Channel Surfing: Syfy Eyes "BSG" Spin-off and "Three Inches," More "Glee," Mia Maestro Gets "Cutthroat," Paula Abdul to ABC, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Syfy is said to be exploring the possibility of spinning off its Battlestar Galactica franchise once more and is said to be developing another spin-off series--besides for the currently airing Caprica--that would this time be set in space. "We're looking for other ways to spin off Battlestar beyond Caprica," Syfy's Mark Stern told The Hollywood Reporter. "That world is so rich. We're sitting down with (executive producer) Ron Moore and his team. It would not necessarily be a traditional series." No other details were available. The cabler also ordered a 90-minute pilot for drama Three Inches, from writer Harley Peyton and executive producer Bob Cooper. Project, from Fox Television Studios, revolves around a slacker who can move objects three inches with his mind and who teams up with other people who have useless superpowers. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that FOX is said to be close to signing a deal to expand Glee's second seasons to a lengthier 25 installments next season. "Season 2 will be much bigger and much longer," Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy told EW. "We are talking about doing 25 episodes as opposed to [the customary] 22." Murphy also indicated that he wants to take the Glee characters on the road, with the club perhaps competing in New York. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Recasting is underway on ABC drama pilot Cutthroat, from executive producers Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters, as Mia Maestro (Alias) is said to be in advance talks to come aboard the 20th Century Fox Television-produced pilot and replace Roselyn Sanchez (Without a Trace). No reason was given for the recasting on the pilot, which is being directed by Bronwen Hughes (White Collar). (Hollywood Reporter)

Former American Idol judge Paula Abdul is close to signing a deal with ABC to appear in the network's revival of Star Search, where she would serve as something akin to a blend of host and judge, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "The Alphabet network had been wooing Abdul since last summer when she officially announced her departure from Idol," writes Ausiello. "There was talk of her joining Dancing With the Stars in some capacity, but a deal never came to fruition. It’s not clear if Abdul’s Star Search gig would preclude her from joining former colleague Simon Cowell as a judge on the forthcoming US version of his UK monster hit, The X Factor, which is slated to debut on Fox in the fall of 2011. (Star Search is being targeted for this summer.)" (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos has confirmed reports that Katherine Heigl will leave ABC's Grey's Anatomy. "A source in Katherine Heigl's camp tells me that the actress was never given a call time to return to work on the Grey's Anatomy set after her family leave ended earlier this month," wrote Dos Santos in an update. "According to this source, Heigl's 'calls weren't returned' when she phoned in asking when to report back. I'm also hearing that a statement may be made regarding this matter later this week." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Season Three of HBO's True Blood will launch on Sunday, June 13th at 9 pm ET/PT. (Televisionary)

Pilot casting update: Treat Williams (Everwood) will star opposite Katee Sackhoff (24) in Richard Hatem's ABC drama pilot Boston's Finest; Donnie Wahlberg (Runaway) and Len Cariou (Damages) have been cast as the leads in CBS' untitled Burgess/Green cop drama pilot (a.k.a. Reagan's Law); Melissa Sagemiller (Raising the Bar) has joined the cast of NBC drama pilot Rockford Files; and Anthony Ruivivar (Traveler) has come aboard ABC drama pilot The Whole Truth. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stephen Lang (Avatar) has been cast in ABC drama pilot Matadors, where he will play Victor Galloway, a high-powered defense attorney who is called "The King of Acquittal." Elsewhere, former My Name is Earl star Ethan Suplee has been cast in FOX comedy pilot Nevermind Nirvana. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Carrie Preston (True Blood) has signed on for a multiple-episode story arc on CBS' The Good Wife this season, where she will play Elsbeth Mann, described as "a member of Peter's (Chris Noth) legal team." Just don't read too much into the casting. "Arlene isn’t a major presence in the third book," a True Blood insider told Ausiello. "A lot of the action takes place outside of Bon Temps, so [Carrie] probably had some free time on her hands." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Italian actress Elisabetta Canalis has been cast in a five-episode story arc on Season Three of TNT drama series Leverage, where she will play "an intriguing woman with an unknown agenda" known only as The Italian. (via press release)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Amy Pietz (Caroline in the City) has been cast in a top-secret role on NBC's The Office, where she will appear in a multiple-episode story arc. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

20th Century Fox Television has signed an overall deal with Brannon Braga (FlashForward), under which he will develop new series projects for the studio and will likely be placed on a new or existing series next season. Braga has been based at the studio for the last few seasons working on 24 but co-created ABC's FlashForward. "He's known for his ability to write genre programming, and as a studio, we love that programming," said 20th Century Fox Television chairman Gary Newman. "It takes advantage of all the new opportunities the digital world gives you to connect with your rabid fanbase." (Variety)

BBC One has commissioned four-part drama Siege, about a botched kidnapping attempt at a London secondary school, that it will air over four consecutive nights. Script is written by Kate Brook and hails from Big Talk, Nira Park's production company which was behind such television series and films as Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, and Hot Fuzz. (Guardian)

Retired Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens (Seabiscuit) has been cast in HBO's horseracing drama pilot Luck, where he will play a "down-and-out jocket who attempts to make a comeback, both personally and professionally," in the pilot which is executive produced by David Milch, Michael Mann, and Carolyn Strauss. (Variety)

Discovery has ordered six episodes of reality series Worst Case Scenario, which will feature Bear Grylls demonstrating how best to survive disasters from shark attacks to falling elevators. Series, from Pilgrim Films & TV, is expected to launch this spring. (Hollywood Reporter)

Bravo has renewed docusoap Millionaire Matchmaker for a fourth season, which will move Patti Stanger from Los Angeles to New York as she expands her business and prepares for her own wedding. (Hollywood Reporter)

Nestor Serrano (The Good Wife) will guest star on an upcoming episode of USA's Burn Notice next season. He'll play Tony, described as "a ruthless, ambitious crime boss who runs things in Miami for a New York-based criminal syndicate. He's a suspect in seven murders but always manages to keep his hands clean of evidence that could put him away. He leads a group of thugs who shake down the dock workers and steal from them on a daily basis." Burn Notice returns in June. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

VH1 will debut celebrity reality dating series What Chilli Wants, which will follow former TLC member Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas as she attempts to find love with the help of relationship expert Tionna Smalls, on Sunday, April 11th at 10:30 pm ET/PT. Series, from FremantleMedia North America, will have its first episode offered as a sneak peek on VH1's website beginning March 29th. (Variety)

Elsewhere, MTV has announced that it will premiere its new scripted comedy series The Hard Times of RJ Berger on June 6th at 11 pm ET/PT, immediately following the MTV Movie Awards. It will move to its regular timeslot of Mondays at 10 pm beginning June 14th. (Hollywood Reporter)

The CW has opted to flip its new Wednesday night reality programming block, with High Society moving to 9:30 pm ET/PT and newcomer Fly Girls airing at 9 pm ET/PT. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Stay tuned.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned.

The Daily Beast: "Hollywood Takes on Autism"

Over at The Daily Beast, you can find my latest piece, entitled "Hollywood Takes on Autism."

The article explores the portrayals of people with autism spectrum disorders in pop culture, from films like Dear John and Adam to television series like Grey's Anatomy, Parenthood, Community, and The Big Bang Theory.

I also talk to some of theses projects' creators--including Community creator Dan Harmon and Parenthood showrunner Jason Katims--about why they are--or aren't--labeling their characters as autistic.

Head to the comments section to be sure and let me know what your take is on this trend and whether it matters or not that these characters are labeled or whether it's the discussion of neurodiversity that their presence creates that's far more important.

Channel Surfing: J.J. Abrams to Direct "Undercovers," Eric Dane and Kate Walsh Up for "Grey's" Crossover, Comedy Central Peels "Onion," and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

J.J. Abrams is in talks to direct his NBC espionage drama pilot Undercovers for Warner Bros. Television, marking the first time that he has directed a pilot since the series premiere of ABC's Lost. Details of Undercovers, said to be about a husband-and-wife team of spies, have been kept tightly under wraps but several have described it as a cross between Mr. and Mrs. Smith and The Bourne Identity. Project is written by Josh Reims (Felicity, Dirty Sexy Money), who will executive produce with Abrams and Bryan Burk. (Hollywood Reporter)

SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Shonda Rhimes' next Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice crossover will revolve around Eric Dane and Kate Walsh. "Mark summons Addison to Seattle Grace to perform a surgery on [a patient] (a.k.a. Leven Rambin)," writes Ausiello. "The storyline spills over into Private when, according exec producer Shonda Rhimes, 'complications arise and Mark ends up taking [her] back down to Los Angeles to get more surgery.'" (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Comedy Central is producing a half-hour pilot based on The Onion's Onion Sports Network website. The potential series "is designed to appeal to both casual and hardcore fans of sports as well as the Onion's well-defined style of humor," according to Variety's Jon Weisman. Project will be executive produced by Julie Smith and Will Graham. (Variety)

HBO is developing half-hour drama series T, about a woman who is transitioning into a man via gender resassignment. Project will be written and executive produced by husband-and-wife team Dan Futterman and Anya Epstein, who have just been made executive producers on HBO's In Treatment. Ira Glass and Alissa Shipp will also executive produce. (Variety)

ABC is developing six projects with David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman's Mandeville, the shingle behind USA's Monk, including: workplace comedy Kegs, about a family that runs a beer distribution company from writers Jason Filardi and Mark Perez; drama Tarrytown, about a single mom who moves in with her brother and his daughter when they inherit their father's rundown house in Tarrytown, Texas, from writer R. Lee Fleming; crime drama 1-8-7 Detroit from writer Jason Richman; drama Dorchester Heights, about five friends in Boston whose friendship is put to the test when secrets spill out following the death of one of their close friends, from writer Nikki Toscano; and an untitled drama about a man in his forties who begins to live the life of a twenty-something after suffering a head injury, from writer Joy Gregory. Mandeville has a first-look deal with ABC. (Variety)

Cartoon Network has ordered its first two live-action scripted drama series, with action mystery Unnatural History and thriller Tower Prep getting the greenlight for thirteen episodes apiece. The first project revolves around a high schooler who, along with his charismatic cousin, finds himself caught up in mysteries surrounding the national museum; project was created by Mike Werb and will be produced by Warner Horizon. The latter, Tower Prep, follows a rebellious teen who awakens to find himself trapped at a mysterious prep school for students with "unique potential." Project is written and executive produced by Paul Dini for Cartoon Network Studios and Dolphin Entertainment. (Hollywood Reporter)

