[Televisionary]

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

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Grant Show, set to star on CBS comedy Accidentally on Purpose this fall, has said that he's open to appearing on the CW's revival of Melrose Place . "We've been talking, but nothing solid," Show says. "I'm not opposed to it... They haven't come up with the writing for me yet. I'm not sure they're even going to need me this year — maybe next year." Should Show close a deal to return to the series, he'll join original stars Josie Bissett, Thomas Calabro, Laura Leighton, and Daphne Zuniga as those who have turned up on Melrose 2.0 . ( TVGuide.com ) Jennifer Ehle ( Possession ) has joined the cast for the HBO fantasy drama pilot Game of Thrones , where she will play Catelyn Stark, the wife of Sean Bean's Ned Stark. Ehle's character was originally promised to Ned's older brother who was killed before they could marry; she then "fulfilled her duty by marrying Ned and sec

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Christopher Gorham ( Harper's Island ) will star opposite Piper Perabo in USA's spy thriller pilot Covert Affairs . Gorham's attachment would seemingly lift the casting contingency on the project, which follows Annie Walker, a polyglot CIA trainee (Perabo) whose relationship with an enigmatic ex-boyfriend makes her of interest to the agency. Gorham will play Auggie Anderson, a blinded CIA military intelligence operative who helps Walker. ( Hollywood Reporter ) Franka Potente ( The Bourne Identity ) will guest star in the season premiere of House this fall, where she will play a mystery character that Gregory House encounters in the mental hospital. What's unclear is whether Potente will be playing a doctor, a patient, or a figment of House's imagination. Hmmmm.... ( E! Online's Watch with Kristin ) House creator David Shore has come on board to oversee a remake of private eye drama The Rockford Files with

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. I had an amazing time at the Mighty Boosh's secret show at the Roxy last night and found myself singing "Nanageddon" as I tried to go to sleep. E! Online's Watch with Kristin has an exclusive interview with Lost star Elizabeth Mitchell, who toplines the upcoming remake of V on ABC. Describing her character on V , Mitchell said: "Erica is a federal agent doing counter-terrorism. She deals with finding sleeper cells and basically eradicating them as much as possible. She's smart and intelligent and all the things that you would want someone who is protecting our country to be. I must have a hero complex—I keep gravitating toward these roles. She has a son, and she's in love with her son, and her son is in love with the Visitors. She has to deal with the fact that she has to save him for the most part. Her husband just left her, so she's a brokenhearted counterterrorist detective." Mitchell al

A little over a week before its TCA Summer Press Tour session, cabler FX has announced that it has ordered thirteen episodes of drama series Lawman , based on the Elmore Leonard short story "Fire in the Hole." The project, from Sony Pictures Television and FX Productions, is written and executive produced by Graham Yost ( Boomtown ). Lawman stars Timothy Olyphant ( Damages ) as U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, described in press materials as "a modern day 19th century-style lawman, enforcing his brand of justice in a way that puts a target on his back with criminals and places him at odds with his bosses in the Marshal service." Givens is reassigned to the district where he grew up in rural Kentucky with an outlaw father. "FX has been fortunate to employ some of the finest writers working in television and we’re lucky to add an outstanding talent like Graham Yost to that growing list," said FX President/General Manager John Landgraf in a statement. "Graha

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Ben Silverman has stepped down as Co-Chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios; he'll remain on board for several weeks to help transition and oversee the launch of NBC's fall schedule. Silverman will then segue into a new company financed by Barry Diller's AIC which Silverman will run; company's mission is to "unite producers, creators, advertisers and distributors under one roof." Meanwhile, Jeff Gaspin has been named Chairman, NBC Universal Television Entertainment, effective immediately. In this role, Gaspin will have oversight of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios as well as retain his current responsibilities over USA, Syfy, Bravo, Oxygen, Sleuth, Chiller, and Universal HD. Marc Graboff will continue as chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, reporting to Gaspin. "Ben Silverman has many exciting things he wants to accomplish and we applaud him as he sets

