Channel Surfing: Chuck Renewed, ABC Keeps V But Not FlashForward, NBC's Law & Order Conundrum, Lost, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Good news for Chuck fans: Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Chuck has been renewed for a fourth season of thirteen episodes, though NBC declined to comment on the report. While I had hoped for a full-season order, any Chuck is better than no Chuck, right? (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Good news as well for fans of the Visitors: ABC has reportedly given a thirteen-episode renewal to freshman sci-fi drama V. "V was likely a no-brainer, as ABC wants to bring back at least one frosh drama, and the alien thriller is showing signs of life," writes Variety's Michael Schneider. "Its fellow frosh sci-fi drama, FlashForward, is not." (Variety)

Yep, it's not looking good for FlashForward, which Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting has already been cancelled, along with Better Off Ted, Scrubs, and Romantically Challenged. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

After a day of back-and-forth about the fate of Law & Order, NBC is reportedly in talks to renew the legal procedural for a record-breaking 21st season. "The network has long intended to bring back the Dick Wolf-produced drama for one final season, allowing the show to top Gunsmoke as the longest-running drama in TV history," writes The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd. "But NBC's testy relationship with Wolf came to head Thursday when the producer rejected the network's offer to continue the show at a reduced license fee. Wolf's office told producers and some cast members that the drama had been canceled, triggering online reports that the show was finished." Apparently, those reports were premature, though it's possible that the eleventh hour talks could result in no deal, at which time Wolf could shop the series to cablers. TNT, meanwhile, denied reports that they are in talks with Wolf. (Hollywood Reporter)

The New York Times' Lorne Manley has a brand-new Q&A with Lost showrunner/executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse just ahead of the series finale of Lost, airing Sunday, May 23rd. "If there’s one word that we keep coming back to, it’s redemption," said Lindelof. "It is that idea of everybody has something to be redeemed for and the idea that that redemption doesn’t necessarily come from anywhere else other than internally. But in order to redeem yourself, you can only do it through a community. So the redemption theme started to kind of connect into 'live together, die alone,' which is that these people were all lone wolves who were complete strangers on an aircraft, even the ones who were flying together like Sun and Jin. Then let’s bring them together and through their experiences together allow themselves to be redeemed. When the show is firing on all pistons, that’s the kind of storytelling that we’re doing. I think we’ve always said that the characters of Lost are deeply flawed, but when you look at their flashback stories, they’re all victims. Kate was a victim before she killed her stepfather. Sawyer’s parents killed themselves as he was hiding under the bed. Jack’s dad was a drunk who berated him as a child. Sayid was manipulated by the American government into torturing somebody else. John Locke had his kidney stolen. This idea of saying this bad thing happened to me and I’m a victim and it created some bad behavior and now I’m going to take responsibility for that and allow myself to be redeemed by community with other people, that seems to be the theme that we keep coming back to." (The New York Times)

ABC has picked up six new series for the 2010-11 season: comedies Mr. Sunshine, Happy Endings, and Better Together and dramas My Generation (formerly known as Generation Y), The Whole Truth, and Detroit 187. Variety's Michael Schneider is also reporting that Wright vs. Wrong could still be in contention. (Variety)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that NBC drama pilot Rockford Files is now dead, despite it being a major frontrunner just a few weeks ago. [Editor: I can't say that I'm surprised as I wasn't all that chuffed with the script or the casting of Dermot Mulroney.] (Deadline)

CBS has ordered a pilot for Chuck Lorre's comedy Mike & Molly and is said to be high on Bleep My Dad Says, Team Spitz, Livin' On a Prayer, Hawaii Five-O, Defenders, Chaos, and the untitled John Wells/Hannah Shakespeare medical drama. Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is also reporting that CBS is in talks to renew Ghost Whisperer and Old Christine but that, if talks go South, ABC would step in to pick them up should CBS pass. (Deadline)

Over at NBC, it's looking certain that Kindreds, Garza, and The Cape will all receive series orders before Sunday afternoon rolls around. Sadly, Rex Is Not Your Lawyer is said to be dead at NBC. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed, Deadline)

Sony Pictures Television has signed a new two-year overall deal with Damages creators Todd A. Kessler, Daniel Zelman, and Glenn Kessler. There is still no word on the fate of Damages, which wrapped its third season last month. "We originally planned out five or six seasons between Patty (Close) and Ellen (Rose Byrne), about the relationship between mentor and protege," Kessler told Variety. (Variety)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that producers of 20th Century Fox Television-produced drama pilot Breakout Kings, which FOX passed on after it renewed Lie to Me and Human Target, are shopping the project and have been talking to USA, A&E, and Spike. (Deadline)

Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice is reporting that TNT has picked up legal dramedy Franklin and Bash, which was originally developed at sister cabler TBS. Series, from creators Kevin Falls and Bill Chais, stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

TBS, meanwhile, has ordered eight episodes of hour-long period comedy Glory Daze, which stars Kelly Blatz, Callard Harris, Matt Bush, Drew Seeley, Hartley Sawyer, Julianna Guill, and Tim Meadows. Series revolves around a group of college friends in 1980s Wisconsin. Glory Daze was created by Walt Becker and Michael LeSieur; it will likely premiere later this year. (Deadline, Variety)

Universal Media Studios has signed a two-year production deal with Todd Holland and Karey Burke's new shingle, which remains as yet unnamed. "Together we really make one perfect creative person," Holland told Variety. "She has all the skills I don't have: all the network experience, the general awareness of the writer community and the memory of so much TV development. I'm always thinking like a director -- 'What are we doing right now?'" (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Team Darlton Talk Lost's "Across the Sea," NBC Likely to Axe Heroes, 24, Fringe Preview, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Hitfix's Alan Sepinwall has a fantastic (and lengthy) interview with Lost showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse about this week's divisive "Across the Sea" episode and the end of the series. "We told the story the way we wanted to. Like David Chase, we tried to make the show to entertain the audience. That was our primary goal," said Cuse about making the sixth and final season of Lost. "We kind of planned this episode to come at this period of time because we actually wanted to take a break after the deaths of these major characters. It felt like this was the perfect time to take a time out from the main narrative. And since this was the final big mythological episode that we were going to do, we felt like it was a good placement for it, and now we'll roll into the finale. We make no apologies. We planned this to be the way it is. Again, it is funny, because there are a lot of people who are very happy with the show, there's going to be a very vocal group of people who are not happy, and that just kind of comes with the territory. We're making the show the best way we know how to make it, and we stand by it, and we're excited about how it ends and how the journey's unfolded." (Hitfix)

Over at Los Angeles Times, Maria Elena Fernandez has a fantastic piece on Lost's composer Michael Giacchino, who will be conducting a full symphony orchestra at tonight's Lost Live event here in Los Angeles (I'll be attending, of course) and speaks to Lindelof and Cuse about Giacchino's impact on the series. "We've always talked about the central aspect of Lost being character, character, character, and his music is so evocative of a certain moment or person in the show," Lindelof told Fernandez. "If you close your eyes and play 30 seconds of one of Michael's themes, you'd know which character's theme that is." (Los Angeles Times)

Vulture's Josef Adalian is reporting that Heroes is very unlikely to earn a spot on NBC's fall schedule and that all indications are currently pointing towards the superhero drama being deader than a dodo. Previous reports had indicated that the Peacock was considering ordering a final chapter of thirteen episodes but that appears not to be the case any more for the Tim Kring-overseen drama after screening the pilots that they had ordered. "NBC (which declined to comment for this story) is nothing if not appreciative of the few Heroes fans who still care about the saga and doesn't want to leave them hanging," writes Adalian. "While a half-season appears to be out of the question, we hear there's a good chance the network will at least try to find a way to fund a two- or four-hour movie event in order to give some finality to the franchise." (Vulture)

Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice has an interview with 24's Cherry Jones about the "trippy story arc" this season for President Allison Taylor. "By the end of the season, these guys are just this side of brain dead," said Cherry about Howard Gordon and 24's writers. "They have been trying so hard. They don’t have an arc. Most TV shows would have an arc and they would figure out how to nudge everybody in the direction they wanted to go in. These guys look at the performances, look at who they’ve got and try to follow things they think will be the most shocking. The fact that my character has suddenly taken this turn was never anticipated by anyone, but they have to figure out a way to justify it. They and I have managed to do that. I’ve got to hand it to them, they live right on the edge. They don’t take the easy road." (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

E! Online's Megan Masters takes an early look at Part One of season finale of FOX's Fringe (airing tonight), offering up side-by-side photos of Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) and Walter Bishop and their alternate reality counterparts. [Editor: I think that Olivia looks amazing in either reality but her "over there" counterpart has got a smoldering look.] (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

And here's the promo for the two-part Fringe season finale:



[Editor: FOX and NBC ordered a whole slew of series yesterday afternoon, which you can read about here.]

Former Sopranos star James Gandolfini has been cast opposite Diane Lane and Tim Robbins in HBO's telepic Cinema Verite, a dramatization of the seminal 1970s reality series An American Family, where he will play the series' producer Craig Gilbert. (Robbins and Lane will play Bill and Pat Loud, the married couple at the center of the series.) Project, written by David Seltzer and directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, will begin production this summer. (Variety)

BBC One has unveiled the cast of its upcoming eight-part sci-fi drama series Outcasts (created by Ben Richards), which will include Battlestar Galactica's Jamie Bamber, Ashes to Ashes's Daniel Mays, Clash of the Titans' Liam Cunningham, Spooks' Hermione Norris, Being Human's Amy Manson, Small Island's Ashley Walters, Ugly Betty's Eric Mabius, Shameless'Michael Legge, Generation Kill's Langley Kirkwood, Invictus' Patrik Lyster, and Jeanne Kietzmann. Series revolves around a group of human colonists who are attempting to build a new society on a distant planet. Here's how BBC describes the series: "They are a diverse group of individuals who left their old lives behind in extraordinary circumstances; promised a second chance at life they created a society, far away from their home, friends, family... and their pasts. Settled in the town of Forthaven on Carpathia, they are passionate about their jobs, confident of their ideals and optimistic about the future. They work hard to preserve what they've built on this planet they now call home, having embraced all the challenges that come with forging a new beginning.The planet offers the possibility for both corruption and redemption; while they try to avoid the mistakes made on Earth, inevitably our heroes cannot escape the human pitfalls of love, greed, lust, loss, and a longing for those they've left behind. As they continue to work and live together they come to realise this is no ordinary planet... is there a bigger purpose at work? Mystery lurks around them and threatens to risk the fragile peace of Forthaven." (BBC)

Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice is reporting that Steven Spielberg has pre-taped a "special introductory message" that will be played to advertisers at FOX's upfront presentation next week," signifying that his project--the prehistoric drama Terra Nova (which revolves around a family from the future who travels back in time)--has secured a thirteen-episode commitment and will be presented to advertisers even though a single frame of film has yet to be shot. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Entourage's executive producers Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson are developing a female-oriented comedy for HBO which will be written by Leah Rachel (with an assist by Emily Montague) that will revolve around a group of female friends in Los Angeles. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Warner Bros. Television is in the final negotiations of a deal with Angus T. Jones that will keep him on CBS' Two and a Half Men for two additional seasons. Still no progress, meanwhile, in the ongoing renegotiation talks between WBTV and series lead Charlie Sheen... (Deadline)

Hitfix's Alan Sepinwall has an interview with Cougar Town co-creator Bill Lawrence about how the series got beyond a thin concept and rickety title... which Lawrence would love to change. "I'd like to (change it), and the studio has been talking about it for three reasons: One, partly as a result of common sense and partly from their research, they find too many instances of testing of people saying they would never watch a show called Cougar Town - 'I don't want to see some show about a 40-year-old woman nailing younger guys' - and then they screen an episode, and people go, 'Oh, I would watch this show,'" said Lawrence. "Second point is simply what you already said, which is you would be hard-pressed to watch the last three episodes of the show and asked anyone for titles - I doubt anyone would say Cougar Town. Third, in a world where ABC and Steve are looking to promote Modern Family and capitalize on it to promote all their new shows next fall, anything you can do to create some kind of dialogue about your existing show is smart and savvy. The reasons not to do it I think solely come down to business reasons." (Hitfix)

Community's Joel McHale and Modern Family's Sofia Vergara will be announcing the primetime Emmy Award nominations on July 8th. (Hollywood Reporter)

Deadline.com's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that FOX has passed on the following projects: Breakout Kings, Breaking In, Tax Men, Strange Brew, Most Likely to Succeed and The Station, while NBC has passed on Matthew Broderick-led comedy Beach Lane. In other pilot news, FX has passed on comedy project Sweat Shop, after filming a pilot. (Deadline)

Lionsgate has acquired international distribution rights to Comedy Central's upcoming series Big Lake, from executive producers Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, and Chris Henchy. Cabler has given the comedy, which stars Chris Gethard, Chris Parnell, and Horatio Sanz, a ten-episode commitment, with an option to order an additional 90 episodes. (Broadcasting & Cable)

Stay tuned.

