[Televisionary]

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. It was only a matter of time before someone snapped up River Tam. Former Firefly and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles star Summer Glau, who most recently appeared in a multiple-episode story arc on Dollhouse this season, has landed one of the leads in NBC's vigilante drama pilot The Cape . Project, from writer Tom Wheeler and directed by Simon West, revolves around a a disgraced former cop (David Lyons), framed for a crime he didn't commit, who becomes a costumed vigilante in order to clear his name. Glau will star opposite Lyons, James Frain, and Dorian Missick, and will play Orwell, described as "a cute and intrepid investigative blogger who fearlessly goes after corrupt cops and costumed bad guys" and who "gets physical and is quite capable of kicking ass." If that isn't a part made for Glau, I don't know what is. ( Hollywood Reporter ) Los Angeles Times ' Denise Martin talks to Pa

It's official: HBO is in the George R.R. Martin business. The pay cabler today announced that it had given a series pickup to Game of Thrones , a fantasy drama based on Martin's bestselling novel series "A Song of Ice and Fire." Project is executive produced by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who wrote the pilot episode, which was directed by Tom McCarthy. The series--which will star Sean Bean, Jennifer Ehle, Mark Addy, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage, and Jamie Campbell-Bower, among many, many others too numerous to list here--is expected to launch next spring. Production gets back underway in June in Northern Ireland. In the meantime, you can check out the first official photo from the production above. Are you as bloody excited as I am about this news? Game of Thrones ' first season will debut in spring 2011 on HBO.

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. NBC has shelved its planned US remake of British crime drama Prime Suspect , postponing production on the Mick Jackson-directed pilot to June, due to casting issues. Project, from writer/executive producer Hank Steinberg and Universal Media Studios, had encountered serious difficulties in casting the lead, a female detective who solves crime amid a "politically loaded big city," a role played by Helen Mirren in the original UK series. But don't count the US Prime Suspect out just yet. "Peacock reps stressed that it remains high on the project," according to Variety 's Jon Weisman. "The hope is that after the pilot season frenzy dies down they'll have more time to sift through a range of contenders for the part." ( Hollywood Reporter , Variety ) Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello talks to CSI: Miami 's Adam Rodriguez to find out just what happened between his failing to reach a

Welcome to your (delayed) Thursday morning television briefing. Charlize Theron ( The Road ) has teamed up with auteur David Fincher ( Zodiac ) to develop HBO drama series, Mind Hunter , based on John Douglas and Mark Olshaker's nonfiction book "Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit," about the profiling of serial killers and rapists. Scott Buck ( Dexter ) will write the pilot, which will be produced by Theron, Fincher, Erwin and Buck and is set up at Fox21. ( Variety ) Jennifer Lopez is set to guest star on CBS' How I Met Your Mother in an episode slated to air in March. Lopez will play Anita Appleby, described as "a no-nonsense author of self-help books that teach women how to train men into relationship machines through the power of denial," who makes it her mission to train Barney. ( Hollywood Reporter ) ABC has officially cancelled Ugly Betty after four seasons. The dramedy, which stars America Ferrera, will wrap up its run this Ma

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Jennifer Morrison will return to FOX medical drama House later this season. While the nature and timing of Cameron's return are unknown, Ausiello quotes an unnamed House insider who said, "You will see Cameron again on House before the end of the season." ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) Rumors are swirling that Conan O'Brien could be beating a path to FOX to launch a latenight franchise to rival The Tonight Show but it's not exactly a smooth ride. "There are still a slew of obstacles standing in his way at Fox, including those same network affiliates. And several Fox insiders wonder whether it would even be possible to launch a latenight Conan O'Brien franchise anytime soon," writes Variety 's Michael Schneider. "Still, once O'Brien manages to settle out of his NBC contract -- and that's the route he

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. The Hollywood Reporter 's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that TNT is very close to a deal with Warner Bros. Television to acquire cancelled NBC cop drama Southland . The deal, which is now said to appear "likely," would save the series--which produced six new installments for a second season at NBC--from cancellation, after NBC axed the series before launching the series' second season. ( Hollywood Reporter ) Bravo has ordered a spinoff of its culinary competition series Top Chef entitled Top Chef: Just Desserts , which will air next year and focus on a showdown between pastry chefs in a weekly competition. Top Chef producers Magical Elves are on board for the spinoff, which will begin casting this week. No host or judges have been determined yet for the series, which will air in between cycles of Top Chef and Top Chef Masters . ( Variety ) The Wrap's Josef Adalian takes a look at what appear to be the first two

