TVSquad

Lots of casting news for Fox pilots lately. Tim Roth, who recently appeared in The Incredible Hulk, is set to star in Fox's pilot Lie to Me. The show, which is produced by 20th TV and Imagine Entertainment, follows a researcher in the field of deception detection named Cal Lightman. Roth is also currently filming King Conqueror and 44 Inch Chest.

And the casting news doesn't end there. The CW made some announcements too. Brian Hallisay, who has appeared in Bones and Bionic Woman, will co-star in the CW's new drama called Privileged. The show is about Megan (played by Joanna Garcia), a woman who is hired to be a life coach for a pair of rich 16-year-old twins in Florida.

The casts are coming together for Fox's new pilots Virtuality and Inseparable. Malik Yoba, who was on Girlfriends, and Warren Kole, who has appeared briefly on CSI: Miami and 24, have joined the cast. The show is a Jekyll and Hyde story of sorts. It follows partially-paralyzed forensic psychiatrist Justin Lamreaux who has a split personality. Lamreaux, played by Lloyd Owen, shares his life with his criminal alter ego Clyde. I'm not sure about this one. I'm sick of all the crime procedurals, and Dexter may have beat them to the punch on the half criminal/half cop concept.

On Inseparable, Yoba and Kole will play detectives: Yoba, an officer who works with the main character but is unaware of his condition; Kole, a young officer ready to move on up.

Erik Jensen, Jose Pablo Cantillo, and Clea DuVall were added to Fox's two-hour pilot Virtuality. The show is set on the Phaeton, a starship exploring other solar systems. Jensen of The Bronx is Burning will play the ship's navigator. Cantillo of Standoff will play a mathematician. And DuVall, who was in Heroes and starred in Carnivale, will play Jensen's co-pilot.

What do you think of these new pilots?

We're in the middle of pilot season right now, and of the approximately 9000 different shows all fighting to be part of this fall's network schedule (as long as they aren't put up against American Idol), a handful have shown promise, some even more than was expected. Here's the buzz:

Dirty Sexy Money is at the top of the list. The ABC drama stars Peter Krause, Donald Sutherland, and William Baldwin and is about a lawyer who defends rich New Yorkers. It also has a title that catches your attention. Marlowe, the new modern take on the Raymond Chandler hero on ABC, is getting better than expected reviews. Other shows that look like winners: FOX's Action News, with Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton, ABC's Football Wives, and an untitled CBS drama starring Jimmy Smits.

Viva Laughlin, a musical produced by Hugh Jackman and based on the British series Blackpool, is also getting good early buzz, but I don't know. A weekly musical drama? Hmmm...