With the season coming to a close, the networks are starting to look toward next season. In the case of 'Criminal Minds,' that includes exploring the possibility of a spin-off series. They ran an embedded pilot for it earlier this season, introducing the new cast, and they've already had tremendous success with both 'NCIS' and 'CSI' spin-offs. But whatever happened to the old-school way of creating spin-offs?

'Frasier' was a long-time cast member on 'Cheers' before he headed off to Seattle and sitcom super-stardom. 'The Jeffersons' spent time living next to the Bunkers ('All in the Family') before moving on up. Even as recently as 'Friends,' they spun series co-star 'Joey' off into his own series -- maybe that's when it all went so wrong.

Rob Lowe is returning to the small screen -- again.

According to the Wrap, Lowe has booked a guest spot on 'Californication' season 4, in which he will play Eddie Nero, an "imbalanced yet charismatic, award-winning movie star" who is up for the role of Hank Moody (star David Duchovny) in the big screen adaptation of Moody's book.

Lowe is currently scheduled to appear in one episode of the hit Showtime series, but may return as a recurring character, according to the report.

The powers that be at ABC have good reasons to be feeling good about the network's success. They've had a really good year developing some new shows, like 'Modern Family,' 'The Middle' and 'Cougar Town' -- all of which have been given a renewal for next season. And today an established drama, 'Brothers and Sisters,' was given a fifth season pickup. You know what that means, don't you? Pop the cork! Let the merlot and pinot grigio flow, the Walkers and Ojai Foods are going to continue on for another year of whining and wining.

Blair Underwood has been elected the next President of the United States -- well, at least by NBC. According to reports, Underwood has joined the cast of 'The Event,' a new drama pilot about a conspiracy to assassinate the President, in which a regular man (Jason Ritter) finds himself caught in the middle. How very '24' of NBC. [Hollywood Reporter]

More casting news after the jump.

Weeks ago when it was announced that Rob Lowe was leaving ABC's 'Brothers and Sisters,' the spin from ABC was that they desperately wanted to keep Rob in the fold and would be working to develop a new television project for him.

Guess what? That was all a lot of hooey. Or exaggeration to the point of sounding more optimistic than true. Today, Michael Ausiello of Entertainment Weekly reported that Rob Lowe will be joining the NBC sitcom, 'Parks and Recreation.' This is a great move by Rob, turning to comedy rather than jumping into another dramatic series. And if you think Rob's not good at comedy, you don't remember his letter-perfect imitation of Robert Wagner's character #2 -- as a younger man -- in 'Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me."

Rob Lowe may be eyeing a quick return to television following his confirmed departure from 'Brothers & Sisters.' According to sources, Lowe may join the cast of CBS' upcoming 'Criminal Minds' spinoff, opposite Oscar winner Forest Whitaker. So far, sources claim that talks have begun; however, nothing has been confirmed. [E!]

More casting news after the jump.

Ken Olin of 'Brothers & Sisters' (Sun., 10PM ET on ABC) stopped by 'The Bonnie Hunt Show' (weekdays, syndicated) today, and talked about Rob Lowe's decision to leave the show.

While Olin wasn't involved in the process, he says that both Lowe and ABC came to a decision about what was best for everyone involved.

Watch the video from TV's Top 5! after the jump.

It appears that the 'Brothers & Sisters' family is getting smaller by the day.

On the heels of Rob Lowe's recently announced exit, EW.com's Ausiello Files is now reporting that Calista Flockhart will see a reduction in her role next season. While the number of episodes she'll be absent from is unknown, a spokesperson for ABC said that she will remain a series regular.

So what will this mean for the Walker family, specifically Kitty and Robert? As we've seen this season, Kitty has been struggling with cancer, which has put a major strain on their at times tumultuous relationship. And while she's currently in remission, after Robert's abandoned his aspirations for Governor, we see this one of two ways: One is that Kitty's cancer could return, although we highly doubt that Robert would leave if that were the case.

First Rob Lowe, now Calista Flockhart. They're breaking up that old Walker clan of ours. In short, Calista Flockhart will be on fewer episodes next season of Brothers and Sisters. So, if Rob is gone completely, and Calista is doing less shows, are the McCallisters even going to be living in California anymore?

We now know why Rob Lowe made the decision he did. His role is integrated into the Walker family through Calista's character, Kitty. If she was asking for a reduced presence, the ripple effect was clearly less screen time for him. Hence, his decision.

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com, or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have spoilers for: 90210, Bones, Brothers & Sisters, Chuck, Cougar Town, Glee, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother, Lost, Melrose Place, NCIS: Los Angeles, Smallville, Supernatural, and Ugly Betty.

As Bob wrote, Rob Lowe will be leaving ABC's Brothers & Sisters. It's not the show that's writing him out. Rob Lowe has decided that he's not been utilized enough on the show and he wants to move on.

However, ABC wants to keep him part of the network family, so the actor has made a deal with programming head Steve McPherson to try to find a new show for Rob in the future. According to McPherson, "We would like to keep Rob at ABC; we feel he should be anchoring his own franchise. We are in talks now."

If this sounds like a familiar scenario, it's because it is. When Rob Lowe was on NBC's The West Wing, he chose to leave the program in 2003 because The West Wing had become an ensemble, and he had thought he was going to be the star.

(S04E01) "William was a cheater. He had this bottle-blond tramp across town..." - Nora's mother to Holly

The dysfunctional Walker clan is back, and it didn't take long for the squabbling and worrying and break-ups and tragedies to surface. Things open right away with Nora's feeling of foreboding, and with this family, it's usually warranted. There's generally a nice mix of comedy and drama in Brothers & Sisters, and this episode followed suit.

Note to Rob Lowe: Stop looking so damn healthy. Signed: The powers that be at ABC.

Seriously, Brothers & Sisters' star Rob Lowe has been ordered to stop tanning. Apparently, the actor just looks too good -- bronze and healthy and full of that Kennedy-style of vigor for the role he's playing. ABC brass, the president of the network no less, has told him to stay out of the sun. According to Lowe, he was warned that he is getting too dark and has to mend his ways now.

So, if you saw the preview for last night's special two-hour Brothers & Sisters, you were anticipating that someone was going to die. Then, if you surfed the net, there were all kinds of rumors and spoilers that something life-altering was going to happen. Would it be Tommy? What about Kitty and Robert's newborn, coming via surrogate mom? Would Nora keel over from all that running in the hospital hallways? Maybe it was going to be something from left field, like Uncle Saul gagging on a wine cork and kicking the bucket?

Imagine my shock and surprise when all the build up turned out to be something unexpected. If you haven't watched it yet, I'll save it for after the jump.