Channel Surfing: Jane Lynch Sticks with "Glee" Over "Party Down," Brian K. Vaughan Leaves "Lost," HBO to Develop "Middlesex," and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Confirmed: Jane Lynch will NOT be reprising her role as ditzy actress Constance Carmell in the second season of Starz's comedy series Party Down due to her involvement on FOX's Glee, where she plays cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester. Cabler Starz was said to have hoped that Lynch's schedule could have accommodated both series but they were unable to make that happen. "It looks like I can't do the second season," said Lynch of "blessed event" Party Down. "So I'm not happy about that all ... but I'm in Glee, so I'm thrilled about that." No word yet on what Party Down producers will do now that Lynch is unavailable; Jennifer Coolidge appeared in two episodes of Season One as Constance's roommate Bobbie St. Brown, likely due to scheduling conflicts. (Variety)

"Y: The Last Man" creator Brian K. Vaughan won't be returning to the writing staff for the sixth and final season of ABC's Lost.
"Unfortunately he has left for greener pastures," executive producer/showrunner Damon Lindelof told fans during a Q&A session last week. What those greener pastures are remain unknown at this time, although three of his comic book properties--including "Y," "Runaways," and "Ex Machina" are in development for feature film adaptation. During his tenture on Lost, Vaughan wrote seven episodes, including last season's "Dead Is Dead," "Namaste," and "The Little Prince." (MTV's Splash Page)

HBO is developing a drama series adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides' Pulitzer Prize-winning 2002 novel "Middlesex." The pay cabler has optioned the rights to the novel, which "follows the life of Calliope Stephanides and the epic family history that may hold the answer to her complicated sexual identity." Playwright Donald Margulies will adapt the novel into a one-hour Middlesex pilot script and will executive produce along with Rita Wilson. (Broadcasting & Cable)

It's official: Christian Slater has joined the cast of ABC fall drama series The Forgotten. Slater replaces Spooks' Rupert Penry-Jones as lead character Alex Donovan, a former cop whose daughter went missing and who now works for amateur detective group The Forgotten Network, who focus on murder cases involving unidentified victims. (via press release)

Speaking of ABC, the network has begun to launch its programming on Hulu, now that the deal has been closed between Walt Disney Co. and the other equity partners in Hulu. Grey's Anatomy is now available for streaming on the site, to be followed by Desperate Housewives, Scrubs, Ugly Betty, I Survived a Japanese Game Show, and Superstars. (Variety)

E! Online's Watch with Kristin has several sneak peeks at How I Met Your Mother's Neil Patrick Harris' turn as guest judge on tomorrow night's episode of Bravo's Top Chef Masters, shot at Hollywood's famed Magic Castle (where I was a guest about two weeks ago). (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Everybody Loves Raymond's Brad Garrett and Sony Pictures Television are developing half-hour animated comedy Dumb Bunny and Jackass, about the lives of "the most popular cartoon duo in history after their fall from stardom." Project, based on characters created by Bill Kopp, will feature Garrett's voice. (Hollywood Reporter)

Torchwood: Children of Earth kicked off last night in the United Kingdom, grabbing an average of 5.9 million viewers on BBC One (a 25.8 percent audience share), a number that increased in the final fifteen minutes to 6.1 million viewers. The numbers demonstrate the largest timeslot average for the year to date, especially impressive considering that Torchwood previously aired on BBC Three and BBC Two. The third season kicks off Stateside on July 20th on BBC America. (Broadcast)

Also, from the other side of the pond: David Suchet (Poirot), Charles Dance (Bleak House), and Richard Coyle (Coupling) will star in Going Postal, Sky1's latest Terry Pratchett adaptation which is expected to air next Easter. "The fantasy tale of revenge and romance follows the adventures of arch-swindler Moist Von Lipwig," writes Hollywood Reporter's Mimi Turner, "and his love affair with the beautiful and vengeful Adore Belle Dearheart, whose family he has unwittingly ruined." (Hollywood Reporter)

The CW has announced that it will burn off remaining episodes of its short-lived drama series Easy Money this summer beginning Sunday, July 26th, following the burn-off run of fellow MRC-produced drama Valentine. Both series had been canceled by the CW in November. (Futon Critic)

Kathy Griffin will host Comedy Central's upcoming Comedy Central Roast of Joan Rivers, slated to air on August 9th at 10 pm ET/PT. (Hollywood Reporter)

Finally, the Hollywood Reporter talks to Jason Schwartzman about his new HBO comedy series Bored to Death:



Stay tuned.