FOX Announces Series Pickups, Renewals of Lie to Me and Human Target, FX Goes for Wilfred

Just a few days ahead of its upfront presentation to advertisers, FOX announced that it had ordered four pilots to series, adding two new dramas and two comedies, and has reportedly issued renewal notices to dramas Lie to Me and Human Target.

Shawn Ryan's cop drama Ridealong and bigamist con man drama Lone Star (formerly known as Midland) and comedies Traffic Light and Keep Hope Alive (from My Name is Earl creator Greg Garcia) have all been given greenlights and will be part of the scheduled unveiled officially on Monday by FOX brass at their upfront presentation, according to The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd.

Move marks the first official orders for the fall season from FOX. No word as of yet on some of the other buzz-worthy projects awaiting greenlights such as Terra Nova and Breakout Kings.

Meanwhile, the network surprised some by issuing reprieves for Lie to Me and Human Target, the former of which will continue without showrunner Shawn Ryan, departing to oversee his new Jennifer Beals-led cop drama Ridealong. Variety's Michael Schneider reports that both Lie to Me and Human Target will receive episodic orders of at least thirteen installments next season.

Elsewhere, FX has ordered a pilot for a US adaptation of Australian live-action comedy Wilfred, which will be adapted by Family Guy's David Zuckerman and will star Jason Gann, who co-created and starred in the original Aussie version. Zuckerman will executive produce with Rich Frank, Paul Frank, Jeff Kwatinetz, Joe Connor, and Ken Conner

“Wilfred is about a guy, the girl next door, and mixed-breed dog, Wilfred, who is part Labrador retriever and part Russell Crowe on a bender,” said Zuckerman in a statement. “Jason Gann is one of the funniest, most twisted minds I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with, despite being a foreigner and therefore untrustworthy. And I’m thrilled to be part of the FX family -- their support and enthusiasm has been extraordinary.”

Channel Surfing: Starz Gets Spartacus Prequel, ABC Pulls Happy Town, Burt Reynolds to Burn Notice, Sarah Silverman Axed, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Starz is heading back to Spartacus, ordering six episodes of a prequel series that will be set before Season One of the gladiator drama series, which wrapped its run last month. The six-episode prequel, as yet untitled, will revolve around the House of Batiatus and its champions and will star John Hannah and Lucy Lawless, as well as Peter Mensah, Manu Bennett, Antonio Te Maihoha, Nick E. Tarabay, and Lesley-Ann Brandt, and feature a brief appearance by Andy Whitfield, who is currently undergoing treatment for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. Production will begin this summer, with the pay cabler eying a January 2011 launch, clearly an effort to keep the franchise humming until a second season can be produced. "The prequel story maintains the excitement and entertainment value of the first season of Spartacus, giving audiences the engaging experience they've come to expect," said Starz President and CEO Chris Albrecht in a statement. "We look forward to continuing the Spartacus story." (via press release)

Bad news for Happy Town: ABC has opted to pull the supernatural drama series from its schedule beginning next week. The series, produced by ABC Studios, will return on Wednesday, June 2nd at 10 pm ET/PT to begin burning off its remaining five installments, wrapping up its run on Wednesday, June 30th. Happy Town's current timeslot will be filled by an episode of Primetime: What Would You Do? next week and the network broadcast premiere of Transformers on May 26th. (TVGuide.com)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Burt Reynolds will guest star on an upcoming episode of USA's Burn Notice, where he will play Paul Anderson, described as "a legendary operative, now retired and cast out of the CIA, who serves as somewhat of a cautionary tale for Michael (Jeffrey Donovan)." Reynolds is slated to appear in the fourth season of Burn Notice, which launches June 3rd. "Things have not gone well for him since he left the spy service," creator Matt Nix told Ausiello. "He’s now working as a bartender under an assumed name, and he gets into trouble with some very nasty Russian guys... He’s not precisely like Michael. He’s Michael should Michael succumb to some of the demons that haunt ex-spies." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Comedy Central has cancelled The Sarah Silverman Program after three seasons after it failed to earn a renewal, despite a Twitter campaign to save the series, which had in its last season been bumped to a midnight timeslot. (Deadline.com)

Alan Ball and Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Films have pacted to produce an HBO original telepic based on Rebecca Skloot's book, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," about a Baltimore mother of five children who died of cervical cancer at age 31 in 1951. However, the cancerous cells removed from her body led to major breakthroughs in medical research, including leading to the cure for polio and AIDS treatments. No screenwriter is currently attached to the project, which will be produced by Ball, Winfrey, Kate Forte, and Peter Macoissi. (Variety)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that NBC is preparing to give comedy Perfect Couples a series order and the network has authorized writers Scott Silveri and Jon Pollack to begin staffing the writing team for the series. Meanwhile, NBC is said to still be high as well on comedy Friends with Benefits and is said to be looking for a showrunner for the series. Drama Garza--which stars Jimmy Smitts--will likely be retooled for midseason. (Deadline.com)

Sir Derek Jacobi (Gosford Park) has been cast in a multiple episode story arc on Showtime's upcoming period drama The Borgias, where he will play Cardinal Orsini, described as "a nemesis to Pope Alexander (Jeremy Irons)" in several episodes. Elsewhere, Richard Griffiths (Harry Potter, History Boys) has been cast in the pay cabler's comedy series Episodes, where he will play a version of himself, "a brilliant British actor deemed 'too sophisticated' by an American TV network to star in a fictional comedy pilot who instead is replaced by Matt LeBlanc." (Hollywood Reporter)

Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who) and Mackenzie Crook (Pirates Of The Caribbean, The Office) will star in BBC One's six-part drama Accused, created by Jimmy McGovern (The Street), each episode of which will follow an individual man accused of a crime and lead to court to hear his fate. "In the time it takes to climb the steps to the court we tell the story of how the accused came to be here," said McGovern in a statement. "We see the crime and we see the punishment. Nothing else. No police procedure, thanks very much, no coppers striding along corridors with coats flapping. Just crime and punishment – the two things that matter most in any crime drama. It's great to work with Chris again and I've often tried in the past to get Mackenzie into something of mine. And needless to say, it's wonderful to reunite the team that made The Street." (BBC)

E! Online's Drusilla Moorhouse has an interview with The Amazing Race's Jet and Cord McCoy, who sadly failed to come in first place this season. "I don't know if it was that one single act that cost us the race," said Jet about Jordan's queue-jumping move at the Shanghai airport. "It was more about the principle than it was anything. We were standing in a marked line of three people, and [Jordan] thinks that's where he wants to play his ace or whatever. Me and Cord were just kinda blown away. My goodness." And those of you wondering whether we'll see the cowboys on television again should take note of the fact that Cord's fiancee wants him to do Dancing with the Stars. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Universal Media Studios has signed a new two-year overall deal with Friday Night Lights executive producer David Hudgins, under which he will remain aboard the drama series as co-showrunner (a title he shares with Jason Katims) until the series' end and will develop new projects for the studio. (Variety)

Spike has promoted Sharon Levy to EVP of original series and animation. She will continue to report to Kevin Kay. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Chuck Renewal Still Up in the Air, MTV Orders US Skins Series, Lost, True Blood, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that multiple sources have confirmed to him that NBC will be renewing action-comedy Chuck for a fourth season and that "the show has thus far figured into all of the network’s preliminary plans for its May 17 upfront presentation," with Chuck likely to get a thirteen-episode initial order with the possibility of a full season order still in the cards as well. However, co-creator Josh Schwartz hadn't heard anything regarding a renewal as of yet. "That’s news to me," said Schwartz. "I would urge fans to take nothing for granted..." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

NBC's Angela Bromstad also cautioned fans about reading too much into rumors about Chuck's future and wouldn't confirm that it had been picked up when speaking with The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd. "It's our highest performing Monday night show," said Bromstad about Chuck. "We look at it as a very strong player and it's a show that matches up with our new shows. It's too early for me to say for certain as it's a conversation we're going to have next week." (Hollywood Reporter)

MTV has ordered ten episodes of a US version of British teen drama Skins, which is being considered for a January launch at the cabler. Co-creator Bryan Elsley is writing the pilot script and will executive produce with Charlie Pattinson and George Faber. Like its predecessor, this version will feature a cast of mostly unknowns but will be set in Baltimore (rather than the original's Bristol). (Deadline.com, Variety)

New York Magazine's Vulture has an interview with Lost showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse about the end of Lost, now less than two weeks away. "I think we've been prepared for a long time for the ending of the show," said Cuse. "I think that we feel certain that it was the right decision. We're prepared for it. I think that there will certainly be a mourning period when it's all said and done. It's funny: There's this special feature for the DVDs in which some other show-runners discuss what it's like ending a show. There's an interview with Stephen Cannell [The A-Team, The Greatest American Hero, Wiseguy] who said that he's produced something like 42 television series, for network television, and he never ended any of them on his own terms. We're far more grateful for the fact we're able to do this on our own terms. I think that's the emotion, at least at this moment, that outweighs the other ones." (New York Magazine's Vulture)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that British actress Lara Pulver (Robin Hood) has been cast in HBO's True Blood, where she will play Claudine, a pivotal character that has been likened to Sookie's "guardian angel" or "fairy godmother." She'll recur throughout the third season. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Ausiello also reports that Michael Steger (90210) is headed to HBO's True Blood, where he will guest star as Tony, described as "a gay prostitute who gets picked up by King of Mississippi Russell Edgington (Denis O’Hare) because of his resemblance to his current steady, Talbot (Theo Alexander)." He's expected to appear in one episode of True Blood's third season, which launches next month, and may recur in Season Four. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck talks to True Blood's Theo Alexander, who plays gay Greek vampire Talbot, the boyfriend of the 3000-year-old King of Mississippi Russell Endgington (Denis O'Hare), who happens to cheat on his BF with a certain straight male character we've seen so far on the series. "Talbot loves Russell immensely because he’s [his] maker, but like any marriage, it has its ups and downs," said Alexander. "One thing we have a huge fight over is that I always have to stay home. Sometimes I have to straighten him out and take drastic measures to save the marriage." (TV Guide Magazine)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva has her latest roundup of pilot-related buzz. FOX seems high on Terra Nova and Midland, with either Breakout Kings or Ridealong getting the second drama slot; on the comedy front, they're keen on Keep Hope Alive and Wilde Kingdom, with Traffic Light, Breaking In, and Most Likely to Succeed still in the running. Over at NBC, the Peacock is still considering The Cape, Rockford Files, and Kindreds (also possibly Garza), while they're said to be circling comedies Perfect Couples, Friends with Benefits, Next, Beach Lane, and maybe This Little Piggy, which has cooled off recently. At CBS, Hawaii Five-O, Defenders, Chaos and possibly the untitled John Wells/Hannah Shakespeare medical drama are frontrunners. (Criminal Minds spinoff seems mixed, with a possible midseason launch being bandied about.) On the comedy side, the network is high on Mike & Molly, Team Spitz, Bleep My Dad Said, Mad Love and Livin' on a Prayer. Over at ABC, dramas No Ordinary Family, Detroit 187, The Whole Truth, Body of Proof, Off The Map, and Generation Y are all said to be in the running, along with comedies Mr. Sunshine, Happy Endings, Wright Vs. Wrong, Awkward Situations For Men, Who Gets the Parents, It Takes a Village, and the untitled couples comedy. CW is high on Nikita as well as Hellcats, while HMS and Betwixt remain possibilities. (Deadline.com)

Fancast's Matt Webb Mitovich has an interview with Elizabeth Mitchell about the final two episodes of ABC's V. "It could be icy as hell," said Mitchell about the season finale's family dinner between the Evans and the Visitors' Anna and Lisa. "You’ve got Anna, who is this fantastic politician/religious leader, and then you have Erica, who’s in the process of becoming exactly that. So you have two people who are pretty good at the games they’re playing coming face to face. They’re looking for any little chink in the armor, any sign of vulnerability on the other’s part. I thought it was fun to play. I enjoyed working with Morena [Baccarin] tremendously." She also teases two major jaw-droppers in the episode, which is scheduled to air next week on ABC. (Fancast)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck speaks to Daniel Dae Kim about this three favorite Sun-and-Jin moments from Lost. (TV Guide Magazine)

