Cuddy has always been the voice of reason at Princeton Plainsboro, but next season there'll be a new boss on 'House.'

Lisa Edelstein, the actress whose character has bickered with (and eventually hooked up with) Dr. House, will not be returning for the show's eighth -- and likely final -- season. Instead, we just learned she'll be headed to 'The Good Wife.'

We know Huddy fans don't want to think about it, but who could ever replace her? It's possible they could promote from within, but they probably don't want to ruin the team dynamic either. And if they bumped Wilson up to bossman status, that would certainly complicate his friendship with House even more.

So we've come up with a list of strong contenders ... all women, as it turns out, so I guess we like that sexual tension, too. I mean, someone's gonna have to be the soft feminine shoulder for House to cry on when his favorite sparring partner says goodbye, right?

From 'The L Word' to the mean streets of Chicago, Jennifer Beals will co-star with 'Brotherhood's' Jason Clarke in 'Ride-Along,' the Fox police drama pilot created by 'The Shield's' Shawn Ryan.

Beals will play the first female police chief in Chicago history, who teams up with Clarke's rogue cop to tamp down on Windy City crime.

The role comes on the heels of Beals' recurring guest gig in another Shawn Ryan Fox drama, 'Lie to Me,' in which she played the ex-wife of Tim Roth's Cal Lightman.

I had just gotten into watching The L Word when it got the ax, but at least now we can see more of Jennifer Beals. She guest-starred in two episodes of Lie to Me last season, and will have a recurring role in the upcoming season, playing Assistant U.S. Attorney Zoe Landau, Cal Lightman's ex-wife and mother of their teenage daughter.

Mekhi Phifer (Dr. Gregory Pratt from ER), who also appeared in two episodes, will come back as FBI agent Reynolds, brought in as a liaison between the Lightman Group and the FBI for those tough cases the FBI can't solve through traditional methods.

The show's second season kicks off Sept. 28 with Shawn Ryan as the new showrunner. He's got some great creds, having worked on The Unit, The Shield and Angel.

Lie to Me really seems to be picking up steam heading into its second season. We gotten a little hooked on it in this household, meaning it isn't "must-see" TV, but if we know it's on, we'll definitely check it out -- and pick up a few pointers on lie detection from Cal Lightman and crew.

Anyone else watching Lie to Me?

Mekhi Phifer and Jennifer Beals return to 'Lie to Me,' Rumer Willis joins '90210,' Neil Patrick Harris will host another awards show and more of today's top TV headlines.

Jesse Spano is coming back to TV. After guest appearances on CSI: Miami and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Elizabeth Berkley is ditching the procedurals and heading over to Showtime. The former Saved by the Bell star will be joining Jennifer Beals, her costar in the 2002 film Roger Dodger, on Showtime's The L-Word for a multi-episode arc.

Word is, Berkley's L-Word character has a history with Jennifer Beals' Bette. The two went to college together and Berkley was the straight girl who got away. Perhaps Bette will have better luck the second time around.

My only hope for this pairing is that they can somehow manage to fit a Flashdance: What a Feeling / I'm So Excited dance-off into the plot of the show, thus bringing together the high points of both of these women's careers and officially making this the best casting decision ever.

Showtime's upcoming fifth season of The L Word will premiere first on OurChart.com, a lesbian-focused social community, according to BusinessWire.com. The OurChart.com premiere is slated for December 30, 2007 followed by the Showtime premiere on January 6, 2008. The choice is no coincidence, as co-founder and CEO of OurChart.com, Ilene Chaiken, is also the creator/producer of The L Word.

This is, regardless of anything else, another example of how technology and the new online media is becoming more and more intertwined with traditional television viewing.

Marlee Matlin and Jennifer Beals are getting closer on screen, then they have been off screen.
Their characters may have just met each other on The L Word, but their friendship spans nearly two decades after meeting on a trip from Chicago to Los Angeles.
Although they never mention being part of the mile high club, the show forces them to take their real-life friendship to a whole other level as only a love scene can.

In a recent TV Tattler interview about whether its easier to do it with your real life best friend on TV, Beals replies, "Oh, it's horrible. We laugh hysterically the whole time. It's horrible, it's horrible. I try to be professional, and she looks at me and gives me one little look of mischief and we just lose it, and it takes forever to shoot."

Interesting...