Former "Lois & Clark" star
Teri Hatcher has signed on for a new adventure, inking to star opposite Ken
Olin in the Jeff Richman/Steve Levitan laffer pilot "Say Uncle."
In other casting news, ex-"Melrose Place"
resident Rob Estes is moving to NBC's "Tikiville," while feature thesp Breckin
Meyer ("Josie and the Pussycats," "Road Trip") is set for the Peacock comedy
pilot "Inside Schwartz." All three skeins come from 20th Century Fox Television.
Also, Kimberly Williams ("Father of
the Bride") has been set for ABC's untitled Jim Belushi pilot from Touchstone;
and Jim Gaffigan ("Welcome to New York") will join Ellen DeGeneres in her
CBS pilot "Ellen Again."
Hatcher will play Olin's outwardly sweet
co-anchor on a high-rated entertainment newsmag. Despite her kindly appearance,
character is actually a manipulative schemer. "Uncle" is a co-prod with CBS
Prods.
In addition to her four-year run on
"Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," Hatcher sports feature
credits including this week's Dimension Films release "Spy Kids" and Bond
pic "Tomorrow Never Dies." Thesp made her stage debut last year in the touring
company of "Cabaret."
Set for feature 'Story'
Hatcher also has been cast as the lead
in indie pic "The Chester Story," which she'll shoot after finishing the
"Say Uncle" pilot.
As for Estes' role in "Tikiville," from
20th and 3 Sisters, he'll play a surfer dude who suddenly returns to the
lives of his ex-wife and son after abandoning the two 14 years earlier. Pilot
comes from exec producers Dottie Dartland Zicklin, James Burrows and Jamie
Tarses; Burrows will direct.
Estes most recently has had a recurring
role on NBC's "Providence."
Meyer goes 'Inside'
Meanwhile, Meyer will star in "Inside
Schwartz" as Adam Schwartz, a sports fanatic who dreams of becoming the next
Bob Costas.
Other cast members in the Stephen Engel-penned
series include Miriam Shor ("Then Came You"), Brian Callen and Jennifer Irwin.
Pilot is a co-prod with NBC Studios.
Over at Jim Belushi's untitled pilot,
Williams will play Dana, the sister of Courtney Thorne-Smith's character.
The family comedy comes from exec producers Belushi, Tracy Newman, Jonathan
Stark and Suzanne Bukinik.
Williams' other credits include the
ABC romantic drama "Relativity."
And Gaffigan, who played "Jim Gaffigan"
in CBS' short-lived "Welcome to New York" this season, will star as DeGeneres'
longtime friend in her comedy pilot (which comes from Mitch Hurwitz and Carol
Leifer).
One more piece of casting: Chris Potter
("Queer as Folk") has signed as the father in the Touchstone family drama
"The Big House" (aka "Being Brewster") for ABC. Potter, who will play opposite
Jennifer Beals, also has appeared in "Silk Stalkings."