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

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: WBTV Developing Sandman, JJ Abrams' Alcatraz, Evil Wheaton Back to Big Bang, Free Agents, True Blood, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Hollywood Reporter's Borys Kit and James Hibberd are reporting that Warner Bros. Television is in the process of acquiring television rights to Neil Gaiman's DC/Vertigo comic series "Sandman" with the view of adapting it as an ongoing television series. Among the contenders to tackle the project: Supernatural creator Eric Kripke. It's not the first time that Hollywood has courted the mythopoeic comic series: HBO nearly had a version in development at one time with James Mangold attached; Roger Avery attempted to get a feature film version off the ground in the mid-90s. It's still early days for the project as Kripke is said to be cautious about treading on such hallowed ground and attempting to translate the deeply complex and layered narrative for television. [Editor: Personally, I'd rather that Kripke and WBTV didn't: the plot of "Sandman" isn't a strict narrative in the traditional sense of the word but rather an exploration of stories and myth, strung together with some serialized plots and one-offs about Morpheus of the Endless, a race of eternal beings older than the gods themselves. It would be a very difficult project do justice to, given the strength of Gaiman's work on the series and I can't quite wrap my head around how an ongoing series would function. Would it draw from some of the more linear storylines like "A Doll's House," "Season of Mists," "The Kindly Ones," etc.? Or would it be a procedural about a dream lord who can flit through people's subconscious minds? The latter would make me vomit in rage, really.] (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Warner Bros. Television-based producer JJ Abrams and writer/producer Elizabeth Sarnoff (Lost) are shopping drama spec script Alcatraz, about the notorious San Francisco island prison that once housed the nation's most infamous criminals, including Al Capone and, yes, the Birdman himself. The duo are taking the script--which was written by Sarnoff--to networks. No other details were immediately available, though it seems clear that the Bad Robot-produced project would be a period drama. Or not, as Abrams has been known to throw a curve ball or two. (Deadline)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Evil Wil Wheaton will be returning to CBS' Big Bang Theory to resume his feud with Jim Parsons' Sheldon. “We started talking about the idea of minor celebrities cutting in line, and we thought it might be funny to have our [Big Bang] guys waiting in line for a one-time-only midnight screening of something like Raiders of the Lost Ark with restored footage, and Wil Wheaton and his three friends cut the line," executive producer Bill Prady told Ausiello. "When it comes time for our guys to get in, the line stops; Wil took the last four seats and Sheldon is just furious. Because it doesn’t make sense to him. Wil’s celebrity is not applicable here. This is not Star Trek. It’s just wrong.” Should the episode come together, it would likely air in November. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Another day, another project for Party Down co-creator John Enbom, who has sold a second project to NBC in the last week. Enbom will adapt UK's Channel 4 comedy Free Agents for the Peacock and will executive produce with Karey Burke and Todd Holland and Universal Media Studios. The original UK series, which hailed from Simon Pegg and Nira Park's UK shingle Big Talk, revolved around an agent enmeshed in a very messy divorce. (Variety)

SPOILER! E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos and Megan Masters have the scoop on which actors will be returning for Season Four of HBO's vampire drama True Blood, though the answer might surprise you. According to the duo, Denis O'Hare, Marshall Allman, Kevin Alejandro, and Lauren Bowles will all be back next season, along with the previously reported Joe Manganiello. Yep, Russell will be back in some capacity next season, though he won't be seen initially in Season Four, which will focus--according to reports--on witches. Tommy Mickens will be back as well, as well as Alejandro's Jesus, while Lauren Bowles--who plays Wiccan Holly--has been promoted to series regular. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

As expected, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci's adaptation of Joe Hill's comic book "Locke & Key" has landed at FOX, which has given the project a series commitment, though Steven Spielberg will no longer be involved as an executive producer. Project, which revolves around two brothers who live in a strange New England mansion, hails from 20th Century Fox Television and DreamWorks Television. (Variety)

