Casting Couch: Amy Poehler to "Office" Non-Spinoff; Marcia Gay Harden Finds "Damages"

The, er, non-spinoff spinoff of The Office from Office executive producers Greg Daniels and Mike Schur just got a hell of a lot more interesting.

Saturday Night Live's Amy Poehler is said to be in negotiations to join the cast of the untitled comedy opposite the previously announced Aziz Ansari, who was cast in the project last month.

Confirming news I had heard from someone close to the production, the untitled comedy series will NOT be a spin-off as previously announced at the NBC Upfronts by Ben Silverman but will in fact be a completely separate series, which will not utilize any existing or forthcoming characters on The Office but remain its own entity.

I think Poehler is a fantastic choice for this new series, whatever the premise might eventually be. I'm hoping that she actually is the de facto series lead as television needs more female lead actors in comedy series to join the current troika of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tina Fey, and Mary-Louise Parker. While there were no indications of who or what Poehler will play, I know that she'll bring her fantastic comedic timing, penchant for deadpan humor, and snarky attitude to whatever this series ends up being.

Now if Daniels and Co. could just lure Poehler's hubby Will Arnett to the mix, I'd set up my TiVo Season Pass right now.

***

In other casting news, Marcia Gay Harden (Into the Wild) has joined the cast of FX's Damages for its sophomore season. She'll play a high-powered attorney who opposes Glenn Close's Patty Hewes on a high stakes case and will recur throughout the season.

Returning to the series (SPOILER ALERT!): Ted Danson, who will turn up in Season Two as the delightfully malevolent Arthur Frobisher, who clearly survived the gunshot that seemed to fell him in the first season's taut season finale last year. Danson is set to appear in several episodes of Damages' second season.

Damages has been a role lately, racking up some A-list talent for its second season, including Harden, Timothy Olyphant, and William Hurt (who, coincidentally, also appeared in Into the Wild, opposite Harden).

I think Harden will be a fantastic addition to the cast and I'm still curious to check out the pilot presentation she filmed for CBS this season, The Tower, which is currently sitting in a pile of unwatched pilot DVDs by my television set.

***

Finally, ABC's remake of Brit series Life on Mars has finally found its Chris Skelton.

Life on Mars, which stars Jason O'Mara as Detective Sam Tyler who seemingly travels back in time to 1973 while on the hunt for a serial killer who has kidnapped his police colleague/lover, is currently being rejiggered by October Road creators Josh Appelbaum, Scott Rosenberg, and Andre Nemec.

They've enlisted former October Road cast member Jonathan Murphy for their new series venture. Murphy will play the wet-behind-the-ears and naive newbie cop Chris Skelton (a role played by the fantastic Marshall Lancaster in the BBC original) in the US version of Life on Mars.

Stay tuned.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Big Brother 10 (CBS); Baby Borrowers (NBC); America's Next Top Model (CW); Wife Swap (ABC); So You Think You Can Dance (FOX; 8-10 pm)

9 pm: Criminal Minds (CBS); Baby Borrowers (NBC); Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious (CW); Supernanny (ABC)

10 pm: CSI: New York (CBS); Celebrity Circus (NBC); Primetime: Crime (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

9 pm: Project Runway on Lifetime.

Season Five (the final season on Bravo) of Project Runway begins tonight with sixteen unsuspecting designers thrown into the deep end. On tonight's episode, they'll have to create clothing from unusual sources... as though that's anything new for the sartorial showdown.

Christopher Gorham Leaves "Betty," Takes Trip to "Harper's Island"

Buh-bye, Henry.

That's the word from ABC this morning as Ugly Betty co-star Christopher Gorham, who plays Betty Suarez's hapless romantic interest Henry, has signed on to star in CBS' midseason slasher drama Harper's Island.

Gorham will replace Ryan Merriman (Veritas: The Quest), who appeared in the original pilot presentation of Harper's Island. Gorham will play groom Henry Dunn, whose friends and family depart for a destination wedding on the bride and groom's island childhood home, only to be picked off one by one at the hands of a psychotic killer, long thought killed by the island's sheriff... who happens to be the father of wedding guest Abby (Elaine Cassidy), Henry's best friend whose mother was one of the killer's victims during their childhood. (A nice cheery series, no?)

Personally, I loathed the original pilot script and thought that the pilot presentation that CBS assembled (which was basically a chunk of scenes from the pilot script and then random scenes from the rest of the season) was absolutely amateurish and laughably bad. Producers brought in Jeffrey Bell (Angel) to tweak things and, at least, the recastings are a step in the right direction.

As for Gorham, his departure from Ugly Betty--which he joined during the series' first season--leaves no mystery to the resolution (for now anyway) of the love triangle between Henry, Betty, and Gio (Freddy Rodriguez).

But don't count on Betty having selected sandwich maker Gio either. Rodriguez, who is set to appear in several features, will only appear in one episode of Ugly Betty next season.

So who will be the main love interest for Ms. Suarez in the upcoming third season of Ugly Betty, set to launch on ABC this fall? Signs currently point to Val Emmich (Cashmere Mafia), who was cast last week in the dramedy as a recurring character and--you guessed it!--a romantic interest for our girl Betty.

