UNTITLED ANTHONY BOURDAIN/NIGELLA LAWSON PROJECT (ABC, New!) - The Alphabet is currently casting for a new cooking show "that will pit America's most skilled cooks against one another in a show unlike any other." Kinetic Content ("You Deserve It") is behind the project, which will feature Anthony Bourdain and Nigella Lawson. No other details were given. (ABC.com)
MOCKINGBIRD LANE (NBC) - Mariana Klaveno ("True Blood") has been cast as Lily Munster in the Peacock's reboot, joining the previously cast Jerry O'Connell as Herman, Mason Cook as Eddie, Charity Wakefield as Marilyn and Eddie Izzard as Grandpa. Said deal however is contingent on ABC Studios releasing the actress from its drama pilot "Devious Maids," which remains under consideration at Lifetime. Yvonne De Carlo originated the role of Lily Munster, the vampire wife of Herman and mother to Eddie, in the 1960s series. Writer Bryan Fuller and director Bryan Singer are behind the pilot, which is set up at Universal Television. (Deadline.com)
UNTITLED HOWARD BRAGMAN PROJECT (E!, New!) - Hollywood PR veteran Howard Bragman is developing a new drama at the cable channel inspired by his life. Matthew J. Lieberman ("In Plain Sight") is penning the Universal Cable Productions-based hour, which will center on Jake Levy, "a rising star publicist who, after hitting his peak at his NYC firm, makes a drastic move and launches out onto his own." Prospect Park's Josh Barry and Brillstein Entertainment Partners' Lee Kernis will executive produce alongside Bragman and Lieberman. (Deadline.com)
DA VINCI'S DEMONS (Starz) - Lara Pulver ("True Blood") is the latest addition to the upcoming drama, about the "untold" story of the world's greatest genius - Leonardo da Vinci (Tom Riley) - during his turbulent youth in Renaissance Florence. She'll play "famed enchantress and political machinator Clarice Orsini, aristocratic wife of Florentine ruler Lorenzo Medici." Laura Haddock also stars as Lucrezia Donati. David S. Goyer is behind the project, which is set up at BBC Worldwide Productions. (Deadline.com)
HANNIBAL (NBC) - Mads Mikkelsen ("Casino Royale") has booked the title role in the upcoming drama, about the early relationship between psychiatrist-turned-serial-killer, Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mikkelsen), and gifted criminal profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy). Gaumont International Television is behind the project, the pilot for which will be directed by David Slade from a script by Bryan Fuller. Brian Cox originated the Lecter role in the 1986 feature "Manhunter" while Anthony Hopkins took home an Oscar for his turn in 1991's "The Silence of the Lambs." (Deadline.com)
HOLIDAY SPIN (Lifetime, New!) - Ralph Macchio and Garrett Clayton are set to topline a new holiday original at the cable channel about Blake (Clayton), a "rebellious teen who is forced to go live with his father Ruben (Macchio) after his mother is killed in a car accident." Macchio's character runs a famed dance studio that has fallen on hard times where Blake falls for star student Pia (yet to be cast), who just happens to be Ruben's future step-daughter. Writer Albert Leon and director Jon Rosenbaum are behind the project, with Safe House's Scott W. Anderson serving as an executive producer and HS Productions' Christian Bruyere producing. (THR.com)
MOCKINGBIRD LANE (NBC) - Jerry O'Connell ("The Defenders") has been tapped to star as Herman Munster in the Peacock's reboot of "The Munsters." Said role, played by Fred Gwynne in the original 1960s series, is detailed as a great dad and devoted husband who works at a funeral home and is married to Lily (yet to be cast), a vampire, with whom he has fathered a 10-year-old boy, Eddie (Mason Cook), a werewolf. Charity Wakefield and Eddie Izzard also star in the Universal Television-based hour, from writer Bryan Fuller and director Bryan Singer. (Deadline.com)
PLAYING FATHER (Hallmark) - Eddie Cibrian and Michael Beach are set to star in the original movie, about "a former musician (Cibrian) who, despite having fans around the world, opts to return home to take a job teaching music to disenfranchised children so he can repair his relationship with his own family." Beach then will play "a custodian who works at the school in which Cibrian's character works." Eriq La Salle is helming the film, due to premiere next year timed with Father's Day, off a script by Wayne Lemon with Larry Levinson and Randy Pope serving as executive producers and Lincoln Lageson producing. (THR.com)
RED WIDOW (ABC) - Clifton Collins Jr. ("The Event") has joined the cast of the midseason drama, about Marta Walraven (Radha Mitchell), the widow of an assassinated criminal who is suddenly forced to adopt her late husband's (Anson Mount) role in order to protect her family. He'll play FBI Agent James Ramos, taking over for Mido Hamada in the original pilot. Melissa Rosenberg is behind the ABC Studios-based hour. (Deadline.com)
