Channel Surfing: Sons of Anarchy and Haven Renewed, Walking Dead Novels, NCIS: LA, Modern Family, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

FX has renewed motorcycle drama Sons of Anarchy for a fourth season. Series, which wraps up its third season on November 30th, is the most-watched series in the cable network's history. "Sons of Anarchy is the most popular show FX has ever had, and the No. 1 series in basic cable for our key demographic," said FX president/general manager John Landgraf. "It is also one of the best, most original series on television." (Variety)

Elsewhere, Syfy renewed freshman drama Haven for a second season, with thirteen episodes on tap for next summer. Production is slated to resume in the spring in Nova Scotia on the sophomore season. (Variety)

Robert Kirkman's zombie comic, "The Walking Dead," which is heading to the small screen later this month with AMC's television series of the same name, will also be transformed into a trilogy of original novels, the first of which will be released in 2011. Kirkman will provide the concept and outline for the novels, which will be written by Jay Bonansinga. (Deadline)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Raymond J. Barry (Lost) has been cast in what appears to be a recurring role on CBS' NCIS: LA, where he will play Branston Cole, an ex-secret agent who has crossed paths with Linda Hunt's Hetty. Barry's character is described as appearing "rail and blind from a stroke he suffered a while back, but he remains vigorous and sarcastic as he lives out the remainder of his days in a retirement home. A man with a long history and a deep well of secrets, he seems to still enjoy the game of espionage and manipulation, leading his handlers down questionable paths.” He'll make his first appearance in November. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Danny Trejo (Machete) will guest star on ABC's Modern Family, where he will play the school janitor in an upcoming episode. "The Modern Family episode finds Claire in charge of an upcoming school dance at the boys' school," writes Keck. "While all the other moms are afraid of Danny's menacing janitor, fearless Claire forms an unlikely bond with the guy." (TV Guide Magazine)

Ryan Seacrest is said to be in talks with CAA and AEG about launching a cable network. "The business venture is in very preliminary stages, but the network's concept is described as music, pop culture and lifestyle oriented," write The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd and Kim Masters. "Seacrest is likely to have some kind of on-air presence in the venture. Unlike Oprah Winfrey's upcoming OWN cable channel, however, Seacrest is expected to operate mainly as an influential partner rather than serve as the face and personality of the network. The channel won't be 'Seacrest TV, but will have its own brand. (Hollywood Reporter)

Rebecca Mader (Lost) is set to guest star on NBC's Law & Order: Los Angeles this season, where she will play a woman named Rebecca. "The fictional Rebecca’s lot in life is to get run over by a car, yet miraculously survive," writes Fancast's Matt Mitovich. (Fancast)

Tina Fey is set to return to Saturday Night Live with a primetime special that will celebrate the women of SNL. She'll be joined by Rachel Dratch, Amy Poehler, Nora Dunn, Ana Gasteyer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Laraine Newman, Cheri Oteri, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Molly Shannon, and Kristen Wiig. Special is slated to air November 1st at 9 pm ET/PT. (Hollywood Reporter)

Chris D'Elia (Monk) has been cast in TBS' upcoming period comedy series Glory Daze, where he will play Stankowski, described as "as an older, oracle-style figure to the members of a college fraternity." (Variety)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that ABC has given a script order (plus penalty) to an untitled comedy which will star Wilmer Valderrrama (That '70s Show). Project, which hails from Murray and Judah Miller, will have "a musical component" and will be directed by Akiva Schaffer. (Deadline)

Ed Begley Jr. will turn up on Shonda Rhimes' midseason medical drama Off the Map, according to TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck, who reports that the St. Elsewhere veteran will play Hank, a dentist, in the season's fifth episode. (TV Guide Magazine)

Oxygen has renewed Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood for a sixth season and ordered a new Tori-centric reality project entitled Tori and Dean: Storibook Weddings, which will "focus on Spelling's party planning skills while McDermott focuses on the groom's issues leading up to the pair's nuptials." (Variety)

USA has renamed its upcoming legal drama Facing Kate, which will now be entitled Fairly Legal. News was announced via Twitter by USA executive Ted Linhart. (Twitter)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Sony Pictures Television has signed a two-script deal with writer/actress Stephnie Weir, who wrote ABC comedy pilot Wright vs. Wrong. The first project under the new deal is an ABC comedy pilot that is set at a diner. (Deadline)

Stay tuned.

Pregnant Pauses and Hot-Button Issues: An Advance Review of Season Six of FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

There are few series that are as gleefully absurd as FX's ribald comedy It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which returns for a sixth season tonight after what feels like way too long of a hiatus.

Revolving as it always does about the denizens of a low-rent Philadelphia pub, Sunny continues to push its characters into uncomfortable territory, challenging them to not change, learn, or grow even as they sink lower and lower into their own filth. And that's truly the joy of watching this original and groundbreaking comedy. You can't help but fall in love with Mac, Dennis, Charlie, Dee, and Frank, even as you realize that you would immediately cross to the other side of the street if you ever saw these selfish and flawed individuals in real-life.

From the safety of your living room, however, Sunny becomes a window into the world of arrested adolescence, where despite pushing their thirties (hard), the gang at Paddy's Pub becomes more a portrait of unfettered id, a land where no impulse is ever denied, no matter how moronic, dangerous, or utterly selfish. And it's a beautiful thing.

Season Six once again juxtaposes outlandish situations with hot-button issues as the executive producers--Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, and Charlie Day--tackle social conventions within the context of comedy, pushing the characters to take stands even as it challenges the audience to often side against them. This season, those topics would include gay marriage, matrimony, divorce, pregnancies, and, um, boat ownership, all in the first four episodes of the season alone.

The brutally funny first four episodes of Season Six, sent out to critics for review, represent a hilarious and strong start to the new season. The first episode in particular, entitled "Mac Fights Gay Marriage," finds the gang tackling the controversial issue of gay marriage--or at least McElhenney's Mac, anyway--while the rest of the gang is able to reap the rewards of matrimony, including Frank (Danny DeVito) and Charlie (Day), who get a civil union so that Charlie can get on Frank's health insurance.

Look for a painfully uproarious scene in which the duo attempt to crack one another's backs and Kaitlin Olsen's Sweet Dee to battle her gag reflex in a recurring, er, gag that's hilarious, while Mac's attempt to slam gay marriage--which includes the use of electrical plugs to demonstrate his point--is both eye-opening and hysterical.

The plot of that episode--which involves Dennis (Howerton) getting married to a high school sweetheart--becomes a major arc for the season, spilling into the following episode ("Dennis Gets Divorced"), while the whodunit aspect of the fourth episode ("Who Got Dee Pregnant?") sees the guys attempt to figure out which one of them could be the father of Dee's baby after a series of hijinx at the Halloween party.

Yes, a baby could be making its way into the Paddy's Pub gang and one can only hope that they learned a thing or two about parenting from the dumpster baby incident a few seasons back.

Then again, this is Sunny we're talking about: if these guys learned anything about life, it would be an absolute miracle.

Season Six of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia kicks off tonight at 10 pm ET/PT on FX.

The Daily Beast: "Nine Shows to Watch, Six Shows to Shun"

My fall TV preview--or at least part of it, anyway--is finally up.

Head over to The Daily Beast, where you can read my latest feature, "Nine Shows to Watch, Six Shows to Shun," where I offer up nine new series to watch this fall and six shows to avoid like the plague.

Just which ended up on which list? Hint, The Event ended up on my worst-of list, while things like Boardwalk Empire, Terriers, Nikita, Sherlock, Luther, Undercovers and others ended up on my watch list. (While The Walking Dead is on there, I still--like every other critic--have not seen a full episode, so there's that to consider.)

But while this is my list, I'm also extremely curious to find out what you're looking forward to this autumn. What are you most excited about watching this fall? Head to the comments section to discuss, debate, and tear into my list.

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.

Talk Back: Series Premieres of FX's Terriers and CW's Hellcats

I could make a joke about dogs and cats fighting here but that would be too easy, no?

I've been raving about FX's new drama series Terriers for weeks now but now the Ted Griffin-created series (executive produced by Shawn Ryan) has finally aired so I'm curious to see what you thought of last night's series premiere. (You can read my advance review of the first five episodes here and check out my feature interview with Shawn Ryan over at The Daily Beast.)

Did you fall for the series' mixture of comedy and drama? What did you make of the camaraderie and chemistry between series leads Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James? Of the San Diego setting and the overarching conspiracy plot that arcs over the whole first season? Glad to see Laura Allen sink her teeth into a meaty role as Britt's vet girlfriend Katie? Wondering just what will happen next?

And, most importantly, will you tune in again next week?

