TV briefs

Boyle feeds ‘insatiable’ appetite

If the creators of the Showtime pilot “Insatiable” want to keep describing the tone of their series as “Twin Peaks”-esque, casting Lara Flynn Boyle seems like a good move.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Boyle is close to joining the cast of the “Insatiable” pilot, along with Andie MacDowell and Andrea Martin.

“Insatiable” is said to be a single-camera comedy about a small town in which every resident has some sort of weird addiction.

Of Boyle (“The Practice”), the industry trade paper says her role is “a local news personality married to a doctor who gets a sexual rush from stealing things.” From that phrasing, we aren’t sure if Boyle’s character is the easily aroused kleptomaniac or if her husband is, but we’re still intrigued.

MacDowell (“Groundhog Day”) would play the sister of Boyle’s character, the superficially glamorous wife of a millionaire. The character also harbors an addiction to online shopping.

Martin’s character would be an accountant and single mom with a gambling addition.

Peter Facinelli and Beth Riesgraf were previously cast.

Recent credits for Boyle include arcs on “Huff” and “Las Vegas,” while you may have heard MacDowell’s voice in the animated feature “Barnyard.” Martin will next be seen in “Black Christmas,” a remake of the 1974 slasher classic that marked one of her first big screen roles.

Production begins on new ‘Babylon 5’

LOS ANGELES ­- Production began Monday on “Babylon 5: The Lost Tales,” a new direct-to-DVD movie based on the popular and long-running sci-fi franchise.

The film will be released by Warner Home Video and will include a pair of new “Babylon 5” stories, collectively titled “Voices of the Dark,” as well as behind-the-scenes content in the package.

Original series creator J. Michael Straczynski is writing and directing and returning cast members include Bruce Boxleitner, Tracy Scoggins and Peter Woodward.

“WHAT ABOUT BRIAN’: HE’S PICKED UP

Apparently ABC liked those extra scripts for “What About Brian” it asked for a couple of weeks ago.

The network has picked up the second-year series for the full season, adding nine more episodes to the 13 it initially ordered for 2006-07. Although the show delivers relatively modest overall ratings, it does well enough among younger viewers – particularly young women – to justify the pickup.

ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson is also an avowed fan of the show, which he gave a somewhat surprising pickup last sprin as a 30ish guy in the midst of trying to figure out his life. The cast also includes Sarah Lancaster, Matthew Davis, Rick Gomez, Amanda Detmer and Rosanna Arquette.

Fox wants pick of Pickler

Kellie Pickler, who enchanted and bemused the nation during her “American Idol” run last spring, may be ready for sitcom stardom.

Fox is attempting to build a half-hour comedy that isn’t so much based on Pickler’s actual life as on her bubbly “Idol” persona.

According to Variety, 20th Century Fox TV and Watson Pond would produce the hypothetical pilot along with “Idol” producers 19 Entertainment. The studio has recruited “The “70s Show” veterans Chris Peterson and Bryan Moore to write the script.

While Pickler’s own story – abandoned by her mother and raised by grandparents while her father was serving jail time – were as central to her “Idol” bio as her malapropisms (“I’m a mink!”) and confusion at various food products, the sitcom will put a new spin on her life. Pickler would play a small-town Southern girl (so far so good) who discovers that her father is the state’s governor. He’s initially concerned that his new-found spawn will destroy his presidential aspirations, but they eventually become a winning team. Or something like that.

Pickler ended up finishing sixth on “Idol” last season.

“I hope that I will be able to pursue music, as well as TV and film – anything that life throws me, I want to take advantage of every opportunity that I’m given,” she told reporters at the time. “So, I feel like I’m young. I have no strings attached anywhere. I’m ready to roll.”

She quickly signed with the country label BNA and her first album, “Small Town Girl” was released at the end of October. In addition to picking up a few bizarrely positive reviews, “Small Town Girl” sold a respectable 80,000 copies to top the Billboard country charts.

Of course, just because a few producers think it’s a good idea to make a pilot built around an “Idol” singer doesn’t mean that the networks will eventually agree. Has anybody heard anything lately about Constantine Maroulis’ in-development ABC sitcom? We haven’t either.

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GERVAIS-PENNED “OFFICE’ READY TO GO

“The Office” will go back to its British roots, at least behind the camera, with an episode set for the end of November.

Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, who created the BBC series on which the NBC Emmy winner is based, wrote the episode scheduled for Nov. 30. It’s their first original script for the series, although the pilot was based on the first episode of the British version.

The episode, titled “The Convict,” has Michael (Steve Carell) trying to be supportive when he finds out one of his new employees – presumably someone from the Stamford branch – has a prison record. Given the way Michael’s attempts at empathy usually work out, we’re guessing the results are less than ideal.

The newly returned Jim (John Krasinski) also gives Andy (Ed Helms) some dubious coaching when Andy decides to make a move on Pam (Jenna Fischer).

NBC announced early this year that Gervais and Merchant, who are also behind the BBC/HBO series “Extras,” would be writing an episode of “The Office.” Speaking to reporters in late February, Gervais said he and his partner were nearly finished with the script.

“It was remarkably fast,” he said then. “I suppose that’s because we’d been away from those characters for two or three years. It’s one of our favorite shows, the American “Office.”‘

The Gervais and Merchant episode of “The Office” will be the show’s 38th – which is nearly three times as many as the duo produced for the Beeb. The British “Office” ran for two six-episode seasons and wrapped things up with a two-part Christmas special in December 2003.