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams has an interview with FlashForward and Lost star Sonya Walger, in which Walger talks about her time on Lost and teases some details about what is coming up for Olivia on FlashForward . "She's going to be forced quite soon to deal with whether or not you can change the future," said Walger. "She keeps being reminded — evidence keeps being presented all around her — that you can't change it. Every time she thinks she's seen the last of Lloyd and that she's managed to avoid it, he keeps coming back." ( TVGuide.com ) Mark your calendars: HBO has set a return date for drama series Big Love , which will launch its fourth season on January 10th. ( Variety ) In a twist that surprised no one, FOX has reduced its episode order for Warner Bros. Television-produced drama procedural Past Life to seven installments (including the pilot). The series, which follows an investig

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. The Wrap's Josef Adalian is reporting that J.J. Abrams is returning to the spy business with a new potential series project with writer/executive producer Josh Reims ( Felicity, Dirty Sexy Money ) and executive producer Bryan Burk that is the subject of a heated bidding war with several broadcast networks including ABC, NBC, and CBS. The untitled project, from Warner Bros. Television and Bad Robot, follows a husband and wife who work as spies. According to Adalian, the script is described as a "fun romp" in the style of classic television spy adventures. ( The Wrap ) Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Reiko Aylesworth ( 24, Lost ) has been cast in Season Three of FX's legal drama Damages in a recurring role. Details about who Aylesworth--who starred in the original pilot for ABC drama series The Forgotten--will be playing are being kept firmly under wraps. ( Entertainment Weekly 's A

Penance for Joey perhaps? Showtime and BBC Two have joined together to co-produce new comedy series Episodes , set to star Matt LeBlanc ( Friends ). The single-camera comedy series, which received a six-episode commitment from Showtime and BBC Two, revolves around a British couple whose smash-hit British skein is adapted into a "dumbed-down" US sitcom starring Matt LeBlanc (who will play himself). Project, which is slated to air next year on Showtime, is created by David Crane ( Friends ) and Jeffrey Klarik ( The Class ) and will be executive produced by Crane, Klarik, and Hat Trick's Jimmy Mulville. Production is slated to begin this autumn in London and Los Angeles. "What a thrill to have two giants of the comedy world like Klarik and Crane to satirize what they know best: the making (or un-making) of art," said Showtime president of entertainment Bob Greenblatt in a statement. "We jumped at the chance to get involved with this cock-eyed look at network

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. CBS is said to be developing a potential spin-off from its crime drama series Criminal Minds that will be created by showrunner/executive producer Ed Bernero and executive producer Chris Mundy, the latter of which will write the script for the potential spin-off which will air as an episode of Criminal Minds later this season. No concrete details are available but the series is thought to revolve around a new team of FBI agents, rather than focusing on any of the existing Criminal Minds characters. ( Hollywood Reporter ) John Simm ( Life on Mars ), who returns to Doctor Who to reprise his role as The Master this winter, has said that David Tennant's swan song on the British sci-fi series is a "brilliant send-off" for Tennant and the Tenth Doctor. "It'll be a brilliant send-off for Mr Tennant," said Simm. "Last time I did it it was such fun to do. It was wonderful to be asked back and to be in th

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Sci-fi drama series Primeval has been saved from extinction thanks to an unprecedented international co-production deal between Impossible Pictures Limited (IPL), ProSieben, BBC Worldwide (BBCW), ITV, and UKTV. Under the terms of the deal, thirteen new installments of Primeval will be produced for 2011 (the thirteen episodes will comprise two seasons). BBC America will step in to take on a full co-production credit and UKTV will become a first-time investor. Adrian Hodges will again oversee the creative direction of the series, which will feature the return of stars including Hannah Spearritt, Andrew Lee Potts, and Jason Flemyng. " Primeval is one of BBC AMERICA's all time top ten shows and we're thrilled to be co-producing the new season," said BBC America SVP of Programming Richard de Croce. "It’s an innovative deal securing the future of an innovative show - and we can’t wait to bring it back to U.S. fans

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. ABC has confirmed that it has now altered its launch plan for sci-fi drama series V , which is set to premiere November 3rd. The network has decided to air just the first four installments of the Warner Bros. Television-produced series and then place V on hiatus until after the Winter Olympics. The news comes as a surprise as the series, which is written and executive produced by The 4400 's Scott Peters, has enjoyed extremely positive buzz from critics and from Comic-Con audiences who screened the pilot episode earlier this summer. However, both Warner Bros. Television and ABC were quick to point out that the episodic order for V hadn't been shortened; series is still set to air 13 installments. ( Los Angeles Times /Show Tracker ) The first official cancellation of the fall season is here: The Beautiful Life , we hardly knew ye. The CW has confirmed that it has axed The Beautiful Life after just two episodes, which plunge