Deadline.com's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that CBS may order Chuck Lorre's comedy Mike & Molly to series as early as this week, rather than wait until announcing at their upfront presentation, scheduled for next week. "CBS is said to have a very short window to pick up the comedy or release it so producer Warner Bros. can shop it elsewhere," writes Andreeva. "It’s safe to say the latter won’t happen." (Deadline.com)

E! Online's Drusilla Moorhouse takes a look at whether the winners of this season of CBS' The Amazing Race cheated by taking a look at the official rule book for the reality adventure series... and determined that brothers Dan and Jordan won fair and square. "As long as Amazing Race teams purchase a coach ticket, a network representative confirmed to us today, they are absolutely allowed to upgrade to first or business class," writes Moorhouse. "The Pious brothers' pretty persuasion is not unprecedented, either: Plenty of other teams in previous seasons have talked their way into fancier seats at the front of the plane—something Race superfan Jordan probably knew." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

TBS' hour-long comedy pilot Franklin & Bash now appears poised to move to sister network TNT, according to Deadline's Nellie Andreeva, while Glory Daze is expected to get a series order at TBS. (Deadline.com)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: No Mr. Eko for Lost Finale, Lost Live in LA, Unhappy Ending for 24, Shawn Ryan Leaves Lie to Me, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Don't expect Mr. Eko to turn up among the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 this season on Lost. Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice is reporting that Adewale Akinnoye-Agbaje will not be returning to ABC's drama series Lost before it wraps up its epic run on May 23rd. "Though the producers wanted to find a reason to bring back the former tailie, EW has learned that a deal could not be reached in time," writes Rice. Akinnoye-Agbaje, who played Nigerian warlord-turned-pious-fake-priest Mr. Eko, had previously made it clear that he would be more than happy to return to Lost, which he departed during the series' third season. "I’m here for [the producers]," Akinnuoye-Agbaje said in an August 2009 interview. "Adewale is open for business. We have had talks about some things they might do for the final season and there are other dead folks coming back allegedly but at the moment it is still a maybe. A strong maybe but I have not shot anything yet or signed any contracts. But I’m hoping." It does appear than time was not on the side of Mr. Eko. Or the smoke monster managed to intervene once more. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Variety's Cynthia Littleton has details about Thursday evening's Lost Live: The Final Celebration event here in Los Angeles, during which Michael Giacchino will conduct a full live orchestral performance of the music from Lost for 1800 lucky fans (myself included), which will be followed by a screening of the following week's episode, the series' penultimate. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Colburn School of Performing Arts. We thought it was a great way to connect working musicians with students who are looking to make a living playing music," Giacchino told Variety. "And we want it to be fun -- not all academic and serious. We're celebrating what is quite an amazing ending to a long run." Executive producer Carlton Cuse, meanwhile, wanted a way to pay tribute to Giacchino's enormous contributions to the series and the fans. "Lost is so much about the community that has grown up around the show. It seemed like it would be a great culmination for all of us to watch the (penultimate) episode together and have that shared experience," said Cuse. "I think it's going to be a powerful and emotional evening." (Variety)

[Meanwhile, The New Yorker's Alex Ross has a fantastic interview with Lost composer Michael Giacchino that's worth reading.]

Fans of FOX's 24, also set to wrap its run this month, shouldn't expect a happy ending for Kiefer Sutherland's Jack Bauer, according to executive producer Howard Gordon. "[It] leaves him in a compromised place morally, ethically and emotionally," said Gordon. "This show is a tragedy, and to give Jack a happy ending didn't feel authentic..." Meanwhile, a first draft of the script has been written for the big screen version of 24, with a second draft currently being worked on. "We're honoring the series and the creative integrity of (Bauer) and then possibly bringing in a whole new group [of characters]," Gordon said. "What I do think is important is that we do not retread." (Hollywood Reporter)

Shawn Ryan, who took over as showrunner/executive producer of FOX's Lie to Me, has said that he's looking to depart the procedural drama, which is currently on the bubble for a third season renewal. "I had a great year working on the show and helped develop a team that’s ready for more responsibility," wrote Ryan on Twitter. "Time for me to go …When I took gig, I had things in development, nothing in production. Now with Terriers and possibly Ride-Along, too much work... As for timing, this allows studio time to give network succession plan to increase odds of pickup. Still very excited to show you 12 episodes we have in the can. The great Howard Hessman guest stars in one of them." Lie to Me is set to return to the schedule on June 7th. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Lifetime is developing a drama spinoff of its series Army Wives, which will revolve around Brigid Brannagh's Pamela, described as "a former police officer whose husband was a Delta Force soldier" who "is now divorced and back in her old job as a Charleston, S.C., cop," according to Variety's Michael Schneider. The potential new series, which will follow Pamela back to Charleston, will be written by Bruce Zimmerman and T.D. Mitchell and executive produced by Mark Gordon and Deb Spera. (Variety)

USA has announced an official launch date for Season Five of dramedy Psych, which will return to the schedule on Wednesday, July 21st at 10 pm ET/PT. (Hollywood Reporter)

In other USA news, Emmanuelle Vaugier (Human Target) has been cast in USA's upcoming espionage drama Covert Affairs, where she will star opposite Piper Perabo and play a "fearless journalist/blogger." Series is set to launch on July 13th. (Hollywood Reporter)

Variety's Rick Kissell is reporting that venerable crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation could be headed to a new timeslot when CBS unveils their new fall schedule network. "All three [CSI] shows remain fairly popular -- and on most weeks they win their hours in total viewers -- but there's no guarantee they will all be on the fall sked. And keeping all three in the same timeslot for a sixth straight fall seems even more unlikely," writes Kissell. "As currently scheduled, each CSI is the beneficiary of some of the Eye's strongest lead-ins, and CBS may feel the time is right to get more production out of those slots." He believes that CBS will leave CSI: Miami on Monday nights, possibly rest CSI: New York during the fall or shift it to Fridays, and either flip CSI and The Mentalist on Thursdays or move it to Fridays as a lead into another drama, such as The Good Wife. (Variety)

A new Facebook campaign has sprung up, perhaps in response to the success of the Betty White/Saturday Night Live grassroots effort, around Modern Family. The group, "Let Cam & Mitchell kiss on Modern Family," is look for just that: an on-screen smooch between Eric Stonestreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson: "Cam & Mitchell, the adorable gay couple on ABC's Modern Family, have not been shown sharing even a brief kiss throughout the series' first hit season. ABC isn't afraid of gay characters, so why won't they let them show some love?" (New York Magazine's Vulture)

Classic detective drama Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) is getting another remake, this time for American television as Syfy has handed out a pilot order to an updated version of the project, which revolves around a pair of mismatched detectives, one of whom is a ghost who was killed in the line of duty. Josh Bycel and Jonathan Fener will write the script and executive produce along with Howard Braunstein; project hails from ITV Studios. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Mary Lynn Rajskub will guest star in the June 10th episode of USA's Royal Pains, where she will play the stepdaughter of Christine Ebersole's Mrs. Newberg. "I play a girl who does yoga on diet pills," Rajskub wrote on Twitter. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

20th Century Fox Television drama development czar Patrick Moran has departed the studio and will be replaced by Michael Thorn, the former NBC executive who was most recently the president of Marty Adelstein's 20th Century Fox-based shingle, Lost Marbles Television. He'll move into the position of SVP of drama development in June, and report to Jennifer Nicholson Salke. "Marty has been a great friend and mentor, but this was an opportunity I couldn't pass up," Thorn told Variety. "Twentieth has a legacy of developing and producing some of the most creative drama series in TV. To get to be a part of that, and make my own mark, and be able to sell to Fox and the other networks, it was something I couldn't say no to." (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: NBC Goes Undercovers, Lost Leaked Finale Pages, Evangeline Lilly on Kate, Katee Sackhoff Talks 24, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

NBC has given a series order to spy dramedy Undercovers, from executive producers J.J. Abrams and Josh Reims, the first series pickup for the 2010-11 season. Series, which revolves around the exploits of a married couple who both work in espionage, stars Boris Kodjoe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Carter MacIntyre, Gerald McRaney, and Ben Schwartz. “Having J.J. on our creative team is a great reason for celebration,” said Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios, in a statement. “In Undercovers, J.J. and Josh have found a breakout couple that is rich in character and brimming with romance and action. We feel he’s found the perfect cast.” (Televisionary)

MEGA-SPOILER! I won't be clicking over to read these (and would ask that you not discuss them in any specific detail here) but Italian blog Macchianera has obtained six script pages from the Lost series finale, scheduled to air May 23rd on ABC. While neither ABC nor executive producers Damon Lindelof or Carlton Cuse have commented on their provenance, it's believed by many that the pages are authentic and they are ridden with spoilers for plot twists between now and the season finale. [Editor: again, WARNING, don't click if you don't want to be spoiled! I also have to wonder why no one in Lost's production thought to individually watermark these pages.] (Macchianera via The Onion's A.V. Club)

Vulture's Mike Ryan, meanwhile, talks to Lost star Evangeline Lilly about the imminent end of the mind-bending drama series. Among the many questions posed to Lilly, one was regarding whether the actress had wished she could rewrite a scene that had featured Kate. "There is this one scene that I stand by that if I could have chosen or written it, it definitely would have gone down differently: the scene where Kate watches Jack carry a meal over to Juliet at the survivors camp," said Lilly. "They sit down together and eat and they're laughing and talking, and then Kate subsequently goes to Sawyer's tent and lavishes him. I feel like it was a cheapening of the character. I feel like she was always an emotionally confused women between these two men, but she was never that manipulative sexually, I don't think. I feel like that was something that if I could have rewritten it — and I tried to work with the producers on that one; I tried to change so at least it wasn't a cut. It could have been Kate seeing Jack then maybe a couple scenes go by, time goes by, and then you see her go to Sawyer's tent. It ended up being a direct cut and that she literally went in a snit, and was in a pout, because Jack was playing with another girl and she went and seduced Sawyer. I didn't dig that. I would have rewritten that." (New York Magazine's Vulture)

SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks with Katee Sackhoff about last night's recent plot twist on FOX's 24, which saw Sackhoff's Dana Walsh murdered by Kiefer Sutherland's Jack Bauer. "She doesn’t have one redeeming quality," said Sackhoff of Dana. "I tried desperately to give her a redeeming quality. I really tried. The only thing I could come up with was that she didn’t crack when she was tortured... I kind of figured if I couldn’t give her a redeeming quality, I was just going to be the most ridiculously unsympathetic villain ever. I was going to try and make everyone hate her. That was my goal, and I think I succeeded." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FX has renewed Justified for a second season. (Televisionary)

Deadline.com's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Battlestar Galactica creator Ronald D. Moore has signed a two-year overall deal with Sony Pictures Television, under which he will develop projects for both broadcast and cable through his Tall Ships Prods. shingle. Moore had previously been based at Universal Media Studios. (Deadline.com)

TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams talks to V showrunner/executive producer Scott Rosenbaum about what to expect from the final three episodes this season as he offers up eight hints about upcoming plotlines, ranging from V soldiers and alien babies to showdowns, attacks, and betrayal. (TVGuide.com)

Variety's Cynthia Littleton is reporting that NBC might order one or two other projects this week, ahead of its upfront presentations. The likely candidates include dramas The Chase, Kindreds, and The Rockford Files, with The Event and Love Bites also said to be in the mix. On the comedy side, the strongest players appear to be Outsourced, Perfect Couples, Next, This Little Piggy and possibly Beach Lane, which is said to require some reworking. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Smallville executive producer Brian Peterson is "very optimistic" that Allison Mack will return to the CW superhero drama next season. "We’ve learned the hard way not to say [it's official] until everything is signed and dotted," Peterson told Ausiello. "So the best we can say is we’re really optimistic. And so is Allison." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Slightly better news for Party Down in its second episode; the Starz comedy scored a 129 percent increase week to week, bringing its ratings to 289,000 viewers. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Look for Adrian Grenier's Vince to cut his hair this season on HBO's Entourage, according to TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck. “It’s for a story line where Vince cuts his hair without telling the director of his new movie,” executive producer Doug Ellin told Keck, denying reports that it had been Grenier who had shorn his locks without telling the producers. “As always with our show, art imitates life.” (TV Guide Magazine)

