Oscar nominee Elisabeth Shue is joining the cast of CBS' flagship procedural 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation' as a replacement for Marg Helgenberger, Deadline reports.

Shue, whom CBS has allegedly been courting for years, is set to become the new female lead opposite Ted Danson, who in turn replaced original cast-member William Petersen last year. Shue will play a new investigator who joins the team amid rumors that D.B. Russell (Danson) fired her when she worked for him in Seattle. Fresh from an anger management course, we expect tensions to flare between Shue's character and her new-old boss.

Helgenberger will no longer be a regular after this season, but she is expected to make occasional guest appearances. Shue's first episode will air on Feb. 15.

In other casting news ...

If you've ever wondered what 'Castle' star Nathan Fillion does on his days off, wonder no more. He apparently makes movies in secret with his erstwhile 'Firefly' boss, Joss Whedon.

According to 'The Wrap,' Whedon adapted, cast and filmed a new indie version of William Shakespeare's 'Much Ado About Nothing' this summer without anyone finding out until after it was finished.

A website went up Sunday night announcing that principal photography has been completed on the guerrilla filmmaking project, which is lightheartedly described as "A Film by Joss Whedon Based on a Play."

The cast is a veritable smorgasbord of Whedon faves: As well as Fillion there's Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof from 'Angel' and 'Dollhouse,' and Sean Maher ('Firefly'). Although it could all be an elaborate hoax, we're already loving the idea of Acker and Denisof re-teaming to tackle the roles of reluctant lovers Beatrice and Benedick.

TV Land has scooped up TV veterans Kristen Johnston, Donald Faison and Christine Taylor for new pilots.

According to Deadline Hollywood, Johnston will play the sexy female divorce attorney/landlord in Mark Reisman's comedy formerly known as 'Ex Men.' The sitcom revolves around three recently divorced men who move into Johnston's character's apartment building. 'Scrubs' star Donald Faison has been cast as one of the divorcés.

Christine Taylor has been cast in Terri Minsky's workplace sitcom set in a cola factory. Taylor will play the new boss, a New Yorker who is brought to Oregon to head the company, but nobody wants her there.

In other casting news ...

• 'Angel' and 'Dollhouse' veteran Amy Acker has landed a role on USA Network's 'Common Law.' The cop dramedy stars Michael Ealy and Warren Kole as partners who can't stop bickering, so their captain sends them to couples therapy. Acker will play their therapist. So much for our hopes of her being Jessica Jones in ABC's 'AKA Jessica Jones.' [Deadline Hollywood]

• Mark Pellegrino has been cast on 'Breakout Kings.' The 'Lost' alumnus will play Virgil Downing, an infamous assassin. [TVLine]

• Larry Hagman is still in talks for the 'Dallas' reboot. Despite earlier reports that negotiations had halted, Hagman is reportedly still in talks to reprise his J.R. Ewing role on the new TNT series. [Entertainment Weekly]

Sometimes, it's pretty hard to get out of town. The latest episode of 'Happy Town' (Wed., 10PM ET on ABC) features a woman who's desperate to escape -- but everything keeps dragging her back to a place where she doesn't want to go.

[Spoiler alert.]

The mystery drama 'Happy Town' (Wed., 10PM ET on ABC) has been canceled. But the series still has a few episodes left. Will we find an answer to all the weirdness before the show is pushed off the air?

[Spoiler alert.]

The mystery deepens on 'Happy Town' (Wed., 10PM ET on ABC). The residents of the small town of Haplin, Minnesota are gathered at the annual Thaw Fest carnival, when one person vanishes.

[Spoiler alert.]

The seemingly peaceful town of Haplin, Minnesota has been plagued by a kidnapper known only as "The Magic Man." Now, a new murder has the residents of the town worried that the "Man" has come back. But who is the bad guy? On 'Happy Town' (Wed., 10PM ET on ABC), almost everyone is a potential suspect.

Georgia (Sarah Gadon) goes to the hospital to visit a friend. While in the cafeteria, she meets a kindly stranger, which already should be a bad sign. The stranger (Peter Outerbridge) gives her some cream for her coffee. But then, Georgia starts to hallucinate, and collapses in the elevator. Things only get weirder and creepier from there.

The new drama 'Happy Town' (Wed., 10PM ET on ABC) is set in the seemingly idyllic town of Haplin, Minnesota. But beneath the surface of the town lurks a deadly unsolved mystery. Haplin has been plagued by a serial kidnapper known as "the Magic Man." Now, a new murder has the residents fearful that the "Man" has returned.