A&E has given a pilot order to crime drama Sugarloaf, about a former Chicago cop who is "kicked off the force after being shot by his ex-captain, who wrongfully accused him in having an affair with his wife. After receiving a payout, Longworth, an observant detective with a sly sense of humor, moves to a small Florida town and joins the state police." The titular cop will be played by Aussie actor Matt Passmore. Project, from Fox Television Studios, is written by Clifton Campbell, who will executive produce with Gary Randall, and will be directed by Peter O'Fallon. Elsewhere at the cabler, Jeffrey Nordling (24), John Heard (Southland), and Michael Arden (Kings) have been cast opposite Radha Mitchell in drama pilot The Quickening. (Hollywood Reporter)

Syndication news: CBS' crime procedural The Mentalist, produced by Warner Bros. Television, has been sold its off-network rights to TNT, who will begin airing the series weekly beginning in fall 2011 and then increase to a full syndication run the following year; price tag was said to be in the region of $2.2-2.3 million per episode. Elsewhere, USA locked up off-network rights to CBS' new series NCIS: LA for roughly the same price; the cabler will begin airing the series weekly in September 2011 and then in a daily strip in 2013. (Hollywood Reporter, Hollywood Reporter)

Former CBS Television Distribution executive Kathy Samuels has been hired as executive producer at Hasbro Studios, the TV production division of the toy manufacturer. (Variety)

Joe Schlosser has been promoted to SVP of NBC Entertainment Television Publicity. He'll report to Rebecca Marks. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Former NBC Entertainment topper Warren Littlefield has signed a deal with Doubleday for a memoir about his time at the Peacock, during which he had a hand in overseeing the development of "Must See TV" Thursdays. (Variety)

Scripps Networks Interactive have reached a deal with Cox Communication acquire a 65 percent stake in the Travel Channel, with the companies forming a joint venture that will act as an umbrella for Travel. Deal is expected to close by January. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Graham Reaches "Parenthood" Deal, Cudlitz Lashes Out at NBC, Pompeo Won't Be Missing from "Grey's," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

NBC and Universal Media Studios have reached a deal with former Gilmore Girls star Lauren Graham to come aboard midseason drama series Parenthood. Graham will replace ailing actress Maura Tierney, who was forced to bow out of the project due to health issues, on the Jason Katims-created drama, based on the 1989 feature film. She'll play a harried single mom with two kids who moves her family in with her parents in order to jumpstart her life. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to Southland star Michael Cudlitz about the sudden cancellation of the NBC cop drama. "In retrospect, I saw it coming," Cudlitz told Ausiello. "We were two weeks away from airing and [the cancellation news] has created more press for the show than NBC has put into it on its own. They ran the first [Southland] ad — a 30-second spot — last Friday, and that’s the only one that they ran. That’s not a relaunch. When you have a network that nobody’s watching, it doesn’t benefit you to only advertise on your network." Cudlitz was quick to point out that he has hope the series will land on another network. "I do because we have episodes that have never aired that are pretty fantastic," he said. "And if it moves somewhere else, it could become the show that it should have been initially — which is even darker and grittier." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Call it the shortest maternity leave ever. E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that Ellen Pompeo will return to the set of ABC's Grey's Anatomy very quickly after the birth of her baby (who was born on September 15th) and, "thanks to her early return, as well as her willingness to preshoot scenes before the birth (most of which took place in bed after Meredith's liver surgery in last night's ep)," it appears that Meredith Grey won't be missing from a single episode of Grey's this season. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

CBS has ordered pilot scripts for two multi-camera comedy projects from Chernin Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Television. The first, from How I Met Your Mother's Chris Harris, is about the unlikely friendship that develops between a thirty-something executive and a 22-year-old who works in the same office. The second, from Jared Stern (Bolt), revolves around a group of workers at a Target-like superstore. Peter Chernin and Katherine Pope will executive produce both series along with the respective creators. (Variety)

Could NBC be moving up the premiere of Chuck? And is it a good thing? (Televisionary)

Chris Elliott will play the estranged father of Allyson Hannigan's Lily on CBS' How I Met Your Mother, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "The highly-anticipated family reunion is slated to air Nov. 23 when father and daughter come face-to-face at a Thanksgiving celebration hosted by Lily’s grandparents," writes Ausiello. "I’m told the episode will feature childhood flashbacks that will shed light on Lily’s very troubled relationship with her father." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The strangest non-story story of the day: Emmy-winning scribe Kater Gordon has left Mad Men just weeks after winning an Emmy for her work on Season Two's season finale, "Meditations in an Emergency." While some were way too quick to read into her strictly professional relationship with Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner, others jumped to both Weiner and Gordon's defense, saying that the parting was "amicable" on both sides. (Deadline Hollywood Daily)

BBC is reviving classic British drama series Upstairs Downstairs as two 90-minute episodes to run next year. Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins will reprise their roles from the original drama in the new Upstairs Downstairs, which will be set in 1936 rather than in the early 1900s. “We rejoin the world of Upstairs Downstairs in the years leading up to the Second World War," according to a BBC spokesperson. "Times are changing and servants are no longer cheap and obedient; Rose soon finds she has her work cut out. Meanwhile, in the wider world, Edward VIII has ascended the throne, fascism is on the rise, and Europe is inching towards catastrophe." (Broadcast)

Rick Springfield will play a "very twisted, warped version" of himself on Showtime's Californication, where he will appear in a four-episode story arc that began last night. (Hollywood Reporter)

Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich will reportedly make an appearance on the upcoming cycle of NBC's The Apprentice, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The network made no comment about the casting and it is "unclear if Blagojevich would compete or just make an appearance on the show." (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Lauren Graham in Talks for "Parenthood," HBO Picks Up "Bored to Death," Kim Raver Scrubs in at "Grey's," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. I'm leaving Vancouver today after an extremely action-packed day that saw me tour the sets of Syfy's Caprica, Stargate Universe, and Sanctuary. More on that to come in the next few days... On to the headlines now.

Wowzers! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that talks have broken down between Helen Hunt's reps and producers for NBC midseason drama Parenthood. But the fantastic news is that Ausiello is saying that Gilmore Girls star Lauren Graham has been offered the role of single mother Sarah Braverman (played by Maura Tierney in the original pilot episode) and that she "recently met with Parenthood boss Jason Katims... to discuss the plum part." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

HBO has given an early series renewal to freshman comedy Bored to Death, handing the Jason Schwartzman-led series a second season order following its third episode, which landed its largest audience to date when it jumped 51 percent in viewers week on week. (Hollywood Reporter)

24's Kim Raver has been cast in a recurring role on ABC's Grey's Anatomy, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. Ausiello reports that Raver will play a new surgeon at Seattle Grace and will serve as a "possible new love interest for Kevin McKidd's doc," which would throw a wrench into the romance between McKidd's Owen and Sandra Oh's Christina. Raver's first appearance is set for the November 12th episode of Grey's Anatomy. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online's Jennifer Godwin has an interview with Friday Night Lights showrunner Jason Katims about Season Four of the drama series, which launches on October 28th on DirecTV's 101 Network (it will air next summer on NBC). Asked about the return of Minka Kelly's Lyla, Katims said, "She comes back for at least two episodes this year, so far, visiting from college. We will watch as she and Tim sort of rekindle their relationship and try to figure out what to do about that. The two of them have, in one way, really moved on, but once they see each other, they maybe realize it's not so easy to move on." Loads more in the Q&A. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

TNT has handed out a cast-contingent pilot order to drama Rizzoli, which is based on the Jane Rizzoli mystery novels by Tess Gerritsen. Project, written by Janet Tamaro (Bones) and executive producer Bill Haber, will follow the crime-solving exploits of Boston medical examiner Maura Isles and Detective Jane Rizzoli. The Closer's Michael Robin is said to be in talks about coming aboard to direct the pilot. (Hollywood Reporter)

Don't expect another Simpsons movie. Not until the FOX comedy series has wrapped, anyway. That's the news from Cannes as Matt Groenig and Al Jean were interviewed by Morgan Spurlock at a Mipcom keynote event. "It took 18 years to get around to doing the movie," said Groening. "We got very frustrated. We thought it would take two years but it ended up taking four. Some day maybe we'll do another one -- but don't hold your breath." (Variety)

Tim Gunn will be making it work on How I Met Your Mother, according to The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan, who is reporting that the Project Runway mentor will guest star in the 100th episode of the CBS comedy when Neil Patrick Harris' Barney turns for help from the style guru. Gunn will serve as a "personal tailor/ fashion consultant as Barney tries to fix a major league 'Suit Catastrophe,'" Mother co-creator Craig Thomas tells Ryan. "Tim is basically like Barney's ER physician for a serious suit emergency." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Breathe easy: There's absolutely no truth to rumors that Whitney Houston will be joining the cast of ABC's Desperate Housewives, according to an ABC spokesperson. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

According to a report filed by Variety's Cynthia Littleton, Tribune's WGN America will be the off-network home of such series as How I Met Your Mother, Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and 30 Rock (the latter of which will join the lineup in 2011). "During the past year, Tribune has quietly been committing significant dollars to off-network acquisitions for the channel, something WGN has rarely done in its 30-plus years on the air," writes Littleton, adding that "WGN America intends to rebrand itself as a haven for contempo comedy skeins." (Variety)

Nickelodeon has given a series renewal to stop-motion animated comedy Glenn Martin, DDS, with twenty episodes on tap for next year. (Variety)

Former CBS drama topper Laverne McKinnon has been hired by nascent pay cabler Epix as head of development. The channel is a joint venture between Lionsgate, Viacom, and MGM. (Hollywood Reporter)

CBS Television Studios president Nancy Tellem, meanwhile, is said to be considering a change to her executive role at CBS, one that's said to be "less about day-to-day management and more on the big stragetic picture for TV shows and other content," according to Variety's Cynthia Littleton. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: NBC Detects US "Prime Suspect," Kristin Kreuk Flies to "Chuck," Katherine Heigl Takes Break from "Grey's," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

NBC is developing a US version of British crime drama series Prime Suspect, which starred Helen Mirren as the dogged and damaged Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison. The US version, which will be developed and written by Without a Trace's Hank Steinberg, will be shot as a two-hour presentation and is the first effort of a multi-year deal between NBC and ITV Studios, the production arm of British terrestrial network ITV. "We want to carefully choose a couple of iconic titles this year to reinvent, and our intention is to create another classic television show from this brilliant original format," said NBC Primetime Entertainment president Angela Bromstad. "Hank Steinberg was key in helping us secure this project, and we are incredibly excited about this modern vision for the show." (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that former Smallville star Kristin Kreuk has been cast in a recurring role on NBC's Chuck, where she will appear in multiple episodes as Hannah, a new potential love interest for Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi) whom he meets on a plane to Paris and who ends up working at the Buy More after she's laid off from her job in publishing. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

