It had to happen sooner or later, Woodcock fans.

Recent casting news indicates that actor Eddie Kaye Thomas, who played popular Jeff Woodcock on the Fox sitcom ‘Til Death for its first two seasons, has scored a role on HBO’s forthcoming comedy series How to Make It in America.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Thomas’ new job is a regular role, which should supplement his voice work as the character Barry on the Fox animated series American Dad! quite well.

The former ‘Til Death regular guest starred in the pilot for the HBO newcomer, which was titled simply How to Make It then and concerned two men in their twenties named Ben (Bryan Greenberg, October Road) and Cam (Victor Rasuk, ER) trying to make it big in New York.

Congrats to Thomas. May his latest non-animated comedy be an improvement over his last.

How do you know when a show is pretty much over before the official announcement? When a lead actor ups and joins the cast of another show … on another network. That’s exactly what former Will & Grace and current Trust Me star Eric McCormack has done.

According to reports, the Emmy-winning actor, who presently stars as ad man Mason McGuire on TNT’s latest original series, is also now the lead for an untitled sitcom in development at ABC. He plays Dean, a heart surgeon, new father, and close friend of contractor Seth, played by co-lead Reno Wilson (Heist, Blind Justice). Actresses Jolie Jenkins (Desperate Hosuewives, Shasta McNasty) and Constance Zimmer (Entourage, Boston Legal) play their respective wives.

As for TNT’s Trust Me, I gave up on that low-rated and irritating dramedy after about three episodes of utter boredom. So, I not only can’t blame McCormack for setting his sights on potentially funnier and more entertaining horizons, but I also wish his costar Thomas Cavanagh would follow suit. Both deserve so much better.

If all goes well, it looks like Scrubs star Donald Faison will be staying at ABC and in the comedy genre for his next acting gig.

Reports indicate that the man many know and love as hilarious Chris Turk on the eight-season sitcom has lined up a role in the pilot for The Law. The potential comedy series follows the adventures of reserve officers for the Los Angeles Police Department in a way that I hope isn’t too reminiscent of Reno 911!.

Already onboard are Cedric the Entertainer (Barbershop, The Steve Harvey Show) and Mädchen Amick (My Own Worst Enemy, Californication), which is a pretty good preliminary cast.

Scrubs moved to ABC for its current eighth season after a seven-season run on NBC. However, the series is rumored to be calling it quits forever on Wednesday, May 6th, with an hourlong, guest star-filled series finale called — surprise, surprise — “My Finale.”

How appropriate. And if you’re a Sacred Heart fan who has been dying for nearly a decade to finally learn the Janitor’s real name, you definitely don’t want to miss this episode, since the big reveal will allegedly take place sometime during it.

Scrubs airs Wednesdays on ABC at 8pm EST.

Cougar Town, Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence’s buzzworthy half-hour comedy pilot starring Friends alum Courteney Cox, is busily beefing up its cast. If greenlit for a season, the series will follow Cox’s 40-year-old character, the mother of a teenage son who begins actively dating again when she becomes single.

Recently added to the cast of the highly anticipated series is Dawson’s Creek and Freaks and Geeks alum Busy Philipps, most recently seen in a recurring role on Fox’s Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. As a series lead, she’ll play the younger woman who hangs out with Cox’s character.

Following on that news was the addition of Lawrence’s real-life wife Christa Miller (Scrubs, The Drew Carey Show) as Cox’s other best friend, as well as former Aliens in America star Dan Byrd, the lucky guy playing Cox’s son. I don’t see the resemblance there at all, but Byrd is talented and I trust that Lawrence knows what he’s doing.

My TV-lover heart breaks a little more each time I hear another piece of casting news involving an actor from a prematurely canceled show I happen to love.

This time the damage is due to learning that Jason George — who most recently played Keith Bennett, effective attorney and possibly Patti’s future son-in-law, on Eli Stone — has been added to the pilot for another ABC project, the potential drama Inside the Box.

That high-profile series comes from the mind of Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes. Considering her clout as a result of Grey’s and its spinoff Private Practice’s success, there’s a better than usual chance Inside the Box will be picked up as a full-fledged series eventually. If so, hopefully it will enjoy a longer than usual life, as well, or at least much longer than Stone’s too-short two-year run.

