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Channel Surfing: TNT Cans "Trust Me," Showtime Passes on All Pilots, Adam Scott and Zak Orth Get "Wonderful" for HBO, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

TNT has officially canceled freshman drama Trust Me, starring Eric McCormack and Tom Cavanagh. The Warner Horizon-produced series, which launched with 3.4 million viewers and quickly lost much of that viewership, will not be returning for a second season. McCormack himself has already signed on to another project, ABC's untitled Tad Quill comedy pilot. The cabler, meanwhile, has three new series in the works: Ray Romano dramedy Men of a Certain Age, medical drama Hawthorne (formerly known as Time Heals), and Deep Blue (formerly known as The Line). (Hollywood Reporter)

Showtime is now zero for four. The pay cabler has now opted not to order any of its four pilots to series in the last month, deciding over the weekend not to hand out a series order to Tim Robbins-created drama Possible Side Effects, staring Josh Lucas as a pharmaceuticals family scion. Previously, the network had shelved pilots Ronna and Beverly, The L Word spin-off The Farm, and The End of Steve. (Variety)

Adam Scott (Party Down) and Zak Orth (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) will star opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar, Molly Parker, and Nate Corddry in HBO single-camera comedy pilot The Wonderful Maladays. Orth will play the playwright husband of Mary (Parker) who is described as "the confident moral center of the family." Scott, meanwhile, will play the businessman ex of Alice (Gellar). (Hollywood Reporter)

Elsewhere at HBO, Lake Bell (Boston Legal) has joined the cast of comedy series How to Make It in America, starring Bryan Greenberg and Victor Rasuk, as a series regular. And Ed Quinn (Eureka) will recur on Season Two of HBO drama series True Blood, where he will play Stan, a powerful Texan vampire. (Hollywood Reporter)

FX president John Landgraf told TV Week's Jon Lafayette that he believes that cablers are developing too many original series and ultimately the quality will suffer. "I’m of a different opinion than some of my competitors, in that I think that if you try to compete with them in terms of volume, you’re inevitably going to suffer erosion in terms of quality," said Landgraf. "When was the last time you had a broadcast network that had eight original dramas on the air and you thought they were all good? If a broadcast network can’t do it, then I think a basic-cable network’s never going to be able to do it." (TV Week)

Ashes to Ashes star Philip Glenister has hit out at critics of his co-star Keeley Hawes, whom he believes has suffered undue nastiness on the part of critics. "What I objected to most was the personal nature of some of the attacks and the utter lack of appreciation of what a fine actress Keeley is, a woman with this incredibly impressive range of emotions and almost uncanny ability to cry on cue," said Glenister in an interview with The Daily Record. "Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I actually thought some of the remarks made about Keeley, and her acting, were utterly inexcusable. What I objected to most was this idea, this totally bogus idea, that she was somehow lightweight, that she wasn't a key part of the show. She was central to it. There wouldn't have been an Ashes To Ashes without her. So, this time round, I hope that the comments about Keeley's contribution are a little more considered." (The Daily Record)

E! Online's Natalie Abrams talks to 90210 showrunner Rebecca Rand Kirschner Sinclair about what to expect at the end of the freshman season, including some tather tantalizing tidbits about "sex, drugs, alcohol, and murder," which co-star Rob Estes teased at last week's Paley Festival panel. "There are some rash actions at the end of the season, where one of the characters makes some decisions that may have very serious consequences, life and death consequences, if you will
," said Kirschner Sinclair. "A lot of stuff happens during prom. There's love that's finally fulfilled and yet, because of various circumstances, potentially destroyed forever. There's love, there's death, there's heartache, heartbreak." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Food Network has ordered eight episodes of culinary/travel series Extreme Cuisine With Jeff Corwin, which will follow Corwin as he travels the world in search of exotic foods and local culture. Series is expected to launch this fall on the basic cabler. (Hollywood Reporter)

Keith Allen will not be returning for Season Four of BBC One drama Robin Hood (which airs in the States on BBC America), should the network decide to order another season of the drama. "I doubt I'll go back for a fourth series if they do one," Allen told The South Wales Evening Post, "it's boring to work on now. I've done three series, and I'd like to move on to something else." Series star Jonas Armstrong had already made it clear that the current season would be his last. (Digital Spy)

Spike has ordered a pilot for docuseries Pirate Hunters: USN, which will follow the members of the U.S. Navy's anti-piracy unit in the Gulf of Aden. Project, from 44 Blue Prods. and executive producers Rasha Drachkovitch and Adam Friedman, will focus on the same region where Somali pirates took American sea captain Richard Phillips hostage and commandeered his cargo ship. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Comments

That's sad that critics are lashing out against Keeley Hawes. I've seen her in several different shows and she's always been fantastic and I think she's fabulous in Ashes to Ashes. I can't imagine the show without her.
Greer said…
Not surprised about Trust Me as it was bland, bland, bland.

I am really looking forward to The Wonderful Maladays, though. It seems like an interesting project and I like the cast they've pulled together.
Ally said…
Dude - SMG, Molly Parker and Adam Scott in the same show? I'm there.

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