Channel Surfing: J.J. Abrams Shops Emerson/O'Quinn Show, Linda Hamilton Talks Chuck, Spartacus, Community, True Lies, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Could Lost's Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson be headed back your televisions? If J.J. Abrams gets his way, they'll be reuniting for a drama project--tentatively entitled Odd Jobs--that Abrams, along with Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec, are pitching to the networks. Vulture's Josef Adalain is reporting that the drama, which will also contain a large amount of humor, revolves around "former black-ops agents." It's unknown whether the project is based on any part on the idea that Emerson and O'Quinn had floated a while back in which they'd play suburban hit men. But the fact that Abrams' Bad Robot--and possibly by association Warner Bros. Television--is behind Odd Jobs (or whatever it might eventually be called), is a good sign that the project will at least be picked up to pilot. (Vulture)

AOL Television's Maureen Ryan talks to Linda Hamilton about her role as Mary Elizabeth Bartowski on NBC's Chuck, where the former Terminator and Beauty and the Beast star says she wants to stick around as long as they'll have her. "Well, Mary Bartowski is the absentee mother of Chuck and Ellie and the most that I can really say about her is that ... she is not your ordinary homemaker," said Hamilton. "She comes back into Chuck's life with an agenda and you know, she is definitely a strong, forceful [woman] -- definitely a force to be reckoned with. It ain't all apologies and sentiment, that's for sure. She has her own agenda and it just kind of goes crazy from there. But we like crazy." (TV Squad)

Series lead Andy Whitfield has had to withdraw from Season Two of Starz's Spartacus due to a recurrence of cancer. "It's with a deep sense of disappointment that I must step aside from such an exceptional project as Spartacus‚ and all the wonderful people involved," said Whitfield in a statement. "It seems that it is time for myself and my family to embark on another extraordinary journey. Thank you sincerely for the support so far," said Whitfield. No immediate decision has been made about the fate of the series, which delayed production on the second season and instead shot a prequel series (Spartacus: Gods of the Arena)--set to air in January--in order to allow Whitfield the opportunity to undergo treatment. "Right now, we just want to extend our concern and support to Andy and his family," said Carmi Zlotnik, Managing Director, Starz Media, in the same press release. "We will address our programming plans at some later date." (Variety, Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

NBC's Community is planning a stop-motion animated Christmas episode in the spirit of those classic Rankin/Bass specials like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. [Editor: I actually talked to Community creator Dan Harmon and the cast when I was on set last week.] The episode, written by Harmon and Dino Stamatopoulos (who also plays Starburns), will feature the Greendale crew getting animated after Harmon floated the idea for such an episode in an interview over the summer. "It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do but, I never anticipated having the ability to do it,” said Harmon. But “Jeff Gaspin at NBC woke up one morning and thought Community should do an animated episode. I was like, ‘Well, that’s weird, because that’s the kind of stuff I’m usually suggesting and guys like him veto.’” (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

ABC is developing a drama series based on James Cameron's 1994 feature film True Lies, which the Avatar director will executive produce. The project, from 20th Century Fox Television and writer/showrunner Rene Echevarria, has a sizable penalty attached to it. (Variety)

Showtime is said to be close to giving a pilot order to Homeland from Fox21 that's based on Israeli drama format Prisoners of War from executive producers Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa of FOX's 24. In this iteration, the project will revolve around "a U.S. soldier who was presumed killed in Iraq 10 years ago" who "returns home, but questions arise as to whether he truly was a wartime POW or a member of a sleeper cell sent to cause the next terrorist attack," according to The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd, who has an interview with Gordon about the project, likely the first to be ordered by newly minted Showtime entertainment president David Nevins. And Ben Affleck is said to be in conversations to direct the pilot itself. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed, Variety)

Peter Coyote (FlashForward) has joined the cast of NBC's Law & Order: Los Angeles, where he will recur as the district attorney. (Deadline)

TVGuide.com's Denise Martin talks to Lone Star's leading man, James Wolk, about the new FOX ddrama, which launches tonight. "He's a con man who wants to go straight," said Wolk about his character. "He wants to do the right thing. This isn't a guy who leaves one of his wives and then calls his buddy and says, 'Hey man, you're never gonna believe it. I got two chicks.' That's not this guy. This guy really loves these girls. He fully believes that he is madly in love with them. So, he thinks he's fighting for love. I think that is what can make him sympathetic. Yes, he's a sociopath, clearly screws loose. But, nonetheless, someone who thinks he's doing the right thing." (TVGuide.com)

ABC has given a pilot order to Pan Am, a period drama pilot based on the now-defunct Pam Am that will be set in the 1960s and focus on the flight attendants and pilots of the airline. Project, from Sony Pictures Television, will be written by Jack Orman and will be directed by Thomas Schlamme. (Variety)

Callie Thorne (Rescue Me) will play the lead in USA drama pilot Necessary Roughness, about a female psychologist who is hired by a pro football team as their therapist. "After succeeding beyond expectations, she is sought after by other athletes, musicians, politicians and those living in the spotlight who all want her unique brand of tough love therapy," writes Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. Thorne's casting lifts the contingency on the project, which was written by Elizabeth Kruger and Craig Shapiro. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Elsewhere, Rachael Carpani (Cane) has booked the lead in Lifetime drama pilot Against the Wall, where she will play cop Abby Kowalski, who "causes a rift with her three cop brothers when she decides to join the department’s Internal Affairs division." Project, from Universal Cable Prods., is written by Annie Brunner and will be directed by Dean Parisot. (Deadline)

The Hollywood Reporter's Stacey Wilson has an interview with Outsourced executive producer Ken Kwapis in which he responds to allegations of racial stereotypes in the new NBC workplace comedy. "A third of the writing staff is of Indian descent," said Kwapis. "But any story about a culture clash is going to deal with stereotypes on some level. The real question is: Are we trying to perpetuate stereotypes? Absolutely not, we're trying to explore them. We're trying to humanize these characters. This is all about putting a human face on the voice at the other end of the phone line. What frustrates me most is when I hear people who are angry about outsourcing and they hang the problem on the call-center workers themselves. As if the Indian call-center worker has the power to decide to bring jobs there! My hope is that for an audience, the show will allow you to basically go around the world and meet someone who, lo and behold, is fundamentally no different from yourself." (Hollywood Reporter)

Entrepreneur Mark Cuban will appear in three episodes of ABC's Shark Tank as a guest shark. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

TNT has renewed Memphis Beat for a second season, with ten episodes on tap for 2011. (via press release)

Hayden Panettiere (Heroes) will play Amanda Knox in an upcoming Lifetime telepic based on the real-life murder case. (Variety)

More Doctor Who Adventure games are on the way. The Beeb has commissioned a second series of Doctor Who: The Adventure Games, the online series of Who-centric games that feature the voices of series stars Matt Smith and Karen Gillan. (Broadcast)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: TBS Axes My Boys, John Schneider to Wisteria Lane, Top Chef: Just Desserts, Terra Nova, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

It's official: TBS has cancelled comedy My Boys after four seasons. News comes after series stars Jordana Spiro and Kyle Howard had to withdraw from pilots that had been ordered to series due to their first position on the TBS comedy, whose days many suspected were already numbered. According to Variety's Jon Weisman, roughly 14 months passed between the end of the third season and the beginning of the fourth season, which kicked off in July. One cast member--Jim Gaffigan--left between the seasons. Spiro's role on Love Bites was eliminated when she was unavailable as the show under went some retooling. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that John Schneider (Smallville) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on ABC's Desperate Housewives this season, where he will play the father to Brian Austin Green's Keith, the new handyman/contractor overseeing the remodeling of the home of Marcia Cross' Bree. Schneider will make his first appearance in Season Seven's seventh episode. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TVGuide.com's Gina DiNunno has an interview with Top Chef: Just Desserts host/judge Gail Simmons about the culinary competition series launching tonight (after the season finale of Top Chef). "Pastry chefs are so precise and so exacting [that] it really does come out in their personalities," said Simmons. "And they're artists, so with that comes a lot of drama. ... I mean, there's a lot of strategy and sabotage, and what's amazing is that desserts sort of lend themselves to that because they're so delicate and so fragile that you kind of have to guard them with your life or else it all could be lost." (TVGuide.com)

Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice has confirmed that Stephen Lang (Avatar)--reported by Deadline to be in talks to join the cast of FOX's Terra Nova--is indeed in talks to do just that. Lang would star opposite Jason O'Mara and Allison Miller in the project, which recounts the adventures of a family from the future who travels back to prehistoric times as part of a project to save the human race. Lang would play "the merciless leader of a prehistoric settlement." Series is slated to launch in fall 2011 after a sneak peek next May. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

All is not well behind the scenes on Terra Nova, however. Executive producer David Fury--known for his work on 24 and in the Whedonverse--has exited the project, citing "creative differences." Fury had been serving as co-showrunner on the FOX project, alongside Brannon Braga, who will now become the series' sole showrunner. (Variety)

SPOILER! TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck talks to Bones star Michaela Conlin about just what she and Hodgins will be bringing back from Paris when the series returns on September 23rd. "Angela's pregnant!" said Conlin. "I have to be honest, at first I was a little hesitant. To marry this wild child off and get her pregnant had me worried that this would limit her, story-wise. But I now feel, getting in to the sixth season, it's going to be interesting to see her try to fit her wild life into this maternal situation." Look for Angela's pregnancy to have a major effect on Brennan meanwhile. (TV Guide Magazine)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Rachael Taylor (Transformers) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on ABC's Grey's Anatomy this season. "Taylor’s character is still being conceived—she’s not scheduled to debut until midseason—but a Grey’s insider confirms that she will be playing a (surprise!) doctor," writes Ausiello. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

MTV has ordered two scripted pilots: That Girl, a coming of age comedy about "a 15-year-old misfit who suddenly becomes the center of attention after the kids in school mistakingly believe she tried to commit suicide," from creator Lauren Iungerich; and horror comedy Death Valley, about a division of the LAPD that focuses on supernatural threats, from executive producers Austin Reading, Jilie Kellman Reading, Eric Weinberg, and Tim Healy. (Variety)

E! Online's Megan Masters has an exclusive first look at the tenth and final season of the CW's Smallville, which kicks off on September 24th. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

ABC is developing an untitled drama pilot about the vice president of the United States and his female chief of staff with writers/executive producers Sheldon Turner and Shaun Cassidy attached. "The drama, which comes with a strong dose of comedy, focuses on the underdog nature of the veep's team -- call it the political equivalent of Glee," writes Variety's Michael Schneider. "Untitled hour is less about politics and more about office dynamics, including a budding romance between the chief of staff and the veepee's son." (Variety)

Dylan Baker, Matthew Lillard, Amy Irving, and Jennifer Grey are all set to guest star on Season Seven of FOX's House, which kicks off on Monday evening. (Hollywood Reporter)

In other FOX casting news, Jamie Hector (The Wire, Heroes) will guest star in the third season premiere of Lie to Me, where he will play a character involved in a major bank heist. (Hollywood Reporter)

TNT is said to have renewed medical drama Hawthorne for a ten-episode third season, according to Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. Official word of the pickup will apparently come today. (Deadline)

Denise Richards has been cast in Season Two of Spike's Blue Mountain State, where she will play "the coach's contentious and meddling ex-wife Debra who adds to his troubles as he must deliver a winning season." (Hollywood Reporter)

BBC Two has renewed comedy Rev, created by and starring Tom Hollander, from Simon Pegg and Nira Park's Big Talk Prods. Series revolves around an inner city priest and is set to return for a second season in Fall of 2011, while the US cable networks are said to be sniffing around a potential American remake. (Deadline)

In other UK-centric news, Comedy Central has given a pilot order to a US remake of BBC Two's Time Trumpet, created by Armando Iannucci, which offers a take on the current news from the perspective of the future. Should it be ordered to series, the format would likely launch in late 2011 or 2012. (Hollywood Reporter)

Syfy has promoted three executives: Tim Krubsack has been upped to senior VP of alternative programming, Lucia Gervino to senior VP of production, and Erika Kennair will now serve as VP of original programming and development. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: The Future of Serialized Dramas, Dan Akroyd on Defenders, Outnumbered, Law & Order: SVU Lands Sagemiller, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Variety's Robert Abele has a very interesting feature on the future of serialized programming, following the conclusion of Lost and 24 (and the narrative burn-out of ABC's FlashForward and NBC's Heroes) last season. Abele talks to AOL Television's Maureen Ryan, NBC's Laura Lancaster, and The Event executive produce Evan Katz about viewer fatigue, commitment, and concerns. "Viewer trust is something you earn by delivering -- it's that simple," said Katz. "It's not easy to accomplish, but when it works, you have something big on your hands... This show is very Hitchcockian in that it's an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances, and you experience the twists emotionally with him," said Katz. "We don't have 660 beats laid out," Katz says, "but you need to know where the characters are going, and those benchmarks are in place. The line is, mystery is good, confusion is bad." (Variety)

Could Dan Akroyd be dropping by CBS' upcoming legal drama The Defenders? It certainly looks that way, as creator/executive producer Kevin Kennedy indicated Friday night at the Paley Center preview event for for the Jerry O'Connell and Jim Belushi-led drama series. We have a lot planned and we certainly have a dream list," Kennedy told The Hollywood Reporter. "The [guest star] we've talked about most recently, and we'll see if we can get it arranged -- it's a scheduling thing and it wouldn't happen until the end of the year if it happens this year -- we want to get Dan Aykroyd together with Jim." (The Hollywood Reporter)

