Channel Surfing: TNT Renews Southland, Legend of the Seeker Axed, FX Heads to Outlaw Country, Royal Pains, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

In a surprise move, cabler TNT has ordered a third season of hyper-realistic cop drama Southland, commissioning ten episodes that will launch in January 2011. "Southland is a challenging, visceral show that engages viewers with its immersive style, provocative storylines and complex characters," said Michael Wright, EVP/head of programming, for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies, in a statement. "These qualities have made Southland a favorite among critics and appointment viewing for an extremely loyal audience." It's a sign of support from the cabler, which picked up the drama series after it was cancelled by NBC before it had even aired a single episode of its second season. TNT aired the six-episode sophomore season run earlier this year. [It's noted in this Variety article that the median viewer age of Southland--47--is younger than any other series on the channel.] (via press release)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that syndicated fantasy series Legend of the Seeker has been cancelled and will not be returning for a third season. "The outlook had been bleak since last March, when many of Tribune Station Group’s markets dropped the syndicated series, which had been developed from Terry Goodkind’s fantasy novels by Hercules/Xena producers Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert," wrote Ausiello. "ABC Studios, which produces it, kept shopping it around. But, I’m told, they found no takers. So, after two action-packed seasons, Legend is history." Sorry, folks, it's the end of the road for Richard Cypher. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FX is heading back South once more: the cabler has ordered a pilot for thriller/family drama Outlaw Country, written by Josh Goldin and Rachel Abramowitz and executive prodced by Art Linson and John Linson. Project, which has no casting attachments, will revolve around organized crime in the South. Production on the pilot, produced by FX Prods., will begin this fall. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Marcia Gay Harden (Damages) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on USA's Royal Pains, where she will play Dr. Elizabeth Blair, described as "a surgeon, board member of Hamptons Heritage Hospital, and an adversary-turned-mentor to Jill (Jill Flint)." She's set to first appear in Royal Pains' second season premiere, set to air on June 3rd. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting that The Amazing Race executive producers Bertram van Munster, Elise Doganieri, and Jerry Bruckheimer are developing a new action-based reality competition series at ABC, entitled Catch Me, details for which are being kept firmly under wraps. Adalian writes that the potential series--thought to still be in the pilot stage--is described as "a heart-stopping reality competition" that will reward contestants who "have an adventurous streak and a poker face." (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Freplicate alert: Merrin Dungey (Alias) has been cast in a recurring role on Season Two of HBO's Hung, which returns this summer. She'll play Liz, described as a potential new love interest for Thomas Jane's Ray Drecker who is one of his clients and a highly successful businesswoman. (Deadline.com)

Adam Kane (The Mentalist) will direct the pilot for Syfy's upcoming supernatural series Haven, based on the Stephen King novella "The Colorado Kid." (Hollywood Reporter)

SPOILERS! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to House executive producer Katie Jacobs about what's coming up next on the medical drama, ahead of the sixth season finale next month, and what to expect next season. "Considering the fact that he’s not on Vicodin, things have been going as well as they could possibly go," said Jacobs about House's emotional journey this season. "He’s living with Wilson, and I think that’s helpful. And he’s really making an effort to hold it together. It sort of seems like in every episode there’s a new revelation about how well he really is doing. How is he faring just taking ibuprofen for the pain? Is that working? In episode 17 he was stuck in that room for two hours with David Strathairn and we found out he is in pain. And from now until the end of the season, there’s going to be something that challenges House’s [sobriety] in almost every episode." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Dane DeHaan (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) has joined the cast of Season Three of HBO's In Treatment, where he will play a teenage patient for Gabriel Byrne's Paul. He'll be joined by Irrfan Khan, while Debra Winger has not yet decided whether or not to accept a role. (Dianne Wiest will not be returning.) The series will now be overseen by new showrunners Anya Epstein and Dan Futterman, who replace Warren Leight. (Variety)

Vulture has a quick review of the pilot script for TNT's Untitled Alien Invasion Project, from executive producers Steven Spielberg and Robert Rodat. (New York Magazine's Vulture)

The Wrap's Josh Dickey offer his theory about what the real problem is with American Idol: Glee. (The Wrap)

FOX has ordered a pilot for reality series Panic Attack, in which a group of five participants will face off against the shared fear--whether that be heights, snakes, or spiders--with the help of a pair of therapists, Nik and Eva Speakman. Project hails from A. Smith & Co. (Hollywood Reporter)

Meanwhile, The Los Angeles Times' Scott Collins and Denise Martin have an article about the songwriters featured on FOX's Glee. "They really worked hard to make it their own," Steve Perry said of the series' use of "Don't Stop Believin'." "It's actually brought people's attention to go check out the original… It's something I never thought I'd see in my lifetime." (The Los Angeles Times)

Jamie Kennedy (The Ghost Whisperer) is set to guest star on Season Four of Syfy's Eureka, where he will play Dr. Ramsey in an upcoming episode that will be directed by Colin Ferguson. Here's how Syfy describes the episode ("The Story of O2"): "Sheriff Jack Carter (Ferguson) leaves Eureka to visit his daughter Zoe (Jordan Hinson) at Harvard while the town celebrates Space Week. A new self-propagating oxygen technology developed by Dr. Ramsey in order to potentially colonize on Mars mysteriously begins to build up in the atmosphere above Eureka threatening to incinerate the entire town. The episode is scheduled to premiere Friday, July 30, 2010." (via press release)

Looks like The Transporter is headed to the small screen, with an international production--in English--set to start shooting in Europe and Canada early next year. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

NBC Press Day: Syfy's Haven

NBC Universal kicked off their summer press day with a panel for Syfy's upcoming series Haven, which launches in July and is based on Stephen King's novella "The Colorado Kid."

"It felt like a good companion to Eureka... but from a different perspective," said Syfy's Mark Stern of the upcoming series, which is executive produced by Scott Shepherd, Lloyd Segan, and Shawn Piller. "Haven is like the Stephen King alternative to [Eureka], not the dark, grim Steven King version of that but the 'Green Mile' version of that with people beginning to experience strange supernatural abilities but not being aware of it."

Emily Rose plays FBI Agent Audrey Parker who finds herself investigating a series of unusual phenomena in the small town of Haven, Maine.

"They've created this small, interesting town that like a magnet has drawn Audrey to it," said Rose. "This character that has a lot of things that she's trying to figure out about herself and she comes to Haven, where these people are trying to deal with all of these things on their own."

Those things would be the inexplicable emergence of supernatural abilities among the townspeople of this small sleepy town, as Audrey finds herself enmeshed in a bit of a love triangle between her new partner, local cop Nathan Wuornos (Lucas Bryant) and Duke Crocker (Eric Balfour).

"I'm really excited to be playing this part," said Rose. It's so rare to find a really well-written female lead... Audrey is an orphan and is literally trying to [solve] this mystery of her family. What's so great about playing a female lead, especially in law enforcement, is that these women really do exist and they're fascinating."

Rose said that the chasm between Audrey's investigation skills and her inherent female nurturing is "an important duality to the character."

Stern said that the series was originally called Sanctuary... but was a problem for us because we already have a show called Sanctuary.

Filming in Nova Scotia in small lobster fishing town. with one restaurant and one post office. ("eye candy")

Stern says that Haven will look unlike any other show on the air right now. "It's real Maine," said Stern, catching himself. "It's Nova Scotia doubling for Maine but it's a closer doubling."

The series will offer a mix of procedural and serialized elements. "There will be weekly stories," said Rose, "but [also] a deeper arc of Audrey's backstory."

King's "The Colorado Kid" provides a spine for the series and the writers have incorporated the story into the franchise. "The bones of 'The Colorado Kid' are buried in this franchise," said Stern.

King has given his blessing to the project, said Stern, and he's being kept in the loop but he's not involved in the day-to-day mechanics of the series.

The series is "gearing more towards the extraordinary rather than the disgusting or the horror--though there will be some horror in it," said Stern.

Haven premieres July 9th on Syfy.

Channel Surfing: ABC to Reair Lost Pilot, No Two and a Half Men Sans Sheen, Hal Holbrook Gets Anarchy, Parks and Rec, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Looks like ABC is trying to make its Lost fans even happier. The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting that ABC has scheduled a repeat airing of its two-hour pilot for Lost, which will air Saturday, May 22nd (from 8-10 pm ET/PT), the night before the series finale of Lost, bumping the number of hours the network is devoting to lost to ten that week. The network will be airing the enhanced (read: pop-up) version of the pilot. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

In other Lost-related news, tickets go on sale today at 10 am PT for Lost Live: The Final Celebration, being held May 13th at UCLA's Royce Hall. The event will feature Michael Giacchino conducting a full orchestral performance of original music from Lost, an advance screening of the penultimate episode of Lost and appearances from cast members Nestor Carbonell, Michael Emerson, and Jorge Garcia. Tickets can be purchased here or here. (via press release)

RadarOnline.com is reporting that Warner Bros. Television won't reconfigure Two and a Half Men without Charlie Sheen and should he not return to the series, it will mark the end of the highly rated CBS comedy. "There has been absolutely no discussion about reworking Two and a Half Men without Charlie. No one is even considering it,” an unnamed studio source told RadarOnline.com. "At this moment, if Charlie doesn’t come back, that’s the end of the series." (via Fancast)

Five-time Emmy winner Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild) has been cast in four episodes of Season Three of FX's Sons of Anarchy, where he will play Nate Madock, the father of Gemma Morrow Teller (Katey Sagal), currently on the lam after being framed for murder. Holbrook will make his first appearance on the third season premiere of Sons of Anarchy, slated to air in September. (via press release)

Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Megan Mullally will be heading back to Pawnee next season. Mullally will reprise her role as Tammy, the malicious ex-wife of Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), in an episode that will air during the series' third season, currently shooting to accommodate Amy Poehler's pregnancy. (Entertainment Weekly)

Syfy has cast Bruce Boxleitner (Babylon 5) in original telepic 51 and A.J. Buckley (CSI: NY) in The Doomsday Scrolls. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: HBO Renews Treme, Damages May Be Dead, Jared Harris Promoted on Mad Men, 24, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

It took just one episode, apparently, before HBO ordered a second season of New Orleans-set drama series Treme, from creators David Simon and Eric Overmyer. "We would have picked up this show last week," HBO president Michael Lombardo told The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd. "We've seen the first nine episodes it's as strong as any show we've seen. Much like The Wire, the audience is so passionate and so invested. We're about servicing our subscriber base and I believe that people will become addicted to this show. We have to be a place where this kind of excellence is giving space to continue." According to Lombardo, Season Two of Treme is being targeted for a spring 2011 debut, where it will likely be paired with the first season of fantasy drama Game of Thrones. "They should be ready about the same time," said Lombardo. "[Game] looks beautiful, the compelling scripts are just fantastic, we're doing reshoots but nothing major. The show is there." Production on Treme's second season will begin this fall. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

The Wrap's Josef Adalian, meanwhile, talks to Lombardo in a Q&A-style interview about the Treme renewal. "The first season of True Blood we picked up in the first week. Whether it was after the first day, I don't recall," Lombardo told Adalian. "But I must be candid: We knew we were picking this up (before the premiere). We were actually trying to arrange a phone call with David before we got numbers, but because of David Mills' funeral, that was just impossible. We were sure early on in a way that was unique." (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Variety's Stuart Levine is reporting that Monday night's season finale of FX's Damages may wind up being the series finale, after all. "Despite a meeting in the next two weeks between Sony Pictures Television and DirecTV to discuss the possibility of the Glenn Close skein changing networks, insiders say it doesn't look as though the drama is a good fit for the satellite provider," writes Levine. "Sony, of course, wants to see Damages continue, but the studio would have to take a substantial license-fee reduction. With what would be the fourth year of the show, and cast and crew expecting salary increases, it would likely be difficult -- though not impossible -- to cut costs." If Sony was able to broker a deal with DirecTV, their Channel 101 would want to take the first window of Damages' fourth season, which could be a problem for FX, which co-produces the legal drama. [Editor: I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that something could be worked out but in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the finale as much as I possibly can.] (Variety)