SPOILER ALERT! Katherine Heigl is taking a five-episode leave of absence from ABC drama series Grey's Anatomy in order to shoot a new feature film role opposite Josh Duhamel in Life as We Know It. E! Online's Watch with Kristin, meanwhile, was able to learn just how producers would write Izzie Stevens out of the show to explain Heigl's absence. According to information gleaned from unnamed insiders, Jennifer Godwin is reporting that the major plotline this season on Grey's is the merger between Seattle Grace and rival hospital Mercy West. "Yep, Seattle Grace is about to double in size, bringing in a slate of new doctors and paving the way for major shake-ups in the season to come," writes Godwin. "What does this mega medical merger mean for our favorites? Well, Dr. Izzie Stevens is getting fired." The introduction of several new characters--played by Robert Baker, Jesse Williams, and Nora Zehetner, will allow Heigl to take a break from the series and will also act as a smokescreen for Ellen Pompeo's maternity leave. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin, Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FOX has ordered thirteen episodes of procedural cop dramedy Jack & Dan from writer/executive producer Matt Nix (Burn Notice) and Fox Television Studios using the the low-cost production model the studio has established with Mental and Persons Unknown. However, this time round the studio has teamed with a US broadcaster first before taking the project internationally. Project, written by Nix and executive produced by Nix and Mikkel Bondesen, is about a procedure-minded cop who is teamed with "a drunken, lecherous, wild-card cop who hangs onto his job only because of a heroic act years before." Burn Notice fans, however, shouldn't be worried about Nix leaving the USA series: Burn will continue to be his priority and production on the series will be staggered in order to accommodate his schedule. (Hollywood Reporter)

Elsewhere at FOX, the network is also developing an untitled ensemble medical drama in Kuwait with Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah (Freaks and Geeks, 90210) and 20th Century Fox Television, a drama entitled Daylight Robbery about a group of women on a crime spree from writer/executive producer Karen Usher (Prison Break) and 20th Century Fox Television, and an untitled actioner from writer/executive producer Michael Duggan (Millennium) and Sony Pictures Television about a government agent and his older handler. (The Wrap's TV MoJoe)

HBO has given a pilot order to single-camera comedy Enlightened, starring Laura Dern as a "self-destructive woman who has a spiritual awakening and becomes determined to live an enlightened life, creating havoc at home and work." The pilot, written by Mike White, will shoot in December. (Hollywood Reporter)

Mehcad Brooks (True Blood) has been cast as a series regular on ABC's midseason legal dramedy series The Deep End, where he will play Malcolm Bennet, an associate at the high-powered Los Angeles legal firm which the series revolves around. (Hollywood Reporter)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has a fantastic interview with Diablo Cody and Jill Soloway about Season Two of Showtime comedy The United States of Tara, set to return early next year. Soloway has assumed the mantle of showrunner following the departure of Alexa Junge as head writer. "The show was getting a little bit too dark in terms of delving into her past and what happened” to Tara to cause her dissociative identity disorder, said Showtime president Robert Greenblatt. "While we ultimately want to unpeel the onion and reveal what she went through, we had to rethink how we were doing that. It’s a comedy at the end of the day. It’s not a one-hour, serious drama about this affliction." So what can fans expect? For one, Cody said that they intend to "open up the series and take it out of the house a little bit and show all these different facets of Tara’s life and her alters’ lives." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

CBS has ordered a script for an untitled multi-camera comedy project co-created by and starring Bret Harrison (Reaper) about two district attorneys, one of whom is in his twenties (to be played by Harrison) and the other in his forties, and the woman who comes between them. Project, which will be written by Robert Borden, will be produced by Universal Media Studios, Stuber Prods., and executive producer Scott Stuber. (Hollywood Reporter)

MTV has ordered eight episodes of Teen Mom, a spinoff of the cabler's 16 and Pregnant that will catch up with four of the teenagers featured on 16 and Pregnant and see how they are coping with their first year of motherhood. No premiere date has been set. (Variety)

Rick Fox (Dirt) has been cast in a recurring role on the CW's Melrose Place, where he will play the owner of the restaurant where many of the aspiring actor characters work. (Hollywood Reporter)

Hallmark has promoted Susanne Smith to SVP of marketing for both the Hallmark Channel and the Hallmark Movie Channel. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "Sex and Murder" in the "Dollhouse," Same-Sex Snog for "Gossip Girl," Quinn Finds "Beautiful Life," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday television briefing.

E! Online's Jennifer Godwin has a look at what lies ahead for FOX's Dollhouse as she catches up with the Joss Whedon-created series' stars to get some dirt on what's going on inside the Dollhouse next season. "They have a connection," said Tahmoh Penikett of Echo and Paul Ballard next season. "It's not a physical attraction, but I hope it's something that we explore a lot more this season. You're not quite sure what it is. There's a past, there's a history, there's an understanding between them that's very different. I think the audience is really going to like it and be really curious about where we're going in the first few episodes." As for that other would-be couple, Sierra and Victor, Enver Gjokah said, "Sierra and Victor are definitely still involved. They're going to explore that relationship more. They explore the Sierra-and-Victor love as dolls, but then also they're going to go into the backstory of both of them." Lots more detail in the piece, which also hints at just what Season Two is about ("sex and murder"). (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Ed Westwick's Chuck Bass will lock lips this season on Gossip Girl with another man, namely Neal Bledsoe's Josh Ellis, NYU's head of freshman affairs. So what spurs the kissing exactly? "Since Josh is tasked with selecting an incoming student for the honor of delivering the freshman speech, he’s, shall we say, a person of interest to Blair," writes Ausiello. "In fact, she’s so determined to snag the slot that she goes so far as to pimp out her boyfriend to the gay guy in charge." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Ed Quinn (True Blood, Eureka) has been cast in the CW's upcoming fall drama series The Beautiful Life, where he will play the husband of Elle Macpherson's Claudia Foster, a former supermodel who now runs an elite modeling agency. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Beau Bridges (Stargate SG-1) will guest star in an episode of TNT's The Closer next season, where he will play George Andrews, the former partner of G.W. Bailey's Provenza, who "returns to help close a case that has been turned over on appeal." (TVGuide.com)

Paula Abdul will host VH1's VH1 Divas, which returns to the network on September 17th and features performances from Leona Lewis, Adele, Jordin Sparks, Miley Cyrus, and Kelly Clarkson. (Variety)

Zap2It's KorbiTV has a first look at ABC's new promo for Season Six of drama series Grey's Anatomy. (Zap2It)

ABC has given a pilot script order with a penalty to an untitled multi-camera comedy from writer/executive producer Garland Testa (King of the Hill). Project, from 20th Century Fox Television, revolves around a young couple with children who try to balance the adult responsibilities of parenthood with their own youth. (Hollywood Reporter)

Kids cabler Nickelodeon has ordered two live-action comedy series, Victorious and an untitled Scott Fellows project, that will be co-produced with Sony Music and will feature original songs. Twenty episodes apiece were ordered for both series, with the untitled Scott Fellows project, about a boy band that wins a reality television competition, set to launch this fall and Victorious, about a girl who enrolls at a performing arts high school, on tap for January 2010. (Variety)

A&E is moving forward with Jackson family docuseries Jackson Family Dynasty, which will follow Michael Jackson's brothers dealing with their grief over his death and their own issues. A&E plans to launch the series, from executive producer Jodi Gomes, later this year. (Hollywood Reporter)

Sky1 has acquired UK rights to ABC comedy Modern Family, which will launch on the pay satcaster in October. (Broadcast)

Rumors are swirling that Hulu might be close to a deal with ITV in the United Kingdom, under which the terrestrial channel would retain a sizable stake, said to be around 25 percent, in the UK version of the online streaming media player. (Variety)

Broadcasting & Cable's Claire Atkinson is reporting that top executives Maria Grasso and Nina Wass have now left OWN in order to pursue other opportunities; the network, owned by Oprah Winfrey and Discovery Communications, has yet to launch. Move comes after the network hired former NBC executive Jamila Hunter as head of programming. (Broadcasting & Cable)

Former ABC executive Jocelyn Diaz has been hired by HBO as the head of drama development and production at HBO Entertainment. Elsewhere at the pay cabler, Casey Bloys has been promoted to SVP of comedy, where he will oversee development and production on HBO's comedy series, including Hung and Bored to Death. (Variety)

The Real Housewives are coming to daytime. NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution has signed a deal with NBC's owned TV stations for a one-hour daily syndicated strip of The Real Housewives that will launch in Fall 2010. Terms were based on an all-barter basis for the more than 100 episodes of the series. (Broadcasting & Cable)

FremantleMedia Enterprises has acquired international rights to Australian teen drama Slide, which will launch with an online prequel before debuting a linear series on pay television channel Foxtel in April. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Zuniga Returns to "Melrose Place," Pileggi and Plimpton on Call for "Grey's," Eliza Coupe "Scrubs" In as Regular, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Daphne Zuniga (One Tree Hill) will reprise her role as photographer Jo Reynolds in the CW's relaunch of soap Melrose Place in at least two episodes. Zuniga will join several other cast members from the original Melrose Place on the CW series this fall, including Thomas Calabro, Josie Bissett, and Laura Leighton. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Martha Plimpton (ER) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc next season on ABC's Grey's Anatomy, where she will play the mother of a young patient at Seattle Grace. Her first appearance is set for the sixth season premiere, slated to air September 24th. In other Grey's casting news, Mitch Pileggi (Stargate: Atlantis) will reprise his role as Larry Jennings, the chairman of Seattle Grace's board of directors, in the sixth season premiere. (Hollywood Reporter, TVGuide.com)

Eliza Coupe has been upgraded to series regular on Scrubs next season, which sees the series reboot after the departure of several regulars from the cast. Coupe will reprise her role as hyper-insensitive intern Denise on the ABC Studios-produced series, alongside returning regulars Donald Faison and John C. McGinley. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

NBC has handed out a script order with a sizable penalty to family comedy Nathan vs. Nature, about a heart surgeon who tracks down his birth parents and discovers that, after giving him up for adoption, the couple had three more children that they kept and forms a bond with his newly discovered slacker siblings. Project, from Sony Pictures Television, is written and executive produced by David Guarascio and Moses Port (Just Shoot Me). (Variety)

