[Televisionary]

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Eddie Izzard ( The Riches ) has signed on to appear in Season Three of Showtime's dark comedy United States of Tara . Izzard is set to appear in eight episodes of Tara , where he will play "Tara’s brilliant psychology professor who starts as a DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) skeptic, but becomes fascinated with Tara as a subject, leading him to explore the condition further." Production is slated to begin this month for a 2011 premiere. ( Deadline ) Joan Cusack has been cast in Showtime's upcoming drama series (and Televisionary personal favorite) Shameless , where she will play Shiela, an agoraphobic mother to a sexually active teenage daughter. Cusack, who is set to appear in twelve episodes of Shameless , replaces Allison Janney, who appeared in the pilot but had to withdraw from the role due to her commitment to ABC's midseason comedy Mr. Sunshine , sta

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Chuck Versus the Mercenaries? Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that WWE champion wrestler Batista, Eric Roberts ( The Expendables ), and Joel David Moore ( Bones ) are set to appear in the fourth episode of Chuck 's fourth season this fall. The trio will guest star as "Casey's former Soldiers of Fortune buddies from the Clinton era" who have "gone rogue and are back to seek revenge on their ex-comrade." The episode is entitled "Chuck Versus the Coup D'Etat." Season Four of Chuck is slated to launch on September 30th. ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) While Maureen Ryan hasn't officially started at AOL Television (she doesn't until September 1st), that hasn't stopped her from landing an exclusive: namely that Katee Sackhoff will be returning to CBS' The Big Bang Theory this fall, where she will reprise her role as "Katee Sackhoff,&q

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. Vulture's Josef Adalian is reporting that FOX is in talks with 20th Century Fox Television and Dreamworks to develop a series based on Joe Hill's comic book "Locke and Key," which revolves around "three kids who end up watching over a secret, spooky New England mansion filled with mystical doors that transport them to different worlds and give them special powers (like turning into a ghost)," according to Adalian. But FOX isn't turning to just anyone to adapt the series created by Hill (who happens to be the son of Stephen King): Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci ( Fringe, Hawaii Five-0 ) and Josh Friedman ( Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles ) as well as Steven Spielberg are attached as executive producers. ( Vulture , Hollywood Reporter ) Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that there's some major behind the scenes drama brewing at HBO's much anticipated dark comedy

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Good news for Community ; bad news for Parks and Recreation . The Futon Critic is reporting that NBC has opted to forgo repeats of Season Two of Parks and Recreation for the remainder of the summer, instead using the Thursday 9:30 pm timeslot for a second round of Community repeats. [Editor: While I applaud NBC for recognizing the potential of Dan Harmon's Community , I wish it weren't at the expense of Parks and Rec , which won't even return for its third season until "midseason."] Planned repeats for August 26th and September 2nd will instead be filled by Community episodes... which means that the airwaves will be Pawnee-free until the series returns at a to-be-determined point later in the season. ( Futon Critic ) SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that John Glover will return to the CW's Smallville to reprise his role as Lionel Luthor in a multiple-episode story arc on

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. Good news for Annie Walker fans: USA has officially ordered a second season of espionage drama Cover Affairs . No word was given on an episodic order nor when Season Two of the Universal Cable Production-based series would launch, though the first season of the CIA drama is currently in full swing on the cabler. Series, which is shot on location in Toronto, is currently the highest rated cable series on Tuesdays in the 10 pm hour. (via press release) Longtime followers on Twitter will remember that I pushed Josh Holloway for the role of Jim Rockford in NBC's resurrected The Rockford Files back in the spring when I read the pilot script. Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is now pushing Holloway as well and reports that the former Lost star has been "mentioned in connection to the project, but [an unnamed] insider stresses that there are no serious talks going on at this time." So it's not like an offer ha

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. It's official: Syfy has renewed drama Eureka for a fifth season. The news of the renewal--no surprise given the ratings and the creative resurgence of the series this summer--was announced by Mark Stern, EVP of Original Programming for Syfy and Co-Head of Content for Universal Cable Productions, which produces the series. “ Eureka remains a steadfast performer for Syfy with its superb cast and perfect blend of drama, comedy and eye candy,” said Stern in an official statement. "Given what Jaime, Bruce and their entire team have done collectively to reinvent the show this year, we can't wait to see what's in store for season 5." (via press release) Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Chad Faust ( The 4400 ) has been cast in a recurring role on FOX's upcoming drama series Lone Star , where he will play Harrison, the ex-husband of Adrianne Palicki's Cat. Ausiello, per unnamed s