20th Century Fox Television has signed a multi-year overall deal with writing partners Patrick Masset and John Zinman--who together worked on Friday Night Lights and Caprica--under which they will develop new projects for the studio and be placed on the staff of a new drama series, likely either Midland, Ride Along, or Breakout Kings. (Hollywood Reporter)

Newcomer Jeff Rosick has been cast as Buddy Jr. in Season Five of Friday Night Lights, where he will recur throughout what will likely be the final season of the drama series. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

History Channel has ordered reality series Stan Lee's Superhumans, which the comic book guru and Daniel Browning Smith, will host as the duo meet "people who have remarkable abilities because of being genetically different." The series will be joined by a slew of other new programming at the cabler, including Brad Meltzer's Decoded, Top Gear, The Kennedys, and Chasing Mummies, as well as specials Voices From Inside the Towers, Jefferson, President's Book of Secrets, and Reagan. (Hollywood Reporter)

Deadline.com's Nellie Andreeva offers a look at the rest of the development slate for nascent pay cabler Epix, which includes projects from Todd Field, Todd Holland, and Lawrence O'Donnell. (Deadline.com)

Spike has ordered reality pilot Weapon X, from executive producer Thom Beers, about "whether certain military battles could've been won if the losers had built a high-powered weapon that utilizes today's technology," and has ordered scripted drama pilot Rebel League, from writer Stephen Engel and executive producers Denis Leary and Jim Serpico, about the dysfunctional 1970s World Hockey Association. (Variety)

Syfy will air backdoor pilot (or, er, four-hour mini-series) The Phantom--starring Ryan Carnes--on a single night: Sunday, June 20th, beginning at 7 pm ET/PT. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Chuck Renewal Prognosis Improved, Sarah Wayne Callies Hunts The Walking Dead, Conan, Castle, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Could it be that things are looking up for Chuck? Deadline.com's Nellie Andreeva breaks down the current on the bubble series at the broadcast networks, including NBC's Chuck. "Last year, NBC’s Chuck got an 11th hour reprieve, clinching a partial 3rd-season order on Sunday afternoon before upfront week," writes Andreeva. "This time around, its fate will be decided earlier if the show’s producers get their way. Several days ago, creators Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak pitched NBC their vision for Season 4 and producing studio Warner Bros asked the network for a quick resolution so the series could keep its writing staff. Even with NBC brass happy with their drama development, the spy dramedy’s chances of renewal are considered very good -- and certainly a lot better than last year when a sponsorship deal with Subway sealed the renewal. With the show rising in the ratings this week and fans staging rallies tomorrow, Chuck may be one solid ratings performance... away from an early renewal." [Editor: in other words, tune in tonight in huge numbers and LIVE.] (Deadline.com)

Meanwhile, today marks the day for the multi-city Chuck flash mobs, but if you're not in one of the cities participating, don't fret: you can still show your support for a fourth season of Chuck by participating in the Twitter mob scheduled for today between noon and 1 pm Pacific Time. Sample tweets include: "@NBC – We want more #CHUCK! Give us another season of flashes and fun. The world’s safety depends on it! #FlashChuck" or "#CHUCK rules! @NBC show your love for CHUCK and the fans will show their love back. We want a 4th season! #FlashChuck" (ChuckTV.net)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that former Prison Break star Sarah Wayne Callies has been cast as the female lead in AMC's upcoming drama series The Walking Dead, based on Robert Kirkman's comicbook series. Callies has been cast as Lori Grimes, described as "the slowly-unraveling wife of the show’s hero, Rick (Andrew Lincoln)." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The New York Times's Bill Carter talks to Jeff Gaspin's efforts to pull NBC's schedule "out of a long, precipitous slide," the network's development slate, and the C-word: Conan. "Late night’s not my problem anymore," said Gaspin, referring to Conan O'Brien's move to TBS. "I don’t have to worry about Conan anymore. Whereas if he was on Fox we’d all be, you know, what’s it going to do? That’s all over. The Conan story is gone for me." (New York Times)

Meanwhie, did you miss last night's Conan O'Brien interview on CBS' 60 Minutes? You can watch the full video of O'Brien's chat below.


Watch CBS News Videos Online

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos talks to Nathan Fillion about the upcoming season finale of his ABC procedural drama Castle. "Beckett has set her eyes on another man, and it's really getting to Castle," Fillion told her. "He's really not having an easy time with it, so we're getting to a point in time where she's gotta make a choice. And he's gotta make a choice! There's gonna be a choice made. An emotional choice. It's an emotional cliffhanger." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

In other Castle-related news, co-showrunner/executive producer Rene Echevarria has left the series after he was unable to reach a new deal with studio ABC Studios. Creator Andrew Marlowe, who shared showrunning responsibilities with Echevarria, will now serve as the series' sole showrunner when it returns for a third season this fall. (Deadline.com)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has a brand new interview with "A Song of Fire and Ice" novelist George R.R. Martin, whose fantasy novel series is the basis for HBO's upcoming series Game of Thrones. (The series itself is undergoing some cast changes at the moment: Jennifer Ehle was replaced by Michelle Fairley and Tamzin Merchant--who played Daenerys Targaryen--will be replaced as well.) "I knew that the limitations of budgets and the censorship limitations," said Martin about possible television homes for "A Song of Fire and Ice," ruling out the broadcast networks. "I know it’s loosened up some since I was active in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s, but I can still remember the fights with Standards and Practices and censors about the sex and violence. And the books are full of sex and violence. I didn’t want some watered-down, bowdlerized version of this... [HBO] had done shows like Deadwood and Rome and The Sopranos and that was the kind of thing I saw this as." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Showtime has announced its summer launch dates, which includes Season Eight of Penn & Teller: Bullshit and new series The Green Room with Paul Provenza on Thursday, June 10th from 10-11 pm ET/PT, The Real L Word on Sunday, June 20th at 10 pm ET/PT, and Season Six of Weeds and the launch of The Big C on Monday, August 16th at 10:30 pm ET/PT. (via press release)

Zoe Kravitz--the daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet--has been cast in a six-episode story arc on the upcoming season of Showtime's Californication, where she will play Zoe, a "wild child" musician who looks to recruit Becca (Madeleine Martin) for her all-girl band. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online's Megan Masters has an interview with Vampire Diaries star Matt Davis, in which the former Damages co-star talks about why his Alaric is in need of some steamy sex scenes on the CW supernatural drama series. "We decided that the best way to reconcile them is a ménage à trois," Davis said, joking, about the return of Alaric's wife Isobel. "No, it's shocking. To see this missing wife of his after so long. Not only is it shocking, but those moments never go the way you expect them to. His whole life changed when she vanished, and he's been searching for her ever since. [To] finally confront the thing he's been looking for? That would turn your life upside down, and it will definitely be a big moment for Alaric." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Barry Sonnenfeld is heading overseas. The Pushing Daisies director/executive producer has teamed up with Fluent Media Group and Resonant TV to develop a supernatural drama series Beat the Devil that will be pitched to foreign networks ahead of the US. "Five years ago, it was unthinkable of a U.S. studio acquiring a scripted format from another country," Gonzalo Cilley, head of Resonant TV, told Hollywood Reporter. "We want to have Barry involved from Day 1 so he can use all of that experience and information when he pitches the American version." (Hollywood Reporter)

Nascent pay cabler Epix is said to have signed a deal with Oliver Stone and author Bruce Wagner to develop Los Angeles-based drama series Still Holding, based on Wagner's novel, which revolves around three people living in the City of Angels. (Variety)

20th Century Fox Television has signed an two-year overall deal with Bones writer Karyn Usher, under which she will develop new projects for the studio and remain aboard Bones as a co-executive producer. (Variety)

Sony Pictures Television has signed a new two-year deal with producer Jamie Tarses. (Deadline.com)

Britt Robertson (Life Unexpected) has been cast in Disney Channel original telepic Avalon High, where she will play a high school transfer student who discovers that her fellow classmates are actually the reincarnations of King Arthur and his round table. Project is based on a Meg Cabot novel. (Variety)

Megan Park (Secret Life of the American Teenager), David Charvet (Melrose Place), and Boti Bliss (CSI: Miami) will star in Lifetime original telepic The Perfect Teacher. Elsewhere, Michael Badalucco (The Practice) will be recurring on HBO's upcoming period drama series Boardwalk Empire. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Tamsin Greig Lands Episodes, Steve Carell Looks to Leave The Office, History Casts The Kennedys, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Cast changes are afoot at Showtime's upcoming Matt LeBlanc-led comedy Episodes, with Thomas Haden Church pulling out of the project due to a scheduling conflict with a film and Claire Forlani being recast after the recent table read earlier this week. But with Forlani out, Showtime has had the luck of landing British actress Tamsin Greig (Black Books, Green Wing, Love Soup) to replace her. [Editor: I think Greig is a much better fit and is a comedy genius. Showtime is beyond lucky to have nabbed her. Grieg's Black Books character, Fran Katzenjammer, remains a perennial favorite.] Greig will step into Forlani's role, as the female half of a husband-and-wife writing team whose British series is adapted for American television... and ruined in the process. Showtime has ordered seven episodes of the series, which is created by David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik, who executive produce alongside Jimmy Mulville. (Variety)

Steve Carell has announced his intention to leave The Office after one more season. Speaking to BBC Radio 2's Steve Wright, Carell said that his contract with the Universal Media Studios-produced comedy goes "through next year" and then went on to say, "I think it will probably be my last year." NBC isn't commenting though it's thought likely that The Office wouldn't continue without Carell on board as Michael Scott. [Editor: in fact, it's the perfect opportunity to wrap up the series.] "This could be a negotiating ploy, but honestly, I don't think so in this case," an unnamed insider told E! Online's Megan Masters. (Office Tally via E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

History Channel has unveiled the cast for its upcoming eight-hour controversial miniseries The Kennedys, which will star Greg Kinnear, Katie Holmes (as Jacqueline Kennedy, no less!), Barry Pepper, and Tom Wilkinson. Project, which will air in 2011, is executive produced by Joel Surnow, Jonathan Koch, and Steve Michaels, with Steve Kronish writing and Jon Cassar directing. The mini will dramatize the "the personal relationships between the Kennedy clan -- including John's and Bobby's tumultuous relationship with their father," according to Variety's Michael Schneider. (Variety)

Ricky Gervais will once again host NBC's Golden Globes telecast, the network has announced. Despite the fact that the 68th Annual Golden Globes don't air until next January, NBC took the unusual step of announcing that Gervais would return... nine months ahead of broadcast. "I can't believe they invited me back after awful things I said," said Gervais in a statement. "Let's see how far I can go this time." NBC's Paul Telegdy, meanwhile, compared Gervais to an unstoppable force of nature. "As viewers discovered with our last awards telecast, Ricky's surprising and unpredictable humor is a great fit for the Globes which will continue as a live event across the nation," said Telegdy. "He's a true force of nature with a wicked sense of humor who always keeps everyone on their toes waiting for the unexpected."(Hollywood Reporter)

SPOILER! Don't expect any sense of closure for Katherine Heigl's character on ABC's Grey's Anatomy, according to series creator Shonda Rhimes. "It’s going to linger," Rhimes told Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "And I actually feel good about it lingering because [it means] Alex is left with unfinished business. And that’s going to be very interesting for his character." Meanwhile, Rhimes isn't spilling about the game-changing season finale for Greys. "The events of the finale itself change the game," she told Ausiello. "Whether anyone lives or anyone dies is not really necessarily the point of it." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Jimmy Fallon is said to be at the top of the list for potential hosts for this year's Primetime Emmy Awards, a group that's also said to include Jerry Seinfeld and duo Tina Fey and Steve Carell. NBC will announce the host officially, but it's widely thought that Fallon, who hosts the Peacock's Late Night franchise, will announce the host next week. (Variety)

ABC has ordered six episodes of US adaptation of Russian game show The Six, in which contestants must work together in order to solve logic-based puzzles in under a minute. Project, from Merv Griffin Entertainment, will be hosted by Vernon Kay and production will get underway this summer. (Hollywood Reporter)

HBO has signed a three-year overall deal with Entourage creator/executive producer Doug Ellin, under which he will develop new projects for the pay cabler and remain aboard Entourage for its seventh and eighth seasons. Ellin already has two projects in development at HBO: a political comedy about a man working for a former US president after he leaves office (written by Ben Schwerin) and a female-skewing project with Ally Musika. (Variety)

Spike has ordered a pilot presentation for comedy Kings By Night, which will revolve around three men who start a casino in their workplace at night. Project, written by Ben and Dan Newmark and directed by Richie Keen, will be produced by FremantleMedia. (Deadline.com)