FOX has given a pilot order to a US adaptation of British comedy series Outnumbered, the second time the network has attempted to import the family comedy. (The first time was a 2008 pilot starring Ken Marino and Brooke Bloom, which wasn't ordered to series.) Barbara Wallace and Thomas Wolfe are attached to write the pilot, which will be produced outside of the normal production cycle. The Hat Trick-produced original series revolves around a married couple who are "outnumbered" by their three young children. [Editor: It's also a hysterically funny comedy. The key to the US version succeeding or failing really lands on the strength of the kids they cast.] (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Melissa Sagemiller (Raising the Bar) will take over the role of ADA on Law & Order: SVU, after Paula Patton had to drop out of the role after just one episode thanks to her casting in Mission: Impossible 4. No details were available about her character. Sagemiller will first appear in November. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Well, this might be why NBC hasn't sent it out to press yet... Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Wanda De Jesus has left Law & Order: Los Angeles after two episodes and her part--that of LAPD Robbery Homicide Division captain Arleen Gonzales--will be recast and her scenes in the first two episodes will be reshot. Producers are said to be looking for a potential replacement. They're swiftly running out of time, however, as the series is set to launch at the end of the month. (Deadline)

Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice is reporting that Michael Badalucco (The Practice) has been cast in a recurring role on CBS daytime soap The Young and the Restless, where he will play Hogan, described as "a tough bookie who helps Jeff (Ted Shackelford) and Kevin (Greg Rikaart) come up with cash to help pay for Jeff’s nightclub/restaurant, Gloworm." He's set to make his first appearance on October 13th. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Lennie James has been promoted to series regular on HBO's Hung, where he previous recurred as Charlie the pimp. Elsewhere, Arie Verveen (Cold Case) has been cast in a six-episode story arc on FX's Sons of Anarchy, where he will play Liam O'Neill, described as "a high-ranking member of a motorcycle club in Belfast, Northern Ireland." (Hollywood Reporter)

Let them eat (period) cake? Mad Men writers Andre and Maria Jacquemetton have been hired to write the scripts for 12-episode period drama Versailles, an English-language French production that is currently looking for British or American production partners. Former HBO executive Anne Thomopoulos is executive producing the project, which revolves around the court of King Louis XIV, for Canal Plus. (Variety)

Lifetime has given a greenlight to telepic Unanswered Prayers, an adaptation of the Garth Brooks song, which will star Samantha Mathis, Eric Close, and Madchen Amick. Telepic, from Sony Pictures Television, will premiere in November. (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC's marketing co-head Mike Benson has stepped down from his position as newly minted ABC entertainment president Paul Lee looks to put his own imprimatur on the Alphabet's brand. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Syfy Brings Caprica Back Early, No Heroes Movie, Office Succession Plans, Fringe, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

I'm still not entirely sure what to make of the news that Syfy has bumped the premiere of the second half of Caprica's freshman season up by several months. While the series premiere aired this past January, Syfy surprised many by announcing that it would be a year later that the back half of Caprica's first season would launch. Cut to yesterday when Syfy seemingly reversed their decision, announcing a shocking soon launch date--Tuesday, October 5th, in fact--while Sanctuary, which was to have that timeslot, will now move back to Fridays this fall, where it will share the lineup with Friday Night Smackdown. “Though we initially announced the January return of Caprica, we still had hopes of finding a way to get the series back on the air sooner,” Syfy EVP Mark Stern told Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. “We’ve been able to successfully re-work our schedule, and are thrilled to bring the show back during what is traditionally Syfy’s most-watched time of the year." I can't help but wonder whether the move is intended to capitalize on Caprica or it's an effort to bury it among the slew of new network and cable series, given that there's now less than a month to get a promotional campaign off the ground. Hmmm... Meanwhile, still no word on a second season pickup. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed, Deadline)

File this under "hardly surprising." Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice is reporting that NBC is not moving forward on a Heroes telepic that would tie up the loose plot points left dangling after the series ended this spring. Despite NBC's discussion of said film, series creator Tim Kring was less than hopeful that said film--like the ones discussed at HBO for Deadwood--would ever make it to air. Which means that the series finale of Heroes will remain just that: the finale, though Kring and Co. could in future again tap into the mythology of Heroes in some other fashion. [Editor: Was anyone really clamoring for a Heroes movie anyway?] (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd has a very long feature examining just how NBC will deal with the departure of Steve Carell at the end of the upcoming season of The Office and cites unnamed sources who say that "the final decision likely won’t be made until after the upcoming seventh season wraps," but "by season’s end, you will know who is getting Michael Scott’s job." According to Hibberd, the current strategy is to use the first half of the season to shine a spotlight on specific characters, giving them each a specific episode in which to be the focal point. The second half of the season will focus then on the issue of succession as Carell's Michael Scott makes his plans known for his departure, while NBC will launch online polls and the like designed to make the decision of his replacement interactive. "By season’s end, one character will have Scott’s job — but that person is not necessarily Carell’s replacement as the show’s star," writes Hibberd. "Sources say writers are tempted to have the character who becomes the Scranton branch's new boss fail in some spectacular manner, leaving the seat open again for another successor during Season 8. One radical notion being explored is the possibility of subtly shifting the show’s point of view so that a current character is the star instead of the boss." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has a first look at the Season Three cast photo for FOX's Fringe, which features Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Lance Reddick, Jasika Nicole, and Blair Brown... and a shadowy figure lurking in an open doorway that looks suspiciously like the silhouette of an Observer to me. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online's Megan Masters talks to Life Unexpected creator Liz Tigelaar about Julia, the mysterious character that Jamie Ray Newman (Eastwick) will be playing on the CW series this fall. "We [introduce] Julia in the premiere, and then we let Cate and Ryan go on with their lives for a little bit. But her name starts coming up again, and Cate's confused about who this person is. We'll actually see some flashbacks of who this person is, and how she knows Ryan," said Tigelaar. "Julia's a person who was an integral person in Ryan's past. He's moved on and is with Cate, but in the course of season one she reappeared and there are repercussions of that. She's definitely lightly threaded into the first 13, and if we get a back nine, she'll be back. She be a character who's going to stir some stuff up for them." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

It's official: Jennifer Morrison (House) has joined the cast of CBS' How I Met Your Mother, where she will play Zooey, a new love interest for Ted Mosby. Morrison's Zooey, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, is "a rabble-rousing activist who’s hell-bent on saving the Arcadian, an old New York hotel that’s scheduled to be torn down to make way for the Goliath National Bank tower—which Ted just so happens to be designing." But this won't be another date-of-the-week for Ted, according to the show's producers. "This is going to be a big saga for Ted," Carter Bays told EW. "[It's] going to be a big overarching story that will take Ted on a journey that we’re really excited about." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

HBO has confirmed the launch of Season Three of therapy drama In Treatment, which will kick off with two back-to-back half-hour episodes on Monday, October 25th, and Tuesday, October 26th at 9 pm ET/PT. Subsequent episodes will follow the same scheduling. New cast members include Irrfan Kahn, Debra Winger, Amy Ryan, and Dane DeHaan. (via press release)

American Dad producer Bob Kushell has sold two comedy pitches, animated comedy Red Roofs to FOX and an untitled multi-camera comedy to NBC about a "blended family dealing with the death of the clan's patriarch (who had been living a double life)." (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Dark Tower Comes to TV (And Cinemas), Chuck Lands Freddie Krueger, TNT Mines Dallas, The Event, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Deadline's Mike Fleming broke the news yesterday that Universal has landed the rights to Stephen King's massive multiple-novel series "The Dark Tower," and is developing an adaptation that will comprise both a feature film franchise as well as a television series element, an unprecedented use of the two platforms. Ron Howard will direct the first film as well as the first season of the television series that would follow on its heels; likewise both elements will be written by Akiva Goldsman, with Universal Media Studios attached as the studio. The first season of the series would use the same actors and focus on gunslinger Deschain after the events of the film, while the second season would revolve around Deschain's past. “What Peter [Jackson] did [with Lord of the Rings] was a feat, cinematic history,” Howard told Fleming. “The approach we’re taking also stands on its own, but it’s driven by the material. I love both, and like what’s going on in TV. With this story, if you dedicated to one medium or another, there’s the horrible risk of cheating material. The scope and scale call for a big screen budget. But if you committed only to films, you’d deny the audience the intimacy and nuance of some of these characters and a lot of cool twists and turns that make for jaw-dropping, compelling television. We’ve put some real time and deep thought into this, and a lot of conversations and analysis from a business standpoint, to get people to believe in this and take this leap with us. I hope audiences respond to it in a way that compels us to keep going after the first year or two of work. It’s fresh territory for me, as a filmmaker.” (Deadline)

[Meanwhile, JJ Abrams--who had previously been attached to The Dark Tower--is said to be shopping yet another television project, this time a crime thriller created by Jonah Nolan (The Dark Knight, The Prestige) that could start a bidding war at several networks, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello.]

Is it just me or is the Chuck casting team on a roll this season? Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Freddy Kreuger himself--make that Robert Englund--is set to guest star on Chick's Halloween-themed episode, set to air in October. "Englund will play Dr. Stanley Wheelwright, an evil scientist who can make your waking life a nightmare," writes Ausiello. "He’ll appear in this season’s sixth episode, titled 'Chuck Versus Aisle of Terror.'" (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TNT announced a slew of pilot pickups, including a remake of nighttime soap Dallas from writer Cynthia Cidre (Cane) and Warner Horizon that will focus on the rivalry between brothers J.R. and Bobby Ewing. Other projects include ABC Studios' Perception (formerly known as Proof), from writers Biller and Mike Sussman, about a neurosurgeon who solves crimes using his unique way of viewing the world and an untitled Allan Loeb drama from Lionsgate Television about a widowed cop whose partner has just gotten married (which is based on Marshall Karp's novel "The Rabbit Factory"). TBS, meanwhile, ordered a pilot for comedy Brain Trust, from Dean Devlin and Marco Schnabel, about a detective who gets a second shot at life. (via press release)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Hal Holbrook (Sons of Anarchy) has signed on to NBC's upcoming thriller The Event in a multiple-episode story arc, where he will play "a mysterious character by the name of Dempsey." A press release from NBC that hit the wire shortly thereafter expanded upon the description of Holbrook's character: "Holbrook will play Dempsey, a businessman with shadowy intentions, who will be revealed as an antagonist to President Martinez (Blair Underwood) beginning with his first scheduled appearance on October 11." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files, press release)

It's officially official: America's Got Talent judge Piers Morgan will headline his own talk show on CNN, replacing Larry King in the 9 pm timeslot beginning in January. (Variety)

Former Battlestar Galactica and 24 star Katee Sackhoff is finally heading to CBS' CSI three years after producers tried to cast her as Jorja Fox's replacement on the CBS crime procedural, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. Sackhoff has been cast in a "potentially recurring role" as Detective Reed, described as "a smart, tough, and feisty investigator with an acknowledged lack of sensitivity." She'll make her first appearance in November. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

There's still more Jersey Shore on tap for MTV: the cabler has ordered two specials that will air after the second season finale on October 21st; the first will be a reunion special slated to air a week later, while the second will be a behind-the-scenes special. No air date has been announced for the latter. Season Three of the reality juggernaut will air next year. (Hollywood Reporter)

Former House star Jennifer Morrison is said to be in the running to join the cast of CBS' How I Met Your Mother as a "major new love interest for Ted," according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. She's not the only one, however, as Minka Kelly and Jacinda Barrett are also said to be in contention. "I don’t know if she’s the mother we’ve been waiting to meet," writes Ausiello. "However, I do know that the character—a quick-witted, rabble-rousing activist who initially clashes with Ted over the planned demolition of a historic New York hotel—will appear in as many as 13 episodes this season." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Watch with Kristin team at E! Online rounded up a ton of information about Season Two of FOX's Glee directly from the horse's mouth as it were, talking to the cast on the red carpet of the premiere party earlier this week and revealing information about duets, romances, Rocky Horror and more. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Diane Farr and Peter Tolan have separately received script orders for two one-hour dramas at FOX. Farr's project, based on her upcoming semi-autobiographical novel "You Can't Love One of Them," is said to focus on "several interracial couples living in the South in a post-Obama world." Project, from 20th Century Fox Television and Generate, will be written and executive produced by Farr alongside Pete Aronson and Jordan Levin. Tolan, meanwhile, has sold a script for an untitled Glen Mazzara drama with Sony Pictures Television attached as the studio; it will revolve around "a burnt-out doctor who joins a neighborhood medical clinic." (Deadline)

Showtime has ordered a second season of The Green Room with Paul Provenza, with six episodes on tap for 2011. (via press release)

Epix has hired Jill Burkhart as the director of documentary development for the pay cabler. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Psych Has a Twin Peaks Experience, HBO Orders Apatow/Dunham Pilot, SNL, Modern Family Casts Cam's Mom, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

I'm not even a Psych fan and this made me blissfully happy. Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that USA's Psych is staging a Twin Peaks-inspired episode that will also feature original cast members Sheryl Lee, Sherilyn Fenn, Dana Ashbrook, Catherine Coulson, Ray Wise, Lenny Von Dohlen, and Robyn Lively. Um, yes please. The episode, co-written by series star James Roday, will air sometime this fall and will revolve around "a quirky Northern California town that has been rocked by the death of a high school student." Sound familiar? Coulson will even play a "mysterious Woman with Wood," a tongue-in-cheek take on her Log Lady from Twin Peaks. Sign me up. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that HBO has given a pilot order to an untitled comedy written/directed by 24-year-old Lena Dunham (Tiny Furniture) and executive produced by Judd Apatow and Jenni Konner. Project, which will also star Dunham, revolves around "the assorted humiliations and rare triumphs of a group of girls in their early 20's" and will feature autobiographical elements from Dunham's own life. (Deadline)

Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice is reporting that Parks and Recreation leading lady Amy Poehler will host the season premiere of Saturday Night Live on September 25th, with Katy Perry serving as musical guest. Season 36 has added four new players to the mix, including Taran Killam, Paul Brittain, Vanessa Bayer, and Jay Pharoah (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

[Editor: Will Forte, as widely reported, will not be returning to SNL this season. Jenny Slate, who made headlines for the F-bomb heard 'round the latenight world, is also "not expected to return," according to Variety's Michael Schneider.]