And then there was the CW's Hellcats. I didn't write a review of the pilot episode mostly because I found it to be hellishly awful and entirely tedious, but I'd be curious to know what those of you who tuned in thought about the series premiere. Did you bother watching? Will you tune in again? And why oh why has the CW sunk so low again?

Talk back here.

Dogged Detectives with Bite: An Advance Review of FX's Terriers

As the owner of a small dog, I can attest to the fact that the size of the beast isn't indicative of the largeness of their personalities... nor the fact that they're only too willing to take on adversaries far bigger than them.

Which seems to be the metaphor behind the title of FX's new drama series Terriers, which premieres tonight. Despite the title, Terriers isn't about dog breeders or, well, dogs at all, though there are more than a few canines lurking in the background of this scrappy and sly series, created by Ted Griffin (Ocean's Eleven, Matchstick Men) and executive produced by Shawn Ryan (The Shield).

While the unlicensed private detectives of the series, ex-cop Hank Dolworth (Life's Donal Logue) and his BFF Britt Pollack (True Blood's Michael Raymond-James), might be small fry in the sunny San Diego coastal town of Ocean Beach, they're not ones to back down from anything, even when they've bitten off far more than they can chew.

For this winsome duo, their low-level business isn't a lucrative line of work but rather an effort to remain a little longer in Neverland, despite the efforts of everyone in their lives--whether that be Hank's ex-wife Gretchen (House's Kimberly Quinn), now moving on with her life, or Britt's would-be veterinarian girlfriend Katie (Dirt's Laura Allen)--to push them, kicking and screaming, into adulthood.

Despite the fact that Hank and Britt are slumming it a bit, it's a joy to chew the fat with them in the gutter. In the hands of Logue and Raymond-James, there's a genuine camaraderie and rapport between these two and it's hard to imagine that they've been anything but the best of friends for years now. They have a shorthand between them for their professional maneuvers--which often include the illicit, immoral, and outright illegal--and, like any friends of the male variety, seem hellbent on driving each other crazy. (In the pilot episode, this includes Hank's repeated attempts to create an earworm--a song that gets stuck in one's head--to torment Britt.)

But this isn't a USA dramedy. While there's a hell of a lot of comedy going on here, it's nicely juxtaposed against some toothy drama that exposes the seedy underbelly of this sunny beach town. It's not all suntanning and beers on the ocean. A rotting corpse is discovered in a lifeguard tower. A real estate developer is as dirty as they come. A parking lot confrontation--over a missing girl under Hank and Britt's protection--turns brutally nasty. Underneath the crisp air and rays of sunshine lurks a violence that's always threatening to erupt and overtake the status quo.

And Hank, we learn over the course of the first few episodes, was dishonorably discharged from the local police department thanks to his alcoholism. Now clean and sober, he's lost everything--his job, his house, and his wife--to his addiction, but he's maintained a contentious relationship with his ex-partner Mark Gustafson, played here to delicious perfection by Rockmond Dunbar (Prison Break). But Britt is no angel, either, as we learn in a later episode. How the two met is only too fitting, really.

(Points too for Jamie Denbo's hilarious and super-pregnant lawyer Maggie Lefferts, here presented as a cross between the guys' confessor, mother, and manager. Denbo--half of Ronna and Beverly--shines in her scenes and I only hope we see more of her in the back half of the season.)

It's also worth noting that this isn't a crime procedural, but rather a gripping and taut serialized drama. Each episode builds on the one that preceded it and gracefully unfolds the further development of the characters while also broadening out the world. Throughout it all, the case in the pilot--the one involving the aforementioned real estate developer--hovers uneasily over the action as Hank and Britt find themselves drawn deeper and deeper into a scandal that puts their lives--and those of their loved ones--in serious risk.

Will the guys throw in the figurative towel? Or will they doggedly pursue the truth about just what is going on at the Montague development, even as all number of obstacles are thrown up in their way? (You can guess which way the wind blows.)

Thanks to the crack writing staff of Terriers, what develops is a smart, funny, and compelling series that masterfully balances light and dark, humor and drama, pain and catharsis. The five episodes that I screened earlier this month point towards Terriers being an accomplished and gutsy series that's unlike anything else on television. While the fall season has only gotten under way today, it's safe to say that Terriers is already high atop the list of the very best new series on television right now.

This dog's bite is just as fierce as its bark.

Terriers premieres tonight at 10 pm ET/PT on FX.

The Daily Beast: "The Shield Creator Shawn Ryan's New Show, Terriers"

Before I post my (glowing) review of FX's new drama series Terriers, starring Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James, I thought I'd plug my latest feature over at The Daily Beast.

Head over to The Daily Beast to read "The Shield Creator Shawn Ryan's New Show, Terriers," in which I talk to Shawn Ryan about Terriers--created by Ted Griffin--and Ryan's upcoming FOX midseason drama Ride-Along (one of the very best of the season) and discuss the thematic links with The Shield, which transformed FX into a major player in the original programming game and transformed cable as a result.

Be sure to head to the comments section to discuss the legacy of The Shield and whether you'll be tuning in to Terriers tonight. (You really should be: it's hands-down one of the best new shows of the year.)

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: 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: AMC Finds The Killing, Lotus Caves for Syfy and Bryan Fuller, More Office Rumors, FNL Launch Date, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

AMC has given a series order to pilot The Killing, which hails from writer/executive producer Veena Sud and Fox Television Studios and is based on Danish television series Forbrydelsen, ordering thirteen episodes which will air sometime in 2011. Series, which will star Big Love's Mireille Enos, revolves around the murder of a young girl and a police investigation that connects several seemingly separate story threads. "We are thrilled to be moving forward with this stunning piece of television," said Joel Stillerman, AMC's senior vp of original programming, production and digital content, in a statement. "It is a crime drama, but it is also a gripping character based story that pulls you in and doesn't let go. The storytelling is completely compelling, and the show is visually breathtaking." In addition to Enos, the project--which will be renamed, sadly--also stars Billy Campbell, Michelle Forbes, Joel Kinnaman, and Brent Sexton, among others. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Syfy is teaming up with Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller to develop a drama series based on John Christopher's novel, "The Lotus Caves." Fuller and Jim Grey will write the pilot script for The Lotus Caves, which--like the novel before it--will revolve around a group of "rebellious lunar colonists [who] dare to take a peek beyond their borders and discover a bunch of brainiac aliens living in the caves of the title." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Could Portia de Rossi or Tony Hale be headed to The Office? New York Post's Jarett Wieselman looks at an unconfirmed report that says that Danny McBride will be dropping by Scranton this season but not as the replacement for Steve Carell's Michael Scott, who will instead be replaced by someone who once starred on Arrested Development. Wieselman then goes on to say that the most obvious suspects, should we believe the report, are Tony Hale, Jeffrey Tambor, and Portia de Rossi. (New York Post's PopWrap)

The date you're waiting for: the fifth and final season of Friday Night Lights will kick off on DirecTV on October 27th, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. No word on when Season Five will turn up on NBC, though it's likely to air next summer on the Peacock. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has an interview with Sons of Anarchy's Ron Perlman, who plays Clay Morrow on the gritty FX biker drama. "None of us really know where we go from week to week," Perlman told Ryan. "And there's something really exciting about that. I feel if Kurt needed for us to know where we needed to go from week to week, he would tell us if it was going to affect something in our playing of it. The hallmark of his writing is -- he writes in a way that's very vivid and the only thing you ever need to worry about is the moment that you're in. The kidnapping of the child is the event that drives at least the first few episodes. Of course, it's all hands on deck. Whatever is going on in [the characters'] personal relationships is shelved for the moment while we address ourselves to the matter at hand. But beyond that I really can't say. But my guess is -- and I'm like an audience member, in terms of [not knowing] where the show is going to be later in the season -- Kurt is too smart to introduce something without it, at some point, resolving itself. He doesn't feel like he's in any hurry to put all the cards out. That's my guess." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Vulture has an interview with former Lost star Michael Emerson about the release of the DVD and the twelve-minute epilogue entitled, "The New Man in Charge." "I was so pleased with it," said Emerson of Lost's finale. "Instead of employing some narrative device or science-fiction device or time-travel device, [the writers] humanized the whole affair and brought it back to characters and souls, and so I thought it was really a fine solution and one that I’m onboard with. And I’m especially delighted with the way they wrapped up the Benjamin Linus [story]." Asked about some of the negative reactions to the series finale, Emerson said, "It surprised me a bit because a lot of people who were unhappy had been misunderstanding the show for a long time, so why were they still watching it if they’d mixed up what they were seeing? But I guess that’s the deal: It works magically for all sorts of people at all different levels of understanding." As for the epilogue, he described it as a sort of "dessert" to be enjoyed after the main course. (Vulture)