ABC Studios has signed a two-year overall deal with former Better Off Ted writers Kat Likkel and John Hoberg, under which they will develop new projects for the studio and join the writing staff of a new or existing series. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has a first look image of Jack Bauer from the series finale of FOX's 24, which is set to air May 24th. The photo depicts a backpack-clad Jack Bauer raising his gun at... who knows, really? (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Additionally, Ausiello also has a first look image of the Smallville season finale, airing May 14th, which features a rain-slicked showdown between Clark and Zod. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Comcast and General Electric are optimistic that the NBC Universal deal will be closed by the end of the calendar year. (Variety)

Dr. Drew Pinsky and Howard Lapides are launching their own shingle, Dr. Drew Productions, which will be based in Los Angeles and focus on developing "high-quality reality television projects." (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

E! has ordered six episodes of documentary What's Eating You?, which will take a look at both common and extreme examples of eating disorders and air this fall on the cabler. (Examples are said to include ""a woman who eats a roll of toilet paper dipped in pickle juice every night before bed; another who lives in seclusion and feels compelled to eat twigs, pencil erasers and super-glue; and an aspiring model whose body is so starved that she physically smells because her body literally is eating itself alive.") (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Salary negotiations are set to get underway for four cast members on CBS' NCIS, including Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perrette, David McCallum, and Sean Murray, each of whom are looking to increase their episodic paycheck before the series returns in the fall for its eighth season. "The real question is how much CBS is willing to pay the four stars moving forward: Deadline.com is reporting that the company dangled low-ball offers, which stalled negotiations," writes Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice. "Representatives for CBS declined to comment." (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

The cast of The Real Housewives of New Jersey will be answering fans questions during a live premiere party that will be hosted by Andy Cohen and will be streamed on Bravotv.com and Ustream.tv. (TVGuide.com)

TLC has ordered a fourth season of L.A. Ink. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

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.

Channel Surfing: No Torchwood for FOX, Mireille Enos Gets Killing for AMC, Gervais and Merchant Find Life's Too Short, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd is reporting that FOX and BBC Worldwide Productions have mutually agreed not to proceed on the US version of Torchwood that was in development at the network. However, it still appears that the project is alive and will be shopped to other networks. "BBC Worldwide Productions and the FOX Broadcasting Company have mutually agreed not to progress together with a 13-episode serialized Torchwood format," said BBC Worldwide in a statement. "We are currently in discussion with several interested networks." Furthermore, BBC Worldwide's Jane Tranter said that they are forging ahead with the development of the project: "It's very much ongoing and very much alive," she told Hibberd, but reiterated that the company is not planning an American version of Doctor Who. [Editor: Whew, though I can't imagine Torchwood without John Barrowman, either.] (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Big Love's divine Mireille Enos has scored the lead role in AMC drama pilot The Killing, where she will star opposite Michelle Forbes and Billy Campbell in the project, which is based on Danish series Forbrydelsen. Enos will play Sarah, the lead homicide detective investigating the murder of a young girl as the story unfolds from multiple perspectives. Brent Sexton, Eric Ladin, Jamie Anne Allman, and Joel Kinnaman also star. Patty Jenkins (Monster) is set to direct from a script by Veena Sud. (Deadline.com)

The Office and Extras creators Ricky Gervais and Steven Merchant have landed a pilot commitment from Auntie Beeb for a half-hour single camera comedy project entitled >Life's Too Short, which will star Warwick Davis (Harry Potter, Willow) as himself in "an observation comedy which follows Warwick's day-to-day life in a small world where big things happen." Gervais and Merchant will also appear in the project in supporting roles. "We're having so much fun working with Warwick," said Gervais. "Pound for pound, he is one of the funniest men I know." (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy is already in talks with Madonna about a sequel to this week's Material Girl-themed episode ("The Power of Madonna") for the fall, with Murphy telling Ausiello, "Madonna and her people are into it and want it to happen." The episode would feature six tracks that didn't appear in this week's episode. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Cartoon Network is developing a new version of Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes, featuring Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck and will be moving further into the live-action arena over the next year. The Looney Tunes Show "takes Bugs and Daffy out of the woods and puts them into the suburbs with 'colorful neighbors' including Yosemite Sam, Granny, Tweety and Sylvester," according to Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd. (Hollywood Reporter)

Julianne Moore has denied reports that she was ever attached to the US remake of Prime Suspect that NBC is developing, telling TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck, "That was never true. Rumor." (TV Guide Magazine)

HBO has ordered a second season of comedy How To Make It in America, with eight episodes on tap for summer 2011. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

TLC has ordered six episodes of culinary reality series Best Food Ever, which offers a cross-country culinary overview of "popular dishes and restaurants." Series, narrated by John Goodman, will launch May 3rd at 10 pm ET/PT with an episode about the country's best sandwiches. (Variety)

Showtime will be bringing Lisa Kudrow's online series Web Therapy to television, announcing that it will thread together the series' 45 mini-sodes into half-hour episodes. Series will launch later in 2010. (Hollywood Reporter)

The Wrap's Josef Adalian (soon to be departing to take over as West Coast editor of New York Magazine's Vulture site) is reporting that TNT has slated the launch of Rizzoli & Isles on Monday, July 12th at 10 pm ET/PT, leading out of the sixth season of The Closer, which launches the same night. Elsewhere, TBS has slated the return of comedy My Boys for Sunday, July 25th at 10 pm ET/PT. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Universal Media Studios has signed a one-year overall deal with former It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia writes Sonny Lee and Patrick Walsh, under which they will develop new comedy projects for the studio. (Congrats, Sonny!) (Hollywood Reporter)

TruTV is developing an unofficial spinoff of MTV's Jersey Shore called Wicked Summah that will depict Boston locals who summer on Cape Cod. (Broadcasting & Cable)

Nikki Finke is reporting that the CW is said to be considering picking up two UK reality series and retransmitting them here in the US this summer. (Deadline.com)

Comedy Central has ordered seven additional episodes of animated comedy Ugly Americans, which will debut in October. (Hollywood Reporter)

BBC Worldwide has promoted Gareth Williams to SVP of content and production for South America. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: AMC Sets Mad Men Return Date, Scott Porter Returns to FNL, Laurence Fishburne Staying Put at CSI, Lost, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Mark your calendars, Mad Men fans: Season Four of the period drama is set to launch on Sunday, July 25th at 10 pm ET/PT while new drama Rubicon will launch with two back-to-back episodes on Sunday, August 1st at 8 pm before it moves into its regular 9 pm timeslot the following week. "Sunday nights are where you find the best of premium television so it should be no surprise that AMC -- the home of premium television on basic cable -- is stacking our original dramas there as well," said Charlie Collier, president of AMC, in a statement. "We welcome back Mad Men and look forward to introducing Rubicon all on Sunday nights this summer." Rubicon stars James Badge Dale (The Pacific), Dallas Roberts (Walk the Line), Jessica Collins (The Nine), Christopher Evan Welch (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Lauren Hodges (Law & Order) with Arliss Howard (The Sandlot) and Miranda Richardson (Sleepy Hollow). (via press release)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Scott Porter will be reprising his role as Jason Street in Season Five of NBC/DirecTV's Friday Night Lights. Porter, who will appear in the seventh episode of the season, was last seen during Season Three of the drama series. He'll be joined by fellow former stars Taylor Kitsch and Jesse Plemons and possibly other ex-Friday Night Lights cast members for what is likely the series' last season. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd is reporting that Laurence Fishburne has renewed his deal and will remain as the lead of CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation through the 2010-11 season. "In the upcoming Season 10 finale, Fishburne will face off against two serial killers in a battle of wits that will conclude in a life-and-death cliffhanger," writes Hibberd. "One villain is played by Matt Ross (Big Love) in a guest-starring role. The other is Bill Irwin, who reprises his role as Nate Haskell, the Dick and Jane Killer. Also in talks to guest star in the finale, veteran actor Marty Ingels." (Hollywood Reporter)

SPOILER! TV Guide Magazine talks to Lost and Supernatural star Mark Pellegrino, whose enigmatic character on Lost, Jacob, is set to get some major reveals in the May 11th episode ("Across the Sea"). "Jacob has a lot of darkness and corners we haven’t explored yet, so the differences between him and Lucifer are not as much as you would think,” Pellegrino told Keck. "With these archetypal characters, the boundary between good and evil becomes blurry. Jacob’s on a mission. It’s your judgment as to whether he’s good or bad." (TV Guide Magazine)

BBC America has announced the launch of Season Three of comedy Gavin and Stacey, set for Friday, May 14th at 9 pm ET/PT, the much-delayed premiere of Season Two of Ashes to Ashes on Tuesday, May 1st at 10 pm ET/PT, and the third season premiere of comedy Not Going Out on Friday, May 14th at 9:40 pm ET/PT. (via press release)

Brannon Braga (24) has come aboard the Steven Spielberg and Peter Chernin-executive produced FOX drama Terra Nova as showrunner/executive producer, according to Deadline's Nellie Andreeva, who reports that the project--revolving around a family from 100 years in the future who return to a pre-historic Earth overrun with dinosaurs--has been given an unofficial pickup, with 13 episodes ordered. (Deadline.com)

Meanwhile, Michael Ausiello is reporting that Friday Night Lights star Kyle Chandler has been made a "very lucrative offer" to star in Terra Nova. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Gil McKinney (ER) has been cast in a recurring role on Friday Night Lights, where he is set to appear in at least six episodes as a married graduate teaching assistant in the college history department who falls into a relationship with Aimee Teegarden's Julie. In other casting news, Aisha Tyler and Scott Foley (The Unit) have been cast in CBS comedy pilot Open Books; Foley--who is a regular on ABC drama pilot True Blue--will guest star. (Deadline.com)

TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams has an interview with V star Logan Huffman about why his character, Tyler Evans, is about to change and why he's the real hero of the series. "There is something special going on with him," said Huffman of Tyler. "To be honest, people don't realize it because it's right in front of their face, but Tyler is a hero. Have you read The Hero with a Thousand Faces? He's the only character that fits every criteria. Almost every famous character does not know who his father is. Luke Skywalker! Those characters have huge hearts, but not much of a brain, and through pain they gain a real soul." (TVGuide.com)

David Hasselhoff is returning to CBS' daytime soap The Young and The Restless after an almost three decades-long absence beginning in June. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Donnie Wahlberg (Boomtown) has been cast in a two-episode story arc on TNT's upcoming drama series Rizzoli & Isles, opposite Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander. He'll play Sgt. Joey Grant, Rizzoli's childhood friend who now serves as her boss. Series premieres in July. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FOX has given a pilot presentation order to animated comedy Heel about "a man and his sociopathic dog who is jealous of his owner's family," from writer/executive producer Chris Cluess, Reveille, and Machinima. (Variety)

Elsewhere, FOX renewed Cops for a 23rd season. (Hollywood Reporter)

The premiere of Matt Smith-led Doctor Who on BBC America scored an average of 1.2 million total viewers, a record-setting telecast for the digital cabler, as well as a record for adults 25-54 (0.9). (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

TNT has shot a pilot for reality adventure project The Great Escape from executive producers Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, according to Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. "The show, which has a MacGyver-flavor to it, puts ordinary people in extraordinary movie-like situations challenging them to escape using only their everyday skills, team work and what they can find around them," writes Andreeva. Project shouldn't be confused with Michael Bay and Magical Elves' own adventure project, One Way Out, which is being shopped to networks. (Deadline.com)

Starz has begun to reorganize its management under recently installed president/CEO Chris Albrecht, with EVP of development Bill Hamm now out at the network and several others expected to receive pink slips. Former HBO executive Carmi Zlotnik is expected to join the pay cabler. (Variety)

Elsewhere, The Wrap's Josef Adalian takes a look at why Albrecht is shaking up the management structure at Starz and offers some rationale as to why Hamm may have been axed. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Warner Bros. Television has signed a two-year overall deal with Fringe executive producer Jeff Pinkner, under which he will remain on board the FOX sci-fi drama as co-showrunner and will develop new projects for the studio. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Matthew Weiner Wants Six Seasons of Mad Men, More Breaking Bad (?), Lost, Doctor Who, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Looks like we're at the halfway point for AMC's Mad Men, at least according to creator Matthew Weiner. Speaking at last week's National Association of Broadcasters, Weiner stated that he would like to wrap up the period drama after six seasons as he couldn't see the series, produced by Lionsgate Television, going past that point. [Editor: Personally, I think that this is a good thing as an end date would allow Weiner to not only go out on a high note but begin planning the back half of the series' run while knowing just when it will end, much like Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse had requested an end date for Lost/] (The Weekly Blend via The Wrap's Weekly Blend)

