project is written by Robert Rodat (from a story created by Rodat and Spielberg) and will be directed by Carl Franklin. (Hollywood Reporter)

The New York Times' Brooks Barnes has a fantastic look behind the scenes at the amount of preparation and effort that went into Lost's appearance at Comic-Con this weekend. Far from covering the panel itself, the Times goes one step further and covers the lead-up to the panel, crystallizing the amount of love and energy that Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, the writers, and the cast put into their appearance this year. (New York Times)

GSN has ordered 65 episodes of a relaunch of vintage reality series The Newlywed Game, produced by Embassy Row and Sony Pictures Television. Shingle is also awaiting decisions on The $25,000 Pyramid and The Dating Game at CBS. Other series in development at Embassy Row include Celebrity Mr. and Mrs. and Make My Day for TV Land and National Bible Champs at CMT, not to mention the 10th anniversary relaunch of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire at ABC. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Playing with Matches: An Advance Review of the "Epitaph One" Episode of "Dollhouse"

"If the whole human race lay in one grave, the epitaph on its headstone might well be: 'It seemed a good idea at the time.'" - Rebecca West

One of the more intriguing mysteries of this past season was the vaunted missing thirteenth episode of FOX's Dollhouse, entitled "Epitaph One," shot by studio 20th Century Fox Television outside of their license fee agreement with FOX.

Written by Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen, "Epitaph One" takes place outside the continuity established by the first season of Dollhouse and is set in the distant future of 2019 Los Angeles. It has remained cloaked in mystery, though the episode will air internationally, will be offered on the Dollhouse: Season One DVD, and will also be screened later this week for fans at San Diego Comic-Con 2009.

I managed to get my hands on a copy of "Epitaph One" this weekend and watched the enigmatic episode with a sense of wonder and terror as Whedon and Tancharoen painted a terrifying portrait of technology run amok, of unfettered greed and shocking hubris, and of wild anarchy in the streets of the City of Angels.

I don't want to spoil any of the delicious plot twists that lurk within the forty-odd minutes of "Epitaph One," but I will say that there were some terrifically shocking surprises within the episode, which ramps up the tension and stakes while also creating an enduring mystery that fills in the blanks as the installment goes on.

While the majority of the action is set in a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles in 2019, the spine of the episode is a series of flashbacks which give us a glimpse into just what happened to the main characters of Dollhouse. And there are many a familiar face that turn up in these story segments, from Eliza Dushku's Echo/Caroline and Tahmoh Penikett's Paul Ballard to Adele, Topher, Dominic, Sierra, Victor, Claire Saunders/Whiskey, Boyd, and others. (The episode also repurposes a scene from the original Dollhouse pilot, giving it additional heft and prescience.)

In 2019, a group of freedom fighters--Mag (Felicia Day), Lynn (Janina Gavankar), Griff (Chris William Martin), and Zone (Zack Ward)--inadvertently stumble onto the Dollhouse as they escape a group of "hunters." Tagging along with them for the ride (or survival) is Adair Tishler's Iris, a young girl with a sadness in her eyes that bespeaks volumes about the hell she's seen. (Heroes' Tishler is definitely one to watch: she manages to steal most of her scenes, despite being less than fourteen years old.)

So what do they discover eight stories below the street? That would be telling.

But I will say that Whedon and Tancharoen have effortlessly crafted a standalone episode that is haunting in its precise vision of a certain kind of dystopian future and which manages to beautifully fuse together taut psychological thriller, horror, and metaphysical exploration into one gritty package.

There are some hard moral questions at work here and the consequences of bad decisions, of shifting lines in the sand, of identities fragmented and lost. The portrait of the future that "Epitaph One" paints is increasingly bleak yet it ends with a rare note of hope, laced with poignancy for what's been lost.

Just what it all means and whether the series will meet up with this point in time--or if it will remain tantalizingly out of reach for the FOX drama series (or, hell, even remain in canon)--remains to be seen. But regardless of its long-term impact on the series, "Epitaph One" offers a seductive puzzle for viewers to solve: just how did things get to be so bad and what role did the Los Angeles Dollhouse play in the end of the world? Can this future be prevented? Or are we doomed to watch history repeat itself?

In any event, "Epitaph One" speaks volumes about what Dollhouse might have looked and felt like had the series hewed more closely to Whedon's original vision. It's dark, gritty, and compelling, a vivid nightmare etched in blood that will be hard to shake long after the final credits have rolled.

Dollhouse: Season One is available on DVD next Tuesday for a suggested retail price of $49.98. Or pick one up in the Televisionary store for just $31.99.

Channel Surfing: Miracle Laurie to Return for "Dollhouse" Season Two, Syfy Hunts for Next Big Space Opera, Terry Kinney Lured by "Mentalist," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Dollhouse creator Joss Whedon will write and direct the second season opener of the FOX drama. Meanwhile, Miracle Laurie--who played November/Mellie in Season One of Dollhouse WILL be returning for the sophomore season... in some form, anyway. "All I know for sure is that I'm coming back next season," Laurie told the Baltimore Sun. "I don't actually know in what form I'll be back. The writers are kind of teasing me…everybody knows but me." (Baltimore Sun, Twitter)

io9 speaks to Syfy vice president of original programming Mark Stern about the channel's rebrand and its promise to find the next big space opera along the lines of Battlestar Galatica or Firefly. "The next thing that I really want to do is find the next great space opera; it's been a long time," said Stern. "And we have Stargate, but that's really not that show. And Caprica isn't really that show. So where's the next Star Trek or Farscape? Let's find one of those... We don't want to do something that is the same old. You don't want it to feel recycled. So that's the challenge of doing that. I'm a huge fan of Firefly, and shows that take that idea and take that part of the genre and reinvent it in a whole new way. I'd love to find our version of, not specifically Firefly, but similar to what Joss [Whedon] tried to do with that in terms of, "lets recast the Western in space." Love that idea, and I love that show. What's another way to approach that?" (io9)

The Unusuals' Terry Kinney has been cast in Season Two of CBS' The Mentalist, where he will recur as Sam Bosco, "a by-the-book California Bureau of Investigations agent who heads up the division overseeing the Red John case." According to Entertainment Weekly's Micheal Ausiello, Bosco is an ex-lover of Lisbon (Robin Tunney) as well as her mentor and "[t]he two share a deep, dark secret!" (Entertainment Weekly's Micheal Ausiello)

In other Dollhouse-related news, The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan reports that the missing thirteen episode of Dollhouse's first season, entitled "Epitaph One," will be available for download on iTunes beginning August 11th. The episode will NOT be available via Hulu. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

CSI creator Anthony Zuiker's Dare to Pass shingle has signed a new two-year first-look deal with CBS Television Studios, under which he will develop scripted and unscripted series. "Making a one-off TV show is not going to sustain a real business anymore," said Zuiker. "It starts with a great TV show, but then becomes a 24/7 experience. It's Web, mobile, gaming. From device to device to device." (Variety)

FOX has given a script commitment with a penalty to an untitled dramedy project, from Greg Malins (How I Met Your Mother) and mystery novelist Harlan Coben, about a psychotic former private investigator with a lack of inhibitions (the result of a bullet wound to his frontal lobe) who teaches a university criminology class in Los Angeles and solves crimes with his graduate students. Project hails from 20th Century Fox Television, where Malins has an overall deal. (Hollywood Reporter)

Bravo has announced an August 26th start date for Top Chef: Las Vegas and unveiled the seventeen contestants competing for the title next season as well as the guest judges, who include such notables as Natalie Portman, Wolfgang Puck, Daniel Boulud, Tyler Florence, Penn & Teller, and Nigella Lawson. (Televisionary)

Eric McCormack (Trust Me) will guest star in an upcoming episode of NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He'll appear in next season's second episode as a handsome sugar daddy. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

More off-net sales for NBC comedy 30 Rock following a deal between NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution and FOX and Tribune station groups on an all-barter basis, with the series launching in fall of 2011. 30 Rock will be "double-run six days a week in access and late-fringe time periods," with NBC Universal getting three minutes of ad time and local stations getting four minutes. (Broadcasting & Cable)

Lifetime has unveiled the identities of the contestants for Season Six of Project Runway, which makes its long-delayed debut on the cabler on August 20th following a protracted legal battle with rival cabler Bravo. (Hollywood Reporter)

Lifetime has acquired rerun rights to CBS' The New Adventures of Old Christine after it closed a deal with studio Warner Bros. Television for roughly $350,000 per episode for the series as well as a barter agreement that will see the cabler hand over 90 seconds of advertiser time. Series will debut on Lifetime in fall 2010. (Variety)

BBC America has announced the US premiere date for Season Three of teen drama Skins, which will kick off on Thursday, August 6th at 9 pm ET/PT. (via press release)

NBC opted to shift its newest reality series The Great American Road Trip to Mondays at 8 pm, less than 24 hours after it launched the series. Repeats of America's Got Talent will take over the Tuesdays at 8 pm timeslot. (Futon Critic)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "30 Rock" Lands Off-Net Sale, Andrea Bowen Returns to Wisteria Lane, Producers Seek Replacement for Lynch on "Party Down," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Liz Lemon still has a lot of life left in her yet. Universal Media Studios was able to negotiate a payout of roughly $800,000 per episode of 30 Rock from two separate off-network deals to Comedy Central and WGN America. Both channels will be able to begin airing the episodes as a weeknight strip in fall of 2011. "Pound for pound, this is one of the funniest shows on TV. The DNA of the show is fabulous," said Comedy Central's SVP of programming David Bernath. "I really believe its biggest and broadest days are still ahead of it on NBC." TBS and E! were also said to have had interest in picking up the off-net rights to 30 Rock. (Variety)

Andrea Bowen is set to reprise her role as Julie when Desperate Housewives returns for a sixth season this fall but Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Bowen will be back in a major way: as a series regular, citing an unnamed insider with Desperate Housewives as a source. "Bowen vanished from Housewives at the end of season 4, a casualty of the show's four-year flash forward," writes Ausiello. "She briefly returned last season when Julie, on break from college, announced that she was dating her 40-year-old professor Lloyd (Steven Weber). It's not clear if he'll be accompanying her back home, but I'm guessing not." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Meanwhile in other Desperate Housewives news, Maiara Walsh (Cory in the House) has joined the cast of the ABC drama as a series regular, where she will reprise her role as Ana, the "gorgeous and manipulative niece" of Carlos (Ricardo Chavira), who moved in with the Solises last season. She previously appeared in the final two episodes of Desperate Housewives last season. (Hollywood Reporter)

Following news that Jane Lynch won't be returning for Season Two of Starz's comedy Party Down, E! Online's Watch with Kristin is reporting that producers are looking to cast the role of Lydia, a new series regular who can be any ethnicity other than white and at least 38 years old. In a casting call, Lydia is described as "a recently divorced stage mom who has moved out to L.A. from a small town with her daughter and is very upbeat and optimistic about breaking her daughter into the industry. As a newly single woman adrift in the big city, her thoughts are never far from the matter of reeling in a new man, but things never seem to work out. Her constant love troubles never get her down, it just means more to talk about with her Party Down colleagues..." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

FOX has pushed the launch of Season Two of Dollhouse back a week to Friday, September 25th at 9 pm ET/PT and will instead rebroadcast the season premiere of Glee on September 28th. Meanwhile, The Moment of Truth returns on Wednesday, August 5th at 9 pm ET/PT. (Futon Critic)

Lost's producers are looking for your take on the iconic series' theme song (currently consisting of, um, one note) as part of a competition coinciding with the series' Comic-Con panel later this month in San Diego. "The Lost producers want all you musicians out there to compose and submit a Lost theme song," writes E! Online's Jennifer Godwin. "The winning entry will be premiered to 7,000 screaming fans in Hall H during Lost's Saturday panel at San Diego Comic-Con, on the fifth anniversary together of our time together as show and fandom." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

BBC One has commissioned and third and final season of drama Mistresses, which will return for a short run of four episodes in order to wrap up the series' storylines. "Mistresses: The Last Act is a final four part special event that will bring the stories of the four mistresses to a dramatic conclusion on BBC1 next year," said BBC drama commissioning controller Ben Stephenson. "Simply and elegantly book ended by a mysterious glimpse into the future, all the four women will be returning - Katie, Trudi, Siobhan and Jessica - with new and sometimes shocking stories." (Broadcastnow)

Bravo has ordered a third season of The Real Housewives of New York City, with production set to begin this fall. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that CBS will kick off CSI: Miami's eighth season with an origin story that shows how the team came together in 1997. "It's my understanding that the episode will be told from the point of view of a comatose Delko (Adam Rodriguez), who flashes back to his first murder case with the Miami-Dade PD," writes Ausiello. "Delko, of course, was critically wounded in the season finale." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Lionsgate Television has forged a joint venture with Marty Adelstein and Jon Kroll's Lost Marbles that will focus on unscripted programming, specifically new reality formats that they can export to territories around the world. Under the two-year deal, Lionsgate will provide overhead and financing as well as distribution in exchange for a profit stake in any projects Lost Marbles produces. Their first project is an untitled reality series that will pit celebrities against disabled people in a variety of challenges. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Comic-Con Update: 20th Century Fox Announces Panels, Talent For SDCC Next Month

After weeks of anticipation (and speculation), 20th Century Fox has finally announced which series they will be bringing down to San Diego Comic-Con next month.

