Channel Surfing: NBC Passes on "Legally Mad" and (Allegedly) "Lost & Found," "Dollhouse" Bonus Ep Gets Comic-Con Screening, Michael Emerson, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

NBC has confirmed that they have passed on David E. Kelley's legal drama Legally Mad, which will not be going to series. Project, which starred Charity Wakefield, Hugh Bonneville, Kristin Chenoweth, Jon Seda, Loretta Devine, and Kurt Fuller as the denizens of a quirky Chicago law firm, has a rather hefty multi-million dollar penalty against it, which NBC will have to pay out to Warner Bros. Television after making a series commitment to the project last year. It's not anticipated that the studio will shop the project to other outlets. In other pilot news, ABC comedy pilot Let It Go (a.k.a. The Bridget Show), starring Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls), is now believed to be "dead." (Variety)

The Peacock is also said to have killed procedural drama Lost & Found, which starred Katee Sackhoff and Brian Cox. There were rumors that the Universal Media Studios-produced pilot was being shopped to USA but The Hollywood Reporter's Nellie Andreeva says "that is considered a longshot." Meanwhile, NBC comedy pilot Off Duty is said to be undergoing some retooling and could still remain in contention while ABC screened pilots V and Limelight to some rather mixed reviews yesterday, with V still in the mix for a possible order. (Hollywood Reporter)

The so-called bonus episode of FOX drama Dollhouse, entitled "Epitaph One," will be screened at July's Comic-Con International in San Diego. The episode, which features guest star Felicia Day (Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog), is said to be set in the future and will also feature the core series cast. Day will play a freedom fighter battling the tyrrany of the Dollhouse in the "gothic horror" tinged installment, which is described as "mythology heavy and an essential watch for fans of the series." (End of Show)

The Onion A.V. Club talks to Lost's Michael Emerson about playing Benjamin Linus on the ABC drama and what he thinks about Ben being labeled as a villain. "I think it’s interesting that I make these best-villain lists when it’s not even clear that I am a bad guy," said Emerson. "I think it’s something in the playing of the part. I think it worries people when they can’t get a handle on a character. I tend to play him kind of ambiguously. There is a sinister quality to him, but I think the verdict is still out about what his position is on the scale of good and evil. To a large extent, people’s interest in the character is the mystery of the character." (The Onion A.V. Club)

Kevin Costner and Armyan Bernstein are developing an untitled four-hour Western mini-series at A&E, which Costner will executive produce and may direct; it's also possible that he could appear in front of the camera as well, depending on the script. Project will focus on a post-Civil War era "major conflict in the settlement of the West." (Hollywood Reporter)

In other A&E news, the cabler has ordered a pilot for Jerry Bruckheimer-produced drama Cooler Kings about a former cop in Honolulu who is out for revenge after the death of his girlfriend and becomes the member of a group of enigmatic gumshoes called the Cooler Kings, whose mission is to fight the "seedy side of Paradise." Project, originally developed at FOX, is written by Tristan Patterson and comes from Bruckheimer TV and Warner Horizon. If ordered to series, Cooler Kings would likely boy in spring or summer 2010. (Variety)

Joss Stone has signed on to reprise her role as Anne of Cleves, one-time wife to Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) in the fourth and final season of Showtime's The Tudors. (Hollywood Reporter)

FOX has pulled animated comedy Sit Down, Shut Up from the schedule with one installment remaining from its initial order. It's not expected that the series will return next season. (Variety)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello has some details about Season Four of NBC's Heroes, vis-a-vis some casting info about a number of roles that seem to place the action next season at some sort of traveling circus, making many--including Ausiello--draw comparisons to HBO's short-lived supernatural drama series Carnivale. Producers are said to be on the look out for a knife-thrower, a twenty-something tattooed woman, and "a middle-aged Eddie Izzard type to play the Carnival Barker, a smooth operator with a wicked wit." Other roles up for grabs include Claire's "quirky college roommate" and a partner/mentor for Matt Parkman. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Jimmy Kimmel Live co-creator Daniel Kellison has been hired as the new executive producer on The Bonnie Huny Show. He'll take his spot on the second season of the daytime syndicated talk show when it returns this fall, working alongside Bonnie Hunt, Don Lake, and Jim Paratore. Kellison's company Jackhole Industries, which he runs with Kimmel and Adam Carolla, will continue to produce Jimmy Kimmel Live. (Variety)

Nickelodeon has handed out a series order to action/adventure comedy The Troop, ordering 26 episodes about three teenagers (Nick Purcell, Gage Golightly, David Del Rio) who battle monsters after school. The series, from executive producer Tommy Lynch and showrunner Jay Kogen, is expected to launch this fall. It was created by Greg Coolidge, Chris Morgan, and Max Burnett. (Hollywood Reporter)

Fremantle has hired former Sci Fi executive Tony Optican, who was responsible for developing Eureka, Tin Man, and Stargate: Atlantis, to oversee its scripted programming development and also sell the company's UK scripted formats into the US. He'll report to Eugene Young, Fremantle's chief creative officer, and will be based in LA. (Variety)

Stay tuned.