Not quite as big as Lawrence Fishburne going to CSI proper, but Megalyn Echikunwoke (a name that inspires fear in commentators everywhere) has moved from a recurring role to a series regular in CSI Miami. You may recognise Megalyn from the 4400 or Like Family or 24 amongst other things. And if you do then you might also like to know that according to the internet (the home of all made up stuff): Megalyn enjoys surfing, is a member of Nigerian royalty through her father's ancestry and is not Navajo. Whoever the genius is that added that last titbit may I also offer: Is not Russian, Korean or Ice cream either! Some bloggers, really!

ABC has decided it needs a little more "thin blue line" and picked up two new cop dramas for its midseason schedule. First up is Castle which stars Nathan Fillion, of the much missed Firefly... sniff, who plays a horror novelist helping out at his local NYPD outlet. Second is Sony's The Unusuals a comedy *** police drama also set in New York. This one stars Amber Tamblyn of Joan of Arcadia fame.

Not a poor remake of the Daniel Day Lewis epic, or the threat of yet another John Grisham courtroom thrillfest (ahem), just a speculation on the fact that Fox Atomic and HBO may have hired the same designer for their upcoming poster campaigns.

Hmmmm

US cable network Lifetime has put an order in for six episodes of a new series Blush. Blush is the partner series for Next Top Model and follows pretty much exactly the same format only for make up artists. So there.

A Doctor Who movie could be on the cards according to news coming out of the Edinburgh Festival. The Doctor has a new showrunner, Steven Moffat who has taken over from Russel T. Davies. Moffat has said he would like to see a Doctor Who feature made... yeah well I would like to see my lottery numbers come up. For all the Dr Who fans out there, don't hold your breath just yet.

CWs new reality series Stylista, The Devil Wears Prada meets America's Next Top Model, is going to launch a week earlier that originally billed. Now I confess that this is not particularly interesting news. Basically 10 fashion assistants working for Elle Magazine's news director, weekly eliminations, prize of a year's contract at Elle and $100k's worth of H&M vouchers. Two things of note here; first, this seems like a ridiculous interview process for what must essentially be a secretarial role; second H&M vouchers?  Seriously?

To the lovers of television drama, the Olympics may seen like the worst shot reality show ever but according to Nielsen Media Research (the folks who persuade advertisers to fund your, well your US counterpart's, telly habit) the Chinese Olympics was the most viewed event in the history of US television. Now you and I both know that the majority would be watching to see whether some yellow robed monk made a combustible demonstration against the Chinese authorities, but with figures like 211 million viewers you can expect the US networks to start turning their minds towards similar things. Things you might want to watch out for: Olympic Idol, America has got Swimmers, CSI Beijing, Desperate Athletes, Won, Record Break... the opportunities are endless.

his business partner that is. Paula Wagner is leaving United Artists to produce stuff independently. I, like everyone else in the newspaper world, just wanted to write the headline.

According to the newswires, Christian Bale has escaped assault charges. According to the LA Times, actor Shelley Malil (40 Year OId Virgin) has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder in the stabbing of his girlfriend, according to Us Weekly 14 year old singer Ali Lohan may or may not have had a boob job over the summer and according to The Independent gossip magazines are on the wain. Spot the odd one out.

ABC, not averse to shameless exploitation of international economic instability, have started a campaign "Stay Home, Save Gas". Their plan, that from the week commencing September 21st, all Americans should fight the rising oil prices by not filling up the eight thousand gallon tank on the humvee they use to do the three block school run, and instead become anatomically one with their couch.

As much as this new initiative is likely to send Michael Moore and Al Gore into climactic rapture, one wonders a) how much encouragement the stereotypical American needs to sit at home on his fat ass and b) whether it is a coincidence that ABC are launching all their new shows that week. Hmmmmm.

HBO have started pushing their brand new vampire drama True Blood which will premiere in the US on September 7th. Buffy for grown ups, the series, based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris, is set in a future not far from now, where Vampires have come out of closet and are living openly amongst humanity, having, in the main, gotten over the whole ripping people's throats out thing. Bill Compton, a 173 year old vampire, settles in a small Southern town where he meets Sookie Stackhouse a waitress who can hear people's thoughts. Steven Moyer takes the role of Bill and Anna Paquin fresh from her role in another HBO epic, Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, takes the role of Sookie.

FoxInsider has been lucky enough to see preview DVDs of the show and can honestly say it is perhaps the sexiest vampire series yet (without going into the curtained off section of the video shop). There is a touch of the M Night Shamalyan about it, a soupcon of Carnivale (if you remember the HBO freak show), a smidgen of Interview With A Vampire. It is not a Buffy type run-around-steaking-vampires sort of a show, and has some interesting messages about discrimination delivered in a rather twisted sort of a way, but it is hot and sticky and very very sultry. Rumour has it, it is due in the UK next summer.

... and finally, Paris Hilton is reportedly being sued by Worldwide Entertainment Group for not doing her part in promoting the movie National Lampoon's Pledge This. Apparently they are asking her for $75,000 for not fulfilling the "reasonable promotion and publicity" part of her agreement. That they failed to make a "reasonable" film in the first place, apparently is irrelevant. Still its going to be a lean christmas in the Hilton household this year.... or maybe not

According to the Hollywood gossip rags, one of the contestants on the new season of America's Next Top Model is a transgender. That is she was formally a he. Or in her own words "a woman born physically male". Here at FoxInsider we cast no judgement on such things, largely because we don't care and they are not funny. However, here are a couple of things to consider. First off, given the outrage and vitriol from Middle England when Sky One showed There is something about Miriam, it will be intriguing to see how Middle America deal with this. Second, do you think that it is possible that this information has been leaked now so as to avoid several odd million law suits cropping up when young teen males realise they have been entertaining themselves to something that is not quite what they thought? Makes you think. Well not that much.

Now we don't normally do politics here. And rightly so. We like our politics to be Jack Bauer chasing down a terrorist suspect (originating from a country that currently the US or Fox News are upset with) and blowing them away with a very big gun. That is telly! However, this particular titbit I cannot let go by unpunished. Allegedly, reports stateside are that the Russian Government is complaining that it's recent invasion and bombing of Georgia but not covered in an impartial manner. You have got to feel for the big lugs. You go and invade one little country and suddenly the world's media are painting you to be the villain of the piece. A word of advise fellas from a PR specialist: people are inclined to think nicer thoughts about you if you go around NOT invading countries. Look at the West Indies for example. They have invaded noone, everybody loves them. Coincidence? I think not.

do you see what I did there? No? Never mind. Word on the street, or more accurately boulevard, is that ABC has got a new project in the pipeline, a pilot based on the 2002 schmaltzfest Maid In Manhattan. For those of you lucky enough to have been overlooked by the J-Lo, Fiennes muck, the story is about a Latina (that is a politically incorrect[?] term for female US inhabitant of hispanic decent) from the block (this particularly block being the Bronx) who is hilariously mistaken for a New York socialite by the fantabulously-good-looking-and-wealthy-single-male who is staying in the hotel where she works (and breath). ABC think there is a television series in this, but they have decided that for the television adaptation they will remove the love affair and focus more upon the maid and her colleagues. Riiiiight. Take a love story and remove the love story. Sounds like a winner to me.