The unusual suspects--24, Bones, Dollhouse, The Simpsons--are all going to be on hand to present cast and producer panels throughout the weekend but the studio has also announced panels for Glee, Cleveland Show, American Dad, and Futurama to boot.

Meanwhile, such boldface names as Kiefer Sutherland, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Anil Kapoor, Freddie Prinze, Jr. Katee Sackhoff, Joss Whedon, Eliza Dushku, David Boreanaz, Emily Deschanel, Matt Groening, Seth MacFarlane, Seth Green, Mila Kunis, and the cast of Glee will be on hand as well.

The full press release from 20th Century Fox Television can be be found below, along with dates and times (and descriptions) of each of their panels.

TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX TELEVISION BRINGS NINE SHOWS TO COMIC-CON

Kiefer Sutherland, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Anil Kapoor, Freddie Prinze, Jr. Katee Sackhoff, Joss Whedon, Eliza Dushku, David Boreanaz, Emily Deschanel, Matt Groening, Seth MacFarlane, Seth Green, Mila Kunis, Stars of “Glee, ” “Futurama,” “Cleveland Show,” “American Dad” Among Those Scheduled To Appear

June 24, 2009, Hollywood, CA – Twentieth Century Fox Television will once again dominate the San Diego Comic-Con convention, with stars and creators of nine of its signature shows heading down to the world famous fan gathering next month for panels, autograph signings at the Fox booth and press appearances.

Descriptions, times and locations of the Fox panels follow:

FRIDAY, JULY 24:

2:15-3:00 P.M. Coming off its most critically acclaimed season in years, 24 stars Kiefer Sutherland, Mary Lynn Rajskub and new cast members Anil Kapoor, Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Katee Sackhoff join showrunnner Howard Gordon and the producers of the Emmy-winning series for a special sneak peek at the heart-stopping premiere episode of Season 8. Ballroom 20.

3-3:45 P.M. Bones showrunner Hart Hanson and stars David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel are on hand for a discussion of what’s on deck for Booth and Brennan, hot on the heels of this year's much talked-about season finale in which the pair finally wound up between the sheets. Ballroom 20.

4 P.M-6 P.M. Join Dollhouse creator Joss Whedon and star/producer Eliza Dushku for a no-holds-barred Q & A about what they have planned for season 2, after they unveil a special screening of the NEVER BEFORE SEEN “Epitaph One” episode of the Fox hit which releases on DVD just four days later. Ballroom 20.

SATURDAY, JULY 25:

11:15 A.M.-12 P.M Join Seth MacFarlane, Mila Kunis, Seth Green and the brilliant creative minds behind Family Guy for a raucous discussion of what goes on behind the scenes of tv's most subversive animated hit. They’ll also be offering a not-to-be-missed sneak peek at "Something, Something Dark Side," the Empire Strikes Back parody follow-up to Star Wars: Blue Harvest. Giggity! Ballroom 20.
12-12:45 P.M. Con fans will get the FIRST LOOK at The Cleveland Show, the wickedly funny new spin-off of Family Guy starring America's favorite beleaguered animated African American, Cleveland Brown. Co-creators Seth MacFarlane, Mike Henry and Rich Appel and voice cast Sana’a Lathan and Kevin Michael Richardson will all be on hand to discuss this new series premiering on Fox in the fall. Ballroom 20.

1-1:45 P.M. Futurama: Life or Death?! BE A PART OF SCI-FI HISTORY! Join Executive Producers Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, and stars Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio and Maurice LaMarche for high-stakes thrills as a top-ranking Fox executive decides live, on stage, whether Futurama will make yet another triumphant return, or whether it is gone forever! The very fate of Futurama hangs in the balance! Paramedics will be standing by in case the intense excitement causes any panelists to collapse. Raucous celebration or abject despair to follow the news. Ballroom 20.

1:45-2:30 P.M. Now entering its record-breaking 21st season on the air, The Simpsons is the longest-running series in the history of American television, and a household name around the world. Get a behind-the-scenes look at what's coming up in the Simpsonverse, including never-before-seen highlights from the upcoming "Treehouse of Horror XX", with a panel including Simpsons Creator Matt Groening, Showrunner Al Jean, Executive Producer Matt Selman and Supervising Director Mike Anderson. Ballroom 20.

1:30-3 P.M. When Fox aired a special preview of its subversive new comedy musical series Glee after the American Idol finale, the response was through the roof and fans have hungered for another episode ever since. The wait is over! Join stars Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele and Cory Monteith and the producers of the Fox hit for a sneak preview screening of a never-before-broadcast episode with panel discussion to follow. Don’t Stop Believin’, Con fans! Glee is here! Indigo Room.

SUNDAY, JULY 26:

11:15 A.M.-12:15 P.M. American Dad showrunners Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman and stars Seth MacFarlane, Wendy Schall and Dee Bradley Baker are back to regale the fans with an insider’s look at how an episode of the hilarious Fox animated comedy is made, from table read to animatic to color. Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind Comic-con event. Ballroom 20.

Channel Surfing: Whedon Talks "Dollhouse" Season Two, "My Name is Earl" Officially Dead, Middleton Talks "Sarah Connor," and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Wondering what Joss Whedon has in store for Season Two of Dollhouse, which returns to FOX this fall? Entertainment Weekly's Mandi Bierly caught up with the Dollhouse creator to find out what to expect. "About two hours after starting to talk to the writers about story, I was back with such a vengeance, and so energized and so pumped because we really understand the show now," said Whedon. "We understand what works, and what didn't work so well or what we weren't so thrilled about. We don't have the onus of trying to be a big hit sitting on our shoulders. We can just be ourselves. And so the stories we're breaking are pure, and exciting, and everybody's on-board in the room, and it's never flowed better." Look for Echo to use that final word of Season One as a springboard for her second season mission. ""Echo wants to find not just Caroline, but what's going on behind everything," said Whedon. "She doesn't have all of the skills. [Laughs] But she does have this weird super power of becoming a different person all the time, so she might start using that more specifically to find out who Caroline was and what happened to her and why this place exists." (Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch)

My Name is Earl has officially been killed, following talks between studio 20th Century Fox Television and cabler TBS about picking up new installments of the comedy series. The studio released a statement yesterday that talks between the two sides had broken off after they were unable to reach an agreement. "While we had hoped to find a way to produce additional episodes for TBS, in the final analysis we simply could not make the economics work without seriously undermining the artistic integrity of the series," said the studio in a statement. "As none of us, [creator Greg Garcia] included, want the show to go out on anything but a high note, we regret that we must put to rest any speculation that Earl will continue." (Variety)

SCI FI Wire catches up with James Middleton, the executive producer of FOX's canceled Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles to find out what would have happened in the series' third season, had it continued. "By jumping into this future, [John] has erased his existence in a certain way, and we see that. We see that nobody recognizes him," said Middleton. "We would have to have explored that if we did get a third season. If we had gotten a third season, I should say, we definitely would have explored what it all meant, but I think there's a great moment where we see Allison [Summer Glau], and John's look to her is very meaningful. I think that also would have been a great thing in terms of dramatic potential. Like I said, the show has ended, and it would all be speculation, and I really don't want to raise anybody's expectations." (SCI FI Wire)

Eric Roberts has joined the cast of Starz drama Crash, where he will play "an entrepreneur hoping to bring a professional football team to L.A." Other new cast members for Season Two, which launches on September 18th, include Dana Ashbrook (yes, Twin Peaks' Bobby Briggs himself!), Linda Park, Jake McLaughlin, Tess Harper, and Julie Warner. (Variety)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan is reporting that Comic-Con's Dollhouse panel next month will be two-hours long and will feature a screening of the unaired thirteenth episode, entitled "Epitaph One" and a discussion with Joss Whedon and series star Eliza Dushku. The two-hour session, according to a 20th Century Fox Television source, will take place on Friday, July 24th. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Meanwhile, Ryan is also reporting that there won't be a Heroes panel this year at Comic-Con. "According to a representative from Universal Media Studios, which makes the show," writes Ryan, "Heroes will "have a presence" at Comic-Con in various ways, but that presence will not involve the typical panel discussion that is a staple of Comic-Con." What that presence is remains to be seen but Ryan implies that it will involve a Season Four sneak peek in some form. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Stephanie March will be staying put on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and will appear in at least ten episodes next season. "The show is expected to introduce one or possibly two new characters to fill the ADA void when Cabot isn't around," writes Ausiello. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

CBS Television Studios has signed a two-year overall deal with CSI: NY executive producer Peter Lenkov. Under the terms of the deal, Lenkov will remain on board CSI: NY next season, where he teases fans will see ""Much more character. The mystery and the science are important, but people are just as important." (Hollywood Reporter)

Discovery has given a ten-episode series order to Garage Wars, in which mechanics will be pitted against each other to determine the best garage in America; two teams will be given a box with the same parts and must build the best vehicle from them in just four days. Series, from A. Smith and Co., is currently on the lookout for two car experts to serve as hosts. (Variety)

Outbound News Corp. president/COO Peter Chernin and Katherine Pope are said to have already begun taking meetings at the town's top talent agencies and inviting them to begin pitching projects. The duo are launching a new production company as part of Chenin's exit from News Corp that is said to operate under a similar deal as David E. Kelley's former arrangement. (Hollywood Reporter)

Chuck's Sarah Lancaster will guest star in an upcoming episode of TNT's medical drama Hawthorne, where she will play the girlfriend of a horrific motorcycle accident victim (My Boys' Reid Scott). (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Reveille has picked up US remake rights for Icelandic workplace comedy The Nightshift, about three graveyard shift workers at a gas station who try to remain motivated after dealings with eccentric customers. "The Nightshift is that rare international format that has American sensibility, and we're eager to tackle another workplace comedy after the success of The Office," said Reveille's managing director Howard Owens. "The show has a smart, ironic point of view, which we know will translate well in the U.S." (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Matthew Fox Talks "Lost" Final Season, "Reaper" Creators Check into "Dollhouse," Buckley Replaces Green on "One Tree Hill," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

E! Online caught up with Lost star Matthew Fox in Monte Carlo, where he was on hand to attend the Monte Carlo Television Festival, and got the actor to tease some details about Lost's sixth and final season. Fox, who said that Lost will end with "an incredibly powerful, very sad and beautiful way," went on to say " "I think it is going to be very satisfying and cathartic and redemptive and beautiful. I've talked to Damon pretty extensively and every time I talk to him it's sort of surprising how moving it is just to talk about it." As for the beginning of Season Six, look for the action to begin with the reveal of just what happened after Juliet seemed to detonate the hydrogen bomb, with Fox teasing, "It's very surprising and probably fairly confusing initially to the audience... Like a third of the way in [to the season] I would guess we are going to [settle] in one time frame and it will be very linear—no more flashbacks, nothing. It will be on the island and sort of a final conflict to the end." Very interesting... (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Reaper creators Michelle Fazekas and Tara Butters have joined the writing staff of FOX drama Dollhouse, which returns for its second season this fall. The news was announced by Dollhouse writer Maurissa Tancharoen on her Twitter feed. Fazekas and Butters, described by Tancharoen as "awesome," recently signed an overall deal with studio 20th Century Fox Television. (Twitter)