Good news for Mad Men fans: Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Jared Harris has been promoted to series regular for Season Four of the period drama, which returns to AMC this summer. "Harris joined the Emmy-winning drama in Season Three as Lane Pryce, Sterling Cooper’s new financial officer (installed by UK parent company Putnam, Powell, and Low)," writes Ausiello. "In the finale, he became a founding partner in SCDP alongside Don Draper, Bert Cooper, and Roger Sterling." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Elsewhere, Ausiello also has a spoiler-laden interview with 24 executive producer Howard Gordon about this week's shocking twist... which I won't spoil here, but I will say that Gordon is candid about the decision they made and much more. "It was an incredibly emotional day," said Gordon about the final day of shooting on 24. "I’m just so incredibly proud to be a part of it... This has been an incredibly strong season. I can [only] judge it in terms of what my own opinion is of the show and what I hear about it anecdotally from the people who are friends and family, but I feel very proud of this year. Kiefer is very proud of this year. People are happy to be ending with such creative vigor." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Sophia Bush (One Tree Hill) has been cast in ABC comedy pilot Southern Discomfort, where she will play Haley, described as "a recent Harvard graduate who returns to her Texas hometown to reunite with her old boyfriend." She'll star opposite Don Johnson and Mary Steenburgen in the pilot, which hails from Sony Pictures Television, Tantamount, and ABC Studios. Bush's casting is said to be in second position to her role on the CW's One Tree Hill, which has yet to receive a pickup for another season. (Hollywood Reporter)

Elsewhere, Ben Browder (Stargate SG-1) has joined the cast of the CW's drama pilot presentation Hellcats, where he is set to play football coach Red Irvine. (Deadline.com)

More wrestling is coming to Syfy, following the conclusion of a multi-year deal between cabler Syfy and World Wrestling Entertainment to bring Friday Night Smackdown to the sci-fi channel beginning October 1st. As part of the move, Syfy will shift its traditional Friday night programming block of originals--which includes Caprica, Stargate Universe, and Sanctuary, among others--to Tuesdays. "WWE is the ultimate in imagination-based sports entertainment," said Syfy programming president Dave Howe. "The fantastical thrills of Friday Night SmackDown provide an ideal addition to the Syfy slate, as it targets the younger male and female demographics, which are the fastest-growing categories for WWE." Syfy's current wrestling series, NXT, will wrap up its run in October. (Hollywood Reporter, Variety)

Naren Shankar is said to be leaving CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, stepping down from his role as executive producer/co-showrunner on the procedural drama in order to focus on his development deal with CBS Television Studios. (Deadline.com)

Kevin Eubanks will depart NBC's Tonight Show on May 28th and will be replaced, beginning June 6th, by American Idol's Rickey Minor, the musical competition series' music director. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed, Variety)

Looks like Glee star Lea Michele injured her knee while filming an upcoming episode that features the music of Lady Gaga. (Specifically, it was the glee club's take on Gaga's "Bad Romance.") "I'm directing that episode and I did more coverage on that song then we've ever done in the history of the show," co-creator Ryan Murphy tells told E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos. "It's a big number. It's like, big and athletic and hard. And those girls and Chris [Colfer] I think did it for six hours straight." As for Colfer, he too was amazed that he wasn't injured shooting the show-stopping number. "I almost died just trying on my getup," Colfer told Dos Santos. "Literally, I probably almost died because I wear 10-inch heels and those take some getting used to. They're like stilts walking around. They're platform, stick stiletto heels. And I had to dance my ass off in them [laughs.]" (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

In other Glee-related news, FOX has released the Sue Sylvester "Vogue" video from next week's "Power of Madonna" episode of Glee. The video, a shot by shot remake of Madonna's "Vogue," can be seen in its entirety below:


BBC has confirmed that it will not be going ahead with a third season of post-apocalyptic drama series Survivors. "The BBC is committed to making a broad range of varied and ambitious drama, but in order to achieve this we do have to move on from some pieces in order to allow new work to come through," said a BBC spokesperson. "After two series, Survivors will not be returning." (Daily Telegraph)

Deadline.com's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Wizards of Waverly Place showrunner Peter Murrieta will depart the Disney Channel comedy should it be picked up for a fourth season. (Deadline.com)

Arthur Smith and Kent Weed's reality shingle A. Smith and Co. is developing a reality series based around Aussie magician James Galea and will pitch the project--which mixes comedy, illusion, and sleight of hand--to networks. (Variety)

Looks like Carrie and Co. will be walking in their Manolos over to E! and Style, according to a report by Alex Weprin in Broadcasting & Cable. Comcast Entertainment Group has signed a deal to acquire off-net and ancillary rights to all 94 episodes of HBO's Sex and the City beginning in January 2011. (Broadcasting & Cable)

Warner Bros. Television has hired ICM agent Tom Burke as SVP/head of casting for the studio, where he will oversee all casting both for WBTV and offshoot Warner Horizon. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Billy Campbell Lands The Killing, More on Conan-TBS Deal, NBC Gets Law & Order: Los Angeles, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Billy Campbell (The 4400) has been cast as one of the leads in AMC drama pilot The Killing, where he will play Darren Richmond, a City Council President in Seattle. Series, executive produced by Mikkel Bondesen and Veena Sud, revolves around three interlocking stories that are connected by the murder of a young girl. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

TBS' deal with Conan O'Brien for a latenight talk show is described as a "watershed moment" by Variety's Stuart Levine, who reports that the cabler's deal with O'Brien will bring more viewers to the channel who may not have come to the comedy-centric cabler before. Deal will create a two-hour latenight block (with George Lopez's Lopez Tonight that will air Mondays through Thursdays on TBS. (Variety)

The Wrap's Josef Adalian has an interview with Turner Broadcasting Company's Steve Koonin about TBS' surprising deal with Conan O'Brien, who will bring his latenight show to the cabler in November. "The most important point is: Conan chose TBS. And he had lots of different opportunities," said Koonin. "We've been very vociferous and vocal about trying to grow our business and saying we're as good as broadcast. To have someone like Conan (come to TBS) ... validates what we've been saying. We are every bit as good as broadcast television. It's a win for the whole (cable industry)." (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

[Editor: FOX affiliates are said to be relieved that Conan O'Brien won't be coming to their network, according to a report by Broadcasting & Cable's Michael Malone, which can be read here.]

George Lopez, meanwhile, will move his TBS latenight talk show Lopez Tonight to midnight in order to accommodate O'Brien's new series. "I want to say that I am completely 100% on board with this move," said Lopez on last night's show. "I talked to Conan on Wednesday and I talked to him last night and I said I welcome you into my deep loving embrace." (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

NBC has allegedly ordered thirteen episodes of Law & Order spin-off series Law & Order: Los Angeles (a.k.a. LOLA), which it will launch this fall, according to Deadline.com's Nellie Andreeva, who reports that Blake Masters (Brotherhood) has been hired to write the series. However, neither NBC nor executive producer Dick Wolf would comment on the report. Should the move go forward, it's possible that the Peacock will once again be home to at least three iterations of the Law & Order franchise (with original-flavor Law & Order said to be look to return), but I can't help but wonder if NBC didn't learn its lesson about not shooting pilots first before ordering projects to series. (Deadline.com, The Wrap's TVMoJoe, Fancast)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Diane Keaton is in talks to star in HBO comedy pilot Tilda, from executive producers Bill Condon and Cynthia Mort. Should a deal close, Keaton would play a Hollywood blogger who is said to share some, uh, attributes with Nikki Finke. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Looks like Matthew Broderick is getting some company on the beach. Patton Oswalt (Caprica) and Kristen Johnston (3rd Rock from the Sun) have been cast in NBC comedy pilot Beach Lane, which stars Broderick as an author who is hired by an slacker millionaire named James (Oswalt) to run his newspaper, based in the Hamptons. Johnston will play James' real estate agent step-sister. Project, from Universal Media Studios and Broadway Video, is written/executive produced by Paul Simms. (Variety, Hollywood Reporter)

Reports are swirling that post-apocalyptic drama Survivors (which airs Stateside on BBC America) has been axed by BBC One after just two seasons. "Sadly the BBC aren't going to do any more Survivors," an unnamed source told Total Sci-Fi Online. "They expressed genuine affection for the show and a real desire to go again but felt that with the ratings having slipped a little since the first series they couldn't take the risk. The sad truth is that we're somewhat the victims of having gone out on the main channel - in some ways the exposure is wonderful but in other ways it's a mixed blessing." (via Digital Spy)

TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams has an interview with V's Joel Gretsch about what's coming up on the ABC sci-fi drama series. "Yeah, he will," said Gretsch, when asked about whether Father Jack would have to choose between being a priest or a soldier. "The episode we're filming now, that question is very much in the forefront. Father Jack is really an unlikely resistance fighter. He's ill-equipped. Even though he was in the war, he was there from more of a spiritual standpoint. Father Jack is a fish out of water, yet he is learning that he's got to do something. He will definitely find his way through this, though it's not an easy road for him and it pushes his moral dilemma." (TVGuide.com)

Pilot casting update: Kyle Howard (My Boys) has been cast opposite Olivia Munn in NBC comedy pilot Perfect Couples; Max Ehrich (The Pregnancy Pact) has been cast in two CBS pilots, Quinn-Tuplets and Team Spitz. (Hollywood Reporter)

Starz is said to be developing two mini-series projects with Ben Silverman's Electus: historical drama William the Conquerer, from executive producer Pierre Morel, and action-thriller Peacekeeper, co-created by Fisher Stevens and Silverman. Move comes after Starz has announced several international co-productions, including Pillars of the Earth and Camelot. (Variety)

Syfy has teamed up with RHI Entertainment to produce two telefilms for the cabler: The Other Side and Roadkill. (Hollywood Reporter)

Scott Free and Tandem have announced that they are developing a mini-series sequel to their upcoming period drama Pillars of the Earth that will be based on Ken Follett's sequel, "World Without End." John Pielmeier will write the script for a possible eight-hour mini-series and Starz will co-finance the development of the project with Tandem. (Variety)

Hasbro Studios has hired Cartoon Network executive Finn Arnesen as SVP of international distribution and development, where he will oversee the studio's international expansion and report to Stephen Davis. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Sheen Could Leave "Men," "Modern Family" iPad Love, S. Epatha Merkerson to Leave "Law & Order," Sidibe to Host "SNL," and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Charlie Sheen might just walk away from his role on CBS' Two and a Half Men. Citing a People report, The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd is reporting that Sheen has rejected a contract renewal offer and is looking to leave the CBS comedy series, which is produced by Warner Bros. Television. "This report came as news to CBS and studio Warner Bros., with some insiders thinking the news might simply be a negotiation tactic," writes Hibberd. "Yet sources tell THR that the People report is no April Fools joke and that Sheen is indeed serious about currently wanting to leave." (Hollywood Reporter)

Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed has the scoop from Modern Family co-creator Christopher Lloyd about why the ABC comedy series' use of the iPad this week wasn't product placement but was in fact just a story-driven plotline. "In fact, there was no product placement," Lloyd explained. "This was widely assumed, and everybody was wrong. We wanted to do a show about Phil getting very excited about a new product and it seemed the perfect one to use, since it was debuting [April 1]. We approached Apple about getting their cooperation (using the product, for example, and they are notoriously secretive about their products prior to their being launched) and they agreed and gave us a few other small concessions. But there were no stipulations as with normal product placement, i.e. we give you X dollars and you have to feature our product such-and-such a way and say such-and-such nice things about it. We are not angels -- we have made those agreements with other companies. But that was not the deal with Apple. It was all story-driven." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Meanwhile, The Wrap's Josef Adalian calls for an end to the Modern Family "non-troversy" over the iPad inclusion, following several attacks on the series by CNET and the Hollywood Reporter, among others. "Dudes: Chill!" writes Adalian. "It's one thing to find a plotline unfunny or subpar. There's also nothing wrong with making note of the timing of the episode, or of raising the question of whether a company paid to have its product integrated into a show. Hot TV shows generate buzz, both positive and negative. We get it -- and we're not trying to condemn anyone for identifying something interesting about a show. But until somebody uncovers evidence to the contrary, this was simply a case of writers trying to make a 2010 half-hour comedy relevant to a sophisticated audience." [Editor: amen.] (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that S. Epatha Merkerson will depart Law & Order after a staggering 16 years and talks to the actress about her decision to leave the Dick Wolf-executive produced procedural at the end of the current season. "It’s a graceful way to go," Merkerson told Ausiello. "It’s the end of my contract this year, and the storyline has been so perfect. I’ve given it my best for 16 years. It’s time to move on. I’m doing other things and this will be a great way to leave what has been an extraordinary gig." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Precious star Gabourey Sidibe is among the hosts on tap for Saturday Night Live this month. Also taking to the historic stage during the month of April: Tina Fey, who will be joined by musical guest Justin Bieber, Ryan Phillippe (with Ke$ha), and Sidibe, who will host with musical guest MGMT on April 24th. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has gotten a hold of some of the casting notices for Season Four of AMC's Mad Men, including three potentially recurring roles. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online's Megan Masters has an exclusive look at Showtime's upcoming reality series The Real L Word and breaks down the real-life lesbians who have been assembled in Showtime's "rare, fly-on-the-wall look into the lives of attractive and successful L.A. lesbians." The series is set to launch on Sunday, June 20th at 10 pm on Showtime. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Casting update: Chad Lowe (24) has been cast in ABC Family's upcoming drama series Pretty Little Liars, where he will replace Alexis Denisof, who played the role in the pilot; Gina Torres has signed on to play Dr. Dorothy Rand in ABC Family's other upcoming series, Huge; Riki Lindhome (Gilmore Girls) will star opposite Jack Carpenter and Kristin Kreuk in Josh Schwartz and Matt Miller's CBS comedy pilot Hitched; Greg Germann (Ally McBeal) and Damon Gupton (Deadline) have come on board FOX comedy pilot Strange Brew; and Robbie Jones (One Tree Hill) and Heather Hemmens (The Candy Shop) have joined the cast of the CW's Hellcats. (Hollywood Reporter)

