News Briefs: FX Orders an '80s Spy Pilot, Whoopi Farts on The View

WHEELS AND DEALS

… FX has given the go-ahead on The Americans, a pilot from Falling Skies creator Joe Weisberg and Justified showrunner Graham Yost. It's set in the early '80s and is about two KGB spies posing as Americans in Washington, D.C. Cold War intrigue! Sign me up. [Deadline]

… What do you get when marry Pawn Stars with Swamp People? Cajun Pawn Stars, which will "chronicle day-to-day business at the Silver Dollar Pawn & Jewelry Center in Louisiana." Coming to a History Channel near you! [EW]

… Fox has purchased a comedy script based on the life of Josh Wolf, the comedian who appears on Chelsea Lately: single dad, three kids, pounding the stand-up circuit. He's had shows about his life set up at various networks before; maybe this one will actually happen. Sounds kinda like Louie. [Deadline]

… BIEBERALERT! TLC will air This Is Justin Bieber on December 21 at 9pm. What is This Is Justin Bieber, you probably don't ask? It's a British documentary that follows the action-figure-sized singer behind the scenes of a recent tour. The network also ordered Cheapskates, which follows a squad of extreme tightwads on their penny-pinching adventures. [EW]

… Showtime is developing a series based on Animal Kingdom, the Australian film that earned Jacki Weaver an Oscar nomination for playing the creepy Smurfette, evil mother of a family of Melbourne thugs. John Wells is executive-producing, and Southland writer Jonathan Lisco will write the script. [Deadline]

CASTING NEWS & "SURPRISE" APPEARANCES

… Gage Golightly (Ringer) and Sinqua Walls (Friday Night Lights) have signed on to appear in Season 2 of Teen Wolf. [Zap2it]

… Mitt Romney will pop by the Late Show with David Letterman on December 19 to present the Top Ten. Also booked for that show: Tom Cruise. I'm thinking a running-mates match is about to be made in Late Show heaven. [CBS, via press release]

EVERYTHING ELSE

… Proving once again that the hunt for a Republican presidential candidate is still the weirdest, funniest, and most all-around entertaining reality series currently on television, last night's Fox News debate was watched by 6.7 million people. That's the second-highest-rated debate this season, behind ABC's. I missed it. Did Newt Gingrich eat anyone? [Deadline]

… CBS's Person of Interest (12.8 million viewers) and Fox's The X Factor (9.7 million) won Thursday night, but X Factor was down 10 percent. Those one million people were silently protesting the dismissal of that adorable little slice of 13-year-old sunshine. It's all Nicole's fault! [EW]

… Whoopi Goldberg farted on The View today. [TMZ]

… American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy told EW that he's "taking Rubber Man as my date" to the Golden Globes. [EW]