I can't say that I'm sad by the way things have turned out. Ugly Betty got far too mired in the whole irritating Henry-Betty-Charlie-Gio storyline and I thought that Henry getting his ex-girlfriend Charlie pregnant wasn't the best route to take his character, especially when the producers injected a possible plotline in which the child wasn't Henry's after all... only to take that back in the end. As for Gio, I know some of you out there loved his relationship with Betty but I found it absolutely unbelievable that he would be interested in her and didn't think the writers did a very good job of keeping him in Betty's orbit once he lost his job at Mode.

What do you think? Are you happy to see both Henry and Gio go? Or are you upset that Betty won't end up with either of them? Discuss.

Jack and Jill: Jordana Brewster to Torment "Chuck"

Doesn't it seem like a year since we've seen a new episode of NBC's action comedy Chuck? I feel like I only half-remember how the series' freshman season even ended.

Fortunately, NBC will be relaunching Chuck this fall and I hope that the Peacock's marketing and promotional budget is well spent driving viewers back to this hilarious and gripping series. Plus, we've got Arrested Development's Tony Hale joining the cast as Emmett, the new assistant manager at the Buy More (filling the position vacated by Harry Tang) whose skills as an efficiency expert make him a dangerous workplace adversary for Chuck and Morgan.

But that's not all. Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Jordana Brewster (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning and, if you caught it last year, the botched pilot for Mr. and Mrs. Smith) will join the cast of Chuck next season in at least three episodes.

Who will Brewster play? Why Chuck Bartowski's lost love Jill, of course, who all but ruined his entire life and broke his heart back in college. But if the best revenge is living well, then Chuck doesn't have a shot in hell; when he runs into Jill again after many years have passed (and he's finally just gotten over her), he's working at Buy More and she's now a gorgeous, successful doctor. (Ouch.)

"He always has imagined seeing her again, and being able to impress her with all he's accomplished," executive producer Josh Schwartz told Ausiello in an exclusive interview. "Unfortunately, when he does meet her, he's doing a computer install and she's a brilliant, successful, beautiful doctor working to create antibodies to horrible diseases. The part is funny, romantic, there's action and cool twists and emotional drama. It's the juiciest arc we've done yet and one that ties very deeply into the mythology of the show and the character of Chuck."

Juiciest arc to date? I'm there. But then again, I'm just happy to have Chuck back where it belongs: on the airwaves.

Season Two of Chuck is set to launch on September 29th at 8 pm on NBC.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: The Big Bang Theory/How I Met Your Mother (CBS); American Gladiators (NBC); Gossip Girl (CW); The Bachelor: Where Are They Now? (ABC); Bones (FOX)

9 pm: Two and a Half Men/Big Bang Theory (CBS); Nashville Star (NBC); One Tree Hill (CW); The Mole: Take a Closer Look (ABC); House (FOX)

10 pm: CSI Miami (CBS); Dateline (NBC); The Mole (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: Gossip Girl.

Looking to relive the freshman season of the teen soap? On tonight's repeat episode ("School Lies"), the kids break into the school's swimming pool to throw a party but the festivities end early when one partier nearly drowns. Faced with possible expulsion, the gang forms a secret pact but will they crumble under the weight of their fragile partnership? Find out tonight.

10 pm: Anthony Bourdain: No Reservation on Travel Channel.

This week, Tony heads to Colombia, which has transformed itself from a drug capital to a good Mecca, and explores the country to discover its relatively unknown cuisine and its innate magic.

10 pm: Weeds on Showtime.

On this week's episode of Weeds ("No Man is Pudding"), Nancy gets a retail job and discovers that it is actually more fun than she expected; Andy tries to find his way home; Shane and Silas land in some trouble at home; Celia's plan begins to come together.

10: 30 pm: Secret Diary of a Call Girl on Showtime.

On tonight's episode, Ben shops for a wedding suit with Hannah while reeling from her recent revelation. If you're not watching this frothy, fun series, you are definitely missing out.

"Damages" Ensnares Mario van Peebles

Mario van Peebles is heading back to Damages.

The legal drama-turned-labyrinthine mystery series has been quietly filling out its cast for its sophomore season, set to kick off on FX sometime in early 2009. After all, a series that kills off most of its freshman year characters definitely needs to fill out its ranks in time for its return to the airwaves.

Joining Damages for its second year of legal briefs, backstabbing, and betrayal so far are William Hurt, who has been cast as a new high-profile client of Patty Hewes who also shares a link to her secret past (could it be her first husband? or the father of the child she lost?), and Timothy Olyphant, who will play an ambitious attorney and potential love interest for Rose Byrne's Ellen Parsons.

Additionally, Mario van Peebles will reprise his role as FBI Special Agent Harrison, involved in an ongoing investigation of Patty Hewes herself. Van Peebles guest starred at the end of Damages' first season and, given Ellen's deal with the FBI to spy on Patty, something tells me we'll be seeing a lot of Harrison. He'll appear in six episodes next season.

Van Peebles isn't a stranger to either side of the camera on Damages; he directed several installments of the series' first season.

Me, I'm just still salivating with anticipation for Damages to return. It doesn't quite feel like summer this time around without a fresh batch of episodes to obsess over and we've still got quite a long stretch to go before Patty, Ellen, and hopefully Frobisher return to do some more, er, damage.