Robert Buckley (Lipstick Jungle) has signed on to CW's One Tree Hill as a series regular next season, where he will replace Brian Austin Green, who has dropped out of the series after a deal couldn't be reached. He'll play Clayton, described as "a brash young sports agent who represents Nathan Scott (James Lafferty) and has become a close friend, ally, business partner and advisor to him while also enjoying the spoils that come from being a wealthy, handsome single guy." (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC has ordered five episodes of comedic dance competition series Let's Dance, which will feature celebrities learning to react famous dance routines, such as Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey's dance in Dirty Dancing, etc. Episodes will air live, with viewers asked to vote on their favorite performers, who will return for a final round. Series, based on a UK format that aired on BBC One earlier this year, will be produced by FremantleMedia North America and Whizz Kid. (Variety)

E! Online's Watch with Kristin catch up with True Blood stars Alexander Skarsgard and Stephen Moyer in a series of video interviews in which the duo spill a few details about Season Two of the HBO vampire drama. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Jonathan Sadowski (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Keir O'Donnell (Sons of Anarchy), Rebecca Wisocky (Bones), and Kaylee DeFer (The War at Home) have been cast in Comedy Central's live-action comedy pilot Ghosts/Aliens, written by Phil Johnson and based on Trey Hamburger's novel. (Hollywood Reporter)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan is reporting that Battlestar Galactica: The Plan is slated to air on Sci Fi (or Syfy as it will be known by then) in November and BSG spin-off series Caprica will launch in January 2010, according to Sci Fi president Dave Howe. Also potentially on tap: a BSG feature film, possible three or five years down the line. (The Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Universal Media Studios has signed two-year overall deals with Heroes writers Aron Coleite and Joe Pakaski. Under the separate deals, the duo will continue to write for Heroes, entering its fourth season this fall, and develop series projects for the studio as well. (Variety)

Viola Davis (Doubt) will guest star on the second season of Showtime's comedy series The United States of Tara. Davis, who is slated to appear in seven episodes of the Diablo Cody-created series, will play Lynda B. Dozier, described as "an uncoventional artist who plays a significant role in Tara (Toni Collette) and her daughter Kate's (Brie Larson) lives." (via press release)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that the season premiere of House has been expanded to two hours and will be directed by executive producer Katie Jacobs. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

MTV will begin shooting Season Twenty-Three of its venerable reality franchise The Real World this summer in Washington D.C. The cabler, which will premiere the current Cancun-set season on June 24th, will launch the Washington season in 2010. (Hollywood Reporter)

Warner Bros. Television has hired former NBC executive Erin Gough Wehrenberg as SVP of comedy development. She will report to Len Goldstein and will work closely with Lisa Lang and Wendy Steinhoff-Baldikoski. (Variety)

Poppy Montgomery (Without a Trace) will star in Lifetime Movie Network telepic Cinderella Pact, about a magazine editor with an alter ego as a reclusive columnist whose latest column about weight loss inspires her overweight co-workers to band together to shed pounds by following her advice. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Westfeldt and Boyd Clock in for "24," Grillo-Marxuach Bound for "Day One," "Doctor Who" Feature in Development, "Buffy," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Jennifer Westfeldt (Grey's Anatomy) and John Boyd (The Notorious Bettie Page) have been cast in Day Eight of FOX drama series 24. Westfeldt will recur as journalist Meredith Reed, an ambitious writer who has ties to Middle East leader Arman Hashemi (Anil Kapoor), who arrives in the U.S. on a peacemaking mission. Boyd, meanwhile, will be a series regular and will play CTU analyst Jonah Schwartz. (Hollywood Reporter)

The Middleman creator Javier Grillo-Marxuach has joined the writing staff of NBC's upcoming sci-fi series Day One, where he will serve as writer/co-executive producer. Also joining the writing staff, according to series creator Jesse Alexander (who broke the news via Twitter): Kings' Erik Oleson, and Angela Kang. (io9)

BBC Films has confirmed that a big screen version of Doctor Who is being developed and that development of a script is currently underway. It's unclear whether inbound showrunner Steven Moffat or executive producer Russell T. Davies will write the feature film or if David Tennant or his replacement, Matt Smith, would play the Doctor. (Digital Spy)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has contacted Joss Whedon for a reaction to the news that director/producer Fran Rubel Kuzui is planning a feature film reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Joss' noncommittal reply? "I hope it's cool," wrote Whedon via email. Ahem. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

HBO will launch comedy series Hung, starring Thomas Jane, Jane Adams, and Anne Heche, on June 28th at 10 pm ET/PT, following an episode of True Blood. The first episode of Hung runs a lengthy 45 minutes while the subsequent installments will each run 30 minutes. (Variety)

The Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed has a hysterical cartoon jokingly depicting FOX executives deciding the fate of on-the-bubble sci-fi series Dollhouse and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles at gunpoint. (The Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

BBC America will launch supernatural drama Being Human, about a werewolf, vampire, and ghost who live together, on Saturday, July 25th at 9 pm ET/PT. (Televisionary)

Bravo is developing reality spinoff The Real Housewives of Washington, D.C. and is said to be looking for "personalities who are among Washington, D.C.'s influential players, cultural connoisseurs, fashion sophisticates and philanthropic leaders -- the people who rub elbows with the most prominent people in the country," according to Bravo EVP/general manager Frances Berwick. Series, to be developed by Half Yard Productions, is expected to launch sometime in 2010. (via press release)

Al Pacino will star in an untitled HBO telepic about Dr. Jack Kevorkian. Set in the early 1990s, the film will follow Kevorkian (Pacino) as he creates the first assisted suicide machine and the resulting media frenzy. Project, written by Adam Mazer and based on Harry Wilie and Neal Nicol's biography "Between the Dying and the Dead," will be directed by Barry Levinson. (Variety)

ABC is following through on its plans to merge ABC Entertainment and ABC Studios into a single unit under president Steve McPherson. While the network is said to still be finalizing its "development chain of command," it's widely thought that Suzanne Patmore-Gibbs--who currently serves as EVP of drama development--would be promoted to become McPherson's second-in-command, leaving Channing Dungey to take over as the network's head of drama and Josh Barry to replace Dungey on the studio side. (Hollywood Reporter)

Carol Kane will reprise her Homicide: Life on the Street role as Gwen Munch, the ex-wife of Detective John Munch (Richard Belzer) in the June 2nd season finale of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The episode will also feature Nick Stahl (Carnivale), who will play Peter Harrison, an artist turned killer who has set his sights on one of the SVU team after he succumbs to mental illness and Kane's Gwen will have to help her ex-husband track him down. (via press release)

RelativityReal, the reality/alternative arm of Relativity Media, has signed a three-year overall deal with Wilmer Valderrama, under which he will create, develop, and executive produce series for both broadcast and cable networks. Valderrama is currently developing a half-hour telenovela Brooklyn Sound at MTV. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: ABC Cancels "Samantha Who," NBC Renews "Law & Order," CBS to Order at Least Seven Series, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

In a surprise twist, ABC has opted to cancel comedy series Samantha Who, after it was widely believed that the network would renew the Christina Applegate-led comedy. The reason behind the cancellation was budget-cutting by the network and the comedy series was unable to reduce its budget enough to make a third season financially viable for ABC. The network had attempted to transition Samantha to a multi-camera format from single-camera in efforts to cut as much as half a million dollars per episode. (Variety)

NBC has given out an eleventh hour renewal to long-running legal procedural Law & Order, bringing the series' total to twenty seasons, tying it with Gunsmoke for the longest running drama series on television. It's believed that the order is for sixteen episodes. NBC will unveil their fall schedule to advertisers later today. (Hollywood Reporter)

CBS is set to unveil its fall schedule to advertisers on Wednesday but some details are leaking out about which series will land a place on the lineup. CBS is said to have given series orders to the untitled NCIS spin-off (referred to by some outlets as NCIS: Legend), The Good Wife, Three Rivers, Miami Trauma, and comedy Accidentally on Purpose. All series got the go-ahead to start staffing, along with dramas House Rules and U.S. Attorney, a likely sign that the latter series will also be ordered to series, possibly for midseason. CBS also ordered an unscripted series called Undercover Boss, which follows an executive who goes undercover as an entry-level drone at their own company. It's also believed that Old Christine will return, possibly paired with Accidentally on Purpose, as will comedies Gary Unmarried and Rules of Engagement. (Hollywood Reporter, Variety)

Meanwhile, the CW is set to announce the addition of Melrose Place and Kevin Williamson-executive produced supernatural drama Vampire Diaries when it unveils its schedule on Thursday. Privileged, however, which had been rumored to get a second season renewal, will not go ahead at the network. (Los Angeles Times)

Following FOX's announcement that it would renew Dollhouse for a second season, The Live Feed's James Hibberd chatted with series creator Joss Whedon about the news and asked whether fans would notice if the budget were cut. "My hope is “No.” In the fifth year of “Angel” we cut our budget significantly, yet we built a completely new set, we had an episode set on a submarine in the ‘40s," said Whedon. "Nobody felt like it was a cut back. Ultimately if the stories aren’t involving and somebody is going, [snobbish voice] “This doesn’t look as expensive as the last episode,” then the person has strange priorities." As for what to expect next season, Whedon offered a few thoughts. "The last few episodes we got to play "the man behind the curtain" a lot. We did less of, “And this week, she’s a neurosurgeon!” Which we’ll still do to an extent, it’s part of the fun. But we got into what makes the place tick, what makes it wrong. It was less, “Murder She Was Imprinted to Write.” The episodes were more satisfying and the network responded to that. And we also responded to their ideas about pacing and it being more of a thriller and a conspiracy so they were seeing what they were hoping for when we got the aspect we were looking for." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Meanwhile, TV Guide.com's Matt Mitovich caught up with Dollhouse star Eliza Dushku to talk to her about the FOX series' renewal. "I was in Uganda the past two weeks. I landed Friday night about midnight, and when I touched down the first message was a text from Joss saying, "We're back on, kid! Get ready to raise hell!" [Laughs] It was a nice homecoming," said Dushku, who said that the reason the series returned for another season was down to the fans. "We are so grateful and just bowled over by the support and the love and the loyalty. We are so excited to do the second season because it took us until the last six or so episodes to hit our stride; now we get to really have some fun." (TVGuide.com)

Lifetime has ordered twelve episodes of comedy Sherri, starring The View's Sherri Shepherd as a woman who juggles being a single mother, a paralegal, and an actress. Series, from executive producers Sherri Shepherd, Terri Minksy, Nina Wass, and Gene Stein, does not yet have an air date. It also stars Tammy Townsend, Kali Rocha, Elizabeth Regan, and Kate Reinders. (Variety)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan checks in with Friday Night Lights star Zach Gilford about his recent appearance on the season finale of ABC's Grey's Anatomy, what is in store for his character next season on Friday Night Lights, and what's next for the actor. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Cabler G4 will launch two new series in the next few months. First up is The International Sexy Ladies Show, which launches June 7th and features comedians--such as Doug Benson, Steve Byrne, John Caparule, Mitch Fatel, Joy Koy, Sherrod Small, and Alex Zane--as they offer humor-based commentary on clips from around the world featuring women "participating in unusual activities." Ten episodes of the series, from Colour TV, are on tap. In August, the cabler will launch 2 Months, $2 Million, a reality competition series where "four online players will hunker down in a Las Vegas mansion and, using their own money, try to accumulate a vast amount of cash by competing against anonymous players on the Internet." (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: FOX Renews "Dollhouse," "Bones" Gets Two Season Pickup, "So You Think You Can Dance" on Tap for Fall, and More

Welcome to (a very early edition of) your Monday morning television briefing on the first day of the 2009 network upfronts.

