Channel Surfing: Ray Wise to Play with "Dollhouse," "BSG: The Plan" Broadcast Delayed, Ian Somerhalder Returns to "Lost," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. I'm a little bit worse for wear this morning after a fantastic premiere party for HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, so let's get to the headlines...

Let's just hope he's not as terrifying as Leland Palmer: Ray Wise (Reaper) has been cast in a potentially recurring role on FOX's Dollhouse, where he will play Howard, described by Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello as "an intelligent higher-up in the Dollhouse who has huge presence and humor." Fingers crossed that Wise gets the greenlight to return on a regular basis. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan is reporting that Syfy has opted to delay the broadcast of Battlestar Galactica prequel telepic The Plan until a later date, thought to be likely in 2010. The two-hour film, written by Jane Espenson and directed by Edward James Olmos, was slated to air in November, according to reports from Syfy president Dave Howe. The decision hasn't altered the home video release of the two-hour film, which is available for purchase and rental beginning October 27th. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Entertainment Weekly's Mandi Bierly is reporting that Ian Somerhalder is returning for the sixth and final season of ABC's Lost... or at least for a few segments. "I’m literally getting on a plane in 45 minutes to fly to Hawaii," Solmerhalder told Entertainment Weekly. "The only thing I can say is that I’m going back for several episodes... I have a script that weighs like 200 pounds, but I don’t really know what’s happening." (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

FX will offer a sneak peek of its new animated comedy Archer tomorrow (Thursday) night after the fifth season premiere of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Archer, which features the voices of Aisha Tyler, Jon Benjamin, Jessica Walter, Chris Parnell, and Judy Greer, is slated to launch tentatively in January. (Variety)

FOX has given a put pilot order to an untitled multi-camera workplace comedy, from executive producer Ron Howard and writer Brent Forrester (The Office), about the employees of an Internal Revenue Service district office. "It's a classic workplace show; the model for it is Taxi," Forrester told the Hollywood Reporter. "In essence, it's a group of eclectic characters who have come to the job from different paths and who represent different points of view and different voices... L.A. Law had lawsuits, and CSI has murders; this show has audits, tax collection and special ops, with the FBI against organized crime and drug dealers." (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC is developing political comedy pilot Freshman, from 20th Century Fox Television, writer/executive producer Greg Malins (Friends), and executive producers Arianna Huffington and Roy Sekoff, about three newly elected members of Congress who share an apartment in D.C. (Variety)

Jill Scott (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency) will star in Lifetime telepic Sins of the Mother, about a graduate student who returns home to confront her alcoholic and abusive mother (Scott), only to learn that the woman is now sober and has a three-year-old daughter. Telepic is based on Carleen Brice's novel "Orange Mint and Honey" and was adapted by Elizabeth Hunter. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: "Gavin and Stacey" Heads to ABC, Nelsan Ellis Talks "True Blood" FInale, "Bones" Flashback Possible for 100th Episode, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

ABC is developing a US adaptation of British hit comedy series Gavin and Stacey, about the romance between two very different lovers from two very different places (in the original it was Essex and Wales) who fall in love over the phone and begin a relationship, against the advice of their eccentric friends and families. US version, from BBC Worldwide, will be written by Stacy Traub (Notes from the Underbelly) and Hayes Jackson (According to Jim). Elsewhere at the Alphabet, the network has given a pilot order to 18 Years, about a young couple who become parents and must "adjust to their new life as parents -- trading their fast-paced existence for a more domesticated lifestyle," from Sony Pictures Television and writer/executive producers Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith (The King of Queens). ABC is also developing an untitled comedy, from Samantha Who? executive producer Don Todd, ABC Studios, and Brillstein Entertainment Partners, about a thirty-something woman who learns that her new job as boss to a group of twenty-somethings puts her in the role of mother, therapist, and friend. (Variety)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has a great interview with True Blood star Nelsan Ellis about the second season finale, which aired on HBO last night. And Ryan recounts that Ellis has one suggestion for executive producer Alan Ball about Season Three of the vampire drama: he wants a Lafayette flashback to see the short order cook with his mother. "There are so many lines about how his mother treated [Lafayette]," Ellis told Ryan. "It would be nice if we found out in the flashbacks that she was a vampire." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Bones creator Hart Hanson is considering using the 100th episode as a flashback to the first assignment that Booth (David Boreanaz) and Brennan (Emily Deschanel) worked togther, before the events of the pilot episode. "We alluded in the pilot that the first time they worked together — the time before the pilot — that it went very badly," Hanson told Ausiello. "They had a terrible time. So it would be really fun to do a flashback episode.... It’s in the bin of ideas for the 100th episode, but it’s a big bin!" (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

CBS has given a pilot order to multi-camera comedy True Love, from Sony Pictures Television and writer/executive producer Matt Tarses and executive producer Jamie Tarses, about four friends in their twenties who are looking for love in Manhattan. The studio also has comedy script Nathan vs. Nurture, written by David Guarascio and Moses Port, in contention at NBC. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Julian Sands (24) has been cast as a guest star on the CW's Smallville, where he will play a young Jor-El. Sands is slated to appear in a November episode entitled "Kandor," where "it’s revealed that he arrived with Zod and the other Kandorians." Sands is so far only contracted for one episode but that could change as well. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online's Watch with Kristin is reporting that ABC Family has ordered the back ten episodes of its freshman comedy series 10 Things I Hate About You. The ten additional episodes are thought to be likely to launch in January 2010. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

However, ABC Family opted not to pick up any additional episodes of fellow frosh series Ruby and the Rockits, which will wrap its run after its initial order of ten episodes. (Hollywood Reporter)

TBS has ordered a fourth season of comedy My Boys. The Sony Pictures Television-produced series has received an order for nine episodes, which will launch in 2010. (Variety)

Showtime has given a six-episode order to half-hour reality series Lock 'N Load, which offers a hidden-camera behind-the-scenes look at a gun store in Englewood, Colorado as its gun expert Josh T. Ryan interacts with clients. Project, from Authentic Entertainment, will launch on Wednesday, October 21st at 8 pm ET/PT. (via press release)

Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) has been cast in an untitled single-camera comedy pilot about a recent widower who tries to get his life back on track with some help from his eccentric friends and family. Project, which hails from Sony Pictures Television, was written on spec by Alex Barnow and Marc Firek and will be taken out to the networks in the coming weeks. He will star in a Lifetime telepic about con artist Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, a.k.a. Clark Rockefeller, a high society scammer who ran "the longest con in FBI history." Project, from Sony Pictures Television, is written by Edithe Swensen and will be directed by Mikael Salomon. (Hollywood Reporter)

Fox21 has signed a first-look deal with Stuart Krasnow (Hole in the Wall), under which the reality producer will develop unscripted series projects for the boutique division for both broadcast and cable. He had previously had a co-venture deal with FremantleMedia North America. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

What I'm Watching This Fall

Ah, autumn. With it comes the end of horrific LA heatwaves, comfy sweaters, and the advent of the fall season, with its new series and returning favorites? Is there really any better time of year?

It's with that thought that I take a look at what I'll be watching this fall season, which begins in earnest today. While I can't guarantee that I'll stick around for more than a few (or even one additional) episode of many of these series, below are the new and returning shows that have at least piqued my interest, based on their pilots.

And for more on my thoughts about returning series, check out the September 20th issue of USA Weekend, where I'm interviewed by TJ Walter about my top picks for returning series this fall.

sunday

8 pm: The Amazing Race (CBS)

It's hard to believe that the granddaddy of all reality series, The Amazing Race, is entering its fifteenth season this fall. While the success or failure of each individual season comes down to the strength of its casting, the series' innate strength lies in its clever challenges, the interpersonal dynamics of the couples competing for the million dollar cash prize, and the charm of its cool-as-a-cucumber host Phil Keoghan. Eye-opening travel experiences, constant bickering, and stressful roadblocks all play into its intelligent design. (Launches September 27th with a two-hour season opener)

9 pm: Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)

It's been nearly two years since we caught up with the misanthropic Larry David and Season Seven finds the neurotic Angeleno dating Loretta Black (Vivica A. Fox), attempting to reconnect with his ex-wife Cheryl (Cheryl Hines), writing a Seinfeld reunion for NBC, and generally making a nuisance of himself to everyone around him. (You can read my advance review of the first three episodes here.) (Launches September 20th)

9 pm: Masterpiece Mystery and Masterpiece Contemporary (PBS)

PBS' newly reinvigorated Masterpiece offers two cycles this fall, with its Mystery season currently on the air and bringing us Seasons Two and Three of the delightful and intelligent Inspector Morse spin-off Inspector Lewis. Then it's on to contemporary drama such as apartheid drama Endgame, starring Johnny Lee Miller and Chiwetel Ejifor, Place of Execution, starring Juliet Stevenson and Greg Wise, and Collision, starring Phil David and Paul McGann. Masterpiece Contemporary also welcomes new host David Tennant this autumn. (On Air; check local listings for details)

9:30 pm: Bored to Death (HBO)

Created by novelist Jonathan Ames, the whimsical and fun Bored to Death stars Jason Schwartzman... as a novelist named Jonathan Ames. Listless after a painful breakup with his girlfriend (Olivia Thirlby), Ames stumbles onto a copy of an old Raymond Chandler novel and resolves to become a private detective. Taking on a series of hapless cases, Ames is a mostly inept gumshoe as he attempts to navigate the bars and seedy motels of Manhattan while indulging in his duo of vices: white wine and pot. Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis also star as Ames' magazine editor boss and his neurotic comic-book creator best friend, who frequently end up entangled in Jonathan's schemes, whether it involves a missing girl, one-hitters, colonics, or burglary. (Launches September 20th)

10 pm: Mad Men (AMC)

AMC's savagely intelligent period drama Mad Men has me staying up late on Sunday evenings to ponder the delicious subtext of each and every encounter. In the deft hands of Matthew Weiner and crack team of writers, Mad Men's delightfully complex characters--played by one of the very best ensemble casts on television--have been wanting to stay in the 1960s long after the closing credits have rolled. (On Air)

monday

Chuck (NBC)

What's that you say? Chuck isn't on the fall schedule? You'd be right as I'm still scratching my head over NBC's decision to delay Chuck until next year. But every season there's one night of the week where there's absolutely nothing on that I want to watch and this year that night just happens to be Monday. But rather than stare sullenly at the television until Chuck returns in March, I'm taking matters into my own hands and catching up with the Buy More gang by rewatching the first two seasons of Chuck from the very beginning every Monday night. Think of it as me biding time until one of my favorite series returns from its way-too-long-hiatus. (Chuck returns in March 2010.)

tuesday

8 pm: V (ABC)

ABC has wisely opted to launch the new incarnation of cult classic 1980s mini-series V this fall instead of holding it for next year. Starring Lost's Elizabeth Mitchell, The 4400's Joel Grestch, Firefly's Morena Baccarin, The Nine's Scott Wolf, and a slew of other familiar faces, this V is invigorated by a post-9/11 consciousness and asks questions about terrorism, faith, justice, law, and blind trust. Just what do the Visitors want? Can FBI Counter-Terrorism Agent Erica Evans (Mitchell), Father Jack (Gretsch), and a ragtag resistance force prevent a full-on invasion... especially when the human race seems to be inviting the Visitors with open arms? Find out this fall. (You can read my advance review of the pilot for V here.) (Launches November 3rd)

9:30 pm: Better Off Ted (ABC)