Watch the video after the jump.

(S01E01) "A well man doesn't put a hole in another man's head." - Sheriff

Every single review is going to compare 'Happy Town' with 'Twin Peaks.' This isn't just because both shows involve mysterious goings on with mysterious characters in a small town, it's because ABC itself has been driving the point home in all of its marketing for the show. "From the network that brought you 'Twin Peaks ..." I don't really understand why they're mentioning a TV show that ran on their network over 20 years ago, but maybe they feel they have to connect it to something cultish and beloved.

Is it like that show? I guess. A little. It has that small town mystery vibe. It also has dashes of 'Harper's Island' and 'Salem's Lot,' but those ran on CBS so I guess they can't mention them in the ads.

Premiering tonight on ABC is a new 'Twin Peaks' -looking drama called 'Happy Town,' where things in small town Haplin, Minn. are thrown into chaos following a gruesome string of murders. At the center of all this mess is Geoff Stults ('7th Heaven,' 'October Road'), who's taking his first lead role as town deputy Tommy Conroy. Joining him on the cast is Steven Weber ('Wings') as John Haplin, M.C. Gainey ('Lost') as his father Griffin and Amy Acker ('Alias,' 'Angel') as Stultz's wife Rachel.

TV Squad spoke to Stults about the show's Midwest setting, working with M.C. Gainey and 'Happy Town's creepy factor. 'Happy Town' premieres Wednesday, April 28 at 10PM ET.

Don't let the name fool you -- 'Happy Town' has more kidnappings, murders and mysterious residents than a slasher flick. But star Lauren German is adamant about one thing: "It's not a horror show." "But it's certainly thrilling," her costar Sam Neill adds with a smile. I sat down with German, Neill, Steven Weber, Amy Acker and Geoff Stults to get the scoop on their new show (premieres Wed., April 28, 10PM ET on ABC). "There's lots of strange goings-on in Haplin," teases Weber. "And strange people," Acker chimes in.

Watch our full interview to hear more about Haplin, its residents and ... Charo as a guest star? OK, it's not that strange.

Why should FOX renew 'Human Target' for a second season? It all comes down to a three letter word. And that three letter word is "sex."

OK, actually that's not the word. The word I'm thinking of is "fun." We could sit here and come up with logical, specific reasons why 'Human Target' should be renewed. The stories are good, the cast is good, the season finale cliffhanger was well done, FOX is going to need an action show like this since '24' is in its last season, etc. And all of those things are true, but the main reason I want this show renewed is the same reason I want NBC's 'Chuck' to be renewed: it's a fun show.

(S01E12) "Christopher Chance is the guy you go to when no one else can help you." - Christopher Chance to, er, Christopher Chance!

Last night's great season finale was capped off by a cliffhanger ending straight outta 'The Empire Strikes Back' -- a major player went missing, the plot was left unresolved, and a swelling John Williams-esque score filled the final moments. The cliffhanger felt even more poignant since Fox has yet to announce a second season renewal for 'Human Target.'

Hopefully, the network will take a, er, chance and order another full season of the show. 'Human Target' turned out to be one of the best and most enjoyable new series to premiere in the last few months. I've had a blast tagging along with Chance, Winston and Guerrero on their crazy adventures, and I'd love to see the boys regroup and save the day over and over again for another few years.

The co-creators/producers and cast of 'Happy Town' presented the first episode of their new ABC series Saturday morning at WonderCon in San Francisco. The enthusiasm was palpable from both behind the scenes and in line as fans eagerly awaited the screening.

'Happy Town' is set in the small suburb of Haplin, a seemingly idyllic, close-knit community in Minnesota. Although the town was haunted by unresolved kidnappings from the past, ignorance had been bliss ... until now. A disturbing crime shakes up the status quo, and the citizens of Haplin begin to fear that the "Magic Man" may have returned.

We've talked about ABC's new mystery series 'Happy Town;' it'sabout a small town plagued by the return of someone or something evil that starts terrorizing again - it stars Sam Neill, Amy Acker, and Steven Weber. Now you have a chance to see the first episode before it premieres on ABC April 28. There's a new site up and it's pretty simple: if they get 50,000 "demands" by April 21 they'll show the first episode online.

The site doesn't exactly make it clear, but I think that it's 50,000 demands in a metro area. You have to sign up for the site (e-mail, age, gender, where you live, etc) to get all of the details.

Is 50,000 a lot on the web? It seems to me that they can hit this rather easily, but maybe that's the whole idea. The site gets some attention, the show gets attention, and fans can see the first episode of the show before it airs.