In a surprising twist, FOX has renewed drama series Dollhouse for a second season. Dollhouse, which secured a thirteen-episode order from the network, is expected to remain on Friday evenings next season. Variety's Cynthia Littleton writes, "The 20th Century Fox TV fantasy drama starring Eliza Dushku has delivered modest but consistent ratings on a low-trafficked night, thanks to Whedon's built-in fan base." It's believed that the renewal was secured after the studio agreed to drastically reduce the series' budget and accept a significantly lower license fee. Just what that decision will mean for the writing staff and cast of Dollhouse remains to be seen. (Variety)

Good news for Bones fans (even those irked by the season finale's twist): FOX and studio 20th Century Fox Television have signed a deal to renew Bones for not one but two seasons. The eleventh hour renewal came down to the wire as the two sides had to hammer out a new license fee for the series, which is returning for its fifth season this fall. News of Bones' renewal was announced by creator Hart Hanson via his Twitter account. Hanson also indicated that frequent guest star Stephen Fry would reprise his role as Dr. Gordon Wyatt on the series. "There is every chance," said Hart, again via Twitter, "that Stephen Fry will be on Bones in the future." (Variety)

Elsewhere at FOX, the network is expected to announce a first-ever fall outing for reality franchise So You Think You Can Dance next season, likely to be paired with drama Glee on Wednesdays. Other potential timeslot pairings include House and Lie to Me on Mondays,Fringe and Human Target on Tuesdays, and Bones and So You Think You Can Dance's result show on Thursday. Just what will be paired with Dollhouse on Fridays? Past Life perhaps? Meanwhile, comedies Brothers and Sons of Tucson are expected to bow in midseason. (Hollywood Reporter)

Still more FOX news: FOX has ordered 13 episodes of comedy Brothers, starring Michael Strahan, Darryl "Chill" Mitchell, and CCH Pounder. Series, from Sony Pictures Television and Tantamount, revolves around the strained relationship between two brothers, one a retired NFL player (Strahan) and other a wheelchair bound man (Mitchell) whose own dreams of NFL glory were sidelined by a car accident. Meanwhile, drama Maggie Hill is said to still be in contention for a midseason slot. (Hollywood Reporter)

CBS has reportedly given a go-ahead to begin staffing on three new drama series, making their official series orders all the more likely later this week. The untitled NCIS spin-off, medical drama Three Rivers (starring Moonlight's Alex O'Loughlin), and legal drama The Good Wife (starring Julianna Margulies), all of which hail from CBS Television Studios (formerly known as CBS Paramount Network Television) have all been told to begin staffing ahead of CBS' official upfront presentation on Wednesday. (Variety)

Meanwhile, Nikki Finke is reporting that CBS has given medical drama Miami Trauma a greenlight to start staffing and that the Eye is considering launching U.S. Attorney in midseason. (Deadline Hollywood Daily)

ABC has renewed reality series True Beauty for a second season. Project, from executive producers Tyra Banks and Ashton Kutcher, featured ten handsome contestants who live together in a house and undergo a series of challenges to determine which of them has the most inner beauty. (Futon Critic)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has a fantastic interview/profile of Jane Lynch, currently on the small screen in Starz's Party Down and FOX's Glee. Lynch said that Party Down, created by Rob Thomas, John Enbom, Dan Etheridge, and Paul Rudd, was the most fun she'd had in her life. "It’s what I really love to do. I love being part of a team where everybody’s kind of got equal weight, Lynch told Ryan. "It’s about teamwork. There’s really no room for the big ego-trip thing that you hear about." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

SPOILER: Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello catches up with Prison Break executive producer Matt Olmstead after Friday evening's season finale to discuss the shocking ending of the series, which saw the death of Wentworth Miller's Michael Scofield. "For me, it is a happy ending," Olmstead told Ausiello. "Look at the very first episode of the season when Michael realizes Sara's alive. They have a chance to run away, and they both elect not to because, as two people of conscience, they can't live with what they both now have experienced. And at the end of the finale, when they're on the beach and talking about the baby that's coming, that's a huge victory in that they both stood their ground and, with the help of other people, brought down the ultimate antagonist. So they have their moment." Olmstead also teases the plot of the two-hour direct-to-DVD Prison Break film, which is due to be released on July 28th. "Sara is on the hook for [killing] Michael's mother and she gets locked up while pregnant," said Olmstead. "The tables are turned… once a doctor in prison now imprisoned, and Michael's on the outside. The majority of the cast is back. It's Michael, Lincoln, Sara, Sucre, T-Bag, Mahone... all the heavy-hitters." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

HBO has handed out a series order to animated series The Ricky Gervais Show, which will feature Gervais, his longtime writing partner and friend Stephen Merchant and the quirky Karl Pilkington, who has appeared with Gervais and Merchant on their podcast and will be the focal point for the series. Series, which has been ordered for thirteen episodes, hails from Media Rights Capital and Wildbrain and is expected to launch in 2010. "Karl is a man who believes that a sea lion is a cross between a fish and a dog," said Gervais and Merchant in a statement. "Hopefully, Karl will enter the pantheon of animated greats."(Variety)

Reports are swirling that ITV sci-fi drama Primeval, which airs Stateside on BBC America and Sci Fi, could birth a spin-off of its own. Executive producers Jonathan Drake and Tim Haines have reportedly begun drafting plans for a second Primeval-based project that could expand the series' mythology outside the UK and could be set in the United States. (Digital Spy)

Former CSI castmember Jorja Fox will guest star on an upcoming episode of Lifetime's dramedy Drop Dead Diva, which premieres July 12th. Fox will play a "soccer mom with a criminal past" on an episode of the Lifetime series about a dead model who is reborn into the body of an overweight attorney. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

20th Century Fox Television has signed a deal with Columbia Records to release music from the upcoming series Glee on iTunes and other digital platforms as well as on compact disc. (Hollywood Reporter)

E! Online's Watch with Kristin talks with Gossip Girl's Jessica Szohr about what's to come on the CW drama series. Szohr teases that Vanessa will definitely get over Nate ditching her for Blair and that there could be the potential for another encounter with Chuck Bass. "Obviously, Vanessa's a little bit hurt because that's her boyfriend, but what comes around goes around, so I'm sure Vanessa will be all right. [...] Vanessa hates Chuck... that's what's fun about it. We'll see." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

FOX and animation studio Aniboom have teamed up on a contest where animates can submit short films. The prize: a development deal at FOX and the opportunity to create the "next great animated holiday special" or, potentially, a weekly series. "FOX has long been the sole primetime animation powerhouse, and we're searching for a fresh new animated holiday special that could potentially become an instant classic and maybe even a weekly series," said FOX president Kevin Reilly. "By tapping into Aniboom's community of undiscovered talent, we hope to find the next original hit holiday concept, like Simpsons Treehouse of Horror or A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas." (Hollywood Reporter)

Ryan Seacrest has indicated that there could be some major changes in store for next season of FOX's American Idol. "I don't know what they'll do next year. I don't know if they'll keep the tweaks that they've made this season or if they're going to implement new ones," Seacrest told Broadcasting & Cable's Marisa Guthrie. "But it's no secret that Simon is thinking about it being his last season. Everyone's deal is up next year except for Paula's." (Broadcasting & Cable)

CBS Television Studios have signed a two-year first-look deal with Drew Carey, currently the host of daytime game show The Price Is Right. Under the terms of the deal, Carey will develop projects via his International Mammoth TV shingle. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "Chuck" and "Dollhouse" Still Bubbling Away, FOX and NBC Close to Locking Schedules, "Reaper" Not Dead Yet, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Just what will happen with bubble series like Chuck and Dollhouse? It looks like the fate of many of this year's bubble series, including those and such series as Cold Case, The Unit, My Name is Earl, Scrubs, Gary Unmarried, and Old Christine, will come down to the wire. "Negotiations continue on fan favorites Chuck and Dollhouse, with the shows facing cost-cutting requests from their respective networks, NBC and Fox, and their pickup odds seeming to shift from moment to moment," writes Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd. "Both could go down to the wire." (Hollywood Reporter)

FOX and NBC are close to locking their fall schedules and will do so by tomorrow. FOX is said to be considering ordering a sixth season of reality series So You Think You Can Dance to air this fall, immediately after the fifth season runs this summer. Other possibilities include overweight dating series The Fatchelor, which was originally expected to air this summer, or another cycle of Hell's Kitchen. Lie to Me, which was renewed for 13 episodes, is expected to launch in midseason rather than fall and the network has series like Glee, Fringe, Sons of Tucson, Human Target, House, Bones, Cleveland, and others to play around with. (Dollhouse is still said to be in contention as well.) NBC, meanwhile, is mulling splitting The Biggest Loser's two-hour weekly run into two one-hour installments and it's thought likely that the Peacock will bring back Medium, Law & Order, and--yes--Chuck, which appeared on some leaked potential schedules yesterday. (Variety)

ABC Studios is reportedly shopping dramedy Reaper to CW affiliate stations as a syndicated series for Sunday evenings (which are now under control of the affiliates rather than the netlet) or on cable. Several problems, however, make either scenario a bit of a longshot. For one, series co-star Tyler Labine is set to star in FOX comedy series Sons of Tucson next season (though there are discussions about whether he might be contractually obligated to return to Reaper) and Reaper creators Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters have been signed to an overall deal at rival studio 20th Century Fox Television. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly has confirmed that Kristin Cavallari will replace Lauren Conrad on MTV's The Hills next season. She'll first appear in the May 31st season finale and will appear in ten episodes of The Hills next season, which kicks off in the fall. "I’m a completely different person than Lauren," said Cavallari about how the series will be different with her. "I have a lot more energy. I’m more outgoing. I’m a little more spontaneous. And she has a boyfriend so she’s not dating on the show. I’m very open to dating and finding a guy." (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Nikki Finke is reporting that FOX has passed on comedy pilots AbFab and Two Dollar Beer and drama pilot Eva Adams. (Deadline Hollywood Daily)

Meanwhile in other pilot-related news, ABC is said to be high on dramas Happy Town, Eastwick, and The Forgotten, while Empire State and Inside the Box remain in contention and V could bow as a midseason series as well as being high on comedies Cougar Town, The Middle, Romantically Challenged, and The Law. FOX is said to be strongly favoring comedy Brothers and wavering on drama Past Life. Melrose Place and Vampire Diaries are considered locks for the CW's fall schedule, with the last remaining spot going to either Privileged, Life Unexpected (formerly known as Light Years), or The Beautiful Life. CBS is said to be strong on Accidentally on Purpose and Waiting to Die as well as Happiness Isn't Everything, which could launch in midseason. On the drama side, it's the untitled NCIS spin-off, Three Rivers, and The Good Wife looking the most certain for series orders. (Hollywood Reporter)

Say goodbye to Remote Free TV. Yes, FOX has decided to put the initiative, which saw the network air fewer ads during series Fringe and Dollhouse at a higher premium, out to pasture. Next season Fringe will decrease its content time and typically run a more normal batch of commercials. (Wall Street Journal)

Doctor Who's David Tennant has been hired as the new host of PBS' Masterpiece Contemporary. His first appearance on the revamped anthology series will take place this fall. (Televisionary)

The CW has confirmed that Paulina Porizkova is no longer a judge on reality staple America's Next Top Model. Porizkova broke the news herself during an appearance on CBS' Late Late Show, in which she said that the network had fired her. "Do you know why I'm in Los Angeles?" she asked Ferguson. "... Because I'm looking for a job, because I was fired by America's Next Top Model -- on my birthday." The CW gave no explanation for her dismissal but Porizkova contends that it was a financial decision and that the series had to reduce its budget, dismissing any claims of friction between her and Tyra Banks. (Zap2it)

Los Angeles Times' Joe Flint takes a look at the scaleback facing this year's upfront presentations, with many networks scaling back on lavish parties and overt signs of excess. CBS has moved its post-upfront party from Tavern on the Green to the more sedate Terminal Five, William Morris Agency has cancelled its annual upfront shindig after 25 years, and ABC's party is at an undisclosed location and only open to media buyers. (Los Angeles Times)