Stay tuned.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Ghost Whisperer (CBS); Most Outrageous Moments/Most Outrageous Moments (NBC;); Friday Night SmackDown! (CW; 8-10 pm); Dance Machine (ABC); 2 Fast 2 Furious (FOX; 8-10 pm)

9 pm: NUMB3RS (CBS); Dateline (NBC; 9-11 pm); Duel (ABC)

10 pm: Flashpoint (CBS); 20/20 (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

9 pm: Doctor Who on Sci Fi.

Season Four of Doctor Who continues tonight with "Midnight," in which the Doctor's vacation plans don't turn out quite the way he hoped when he joins some tourists on a flight over the planet Midnight, where they encounter a malevolent force.

McKidd to Seattle Grace?

One of the biggest disappointments last season was that NBC's trippy sci-fi/time travel/romantic drama Journeyman failed to pay off the promise in its pilot and, after sliding ratings, was canned after twelve episodes.

I had predicted that Journeyman would be a breakout series for lead Kevin McKidd (Rome) but he's been pretty quiet since the drama was axed at the end of last year. So what is McKidd up to these days?

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello (still can't get used to saying that) claims that McKidd is in talks with the producers of ABC's ratings juggernaut Grey's Anatomy to join the cast as a doctor who signs up at Seattle Grace after a stint with the army in Iraq.

I'm thrilled to see McKidd working and think that the producers may have cannily cast him in an effort to bring his diverse fans to Grey's Anatomy. While I think he'll be a good fit for the medical series, I do wish that the producers on another ABC drama had managed to grab him for their own series.

Which series am I thinking of? Well, wouldn't McKidd just be absolutely ideal as a cast member on, say, Lost? I could definitely see him as a member of the Others or Charles Widmore's island-seeking outfit and McKidd's intensity--so well used during his tenure on Rome--would be right at home alongside that of Matthew Fox, Michael Emerson, and Terry O'Quinn.

Just a thought if the bed-hopping and suturing at Seattle Grace don't suit.

Stay tuned.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Price is Right Million Dollar Spectacular (CBS); Baby Borrowers (NBC); America's Next Top Model (CW); Wife Swap (ABC); So You Think You Can Dance (FOX; 8-10 pm)

9 pm: Criminal Minds (CBS); Baby Borrowers (NBC); Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious (CW); Supernanny (ABC)

10 pm: CSI: New York (CBS); Celebrity Circus (NBC); Primetime: Crime (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: Notes on a Scandal on HBO2.

Yes, there's seriously such a lack of compelling network and cable content on tonight that I am turning to a movie on HBO2 that I've already seen twice. Still, Cate Blanchett and Dame Judi Dench? There are much worse ways to spend a Wednesday night than watching them in this gripping drawing room thriller.

Former "Sopranos" Star Searches for "Life on Mars"

Sam Tyler, meet Ray Carling.

ABC's adaptation of the hit BBC series Life on Mars has landed another cast member in the face of massive overhauling since shooting the original pilot (you can read my review here) under the watchful eye of executive producer/showrunner David E. Kelley.

Kelley, of course, will famously not be continuing with Life on Mars as a full-time showrunner and the series--which has become a co-production between ABC Studios and 20th Century Fox Television--has brought in October Road showrunners Andre Nemec, Scott Rosenberg and Josh Applebaum to oversee the series.

So who will be playing the notoriously sexist and difficult Ray Carling?

ABC has announced that Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos) will join the cast of Life on Mars opposite Jason O'Mara as Detective Sam Tyler.

I'm intrigued by the casting of Imperioli as it comes on the heels of word that the production may recast all of the major roles (other than O'Mara) and is at least a step in the right direction towards creating a compelling cast for this so-far sodden US adaptation. (A complete rewrite of the script would also do wonders.)

Stay tuned.

Brenda Who?: Doherty in Talks for "90210" Spinoff

Shannen Doherty is in talks with CBS Paramount and the CW to reprise her role as Brenda Walsh on the updated 90210 spinoff series launching this fall.

Doherty's lack of reluctance to join the cast comes as a bit of a surprise, given her well-publicized fallout with executive producer Aaron Spelling back in the day (and her subsequent firing) and the allegedly , um, chilly relations between her and fellow 90210 alum Jennie Garth, who--along with Tori Spelling--has been cast in the spinoff.

Personally, I think bringing back all of the former characters from the mothership seems slightly cheesy, especially as they'll be second--nay, third--fiddles to the teen leads. Do we really need to see Donna open a boutique? Or Kelly counsel students?

What do you think? Are you dusting off your Sophie B. Hawkins albums, thrilled to see Kelly and Co. pop up on the new series? Do you wish they'd all just stay in the past? Or are you completely averse to this reinvention of the 90210 franchise? Discuss.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Million Dollar Password (CBS); Last Comic Standing (NBC; 8-10 pm); Smallville (CW); Ugly Betty (ABC); Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? (FOX)

9 pm: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS); Supernatural (CW); Grey's Anatomy (ABC); So You Think You Dance (FOX)

10 pm: Swingtown (CBS); Fear Itself (NBC); Hopkins (ABC)

What I'll Be TiVo'ing:

10 pm: Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List on Bravo.

