GETTING ON (HBO) - Laurie Metcalf, Alex Borstein and Niecy Nash have all been cast in the comedy pilot, about the doctors, nurses and administrators working in the women's geriatric wing of a hospital. Melcalf will play Dr. Jenna James, "the overworked temporary Director of Medicine juggling the gig with another one at a nearby hospital," with Borstein as "the head ward nurse named Dawn Forchette, who, while kind and compassionate, struggles with self-esteem and ultimately ends up in inappropriate sexual situations." Rounding out the trio is Nash as Marta Ortley, "a big-hearted practical nurse who only recently returned to this line of work after the real estate market crashed." Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer are behind the half-hour, which is based on the satirical British sitcom of the same name. (TVLine.com)
MARVEL'S S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC) - Newcomer Brett Dalton is the latest to board the pilot, a drama set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, following the small screen adventures of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, better known as S.H.I.E.L.D. He'll play Agent Grant, a highly-skilled rising star at the agency who's "deadly, precise, and cool under fire - but not so great with the people skills." Elizabeth Henstridge, Iain De Caestecker, Ming-Na Wen and Clark Gregg also star in the ABC Studios-based hour, to be directed by Joss Whedon from a script he co-wrote with Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen. (TVLine.com)
BLOODLINE (NBC, New!) - David Graziano ("Terra Nova") has booked a new drama at the Peacock about Bird Benson, "a young woman abandoned at birth by an ancient line of mercenaries, brigands and killers who must learn to defeat her own mother in armed combat if she ever wants to lead a normal life." Universal Television-based Film 44 is behind the hour with the company's Peter Berg and Sarah Aubrey executive producing alongside Graziano. (Deadline.com)
INSTANT MOM (Nickelodeon) - Duane Martin, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Sydney Park, Tylen Williams and Damarr Calhoun have all been cast in the comedy pilot, which stars Tia Mowry as a 25-year-old party girl who trades in Cosmos for carpools when she marries an older man with kids. Martin will play said fellow, Charlie, with Ralph as Maggie, the mother of Mowry's character. Park, Williams and Calhoun then are set as the kids, Gabrielle, James and Aaron. Warren Bell and Jessica Butler co-wrote the half-hour and executive produce alongside Kapital Entertainment's Aaron Kaplan. (Deadline.com)
MERLIN (Syfy) - The U.K. import will come to a close after its upcoming fifth season on the cable channel, which premieres Friday, January 4 at 10:00/9:00c. "This is the [season] where the storylines truly reach their apex," co-creators Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy told EW.com. "We always felt the story of the legend was best told across five series, leading to a spectacular finale that draws on the best known elements of this much-loved story and brings to a conclusion the battle for Camelot." Producers Shine and FremantleMedia Enterprises however are reportedly in the early stages of developing potential spin-offs set within the show's universe. (Deadline.com, EW.com)
SIXTH FAMILY, THE (Cinemax, New!) - David Graziano ("Terra Nova") likewise has sold a potential drama to the pay channel about "the changing face of organized crime in the wake of 9/11" with the title being a riff on "New York's Five Families, the city's infamous Italian mafia clans." Warner Horizon Television is behind the hour, set in South Brooklyn, which he'll write and executive produce. (Deadline.com)
TROPHY WIFE (ABC) - Natalie Morales ("Parks & Recreation") has boarded the comedy pilot, about "reformed party girl Kate (Malin Akerman), who finds herself with an insta-family when she falls in love with Brad (Bradley Whitford), a successful charmer with a quirky sense of humor who has three manipulative kids and two judgmental ex-wives (Marcia Gay Harden, Michaela Watkins)." She's set as Meg, Kate's best friend in the ABC Studios-based half-hour, from director Jason Moore and co-creators Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins. (Deadline.com)