Washington-set Inside the Box follows a news producer and her coworkers at a television news bureau, one of whom is George’s on-air network correspondent.

Nice casting news here! Entertainment Weekly reports that NBC’s forthcoming highly anticipated mockumentary sitcom Parks and Recreation, brought to us by the Office folks, has added Everwood alum Chris Pratt to its cast.

For those who didn’t watch the excellent Treat Williams family drama, which ended prematurely back in 2006 when The WB and UPN merged to form The CW, Pratt played the initially not-so-bright character Bright, the son of a snooty small-town doctor. Bright was a huge attraction on the show because he was devilish, funny, and very down-to-earth.

Pratt’s latest gig will have him portraying an unemployed musician who somehow still manages to be lucky enough to have Rashida Jones as a girlfriend, or at least the character she plays.

The star of Parks and Recreation is Saturday Night Live veteran and Tina Fey co-conspirator Amy Poehler, of course. Also in the cast are Scrubs and Human Giant actor Aziz Ansari and Mayne Street actress Aubrey Plaza.

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Kelsey Grammer’s previously reported ABC sitcom pilot Roman’s Empire is no more after the network failed to move forward with it. No worries, though, because now he’s been given another chance to return to the tube with a second, currently untitled ABC comedy pilot.

The latest project stars Grammer as a wealthy businessman derailed by a downsizing that leaves him without his high-power job. As a result, he finds himself with lots more time to hang out with his family.

Fingers crossed the four-time Frasier Emmy winner has better luck with this potential series, although I’d watch him in just about anything.

Neil Flynn, the versatile actor who plays the notoriously nameless Janitor on Scrubs, has just landed a starring role in Patricia Heaton’s forthcoming ABC sitcom pilot called The Middle.

Flynn will play the husband of Heaton’s character, both middle-class parents who live in middle America and struggle to bring their three children up properly. Obviously, the family comedy’s title is extremely accurate, and the lead pairing sounds like a promising match.

I hope this one makes it through the pilot process for a pickup and fares better than Heaton’s most recent sitcom, Back to You on cancel-em-quick Fox.

…movie superstars Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin! Yowza! That lineup almost makes me wish I could knock off a couple of decades years and switch my gender for the following casting opportunity.

Reps for Universal Pictures have just sent out information regarding an open casting call for males aged 15 to 17 years. According to the studio, it doesn’t matter if you’ve been acting since the womb or never before in your life. All they require is a serious focus on becoming an actor.

Sounds good so far. Read on to review the word-for-word instructions, just to make sure interested parties don’t miss any essential details.

OPEN CASTING CALL FOR YOUNG MEN FOR UPCOMING UNIVERSAL PICTURES COMEDY STARRING MERYL STREEP, ALEC BALDWIN AND STEVE MARTIN

Universal Pictures is currently searching for a young male to play “Edward,” a high school senior in an upcoming comedy starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin! Casting is looking for the next Michael Cera / McLovin type to play a 17-year-old in the film. The film will shoot in New York City and Los Angeles in early 2009. No prior acting experience is necessary, and if you cannot attend the open casting call, auditions may be submitted online. Step by step instructions are available at: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=49824991095

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The ink is barely dry on ABC’s utterly depressing cancellation of technicolor dramedy Pushing Daisies, and already much-loved series star Kristin Chenoweth has a new gig on her plate.

Variety reports that the petite powerhouse — she does Broadway and stuff, too, you know, right? — has landed a starring role in NBC’s forthcoming David E. Kelley Chicago-set legal drama Legally Mad.

For those who don’t know, Kelley, husband of actress Michelle Pfeiffer, is the same writing and producing creative mastermind who brought television fans sometimes whimsical, always successful series like the recently ended Boston Legal, which was a spinoff of The Practice, as well as Ally McBeal, Chicago Hope, and my all-time personal favorite, Picket Fences. Why is no basic-cable network syndicating that one?

Obviously, Chenoweth and Kelley are an excellent match, and her role sounds winning, too, right down to the eyebrow-raising name Skippy Pylon. The character is described as “a cheerful and brilliant attorney who nonetheless exhibits flashes of psychosis — and enjoys being mistaken for a teenager.” Since Kelley admits he has long desired to collaborate with Chenoweth, perhaps he had her youthful height (she’s one inch shy of five feet) in mind when creating the role, possibly just for her.

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