CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- The latest development news, culled from various wire reports each morning:
111 GRAMERCY PARK (ABC) - Tippi Hedren ("Providence") and Oscar winner Joel Grey ("Cabaret") have joined the cast of the drama pilot, described as an "Upstairs, Downstairs"-style look at life in a tony New York apartment building. Hedren will play one of the building's wealthy residents, while Grey will play a writer who also resides there.
THE AFTERLIFE (FOX, New!) - FOX has ordered a pilot presentation of the project, a digitally animated comedy about a family that dies from a freak photography accident and winds up in purgatory, which looks a lot like suburban Los Angeles. Barry Bostwick ("Spin City"), Kerri Kenney ("The Ellen Show"), Alexandra Holden ("Ally McBeal") and Danny Strong ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") will voice the father, mother and children respectively. Threshold Entertainment's Larry Kasanoff ("Foodfight") will executive produce the project for his Threshold Digital Research Labs. Joshua Wexler co-created the series with writers David Schneiderman and Derek Guiley.
FEARLESS (WB) - Leo Fitzpatrick ("Kids") has landed a guest role on the WB drama pilot as the title character's (Rachael Leigh Cook) nemesis.
HARRY'S GIRL (CBS) - Diane Farr ("The Job") has landed her second pilot of the season, signing onto the CBS comedy "Harry's Girl." She will portray the best friend of the title character (Christine Taylor). Farr is also attached to the NBC comedy "The Ripples."
MR. AMBASSADOR (NBC) - Megan Ward ("Boomtown") has nabbed a role in the NBC/Touchstone comedy pilot. Rupert Everett headlines the series which features RonReaco Lee, Meredith Eaton and Derek Jacobi.
NIP/TUCK (FX) - The cable network's medical drama has been given a greenlight to produce 13 episodes. The series stars Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon as successful Miami plastic surgeons and longtime best friends who are on the verge of a major expansion of their burgeoning practice when McMahon's character goes out on his own to do pro bono surgery on burn victims. FX will debut the series in the summer after its new dramedy "Lucky" finishes its run.
THE O.C. (FOX) - Benjamin McKenzie has scored the lead role in the drama about a street-smart teen who winds up in the high-class society of Orange County. Peter Gallagher, Mischa Barton, Tate Donovan and Adam Brody also star.
SKIN (FOX) - Newcomer D.J. Cotrona ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit") has nabbed a lead role in the drama pilot from Jerry Bruckheimer and Warner Bros. TV. He will play the son of a district attorney (Kevin Anderson) who falls in love with the daughter of his father's nemesis -- a porn industry mogul (Ron Silver).
UNTITLED FRATERNAL TWINS PROJECT (FOX) - Meagan Fay ("Magnolia") has joined the cast of FOX's untitled Glouberman/Orenstein comedy pilot. She'll play the mother of twin child prodigies in the project, which comes from Warner Bros. TV and Tollin-Robbins.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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