Former Ally McBeal star Calista Flockhart will return to prime time next season in the ABC family soap Brothers & Sisters, which also stars Rachel Griffiths.
Brothers was one of four dramas to get the network's green light Friday. Also added to the schedule are: the telenovela-inspired Ugly Betty, set at a fashion magazine; the national security thriller Traveler; and Men in Trees, starring Anne Heche as a divorcee who moves to Alaska.
ABC also gave the nod to two serialized comedies, Big Day, a look at a couple's wedding day through the eyes of the participants, and an untitled project starring Donal Logue as the ringleader of a group of guys who conspire to rob Mick Jagger.
Also on Friday, ABC renewed the comedies According to Jim and George Lopez and the late-midseason entry What About Brian. The news was not so good for Invasion, the first-year drama that earned strong critical notices but never took root in the Wednesday 10 p.m. berth following Lost. There had been talk of Invasion being rerouted to the CW network if it got the axe from ABC, but there were no indications of such a move being under way during the weekend.
Earlier last week, ABC picked up three drama pilots to series--The Nine, Six Degrees, and Day Break--and three new comedies, In Case of Emergency, Help Me Help You, and Notes From the Underbelly.
Over at Fox, the network gave the green light to The Wedding Album, a drama about a wedding photographer and his assistant. The odd-couple comedy Happy Hour also was picked up along with The Winner, starring Rob Corddry as a successful fortysomething man looking back at his slacker years in the 1990s.
As expected, the network on Friday formally picked up its freshman comedy The War at Home, possibly as a companion to the new Brad Garrett vehicle 'Til Death, and teen soap The O.C., which is expected to return for a fourth season without costar Mischa Barton.
Comments