TVSquad

One of my favorite actresses is joining the cast of America's most watched drama series. That means about 20 million viewers a week will get to see her in action. The actress is Rena Sofer and she's been cast on NCIS as a hard-nosed, no-nonsense lawyer. The role could be long term or recurring, they're not saying yet.

In fact, they're not giving much away at all. Not even the character's name or when she starts. Thus far, it's hard to see where a lawyer would be needed in the current storylines, so it's likely that there's an arc on the way that will bring her along as a key element.

Rena has a load of primetime experience, having appeared on Heroes, 24, Couples, Blind Justice, Just Shoot Me... but for me she was never better than when she was on General Hospital as Lois Cerullo.

Linus Roache, who starred in NBC's Kidnapped, has joined Law and Order as an assistant district attorney. His character will replace Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston), who moves to serve as New York district attorney. McCoy (Waterston) replaces D.A. Arthur Branch, who was played by former real-life senator Fred Thompson. Thompson left the series to explore a possible presidential bid.

Roache also appeared in Canterbury's Law, a midseason pilot for FOX starring Juliana Margulies as a lawyer who doesn't mind bending the rules. It's unknown at this time whether or not Roache will appear in both series.

Roache's other credits include the movies Batman Begins and the TV movie RFK, in which he played Robert F. Kennedy.

Actor and former republican U.S. Senator Fred Thompson is reportedly considering running for president in 2008. Thompson was a U.S. Senator for Tennessee from 1994-2003. He decided not to run for re-election when he was cast as District Attorney Arthur Branch on Law & Order in 2002. He has also appeared in that same role on SVU and Criminal Intent, as well as short-lived shows, Conviction and Trial by Jury. Thompson definitely has that "I could kick your ass, punk"-thing about him.

Thompson has an unusual past that will make him an interesting candidate. Besides appearing in a big ol' pile of television shows and movies, he also has some serious experience in Washington, D.C. Before becoming an actor or a Senator, he was an attorney and was on the Watergate committee. If he does join the race for president, he'll be running against fellow republicans Rudolph Giuliani and John McCain for the nomination. And, in 2005, he returned to politics briefly when President Bush appointed him to be an advisor for U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts during his confirmation process.

Hell. If Arnold Schwarzenegger can do it...

Once again, lots of things happen. Christina (Julianne Nicholson) is heartbroken over an emotional case involving a dead baby, Billy (J. August Richards) is trying to keep his perfect record in the courtroom, Cabot (Stephanie March) and Steele (Anson Mount) get it on, Potter (Jordan Bridges) grows some balls, and Peluso (Eric Balfour) hounds the beautiful but icey girl in the office. By the way, did anybody catch why the title of this episode is 'Savasana'? I don't get it.

Well, Billy is a jerk. In his personal life and his work life. He sleeps with a girl who turns out to be a clerk and then totally shrugs her off when he sees her in the courthouse. But, even worse than that was his attempt to get a woman to drop her 1974 rape case because it wasn't a slam dunk for him. He tells the rape victim, "I don't want to put you through any unnecessary pain." Grrrr.

I feel like a broken record. It seems like just yesterday that I was telling you about a new drama created by Law and Order creator Dick Wolf. That one is called Conviction and it begins after the Olympics. Wolf already has another drama pilot in the works for NBC. This one is called Power, and it's actually a little different from his other four shows currently on NBC. It's not a medical drama or anything. But, he doesn't plan to wrap-up his stories at the end of each hour. This time, he's setting his story with a team of young federal task force agents and U.S. attorneys investigating Hollywood power brokers (hence, the title) on a laundry list of offenses including wiretapping and extortion. Wolf  says the popularity of series like 24 and The Sopranos show that there can be success beyond self-contained episodes. NBC hasn't greenlighted the pilot yet so it's doubtful that we'll see Power in the fall.

Unlike her appearances on Friends, Kathleen Turner will actually play a woman when she appears on tomorrow night's Law and Order. She'll play Rebecca Shane, a fancy pants defense attorney who faces off against A.D.A. Jack McCoy. She represents a privileged high school student who may or may not have killed another fellow student in desperation to graduate.

51-year-old Turner currently lives in London, where she is starring in the Edward Albee play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Apollo Theatre. She was recently quoted as saying that she's ready to move to London permanently because Americans don't appreciate older women.

Joshua Jackson just landed the lead role in a CBS legal drama that, so far, does not have a title. Jackson, also known as Pacey Witter (heart!) from Dawson's Creek, is fresh off the stage in England where he acted with Patrick Stewart in a David Mamet play. He also shot a couple of indie movies last year.

In the new series, Jackson will play a first-year lawyer, badgered by a firm partner, whose career takes an important turn when he is assigned the case of a death row inmate. The series is produced by Carol Mendelsohn, one of the producers of the CSI franchise.

Maybe 2006 is the year of the Dawson's Creek kids? Katie Holmes will allegedly give birth to Tom Cruise's baby later this year and Michelle Williams may or may not win an Oscar for her role in Brokeback Mountain. Now, where on earth is James van der Beek?

The very first winner of Survivor could be headed for prison. Richard Hatch is accused of not paying income tax on his $1 million prize and on other income. Hatch is also accused of spending money on himself that had been earmarked for a charity that he helped create. Charges include tax evasion, filing a false tax return, wire fraud, bank fraud and mail fraud.

Hatch and his youthful-looking boytoy attorney appeared in court on Tuesday as the task of jury selection began. Media reports say, when potential jurors entered the courtroom, a lot of them appeared to recognize Hatch and whispered to each other. I think I know what they were saying: "I've seen that man naked."

Jury selection continues today, then opening arguments should begin on Thursday. The trial is expected to last up to three weeks.