Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Heroes, Alias and Felicity alum Greg Grunberg is heading to cable as the lead of A&E’s hourlong pilot Big Mike. In the project, co-produced by Happy Madison and Sony Pictures TV, Grunberg will play the title character, a plus-sized detective and a force of nature in the San Diego PD. One of the best in his field, he gets things done, knows all the right people, gets along with everyone, and knows all the best places to eat. His greatest challenge in his romantic life. I hear Grunberg’s casting lifts the contingency on the pilot despite the fact that Grunberg is formally in second position to NBC’s Love Bites. He was upped to a regular on the NBC anthology dramedy after a memorable guest stint in the pilot. But the series, once scheduled for a fall launch in the Thursday 10 PM slot is yet to get a premiere date and its order has been cut from 13 to 9. There Is Something About Mary co-writers Ed Decter and John Strauss wrote Big Mike and are exec producing with Doug Robinson.

Meanwhile, Camille Guaty (Vegas) has joined the cast of another hourlong cable pilot, USA’s Eden. The project, from Universal Cable Prods., was written by Ken and Mary Hanes, with Jace Alexander directing. It centers on a young hotel worker (Nick D’Agosto) who, with the help of his escaped con artist cousin (Enver Gjokaj), gets a job as the concierge at an elite NYC hotel. Together they manage to provide the hotel guests with whatever they desire, at whatever the cost. Guaty will play a strong-willed, hard-working single mother who’s carved out a career in real estate support her five-year-old son. Guaty, repped by APA and Impression, next recurs on Shawn Ryan’s midseason cop drama for Fox The Chicago Code where she plays star Jason Clarke’s fiancee.

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