michael raymond-james

It's only been a month since Christopher Meloni stepped down from 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,' but producers are reportedly screen-testing his possible replacements in New York today.

Production on the upcoming Season 13 is due to get underway soon and, according to Deadline.com, 'SVU' creator/executive producer Dick Wolf and NBC have narrowed the field to a short list of five.

The actors, who have all doubtless just spent a sleepless night in the Big Apple rehearsing their lines, have been named as: Danny Pino ('Cold Case'), Kevin Alejandro ('True Blood,' 'Southland'), David Conrad ('Ghost Whisperer'), Michael Raymond-James ('Terriers') and Rhys Coiro ('Entourage').

Each one will test today with Meloni's co-star, Mariska Hargitay, who plays Det. Olivia Benson on the drama. Both Alejandro and Raymond-James recently guest-starred on 'SVU,' so could be feeling like they've got the edge.

Lately I've heard from readers and friends who gave 'Terriers' a try but gave up on it after an episode or three.

Go back to the show (which airs at 10PM ET Wednesdays on FX), and please, give it another shot. This complicated, very enjoyable private-detective drama is that good. It's great, in fact.

I still have a great deal of respect for 'Boardwalk Empire,' an excellent drama that I thought would emerge as the best new program of 2010. Don't get me wrong, 'Boardwalk Empire' will definitely be on my year-end Top 10 list. But I care about the characters on 'Terriers' in a whole different way. It's the best new show of 2010. If this 'Terriers' goes away, which it might, thanks to low ratings, it'll be a very bad day for quality television.

So here are five suggestions on how FX might alter the show in order to goose the ratings for a second season (which I very much want):

1. Just add zombies. Duh.

2. Rename it 'CSI: Ocean Beach' and make the hilarious nerds that help private detective Hank Dolworth into white-jacketed lab techs.

How hard can getting rid of a dead body be? It should be pretty easy, right? But for our bumbling anti-heroes on 'Terriers' (Wed., 10PM ET on FX), even the simplest task can lead to massive complications.

[Warning: Spoiler alert.]

Since the first episode of the show, detectives Hank and Britt have been plagued by evil real estate developer Robert Lindus (played by Christopher Cousins). Lindus has conned them, betrayed them, and involved our heroes in a ridiculously convoluted murder case. But now, Lindus is dead! Hurray! He's dead! And his body is located in a car that's perched right by the edge of a ravine. All the buddies have to do is push the car over the cliff, and they're done.

The boys on 'Terriers' (Wed., 10PM on FX) were in need of some quick cash this week. But the challenge before them may have outweighed their need, as they agreed to bring in an escaped convict who was easily twice their size. Played by 6'7" tall character actor Matthew Willig, Montell is a mountain of a man, and these guys just don't have the skills or equipment to take him in, or even down.

While preparing to go in, Hank (Donal Logue) had his partner carry a bat and told him, "If for any reason, he doesn't go down, not to worry. You hit him with the pepper spray."

Unfortunately, they didn't get the chance to do any of that, as Montell practically grabbed Britt (Michael Raymond-James) by the face and pulled him into the house.

An ex-cop and an ex-con are paired together on the new drama 'Terriers' (Wed., 10PM ET on FX). Partners Hank and Britt (played by Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James) are scruffy and broke. They don't have a license for their detective agency. Their most powerful weapon against crime is a filthy old pickup truck. Hilariously, they're even willing to solve a case in exchange for having their clothes dry-cleaned.

The question is this: Are these two investigators too "small-time" to take on the big cases? Let's find out.

[Spoiler alert.]

An ex-cop and an ex-con team up as a ragtag P.I. duo? OK, tell me more...

Well, that's kind of all she wrote according to 'Terriers' star Donal Logue. Of course there's more to his new series (premieres Wed., Sept. 8, 10PM ET on FX), but his "it is what it was" explanation proves that it's not your average buddy cop/robber/investigator show, and a lot of that has to do with the pairing of Logue and 'True Blood' alum Michael Raymond-James. The two have chemistry to burn and give the drama just the right amount of levity.

I caught up with Logue and Raymond-James to hear more about their characters' unilkely pairing, working with writer and executive producer Shawn Ryan, creator Ted Griffin (he wrote 'Ocean's Eleven'), Craig Brewer and Tim Minear, and how they're not too unlike the guys they play.