If you thought this year's crop of new shows had some interesting names and premises, wait until next fall rolls around.

According to Deadline, NBC has bought a comedy pitch called 'My Best Friend Is A Lesbo.'

The somewhat autobiographical project from Sascha Rothchild and Randi Barnes follows two female roommates, one gay and one straight, as they deal with life, love and the pursuit of happiness.

'Gossip Girl' executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage will executive produce the project along with writers Barnes and Rothchild.

In other development news ...

'Friday Night Lights' star Connie Britton is in talks to join NBC's freshman drama 'The Event.'

According to Deadline Hollywood, producers are actively wooing the Emmy-nominated star. The recurring role in development is that of a senator's wife who sets out to prove herself worthy of his seat when he unexpectedly dies.

Britton is the first choice for the role. The actress spent five years as Tami Taylor on the critically-acclaimed 'Friday Night Lights.'

In other TV news ...

• Larry Wilmore may be going from senior black correspondent on 'The Daily Show' to sitcom star. Wilmore has sold a pitch to NBC that would see him as the father of a family who become the subjects of a British documentary. [Live Feed]

• Prep your ears for Disney's 'Madison High,' it's bringing more singing teens to TV. The comedy project about tweens and teens who are working toward producing an original theater production based on their lives is from Lester Lewis and Paul Hoen. It's expected to go to pilot. [Deadline Hollywood]

• TLC ordered a new reality series called 'Bama Belles.' The one-hour series will premiere Dec. 6 and follow the everyday activities of rural Alabama women. [Variety]

Kelly Ripa is prepping a return to primetime with a new series, 'Port Love.'

Ripa, host of 'Live With Regis and Kelly,' and husband Mark Consuelos will co-write and executive-produce the project. Consuelos will star, with Ripa set for a recurring role. According to Deadline Hollywood, the project, a single camera workplace comedy, follows the cast and crew of a once-popular TV show who have quite a lot of backstage drama.

In other TV news ...

• Carol Mendelsohn has sold a new crime drama to CBS. The 'CSI' showrunner's new project adapts Thomas Perry's Jane Whitefield suspense novels. The character acts as a one-person witness protection program. [Reuters]

• 'Glee' star Mark Salling has released the first video from his debut album. The song, 'Illusions,' is off Salling's album, 'Pipe Dreams,' out Oct. 25. [Entertainment Weekly]

• Ellen DeGeneres is expanding her TV empire. The daytime talk show host as signed a new deal with Warner Bros. that will see her expand her production deal across various WB divisions. As a result, DeGeneres' company, A Very Good Production, will develop and produce network programs, cable shows, reality programming and syndicated shows. [Deadline Hollywood]

• Angela Lansbury has spoken out about her 'Murder, She Wrote' co-star Tom Bosley. "He was just a terrific person to work with," Lansbury said. "He was an actor's actor. He felt that the [happier] the atmosphere on the set was, the more we would get done." [TV Guide]

Just because William Petersen signed a contract in May that said he was going to stay on CSI, doesn't mean that he's going to, you know, stay on CSI. As it turns out, Petersen, who does double-duty as Gil Grissom and executive producer of the long-running procedural, had a clause in his contract that is allowing him to leave the show after this season's tenth episode. Both Petersen and CBS are quick to point out, however, that we will not be seeing the last of Gil Grissom.

Petersen plans to remain actively involved in CSI and is maintaining his role as executive producer. Although he will no longer be a series regular, he's definitely not planning on leaving for good, saying, "I'm in a great place in terms of knowing that I'll be more free to make choices. And I'm responsible enough to not do it in a way that would hurt [the show]."

WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS AFTER THE JUMP

We told you a long time ago about the writers of CSI switching places with the writers of Two and a Half Men for one episode, way back when people thought it was a joke and that it would never actually happen. Well, it's happening, and after the jump is the video to prove it.

The idea came from Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre, who approached CSI executive producer Carol Mendelsohn about switching teams for one episode of each series. The plot involves the murder of a famous Hollywood comedienne/sitcom diva who is difficult on the set of her show, and Lorre is quick to point out that it's NOT based on Cybill Shepherd, who he worked with on her show (*cough cough wink wink*). The video shows the behind the scenes goings on as the shows meet in the writers room and plan her Las Vegas demise.

It may sound a little bit like a headline from The Onion, but it's actually in the works, according to CSI producer Carol Mendelsohn.

Speaking at a Banff event in Canada earlier this week, Mendelsohn said she got a call from Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre, who suggested the switch. I'm not sure if it would be permanent, but it's something they could do for an episode or two. CSI will also go on location to San Francisco this season, and next season might go to London.

Maybe the Two and a Half Men writers can have Grissom sleep with a different woman every night, and maybe even hire a wisecracking kid to help with a murder investigation. He can be a prodigy who doesn't do well in school but is a genius at forensics.

I may have just died and gone to heaven. I'm only speculating here, because The Hollywood Reporter didn't exactly say for sure, but it's a pretty good bet that Alan Tudyk and Joshua Jackson have been cast in the same drama that's being created for CBS. Earlier this month, I reported on Jackson landing the lead in a Carol Mendelsohn law drama about a young lawyer whose career takes a turn when he takes a death row case. The Hollywood Reporter is now saying that Alan Tudyk (aka 'Wash' in Firefly) has been cast "in CBS' untitled Carol Mendelsohn drama". It describes the show as being about brilliant legal minds and that Tudyk will play "a competitive and arrogant Ivy League graduate." That sounds like the same show to me. Now, if only David Duchovny would join the cast.

Joshua Jackson just landed the lead role in a CBS legal drama that, so far, does not have a title. Jackson, also known as Pacey Witter (heart!) from Dawson's Creek, is fresh off the stage in England where he acted with Patrick Stewart in a David Mamet play. He also shot a couple of indie movies last year.

In the new series, Jackson will play a first-year lawyer, badgered by a firm partner, whose career takes an important turn when he is assigned the case of a death row inmate. The series is produced by Carol Mendelsohn, one of the producers of the CSI franchise.

Maybe 2006 is the year of the Dawson's Creek kids? Katie Holmes will allegedly give birth to Tom Cruise's baby later this year and Michelle Williams may or may not win an Oscar for her role in Brokeback Mountain. Now, where on earth is James van der Beek?