Jonathan Franzen's novel 'The Corrections' was the publishing sensation of 2001. It won multiple awards and made its author a household name.

Especially after Oprah Winfrey chose it as one of her Book Club picks and he famously turned down an invitation to appear on her show.

Rumors have swirled for years about possible movie and TV adaptations of the lengthy tome and now there are reports that producer Scott Rudin ('The Social Network,' 'There Will Be Blood') and writer-director Noah Baumbach ('The Squid and the Whale,' 'Margot at the Wedding') are close to a TV series deal with HBO.

According to Deadline, the cable network may soon place an order for a pilot episode.

It's also been reported that none other than Anthony Hopkins has expressed an interest in playing one of the central roles.

Donald Sutherland has joined Paget Brewster in NBC's 'My Life as an Experiment' comedy pilot.

According to TVLine, Sutherland will play the father of Brewster's character, Stacie, a lawyer. The Jack Black-produced pilot follows a magazine writer played by Jon Dore. Sutherland's character is described as a pompous and successful heart surgeon.

The pilot is based on A.J. Jacobs' 'Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life As An Experiment.'

In other casting news ...

• 'Wizards of Waverly Place' star David Henrie will star in CBS's 'Assistants.' In the pilot, Henrie plays Mike, a fresh face in Los Angeles who needs to learn the ropes of the celebrity world quickly. [Deadline]

• Damon Wayans Jr. has joined the cast of Fox's untitled Zooey Deschanel comedy pilot. However, Wayans' role is in second position. His ABC comedy, 'Happy Endings,' premieres on the network next month. [Deadline]

Donald Sutherland, Eddie Izzard and Elijah Wood have signed on to star in Syfy's 'Treasure Island.'

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Izzard will play Long John Silver, Wood has been tapped as Ben Gunn and Sutherland is playing Flint in Syfy's new adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson tale.

'Treasure Island' is currently filming in Puerto Rico and Ireland with an early 2012 premiere date.

In other TV news ...

• The first draft of David E. Kelley's 'Wonder Woman' pilot has leaked and the details have confirmed some fears. Wonder Woman will have two secret identities, have a sleepover and eat ice cream with her best friend, lust after Steve Trevor, and the phrase "You go, girl!" will be uttered. D'oh. [Bleeding Cool]

• 'Beavis & Butthead' will return to MTV. When? The network would not say. However, 'Teen Wolf,' MTV's new series, debuts on June 5. [Entertainment Weekly]

• What do you get when you mix 'Toddlers and Tiaras' with 'My Super Sweet 16'? Horror. And TLC's new series 'Outrageous Kid Parties.' The series about parents and the lavish parties they throw their children debuts Feb. 21 at 9:30PM. [TV Guide]

A&E cancels 'The Cleaner,' the CW gives 'The Beautiful Life: TBL' some ugly news, Madonna books Letterman and more of today's top TV headlines.

Several DVD sets came my way this week, so I did some marathon viewing sessions for Jane After Dark. I'm brand new to some of these, so you'll get the stark, raw newbie version. But I'll start with one I've watched since the beginning ...

Dirty Sexy Money: The Complete Second and Final Season. I really liked this show at the beginning. It had all the elements of a great series, including excellent actors (starting with Donald Sutherland, Jill Clayburgh, and Peter Krause) and intriguing storylines with rich people, sex, murder, and mystery. But by the time they got to season two, the storylines just seemed to fizzle out. I would love to hear your thoughts on why Dirty Sexy Money didn't work. Crummy writing? Poor use of great actors? Too many characters to keep track of? Poor timing with the writer's strike occurring in the middle of its run, resulting in ten months between seasons?

Bonus features: Directing the Darlings (behind the scenes with director Jamie Babbit); A Total Knockout (a day in the life of Natalie Zea, who played Karen); Dirty Sexy Crafty (a featurette about the food on the set); Faux Pas (bloopers); deleted scenes.

Bob Barker is coming out of retirement.

The former 'Price Is Right' host is returning to the show for an episode this April -- and he'll stick around just long enough to promote his upcoming autobiography 'Priceless Memories.'

