USA feels 'Burn,' 'Pains'

Network renews its hit summer series

By Nellie Andreeva

The summer's hottest cable series will be back.

Sources said that USA Network has renewed its flagship action drama "Burn Notice" and breakout freshman hit "Royal Pains."

The pickups come amid another sizzling summer for the basic cable network, which is wrapping up July as cable's most-watched network after finishing first during the second-quarter ratings race.

The Thursday combo of "Burn" and "Pains" has been the main driver of USA's ratings surge, with all fresh episodes of the series landing in the top 20 programs on ad-supported cable for the month.

On July 9, the original runs of the Fox TV Studios-produced "Burn" and Universal Cable Prods.' "Pains" drew 7.1 million and 7.3 million viewers, respectively.

"Burn," starring Jeffrey Donovan, is being picked up for a fourth season. The show it helped launch, the Mark Feuerstein-starring medical soap "Pains," is being renewed for a second turn.

Alfre Woodard joins 'Three Rivers'

Heather Stephens cast on 'The Forgottten'

By Nellie Andreeva

Four-time Emmy winner Alfre Woodard has been tapped as a lead on CBS' new medical drama "Three Rivers" opposite Alex O'Laughlin.

Meanwhile, Heather Stephens has joined another new fall drama, ABC's "The Forgottten."

CBS Par's "Rivers" is about organ transplants seen through the points of view of the doctors, donors and recipients.

Woodard will play Sophia Jordan, head of surgery at Three Rivers Hospital. The role was recast after being played by Julia Ormond in the pilot.

Woodard, who co-starred in Tyler Perry's "The Family That Preys," is repped by ICM and D/F Management.

"Forgotten," from WBTV and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, is a mystery drama revolving around a group of amateur detectives led by a former cop (Christian Slater) whose 11-year-old daughter had been kidnapped.

In a recasting, TalentWorks-repped Stephens will play one of the sleuths, Lindsay, left to care for her baby after her husband is thrown in jail for an unknown crime. The character, originally named Linda, was played in the pilot by Reiko Aylesworth.

Two upped on 'Beautiful Life'

Elle Macpherson, Corbin Bleu become regulars

By Nellie Andreeva

Elle Macpherson and Corbin Bleu have been promoted to regulars on the CW's new drama "The Beautiful Life."

On the show, about a group of models living together in a co-ed residence in New York, Macpherson plays Claudia, a 1980s supermodel who owns the top modeling agency in New York.

"High School Musical" alum Bleu plays a male model with a Lenny Kravitz vibe.

Both guest-starred in the pilot in recurring roles.

Former supermodel Macpherson, who is making her acting comeback with "Beautiful Life," is repped by Fortitude.

Production on "Beautiful Life" is slated to begin on Friday after been pushed by a week to complete sets for the show.

The series has been drawing a lot of attention with the medical problems of co-star Mischa Barton.

Robert Knepper is 'Heroes' regular

Character at the center of new circus story line

By Nellie Andreeva

"Heroes" is getting more villainous: Robert Knepper has been upped to regular on the NBC drama.

Knepper's character Samuel is at the center of the major new story line on the sci-fi series. He is the charismatic but evil Earth-moving ringleader of a traveling carnival who recruits people with special powers for a mysterious purpose.

"Prison Break" alum Knepper originally signed for six episodes and so far has appeared in every episode of the show's upcoming fourth season. Knepper, who recently joined the cast of "Heroes" for the series' panel at Comic-Con in San Diego, follows in the footsteps of another baddie on the show, Zachary Quinto (Sylar), who also started off as a recurring before becoming one of the show's breakout stars.

Knepper is repped by Fortitude, D/F Management and attorney Todd Rubenstein.

FX calls up 'Lawman'

Series starring Timothy Olyphant nabs 13-episode order

By Nellie Andreeva

"Lawman" is a go at FX with a 13-episode order.

The cable network has picked up to series the pilot, previously known as untitled Elmore Leonard or "Fire in the Hole."

Written by Graham Yost, "Lawman" is based on the Leonard character Raylan Givens featured in his short story "Fire in the Hole."

Timothy Olyphant stars as U.S. Marshal Givens, a modern-day 19th-century-style lawman enforcing his brand of justice in a way that puts a target on his back with criminals and places him at odds with his bosses in the Marshal service.

