Ed Asner will reprise the 'Hawaii Five-0' role he first played more than 30 years ago.

According to CBS, the 'Mary Tyler Moore Show' veteran will once again play August March in an early 2012 episode. Asner first played the role in the 1975 episode of the original 'Hawaii Five-0' titled 'Wooden Model of a Rat.'

"It is thrilling to, for the first time, merge the original 'Hawaii Five-0' and our new show by having the classic, versatile and award-winning actor Ed Asner reprise his role of August March, a character Mr. Asner first played 36 years ago. There is no better way to form a bridge between our reboot and the original series," Peter Lenkov, 'Hawaii Five-0' executive producer, said in a statement.

For the first time, footage from the original series featuring Asner will be used. The archive footage will show his character in his smuggler days. When Asner's character appears in the new series, he'll be a reformed man after serving 30 years in prison for murder. The Five-0 team approach him for help on a smuggling case.

In other casting news ...

On 'Law & Order: SVU' (Wed., 10PM ET on NBC), the team goes undercover to solve a murder that took place in a slaughterhouse. But things start to go badly almost right away. First of all, the slaughterhouse is disgusting -- filled with cockroaches and rat droppings. Still, that isn't the worst part.

Watch the video after the jump.

It's pilot time again and this season the networks have decided to turn back the clock, specifically on old cop and crime shows, to save their sinking ratings.

For instance, NBC is bringing back the mystery series 'The Rockford Files' with Dermot Mulroney in the role that James Garner turned into a classic TV crime fighter. CBS has also ordered a remake of the procedural cop classic 'Hawaii Five-O' with Scott Caan and Jean Smart.

Normally, my gut reacts to a TV remake the same way a person who just washed his car reacts to a line of dark clouds (a lot of cursing and shaking of fists at God or some other celestial being). However, if done right, anything has the chance to be good... unless it's one of the following cop serials, which should never be touched by a TV producer ever again.

Rest easy, 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' fans. Despite a story published on Friday (and later yanked offline) in Australia's Courier-Mail newspaper, Christopher Meloni is not quitting his day job as Det. Elliot Stabler on 'SVU.' At least, that's what his boss says.

'SVU' executive producer Neal Baer debunked the rumor in a tweet. Asked by a fan if the story about Meloni's departure was true, Baer simply replied, "No." To another fan's similar question, he replied, "Don't believe everything you read in the papers!"

The original article purportedly quoted Meloni as saying that he'd be leaving the show at the end of the 2010-11 season to focus on theater and film, and that he felt 12 years on the show would be enough. It also purportedly quoted his TV partner Mariska Hargitay as saying she hoped Stabler doesn't get written off the show by being killed because that would devastate her character, Det. Olivia Benson.

NBC's fall premiere schedule is all about 'The Jay Leno Show.'

The new 10PM series will begin its first full week on the network beginning Mon., Sept. 14. Also included that week are premieres of 'The Biggest Loser' (Tue., Sept. 14) and 'The Office' (Thu., Sept. 17).

Meanwhile, 'Heroes' returns with a two-hour premiere on Mon., Sept. 21.

See the full schedule after the jump.

Recently, we told you about James Brolin appearing in a guest role on Law & Order: SVU, as a man from Elliot's past. Now, there'll be even more development for Christopher Meloni's character when Ellen Burstyn shows up on SVU to play Stabler's mother.

Oh, and she's not your button-downed, upright all together mom. She's bipolar, which is to say that she has a serious psychological disorder.

TVGuide.com reported that it learned that Ms. Burstyn's guest role will be very dramatic -- "explosive" -- and is slated for one episode. Thinking about what's been happening on SVU, the major storyline for Elliot has been revolving around his wife Kathy having another child.

The baby has brought the Stablers back together after a separation. Could Elliot's mother be coming to New York to see her new grandchild and something else go wrong? Hmm...