FX has ordered semi-improvised half-hour comedy pilot The League, about a married man debating fatherhood and his fellow members of a fantasy football league in suburban Chicago, from Curb Your Enthusiasm executive producer Jeff Schaffer and wife Jackie Marcus Schaffer. Project stars Mark Duplass (Humpday), Nick Kroll (I Love You Man), Steve Rannazzisi (Paul Blart: Mall Cop),Katie Aselton (The Puffy Chair), Nadine Velazquez (My Name is Earl), Paul Scheer (Human Giant), Jon Lajoie, and Alina Foley. Leslie Bibb (Iron Man) will guest star. (Hollywood Reporter, Variety)

TBS has ordered ten episodes of new comedy series Are We There Yet?, based on the 2005 feature film of the same name about a single man who starts dating a woman with two kids. Terry Crews (Everybody Hates Chris) will star. Ali LeRoi (Everybody Hates Chris) will write and executive produce the series, which has an option for ninety additional episodes. Series, from Debmar-Mercury and Cube Vision and executive producers Joe Roth, Ice Cube, and Matt Alvarez, is expected to debut in June 2010. (Variety)

Keegan Michael Key (MADtv) has been cast as a series regular for the second season of CBS' comedy Gary Unmarried, where he will play Clean, a high school friend of Gary (Jay Mohr) whose minor-league baseball career was cut short by a knee injury. (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC Studios has signed a first-look deal with Jennifer Garner's Vandalia Films, which intends to develop female-driven projects for the studio. Shingle is run by Garner and Juliana Janes and the company has a first-look deal with Warner Bros. for features. (Variety)

Despite the recent death of Billy Mays, Discovery Channel has ordered a second season of unscripted series Pitchmen. The cabler is said to be developing the format of the second season with Anthony Sullivan, Billy Mays III, and Thom Beers of Original Productions. No air date was announced. (via press release)

Disney Channel has found its lead for its newest comedy: 16-year-old Bridgit Mendler (Jonas), who will play the lead in Good Luck Charlie, about a girl and her brother Casey (Jason Dolley) who must care for their baby sister Charlie after their parents both go back to work full-time. Series is expected to launch early next year. (Hollywood Reporter)

Russell Brand will host MTV's 2009 Video Music Awards for MTV, following his hosting duties last year at the VMAs. (Broadcasting & Cable)

In other awards news, Kathy Griffin will host the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on September 12th. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Team Darlton Talk "Lost" Ending, "Doctor Who" Feature Rumors Swirl, Phifer and Beals Return to "Lie to Me," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Just a few headlines to go over on the first day back after a long holiday weekend.

Lost showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have promised viewers a definitive ending for Lost when the series wraps its run next year. "We won’t be vague and ambiguous – there will be a lot of answers," promised Lindelof, speaking at a BAFTA event in London. "We feel that if we hold anything back in the final season, it would be bad. Everyone’s come this far and they want a conclusion to the story. We’ve no plans to continue the story of Lost beyond series six. My wife says 'never say never.' I say 'never.'" That final season won't feature time travel elements but will instead feel more like the first season. "There’s a circularity to the show," said Cuse. Just don't look for a happy ending. "Bittersweet comes with the territory," said Lindelof. "The ending we’re aspiring to is fair. As a viewer, whenever you have five minutes left, there’s an intense sadness. The ending of series six will be different from other finales because there will be no cliffhanger." (Broadcast)

Rumors are swirling that Doctor Who executive producer Russell T. Davies and outbound series star David Tennant will be announcing their collaboration on a big-screen Doctor Who outing later this month at San Diego's Comic-Con International. A script for a Doctor Who feature film is said to be "in development" by a BBC Films spokesperson and reports are circulating that Tennant had signed on for a unrevealed "sci fi project," while Davies teased that the announcement of a "special project" would be coming soon. Is it the long-awaited Who film? We'll find out in a few weeks' time. (Digital Spy)

Mekhi Phifer will return to FOX's Lie to Me next season as a series regular and will reprise his role as FBI Agent Reynolds, a liaison between the bureau and the Lightman Group. Meanwhile, Jennifer Beals will recur next season as AUSA Zoe Landau, the ex-wife of Cal Lightman (Tim Roth). (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Chandra Wilson will direct an upcoming episode of ABC's Grey's Anatomy next season, making her the first original Grey's cast member to step behind the camera. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Broadcasting & Cable's Melissa Grego talks to FX president/general manager John Landgraf, who says that the network is looking to order at least two of its three drama pilots to series and will add up to three new comedy series. Langraf's goal, according to Grego, is to "maintain a mix of six original drama series on the air during any given year (four established players, two more experimental) and ultimately ramp up to four comedies." Meanwhile, don't look for FX to launch any news series pre-watershed. "We don’t do that," Landgraf told Grego. "Our shows are TV-MA." (Broadcasting & Cable)

The Hollywood Reporter's Nellie Andreeva takes a look at Simon Andreae's Incubator, a shingle that has several unscripted series on the air and in development just four years after the producer moved from the UK to LA. Company produces Most Popular and Modern Love for WE, TLC's My Shocking Story, History's Strange Rituals, and Popular Science's Future Of on Science Channel. (Hollywood Reporter)

Steve Cheskin has been named EVP of programming at cabler TLC, where he will oversee development on both coasts as well as scheduling in a newly created position. He ws previously SVP of programming at WE. (Variety)

The latest TV series to feature film adaptation: 1980s action comedy T.J. Hooker, which is being developed as a film by executive producers David Foster, Ryan Heppe, and Rick Husky. Chuck Russell (The Scorpion King) is said to be in talks to come on board as director. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Mary-Louise Parker to Keep Puffing on "Weeds," "Scrubs" Back to School, Meg Ryan to Guest Star on "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. I'm back from vacation so there's loads of television-related headlines to catch up on. Buckle your seatbelts; it's going to be a bumpy ride!

Weeds star Mary-Louise Parker has put those rumors that she's leaving the Showtime comedy series to bed, stating that she's sticking around for quite some time. "Sometimes when I think about the show ending I get sad. I just can't imagine what it's going to be like," Parker told E! Online's Watch with Kristin. "We for sure have one more year, so I don't have to be sad yet. I can smile a little bit longer. I would stay on, but at a certain point it would get a little bit tired. It'd be like, we don't need to see Nancy and Andy running around in their 60s. I think it will depend on how this season goes, as to whether or not it will have a little velocity for staying around a little longer." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

When Scrubs returns for a ninth season this fall, there will be more change than just some of the regular cast, with the focus of the series shifting from Sacred Heart Hospital to the classroom. "It'll be a lot like Paper Chase as a comedy," series creator Bill Lawrence told Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "It's going to be a different show. It'll still be life-and-death stakes, but if the show is just Scrubs again in the hospital with a different person's voiceover, it would be a disaster and people would be mad." But there will be some familiar faces, with Donald Faison and John C. McGinley on board as series regulars and Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, Judy Reyes, and Ken Jenkins slated to make guest appearances when the medical students are working at Sacred Heart. "Med students in their first three years have to spend anywhere from 10 to 50 percent of their time at a hospital," said Lawrence. "And that's when you'll see some of the [original cast members]. Continuity-wise, Sacred Heart will still exist with those people still working there." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

I'll have what she's having: Meg Ryan will guest star on an upcoming episode of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm. The former When Harry Met Sally star will appear early on in the series' seventh season, which returns to HBO in September. The season will also feature an ongoing storyline that will reunite Larry David with his Seinfeld cast. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Confirmed: T.R. Knight won't be returning to ABC's Grey's Anatomy this fall following his request to be let out of his multi-year contract. "Leaving Grey's Anatomy was not an easy decision for me to make," said Knight in a statement. "I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to play this character and will miss my fellow cast and crew very much." Series creator/executive producer Shonda Rhimes, meanwhile, wished Knight "the best in his future endeavors" and said of the actor: ""He is an incredibly talented actor and a person whose strength of character is admired by all of us." (Variety)

Katherine Heigl, meanwhile, WILL be back next season on Grey's Anatomy, reprising her role as Izzie Stevens, despite a cliffhanger ending that made it seem as though Heigl was off the series for good. Sources close to the production have indicated that Heigl's option has been picked up and she will continue as a regular on the ABC medical drama series. (Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly)

Linda Hunt (The Year of Living Dangerously) has joined the cast of CBS' NCIS: Los Angeles as a series regular; she'll play "an efficient and hard-nosed former film industry technician who now oversees the 'backroom' support staff -- the folks tasked with providing everything from micro surveillance cameras to cars for the team," according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Clayne Crawford (Jericho) has joined the cast of Day Eight of FOX's 24, where he will play "a bad boy from Dana Walsh's (Katee Sackhoff) past." (Hollywood Reporter)

Showtime has renewed comedy series Tracey Ullman's State of the Union for a third season, with seven new installments set to debut in 2010. (Variety)

Battlestar Galactica's Rick Worthy is reportedly in talks to join the cast of NBC's Heroes, entering its fourth season this fall. If a deal is reached, Worthy will allegedly be playing a Los Angeles cop and the new partner for Greg Grunberg's Matt Parkman. (Digital Spy)

Musical chairs: The Primetime Emmy Awards telecast is back on September 20th, its original ceremony date. The move comes after CBS and the TV Academy moved the telecast to September 13th in order to avoid starting late due to NFL double-header overrun... but failed to take into account that the date clashed with MTV's Video Music Awards. So it's back to September 20th, after all. (Variety's Emmy Central)

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane will recur on ABC's Flash Forward this fall, as will ER's Alex Kingston. MacFarlane plays an FBI agent in the David S. Goyer and Marc Guggenheim-overseen drama series. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Reville has signed a talent holding deal with actor Bobb'e J. Thompson (30 Rock, Role Models) under which the company will develop a sitcom for the 13-year-old actor. (Variety)

The CW will begin rolling out its fall premieres on September 8th, which will see the second season premiere of 90210 and the series premiere of Melrose Place. Gossip Girl, meanwhile, will swap timeslots with One Tree Hill next season, with the former moving to the 9 pm timeslot; both series will launch their new seasons on September 14th. America's Next Top Model kicks off on September 9th, Vampire Diaries and Supernatural on September 10th, Beautiful Life on September 16th, and Smallville on September 25th. (Hollywood Reporter)

TLC has given a series order to Stager Invasion, which depicts professional stager Lisa Lynch giving frustrated home sellers tips on how to get their houses sold in difficult times. The twelve-episode series will launch June 30th at 8 pm ET/PT. (Variety)

