Three Rivers

We now mostly know what shows will be on our TVs come Fall — but who will be starring in them? After pilot season comes a flurry of casting and recasting, as actors whose shows didn't get picked up look for work and networks change up the lineups on some of the forthcoming series. Today, there's word of a big casting, some recastings, and Joss Whedon's dream casting:

• The casting: Freddie Prinze Jr.'s ABC comedy pilot wasn't picked up, but the actor didn't have to wait long for a job: He's joining the cast of 24 as a Marine who dreams of becoming a sort of Jack Bauer Jr. He joins a growing number of new cast members for the season, including Anil Kapoor, John Boyd, Chris Diamantopoulos, and Jennifer Westfeldt.
• The recastings: A few pilots-turned-series are already searching for replacements for their lead actors. Among those now out of work: Julia Ormond, who was supposed to play the head of surgery in CBS's Three Rivers, and two lead actors in ABC's The Forgotten, Reiko Aylesworth and Rupert Penry-Jones.
• The dream casting: Summer Glau is out of work following the cancellation of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, but Joss Whedon might have a job for her. As you read this, he's trying to come up with just the right role to get her onto Dollhouse next season. He doesn't really want her to play an active, though — so what else could you picture her doing on the show?

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A Jenna Elfman comedy, a medical show led by a former Moonlight star, a legal drama with Julianna Margulies, and a spinoff of NCIS will be coming our way this Fall courtesy of CBS, which announced its programming plans on Wednesday. But there's no reason to wait till Fall to see if any of these series look appealing — I've got photos and clips after the jump.

One thing these shows have going for them is strong casts: I'm curious to see if Alex O'Loughlin and The L Word's Katherine Moening can keep Three Rivers from being just another medical show, and I'm rooting for Jenna Elfman (and can't wait to see Ashley Jensen again) in Accidentally on Purpose. And while I'm still wondering if Margulies can carry a show on her own, I'll give hers a shot because of Chris Noth and Josh Charles, among others.

How are you feeling about the new CBS slate so far? To check out the four new shows for yourself, just read more

CBS swooped in after NBC canceled Medium and picked up the Patricia Arquette drama at its Upfront this morning. Medium joins four other new dramas on CBS's Fall schedule, which seems downright reasonable after, say, ABC's 11 new series.

CBS's newcomers are the NCIS spinoff with LL Cool J and Chris O'Donnell; Three Rivers, a medical drama about organ transplants headed by Moonlight's Alex O'Loughlin; The Good Wife, starring Julianna Margulies as an attorney who goes back to work after her husband's public scandal; and Accidentally on Purpose, a comedy starring Jenna Elfman as a movie critic who gets pregnant from a one-night stand. Two more dramas — Miami Trauma and The Bridge — will join the network for midseason, along with two new reality shows.

On the scheduling front, The Mentalist shifts to Thursdays at 10 p.m., while The Big Bang Theory gets a promotion of sorts to the plum slot after Two and a Half Men on Monday nights. The NCIS spinoff (now officially called NCIS: Los Angeles) will air right after NCIS proper on Tuesdays. And Medium will air on Fridays — though I suppose fans should just be glad it's airing at all after its cancellation yesterday.

To check out the full schedule and see how CBS describes its new series, just read more

Over the weekend, things were looking pretty good for Samantha Who? to return in the Fall. But apparently, the numbers just didn't work: Christina Applegate's show won't be back on ABC next season because the budget just couldn't be cut down enough for ABC to pick it up.

Meanwhile, the network turned its attention to picking up new shows — and it's got a bundle of them. It's the next network to present at the Upfronts tomorrow, and its rumored list of shows includes Eastwick, V, Flash Forward (which has already gotten advertised during Lost),the crime drama Happy Town, a law show called The Deep End, a new police drama called Copper, and a Jerry Bruckheimer show called The Forgotten.

ABC also has four comedies in the works, including Cougar Town with Courteney Cox, Hank with Kelsey Grammer, The Middle with Patricia Heaton, and the mockumentary-style Modern Family. That's a ton of new shows, and I'm curious to see where they all fall on the schedule tomorrow.

Meanwhile, over at CBS, four series were reportedly ordered, though the official word won't come till Wednesday. Julianna Margulies's The Good Wife and Alex O'Loughlin's Three Rivers both reportedly earned spots on the schedule, as has the Jenna Elfman comedy Accidentally on Purpose and the NCIS spinoff with Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J.

Lots more to come in this crazy week, but let's talk about these developments for now. Sad about Samantha Who? or not surprised? Liking the sound of any of the new shows?

Photo copyright 2009 ABC, Inc.

The matriarch of '90s television comedy wants to make another run at TV: Roseanne Barr is developing a sitcom concept about a family in which, yes, she'd play the mom.

Barr's idea isn't tied to any network right now, though it has been pitched to Fox. She's developing the project with a former Roseanne producer, and the two of them have teamed with an Arrested Development writer to put the script together.

Could you imagine Barr back in prime time? Does Roseanne: The Next Generation have hope?

Meanwhile, a couple of other quick casting tidbits:

• Elle Macpherson has signed up for a role on the CW's The Beautiful Life pilot, which also stars Mischa Barton.
• Amanda Bynes will play one of the leads in Canned, an ABC comedy pilot about friends who are all fired on the same day.
• Brian Austin Green and Gabrielle Union are the latest additions to the CW's Body Politic, joining Minka Kelly and Jason Dohring.
• Julia Ormond has joined the cast of Three Rivers, the CBS drama pilot also starring Alex O'Loughlin.

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Today brings a few interesting tidbits of TV casting news, including who's playing Izzie's mom on Grey's Anatomy and what's next for Moonlight's ex-vampire, so read on!

• Sharon Lawrence, who was most recently seen playing the often-absent mom to Megan on Privileged, is scrubbing into Grey's Anatomy as the mom to Izzie Stevens. Izzie's mystery medical ailment finally has a name, but it seems that Iz won't be taking much comfort from her mom's unexpected late-April visit.
• Meanwhile, CBS has finally found a role for its former vampire king, Alex O'Loughlin. He'll be playing the lead organ transplant surgeon in the network's medical pilot Three Rivers. Justina Machado of Six Feet Under is also attached to the show.
• And on Wisteria Lane, there's a new — but old — woman on the block who reportedly will figure prominently into Edie's storyline in the coming weeks. Character actress Gloria LeRoy will play a neighborhood fixture whom we meet next month. The 77-year-old actress will factor into the story in a way "that involves an increasingly cuckoo Orson, a violent act, and a touch of dementia. And not necessarily in that order." Hmmm . . .

Your thoughts on Izzie's mom, Wisteria's coming twists, and O'Loughlin's return to the small screen?

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