The delightfully off-kilter workplace comedy series returns for a second season this fall. If you're at all like me, you've fallen for Better Off Ted's loopy charms, its insightful wit, and its scathing satire. Think of it as The Office on crystal meth. (Launches November TBA)

10 pm: Flipping Out (Bravo)

I can't get enough of the antics (and some would say madness) of OCD-afflicted real estate investor Jeff Lewis and his madcap band of employees. Despite it being a docusoap about house flipping (initially anyway), Flipping Out has blossomed into one of the most hysterical and enjoyable comedies on television. (On Air)

10 pm: The Good Wife (CBS)

I'm intrigued by CBS's legal drama The Good Wife, a winning cross between Ally McBeal and The Politician's Wife. Julianna Margulies plays Alicia, the dutiful wife of a politician (Chris Noth), who after weathering a sex scandal involving her husband, opts to return to the law and takes a job at a high-powered law firm where she has to content with a young whippersnapper (Matt Czuchry) out to gut her and the firm's ice queen partner (Christine Baranski). It's Margulies' most sympathetic and compelling role in quite some time and the pilot episode offers some nice banter, an engaging case, and colorful characters. (Launches September 22nd)

wednesday

9 pm: Modern Family (ABC)

If there's one series that I'm anxiously awaiting above all others, it would be ABC's single-camera comedy Modern Family, a witty and biting examination at what makes our families tick: the humor, the pathos, and the, well, insanity. Boasting a cast that includes Ed O'Neill, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Sofia Vergara, Eric Stonestreet, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson (and appearances from Shelley Long and Elizabeth Banks in the cards), this is one family comedy that I'm going to race home to watch every Wednesday. You'd be well advised to do the same. (You can read my advance review of the pilot episode here.) (Launches September 23rd)

9 pm: Glee (FOX)

While I wasn't the biggest fan of the pilot episode of Glee, I fell head over heels in love with the subsequent installments which kick off later this week. Created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan, Glee is a look at the soaring highs and depressing lows of teengerhood (and how we never escape these high school years even as an adults) and is chock full of stunning musical numbers, dark comedy, and more vendettas and plots than you can throw a Cheerio at. (You can read my advance review of the first few episodes of Glee's first season here.) (Launches September 9th)

9:30 pm: Cougar Town (ABC)

I wasn't quite sure what to make of Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel's new single-camera comedy Cougar Town, starring Courteney Cox, Christa Miller, Busy Phillips, Dan Byrd, Brian Van Holt, Ian Gomez, and Josh Hopkins. It's a raunchy look at a woman reentering the dating scene after her divorce and discovering that men her own age are dating women half of hers. I was pleasantly surprised by the pilot and I usually like Lawrence's witty spin on comedy, but I will have to check out the second episode before committing to this relationship. (Launches September 23rd)

10 pm: Top Chef: Las Vegas (Bravo)

I'm completely addicted to Bravo's culinary competition series Top Chef, which is hands-down the best food-oriented series on television today. Between the skill and vision of its competitors, the cutthroat competition, and the stunning results, Top Chef is compelling, gripping, and hunger-inducing television at its very best. (On Air)

thursday

8 pm: FlashForward (ABC)

What did you see? It might be the Alphabet's best shot at landing the next Lost... Or it could be The Nine redux. But whatever eventually happens to ABC's big budget ensemble drama about the mystery behind a worldwide phenomenon that had everyone on the planet glimpsing a vision of their fate six months in the future (those that didn't die during the two-minute mass unconsciousness, that is). There's a lot of potential at work in the series, which will be overseen by David S. Goyer and Marc Guggenheim and boasts a cast that includes Joseph Fiennes, Sonya Walger, John Cho, Jack Davenport, Zachary Knighton, Peyton List, Dominic Monaghan, Brían F. O'Byrne, Courtney B. Vance, and Christine Woods. Can we escape our fate? Are our lives predetermined? Can free will play a role in diverting our paths through life? And just who or what caused this strange catastrophic event? (Launches September 24th)

8 pm: Bones (FOX)

After a season finale that divided its fans with its cliffhanger ending, Bones returns with a fifth season that will deal with the not-quite-a-romantic-relationship going on between its two leads, Seely Booth (David Boreanaz) and Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel), head on while also forcing the duo to solve some of the twistiest murder mysteries on television. Smart, sly, and sexy, Bones remains a slick and fun diversion. (You can read what series creator Hart Hanson told me exclusively about Season Five of Bones here.) (Launches September 17th)

8 pm: Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday (NBC)

Looking for some news commentary in your Thursday night television lineup? You're in luck as NBC brings back Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday for a limited run this fall. And, even better, Amy Poehler is set to co-anchor the satirical news magazine in its first outing. (Launches September 17th)

8:30 pm: Parks and Recreation (NBC)

NBC's Amy Poehler vehicle Parks and Recreation started out wobbly (to say it kindly) but gradually found its footing and its humanity as the first season's six episodes wore on. I'm curious to see just what Greg Daniels and Mike Schur do with the Pawnee, Indiana-set workplace comedy this fall. Would I be wise to stop holding my breath that they'll ditch the clunky hidden camera format and just let the characters breathe? (Launches September 17th)

9 pm: Fringe (FOX)

The Abrams/Kurtzman/Orci sci-fi procedural returns this fall after getting kick-started in the second half of the freshman season with revelations about past sins and parallel dimensions. I'm still not crazy about the largely episodic nature of the series but there are enough intriguing threads of its overarching mythology to keep me watching and entertained, not to mention a little terrified at times. (You can read my advance review of Fringe's second season opener here.) (Launches September 17th)

9 pm: Skins (BBC America)

The imported British teen series is finding its way in its third season, which introduced a whole new group of Bristol teens to its devoted audience and shipped off its graduating class after two sex and drug-filled seasons. Skins is alternately controversial, shocking, hilarious, and emotionally gutting, offering a look at teens without a modicum of nostalgia or preciousness. (On Air)

9 pm: The Office (NBC)

I'm teetering on the edge of giving up on The Office altogether after failing to fall for the last few seasons. That is, whenever Amy Ryan's hysterical Holly Flax wasn't on screen. Sadly, Ryan won't be back but the employees of Scranton's Dunder Mifflin Paper Company continue to soldier on, despite a lack of focus and an over-reliance on familiar sitcom tropes. Here's hoping the new season will bring the (painfully) funny and (endearing) pathos back into balance. (Launches September 17th)

9:30 pm: Community (NBC)

Hands down one of the fall's most promising new series, Community is a witty and wicked single-camera comedy that revolves around the disparate students of Greendale Community College and the small community they form together. With a winning cast that includes Joel McHale, Chevy Chase, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Donald Glover, and Ken Jeong, Community is mordantly funny, deeply layered, and has an unexpectedly sweet emotional core. In other words: watch it. (You can read my advance review of the pilot episode here.) (Launches September 17th, then moves to 8 pm on October 8th)

9:30 pm: 30 Rock (NBC)

I want to go to there. NBC's gleefully subversive and TiVo-friendly comedy 30 Rock returns for a fourth season this fall and I'm already lining up at its famous address to enter its topsy-turvy world. Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) and Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) remain one of the best comedic duos and their odd couple--dare I say it?--friendship provides a strong throughline while the series' hilarious supporting cast keeps the madcap plots moving at a brisk pace. New adventures at TGS can't come quickly enough. (Launches October 15th)

10 pm: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)

The laughs keep on coming on Thursdays. Bizarre, surreal, and absurd, FX's off-kilter comedy It's Always Sunny returns with a new batch of out-there plots, selfish characters, and side-splitting misadventures. Who knew that a low-budget comedy about a group of bar owners in Philadelphia would become one of my favorite television comedies? (Launches September 17th)

10 pm: Project Runway (Lifetime)

Sew what? Rounding out the night on Thursdays is sartorial competition series Project Runway, which is proving that its winning formula is at home anywhere, even on a totally different network altogether. As long as Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum, Michael Kors, and Nina Garcia stick around, I'll keep watching these designers make it work. (On Air)

friday

9 pm: Dollhouse (FOX)

I thought that Joss Whedon's divisive metaphysical action/adventure series Dollhouse was rather hit or miss last season: a few strokes of genius, some head-scratching plotholes, and irritatingly episodic storytelling. But the unaired thirteenth episode, "Epitaph One," brought the series closer to its potential. I still think that had the exquisite Dichen Lachman been the series lead, Dollhouse would be a hell of a lot more compelling but that's a rather moot point. Still, I'll stick around to see if things improve at all in the sophomore season. (Launches September 25th)

9 pm: Southland (NBC)

What could be a run-of-the-mill cop drama is elevated by some fantastic performances, most notably from Benjamin McKenzie, Regina King, and Michael Cudlitz. Audiences seemed to be fleeing in droves as the series' first season wore on but there were some fantastic character studies going on amid the shootings, murders, and gangland violence. Plus, the series boasts one of the most cinematic and memorable opening credit sequences ever. It might be exiled to Friday nights (and now delayed until the end of October), but I'm curious to see just what new plots develop for these LAPD officers. (Launches October 23rd)

9 pm: Stargate Universe (Syfy)

Admittedly, I didn't get around this weekend to watching the three-hour series opener for Stargate Universe (this week, I promise!) but I am keeping an open mind about the series, the latest in the long line of Stargate franchise series, despite never having watched any of its predecessors. There's something darkly compelling about what I've seen so far and the struggle to survive is a timeline and universal one, adding an immediacy and vibrancy to the overarching plot. (Launches October 2nd)

9 pm: Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (BBC America)

I'll be winding down my week with Wossy as British talk show host welcomes such disparate guests as Dame Vivienne Westwood, Bono, Ricky Gervais, and James May every Friday night. (On Air)

10 pm: White Collar (USA)

Sometimes being bad is good. Neal Caffrey (Chuck's Matthew Bomer) is a slick and stylish career criminal with a penchant for forgeries and fine vintage suits. He's given an ankle monitor and teamed up with Peter Stokes (Carnivale's Tim DeKay), the gruffly intelligent FBI agent assigned to the white collar crime division who caught him twice before as they tackle some of the most crafty criminals in the business. Thanks to the winning chemistry between the two leads, White Collar is fun, fashionable, and clever. (You can read my advance review of the pilot episode here.) (Launches October 23rd)

TBA

Doctor Who Specials (BBC America)

David Tennant's swan song on Doctor Who begins this fall with the final three Doctor Who specials, which BBC America will air as close as possible to the original UK airdates. First up is "Waters of Mars," which finds the Doctor teaming up with Lindsay Duncan's Adelaide on Mars as they battle a water-based creature that infects its victims with a liquid compound. Then it's the final two-parter that brings the Doctor face to face with his ancient enemy The Master (John Simm) and his former companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate). Something tells me that things won't end too well for the Tenth Doctor, sadly... (November and December TBA)

The Inbetweeners (BBC America)

I've been waxing enthusiastically about this British comedy series, which airs on E4 in the UK, for the last few months and I cannot wait for American audiences to fall in love with this hilarious and raucous series about four suburban teenage boys. You'll laugh, you'll squirm, you'll groan with painful recognition. Yet despite the gross-out humor, the casual nudity, and the humiliation of it all, there's an innate sweetness to the series that keeps you coming back for more. (You can read my review of the first three episodes here and my review of the entire first two seasons here.) (Launches TBA)

The Prisoner (AMC)

Hello, Number Six. The cult classic series The Prisoner is reimagined for a contemporary audience in this international co-production starring Jim Caviezel, Ian McKellan, Lennie James, Will Kemp, Hayley Atwell, and Jamie Campbell Bower. From the nine-minute clip package I saw, it looks to be a stylish mindgame of a puzzle that will keep us guessing over the course of its six hours. (Launches November TBA)

And there you have it: what I'll be watching this fall. What did I leave off and what will you be watching this fall? Discuss.

