Here is a special thread completely devoted to all television casting and development updates. Please feel free to comment and add the latest information for September, 2009.

Lifetime Movie sets 'Double' date
Tamera Mowry, Tia Mowry to star in TV pic

By STUART LEVINE

Lifetime Movie Networks has acquired "Double Wedding," to star Tamera Mowry ("Strong Medicine") and Tia Mowry ("Girlfriends").

Pic, about twin sisters who begin dating the same man, will be directed by Craig Pryce and produced by Automatic Pictures. Jennifer Maisel is writing.

Production begins in September, and the film is set to air in June.

Tamera, Tia and Darlene Mowry, as well as Howard Braunstein and Michael Jaffe, are exec producers.

Two join ABC, NBC midseason series

Nicole Ari Parker, Benjamin Washington in recast parts

By Nellie Andreeva

Nicole Ari Parker has joined ABC's midseason drama series "The Deep End," and Michael Benjamin Washington has been added to another midseason entry, NBC's comedy "100 Questions."

Both regular roles were recast.

On "Deep End," set at an L.A. law firm, Parker will play Susan, a sexy, smart, steely lioness of the firm's litigation department whose husband, Clifford Huddle (Billy Zane), is the firm's new managing partner.

She replaces Sherri Saum, who played the role in the pilot.

Parker, who recently appeared opposite Eddie Murphy in Paramount's "Imagine That," is repped by Gersh and Kritzer Levine Wilkins Griffin Entertainment.

"Questions" stars Sophie Winkleman as Charlotte, who, looking for love, joins an online-dating site.

Washington will play her dating counselor, a role played in the pilot by Amir Talai.

Washington has appeared in such Broadway productions as "Mamma Mia!" and "La Cage aux Folles."

Looks like Jane Lynch's replacement on season 2 of Party Down has been found, per Entertainment Weekly: Megan Mullaly (?!)

She'll play a showbiz mom who joins the team in order to make ends meet while her 13 year-old daughter auditions for her big break as an actress.

Congrats; filming begins next week and the show is slated to return in April 2010.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: PaulHan,

quote:

Originally posted by PaulHan:
Looks like Jane Lynch's replacement on season 2 of Party Down has been found, per Entertainment Weekly: Megan Mullaly (?!)

She'll play a showbiz mom who joins the team in order to make ends meet while her 13 year-old daughter auditions for her big break as an actress.

Congrats; filming begins next week and the show is slated to return in April 2010.

I am glad about this news. I like Jennifer Coolidge in some things but I founder her so annoying on "Party Down" that if she was to have become a permanent replacement for Jane Lynch I might have stopped watching the show.

ABC News: Gibson retiring, Sawyer will be anchor

NEW YORK (AP) — ABC News says Charles Gibson is retiring and Diane Sawyer will replace him as the anchor of "World News."

Sawyer's elevation means that, with Katie Couric, two of the three leading anchors for the broadcast networks will be women.

Gibson said he had been planning to retire at the end of 2007 but events compelled him to stay. He was named anchor following the death of Peter Jennings and the wartime injury of Bob Woodruff. He's been at ABC News for 35 years and says he plans to continue as an occasional contributor.

Gibson took over the ratings lead shortly after he took over at "World News." But he was eventually passed by NBC's Brian Williams, who has led in the ratings for nearly a year.

Britain's Blair hopping the pond for Letterman

NEW YORK (AP) — Tony Blair is set for his first appearance on David Letterman's "Late Show."

CBS says the former British prime minister will visit the late-night host on Tuesday for his first appearance on the show.

He's likely to talk about his current projects, including pushing for peace with Palestinians and seeking a climate change agreement.

He also has a foundation that tries to promote understanding among different religions and is teaching at Yale University.

Also on Letterman that night will be actress Julianna Margulies, who is promoting her new series on CBS.