Travel Channel has ordered reality competition series The Streets of America: The Search for America's Worst Driver, in which awful drivers are placed in a series of challenges in order to determine which is really the worst driver. Series, based on an international format and from A. Smith and Co. and Mentorn, will launch in the first quarter of 2010. (Variety)

USA Network has hired Spike executive Bill McGoldrick as SVP of original scripted programming; it's a return for McGoldrick who previously worked at USA. He will report to Jeff Wachtel. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Shonda Rhimes Talks "Grey's" Twists, FOX Delves into "Past Life," CW Staffing on "Melrose Place" and "Vampire Diaries," and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Still reeling from last night's season finale of ABC's Grey's Anatomy? Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has an exclusive interview with series creator Shonda Rhimes about some of the shocking plot twists in last night's season ender. Responding to rumors about whether Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight wanted off of Grey's Anatomy and how this impacted their characters' fates, Rhimes said simply, "I don't think there are any coincidences. I think Katherine's stated publicly that she's happy to stay. I think that there have been lots of rumors about TR, but TR's never said anything. Take from it what you will." Rhimes also discusses the fates of Izzie and George, Mer and Der's wedding day, Jessica Capshaw, and a host of other Grey's related issues. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FOX has given a series order to supernatural drama Past Life (formerly known as The Reincarnationist), about a psychologist and a former NYPD homicide detective who assist people in solving "their past-life traumas and present-day crimes." Project, from Warner Bros. Television, is written and executive produced by David Hudgins. Cast includes Kelli Giddish, Nicholas Bishop, Richard Schiff, and Ravi Patel. (Variety)

The CW has reportedly locked Melrose Place and Vampire Diaries into its fall schedule. Both series were given the go-ahead yesterday to bring staffing, which points rather strongly to both projects getting ordered to series. Meanwhile, Beautiful Life, Life Unexpected, and Privileged continue to battle it out for the last remaining slot on the schedule and the Gossip Girl spin-off is said to still be in contention for a midseason bow. (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC is said to be considering making some rather big changes to bubble comedy Samantha Who? and is reportedly even debating whether to change the series' format into a traditional multi-camera comedy, albeit it one that follows a similar format to 20th Century Fox Television's How I Met Your Mother, which shoots over four days on a soundstage with multiple cameras but without a live audience. The network still has seven unaired episodes of Samantha Who?, which would mean that it's unlikely ABC would renew it for a full 22-episode order. (Variety)

Zach Braff and Sarah Chalke have signed on to appear in six episodes of Scrubs, should ABC opt to renew the series for a ninth season. Additionally, John C. McGinley, Donald Faison, and Neil Flynn are set to return full-time for a potential ninth season if their pilots aren't ordered to series. The short-term return of Braff and Chalke would help the series set up new storylines for the younger doctors. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Meanwhile, ABC is said to be high on Patricia Heaton comedy vehicle The Middle, along with Bill Lawrence's Cougar Town (starring Courteney Cox), and The Law. Network was said to be less than pleased with the pilots for Romantically Challenged and Awesome Hank yet may still order one or both of them to series. On the drama front, The Forgotten has the best chances of landing on the schedule but the net is also considering such projects as V, Inside the Box, Eastwick, and Happy Town. (Variety)

Janeane Garofalo will not be returning for Day Eight of FOX's 24 next season. "I think the secret of this show is knowing when characters have had their story," executive producer Howard Gordon told Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "And to transpose everybody [from D.C. to New York] starts feeling very coincidental. Even getting Chloe there ... you have to explain how she got from Washington to New York and what happened. You can't do that for everybody." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

NBC has renewed Last Call with Carson Daly for the 2009-10 season, a move which solidifies NBC's latenight strategy. Series, entering its ninth season, will return with a significantly lower budget next season. (Broadcasting & Cable)

Pushing Daisies' Anna Friel is set to star as Holly Golightly opposite Joseph Cross (Milk) in an upcoming stage adaptation of Breakfast at Tiffany's, set to preview beginning September 9th for a September 29th launch at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London. (Variety)

Hilarie Burton has told Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello about her departure--which she says was "not a rash decision"--from CW's One Tree Hill at the end of the current season, which wraps on Monday evening. "There really wasn't a lot of turmoil," said Burton about her departure. "It was a fabulous six-year run, which is how long my contract was for, and I feel really lucky to have been a part of the show. So when I hear that there's turmoil or negotiations based on money it kind of hurts my feelings, because it's not what's been going on at all. I think my fan base in particular knows that money isn't necessarily a big motivator for me, that's why I work in the world of independent film... I've known for a little while. For me, it was definitely an emotional decision. And a professional decision as well. I got really, really lucky. One Tree Hill was my very first television audition; it was a fairytale. I feel really lucky to have that level of success right out of the gate." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Confirming a rumor swirling several weeks ago, Warner Bros has acquired screen rights to ITV series Primeval, which airs in the US on BBC America and Sci Fi, with the aim to adapt it into a feature film, set in the US, under the aegis of Akiva Goldsman and Kerry Foster. "There is a solid mythology to the series, but the movie has the dinosaur element of Jurassic Park and the time travel element of Lost, and it just feels like the kind of big movie that Warner Bros. does well," said Foster. (Variety)

UK network Sky1 has scored the world premiere of two Prison Break episodes that are being billed as a special event movie entitled Prison Break: The Final Break. The network will air the two-hour movie on Wednesday, May 27th at 10 pm, a week after airing the fourth season finale which marks the end of the series. (Digital Spy)

Comedy Central has ordered seven episodes of animated comedy Ugly Americans, about an alternate universe where mythological creatures live among everyday people. Project, from writer David Stern (The Simpsons), will feature the voice talents of Matt Oberg, Randy Pearlstein, Mike Britt, Kurt Metzger, Rebekka Johnson, and Pete Holmes. The cabler also announced several projects in development, including: Judah Friedlander and Jordan Rubin's animated comedy Gypsy Cab, about a taxi driver in Manhattan who looks to pick up celebrity fares; single-cam workplace comedy The Sklar Brothers Sports Comedy Show; Midwest Teen Sex Show; The Boys and Girls Guide to Getting Down; procedural cop comedy The Fuzz, where police are played by humans and puppets; buddy comedy Workaholics; Ghost/Aliens; and several others. (Variety)

Cabler The N (which will be rebranded as TeenNick this fall) has ordered thirteen episodes of half-hour dramedy Gigantic, described as a "a coming-of-age story set in the world of the Hollywood elite packed with parties and privilege" which will feature "testimonials by real-life Hollywood teenagers as well as celebrity cameos." Project, from Reveille, is executive produced by Marti Noxon and Dawn Parouse. (Hollywood Reporter)

Former Survivor executive producer Tom Shelly has signed an overall deal with Endemol USA, under which he will serve as executive producer on ABC's upcoming reality series Dating in the Dark as well as develop format ideas. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: NBC Renews "Southland," Zachary Levi Teases Season Three of "Chuck," Rob Thomas Talks "Party Down," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. All eyes are on NBC today as the net plans to unveil to advertisers a slew of new and returning series at its "infront" in New York. Loads of rumors are flying around about the fate of several projects so please take any reports with a grain of salt until they are officially confirmed by NBC.

NBC has renewed freshman drama Southland for a second season of thirteen episodes, despite the fact that the series came in third place on Thursday. However, execs are said to be high on the John Wells-executive produced drama from Warner Bros. Television and believe it has the potential to become a hit... though it will have to do so in a timeslot other than the 10 pm hour as NBC will be handing over that timeslot to Jay Leno this fall. Freshman comedy Parks and Recreation is also expected to get a second season order today as well, though it's thought that NBC may delay decisions on such series as Chuck and such pilots as David E. Kelley's legal dramedy Legally Mad and Katee Sackhoff-led Lost & Found until after the infront. (Hollywood Reporter)

Chuck star Zachary Levi hinted at what a third season of the series might look like (should it get renewed, that is) after the game-changing reveal of last week's season finale, though Levi believes the "chances are good" that NBC will pick it up for a third season. "Chuck now has the new version of the Intersect in his head and not only does that one allow him to flash on information, it also allows him to get physical powers and techniques," Levi told Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "Like he might need kung fu for an assignment and then he uses it and it goes away. The powers are fleeting. That would be the third season." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan talks to Rob Thomas, co-creator of Starz's Party Down about the comedy series, its chances for a second season ("All signs are saying that we will get another year"), Kristen Bell turning up for the season finale, and the actors themselves. "All the actors had a really good time, and it's a pretty happy place to work. I'm hopeful we can sign them up for another year," Thomas told Ryan. "The chances are good." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Chuck star Zachary Levi also admitted over the weekend that it's possible NBC won't decide the fate of Chuck until several weeks after today's infront presentation. "I thought we were going to hear about it this Monday because NBC's announcing a bunch of its schedule, but I just got an email from [Chuck executive producer] Josh Schwartz, and he said stay positive, [but] we're not going to find out on Monday," Levi told E! Online. It could be another week or two. They're making their final tallies and decisions." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Among the announcements NBC is expected to make today are several series orders on both the drama and comedy sides. Looking likely for pickup are dramas Parenthood and Trauma (with Legally Mad and Lost & Found still in the mix) and comedies 100 Questions for Charlotte Payne and Community, while Off Duty is also looking like a strong contender as well. (Variety)

The Peacock also reportedly renewed Medium for a sixth season. While NBC hasn't officially announced the renewal, sources have indicated that NBC had signed a deal with CBS Paramount for somewhere between thirteen and eighteen episodes of Medium next season. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to Dollhouse's Alan Tudyk about Alpha, muscle, and his character's relationship with Eliza Dushku's Echo. "I've always been a raving lunatic in front of Joss," said Tudyk about the darkness in his role. "He saw that side of me the time I trashed his house because I was crazy that day. [Laughs] I was really happy he saw me as that. It's quite a compliment to offer me a role like this, because it's not easy." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Despite the fact that it hasn't even launched yet, FOX has gone ahead and ordered a second season of Family Guy spin-off series Cleveland, ordering thirteen additional episodes that will bring the pre-launch total to 35 installments for the series. Cleveland is set to launch this fall with 22 episodes and the additional 13 episodes are set for fall 2010; move was made to ensure continuous production on the animated comedy. (Hollywood Reporter)

Jeffrey Dean Morgan has confirmed to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello that he will reprise his role as Denny on ABC's Grey's Anatomy one last time before the end of the season... but that's it. "I can confirm that I will be coming back one more time," said Morgan. "I think it will be done after that. I think I have been on the Grey's Anatomy set for the last time." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Joseph Morgan (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World), Emily VanCamp (Brothers & Sisters), and Stephen Campbell Moore (Ashes to Ashes) have joined the cast of Alchemy's four-hour mini-series Ben-Hur, joining the previously cast Ray Winstone, Kristen Kruek, Hugh Bonneville, Alex Kingston, Lucia Jimenez, Miguel Angel Munoz, Marc Warren, Art Malik, and James Faulkner. (Hollywood Reporter)

