Boston Legal returns; new series pick-ups

Hollywood Reporter is, err, reporting that an agreement has been reached that will see Boston Legal returning in the autumn. Good news indeed, but the word is that ABC are reducing the amount they pay for the show, so it's likely that there will be pay-cuts and cast shrinkage, which does raise doubts as to the show's ability to remain strong. I think that if they hang on to James Spader, William Shatner and Candice Bergen then things should be OK, but it would be sad to see any of the other regulars leave. It's worth noting that the cast was slimmed down at the end of season three and there has been a slight drop in quality this season.

As part of the deal with producer David E. Kelley, it looks like ABC will pick up a season order for Life On Mars, the US remake of the BBC show of the same name. There's a pilot in post-production starring Irish actor Jason O'Mara as Sam Tyler, Colm Meaney and Gene Hunt and Rachelle Lefevre as Annie. I wasn't a fan of the original series, struck me as little more than a by-the-numbers light police drama with gimmick, so I'm not overly enthused by the remake, but hopefully it will come to transcend its source material, such as with the US version of The Office.

Elsewhere, Fox have picked up sci-fi series Fringe and Dollhouse. Fringe is produced by JJ Abrams' Bad Robot and is about a female FBI agent who has to team up with scientists to get to the bottom of a series of unexplained phenomena. The lead appears to be Anna Torv, an actress I'm unfamiliar with but who appeared in the recent BBC drama Mistresses. Dollhouse comes to the world from the mind of Joss Whedon. It's about a team of special operatives that carry out secret missions, only to have their memories erased after each one. Its stars Eliza Dushku as one such operative who begins to develop self-awareness.

Fox have also greenlit hotel-set The Inn, directed by Arrested Development's Jason Bateman. Bateman also joins AD alumni Will Arnett and Henry Winkler in providing voices for animated series Sit Down, Shut Up from AD creator Mitchell Hurwitz.

Another notable import from the UK is Eleventh Hour, which looks likely to get a full season from CBS. The original was a short-lived ITV drama starring Patrick Stewart as a scientist investigating unusual events for the government and Extras and Ugly Betty star Ashley Jensen as his bodyguard. The US version has Rufus Sewell in the lead and Marley Shelton as the bodyguard.