SPOILER! TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Season Six of FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia will feature a storyline involving Dennis (Glenn Howerton) getting married... and divorced. (TV Guide Magazine)

Julie Gonzalo has been cast as a guest star in a May sweep episode of ABC's Castle, where she will play "a beautiful and dynamic restaurateur who finds herself mixed up in [a] murder investigation" that takes revolves around the contestants of a Top Chef-esque culinary competition series. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

CONFIRMED: Syfy has announced that Robert Knepper (Heroes) and Julie McNiven (Mad Men) have joined the cast of the cabler's Stargate Universe for its second season. Knepper will appear in six episodes as Simeon, described as a "member of the Lucian Alliance," while McNiven has joined the cast in a five-episode story arc where she will play Ginn, also a member of the Lucian Alliance. The second half of SGU's freshman season premieres tonight on Syfy. (via press release)

ABC shows are heading to the iPad. Disney has signed a deal with Apple to create an application that will stream--for free--full-length episodes of series from ABC, ESPN, and Disney. (Variety)

NBC series, meanwhile, will NOT be heading to the iPad as NBC executives have opted to "prohibit iPad viewing of full episodes at this time," according to The New York Times' Brian Stelter. (New York Times' Media Decoder)

USA has announced return dates for two of its original series, with Burn Notice and Royal Pains returning to the schedule on Thursday, June 3rd, when they will air back-to-back beginning at 9 pm ET/PT. July, meanwhile, will bring the return of White Collar and Psych and the launch of Covert Affairs. (Broadcasting & Cable)

E1 Entertainment and Tijuana Entertainment have teamed up to develop reality series They Call Me Crazy, featuring NBA player Ron Artest that will enable him to "make amends for past transgressions," and help struggling musicians through his music label. Series will be executive produced by Artest, along with John Moryaniss, Tara Long, Troy Searer, and John Foy. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "24" Producer Urges Patience, More on Matt Damon and "30 Rock," "Mad Men" Looks to Diversify Emmy Noms, "Grey's," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to 24 executive producer Howard Gordon about this season's ridiculous storyline involving Katee Sackhoff's Dana Walsh. "God almighty there has been a Dana backlash," Gordon told Ausiello. "I understand how it appears [to be] tiresome and lazy storytelling, but I really would betray anyone to try to sit in our chair and figure out how to do 24 continuous, real-time episodes, without using certain devices. I would implore people to be more patient with Dana." [Editor: out of curiosity, I'd love to know what readers think of Dana's plotline...] (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos has more details on Matt Damon's upcoming appearance on 30 Rock, where he'll be playing--gasp!--a love interest for Tina Fey's Liz Lemon and he may appear in more than one episode. "Though 30 Rock's producers are still hammering out all the details, sources tell me NBC is hoping to get Matt on for multiple episodes," writes Dos Santos. "However, Matt is shooting another project this spring, so it all depends on Matt's schedule and whether 30 Rock can be squeezed in. So at this point only one Damon-Lemon episode is guaranteed, but there may be more." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Do you consider Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss a supporting actress? In this year's Emmy Awards race, she is. Looking to score two actress nominations this year, Mad Men's producers are putting Moss into the supporting category instead of the lead actress pool, according to the Hollywood Reporter's Randee Dawn. The idea would be to prevent Moss and fellow Mad Men actress January Jones competing for votes in the same category. "Sources tell us the thinking is that January Jones, snubbed last year and the year before, will have a better chance in the lead actress category without competition from Moss, so great as corporate climber Peggy Olson," writes Dawn. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has the details on whether the whereabouts of Katherine Heigl's Izzie will be addressed on screen on ABC's Grey's Anatomy. "They’re definitely not going to pretend she never existed," writes Ausiello. "In fact, I’m told the Izzie issue will be addressed during May sweeps. For her part, Katherine Heigl thinks her Jan. 21 farewell — while not originally intended to be her last episode — oddly works as a bookend to Izzie’s story." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Monica Breen and Alison Schapker (Brothers & Sisters) have been hired as co-executive producers on FOX's Fringe and will also develop new series projects for Warner Bros. Television, likely in connection with J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot shingle. (Hollywood Reporter)

TVGuide.com's Adam Bryant talks to CSI: NY executive producer Pam Veasey about the decision facing Gary Sinise's Mac Taylor when former girlfriend Peyton Driscoll (Claire Forlani) returns to his life. It's actually like he doesn't have to make the choice; it may be that these two women are trying to make the choice for him," Veasey told Bryant. "It's a great place for a character to be in: There's an old love who could return or a new relationship and new possibilities. These are two very smart, talented, attractive women that are in his life." (TVGuide.com)

ITV has commissioned a fifth season of medical drama series Doc Martin, expected to launch in 2011. (Broadcast)

Syfy has partnered with After Dark to produce two telepics slated to air on the cabler's Saturday night feature franchise including Scream of the Banshee, which will star Lauren Holly and Lance Henriksen, and 51. (Hollywood Reporter)

A&E has ordered six episodes of docusoap Growing Up Twisted, which will feature former Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, his wife, and their three children. Elsewhere, the cabler ordered twelve episodes of Heavy, which will focus on individuals who are crippled by their weight and who struggle to slim down. A&E also ordered four episodes of Ice-T-executive produced The Peacemaker, about gang interventionist Malik Spellman, and ten episodes of The Squad: Prison Police, about the police force inside a Tennessee prison. (Variety)

David Lyle, the former president of Fox Reality Channel, has been tapped as the head of Fox Look, described as "a new international-fueled division of Fox Network Group" that will license and produce unscripted programming for the international market. He will report to Tony Vinciquerra and work closely with 20th Century Fox International's Marion Edwards. (Variety)

Lionsgate Television has hired MGM executive Priscilla Pesci as SVP of television marketing, where she will have oversight of domestic and international marketing for the studio's television division and will report to Peter Iacono. Additionally, Tori Crotts has been promoted to executive director of TV marketing. (Hollywood Reporter)

Season Three of Comedy Central's Supreme Court of Comedy will feature Jamie Kennedy, Kevin Nealon, Jeff Garlin, Paul Mooney, and Tom Arnold. The new season is slated to launch on the cabler in June. (Variety)

Bob Oswaks has departed his position as TV marketing chief at Sony Pictures Television. No immediate reason was given but The Wrap's Josef Adalian indicated, via an unnamed source, that "the decision to leave wasn't his own." He had reported to Steve Mosko. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

TBS has hired former Carsey-Werner development chief Kathryn Ann Busby as VP of comedy development. She will be based in Los Angeles and report to Lillah McCarthy. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

End of the Line: Thoughts on the "Caprica" Mid-Season Finale

I'm curious to know what people thought of Friday evening's spring finale of Syfy's Caprica, the last episode that will air until the series returns this fall.

While the episode ("End of the Line"), written by Michael Taylor, offered some closure to several storylines (at least for now, anyway) and contained the series' most exciting sequence to date (as armed forces attempted to stop a runaway Cylon prototype), it also was structured around a number of cliffhangers, each designed to hold our interest--or at least our curiosity--until the series returns.

But the problem was that I didn't really care which of the characters lived or died. And that's a major problem for a series that itself lives or dies based on the strength of its characters and the audience's innate connection with them.

Caprica has been a mixed bag so far this season: a heady brew of ideas and themes that are, at times, executed with the awkwardness of a robot taking its first steps. It's exciting at times, yes, but you also don't want to be standing near it when it inevitably falls down.

Part of the problem for me is that the numerous storylines and characters are so completely separate, creating the sense of narrative fragmentation. Thematically, they might be linked but each of the characters--Amanda, Clarice, Lacey, Daniel, Joseph, and Zoe--seems to be in their own series most of the time, with very little crossover or connection between them. That disconnect might be intentional and might have been implemented to reflect the disconnect in their own hedonistic and tech-savvy society but it doesn't necessarily make for compelling television.

This was especially true in the spring finale, where our main characters spent precious little time in scenes together, instead embarking on individual storylines that didn't really come together in any meaningful way. Joseph's quest to find his missing daughter Tamara in the V-world lead to a reveal of just who his guide Emmanuelle was in the real world: and--not surprisingly--it was his lovestruck assistant whose name I can't even remember. Joseph's addiction to amp and his obsessive quest to find the Tamara avatar could have been a thrilling story arc for his character but I found that I cared less and less about Adama as the season wore on as he descended into a husk of a man who spent more time in the virtual world than living in the real one.

Likewise, Amanda has retreated into her memories and (possible) madness, seeing the ghost of her dead brother and reflecting on a suicide attempt made before she met her future husband Daniel. While Daniel has all but forgotten about Amanda (just where is he while she wastes days away in their bedroom), except for chopping some vegetables for a dinner that never happens, Amanda slips further and further away from reality, finding herself atop a bridge as she decides whether or not to leap to her death. This should have been a pivotal moment for the series but I found that I didn't care whether she lived or died, whether she jumped or caught herself in time.

Given that she is a major character, I'd be surprised if the writers kill her off. Far more likely is that her instincts as a doctor kick in when she sees the nearby explosion--a car bomb unknowingly planted by Lacey at the behest of Barnabas--that doesn't kill its intended target, Sister Clarice Willow, but will likely instead claim the life of Clarice's husband Nestor, the brutally underused Scott Porter.

The other extinguished life is that of research scientist Philomon, accidentally murdered by Zoe in the body of the Cylon prototype, seconds after revealing her true self to her would-be boyfriend. While the death is not intentional, it's the most shocking element of the finale... and speaks volumes about the audience's investment in the series when a tertiary character has more an impact than the leads.

I didn't quite get Zoe's master plan to use Philomon to escape Greystone Industries and then meet up with Lacey to be shipped to Gemenon or why she needed him to help her do something that she could have done several times over at this point. Considering that the Cylon unit spent the majority of the season downstairs in Daniel's lab at the Greystone house, I don't know why Zoe didn't just walk out at any point during the season. Or call Lacey to come get her since the house seemed deserted most of the time. Color me confused.

Likewise, I don't know that Daniel would be so quick to order the MCP scrubbed either, considering that he knows that it's the only working one (Vergis was never able to make it work, after all) and that it might still contain Zoe's avatar on it, even after his numerous tests failed to force the avatar to show itself.

Ideally, I'd love to see the individual storylines begin to come together more closely, to overlap less in terms of theme and more in terms of plot. The series, to me, feels more like a grouping of semi-related characters than a true ensemble. I'm hoping that the writing staff can find a way of making these characters pop more and keeping the audience invested in these storylines. There's still a certain iciness to Caprica that desperately needs to thaw out and we need to feel the heat of empathy and connection with these characters if we decide to return to this world.

Otherwise it might just be the end of the line for me with this series.

But I am curious to know: what did you think of the season finale and of Caprica's season itself so far? Will you tune in again this fall when Caprica returns? Discuss.

Caprica will return will return with the second half of its freshman season this fall on Syfy.