Channel Surfing: Angie Harmon Targets "Chuck," Natalie Morales Tries On "White Collar," Richard Curtis to Pen "Doctor Who" Script, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing, on this the first day back to work after the Labor Day three-day weekend.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Angie Harmon (Women's Murder Club) has been cast as a guest star on NBC's Chuck. She'll appear in the third season's fourth episode--slated to air sometime around late March/early April--where she will play Sydney, a covert agent for the enigmatic organization The Ring who wants to eliminate Captain Awesome (Ryan McPartlin). (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Former Middleman star Natalie Morales has been promoted to a series regular on USA's upcoming crime dramedy White Collar, where she will play Lauren Cruz, described as "a smart junior FBI agent in the white-collar division who holds her own with her superiors and the master thieves she's investigating." Morales was originally meant to guest star in two episodes. Elsewhere at USA, Eric Lively (24: Redemption), Kari Matchett (Heartland), and Eion Bailey (ER) have been cast in USA's drama pilot Covert Affairs, with Lively and Matchett signed on as series regulars and Bailey as recurring. (Hollywood Reporter)

Richard Curtis (best known for Notting Hill, Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Blackadder, and Vicar of Dibley) will reportedly write one of the upcoming scripts for Season Five of Doctor Who, which is expected to air next year on BBC One and BBC America. Season Five of the British sci-fi series stars Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and will be overseen by new head writer/executive producer Steven Moffat. There will be a monster. And a famous historical figure will battle the monster," said Curtis of his script. ""It's tremendously good fun and a treat for my children," Curtis told today's Sun. "These days the things you can watch together as a family are much fewer so when you get something like Doctor Who or The X Factor it is such a pleasure to sit down as a family. I am very interested in time travel for some reason or other. I am writing a film about it but on a low budget with no spectacular special effects. Maybe it's a desire to get out of being old. Sometimes you do just love the idea that you could go back in time and change things." (Guardian)

Desperate Housewives creator Mark Cherry has produced eight 35-second commercials for ABC and Sprint that will offer viewers a glimpse into a "murderous love triangle" starring Rebecca Staab and David Chisum, who who will also appear on Desperate Housewives as "background extras." The ads, which will run over eight weeks during the Desperate timeslot, essentially work as pod-busters, forcing the viewer to stop rewinding and tune in to short-form content that's actually a cleverly disguised advertisement. The first segment will launch during the September 27th season premiere of Desperate Housewives. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

New York Magazine's Adam Sternberg profiles Jonathan Ames, author and creator of the new HBO comedy series Bored to Death. (New York Magazine)

Rami Malek (Night at the Museum), Julian Morris (ER), and Hrach Titizian (24) have been cast in multiple-episode story arcs on Day Eight of FOX's 24. Malek will play Marcos, an Arab-American wannabe suicide bomber; Morris will play a CTU SWAT agent; Titizian will play President Hassan's second-in-command. (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC has given a script order for multi-camera workplace comedy Family Business, about a highly dysfunctional family in the Midwest who attempt to keep their grocery store open after the family is shattered by divorce. Project, from ABC Studios, will be written by Sonny Lee and Patrick Walsh of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and executive produced by Mark Gordon. (Variety)

HBO has pacted with author Richard Russo to write the pilot script for an untitled drama series about the Catskills Gas Rush and its resulting class conflicts in upstate New York. Russo will write the script, based on a 2008 New York Magazine article, executive produce with Mark Johnson and Will Gluck. (Hollywood Reporter)

NBC has confirmed that Michaela Watkins and Casey Wilson will not be returning for the thirty-fifth season of Saturday Night Live, following the hiring of Jenny Slate and Nasim Pedrad, who have joined the cast. The move is surprising as Watkins had received favorable reviews for her many performances. (Variety)

Etienne de Villiers will step down from his post as chairman of BBC Worldwide at the end of the month. He's served in the role since January of 2006. (Variety)

Lifetime has ordered telepic Pregnancy Pact, inspired by a real life situation where seventeen teenage girls allegedly formed a pact to all get pregnant at the same time and did. Script will be written by Pam Davis and Teena Booth, with Frank Von Zerneck and Robert Sertner executive producing. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Talk Back: Much-Delayed Season Six Premiere of "Project Runway" on Lifetime

Two words: halter diaper.

It seems like it's been years since we last caught a glimpse of the catwalk on the sartorial competition series Project Runway.

After what seems like a delay of several years (no, it wasn't quite that long) and a protracted legal battle between studio The Weinstein Company, Bravo, and the series' new network Lifetime, Season Six of Project Runway kicked off last night amid a three and a half hour block of Runway-related programming.

Now that the season has begun, I'm wondering how many of you tuned in last night and what you thought of of the new Project Runway, which returned with our beloved Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum, Michael Kors, and Nina Garcia, but new executive producers and a new production company.

Did you feel the opener ("Welcome to Los Angeles!") had the same energy and sparkle of previous seasons? Did you dig the series' move from New York to Los Angeles? Did it feel fresh and new or tired and lackluster? Did the delay seem even more apparent when the contestants walked on the red carpet for last year's Emmy Awards? Did any of the contestants stand to you as possible contenders?

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

Talk back here.

Channel Surfing: "Deadwood" Vet Gets "Lost," Syfy Expands "Warehouse," Shelley Long Gets "Modern Family," "Party Down," and More

Welcome to your (very early) Thursday morning television briefing.

John Hawkes (Deadwood) has been cast in Season Six of ABC's Lost, where he will play Lennon, described by The Hollywood Reporter's Nellie Andreeva as "the scruffy, edgy and charismatic spokesperson and translator for the president of a foreign corporation who is far more powerful than it seems from his position." Just what that means remains to be seen... (Hollywood Reporter)

Syfy has ordered a second season of sci-fi dramedy Warehouse 13, with thirteen episodes currently on order for next year. However, Syfy was quick to point out that that number could increase in later seasons. "We took a look at doing 20 episodes, but for logistic and financial reasons," Syfy's Dave Howe told Variety, "it didn't make sense to do that right now, but I wouldn't rule it out." (Variety)

Holy comedy casting news! The Wrap's Joe Adalian is reporting that comedy legend Shelley Long has been cast in ABC's Modern Family, where she will play the ex-wife of aged newlywed Jay (Ed O'Neill). Modern Family, created by Steve Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, is already one of the most buzzed about new fall series. Long's casting comes on the heels of the recent announcement that Elizabeth Banks will guest star on the 20th Century Fox Television-produced comedy. (The Wrap)

Starz has quietly announced via Twitter that Season Two of comedy Party Down will launch in April. (Twitter)

Cabler FX has handed out series orders to two half-hour comedies: The League and Louie. The League, about a group of suburban male friends who participate in the same fantasy football league, received a six-episode order. Louie, about a single dad who attempts to raise his two daughters in New York, is a vignette-style comedy series starring Louis CK and was picked up for thirteen episodes. Both projects hail from FX Prods. and pilots for the two series were shot quietly under the radar. It's believed that The League may be paired this fall with the new season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and share its timeslot with the already ordered comedy Archer. Louie is expected to be held under 2010. (Variety)

The Los Angeles Times' Denise Martin is reporting that, despite reports to the contrary, Paula Abdul is definitely not in talks with FOX or American Idol producers about returning to the series. Abdul's manager David Sonenberg told LA Times' Show Tracker exclusively that there have been "no discussions whatsoever about Idol" and that Abdul's plans for the future do not involve the FOX musical competition series and the former host is fielding multiple offers. "She loves Idol," Sonneberg told Martin about his client. "She feels she was a large part of the reason it is what it is. I can tell you her focus right now is speaking to all the other networks. The only one we haven’t talked to, because of recent events, is FOX. But perhaps we would be speaking to FOX about shows in the near future." (Los Angeles Times' Show Tracker)

Nick Zano (The Final Destination) has been cast in a recurring role on ABC's upcoming comedy series Cougar Town, where he will play Courteney Cox's first boyfriend. Elsewhere, Gal Gadot (Fast & Furious) has been cast in CW's modeling drama The Beautiful Life. (Hollywood Reporter)

Jenna Dewan (Step Up) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on the CW's Melrose Place next season. According to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, she'll play "a young movie studio exec who takes a liking to wannabe Tarantino, Jonah (Michael Rady)" and is slated to appear in at least two episodes. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Lifetime has ordered a second season of dramedy series Drop Dead Diva, with thirteen episodes on tap for 2010. (Hollywood Reporter)

In other Diva-related news, Devon Gummersall (My So-Called Life) will guest star on the October 11th season finale of Drop Dead Diva, where he will play "a man from Jane's past whose unexpected arrival throws Jane for a loop." (USA Today's Pop Candy)

Michael Mosley (The Proposal) and Kerry Bishe (Virtuality) have been cast as series regulars on ABC's Scrubs next season opposite Dave Franco. Mosley will play Drew, an older medical student who is attempting to complete his training after a meltdown ten years earlier at Harvard Medical School. Bishe will play first-year med student Lucy who hails from a family of fishermen. (Hollywood Reporter)

20th Century Fox Television has signed an exclusive deal with (500) Days of Summer director Mark Webb to direct a pilot in the upcoming development season. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Anne Dudek Gets "Covert," Aaron Paul to Return to "Big Love," Emmy Reversal, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Ubiquitous actor (and Televisionary fave) Anne Dudek (House, Big Love, Mad Men) will star opposite Piper Perabo and Christopher Gorham in USA's drama pilot Covert Affairs, where she will play the siter of Perabo's Annie Walker, a polyglot CIA trainee. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Emmy nominated Breaking Bad actor Aaron Paul will appear in Season Four of HBO's Big Love next year, though Paul doesn't know quite what's in store for Scott next season now that he and Sarah (Amanda Seyfried) are engaged. "The only thing they’ve told me," Paul told Ausiello, "is that something big will happen to my character this season." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Variety's Cynthia Littleton is reporting that the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has bowed to public outrage over its decision to time-shift eight awards of the September 20th Emmy telecast and has announced that it will instead present all 28 categories live on the air. "This decision was made to mend relationships within the television community and to allow executive producer Don Mischer to focus his full attention on producing the creative elements in the telecast," said Academy of Television Arts and Sciences chairman-CEO John Shaffner in a prepared statement. "Our goal is to celebrate the year in television, honor excellence and this year's great achievements with the support of our industry colleagues and our telecast partner, CBS."(Variety's Emmy Central)

Add executive producer to his growing list of credits. Denzel Washington is in talks to come on board FOX cop drama pilot Billy Stiles, about a "genius gang member-turned-cop." Washington would serve as an executive producer on the 20th Century Fox Television-based project alongside Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, and Steve Tisch. Project was written by Virgil Williams (24) and was originally pitched as a cable series before landing at FOX. (Hollywood Reporter)

Lifetime has announced that its twelve-episode comedy series Sherri, which stars Sherri Shepherd (The View) as a single mom who begins dating after a divorce, will launch on October 5th at 10 pm. Series will be paired in the Tuesdays at 10 pm timeslot with the second season of Rita Rocks. (Variety)

Joe Morton (Eureka) has signed on for a recurring role on ABC's Brothers and Sisters, where he will play a Justin's "tough but nurturing anatomy professor," according to Hollywood Reporter's Nellie Andreeva, in roughly seven to ten episodes next season. (Hollywood Reporter)