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Celia Weston (Desperate Housewives) has beat out Delta Burke, Dianne Wiest, and Kathy Bates (along with others) to play Barb Tucker, the mother of Emmy Award winner Eric Stonestreet's Cam, on ABC's Modern Family. Weston is expected to turn up around the holidays for a visit this season. (TV Guide Magazine)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Alan Ritchson will reprise his role as Arthur "AC" Curry on the final season of the CW's Smallville during November sweeps. "AC was last seen in season 8, when his secret identity was discovered by LuthorCorp," writes Ausiello. "I’m told the Justice Leaguer will resurface in this season’s ninth episode." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

MTV is getting back into the live daytime game with new daily countdown show The Seven, according to The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd, who reports that the show, which will launch September 27th, "presents seven stories that MTV viewers need to know, from Hollywood news, music, sex and fashion to other topics." Project, which will also feature interviews and musical performances, will be executive produced by Steve Tseckares. (Hollywood Reporter)

David Nevins has announced his first piece of development business since he took over as president of Showtime. The project in question is an adaptation of Tom Perrotta's novel "The Wishbones," which Perrotta himself will adapt for the pay cabler. Warner Bros. Television-based project, which will be executive produced by Perrotta and John Wells, revolves around a small-time wedding band with plans of rock n' roll stardom. Wells is no stranger to Showtime: his next series, a US adaptation of UK drama Shameless, is set to launch early next year on the channel. [Editor: Having seen the pilot for the US Shameless--twice, no less--and been raving about it for months since, this is one to keep an eye on.] (Variety)

Don't look for Marc Cherry to pull out the stops this sweeps on ABC's Desperate Housewives. Cherry told TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck that the soap will get back to basics this season and ditch the gimmicks. "I'm not doing another big gimmicky natural disaster this year; I'm trying something different," Cherry said. "My big cliffhanger right before we take our Christmas break will have to do with Paul Young. He has a plan for destroying the neighborhood. There will a shocking cliffhanger that effects everyone's lives, and then right before February sweeps, we're going to kill off one of our characters." (TV Guide Magazine)

HBO has acquired rights to Martin Scorsese's documentary Public Speaking, which focuses on writer Fran Lebowitz and which will air on the pay cabler in November. (via press release)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that FOX's Bones will feature an episode that's loosely inspired by dance competition series So You Think You Can Dance, as Booth and Brennan tackle a case involving street performers. Episode will feature a guest appearance from So You Think You Can Dance Season Four runner-up Stephen "tWitch" Boss, who will play a murder suspect. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FOX has renewed culinary competition series Masterchef for a second season. (Variety)

Despite the rumors swirling that Simon Cowell will step down from the UK X-Factor in order to focus his attention on the upcoming US launch of the format, his reps have told The Hollywood Reporter that "no decision has been made." (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Kara DioGuardi Leaves Idol, Treadstone Heads to CBS, Ashmore Twins Land Fringe, Glee, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. With the holiday weekend having just wrapped, no one was breaking too much news. Which isn't to say that there are no key television-based headlines, because, well, there are. Let's get to it.

It's official: Kara DioGuardi will not be returning to FOX's American Idol this season. The singer-songwriter joined the judges table two years ago and FOX has now confirmed the long-gestating rumors that DioGuardi would not be returning for another season of the musical competition series. "I felt like I won the lottery when I joined American Idol two years ago, but I feel like now is the best time to leave IDOL," said DioGuardi in an official statement. "I am very proud to have been associated with American Idol - it has truly been an amazing experience. I am grateful to FOX, FremantleMedia and 19 Entertainment, as well as the cast, crew and contestants, for all they have given to me. I look forward to my next challenge, and want to thank everyone who has supported me. All the best to everyone on Season 10!" Idol creator and executive producer Simon Fuller had this to say about DioGuardi's departure: "Kara is one of the world's best songwriters. She has been passionate and committed to Idol over the last two seasons. I will miss having her on the show, but I look forward to working with her in music for many years to come." (via press release)

Variety's Michael Schneider is reporting that the new Idol panelists, including a replacement for DioGuardi could be announced next week, with Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler still expected to join the judging team for the next cycle of American Idol. (Variety)

Has CSI creator Anthony Zuiker found his next smash hit? Zuiker has landed a script order for Treadstone, a series take on the black ops division of the CIA from Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne novels, at CBS. Project, from CBS Television Studios and Dare to Pass, will be written by John Glenn (Eagle Eye), who will executive produce with Zuiker. (Deadline)

Shawn and Aaron Ashmore--the twin actors known for their roles in the X-Men film franchise, Smallville, and Veronica Mars--are set to appear in Season Three of FOX's Fringe this fall. The duo are set to guest star in an episode slated to air in November and have turned down other invitations to play opposite each other in the past. "It's usually because the stuff that comes along is kind of hokey," Shawn Ashmore told Chicago Now. "But I think the quality of Fringe is really high and the episode is done well and our characters are intelligent. We're going to have some fun." No word immediately on just who or what they'll be playing but it's safe to say that twins will play into the equation in some capacity. (via Digital Spy)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck has an exclusive first look at John Stamos' Dr. Carl Howell on Season Two of FOX's Glee. "Just when Will thinks he'll win Emma because he can sing and dance, we find out Carl used to be in an '80s boy band," Stamos told Keck. "I discover Will's chewing his teeth, so the other day I had, like, four fingers in Matthew Morrison's mouth." And Carl will also play a key role in causing those Brittany Spears hallucinations this fall in the Spears tribute episode... and will appear in the Rocky Horror Picture Show-inspired Halloween episode as well. (TV Guide Magazine)

NBC is teaming up with DreamWorks Animated for half-hour holiday specials Scared Shrekless and Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special. The first will air on October 28th as a Halloween tie-in while Panda will air on November 24th. Both will be paired with repeats of last year's DreamWorks Animated specials based around Monsters Vs. Aliens and Madagascar. (Hollywood Reporter)

Bill Lawrence is keeping it in the family: Ken Jenkins (Scrubs) is set to guest star on ABC's Cougar Town, where he will play the father of Courteney Cox's Jules, according to Entertainment Weekly. No airdate has been set for Jenkins' appearance, though it's thought likely that he'll turn up this fall. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Office isn't going anywhere, executive producer Paul Lieberstein told E! Online's Megan Masters on Friday... and indicated that there could be an Office movie. [Editor: for the love of all things holy, no.] "There's been no talk at any point of The Office ending," Lieberstein told Masters. "Maybe when the series is done we'd do an Office movie. I'd be up for that... But they're all such big movie stars now, I don't know if we could afford them on set." Lieberstein also advised fans to stick with the series even after Steve Carell leaves at the end of this upcoming season. "This will definitely change the dynamic [of the show]," said Lieberstein. "And we can't just replace Steve because I think that would lead to failure. We have to do something different. This show is really about office life, which so many people live. And changing it up a little will be welcome to the fans. Steve feels he's played almost everything he can with Michael Scott. There isn't a lot of new territory for him to discover. And if he's feeling that, fans must be, at a certain level, feeling that too—it's an opportunity to reinvent The Office." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Kevin Rankin (Friday Night Lights) has been cast in a recurring role on HBO's Big Love), where he will play the son of a fundamentalist polygamists. (Hollywood Reporter)

The Futon Critic is reporting that Syfy will air Felicia Day's telepic Red: Werewolf Hunter on Saturday, October 30th at 9 pm ET/PT. (Futon Critic)

Elsewhere at the cabler, Syfy is developing conspiracy-based reality series UFO: Unbelievably Freakin' Obvious that will feature Billy Ray Cyrus and his son Trace as they "travel cross-country and offer a skeptical solution to many of the theories," according to Variety's Stuart Levine. "The existence of paranormal phenomena is something I've always wanted to explore further," Cyrus told Variety. "Getting the opportunity to take this adventure with my son, who has always had a keen interest in this area, is a dream come true. I hope this series can shine a light on some of the activities we have questioned, and the mysteries that have long inspired us." (Variety)

MTV has given a put pilot order to an untitled scripted comedy from comedian Bo Burnham which will revolve around "a kid fresh out of high school who's pursing the new American dream of being a celebrity without having any talent," according to Burnham, who will write and executive produce the pilot, alongside Dan Lagana and Luke Liacos. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Kristen Bell Wants Veronica Mars Movie, Tricia Helfer Nabs Lie to Me, SNL Lands Bryan Cranston, Fringe, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Just a few headlines to go through before the long weekend...

Remember the Veronica Mars feature film that never was? So does Kristen Bell, who has taken to Twitter and the interwebs in order to drum up support for a feature film return to the UPN/WB series that so many of us fell in love with. Creator Rob Thomas had floated a film version of Veronica Mars back in 2009 but Warner Bros. passed on the concept, deeming that there wasn't enough of an audience to warrant the expenditure. (As if!) After radio silence about the project, Bell has now taken her cause to the streets. Or at least to Twitter, where yesterday she tweeted the following messages: "mars fans-can we bug @wbpictures & tell em the must do a VM film?? new tactic. bombard em w/tweets, theres evidence of fans they cant ignore... #veronicamars fans send petitions & any obsessive [behavior] u have 2 @wbpictures & demand the film. they c no audience 4 it? i beg 2 differ." Needless to say, several petitions have already sprung up in support of Bell's campaign. [Editor: I'd long given up hope of ever seeing a Veronica Mars feature film, though I'd love one. I do miss Neptune and Bell's Veronica. While I still don't have faith it will get made, my hat is off to Bell for drumming up support... and for not turning her back on her roots.] (Vulture)

TVGuide.com's Adam Bryant is reporting that Tricia Helfer--she of the skin-tight dresses and blonde wig on Battlestar Galactica--will be guest starring this season on FOX's Lie to Me, where she will play Naomi. According to Bryant, her character is "attracted to Lightman (Tim Roth) despite being frustrated by the inability to hide anything from him. But when she calls on Lightman for protection from a violent ex-boyfriend, it's Lightman who begins to wonder if her beauty has impaired his lie-detecting skills." No airdate for Helfer's episode has been announced but it will air as part of Lie to Me's third season, which kicks off on November 10th. (TVGuide.com)

Good news for Breaking Bad fans: Bryan Cranston will host Saturday Night Live this season. The Hollywood Reporter has indicated that Cranston--who took home an Emmy Award this past weekend for his work on the AMC drama series--will host the October 2nd episode. (Hollywood Reporter)

Bubs Alert! Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice has a first-look at Andre Royo--yes, who played Bubbles on HBO's dearly missed The Wire--in an upcoming episode of FOX's Fringe, where he'll guest star opposite Anna Torv's Olivia Dunham. Royo, who will appear in the September 23rd episode, will play "a taxi driver that Olivia (Anna Torv) encounters as she fights to find her way home." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Jamie Oliver is heading to Los Angeles. ABC has renewed the British chef's reality series Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution for a second season of six episodes, which will be shot in Los Angeles. Reports have indicated that the sophomore season will air either in midseason or next summer. (Variety)

Speaking of food shows, The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd has an interview with chef/author/l'enfant terrible Anthony Bourdain, in which the two discuss culinary television shows, travel, and more. Asked about his views on FOX's Masterchef, Bourdain had this to say: "Dreadful. I saw one episode where they had the contestants try to identify the ingredients of chili. 'I'm guessing there's onion in there' -- you know what I'm saying? 'There might be beef too.' I wish Gordon Ramsay well, but I think Top Chef remains the benchmark... I'm horrified at the low level of competitor in Hell's Kitchen. None of these people could ever -- ever -- be up to the standards of a line cook at a real Gordon Ramsay restaurant. So the whole construct seems artificial to me. Top Chef, on the other hand, what they ask these cooks to do is really difficult, and the quality of the contestants is very high." (Hollywood Reporter)

TVGuide.com's Adam Bryant is reporting that Thomas Calabro (Melrose Place) will guest star on an upcoming episode of CBS' CSI: NY, where he will play "a man who is searching with his wife (Helen Slater, Smallville's Lara-El) for their missing son. Together, they follow clues left for them from a mysterious caller." His episode will air sometime this fall. (TVGuide.com)

Oren Peli and Michael R. Perry--the creators of Paranormal Activity--have joined forces with Dreamworks Television and ABC Studios to develop horror drama The River, which revolves around "search for a person who went missing on the Amazon river and employs the found-video footage format popularized by Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield and, of course, Paranormal Activity." Project is said to be thisclose to a pilot pickup at ABC. (Hollywood Reporter)

Elsewhere, Paul Scheuring (Prison Break) and McG have gotten a "hefty commitment" from ABC for their private investigator drama I, PI, which revolves around "an investigator who learned everything he ever needed to know about being a P.I. from watching shows like Magnum, P.I. and Simon and Simon while growing up. As a result, he tends to subconsciously emulate those TV shamuses while out on the streets." The duo will executive produce along with Peter Johnson and McG will direct the pilot, should be ordered. (Variety)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Marc Guggenheim (Eli Stone) and Jennifer Robinson have sold a pilot script for an untitled event drama to ABC. Project, which the two will write, "follows the White House Office of Crisis Management as they tackle one huge global crisis per season" with "the first season [chronicling] a crisis with a ticking clock on board the international space station." The two will executive produce with Gary Fleder and Mary Beth Basile and Fleder is attached to direct, should the project go to pilot. Elsewhere, Sam Raimi has sold a script for drama pilot Lancaster, from writer Andrew Lipstiz, about a Scotland Yard copper who joins the LAPD. [Editor: sort of like a reverse Keen Eddie.] (Deadline)

