Life On The Bubble

Series casting update: Tuesday, 3/16/10

- Actress Natalie Morales is joining NBC's sophomore comedy "Parks and Recreation" as a recurring. In at least two episodes, Morales will play Lucy, a smart, funny, cute and spunky busgirl at a bar in Pawnee, Indiana. She is set to appear in the same episodes that will feature Rob Lowe and Adam Scott as guest stars. Morales, who was a regular on the first season of USA's "White Collar," will next be seen in the features "Wall Street 2" and "Going the Distance." She is repped by SMGSB and UTA.


- Retired Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens is getting back in the saddle for HBO's "Luck." Stevens, who co-starred in Gary Ross' "Seabiscuit," will play a down-and-out jockey who attempts to make a comeback, both personally and professionally. "Luck" is exec produced by David Milch, Carolyn Strauss and Michael Mann, who is directing the pilot. Production is set to begin in a few weeks. Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte and Dennis Farina have already been cast. Stevens, a regular on the Southern California racing circuit for three decades, won the Kentucky Derby three times. He contributes to racing coverage for NBC Sports.

Series casting update: Tuesday, 3/9/10

Also from our usual source.

*****

- Oscar(R) nominee Gabourey Sidibe will make her way from the mean streets of '80s Harlem in Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire to the cushy, modern-day Connecticut suburbs in the new SHOWTIME dark comedy series, THE BIG C. Sidibe, who guest starred in the pilot episode, just signed on as a recurring guest star in the half-hour series, which is headlined by multiple award-winner Laura Linney as Cathy, a repressed suburban wife and mother who reclaims her life after a terminal cancer diagnosis. Oliver Platt (2012) stars as her immature, but well-meaning husband. Sidibe will play a smart-alecky student in Cathy's class. THE BIG C, which will begin shooting 13 episodes in May for a late summer premiere, is created and written by Darlene Hunt, who will serve as executive producer, along with Linney, Neal H. Moritz and Vivian Cannon. It is produced by Original Film in association with Sony Pictures Television. Acclaimed writer/ director/producer Bill Condon (Dreamgirls) directed the pilot.


- Heroes" co-star Sendhil Ramamurthy is joining USA Network's new drama series "Covert Affairs" as a regular. The spy drama centers on Annie Walker (Piper Perabo), a multilingual CIA trainee unexpectedly promoted to field operative while reeling over a mysterious ex-boyfriend who appears to be of particular interest to her agency bosses. Ramamurthy will play a CIA agent. He fills the void left by the departure of Eric Lively, who played a third-generation CIA agent in the pilot. However, this is not a straight recasting as Ramamurthy will play a new character. He joins "Covert" cast members Christopher Gorham, Peter Gallagher, Kari Matchett and Anne Dudek as well as Eion Bailey. Ramamurthy first indicated that he may be done with "Heroes" in November when he was cast in a regular role on NBC's dramedy pilot "Rex" but made a quick exit over a scheduling conflict. Ramamurthy's character on "Heroes," Mohinder Suresh, was key in the series' first couple of seasons, but his importance has gradually been scaled down. He also recently guest starred in an episode of another USA series, "Psych."


- A trio of cable series are making cast additions. "Heroes" alumna Dania Ramirez has come aboard HBO comedy "Entourage" as a recurring; Lennie James has been added to another HBO comedy, "Hung," as a recurring; and Kenny Johnson has landed a recurring role on FX's "Sons of Anarchy." On "Entourage," which is filming Season 7, Ramirez, repped by ICM and manager Jeff Morrone, will play Alex, a new love interest for Turtle (Jerry Ferrara). On "Hung," James will play a potential love interest to accidental pimp Tanya (Jane Adams). James, who next appears in Paul Haggis' "The Next Three Days," is repped by ICM and Luber-Roklin. On "Anarchy," "Saving Grace" co-star Johnson will reprise the role of SAMCRO member Kozik, which he introduced during the show's Season 2 finale. Johnson ("The Shield") is repped by Paradigm and Luber-Roklin.

The Hollywood Reporter: 'Smallville' renewed for 10th season

The CW has picked up "Smallville" for a 10th season.

The series has been holding up strong for the network on Friday nights this season.