Avril Lavigne Will Guest-Judge "American Idol"
Sep 2, 2009 by Adam Bryant

Pop-punk rocker Avril Lavigne will sit behind the judges' table during "American Idol"'s Season 9 audition tour.

Lavigne will join Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Kara DioGuardi at the Los Angeles auditions later this week, Fox announced. Lavigne will judge the first day of auditions; the second will be handled by Katy Perry, whose appearance was previously announced but never scheduled.

Lavigne and Perry join a growing list of celebrity judges that also includes Victoria Beckham, Mary J. Blige, Joe Jonas, Neil Patrick Harris, and Kristin Chenoweth.

Lena Headey tapped for "Thrones"
To co-star on HBO's fantasy pilot
by Nellie Andreeva

"Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" star Lena Headey is headed to "Game of Thrones."

Heady has closed a deal to co-star on HBO's fantasy pilot, an adaptation of the George R.R. Martin fantasy book series that chronicles a battle among seven kingdoms and two ruling families for control of the Iron Throne.

She will play Queen Cersei of House Lannister, wife of King Robert (Mark Addy) and sister of twin brother Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and outsider younger brother Tyrion (Peter Dinklage).

The cast of the pilot is led by previously cast Sean Bean as battle-weary Ned Stark, who leaves his home to serve the king.

The casting of Headey, who has a big fan following based on her starring turn in "Terminator," is sure to add to the already strong online interest in HBO's "Games" adaptation.

For the British actress, this is the second queen role in a screen adaptation after her role as Queen Gorgo in the feature "300," based on Frank Miller's graphic novel.

"Mad Men" renewed by AMC
Acclaimed drama to return for fourth season
by JON WEISMAN

AMC has renewed flagship series "Mad Men" for a fourth season on the heels of healthy numbers and wide media exposure for its third-season premiere in August.

The road to renewal was paved once exec producer Matthew Weiner signed a two-year deal with producer Lionsgate in January, after lengthy negotiations, for his continued stewardship of the series.

The Aug. 16 season premiere of "Mad Men" drew 2.8 million viewers in its initial airing (34% more than the season-two debut) and 4.5 million viewers for its opening week, shortly after the show received 16 Emmy nominations (including three acting noms and four writing noms) for its second season. The series won 2008 Emmy drama honors for its freshman year.

"You've seen the show grow three years in a row, and it's been able to maintain what is the most upscale audience on television (according to Nielsen)," AMC prexy-general manager Charlie Collier told Daily Variety. "To have a distinct audience and scale it is really a unique proposition."

Collier said the series would again have its season premiere in the summer.

HBO greenlights "Boardwalk Empire"
Martin Scorsese produces the period drama
by CYNTHIA LITTLETON

HBO has given the series greenlight to the Martin Scorsese-produced period drama "Boardwalk Empire."

Pay cabler has ordered 11 episodes of the series, which revolves around the life of 1920s Atlantic City bigwig Nucky Thompson, who is described as "equal parts politician and gangster." Steve Buscemi stars as Thompson.

Production is expected to begin in the fall in Gotham, with the preem targeted for next year.

"Boardwalk Empire" was created by "Sopranos" alum Terence Winter. The pilot seg was helmed by Scorsese, who will remain a hands-on exec producer on the series. Skein hails from Mark Wahlberg's Closest to the Hole and Stephen Levinson's Leverage production banners. Winter, Scorsese, Wahlberg, Levinson, and Tim Van Patten are exec producers.

Co-stars include Michael Pitt, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, Shea Whigham, Dabney Coleman, and Stephen Graham.

"Boardwalk Empire" will join David Simon's New Orleans-set "Treme" on HBO's slate of frosh dramas next year.

Posted: Wed., Sep. 2, 2009, 4:00pm PT
NBC plans 'Prime Suspect' remake
Deal first output from partnership with ITV
By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

NBC is developing a new take on the groundbreaking U.K. drama series "Prime Suspect."

