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Channel Surfing: "Torchwood" Title Revealed, Fishburne in at "CSI," "Gavin & Stacey," and More

Good morning (on what appears to be a spectacularly grey day here in LA) and welcome to your early morning television briefing.

Hungry for more Torchwood? The official Torchwood magazine, published by Titan, has the details for the third season's story arc... or at least the title of the five-part story. Creator Russell T. Davies has revealed the title to be "Torchwood: Children Of Earth." The series' third outing is set to air over the course of one week on BBC1 in Spring 2009. "I usually give you all one or two tone words when we have a meeting like this," Davies told the production team during his tone meeting last month, "But if I were to give you two words this time, they would be 'Euros Lyn'. More than ever before, this series of Torchwood will be director-led, and it will look absolutely amazing." Euros Lyn directed such Doctor Who episodes as "The End Of The World," "The Girl In The Fireplace," and the two-parter "Silence In The Library/Forest Of The Dead." Shooting on Torchwood's third season will continue until November.

Universal Media Studios has signed a two-year overall deal with John Eisendrath (Alias) to serve as showrunner and executive producer of the upcoming fall drama series My Own Worst Enemy, starring Christian Slater, as well as develop new projects for the studio. Eisendrath was promoted from co-executive producer on My Own Worst Enemy and took up the reins from original showrunner and creator Jason Smilovic, whom the studio is constantly quick to point out is still "an exec producer and closely involved in the production." Ahem. Series launches October 13th. (Variety)

Laurence Fishburne (21) has closed a deal that will make him the lead in Season Nine of CBS' CSI. He will play "play a former pathologist who is now working as an itinerant college lecturer, teaching a course in criminalistics" who meets the Las Vegas team during a murder investigation. Fishburne replaces outbound lead William Petersen and he will first appear in the ninth episode of Season Nine. (Hollywood Reporter)

The Office's Craig Robinson (on screen right now in Pineapple Express) has been charged with two counts of felony drug possession and one count of being under the influence of illegal drugs. Robinson had been arrested June 29th in Culver City on suspicion of possession of ecstasy and methamphetamine and was released after posting bail. (New York Times)

USA has promoted Cristian de la Fuente (The Class), who plays Rafael Ramirez, the boyfriend of Mary McCormack's US Marshall Mary Shannon, to series regular on drama series In Plain Sight. (Hollywood Reporter)

Co-creator James Corden has told Take 5 magazine that he has no definitive plans for the future of hit British comedy series Gavin & Stacey, set to launch Stateside on August 26th on BBC America. While Corden and fellow co-creator/co-star Ruth Jones have been working on a Christmas special for the series, a decision about a third season has yet to be reached. NBC, meanwhile, is still developing a US adaptation of the series. (Digital Spy)

April Webster and the casting directors on Lost are currently looking for someone to play the crucial role of Dan in the series' fifth season; he's described as a high-stakes attorney who is has "real menace lurking below the surface." Elsewhere at ABC, Dave Foley (NewsRadio) cast in a guest-starring role on Brothers & Sisters; he'll appear in a November episode as love interest for one of the Walker clan. Krysten Ritter (Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls) will turn up on Season Two of AMC's Breaking Bad. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Stay tuned.

Comments

Director Lyn's work on Doctor Who has been incredible. All of his episodes are visually stunning and have great character moments. I'm excited to see what he does with the Torchwood gang!

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