In other news, Donald Sutherland will be the roguish patriarch of 'The Eastmans,' the co-creator of '24' takes on 'The Kennedys' and more.

See more of today's TV headlines, casting scoops and premiere dates after the jump.

I should point out that when I say "coming back this summer" in the headline I mean that ABC is bringing them back to burn off the remaining episodes that haven't aired yet. That's right, six months from now is the earliest you'll see any of these shows return. They could even come back later.

Pushing Daisies has three episodes left, while Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money each have four. Fans of these shows might not like this, but the truth is, the shows that have been in the time slots for these shows have actually done better in the ratings.

(S02E05) That was more like it! Just as I was about to write off this week's episode as another bland installment of Dirty Sexy Money, down came an embarrassment of primetime soap riches. Letitia's trial was resolved with the kind of speed only possible in TV-land, and we got a cliffhanger and three major shocks to boot! Read on for the details.

(S02E04) Election night on Dirty Sexy Money was about more than simple politics. There were lost children, marriage proposals, and bribes to worry about. With so many major things happening, though, I wish some of the minor storylines had been cut from this episode. Nick's gradual transformation into the next Tripp Darling is fascinating, and we finally got a better idea about Simon's master plan. Next week's installment appears to be a lot meatier (and soapier), so I'm not worried.

(S02E03) We already know what it's like to be a Darling: lavish parties, vast conspiracies, and emotional outbursts. This week's episode gave us some insight into what it's like to be a George: same psychological problems, less money. Letitia's upcoming trial brought Nick face-to-face with someone from his past, and this person had quite a story to tell.

(S02E02) The Darlings had to bury one of their own this week, and they sent the deceased off in style. Sure, the eulogy was written about someone else and some of the mourners were arrested, but that's part of the fun of these events. The rest of the episode was business as usual--power struggles, inappropriate sexual partners, and suitcases filled with cash. No complaints here.

(S02E01) The Darlings are back! Despite all the behind-the-scenes personnel and casting changes, Dirty Sexy Money appears to be better than ever. Loyal fans were rewarded with a major development in last season's murder mystery, and the premiere gave new viewers plenty of reasons to come back for more. Season One feels like it ended ages ago, but "The Birthday Present" was the perfect refresher course in the elements of this gorgeous, twisted world.

From March 14th to March 27th, The Paley Center for Media is presenting the twentieth-fifth annual William S. Paley Television Festival. The Paley Center, formerly the Museum of Television and Radio, says that the festival celebrates "television's rich and diverse programming and the creative process behind the medium." This year the festival included Chuck, Friday Night Lights, Pushing Daisies, Gossip Girl, and The Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reunion.

Last night, I attended the Dirty Sexy Money panel. For what happened during the panel discussion, read on past the jump...

... Six welcome returns.

Every fall season I get stoked about all the new shows, with cool new premises ("A guy travels through time trying to make right what once went wrong!"-- Journeyman not Quantum Leap), and all the big changes in store for existing shows. But it's equally exciting to see which beloved actors will be returning to television. Brad Garrett coming back to television in 'Til Death last year? Cool! Patricia Heaton and Kelsey Grammer both coming back to television ... together? That's gotta be awesome, right? Jerry O'Connell on Carpoolers ... well ... ? I like the guy, but I'm not scheduling a 'Welcome Back' shindig for him.

Half the fun of a new television season is the return of great actors and actresses to the small screen. And while I could have easily done 10 or even 20 of these, I've narrowed it down to the six talents who were most welcome back in my house on a weekly basis this past year. I've even been so bold as to rank them. Feel free to agree, disagree and present your own lists in the comments.

(S01E10) The Darlings certainly know how to prepare for the holidays, don't they? Not only did they have a performance of "The Nutcracker" in their living room, but they found time to battle Simon Elder. Every week it seems like another Darling is involved in the plot against Simon--I can't wait for Juliet and Jeremy to join the fray. The twins can be excused, however, since they were busy with their gorgeous significant others.

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