Channel Surfing: Showtime Renews "Jackie" and "Tara," MTV Axes "The Hills," Ricky Gervais to "Curb," Mary McDonnell Returns to "The Closer," and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Huzzah! Just a few days after returning Nurse Jackie and United States of Tara to the lineup, pay cabler Showtime has handed out series renewals to both comedies, ordering twelve-episode third seasons for both, which will begin production later this year. "Showtime is enormously proud of these two series starring two of the best actresses working today," said Showtime President of Entertainment Robert Greenblatt. "Both are iconic shows for our brand and our thanks to the dedicated producers, cast, and crews who work so hard to make them so great. Edie Falco's portrayal of the fierce Jackie is another extraordinary example of her range and brilliance, and recent Emmy and Golden Globe wins for Toni Collette in her tour de force role as a woman with multiple personalities put her in a class by herself. Strong women will continue to rule on this network for a long time to come." (via press release)

Sayonara Heidi and Spencer! MTV has opted to cancel its reality series The Hills after six seasons. The series, which originally starred Lauren Conrad, fell sharply in the ratings after Conrad left. The final twelve episodes of The Hills begin April 27th. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

E! Online's Watch with Kristin is reporting that Larry David has approached Ricky Gervais about appearing on a potential eighth season of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm. David indicated that he should know about the fate of Curb within the next month or so but that he's already working on some ideas and has approached Gervais about a guest appearance on the improvised comedy series. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica) is set to return to TNT's The Closer during the series' sixth season, where she will reprise her role as Captain Sharon Raydor. McDonnell is set to appear in at least five episodes and will, according an unnamed insider, "create situations that come between Brenda and Pope." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

SPOILERS! Grey's Anatomy creator/executive producer Shonda Rhimes has written a teaser for the "game changing" season finale of Grey's Anatomy while guest blogging at Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files and offers several spoilers that are leading up to a major "game changer." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Syfy has given a pilot order to live-action comedy Saved by Zeroes, from creator/star Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville), Sony Pictures Television, and Happy Madison. Rosenbaum will star alongside Jonathan Silverman; they will play "two friends, former actors on a science fiction show that has since developed a cult following, who have hit rock bottom and must work together to get their lives back on track." Project is loosely based on Rosenbaum's real-life experiences. "Through drugs and drinking, (the characters played by Rosenbaum and Silverman) didn't save money and, years later, the only thing they have left are the conventions, all they've got are their loyal, devoted fans," Rosenbaum told Nellie Andreeva. "Our show is not about being in the business, it's about being out of the business; it's the 'Non-tourage.' We're the losers you want to see back on top." (Hollywood Reporter)

Don Johnson is in talks to star in ABC comedy pilot Southern Discomfort, where he will play "a tough, hard-core conservative Texan whose life is turned upside down when his grown kids move back in." Project has also cast Steve Talley (American Pie Presents Beta House), who will play Johnson's oldest son, described as "a slacker who kissed off a baseball scholarship to pursue writing." (Hollywood Reporter)

Executive news we can all be happy about: Nikki Finke reported that FOX Entertainment will keep Kevin Reilly at the helm for another three years, following the successful closing of a new deal. (His current deal wasn't set to expire until July but the network wanted to lock him in now.) (Deadline)

FOX will pair Hell's Kitchen with new culinary competition series MasterChef beginning July 29th. The latter, executive produced by Gordon Ramsay, will feature Ramsay, Joe Bastianich, and Graham Elliot Bowles. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Pilot casting updates: Terry Kinney (The Unusuals) has been cast in CBS cop drama pilot The Line (also known as ATF), where he will play "a bank robber who is a poet, philosopher and sociopath." Elsewhere, Thomas Middleditch (Splinterheads) has been cast in Josh Schwartz and Matt Miller's CBS comedy pilot Hitched, where he will play the best friend of a newlywed couple (Kristin Kreuk and Jack Carpenter). (Hollywood Reporter)

Elsewhere, Jon Bernthal (The Ghost Writer) has been cast in AMC zombie drama pilot Walking Dead, where he will play Shane, the outgoing partner to cop Rick Grimes (as yet uncast); Brandon Routh (Chuck), Hal Linden (A Kiss at Midnight), Amir Arison (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), Tina Majorino (Big Love), and Kevin Michael Richardson (The Cleveland Show) have all been cast in TBS' hour-long comedy In Security; Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon (Eyes), Reed Diamond (Dollhouse), and Dana Davis (The Nine) have landed roles on TBS comedy pilot Franklin and Bash; and Tim Jo and Josh Brener have joined the cast of period fraternity comedy pilot Glory Daze. (Hollywood Reporter)

The Wrap's Josef Adalian takes a look at whether NBC is going to be able to turn itself around, pointing to some stability in the schedule, improving ratings, and some new series--like Parenthood and The Marriage Ref--that are plugging some holes. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

After 27 years, UK's ITV has opted to cancel long-running cop drama The Bill, citing plummeting ratings despite a revamp last year and a change to a new timeslot. At least 90 jobs will be lost from the cancellation while ITV plans to use the savings--worth several million pounds sterling--to invest in shorter-form drama in the 9 pm hour, including a medical series from writer Peter Bowker (Occupation) and a drama from Anthony Horowitz (Collision). "The Bill has been a fixture on our screens for more than 25 years and has been the home of some of the UK's best serial drama storylines, and a great showcase for terrific scriptwriting and fine acting talent," said Peter Fincham, ITV's director of television, channels and online. "But times change, and so do the tastes of our audience. Whilst The Bill will come to an end in 2010, we will continue to invest more in drama programming than any other commercial broadcaster in the UK and viewers can look forward to a wide range of high quality drama on ITV1." (Guardian)

In other UK television news, Suranne Jones (Five Days) will star opposite David Tennant in BBC One's four-part drama series Single Father. She'll play Sarah, the best friend of the deceased wife of Dave (Tennant), whom he falls for while attempting to raise his four children after the death of his wife. (BBC)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Michael Vartan's Dr. Tom Wakefield will become romantically entangled with Jada Pinkett Smith's Dr. Christina Hawthorne this season on TNT's HawthoRNe. "We get it on very early," Vartan told Keck. "I think it’s a good time for this to happen because you never know how long a show’s going to run, so go full steam while you can." (TV Guide Magazine)

Michael Tolkin (Nine) is developing two drama projects with Marti Noxon and Dawn Parouse's Grady Twins production company, including a NBC drama he's writing with Noxon about a musician with a jealous manager, and an untitled FX drama about a family in the midst of a world apocalypse. (Variety)

TV Guide Network has acquired rerun rights to Showtime's dark comedy series Weeds, which is produced by Lionsgate Television--which just happens to be a co-owner of the cable network. Weeds is likely to launch on TV Guide Network this fall, where it will be join such off-network acquisitions as Curb Your Enthusiasm and Ugly Betty. (via press release)

Bunim-Murray Prods. has been acquired by French company Banijay Entertainment in a deal said to be in the eight-figure range. Jonathan Murray will remain in place as chairman under the terms of the deal, along with president Gil Goldschein. (Variety)

Wipeout executive producer Matt Kunitz has signed a two-year deal that will keep him based at Endemol, overseeing ABC's reality series Wipeout, and developing new broadcast and cable programming for the reality giant. He's hired Rebecca Shumsky as creative executive as part of his new deal. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Heigl Talks "Grey's" Departure, Carbonell On Eternal Life and "Lost" Love, Balfour Finds "Haven" at Syfy, "Warehouse 13," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Ahead of its publication, Entertainment Weekly has released some excerpts from Michael Ausiello's in-print Q&A with former Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl, in which she dishes about why she left the ABC medical drama, Emmygate, Isiahgate, and, well, a heap of controversies. "Yeah, I think so," said Heigl when asked if the parting was amicable. "I think it was a little bit shocking for everybody, and a little bit like, 'Can’t we find a way to work it out?' And I really wanted to, but at the same time I just felt like I couldn’t sacrifice my relationship with my child. Naleigh and I will always be a little bit complicated. I really had to work on bonding with her because I was obsessed with her, but she could really do without me. [Laughs] It was really hard because she loved Josh so much but she just kind of tolerated me. And I want this child to know that she will forever have me in her corner and I don’t want to disappoint her. [Fighting back tears] And even though I know I’m disappointing the fans, and I know I’m disappointing the writers and my fellow cast members and the crew, I just had to make a choice. I hope I made the right one. It sucks. You wish you could have it all exactly the way you want it. But that’s not life. I had to try to find the courage to move on. And I am sad. And I’m scared. But I felt it was the right thing to do; we just didn’t quite know how to do it appropriately, gracefully, and respectfully to the audience. And I think we all felt it wasn’t respectful to the audience to bring [Izzie] back again and then have her [leave] again. We did it twice this season. It starts to feel a little manipulative." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Los Angeles Times' Maria Elena Fernandez has a fantastic interview with Lost star Nestor Carbonell about this week's Richard Alpert-centric episode of Lost, in which we learned about Richard's backstory and his tortured past. "He knows them pretty intimately," said Carbonell about Richard's relationship with Jacob and the Man in Black. "It’s an interesting dichotomy because on the one hand he has a sense of history of the island and the forces at play in the island but he’s been dumbfounded by other elements he wasn’t aware of -- like time travel and, obviously, he didn’t know about the loophole with the Smoke Monster becoming Locke. He was really blown away by that. So much of what is happening to him and around him is new to him. This season, his world has been rocked by Jacob’s death and everything he’s lived for in the last 100 years ago or so has been taken away from him or turned down upside down for him. He attempted suicide. He’s gone a little crazy. But we’ll see how he settles down now that he has a mission from his wife." (Los Angeles Times' Show Tracker)

The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting that Eric Balfour (24) Lucas Bryant (Queer as Folk) have been cast in Syfy's upcoming supernatural drama series Haven (based on a novella by Stephen King). Balfour will play Duke Crocker, described as a "charming yet mysterious jack of all trades" whose "mellow demeanor may conceal a much darker agenda." Bryant will play Nathan Wuornos, a local cop who becomes the partner to Emily Rose's FBI Agent Audrey Parker. Meanwhile, Gina Torres (Firefly) will guest star on Season Two of the cabler's drama series Warehouse 13, where she will play a new love interest for Eddie McClintock's Pete. [Editor: Warehouse 13 seems to be on a bit of a Firefly tear of late: Torres will join fellow former Browncoats Jewel Staite and Sean Maher this season.] (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Carrie Fisher (30 Rock) will star opposite Debra Messing and Patrick Fugit in ABC single-camera comedy pilot Wright vs. Wrong, which revolves around Messing's Evelyn Wright, a political pundit whose life is decidedly less together than it appears on television. (Hollywood Reporter)

HBO has announced a premiere date for its telepic The Special Relationship, which recounts the alliance between President Bill Clinton (Dennis Quaid) and Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen): May 29th. Project, written by Peter Morgan (The Queen) and directed by Richard Loncraine, also stars Hope Davis. (Variety)

CBS has ordered an undisclosed number of episodes for a US format of UK reality dance competition series Got to Dance, which will be produced by Reveille. Project--executive produced by Elisabeth Murdoch, Howard T. Owens, Mark Koops, and Robin Ashbrook--features dancers of all ages and all genres competing in front of a panel of judges, with the audience weighing in on later rounds. This being another as-yet-uncast reality series, the network is courting Paula Abdul to serve as one of the judges. (Hollywood Reporter)

TLC has won the bidding for the worldwide rights to eight-episode reality series Sarah Palin's Alaska, from executive producer Mark Burnett, which it will launch later this year. It's thought that the Discovery Communications-owned channel paid more than $1 million per episode. (Variety)

Pilot casting update: Lindsay Sloane (She's Out of My League) will star opposite Kyle Bornheimer on the untitled Bays/Thomas project (also known as Livin' on a Prayer); Melissa McCarthy (Samantha Who?) has scored one of the titular roles in Chuck Lorre's CBS comedy pilot Mike and Molly; Marisol Nichols (24) and Rhona Mitra (Stargate Universe) have been cast in ABC summer drama series The Gates, while Victoria Platt, Justin Miles, Travis Caldwell, Colton Haynes, and Skyler Samuels have also been cast. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Jennifer Love Hewitt (Ghost Whisperer) has been cast as a guest star in NBC romantic dramedy pilot Love Bites, from writer/executive producer Cindy Chupack. "Details about her cameo are being kept under wraps, but a Peacock insider tells me that Hewitt will play herself," writes Ausiello. "My guess? One of the show’s lovelorn leads — portrayed by Ugly Betty’s Becki Newton and My Boys‘ Jordana Spiro — will meet Hewitt at a signing for her new memoir-slash-advice book, 'The Day I Shot Cupid.' But I’m just spitballing." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Elsewhere, Hewitt has been cast in Lifetime telepic The List, written by Suzanne Martin. She'll play a housewife and mother whose life is thrown into chaos after her husband becomes sidelined from his job due to an injury and she ends up taking a job at a massage parlor that's secretly a knocking shop. (Hollywood Reporter)

Sad but true: it's the end of the road for At the Movies, which will wrap its run on August 14th. Most recent iteration of the movie review series had been hosted by A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips, who took over the reins late last year from Ben Mankiewicz and Ben Lyons. (Variety)