Nickelodeon has ordered an animated series from Dreamworks Animation based on the feature film Kung Fu Panda, following the success of the studio's The Penguins of Madagascar on the channel. The series, which is expected to launch in 2010, will follows the adventures of Po, the martial arts master panda. Just don't expect Jack Black to reprise his role as Po here (though he will in a feature-based Kung Fu Panda sequel to be released in 2011); sound-a-likes will be used in the animated series. (New York Times)

Susan Levison, the head of comedy development at FOX, is expected to announce her departure from the network soon. Following her departure, the department will be overseed by VPs of comedy development Suzanna Makkos and Marcus Wiley, who will serve as co-heads and report to Matt Cherniss. (Variety)

The Wire's Clarke Peters will appear in an upcoming storyline on BBC One drama Holby City, where he will play Derek Newman, the father of Donna Jackson (Jaye Jacobs), who is admitted to the hospital and learns that he has "cancer of the splenic flexure, pancreas and abdominal wall." It soon falls to Ric Griffin (Hugh Quarshie) to save his life. Peters' first appearance on Holby City is scheduled to air July 14th. (BBC)

Teri Weinberg has hired former NBC manager of comedy programming Rachel Israel to be her VP of programming at Weinberg's new production company Yellow Brick Road. The two have worked together since 2004, when they were both at Reveille, where Israel worked as an intern and Weinberg's assistant. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: NBC Passes on "Legally Mad" and (Allegedly) "Lost & Found," "Dollhouse" Bonus Ep Gets Comic-Con Screening, Michael Emerson, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

NBC has confirmed that they have passed on David E. Kelley's legal drama Legally Mad, which will not be going to series. Project, which starred Charity Wakefield, Hugh Bonneville, Kristin Chenoweth, Jon Seda, Loretta Devine, and Kurt Fuller as the denizens of a quirky Chicago law firm, has a rather hefty multi-million dollar penalty against it, which NBC will have to pay out to Warner Bros. Television after making a series commitment to the project last year. It's not anticipated that the studio will shop the project to other outlets. In other pilot news, ABC comedy pilot Let It Go (a.k.a. The Bridget Show), starring Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls), is now believed to be "dead." (Variety)

The Peacock is also said to have killed procedural drama Lost & Found, which starred Katee Sackhoff and Brian Cox. There were rumors that the Universal Media Studios-produced pilot was being shopped to USA but The Hollywood Reporter's Nellie Andreeva says "that is considered a longshot." Meanwhile, NBC comedy pilot Off Duty is said to be undergoing some retooling and could still remain in contention while ABC screened pilots V and Limelight to some rather mixed reviews yesterday, with V still in the mix for a possible order. (Hollywood Reporter)

The so-called bonus episode of FOX drama Dollhouse, entitled "Epitaph One," will be screened at July's Comic-Con International in San Diego. The episode, which features guest star Felicia Day (Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog), is said to be set in the future and will also feature the core series cast. Day will play a freedom fighter battling the tyrrany of the Dollhouse in the "gothic horror" tinged installment, which is described as "mythology heavy and an essential watch for fans of the series." (End of Show)

The Onion A.V. Club talks to Lost's Michael Emerson about playing Benjamin Linus on the ABC drama and what he thinks about Ben being labeled as a villain. "I think it’s interesting that I make these best-villain lists when it’s not even clear that I am a bad guy," said Emerson. "I think it’s something in the playing of the part. I think it worries people when they can’t get a handle on a character. I tend to play him kind of ambiguously. There is a sinister quality to him, but I think the verdict is still out about what his position is on the scale of good and evil. To a large extent, people’s interest in the character is the mystery of the character." (The Onion A.V. Club)

Kevin Costner and Armyan Bernstein are developing an untitled four-hour Western mini-series at A&E, which Costner will executive produce and may direct; it's also possible that he could appear in front of the camera as well, depending on the script. Project will focus on a post-Civil War era "major conflict in the settlement of the West." (Hollywood Reporter)

In other A&E news, the cabler has ordered a pilot for Jerry Bruckheimer-produced drama Cooler Kings about a former cop in Honolulu who is out for revenge after the death of his girlfriend and becomes the member of a group of enigmatic gumshoes called the Cooler Kings, whose mission is to fight the "seedy side of Paradise." Project, originally developed at FOX, is written by Tristan Patterson and comes from Bruckheimer TV and Warner Horizon. If ordered to series, Cooler Kings would likely boy in spring or summer 2010. (Variety)

Joss Stone has signed on to reprise her role as Anne of Cleves, one-time wife to Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) in the fourth and final season of Showtime's The Tudors. (Hollywood Reporter)

FOX has pulled animated comedy Sit Down, Shut Up from the schedule with one installment remaining from its initial order. It's not expected that the series will return next season. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has some details about Season Four of NBC's Heroes, vis-a-vis some casting info about a number of roles that seem to place the action next season at some sort of traveling circus, making many--including Ausiello--draw comparisons to HBO's short-lived supernatural drama series Carnivale. Producers are said to be on the look out for a knife-thrower, a twenty-something tattooed woman, and "a middle-aged Eddie Izzard type to play the Carnival Barker, a smooth operator with a wicked wit." Other roles up for grabs include Claire's "quirky college roommate" and a partner/mentor for Matt Parkman. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Jimmy Kimmel Live co-creator Daniel Kellison has been hired as the new executive producer on The Bonnie Huny Show. He'll take his spot on the second season of the daytime syndicated talk show when it returns this fall, working alongside Bonnie Hunt, Don Lake, and Jim Paratore. Kellison's company Jackhole Industries, which he runs with Kimmel and Adam Carolla, will continue to produce Jimmy Kimmel Live. (Variety)

Nickelodeon has handed out a series order to action/adventure comedy The Troop, ordering 26 episodes about three teenagers (Nick Purcell, Gage Golightly, David Del Rio) who battle monsters after school. The series, from executive producer Tommy Lynch and showrunner Jay Kogen, is expected to launch this fall. It was created by Greg Coolidge, Chris Morgan, and Max Burnett. (Hollywood Reporter)

Fremantle has hired former Sci Fi executive Tony Optican, who was responsible for developing Eureka, Tin Man, and Stargate: Atlantis, to oversee its scripted programming development and also sell the company's UK scripted formats into the US. He'll report to Eugene Young, Fremantle's chief creative officer, and will be based in LA. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Broken Dolls: Thoughts on the Season Finale of FOX's "Dollhouse"

In a position that is bound to make me unpopular with the legions of Dollhouse fans, I have to say that I found Friday evening's season finale of Dollhouse ("Omega"), written and directed by Tim Minear, an illogical and messy affair.

Following a first season that was fraught with behind-the-scenes complications and showcased an often disjointed approach to serialized storytelling, the finale failed to pay off some of the more intriguing story threads that had been slowly weaving together throughout the eleven or so preceding episodes and offered an Alpha (Alan Tudyk) that seemed bizarrely at odds with how he had been previously presented within the series.

"Omega" also suffered from an odd emphasis on telling rather than showing some important beats (meet Adelle: exposition dump) and potentially wrapped the series with a nonsensical ending that didn't in any way feel earned. (Not helping matters: the last scene was in fact culled from the final scene of Joss Whedon's original Dollhouse pilot.)

Confession: I've known about the Claire/Whiskey twist since last May and had been eagerly awaiting this reveal, though after several Joss Whedon interviews indicated that the series likely wouldn't be dealing with the possibility of any of the Dollhouse staff being dolls themselves until the second season, I gave up all hope of seeing this storyline play out. Still, I thought that if they were going to go down this road with Claire/Whiskey, it could have been handled a hell of a lot better. I thought that the reveal that it was Whiskey and not Echo dancing in the distance was fantastic and spoke to the beautiful visuals that Minear constructed throughout the direction of this episode.

But Alpha and Whiskey's Mickey-and-Mallory rip-off engagement was just odd to me. Why would a client book an engagement with a psycho couple? I could see Lars perhaps hiring Whiskey to be his Mallory on a crime spree but what was Lars' role meant to be here? Third wheel? It seemed more a means to an end for Minear to create a stunning visual of Whiskey and Alpha going at it while they torture this poor guy in a deserted club while the handlers try and track down their errant dolls.

Sadly, I thought that the handling of Whiskey's backstory was clunky and made little sense, given her scars and her apparent agoraphobia, neither of which was dealt with satisfactorily. It was interesting to learn that there was a previous Dr. Saunders and that Whiskey was given his personality as an imprint, leading to some continuity for the Actives as they continue to be treated on-site by a Dr. Saunders. (I did love that Whiskey accepted who she was at the end and picked up the jar of lollipops and that her hatred towards Topher was unrelated to her programming.)

But the reveal didn't quite ring true when you consider Whiskey's scars. Hell, I'd have much rather learned that the scars were repaired and Whiskey kept recutting her own face, making it impossible for the Dollhouse to fix their most valued Active and that it was self-inflicted, indicating that some things can't be erased no matter how many times you imprint. As it is, it doesn't really make much sense why Whiskey still has the scars that Alpha inflicted on her. Why would the Dollhouse let their best Active remained scarred and locked up? Surely they would have forced her to have them fixed, given she was under contract. And why was she an agoraphobic in this imprint? It made absolutely no sense to me whatsoever.

Additionally, Alpha's characterization here was diametrically opposed to the week before, where he was presented as a genius whereas here he was a garden-variety psycho with a fixation on Echo. Not that we know why he was quite so fixated on her or what his master plan actually was... which seemed to have nothing to do with taking down the Dollhouse at all and more to do with giving himself a multiple-personality psycho bride and killing Caroline's personality and making Echo watch. What happened to the Olympian-sized intellect? The genius skills? The feeling that Alpha was a larger-than-life ghoul instead of an average psychopath?

Was his endgame really so small? To allow Echo to "ascend" the same way he did via his accidental compositing and achieve something that wasn't quite self-awareness but an ability to embody a host of imprints at once? To infect someone else with the same madness he suffered from? If so, why did he give Echo an imprint of a Southern floozy rather than, say, Whiskey's Mallory imprint? Just why did he fixate so much on Echo in the first place? You've got me. And then without any real answers, Alpha climbs up the stairs of the power plant never to be seen again. Just how did he escape? No idea.

Even more frustrating to me was that several storylines--especially Paul Ballard's--went nowhere. I've never been a fan of Ballard as a character. Throughout the season, he's been portrayed as icy and unsympathetic and this week's episode made him seem weak-willed and vapid as well. After doggedly pursuing the Dollhouse (resulting in the end of his career) and proclaiming the wrongness of what they're doing, he just sits back and takes a job for the very organization he was looking to take down? Why? To be closer to Caroline? To free November/Mellie, whom I never bought his feelings for in the first place, from her contract rather than, say, Caroline? To take it down from the inside? (A rather far leap of logic, given that this is not indicated anywhere on screen.)

Meanwhile, November and Sierra vanished after being imprinted with the personalities of two bounty hunters and tasked with tracking down Alpha. I understand that a scene with the two of them at the power plant was cut from the finished episode but the result made them look like the two worst bounty hunters in the entire world, who apparently failed to find their quarry at all. Why bother showing the scene of them being imprinted as bounty hunters if it wasn't followed up on at all? (If anything comes from Dollhouse, it's that I hope that the superb Dichen Lachman gets a lot of work as a result. She's proven herself versatile, talented, and memorable even when stuck with a largely thankless role, as has the supremely talented Enver Gjokaj.)

We're told repeatedly that the Dollhouse is impenetrable and infallible yet it was anything but and the last two episodes proved this once again. Apparently, to get in, you need only break through two flimsy grates. And to get out, Alpha just took the elevator. Additionally, the fact that no one--not Topher, not Adelle--thought it was prudent to look at Alpha's file and investigate (A) who he was before he came to the Dollhouse or (B) what crimes he had committed after slicing up members of their staff, tormenting them, and breaking in was absolutely ludicrous. Surely, they'd want to to know everything about their target, even if it meant delving into his past before his initial imprinting. And, given that Alpha smashed his wedge on his way out the first time, shouldn't Topher have taken a look at the primary and backup wedges first thing after Alpha's latest attack? Sloppy.