USA Today's Whitney Matheson also has an interview with Emerson about the finale and the epilogue. Asked whether the epilogue was truly the end, Emerson said, "Yeah, they've always made that clear. I think we can take them at their word. These writers will never revisit the material, or at least not soon. And you'll never get the cast together in one place again. But as some people have noted, you might get a couple of cast members together to do something that takes off on a tangent." (USA Today's Pop Candy)

It looks like Jennifer Lopez won't be taking a spot at the judges table on American Idol after all. Citing a report by People, The Hollywood Reporter has a look at why talks with Lopez fell through: "Her demands got out of hand," an unnamed source told People. "Fox had just had enough." (The Hollywood Reporter)

Which brings us to this gem: Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd offers seven reasons why there has been such a delay in FOX announcing replacements for the outbound American Idol judges. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

20th Century Fox Television has signed a three-year overall deal with Family Guy writers Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild, under which they will remain aboard the FOX animated comedy while also developing new projects for the studio. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice reports that CBS will debut its new daytime talk show The Talk, developed by Sara Gilbert, on Monday, October 18th. Series features six female hosts with kids, including Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson Peete, Leah Remini, and Marissa Jaret Winokur. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

E4 has released the first photo of the cast of Season Five of Skins, featuring an entirely new cast of characters. (E4)

Syfy is planning holiday-themed episodes of its series Warehouse 13 and Eureka and has tapped Judd Hirsch and Paul Blackthorne to drop by Warehouse 13, while Chris Parnell and Matt Frewer will be stopping by Eureka this winter. (via press release)

Jay Mohr is set to guest star in the fourth episode of NBC's new legal drama Outlaw, where he will play Henry Ashford, whom Jimmy Smits' Cyrus Garza will face off with in court in a case involving a mother who accidentally kills her baby after locking it in a car, according to TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck. "NBC is keeping mum as to whether Cyrus or Jay's character, Henry Ashford, will be representing the bad mother," writes Keck. "The network says it will be a weekly guessing game as to which side of the law Outlaw Smits attaches himself." (TV Guide Magazine)

Nick Cannon will remain the chairman of TeenNick through January 2012 under an extension of the deal Cannon has with the Nickelodeon cable network. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Damages Report: Televisionary Talks to Rose Byrne and Executive Producer Daniel Zelman About Season Four

I'm already getting excited about the fourth season of serpentine legal thriller Damages, which moves from FX to DirecTV next year, following a landmark deal that brought the series back from the brink of cancellation and guaranteed a fourth and fifth season.

Quite a lot has changed since I spoke to creators Daniel Zelman, Glenn Kessler, and Todd A. Kessler for my Season Three postmortem over at The Daily Beast, not least of which is that surprising (and very welcome) two-season pickup and the series' move to the satcaster's The 101 Network.

At last night's Sony Pictures Television party at the Beverly Hilton's Bar 210, I caught up with executive producer/co-creator Daniel Zelman and series lead (and Emmy Award nominee) Rose Byrne to discuss Season Four of Damages, why things always come back to the dock outside Patty's beach house, where we might find Ellen Parsons, whether we'll see Tom Shayes (Tate Donovan) again, why Ellen seems to have forgiven Patty for trying to kill her and much more.

What follows is a Q&A-style transcript of my conversation with Zelman and Byrne (sporting her natural Aussie accent) amid last night's revelry, held at the end of a full day of FX sessions at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour.

Televisionary: Congratulations to both of you on the pickup of Seasons Four and Five of Damages. What was your initial reaction after became clear that the deal between Sony Pictures Television and DirecTV would take?

Daniel Zelman: Well, to be honest, I was a little bit shocked. It's always such a longshot when these things happen. For a show to be moved from network to network is such a rare thing, as you know. But at the same time, we knew it was a possibility for a long time so we were very pleased that we would have the opportunity to tell more stories and write more for Rose... and Glenn.

[Byrne laughs.]

Televisionary: And Glenn too, of course. Ellen Parsons is an amazing character and you've done an incredible amount of work with her over the past three seasons and it seemed like she had finally made a decision about her future at the end of last season. Now that you're committed to two more seasons as Ellen, where are you hoping that KZK can take the character? Here's your chance to tell Daniel.

Rose Byrne: [Laughs.] My initial feeling was that they had wrapped all the stories up [at the end of Season Three], so I was wondering what's going to happen and what they would do next. But they were all so relaxed about that! [Laughs.] It was not any worry for them at all.

But I'm excited. I love working with Glenn. She always raises the bar in every scene and she's so much fun to work with. I've really grown to love being on a series. There's something very intimate about it. It's like a family. I'm a big television-watcher myself so I love being part of that world. [As for Ellen], I think they're up for the challenge.

Zelman: She's leaving it in our hands.

Byrne: [Laughs.] I have no ideas! No ideas!

Televisionary: Can you give us any hints then about where you might take Ellen in Season Four?

Byrne [to Zelman]: What are you going to do? Have you thought about it yet?

Zelman: We've thought about it. As soon as we got the news, we started to get into the season. It's so hard with our show to give things away as the surprises are so much a part of it. The best I can say is that Patty and Ellen are a part of each other's lives for better or for worse, but their history will always come back. Wherever they go together, they will never outrun their pasts.

For us, that's what's interesting about their relationship: it's developed its own mythology. There are certain things that have happened between the two women...

Televisionary: I know whenever any one tries to kill me, I keep them in my life. You want to keep them close.

[Byrne laughs.]

Zelman: We get that question a lot. All we can say is that that will never go away and that the past is always present in their relationship. We will continue to explore that theme.

Televisionary: In Season Three, we saw an amazing transformation in that relationship, in that we saw Ellen go off to the D.A.'s office and try to live a life that was separate from Patty Hewes before she gets pulled back into Patty's orbit. You've been the student in that relationship, you've been the adversary, but in Season Three, it seemed like we reached a plateau of friendship or equality between them.

Byrne: Absolutely. She needs her help by the end and she needs someone on her side. Ellen chooses to help her for her own reasons. That final scene on the dock, it certainly felt like they were equals by the end.

Televisionary: It always comes back to that dock, though. There have been some amazing showdowns over the years at the dock at Patty's beach house.

Zelman: The dock is a symbol for something and, when I figure it out, I'll tell you what it is.

[Byrne and I laugh.]

Zelman: Sometimes things just happen. We found that location and it just has taken on a meaning of its own and a life of its own within the show. There is a certain gravity to the dock. Before every season begins, we always know what scene is going to take place at the dock. I'm sure we'll be back at the dock for one reason or another.

Televisionary: We've seen throughout the seasons that people tend to come and go and return, even when they're dead. Is there any chance that Tate Donovan could show up in some form as Tom Shayes next season?

Zelman: There's a very good chance that Tate will be back. There's a very good chance.

Byrne: Really? Oh, I'm excited about that!

Zelman: Yes, there's a very good chance. We love him and we love the character and we love the person. He really is part of the soul of the show; there's no question of that. We always want to bring the soul of the show back to the show if at all possible. Same goes for Zeljko Ivanek [who plays Ray Fiske]. He always tends to come back and it's not always the plan going in but there's a gravity he has when he comes back.

In terms of Patty of Ellen's relationship, a lot of people have asked us last season, how does Ellen get past the fact that she tried to kill her. In our minds, part of how Ellen takes control of that and lives with that is by saying, I'm going to move past and I'm going to have control over Patty precisely because I'm not going to show her that I'm affected by it. There's a certain amount of denial that comes into that as well. Listen to this, Rose. [Laughs.]

Byrne: She's very pathological! I don't think she's very healthy. It's not a healthy thing to do, is it?

Zelman: So it might be that Ellen's behavior last season is something she can hold together for a while but not forever. Her anger and resentment about that always threatens to bubble up. The question is what will she do, especially now that she has all of Patty's skills at the ready?

Televisionary: Well, we've all seen Ellen's shotgun fantasy dreams.

Zelman: Yes! Also Wes [Timothy Olyphant] taught her how to shoot. She knows how to shoot.

Byrne: She does. She's got a lot of skills, Ellen. And she's just as duplicitous as Patty, really.

Televisionary: Where might we find Ellen in a career sense when we pick up with her again? Have you decided that yet?

Zelman: We actually have decided that. Well, we have a very strong idea about that, but we always like to improvise, so that could change. I just don't want to give it away because tuning into the first episode, there's always that question of where we will find these characters. Are they going to be together? Is Ellen going to be living in the same country? It's part of the fabric of the show. Where did she go after she left the dock and didn't get an answer to her question?

Byrne: She didn't get an answer.

Televisionary: Well, she sort of got an answer by not getting an answer.

Byrne: I guess that's the answer.

Televisionary: When do you go back into production? And is there a launch date yet?

Zelman: January. [As for the launch date], that is still being figured out.