"Graham began with a memorable character from one of America's foremost crime novelists, Elmore Leonard, and we scored the hat-trick signing Tim Olyphant, who is absolutely pitch-perfect in the role of Raylan Givens," said John Landgraf, president and general manager of FX Networks.

"Lawman," produced by Sony Pictures TV and FX Prods., will start production on its series order this fall in Southern California for a spring 2010 premiere.

Yost is exec producing with Leonard, Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly and Michael Dinner, who directed the pilot.

"Lawman" marks the fourth series collaboration between FX and Sony which also has produced the network's dramas "The Shield," "Rescue Me" and "Damages."

"This gripping narrative of justice being served has such universal themes, it's sure to resonate with FX's viewers," said Sony TV's president of programming Zack Van Amburg.

Starz adds "Fly" to original slate
Network gives 10-episode order to dark comedy
by CYNTHIA LITTLETON

Diving deeper into the original series biz, Starz has given a 10-episode order to a half-hour dark comedy from multihyphenate Eric Schaeffer and "Seinfeld" alum Jill Franklyn.

Pay cabler also has a number of prospective series in development, including another project from Rob Thomas, creator-exec producer of the Starz comedy "Party Down," and a comedy from Matthew McConaughey's production shingle.

The Schaeffer/Franklyn series, tentatively titled "Failure to Fly," revolves around a support group for people who tried to commit suicide but are now embracing their second chance at a happy life.

Schaeffer will co-star and exec produce along with Franklyn. Dan Pasternack will serve as a producer. Starz ordered the series on the strength of its concept. Schaeffer and Franklyn are already working on scripts and are in the process of filling out the cast.

Schaeffer's credits include the FX comedy "Starved" and the Showtime docu-comedy "I Can't Believe I'm Still Single."

Starz is set to announce the pickup today during its presentation at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour in Pasadena.

"Failure" will be lensed in Gotham, where Schaeffer is based. It's tentatively skedded to debut in the spring of 2010.

The "Failure" order is part of Starz's long-term plan to ramp up its roster of original series. The Liberty Media-owned cabler hopes to have various original skeins cycling through its Friday 10-11 p.m. slot on a 52-week basis next year.

Projects in the development hopper at the Starz Media production wing, headed by exec veep Bill Hamm, include "Waterloo," an hourlong laffer from scribe Thomas ("Veronica Mars"). It's described as a coming-of-age story involving a rock band, and it is loosely based on Thomas' youthful adventures.

Dan Etheridge, Danielle Stokdyk and Jennifer Gwartz join Thomas as producers on "Waterloo."

"Jonah and the Whale" centers on a young man's struggle to come into his own in the shadow of a famous, and highly disapproving, father. It hails from the J.K. Livin Prods. banner run by McConaughey, Mark Gustawes, and Chad Mountain.

Martin Lawrence is working on an interracial love story for the channel that he would produce along with scribe Michael Soccio ("The King of Queens"). And Chris Albrecht and Rob Lee are shepherding a drama about a young femme fashion photographer.

TBS puts George Lopez on latenight
Show set to air weeknights at 11
by STUART LEVINE

At the opening day of the Television Critics Assn. tour in Pasadena, TBS presented George Lopez and his foray as a latenight talkshow host. Net announced "Lopez Tonight" will launch Nov. 9.

Lopez's skein will air weeknights at 11 and shoot on the Warner Bros. lot. With his yakker on a half-hour earlier than "The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien" and "Late Show With David Letterman," Lopez didn't feel there was much competition between his show and the others.

Michael Wright, exec VP of programming for TBS, TNT,and TCM, said there's a large swath of viewers who may want to watch Lopez before the other talkshows come on the air. Lopez agreed and added that his status as a minority may draw those who have been unhappy with the current slate of hosts.

"We have 93 million households, and we're in a beautiful position at 11 o'clock. There's an audience out there that's underserved," Lopez said. "In the continuing diversity of the country, and as people become more familiar with you, you realize it's not your father's country anymore."

Lopez suggested that the nature of his show may be fluid depending upon the guests on a given night. Shows could be slightly different in several respects: the length of a monologue, audience participation,and even having a musical guest open the show.

In other Turner news, HLN launches "The Joy Behar Show" on Sept. 28 at 9 p.m. after "Nancy Grace."