Okay, I know, I know, but I find her acerbic overeagerness somehow calming. On tonight's episode, Kathy likely does something hilarious or deeply embarrassing. Or both.

10 pm: Swingtown.

On tonight's episode ("Go Your Own Way"), Susan attends a free-speech fundraiser for the legal defense of an actor in a controversial movie, against the wishes of husband Bruce.

FOX Asks Tim Roth to "Lie to Me"

FOX has given a thirteen-episode order for midseason drama Lie to Me and secured the talents of a sought-after A-list British actor as the series' lead.

Tim Roth, currently on screen in theatres in The Incredible Hulk (and Michael Hanke's Funny Games) has been cast as the lead in Lie to Me, in which he'll play Dr. Cal Lightman, a scientific researcher who specializes in the field of lie detection and is able to discern mendacity by noticing facial, vocal, and bodily expressions and movements and assists various government agencies in Washington D.C. with ongoing investigations.

Unfortunately, Lightman can't turn off his particular brand of observation and unfortunately applies his own lie detection skills to the personal relationships in his own private life.

Project was created by Sam Baum (The Evidence) and the pilot episode will be directed by Robert Schwentke (The Time Traveler's Wife; Flightplan); shooting begins in August.

I was really impressed with the script for Lie to Me when I read it earlier this year and I think that Roth will be absolutely perfect as Lightman. The series is completely procedural but the use of natural human lie detection--based on actual, real-life scientific fact--gives the crime-solving drama an interesting twist, one we haven't seen before in primetime US television.

Lie to Me could be a natural fit for FOX, which has had success with crime drama Bones and, if it can get this procedural-hesitant viewer to breeze through the pilot script with interest, that's saying a lot about the strength of this project.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: NCIS (CBS); Celebrity Family Feud (NBC); Beauty & the Geek (CW); Wipeout (ABC); Moment of Truth (FOX)

9 pm: 48 Hours Mystery (CBS); America's Got Talent (NBC; 9-11 pm); Reaper (CW); I Survived a Japanese Game Show (ABC); Hell's Kitchen (FOX)

10 pm: Without a Trace (CBS); Primetime: The Outsiders (ABC)

What I'll Be TiVo'ing

8-10 pm: Britcoms on BBC America.

I don't know about you but by Tuesday night, I'm usually in need of some comedy in my life. Why not stick around on Tuesday nights for BBC America's new comedy lineup, consisting of classic episodes of Coupling, new comedy Not Going Out, and Absolutely Fabulous? You'll thank me in the morning.

10 pm: Flipping Out on Bravo.

Season Two continues tonight with a brand-new episode ("Good Cop, Bad Jeff"), Jeff becomes suspicious of his assistants when he notices that not much is getting done around the house and wants to install surveillance cameras to keep an eye on his employees.

Holly and Ivy: Amy Ryan Returns to "The Office"

I'm beyond thrilled that Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone and, yes, The Wire) will return as HR executive Holly Flax next season on The Office.

In her guest turn in the season finale of the series' fourth season ("Goodbye, Toby"), Ryan completely altered the dynamics of Dunder-Mifflin's Scranton branch (in the best possible way) and--in a stunning twist--gave Steve Carell's Michael a much needed injection of maturity.

Ryan, who typically appears in significantly grittier pieces like the above, will recur in at least five installments of The Office next season but doesn't know quite what Greg Daniels and Co. have in store for Holly.

"I don't know what they're going to do with the character," Ryan told Variety, "but as it was written, there's certainly a lot of potential. It's a funny thing to enter a show that you're a great fan of -- and it's nice to tell lighter stories. I love the dark, grittier side of life, but it's nice to take a break from that, put a skirt on and brush your hair."

Me, I'm just happy to be even slightly excited about The Office again. Fingers crossed that they can get back on track after a creatively dismal season.

Schwartzman Claims "Bored to Death" at HBO

Max Fischer has done quite well for himself.

Jason Schwartzman has been cast as the lead in the HBO comedy pilot Bored to Death, in which he'll play a depressed man who, after a painful breakup with his girlfriend, begins to live his life as though he were one of the characters in the novels of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler and takes out an add pretending to be a private detective.

Schwartzman's attachment has lifted the casting contingency on the pilot, which will begin shooting in New York in September. His last television role was in the Mike White-created FOX comedy Cracking Up, which ran for six episodes in 2004.

Bored to Death is written and executive produced by novelist Jonathan Ames. Personally, I hope it turns out even half as good as it sounds.

* * *

In other casting news, Lloyd Owen (Viva Laughlin, Monarch of the Glen), Malik Yoba (Raines; though he'll always be ICE from Arrested Development to me), and Warren Kole (24) have been cast in FOX drama pilot Inseparable, from creator Shaun Cassidy, about a paralyzed forensic investigator who happens to have an alter ego who is a vicious criminal.

Owen has replaced fellow Brit actor Toby Stephens as Justin Lambreaux; Stephens departed the project due to scheduling conflicts. Yoba will play a detective who works with Owen's character and has no idea about his double life; Kole will play a young and ambitious detective.

Elsewhere, Clea DuVall (Carnivale) has been cast in Ronald D. Moore's two-hour backdoor pilot Virtuality for FOX, along with Erik Jensen (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) and Jose Pablo Cantillo (Standoff).