Change is afoot behind the scenes at ABC's Private Practice following the departure of executive producers/showrunners Robert Rovner and Jon Cowan. The duo will not be immediately replaced as the remainder of this season's stories have already been broken. Shonda Rhimes, meanwhile, will continue to oversee creative and production on the spinoff series. While Private Practice has yet to be renewed for the 2010-11 season, it is expected to return next season. (Hollywood Reporter)

Nickelodeon has announced that it will air a telepic based on Internet series Fred, entitled Fred: The Movie, written by David Goodman and directed by Clay Weiner. The kids cabler also acquired the rights to ABC comedy My Wife and Kids, which it will air as part of its Nick at Nite programming block. (Variety)

NBC Entertainment has promoted Cathy Goldman to VP, brand strategy and Ken Grayson to VP, media. (Hollywood Reporter)

Chris Coelen, late of RDF USA, has launched his own shingle, Kinetic Content, and hired several executives, including Jennifer Danska, Gerald Massimei, Katie Griffin, and Matilda Zoltowski. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Knepper to "SGU," Schwartz and Savage Set up Shop, "Chuck," Knighton FlashForwards to "Happy Endings," Spacek to CBS, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Robert Knepper (Heroes, Prison Break) has reportedly been cast in a villainous recurring role on Season Two of Syfy's Stargate Universe. Citing internet reports, several sites are reporting that Knepper will play Simeon, a mysterious member of the Lucian Alliance, and will appear in a multiple-episode story arc to last between six to seven episodes. (via TV Squad)

Producing partners Josh Schwartz (Chuck) and Stephanie Savage (Gossip Girl) have signed a multi-year deal with Warner Bros. Television and have set up their own shingle, Fake Empire, which will be based at the studio. Pod will develop projects for television, film, digital, videogames, music, and publishing. (Variety)

The Wrap's Josef Adalian, meanwhile, has an interview with Schwartz and Savage, who jointly answered Adalian's questions via email. [Editor: The duo answered the question I had, which was whether Chuck would fall under the Fake Empire umbrella. Answer: it won't.] (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

SPOILER! Speaking of Chuck, Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has some major spoilers for the third season finale of NBC's Chuck. You can read them but I am keeping my eyes and ears pure as I don't want to be spoiled about any of the plot twists ahead. Don't say I didn't warn you! (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FlashForward's Zachary Knighton has been cast opposite Elisha Cuthbert in ABC comedy pilot Happy Endings, where he will play Dave, half of a couple that split up at the altar and must decide how to maintain their friendships afterwards. Project, from ABC Studios and Sony Pictures Television, is written by David Caspe and directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. Knighton's participation is said to be in second position to FlashForward, but Hollywood Reporter's Nellie Andreeva states that the latter's "chances for renewal are slim." (Hollywood Reporter)

Academy Award winner Sissy Spacek--who just completed a story arc on HBO's Big Love--has been cast in CBS' untitled Hannah Shakespeare medical drama from executive producer John Wells. Spacek will play Adrianne, a driven visionary who heads up a mobile medical team that travels the country providing care for the less fortunate and who grapples with her own cancer diagnosis and regular chemotherapy. (She's also the mother to Rachelle Lefevre's character, also a doctor.) Spacek's role was, like several others this season, originally written as a man. (Hollywood Reporter)

Jaime Pressly (My Name is Earl) has been cast as one of the leads in CBS' untitled Carter Bays/Craig Thomas multi-camera comedy pilot (also known as Livin' on a Prayer) from writers Kourtney Kang and Joe Kelly. Pressly will play a veterinarian who works with her best friend Tommy (Kyle Bornheimer) at the local zoo. (Hollywood Reporter)

Pilot casting update: Michael Rapaport (The War at Home) will star opposite Dylan Walsh in ABC cop drama pilot The Line (also known as ATF); Will Estes (Reunion) and Bridget Moynahan (Six Degrees) have been cast opposite Tom Selleck, Donny Wahlberg, and Len Cariou in CBS' untitled Burgess/Green drama pilot (a.k.a. Reagan's Law); Amy Landecker (A Serious Man) has landed the female lead opposite Paul Reiser in NBC comedy pilot Next; Kurt Fuller (Supernatural) has been cast in ABC's untitled Shana Goldberg-Meehan comedy pilot; and Kevin Rahm (Desperate Housewives) has come aboard CBS comedy pilot Open Books. (Hollywood Reporter)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Scott Porter will likely be heading back to Friday Night Lights for the series' fifth and final season, following a conversation Porter had with the series' producers, in which they indicated that they would like him to reprise his role as paraplegic Jason Street. "I’m hoping it turns into a definite because I’d love to go back," Porter told Keck. "I’m hoping he could repay his debts – particularly to Riggins for everything he did for Street." (TV Guide Magazine)

The Los Angeles Times' Maria Elena Fernandez has an profile of Justified co-star Walton Goggins (The Shield), who plays the sadistic white supremacist Boyd Crowder on the FX drama series... and whose character was meant to be killed off at the end of the pilot episode. "The greatest part about it," Goggins told Fernandez about Boyd's alleged religious epiphany in tonight's episode, "is that you will think you know by the end of the first season if the change is real, but no one knows. This is Boyd seeing God for the first time. What's so interesting about it is that while his actions may not be different, his motivations are different. And that's really important at the conclusion of the first season. What happens to this guy and this friendship when many things are called into question?"(Los Angeles Times)

Nikki Blonsky (Hairspray), Hayley Hasselhoff, Andrew Caldwell, and Zander Eckhouse have been cast in ABC Family's upcoming ten-episode drama series Huge, which revolves around the teenagers and staffers of Wellness Canyon, a weight-loss camp. (Hollywood Reporter)

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has named January 16th as the date for the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards, which will once again air live coast to coast on NBC. (Variety)

Those tears that Peter Facinelli's Dr. Fitch Cooper let flow in last night's season premiere of Showtime's Nurse Jackie? Absolutely real and completely not pre-meditated, according to Facinelli. "I started venting, and all of a sudden, tears sprung from my eyes and I couldn't stop crying. Basically, I had a physical meltdown," Facinelli told E! Online. "I was traveling back and forth from Vancouver to New York, and I was shooting Nurse Jackie and Eclipse at the same time. I think I was emotionally exhausted. The writers loved it! They thought I planned it, and I really didn't. Just know that those are real tears." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

HBO has given a greenlight to telepic Cinema Verite, a dramatization of the behind-the-scenes events during the making of the landmark reality television series An American Family, which premiered in 1973 and focused on the Loud family. Telepic, executive produced by Gavin Polone, will be written by David Seltzer and directed by Shari Springer Berman and Bob Pulcini. (Hollywood Reporter)

TLC has ordered twelve episodes of spinoff reality series Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta, which will launch in July. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Natalie Morales Joins "Parks and Recreation," Jane Espenson to Write "Game of Thrones" Script, FOX Close to Coco Deal, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Former White Collar co-star (and The Middleman star) Natalie Morales has landed a recurring role on NBC's Parks and Recreation, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. Morales has signed on to Parks for a multiple-episode story arc in which she will play Lucy, described as "a smart and funny busgirl at a local Pawnee bar." [Editor: Hollywood Reporter's Nellie Andreeva, meanwhile, indicates that Morales will be appearing "in at least two episodes," the same ones that are set to feature guest stars Rob Lowe and Adam Scott.] (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files, Hollywood Reporter)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan is reporting that Caprica executive producer Jane Espenson--who previously wrote for Battlestar Galactica and Buffy the Vampire Slayer--will write a script for HBO's upcoming fantasy drama series Game of Thrones, based on the George R.R. Martin novel series. According to Ryan--and confirmed by HBO--Espenson will write the sixth episode of Games' first season as a freelancer. She'll be joined by script coordinator Bryan Cogman, who is writing the fourth episode, and Martin himself. The other episodes will be scripted by executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Los Angeles Times' Meg James is reporting that FOX is thisclose to finalizing a deal with Conan O'Brien that would restore the former Tonight Show host to latenight this fall or in January, should the deal close. "Key Fox executives, including Rupert Murdoch, are on board with the plan and would like to finalize a deal in coming weeks so they can make a splash on May 17 when the network unveils its fall lineup," writes James. "Several significant issues remain and the Fox talks could fall apart, according to people close to the negotiations who asked anonymity because the discussions were meant to be private." (Los Angeles Times)

Screenrant is reporting that James Marsters (Caprica) has been cast in CBS' drama pilot Hawaii Five-O, citing a report on Marsters' official Facebook page. Marsters is said to be guest starring in the drama pilot, where he will play Victor Hesse, the nemesis of Alex O'Loughlin's Jack McGarrett, who is described as "an international arms dealer and human trafficker." (Screenrant)

Cabler Syfy unveiled its slate of new and returning series yesterday at an upfront held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and announced a new Thursday night reality programming block comprised of Paranormal Investigators and Mary Knows Best, a docusoap about a psychic and her Italian-American brood, both of which will launch on July 15th. Other pickups include Ghost Hunters Academy and Beast Legends, while the network also has additional seasons of Warehouse 13, Eureka, Stargate Universe, Sanctuary, Ghost Hunters, and Destination Truth, as well as additional episodes of Caprica. New scripted series include Haven and the US version of Being Human. (Variety)

Syfy also unveiled a slew of other reality programming, including Marcel's Quantum Kitchen, Force of Nature, The Latimer Project, Mr. Impossible, Paranormal Files, Face Off, The Dome Experiment, and an untitled artifact search series. (via press release)

Tom Selleck (Magnum P.I.) is said to be close to signing a deal that will have him star in CBS' untitled Burgess/Green cop drama pilot (formerly known as Reagan's Law) opposite Donnie Wahlberg and Len Cariou. Selleck would play Michael, described as "the handsome, confident and highly commended chief of police for the NYPD who lives in Brooklyn with his father, Patrick (Cariou), the ex-chief who struggles to find a balance between the political demands of the mayor's office and doing right by his fellow cops." (Hollywood Reporter)

Pilot casting roundup: Goran Visnjic (ER) is in talks to star opposite Katee Sackhoff and the newly cast Nia Long (Big Shots) in ABC drama pilot Boston's Finest; Dougray Scott (Desperate Housewives) and Molly Parker (Swingtown) will star in CBS drama presentation Quinn-Tuplets; Josh Henderson (Desperate Housewives) has landed the lead in CW supernatural drama pilot Betwixt; Randall Park (Dinner for Schmucks) has joined the cast of FOX comedy pilot Tax Man; and Omid Abtahi (Sleeper Cell) has been cast in FOX drama pilot Pleading Guilty. (Hollywood Reporter)

Production resumed again yesterday on CBS' Two and a Half Men, following the shutdown necessitated by star Charlie Sheen's rehab treatment. Warner Bros. Television has yet to comment on reports that the the studio and network had opted to reduce the number of episodes this season. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Michaela McManus (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) has joined the cast of CW's drama pilot Nomads, which revolves around a group of CIA trainees who pose as backpackers. McManus will play "a brave and resourceful Army Brat determined to earn a place in the CIA" who finds herself caught between attractions to her handler (Warren Kole) and another agent (Scott Porter). (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Nascent pay cabler Epix has signed a deal for Larry Charles to oversee the script for comedy pilot Icon, which will be written by Dan Lyons and is described as a "savage satire centering on a fictional Silicon Valley CEO whose ego is a study in power and greed." Charles will also direct the pilot. (Variety)

Marco Sanchez (Dollhouse) is set to recur on CBS' NCIS, where he will play Alejandro Rivera, an agent with the Justice Department in Mexico who is in Washington to assist in the creation of an international law enforcement task force. (Hollywood Reporter)

TV Land has concluded a deal to have Betty White star in ten-episode scripted comedy Hot in Cleveland, which will launch in June. White will play Elka Ostrovsky, described as the "property caretaker of the home that co-stars Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick rent after their plane makes an emergency landing in Cleveland and they decide to stay. Series is written by Suzanne Martin (Frasier) and executive produced produced by Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner. (via press release)

Zap2It's Korbi Ghosh is reporting that Rachael Harris has joined the cast of TBS' My Boys for its fourth season, set to launch on Sunday, July 25th. Harris will play Marcia, a love interest for Jamie Kaler's Mike. Meanwhile, Jim Gaffigan will leave the comedy series in order to concentrate on his stand-up career. "His character will be written out with a move overseas, which of course leaves the door open for Mike to masquerade as a grown man who owns his own four-bedroom pad," writes Ghosh. "But apparently this Marcia chick digs that kind of trickery, because she seems to be sticking around." (Zap2It's Korbi TV)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Gregory Itzin will reprise his role as ex-President Charles Logan in the April 12th episode of FOX's 24, when he will advise Cherry Jones' Allison Taylor about her crumbling peace-treaty talks. "I have an old relationship with the Russians, so [her chief of staff] Ethan brings me in against her better judgment," Itzin told Keck. "She’s not pleased to have to deal with this character." (TV Guide Magazine)

