Dirty Sexy Money picks up full season order, new cast member

Perhaps one of the most compelling new shows of the season, Dirty Sexy Money has been picked up for a full season by ABC, as Reuters reports. The same article indicates that Lolita Davidovich, most recently known for a recurring role on the first season of The L Word, and currently seen in the web series quarterlife, which NBC picked up for air on the main network as reported here on TV Squad, has been cast in a recurring role as a potential love interest for Donald Sutherland's character Tripp Darling.

Sutherland's performance alone could carry Dirty Sexy Money. He adds a depth and mystery to Tripp Darling with such subtle nuances, and the character play between him and Peter Krause's Nick George is nothing short of brilliant. You never know if he's on the side of the angels or behind the death of Nick's father, a driving subplot of the series.

It is that subplot that lead to the casting of the excellent Blair Underwood as Tripp's nemesis Simon Elder, another enigmatic billionaire every bit as mysterious and fascinating as Tripp. With Underwood in place and the mystery deepening as to what happened to Nick's father, the show is well set up to continue for years.

And while it is unclear how long the "who killed Nick's father" plot will continue, thankfully the show is so much more than this mystery. The creators and actors have crafted such wonderful characters and so many fascinating situations to thrust them into that the show could go on for years even if we found out this week who did it. Such a revelation could actually improve the show.

Not much has been said about Davidovich's character, save that she is a "sexy hospital administrator," according to the Reuters story. With the ongoing writers strike, there are currently enough scripts in the pipes to finish the initial order of thirteen, with indications that Davidovich is set to start filming right away as a part of those scripts. The back nine order will have to wait until the strike resolution, or lack thereof, to see if these episodes will be made, or are just a show of good faith that ultimately won't mean anything except maybe a better shot at a pickup for next year.

The pickup of Money leaves only a handful of ABC shows with unknown fates, though the strike has all but guaranteed at least their initial orders will make it to air. These include the back-to-back "comedy" block of Cavemen and Carpoolers (quotations used because comedy implies humor and that may not apply to both of these series), Big Shots and Women's Murder Club.