Jeffrey Tambor, Gary Cole Try on "Good Behavior" for Rob Thomas

My spider sense was tingling this morning as I perused the latest casting listings.

Imagine my surprise when I had a full on geek attack upon noticing that, just days after Baby Buster landed recurring roles on both Chuck and Samantha Who, George Bluth Sr. himself was just cast in one of the few midseason pilots that I am eagerly anticipating.

Apparently, it pays to be an Arrested Development vets these days. Jeffrey Tambor was cast in Rob Thomas' ABC dramedy pilot Good Behavior (based on the Kiwi series Outrageous Fortune), where he'll guest star as Hy, Jackie West (Catherine O'Hara)'s sleazy partner at a low-end pawn shop. I cannot wait to see Tambor and O'Hara face off against one another and hope that he'll stick around in a recurring capacity should the pilot get ordered to series.

Also joining the cast of Good Behavior: Desperate Housewives' Gary Cole, who will play Jackie's no-good husband who is sentenced to five years in prison, leading Jackie to push her family onto the straight and narrow path of decent members of society.

I have been super-excited about this pilot since I first read Thomas' brilliant script (back when Renee Russo was circling the role of Jackie West) and the above casting, paired with Catherine O'Hara and Mae Whitman (yay, Arrested Development mini-reunion!), and my love for Rob Thomas' work, make me hope that Good Behavior gets ordered to series post-haste.

Stay tuned.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS); My Name is Earl/Last Comic Standing (NBC; 8:30-10 pm); Smallville (CW); So You Think You Dance (FOX; 8-10 pm)

9 pm: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS); Supernatural (CW)

10 pm: Swingtown (CBS); Fear Itself (NBC)

What I'll Be Watching

10 pm: Swingtown.

I wasn't crazy when I first saw the pilot to the 1970s-set drama last year but they've had a lot of time to retool so I will give it a second chance. On tonight's series premiere ("Pilot"), Susan and Bruce Miller move their kids into an upscale Chicago suburb and fall into the lure of an open marriage when they meet their sexy new neighbors.

Hale Storm: Buster Bluth Hired at Buy More

I can't help but get excited when an Arrested Development alum drops by a current television series, so imagine my pleasant surprise when said alum joins the cast of one of my favorite series.

It seems like it's been forever (well, January, in fact) since we've even mentioned NBC's action/comedy series Chuck, which I've missed terribly since the series wrapped its freshman year way ahead of the normal timetable due to the writers strike.

While the series will relaunch on NBC this fall (complete with, one hopes, a massive marketing and promotional campaign that ties into a DVD box set of the first 13 episodes of Chuck), there is one notable cast addition for the sophomore season: Arrested Development's Buster Bluth himself, Tony Hale.

Hale, who has turned up on other series since Arrested Development (most notably as a co-star on the short-lived Andy Barker, P.I.), will recur on Chuck next season as Emmett, the new assistant manager at the Buy More (filling the position vacated by Harry Tang) whose skills as an efficiency expert make him a dangerous workplace adversary for Chuck and Morgan. Hired by corporate to whip the Buy More into shape, he ends up staying on permanently when he sees just how badly the outlet is being run and figures they need a helping, er, hand.

I've missed seeing Chuck squirm at work and I hope that Hale's Emmett can be the one to turn the screws a little on our Mr. Bartowski, who's gotten a little too complacent under Big Mike's thumb.

And if that's not enough Hale for you, he'll also join the cast of another sophomore series: ABC's Samantha Who? There, Hale will play Samantha's new doctor, Andy Adams, in a recurring capacity.

Let's see: Jessica Walter on CW's 90210; Hale on NBC's Chuck; Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Henry Winkler on FOX's Sit Down, Shut Up? (Even Portia DeRossi and Alia Shawkat have pilots under consideration for midseason and David Cross just shot one at HBO.) This might just be the best time for Arrested Development vets on television since those rumors of a Bluth movie first surfaced...

What's On Tonight

8 pm: NCIS (CBS; 8); Most Outrageous Moments/Most Outrageous Moments (NBC); Beauty & the Geek (CW); According to Jim/According to Jim (ABC); Moment of Truth (FOX)

9 pm: 48 Hours Mystery (CBS); Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC); Reaper (CW); Samantha Who?/Samantha Who? (ABC); Hell's Kitchen (FOX)

10 pm: Without a Trace (CBS); Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC); Boston Legal (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8-10 pm: Britcoms on BBC America.

I don't know about you but by Tuesday night, I'm usually in need of some comedy in my life. Why not stick around on Tuesday nights for BBC America's new comedy lineup, consisting of classic episodes of Coupling, new comedy Not Going Out, and Absolutely Fabulous? You'll thank me in the morning.

Casting Couch: Harold Perrineau Gets "Unusual"

"You can go now, Michael."

Truer words were never spoken than on last week's season finale of Lost, which saw cast returnee Harold Perrineau's Michael seemingly killed after the freighter exploded after he got a send off from the mysterious and ghostly Christian Shepherd.

Perrineau's return to Lost--which he exited at the end of Season Two when he and Walt (Malcolm David Kelley) sailed off into the sunset after he betrayed his fellow castaways to secure freedom for himself and his son--seems phenomenally short-lived: his character's sole purpose in returning to the series was to be Benjamin Linus' man aboard the Kahana and to devise the plan to freeze the battery so as not to trigger a widespread C4 explosion.

