[Televisionary]

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Former Dirty Sexy Money star Natalie Zea, who most recently recurred on HBO's Hung , has signed on a series regular on FX's drama Lawman , starring Timothy Olyphant. Zea, who appeared in Lawman 's pilot, will reprise her role as the ex-wife of Olyphant's US Marshall Givens in the series. Project hails from Sony Pictures Television and FX Productions. ( Hollywood Reporter ) Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Emmy winner Armand Assante has been cast as a guest star on NBC's Chuck , where he will play "a Castro-esque dictator who Casey has unsuccessfully tried to assassinate multiple times." ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) The CW has given a full season order to veteran drama series One Tree Hill , which is currently in its seventh season. Initially, the netlet had only ordered 13 installments for this season but the order bumps the episode total to a full 22. El...

Is it the next Lost ? That seems to be the question on many people's minds regarding ABC's new ensemble drama series FlashForward , which launches tomorrow evening and is based on Robert J. Sawyer's novel of the same name. After all, despite the many protestations of the actors and creators of the series that FlashForward isn't at all like Lost , there are some similarities on the surface. A group of disparate and ethnically diverse individuals united by a staggering and life-altering phenomenon? Check. Said phenomenon possibly caused by some sci-fi wackiness? Check. Non-linear storytelling that reveals information about the characters? Check again. Questions about fate versus free will? Youbetcha. Dominic Monaghan and Sonya Walger? Um, yeah. That said, FlashForward is a different beast than Lost , which wraps its run beginning in January. When it began, Lost was ostensibly about the survivors of a plane crash on a seriously creepy island; while there were whispers o...

Were you just as surprised as I was by how much you enjoyed CBS' new legal drama The Good Wife ? I'll admit that I didn't have the highest of expectations for The Good Wife , which stars Julianna Margulies, Christine Baranski, Josh Charles, Matt Czuchry, Chris Noth, and Archie Panjabi. Despite its high wattage cast, it's not the type of series that I would ordinarily tune in to. But I have to say: I was sucked in pretty quickly to the action. Part of the series' appeal has got to be Margulies, who plays wounded politician's wife Alicia Florrick, whose husband (Chris Noth) is imprisoned after a sex scandal raises questions about his abuses of power in office. Alicia has got to be the best role that Margulies has played in years as well as the most charismatic. (It almost erases the bitter sting of short-lived FOX legal drama Canterbury's Law .) But now that the pilot episode has aired, I'm curious to know what you thought of the first installment of The G...

Just a quick and impassioned reminder to be sure to tune in to the series premiere of ABC's first-rate comedy Modern Family tonight. I've been raving about this series since I first saw the pilot in May (you can read my advance review here ) and I can't help but shout from the rooftops about this remarkable gem of a television series. (Hell, it gives me hope about the relevance of broadcast television and that's no mean feat.) I was interviewed recently by USA Weekend and asked which series I was most excited about this fall and Modern Family topped that list. "Hands down, this is my favorite new series so far," I said about Modern Family , which "has a winning combination of quirkiness, witty banter and heart. It explores how the post-nuclear family ticks and how universal bonds of love and frustration keep it all together." And it's delightfully funny to boot. So do yourself a favor and be sure to tune in tonight. You'll thank me in the m...

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. Los Angeles Times ' Show Tracker has an interview with Dollhouse creator Joss Whedon about Season Two of the FOX drama series, which returns on Friday. Asked about how malleable the future depicted in the unaired thirteen episode "Epitaph One" is, Whedon said, "We talked about whether it was malleable or not, and right now we pretty much take it as gospel. But then we have a lot of different opinions about how it gets there and who does what. We're fascinated by the implications of this future, and a lot of this season has been guided by it without being so beholden to it that people who didn't see it won't understand. We were incited by the idea that the abuse of power is more widespread than just this one house." ( Los Angeles Times ' Show Tracker ) J.J. Abrams' production shingle Bad Robot has landed a pilot presentation order from FOX for a half-hour comedy series that's being de...

Patty Hewes will have some new enemies to contend with. FX today announced that they have signed deals with Martin Short to join the cast of serpentine legal drama Damages for its third season, which launches in January. The news comes on the heels of the network's announcement that Campbell Scott, who recently recurred on USA's summer drama Royal Pains , would star in the Sony Pictures Television-produced drama series. Also on tap for Season Three of Damages : Lily Tomlin and Keith Carradine, who will guest star opposite series regulars Glenn Close, Rose Byrne, and Tate Donovan, as well as Ebon Moss-Bachrach ( John Adams ), Michael Gaston ( Fringe ), and Darren Goldstein, who will reprise his role as Chris Sharp from Season One of Damages . Production on Season Three of Damages is set to begin tomorrow in New York City for a January premiere on FX. The full press release from FX, announcing the casting additions, can be found below. FX’S DAMAGES SUMMONS NEW CAST MEMBERS FOR ...

"I feel like I just went to my own funeral. And I didn't like the eulogy." Throughout its two and a half season run so far, Mad Men has been positively overflowing with shocking, memorable, and sensational moments but the scene in this week's episode of Mad Men ("A Guy Walks into an Advertising Agency") has managed to walk away with one of the most gasp-inducing scenes ever glimpsed on the period drama. Yes, I'm talking about that foot. This week's stunning installment, written by Robin Veith and Matthew Weiner and directed by Lesli Linka Glatter, was notable for several reasons beyond the morbidly hysterical bloodbath at Sterling Cooper. Centering as it did on the upcoming Independence Day holiday, the installment revolved around several story strands: Joan's departure from Sterling Cooper as she awaits the news about Greg's residency, Sally's inability to let go of her grandfather even as she cannot deal with the arrival of her baby b...