June Whitfield (Absolutely Fabulous) and David Harewood (Robin Hood) are set to appear in this year's Doctor Who Christmas special, part of David Tennant's two-part swan song on the series. "This is another classic piece of casting from Andy Pyor and his team," said Doctor Who producer Tracie Simpson. "June is practically television royalty! The entire crew's been having so much fun filming with her, and her presence gives the whole story that extra sparkle, just in time for Christmas." (Digital Spy)

Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Prods. has signed a multi-year overall deal with Jenny McCarthy to develop projects on various platforms, including a syndicated talk show that McCarthy would host and a blog featured on Oprah.com, the latter of which launched on Friday. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "Chuck" Tops Save Our Shows Poll, Adult Swim Hires UK "Office," Shonda Rhimes Talks Denny, "Grey's Anatomy," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Not unsurprisingly, NBC's Chuck has topped USA Today's Save Our Show poll, scoring 54 percent of the 43,000 viewers who cast their votes in the ten-day online poll. The Warner Bros Television-produced series scored the top spot overall as well and was the most favored choice among men, teens and twenty-somethings, thirty-somethings, forty-somethings, whites, Asians, Hispanics, Westerners, Southerners, Northeasterners, and Midwesterners and the fourth favored choice among women as well. (If that's not cross-cultural appeal, I don't know what is.) (USA Today)

Adult Swim has acquired rights to the original UK series The Office, starring Ricky Gervais, from BBC Worldwide and will air both seasons as well as the Christmas special (which marked the series finale) this summer. Move marks the second deal between Adult Swim and BBC Worldwide, which previously sold rights to comedy The Mighty Boosh to the cabler, which launched the series on March 29th. (via press release)

As production on ABC's Grey's Anatomy approaches the 100th episode, creator Shonda Rhimes talks to USA Today's Bill Keveney about the ABC drama, Denny, spin-off Private Practice, and her new pilot Inside the Box. "We're heading on a journey," said Rhimes about Grey's Anatomy's use of Izzie's dead lover Denny. "[Viewers] are in the middle and don't have a map, so they can feel lost. But I know where we're going. For me, it's about looking at the larger picture. [...] What I thought was interesting was that anybody who knew anything about our show would think we had a ghost on our show. In the world in which our show operates, there is a way things happen, and clearly we don't do ghosts." (USA Today)

Disney has announced that it has joined NBC Universal and News Corp as a joint venture partner and equity owner of Hulu. Under the deal, Hulu will now be able to offer full-length episodes of current and library titles from Disney such as Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Private Practice, and Scrubs, among many others. "From our landmark iTunes deal to our pioneering decision to stream ad-supported shows on our ABC.com player, Disney has sought to meet the constantly evolving viewing habits of our consumers, and today's Hulu announcement is the next important step in that ongoing journey," said Robert Iger, President/CEO of The Walt Disney Co. (Hollywood Reporter)

Jon Gosselin, star of TLC's reality series Jon & Kate Plus 8 has issued a statement to Entertainment Weekly after US Weekly published a photo of him leaving a club at 2 am with a female friend. "Like most people, I have male and female friends and I'm not going to end my friendships just because I'm on TV," said Gosselin in an exclusive statement. "However, being out...late at night showed poor judgment on my part. What makes me sick is that my careless behavior has put my family in this uncomfortable position. My family is the most important thing in my life and it kills me that these allegations have hurt them." (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

ABC Family has officially cancelled freshman comedy Roommates. The writing was on the wall when the basic cabler opted to burn off the final eight episodes of the series over two consecutive Monday evenings, with the final four episodes to air in a two-hour block this coming Monday night. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Marc Bernardin wonders why viewers seemingly don't want science fiction on television anymore, with most recent sci fi series--Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Dollhouse, Chuck, Life on Mars, and Pushing Daisies--either canceled or on the bubble for next year. "Have we, as a society," writes Bernardin, "just become too -- gulp -- stupid for science fiction?" (Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch)

NBC has renewed reality series Celebrity Apprentice for another season and plans to air the next cycle in spring 2010. "It's a valuable franchise and proven competitor," said NBC Universal's alternative topper Paul Telegdy. [Editor: meanwhile, there's still no news of a possible Chuck renewal. Sigh.] (Variety)

TNT will expand its original programming to three nights a week this summer, with Mondays playing host to The Closer and Raising the Bar beginning June 8th, Tuesdays the home of Wedding Day, HawthoRNe, and Saving Grace beginning June 16th, and Wednesdays the berth for Leverage and Dark Blue starting July 15th. (Futon Critic)

IFC has announced a slew of new programming for the 2009-10 season, including Chris Kattan-led three-part comedy Bollywood Hero, airing August 6-8th, Food Party, launching June 9th, which features a "surreal mixture of puppets, weird special effects and cooking hosted by [Tru] Tran," six-part series Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut), which features interviews with the surviving members of the comedy troupe, telefilm Laurel K. Hamilton's Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter, which will debut in 2010, and Dinner with the Band. The cabler also announced that it has acquired BBC comedy series Ideal and Wrong Door and Canadian series The Jon Dore Television Show and renewed Z-Roc and The Whitest Kids U Know. (Hollywood Reporter)

Discovery and Hasbo have closed a deal for a joint venture that will encompass a television network and a website which are dedicated to family-based entertainment. Discovery will receive $300 million for the entertainment assets of its Discovery Kids Network in the US which will be rebranded next year and will feature series from Discovery's library of educational programming as well as series based on Hasbro properties including G.I. Joe, Transformers, Romper Room, Trival Pursuit, Cranium, and My Little Pony. (Hollywood Reporter)

Reveille has announced that it has teamed up with publisher Rodale to develop a reality series based on David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding's best-selling non-fiction book "Eat This, Not That!" (via press release)

Nikki Finke is reporting that, in light of the recent approved merger between William Morris Agency and Endeavor, that the majority of the TV reality department, including Mark Itkin, John Ferriter, and Colin Reno, have decided to leave and set up camp at CAA while talent agent Dana Simms asked to be released from her contract. (Deadline Hollywood Daily)

CMT has picked up musical series The Singing Bee, which aired its first season on NBC last year, and will launch the series' second season on June 16th. So far the series, which is produced by Gurin Co. and Juma Entertainment, has no host but the producers say that they are close to closing a deal on that front. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Gillian Anderson Tackling "Doctor Who," USA Books "White Collar," Kaley Cuoco Not Checking In to "Grey's Anatomy," and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Former X-Files star Gillian Anderson is said to be in talks to guest star in an episode of Doctor Who, set to air on BBC One next year, opposite the Eleventh Doctor, played by Matt Smith. Anderson would play "the renegade Time Lady, The Rani, a glamorous but evil scientific genius previously played in the series by Kate O'Mara in the 80s," who is an archenemy of the Doctor. "Gillian obviously has a massive sci-fi following following and it's felt it would be a major coup to have her appear in Doctor Who," an anonymous source told The Daily Express. "The team behind the show are keen for the next Doctor to have lots of new enemies and Gillian would be a glamorous and impressive addition to the list. The Rani would be a perfect role for her as the character used to be regarded as one of the Doctor's most deadly opponents." (Daily Telegraph)

USA has ordered drama White Collar, starring Matthew Bomer (Chuck), Tim DeKay (Carnivale), Tiffani Thiessen (Fastlane), and Wille Garson (Sex and the City), to series, ordering 13 one-hour installments in addition to its 90-minute pilot. Bomer will play a professional thief who breaks out of prison and is forced to work with the FBI to track down criminals who have eluded capture. No official launch date has been announced but it's believed that White Collar will kick off this fall. (Variety)

The Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco will now not be appearing on the season finale of ABC's Grey's Anatomy after all, due to a publicity commitment. A Big Bang Theory spokesperson announced yesterday that "due to unforeseen scheduling conflicts on behalf of The Big Bang Theory, Kaley Cuoco regrettably will be unable to guest star on the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy. Kaley is a big fan of Grey’s Anatomy and hopes to work with them in the future." Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello did some more digging and learned that it was CBS who axed Cuoco's guest turn on Grey's. "An Eye spokesperson couldn't be reached for comment, but as one insider explains, 'They didn't want one of their biggest stars appearing on one of ABC's biggest shows.'" Meanwhile, Shannon Lucio (The O.C.) will replace Cuoco on the May 14th season finale of Grey's Anatomy. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

NBC's untitled Justin Adler comedy pilot will now no longer have Justin Adler. The writer/executive producer of the untitled multi-camera pilot, produced by Tannenbaum Co. and Sony Pictures Television, has left the project ahead of next week's reshoots. Moses Port and David Guarascio have been tapped to replace Adler on the pilot, which is being directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC announced early pick-ups for the 2009-10 season of dramas Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Private Practice, and Ugly Betty, as well as reality series America's Funniest Home Videos, The Bachelor, Dancing with the Stars, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Supernanny, and Wife Swap. (Televisionary)

The Los Angeles Times' Maria Elena Fernandez takes a look at the promotional machine in place for the launch of FOX's Glee, which will air its pilot next month before officially bowing in the fall. FOX will make the pilot episode available for sale this summer on iTunes and will air a different version of the opening installment this fall. "From Day One, I've had so much support from the studio and network," said creator Ryan Murphy. "I think they are all wanting to break out of the box: What is network television? What can it be? Every once in a while, something comes along that's just different. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I think we're all on the same page that it's great to attempt it. The scripts are written as though the kids are underdogs and I tell the actors all the time, this show feels like an underdog." (Los Angeles Times)

Casting updates: Jane Lynch (Party Down) has been promoted to a series regular on FOX's Glee, where she plays caustic cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester; Austin Nichols (The Informers) has been bumped up to series regular on the CW drama One Tree Hill; and Eddie Jemison (Waitress) has been made a series regular on HBO comedy Hung, which will also see the addition of Alanna Ubach (Eli Stone) to the cast as recurring. (Hollywood Reporter)