Perrineau, in an interview with TV Guide, says that he was "disappointed" by the fact that producers killed off his character after bringing him back and said it was "disappointing and a waste to come back, only to get beat up a few times and then killed."

Ouch.

Luckily, ABC seems to have realized that they are lucky to have the talented actor on their network and have cast Perrineau in drama pilot The Unusuals, where he'll play Detective Leo Banks, a cop plagued by paranoia that he'll be killed. It's a bit of a role-reversal for the actor, especially after we saw Michael unable to die all season on Lost.

In other casting news, Rick Gomez (What About Brian) has joined the cast of Rob Thomas' dramedy pilot Cupid, where he'll play Felix, the owner of a dive bar who rents a room above the bar to Trevor (Bobby Cannavale), despite thinking he's a complete nutter for claiming to be the titular god of love.

And Gail O'Grady (Boston Legal) has landed a lead role on the untitled Dave Hemingson legal dramedy pilot; she'll play cutthroat attorney Susan Oppenheim, who is married to one of the firm's partners. Also cast in the pilot episode as guest stars: George Segal (Just Shoot Me), Lolita Davidovich (Dirty Sexy Money), and Alexandra Holden (Friday Night Lights).

I'm actually very excited to see how this one turns out. Fingers crossed that it's a keeper.

Stay tuned.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Big Bang Theory/How I Met Your Mother (CBS); Gossip Girl (CW); The Bachelorette (ABC; 8-10 pm); Bones (FOX)

9 pm: Two and a Half Men/Rules of Engagement (CBS); Dateline (NBC); One Tree Hill (CW); House (FOX)

10 pm: CSI Miami (CBS); Dateline (NBC); The Mole (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: Gossip Girl.

Looking to relive the freshman season of the teen soap? On tonight's repeat episode ("The Wild Brunch"), Blair tells Serena she knows all about her past betrayal and shuns her; Chuck hosts a fundraiser brunch, to which Serena brings an unwelcome Dan.

Drive By: Judy Greer Lands Lead in HBO's "Suburban Shootout"

Holy Judy Greer, Batman!

The former Miss/Guided star has been cast in HBO's comedy pilot Suburban Shootout, the US adaptation of the darkly comic UK series about warring gangs of, um, homicidal suburban housewives in a seemingly idyllic and picturesque town.

In a fantastic twist of fate, Greer has been cast as the lead in Suburban Shootout, where she will play the wife of a police chief who moves from urban sprawl for quieter pastures, only to learn that the 'burbs are just as every bit dangerous as the city.

The script, from writer Michelle Ashford and executive producer/director Barry Sonnenfeld, was absolutely fantastic and pitch perfect (they did have amazing underlying material to work with, after all) and I am glad that rather than cast some faceless ingenue for the lead, they went with the quirky and adorable Greer, who will bring a distinct edge to the role.

Casting on the pilot for Suburban Shootout has become a hotbed for solid female actors, with Kelly Preston, Kerri Kenney, and Rachael Harris already booked.

I haven't been so happy about a Judy Greer casting since she first lit up the screen as disturbed glasses-on-hair-up executive assistant Kitty Sanchez on the still-much-missed Arrested Development. I'm extremely eager to see how HBO will translate the comedy format of Shootout to the US. Fingers crossed that it's more in line with The Office and less with Coupling...

Stay tuned.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Price is Right Million Dollar Spectacular (CBS); Law & Order (NBC); Farmer Wants a Wife (CW); Lost (ABC; 8-10 pm); American Idol (FOX; 8-10 pm)

9 pm: Criminal Minds (CBS); Law & Order (NBC); Farmer Wants a Wife (CW)

10 pm: CSI: New York (CBS); Law & Order (NBC); Boston Legal (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8-10 pm: Lost.

Missed the last two episodes of Lost or just itching to watch them again? You're in luck as ABC does us a solid and reairs both "Cabin Fever" and "Something Nice Back Home." Now if only they were airing the fourth season finale this week instead of next week. I'm going insane from anticipation.

9 pm: MI-5 on BBC America.

If you missed MI-5 (aka Spooks) when it aired on A&E a few years back, you can catch it tonight on BBC America. On tonight's installment ("The Special"), the gripping fourth season opener, the team rushes from Danny's funeral after a terrorist detonates a bomb in a market and threatens to explode more if their demands are not met.

10 pm: Top Chef on Bravo.

On tonight's episode ("Restaurant Wars"), the chefs are forced to work on the line at a diner during the breakfast rush; Jose Andres stops by to put the chefs to the test; the contestants must open and run competing restaurants in one of the all-time favorite Top Chef elimination challenges.

Casting Couch: Walker Flies to "Caprica," Sackhoff Sews Up "Nip/Tuck" Role, Estes Heads to "90210"

Lots of casting news today, on the first Monday after the network upfront presentations.

First up, Sci Fi managed to close the deal on Polly Walker for their two-hour backdoor pilot Caprica, a prequel to their own series Battlestar Galactica. Astute readers of this site will know that I first reported that an offer was out to Walker (Rome) a few weeks ago. Walker will play Sister Clarice Willow, the secretive high priestess/headmistress of the exclusive Athena Academy, a private polytheistic school that Zoe Greystone (Alessandra Toreson) and her friends attend.