Elsewhere, FOX has handed out a series order to an untitled sketch comedy show from executive producer Jamie Foxx, which will feature "a diverse cast tackling spoofs of movie trailers, commercials, TV shows, music videos and celebrities." Affion Crockett will star and executive produce the series, which comes from Fox Television Studios, Foxx/King Entertainment and The Tannenbaum Company. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Mekhi Phifer will be leaving FOX's Lie to Me when the Lightman Group breaks its ties with the FBI. "We’re going rogue a little bit,” executive producer David Graziano told Ausiello. “Lightman [Tim Roth] is going to act slightly in the more old-school PI model of a TV protagonist, [so] we’re doing away with the FBI contract [and] Mekhi is unfortunately no longer going to be on the show. The FBI franchise limited our storytelling a little bit because it had to adhere to the FBI structures of ‘Would the FBI take this case or not?’ The character that’s going to be our badge this season is a bent cop, Wolowsky [The Unusuals' Monique Gabriela Curnen], who goes about business in a similar way to Lightman. There’s a mutual respect from the get-go. We’re working hard to make The Lightman Group a dysfunctional family.” (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online's Megan Masters has an interview with The Office executive producer Paul Lieberstein, in which he floats another possible replacement for Steve Carell, who is set to leave the NBC comedy at the end of the season: Harvey Keitel. "He's probably the only guy who can do it, and he's doing TV now," said Lieberstein. "I haven't started any talks with his people, but Harvey would do a great job—a very different energy. And we don't want to bring in another Michael, having someone play a very similar character because we have such a high regard for Steve." Lieberstein goes on to say that Keitel could play a former salesman who comes out of retirement in order to oversee the Scranton branch. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

HBO has ordered a third season of dark comedy Hung, with ten episodes likely to air in summer 2011. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

In other renewal news, Deadline's Nellie Andreeva reports that TNT said to be close to giving Memphis Beat a second season order. Elsewhere, Lifetime has passed on that Army Wives spin-off that was to star Brigid Brannagh and Gabrielle Union and USA has slashed the episodic budget for legal drama Facing Kate from twelve to ten episodes and pushed the premiere into early 2011, due to scheduling issues. (Deadline)

Syfy has announced the cast for its upcoming four-hour miniseries Nerverland, a prequel to Peter Pan, which will star Rhys Ifans (Pirate Radio), Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies), Bob Hoskins, Raoul Trujillo (Tin Man), and Charlie Rowe (Pirate Radio). Project, from writer/director Nick Willing, will air in 2011. Here's how Syfy describes the project: "Raised on the streets of turn-of-the century London, orphaned Peter (Rowe) and his pals survive by their fearless wits as cunning young pickpockets. Now, they've been rounded up by their mentor Jimmy Hook (Ifans) to snatch a priceless--some believe, magical--treasure which transports them to another world. Neverland is a realm of white jungles and legendary mysteries of eternal youth, where unknown friends and enemies snatched from time welcome the new travelers with both excitement and trepidation. These groups include a band of 18th century pirates led by the power-mad Elizabeth Bonny (Friel), and the Native American Kaw tribe led by a Holy Man (Trujillo), which has protected the secret of the tree spirits from Bonny and her gang for ages--and that has meant war. But as the fight to save this strange and beautiful world becomes vital, Hook, Peter, and the ragamuffin lost boys consider that growing old somewhere in time could be less important than growing up right here in their new home called Neverland." (via press release)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck reports that Cybill Shepherd will be guest starring on ABC's upcoming dramedy series No Ordinary Family, where she will play Barbara Crane, the mother of Julie Benz's Stephanie. (TV Guide Magazine)

Following yesterday's news that Eddie Izzard would be appearing in eight episodes of Showtime's United States of Tara, the pay cabler has announced that Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under) will be guest starring in one episode of Tara next season, where she will play "Max Gregson’s (John Corbett) mother, a recluse with a compulsive hoarding problem." (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)

Former Heroes star Jack Coleman has been cast in an upcoming episode of CBS' The Mentalist, where he will play Max Armstrong, described as "wealthy, regal, arrogant, self-important man who becomes the prime suspect in a murder," according to TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck. Coleman's episode is slated to air October 14th. (TV Guide Magazine)

Nickelodeon has announced that Jane Lynch's episode of iCarly will air on Saturday, September 11th at 8 pm ET/PT. Lynch guest stars as the "never-before-seen, eccentric" mother of Sam, Pam Puckett. (via press release)

Alyssa Milano will star in Lifetime original telepic Sundays at Tiffany's, based on the book by James Patterson. Milano will star opposite Eric Winter and will play a "bride-to-be visited by the adult incarnation of her childhood imaginary friend" who "begins to re-examine her life." (Variety)

Stay tuned.

