Connie Britton Forever

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The Call Sheet sifts through the day's glut of Hollywood news to find the stories even non-industry types care about. Today: Tami Taylor lands another job, so does Meryl Streep's daughter, and Gossip Girl heads to China.

Friday Night Lights' much-loved earth mama Connie Britton is leaving the dank, dingy environs of American Horror Story and heading to the dusty-glitzy world of Nashville. She's just been cast as the lead on the ABC pilot Nashville (not based on Robert Altman's film, as far as we know), on which she'll play a steadily washing-up country singer who has to pair up with a young upstart (Hayden Panettiere) in order to get her career back on track. So, that's kind of exciting! Sure it basically sounds like Country Strong: The Legend Continues (though, SPOILER ALERT, we guess that would mean that Britton is playing a zombie), but that's OK! Country music is great! Connie Britton is great! We didn't used to think Hayden Pannypants was great until we saw Scream 4! (Seriously, she's insanely likable in that movie.) Of course it'd be a little bit better if Britton was going to be on something that sounded really quality, like FNL quality, but... you never know. Maybe this will be. Also: Does this mean she will sing? Points for that too! [Deadline]

Ohhh Canadian gods. Elf-creator Pattie Mallette, the mother of noted song-pixie Justinius Bieber, has signed a deal to write a memoir. Yes, she is writing a sure-to-be-fascinating book that will have the wonderful title Nowhere But Up: The Story of Justin Bieber's Mom. Aha. Do we think she has that on her business cards? "Justin Bieber's Mom." Also, surely that's how everyone at the publishing house referred to her while this deal was being made, right? "I've got Justin Bieber's Mom on line one." "Just sign your name, Justin Bieber's Mom, on the contract here, here and... here." "Can I get you anything, tea or coffee maybe, Justin Bieber's Mom?" That is just her name now. She has no other name. Pattie Mallette is gone. Ol' Pattie frittered and fizzled away into some Ontario sunset a few years ago. All that remains is Justin Bieber's Mom. Just her, typing away, typing typing typing, ever furiously. Or, you know, at least telling her ghost writer what to type. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Her mother just won an Oscar Award for Acting, but who cares about that. Mamie Gummer, daughter of La Streep, has just won the best award of all: the lead on a CW pilot! Yes indeed. Like she did on Off the Map, Gummer will be playing a young doctor. Though instead of being stuck in a jungle with known sex-angel Matt Saracen, she'll be in some ratty old hospital where everything is like high school, apparently. The show is called First Cut, which really should be either a show about dancers or about Sheryl Crow, and no costars have been announced yet. So, sure, go and hug mom and tell her congrats on the Academy Oscar and everything, but seriously. CW pilot. The lead. The gypsy actor's life don't get no sweeter than that. [Deadline]

Woohoo! FX has renewed their great Kentuckah crime series Justified for a fourth season. Not much to say about this other than that it is very good news because Justified is a great show with great writing and great acting and who can say no to that? Now if they can only find a way to bring Mags back. "Haha, just kiddin' Raylan, that was fake poison. I'm still alive, and still bad as all heck." Do it, guys. Do it for Margot. Do it for us. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Say hello to new actress Megan Ketch. She just graduated from NYU with her master's and has already landed the lead on a big TV pilot. She'll play a detective on Gotham, about solving magic-related New York crimes. Like, there's a whole "magical history" to the city that the detective didn't know about or something. So... we've said it before and we'll say it again: How is this not just Beauty and the Beast, only with Linda Hamilton as a policewoman instead of a lawyer? Just bring back that damn show! We're happy for this new young lady and all, and we know they are remaking Beauty and the Beast for the television, but really they should just bring back the original. It wouldn't be that hard. If you're going to keep making the same show anyway... Sigh. It's never going to happen, is it? Poor Ron Perlman is going to be stuck in his sewer cave forever. (Between that and Hellboy, Ron Perlman really does seem to spend a lot of time in sewer caves, doesn't he?) It's just so sad. Sorry to rain on your parade, Megan. Enjoy exploring the magicks of New York. We'll be over here by this sewer grate, calling sadly into the dark abyss, hoping Ron and Linda can hear us. [Deadline]

Oh my. China is getting its own Gossip Girl. Yes. It will be called China Girl and Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage are going to consult on it and haha good grief. Obviously China is a bit stricter about what can be shown on television than we sex-fattened Blubmericans are, so it might not be as racy, but it will still involve young people scheming and, of course, gossiping and the like. Though, hm. Couldn't someone just like pull some strings and get Gossip Girl put in jail for internetting or something? It's China! Isn't everyone in jail? Can anyone verify that? We're pretty sure everyone's in jail for checking their email over there. So good luck, Gossip Girl. You're gonna need it. [Los Angeles Times]

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