As for Echo herself, I don't really think that after her experiences with Alpha, she would just gladly go back to the Dollhouse and have her mind erased. Yet we weren't given any inkling into what this Super-Echo believed or thought about her situation. I never for a moment thought there was any danger for Echo from Alpha at the end and he literally runs up the stairs into the ether while Echo climbs out onto a catwalk to retrieve the wedge with her original Caroline personality on it. Was Alpha really going to kill her? Hell no. And even when he has multiple opportunities to do so, even when Echo is distracted from chasing him by the precipitous position of said wedge, he doesn't even bother to fire at her. I thought the ending--with Echo whispering the name Caroline as the pod closes on her--was completely unearned and at odds with the Super-Echo we just saw in the previous scene, given how the season as a whole seemed to point the way towards Echo's growing self-awareness. After finally achieving self-awareness, would she really throw it away to be put back into a box?

Dollhouse dealt with some intriguing concepts of identity, individuality, memory, and free will but the execution of the individual episodes often paled in comparison with the ideas that they sought to explore. I'm all for the discussion of these fascinating moral and metaphysical questions--such as whether it's right to experiment on prisoners, whether our identities are more than just electrical responses--but I couldn't shake the feeling that the questions themselves were more interesting than the answers that the series was offering and that the series itself had the haphazard feeling of a rudderless boat.

All in all, I have to say that I'm disappointed. For a series so rife with potential, it failed to achieve it on a regular basis and remained, in the end, a frustrating exercise in the push and pull of concept and execution. Whether FOX will renew Dollhouse in spite of its shortcomings (and its dwindling ratings) remains to be seen. But I'm definitely ready for the cast and crew to move on to other, hopefully less creatively uneven, endeavors.

What did you think of Dollhouse's finale and, should Friday's episode be the series' finale, of Dollhouse as a whole? Were you disappointed by the final product or did you revel in the concepts of identity, memory, and individuality that the series brought up? Discuss.

Alpha Male: Talking to Alan Tudyk about FOX's "Dollhouse"

Despite the identity of Dollhouse's malevolent Active, codenamed Alpha, leaking over the internet a few months ago, the reveal in last Friday evening's episode of Dollhouse ("Briar Rose") that Alpha had managed to infiltrate the Dollhouse with the help of Paul Ballard... in the guise of Dollhouse designer Steven Kepler, left many viewers' jaws on the ground.

Dollhouse's Alpha and the faux Steven Kepler were, of course, played by frequent Joss Whedon collaborator Alan Tudyk, best known as Wash on Whedon's short-lived FOX series Firefly (and the subsequent big screen adaptation Serenity).

Tudyk participated in a conference call on Monday with press to discuss his role on Dollhouse, what a potential Season Two could mean for Alpha, and how on earth Wash got to play Dollhouse's "god-like" Big Bad, who Tudyk says is comprised of 43 different personalities. (Just don't expect one of them to be Steve the Pirate.)

So was waltzing off with Echo into the sunset in "Briar Rose" really Alpha's game plan all along?

"I think that’s Alpha’s plan, sure," said Tudyk. "Everything that Alpha has done has been to get Echo. Whenever you see Alpha, he’s screwing with the dollhouse and it’s always around Echo and his obsession with Echo. It was his plan all along to come get Echo and that’s what it was all about. So now he has her and he gets to fulfill his plan now, which is to make her like him. Alpha isn’t really Alpha. He is Alpha, but what Alpha is this composite of people. We understand that he’s a bunch of people crammed into one. He’s 43 people at once. He’s ascended in his mind to a god-like place."

As for what a second season of Dollhouse would mean for Alpha, Tudyk was playing his cards close to his chest. "I think, the second season for Alpha--wow, I want to be able to say this without giving away," said a sly Tudyk. "I can’t say because Alpha may not make it through the next episode. He does have Echo and Alpha is a formidable person to deal with, but he has Echo and that’s playing with fire. It could blow up in his face."

As for how Tudyk landed the role, it all came down to a game of Pictionary at Nathan Fillion's house, apparently.

"[Joss] set me up really well because he didn’t tell me he was offering it to me or that he wanted me for the role when he first described it," said Tudyk. "He laid it out like the role does this, and he does this and he’s this composite of these people. He gave me a full scope of the guy that he was this person who was obsessed with Echo and was 43 people at once and has all of these skill sets crammed into one, but because he’s 43 people at once, he’s mad. But he can do many things, because he is also 43 people at once and he’s sort of godlike in his own mind. I was like, 'Oh, my God, that’s sounds so amazing. Who’s playing that?' [Joss:] I want you to play it.'"

"It was really cool. It wasn’t like we were in his office discussing work. We were over at Nathan Fillion’s house for Pictionary," he continued. "We were on a Pictionary break when he said, 'I want to talk to you about' – I was asking, I brought it up. 'What’s going on with the show? I want to hear about your new show,' because it had yet to start and we were just getting into the strike time. I was really blown away that he wanted me for it and I was excited to get to play it. [...] I don’t get to play bad asses very often."

But Whedon did give Tudyk some room to create his own take on Alpha, though Tudyk says that he was definitely relying on Whedon's own take, given how integral Alpha has been to Dollhouse's overarching plot.

"I think I had space to create him, but I was hungry for anything he gave me," said Tudyk. "Any idea he had or any information he could fill in with his vision of Alpha because it’s been shaped by all these other episodes, these different things of what other people have said about him. So I’m adding up everything people have said about him and then going to him and saying, 'Are all of these impressions of Alpha true because they’re saying that’s who he is, but are they right? What is your vision of Alpha?' I was really dependent on his vision because it’s definitely, he’s had this guy in mind since the beginning. "

"In the playing of it, in the actual shooting of it, we got to have fun and there was a lot of little bits," he went on. "But the main thing for the last episode is he wanted... that stakeout as much as possible, although it wasn’t a very well kept secret, but they created a really great role in Steven Kepler. He wanted that to be a full person that people could believe in before he flipped into one of those other personalities."

Tudyk says that he believes that Alpha has the ability to become the most perfect human specimen. "I think he has the ability to be," mused Tudyk. " I don’t think that he—like any of us, experience because in a lot of ways when you’re downloading a bunch of people, you’re downloading perspective and his experience. Somebody can go through one experience and have a conclusion about that and another person could have the same experience and have a different conclusion. Somebody can end up enlightened and somebody else could end up a villain. I think he takes the wrong lessons from his downloaded experiences. He is certainly evolved, but I don’t know, the swine flu is evolution, isn’t it? In a way, it’s an evolution of flu, that’s sort of him... I bet Alpha believes that there won’t be anybody [in the future]. Heck, no, there will be Alpha. Alpha will be there. Alpha is a god. He is forever now. He can live forever. He has the ability to live forever."

In the meantime, look for Tudyk to get to showcase some of Alpha's numerous personalities. "There’s sort of a Mickey personality that I like a lot," said Tudyk. "He’s fun, good old boy. He’s fun. He’s one of the more distinct ones that you’ll see. He has a little more room to breathe, yes, him. And then just sort of the overall Alpha, the composite guy, because there is a basic, there is a center. There is a center that when he’s in control of things, which is egomaniacal and he believes he’s God. Maybe there’s a Gar, but it’s very subtle. Actually there’s a great dodge ball player in there. He was just never given a shot. It doesn’t get a chance to do that. If he survives this episode and there’s a new season, hopefully we can flesh that out."

As for whether Alpha and Tudyk will turn up in the bonus episode of Dollhouse ("Epitaph One"), Tudyk isn't saying. "You’ll never know until you buy the DVD," he joked. "I don’t want to comment on my state beyond this episode, or Alpha’s state, my fate beyond the episode totally alive, living a healthy life in Venice, California. But Alpha’s fate, it’s uncertain."

Meanwhile, Tudyk is sworn to secrecy on his next project, ABC's pilot for a remake of sci-fi series V, written by The 4400 creator Scott Peters. "I can say this, it’s really good," said Tudyk. "I hope that they pick it up. If you’re a fan, which I was at the beginning, of the first one this is kind of everything that you remember without going back and watching because if you go back and watch the original V, you’re like, oh, I thought this was great. It looks really kind of cheesy. It fills in your memory as it should be. It’s like really awesome effects. The effects are done by [Firefly's] Zoic [and they do] all the spacecrafts and anything requiring digital enhancement... and they do a great job. And then, of course, Morena Baccarin is in it and she’s the leader of the aliens, so you can’t get any better than that."

What can viewers expect to see Alpha get up to in Friday evening's season finale of Dollhouse ("Omega")?

"I love how 'Briar Rose' ends. It was that whole Sleeping Beauty thing and you knew somebody was going to get kissed at the end. I’m glad it was Alpha kissing her, but you see that, both of us together. 'Oh, my God, yes, I know who you are. Yes, I know who you are. Come on, let’s go,'" said Tudyk. "We take it on the road. There’s maybe a kidnapping or two in the episode, but [...] for Alpha it’s about fulfilling his plan, which is just the last step. Getting Echo was the second to the last step of his ultimate plan. He’s got one more thing in place before they can really go on their worldwide domination killing spree, ruling the world spree. It’s about making her in his own image really, as far as he is this, he’s a god. In his mind he’s a god. He’s ascended and he wants to bring her up to his level of multiple personality person. So it’s cool, you’ll see."

"Tim Minear directed the next episode," continued Tudyk. "Tim was part of Firefly. He did 'War Stories.' He did my favorite episode and he’s one of my favorite directors on Firefly. The next episode he wrote and directed and I really like this next episode coming up. I think it really shows off Tim and he gets to play with all the elements, it’s such a heightened episode, as far as Echo has been kidnapped by Alpha. There’s so much to play with and he does a great job."

Dollhouse's season finale airs Friday at 9 pm ET/PT on FOX.

The Second Flower is Yellow: A Look Back and a Look Ahead at FOX's "Dollhouse"

With only two episodes left of FOX's Dollhouse, the pressure is on for Agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) to locate the Dollhouse while Echo (Eliza Dushku) and the other Actives deal with their own growing self-awareness.

What better time than the present then to take a look back at the last ten or so episodes of Season One of Dollhouse... and take a look into the future with a glimpse at some of the action from the next two episodes, thanks to the good folks at FOX?

But beware: there are spoilers for the penultimate episode and the season finale lurking in the below video. You've been warned.



Dollhouse airs tonight at 9 pm ET/PT on FOX.