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

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: NBC Dumps Parks and Rec Repeats, Smallville Return, Creative Arts Emmy Winners, Grey's Closure and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Good news for Community; bad news for Parks and Recreation. The Futon Critic is reporting that NBC has opted to forgo repeats of Season Two of Parks and Recreation for the remainder of the summer, instead using the Thursday 9:30 pm timeslot for a second round of Community repeats. [Editor: While I applaud NBC for recognizing the potential of Dan Harmon's Community, I wish it weren't at the expense of Parks and Rec, which won't even return for its third season until "midseason."] Planned repeats for August 26th and September 2nd will instead be filled by Community episodes... which means that the airwaves will be Pawnee-free until the series returns at a to-be-determined point later in the season. (Futon Critic)

SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that John Glover will return to the CW's Smallville to reprise his role as Lionel Luthor in a multiple-episode story arc on the tenth and final season. Glover is currently slated to appear in at least two episodes that will air in November, though it's unknown just how Lionel will be making his grand return as he was last seen plummeting to his death after being pushed out of a window by Michael Rosenbaum's Lex. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

HBO took home 17 statues on Saturday for the Creative Arts Emmys, followed closely by ABC with 15. [Editor: Congratulations to Ryan Case, who won an Emmy for Outstanding Picture Editing for a Comedy for Modern Family. Go Ryan!] A full list of all winners can be found here. (via press release)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Izzie's story is far from being done on ABC's Grey's Anatomy and talks to executive producer Shonda Rhimes about providing closure for Alex when the series returns this fall for its seventh season. "We’re talking about it [in the writers' room] obsessively and trying to figure it out,” Rhimes told Ausiello. “We’re approaching it pretty carefully... I want how ever we deal with Alex growing up and moving on and moving past that relationship to feel authentic and not to feel like something that’s patched together.” So might Katherine Heigl be dropping by Grey's, after all? "I don't know," said Rhimes. Hmmm... (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

In other Grey's Anatomy-related news, Diane Farr (Rescue Me) will guest star in an episode slated to air in October, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. Farr will play a patient with Huntington's Disease in the upcoming season's fourth episode. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy is not only developing a series vehicle for Kristin Chenoweth but is also looking to develop a project that would star John Stamos... and that the security on the set during Britney Spears' appearance was so tight that Murphy himself couldn't get on the set. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Murphy, meanwhile, hinted to Access Hollywood that Spears could end up making another appearance on Glee down the line. (Hollywood Reporter)

A happy ending for Bill and Sookie? Maybe not, but the actors who play them on HBO's vampire drama True Blood, Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin, have tied the knot. The couple were married in Malibu on Saturday evening. Among the attendees: Carrie Preston, Michael Emerson, and Elijah Wood. (Hollywood Reporter, US Weekly)

SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to 90210 showrunner Rebecca Sinclair about her decision to bring Trevor Donovan's Teddy out of the closet this fall on the CW teen soap. "[We wanted] to play a coming out story that features a kid we already knew," Sinclair told Ausiello about why they waited to delve into this storyline until this season. "Instead of his sexuality being the first and defining characteristic, we’ve already gotten a chance to know Teddy before he explores his sexuality. Teddy’s an athlete, he’s a famous guy’s son, he’s blonde and hunky and yes, he also has a sexual orientation and that’s a huge part of his life. In a lot of ways I think that’s more interesting than Teddy is a gay athlete, a gay famous guy’s son and a blonde and hunky gay gentleman." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that former House star Jennifer Morrison--who may or may not return to the FOX medical drama--will guest star on NBC's Chase this fall, where she will appear alongside current boyfriend Amaury Nolasco. Morrison is set to make an appearance in the sixth episode of the new procedural drama, where she will play Faith, described as "a single mother-turned-fugitive who embarks on a bloody killing spree across Texas with her innocent little daughter in tow." (TV Guide Magazine)

