Casting Couch: Easter Weekend Pilot Round-up

Wondering how to keep track of the plethora of casting related notices this Easter weekend for the latest crop of network and cable pilots? Simply look below.

CW: Michael Cassidy (Hidden Palms, The O.C.) cast in the drama pilot How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls, where he'll play the boyfriend of the main character, a Yale grad hired to tutor two heiresses in Palm Beach.

FOX: US adaptation of UK series (and Televisionary obsession) Spaced has cast two actors. Will Sasso (Less Than Perfect) will play Bill Amberton (a role originated by Nick Frost in the original), conspiracy nut who is the best friend of main character Ben. Federico Dordei (Without a Trace) will play Christian, a quirky artist neighbor who lives downstairs from Ben and Apryl. Yes you read those names correctly: Ben and Apryl replace Tim and Daisy (Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson).

CBS: Amy Smart (Smith) will play the lead in romantic drama pilot Meant to Be's, from Glenn Gordon Caron (Medium), about a wealthy NYC gallery owner (Smart) who elopes only to be thrown off her balcony en route to her honeymoon and becomes a "Mean to Be," who pushes people in the right direction before she can head out to heaven.

Fred Savage (Crumbs) will play the lead in multi-cam comedy Single White Millionaire--from Family Guy writer Ricky Blitt (The Winner)--about a 30-something millionaire looking to settle down.

Whew.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: The Big Bang Theory/How I Met Your Mother (CBS); My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad (NBC); Gossip Girl (CW); Dancing With the Stars (ABC; 8-10 pm); House (FOX)

9 pm: Two and a Half Men/New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS); Deal or No Deal (NBC); Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious (CW); New Amsterdam (FOX)

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

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: Gossip Girl.

It's another chance to catch up on the teen soap. On tonight's repeat episode ("Hi, Society"): Serena's grandmother has no problem expressing her views about the upcoming debutante ball and insists that Serena find a more suitable escort than shabby Dan.

9:30 pm: Old Christine.

On tonight's episode ("The Happy Couple"), Christine learns that Barb and Matthew slept together and forbids them from seeing one another but they turn the tables on her and pretend that they are inseparable. As one does, naturally.

What's Done is Done: The Eternal Struggle Between Good and Evil on the Season Finale of "Lost"

Every story begins with thread. It's up to the storyteller to determine just how much they need to parcel out, what pattern they're making, and when to cut it short and tie it off. With last night's penultimate season finale of Lost ("The Incident, Parts One and Two"), written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, we began to see the pattern that Lindelof and Cuse have been designing towards the last five seasons of this serpentine series. And it was only fitting that the two-hour finale, which pushes us on the road to the final season of Lost , should begin with thread, a loom, and a tapestry. Would Jack follow through on his plan to detonate the island and therefore reset their lives aboard Oceanic Flight 815 ? Why did Locke want to kill Jacob? What caused The Incident? What was in the box and just what lies in the shadow of the statue? We got the answers to these in a two-hour season finale that didn't quite pack the same emotional wallop of previous season

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Katie Lee Packs Her Knives: Breaking News from Bravo's "Top Chef"

The android has left the building. Or the test kitchen, anyway. Top Chef 's robotic host Katie Lee Joel, the veritable "Uptown Girl" herself (pictured at left), will NOT be sticking around for a second course of Bravo's hit culinary competition. According to a well-placed insider, Joel will "not be returning" to the show. No reason for her departure was cited. Unfortunately, the perfect replacement for Joel, Top Chef judge and professional chef Tom Colicchio, will not be taking over as the reality series' host (damn!). Instead, the show's producers are currently scouring to find a replacement for Joel. Top Chef 's second season was announced by Bravo last month, but no return date has been set for the series' ten-episode sophomore season. Stay tuned as this story develops. UPDATE (6/27): Bravo has now confirmed the above story .

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Pilot Inspektor: CBS' "Smith"

I may just have to change my original "What I'll Be Watching This Fall" post, as I sat down and finally watched CBS' new crime drama Smith this weekend. (What? It's taken me a long time to make my way through the stack of pilot DVDs.) While it's on following Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars on Tuesday nights (10 pm ET/PT, to be exact), I'm going to be sure to leave enough room on my TiVo to make sure that I catch this compelling, amoral drama. While one can't help but be impressed by what might just be the most marquee-friendly cast in primetime--Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, Jonny Lee Miller, Amy Smart, Simon Baker, and Franky G all star and Shohreh Aghdashloo has a recurring role--the pilot's premise alone earned major points in my book: it's a crime drama from the point of view of the criminals, who engage in high-stakes heists. But don't be alarmed; it's nothing like NBC's short-lived Heist . Instead, think of it as The Italian

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