Comedy Central has ordered six mores installments of Tosh.0, which will return with new episodes on October 8th. (via press release)

BBC One has ordered a third season of sketch comedy series The Armstrong and Miller Show, despite the fact that the second season--already on order--has yet to launch. Season Two is expected to premiere this fall, with the third season likely to debut in 2010. (Broadcast)

Apatow Productions' Nicholas Weinstock has been hired by Peter Chernin to oversee comedy development at his nascent shingle. Weinstock will report to Katherine Pope and Dylan Clark. (Hollywood Reporter)

Notorious reality star Katie Price (a.k.a. Jordan) is starting her own production company. Pricey Media, which Price will run with Mark Wagman, will co-produce reality series What Katie Did Next with ITV Studios. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Chase and Cameron Back in Center of "House," Callum Keith Rennie Clocks in for "24," Will Arnett Returns to FOX, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that House's Jennifer Morrison and Jesse Spencer's Cameron and Chase will move back into their old jobs on the FOX medical drama following a staffing shakeup at Princeton Plainsboro during which Foreman takes over House's role. "They are both thrown back into their old jobs," Morrison told EW. "It’s been great actually. I have been working a lot and there are things that happen to House very early in the season that have a domino effect on all of the other characters... Cameron was always very close and protective of House. And to have her mentor be away in an asylum makes her contemplate life and career and him. Having him gone affects everyone he works with, personally and professionally." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Another Battlestar Galactica actor is heading to FOX's 24 next season. Callum Keith Rennie, who played Leoben on the Sci Fi series, has signed on to appear in a multiple-episode story arc in Day Eight of 24, where he will play Vladimir Laitanan, a "Russian syndicate mobster who debuts around Episode Six or Seven," according to TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck, who said that Rennie's character will be linked to Jurgen Prochnow's mobster Bazhaev. (TV Guide Magazine)

It's not quite Arrested Development but it's a reunion of sorts. FOX has given a script order to an untitled comedy pilot to be written by Will Arnett, Mitch Hurwitz, and Jim Vallely about a "rich Beverly Hills jackass who falls in love with a charitable tree-hugging woman who can't stand his lifestyle or values." Said man will be played by none other than Arnett himself, should the script get ordered to pilot. Project, from Sony Pictures Television and Tantamount, is executive produced by Hurwitz, Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum, Vallely, Peter Principato, and Paul Young. (Hollywood Reporter)

FOX has slated a two-hour Octomom documentary entitled Octomom: The Incredible Unseen Footage on August 19th. Footage, culled from six months' worth of shooting by RadarOnline.com reporters living with Nadya Suleman and her brood. Pilgrim Film and Television's Craig Piligian will be executive producing the documentary special, which won't have an on-air host. (Variety)

TNT has renewed medical drama Hawthorne for a second season of ten episodes, which will launch in 2010. (via press release)

Gabrielle Union, who is set to appear in a multiple-episode story arc on ABC's FlashForward next season, has signed on to star and executive produce Lifetime telepic The Vow, based on a Denene Millner novel about three women who attend a wedding and make a pact to all get engaged within the following year. Project, from Sony Pictures Television, is being adapted by Nzingha Stewart. (Variety)

Cabler Ovation TV has secured US broadcast premiere rights to the newest episodes of UK music series Later... with Jools Holland, which will air Thursday evenings at 8 pm, beginning September 10th with an episode featuring Kaiser Chiefs, The Streets, Seasick Steve, TV on the Radio, Little Jackie, and Boy George. (via press release)

HBO has acquired US television rights to Sundance award-winning documentary Afghan Star, about the lives of four finalists competing in an American Idol-type pop music showdown in Afghanistan. Doc will premiere on the pay cabler in 2010. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Grant Show Open to "Melrose" Return, Ehle Plays "Game of Thrones," Third Season of "Inbetweeners" on Tap, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Grant Show, set to star on CBS comedy Accidentally on Purpose this fall, has said that he's open to appearing on the CW's revival of Melrose Place. "We've been talking, but nothing solid," Show says. "I'm not opposed to it... They haven't come up with the writing for me yet. I'm not sure they're even going to need me this year — maybe next year." Should Show close a deal to return to the series, he'll join original stars Josie Bissett, Thomas Calabro, Laura Leighton, and Daphne Zuniga as those who have turned up on Melrose 2.0. (TVGuide.com)

Jennifer Ehle (Possession) has joined the cast for the HBO fantasy drama pilot Game of Thrones, where she will play Catelyn Stark, the wife of Sean Bean's Ned Stark. Ehle's character was originally promised to Ned's older brother who was killed before they could marry; she then "fulfilled her duty by marrying Ned and securing the alliance between their two houses." Ehle joins a cast that includes Bean, Mark Addy, Peter Dinklage, Jack Gleeson, Kit Harrington, and Harry Lloyd. In other casting news, Swoosie Kurtz (Pushing Daisies) has joined the cast of Lifetime's comedy series Rita Rocks in a recurring capacity, where she will play the mother of Nicole Sullivan's character, and Brenda Vaccaro (Nip/Tuck) has will star in HBO Film's Jack Kevorkian biopic You Don't Know Jack, directed by Barry Levinson. (Hollywood Reporter)

E4 has announced that it has recommissioned comedy series The Inbetweeners for a third season. The Bwark-produced comedy created by Iain Morris and Damon Beesley, stars Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison, and Joe Thomas. It has already aired two seasons on Channel 4 digital sibling E4 and is set to air Stateside this fall on BBC America. According to E4 head Angela Jain, The Inbetweeners had "some of the most beautifully crafted puerile and funny jokes ever seen on British television but also moments of crushing heartbreak, which are all testament to the brilliance of the writing and acting." [Editor: I totally agree! Congrats, Iain and Damon!] (Broadcast)

FOX has announced that American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi will be returning to the reality competition series next season following the conclusion of her contract negotiation. "Kara's spitfire personality and sharp musical sensibility infused American Idol with a new energy last year," said FOX president of alternative Mike Darnell. "She clearly has a keen eye for talent -- spotting Adam Lambert's superstar quality early on last season -- and her performance on the Season Eight finale was one of the most memorable in recent Idol history." (Hollywood Reporter)

Slight changes afoot at Bravo, which announced that it had changed timeslots and launch dates for its returning programs Flipping Out and The Rachel Zoe Project. Flipping Out will now air Tuesdays at 10 pm ET/PT beginning August 18th, while The Rachel Zoe Project will air Mondays at 10 pm ET/PT beginning August 24th. (Futon Critic)

As expected, Greg Meidel has been named president of Twentieth TV, following Bob Cook's decision to leave the position. Meidel, who will continue to oversee MyNetworkTV, will assume oversight of Twentieth TV's programming and distribution. (Variety)

At yesterday's TCA session for CBS, entertainment topper Nina Tassler hit back at outbound NBC Entertainment chairman Ben Silverman. Asked to comment about his departure from NBC, Tassler declined to comment, saying rather cheekily, "I’m really just a D-girl," referring sarcastically to an off-hand remark Silverman made of her early on during his tenture at NBC. Touché! (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

TruTV has ordered seven episodes of unscripted series Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura, in which the former Minnesota governor will "investigate controversial plots and schemes that have been circulating in the news for many years and have piqued the public's interest." Project, from A. Smith and Co., will launch later this year. (Variety)

Bashar Rahal (War, Inc.) has been cast a multiple-episode story arc in Day Eight of 24, where he will play a general from the Islamic Republic of Kamistan who is enmeshed in a conspiracy involving President Hassan (Anil Kapoor). (Hollywood Reporter)

E! has ordered eight episodes of unscripted half-hour spoof series Reality Hell, in which actors attempt to persuade a person that he or she is appearing on a new reality series. Series, which launches August 16th, is executive produced by Peter M. Cohen. (Variety)

WE has ordered six episodes of two new series, a one-hour unscripted series Girl Meets Gown, in which brides look for their dream wedding dress; and Jilted, in which "women give their boyfriends ultimatums." Both will launch next year. The cabler also renewed The Locator, Little Miss Perfect, and High School Confidential, all of which will return to the schedule in 2010. (Variety)

More than 100 showrunners and executive producers have formally signed a protest against the changes planned for the Emmy telecast by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which seeks to exclude several categories from the live telecast next month. "We, the undersigned showrunners and executive producers of television's current line-up of programs, oppose the Academy of Television Arts and Science's decision to remove writing awards from the live telecast," said the protesters in a prepared statement. "This decision conveys a fundamental understatement of the importance of writers in the creation of television programming and a symbolic attack on the primacy of writing in our industry. We implore ATAS to restore these awards to their rightful place in the live telecast of the 2009 Emmy Awards." (via press release)

Meanwhile, the Emmy telecast producer Don Mischer said at a TCA panel yesterday that the TV Academy could become irrelevant, unless they make certain changes. "We are trying to keep the Emmys alive as a major television event," said Mischer. "It may come to that... The writing is on the wall, and every other award show knows it." Among the changes necessary for the awards show to stay alive, Misher said, was presenting series that mainstream viewers can recognize and not featuring narrow series that have niche appeal. We're going to have to connect the show to the big picture of television," said Mischer. "Its high points and memorable moments... We want to maintain a major profile. This is broadcasting, not netcasting." (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Russell T. Davies Defends "Torchwood" Twist, "Dexter" Animated Prequel for Fall, T.R. Knight Dishes on "Grey's" Departure, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has an interview with Torchwood creator/executive producer Russell T. Davies, in which Davies defends the latest plot twist in Torchwood: Children of Earth (MAJOR SPOILER alert if you haven't yet seen "Day Four"), which has resulted in some angry fans. "It's not particularly a backlash," Davies corrected Ausiello. "What's actually happening is, well, nothing really to be honest. It's a few people posting online and getting fans upset. Which is marvelous. It just goes to prove how much they love the character and the actor. People often say, 'Fans have got their knives out!' They haven't got any knives. I haven't been stabbed. Nothing's happened. It's simply a few people typing. I'm glad they're typing because they’re that involved. But if you can’t handle drama you shouldn’t watch it. Find something else. Go look at poetry. Poetry’s wonderful." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Dexter fans have something to look forward to before Showtime launches the next season of Dexter. The pay cabler will release "Earl Cuts," twelve animated webisodes that will serve as a prequel to the series that explore how Dexter (Michael C. Hall) honed his craft as a serial killer, this fall. Hall will provide the voice for the titular killer. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has an exclusive interview with T.R. Knight, who candidly discusses the true reasons behind his departure from ABC's Grey's Anatomy after appearing on-screen for just 48 minutes during the entire fifth season of the series. Rather than confront Shonda Rhimes, Knight opted to just leave the series. "My five-year experience proved to me that I could not trust any answer that was given [about George]," Knight told Ausiello. "And with respect, I'm going to leave it at that." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Drama project Exit 19, from CBS Television Studios and writer/executive producer Jeffrey Bell, isn't quite dead. The project, which was shot as a pilot presentation for CBS in 2008, has been brought to cabler Lifetime, where it is being redeveloped. Bell will write a new version of the pilot script for Lifetime. (Variety)

Warren Leight (In Treatment) has come aboard FX drama project Lights Out, where he will serve as executive producer/showrunner alongside creator Justin Zackham should the project be ordered to series. Lights Out stars Holy McCallany and Melora Hardin. Elsewhere, Leight has signed a script deal with Peter Chernin's new production venture and, should HBO pick up another season of In Treatment, Leight will not stick with the series. (Hollywood Reporter)