File this under sickening: The Hollywood Reporter's Leslie Bruce is reporting that Jersey Shore's The Situation (a.k.a. Mike Sorrentino) will make $5 million by the end of the year, according to an unnamed source familiar with the reality star's personal finances. "We are really excited about all the opportunities coming Mike's way," Sorrentino's manager, Mike Petolino of Gotham Entertainment, told THR. "He has been able to secure many endorsement deals, business opportunities and additional television offers based on the success of the show. Our goal has always been to try to build a brand if the situation presented itself." (Hollywood Reporter)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Tia Texada (Third Watch) will guest star on NBC's Chuck this season, where she will play Hortencia, the wife of Armand Assante's Costa Gravan Premier Alejandro Goya. "We'll meet Hortencia, who (no surprise) is harboring a secret," writes Keck, "when Chuck and the gang visit the Premier's beautiful island in his native Costa Gravas." Texada will appear in the fourth season's fourth episode. (TV Guide Magazine)

Worked for NBC? Anyone and everyone who worked for the Peacock at one time or another is eligible to attend the 15th Annual NBC Reunion Dinner, which will be held at the Lakeside Golf Club in Burbank on October 23rd, according to a Variety report. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

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

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned.

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

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned.

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

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned.

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

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned.

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

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned.

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

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Jane Lynch to Host SNL, Good Guys Gets Retooled, CW Plans Crossover, More Sherlock on Tap, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Sue Sylvester, SNL host? Moveline is reporting that Glee's Jane Lynch will be hosting the October 9th episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live. No word yet on whether Lynch--who is nominated for an Emmy Award in the Supporting Actress in a Comedy category--will be packing Sue's ubiquitous track suits for the hosting gig. What is certain, however, is that Lynch will be bringing her acute comic timing to the host role for SNL's 36th season. (Movieline)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that the CW is planning to launch a crossover between One Tree Hill and Life Unexpected this fall, with One Tree Hill's Haley (Bethany Joy Galeotti) and Mia (Kate Voegele) dropping by the October 12th installment of Life Unexpected, where they will perform at a Portland music festival that's sponsored by the radio station where Shiri Appleby's Kate works. "Haley and Cate are surprised to learn that they share a similar back story [as] mothers,” an unnamed insider told Ausiello. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that FOX's action-comedy The Good Guys will get some retooling before it returns this fall with an eleven-episode run (which was ordered by the network before the series even premiered). "I hear the focus will be on attracting more female viewers," writes Andreeva. "The show is adding a new recurring female character, a young CSI, that could potentially become a regular. There also will be more emphasis on romantic relationships, with the new character part of that effort. Additionally, RonReaco Lee, who guest starred in the pilot and appeared in 2 more episodes this summer as bumbling criminal Julius, is expected to heavily recur in the fall." Two episodes of The Good Guys' summer run are being held back and will air as part of the series' eleven-episode autumn "season." (Deadline)

Good news for Sherlock fans: Auntie Beeb is in talks with producers Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss, and Sue Vertue about commissioning a second season of the mystery drama. Vertue indicated on BBC One's Breakfast that talks are about to get under way about more Sherlock and that the format--90-minute episodes--won't change. "There will be more. We're having a meeting to talk about how many and when really," said Vertue. "Steven and Mark are very busy – Steven is obviously doing Doctor Who as well - so it's just when we're going to do them." Moffat, meanwhile, appeared on Radio 5 Live to discuss the season finale and the possibility of more Sherlock. "We're going in for a meeting any second now about it," said Moffat. "But yes, of course it will [come back]. It's not officially confirmed yet but yes, it will – of course it will." (Guardian)

Ryan Devlin is heading back to ABC's Cougar Town this fall, reports Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. Devlin--who was originally cast in CBS' $#*! My Dad Says--is set to reprise his role as Smith in multiple episodes of the Courteney Cox-led ensemble comedy. "We went into this year prepping for Ryan to be on [$#*!],” executive producer Bill Lawrence told EW, “so now we’re in the middle of trying to decide what we’re going to do. I enjoy him, so I think I want him to still be in our world. But I don’t know if [Laurie's] going to be [tied down] the whole year.” (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Oscar winner Jonathan Demme will direct two episodes of HBO's upcoming Mike White/Laura Dern comedy series Enlightened and may also direct a pilot for HBO, according to Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. After posting the story, Andreeva received an email from White announcing who else would be taking turns behind the camera this season: "Demme is awesome - only wish you had included our other awesome directors We also have John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig) and Phil Morrison (Junebug), directing TV for the first time, as well as indie darlings Nicole Holofcener (Please Give, Lovely and Amazing) and Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl, Chuck and Buck)." (Deadline)