Tracy Morgan (30 Rock) will return as host of Syfy's Scare Tactics, which has been renewed for a fourth season that will debut this fall. (Hollywood Reporter)

Hallmark Channel has expanded its deal with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, which will now provide the cabler with a seven-hour programming block beginning Monday, March 29th. (Variety)

MTV has ordered twenty episodes of unscripted series MTV Hired, which will follow recent college graduates as they struggle to find employment in the current economy. Series, executive produced by Jessica Chesler, Sam Simmons, Noah Scheinmann, Matt Westmore, Marshall Eisen and Dave Sirulnick, will air on weekday afternoons along with Silent Library, which the cabler picked up for a third season. (Variety)

FOX has ordered a third season of Gordon Ramsay-led reality show Kitchen Nightmares. (via press release)

Daytime talk show The Wendy Williams Show has been renewed in 80 percent of the country and through the 2011-12 season in FOX owned-and-operated stations in the top markets. (Variety)

NBC has announced that its upcoming reality series Losing It with Jillian, featuring The Biggest Loser's Jullian Michaels, will launch on Tuesday, June 1st at 10 pm ET/PT before setting into its regular timeslot of Tuesdays at 8 pm ET/PT on June 8th. (via press release)

Former FOX executive Susan Levison has been hired as EVP of creative affairs at Fishbowl Worldwide Media, where she will oversee development for film, television, and digital. (Variety)

Elsewhere, former TV Guide Network development executive Kristin Peace has been hired as SVP of creative affairs at Trifecta Entertainment. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Glau to Don "Cape," "Parks and Rec" to Lose an Actor, "Doctor Who" Companion, USA Orders "Facing Kate," Callis to "Eureka," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

It was only a matter of time before someone snapped up River Tam. Former Firefly and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles star Summer Glau, who most recently appeared in a multiple-episode story arc on Dollhouse this season, has landed one of the leads in NBC's vigilante drama pilot The Cape. Project, from writer Tom Wheeler and directed by Simon West, revolves around a a disgraced former cop (David Lyons), framed for a crime he didn't commit, who becomes a costumed vigilante in order to clear his name. Glau will star opposite Lyons, James Frain, and Dorian Missick, and will play Orwell, described as "a cute and intrepid investigative blogger who fearlessly goes after corrupt cops and costumed bad guys" and who "gets physical and is quite capable of kicking ass." If that isn't a part made for Glau, I don't know what is. (Hollywood Reporter)

Los Angeles Times' Denise Martin talks to Parks and Recreation co-creator Mike Schur about Paul Schneider's planned departure from the NBC comedy, set to return for a third season this fall. "It was a combination of us always knowing that the character would always leave some day, the timing of this movie, and then sort of feeling like, well, the way the character's gone...we were all on the same page here and we decided to write the character out," Schur told Martin. "But the goal and the aim is to have him come back as soon as his schedule permits and as soon as the arcs we're writing call for it. We very much want him back and he has told us he very much wants to come back in the future. It really is one of those mutually beneficial situations. And we're hoping we can have him back in Season Three." And the door will definitely be open for Schneider to return as Mark Brendanawicz and possibly recur in Season Three. "He's going to remain in the world of the show in a way that not only allows but hopefully demands that he'll reenter it," said Schur. "He's not going to be killed in some weird accident." (Los Angeles Times' Show Tracker)

The Observer's Euan Ferguson has an interview with Doctor Who's Karen Gillan, who plays Amy Pond, the latest traveling companion to the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith). "To be honest, I wasn't really a huge follower of Doctor Who before I got this part," Gillan told Ferguson. "But having read the first episode I was utterly smitten, and with the character. Amy's a sassy lady, funny and passionate, and her relationship with the doctor has a really interesting dynamic... She has a love for him, a really deep love for him. But not romantic." (The Guardian)

USA has given a series order to legal drama Facing Kate, which stars Sarah Shahi. The cabler ordered eleven episodes (plus the 90-minute pilot) for the series, which hails from Universal Cable Prods. and was created by Michael Sardo, who will executive produce with Steve Stark. Series, which follows Shahi's Kate Reed as she leaves behind litigation for mediation, also stars Michael Trucco, Virginia Williams, and Baron Vaughn. (Hollywood Reporter)

Former Battlestar Galactica star James Callis--who will next be seen later this season on ABC's FlashForward, has joined the cast of Syfy's Eureka, which returns for its fourth season this summer. Callis will play Dr. Grant, a former resident of Eureka who is a romantic interest for Salli Richardson-Whitfield's Allison Blake. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting, citing multiple unnamed sources familiar with the situation, that 20th Century Fox Television, the studio behind FOX's 24, is in talks with NBC about picking up the serialized action drama should FOX opt to make Day Eight Jack Bauer's last. "A move to NBC — while still considered somewhat of a long shot given the hefty price tag — would likely delay 20th’s plans to launch a Jack Bauer film franchise," writes Ausiello. "From a production standpoint, 24 execs have long maintained that it would ne next to impossible to make a movie while the series was still on the air. Reps for 20th and NBC declined to comment." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

HBO's upcoming miniseries Mildred Pierce just gets better and better. The Todd Haynes-directed adaptation of James M. Cain's novel, which stars Kate Winslet as the the titular character, has cast Guy Pearce (The Hurt Locker), Evan Rachel Wood (True Blood), and Melissa Leo (Treme). [Editor: Also cast: James LeGros and Brian F. O'Byrne.] (Variety)

TVGuide.com's Kate Stanhope is reporting that it's looking likely that HBO comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm will return for an eighth season. "I'm leaning towards it, so I would say there's a good chance," said series creator/star Larry David, though an eight season is "not definite yet, but we're working on it." (TVGuide.com)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos has an extensive recap of the Glee panel at the Paley Festival this weekend, which teased Lady Gaga, more romance, new characters, more Kristin Chenoweth, and more. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Zap2It's Marisa Roffman is reporting that Annabeth Gish (The X-Files) has signed on to appear on ABC's FlashForward, where she will appear as a guest-star during the back half of the sci-fi drama's first season. (Zap2It's KorbiTV)

Pilot casting roundup: Mary Steenburgen will star in ABC comedy pilot Southern Discomfort, where she will play the matriarch of a family whose grown children move back in with her and her husband; Carly Pope (Day One) and David Ramsey (Dexter) will star opposite Jimmy Smits in NBC's untitled John Eisendrath drama pilot (a.k.a. Rough Justice); Ian Reed Kessler (Sons of Tucson) has snagged one of the leads in NBC comedy pilot Friends with Benefits; Kerri Kenney (Reno 911) has come on board FOX comedy pilot Tax Man; Xander Berkeley (24) has joined the cast of CW drama pilot Nikita; and Odette Yustman (October Road) will play the female lead on FOX's untitled Adam Goldberg comedy pilot; and Lindsey Broad ('Til Death) has been cast as one of the leads in ABC comedy pilot Who Gets the Parents. (Hollywood Reporter)

Chris Parnell (Archer) and Horatio Sanz (In the Motherhood) will star opposite Jon Heder in Comedy Central's untitled multi-camera comedy about a man (Heder) who continues to chase his dreams despite failing miserably at everything he tries. Sanz will play one of his friends, an ex-convict, while Parnell will play a down-on-his-luck teacher. (Variety)

Colme Feore (24) is said to be in talks to star opposite Jeremy Irons in Showtime's upcoming period drama series The Borgias, where he would play Cardinal Giuliano Della Rovere, described as "Borgia's nemesis... who vigorously opposes Borgia's election as Pope Alexander VI and continues to tangle with him." (Hollywood Reporter)

Betty White is set to guest star in the season finale of ABC family comedy The Middle, where she will play "a school librarian who confronts Brick (Atticus Shaffer) over his failure to return numerous overdue books." (via press release)

Season Four of Showtime's period drama The Tudors, the series' last outing, is will premiere Sunday, April 11th at 9 pm ET/PT. (via press release)

Marsha Thomason (Lost) will return to USA's dramedy White Collar as a series regular, after she appeared in the pilot episode and the season finale. Move comes as Natalie Morales, who has recurred throughout the series' first season, will depart the Fox Television Studios-produced series. Elsewhere, Billy Brown (Star Trek) has joined the cast of FX's upcoming drama series Lights Out, where he will play Raymond "Death Row" Reynolds, described as "the current heavyweight champion and longtime rival of Leary (Holt McCallany)." And Gregg Henry (The Riches) has been promoted to series regular on HBO's comedy Hung, which returns later this year for a second season. (Hollywood Reporter)

Bobby Flay will serve as one of the judges/mentors on NBC's upcoming culinary competition series America's Next Great Restaurant (formerly known as United Plates of America), where he will search for a winning chef or businessman to launch a restaurant with. Casting is currently underway to select the participants on the series, which hails from executive producers Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz. (Variety)

Warner Bros. Television has signed a new two-year overall deal with Privileged creator Rina Mimoun, under which she will develop new series projects for the studio and work on current series. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Syfy Standing Behind "Caprica," David Tennant to Star in BBC One Drama, Maggie Q Suits Up for CW's "Nikita," "Bones," and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Syfy's latest original series Caprica isn't going anywhere any time soon, according to the cabler's EVP of original programming Mark Stern in an interview with Airlock Alpha's Michael Hinman. "We're definitely with Caprica for the long haul," said Stern. "There's no question about it. We knew exactly what it was not going to be, that is an easily adopted show. It's not Battlestar Galactica, it's its own animal. And we definitely recognize that it's going to find its audience and it's going to grow its audience... We're certainly not sharpening the axe by any stretch of the imagination. We all really believe in the show, and it has a lot of potential." Set to air its fourth episode tonight, Caprica will air the first half of its freshman season (10 episodes) before taking a breather and returning in late summer, where it will be paired with another original series as a lead-in. [Editor: my best guess? Look for Caprica to be paired with Haven, the adaptation of Stephen King's "The Colorado Kid."] (Airlock Alpha)

David Tennant has been cast as the lead in Single Father, a four-part drama series for BBC One that is written by Mick Ford (Ashes to Ashes). Production is slated to begin next month on the BBC Scotland-produced drama, which revolves around a photographer and single dad who must raise his four children on his own and who falls in love with his wife's best friend. "I feel very lucky to have been sent this script," said Tennant in a statement. "When I read what Mick Ford had written I was desperate to be part of this project. And to be working with Red Production Company again makes me very happy indeed." (BBC)

Maggie Q (Mission: Impossible III) has been cast as the title character in the CW's Nikita, from executive producers McG and Craig Silverstein. In this version (itself one in a long line of remakes and updates since Luc Besson's 1990 La Femme Nikita), Maggie Q will play "a new Nikita being trained to replace the original one after she goes rogue." Casting marks the highest-profile minority casting at the netlet in its four-year history. Elsewhere, Roselyn Sanchez (Without a Trace) has landed the lead in Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters' ABC drama pilot Cutthroat, where she will play Nina Cabrera, a Beverly Hills widow who runs a drug cartel. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to Bones executive producer Stephen Nathan about what's coming up for Booth and Brennan on the FOX procedural drama series before the end of the season. "The season finale is taking shape now and it’s going to be quite a surprise," Nathan told Ausiello. "We literally are in the process of working it out. We’ve had this in our minds for quite a while, and it’s gelling now. It’s going to be a pretty big episode for us in terms of what happens to Booth and Brennan.... This one will be as big [as the Season Four ender] in emotional terms." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Former Wonderfalls star Caroline Dhavernas has landed one of the three lead roles in Shonda Rhimes' ABC medical drama pilot Off the Map. She'll play Lily, described as "a young doctor who deals with tragedy by moving to a jungle in South America to work in a free clinic." (TVGuide.com)

