Carlton Cuse is taking on the 1800s with a new ABC drama.

The 'Lost' executive producer is teaming with 'Secretariat's' Randall Wallace for a Civil War-set drama. The two are co-writing the pilot script and if it's picked up, Wallace will direct.

According to Variety, details are still vague, but the project is set in Virginia and has been envisioned as an "event" series.

In other TV news ...

• Syfy will air the final five episodes of 'Caprica' in a January marathon. The episodes will start at 6PM on Tues., Jan. 4 and end at 11PM. [TV By the Numbers]

• 'Mike & Molly' is using its Thanksgiving episode to address the Marie Claire blog controversy. Look for the mention to happen in a speech by Billy Gardell. "It's a very eloquently put thing that I get to say at the Thanksgiving speech that kind of says everything we feel." [Entertainment Weekly]

• Jennifer Esposito has been promoted to a series regular on 'Blue Bloods.' Esposito plays Detective Jackie Curatola, the partner of Donnie Wahlberg's Danny Reagan. [TV Guide]

Farscape went off the air before TV Squad even materialized into existence. Being the prompt person I am (note the sarcasm), I finally had the chance to watch the complete series right before the new year. What struck me most about the show was its spiritualism and fantasy elements.

The science behind it was crap. Even the scientist character of Jool made note of this in one of the episodes. Farscape was more of a fantasy with some scientific window dressing, much like the Star Wars movies. It speaks volumes when the central hero has the initials "J.C." like some religious icons we know.

We've talked before about the new Stargate movies, and there are some rumblings and details coming out about the project. Production dates have now been set with the first movie to begin shooting in April, and the second in June. The studio is planning for a fall release, not long after the series raps up. But that isn't the best part. According to a new article at Gateworld, if DVD sales of the movies warrant it, the studio is looking to make this an ongoing franchise. It's no season 11, but it could signal a change in the way our television is delivered.

In other Stargate news, IGN has an interview with Michael Shanks. They start out talking about the company he started with Christopher Judge, Slacktwaddle. Together, the two have produced a calendar and DVD of the women of sci-fi that is available to order on their website. Perfect for festivus gift giving, and it features Michael's wife Lexa Doig, who is ridiculously beautiful. Later in the interview they get in to what it means to Michael to have had this amazing run with Stargate and what it has been like working with Claudia Black. There are also some details for the end of the series and the movies, and they do contain spoilers. Good stuff, and worth a look.

[ Thanks Mack Swift! ]

Taking a page out of the Law & Order and CSI handbooks, MGM Television is considering a third Stargate series to run concurrently with veterans Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. This is according to MGM TV executive vice-president Charles Cohen.

On the heels of the upcoming 200th episode of SG-1, whose 10th season begins July 14th on the Sci-Fi Channel, Cohen is discussing a feature film derived from the series. That film would then dovetail into a third Stargate show. However, that doesn't mean that SG-1 would end for the movie to appear. In fact, Cohen believes that the movie could run while the series was still producing first-run episodes.

According to Cohen, Stargate SG-1 represents the same sort of franchise on television as the James Bond series does; while it is good financially it also keeps their name in the marketplace. He proves this by putting more money into new episodes, hiring new people such as Beau Bridges, Ben Browder and Claudia Black (both formerly of another Sci-Fi channel show, Farscape), and bringing back old favorites like Richard Dean Anderson's Jack O'Neill.