It appears that Levi Johnston won't be going away any time soon: Variety's Michael Schneider is reporting that Johnston will make a big for the mayoral race in Wasilla, Alaska, as part of a new reality series that is being pitched to networks by Stone and Co. Pilot, entitled Loving Levi: The Road to the Mayor's Office, has already begun shooting and follows Johnston as he both pursues a career in Hollywood and runs for mayor. [Editor: yawn.] (Variety)

FOX's time travel/prehistoric action drama Terra Nova is heading down under and has finally settled on a location. The drama--which will launch with a sneak peek in May 2011 before an official series launch in Fall 2011 and stars Jason O'Mara (Life on Mars)--will shoot in Queensland, according to Australian state premier Anna Bligh. "Fox Broadcasting has today confirmed Queensland as the location of choice for Terra Nova … and once again shows Queensland's ability to attract first rate productions to the state," said Bligh. "My government provided considerable incentives through Screen Queensland to secure this production which, in turn, will generate in excess of AUS$54 million ($50 million) in economic activity and create thousands of jobs." Location was previously one of two bases for Steven Spielberg's HBO miniseries The Pacific, the other being Victoria. (Hollywood Reporter)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Wayne Brady will reprise his role as James Stinson on CBS' How I Met Your Mother next season and will be bringing along his dad, to be played by Ben Vereen (Webster). "Since Ben, Wayne and Neil [Patrick Harris] are all song and dance men, I can't imagine the show not utilizing their talents for some kind of colorful production number," writes Keck. (TV Guide Magazine)

Shark Tank is returning to ABC next year, with production slated to begin on a new batch of episodes this fall. Joining the entrepreneurs: comedian Jeff Foxworthy, who has signed on to appear in three episodes. (Variety)

Comedy Central has ordered a pilot presentation for Dwaynebook, described as "a green-screen roundup show in the tradition of The Soup that will focus on social networking sites," according to The Wrap's Hunter Walker. Stand-up comedian Dwayne Perkins, who created the series, will host and present segments that shine a spotlight on various social networking sites. (The Wrap)

Reality giant Endemol has acquired a majority stake in unscripted production company Authentic Entertainment, the makers of Flipping Out, Ace of Cakes, Toddlers and Tiaras, and The Best Thing I Ever Ate, among others. The deal is estimated to be in the area of $60-70 million. (Variety)


Stay tuned.

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

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned.

CONFIRMED: Jane Badler to Play Alien Queen on ABC's V

It's a homecoming of sorts.

Televisionary has confirmed reports that Jane Badler, who starred in NBC's 1983 miniseries V (and the subsequent V: The Final Battle and the short-lived 1984-1985 series) and is currently recurring on Aussie soap Neighbours, has been cast in ABC's revival series, which returns for a second season in November.

V showrunner/executive producer Scott Rosenbaum teased crowds at the V panel at San Diego Comic-Con (moderated by yours truly) when he let slip that we would soon be meeting the mother of Visitor high commander Anna (Morena Baccarin) and that Mommy Dearest's name was, um, Diana. (I then asked Rosenbaum point-blank if Badler would be cast and he declined to answer.)

Rosenbaum today confirmed a TV Guide Magazine report that indicated that Badler had been cast in the role.

"I'm very excited," Rosenbaum said to me via email earlier today. "As I said [at] Comic Con, the role would go to the best actor. Jane's audition was great and I'm thrilled to bring her on board."

So there you go: V, Jane Badler, and Diana, together again.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned.

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

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned.

