'SNL' Cuts Two Cast Members & More TV News

'SNL' cuts two female cast members, '24' adds three to their cast, WGA owes Leno an apology and more of today's top TV headlines.There's nothing funny about this: 'Saturday Night Live' has cut cast members Michaela Watkins and Casey Wilson, just days after NBC confirmed that comedians Jenny Slate and Nasim Pedrad would join the show for its 2009-10 run. Watkins joined 'SNL' last fall as a featured cast member, while Wilson came aboard in 2008 after the writers' strike. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Rami Malek, Julian Morris and Hrach Titizian has scored multi-episode stints on the upcoming eighth season of '24.' Malek will play would-be suicide bomber Marcos, an Arab American with radical Muslim ties. Morris will tackle the role of a CTU SWAT agent, and Titizian will portray Nabeel, the second-in-command of security for President Hassan (Anil Kapoor). [The Hollywood Reporter]

The Writers Guild of America West owes Jay Leno an apology. The WGA West trial committee has determined that the 'Tonight Show' host did not violate the guild's strike rules by writing monologue jokes for his late-night show during the labor dispute. The committee has recommended that the guild aplogize publicly to Leno for the disservice" and "harm" done to his reputation by the proceedings. [Variety]

Break out the hankies ... the Hallmark Channel has wrapped production on two new TV movies. 'Elevator Girl' stars Ryan Merriman ('Smallville') and Lacey Chabert ('Party of Five') as two strangers -- a cocky lawyer and a free-spirited artist, respectively -- who find unexpected romance when they're stuck together on an elevator. And 'The Three Gifts' stars Dean Cain ('Lois & Clark') and Jean Louisa Kelly as a couple who take in three orphan boys during Christmas. Let the heart-melting begin. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Good fortune is shining on 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' writers Sonny Lee and Patrick Walsh. The scribes have sold a half-hour family/workplace sitcom pitch to ABC. Entitled 'Family Business,' the comedy centers on a dysfunctional Midwestern family that labors to keep its grocery business viable after a messy divorce. [Variety]

ALSO IN TV NEWS ...

Natalie Morales, who stars in the upcoming movie 'The Bounty' (and is not the host of 'The Today Show'), has joined the cast of USA's upcoming drama 'White Collar' as a junior FBI agent tasked with catching master thieves. In other USA Network news, Eric Lively, Kari Matchett and Eion Bailey have booked roles on 'Covert Affairs,' a CIA drama starring Piper Perabo. [The Hollywood Reporter]