Cannes Film Festival 2013

'Fired Up,' 'Dollhouse' actors land ABC pilots

Eric Christian Olsen and Amy Acker cast in ABC pilots

<p>Eric Christian Olsen in 'Fired Up!'</p>

Eric Christian Olsen in 'Fired Up!'

Credit: Screen Gems

A busy day of pilot casting finds Eric Christian Olsen landing the lead of an ABC comedy, while Amy Acker has joined an ensemble drama at the network.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Olsen will topline the untitled comedy from Ricky Blitt ("The Winner"), playing a young man in his 30s having to split himself between a needy best friend and the woman of his dreams (and her teenage kids). 

Olsen can currently be seen on the big screen in the cheerleading comedy "Fired Up!" His small screen credits include "The Loop" and an extended arc on "Brothers & Sisters" this season.

The trade also reports that Acker has been cast in "Happy Town," a mystery-drama from the folks behind "October Road." Acker ("Dollhouse") would play the wife of a small-town sheriff (Geoff Stults) investigating a murder.

Other credits for Acker include "Angel."

Also at ABC, newcomer Dakota Goyo has been cast in the network's untitled Daniel Cerone pilot. Based on Argentina's "Brothers & Detectives," the pilot focuses on a low-level private eye (Jimmy Wolk), whose 11-year-old brother (Goyo) is actually an Encyclopedia Brown-style crime-solving genius.

Also new to the Cerone pilot is Brad Henke as the detective's partner and best friend.

 

Stay up to date with the latest breaking news in the worlds of movies, TV and music by signing up for HitFix E-mail Alerts.

Don't miss out. Add HitFix to your iGoogle, My Yahoo or My MSN experience by clicking here.

Inside Analysis

  • Good for Amy Acker landing a TV...

    "But wait!!!!" fans of a certain Joss Whedon-produced FOX drama are screaming, "Isn't Amy Acker at least a recurring actor on 'Dollhouse?'"

    Well yes. She is. And Acker taking a job on an ABC pilot can either mean something or it can mean nothing and, either way, the Hollywood Reporter casting story offered no hints.

    Two obvious possibilities:

    1) Acker's Dr. Claire Saunders, already mentally and physically scarred, isn't long for this Earth. That isn't a spoiler, kids. I only know what happens in Episode Four and, as far as I know, Acker's character remains alive. After that? All bets are off.

    2) Acker and the rest of the "Dollhouse" cast have seen the show's ratings and they're aware that even on a Friday night, 4.2 million viewers isn't cutting it. So they could just be hedging their bets. In such cases, most actors would have it in their contract that the existing show would be in first position, meaning that if "Dollhouse" gains momentum and FOX decides to bring it back, ABC would have to recast the role in "Happy Family." That would only be an issue, though, if both "Dollhouse" and "Happy Family" had schedule slots for next season and Acker's character survived on "Dollhouse."

    Just don't read too much into it! Or at least not necessarily.

    -Daniel Fienberg

Not part of the HitFix Nation yet? Take 90 seconds and sign up today.

 

Comments

  • Option 1

    Comment instantly as a guest Guest
  • Option 2

    Connect
  • Option 3

    Login or create a HitFix account Login Signup
  • Default-avatar

    visionwarrior

    Why do you refer to Dakota Goyo as Newcomer.
    He has more credits than the other lead. Too funny!

    September 2, 2009 at 5:05PM EST Reply to Comment

Get Instant Alerts on Breaking News

Recent Activity on Facebook
Most Popular on Facebook
Top Stories From Around the Web