Aziz Is Booked: Vulture bro Aziz Ansari has landed a guest spot on Scrubs! The bearded comedian-actor will guest-star in the first few episodes of the show’s new season as an intern named Ed. We just hope, for all of our sakes, that he wasn’t hired to replace Courteney Cox as Zach Braff’s love interest. [Aziz Is Bored]
Hello, Hello Birdie Director Adam Shankman has taken a break from depositing checks from Bedtime Stories to sign on to develop and produce a remake of Bye Bye Birdie for Columbia Pictures. Columbia has been kicking around a remake of the stage classic for years, even reimagining Conrad Birdie as a hip-hop star at one point. Given Shankman’s experience producing such urban fare as Step Up 2, going the rapper route might be precisely the right thing to do. Especially if they cast Lil Wayne. [HR]
All in His Head: NBC has nabbed writer Jared Bush’s music-themed drama project Soundtrack. The story revolves around a down-on-his-luck guy who loses his job and sees his ex get engaged. Then a song starts to play on repeat in his head until he figures out its significance. Then a new song starts. A prediction: By episode three, he’ll be hearing “Another One Bites the Dust.†[Variety]
HBO Has No Shame: Because America can do nothing if it can’t import TV shows from England, John Wells is teaming up with HBO to develop a more American version of Shameless. The original version of the show tells the story of a dysfunctional working-class family and its drunk patriarch. Wells, who’s worked on ER and The West Wing, is developing the series with the original’s creator, Paul Abbott. No casting decisions have been made, but Woody Harrelson has been rumored to star. Which would be perfect so long as they amend “drunk patriarch†to “really stoned dad.†[HR]
They Built This City: Josh Schwartz is taking his talent for spoiled-teen dramas to the Internet. Rockville, CA is set in a fictional nightclub and follows a group of good looking twentysomethings as they navigate the world of indie rock. “I spent a lot of my early-to-mid-20s, before The OC, at these kinds of clubs,†Schwartz says. “It’s a time when you’re poor and you don’t care. Music matters to you … I really wanted to capture that (time).†TheWB.com has ordered twenty four-minute episodes of the show, which is just the amount of time you’ll be able to endure the sure-to-be insufferable characters. [Variety]
M.A.S.H. 2.0: USA’s 90-minute pilot Operating Instructions has landed the services of Christine Lahti and Johnny Sneed. The show centers on Lieutenant Rachel Scott (Emily Rose), a former Marine who takes a job at a military hospital. The Emmy-winning Lahti will play the hospital’s chief administrator, and Sneed will play the hospital’s chief medical officer who has a history with Scott. Sounds like M.A.S.H. without the cross-dressing. [HR]