I think the casting of Walker is absolutely brilliant for this role and she'll definitely bring something unexpected to the table. Plus, I'm happy she's sticking around in the States after the cancelation of Cane. Walker joins Eric Stolz, Esai Morales, and Paula Malcomson in this spellbinding two-hour backdoor pilot project from executive producers Ronald D. Moore, David Eick, and Remi Aubuchon and director Jeffrey Reiner.

Speaking of the Twelve Colonies, Battlestar Galactica's Katee Sackhoff has been cast in a recurring role on FX's Nip/Tuck, where she will play a doctor who challenges the authority of Sean (Dylan Walsh) in a four-episode arc this season. Good to see that Sackhoff won't be taking time off after the final season of BSG finishes shooting at the end of June.

Over at the CW, 90210 finally has its father figure in Rob Estes (Melrose Place), who has joined the cast as Harry Mills, the pater familias and new principal at West Beverly High School. His character will be married to Lori Loughlin's Celia, a former Olympic medalist, and is the prodigal son to Jessica Walter's aging actress Tabitha Mills.

With the deal closed on Estes, casting on the Beverly Hills 90210 spin-off series--set to launch this fall on the CW--is finally completed.

Stay tuned.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Big Bang Theory/How I Met Your Mother (CBS); American Gladiators (NBC; 8-9:30 pm); Gossip Girl (CW); Dancing With the Stars (ABC); Bones (FOX)

9 pm: Two and a Half Men/Rules of Engagement (CBS); Dateline (NBC; 9:30-11 pm); One Tree Hill (CW); The Bachelorette (ABC; 9-11 pm); House (FOX)

10 pm: CSI Miami (CBS)

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: Gossip Girl.

The freshman season of the naughty teen soap concludes tonight! On tonight's season finale ("Much 'I Do' About Nothing"), Blair comes to Serena's defense and faces off with Georgina Sparks (Michelle Trachtenberg); Lily prepares for her wedding but can't stop thinking about Rufus; and Serena finally tells Dan what's really going on with her.

Casting Couch: Universal Media Studios Casts Wide Net on Several Series

Just a day before network upfront presentations are scheduled to kick off, there has been a flurry of casting activity here in Hollywood.

Boston Legal's Saffron Burrows has joined the cast of NBC's drama series My Own Worst Enemy, starring Christian Slater and Mike O'Malley about a well-mannered family man Henry, whose alter ego Edward is a spy and all-around international man of mystery. Burrows will play Norah, Edward's girlfriend and Henry's psychiatrist.

Production on the first episode is slated to get under way soon. My Own Worst Enemy, from Universal Media Studios and writer/executive producer Jason Smilovic (Kidnapped), was ordered to series in April off of the pilot script; no pilot was shot.

Frances Fisher (In the Valley of Elah) has come aboard an eight-episode arc on the next season of Sci Fi's drama Eureka, where she will play Samantha Thorne, a corporate fixer assigned to clean up the mess at Global.

In a major casting coup, indie actor extraordinaire Eric Stoltz will join the cast of Battlestar Galactica spin-off prequel Caprica.

He'll play Daniel Greystone, the deeply flawed human creator of the Cylons, who finds himself in a moral battle with Joseph Adama (Esai Morales), the conflicted attorney father of the future Admiral William Adama (Edward James Olmos).

In the two-hour backdoor pilot, Stolz's character will be married to surgeon Amanda (Lost and Deadwood's Paula Malcomson); their daughter Zoe will be played by relative newcomer Alessandra Toressani.

Speaking of Caprica, executive producer David Eick will take over as showrunner on NBC's drama The Philanthropist--which itself was also, like My Own Worst Enemy, ordered to series directly off script--following the departure of Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson, who had conflict with the network about the tone of the series: they wanted escapism, Fontana and Levinson gritty realism.

Either way, Eick definitely has his work cut out for him.

Stay tuned.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Big Bang Theory/How I Met Your Mother (CBS); American Gladiators (NBC; 8-10 pm); Gossip Girl (CW); Dancing With the Stars (ABC; 8-9:30 pm); Bones (FOX)

9 pm: Two and a Half Men/Rules of Engagement (CBS); One Tree Hill (CW); Samantha Who? (ABC; 9:30-10 pm); House (FOX)

10 pm: CSI Miami (CBS); Medium (NBC); The Bachelor: London Calling (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: Gossip Girl.

The naughty teen soap continues tonight with a brand new episode! On tonight's episode ("Woman on the Verge"), Serena falls back into her old ways after revealing to Blair the real reason she left Manhattan; Blair, Nate, and Chuck must put aside their conflicts in order to help Serena, who is too ashamed to tell Dan what is actually going on; Rufus' band reunites for a gig at Rolling Stone-sponsored concert and he's surprised when Lily shows up, especially as it's the same night as her wedding rehearsal dinner.

Casting Couch Sci Fi Edition: "Warehouse 13," "Revolution," and "Caprica"

Casting is ramping up on several Sci Fi Channel pilots this week, including Warehouse 13, two-hour backdoor pilot Revolution, and Battlestar Galactica spin-off Caprica.