Rachelle Lefevre (Twilight) has been cast as one of the leads in CBS' untitled Hannah Shakespeare drama pilot, which is being executive produced by John Wells (ER). Lefevre, most recently seen on ABC's The Deep End, will play "a confident young doctor more comfortable in the field than in the office" in the drama, which revolves around a mobile medical team that travels the country helping those less fortunate who need extreme medical attention. Elsewhere, Meanwhile, Carrie Wiita (Reno 911!) and Andrea Savage (Dinner for Schmucks) have joined the cast of NBC comedy pilot The Strip, which stars Tom Lennon. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Harold Perrineau (Lost) will guest star on CBS' CSI: NY in April, in an episode where he will play a death row inmate who is trapped inside the prison during a riot and who has a major bombshell to deliver to Hawkes (Hill Harper). (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Pilot director update: Simon West (Human Target) will direct the pilot for NBC's vigilante drama pilot The Cape; Jace Alexander (Burn Notice) will direct ABC drama pilot Edgar Floats; Bronwen Hughes (White Collar) will direct ABC dramedy pilot Cutthroat; David Semel (Heroes) will direct the pilot for ABC superhero family drama No Ordinary Family; Yves Simoneau (V) will direct ABC drama pilot Matadors, Peter Horton (Grey's Anatomy) will direct ABC cop drama True Blue; Gary Fleder will direct ABC's untitled Richard Hatem crime drama; Bill D'Elia (Boston Legal) will direct David E. Kelley's NBC pilot Kindreds; Terry George (Hotel Rwanda) will direct NBC's untitled John Eisendrath legal drama (aka Rough Justice); and Ken Fink (CSI) will direct CBS drama pilot The Odds. (Hollywood Reporter)

Looks like Glee will be continuing into the summer. Or at least until June 8th, when it will wrap up its freshman season. FOX confirmed the finale date, along with those for Fringe and Bones (May 20th), House (May 17th), Human Target (May 5th), and several others. (Futon Critic)

SPOILER! TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck has some details about what's in store for Season Seven of HBO's Entourage, which is about to begin production. "Vince will be working on a new big-budget film with lots of stunts and pyro techniques, requiring a stunt coordinator to help Vince (Adrian Grenier) through some dangerous scenes," writes Keck. "Meanwhile, Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) will be starting up a new business venture, hiring three sexy girls named Sarah, Rachel and Abby to chauffeur the rich and famous around L.A. Of course, the girls would rather be working as actresses in Vince's new film." (TV Guide Magazine)

Rufus Sewell (The Eleventh Hour) will star as Italian detective Aurelio Zen in a three feature-length dramas for BBC One based on Michael Didbin's novels. (BBC)

In other UK news, Season Two of five-part mystery drama Five Days will launch on BBC One in March. It will star Suranne Jones, David Morrissey, Anne Reid, Hugo Speer, Bernard Hill, Derek Riddell, Nina Sosanya, Steve Evets, Ashley Walters, Shaun Dooley, Matthew McNulty, Navin Chowdhry, Shivani Ghai, Sacha Dhawan, Cornell John, Aaron Neil, Philip Arditti, Kerry Condon, and Chris Fountain. According to the press materials: "Five Days 2 is an atmospheric ensemble drama – a mystery which unfolds over the five most significant days of the police investigation into these two mysteries. It is set in the heart of urban Yorkshire – a melting pot of tensions and relationships within a multicultural landscape." (BBC)

HBO has already renewed its 12-episode freshman comedy series Funny or Die, which premieres tonight, for a second season of 10 episodes. (Variety)

Allison Janey (The West Wing) will guest star on USA's In Plain Sight in a two-episode story arc in which she'll play "a newly-appointed US Marshal for the district who butts heads with Mary (Mary McCormack)." Janey is especially in demand this season, with the actor scoring a co-starring role opposite Matthew Perry in ABC comedy pilot Mr. Sunshine and a recurring role in Showtime drama pilot Shameless. (Hollywood Reporter)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that former Charlie's Angels star Jaclyn Smith will guest star in an upcoming episode of NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, where she will play a former police officer. (TV Guide Magazine)

A&E has ordered a second season of docudrama Steven Seagal: Lawman, with 16 episodes set on tap. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Michael Trucco Finds "V," Amy Smart Lands CBS Pilot, Final Barbara Walters Oscar Special to Air this Year, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Given that it's the day after a US holiday, there are precious few headlines this morning but here's what we've got.

TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams is reporting that Michael Trucco (Battlestar Galactica) has been cast as a guest star on ABC's sci-fi drama V. Trucco is set to appear in the April 13th episode as the enigmatic John May, the leader of the Fifth Column, a group of rebel Visitors who have been plotting to overthrow the leadership of the alien race. (TVGuide.com)

A slew of pilot castings: Amy Smart (Scrubs) has been cast in CBS' untitled medical drama from executive producer John Wells (ER) and writer Hannah Shakespeare (The Philanthropist) about a mobile medical team that travels the US and helps those less fortunate yet in need of serious medical attention. Smart will play Meg Cooper, "a tough nurse who stands up to the doctors and sleeps with one of them." Elsewhere, Michelle Borth (The Forgotten) has been cast as the female lead in ABC drama pilot Matadors, where she will play Juliana, described as "a talented lawyer who joins her father in the state attorney's office and embarks on a secret affair with Alex (Zach Gilford), an heir of the rival family who works at his father's firm." [Editor: casting is in second position to her role on ABC's The Forgotten, which has yet to be renewed or cancelled.] Also cast: Jonathan Scarfe (Raising the Bar), who will play Alex's brother, a defense attorney who is in for the money and glory rather than any sense of justice or morality. Brian Dennehy (Rules of Engagement) will star opposite creator Dana Gould in an untitled multi-camera comedy pilot for ABC; Dennehy will play Gould's father, a retired high school football coach. Finally, Sullivan Stapleton (Satisfaction) has been cast as the lead in CBS multi-camera comedy pilot The Odds, about a team of police officers in Las Vegas that solves outrageous crimes; he'll play Wade, the head of the homicide division who is bumped down after an IA investigation. (Hollywood Reporter)

This will be the last year that Barbara Walters hosts her Oscar night special. The final Barbara Walters Special will air the same night as the 82nd Annual Academy Awards on March 7th; Walters has been hosting the special for 29 years but felt that she had begun to "feel like I've 'been there, done that.'" (Variety)

Wrestling franchise ECW will end its run today on Syfy and will be replaced February 23rd by NXT, a new hour-long series from World Wrestling Entertainment that will "pair up eight of WWE's current stars with rookies that come from Florida Championship Wrestling, the company's talent development camp in Tampa, Florida" and will feature "pros mentoring rookies, with egos often getting in the way, as they learn the ropes of competing in the ring in front of live audiences, creating characters and speaking on camera." (Variety)

Bravo executive Johanna Fuentes been hired by Showtime Networks as VP of corporate public relations. Fuentes will be based in New York and will report to Richard Licata. [Editor: Congratulations, Johanna! Glad it's public knowledge now!] (Hollywood Reporter)

UK satellite company BSkyB is said to be in talks with Virgin Media about acquiring the latter's TV channels business, which includes Living, Virgin 1, and a 50 percent stake in UKTV. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

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

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Theron and Fincher Team Up for HBO's "Mind Hunter," Jennifer Lopez Finds "Mother," ABC Axes "Ugly Betty," and More

Welcome to your (delayed) Thursday morning television briefing.

Charlize Theron (The Road) has teamed up with auteur David Fincher (Zodiac) to develop HBO drama series, Mind Hunter, based on John Douglas and Mark Olshaker's nonfiction book "Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit," about the profiling of serial killers and rapists. Scott Buck (Dexter) will write the pilot, which will be produced by Theron, Fincher, Erwin and Buck and is set up at Fox21. (Variety)

Jennifer Lopez is set to guest star on CBS' How I Met Your Mother in an episode slated to air in March. Lopez will play Anita Appleby, described as "a no-nonsense author of self-help books that teach women how to train men into relationship machines through the power of denial," who makes it her mission to train Barney. (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC has officially cancelled Ugly Betty after four seasons. The dramedy, which stars America Ferrera, will wrap up its run this May and producers will have time to arrange to a suitable conclusion for the series, which has seen its ratings drop drastically over the last few seasons. (Televisionary)

Syfy has found its showrunners for the US adaptation of British supernatural drama Being Human: married writers Anna Fricke (The Beautiful Life) and Jeremy Carver (Supernatural) have joined the staff of Being Human as executive producers/showrunners. Series, which has a thirteen-episode commitment from Syfy, is expected to air later this year. (Variety)

E! Online's Jennifer Godwin rounds up the suspects for Season Four of AMC's Mad Men. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Martin Henderson (Bride & Prejudice) has been cast in Shonda Rhimes' ABC pilot Off the Map, where he will play one of three doctors working an a remote medical clinic in the tropics. In other pilot news, Alex Graves (Fringe) will direct and executive produce ABC drama pilot The Whole Truth, from executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer. (Hollywood Reporter)

Elsewhere, FOX has ordered a pilot for an untitled workplace comedy from writer Brent Forrester (The Office), who will executive produce with Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and David Nevins. Project, from 20th Century Fox Television and Imagine Television, is set in an IRS district office. (Hollywood Reporter)

And ABC Family has ordered ten episodes apiece of two drama projects: weight loss camp drama Huge, from writers Winnie Holzman (My So-Called Life) and daughter Savannah Dooley and Alloy Entertainment; and mystery drama Pretty Little Liars, about four former friends who reunite when one of their group goes missing, from Warner Horizon, Alloy Entertainment, and executive producers Marlene King, Leslie Morgenstein, and Bob Levy. (Variety)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Robert Englund (Nightmare on Elm Street) will guest star in an upcoming episode of FOX's Bones, where he will play a creepy custodian in a slasher-themed storyline set at Brennan's high school reunion. (TV Guide Magazine)

The CW has ordered two pilots: Nikita, an update of La Femme Nikita that focuses on a replacement after the original Nikita goes rogue, from writer/executive producer Craig Silverstein, executive producers McG and Peter Johnson, and Warner Bros. Television, and an untitled Wyoming-based family drama from writer/executive producers Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino that will revolve around a family who runs a horse farm in Wyoming. (Variety)

ABC will air a two-hour Bachelor special, The Bachelor: Jason and Molly's Wedding, on March 8th. (Hollywood Reporter)

TBS has ordered a pilot script for animated comedy based on feature film The Adventures of Joe Dirt. Project, which revolves around a "mullet-sporting, muscle-car-loving loser with a heart of gold," hails from Sony Pictures Television, Happy Madison, and writer David Spade, who will executive produce with Fred Wolf, Donick Cary, and Doug Robinson. (via press release)

ITV has announced its hire for its top CEO position: former Royal Mail czar Adam Crozier. "ITV is a strong brand with talented people, facing an imperative for change as the media landscape evolves," said ITV chairman Archie Norman in a statement. "Adam is a very strong leader with a great track record in delivering transformational change. He has worked successfully in talent-driven organizations, with government and regulators, and has a thorough understanding of the media, advertising and branding industries." (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Prometheus Bound: Televisionary Talks to the Cast of Syfy's "Caprica"

Caprica might be set in the past but it's the perfect time to take a look into the future.

Now that the pilot for Syfy's Caprica has aired, I can take the lid off a series of interviews I did with the main cast of the Battlestar Galactica prequel series a few months back about what lies ahead for the inhabitants of the doomed planet as they make their fateful first steps towards the annihilation of the human race.

Traveling up to the series' Vancouver set a few months back, I had the opportunity to sit down one-on-one with the four adult leads of Caprica. The dining room of the Adamas' Caprica City apartment provided the focal point for our conversation and the space's warm terracotta and earth tones and Mission-style furniture seemed light years away from the sleek and icy modernity of the Graystone's high-end home, just a few steps away.

But it was that comfortableness that created a cozy environment as I met with Eric Stoltz, Paula Malcomson, Polly Walker, and Esai Morales to ferret out what lays ahead for their respective characters Daniel and Amanda Graystone, Sister Clarice Willow, and Joseph Adama this season on Caprica.

At Caprica's center is the intertwined destinies of two families, the Graystones and the Adamas. On the surface, these two clans couldn't be more different but they are united in their grief and in their efforts to move past the death of their loved ones. But many may be willing to break their moral compasses in order to snatch a second chance with the ones they've lost.

Stoltz likened his character, brilliant (and possibly mad) scientist Daniel Graystone, to a tragic figure in Greek mythology. "He’s smart and conflicted. He exists in a grey area; he thinks he is doing good. He thinks everything he does is wonderful--like most brilliant scientists--but he has a fatal flaw, which is that he can’t see what drives him might also eventually result in the destruction of society," said Stoltz of Daniel. "He’s so hungry for knowledge that, like Prometheus, he steals fire from the gods, gives it to man, thinking he’s doing a good thing and is eternally punished for it."

Stoltz said that portraying Daniel's sense of loss over his daughter Zoe's death was cathartic "in the best possible way" and that acting can be "a healthy outlet for any unresolved issues you might be dealing with." Still, Daniel's grief won't be easily erased, even after he attempts to resurrect Zoe by any means necessary.

