Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Comedian/actress Caroline Rhea is set to co-star opposite Nathan Lane, Ken Jenkins and Cheyenne Jackson in USA’s untitled Douglas McGrath comedy pilot. The single-camera comedy, which McGrath wrote and will direct, centers on Jasper (Lane), an unlucky actor whose Broadway aspirations must be put on hold when his father’s (Jenkins) health takes a turn for worse, forcing him to return to his Texas hometown. Rhea, repped by APA and Kipperman Management, will play Jasper’s sister Emilia. Also cast in the pilot, executive produced by McGrath and Lane, is Richard Kohnke (21 Jump Street the movie) as Emilia’s son. Laura Bell Bundy will guest star in the pilot as the wife of Jasper’s new friend Tim (Jackson).

Vanessa Ferlito (CSI: NY) has joined Aaron Tveit in another untitled USA pilot, a drama from White Collar creator Jeff Eastin. The project, from Fox TV Studios, follows agents from various federal and local agencies (DEA, FBI, LAPD) who all live at an undercover house in Southern California. Ferlito will play one of them, Catherine “Charlie” Lopez, a very attractive and strong-willed DEA agent.

TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.