"Joy is part of a collection of talkshows that carries the opinions of those hosts," said CNN Worldwide exec VP Ken Jautz. "Our flow across HLN primetime is pretty good but we think it can be better."

Good to see Alfre Woodard is going to be a regular on a series. Hope it works out better than her time on DH. Three Rivers will be on Sundays at 9 which is DH's timeslot.

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'Affairs' in order with Christopher Gorham

Actor to co-star on USA spy thriller

By Nellie Andreeva

Christopher Gorham has been tapped to star opposite Piper Perabo in USA Network's spy thriller "Covert Affairs."

The casting is believed to lift the contingency on the pilot.

Written by Matt Corman and Chris Ord, "Affairs" centers on Annie Walker (Perabo), a multilingual CIA trainee who joins the agency still reeling over a mysterious ex-boyfriend who appears to be of particular interest to her bosses.

Gorham will play Auggie Anderson, a CIA military intelligence/special-ops agent blinded years ago on an assignment who is helping Walker navigate her new job.

Instead of giving "Affairs" a straight pilot order, USA last month hired a casting director and began quietly casting the two leads.

With Perabo and Gorham in place, an official green light is considered imminent.

USA tends to pick up its pilots as cast contingent. The pilot for the breakout hit "Royal Pains" didn't receive a formal green light until Mark Feuerstein signed on, and the pilot for the upcoming "White Collar" was not a firm go until both leads -- Matthew Bomer and Tim DeKay -- were locked in.

"Affairs," from Universal Cable Prods., is executive produced by Dutch Oven's Dave Bartis and Doug Liman, with Corman and Ord co-executive producers.

Gorham most recently starred on the CBS limited horror series "Harper's Island" and recurred on ABC's "Ugly Betty." He is repped by CAA, Rigberg Entertainment Group and attorney Eric Brooks.

Diane Keaton set for HBO comedy

Untitled project from writer Marti Noxon

By Nellie Andreeva

Diane Keaton is venturing into series television with a half-hour comedy at HBO.

Written by Marti Noxon, the untitled project stars the Oscar winner as a feminist icon who attempts to reignite the movement by starting a sexually explicit magazine for women.

The comedy hails from Grady Twins Prods., a production company recently launched by Noxon and Dawn Parouse. Noxon, Parouse and Keaton are executive producing.

"We've came a long way since the Kinsey report; women are more sexual now," said Noxon, referring to Alfred Kinsey's controversial 1953 report "Sexual Behavior in the Human Female."

Added Parouse: "There seems to be a new evolution of what women are sexually. Women are acting more like men sexually."

Noxon had carried the germ of the idea for a show that touches upon feminism as long as she can remember.

She was 12 when her mother came out as a radical feminist and a lesbian and recalls juggling her mom's beliefs -- which included dismissing leg shaving as "giving into patriarchalism" -- with her own interests.

"I wanted to be a gal, I was very interested in men, and I wanted to shave my legs," Noxon said.

She and Parouse bounced around the idea of a young feminist working at a porn magazine, but the moment they decided to make the central character an older, Gloria Steinem-type feminist icon, it all fell into place.

They said Keaton was the first actress they thought of.

"There are a lot of similarities between Diane and Gloria Steinem," Parouse said. "They both grew up in the '50s, a period marked by women finding their relevance sexually, and Diane has been attracted to roles about women exploring their sexuality in films like 'Something's Gotta Give.' "

Keaton has played feminist icons: She portrayed journalist Louise Bryant in 1981 film "Reds" and aviator Amelia Earhart in the 1994 telefilm "Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight."

Noxon and Parouse have been close since meeting on the 2003 Fox drama "Still Life," which they exec produced. They also worked on the network's 2005 series "Point Pleasant" before partying ways to pursue other gigs: Parouse exec producing "Prison Break" at 20th TV and Noxon working on "Grey's Anatomy," "Brothers & Sisters" and "Private Practice" at ABC Studios.

Last year, they both found themselves available and in January decided to launch a company. "We opened a small office on Larchmont Boulevard and we made a pinkie promise to do projects we love and see where it takes us," Parouse said.

After spending most of their careers in broadcast, they want to focus on smaller cable projects with the goal "not to get rich," Noxon quipped.