Season Four of Damages will air next year on DirecTV's 101 Network.

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.

Press Release: FX LIKES LOUIE

FX LIKES LOUIE

Network Orders Second Season of Comedy Series Starring Louis C.K.
Seven All New Episodes Remain in Season One, Tuesdays at 11 PM ET/PT
With Season One Finishing with Two All New Back-to-Back Episodes Airing September 7

LOS ANGELES, August 3, 2010 – FX has ordered another season of its newest critically acclaimed comedy series Louie, starring actor/comedian Louis C.K., picking up a 13-episode second season, today announced John Landgraf, President and General Manager of FX Networks.

Seven all new episodes of Louie remain in season one, airing Tuesdays at 11 PM ET/PT, with the two final episodes airing back-to-back on September 7 at 11:00 PM and 11:30 PM behind the season three premier of Sons of Anarchy at 10:00 PM.

“Louis has made a truly original series – a comedy unlike anything on television, but perfect for his unique voice,” said Landgraf. “We are very happy with the show's performance and critical acclaim, and are delighted to move forward with a second season. With the pick up of Louie, FX has renewed all three new original comedies that the channel debuted over the last year.”

Louie is a comedy filtered through the observational humor of Louis C.K. Each episode puts a spotlight on Louis’ hectic life as a successful stand-up comedian and newly single father raising his two daughters. The single-camera comedy is a mix of Louis C.K.’s stand-up comedy and scripted stories. Louis C.K. serves as executive producer, writer and director, and Dave Becky and 3 Arts Entertainment are executive producers. FX has ordered 13 episodes of the series which is produced by FX Productions.

Through six episodes, on a first-run basis Louie is averaging 1 million total viewers and 727,000 Adults 18-49 (most current). On a weekly four-run telecast basis, with three episodes of complete data, Louie is averaging 2.5 million total viewers and 1.7 million Adults 18-49 (Live+7). On a Live+7 basis, with four episodes of data recorded, first-run episodes of Louie are averaging 1.2 million total viewers and 819,000 Adults 18-49. (Source: The Nielsen Company)

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: DirecTV Saves FX's Damages, David Cross to Join Running Wilde, Gregory Itzin Finds Big Love for HBO, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Many had given up hope that FX's brilliant and labyrinthine legal drama Damages would survive another season, given the low ratings for the series' fantastically taut third season, which wrapped its run earlier this year. Not so: DirecTV has come to the aid of the Sony Picture Television- and FX Productions-produced series and has renewed the Glenn Close-led series for two seasons of ten episodes apiece. The only problem: it won't be airing on FX anymore as DirecTV has the exclusive rights to the series on The 101 Network. "We're excited to partner with Sony Pictures Television as we breathe new life into this outstanding drama," said Patty Ishimoto, general manager of The 101 Network and vice president of entertainment for DIRECTV, in a statement. "It's a win for our customers because only they will be able to see these new episodes and another great step forward for DIRECTV as we continue to build our growing portfolio of exclusive, award winning programming." Season Four will launch in 2011, with the fifth season on deck for 2012. Additionally, DirecTV has secured the rights to air the first three seasons. "FX was very proud to have developed one of the best scripted series on television, but, in order to have a future, the show needed DIRECTV and we are thrilled they stepped in," said John Landgraf, President & General Manager, FX Networks and FX Productions, in a press release. "Sony Pictures Television is a great production partner and we at FX Productions are excited for these next two seasons." (via press release)

Is FOX's upcoming comedy Running Wilde turning into a massive Arrested Development reunion? Former Arrested Development star David Cross has been cast as a series regular on Mitch Hurwitz's Wilde opposite Will Arnett. He's set to appear in seven of the initial thirteen episodes, where he will play Andy, a radical environmentalist. [Editor: As well as the boyfriend of Keri Russell's character.] The role was originally filled by Andrew Daly in the original pilot. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva has the full story behind Cross' casting on Running Wilde, where he was the original choice to play Andy. "But just as filming on the Lionsgate TV-produced pilot was underway in April, Cross got stuck in the UK when the country's airspace was closed as air travel in Northern Europe was severely disrupted by the eruption of Iceland's now-infamous Eyjafjallajökull volcano," writes Andreeva. "With Cross certain to miss the shoot, actor Andrew Daly was approached to step in and do the role in the pilot. Daly had just wrapped another comedy pilot, NBC's The Paul Reiser Show, where he was a regular, so for him Running Wilde would've been in second position at best." Daly, meanwhile, maintains that he was brought in as an "understudy" for the role, knowing that "a) if the show got picked up, David would come back to play Andy and b) if The Paul Reiser Show got picked up, I'd have a full time TV job and wouldn't have been able to play Andy anyway even if the Fox executives were so thrilled with my performance in the pilot that they were desperate to have me at any cost! (might've daydreamed about that scenario once or twice)" (Deadline)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that 24's Gregory Itzin has joined the cast of HBO's Big Love for its upcoming fifth season. Itzin will recur on the series, where he will play Senator Richard Dwyer, the Republican Majority Leader of the Utah State Senate. Yes, the same senate where Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton) was elected at the end of last season. Production on Season Five of Big Love is slated to begin this week. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy is close to signing a massive four-year deal with 20th Century Fox Television that will keep him aboard Glee for the foreseeable feature as well as allow him to develop new projects for the studio. The price tag on the overall deal? It's said to be worth $24 million, though Murphy will also share profits from the music business generated from the FOX musical-comedy, including both sales and downloads, tours, and merchandising (and he'll be paid retroactively for the first season as well). (Deadline)

SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Michael Ealy (FlashForward) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on Season Two of CBS' The Good Wife, where he will play Derrick Bond, the head of the D.C. law firm that is merging with Lockhart & Gardner next season. Ealy will appear in at least ten episodes of The Good Wife. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Clifton Collins (Star Trek) has been cast in NBC's upcoming drama series The Event, where he will play Thomas, described as "a key player in the show's secret conspiracy who will come into conflict with the president of the United States (played by Blair Underwood)." (Hollywood Reporter)

Warner Bros. Television has signed a one-year deal with writer/producers Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec (Happy Town, Life on Mars), under which they will develop new projects for the studio from both their own scripts as well as work with other writers. The duo is expected to collaborate with JJ Abrams' Bad Robot shingle, which is also based at WBTV. (Variety)

Aussie actors Justin Clare (Underbelly), Jaime Murray (Dexter), and Marisa Ramirez (General Hospital) have joined the cast of Starz's Spartacus prequel, entitled Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. Clare will play Gannicus, the House of Batiatus' premiere gladiator before the arrival of Spartacus (Andy Whitfield). (via press release)

Rochelle Aytes (The Forgotten) has been cast in a recurring role on ABC's upcoming cop drama Detroit 1-8-7, reports Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. She'll play Alice Williams, described as "a smart, sexy, ambitious lawyer in the Wayne County prosecutor’s office." Series launches September 21st. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos talks to John Stamos about Glee, Entourage, the end of his extortion trial, and playing with the Beach Boys in concert. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Jon Kinnally and Tracy Poust (Will & Grace) have come on board NBC's midseason romantic anthology Love Bites as showrunners, under their two-year overall deal with Universal Media Studios. They will take over showrunning duties from creator Cindy Chupack, who has given up oversight on the series due to personal issues. "We worked with Jon and Tracy for many years on Will & Grace and feel they are perfect for this job on Love Bites," said Angela Bromstad, NBC's president of primetime entertainment. "Not only do they bring intelligence, passion and great experience, but they are one of the funniest writing duos working in television today. This is great news for an incredibly promising new show." (Hollywood Reporter)

Former Danity Kane singer Aubrey O'Day has landed her own series on Oxygen. The cabler has greenlighted The Aubrey O'Day Project, which "will chronicle her attempt to make a comeback in the music industry while working with a demanding team of industry professionals," according to The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd. No launch date has been announced, nor an episodic order. (Hollywood Reporter)

Cartoon Network has ordered ten new episodes of reality competition series Hole in the Wall, which previously aired on FOX during the 2008-09 season but the format--based on a Japanese game show--will be retooled for a younger audience. "In the new version, the half-hour game show will pit two teams of families against each other," writes Variety's Michael Schneider. "But the gist of the show is the same: Contestants, dressed in spandex, contort their bodies in order to clear a series of moving barriers with various cut-out shapes." (Variety)

Syfy is teaming up with videogame maker THQ for two-hour backdoor pilot Red Faction: Origins, which would air in March 2011. "The story of Red Faction: Origins follows rebel hero Alec Mason and the Mason family and is set during a period between the Red Faction Guerilla video game and Red Faction," writes Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. "The screenplay for Red Faction: Origins screenplay was written by Andrew Kreisberg (Warehouse 13), based on a story developed by Paul DeMeo, THQ Director, fiction development." (Deadline)