"Smallville" joins five previously announced series that will return next season on the network: "The Vampire Diaries," "Gossip Girl," "90210," "Supernatural" and "America's Next Top Model."

via www.hollywoodreporter.com

TV Land series order (1/2 hr): Hot In Cleveland, by Suzanne Martin

From Tuesday's trades (3/2/10):

*****

TV Land has the hots for "Hot in Cleveland." The cable network has ordered its first original scripted series, handing out a 10-episode order to the multicamera pilot "Hot." Sitcom veterans Valerie Bertinelli ("One Day at a Time"), Jane Leeves ("Frasier"), Wendie Malick ("Just Shoot Me") and Betty White ("The Golden Girls") star in "Hot in Cleveland," which is executive produced by another sitcom alum, "Will & Grace's" Sean Hayes. Written by former "Frasier" writer-producer Suzanne Martin, "Hot" revolves around three eccentric fortysomething best friends (Bertinelli, Leeves, Malick) from Los Angeles who wind up stuck in Cleveland after their Paris-bound plane unexpectedly lands there. They decide to stay when they realize the locals consider them glamorous. White, red-hot off her memorable stint last month in a Super Bowl commercial, plays the sassy caretaker of the Cleveland house the trio rents. Production on the series, from Hayes' Hazy Mills Prods., is expected to begin shortly as TV Land is planning a June launch for "Hot" on TV Land Prime, the network's primetime programming block. "Hot," also executive produced by Todd Milliner and Martin, is one of the first two multicamera comedy pilots TV Land picked up in October in the cable network's first foray into original scripted programming. The other comedy pilot, "Retired at 35," toplined by Malick's "Shoot Me" co-star George Segal and Johnathan McClain, remains in contention for a series pickup.

HBO series order (1 hr): Game of Thrones, by David Benioff, based on the novels of George R.R. Martin

From Tuesday's trades:

*****

HBO has greenlighted highly anticipated fantasy series "Game of Thrones." The premium network has picked up the project for a first season debut next spring (below is the first released photo from the series). Nine episodes plus the pilot have been ordered. Production will begin in Belfast this June. From the moment the project was first announced in development, the series based on the George R.R. Martin novels has generated enormous, perhaps unprecedented, online interest for a series at such an early stage. The sprawling tale set in the mythical land of Westeros tells the story of the noble Stark family who become caught up in high court intrigue when patriarch Eddard (played by Sean Bean) becomes the king's new right-hand man. The four-and-counting books in the series would each be used as one season of the series. Unlike many fantasy novels, the "Thrones" series largely avoids relying on magical elements and instead goes for brutal realism -- think "Sopranos" with swords. Martin, a former TV writer ("Beauty and the Beast"), writes each chapter as a cliffhanger, which should lend itself well to series translation.

Comedy Central series order (1/2 hr scripted): Workaholics, by Kevin Etten

From Tuesday's trades:

*****

Comedy Central has ordered a half-hour scripted series about a trio of slacking telemarketers. The network has greenlighted "Workaholics" from Avalon Television and Gigapix Studios. The project started as a webisode development and progressed to a series order and stars Mail Order Comedy's Blake Anderson, Anders Holm, Adam Devine. Kevin Etten ("Scrubs") is showrunner and executive producer. Comedy Central expects "Workaholics" to hit the air in the summer. "This pilot was one of the great surprises waiting for me when I arrived here," said Kent Alterman, head of original programming and production at the network. "These guys have a unique comedic sensibility that they've applied to a very relatable experience -- that delicate time between college and becoming a responsible adult." "Workaholics" is executive produced by Mail Order Comedy, 5th Year's Dominic Russo and Connor Pritchard, Etten, Avalon Television's David Martin, Thoday and Richard Allen-Turner as well as Gigapix Studios Pritchard.

A&E Series Order (1 hr): Sugarloaf, by Clifton Campbell

From last week's trades:

****

A&E has picked up the hourlong pilot “Sugarloaf” starring Matt Passmore with a 13-episode order. The Fox TV Studios drama centers on Jim Longworth (Passmore), a brilliant-but-difficult Chicago homicide detective who's wrongfully accused of sleeping with his former captain's wife and forced into exile. Longworth relocates to Sugarloaf, a sleepy Gulf Coast resort town in Florida where life can be less beautiful than it first seems. Kiele Sanchez and Carlos Gomez co-star. Production is set to begin in Miami this winter for a summer premiere. "Sugarloaf" was one of two drama pilots that A&E picked up last fall, along with "The Quickening," which starred Radha Mitchell as a bipolar homicide detective. The network passed on "Quickening" this month.  "We have only one spot for the summer, and when we screened 'Sugarloaf' we knew this is the one," A&E senior vp drama programming Tana Nugent Jamieson said. "It takes a typical gritty police procedural but has fun with the main character against the blue-sky backdrop of rural Florida. It's pure entertainment that will complement the network's current lineup of hit real-life series and off-net dramas." The series order for "Sugarloaf" -- created by Clifton Campbell and executive produced by Campbell and Gary Randall -- represents a tonal shift at A&E. After a six-year hiatus, the basic cable network re-entered the scripted-series arena with two gritty dramas, "The Cleaner" in 2008 and "The Beast" in 2009, which lasted two and one season, respectively. In its latest round of pilots, A&E had a choice between staying the course with the dark and edgy "Quickening" and going lighter with "Sugarloaf." "Quickening" also came from Fox TV Studios, which produces USA Network's "Burn Notice" and "White Collar." "'Sugarloaf' is a mystery show with a light touch set in a fun location with a lot of playfulness and wit to it, and it fits nicely alongside 'Burn Notice' and 'White Collar,' " FtvS exec vp David Madden said. "We've found a bit of a sweet spot for us."