Hank Steinberg ("Without a Trace") is onboard to develop and write the pilot, which the Pea**** will shoot as a two-hour presentation.

Project is the first output from a multiproject pact sealed by NBC and ITV Studios. Deal includes two more pilot commitments over the next two years for ITV fare at NBC -- including one blind scripted project and one blind nonscripted project.

Partnership was sealed by NBC Primetime Entertainment prexy Angela Bromstad, ITV Global Content managing director Lee Bartlett and U.S.-based ITV Studios CEO Paul Buccieri.

"We want to carefully choose a couple of iconic titles this year to reinvent, and our intention is to create another classic television show from this brilliant original format," Bromstad said. "Hank Steinberg was key in helping us secure this project, and we are incredibly excited about this modern vision for the show."

Deal reps the latest partnership between ITV and NBC. In a reverse of this pact, ITV earlier signed on to produce and air a U.K. version of the long-running Pea**** procedural "Law and Order."

"Prime Suspect" starred Helen Mirren as Det. Chief Inspector Jane Tennison, a tough homicide investigator who found herself juggling her difficult job and equally harrowing personal life.

Lynda La Plante created the drama series, which aired in seven parts between 1991 and 2006, and made waves for featuring a woman as head of a murder squad.

"Prime Suspect" also scored big with critics, who applauded its realistic take on the internal workings of a police unit. The original "Prime Suspect" was a co-production of ITV's Granada and Boston pubcaster WGBH.

In the U.S., "Prime Suspect" first bowed in 1992 as part of the "Mystery" series. Mirren starred in five editions of "Prime Suspect" between 1991 and 1997, before taking a break -- and returning with two more editions, in 2003 and 2006.

"Prime Suspect" made Mirren a household name in the U.S. and earned her two Emmys for lead actress in a miniseries or movie. The second, third and fifth "Prime Suspect" installments also won the Emmy for miniseries.

Steinberg is in the midst of a three-year deal at Universal. Besides creating CBS' "Without a Trace," he also co-created "The Nine," wrote the FX telepic "RFK" and earned an Emmy nom for the HBO telepic "61*."

For ITV, the arrangement reps a major leap back into the U.S. scripted game. As Granada America, the shingle adapted several hit U.K. series for U.S. nets in the 1990s, including "Cracker" and "Cold Feet," but more recently, it has focused on reality TV -- producing shows such as "Hell's Kitchen" for Fox and "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here" this summer for NBC.

ITV's Bartlett said the company shared NBC's "passion and excitement for developing 'Prime Suspect' for American television."

Mehcad Brooks in 'The Deep End'

'True Blood' co-star joins ABC drama as a regular

By Nellie Andreeva

From vampires to ... more conventional blood-suckers.

"True Blood" co-star Mehcad Brooks has joined ABC's midseason legal drama "The Deep End" as a regular.

On the show, set at a prestigious L.A. law firm, Brooks will play a new character, Malcolm Bennet, an associate at the firm.

The casting raises questions about the future of his "True Blood" character, Benedict "Eggs" Talley, who was introduced in the first-season finale.

Brooks was then promoted to regular for the vampire drama's second season and has been prominently featured on the show this summer.

Brooks, who also co-starred on ABC's "Desperate Housewives," is repped by Innovative and Mosaic.

Megan Mullally joins the 'Party'

Emmy winner to play frazzled mother on Starz comedy

By Nellie Andreeva

Emmy winner Megan Mullally has joined Starz's original comedy series "Party Down."

On the show about a Los Angeles catering team, she will play Lydia Dunfree, a middle-aged refugee from a lousy marriage who leaves small town life to move to Hollywood where her 13-year-old daughter Escapade hopes to make it as an actress.

"Party Down" has been looking to fill the void left by the departure of Jane Lynch who co-stars on Fox's "Glee."

Production on the second season of "Party Down" begins in mid-September in Los Angeles. The premiere is tentatively scheduled for April 2010.

