ABC and Salma Hayek are teaming up once again to develop an American version of a telenovela.

The network and Hayek were behind 'Ugly Betty' and have set their sights on adapting the Argentinian telenovela 'Los Roldan.' According to Variety, Veronica Becker and Sarah Kucserka, 'Ugly Betty' veterans, have been tapped to write and executive produce.

'Los Roldan' told the story of a working-class man who gets hired to run the company of the woman whose life he saved. Versions of the soap have been produced in Colombia, Mexico and Cyprus.

In other TV news ...

• 'Sex and the City' showrunner Michael Patrick King is shopping around a new series. King and his representatives are reportedly shopping the script around personally in an effort to keep it as secret as possible. [Vulture]

• 'Off the Map,' Shonda Rhimes' new medical drama, will premiere Wed., Jan. 12 at 10PM. 'Off the Map' will take the place of the legal drama 'The Whole Truth.' [Twitter]

• Keith Olbermann has suspended his "Worst Persons" segment. Olbermann has shelved the segment in the wake of Jon Stewart's speech at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. [Hollywood Reporter]

Veteran TV producer Mark Gordon, an executive producer on shows such as 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Criminal Minds' and 'Private Practice,' has been accused of and formally apologized for using racial slurs at a table read for the spin-off of Lifetime's 'Army Wives.'

According to Deadline Hollywood, Gordon was at a table read for the pilot that included two African-American actresses, Gabrielle Union and Wendy Davis, and used the n-word while acting out a scene from the film 'Blazing Saddles.' He was reported to Lifetime's human resources department, which then reported him to ABC Studios.

Gordon issued this statement to Deadline: "I feel terrible about this. It was a stupid lapse in judgment. I didn't meant [sic] to offend anyone, and I've apologized to everyone involved."

It seems a potential disaster has been averted.

Director Roland Emmerich, known to some as Michael Bay's top rival in the "who can make the crappiest blockbuster?" contest, says a TV series based on his latest movie, '2012', has been shelved.

Speaking to Movieweb, Emmerich said budget constraints have halted pre-production on the show, which would have served as a direct follow-up to his special effects-heavy disaster flick. The series was described as being similar in theme to 'Lost'. The plot would have followed survivors of the events depicted in the movie attempting to rebuild in Africa.

"It was just too big for TV, what we wanted to do," Emmerich said.

There are two significant things to take from the news that Army Wives will return for a fourth season. One, the predominantly female viewership of Lifetime has embraced the series about the lives of Army personnel and their families on the Fort Marshall post in Charleston, South Carolina; and two, scripted dramas are on the rise all across the cable networks. It also means that this finely acted, well-written and well produced show is going to be around for the next couple of years at least.

Who is ready for more new show news? Good to hear.

Mark Gordon, executive producer of Grey's Anatomy, has just been given the go by CBS to produce another hour-long medical drama with director Kasi Lemmons. It follows the life of a Bellvue psychiatric neurologist who also serves as a crisis manager. But guess which calm, cool professional has a chaotic life at home?

Lemmons, whose Don Cheadle-headlined Talk to Me is winning rave reviews, will direct, writer and produce the pilot.

Maybe it's because they work on such a dark show. Maybe it's because many of the actors on the show have at least some comedy in their backgrounds. But the folks from Criminal Minds really like to yuk it up. At least that's what I got from the "informal" (again, that means "jammed in a far-too-small conference room") session for the procedural. The panel consisted of executive producers Edward Allen Bernero and Mark Gordon, and stars Thomas Gibson, Paget Brewster and Shemar Moore.

Gibson started off the comedy by lifting a jar of candy from the table and offering them to the gathered crowd. "They're wah-fer thin," referring to a classic bit from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.