In May, the company landed its first series order -- for half-hour dramedy "Gigantic" from the N.

They named the company Grady Twins after characters from "The Shining."

"We're attracted to genres, horror and darkness, and we wanted to make sure we reminded each other that we won't become Vagina Prods.," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" alumna Noxon said. "Our goal to make scary shows for television."

Keaton, Noxon and Parouse are repped by WME.

Donal Logue to star in FX P.I. pilot

Comedy from 'Shield' creator, 'Ocean's Eleven' writer

By Nellie Andreeva

Donal Logue has been tapped to star in "Terriers," FX's comedic hourlong pilot from "The Shield" creator Shawn Ryan and "Ocean's Eleven" writer Ted Griffin.

The project, from Fox21, centers on Hank (Logue), an ex-cop who partners with his best friend to launch a P.I. business where the duo, both with maturity issues, solve crimes while trying to avoid danger and responsibility.

Hank is an affable, talkative fellow who's not always the best liar but is adept at adopting different personas to find out information. He is alarmed by what he perceives as signs of his encroaching senility.

Griffin penned the script for "Terriers" and is executive producing with Ryan.

Logue, who most recently co-starred on NBC cop drama "Life" and in the 2008 Fox film "Max Payne," is repped by CAA, Kipperman Management and attorney Shep Rosenman.

NBC rewinds "Rockford"
Network taps Shore for new take on '70s show
by CYNTHIA LITTLETON

Jim Rockford is looking for a comeback.

NBC, Universal Media Studios, and Steve Carell's Carousel Television have tapped "House" creator-exec producer David Shore to shepherd a redo of the classic 1974-80 gumshoe drama that starred James Garner and put Stephen J. Cannell on the map as a writer-producer.

Garner's Emmy-winning portrayal of the ex-con private eye who lived in a trailer in Malibu (and usually worked as hard to get his clients to pay up as he did on solving cases) turned Jim Rockford into one of the most indelible characters of the smallscreen. Shore said as a fan of the show himself, he's well aware of how high the bar is set for the remake.

"It's one of the shows that made me want to become a writer," Shore said. "I had no interest in adapting any old stuff, but this was the one exception."

Shore's just starting to think about an approach to bring "The Rockford Files" into the present day, but he intends to stick with the basic foundation of a private eye in L.A. just trying to make a living.

"What makes 'Rockford' timeless is that he's vulnerable, he's flawed. He's used to hustling and getting hustled," Shore said. "Sometimes he's a hero and sometimes he runs away."

The idea for a "Rockford" revival came from Carousel, which inquired about the rights to the Universal TV property after Carousel cut a production pact with Universal Media Studios in January. Laura Lancaster, NBC/UMS' exec veep of drama, knew that Shore was a big "Rockford" buff, and the match was easily made.

"The minute I heard this I said, 'Let's get it on for midseason' . . . but we're going to take our time and get it right," said Angela Bromstad, prexy of primetime entertainment for NBC Entertainment and UMS. "We know that David has the right sensibility as a writer to take on this kind of big character."

The original "Rockford" was co-created by Cannell and Roy Huggins, a prolific and influential TV scribe who created "Maverick," the offbeat Western that made Garner a star in the late '50s, and "The Fugitive," among other shows.

"Rockford," which earned the Emmy for drama series in 1978, was a training ground for a number of future biz heavyweights, including scribes David Chase, Juanita Bartlett, Chas. Floyd Johnson and thesps Dennis Dugan and Tom Selleck. Show's strong supporting cast included Noah Beery Jr., Stuart Margolin, Joe Santos, and Gretchen Corbett.

Exclusive: Amy Poehler returns to "SNL" (REALLY?!)
by Michael Ausiello

NBC is bringing in the big guns to help launch its new Thursday night comedy lineup this fall. Actually, more like big gun: Amy Poehler.

Sources confirm to me exclusively that Poehler will reunite with Seth Meyers behind the anchor desk for "Saturday Night Live" Weekend Update Thursday on Sept. 17. The Poehler-ized Update will lead into the second season premiere of Poehler’s "Parks and Recreation" at 8:30 pm, followed by the return of "The Office" at 9, and the debut of the new comedy "Community" at 9:30. ("30 Rock" returns October 15.)