Mullaly most recently starred in ABC's "In the Motherhood."

'SNL' adds pair of femmes
Jenny Slate, Nasim Pedrad join cast

By STUART LEVINE

"Saturday Night Live" is upping its femme quotient by adding Jenny Slate and Nasim Pedrad as cast regulars.

With Amy Poehler off the show -- after the first two Thursday "Weekend Update" editions -- NBC's venerable latenight sketch show is increasing its troupe size.

Slate recently starred in her own one-woman show, "Dead Millionaire," at the Upright Citizens Brigade in Gotham and has appeared in the parody bit "7th Floor West" on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon." Iranian-born Pedrad is a regular at the Groundlings in Los Angeles and appeared in several episodes of "ER."

"SNL" will kick off its 35th season Sept. 26 with Megan Fox as host.

quote:

Originally posted by PaddyFilm:
Megan Mullally joins the 'Party'

Un-PC this is going to be, but she joined the Party 11 hours earlier (see my original post). ;-)

Campbell Scott Joins Third Season of Damages
Aug 28, 2009 03:02 PM ET by Adam Bryant


Oops, sorry. I've just realized it has been posted in August thread.

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Ca...Damages-1009309.aspx

This message has been edited. Last edited by: oopschoice,

Bella Thorne to recur on 'Big Love'

Actress' credits include 'Dirty Sexy Money'

By Nellie Andreeva

Bella Thorne has landed a major recurring role on the upcoming fourth season of HBO's "Big Love."

According to a breakdown released in July, the role Thorne was to play was Christie, Barb's (Jeanne Tripplehorn) niece and Cindy's (Judith Hoag) daughter who has deep anger issues.

But sources indicate that Thorne will in fact play Barb's daughter Tancy, replacing Jolean Wejbe, who played the role the first three seasons of the polygamist drama.

Thorne recently played Christian Slater's daughter on NBC's "My Own Worst Enemy" and recurred on ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money."

The actress, who has signed as the lead in the Chris Long-directed indie feature "Under the Influence," is repped by Innovative and Kritzer Levine Wilkins Griffin.

quote:

Originally posted by PaddyFilm:
Bella Thorne to recur on 'Big Love'

Actress' credits include 'Dirty Sexy Money'

By Nellie Andreeva

Bella Thorne has landed a major recurring role on the upcoming fourth season of HBO's "Big Love."

According to a breakdown released in July, the role Thorne was to play was Christie, Barb's (Jeanne Tripplehorn) niece and Cindy's (Judith Hoag) daughter who has deep anger issues.

But sources indicate that Thorne will in fact play Barb's daughter Tancy, replacing Jolean Wejbe, who played the role the first three seasons of the polygamist drama.

Thorne recently played Christian Slater's daughter on NBC's "My Own Worst Enemy" and recurred on ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money."

The actress, who has signed as the lead in the Chris Long-directed indie feature "Under the Influence," is repped by Innovative and Kritzer Levine Wilkins Griffin.

Awkward if true -- I understand a recast after a season, but three? It's especially odd since Wejbe is old enough for the change to be noticeable. Weird.

Three join "24"
Actors land multi-episode arcs on Fox drama
by Nellie Andreeva

Rami Malek, Julian Morris,and Hrach Titizian have landed multi-episode arcs on Fox's "24."

On the action drama's upcoming Season 8, Malek ("Night at the Museum") will play Marcos, a would-be suicide bomber who is Arab American with sympathies toward radical Islam.

Morris ("ER") will play a CTU SWAT agent. Titizian will play Nabeel, the second-in-command of security for President Hassan (Anil Kapoor).

Malek, who next appears in HBO's "The Pacific," is repped by Defining Artists and Kyle Fritz Management.

Morris, next appearing in Summit's "Sorority Row," is repped by Gersh and Brillstein Entertainment. Titizian, who also did an arc on "24" in 2007, is repped by Defining Artists and manager Martha Avedikian.