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Looks like Kelly isn't going anywhere. Jennie Garth has signed a deal to reprise her role as Kelly Taylor on Season Two of the CW's 90210 , where she will appear in multiple episodes, according to Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello. "Garth reappears in episode 3," writes Ausiello, "when Kelly gives Harry advice on how to deal with his, ahem , situation with Annie." ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) Elsewhere at the CW, Melrose Place continues to get more and more crowded. Nip/Tuck's Kelly Carlson (yes, Kimber!) has signed on to join the cast of Melrose Place this fall, where she will play a madam who "eventually entices Lauren (Stephanie Jacobson) to work for her as part of her prostitution ring." ( E! Online's Watch with Kristin ) Parenthood 's Erika Christensen has booked a guest starring role on Season Two of FOX's Lie to Me this fall. Christensen will

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. I'm still recovering from a very late night involving French cuisine, wine and port, a 1 am viewing of last night's episode of Top Chef Masters , and an early rise for the Emmy nominations. Fortunately, just a few headlines to get through this morning.... NBC confirmed that it will end the run of Canadian drama series The Listener on Thursday, July 23rd and replace the series with repeats of Law & Order beginning July 30th. The remaining five unaired episodes of The Listener will be streamed over NBC.com. ( Futon Critic ) Bravo has announced that it has moved the premiere of Top Chef: Las Vegas forward a week. The season premiere will now air August 19th at 9 pm ET/PT followed by the season finale of Top Chef Masters . ( Twitter ) More on the reasons behind Kirk Acevedo's departure from FOX's Fringe , courtesy of Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello. "Storyline dictated," wrote Ausiello. &qu

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. TVGuide.com talks to Lost 's Titus Welliver, who played the mysterious man in black seen in the fifth season finale (that many of us are referring to as Esau). "The way that I interpreted it, on a biblical level, is that it's a sort of Cain-and-Abel scenario," said Welliver of the showdown between Jacob and his character. "So by destroying Jacob, what does that prove — that [the man in black] can ultimately have power over the island? Do the castaways become solely his playthings? And why was it so important that he find the loophole to be able to kill Jacob? That moved me in the direction of thinking that if he needs this loophole, there's a greater power than the two of them that they're answering to." ( TVGuide.com ) FX has ordered six episodes of animated comedy Archer (working title), about the eccentric employees of an international spy agency, from writer/executive producer Adam Reed. Proj

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. I was lucky enough to see an advance screening of upcoming film Julie & Julia last night and urge all you film-loving foodies to head out and watch it when it's released. Just make sure you eat beforehand! Comedy Central has ordered ten episodes of an untitled multi-camera comedy series starring Jon Heder ( Blades of Glory, Napoleon Dynamite ). Project, about an unemployed IT specialist who returns to his smalltown to move in with his parents and younger brother, will be written by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, and Chris Henchy. Series hails from Debmar-Mercury and Gary Sanchez and will have an initial run on Comedy Central; if it scores with audiences, another 90 installments will be automatically picked up with Comedy Central having the first window while Debmar-Mercury will sell the series into first-run syndication at the same time. ( Variety ) ABC has announced that it will launch FTVS' internationally produced drama ser

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Christian Slater ( My Own Worst Enemy ) is in talks to topline ABC drama series The Forgotten , from Warner Bros. Television and executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer. If the deal closes, Slater would replace Rupert Penry-Jones, who appeared in the original pilot episode as a former cop whose daughter was kidnapped and went missing. Another role--that played in the pilot by Reiko Aylesworth--is also being recast. The series is set to launch Tuesday, September 22nd at 10 pm. ( Hollywood Reporter ) Don't look for the series finale of Lost to feature a happy ending, according to series regular Michael Emerson. "I don't think Lost will have a happy ending," Emerson told Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello. "It's the end and I think we are going to start seeing more casualties. I would put money on major characters being killed. I believe it will be a sad ending to the show -- or at least bittersweet.

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Sons of Anarchy 's Drea de Matteo (best known as The Sopranos ' Adrianna) is joining the cast of ABC's Desperate Housewives next season as a series regular, reports Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello. De Matteo will play "the matriarch of a new Italian family," writes Ausiello. "Casting is underway for her landscape designer husband and their tightly wound son." ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay WILL be coming back to NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit next season, after all. The duo have finally signed deals that will keep them in the lead roles on the NBC drama series for the next two seasons and will be paid just slightly less than $400,000 per episode. Neal Baer also closed a deal to remain on board the series as showrunner and Christine Lahti ( Jack & Bobby ) has signed on to guest star in the first four episodes of