Chyler Leigh is headed to NBC, TVLine reports ... and you won't believe which pilot reeled her in.
The "Grey's Anatomy" alum, whose character Lexie Grey died after a plane crash in May, is joining "Holding Patterns," a comedy pilot "about a group of friends whose lives are altered after surviving a plane crash," according to TVLine.
Shortly her "Grey's" exit, Leigh released the following statement to TVLine: "Earlier this year, I made the decision that Season eight would be my last on 'Grey's Anatomy.' I met with Shonda and we worked together to give Lexie's story appropriate closure ... I look forward to my next chapter and I hope you will continue to follow me on my journey."
In more pilot news ...
Michael Stahl-David and Patrick Heusinger are headed to "Boomerang." The "Black Donnellys" and "Royal Pains" actors respectively have joined the Fox drama pilot about the Hamiltons, a family whose business is working as assassins for the US government. Felicity Huffman has already been cast as the Hamilton family matriarch with Stahl-David playing her younger son Sam, a loose cannon who's "broke, out of options and forced to return to his family" and Heusinger playing the elder son Carl, who "is resentful of -- but genuinely fond of" -- Sam. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Sienna Guillory and Jamie Chung do "Believe." The NBC drama pilot follows a young girl named Bo with great powers and Tate, the man who's sprung from prison to protect her. Guillory joins the cast as Moore, "a cool hit-woman who has issues with her own mother," while Chung will play Channing, "a strong, practical and smart woman" who helps Tate escape from prison. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Jay Hernandez is getting "Gang Related." On the Fox drama pilot about gang member Ryan Lopez who's sent in to infiltrate the San Francisco Police Department, Hernandez will play Dante Acosta, Ryan's best friend and the son of the gang lord. [TVLine]
Johnny Simmons has joined "Blink." The "Perks of Being A Wallflower" star -- who played closeted football player Brad in the film -- has joined the CW pilot. The drama centers on the Trask family, "whose lives are forever changed, for better and worse, when patriarch Greg has a car crash resulting in a coma-like syndrome in which he cannot speak or move but can see and hear all." Simmons will play Dodge, the middle Trask child, who was a passenger in the crash with his father. [The Hollywood Reporter]
From "Mindy" to "Crazy." Amanda Setton played sexpot receptionist Shauna on "The Mindy Project," but left the Fox comedy earlier this year due to "creative differences." Now, the "Gossip Girl" alumna has been cast in David E. Kelley's CBS comedy pilot "Crazy Ones" about an ad agency. Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar are already attached to the project, which will see Setton play the agency's copy editor. [Deadline]