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Sometimes the networks taketh and sometimes they give back. Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that HBO has had a change of heart about animated comedy The Life and Times of Tim , which it cancelled two months ago. The pay cabler has now reversed its position on the cult hit, ordering a third season of Tim , with ten episodes slated to air sometime next year. Media Rights Capital, the production company behind the project (along with Good Humor TV), attempted to shop Tim to other networks--including Comedy Central, Adult Swim, and TBS--but no buyer materialized... and now the project has headed back to HBO. [Editor: I'm relieved as I was really upset when I heard earlier this year that the series wasn't going to get picked up.] ( Deadline ) Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Chris Vance ( Prison Break ) has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on Season Five of Showtime's Dexter

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. TV Guide Magazine 's Will Keck is reporting that Bones producers have turned lemons into lemonade with their upcoming Jersey Shore -inspired episode, following the breakdown in talks with The Situation. Instead, Bones has recruited Antonio Sabato Jr. to play a "guido bouncer at a Jersey Shore club that Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Booth (David Boreanaz) visit to question someone involved with a murder." ( TV Guide Magazine ) Mad Men 's Sam Page is heading to the Upper East Side, according to Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello, who reports that Page has been cast in a multiple-episode story arc on the CW's Gossip Girl , where he will play a new love interest for Blake Lively's Serena. He's first expected to turn up in an episode slated to air in October. ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) The Chicago Tribune 's Maureen Ryan--soon to be AOL's chief television critic--has an

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. TV Guide Magazine 's Will Keck is reporting that former Heroes star Masi Oka will guest star on CBS' upcoming reboot of crime drama Hawaii Five-0 , where he will play a local coroner who assists Steve McGarrett and his team solve some murders. "He'll debut in the fourth episode as the coroner and be billed as a guest star," writes Keck. "But with the body count expected to spike considerably in Oahu, this coroner could potentially be busy for several seasons." Keck also reports that D.L. Hughley will guest star in the third episode. ( TV Guide Magazine ) You can breath a sigh of relief: it looks like The Situation won't be turning up on Bones this season after all, according to Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello, who says that plans to have the Jersey Shore star turn up as a murder victim this season on Bones haven't come to fruition. “The Situation is not going to work out,” execu

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. AMC has given a series order to pilot The Killing , which hails from writer/executive producer Veena Sud and Fox Television Studios and is based on Danish television series Forbrydelsen , ordering thirteen episodes which will air sometime in 2011. Series, which will star Big Love 's Mireille Enos, revolves around the murder of a young girl and a police investigation that connects several seemingly separate story threads. "We are thrilled to be moving forward with this stunning piece of television," said Joel Stillerman, AMC's senior vp of original programming, production and digital content, in a statement. "It is a crime drama, but it is also a gripping character based story that pulls you in and doesn't let go. The storytelling is completely compelling, and the show is visually breathtaking." In addition to Enos, the project--which will be renamed, sadly--also stars Billy Campbell, Michelle Forbes,

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. Could Steve Carell's Michael Scott be replaced by Danny McBride ( Eastbound and Down ) or Rhys Darby ( Flight of the Conchords )? That's the word from Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello, who reports that producers of The Office have reached out to the duo to check their level of interest in appearing on the series later this season. Showrunner Paul Lieberstein had told Ausiello that the producers are in talks about introducing a salesman to the Scranton team later this season, but that might not be related to the vacancy opening up from Carell's departure. "We haven’t settled exactly who will take over,” said Lieberstein. [Editor: As much as I love McBride and Darby, I still maintain that the network would be wise to wrap up the series after this season.] ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that Britney Spears will be appearing on FOX's Glee

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Sue Sylvester, SNL host? Moveline is reporting that Glee 's Jane Lynch will be hosting the October 9th episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live . No word yet on whether Lynch--who is nominated for an Emmy Award in the Supporting Actress in a Comedy category--will be packing Sue's ubiquitous track suits for the hosting gig. What is certain, however, is that Lynch will be bringing her acute comic timing to the host role for SNL 's 36th season. ( Movieline ) Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that the CW is planning to launch a crossover between One Tree Hill and Life Unexpected this fall, with One Tree Hill 's Haley (Bethany Joy Galeotti) and Mia (Kate Voegele) dropping by the October 12th installment of Life Unexpected , where they will perform at a Portland music festival that's sponsored by the radio station where Shiri Appleby's Kate works. "Haley and Cate are surprised to lear