CBS is said to be developing a comedy based on Susan Brightbill's upcoming book "The True Adventures of a Terrible Dater," with Brightbill attached to adapt her book, which revolves around a single architect in Chicago who attempts to make her way through the dating scene. Project, from Warner Bros. Television, will be executive produced by Sheldon Turner and Jennifer Klein. (Variety)

Following the departure of executive producer/showrunner Ken Sanzel from CBS' upcoming cop drama Blue Bloods, there has been a flurry of hirings, according to Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. Fred Keller has been brought aboard as a producer/director while writer Linda Gase has been hired as a consulting producer. (Deadline)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Fox Snags Locke and Key, Trouble for Tilda, Torchwood Star Lands Three Inches, Temps, The Office, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Vulture's Josef Adalian is reporting that FOX is in talks with 20th Century Fox Television and Dreamworks to develop a series based on Joe Hill's comic book "Locke and Key," which revolves around "three kids who end up watching over a secret, spooky New England mansion filled with mystical doors that transport them to different worlds and give them special powers (like turning into a ghost)," according to Adalian. But FOX isn't turning to just anyone to adapt the series created by Hill (who happens to be the son of Stephen King): Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Fringe, Hawaii Five-0) and Josh Friedman (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) as well as Steven Spielberg are attached as executive producers. (Vulture, Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that there's some major behind the scenes drama brewing at HBO's much anticipated dark comedy pilot Tilda, which stars Diane Keaton as a Nikki Finke-esque Hollywood blogger. Showrunner Cynthia Mort has been removed from the project after the pilot shoot, during which she allegedly clashed with director/executive producer Bill Condon and with Keaton herself. "It was an unhappy marriage from day one,” an unnamed source told Ausiello about Mort and Condon's working relationship. “They banged heads about almost everything…and during production she picked huge public fights with anyone who disagreed with her on anything, including Diane.” Mort's removal prompted a nasty email to the production and the studio; neither she nor HBO would comment on the story, though Ausiello notes that Condon is assembling a new creative team and is close to picking a new showrunner for the project. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Which former Torchwood star is crossing the pond to star in Syfy drama pilot Three Inches? Naoko Mori--who played the much missed Toshiko for two seasons on BBC Three's Torchwood--has been cast as a series regular in Three Inches, which follows a slacker who discovers that he has a useless superpower: he can move any object three inches with his mind. Mori will play "a woman who can duplicate and recite any sounds she hears." Also cast: Melrose Place's Stephanie Jacobsen, who will play Watts, described as "a beautiful 'super' hero who has the ability to shape the emotions of anyone she meets at close range." (Deadline)

Good news for fans of Party Down: the creators of the short-lived Starz comedy series have landed a put pilot from NBC for their next project, a single-camera comedy entitled Temps. The project, created by Rob Thomas, Jon Enbom, and Dan Etheridge, was the subject of an intense bidding war before a deal was reached between NBC and studio Warner Bros. Television. According to Variety's Michael Schneider, Temps will revolve around "a group of recent college grads who are forced to take a variety of oddball temp jobs to make ends meet." Any chance those trademark pink bowties could make a return appearance? (Variety)

E! Online's Jennifer Arrow is reporting that producers of NBC's The Office, which will see the departure of series lead Steve Carell after the upcoming season, would prefer to promote from within rather than bring in an A-lister to replace Michael Scott. Arrow caught up with writer/producer Warren Lieberstein to ask him about whether the show can go on without Carell and just where Michael's replacement will come from. "We're really sad. I don't know how you soldier on from Steve leaving," said Lieberstein. "He's such an amazing talent. He's the best. He's the best, honestly. But we're kind of lucky, we have a lot of movie stars in our cast! Craig Robinson, Ed Helms, Rainn Wilson—and that Krasinski guy is not bad, and Jenna Fischer, she's pretty great. I think the reason we've been able to survive as many seasons as we have is because of the supporting cast." As for the matter of succession, Lieberstein said, "We're still debating. A lot of us want from within, because we think we have such a strong cast, but we'll see. We have a network that also [has] wants." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

In other Three Inches-related news, The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd is reporting that Andrea Martin (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) has also joined the cast of the Syfy superhero pilot, where she will play Belinda Spackman, the mother of the main character, who is described as "a brutally cynical force of nature who will do anything to protect her son, who has developed a unique not-so-superpower: the ability to move any object three inches using his mind." (Hollywood Reporter)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos has an interview with True Blood star Denis O'Hare, who is stealing scenes this season as the Vampire King of Mississippi, Russell Edgington. O'Hare told E! Online that, despite his character's longevity, he can still be killed. "I am 3,000 years old, but it can be done," said O'Hare. "The vampire rules are if you behead them, if you stake them with wood, or if you put silver on them, they're going down. The silver weakens them incredibly, the wood will actually kill them, and beheading is game over." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

FOX is developing an untitled drama pilot with writer Rick Eid and executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci about a prosecutor who discovers that he can tell whether a defendant is guilty or innocent. "Show revolves around an overly ambitious prosecutor who wrongfully convicts an innocent man for murder, an event that becomes the trigger for his magical flashes and an understanding that he has a debt an understanding that he has a debt to repay to the innocent," writes Variety's Cynthia Littleton. (Variety)

Meghan Markle (Fringe) has been cast as one of the leads in USA's legal drama pilot A Legal Mind, where she will star opposite Patrick Adams and Gabriel Macht. She'll play Rachel Lane, described as "an attractive paralegal with an encyclopedic knowledge of the law who's assigned to Mike [Patrick Adams] and becomes his valuable after-hours research ally." Whedonverse alum Gina Torres has also been cast in the project, though her role--senior partner Katherine Pearson--is in second position to ABC Family's Huge. (Hollywood Reporter)

FX is developing comedy 13th Grade, about a "a high school graduate who's content with his meager lifestyle -- until his girlfriend dumps him for being 'stuck' between childhood and adulthood"--with Michael Cera, Derek Waters, and Emily Kapnek. Kapnek and Cera are writing the script, while Waters is set to co-star in the project. (Variety)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Jamie-Lynn Sigler (The Sopranos) will star opposite Sherry Stringfield in Lifetime's currently untitled Josh Berman drama pilot, where she will play Brooke Kross, the partner to Stringfield's police detective Molly Collins. Elsewhere, John Hawkes (Lost) will star in FX drama pilot Outlaw Country, where he will play Tarzen Larkin, the uncle to Luke Grimes' Eli, who is described as "one of the most charismatic and compelling characters in Slaughter, a big-time player in the Southern crime world." (Deadline)

Amy Sedaris (Strangers with Candy) and Tom Cavanagh (Ed) are set to guest star in an upcoming episode of USA's Royal Pains when the series returns for its first ever winter season this January, according to Fancast's Matt Mitovich. Sedaris will play Nan Noonan, "Jill's partner for a Hamptons golf tournament," while Cavanagh will play pro golfer Jack O'Malley. (Fancast)

TLC has ordered eight episodes of Sextuplets Take New York, which is--you guessed it!--about a family raising four boys and two girls in Queens, New York. It will launch on September 14th. (Hollywood Reporter)

Yep, Jennifer Aniston is going to guest star on ABC's Cougar Town next month, when she'll drop by as a therapist for Courteney Cox's Jules. (via press release)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Life Unexpected's Reggie Austin has been cast as the husband of Vanessa Williams' character on ABC's Desperate Housewives this season. He'll make his first appearance in the fifth episode of the season and will be playing Doug, the New York pro baseball player husband of Williams' Renee Perry. (TV Guide Magazine)

20th Century Fox Television and Chernin Entertainment have signed a blind script deal with Get Him to the Greek writer/director Nicholas Stoller. (Hollywood Reporter)

Former TNT programming executive Julie Weitz has been hired as president of Carol Mendelsohn's production company. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: USA Renews Covert Affairs, Lost Star Could Be Rockford, Lie to Me Grabs Gunn, Cannavale to Blue Bloods, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Good news for Annie Walker fans: USA has officially ordered a second season of espionage drama Cover Affairs. No word was given on an episodic order nor when Season Two of the Universal Cable Production-based series would launch, though the first season of the CIA drama is currently in full swing on the cabler. Series, which is shot on location in Toronto, is currently the highest rated cable series on Tuesdays in the 10 pm hour. (via press release)

Longtime followers on Twitter will remember that I pushed Josh Holloway for the role of Jim Rockford in NBC's resurrected The Rockford Files back in the spring when I read the pilot script. Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is now pushing Holloway as well and reports that the former Lost star has been "mentioned in connection to the project, but [an unnamed] insider stresses that there are no serious talks going on at this time." So it's not like an offer has gone out to Holloway or anything but the project is still alive and kicking, even after an abysmal pilot that starred Dermot Mulroney in the role that James Garner made famous. [Editor: Personally, I think Holloway would be a significant improvement.] (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Breaking Bad star Anna Gunn will guest star this fall on FOX drama Lie to Me, where she will play Internal Affairs Detective Jenkins, described as "an ambitious, politically savvy police officer on the fast track to the top [who] realizes Lightman is someone who must be handled with caution as she tries to bring down Detective Wallowski." Gunn is set to appear in the season's third episode, which will air on November 24th. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TVGuide.com's Adam Bryant is reporting that Bobby Cannavale (Cupid) has joined the cast of CBS' fall drama series Blue Bloods, where he will play Charles Rosselini, the boss of Bridget Moynahan's Erin. Rosselini is described as a "talented and popular Manhattan DA [who has] political ambitions, but as an ex-cop who served nearly 10 on the force before finishing law school, he remains a bit rough around the edges." He'll first appear in the October 15th episode. (TVGuide.com)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Ryan Devlin is headed back to ABC's Grey's Anatomy this season, where he will appear in a multiple-episode story arc set to begin in November, when he will reprise his role as the husband of Mandy Moore's character. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

HBO is said to be developing a series based in Los Angeles' adult film business, according to a report in The New York Post's Page Six, which claims that Mark Wahlberg and Steve Levinson have teamed up with writer James Frey--yes, that James Frey--for a drama series that will feature actors and adult performers. "The plot will focus on a giant video company under siege from Internet competitors and a girl from the Midwest whose boyfriend convinces her to move to Los Angeles to become a star," according to Page Six. Frey, meanwhile, said, "We're going to make a sprawling epic about the porn business in LA. We're going to tell the type of stories no one else has told before, and go places no one has gone before." (New York Post)

Could John May (Michael Trucco) be heading back to ABC's V? Showrunner Scott Rosenbaum tells TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams that Trucco might be popping up on the alien invasion drama again. "John May may return," said Rosenbaum. So could he be alive? "That's what they hinted to me," Michael Trucco told TVGuide.com. "I thought, 'OK, he's dead, but he's coming back?' They're like, 'Nope, he's dead.' I wrote that off as a one-off [appearance], but they made some indication that maybe he'd come back." (TVGuide.com)

Michael J. Fox is set to guest star on CBS' The Good Wife this season, where he will play Simon Canning, described as "a shrewd and cynical litigator whom Alicia (Margulies) faces in a massive class action [who] is willing to use anything in court, including symptoms of his neurological condition, to create sympathy for his otherwise unsympathetic client: a giant pharmaceutical company." “We’re absolutely thrilled that Michael has agreed to play this role,” said executive producers and show creators Robert and Michelle King in a press release. “His intelligence as an actor, combined with his incredible comic timing will really bring this smart, cynical lawyer to life.” (via press release)

TVGuide.com's Gina DiNunno has an interview with this week's ousted Top Chef contestant, Alex Reznik, in which they discuss, yes, the pea puree debacle and the Restaurant Wars drama, among other topics. "At no time during the show did I know the pea puree was an issue and that people were accusing me of stealing something," said Reznik. "It's not in my inherent nature [to steal]. So at no point did I ever try to defend myself... Amanda saw me make it. The day before, Kelly tasted my peas. The people on the show know I didn't take it. I can't really say what happened to [Ed's pea puree]. All I know is when I got to the challenge, the first thing I did was puree peas. They can't show everything. The reality was I won that challenge and it was masked by the pea puree." (TVGuide.com)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Stephen Collins--best known for his role on 7th Heaven and next to be seen on ABC's fall drama No Ordinary Family--will guest star in the fourth episode of the upcoming season of Brothers & Sisters, where he will play Charlie, a man who helps Saul deal with his HIV diagnosis. "I don't want this to be like a TV Movie of the Week," executive producer David Marshall Grant told Keck. "Even though he didn't know his diagnosis until recently, I have a feeling Saul has been dealing with this for years. He hasn't been frequenting gay bars." (TV Guide Magazine)

Scott Caan's recent knee injury will be worked into the plot of CBS' Hawaii Five-0 this season, according to E! Online's Megan Masters. "According to an H50 rep, Scott's injury will not affect production in the least," writes Masters. "In fact, the also-Entourage star won't even need to miss an episode during his recovery, and is set to return to work Aug. 23... Said bumps and bruises will simply be written into the script, when Danno suffers a spill at the hands of his partner (played by Alex O'Loughlin—sigh). In the post-injury ep, the two visit the doctor's office together and when asked if he's suffered any trauma lately, Mr. "Book 'Em" responds: "I've got a partner—this guy is a physical injury!" (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

