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LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- The latest development news, culled from recent wire reports:
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IN TREATMENT (HBO) - Alison Pill ("The Book of Daniel") is the latest addition to the show's second season. She'll play April, one of Paul Weston's (Gabriel Byrne) patients, a bright and feisty graduate student diagnosed with lymphoma. Hope Davis and John Mahoney previously signed onto the new season, set to roll out sometime next year.
OFF DUTY (NBC) - Bradley Whitford ("Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip") and Romany Malco ("Weeds") have scored the lead roles on the comedy pilot, about a once-legendary police detective (Whitford) on his way down who complicates the life of his new partner (Malco), a straight shooter on his way up, both on duty and off. The castings lift said contingency off the pilot's production. Whitford's character, Detective Glenn Falcon, is detailed in the casting notice as follows: "Any ethnicity. A legend in his own time, this gritty veteran police detective is known far and wide as an amazing crime fighter who has solved a slew of high-profile cases. However, as his new partner, Mike Roberts, soon realizes, there's a huge disconnect between Falcon's reputation and his personality. In person, Falcon is a drunken, slurring, walking id whose primary concerns are alcohol and sex. Kicked out by his wife and currently bunking down in his car, he makes himself at home in Roberts' place, much to the consternation of Roberts and his wife. It's undeniable that Falcon is a real mess with a reckless, impulsive streak a mile wide. But he's also the best cop in the profession, and he can teach Roberts the ropes like nobody else could -- if only Roberts sticks around long enough to learn them."
Malco's role of Detective Mike Roberts then is described as: "36, any ethnicity. An attractive, dedicated cop. He's a happily married family man who is thrilled when he gets a job at a new precinct and is assigned to partner up with the legendary detective, Glenn Falcon. However, Roberts quickly realizes that Falcon is a loose cannon on a rolling deck, who spreads chaos in his boozy, reckless wake. Already concerned over his 13 year old son's issues at middle-school, Roberts isn't thrilled when Falcon bunks down in his garage and starts wandering through his house, wearing only his tighty-whities and a holstered gun. But after his initial disenchantment, Roberts also begins to realize that Falcon is the best cop in the business, and can teach Roberts the ropes as no one else can -- if only he doesn't strangle his new partner in the process." Jason Mantzoukas is behind the Universal Media Studios-based half-hour with American Work's Ravi Nandan and Scot Armstrong executive producing. Whitford will also receive a producing credit.
TWO DOLLAR BEER (FOX, New!) - "The Mind of the Married Man" creator Mike Binder is developing a new comedy at the network and 20th Century Fox Television. The project revolves around a group of young adults in Detroit as they weather the worsening economy but refuse to move away from their hometown. Binder penned the pilot and will executive produce and direct should it move forward.
UNTITLED T.D. JAKES PROJECT (Syndication) - CBS Television Distribution has cleared the newcomer on Tribune's 19 stations, including the New York, Los Angeles and Chicago markets. The pacts put the Bishop T.D. Jakes-hosted/Jay McGraw-produced talk show on track for a fall 2009 launch however no firm green light has been given by the distributor.
WHITE COLLAR (USA) - "Sex and the City" co-star Willie Garson has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about a brilliant con artist (Matthew Bomer) who partners against his will with the head of the FBI's white-collar crime unit (Tim DeKay). Garson will play Mozzie, the kooky friend of Bomer's character. Jeff Eastin is behind the Fox Television Studios-based project, which Bronwen Hughes is directing.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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