Elsewhere at AMC, The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting that Breaking Bad is likely to be back on the cabler for a fourth season, following news that executive producers were told that the series is ready for a renewal. However, there is currently no deal in place between studio Sony Pictures Television and AMC. While neither side would comment, Adalian writes that "all parties are hopeful [a deal] will happen." (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Looks like some lucky fans will be able to say goodbye to Lost in style, with ABC preparing several official Lost-related events next month in Los Angeles and New York. Carlton Cuse spilled the info on the May 13th Lost Live: The Final Celebration event at UCLA's Royce Hall last week on Twitter, which is believed to be a fundraiser that will feature an advance screening of the series' penultimate episode and a live orchestra performance, conducted by Michael Giacchino, of music from the series. ABC has yet to announce this or several other events that are being planned for Los Angeles and New York in May, including two overseen by Paul Scheer and Upright Citizens Brigade for May 22nd. (Variety)

TV Guide Magazine, meanwhile, has the "final Lost cast photo," which depicts the cast of Lost among the wreckage of Oceanic Flight 815 as the actors are asked where they would like to see their characters end up once Lost wraps its run next month. (via Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor will be appearing in two episodes of Doctor Who spinoff The Sarah Jane Adventures, both of which will be written by former Doctor Who head writer/executive producer Russell T Davies. The move marks the first time that Davies will have written for Smith's Doctor. The two-parter, part of the series' fourth season which is set to air this fall on CBBC, finds the Doctor reunited with former companion Jo Grant (Katy Manning)--last seen in 1973--and Sarah Jane (Elisabeth Sladen) herself, as well. "It's a fantastic script and I can't wait to work with another Doctor and hope Matt has fun with us," said Sladen. "I've known Katy for ages and I am delighted to be working with her. I last met her in LA but this time we will be in Cardiff. LA was good but Cardiff is better."

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Aaron Ashmore (Smallville) has been cast in a recurring role on USA drama series In Plain Sight this season. Ashmore will play "the smart yet rough-around-the-edges long-lost half brother to Mary (Mary McCormack) and Brandi (Nichole Hiltz)" who looks to reconcile with his siblings. He's slated to first appear in the back half of Season Three. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd is reporting that CBS is has shot a pilot presentation for a hidden camera comedy series WTF! (that would be, ahem, Wow That's Funny!) with Drew Carey. According to Hibberd, "the project combines a hidden-camera show with flash-mob tactics as the group pulls benevolent pranks on deserving citizens." Project is produced by Raquel Prods and RelativityReal, with Jay Blumenfeld, Tony Marsh, Charlie Todd, Drew Carey, and Tom Forman serving as executive producers. (Hollywood Reporter)

TVGuide.com's Adam Bryant talks to Stana Katic about tonight's episode of ABC's Castle, in which Katic's Kate Beckett gets a love interest, who just happens to be played by Battlestar Galactica's Michael Trucco. "It's really wonderful to have the opportunity to show a more sensual, romantic side to Beckett," Katic told Bryant. "I think it's great having someone like Tom Denning who is genuinely interested in Kate and is formidable enough to become a bit of a competitor for Castle... It forces Castle to have some introspection as to why he hasn't approached her yet in that way and what's going on with his relationships and past romantic experiences. He's had a number of girls swing in and swing out. So, this is an opportunity for us as an audience to delve deeper into something he may not realize he's missing." (TVGuide.com)

Casting tidbits: Henry Zebrowski (Michael & Michael Have Issues) has been cast in NBC comedy pilot Beach Lane. Elsewhere, James Carpinello (The Punisher) will recur on CBS drama series The Good Wife. (Hollywood Reporter)

TV Land has ordered nine episodes of comedy Retired at 35, starring Johnathan McClain and George Segal. Series, from executive producers Chris Case, Michael Hanel, and Mindy Schultheis, will premiere in first quarter 2011. (Variety)

Warner Bros. Television has signed a blind pilot script deal with Canadian writer Rob Sheridan (Corner Gas), under which he will move to Los Angeles this summer to develop a half-hour comedy for the studio. (Hollywood Reporter)

HBO Documentary Films has picked up US television rights to Alex Gibney's documentary My Trip to Al-Qaeda, which it will air this fall. (Variety)

Cybill Shepherd has been cast opposite Jennifer Love Hewitt in an untitled Lifetime original telepic, where she will play Hewitt's mother, a waxer at a women's beauty salon who discovers that her daughter has become a prostitute in order to pay her bills and keep her family in their home. (Hollywood Reporter)

VH1 is set to launch a staggering 44 series, each of which will fall into the cabler's newly devised programming hubs: music, celebrity and "real life stories." (Hollywood Reporter)

Marjorie Cohn has been promoted to president, original programming and development, of Nickelodeon/MTV Networks Kids and Family Group. She continues to report to Cyma Zarghami. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Two-Season Renewal for Burn Notice, Patton Oswalt Out of Beach Lane, Anatasia Griffith to Royal Pains, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. I still have to get caught up on last night's telly as I was out rubbing elbows with the cast and crew of Doctor Who at a BAFTA/LA screening, Q&A, and cocktail party. (Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Steven Moffat, and former showrunner Russell T Davies were all in attendance and all very chatty.)

Burn Notice fans will be very happy this morning: USA has announced that it has renewed the drama series for a fifth AND sixth season even before Season Four of Burn Notice has even launches. The two additional seasons will run at least a respective 15 and 18 episodes, with Season Five set to begin shooting in about a year. "Once Saturday Night Live makes fun of you,' how can you not commit to extra seasons?" Jeff Wachtel, USA's president of original programming, told Variety. It also helps that USA will begin stripping the series in October 2011, following a deal with studio Fox Television Studios for the off-net rights. (Variety)

The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd is reporting that Patton Oswalt has departed NBC comedy pilot Beach Lane, just days after being cast alongside Matthew Broderick and Kristen Johnston. Move comes after Tuesday's table read, though it was immediately unclear just what Oswalt's status on the pilot was. "One source added that producers have offered Oswalt another part instead," writes Hibberd, "but it's unclear at this time if Oswalt is interested in staying on the show in a different role." (The Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Anastasia Griffith (Trauma) is joining the cast of USA's Royal Pains when the series returns for its second season on June 3rd. Griffith will recur as Dr. Emily Peck, described as "a no-nonsense MD and a potential business rival of Hank’s (Mark Feuerstein)." Ausiello also has the spoilery details about just how Griffith's Emily becomes entangled in Hank's world: "Griffith’s doc will be introduced during the USA Network hit’s second season (premiering June 3) when Boris (Campbell Scott) hires her to temporarily fill in for an MIA Hank." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

SPOILER! E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos has the skinny on a surprising twist (or not too surprising, if you pegged it from the start) coming up on FOX's Glee, which just happens to involve Lea Michele and Idina Menzel. (Guessed it yet?) Regardless, the two will duet on Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" later this season and co-creator Ryan Murphy teased a link between the two characters. "Lea and Idina Menzel will do an acoustic version of 'Poker Face' that [Lady Gaga] blessed and that she wanted us to do," Murphy told Dos Santos. "It's sort of like a stripped-down mother-daughter 'Poker Face' that Lady Gaga was involved in." [Editor: ahem!] (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Debra Winger is said to be in talks to come aboard HBO's In Treatment as a series regular next season, where she would play "a patient of Gabriel Byrne's psychotherapist character Paul [who is] a former big star who is battling insecurity and fear about her career," according to Deadline.com's Mike Fleming. (Deadline.com)

E! Online's Megan Masters interviews Smallville showrunner Brian Peterson about what's coming up on the rest of season for the CW superhero drama. Asked if Lois will learn Clark's secret, Peterson said, "What I can say is that this year we've really explored the tough duality of Lois having one relationship with this hero, the soldier of duty relationship, and one romantic love relationship with Clark, and so that just drives all the way through episodes 19, 21 and the finale. Everything that's been going on with that love triangle converges." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Fancast's Matt Webb Mitovich is reporting that Tim Matheson will not only direct the Season Two opener for USA's White Collar, but will also guest star in the episode as "a hedge fund manager who likes to dip into other folks‘ funds – as a part-time bank robber." Season Two of White Collar is set to launch in July. (Fancast)

FOX has announced launch dates for Hell's Kitchen and new culinary competition series Masterchef, with the new season of Hell's Kitchen set to start on Tuesday, June 1st, when it will air two-hour episodes until Masterchef takes over at 9 pm on Tuesday, July 27th. (via press release)

Stage actress Lynn Blackburn has been cast in a recurring role for Season Five of Friday Night Lights, where she will play Laurel, described by Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello as "a smart, tough, and dedicated teacher at East Dillon who befriends [SPOILER ALERT!] the school’s newest hire, Tami." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Casting update: Emily Rios (Men of a Certain Age) has been cast in a multiple-episode arc on DirecTV/NBC's Friday Night Lights, where she is set to play Epyck, described as "a rebel goth girl"; Austin Highsmith (Big Love) will guest star on CBS' Criminal Minds; Sunny Mabrey has been cast in a recurring role on TNT's upcoming drama series Memphis Beat; Janel Parrish (Heroes) will recur on ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars; and Warren Kole (24) has been cast in CW drama pilot Nomads, where he will play Ryker. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to Desperate Housewives executive producer Bob Daily about the drama's May 16th season finale and has five hints about upcoming twists, from money problems and an explosion to a birth and a death. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Elsewhere, TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that a former series regular of ABC's Desperate Housewives will return to Wisteria Lane in the season finale this May. "I've promised the show that I'd keep the actor's identity a secret," writes Keck, "but the way they re-introduce this character is genius and sets the stage for some major awkwardness in Season Seven. (TV Guide Magazine)

Spike has ordered a pilot for comedy Playing With Guns, which will star Danny Masterson (That '70s Show) and Joey Kern (Super Troopers). Project--from writers Bob Castrone, Brian Levin, and Jason Zumwalt and executive producers Brian Robbins and Sharla Sumpter Bridgett--revolves around two "childhood best friends who become police officers in their hometown for the everyday perks." (Hollywood Reporter)

Bill Irwin will reprise his role as Nate Haskell on CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation for the season's final two episodes, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "Nate knows who Dr. Jekyll is, which is kind of interesting since he’s been in prison for the last 11 years," executive producer Carol Mendelsohn told Ausiello. "The [May 20] season finale is all about what it will take to get him to give them a name." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

HBO has renewed Real Time with Bill Maher through 2011 and has bumped its episodic order to 35 episodes per season. The current season is set to end in November, with Season Nine expected in February. (Variety)

CBS Television Studios has signed a two-year overall deal with Lost co-executive producer Paul Zbyszewski, under which he will develop new drama projects for the studio and will become a co-executive producer on Hawaii Five-O, should it be ordered to series. (Deadline.com)

The Wrap's Josef Adalian has issued a request of ABC: to let the final credits for Lost's series finale run unadorned by promos, bugs, or spots for The Bachelorette. "Specifically, what if ABC actually just aired the closing credits to Lost unadorned, as Darlton intended them, and with the haunting closing score viewers hear only if they watch the show on DVD, on demand or via syndication?" writes Adalian. "A nation of Lost fans whose minds will (hopefully) have just been blown and heartstrings tugged will appreciate the time to let what they've just seen sunk in." (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

Discovery Channel has ordered a sixth season of Cash Cab. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Michelle Forbes Gets Killing, Annie Wersching Talks 24 Consequences, Glee, Lost, Modern Family, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

From maenad to murder victim's parent: Former True Blood series regular Michelle Forbes has joined the cast of AMC drama pilot The Killing, along with Brent Sexton (In the Valley of Elah), Eric Ladin (Generation Kill), and Jamie Anne Allman (The Notebook). They join the previously announced Billy Campbell in the drama pilot, from Veena Sud and Mikkel Bondesen, which revolves around the police investigation into the murder of a young girl. Forbes and Sexton will play Mitch and Stanley, the girl's parents. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