TVGuide.com's Adam Bryant is reporting that David Alan Grier will guest star on FOX's Bones this season, where he will play Professor Bunsen Jude the Science Dude, described as the "quirky host of a children's TV program" in the vein of Bill Nye the Science Guy. "He comes to the Jeffersonian Institute hoping to get Brennan (Emily Deschanel) on his show as a guest scientist," writes Bryant. "When Brennan scoffs at Jude's offer because she doesn't consider him a serious scientist, Jude volunteers to work with the 'squinterns' to help solve a murder case. Brennan agrees to appear on Jude's show if he is successful." (TVGuide.com)

More guest stars heading to Syfy's Eureka, with Ming-Na (Stargate Universe) and comic book legend Stan Lee set to descend on the Pacific Northwest town. "Ming-Na will portray U.S. Senator Alice Wen who arrives in Eureka to handle a sensitive matter within Global Dynamics," according to a Syfy press release. "Her character may appear in more than one episode. Details of Stan Lee's appearance are being kept under wraps. No airdates have been set at this time." They join previously announced guest stars Wil Wheaton, Jamie Kennedy, Chris Parnell, Felicia Day, Jaime Ray Newman, Ed Quinn, and Matt Frewer. (via press release)

NBC has renewed Last Call with Carson Daly for a fifth season. (Variety)

Chelsea Handler will host this year's MTV Video Music Awards. "If there's one awards show that I should be hosting, it's probably this one," Handler told The New York Times. "My personality probably wouldn't gel with the Emmys or the Golden Globes." (New York Times)

Don't hold your breath waiting for a Glee cover of a Kings of Leon song: the band turned down a request to license its music to the FOX musical-comedy. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Renee Felice Smith has been cast in a recurring role on CBS' NCIS: LA, where she will play Nell, described as "an incredibly bright, somewhat quirky, and extremely chatty intelligence analyst who’ll be assisting Eric (Barrett Foa) in the OPS center." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Universal Media Studios has signed a two-year overall deal with Parks and Recreation writer/producer Alan Yang, under which he will remain aboard the ensemble comedy while also developing new projects for the studio. (Deadline)

Former AMC executive Christina Wayne and her new company Cineflix Studios is set to pitch a comedy series based on Ariel Leve's novel "It Could Be Worse, You Could Be Me," according to Variety's Cynthia Littleton. Script was written by Leve "with guidance from Wayne," and revolves around "successful femme journo in her late 30s whose life is turned upside down when she loses her job." (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Syfy Renews Eureka, Lone Star Lands Chad Faust, Teri Polo to Law & Order: Los Angeles, True Blood, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

It's official: Syfy has renewed drama Eureka for a fifth season. The news of the renewal--no surprise given the ratings and the creative resurgence of the series this summer--was announced by Mark Stern, EVP of Original Programming for Syfy and Co-Head of Content for Universal Cable Productions, which produces the series. “Eureka remains a steadfast performer for Syfy with its superb cast and perfect blend of drama, comedy and eye candy,” said Stern in an official statement. "Given what Jaime, Bruce and their entire team have done collectively to reinvent the show this year, we can't wait to see what's in store for season 5." (via press release)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Chad Faust (The 4400) has been cast in a recurring role on FOX's upcoming drama series Lone Star, where he will play Harrison, the ex-husband of Adrianne Palicki's Cat. Ausiello, per unnamed sources, confirms the casting and offers up an official description of Faust's character. Harrison is described as "[Cat's] mistake carried over from high school. What was charming about him at seventeen is less than attractive in a grown man with adult responsibilities that until now, he has not wanted to shoulder. But his motorcycle-riding, noncommittal, unfaithful-husband ways are behind him, or so he claims, and he’s back in town now, ready to prove that he’s changed.” Lone Star premieres September 20th. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Teri Polo (Little Fockers) has been cast in a "major recurring role" on NBC's upcoming procedural drama Law & Order: Los Angeles, where she will play Casey Winters, the wife of Skeet Ulrich's Detective Rex Winters. Her character is described as "a former hard-nosed cop who retired to start a family." (Deadline)

MAJOR SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has confirmed that Season Four of HBO's True Blood will feature Hallow Stonebrook, learning from series creator Alan Ball that the "were-sorceress" will turn up in Bon Temps next season, though Ball maintains that Hallow is a necromancer, and said that she is "actually a medium. She communicates with the dead, and she’s interested in developing further powers." No word yet on who will be playing Hallow, though Ausiello has already put in a bid for Buffy's Juliet Landau to take on the role. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Good news for UK fans of Mad Men: Season Four of the period drama will now launch next month on BBC4, several months ahead of the anticipated launch. While the exact launch date is yet to be announced, The Guardian is indicating that it will launch the week of September 4th. (Guardian)

The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd is reporting that CBS is developing a companion reality series for Undercover Boss, handing out a pilot order for an untitled project from the producers of Boss that would "feature two employees who work at the same company competing against one another for a major promotion." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Kevin Spacey and Rod Lurie's cult drama is heading to HBO. Reports are swirling that the pay cabler is close to finalizing a deal to pickup Spacey and Lurie's cult drama The Crux, which revolves around the leader of a billion-dollar global cult. Project is being written by Lurie and Marc Frydman and will star Spacey as said leader. (Variety)

Lainie Kazan (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on ABC's Desperate Housewives, where she will play "a self-employed business owner and neighbor to Teri Hatcher’s character, Susan." Kazan will make her first appearance in the seventh season premiere. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Showtime's series debut of Laura Linney-led dark comedy The Big C brought the pay cabler their highest rated original series premiere in eight years, luring 1.154 million viewers at 10:30 pm on Monday and an additional 429,000 during the 11:30 pm airing, bringing the night's total to 1.583 million viewers. (via press release)

AMC has promoted Ben Davis to VP of scripted programming and Susan Goldberg to VP of production. Davis will report to Susie Fitzgerald, while Goldberg will report to an as-yet-unnamed SVP of production. (Variety)

Disney Channel will launch Shaun the Sheep spinoff Timmy Time with a sneak peek on September 7th, followed by the official premiere on September 13th. "Timmy, the baby lamb drawn into misadventures on Shaun, becomes the centerpiece of stories about initial preschool experiences in his new show," writes Variety's Jon Weisman. "Gestures and animal sounds are emphasized rather than human dialogue." (Variety)

Sony Pictures Television has promoted Kim Hatamiya to EVP, where she will now have oversight of worldwide marketing for the television division. Her role now encompasses the duties of Robert Oswaks, who left the studio in April. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: HBO Renews Tim, Prison Break's Chris Vance Targets Dexter, The Good Wife, 90210's Gay Character Revealed, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Sometimes the networks taketh and sometimes they give back. Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that HBO has had a change of heart about animated comedy The Life and Times of Tim, which it cancelled two months ago. The pay cabler has now reversed its position on the cult hit, ordering a third season of Tim, with ten episodes slated to air sometime next year. Media Rights Capital, the production company behind the project (along with Good Humor TV), attempted to shop Tim to other networks--including Comedy Central, Adult Swim, and TBS--but no buyer materialized... and now the project has headed back to HBO. [Editor: I'm relieved as I was really upset when I heard earlier this year that the series wasn't going to get picked up.] (Deadline)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Chris Vance (Prison Break) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on Season Five of Showtime's Dexter. Vance--most recently seen in FOX's short-lived drama series Mental and on Burn Notice--will play Cole, described as "a meticulous, physically fit, well-spoken personal aide to a famous businessman," and is set to appear in at least three installments of the serial killer drama. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline has an interview with The Good Wife creators Robert and Michelle King about their Emmy nominated CBS drama series, which will compete with several cable-based series in the Best Drama category. "It’s hard not to look at cable with envy at times, for sure," said Michelle King when asked if she wishes The Good Wife were on cable rather than broadcast television. "The tradeoff is we get to tell more stories and usually have a bigger budget, so it probably evens out." And don't call the show a procedural. "We prefer to be seen as a hybrid," said Robert King. "It’s a polite way of saying we want to have our cake and eat it, too. Mind you, we don’t hate procedurals. There’s nothing better when you’re sick in bed at home than taking in a Law & Order marathon. We’re not trying to run away from that, but we work to stuff the procedural aspect so tightly bound into a script that there’s a lot of room left to show the impact on our characters. We don’t feel hampered by the label, but we hope people can get past it and any angst they may have over it." (Deadline)

SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has confirmed just which one of the boys of 90210 will come out this season on the CW teen soap. Actor Trevor Donovan--who plays Teddy--revealed that he'll be playing the famous zip code's gay character. “I read all your tweets and know you are all curious about the ‘gay’ character this season," said Donovan via Twitter. "Let me say, gay or straight, relationships are relationships. Everyone goes through the same kind of troubles and joys. A gay storyline will have an added issue of dealing with judgment from others. Acceptance, by family, friends, society, and self is just one of the concerns the character will be going through. It is a part of life, and it should be portrayed. I was told, and am confident, [that] the storyline will be written very well and the change in the character will be organic, NOT overnight. It’s going to be a great season 3. I look forward to chatting with you all as we progress.” Ausiello, for his part, confirmed that Donovan's Teddy is gay. Thus, the speculation can now end. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FlashForward's Michael Ealy--who will next be seen on CBS' The Good Wife--has been cast as one of the leads on USA's buddy cop pilot Common Law, where he will play LAPD officer Travis Marks, described as "charismatic, casually attired, and unshaven—the polar opposite of his police partner, Wes Mitchell," who, unlike Wes, is "a freewheeling, impulsive maverick, not to mention an avid womanizer who is extremely successful with the ladies." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Among the presenters at this year's Primetime Emmy Awards: January Jones, Ricky Gervais, Julianna Margulies, Matthew Morrison, Sofia Vergara, and John Krasinski. (Hollywood Reporter)

Spike has renewed Deadliest Warrior for a third season, with ten episodes on tap for Summer 2011. (Variety)

Looks like you've gotten there. TBS has ordered an additional 90 episodes of comedy Are We There Yet? The series, which debuted on June 2nd, will wrap up its initial ten-episode order this summer and then return with a massive reorder. (Hollywood Reporter)

David Madden has been named the successor to outbound Fox Television Studios president Emiliano Calemzuk, who is departing the studio to become the CEO of Shine Group Americas. Madden, meanwhile, has been promoted to the position of president and will report to Dana Walden and Gary Newman. [Editor: congratulations, Dave!] (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Bones Bounces Sabato, Sam Page Lands Gossip, SOA's Hunnam Talks Season 3, Victor Webster to Castle, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Bones producers have turned lemons into lemonade with their upcoming Jersey Shore-inspired episode, following the breakdown in talks with The Situation. Instead, Bones has recruited Antonio Sabato Jr. to play a "guido bouncer at a Jersey Shore club that Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Booth (David Boreanaz) visit to question someone involved with a murder." (TV Guide Magazine)

Mad Men's Sam Page is heading to the Upper East Side, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, who reports that Page has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on the CW's Gossip Girl, where he will play a new love interest for Blake Lively's Serena. He's first expected to turn up in an episode slated to air in October. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan--soon to be AOL's chief television critic--has an interview with Sons of Anarchy's Charlie Hunnam about just where Jax is going this season and how much of his journey will be influenced by reading John Teller's manuscript. "I think it informed the path that I'm trying to take," said Hunnam. "I think that was really always there, though, and it was reassuring me that I wasn't crazy for desiring these things. It pulled into focus exactly what I was [thinking about]. But I also think about the fact that, these were his wishes -- they were unrealized. Jax realizes how idealistic that was. I think I'm trying to figure out what I can actually change and be realistic and be happy with that. Obviously there are giant problems between Jax and Clay but I think all of that stuff, though it rears its head here and there, needs to be put on the back burner until we get Abel back and figure out what we're doing. There's also this big thing hanging over us [the gun charges the Sons face]." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Victor Webster (Melrose Place) has been cast in a recurring role next season on ABC's Castle, where he will provide a new love interest for Stana Katic's Beckett. "There’s an element of mystery to him,” executive producer Andrew Marlowe told Ausiello. “He’s more of a motorcycle guy…A person that is going to intrigue Castle, because he’s going to see a different side of Beckett.” Ausiello also reports that Secret Life of the American Teenager's Ken Baumann will play a love interest for Castle's daughter Alexis, played by Molly Quinn. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Kate Micucci (Scrubs)--better known as half of musical-comedy act Garfunkel & Oates (a Televisionary fave after seeing them open for The Thrilling Adventure Hour)--has been cast in a recurring role on FOX comedy Raising Hope, where she will play Shelly, the "owner of a baby and doggy day care center," a role that was created for her by executive producer/creator Greg Garcia after her original character was cut from the pilot. (Hollywood Reporter)

Bad news for fans of NBC's Persons Unknown--however many of you are still watching. According to The Futon Critic, NBC is pulling the eleventh episode ("Seven Sacrifices") from the linear broadcast and will make it available online before the series wraps its run with a two-hour finale on Saturday, August 28th. (Futon Critic)

The Hollywood Reporter's Leslie Bruce talks to Nurse Jackie star Edie Falco about her Showtime dark comedy and why she wouldn't rule out reprising her role as Carmela Soprano in a movie version of The Sopranos, should it ever get made. "Frankly, I think it's not going to materialize, but stranger things have happened," said Falco. "I would definitely be interested in being involved; I'm pretty good at rolling with the punches. I would be fine if it never happened, but I would also love to go back there and see all the people I love again. Who knows? I'm not the one making the decisions and I would jump at the chance to participate." (Hollywood Reporter)

