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Channel Surfing: Grace Park Heads to "Hawaii Five-O," James Callis Has "FlashForward," Dermot Mulroney Lands "Rockford Files," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

Former Battlestar Galactica star Grace Park--most recently seen opposite Benjamin Bratt in A&E drama The Cleaner--is the latest to come aboard CBS' remake of cop drama series Hawaii Five-O, starring Alex O'Loughlin and Daniel Dae Kim. Park will play Kona Kalakaua, who is the niece of Hawaii State Police detective Chin Ho Kelly (Kim) and is described as " beautiful and smart champion surfer who is about to graduate from the police academy when McGarrett (O'Loughlin) recruits her to join his team." Meanwhile, Park's former Cylon co-star Tricia Helfer has joined the cast of TNT's Dark Blue, which returns later this year for its second season, as a series regular. (Hollywood Reporter)

SCIFI Wire is reporting that James Callis (Battlestar Galactica) has signed on for a multiple-episode story arc on ABC's FlashForward, where he will play a mysterious character whom producers are keeping under wraps. "I don't actually want to tell you anything about the character, because he's a really exciting, unusual character," executive producer/showrunner Jessica Borsiczky. "So I think it's going to be fun for the audience. He's going to be involved with Olivia's trajectory ... some of Olivia's journey." (SCIFI Wire)

NBC has landed its lead for its remake of The Rockford Files. Dermot Mulroney (Flash of Genius) has joined the cast of the David Shore-executive produced drama pilot, where he will play private investigator Jim Rockford, a role played in the original series by James Garner. Project, from Universal Media Studios and Carousel Television, is written by Shore, who will executive produce alongside Steve Carell. (Variety)

[Editor: Additionally, if you're looking for information about the current Paley Festival, you can check out my recap on Friday's Modern Family panel here and Saturday's Lost panel here.]

Jordana Spiro (My Boys) will star opposite Becki Newton in NBC dramedy pilot Love Bites, from writer/executive producer Cindy Chupack, Universal Media Studios and Working Title Television. Spiro will play Frannie, described as "a sarcastic career bridesmaid who is sick of being single." Her best friend is the virginal Annie, played by Newton. They are the only two series regulars as the series will be a loosely connected anthology of modern romance. (Hollywood Reporter)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Janeane Garofalo has been cast in Hannah Shakespeare and John Wells' untitled CBS medical drama opposite Amy Smart and Rachelle Lefevre. Project, written by Shakespeare, follows a mobile medical team that travels the country and helps the less fortunate. Garofalo will play chief nurse/operations manager Angel, described as "the backbone of the organization, she can tell you who’s where, what’s where, and everything in between. Angel never loses her cool and is always compassionate toward those who need help." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

In other pilot-casting news, Dylan Walsh (Nip/Tuck) has been cast in Michael Dinner's CBS drama pilot ATF, where he will play an ATF agent who chases down dangerous criminals and raises his estranged teenage daughter. His former co-star, Joely Richardson, meanwhile has landed the lead in Jerry Bruckheimer's ABC legal drama pilot The Whole Truth, where she will play Kathryn Pearle, a successful Manhattan prosecutor.

Elsewhere, David Walton (100 Questions) has been cast in NBC comedy pilot Perfect Couples, Eric Close (Without a Trace) has joined the cast of CBS drama pilot Chaos, Nicole Sullivan (Rita Rocks) has been cast in CBS comedy pilot Shit My Dad Says, Bob Odenkirk (Breaking Bad) has landed a role in CBS comedy pilot Team Spitz, Jacob Vargas (Moonlight) has been cast in CBS drama pilot The Odds, Joel David Moore (Avatar) has joined the cast of NBC comedy pilot Nathan vs. Nurture; and Amber Tamblyn (The Unusuals), Kenneth Mitchell (Ghost Whisperer), Sam Witwer (Smallville), and David Giuntoli (The Deep End) have landed the leads in CBS drama pilot Quinn-Tuplets. (Hollywood Reporter)

Anne Son (ER) has been cast in ABC drama pilot Generation Y, according to series creator Noah Hawley. (Twitter)

Warner Bros. Television has signed a two-year overall deal with director/executive producer Danny Cannon (Dark Blue, The Forgotten), under which Cannon will continue to work with Jerry Bruckheimer Prods. as well as develop new material for the network. He'll next direct the pilot for the CW action drama Nikita. (Variety)

ABC has ordered a one-hour recap special for drama FlashForward, which it will air on Tuesday, March 16th at 10 pm ET/PT (it will pre-empt The Forgotten), two days prior to the return of the sci-fi series. The special, entitled FlashForward: What Did You See?, will recap the first ten episodes of the ABC Studios-produced drama. (Futon Critic)

NBC has renewed its musical competition series The Sing Off for a second season. No premiere date has been given. (Hollywood Reporter)

TVGuide.com's Adam Bryant has an interview with Rules of Engagement star Patrick Warburton, in which he says that he feels like the Sony Pictures Television-produced comedy has been discounted over the years and should get the chance to launch in the fall with most other network series. "This show grew," said Warburton about the upcoming season. "All of a sudden, it just got really fun. The scripts were great and ... the cast has a lot of chemistry. It's what half-hour TV is supposed to be: It's got some laughs and it's entertaining, and I think it's relatable." (TVGuide.com)

Craig Robinson (The Office) will host the upcoming return of NBC's Last Comic Standing, which returns to the schedule this summer for a seventh season. (Hollywood Reporter)

BBC One has commissioned one-off drama Atlantis, starring Reece Ritchie (The Lovely Bones) and Stephanie Leonida (MirrorMask), which will recount the legend of Atlantis and the civilization's destruction, which many believe was based around the real-life eruption of a volcano in the Aegean Sea which flooded Crete, created massive tsunamis, and destroyed the island of Thera. (BBC)

Vivica A. Fox will join Carrie Ann Inaba and Chris Harrison as part of TV Guide Network's red carpet coverage of the Academy Awards on Sunday, March 7th. (TVGuide.com)

Stay tuned.

Comments

Hannah Moon said…
Normally, I would have absolutely no interest in the Hawaii Five-O remake but with Grace Park and Daniel Dae Kim in leading roles, I may just have to watch the first episode.
Anonymous said…
Guess that means Grace Park has left CBC's "The Border"...
Jimmy Jim said…
Remaking the Rockford Files? Why in God's name? That show was great for it's time. Why not have a continuation with another Rockford. (Maybe a nephew or "forgotten" grandson of Rocky. Maybe he helps Jim - played by Garner - finish a case that has haunted him for years and was on the cusp of solving when he was felled by a stroke!) That way you can reference the old show, but can come up with some original ideas as well. Stop with the "remakes!" Logical time related progression of a show is okay, but stop the remakes!

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