McKidd joins NBC's 'Journeymen'

Pilot Watch
By VARIETY STAFF


NBC: Casting -- Kevin McKidd ("Rome") has joined "Journeyman," the 20th Century Fox TV drama about a man who travels back in time to fix events -- including his own life. McKidd will next be seen in "Hannibal Rising," which opens Friday.

Casting -- Jane Lynch ("A Mighty Wind") has been hired for "Area 52," the NBC U-produced office comedy from Dean Parisot about workers who must watch over a manipulative alien. Lynch, one of the regulars in Christopher Guest's ensemble films, recently had a multi-episode arc on "Criminal Minds."

Casting -- Zachary Levi ("Less than Perfect") will play the title character in "Chuck," the Warner Bros. TV-produced hour from "The O.C." creator Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. Also joining the cast:
Adam Baldwin, whose credits range from "The Nine" and "Firefly" to "Full Metal Jacket." McG is directing.

Fox: Casting -- Shane West ("ER") will play Tony, a sexy young clerk on the 20th-produced "Supreme Courtships." West, who first got noticed on "Once and Again," has been a regular on NBC's "ER" this season. Other thesps set to play clerks include Zachary Knighton, the male co-lead in the recent remake of "The Hitcher," and Leslie Odom Jr. ("Vanished," "Big Day").

ABC: Pickup -- An untitled Ric Swartzlander single-camera workplace laffer set in a Phoenix newsroom. Swartzlander wrote the pilot and will exec produce via Touchstone Television.

Pickup -- "The Thick of It," a half-hour about office workers for a low-level congressman. Mitch Hurwitz and Richard Day wrote and will exec produce the Sony Pictures Television pilot, which is based on a BBC format. Paul Telegdy and Armando Iannucci will also serve as exec producers.

CBS: Pickup -- "The Man," an hourlong drama from "CSI" creator Anthony Zuiker that stars LL Cool J as an undercover L.A. cop who develops a paternal relationship with a young boy orphaned in one of his drug busts. CBS Par is producing the hour. Zuiker, who wrote and will exec produce, has a history of doing well with late orders: "CSI" was the last pilot script greenlit by then-CBS drama chief Nina Tassler. LL Cool J and Jason Barrett will be producers on the project.