Science Channel has renewed Through the Wormhole With Morgan Freeman for a ten-episode second season. (Variety)

ABC Studios has hired former 20th Century Fox Television executive Patrick Moran as the new head of drama, replacing Josh Barry, who will step down from his position after just a year. (Deadline)

Sarah Paulson, Karen Allen, and Emily Alyn Lind have been cast opposite John Corbett and Sam Elliott in Hallmark Hall of Fame telepic November Christmas, which will air Thanksgiving weekend on CBS. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: James Tupper Heads to Grey's Anatomy, Game of Thrones, Tammy Blanchard Gets The Good Wife, Michael Emerson, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that James Tupper (Mercy) has joined the cast of ABC's Grey's Anatomy, where he is set to recur as trauma counselor Andrew Perkins, who is "brought in to help Seattle Grace recover from that nightmarish season-ending bloodbath" and who will appear in at least two episodes next season. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has some dish on the casting--and recasting--going on at HBO's upcoming fantasy drama Game of Thrones. "Varys, the calculating spymaster for the king of Westeros, will be played by UK actor Conleth Hill," writes Ryan. "The role of Waymar Royce has been recast due to a scheduling issue. Jamie Campbell-Bower had played the role in the pilot but when the producers decided to do reshoots of his scenes, Campbell-Bower was unavailable. The role of Royce will now be played by Rob Ostlere." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Tammy Blanchard (Guiding Light) has been cast in a recurring role on Season Two of CBS' The Good Wife, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. Blanchard will play a "fair-minded assistant state’s attorney who looks more like an indie-band drummer than a lawyer,” and who will serve as "one of Glen Childs’ underlings and a confidante to Cary (Matt Czuchry)." Meanwhile, Chris Saradon (Judging Amy) has been cast as Judge Goode; he'll recur throughout the season. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online's Megan Masters talks to former Lost star Michael Emerson about his desire to appear on HBO's True Blood, alongside his real life wife Carrie Preston. "When I see Alan, he always says 'We have to find something for you.' I'm delighted to hear him say it," said Emerson, who said he'd be up for anything on the vampire drama. "Yes, some new kind of supernatural creature," he tells us. "Or [I could play] just an everyday humanoid. I could be a pizza delivery man who's torn apart by werewolves... I would be more than happy to do something on that show if they have the right part and I'm available. It would be a treat." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

NBC yesterday announced their fall launch dates for new and returning series and you know what that means: we've got a return date for Chuck! Yes, Team Bartowski returns to the Peacock on Monday, September 20th at 8 pm ET/PT, joined by new dramas The Event and Chase, launching the same evening. The next night brings the returns of The Biggest Loser and Parenthood; Wednesday, September 22nd will see the launch of JJ Abrams' Undercovers as as well as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Los Angeles. Thursday, September 23rd brings Community, 30 Rock, The Office, Outsourced and The Apprentice. (Parks and Recreation sadly won't return until midseason.) Finally, on Friday, September 24th, it's School Pride, Dateline, and Outlaw's turn. (via press release)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Criminal Minds's Kirsten Vangsness may pull double-duty and appear on the Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior spinoff in either a regular or recurring capacity, following a similar trend to Rocky Carroll on NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles. Vangsness would bring her Penelope Garcia to a cast that also includes Forest Whittaker and Janeane Garofalo. (Deadline)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to Supernatural creator (and former showrunner) Eric Kripke about why he stepped down from overseeing the CW drama, which returns for a sixth season this fall, and what's coming up for the Winchester boys. "We were reaching the end of this five-year story line [so] I thought the timing was right," said Kripke of his decision. "I knew that we were closing this chapter and opening a new one. It felt like it was the right time to take a step back and focus on new projects, but still keep my grubby little mitts in the show. It was a lot about Sera and her enthusiasm and her ambition. I really think after five years of all of my crap, to have someone who has a fresh perspective and a fresh energy on these characters and this universe is healthy for the show. Supernatural has always been a show about reinvention. We try really hard not to do the same thing. I thought that Sera’s [increased] involvement really helped guarantee that this season is going to feel a little different, a little fresher. She has a different sensibility." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FX has announced its fall launch dates: Season Three of Sons of Anarchy begins Tuesday, September 7th at 10 pm ET/PT, Shawn Ryan's dramedy Terriers launches Wednesday, September 8th at 10 pm ET/PT, Season Six of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia launches Thursday, September 16th at 10 pm, followed by the Season Two opener of The League at 10:30 pm. (via press release)

The Guardian's Data Blog has a breakdown of every Doctor Who villain the Time Lord has ever faced since 1963. A must see for Who fans. (The Guardian, h/t Dave Izkoff)

Good news for Mad Men fans who also happen to be AT&T U-Verse cable subscribers: Raindbow Media--which owns AMC, IFC, and WEtv--has successfully concluded a carriage deal with AT&T U-Verse to keep their channels on the cable provider's lineup. "We are happy to report that AMC, IFC and WE tv will remain on AT&T U-verse(R) TV," said AT&T in an official statement. "We're very satisfied that we were able to reach the fair deal we wanted for our customers - one that includes the right content, across platforms, at prices that are in line with the marketplace, and that helps us with important strategic content initiatives. We are very grateful to our customers for their support." (via press release)

Production has been pushed by roughly a week and a half on the start of NBC's Law & Order: Los Angeles, according to Deadline's Nellie Andreeva, who reports that producers need additional time to continue casting the project. At press time, there was only one talent attachment on the series as Skeet Ulrich signed on to play Detective Rex Winters, though four series regular roles remain uncast. (Deadline)

Veronica Mars, Pushing Daisies, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Nip/Tuck are all heading to Netflix Instant, following a streaming rights deal between Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Netflix. Separately, Nip/Tuck will also go into off-net syndication on MTV's Logo. (Variety)

Broadcasting & Cable's Andrea Domanick has a great recap of the session for CBS' The Good Wife at NATPE's recent LATV Festival earlier this week. (Broadcasting & Cable)

Remember how the CW shut down its comedy department a while back? While they're not reopening the shuttered development division, the netlet has dipped its toe back in the comedy game, acquiring US rights to Canadian single-camera comedy 18 to Life, which will air Tuesdays at 9 pm this summer, beginning August 3rd. Project, created by Derek Schreyer and Karen Troubetzkoy, revolves around two eighteen-year-olds who get married. (It was originally a CBC-ABC co-production but ABC dropped out ahead of production.) Move comes as the CW looks for ways to slot first-run programming on during the summer and the series will join reality show Plain Jane on the lineup. (Variety)

EVP of current programming Marcy Ross is staying put at FOX, signing a deal that will keep her at the network for three more years... and seems to point towards the fact that FOX is committed to keeping its current programming department, unlike other networks, which have in recent years merged theirs with development. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Lost Alum Heads to SVU, David Strathairn Signs on to Alphas, Outlaw Nation Lands Its Cast, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that former Lost co-star Henry Ian Cusick has signed on for a multiple-episode story arc on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, where he will play Erik Weber, a graphic artist. Cusick is expected to appear in at least two episodes of the procedural drama and will cross paths with Mariska Hargitay's Detective Olivia Benson. "There might be some flirtation," executive producer Neal Baer told Keck. "Erik meets Olivia when he comes to someone's aid. And then we'll see how it goes. Olivia is devoted to her job and knows that comes first." (TV Guide Magazine)

It's official: Academy Award nominee David Strathairn will star in Syfy's 90-minute action pilot Alphas, according to a network press release. In the pilot, written by Zak Penn and Michael Karnow and directed by Jack Bender, Strathairn will play the "unconventional, eccentric Alphas team leader" Dr. Leigh Rosen. Here's what the press release had to say about his character: "Though he comes across as somewhat of an absent-minded professor at times, he is also a cunning and manipulative power-player willing to bend the rules in pursuit of his objectives and in support of his team." Production begins next month in Toronto. (via press release)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Luke Grimes (Brothers & Sisters) and Haley Bennett (Marley & Me) have been cast opposite Mary Steenburgen in FX's Nashville-set crime drama pilot Outlaw Country, which will be directed by Michael Dinner. Grimes will play Eli Larkin, described as "a half-cowboy, half-modern guy who tries to get out of the crime ridden life he has grown accustom to in order to help his siblings, however he finds out that it is much harder than he expected." Bennett will play Annabel Lee, described as "a gorgeous country singer who is living in the shadow of her overprotective mother (Steenburgen)." (Deadline)

