News

Continuing the theme for up and coming biopics this evening is the news that Australian actress, Poppy Montgomery has been cast as J.K. Rowling in the biopic, Strange Magic. The unauthorised, straight to TV movie will tell the story of J.K. Rowling’s rise from single Mum living on benefits and brainstorming on the back of napkins to one of the most successful and influential authors of the 21st Century.

Rowling is the creator of the hugely successful Harry Potter series, beginning with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 1997 and culminating with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007. After seven books and a blockbuster series based on the stories, Rowling is a permanent fixture on the Sunday Times Rich List in the Film and TV millionaires, having ranked in fifth place last year with an estimated fortune of £519 million.

Montgomery is probably best known for her work...

Exclusive: Ugly Betty alumna Ana Ortiz is set as the female lead of Fox's off-cycle comedy pilot Outnumbered, which is being directed by Larry Charles. Inspired by the BBC sitcom, Outnumbered revolves around one set of parents who are often overwhelmed by their three children. Ortiz will play the mom, Sue Tulley, a frazzled, at-her-wit's-end, working mother of three, a multi-tasker by necessity and somewhat of a hot-head. The project is being produced by 20th TV, Chernin Entertainment and Hat Trick Prods, the British company behind the original series. Like fellow Ugly Betty co-star Becki Newton, Ortiz was tapped for a new project, ABC's drama pilot True Blue, shortly after the network announced the end of Betty's four-year run. She has been in demand ever since, with several projects in development for next fall trying to attach her as a star. Ortiz is with Gersh, manager Geordie Frey and attorney Brad Small.

Exclusive: Aisha Tyler has landed the lead opposite Laura Benanti on CBS’ comedy pilot Open Books, with Scott Foley also tapped for a major role. Open Books stars Benanti as June, a book editor at a boutique New York publishing house. Tyler will play her best friend, a waitress-actress. Foley will play a charismatic free-spirited writer who once had a fling with June. Foley will guest star as he is already a regular on another pilot, the ABC drama True Blue. Another CBS comedy pilot, Team Spitz, recently cast Sarah Chalke in a guest starring capacity as she also is [...]...

It’s no secret we love TV. We watch it, talk about it, review it and generally spend a lot of time with it. So, it should come as no surprise we’re very interested in what new shows may potentially be coming to the networks in the near future.

Fortunately, we don’t have to do a lot of work to find out, and you have to do even less, because the guys and gals at EW have gathered together lists of all of the 2010-2011 season pilot orders for ABC, CBS and NBC. Wasn’t that nice of them? Yes, yes it was.

Just between these three networks (we’ll bring you Fox and the others, including cable, later), 31 dramas and 29 comedies are being considered. What shows will make it to the Fall schedule is still anyone’s guess, and we’ll have to wait until May to find out,...

Joe Manganiello is suddenly a very busy guy.

Manganiello, who will play the key role of Alcide on "True Blood" this season, has also booked one of the lead roles in "Livin' on a Prayer," a CBS pilot from "How I Met Your Mother" creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.

The latest round of pilot casting also includes Poppy Montgomery and Marc Blucas in an ABC drama and Eugene Levy in another CBS comedy.

"Livin' on a Prayer" is about a group of friends living in Pittsburgh; Bays and Thomas have described its characters as being one step further along in life than the "Himym" crew.

Manganiello, who's guested on several episodes of "Himym," will play a former high-school football star turned husband and father, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Bays and Thomas co-created the pilot with "How I Met Your Mother" writers Kourtney Kang and Joe Kelly.

The rest...

"Without a Trace" alumna Poppy Montgomery and Marc Blucas are set as leads on the ABC drama pilot "True Blue."

"True Blue," from ABC Studios, revolves around six former best friends who rose through the ranks at the San Francisco Police Department and reunite to solve the murder of one of their own.

Montgomery, repped by Paradigm and Framework, plays one of the six, the only female police captain in San Francisco, who was once married to another member of the team (Blucas), a detective.

Blucas, who co-starred on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," is with Paradigm and Industry.

Peter Horton is directing the pilot exec produced by Jon Feldman, Chris Brancato and Bert Salke.