TVSquad

To nobody's surprise, game and reality shows will fill a large chunk of CBS's winter schedule. The network sent out a press release yesterday confirming that Power of 10, Big Brother, and Survivor would return so would fan-favorite Jericho as well as The New Adventures of Old Christine and a new comedy titled The Captain.

I think the phrase "hit or miss" is appropriate when it comes to television and Jeffrey Tambor. He's been involved with some truly great series (The Larry Sanders Show, Arrested Development), and some not-so-great series (Twenty Good Years).

Now, Tambor is heading back to the small screen to star in The Captain, which was recently approved for a six-episode, midseason run on CBS. Tambor stars as a retired writer whose apartment building is soon occupied by a younger writer, played by Fran Kranz. The series also stars Raquel Welch, Al Madrigal, Valerie Azlynn and Joanna Garcia.

I'm starting to run out of headlines, but here's a little more pilot casting news, via the Hollywood Reporter:

Dean Cain and Tamala Jones will both star in the CBS drama pilot Protect and Serve. Dean plays a veteran cop in this drama about street officers in Los Angeles.

Polly Walker (Rome) has joined the untitled CBS drama pilot from Cynthia Cidre. The series will focus on two powerful and feuding Latin American families: the Duques and the Samuels. Walker plays the head of the Samuel family

The networks are revving up a few new pilots, and they've hand-picked some ladies from the, um, lady garden ... of entertainment. Yeah. So, anyway:

First, Louise Lombard will play Judy in ABC's Judy's Got a Gun, about a single suburban mother who investigates suburban crimes. She'll balance work and family because balancing things is common in television land. Seriously, every season there are at least a dozen new shows that involve somebody balancing something and something else. You gotta have balance, you know.