Apparently it's not that hard to find a "Bad Teacher" these days. CBS has tapped Ari Graynor for the role originated by Cameron Diaz in CBS' adaptation of the 2011 film.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Graynor will play Meredith Davis, a "hot, confident, unapologetic trophy wife. The kind of woman other women hate. But when her husband leaves her without a dime, the fantasy is over and she’s forced to get a job. Meredith, a smart and savvy survivor, doesn’t miss a beat. When she hears there are a lot of rich single dads at a local middle school, she sets her sights on a teaching career."
In addition to arcs on "Fringe" and "The Sopranos," Graynor recently starred in "For A Good Time, Call ..." and "The Guilt Trip" on the big screen. She'll join previously cast David Alan Grier, who will play the naive principal of Meredith's school in the pilot from "Community's" Hilary Winston.
In other pilot news ...
Michael Pena is on "The List" for Fox. He'll play Marshal Dan Soto, an "intense and notoriously quirky maverick who frequently gets into trouble with the bureaucracy." He'll be on the trail of whoever stole "the list" -- "a file with the identities of every member of the Federal Witness Security Program," after WitSec participants start being murdered. [The Hollywood Reporter]
"The Finder" star Geoff Stults has found a new TV home. Stults will star in "Enlisted," a military-themed comedy from Fox. [TVLine]
HBO passes on James Gandolfini's latest pilot. The cable network will not move forward with "Criminal Justice," a show that would've followed a murder suspect through the various stages of the court process. {THR]
Catherine O'Hara joins "To My Future Assistant." She'll play will play Magda, "an accomplished, stylish and powerful lawyer, the kind of woman who pretends to be your friend -- but isn’t," in the Fox single-camera comedy about overworked assistants at a New York law firm and their high-maintenance bosses. [Deadline]