SPOILER! Some Bones scoop for those of you deprived of the FOX procedural this summer, courtest of TVGuide.com's Mickey O'Connor and Adam Bryant. Asked about whether Booth and Brennan will be apart when Bones returns this fall, this is what the TVGuide.com editors had to say: "It's looking that way, particularly now that we know that Booth will meet his new love interest, a journalist, when she's embedded with his unit in Afghanistan. In a seemingly Grey's Anatomy-inspired Teddy-Owen-like twist, she'll follow Booth back to Washington, where they'll attempt to be together in the real world. And we all know how that goes. But don't blame Bones — she'll be nothing but supportive of the born-under-fire union." (TVGuide.com)

E! is getting into the dance business. The cabler has teamed up with Ryan Seacrest Productions to develop a pilot that will feature Lady Gaga choreographer Laurie Ann Gibson, along with a group of other choreographers and dancers, in Los Angeles. (Hollywood Reporter)

Torchwood fans, make sure you pick up a copy of the new Torchwood comic, which will make its debut at San Diego Comic-Con later this month. The first issue of the monthly will feature a story written by John Barrowman and will be available at the convention exclusively until it hits shelves on August 10th. (Digital Spy)

E1 has signed on to co-produce AMC drama pilot Hell on Wheels, which revolves around the "post-Civil War construction of the Transcontinental Railroad," with Endemol USA. Production on the pilot, written by Joe and Tony Gayton and directed by David Von Ancken, will begin in August in Alberta, Canada It's widely believed to be a lock for a series order. (Variety)

Recasting going on behind the scenes at NBC's upcoming comedy series Outsourced, where Aussie actress Pippa Black has stepped into the role of Tonya. Elsewhere, Maria Thayer has been upgraded to series regular on Cartoon Network's Eagleheart. (Hollywood Reporter)

Jane Kaczmarek (Raising the Bar) and Kim Dickens (Treme) have been cast in Lifetime telepic Reviving Ophelia, based on the nonfiction book by Mary Pipher, in which they'll play sisters who must help one another raise their teenage daughters. Project, written by Teena Booth and directed by Bobby Roth, will air later this year. (Variety)

Reveille is dipping its toes into the television animation business, signing a deal with Mechem Media to "create animated fare in the signature style of Hanna-Barbera." (Company is comprised of several former Hanna-Barbera executives.) First up is comedy The Gloomers, which will be pitched to networks in the next few weeks. (Hollywood Reporter)

FOX's animated comedy The Cleveland Show is heading into syndication and has locked up deals at Turner's TBS and Adult Swim, where the series will launch in fall 2013. (Broadcasting & Cable)

20th Century Fox Television has signed a talent holding deal with Wilmer Valderrama, under which he will star in and executive produce a new series project for the studio, reports Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. (Deadline)

More changes afoot at ITV Studios, where Lee Bartlett and Remy Blumenthal are stepping down from their posts following a reorganization that will see former Channel 4 director Kevin Lygo assume oversight of the studio. (Variety)

Elsewhere, former Universal Networks International executive Jon Farrar has been hired by BBC Worldwide Channels as VP, programming for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Elijah Wood Pets FX's Willard, Larry King to Leave CNN, Nestor Carbonell Gets Psych, Doctor Who, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings) will star opposite Jason Gann in the pilot for FX's US adaptation of Aussie comedy Wilfred, about a man and his talking dog, the latter of which will be voiced by Gann, the original creator of the series. Project hails from writer David Zuckerman (Family Guy) and director Randall Einhorn (The Office). Production is slated to begin this summer. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Larry King will be hanging up his trademark suspenders this fall after 25 years as the host of Larry King Live in order to spend more time with his family. The Los Angeles Times' Matea Gold and Yvonne Villarreal have a fantastic interview with King about his decision to leave CNN. "I said, 'I can't top this,'" King told the Times on Tuesday. "I'm not getting younger. I want more time with other things. It's time to go... The daily grind is tough. And there are aspects of it, you know, when you've got to do tabloid shows, which is the nature of the business, you've got to do the girl that's missing in Aruba. It's hard to make the case that that is major news, but that's what news is today. And my curiosity runs to that, but not nightly." (Los Angeles Times)

Fancast's Matt Mitovich is reporting that Nestor Carbonell (Lost) will join the cast of USA's Psych for a multiple-episode story arc, where he will play Declan Rand, described as "a criminal profiler who over the course of two episodes will shape up to be Shawn’s professional – as well as romantic – rival." Season Five of Psych will launch July 14th on USA. (Fancast)

SPOILER! Doctor Who showrunner/head writer Steven Moffat has teased details about next season of the sci-fi drama, which stars Matt Smith and Karen Gillan. The secret behind just what that voice meant by "silence will fall" will be explored in the new season of Doctor Who, which will air in 2011 (after a Christmas Special, confirmed last weekend by BBC). "What is that, who is that, who are the silence, what's coming? The whole point of the silence is next series," Moffat told Doctor Who Confidential "Also, River Song... who is she really? That's what we're going to find out next year." (Digital Spy)

TVGuide.com's Adam Bryant has some details about the new season of AMC's Mad Men via an exclusive video that goes behind the scenes of the new promos to tease some precious morsels about what to expect during Season Four of the period drama. "I wanted to have a continuity of these characters and things that are happening to them ... and don't pretend like that they didn't happen," creator/executive producer Matthew Weiner said. "At the same time, be prepared for the fact that [for] a lot of the things that happened, you're going to have to watch and see how they worked out." (TVGuide.com)

Emily VanCamp has confirmed her departure from ABC's Brothers & Sisters via an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "It is true. I’m going to go back for a couple of episodes, which I’m really excited about," VanCamp told Ausiello. "I really feel like Rebecca has run her course. And the deal I was offered this year was for two more years and I just felt like since renegotiations were happening that maybe it would be the right time to move on. I’ve been doing this for a very long time and other opportunities have presented themselves that I haven’t been able to do. I’ve had such an amazing four years on the show and I felt like maybe it was time. It was a big risk but I’m really excited about it." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

It's official: after weeks of negotiations, A&E has ordered thirteen episodes of drama Breakout Kings, which had been previously set up at FOX. Production will begin this fall on the episodic commitment and will air in 2011 on the cabler. "We are thrilled to collaborate with accomplished talents such as Matt and Nick, as well as Peter Chernin and Katherine Pope; with phenomenal track records of success," said Bob DeBitetto, President and General Manager of A&E and BIO Channel, in a statement. "As soon as we screened the Breakout Kings pilot, it struck us as the perfect fit for A&E as the network of 'Real Life. Drama.'" Series stars Laz Alonso, Domeick Lombardozzi, Malcolm Goodwin, Jimmi Simpson, and Brooke Nevin. (via press release)

SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Mitch Pileggi will be returning for a multiple-episode story arc on the CW's Supernatural, where he will reprise his role as Sam and Dean's presumed dead grandfather. How is Gramps returning from the dead? “For one thing, he’s a Campbell — from Sam and Dean’s mom’s side of the family,which, unlike their dad’s, has actually been into hunting for a very long time,” executive producer Sera Gamble told Ausiello. "There’s a whole side of Sam and Dean’s history that they know nothing about. We’ll get to find out a bit about it this season." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Claire Forlani and Peter Mooney have been cast in Starz's upcoming medieval drama Camelot from writers Michael Hurst and Chris Chibnall. Forlani will play Queen Igraine, the mother of Arthur (Jamie Campbell Bower), while Mooney will play Kay, Arthur's brother. [Editor: you might recall that Forlani was previously attached to Showtime's upcoming comedy Episodes but was replaced by Tamsin Greig.] The rest of the cast includes Joseph Fiennes, Eva Green, and Tamsin Egerton; Camelot is slated to launch in early 2011. (Deadline)

SPOILER! TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that a new baddie is headed to Mystic Falls on the CW's Vampire Diaries next season and talks to executive producer Julie Plec about this mysterious addition to the Lockwood clan. "Our big new addition is Mason Lockwood, the mayor's much younger and cooler brother, who has been estranged from the family," Plec told Keck. "His return introduces a lot of questions about what is so special about that creepy Lockwood family." (TV Guide Magazine)

Nickelodeon's Nicktoons has ordered 22 episodes of animated series Rush Zone: Guardians of the Core, which is based on NFL's website NFLRush Zone and which will feature the voices of NFL players and coaches in segments approximately two to five minutes in length. (Variety)

UK viewers will get to see the revamped CBS drama Hawaii Five-O following a deal between CBS Television Studios and Virgin Media's Bravo, which secured pay television, Freeview, and digital rights to the Alex O'Loughlin starrer. (Broadcast)

Oxygen has snagged the off-network cable rights to FOX's Glee while USA has done the same for ABC comedy Modern Family; both series will debut on their respective channels beginning in 2013. As part of the Glee deal, Oxygen will also air an unscripted reality series that will depict the search for a new cast member, a series that was originally intended to air on FOX before the network scrapped it. According to Variety's Michael Schneider, "Oxygen is expected to produce the "Glee" reality show, with reality producers experienced in reality competitions likely to be hired." (Variety)