Channel Surfing: Olyphant to Star in Elmore Leonard Pilot for FX, Sneak Peek at 100th Episode of "Lost," Enver Gjokaj Talks "Dollhouse," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Timothy Olyphant (Damages) has been cast in FX's untitled Elmore Leonard project, which is based on a short story by Leonard entitled "Fire in the Hole." Olyphant will play U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens who returns to his hometown in Kentucky. "He has a certain jaggedness, but he also loves his job," said creator/executive producer Graham Yost. "He is like an anachronism: He wears a hat, cowboy boots and a holster on his hip. It's a little bit like he was born 100 years too late." Project, from Sony Pictures Television and Timberman/Beverly Prods., will be directed by Michael Dinner and will start shooting at the end of May. (Hollywood Reporter)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has a sneak peek at three scenes from Wednesday evening's 100th episode of ABC's Lost, entitled "The Variable." (Gee, does that title remind you of another famous installment?) All I can say is that this episode looks to pack quite a punch. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Dollhouse star Enver Gjokaj talks to E! Online's Jennifer Godwin about his character, Victor, and about what's coming up on the FOX drama, created by Joss Whedon. "We know he has a military background and that something bad happened," said Gjokaj about Victor. "Joss and I have talked briefly about that, but nothing is official." As for why Victor and Sierra (Dichen Lachman) seem to be propelled towards each other, Gjokaj said, "Pheromones? I'm not sure, but we know it's something deeper, more instinctual than liking her personality, because we don't really have those as dolls. I personally think Joss is asking, "What if there is such a thing as true love?" Something more than a pat psychological answer. What if two souls are attracted to each other even in the absence of memory?" (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Pamela Adelon (Californication) will star opposite Adam Carolla in CBS comedy pilot Ace in the Hole, where she will play the wife of Carolla's character, a nurse and mother of two. Should Ace in the Hole be picked up to series, Adelon would depart Showtime's Californication. Meanwhile, Leslie Bibb (Iron Man) has left NBC's untitled Justin Adler comedy pilot, following a creative shakeup that also saw Adler, the pilot's writer leave the project. Bibb's role is currently being recast. (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC announced several additions to its summer schedule, including three installments of news magazine Primetime, Primetime: Family Secrets, Primetime: Crime, and Primetime: The Outsiders, while Primetime: What Would You Do will return for another run. Series will air on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10 pm ET/PT throughout the summer. The network also has four-hour mini-series Diamonds and Impact, special J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life, and a slew of reality series, including Great American Road Trip, which will now air Tuesdays at 8 pm beginning July 7th, and America's Got Talent, which will kick off with a two-hour opener on June 23rd. (Variety)

Spike is said to be close to signing a deal to acquire off-network cable rights to HBO comedy Entourage, possibly in conjunction with another channel in MTV Networks' stable, likely Comedy Central. Series will become available in 2010. (Broadcasting & Cable)

AMC's Mad Men took home the top prize yesterday at the BAFTA TV awards in London, where it won the trophy for best international series, beating out fellow nominees The Wire, Dexter, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, while Kenneth Branagh drama Wallander beat out Doctor Who, Shameless, and Spooks for the continuing drama prize. (Variety)

The New York Times talks to King of the Hill creator Mike Judge about the long-running FOX animated series wrapping its run after 13 seasons. Judge, who says that he wanted to stop working on the series six or seven years ago, says that there won't be a finale per se. "I’m not sure there will be a final episode this time around," he told the Times' Kathryn Shattuck. We did a final episode back in the first year we thought we were canceled. I was really proud of that last episode, and then when we didn’t get canceled, we had to kind of tweak it and do these different things to make it not seem so final. And I’m not sure there will be any kind of story arc. The thing I think we do well is kind of keeping it the same. I’m a big fan of just classic TV — the old Bob Newhart Show, Leave It to Beaver, The Andy Griffith Show. There was something kind of comforting in that, episode after episode, they didn’t change that much." (New York Times)

NBC is bringing back axed reality competition series The Chopping Block to the schedule. The series, which was pulled from the Peacock's lineup last month, will return on Friday, June 19th at 8 pm and air the five remaining episodes of the series. (Futon Critic)

Jon Hamm (Mad Men) and Jennifer Westfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein) have set up production company Points West Pictures, which they hope will develop projects that will place them in front of and behind the camera. Company is in development on three projects, two of which are being written by Westfeldt. (Hollywood Reporter)

William Morris Agency and Endeavor are expected to vote today on a potential merger that would create a major new player on the talent representation scene. The combined joint entity, WME Entertainment, would offer 300 agents, one of the top client rosters, and an annual revenue of roughly $325 million. "The deal could trigger a new wave of consolidation, putting pressure on other smaller agencies to combine or find larger partners," writes The Los Angeles Times' Dawn C. Chmielewski and Meg James. "The last significant talent agency merger was in 2006 when International Creative Management bought the smaller Broder Webb Chervin Silbermann Agency in a move to inject new life into ICM's television business." (Los Angeles Times)

ABC Family has yanked freshman comedy Sophie off of its schedule effective immediately. The cabler will air back-to-back new episodes of fellow first-year comedy Roommates in the 9 pm hour and 10 pm hours on Monday nights beginning tonight, wrapping up its run now on May 4th, rather than June 15th. (Futon Critic)

MTV has given a series order to reality competition series The Stylist, which will pit fashion stylists against one another for a contract with a major agency, from Bunim-Murray. The cabler also ordered 80 additional episodes of dating series Parental Control, bringing the series' six season total to 200 installments. (Hollywood Reporter)

Style has renewed eight series, including Ruby, The Dish, How Do I Look?, Clean House, Split Ends, Clean House Comes Clean, Dress My Nest, and Whose Wedding Is It Anyway. The cabler has several new series in the pipeline including Mothers and Daughters of Dallas and Guiliana & Bill, a docusoap following former Apprentice winner Bill Rancic and his wife Guiliana, an anchor on E! (TV Week)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Whedon Says Bell Has Not Tolled for "Dollhouse," Messing Returns to NBC, Jenny Bicks Finds "Love" for HBO, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan talks to Joss Whedon about Dollhouse's chances for a second season in a massive new Q&A. "I assumed it was dead in the water because the network was refusing to air the thirteenth [episode]," Whedon told Ryan about Dollhouse. "Not refusing, but just not interested. I assumed that meant the bell tolled for us. And they made a point of calling and saying, 'That is not what it means, and we'll keep you posted. I think they want it to succeed. I think they're getting it. They need it to succeed enough for them to pay for it. So I'm oddly hopeful but I'm also ready for anything." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

NBC is in talks to pick up an untitled comedy project that will star former Will & Grace lead Debra Messing, who last appeared in the USA series The Starter Wife. The comedy project, written by Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott (Will & Grace), has received a script commitment from NBC as well as an episodic guarantee for Messing, who will also executive produce. Messing will star as a laid-off CEO who struggles to adapt to life as a full-time wife and mother as her husband becomes the family's sole breadwinner. (Hollywood Reporter)

Jenny Bicks (Sex and the City) will write the pilot script for Modern Love, a single-camera half-hour HBO comedy pilot that's loosely based on The New York Times' Modern Love column. Pilot, from BermanBraun and Sony Pictures Television, will revolve around the male editor of the column and his personal life, including "a messy divorce, a strained relationship with his teenage daughter and a difficult return to the world of dating." Alan Poul (Six Feet Under) is attached to direct. "It's going to look at the question of what love and relationships mean in modern terms," said Bicks. (Variety)

DirecTV has acquired off-network rerun rights to HBO dramas Oz and Deadwood, which it will air on its Channel 101 beginning Sunday, May 31st. The channel will air all 36 episodes of Deadwood Sunday nights at 9 pm, followed by all 56 episodes of Oz, which will air at 10 pm. Episodes will be uncensored and unedited and will run without commercial interruption. (Variety)

Ugly Betty will be returning to ABC's schedule a little sooner than expected, with the dramedy slated now to return a week earlier on April 30th, while comedies In the Motherhood and Samantha Who? will now take their leave a week earlier as well. No word on what this means for the fate of either series but it doesn't look particularly promising. (Variety)

Sky 1, the flagship channel of UK paycaster BSkyB, has seized the firstrun UK rights to medical drama House after outbidding rival Five for the NBC Universal series. “We have taken this difficult decision for commercial and scheduling reasons,” said a Five spokesman. “The continuing popularity of our long-running acquired series such as the CSI franchise and NCIS, plus the tremendous performance of our hit acquisition, The Mentalist, means it has been very difficult to find a suitable slot for the next (season) of House." Sky 1 plans to launch the fifth season of House this summer. (Variety)

Bravo is developing an untitled docusoap set inside Santa Monica retailer Fred Segal and will "focus on the oft-stressed and competitive sales team as they cater to well-do-do customers who demand the latest in clothes, shoes, accessories and beauty products." Project, from Target Entertainment, will be executive produced by Jenny Daly and Gunnar Wetterberg. (Hollywood Reporter)

E! has given a series order to Kourtney and Khloe in Miami, an unscripted spin-off of the cabler's own Keeping Up with the Kardashians that will follow the two sisters as they attempt to launch a boutique in Miami and deal with staff. The cabler also ordered eight episodes of The Lamas Family, a docusoap following Lorenzo Lamas and his adult children, which will be produced by Mike Fleiss and Warner Horizon. (Variety)

Stuart Margolin, Ona Grauer, Theresa Joy, and Toby Proctor have been cast in CBS/CTV drama series The Bridge, opposite BSG's Aaron Douglas. Project, a co-production between the two broadcasters, is expected to air later this year. (Hollywood Reporter)

In a surprising move, Robin Schwartz has resigned as president of OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network after less than a year. The network won't replace Schwartz but will instead have creative affairs SVP Nina Wass and programming SVP Maria Grasso report directly to CEO Christina Norman. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Fuller Talks "Pushing Daisies" Comic, Cuoco Checks into Seattle Grace, Whedon on What Will Save "Dollhouse," and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller has said that a comic book spin-off of the sadly demised series could be on sale via Marvel as early as this fall, should a deal with Warner Bros for the rights be closed in the next month or so. What should fans expect from the comic, which Fuller describes as Season Three of Pushing Daisies? "We're going to see a lot of exploration with Ned and his father, which we teased but were never able to make good on," Fuller told SCI FI Wire. "We had [Ned's father, played by] George Hamilton save Ned and Chuck, and by having Emerson and Dwight Dixon clean up the whole mess we're going to understand who Dwight was to Chuck and Ned's dad. Dwight will be making a return, and we'll be seeing the adult Eugene Mulchandani and Danny that involves helium smuggling. There's a lot of fun stuff woven into the series that we were intending to pay off that we can now do in the comic-book series. The fans of the show will see a lot of stuff come to fruition, but new fans will have a greater appreciation, too. Since it's Marvel, I would also love for the Pie Maker to touch Captain America." (SCI FI Wire)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that The Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco will guest star on the upcoming season finale of ABC's Grey's Anatomy. "I am working on Grey's Anatomy next week," Cuoco told Ausiello. "It is a big ol' secret. I have no clue what I am doing. I swear on my life that I have no idea what I am playing because it is the finale and they are keeping it under wraps until the last possible moment. [...] My guess is that I will be a patient of some kind. I'm practicing my scared-sad-I'm-dying face." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Questioned about what it would take to get FOX to renew Dollhouse for a second season, creator Joss Whedon said it would take more than a fan-mounted campaign to innundate the network with letters. "I don't think it's a 'Save Dollhouse' campaign. Basically, we've got a few more times up at bat," said Whedon. "It's going to be up to the fans to be vocal in their own community to make sure people are watching, that we get those DVR numbers, that they don't slip. If they want to cold call executives, that's good too, I guess. Or Twitter. A lotta people are Twittering. Ultimately, it's just holding the course, because I honestly began to think that we were dead in the water, and the people at Fox made a point of calling me to say, 'That's not the case. We're still working it out. We're fans. We want this to work.'" (SCI FI Wire)

CBS has announced that it has renewed reality series The Amazing Race for a fifteenth cycle and made history by being the first television network to announce a series renewal via Twitter, confirming the news after host Phil Keoghan posted a tweet sharing news of the renewal. (Hollywood Reporter)

Michael Ausiello is reporting that Kathryn Erbe will fill in for Julianne Nicholson on USA's Law & Order: Criminal Intent while Nicholson temporarily leaves the series on maternity leave. According to Ausiello, "The move means that for the final four episodes of CI's current eighth season (premiering this Sunday on USA), Erbe will alternate between her current partner, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Nicholson's new partner, Jeff Goldblum." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The New York Post talks to Grey's Anatomy's Chandra Wilson, who says that viewers should anticipate some major surprises in the series' season finale, which airs in May. "I've been told there are some life-changing things that happen to all of us," said Wilson. "I don't know what those things are that [show creator] Shonda Rhimes is talking about... so I don't know how Bailey's life is altered. But I would love to see that final episode!" Wilson also discusses the changes her character has undergone this season and offers a few tidbits about a certain wedding that's coming up on the series. (New York Post)

Elsewhere at the Post, Mary Louise Parker is allegedly thinking of leaving Showtime comedy Weeds after the sixth season when her contract ends. According to the paper's unnamed sources, if Parker does decide to leave the series, Showtime would cancel Weeds, which is slated to air its fifth season this summer. "We'd have to see if it made sense to continue, but we can't envision the show without her," said a Showtime insider quoted in the article. (New York Post)

YouTube has signed deals to offer full-length feature films and television episodes in a move to compete with NBC Universal/20th Century Fox-backed rival site Hulu. The site has signed deals with Sony, Lionsgate, BBC, Starz, Discovery, and National Geographic as well as Anime Network, Cinetic Rights Management, Current TV, Documentary Channel, First Look Studios, and IndieFlix. The content will be offered for free but will contain advertising during the commercial breaks in TV series' episodes; site may also eventually charge for premium content. (Variety)

