Watching KVille

But this time it is on CBS. And it’s still a maybe…

Many thanks again to TCNA, a reader/commenter, who graciously tipped me off that Cole Hauser has joined the cast of a new CBS pilot called The Tower.

Upon researching said pilot, I have found out the following:

Marcia Gay Harden plays a millionaire newspaper owner in Chicago, and the pilot/potential series is being produced by Cold Case executive producer, Meredith Stiehm, as well as Davis Guggenheim, the director of the Oscar-winning An Inconvenient Truth. Stiehm is listed as the writer on IMDb in addition to her duties as the EP, and Guggenheim will be directing the pilot.

CCH Pounder and

Denis O’Hare

are also attached to The Tower. CCH Pounder, who comes from The Shield, was usually my favorite character. And Denis O’Hare, who has been in just about everything, is a Tony-winner for his role in Take Me Out, and almost won for the revival of Sondheim’s Assassins. He can dance, he can sing, he can act. He’s a triple-threat!

*Side note* about Assassins. It came out in the early 1990’s, but nobody got it. It was then shelved for a decade, and became a hit. It’s a great musical if you have never heard it.

Here’s a little trivia about Meredith Stiehm. She first started writing for TV on Northern Exposure, and even spent a couple of seasons writing for BH 90210. Neat. I have to wonder if she will be somehow involved in the rumored 90210 spin-off, arriving this fall, possibly.

A bit from Variety:

Harden is set to play Zoe, a millionaire who buys the newspaper at the center of the Eye pilot “The Tower.” Project revolves around journos who not only break stories but also solve mysteries.

And from the Hollywood Reporter:

“Tower,” from CBS Par, revolves around a group of Chicago reporters who treat breaking news as cases to be both investigated and solved. Hauser will play a crime reporter. “The Shield” alumna Pounder will play the paper’s managing editor.

The Hollywood Reporter offered a bit more info on Hauser.

Cole Hauser has been tapped for the lead role in “The Tower,” the CBS drama pilot from “Cold Case” exec producer Meredith Stiehm.

Davis Guggenheim is directing the project, which will have Hauser starring as Sean Castleman, a crime reporter at a paper where journos investigate and solve crimes. CBS Paramount Network TV is producing.

Hauser most recently co-starred in the Fox drama “K-Ville.” He’s filming Tyler Perry’s “The Family That Preys Together” and is set to appear in the features “Tortured” and “Like Dandelion Dust.”

Hmm. I like the idea of Chicago-based reporters, even though I am sure the series will be shot in LA, despite the setting. It’ll probably be like ER in that they show a couple of shots of the Sears Tower and then everything is very sound-stagey. I really hate that, and that is one of the reasons that I thought K-Ville stood out from the pack. Filmed in the actual location is a nice touch for authenticity in a very un-authentic world.

Still, glad that Hauser is returning to TV, and in a lead is even better.

Cole Hauser, Marcia Gay Harden, CCH Pounder, Denis O’Hare, CBS, Paramount, Chicago, The Tower, K-Ville, Meredith Stiehm, Davis Guggenheim, Cold Case, An Inconvenient Truth, Assassins, Take Me out, Northern Exposure, Beverly Hills 90210, ER, Hollywood Reporter, Variety