ABC Wants Moore, More, More: ABC is giving Mandy Moore another shot at TV stardom. The network didn’t pick up the actress’s 2012 comedy pilot, but obviously ABC execs are fans of her work, considering they’ve cast her as one of the leads in their new show, Pulling. Based on the British series of the same name, Pulling follows three thirtysomething women struggling with dating at an age where they’re supposed to have their lives figured out. Moore will play Louise, a woman hyper-focused on finding a husband who often comes on a little too strong. In other ABC casting news, the network has added its The River star Eloise Mumford to its drama pilot Reckless. [Deadline]
Mix it Up: ABC’s comedy Mixology, which takes place in a bar over the course of one night, has added three new cast members to the mix. Adam Campbell, Craig Frank, and Glee gal Vanessa Lengies will play three singles looking for love. Campbell is a tech dude in debt after his startup failed, Frank is a dim-witted hottie, and Lengies is a peppy personal trainer who waitresses at night. [Deadline]
Is Deception Done?: Stick a fork in it, because NBC’s soap Deception is cooked. Star Tate Donovan has already found other work — he’ll play the male lead in the new CBS drama pilot Hostages. He’ll play Toni Collette‘s husband in the series, which follows a surgeon who becomes part of a political conspiracy when she operates on the U.S. President and her family is taken hostage. [The Hollywood Reporter]
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Pure Genius: Steve Zahn will play one half of a team of uniquely talented brothers who use human behavior and psychology to solve their clients’ problems in the ABC drama pilot Influence. Zahn’s Clark is a bipolar genius and expert in the human behavior and psychology field who lost his professor job when his affair with an undergraduate was exposed, while his brother is a slick ex-con. [Deadline]
Pena’s on The List: End of Watch star Michael Pena is solemnly swearing to uphold the law in yet another role, this time as a U.S. Marshal leading the hunt for a person who stole a list of the identities of every person in the Federal Witness Security Program and started offing them one by one. (Hence the title The List.) [THR]
Graynor is the New Diaz: The hilarious, underrated Ari Graynor has landed herself the starring role in CBS’ Bad Teacher, a half-hour comedy based on the movie of the same name. Graynor will take over the titular role, a former trophy wife who turns into the husband-hunting, wildly inappropriate educator after her husband divorces her and leaves her penniless. Cameron Diaz played the teacher in the 2011 movie. [THR]
So Fetch: Remember when Tim Meadows played the principal in the seminal 2004 comedy Mean Girls? Get ready to relive that awesomeness on a weekly basis — the SNL vet has booked a role in the Fox comedy pilot The Gabriels as a straight-laced middle school principal. The comedy stars Rob Riggle as the patriarch of an introverted Wisconsin family living in a community of over-sharers. [TVLine]
Double Vision: Jason Lee is getting dramatic in the new CBS drama Second Sight. He’ll star as a New Orleans detective who suffers from hallucinations thanks to a rare disease. Sounds problematic, but don’t worry — it’s a good thing, because the hallucinations help him solve crime. Naturally. [THR]
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