Can't wait for next week's release of Lost: Season Six and Lost The Complete Series? E! Online's Watch with Kristin already has the sixth season blooper reel--which features Josh Holloway, Terry O'Quinn, Michael Emerson, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim, Alan Dale, and Dominic Monaghan--and which you can watch online now, exclusively at the site. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck reports that Mandy Moore will reprise her role as Mary on the sixth episode of the upcoming season of ABC's Grey's Anatomy. (TV Guide Magazine)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that former Paramount Film Group chief John Lesher has set up two projects at HBO, both based on books. The first is drama Keys to the City, based on Joel Kostman's memoir of his time as a Manhattan locksmith. Adapted by William Monahan, the project will revolve around a "New York locksmith and offers a view of people and sights glimpsed beyond the doors he unlocks." The second project is The Three Weissmans of Westport, to be written by Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting Married), based on Cathleen Schine's novel, about "a woman's search for meaning after her husband of 48 years walks out on her" and how she "reconnects with her grown daughters who are also dealing with professional and familial irrelevance." (Deadline)

ABC has renewed reality series Wipeout for a fourth season, according to The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd, and will get some new obstacles next season. "I'm excited that a fourth season will give our team the opportunity to create bigger and funnier ways to wipe out contestants and thrill families across America," said creator and executive producer Matt Kunitz. (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC Family has ordered a script for drama pilot What Would Jane Do, about a "dateless high school outsider living a double life as a twentysomething career girl in the corporate world." Project hails from executive producer Gavin Polone and writer April Blair. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Masi Oka to Hawaii, Bones Won't Go for The Situation, Vincent Kartheiser Talks Mad Men, MI-5 Heads to ABC, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that former Heroes star Masi Oka will guest star on CBS' upcoming reboot of crime drama Hawaii Five-0, where he will play a local coroner who assists Steve McGarrett and his team solve some murders. "He'll debut in the fourth episode as the coroner and be billed as a guest star," writes Keck. "But with the body count expected to spike considerably in Oahu, this coroner could potentially be busy for several seasons." Keck also reports that D.L. Hughley will guest star in the third episode. (TV Guide Magazine)

You can breath a sigh of relief: it looks like The Situation won't be turning up on Bones this season after all, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, who says that plans to have the Jersey Shore star turn up as a murder victim this season on Bones haven't come to fruition. “The Situation is not going to work out,” executive producer Stephen Nathan told Ausiello. “There were so many contractual difficulties with MTV that it just became an impossibility... But the episode will still be our little tribute to Jersey Shore, and it will do what many people in America would like to see themselves--which is one of those people dead." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TVGuide.com's David Hochman has a brief interview with Mad Men's Vincent Kartheiser, in which they discuss just where Pete is heading this season, the series' fourth. "There's only one Don Draper, and when you work alongside somebody like that, you make your peace with being a beta male," said Kartheiser. "Pete got a promotion, he's feeling more comfortable with his status, and he knows more about who he is. His angst is down and his confidence is up." (TVGuide.com)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that ABC is developing a US version of hit British crime drama Spooks, which has aired Stateside (on A&E, PBS, and BBC America at various times) under the title MI-5, following a deal between Kudos Rights Ltd and ABC Studios. Michael Seitzman will write/executive produce the reversioning, which has received a script order at the network, however it's still unclear whether the series' spies will be British or American. [Editor: As a huge fan of the original, I'm firmly against this as I don't think that a US version would keep the stakes and tension of the original, where any of the characters could be killed off at any time. Instead, I feel like ABC is attempting to launch their own version of 24.] (Deadline)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has a first look photo of Brian Austin Green on ABC's Desperate Housewives, where he will play a handyman hired by Marcia Cross' Bree. “Bree has an instant physical attraction to him,” executive producer Bob Daly told Ausiello. “But then over time it turns into something more.” Green will make his first appearance in the seventh season opener, airing September 26th. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Neal McDonough--whom she says was allegedly let go from ABC's Scoundrels after refusing to go against his religious beliefs and film a sex scene--has landed at Starz, where he will executive produce and star in drama pilot Vigilante Priest, which he co-created by Walon Green (Law & Order). McDonough (Desperate Housewives) will play "an ex-cop turned priest who is cleaning up the streets of Los Angeles 'one sinner at a time.'" Andreeva reports that the pay cabler is fast-tracking the development on the project. (Deadline)

Nerd Gets the Girl? Recycled Crap? Exploitative Crime Documentary #57? The latest faux NBC fall schedule making the rounds in Hollywood yesterday was this little gem, which contains all of the above, along with Jerry Seinfeld's Paycheck and Decreasingly Wet Paint. Ahem. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Yay, Mahershalalhashbaz! [Editor: what can I say? I was a huge 4400 fan.] Ron Yuan, Jeremy Ray Valdez, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali, and Kelsey Ford will star opposite Ben Whishaw and Clayne Crawford in HBO drama pilot All Signs of Death, based on Charlie Huston's crime novel "The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death" that will be directed by True Blood's Alan Ball. Project, writes Deadline's Nellie Andreeva, "centers on Webster Filmore Goodhue (Whishaw) an inveterate twenty-something slacker who stumbles into a career as a crime scene cleaner, only to find himself entangled with a murder mystery, a femme fatale and the loose ends of his own past." (Deadline)

Elsewhere, Ben Esler (The Pacific) has been cast as a series regular role in AMC's Western drama pilot Hell on Wheels, where he will play Sean, described as "an Irish immigrant who opens a show for railroad workers." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

BBC America will debut the six-episode psychological crime drama Luther--starring Idris Elba, Ruth Wilson, Steven Mackintosh, Indira Varma, Paul McGann, Saskia Reeves, and Warren Brown--on Sunday, October 17th at 10 pm ET/PT. Here's how the network, which co-produced the series, is positioning it: "A brilliant detective tormented by the darker side of humanity, Luther shines a light into the hearts and minds of psychopaths and killers, and the shadowy spaces of his own soul. A BBC AMERICA co-production starring The Wire's Idris Elba (Russell 'Stringer' Bell), Luther is a gripping, psychological thriller driven by a brilliant and emotionally impulsive detective. A self-destructive near-genius, Luther might just be as dangerous as the depraved criminals he hunts. In each episode, the murderer's identity is known from the start, focusing the drama on the psychological duel between predator and prey." [Editor: having seen Luther, I seriously recommend you to check out this gripping and provocative series.] (via press release)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Jeremy Davidson (Army Wives) has signed on to ABC's Brothers & Sisters for a multiple-episode story arc, where he will play a new love interest for Calista Flockhart's Kitty--after the death of her husband Robert (Rob Lowe) at the end of last season--whom she meets in Ojai. “He’s very different than Robert,” executive producer David Marshall Grant told Ausiello, “and a very different guy than the kind of men Kitty’s been with her whole life." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Jennifer Love Hewitt and Betty White will star in Hallmark Hall of Fame telepic The Lost Valentine, which will air on CBS in early 2011. Project, based on the novel of the same name by James Michael Pratt, will revolve around a "journalist working on a profile of a woman (White) whose husband was declared MIA during WWII." Script was written by Ernest Thompson and Jenny Wingfield; pic will be directed by Darnell Martin. (Variety)

Sobini Films has launched a television division that will be headed up by former Battlestar Galactica associate producer James Halpern, who served as director of development at David Eick Prods. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Zach Gilford Goes Off the Map, Entourage to End Next Year, Fringe's Sebastian Roche to Supernatural, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Former Friday Night Lights star Zach Gilford has joined the cast of ABC's midseason medical drama Off the Map, from executive producers Shonda Rhimes and Jenna Bans. TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams reports that Gilford will play Tommy, a physician who travels to a remote medical clinic in South America along with fellow doctors Lily (Caroline Dhavernas) and Mina (Mamie Gummer). (The series' other stars include Martin Henderson, Jason George, and Valerie Cruz.) Gilford's casting comes on the heels of the hiring of Rachelle Lefevre as a regular and the departure of Enrique Murciano, though ABC was quick to point out that Gilford won't be playing the same role that Murciano did, a spoiled and uptight plastic surgeon. [Editor: I'm chuffed to see Gilford--who we all know best as Saracen--head back to primetime.] (TVGuide.com)

Not a moment too soon: HBO's long-running comedy Entourage will end next year, according to HBO Co-President Richard Plepler, speaking at Saturday's Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour session for the pay cabler. "The plan right now is to finish up this season and we're not clear exactly how many [episodes], we'll do a shorter order next season to finish up," said Plepler on Saturday. "We had talked about six [episodes]... [Creator Doug Ellin] wants to write [an Entourage] film but he also wants to do it so the storytelling makes sense... But Entourage next summer will definitely be the final season." To parse the meaning of Plepler's words: Entourage has got one more brief season left it in--likely six episodes or so--before it ends and there could be a movie but it's not certain yet. [Editor: Whew.]

Fancast's Matt Mitovich is reporting that Sebastian Roche (who recurred this season on FOX's Fringe as Thomas Jerome Newton) has ben cast on the CW's Supernatural, which returns this fall for its sixth season. Roche will play Balthazar, an angelic friend of Misha Collin's Castiel, in the season premiere ("The Third Man"). “Remember when Cass was dragged back to Heaven as a prisoner? Balthazar was actually the only friend who stood up for him,” executive producer Sera Gamble told Mitovich. “During the Apocalypse, Balthazar went AWOL, and Cass thought he was dead. Turns out… not so much.” Meanwhile, Roche will also be back on Fringe this fall as Newton hasn't quite finished with the Fringe team. (Fancast)

Time for the dance of joy? TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that former Perfect Strangers star Bronson Pinchot will guest star on NBC's Chuck this fall. Pinchot--who is slated to appear in the second episode of Chuck's fourth season--will play Victor, described as "a tacky and audacious wannabe-matchmaker Chuck (Zachary Levi) meets at Milan's Fashion Week." Keck also reports that Armand Assante will reprise his role as Goya in the fourth episode of the season when the gang visits him on the island that he inhabits. (TV Guide Magazine)

FOX has pushed back the launch date for Season Two of Human Target, which will now kick off on Friday, October 1st at 8 pm ET/PT. Here's how FOX describes the season opener: "Picking up from the heart-pounding first season cliffhanger, Season Two of HUMAN TARGET kicks off with a bang as CHANCE (Mark Valley) and GUERRERO (Jackie Earle Haley) race to rescue their kidnapped associate, WINSTON (Chi McBride). Vowing to retire from the security business, Chance is lured back to work by billionaire philanthropist ILSA PUCCI (new series regular Indira Varma), who needs his protection after the mysterious murder of her husband. While on assignment, the team encounters AMES (new cast member Janet Montgomery), a beautiful, chameleon-like thief who has a past connection to Winston." (via press release)

Serinda Swan (Smallville) has been cast in A&E's upcoming drama series Breakout Kings, where she will be Erica Reed, described as "an expert at finding people who don't want to be found -- then killing them." Swan has been contracted as a series regular for the thirteen episodes that A&E ordered earlier this summer after FOX passed on the procedural drama. (Hollywood Reporter)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Megan Boone (HMS) has been cast in NBC's upcoming Law & Order iteration, Law & Order: Los Angeles, where she will play Laura Gardner, the DDA for Terence Howard's ADA. Regina Hall, meanwhile, will play the DDA for Alfred Molina's ADA. Series also stars Skeet Ulrich, Corey Stoll, and Wanda De Jesus. (Deadline)

A&E has ordered a pilot for supernatural docuseries The Unexplained from executive producers Doug Liman, Russ Stratton, Robert Sharenow, and Elaine Frontain Bryant. Pilot, according to Variety's Stuart Levine, investigates a "five-year-old boy talks about his previous life experiences and claims he was actor George Raft, a movie star from 1930s." (Variety)

Brigid Brannagh (Army Wives) and Sean Patrick Flanery (The Dead Zone) have been cast in Hallmark Channel original telepic Mystery Girl, which will air next year on the cable channel. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Josh Jackson Ponders Vampire Diaries, Lone Star, Blue Bloods BTS Drama, James Marsters' Torchwood Dreams, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Quite a fair amount of headlines and stories to get through today, so let's get cracking!

