There are two groups of people who get really excited about pilot season: L.A. actors hoping for a break and television writers. Being a member of the latter category, I admit to a tingly feeling creeping over me as word of the shows in development at all the big networks are starting to leak out. While most people are attributing feelings of renewal to the change in the weather, I'm happily anticipating what J.J. Abrams has in store for us this fall.

If anyone was getting nervous that Neil Patrick Harris's new gig hosting the game show 'The Cube' might mean his interest in 'How I Met Your Mother' was waning, worry no more. On Tuesday, Harris Tweeted the answer to a question no one has asked yet, that he is staying put on 'HIMYM.'

Harris's (subtly scatological) message, referring to 'HIYMYM' and 'The Cube,' both of which are CBS projects: "I'm never leaving HIMYM. That job rocks. This would just have me doing double duty on the Tiffany Network. (Huh, huh. I said double duty...)"

Is there anything Neil Patrick Harris can't do? The other night he was positively stellar on American Idol as a guest judge, stealing the spotlight from Simon by being a fair but stern discerner of the talented and the talentless. You could really see him as a permanent replacement for Simon Cowell and doing a damn, good job. Then there was Dr. Horrible, Emmy host, Tony host and, naturally, Barney on How I Met Your Mother. Neil is a jack of all trade and a master of most!

Now we can add game show host to the list of accomplishments. The British competition show The Cube is coming to CBS and Neil Patrick Harris will be the host. You may recall that Fox attempted to get The Cube to America. After spending a few months developing it, the network dropped it in December.

Normally I wouldn't do a post about a show that's hard for us Yanks to see, but this game show addition to the Brit's ITV Network merits special attention because it shows just how far ahead of the curve they are when it comes to kicking our asses on television.

The Cube sounds like an ordinary, run-of-the-mill challenge game show, designed to humiliate people on national television by making them look stupid for not being able to complete menial tasks for cash and/or prizes. That's because on the surface, it looks like every single game show you've ever seen since executives realized that crushing the human spirit on live television would score them lets of cash and/or prizes.

But when you watch an entire episode, its stylish look and dark feeling matched with the complexity of the game's concept make for an hour of television that sucks you in and never lets you go for a second. Compare that to just about every recent American game show that pushes you away and makes you run as far as you can from your TV set.