Treme

Some exciting news from HBO today, especially for fans of The Wire. The network has picked up the New Orleans-set series Treme, which was created by The Wire boss David Simon and includes two of that show's cast members in its ensemble.

HBO is eying a Fall premiere date for the show, which chronicles the rebuilding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina through the eyes of musicians. Though Simon himself doesn't live in New Orleans, his co-creator (Eric Overmyer, a former Homicide writer) does, and cast member Wendell Pierce (The Wire's Bunk, pictured here) is a native of the city — all of which I'm hoping will give the show the same authenticity that The Wire had for Simon's hometown of Baltimore. Other cast members include Clarke Peters, Melissa Leo, Steve Zahn, and Khandi Alexander. Comparing the show to The Wire, Simon said:

This is not a Wire redo with a New Orleans soundtrack. It's more of a character study looking at people trying to reconstruct their lives after their city has been destroyed and at a city that a living, breathing organism.

Also today, the network moved forward with a pilot based on the fantasy novels Songs of Fire and Ice called Game of Thrones. Two key people from the film The Station Agent have signed on, with Peter Dinklage playing a key role and his Station Agent director, Tom McCarthy, on board to direct the pilot.

Do either of these sound like shows that could make your viewing schedule?

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The latest round of pilot season casting news includes a Saturday Night Live alum, a funny sidekick, and a recent Oscar nominee. Read on:

• If Reaper doesn't get renewed, Tyler Labine may be headed to Fox. The sidekick known as Sock has been cast in the comedy pilot Sons of Tucson, playing a man who's hired by three boys to pretend to be their dad while their actual father serves a prison term.
• SNL's Chris Parnell is in talks for Big D, a Dallas-set show about a Southern belle welcoming home her son and meddling in his life. He would play one of the matriarch's sons-in-law, a preacher.
• Melissa Leo, an Oscar nominee for Frozen River, has taken a role as a civil rights lawyer in Treme, David Simon's New Orleans-set pilot for HBO. She's the second Oscar nominee to jump to HBO this year: Michael Shannon will appear in the network's pilot Boardwalk Empire.
• I was a big fan of Shannon Woodward when she played DiDi in The Riches, so I'm glad to see she's joined the cast of Limelight, an ABC drama set at a performing arts college (so hot right now). She'll play an actress auditioning for a spot at the school.
• Erika Christensen is the first person to sign on for NBC's remake of Parenthood, playing Julia Braverman, a corporate attorney who struggles with getting more involved with her family.

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• Al Pacino will play King Lear in a new film adaptation of the Shakespeare play. — ComingSoon
• Steve Zahn is close to joining the cast of Treme, the New Orleans-set show from the creator of The Wire. — TV.com
• Columbia Pictures and producer Scott Rudin will make a film based on the life of Henry Molaison, whose brain became the most studied gray matter in medical history. — Variety
• The Hold Steady will release a documentary/live album combo in April. — Pitchfork
• The creators of My So-Called Life are working on a pilot for CBS called A Marriage. — The Hollywood Reporter
• Spike Lee is returning to a WWII setting, as he signs on to produce Brendan Koerner's manhunt tale Now the Hell Will Start. — Zap2it
• A movie titled The Legend of Santa Claus is in the works, the first installment in a three-film series exploring the early days and mythology of the Christmas hero. — Variety
• Warner Bros. Pictures has set Aaron Sorkin to write the movie The Challenge, a courtroom drama which George Clooney will produce. — ComingSoon
• It's official: Bob Saget will return to ABC in Surviving Suburbia. — Zap2it

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• The Office has been given the key post-Super Bowl time slot and will air a one-hour episode following the game, Entertainment Weekly reports.
• According to ComingSoon, Steve Buscemi and Romany Malco will star together in Saint John of Las Vegas, a loose adaptation of Dante's Inferno.
• Tori Spelling has no deal to appear on 90210 and her desired salary may be the sticking point, E! reports.
• Sara Gilbert is joining the cast of The Big Bang Theory after a successful guest-starring gig, Zap2it reports.
• Dennis Hopper will get his own exhibit in France where, apparently, he is highly revered, writes Variety.
• Clarke Peters and Wendell Pierce — aka Freamon and Bunk from The Wire — are joining Treme, David Simon's new HBO pilot about New Orleans, writes The Hollywood Reporter.
• Variety has the news that director Chris Columbus is readying a film about Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential run.
• 24 producer Carlos Coto and Brett Ratner are working on an action-comedy for Fox titled Wild Boys, which will follow "ex-soldiers turned suburban dads," ComingSoon reports.
• Matthew Bomer — aka Bryce Larkin from Chuck and Jay from Traveler — has been cast in the lead of a USA series called White Collar, writes The Hollywood Reporter.

Photo courtesy of NBC