Drama pilot Warehouse 13 has nabbed its two leads: Eddie McClintock (Bones) and Joanne Kelly (Vanished) have been cast as two FBI agents--headstrong Peter and buttoned-up Myka--who are "rewarded," after saving the life of the US president, by being relocated to the titular Warehouse 13, a government-controlled depot that houses supernatural and extraterrestrial artifacts that the feds have gathered over the centuries. Together, their job is to retrieve missing objects and investigate the discovery of new items.

Project, from NBC Universal Cable Studio, is written by Rockne S. O'Bannon (Farscape); Battlestar Galactica's Ronald D. Moore and Jane Espenson worked on previous drafts of the pilot script. Jace Alexander (Burn Notice) will direct.

Over on Revolution, Peter Fonda has been cast in the role of a robber baron at a 22nd century outpost in this space-set adaptation of the American Revolution.

I've also been keeping my eyes open for casting notices on Caprica, Ronald D. Moore and Remi Aubuchon's gripping two-hour backdoor pilot prequel to Battlestar Galactica.

Deadwood's Paula Malcomson--that workhorse actress recently seen on John from Cincinnati as Jerri, on ER as Meg Riley, and on Lost as Colleen Pickett as well--will star in Caprica as Amanda Greystone, a surgeon and wife to the inventor of the first Cylon prototype, as well as the mother to teenage Zoe, whose exploits kick-start the action of the pilot.

I'm also hearing from sources that an offer is out to Rome's Polly Walker (!!!!) to join the cast of Caprica as Sister Clarice Willow, which if the deal closes--would be phenomenal casting for this intriguing and complex role. Suffice it to say, like Battlestar Galactica, Caprica deals in real world analogies and religious conflict, so look for those complexities to emerge in the prequel as well.

Fingers crossed that Sci Fi and Walker (like Malcomson a true chameleon--just look at her varied roles in Rome, Emma, State of Play, and Cane) are able to come to a deal as this brilliant project just got even hotter.

Stay tuned.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: NCIS (CBS); Most Outrageous Moments/Saturday Night Live (NBC; 8:30-10 pm); Beauty and the Geek (CW); Dancing with the Stars Special: Judges' All-Time Top 10 (ABC); American Idol (FOX)

9 pm: Shark (CBS); Reaper (CW); Dancing with the Stars (ABC); Hell's Kitchen (FOX)

10 pm: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS); Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC); Women's Murder Club (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

9 pm: Last Restaurant Standing on BBC America.

On the penultimate episode of this addictive British import, two couples head to Raymond's celebrated restaurant, Le Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons, where they must work in the kitchens and front of house, stepping up to meet the standards of one of the very best restaurants in the world and producing food and service to rival those of Raymond's in his two-star Michelin establishment. There will be tears, tantrums, and demanding customers and only one team will advance to the final rounds with Raymond's blessing.

"Ugly Betty" to Get Uglier

I didn't always hate Lindsay Lohan.

There was a time, probably around the era of the Tina Fey-scripted comedy Mean Girls, where I quite liked Lindsay; she had matured from a kid actor into a sexy, self-assured bombshell of a woman with fine comedic chops and a burgeoning career. Since then, she's become a punchline of a joke no one cares about any more: trashy, crotch-flashing tabloid fodder.

So I was pretty irked to see that she was joining the cast of Ugly Betty, a series which is making me slightly nauseous with all the good cheer, melodrama, and "heart" that they've been cramming down our throats since firing showrunner Marco Pennette, the man responsible for adding some much needed laughs (and for making characters Alexis, Mark, and Amanda not only likable but three-dimensional).

Yes, folks, the same people that wrote the word "heart" on the white board in the writers room of Betty have chosen to cast one of the most despicable starlets not just in a guest role... but in several episodes of Ugly Betty. Lohan is slated to appear in the season finale of Ugly Betty, airing May 22nd, as well as five episodes next season, the series' third.

Lohan will play a former classmate of Betty's who was, well, a mean girl to our heroine back in the day but whose life has--like Lohan's--taken a turn for the worse since then. Unlike Betty Suarez, who is working for Mode magazine, has a fantastic boyfriend (who impregnated his ex-girlfriend!), and an exciting life filled to the brim with, well, good cheer, melodrama, and heart.

Bets are on to see how long before Lohan's character beds Betty's boss Daniel, her boyfriend Henry, or both...

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Big Bang Theory/How I Met Your Mother (CBS); Deal or No Deal (NBC; 8-10 pm); Gossip Girl (CW); Dancing With the Stars (ABC; 8-9:30 pm); Bones (FOX)

9 pm: Two and a Half Men/Rules of Engagement (CBS); One Tree Hill (CW); Samantha Who? (ABC; 9:30-10 pm); House (FOX)

10 pm: CSI Miami (CBS); Medium (NBC); The Bachelor: The Women Tell All (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: Gossip Girl.

The naughty teen soap continues tonight with a brand new episode! On tonight's episode ("All About My Brother"), Georgina (Michelle Trachtenberg) threatens to reveal some potentially damaging information about Serena's past; Blair and Jenny spread rumors about one another through the Gossip Girl website; Dan catches Jenny's new boyfriend cheating on her.