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Channel Surfing: Shawn Ryan Details What Might Have Been on "The Unit," FX Circles "Louie," "House" Romance Detour, and More

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. I'm still recovering from way too good of a time at last night's fantastic FOX party at Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour, so luckily just a few headlines to get through today.

Shawn Ryan has told Futon Critic's Brian Ford Sullivan what might have happened next season on military drama The Unit had the series continued on CBS. "[David] Mamet and I and our writers, we came up with a lot of great stuff," Ryan told Sullivan. "It was going to be a whole new show in the sense that we were going to be training some young people, Bob was going to be training some people for a whole new organization. Jonas was finally going to be seeing his run end. The final season was going to be, I figured the fifth season was going to be the last... It was going to be a long, sort of final mission for Jonas. He's not medically cleared, Mac has to go in and sort of change the medical records so that Jonas can keep on [going on missions]. We had a whole thing planned, it was going to be good." Alas... Ryan, meanwhile, is now the showrunner on FOX's Lie to Me and has a pilot, Terriers, in contention at FX. (Futon Critic)

Just a day after it was announced that Louis C.K. would recur on NBC's Parks and Recreation, FX revealed that they had secretly shot a half-hour comedy pilot (tentatively titled Louie) with the comedian. Format will be a mix of stand-up comedy and vignette-style sketches, with actors playing Louis' ex-wife, children, and friends. The cabler, which is looking to find a timeslot companion for comedy It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, will make a decision about Louie and its other comedy pilot The League within the next ten days or so. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that House creator David Shore has indicated that next season will pull back on the House/Cuddy relationship. "We’re stepping back from it a little bit," said Shore. "We’re not ignoring it. We have to carry forward... It’s going to go someplace eventually. But the beginning of this season is primarily focused on House trying to find some semblance of sanity, and not completely succeeding." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

So You Think You Can Dance executive producer Nigel Lythgoe raised some eyebrows yesterday at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour when he said that he was in talks with Paula Abdul about coming on board So You Think You Can Dance next season as a judge. "There's no question," said Lythgoe, that he would be interested in bringing her to So You Think You Can Dance with FOX Entertainment Chairman Peter Rice's blessing; Lythgoe indicated that talks had already begun. "I don’t know anybody that’s had her experience of being a dancer, of being a choreographer and of being a judge," said Lythgoe. (Variety)

Rumors are swirling that The Streets singer Mike Skinner is set to appear on the fifth season of Doctor Who, which will launch next year with new lead Matt Smith replacing David Tennant as the Doctor. Skinner announced the news via his Twitter feed, saying "You wouldn't believe the week I've had. I can't talk about it but let's just say I got a part in Doctor Who," but then mysteriously deleted the message shortly thereafter. Hmmm... (Digital Spy)

Criminal Minds showrunner Ed Bernero has signed a two-year overall deal with ABC Studios, under which he will establish a production company--Bernero Prods.--as well as remain on Criminal Minds as an executive producer/showrunner and develop new series projects for the studio. (Hollywood Reporter)

NBC has protested CBS' decision to start airing repeats of its newly acquired series Medium, insisting that the Peacock still has exclusive rights in primetime to the series until September and demanding that CBS pay them for the right to air the repeat installments. (Variety)

Cartoon Network has cast Kevin G. Schmidt (Princess Protection Program), Jordan Gavaris (Degrassi: The Next Generation) and Italia Ricci (Greek) in their one-hour live-action drama pilot Unnatural History, about a teen (Schmidt) who has traveled the globe with his anthropologist parents and returns to the States where he attend a very strange high school. Project, from Warner Horizon, is written by Mike Werb. (Hollywood Reporter)

MTV has ordered an untitled variety/comedy project from actor and dancer Robert Hoffman that will be a blend of hidden camera, dance, and comedy. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

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