TBS has ordered twenty additional episodes of comedy House of Payne--that's in addition to the twenty-six it recently ordered--bringing the series' total episodic count to 172 installments. (Variety)

ABC will launch reality competition series Crash Course on Wednesday, August 26th at 9 pm, following the run of I Survived a Japanese Game Show. (Variety)

30 Rock scribe Donald Glover--who also co-stars in NBC's Community this fall--has signed a two-year talent holding deal and blind script commitment under which he will write and star in a project for Universal Media Studios. (Variety)

AMC has hired former Brillstein-Grey Television executive Susie Fitzgerald as SVP of scripted series (though her title seems to still be under discussion), where she will spearhead series development at the cabler, which is quick to point out that she won't be a direct replacement for Christina Wayne, who resigned from the network in February. (Hollywood Reporter)

Reality shingle A. Smith and Co. is developing unscripted series Shark Boat, which follows diver Stefanie Brendl and the crew of Hawaii Shark Encounters, the only company in the US that allows people to free dive with sharks. (Variety)

American Idol executive producer Ken Warwick has signed a three-year deal to continue on as showrunner on the musical competition series, a deal that would making him "one of the highest-paid showrunners in TV -- if not the highest paid," according to Variety's Michael Schneider. (Variety)

UK network Channel Five has purchased the UK terrestrial and digital rights to ABC's upcoming drama series FlashForward for a sum believed to be between $500-600,000 per episode, significantly lower than the enormous sums paid by UK outlets for such Disney ABC Television series such as Lost and Desperate Housewives. (Hollywood Reporter)

Meanwhile, ITV has acquired the rights to US series The Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl from Warner Bros. International Television Distribution. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Jennie Garth Returns to "90210," Kelly Carlson Works Black Book for "Melrose," Erika Christensen Offers "Lie" to FOX, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Looks like Kelly isn't going anywhere. Jennie Garth has signed a deal to reprise her role as Kelly Taylor on Season Two of the CW's 90210, where she will appear in multiple episodes, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "Garth reappears in episode 3," writes Ausiello, "when Kelly gives Harry advice on how to deal with his, ahem, situation with Annie." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Elsewhere at the CW,Melrose Place continues to get more and more crowded. Nip/Tuck's Kelly Carlson (yes, Kimber!) has signed on to join the cast of Melrose Place this fall, where she will play a madam who "eventually entices Lauren (Stephanie Jacobson) to work for her as part of her prostitution ring." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Parenthood's Erika Christensen has booked a guest starring role on Season Two of FOX's Lie to Me this fall. Christensen will play Tricia, a woman who turns to Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) for help when she experiences a vision of a murder and Lightman uncovers that Tricia is actually a woman with multiple personalities. Lie to Me returns on September 28th with Christensen's episode. [Editor: New showrunner Shawn Ryan had teased the casting last week via Twitter.] (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Melanie Nicholls King (Law and Order), Enuka Okumu (24), Travis Milne (Bionic Woman), Ben Bass (Bury the Lead), Eric Johnson (Smallville), Matt Gordon (The Dresden Files), Noam Jenkins (The State Within), and Aidan Devine (A History of Violence) have all be added to the cast of the Canadian drama Copper, which will air Stateside on ABC. Project is shooting in Toronto and will wrap production in November. (Hollywood Reporter)

Producers on the CW's upcoming fall drama series The Beautiful Life are said to have come up with a contingency plan should Mischa Barton not be able to return to work when production on the series begins, according to unnamed sources cited by Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. "Said plan involves the addition of a new female character to fill the void left by Barton," writes Ausiello. "While not a direct recast, the new recurring character -- tentatively named Jane -- would bear a striking resemblance to Barton's experienced supermodel, Sonja Stone. Casting is underway." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Syfy has announced that Stargate Universe will launch with a two-hour premiere on Friday, October 2nd at 9 pm ET/PT and Sanctuary will launch its second season the following week on October 9th at 10 pm. The cabler also slated telepic Open Graves, starring Eliza Dushku, for September 9th and a remake of Children of the Corn for September 26th and renewed Destination Truth for a third season, kicking off on September 9th while Scare Tactics returns on October 6th. (Variety)

John Schneider (Smallville) has joined the cast of the CW's 90210, where he will recur throughout the second season as the step-father of Matt Lanter's bad boy Liam. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Writer Matt Tarses (Worst Week) has signed a two-year overall deal with Sony Pictures Television, under which he will develop new half-hour comedy projects for the studio and will take the first project out to networks in the next few weeks rather than be immediately assigned to an existing Sony Pictures TV series. (Variety)

ABC has ordered reality series Shaq Vs., featuring Shaquille O'Neal as he competes against athletes at their own sports specialty. Series, from Media Rights Capital and Dick Clark Prods., will launch August 18th. (Hollywood Reporter)

Lifetime has cast Daniel Sunjata, Andie MacDowell, Diahann Carroll, Annabeth Gish, and Ashley Williams in telepics At Risk and The Front, both based on Patricia Cornwell novels. Both projects are written by John Pielmeier and will be directed by Tom McLoughlin. (Variety)

20th Century Fox Television has announced a corporate restructuring that will see marketing and communications split into two separate teams. Chris Alexander will oversee publicity and talent relations under the new organizational structure while Mark Pearson will head up marketing and research. Both report to Gary Newman and Dana Walden. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Jon Heder Lands Comedy Central Series, ABC Drops "Gravity" in August, Gregory Smith Mines "Copper," and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. I was lucky enough to see an advance screening of upcoming film Julie & Julia last night and urge all you film-loving foodies to head out and watch it when it's released. Just make sure you eat beforehand!

Comedy Central has ordered ten episodes of an untitled multi-camera comedy series starring Jon Heder (Blades of Glory, Napoleon Dynamite). Project, about an unemployed IT specialist who returns to his smalltown to move in with his parents and younger brother, will be written by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, and Chris Henchy. Series hails from Debmar-Mercury and Gary Sanchez and will have an initial run on Comedy Central; if it scores with audiences, another 90 installments will be automatically picked up with Comedy Central having the first window while Debmar-Mercury will sell the series into first-run syndication at the same time. (Variety)

ABC has announced that it will launch FTVS' internationally produced drama series Defying Gravity, which it acquired last week, on August 2nd at 9 pm with a two-hour premiere. The week after, Defying Gravity will move into its regular timeslot Sundays at 10 pm ET/PT. Series, which stars Ron Livingston, Laura Harris, Malik Yoba, Christina Cox, Florentine Lahme, Paula Garces, Eyal Podell, Dylan Taylor, Andrew Airlie, Karen LeBlanc, Zahf Paroo, and Maxim Roy, revolves around four male and four female astronauts from five countries who are on a mysterious six-year international space mission. Action will flash between their current mission and their rigorous training in the past. (via press release, Variety)

Gregory Smith (Everwood) will star opposite Missy Peregrym in Canadian police drama Copper, which will air Stateside on ABC. Smith will play Dov, a recent graduate from the police academy who attempts to make his way as a rookie cop. Elsewhere, Taylor Kinney (Fashion Show) has been cast as a regular on NBC's medical drama Trauma, where he will play Glen, an EMT that joins the rapid response team. (Hollywood Reporter)

SPOILER: Production on Season Four of HBO's sensational drama series Big Love begins August 13th and producers are on the hunt for two new recurring roles next season. Producers are looking to cast the roles Christie, the problem child daughter of Barb's sister Cindy who has been sent to Mormon Disciplinary Camp several times and who finds a seething jealousy towards new cousin Cara Lynn, and Dale, an closeted gay Mormon who is a partner at a big eight accounting firm and who becomes the new trustee of the Juniper Creek assets. (Spoiler TV)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has a absolutely fantastic piece on the power of San Diego Comic-Con and its enduring appeal. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

MTV has given a series order to teen comedy Hard Times, which revolves around an unpopular fifteen year old whose, er, endowment is revealed in front of the whole school during a prank and instantly finds popularity. Project, written and executive produced by David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith, is being compared to a teen version of HBO's similarly-themed Hung. (Hollywood Reporter)

Syfy's launch for drama series Warehouse 13 drew 3.5 million viewers, making it the third most watched network series debut behind Stargate Atlantis (4.2 million) and Eureka (4.1 million). (Broadcasting & Cable)

E! Online's Watch with Kristin is reporting that Catherine Bell isn't leaving Lifetime's Army Wives anytime soon. "I'll tell you this. I'm still in South Carolina, and I was filming the show this morning," said Bell via telephone. "Frank and Denise struggle for a while. It's not over. There are some really, really wonderful scenes coming—there's going to be some more communication about this... There's some really cool stuff coming up where you see a different side of him and their relationship. There's some positive stuff. He's a big teddy bear, and Frank adores Denise. He's going to change a bit this season. You're going to see a different side of him, that's very exciting." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Miracle Laurie to Return for "Dollhouse" Season Two, Syfy Hunts for Next Big Space Opera, Terry Kinney Lured by "Mentalist," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Dollhouse creator Joss Whedon will write and direct the second season opener of the FOX drama. Meanwhile, Miracle Laurie--who played November/Mellie in Season One of Dollhouse WILL be returning for the sophomore season... in some form, anyway. "All I know for sure is that I'm coming back next season," Laurie told the Baltimore Sun. "I don't actually know in what form I'll be back. The writers are kind of teasing me…everybody knows but me." (Baltimore Sun, Twitter)

io9 speaks to Syfy vice president of original programming Mark Stern about the channel's rebrand and its promise to find the next big space opera along the lines of Battlestar Galatica or Firefly. "The next thing that I really want to do is find the next great space opera; it's been a long time," said Stern. "And we have Stargate, but that's really not that show. And Caprica isn't really that show. So where's the next Star Trek or Farscape? Let's find one of those... We don't want to do something that is the same old. You don't want it to feel recycled. So that's the challenge of doing that. I'm a huge fan of Firefly, and shows that take that idea and take that part of the genre and reinvent it in a whole new way. I'd love to find our version of, not specifically Firefly, but similar to what Joss [Whedon] tried to do with that in terms of, "lets recast the Western in space." Love that idea, and I love that show. What's another way to approach that?" (io9)

The Unusuals' Terry Kinney has been cast in Season Two of CBS' The Mentalist, where he will recur as Sam Bosco, "a by-the-book California Bureau of Investigations agent who heads up the division overseeing the Red John case." According to Entertainment Weekly's Micheal Ausiello, Bosco is an ex-lover of Lisbon (Robin Tunney) as well as her mentor and "[t]he two share a deep, dark secret!" (Entertainment Weekly's Micheal Ausiello)

In other Dollhouse-related news, The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan reports that the missing thirteen episode of Dollhouse's first season, entitled "Epitaph One," will be available for download on iTunes beginning August 11th. The episode will NOT be available via Hulu. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

CSI creator Anthony Zuiker's Dare to Pass shingle has signed a new two-year first-look deal with CBS Television Studios, under which he will develop scripted and unscripted series. "Making a one-off TV show is not going to sustain a real business anymore," said Zuiker. "It starts with a great TV show, but then becomes a 24/7 experience. It's Web, mobile, gaming. From device to device to device." (Variety)

FOX has given a script commitment with a penalty to an untitled dramedy project, from Greg Malins (How I Met Your Mother) and mystery novelist Harlan Coben, about a psychotic former private investigator with a lack of inhibitions (the result of a bullet wound to his frontal lobe) who teaches a university criminology class in Los Angeles and solves crimes with his graduate students. Project hails from 20th Century Fox Television, where Malins has an overall deal. (Hollywood Reporter)