Wait — there’s more…

Poehler, who just scored a second consecutive supporting actress Emmy nod for "SNL" (word is she wisely submitted the “Palin Rap” episode), will co-anchor SNLWUT with Meyers the following Thursday (Sept. 24) as well. It’s unclear who (if anyone) he’ll be paired with for SNLWUT‘’s four scheduled episodes after that.

Amy and Seth, together again! Woo-hoo, right?!

HBO renews 'Hung,' 'True Blood,' 'Entourage'
By James Hibberd
The Hollywood Reporter
July 30, 2009

HBO announced the renewal of its entire summer original programming lineup, ordering another round of freshman comedy "Hung," veteran comedy "Entourage" and hit vampire drama "True Blood."

Network executives addressing the critics at the Television Critics Association's semi-annual press tour said "Hung" will get a second season, "True Blood" a third and "Entourage" a seventh. The new seasons will debut sometime next year, with "Blood" firmly planned for summer.

The freshly formed Sunday-night lineup has given HBO two consecutive hours of hit programming for the first time in years. "True Blood" in particular has managed to increase its audience with nearly every episode, giving the network its most-watched show since "The Sopranos."

"True Blood" has averaged 3.8 million viewers (11.2 when you add repeats, DVR and On Demand viewing), "Hung" has averaged 3.1 million (10.2 million cume) and "Entourage" brings in about 3.0 million (7.4 million cume).

Programming head Michael Lombardo and co-president Richard Plepler also dropped hints about the fates and air dates of other HBO programming during the network's executive session. (Full HBO executive session live blog here...)

Next year HBO intends to air "Big Love" in January and roll out its highly anticipated WWII miniseries "The Pacific" in March. The war epic will eventually serve as lead-in for "Treme," the New Orleans drama from "The Wire" creator David Simon.

Emmy-nominated "Flight of the Conchords" will also likely return, with executives making a third season sound very probable.

"When they're ready, we're ready," Plepler said of the show's musical comedy duo Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. "They have the added challenge of writing an album ... we're waiting for them to tell us they're ready."

Though HBO's full development pipeline is expected to give the network some tough choices in the coming months, one project looking almost certain to make the air is Martin Scorsese's "Boardwalk Empire."

"By everything we've seen, it's fantastic," Lombardo said. "It's big; it's everything we hoped it would be."

Executives were less certain about critical favorite "In Treatment" and "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency," the latter program having lost executive producer Anthony Minghella during a cancer operation, but didn't rule out either show returning.

"We're trying to put it together," Lombardo said of "Treatment." "It's adapted from a series which there were only two seasons ... we're trying to see if it's possible."

The session opened with communications executive Quentin Schaffer setting the tone for the Q&A: "Two years ago we were feeling beat up, now we're feeling upbeat."

Plepler described the network's current business model as "resilient," noting, "We feel cautiously very optimistic ... All of our viewership is up across all categories ... We don't have more money to spend, but we have an enviable amount of money to do the projects we want to do."

When asked about the recent success of premium cable competitor Showtime, Plepler said he doesn't think of the playing field as "a zero sum game."

"Other people can do good work; it doesn't negate our good work," he said.

Here's the ratings for each of the renewed shows:

True Blood
SD+1 (six episodes) -- 3.8 million viewers
Live+7 (four episodes) -- 4.5 million viewers
Gross Audience, including On Demand, repeats, DVR (four episodes) -- 11.2 million viewers

Hung
SD+1 (four episodes) -- 3.1 million viewers
Live+7 (two episodes) -- 3.7 million viewers
Gross Audience (two episodes) -- 10.2 million viewers

Entourage
SD+1 (three episodes) -- 3.0 million viewers
Live+7 (one episode) -- 4.1 million viewers
Gross Audience (one episode) -- 7.4 million viewers

http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/07...blood-entourage.html

"United States of Tara" exclusive: Joey Lauren Adams falls for "Buck"
by Michael Ausiello

Looks like love is in the air for Toni Collette’s male alter on "United States of Tara."

Sources confirm to me exclusively that Joey Lauren Adams ("Chasing Amy") is joining the Showtime comedy’s season 2 cast as Pammy, a funny and warm barmaid who has a history of picking the wrong guys. Her luck changes the day she meets “Buck” and falls head over heels in love.

Adams is on board for at least three episodes. "Tara"’s 12-episode second season debuts in early 2010.