Adrian Grenier (Entourage) is producing documentary Spin, which explores the relationship between technology and 21st century society. The doc, which is written and will be directed by Matthew Cooke, is being looked at as a made-for television documentary film or as the pilot for a thirteen-episode limited series. (Hollywood Reporter)

Comedy Central has signed a multi-platform output deal with Levity Entertainment Group, under which the cabler will produce 12 comedy standup specials, with half of those coming from such comedians as Christopher Titus, Gabriel Iglesias, Pablo Franscisco, Jim Breuer, Mitch Fatel, and Pete Correale. The cabler will all air all six specials this year, with another six planned for 2010, and eight of these specials will be released on DVD, under the terms of the deal. (Variety)

MTV has given a series order to Gone Too Far, a reality series hosted by DJ AM which will feature "tough-love interventions for young people whose lives have become unmanageable because of chemical dependence. Project, from Ish Entertainment and Gigantic Prods., will feature an addiction specialist as well as DJ AM, who has gone through his own battles with chemical dependency. (Hollywood Reporter)

USA Today's Gary Strauss alks to Stanley Burrell (a.k.a. MC Hammer) about his upcoming reality series, Hammertime, which is set to launch in June on A&E. "I get offers like this 10 times a year, but it wasn't something I was interested in," Burrell told the paper. "But in the last 18 months, I started thinking I might be able to bring something to the genre. There are not a lot of family-oriented shows that speak to the America we're in right now." (USA Today)

SAG's national board is due to sit this weekend in a two-day session in which they might approve the feature-primetime contract deal that's on the table. If the board does decide to approve the deal, which had been floated during back channel talks between SAG and CEOs, it could be sent to members and ratified before the end of May. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Whedon Talks Potential Fate of "Dollhouse," Matthew Perry Shoots Down "Lost" Rumors, Jennifer Jason Leigh Scores "Weeds," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Joss Whedon admitted that it's unlikely that Dollhouse will be renewed for a second season by FOX, given the series' low ratings. "[The chances are] not very good but in limbo," Whedon told SCI FI Wire. "Obviously our numbers are pretty soft, and there it is, but we live in hope. I'm really proud of the episodes that are coming out. More than that, I can't really ask." (SCI FI Wire)

But, at last night's Paley Festival panel for Dollhouse, Whedon seemed to have changed his tune, saying that the series isn't dead just yet. "We also talked about next season, [FOX] called me specifically to say we've been hearing you sound a little despondent, being very clear about this, the show is not cancelled," he said. "The numbers have been soft, but the demographic is wonderful. DVR is great, they [FOX] are big fans of the show and they're waiting to see what happens, so now I've gone from a place that's sort of ehhhhhh, they don't even care, no one loves me, to a place of - God, I can't believe I'm saying this... hope." (Fearnet)

Matthew Perry has personally shot down rumors that will be appearing in the season finale of ABC's Lost. "It is not true," said Perry. "I really don't know why those rumors have been floating about. I have admitted I am a Lost junkie. And at the press junket for [17 Again] I was asked what my favorite TV show was and I said [Lost], so maybe that's how they started. That's probably the one show I wouldn't do. I don't want to know how they shoot it and all that stuff. I don't want to know the secrets of the smoke monster or the island before other people. I want to be able to sit back and get swept away like everyone else. I want to develop my theories from my armchair. I just want to be a fan." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Jennifer Jason Leigh (Margot at the Wedding) has landed a recurring role on Showtime's fifth season of Weeds, in which she will play Jill, the estranged older sister of Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker) in at least two episodes. When the heat gets too heavy for Nancy, she sends brother-in-law Andy (Justin Kirk) to take son Shane (Alexander Gould) to live with Jill... who then finds her way back into Nancy's life, intent on dredging up the past between them. Season Five of Weeds is set to launch in June. (Hollywood Reporter)

Pilot casting alert: Merrin Dungey (Alias) has been cast in FOX drama pilot Masterwork, where she will play the "longtime colleague" of Matt Passmore's FBI agent on the hunt for some ancient artifacts; Brandy (Mo'esha) has been cast in ABC comedy pilot This Little Piggy, where she will play the demanding wife of Jeff Davis' character; and David Walton (Quarterlife) has landed the male lead in NBC comedy pilot 100 Questions for Charlotte Payne. (Hollywood Reporter)

USA Today has once again launched their annual Save Our Shows campaign and the paper's Gary Levin offers an update on which current series are on the bubble for renewal. Among those who may or may not return next season: NBC's Chuck, Medium, My Name is Earl, Parks and Recreation, and Southland; CBS' Cold Case, Without a Trace, Old Christine, Gary Unmarried, Rules of Engagement, and The Unit; ABC's Scrubs, Samantha Who?, The Unusuals, Surviving Suburbia, Castle, Cupid, In the Motherhood, and Better Off Ted; FOX's Sit Down, Shut Up; and CW's Privileged. With Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Prison Break not returning, it's thought that Dollhouse's cancellation is already a done deal. And, rather scarily, it does seem like Chuck's chances at getting a slot on NBC's reduced schedule is looking like a longshot. (USA Today)

BBC has announced three appointments for the fifth season of Doctor Who, set to star Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor in 2010. Beth Willis (Ashes to Ashes) will join lead writer Steven Moffat and Piers Wenger as an executive producer on the series while Tracie Simpson (Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead) and Peter Bennett (Torchwood: Children of Earth) have been named producers. Pre-production on Season Five begins next month, with shooting in and around Cardiff set for this summer. "Beth and Tracie and Pete aren't the A Team, they're the people the A Team call," said Moffat in a statement. "Tracie and Pete are the backstage stars of Doctor Who and having them on board as producers isn't just the best possible news for Matt Smith's first series, it's a massive relief. And Beth Willis, fresh from the brilliant Ashes To Ashes, is joining Piers and I as an executive so finally there'll be someone to wear the trousers." (BBC)

NBC Universal has teamed up with the Canadian Film Center to launch a talent development and mentoring program which will generate series for the company's owned outlets from Canadian writers. Says Variety's Cynthia Littleton, "The program will issue a call for script submissions from Canadian scribes, and then CFC and NBC U execs will select promising candidates to take part in the program, which will formally launch in the fall." (Variety)

History Channel is launching a huge multi-platform push for its documentary project A People's History of the United States, based on the book by Howard Zinn and executive produced by Matt Damon and Chris Moore. The two-hour film will integrate archival footage with readings by such boldface names as Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Viggo Mortensen, Bruce Springspeen, John Legend, Morisa Tomei, David Strathairn, Kerry Washington, and Eddie Vedder. The cabler, meanwhile, will roll out interstitial material that will be distributed online, on demand, and in schools. (Variety)

Cartoon Network is developing live-action movie Reborn, a modern-day retelling of the King Arthur myth from writer Travis Wright (Eagle Eye) and executive producers Wright and Alli Shearmur (who is now the president of motion picture production at Lionsgate). (Hollywood Reporter)

Oxygen has signed a deal with reality staples Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott under which they will star in a fourth season of their docusoap, Tori & Dean, produce and front a new couples makeover series, entitled Mr. and Mrs. Makeover, develop a telepic which they will executive produce, and a web series based on Spelling's book "Mommywood," which will be offered on Oxygen.com, Hulu.com, and iVillage.com. Elsewhere at Oxygen, the cabler announced that it was launching dance/weight loss competition series Dance Your Ass Off, hosted by Marissa Jaret Winokur, The Naughty Chef with Blythe Beck, and Addicted to Beauty, set in the world of medical spas. Cabler is also developing reality series Keshia and Kaseem, following former Cosby Show moppet Keshia Knight Pulliam and her boyfriend, and Celeb-U-Moms, which will track the lives of a crew of Hollywood mothers. (Variety)

VH1 has given a series order to an untitled docusoap starring former American Idol contestant Fantasia Barrino, as she juggles being a single mother with her life as a professional singer. Project, slated to air on the channel in 2010, will be executive produced by World of Wonder's Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, and Tom Campbell. (Hollywood Reporter)

UK viewers will be able to watch FX's Sons of Anarchy now that channel Bravo has acquired UK rights for the series, produced by 20th Century Fox Television, which it plans to launch this spring. "We're excited and proud to have secured such a high-quality and successful series for our viewers," said channel controller Dave Clarke. "US cable drama is the best in the world and FX are past-masters. Sons of Anarchy will be essential and compelling viewing for UK fans of both high quality action and premium drama." (Digital Spy)

Stay tuned.

An Echo Doesn't Last a Great Deal Longer: FOX to Shrink "Dollhouse" to Twelve Episodes

It looks like FOX won't be airing all thirteen episodes of Dollhouse, after all. (Sort of, anyway.)

In a press release issued by the network yesterday, it was stated that Joss Whedon's drama Dollhouse, which stars Eliza Dushku, would end its run on May 8th with the series' twelfth episode, entitled "Omega," rather than run for the full thirteen-episode order.

No reason was given for the reduction in Dollhouse's episodes, although it should be noted that FOX will wrap up Prison Break's run with a two-hour episode the following week from 8-10 pm ET/PT. Nor has FOX made any announcement that the series has been cancelled.

An email to FOX publicity seeking clarification yesterday went unanswered.

Actress Felicia Day, who guest starred in the already filmed thirteenth episode of Dollhouse (entitled "Epitaph One"), confirmed that Dollhouse will end its run after the twelfth episode and stated that the thirteenth episode would only appear on Dollhouse's DVD rather than on air.

"Man, day getting worse and worse," said Day via Twitter earlier this morning. "Found out my Dollhouse ep, #13 isn't gonna air. Only on DVD. Such a great part too. Thx Fox."

Likewise, the news was confirmed by Jed Whedon via the Dr. Horrible Twitter account: "It's true. Dollhouse ep 13 isn't going to air. This makes @feliciaday sad. How do you feel? Why don't share those feelings with FOX?"

While FOX hasn't yet publicly commented on the episode reduction, it doesn't bode well for Dollhouse's chances of renewal. Personally, I'm not sure why the network would continue airing episodes of Dollhouse only to cut it off before its intended season finale, especially given the amount of publicity and promotion the network has given the series following its much-hyped "Man on the Street" episode, written by Joss Whedon.

One thought is that the episode in question, "Omega," seems--from the title, anyway--to offer some sort of finality. Is it possible that it does wrap up the season's storylines in some fashion while the thirteenth episode "Epitaph One," functions as a sort of epilogue? Or is that just wishful thinking on the part of the series' fans?

UPDATE: Just received word from an insider close to the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity and told me exclusively: "'Omega' is a finale in everything but name and should provide more than enough closure for people watching on FOX. All lingering questions from 'Omega' won't be resolved until Season Two anyway."

Not that FOX has ordered a second season of Dollhouse yet. But the above does explain the decision to end the season run after the twelfth episode, if it does provide closure for the series' viewers. Hmm...

UPDATE #2: According to Alan Sepinwall, "Day's episode, called 'Epitaph One,' was apparently filmed by the studio independent of the agreement -- or, at least, independent of what Fox network considers to be in the agreement -- and does not seem to be tied in to the story in 'Omega.' In other words, if there's a cliffhanger in 'Omega' (and I don't know if there is), it's not going to be resolved in 'Epitaph One.'"

(See above about that.)

UPDATE #3: Dollhouse executive producer Tim Minear posted a comment over on Whedonesque to further clarify the current situation:

"So maybe I can help clarify this somewhat. Because we scrapped the original pilot -- and in fact cannibalized some of its parts for other eps -- we really ended up with 12 episodes. But the studio makes DVD and other deals based on the original 13 number. So we created a standalone kind of coda episode. Which is the mythical new episode 13. The network had already paid for 13 episodes, and this included the one they agreed to let us scrap for parts. It does not include the one we made to bring the number back up to 13 for the studio side and its obligations. We always knew it would be for the DVD for sure, but we also think Fox should air it because it’s awesome."

Stay tuned.