If you haven't seen Monday's episode of 24, stop reading. TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams has an interview with 24's Annie Wersching, who discusses the aftermath of this week's surprising twist and what's next for her. "In not knowing each other for that long, they are very similar and understood each other in a lot of ways," said Wersching about the relationship between Renee and Jack Bauer. "No one truly understood what it is to exist as someone who has to do the things that Jack Bauer does. Renee is as close as he was going to get to finding someone that really got him, and vice versa... Poor Jack cannot get a break. As you can imagine, he wants to take care of every single person who was involved with this... I'm so sad that I died, but she's very much still there in these last episodes all the way up until the end. For the most part, he goes rogue and wants to do things that people don't want him to do. Of course, he's Jack Bauer, so he finds a way to do them." (TVGuide.com)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Jessalyn Gilsig's Terri and Cory Monteith's Finn are getting a "major season-ending storyline" that won't involve them becoming enmeshed in a romantic relationship. (Whew.) "Finn gets a job at Sheets & Things," co-creator Ryan Murphy told Ausiello. "He is very down on himself, and Terri realizes that she was not very supportive of her husband and she sees a lot of him in Finn. She met Will at 16, so she sees a way to redemption…a way to redo that relationship in a positive way [by acting] almost as Finn’s guardian angel, his fairy godmother. She gives him proper moral advice." The storyline will continue into Glee's second season, which launches this fall. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

SPOILER! E! Online's Megan Masters talks to Lost star Jorge Garcia about this week's Hurley-centric episode of the ABC drama series and about the explosive death of Zuleikha Robinson's Ilana. "Don't hold your breath about too much more information about Ilana," Garcia told Masters. "You will see her again, but there's a lot of stuff to get to in the next six hours, so..." [Editor: I figured that we'd at least see Ilana again before The End but assumed that we'd get at least some information about her backstory, either via flashback or the divergent reality.] (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Fancast's Matt Webb Mitovich talks to Modern Family star Julie Bowen about iPads, Julianna and Clive, working with Sofia Vergara, and why she won't be returning to Lost for the final season. "I really wish that was true, but that’s just a rumor," said Bowen about filming Modern Family in Hawaii and sneaking off to shoot scenes for Lost. "I would have loved to have done more for Lost. I’m a huge fan of the show, I love doing the show..." (Fancast)

Boom: Michael Bay has teamed up with Magical Elves' Jane Lipsitz and Dan Cutforth to develop reality series One Way Out, a reality-based action-adventure series that that "pits everyday people against one another in a competition that involves physical challenges as well as the PSYOPS of creating alliances and keeping their own 'secret pasts' hidden from other players," according to Variety's Cynthia Littleton. Project is being shopped to the networks this week. (Variety)

Former Scrubs star Sarah Chalke is in high demand this development season: after shooting ABC comedy pilot Freshman, Chalke has now been cast in a second pilot, CBS high-school comedy Team Spitz. Given her role in Freshman, Chalke's participation in Team Spitz, where she will guest star as a high school guidance counselor, is said to be in second position. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Cast change afoot at Josh Schwartz and Matt Miller's CBS comedy pilot Hitched, where Sara Fletcher (My Secret Girlfriend) has replaced Kristin Kreuk just before the table read for the pilot. "Kreuk starred on two drama series, including her star-making turn on Smallville, and she was wonderful in an arc on Schwartz's NBC dramedy Chuck this season but she has never done a half-hour sitcom and Hitched ultimately proved not a perfect fit for her," wrote Deadline.com's Nellie Andreeva. (Deadline.com)

Tina Brown and Bill Haber have optioned Laura Lippman's novel "In a Strange City," which revolves around female investigative journalist Tess Monaghan (who becomes a gumshoe when her paper closes), with an eye to adapting the book as an ongoing television series. Jay Cocks (Gangs of New York) has been brought on to adapt Lippman's novel and the trio plan to shop the project to broadcast and cable networks for next year's development cycle. (Variety)

Carla Gugino (Watchmen) and Addison Timlin (Cashmere Mafia) have signed on to appear in multiple-episode story arcs next season on Showtime's Californication), where Gugino will play a love interest for David Duchovny's Hank and Timlin will play an actress who stars "in a film within the show," according to Deadline.com's Nellie Andreeva. (Deadline.com)

Comedy Central has ordered ten episodes of comedy The Onion Sports Network, will offer a satirical look at the work of sports. Project, executive produced by Julie Smith and Will Graham, will premiere in first quarter 2011. (Variety)

Production has been shut down on A&E's Steven Seagal: Lawman by the Jefferson Parish Police Department, following news that the series' star has been accused of sex trafficking. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Color me intrigued: UK's Channel 4 is developing a female-oriented comedy with the creators of comedies Peep Show and Two Pints of Lager and a Bag of Chips. (Broadcast)

MyNetwork has shored up its fall primetime schedule, which will include off-network acquisitions of such series as Burn Notice, Monk, and Without a Trace. Returning to the schedule are Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, and Don't Forget the Lyrics! (Broadcasting & Cable)

VH1 has ordered eight episodes of reality series Football Wives, which will follow the lives of NFL spouses. Project, from Shed Media, is set to launch at the end of 2010. (Variety)

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: Fringe Musical, Conan Heads to TBS, Ryan Devlin Checks into Grey's, Fred Willard, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has an exclusive first-look at the upcoming musical episode of FOX's Fringe, set to air April 29th. "We didn’t set out to do a musical," Fringe's executive producer Jeff Pinkner told Ausiello. "We set out to do an episode that explored Walter’s state of mind — he’s dealing with some very upsetting news. When we realized that the way Walter would deal with such news would be to try to anesthetize himself with copious amounts of marijuana, well, singing and dancing became a natural outcome." [Editor: Hmmm, just what could that "very upsetting news" be?] (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

A rather big speed bump has emerged during the ongoing talks between Conan O'Brien at FOX. Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd and Matthew Belloni are reporting that while the negotiations between the former Tonight Show host and FOX have been smooth, O'Brien won't commit to a late night talk show with FOX unless the network "can guarantee that stations will air his show in all or nearly all of the country." Which is a significant problem as some affiliates are less than excited by the idea of Coco taking over their late night timeslots, currently home to syndicated programming. The issue has so far prevented O'Brien from entering into "exclusive negotiations" with FOX, with his team continuing to look at other options outside of FOX, which wants to air O'Brien's new series weeknights from 11 pm to midnight. (Hollywood Reporter)

UPDATE! Hold the presses: O'Brien's team has opted not to sign with FOX and has instead concluded a deal with cabler TBS. Yes, you read that correctly. O'Brien's team has signed with TBS for a latenight talk show that will air between 11 pm and midnight on the basic cabler, a move that will push George Lopez's eponymous talker to midnight. "In three months I’ve gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I’m headed to basic cable," said O'Brien in a statement released by TBS. "My plan is working perfectly." The move pushes the comedy-oriented TBS into a place of prominence. "Conan has been the comedic voice for a generation. TBS already has a huge audience of young comedy lovers, and Conan’s show will give these fans even more reasons to watch our network," said Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks. (via press release)

Ryan Devlin (Cougar Town) will guest star in the May 20th season finale of ABC's Grey's Anatomy, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, who reports that Devlin will play Bill, the husband of Mandy Moore's character Mary, who is a patient at Seattle Grace. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Entertainment Weekly's Mandi Bierly has an interview with the uber-talented Fred Willard, who will next been seen on Castle, Modern Family, and Chuck. Willard, set to reprise his role as Phil's dad on Modern Family, will guest star on Chuck as half of a super-spy couple. "That was an interesting one, because I play a part I’d always thought I was right for — a spy," said Willard about his upcoming turn on Chuck. "I’m with Swoosie Kurtz on that, we’re a bickering spy couple, kind of like Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers played [on Hart to Hart], and we’re showing the ropes to the young Chuck and his partner. And it’s like a real did we double-cross them or did we triple-cross them? That was a lot of fun." (Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch)

Delroy Lindo (Kidnapped) has been cast as one of the leads in Shawn Ryan's FOX cop drama pilot Ride-Along, opposite Jason Clarke and Jennifer Beals. Lindo will play "a longtime building magnate-turned-politician who is loved by his constituents, but there have always been whispers about possible ties to organized," according to Hollywood Reporter's Nellie Andreeva. (Hollywood Reporter)

NBC ordered a pilot for gameshow Secret Treasure, in which six contestants compete against one another as they answer trivia questions and try to steal one another's cash-laden "secret treasure boxes." Project, from ITV Studios, was created by Jeff Apploff. (Variety)

CBS, meanwhile, ordered a pilot for a revival of classic gameshow Pyramid, from Sony Pictures Television and Michael Davies (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire), which would replace As the World Turns in its daytime lineup. (Hollywood Reporter)

Starz is reportedly developing a series adaptation of culinary critic Gael Greene's 2006 autobiography "Insatiable: Tales From a Life of Delicious Excess," about her "gastronomic and erotic adventures" in 1970s and 1980s Manhattan. Starz will produce the potential one-hour drama series with Robert Lantos' Serendipity Point Films and Rob Lee's Bayonne Entertainment. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Grey Damon (90210) has been cast in Season Five of Friday Night Lights as a series regular. He'll play Hastings Ruckle, described as a "sexy, laid back basketball player who ends up joining the Lions as a wide receiver." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Emily Ziff's production company Cooper's Town is developing an HBO drama series based on Samantha Peale's novel "The American Painter Emma Dial," about a woman coming to terms with her identity crisis as she works within the Manhattan art world. Sarah Treem (In Treatment) will adapt. It's unknown whether the potential drama series would air as a half-hour or one-hour. (Variety)

Warner Bros. Television has signed a two-script deal with Miss Guided creator Caroline Williams--currently a consulting producer on ABC's Modern Family--under which she will develop two comedy projects for the studio, including a single-camera comedy project with executive producer J.J. Abrams. (Hollywood Reporter)

Chris Gethard (The Other Guys) will replace Jon Heder in the Comedy Central comedy series Big Lake. Series, ordered for ten episodes by the cabler, has an option for an additional 90 episodes. (Variety)

Showtime's Marc Wootton comedy La La Land is heading across the pond to BBC Three. (Broadcast)

Law & Order's Sam Waterston will guest star on the April 28th episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, according to TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck. "For the first time in Law & Order: SVU’s eleven year history, Sam will show up in the SVU squad room," executive producer Neal Baer told Keck. (TV Guide Magazine)

SPOILER! Taylor Momsen will be MIA when Gossip Girl returns next season. At least at first, anyway. Citing a source close to Gossip Girl's production, Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Momsen will be absent from the CW drama series for an unknown number of episodes but her temporary departure is for creative reasons. "When you watch the finale," the unnamed insider told Ausiello, "you’ll see that we’re doing something very big with her character." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Sony Pictures Television, Scott Free Television, Tandem Communications, and Peace Out Prods. is developing a four-hour mini-series based on Robert Harris' historical novel "Pompei." (Variety)

ABC will flip Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice on April 22nd, swapping the timeslots for each medical drama for one week. According to the Fuon Critic, "The Grey's/Practice swap... is simply to avoid having original episodes of FlashForward and Practice bookend a second run Grey's." (Futon Critic)

Holly Marie Combs (Charmed) has been cast in ABC Family's upcoming drama series Pretty Little Liars, where she will play the mother of Aria (Lucy Hale), one of four teenage girls who are bound together by a dark secret. She'll be playing opposite Chad Lowe, recently cast as Aria's father, who replaces Alexis Denisof. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

MTV has renewed reality series The Buried Life for a second season. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Elsewhere, Spike has renewed reality series 1000 Ways to Die for its fourth and fifth seasons. Move comes before the third season of the Original Prods.-produced series has even debuted. (Variety)

And NBC has renewed The Sing-Off for a second season. The Sony Pictures Television-produced musical competition series will return for eight episodes next season. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Bones Dish, ABC Super-Sizes Lost Finale, Mandy Moore Heads to Grey's, Jersey Shore, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

WARNING: If you haven't yet seen last night's simply amazing 100th episode of Bones, look away. Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has an interview with Bones executive producers Hart Hanson and Stephen Nathan (and series lead Emily Deschanel) in which they talk about the big twist at the end of the episode. You know, the one that has to do with Booth and Brennan? "I think it opens it up in a whole new way," Nathan told Ausiello about the twist. "It gives us some history, which allows us to see all the additional possibilities that could occur between the two of them." Hanson went a step further. "We aren’t nervous about making them a couple, but we want it to play out in a way that is realistic for these two and that will make fans happy," said Hanson. "Everybody always mentions Moonlighting, but that honestly never comes up in our discussions on how to deal with them. The Moonlighting curse? Don’t believe in it. I think that was all about [Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd] hating each other’s guts. [David and Emily] do not hate each other." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Elsewhere, Fancast's Matt Webb Mitovich also talks to Stephen Nathan about the landmark 100th episode of Bones. "The agenda was to try to answer a lot of the questions the audience has had for so long – like, 'How did this start?' 'What was the genesis of the relationship between Booth and Brennan?' – because obviously something occurred prior to the pilot episode," Nathan told Mitovich. "What was it at that time that drove them apart? And at the same time, what was it about their [initial] relationship that made them come together again? We wanted to get a real glimpse into that relationship that we haven’t been able to in five years. We had a lot more leeway here where we could have them open themselves up. Because for them to be so careful around each other, that had to happen after they had been so vulnerable with each other." (Fancast)