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that Joshua Jackson is possibly contemplating making a trip to Mystic Falls next season. The Fringe star is said to be weighing a possible guest stint on the CW's Vampire Diaries. "We talked about it," said Jackson about a conversation he had with Kevin Williamson at Comic-Con. "It turns out that he's not making a comedy with Vampire Diaries and it might be too inside baseball comedy if I popped up. But who knows... They're all too handsome." Meanwhile, was Dos Santos able to get any clues about Season Three of Fringe out of Pacey-Con's Jackson? "It picks up literally where it left off last year," said Jackson, "and our show just continues to get greater and more bizarre and strange and disgusting and wonderful every time we put it on the air." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Andie MacDowell is "thisclose" to joining the cast of FOX's upcoming drama series Lone Star, where she would play the love interest of Jon Voight's character, should a deal be able to be closed. Meanwhile, Rosa Blasi (Make It or Break It) has come on board Lone Star, where she will recur as Blake, the "Lady Macbeth-esque wife" of Mark Deklin's Trammell. [Editor: fingers crossed that MacDowell's deal takes; Ausiello indicates it's "98 percent done."] (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that showrunner Ken Sanzel has left CBS' Blue Bloods following "creative tension" between the producer and actor Tom Selleck. "I learned... that Tom Selleck hasn't been accepting the scripts which CBS' Blue Bloods executive producer Ken Sanzel has been giving him," writes Andreeva. "So a standoff developed over character vs procedural visions for the series, summarized to me as 'creative tension.' By midday, Sanzel was still staying with the show. No more. Insiders just emailed me that the former New York cop told the staff late today that he is leaving. There's no exit date yet." Trouble emerged when the star and the showrunner had vastly different takes on the series, according to insiders. "Sanzel's vision was for a compelling crime procedural, whereas Selleck wanted softer character exploration," writes Andreeva. "Sanzel knew the network was behind him. But Selleck wanted to be in charge of the show." (Deadline)

Former Buffy the Vampire Slayer star James Marsters is looking to reprise his role as Captain John Hart on Torchwood, which is jumping from BBC America to pay cabler Starz for its upcoming fourth season. "Russell [T Davies is] over here [in LA] trying to get an American version of it done. If he doesn't call me, I am going to find him," Marsters told io9. "I'm into it, just ask Russell." [Editor: I will, seeing as I'm sitting down with Russell T Davies tomorrow.] Marsters, meanwhile, will be seen next season on Smallville and on Syfy's Caprica. (io9)

Ryan Murphy seems open to Neil Patrick Harris returning to Glee, so is the "It's such a tricky thing [because] that's not the network that How I Met Your Mother is on," Harris told E! Online. "So I can't just say, 'Oh, I'll just keep doing Glee's,' because they're on Fox and I'm on CBS. I have bosses that make me sign contracts to keep me at one place for a long period of time, and understandably so. I love the gig, love doing it. They're [the Glee guys] super fun, and they didn't shoot me at the end of the first episode, so if I'm ever able to come back I'd love to." As for Murphy, he too is hopeful they can finesse the relationship and bring back Harris' character for another go-around. "We would love to have Neil back," said Murphy. "We have a little problem that he's a regular on another show. But he's in the Fox family and they help us out a great deal with that. I think we've just begun to see the tip of the villainy for Brian Ryan." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Laura Bell Bundy has been cast in a recurring role on CBS' How I Met Your Mother, where she will play Robin's new co-host on Metro News One and a potential new love interest for Ted. Or at least someone he goes on a date with. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Rosie O'Donnell is heading to OWN. The nascent cable channel, overseen by Oprah Winfrey, will be the home of a new daily talk show hosted by O'Donnell that will launch in 2011 and be based in New York. "Rosie is an undeniable talent who has captivated TV audiences for nearly 20 years,” said Oprah Winfrey in a prepared statement. "She’s a true original, who brings her authentic voice, dynamic energy and pure passion to everything she does." (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

IFC has ordered six episodes of sketch comedy series Portlandia, created by Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, who will star in the Portland-based half-hour series. The Lorne Michaels-executive produced series, which begins production this month, will launch in early 2011. According to Variety's Jon Weisman, "Portlandia incorporates a series of absurdist short films featuring Armisen and Brownstein playing different characters, such as the owners of a feminist bookstore, a militant bike messenger and a punk rock couple negotiating a "safe word" to help govern their love life." (Variety)

TVGuide.com's Ileane Rudolph is reporting that former Battlestar Galactica star Edward James Olmos will guest star on an upcoming episode of CBS' CSI: NY. Olmos will play a former gang leader whom Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise) had put behind bars 15 years earlier who is now released from prison in an episode slated to air in October. (TVGuide.com)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Richard Schiff (The West Wing) has joined the cast of CBS' Criminal Minds spinoff, where he is set to recur as FBI Director Jack Fickler. He'll make his first appearance in the series premiere episode, which is slated to air in midseason on CBS. The cast includes Forest Whitaker, Janeane Garofalo, Matt Ryan, Michael Kelly, Beau Garrett, and Kirsten Vangsness. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Just what happened to Ed's pea puree on Bravo's Top Chef? TVGuide.com's Gina DiNunno talks to outsted contestant Stephen Hopcraft to find out about the missing accompaniment from last week. "I know he didn't steal Ed's pea puree," said Hopcraft. "Ed either didn't bring it, or it got lost. I even told Ed I blame myself for it because me, Ed and Angelo shared a cooler that day, and I was the first one in the cooler and pulled some of my ingredients out and maybe I didn't put his pea puree back in. I thought I did. I honestly know Alex, and I know he didn't steal it. And I'm probably the only one who's going to say that, so make sure you write that in big, bold letters." (TVGuide.com)

Fox Television Studios president Emiliano Calemzuk will ankle the studio in mid-September in order to take on the newly created position of CEP at Shine Group Americas and oversee Reveille. Calemzuk will remain based in Los Angeles and will report to Elisabeth Murdoch. Calemzuk will likely be succeeded by EVP David Madden. [Editor: congratulations, Emi!] (Hollywood Reporter, Variety))

Katie Jacobs (House) has signed a massive two-year overall deal with a host of interested parties, including FOX, 20th Century Fox Television, and Universal Media Studios. Under the terms of the deal, Jacobs will remain aboard FOX's House as an executive producer as well as develop new projects for studio Universal Media Studios before moving to a new production deal at 20th Century Fox Television, which will be targeted for FOX. (Whew.) "It's been a mutually beneficial relationship over the past couple of years," Jacobs told Variety. Jacobs has also earned a blind pilot directing commitment at FOX as part of the deal. (Variety)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Noah Reid (Strange Days at Blake Holsey High) has been cast as the lead of Syfy's drama pilot Three Inches, which revolves around a twenty-something slacker named Walter (Reid) who gains the ability to move objects three inches with his mind after he is struck by lightning. Walter then brings together a group of other heroes, each of whom has a similarly lackluster power. (Deadline)

Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd is reporting that A&E has ordered a sequel to the 1978 documentary Scared Straight!, which it will air as a series of four one-hour specials entitled Beyond Scared Straight!. Project, from executive producer Arnold Shapiro, "will chronicle modern confrontational approaches to juvenile crime prevention" and "focus on a different prison program, following a group of at-risk teens and preteens going through the program and then catching up with them two months later." Specials are scheduled to air on the cabler in winter 2011. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Marc Graboff is staying put. NBC Universal have signed a new three-year deal with Graboff, chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, according to Deadline's Nellie Andreeva, who writes, "I hear the renewal talks went on for several months and Graboff was approached for outside gigs but ultimately opted to remain at NBC where he has been since 2000." (Deadline)

NatGeo has ordered a fifth season of Locked Up Abroad, with ten episodes slated to air in 2011, and announced launch dates for Season Seven of Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan (October 8th) and Sebastian Junger's Sundance documentary Restrepo (November 29th). (Variety)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that former BBC Worldwide Prods. executive Tasha Brown as been hired at Chernin Entertainment, where she will serve as the VP of comedy development. (Deadline)

G4 has ordered eight half-hour episodes of docuseries That's Tough!, which will take audiences inside "the toughest high-security prisons, sniper units and bank vaults." Project, from Super Delicious, is slated to launch on October 20th. (Hollywood Reporter)

CMT has officially entered the scripted game: the country music-focused cabler has ordered twelve episodes of multi-camera comedy Working Class, according to Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. Project, from writer/executive producer Jill Cargeman, stars Melissa Peterman as a single mom who moves her family into an affluent neighborhood. Series will premiere in January. (Deadline)

Doug Liman's production company Hypnotic has signed a two-year overall development deal with Universal Cable Prods. Liman is directing MTV's comedy pilot I Want My Pants Back, written by David Rosen, as the cable production studio moves into producing content for channels that are not affiliated with NBC Universal. Among the projects in development at UCP for non-NBC Uni channels: AMC's drama pilot Pushers, from creator Neal Baer (Law & Order: SVU). Liman, meanwhile, is one of the executive producers on USA's Covert Affairs. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Breaking Bad Won't Return Until July 2011, Nigel Lythgoe Closes Idol Deal, Zombies Vs. Vampires at NBC, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Could it be almost a year before Breaking Bad heads back to AMC? According to a Deadline interview with series lead Bryan Cranston, Season Four of Breaking Bad may not launch until July 2011, over a year after the end of last season. "I think what AMC is thinking here is there will be less competition for us -- particularly from the broadcast networks -- if we launch our season during the summer than if we come back again like we did this time in March," said Cranston. However, AMC and Sony Pictures Television will produce 3-4 minute mini-episodes of Breaking Bad that will run on AMC's website during the break. "The idea is to keep people aware and interested in the show during the long time away,” Cranston told Deadline. “But I, for one, am eager to make these little interstitials important. I don’t want them to be simply filler or recap, but something that actually moves the storyline forward. If we’re going to do it, it ought to be a real part of the larger show." (Deadline)

Well, at least FOX confirmed something: former American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe will return to the musical competition series, where he will serve alongside Simon Fuller Cecile Frot-Coutaz, and Ken Warwick for Season Ten of Idol, which launches in January. "Since we launched the original Pop Idol in England, I’ve remained close with Simon Fuller," said Lythgoe in a statement. "Working as executive producer on American Idol for its first seven years not only was an inspirational journey into the heart of American pop culture, it opened my eyes to the untapped potential of the incredibly dynamic young people in this world. I have been able to continue discovering raw talent on So You Think You Can Dance, which I co-created with Simon. American Idol became a juggernaut of epic proportions, but to me it was always like home. I am elated and honored to be rejoining childhood friend and fellow executive producer Ken Warwick, and look forward to creating more magic." (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Variety's Michael Schneider has a Q&A with Lythgoe about his return to American Idol in which they discuss his return to the series and his criticisms of the musical competition series. "I think some of my concerns were that over the last couple of years we've lost sight of the fact that the most important people in the production are the young artists," Lythgoe told Schneider. "And it's revolved around the judges, it's revolved around Kara coming in to make four judges, which often left them no time for them to talk at any great length. Certainly there are times I watched the show where Simon didn't even get a chance to say anything. Then it was about Paula leaving. Then it was all about Ellen joining. And somewhere in all of that muddle of judges the show was losing sight of the actual contestants. And I think we were also losing chemistry between the judges. And I will go back now and hopefully point out now that it isn't about stars, or what people did in the past of might do in the future that makes a good judge. It's about chemistry and it's about a team." (Variety's On the Air)

Could NBC be taking a page from AMC's playbook and going after the zombie-loving crowd? Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that NBC has signed a script deal for Austin Winsberg's spec script Zombies Vs. Vampires, described as a "fun buddy cop procedural" with supernatural overtones. Project, produced by Warner Bros. Television and Wonderland, is executive produced by McG, Peter Johnson, and Winsberg. "It is set in a world where zombies are a part of society, controllable with medication," writes Andreeva. "The show's two leads (one secretly a vampire) are cops assigned to a squad specifically formed to deal with 'zombie crime.'" (Deadline)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos has a series of video interviews with Chuck's Zachary Levi and the rest of the cast in which they tease details about Season Four, including the return of Nicole Ritchie, the casting of Linda Hamilton, Chuck and Sarah's relationship, and much more. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

AMC is said to be thisclose to handing out a series order to crime drama The Killing, based on the Danish series Forbrydelsen. (The US version is written by Veena Sud and directed by Patty Jenkins.) Project, from Fox Television Studios, stars Mireille Enos, Billy Campbell, Michelle Forbes, Brent Sexton, Kristin Lehman, Eric Ladin, Jamie Anne Allman, and Joel Kinnaman. [Editor: I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this pans out as I loved the pilot script and would watch Enos in anything.] (Deadline)

MAJOR SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has details on just who Timothy Olyphant (FX's Justified) will be playing on NBC's The Office when he drops by Scranton next year. Ausiello reports that Olyphant will be playing "a rival paper salesman with a deep, dark secret: He used to date Pam!" Watch out, Jim... (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Variety's Michael Schneider is reporting that former United States of Tara showrunner Jill Soloway has signed on to executive produce Zooey Deschanel's HBO comedy I'm With the Band, as well as Season Two of How to Make It in America. (Variety)

Russell Brand will play himself on the upcoming season of The Simpsons, reports TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck. Brand's episode, entitled "Angry Dad -- The Movie," is slated to air in early 2011 and will see him join Halle Berry and Ricky Gervais in the installment, which will feature "Bart and Homer [heading] to Los Angeles after they're nominated for an Academy Award for their animated short based on Bart's cartoon webseries, Angry Dad." (TV Guide Magazine)

NBC has pulled its self-help reality series Breakthrough with Tony Robbins from the schedule, effective immediately. The network will slate repeats of Minute to Win It in the timeslot. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Warner Bros. Television International has signed a package deal with UK's Five, under which the channel will receive exclusive terrestrial and digital right to Season Three of The Mentalist, while Five USA gets rights to Dark Blue and Blade, and Fiver gets Human Target. (Variety)

In other news, the studio is also set to acquire indie production company Shed Media (the makers of Supernanny and The Choir), in a deal said to be worth nearly £100 million. (Broadcast)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Fringe Fest, Diablo Cody Targets FOX, Carol Burnett to Be Sue's Mom on Glee, Ferrigno to Torment Chuck, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello caught up with Fringe star Jasika Nicole to get some information about Season Three of Fringe, kicking off this fall, and a "groundbreaking and mind-blowing" twist. "She is indeed," said Nicole when asked if Astrid would get more to do in Season Three. "And that's due to the fact that there are now two of her that I get to play, which is awesome. [For the first half] of the season, we're alternating episodes, so we've got one in the alternate universe and one in the present universe, so if you were to only [watch] every other episode, you would only see the story happening in one universe." Nicole told Ausiello that the two storylines will converge into a single stream where "everyone's world will be turned upside down." Wowsers. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Diablo Cody is heading to FOX. The network signed a put-pilot deal with the Juno creator--who is the executive producer of Showtime's multiple-personality comedy United States of Tara--for comedy The Breadwinner, which will be produced by Warner Bros. Television, should FOX opt to order a pilot. Details on the plot of the project, which Cody will executive produce with Mason Novick, are being kept tightly under wraps. It's not the first time that Cody has sought to work with the network; she previously developed comedy Sydney Dare at FOX back in 2009. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stop the presses: Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that legendary comedienne Carol Burnett has been cast as the Nazi-hunting mother of Jane Lynch's Sue Sylvester on Glee. While details of her arrival at William McKinley High are being kept secret (for now, anyway), it's expected that Burnett will make her appearance in an October or November episode of Glee's second season and Ausiello also indicates that she will be turning up without Sue's father. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