Bravo has announced an August 26th start date for Top Chef: Las Vegas and unveiled the seventeen contestants competing for the title next season as well as the guest judges, who include such notables as Natalie Portman, Wolfgang Puck, Daniel Boulud, Tyler Florence, Penn & Teller, and Nigella Lawson. (Televisionary)

Eric McCormack (Trust Me) will guest star in an upcoming episode of NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He'll appear in next season's second episode as a handsome sugar daddy. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

More off-net sales for NBC comedy 30 Rock following a deal between NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution and FOX and Tribune station groups on an all-barter basis, with the series launching in fall of 2011. 30 Rock will be "double-run six days a week in access and late-fringe time periods," with NBC Universal getting three minutes of ad time and local stations getting four minutes. (Broadcasting & Cable)

Lifetime has unveiled the identities of the contestants for Season Six of Project Runway, which makes its long-delayed debut on the cabler on August 20th following a protracted legal battle with rival cabler Bravo. (Hollywood Reporter)

Lifetime has acquired rerun rights to CBS' The New Adventures of Old Christine after it closed a deal with studio Warner Bros. Television for roughly $350,000 per episode for the series as well as a barter agreement that will see the cabler hand over 90 seconds of advertiser time. Series will debut on Lifetime in fall 2010. (Variety)

BBC America has announced the US premiere date for Season Three of teen drama Skins, which will kick off on Thursday, August 6th at 9 pm ET/PT. (via press release)

NBC opted to shift its newest reality series The Great American Road Trip to Mondays at 8 pm, less than 24 hours after it launched the series. Repeats of America's Got Talent will take over the Tuesdays at 8 pm timeslot. (Futon Critic)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Syfy Discovers "Alien Nation," ABC Falls for "Defying Gravity," "Castle" Novel Out Next Month, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Syfy is developing a new incarnation of Alien Nation, the 1988 feature film that spun off into a FOX drama, with writer/executive producer Tim Minear (Firefly, Drive). The project, from Fox21, will tell the story of the partnership between a veteran police officer and an alien detective in the Pacific Northwest as the two races attempt to live side-by-side on Earth following the aliens' arrival and efforts to assimilate into human society. The new version will include a mythology that will unfold over time and will use contemporary issues, such as immigration, racism, terrorism, and paranoia, in its storytelling. "It's very much in keeping with what we've been looking to do -- find themes that are more than just hard sci-fi, something that feels contemporary and relevant and invites a broad audience in," said Syfy original programming EVP Mark Stern. "It's genre mixed with procedural mixed with funny and mixed with big, giant scary," Minear said. "I love serialized stuff, but this is also a cop franchise. That Starsky and Hutch/Lethal Weapon buddy cop comedy is absent from TV right now." (Variety)

ABC has acquired Fox Television Studios' thirteen-episode international drama Defying Gravity, which will air on Canada's CTV, Germany's ProSieben, and the BBC. Project, which stars Ron Livingston, Laura Harris, Christina Cox, Malik Yoba, and Florentine Lahme, follows eight astronauts from five different countries in the near future who are on a six-year mission through the solar system. (Try not to get it confused with FOX's own Virtuality.) Defying Gravity, which will air on ABC this summer, is written/executive produced by James Parriott (Grey's Anatomy) and executive produced by Michael Edelstein, Brian Hamilton, and Michael Chechik. (Hollywood Reporter)

Viewers of ABC's mystery series Castle now have a new way to interact with the series. The network is teaming with Hyperion to publish a stand-alone mystery novel, entitled "Heat Wave," written by the series' lead character Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion)--or a ghostwriter at any event--and will publish chapters of the book each week beginning August 10th, leading up to the second season premiere. Hyperion, meanwhile, will publish the full novel on September 29th. (Hollywood Reporter)

Liza Minnelli and Delta Burke are set to guest star in Lifetime's upcoming dramedy series Drop Dead Diva, where they will play sisters in an episode slated to air September 20th. Minnelli will play "a psychic who takes her sister (Burke) to court after she opens a competing psychic shop directly across the street from her store," according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The premiere of HBO's comedy series Hung drew 2.8 million viewers, making it the most watched series launch in two years, since John From Cincinnati, which aired after the series finale of The Sopranos. Lead-in True Blood also attracted 3.7 million viewers in its first airing this week, a number which surges to 5.1 million with encore presentations... and to a staggering average of 10.8 million viewers on all platforms (linear, HBO On Demand, and DVR). (via press release)

FX has announced launch dates for Season Two of Sons of Anarchy on September 8th, Season Five of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on September 17th, and the sixth and penultimate season of Nip/Tuck in October. (Televisionary)

Britain's Got Talent runner-up Susan Boyle will NOT be guest starring on ABC's Ugly Betty, despite rumors to the contrary. ABC has officially shot down stories that Boyle would play herself in an upcoming episode of Betty. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Elsewhere at ABC, the network has quietly ended its burn-off run of comedy In the Motherhood. The Alphabet will instead program two back-to-back episodes of Samantha Who on Thursdays. (Futon Critic)

Trevor Donovan (Days of Our Lives) has been cast in Season Two of the CW's 90210, where he will play Teddy, a charming tennis prodigy and movie star scion who is clearly being earmarked as a potential love interest for Annie (Shenae Grimes). His first appearance is slated to air on September 8th, the date of the series' second season premiere. (TVGuide.com)

SOAPnet is developing a US adaptation of BBC Worldwide reality series Bank of Mom and Dad, in which women in their 20s and 30s move back in with their parents and give up control of their expenses to their parents and money consultant Farnoosh Torabi. Series launches September 30th at 10 pm ET/PT. The cabler also ordered ten episodes of reality dating series Holidate, in which two women swap cities to pursue relationships in the other's hometown; series will kick off on July 29th at 10 pm ET/PT. (Variety)

Syfy announced their Comic-Con plans, which includes panels for such series as Caprica/BSG: The Plan, Sanctuary, Warehouse 13, Eureka, and Stargate Universe. (Televisionary)

WE will spin-off a new wedding-themed channel, drawing programming from the cabler's stable of wedding-related programming such as Bridezillas, Platinum Weddings, Amazing Wedding Cakes, and My Fair Wedding. WE, meanwhile, will become more parenting-oriented with the emphasis placed squarely on such programming as The Mom Show, Raising Sextuplets, and Adoption Diaries. The new channel is set to launch in August on Cablevision's platform. (Broadcasting & Cable)

MTV has renewed reality series 16 & Pregnant for a second season. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Katee Sackhoff Clocks in for "24," Dominic Monaghan Presses "Flash Forward," "Earl" Could Live on TBS, and More

Welcome to your (very early) Tuesday morning television briefing.

In a rather major casting coup, FOX's 24 has cast former Battlestar Galactica star Katee Sackhoff as a series regular in Day Eight, where she will play Dana Walsh, a "highly respected and down-to-earth data analyst at the new and improved New York branch of CTU" who is romantically involved with Freddie Prinze Jr.'s Davis Cole and has a "skeleton in her closet she's trying desperately to keep hidden." Sackhoff joins such Day Eight players as Prinze, Mykelti Williamson, Jennifer Westfeldt, Chris Diamantopoulous, John Boyd, and Anil Kapoor. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

It's now believed that Lost's Dominic Monaghan will be joining the cast of ABC's Flash Forward this fall. IGN's Eric Goldman is reporting, citing reports from an undisclosed insider, that Monaghan will be joining Flash Forward and that the actor, who played Charlie Pace on Lost, will "likely have a major role" on the series. Still, ABC isn't commenting at this time. "There is a lot of speculation out there right now," said an ABC spokesperson, "but we're not confirming any casting at this point." (IGN)

Reports of My Name is Earl's demise may have been premature. Variety's Cynthia Littleton is reporting that studio 20th Century Fox Television is in discussions with cabler TBS about a possible thirteen-episode run. "The talks for new episodes are said to be in the very preliminary stages," writes Littleton, "and it's far from certain that a deal will be reached, insiders cautioned." (Variety)

Rufus Sewell (Eleventh Hour), Ian McShane (Kings), Matthew Macfadyen (Spooks), Sarah Parish (The Holiday), Eddie Redmayne (The Other Boleyn Girl), Hayley Atwell (Brideshead Revisited), and Donald Sutherland (Dirty Sexy Money) have signed on to star in Tandem and Muse's eight-hour international mini-series Pillars of the Earth, based on Ken Follett's novel of the same name. Shooting begins June 22nd for a launch date in the later part of 2010. So far, no US or UK broadcast networks have come on board to co-produce though the production has a US DVD sales deal with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. (Hollywood Reporter)

USA is launching Season Four of Psych and Season Eight of Monk (the series' last) on August 7th while Burn Notice will wrap the first half of its season on August 6th before returning in early 2010. (Futon Critic)

In other Burn Notice news, producers are trying to lure Sharon Gless' former Cagney & Lacey co-star Tyne Dale to guest star in an episode slated to air in early 2010, according to Michael Ausiello. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

David Letterman is said to be in talks about remaining at the helm of CBS' Late Show for three more years, through the 2011-12 season, though the series will see a reduction in license fee. (Variety, Hollywood Reporter)

Lifetime is launching original drama series Drop Dead Diva, starring Brooke Elliott, Margaret Cho, Jackson Hurst, Kate Levering, April Bowlby, and Josh Stamberg, on Sunday, July 12th at 9 pm ET/PT. Series, created/executive produced by Josh Berman (Bones), hails from Sony Pictures Television. (via press release)

More recasting on NBC's comedy series 100 Questions, which will see the roles played in the pilot by Elizabeth Ho and Joy Suprano recast. The news comes on the heels of the announcement that Amir Talai would be recast as well, which leaves only three of the series regulars--Sophie Winkleman, David Walton, and (creator) Christopher Moynihan--on board. Meanwhile, Alex Hardcastle (Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire) has come on board 100 Questions as the house director and will likely also retain some sort of producer credit. (Hollywood Reporter)

Daytime syndicated talk show Rachael Ray has been renewed through the 2011-12 season. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that producers on CBS' Ghost Whisperer are considering moving the series's storyline five years in the future, in order to "introduce Jim and Melinda's son as a pre-schooler instead of as a newborn," said Ausiello, citing an unnamed insider. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Season Three of The Bill Engvall Show will kick off on Saturday, July 18th at 9 pm ET/PT. (via press release)

Former Crown Media Holdings President/CEO Henry Schleiff has been named president and general manager of fledgling cabler Investigation Discovery. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Lin-Manuel Miranda Checks into "House," Zoe Green Mines "Diamond" for Sci Fi, "Heroes" Nabs Two More Actors, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

Tony Award-winning actor Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights) will appear in at least two episodes of FOX's House next season, where he will play the roommate of Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) at the psychiatric facility where House is currently living. Miranda's first appearance is slated for House's sixth season premiere, which kicks off this fall. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Zoe Green (Book of Shadows) has been hired to write the script for mini-series The Diamond Age, an adaptation of Neal Stephenson's 1995 novel "The Diamond Age: Or a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer," for Sci Fi and executive producers George Clooney and Grant Heslov. Mini-series tells the story about a father and daughter who live in a futuristic society that stifles all creativity; the man creates an interactive book for his daughter, who uses it "as a guide through a surreal alternative world." (Variety)