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

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Details on Kanakaredes' Exit from CSI, Alphas Lands Two, More on McPherson, HIMYM, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to CSI: NY executive producers Pam Veasey and Zachary Reiter about the departure of Melina Kanakaredes from the crime procedural and how they'll handle Stella's exit, given that Kanakaredes will not be reprising her role this fall. "We’re giving her a noble exit,” said Reiter. "We chose not to go the route of killing her off or having her go missing. We felt that would weigh too heavily on the team." However, the action will instead pick up a few months after the events of the season finale and reveal that Stella moved to New Orleans. "She left to run a lab there," Veasey told Ausiello. "And she picked that city because it’s the city of Katrina, the city of BP oil, the city where people are looking for someone to lend a hand. She’ll essentially be Mac in New Orleans. We wanted to do something that was respectful and made a lot of sense." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

More casting on Syfy's 90-minute drama pilot Alphas: Malika Yoba (Defying Gravity) and Laura Mennell (Watchmen) have signed on to star in the pilot, which is written by Zak Penn and Michael Karnow and directed by Jack Bender. Yoba and Mennell will star opposite David Strathairn and will play members of the Alpha team, a group of people "who have extraordinary mental and physical abilities" and who "investigate difficult-to-solve cases that the CIA and FBI have either passed over or were unable to solve." (Variety)

The Hollywood Reporter's Kim Masters is reporting that ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson resigned from the network amid a formal sexual harassment probe into alleged misconduct involving several women--both executives and on-air talent--and an incident at a corporate retreat. Said investigation had been going on for the three weeks leading up to his announcement that he would be stepping down from the company. "Upon Steve McPherson returning to work from his vacation on Monday, he made a voluntary decision to resign and ABC accepted his resignation," said McPherson's lawyer, Tom Hoberman, in a statement. "It is not uncommon for high level executives to be the subject of gossip and innuendo. That would include rumors of internal situations which can easily be misinterpreted or misrepresented. Seems like it goes with the territory, and there is nothing further to discuss." According to Masters, ABC "pointedly did not deny allegations of inappropriate conduct." The situation remains in flux and ABC has yet to officially name a replacement for McPherson, though it's widely believed that ABC Family's Paul Lee has scored the seat. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan talks to How I Met Your Mother creators/executive producers Carter Bays and Craig Thomas about what went wrong with the fifth season of the CBS sitcom. "We set out to say, 'What if every episode, you hit the reset button at the end of the episode?'" said Bays. "...We had fun doing that, but I feel like that's not the show we wanted to do." Thomas concurred. "A certain kind of fan of the show felt like last season was less emotionally interesting, less interesting in the larger arc of 'Who's the mother?' but also less interesting in the sense of moving forward in these characters' lives," he told Ryan. "I feel like we earned fans by exploring a lot of different rites of passage in people's lives, and last year I feel like we did a lot less of it." Ryan also gets Bays and Thomas to discuss details of Season Six of Mother, including the return of Rachel Bilson, the handling of Barney and his quest to find his real father, Marshall and Lily's attempts to have a baby, the third installment of the Robin Sparkles saga, and the fact that "by the end of the season, everyone's lives will change dramatically." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, meanwhile, has a few further details on the return of Rachel Bilson's Cindy to How I Met Your Mother. "Bilson will appear in the show’s sixth season premiere this fall when Cindy shows up at MacLaren’s bar, the favored hangout of Mother‘s central quartet," writes Ausiello. Meanwhile, her return sets up some important storytelling. “The season premiere is going to be very much informed by her presence,” Carter Bays told Ausiello. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that USA has renewed procedural drama In Plain Sight for two additional seasons, the series' fourth and fifth installments. "The main cast, including Mary McCormack, Frederick Weller and Paul Ben-Victor, are all set to return to In Plain Sight, which will continue to film in New Mexico," writes Andreeva. (Deadline)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos has a run down of just who will be on Glee this season, who won't be, and who may be. It's a long list, to say the least. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Paul Giamatti (John Adams) has been cast in an HBO telepic that will depict the two-week tour that Nikita Khruschchev took of the United States in 1959. Project, from Playtone, is based on Peter Carlson's nonfiction book "K Blows Top," and will be adapted by Paul Bernbaum. "Once in the States, Khrushchev famously blew up when he was informed that a planned trip to Disneyland had to be tabled because of security concerns," writes Variety's Cynthia Littleton. "(The book's title comes from New York Daily News headline about the Disneyland flap.)" (Variety)

BSkyB has signed an exclusive output deal with HBO, said to be in the arena of $234 million over the next five years. Under the terms of the deal, the satcaster retains exclusive rights to all new HBO series, with the first being Boardwalk Empire, current series, past series, and right of first refusal on UK co-productions. (Variety)

Elsewhere across the pond, Channel 4 has secured the UK rights to NBC's upcoming thriller The Event, which will launch in the UK in October. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

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

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tuned.