One of the best pieces of television development news last week came from basic cable’s Lifetime. The network that prides itself on its programming geared towards women announced the pickup of its first original sitcom in ten years, a half-hour comedy called Rita Rocks.

The series is slated to premiere this fall and will star Nicole Sullivan (Kim Possible, The King of Queens) as title character Rita Clements, a married working mother of two daughters who attempts to regain her youth by returning to her earlier happy days as a garage-band guitarist.

Other cast members include Richard Ruccolo (Joey, Two Guys and a Girl) as Rita’s husband Jay; Tisha Campbell-Martin (My Wife and Kids, Martin), a personal favorite of mine from back in the day, as post office worker Patty; and guest star Ian Gomez (Jake in Progress, The Drew Carey Show) as the Clements’ out-of-work neighbor Owen.

Lifetime will pair Rita Rocks with Reba in a new hourlong comedy block this fall.

The American TV-comedy industry’s collective creative juices must not be flowing too well nowadays because this week brought news of yet two more forthcoming U.S. productions based on British television series. Both of the latest projects are emerging from the developmental stages at premium cable network HBO.

First up is Sex and the City’s Kim Cattrall, who will star in and executive produce an Americanized version of the British series Sensitive Skin. The comedy, which focuses on a middle-aged New Yorker who begins to explore and contemplate her sexuality (What? Are you surprised that’s what Cattrall is into?), ran for two seasons across the great big pond.

Since U.K. seasons are much shorter than their U.S. counterparts, that length of time amounts to just twelve episodes, or about a single full season on premium cable. Absolutely Fabulous fans might already know the Britcom starred that cult classic’s Joanna Lumley, as well.

Next up is Friends alum David Schwimmer, who seems to fancy himself more of a director than an actor these days. Working out of Los Angeles and in front of live audiences, he has directed the studio segments of Little Britain USA.

The new series is an adaptation of the British sketch comedy series Little Britain, updated to a modern U.S. locale. On-location segments will be overseen by executive producer Michael Patrick Jann in North Carolina.

There’s no word yet on when either show will actually land on the small screen.

Okay — we don’t know that for sure. But, what we do know is that the next television project for Ray Romano, the popular star of the late great-ish Everybody Loves Raymond, isn’t classified as a comedy or a dramedy. No, Ray fans. The next time you see Romano in a regular TV-show gig, he’s going to be acting in a drama.

Ahhh, the horror!

Or maybe not. The show in question is called Men of a Certain Age, and it not only stars Raymond alum Romano, but it’s being written and produced by Mike Royce, a writer and producer of the earlier, hugely successful sitcom, too.

Instead of airing on a major network, however, the upcoming series will make its home at basic cable’s TNT, the network responsible for the hit original series The Closer and Saving Grace, as well as an unending rotation of syndicated dramas like Alias, Angel, Bones, Charmed, Cold Case, ER, Las Vegas, Law & Order, Without a Trace, and my personal insomniac-friendly favorites, The X-Files and NYPD Blue.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Men of a Certain Age is in a similar vein as last fall’s failed ABC sitcom Carpoolers — you know, men bonding as they head into their scary middle-aged years together and share their trials and tribulations.

The key differences are, as the title of the current post states, this show isn’t meant to be funny (although how they’re going to manage that with Romano as the star is a legitimate question) and the three central 40-something characters involved have been friends since college.

This series is only in development at the moment, which means there’s no set premiere date yet. But, given the involvement of high-profile entertainer Romano, it’s logical to assume that TNT executives want production to get underway sooner rather than later.