Elsewhere, Style has acquired rerun rights to Run's House and spinoff Daddy's Girls, the former of which will begin airing its second window beginning tonight. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Steve Carell Confirms Office Departure, Janeane Garofalo Circles Criminal Minds, Being Human Lands Sam Witwer, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Steve Carell has confirmed that he will leave NBC comedy The Office following the conclusion of next season, the series' seventh. "I just think it's time," Carell told E! Online's Kristina Guerrero while promoting his new film Despicable Me. "I want to fulfill my contract. When I first signed on I had a contract for seven seasons, and this coming year is my seventh. I just thought it was time for my character to go... It doesn't certainly mean the end of the show. I think it's just a dynamic change to the show, which could be a good thing, actually. Add some new life and some new energy... I see it as a positive in general for the show." Carell pointed to the series' ensemble cast and the strength of the writers and didn't seem to feel that his departure would negatively affect The Office at all. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Wait, what? Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Janeane Garofalo (24) is in talks to join the cast of CBS' Criminal Minds spinoff, currently entitled Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, where she will play an agent in the FBI's Behavior Analysis Unit overseen by Forest Whitaker's Sam Cooper. Garofalo had previous been attached to star in the untitled Hannah Shakespeare/John Wells medical drama pilot, which failed to receive a series order at CBS. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

In other casting news, Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Sam Witwer (Smallville) has signed on to star in Syfy's US adaptation of Being Human as vampire Aidan. Meanwhile, Meaghan Rath (The Assistants) is said to have reportedly signed a deal to play Molly, the flat's resident ghost, while Sam Huntington (Cavemen) is "up for the role of werewolf Josh." (Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello)

ABC Family has ordered twelve additional episodes of nighttime teen soap Pretty Little Liars, bringing the episodic commitment this season to 22 installments. (Variety)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva talks to Robert Greenblatt about his future plans following the end of his contract as president of entertainment at Showtime. "I had been wrestling with [the issue] for the last couple of months until I came to the decision that it was the time to move on,” said Greenblatt. "I don’t have any specific plans, I’m not in negotiations on anything, and I don’t have anything lined up." But don't look for Greenblatt to segue back into producing again. "Producing is a lonely, difficult work, and I’m not sure that’s where I’m headed. I’m leaning more towards an executive job at the moment," he said. "It’s all about innovating, building or rebuilding something. I don’t feel like walking into a place that needs a new head. It needs to be a place where I have to rethink the whole system; I’m very entrepreneurial.” (Deadline)

[Editor: meanwhile, Variety's Cynthia Littleton also has an interview with Greenblatt about the legacy he leaves behind at Showtime. "The degree to which we were able to break through the clutter with some programming that people seem to really love," said Greenblatt when asked about his major achievements at the pay cabler. "I've always tried to be innovative, going back to the Fox days (as a programming exec), and certainly as a producer. To be given this platform to reinvent it the way I saw fit was just such an extraordinary gift. And then to see the shows embraced the way they have been is just the icing on the cake."]

Variety's Cynthia Littleton also talks to inbound entertainment president David Nevins and chairman/CEO Matthew Blank about the transition. "With a tremendous batch of new stuff coming over the next year, David has the luxury of getting involved with those shows and looking around for the best new material that would take us forward in a way that is tune with his sensibility," Blank told Littleton. "One of the luxuries of the premium TV business is that we don't have a development season per se. David doesn't have to be ready to go with X number of pilots by any particular date." (Variety)

A&E is said to be in talks with 20th Century Fox Television to order thirteen episodes of FOX pilot Breakout Kings, which revolves around a federal fugitive apprehension program that is staffed with convicts. Project is created by Matt Olmstead and Nick Santora. (Variety)

Meanwhile, Deadline's Nellie Andreeva reports that FOX has ordered two additional scripts for comedy Breaking In, after the network passed on ordering the Christian Slater and Bret Harrison-led pilot to series. Studio Sony Pictures Television will extend the options on the actors, which--as Andreeva points out--will prevent Harrison from being in the running to take over the male lead on NBC's Perfect Couples, which is recasting. (Deadline)

TVGuide.com's Gina DiNunno has an interview with Louis C.K. ahead of tonight's premiere for his new FX comedy, Louie. "It's kind of like an autobiographical fiction," said C.K. of the new series. "It's like I'm playing myself, but none of these things have happened to me. Like I have a brother on the show, but I don't in reality. I just thought it would be interesting to have a one for a little while." (TVGuide.com)

SPOILER! TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck talks to Calista Flockhart and Brothers & Sisters executive producer David Marshall Grant about what the future holds for Flockhart's widowed Kitty. "It will be a little challenging for her," said Grant, who indicated that the action will begin a year after the death of Rob Lowe's Robert. "She might be seeing the kinds of guys that she didn't normally date, and I'm sure she'll have a date from hell." Flockhart added that she's sad to lose Lowe but said that Kitty won't be siting at home alone. "I don't think Kitty will be single for that long," she told Keck. "She'll have lots of guys — at least I hope." (TV Guide Magazine)

Executive shuffle: former ABC Studios executive Morgan Wandell has left Berlanti Television after two years, following the conclusion of his contract with the company. He will remain an executive producer on ABC's No Ordinary Family and will continue to develop projects. His responsibilities will be taken over at Berlanti Television by Melissa Berman. (Deadline)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Starz Developing US Underbelly, Tim Kring Talks Heroes' Movie Chances, Charice Heads to Glee, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Vulture's Josef Adalian is reporting that Starz is developing a US adaptation of Aussie crime series Underbelly, which has aired Stateside on DirecTV's Channel 101, following a deal to acquire the U.S. rights to the gritty crime drama, which some have likened to Australia's answer to The Sopranos... which Starz topper Chris Albrect himself oversaw when he headed up HBO. "Albrecht is clearly hoping Underbelly’s phenomenal success in Australia (its 2008 premiere drew more viewers there than any other non-sports broadcast, and the show won the country's equivalent of the Emmy for best drama) can be replicated here," writes Adalian. "Since the show is based on real events that took place in Australia starting in the 1970s, Starz can't simply film the original scripts using American actors. But the network is currently researching various American crime families that they can build effective story arcs around...just as long as the clans aren't from New York or New Jersey, which would invite calls of Sopranos copycatting." Should Starz be able to find the right setting and characters, a pilot script could be ready before next year and unnamed sources have indicated to Adalian that Albrecht would likely go straight to series rather than shoot a pilot. (Vulture)

Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice talks to Heroes creator Tim Kring about his new project--interactive content for Nokia that's "meant to inspire social change"--and about the future of the NBC superhero drama. "No decision has been made," said Kring about a potential Heroes movie. "But the Heroes brand is an extremely broad premise. It was a premise about ordinary people, an undisclosed number of people all over the world, who were waking up to these extraordinary abilities. Any number of stories could happen around that. We never posited a single ending or a single premise. It wasn’t about getting off of an island or stopping something from happening. We told stories in volumes that had a beginning, a middle, and an end. Those volumes could go on and on and on with many different characters. As a result, that Heroes universe is something that can be tapped into again in many ways. Certainly, a movie is a way to do that and clearly, there is an entire world and a number of platforms that this property could live in. Movies sometimes need a little distance from the television show." (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

It's official: Charice is heading to Glee. Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that the international pop star has signed a deal that will have her recur on the FOX musical-comedy, where she will play a foreign exchange student who quickly becomes a bitter rival to Lea Michele's Rachel. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

[Editor: meanwhile, E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos reports that there's no truth--as of yet, anyway--to those rumors that Justin Timberlake will be appearing on Glee.]