"As anyone knows who has lost someone that they loved deeply, that stays with you for quite some time," said Stoltz. "You think you have your life together and then you find yourself weeping in a corner and you’re not even sure. You take three steps forward and then four steps back. It’s a continual monkey on your back for years. One thing our society does not help us with much is loss and how to deal with it."

That sense of loss has also infected Paula Malcomson's character, Amanda Graystone, whose guilt at a vicious fight with teenage daughter Zoe right before her death is exacerbated by a realization that she didn't know anything about her own child.

"To lose a child is an extreme," said Malcomson, speaking with her natural Northern Irish lilt. "I’m asking the viewers to come with me on that [journey]. It’s hard to get her out of there for a while and it might be taxing to take that journey with someone in so much pain. But I didn’t want to cheap out on it and throw in lightness. There is still that, there is fun, there is sex in the middle of it, there’s horniness in the middle of all the things that come up. I just wanted to be true to the enormous loss and the timeframe that we’re playing this. It’s an incredibly short amount of time; the first ten [episodes] are set over a matter of months since the accident."

Morales' Joseph Adama is both a man of the law but is actively breaking the law, walking a fine line between observing the moral code he's sworn to uphold and rejecting his heritage and cultural beliefs. Those beliefs are tested even more by his own mourning process.

"We don’t actually wake up doing what people can easily analyze from the outside," said Morales. "We just try to make a living. It’s just one mission at a time... We are all guilty of something or another. And if you’re not guilty of something than usually self-righteousness is your sin. You don’t have to look too far to see where we stray from the ideal. I have to think then that my character is not thinking he’s a crooked lawyer, [but rather] he’s living within the system. He’s making do as best he can, trying to stay true to his culture without getting arrested, trying to assimilate to this new world without being ejected from it."

But don't think for one second that Adama has anything figured out, especially after the death of his wife and daughter.

"He’s a mess," admitted Morales. "He’s lost the female half of his life, with the exception of his mother-in-law, who is a constant, irritating reminder of what he’s not, which is a good Tauron who is proud of his roots. He’s looking and searching; he’s terribly distraught and has to raise his son and doesn’t know how he’ll get the wherewithal to cope and be there for him. He’s floating. He’s in a pool looking for something to hold onto."

It's that sense of being rudderless that sinks in for Malcomson's Amanda as well. "It’s pretty dark and it’s twisted and it’s tortured," said Malcomson about Amanda's emotional journey this season. "She is not in a good place by the time we find her in the episode that we’ve just been shooting [the season’s ninth]. She’s despairing, she’s losing control, certainly; she’s losing a grip on things. We have to follow her down the slippery slope a little bit."

After all, one might argue that Amanda is a character whose job is to save people but she failed at the most crucial moment to save her daughter.

"She’s unable to save her own child and the fallout from that is devastating to her," she said. "In the midst of all of that her husband is busy, as men are in terms of getting into their own work. Little does she know what he’s doing. She’s no idea. There’s a lot of deception operating around her. There are enormous obstacles for this character in the first ten episodes. It’s been insane, and really, really challenging."

In the original version of Caprica's pilot, Malcomson's Amanda was involved in an extramarital affair with Thomas Vergis (played in the original pilot by Roger Cross), a storyline that was eventually scrapped and not included in either the DVD version of the pilot or the one that aired on Syfy.

Malcomson said it was for the best. "What’s funny is that those scenes, as written and when I was working on them, I didn’t believe them," she admitted. "That’s not to say I didn’t do everything I could to make them work, but there was a more natural chemistry to my own husband [played by Stoltz]. There was something between us. Eric and I knew each other already and there was just something between us: trust, respect, all of these things that were just more interesting than a fling, which is ultimately what that was. I think it was a smart choice to go with what was really kind of natural in the story."

Even more interestingly, Malcomson told me that she didn't originally audition for the role of Amanda Graystone but for private school headmistress Sister Clarice Willow.

"[Amanda] looked to me like a character that I didn’t know how to play and it was a character that I hadn’t played before," said Malcomson. "Coming from Deadwood, I thought that this was the pinnacle of playing a female character archetype and Amanda felt a bit like that. I don’t think it’s a secret that when I originally read and met with the director that it was for Sister Clarice and he thought I’d be a great Amanda and then they said, 'how about that?' I was terrified about it. The status, the position, it all seemed to me much further from me than anything I’d ever played before, which was incredibly enticing to me."

In other words: it worked out for the best, especially as
the role of the morally ambiguous Sister Clarice went to dynamic British actress Polly Walker.

When we first see Clarice in the pilot, she seems like a fairly straightforward academic/religious type but we slowly begin to learn that there is a darkness to her and that her personal life isn't quite that of a traditional religious figure. Not only does she live in a communal, plural marriage but Clarice is also a drug addict, to boot. Not exactly the prim and proper headmistress she appears in the pilot.

"She’s got a big agenda about society in its entirety," Walker told me about Clarice. "She’s a very conflicted character. She has very strong beliefs about what you should and shouldn’t do and yet she finds it very difficult to live up to those personally. She has a massive drug problem; she’s a drug addict and yet she’s selling herself as this perfect character. She’s pretty ruthless. She’s very powerful, she’s very manipulative and very narcissistic. She’s very interesting to play… [Clarice] can’t feel any of those things. [She] feels completely misrepresented by people and believes that [she is] a very good person."

While Clarice seems to be operating within the confines of a specific ideological philosophy, her actions seem to diverge from any sense of moral obligation.

"She will do what she needs in order to achieve what she wants," said Walker. "She is fairly reckless with her treatment of people. But she is incredibly bright and incredibly driven and she is an obsessive. I’m not quite sure yet about her. She is very vulnerable because she is so flawed. She’s got a weird heart. I’m not sure how much of it is actually flesh and blood. It’s a weird old heart in there that’s beating."

"She gets upset about herself and the things she does. She has a conscience, at least about herself," continued Walker. "When she falls off the wagon and she gets wasted on this opium-like drug, the next morning, she feels really guilty and she vows never to do it again. Of course, she does. As far as people are concerned, I haven’t seen much regret."

While Clarice seemed fairly separate from the Graystone/Adama storyline in the pilot, viewers can expect to see her slowly become more integrated into the overarching plot.

"She strikes up a relationship with Paula’s character, Amanda, and that’s an interesting dynamic because they are both strong women, though coming from very different places," Walker revealed. "That’s a very interesting relationship to watch. Obviously, I won’t divulge what happens there. I haven’t come across Daniel yet; I am sure I will at some point and I’ve not met any of the other main characters. She’s quite a lonely person, Clarice, but obviously she doesn’t feel that way. She has her agenda and that’s what she’s working towards. She’s a very, very committed terrorist."

Clarice's ruthlessness isn't too much of departure for Walker, who is known for playing deeply flawed and manipulative characters, like the murderous Atia of the Julii on HBO's Rome.

"You get what you get put in front of you and for some reason that’s what’s coming my way," said Walker about her penchant for playing deeply complex characters. "Sometimes I say, why aren’t I playing the kind of fluffy girlfriend/wife figure? Sometimes I wonder what does that say about me? Is that good or bad? Complexity is always interesting to play and that’s what fuels me as an actor. The worst thing that could happen to me as an actor is if I were bored. What’s the point then? Then I’d just become destructive."

What's certain is that each of these characters has an emotional journey ahead of them that will take each of them to some very dark places. Still, Caprica isn't just about death and loss but also about how technology, both physical and emotional, enables us to interact with each other and the world around us.

"Two things that Caprica deals with that I find a relief and strangely foreign at the same time are loss and a deeply loving marriage," said Stoltz. "Those two things... are rarely presented to us, certainly in film or television. There is plenty of fiction or nonfiction that gives that to us but as examples of how to live, I’m hard pressed to think of any."

Stoltz, meanwhile, has stepped behind the camera to direct the 10th episode of the season, written by Ryan Mottesheard and Jane Espenson. While the plot details are being kept firmly under wraps, Stolz offered some thematic clues about his directorial debut on the series.

"One of the themes that my episode deals with is fathers, lost fathers and finding and healing your family," said Stolz. "And that’s an overriding theme of the whole show: family. The difficulties and beauty of maintaining a family and all that it takes."

Caprica airs Friday nights at 9 pm ET/PT on Syfy.

Robots in Disguise: An Advance Review of Season One of Syfy's "Caprica"

One of the year's most eagerly anticipated series begins tonight on Syfy with the two-hour series premiere of Caprica, the prequel to Battlestar Galactica.

While the pilot episode of Ronald D. Moore, David Eick, and Jane Espenson's Caprica has been available via DVD or digital download for some time, tonight will mark the official linear television start of the series as the two-hour pilot gets its broadcast debut. (You can read my original thoughts on Caprica's pilot episode here.) For those expecting a space-set battle royale or a ragtag band of human survivors, Caprica will be a very different kettle of fish. For one, it's set way before the events of Battlestar Galactica and is set on the planet of Caprica not only decades before its fall but also during a time of peace.

But that peace is one that's short-lived. The comfortable existence enjoyed by the well-heeled denizens of Caprica is ripped apart by a shocking terrorist act in the pilot's opening minutes, one that involves a group of teenagers espousing a monotheistic belief. When a passenger train is blown apart by one member of the Soldiers of the One, two families are instantly united in their grief and loss. Brilliant scientist Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz) and his doctor wife Amanda (Paula Malcomson) must grapple with the loss of their rebellious daughter Zoe (Alessandra Torresani) and with the realization that they didn't really know her at all. Meanwhile, corrupt mob lawyer Joseph Adama (Esai Morales) loses both his wife and daughter aboard the train and suddenly finds himself thrust into the unwelcome role of single fatherhood.

But what if death didn't mean the end of these people? What if there was a way to bring their loved ones back to life? It's these questions, posed by Graystone to Adama, that provide Caprica with its narrative hook.

Given that we know that Graystone's scientific inquisitiveness result in the creation of the Cylon race and the destruction of the Twelve Colonies, there's already a sense of dread and foreboding cast over the proceedings here. But that his actions should stem from a parent's grief and a love for a dead daughter render everyone involved as a tragic rather than villainous figure.

While the pilot episode deals with Graystone uncovering Zoe's research and figuring out how to create a digital avatar of her, it's Zoe who successfully manages to somehow be downloaded into the body of a Cylon prototype, prompting another round of Moore and Eick's favorite question: what does it mean to be human?

That question lingers over the action, which is comprised of numerous subplots. While the pilot offers a strong and visceral beginning to Caprica, the second and third episodes don't quite hold up as well. The subsequent two episodes deal with not just the fallout from Graystone and Adama's decision to pursue this line of scientific inquiry, the machinations of secret monotheist Sister Clarice Willow (Polly Walker), the quest for answers set about by Zoe's best friend Lacy (Magda Apanowicz), and the investigation into the cause and culprits behind the train bombing, but also the media reaction (embodied rather brilliantly by Patton Oswalt's Baxter Sarno), the military-industrial complex, robots, virtual spaces, legal proceedings, and bribes. Whew. There are a lot of plates to spin and not everything quite manages to remain up in the air.

The second episode in particular feels all over the place and lacks a clear-cut throughline that a second installment really needs to keep the audience invested. A subplot about the young William Adama and Joseph's mobster brother Sam (Sasha Roiz) feel extremely leaden, though I do welcome these episode's increased focus on Walker's Sister Clarice, as the audience gets the chance to follow her home and learn more about her complex backstory. Additionally, Paula Malcomson's Amanda has more to do in the following two episodes than she did in the pilot (one of her main storylines from the pilot episode was scrapped) and she feels more integral to the overarching story. (It's worth noting that Malcolmson is also utterly fantastic here, giving Amanda a palpable sense of loss and confusion.)

However, I'm still not sold on Torresani as Zoe. Rather than imbue Zoe as powerful, mysterious, and compelling, she renders Zoe as just another bratty teen. While that could be the point (Zoe isn't an unknowable mystical trinity but the digital soul of a teenage girl), Torresani isn't a particularly strong actor either; her performance in the train explosion scene in painful and not in a good way. Fortunately, she's usually on screen with Apanowicz, whose Lacy is becoming more and more compelling.

While there are a few growing pains that need to be dealt with, there is a hell of a lot of potential within Caprica and even if these first few episodes fall short of the quality of Battlestar Galactica standards, I have every hope that these diverse storylines will knit together into a compelling and imaginative series about humanity, artificial intelligence, spirituality, and the nature of reality. It's definitely worth checking out.



Caprica launches tonight with a two-hour series opener at 9 pm ET/PT on Syfy.