BBC America has announced the return of Primeval to its schedule, which will see the launch of Season Three on May 14th. Unfortunately, the network has also bumped Season Two of Life on Mars spin-off Ashes to Ashes, meant to launch next Saturday, off the schedule for the foreseeable future to make room for Primeval. Ashes to Ashes is now expected to return later this year. (Televisionary)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has a first look at the musical guest stars turning up on the May 14th season finale of NBC's 30 Rock, which will feature such guests as Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, Mary J. Blige, Clay Aiken, Adam Levine, and Rhett Miller. And Alan Alda will also guest star in the episode, which sees the return of Chris Parnell's Dr. Leo Spaceman. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Look for some last-minute scheduling changes next week as sweeps kicks off and President Obama has asked the networks for airtime on Wednesday. The broadcast networks have yet to agree to the request (though it's believed they all will) and will likely have to shift some programming around to accomodate President Obama's news conference. (TV Week)

Filmmaker Pedro Almodovar will oversee a television adaptation of his 1988 feature film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown for Fox Television Studios. Almodovar will executive produce along with Mimi Schmir (Grey's Anatomy), who will write the pilot script, which she says will be "a suburban drama about a group of women who have known each other for a long time, perhaps from college, who are in the middle of their lives and looking at the second half of their lives." Project will be developed for the international market and could end up being a co-production a la the studio's own Mental, Defying Gravity, and Persons Unknown. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stephen Baldwin has joined the cast of NBC's upcoming reality competition series I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, along with Janice Dickinson, Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt, and Sanjaya Malakar, among others. Meanwhile, disgraced former Illinois governor Rob Blagojevich will also fly to Los Angeles to participate in today's NBC press day, saying "Perhaps I can play some other role in the show." (TV Week)

Meanwhile, the series' producers, Granada America, have signed a deal with MTV to repurpose episodes of NBC's I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, in a second window on MTV, though the cabler will also play a role in determining creative for the series and will cross-promote the NBC broadcasts. NBC plans to air the episodes four nights a week beginning June 1st, while MTV will offer a marathon of the previous week's episodes on Sundays starting June 7th. (Variety)

HBO's Jada Miranda and Mike Garcia have left their development posts at the pay cabler. Miranda will remain at the network as a producer with a multiple-year development deal and will join the staff of upcoming comedy How to Make It in America as an executive producer, while Garcia will leave to pursue other opportunities. (Hollywood Reporter)

Former FOX business affairs/alternative production executive Donna Redier Link has been hired as the COO, a newly created position, at Fremantle North America, where she will report to Cecile Frot-Coutaz. (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: Melora Hardin Turns "Lights Out" for FX, Signs Point to Possible Renewals for "Bones" and "Lie to Me," and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Melora Hardin (The Office) has been cast as the female lead in FX drama pilot Lights Out, where she will play the wife of a former heavyweight boxing champ Patrick "Lights Out" Leary (Holt McCallany) who is diagnosed with pugilistic dementia and must find another way to support his family before his brain turns to mush. Also cast in the drama pilot, written by Justin Zackham and to be directed by Clark Johnson: Elisa Koteas (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and Kevin Conway (The Black Donnellys), who will play Leary's father/former trainer and his manager/business partner respectively.

Hardin, meanwhile, isn't expected to reprise her role as Michael Scott's ex-girlfriend Jan Levinson for the remainder of the current season of The Office but will guest star in at least one episode next season. (Hollywood Reporter)

The internet was abuzz yesterday with news that FOX wouldn't be airing the final produced episode of Joss Whedon's drama Dollhouse, entitled "Epitaph One," though an insider told me that "Omega," the twelfth episode of the series would provide closure for the freshman season's storylines. Also of note: the fact that the thirteenth episode is actually being considered the series' fourteenth (if you include the scrapped pilot) and was not financed by the network but by the studio for international and DVD purposes. (Televisionary)

Pointing a sign toward possible renewal, FOX has announced that it will air repeats for dramas Bones and Lie to Me this summer. Beginning May 25th, the network will air repeats of House and Lie to Me on Monday nights from 8-10 pm ET/PT while repeats of Bones will air Thursday nights at 8 pm, leading into the new season of So You Think You Can Dance. (Futon Critic)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has the scoop on just how T.R. Knight's George will be leaving Grey's Anatomy, with a storyline that involves the doctor going, uh, overseas. Elsewhere, he reports that BSG star James Callis and Sarah Drew (Everwood) will guest star in the season finale of CBS' NUMB3RS, set to air on May 15th. Callis will play a charismatic sociopath who is suspected in the kidnapping of Amita (Navi Rawat), while Drew will play one of his followers. (Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello)

The New York Times' Arts Beat talks to Eastbound and Down co-creator/executive producer Jody Hill about what to expect for the series' recently announced second season... and learns almost nothing. So what can viewers expect? "First of all, let me just say: They’re bringing Kenny Powers back," joked Hill. "Isn’t that crazy? We were always debating [whether to do additional seasons of the show], because I think it tells a complete story in one season. But it’s such a fun show to do, so I guess we’re going to go for more." (New York Times' Arts Beat)

Showtime is said to have narrowed down its potential contenders for series orders to drama pilot Possible Side Effects, from writer/director Tim Robbins. Series, which stars Josh Lucas, follows the lives of a dysfunctional family who run a behemoth pharmaceuticals company. (Variety)

The pay cabler was said to have passed on Lionsgate Television half-hour comedy Ronna and Beverly, which Showtime was said to be very high on. The comedy pilot, created by Jenji Kohan (Weeds) and stars Jessica Chaffin and Jamie Denbo, was about "two middle-aged Jewish women who tirelessly promote their book, a dating guide for Jewish singles." The studio is said to be shopping the project to other networks. News comes after Showtime passed on the Matthew Perry-led pilot The End of Steve, which producer Sony Pictures Television will also be shopping elsewhere. (Hollywood Reporter)

NBC has moved the premiere dates for two four-hour mini-series. Meteor, starring Christopher Lloyd and Marla Sokoloff, was originally intended to air June 7th and June 14th and will now bow on Sunday, July 12th and July 19th from 9-11 pm ET/PT. The Storm, starring Treat Williams and James Van Der Beek, originally slated to air on July 19th and July 26th, will instead be broadcast on July 26th and August 2nd. (via press release)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: NBC Exiles "Kings" to Saturday Nights, Thomas Calabro Returns to "Melrose Place," Liza Weil and Debra Mooney on "Grey's," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

NBC has exiled struggling freshman drama Kings to the dire Saturday night at 8 pm timeslot, where the network will burn off the remaining installments beginning April 18th. In its former Sunday night slot, the Peacock will air two-hour episodes of Dateline NBC from 7-9 pm ET/PT. In its last outing, Kings captures a lowly 1.1/3 among adults 18-49 and 3.6 million viewers overall. (Variety)

Thomas Calabro will reprise his role as Dr. Michael Mancini in the CW's revival of Melrose Place in a recurring capacity. Casting marks the second former cast member from the original FOX series joining the cast of the updated Melrose Place as he'll join Laura Leighton, who will reprise her role as Sydney Andrews. Could these two have ended up unhappily-ever-after, after all? (Entertainment Weekly)

Liza Weil (Gilmore Girls) and Debra Mooney (Everwood) will guest star in Grey's Anatomy's two-hour season finale, set to air on ABC on May 14th. Weil, best known for her role as Paris Gellar on Gilmore Girls, will play "a cancer patient who crosses paths with Izzie," while Mooney will play the mother to Kevin McKidd's Owen. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Pilot casting alert: Leah Remini (The King of Queens) will star in ABC comedy pilot Don't Try This at Home (formerly known as the untitled Jeff Strauss comedy), where she will play a newspaper editor married to Matthew Lillard's character with three kids. Elsewhere at ABC, Rebecca Creskoff (Mad Men) been cast as one of the leads in comedy pilot This Little Piggy, and Spencer Breslin (Center of the Universe) has joined the cast of the untitled Anita Renfroe comedy pilot. (Hollywood Reporter)

FOX has ordered reality series Someone's Gotta Go, in which real businesses facing layoffs will let the employees decide who will get pink-slipped. Project, from Endemol USA, could be on the network's schedule by late summer or early fall. "It's Survivor meets The Office," said FOX reality chief Mike Darnell. "When someone is arbitrarily let go the first reaction usually is 'How come that person was fired when another idiot is still here?' This finally gives employees a chance to make that decision instead of a boss." (Variety)

Bravo has announced that the ten-episode culinary competition series Top Chef Masters will kick off on Wednesday, June 10th at 10 pm ET/PT. Series will be hosted by food journalist Kelly Choi and regular judges will include New York Magazine food critic Gael Greene, James Oseland, the editor-in-chief of Saveur, and British journalist Jay Rayner. 24 master chefs (including several that have appeared as guest judges on Top Chef) will compete to win $100,000 in money for charity in a format that resembles Top Chef's weekly Quickfire and Elimination Challenges. Guest judges for the season include Lost executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, How I Met Your Mother's Neil Patrick Harris, Zooey Deschanel, and Flipping Out's Jeff Lewis. (via press release)

Elsewhere at Bravo, the cabler will launch docusoap NY Prep, described as a real-life Gossip Girl, on Tuesday, June 16th, following the season finale of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. (Futon Critic)

ABC Family announced several new series debuts, including drama Make It or Break It launching June 22nd; half-hour comedy 10 Things I Hate About You launching July 7th; and half-hour multi-camera comedy Ruby and the Rockits on July 21. The Secret Life of the American Teenager will return with its second season on June 22nd; Lincoln Heights kicks off its fourth season on August 14th; and Season Three of Greek will debut on September 14th. (Variety)

ITV director of acquisitions Jay Kandola will step down from her position at the broadcaster in June following a corporate restructuring that saw the loss of hundreds of jobs and a refocusing of the network's acquisitions priorities, which will see US series as less of a priority. (Hollywood Reporter)

Michael Shanks will reprise his role as Daniel Jackson in a cameo appearance in the upcoming series premiere episode of Stargate Universe on Sci Fi, according to consulting producer Joseph Mallozzi. Also returning in some form to reprise their roles: Richard Dean Anderson and Gary Jones. (Digital Spy)

Nickelodeon has ordered two live-action pilots, including an untitled surfing single-camera comedy, from executive producer Tommy Lynch and writers Boyce Bugliari and Jamie McLaughlin (Quintuplets), about two high school surfers looking for the perfect wave and Telepathic, a multi-camera comedy, from executive producer Conan O'Brien and writer Darin Henry (The War at Home), about three teenage misfits who navigate the treacherous waters of high school aided by telepathic powers. (Hollywood Reporter)

The New York Post is reporting that MTV is looking at Washington D.C. as a locale for an upcoming season of its reality franchise The Real World and has placed an ad looking for an accountant for a 20-week shoot in the nation's capital. (New York Post)