James Hibberd (The Hollywood Reporter): Fox pulls 'Past Life'

Reincarnation crime drama "Past Life" has moved on to the TV afterlife.

Fox canceled the struggling and widely panned show after only three episodes, making "Past Life" the 10th series to get the ax in what's been a relatively bloodless season for broadcasters.

It's been six months since the networks launched their fall lineups, and the five broadcasters have each dumped only about two shows on average.

Fox and ABC have jettisoned the most with three titles each. In addition to "Past Life" -- which was rejected after Thursday night's last-place performance and will be replaced by original episodes of "Kitchen Nightmares" -- Fox canceled comedy "Brothers" and Joss Whedon drama "Dollhouse." ABC shed freshman comedy "Hank," magical drama "Eastwick" and veteran "Ugly Betty."

CBS only lost one show, "Three Rivers," while NBC has canceled only "The Jay Leno Show" and John Wells' "Southland," whose planned second season never made it to air (though it was picked up by TNT). The CW has canceled "The Beautiful Life."

There are still several series on the bubble that will fall off the grid between now and the end of the season, plus a handful of midseason shows left to debut. Still, by comparison, last season was running a much higher body count by this point and eventually claimed a whopping 40 shows.

via www.hollywoodreporter.com

Cynthia Littleton (Variety): CW series orders

CW has given early pickups for the 2010-11 season to its frosh hotshot "The Vampire Diaries" and four other signature skeins.

Pickup of Warner Bros. TV's "Vampire Diaries" is a no-brainer for the C-Dub given the show's solid ratings perf and buzz factor. Also renewed for the coming season are "America's Next Top Model" and Warner Bros. dramas "Gossip Girl," "Supernatural" and "90210."

Not on the list is CW mainstay "Smallville," also from Warner Bros. TV. There was speculation that this season would be the last for the 9-year-old drama, but all signs suggest the show will keep going for a 10th season in 2010-11. Another CW longtimer, "One Tree Hill," also has a better-than-50/50 shot at returning for an eighth season.

A question mark on the CW's current sked is "Melrose Place," the Tuesday companion to "90210" that struggled in its run earlier in the season. The show has been off the air since early December and is set to return March 9, when it will face tough competish on Tuesday from "American Idol."

The jury is also still out on midseason entry "Life Unexpected," which has drawn kind words from crix but sluggish ratings to date in the Monday 9 p.m. berth behind "One Tree Hill."

via www.variety.com

Littleton: TNT greenlights 3 new series (Variety)

There's no shortage of drama at TNT. The cabler gave greenlights to three series on Thursday as part of its ongoing push to stock its primetime sked with original fare.

Michael Wright, exec veep and head of programming for TNT, TBS and TCM, said the three projects -- "Rizzoli and Isles," "Delta Blues" and an untitled alien invasion drama from Steven Spielberg -- stood out among the many projects on the cabler's wide-ranging development slate because of the distinctiveness of the lead characters and their settings.

via www.variety.com

ABC series order (1 hr): Scoundrels (fka Outrageous Fortune), by Richard Levine & Lyn Greene

From one of my tracking boards:

ABC has ordered SCOUNDRELS fka OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE by Richard Levine and Lyn Greene to series. Episodic order is TBD. 

Francie Calfo Productions and Larkin-Goldstein Productions will Produce. 

Log: A family of small-time criminals is shaken when their father is sentenced to a surprisingly long prison term leaving mom to take care of the criminally enterprising brood.  In an effort to keep her kids out of trouble, mom decides it's time for the family to go straight despite the best efforts of her kids to maintain the status quo.

Showtime series order (1/2 hr): The Big C, by Darlene Hunt

Showtime has given a 13-episode order to "The Big C," its cancer-themed series starring Laura Linney.

Showtime execs are said to be extremely high on the project, which stars Linney as a suburban mother who shakes up her life after being handed a cancer diagnosis.

Cabler plans to start shooting "The Big C" this spring, for a summer 2010 launch.

via www.variety.com