TVSquad

I mentioned the other day that Harold Perrineau had joined the CBS pilot Demons. They've now cast the main character, Gus, and the winner is Ron Eldard. If you were paying attention, you might have seen him in the short-lived Men Behaving Badly or Blind Justice. Otherwise, think of him as the paramedic with issues that was dating Carol early in the ER run. It's not the best piece of casting I've ever seen. Eldard has never proven that he can be the dramatic lead for a show, but stranger things have happened.

Meanwhile, over at CBS, Hugh Jackman (Wolverine!) is producing something called Viva Laughlin. Lloyd Owen (Miss Potter) will star as a family man trying to open a casino in Laughlin, NV. Word is that Jackman will appear in the pilot and may have a recurring role on the series. Given just that bit of knowledge, I'm intrigued by the possibilities.

Janeane Garofalo has landed a gig in an untitled pilot at CBS. The show is being produced by Barry Schindel and Scott Free Productions, the same people behind CBS' successful Numb3rs. But wait... while I like the idea of getting Janeane back on our TV on a regular basis, and I'm interested to see the Numb3rs team take another shot, what little we know about this show doesn't sound good.

Reportedly, "Garofalo will play the quirky, sassy head of the public defender's office who bears the scars of having made it in what is essentially a man's world." Ugh. It sounds like Shark, shorter, with boobs and more estrogen. I'll give anything with Garofalo in it a shot, but haven't we seen too much of this show already?

It might be time to call a halt to new shows based on doctors, lawyers, and cops for a little while. Not forever, but maybe venture out and see what the rest of the world spends their day doing.

CBS swears it's trying to get away from procedurals, but I just don't believe them. The Hollywood Reporter says the network has ordered a pilot for a law drama, produced by Barry Schindel (Numb3rs) and powerhouse movie producers Ridley and Tony Scott. The untitled show is about "the lives, relationships, cases and careers of a team of public defenders." Sounds like NBC's failed Conviction, but on the other side of the table.

Schindel pitched a similar show, called Law Dogs, to NBC in 2003 but it didn't even get a pilot order. Schindel says he never gave up, that this is "a show that needed to be done."