A&E has ordered nine episodes of The Fugitive Chronicles," a hybrid docu-drama series that will recount some of the most memorable captures of fugitives over the last twenty years and present these stories in dramatized verite-style re-enactments told from the point of view of both law enforcement and the fugitive. Project, from RDF USA, will premiere later this year. (Hollywood Reporter)

Planet Green has renewed five series for second seasons, including: Emeril Green, Focus Earth with Bob Woodruff, Greensburg, Renovation Nation, and Wa$ted! All are expected to premiere new episodes during the week of April 19th-25th in celebration of Earth Day. (Broadcasting & Cable)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: ABC Cuts Back "In the Motherhood" to Seven Eps, Alicia Witt Scores "The Mentalist," NBC Cancels "Lipstick Jungle," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

After airing just one episode, ABC has cut its episodic commitment for midseason comedy In the Motherhood from thirteen episodes to seven, just slightly more than half of its original order. The network had ordered the comedy, based on a web series, during the writers strike. (Los Angeles Times' Show Tracker)

Alicia Witt (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) will guest star in the season finale of CBS' The Mentalist, where she will play pianist Rosalind Harker, a woman who used to date serial killer Red John, the enigmatic serial killer who killed Jane's family. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online has confirmed that NBC has canceled drama series Lipstick Jungle, after all. "It was going to stay and we just were officially told it's finally not coming back," series star Brooke Shield told E! Online's Cristina Gibson. "It's very sad. I think a lot of people were really sad, but I think we hung on a really long time. It was three great years that we've been working on it." (E! Online)

Pilot casting alert: T.J. Miller (Cloverfield) and Nick Thune (Knocked Up) have been cast as the leads in CBS comedy pilot Waiting to Die; Leslie Bibb (Confessions of a Shopaholic, Crossing Jordan) and John Michael Higgins (Kath & Kim) will star in NBC's untitled Justin Adler comedy pilot; Ryan Stiles (Two and a Half Men) will star opposite Anita Renfroe in her untitled comedy presentation at ABC; Skylar Astin (Hamlet 2) and Darien Provost (Sanctuary) will star opposite Adam Carolla in CBS comedy pilot Ace in the Hole; and Bobby Lee (MADtv) has joined the cast of NBC comedy pilot State of Romance. (Hollywood Reporter)

Elsewhere, Mary Steenburgen (Four Christmases) will star opposite Jason Biggs and Richard Dreyfuss in CBS comedy pilot Happiness Isn't Everything, where she will play Audrey, Dreyfuss' "unbelievably sensitive" wife and the mother of Jason Biggs' character. (Hollywood Reporter)

New York Post's Popwrap has a first look at Kristen Bell's upcoming guest star role on Starz's Party Down, from executive producer Rob Thomas. The site talks to Thomas about his on-screen reunion with his former Veronica Mars lead, who will play the leader of a rival catering team called Valhalla Catering. And, no worries, Ryan Hansen fans: he'll be back for Season Two of Party Down, should the series be renewed, regardless of his role--which is only recurring--on the Gossip Girl spinoff. (New York Post's Popwrap)

The New York Times talks to Amy Poehler, star of NBC's upcoming comedy series Parks and Recreation, where she plays Leslie Knope, the deputy parks director of Pawnee, Indiana. "She’s naïve and narcissistic, completely deluded and completely out of touch with reality," said Poehler of Leslie. "I think we’ll be the first TV show to win an Academy Award. And the Nobel Peace Prize." (New York Times)

ABC has ordered seven episodes of reality competition series Shark Tank, a US adaptation of British series Dragon's Den, in which "eager entrepreneurs pitch their business ventures to five multimillionaire tycoons." Series, executive produced by Mark Burnett, is expected to air sometime next season. "We have made bigger deals and more deals in our pilot than [other versions] make all season," said Burnett of the changes to the format. "What country on earth is more entrepreneurial and risk taking than the United States of America? Here we have businesses and jobs being created, and it's a great feeling." (Hollywood Reporter)

Michael Ausiello is reporting that Kathleen Turner has joined the cast of Showtime dramedy Californication for a multiple-episode story arc in the series' third season, expected to air next fall. Turner will play "the ball-breaking, foul-mouthed, outrageous boss of Evan Handler's literary agent." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Fremantle has signed first-look deals with such producers as Paul Abbot (State of Play), Bob Cooper (Mr. Woodcock), Mike Tollin (Smallville), Irwin and David Winkler (Rocky Balboa), and Kiwi producer Roger Simpson (Satisfaction). Under the terms of the deals, Fremantle will provide overhead in exchange for having a first crack at any projects developed by the producers, which would then be pitched to US cable outlets. (Variety)

Could Katherine Heigl be sticking around on ABC's Grey's Anatomy after all? The actress, who plays Dr. Izzie Stevens, says she doesn't know whether her character lives or dies, though she did say "I'm there," should Izzie make it through her medical crisis. "I'm more than happy to make that compromise. As my agent likes to say, 'High-class problems,'" said Heigl of being willing to balance her feature work with her role on Grey's Anatomy. "I don't know if I want to continue for five years working 12 months a year, but I can take at least another year or two." (Associated Press)

FOX has ordered reality competition series More to Love, featuring overweight contestants looking for love. Series, executive produced by Mike Fleiss, will feature a format similar to The Bachelor, where a group of women will compete for a single man. "This show is going to get a lot of people talking," said Mike Darnell, president of alternative at FOX. "It may be a little controversial, but I think it will mostly be positive. This is so simple and so obvious, yet it has never been done." (Hollywood Reporter)

MTV has today launched AMTV, a six-hour block of music videos that will air from 3-9 am Monday through Thursday and will feature "music videos, news, interviews and performances, harking back to the network’s origins as a 24-hour home for music videos." (New York Times)

Discovery has ordered thirteen episodes of real-life crime series On the Case With Paula Zahn, in which the former CNN anchor will pursue in-depth investigations of real-life mysteries and interview those closest to the case. (Hollywood Reporter)

Daytime continues to get hit: CBS may opt to cancel long-running soap Guiding Light, as the network's deal with the daytime drama ends in September. The network is said to be looking at possibilities for new programming in the series' afternoon timeslot, such as game shows or a talk show. Guiding Light is the lowest-rated daytime network soap series currently on the air. (TV Week)

Scandinavia's Nordisk Film TV World signed a slew of format deals with US production companies this weekend at MipTV, pacting with Reveille on dating series Don't Date Him Girl, Renegade on Construction Nightmares, Scott Stone on Celebrity Devil Race, Phil Gurin's Gurin Company on music format Melody Challenge, and Dave Broom's 25/7 on 71 Degrees North. Sales mark first US format deals for the company. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Rosenbaum and D'Agosto Experience Sibling Rivalry, ABC Announces Season Finale Sched, Moore Talks End of "Battlestar," and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Former Smallville star Michael Rosenbaum and Heroes' Nick D'Agosto will star in NBC's untitled Justin Adler comedy pilot, where they'll play brothers in the Sony Pictures Television and Tantamount project; D'Agosto will play the family's youngest sibling who brings his girlfriend home to meet his family while Rosenbaum will play the middle sibling, a married man freaking out over his adopted baby.

Elsewhere, Noah Gray-Cabey (Heroes), Oded Fehr (Sleeper Cell), Kyle Riabko (Instant Star), and Jessy Schram (Life) will star in ABC musical drama pilot Limelight, about the teachers and students of a performing arts institute; Sam Neill (The Tudors) has joined the cast of ABC drama pilot Happy Town; and Rochelle Aytes (Drive) will star opposite Rupert Penry-Jones (Spooks) in ABC's untitled Jerry Bruckheimer drama pilot, about a team of amateur detectives, where she will play a police officer who slips cases to Penry Jones' team. (Hollywood Reporter)

HBO has announced that they are developing A Ribbon of Dreams, about the history of the Hollywood film industry, with writer/director/executive producer David Chase, creator of The Sopranos. (Televisionary)

Henry Rollins will guest star in a six-episode story arc on Season Two of FX drama Sons of Anarchy, where he will play a new antagonist for the fictional town of Charming, California. (Televisionary)

ABC has announced season finale dates for most of its series, with Scrubs to air an hour-long finale on May 6th (likely the series' last) and According to Jim on May 5th. Meanwhile, Lost will wrap up its fifth season on May 14th with a two-hour season finale; Grey's Anatomy will air a two-hour season finale on May 14th; Desperate Housewives will air a two-hour installment on May 17th; Brothers & Sisters will wrap on May 10th; Private Practice is set to end its season on April 30th; In the Motherhood and Samantha Who? will both air season finales on April 30th. Ugly Betty is set to return to the schedule on May 7th and end its season on May 21st. Freshman series Better Off Ted will wrap on April 29th, Castle on May 11th, and Cupid on May 12th, while midseason offerings Surviving Suburbia and The Unusuals haven't had end dates announced yet. On the reality side, Dancing with the Stars will wrap with a two-hour finale on May 19th, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on May 17th, Wife Swap and Supernanny on May 1st, and America's Funniest Home Videos will end its season with a two-hour episode on May 15th. (Variety)

SCI FI Wire spoke to Battlestar Galactica executive producer Ronald D. Moore about the upcoming series finale, slated to air on Friday. "I was ready to let it go creatively," said Moore of the decision to end the series after the fourth season. "I knew that the show had entered the endgame, and I knew that we were in the third act. It was time to wrap up the story. I wasn't emotionally ready to let it go, and I'm still not. It was a very important experience for me. I love it. I loved working on it. I loved the people I got to know. I loved the end product. I liked watching the show. I was a fan of the show. So it's hard to know that there's not more Galactica coming. But as a producer and as a writer, I'm very happy that we got to end it on our own terms." (SCI FI Wire)

Runaway production is once again on the forefront of everyone's minds. This year, at least 20 of the 39 hour-long broadcast network pilots slated to shoot this season will be produced outside of California, due to stringent new rules governing incentives for new television series in the State of California, which limit tax credits to basic cable series with less than $1 million in episodic budgets. (Variety)

Andy Samberg (Saturday Night Live) will host the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, which will air life from the Gibson Ampitheatre in Universal City on May 31st. It marks his first time hosting the awards ceremony. (Hollywood Reporter)

Oxygen is said to be close to ordering reality series The Naughty Kitchen, featuring Dallas chef Blythe Beck and her employees at her restaurant, from Code Entertainment and Authentic Pictures. Also in development at Oxygen: The Girls, about three wannabe singers in Nashville, and Hogs and Heifers, about the workers and patrons of the eponymous bar. (Variety)

Stay tuned.