NBC's Heroes has landed two additional actors, with Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace's Ray Park to join the cast of the drama series in a multiple-episode story arc playing one of the characters at the four season's carnival. Additionally, Deanne Bray (The L Word) will play a hearing-impaired love interest for one of the main characters. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

FOX has ordered a pilot for marriage-themed reality series I Married A Stranger from production company A. Smith a Co. Each week, a marriage-minded woman in her late 30s has her friends and family wheedle down five prospective grooms until one is left; as each man is eliminated, the bride-to-be gets a look at who she won't be marrying... and will finally get to meet her betrothed, right before the on-air wedding ceremony. Project will be executive produced by Arthur Smith, Kent Weed, and Scott Jeffress. (Variety)

BBC America has acquired rights to long-running UK talkshow Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, which it will launch on June 12th at 8 pm ET/PT. The digital cabler plans to pick up airing the series with the 18th episode of the current season, which features actors Dustin Hoffman and Hugh Laurie and British band Gossip. Future installments will feature such luminaries as Ben Stiller, Eminem, Hugh Jackman, William Shatner, Glenn Close, and Lionel Richie. “The wit and wry humor of Jonathan Ross is the perfect addition to the BBC America schedule," said Richard De Croce, SVP Programming for BBC America. "His interviews with A list guests – from Tom Hanks to John Travolta to Nicole Kidman – are always candid and frequently unpredictable. Best of all he fosters an atmosphere which allows guests to relax, open up and allow the viewers in.” (via press release)

The Television Critics Association announced the nominees for its annual TCA Awards, with such The Shield, Battlestar Galactica, Lost, Mad Men, and Saturday Night Live vying for program of the year while Fringe, The Mentalist, No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, and United States of Tara are competing for best new program; comedies 30 Rock, The Big Bang Theory, The Daily Show, How I Met Your Mother, and The Office are in the running for outstanding achievement in comedy while Breaking Bad, Friday Night Lights, Lost, Mad Men, and The Shield are competing for outstanding achievement in drama. (Hollywood Reporter)

A&E's Abbe Raven will oversee the new joint venture that is being formed between Disney, Hearst Corporation, and NBC Universal which will act as an umbrella for their cable channels Lifetime, A&E, and History. New company will encompass 10 channels in 145 countries and 15 websites. Lifetime's Andrea Wong will now report to Raven, according to reports, while other management restructuring has yet to be decided. (Variety)

ABC has opted to shift the second season premiere of I Survived a Japanese Game Show up by several weeks, from July 8th to Wednesday, June 17th at 9 pm ET/PT, while the network will shift comedies Surviving Suburbia and The Goode Family to Friday nights beginning June 12th. (Futon Critic)

BET has picked up talk show The Wendy Williams Show, which it will launch on July 13th in syndication and on BET, which will be running the series day-and-date with the syndicated telecasts. (Variety)

Sony Pictures Television has signed a new two-year overall deal with writer/producer team Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith, who created 'Til Death. Under terms of the deal, they will develop new projects for the studio while receiving executive producer credits on the FOX series they created. (Hollywood Reporter)

Former NBC executive Jamila Hunter has landed a position as head of programming at OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. She will replace Robin Schwartz, who left the channel earlier this year. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: ABC Cancels "Samantha Who," NBC Renews "Law & Order," CBS to Order at Least Seven Series, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

In a surprise twist, ABC has opted to cancel comedy series Samantha Who, after it was widely believed that the network would renew the Christina Applegate-led comedy. The reason behind the cancellation was budget-cutting by the network and the comedy series was unable to reduce its budget enough to make a third season financially viable for ABC. The network had attempted to transition Samantha to a multi-camera format from single-camera in efforts to cut as much as half a million dollars per episode. (Variety)

NBC has given out an eleventh hour renewal to long-running legal procedural Law & Order, bringing the series' total to twenty seasons, tying it with Gunsmoke for the longest running drama series on television. It's believed that the order is for sixteen episodes. NBC will unveil their fall schedule to advertisers later today. (Hollywood Reporter)

CBS is set to unveil its fall schedule to advertisers on Wednesday but some details are leaking out about which series will land a place on the lineup. CBS is said to have given series orders to the untitled NCIS spin-off (referred to by some outlets as NCIS: Legend), The Good Wife, Three Rivers, Miami Trauma, and comedy Accidentally on Purpose. All series got the go-ahead to start staffing, along with dramas House Rules and U.S. Attorney, a likely sign that the latter series will also be ordered to series, possibly for midseason. CBS also ordered an unscripted series called Undercover Boss, which follows an executive who goes undercover as an entry-level drone at their own company. It's also believed that Old Christine will return, possibly paired with Accidentally on Purpose, as will comedies Gary Unmarried and Rules of Engagement. (Hollywood Reporter, Variety)

Meanwhile, the CW is set to announce the addition of Melrose Place and Kevin Williamson-executive produced supernatural drama Vampire Diaries when it unveils its schedule on Thursday. Privileged, however, which had been rumored to get a second season renewal, will not go ahead at the network. (Los Angeles Times)

Following FOX's announcement that it would renew Dollhouse for a second season, The Live Feed's James Hibberd chatted with series creator Joss Whedon about the news and asked whether fans would notice if the budget were cut. "My hope is “No.” In the fifth year of “Angel” we cut our budget significantly, yet we built a completely new set, we had an episode set on a submarine in the ‘40s," said Whedon. "Nobody felt like it was a cut back. Ultimately if the stories aren’t involving and somebody is going, [snobbish voice] “This doesn’t look as expensive as the last episode,” then the person has strange priorities." As for what to expect next season, Whedon offered a few thoughts. "The last few episodes we got to play "the man behind the curtain" a lot. We did less of, “And this week, she’s a neurosurgeon!” Which we’ll still do to an extent, it’s part of the fun. But we got into what makes the place tick, what makes it wrong. It was less, “Murder She Was Imprinted to Write.” The episodes were more satisfying and the network responded to that. And we also responded to their ideas about pacing and it being more of a thriller and a conspiracy so they were seeing what they were hoping for when we got the aspect we were looking for." (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Meanwhile, TV Guide.com's Matt Mitovich caught up with Dollhouse star Eliza Dushku to talk to her about the FOX series' renewal. "I was in Uganda the past two weeks. I landed Friday night about midnight, and when I touched down the first message was a text from Joss saying, "We're back on, kid! Get ready to raise hell!" [Laughs] It was a nice homecoming," said Dushku, who said that the reason the series returned for another season was down to the fans. "We are so grateful and just bowled over by the support and the love and the loyalty. We are so excited to do the second season because it took us until the last six or so episodes to hit our stride; now we get to really have some fun." (TVGuide.com)

Lifetime has ordered twelve episodes of comedy Sherri, starring The View's Sherri Shepherd as a woman who juggles being a single mother, a paralegal, and an actress. Series, from executive producers Sherri Shepherd, Terri Minksy, Nina Wass, and Gene Stein, does not yet have an air date. It also stars Tammy Townsend, Kali Rocha, Elizabeth Regan, and Kate Reinders. (Variety)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan checks in with Friday Night Lights star Zach Gilford about his recent appearance on the season finale of ABC's Grey's Anatomy, what is in store for his character next season on Friday Night Lights, and what's next for the actor. (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Cabler G4 will launch two new series in the next few months. First up is The International Sexy Ladies Show, which launches June 7th and features comedians--such as Doug Benson, Steve Byrne, John Caparule, Mitch Fatel, Joy Koy, Sherrod Small, and Alex Zane--as they offer humor-based commentary on clips from around the world featuring women "participating in unusual activities." Ten episodes of the series, from Colour TV, are on tap. In August, the cabler will launch 2 Months, $2 Million, a reality competition series where "four online players will hunker down in a Las Vegas mansion and, using their own money, try to accumulate a vast amount of cash by competing against anonymous players on the Internet." (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Mindy Kaling Gets Universal Deal, Josh Schwartz Talks "Chuck," HBO Goes to New Orleans with "Treme," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

The Office co-star/writer Mindy Kaling has signed an overall deal with NBC and Universal Media Studios under which she will continue to write for and star in The Office as well as develop a new comedy project which will be a vehicle for the actress. "This is my first step in a Transformers-style way to take over the whole world," joked Kaling. "I've only ever worked for NBC, and I've felt an enormous amount of support from the executives there." Kaling says she is drawn to workplace comedies as well as buddy series such as HBO's Flight of the Conchords or projects focusing on women. (Variety)

There's still no news on the fate of NBC's Chuck, despite a massive fan-based initiative to create buzz for a third season of the action-comedy. The Hollywood Reporter's Matthew Belloni talks to Chuck co-creator/executive producer Josh Schwartz about the series' rabid fan base, Lily, the 1980's-set Gossip Girl spin-off, X-Men: First Class, Bright Lights, Big City, and more. (Hollywood Reporter)

HBO has given out a series order to New Orleans-set drama Treme, from The Wire creator David Simon and Eric Overmyer, which follows the residents of the Big Easy as they adjust to life post-Katrina. It's unclear yet how many episodes HBO has initially committed to as the pay cabler was still working out specifics of the pickup. "We don't intend to make The Wire twice," said Simon of Treme. "This is about people reconstituting their lives after their town was mostly, effectively destroyed... It's not entirely a political show. We're trying to be very intimate with people. And New Orleans is completely unique, there's nothing in the world like it." Treme, which stars Wendell Pierce, Khandi Alexander, Steven Zahn, Kim Dickens, Clarke Peters, Melissa Leo, and Rob Brown, is slated to begin production in the fall for a spring 2010 berth. (Variety)

Tom McCarthy (The Station Agent) will direct HBO fantasy pilot Game of Thrones, based on George R.R. Martin's novel series "Songs of Fire and Ice," which is slated to shoot later this year in Belfast. Joining the cast of Game of Thrones is Peter Dinklage (Nip/Tuck), who previously worked with McCarthy on The Station Agent. Dinklage will play Tyrion, the outcast brother of the queen who is shunned because of his small stature. (Hollywood Reporter)

Production has begun on three new feature-length installments of mystery series Wallander, starring Kenneth Branagh as Swedish police officer Inspector Kurt Wallander, based on a series of best-selling novels by Henning Mankell. The three new installments will be shot this summer in Ystad, Sweden, and will air on BBC One in 2010. (Meanwhile, the first three will launch this Sunday on PBS' Masterpiece Mystery.) "I'm delighted to be back in Kurt Wallander's shoes for three further adaptations," said Branagh. "The character's story becomes ever more complex in these next films. Our entire team relishes the privilege of bringing them to the screen, and to an audience who proved so loyal last time out." (BBC)

Lifetime will launch the third season of drama series Army Wives on June 7th. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks with How I Met Your Mother co-creator/executive producer Carter Bays about Monday night's shocking twist. "We freaked out a ton of people," said Bays. "We've never really kept a big secret from the audience. And what secrets we do have we usually tell people and there are usually spoilers floating around. And this kind of felt like, 'Let's try and do something that takes everyone by surprise and really blow people's minds.' And I think we did it." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

CBS is said to be considering handing out pilot orders to revivals of classic game shows Let's Make a Deal and The Dating Game, which are being viewed as possible replacements for the daytime slot being vacated this fall by the cancellation of soap Guiding Light. (Hollywood Reporter)

FOX has cancelled Talkshow With Spike Feresten, which won't be returning for a fourth season this fall. The network is currently in the process of making over its Saturday late night lineup, having ordered a latenight series starring Wanda Sykes at 11 pm, which replaces the cancelled MadTV. (Variety)