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva reports that Mary Steenburgen (Curb Your Enthusiasm) is the first casting attachment for FX drama pilot Outlaw Country, which is being described as "a crime thriller/family drama set against the backdrop of southern organized crime and Nashville royalty 'where music and love, hope and tragedy collide.'" She'll play a country music icon who attempts to protect her daughter Annabel. Project, from Fox Television Studios and FX Prods., is created by Josh Goldin and Rachel Abramowitz, who will executive produce with Art Linson and John Linson. (Deadline)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that Kristin Chenoweth (Pushing Daisies) would like to reprise her role on FOX's Glee next season after appearing twice as April Rhodes. She's also aiming to land her own series next season as well. "I'm working on my album with Sony," Chenoweth told E! Online. "So I'll be doing a tour and going back to Glee a little bit and also doing my own TV show." No details were immediately available about her in-development project. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

FOX has lowered the age requirement on American Idol, allowing kids as young as 15 years old to audition for the musical competition series. "A lot of young, talented people are now seeking careers and representation before they turn 16," said FremantleMedia North America's Cecile Frot-Coutaz, executive producer of Idol. "Lowering the age limit allows us to tap into this talent pool." (Hollywood Reporter)

It's official: all five of NCIS's renegotiating actors--Sean Murray, Michael Weatherly, Rock Carroll, Pauley Perrette, and David McCallum--have signed new deals that will bring them back to the CBS crime procedural next season, following the successful conclusion of Murray's deal, a new multi-year contract that will keep him aboard NCIS. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Jane Krakowski has teased some details about the next season of NBC's 30 Rock, telling E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos, "Will Forte will be coming back as Jenna's shman." But he's not the only love interest slated to make a return appearance next season. "I do believe Matt Damon is going to come back," Krakowski told E! Online. "He is scheduled to make some return appearances if we can work them around his schedule and availability." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan will produce and host an unscripted series about the Velux 5 Oceans 2010-11 race, which "features skippers from all over the world sailing alone for 30,000 miles around the globe on high powered racing yachts and video recording their journeys." No US network is current attached to the project. (Deadline)

Syfy's drama pilot Alphas is set to shoot in Toronto at Cinespace Film Studios. Project, which revolves around a team of individuals with exceptional abilities who work as vigilantes, is written by Zak Penn and Michael Karnow and directed by Jack Bender. (Hollywood Reporter)

Elsewhere at Syfy, the cabler is giving fans of its Saturday night movies the chance to oversee each and every aspect of the production of one of its upcoming creature features, according to The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd. "The network is launching a production site, B Movie Mogul, where fans can vote and pitch ideas for the film, from title, creatures, wardrobe, dialogue and character deaths to promotional taglines," writes Hibberd. "The resulting 'script' will be shot as a two-hour Syfy original movie to be released next year." (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC is said to be mulling the possibility of reinstating its current programming department, according to Variety's Michael Schneider. The division had been axed last year, when programming operations at ABC and ABC Studios were merged into a single unit reporting to Steve McPherson. "With a slew of new series on the fall docket -- not to mention aging staples that might need a little more attention -- the network began to reconsider," writes Schneider. "There's nothing firm in the works yet, and no exec has been identified for the gig. But the return to a current department would come after a similar decision by NBC. The Peacock recently reinstated its current department under exec VP Vernon Sanders. CBS and Fox have maintained current programming departments." (Variety)

Warner Bros. Television has signed a blind script deal with Michael Markowitz (Becker), who will team up with executive producers Tom Werner and Mike Clements. (Hollywood Reporter)

Endemol has come on board as the international distributor for TV Land's comedy series Hot in Cleveland and will be taking the series to market at MIPCOM this fall. (Deadline)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Kevin Spacey Pitching Series, HBO Delves into Hemingway & Gellhorn, Ricky Gervais on His New Project, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Vulture's Josef Adalian is reporting that Kevin Spacey is in attached to star in Rod Lurie's drama pilot The Crux, about a charismatic cult leader, which is currently being pitched to various networks. (Should the project go forward, Spacey would executive produce with Lurie, Dana Brunetti, and Marc Frydman.) While Adalian reports that talks have begun between Spacey's camp and Showtime (as well as possibly HBO), Deadline's Nellie Adreeva adds that the project is currently being pitched to Showtime, HBO, FX, and Starz, with all four said to be in the running to land the much buzzed project from Lurie (Commander In Chief), who will write the script. Timing, however, may be a key factor. "One stumbling block could be Spacey's schedule," writes Adalian. "In addition to various film roles, a big chunk of Spacey's day planner is filled fulfilling (and tweeting about) his obligations as artistic director for London's Old Vic Theatre." (Vulture, Deadline)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that HBO has given an order to telepic Hemingway & Gellhorn, which will star Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman as literary couple Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn. Project, executive produced by James Gandolfini (along with Alex Ryan, Barbara Turner, Philip Kaufman, and Peter Kaufman), will be written by Barbara Turner and Jerry Stahl and directed by Philip Kaufman. Production on the telepic, which will follow the romance between Hemingway and Gellhorn as they meet in 1936 and later wed before traveling to report on the Spanish Civil War, is expected to get underway next year. (Deadline)

Ricky Gervais has offered some new details about his new BBC One pilot (co-created with Stephen Merchant) Life's Too Short, which will--hopefully!--be headed Stateside and appear on HBO. “It’s the funniest thing we’ve done,” Gervais said at the Banff World Television Festival of the series, which will star Warwick Davis as a show business dwarf and is based around many of the actor's own real-life experiences, although they transformed Warwick into a manipulative and seething character. "He runs this company called Dwarves For Hire but he’s stealing all the other dwarves’ jobs,” said Gervais. (The Globe & Mail)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Brian Benben will be promoted to series regular on ABC medical drama Private Practice. Benben has recurred on the series as resident psychiatrist Sheldon Wallace at Pacific Wellcare, the rival clinic to Oceanside. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

SPOILER! TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams talks to True Blood's James Frain about his upcoming turn as vampire Franklin Mott on the HBO drama series. "Franklin Mott is a private eye," said Frain. "We learn later in the season that he works for Russell [Denis O'Hare], who is the King. He's been sent on a mission to dig up information on Bill. His attention is completely distracted by the charms of Tara [Rutina Wesley]." (TVGuide.com)

Bravo's The Real Housewives of D.C. will launch on August 5th... and will include notorious White House gate-crashers Michaele and Tareq Salahi among the cast. Bravo's Andy Cohen, meanwhile, defended the inclusion of the Sahalis in a post at The Huffington Post. "It is the job of the legal system to decide if and how the Salahis may have broken the law," wrote Cohen. "But our decision to include them in the series speaks to a very basic programming mandate, which is to present real people as they exist within their universe. Meaning, we do not editorialize on their actions, how they raise their kids, live their lives, spend their money or treat their friends. We show them as they are, with awareness but without judgment. We let them be themselves, and let the audience draw their own conclusions, and -- like with real relationships -- sometimes the way people feel about a Housewife changes throughout the season. Whatever the feeling, we leave it to the viewer to decide." (Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post)

Randall Einhorn (The Office) will direct his first pilot, FX comedy Wilfred, which is based on the Aussie comedy of the same name. (Deadline)

SPOILER! TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm will head to New York City for roughly half of its upcoming eighth season. Keck goes on to recount some of the colorful characters that Larry will be encountering over the course of his Manhattan-based misadventures. (TV Guide Magazine)

FOX has ordered a pilot for game show The Money Drop, based on British format The Million Pound Drop. Project, from Endemol USA, will revolve around a group of contestants who are "given a wad of cash and then asked a series of multiple-choice trivia questions. They then place their bets on a trap door that represents their choice. If their answer turns out to be wrong, the trap door opens -- and their money is gone. Contestants keep playing until all their money has fallen down the "drop." Contestants play through eight questions -- and get to keep whatever's left of their cash if they answer that final question right." No executive producer or host has been named; production is slated to get underway in August. (Variety)

Lawrence O'Donnell is set to host his own primetime weeknight show on MSNBC. The analyst and former West Wing writer had subbed in for Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann,, and Rachel Maddow in the past. No launch date was announced for his upcoming series. (Hollywood Reporter)

More details on the cast changes afoot at CBS' Criminal Minds. Deadline's Nellie Andreeva, who broke the story, is now reporting that the network made the decision to axe several female cast members because of creative, rather than financial, reasons, as an effort to "refresh a veteran drama." A new female series regular will be brought on the crime procedural. (Deadline)

Warner Bros. Television has promoted two key communications executives, Tammy Golihew and Scott Rowe. Golihew will move into SVP of publicity, reporting to Scott Rowe and Peter Roth. Rowe, meanwhile, will step into the newly created role of SVP of worldwide communications and report to Lisa Gregorian. [Editor: congratulations, Tammy!] (Hollywood Reporter, Variety)

Craig Ferguson will host Discovery Channel's programming pod, Shark Week, which launches on August 1st. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that John Miller, the 28-year NBC marketing veteran, will step down from his post as chief marketing officer for NBC Universal Television Group at the end of the year. (Deadline)

The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd has an interview with Tony Robbins about his upcoming NBC primetime series, Breakthrough with Tony Robbins, which is set to launch on the Peacock on July 27th. "The reason I wanted to do something was all hell was breaking loose in the world, there was such enormous levels of stress. And when you go to reality shows, the majority of them are about humiliation," said Robbins. "I thought people need inspiration, but not fake inspiration. Watching real people in extremely stressful real life experiences and watching them over a period of time, 30 days, really transforming their life." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Meredith Ahr has been promoted to SVP of alternative programming and development at NBC/Universal Media Studios. She will report to Paul Telegdy. (Variety)

Stay tuned.