The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting that ABC has opted to make its farewell to Lost five hours now, expanding its pre-show recap show from one hour to two. That special will air from 7-9 pm ET/PT on May 23rd, just prior to the two-hour series finale of Lost. Later that night, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, along with the cast, will gather together for Jimmy Kimmel Live--Lost: After the Final Rose. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos talks with Grey's Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey about Katherine Heigl's departure from the ABC medical series, as well as impending heartbreak. "I think it's very sad, we had a great time working with her, we always had a great time, always prepared," said Dempsey of his former co-star. "And it's a real loss to the show. I think she had a great character and great energy, absolutely beautiful and talented actress, and it's a shame she's moving on." As for Mer-Der, Dempsey told Dos Santos: "There will be some relationships that end and go away, and some new ones that begin. Typical Grey's, there's always drama in the relationships, can't seem to get a healthy relationship! So far Meredith and Derek have been good this year, but something will happen I'm sure before the end of the season." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

In other Grey's-related news, TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams is reporting that Mandy Moore (A Walk to Remember) is checking into the two-hour season finale of Grey's Anatomy, which is slated to air May 20th. Moore will play Mary, a patient at Seattle Grace who is under the care of Chandra Wilson's Bailey. S"ources said Moore is just one part of the kind of finale that executive producer Shonda Rhimes loves keeping under wraps," writes Abrams, "so no further details on her role were released." (TVGuide.com)

MTV has announced that Season Two of Jersey Shore will launch on Thursday, July 29th at 10 pm ET/PT. "It's official," said an MTV spokesperson. "The Jersey Shore cast began filming Season Two in Miami. Once the boardwalk heats back up, the series will return to the Jersey Shore to complete the season." Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, Paul "DJ Pauly D" DelVecchio, Jenni "JWoww" Farley, Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Vinny Guadagninom and Angelina Pivarnick will all return for the second season of the reality series. (MTV)

Casting update: Mare Winningham (Grey's Anatomy) has been cast in HBO's upcoming mini-series Mildred Pierce, where she will star opposite Kate Winslet, Brian F. O'Byrne, and Evan Rachel Wood. Elsewhere, Lizzy Caplan (Party Down) has been cast as one of the leads in CBS comedy pilot True Love, where she replaces Ashley A. Morris, and Sharon Leal has joined the cast of CW drama pilot Hellcats. (Hollywood Reporter)

Details have emerged about the slate of programming expected to air on the nascent cabler OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network when it launches January 1st. Those programs will include Gayle King Live, a talk show hosted by Gayle King; reality competition series Your Own Show: Oprah's Search for the Next TV Star, executive produced with Mark Burnett; Visionaries: Inside the Creative Mind; Oprah's Next Chapter, Why Not? With Shania Twain; and Behind the Scenes: The Oprah Show Final Season. (Variety)

Diane Lane has been cast in HBO telepic Cinema Verite, the behind-the-scenes look of the filming of seminal 1970s American reality series An American Family, where she will play Pat Loud, described as "the mother and main character of the documentary, which chronicled an intimate look at a Santa Barbara family." (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC has unveiled its finale schedule, which includes the season ender of Castle on Monday, May 17th, the season finale of V on Tuesday, May 18th, Wednesday comedies on May 19th, Grey's on May 20th (and Private Practice the week before), and FlashForward on Thursday, May 27th. (Variety)

Hookers for Jesus? Apparently, they're coming to Investigation Discovery with upcoming series Saved on the Strip, about former prostitute Annie Lobert's outreach ministry Hookers for Jesus. (The Wrap's TVMoJoe)

ITV Studios has alleged that BBC Worldwide's upcoming ice-skating version of Dancing with the Stars for ABC is in fact a rip-off of its format Dancing on Ice. BBC Worldwide, however, has stated that its series is based on a format that predates Dancing on Ice and aired two years before ITV broadcast its celebrities-on-ice concept. (Variety)

Jeremy Podeswa (The Pacific) has come aboard Showtime's upcoming period drama series The Borgias as a director. He'll share duties with Neil Jordan, who is writing and directing the first two installments, while The Tudors creator Michael Hirst is writing the rest of the season's scripts. (Hollywood Reporter)

Discovery Channel has pacted with Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks TV, and DreamWorks Animation for animated mini-sieres Future Earth, which explores just what the planet will look like in 25, 50, and 100 years, using futurists and scholars to predict how events and institutions will evolve over the next century. (Variety)

Reid Ewing (Modern Family) has been cast as one of the leads in MTV's upcoming telepic The Truth Below. Elsewhere, Jill Hennessey (Crossing Jordan) has signed on as a guest star in HBO's horseracing drama pilot Luck, where she will play a veterinarian. (Hollywood Reporter)

Comedy Central has given a third season order to Tosh.0, ordering 29 installments that will launch on January 12nd. Move comes just four months after the cabler ordered 25 episodes for a second season. (Variety)

CBS alternative programming VP Chris Carlson will leave the network to become the new executive producer of Undercover Boss, which is produced by Studio Lambert. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Showtime Gets Shameless, HBO Enlightened, FX Confirms Damages Talks, Veronica Mars, Doctor Who, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Showtime has ordered twelve episodes of ensemble drama Shameless, based on the British Channel 4 drama series created by Paul Abbott, who co-wrote the pilot for the US adaptation with John Wells. Project, which is expected to begin production late this summer, stars William H. Macy, Emmy Rossum, Justin Chatwin, Jeremy White, Cameron Monaghan, Ethan Cutkosky, Emma Kenney, and Allison Janey, who recurs. Wells will serve as showrunner on the series, which hails from Warner Bros. Television and John Wells Productions. No launch date was announced for the series, which Showtime's Robert Greenblatt likened to "Party of Five on acid." (Variety)

HBO, meanwhile, ordered ten episodes of single-camera comedy Enlightened (including the pilot) from writer/executive producer Mike White and star/executive producer Laura Dern. Dern stars as "a self-destructive woman who has a revelatory experience at a treatment center and becomes determined to live an enlightened life, creating unexpected havoc at home and work." The cast also includes Luke Wilson, Diane Ladd, and Sarah Burns; production is slated to begin this summer. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that FX president John Landgraf has confirmed that Sony Pictures Television is in talks with DirecTV to come aboard legal drama Damages in order to ensure a fourth season pickup. "Sony is talking to DirecTV," said Landgraf. "We couldn’t be happier with Damages creatively. The third season is superb. It’s a massive success from a creative standpoint. But, it’s a show that has always struggled from a ratings standpoint. I think that’s because it’s so complicated. It takes an incredible amount of devotion and an incredible attention span to watch it." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Ausiello also confirms that the feature film version of Veronica Mars isn't dead, after all, talking to the series' creator Rob Thomas about the status of the teen sleuth. "It’s not dead," Thomas told Ausiello. "I continue to want to do it. It’s funny, because the rumors go around and around. Kristen Bell had said to somebody that I had written a script, and that wasn’t correct. I did have a treatment and a pitch, with which I went to Warner Bros. and [Mars producer] Joel Silver and said, ‘Here is the fastball version of the movie, the big studio version of the movie that I think we can make.’ And I think they did one of their brand-awareness surveys and were like, ‘We don’t know if we can make money with that.’ So it’s been back-burnered. But I still want to do it. I’m still happy to do it. We’re still looking into it." [Editor: While Thomas admits there's a close-ended timeframe, I do like his idea to see Bell as a "30-year-old noir detective" in the future as well.] (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

It's official: Doctor Who is heading to PC and Mac in a new episodic computer game entitled Doctor Who: The Adventure Games that will be offered for free from the BBC website. Featuring the voices of Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, the four-episode interactive game will be written by Phil Ford (Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars) and James Moran (Torchwood: Children Of Earth). The first episode is expected to be released in June. "There aren’t 13 episodes of Doctor Who this year," said executive producer Piers Wenger. "There are 17 - four of which are interactive. Everything you see and experience within the game is part of the Doctor Who universe: we’ll be taking you to places you’ve only ever dreamed about seeing - including locations impossible to create on television." (Broadcast)

Oprah Winfrey is set to announce an hour-long evening series Oprah's Next Chapter, which will air on the nascent cabler OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, according to the Wall Street Journal's Sam Schechner. Series, which could air as many as twice or thrice during the week, will follow Winfrey as she travels the world for a series of interviews. "I'm going to take viewers with me, going to take celebrities I want to interview with me" around the world," said Winfrey. (Wall Street Journal)

Jason Gedrick (Boomtown) has been cast in HBO's horseracing drama pilot Luck, from executive producers David Milch and Michael Mann. Gredick will play "a racetrack gambling degenerate" and will star opposite Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Farina, Nick Nolte, and Gary Stevens. (Variety)

ABC has announced its summer schedule, which includes the launch of two new drama series on Sunday nights--The Gates and Scoundrels--which will air back-to-back beginning at 9 pm ET/PT on June 20th. The Bachelorette returns Monday, May 24th, True Beauty on May 31st, Wipeout on June 1st, and the launch of new reality competition series Downfall on June 29th. Late summer brings The Bachelor: Bachelor Pad, Dating in the Dark, and Shaq Vs. (Variety)

SPOILER! Orla Brady will reprise her role as Elizabeth Bishop in Fringe's two-part season finale ("Over There, Part 1" and "Over There, Part 2,"), which are set to air May 13th and May 20th. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Francois Arnaud (I Killed My Mother) has been cast in Showtime period drama series The Borgias, where he will play Cesare, the son of Rodrigo Borgia (Jeremy Irons) in the thirteen-episode series. (Hollywood Reporter)

Broadcasting & Cable's Alex Weprin has a rundown on the announcements made at yesterday's FX upfront presentation in New York. "I think it is important to talk about the originals in basic cable as a continuum, from the edgy, adult side of it, which we cornered the market with The Shield and Nip/Tuck, to the other end of the spectrum, which would include The Closer or White Collar," said Bruce Lefkowitz, executive VP of Fox Cable ad sales. "We are never going to be all the way to the right side, we are never going to do The Closer, because that is not what audiences come to FX for, but we have earned the right to move a little bit more to the right."(Broadcasting & Cable)

ITV has announced that Ciarán McMenamin, Alexander Siddig, and Ruth Kearney will join the cast of Primeval, which is being co-produced by ITV, UKTV, and BBC America. Hannah Spearritt, Andrew-Lee Potts, Ben Miller, and Ben Mansfield will reprise their roles on the sci-fi drama, which is set to launch in early 2011. (Digital Spy)

The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd offers a suggestion about why the ratings for FX's fantastic drama series Justified continue to slide each week: "My take is that the show was promoted with a serious dramatic tone, which matched its pilot, plus it felt like a serialized show. Subsequent episodes have felt lighter, more comedic, more procedural -- less FX and more USA." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Maura Tierney is set to return to television following her battle against breast cancer. The actress--who was originally part of the cast of NBC's Parenthood before having to drop out to seek medical treatment--will reprise her role as Kelly McPhee on FX's Rescue Me and is slated to film four episodes for the series' seventh season, set to air in 2011. (Variety)

Could Jane Alexander (Tell Me You Love Me) have played the mother of Joseph Fiennes' Mark Benford on ABC's FlashForward? TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck teases that Alexander would have played Granny Benford, according to Fiennes' co-star Sonya Walger, and that Alexander had been featured "in a doctored-up family portrait hung in the Benford home at the start of the season." (TV Guide Magazine)

ABC has announced that Canadian cop drama Rookie Blue (formerly known as Copper)--which stars Missy Peregrym, Gregory Smith, Enuka Okuma and Travis Milne--will launch on Thursday, June 24th day and date with its Candian debut. (Hollywood Reporter)

HBO has acquired the US rights to Adrian Grenier's documentary Teenage Paparazzo, which focuses on 14-year-old paparazzo Austin Visschedyk. (Variety)

Cartoon Network has ordered thirteen additional episodes of animated series Adventure Time. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.