Nickelodeon has renewed live-action comedy series True Jackson, VP, which stars Keke Palmer as the teenage exec at a fashion label, for a second season, with 20 episodes on tap for the sophomore season. (Hollywood Reporter)

Bravo has resigned its development deal with Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List producer Picture This Television, under which the shingle will produce unscripted series and specials for the cabler. (Variety)

NBC will air two-hour documentary Farrah's Story, depicting actress Farrah Fawcett's battle with cancer, on May 15th. "This film is very personal," said Fawcett. "At the time, I didn't know if anybody would ever see it. But at some point, the footage took on a life of its own and dictated that it be seen." (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: NBC Dethrones "Kings" Until June, Team Darlton Talks "Lost," ABC Circles "Old Christine," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

NBC has pulled freshman drama Kings from its schedule, effective immediately. The drama was originally set to air on Thursday evenings but the Peacock shifted it to Sundays, where it aired four low-rated episodes before being pushed to the graveyard on Saturday nights. NBC has once again managed to surprise, this time by pulling Kings from its lineup altogether, although the network has pledged to return Kings to the schedule on June 13th, when it will begin to burn off the remainder of the series' unaired installments on Saturday nights at 8 pm. In the meantime, NBC will air repeats of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Southland, and Law & Order on Saturdays. (Hollywood Reporter)

Variety's Season Pass has a brand-new Q&A with Lost executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse as they look back at the five seasons that have gone by and the final season yet to come. "I think our hope is that looking back on the entire run of the show, that people remember the EXPERIENCE of watching it — what it actually felt like to be mystified and frustrated and surprised — as opposed to just where it landed storywise," said Lindelof. "When all is said and done, we’ll have consumed six years of our fans’ lives and our greatest wish is that they look back on that time and feel that it was all worth it. As far as whether we’ll want to revisit Lost 20 years from now, the answer is probably no… though it would be pretty cool to see what someone else might come up with!" Team Darlton also talks about the death of Mr. Eko, an aborted Sawyer plotline with Joelen Blalock, and which works of literature have most directly influenced them. (Variety's Season Pass)

ABC is making eyes at Old Christine. The Alphabet has made it clear that they are looking to pickup comedy series Old Christine once again, should CBS opt not to renew the Warner Bros. Television-produced series starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus. According to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, who claims that unnamed sources close to production have told him that "WB execs are engaged in active discussions with ABC about picking up the four-year-old comedy, which once again finds itself on the dreaded bubble at CBS." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Meanwhile, ABC has pulled struggling comedies Samantha Who? and In the Motherhood from its schedule much sooner than anticipated. Both were slated to air one final episode this Thursday evening but ABC has opted instead to pull both series and instead and air a repeat of Grey's Anatomy in the 8 pm ET/PT hour. It's not expected that ABC will renew In the Motherhood, but Samantha Who? is said to have decent chances of returning next season. (Variety)

Lifetime will debut the long-delayed sixth season of reality competition series Project Runway on Thursday, August 20th at 10 pm ET/PT, followed by half-hour behind-the-scenes spin-off Models of the Runway at 11 pm. The network also announced launch dates for new scripted dramedy Drop Dead Diva on July 12th and the third season of Army Wives on June 7th. (Variety, Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

The Washington Post talks to former Wire star Idris Elba--currently appearing in a multiple-episode story arc on NBC's The Office--about his career as an actor and DJ/musical artist, The Wire's Stringer Bell, working on The Office, and being a sex symbol. Of the latter, Elba said, "It's weird because, you know, I've been just the ordinary chap for 30 odd years and suddenly, I'm going into this [situation]: "Oh my God, all the ladies love you!" And I'm like, "Huh? Me? It doesn't make any sense!" I didn't grow up like some sort of sex symbol. It does make a gentleman walk with a stride in his step, believe me." (Washington Post)

ABC's Ugly Betty has locked The View hosts Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Joy Behar for guest roles on the May 21st episode, in which Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius) appears on The View to "discuss his management of Mode magazine (because that always happens), but instead becomes the target of their daily 'Hot Topics' segment." (The episode will also, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, feature Rachel Dratch in a guest role as a Mode staffer.) (TVGuide.com)

Elsewhere, Embeth Davidtz (In Treatment) has been cast in a ten-episode story arc on Season Three of Showtime's Californication, where she will play the wife of Peter Gallagher's character, the dean at the college where David Duchovny works. And Alicia Witt (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) will also guest star on Californication as a gyneocologist whom Duchovny's Hank falls for, while Michael Weston (House) will guest star on an upcoming episode of USA's Burn Notice, where he will play a mentally unbalanced MIT grad who uncovers a scheme to sell the names of undercover spies. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Food Network has ordered three new primetime series, including Chefs vs. City, in which chefs Chris Cosentino and Aaron Sanchez face off against local foodies in various cities each week, which launches in July; Extreme Cuisine With Jeff Corwin, which launches in September, and Worst Cooks in America, which follows chefs Anne Burrell and Beau MacMillan as each train six woeful home cooks and attempt to transform them into top chefs in ten days' time. The latter is slated to launch in January 2010. Also on tap for next year: mini-series Foods That Changed the World, hosted by Alton Brown, which will debut in third quarter 2010. (Hollywood Reporter)

FTVS has signed a first look deal with Initial A's Andrew Lau (Infernal Affairs) and Andrew Loo and Zinc Media's Zach Sherman in an effort to jointly develop new English-language programming for FTVS that could be produced in Southeast Asia and then sold back into the US and globally, much like the studio is doing with such drama series as Mental, Persons Unknown, and Defying Gravity. (Variety)

A federal judge has denied disgraced former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich's request to travel to Costa Rica in order to participate in NBC's upcoming reality series I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, refusing to loosen Blagojevich's travel restrictions. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Penikett and Vandervoort Discover "Riverworld," Tennant and Davies Discuss Leaving "Doctor Who," Kal Penn Talks "House," and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Dollhouse star Tahmoh Penikett and Laura Vandervoort (Smallville) have been cast in Sci Fi's four-hour mini-seres Riverworld, from RHI Entertainment, which will function as a backdoor pilot of sorts for a possible series order (much in the way that the original Battlestar Galactica mini-series did). Also cast in the mini-series, based on a seires of novels by Phillip Jose Farmer: Alan Cumming, Jeanne Goossen, and Mark Deklin. Penikett will play Matt Ellman, a war correspondent who, along with his fiancee (Vandervoort) is killed, but they both awaken in a strange world inhabited by everyone who has ever lived on Earth. (Hollywood Reporter)

Meanwhile, Ryan Carnes (Desperate Housewives) will star as the titular character in the four-hour mini-series The Phantom, also from RHI Entertainment. Also cast: Isabella Rossellini, Cameron Goodman, and Sandrine Holt. (Hollywood Reporter)

David Tennant and executive producer Russell T. Davies discuss why they're leaving Doctor Who, what to expect with the upcoming Easter special "Planet of the Dead," and why Davies won't be writing a Star Wars series anytime soon. "People are going to be Doctor Who-deprived this year," said Davies of the Easter special, "so it’s got everything in it: CGI monsters, prosthetic monsters, army, police, an alien planet . . . It’s our last chance to have a bit of a laugh. Now the Doctor’s facing the end of his life, it’s going to get dark." (The Times of London)

SPOILER ALERT: Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks with House star Kal Penn about why he's leaving the FOX series for good and learns that Penn, whose character Kutner killed himself on last night's episode, has accepted a position within the Obama administration, where he will serve in the White House office of public liaison. "I thought this might be the right time to go off and do something else," said Penn. "The ultimate irony, of course, is that I love being on House. There's not a smarter group of people that I've been surrounded by in television. So I thought about it for a very long time before I went and talked to David and Katie." Ausiello also talks to David Shore and Katie Jacobs about their decision to have Kutner kill himself and the story behind Penn's departure from the series. "The suicide was essential to [the story]," said Shore. "The lack of reason behind it -- the lack of answers -- was what I responded to and is what I got excited about. House, the man of answers, doesn't have an answer about this guy who he has worked with for two years." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

CCH Pounder (The Shield) has been cast in FOX comedy pilot Brothers, opposite Michael Strahan and Darryl "Chill" Mitchell, where she will play the mother to the former NFL player and his wheelchair-bound brother. Elsewhere, Elizabeth Regen (The Black Donnellys) has been cast in Lifetime's untitled Sherri Shepherd comedy pilot, where she will replace Melissa Rauch, and Elizabeth Ho has been added to the cast of NBC comedy pilot 100 Questions for Charlotte Payne, where she will play one of Charlotte's best friends and her business partner. (Hollywood Reporter)

The Los Angeles Times' Maria Elena Fernandez takes a look at the fact that of the 71 scripted pilots at the five networks, 33 are half-hour comedies and 19 are multi-camera. "The industry had been moving away from multi-cameras out of a sense that other formats offer more creative freedom," Jamie Erlicht, president of programming at Sony Pictures Television, told Fernandez. "But there's room for both and there's a real appetite in these economic times for the tried and true multi-camera format." NBC meanwhile has two multi-camera comedy pilots in contention for a series order. "We love that genre and we would have made more but we just didn't have as many strong multi-camera scripts as we did single-camera," said Angela Bromstad, NBC President of Primetime Entertainment. "When you look at what's working and what is standing in a very crowded environment, the multi-cameras on CBS are doing very well and prove that it's not a dying format." (Los Angeles Times)

The CW is launching two new reality series this summer: six-episode Hitched or Ditched (formerly known as For Better or Worse), which focuses on long-term couples who are given an ultimatum to either get married or break up, and docusoap Blonde Charity Mafia, which was originally developed at Lifetime and follows four women in Washington D.C. who throw parties for the political elite. Hitched or Ditched will launch on May 26th at 9 pm ET/PT, while Blonde Charity Mafia will start on Tuesday, July 7th. (Variety)

Speaking of which, The Washington Post's Lisa de Moraes discusses just how truthful of a "docusoap" Blonde Charity Mafia really is, pointing to the fact that the paper's Reliable Source column uncovered a shooting script for the series and that none of the series' four protagonists--described as Washington's "most influential 20-something Alpha Girls" who "run the D.C. social circuit from charity events to society parties"--are in fact on Washington Life's society list. (Washington Post)

FOX executive Jonathan Wax is leaving the network after a decade and will take a position as VP of drama development at 20th Century Fox Television, where he will report to studio drama SVP Patrick Moran. Wax, while at FOX, had a hand in developing such series as Prison Break, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Bones, and Lie to Me. (Variety)

Sci Fi began production on Season Two of drama series Sanctuary, which is slated to air on the cabler this fall. Joining the cast of the series is Agam Darshi (The L Word) who will play Kate Freelancer, a grifter/thief who forms an "uneasy alliance" with Amanda Tapping's Dr. Helen Magnus after her working relationship with the Cabal turns sour. (via press release)

Sony Pictures Television has signed a two year overall deal with Alex Barnow and Marc Firek, writer/producers on FOX's 'Til Death. Under the terms of the deal, Barnow and Firek will leave the FOX comedy to work on another as-yet-unnamed Sony Pictures Television-produced series and have a blind script commitment from the studio. Their previous two-year deal expires in June. (Hollywood Reporter)

TV Land has renewed reality series High School Reunion for a third season that will air in third quarter 2009. This season will follow the graduates of Las Vegas' Chaparral High School Class of 1989 as the reunite in Hawaii. (TV Week)

Stay tuned.