In other casting news, Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that former Incredible Hulk star (and motivated home seller in I Love You, Man) Lou Ferrigno will guest star on Chuck this fall. Ferrigno, who is set to appear in the second episode of Season Four, will play "the bodyguard of an evil spy model (ex-Victoria's Secret Angel Karolina Kurkova." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos has two video interviews with the stars of FOX's Bones, Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz, in which the two talk about the power shift when Deschanel directs an episode of Bones this season and jokingly vows to make Boreanaz "pay." Plus, the duo tease details of the next season of Bones, including--SPOILER ALERT!--a potential death, a new love interest for Booth named Hannah, and much more. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Sorry sci-fi fans: it turns out that Sky1 has dropped its plan to resurrect classic sci-fi series Blake's 7, created by Terry Nation, after announcing its plans to develop an update back in 2008. "Following the development process we have decided not to produce Blake's 7," said a Sky1 spokesperson. "However, Sky continues to invest heavily in original drama and it remains at the heart of our plans. We have just announced an extended run for the second series of Chris Ryan's Strike Back and we'll soon be unveiling a new long-running series for prime time." The satcaster will also not proceed with a spy drama that was to star Gillian Anderson (The X-Files). But the production company behind the resurrected Blake's 7 plans to shop the series elsewhere. "Sky's deciding to not proceed with the planned TV revival of Blake's 7 is obviously disappointing, but the development process has resulted in the dynamic reinvention of this 'branded' series ... There is a huge opportunity for investment in a TV series that is fully developed, has genuine global appeal and has exciting 360-degree exploitation opportunities," said a B7 Productions spokesperson. "With much praised scripts from lead writers Richard Kurti and Bev Doyle (Going Postal) and 60% of the finance already in place, by anyone's standard we have pulled together a compelling package. We are confident that this reboot of Blake's 7 has the creative and commercial credentials that will enable us to find a partner with the vision to recognise the strength and enduring appeal of the show and the opportunity it represents to produce a bold new drama series with significant international appeal." (Guardian)

Dallas Roberts (Rubicon) has been cast in a potentially recurring role on CBS' The Good Wife, where he will play Owen, Alicia's gay brother, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. But don't look for the series to make a big deal out of the University of Oregon professor's sexual orientation. "“We just thought [it would be interesting] if it didn’t matter. Everybody around them thinks it’s an issue between them, but there’s no issue,” said executive producer Robert King. “We kind of like that it voids expectations of what will happen between them." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TVGuide.com's Gina DiNunno has some further details about Roberts' Good Wife character and talks to executive producer David W. Zucker about Owen. "I think [creators and executive producers] Robert and Michelle [King] came up with a very sort of compelling and surprising way to introduce her brother into the world that immediately impacts [her] and Peter, and then gets us to explore a little bit of what their history was and how it pertains to their future," said Zucker. "What about Alicia's own familial experience informed the way she handled [the] with situation with Peter, and her vigilance about protecting the children and the family first and foremost? We were really interested in trying to start exploring, for Peter and Alicia, what that greater world is, especially as Peter is coming to the public eye in a different way now." (TVGuide.com)

So it turns out that Lost's enigmatic Man in Black does have a name. Sort of. TVOvermind has confirmed that Titus Welliver's character was named Samuel. Or, was on the back of his director's chair, anyway. The news doesn't exactly send ripples through the Lost community, but it does lay to rest one dangling plot thread. (via Blastr)

Jeff Goldblum will be departing Law & Order: Criminal Intent after only two seasons, citing uncertainty "surrounding the show's future." (Ahem.) News comes on the heels of the order for Law & Order: Los Angeles and the cancellation of the flagship Law & Order. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Courtney Ford (Dexter) is heading to the CW's Vampire Diaries, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, who reports that Ford will potentially recur as Vanessa, described as "a grad student at Duke who helps Damon, Alaric, and Elena go through Isobel’s old research." But Vanessa might be more than she seems as she's concealing a secret or two... (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Colm Meaney (Get Him to the Greek) will star opposite Anson Mount, Dominique McElligott, and Common in AMC period drama pilot Hell of Wheels, about the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. Meaney will play Thomas "Doc" Durant, described as "a businessman determined to make his fortune building the transcontinental railroad, a man of vision and a self-serving opportunist who is capable of 'creative financing.'" (Deadline)

Sherry Stringfield has landed the lead in Josh Berman's new untitled Lifetime drama pilot, where she will play San Diego police detective Molly Collins, described as a "married mother of two on the verge of divorce, who, along with her partner Brooke Kross, investigate the city’s most high-profile crimes while navigating their divergent personal lives." (Deadline)

Disney Channel has assembled the cast for its upcoming original musical movie franchise, Lemonade Mouth, which follows a group of high school students who meet in detention and start a band. (Deadline)

Stay tuned.

Press Release: FX ORDERS PILOT PRODUCTION OF ALABAMA

FX ORDERS PILOT PRODUCTION OF ALABAMA

Comedy Pilot Co-Created By and Starring
Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon

LOS ANGELES, August 3, 2010 – FX has ordered pilot production of Alabama, a half-hour comedy co-created by and starring Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon (creators and stars of Reno 911!), today announced John Landgraf, President and General Manager, FX Networks.

Alabama, written by Garant and Lennon, is a comedy set a thousand years in the future, aboard the United Nations peacekeeping spaceship: THE USS ALABAMA. The series begins six years into their seven year mission to maintain peace and enforce treaties between planets in their jurisdiction: Sector 187-G. The show will follow the heart- pounding action as our crew visits hostile planets, meets alien life-forms, and tries to have sex with each other in their tiny, metal bunk beds.

“Working as an Executive Producer of Reno 911! alongside Ben and Tom was one of the great professional experiences of my career,” said Landgraf. “These guys are extremely talented writer/actor/producers. This script is hysterical and I’m thrilled that they chose to bring it to FX.”

Garant and Lennon are executive producers along with Peter Principato and Paul Young. The pilot will be produced by FX Productions and it will be shot in the Los Angeles area in September.

FX Productions co-produces the Emmy® and Golden Globe® award-winning Damages and Justified (with Sony Pictures Television), the critically acclaimed hit drama series Sons of Anarchy (with Fox 21) and the upcoming drama series Lights Out (with Fox Television Studios) starring Holt McCallany. FX Productions is the sole production entity of FX comedy series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League, Archer and Louie.

FX is the flagship general entertainment basic cable network from Fox. Launched in June of 1994, FX is carried in more than 96 million homes. The diverse schedule includes a growing roster of critically acclaimed and award-winning original series, an established film library of acquired box-office hit movies, and an impressive lineup of acquired hit series.

Channel Surfing: Damages Season Four Details, Susan Sarandon Gets Miraculous, RTD Teases Torchwood, Fringe, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Now that the ink has dried on Damages's DirecTV deal, Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to executive producers Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman about whether the format for the serpentine legal drama will be altered for its fourth and fifth seasons, whether the budget will be affected, why Ellen has gotten past the fact that Patty tried to have her killed, who will be returning, and a host of other issues. "DirecTV wants us to do the show that we’ve been doing," said Zelman. "If anything, they want us to push what we’ve been doing even further. They’re encouraging us to be as bold as possible, which is something we strive for anyway. There have been no discussions about altering the show in any fundamental way." Except for the fact that the episodes will be longer, that is. "What’s exciting for us as creators is that on the 101 Network there are no commercials, so it’ll be an uninterrupted hour," said Todd A. Kessler. "And that lends itself to the type of storytelling we do." Production on Season Four begins in January. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The cast of HBO's drama The Miraculous Year--from writer John Logan and director Kathryn Bigelow--just keeps getting better and better. Susan Sarandon (The Lovely Bones) will join Norbert Leo Butz, Frank Langella, Hope Davis, Lee Pace, Patti LuPone, Eddie Redmayne, and Linus Roach, among others in the cast of the drama pilot, which follows the lives of a wealthy Manhattan family. Sarandon, who will guest star in the pilot, will play Patty Atwood, the director and choreographer for the new show that Norbert Leo Butz's Terry is mounting. (Deadline)

Russell T Davies has teased information about the upcoming fourth season of Torchwood that will air in the US on Starz next year, telling a journalist from SFX that it will be very dark indeed, if not darker than Torchwood: Children of Earth. "Actually, this story is also very dark," said Davies. "I think with that, Torchwood found its feet. People found something very compelling and very chilling about it. I love the way people got on their high horse saying, 'Oh, he killed his grandson!' Hello! He saved every single child in the world! If you would fail to do that then you're the monster, frankly. It's this extraordinary treatment that only science fiction heroes get You find that. If ever a word is said out of place by the Doctor or Captain Jack, or even by Sarah Jane sometimes, people throw their hands up in horror, whereas in any other drama any character is capable of any thing at any time. That's the only way to write, and it's the same for these people as well. I thought it was fascinating and challenging what he did there, but hard—it was so hard. I do think with the whole of Children Of Earth we found a new heartland for Torchwood." (via Blastr)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has a video interview with the stars of FOX's Fringe, in which Anna Torv, Josh Jackson, and John Noble discuss Season Three, the romance between Olivia and Peter, and familial bonds. Well worth a look if you don't mind vague spoilers. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan talks to Bruce Miller and Jaime Paglia, the producers of Syfy's Eureka about Felicia Day and Wil Wheaton's upcoming turns on the dramedy series as well as about James Callis' Dr. Grant. According to Paglia, Day will play a "very eccentric scientist, someone who was invited to be at Eureka but turned it down," when the series returns for the back half of its season in 2011. According to Ryan, Day's character will be "brought in to consult on a problem and Day's character and the character played by Wheaton, who will appear in several episodes, will be involved in a love triangle with a Eureka regular. The producers wouldn't say who it is, but I'd bet money that it's Fargo." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Glee fans, say goodbye to Coach Tanaka. TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Patrick Gallagher--who plays the surly high school coach/gym teacher, is not expected to return for the second season of Glee this fall and the producers will be introducing a new character--Dot Jones' Shannon Beiste--as the new football coach at William McKinnley High. "As he has not been written into the show's first few episodes," writes Keck, "it appears that Tanaka ran his course after failing in his attempt to marry Emma." (TV Guide Magazine)

Liam Neeson is set to guest star on an upcoming episode of Showtime's Laura Linney-led dark comedy The Big C, where he will play Bee Man, an eccentric man whom Cathy consults for a possible cancer treatment. (via press release)

Nigel Lythgoe is said to be thisclose to finalizing a deal that will see him return to FOX's American Idol as an executive producer for the tenth season. Lythgoe is widely expected to close the deal and serve alongside Ken Warwick, Simon Fuller, and Cecile Frot-Coutaz. "Fox is seeking to bring back Lythgoe to work on the hit series as part of a master plan to reboot the show following the exit of top judge Simon Cowell," writes The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd. "In addition, Idol fans can add pop star Justin Timberlake to the list of potential Cowell replacements. Timberlake, along with legendary singer Elton John, is on Idol producer 19 Entertainment chief Simon Fuller's wish list." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Common (Date Night) has been cast in AMC period drama pilot Hell on Wheels, the first talent attachment to the drama, which depicts the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. Common will play Elam, described as "a freed slave who comes west seeking work on the railroad and his place in the world" and who, "as a half black, half white man... does not completely belong to either world." (Deadline)

G4 has purchased four anime-inspired series based on Marvel characters from Sony Pictures Entertainment. The cabler has ordered twelve episodes each of X-Men, Wolverine, Iron Man and Blade, which it will launch in 2011. Marvel Entertainment will produce with Madhouse and each of the anime series will have some thread connecting it to Asia in some way. [Editor: the inclusion of Wolverine here then makes sense, given his history in Japan, but X-Men? Interesting.] (Variety)

It's thought quite elementary that BBC One's new mystery series Sherlock--a modern-day version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's sleuth from Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss--will be recommissioned for a second season after 7.5 million viewers tuned in on Sunday to watch the first episode. (Broadcast)

In other UK news, British viewers will be able to watch the CW's Nikita and NBC's Chase, following a deal between studio Warner Bros. Television and The Living TV Group (a division of BSkyB) that will bring the series to Living. Nikita will air this fall on the channel, while Chase will jump across the pond in 2011. (Hollywood Reporter)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Jeff and Jackie Filgo have left ABC's comedy pilot Awkward Situations For Men, which is being reworked and will be reshot. The cast of the original pilot--Danny Wallace, Tony Hale, and Laura Prepon--will return for the redone pilot though studio Warner Bros. Television will have to find a replacement for the Filgos, who wrote the pilot with Wallace and served as executive producers on the project. (Deadline)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that an earthquake will rock Los Angeles in the September 13th season premiere of 90210. "We wanted to open the season with an event that has both physical and emotional ramifications for several people," co-executive producer Jennie Snyder Urman told Keck and added that the incident will seriously affect one character. "One of them has a very serious injury that takes time to resolve and sort of changes the direction of his or her life." (TV Guide Magazine)

Epix has acquired rights to stand-up comedy film Louis C.K.: Hilarious, which premiered at Sundance earlier this year. The pay cabler will air the film on September 18th on Epix, its website, and its on demand service before Comedy Central gets a second window in 2011. (Variety)

CBS and CBS Studios have signed a talent holding deal with former King of Queens star Leah Remini, who will also serve as one of the hosts of CBS' new mom-centric daytime talk show. Under the terms of the deal, Remini will star in a new half-hour comedy pilot for the network. (Deadline)

Former ITV managing director Lee Bartlett has returned Stateside, where he has moved into the business affairs EVP position at Discovery Communications. He'll be based in Los Angeles and will report to Peter Ligouri. (Variety)

Stay tuned.