'Homicide' meets 'Gangs of New York' for BBC America's first foray into original scripted drama.

The network announced that it has ordered a ten-episode period cop drama from Tom Fontana ('Oz') and Will Rokos ('Southland').

'Copper' is set in the notorious Five Points Irish neighborhood of New York City in the 1860s.

The executive producers include Fontana, Rokos, Barry Levinson ('Homicide: Life on the Street') and Christina Wayne ('Mad Men') of Canada's Cineflix Studios.

HBO's untitled Phil Spector movie just got even starrier: An Oscar winner has taken over from an Oscar nominee (and winner of multiple Grammy Awards) in a pivotal role.

Last week production on the biopic was suspended after Bette Midler had to pull out on doctors' orders. Now it's been reported that her replacement is none other than 'The Queen' star, Helen Mirren.

Mirren will play Linda Kenney Baden, a defense attorney who represented disgraced music producer Phil Spector during his first trial for murdering Lana Clarkson.

Although star Al Pacino has been spotted out and about in full Phil Spector garb (see right; thanks to 'Entertainment Weekly' for the heads up), HBO's Spector biopic has run into trouble after co-star Bette Midler quit.

Production was suspended Tuesday after she failed to turn up for filming, and Deadline reports that Midler had to pull out on doctors' orders after suffering a herniated disc.

David Mamet told the crew that HBO and the insurance company were looking at recasting the part, which has since been confirmed by the cable network.

Mamet wrote the film, which is being exec-produced by 'Rain Man' director Barry Levinson.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian's headline-grabbing crusade against medical law and procedures was bound to become a movie sooner or later. It's got all the elements that make for great viewing, whether it's on the larger-than-life screen of your local cineplex or the soft, warm glow of your living room television.

What does it take to get Al Pacino, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Levinson together for an HBO movie? Only the story of Jack "Doctor Death" Kervorkian.

'You Don't Know Jack,' premiering on Saturday, April 24 at 9PM ET, chronicles the period when Dr. Kervorkian was helping terminally ill patients commit suicide. This includes the 1998 incident where he assisted a patient with ALS and sent the video to '60 Minutes,' which landed him in prison for eight years.

In addition to Pacino, who plays Kervorkian, and Sarandon, who plays his friend and euthanasia advocate Jane Good, the movie also stars John Goodman, Brenda Vaccaro and Danny Huston. Levinson, seen above with Pacino and Kervorkian, produced and directed the movie, the first time he's directed a feature-length movie for television.

The director of 'Rain Man,' 'Good Morning, Vietnam,' 'Wag The Dog,' and other classics spoke to me earlier this week about dealing with the touchy topic of Kervorkian, working with a pro like Pacino, and whether a movie like 'Diner' could ever be made today. His answer to that one is surprising.

Yesterday was cable's first day at the press tour, and a morning full of panels by the Discovery networks and a few other assorted cable entities was followed by three hours of star-studded panels for HBO. I mean, we're talking about one huge name in entertainment after another: Claire Danes, David Simon (The Wire), Rosie O'Donnell, Susan Sarandon, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Ricky Gervais. Oh, and Al Pacino.

Pacino is playing Jack Kevorkian in the HBO movie You Don't Know Jack (Sarandon is also in the movie), and during the panel discussion, Pacino was acting a bit... odd.

How odd? He wore sunglasses on stage for the first half of the panel. His answers were often rambling statements punctuated with occasional insight. And the Bronx native spoke in a modified Midwestern lilt that made us think he hadn't gotten Kevorkian out of his system yet. When asked what it was like filming a movie for HBO, he replied, very Zen-like: "Well, it's television. It's HBO, and so HBO is television."

Former According to Jim star Jim Belushi is moving to a drama series. He's been tapped to star in a legal drama created by Murphy Brown mastermind Diane English and Homicide and Oz exec-producer Barry Levinson. The show is loosely based on the memoir "How Can You Defend These People?" by TV commentator and lawyer Mickey Sherman.

This is an excellent way for Belushi to wash the stench of According to Jim from his person. If presented as a dramedy (much like many of the popular dramas today), this could be a winner.

Hello! The Saint is rising again. The venerable character, who was created by writer Leslie Chareris in novels in the 1920's, will be back on television in a contemporary setting, and actor James Purefoy (Rome) has been in talks to play Simon Templar, the suave, British "good guy" thief. Aside from Purefoy, the Hollywood Reporter writes that the production team includes first class talent: Homicide's Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana (Oz), writer Jorge Zamacona, Bill Macdonald, and the original TV Saint himself, Roger Moore, and his son Geoffrey Moore.