Meet J.J. Abrams' latest discovery from the Land Down Under (aka the home of fellow Aussie discovery Yvonne Strahovski): Anna Torv.Torv has been cast in FOX's two-hour drama pilot Fringe as Olivia Warren, a tough, determined FBI agent who is assigned to work with Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble), a brilliant research scientist--who just might be insane--and his estranged son (still to be cast) in order to investigate a series of bizarre global phenomena.
Torv has appeared in such Australian television series as The Secret Life of Us and Young Lions and BBC series Mistresses and ITV telepic Frankenstein. She also provided the voice of Nariko in the videogame "Heavenly Sword."
Also cast in the $10 million pilot, to be directed by Journeyman's Alex Graves, are Blair Brown (The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd) and Jasika Nicole (Mastersons of Manhattan). Brown will play the icy and possibly malevolent Nina Cord, a veteran employee at the ominous-sounding Prometheus Corporation. Nicole will recur as Astrid, a federal assistant assigned to work with the Bishops at their lab.
The actresses join John Noble, Lance Reddick, Kirk Acevedo, and Mark Valley, who have already been cast in the pilot.
Fringe comes from studio Warner Bros. Television and is executive produced by Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci. (You can read my advance review of the Fringe pilot script here.)
What's On Tonight
8 pm: CSI: New York (CBS); My Name is Earl/The Office (NBC); Smallville (CW); Lost: Past, Present, and Future (ABC); Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? (FOX)
9 pm: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS); Celebrity Apprentice (NBC; 9-11 pm); Supernatural (CW); Lost (ABC); Don't Forget the Lyrics (FOX)
10 pm: Without a Trace (CBS); Eli Stone (ABC)
What I'll Be Watching
8 pm: Lost: Past, Present, and Future.
Catch up on the first three seasons of Televisionary obsession Lost, with this new recap special, which kicks off tonight's fourth season opener. I am counting down the minutes!
8 pm: Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares on BBC America.
Season Four of the original UK Kitchen Nightmares begins tonight. On this week's installment ("Piccolo Teatro"), Gordon Ramsay heads to Paris where he attempts to help and hapless and inexperienced restaurateur and an eccentric Brazilian chef try to save their the struggling vegetarian restaurant. (A hint to those with some major DVR conflicts: the episode also airs at 5 pm PT AND at 11 pm ET.)
9 pm: Lost.
Oh. My. God. It's finally here after eight months of waiting: the fourth season premiere of Lost. On tonight's season opener ("The Beginning of the End"), rescue appears to be right around the corner for the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815, but they are uncertain about whether or not to believe Charlie's final message, a warning about their alleged rescuers. Just who are the people aboard the freighter and what do they want? And who makes it back to the mainland? Find out tonight.
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